#I PROMISED I'M NOT ATTRACTED TO SANS I JUST HAVE A PROBLEM

[nereidprinc3ss]

do you believe me now? | 2

in which fem!reader is feeling insecure about how inexperienced she is around spencer's friends and seeks his expertise to amend the problem

series masterlist

18+ (smut) warnings/tags: inexperienced reader, oral f receiving, (MUNCH!SPENCE RETURNS), fingering, (very) insecure reader, softdom!spencer, sub reader, nipple stuff, kinda sorta implied age gap, god i'm probably forgetting things pls lmk if i missed something important a/n: i've been laboring at this bad boy every day for so long i had to immediately post once it was completed lol. there will be a part three ... maybe i already started it ..... anyway i love u guys and i hope this is a satisfactory part two!! PLS lmk if you liked it!! hearing from u makes my day :')

When Spencer dropped you off at Penelope’s apartment for your first girl’s night—the hostess had promised you, JJ, and Emily lots of gossip sans 'icky men'—you had been ecstatic. You wouldn’t stop rambling to him about how excited you were. 

When he picks you up two and a half hours later, he can hardly get a word out of you. 

It’s not his fault, of course—well, not really, anyway. It’s just that all the girls had wanted to talk about was sex. A topic on which you held very little expertise and had essentially nothing to contribute. Out of the four, you were the only non-FBI agent, the youngest, and undoubtedly the least experienced. It was like high school all over again, except you actually desperately wanted to impress Spencer’s friends. All in all, you weaseled your way out of sharing without giving away that you were still very much a virgin. Sure, you could have said ‘we did hand stuff two weeks ago’, but you had a feeling these women wouldn’t consider that very impressive. 

But you can’t easily relay that information to Spencer—even when he immediately picks up on your sullen mood. He asks you what’s wrong as you make your way down the echoey staircase, but you hold back, muttering something along the lines of we’ll talk about it later. 

Later doesn’t come on the sidewalk outside. It doesn’t come in the car, or at any point during the twenty minute drive, but you feel it rapidly approaching as you climb the stairs to Spencer’s apartment. He unlocks the door and holds it open for you, doesn’t speak as you kick off your shoes and wander aimlessly into the living room.

“Did you eat?” He finally asks, hanging his keys on a hook by the door and glancing over to where you linger in the center of the room like a ghost. 

“Not hungry.”

You both know that wasn’t the question, but he lets it go. 

“Alright... well, I was thinking—“

“Why haven’t we had sex?”

The question flies from your mouth before you can stop it. It tastes like metal and you wish you could take it back as you stand there, cheeks hot and awaiting a reply. It seems you’ve thoroughly astonished Spencer as he gapes at you like a fish out of water for several silent moments, eventually opting to shove his hands in his pockets and shake his head at the wall as he processes the question. 

“I… I don’t know. We just haven’t. Does that bother you?”

Suddenly your whole body feels intolerably warm. Your fingers twitch against your thighs. Of course it bothers you. 

“Do you just not want to? You aren’t attracted to me like that?”

God, you despise how fragile your voice sounds—how much you obviously care, how insecure you clearly are. Spencer picks up on it, despite your most fervent wishing that he wouldn’t, and approaches, stopping a few feet away. You stare at the span of oriental design on the floor between your feet. 

“That’s not at all what I said, angel. I wish you wouldn’t put words in my mouth.”

“Well, then… say something else,” you plead quietly, childishly, still unable to meet his eyes. Prove me wrong. 

He sighs, which does not bode well for you. You wonder if you accidentally triggered the early demise of your relationship and christ do you wish you could rewind. When he steps closer, when his hands find your arms, you’re not sure where to look. But the low, sweet tone of his voice entices you to finally meet his gaze, charmed like a snake as his eyes dart between yours. 

“You know that’s not how I feel.”

You shake your head earnestly, looking up at him with wide eyes as he slowly rubs your arms. 

“No. No, I don’t know that.”

Spencer frowns, glancing at your lips as he speaks. It’s impossible to not do the same when he’s standing so close. 

“But I’ve told you. I don’t understand how you couldn’t know how far from the truth that is.”

You think back to two weeks ago—the first and only time he’d ever done anything more than kiss you. A different kind of flush replaces the shameful one in your cheeks as you try to make your case and not get distracted by the memories of his hands all over you.

“So why won’t you prove it?”

It’d been intended to come out cool, but instead you sound a little desperate, a little out of breath as you realize you and Spencer somehow ended up so close to each other you can feel the warmth radiating from his body. 

“Is that what you need from me? More proof?”

He speaks so lowly, his fingers press into the flesh of your arms portentously, and you think maybe you’ve poked the bear one too many times. But you won’t back down now—not when you think you might actually get what you want. 

So you look up at him and nod, throat too dry to speak. His eyes are deceptively soft, but you don’t miss the big bad something lurking just beneath the surface of the placid hazel. 

“And how do you think I should prove it?”

“I told you what I want,” you whisper, speaking above your pounding heart. 

“Not tonight, honey. Choose something else.”

“Well—that’s not fair,” you stammer, “the whole point is for you to want to have sex with me.”

Spencer smiles a little, tucking hair behind your ear. “I do want that. I promise you I do. But there are other things I want us to do first.”

“Then I want to do that, too! I just—I don’t know what I’m doing, and you do, and I’m already out on a limb by asking for this much. I know this is what I want but I need you to take the lead here. I trust you, Spencer.” You top off the monologue with an imploring gaze—hoping it delivers even a fraction of the impact that his puppy-dog eyes always have on you. 

He seems to study every square inch of your face as you wait in suspense for him to say something. At long last, his lips part—to no avail for several more seconds as he regards you. 

When the words finally do come, they’re an immense relief of pressure. 

“You’re going to promise me that you’ll communicate honestly. That means telling me if we need to slow down or stop, or if you don’t like something—”

“I promise,” you say, perhaps over-eagerly, offering him your extended little finger. 

An incredulous smile narrows his eyes. 

“Is this a pinky-promise?”

“It is.” You wiggle the finger in emphasis, and he shakes his head, smiling wider as you link pinkies. 

“I left you with Garcia for far too long.”

You shush him, disentangling your hands to cup his jaw and press your lips to his. It’s sweet and smiley until it isn’t—until everything slows down like sticky molasses and his hand is ghosting over your cheek, your neck, the curve of your waist, finally substantiating itself on your hip—the other encouraging you to tilt your head back as he deepens the kiss and you feel yourself melting under the heat of his touch. 

The pressure of his body against yours builds until you’re forced to take a step back, and then another, and another. Without question you allow yourself to be herded toward the bedroom, walked slowly backward as he keeps kissing you and blindly trusting he’ll make sure you don’t run in to anything. The bedroom door clicks shut behind him, and it is in all practicality a pointless gesture—but you find it incredibly comforting nonetheless.  

It’s too warm beneath your sweater and his hands are cool as they slip under the hem, sliding against the curve of your hip. Spencer’s never seen you without a shirt, you realize, as he pulls away from the kiss by only centimeters.  

“Off?” he mutters, thumbing at the knit fabric. And while you’re far from confident, you’ve certainly been making progress in this area. You help him tug it over your head without a word, noting a distinct and surprising lack of terror within yourself as you watch for his reaction to you. Hands glide slowly up your waist and you find yourself enchanted by the slight furrow of his brow, the parting of his lips. He traces down the lacy edge of your bra, skimming sensitive skin as he goes. 

“Pretty,” he murmurs. “You’re… so pretty.”

It seems you’ve rendered him uncharacteristically prosaic. The reaction might be underwhelming if it were anyone else—but Spencer Reid is a man who probably knows every synonym for pretty in the English language. Looking at you, he can’t think of a single one. In an odd way, it’s the highest compliment he could pay you. Your cheeks heat and your stomach flips as he drags a knuckle up the center of the cup, and you can feel it through the layers of lace and fabric. He leans forward, ghosting his lips over yours and continuing to run his fingers over the sensitive spot. “Do you know how pretty you are?”

This is one argument you will not be winning—one he’ll keep bringing up at the most inopportune times until he gets his way. 

“Spencer…”

“Don’t Spencer me. I’m asking you a question.”

The words don’t seem nearly as harsh as they really are when they’re delivered velvet-soft, with his lips and hands on you—when he’s so deftly popping the button on your jeans and dragging the zipper down with all the quickness of a slight-of-hand. It makes it hard to focus, even harder to speak. 

“We have… we have differing views on this matter.”

Generous handfuls of your hips and ass are taken as he helps you tug down your jeans before you kick them off, now left just in your underwear. 

“I thought I argued my point fairly well last time you were here. You didn’t learn anything from that?”

“Mm… maybe you just need to remind me.”

“Oh, I think I have to,” he agrees through a smile you can only hear. Gentle fingers skim up your back and tap the clasp of your bra. “How about this? Can we take this off?”

Any confidence from earlier crumbles and you loose a nervous hum—which is not the enthusiastic yes you’re sure Spencer will be seeking all evening. He pulls away, features etched with the beginnings of concern and a searching gaze. Asking would be unnecessary; the words simply come tumbling out of you. 

“What if you don’t like how I look?”

Spencer doesn’t even blink.

“That’s not going to happen.”

How you wish you could have the same assuredness in yourself that he seems to. 

“But what if… what if you’ve been with other girls who are more, like—I don’t know, just—better? Prettier?”

“Honey, you’re—” a sigh, a pause as he searches for the words—his eyes dart up and down your form, assessing, and when he looks back up at you, they’ve cleared and softened. He pulls you a little closer, rubbing circles into your back with his thumb. “I’m not thinking about anyone else right now. I’m not interested in anyone else right now. I already think you’re perfect, and I’m going to keep thinking that regardless of how you look. When I look at you, I’m not looking for things to critique. Do you understand me?”

As far as sentiments go, it’s a nice one. But the pressure of being seen still feels like an impossible burden. You whine, leaning your head against Spencer’s chest. He accepts your weight and runs his hand over your back as you look up at him. 

“But what if I’m hideously deformed?”

His eyebrows raise. 

“You’re not.”

“But what if I am?”

“Okay. It seems like you don’t feel ready yet, which is completely fine, we just won’t—”

“No!” you protest. “I am ready. I am. But… you have to promise to be nice to me no matter what. Or break up with me if you don’t like what you see so I don't have to wonder.”

“You’re ridiculous,” he says, kissing you, “and the only thing I’m willing to promise is that I’ll think you’re perfect. Me being nice will come as a natural byproduct of that which is very different than being nice by artifice. Take it or leave it.”

A moment of hesitance—but it’s short-lived. This is more important than your insecurities. Spencer is more important. 

“Take it,” you mumble against his lips. His fingers trace up the smooth skin of your back, all the way to the fabric and metal hooks on your bra. 

“Thank you.”

You wouldn’t have thought Spencer’s genius would manifest in being really good at undoing the clasp of a bra, but you can truly say you’re impressed by the ease with which he does it. It falls to the floor, leaving you completely shirtless for the first time in front of him. 

“Well?” you murmur, arms crossed defensively underneath your chest, because you understand overtop would sort of ruin the whole thing. “What’s the verdict?”

“You,” Spencer manages after a moment—you literally watch him memorizing every square inch of your body— “are ridiculously beautiful.”

The way his voice gets quieter makes your stomach flip. It sounds genuine. Too genuine to be faked. 

“So… no breakup?”

It seems that the more vulnerable you feel, the less likely you are to take a compliment. Spencer, who is always seeking patterns, probably recognizes this one, and doesn’t push you so hard this time. After a silent moment, he sighs and cradles your face in his hands. 

“You’re gorgeous. I hate how incapable you are of seeing that. We’re going to talk about this.”

“Yeah, but not right now, right?” you murmur, standing up on your tiptoes to kiss him. 

“Not right now,” he agrees. 

His lips are so soft and gentle against your own it feels like love, it feels like being talked down from the ledge of your own insanity. Somehow the way he strokes your hip feels more nurturing than sexual. It’s like he has sex and chaste affection on tap, able to turn them on and off at will. You’re happy to drown in either. Ideally, both.

After a while, his hands begin roaming farther, become bolder in their excursions over your flesh. Up, down, over your waist and ribs. Clearly Spencer had been trying to ease you into it, but you still can’t hide your sharp inhalation when his thumbs graze the sensitive skin of your breasts. He pulls his lips from yours, hands splayed over your sides. 

“Sit down.”

It’s much too gentle to be a command, but you frown. 

“Without you?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he chuckles, lightly squeezing your waist. “Just sit. Utilize patience.”

You sit on the edge of the bed with an atypical reticence—you’re just a little too nervous for a snippy comeback. Spencer picks up on this, features softening sympathetically as he undoes his tie with nimble fingers. It lands somewhere on the bed and he leans over you, resting his weight on his fists and offering you a quick kiss. His voice is soft and designed to soothe as he speaks, mere inches away from your face, and so quiet it could only be heard at this range. 

“Are you nervous?” Cloth from the duvet pinches between your fingers. For a moment you don’t reply, dropping your head to watch when Spencer runs his hand over your thigh. “It’s okay if you’re feeling anxious, baby. We don’t have to do anything tonight.”

You expel a frustrated huff. 

“I want to. Just because I’m nervous doesn’t mean I don’t want this. I can handle a little bit of anxiety.”

He hums, dropping to a crouch and inserting himself directly in your line of sight. 

“I know you can. But you don’t always have to push yourself so hard.”

“I’m fine pushing myself a little. I pinky-promised I would tell you if I wanted to stop, remember?”

“Oh, how could I forget a pinky-promise?” he smiles. 

How could you forget anything, you think, becoming flushed and silently insolent at his dulcet teasing. 

“Please, do something.” It’s a whisper, brushing his lips as you lean down until you’re nose to nose. His hands are on the back of your legs. 

“I’m working on it.”

“It doesn’t look like it.”

“You’re smart, angel. Tell me why I've got you naked on my bed and I’m kneeling in front of you. Where could I possibly be taking this?”

Oh, you have a pretty strong inkling—but you’re scared to voice it and be wrong. Instead of risking it you shake your head slowly, shyly. What you’re not expecting is for Spencer to duck his head down, slide his hands up the side of your thighs and press kisses to the delicate skin there. It feels good—better than you’d have thought. 

“You don’t know?” he asks, looking up at you through burnished gold-rimmed pupils. “No guesses?”

“No guesses,” you agree breathlessly, hotter than you were when you had your clothes on and all the energy in your body condensed into one point between your legs. Spencer hums like he’s considering your answer, smoothing his thumbs over the soft skin of your thighs so gently it feels like burning. 

“I don’t think you’re being entirely truthful. Lie back, sweetheart.”

You do as you’re told, scooting up on the mattress and falling back on your elbows. Spencer wastes no time in climbing over you, leaving you in much the same position as the last time you’d been in his bed. The sheets feel cool against your bare skin, but he is exceptionally warm and solid over you. 

“I’m being honest.” Lie. “I don’t know what you’re going to do.”

Lips find the most sensitive spot of your neck, dancing over it torturously. The front of his shirt brushes your chest. Your thighs clamp together. 

“I don't like being lied to. Just say it, baby. I know you know.”

“Spencer,” you whine, fists bunching the excess fabric around his waist. Warm breath condensates on the skin of your neck as he chuckles. 

“You don’t like being teased, huh?”

“Please, Spence,” you whisper. You notice the pattern of his breathing pause momentarily before it all comes rushing out at once—and you catalogue that particular plea for later usage. 

“I can’t say no when you ask me like that.”

You push your fingers into his soft hair. 

“I know.”

It was a lucky guess. 

He’s still for a moment, relishing the feeling of your hands in his hair, before darting up to kiss you. 

“I’m going to use my mouth this time,” he murmurs against your lips. Though you knew that was what he intended, your heart stumbles in its perpetual march. “Is that okay?”

“What if I…”

You trail off. This is a very intimate situation which you’re not quite sure you have delicate enough language for. Or maybe you’re just stalling. Either way, Spencer is eternally patient with you. 

“You need to stop worrying so much, pretty girl. I’d love to do this for you. But it’s your call.”

“Love is a pretty strong word.”

“Sometimes I think not strong enough.”

The way he’s looking down at you so tenderly, brushing hair from your face, makes you think maybe he’s not just talking about how much he would love to go down on you. Regardless, it fortifies your trust in him. Spencer is the kindest person you know. He’s so clearly an enthusiastic giver. Why not allow him to give you this? 

“Okay,” you breathe. “You can—yeah.”

As usual, you’re impressively awkward, but he doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, you think he not-so-secretly delights in being the one to fluster instead of the other way around. Rarely has he mentioned his past romantic and sexual exploits, but gathering bits and pieces, you assume he was a fairly late bloomer. He probably knows what it’s like to be nervous and so deeply unsure of yourself. 

“Do you remember what you promised me?” he whispers, pressing butterfly-light kisses to your jaw. Your eyes flutter shut as his lips traverse down your neck, teeth skimming over the delicate skin while your breath catches. 

“Mhm.”

“You’re not gonna break that promise, are you?”

His voice, soft and muffled by your skin, is the most exhilarating and disorienting high. Your entire body buzzes with anticipation, satisfied only where his lips soothe and his body presses against yours. It takes a moment for you to remember to reply. 

“No.”

Reward comes in the form of his thumb brushing over the peak of your breast at the same time as he murmurs, “good girl.”

Your stomach flips at the endearment—you squeak and arch into him slightly. Spencer’s hand slides down your ribs as he chuckles, lips pressed just above your collarbone. 

“You’ve never called me that before,” you shudder as he continues kissing over your neck. 

“It’s not appropriate in most conversational contexts. But I can tell you’ve always been good.”

“Really? How?”

Spencer pauses, pushing himself up to regard you with searching eyes. The places he’d kissed feel cold without him. 

“I just can. You’re thinking too much, baby. I need your focus on me.”

“It is on you,” you huff. 

You watch his expression shift minutely. He loves games. Of course he’d love playing with you. That knowledge is why you’re only partially surprised when his thumb catches on your nipple again. 

“Is it? You’re only thinking about how it feels when I touch you here?”

A stammering nod. 

He toys with the sensitive flesh only a second more, amusement lighting his eyes, before dragging his hand down, down, down until it’s between your legs. Fingers trail over your clothed core, skimming the most sensitive part of you while your breath hitches.  

“Tell me how it feels when I touch you here.”

“Really good,” you admit, a heavy exhale escaping parted lips as he pins you with his gaze. 

“Really good, right. I can make it feel even better. Do you want me to make it feel better?”

Your thighs drop fully open and he adds just a bit more pressure until you’re pushing against his hand in search of more friction. 

“Yes please.”

“Then no more questions. I need you to trust me.”

Your answer is a breathy, dreamy sigh—you’d do anything, say anything for him. 

“Okay.”

Spencer kisses you, absorbing your noises of protest as his hand ceases between your legs and settles on your hip. But you’re trusting him. No whiny complaining. No unnecessary questions. 

Things go much quicker once you’re not interrupting him every twenty seconds to say something. His lips reattach to your neck, retracing their path (albeit quicker) until he’s below your collarbone. You watch in rapt fascination, twisted brows and parted lips as he peppers kisses down over your breast before dragging his tongue over your nipple. A jolted little moan spills out because you hadn’t been prepared to hold one in. Waves of hair fall over Spencer’s face, obscuring him from your vision, but you don’t think to push it away—your body is too busy processing the sensation to be much use on any other front. He darts his tongue over the peaked flesh, eliciting more little open-mouthed exhalations of pleasure from you. Earlier you hadn’t really thought it necessary for your bra to come off—you had no idea this could actually feel so good. A moment later he begins toying with the other nipple and you gasp as a bolt of heat goes straight to your core. 

You curse, further words catching in your throat as he suddenly switches, mouthing at your other breast and letting the cold air chill the other until you have goosebumps. It feels a little like hypnosis—you’re unable to move or speak as his tongue laves over you. Soon he’s replacing his mouth with a thumb again, sucking a mark onto your tit just above your nipple. You whimper a little at the pleasant brutality of it, hoping as he releases that it won’t soon fade. Spencer swipes over the stinging skin and presses a tender kiss to it, almost like an apology—but you sincerely doubt he’s actually sorry. 

Then he resumes his descent, leaving soft kisses down between your breasts, over your ribcage and stomach—when he reaches your hips, he doesn’t pull off your underwear all at once. Rather, he slides the fabric down centimeter by centimeter, kissing the revealed skin like it’s precious. 

This time you don’t need to be told to lift your hips. He helps you slip the final piece of clothing down and off of your legs, flinging it somewhere blindly before getting comfortable between your thighs once more. Your heart pounds with arousal and anxiety as his arms wrap around your thighs and his hands rub up and down the tops of them slowly. 

“God, you’re fucking beautiful,” he mumbles, loosening his hold on one leg to thumb at your folds. They glisten in the dim light of his bedroom as he gently reveals your clit. A soft whine escapes you when he nudges at the aching bud, slipping over it a few times and alleviating a bit of the pressure that’s been building. “Shh, baby. I know. I’m gonna take care of it. You’re being so good for me.”

Fuck. The way he talks to you makes your brain turn to mush—you’re utterly incapable of forming an intelligent thought. Spencer has rendered you a complete idiot, and you’re not upset about it in the slightest. 

He presses more gentle kisses to the creases between your thighs, just above your clit—everywhere except for where you need him most. Everything aches for him in the best way and at least you’re too turned on to be very insecure anymore. All you want is relief. But you’re trusting him. 

Thankfully, he delivers. 

The tip of his tongue grazes so lightly over your clit that if you weren’t this worked up you may not have felt it at all. In your current state, however, the stimulation echoes through every atom of your being. Every muscle is tense, frozen in place—you can’t even breathe for a second. He does it again, a little flatter, with a little more pressure, and you whimper. It’s a delicate thing, almost pained and definitely overwhelmed as he gently begins working his tongue against you. Your head cranes up to watch, your jaw drops. Approximations of curse words try to form, but come out only as, “f-fu—oh,” so whiny and soft it doesn’t even sound like you. He hums sympathetically, but you suspect it morphs into a chuckle as you continue to gasp and mewl. 

There are times where you can hold back sounds of pleasure. When you’re by yourself, it’s typically not a problem. Two weeks ago when Spencer was knuckle deep in you for the first time, it had certainly been a challenge, and you’d pretty much given up. But this—this is something else entirely. It feels like religion. It feels like compulsion. Even if you had the slightest modicum of control over yourself, which you currently don’t, you wouldn’t want to keep quiet. You want him to know what he’s doing to you. 

So you let every cry, every whine and whimper drag from your lungs, unbidden and unshaped. You’re new at this, after all—every broad lick feels so good that you have no fucking idea what do to with your hands or how to stop rolling your hips or how to censor your sounds. 

“Spencer,” you keen in one of the moments you remember to breathe. He moans against you, taking you into his mouth and sucking lightly. Your hips buck. “Oh, my—fuck!”

The hand that’s still around your thigh rubs soothing lines up and down. The one that’s spreading you open pulls your folds apart a little bit further, granting him more access to your clit. He flicks his tongue and you almost come then and there, vision going gray for a split second. 

“Wait, wait, Spence—“ you squeak, writhing and trying not to squeeze your thighs together for fear of hurting him. He pulls back and looks up at you, lips shining with your slick and eyes glazed with lust. Fuckfuckfuck he looks so fucking good. “Please, just… slow down, or I’m gonna… or it’s gonna be over.”

The corner of his mouth twitches as he rubs circles into your inner thigh. 

“It’s over when you say it’s over. You don’t have a refractory period. We don’t have to stop at one.”

“Oh—you don’t—you don’t have to do that,” you stammer. 

“I know I don’t have to. But if you want me to, I want to. You taste so good, angel girl.”

Well, shit. 

He looks absurdly sexy between your legs like this. You have no idea how you got so lucky, but you don’t plan on taking it for granted. Your fingers tangle in his hair. 

“I don’t know if I can do more than one,” you admit shyly, slightly embarrassed by how little you know about yourself and in general compared to Spencer. Hazel eyes sparkle in the warm light. 

“How about we start with one and see how it feels?”

Your voice is breathy when you respond, “okay,” already impatient for him to get back to it. Spencer seems just as eager, immediately kissing between your legs with a passion that makes your lips jealous. 

The flat of his tongue presses circles against you and your hips buck, already ramping up to that point you’d been at before calling a time-out. Slowly his fingers find their way to your entrance and he teases you with them, dipping in to the first knuckle before withdrawing again. If you could form words, you’d beg him to just do it already, but all you can manage is an affronted whine as you tilt your hips down, hoping he catches the meaning. 

Of course he does—pushing two fingers inside you at once. The intrusive stretch adds a sharp edge to the pleasure, makes it more interesting, as your brain short-circuits and you choke out a moan. It only takes a few slow pumps of his fingers in tandem with the pressure of his tongue until your hips are writhing and you’re and mewling desperately, more overwhelmed with pleasure than you’ve ever been. You push his hair back, able to see him for the first time, and fully appreciate the hollow of his cheeks, the way he looks up at you with perfect, glassy half-lidded eyes, the rhythm of his hand and tongue—he takes your clit between his lips once more, sucking lightly, and you’re done for. A pornographic sob escapes from deep within you as you come, but he doesn’t stop. The orgasm lasts longer than you knew one could—although, it’s only your second time, so you don’t exactly have a lot of data to go off of. Your entire body feels warm and floaty, and what he’s doing feels so good you want him even deeper—but you know he won’t give you that yet. Instead you focus on the slow burn of your orgasm, allowing him to carry on for a while until you begin slowly drifting back to earth and it becomes a bit too much. He recognizes the barely-there whine for what it is and pulls his fingers from you carefully, pressing one final kiss to your clit that makes your legs twitch and summons a weak little moan. 

Spencer’s lips find other avenues, over the delicate skin of your thighs and hips and stomach as he slowly drags himself up again. By the time you’re face to face again you’re still breathing hard. You sort of feel like prey underneath his weight, studied so scrupulously, known far more intimately by him than anyone has ever known you before. But there is so much light and kindness in the way he looks at you that you almost can’t make sense of it. 

Maybe it’s possible to be known and still wanted. The possibility spins like a coin on its edge in your mind. An idea you spent so much time trying to nurture and is only just now beginning to sprout. Maybe someone could see you at your most vulnerable, and still find you worthy of kindness. Appreciation. Affection. 

Spencer certainly could, it seems, as he ducks down to kiss you. You dodge it, turning your head demurely. He nudges his head against yours, speaking so, so softly, utterly cloying as he teases, “what? You’re not gonna kiss me now? Is that how it is?”

“No!” you balk, equally as quiet and especially bashful. “Not when you… no.”

“Let me kiss you,” he pleads, so earnestly you turn your head back to face him. His big eyes are hazy, reflecting all the warmth and dizziness you feel. “Let me kiss you. Please.”

You whine.

“I don’t wanna… taste… myself.”

Spencer doesn’t miss a beat. 

“Hm. We’ll need to work on that. Because one day, I’ll make you come just like that again, and then I’m going to fuck you, and you’re really going to want me to kiss you then, angel.”

Something flickers in your core. 

Suddenly you’re not so squeamish. You really want him to kiss you now. But it seems he’s going to have his fun, first. 

“Open.” Without even thinking about it, your lips part. He really ought to be careful with what he tells you to do—you’re all too compliant. Even as his fingers slip between your lips, you’re obediently hollowing your cheeks around them, watching him with big eyes as his own mouth falls slightly open. “Oh, baby,” he croons. “What are we gonna do with you?”

That flicker has returned to a full-fledged throbbing once you open your mouth again, slightly dizzy from lack of oxygen. 

“Can you make me come again right now?” you whisper, grasping lightly at his shirt. He grins like he loves the idea—and you let him have his way, accepting his lips on yours with no complaint. After a few moments, (the taste is surprisingly unobtrusive), he pulls away.

“I would love to.”

-

part three

[callmeklair]

declaration

[A/N: I know this chapter is short, only around 2k words, but I promise next one will be longer and updated as soon as possible as my schedule is almost stabilized now]

Chapter seven

“I’d rather not know.”

“so this is where you guys are. such a drag.” 

Yui has never been happier in her life until now to see Shu. what a right timing! 

“Shu-san!” yes she was very happy. 

“drop it, you guys left me alone to deal with all that troublesome nonsense, I had to use my precious stored energy to wave them off. how are you gonna compensate for it?” Shu glared at them, but too lazy. He really had to go around the circles to dodge those noisy girls. 

“well the girls targeted you, so as you said, just remove the root of the problem, we ran away.” Shin hmphed as he was feeling tired, maybe because he felt relaxed after a really long time. 

“Let's go home Yui, I'm tired. We can buy the dress another day” Shu said as he had enough. It was a long day for him.

“hmm what is that?” Shin ignored Shu and asked Yui, as he pointed at a ice cream van having a poster of ‘new nuts & crunch scoop’ 

the word nuts always attracted him.

“oh… looks like a new flavour of ice cream containing nuts. it looks delicious” Yui answered. 

“of course it will, after all it's nuts. I’ll go get it” Shin ran to the van before his favourite flavour got sold out. 

Yui watched how his strawberry hair bounced as he happily ran away like a child. 

‘Does a wolf eat cereal? That also nut flavoured?’ She peeked at the animal as her eyes softened when she noticed it’s fur color. At first it was dark so she didn’t notice but it’s pink at a near glance. Baby pink? No strawberry pink? No, it's ginger pink, just like Shin. What’s weird is that the wolf also has an eye-patch like him.

…

Over and over again she has been ignoring the signs. 

Why are founders suddenly quiet? It's been a little while since their last attack.

‘I'd rather not know’

“Let’s go Shu-san” without waiting, she left. 

– Yui's room, Sakamaki mansion:

This is so unfair… just when she was finally happy… or maybe she is just overthinking it. Maybe the founders are planning something big that’s why they suddenly went quiet. 

Yui tremblingly hugged her wolf plushie resembling Shin to ward off all the negative thoughts and fall asleep in this mess.

She thought she’ll at least be at peace in her dreams, but no, she suddenly found herself in school infirmary with the same ringing noise like in those other dreams. But this time there was someone standing in front of her. 

“No need- bother- it’ll be unnec-sary- to return ‘home’ -anymore”

“now- my pro-rty

“Don’t compa- to them- i’m a founde- **i* **u****mi” 

the ringing noise was starting to become louder and the cut off sentences were beginning to disappear. Even the unknown man faded into thin air. 

She was now totally surrounded by darkness, alone, with the ringing noise…. and an inaudible echo.

“Eve.. are y**- rem****ring?” 

– Dungeon, Tsukinami mansion:

Waking up in the dungeon after a long time was not in Shin’s to-do-list after having a good time with Yui.

It was hazy and all he remembers is coming home to his angry brother and ending up in the dungeon. 

“You are finally awake, Shin?” 

Speak of the devil. The word Shin was highlighted coldly and he knew what it meant. Taking a deep breath, he slowly looked up.

“....”

Carla narrowed his eyes and put a hand over his forehead, sweeping the bangs, while looking at his younger brother.

“Over and over again you had enough opportunities to capture her and bring her here, yet you decided not to. Are you waiting for the eclipse to get over?”

Low angry voice. Shin isn't surprised. 

“Nii-san I… I was trying to win her trust so that she won’t be a nuisance initially-”

“It's not needed. Her trust is not needed, she’ll be a nuisance anyways. We bring her here, cleanse her blood and continue our lineage.”

“5 days. I’m giving you 5 days to bring her here before I myself decide to interfere in this troublesome matter.”

Without giving Shin a chance to speak, Carla left the dungeon to let his brother continue his punishment.

5 days… the prom is also in 5 days, what a coincidence or not. His brother is smart enough to know that the prom party will be the perfect time to take her away. The vampires won’t be able to notice immediately among a bunch of students as their senses are weak.

It’s frustrating. Maybe he should have caught her on day one. 

“Thank you Shin-kun for protecting me”

Shin still remembers how she thanked him for protecting her in the dispute with the abusive boy at the rooftop on day one. During the whole tour she was down and numb. Her words were void of emotions when explaining the school layout. It felt off, even though he shouldn’t have cared, it still bothered him. What hell has she been living in with those vampires?

How ironic… that’s what he and his brother were gonna do to her, they were going to put her through the same hell and just like he said previously he shouldn’t have cared about her well being. Their only goal was their lineage.

Empathy doesn’t exist in demons.

but…

“cause… I wanted to be alone with you.” 

The way she blushed from those simple words. Her ears and cheeks red, just like a tomato. It was cute. Every single time they met and were alone, he started to see improvement in her complexion. At first he viewed that as a good point as it’ll be easy to conceive with that healthy body of hers but soon he forgot his own purpose. He just wanted to be with her. It has been so long since he felt genuinely alive. 

But it was all going to end soon.

–Rooftop, Ryoutei Academy:

Unknowingly, the rooftop has become a safe spot for Yui. the cool breeze calmed her as she sat on the floor, hugging her knees and looking at the full red moon. Everybody has their own secret spot and for Yui, it’s the school rooftop. It might not be a secret like other’s spot but it’s her comfort.

This place holds her memories with Shin. 

And right now she is too deep down in the hole she has dug herself. It was from day one. She had a chance, a chance to take Shu’s hand while she fell in the shallow pit, but instead she took the shovel called Shin and kept digging more like an idiot thinking another path will open which will be safer, unknowingly caging herself the deeper she went as the light slowly disappeared above her. And now, the reliable shovel is broken too. 

There was… a cracking noise within her. 

There’s gotta be a fix. Every problem always has a fix. Right?

“What are you doin’ here?” 

Her ears perked up from the voice beside her and she saw Shin sitting beside her in the same way she is.

“J-just enjoying the view” 

Silence befell between them. Unlike previously she didn’t strike up random conversation to waive the awkward air around them. 

Shin glanced at her complexion from side eye and it looked paler. 

“Why are you here?” without even looking at him, she asked. She was too exhausted. 

He hesitated for a moment, his throat feeling dry, like he was scared.

“I came to ask if you want to… bunk the school to go out with me?”

“What?!” His words brought her back to her senses as she looked at him bewildered while he gave his signature smirk.

[creative-kny-fics]

Your Giyyu/Sanemi/Muichiro fic series is so cute! You make their antics so entertaining. You havent written these three together for a while, so I was wondering if I could please request a ler/lee switches with them? Please feel free to decline no problem ofc :)

You are right... It's been a while since I did! (I think it took me longer to look for pictures of these three together in some edit than thinking about the narrative)

(Warning: They may contain profanity or mentions of something sexual, read at your own risk-)

Switchs: Giyuu Tomioka, Sanemi Shinazugawa and Muichiro Tokito

You must have a lot of patience to be a teacher, but patience was something Sanemi lacked.

He was reviewing the latest exams that his students, including his brother, had taken, and the results left much to be desired.

'These idiots, why do I expect one of them to get a perfect grade? Hmmm...?', he took the test and analyzed it carefully.

There was no mistake, it was a perfect exam. 'Finally, someone with a brain. Who is this student?'

"Genya Shinazugawa"? Woah... He had really surprised him. He wasn't going to wait until the next day to announce to Genya that he was happy, plus he promised to give his something in return if Genya got better and he was a man of promise.

'I congratulate you, it is the best average you have ever had. I won't say how much it is, you surprised me...', Genya was excited. 'The classes with Muichiro have helped me!'

'What...?', Genya covered his mouth, he was expecting a scolding from Sanemi, but apparently he was too calm to ruin his night, so he would leave it for tomorrow or who knows when.

'So Muichiro has taught him, that boy must have something special'

'And I do...', Sanemi turned around, the youngest was behind him. 'Oh, so it's you. Well, I guess as a teacher and Genya's brother, I congratulate you for helping him to improve.'

'Genya is your brother...? Not seem'

Well, Sanemi's hair was white while Genya's was black, but they were.

'Yes he is, do you have a problem with that?'

'Oh nothing... It's just that, Genya is kind of attractive and you... Well, I think you understand. I still want to know how Giyuu-Sensei came to notice someone with you...', Muichiro shrugged as he smiled and turned around, preparing for his escape.

Giyuu always ate alone, it was not surprising since, according to Tanjiro and Zenitsu, he cannot converse while eating, but only something would interrupt his snack...

'What is that sound?! HEY!!!', Giyuu watched as Muichiro ran past, for no apparent reason to him.

He got up and blew his whistle while chasing him, it didn't take him long to catch up with the minor and right then and there, he punished him.

Any other student would be annoyed, but apparently he wasn't, he shrugged and made a show about not wanting to be punished and so on, all fake.

'Look, I totally understand that it's recess and so on, but that's what there is a court for. Hallways aren't for that, understood?' 'I'm sorry Giyuu-Sensei... I forgot...~'

Giyuu leaned back in his chair, until someone knocked on the door, probably another student who would have been punished by another teacher, or perhaps one of the trio of InoTanZen friends. 'Who-? Oh, Shinazugawa, it's not...-', Giyuu gasped as Sanemi hugged him.

'I missed you, I thought the day would never end...' 'I missed you too, but not now-! ECK!!'

Sanemi is affectionate (in private), and although Giyuu liked that, there was a student present! Their relationship was supposed to be kept secret, but, they are not so secretive as to pretend.

'Ehem, Giyuu-Sensei, if you want to fuck Shinazugawa-San, I could leave... But I recommend you go to a motel. It would be better in your house Giyuu-San, younger brothers can be a problem...', Muichiro smiled cheekily.

Sanemi looked up and didn't even try to hide how angry he was. Giyuu's ribs began to crack from so much force that was in the "hug".

'Shinazugawa... NO' 'Move the fuck Tomioka. This brat and I have some problems to attend to...', Giyuu refused.

He wasn't going to let Sanemi do his show, so he tried to get him out of the punishment room, but Sanemi wouldn't allow it.

And there was Muichiro, enjoying watching that "fight" between both teachers, it was entertaining. 'Stop it, please calm down. This is a boy, we can't do anything with him... Also, I don't think he's even from this school, I've never seen him... BUT STILL, NO!'

'Come on Giyuu-Sensei, show who's boss!'

'Your damn brat has balls... Giyuu, don't you realize he's fucking with us? BOTH OF US!'

Again Giyuu denied, that's how young people were, besides, it was Sanemi's fault that Muichiro now knew about their relationship, right?

Sanemi analyzed his options and smiled, hugging Giyuu, who looked at him curiously and remained alert, Sanemi would probably throw him to the ground and then chase after Muichiro, he wasn't going to allow that, at least not again...

'Have I told you that I love you...?' 'Yes, what's wrong now? Are you going to ignore him?'

'No, but I do expect something to be ignored...', Giyuu raised his eyebrow in confusion and gasped when he fell to the floor, he knew it!

But instead of running after Muichiro, Sanemi had started massaging his hip bones, was that what he wanted him to ignore? How was Giyuu supposed to ignore someone who was tickling him?!

'It's rather immature of you, don't you think Shinazugawa-Sensei?'

'I think it would be more immature if Tomioka starts laughing, he is an adult and serious man after all...'

'It seems like we are understanding each other...'

Great, first they hate each other and now they are making out, which was it still going on now?. 'Hey kid, since Tomioka punished you, why don't you even come here and help me?'

'N-NO!!', Muichiro agreed, he wanted something he could later be proud of.

And I guess Sanemi spoke just in time, because Giyuu also counterattacked, starting to dig into his armpits, causing Sanemi to lose some of his grip.

But, if it's two against one, it's hard for Giyuu to keep winning.

'G-gihive up Shinahazugawa!' 'Nu-uh! Yo-yohou're gohohing to pahahay for thihis! Muichiro, hihis lohoweher ribs!'

'To the order!', Muichiro approached and although Giyuu tried to push him away, he couldn't.

Woah, that kid had extraordinary strength, or maybe Giyuu wasn't putting in too much of himself and was being gentle.

'Aaaw what's wrong "Tomioka-Sensei"? Can't you keep tickling anymore? Is it too much for you~?'

'YOHOHOU TRAHAITOHOR!! YOHOU PROHOMISEHEHED-!!' 'Ooooh yes, I promised no one would know, but you didn't realize I crossed my fingers...~', poorly played Sanemi.

Giyuu's grip began to lose strength, but he was still trying to wage war on Sanemi, but it was all in vain, Sanemi didn't seem to laugh as much anymore... Unless...

'Shinazugawa-San? What happens? Your expression is scary...' 'PFFFT!! I-I'M O-OKAHAY!!'

And apparently now it was even, you tickle someone in their worst spot, you get similarly tickled in yours.

Muichiro found that cool, so he stopped, laughing as the positions were now reversed, Giyuu now on top of Sanemi as he came hard on that sweet spot he had already memorized.

'I thought you learned! Do you seriously think I'm going to allow you to humiliate me again?!'

'YEHEHEHES!! YOHOHOU'RE A MHMHMHMH FUCKIHIHING WAHAHALKIHING TICKLEHEHE SPOHOHOT!!', Giyuu frowned, he didn't know if it was Shinazugawa's ego that prevented him from accepting reality or perhaps, just like Giyuu, he also liked this kind of thing.

Muichiro had nothing more to do there, whatever was next, he didn't want to be part of it, but when he was going to leave... 'And where do you think you're going? You still have 5 minutes left until the punishment ends and I think that's enough time, don't you think Sanemi?'

'Mhm, let's see if after this punishment you learn to respect your superiors better...'

I don't think negotiating at those times is an option, but it doesn't hurt to try, right?

'TOUCH ME AND I'LL KICK YOU IN THE BAHAHAHAHALLS!! EAHAHAHAHA!!'

'Do you want to try it again, Mr? Shinazugawa, since you have younger brothers? Do you want to have the privilege?' 'EEEEH?! NONONO!! AYIE! NOHOHOT THEHEREHEHE!!', I think Sanemi did agree to the privilege...

'AND WHERE WERE YOU ALMOST ALL DAY?! YOU HAD ME WORRIED?!', Yuichiro pulled his brother by the arm, he only neglected him for a few moments and Muichiro was already doing his thing in other places. 'I was just having fun...'

'Oh yeah? And doing what?!' 'Talking to two friends from another school...'

Muichiro looked up, seeing both teachers waving goodbye to him, maybe those provocations weren't so bad after all.

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.72 The ambassador

On our way to the Arboretum, I highlighted a few noteworthy features of the neighborhood, including a shameless plug for my yoga classes at the Celebration Center. Clear skies and warm sun made it the perfect day for this tour. Though, there was never a wrong time to visit San Sequoia. Every day was perfect.

"This is Gilbert Gardens," I said, vaguely gesturing around us. "It's my favorite place in San Sequoia because it has so much to do for all ages."

"I can't get over this weather. Is it always this nice?"

"Amazing, right? That's one of the best parts about San Sequoia."

The warm rays beamed down on us while a cool breeze whisked back and forth, ensuring we remained comfortable. Dub glanced around, shaking his head in disbelief at the gorgeous weather.

"Henford is usually covered in snow right about now," he said with a hint of snark.

I chuckled at a memory that popped into my head.

"I've seen snow exactly twice in my life. It doesn't snow much in Willow Creek. That's where I've spent the most time."

"I think snow is overrated," Dub huffed, waving dismissively again.

"You might be right. I mean, it's super cold...you can't see if it's too thick...and you have to clean it up!"

He slapped my arm.

"See? I knew we were in sync."

"Playing in it looks fun, though."

"That's overrated too! I don't like my hands being cold. There's no fun in that!"

He was hilarious and I know he wasn't trying to be, but the fake outrage amused me.

"I might have to agree with you there," I said.

We got halfway around the lake before I realized I hadn't shown him much. I made a terrible tour guide, but I think we both enjoyed the company more; I know I did.

"I teach at that spa over there sometimes," I said.

"What do you teach?"

"Yoga. I also lead guided meditations."

"So, yoga videos and classes? You must really love it."

"I do."

His eyes squinted a bit, like he was processing my words or something. I hadn't said anything too deep. Was he one of those yogi haters?

"A good friend of mine just told me she's into it too," he said. "She says it's for therapeutic reasons."

"Good for her. I think everyone should be into yoga."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's great therapy. I think everyone should learn healthier ways to deal with stress. Sims turn to so many self-destructive ways of dealing with their problems, only to make it worse. Having a healthy body leads to a healthy mind."

"I'm sure Maia would agree. She made me promise to try it with her."

"I hope you do."

I hadn't heard of many men who had platonic relationships with women. Even I had some sort of physical attraction and a bit of lust for my female friends. What was his relationship with this friend?

"So...Maia, huh?"

"Yeah, she's my friend I mentioned."

"I see... Well, I'm glad you'll try it. I think you'll find it helps a lot.

He didn't catch it that time, but I wouldn't let him miss it the next time, and there would be a next time. I was sure of it.

"Over there, you have the splash park. Mostly kids hang out there. We can swim in this lake."

"It's huge!"

"Tell me about it. My dad and I jogged around it once. I think I nearly killed him. There's all kinds of trails around here, but this is my favorite."

As we approached the trailhead, Dub looked around in awe, exactly like I did the first time I visited. The garden was what made it exceptionally beautiful. The way they expertly arranged the flowers and creatively teased the topiaries, it truly was a work of art.

"Woooow. I never would have seen all this back here."

"They call it the Arboretum. You ready to go?"

"Always."

We stretched, and I recommended we take it easy and pace ourselves, but Mr. Funny Man had other ideas. Good thing I was also athletic. I accepted the challenge, but of course, I had to flex on him a few times.

I asked about his family. The fact that he was the oldest of three boys amazed me. With no brotherly figure or close friends in my life, I found it difficult to imagine the dynamics of such a relationship. Would I enjoy little brothers? Would they annoy me? Maybe both because little sisters could be fun and annoying. Dub and his brothers grew up on a farm, and he hated it. Memories of the sights and smells of cleaning out chicken coops and milking cows disgusted him all over again. I would never laugh at anyone's pain, but he was so easily grossed out. I almost wanted to try it to see if it was really that bad.

Naturally, he returned the same questions, and I told him about our family dynamics and how my sister and I bounced between Willow Creek and Evergreen Harbor our entire childhood. I kept it casual and didn't say anything emotional, but he remained silent. Maybe he was contemplating my situation just like I was considering farm life with a bunch of brothers.

We took a few breaks, and he guzzled his water as if he were on fire. I shook my head, secretly laughing at him for dashing off like it was a race. Eventually we arrived back at our starting point, winded but feeling like a million simoleons.

"That was a good run," he said. "Maybe the longest I've done so far."

"Yeah, before I ran around the lake it was my longest too."

"And it was very scenic, like you said."

"You should see it in the summer! It's amazing."

I could tell by how golden the sky was, and the emptiness in my stomach, dinnertime was near. I had another idea I hoped he'd be keen on.

"I'm usually having dinner about now. If you have more time, you wanna go to the best restaurant in San Sequoia?"

"Yeah! Uhh, actually, let me check with Maia first."

See? I knew he'd bring her up again. This dude was in love and didn't even know it, and it was so fun to watch. Even the way he said her name had hearts all over it.

"Of course. I wouldn't want to get you in trouble or anything," I said in a cheeky way.

"Whatever, man!"

He may have sounded offended, but I did not forget that grin. One way or another, I'd get their story out of him. Ugh...I was unquestionably my mother's child.

Wade Banks by @mysimsloveaffair

[ga-yuu]

-----Part 1-----

Ignoring Morinaga-san's smile he turns towards me.

(Ah....)

Then he scooped my chin with his fingertips.

Sueharu: "Will you be my partner? I'll take the job on that condition."

Yoshino: "Partner?"

Sueharu: "If you want us to act like lovers, that's fine too."

Morinaga: "No wait! Sueharu. Involving Yoshino in this would be troublesome."

Sueharu: "I won't wait. That's my condition. Accept it or our business deal ends here."

(What should I do...)

Although I was upset, I decided to ask Sueharu-san.

Yoshino: "Why me?"

Sueharu: "Because you're so attractive."

(That's not a serious answer...)

Sueharu: "I'm buying you. A person like you will be useful if you're by my side."

Sueharu: "Isn't that enough?"

-----Options------

It won't happen.

No one is satisfied with that reason.

Once more.

---------

Yoshino: "I don't think, any one would be satisfied with that explanation...!"

Sueharu: "Don't worry. I'm good at persuasion and it won't hurt you."

Morinaga-san let out a small sigh and intervened between us.

Morinaga: "Sorry I even brought this up, but I can't let Yoshino do something so reckless."

Sueharu: "Don't play nice when you're trying to get me into a big fight with the Rebels."

Morinaga: "It really hurts my heart when you say it like that."

Morinaga: "But still, I don't want her to get hurt by making her involve in our affairs."

Yoshino: "Morinaga-san..."

(He's so kind, but he draws a clear line to protect me...Unknowingly, I am receiving the kindness of an older brother)

Warm words naturally seep into my heart.

Thank you, but I have made my decision.

Yoshino: "Thank you, Morinaga-san. But if I can help, I want to help with the investigation."

Morinaga: "....! Yoshino."

Sueharu: "See? I knew it."

Morinaga: "Yoshino, why?"

Yoshino: "You believed in me and cared for me."

Yoshino: "I want to respond to that....because I also want to properly be a member of the Shogunate."

Morinaga: "..............."

Sueharu: "So? What are you gonna do now? Morinaga."

-----Part 2-----

Sueharu: "So? What are you gonna do now? Morinaga."

Sueharu-san narrowed his one eye provocatively.

Morinaga: "Yoshino, I get it. Thank you."

Morinaga: "I promise, I will repay you for this."

(....Thank god)

Morinaga: "I'll send a letter to the Shogunate. As soon as we have their approval, we will draw up a formal contract."

Morinaga: "I want you to protect Yoshino, during the mission, so I'll put that in writing as well."

Sueharu: "Are you not worried that I'd break this contract?"

Morinaga: "I know that a merchant called Kitsuji Sueharu never breaks his contract."

Sueharu: "........."

Morinaga: "And also we're best friends."

Sueharu: "You seriously.....are pissing me off on purpose aren't you?"

There was a short silence.

(Best friends, huh? I'm still curious about their relationship, but...)

I was not in a mood to ask questions right away, so I kept the questions that were about to spill out in my mind.

..........

A few days later....

Morinaga: "This is your first time in Kyoto, right?"

Yoshino: "Yep! I heard rumors that it's a glamorous city. I've always wanted to live there."

Sueharu: "It's a nice city to play around too."

We were inside an oxcart, that is heading towards Kyoto.

(I'm glad I got permission from Yoritomo-sama for this)

(However, there was one thing I wasn't expecting...)

Benkei: "We're not going there to 'play round' you here me!?"

Mushashibo Benkei, the enemy general is also riding with us.

Yoshino: "Sorry...um Benkei-san."

Benkei: "Huh?"

(Wow, he looks so powerful!)

Yoshino: "No, I-I...it's just I really didn't think Benkei-san would accompany us."

Benkei: "Is it a problem?"

I feel like I'm going to be overwhelmed by his strong glare-----

Sueharu: "Benkei. You'll scare Yoshino."

Sueharu-san puts his hand on Benkei-san's shoulder jokingly.

Benkei: "Huh? I was just talking normally."

Yoshino: "Normally...?"

(I thought he was glaring at me)

Morinaga: "I'm surprised to see Benkei as well."

Sueharu: "You smile at anyone who's in front of you even if they're the enemy."

-----Part 3-----

Morinaga: "I'm surprised to see Benkei as well."

Sueharu: "You smile at anyone who's in front of you even if they're the enemy."

Morinaga: "We promised that we wouldn't touch each other until this investigation is over!"

Benkei-san says disapprovingly.

Benkei: "You can't change what's already done."

Benkei: "Sueharu doesn't come back to Hiraizumi very often, so I thought I'd pay him a visit while he's working in another country."

Benkei: "I can't believe he ended up accepting a strange request from Morinaga."

Sueharu: "It's true that it has nothing to do with the Rebels."

Sueharu: "I didn't expect Benkei would also want to come."

(I thought when Morinaga-san and Benkei-san met, there was gonna be a small war)

Benkei-san looked furious at first but then after going through the contract...

He asked Morinaga-san if he can accompany us.

Benkei: "Sueharu accepted a request involving Morinaga and I can't let him go alone, can I?"

Benkei: "To tell you the truth, I'd rather grab his collar and drag him back home..."

Benkei: "But Sueharu is a man who would fulfil his duty once he accepts it, no matter what."

Benkei frowns and declares.

Benkei: "But by doing this, at least I can watch over him as a 'friend'. That's my role here."

(It means he's worried about Sueharu-san. Benkei-san is very passionate)

Sueharu: "Your 'role'? Working for free is waste."

Benkei: "Who thinks of trust and friendship in terms of profit or loss?"

Sueharu: "......Heh, fine fine, I get it."

Sueharu-san gave a faint laugh, as if defeated.

(Sueharu-san looks cheerful, but there is somewhat of a cold side to it...)

(He doesn't look at Benkei the same way Benkei looks at him..)

Morinaga: *jealous stare*

Morinaga: "Benkei is good friends with Sueharu, huh?"

Benkei: "---Yes."

Benkei answers with a straight face.

I can see invisible sparks were flying between the two of them.

Benkei: "So what?"

Morinaga: "Nothing. I just thought it was surprising."

Morinaga: "Right? Yoshino."

Yoshino: "Huh? Ah..y-yeah. Yes!"

I blinked in confusion.

Sueharu: "Hey, why are you asking fruitless questions like relationship between two men?"

----Part 4----

Sueharu: "Hey, why are you asking fruitless questions like relationship between two men?"

Benkei: "....."

Sueharu: "Look, even Benkei thinks its stupid..."

Benkei: "I heard that Morinaga was an old friend of Sueharu, but..."

Benkei: "You guys didn't meet again until you were adults after you broke up. Then I'm the one with the upper-hand here. I probably know more about Sueharu than you."

Sueharu: "Hm?"

Morinaga: "Ohh."

(What's happening?)

Morinaga: "But a shrewd man like Sueharu is very good at hiding things. I've known him since we were young."

Morinaga: "Only Sueharu knows whether Benkei really knows about him or not.

(Unusually, Morinaga-san seems a little immature...maybe because he's with Sueharu-san?)

Even though he was smiling calmly as usual, I could sense that he was determined to not lose.

Sueharu: "Is this honestly the time to talk about that?"

Benkei: "Ha? Then let's find out which one of us is Sueharu's best friend, me or Morinaga?"

Sueharu: "Can you please stop wasting time? TIME IS MONEY!"

Sueharu: "Yoshino! Don't just sit there idly. Help me stop this nonsense."

(Me!?)

Morinaga: "Of course, Yoshino is on my side, right?"

Sueharu: "Nope! Yoshino is my partner in this undercover operation."

Yoshino: "Woah!"

Sueharu-san who was sitting across me, quickly pulled me by the arm.

The oxcart takes a turn and my body staggers.

Sueharu: "There you go. Secured."

(What is this position!?)

I daftly was made to sit on Sueharu-san's lap and my head went blank.

Yoshino: "Please let go!"

Sueharu: "Aww? Well, I don't wanna."

Morinaga: "Sueharu? It's no use trying to divert the conversation by deliberately flirting with Yoshino."

Benkei: "That's right. This is an important matter!"

Sueharu: "Leave me alone."

Sueharu-san let out a sigh while holding me.

Sueharu: *sighs* ".....I'm tired. If Benkei gets all worked up, he's gonna get out of control."

Sueharu: "I just wanna feel Yoshino's warmth and escape reality until this argument is over."

----Part 5----

Sueharu: "I just wanna feel Yoshino's warmth and escape reality until this argument is over."

Yoshino: "Don't give up so easily!?"

Sueharu: "Then you do something, if you want."

(W-What should I do?)

My body temperature rises as I feel Sueharu-san nuzzling on my shoulder.

Benkei: "Get ready, Morinaga!"

Morinaga: "Yes. Let's settle this matter once and for all."

(These two are only getting more excited!?)

Inside the moving oxcart, both the men stood up at the same time.

Yoshino: "Wait wait wait wait wait...! Attention please!"

In desperation, I got out of Sueharu-san's lap and stood up.

Sueharu: "Hm?"

Morinaga and Benkei: "........!"

Yoshino: "Morinaga-san. Benkei-san."

Yoshino: "You two wanna find out which one of you is Sueharu-san's best friend, right? ....Then let's settle this by peaceful means!"

Morinaga: "Peaceful means?"

Benkei: "I wonder if it's something we can agree on."

I took a deep breathe and looked straight at the both men.

(This is just a random idea, but its something these two have in common, so----!)

Yoshino: "Let's do the 'Ultimate Brawny Showdown'!"

Sueharu: "What the hell is that!?"

Unable to go back on my words, I cleared my throat and continued my conversation forcefully.

Yoshino: "I believe that both Morinaga-san and Benkei-san are training every day to improve their valour."

Yoshino: "When it comes to male friendships, the best way to decide who wins is by the quality of their muscles!............right?"

(What am I even saying?)

Benkei: "Not bad!"

Morinaga: "As expected of Yoshino. You're very smart!"

Sueharu: "Do you all actually have meat for brains? Am I the only normal one here?"

Benkei: "But how exactly do we do a Brawny Showdown?"

Morinaga: "There is no way we can do sumo inside an oxcart."

Sueharu: "Are you saying you'd do that if this wasn't a oxcart? Actually, I'm an idiot to even ask that. Don't answer it."

(Sueharu-san don't ruin my plan!)

Yoshino: "....How about doing push-ups? The one that does the most push-ups, wins!"

Benkei: "Let's take turns to do it. Then we'll have more space."

Morinaga: "Luckily, we got a spacious oxcart!"

Sueharu: "Please stop. It's not that interesting to simply watch you guys doing push-ups."

Morinaga: "Actually, you're right."

Morinaga: "How about we do push-ups with Yoshino on our backs? That way we'll have more space and it will be entertaining too. It's like killing two birds with one stone."

(Excuse me!?)

Sueharu: "Hey."

Chapter 8

[linagram]

[ 𝚔𝚞𝚛𝚘𝚔𝚒 𝚛𝚒𝚔𝚞'𝚜 𝚝𝟸 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚊 ] 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛-𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚢𝚌𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚗

there's only one prisoner pair left to judge! and riku's case still doesn't feel that easy to me. i have no idea what verdict he's gonna get this time.

speaking of warnings below: riku really does talk more about his murder in this vd and about his mental health problems as well. i was a little scared of writing this one because sometimes i feel like riku's character is too, uh.. edgy, maybe? or just too depressing? however, i also want to show that his relationship with his victim, his family and other people really messed him up to the point of wanting to be in pain himself and wanting others to be in pain as well.

Warnings for Riku's VD: Mentions of self-harm and suicide. Also, Riku, if you're able to get out of here, promise that you will immediately get therapy after that.

Warnings for Riku's MV: Mentions of blood, also one of the characters. Um. Literally gets mauled.

(sounds of footsteps that sound slower than usual and now it seems like there's only one person walking)

(the footsteps stop)

Miki: ...

Miki: *starts crying*

Miki: I-it's not fair..

Miki: Why do I- no, w-why do we have to do this?

Miki: I still want to save everyone, but..

Miki: .. Do I even want to save everyone?

Miki: .. Or do I just want them to like me?

Miki: Maybe I just want them to thank me and praise me for my hard work and..

Miki: T-that actually sounds nice..

Miki: H-hold on, what am I saying?!

Miki: Okay, I'm already losing my sanity.

Miki: I-I can't do this alone.

Miki: Maybe I should just-

Miki: Huh?

(a sound of a screen turning on)

???: Well, if you can't do this alone, that means you could use some help, right?

Miki: ...

???: I'm a little sleepy, but I can help out, if you want. I didn't really want to leave this room, but seeing you like this is.. kind of sad.

???: H-hey, can you hear me? Is this thing even on?

Miki: ...

???: .. It's the mask, isn't it.

???: Don't worry, I'll take if off once we see each other in person. I still have to wear it for now-

Miki: WHO EVEN ARE YOU?!

Miki: WHY ARE YOU- HOW- WHO-

???: P-please, calm down!.. You're so loud, your voice kinda hurts my ears, haha..

???: Also, what if the prisoners hear you?

Miki: .. Right.

Miki: But still.. Who are you?

Miki: Wait.. Your uniform..

???: You really are a smart one.

Miki: .. The third guard? You were the one who made everyone answer those questions?

???: Well, not exactly, I asked my.. uh, I asked someone else to bring those papers to everyone, but yeah, it was my idea.

Miki: .. Why? You know you could just join us and we could interrogate them together, right?

???: It's not as easy as it sounds, Miki-san. 

Miki: YOU KNOW MY NAME??

???: I've been watching you two for some time, so.. Yeah, I know a lot about you and the prisoners.

Miki: .. Where were you when it was the first trial though?

???: I was.. asleep, basically.

???: And then, after I woke up, I watched the recordings of all interrogations from that trial and I already had all the information I needed.

Miki: Asleep?..

???: Listen, I have no idea what happened to me, but it really felt like I was just asleep. But if I'm being honest..

???: I feel like they would've never let me wake up if they saw that they don't need me here.

Miki: W-what does that mean?..

???: I-I don't want to go into details.

???: So, I'm the third guard of the Milgram prison, nice to meet you.

Miki: .. N-nice to meet you too, but what is your name?

Miki: And when will I be able to meet you in person?

Miki: .. And what's with the mask?

???: A-ah, right, right, my name..

???: Um.. I-I can't reveal my real name to you right now, but trust me, I will do so very soon. I'm wearing a mask to hide my face for the exact same reason, but I promise that I will join you soon and you'll be able to see my face, haha.

Miki: But then.. What should I call you?

Miki: "Is it just me or his voice actually sounds very attractive? And what if he takes off this weird mask and it turns out that-"

Miki: "Wait, am I really having thoughts like this right now?"

???: So, uh, what should you call me..

???: Ah, right! Can you call me Hiyuu, please?

Miki: "Hiyuu"? S-sure, but why that name specifically?

???: When my parents were waiting for me to be born, they had a very long list of names for me and had no idea which one to go with. They almost went with Hiyuu.

Miki: I see..  Why did they go for a different name though?

???: No idea. I think it sounds cuter than the name I got in the end.

Miki: "It does sound kind of cute.."

Miki: O-okay! Then, um, again, n-nice to meet you, Hiyuu-san!

Hiyuu: Again, nice to meet you too, Miki-san.

Hiyuu: So, you're going to interrogate the ninth prisoner now, correct?

Miki: Y-yeah..

Hiyuu: I'm really sorry, but you'll have to interrogate him without me. I will join you when it's time for the tenth prisoner to be interrogated.

Miki: But why? Do you have something else to do?

Miki: Ah, I'm sorry for asking so many questions..

Hiyuu: It's okay, it's okay! It's just..

Hiyuu: .. I just woke up from a nap and I'm still feeling sleepy. 

Miki: ...

Hiyuu: .. It was a joke, I swear.

Hiyuu: I-I will join you later, I definitely will! But I know that prisoner's behavior is.. a bit unstable, so please, just know that if you're in danger, I will immediately run to help you, okay? 

Miki: .. Okay. Thank you, Hiyuu-san.

Hiyuu: No problem. And also..

Hiyuu: .. Sorry about what happened to Eiji-san.

Miki: .. I-I just want to believe that he will be okay.

(sounds of Miki's footsteps becoming faster)

(the door opens)

Riku: Ah, here you are, Miki!

Miki: ...

Riku: And where's Eiji-san? Did something happen or-

Miki: *sits down* I'm pretty sure everyone heard everything.

Riku: .. Haha, you're right.

Riku: .. I hope it's not that serious.

Miki: It's a broken arm, which is probably not that serious, it really could be worse, but..

Miki: Considering these conditions and everything..

Riku: .. Right. Right. I'm sorry.

Riku: S-so.. It's my turn to be interrogated, right?

Miki: *nods*

Miki: How are you feeling, Riku-san?

Riku: I'm fine, I'm fine! A little bit nervous, but that's to be expected.

Riku: Also, just wanted to thank you again for forgiving me. Really, I'm so grateful..

Riku: I was.. I was so scared, you know. 

Riku: Like.. Of course, I didn't want this to be real. I wanted this to turn out to be some kind of game. I hoped that I won't get punished for real, that nobody will get punished for real.

Riku: .. But all of this is real.

Riku: And I'm here and I was forgiven! I did have to.. uh, pay a price, but it's fine. 

Miki: .. A price?

Miki: You mean tricking me and making me give you a knife, so that you can hurt yourself later and make me feel so bad that I simply wouldn't be able to do anything other than vote you innocent?

Riku: H-hey, you're kinda making it sounds like I'm the bad guy here-

Miki: You're not a "bad guy". But you did lie to me.

Riku: I did. And I'm sorry. 

Riku: .. But you will still forgive me, right?

Miki: .. What if my forgiveness has its limits?

Riku: What was that?

Miki: N-nothing. 

Miki: *clears throat* Riku-san, before we talk about your crime, I want to talk about the way you've been acting lately.

Riku: What do you mean by that? I've been doing fine-

Miki: Trying to hurt yourself with a fork while everyone is having breakfast is not fine, Riku-san.

Riku: .. Ehehe..

Miki: I just want to help you. You can be honest with me.

Riku: .. I can't be honest with anyone, Miki.

Miki: Why?

Riku: .. Okay. If you're more honest than me, then please be honest with me right now.

Riku: *takes a breath*

Riku: "I simply wouldn't be able to do anything other than vote you innocent".. Does that mean you forgave me only because of what I did to myself?

Miki: ...

Miki: I-I could feel your pain when I watched your video. I really did feel sorry for you. 

Miki: But I don't want to lie and say that what you did wasn't a big part of the reason why I made that decision.

Riku: Haha.. See?

Riku: People like me only when they see me in pain.

Miki: What does that mean, Riku-san?

Riku: *sighs*

Riku: "Riku-kun, can you please go and talk to Yue-kun? He looks so sad.."

Riku: "Sorry, Riku, but your brother is not feeling good today. You can still go to that concert alone though."

Riku: "Hey, Riku, is it just me, or your sadder songs are better than the happier ones? Like, you'll be able to help more people with them."

Riku: I was always surrounded by those who were in pain.

Riku: And I always had to do everything for them. I had to give up so many things for them.

Riku: Of course, I would go and try to comfort my "friend" even if I didn't want anything to do with him. Of course, I would stay home and not go to any concerts, because if I did go, it would look like I don't care about my brother at all. Of course, I would write more sad songs and make myself sad in the process because people like them more.

Riku: I was sick of it. I was so tired of it, I started to hate literally everyone around me. It was so bad that when I saw someone trip and their friend helping them get up, I would get so angry, I would have to leave so that I wouldn't try to beat up those people just for not giving their attention to me.

Riku: And then, one day..

Riku: People finally saw me in pain.

Riku: I finally opened up. I finally told them how I really feel.

Riku: And considering my popularity, they went insane. They were ready to do anything to make me happy.

Riku: I know how to use my pain to make people feel sorry for me. And it looks like it had worked with you and even Eiji-san.

Riku: So please, don't be mad at me for still doing that. 

Riku: I know how to put on a show. And if you two need to see me in pain just so that you can forgive me later, I will make it as bloody as you want.

Riku: .. Miki?

Miki: ... 

Miki: *starts crying* I'm sorry, Riku-san. I'm so sorry.

Riku: .. Heh.

Riku: Works like a charm.

Miki: .. Just another reminder that my forgiveness has limits.

Miki: Also.. 

Miki: "Yue-kun".. Is that your childhood friend?

Riku: Ah, right, I haven't told you his name. Yeah, that's him.

Riku: I was friends with Shiozaki Yue since I was like.. seven years old? Maybe younger.

Miki: .. And he's your victim, isn't he?

Riku: .. Yeah.

Riku: Hey, what did my video tell you exactly? Like, did it show you all the details? Oh, also, did you like my song?

Miki: Your video felt like.. At first, I could see how popular and how loved you are. 

Miki: But then, I saw you texting your friends and after you saw their messages, you started crying. 

Miki: I didn't get the ending of it though. It felt like.. 

Miki: You were on the school rooftop with your friends and then you pushed someone off the roof while telling them to jump.

Riku: !

Riku: Ahaha..

Riku: Wow, that sounds scary.

Riku: Again, was the song good though-

Miki: Now, back to your.. um, behavior.

Miki: .. Why did you tell Miyagawa-san to "go and die"?

Riku: ...

Riku: *laughs* Come on, Miki, did you really have to bring that up?

Riku: I almost forgot about it and you really had to ruin it for me, haha..

Miki: How can you forget about it when you have to look at Miyagawa-san's injury every day?

Riku: I just try to ignore him. That's all.

Riku: If he tries to talk to me even after all of that..

Riku: .. That's his fault. Not mine.

Miki: You knew that he likes you a lot. Why did you..

Miki: Why did you have to be so cruel to him?!

Riku: Because I hate him, Miki.

Riku: This guy likes me only because I remind him of someone. I know that for sure.

Riku: He doesn't like the real me. He would never accept the real me.

Riku: Listen, that's just what us, popular guys, do. We smile, we say hi, we say how good everyone looks today, we say that we'd be glad to hang out with someone, even if we actually wish that person was dead.

Riku: 'Cause that's how reputation works! Say one wrong word and that's it, you're out.

Riku: .. And I can't have that. My family only sees me as someone who has to take care of my siblings, even though I'm not even the oldest. My "best friend" only sees me as a guy he can vent to and project his pain onto.

Riku: My school was the only place where I was loved and accepted by everyone.

Miki: But.. what's the difference between pretending for your family and Shiozaki-san and pretending for your classmates?

Riku: It's simple: my classmates were obsessed with me.

Riku: They wanted to be like me. They wanted to be with me. They wanted to be noticed by me.

Riku: And I continued to play along just because it's nice to feel like somebody's idol.

Miki: .. Is that also the reason why it was so hard for you to stop being friends with Shiozaki-san? He liked you a lot, didn't he?

Riku: .. Well, I can't deny that it is a part of the reason why I couldn't just say "Hey, I think we should go our separate ways".

Miki: And is this also why you couldn't just be honest with Miyagawa-san when you first met him? Because it was nice to feel like you're important to him?

Riku: Yeah, so what? Are you really gonna judge me for just wanting to be liked?

Miki: I'm not gonna judge you for wanting to be liked, but I will judge you for manipulating other people's feelings.

Miki: A-anyway, we don't have much time left.

Miki: So, about your crime..

Miki: What exactly did you do?

Miki: I just don't understand. I know why you did it, but I don't understand how it happened.

Riku: What exactly you don't understand then?

Miki: Uh.. 

Miki: ... Okay, here it goes.

Miki: Did your friend kill himself because of you or did you kill him yourself?

Riku: ...

Riku: Um..

Riku: It's.. actually very hard to explain.

Riku: But before I do that..

Riku: *stands up*

Riku: Promise me that you will forgive me.

Miki: ...

Riku: I will do anything to make you forgive me. Do you want to see me on my knees? Do you want to see all my scars? Do you want me to just stab myself right in front of you?

Riku: One word and I'll do it. I'm okay with dying, honestly.

Miki: .. But if you die, what's the point of me forgiving you then?

Riku: .. I-I don't know.

Riku: Hearing "I forgive you" sounds nice, haha.

Riku: So, do you promise-

Miki: .. You're so stupid, Riku.

Riku: Huh?

(sounds of Miki standing up and pushing Riku against the wall)

Riku: !

Riku: T-that was unexpected..

Riku: .. Are you crying?

Miki: YES, I AM CRYING BECAUSE YOU'RE SUCH AN IDIOT!

Miki: YOU'RE WILLING TO THROW AWAY YOUR LIFE LIKE THAT JUST BECAUSE "HEARING SOMEBODY FORGIVE YOU SOUNDS NICE"?! ARE YOU THAT DUMB?!

Miki: WHAT'S THE POINT OF ME FORGIVING YOU IF I WON'T BE ABLE TO SAVE YOU?

Miki: .. Actually, maybe forgiveness isn't always the right way to save someone..

Riku: Haha, so punishing someone is a better way of saving them? Sounds kinda messed up..

Miki: ARE YOU SAYING THAT YOUR WAY OF THINKING ISN'T MESSED UP?!

Riku: .. So, you're not gonna forgive me this time?

(the bell rings, machinery sounds)

Miki: .. It depends on what your video is going to show me.

Riku: .. Haha, okay, challenge accepted.

Riku: I am going to put on the best performance you've ever seen and make you love me so much that you won't be able to vote me guilty.

Miki: And if I still do vote you guilty?

Riku: Come on, you're Andou Miki, the whole prison knows you as someone who always forgives everyone no matter what.

Miki: .. Well, if Eiji-san won't be able to punish anyone this time..

Miki: I'll simply have to do his job.

Riku: .. God, both of you are insane.

Riku: Okay, fine. Don't worry, I'll just punish myself before you even announce my verdict.

Miki: .. How are you gonna do it? I didn't give you any weapons this time.

Riku: Are you sure? In my hands pretty much anything can become a weapon.

Miki: .. You won't do anything serious to yourself this time, right?

Riku: Haha, trust me, I'm strong enough to do it. And brave enough too.

Miki: .. I want to hug you and choke you at the same time.

Miki: PRISONER 009, RIKU, SING YOUR SINS AND MAKE SURE IT'S THE BEST SONG I'VE EVER HEARD!  

42% ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░ 100%

[ MV Description ]

The video starts with Riku sitting in what appears to be a limousine. He looks really nervous and he keeps pulling his sleeves down and taking deep breaths. 

"Breathe in, breathe out.

You've done this before, you can do it again

Breathe in, breathe out

And even if something goes wrong, just do it, embrace the pain"

However, as soon as he steps out of a limousine, he looks fine and he gives everyone a bright smile. He gets greeted by a huge number of fans who all look excited to see him and some of them even push each other to try and get closer to him. 

"I know you all love me and your feelings are mutual

I love you all back, trust me, it's true"

He simply keeps walking as he smiles at everyone and waves at them. When you look closer, you can see that all of his fans are actually wearing collars. It's like.. they're his pets or something. 

"How can I not love you? You listen to my every word, my every command

No matter what I do, you will protect me

Look at me, I'm like a trendsetter, no matter what I do, people will follow my lead"

He suddenly stops walking as he sees a familiar face in that crowd. It's the white-haired boy again and now we can actually see his face and what he looks like. He looks even happier than all of Riku's fans, but Riku is not happy to see him at all. He tries to ignore him. 

"I love all of you, yes, every single one of you, but not you though

Hey, it's okay for celebrities like me to be a little hypocritical!"

Now, we can see Riku on the stage, preparing for his concert with his bandmates. Everything goes fine if we ignore his fans looking more and more insane as the show goes on and it looks like he is actually having fun. The chorus plays. 

"Now, listen, I don't like to do this

I'm not the type to abuse my power

But looks like it's time for you to get what you deserve

So get him, everyone, I'll pat you on the head later"

When the concert ends, we can see him giving autographs to his fans, talking to them and taking photos with them. But then, suddenly, the white-haired boy walks up to him and we can see that he's not wearing a collar. 

"See? You don't belong here

You're not as perfect as them, so why don't you leave?

Maybe act a little bit more obedient next time?

Come on, just do it, just follow my lead"

Riku tries to pretend that everything is fine and it looks like he's asking what the boy needs, but then Yue hugs him tightly, making both of them fall in the process. The song stops playing for a moment.

Riku is shocked and he tries to get up, but the boy doesn't let him. Eventually, Riku gets sick of it and yells at the boy, slaps him and pushes him away. Riku breathes heavily and starts getting more and more anxious as he sees that everyone is staring at him and the boy. 

"Breathe in, breathe out

You've done this before, you can do it again

Breathe in, breathe out

And even if something goes wrong, just do it, embrace the pain"

The setting changes and now it looks like we're at Riku's house, though it looks more cool and fancy this time, he is a famous singer in his video after all. We can see Riku walking into his bedroom and he looks more pale and tired than usual and his hair is more messy. As he tries to wipe the blood under his nose with his hand, he sees his phone screen light up and checks it. He sees that everyone is talking about what happened after the concert between him and Yue and he almost drops his phone because of that.

However, he's still curious and he starts reading what the fans are saying about it and.. 

All of them are trying their best to defend him. 

They keep saying that it's the boy's fault and Riku was in the right. They say how they will support Riku no matter what and they still love him some people are even saying that they would love to take the boy's place for no particular reason at all. 

"Why are you all still fighting for me?

Why are you still trying to protect me?

Why do you still love me?"

At first Riku can't believe that this is happening, but when he understands that all of this is real.. He starts laughing. He actually looks like he has lost his mind, he can't believe that his fans are still with him even after that. 

"Look at me, I'm like a trendsetter, no matter what I do, people will follow my lead

If I say something, you will say it louder

If I hurt someone, you will make it more painful

If I kill someone, you will dance on their grave"

However, he stops laughing as he sees one person make a post saying "Shouldn't he apologize for doing that though?". He starts reading the comments under that post and sees his fans defending him and saying that there's no point in him apologizing. Riku looks relieved and he simply puts his phone back on the table.

Several days pass and it's time for another concert. Riku is seen greeting the fans again and this time he looks genuinely happy, but no, Yue is here again. Riku looks terrified and he can't move because of how scared he is. 

"What is wrong with you? Do you hate me this much?

You don't love me, I know that for sure

Your eyes are different from theirs, the way you move is different

It's like you're free, it's like I can't control you"

The boy just keeps walking up closer and closer to him and Riku sees how all of his fans are this close to killing the boy on spot for his sake. 

Riku gets an idea and as Yue is about to hug him again, he suddenly snaps his fingers and his fans' collars light up. The chorus starts playing again and this time it's louder. Suddenly, all of his fans turn into dogs and attack Yue as Riku keeps casually walking away. 

"But looks like it's time for you to get what you deserve

So get him, everyone, I'll pat you on the head later"

As the white-haired boy is getting mauled (thankfully, it's not that visible), Riku simply gets up on the stage and starts singing, but without his bandmates. His fans turn back into humans again, but even though they look like humans, it's hard to say that they're not just animals that exist only to follow Riku's orders. 

"Look at me, look at me, ignore everyone else's pain

I'm the only one you feel sorry for, I'm the only one you should pity

Don't look at anyone else, I'm the only one you need

I'll make you feel better as you make me feel worse"

They can't take their eyes off him and because of how huge the crowd is, it's hard to see the bloody mess behind them. And as if everything couldn't get worse, as Riku keeps singing, the blood on his body and clothes is becoming more and more noticeable. 

"Look at me, keep your eyes on me

Everything else is a lie, I'm the only part of your world that matters

Do you feel sorry for me yet? Do you want to forgive me?

Am I doing a good job? Does my life even matter?"

It looks like he just got some blood on himself from.. well, that boy, but as the MV continues, it's becoming more and more obvious that it's actually Riku's blood and he keeps bleeding out as he sings and dances. 

"SO JUST PRAISE ME BEFORE I FORGET HOW TO-"

Before he can finish singing, we get a close-up of him putting his hand on his throat and he realizes that he has lost his voice. The MV abruptly ends. 

[redwineconversation]

Joe Montemurro Le Progres Interview (July 10, 2024)

Me: yeah yeah I will totally catch up on all outstanding interviews before the Olympics start

Also me: *is drowning in work since unlike some I am both actually employed and intend on keeping my job*

Anyway, quick thoughts about Montemurro before getting into this translation (there will be a bigger post on him later). Montemurro was not my top choice, he wasn't even in my top 5 choices. But I would have picked a janitor over another academy focused coach. Montemurro also has coached "bigger" teams than Amandine Miquel has, and has experienced strong personalities in the locker room. Big players are handled differently than young promising players. It is what it is.

Now, do I think there is a possibility, borderline probability, that Montemurro will drive the (now dodgy) Maserati straight into the wall? Yes, I do. But even I have to concede that right now he is saying the right things. The question is whether he can deliver on the pitch. He talks a lot about Lyon playing pretty football again, and even the most hardcore fan will have to admit that Lyon wasn't playing good football towards the end of Bompastor's tenure. But talking about something and executing it are two different things. You can say whatever you want, it's what the score reflects after 90 minutes that matters.

Blah blah standard disclaimers apply; @OL Comms Dept please please pay for a bottle of wine or my AC bill, whichever you feel like chipping in for; banning stans from stadiums would solve a lot of problems real quick; it's summer for the love of god would some of you please go outside and get some fresh air; y'all know the speech by now.

Note: this was done before the Cascarino to San Diego Wave bomb shell and Lyon being interested in Katie McCabe, the latter of which impressively managed to put both fanbases on suicide watch for the same reason.

JOE MONTEMURRO LE PROGRES INTERVIEW

Olympique Lyonnais Féminin: for the new head coach Joe Montemurro, "the challenge will be to win everything while playing beautiful football"

Having just set foot in Lyon where he has met with a handful of players and his staff, Australian head coach Joe Montemurro, under contract with Olympique lyonnais until 2026, opens up about his ambitions with his new club. A "fantastic" team he can't wait to work with and leave his mark. with an attractive and seductive style of play.

How did the first contacts with Lyon go?

There were some intermediate contacts with my agents for several months. From the start it was very clear this would take some time. Then everything happened very quickly, within a week. We got in contact, we talked about the possibility of becoming head coach of Olympique Lyonnais Feminin and here I am.

Rumors go, you did really well in the interviews...

Maybe you can judge for yourself since you're asking me questions (laughter). On a more serious note, we talked about the huge quality of players and the ambitions for the team. It was nice because I immediately felt a good connection.

There were a lot of candidates, do you know what made the difference?

A lot of coaches would like to coach Lyon: it's a great team with an incredible institution so it's normal for the club to take its time and study the candidates to make the right choice. What might have made a difference is our mutual desire to reach new heights in terms of the internationalism and development for Olympique Lyonnais Feminin. It worked.

Did those close to you encourage or discourage you to take part in this project?

I'm never been afraid of a challenge. This is a big one, and it's especially exciting because it means working with fantastic athletes in a club which is already established as one of the best. There was no apprehension on my part nor from my family, who have always supported me throughout my career.

Is this your biggest challenge you've faced since you started coaching?

I've already experienced big challenges. But I come from Australia, where the football culture is different. Coaching in Europe is a dream. Being the head coach at Lyon, it's incredible. I'm lucky to work each day in football. It might come across as cliche to say it but it's a real privilege and honor to be in charge of this incredible team.

You said you were impressed when you came here, in how was it different from your experiences?

It's different in terms of expectation. We ask ourselves "they have accomplished so many things, what else can we do?" [apparently have very questionable taste in players] That's the challenge for me: bring Lyon to another level.

You said you wanted to put in a place an attractive style of play, what does that mean?

The football I like, it's like what I did at Melbourne City, Arsenal or Juventus, it's dominate the possession, be proactive with the ball and control the tempo. I don't know any other way to play and I want to bring that to this great team.

To bring fans to the stadium, is it necessary to play attractive football?

Absolutely. We often focus on the development of women's football and not on its ability to produce fantastic football. If that's the case, the public will come to the games. It's as simple as that. It's my job to bring people to games and that when they're at the stadium, they say "woah, what a football game!" and they come back. Now be careful, I'm not saying that Lyon's style of play wasn't attractive until now. But we need to make it so that each game is a real show, and that it's up to expectations. That's the reality of football today.

What objectives did Michele Kang fix you?

Win everything. Even if it goes without saying because winning is part of the Lyon DNA. The objective is therefore to win everything while playing beautiful football.

Were you following Lyon's end of season and the UWCL final loss to Barcelona?

Yes. Barcelona controlled the tempo better than yon. But just by getting to the final shows that Lynn is a team who is always at the top.

Have you already identified which sectors of play need to be worked on?

[I think he misunderstood the questions]

My philosophy, it's to focus on my team rather than worry about others. Obviously we will study our opponents, but we need to focus on our own style of play. We know the strengths and weaknesses of Barcelona or PSG. But if we're solid and confident in the game play and we show courage, we will able to handle the change in tempo of the game. That's the most important thing.

What is this team's greatest strength?

To always want more, to never be satisfied with the number of wins, to always to learn how to be even better.

What sort of head coach are you, is there a Montemurro method?

For me, football is not just about winning, it's winning with style. The first ting we will judge is the performance. I am a coach who gives control and solutions to my players without stopping them from being innovative or creative. I like bringing out the best in myself taff and players, so that everyone comes to work each day saying "woohoo, another great day at practice [ahead]".

Have you ever been in charge of a team with so many stars in the locker room?

I've known similar situations. At Juventus, the team was composed of the best players in Italy, they all played on the National Team. At Arsenal and Melbourne City, there were also a lot of top level players. The most important thing as a coach is to understand the team to establish good relations because you can have all the talent you want, if there's no cohesion and communication with the team, it's not going to work.

There are some strong personalities in this locker room... [@Hegerberg and Renard, Le Progres is referring to you]

I'm discovering some of the personalities in the team as the days go by, it's exciting and I'm eager to get to know the rest of the group. Dialogue is something that's important to me. I told the players and staff that my door is always open. We want to all work together and learn from each other on how to be better. For that, there needs to be collaboration and communication. It's essential to know the players beyond football: to know what their family life is like, what they enjoy in life, what they want to accomplish ... Because certain players can have problems outside the club. And I want it to be so that when they come to Lyon, it's a safe space for them where they are free to talk.

At Lyon, the players are very demanding and -

(interrupting) I am as well. Having high standards, it's positive because it means we want to be better. I love that desire to always want to improve and being curious. Because if you ask me, the biggest performances come from people who are curious, who want to understand.

What memories do you have of Lyon who you played against several times in the UWCL when you were head coach at Juventus, and whom you always caused problems for?

Thank you for saying that! There were some very good games against Lyon who we managed to beat once (2-1 in the first leg of the quarterfinals in the 2021-2022 season). But at Juventus, it was a different project: the goal was to grow on the European scene and become part of the Top 8 in Europe. When I arrived, the club was ranked 33rd according to UEFA, and it was 8th or 9th when I left.

What do you think about the French league?

It's a league we need to respect. Like we say in English, it's the "bread and butter", it's our livelihood, the core of our work. We have to respect all the teams and be competitive each game. We know that a big majority of teams we will play against will sit back and play with a low block against us. This is where we need to be intelligent and work on that spect. But if you ask me, it's as much a mental challenge as it is a football one.

A lot of people say the English league, which you've experienced, is better. What do you think?

In terms of appearance it might seem better because it attracts more people. The English [teams] play in big stadiums and maybe the marketing and commercial aspect are more advanced, and give more exposure compared to France. But I am sure that the French Federation is moving in the right direction to make up for lost time. Regarding the level of the teams, it's really hard to answer the question and make a comparison, especially regarding the level of the smallest teams of the two leagues.

How will you approach this weird start of the season with the Olympics and the absence of numerous international players?

It's not the first time I have been in this situation. When there are lot of players away with their national teams, that implies you have to manage their return. It's not the physical aspect which is the most complicated, it's the mental aspect. Maybe they experienced a euphoric high, or the contrary, a huge disappointment. And that can take more or less time to digest. It's really important to communicate with the players. We need to be very vigilant with regards to their well-being. It's very important because in women's football, there isn't a lot of down time to reset. We need to make sure the international players have a good break to be ready and fresh when the season begins.

Have you planned any friendlies?

Yes, we will have some. We are in the process of putting the plans in place. We have a lot of time. We have a week to get to know and work with the staff. It's perfect to put everything in place in terms of organization.

Have you met with the players who came back for preseason on July 8?

Yes, we've done some [training] sessions with the players who aren't going to the Olympics [and Euro qualifiers] and there was a lot of smiles and excitement at the idea of starting a new exercise with a new organization. We also called up some academy players to the current group, which is a good opportunity for them. There is a really good feeling. It's really a great group.

"A big team needs a big roster" The transfer window has just opened but Joe Montemurro is perfectly aware of the quality of his team: "it's very strong and solid. We might look in a few areas, but we will evaluate that as the need arises as time goes by." And when we asked him about the "stacked" front line, especially after the arrival fo Tabitha Chawinga, the new Lyon coach thinks that that arrival is not one too many. Even if Delphine Cascarino, who has not yet extended with her club, decides to stay: "the forward line is powerful but if we want to score goals and be prolific, there has to be an important number of forwards. There will be only three on the field but there will be close to 50 games to play ... Without counting the games with the national teams. So there will need to be solid rotation because to play at their top level, the professional players can't play that many games. Football has changed and the competition is getting tougher. Intensity is the most important thing so the players don't recover as well as they did before. You have to manage the team. And a big team needs a big roster."

[mingigoo]

Champagne Problems || Choi San (02/??)

chapter two ⇢ beautiful stranger

pairing(s) ⇢ trainee! San x heiress(fem)reader x CEO! Seonghwa

synopsis ⇢ after the whole engagement party fiasco, fate brings you back to San, but he has no interest in your fake dating idea. Thinking that you’ll never see him after that, it seems like the beautiful stranger is tied in closer to you than you thought.

chapter word count ⇢ 6.6k

genre/au ⇢ angst, smut, slight fluff, forbidden love au, idol (trainee) au, fake dating au

series warnings/tags ⇢ 18+, sex, drinking, major daddy+mommy issues, San is edgy, slow burn, family issues, talk of family death, seonghwa is rich af, toxic family, verbal and physical abuse, (more will be added)

taglist ⇢ @atinywhore @ch0isa99ie @hjjmkk @seongyeonsart @smuchsmut @baguette-atiny @yesv01 @roe-sinning @immelissaaa you can comment or message me if you’d like to be part of the taglist)

[one] [two] [three] [four] [five]

Masterlist

Champagne Problems masterlist

"There's no way you're actually with that…that low life," your father huffed, crossing his arms over his chest in irritation. "That's just a disgrace to our family."

Even if you didn't know the man you kissed, your heart still ached as your father emitted those words. It's unfair to say that, and you strangely caught yourself standing up for him.

"He's worth much more than your disdain, dad," you stood firmly in the middle of his office, your heels making you a few inches taller than you are. You watched disarray flash around in his eyes. "Don't you dare judge someone for their looks."

He scoffed at you, standing up from his worn-in leather chair. "Oh? So this little stunt of yours has a meaning, hm?" His laugh sent chills down your spine. "Anyway, it's over, if there was anything started in the first place. Break it off with that scumbag." he waved his hand away, tightening his tie as he walked towards the window.

You weren't sure where you were supposed to go with this. If fate plays its part right, you'll be able to meet San again. Now that you were sober, it felt unjust to him to tie him into all of this. You should've taken his silence as a no from last night, but you relied on the idea of him for the sake of yourself and your future. "I don't care what you say. I'm going to keep dating him."

He stayed quiet as his back faced you. You watched his shoulders bounce slightly as he laughed at you. He controlled your every move despite your own mind, but it felt like you couldn't escape, and if you tried, everything would fall back on you anyway.

"I won't have you telling me who I can and can't love," you hissed, and you were sure he could feel your glare through his body. After you said that, you made your way out of the room, the sound of your heels filling the silence. As you slammed the door behind you, you felt a strong presence come up next to you.

"I can tell that didn't go well," Seonghwa said deeply, and you turned around to come face to face with the beautiful man. You hated that he was attractive. You hated that he had everything going for him. You hated that you were attracted to him. If only your father didn't pair you with him, you would see him differently. "Are you alright?"

It took you a second to answer as you stared into his dark eyes. "Oh, uh, yeah. I'm okay," you stuttered, running a hand through your hair and gaining back your confident smile. "I'm sorry my dad roped you into his plans. I promise I'll clear it up."

You started to walk away from him, but he followed you promptly. "Actually, I don't mind," he spoke sweetly, walking faster to meet your pace. "I like the idea of being with you."

Dammit.

You stopped in your tracks, making him stop with you. "Seonghwa, I'm in love with someone else," you lied straight through your teeth, almost wincing at the words. Why were you still falling into the web of lies? "I appreciate your kindness, but I prefer not to marry anyone but him."

He scoffed at that. He smoothly ran a hand through his silky black hair, and you kind of wanted to run your hands through it, too. "Y/N, you can't be serious about that guy. You deserve so much better than him."

"What makes you think that? What if he deserves better than me?" You rolled your eyes, sick of everyone thinking negatively about the stranger. You continued to walk towards the elevator, and once you got there, you pressed the down button. Seonghwa was still following you. 

"Impossible. No one is better than you," he sucked up to you, entering the elevator with you alone. "I don't even deserve you."

You smiled. He had a way with words, but he was off-limits. Your mind started to wonder about sleeping with him just for the fun of it, but you had to keep up the image of you being engaged to a stranger. 

But he would be fun to play with…

"Y/N?"

God, his voice was sexy too.

"Hm?" you asked as the elevator doors shut.

"Are you really engaged to him?" He asked you. His tone of voice was soft.

You took a second to respond. Maybe you should say that you exaggerated it a bit and were just dating him. Especially since you had no rock on your finger to prove it. "Not exactly. Were dating, but I had to exaggerate it a bit, you know,"

The silence was enough for you. You weren't sure what was going on in his mind, but you tried your best not to be curious about it. You looked over at him and noticed the slight grin on his face. "I see," he spoke, trying to hide his delight. You felt slightly unsteady as you looked at him, but you managed to grab hold of your strength as the elevator chimed.

"I'll see you later, Seonghwa," you offered him a kind smile, giving him a small bow as you walked away. He stood stationary on the elevator, letting you go in peace without burdening you. All you saw as you walked away was his heart on his sleeve, beating for you.

–

The day passed on like nothing had happened. No articles were released about you; you were sure your father and his PR team snatched anything that spoke your name. Being the daughter of the most famous entertainment company CEO, it was hard to stay out of the public eye when something went wrong. It was refreshing not to see your name pop up in the tabloids or online chat rooms. 

Just because you were his daughter didn't mean that you weren't an individual. You made your income as a model on the side, getting different makeup and clothing gigs to keep your image going, although it wasn't what you wanted to do with your life. You dreamed of being a ballet dancer—a dream that seemed unreachable yet plausible. You were more than capable of becoming one; you were just worried that you weren't good enough, specifically with your balance—or lack thereof.

You had a habit of writing poetry that only made sense to you during your free time. You wanted to feel the emotions you write about, but it all seemed fictitious and impossible to reach. You've never once felt the feeling of love, although you write in great detail what you think it would feel like. You wanted to dance like you were telling a story without words, and maybe one day you can make your own poetry into a dance to show the world.

"Great job today, y/n," the photoshoot director grinned at you while you tossed on your jacket. "You're always such a pleasure to work with."

You were on set for a famous clothing brand's photoshoot for their next catalog. The shoot was about thirty minutes away from your home, and you needed a coffee before making your way home half asleep. 

You blushed slightly. "Thank you, Mr. Jang," you fiddled with your fingers, and before he walked away, you called out to him. "Do you know where there's a good coffee shop around here? I think I may fall asleep if I don't get some energy." you chuckled, offering the older man a smile.

"Oh, there's a great one on the main street at the corner! They have so much to choose from." he smiled brightly at you, and you smiled back.

"Thank you, I'll go give it a try."

"Let me know how you like it. The service is really great, too." He started to walk away.

–

You stood in front of the cafe, the strong scent of coffee beans infiltrating your senses. It was a bit late for any normal person to get coffee—about four o'clock—but you felt like you needed it, as if it was the only thing keeping you alive. You denied a manager from your dad's offers to keep you in check, but there were certain times you wished you had someone helping you out.

You reached for the door handle, bells chiming as you entered the shop. Just like magic, the warm, welcoming scent overtook you, the dim, orange lighting giving you a sense of comfort. A few people sat at the scattered tables around the room with computers and or cups of coffee in front of them, beautiful light fixtures cascading over each table. You smiled as you looked around, but that smile dropped when you noticed who was standing behind the counter.

"San-ah, can you grab me the coffee filters, please?" one person said from behind the counter, causing you to stare absentmindedly at the beautiful stranger you had a moment with. He stood gorgeously in his plain brown apron and khaki slacks, his hair resting smoothly on top of his head. 

His hair…why was it so pretty? Why did you think he was pretty? 

It's simple. Why complicate it? Because he is pretty.

You watched from afar as he reached down under the counter to pull out the coffee filters his coworker asked for. You couldn't help but smile when you realized that fate had made its way around you, but you wiped your face clean without emotion and approached the counter, so you didn't look like a complete weirdo.

Every step felt like it was taking forever. Your mind wandered as you watched and walked toward him, but he didn't lift his head to greet you yet. You took another step, and another, and another, till you were now directly in front of him across the counter. He still faced the other way as his coworker chit-chatted for a second, but the minute the other guy's eyes met yours, you watched them widen. You guessed that his reaction stirred something in San since he turned around to see what his friend was staring at.

Just like that, his chestnut eyes met yours. He frowned for a second, his eyebrows scrunching together as he looked at you. You wondered if he was just as shocked as you to see each other only a day after that fiasco.

The air between you two was unstable—like right after a bomb went off. The silence was deafening, but something stirred around between you two that was undeniable. You almost lost your breath as you stared at him. He seemed to have some power above you, almost like he was ethereal. You craved his stare, his attention, his touch, as if you knew him your whole life. 

After your little phase, you quickly snapped out of whatever that was. "San.." you nearly whispered, a smirk hiding your true feelings. San, however, didn't look amused as you spoke. "I see that fate brought us together again." you teased, but he didn't budge.

"Fate? That doesn't exist," he hummed, and you realized it was the first time you heard his voice. It was sweet—almost melodic, even if his words were harsh. "What would you like?" he acted as if he didn't know you, his eyes not meeting yours.

You pouted, knowing damn well he recognized you. You leaned in a bit close to prevent embarrassment so no one else could hear. His coworker still stood starstruck from behind him, so you were sure he knew who you were. The minute you met his eyes, he quickly walked away to act like he had something to do.

"You," you smirked, catching him swallowing hard. "No, but seriously. I need you to be my fake boyfriend. Or a real one. Either one works."

"I thought I did enough, considering I made out with you in front of everyone," he scoffed, a grimace on his prominent features. Your eyes dipped down to his lip ring. Oh, his lips were so soft. "I think you got enough out of me, and I don't even know who you are—wait, did you know that I'd be here? You know that's called stalking? I can get you arrested or—"

"Hold up. I came here for a coffee. I had no idea you'd be here. It worked out, though," you chuckled, leaning against the counter. "Might as well use it to my benefit."

"Oh, I think you've used me enough, sweetheart," his voice echoed through you. He leaned over the counter, too, and you could see the sparkle in his eyes. "Anyway, I don't want to be tied into all your rich girl drama."

You scoffed, not backing away from him. "Rich girl? Drama? I have no idea what you're talking about, but you're absolutely correct." you taunted, but once again, no smile reached his features. "I'll do anything. It's just for the time being. I don't want to marry someone I don't love."

He smiled now, but it was devious. It was as if he had your heart in the palm of his hand. He leaned as close as he could, his eyes peering down on you like you were being stepped on.

You kinda liked that.

"Listen, I didn't ask to be kissed. I didn't ask to be tied into your little rebellion or whatever it is," he hissed at you, his lips curled up like some kind of devil. "Go find someone else to fuck with. I don't have time for childish shit, baby." he spit, and you even forgot that you were in the middle of a coffee shop. 

You met his eyes, unable to break away from him as he tied you into a spell. His irritation set you off a bit, but your heart fluttered as he called you baby. Smirking, you reached out to run a hand down the cut of his jaw. He stared at you indifferently, but you knew his heart was racing like yours.

"Okay," you said simply, his eyes drifting down to your lips for a split second. He was stubborn and didn't give in to your trap. "I understand. But as I said, I'd do anything. There must be something you need." your fingers met his chin, and you saw his eyes harden like he was trying to be still. "Like money, or money. Maybe money…."

His eyes lit up, feeling as though you struck a nerve. It looked like he was considering it for a moment, but all of a sudden, his stare altered, and he grasped your hand, pushing it away harshly.

"I don't want your money." he hissed, taking a step away from you. "Please, just leave. I said I don't want any part of your drama."

You felt the difference in his response. He was cold as ice, his glare sharp. He was serious, and you must have hit a nerve with him.

You took a step back from him as well, taking the hint that he really wasn't having it. "Okay. I'm sorry," you spoke softly, but you felt immense confusion. Maybe you insulted him? "I'll leave."

You backed up and turned around, walking towards the door. Right before you reached for the handle, you stopped in your tracks. "Oh, thank you for the kiss. At least it lightened up the mood for a little while." 

You offered him one last smile before walking out of the cafe without the coffee that you went there for.

You didn't see his glare turn into a frown.

—

The minute you got home, you crashed on the couch. It wasn't a far drive, but it was your own fault for driving home in silence. It didn't help your drowsiness, and it definitely didn't help your racing mind.

After you shut your eyes, you didn't expect your phone to ring loudly. You knew who it was and hoped he could cheer you up. "Joongie," you wined, yawning as he spoke back.

"Oh, honey. You sound dead."

You nodded, sitting up on the couch. The room was dark, and the only thing you could see was the kitchen light you must've left on before you left this morning.

"I am dead. At least I feel like I am," you groaned, holding your head in your free hand. "I met the guy I made out with today. You could say it's fate. Although he was super rude. Or was I the rude one? I don't even know."

Hongjoong was quiet on the other end. You were too tired to catch his attention.

"What did he say? Actually, what did you say? I don't trust your dirty ass mouth."

You sighed, leaning back against the plush couch and ignoring his antics. "I asked him to be my fake boyfriend and said I'd even pay him. He didn't like that." you laughed a bit, now realizing that it sounded a bit weird. "Like, okay. I get it now. At first I was only thinking of myself."

Hongjoong sighed. "Maybe he was hurt because you thought he needed money. I don't know, but I think he might have thought you were putting him down."

"Ah," you nodded. "I think you have a point there." 

"This conversation is super boring," he groaned. "I need some spice. Anything else happened to you today?"

"Hmmm," you hummed, thinking about it until you remembered seonghwa. "Actually, I met Seonghwa outside my dad's office today. He was super sexy, god damn. Too bad he's involved with my dad."

"Why don't you just say fuck all of this and get with him? It seems like the least bit of drama."

He had a point, but you had a bigger one to make. Your plan was formulated in your mind and having someone like San would prove everything you wanted. "I have pride, you know? Plus, I think my dad needs a rude awakening."

"Just be careful, y/n. I don't want you getting hurt, and I don't want you hurting someone else in the process, too."

Oh, he was always so sweet. You were jealous of his selflessness, but on the other hand, he had enough selfishness to do what he wanted and not be tied down. "You know how much I admire you, Joongie?" you spoke softly, smiling to yourself. "You're so impressive."

He laughed like he didn't believe you. "Don't humor me. Anyway, um…if you see that guy again—"

"Who? The guy I made out with?"

"Ah, um. Yeah. If you see him again, I would apologize for trying to bribe him with money. You never know what someone is going through."

You sighed, realizing that he was right. It was pretty rude to say all those things to him, especially in his workplace nonetheless. He deserved an apology, but you couldn't shake the feeling that Hongjoong knew something you didn't. "Okay. You're right. It was rude of me. I hope I can see him again."

After a few seconds of silence, Hongjoong lightened up the mood. "Okay, okay! Now you better get some sleep or you'll wake up like a goddamn monster. I really don't wanna deal with you like that. I feel like I need to feed you a snickers bar or something."

You giggled, standing up to walk towards your bedroom. "Alright, goodnight Joongie."

"Good night, y/n."

—

Glass shattered just inches before San's feet, the sharp sound echoing through the small, unkempt apartment he used to call home. Empty green soju bottles cluttered the floor and dirty laundry and piles of trash that should've been thrown out. A few shards from the throw bounced up, scratching the side of his face.

"This isn't enough! I asked for double," The old man San used to call a father stood up as he screamed, wobbling towards his son. "You aren't worth shit if you can't get this money for me." he took another step, but San stood still with his eyes trained on his shoes. "Look at me."

San didn't. He kept his vision low and swallowed hard, holding back his tears. He has never once cried since his mother passed, and damn straight, he wasn't going to cry in front of this drunkard he used to call his father. His heart ached as he looked past the garbage, seeing the golden hardwood his mom used to take care of so well.

"I said look at me, you motherfucker!" He screeched, kicking San as hard as he could in his shin. He let out a slight whimper of pain but gritted his teeth and endured it. Mom would hate to see him in pain. "Where's the rest of my money?"

"I don't have it," San spoke firmly, still unable to meet the eyes that were so similar to his own. He did look up, though, but only looked everywhere but him. It was enough to notice his father's yellow-toned skin—an issue from all the alcohol he consumed. His heart ached once again as he thought back to the time when his mother was still alive. A time when he was thriving as a university student, making her proud. A time when his father wasn't a threat to him and a time when he didn't need to worry whether he'd be fed or not.

"I need it by the end of the week, or else you're dead. You hear me?" He seethed, San holding back everything he could. He was supposed to be at his dorm by now, but it was way past curfew, and he was sure Hongjoong was up like a worried mother.

San bit his lip, holding back his tongue to avoid any more glass thrown. He just nodded and took a step away from the man. If it wasn't his dad doing this, it was either some druggy or loan shark. It was a never-ending cycle, and San had to be the one to get the short end of the stick. 

"Go." His dad growled, turning away from him. It was all he said, but it nearly made him want to cry. 

San went. He walked out of the building quietly, his breath shaking along with his legs. No matter how strong he could be, nothing breaks his heart more than his broken state of family. He missed his mother, and even though it's been four years since she's been gone, every day feels like an eternity. He had to drop out of college for the sake of their financial issues after her death, and where did that take him? 

He walked home to the dorms, blood dried on his soft skin and his eyes dark with fury. The minute he got home, Hongjoong was waiting next to the door.

"For fucks sake, San, I was worried sick," he breathed a sigh of relief, but then he noticed the blood on his cheek. "Don't tell me you went to your dad's…."

All San did was nod, but he pushed past Hongjoong with force. He appreciated his care, but right now, he didn't want anyone to see his weakness.

Hongjoong watched him walk away, knowing space was what he needed. He sighed, and as San disappeared from view, Hongjoong began to wonder if maybe, just maybe, you would be able to make San happy.

—

"I've set the wedding date for you and Seonghwa." Your dad called you to his office again, but you didn't expect this at all.

"What? Dad, I told you, I'm engaged to someone else. I can't be married to Seonghwa."

"And I have yet to see him here. Who knows, you could have just done that to piss me the hell off. I know how you roll," He rolled his eyes as he sat comfortably in his chair while you stood. "It's not like I'd approve of him, anyway."

You let out a breath, beyond aggravated. "Didn't I tell you that I didn't want to be controlled like this? Don't you think it's only fair for me to marry someone I love?"

He laughed at that. "Oh, darling. Money is worth much more than love. If I marry you off to the Park's, It'll build us basically an entertainment empire." He laughed, blinded by status.

"What are we in, Joseon?" you scoffed, waving your hand, dismissing the idea as if it worked that way. "No, I won't do what you want. I'm gonna marry San."

"You can't." Is all he said, and you wish you could say that his words meant nothing. You were walking away now, but before you could leave, he spoke out once more. 

"The wedding is in a month. Find a dress."

You slammed the door behind you, feeling defeated. You needed to stop your antics, especially since San didn't want to be involved. Should you just give in? Seonghwa wasn't that bad….but it wasn't about him; it's about yourself.

You were about to walk away in anger until you heard a sweet voice call your name.

"Oh! Miss y/n," a friendly face came running up to you. She pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose, a smile resting on her face. "I have a favor to ask you."

You recognized her as your father's secretary. She was a gem, and you felt terrible for any mistreatment she'd receive. "What can I do for you?" You asked, matching the smile on her face with your own.

She beckoned you to follow her to her office. Once you got there, she grabbed the bags off of her desk. There were five of them, and she offered you a nervous smile. "Do you think you could take these to the company branch? They were supposed to be delivered there, but they went here to the corporate office instead." She sighed, looking completely exhausted.

"Ah, so you need me to take this to where the idols practice?" you furrowed your eyebrows, worried that you misunderstood. The company your dad owned was huge, and the place you were standing in now was just where the "big guns" operated. 

"Yes, they're gifts for one of the trainee boy groups," She smiled at you and then reached down to write something on a note. "I'd deliver this, but I have to run around for the CEO, and you know how that goes. Plus, I'm sure they'd all love to see a pretty girl like you."

You wondered if the group she was talking about was the one Hongjoong was in. No one knew of your friendship, especially since no one understood why he was a trainee in the first place when he could be involved with his father's hotel business. 

You smiled at her. "I had nothing to do anyway. It would be nice to see the future of K-Pop." you chuckled, grabbing the bags off her desk. Your heart almost dropped when you realized how heavy they were all together.

"Thank you so much," she sighed happily, running a hand through her hair. "They're expecting it before their practice ends. Here," she handed you the note on which the address was written. "Here's the address. Call me if you can't find it."

As you made your way out of the building, you bumped into someone trying to get into the elevator. "Oh, I'm sorry—" you cut yourself off when you realized who it was. 

"It's nice to see you, y/n." Seonghwa hummed, looking as expensive as ever. You sighed as the doors of the elevator shut. He pressed the first-floor button as silence filled the area. 

He looked towards you, noticing all the bags you were carrying. "I can help you with those, you know," he said, focusing on you. "What are they for?"

"Oh, they're for the trainees at the company." you nodded, ignoring his offer, even though you might need the help.

"You're taking them to the company, then?" he asked, smirking. "I can give you a ride, if you'd like."

It took everything you could to deny his offer, even if you felt your arms crumble by the second. "No, thank you. I don't take handouts."

He laughed at that, running a hand through his beautiful hair. "You look like you're struggling, y/n. It's the least I can do." he smiled, grabbing the bags from your hands. You wouldn't have given them to him so easily if you were she-hulk, but you had to admit, you didn't exactly have the best muscle tone.

"Thanks." you said breathlessly, but raised an eyebrow as you noticed he wasn't even struggling a little bit. 

Once the elevator reached the floor, you followed behind him and out to the parking garage, where he unlocked his car and placed the bags in his back seat. "Oh, I could've driven. My car is right over there—"

"It's alright. The bags are already in mine." he beamed, but you had a feeling this was just his way of trying to sneak into your heart.

You nodded, giving in to his little trap. You didn't mind his presence; the only thing that irked you was the reality of everything. You weren't even allowed to date who you wanted, so this is what happens to you in the end, huh?

You didn't even realize that you got into his car until he started to drive away. You clicked your seatbelt in hastily, glancing over at him for a split second. 

"So, what makes your boyfriend worthy of you?" he started small talk, but this was big talk for you—you only knew the guy's name and that he worked at a coffee shop and as a caterer…

"Well," you trailed off, thinking as hard as possible. "He's just…real. He has normal flaws, you know? And he's a hard worker." you bullshitted, although you had a feeling everything you were spewing was true.

Seonghwa nodded, biting the corner of his lip as he focused on the road. "So he's good to you?"

You smiled, but you were wary that he already knew you were lying. "Mhm." 

The rest of the car ride was silent, and once you reached the company, you watched as Seonghwa got out of the car to open the door for you like a gentleman. You didn't want to say thank you, but if you didn't, you would look like a complete rich brat, and that's just what San thought you were—wait, why were you still thinking about him? And why were you still lying about him?

Ah, fuck. Maybe you should come clean. You didn't get to say thank you when other words began to spill from your mind. "Listen, seonghwa, about San and me—"

"It's alright. It's your personal life that I should respect," he sighed as you got out of the car. "Even though I'm still gonna marry you anyway," he said cockily, all his kindness seeming unrealistic now. You knew he wanted you, but you were sure it was for the money and not for anything else.

You frowned to yourself as your mind wandered. He grabbed the bags from the back and called your name a few times for you to follow him into the building.

"I have a delivery for you guys," Seonghwa beamed as he walked into the practice room like he owned it. You followed suit behind him, feeling useless even if you were the one asked to do this.

A group of guys sat on the floor; sweat flooded their bodies. Now, let's be practical, you were a grown woman, but nothing could stop you from gawking at them. 

Your eyes trailed them one by one. The closest one to you sat criss-cross on the floor, wearing a cut-off gray t-shirt and athletic shorts. His hair was a dusty brown color, complimenting his tanned skin and bright eyes. 

The one next to him sat with a bright grin, his hair a mixture of dark brown and blonde. He seemed inviting, but the guy next to him with the red hair was more inviting.

"Y/N!" Hongjoong boomed, standing up quickly to greet you. He walked around Seonghwa like he wasn't even there, and once he reached you, he ruffled your hair affectionately. "I think this is the first time you've come and visited me."

You smiled at your best friend but then flicked him in the forehead as his group looked at him weirdly. "Joongie, I'm just here to drop things off."

You smiled brighter as his smile turned into a laugh. Seonghwa still stood confused as ever as he watched your interaction, and Hongjoong decided that it was time to introduce you to his group.

Before he could do anything, you interrupted him. "Can you introduce me after I use the restroom?" you whispered into his ear, and you could've sworn you saw the gears moving inside his mind as if he was deciding to embarrass you or not. "Yeah, whatever. I'll be waiting." he teased, nodding his head towards the door. "Go ahead."

You chuckled as you walked out of the room, leaving Seonghwa alone with the group. Actually, you were more afraid of what Hongjoong was capable of saying to him, especially since he seemed to not care about what anyone thinks.

After using the restroom and washing your hands, you groaned out loud when you noticed there were no paper towels. "Fuck me," you whispered, drying your hands as best as you could on your pants.

You stepped out of the restroom, only to bump into a tall, sweaty boy you thought you'd never see again.

"I'm sorry," he said, sweet like honey, while you looked up at him and noticed how his dark hair stuck to his forehead from all the sweat. You wondered what he was doing here of all places, but you were sure that would've sounded dumb as there was only one likely thing.

Your mind came to a blank once his eyes met yours. "Oh, uh, hey. I promise I'm not stalking you," you sniffed, wiping your damp hands onto your sides. "This definitely looks like I am, but—"

"I don't care." he stared at you deeply, and you could've sworn you felt his emotions break through your heart. You saw that sparkle in his eyes again. A flash you only saw in his and no one else's. He didn't say anything else and broke his gaze to walk away.

You didn't mean to follow him; you were just going in the same direction. You hated to admit that you loved watching the muscles move in his back as he walked and how his earrings dangled from his lobes like icicles. There was just something about him that made you want to peel away his strong exterior.

It got even weirder when you reached the same practice room. He gave you a side-eye as he entered, shaking his head until he came face to face with Seonghwa.

"Oh?" Seonghwa pointed at the beautiful stranger, his eyes wide as they looked back and forth between you and him. "y/n? Isn't this your little boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend?" Hongjoong furrowed his eyebrows, although he knew the whole story. The other boys all stood in confusion like they were watching something they weren't meant to see.

You stood stoically, feeling like you just got caught cheating, although that was far from the case. What made it even weirder was that Hongjoong stood with his mouth slightly parted as he watched the scene unfold. 

San stood next to you, his eyes widening as he recognized Seonghwa immediately. Your heart dropped, thinking you should've told him the truth earlier. You knew San was done with your antics, or rich girl shit as he would put it, and now your web of lies was about to crumble. It lived only for a short while, and you should've never created it anyway.

You took a step forward, your shoulder brushing San's arm.

You wanted to touch more of him.

"Seonghwa, actually, the truth is—"

"I am," San uttered, shocking the hell out of you and everyone else in the room. "Is there a problem?" He took a step forward, now next to you. Your arm was pressed against his side as he stood as close to you as possible, but it almost seemed like he was nervous about getting near you.

You wanted to ease him. You wanted to tell him that he could touch you if he wished to and that it was okay. You needed to apologize to him for asking him to be your fake boyfriend, and you needed him to know that he did so much for you already. Now that he's doing this, you feel like you owe him more and more.

"Well, there is a problem, considering I'm her fiance."

"Who was the one she made out with? Me, not you."

"I think you have it all wrong. I'm the one she's gonna marry—"

"And I'm the one she wants to be with."

The room was quiet as ever. The two of them were now standing as close as possible, and you looked from Seonghwa to San and then to Hongjoong, who seemed like he was having the time of his life watching this mess unfold.

It was like a scene from a movie, but what really threw you off was how San was acting. He had no ties to you and had no reason to come in between your issues. 

And that's when you noticed his expression.

 It was strained, almost as though he sympathized with you. His eyes were opaque, and the sparkle was gone. His lips were downturned as he looked into Seonghwa's soul, not a care in the world that he was the center of attention. His eyes bled with emotion—an emotion that you didn't understand. There was just something about the way he stood, so delicately and so assertive at the same time. 

"I think it is only right for her to make her own decisions, hm? After all, it's her happiness you're playing with."

And that was it for you. The kindness dripped off his tongue and sparkled in his eyes, a beautiful stranger that seemed to understand you more than those who've known you your whole life.

After San spoke those words, he offered you a side glance. He looked pained but offered you one last smile before walking out of the room. 

Once again, you watched him walk away. His shoulders were slightly slumped, but he walked with confidence. His strides were long, matching the length of his lean legs. You were stuck in your own sea of thoughts, unable to shake away the uneasy feeling about him. 

You wanted to know him. Understand him. Look into his mind. It was such an undeniable ache in your heart that it made you feel like you were discovering more about yourself the more you looked at him. 

Happiness. That's all you wanted. 

It's all you need.

And you wondered if he was going to be the source of it.

[bored-storyteller]

Can I offer tea to dazai san?

Hi! Thank you very much for your request. I promise you that once the other requests are finished, I will also do the Kunikida-kun one you proposed to me. In any case, never have problems asking for characters already requested (even in the future if you want)! That said, I hope you like this.

Bungou Stray Dogs, Dazai Osamu x Reader

This is such a rare, perhaps improbable situation. You might be talking about a fluke, or you might assume that you are just dreaming. The fact is that you are now in the office of the Armed Detective Agency about two hours after the end of working hours, together with Dazai. A Dazai who stayed there because "he has work to finish".

Well, if you have to be honest with you there is also Kunikida, but he had to go out for unspecified reasons - or rather, you didn't listen to them.

You had thought that as soon as the blonde was far enough away, his intelligent but not applicable companion would run away and go mad with joy. But no, there he is, working with his head down, humming a light melody with his lips closed.

It could be a harbinger of the end of the world.

"Even I can see if there is an urgent job." He had told you when he had guessed your perplexity. Well, whatever urgent work it is, you don't know, and if it attracted the attention of this detective so much or was it something that involved him personally or was it a ploy to escape something else.

In fact, it has been a while since he has given you a strange impression, yet, being the man he is, he will hardly ever let you understand what is happening.

Is he tired? It could be. Nervous? Of course yes! Everything could be, it's not that Dazai has normal responses to situations.

Besides, he's been staring blankly at a static screen for a good twenty minutes now.

"Dazai-san." His eyes are immediately on you, there is not a moment of hesitation.

"Have you finished your work?" He asks you with a smile. Yes, you have finished it for a while, yet you are still there.

"A break?" You ask as you push one of the two cups of tea towards him. He winces slightly in glee as he grabs it with both hands.

"Aaah, yes, I'm dying!" He complains, sighing at the nothing of his last half hour.

You chuckle as you steal the free chair next to him: "I don't think I've ever seen you so busy in the office."

"Well, it was my fault. Kunikida-kun could really kill me this time if I don't do my duty. " He whimpers as he sips the hot drink.

He won't tell you anything, it's clear to you. The words he read about him do not guarantee you neither the tranquility of the situation, nor its possible depth.

A yawn escapes him as he reclines more on the back of his chair. He actually looks more tired than usual, even though he never turns off his cheer.

"Does it take you long to finish?"

"Ten minutes, I swear." He mumbles, taking a loud sip from the cup, almost for fun.

"I'm sure you can finish your job tomorrow, Dazai-san. You worked a lot today, good job."

He laughs softly, while a hand cheerfully caresses your head: "aah, you are always so loving and encouraging." He hums, and you don't know if he's serious or not.

"You are a born flatterer, Dazai-san." You sigh with a half smile, and he laughs.

"Oh, if you talk like that it looks like I wasn't successful though!" He blatantly exclaims "But I really care a lot about you!"

You just snort, and now it's you who raises your hand to ruffle his brown curls. Now that he's looking at you so closely you can see it clearly: the faint black circles that stain his skin under his tired eyes.

"Dazai ..."

"Sssh ..." he silences you, while he leans his head towards your shoulder "Ah ... what did you put in the tea? Or is it just you who make me relax like this? "

You open your mouth to speak, but his words die in your throat as your nose brushes his soft hair.

"I think ... it's the tea ..." you mutter softly, but you realize it's useless.

His breathing is light and calm as he weighs on your shoulder.

It is not a comfortable position, you think, he will have a sore neck when he wakes up but ... have you ever seen him so peaceful?

You wonder if you can be happy, if that abandonment to you is a good sign for him. If, at least a little, he feels safe, while he unconsciously snuggles up on you.

You've never seen him work seriously, you may never see him again, but you're also sure you've never seen him really rest from his life.

"Rest well, Dazai-san."

[ereri-fics]

Boo 🙈.

Hope that all is well!

I wanna know some of the mods favourite fanfictions. I'm at a readers block 🕺

Xoxo

Hello! Thank you for the ask :)

Our favorite fics are under the read more so we don't clog your feed!

B's:

My Home Is Where Your Heart Is by bfketh

Single father Levi is left scrambling to find an after school daycare for his daughter, Mikasa, when his regular babysitter announces that her husband's job is being relocated. The only problem - they're all far more expensive than he can afford. The solution to his dilemma comes in the form of a college student, Eren, who will do it for a fraction of the cost - as long as Levi will save him from a steady diet of ramen and pop-tarts by feeding him dinner every night before he leaves. Knot for the Faint of Heart by BlueLionWrites

In a world where the supernatural peacefully co-exist alongside humans, it’s no surprise to find siren’s working in a strip club or dragon’s working as university lecturers, in this case a pack of werewolves run a high-end sex shop. It’s the middle of the night and Eren has imbibed a decent amount of liquid courage to get him to enter the sex store and buy the toy he’s been eyeing up for months. At the register the owner offers to show him what the real thing is like instead.

Luck of the Irish by teapotscandal, XanderB

"You have five minutes; if I find what you have to say interesting enough, I may choose to give you more of my time. Your time starts," he paused, still completely still, black fedora still obscuring his face, the shifting of the toothpick in his mouth the only sign that he was speaking at all, "Now." Slicking back his hair, and shaking out his grey suit, the young man took a moment to fix his appearance and throw the guards a smug look of victory. Most of the men left, shutting the door behind them, but two stayed, flanking the entry, all movements done without a word of command from the man seated behind the desk. Walking to the center of the room, his feet graced the plush expensive carpet before the Irishman’s desk, the boy introduced himself, "My name is Eren Jaeger, and I have a proposition for you from the Bodt family."

R’s:

Ever Since San Diego by mandrs

L has millions of fans, dozens of songs on Billboards Top 100, and he gets to travel the world like he's always dreamed of. Unfortunately, Levi Ackerman never has time to enjoy this double life he's living.

In the early mornings, when he's alone and tired, he finds comfort in a travel blogger's videos. Eren Jaeger, better known as wanderen on Tik Tok and Instagram, has captured Levi's heart with his carefree lifestyle and passionate fire. And when Levi comments on one of Eren's newest videos, he catches the attention of the one person keeping him sane. Who just so happens to be No Name's number one fan.

The Time We Are Given by formulateaplotsnail

There are moments when my affection feels too big, like it couldn’t possibly all fit in my small frame, like it must exist somewhere outside of myself. Somewhere, maybe inside of Eren, maybe out across the ocean, maybe in some other universe. The idea that Eren can’t feel it, that he doesn’t feel it too, can seem inconceivable during these moments.

****

Eren is a 23-year-old artist/bartender with a secret only Armin and Mikasa know: he has a 50% chance of only living until middle age.

Levi is a 34-year-old tea shop owner who is oddly attracted to the kid who keeps coming into his shop with a sketchbook.

Lots of pining ensues.

Blood Promise by Dressed_In_Darkness

The Blood Promise ritual has been forbidden for centuries due to its dangerous nature. It calls for two alphas of equal strength to join together under a full moon to combine their strength and become one in both body and mind. But what will happen when an alpha and omega perform the ritual? What will be the end results? Although Eren Yeager and Levi Ackerman don't know the answer, they choose to take the risk to bring down a common foe and protect their packs.

[racheloveyunho]

Till death do us part - 4

Y/N grew up in a wealthy family, she always was seen as a beautiful   and smart kid and was most likely to take her father’s place as the CEO of one of the most important companies in South Korea. However, after   the death of her mother, Y/N’s family slowly started to break apart. Her  father was always working to forget his uncalled pain while his kids   were left alone at home.

She was 17 years old when her life took a  sudden turn when she met him in a dark alley. He was a bloody mess,   bruises everywhere but behind blood and dirt, she could see his   beautiful features and his addictive gaze. Maybe she should have walked away, maybe she shouldn’t have helped him, but the moment his gaze   locked with hers, she was already his.

Choi San was his name.

Genre: Mafia AU, smut, angst, fluff, stranger to lovers

Words: 1883

TW series:  Y/N is described as an OC. Please be aware that this story will contain  a lot of triggering content such as smut, blood, death, murder, drug,  kidnapping, etc. Do not read if you are under a legal age!

TW chapter: Obsessive behavior (from Y/N’s and San’s side), threats, swearing and a hint of jealousy.

Here it was, the silhouette I liked the most

"San..."

He hugged me tightly as if there was no tomorrow. I noticed how he was sweaty and out of breathe, probably from running to get to me faster.

I breathed in his unique scent, it was woody scent, something fresh but still manly. I felt safer with him, everything was easier when he was by my side. I didn't want to let him go and my feelings seemed mutual as he tightened his grip on my waist.

I was like a piece of metal attracted to a magnet.

We sat down on the bed and he let me cry my heart out, listening every word I had to say. I told him my story, my conflictual relationship with my father, how harsh he was with me and my brother since my mom passed away and my arranged wedding with this Hwang Jinyoung.

We talked for two good hours about my problems but also about the future we both wanted.

As time went on, I started to feel sleepy, my eyelids were heavy and my mind was cloudy. I slowly closed my eyes until I fell into a deep sleep into San's arms. He gently patted my head to help me fall asleep.

"Don't worry Y/N, I will protect you from now on."

San hummed a song before falling asleep by Y/N’s side.

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

Chapter 4

I woke up in the same room I felt asleep on. The unusual walls made my heart ache at the thought of what had happened between my father and I. I knew deep inside me that there will be no turning back with my relationship with him but strangely enough, i didn't feel bad about it, I was more concerned about my brother than anything.

"Did you sleep well?"

I looked up and was greeted by this angelical face of his. San was laying on the same bed as me, one of his muscular arm holding my frame tightly. I smiled back and hide my face on his chest, smelling his addictive scent at the same time.

"I did."

It was a weird feeling. I knew almost nothing of San, I met him three times and still... I felt as if I could give him my whole body and soul. I couldn't help but think about what my mom told me when I was still a child.

"Someday you will find someone you can rely on, someone who doesn't need words to know how you feel, someone who understand and cherish you as the most precious thing in the world. You will find this person one day Y/N, I'm sure of it."

My lips came upward in a smile as I remembered my mom's word, they had a new meaning to me since I met San.

His grip tightened a little around me while his other hand was busy, gently petting my hair.

"You are acting like a boyfriend"

"Do you like it?"

"Very much" I smiled, looking fondly at him and before I knew it, San leaned on and kissed me slightly.

His lips felt like feather, there was nothing but sweetness and love in this kiss, his right hand cupped my cheek and rubbed his thumb against the soft skin.

When our lips finally moved apart, I looked up to meet his - oh so lovely - gaze.

"You are so beautiful"

"Say the man whom is beauty itself" I giggled softly.

This moment was almost perfect - almost.

My mind was quick to remember about the bitterness of the situation I was in. I looked down sadly, avoiding San's intrigued eyes.

A lot of questions were running on my mind. What will happen from now on? I was still minor and my dad was stubborn, he would never let me escape from his grasp so easily. How will I survive? I didn't even had enough money to stay on this hotel for more than a week.

Unconsciously, I sighed heavily. San took my chin between his thumb and his index and lift my face towards his.

"What is it?" San asked me in a whisper.

"Did you bring your phone with you? I have to call Hana, she must be worried."

After a few seconds, he nodded and gave me his phone. I entered the familiar number and quickly enough, Hana's voice was heard through the phone.

"Y/N!! Is everything okay? I was worried sick! I thought you were coming early in the morning?" Her voice cracked at the end of her sentence. I frowned my eyebrows. She was whispering yelling and it was odd since she was always a loud girl.

"Sorry, I didn't wake up. Why are you this quiet?" I suspiciously asked.

"Y/N, I don't think you should come here, your father was there one hour ago and he was beyond furious! He threatened me and my family, saying that he will ruin our lives if he find out we are hiding you from him!" She cried out.

This sentence came before a long and heavy silence where no one dared to talk. My mind was processing this new information while my heart was scolding me for bringing my best friend and her family into a delicate situation.

San was quietly listening to our conversation, his right hand on top of mine while his thumb was gently rubbing the back of my hand.. 

"I'm so sorry Hana... I didn't mean to bring you into this mess..." I lowered my voice, guilt eating me alive.

"Hey sweety... It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong but... I don't think this is a good idea to go against your father will. He is really scary."

"Are you telling me to came back home and let my father do everything he wants with me?" My throat felt suddenly dry and my heart heavy in my chest.

No answer.

I knew she was just afraid of what could possibly happen to her and her family, she just wanted to protect her loved ones. However, I couldn't help but feel betrayed. She knew how my father was and how hard it was for me to handle this situation.

"I see. Don't worry for me, I'm gonna find a way." I finally stated with the coldest voice I could muster. I didn't let her the time to give an answer and hung up right away.

I stayed silent for a while and so did San.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally looked up at him and sighed with a small smile "Thank you for what you did to me. I owe you one"

"Why are you talking as if you are going somewhere?" he arched his eyebrows before leaning close to me with his signature smirk of his "I'm not planning to let you go away from me, love."

I gasped in surprise "L-love?" I asked stuttering, embarrassed by this sudden pet name.

"Why are you embarrassed about? We just kissed a few minutes ago"

I avoided his gaze and coughed slightly to get rid of the awkwardness "I can't stay here San... You will be in trouble if my dad find out you helped me and I don't want it to happen."

This time, it was San's turn to sight.

"Y/N. Listen to me. I will let you two choices" I frowned but stayed silent to let him continue "You don't know who I am but I can help you. However I won't take you with me if you don't want to. It's up to you. Do you want to stay with me, where I'll promise to keep you safe by my side, or do you want to go back and be toyed your entire life by your father against your own will?"

Silence again.

His face was serious and his voice demanding, It actually made me think I couldn't choose the latter choice - not that I wanted to choose this option anyway.

"Why are you doing this.. I mean, we don't know much about each other and-"

"Kim Y/N, born in Seoul the 25th September 1999 at 3:48. You like horror movies and all kind of sweets, your mother passed away the 4th June and since then, your father had changed completely, leaving you and your brother behind" San said, never breaking visual contact with me "You are the student with the best grades on your class and you are the teacher's favorite and even though you want to attend the prestigious Seoul national college, you don't know what to do in your life yet"

I was astonished, how did he get all his information?

As if on cue, he slipped a hand in my hair "It's been two years now Y/N, no one know you as much as I do. I know every single details about you but now, I don't want to look at your life from far away, I want to be apart of it" He smiled but frowned as I slowly stepped away from him "were you stalking me all this time?" I asked, heart beating fast.

"Come on, I know you are as obsessed over me as I am over you" He laughed before standing up and quickly doing his hair while looking his own reflect on the mirror “I was there every time you talked to your friend about me”

I watched his every move and couldn’t find anything to say. No matter how crazy it sounded, I knew he was right.

"And how are you gonna help me?"

"Your dad isn't all white, quite the contrary" He said "I know enough to tell him to let you be" He added.

"Are you going to... threaten him?" I looked at him through the mirror.

"Why? You don't want me to?" He smiled at me, his back still facing me.

I took a deep breathe.

"No... He deserves it"

He turned around and came closer to me with the widest smirk.

"So... Are you coming with me?"

I watched as the landscape kept changing from outside the window. The spacious car was moving in slow pace in a part of Seoul I never went in.

I knew it was the beginning of something new but everything seemed so unreal, the only thing that kept me back to reality was the warmth of San's hand intertwining with mine.

I quickly take a glance at the driver, his sharp nose and strong eyes made him look cold, a perfect contrast with his tanned skin. I was surprised by how young he was, probably not much older than San and I and obviously both of them were getting along with each other.

I was so focus on looking at the man and wondering who he was to San that I didn't took notice of my staring until I felt San squeezing my hand.

"Y/N...I'm not sure of how I feel about you looking at another man" He pouted cutely to grab my attention back to him. I laughed lowly and gave him a apologetic look "I'm not sure how I feel about you being jaleous while we are not in an official relationship yet" I smirked at him.

"The kiss wasn't official enough for you?" He smirked back "should I give you an other one then? " He asked, his face coming closer to mine.

His lips ghosted over mine but we were interrupted by a loud cough before we could properly touch each other.

"Please San, can you keep your hands for yourself until you both are alone? I don't especially want to see you guys kiss in the back seat of my car" The driver said in a rather annoyed tone.

"Look who is talking" San scoffed "Should I remind you how many times you made out with your girlfriend in front of me?"

The older man let out a dry laugh, his eyes still on the road.

After a few minutes of a comfortable silencex the driver looked at me from the front mirror.

"Your name is Y/N, right?"

"Yes... And you are..?"

"I'm Seonghwa. Park Seonghwa" He said "I'm glad to meet you, San wouldn't shut up and talk about you every fucking day" He laughed, earning another loud scoff from San.

"Watch your mouth, you are older but I'm still the boss here" San growled.

Suddenly, the car stopped abruptly.

"We safely came back to your home sir~" Seonghwa politely stated, not without a hint of teasing in his voice.

San pulled me out of the car, hand still holding mine firmly. I followed him and looked up at the huge mansion in front of us.

My mouth fell agape, this place was way bigger than mine.

"Welcome to your new house" San smiled.

----------- 

-----------

We are finally starting to introduce the others members!

Also this chapter is a bit shorter, I didn’t even noticed until I checked the number of words but I thought it was better this way, there was nothing to add since the next chapter was already done lol.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it!

See you next time~

Tag list:

@hijirikaww @pinkchampagne2 @xduygu-arsx @joongiebug @leicy0756

[mooshs-crack-headcanons]

Hello moosh san!! Can you do Sanji/Killer i love the blonds so much. Idk why but they are amazing. Maybe jealous hcs. I saw your post of ask box being open. Ignore this request if you dont feel like doing. 😊 have a good day!

Hello anon! Sanji is a character that I'm not really confident writing for but I hope I did him and Killer good in this! I hope you enjoy!

(This work includes: gender neutral!reader)

Sanji 

Now deep down Sanji knows he absolutely, completely, full heartedly trust you with every bit of his soul (dramatic much?) and a deep part of him hopes that you feel the same way and know yes he might go on his simp tangents™ the love cook's heart is 100% loyal to you and he wastes no time making sure you know that every single day. With that being said, trust is an important value for your relationship to work. 

However, even though he knows that you wouldn't do anything he knows for a fact that won't stop other men's repulsive gazes, so he always makes sure to have one leg ready to fire up a diablo jambe just in case you start getting stares he knows that makes you feel uncomfortable. 

If you're the one to feel jealous (with previously mentioned simp tangents™ it can be rather quite easy to) it doesn't take Sanji long to notice, the lady (or ladies) he was previously talking in front of the storefront the two of you were going to restock from, to he'll politely excuse himself and rush over to your side and ask if you're okay. Once you tell him how you're feeling he look back at the women then back to you and give you a genuine apology assuring to you it was just polite conversation, with a soft gentle hands clasping yours, and promises you hold all the pieces of his heart in your hands followed by long kiss to your lips and a quiet "I love you, " to your ear erasing all previous bad feelings 

Before the two of you got together, to no one's surprise you being around Zoro made the blonde cook very jealous. Now this was WAAAY before the two of you got into any relationship of the sort and it was very early on in the crew's Grandline journey really before they'd really clicked as a family and of course the normal petty arguments between the two would break out which you had to step in and break. Now over time it changed, as your relationship grew it was very clear that you and Zoro were just platonic friends - just nakama - and very few of the Strawhats know it was actually Zoro who got the two of you together; saying the 'constipated' looks on your faces whenever you were put next to each other 'bugged him' (Zoro translation: he wanted his friends happy together) 

Killer 

Like Sanji, Killer has his complete trust in you. The relationship between you is great, he sees no reason to be worried about you being around others and besides he enjoys you having a great time making friends. 

However, he also knows there's some thick headed people out there that won't take it when no means no and he knows Kid has no problem signaling the crew to knock some heads and trash the place when you look over at the first mate and captain for help, and honestly...Killer doesn't mind it either when he personally gets the hands on the bastard. 

Despite what he may think of himself, Killer is a very attractive man even with his mask covering his face that physically hides it, but there's more than just looks that make people just drawn towards him; his kind charm, his warm protective aura, his dictation and loyalty to his captain and crew, those big beefy hands that were just made to squeeze and comfort, so it's just easy to see why people find Killer so alluring and you've out of anyone can see that clear as day. 

Now like I said, Killer is a very loyal guy and deep down you know there really isn't a reason to be jealous but just so happen if you're feeling uneasy by whoever is digging up those feelings in your heart, Killer is going to be real quick to notice and won't hesitate to stop whatever he's doing to try and quell your distress by making you sit next to him or on his lap so he can hold you close with a nice secure embrace - his fingers rubbing nice gentle circles into your sides and resting his head onto the top of your head/shoulder as a silent way to tell you everything's alright, there's nothing to worry about, and his heart belongs to you and you only. 

If you like what you read please consider reblogging! It means the world for writers and artists!

Tagging list

@emeraldpearls

How to be added to the tagging list + additional info

[latte-fairytaekwoon]

𝑀𝑦 𝐺𝑖𝑟𝑙 𝑃𝑡. 4 (𝐵𝑎𝑑𝑏𝑜𝑦! 𝑆𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑔ℎ𝑤𝑎)

Part One/ Part Two/ Part Three

Pairing: Badboy! Park Seonghwa (Ateez)/ Reader (Female)

Genre: Angst, Fluff, College AU.

Synopsis: Final part of the bad boy! Seonghwa series. Y/N finally tells Seonghwa her answer to his confession.

✿❯────「✿」───❮✿❯──「✿」────❮✿

"Seonghwa!"

Seonghwa pulled away and stomped his foot on the pavement, gritting his teeth.

"Fucking hell, can't even get a break." He complained, sighing in frustration.

Seonghwa helped Y/N get down from the railing. She fanned her face as she suddenly felt hot from the compromising position she and Seonghwa were in a few seconds ago. She watched as a shorter male with ash blonde hair ran over to them, somewhat out of breath.

"Hongjoong you better have a good excuse for interrupting me." Seonghwa glared daggers at the younger male, his arms crossing over his chest as his foot tapped impatiently on the pavement.

"Well would you count Mingi getting his head stuck in a lamp shade as good enough?" Said Hongjoong mimicked Seonghwa, crossing his arms over his chest while tilting his head to the side.

"What the?! How even?! Ugh! Where is he?" Seonghwa could already feel his head pulsating with a coming migraine.

"In Yunho's room, who's probably trying to calm him down at the moment." He gestured behind him at the house.

Seonghwa inhaled and pinched the bridge of his nose. He let out an exasperated breath.

"Fine. Let's see what I can do."

Without even thinking, his hand linked with Y/N's and he began pulling her back inside the house. Hongjoong was taken aback when he saw them holding hands. He looked back and forth between them.

"I thought he said they weren't a thing?" He thought to himself but ultimately decided to let it go, chuckling secretly to himself.

They went back inside the house through the back door so they wouldn't have to pass all the wild people dancing in the living room and hallway. In the kitchen, they were greeted by a very drunk and overly emotional Yeosang, who was currently crying on Jongho's shoulder, the latter helping him stay standing as he petted his hair.

"Yeosang?" Hongjoong looked at him.

"Ok, what happened to you now?" It seemed Seonghwa would have to fix yet another problem.

He began mumbling something incoherently due to his sniffling and talking while his face was pressed on Jongho's shoulder.

"I got him don't worry. Go help out the idiot upstairs." Jongho assured them as he tried to keep Yeosang from collapsing on the floor.

Seonghwa looked back at Y/N

"You don't mind waiting here a few minutes do you?"

She smiled and reassured him she'd be fine. He let go of her hand and that's when it dawned on them both that they had been holding hands the entire time. Seonghwa stuffed his hands into his jean's pockets and walked away with his head hung low. Hongjoong who was next to him leaned in to say something to him, which resulted in him getting elbowed by the taller male as they went upstairs to fix whatever commotion was happening.

"You know, for 2 individuals who keep denying they're in a relationship, you sure act like you're in one." Jongho told her, snapping her gaze away from the staircase.

"Huh?" She looked at him, not paying attention to what he said.

Jongho snickered. "Exactly that. Lovesick puppies that can't seem to function without each other."

Yeosang whined loudly when he heard him mention the word 'love.'

"What's wrong with him anyway?" Y/N was worried for him. She leaned in and wiped some of Yeosang's tears away.

"Long story short: flip a coin, San goes home with Wooyoung for the night." Jongho explained as he rolled his eyes at the stupidity of it.

"Oh no, I'm sorry Yeosang." She brushed some of his bangs away from his face.

"Don't be, this always happens. If it had landed tails, then it'd be San crying here."

Yeosang grunted at the sound of his name and harshly dug his nails into Jongho's arm.

"Whoah ok Hyung, calm down. I get you're upset now but I'm already doing you a favor by keeping your drunk emotional ass company. No need for the agression."

Yeosang lifted his head up and groaned.

"Do me another favor and take me to nearest bathroom."

Seeing Yeosang's pale face, Jongho cringed as he lifted him up as if he weighed nothing.

"Seriously, shouldn't I be the reckless drunk getting taken care of you older guys? Why is it the other way around?"

Jongho excused himself and carried Yeosang to the bathroom as swiftly as he could before the poor boy threw up on himself or worse.

Y/N leaned back on the kitchen island. Her foot began drawing circles on the floor as she waited for Seonghwa to come back. She took the time to think about what Jongho said:

Do we act like a couple?

"No! Absolutely not! Besides, I don't even like him that way...." She thought to herself then immediately began questioning the veracity of that statement.

"Do I?"

She couldn't deny that Seonghwa was extremely attractive, especially with his leather jacket and tight jeans that hugged his thighs in the most dangerous and tempting manner. But besides his obvious beauty, he was also a very kind and genuine person. From the beginning, he stated his intentions and he was very open about what he did and didn't do. He was an open book and didn't try to conceal anything. He was also a complete gentleman towards her and was literally waiting for her to say yes.....

So what's keeping me from accepting him?

She was startled when she felt someone slide next to her, making her forget about what she was thinking.

"Hello there." An extremely attractive male with long pink hair smiled at her.

"Hi." She replied awkwardly, scooting a bit away from him.

"I'm Hyunjin. May I know your name?" He asked, his head tilting down to check her out.

"Y/N." She responded.

"Pretty name on such a pretty face." He grinned, coming closer to her.

Y/N retreated away when she felt him come closer, closer than she felt comfortable with.

"Don't be scared beautiful. I only want to talk." Hyunjin chuckled.

Y/N hardly believed that.

"Oh really? Just talk?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

Hyunjin hummed softly.

"Well unless you're up for something else. Then I'd be happy to oblige."

His hand moved to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"So what do you say? Wanna ditch this place and come home with me?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

"No-no thank you." She brushed his hand away which resulted in him gripping her wrist and pulling her against him.

"I promise you won't regret it." He smirked at her.

In a flash, Y/N watched as Hyunjin was yanked off her by none other than Seonghwa.

"She told you no Hwang Hyunjin. Can't you take a hint?"

Hyunjin scoffed as he straightened his jean jacket.

"Stay out of this Park Seonghwa. This doesn't concern you."

Their voices were raised to the point that a lot of people there were now looking over or whispering, wondering what all the commotion was about. Seonghwa chuckled sarcastically.

"Oh but you see, it does concern me cause..."

Taking 2 steps, he swiftly took Y/N's arm, pulling her close to him and wrapping an arm protectively around her.

"She's my girl." He declared.

Audible gasps were heard when he said that, a few females letting out either romantic "awwws" while others were fuming at this new information.

"Fucking knew it!" Yeosang declared, pointing a finger upwards as Jongho tried to stabilize him once again and shushing him.

Hyunjin looked surprised but then he laughed mockingly at him.

"Your girl? Do you actually mean a girl, or is she just another slut of yours that you're going to fuck and call it a night?"

Seonghwa grabbed Hyunjin by the collar and slammed him against the wall harshly, rage coursing through his veins.

"Say that again about her! I dare you to!" Seonghwa warned.

Hongjoong immediately stepped in and grabbed Seonghwa's shoulder.

"Seonghwa....this isn't the place-"

But he couldn't get his statement out because Hyunjin shoved Seonghwa off him, getting ready to fight.

"I'm not scared of you Seonghwa. So try me." Hyunjin threatened.

Y/N looked over and saw many people taking out their cameras, ready to film what was going to happen. Then she took in Hongjoong's and Jongho's worried looks. Realizing she did not want to see him get hurt, she stepped in between them, making Seonghwa look at her in confusion.

"Y/N move. I don't want you to-"

He stopped talking when she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly so he wouldn't move.

"Please don't do this. Please just don't..." She begged him.

Seonghwa opened his mouth to speak but ultimately didn't. His hands that were balled up into fists loosened themselves and moved to caress her lower back. He took a deep breath and began to calm down.

"Ok."

That was all he said as he unwrapped her arms from him, smiling down at her to make her stop worrying. He looked to Hyunjin one last time before threatening him:

"Don't ever let me hear you disrespecting her again or I'll bust your face open."

Seonghwa linked his hand with Y/N's and began pulling her away from there. Exiting the house, he guided her over to where he parked his car. Y/N fake pouted.

"No motorcycle tonight?" She asked in a whiny tone.

Seonghwa snorted. "If I remember correctly, you called it a 'death trap'".

"It is! But you know......makes you look even more attractive." She teased him.

Seonghwa pushed her up against the side of the car, his hands trapping her in between his body making her get flustered and look at him with widened eyes.

"Don't tease me or I won't be able to hold myself back. " He cautioned her.

He then moved her slightly away so he could open the door for her. He waited for her to get in before pacing over to the driver's side. Turning on the car, he swiftly pulled out of the driveway and started heading back to her house. They sat there quietly, unable to say anything. Seonghwa noticed how Y/N kept glancing over at him every once in a while.

"What's on your mind doll face?" He finally spoke up.

"Oh um....well that thing you said back there....at the party...." She mumbled out.

"I said a lot of things Y/N, you're going to have to be more specific." He looked at her momentarily before paying attention to the road again.

"The part where you said I was....your girl?" She said the last part very quietly.

When Seonghwa didn't respond for a while, she slumped her shoulders back, internally cursing herself for even bringing it up. She decided to just look out the window for the remainder of the ride. She didn't get it. Why was Seonghwa not answering her question? Did he not mean it? Was he going back on his word? Her mind began to swirl with all kinds of questions that she didn't notice that Seonghwa had already pulled in front of her apartment complex until he was clearing his throat.

"Hmm? Oh! Sorry. Thanks for the ride. I'll see you around."

She grabbed her purse and wanted to speed out of the car as fast as she could, but Seonghwa clutched her hand before she could move.

"Y/N wait!" He blurted out.

Taking off his seat belt, he turned to look at her.

"I didn't respond before because I wanted to talk about it calmly and with no distractions."

Y/N calmed down when he explained why he didn't immediately respond to her minutes before. Seonghwa looked down and took a deep breath before confessing:

"Y/N you know how I feel about you. From the beginning, I told you I liked you. I was attracted to you at first, but spending these two days with you, getting to know you even more..... I'm falling for you harder than I ever imagined I would..."

Gathering his courage, he looked up at her surprised face.

"I won't get my hopes up.... but it would honestly make me happy if you accepted to be my girl....make it official between us..... and actually start dating..."

He cringed at himself and the way he asked her. He for sure thought she would reject him.

"Seonghwa?"

Y/N's voice made him snap his head up.

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind getting out of the car?" She asked.

Her request puzzled him, but he did so nonetheless. He ran over to her side before she could even open the door, as he did it for her.

"Ok, why did you-"

He was cut off when Y/N grabbed the sides of his leather jacket and pulled his face down to hers, making him get his words caught in his throat. Y/N smirked at him.

"I thought you said you wouldn't hold yourself back if I teased you again?" She chuckled at his shocked expression.

Getting the hint, Seonghwa pulled her hands off him and held them in place.

"I'm not."

He closed the gap between them and cupped her cheeks as he kissed her tenderly, all of the feelings he had kept inside finally coming out in his kiss. Y/N pulled her hands out of his grasp and they went to the back of his head, running themselves through his hair as she kissed him back just as intensely.

Seonghwa pulled back briefly to ask.

"So....is that a yes or...?"

Y/N giggled and nodded yes before pulling him back in, this time kissing him even more passionately. Her hands moved to his arms that were clad with his leather jacket, yet she could still feel the muscles underneath the material. The thought of them exposed made her unconsciously bite down on Seonghwa's lower lip.

Moaning softly, Seonghwa pulled her off him once again.

"Ok ok, easy there kitten. If there's going to be tongue and second base involved, let me take you out on a date first." He joked, poking her nose.

"I thought you already did." She reminded him.

Seonghwa smiled. "Well then...how about a second date?"

Y/N hummed and thought about it. "Deal."

Seonghwa beamed with joy.

"Great then. I can't wait."

✿❯────「✿」───❮✿❯──「✿」────❮✿

Y/N could feel the stares from some of her classmates, but she didn't care. Let them think and talk about whatever they wanted. She couldn't care to pay attention to them, let alone pay attention to what any of her professors were saying. All day long, she kept thinking about Seonghwa and about their date later tonight. It was the only thing keeping her from going insane during these boring Monday sessions.

As soon as the bell rang, she stuffed her books in her bag and strutted out the door. Her plan was to get home as soon as possible so she could shower and change as quickly as possible for their date. But those plans were crushed when she was met by a familiar head of black hair sitting by the benches outside. Catching sight of her, he got himself up and walked over to her, looking her up and down.

"Hello doll." Seonghwa winked at her.

"I thought you said you didn't have any classes today?" Y/N remarked.

"I didn't." Seonghwa affirmed.

"Then why are you here?" She questioned him.

Leaning in, he responded.

"Got impatient and couldn't wait to see my little kitten."

Not caring that others would see, he cupped her chin and softly kissed her. When he pulled back, he muttered a soft 'cute' at her pink cheeks. Taking off his leather jacket, he wrapped it around her.

"It's kinda chilly. Put it on."

Seonghwa held her books as she put on his clothing, chuckling when he saw it was definitely big on her. Linking their hands, he took her out into the parking lot.

"Oh my God! You seriously brought that?!" Y/N complained when she caught sight of his motorcycle.

"Get used to her babygirl, you're going to see a lot of her too." Seonghwa handed her a helmet.

Y/N huffed as she put on her helmet. "I swear to god, you like this thing more than me."

"Nope trust me, I like you a lot more. A lot." He insisted as followed suit and put on his helmet.

Seonghwa waited until Y/N firmly adjusted herself behind him, his heart jumping when she wrapped her arms around him once again.

"Tell me when it's over." Y/N shut her eyes, gripping him even tighter.

"Calm down doll, I won't let anything happen to you. After all.....

You're my girl."

✿❯────「✿」───❮✿❯──「✿」────❮✿

[starbright-cobweb]

i'm also having my semi-regular Community Depression, like tonight i want to dress up and go out

(out? out where? it's probably San Francisco c.1973, but I'd settle for Avebury, or anywhere)

it's about getting to exist for a little while.

i wish i knew how to stop feeling so glassy and raw about what happened; it still feels like such a before-and-after, from feeling like an active queer subject who was alive and inhabiting a world, back to (what feels to me like) a closeted and teenage space of, "maybe I'll just read the books about what other people have done and consume the art that other people have created by participating in scenes".

Which isn't coincidental, I think. there are lots of factors to the way community abuse manifests, but in part it's about control of access to resources (and the power that having power over that access gives you to wield over others). So it seems like a natural following-on: the promise of a participatory space which in practice is a "be a consumer and supporter of somebody else's career" space, a disempowering experience. From the promise of mutual aid and organising as a liberationary experience, even if you never really accomplish much, because experiencing certain kinds of connections and newly-imagined ways of being is itself a relief from the kyriarchical world. But you lose that - because Being An Activist is itself a resource, a sort of main character role for people who want to publish their books and then sell out and be consultants or professors in their 40s or w/e - and a thing like that cannot be shared; you lose the radical possibility of non-hierarchical spaces, and go back to mean girls with an undercut. If to be queer is also to be a radical, be politically engaged, and be in community - well, people have the power to just strip that from you, and then what are you?

i come back to this a lot: the difficulty of existing without interaction, and without foundation. it's a form of nonexistance. As a queer person, you sort of...only exist when being looked at. It's a social experience, after all. i don't endorse this argument, but do you remember "bi women can't be butch because butch is a situational role only exists in the concept of butch-femme cruising in bars in 1959?". I think it's a bit like that: it's hard to exist in a social role when there's nobody around to recognise you in it. And other queer people represent the only people by whom you can be seen.

& so knowing real world queer spaces to be dangerous - knowing that in your gut - it does represent a very real loss of identity, it transcends the material problems of "how do i make it without support from others?" into something very internal, very interior, a lost world and a lost self.

anyway, this essay is good, although it's not about that at all; but there's related stuff about how if one vector of inclusion and seen-ness is activist and/or social spaces, the other is sex - how important that process of being seen through play and intimacy - and how much i would like that, but also to never be touched or speak to another human being again (because community abuse, of course, incorporates both).

there's emotional components, but also practical ones like: there's every indication that the scene locally is as messed up as my old one - this isn't a failure mode, it's how these scenes naturally occur; and I'm in no fit state, really, to date or cruise or anything. A burdensome self-awareness: one can know oneself too well; other people are not there as a vehicle for your temporary self-actualisation needs (but one can be very sure that half the people on my app are basically doing the same thing; great polycules have been built on less)

I want to wear the most attractive jeans and stroll along the street as the sun goes down, and feel Acknowledged and Present somewhere, and to breathe in how nice it is to exist.

[muwi-translates]

Collar x Malice Short Story: Inside the Box

Christmas Shiraishi-centric short story.

HEAVY SPOILERS. Only read this AFTER you have finished the first game.

**Please don’t move this translation or claim it as your own.**

Generally speaking, the thing called ‘Memories’ is not clear.

Unlike memory as information, it has no fixed form. Its content can depend on the person.

Sometimes sad memories turn into hatred, and happy memories sometimes turn into delusions.

The human brain can't be trusted. It can automatically rewrite itself for its own benefit.

I, who did not require ‘Memories’ —— surely it is the same for Shiraishi Kageyuki the human.

◇ ◇ ◇

This was when I lived in the ‘Facility’.

Every day, every minute and every second, I lived like a machine.

For me, who knew how to suppress pain and happiness as soon as I understood how, all I had was ‘Curiosity’.

The vast amount of knowledge grew with each passing day. Memories of the outside world were written in letters. Like events of a distant world, even the difficult to read special books were simply ‘Unknown Stories’ to me.

I thought that my desire to know things defined my personality. However, when I think about it now, it may have been a desire planted in me as part of my training. Training to become a perfect doll.

"Christmas. The festival celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, coming from the word "Christ mass", it takes the form of many activities in Japan—...”

Inputting information was simple. However, I was also trained how to ‘Use Memory’. If a huge amount of information stayed on the surface of the brain, it will become confused, so if it is not necessary, there was no need to take out the memory sealed in the deeper layers.

(Gifts are put under a tree, and you gather with your family around the dinner table…)

Perhaps this information will also be stored in a box that is rarely retrieved from.

Of course I knew the basics, it was only carefully investigated because it was related to other information.

(Giving love to each other...for what...?)

The outside world is full of as many far-fetched, mysterious customs as mountains. If you had questions about everything, it would only make the processing slower. But this time, I was not sure why I was so interested in this subject.

"Are you interested in Christmas?"

——Suddenly hearing a sound coming from behind, my shoulders moved unconsciously.

Points are deducted if you are seen reacting. I immediately pretended to be calm and looked back, only to see an unfamiliar face.

“Your hand, it’s been paused on this page for a while now.” 

What peered at me was a pair of eyes full of serenity, transparent no matter where you looked — like glass balls.

"No, I'm very sorry. I memorised it without any problems."

"I’m not blaming you for anything. I know you have good scores here."

He was a high-ranking person who has inspected this ‘Facility’ many times. 

But his appearance did not match his position, with his youthful face. He appeared to be younger than me.

I remembered his name, because it was necessary for me to do so.  —Mikuni Rei. He was a human who worked with those who ‘control’ us.

“I’m interested why you, someone that’s like a precision machine, showed interest in ‘that’, that’s all.”

"I didn't become interested... I just had questions."

"Like?"

“......”

What was the meaning of his response? Was I being tested, or was he being whimsical? Either way, I had no right to not reply.

"Why do humans, who aren’t related to that religion, choose to give each other love on that day? What for?”

"...I think there are many other things similar to it but..."

"Yes. But... after reading this information, I think for the average person, this part seems to be more special than others."

As I finished speaking, he— Mikuni Rei’s eyes became slightly dim for some reason. Careful observation of the facial expression can lead to an answer.

【Pity】

A boy in the ruling class felt compassion for a stray cat trapped in a box.

A sense of superiority, a desire for control, and empathy. There were many times where I wanted to give it a name, but it was difficult to understand because I was immature.

"Human feelings... cannot be explained by theory alone. If you feel special, it must be because it touches your heart.... If the other person is the object of your envy and admiration, they are not bound by rights or wrongs."

Thoughts continued to sound as the words continued.

If ‘we’ have feelings for a particular thing, in his viewpoint, it is not a good thing. However, he agreed.

“Why do you treat me like a human?”

“Eh?”

Asking questions is normally prohibited. But now my curiosity had prevailed. This was a serious error. There should be no more curiosity beyond the rules.

"You said these things about a pawn, things impossible to explain with theory."

"...You are right. I don't know why. It's just..."

 After speaking, his bewildered gaze stayed on me, and then he spoke unwaveringly.

 "Number 14. I... don't want you to be unhappy."

...At that time, he smiled.

But what kind of smile it was— I can’t remember.

Pitiful? Loathing? Hateful? Kindly? 

I don’t remember. I can't remember.

Because it's stored in a box that can't be taken out, deep and deep inside.

◇ ◇ ◇

In my dream, someone is calling my name.

 “————Shiraishi-san.”

Did I always have this human-sounding name? I want to lie and tell myself that this is true.

But it's impossible. Even my name, which was supposed to be just a code, has become so dear to me.

“Oi, Okazaki! There’s no room for you here for dinner!”

"How mean. But it's okay, I'll eat some from Mineo-san’s.”

“It’s NOT okay! No one told you to come!”

“I’m sorry, Enomoto. ...I was the one who called Okazaki here today.”

“Geh! Yanagi-senpai?! When did you fall this guy’s wily ways—!?”

"His voice was so loud we heard it from inside, obviously he’ll attract attention. Yanagi-san probably didn’t want to disturb the neighbors."

“Yanagi-san let me in when I kept saying ‘I’m so cold… I’m so lonely…’, fufu, he’s so nice.”

“So you just left Yoshinari outside? Talk about pitiful…”

“I'll bring him a souvenir later. It's food that Yanagi-san and Ichika-chan made together. It'll definitely be delicious."

“I don’t know if it’ll suit your tastes but… Ah, but Yanagi-san’s food, I promise it’ll move you! It’s definitely not inferior to food you’ll find at high-end restaurants.”

"Why does the stupid cat look so proud?"

"It looks good thanks to Hoshino being particular about the arrangement."

“Yanagi-senpai…! I’m getting a little jealous watching you two compliment each other, please stop it!!”

Ah, so noisy. Completely unproductive dialogue. There’s no calculation and no falsity, the boring everyday that I like.

When did I get used to this warmth and treat it as part of my everyday?

While I was thinking in a daze, Ichika-chan reached out to me.

“Shiraishi-san, come here. The party has already begun."

——Party?  ……Is that so? Has it started?

"These were all made with everything we had. Let's have a good meal today."

 ——Fufu, as usual, Yanagi-san takes care of others like this.

“......Though I really don’t understand what’s so good about a bunch of us adults coming together.”

 ——Although that was what Sasazuka said, he also stayed behind to join in.

"Hey, don't stand there in a daze! You’re the protagonist today!"

 ——Hm? Did Enomoto-kun just call me ‘you’?

“I heard Ichika-chan is giving you a present, right?” 

——Even Okazaki is here… Fufu, he must have come in by force.

"Yes. It’s a wonderful gift I prepared with everyone."

I took a box from Ichika-chan who was smiling as she spoke.

I felt strange rather than happy. I was looking right at Ichika-chan, instead of looking down.

Yanagi-kun patted my head, and it also seemed to feel very big. No, maybe it's because I have shrunk.

Thin limbs, short hair. I am the same age as when I talked to ‘Him’ about Christmas.

(Ah. Is this… a dream?)

It seems I dream too much at Christmas.

"But Ichika-chan. I haven't prepared a gift."

"No, Shiraishi-san. We’re...returning you what you gave us."

“...? What I gave you?”

 "Yes. You gave us… a lot. It's only natural that we want to return the favour."

“I see… so this is what it means… to exchange gifts…”

"Yes. We want to share it, because we cherish each other. Please open it, and take a look."

“Okay.”

I slowly opened the box, and inside was——、

 ◇ ◇ ◇

When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar scenery.

This was their base, called the ‘Detective Agency’. It also became a place I could feel comfortable as well. 

“Ah, Shiraishi-san, you’re awake?”

A pair of eyes I seem to always see somewhere, someplace, were looking at me. Crystal clear—like glass balls. 

“Ichika-chan…? Ah, huh? Where’s... the present box…?” 

"? Fufu, it's rare to see you half-awake. If you sleep in a place like this, you’ll catch a cold. Are you going to the office to stay overnight?"

I realized the reality as my consciousness gradually returned from my awakening. 

That’s right. The collar—in order to protect herself from those who had declared to ‘pick her up’, she had taken refuge here with her brother.

The deadline announced by Adonis was approaching soon. In order to make her forget this fact temporarily, I had been talking to them about Christmas. When I thought about the gift she gave—and the only gift I could make, I fell asleep.

(Truly... the ‘Heart’ is so difficult to understand. I… must have been scared to have a dream like that.)

 —Everything will end soon.

That smile of his I had gently stored away was blacked out. 

The contents of the boxes I had received from her and everyone had been badly damaged and dirtied.

But I decided not to regret it, even if I was scared or in pain.

Because I got the most precious gift in the world.

"Ichika-chan...Thank you."

"Eh?"

"You taught me my first Christmas, right? So, thank you."

"What are you talking about? The real fun starts from now on."

"...Fufu, yeah."

In a few days, we won’t be able to greet Christmas as we promised. Regardless of what happens, it will only make you sad.

Even if I understand that, I want to see it. I don't want to give up. I want to make my wish come true.

 This is certainly not a sad story.

I, who had received such a present, could not be unhappy. 

Even if I get it dirty with my own hands, this warmth will not disappear.

There’s no reasoning. It’s because I’m human. ...Because I am special.

A shining, sparkling gift for me, who was supposed to be called Number 14.

An opened box filled to the brim with tender memories.

[moonlightwinterdxxix]

MOONLIGHTWINTERDXXIX! Ready for another request attack!? 🤣 I'm here for Sutabaa Zaimoku identity shenanigans the SEQUEL! 😎✨ Somehow Kara's weird nice guy habits had actually worked?! He got on the good side of a visiting Sutabaa's overseas higher up by sheer luck and when they arrive to Sutabaa for whataver they mistaken Totty as Kara. Will Totty abuse this chance for nepotism to rise from his janitor position? Or will customer Kara unexpectedly arrive in all his glory and threaten this ruse?!

@yisongye For #make Karamatsu smile—the Bullied boys now have time to shine outside TVV xD

For those who are new, this is the continuation of this fic here.

~~~

Leaving its slanted position from the angle it was creating from the floor, Todomatsu raised the mop vertically and glared. “Stop laughing.”

“Pfft...! Okay, first you told me to stop talking,” Atsushi confirmed through snorts, shoulders rocking, “now you want me to stop laughing. What do you want me to actually do, Todomatsu? Make up your mind.”

“Leave. Go home. I don’t want you in here anymore. You’re making it a billion times worse.”

“Alright, come on. This is the thing, Todomatsu,” Atsushi said, resting his elbows on the table and raising a smug eyebrow that made Todomatsu want to punch his face so badly. “It wouldn’t have been so bad if you were being casual. Just a casual joe that’s cleaning tables, mopping the floors, doing his job, basically. But wearing your brother’s tacky sunglasses while working is what made you a sight more painful than him himself.”

“It’s his fault this all happened!” Todomatsu exclaimed, spreading a hand. “You have absolutely no idea what he said to the manager, and if you did...! If you were in my shoes, you’ll live with embarrassment for the rest of your life! He told me everything! I didn’t even want to wake up the next day after what he told me!”

“You’re overreacting,” Atsushi said, taking a sip from his latte. “I’m sure it wasn’t so bad. If he was pretending to be you, he couldn’t have possibly broken character enough that he’d make you look like a painful—”

“Then the sun, that glorious sun! Oh, it was the rose’s guardian angel, sending it a spirit for life and the will to fight forward! Oh, and it would now attract all the butterflies that followed a path so similar to it’s!” Todomatsu mimicked, posing with Karamatsu’s flair and voicing the lines with the lowest his voice can drop. Dramatically.

Atsushi burst out laughing.

“H-Hey! Shut up!”

“You’re right! It’s embarrassing!” Atsushi guffawed.

“Oh, wait until then!” Todomatsu snapped, resuming his work as he cleanly ridded the spot where a baby had spilt its mother’s drink. “The time will come when the same humiliation will happen to you. Don’t think that just because you have money and riches your life will be all fine and dandy. I promise that you will find failure soon. Just you wait.”

“Ooh, scary,” Atsushi drawled. “Doesn’t help that you’re wearing his glasses though. Why are you even doing that? To hide your identity? Everyone in the Ward knows of that face belonging to a sextuplet NEET, Todomatsu. That does nothing to your case.”

“Better safe than sorry. It’s better than having my own identity out in the world. Have Karamatsu instead—he’s the one most associated with failure.” He blew a raspberry, rolling his eyes. “You’ll eat your words soon, dumbbell,” Todomatsu vowed, grabbing a water bottle from his belt and spraying the floor. “I swear to Cod, you’ll eat your words and—”

“Todomatsu Matsuno?”

Someone suddenly was in front of the employees’ door of the establishment against the wall, and both Todomatsu and Atsushi were stunned to find a beautiful girl standing there, her eyes shining like those of the universe, all planets aligned and the sun at its brightest.

She had long, wavy brown hair that touched all the way to her waist, a bangs that brushed her eyebrows before parting at the sides, overlapping her ears. She had a large bust, which grabbed their eyes, but she also had long legs that they could see through her khaki pants. A notepad peeped out of the apron of her Sutabaa work uniform.

“Todomatsu Matsuno?” the girl echoed, smiling faintly, almost relieved. “Was that you? Oh, I never thought I’d actually see you! I heard snippets of your interview the other day, and I didn’t think I would be able to see you again. Anyway, I think I need to introduce myself formally to you. My name’s Sen. And I’m gonna be a co-worker of yours for the entire month.”

Todomatsu did nothing else but look at her, cheeks reddening as the sunglasses went askew on his nose.

“I’m the Sutabaa manager from Paris, see? But still a Japanese native,” the girl—Sen, went on. “I recently decided to take a trip back to Japan so I can see how the employees do their tasks here. And I was just in time too. A made a recent notice of the lack of appeal in customer service and entertainment, but I can associate the opposite of that with the fanfaronade you put on. At least, what I just heard right now and the other day. I assume that really was your interview, wasn’t it?”

“Y...Yeah,” Todomatsu breathed.

“Great! Because I think I might be considering lifting your position off being a janitor if that was the case,” Sen told them, taking out her notepad and pen. Her fingernails were decorated with fancied stickers of the Eiffel Tower. “With your flow of words, we might be able to attract more customers to the establishment. Imagine being talked about as that cashier man with a Shakespearean dictionary in his vocabulary. Wouldn’t that spark interest?”

No. Yes? Perhaps? Todomatsu didn’t think a Karamatsu persona would’ve sparked any interest from anyone or anything? Not even an ant’s or a cockroach’s.

And yet...If this meant not being a janitor anymore...

“Of course, only if you don’t mind,” Sen said, jutting down on her notebook. “If you aren’t willing to act so in front of customers, we won’t force you too. But your gentlemanly manner when you speak might make some progress in this building when it comes to getting people to come. It’s a suggestion I’ve already spoken to your main manager about. Now I want to ask you! Are you willing to do it, Todomatsu-san?”

“E-Eh?!” Atsushi squeaked, and Todomatsu continued to stare at her.

Then he blinked beneath the sunglasses. Then his lungs refilled with air, and his imagination lit up with his proud-to-behold Todomatsu Matsuno wisdom. He smirked, transferred the mop to his other hand, using his free one to touch his hairline with two fingers. “Of course, my dear! And I’d be happy to perform more Shakespearean might you give me the opportunity to! After all, I am Todomatsu Matsuno, master of the fine art, a man of theatre through-and-through!”

“Oh!” Sen expressed (cutely to the mens’ eyes), eyebrows rising.

“EEEHHH?!! O-Oi! Todomatsu! What the hell are you doing?!” Atsushi demanded, rising slightly from his chair.

Dropping the mop, Todomatsu slid over to Sen, a finger-gun following the shape of his jaw as he grinned narcissistically. “My, what ever is the problem, Atsushi? Can you not see that I’m being as normal as I can be? I am flattered by this woman’s suggestion, and all I want is to make her feel welcome in these crowded, sorrowful Tokyo streets. You are quite a foreigner yourself, in a way, are you not, sweetheart?” He knelt down, grabbed her hand. “I apologize for the inconvenience, dear. You make my heart melt.” He kissed her hand—it was so soft. Like, so, so soft that it was impossible for something to be that soft.

She chuckled.

Atsushi sputtered.

And Todomatsu wanted to as well. Because he wanted to scream so badly and yank his soul out of his body for the stupid idea he had concocted. Because...Because...BECAUSE LOOK AT THIS! He was posing with that stupid grin of his stupid brother while wearing those stupid glasses and was talking in that stupid accent all because Karamatsu had ruined Todomatsu’s chances for work with a stupid mistake because of his stupid brain and—!

Okay, keep it together, Todomatsu. Look on the bright side. He was a janitor, he was cursed with this hex of Satan since the day Karamatsu left the womb. And this was unacceptable, more than being a baby brother that everyone looked down on! This woman...She could change that. Hell, she could turn him from a lowlife into the manager himself! If Todomatsu followed her guidelines, matched her standards, made himself the appealing man she wanted to view...Yes, this was going to be his debut as the boss of his own life!

And so what if Karamatsu was the key to that?! Karamatsu was the key to success, and no one cared for Karamatsu’s own failure! These NEETs were selfish bastards after all!

Heck, Todomatsu was that desperate! Yes! Yes! But he didn’t care, for everyday he was already dying with the thirst for change! Change in his life, change in his pathetic, why-am-I-alive existence! He had no friends—only acquaintances who would never stay longer than twenty minutes! His life was littered with five matching levels of garbage, sharing his bed and face that made him look as terrible as them! But he wasn’t! And he wasn’t going to be defined like that any freaking more!

Yes! Hell yes! This was the true form of this Todomatsu-sama, the one who will be the first of his NEETy brothers to find love alongside work! So what if he was a cursed janitor?! He was an official graduate from the status that had once colored him at the bottom of the caste system, and this woman was going to be his diploma! Hell yes, he won!

And there was even a plus. This girl was into this, and if he continued this painful persona he might have a chance to actually keep her. No more virginity for this youngest dirty monster, because he was going to be able to smash her and make her his by acting his part as the best boyfriend she could ask for! So what if she was a princess?! A lady of romance and theatrics and the arts?! She was still an unattainable woman who any of these stupid NEETs would pine for for ages! Lifetimes! A keeper to the max despite maybe bad taste in vocabulary, but that was besides the point!

Todomatsu could keep her. Hell, he can keep her. If he was this perfect cashier, he can keep her. Beat the hell out of his brothers, and become the true role model that Choromatsu and Osomatsu were far from being! All because he was a loser, therefore there was no one else he could grab! Because Iyayo and Chibimi were plastic dolls and Kinko was a woman of true culture...Because Totoko hated them like scum and Homura was in love with someone else...!

Hell yeah, there was so much he could gain, this baby demon of the Matsuno hellhole...All he needed to do now was act the part. Act the part.

What would Karamatsu say, and how can it be said for this woman’s attraction? Hm, he needed to summon his inner Karamatsu, if there even was one. Because just like the rest of his brothers, having an inner Karamatsu was like saying that they had a tree growing over their heads. It was impossible. Because having an inner Karamatsu was one of the things they as NEETs did not want to have.

But this woman. She wanted a Karamatsu.

Todomatsu smirked. Fine. For her, he’ll play the part.

“Have you always been a theatrical one, Todomatsu-san?” Sen asked, tucking a few collective strands of hair behind her ear after hiding her notebook and pen again. “Or is this a new thing after graduating?”

Hmm, how was he going to answer this? Should he be honest and tell her that the only thing he’s ever done involving theatre was dunk bird turd on someone’s script, or should he go with the Karamatsu flow and tell her that acting has always been a hobby since the day he could walk? What would this woman want to hear? Todomatsu pondered, forced his brain cells to click and tick and turn their gears...Hmm...

Then—

Todomatsu posed, raising an arm and bending another. “I had no plan!” he announced.

Sen’s mouth formed a tiny circle. Atsushi face-palmed.

“Heh, I’ve always went with the flow of my own wind, dear beautiful Sen,” Todomatsu enumerated smoothly, dropping the octaves of his voice, which wasn’t so hard. He was already gifted to have a deep voice whenever he yelled (something Choromatsu once mentioned to him, that rising, fapping loser), and so mimicking Karamatsu’s original tone wasn’t that difficult as an activity. That, and this woman had never met Karamatsu in person, so he had the safety of a thousand nets and trampolines to catch his sky-high fall.

“Theatrical arts, drama, cherry blossoms in the wind, a heart of blue.” Oh god, Todomatsu wanted to slap himself so hard, wanted to slice his tongue with a cleaver and haul it into the mouth of hell. Speaking Karamatsu was speaking the language of agony. If this was what being the childhood best friend of Karamatsu resulted in, then maybe it was better if none of that ever happened at all. “It was my mind, cured with the peacefulness of my being, that opened my existence in a fantasy worth exploring. The unknown. Skies and trees that breathe the air of purity that is being wiped from this earth. It tears my soul and rips my being into shreds.”

Atsushi snorted, turning away. That goon, Todomatsu was gonna deal with him later.

“Ooh, how poetic,” Sen commented, her hair bouncing as she tilted her head. “How did you gather your vocabulary?”

How did Karamatsu gather his vocabulary? How did Karamatsu gather his vocabulary? HOW DID KARAMATSU GATHER HIS VOCABULARY? When they were freaking kids, Karamatsu wasn’t even able to determine the differences between ‘limbs’ and ‘limbo’! How the hell did he come from that turd of an idiot into a man with a dictionary built into his throat?!

“Heh, by being myself,” Todomatsu answered painfully, trying not to reach over to wipe the sweat pooling behind his ears and running down his nape. “I’m a natural at my strengths, the best of my kind. Because I’m a loner, but at the same time I have my own hands to support me might I fall. Heh, I’m a tower of storms.”

“You definitely are. Very destructive too,” Atsushi chortled, eyes directed elsewhere but the killer’s promise of a glare on Todomatsu’s face.

“Wait a minute,” Sen said, a finger touching those beautiful lips of hers. “Todomatsu-san, have I seen you before? I thought you looked familiar and remembered that I saw someone looking like you yesterday. Were you at the park yesterday taking a swim in the river dressed in a yellow baseball uniform?”

Todomatsu flinched so hard that his soul felt like it had just poked the waves of an ocean made of lava. “No, that wasn’t me! It was a stranger, surely! I hate baseball, always have!”

“Only since today,” Atsushi muttered. Todomatsu was internally sending him two of his middle fingers which tips had holes for bullets.

“But the other day, I thought I saw you too?” Sen asked. “Wearing red this time. Playing at Pachinko? And you had a very large bruise on your face while you left the parlor crying. I assume you lost the gamble after getting into a fight?”

Shit! Damn you, Osomatsu! “Nope! Pachinko is not my turf in the slightest!” Todomatsu lied, puffing out his chest because he felt like deflating into an airless blob of rubber.

“Yet you won yesterday,” Atsushi stated quietly behind his hand.

“And also, in the mixer? I saw someone in pink looking like you leave it recently,” Sen followed up, crossing her arms. “Well, not to defy you or anything, but are you the mixer type really, Todomatsu-san? With your flair and all, your humble personality, I don’t think you need a mixer to determine your acquaintances and your friends.”

“Heh, fret not, my queen,” Todomatsu schmoozed, wanting to stab himself for each ‘heh’ he had to gag out. “This man here is still as packed with friends as a man can be.” Which was half true and half lie. Todomatsu was one with peers, but Karamatsu was a member of the trash gang. Meaning, friends were flies, and peers were the dirty streets that only cats were willing to walk because they too were stupid enough not to understand anything in life.

Sorry not sorry, Ichimatsu.

“Oh, alright then,” Sen said, then bowed. “I guess I was just thinking about your successful interview too much then.”

“Oh, it is quite fine,” Todomatsu fibbed, planting very sweaty hands against his hips. “I am alone in my features—there’s no one else like me at all. If there was, it’s probably a doppelgänger signaling death that looms over me. Therefore I am the one and only, Sen-chan. Todomatsu Matsuno.”

Atsushi turned away, shoulders shaking.

Sen chuckled. “If you say so, mister Matsuno. So, are you up for it, Todomatsu-san? Would you accept my invitation to be a cashier instead of a janitor?”

“Yes, my sweet! I am glad to oblige!” Todomatsu hollered, spreading out his arms. “I shall prepare myself for all the hi’s and hello’s I can offer to any passersby for this fine establishment! Give the word and I shall motion with the swift energy of lightning!” Smirking painfully, he posed, spreading his legs out, resting one of his elbows over his other hand, and he flicked his bangs before sending Sen a finger gun. “Like lightning. Bang.” He inched his fingertip.

Atsushi exploded into full-on laughter.

“Alright then,” Sen said, nervously cutting Atsushi a look as she slowly retreated into the staff room. “I’ll let them know, so wait here. Let me make the arrangements for you, alright?”

“Heh. You are the true Samaritan, dearest Sen,” Todomatsu gritted out with the flawless character of his brother.

Then waving, Sen closed the door behind her.

Todomatsu snapped.

“What the hell is wrong with you, you turd-hole?!” he yelled, gripping Atsushi’s dark collar and shaking him with the mercy of a madman. “Stop making me look as transparent as I already am! It’s bad enough that I need to be that stupid-as-hell brother in order to win back my pride, moron! And don’t question how I can impersonate the goon, and I too want to straight-up murder my past self for ever thinking that being friends with that painful Shittymatsu was a good idea! So shut the hell up!”

“Yo, Totty!” Atsushi called out, still smiling through the force shoving him back and forth. “Why didn’t you just tell her no? You don’t have to put up a Karamatsu everyday if you don’t want to! Be a janitor in freedom! It’s still worth it!”

“And let myself still look like an effing NEET in the process?! Not a chance!” Todomatsu fumed, releasing Atsushi and pouting, folding his arms. “You won’t understand. You have everything already. Why not just be a comrade and let me have this? I know it sucks and it hurts and it’s painful as fu—!” Pausing, he doubled over, and he vomited a waterfall of glitters onto the floor. The Karamatsu was really getting into him.

“I’m not telling you anything,” Atsushi said, shrugging casually as Todomatsu straightened up again, wiping his lips. “If you want to or not, it’s your choice. You’re the only one balancing on your own lifeline. Each choice you make affects you, and there’s no one else that can do anything about it.”

“Meh, I guess that’s true.” Finally, Todomatsu had the urge to pull Karamatsu’s sunglasses off his face to look at. Just the blue of them reflecting the light from the restaurant made him want to snap them and toss them out into the Bermuda Triangle. “Still though. If it makes me get more than what I already have, Imma be up for the challenge. Time to be Karamatsu-niisan.” He returned the shades. “I dunno how long I can pull this off—if I do at all.”

Atsushi snorted. “Wish you luck. How long you can keep this up will color me curious as well.”

~~~

One week. It was one entire week of painful dialogue and flamboyant posing. It was one week with Todomatsu being responsible for those awful sunglasses that Karamatsu had been looking for whenever they came back home after days under Akatsuka Ward’s sun. It was one week of heh’s and hm’s, and each time Todomatsu wanted to throw a fit and dump on a table the same way Ichimatsu would. He was angry, he was embarrassed, he just wanted to end his suffering with a knife to the chest or whatever lame shtick.

“You’re doing great, Todomatsu-san,” Sen would tell him, and it was kind of true. Customers did seem very satisfied with Karamatsu’s dialogue floating to their ears, and it made Todomatsu question humanity in its intelligence. It was either he was dumb or the world was dumb, and he voted for the latter due to his excessive pride. That, and he needed reassurance of something, because working as a cashier mimicking his older brother didn’t deduce the NEETiness he felt like was still sewn into his system.

He didn’t answer any questions from anyone else though. If it were Aida and Sachiko that were close by in their shifts, Todomatsu would be able to cut away the sheets of Karamatsu’s ghost long enough for him to be normal, the same Todomatsu ‘Totty’ Matsuno that the two baristas knew. As for his brothers, he was always mopey when taking orders from them if they ever came, and they always left Sutabaa with knowledge only on the purchased drink rather than the persona that broke loose with other customers. Todomatsu was glad of the stupidity of Jyushimatsu and the lack of comment from Ichimatsu.

And then...The day came.

“One strawberry latte for Nishimiya,” Sen announced, scribbling the name on a large cup with a black marker.

“Heh. Blueberry cheesecake for Shimizu,” Todomatsu added, wanting to let a large portion of glittery vomit escape his throat again. “Kindly help yourselves to table four, my dear. You wait there for the meantime—your hunger will be satisfied momentarily.” He lowered his sunglasses, winking. And when the customer smiled at him in appreciation, it was obvious she didn’t notice how much pressure Todomatsu had to put into his muscles just to make himself appear his way.

“Right, Totty, right?” Sen left the table, handing the cup to him. “I’ll be on my break now. Can I leave it to you?”

“Heh. If that may assist thy fatigue, I’d be willing to move mountains for you.” Shoot, shoot, SHOOT! Just kill him already, Akatsuka-sensei so he didn’t have to do this bullhooey anymore! But this ‘bullhooey’ seemed to deem him fine for now as Sen bobbed her head, entering himself into the opposite room as she closed her door.

The bell above the Sutabaa entrance chimed.

A sigh.

Time stopped for Todomatsu, and for a moment there was nothing he could do but transform into a frozen block of ice. But his recovery was swift, and before notice Todomatsu took off his sunglasses as a pair of leather-sleeved elbows propped themselves on the counter.

“Good morning, Todomatsu,” Karamatsu said, smiling sadly at his brother. Sadly? Why sadly? Shoot, that meant he was going to blow up into painful monologuing territory that will be sure to either end his life, or Todomatsu’s. Bullsh—“I’d just want a coffee, please. Extra sugar, maybe?” Karamatsu went on, devoid of joy.

Todomatsu gulped. “Ah, right. Wh...Why are you here, Karamatsu-niisan?” His gaze darted through the area, hoping for no familiar faces to question him and his conversation with his lookalike brother. Thank goodness the timing had Sen leaving for a while before anything else bad could happen, because Todomatsu swore to Cod, bad stuff was indeed going to happen.

“Need a little time to think, perhaps?” Karamatsu said, lowering his own blue sunglasses. It was a fun thought, Todomatsu imagined, to continuously rid Karamatsu of any of his glasses by breaking them in half or tossing them into a gorge, but a spare would always find themselves on his face the following day. Wonder how many he had tucked in their closet? His entire allowance, most likely. No wonder he has only his 10% chances of winning in pachinko.

Karamatsu continued, “Because there was this very beautiful woman, and for a while I might’ve called her mine, but...” He gripped his elbows with opposite hands, fingers sinking into his sleeves, “she rejected my confession,” he squeezed out.

Todomatsu remained unfazed. Alright. So? Todomatsu didn’t give a dang about Karamatsu’s tragic love story. “So you thought that coming here to mope would be a good idea? Why not just follow Osomatsu-niisan in Pachinko or go fishing with Choromatsu-niisan?”

“Heh. They had their own activities planned for this lonely afternoon,” Karamatsu told him, and Todomatsu felt the horror of old English penetrating through him. “And is it wrong that I wanted to spend time with my dear littlest brother? I missed days where we trekked the world solo. I guessed that maybe time with him again would lift my soul from the pits in where it has fallen into. Crammed with skeletons...O-Oh, Totty! My heart is weeping, my brother!” He extended his arms and tightened them around Todomatsu, pulling the younger man towards him before sobbing on his shoulder.

Todomatsu went rigid, praying to everyone in the skies listening not to have anyone barge in during this absolutely humiliating moment of Todomatsu’s probable fall from grace.

“And she was a delicate flower too!” Karamatsu wept, clinging to Todomatsu with all his might. Cod, the counter edge was digging into Todomatsu’s stomach...! “Beautiful and compassionate and oh! Such an ideal diamond, brother! And yet I was not anything to her!” He wailed, breathing jagged as he mashed his face onto Todomatsu’s collar, letting it absorb his misery.

“Ugh! Keep it down, Shittymatsu!” Todomatsu hissed, prepping his hands over Karamatsu’s chest in preparation to push him away. “I’m at work, for crying out loud! And what kind of idiot customer walks up to the cashier to cry? Are you that stupid?”

Thankfully preserving the need for Todomatsu to do the deed himself, Karamatsu released his younger brother, leveling Todomatsu’s gaze with confusion setting as the emotion in his tear-filled eyes. “Umm...Cashier? I thought you were a janitor?”

Oh, Cod-damn it. Todomatsu cringed. Karamatsu didn’t know yet, couldn’t know, will never ever know...! If he knew who knew what kind of shtick Todomatsu will have to put up with and what kind of life he will forever be living with regret and—!

The staff room door opened. “Totty! I think I forgot my wallet here and—” Sen paused, staring at the brothers before flinching. “Oh! Sorry! I didn’t think there was a customer! Please, carry on, sir! You...!” Her eyebrows furrowed as she trailed off, gears clicking in her head. “...look exactly like Totty. Are you brothers? And he’s got a leather jacket and...Huh?”

Karamatsu blinked, thick brows curved questioningly. “Yes, I’m his brother. And are you...? Totty, are you alright, my dear brother?”

Holy crap! Cod, crap-crap-crap! Todomatsu felt his blood run dry. “Ah, yeah! Karamatsu! Sen-chan! I, um, heh!” He suddenly grabbed Karamatsu’s wrist and dragged him off, not waiting for anything else as he led Karamatsu out the Sutabaa door and outside the building to its side. Behind a wall, where no one sale might see them. Might. Because no one important was going to need glancing at a pair of brothers that looked closest to being members of slavery in the caste system.

Which they were, mind you. But not Todomatsu, if Karamatsu decided not to screw things up.

“Huh? Todomatsu, what’s going on?” Karamatsu asked as Todomatsu parted his grip on Karamatsu, massaging his temper and tingling veins for tranquility that didn’t want to come.

“Look. I can explain some other time, but for now, just effing follow my lead, got it, niisan?” Todomatsu ordered lowly, cautious for stares. Sen, the manager, Aida, Sachiko, or any of their foolish brothers. “I am the cool one, you’re the same loser as you always were. Picture yourself when you were eighteen, or just think about your heartbreak. You’re a goner from life. And you have no idea how to speak with your normal, flashy speech patterns.”

Karamatsu was nothing but confused. “Eh?”

Scoffing irritably, Todomatsu snatched the glasses from Karamatsu’s face and put them on himself, then proceeded to take off Karamatsu’s leather jacket from his brother’s body. That stupid shirt had the painful man’s face on it...! Alright, he can find a way around that. All he needed to do was be creative. Karamatsu was already an actor of some sort, so there was no need to...! Bah! Freaking heck with it! Making up stories was never difficult when you grew up as a liar!

Todomatsu flipped the leather jacket over his own shoulders and lifted his chin at Karamatsu.

“Todomatsu?” Sen called out. “Are you two over here?”

Just in time. Todomatsu elbowed Karamatsu’s gut, and after a grunt from him, Todomatsu said, “Follow. My. Lead. Or I’m going to burn all of your clothes before you even blink again.”

“Eh? Uh, ‘kay,” Karamatsu hesitantly agreed.

“Totty? Ah, there you two are.” Sen made herself visible as she stepped out of the corner turn. And being able to now see them openly, she stopped walking, for good reason. “Um, is this a bad time?”

“No, not at all,” Todomatsu said, speaking with an impression of his brother as he tried to wave a hand with dismissal. Cod, he could already smell the cologne. “It’s my brother here. It’s not much, but I find it quite unruly of him to root through my clothing without my permission. I’m just trying to set him straight for it again. Apologies, Sen-chan.”

“Eh?!” Karamatsu half-gasped, only faltering when he saw the stiletto aimed at him in Todomatsu’s glare. “Ah, yeah, sorry about that,” he said lightly, timidly. “I was, uh...Going through a phase? I wanted to be, uh, like him.” He pointed at Todomatsu limitedly. Todomatsu jerked his head slightly. Doing great, you lame actor. Karamatsu-niisan.

“Ah, I don’t think I should be here then,” Sen amended, backing away from them with a light flush and an apologetic smile. “If this is something personal, the last thing I want to do is walk in on your talk.”

“Heh, we’re fine, my dear. Kindly decrease your pressure on our situation,” Todomatsu soothed in a baritone, Karamatsu’s jaw lowering beside him as his eyes dilated. “We will report back to the main cafe shortly. My brother here, must only receive a brief scolding. We will be fine, such as we always can be. Right, my dear brother Karamatsu?”

Karamatsu sniffed, taking his palms to the corners of his eyes. “Cod, you’ve adapted so much...!” he sniveled proudly, and defeatedly, to Sen’s ears. “I’m so proud of you, Totty!”

Todomatsu felt a vein bob under his skin. When they were alone, he was going to kill this man.

But for the meantime, he said, “Oh, do not weep, brother! Forgiveness is always a virtue in our bloodline! I will not hold your prejudices against you! Instead, come into my arms as I will blanket you with comfort that will leave you spellbound in my affection!” And as much as he didn’t want to do it, Todomatsu spread out his arms, which were immediately touching not the air anymore but Karamatsu as he threw himself against Todomatsu’s chest.

“You sound like me! I’m so happy!” Karamatsu cried, though gratefully softly enough for Sen not to hear.

“Can it, niisan,” Todomatsu hissed in reply. “If you mess up the act none of us will be able to walk this earth again without regret dragging our ankles. Just continue being this emotional and we’ll be fine. Make me look cool here.”

“Okay, brother. I...Wait...If you’re acting like me and telling me to make you look cool...” Karamatsu hiccuped. “Does that mean you think I’m cool?” he sobbed out desperately.

Todomatsu choked, his entire body warming as his face fell red. “N-No! You’re not cool! There’s a reason for all of this and I—!”

“I’ll just leave now,” Sen said, wagging her hand as her shoes planted themselves on the ground behind her. “You two sort yourselves out. I’ll be glad to cover you for a bit, Totty, if you need time to settle things out.”

“Your heart truly was mantled from Hephaestus’s golden chamber,” Todomatsu rasped, his body and mind matted with sequins on wounds.

Karamatsu buried his head in deeper, squeezing Todomatsu tighter as Sen dipped her head and vanished from sight. Only then did Todomatsu grind his teeth together and shove Karamatsu off him, making the older man stumble back and catch himself by a pillar, blinking wetly at Todomatsu.

“Okay, enough,” Todomatsu said tersely, eyelids weighing down unamused as his arms interlaced parallel to his torso. “Karamatsu-niisan, can you please not tell anyone of this, ever? I’m gonna tell you everything, but swear to me that all this is to be kept between us. If anything comes out, your head will be what our brothers will see at the dinner table later tonight.”

“Of course! If there’s a secret, I promise of sealed lips that I would take with me to my tombstone!” Karamatsu vowed, a fist connecting to his left breast. “Reveal all you need to, my brother! I await your words.”

“Cod, that’s so painful,” Todomatsu wheezed, then cleared his throat afterwards, lowering the sunglasses for solid eye contact. “I was given the chance to become a cashier because they thought I was you. Or at least, you were me, but I think you might have an idea. They really liked your speaking patterns from the interview, and wanted that to be the first thing that customers heard when entering Sutabaa. So assuming I was you, and wanting to rise from a crappy janitor, I pretended to be you so that I can achieve that higher position. It’s my rise in the caste system, honestly. It’s all I ever wanted.”

“T...Totty...” Karamatsu breathed.

“Iya-ya, it’s not much,” Todomatsu promised, gesturing for emphasis. “But I thought it was the only shot I got. I understood you enough that it wasn’t really hard to be like you, so that was the least of my problems. But of course, it was painful as hell, since the entire week had me trying to be someone I’m not. I guess I...I...” Then the realization, for the first time, hit him, and he wrinkled the leather jacket in his hands, smacked it to the ground, and turned to walk away.

But then there was a hand clamping around his wrist, and Karamatsu had stopped Todomatsu from going any further with his promising hold. “Oi. You aren’t going without finishing that sentence, Todomatsu,” he said sternly.

“They like you more than me,” Todomatsu spat out brokenly.

Karamatsu’s reply was his muteness.

“Think about it, niisan. If it were just you trying to be me before, it would’ve landed me as nothing but a plain old janitor if nothing at all,” Todomatsu blabbered, a finger pushing up the shades as he averted his gaze to his feet. “But when you broke into you, I got the chance of being a cashier again. And now the only reason I’m keeping the job is because I’ve been trying to be you. If I were being me, what would I even be contributing to society? Nothing. Maybe that’s why I lost the job in the first place.”

Karamatsu was still holding him firmly.

“Never mind. I’m babbling nonsense you won’t understand. Sorry, Karamatsu-niisan.” Todomatsu used his free hand to rescue his eyes from the blue lenses that were casting his surroundings in aqua. Then he took Karamatsu’s other hand and pressed their surface on them, securing his fake identity with its true owner once again. “I’ll just return to work now. Pretend that you finally won over me so that they don’t ask why I’m me instead of you.”

“Totty.”

Todomatsu exhaled softly. “Hm?”

“Is that why my glasses have been disappearing all week?”

“...yes.”

“So I guess...It’s best you have your own pair, right?” Karamatsu chuckled, handing back his sunglasses. “You still need to pretend to be me, right? And I still need to pretend to be someone else?”

Todomatsu inclined his head, surprise painting him. “Eh? What do you mean? I’m giving you back your identity, you dimwit, trying to live with mine. Are you so agreeing that it’s better I fake myself instead? Is that how much I suck to you?”

“Far, Todomatsu,” Karamatsu stated steadily. “It’s because I learned before that you can learn when you pretend to be someone else. By being in someone else’s shoes, you come to realize how much there is to love about yourself. Is that not true? Is my painful personality not something you cannot stand? It is, and that’s why you even think of yourself as better than me. The last thing I want is you to think of yourself so lowly because of my accomplishments.

“Todomatsu, you were sick the day I came to the interview as you. But remember, that was the second interview. Sutabaa managed to accept you once, and was willing to do so again after you dropped out when we humiliated you. If they had seen you for who you truly were, then I’m certain that they would still be ready to welcome you again as the real Todomatsu Matsuno as you are.”

“Then...Why did you want to give me these...?” Todomatsu gasped out, trailing his thumbs over the dark blue lenses of the shades.

“I wanted to teach you that lesson,” Karamatsu said, shrugging casually with a small smirk. “But I just explained the mechanics in my agenda, so there’s no use for that now. I think it’s best you just return to Sutabaa again as yourself instead of a clone of me. Because, brother. You’re surprisingly good at it.”

“Gee, thanks,” Todomatsu said, his heart finally softening free from whatever claws had once gripped it. “I’m sorry I threw your jacket like that.”

“There’s always the laundry. Don’t worry about that.” Karamatsu laughed. “Come now, brother. I still have my coffee in the waiting, do I not? Please treat your brother to something to warm his insides from the Antarctica waters in which it has drowned.”

“Ugh, fine,” Todomatsu said, but not harshly, before looking down at the shades. “Are these really mine now though? I think they match your face better than mine. And I think they will miss you if they were gone.” Grinning, he hung the sunglasses from Karamatsu’s top, then stood back with satisfaction, hands pressed to his waist.

“Heh. Thank you, Todomatsu,” Karamatsu said, chuckling.

Then together, they went back to the entrance of Sutabaa, opening the door as Todomatsu cried out, “Sen-chan! We’re back! And we have a coffee pending for—!”

“Oh hey, you two!” Osomatsu greeted, hands in the pocket of his hoodie as he stood in front of the counter, Sen at the other side. “I was actually gonna ask where you were, Karamatsu! I heard you were working here in Sutabaa and I was curious to know if it was true!”

Todomatsu and Karamatsu gaped in unison. “Eh?!”

“But I guess I was wrong,” Osomatsu said, rubbing his nose with a finger. “Totty’s wearing the uniform. Now you make me wanna ask about the rumors: why was I hearing of a Sutabaa cashier who uses Karamatsu slang every time he gets an order? I didn’t wanna believe it, and I still don’t, but maybe I should be realizing that since it’s both of you involved! Of course Totty would have the best impersonation other than Jyushimatsu—you two were besties as kids, right? So it’s safe to say that you were looking up to Karamatsu for a while, Totty!” Osomatsu laughed.

Todomatsu’s stomach coiled. “B-But—!”

“Is that true, Todomatsu-san?” Sen asked, frowning a little.

“It’s gotta be, right?” Osomatsu continued. “Totty would do anything to get what he wants. If being a ‘Karamatsu’ would help him in his salary, then he’d do it. Just like he’d lie to other Sutabaa employees that he was from a university so big when all he was was a NEET. It’s simple—he’s a demon for a reason.”

“Wait,” Sen said, frown deepening. “Does this mean that it wasn’t Todomatsu at the interview? But Karamatsu?”

“Hah? Totty never went to any interview,” Osomatsu exposed obliviously, unaware of the jaws on the floor from the two brothers standing next to him. “Ha-ha! Sen-chan, right? You’re making me laugh here! Don’t tell me you mistook Karamatsu for Totty! I mean, I might, but they’re brothers, so identity thief shenanigans is a thing and so cheating is not hard!”

Sen stared. So did Karamatsu. Todomatsu felt his entire body burn into ashes.

~~~

Todomatsu’s butt slammed on the sidewalk from the force of the hands that had previously shoved him out of the building.

Karamatsu immediately went to his side. “Totty! Wh-What did they tell you, my brother?”

Todomatsu clicked his tongue. “I got fired.”

Karamatsu’s face fell.

“Welp, all in a day’s work, right?” Osomatsu said, spinning his heels and going ahead. “Hey, I won a bit in pachinko, by the way. Wanna try using that in some of the races? We might get half as much if I use my detective brain again to read between the lines!” He laughed. “Just like I did with you two idiots.”

Todomatsu ground his teeth. He really was surrounded by demons.