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#I don’t know if it’ll happen bc housing is expensive and all and I would need a car which I do not have
princessbrunette · 3 months
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i was playing with my rabbit last night & thinking about how rafe & JJ would act around their girlfriend’s pet rabbit😭😭 like i feel like JJ would be the one to be kinda scared of it ngl…
soooo cute !!!
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rafe would be like, you know how when families get a new pet and the dad is always the most reluctant like “whatever, im not looking after it though” and then they end up being the one to love the pet the most ?? that’s rafe all over. when he comes to your house for the first time and you happily skip over to the hutch to let your bunny roam around for a little while he kinda doesn’t care at all. animals were never something he had too much interest in, especially something as weak as a bunny.
but it’s apart of you, and you love that bunny so much so by extension he must care about it too. he won’t show it, you won’t often catch him scratching behind its ears or speaking to it (unless you’ve put him on hutch duty and then he’s quietly talking to it like “c’mere you little shit.”) — but he’ll get this slow and loving smile on his face whenever you ramble on about something funny your bunny did, or when he’s watching you play with it. he thinks you’re adorable, and a pet like a bunny just makes sense for someone like you — feminine and fragile, in need of protecting from foxes and big bad wolves (ironically, like himself)
you invite him round, and he pulls up in his car, casually and oh so nonchalantly pulling bags of hay and rabbit food from his boot. the expensive kind of course.
“yeah so apparently you’re not buyin’ the good shit, so i stopped by n’picked this up. you know you can ask me… to buy you this kinda thing right? im good for it. plus that cheap shit you’re buying is toxic, okay? only took a little bit of research, sweetheart.” he’s somehow lecturing you whilst being super sweet and you’re just ??!!!!
he also texts you randomly out of the blue like ‘It’s fox season on this side of the island. Don’t let rabbit out on the lawn for a while’ which is so cute bc rafe is so busy n important and yet he still finds time to think about ur bunny :(( n he knows if god forbid anything happens to that album it’ll be his job to pick up the pieces and he’d rather avoid all that .
jj on the other hand definitely thinks it’s cute, but he’s more enamoured by the way you behave with your bunny than the bunny itself. he definitely is down to play with it though, letting it thump at him and kick him and hop all over his lap :(
“climbin’ all over me n’still acting like a brat. yep, you definitely belong to my girlfriend. can see where you get it from…” pretending to talk to the bunny all quietly like he doesn’t want you to hear !! he’s just so cute ♡
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You really need to get out of there.. things get easier away from your parents. Gives you space to breathe. Its scary and hard, I know. But staying means to prevent healing and growth. Honestly, if there are any programs or support systems in your country that could help you with moving out, reach out to them. Maybe you can get sth from a therapist or a doctor that attests that you need to move out for mental health/health reasons and makes it easier to get the money you need. Its not the solution for everything but again: lets you breathe and move a lot better. Sometimes we block ourselves off from healing bc we are afraid of taking responsibility for ourselves and our trauma. Don't be afraid of that.
I know that you also want to stay for your brothers sake but you will be able to help him much more if you help yourself first. And your space could also be a refuge for him.
I am so sorry for everything that happened to you and everything that continues to happen. You did not deserve any of this and someday you will grow out of and past it
This was really sweet of you to say , thank you so much. 💕
My NDIS application was approved and one of the goals I put there was to move out. So I’ll probably have to go through a government application for government housing or something. But that just brings in a whole new can of worms like I don’t deserve this, I’m not really that mentally ill so I shouldn’t get it, I’m not disabled I shouldn’t get it, I’m not being physically hit or thrown out for being gay so I shouldn’t get it. And I guess a part of me is worried about a more permanent part of stagnation to take hold. I don’t think I can properly express the shame I feel in myself for not working or actively looking for work while being paid a disability support pension. Especially when I see how hard so many people are working and how the world is. Obviously I don’t feel this way about other people, but for myself I’m just really ashamed. I feel like if I get government housing, which on my DSP payment if I want to stay in my area and live alone it’s the only option because things are super expensive, I’ll just be taking it from someone who needs it more. And I feel like it’ll be so much easier just to completely go in on myself. No one will be living with me so I won’t have anything to prove. I feel like I’d just stop all my appointments and everything and just never leave the house. Not that I do very often as it is lol. I don’t even know if I’m making sense.
I think you really hit the nail on the head with being scared to take on our trauma though. I don’t think Ive thought about it that way before but that absolutely feels like it fits. I don’t want to. I’m a coward honestly and would rather just dig my head into the sand.
But honestly you bring up a lot of good points, so I’m going to try and work at potentially making it a reality 💕💕
Thank you again. I hope you have a wonderful day 💕
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Kinda fun that I might try and rent a house with some people next year
#I don’t know if it’ll happen bc housing is expensive and all and I would need a car which I do not have#but it’d be so fun!! perks of liking 6 out of 7 of ur dormmates#Altho we really don’t want the 7th so we gotta keep it a secret#I’d also def have to get a job here#which is fine I’d like to make money instead of just spend money#but like I’d really need a car. bc nothing in this tiny town is anywhere close to college. to be fair this village has only a Walmart#so it’s me 3 of my roommates maybe 2 people on our floor depending on who’s interested#but we’ve got this one. who I’m actually avoiding rn. who is just abysmal to live with#and here’s the thing. she’s one of those people who will invite herself to anything at all and then like complain the whole time???#so we can’t really all talk to each other unless she’s not home. and she’s Always home. loves to eavesdrop and then just start talking#our ra talked to her cause I live with her and she’s just as miserable as me. and everyone else on this floor#and she talked to this girl and the girl took it as a personal insult and was like I need you to not say this to me bc it’s making me#really upset and anxious and you know how I am when I’m anxious#me and my ra have a all nighter Thursday tradition and we tried so hard to keep this girl from finding out#but now that she has she’s insisted on joining. she doesn’t talk to us (she doesn’t like me bc I don’t put up with her shit)#but she’s so miserable about it?? like if u don’t wanna be around us then go. I do not know what her problem is#but good riddance to when she leaves#absolutely adore all my other roommates we get along so great#but we all try and stay out of the apartment bc we don’t wanna be around her which sucks#I will say when she’s gone and the rest of us are here it’s such a great time#I really love the people I live with they’re so fun. idk I just wanna complain today apparently#soup talks
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60wattbulb · 3 years
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If there's one thing that I love about fandom is the passionate ways that people describe their favorite tropes
Basically, please say more because I'm actually intrigued with the fooleret concept (or techza but it's easier for me with them opposed to fooleret).
SO GLAD YOU ASKED.
under a cut bc this got LONG
like. okay. this one is like four different tropes in one bc the appeal to fooleret is just as much “foolish pining after someone that doesn’t remember him and their history” as anything else, right? right.
so like. childhood friends fooleret. completely inseparable rough-and-tumble playground buddies. eret was the one with all the terrible ideas (“let’s sneak into so-and-so’s garden and take some flowers, she won’t notice”) and foolish was the one getting them into trouble by, say, falling off the fence while climbing over it and crushing the prized rose bush. did everything together, told each other everything, ring pop proposals type of thing.
and then one day foolish shows up at eret’s house to play and all the windows are dark. the whole family just up and vanished, overnight, and nobody knows where they went.
now foolish is like, 18, and studying computers, and scrolling absently through the news between classes and sees an article that the museum downtown got robbed of that necklace that they put on display, the one that’s been missing for some two hundred years — and now that foolish thinks about it, yeah, he remembers they got a calling card from a thief, a brazen declaration that it would be stolen out from under everyone’s noses, but he didn’t pay it much mind.
guess he should have, because he’s watching the videos from the scene now and the thief broke past all the security systems, the police line, all of it, and got to the necklace, and nobody had any idea that it happened until they were standing on the roof in full elaborate costume, holding it up to the news helicopter. and the image of their face, even though it’s hidden beneath a mask... that is definitely eret. they’re taller now, sure, and their voice is waaay deeper, but even years later foolish could recognize that smile anywhere.
it’s almost funny, how fitting this is for them. a trail of mayhem wherever they go, tricking everyone into dancing to their beat.
they’re beautiful.
in all honesty, switching career paths isn’t too much of an adjustment — in this day and age, the more advanced a security system is, the more vulnerable to attack it is from a thief that wants it gone. and now foolish is older, and he’s a security consultant, and he’s working with the police to catch the friend he lost all those years ago.
and it’ll be a huge shock to him when he corners them (of course he corners them, all these years later they have the same tendencies and they still head for higher ground when they’re threatened) and tries to ask what happened —
— only to discover they have no idea who he is, and are horrified that he knows their true identity.
and eret, right? they’re a thief, and not to be prideful but they’re a damn good one. this is the dream job, too. they travel the world, and they get to surround themself with the most expensive and rare of fashions and treasures, and all the while they’re stringing the rich and powerful along and letting them make fools of themselves.
and the best part? nobody knows a damn thing about them.
except, somehow, this random fucking security consultant that keeps popping up on their heists. and he seems like a nice enough person, and he’s -- okay, they’ll admit it, he’s attractive -- but he knows their name and he knows all this stuff about them and they don’t want that at all.
sure, it’d be nice to have someone who knows when they’re having a bad day and knows how to help them. it’d be nice to have someone plan nice surprises for them, and it’d be nice to have things they didn’t get for themself. it’d be nice to be known.
but it’s also terrifying, and so they want nothing to do with this guy. unluckily(?) for them, he’s persistent. 
they suppose they’ll just have to track him down out of uniform and ask him what the hell is going on.
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oatmealcookie02 · 4 years
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Choi’s parents (headcanons based on some game facts~)
NOTE! I’m not trying to justify twins’ mother’s actions; i’m trying to find a reason why she became like this. Please, don’t abuse your children^^
“CM” - Mother Choi (i don’t wanna use “MC” xD) “PM” - Prime Minister (their dad)
We know almost nothing about CM - we can only suggest that her hair is red (bc PM’s hair is shown to be different color), which is a really rare hair color (*laughs in V*). That fact made me think that CM might’ve been a foreigner. 
I imagine her being that typical young and naive girl who thought that she’ll find a place in live and bright future by moving in different country. That decision would probably upset her family (if she had one) and make them being in bad relashionship with her (if they weren’t already).
Now to the soon-to-be prime minister. You know, I really doubt that PM would bang just any call-girl (that would be dangerous for his reputation - he already has family; also he would’ve hired professionals, who wouldn’t get pregante that easily) and he DEFINETLY hadn’t sex just with some random alcoholic psycho woman.  That’s why I think that PM could’ve meet CM at work - you know, basic set up, a boss and their assistant. 
He’s a handsome and charming accomplished man, she’s a beautiful, exotic (idk her nationality but if she did had red hair...), and very naive young woman. PM is super cunning (i mean, he is a politician) so it would probably take just a couple of weeks flirting for CM to fall for him. PM planned just a quick affair but whoops she got pregnant.
As someone naive she just told PM about this “problem”, hoping to resolve it somehow; the best way for PM to deal with it would be just killing CM - she’s alone, no family or good friends, no one will think about it much. But CM somehow learned about it or just managed to escape the trap; either way, she tried to hide.
She felt heartbroken but she still decided to keep the child. Maybe she tried to prove something to herself, maybe an abortion was against her morals, maybe she just tried to be optimistic; but she took the courage, found some underpaid job (she still had to hide from PM so being officially employed would be dangerous for her). She started to save money, found some cheap house, and was preparing for a baby but whoops buy one - get one for free! You got twins, baby!
Even if she had what one child needed, she couldn’t afford two of them! But what other choice does she have now? She had to try to raise two babies.
Of course, she had to quit her job - there’s no way you can work having two infants alone. Raising children is expensive, hiring nanny is expensive, living is expensive. And since she couldn’t find a job, the only way to get money was to manipulate PM. CM probably thought that once kids grow up a bit and she’ll be able to work she’ll stop this at once, but... that never happened.
Poverty, hunger, constant stress, loneliness, paranoya (bc of possibility that PM will find them), postpartum depression, all that couldn’t but effect CM’s mental health. She tried her best raising kids, she loved them of course, but she was becoming more and more unstable. Eventually (i think at twins’ age of 2-3) she began to drink alcohol, sometimes throw a tantrum at her kids. A few years later she lost her mind completely, starting to abuse them and constantly being drunk.
Why I think that she wasn’t like that from the start? Once again, PM wouldn’t get so close with a crazy woman. Also the twins wouldn’t survive that long if she was beating them from the start. 
More then that, if a baby is being raised without love&care then it’s a very high possibility that they’ll grow up underdeveloped and slow in mind; twins, however, have amazing mental capacities. Also, without someone to talk to them, their social skills wouldn’t be so good when they were 5-6 (we had a flashback from 15 years ago). //this is based on things i learned at my kids psychology classes in uni//
They might not remember this due to being very young or getting trauma from all of this; but I really think that their mother did care about them from the start. 
She could’ve get rid of them long time ago; they could’ve die from not being watched enough. Also a few short facts:
- Saeran once says “I wish mom would hate me too, then I could’ve go outside with you” - CM probably guessed that weak Saeran won’t survive that long outside so she never sended him on arrands (like she did with Seven); - While she was screaming at Saeran (that he’s a bug; that this worls isn’t made for the outcasts like they are) it looked like she really was warning him. Well, of course she was drunk and mental, but I think she tried to explain to son how things work (from her point of view) in this world. She basically was teaching him to survive, saying that he should just accept his position and try not to get in troubles (which is again, wrong, but true from her point of view). - Again with Saeyoung going on arrands; how did he know where to go? She might have brought him with her to the shops and all when he was still young (or she just explained where the shops are really well).
I don’t think that there’re people who just born evil, I believe that ppl who does evil things were just poorly raised or had lots of troubles in life, that’s why I tried to understand CM. 
Also, it does kinda sound like something Cheritz would make canon xD
Anyway! Thank you so much for reading this! It was really hard to write for me (since i suck at english) but I wanted to share my headcanons^^ If you have your headcanons on this topic and opinions, please comment (here, or in twitter, or in insta), it’ll be very interesting to know your position!
Thanks again and have a nice day!
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elmaxlys · 3 years
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In which Ainosuke and Kiriko met in high-school. Kiriko was that person always studying with few friends, Ainosuke was the rich and cool kid. It was a good private school, quite expensive, Ainosuke's family just payed, Kiriko got in with a scholarship.
Despite his popularity, Ainosuke rarely hangs out with the rest of the class but people don't mind because he sneaks in alcohol and cigarettes or something. The only times he's allowed to stay later is with the excuse of a group project: rare are the students who ever went to his house. He's very secretive and even when they have PE, no one has ever seen him shirtless.
Next to that you have Kiriko, always working her ass off and she's in a one sided rivalry with him over grades. He keeps placing first yet Kiriko knows he fools around all the time so she lowkey hates him.
Idk whether to make it a full AU or a past hc, depending of that it could go different ways.
1) past hc
Because of his background as a politician's son, rich, smart and going to study abroad - yet smoking and drinking whenever possible, and never getting caught by the teachers - Kiriko was suspicious of him as soon as she found out he was going into politics when they met again in uni, immediately branding him with the (future) corrupt politician label.
Because they met again in uni. There, they somehow ended up spending a bunch of time together. This is when Ainosuke started calling her Kamakiri. She always hated that. She thought he was too confident, she hated his attitude so she would have preferred to avoid him but the guy was involved about everywhere. Plus, since his dad was a politician and he was rich af, everyone wanted connections with him. Kiriko was still always studying and working, so that's how Ainosuke remembers her. He knew all along she didn't like him very much but he didn't mind because she always stayed polite and sometimes gave him the benefit of the doubt (that is until she found out he was involved with Takano and bribing cops). Still, he thinks it's funny to mess with her (hence ep6 :3)
2) full Adakiri AU 😊
As long as they're high school student, they don't grow much close. Kiriko is annoyed by him, Ainosuke barely knows she exists - he's more preoccupied with skateboarding and hiding it from his family and she's more interested in keeping her grades up anyway.
Then he's transfered and finishes high-school abroad. Kiriko forgets him, everyone is sad bc he was a useful and charismatic dude.
They meet again in uni. As above, they keep meeting everywhere because everyone wants connexion with the Shindo guy, you know? At first, Kiriko is like great he hasn't changed. But little by little she notices he actually has changed. He still offers to pay when they go eat in groups but he only smokes when he thinks no one can see him, and he rarely ever drinks. She notices that he seems always hyper aware of his surroundings and that his smile is super fake. He doesn't trust, doesn't rely on people. Kiriko is like what the hell happened to him in a year? that's scary. But he always keeps a front and they're not close so she can't really ask him, can she?
Anyway study group session with a bunch of people, it keeps going super late and in the end they're the only ones left awake. They decide to take a break and it's awkward, with just them there. They don't have much in common so to find a subject of conversation they start talking about high school and they talk a good chunk of the night and they're actually having fun. Ainosuke remembers she was nicknamed Kamakiri by their classmates back then and picks it back up. She says she hates him for that but there's no bite.
After that, they start hanging out more often. He's more open about his smoking habits around her, too. She's quite observant so she notices. Their friendship progresses.
After some time, she finds out he likes skateboarding, he teaches her the basics when they're taking breaks from studying. She doesn't like it much but he's having fun. After a while, he invites her to S. She goes by Mantis and doesn't skate herself, she's a spectator and ADAM's friend. She gets to meet Tadashi and she thinks it's weird that even though he clearly disapproves of S he still does whatever Ainosuke wants in regards to it. She doesn't pry further.
They grow up, Kiriko is the 2nd person after Tadashi who knows the truth about him and who sees him unmasked. She doesn't know much about his family, tho. He still becomes a politician, she still becomes a cop. She helps keeping S open. If I keep going it'll morph into EDENMantis so I'm stopping there ❤️
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queenmylovely · 4 years
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The Best Things Ain’t Free
Summary: Roger Taylor x fem!reader. After meeting through friends, Roger is impressed with your lifestyle and you’re impressed with his prettiness. 
Word Count: 10.9k listen... she’s long
Warnings: cussing, smut (oral sex, fingering, etc.) (18+!! marked with ***)
A/N: This idea has been on my mind for ages because I can’t look at certain pictures of Roger in a fur coat without this thot. PSA that the most fictional part of this fic is reader being rich bc your girl ain’t. Let’s all use our best imagination and enjoy the life of the wealthy for a minute. Please leave feedback in any form whether it be tags, replies, asks, or messages, because I really do love hearing from you!
Masterlist; BLM Resources, Register to Vote (U.S.)
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(these are what inspired this entire thing bc look at them!!! pics edited by me)
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Normally, you wouldn’t be one to go to a dingy pub to watch some band play a set. If you wanted to hear good music, you’d go to a concert in a real venue, with box seats and catering. And if you wanted a drink you’d go to the Ivy, Grenadier, Star, or if you really wanted a nice time, the Ritz. But your friend, Kalaya, from your time at Oxford (she had attended on a merit-based scholarship, bless her heart), had insisted that you come.
“They’re one of the best bands I’ve ever heard!” Kalaya gushed, trying to convince you to go.
“Better than the Stones? The Supremes? Janis?” you asked, referencing all of the concerts you had taken her to in uni. “We saw Janis the one and only time she played solo in London, are you telling me this student band is going to match her?”
“I said one of the best bands I’ve ever heard. And it’s not like you’ve never been to the bar before, it’s Angel’s, I took you there after exams junior year, remember?” Kalaya prodded, hoping that since it was at least somewhat familiar, you might be more likely to go.
“Oh yeah, I remember. Someone spilt a drink on me and I stunk like cheap beer for the rest of the night,” you said, wrinkling your nose in annoyance.
“C’mon you can’t condemn a whole pub just because one drunk idiot made a mistake,” Kalaya reasoned.
“Never would’ve happened at the Ritz,” you said with a huff.
Lucky for her, Kalaya never took you as seriously as you wanted to be and she laughed, “Stop being so stuck up, it’s not flattering.”
You stuck your tongue out at her, and she just rolled her eyes.
“Please, I need you to go. I fancy the guitar player and I can’t show up alone, you know I get nervous in crowds on my own,” Kalaya reminded you with her best puppy-dog eyes.
Your face broke out in a grin, “You didn’t say you fancied someone, oh my gosh, of course I’ll go! Tell me more about this guitarist.”
_____
The one caveat you had made Kalaya agree to was new outfits for the show. You would go to a grungy student pub to support your friend, but like hell were you going to dress the same as everyone there. After a few hours traipsing around Oxford Street, you both had completely new, fabulous outfits that were sure to stun, on your dime of course.
When you had first met Kalaya, she hadn’t liked you paying for things for her, but when you insisted that it only made sense for you to do or else you would be doing everything alone, she began to accept it. Plus, you had told her, the money was doing a lot more good being spent on fancy dinners and trips to the sea than sitting in some bank account in Switzerland. Anyway, your parents owned the largest shipping company in England, or something, so it wasn’t like there wasn’t plenty to spare.
“It’ll take about an hour and ten minutes by car, so we should leave about two and a half hours before the concert so we can get there early,” you planned out two days before the concert, during dinner at your shared apartment with Kalaya.
“Car? We can just take the train, it’s practically the same amount of time,” Kalaya replied.
“And get our new outfits all dirty before the show? No way, Chay can take us. I already told him about it and he’s bringing Martie so they can go too,” you explained. Chay (short for Charlie, short for Charles) was your family’s driver and Martie was his wife. They were in their early thirties so they still appreciated new music.
“What if something happens with Brian and I want to stay? Won’t Martie and Chay want to come home?” Kalaya said sheepishly.
“When that happens, we’ll just get rooms at that Inn on the boulevard and wait until morning to bring you home,” you said with a smirk.
Kalaya got her own cheeky smile, “And what about when you inevitably sweep some unknowing pretty boy off his feet? Where will they go without you to get the rooms?”
You hummed, thinking about all the boys that might be at the concert, “They have their expense card, of course.”
_____
The afternoon before the concert, the four of you met at the drive of your parent's house, ready and dressed for the night. You’re in dark wash bell bottoms, an emerald green satin top, and black leather platform boots. Draped over one arm you had your favorite fur coat, a dark brown mink, because although it was August, it got cold late at night, especially in Oxford. Kalaya had chosen a black flowy dress that came to her mid-thigh and made her medium-brown skin richer in comparison, and black suede booties. It would’ve been boring except for the silver and gold thread embroidering it, making it look like a starry night sky. She had told you it would be perfect because Brian studied stars.
Martie and Chay were a little more understated, as was to be expected since they didn’t have to try to catch anyone’s eye. Martie was in an orange floral dress in a similar cut to Kalaya’s, but a few inches longer. The orange of the dress and the yellow and olive green flowers complimented her dark brown skin with its warm undertone. Chay was in black bell bottoms, a dark red button-down with a paisley print, and regular black boots. You told him that he was lucky his skin was still tanned from the summer holiday because his typical paper-white skin combined with the outfit would’ve made him look like a vampire. Chay laughed sarcastically and Martie changed the subject by complimenting you two girls and then turned back to Chay, noticing his large collar was a little crooked and fixing it.
Everyone, including their overnight bags just in case, got into the car and Chay immediately turned the radio up, the four of you singing along the whole way there.
_
Once you got to the bar, the four of you grabbed drinks and sat at a table near the back because it wasn’t crowded yet. The group chatted easily, laughing at each other’s jokes and stories. You were all more like family than anything because Chay’s father was the family driver before him and he and Martie had been together since they were teenagers. Since Kalaya always came to all the family vacations (that Martie and Chay also came to, as “employees;” their only duty being a designated driver), the four of you were used to hanging out and going to clubs and concerts together.
Slowly, the bar started filling up and you turned to Kalaya, “We should probably go to the front now so we can secure a spot.”
Kalaya nodded, “Are you guys coming?”
Martie and Chay looked at each other, communicating silently in that way couples do. Martie answered, “No, we’ll stay here. Don’t wanna be around a bunch of sweaty students.”
“My sentiments exactly,” you said with a roll of your eyes and Kalaya elbowed you. Then you looked at Chay with a sheepish smile, “Can I leave my coat with you?”
“Yes,” Chay huffed with his own eye roll, but he was still smiling. “Now go on, get up there.”
Kalaya and you laughed and waved, hurrying to get a good spot close to the stage. That was one positive of a small venue, being close enough to the band to do some serious damage to your hearing as well as being able to actually see the sweat dripping down their temples and chests once they really got into the music.
The crowd grew around you and you were jostled a couple of times, but once you glared at the people who did it, that seemed to stop. The energy of the crowd grew and grew in anticipation and you heard lots of chatter about how excited they were to see the band. Maybe Kalaya hadn’t oversold them.
It wasn’t long before all of the stage lights went out and a booming voice came from all around, announcing the arrival of, “Your entertainment tonight, Her Majesty, Queen!”
You laughed, appreciating the audacity of the name as someone who liked to be somewhat outrageous yourself. The lights flashed back on and you realized that the band was already onstage; they went right into the first song, drums, guitar, and bass starting strong. You listened to the music, enjoying it already, but were more focused on checking out the band, which was easy because you were only ten feet away from the stage.
The singer was a slim, elegant man with light brown skin and jet black hair. His eyes were a warm brown and when he looked out at the crowd it was as if he was connecting with every person. Round lips and large teeth caught your eye and as you watched them enunciate every syllable, you couldn’t help but think they must make a wonderful smile. He was wearing a black satin jumpsuit embroidered and embellished until it shone in the light. Cheekbones sharp enough to cut and eyeliner just the same kept him on the rock side of glam, any softer and he could’ve been considered disco. And even though the concert had only just started, he was already completely into it; the energy he gave off as he strode about the stage only adding to the crowd’s.
Next you looked at the guitarist, Brian, who Kalaya was already staring at, mouth hanging open in a way that told you she didn’t realize how obvious it was. You gently reached over and tapped her chin, bringing her out of her trance and her eyes widened as she realized what she was doing. She started swaying to the music and looked around the stage in a much more casual way.
Back to the guitarist, as Kalaya had told you he was extremely tall, with some of the longest legs you had ever seen on anyone. With velvet black pants and a flowing white blouse, he was as glam as the singer. He was even more slim than the singer, and with the mound of curls that made up his head he kinda looked like a lollipop, nothing you would ever tell Kalaya. He had pale white skin, a prominent nose, and otherwise delicate features, but your main attention was brought to his hazel eyes that looked at the crowd as if he was surveying them. Overall you were thoroughly impressed with Kalaya’s choice to fancy him.
On the opposite side of the singer was the bassist, made clear by the fact that his guitar only had four strings and a longer neck. His clothing was a little more reserved than the other two, simply a black satin suit with a white satin shirt underneath. His chestnut brown hair was long and wavy, and it framed his also pale white face well. He was pretty relaxed in his playing, like it wasn’t that hard, but watching his hands you could tell the skill it took to stay on beat through some of the most complex rhythms. A soft nose, green-grey eyes that seemed kind, full lips, and a familiar feeling endeared him to you instantly, a smile coming to your face as he smirked when the singer pressed up against him.
Lastly, you turned your attention to the drummer, and just about gasped. Yes, the other three had been beautiful, but none of them were as pretty as him. His hair was shaggy, wavy, and dirty blonde, and heaven knew you loved your blondes. His white skin was lightly tanned which just made his baby blue eyes stand out even more. He was wearing some sort of black blouse but it was completely unbuttoned, leaving his chest that was toned from drumming totally exposed. You couldn’t see much else because of his kit but what you could see, your eyes ate up. As he drummed, his lips stuck out in a pout and his hair swooshed, glinting gold as he played the cymbals.
Kalaya had only been half-joking when she talked about you finding your pretty boy and now you had, your sights completely set on this drummer. Plus you figured that if Kalaya knew Brian, you had an automatic in.
Suddenly, you were making eye contact with the drummer but instead of being surprised or flustered, you started your mission. Biting your lip in a smile, rocking your hips to the rhythm he was playing, and tilting your head to the side, you made it clear you were checking him out. That seemed to spur him on and the drums got louder as he played harder. If he was trying to impress you, it was working, but more because it was a testament to his stamina than to his skill. Besides, you could see that you had done plenty to impress him by subverting his expectations and staring him down instead of swooning as soon as he caught your eye with his.
Not that there was anything wrong with swooning, in fact Kalaya was swooning over Brian at this very second because he had smiled at her, but you liked being the one to cause the swoon. You knew you were attractive and knew other people knew it too. You were confident and knew what you wanted, an energy you liked to radiate when you were around pretty boys.  
The drummer was the one to break eye contact first, looking around the room for a minute as if trying to distract himself. Then he looked back at you and you just smiled and waved at him. By the way his eyes widened and cheeks pinkened further than they already were, you could tell he was a little flustered, and laughed, something you were sure he could see as well. He didn’t seem to be looking away this time, so you did instead, turning your attention to Kalaya to make sure she was doing alright.
“How’s it going, babe? He in love with you yet?” you half-yelled into her ear because the music was so loud.
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly, “More like I’ve just fallen further in love with him. But he has smiled and waved at me a couple times in between songs.”
“See? Don’t be all modest!” you urged.
“Well what about you? I see the eyes you’re making at that pretty boy drummer. He’s just the epitome of your type, huh?” Kalaya shot back.
You sighed happily, “He really is.”
_
About an hour later, the last encore was done and a cheap curtain had separated the band from the rest of the pub as they packed up their instruments. But apparently they would be joining the crowd later on, based on the talk of the people that had been standing around you up front. Not everyone seemed aware of this fact or maybe they just didn’t care, because the crowd thinned by half once the set was over. Quickly making a game plan, you and Kalaya decided to wait by the bar but not at the bar, in the path the band would most likely take from backstage to get a drink.
After waiting for only 10 minutes, you saw a curly head of hair bobbing through a doorway and realized they were on the move. You signaled to Kalaya with your eyes that they were appearing behind her (now out of their stage clothes), not interrupting what she was saying in an effort to remain casual. Once she had realized what you meant, she slowed her words, hoping to get interrupted. The blonde came into view and you flicked your eyes over to him just once, letting him know you knew he was there.
“Kalaya?” Brian asked, tapping her shoulder lightly.
Expertly, Kalaya turned like she was surprised, “Brian!”
They hugged quickly and she pulled back, “You all were amazing, just like last time.”
“Yes, well, I’m glad I actually have a chance to talk to you this time, instead of rushing off to deal with a flat tire on the van,” Brian smiled. Then he looked over to you and Kalaya jumped in.
“This is my friend,” she introduced you. “We went to Oxford together. She already knows all about you.”
Brian looked a little pleased at that, and Kalaya brought a hand to her mouth, realizing her faux pas.
“She means your band. She had to make a hard sell for me to come all the way back to Oxford to see the show,” you explained away what she said even though you all knew that wasn’t what she had meant.
“Well I’m glad you both made it,” Brian said with an easy smile. “Speaking of the band, I’d better introduce them all.”
Brian stepped back so he was in line with the other three and Kalaya turned so she was facing them next to you.
“This here is Freddie, our wonderful singer. Then we have John—”
“You can call me Deaky,” he interjected.
“Deaky then, our fantastic bassist. And finally our resident pretty boy himself, our drummer, Roger,” Brian finished with a bit of a smirk.
You all exchanged pleasantries and as Kalaya was drawn into a conversation with the rest of the band, Roger stepped closer to you.
“Pretty boy, huh?” You asked with a teasing smile. He nodded, about to say something in defense or make a jab at Brian, but you spoke first, “Glad I’m not the only one who thinks so.”
Roger flushed at that, a small smile coming to his face, but he changed the subject, “So you went to Oxford?”
“Yes,” you said slowly.
“Not a big fan?” he asked.
“No, I did really enjoy it here, just kind of small for my taste. I mean, over an hour to get to where anyone big’s playing and never having heard of fine dining? I suppose it was a good change of pace, or at least that’s what my parents say, but I’m glad to be back in the city,” you explained and Roger listened intently.
“So raised in London then?”
“Yes, except for the summers. Then it was Nice or Barcelona. Oh and one year New York,” you knew you were being a little overt with the flaunting of your upbringing, but you could tell that Roger was the type of person to enjoy the best things in life, and his eyes were as big as dinner plates as he listened to you, clearly impressed. “What about you?”
“Oh, I’m just from Truro, not quite as glamorous as all those,” Roger told you and while he wasn’t exactly embarrassed, you could tell he was waiting for your reaction.
“Truro’s in Cornwall, right?” you asked and Roger confirmed with a nod. “Then I’ve been there! Yeah a couple years ago Kalaya and I went on a trip to the sea and took a little detour to Truro, we loved it! Perfect for a little weekend getaway.”
Roger smiled big, your praising of his hometown charming him, “But how is Truro on the way to the sea? Wouldn’t you just go to Brighton or Southend?”
You smiled, laughing at yourself, “Well I got it in my head that I wanted to go to the very western tip of the country, and luckily Kalaya is a good enough sport to go along with my whims.”
“Do you often have these types of whims?” Roger asked and there was more cheek behind the words than in their meanings.
“Well I adore travelling,” you said, a little smirk coming to your face. Then you fixed your gaze to Roger’s eyes, “And my personal philosophy is to do whatever I want, whenever I want, with whoever I want.”
Roger swallowed, his mouth parted, and he blinked a couple times before responding, trying a laugh to cover for his reaction to your words, “A bit hedonistic, no?”
“Hmm, a bit like the pot calling the kettle black, no?” you responded quickly. Not that you actually knew that Roger was similar to you in that way, but watching how he reacted to everything you said made you sure enough to say that.
Scoffing as if that weren’t true, all he could say was, “What?--who?”
“How are the two of you getting on?” the bassist, John-- Deaky, interjected, coming to stand so the three of you made a triangle.
“Well Roger here just called me hedonistic,” you said matter-of-factly, looking at Deaky with wide eyes.
“Ha! You’re one to talk, Rog,” Deaky told him, clapping him on the shoulder and laughing.
Roger just looked at you, surprised that you would’ve brought it up to Deaky. You just stuck your tongue between your teeth and smiled victoriously; you loved to keep boys on their toes, especially ones that looked so cute when they were surprised.
Deaky turned to you, “You look really familiar, have we met before?”
“You know, I was thinking the same thing, but you had shorter hair, right?” you looked at him more closely.
He laughed and nodded, “Yeah, this is pretty new.”
“What university did you go to?” you asked.
“Chelsea college in London, I was in electrical engineering,” Deaky replied.
You exclaimed in recognition, “The scholarship dinner! You got my family’s engineering scholarship, that was like five years ago.”
“That’s right! We hung out during that tour of one of the facilities when our parents were talking endlessly,” he remembered and you laughed along with him.
“Wait, I thought the only private scholarship you got was from that family with the shipping business that are, like, filthy rich,” Roger said and you and John just looked at each other and then at Roger, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Then his eyes went wide, “That’s your family?!”
“Might wanna close your mouth Rog,” Deaky said with a laugh, tapping Roger’s chin as you had Kalaya’s.
A voice came from the bar and you looked to see Brian waving the three of you over. Deaky immediately started walking but you hung back next to Roger.
He seemed to be walking slowly because he was still processing the information, “I kinda thought you were exaggerating about the summer trips. And you weren’t kidding when you said whatever you want whenever you want, were you?”
You reached over and tucked a stray strand of hair away from his face and Roger looked at your hand as it dropped back to your side, “Mm-mm, wasn’t kidding about the whoever, either.”
Roger looked back up at you and you winked before turning to the others and gladly accepting the drink held out to you by Brian.
Chatting in a little group with Brian, Kalaya, and Deaky, you noticed that Freddie and Roger were off to the side but didn’t pay it too much mind. You were more focused on whether this Brian liked your Kalaya as much as she did he, and judging by the way he stared at her with adoration in his eyes as she talked, he did.
Standing apart from the rest of you with Freddie, Roger took a gulp of his drink as he looked at you laughing with the others.
“Fred, man, I can hardly keep up with this girl. We’ve only been talking for like ten minutes and all the things she says! I hardly know whether I wanna be with her or be her,” Roger told Freddie.
“What do you mean?” Freddie said with a confused laugh.
“Well she’s beautiful and funny and smart, sophisticated, has great taste--” “I think you’re confusing her with me,” Freddie interrupted with a sly smile.
“Ha-ha, Fred. Did I mention she’s also loaded?” Roger deadpanned.
“She’s got me there,” Freddie admitted. “Well are you going to do anything about it?
“I would, but she’s kinda intimidating,” Roger said and when Freddie looked confused he elaborated. “Like, she’s been flirting more than me tonight, even when we were onstage.”
“That’s saying something,” Freddie agreed.
“Exactly, so I feel like she’s someone who would want to make the first move,” Roger pointed out. And then a little quieter, “which you know I have absolutely no problem with.”
Freddie laughed loudly, “Well if things don’t work out between you two, I might just have to make her my best friend.”
“Hey, that’s me,” Roger said with a frown.
Patting Roger’s arm, Freddie rolled his eyes and told him, “I know darling, it was a joke.”
Deaky, Kalaya, Brian, and you got up from your seats at the bar, catching their attention, so they walked over to where you were.
“We’re walking the girls out,” Deaky explained because Brian was too busy chatting with Kalaya. Freddie and Roger nodded and then Deaky led the way, cutting through the crowd to the exit. Brian and Kalaya were lock-step behind him, and Freddie, Roger, and you followed up last, in that order.
“Leaving already?” Freddie asked you.
“Yeah, well if we want to get rooms for the night we better head over,” you explained.
“Oh are you staying at the Inn too?” Roger asked, his ears pricking up.
You nodded with a little laugh, “Seeing as it’s the only lodging in town, yes.”
Freddie laughed and Roger smiled sheepishly, thinking of something to say when you put your hand on his arm.
“Hold on a second, I gotta grab our ride,” you said quickly before heading towards the tables in the back.
Freddie and Roger shared a confused look, having assumed that the two of you would call a cab. You were walking back only twenty seconds later, slipping on your fur coat.
Roger gasped softly and gripped Freddie’s arm, “Fuck Fred, I’m in love.”
Freddie laughed, but his surprise-widened eyes were on the coat too, “With her or the coat?”
“Both,” he whispered back as you came up next to them, joined by a man and woman.
“Okay, quick introductions,” you said, realizing that you were standing halfway obstructing the doors. “Freddie, Roger, this is Chay and Martie. Technically Chay’s my family’s driver, but they’re both more like my siblings that I drag along to things like these. Chay and Martie, this is Freddie and Roger, of the band.”
“Yes, we assumed,” Martie said with a laugh, shaking Freddie’s hand first and then switching with her husband.
“Looks like we should head outside,” Chay pointed out, and the five of you exited into the cool night air. “We loved the set, you all were fantastic. And by the way, she did not have to drag us here, we were rather excited to see you guys ourselves.”
“Thank you, that’s very kind,” Freddie said with a warm smile and it was infectious enough that everyone smiled as well.
“Well, shall we go bring ‘round the car, babe?” Martie asked, always good at keeping Chay from getting too distracted.
“Yes, right, nice to meet you,” Chay said, and they all did their goodbyes.
You turned to Freddie and Roger, “Guess I’ll be leaving in a minute. I’m sorry we didn’t get to talk more, Freddie, I feel like we’d have a lot to talk about.”
“Me too dear,” Freddie said warmly. Then he gave you a pointed look, “But don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again.”
You both knew what he meant, and by the looks of Roger’s flushed face, he did too although he pretended not to hear. It was hard to help the pleased smile that came to your face when you realized Roger must have talked about you to Freddie.
Freddie took a look at Roger and then said to both of you, “I’ll just go say goodbye to Kalaya then.”
He walked away and you took a couple steps toward Roger, until you were only about a foot apart. Roger wasn’t much taller than you, especially in your platforms, but from that distance you had to look up to look him in the eyes. You didn’t say anything, just looked at him and waited until he blushed again and looked down for a second, eyes landing on your coat.
“That coat looks great on you,” he rushed out, tucking a piece of hair behind his hair, which did nothing to calm him as it just reminded him of when you did earlier.
You looked down at your coat too, hands brushing over the soft, brown fur, “You like it?”
“Who wouldn’t?” he said quickly and you chuckled.
“You know Roger,” you stepped closer and put a hand on his arm. “I think we’d have a lot to talk about too. Probably have lots in common. You should call me sometime to figure out all what that is.”
With that, you reached into the inside pocket of your coat and pulled out one of your cards that you always kept handy ‘cause you never knew when a networking opportunity would present itself. You held the card up between your index and middle finger before reaching behind Roger and tucking it into the back pocket of his jeans. You let yourself linger that close to him and drank in his wide eyes, the way his mouth parted and how he seemed to be leaning down closer and closer to you.
“The car’s here y/n!” Kalaya called out to you, pulling both you and Roger out of the moment.
You looked at him once more, touching his arm again and then walking away. Throwing him a smile over your shoulder, you called, “See you later, pretty boy!”
Kalaya and you got into the back of the car and waved through the window to the four boys that were watching you leave. Once they were out of sight you turned to her.
“Good catch interrupting me and Roger then,” you told her.
“Always leave ‘em wanting more, right?” Kalaya said with a grin.
You laughed, “Right, exactly. By the way, things with Brian seemed to be going good.”
“They were, we had a lot of fun talking tonight. I think he likes me,” she said with a hopeful smile.
You nudged her, “I know he likes you. He couldn’t keep his eyes off you all night.”
“Same with Roger and you,” she pointed out.
“Well, I know he likes me too,” you said with a smirk and the whole car laughed. “You know if I were the type of person to get embarrassed, that’d do it.”
_____
A week later, during a giant heat wave that left no one able to do anything but sit inside and swelter, Roger called you around 7:00pm. Because you were lying on your bed with a fan pointed directly at you and you had a phone right next to your bed, it only took one ring for you to answer.
“Hello?”
“Hi, y/n?” you could tell by his voice it was Roger, but you kept that to yourself.
“Yep, who’s this?” you asked pleasantly.
“Roger from, um, Queen,” he said hesitantly.
“Oh, Roger, hello! You don’t have to say ‘from Queen,’ you know, I remember you perfectly,” you told him, sitting up so you were leaning back on your arm. Before he could say something in response, you started again, “So how are you, how are you doing? Have you had any more shows?”
“Good, I’m great. We had two more shows last weekend further north and we’ll have more next week around town--”
“Oh really? I think Kalaya and I would really love to go to another show, we so enjoyed the last,” you interrupted.
“Brilliant, you should definitely come, both of you, I can get you the details,” he returned and you interjected with a quick thanks. “But, what about you? How are you?”
“Ugh I’d be better, but it’s just so hot today,” you complained, flopping back onto the mattress.
“Well what are you wearing?” Roger asked and you grinned.
“Oh, getting a little cheeky are we, pretty boy? Haven’t even gone out and you’re asking what I’m wearing?” you asked mock-incredulously just to make him flustered.
“No--no, I just meant like if you’re hot, like maybe,” Roger was babbling, trying to find the best way to explain what he meant. “Just if you’re wearing layers or something thick or something I just--”
“It’s okay, I’ll tell you,” you said with a giggle. “Let’s see, I’m wearing satin running shorts, that to be honest are too short to run in, and one of those little strappy halter crop tops, you know the kind?”
“Y-yeah,” was all Roger could muster.
“So nothing that’s making me hot. And I’m not even wearing a bra so that’s not making me uncomfortable,” you reasoned as if this were a reasonable conversation.
You could hear his breath quicken over the phone and there was a pause where neither of you said anything.
“Maybe I should just go nude.”
You knew what you were doing, practically torturing the poor boy, but he had been the one to bring up what you were wearing, and it was the truth. But if you were simply answering his question with no impure intentions you would’ve been a lot less descriptive.
Roger made a sound somewhere between a groan and a laugh and then that was it so you sat up and kept going, “That reminds me, I’ve just had an idea. Today seems like a write off because it’s too hot to function, but it’s supposed to be cooler tomorrow, are you doing anything?”
He cleared his throat before he answered, “Um, no, I’m not busy.”
“Great! Kalaya and I were going to go shopping but I guess she’s hanging out with Brian instead. You can come with me and offer advice,” you told him.
“You’d want my advice?” Roger asked, confused.
“Yeah, I’ve seen your clothes both onstage and off. You have great style, Roger,” you affirmed and he smiled at the praise.
“Thanks, so do you. Um, that sounds great,” he replied.
“Okay, do you know the boutique on the corner of 10th and Wilder?” Roger hummed yes. “Good, let’s meet there at 11:30?”
“Perfect, looking forward to it,” he said flirtily.
You smiled, “Me too. Well, I should probably go, Kalaya and I are going swimming tonight at my parents’ to make up for her flaking out tomorrow. I’d invite you along, but even though my parents are out of town, they’d definitely hear about their daughter skinny dipping with some random pretty boy they don’t know. See you tomorrow!”
“I… bye,” Roger said, sounding incredibly sad that he couldn’t stay on or go swimming.
You hung up and then immediately rushed to Kalaya’s room to tell her all about the conversation.
_____
When you walked into the boutique at 11:25am, the clerk, Ayan, waved to you, as you were a frequent patron of the store. You had probably already seen all that there was to see, but thought that Roger’s fresh eyes might see something you hadn’t given much thought to before. There were a couple other customers around, but it was a little slow for a Saturday morning so you went to chat with Ayan about any new arrivals while you waited for Roger to arrive.
They were explaining that the boutique had gotten some fur coats from an estate that were in impeccable condition. The boutique was one of your favorites because it stocked mainly independent designers, consignment, and didn’t turn up its nose at thrifted finds of luxury items. In fact, it was where you had gotten your fur coat a few years before from the estate of a well known West End actress from the forties.
“There’s this one really lovely coyote--” Ayan cut themself off, eyes widening as they looked towards the door. “Don’t look now, but some special type of pretty boy is just about to walk in.”
Thinking only one person could fit that description, you looked, smiling as Roger walked in, scanning the store for you.
“You looked!” Ayan whisper-yelled and you couldn’t help but laugh. The sound drew Roger’s eyes over to you and you waved before turning back to them.
“Don’t worry, he’s meeting me. See you in a while with loads to buy under your commission,” you told them, winking.
“That’s why you’re my favorite customer,” they joked and you chuckled as you walked away.
“Hey, pretty boy,” you said cheerfully as you reached him before leaning in for a kiss on the cheek. He kissed you back and when you pulled back his cheeks were the cute pink that you were getting used to seeing.
“Hey, nice shirt,” he complimented.
You looked down at yourself. You were wearing high waisted medium wash denim shorts and a Hendrix t-shirt tied to the side at your waist.
“Thanks, I got it at his concert I went to,” you explained, smoothing it out.
“Where’d you see him?” Roger asked curiously.
“Royal Albert Hall, in ‘69. Me and Kalaya went together, it was a great show,” you said, remembering how it felt to see him perform.
“No way, I went to that concert too!” Roger exclaimed and you laughed excitedly.
“I wonder if we saw each other at all,” you said, smiling at the thought.
“Uh-uh, I would’ve remembered you perfectly,” Roger told you with a bold smile and this time, you were the one that was flustered.
“Should we start? I’m counting on you to find whatever I’ve overlooked in this store,” you said, changing the subject as you turned towards a rack of clothes.
“Do you have anything specific that you need?” Roger asked distractedly as he flicked through the hangers.
“The only need I have is to have all the best things this store has to offer,” you said airily.
Roger laughed and turned to you, saying teasingly, “Anyone ever tell you that you’re spoilt?”
“They usually stop when I pay them not to,” you said straight-faced, but Roger’s laugh made you break and you laughed together, leaning closer until you were sharing the same air and you placed a hand on his arm to steady yourself.
You were just wearing sandals, so Roger was taller to you than the week before and you actually had to tilt your head up to make eye contact this close. Roger’s laughter-brightened eyes looked at your still smiling lips and you noticed, the shift in mood making your breath quicken and your heart race. Under your fingers, the warm skin of his arm made you want to feel that warmth all over, and you wondered how long it would be until you could.
Then another customer brushed by, mumbling an “excuse me” awkwardly and the two of you were pulled away from a moment yet again. Your hand dropped from his arm and he turned back to the rack. It wasn’t long before your chatter started up again, especially as Roger found things that he liked for you to try on.
When he had made his way through the entire store, he had six things for you. He would have had a lot more but most of what he liked you already had.
First up was a black mesh long sleeve shirt that Roger told you to try on underneath your band shirt. It was longer than your t-shirt and you tucked it into your shorts, so your midriff that was exposed by the gap in between your clothes was covered by the mesh.
You came out of the dressing room, holding your arms out for Roger to see and doing a twirl, smiling widely.
“Do you like it?” he asked, smiling to match.
You nodded enthusiastically, “You know, when I saw this weeks ago I had no idea how to style it, but I love this! Very punk, street fashion, I’m a woman of the people.”
“Oh my gosh, never mind, I’m not sure you deserve to wear that,” Roger reached out and grabbed the sleeve, acting like he was going to pull it off.
“Stop!” you said through laughter. “You’ll stretch it out!”
He let you go and you went back in to try on more. There ended up being two dresses that you didn’t like because of color for one and the sheer amount of ruffles for the other. Then a shirt you realized you had in another color at home and a skirt that was itchy. Finally, there was a denim shirt that you didn’t really like because it was so plain. But you put it on anyway, figuring you’d humor him.
It was medium wash, the same color as your shorts, and it had some flowers embroidered in colorful thread which you supposed were nice, but overall it looked blah.
You stepped out of the dressing room again and Roger saw your not-so-happy face.
“What’s wrong?”
You scrunched up your face, “Don’t like it, it looks weird.”
Roger rolled his eyes with a smile, “That’s because you’re wearing it wrong. C’mere.”
You stepped close to him and he said a soft “may I” to which you nodded. His long fingers unbuttoned the bottom two buttons of the shirt. Then he tied it in a knot, fixing the ends so they laid correctly. His fingers brushed your skin and though they were warm, the feeling made you shiver. Roger was moving his hands so delicately, precisely, and you felt a rush of want go through you.
“And since you’re wearing a t-shirt,” even more carefully, he undid the upper buttons, leaving only the middle two done. Then he turned you around to look in the mirror and immediately your mind was changed. The way Roger styled it emphasized your waist instead of hiding it and now the monotone look worked instead of looking drab.
“How do you feel about it now?” Roger asked with a proud little smile.
“I love it, thank you,” you said, looking at him through the mirror.
Roger stepped past you into the dressing room and grabbed the mesh shirt, “Well here are your two finds.”
He handed the shirt to you, but before he could return his hands to his sides, you grabbed one of them, sliding your fingers along his to his palm and feeling the calluses there from drumming.
Roger watched your hand on his and only looked up when you started talking.
“Did you see anything else you liked?”
“Oh, do you want more than these two things? I can look again,” Roger suggested.
You smiled softly, squeezing his hand, “No, I mean did you see anything you liked for yourself? So I can thank you for helping me with these.”
“You don’t have to,” Roger protested.
“I might be spoiled, but I like to do some spoiling myself. I want to get you something, and this shop is too good for nothing to catch your eye. Anything you liked, nothing’s too much,” you told him, thumb rubbing over the back of his hand.
“Anything?” Roger hesitated.
“Anything, Roger,” you said, using your free hand to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear. That seemed to reassure him.
“I did see this display with this really gorgeous…” he trailed off, still uncertain, looking down.
“Really gorgeous… what?” you prompted.
“… fur coat,” he looked up to see your reaction. You were beaming.
“That’s the one Ayan was telling me about, the coyote one, right? It is gorgeous, they'll be so happy that it’s gonna sell already!” you exclaimed, using your hold on his hand to pull him over to that part of the store.
Roger followed you, a little confused about what you said, but glad that you seemed so happy. You let go of Roger’s hand, set your clothes on the corner of a nearby table, and pulled the coat off the mannequin, handing it to Roger. He pulled it on carefully, pulling the sides so they were equal.
“Here,” you put your hands behind his neck and then collected the hair that had gotten trapped underneath the coat and moved it to where it should be. He smiled his thanks and you smiled back, before turning him around to face the mirror he was standing in front of.
You stepped a little to the side of him and watched him look at himself. He let out a little laugh, the kind that meant “damn, I didn’t think I’d look this good,” and you had to agree.
Then he turned back around to you, “Whaddya think?”
You looked him up and down, the desire you felt earlier only growing, “You look… hot.”
Roger was a little surprised at your outright statement, but that was nothing compared to the surprise he felt when you grabbed the lapels of the coat and used them to pull him to you, kissing him full on the lips without hesitation.
As shocked as he was at the spontaneity, kissing you was something he had been thinking about for a while, so he recovered quickly, kissing you back. He put one hand just above your waist and the other on one of your hands, keeping it there.
But before either of you could deepen the kiss, you heard the sound of heels clacking and pulled back. Roger’s lips followed yours, and you giggled, leaning back towards him. You only planned to give him another peck but his soft lips distracted you for another five seconds or so before you remembered what you were doing.
You pulled back, dropping your hands, except Roger kept the one he had been holding and linked his fingers with yours, smiling at you. He still looked clear-eyed and focused after the kiss, so you decided that you had to get him home quickly so you could remedy that.
“So I was thinking we should go ring up and then go to my place. To drop off my new clothes and… stuff,” you said, a bit of a suggestive emphasis on the last word.
“Let’s,” Roger said, picking your shirt up off the table.
The two of you ended up taking off your new finds, figuring it’d be too hot outside for a fur coat and denim shirt, and then headed to the checkout. Ayan was pleased, but not all too surprised that you were taking home the new fur, even if it was technically going to Roger’s home. Roger, to his credit, didn’t have any more trouble with you paying, but insisted that he carry back all the bags. You agreed with the stipulation that he would still hold your hand, which he did.
You only lived a ten minute walk away, and Roger had taken the underground, so you walked the way home. There was chatting along the way, but it was hard to get too deep into any one topic with the feeling of each other’s hands and the anticipation of what was to come distracting you.
Once you got to your building, you were ushered in by the doorman that tipped his hat and wished you both a good day. Then the lobby manager told you a package had arrived and gave you a little thin rectangular box the size of a book. Finally you got into the elevator and the attendant hit the button for the highest floor, yours.
“It’s from my parents,” you told Roger about the box.
“Are they still travelling?”
“Yeah, they should be in Barcelona right about now,” you replied.
“Must be beautiful there,” Roger mused and you hummed in agreement. Then the elevator dinged and the two of you got off, waving to the attendant as the doors closed. You unlocked one of the two doors that were in the hallway (the other was the stairs), and opened the door, ushering Roger in first since he was carrying things.
You took off your shoes to the right of the entryway, next to a pile of other shoes and Roger did the same. Then you grabbed the garment bag that held Roger’s fur coat and hung it on the coat stand. You also took the paper bag with your shirts and put it on your dining table with the package as Roger followed you the rest of the way into your apartment. As you walked about, putting things where they went, Roger was looking around at your place. You had a dining area that turned into a living room with giant floor to ceiling windows on the walls that looked out over the city. Roger was absorbed by trying to see if he could see his building from here when he heard you calling him.
It took him a minute to figure out where you were; there was a long hallway that led to many doors. But it turned out you were in the first off of the dining room which was the kitchen.
As he came into the room, you looked up at him with a smile, “Here, wash up, I cut us up some peaches, if you like them.”
“Love ‘em,” he replied sweetly as he headed to the sink.
“Do you want anything to drink? I have water, soda, tea…”
“Water’s great,” Roger answered and you got two glasses. “I was looking out the windows, you have quite the view.”
“We’ll have to eat this in my bedroom, you can see Hyde Park from there,” you told him and he grinned excitedly, grabbing the bowl of peaches and then walking behind you, nudging you forward with his knee and you laughed.
“Right so, what are all these doors then? Seems like an awful lot for one flat,” Roger teased and you chuckled.
So you pointed to each as you came to it, “Bathroom, office, guest bedroom that Kalaya uses as a closet, Kalaya’s bedroom with an ensuite, closet that also leads to my room--”
“Wait, like a walk-in closet? Oh I have to see this,” Roger said, heading for the door.
“Later, later, I promise,” you said, grabbing his sleeve to pull him back. “We still have the pièce de résistance, my bedroom.”
With that, you pushed open the door and nudged Roger to walk in. He did, eyes quickly taking in your four-poster bed, vanity, bookshelves, record player and collection, chaise lounge, and finally matching windows to the ones in the living room. He walked over to the chaise which was in front of the windows and set down the bowl on the little side table, looking out the windows. You set down the glasses and stood next to him.
“Do you spend a lot of time here?” he gestured to the chaise.
“Yeah, when I’m home alone. I’ll just sit and watch the city live its life for awhile. It’s like people-watching but on a bigger scale,” you explained and he nodded.
So Roger sat down on the chaise, back against the raised end and legs spread out in front of him. He smiled at you and patted the space between his legs. You sat there, your back against his front, but you tilted yourself to the side so you could face each other more easily.
Roger grabbed the peaches and the two of you fed each other slices as you watched the city. It was a quiet and lovely moment with a growing underpinning of desire as the juices dripped down your chins and you kissed away the excess. Once the peaches were gone, you turned more towards him, catching his lips with yours fully once again. The taste of peach lingered on both of your lips, and the kisses were just as sweet as the fruit, just as soft as its skin.
Bringing your hands to Roger’s face, you swiped your tongue along his lower lip, moving it inside when he opened his mouth. Roger made a soft sound and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you closer until your chests were flush. Your breaths pushed you even closer and the feeling was intoxicating, all your senses consumed by the warmth of the moment. You tried adjusting to straddle Roger’s legs, but the angle of the chaise wasn’t very easy for that, so you pulled back, laughing lightly.
Roger had been even further into the kiss than you were so he wasn’t exactly sure why you were laughing but smiled all the same. This time, you saw his unfocused eyes and the tilted grin on his face and felt very proud of your work. Standing up, you brought Roger with you, grabbing the belt loops of his jeans to pull him with you as you walked backward towards your bed. Then you spun him around, pulling open one side of the gauzy curtains that were draped over the frame of your bed, and pushing Roger onto the bed. He laughed as he landed, scooting back so you could get on as well, letting the curtain fall back to its original place.
The light filtering through the curtains was hazy and soft, painting both you and Roger in amber light. Roger sat so his back was against your pillows and you made your way up his body, straddling his hips. His hands tentatively rested on your thighs, but he looked around your room once more.
“If this wasn’t already obvious, I really like your-- your decor,” Roger’s voice faltered as you took off your shirt, leaving you only in your bra.
You smiled mischievously, “I thought you would, pretty boy.”
***
Then you reached for his shirt’s hem, pulling it over his head. It left his waves a bit of a mess, so you combed your fingers through his hair. He hummed and closed his eyes as you did. When you were done, you threaded your fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck and leaned in for another kiss. The two of you already had a rhythm of push and pull that made it easy to get lost in the kiss. Your free hand smoothed over the tan skin of Roger’s torso, sliding across his pecs and down to his waist, and you felt goosebumps erupt over his skin, smiling into the kiss.
Roger’s hands moved from your thighs, up your torso to your breasts, feeling your nipples harden through your bra and when you moaned as Roger thumbed them, he smiled as well. Your hands went down to Roger’s waistband and you unbuttoned his jeans, pulling down the zipper and starting to shift them down his body. But his hand over one of yours stopped you and you both pulled back from the kiss.
“Can I… eat you out first?” his request wasn’t what you were expecting, but the look of desire in his eyes and the slout pout of his lips sent a bolt of heat to your core and you nodded quickly, switching places with him.
He did take off his pants, tossing them aside, left only in his boxer-briefs. You could see his hard-on, but he was focused on you. Roger unbuttoned and unzipped your shorts, slower than you had his, and pushed them down your legs with your underwear.
Spreading your legs gently, Roger laid between them, turning his head to kiss up the inner thigh of your left leg. His mouth pressed wet kisses into the skin, making your tummy flip and just when he got to the top of that thigh, he switched to the other. Once he was done with both, he pressed kisses over your slit before dragging his tongue up through your folds. You let out a shaky breath as his tongue pressed on your clit, and you tangled your fingers in the hair at the crown of his head.
Roger formed his mouth around your clit and sucked softly, making you moan lowly. He pressed a kiss to your clit then looked up to you with wide eyes and asked, “Is that good?”
The way he asked wasn’t condescending like he already knew the answer, but more eager like he wanted to make sure it was.
So you hummed and nodded, “Yes, Roger, you’re so good, keep going.”
His mouth returned to your clit and he swirled his tongue around it, making you gasp out, “Oh-- yes, Roger, just like that, fuck.”
The praise made him even more set on making you feel good, so he brought a finger to your entrance, and pushed it in slowly. His mouth didn’t slow on your clit, but he was searching with his finger to find your g-spot, knowing he did when your legs twitched. Roger slipped in another finger with the first, immediately working on your g-spot and the feeling was so strong and so good that it was almost too much and your legs tried to close around him.
But Roger just used his free arm to hold you in place. He kept the same rhythm with his fingers and mouth and the pleasure within you just grew and grew. You could feel the tension in your lower stomach tightening with every brush of his fingers inside of you and every circle of his tongue on your clit.
“Oh, I’m close, Roger, fuck,” you managed to get out and Roger moaned against you, making your breathing uneven. “You’re such-- such a, fuck, a good, oh, such a good boy.”
Roger whined against you and you immediately came, the vibrations spreading hot pleasure all over your body as your back arched and you moaned loudly, tightening your grip in Roger’s hair. He kept going, wanting to make you feel as good as possible, partly because he couldn’t believe how hot it was to see you like that.
You were breathing like you had run a mile, but slowly coming down and you loosened your hold on Roger’s hair, combing through it again. Roger’s hum on your clit made you jump a little so you touched the side of his face to get him to stop; he propped himself on his elbows to look at you.
With a playful smileful you asked, “Did you like that, pretty boy?”
He just looked at you confusedly, so you explained, “Well you’re grinding into the mattress so I thought it must’ve been good.”
Roger’s eyes widened as he realized what he had been doing. He stopped, sitting up quickly.
“It’s okay. No need to be embarrassed,” you told him, sitting up and running a thumb over his pink cheek. “I’m glad you felt good too. Now, why don’t you let me make you feel even better, huh?”
He nodded and swallowed, “Yeah.”
You switched spots with him and leaned down for a kiss, running your tongue into Roger’s parted mouth and getting a taste of yourself in return. Reaching behind you, you undid your bra and took it off. Roger’s hands went to your breasts and you bit his lip when he pinched your nipples, moaning together.
You kissed from his lips to his jaw then down his neck, nipping again on his pulse point and where his neck met his shoulder. As you made your way down his chest, you pressed soft kisses basically wherever you could reach, and Roger squirmed a little underneath you, bright blue eyes watching your actions closely. A few kisses to his tummy and above his waistband and then you took off his underwear with his help, his cock hard and flushed red against his stomach.
Settled on your knees between his legs, and putting one hand on his thigh to steady yourself, you grabbed his dick in your other hand and bent down, pressing kisses along the shaft and then peppering them on the head. Roger moaned softly and you started pumping him and tongued his slit.
You sucked on his head, using your tongue to swirl around it and he groaned, looking at you with heavy-lidded eyes. Pulling off, you pressed a couple more kisses to this head and stroked him, “Such a pretty boy and such a pretty cock.”
Roger’s hips bucked and you hid your smile by going down on him again, not giving him any break. You worked your mouth down along with your hand, building a rhythm that was making precum bead on his head, which you happily sucked off.
Looking up at Roger, you saw that his head was tossed back, eyes closed with his lip between his teeth. You lifted your hand from his thigh up, brushing your thumb along his lower lip so he would let it go. As he did, he looked at you, tilting his head forward. His pupils were blown and he looked desperate as he watched you. You got an idea and a shiver ran across your body. You stuck your first two fingers out and slowly pushed them into his mouth, Roger’s lips immediately closing around them and starting to suck.
Both of you moaned; him around your fingers and you around his cock, making his hips buck again. You took him deeper in your mouth, as deep as you could go, gagging twice around his cock before pulling off again. You let the excess spit in your mouth fall onto his dick and used your hand to spread it around, jerking him off faster than before.
Roger was watching you intently, moaning whenever you twisted your wrist. You licked your lips and swallowed, “Your lips look so good around my fingers, Roger. You’re such a pretty boy, all desperate for me.”
He tried to say something that you could barely make out as “please.”
“Shhh, I got you. Do you wanna be a good boy and come for me?” you asked sweetly, lowering your head back towards his cock.
Roger nodded, keeping your fingers in his mouth, so you brought his head back into your mouth and sucked in time with your hand. You could tell Roger was getting close with the way his hips were shifting and you could feel the vibrations of his moans on your fingers stronger. His thighs were tensing so you pulled your fingers from his mouth, gripping his thigh with your wet fingers, and the slight dig of your nails into his skin set him off as he warned you hoarsely, “I’m gonna come-- fuck.”
He came as you jacked his dick off into your mouth, swallowing his cum as quickly as you could. His high moans of your name ignited a burn between your thighs but you focused on the task at hand. You pulled off, stroking him slowly now and using your tongue to lick any leftover spots of cum off his head. As his breath evened, you pressed one more kiss to his head and then sat up and moved to lay next to him.
***
Roger turned towards you and you kissed him quickly. You tangled one leg between his and started brushing his hair away from his still flushed face. One of his hands rested on your waist, tapping out a simple rhythm.
“You’re-- you’re good at that,” he told you with a little smile.
“Thanks, so are you, pretty boy,” you said, smiling when he flushed. “Are you ever not going to blush when I call you that?”
He looked away, then looked back, an unbelieving laugh escaping him, “Probably not.”
“Good,” you laughed, bringing him in for another kiss.
_
Later, after cleaning up, as the two of you were redressing, Roger remembered that he had yet to see your closet.
“You promised,” he reminded teasingly.
“I remember,” you rolled your eyes, but opened the door and led him in. He stepped in slowly, taking in every inch of very organized racks of clothes, shoes, and accessories with his eyes, which was a lot of inches.
“This closet is literally the size of my living room. My clothes would only fill one rack. Oh, I want this amount of nice clothes,” Roger said wistfully, running his hands across the racks.
“You know, I could help with that, for a small price,” you said with a smile.
“Are you thinking… sex? Because I’m already feeling like your sugar baby with the coat immediately turning into us hooking up,” Roger said and you could not tell if he was joking.
A look of amused shock took over your face as your eyes went wide and your jaw dropped, “I was thinking more like you keep helping me with my own shopping so I focus on finding the best things instead of buying everything in the store, thank you very much.”
“Oh,” Roger said with a sheepish smile.
“And excuse you, ‘immediately turning into us hooking up?’ it’s not like I jumped you in the store!” you said, pushing his shoulder.
“Well, you kind of did jump me,” he countered, stepping in front of you and placing his hands on your waist. You scoffed, not touching him. So he took your hands and put them on his shoulders, placing his back on your waist. You pretended to be mad and looked away, not making any move to separate yourself from him.
Roger leaned closer, only a few inches from your face, “I was gonna say that I wouldn't mind being your sugar baby, it’s a pretty sweet deal.”
“Shut up,” you said with a laugh, looking at him, and he did. “It’s a sweet deal for you because you get stuff and sex. I can get sex from anyone, the only payment worth it from you is your sense of style.”
“Well then I’ll happily pay with that,” Roger nodded. He smiled and you rolled your eyes at his absurdity, but let him press his lips to yours in a kiss that made up for it.
★★★
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I finally figured out how to send asks on mobile :D Got any headcanons for how Illumi, Hisoka, (plus gon and Killua if it's not too much trouble) would decorate for Christmas? I just think that would be kinda poggers UwU
YESSSS I DO ACTUALLY! CANT WAIT TILL CHRISTMAS GUYS! I decided to just pin this post until the end of December so if anybody else wants any Christmas headcanons I’ll just add it here and I did put extra characters/headcanons because of that reason and if you want me to add anybody else just send in a request about it! (also dont mind the random juiceboxes I just left them out bc I don’t feel like adding new ones when adding random hc’s.) THANKS SO MUCH FOR REQUESTING! I’ll finish illumi and hisoka later but my food just arrived so I’m gonna go start on that first :)
Hunter x Hunter Christmas Event! This Event Includes The Main 4, The Adult Trio, The Phantom Troupe, The Zoldyck Family, The Freecss Family, And The Minor Characters!
Illumi
🧃 rich kid is gonna be the one with either nothing but a tree or literally is gonna go to the point of fake snow on the stair rails
🧃 it’s either nerf or nothing for this man. either go all out or don’t go at all mf
🧃 he likes Christmas except the fact it’s cold, girlie isn’t a fan of cold weather
🧃 he’ll probably do the jazz with the gingerbread cookies tho :’)
🧃 but yeah his tree’s gonna look like the ones in the movies with like all the height and the little balls with the perfect star on top bc babie is perfect so his tree should be too ✨
🧃 he says he doesn’t want anything but if you actually get him something he’ll be so touched-
🧃 he maybe will take a day off of fuck knows what to spend Christmas with anybody- 
🧃 okay we all know he’s spending Christmas with hisoka and we can’t change that 
🧃 poor baby he just wants to be held and feel the feeling of warmth again so he is a fan of hot chocolate
🧃 will not go out in the snow but he will go with you or anybody that wants to go outside and play
🧃 he isn’t a fan of dressing up but he’ll take his s/o out on a Christmas date (I will do a mini scenario/hc’s for this if you guys want.)
Hisoka
🧃 I feel if he wasn’t a pedophile or mass murderer they would hire him to work as a mall Santa Claus.
🧃 he’d probably do a color coded thing and the whole house would be that color
🧃 this mf would buy a gift for himself-
🧃 he wouldn’t do anything to his room and the biggest ick about him I have is that he has nothing in his room but a bed, dresser, desk, lamp, and nightstand like only the necessities so he wouldn’t do that much.
🧃 if he had a kid he’d 100% to elf on the shelf until they were like 16 years old and even use his nen ability to secretly make them move so the kid would believe in the magic for a while
🧃 he’s forcing illumi to come over cause he doesn’t want the little shit to be alone and sad on Christmas.
🧃 he got illumi a present
🧃 not a fan of those childish Christmas films but he’s pretty fond of the romance ones tbh
🧃 he literally never ends up under the mistletoe because everybody’s avoiding it so they won’t have to kiss the scary guy-
🧃 he can COOK asf so he’ll def make a feast for him and his s/o or just friends :)
Killua
🧃 he’s gonna be the most fun with all this, he want everything either blue, purple, or white. Literally he hates doing shit and not perfecting it (nikki minaj??)
🧃 he’d be the one to act like a mom saying “stupid I’m not buying that it’s too expensive!” and then you wake up with it under the tree- “you thought you weren’t getting it didn’t you?” I stg he is literally EVERY SINGLE MOTHER ON EARTH and it’s not even funny.
🧃 he wants to go play in the snow and make snow angels but he won’t say anything until you say something
🧃 hc that his ears and nose turn kinda red when it’s cold
🧃 he’s literally cooking a red velvet cake and there is no point in stopping him
🧃 he probably isn’t a morning christmas guy, he’s all for around 11-12 gifts so then you guys can bake cookies and play in the snow a ton because you got some energy stored up
🧃 this mf wants chocolate robots for Christmas and probably at one point in his life asked Santa for a new family but he didn’t deliver ig. (Illumi probably wrote him a fake Santa note saying that his family was better than everybody else’s.) 
🧃 his parents forced him to go sing those fucking Christmas songs when they know damn well those kids sound ratchet.
🧃 he ALWAYS ends up under the mistletoe with somebody. Even if it’s unintentional it always happens. 
🧃 a giant fan of wreaths for some reason? He puts one on every door.
Gon
🧃 his favorite holiday is Christmas so ohhh boy this is gonna be magical-
🧃 red green and white colors. you cannot change his mind literally that is what colors are in his head as soon as he hears the word Christmas.
🧃 the tree’s gonna be HUGE and he’s gonna want to decorate every room in the house. The bathroom, your room, his room, and yes he is that one neighbor with the fucking big ass lights outside-
🧃 he is a firm Santa believer he doesn’t take criticism. 
🧃 literally is going to wake everybody up at 6 fucking am to open gifts and everybody is gonna do it because can we really resist his pouty face? no. 
🧃 the joy on his face opening any gifts make it a fucking can of baked beans makes it all worth losing about 3-4 hours of sleep :,)
🧃 he probably wants toys for Christmas, I get he’s 14 but hxh doesn’t exactly have too much social media so he wouldn’t be trying to grow up too fast
🧃 he would get matching sleepwear for everybody except for some fucking reason it actually will look cute and he won’t just settle for a ugly ass tight suffocating elf sweater.
🧃 he believes Christmas is about spending time with your family and probably donated his old toys to a center so kids who didn’t have toys got some :)
🧃 he’s gonna make sure everybody has a good time, like every single person. it’s a  main protagonist thing I guess but I mean I applaud him for it.
🧃 doesn’t quite ever end up under the mistletoe with anybody but if he happened to he’d giggle and kiss their cheek in a friendly way.
Leorio
🧃 he’s gonna reuse the same fucking plastic wrinkled tree he’s been using for 12 years because the tree prices are “insane” even on sale.
🧃 he would be the one a Walmart ringing the little bell and forcing kurapika to sing with him because he needs the money.
🧃 his house is the one with rainbow colored little balls and it’s so ghetto but at the same time adorable
🧃 he is literally that one neighbor who gets the most snow and it’s the snow that’s basically ice and will take around 6 good days to shovel up.
🧃 maybe wont shovel out the snow too early because he wants killua and gon to have fun. 
🧃 he wants money for Christmas and nothing more, but kurapika tells him money isn’t a real gift and to ask for something else
🧃 even not being a morning person, he LIVES for morning Christmas.
🧃 probably eats snow.
🧃 he would try to cook and it might work actually
🧃 miss girl is plopped right down right next to gon watching elf on the shelf movies
🧃 he wears the Santa hat and is lowkey twinning with kurapika-
Kurapika
🧃 this bitch is gonna make you wait all fucking day to open gifts 😀
🧃 he thinks afternoon/nigh Christmas is the best. On Christmas eve he would literally sit down and watch movies with killua and gon for exactly 2 hours while leorio waits outside because kurapika wants him to sound like there’s somebody on the roof and kurapika can put the two children to bed and get a break for the rest of the night to finish gift wrapping and food making
🧃 hella good at wrapping gifts- commercial wrapping mf.
🧃 he thinks a white color coded Christmas looks best 
🧃 he’d give killua and gon like 150$ to buy Christmas stuff for their rooms and that’s lowkey just him trying his best he doesn’t know what the fuck else to do he isn’t a mom-
🧃 he might teach the other 3 traditional kurta songs his clan and him sung on Christmas.
🧃 he’s twinning with leorio cause he got the reindeer ears I mean get it ig- 
🧃 leorio is BEGGING kurapika to let him get a couple of drinks and kurapika’s like “YOURE GONNA STAY SOBER AND YOURE GONNA LIKE IT BITCH.”
🧃 he may or may not boys whatever they asked for and accidently on purpose use leorio’s credit card-
🧃 he just wants everybody to be happy, but can we blame him? it’s Christmas why wouldn’t he?
🧃 okay all wholesomeness aside he’s making leorio shovel the driveway.
Chrollo
🧃 he thinks this is like a romance thing
🧃 he’ll probably steal a gift or 2 for you ya know
🧃 I feel he’s the mf to have a black Christmas tree or a white one theres no in between
🧃 cookies are a yes
🧃 just go watch a classic romance movie one with him, it’ll give ya clear skin ma
🧃 he won’t decorate outside but inside will look magical asf
🧃 I think personally he’d wear a santa hat
🧃 probably would make a big phat juicy meal just for the two of you and he’d get gifts for the troupe if they cared about celebration
🧃 I feel the troupe isn’t big on that holiday stuff but if you felt like celebrating with him he’d be over the moon
🧃 he got that big tree though for no reason, he also takes the tree down the day after Christmas
🧃 Probably would give you a gift everyday leading up to christmas
Feitan
🧃 He probably was forced to sing carols and ring the bell on christmas as a kid-
🧃 he doesn’t really care much and won’t care to decorate but may or may not get you gifts
🧃 if you get him something he’ll have a small smile behind his mask 
🧃 he doesn’t wanna be in the cold just make some hot chocolate and watch a movie with him jeez
🧃 probably will wear reindeer horns if you insist
🧃 his favorite holiday is halloween but christmas is nice I guess
🧃 he probably would spend his entire day if he didn’t have a s/o with shalnark seeing who could figure out the christmas word find fastest
🧃 he’s gonna just see if theres anything he could steal for anybody
🧃 doesn’t bother with snow at all if there is snow he just doesn’t care to go outside when we got a perfectly nice house
🧃 firm believer in christmas isn’t about family it’s about gifts
🧃 he’s gonna get you something expensive though
Alluka
🧃 alluka the sweet princess is literally the neighbor that has the biggest brightest lights
🧃 she probably had her big brother killua come help her
🧃 her christmas tree is pink and white, and she decorated every square foot of her house
🧃 Christmas is her favorite holiday :)
🧃 she get’s everybody gifts and for christmas she wants some toys maybe to go shopping or something
🧃 snow angels are a must 100%
🧃 firm santa believer doesn’t take criticism.
🧃 she’s gonna be so happy just to spend time with people honestly even if nanika comes out she’s just gonna be happy
🧃 her gingerbread houses look absolutely amazing like please become a house builder sis-
🧃 she’s wearing matching sleepwear with killua and gon, probably doing a elf santa and reindeer theme which is adorable
🧃 this is the best day of her life and I’m living for it.
machi
🧃 This bitch is not a fan of anything
🧃 she want’s to paint those little christmas ball things and yeah
🧃 probably says she doesn’t want anything but some jewels or bracelets would be nice 
🧃 also isn’t a fan of snow but her house doesn’t get much to be honest
🧃 for the troupe she gives them like some bakery idem she made because why not that’s her family after all
🧃 probably wears fluffy socks on christmas and they’re like really adorable she just doesn’t realize it
🧃 she probably got something extra for shizuku idk I head canon them to be friends :)
🧃 she wont steal anything probably will buy or make it
🧃 omg machi stitching little christmas sweaters and socks omg that’s the highlight of my mother fucking day
🧃 her house if she decorates, is red and white.
Pakunoda
🧃 omg this beautiful woman I love so much
🧃 her house is white and blue and it’s all pretty
🧃 she has lights and stuff but doesn’t like overdo it or anything because she isn’t that jolly but might decorate a tree or two
🧃 she donates to animal shelters on christmas and literally it’s so cute
🧃 will probably get the troupe something specific that fits them or that they like because she isn’t trying to get somebody useless shit
🧃 for her s/o she’ll go out in the snow with them if they’d want
🧃 she buys the best gifts like that one aunt you don’t wanna give kisses but they always come through except we do wanna kiss her asf
🧃 she’ll wear machis socks that machi made her :,)
🧃 probably is the best person to have on christmas because just look at her
🧃 cuddles are everything just let’s just hug her while she watching a movie yes
Shalnark
🧃
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🧃
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🧃
Phinks
🧃
🧃
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Uvo
🧃
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Shizuku
🧃
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Mito
🧃 yes
🧃 she thinks christmas is all about family
🧃 def an adult who says that they don’t want anything
🧃 she loves gons little handmade gifts or cards though
🧃 she decorates the house whatever way gon would want to cause you know he’s the only kid in the house
🧃 so basically her family has like a huge feast and everything and the food slaps
🧃 she makes gon wear this adorable sleepwear thing cause she thinks its cute
🧃 won’t let gon near any gifts before christmas
🧃 she’ll bundle gon up like a burrito if he wants to play in the snow which is adorable
🧃 she’s the mom like “you thought you wasn’t gonna get that huh? oh you welcome baby.”
Kalluto
🧃 this small little boy omg
🧃 he loves christmas but nobody really pays attention to him so he’s a little sad
🧃 with the troupe if they get him something he’ll be so excited but you won’t be able to tell :(
🧃 he’ll give people stuff because to him this is probably the most spirt he gets
🧃 he might just go sit out in the snow to enjoy the scenery 
🧃 he enjoys christmas eve most because of the vibes
🧃 doesn’t believe in santa but you know he’ll let alluka believe in it
🧃 probably a bit hurt killua wants to celebrate with alluka but not him tho
🧃 will ask killua if he wants anything def
🧃 might get illumi and milluki something if they let him
Milluki
🧃 he is always cooped up in the zoldyck house so they probably don’t decorate or celebrate but he still enjoys it
🧃 if illumi or something gets him a new game he’ll pretend he doesn’t care but he’ll appreciate it :)
🧃 he loves snow like yes
🧃 he might ask his siblings for something because his bitch ass parents wont buy him anything
🧃 yeah he doesn’t rlly give af but like yes
🧃 he probably just wants a new game or figure 
🧃 he might go online and talk to his online friends to see what they got and watch hauls on yt
🧃 probably the mf to want something that arrives in like july like damn pick something else
🧃 wont get anybody else anything sadly
🧃 we stan milluki here
THATS IT FOR NOW!! IM PLANNING ON ADDING SHALNARK, PHINKS, UVO, SHIZUKU SO IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER CHARACTERS YOU WANT JUST SEND IN REQUESTS! 😁🧃 this event does not include nsfw.
26 notes · View notes
avis-writeshq · 4 years
Text
Akaashi Keiji x Reader - 青いバラ (Blue Rose)
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Pairing: Akaashi Keiji x Fem!Reader
Summary: Blue rose - a flower of the genus Rosa that presents blue-to-violet pigmentation instead of the common red, white, or yellow. Blue roses are often used to symbolise secret or unattainable love.
Warnings: VAST MENTIONS OF DEATH, mentions of blood, slow burn, ANGST, fluff if you look carefully, and 9k words of me procrastinating and trying very hard to keep the fic alive. ALSO HANAHAKI DISEASE AU BC I’M ADDICTED :D
Other: Yo, sorry for dying on you giuys for like, a while. School started up again this week but it was online and I was procrastinating on legit eVerYtHiNg oop so, anyway, hugs and kisses, hope you enjoy this fic because I am so freaking in love with Akaashi it isn’t funny anymore. 
Ngl, this fic took like 2+ weeks to complete, and my editor can attest to that :’) Hope you guys enjoy and don’t let this flop. Your requests are coming out soon so thank you for your support! Also I need a nice anon fam to keep nmme happy and occupied during quarantine :)
Word count: 9.1k                                                                                              
Editor: @creative-hours-open​
Things you probably wanna know, for all you ‘x reader’ illiterates:
(Y/N): Your Name
(H/C): Hair Colour / Color
(E/C): Eye Colour / Color
(N/N): Nickname
 ***
You don’t remember when these feelings came to be. You don’t remember when you first felt your heart skip a beat whenever he walked past you. You don’t remember the first time you started replaying all your conversations with him in your head when it was 3 am and your brain wouldn’t shut up. You don’t remember the first time you blushed when he sent you a soft smile after you stared for a second too long. No, you don’t remember those things; but you do remember the first time a small blue rose petal appeared in your hand after you coughed too hard.
 Hanahaki Disease: Hanahaki Disease (花吐き病 ) is a disease where the victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. It can be cured through surgical removal, but when the infection is removed, the victim's romantic feelings for their love also disappear.
 For months you lived with this disease not even your parents knew. How could they? After all, they were each other’s first love – their love wasn’t one-sided and besides, you didn’t want to worry them; you can get through this yourself.
 Right?
 You leaned over the bucket, velvet-soft petals tickling your throat before pouring into the overflowing bucket. Tears prickled the sides of your eyes, threatening to spill just like the petals that scattered to the ground.
 God, does this ever stop? You coughed again, gasping for air as you sat on your knees on the cold tile floor. Shit, what time was it? You have school today! Coughing one last petal out, you emptied the bucket into a plastic bag and threw it to the side, grabbing your school bag and rushing out the house.
 You couldn’t be late… the bus leaves and waits for nobody. You ran as fast as you could to the bus stop, stopping only to get oxygen back into your system. You still had the wind knocked out of you from spewing rose petals all over the bathroom, but you made it just in time.
The bus was basically full with the only seat that was empty being…
 Shit.
 You genuinely thought of flinging yourself out of the bus or just standing, but that wasn’t an option.
 “Hey, sit down, will ya? I can’t move if you don’t,” the bus driver grunted as you flinched.
 “S-sorry, sir…” you mumbled, holding your breath when you sat in the only seat available.
 Clutching the bag in your lap tightly, you tried your best to ignore the awkward presence next to you. You went to the same school as him! You shouldn’t be feeling this uneasy…
 “Ah, (L/N) (Y/N), right?”
 Fuck.
 You raise your eyes to meet his eyes. “Yes…? You’re Akaashi Keiji.”
 He nodded, giving you a once over before finally saying, “Did you go to the flower shop beforehand?”
 “No…?”
 “You have a flower on your shirt,” he explained. “Well, a petal.”
 Your eyes widened and you looked down at the collar of your shirt. Lo and behold, a bright blue petal was tucked away, but you can see most of it poking out. You felt your cheeks flush in embarrassment.
 “Oh… ha ha… thank you?”
 He nodded. “It’s fine…” He was quiet for a moment before murmuring, “blue looks good on you.”
 ***
 Why did he have to be in the same class as you? Every single time he was near you, the flower in your lungs thought that it would be a wonderful time to bloom. Right after the bus stop, for example, you coughed your lungs out into a janitor’s basket before forcing your way to class.
 Biology, the first class of the day and he was a foot away from you. Did the gods have something against you? Twenty minutes into the class, you felt yourself on the verge of another coughing fit.
 You raised your hand meekly, and the teacher looked at you, an eyebrow raised in mockery. Your other hand was covering your mouth as you forced the bright blue rose petals down but you couldn’t. You let out a cough, a few petals falling into your hand. Begrudgingly, the teacher lets you go to the bathroom, and you run out the door frantically.
 ‘How pathetic,’ you thought to yourself as you coughed out more petals. The roots were getting deeper, you can tell. You cough harshly once more, and a small rose bud falls onto the tiled bathroom floors. ‘Get over yourself. He won’t look at you twice.’
 But you knew that. You knew that more than the next person. So why… Why couldn’t you get over him? Each cough hurt more than the last, and the toilet was full of small blue petals. Some had small splotches of blood on them, and you could smell the metallic scent of the blood overtaking the soft scent of roses and tears. You wiped your tears with the cuffs of your school blazer. No more, you willed yourself, stepping out of the cubicle.
 Splashing cold water on your face, you let out a breath as you stared at yourself in the mirror. When did you stoop so low? Your eyes were blotched with tears and your cheeks were hollow from not eating. This was just too much. You clenched your eyes closed, tears rolling onto your cheeks as you did. You shook your head; time to get back to class.
 ***
“Hey, are you okay?” Aneko asked gently as you nibbled on your lunch.
 You mustered a smile to please her. “I’m okay.”
 “You had a coughing fit this morning; I don’t think you’re okay.” She gave you a disapproving look and you couldn’t help but flinch under her scrutinising gaze.
 “It’s just a cough. It’ll pass.”
 You can tell she doesn’t believe you, but your silence finishes off the conversation. Well, it should, anyway.
 “(L/N)-san, are you feeling alright?” A voice asks from above you, and you felt your heart drop.
 “Akaashi-san. Yes, I’m okay, thank you.” You don’t look at him, eyes drawn to the bento in front of you as you fought the soft blush on your cheeks.
 “If you keep coughing, the nurse should be able to give you some medicine,” he says gently, his eyes looking at you from above.
 Your eyes flickered to his for a second. “I don’t think there’s a medicine that can help me.”
 He opened his mouth to respond but is pulled away by a loud and boisterous third year. “AKAASHIII!!!”
 “They need you,” you said, closing your bento. “I have to go. Let’s go, Aneko. Thank you for your concern, but I really should get going.”
 “But-”
 “AKAASHIII!”
 He sent you one last look before running after his friend. You just stayed silent, clenching your fists in your lap as Aneko shot you a confused look.
 “I didn’t know you were friends with Akaashi,” she remarked, frowning at you. “What happened?”
 “Aneko,” you murmured, tears prickling your eyes, “do you know of the Hanahaki disease?”
 Her eyes widened. “Don’t tell me…”
 You just sent her a wry smile before running to the bathroom.
 ***
Another disastrous day. The bus was relatively empty on the way home, probably because some of the boys had afterschool volleyball training. Pulling your phone out of your blazer pocket, you opened up Google.
 ‘Is there a way to get rid of the Hanahaki Disease?’
 Multiple sites came up; some were even websites of hospitals that claimed to get rid of the disease.
 You pressed on a tab that seemed to answer your question.
 ‘Surgery can help, but I had a friend who was unable to feel affection after the surgery.’
 ‘You should confess first!’
 ‘The medical bills are really expensive, but it’s worth it.’
 ‘Would you rather suffocate from flower petals or lose the ability to love? My sister did it and she regrets it all.’
 ‘There’s a guy who does it in India for cheap.’
 ‘The cheapest is 150,000 yen. Good luck.’
 You groaned, closing the tab and leaned back in your chair. Could this day get any worse? How were you supposed to get 150,000 yen, anyway? Even if you could afford the surgery, there was no way your parents would even allow you to take it. Hugging your bag closer to your chest, you let out a sigh. The only way to get rid of these emotions was to either have the person love you back, get over him, or surgery. There was, of course, the prospect of drowning yourself in bleach, but you didn’t think that your friends and family would agree to such ‘extreme’ methods.
 ‘Dammit, Akaashi, you’re giving me problems when I need it the least,’ you thought to yourself, as you stepped out of the bus. How long does it take for this disease to kill you, anyway?
 The answer was six months. According to your research, you have had the Hanahaki Disease for a minimum of four months, so you were basically on the verge of death. In other words, you had 2 months to either take the surgery, get him to fall in love with you, or die. The options didn’t seem too promising.
 Your parents weren’t home today, as usual. A note was waiting for you on the kitchen bench and you suppressed a sigh.
 ‘Dinner is in the microwave. Don’t skip your dinner.
~ Love, Dad’
 You skipped dinner anyway.
 ***
School counsellors were really… different. They’re not teachers, but they teach you valuable ‘life lessons’ when you really need it. They’re not nurses but they take care of you when you’re hurt. Well, they take care of you when you’re hurt mentally.
 According to a lot of other students, the counsellor at Fukurodani could either be your best friend or sworn enemy. But at this point, you were desperate. You really needed advice and you couldn’t just ask your friends. No, that wouldn’t work out. After all, they were as insane as you.
 “Tell me whatever you need to tell me,” she said with a gentle smile as you looked around the room that enclosed you.
 The room was really… childish? Ladybug wall stickers decorated the walls topped with  a huge cat poster plastered  by the door. And still you questioned yourself, God, what were you supposed to say?
 You had it rehearsed in your mind, ‘I have the Hanahaki Disease,’ but when it was your turn to talk, your tongue was glued to the roof of your mouth.
 The woman across from you, bless her, just sat there with a patient nod. She handed you a pen and paper. 
“Can you write it for me?” She asks as she puts her glasses on.
 You did as you were told.
 You watched as she read over your scrawl and her jaw dropped. It just… dropped. You’re not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but her jaw dropped as she gaped at you, glasses askew.
 “The Hanahaki Disease… are you sure?”
 You raised an eyebrow as if to ask, ‘I have rose petals coming out of my mouth and you think I’m not sure?’
 She sighed, leaning back in her chair. “You know, that is very dangerous. Have you consulted a doctor? Have you told your parents?”
 “I don’t want to worry anyone,” you mumbled, “my parents aren’t home a lot so they wouldn’t have time to take me to the doctors, and the surgery is pretty-”
 “You’re considering the surgery?” She cut you off, mouth open and surprised but there was more to that; she was… concerned.
 You grimaced. “What else can I do?”
 She raised an unamused eyebrow but a ghost of a smile  spread on her face. “You can try telling him?”
 The thought alone made you feel sick. “I don’t think I can. He obviously doesn’t like me that way.”
 “Have you tried talking to him?” She prompted, taking out a notepad to write in before nodding at you to continue.
 “We only had one decent conversation and that was about English homework. We’ve only talked once outside of school and…” you fell silent, averting your gaze. “Why would he like me, anyway? He has volleyball to put up with, and his grades are perfect. He doesn’t need a love interest entering his life.”
 The counsellor sighed, looking you dead in the eye. “The most important thing for a relationship to bloom is communication. If you can’t hold a conversation now, how is that supposed to help you in the future?”
 You hated it when important people had a point. “It gets worse when I’m near him.”
 “Just imagine you’re talking to a friend,” she said kindly, before proceeding to ask more questions.
 ***
You stepped into the class halfway through your fourth period. All heads turn to you as you lowered your head in embarrassment. Meekly passing the teacher a late slip, you took your seat behind Akaashi Keiji.
 You couldn’t bring yourself to say anything when class ended and everyone packed up to get ready for their next class. However, the first move had already been made.
 “Akaashi was asking about you,” Aneko said as you grabbed more books out of your locker.
 Your eyes widened, flickering to hers for a split second. “What did he say?”
 “He wanted to know if you were alright. I was getting worried too, y’know; you were in the counsellor’s office for a lot longer than I expected.”
 “She wouldn’t stop talking,” you said in a half-hearted explanation. You didn’t want to go into the details.
 “(L/N)-san, you went to the counsellor’s office?”
 You wanted to shrivel up and die. You didn’t prepare for this! What were you supposed to say now?
 Letting out a small breath, you turned around to face him. “Yeah, but I’m okay.”
 “Is your cough getting any better?” He asked gently, peering down at you with concern.
 “Yeah, I’m getting better,” you lied, praying for the little flower growing in your lungs to disappear in this short moment.
 He nodded, “I’m glad. Ah, and I photocopied my notes from the previous classes. They should cover the lessons.”
 You swallowed thickly, fighting the heat that clouded your cheeks. 
 You stuttered out a timid response. “Thank you…”
 He sent you a small smile before taking his seat. You felt sick all over again and coughed out some more petals. Aneko’s eyes watched you with concern as you faked a smile.
 “I’m okay. I don’t need to go to the bathroom for this,” you said, hoping to calm her nerves.
 “I’m taking you to the doctor’s after this, got it? Screw your parents, you need some medical advice,” she deadpanned, her tangerine eyes staring into yours and you can’t help the sigh that escaped your lips.
 “We’ll talk more after class,” you promised before sitting down and going over the notes Akaashi made for you. Your heart hammered in your chest as you read his kanji. Unsurprisingly, it was neat. But then again, what were you expecting from Akaashi Keiji? He seemed to be the type to take everything quite seriously.
 Ten minutes pass. Then twenty… thirty minutes later and you wonder to yourself, I didn’t cough once?
 ***
“How long did you say you had this disease for?” The doctor asked.
 “According to Google, around four months,” you answer, fiddling with your fingers.
 “Any particular reason you didn’t come with your parents?”
 “They had work.”
 Aneko hummed to confirm your statement. “She’s alone for most of the time. That’s why I am here to help!”
 “Right…” the doctor eyed her before turning back to you. “Have you talked to him?”
 “Why do people keep asking me that?” You mutter to yourself, digging your nails into the palms of your hands.
 The doctor let out an exasperated sigh. “Unless you can earn yourself an ungodly amount of money, the only thing you can do is hope to earn his affections. That or the flowers in your lungs will kill you.”
You knew that. The words seemed to fall on deaf ears because, hell, you knew that better than anyone in the room. Were you the only one with this disease? Everyone you talked to, everyone you confided in… they never seemed to have this disease. Your parents were in love with each other as soon as they met. The school counsellor has never been in love with anyone before. Aneko and her boyfriend have known each other since they were kids and fell in love relatively quickly while this doctor makes the Hanahaki Disease sound so simple. As if it was nothing more than just a small phase or bump in one’s life.
 Bull shit.
 You didn’t want this disease any more than the next person. Why? Because the disease hurt; it hurt a lot. The worst thing about it was the fact that there was no actual cure. The disease itself was kill or be killed; kill your feelings, or kill yourself. There was not an actual cure. Scientists didn’t know how the flower itself blossomed in one’s lungs. They didn’t know how to cure it.
 The worst part? The Hanahaki Disease claimed the lives of more people than traffic accidents and suicide combined. People weren’t necessarily scared of the disease. They were just… uneasy and you understood why.
 One thing was for certain though; the Hanahaki Disease was based on genetics. So somewhere along the line, one of your family members was affected by this particular disease. Of course, your parents probably never even thought about the possibility, so they probably didn’t test if you had the gene.
 Man, you really hated your parents sometimes.
 You left the doctor’s office silently, eyes downcast. Your knees trembled from below you and you felt as if you could collapse any minute now.
 “Aneko,” you murmured, stilling yourself and looking at her. “I didn’t cough when he was there.”
 She frowns, “What do you mean?”
 “When Akaashi was next to me, I didn’t cough a single petal. Not even once did I cough. I only did when class ended.” You showed her a weak smile before continuing. “It probably doesn’t mean anything though, does it?”
 “This is why you need to talk to him,” she said before stepping in front of you with her hands on her hips. “You’re dying, (Y/N). That isn’t something you should be taking lightly.”
 “I know,” you whispered, avoiding her eyes. “It’s not that easy you know. He has things to do and… he doesn’t need this right now.”
 She nodded, continuing to walk down the street. “I’m a pretty shitty friend, huh?”
 Your eyes widened, and you gape at her. 
 Quickening your pace to catch up to her, you glared. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
 “I don’t know how you’re feeling right now. I’ve never been in your situation and I… what am I supposed to say to you?” Her voice is rising and you noticed that she had stopped walking altogether. “You’re always the one taking the shots and helping me. You’re the one who introduced me to Eito. You’re the one who stays up late to help me with the assignments I put off. You’re the one helping everyone with their problems. You’re always giving, (Y/N), you’re always the one who puts others in front of yourself!”
 Tears leaked out the sides of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.  You opened your mouth to say something but she cuts you off.
 “This is the one time you’re meant to be selfish. This is the one time you’re supposed to put yourself first. All you do is give! People –” she choked on her tears before saying – “people envy you, you know? I envy you! You’re usually so happy… you’re so willing to help others, even if they’ve done you so much wrong!” 
She wiped her tears with her arms, but they kept coming. “This – this is the one time you need help with something and I can’t even do anything!”
 She’s crying harder and all you can do is watch on. Fat tears dropped to the cemented ground as she wails louder. “Be selfish for once, (Y/N)! Please… I can’t lose you!”
 You’re crying now, too, but you don’t realise it until you taste the salty tears from the corner of your mouth. They spilled silently as you watch Aneko, your best friend, sob into the sleeves of her jumper . 
 If anyone was around, they would think that you were weirdos. Two random teenage girls crying their eyes out in the middle of the street wasn’t a natural occurrence. 
 You wipe your tears away with the back of your hand and offer her the most realistic smile you could muster. “Let’s head home, okay? We can binge that sports anime you’ve been meaning to watch.”
 She sniffs, the last of her tears splashing to the floor. “Okay.”
 *** 
You’re both late to school the next morning but you don’t really care. Aneko leaves at 5am to sneak into her house that was two blocks away from yours. You’re racing to gather your things so that you can do your homework in the bus. 
 After puking out another bucketful of rose petals in the bathroom, you’re bolting out the door to catch the bus. There were more places to sit now, and if this was any other circumstance, you would have sat as far away from Akaashi as you could. 
 ‘TALK TO HIM!’ You order yourself and you do before you could change your mind. 
 You pulled out your geography homework. From the corner of your eye, you note how Akaashi’s eyes do an onceover of your work. Trying to block him out, you began to answer the questions. 
 What metropolitan area is the largest in the world not bordering a body of water?
 What the heck? You blanched at the question. You don’t remember this being in the textbook! You screamed internally, and you have half a mind to pull out your phone to do some research. 
 “The answer is Johannesburg, South America,” a voice from beside you says helpfully. 
 You look up, your eyes are met with gentle navy eyes. Your cheeks burn as you look away. How is it possible to have such pretty eyes? 
 “Oh… thanks,” you mumble, and you let out a breath. “Hey, Akaashi?”
 His eyes widen and he clears his throat. “Yes? Is everything okay?”
 “Uh… thank you again for photocopying your notes! It was really nice of you! I would’ve gotten them from Aneko, but her handwriting is… questionable,” you laughed lightly, easing yourself into the conversation. “Thanks for caring, is all I’m trying to say.”
 The smallest of smiles makes its way onto his face and he looks at you with sincerity. “I’ll always care, you know?”
“Wait, really?” You blink twice at him, confusion swirling in your chest.  
 He nodded at you, looking out the window. “I care more than you think.”
 ***
The conversation replayed in your head over and over again, and you can’t help but stare dreamily out the window. When lunch began, Aneko snapped her fingers in your face, bringing you out of your daze. You flush, looking up at her as she grinned down at you.
 “So… what happened with Lover Boy over there?”
 “Nothing,” you wave her off, trying to ignore the blood that rushed to your cheeks. “We just… talked.”
 She wiggled her eyebrows at you teasingly. “So are you guys, like, together yet?”
 “It’s not that easy,” you mutter, raising an eyebrow at her. “Love doesn’t just appear, it builds over several conversations and it takes time.”
 “Not all the time; Eito and I had love at first sight,” she swooned lightly, and you rolled your eyes at her antics. “Anyway!” She exclaimed, slapping the table. “You have to talk to him more! You like him, right?”
 “Obviously,” you deadpanned, giving her a look of amusement.
 “Then go talk to him!”
 With that, she pulled you out of your chair and pushed you out of the room.
 You rolled your eyes, “That wasn’t very Plus Ultra of you.”
 “(L/N)-san?” 
 You spun around to face the person, a small smile on your face. “Hi, Akaashi-san! Yeah, Aneko threw me out of the classroom.”
 “Oh, I see,” he nodded in understanding.
 “AKAASHIII!”
 You jolted out of surprise, eyes widening when you see a third year look down at you.
 Akaashi let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Bokuto-san. What are you doing here?”
 “What’s wrong with seeing you? You’re annoyed of me, right?” A pout rested on his face, and you couldn’t help but question his strange hairstyle as you looked up at him.
 “Um… hello? You’re Bokuto Koutarou, right? The captain of the volleyball team?” You forced a friendly smile.
 “You must be (L/N) (Y/N)! Akaashi talks a lot about you!” He grinned at you with an owlish expression.
 You felt your cheeks tinge red. “Really?”
 “That’s enough, Bokuto-san. You’re scaring her,” Akaashi sighed before turning to you. “Ignore him. Do you want to watch our volleyball practice after school? You seem to be interested.”
 You flush pink. “I don’t want to be a bother…”
 “I invited you. It’ll be fine.” A small smile made its way onto his face. “I’ll take you after school.”
 You grinned, “Okay!”
 ***  
Aneko beamed at you, pinching your cheeks while she was at it. “Aw, (Y/N), I’m so proud!”
 You rolled your eyes, pushing her hands away from your face. “He invited me to watch his volleyball practice; it’s not that big of a deal.”
 “It is when you like him!” She cheered, the smile on her face widening. “You’re gonna cure that dumb disease and you’re gonna get a hot boyfriend. I rate that ten out of ten.”
 You don’t respond, instead finding your phone much more interesting.
 “Huh? What are you doing? (Y/N)…” You could practically hear the pout in Aneko’s voice.
 You moved your hand away, blocking the screen so that she couldn’t see who you were texting. “I’m not doing anything.”
 “Then show me!” She whined, before a sly smirk rested on her lips. “Oh, I see. You’re texting Akaashi, right?”
 “What makes you think that?” You flushed, looking away from her.
 Aneko grinned, patting your head in jest. “Have fun with him, (Y/N)! Don’t forget me, alright?”
 You couldn’t help but laugh, knocking her hand once more. “Alright, alright. Now go away, Eito is waiting for you.”
 She nodded, brushing her mousey brown hair out of her face. “Text me tonight, yeah?”
 You hummed in agreement before turning back to your phone.
 “(Y/N)-san,” a voice called out, and you felt your cheeks redden.
 You let out a breath before smiling up at the setter. “You don’t have to add honorifics, Akaashi-san. We’re friends, right?”
 “Then call me Keiji,” he offered, looking down at you.
 “Keiji,” you said slowly before nodding. “Then call me (Y/N).”
 “I’ve always liked your name,” he remarked nonchalantly. “Come on, we have to get to the gym, okay?”
 With a slight skip in your step, you followed him to the Gym 03. He slid the door open, revealing multiple yellow and blue balls flying over volleyball nets. They flew from all directions, and stray balls seemed to be more dangerous than the actual people. The people in the volleyball team were tall, big, and intimidating. You couldn’t help the little shiver that crept up your spine.
 You felt a hand rest on your shoulder and you looked up at Akaashi. He sent a reassuring smile your way.
 “They’re not as scary as they look,” he promised, taking you up to the high rises. “They’re a bunch of babies when you get to know them.”
 You couldn’t help the laugh that escaped your mouth. “I’ll take your word for it, then.”
 Watching from above, you noticed the way everyone on the team worked together; how they cheered each other on and the way they dealt with Bokuto… everyone was a lot friendlier than you thought they were.
 But all the peace and happiness you held was cut short as your stomach lurched and you felt your heart thunder in your chest. Your lungs suddenly started wheezing for air and you stumbled down the stairs. Trying your best to open the gym door as inconspicuously as possible, you bolted to the nearest bathroom to empty your lungs.
 You gasped for air, coughing wildly as petals spilled out of your mouth and onto the walkway. Droplets of blood fell into the palms of your hands before inking the ground. Thorns tumbled out of your mouth, scratching and wounding your throat as you staggered to the bathroom, the metallic taste of blood filling your mouth and taking over your senses. Your left hand leaned against the side of the gym, and you tried your best to stabilize yourself, but trying seemed to be futile.
 Sobbing from the pain, you fell to your knees as petals and rose buds fell out of your mouth. God, this could not be happening right now.  
 Breathing heavily, you furiously wiped the tears and sweat off your face. You looked around you at the mess of blood, flowers, and thorns. You stared at the dark green thorns that scattered around you, and you couldn’t help but feel another wave of dread wash over you. Why…? Why was the disease getting worse? You thought that everything was getting better; Akaashi was talking to you more and you were making so much progress with him as well! So why was it getting worse?
 You sucked in a breath, trying to regulate your breathing as you wiped your tears away. Your lungs burned in your chest as you got up from the ground, trying your best to clean the mess you made.  Somehow managing to make it look like someone didn’t commit murder with a bouquet of flowers, you made your way back to the gym.
 Forcing a smile, you slid the gym door open. All eyes turned to you and you felt a blush rise to your cheeks.
 “Um… I had to go to the bathroom,” you said shakily, avoiding any and all eye contact.
 “You were gone for a while,” Akaashi noted, “are you feeling alright?”
 “Yeah, I just needed to get some air, y’know?” You faked a laugh before waving him off. “I’m fine, really. Go back to practice, Keiji.”
 He nodded silently, glancing back at you for a split second.
 “AKAASHIII! It’s your serve!” Bokuto exclaimed. “NICE SERVE!”
 Picking up the ball, Akaashi let his eyes wander to you as you sat at the high rises. He felt his heart tug in his chest as he threw up the ball to serve.
 Don’t lie to me.
 *** 
Practice ended a while later, and you had done your best to not gawk at your long-time crush. Sure, you have seen his games before, but that was live on a screen. This was different. Here you could feel the thud of the balls as they hit the floor violently, and you could feel the heat and exhaustion leaking off the players; you don’t feel that kind of thing through a screen. 
 “Thank you for letting me watch your practice,” you said, bowing respectfully at the coach and the two managers. 
 They smiled, and the coach replied, “You’re welcome back any time.”
 “(Y/N), I can walk you to the bus stop if you would like?”
 You felt yourself panic internally as you stood in front of the open door. You didn’t need to turn around to know who it was but you do anyway.
 Opening your mouth to say ‘no’, you found that the only word that escaped your voice box was, “Sure.”
 “I’ll change first, and then we can go.”
 You answered with a slight nod, and the pain you felt just moments ago filled your thoughts. Shaking the feeling off, you waited by the gym doors.
 “So, you and Akaashi?”
 You felt your heart leap to your throat as you spun around to face the person. It was Suzumeda Kaori, one of the team managers on the volleyball team. She smirked at you, sending you a knowing look.
 “We’re just friends,” you said bashfully, but on the inside you wished that what she said was true.
 She didn’t believe you for a second, “Really?” She asked drily, the smirk on her face widening by a second. “So… you don’t like him?”
 “I… never said that,” you said under your breath, and you felt your cheeks burn in embarrassment. “We’re just friends though. I doubt he even knew I existed until a few weeks ago.”
 “Huh,” she remarked, before picking up a stray volleyball. “Whatever you say, (L/N)-chan.”
 “(Y/N), are you ready?” Another voice cut in, and you nodded your answer to the question.
 The walk to the bus stop was calm as the cherry blossoms fell and drifted over the two of you. It was nice, to say the least. Every so often, you found yourself glancing at the setter through the corner of your eye before forcing your gaze to  turn back to the path. You groaned internally. You were falling harder, and the fact that you practically had a ticking time bomb planted in your lungs wasn’t helping.
 “I’ve noticed you and Bokuto are really close. When did you meet?” You cringed slightly at the poor excuse of a conversation starter, but he didn’t seem to mind.
 “I met him last year when I first went to the club. He said that my tosses were good,” he smiled slightly at the memory, and you felt your heart skip a beat.
 “That’s pretty cool. He’s really loud, so I was surprised when I found out you were both friends.” You let out a small laugh.
 He nodded in understanding, “I get that a lot. He’s not that bad when you get to know him. When I introduced you, you looked pretty intimidated.”
 “I was… surprised. He’s really loud and he’s quite the character.”
 “He’s a good guy; and he’s reliable.”
 “I’ll take your word for it.”
 Silence is the only thing that followed as you waited at the bus stop. Akaashi had taken sudden interest in his shoes, and you were trying to wrack your brain for a conversation starter.
 “I forgot to ask,” he said, cutting the silence. “Are you feeling any better?”
 You blinked at him, clueless for a moment before it dawned on you. “Oh, yeah, I told you I was fine, didn’t I?” You shot him a reassuring smile. “I was just feeling light headed in the gym. It was really warm.”
 “Ah, right, that makes sense. I’m glad you’re feeling okay, (Y/N).”
 Why was he able to make something as simple as your name sound nice? Blood rushed to your cheeks as the bus pulled to a stop, and the both of you took a seat. Cheeks still flushed red, you focused your vision on the window. There were a few scratch marks here and there, and you watched as the cars drove past. Red car, blue car, black car, black car, white ca-
 “Are you hungry?” A calm voice questioned from beside you.
 You opened your mouth to answer, but you didn’t need to.
 Your stomach growled at the mention of food. 
 Keiji chuckled softly before handing you a curry bun. “Here.”
 You eyed it warily, “Do you have one? I don’t want to eat your lunch or anything… and you’re the one who was doing the physical activity.”
 “I have one right here,” he said, pulling out an identical bun. “Have it.”
 You hesitated, but took it gratefully, taking small nibbles. “Thanks.”
  The rest of the bus ride was relatively quiet, the both of you having small snippets of conversation throughout the ride. The bus lurched to a stop, and you glanced outside the window to check what stop you were at.
 “Ah, this is my stop, Keiji. Thank you for accompanying me; it was really nice of you.” You grinned, showing a clumsy bow before picking up your bag. “Thanks for the food as well!”
 “You don’t have to thank me, (Y/N). I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” He smiled gently.
 With a final wave, you stepped off the bus before making your way to your house, cheeks warm and a goofy smile on your face.
 Meanwhile, Akaashi sat in the bus, staring wistfully out the window. With a final sigh, he picked up his phone and clicked ‘call’ on a particular contact.
 “Bokuto-san. I need your help.”
***
You returned to school the next day, expecting for the day to be the same as every other one but when you stepped into the classroom, you found a strange biological piece of matter on your table.
 A single blue rose with all the thorns cut off on your desk. It was just… sitting there. You suddenly felt sick. Who the hell confesses to someone with a blue rose? Albeit, it was a very pretty flower, but it wasn’t something one would confess with. That is, if this one was a confession. What happened to the red and white roses at the flower shop? It was nowhere near Valentine’s Day or White Day, so there shouldn’t be a shortage of supply.
 The only conclusion you could make was the fact that someone knew about your disease. Someone must have seen you. Your stomach churned with anxiety as you picked up the rose. There wasn’t a note to go with it, so there was no way for you to find out who delivered it to you. Then again, the rose might not have been for you.
 “Ooh, Whatcha got there?”
 You yelped at the sound of your best friend’s voice, nearly dropping the flower in your hands.
 “Don’t creep up on me,” you grumbled, shooting a glare at her.
 Aneko grinned, plucking the rose from your hands. “What’s this? From a secret admirer, maybe?”
 “I think someone knows,” you said abruptly, crossing your arms over your chest. “Did you tell anyone?”
 “What? You know I don’t talk to anyone but you and Eito and I didn’t mention anything to him.” She frowned, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “Maybe Akaashi knows?”
 “Why would he know?”
 “He invited you yesterday to watch practice. You did say that you had a coughing fit right?” A sly smirk made its way onto her face. “Maybe he got worried when you left the gym and followed you.”
 You let out a sigh as you took a seat at your desk. Resting your chin on the palm of your hand, you looked at her expectantly. “He wouldn’t like me; he probably just thinks of me as a friend.”
 Bending down to reach eye level with you, she flicked your forehead, and you yelped in pain. “Stop being a baby and tell him.”
 “It’s not that easy!” You countered, rubbing the area she flicked. “I can’t just magically make the disease go away by confessing. He has to like me too!”
 “You’re not making it any easier,” Aneko pointed out.
 You shot her a fiery look, hitting the top of her head with a maths textbook. “Shut up, Aneko.”
 She pouted at you before taking her seat. Akaashi entered the classroom moments later, taking his usual seat in front of you. You felt your heart hammer within your chest as you stared at his usual unruly mop of black hair.
 You did your best to focus on the task at hand. However, trying to focus on a class you had zero interest in was becoming a problem. Staring at your very blank page of paper, you were very close to screaming. What was the lesson on again? Was this maths or geography?
 “Ah, (Y/N), Eito wanted to talk to me about something. I’ll see you later!” Aneko exclaimed, and you brought yourself out of your reverie.
 “Wait what?” You glanced around, but the classroom was pretty much empty. 
“Wait, Aneko-”
But she was already out the door. You groaned, hitting your forehead against your table in frustration.
 “I really should have paid attention,” you muttered to yourself, squeezing your eyes shut.
 A small shuffling sound next to you snapped you out of your daydream and you looked up at the person.
 “Keiji?” You couldn’t bring yourself to say another thing, your mouth opening and closing as you thought of what to say.
 “You seemed to have trouble with the lesson,” he said gently, holding a book out to you.
 You blinked at it warily before gingerly taking it. “You don’t have to do all this for me. And… how did you know that I couldn’t concentrate?”
 “Aneko,” he responded, looking at you intently. “You can borrow my notes.”
 You watched as his eyes wandered to the rose that was on your lap and you felt your cheeks burn. “Ah, this is nothing! It was on my desk and I guess someone put it there. I don’t know who, but-”
 “Do you like it?” He asked, his eyes ghosting over your face.
 “Yeah… it’s a shame it probably isn’t meant for me, though.” You offer a shy smile.
 He nodded briskly before patting your shoulder. “Do you want to watch practice again today?”
 “Really?”
 “Why not? It gave everyone else motivation and you enjoyed it, right?”
 “Yeah, I did! It was really cool watching everyone work together like that; your tosses were amazing! It seemed to get the whole team to bond. You’re really focused on the court. I guess you have to be when you’re the control centre of the team.” You shut your mouth abruptly, and your cheeks reddened even further. “Sorry, I’m rambling aren’t I?”
 “I don’t mind,” he said tenderly, a strange fondness on his features. “We’ll go to the gym together at the end of the day.”
 You beamed. “I look forward to it!”
 ***
The rest of the day goes smoothly. Well, as smooth as it could be. Halfway in your third period, you choked on a thorn and had to be excused for a full half-hour before returning to the class. For most people in the class, you were either faking to skip class or you were genuinely sick. Strangely enough, your teachers seemed to understand  your situation and didn’t question when you left the class randomly.
 Wonderful, you thought to yourself for the umpteenth time as all heads turned to you when you had returned to class, I’m absolutely pathetic.
 You could still taste blood when you walked with Keiji to the gym, but holy shit, you wished that this could end.
 And you realised that maybe it would end; very, very soon.
 “Akaashi-kun!” A high pitched voice rang in your ears and you flinched slightly.
 You and Keiji were just about to leave the school when a girl with bouncy yellow curls pushed her way between the two of you. You blinked, confused and rather insulted as you stumbled backwards, watching the girl cling onto Akaashi’s arm. You watched as his jaw clenched in agitation.
 “Can I talk to you?” The girl asked with a sickeningly sweet smile as she side-glanced you before hissing, “Alone.”
 He nodded wordlessly as he followed the girl.
 You were no stalker; you were no eavesdropper either. Looking up at their retreating figures, you tried to find a reason as to why you should stay put. Your lovesick brain didn’t have a good enough reason.
 “Akaashi-san, I like you!”
 You choked as you clapped a hand over your mouth when you heard her high-pitched voice screech a confession.
 “Thank you, but I like someone else,” Keiji’s monotone voice said, and you let out a breath of relief.
 That was good, right? Maybe it was you! Or maybe it won’t be. You groan inwardly, steeling yourself as you listened to their conversation.
 “I’m sure I can be better than her!” The girl exclaimed and you rolled your eyes.
 “I’m sorry, but I like her very much.”
 Oh. You slowly made your way back to where Akaashi had left you, thoughts running through your mind. How were you supposed to compete against her? 
 Moments later, Akaashi returned to your side, hands stuffed in his volleyball jacket. 
 “Did you wait long?” 
 “No, not really. The bus is coming, we should go.”
 He nodded, wordlessly walking beside you. The silence that followed was, to say the least, awkward. You had a feeling he knew you were listening in to his conversation, and he knew you were uneasy about the entire situation. Tugging nervously at your bag strap, you couldn’t help the glances you sent from the corners of your eyes. 
 “Hey, Keiji,” you interrupted the silence and he turned to you, eyebrows raised as a signal to continue. “Uh… do you want my number? You can tell me when you have practice so I can bring extra food.”
  “I don’t mind bringing you food, (Y/N),” he said, but a small smile was etched on his face. “I’ll give you my number, too then.”
 And so, numbers were exchanged and the apples of your cheeks were flushed in happiness. That was progress, right?
 The bus pulled to a stop, and you hopped up from your seat. “Thanks for walking me to the bus again. See you tomorrow!”
 Dropping your bag to the floor, you slumped onto your bed, a small yawn slipping from your mouth. 
 From: Akaashi Keiji 
Did you make it inside safely?
 You grinned at your phone, quickly typing in a response.
                                                                                                    To: Akaashi Keiji
                                                                                                                        Yep! 
                                                                                                    To: Akaashi Keiji
                                                        Thanks again for letting me come to practice!
 From: Akaashi Keiji
Do you want to come to practice tomorrow?
 You couldn’t hold back your squeal.
 *** 
Three weeks passed in a blink of an eye and your friendships with the volleyball team grew. Aneko was still going out with Eito, and that would mark their second year of dating. Unsurprisingly, they dragged you into their two year anniversary, so you were forced to third wheel with them. That was when Aneko found out that you and Akaashi were texting a lot. She gave you hell for it.
 “Four weeks,” Aneko remarked suddenly, crossing her legs as she rested against your bed.
 You glanced up from your homework, “What do you mean?”
 “You have exactly four months to live.” Hugging the pillow in her arms tighter, she looked up at you. “What are you gonna do about it?”
 “What am I supposed to do about it?” You mutter, spinning your chair around to face her. “I’ve done everything I could.”
 “But you haven’t even told him yet!” She countered, clenching her fists.
 “I don’t have to tell him anymore! He…” You trailed off, recalling the words he spoke a few weeks prior. 
                                                   “I like her very much.”
 His words carwled back into your mind and you managed a wry smile. “He said he liked someone. That’s all I heard.”
 “How do you know she isn’t you?” Jumping up from the floor, she shot you a pointed look. “Tell him you like him. There’s no point in both of you liking each other and not acknowledging it by confessing.” 
 “But what if it isn’t me? I’ll ruin a perfectly good friendship,” you argued, folding your arms over your chest as you reciprocated the look.
 She groaned, grabbing hold of your shoulders. “Then he doesn’t deserve you. You have to tell him! The whole story!”
 “No promises,” you laughed, shaking her hands off of you. “Get off!”
 She rolled her eyes, the smile seemingly stuck on her face. “I’m really happy for you, (Y/N).”
 “Thanks, Aneko,” you grinned up at her, “You’ve always supported me with everything.”
 “Then support me with a meal!”
 “Fine.”
 *** 
 Fortunately for you and Aneko, Akaashi had invited you to his usual Wednesday practice with the volleyball team. The whole team treated you like an extra manager, asking you to bring refills if they really needed it. Despite knowing that there were already two managers, you were perfectly happy with helping them out while you could. However, while the team was fine with you joining practice upon invitation, people seemed to take their enthusiasm for you being there an invitation in itself.
 One of those people just happened to be Etsudo Emiko, the blonde girl who confessed to Keiji a few weeks ago. After he plainly rejected her the first time, she decided to take it upon herself to barge into the after school volleyball training. Unfortunately, when the other managers complained about her being a distraction to the team, Etsudo brought up the fact that you were allowed to watch the practices freely. As much as the coach wanted to take their side, he knew that the only way to get rid of Etsudo was to stop allowing you to attend the practices. The problem was, while Etsudo did virtually nothing to help the team, you motivated the team in multiple ways. 
 Nevertheless, Etsudo was allowed to attend the volleyball practices if she didn’t bring anyone else to which she swiftly agreed. Hence, the three weeks of patience testing began.
 “Keiji! You did so good!” Etsudo’s high pitched voice reverberated through the gym.
 The rest of the team let out quiet groans as the girl ran down the stairs to latch onto the setter’s arm. He let out a frustrated sigh, tugging his arm away from her. Not relinquishing, she trailed after him, completely unabashed.
 “Am I the only one who hates her?” Kaori asked, her nose scrunching in disgust as she pumped a volleyball with more air. “You’re the one who likes Akaashi. I’m surprised you can even stand to be in the same room as her.”
 “She’s totally annoying,” Shirofuku Yukie, the other manager, remarked. “The whole team knows that there’s something going on between you and Akaashi.”
 You managed a small smile, “There’s nothing going on between Keiji and me. He probably doesn’t even like me that way.”
 The both gave you a piercing look. “Are you stupid?” They asked together. 
 You don’t respond, eyes trailing back to Keiji. Etsudo was still clinging onto him, pouting up at him with her big green eyes. 
 A small cough erupted from your throat, and a lone petal found its way into the palm of your hand. 
 “I have to go to the bathroom,” you said awkwardly, dropping the ball you were holding to the floor. 
 “Are you-” 
 “I’m fine,” you responded by default, “I’ll be back in ten.”
 With that, you ran out of the gym, a hand over your mouth as more petals dared to fall. 
 Why was the bathroom so far away? 
 You gasped for air as petals and thorns spilled to the ground, your tears following after them. Blue rose buds stained with blood escaped your throat as the metallic taste filled your mouth as dark red thorns scraped the delicate skin. The pads of your fingers dig into the red brick wall, the skin scratching as you dropped to your knees.
 Despite the obvious pain and the salty tears that streaked down your cheeks, you couldn’t help the sarcastic laugh that you let out. 
 “Déjà vu really is the worst.”
 A violent cough erupted once more, and you inhaled a shaky breath as more petals drifted to the concrete floor. As they did, the gentle patting of footsteps distracted you for a moment before the footsteps stopped directly beside you. Panic rose inside your chest. You needed an explanation! 
 While you wracked your brain for an excuse, a hand rested in the middle of your back. 
 “Breathe, (Y/N),” a gentle voice whispered. 
 If you died now, would Aneko kill you? 
 … Probably.
 Your coughing died down after several minutes, and you wiped your mouth with the back of your hand. 
 “I’m sorry,” you mumbled, eyes trained to the mess in front of you. 
 “What are you sorry for?” Akaashi questioned, crouching down to be level with you. 
 “I’m disturbing practice, aren’t I? What’s Bokuto gonna do without you?” You shot a teasing smile at him, but it didn’t quite meet your eyes. 
 Keiji sighed at your answer. “Don’t answer with another question, (Y/N).”
 “Sorry,” you said automatically, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. “I didn’t want you to see me like this.”
 “Who is it?”
 “What?” You stuttered out a response, looking up at him for a second.
 “Who is it?” He repeated, his gunmetal eyes boring into yours.
 “Why do you want to know?” You asked, getting up from the ground to gather your mess. “It’s not important, anyway.”
 He was silent as he rose to his full 6 feet form looming over you. “Not important?” He repeated, mostly to himself than to you. “How can you say that about yourself?”
 “Well I’m obviously not lying,” you countered, pointing to the floral monstrosity at your feet.
 The muscles in his jaw tightened, and you noticed the way played with his fingers. He was worried – nervous, maybe. “You can die from this. I’m not as oblivious as you think I am.”
 A sarcastic laugh erupts from your throat, but it comes out more as a strangled chuckle. “Sure, Akaashi. Whatever you want to believe.”
 The look on his face darkens, and you avert your eyes from his. When was the last time you used his last name? His watchful eyes glanced over your face, trying to read your emotions. If he could read Bokuto, he would be able to read you, right?
 Absolutely.
 “I know you’re scared, (Y/N). You need help to get better.”
 “Do I, though?” The eye roll you pulled off had you feeling a little guilty, but at this point you were done with everything. “I don’t need to get better.”
 “Why do you keep saying that?” He demanded, the tension in the air growing thicker by the second.
 “Maybe because it’s true!”
 “I’m saying it’s not!”
 He let out a frustrated grunt, eyes shutting for a moment as he thought of what to say. “You mean a lot to everyone.”
 You scoff, “really?”
 “Have you thought about Aneko-san, your parents, the team? What about-” He stops short, shutting his jaw closed as he averted his gaze.
 “What about what?” You ask tentatively, your eyes still fixated on the mess in front of you.
 “… Me.”
 Your eyes flickered to him, the slight hunch of his shoulders as he stood.
 “Have you…” A forced smile made its way onto your face. “Have you considered the possibility that he might be you?”
 The silence that followed seemed to taunt you and you berated yourself internally. Did you hear wrong? Did he say something else? Maybe you were mistaken.
 In split seconds, you felt a pair of gentle arms surround you, wrapping you in warm embrace. You had the slight temptation to laugh – were you in some shoujo manga or something? But instead, you return the hug, burying your face into the crook of his neck.
 “I really like you, Keiji.”
 “… I really like you too.” 
***
~The End~
​Copyright Disclaimer:
All characters except for the reader and my OC’s (listed below) are the work of Haruichi Furudate (古館春一). This is not part of the canon work by any means. I do not claim ownership over the characters or the Haikyuu storyline and plot. Without Furudate Sensei’s work, myself as well as many other writers are unable to create these stories.
 My OC’s:
Fukuhara Aneko(福原あねこ)
Hasegawa Sakura (長谷川さくら)
Emiko Etsudo (えつどうえみこ)
199 notes · View notes
veldian · 3 years
Note
tell us more of ur think tank hcs i personally am at the edge of my seat
HELL YEAH ALRIGHT HERE WE GO. some of these might be against canon in some way but that's your fault for trusting me with this
ALSO, AS USUAL, I HAVE TO APOLOGIZE. THIS GOT VERY LONG. when i think about the tanks i go fuckin wild with it
starting with pride headcanons to get the ball rolling
all the tanks are nonbinary, but additionally, dala is a trans woman and 0 is a trans man
8 hates gender he fucking hates it. every day he wakes up and says "today i will make gender my bitch" and then he does. he says this in the game too you just don't know cuz he only speaks in static (don't factcheck this)
if you ask 8 what pronouns she uses, they will shrug and give you a "i dunno" noise. sometimes it'll make a non-committal hand movement and some unintelligible noises. good luck
god this bitch (borous) is gay! good for him! good for him.
he's also intersex! i don't remember where we got that hc but i like it and im holding onto it
okay but borous calls himself bi because yeah Men, but he also loves dala very much and doesn't want to misgender her. also as previously stated, 8's main goal is to confuse everyone about their gender so the tanks all stick with mspec labels to be on the safe side. you never know what'll happen. gender is a ticking time bomb
bi gang: klein, borous, 0
pan gang: dala, mobius
don't ask her about any of her identities she doesn't know the answer either: 8
have i gone off about polytank dynamics enough? i don't think so
8 and dala started dating first because horny bitches gravitate towards each other. they can also "pass" as a "straight couple" so hopefully no one at work will look at them and call them slurs. hopefully
klein and borous knocked things out of the park for being the first gay scientists ever
8 and dala became polyam icons and pulled 0 in. trans bitches gravitate towards each other
klein and borous did the same with mobius. bitches with facial hair gravitate towards each other
???????
idk and then all six of them started dating somehow. the end
somewhere along the way klein and 8 were like "i like you a little too much" and now they're inseparable
okay anyway. misc hcs
ive mentioned this before but when i pretend everything is in modern times, 0 is a tiktokker and he thrives on the attention and making fun of his coworkers on the internet
"watching steven universe repeatedly when i felt even slightly bad transed my gender" - doctor 8 old world blues
i just remembered i made a carrd for the tanks as if they were kinnies in their early to mid 20s
8 kinned pearl su. borous kinned werewolf cookie. 0 kinned rimmer red dwarf. mobius kinned... morbius forbidden planet. obviously. klein refused to put his kins on it. DID DALA KIN FROM DANGANRONPA
i think at one point we had a half-joking hc where klein gets nauseous if he sees blood
and then that changed to he can't see others blood, only his own
while borous can't see his own blood, but he's fine seeing other ppl's
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i know borous said that gabe barked at everyone, but i think gabe trusts the other tanks because he knows borous does
borous set up a kissing booth with gabe. the crowd goes wild
when the tanks get together they usually go to klein's. he's the leader or something. also he has a fucking bar in his house.
he complains about them the whole time but you can really tell he loves having people over. why else would he deck his house out like that? he LOVES hosting stuff. house husband
if you saw my chart where i said klein would rather die than do dishes, i was so wrong. his house is pristine. its easily the cleanest
klein's love language is acts of service. he goes over to his partners' houses when they feel awful and clean stuff up for them when they can't. he also makes them food if they want it. he only complains a little, but you can tell he's mostly teasing
did you know klein has five mugs in his kitchen in-game. he's literally prepared to host his partners at any given moment.
the group have learned that letting 8 come over when their house is a mess is a Huge mistake. it goes from 8 trying to help "tidy up" to "im going to put your books and albums in alphabetical order by artist also your clothes are going to be hue-sorted"
"8 why are there only 8 books on each of my bookshelves"
"it looks better"
"it literally does not"
8 can no longer stomach going into 0's house
on the other hand, 0 hates staying in 8's house. the ticking of all their clocks is sensory hell
on 80 date nights they have to do rock-paper-scissors for which house they go to. or they go out. they love each other but their houses drive the other fucking nuts
oh speaking of their houses. yes dala said she didn't like Literal Teddy Bears but that is null and void considering she has teddies in her house
and she has 5 on her bed. five of them :)
she named all of them after her partners! its mostly cute but there is a slight bit of concern because they know what she does with them <__<
not that 8 has any place to judge. mobius found batteries under its pillow once. all 8 said was "they can vibrate." mobius regrets touching them.
i don't know what to say about dala's mannequins i don't have anything funny im just scared
WHY ARE 0 AND KLEIN THE ONLY ONES WITH BATHROOMS IT DRIVES ME INSANE 0'S BATHTUB ISNT EVEN LAYING DOWN ITS AGAINST THE WALL WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT GENERATOR IN HIS BATHROOM DO THE OTHER TANKS JUST SHIT OUTSIDE I'M SEEING RED
mobius and 0 are both into robotics, and they worked together to make muggy, so they've had date nights where they mainly tinker with electronic things.
0 gets very excited when he makes a breakthrough, and seeing that warms mobius's heart. mobius made a habit of kissing 0 on the forehead or squeezing 0 into a hug when they figure things out.
(0 remembers he likes men.) 😳
dala/klein date nights are essentially just them drinking and gossiping chatting
i asked polycule for some more, so here are ones from your local think tank kinnies
borous -
"klein and borous both like classical music in very different ways. klein mostly likes it to feel smart (see: wheatley) but he just started associating it with the others so it felt nicer And borous just likes it bc hes borous"
klein also likes jazz, but so do all the rest of them
8 has a cochlear implant
"dala likes dressing up to look pretty (see: runway) but is personally embarrassed by it (until she gets encouragement) bc she feels like the others dont support that"
"0 loves collecting and reading those stupid magazines with the birthday party products and themes that ud wanna buy from as a kid but are way too expensive"
"mobius has a secret love for puppetry and will try to bring it up sometimes whenever he can. hes made 3 separate sets of the other tanks as puppets and they freak 0 out"
"borous, in an attempt to better his faults, has started learning from dala and 8 on how to take care of plants instead of what he did before. his basement turns into a cool little green house cozy cuddle area"
"to add on: 8 gardens to cope whenever hes alone bc (projects onto ur kin) he mood drops very fast when alone"
"mobius likes dressing in cozy sweaters and fancy stuff"
0 -
"0 doesn't like anal that much" (thanks.)
dala -
"their new rap album called boyz in the tanks" (THANKS.)
and to top things off, :) here are the normal names for them all, created primarily by our borous kinnie
klein - Ernest Klein (nicknamed ernie)
mobius - Wilbert Mobius (nicknamed bert)
borous - James H. Borous (nicknamed jamie)
dala - Dala Theodore (HER NICKNAME IS TEDDY ITS GENIUS)
8 - Emmett Handley (nicknamed 8 + emmy)
0 - Robert O'Barrick (nicknamed 0/O + robbie (HIM SHARING HOUSE'S NAME IS INTENTIONAL. HE'S TRANS HE PICKED HIS NAME WHY DID HE DO THIS))
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lyssismagical · 4 years
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Hey, you know... if you ever wanted to write another Parkner glee au (bc i found the other two you wrote and I'm obsessed) I think the Bash episode in s5 would be pretty cool. If you can't swing it, that's fine. Just a suggestion but mostly good job I love what you've done with the others 💖💖💖
Glee AU #3 – Bash (S5 ep15)
{TW: Homophobia, Violence}
 Ever since they moved to Boston together, things had been relatively calm. There hadn’t been any conflicts between any of the roommates, no terrible injuries, no issues with moving out, they’d been happily enjoying the adult life.
Harley and Peter were going to MIT, MJ going to Harvard, and Ned at Tufts University.
They were living in a decently nice apartment not far from all three of their campuses, and close to where Betty, Ned’s girlfriend, was going, Yale.
It was theirs in a way that most things weren’t. They paid for it all on their own, and they were continuing to pay rent, pay their bills, and buy groceries all with their own hard-earned money.
For Harley, the best thing about the past couple months in Boston was Peter.
They’d been dating since Junior year and now they’re living together, sleeping in the same bed, going to school together, having date nights all the time.
At first, MJ had said, quiet and concerned, that she was worried this would be too much for their relationship. She’d always been observant, and it was true that they were used to a lot of time apart. Especially with Harley spending the summers in Tennessee and Peter spending most nights Spider-Manning, they’d never really spent this long together.
But their relationship flourished.
Instead of feeling claustrophobic in their relationship, they basked in the time they could spend together.
They had more arguments, but they had a lot more time to communicate their problems and work through them. They were good for each other in that way.
The peace they’d all been basking in made it so surprising when the first headline appeared before them.
A friend of a friend was in the hospital after being beaten up in an alleyway, left unconscious in the rain, simply for being gay.
Peter hadn’t been Spider-Man in months. After Mysterio the summer before and the additional stress of moving to Boston and MIT, he’d made a deal with May and Tony that he’d put Spider-Man on the backburner unless absolutely necessary.
Everybody had expected, sitting around their dining room table, newspaper laid out on the center of the table, that Peter would be swinging through the streets to bring justice.
Instead, Harley found Peter in their bed, blankets tugged over his head like he was hiding from the horrors of the world.
“You okay, darling?” Harley asks gently. He sits on the edge of the bed and waits patiently as Peter slowly pulls the blankets off his head.
“No,” he says, eyes wide and glossy. “I know Travis wasn’t the only one with that way of thinking, but I guess it felt like the world was righter after Travis had changed for the better.”
Harley silently curses himself. Of course a headline like that would bring back unwanted high school memories.
Travis Wright had bullied Peter for three years, even going as far as threatening to kill Peter after he’d kissed Peter. A year or so later, after Harley and Peter had met, Travis had found Peter again, had admitted to being gay himself, had been projecting his own internalized homophobia on Peter, and told Peter he was becoming a better person.
“I’m so sorry, honey,” Harley murmurs, tugging Peter into a hug. “I promise you, you’ll be okay. We’ll keep you safe. We can have MJ’s boyfriend bodyguard you or something. Or we could even call Happy, get a real bodyguard-”
“I’m Spider-Man, Harls, I’m my own protection. I just- I worry about you. I know you’ve always been the kind of guy to fight back and you’re strong, but these guys- they’re always stronger and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Harley smiles gently at his boyfriend, kissing his forehead. “Is this the perfect excuse for you to walk me to class in the morning? I wouldn’t mind riding the subway with you.”
It’s a silly kind of joke to be making in such a scary time, but Harley’s always been the kind of person to make badly timed jokes.
It does it’s job, though. Peter offers a watery smile and links their hands together.
Peter does end up walking Harley from class to class, even if it means being late for his own, and even if it means nearly losing his job when he’s late.
He’d do anything to keep Harley safe, that had never been a question.
Except for the small fact that Peter’s a busy guy. He’s always been the kind of person to fill his workload to the very brim, to never give himself even a second of spare time.
So he’s not too surprised when one of the days, he’s waiting just inside the autoshop he works at, waiting for Peter to show up, when MJ hops out of a taxi instead.
“Peter called,” she explains, looping their arms together to start their trek back to their apartment.
If anybody threatening shows up in their path, they can just pretend to be dating instead, so neither of them are very worried about anything happening. And either way, it’s only a fifteen minute walk back to the apartment.
“Did he get caught up?” Harley asks, not a hint of anger or disappointment in his voice.
“A coworker asked him to cover her shift because her sister got in an accident. You know how he is. He called me on his break, very flustered and asked if I could walk you home.”
Harley frowns. “I’m capable of taking care of myself.”
“He knows that,” she says, squeezing his arm. “He’s just protective and he worries about you, about all of us, really. He’s even had Ned being careful not to take any shady routes home after classes.”
They make it home without any problem, unsurprisingly. Ned’s sitting on their couch, video game controller in hand. Betty’s stretched across the cushions, head in her boyfriend’s lap. She’s staying the long weekend at their apartment.
Harley immediately makes his way to the kitchen to start making dinner, and he hears MJ talking to Betty and Ned in the living room.
Maybe that’s why, when the call comes, it’s such a surprise.
It’s supposed to be a domestic, sweet Friday night with the five of them, eating Harley’s homemade dinner and bickering about which movie to watch.
It’s supposed to be the kind of night where everyone turns in early from a long week of hard work, followed by a late Saturday morning breakfast of Peter’s wonderful pancakes and MJ’s expensive coffee.
It’s supposed to be followed by Saturday Dinner Potluck where Flash and Harry come to visit, and Gwen sometimes makes it out to join them, and everyone makes a bit of food to share.
That’s not how it goes.
*
It’s late and the four of them are half-asleep around the living room, not worried about their missing fifth member, unsure when he’ll make it back from his late shift.
Harley’s phone rings from the kitchen, just loud enough to heard over the Friends episode that plays on the TV, more background noise to their hushed conversations than anything.
Harley extracts himself from the couch, coaxing MJ’s legs out of his lap and Ned’s head from his shoulder, socked feet padding quietly across the hardwood to the kitchen.
“Hello?”
As soon as the news is delivered, he slips into one of the breakfast bar stools, heart pounding in his chest as he utters a quick goodbye, fingers moving to dial Harry.
Harry, living just a few hours away in his own house with his boyfriend, answers his ringing phone, assuming wrongly that it’ll be Harley confirming Saturday Potluck.
Flash stirs against his chest when Harry drops his phone in horror and surprise at the news.
Tony’s asleep when his phone rings.
Pepper and Morgan are sleeping on the couch next to him, the credits of a Disney movie rolling on the TV.
The news is told before he can even get out a greeting.
He wakes Pepper, tears already shining in his eyes.
May’s working a night shift when she gets the call. It’s late and the worry spikes faster than imaginable. She’s gotten too many late night calls from any of the kids to know what it means.
The news still makes tears spring to her eyes and her knees go weak.
Harley’s been pacing the waiting room for nearly two hours by the time Harry and Flash burst through the doors, faces echoing Harley’s panic.
“Is he okay? What happened?” Flash demands, hands trembling as he grabs Harry’s and squeezes tight.
Harley opens his mouth to explain the story he got from the man who talked to them earlier, but nothing comes out.
“There’s been a few attacks recently,” MJ says, materializing at his side, hand on his shoulder. “A group of people who aren’t happy with the positive changes with gay rights who’ve been targeting people. I guess… There was this guy, Charlie, who was getting attacked in an alleyway, and- you know Peter. He’s never been the kind of person to stand by while someone else is in trouble.”
“Is he going to be okay?” Harry asks, paling when Harley and MJ are quiet for too long.
Harley swallows thickly. “He should be. He’s got Spider-Man on his side, and Charlie called the cops as soon as he got away. But the group, one of them pulled a gun.”
The boyfriends sink into a set of chairs across from them, knuckles white where they hold hands.
“But is going to be okay?” Flash’s voice is shaking almost as badly as his hands. “This isn’t even close to the first time he’s been shot.”
Before Harley can give an answer, not that he can really think of anything good to say, a nurse comes out of Peter’s room.
“Parker family?”
They must look like a strange bunch. Harley, MJ, Betty, Ned, Harry, and Flash, but the nurse barely even blinks when they turn to her.
“Is he going to be okay?” Flash repeats.
The nurse smiles. Not one of those plain and sad, sympathetic smiles, the kind of smiles that Harley was given when he was told his dad was never coming back. The kind of smiles that he was given when the principal at his first school told him there was nothing he could do about cruel words.
It’s not that.
It’s a genuine, good news smile.
“Yeah, he’s going to be just fine. His body’s still working through the anesthetics from the surgery, but everything went well and he’s all patched up. You can go in to see him, but I’d recommend not crowding his room when he wakes up.”
All eyes immediately turn to Harley. He’s Peter’s boyfriend, he’s not exactly sure if that takes priority over best friends, but he understands that they’re giving him the opportunity to see Peter first and his heart warms.
He nods quickly, thanking the nurse as quick as his clumsy tongue will let him, and his shoulders finally relax.
“He’s in room 248 whenever you’re ready.”
The nurse smiles once more before she heads back down the hallway she came from.
“Are you sure?” Harley asks when the two couples sit down again.
MJ smiles, patting at his shoulder. “Go see him. Come get us when you’re ready to. We’ll all be okay waiting for a little while longer.”
That’s all the reassurance he needs before he hurries down the hallway, awkwardly trying not to sprint, but desperate to see his boyfriend as quickly as he can.
He barely manages to slow himself when he bursts into Peter’s hospital room, eyes wide and burning with tears.
This is the one downside with being in love with Peter Parker.
Having to get used to seeing his loved one in a hospital bed too often, even if it’s never for very long. With Peter’s enhanced healing, he’s never been in the hospital for more than a couple days, but it also makes him think he’s invincible and jump into fights without a second thought.
Even now, in a scenario where Peter was supposed to be walking home from a shift at work, where he was supposed to join them in their living room, maybe offer to crack open a bottle of wine for them, snuggle up against Harley’s side.
Even then, Peter ended up in the hospital.
How much is the world going to throw at him for simple existing? How unfair is the universe for throwing this at him too?
Harley finally moves, eyes unable to stop staring at the cuts and bruises that litter his love’s pale skin.
He carefully slides into the space next to Peter in the bed, tears burning at his eyes as he gently presses a kiss to Peter’s temple.
“Nothing’s going to harm you, not while I’m around,” he promises.
He presses his nose against Peter’s neck, tucking his head in the crook of Peter’s shoulder, and he tries not to make it too obvious when the tears fall.
*
Harley jerks awake when he feels a kiss to his cheek.
His eyes dart around the room, remembering where he is and why, and the pain sparks in his chest, nothing physical but something so deeply emotional because his Peter was hurt.
“Hi,” Peter says, squinting up at Harley. His cuts have mostly healed, red lines left in their wake. The bruises have gone from the scary hues of black and purple down to softer yellows and greens. He’s half-smiling but there’s something awfully wrong about it.
“Are you feeling okay?” Harley asks, immediately regretting the words. “I mean, obviously you’re not, but I just- I don’t know-”
Peter winces and he rests his mouth against Harley’s jaw for a long moment to compose himself.
Eventually, he sighs and says, “I’ve been shot before and this isn’t my first being beaten up, that’s for sure. It’s not even my first time being beaten up for being bisexual. That was pretty much my whole junior year.”
Harley nods silently, gently threading his fingers through Peter’s hair. They’re close enough together, squished up in the hospital bed, that Harley can see the flush of Peter’s cheeks and the tears that pool in his eyes.
“But this felt so different. Travis, at least he knew me, right? He was never going to kill me, despite the threats he made. He was just a scared kid, you know? Those people, they saw a guy with a rainbow pin on his bag, and they wanted to kill him. They saw me protecting him, and they wanted to kill me too. That’s not- That’s not right.”
“It’s not,” Harley agrees because he isn’t sure what else he’s supposed to say. “I know, but Charlie, the guy you saved, he gave a full statement to the police, and it should be enough to track those people down and have them arrested.”
Peter sniffles, chin wobbling. “I’ve just never been that scared before. I was so worried for you that I wasn’t even thinking about me when I was walking home that night. I thought- I guess I thought I’d be okay because I’m Spider-Man. But I wasn’t Spider-Man.”
“I’m so sorry,” Harley says. He kisses his boyfriend’s forehead, grabbing his hand and threading their fingers together. Peter’s knuckles are busted, blood still staining his fingers.
*
Peter’s released from the hospital that night.
He’s still weak and beyond tired, but he throws on a brave smile as Harley helps him up and into the sweatpants and t-shirt MJ brought for them.
Harley hails them a taxi and he never lets go of Peter’s hand for the whole trip home.
“You okay?” Harley asks for the thousandth time when they reach their apartment door.
“I love you,” Peter says instead, kissing Harley before he smiles. “I’m good, I’m alright.”
Harley opens the door and leads Peter into the apartment.
The dining room, kitchen, and living room are all filled with people.
May, Gwen, Tony, Pepper, and Morgan made the four hour road trip to Boston. Harry, Flash, and Betty are still hanging around. Ned and MJ are setting the dining room table. Abbie and Macy got the nearest flight from Tennessee.
There’s food laid out across the table and MJ spots them first, lighting up in a smile.
“Saturday Night Potluck,” she explains, jogging over to pull Peter into a tight hug. “Don’t you ever do that to me again, you hear me?”
“No promises,” Peter says, but he’s smiling brightly and he looks so much younger, worry lines smoothing out and the nicks and faded bruises look more like tricks of the light, not a traumatic experience painted so much deeper than his skin.
Tony’s there next, but he doesn’t take it as well. “Are you kidding me, Parker?”
Harley can tell the anger comes from the right place, and he rolls his eyes. “You couldn’t wait even one day to reprimand him?”
“Was I stupid to think you’d be safe here?” Tony demands, completely ignoring Harley. “Was it stupid of me to think that sending you off to University would mean you’d be safe? What were you thinking, Parker? What if they’d all had guns, huh? What if- They could’ve killed you.”
“I know.” The smile’s faded from his face and it makes Harley want to punch Tony. “But I’ve been dealing with these kinds of people for as long as I can remember. I’ve got my healing, Tony. I can’t just stand by when things like this happens.”
Tony’s expression crumples and he tugs Peter into his arms. “Please, for the sake of my old heart, please don’t do anything like that again. I can’t handle getting anymore calls like that, okay?”
Peter squeezes Tony, but doesn’t bother making that promise.
Everyone knows, all too well, that Peter’s guilt complex mixed with his heroic compassion, he’d never be able to give up helping people. It’s just what he does.
“Saturday Night Potluck!” Ned calls out, arms spread wide to show off the arrangement of too many lawn chairs around their much too small table, covered in different dishes and foods. “Come eat!”
Harley smiles and wraps an arm protectively around Peter’s waist to lead him to the table.
Life is about weighing the good with the bad, and Peter, despite having been through so much bad, still has plenty of good constantly surrounding him.
He has his strange, inexplicable family. He has Saturday Night Potlucks and Friday movie nights. He has this.
Harley squeezes his hand.
He’s still here, still standing, still going to view the world in the same optimistic, hopeful way that he always has despite everything that’s told him not to, still going to stand strong and brave, still going to stand up for what he believes in despite the consequences he might face, still going love because love is enough to conquer hate.
He’s still here.
Taglist: @littlemissagrafina  @spideygirl2003 @romeoandjulietyouwish @c-artara @shadedrose01 @likeaphoenix13 @pj-hermes-tonystark-obsessed @you-get-killed-walk-it-off @kitkatwinchester  @emo-girl10  
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khaotungsfirst · 3 years
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Yeah I agree, the storylines Amy and Rory got weren't great. But honestly, I think the cast helped bring life to the characters which is why I like them so much anyway 😊 And yes to Martha! She's so awesome, I actually rewatched her seasons a few months back and found I loved them more than I remembered? I don't really watch current DW now (fell off following it not long after the 50th), but I still like revising the old episodes from time to time. They make me smile 😊 - CC 🦊
We'll find some way to watch tgcf, worry not! If the Funimation route doesn't work I'll see if I can ask around and find something else. I'm so used to looking to sites like Crunchyroll when it comes to non-western animation that I forget the site doesn't list a lot of stuff that isn't just anime 😂CC reveal is in a few days so I'll send you the Funi link for the first episode then and you can see if it works for you too 😊- CC 🦊
Aww, I'm glad you had a good Christmas though ❤️ Where I live decorations aren't too overboard either. A lot of people either put lights outside or on outdoor trees, and a few houses might do a window display. I have seen some videos on YouTube this year though of streets that are purposely decorated extravagantly for people to go and visit, but it's mostly America I've seen those. They look so pretty and a ton of fun though! - CC 🦊
I love your Christmas gift ideas for some of the characters. And lol, omg, you made me laugh with 'wwx not being allowed to give lwj a massage it'll just turn nsfw' because yeah ... yeah it would with them 🤣Matching hair pieces for them though that act like an engagement ring is such a cute idea 🥺I think I'd give jc a puppy, but only if he promises to not upset his brother's phobia with it! He just needs a good pup - - CC 🦊
I'd give lwj a lotus root soup recipe so he could make it for wwx, or if jy is able prod her into the idea of doing so if she hadn't already. wwx can have some new black robes - i'm sure lwj is spoiling him with more luxurious ones, but the boy needs a bigger wardrobe! sizhui and the boys can have an expenses paid meal at their favourite restaurant, with plenty of chicken for jingyi 🤣- CC 🦊
I think this might be my last question time for you before reveal! I'll try and make it a special one 😊 Do you have any favourite memories from this past year? Can be related to something that's happened in fandom or through mdzs, or can just be something that's made you happy or smile. I know 2020 hasn't been the easiest year, but there's been pockets of sunshine between all the crazy! ☀️ - CC 🦊
Talking to you about dw really made me want to rewatch some of the old episodes. I also fell off pretty soon after the 50th, though I did return to watch all of 12′s episodes and I would watch the new ones as well but they’re simply not easily available to me atm 😩
Aaaaahh I can’t wait to start our lil tgcf buddy watch!! It’s gonna be great cause if we love it we can scream abt it together and if we don’t like it we can roast it together 😂 (but I think we’re gonna love it)
Oh yeah, I’ve also seen some crazy american christmas decorations on youtube where the entire street is lit up. I would love to see that irl some day!
I thought abt giving jc a puppy, too but... wwx... 😅 though maybe wwx should get therapy sessions for christmas so he can work through his trauma and then maybe one day not be afraid of dogs anymore or at least not of jc’s dog 😅and aaaahhhh yes!! jyl introducing lwj to her cooking and especially the lotus root and ribs soup and lwj would be so diligent in learning how to do it perfectly bc he loves wwx so much!!! 🥺yes more robes for wwx!!! and maybe also some colourful ones (like not bright colours but maybe jewel toned?? like a really dark blue or red? 👀 he’d look like a snacc) 
and that’s such a sweet question! i’m not going to lie i had to think abt it for a moment cause as you said, 2020 really wasn’t the best of years for any of us, but i have a few: 
buying my first car!!! whooo a bitch is free to go wherever she wants whenever she wants!! (if covid would let me 😩)
finding an apartment and looking forward to living by myself (i CANNOT wait to decorate my apartment he way i want it to look!!)
the realisation that i’m fully and truly over my ex and that i’m actually quite content with being single (do i still want love? yeah sure but i’m not desperately craving it anymore and it feels so liberating)
the new lady gaga album giving me life
discovering the untamed and and just LOVING something so much and wholeheartedly again. i’ve missed being so wrapped up in one piece of media cause i haven’t had that in quite some time and it feels so nice!
joining the mdzs fandom who have been the nicest and most welcoming ppl ever! i’ve been on this website for almost a decade and never have i felt like i belong somewhere or like i had mutuals who are my friends until now. i have met so many amazing ppl in the past few months since i joined the fandom and it makes me so happy!! i love all of you, including you, dear CC! you all have made me life so much brighter! ❤️(also going along with that: returning to gifmaking and just having a creative outlet again is SO MUCH FUN)
this is related to the previous point but it stuck with me: one night when i went to bed, i was smiling so much and i felt so indescribably happy simply because ppl on here were being nice to me and my gifsets were doing well and we were all having a laugh at something fandom-related and i just... it sounds so stupid but i went to sleep with a smile on my face and i don’t remember the last time that happened
getting passionate about learning a new language which is chinese! i don’t know for how long that will last but atm i’m enjoying it so much and i hope i’ll get to at least a semi-fluent level! it’s a language that’s completely different from the other languages i’ve learned so far and i loooove the characters!! also it makes me feel productive during these boring times.
asakdjfgjdfdkgf so many of these are related to mdzs but i truly feel like it saved me from spiralling into a dark seasonal depression. maybe not the healthiest way to cope but better than nothing... 🤷🏻‍♀️
Dear CC, I want to thank you for keeping me company and asking me so many fun questions this past month! 💕 I can’t wait to find out who you are and start watching tgcf with you. I hope you had just as much fun with your personal CC as I had with you. See you on NYE! 😘
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conelly · 4 years
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( luke hemmings, twenty-two, cismale, he/him ) did you see BYRON CONELLY walking down main street earlier?  you know who i’m talking about, they’re a DECKHAND.  everybody in town says that they’re SANGUINE & NONJUDGEMENTAL, but have a tendency to be IMPRESSIONABLE & VOLATILE too.  BYRON has been in town for ONE AND A BIT years. c'mon, they’re always requesting SWEET CAROLINE by NEIL DIAMOND at karaoke nights.  well, i’m sure you’ll see them soon! ( ooc: sunny, 22, she/her, est )
hi thanks for tuning in, SUNNY here to tell you all a lil bit about westmere’s very own new nd improved favorite loser below. sorry for this summary being all over the place, it’s kinda how my brain works heh which is kinda perfect bc byron will for SURE be all over the place too ( u can rly tell at a certain point i was like ok i give up + i’m posting mf ). let me know if u have any questions about ‘em and most importantly, lmk if you would like to plot a lil connect or sumn 😙
@westmerestarters​ 
FAMBAM + BACKGROUND
born 14 years after the elder conelly ( wanted brother connect !!! ) entered this word to two parents who didn’t seem to read the job description, it was clear that byron wasn’t planned. and down the line, he’d soon realize through the tumultuous household he was brought up in - perhaps never even wanted.
byron’s parents had one constant - and that was fighting. over anything, all the time. there just wasn’t any love between the two and they stayed together for whatever meaningless reasons until byron hit middle school. ( there might’ve been a super short lull in toxicity once byron was born, but it had to be short as his first memories are nothing shy of toxic. )  it was a messy separation ( they never paid the full legal fees for a full divorce ) - his father moving to the coast of nj & his mother moving to a smaller apartment nearby her own mother ( which, due to the negative relationship among his mother + grandmother, also called for more tension ). he’d often be dropped off @ his grandmother’s house for baby-sitting or when he was ‘ becoming too much to handle. ’ eventually his grandmother moved into his cousin’s house ( MONROE ) and although grateful he made a practically new brother, similar tendencies of feeling unwanted occurred when byron noticed their grandmother praising and coddling and favoriting monroe just a bit more.
( his mother was a struggling addict ( and had been her whole life ), but the loneliness, newfound pressures and whatever excuse she was able to name caused her drinking to spiral worse than byron remembered ( even at his young age ) before. )
( his father was rarely in his life, but when he was, he was THE coolest. always played good cop in any situation regarding his mother, despite choosing not to have an active role in byron’s life. byron looked up to him like no other. when he WAS around, he taught byron how to surf, skateboard, play sports, they’d play video games, they’d eat junk food - honestly anything that byron wanted to do. his dad was an adrenaline junkie and created the stepping stones for byron to be one too. he was a marine biologist & pretty successful at that. passionate,  intelligent, but seemingly finding his newfound life a lot better than his previous - which is why he never wanted byron to stay too long, the boy reminded him of her, of the past. )
( his older brother moved out of the house when byron was just a lil kid, they’re not very close and don’t have much in common ... or so it seems. he lives in nyc and they only talk here and there on holidays. he was never a huge part of his life, but it does bum him out to think what could’ve been / could be. )
TO GET THE GIST 
due to never receiving the attention he craved from his family members, he made up for it tenfold in school. he was always talking to everyone, loud, boisterous, gregarious, life of the party; he wanted people to like him and they did. he become a total people pleaser, molding himself to make sure everyone was content and stayed around. impressionable, adaptable. he felt less this way towards adults and had a bit of a rebellious phase, hanging with the wrong crowd & getting into things he probably wouldn’t do otherwise. old habits die hard and he still tries his best to make everyone crack a smile, to remember him - since he believes he won’t be remembered for much else.
after he just barely skated by in high school ( his grades were never as good as his cousin’s and never lived up to his father’s expectations ), byron felt a bit lost. a lot of people had plans, were heading off to college - but already under the assumption he couldn’t reach any expectation in that realm ( a lil self fulfilling prophecy am i right pals ), he stayed in town - caring for his mother who hardly had anything together, his uncle who got sick very quickly & passed, spending time with his grandmother, while he himself fell into a rut. most of his days meant he drove out towards his dad’s place ( dad hardly there now, out and about with his new family ), surfing, smoking, and grabbing some cash doing odd jobs any way he could. he lost any purpose he once had ( but yall would never know it bc who wants to be in someone’s life who’s a buzzkill ? all smiles, baby, all smiles. )
IN WESTMERE
when his cousin offered the opportunity to travel cross-country in his van, byron had nothing to lose. always adventurous in spirit, he immediately said yes - deciding to ignore that ‘obligation,’ that feeling to make sure they were a-ok that he felt towards his parents. he needed an out and this was it. 
after landing in the small connecticut town for the night, the two fell for it - especially since when they got there along the water, it was a summer night + everything landed into place. they decided to stay there a bit longer ... and that eventually turned into more than a year. still antsy to keep traveling and to move around, byron has been ready to head out ... but stays for a few reasons - and them all being people ( bc lbh the surf is not even on point here ok )
his current job is a deckhand ( on a bunch of boats, ppl prob hired him as word of mouth got around that he knew what he was doing ). prob got that knowledge from being by his dad’s on the water when younger ( he’s ... obsessed with the water ) ! and also he’s just a quick learner ok ( ps: if your charrie has a boat pls let’s make somethin happen )
TO KNOW [ headcanons + more ]
his fav karaoke song is sweet caroline bc he knows everyone will be able to sing nd party along. he does it for the ppl, ppl.
he never saw too many baby / kid pics of himself which was kind of a bummer bc he really only remembers negative times - somehow they overpowered ( i bet lil byron was cute as fuck too fml )
he’s super into drugs, hallucinogenics, honestly you name it. it started off w/ him being impressionable, then bored, and now he just enjoys it. despite his mother’s addiction running through his blood, he still continues to do his thang.  
longboards around town so watch your toes
uses 🤙🤙 all the time and not ironically 
has an existential crisis on the daily about purpose but keeps that to himself most times 
WANTED CONNECTIONS
someone pls give me a sugar mama idc how we plot it out they don’t have to hook up they can idk idc i just want someone giving him money or expensive things it can be so much fun ok ,, pool boy ? idk sign me up
pls if your muse has a boat, let him be the deckhand ok it will also be so fun and potentially angsty if he fucks something up
a fling 100% - even multiple ? idc listen he is currently sharing a tiny VAN with his COUSIN he needs a place - like an actual bed - to crash on at night
can he save someone who was potentially drowning pls??? he used to be a lifeguard, it can be a cool/fun thread to write out
omg off of that can he teach someone how to swim 
look if anyone is into marine bio, can they somehow know byron’s father ?? i feel like that could make room for a cool plot
also i have an older brother connect on the w/c’s page lmk lmk
give me a good influence that will somehow have him open up + tell him that it’s weird to be so sunshiny all the time. maybe someone who witnesses him at his worst + stays, ya know ??
a bad influence plot where y/c takes this impressionable young lad and puts him through the ringer tbh ( srrsly he’d do a lot for ppl, so ask him to do something illegal for them it’ll be fun )
party pals, smoking pals, on the water 24/7 pals, 
co-worker, other ppl that work on the water ( fishermen?? more deckhands?? captains??)
gimmie someone he accidentally bumped into while longboarding ( he’s a large human it might’ve done damage ok )
i want and need enemies ok i know he’s chill as fuck and wants everyone to like him but there’s always a way to find enemies >:o. anything angsty for REAL.
unrequited thing? where he led someone on?? i’m sure he does this constantly
don’t ruin the friendship thing omg plsssss always so fun
look i’m open for it ALL. every plot u have in mind so lay it on me
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brownblackbeautiful · 5 years
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Heat Wave | CNCO Headcanon
Inspired by the recent heat that’s been ravaging my city for weeks, and in the spirit of Summer, and inspired by that 🔥🔥🔥 single De Cero, here is what I think the day would be like in the midst of a heat wave, spending time with the boys. Hope you enjoy, my loves! 
Btw I always love your feedback and I’m always down for asks so hmu sis
Warnings: Hella fluff, only one swear word (a personal record oop)
Also, cred to whoever I got the pictures from bc tbfh, almost every picture or gif I have of the boys, I copped from tumblr somewhere
My Masterlist
Richard:
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One of the hottest days of the year
You and Richard definitely planned for today
You two picked up Aaliyah and drove out to the beach
You got there a little later than planned though because Richard had to calm a cranky Aaliyah down because of the heat
Finally made it to the beach and barely found a nice spot in the sand, not too close to the water but not too far away
Set up a little spot, laid out towels, put on sunscreen, and all that extra stuff
"Richard, Aaliyah has enough sunscreen"
"I don't want her getting sunburned!"
You had to convince him like 3 times that she would be fine
Once everything was settled, you and Richard took Aaliyah to splash in the waves 
It was the cutest thing ever because she fell in love with the water and kept stomping and jumping and laughing and awww
After a while Aaliyah started getting hungry so you all went back to your spot to eat sandwiches
You recorded Richard trying to stop her from eating sand because it was hilarious
You and Richard took turns playing with Aaliyah and going swimming for a while
Richard definitely looks like the cliche movie scene where the hot guy gets out of the water in slow motion and approaches you
Before long it was time to pack up and head home because Aaliyah was tuckered out from such a long day
Aaliyah slept through the whole ride home and only woke up when you tried to take her out of the carseat
After everyone was bathed/showered, Richard made dinner and you all cuddled up together in the living room watching movies until bedtime
Christopher:
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We all know this man has a lot of energy
So even though it’s hot as hell’s floor tiles outside, he basically dragged you to the amusement park
As soon as you got in, he took off to the first roller coaster he set eyes on
Of course, it was the biggest one in the park and had the longest line
"Chris, this line is gonna take forever. Why don't we get on some more rides and come back to this one?"
"Fine" he would pout
You guys went around the park getting on all sorts of rides
As expected, there was this super cool waterslide and Chris begged to go on it
Good thing you brought clothes you wouldn't mind soaking
After the water slide, you two settled down and had lunch at a few overly expensive food stands
It was finally getting late and people were leaving slowly
You and Chris booked it to the ride he wanted to get on earlier and the line was so much shorter
The ride was absolutely insane!
You got pictures and a video of you and Chris screaming in terror
Chris definitely posted the video to Instagram
You finally went home, ate dinner, and fell asleep together on the couch while watching TV
Zabdiel:
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All my Zabdi girls, this one’s for you
Being pregnant in the middle of the summer, on the hottest day of the year was ABSOLUTELY MISERABLE
Although you and Zabdi were beyond excited to be bringing a life into the world, the heat, plus all the symptoms, plus your growing baby bump, plus the rollercoaster of hormones made you hate everything and everyone
Zabdiel wanted to go swimming at the local waterpark, you wanted to sit in the house under the air conditioning, eating everything in sight and binge watching shows on netflix
"Babe, I just don't feel like going," you groaned
"But why? It'll be more fun than sitting here"
"Zabdiel, I'm not fucking going!" You blew up
He looked shocked. You very rarely ever blow up like that and he knew instantly something else was up
Truthfully, you didn't want to go because you felt insecure about your baby bump. You felt like people would be staring at you with judgmental eyes just because you're not married, yet you're pregnant. No matter the fact that you love Zabdiel to the moon and back tenfold.
He sits right next to you and pulls you into his chest
"Dímelo, baby. What's wrong?"
You tell him everything, and he just holds you and hums a soft tune until you're finally calm.
With a little bit more persuasion and encouragement, Zabdiel convinces you to come to the water park.
Since you had grown out of your bathing suit, you just wore some comfy shorts and a tank top
When you got to the park, you couldn't really do as much, of course, because of the baby. But you waded in the shallow end of the pool, watched Zabdiel jump, dive, and swim around like the magical being he is, and ran through some sprinklers
Zabdiel was right. Even with restrictions, going to the water park was much more fun than sitting and sulking in the house.
While you, Zabdiel, and your group of friends were eating lunch, this super adorable little girl, probably about six years old, ran up to you chasing after a ball and started asking questions
"Are you having a baby?"
"Yes I am" you smiled
"Is he your husband?" She pointed to Zabdiel. Before you could answer, he did
"Not yet," he winked at you
Your heart basically exploded but you kept it together
"My mommy said babies are supposed to happen when you love someone, and when you love someone you’re supposed to marry them"
"Well, we love each other very much," you told her
"Jenna! There you are!" A worried looking woman ran up behind the little girl and grabbed her hand before looking up at you "I'm so sorry if she was bothering you. She's so full of energy that sometimes it's hard to keep up"
"No, it's okay, she was just a little curious." you explained
"Trust me, they're much easier to handle before they learn to walk. Congratulations, by the way!" The woman walked off with her child and the whole table finally burst into laughter
When you finally made it home, you and Zabdiel were exhausted, so you went from the shower straight to bed
The next morning, you woke up with a ring on your finger and Zabdiel waiting for you in the living room…
"Yes!"
I’m fr over here crying over zabdiel at 1 in the morning 😭😭
Joel:
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Even though it’s blazing hot outside, this is probably the only chance Joel is gonna have to spend time with his family before he heads back on tour
So you and Joel, along with just about all of his family, meet at his grandma’s house
You’re immediately pulled into the kitchen with his mom, grandma, aunts and any other female relatives while he’s dragged off by his cousins and brothers
You have no problem with it though. You absolutely love his mom and she adores you
After about an hour, everyone is eating, dancing and having a great time
Joel is outside playing soccer with his younger cousins
You go outside to watch
You barely look away for half a second
All of a sudden you’re soaked because one of his little cousins just sprayed you with a water gun
“Oh, it’s over for you, you little runt!”
You chase the boy down, snatch the water gun, and soak him head to toe
And then you feel a familiar explosion against your side and turn to see Joel with an armful of water balloons
“WATER FIGHT!!!!”
You scoop up another of Joel’s cousins and use him as a shield as you spray away with what’s left in the water gun
It’s boys against girls, and boys are winning
The plastic gun runs out of water so you toss it to the side and pick up every and any water balloon you can find, soaking every single child you possibly can
It finally comes down to you and Joel
You have to represent the army of little girls cheering for you from the sidelines, Joel has to represent all the boys
You two face off, water balloons in hand
You throw the first balloon, but he easily dodges it, the fancy footwork of a dancer paying off
He throws one in return and you just barely move out of the way
“I’m untouchable, Joel!” you brag
“Not for long!” he laughs as he throws another. You narrowly duck out of the way
You decide to use the distraction method
You toss several balloons up in the air and it steals his attention long enough for you to launch the game-ending water balloon that explodes on his chest
All the girls are jumping and screaming 
“Y/N! Y/N! Y/N!”
After the water fight, everyone gathered around a bonfire, you and Joel of course attached by the hip
More singing and dancing and relaxing as one (gigantic) family
You absolutely can’t wait until the day you can call this man your husband
Erick:
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Believe it or not, I think he’d really be down for a laid back kinda day
So while you’re taking care of laundry, he’s cleaning up elsewhere
Music is blasting through the house while the two of you sing at the top of your lungs and dance around like idiots
The house is cleaned from top to bottom because why not?
You two collapse in front of the TV and start a movie marathon
Several naps are taken throughout this time
Each time, you wake up in his arms, snuggled close, with the fan and air conditioner blowing a cool breeze despite the hundred degree weather outside
“Princesa, we’re never gonna get through a full movie if we keep falling asleep”
“Then stop humming and I might not keep getting lulled to sleep”
“You’re so cute” he laughs
“I guess you are too” you tease him
He pretends to be hurt, fluttering those bright green eyes
You both decide eventually to order some takeout and spend the rest of the day right there on the couch
Sorry his is so short, I tried to make all of them different and couldn’t really find much inspiration for baby Erick please forgive me
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heylookafanfic · 5 years
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AUTHOR’S NOTE: The reader is college aged, so about 19-26 years old :). I’m also going to try my best with making all my imagines gender neutral! I might accidentally forget in the future so, please don’t hesitate to remind me via inbox! Enjoy!
Pairing: Jim Hopper x Reader,  Robin x Reader
brief summary: You and Hopper are dating but after a conversation with Robin at work, you start to feel a bit insecure bc of the slight age gap in your relationship.
word count: 1,911 words requested: no, this one came to mind warnings: age gap, mention of abuse, mention of anxiety, mention of depression (drinking and smoking as a coping mechanism), but mainly fluff!
You worked at Scoops Ahoy with Steve and Robin as a summer gig. College is expensive and textbooks aren’t going to pay for themselves. You actually enjoyed working in there because it was in the mall which meant after you got off for the night, you got to grab a large piece of gooey pizza from the food court. The absolute highlight of your day.
12:45pm - Lunch time.
Steve offered to stay out front and sell ice cream while you and Robin ate lunch in the food court. You sat down and began eating a bagged lunch that Hop packed you.
“What’s that say? Robin asked
There was a Post-It note taped to the side of your lunch
She pulled it off and mockingly read: "Have a great day pumpkin!”
“Pumpkin???” she chuckled
“What? Your mom doesn’t call you little pet names?” you defensively joked
The note was obviously from Hop but you  quickly played it off like your mom wrote it.
“My mom and I are on a first name basis - the only thing she calls me is Robin” she chuckled
“You should call her Batman so you guys will be Batman and Robin” you laughed
“Yeah, never happen– woah”
Robin looked past you which made you turn around
“What?” you asked
“Tammy Thompson. Floral romper. Next to Taco Bell”
“I see her but, what about her?”
“ ‘Grade school crush’ Tammy Thompson”
“OH” you said as you caught on
“Dude, she got hot! Like, she was always cute in grade school but she’s gorgeous”
“Is she still your type?
"I don’t know. I don’t really have a type Y/N”
“I find that hard to believe. You think Phoebe Cates is– and I quote, ’outrageously hot’ ” you joke
“SHE IS!” Robin laughs
“What about you Y/N? You got a type?”
“Not really. If the right person comes along, then whatever happens, happens” you shrugged
“You liar, I see you hangin’ around that sheriff dude all the time. You can’t tell me you don’t have the hots for him”
“What?! No! Never in a million years. Hopper’s a family friend and only a family friend”
“Are you sure about that because, every time he stops by the shop, I see the way you make googly eyes at him” she said
“Googly eyes? Maybe that’s you making googly eyes at him Robin!” you laughed
“I like girls, remember?” she laughed
“Well, that’s good news because I was about to say, he looks quite a bit older than you” she continued
You continued eating your lunch but still listened to what Robin was saying
“Like, imagine dating some dude old enough to be your dad. Like, he’d hold your hand while you cross the street and he’d read a bedtime story before bed and you gotta get permission to leave the house and think about what it be like having– christ, I’m gonna vomit!” she laughed
You were secretly hurt by what Robin said because little did she know, she was right about you and Hopper except it’s not a crush– you and Jim are going on 8 months in a serious relationship. It all started after fighting off the demidogs with the kids, Jonathan, Nancy, Steve, and Hopper. Jim offered you to stay with him and El until things died down but you declined because you still had college courses to take care of. Although lab experiments are pretty much running rampid through Hawkins, school wasn’t going to close down for a snow day, let alone Demidogs. College was 2 hours away from Hawkins but that never stopped Hop from driving the distance to “check in” on you. Flat tire? Hop was on the way. Need a space heater for your dorm? Hop wouldn’t let you spend a dime on buying one, he’d be on his way with one in the back of the truck and maybe a little homemade meal prepped by yours truly. Basically, he found any excuse to come and see you. After a heart-to-heart one day after ranting about being a bit homesick, he asked you to move in with him and El.
*Flashback*
“You’ll be in Hawkins and even if it means waking up at the crack of dawn to drive you to class, it’ll be worth it.” he said
“Hop, I don’t want to inconvenience you at all. I mean, it’s a 2 hour drive there and back, that’s a lot of gas, you still have to go to work and is El really going to be okay by herself for a few hours?” you questioned
“Gas isn’t a problem, the truck uses it regardless of where I’m going, and yes, El will be perfectly fine. The kid survived this whole time without me and did you forget she has–”
“telekinesis” you both said
After saying your good byes to your dorm mate and packing your things, you were officially a resident of casa de Hopper. He was thrilled that he’d get to see you everyday. Nothing was official yet but he had a hunch that maybe things would move a long a bit. He apologized for not having a room for you but you didn’t mind the little area of the cabin he prepared for you. You had feelings for him from the jump but after seeing him out of uniform and being an amazing dad to El, you were absolutely sold. Being able to see Hop put this whole 'tough guy’ persona away behind closed doors and being vulnerable at times, had you wishing he’d actually ask you out.
One night, you were sitting on the porch, letting the sounds of the surrounding woods serenade you, when he sat beside you. He brought you a coffee and just sat in silence. The way you looked as you admired the stars– you literally had a twinkle in your eye. Taking a deep breath, he went for it. The man just full on let his heart out to you before quickly regretting it. You looked at him and chuckled. In that moment, he was sure he ruined your friendship, you’d want to move out and never speak to him again. You told him that you have the same feelings for him but never had the courage to say anything. He let out a sigh of relief and cracked the biggest smile. Things went quiet again  until he asked if he could kiss you (consent first!). You nodded and you two lovebirds did a passionate but sweet kiss.That smile quickly went away. He pulled back and took a breath. You asked him what was wrong and he simply said
“It’s not right”
“What?”
“Us”
“Huh?”
“Me and you Y/N. I feel like I took advantage of you”
“What?! No, of course not. In what way?” you asked
“You’re in your 20’s, I’m in my 40’s. There’s an age gap”
“Okay– I don’t see how that’s a problem though”
“When everyone sees us, they’re going to think I’m only using you for sex. Come on, you know if a guy my age is with someone your age, there’s obviously something going on there. The younger person is never the 'secretary’ or 'assistant’.” he said
“Hop, are we or are we not 2 consenting adults?”
“Yeah”
“Do we both have honest mutual feelings for each other?”
He nodded his head
“So, what does it matter what everyone else thinks? We’re both happy. I haven’t been truly happy in a while but when you’re around, the world isn’t so bad” you said
He cracked a smile again.
“Listen, if it makes you feel better we don’t have to tell anyone about us. We can tell them when we’re ready. Deal?” you continued
He put his pinky finger out.
“Oh, so we’re pinky promising now?” you chuckled
“I guess you can say we’re getting pretty serious” he laughed
*End of flashback*
7:00pm– Closing Time
Hop pulled up to the front of the mall and waited for you.
7:00 was his favorite time of the day because that meant he got to see his whole world walk out of the doors of the Starcourt Mall every day. He was blasting “You Make My Dreams” by Hall & Oats with the windows rolled up. It was the song to your realationship but, he’d rather be caught dead than be caught listening to Hall & Oats.
You walked through the doors, yanking off your “AHOY” hat when you hear
“Y/N!”
Getting in the car, you plop down in the passenger side and put your seatbelt on.
Usually “You Make My Dreams” would have you dancing in your seat but you were offaly quiet.
“You okay?” he asked as he turn the music down
“Yeah”
“Now, when you say 'yeah’ ,you’re obviously lying. Seriously, is everything okay?”
You sighed
“Remember when we 1st got together, and we talked about our age?”
“Mhm”
“Robin and I were talking and she mentioned how dating a 'guy old enough to be your dad’ is gross.”
“Did you tell her about us?!” he panicked
“No, of course not. She brought age gaps up when we were talking about crushes and I have anxiety over it now. Are we–”
Hop put his finger up to his lip and shh’d you. He knew you overthink too much and that lead to your anxiety triggering. He took your hand in his, rubbing his thumb over yours.
“Y/N, the minute I laid my eyes on you–”
He paused before choking up a bit
“–I felt the same feeling I felt when I first met Diane. After Sarah passed, we divorced and I never thought I’d be happy again. I turned to cigs and alcohol for help but I dug myself deeper in this hole. Meeting Joyce gave me hope, but I saw how happy she was with Bob and– I wanted what she had. Coming home to someone who gives a damn about you every day. All the stress from fighting the demagorgon and being a dad again, I was ready to throw in the towel. Then, I met you. You were so laidback and carefree and had this aura I can’t describe. You always knew how to light up a room. When I got to know you better and you told me about the hell your dad put you and your mom through, I saw how strong you were and I needed that in my life. I needed someone who can keep me grounded when life becomes too much. That was you. You went back to college and I felt my life falling apart again. That’s why I came to see you so much. When you said you wanted to move in, I drove home that night on top of the world. I told El and we drank hot chocolate the whole night as a celebration. You wanna know the best part, that night we started dating was the absolute best night I had in years. I felt like kid again. Like, my playground crush just said yes to swinging together. Y/N, you are the best thing to happen to me in a long time. Like you said, 'what does it matter what everyone else thinks? We’re both happy’. ”
He kissed you and that kiss had to be at least a minute long.
“You feel better?” he chuckled
“No” you said
“Seriously?”
“I’m kidding, yes I feel better” you chuckled
“Good, now let’s go home” he said with a side smile
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ghostplantss · 4 years
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Brickclub 1.1.1 - 2 + Introduction
Hello! I’m Alice she/her/hers, trying to catch up to brick club, not the sharpest pencil in the drawer, knows near nothing, so this’ll be something of a miscellaneous collection of rambles just for myself and hopefully it’ll work out!
1.1.1
M. Myriel! I adore you and I’ve missed you terribly
Footnotes and app “common knowledge” say that the inspiration for M. Myriel is de Miollis, bishop of Digne from 1806 to 1838, emigrated to Rome during the revolution, anti-napoleon, bought back church land confiscated by the frev.
Mgr Myriel dans les miserables
According to this article, which I cannot understand since it is in French, jvj was based on pierre Morin, released after 5 years in prison for stealing bread for his sister’s starving family, couldn’t find a job or shelter, was taken in by the aforementioned bishop and died in the battle of Waterloo - does this have anything to do w the pontmercy? 
de miollis was born 19 june, 1753 instead of? 1815 - 75 = 1740? I couldn’t find anything remotely interesting that happened in 1740 except marquis de sade’s birth and hopefully that was an unfortunate coincidence. 
he had 15 siblings, 7 of whom died young, 4 brothers, 4 sisters. of whom one brother took on the family business of conseiller, two (i think) were generals under napoleon - family dinners must’ve been difficult - and the last was a prefect. Hugo says Myriel had 2 brothers, a prefect and a general, which is close enough. de Moillis does not have a sister baptistine, but he does have a sister named anne magdeleine de moillis, married to a marquis, with a servant named genevieve. the article says perhaps hugo thought the name genevieve too noble for a servant, which i find silly bc magloire’s a perfectly lovely name. so i went in looking for his relationship with baptistine and felt terribly cheated to realize hugo had fabricated the sister almost entirely which i suppose is fair.
I think the article says that de Moillis was given the position bc his brother was a general under napoleon. and that the hospital thing fabricated as well but! i’m sloth and articles are so entirely dull. 
A 17th century precursor to Mgr Myriel
This article posits that the creation M. Myriel was influenced by Lancelot’s 17th century novel relation d'un voyage d'aleth which sounds terribly interesting and i must look into it aaaand i’m terribly off topic
SO ANYHOW: 
Myriel emigrated to Italy just as the revolution began and when Napoleon left Italy for France, one by fortune and the other by choice. And he said he was a good man while Napoleon was a great man - I promised myself I’d get throw the next book to call Napoleon a great man at the wall, but alas, I’m reading this digitally - so they’re somewhat opposites! 
Myriel was in an arranged marriage and indulged in affairs, which his later parishioners v consciously forgot, which? I suppose? Shows his love for them is more unconditional than theirs for him? And could? Well? Parallel how ppl were so reluctant to look into the past of Madeleine and how easily they forsook poor jvj as soon as the v ancient news reemerged
Young myriel sounds like such a riot! A bit like? Courfeyrac aka the nicer tholomyès aw imagine if he were cosette’s father instead? I’m sure he wouldn’t abandon her Oh no I’m off topic but I suppose Hugo here’s either saying? Affairs aren’t virtuous and so ppl are capable of change - which would be hypocritical of him - or affairs are ok as long as you take responsibility and such which? i suppose I can get behind. Of course, with the ease of getting divorces nowadays, hopefully people wouldn’t stay in loveless arranged marriages. I remember, when I first read the book, being rather discomfited by the way Myriel seems to ignore how his actions affect women who depend on him? Such as the voluntary scarcity he not only devoted himself to but also foisted upon his sister and sweet Magloire. And? now the way he cheated on his wife, who probably wished no part in this relationship either, but has less freedom than he does in this marriage but ah now I’m terribly off topic and bumming myself out.
I wish there were more said on the 30 years they were married, on their exile to italy, i want to know it all! “Nobody knows” says the omniscient narrator oh come on Hugo spill the beans on myriel! I am the brainless gossiping mob tell me everything
I love magloire and baptistine’s descriptions I love them both! Hugo says a lady needs to be a mother to be venerable but i think that’s just you Hugo you have this odd thing for feral saintly mothers and who can blame you. Mlle. baps is an aspiration! mme. Magloire too! She’s so hard working despite being ill, and it just isn’t right she should be the only one to be so busy when she has asthma
I know I shouldn’t ship them but reason escapes me
1740: born
1758- 1760: 18-20 arranged marriage
1790ish: 50ish emigrated to Italy - wife died of? consumption?
1806: 66 become bishop
1815: 75 current
Cool quotes:
“La révolution survint, les événements se précipitèrent, les familles parlementaires décimées, chassées, traquées, se dispersèrent.” - it flows so nicely!
“M. Myriel devait subir le sort de tout nouveau venu dans une petite ville où il y a beaucoup de bouches qui parlent et fort peu de têtes qui pensent.” - such a burn and this is me! little brain and much tongue
on Mme. Baps: “et cette diaphanéité laissait voir l'ange… Sa personne semblait faite d'ombre … un peu de matière contenant une lueur ; de grands yeux toujours baissés ; un prétexte pour qu'une âme reste sur la terre.” aaa i adore this so much! to imagine her angelic, respectable, and made of shadows! 
1.1.2
Onto chapter 2! So um I know this is terribly off topic, but nap the bonbon said that an archbishop would have a stipend of 15000 francs while a bishop would be given 10000 francs, and this book published after les mis still cited the same numbers as well so it’s odd that Myriel has an annual stipend of 15000 francs? AHHh also! bonbon said that rectors - one class of them at least - would be paid 1500 francs annually, and i’m not entirely sure, but isn’t a curé a rector? as hugo said, myriel never really took more money than he needed. BUT he allocated 1000 francs instead of 1500 for his personal stipend and so I’m! very! confused! i feel like i’m v earnestly explaining how a triangle has four sides. i swear i’ll move on.  
(adding on oh god i just realized?? baps gets 500 a year? i really hope myriel isn’t counting her pension as part of his own personal expenses... though itt does say that “Avec ces quinze cents francs, ces deux vieilles femmes et ce vieillard vivaient.” but that would be rather despicable)
I love the part where he converts the palace to a hospital! hugo started off by describing the extravagance and grandeur of it all, and then juxtaposing it to? the hospital and myriel’s decision to swap houses and there’s something terribly satisfying about the layout. just. how it ends with “Il y a erreur, je vous dis. Vous avez mon logis, et j'ai le vôtre. Rendez-moi ma maison. C'est ici chez vous.” it all wraps so nicely!
The book reiterates how Myriel’s family was ruined by the frev - to what extent, for both of his brothers are employed by the napoleonic government. To that end, it almost appears as a sort of denouncement of violent social change. However, that isn’t quite what myriel believes, it seems, at least according to his budget? since he allocates more to the People as opposed to family, so i’m very confused. Perhaps Hugo is saying that the sacrifices of a few good men who benefit from an unjust system is necessary. 
Myriel took the transportation fee! it was hilarious. of course, i do have mixed feelings because M. Préameneau was right, it’s ridiculous for someone in such a small parish to apply for a carriage fee, which was at least partially why Myriel ultimately chose the donkey. and i’m supposing this most likely sets a terrible precedent for the next bishop of digne who might not have similar philanthropist sentiments. so Hugo’s saying we’re allowed to take advantage of a broken system as long as our own ends are good? how machiavellian! and the buildup was hilarious even if we all knew myriel would never pocket the money himself. poor Mme. Magloire though, it sounded like the household really could have used the money. I think the way she said? that he began by being kind with other people, and now he will end with us? it’s almost rather tragic. that he should’ve neglected the feelings of the people closest to him. 
Hugo seems to have? Baps represent the spirit and Magloire the body, or at least more worldly worries, which seems rather classist of him . I suppose it might be a necessary evil of liking symbols so much - you inevitably fall into stereotypes - and i do love them both, but it makes me uncomfortable. 
Posts from other ppl I want to keep: 
pilf: 
- “il y a toujours encore plus de misère en bas que de fraternité en haut, tout était donné, pour ainsi dire, avant d'être reçu” + charity
- that baps “venerates” her brother, and that he lists all their monetary needs as his own personal expenses, despite the fact that they are the ones managing the household and the money and that they are living off the money same as him, and?? baps only gets 500 yearly, half of what her brother considers a meagre sum
- and aaaa i love how pilf said that it isn’t an admirable move to force those around you to live according to your own morals. just. yes. baps and magloire don’t esp have a choice. and?? magloire and baps really did carry the brunt of the burden. Myriel was able to stay afloat “grâce à la sévère économie de madame Magloire et à l'intelligente administration de mademoiselle Baptistine.” 
akallabeth: 
- how the specificness of the itemized list shows intent and research into the most underserved individuals + causes in his parish: 1. soup for hospital 2. debtors w families
- “And he calls the almsgiving his household expenses. The young man asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” The bishop responds, “The poor are my family.”” (i couldn’t find this quote! but it is amazing!)
- pfff his swanky, company-provided house. i love it
- 15000 francs approx 3 mil usd or 58 workers’ annual wages, which means?? bap’s pension is worth? two adult male workers’ wages? wow
- Myriel uses vous for Magloire
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