#Love waiting for the crosswalk signal to turn green and then go

[flavia8]

People really underestimate crosswalks. 30-120 seconds of spacing tf out while waiting to cross? Gold. Love it. Never in that much of a hurry anyway. Plus the sound helps you not miss it. They're like mini checkpoints

[6lostgirl6]

Can you please do a Dracula fic for me where it is modern times and you are Dracula’s mate. He sees you and immediately knows what/who you are to him. He goes about trying to court you but he does it in the same way you would way back when. You find it cute and sweet, seeing as how most guys put minimal effort in and just wanna get in your pants. Basically you guys fall in love and he tells you what/who he is, you obviously accept it, and maybe ends with you asking him to turn you. Which he’s obviously gonna do.

Thank you. 🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️

Chivalry Is Undead

Pairing: Modern!Vladislaus Dracula x Fem!Reader

TW: Dracula haunted by your death, blood mention, dead bodies mentioned, reincarnation, mentions of past life, Dracula hissing at you, turning.

There was only one moment in time in which Vladislaus Dracula was able to find a sense of true happiness in his life. This was the time he felt like he was truly a human being rather than a monster, a tyrant. The time in which he still had you, his long lost wife.

Now, centuries later, he was considering taking a trip across the world to ease the pain of losing the only thing he had ever truly loved and felt that he could never recover from. The trip from Romania to America was rough, staying in the cargo hold of a boat until they reached land. By the time he was able to step out, the entire crew was lifeless and drained of all blood.

A few days after he arrived in the city, he decided to explore the area and get to know the city a little better.

It was impossible not to notice how out of place the vampire Lord stood in the crowd. He was dressed in clothes that would remind people of the Victorian era. It didn’t help that he was the only one to carry an umbrella during the day without a sign of rain. However, he also caught the attention of multiple women, none of which interested him. His beloved wife held a special place in his heart, there was no room for any other.

After walking for a while, he was suddenly hit with a very peculiar scent in the air. Dracula paused in his steps, his eyes widening as he took in the sweet aroma. His undead heart would have skipped a beat if he were human.

He could smell the scent of his beloved.

He hastened his steps, effortlessly pushing through the crowd as he did so. He wasn't going to let any disgusting human get in the way of him finding his lost love. He paused again, standing in the spot where the sweet aroma was at its strongest.

Suddenly, he widened his eyes in shock as he looked across the busy street and a rare smile appeared on his face. His pupils began to dilate as he stared across the street. There you were, standing near the crosswalk with a device in your hand that he remembered was a cellphone.

He couldn't imagine anything more beautiful than you; the exact image of the beloved he lost so long ago. The sensation of moving towards you itched in his body. He was tempted to forget about the traffic in front of him and just appear before you. It was your touch, your presence, and your entire being that once soothed his tyrannical soul. He missed you and desperately wanted you back in his arms and that is exactly what he'll do.

You were watching something on your phone, waiting for the pedestrian signal to change so you and a small crowd of people could cross the road. Soon, the pedestrian signal turned green, allowing you and the small crowd to begin walking across safely. After crossing the road, you went to walk down the sidewalk when you suddenly bumped into what seemed like a brick wall, causing you to drop your phone. 

With the stranger's quick reflexes, he was able to grab your phone before it could land on the pavement.

“Apologies, Miss...” He said, his voice was deep with a Romanian accent, handing out the device towards you.

"Thank you so much." You said with a sheepish smile, taking your phone back from the handsome stranger. "I'm really sorry, I should have been paying better attention."

Damn, even her voice is the same...

He waved his hand towards you dismissing your apology with a friendly smile. "No, do not apologize, the fault is mine. Might I ask your name?" He asked with curiosity.

You found him awfully charming and you gave your name out instantly. "What's your name?" You asked, just as curious about the handsome stranger. In that moment, the stranger took your hand not holding your phone and pressed a kiss upon your knuckles. You felt your heart skip a beat. 

“What a gorgeous name…” He muttered, staring into your eyes. 

Dracula’s keen hearing was able to sense your nervousness and your immediate attraction to him. His mind was hazy and fangs aching to make their claim upon your delicate throat. To claim you as his mate so he would never lose you again. "You may call me Vlad, my dear, I have traveled all the way from Transylvania for sight-seeing." 

“You’ve come a long way…” You uttered, your gazes were still locked on one another, unable to break the connection between you both. 

“I have, but I believe the agonizing trip was well-worth it, to see true beauty such as yourself.” He commented, smirking a little when he noticed the warmth flooding your cheeks. “I was exploring the city, but it would be lovely to have someone like you accompanying me. Would you like that?” 

Your eyes softened, giving a smile from his charm, he was quite different from the other men you would see around the city. It warmed your heart to have a man show genuine interest in you and want to merely spend time with you. “I would love that.” 

Dracula felt relieved as his eyes softened from your acceptance. He held his arm out and you quickly wrapped your arm around his own, elbows linked together. It was very old-fashioned you can admit, but you couldn’t help but prefer it. However, you couldn’t place it, but the gesture was oddly familiar, as if he’s done this with you before. 

Your relationship with Vlad has been going well for a few months now and you are happier than you have ever been. Since becoming his unofficial tour guide, you have spent almost every day with him. You have even been on a few dates with him, unable to resist his sweet nature and silver tongue. Dates that consisted of fine restaurants and extravagant tours of the city that you had never had the opportunity to experience before. However, you noticed that Vlad was very vague when it came to specifics about himself. In particular, he was not interested in discussing his past, his finances, or his methods of obtaining them and his need for carrying an umbrella everywhere. When you asked him why, he mentioned it was because he had a rare skin condition that would become irritated if exposed to direct sunlight.

Despite his mysterious behavior, you still found him extremely charming and you noticed that you were starting to grow intense feelings for him. However, as your relationship developed and your feelings grew, you began having dreams, strange dreams. More like nightmares because you would always dream about ancient times where you and Vlad were once married where the dream would end with your impending doom, you were never given details of your ultimate demise.

You never bothered to tell Vlad, not wanting to push him away or make him think you were crazy because you dreamt that you were his wife in some past life, you never wanted to ruin your chances with him. For instance, you were going on another date with him tonight, deciding that you both would meet each other in an extravagant park that was quite a distance from the city.

After getting into your car and making the drive away from the city, you arrived in the parking lot near the entrance of the park. Glancing outside your window, you turned off the engine before stepping out onto the concrete. It was just after dusk and the skies were starting to become darker as the minutes moved on. After locking your car, you headed over to the entrance and looked around. 

Part of you disliked Vlad not having a cellphone, due to him hating technology, but you had no way of getting a hold of him should you ever needed him or his location. Checking the time on your phone, you sighed as you were about to put it away. You were becoming a little anxious that you might have been stood up.

“Looking for something?” A pleasant voice whispered in your ear, thick Romanian accent sending shivers down your spine. 

You jolted slightly, gasping as you turned towards the person. Standing behind you with an amused smirk was Vlad, seemingly entertained by your reaction. You rolled your eyes and playfully smacked his arm, knowing that it wouldn’t hurt him. “You scared me!” You exclaimed, a teasing smile plastered on your face. 

“I apologize, my sweet.” Vlad replied, staring intently into your eyes. He thought it was delectable how scared you became, even if it only lasted for a meer moment. He was dressed in black with a thick overcoat. “It’s rude to scare the lady that captured my heart.” He continued, reaching out to take your hand in his own. He couldn’t resist touching you.

You felt your cheeks grow a little warm, gripping his hand as you both entered the park, enjoying the scenery. However, you were still a little distracted from the dreams you’ve been having. Usually, you were able to ignore it until you went home where you could reflect after your dates with Vlad. Now though, your mind was constantly replaying the dreams in a loop. You didn't notice how distant you became the more the date went on, getting lost in your own head.

Dracula noticed you were more quiet than usual, opting to replying in short answers or needing him to repeat himself. Dracula may have been old, but he understood when someone is thinking about something, something very important.

He stopped you both when you appeared next to a fountain, turning towards you and taking both of your hands in his own. "What bothers you so, my sweet?" He asked, concern evident in his gaze.

"I'm sorry..." You muttered, a little embarrassed from your behavior. "I've just been thinking about some things."

"Like what? Does something trouble you?" He questioned, squeezing your hands. Everything was feeling very familiar again, and you were starting to feel a little weird.

"I've been having...strange dreams lately. Dreams that seem very real and like I've been there before. But it's impossible, right? Dreaming about something that's never happened?" You explained, but it only left you asking questions.

Dracula swore his heart jumped to his throat. Could this mean you were starting to remember your past life with him? Was his mere presence and time spent with you the answer to getting you back?

"What do you dream about?" He stepped closer, his gaze refusing to leave your own. "What is it, my sweet?" He was eager to hear your answer.

"It's really stupid, it's like we've met before? The dreams start with us being married during an ancient time and the dream ends with me dying in some way and leaving you behind...the dream never gives me answers though..." You explained, voice low. "But, we were really happy and I woke up crying sometimes."

"It's because it was real..." Dracula replied, his eyes soft and if he could, tears would have been gathering in his own eyes. "It was real, my sweet..."

"But that's impossible, Vlad." You stated, a little confused from his reaction. "Past lives don't exist and even if you were alive during that time, you would be dead right now."

Dracula sighed, before looking around. He didn't sense anyone else in the vicinity, meaning that the both of you were completely alone. For once in his immortal life; he felt nervous, nervous for your reaction.

"Come, my sweet," Leading you by the hand, you both walked over to the fountain, sitting down on the stone structure. "There is something we must discuss."

"Vlad...this isn't because of my dreams, right? It's okay if you think it's weird..." You started before Vlad politely cut you off, showing his hand.

"My darling, the dreams you've been experiencing are very much real. Centuries ago, you were the love of my life and we were once married. My pride, arrogance, and selfish desires caused me to lose you forever. However..." He gripped your hand tightly. "I have you once more, in this life. I've been given a second chance at happiness my darling, with you." He explained, he didn't want to beat around the bush.

You stared at him, slightly in shock from his explanation. Your mind was going a mile a minute, and crazy as you may seem, part of you believed him. However, the logical part of your mind screamed at you to wake up. If it were true, how is Vlad here?

"Then how are you even alive, Vlad?" You questioned, looking into his eyes.

"Because...I am a monster, my darling." He hesitated before continuing, "I am Count Vladislaus Dracula and I am a vampire."

"W-What?" You asked, standing up and backing away a little. Not allowing you to escape from him again, Dracula stood up and closed the distance between you both once more. He towered over you, his intense gaze staring into your own. "Vlad, that's not-"

"Search your feelings, you know it to be true." He stated, grabbing your hand.

"Vlad, this is such a stupid j-"

Suddenly, Vlad appeared in front of your face, hissing down at you with glowing eyes, fangs protruding from his gums and jaw slightly unhinged like a snake. His face was monstrous and for the first time, you were scared of him. You screamed in fear, struggling to remove yourself from his grip as he wrapped his arm around your waist, gripping your wrist with his other hand.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The monstrous face of Vlad returned to normal, pulling you close as tears gathered in your eyes, trying hard not to sob into his chest. He felt horrible that he had to show you this way, but he didn't know how else to convince you he was telling the truth. "You needed to see, darling, I'm sorry for scaring you." He caressed your hair.

You sniffled, your face pressed against his chest as Vlad continued caressing you, trying to calm you down. His monstrous face tormented your mind, however your heart was screaming that you needed to hear him out.

"M-My dreams..." You pulled away slightly, looking up at him as he moved a free hand to caress your cheek, wiping away stray tears from your skin. "W-We were really married...?"

He gave you a small smile, before nodding his head. "Yes, my sweet, but now we are given a second chance. This time, I will do everything in my power to protect you and keep you with me forever." He promised.

"But you can't..." You replied sadly. Vlad was a vampire, an immortal creature that would continue living for many more centuries, while you could die at any moment. You felt your heart breaking, knowing that even though you had a second chance, you would still lose him.

Unless...

"Unless you change me..." You mentioned, causing Vlad to look into your eyes with an unreadable expression. However, you didn't realize how much Dracula wanted to sink his teeth into your throat and change you right this second. However, he maintained himself as you continued speaking.

"Is that what you want, my darling?" He asked, pulling you close as his other hand moved to cup your other cheek. "Do you wish to become mine eternally?"

"Yes." You answered, wrapping your around his neck which made him want to purr from your affectionate touch. "Yes, I want to become your wife once more."

Without another word and breaking your gazes, he wrapped an arm around your waist before dipping you slightly. From this position, all you could see was the face of your former lover and the stars above.

"Your wish is my command." He uttered, before leaning down, which made you close your eyes instinctively.

You were bracing yourself, awaiting for the pain that would engulf you when Vlad would sink his fangs into your neck. The pain that would ultimately change your life forever. However, that never happened as you felt the man of your literal dreams pressing his lips against your own. You gasped slightly, the kiss between you two quickly becoming passionate.

Dracula couldn't hold back the pleased growl rumbling from his chest. The ability to finally have you in his arms again and tasting your sweetness through the kiss almost made him lose control. However, he wanted to make the change romantic and less painful.

Behind your closed eyes, more memories were revealed like a record player and you felt tears swell into your eyes once more. You remembered everything and your heart shattered, knowing how much pain your husband has been through since your departure.

Reluctantly, Dracula pulled away from the kiss, staring down at you with a pleased smile. Your heart was frantically beating against your chest and the way you were staring up at him made him feel an intense longing. "Are you ready, my darling?"

"Always for you, my king." You uttered in Romanian, your eyes full of devotion locking onto his own.

Dracula's instincts were going mayhem as his eyes widened, hearing those sweet Romanian words fall from your lips, uttering a name that you once called him centuries ago. He missed you so much, and he finally found you, he finally had his beloved wife once more.

"My queen..." He replied in Romanian, smirking down at you as his fangs extended.

Next thing you knew, was the excruciating pain in your neck as the love of your life sunk his fangs deep within your throat before you lost consciousness.

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@prettywhenibleed @ghoulgeousimmaculate @britany1997 @scaramantica

[ameifyy]

Ibuki Niijima x GN reader

🐾 — petting cats with Ibuki.

(( made for lika & syd ))

It had been a long day in high school, you felt exhausted. Your teacher had assigned multiple sheets of homework that you obviously didn't have the motivation to do. Your girlfriend, Ibuki, had asked if you wanted her to walk you home. You agreed, feeling as though Ibuki would lift your spirits as she always does. You loved her so much, she never failed to put a smile on your face.

You two had met up at the entrance to the school. Thankfully your house wasn't that far from the school, because unlike Ibuki, you were nowhere close to athletic. You and your beloved girlfriend started walking in the direction of your house, hand in hand. "So how was your day _____?" Ibuki said, turning her vision to your direction, away from the sidewalk below her. "It wasn't all that great, but I somehow got through it. What about you, Ibuki?" ____ said in a quieter tone. Ibuki slightly gripped your hand a bit tighter, out of pure reflex as you two walked past a moving car. "It was good! Unfortunately, the limited food item on the menu that Towa wanted was sold out once again, she sort of maybe cried all lunch.." Ibuki did a nervous giggle at this, expecting you to laugh with her. She then noticed that you had your attention on something in the distance.

You were amazed, in a daze even. You had seen a small calico cat on the top of a trash bin across the street, you wanted to go pet it so badly but you unfortunately knew the dangers of it. Ibuki quickly took notice of what you were looking at, and began to slightly squeal in excitement. She loved cats so much and got so excited every time she saw one. "_____ we have got to see that cat. Come on!" Ibuki slightly sped up, going into a speed walk, not wanting to accidentally harm you. You knew how much Ibuki loved cats, they were one of her favorite things after all. You sped up your pace too, to keep up with your very speedy girlfriend.

You two had reached the crosswalk, waiting for the signal to go to the other side of the street. The second the signal turned green, Ibuki sped to the other side of the street, your hands still intertwined. "Hey Ibuki, can you slow down please?" ____ said while trying to catch their breath. "Oh, sorry sweetheart. I forgot how unathletic you were heh.." Ibuki apologized in a soft tone, one that could make anyone melt on the spot, at least in your mind. You two had walked over to where you had seen the cat, spotting it eating trash. Ibuki took her backpack off her shoulder, and pulled a bag of cat treats out of them. She bent down and handed the small calico cat a treat, watching it slowly take it out of the palm of her hand. You had crouched down beside her by now, and watched intently as the love of your life fed a small fluffy critter a cat treat. "She looks so beautiful, I don't know how she ever fell for someone like me." You thought in your head as you softly sighed. Ibuki had heard you sigh, turning her head a bit to see you watching the kitten eat the treat while slowly reaching to pet it.

"Hey darling, can you look at me for a second?" Ibuki stated with a thought in her mind that she couldn't shake. _____ turned to look at her, curious as to why their lover wanted them to face her. They then felt Ibuki's lips softly crash on to their own, slightly yelping at the sudden contact. When they finally processed what was happening, they melted into the kiss, a slight smile forming on Ibuki's lips as she felt them relax, beginning to delicately play with a strand of hair that had fallen loose from their lovers head.

The two stayed like that for a bit longer, finally breaking apart the kiss for air. By now, the calico cat had gone back to the alley it was previously in. Ibuki stood up, grabbing her bag of cat treats in her backpack as she did. She then extended her hand out for _____, pulling them up as they took the loving gesture. Ibuki and _____ then continued the walk to the residence of _____, once again, hand in hand.

[viastro]

they were pretty | chwe vernon hansol

ミ★ synopsis: the moment you lock eyes with your soulmate is when the world will become bright and colorful, but it’s only when the two of you hold eye contact. [dedicated to @memesolvernonchwe​ ! surprise, i’m your secret santa <3]

ミ★ genre: soulmate!au, fluff, some humor

ミ★ warnings: none !

ミ★ word count: 2,116

ミ★ pairings: vernon x gender neutral reader

ミ★ notes: merry christmas everyone ! and to those who don’t celebrate, i hope you’re having a great day ! especially to my friend, mia. i’m your secret santa !! i hope you enjoyed this, i wanted to make it as fluffy as possible hehe. hope you’re doing well <33 as to everyone else reading this oneshot, i hope you guys enjoy it ! make sure to give vernon lots of love, and to also be safe this holiday season !

“I’m so excited for you to be able to see colors, yn.” You nod your head aimlessly at Nayeon’s comment, knowing that she’ll eventually stop talking about meeting her soulmate once a month passes by. You bite the inside of your cheek at a particularly long paragraph in the textbook, trying to scan through it to find what to take note of. 

“It’s truly so beautiful, I wish everyone would be able to experience it. I can’t wait to go and see her again so that I can see the color of the sky.” Glancing up from your notes, you see Nayeon staring longingly out the window of the library. You let out a breath, before deciding to close your textbook, causing her to turn to look at you. Giving her a smile you say, “Let’s head back to the apartment, mm? So that you can go see Jeongyeon.” 

You watch as Nayeon’s face practically lights up as she nods her head, and the two of you begin to pack up your things. You listen as she continues to ramble about how she can’t wait to look at the color blue again, and you nod your head calmly as the two of you walk out the library. 

“I feel like you’ll like the color pink a lot.” Nayeon tells you when you both reach the crowded crosswalk. Raising an eyebrow, you turn to glance at her as you wait for the crosswalk signal to show that it’s your turn to cross the street. She smiles, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. 

“Pink is like a sweet and delicate color. It tastes like bubblegum or cotton candy. And it makes you feel… love. I guess.” Nayeon explains in a soft voice, and you nod your head. You glance at your surroundings that are in black and white, the world that you’ve grown used to seeing. 

You wonder if you’ll ever be lucky enough to be able to see the world through Nayeon’s eyes.

The crosswalk signal turns green, and the two of you begin to cross the street. You look at the ground as Nayeon speaks animatedly beside you about how excited she is to see her soulmate, while you half-listen as you walk past all the people going to their own destinations. 

You glance up from the road, and make eye contact with a few people passing by. You’re about to look back down at the crosswalk again when you lock eyes with someone for a brief moment, and you feel your breath get taken away. 

Your world isn’t black and white for a fleeting second. 

“Yn? Are you okay?” Your breath hitches when you see that everything is black and white again. You glance around in panic as you see the normal different shades of grey when the two of you finally cross the street. Nayeon shakes your arm to try and get your attention, but you stare with wide eyes at the other side of the street, heart beating wildly against your chest as you realize your soulmate just walked past you.

and you don’t know who it is.

“WHAT?!” You grimace at Nayeon’s screech as you watch her pace around your bedroom, trying to process the rather unfortunate information that you just bestowed upon her.

more unfortunate for you rather than her but alas…

“So you’re telling me, that you locked eyes with your soulmate as we crossed the street, saw color for one second, then LOST THEM?!” Nayeon asks, stopping in her tracks to turn and face you with an incredulous expression on her face. You slowly nod your head, and she raises a hand to her forehead out of stress. 

“Do you even remember what they looked like? Distinct facial features? Anything?” You stare at Nayeon for a moment, knowing that your answer to her question is going to absolutely destroy her sanity. And so, out of love for your best friend, you slowly shake your head, no. 

Nayeon stares at you, before sinking down to the floor and resting her head in her arms. The two of you stay like that in silence for a moment, and you bite the inside of your cheek. You briefly remember the brilliant colors you saw, but there’s one that stood out in particular to you that you can only describe as being pretty. 

It was a pretty color.

“What are you gonna do now, yn? You met your soulmate and yet you don’t remember anything about what they looked like.” You glance down at your hands, wondering whether or not fate is on your side. You met your soulmate on a busy street for the briefest moment, and you have no recollection of what they may look like other than the color you saw. 

Turning back towards Nayeon, you give her a smile, and her eyes squint in confusion as to how you’re able to muster such a happy smile when you’re in a rather terrible situation. Shrugging your shoulders you look up towards the ceiling, “I’m just happy to have seen colors in that short moment.” 

Nayeon groans and reaches out to slap your leg, making you yelp out in shock. You give her an offended look and she wiggles her finger at your face, “How are you so carefree? I both despise and envy that feature of yours.” 

You grin, reaching out with your foot and nudging her so that she topples onto her side. She turns and glares at you, making you giggle. Running a hand through your hair you mutter, “If fate allows it, I’ll find them again.” 

“You found your soulmate?!” 

“Ah, Seungkwan you’re too loud.” Vernon says with a wince, making the latter squint at him. Seungkwan rolls his eyes, “How can I not be loud? You met your soulmate a week ago and yet you don’t remember what they look like?!” 

Vernon rubs the back of his neck, wondering the exact same thing. He only remembers the burst of color that appeared in that brief moment the two of you locked eyes, but is unable to recall what you looked like. The color of your eyes is all he can remember, as it was what stood out the most to him. 

He thought it was pretty.

The two continue to walk through the park, with Vernon listening quietly as Seungkwan creates a very intricate plan on how to find you as they do so. Vernon glances up at the cherry blossom trees, watching as the petals fly through the air. He’s heard that the color of cherry blossom flowers are magnificent, and he’s dreamt of the day that he’ll be able to see them in their true beauty. 

“Vernon, are you listening? I’m telling you that if we just get Gong Yoo to listen to your story and he likes it, then we can broadcast to the world that you’re looking for your soulmate. All while Gong Yoo plays you in the drama adaptation of your situation. It’s a win win scenario!” Seungkwan explains with a look of certainty on his face, and Vernon bites his bottom lip to stop himself from laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. 

“I think Gong Yoo is on a whole other playing field when it comes to visuals.” Vernon tells Seungkwan, to which his friend scowls, slapping Vernon’s arm. “You’re both handsome.” 

“Yeah but Gong Yoo is something else.” Seungkwan purses his lips at what Vernon said, before nodding his head in agreement. “He do be really handsome at 41 years old.” 

The two converse as they walk around the park, trying to decide where to eat lunch when Vernon hears someone’s loud voice. Seungkwan and him turn towards the direction of the voice, finding two very pretty people laughing underneath the cherry blossom trees.

“Nayeon! You’re so loud, please!” You laugh, and Vernon tilts his head at the sight of you. He takes note of the crinkle to your eyes as you laugh, finding the sight to be rather pretty. Seungkwan raises an eyebrow at Vernon’s silence as they pass by you and Nayeon, wondering what Vernon finds so enticing. 

It’s only when you feel someone staring at you that you turn your head, and your mouth falls open when a burst of color appears right before your eyes. Vernon’s eyes widen when his world is no longer the black and white that he’s known his whole life, and the two of you just stare at each other in a shocked silence.

“Why are you so quiet?” Nayeon asks with a bright smile, only to pause when she sees how flabbergasted you look. Her eyes follow your line of sight, only to gasp when she finds the handsome guy staring at you with an equally shocked expression on his face. 

“I found you.” Vernon breathes out as he stares into your beautiful eyes.

Seungkwan glances between you and Vernon multiple times, waiting for either of you to make a move, only to let out a sigh when he realizes that neither of you are planning on moving. And so, out of love for his best friend, Seungkwan says, “Bitch, go and talk to your soulmate!” and shoves him in your direction. This promptly snaps Vernon out of his daze, and you feel warmth rush to your face when he smiles shyly at you.

Vernon walks towards you, not breaking eye contact, only to stop once the two of you are a foot apart. He grins, reaching his hand out towards you and saying, “Hi. I’m Vernon, your soulmate.” 

A smile breaks out over your own features as you extend your hand and grasp his warm one, “Hi, I’m yn. I think I’m your soulmate.” 

Vernon chuckles, tilting his head at you, “You think?” 

To which you giggle back, nodding your head. “I think so.” 

You’re about to ask Vernon if he’d like to go and get food so that you can get to know each other, only to pause when a soft cherry blossom petal falls directly onto your nose. Vernon smiles softly at the sight, reaching out to pick it off your nose. Your eyes widen slightly at the contact, only for your mouth to fall into an ‘o’ shape when you realize the cherry blossom petal is similar to the color of Vernon’s lips. Without thinking, you take the petal from his hand, and hold it up beside Vernon’s mouth, making him pause at the close proximity between you two. 

Cheerfully you say, “The cherry blossom petals are similar to the color of your lips. It’s pretty.” 

You glance back up into his eyes after staring between the cherry blossom petal and his mouth, only to also physically pause when you realize how close the two of you are. You take notice of the color rising to Vernon’s cheeks, and you bite the inside of your cheek when you realize how pretty he is. 

Nayeon and Seungkwan watch from the side, and Nayeon lets out a happy sigh. She nods her head peacefully, patting herself on the back when she overhears you say that the color pink is pretty. 

Called it, Nayeon thinks to herself with a grin. 

“Do you wanna go and get food together? Get to know each other, maybe?” You ask after a moment of you and Vernon just staring at each other, and he promptly snaps out of his daze. He takes a step back, and you finally exhale the breath you were holding in. He nods his head with a grin, “I’d love to get food. Where do you want to go?” 

You put your finger to your pursed lips as you think, and Vernon hides his smile behind his hand at how cute he thinks the gesture is. After a moment of thinking, Vernon watches as your eyes brighten when you finally come up with where to eat. “Let’s get tteokbokki!” 

He nods his head in agreement, unable to stop himself from smiling at you. You grin, and the two of you begin your descent towards the tteokbokki restaurant, completely forgetting that you both came with a friend as you converse.

Seungkwan and Nayeon let out a sigh, before turning to glance at each other. Seungkwan gestures to you and Vernon’s shrinking figures as you get farther and farther away, “Should we go and get tteokbokki with them even though they forgot we existed?” 

Nayeon turns her head to glance at you and Vernon, letting out a smile when she catches the way you and Vernon turn to look at each other with happy expressions on your faces. Nayeon nods her head after a moment of thought, “Tteokbokki sounds good.” 

[cyraclove]

“I hit you with my car and was the only one to visit you in the hospital” with modern BotW Zelink would be amazing :') (you can choose who gets hit and who visits! it works very well both ways)

Link stared into the windows of the flower display, his eyes traversing the plethora of multicolored blooms for the hundredth time. He’d been standing there for a solid ten or fifteen minutes, the tinny muzak of the hospital’s gift shop threatening to drive him out of his mind. The furled petals of a bouquet of yellow roses shook softly as the refrigerated case’s motor kicked on, looking almost as though they were laughing at him.

He decided against those.

Swallowing hard, he absentmindedly rubbed his palms together as he took stock of his ribbon-bound options yet again.

Sweaty. Why was he so sweaty?

Just pick some, you idiot, barked a voice in his head.

“Excuse me, sir,” said a foreign female voice that startled him from his thoughts, “Do you need some help?”

He turned to see an older, brunette woman with the roundest eyeglasses he had ever seen smiling pleasantly at him, her hands clasped behind her back. ‘Alma’, her nametag read.

He shook his head, scrambling for words. “Oh, uh…no, ma’am,” he stammered, attempting a sorry excuse for a smile, “I’m just…browsing.”

“Are you looking for something specific?” She asked, peering into the cooler. “We have flowers for just about any occasion. Flowers can say a lot just on their own, you know.”

How about some that say, ‘Sorry that I hit you with my car, complete stranger,’ he thought to himself. Link chuckled uncomfortably, knowing that he was definitely going to have to lie to this woman. “I’m here to visit my, er, friend. She was…in a car accident.”

Read on AO3

Alma nodded solemnly, clucking her tongue. “Oh, how terrible. I’m very sorry to hear that. People really can be such careless drivers these days, can’t they?”

“Yes,” he said through his teeth, “they certainly can be.” His eyes were drawn to a bunch of sickeningly pink ‘It’s A Girl!’ balloons, a nearby oscillating fan causing them to bob violently every minute or so. The screech of the colliding mylar made his stomach churn, and he silently wished for death.

“Well,” Alma began, a cool burst of air escaping the display when she opened the door, “I’m sure that we can pick something perfectly lovely that’ll have your friend feeling better in no time.”

The woman pursed her lips as she surveyed the case, humming thoughtfully. She eventually gathered up a bouquet of light blue lilies, their pointed petals tipped with white.

“What do you think of these?” she asked, “We just got them in from Necluda. This variety is called the ‘Silent Princess’, I believe.”

Before he could answer, Link’s phone began to ring, the shrill tone making him jump a bit. He grinned sheepishly at Alma as he fished it from his pocket, groaning inwardly as soon as he glimpsed the screen. Tapping his thumb on the red ‘ignore’ button, he tucked it away.

“Those are great,” he replied, “I’ll take them.”  

Alma smiled brightly, motioning for him to follow her the checkout counter. “Excellent,” she chimed, “Can I put them in a vase for you?”

His phone rang again. Link felt his eye twitch.

“Uh, sure. I mean, yes, please.”

“Would you like to add anything else? We have these precious sand seal plushies that would be just ador—”

“Just the flowers will be fine, thank you,” he said, more hurriedly than he’d intended. Snatching his phone from his pocket, he turned away from the counter and held the cell to his ear.

“What do you want?” He hissed.

A jovial cackle came from the other end of the line.

“Well, if it isn’t CHU’s resident asshole.”  

Link pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger as he inhaled deeply. This was, decidedly, the last thing he needed right now.

“You called me, Revali,” he snapped, “Do you actually need something, or did you just want to be a dick?”

“You wound me, Link,” the other young man drawled, “Oh, no—wait. I’m not the one who’s wounded, am I?”

Link clenched his jaw, the snip of Alma’s scissors on the flowers’ stems suddenly and inordinately loud. He glanced up at the woman only to have her swiftly look away, feigning focus on her task.

“You’re quite the hot topic on campus,” he heard Revali sigh, “I’m almost envious, what with the way everyone’s got your name in their mouths.”

“Who’s talking about it?”

“Who isn’t talking about it? Link, you hit a woman with your car. In the quad, for the love of Hylia. How’d you even manage that, anyway?”

“Okay, look,” he nearly seethed, “It was not in the quad, it was the intersection next to the quad. And it was an accident! I had the right of way, I didn’t see her, and the—the walk sign wasn’t even on!”

“Was she on the crosswalk?”

Link balked as he conjured up the memory from the other day. It had all happened so fast; one minute he was putting on his turn signal, and the next a young blonde woman was sprawled out on the road in front of his car. “I mean…well, yeah, she was on the crosswalk.”

“Then she had the right of way. Pedestrians always have the right of way, genius.”

“I’m hanging up now,” he muttered, disconnecting the call to the sound of Revali’s raucous laughter in the background. His near equal on the university archery team, Revali and Link were self-proclaimed rivals; well-known ‘frenemies’ to the rest of their teammates. While Link undeniably respected him for his skill, he could also be a real pain in the ass.

Releasing a weighty sigh, he faced the counter again, only to be met with a piercing glare of disapproval from the woman standing behind it. His blood ran cold as he and Alma locked eyes, hers narrowed in wordless acknowledgment of his sin. Approaching the register, Link flipped his wallet open and removed his credit card before sliding it toward her across the grey acrylic.

“Ring up the seal.”

-

The ride up the elevator was gruelingly slow, the jarring ding! of the door opening on what seemed like every damned floor made Link’s head throb. The air inside the garishly carpeted box was stuffy and stagnant, the scent of antiseptic stinging his lungs with each inhale. He looked down at the overpriced stuffed animal in his arms and frowned, its judgmental button eyes boring into him. The sluggish chug of the ancient machinery as it whined to a stop was nauseating, jostling him just enough to make him dizzy.

He finally stepped off and onto the tenth floor, referring to the clumsy, smeared numbers written on his palm in red pen. Link wandered down a white linoleum hallway, the idle hum of incandescent lights buzzing overhead as he peered at room numbers; the water in the vase sloshed softly as he went. With the plush tucked under one arm and the flowers cradled in the other, he raised his fist to knock tentatively on a door marked 1003.  

“Come in,” responded a quiet voice from the other side. Link instinctively held his breath as he pressed down on the door handle, inching it open.

The room was cold and clinical, painted and furnished in subtle greens and dull blues. Aside from several dim wall sconces, a large westward-facing window adorned with heavy curtains was the only source of light. Pushed up against the center of the back wall was a slim hospital bed, and in it sat a woman that Link had seen only once before—unconscious on the asphalt in front of his sedan. Her eyes flickered up toward him as he entered, darkening with realization mere seconds afterward.

“What are you doing here?”

Link froze, his thoughts scrambling as both his legs and tongue refused to move. All he could do was stare at her, eyes trained on the clunky, neon-green cast that enveloped her left arm. A purply-green bruise around the size of golf ball sat just below one of her eyes, swallowing the tiny freckles that peppered her cheeks. Her bottom lip puffed out, an angry cut splitting it vertically down the middle.

She looked awful.

And she had somehow managed to be strikingly beautiful at the exact same time.

“Well, I came to, uh,” he started, his words leaving his mouth before he had time to appropriately process them, “I came to see…how you were feeling.”

The young woman scoffed, turning her head towards the window. It was then that Link noticed the sutures running along the underside of her collarbone. Guilt roiled in his stomach for the millionth time that day as she began to speak.

“Let’s see; I’ve got bruised ribs, a couple of chipped teeth, and a concussion. Oh—and my arm is broken,” she replied in a biting tone, “So, I’m not great. Thanks.”

After a moment, he took a few tentative steps nearer to her bedside. He watched her gaze gradually slide in his direction, meticulously studying his movement. Link sighed, looking down at his feet with a shake of his head. His chest felt suffocatingly tight, as though someone had his lungs trapped in an ever-tightening vise.

“Look, I know that nothing I say right now is going to make any of this less shitty,” he told her, “and I’m sure that I’m the last person that you wanted to see today. That being said, it would’ve been even shittier of me to not at least try and come apologize to you. Because I messed up, big time, and I’m really, really sorry.”

The young woman said nothing in response, absentmindedly picking at her fingernails as she considered his repentant declaration. Her brows knitted above her sea-like eyes, consternation marring her delicate features. Link’s resolve just about shattered when he saw the impending tears brimming at her waterline.

“And I brought you this seal,” he blurted out, placing the patchwork creature on the bed near her legs, “You just seemed like, uh…a seal person.”

To Link’s relieved surprise, the corner of her mouth quirked up as she looked at the stuffed animal. Picking it up and setting on her lap, a watery giggle burbled from her chest as tears slid down her cheeks. The chuckle soon morphed into a full-on laugh, a bright, contagious sound that filled the room. Unable to help himself, Link smiled, and was soon laughing with her despite not entirely knowing why.

“It’s cute,” she sniffled, wiping at her eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s really cute. Thank you.”

They smiled through the remnants of their laughter as it faded out, leaving the two in silence again. The setting sun bathed the room in rosy amber and cast fractured, pinkish shadows on the walls. Unsure of what else to do, Link set the bouquet on her curiously empty bedside table. It was then that he paused to take stock of the rest of the room, realizing that it did not resemble what he imagined the hospital room of someone who’d just been hit by a car to look like.

It was devoid of any other flowers save the ones that he had brought, and missing were cards and balloons from well-wishing friends. He furrowed his brow, and his heart sank when the most likely reason for the lack of gifts dawned on him. She must be in Central for school, he thought, and all of her friends and family were wherever home was. Or, even worse—they were around, but couldn’t be bothered to come and pay her a visit. Turning back to face her, he gestured to her plaster-clad arm.

“No one’s signed your cast,” he noted.

She gave him a queer look. “What do you mean?”

“Uh, that’s the thing to do isn’t it? Have your friends write their names on your cast? And put, uh, I don’t know…stickers on it.”

She shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never broken an arm before,” she replied, shooting him a sly look. “I haven’t got many friends, either, I guess,” she added under her breath, face falling.

“Do you have a Sharpie?”

“Oh, um, I think I have a few in my backpack. It’s just over there, on that chair. Should be in the little side pocket.”

Link made his way over to a grey pleather armchair and unzipped the pocket in question, reaching inside to pull out several permanent markers. Returning to the bedside, he held them out to the blonde, presenting her with her choice of color; black, red, or blue. She looked up at him from beneath delicate lashes, grinning as she selected the blue one. She extended her arm, and he sat on the edge on the bed as he gingerly braced it with his free hand. After popping the cap off with his teeth, he scrawled his name on the lime-colored cast as gently as possible.

“Link,” she murmured when he’d finished, “I just realized that I didn’t even know your name until now.”

It was true. He knew her name, simply because he’d had to ask for it at the front desk, but they had never been properly introduced. Not surprising, considering the circumstances under which they came to know one another in the first place. He’d never seen her around campus before the other day, leading him to assume that they must not run in the same circles. That had to be the case, because hers was not a face that he would’ve forgotten.

“My name is Zelda,” she said, “Even though you probably know that already.”

“I do,” he admitted, “but it’s nice to officially meet you. Zelda.”

Her eyes crinkled at their corners when he reached out to lightly shake her fingers that poked out of the cast. He stood up from the bed, shooting her a quick smile before crossing the room to return the markers to her bag.

“Thank you for the flowers,” he heard her say from behind him, “Oh, and for my seal.”

“It’s the least I could do, I think,” he responded, “I mean, considering.”

“Still,” Zelda went on, “It was kind of you to come. I just…I appreciate the company. It was getting a bit lonely here.”

Link stilled at that. So, she really was alone. He almost didn’t want to believe that not even her own parents had bothered to stop by, that not a single friend had sent a card. It had to be a mistake; there was no way that such an enchanting person had no one to call on.

“The, uh, food here must not be very good, huh?” He tried.

She cocked a brow at him. “What?”

“Hospital food. It’s notoriously bad,” he clarified, attempting to mentally signal to her that he was, in fact, going somewhere with this. “If you want, I could bring you something. Later, I mean, for dinner. I think I probably owe you that, don’t you?”

It could have been the sunset, but Link swore that a blush darkened her cheeks ever so slightly when she smiled at him, nodding. “That sounds great, actually.”

“Alright, it’s a date, then,” he announced without thinking, wincing immediately afterward, “I mean, uh, sounds like a plan.”

“Here, let me put my number in your phone,” she offered, holding out her good hand. He fished it from his pocket and handed it to her, watching as she tapped in her contact info with her only her index finger. After a short discussion about what kind of food she’d like to have, they said their goodbyes with the promise of seeing one another later that evening. Link closed to door carefully behind him, glancing back into the narrow window to see Zelda admiring her flowers.

He shuffled into the elevator, wedging himself in between a group of nurses and weary-looking man with a fussy toddler on his hip. It was humid and it was loud, and anyone else might have wanted nothing more than to go home and go to bed. Link stared at Zelda’s name in his phone as the elevator made its agonizingly long descent back down to the lobby, already counting the minutes until he’d get to ride back up again.

-

-

-

I adored this prompt so much, I made it its own thing on AO3. Thank you for the ask! This was so much fun!

[shanitani]

oooo ohmygoodness a deku, kiri (and maybe ochaco 👀) with a reader that minor inconveniences keep happening to them. like they are hanging out or on a date or something and they keep like getting bumped into, or they get a drink spilled on them, or they get their phone stolen/misplaced, etc. like i can just imagine these sweeties trying their damnest to make it ok for their s/o but SHIT it just keeps happening and their s/o is legit like “...one of these days... i am going to snap...” kinda fluffy, leaning towards comfort a tiny bit. it’d be so cute

includes: Deku x reader , kirishima x reader, uraraka x reader

contains: pure fluff

a: hi love I’m so sorry I didn’t make this soon enough, it got drowned with the requests I’ve been trying to push out since February(I’m horrible, I know) I do hope you enjoyed it tho:’)

kirishima

- At first he thought it was just a minor fall, nothing to worry about

- Throughout your dates though he starts realize he fell for a massive clutz

- Would lowkey try to be at your side 25/8 to make sure you don’t fall and hit your head on something 

- he likes how independent you are but.. he cares more about your safety than anything 

- at first you thought it was annoying how he babied you, then you started to realize that maybe you did need to be babied..

You and Kirishima were walking down the hall after classes were over, the sun had almost set and you both were walking back to the dorm room from an intensive training; one trip away and you’d be rolled off to Recovery girl. 

Your eyes grew heavy watching the clouds move in unison to you and your boyfriend. The clouds had a thick white dust surrounding them making the sky look beautiful. Caught up in your thoughts, the next thing you know is you’re being pulled by the waist closer to Kirishima. 

“Gosh babe watch where you’re going” Kirishima let out an exhale and motioned you to look at the poll that was 4 centimeters away from hitting you in the face.

“sorry..” you nervously laughed pulling his hand back to your waist. He looked at you with a silent questioning expression, “You know, just if I accidentally almost walk into a pole again.”

Izuku

- honestly you’re both clutz lmfao

- He just so happens to be attracted to one as well

- but he loves you for it!! He thinks it’s adorable

- and he secretly likes caring for you it’s always been him getting cared for by others when he was younger( or pitied for having no quirk, let the boy love you please)

You were both at the library, just browsing for books to take back to the dorms since you had such an admiration for reading. He did too, if it had anything to do with Heroes.

“Y/N, how does this book sound- “ he whipped around to see you weren’t behind him anymore. scanning the crowd of students lurking at books he finally found your figure standing at the checkout line.

“oh, there you are!” you smiled at him waiting for Izuku to finish checking out his book, and to walk straight to the dorms. He’d always walked with you because 1. he loves you and adores you and 2. You’re clumsy as fuck and would probably get yourself hurt just from a five minute walk

Midoriya scanned through his phone during the walk, he was sure nothing could happen to you during such a short time of answering unseen messages, right?

wrong.

he had looked up for a split second, just to check if you and him were going in the right direction. That’s when he looked back up once more, seeing you were nose deep into your new book, not even noticing the crosswalk signal had turned red instead of green.

With pure instinct Izuku went into full cowling, grabbing your hand right on time as you stepped foot onto the busy street and slamming both of you towards the ground. You looked up confused and flushed, now observing the scene of what just could’ve possibly happened to you.

No words were exchanged, just a tight hug onto Izuku. He swore he could’ve felt dampness onto his shirt which tugged at his heart strings.

“I’m sorry I’m a clutz” you mumbled into his shirt and pulled tighter onto him, still on the ground. “No need to say sorry, love. I signed up for this.” he gave you a reassuring smile kissing your temple.

uraraka

- she honestly doesn’t mind how clumsy you are

- honestly she finds it hilarious how things keep happening to you, meanwhile she’s fine.

- even though she does poke fun at you her intentions mean well and she’ll always reassure you that you’re far from cursed.

“will that be all ma’am?” You nodded your head giving him the menus.

“wow this place is really nice” uraraka gaped at the scenery in front of her. Candles lit, lights to a dim, and roses in vases everywhere. “Well you’re amazing, so of course I had to you somewhere amazing.” Even through minimal lighting you can see her face turn into a bubbly pink.

It was your anniversary with Uraraka, you still felt the same love for as you did one year ago when you both met at UA; so tonight absolutely had to be perfect. (aka mentally making a note to self: don’t fuck up tonight.)

With her quirk it’s quite easy to stop things from falling onto you or you getting into trouble for the most part, so tonight you wanted to make sure she didn’t have to.

It was going well for the most part, just admiring each other, talking about both of yours day and whatnot, that was until your food arrived. “Here you are ladies enjoy your food.” The waiter smiled handing out the drinks, accidentally spilling it your water onto your lap.

“I apologize!” The waiter looked anxious, ready for his job to be taken quicker than he gotten it. But, you simply smiled and shook your hands, “no it’s fine! I’ll be right back gorgeous, okay?” you attempted to head off into the bathroom to wipe off the excess water from your dress. However, you had managed in the process of sitting down to tangle your hair into the crevices of the booth you were sitting at.

Attempting to pull away from the table, you shot right back down from the tangled mess keeping you from leaving. From the impact, a small rose vase had tipped from the booth handle, making water splash over your hair and face. It was no surprise you fell defeated by life once again.

Uraraka smiled, trying to die down the laughter bubbling up because she knew you were trying to just have a normal dinner. “Let’s go home okay? We’ll get you cleaned up” she reassuringly rubbed your thigh trying to make the best out of this situation.

Tears stained your cheeks even though they weren’t noticeable, as everything else had been drenched in water too. “I’m sorry I messed up dinner.” Your head hung low, causing Uraraka to tip it back to her eye level and kissed your nose.

“It’s perfect, you’re perfect. It wouldn’t have been amazing if you weren’t you.”

© all content belongs to shotosluv2021, do not repost or change

masterlist

[shadowworks]

Observe: Part One

Pairing: Dabi x f!Reader

Warnings: Bloodplay, hair pulling, violent themes, dubcon themes. No smut in this chapter, but expect it in the next part.

Word count: 3.3k

A/N: This fic is written in third person, but it’s still DabixReader. I’ve always written in third, and it’s just my favourite style. I hope you enjoy! :)

Edit: @pleasantanathema THANK YOU BABE!! You made me a banner just cause you love me, and I’m so emotional! It’s wonderful and I love it!

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Summary: She hadn’t insulted him. Not intentionally, at least. All she said was he had Endeavor’s eyes—which to him might as well have been an insult.

But this was a lesson she’d learn the hard way with a villain like Dabi.

She’d occasionally receive a message from former clients on her phone, always someone connected with the criminal network. On the occasion, if she needed more income she’d accept a brightly lit offer on her screen, tapping her thumbs in a quick reply. But for the most part, she managed to distance herself from smuggling trades.

It was a matter of time before her name would disappear from the mouths of villains, from the prowlers who made use of her quirk. From the distraught beggars pleading on their knees for another loan. Subtly, she’d untie herself from the web she spun herself into three years ago.

Well, maybe. She hoped.

These things were hard to tell.

A shot of tequila ghost her bottom lip as she fell in thought. Her elbow perched on the glossy counter and a glass held between her thumb and two fingers.

The soft glow of violet lights filtered from the ceiling and dimmed the room. People mingled at tables, peals of high pitched laughter broke out, a chair screeching across the hardwood floor - and she was alone at the bar counter.

It was fine. She wasn’t often among friends. There’s danger in her line of work, and for those reasons she didn’t try to be involved. Too much collateral damage and all that jazz.

The bartender crossed her line of sight again. He looked a tad confused at her vacant stare and full glass, but she paid him little mind. She stared on towards the glass bottles aligning the bar wall.

“You have no idea how easy you made this.” the voice had come from her left. She pulled herself from her thoughts, turning to a low voice.

There was a man there, sitting two stools down from her seat. He was leaning forward on the counter, long limbs crossed in a careless manner. He looked as though he didn’t want to be there.

Still, a shot glass sat in front of him, his liquor of choice a darker shade than hers. He just ordered. She hadn't even noticed him come up to the bar. Was she that lost in thought?

“What?” She eventually asked, squinting her eyes.

He wouldn’t turn his head and his stitched hand grasped the glass in front to leisurely toss back. The glass softly touched the polished wood upside down, soundless.

“You stand out too much.” He finally said. The black spikes of hair tilted down as he cocked his head to her, grinning a little too mischievously. There was an arrogance to him and it brimmed in a pair of bright teal eyes. “But I wonder if you like that.”

She smiled bitterly, raising her glass like a toast, “Depends who notices.”

She tipped the shot back in her mouth, feeling it burn the whole way down. She flipped her glass upside down and her features contorted. There was a loud clunk when she tapped her class to the polished wood.

The smuggler reached for a charcoal jacket laying on the stool beside her, before stepping off the tall seat. She hardly flirted much really, and when she did it was on more festive occasions diving three shots of tequila deep. It certainly wasn’t after a smuggling trade near the outskirts. But she’d admit, there was an attractive appeal to him. She just couldn’t place it. Maybe it was how he carried his shoulders? His high cheekbones? She let her gaze fall over him while she slid her arm into the sleeve of the jacket.

”If you’re suggesting what I think you're suggesting, I have to say no. You’re easy on the eyes, but…” She offered another half-hearted smile, while she strolled his way toward the exiting door. She didn’t plan on finishing the sentence.

He wasn’t deterred from his plan. He seemed to like that as a staple tugged the corner of his mouth, and his eyes narrowing slightly. Once she neared his leaning figure, all too sudden; a hand shot out and seized her wrist. She halted— her sight falling to her arm, then up to his face, startled.

“I am, huh?” The man in black stood at full height, pulling her forward to leer upon her features. “I’m not so sure you know what's going on in my head. In fact, I’m not sure you even know how much trouble you’re in .”

Her fingers slowly clenched in a fist, ready to flex in response if she had to. For now, she steadied her composure like she taught herself.

“Trouble? I-I’m sorry. I don’t know what you're talking about,” she said.

“I’ve heard of gem smugglers using their quirk for gain. They’re usually fake as hell, but yours look like the real thing. Maybe they are, but I imagine you wouldn’t want anyone hearing about this, would you?”

Her stare was pinned by his immediately.

He knew her secret.

He just wasn’t prepared for her to know his.

***

They sauntered through narrow side streets in the dark, keeping at decent pace. It was perhaps the easiest way through the city as they made their way towards a (tauntingly) vague end-of-the-line. His hideout, she guessed.

His name was Dabi, a member of the League of Villains. He revealed that much at the bar. It didn’t take long for her to cooperate with her own kidnapping once he whispered his burning threats.

Dabi kept her close, letting his shoulders fall back with hands in his coat pockets. He would sometimes steer her away from strangers nearing the same path though. He’d hold her by the elbow or the small of her back, making them look connected like they were a couple. She didn’t like this. She’d glare at her feet every time, and play the role of the upset girlfriend to Dabi’s facade.

When he did it again, she silently shrugged his heated hand off her arm. Dabi sneered.

“Oh come on, are you throwing a fit?”

She wouldn’t answer, preferring to glower at their striding feet. It was odd noticing they both shared a similar taste in black boots. Except hers hugged tighter and raised high to the knees.

Dabi waited a beat, tilting his head to look over her downcast features. When he found what he was searching for he smirked, glancing away.

“You’re embarrassing yourself, you know. Why bother pouting like a stubborn brat?”

”I’m not. I’m just...” she paused, breathing out steadily. She needed to remind herself to stay calm. “I still don’t understand your bosses reasoning for bringing me in.”

She felt a grip hold onto her shoulder, and she turned her head. Dabi’s nimble steps had slowed to a stop, and he twisted her body to face his. For a moment, Dabi let his hand stay on her jacket.

He said her name out loud and mulled it over briefly. It wasn’t every day some young crook was behind a scheme like this. In fact, the whole thing seemed interesting.

“Heh, don’t take this the wrong way, but I wasn’t expecting you’d have a pretty face.”

”What does that have—“

“I’ve heard your name mentioned around the gambling rings from time to time—”

“—And I haven’t sold anything to the gambling rings in over a year,” She said firmly, though her stare dropped to look anywhere else. She didn’t like the quirked smile he gave after.

“But you kept selling shit on the black market?”

”I was done with it. I made enough to keep me off the streets, and I left.”

”Right. That’s not what the Yakuza said.”

She snapped her head up. Dabi had struck a nerve.

”What does that matter? Why is Shigaraki kidnapping a has-been gem smuggler? You said it yourself—he doesn’t care about the money!”

She wasn’t expecting he’d reach for her face, and she flinched as warm fingers pressed on her temple, tugging on her eyebrow with his left thumb.

In the hairs of her brow shined tiny round quartz; clear and clean with three grown on each side. A manifestation of her quirk. Dabi might have mistaken them for a fashion trend if he hadn’t known better.

“Oh, but you do more than that,” he countered. The pad of his thumb began brushing against the hard gem in her skin. “They say you have an ice quirk, but that’s not it, is it? I think you can shoot these little guys from your body like glass.”

She didn’t answer him. She didn’t want to. All she did was study his face. He was scarred with dark burn marks marring the flesh. Staples pinned old wounds to his smoother skin...She didn’t want to know what torture he dealt with to be branded so cruelly. But it wasn’t what kept her staring. No, it’s just that his teal eyes managed to be the most startling feature about him. They looked rather bright, beautiful even. Something quite rare.

Dabi likely felt her gaze flick over his features a little too long as he released her. He must have made his point. And for good measure, he gave her a light shove to make her walk forward once more.

“You’re assuming too much.” she mumbled after catching her footing. She didn’t care if Dabi heard.

They still had some distance to tread, and eventually Dabi’s route led to a crosswalk. There was hardly anyone around, allowing the signal to flash a light green. Dabi’s palm found the small of her back again, pressing his fingers close on her spine. Her arms crossed over her chest in the moment, glaring off to the side.

But something caught her eye.

Her chin tilted up toward a tv, the illuminating screen was built into the skyscraper nearby. The video clips were from today’s broadcast; it showed a familiar man of fire. He was a Pro Hero; the best one in the business—well, now that All Might was retired he was. A massive man with fierce red hair and flame licking at his upper lip and clenched jaw to form facial hair. As he looked off in the distance from the camera, the quality lens focused on his cold and stern eyes. They were a bright teal.

She didn’t break her gaze ‘til they reached the end of the crosswalk. By then, something was reeling in her mind. She recognized a particular pattern in his facial features, or was it a coincidence? It must be. And yet. She took a concentrated glance up toward Dabi taking in the beautiful hue in his sharp gaze peering on. Then she glanced back ahead.

“You have the same eyes,” she said all of a sudden.

Dabi raised a brow. He didn’t fully turn to her, though he was listening closely. “Say what, now?”

“Your eyes. They look the same as Endeavor’s. You both have these handsome blue eyes and…”

She paused quickly, a slight heat tinted her nose—“You, umm, you don’t see that often.”

Dabi didn’t say anything, but his figure went tense at the arms.

“In fact...you really only see someone with the same  pair of eyes if they’re related, like,” She paused to whirl and face Dabi. Then, and only then, did she take in the silent rage creeping across his dark, narrow expression. In cold and stern eyes, she made a realization.

“Like father and son.”

It was silent as they came to a stop. She waited; waited on Dabi to disrupt the creeping tensity. She expected a fist to the jaw, or maybe an eager lick of flame on the offense. Something. Instead, Dabi settled and loosened his posture. His threatening features, which paused on her body swept away as they shifted ahead.

“Keep walking.” He said. He gave another push to her shoulder blade, hard this time. She did as she was told and took a couple stuttered steps but she wouldn’t let up.

“He’s your father, isn’t he?”

Dabi said nothing.

“He’s the number one Hero—but you’re a villain? Is he that terrible? He must be if he ruined his kid.”

Dabi said nothing, but his fingers twitched.

She was feeling spite rising in her throat. Her thoughts unraveled before she could think, and she smiled coldly beside him.

“And for what? Because daddy didn’t love you? Were you not good enough?”

She felt a hand grip her hair and a push. Then the collision of cement with a hard smack.

A bloody taste pooled in her mouth, spreading warmly on her bottom lip. Her cheekbone was throbbing, blindingly white throbbing. A searing pain flared across her inflicted wound and up to her temple.

“Ah no, looks like you tripped there, doll face. You really should be careful.”

Dabi was on her already, turning and slamming her back into the wall. Before she could register anything beyond her pulsing cheekbone, the villain squeezed one hand on her shoulder and the other remained threaded in her hair.

“Now, that was stupid,” Dabi said, his face leering an inch from hers, his teal eyes on full display.

Once the last spotty star in her eyes faded, she fixated on him, managing to crack a weak smile. Blood darkened her lip as she nodded, “Yeah, it was. It really was. I should have stopped talking.”

There was a small pull at his lips in amusement. For his own reasons, the fingers tangled in her locks tugged her closer. “You know, I was planning to wait until you settled in. But now I’ve changed my mind.”

His thumb slowly traced across her lower lip, coating his pad red. His voice dropped low, eerily casual, “I think I’ll fuck you here. Teach you a lesson on keeping your mouth shut, and minding your damn business.”

The smuggler’s stomach fluttered. “Wait, wha-!”

Dabi yanked on the mess of hair collected in his fist, causing her mouth to drop in a silent scream. He acted fast. His lips crashed down on hers. He was vicious, taking the air out from her lungs in a hard kiss. The taste of iron spread through their mouth, their saliva, and he inhaled harsh breathes between sucking of her tongue.

She could barely catch up. Every time she pulled back to breathe, Dabi chased after her lips, banging her head to the concrete behind. It was dizzying, hazy, though she did this to herself. She sparked a wild flame and he retaliated. He was pissed.

She felt him hoist her up by the thigh and he slammed her back to the wall a second time. She cried out. He crushed her mouth, which now wad smeared with sticky blood. He forced her to swallow her throbbing pain; she’d scream when he wanted her to scream.

Dabi was able to press his body between her legs. He rolled his bulge against her core, and her lips parted shakily as he hit the right spot. A tingling heat ached at her core. Oh fuck. His hand was burning at this point, it raked against her outer thigh, sinking his fingertips into her hips.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Her mind raced desperately. He felt good. No, she couldn’t do this. Not with the stitched up fucker who stole her from the bar.

Just before Dabi’s hand could hike up her tight skirt, enough oxygen flooded her brain to think straight. The gem smuggler flicked her gaze to the alley diagonal from them.

They lingered.

And then, her hand smacked the back of Dabi’s neck.

”Dabi, wait, wait. Let me say something, ” she breathlessly pleaded, allowing her forehead to rest against his. ”Dabi, I want--I want to say something.”

“Unless you’re screaming my name, I can’t say I’m all that interested.”

Her eyes slid shut, feeling his chest fall up and down against hers. He was stalling for breath, it was the only reason he complied.

“You were right, earlier. That’s how I made a name for myself in the blackmarket.” As she spoke, the tips of her fingers slowly crystalized. They took the shape of tiny claws, creeping forward little by little, “I made the gems by using my quirk.”

She listened as his breathing returned somewhat to a steady rhythm. There was only the sound of cars gliding down the road in the distance.

“Is that right?”

His burnt arm reached behind his neck and feeling his palm wrap around her fingers—she knew it was too late.

Her eyes snapped open to see Dabi smirking, “You must think you’re pretty slick.”

Damn, he was too fast. But then again, so was she.

“Well, it was worth a try,” she replied.

And she released her quirk.

Dabi’s ears perked at the cracking of glass, and let go before they slashed his palm, dipping to the ground—Shards of quartz shot out in a broken explosion. The gem smuggler fled.

Her boots pounded into the road as she sprinted for the shadows in the alley across the way, ignoring the shards littering down her body. Her pounding footsteps continued to echo through the darkness.

Dabi was alone when he stood up, teal eyes trained on the alley. What a little bitch. How irritating. But it was alright, he’d come for her. He didn’t mind playing a quick game of cat and mouse before he claimed her rough and bloody. Whatever choices she made, she would come to regret them.

Following after her, Dabi’s steps were calculated as he made his way toward the alley. He stopped to glare ahead.

“Run all you want, doll. It makes no difference.”

He picked up his steps and he ran without a sound.

She only wished she had learned that silence wasn’t her friend.

[haokyeom]

last a lifetime | xu minghao

ミ★ synopsis: sometimes forgiveness doesn’t just mean forgiving another person, it’s forgiving yourself too. aka, in which the virtue of forgiveness helps you forgive yourself and open your heart again.

ミ★ genre: virtue of forgiveness!minghao, angst, some fluff

ミ★ warnings: minor character death, mentions of blood

ミ★ word count: 8,824

ミ★ pairings: minghao x female reader, joshua x female reader

ミ★ notes: hi guys ! it’s lila, aka, @viastro​. you know how it be. uh, this might be one of my favorite oneshots i’ve written? as well as my upcoming oneshot for this collab that’s coming next week hehe. i’m just incredibly proud of this piece even though it is incredibly long. i hope you guys enjoy it, make sure to give minghao lots of love <3

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“Are you seriously going to walk out on me? Without an explanation?” Juyeon asks from behind you, and you clutch the door handle in your hand. You don’t dare turn around, because you know that if you do, you’d fall back into the toxic cycle. 

“Yn, please?” You stare at the wooden door, wondering how the cycle first began. How Juyeon became someone you cared about too much, to the point that you’d die for him if necessary. It’s scary how fast you go to him when he needs you, how you’re the shoulder he cries on every time his newfound relationship didn’t work. What’s scarier is that he could never see how much it hurt you each time.

how could he not see that you loved him? You wonder to yourself. You feel his hand rest on your shoulder, causing your breath to hitch. 

“Please stay, yn.” Juyeon mumbles, staring at the back of your head with tears filling his eyes. He clutches the back of your t-shirt in his hand as a means to make you stay, and it almost works. 

almost.

“I can’t anymore. It hurts too much.” You state, biting the inside of your cheek once a tear falls from your left eye. “What hurts?” Juyeon asks quietly. 

The two of you stand in silence for a moment. With him wondering what he did wrong, and you questioning whether you should simply just risk it all. 

You decide on the latter.

“Loving you, but seeing you fall for everyone else.” You answer, before opening the door and stepping out of Juyeon’s apartment. You quickly run over to the elevator, pressing on the buttons before Juyeon can make it over to you. 

“Yn! Wait!” You hear him call, and you thank the heavens that the doors open just in time. You push the button that closes the elevator doors, and you scream internally at how slow it takes for them to shut. You hear Juyeon’s running feet, and you watch through the sliver of the door, catching his heartbroken expression before they finally close. 

You let out a breath, feeling a sense of pain when the elevator begins to go down. You wonder whether it was better to have talked out your feelings with him, if you should’ve stayed. What would’ve happened if you did? 

no, juyeon doesn’t love you back.

Your thoughts get cut off when the elevator doors open, and you step out into the main lobby. You head over to the entrance, only to freeze when you hear the call of your name. Turning your head, you see Juyeon standing where the stairs are, and your eyes widen. 

“Yn!” You run out the doors, sprinting over towards the crosswalk so that you can get farther away from him. The closer you are to the bus stop, the closer you are to getting away from Juyeon. 

“Yn, please! Hear me out!” Juyeon yells from behind, begging for you to slow down and talk to him. You continue to run, not even thinking twice when you step onto the crosswalk. Juyeon’s eyes widen when he sees that it’s not your turn to cross the street, and he turns to see a truck not making any means of slowing down. 

“YN!” Juyeon screams, running faster to get to you. You finally turn around at the desperate call of your name, a tone you’ve never heard from Juyeon before. Juyeon’s sprinting towards you, yelling words you can’t decipher. You see bright lights out of the corner of your eye, and you glance to your left to see a truck heading straight towards you. 

“Juyeo-” You get cut off when you get pushed out of the way, landing hard on your side. You hear the loud screech of the tires and the slam of the car, and you stare at the ground with wide eyes. The crosswalk light turns green and the signal begins to repeat itself like a mantra. Telling you to walk, walk, walk, as the blood drains from your face when you turn your head to look at what happened. 

The signal soon gets drowned out by the sound of your screams.

you never get to learn what Juyeon wanted to say to you, or why he wanted you to stay.

you still wonder what would’ve happened if you stayed.

three years later

“Yn, I need you to go to the coffee shop down the street and buy four iced americanos.” You glance up from your desk, shooting a glare at Joshua, who simply gives you a bright smile in return.

“Why would I do that?” You ask your peach haired coworker. At first glance he seems like an absolute angel, and could never do anything wrong. After working with him for a year though… you learned he’s the exact opposite. However, you have a lot of love for the guy. Even if he makes you do all his small jobs.

“Cause you love me.” Joshua says in a singsong voice, and you let out a sigh. You look back towards your computer, showing no means of getting up from your desk, and Joshua pouts. “Okay, I’ll treat you to pork belly at that new high-end restaurant when it opens next month if you do this for me.” 

You smirk, turning off your PC and standing up from your desk at the mention of meat. Joshua lets out a sigh, knowing that paying you back in food always works. It’s a win/lose situation for the man. The pro, he doesn’t need to walk down the street to buy the coffee. The con, his wallet pays the price whenever he treats you to food for doing his job for him every time.

“Four iced americanos, correct?” You ask, and Joshua nods his head. You grin, reaching your hand out for him to give you the credit card. To which he carefully places into the palm your hand. 

“I’ll be back in a few.” Joshua gives you a thumbs up, letting out a sigh as he watches you leave the office.

“Maybe I should just buy the coffee from now on.” He mumbles to himself, turning around and walking back over to his own office. 

You step out of the hospital, walking down the sidewalk with your hands in your pocket. The weather is a bit breezy, with the slight winds tousling up your hair. You glance up when you reach the coffee shop, stepping inside as a warm burst of air hits you. 

Letting out a breath, you walk up to the register and order the four americanos. The whole interaction takes less than a minute, and the preparation of the drinks is rather quick as well considering that there’s not many customers at this time. Within fifteen minutes you’re back outside, the wind hitting you as you walk back towards the hospital. 

You’re close to the building when you hear the sound of tires screech, the sound of cars crashing following soon afterwards, and you fall to the ground immediately, the iced americanos spilling around you. You glance up towards the road, seeing a car crash right in the middle of the intersection. Those around you all begin to hurry over towards the site, pulling out their phones to call for emergency services, while you sit there, the memories flashing past your eyes. 

You reach up and cover your ears when the sound of those talking worriedly fills your senses, reminding you of the horrid night. You close your eyes, hoping that it’ll calm you down, but all you can hear is the sound of the crosswalk signal telling you to walk, walk, walk. 

You feel tears fall past your eyes when the sight of Juyeon floods your brain, and you rock back and forth as you try to calm down. Those passing by begin to look at you strangely, all except one. He walks over and kneels down in front of you. He reaches up and rests his hands over yours, startling you into looking up to see who is helping you cover your ears. 

His hair is pitch black, parted down the middle but you can still tell that it’s rather long. His eyes bore into yours, and you get distracted from the noise for a short moment. He mouths the words, it’ll be okay, and for some reason, you feel that he spoke the truth. 

The two of you stay like that for a moment, just staring into each other’s eyes until you feel your heartbeat slowly go back to normal. You close your eyes, lowering your head as you take deep breaths. Suddenly, the feeling of his hands over yours disappear, and you look up to see Joshua staring at you with concern written over his features. 

“Yn, let’s go inside.” He tells you, but you can’t hear him. Joshua lets out a sad smile, mouthing that he’s going to pick you up and that you should just close your eyes. One arm goes under your knees, and the other around your back as he lifts you up from the sidewalk, quickly taking you into the hospital, away from the chaos of outside.

You slowly remove your hands from your ears when the two of you are farther away from the entrance of the hospital, and you wipe away the tears on your cheeks. He steps into the elevator, pressing the button for the sixth floor. You pat his shoulder, signaling that it’s okay for him to let you down, but he just shakes his head. Once the elevator doors open, he brings you over to your office where you counsel your patients.

“I shouldn’t have let you go alone, I’m sorry.” Joshua says sadly, as he sets you down onto the small couch in your office. You shake your head, giving him a small, reassuring smile. 

“It’s not your fault Joshua. I’m sorry for the coffee.” You respond, and he scoffs, muttering how you guys will just order coffee for delivery from now on. Joshua sits down beside you on the couch, turning his head to glance at you, “Besides, that’s not what’s important, yn. What matters most is your mental health.” 

Your breath hitches and you turn away, staring at the childish painting on your wall that was painted as a joke by Juyeon. It’s the two of you as dinosaurs, him holding out a pink flower in your direction. You were never able to tell what the type of flower was, and Juyeon refused to tell you. You ended up keeping the painting though, and you don’t plan on ever taking it down. 

“Can I just be alone for now, Joshua? I’ll talk to you when I feel better.” Joshua lets out a breath, feeling slightly disappointed at the fact that you’re avoiding the topic once again. He hardly knows the story, no one really does. All he knows is that you’re terrified of car crashes, and the sound of the crosswalk signal is a trigger for you. However, he won’t force you to open up.

“Of course, yn. I promise to get you the best pork belly when that new place opens next month.” Joshua tells you, and you give him a soft grin, nodding your head. He gets up and steps out of your office after your response, and you immediately rest your head into your hands, feeling mentally exhausted.

The memory of the handsome stranger who helped you a few minutes prior lingers in your head, and you find yourself wondering who he is, and why he helped you. 

You look through your notes on your last patient, pausing when you hear a knock on your door. Without looking up from your journal you say, “Come in!” 

You hear the door open, and you glance up to see Joshua standing there with a small smile, holding a matcha latte in his hand. He steps over to your desk, placing it beside your journal, settling down in the seat across from you. 

“This for me?” You ask with a smile, and Joshua rolls his eyes at you, knowing that you already know the answer. You mutter a quiet thank you, and he nods his head.

“How was your last patient?” Joshua asks, smiling at your reaction of you pursing your lips. You let out a sigh, taking the latte and taking a sip. You lean back into your seat, giving Joshua a tired look. 

“He told me about his sex life in great detail when I asked how his day was, so that was rather interesting.” Joshua frowns, before breaking out into a laugh that sounds like music to your ears. You find yourself giggling as well, the common effect of Joshua’s contagious laugh. 

“That sounds lovely.” Joshua jokes once the two of you finish laughing, and you stick your tongue out at him. You close your eyes for a moment, feeling tired from a long day, and Joshua lets out a small smile at the sight. 

“You want me to drive you home?” Joshua asks after a moment of the two of you just basking in each other’s company, and you open an eye to glance at him. He chuckles at the sight, and you grin, shaking your head at him.

“It’s okay Joshua, I need to stay a bit later tonight anyways.” You answer, and Joshua nods his head slowly. He stands up from the chair, running a hand through his wavy peach colored hair. You find yourself staring a bit longer than usual, and Joshua takes notice of this. He smiles, “Want me to stay with you?” 

Your breath hitches at the question, and you look down at your desk. Joshua bites the inside of his cheek, wondering if he asked the wrong thing based on your reaction. You let out a shaky breath, before glancing back up and shaking your head at him. “Nah, I know you’re tired too. I’ll see you tomorrow Joshua.” 

He nods his head, reaching out and giving you a soft pat on the head. You smile at the gesture, and he puts his hands in his pockets once he’s done. “Don’t stay too late working. I’ll see you tomorrow, yn.” 

“Night Joshua.” You call when he places his hand on your doorknob. His heart warms at your soft voice, and he opens the door, stepping out of your office. Once the door closes, you’re left alone once again. You let out a tired groan, leaning back into your seat and closing your eyes. 

The incident from last week still recurs in your head. You’ve done a decent job at suppressing the memory of Juyeon over the past three years, but ever since last week you’ve been having nightmares again. The sound of the crosswalk signal plays in your head once you wake up, reminding you of what you dreamt moments before. 

“When are you going to forgive-”

“WHAT THE FUCK!” You scream, standing up from your chair and staring directly at the black haired beauty standing in front of you. You notice that his black hair is a bit wavy this time, a bit curled around the back of his neck. His apparel is all black, and your breath hitches when you realize his black turtleneck is cropped, revealing his toned stomach. 

“You’re the guy from last week.” You mutter, and he nods his head. He glances around your office, hands stuffed into his pockets as he awkwardly stands there.

“How did you get in without making a sound? The door was closed. Wait. How did you disappear last time-”

“If you sit down then I can explain everything.” He states, and you frown slightly. The man lets out a sigh when he sees how apprehensive you look, and he does a quick spin for you. 

“I don’t have any weapons on me if you think I’m going to murder you.” The man tells you, and you purse your lips. He lets out a sigh, showing you his hands, and you take notice of his slender fingers.

“My hands are too pretty to try and choke someone to death as well.” He adds, and you finally sit down in your leather seat after a second of thinking. He sits down in the chair across from you, resting his chin on his hand as he tries to make you out. 

“Are you going to explain?” 

“In a second.”

You raise an eyebrow, and he gives you a small smile. He leans back into the seat and runs a hand through his hair. 

“Well yn, this is going to sound ridiculous, but I’m not human.” He begins, and you frown at him. 

“Yeah, and I’m a furry.” The pretty man pauses, glancing at you to see if you were serious. 

You squint, “I was joking.” 

He nods his head, muttering a quiet, thank god, before continuing. To which you glare, not appreciating the fact that he thought you were serious. 

“Anyways… you know the seven deadly sins I’m assuming, correct?” You nod your head at the pretty man. “How about the seven virtues?” You nod your head again, and he lets out a relieved smile.

“Okay great. That makes this easier. Well, I’m the virtue of forgiveness, Xu Minghao.” You stare at him in silence, and he stares back at you. You close your eyes, resting your head in your hands, and he tilts his head at you.

“Are you… okay?” You look up at him, seeing how he may not really be human even though he looks like it. There’s no way a man can be this pretty and be human at the same time. We humans are not worthy of living alongside a man who is as ethereal as Xu Minghao. 

“No.” You answer after a moment, and he purses his lips. 

“How do I know you’re not lying?” You ask, and he shrugs. 

“I could disappear for you or something.”

“Damn, deadass?”

“Yeah, I’ll do it right now if it’ll make you believe me.”

“Okay, bet.”

You watch as Minghao literally disappears from the seat for a moment, and you stare with a blank face when he appears back in the chair. He raises an eyebrow at how unimpressed you seem to be, opening his mouth to ask what you think, only for you to fall out of your seat.

“YN?!” 

You blink your eyes open, only to shut them with a loud groan as you roll over in bed. You quietly thank God that it was just a weird dream as your hand roams around the sheets, only to pause when you realize you’re not in your bed at all. You sharply inhale when you recognize the leather surface you’re laying on, and you open your eyes when you realize you’re on the couch in your office. You turn your head to see Minghao sitting in the seat across from you. He tilts his head and gives you a soft smile, “Morning.” 

“It’s morning?!”

“Nah, it’s only been about fifteen minutes. I ordered us chicken since you haven’t had dinner yet, and I assumed we’d be here for a while.” Minghao explains as he opens up the cardboard boxes holding the fried chicken. You find yourself unable to argue with the grumble of your stomach, so you sit up on the couch and reach out to grab the small paper plate Minghao set out for you. You place two pieces of chicken onto your plate and begin eating. 

The two of you eat your food in silence, but it’s not uncomfortable. It’s more of you slowly taking in the fact that Minghao is not at all human, while Minghao wonders whether or not he regrets not ordering soda with the food. 

As he takes another bite of chicken, he decides that he does regret it.

Once the two of you finish, you help clean up, placing the cleaned up chicken bones into the box that once held them. Minghao swipes the crumbs off the table and into the plastic bag. You hand him the box holding the bones, and he places it into the bag too. He ties it up, and leaves it by the door, telling you he’ll take it out later. 

Once you settle back down onto the couch, the silence soon becomes awkward. With Minghao staring at you, and you looking at anything but him. He lets out a breath, leaning back into the seat, “Do you know why I’m here?” 

You glance at him, shaking your head. He gives you a look that basically says, now i know you’re fucking lying. While you give him an expression that says, I’m absolutely lying. 

“Why do you blame yourself for Juyeon’s death?” Minghao asks, reaching forward and grabbing the water bottle you offered him. You freeze at the mention of his name, and Minghao takes a sip of water, gauging your reaction. 

“I don’t.” You mumble, looking down at the floor. Minghao shakes his head, “But you do.” 

“I don’t wanna talk about him.” You say, reaching forward and drinking from your water bottle. Minghao purses his lips, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. “If you don’t talk about him now, then when will you?” 

You don’t respond, instead standing up from your couch and walking over to your desk. Minghao spins the chair so that it faces your direction, continuing to stare directly at you as you begin packing up your stuff to head home. 

“Yn-”

“Can you just leave me alone? Please?” You plead, and Minghao lets out a sigh after a moment. He stands up from your chair, brushing off some crumbs on his black jeans with his hands. He runs a hand through his black hair, watching as you zip up your bag.

“Sometimes forgiveness doesn’t just mean forgiving another person.” Minghao begins, and you glance up at him from your bag. “It’s forgiving yourself too.”

You bite the inside of your cheek, looking away from the man. He walks over to your door, picking up the trash bag holding the food the two of you ate. He turns back towards you, giving you a small smile. 

“I’ll always be there when you need me yn, I’m sorry it took me so long to get to you in the first place.” Minghao says, before opening the door and stepping out. You fall into your seat, feeling tears fill your eyes from all the weight on your shoulders. You shake your head, resting it onto the cold surface of your desk as you close your eyes. 

“Why would he use the door when he can teleport.” You mutter quietly as tears fall down onto the carpeted floor, all alone in your office once again.

“Yn, you wanna get lunch with me?” You glance up from your pc, seeing Joshua standing at your door frame with a smile on his face. You look at the time, seeing that your next patient won’t be coming in for about half an hour. Turning back towards Joshua, you see him waiting expectantly for you to come with him. 

but you won’t.

“I’m sorry Joshua, I have to sort out of notes for my next patient.” You tell him, and you almost regret turning him down when you see his smile drop slightly. He gives you a nod, “That’s okay. Next time.” 

You smile, but don’t agree that there will be a next time. Joshua closes the door behind him, and you turn back towards your computer, letting out a sad sigh.

“Why didn’t you go with him?” You’re not shocked at the fact that Minghao is in your office again, considering that this is the fifth time you’ve seen him today. He has made it his mission to randomly appear at your workplace whenever you’re alone for the past week. The two of you have built a relationship of sorts, and you’ve grown rather fond of Minghao, as he feels the same towards you. While he may have made his appearance present whenever you’re at work, he hasn’t made any means of showing up at your apartment yet. 

You glance up at him, finding that he’s wearing an oversized maroon and cream colored cardigan, paired with a white turtleneck and cream colored pants to match. You wonder why he’s so stylish, but you hold back on asking the question as you remember what he just brought up.

“Cause I’m busy.” You mutter, reaching into your drawer to grab a granola bar to chew on. Minghao frowns, placing his hands on your desk and leaning close to your face. You look up into his eyes, and your breath hitches at the close proximity between the two of you. 

“Is it that? Or is it because you’re afraid?” Minghao asks, and the quick flutter of your heart soon disappears due to the question. You frown at him, reaching up and pushing his face away with your pointer finger. 

“No.”

“You need to be a bit more descriptive.” 

“Fuck you.”

“Rude, I’m the virtue of forgiveness you know. I could report you.” You give the black haired beauty a bored look, and he purses his lips. He quietly curses to himself at the fact that you’re now seemingly unaffected by his otherworldly status. 

You try to work again, but let out a sigh when you feel Minghao’s eyes still on you. You glance up at him, seeing that he’s giving you one of his looks that basically he means he’s seeing right through you. You lean back into your seat, taking a bite of the granola bar before beginning. 

“I just. I’m scared.” You mutter quietly, swallowing the chewed up granola. Minghao nods his head, feeling a bit happy that you’re finally beginning to open up. “Why?” 

You think back on Juyeon for a moment, remembering how beautiful your friendship was. You glance back down at your pc, letting out a sad smile at what could’ve been. You begin typing away on your computer again, promptly ending the conversation before it got anywhere. Minghao runs a hand through his hair, before reaching out and patting the top of your head softly.

“We’ll talk when you’re ready.” Minghao says, before disappearing from your office once again, leaving you alone.

“YN!” You hear Juyeon scream, and you turn around at the desperation in his voice. You watch him sprint towards you, and you see bright lights flash at you out of the corner of your eye. You glance to your left to see a truck heading straight towards you, and your heart practically stops. 

“Juyeo-” You’re shoved out of the way, landing hard on your side. You hear the loud screech of the tires and the slam of the car, and you stare down at the road with wide eyes. The sound of the crosswalk signal goes off, telling you to walk, walk, walk. The blood drains from your face, and you turn your head to see Juyeon laying on the ground, motionless.

You quickly stand up and stumble over. Your heart practically stops when you make it to him, and you fail to notice the tears falling from your eyes. You fall to your knees, and with shaky hands you reach out and touch his wrist, seeing if there’s a pulse. 

It’s incredibly faint, and you almost let out a breath of relief. You turn your head to see the driver standing in front of his truck in shock, and you hold back from screaming at him. Glancing around, you find people stopping around you, phones held close to their ears as they call emergency services. 

“Yn…” You turn your head immediately, seeing Juyeon giving you a tired smile. Your heart drops at the amount of blood beginning to surround the two of you. You try to rip off some of the fabric from your shirt to try and soak up the blood from his wounds, but Juyeon tiredly rests his hand over yours. 

“I’m sorry.” Juyeon mutters, and you shake your head, tears falling from your eyes as you give him a smile to try and reassure him that you’re okay. 

“No, it’s my fault. I’m sorry, it’ll be okay.” You ramble, sobs slowly building up in your chest as you do. Juyeon tries to raise his hand up towards your face, but he grimaces in pain, and you shake your head at him. “The ambulance will be here soon.” 

Juyeon doesn’t listen, instead attempting to reach up to cup your face again. His hand makes it to your cheek this time, and he slowly wipes away the tears with his thumb. He opens his mouth to say something, and your eyes widen in horror when his arm falls back to his side, eyes closing.

“Juyeon. Juyeon, please. No, no, no.” You try to feel his pulse, and your heart sinks when you don’t feel anything. You get pushed away by a fellow witness, and they begin to perform emergency CPR on Juyeon as you stare at his lifeless body in shock. 

The sound of the crosswalk signal goes off behind you, telling you to walk, walk, walk. The tears fall from your eyes at a rapid pace, and the sob builds up in your chest as more people begin to surround you and Juyeon. You shake your head, trying to reach out and hold him, but get held back by another witness who tries to calm you down. 

“Juyeon! JUYEON!” You scream, voice cracking as you continue to scream his name in agony. 

“Yn!” You ignore the call of your name, screaming loudly as tears fall from your eyes and onto the road. Your throat is hoarse as you sob, continuing to try and reach Juyeon but being held back by the arms of one of the witnesses.

“JUYEON!”

“Yn!!”

“YN!” You gasp awake, sitting up in bed and locking eyes with a worried Minghao. He reaches out and cups your face, attempting to wipe away the tears falling from your eyes as you stare at him in fear. He watches as your lip quivers, taking notice of the tight grip you have on his shirt.

“Leave.” You mumble after a moment of silence, dropping your hands and looking away from him. Minghao raises an eyebrow.

“What?”

“Leave, Minghao.” You repeat, the tears falling silently past your eyes as you stare blankly at your bed. Minghao shakes his head, resting his hand on your wrist. He opens his mouth to tell you that he’s not going to leave, but you snap.

“I said leave! Go!” You shout, looking up into his eyes and hitting his chest with your hands. The saltiness of your tears is all you can taste as you yell. Minghao stares at you with a pained expression, just standing there and letting you punch him. 

“Did you hear me? LEAVE! GO! GET OUT!” You scream, voice cracking as you cry out in pain.

“GO BEFORE YOU DIE TOO! LEAVE!” Minghao glances down at your hands now tightly clutching his shirt, and he lets out a shaky breath. You open your mouth to scream again, but get cut off when Minghao wraps his arms around you, pulling your head into his chest as you begin to sob. He rubs your back to try and calm you down as you wail into his shirt, and he bites his lip at how your sobs are filled with nothing but pain.

“I’ll stay. I’m not going anywhere.” Minghao mumbles, cradling your head softly in his hand as you cry loudly into his chest. He blinks when he realizes his vision is blurry, and he takes notice of the tears falling from his own eyes. Minghao’s crying. Something he’s never done for a human. 

Minghao bites his lip as an attempt to stop from hiccupping or showing any indications that he’s crying, and he rests his cheek on the top of your head. Closing his eyes, he holds you close until your sobs slow down. 

“I’m not going anywhere, yn.” Minghao whispers, and your eyelids flutter shut, the last of your tears falling past your eyes and landing over Minghao’s heart. 

“It was my fault.” You state as you and Minghao stare up at your ceiling, laying on your bed side by side. It’s long after you finally calmed down, and you’re left with swollen eyes and the inability to breathe through your nostrils. Minghao almost left when you calmed down, but you pulled him into bed with you, and now here the two of you are. At three in the morning. Staring at your off-white ceiling. 

Minghao turns his head to glance at you, seeing that you’re finally ready to open up. He rolls over onto his side, resting his head on his arm as you take in a deep breath. He chooses to be quiet now to let you express everything you’ve been suppressing for three years.

“Juyeon is- was. He was my best friend. We've known each other since we were kids.” You begin, letting out a small smile at the memory of a small Juyeon first introducing himself to a tiny you back in kindergarten. “We grew up together. We went to the same school all the way up to university.” 

Minghao watches as a tear escapes your eye, and you quickly raise your hand up to wipe it away. Letting out a wet laugh, the pain strikes your chest again. “They always said I’d fall for him, and I never believed it. Until he told me he met someone for the first time, and I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest.” 

You suck in a shaky breath, and Minghao reaches his hand out towards yours, to which you gratefully intertwine your fingers with his. You bite the inside of your cheek before continuing. “After things didn’t work out with that person, I ran to his apartment as fast as I could. That’s how the cycle began. After every newfound relationship didn’t work, I’d run to him no matter what I was doing. But he could never see that it was hurting me in the process.” 

Minghao squeezes your hand, and you close your eyes. You take in deep breaths to try and control your breathing so that you can be able to finish. Minghao watches with sad eyes, but he knows that you opening up about what happened is important in the steps on finally letting you forgive yourself. 

“I loved him. He was everything I wanted my forever to be, but I wasn’t his. I knew that from the start, but I still had hope, you know? But it became too much for me. The day Juyeon died, I ran out of his apartment after telling him I couldn’t do it anymore.” More tears fall from your eyes, blurring the sight of your ceiling. Minghao props himself up in bed to get a good look at you. And you shake your head at him, motioning for him to lay back down, to which he slowly does.

“I was so fucking stupid, Minghao. I didn’t look at the road before going onto the crosswalk, so I couldn’t even see the truck coming my way.” Your voice cracks, and you let go of Minghao’s hand to cover your face with your hands. Minghao feels his own heart shatter at how much pain you’ve been harboring to yourself, wanting nothing more than to take it away from you. “Juyeon saved my life. If I would’ve just stayed then he wouldn’t have die-”

“Yn, it’s not your fault.” Minghao interrupts, and you shake your head as more tears spill from your eyes. “It was my fault.” Minghao rests his hand on your wrist, rubbing circles on the bone with his thumb as he shakes his head.

“Sometimes we can’t control our actions when we’re going through a lot emotionally, let alone think properly. You’re not the cause of Juyeon’s death, he saved you on his own accord. He knows you would’ve done the same for him.” Minghao explains softly, and your shoulders shake by how hard you’re crying. Minghao pulls you close to him again, nuzzling your head into his chest as he rubs your back. 

“Juyeon wouldn’t want you to blame yourself either, yn. He would want you to live.” Minghao whispers, and you quietly sob into Minghao’s chest at his words. His hand trails up and cradles your head, resting his cheek on the top of it. 

“I don’t know what to do anymore.” You say, and Minghao bites the inside of his cheek. He rubs your back, quietly muttering that it’ll be okay. 

“We can’t change the past, but we can take charge of our future. You just have to forgive yourself for any change to happen.” Minghao responds in a soft voice, and you let out a shaky breath, closing your eyes. 

“I miss him so much.” You mumble tiredly, the sobbing having taken a lot of energy out of you. His breath hitches when your arm wraps around his middle, having not expected you to hold him. He rubs your back slowly, trying to regulate his heartbeat so that you can’t hear it. Through the last tears falling from your eyes you add, “I don’t care if he didn’t love me back, I just wish he was here.” 

“He’s always here.” Minghao mutters after a moment, fatigue taking over as you find it hard to keep your eyes open. However, you fight your exhaustion to hear Minghao’s words.

“So live for him.” Is the last thing you hear before you succumb to sleep. Minghao follows soon after, hand stilling on your back as the stars shine brightly in the sky. 

You type away on your computer, quite a bit of weight lifted off your shoulders since the heart-to-heart you had with Minghao a week ago. Your heart is warm, and you feel a bit airy as you turn to glance out the window of your office, seeing the birds flying high in the blue sky. 

While you may still be fearful of crosswalks and trucks in general, you’ve felt better since you let out all the pain you’ve been feeling. As well as remembering Minghao’s words to you, because deep down, you know that Juyeon wouldn’t want you blaming yourself. So you’ve taken the steps into looking into therapists, even though you’re one yourself. Minghao’s helping as well, knowing that this will be good for you in the long run. 

There are still moments where you feel the weight back on your shoulders, and you want to hide from the world. However, it’s understandable. You can’t forget the trauma and internal self-conflict you’ve dealt with for years based on one heart-to-heart talk. It’s helped push you into taking the proper steps to fully heal though.

Hearing a knock on your door, you glance up to see Joshua poking his head in with a big smile on his face. You find yourself smiling back, as both his laughter and the sight of his smile are contagious to you. 

“Hi Joshua.” You greet, and he steps into your office, two bobas in hand, causing you to clap your hands excitedly. He places it before you, sitting down in the seat in front of your desk. You smile, glancing up into his eyes. “You spoil me.” 

“It was a two for one deal, couldn’t resist getting one for you. It was basically a sign from the heavens telling me to get you boba.” Joshua jokes, and you roll your eyes, shoving your straw through the plastic seal after shaking up the drink. You take a sip, letting out a content sigh at the sweet taste of milk tea. 

“How was your last patient?” You ask, and Joshua grins. “He’s opening up a bit more each time, it makes me feel happy to know that he’s slowly trusting me.” 

You nod your head with a smile, understanding the feeling. The two of you converse for a moment, occasionally taking a sip of boba mid-speech as the drink just seems to be too addictive. You glance down at your keyboard when Joshua clears his throat, causing you to look up at him. 

“So you know how I said I’d treat you to pork belly once that new place opens?” You nod your head, taking another sip of boba and chewing on the tapioca pearls. Joshua lets out a shy smile, running a hand through his peach hair. 

“Well, it opened, and I was wondering if you wanted to go next Friday?” You pause for a moment. Something in Joshua’s invitation seems different this time around, from the slight blush rising to his cheeks, as well as the nervous smile he has on right now. Your heart pounds against your chest when you realize, and you bite the inside of your cheek.

After a second you nod your head, and Joshua visibly relaxes. “Yes, I’d love to go with you.” 

“Nice! I’ll text you the details, okay?” Joshua says as he stands up from his seat, and you glance at your watch, seeing that his next patient will be coming soon. You give him a thumbs up, and he lets out a breath, sending you another smile. 

“It’s a date!” Joshua calls, and you nod your head, giggling when he shoots you finger guns before closing the door behind him. You let out a sigh, glancing down at your keyboard when you feel a presence right in front of your computer. 

You look up to find Minghao leaning against your desk, a peaceful look on his face as he stares down at you. His hair is straight this time around, still parted down the middle. He’s wearing a burberry plaid shirt with ripped black jeans, showing off a bit of his thighs. 

“Hi.” 

“Hey.” 

The two of you stare at each other in silence for a moment. Minghao takes in the slight glow to your aura, showing that you’re healing. While you stare into his eyes that hold so much depth to them, but you never know what he’s truly thinking. 

“Going on a date, huh?” Minghao teases, and you glare at the virtue. He chuckles at the furrow to your brow, reaching over and smoothing it out with the pad of his thumb. Your heart leaps in your chest at the contact, but you stay unimpressed until he places his hand back on the table. 

“It’s not a date.”

“You sure?” 

“... no.” 

Minghao giggles at your response, causing you to softly laugh as well. He rolls his eyes, standing up from your desk and raising his arms above his head. You lean back into your seat, taking a long sip of boba as you wait for him to speak. 

“Well, I hope you have fun.” Minghao tells you, and you let out a small smile. Nodding your head, you give him a thumbs up. “I’ll make sure to tell you all the details after it happens. However, I have to pee so I’ll be right back.” 

Minghao watches with a fond smile as you get up from your leather seat and scurry out of your office. It slowly drops from his face once the door closes, and he bites the inside of his cheek. He lets out a sad laugh, resting a hand over his heart, clutching the fabric of his shirt with a tight fist. 

“I’m so happy, but why am I so sad too?” Minghao mutters to himself after a moment, only to quickly switch back to his happy persona once he hears your door open again. You give him a smile, walking to your desk and sitting back down in your seat.

“Wanna play among us?” You ask, and Minghao smirks. He sits down into the seat in front of your desk, wiggling his pretty fingers towards you. “I hope you know that I’ll win, sweetheart.” 

You begin cursing at the man, and Minghao just laughs at your reaction. He lets you ramble, promptly ignoring the dull pain in his heart as he chooses to instead watch the way your eyes sparkle at him. 

Minghao finds you beautiful when you’re happy.

and that’s all that matters.

“I’ll see you next week Doc.” You nod your head with a smile, glancing down at your notes, only to pause when you realize your door hasn’t shut yet. You look up to see Jacob staring at the dinosaur painting Juyeon created years ago. 

“Is there something else you wanted to speak about, Jacob?” You ask, effectively startling the boy out of his thoughts. He turns and gives you a smile, shaking his head. 

“It’s just that I noticed the flower. I don’t see it painted that much.” Jacob answers, and you raise an eyebrow. You walk over and stand beside your patient, staring at the familiar pink flower that Juyeon refused to tell you the name of. “Oh yeah? My best friend never told me the name of it for whatever reason. Guess he just wanted to be more knowledgeable than me.” 

Jacob chuckles, turning to glance at you. You look back at him, and he gives you a knowing smile, causing you to raise an eyebrow. “What?”

He points at the flower dinosaur Juyeon is holding towards dinosaur you, “That’s an arbutus flower.” 

You purse your lips at the unfamiliar name, turning and glancing back towards the painting. You tilt your head to the side, wondering where Juyeon learned of such a flower. Jacob giggles, resting his hand on the doorknob of your door to open it, before turning back to you. 

“It means that you’re the only one he loves. It’s basically a promise that the love he has for you is not only warm, but will last a lifetime.” Jacob says, before stepping out of your office, the door closing behind him. You stare at the painting in pure shock, your heart already dropped into your stomach as you stare at the pink flower dinosaur Juyeon is holding out to you. 

“He. He loved me?” You mutter to yourself, resting your hand over your heart as you stare at the painting. The tears fall from your eyes before you know it, and you slowly fall to your knees, laughing quietly at the ridiculous way Juyeon confessed his love for you. 

Minghao appears beside you in an instant, and you immediately turn to him, resting your head in his chest as he wraps his arms around you. After a moment of the two of you staying like this as you silently cry, you mutter, “He loved me, Minghao.” 

Minghao nods his head, running a hand through your hair he softly whispers, “I don’t see how anyone couldn’t fall in love with you, yn.” 

You close your eyes, wrapping your arms around his middle as you quietly cry into his chest. Minghao rubs your back, letting out a soft smile when he recognizes this as being the last stage of closure you needed. He hopes in another life that you and Juyeon ended up together, but he’s grateful that he was given the opportunity to see you forgive yourself and open up to someone you liked again.

“I can’t believe he’d confess through painting us as dinosaurs.” You mutter, letting out a laugh and Minghao chuckles in response. 

“I expect nothing less from him though.” You whisper, closing your eyes with a soft smile gracing your features. Minghao glances down at you, and he grins, “Has he done something like this before?” 

“Are you kidding me? Of course he has.”

Minghao watches as you slowly light up, explaining the different things Juyeon has done, as well as the weird quirks he had. A stark contrast to the pain and sadness that would be etched across your features when anyone would so much as mention his name. Minghao lets out a soft smile, feeling his heart warm knowing that his mission is done. 

“You ready for your date?” Minghao asks, and you let out a nervous breath at the thought of Joshua about to pop up in front of your apartment building any second now. Minghao’s waiting with you outside of your building as you wait for Joshua, considering the fact that you didn’t want to wait alone. 

A small squabble ensued where Minghao was like what if he sees me doofus?! To which you replied, just disappear before he can tinkerbell!

“I think I’m gonna shit myself.” 

“Well, don’t do that.” Minghao states, and you shoot him a glare. He rolls his eyes at you, reaching out and patting your head. “It was a joke.” 

“I know what jokes are.” You bite back, and Minghao purses his lips at your reaction. He lets out a sigh, wrapping his arm over your shoulders. You glance up at him and see him staring down at you with a small smile on his face. Raising an eyebrow you ask, “What?”

Minghao just shakes his head, and you watch in a slight state of awe when you take notice of the fact that he holds the whole galaxy in his gaze as he stares down at you. “I’m proud of you.” 

You purse your lips at his sweetness, feeling a blush rise to your cheeks as you push him away. Minghao lets out a giggle at your reaction, finding it rather endearing. He turns his head to see if he can spot the head of peach hair, and his eyes widen when he does. 

“It’s time for me to disappear. Have fun on your date, okay?” You tilt your head to the side when Minghao shuffles from one foot to another as he debates on something. You open your mouth to ask what, only for Minghao to lean down and press a soft kiss to your forehead, before disappearing. 

You raise a hand to your forehead, feeling warmth flood through you at the sweet action. You silently curse Minghao for being such a sweetheart, knowing that as the virtue of forgiveness, he should be rather nice. 

“Yn!” You turn your head to see Joshua smiling at you, and you wave your hand at him, quickly walking over so that the two of you can meet in the middle. “Ready for pork belly? I heard their meat is really good quality.” 

You smile, nodding your head excitedly. “Of course I am! What kind of whack ass question-”

“Are you trying to fight me? On our first date?” Joshua teases, and you roll your eyes, nudging him with your shoulder as you try to hide the blush rising to your cheeks. The two of you begin walking in the direction of the kbbq restaurant, playful banter between you both as you do. 

At some point Joshua intertwines his fingers with yours, and the two of you can’t hide each other’s blushes from each other, but promptly choose to ignore them as you continue to converse. You feel your heartbeat a bit faster when you realize you have to cross the street, and Joshua pauses. He glances down at you, “We can go the other way?” 

You stare at the crosswalk for a moment, before shaking your head at Joshua. You turn your head and look up at him with a bright smile, “No, I’ll be okay.” 

Joshua mentions that if you change your mind the two of you can just go the other way a few more times until you make it to the edge of the sidewalk. You reassure him that it’s okay, even reaching out to press the button which signals that you want to cross the street. You squeeze Joshua’s hand, biting the inside of your cheek as you stare at the white lines on the crosswalk. 

You watch as the crosswalk signal turns green, hearing it say, walk. Glancing back down at the white lines, you suck in a deep breath, before taking your first step. You hold Joshua’s hand tightly as the two of you cross the street, and he gives you reassuring words until you make it all the way across. 

You look up at the peach-haired man with a happy smile, and he smiles back down at you, eyes full of endearment as he does so. You’re about to open up your mouth to make a joke, only to pause when you smell the lingering scent of grilled meat coming from your right. You and Joshua turn your heads to see the new kbbq place, and let out excited grins. 

“To the grilling of meats!” You shout, and Joshua laughs at your antics. 

All while Minghao watches from the other side of the street, a proud smile gracing his features at the happiness radiating off of you. He lets out a breath, before turning around and walking the other way, hands shoved into his pockets. 

mission: help yn forgive herself and open her heart again [COMPLETED]

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[nbrook29]

152 for Sobbe, hope you're doing okay 💖💖

45 for Sobbe 💜💜

based on dialogue prompts

152. [text]: So I might be in a hospital right now…

45. “Don’t tempt me.”

💓 💓 💓

“Wow, you’re really useless today.”

Jens flips him off lifting himself gingerly from the pavement and kicking the skateboard in frustration as the boys laugh at his petulant expression.

“Come here then and try it yourself, smartass.”

Robbe raises his hands in surrender. “Hey, I wasn’t the one claiming to be the master of skateboarding! I’m just sitting here patiently waiting for the “master” to teach me his apparently superior skills,” he says cheekily to rile him up, the boys high-fiving him for the burn.

Jens just rolls his eyes and goes back to the bowl, switching to easier tricks for now. Moyo and Aaron join him shortly after realizing that the show’s over while Robbe hangs back for now, stretching his body on the bench contentedly and enjoying the breeze coming from the river doing wonders to his overheated body.

Antwerp has been experiencing a heatwave for the past 2 weeks and as much as Robbe loves summer weather, he’s kinda over being sweaty 24/7. His house doesn’t have air conditioning so the skatepark located next to the river is his favorite retreat in the evenings when the sun goes down. That and the heaven that is Sander’s deliciously cool room, kept at 17 degrees at all times thanks to the recently installed AC. Robbe enjoys it so much that Sander jokingly accused him of being with him only for this particular privilege. When Robbe didn’t deny, too occupied with moving his head left and right to catch the cold drift on his cheeks while standing directly under the device, Sander grabbed him and tickled him into submission until he was satisfied with Robbe’s wheezed out confessions of his undying love.

Good times.

Robbe is deep into thoughts wondering what kind of pizza they should order today and how to convince Sander to let him order one with pineapple on when his phone pings with a messenger notification. 

Sander: So I might be in a hospital right now… 

He sits up so fast he gets dizzy, his vision swimming for a few seconds while his mind is helpfully suggesting to him all the darkest scenarios of what may have happened. He doesn’t waste his time typing back, his hands way too shaky at this point anyway so he just picks Sander’s number and waits impatiently, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth and trying to calm down his beating like crazy heart.

His boyfriend makes him wait for five unbearably long signals and Robbe swears he’s going to kick his ass for that.

...as soon as he makes sure he’s alright, and in one piece, and that everything is just fine.

“Hey.”

It’s just one short word but it makes Robbe breathe again. And maybe he’s overreacting because Sander texted him so obviously he’s well enough but he just can’t help it - Robbe’s heart belongs to him, it beats for him, so any sign he may be hurt just makes it stop or go crazy.

“Sander, what happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” he must be looking a bit frantic because the boys take notice and skate closer to him to figure out what’s going on.

“I’d been better but I’m mostly fine. I-, umm, I might have been hit by a car?”

Robbe feels his knees buckle a little and he sits back down, taking in a few shaky breaths. “What?!”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t that bad, I just have some bruises and I’m sore-”

“Oh thank god.”

“-and I think I have a broken leg?”

“Shit, fuck, what? Where are you? Which hospital?”

The guys stand in a circle around him with worried faces.

“At Sint-Elisabeth. Are you gonna come?” his voice sounds so small Robbe’s heart breaks a little.

“Of course, I’m on my way, babe.”

He doesn’t waste much time on explanations, just briefly tells the boys what happened before running to the nearest bus station. It takes him agonizing 30 minutes to get to the right street and then another 5 to finally set his foot in the hospital building. A nurse directs him to the ER once he explains the situation and then he’s in a room full of just brought in there patients. Each bed is separated with a screen and he finds Sander on the bed number 3.

His green eyes immediately find his and he smiles at him with relief. “Hey.”

Robbe looks all over his body to check for damage, takes in the small cut above his eyebrow, the bleached hair that is in total disarray, the t-shirt torn on his shoulder with edges stained with what looks like dried blood, the scrape on his forearm, and of course, the broken leg, covered with cast from foot to middle thigh.

He feels nauseous when he takes all that in, swallowing hard to calm down his stomach and not throw up all over the floor. Closing quickly the distance between them he drops into his arms, trying to me mindful of all his injuries. 

“Shh, I’m okay,” Sander runs his hand back and forth on his back when he notices his unsteady breathing, whispering assurances in his ear. Once Robbe gets in under control, he presses a few kisses on his neck and then disentangles himself from his arms, resting his forehead on Sander’s. The boy hisses when Robbe accidently touches the cut above his eyebrow, smiling a little when Robbe apologizes profusely and kisses him to shut him up.

“So what happened?” Robbe asks, sitting appropriately on the bed and entwining their fingers because he just needs to feel him right now. Sander doesn’t comment on the way he basically clings to him, and Robbe knows he would be the same if the situation was reversed.

“I was walking through the crosswalk and the guy didn’t notice me soon enough. But he hadn’t been driving fast in the first place so I think that saved my ass.”

“Do you have a concussion? Is there anything wrong besides your leg?”

“No, I’m fine, they did the scan and it’s all clear.”

The corners of Robbe’s mouth twitch a little and normally he would make a joke but he’s not really in the mood to joke right now.

“Yes, okay, go on, I know what I said, “it’s all clear” meaning my head is a void with no brain,” Sander chuckles but when he sees the sad puppy eyes Robbe is giving him right now he gets serious and sighs. “I’m okay. Really. Just sore. And to be honest, glad it’s not my right hand that’s broken. Can you imagine?”

“I can imagine worse than that actually, you could’ve...”

Sander tsks and shakes his head. “We’re not gonna do that, okay?”

When Robbe doesn’t say anything and just sits there with his eyes downcast and playing with Sander’s fingers, he tips his chin with his left hand. 

“Okay?”

He finally nods, unconvinced, his treacherous mind full with what ifs. The whole situation is making him feel vulnerable and he just can’t shake it off like that. And he knows Sander is trying to make him feel better, that he’s alive and breathing next to him but he needs the closeness now more than ever. So he toes off his shoes and not paying attention to anyone that may look at them lies down next to Sander on his uninjured arm curling himself around his side and burrows his face in the crook of his neck. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he mumbles while Sander pets his hair, the touch grounding him and providing much needed comfort. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Robin, shh, it’s okay, hey, it’s okay.”

He nods against his neck and works on calming himself down. 

“Did you call your parents?” he asks after a minute.

“My mum is here, she went for coffee and to bring me some snacks. She should be back any minute now so she can drive you home.”

“You’re staying here?”

“Yeah, they want to keep me overnight. It’s a normal procedure though, so don’t worry.”

Robbe nods again and gives him a gentle squeeze. 

“Oh hello darling.”

The voice of Sander’s mum makes him flush in embarrassment because he’s still glued to her injured son. He scrambles off the bed and straightens out his clothes making Sander chuckle but the woman only smiles at him and doesn’t comment at his state. She cups Sander’s cheek and asks him how he feels before turning to Robbe who still holds his hand.

“So, has he already told you I told him off because I had warned him once it’s going to happen?” 

Robbe looks at her confused while Sander rolls his eyes behind her back.

“Yeah, I told him someone is gonna hit him with their car if he doesn’t wear something reflective on his dark clothes! But did he listen to me? No, of course not!” she shakes her head at Sander with disapproval, hands on her hips, ignoring his groans.

“Oh my god mom-”

“Don’t “mom” me, I’m not in the mood, my precious baby boy is hurt and I’m upset.”

Sander rarely blushes but when he does, Robbe feels an immense amount of satisfaction because usually he’s the one going on red in the face thanks to Sander himself. And Sander’s mom referring to him this way in Robbe’s presence never fails to make his cheeks pink in embarrassment. It does lift Robbe’s mood a little and he grins at him cheekily over her shoulder, Sander’s blush deepening even more.

“I actually fully agree with your mom.”

“What, you’re gonna stick reflective strips all over my wardrobe now?”

“Don’t tempt me. I’m actually seriously considering it. Ugh, you and your abundance of black clothes.”

Sander’s mom is very pleased with Robbe's support and she gives her son a triumphant smile.

“See? Listen to your boyfriend, baby. Also, I think you’ve just been outvoted.”

Sander looks at them bemused, a pout forming on his lips so Robbe leans down and catches them in a short kiss, still conscious of Sander’s mom standing right next to them.

It’s getting late so they need to go while Sander is transported to a different room for the night. He gets painkillers for the ache in his broken leg and it quickly makes him sleepy, his eyes fighting to stay open when they say goodbye. It’s difficult for Robbe to leave him out of his sight but he doesn’t really have a choice so he waits until Sander’s mom says her goodbyes, telling him she’s going to wait for him in the car before he kisses the life out of him, the boy falling asleep minutes later. He places the last kiss on his forehead as he watches Sander breath in and out evenly, his face scrunching a little in his sleep at the touch.

Then he quietly closes the door to his room, already preparing himself for the night full of nightmares.

[tinytonysnark]

5 times Steve stood between vehicles and 1 time Tony did.

44. Standing between them and a busy road. 1.4k words, stevetony, fluff

*

Steve doesn’t even think about it.

They’re walking along with their friends ahead of them, Tony caught up in his rant about how Mr. Vanko is out to get him as they’re coming up to the crosswalk and Steve simply switches sides to put himself between the cars and Tony without a pause in this one-way conversation. 

He just watches and laughs at Tony antics as they enter the diner and wishes he could hold Tony’s hand as they walk. 

** 

MassArt is only 18 minutes away from MIT when he cycles, but Steve hasn’t seen Tony for nearly a week - both of them caught up with assignments and well, Tony’s been caught up with his new friend - Rhodey.

Steve hasn’t met him yet, but Tony hasn’t stopped singing praises about the man via text and Steve - he’s not jealous or anything, he just wants to make sure that this Rhodey has good intentions, that’s all. 

That’s the only reason he’s pedalling like his life depends on it to meet Tony and his roommate for brunch.

He gets to Luna in 15 minutes and chains his bicycle to the rack. He’s looking around for Tony when someone jumps on his back.

“Surprise!” Tony shouts in his ear. 

“Glad to see college life hasn’t changed you, Tony,” Steve says, as Tony gets down. 

Someone clears their throat behind Steve and he turns to see a man, looking at Steve suspiciously.

Ah, Rhodey. “So, you’re the infamous Steve that Tony hasn’t shut up about, huh,” he says and Steve watches Tony’s face turn pink.

“Rhodey,” he hisses and the other man grins, holding his hand out.

“Well, I’ve heard plenty of you too,” Steve says, shaking his hand. “You’re all Tony talks about these days besides his lab.”

“Oh, God, just kill me,” Tony mutters. “Let’s go eat, I’m starving.”

“Unsurprising, seeing as all you had to eat yesterday was a packet of blueberries and my entire pot of coffee.”

“Rhodey! Stop ratting me out,” Tony says as he shrugs at the glare Steve sends him. 

“Tony, you can’t just -”

“I know, I know, I just got distracted. Come on you two mother hens, watch me eat my weight in breakfast foods,” he says pressing the button at the crosswalk light.

“There better be a vegetable somewhere in there,” Steve says, not entirely jokingly as he moves to stand to Tony’s left and bumps into Rhodes. 

“Oh, sorry,” he says, moving to stand next to the other man, watching two cars roll to a stop as the light signals for them to cross.

Brunch itself goes well, and Steve finds he quite likes Rhodes and the man’s sense of humour but something in him untightens from it’s knot when he takes his leave to meet up for a date with someone named Carol, ruffling Tony’s hair when he wags his eyebrows at him and giving Steve a firm handshake, leaving the both of them to themselves.

Steve can’t help the warm feeling that takes root as he realises how much it feels like a date.

***

The moving truck is parked in front of the building so Steve parks his jeep on the other side of the street and Tony jumps right out the moment the car stills.

Steve sighs, getting out to get the boxes in the backseat and trying his hardest not to laugh as Tony grabs the heaviest one before Steve can reach it, clearly struggling under its weight. 

“Baby, stop okay- you’re right, you’re big and strong and I’m sorry if I ever insinuated otherwise, so why don’t you just give me -”

Tony glares at him from over the top of the box as he reaches for it. “You didn’t insinuate anything! You said I’m small and should leave carrying the big heavy boxes to you Mr. Macho Man!” 

He slams the door with his foot and Steve winces. “Well, I’ll carry this one and you can get the smaller one!”

Steve sighs, wondering just how long Tony is going to be mad at him for his slip of tongue, putting up his hand in thanks to the driver who waits for them to cross to their new apartment.

A place just for them. 

He grins when they get to the door, placing the boxes just outside before sweeping Tony up, carrying him over the threshold. 

“Hey!” Tony calls out, glaring up at Steve. “Alright, alright, you’re so big and strong. There’s no need to show off now,” he says, dropping the box to the floor.

It lands with a solid thunk and Steve frowns at him. “You’re so lucky that was just clothes and not something more fragile.”

Tony just winds his hands around Steve’s neck and kisses the frown of his face. 

****

“The wedding was gorgeous, don’t you think,” Tony says, swinging their arms by their intertwined pinkies. 

“It was,” Steve says, tugging Tony back onto the sidewalk as a car passes by, switching to stand to the right as they cross to the hotel for the reception.

“Thor’s dad is a real piece of work though,” Tony continues. “Bruce practically turned green when Nat came to tell us that he showed up.”

“Thor didn’t fare much better when he found out, - though he probably took it better than Loki did,” Steve tells him. 

“Unsurprising seeing as how his cold shoulder is practically frostbite,” Tony says. “If I ever got married and Howard showed up, I’d be less graceful than Thor was, that’s for sure.”

“If, huh?” Steve grins at him as they enter the reception hall. “What happened to Mr. I would rather die than have all my family gathered together?”

Tony looks to where they’re friends are all seated together - near the now married couple before looking up at Steve, “Guess family means something else to me know,” he says and Steve - Steve doesn’t say anything to that, just kisses the top of Tony’s head and thinks about the ring hidden in the back of his sock drawer.

***** 

Tony’s light radiates even brighter in Italy. 

There’s a giddiness in his voice, in every step he takes as he shows Steve around his favourite places he’d visit in the summers with his mother.

And well, being newlyweds probably adds another layer to it too.

The villa in Ostia that Tony’s mother had given them as a wedding present was gorgeous, the view of the moonlight on the water a perfect backdrop for their nights spent as husbands. 

They fly to Florence in the morning, but for tonight they’re wandering the streets after eating their filling of ravioli and having far too much wine, listing into each other as they dance along the cobblestones and all Steve is able to think is - I love you, I love you, I love you - so he says it aloud and Tony kisses the words back into his mouth.

“Take me to bed, mio marito,” Tony says and Steve bundles Tony to his side as they cross the roads back to the villa, watchful of the vespas zipping through the streets and kissing Tony under the moonlight anytime they pause on their way.

****** 

Tony’s always anxious walking the streets of New York with Peter in tow so Steve placing him atop his shoulders as they walk to get ice-cream eases him and Tony suspects Steve knows it. 

“Papa, I’m so tall now,” Peter says, clutching the top of Steve’s head and Tony nearly laughs at the way it causes his blonde hair sticks up in all directions. 

“Yeah, Petey give it just two more years and you’ll be taller than your papa is,” Steve says, laughing at the affronted look on Tony’s face.

“Dad, it’s not that hard to be taller than papa,” Peter says, and Steve laughs even harder at that.

“That’s it! The both of you aren’t getting any ice-cream, I’m going to eat it all,” Tony says and watches Peter’s eyes go wide.

“No, no, Papa - I’m sorry if I made you upset,” jostling Steve as he tries to reach his hand out to hold onto Tony’s.

Tony offers him his pinky, letting him know he’s not actually mad. “Maybe - Maybe dad can let you go on his shoulders! Then all of us can be tall!” 

Steve gives a huff of laughter as they cross the road, Tony resisting the urge to flip off the cab honking at them lest Peter look over. “I’ll let Dada climb onto my shoulders later if he wants,” Steve says, shooting Tony a grin as they enter the ice-cream shop and Tony rolls his eyes at him.

Peter climbs off Steve’s back and bounds his way over to the display. 

Steve kisses Tony’s fingertips and says, “I’ll get your usual,” before joining their son and Tony - Tony think the ice-cream is gonna instantly melt in his mouth from how warm he feels as he looks at his family.

[honeypirate]

I found you again

Daichi x y/n post time skip.

This is really long bc I didn’t want to do a second part. I could have split it up but that takes so long.

You were jogging in place, waiting for the crosswalk to tell you it was time.

It was early in the morning, your first day back in your hometown after college. You were on a run, re-familiarizing yourself with your old town before you were going to see if you could join the womens volleyball club in the community.

The light turned with the familiar beep you heard every morning walking to high school and you started to jog again, being back in town brought up many memories about volleyball and a certain boy you used to in love with.

After the last few years you wondered what happened to him. Back then you were too scared to confess your feelings so you didnt and you remained just close friends with him, after graduation you didn’t keep in contact, you went abroad to try and rid yourself of your feelings and, as much as you know, it worked.

You round a corner and smack face first into the back of a big man, and has you grunt and hit the ground on your butt you only realize that it’s a police officer “Sorry sir, I didn’t see you there” he turns around all concerned and you cock your head is it really him? It’s like your thoughts had summoned him.

“Sawamura?” His concern and confusion turns into a look of recognition “Y/n?!” He helps you to your feet “you’re back in town! are you okay?” You smile “yeah I’m fine! I’m sorry again for running into you. I was a little distracted.” You still were hella distracted seeing him now, all grown up and a police officer! you almost couldn’t believe your eyes. He was still as handsome as ever but you did prefer to see him in volleyball shorts, he had meaty thighs that you checked out many times in school.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m kind of glad you did, it’s really nice to see you.” And then he said the words you hoped he would “Hey do you wanna get together tonight for dinner and catch up?” (I guess I didn’t get over shit) you think to yourself as you smile and nod “I would love to.” You pull out your phone “what’s your number? I’ll send you a text so you have mine and you can call me later” he tells you his number and you send him your contact “I should get going soon, I’m meeting with the community women’s volleyball club to see if I can join.” He beams at you “I play with the men’s team sometimes when I’m not working” you laugh “that makes me so glad. I loved watching you play in high school. It was mesmerizing. I played on the women’s team in college so, I could probably beat you now” you wink and he laughs making you remember how much you love that sound “well we should see about that sometime” his partner gets his attention from the parked car on the street and he nods at him “I’ll call you when I get off okay?” You nod and he gets in his car with a wave. After all this time he still adores you. After all this time you still love his meaty thighs. You continue your run and mentally put together the outfit you’ll wear tonight.

Daichi gets off work and drives home, he takes off his belt and uniform, setting his stuff on his dresser. He’s nervous to make a phone call, nervous to see the girl he used to love because she’s an adult now and even more beautiful than he remembers. He’s nervous because he can feel his love for her coming back. He takes a deep breath and presses call before he chickens out.

You’re dancing to Girl on Fire in your bathroom, doing your makeup in your cutest pair of black matching lingerie. You didn’t intend to sleep with him, you knew he was a gentleman. You wore this for you, so you felt more confident.

As you belt out the chorus your phone cuts out the song to vibrate signaling a call and you start to laugh at your crappy singing voice as you pick up your phone. Your palms immediately start to sweat when you read his name on the screen. “Finally” you say and press the green button “Sawamura!” Your voice is excited and he laughs softly “Y/n. How are you?” He didn’t know why he was nervous to begin with, hearing you say his name washed away all of his nerves. “I’m good. Better now actually. How are you?” You’re smiling looking at yourself in the mirror “I’m better too. I was thinking we could get some dinner and I could meet at your place and we could walk together?” You hold in a laugh of glee “that sounds perfect. I’ll text you my address. When will you be here?” You’re swaying side to side in excitement “in an hour? If that works for you” you can hear the smile in his voice “yea that’s perfect. I can’t wait to see you again” you laugh shyly “I feel the same Y/n. I can’t wait.” Your smile hurts your cheeks a little “okay I’ll see you then” you say goodbye and hang up the phone and shout in excitement doing a little dance as you text him your address with a heart emoji.

You wear a pair of black skinny jeans and white v neck flowy blouse that shows just enough of your lace bra to be tasteful and sexy. You hope it doesn’t get too cold tonight bc a jacket would take from the look. You wear simple jewelry and a pair of black ankle boots with a heel.

Your phone in your hand and when it goes off you read the notification “knock knock” it says and then your eyes flash to the door when you hear him knock. You smile and shake out your limbs, you’re so excited and nervous. You open the door and look him up and down, black shoes, straight blue jeans, and a black button up shirt tucked in with rolled sleeve. He looks good. It’s simple and handsome. You can’t help but throw your arms around his neck “right on time” you say and he laughs and returns your hug “you smell amazing” he says when you pull away and you see he is blushing just a little “thank you! My favorite perfume, I’m glad you like it. You obviously check him out again “you look really handsome” he lets out a shy laugh “thank you y/n.” He looks into your eyes when he says “You look beautiful.” It’s your turn to blush and you shove your phone in your pocket and grab your keys as a way to pretend you weren’t as flustered as you were. “thank you” your voice is shy and you clear your throat before looking back at him and asking “Are you ready?” He nods and you exit your apartment and lock the door before putting your keys in your pocket.

When you get to the street he takes your hand in his and you smile and give his hand a squeeze. “So where we going Daichi?” You ask and he grins “I thought we’d get some meat buns from the old shop and then walk around all the places we used to go as teenagers.” Your smile widens “that is perfect!” He looks relieved “I’m glad you think so. I was worried for a second.” He laughs and clears his throat “so what are you doing now y/n? How long are you back for?” You’re absentmindedly rubbing soft circles on his hand with your thumb as you respond “I’m back for good. I’m actually a teacher at Karasuno and the new girls volleyball coach!” You exclaim, eager to talk about it because of how excited you were. It seems like his body relaxes a little at your words “that’s amazing y/n! I’m so happy for you! And to be honest I’m glad you’re gonna be back now, I really missed you.” You bump your shoulder into his lightly “I missed you too Daichi ” you say and you notice the blush on his cheeks. “So you’re a police officer now!” He laughs “yeah I am. I just want to protect people you know?” You nod “I understand that. You were always a good guy, I wouldn’t expect anything less.” You reach the shop and start to bounce on your toes “I’m happy to see you’re still the same in some ways” you quirk your eyebrow at him “when you’re excited you bounce and dance around. It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen” he gets you both a few buns and gestures to the drink selection “do you want anything else?” You grab a drink “thank you, and I never really noticed that I do that” you nervous laugh as you both head to the counter, Ukai wasn’t there and you were unsure what he was up to now, you didn’t ask the cashier.

When you left the store you thank Daichi for paying and then say “do you wanna go eat this in the school? It’s not trespassing because I happen to have a key. And I could show you my classroom!!” you smile mischievously and get excited and he laughs, how could he say no to you? “that sounds perfect” he carries the bag on one hand and takes yours in his other again as you walk up the hill to the school.

You unlock the school door that the staff can use, and make sure it locks behind you guys before leading him down the familiar halls. “I am going to be the first year home room teacher” you say as you unlock your classroom door and he walks in. When you turn on the lights it’s looks exactly like it did when you were in it. “It’s nothing to brag about because it looks exactly like it did when we were here” you laugh and he turns around smiling “i would have paid more attention in class if you were my teacher. I was too distracted by a certain girl who sat next to me” he blushes and it takes you a second to realize that he means he was distracted by you. You blush “oh hush Daichi we both know you were always top of the class, couldn’t worry about school if you wanted to focus on volleyball” he laughs at you calling him out and he comes over to you and tucks your hair behind your ear “that may be true but only because we only had like one class together a year.” You smile up at him “whatever you say” you dramatically roll your eyes and he laughs “bun time?” You ask and bounce on your toes again “bun time” he says and sets the bag down on your desk and handing you one.

You end up sitting on your desk with your ankles crossed, kicking them softly, as he sits in your teacher chair facing you. “So how was college? I heard you went abroad” you smile and nod “it was amazing. I met a lot of really cool people and my volleyball team was amazing. How was police academy? I’ve heard it’s tough” he nods and finishes chewing “it wasn’t too bad. A little hard at times but you know me. Top of my class” he smirks and you laugh.

“Daichi?” “Hmm?” He says with a mouth full “whatever happened to you and Yui? My mom said you two were gonna get married” he took a long drink before he sighed and said “it’s what everyone expected. It was the easy route in my life. But it wasn’t what I wanted. It didn’t make me happy. Hurting her sucked but it would have been worse farther down the road. My mom said you were going to get engaged too” the last sentence was quiet but he didn’t break eye contact.

You ran your shoe up his calf to his knee before you said “there was one I thought could be something, but he cheated on me with my best friend right before graduation. When I dumped him and it didn’t hurt I realized I didn’t even love him anyway. I was just trying to convince myself I was happy with him when I wasn’t. And honestly Daichi, I’m surprised you never asked me out in high school. I heard your team members tell you that you should once.” You took a bite of your bun and he almost choked on his, you smirked at his reaction as you chewed.

You raise your eyebrows and rub softly up his knee when he won’t look at you. He took a drink of his water and then stood, coming to stand in front of your knees. Your eyes widen in shock and you set your bun down on your desk beside you as he softly took your face in his hands, tilting it up, “y/n” his voice is soft and he smiles down at you and he’s gazing into your eyes with such care “y/n I should have. I should have that day they told me to. But I chickened out and I regret it, I went for the easiest route and it didn’t make me happy.” He let his hands drop from your face and in the same moment you grabbed them in your own, looking down at them when you speak “I want you to be happy most of all. When my mom called me to tell me you were dating Yui, I thought that maybe that was fate, that if anything, I could be happy because you were happy” you laugh a little sadly and rub you fingers across his but pause when he speaks “please, look at me” his voice was quiet and you immediately looked up into his eyes “there you are, I missed out on seeing your beautiful eyes for years now, don’t make me any longer” he smiles as he continues “I didn’t think I would get another chance, I thought for sure my mom would call to tell me you were engaged soon.” He reaches up and runs his fingers through your hair “never did I think you’d come crashing into me again” you laugh, feeling like you were dreaming. He leaves his hands where your neck meets your jaw and rubs his thumbs softly across your skin giving you goosebumps.

You caught him off guard when you opened your knees and smirked at his look of shock when he fell forward a little into you, just close enough where you could softly connect your lips with his for a second. His eyes widened before they softened, a smile on his lips as you slowly and softly ran your hands up his chest to his shoulders then landed on the back of his neck playing with his short hair, your thighs squeezing him closer to you.

“Are you going to let me get away again, Sawamura?” You smirk up at him as his hands reach down and run slowly up your thighs before stopping and squeezing your hips and you continue, “so many things we could have done in the past, but the past made us who we are now. What are you going to do now?” Your arms move down to wrap around his middle as you press your chests together grinning mischievously up at him, watching his cheeks blush as he smiles down at you. “Now that I’ve found you again I’m never letting you go” he kisses you hard and you melt into him. His tongue brushes the bottom of you lip and you let him in, your tongues circling each other and you can’t help it when you moan into his mouth.

“Troublemakers. Even as adults” Daichi flys backwards and you both look to see who entered the room. “Sorry Mrs. J.” You say at the same time. Your old teacher just “tchs” and walks off with her box of something.

You look back to him and after a few seconds you bust up laughing and he comes back and hugs you. “I didn’t know anyone one else was in the building!” You say and he says “I didn’t know she was still alive!” Which makes you laugh even harder. He was right though. She was like eighty when you guys were in school and now she’s still working here. “She’s gonna give me so much crap for this... I’m gonna be in trouble in the first day! Daichi you’re always getting me into trouble!” you laugh together, until you’re just gazing up at each other smiling softly.

He kisses your forehead and you sigh happily and let your eyes flutter as he hugs you close into his chest. “I’m sorry sweetheart” he says with a chuckle “for getting you into trouble” you laugh softly “it’s okay. I always love the trouble we get into. I’ll choose it over everything” you say quietly and he pulls back, tucking your hair behind your ears and kisses you softly again.

Suddenly you get an idea “Hey! How about we go play a little volleyball?” He laughs at the cute sparkle in your eye “Let’s go” he says and gives you a small peck before gathering things and throwing away trash.

You get outside and then you pull him into a heated kiss before taking off running towards the volleyball courts laughing, his foot steps and laughter following you. You reach the courts and he pushed you up against the door kissing you again. You pull away laughing, out of breath, feeling like a teenager again.

In the empty girls court you flip on the lights to find the net still up, you make a mental note to talk to the team about that.

You kick your shoes off and run off to get a ball from the closet “Okay, we’ll start easy so I can get a sense at where you’re at now” you say in your best “Captain Daichi” voice with a laugh as you bounce the ball up in the air on one side of the net. He’s on the other side of the net with smirk on his lips “bring it on” he looks so determined and he winks at you, for half a second you could have sworn you were eighteen again.

There was no way to really play one on one, so you decided that you’d bring the boundaries in so you’d have less space to cover and made it so you could hit the ball twice.

You had to admit, he played amazing even in jeans, you loved when his shirt would ride up when he’d jump and you got a glimpse of his stomach and the trimmed hair under his belly button.

He had to admit you looked amazing playing, you were so skilled and talented he loved to watch you. He also loved the lacy bra that would be exposed more when you’d receive.

You didn’t play very long, you won one and he won one and after that he couldn’t take it anymore and had to come around and kiss you. When you pull back breathless you stare into his eyes “what are you doing tomorrow?” You ask quietly and he brushes his thumbs across your cheeks “I have to work but I get off around six” he says and you nod “do you wanna have dinner? I’ll cook for you like old times” he laughs “you’re planning a second date when we’re not even finished with the first. I’d love to have dinner with you” you smile bright “good! Let’s stop by the shop again if they’re still open and I’ll get some ingredients on the way home.” He loves you so much he’s so happy to be with you finally

You clean up and close up the gym, taking his hand as you walk back down the hill to the shop. You talked about your plans for the girls volleyball team, implementing things you learned from college teams. At the shop you get the ingredients to make his favorite meal, shoyu ramen. He helps you carry the bags back to your apartment and helps you put stuff away. You walk him to the door and he pulls you into his arms again and kisses you, his hand on your cheek. When he pulls away you smile warmly “text me when you get home. Be safe baby” he blushes at your pet name and gives you another peck before saying “I will. Goodnight y/n” you close your door and lean up against it smiling. This was the last thing you expected when coming home but it was also the best thing that could have happened.

[leiasfanaccount648]

Is It Enough?

Hajime Iwaizumi x Fem!Reader

A/N: I got inspired by some lovely Haikyuu writers (as well as some real life events) to make my own scenario. Also, gif credits go to the maker, not me. I hope you all enjoy! :)

Tags: @briswriting @mikwrites @haikyuuopworld​

Summary: After dating throughout and after high school, Hajime decides to propose to his girlfriend of 5+ years. Of course, the process leading up to popping the question is a lot harder than he realized it would be. 

Word Count: 5410

Warnings/Contains: TONS of fluff, fair amount of angst/sadness, nerves. Also, disclaimer, I did google searches and currency transfers/differences for parts of the fic (you’ll see) so I apologize in advance if anything seems incorrect/weird.

Google Search:

what is the best way to propose

Search Results:

Prep a place in a private beach with an intimate tent and rose petals. Find a private beach to go on bended knee for a simple proposal idea. Put a ring on in it down by the beach. Get snazzed up and then suggest walking down by the water.

“There’s no way I can do that.”

Google Search:

When is an appropriate time to propose

Search Results:

While some would prefer to be in a relationship for two or three years before even thinking about getting married, a new study conducted by F. Hinds says the optimum time is just ONE YEAR and eight months (and three days to be exact!)

“Am I too late to even be doing this?”

Google Search:

how much is the average engagement ring

Search Results:

According to recent surveys, most couples expect to spend between ¥108,022 and ¥540,110 on an engagement ring. The actual average cost for an engagement ring is over ¥665,796. With all that said, most women are reasonable creatures.

“God, I can’t afford anywhere close to that.”

Relationships can be many things, whether they’re serious, just starting out, or even just with a friend or family member. Either way, complicated things always come rushing in that either strengthen or ruin them.

For Hajime, he had been in a serious relationship with his girlfriend for years, and he had been struggling with something that most men could probably figure out and accomplish in a matter of months.

He had been at it for almost 2 years, and it was a simple proposal.

“Iwaizumi!”

Hajime quickly turned around at the voice, seeing a girl he vaguely recognized from his class running down the hall towards him. She was not only sudden about her words but also a little frantic; god knew whatever she wanted from him, but he was about to find out himself. “Yeah? Can I help you?” He looked the girl up and down real quick, noticing how she was slightly out of breath. He took the moment to try and remember her name as well, but she took care of that for him.

“Although we’re in the same class I doubt you know who I am,” she laughed, finding the idea funny, “but I’m (Y/N) (L/N). I’m really struggling on the english homework that’s due at the end of the week, and I know that you’re good at the subject so I was wondering if maybe you’d take some time out of your life to help me pass?”

Hajime glanced to the side to see if his friends were present, but noticed that they were still walking down the hallway to head towards the gym. Only Oikawa stopped when he realized that his best friend wasn’t walking beside him anymore, watching the two talk from a couple feet away.

“Uh, I mean,” Hajime didn’t know what to say at first, not wanting to be rude but still wanting to be a decent human being. “I have volleyball practice before and after school every day, but if you want to meet during lunch or something I can try my best to help you.”

“Really?” The girl gave him a relieved yet bright smile, as though asking him something like that was the most intimidating thing to ever do. She quickly bowed her head in thanks. “Thank you so much, I owe you big time!” Hajime smiled a little himself, opening his mouth to respond but his idiotic friend called for him.

“Iwa-Chan! Quit talking with your admirers and let’s get going.” Oikawa began walking down the hall after their other friends. “Us first years can’t be late you know!”

Hajime sighed in both annoyance and embarrassment. He turned his head slightly towards Oikawa. “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” He glanced back at (Y/N). “Sorry, I’ve gotta go.”

(Y/N) shook her head, smiling. “No, no, it’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She began to walk back towards the classroom, waving back at him. “Thanks again, Iwaizumi!”

Hajime stopped from typing on his computer as he thought back to almost 6 years ago. The moment that he met the love of his life was cliche for sure, but he still loved her nonetheless. From the random nonsense she would spew at him, to how cute she looked when struggling to reach for something and would refuse to admit that she needed his help, to how she would comfort him after bad practices and games alike; there wasn’t a single thing about her that made him not want to love her. That was why he had to marry her.

“Iwa!” (Y/N) quickly made her way over to Hajime, smiling bright despite it being so late in the day. “Are you ready to go?”

Hajime turned to look at her, ignoring Oikawa’s rant about whatever skill or technique he had been working on that day during practice. He managed a smile despite being so worn out from the last few hours. “Yeah, I just need to get changed real quick then we can head out.”

It had been almost a year since the two of them started dating, and things were going well. Slow, but good nonetheless. They ate lunch together, walked to and from school, and had the occasional date night every other week or so. It was simple, but with them still being in high school and being busy with things in their lives outside of classes, it was just about all they could do anyways.

Of course, Hajime had the constant thought at the back of his mind of whether or not it was enough for (Y/N).

They had just started their second year at Aoba Johsai, and although both of them acted comfortable with the way they had been doing things, Hajime was worried that she would leave him for someone that could give her more. This then led him to worry if (Y/N) was worrying about whether or not she was enough for him.

She constantly reassured him that it was okay if he couldn’t walk her to school one morning due to an earlier morning practice, or if she happened to have a family event in the evening so they couldn’t get snacks after their clubs were done for the day. As long as they could keep in touch, and still felt the same about one another, everything was okay, at least in her eyes.

He believed what she said, but Hajime still had to ask her something for the sake of his sanity before he got desperate enough to ask Oikawa for help. It wasn’t that he hated any ideas or suggestions he thought of, he just didn’t think that a plan from a guy who only flirts and rarely (actually) dates women would work in Hajime’s case.

Iwaizumi finished changing as fast as he could, quickly saying goodbye to everyone in the clubroom before leaving and rushing down the metal stairs to meet his girlfriend at the bottom. “Ready when you are.”

Their walk was nothing out of the ordinary. Loosely held hands, talking about how their clubs went and sharing funny stories or jokes about some of their friends (mostly Oikawa), and overall enjoying each other’s company. They decided to skip snacks on the way home tonight, as (Y/N) told Hajime that her mother had planned a big dinner and didn’t want to miss out on it, but that made the walk no less interesting.

Silence fell upon them after (Y/N) finished talking about how one of her friends in her club had accidentally messaged their crush about something embarrassing, and a slight breeze went past the two of them, making (Y/N) shiver slightly. She didn’t say anything, but Hajime noticed and let go of her hand to put his arm around her waist and hold her close.

“Iwa-”

“You’re cold.”

(Y/N) didn’t say anything else, only smiling and leaning against him as they continued to walk. A moment or so later, Hajime spoke up.

“By the way, do you have anything going on in a couple months?”

The two stopped at an intersection to wait for the crosswalk to turn green and (Y/N) took out her phone to check her calendar. She shrugged as she looked through it, double checking just to make sure. “I don’t think so. Why?”

“Are you busy June 18th?”

(Y/N) glanced at the date again on her phone as Hajime responded almost immediately. She smiled as she remembered the date. “You mean to tell me you’re planning something for our 1 year anniversary?” She held back a giggle as she saw his face flush slightly. She always found it cute when he let his guard down and got flustered because of her.

Hajime glanced up, seeing the crosswalk signal change. He pulled (Y/N) close to him once again and started to cross the street with her. He sighed, knowing it was now or never. “Well, I’m planning on it.” Here it goes. “I’m just not entirely sure what to do.”

(Y/N) did her best to look up at him, despite him holding onto her the way that he was. “What do you mean?” She didn’t necessarily understand why he seemed so unsure and nervous on the subject. Afterall, all she could really ask for was a day with him by herself; however, there was a look in his eye as Hajime continued to look ahead at the sidewalk that practically told her that an answer like that wouldn’t suffice for him. “You don’t have to worry yourself, Iwaizumi. I don’t need anything special or extravagant like what most girls would want.”

“But I feel like I could be doing more and,” he paused, glancing down at the concrete. “I just don’t know what I can do for you.” There it was. He didn’t plan on saying it that quickly into the conversation, but it was racking his mind like crazy.

(Y/N) forced the two of them to slow their walk until they were stopped. She stood in front of him; the look in her eyes almost held the same emotion his did: worry. “Wait, is there a problem with me? Is what we’ve been doing getting old?” Of course she knew it was a little irrational to think much less say these thoughts to him, but now she couldn’t help it. Hajime shook his head, his gaze never leaving her eyes.

“No, no, of course not.” He paused, quickly gathering his thoughts. “If anything, it’s more of the other way around.” He laughed softly, part of it almost forced out. He took hold of her hands, looking at them before meeting her gaze once again. “I just care about you so much that I’m afraid of screwing up what we already have.”

“But I’ve already told you that I don’t need much.”

“Yes, but you deserve so much more.”

(Y/N) felt her heart practically skip at his words, touched and even felt the love radiating off his words. She knew that they hadn’t been dating long enough for most people to say it, but she could still feel the love between the two of them.

(Y/N) didn’t know until Hajime told her almost a year later, but that was the moment that he realized he loved her. He also didn’t believe her at first when she said that part of her knew. It was all so uncanny to both of them that it just felt unreal. Of course, both of them knew that they didn’t care how typical their relationship was. It was theirs and no one else’s.

Hajime took a deep breath, the smile slowly leaving his face as he stared at the computer screen, looking through link after link, google search after google search, trying to find not only the right ring, but the right time and place as well. He sighed again, shaking his head.

“This isn’t working.”

He stood up from his desk, grabbing his wallet, keys, and jacket before heading out the door. Maybe some hands on searching would help him. They had come this far, and he knew that he couldn’t fail her now.

“I just,” (Y/N) sighed, shaking her head. “I can’t believe that won’t let up about this.”

It was late, around 10pm on a Friday, and (Y/N) had been on a skype call with Hajime for the past half hour or so. She hadn’t been messaging him for a few hours since he dropped her off at home, which worried him a little, but he knew that she wouldn’t be ignoring him on purpose. So he decided to keep himself distracted until he received a Skype call on his computer from her.

He was a little confused, as they didn’t Skype often, nor had she texted prior to calling him. Of course, that didn’t stop him from walking over to his desking and sitting down before answering the call. He felt his heart break at the sound and sight of her crying, one hand holding her forehead as she the other held a crumpled up tissue to her eyes. Hajime would have done anything to physically be with her right now, but he knew that he couldn’t at the moment.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

“It’s just my parents again.” She sniffled, looking up at the camera as she heard his voice. “I swear once we’ve graduated, I’m going to keep as little contact with them as possible.”

Ever since (Y/N)’s parent’s met Hajime, they loved him. They knew he was caring, protective, and all around a great guy for their daughter. When they found out his intentions after high school, they started to suggest things to (Y/N) that, in short terms, would make her want to either push Hajime to consider a different career, or even break up with him.

Yes, Hajime was a great volleyball player, but neither of (Y/N)’s parents thought that he could make a living playing professionally. Sports at the national level were hard enough to make into as it is, and as talented as he was, neither of them thought he could.

Hajime was aware of this, after (Y/N)’s parents started talking to her about life after high school, and he honestly didn’t care for their opinions on his playing; but after seeing how upset they made (Y/N) and realizing that he didn’t know himself how he was supposed to make his girlfriend’s parents completely happy with her choice of being with him, he couldn’t help but be annoyed and upset as well.

Hajime had managed to calm (Y/N) down on the matter, but her thoughts about life after graduation continued. Yes, the year had just started, but there was still so much to decide on. What would life after the two of them graduated be like? Would they both be in college; same or different? Would Hajime go out for a national team and make it resulting in her to go wherever he went, or be in a long distance relationship? Would neither of them go to college, each get a job, and move in somewhere together?

So many questions ran through her head, and Hajime could tell even if she was through a screen. Just in case her parents might have been able to hear, he quickly pulled out his phone and sent her a text. As she received it, (Y/N) glanced up at her computer to see Hajime simply looking at her and gesturing for her to open it.

Hajime: You wanna go get some food?

(Y/N) couldn’t help but smile, quickly replying.

(Y/N): Yes please

Hajime: Great. I’ll pick you up in 10

She glanced up at the screen one more time, seeing him smile at her. It read everything, but she still said it nonetheless. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Just like he said, Hajime picked her up at her house (as it hadn’t been the first time she had snuck out), and he drove the two of them to her favorite fast food place. They went through the drive-thru but stayed in the parking lot to eat as they had nowhere else to go. This time, it was (Y/N) who had to ask him a question that had been rattling her mind.

“What do you think our lives are going to be like after we graduate?”

Hajime looked over at her, still chewing his food, and saw the look on her face. Part of her was still thinking about what her parents said about him, but he couldn’t blame her. He swallowed and turned in his seat to face her. “Well, what would you like it to be?”

(Y/N) looked down for a moment in thought and smiled. It was as though she had already thought about it. “I would love for us to live together. If only I go to college, I’d study while you play for one of the national level teams, and I’d also get a job to help pay for things.” She set the bag of food down on the floor of the car below her seat before holding both of her knees in her arms as she sat. She continued to think about what their life could be like, a fond smile still on her face.

“However, if you don’t make a national team, I know you’ll still play at the college we decide to go to. Hell, maybe even Oikawa will follow us there if he doesn’t make a team either.” She chuckles, causing Hajime to do the same. She bit her lip in thought, letting go of her knees so her legs could relax and looking out through the car windshield at the street 10 or so feet away from them. Hajime stayed silent as he knew (Y/N) had more that she wanted to say.

“Later down the road after I, or we both,” she glanced at him, “graduate, we’ll continue to live together. We’ll both have stable jobs, and I just know you’re going to be involved with professional volleyball whether you’re on the court, interviewing players, or spectating games.” She smiled to herself again. “And,” she looked up at him once more, “we’ll even get married.”

Hajime considered that either time had stopped or his heart had. Whether it was one, the other, or both, his gaze did not leave hers. He was so surprised by her last statement that his face didn’t show any other emotion other than shock. (Y/N) couldn’t tell if it was the good or bad kind. Eventually, he spoke up, his hand reaching out to hold her own. “You really mean that?”

(Y/N) couldn’t stop the tearful smile from appearing on her face, nodding and squeezing his hand slightly. “Yes, Hajime.” She took hold of his other hand. “I love you so much and I want us to be together for as long as time will allow us.”

Hajime didn’t stop himself, nor could he if he wanted to. He leaned over the center console of the car and kissed her, one of his hands letting go of hers to gently hold the back of her neck to keep her close.

They kissed for a few seconds before (Y/N) broke away to climb over the gearshift to straddle his lap. She pulled him close once again to resume the kiss, her hands holding his shoulders and neck while his stayed on her waist.

Soon enough, (Y/N) was clinging to Hajime with all that she had, smiling and giggling in between kisses and causing him to do the same. She paused for a moment, resting her forehead against his, both of them breathless.

“Hajime?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but he still heard her nonetheless.

“Yeah?”

(Y/N) stared at him for a moment before breaking out into a wide grin again. “I love you so much.”

Hajime smiled as well, one hand gently holding onto her cheek as his eyes closed. “I love you, too.”

“We carry a wide selection of rings varying from bands to the diamonds, and we can customize just about any ring to make sure that she says yes.”

Hajime nodded, paying careful attention to what the saleswoman was telling him. She was nice and soft with her words, as though she had gone through her fair share of nervous boyfriends trying to find the perfect ring. He appreciated the help as much as the next guy, but now that he had done all the research he could and was finally looking in a store, it was as though all of that research was gone from his head.

“So,” she turned to face Hajime, still smiling as sweet as ever. “Is there anything in particular that you’re looking for? Or possibly a style or cut that you know she’s wanting?”

Hajime shrugged, a nervous smile on his face. “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure.”

“Well that’s totally fine!” She smiled, walking over to a display of rings. “Lots of people come in not knowing what they’re looking for. However,” she walked behind the display, gesturing to it. “These styles and cuts are the most popular with our customers.”

Hajime nodded, looking over each ring individually. They were all beautiful for sure; some had plain bands, others had designs or diamonds on the sides of the main gem. There were rings that had one big diamond, rings with 2 or 3 small ones, and he could picture (Y/N) each and every one of them. Then he saw the price tags, and his heart dropped.

His gaze went to each and every one, and it was as though he could feel his face get paler as he read over all of them. He and (Y/N) were halfway through their second year in college, and he knew that both of them were in quite a bit of debt as it was. Paying for any one of these rings would probably put them even more into the negative. He couldn’t do that to her.

Then he pictured him calling Oikawa for help and possibly ruining the relationship to the point that she may dump him. He just couldn’t leave the store empty handed.

Hajime cleared his throat to not seem too uncertain or even unstable. He looked up at the woman across the display. “Pardon me for asking, but what are the least expensive rings you have available?”

The woman stared at him for a second, a little shocked that he asked that out of all the possible questions she already had an answer for, but she still did her job with the same kind smile. She walked over to a different display, Hajime following close behind on the other side of the glass cases. “Well, I wouldn’t call them the cheapest diamond rings, of course, but they’re definitely the least in value given the sizes of the diamonds and/or the styles and material of the bands.”

Hajime nodded, once again looking over each of the rings by what they looked like before looking at the prices. He didn’t want to admit it, but he could practically see why these rings were the least expensive. They weren’t as flashy or as big as the most commonly sold; and he knew that (Y/N) had told him time and time again that she didn’t need what most girls wanted, and that what he offered her would always be enough. Five and a half years into the relationship, but he still second guessed himself on that matter.

Hajime blinked a couple times to clear his thoughts, and began to look over the price tags. Once again, he could picture (Y/N) wearing them, but they didn’t seem as perfect as the ones in the first display case. But the price tags were in his range at the moment, and he thanked every god he could that he had been saving up over the last two years.

He then noticed a ring that was practically in the bottom corner of the display, standing at ¥26,443.56, which he knew was extremely cheap for an engagement ring. Of course, it was also the simplest and smallest. The lady behind the counter noticed his eye on it, and gently pulled it out of the case for him to see up close.

“This one is probably the most stereotypical, as it’s a simple 14k white gold band with a 0.25 carat round cut diamond with six prongs holding it. It’s the smallest we have to offer, but it might just be in your price range along with the other rings here.” She smiled and placed the ring back on the cushion on which it was displayed.

Hajime nodded, glancing over at the other display he first saw. The rings he saw in there were more extravagant and and elegant, and he could easily pick any one of them as they all would look beautiful on (Y/N); however, he just couldn’t put the two of them in debt over a ring that he may have to return anyway from not making payments on time. He took a deep breath and looked down at the ring that the woman had taken out of the display case, and smiled.

‘This one is probably the most stereotypical.’

Just like he and (Y/N). This was the ring.

“I’ll go with this one.”

~    ~    ~

Later that evening, Hajime had decided to throw away all suggestions that the internet gave him and go with his gut feeling with proposing: a nice home cooked dinner in the comfort of the apartment they had lived in since they graduated high school, and at the end he’d get down on one knee and ask the fabled question.

(Y/N) been at work all afternoon, and it had been a rough one. Customers go frustrated, coworkers not doing what they were supposed to, her boss “kindly” warning her of some things. It was practically the whole nine yards and all she wanted was for Hajime to hold and comfort her. The moment she opened the door, she almost slammed it closed as she walked inside. She quickly took off her shoes and dropped her bag at the door before heading towards the kitchen where she knew Hajime would be making dinner. The moment she saw him, he was already making his way towards her and immediately took her into his arms.

The moment Hajime heard the door open and slam shut, he knew something was wrong. He turned the stove off and started walking towards the door. He met her half way, his arms around her waist while hers were around his middle. She couldn’t help but tear up finally letting go of all the pent up stress the day had brought upon her.

Part of Hajime didn’t want to bring up the proposal, but part of him also wanted to make her feel better from it. And as the night wore on, he couldn’t help but sway back and forth between each decision. First, he managed to calm her down and make her feel better, but then he shortly forgot about the dinner and almost burnt it. Then, while dinner tasted great, he forgot to finish making the desert and (Y/N) had to help him. While he appreciated the help, he wanted this night to be for her. She deserved so much and no matter what he did, it just didn’t seem to be-

“Hajime.”

He flinched slightly as he felt (Y/N) hug him from behind. He offered to wash the dishes while she got a quick shower, and he didn’t realize how harshly he was scrubbing at a plate until (Y/N) got his attention. He had been so lost in thought all evening, more so all day than anything else, that it was really starting to catch up with him. He sighed, shaking his head. “Sorry.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to bother you with my problems.”

“That’s what couples are supposed to do.” (Y/N) smiled as she got a chuckle out of him. “And then they make you feel better again with distractions or solutions.” She let go of him, walking around to sit on the counter next to the sink. She was dressed in her robe, hair still wet, but she still looked as beautiful as ever in Hajime’s eyes.

“Well you, for sure, are a distraction, my love.” He smiled cheekily, moving to stand in between her legs and hold onto her waist while he kissed her gently. (Y/N) couldn’t help but smile into the kiss, pulling away first.

“Now, why don’t you tell me what’s wrong, and I’ll help you with whatever it is.”

Hajime stared at her for a second before taking a deep breath. “Okay.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the black box that held the ring. He didn’t need to open it as he saw (Y/N)’s eyes widen. She immediately felt herself tear up and held one hand to her mouth. Her eyes stayed trained on the box while his stared at her own. “It’s this that’s been troubling me.

“(Y/N), I’ve been in love with you for over 5 years, and I plan to never stop. We’ve been there for each other through so many pinnacle moments of our lives from when I lost my last high school game to when you finally stood up to your parents about what you were going to do with your life.” Hajime’s breath hitched a little as (Y/N) finally looked up to meet his eye. “I know that we’re going to have both hardships and great times together ahead of us, but as long as I have you getting me through it,” he smiled, starting to tear up. “I know that nothing can get between us.” Then he frowned, glancing down at the box himself.

“However, I know that I can’t always offer you the best that the world has to offer. Whether it be the house we stay in, the work lives we have, or even this ring.” He opened the box, starting to feel a small wave of embarrassment. “I’m always afraid that who I am and what I have to offer may never be enough for you someday, but damn it I will always try to be.”

Hajime paused, feeling that if he went on any longer that he’d bore her or she’d make him stop. Instead, he took a deep breath and removed the ring from it’s box. “I know that it’s not a whole carat or fancy looking, but it’s all that I could afford, and I hope that you’ll accept it and me for the rest of your life.” He smiled, seeing as (Y/N) was doing the same despite the tears starting to fall. “So, (Y/N) (L/N), will you marry me?”

(Y/N) let out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding at first, and grinned wide. “Yes.” She nodded, pulling him in for a kiss. This time, it was Hajime who broke it first, sliding the ring onto her finger. She whispered.

“No matter if you're rich, poor, can give me nothing, or give me something, I will always love you Hajime Iwaizumi. And I will never trade you for someone else no matter what they do to try and persuade me.”

Hajime couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he leaned in close and kissed her again. “I’ll always love you, too, (Y/N) Iwaizumi.”

(Y/N) laughed softly, playing with the hairs on the back of his head as her hands rested there. “Oh, so it’s already decided that I’m taking your last name?”

He laughed as well. “I mean can you blame me? I don’t think Hajime (R/N) really fits. Unless you really think that the Iwaizumi name isn’t enough for you.” He smirked, enjoying how he got her laugh so hard at that.

“While I’d greatly agree for the sake of messing with you, it actually sounds perfect.” She smiled, eyes never leaving his. “As long as it’s from you, it’s enough.”

[nikibogwater]

A Shot in the Dark: Chapter One (Author’s Commentary)

(read the fic here)

General Notes:

(So I kind of stole this idea from my friend @unexpected-possibilities after she made an author’s commentary post on one of her fics, and I was like “Oh. Wait, I actually find this kind of stuff SUPER interesting to read." So...yeah, here’s mine for anybody who feels similarly lol)

I have been dying to write this kind of story pretty much since the completion of my second Wizards/ToA fic back in August, but it took me a while to suss out the plot. I generally try to keep my fics as canon-friendly as possible (not that I have anything against AUs, that’s just not a direction that I usually go in) so it was tricky to create a high-stakes adventure story that didn’t mess with canon too much. 

That being said, Chapter 1 is pretty chill, apart from the scene at the end. But it is incredibly important to the plot, because it sets up elements that will be very relevant later in the story. It also serves to re-establish the three-way relationship between Douxie, Archie, and Nari, which will give their interactions in the future chapters more weight. 

One last general note before we get to the passage-specific stuff: The song “Protector” by City Wolf has always been my go-to theme for the Douxie-Archie-Nari relationship, but I think it really captures the feel of this story in particular (or at least, it will once the whole thing is posted lol). I’ve never associated a particular song with any of my other fics before, but this one really was a huge part of what inspired this story, so I highly recommend that you give it a listen, if you are so inclined.

Passage-Specific Notes:

Two pairs of luminous golden eyes were hovering uncomfortably close to his head and staring at him fixedly. Douxie yelped and threw off his covers, scrambling upright and fumbling for his magic vambrace nearby. A small green hand held it out to him politely, and after a bit of confused blinking, Douxie finally registered the faces of his companions. Nari and Archie were sitting on the floor next to his mattress, looking at him eagerly. 

Two short things: One: I had no idea how I was going to start this scene, and then I remembered that one Calvin and Hobbes strip where Calvin wakes up to find Hobbes hovering over him menacingly, and I was like “Yes, that will do nicely.” Two: I still have no idea what Douxie’s magic bracelet-thingy should technically be called, so I settled on vambrace. I know Merlin refers to it as a bracelet in the show, but Merl, I’m sorry, but you clearly know nothing about jewelry. That thing is NOT a simple bracelet. (Also I had to research the difference between bracers and vambraces in order to determine which word to use. Bracers are apparently protective gear that is exclusive to archery, while vambrace is a more general word for any kind of armor worn on the forearm).

“It’s also the day you promised to bring Nari to Central Park,” Archie informed him.

This is a callback to a previous entry in the series, Home Away From Home. Although each entry in the Immortal Bonds series is written in such a way that it can be enjoyed as a standalone, I do weave tiny threads of continuity throughout all of them.

Mornings for Nari looked very different than they used to, she realized as she set the kettle on the stove, stepping back so Archie could light it (due to her somewhat complicated relationship with Bellroc, she was still wary about anything that involved fire). As a demigoddess who had existed for hundreds of millenia, she had never had much experience with something as human as family domesticity.

The scene where Nari and Archie make Douxie’s tea was originally going to be much longer and feature a lot more introspection on Nari’s part (I even researched the British tea-making process for it, since I’m fairly certain Douxie is the one who taught her how to make tea). I was going to start exploring the idea that Nari is still insecure about her place in this little found family, but I realized after about three paragraphs that there’s no way Nari doesn’t know how much Douxie genuinely loves her--she is already proficient in reading his emotions at this point. So that’s an internal conflict for another day.

“Keep very still for me, Nari.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his aura flowing out and wrapping around her like a warm, familiar cloak. “Celare,” he murmured, and Nari felt a sharp tug on her spirit as the spell washed over it, cool and comforting like the shade of an old tree.

If you’ve read previous entries in this series, you know that I can wax poetic about the physical sensations of magic for DAYS. It is one of my favorite aspects of writing Tales of Arcadia fanfiction. Also Celare (kel-ahr-ay) is Latin for “Hide” or “Conceal.” I had to get outside help for this because I don’t speak Latin, and Google Translate is (as I found out) completely unreliable for even the simplest, single-word translations (it gave me the word for “clothe” when I used it 😑)

The first time she had walked the streets of New York City, Nari had been on the verge of tears. There were so many sensations assaulting her mind at once, the feeling of countless souls buzzing around, a crowd of spirits so thick that sometimes it felt like a wall. Even without tapping into her roots, she was drowning in a sea of tangling energies, as hundreds, even thousands of voices echoed in her soul all at once.

Oooooops, is that a parallel for Sensory Processing Disorder? Well, how did that get in there??? *shoves my own mental health issues under a rug with my foot* I have no clue.

This is probably as good a time as any to discuss auras vs. life energy. Basically, aura is the energy radiated by the presence of magic. Magical creatures who share close bonds can become very sensitive to one another’s aura, and because magic is so inextricably linked to emotion, Nari is able to read Douxie’s aura to pick up on whatever he’s feeling (though this is because she is extra sensitive to magical presence--Douxie is attuned to her aura, but he can’t read hers the way she can his). Life energy, meanwhile, is the energy given off by every living soul, magic or otherwise, and that’s what Nari is able to sense via her powers as a demigoddess. I sometimes interchange the word aura with spirit or soul or something similar, but if Douxie or Nari are sensing one another in any capacity apart from their actual physical senses, it’s their auras. Archie also has an aura, but it’s not as intense as that of a true magic-wielder.  

He was fashionably dressed, (“business casual,” the humans called it), with an elegant black trench coat hanging nonchalantly off of his arm. He had dark brown hair, handsomely trimmed and styled, just a bit shorter than Douxie’s, and was wearing a large pair of expensive-looking sunglasses. He looked thoroughly uninterested in the world around him, and had the appearance of someone who was waiting to meet up with a particularly tardy acquaintance. But Nari couldn’t sense that he was waiting. She couldn’t sense anything from this man. He emitted no life force, no aura or energy of any kind. He was like a standing, breathing corpse.

I have had this character floating around in the back of my mind since August, and I was just waiting for the opportunity to use him. Also fun fact, he was originally conceived as a sort of prototype for who I thought Mordred Le Fey would be in the ToA universe. But since canon is technically still ongoing and the ToA writers could still bring Mordred into the picture, I decided to adapt him into the original character Rivan (whose name will be properly revealed in the next chapter).

Beside her, Douxie’s aura was rippling with unease. But a moment later, his spirit stilled, and he put an arm around her to turn her away from the alley...

...A minute later, the crosswalk signal changed once more, and they continued on their way. Though Douxie’s spirit was radiating a placid energy, Nari couldn’t help noticing that he kept his arm around her for the rest of the journey.

It was important to me that Douxie not look like a complete idiot in this scene, which was a little difficult since this part isn’t told from his perspective. Homeboy absolutely knows better than to ignore something suspicious like this. But he is also acting as Nari’s brother/guardian in this scene, so he tries to play it off to keep her from worrying too much. He promised her a fun day in Central Park, and he’s not willing to bail on that just yet. But I’m hoping that the fact that he has to force his aura into a state of calm and physically holds Nari close to him as they walk are good indicators that he has gone on high alert.

And that’s a wrap for this week! Next Friday, all hell is gonna break loose, so definitely come back for that. If you have any questions/comments, definitely hit me up either in my Ask Box or over on Ao3. As always, thanks for reading! ✨💕

[bebecue]

disaster

Skater!Changkyun | Fluff | Student AU | 1.3k words

For my love, @chaekyunz - here’s your skater boy, Leti!

Green man, come on, green man, you plead at the red crosswalk light. I’m going to be late for my assessed lab. Please.

You had considered making a quick dash through the traffic, but had swiftly concluded that you’d meet your demise before making it to the other side. The cars pass by in a constant stream, making you envious about the fact that they are making more progress towards their destination than you are. You wait at the edge of the crosswalk, staring up at the unblinking red silhouette of a man, shifting your feet, getting more and more agitated by the second.

Your ears perk up at a curious sound coming from behind you - it sounds like small plastic wheels rolling continuously on concrete. A skateboard? The sound becomes louder at an alarming rate. You realize that whoever is riding it is approaching the intersection with no signs of slowing down.

Is this idiot really going to try to weave their way through this traffic?

“Oh fuck!”

The fear in the skateboarder’s voice, marked by the single expletive, along with their oncoming speed alerts you that something isn’t right. Within the blink of an eye, a figure in a grey hoodie passes by you in your peripheral vision. Going by instinct, your hand reaches out and it manages to grasp at something - the person’s hood. You yank at it, adrenaline fueling your newfound strength, and you pull the person wearing it down to the concrete along with you, preventing them from joining the stream of traffic and becoming roadkill.

Their skateboard, unfortunately, does not follow their momentum. You watch in horrified fascination as the board sails underneath the bodies of several cars as it makes its way across the busy road, but then breathe a sigh of relief when it reaches the other side of the crosswalk, its momentum halted by a traffic sign, unscathed. The pedestrians on the other side are mildly surprised by its sudden appearance, but otherwise step around it.

“Oh my god, thank you.”

Your head swivels towards the person on the ground next to you, and you realize your hand is still clutching their hood. You release it, your strength suddenly draining from you. That adrenaline rush was something else. 

The skateboarder stands, brushing at his sweatpants with his palms, and he offers a hand to help you up. You glance up at him, and your breath immediately catches in your throat.

Piercing dark eyes, framed by thick eyebrows, look down at you in a mixture of awe, and embarrassment. The end of his left eyebrow glints and holds your attention for a brief moment - it’s a piercing. Jet black hair peeks out from underneath his navy blue beanie, the ends curling up every so slightly. His lips are parted, as if he wants to say something, but he then closes them again, tightly, a single dimple forming on each of his cheeks.

Holy shit, he’s cute.

Still dazed, you take his hand, and he pulls you up with a soft grunt. The both of you stare at each other, unsure of what to say. After a tense moment of neither of you speaking, the skateboarder inhales sharply before he starts off.

“You saved my-”

The shrill stream of beeps that come from the traffic signals interrupt him, startling the both of you. The green man blinks rapidly across the street and suddenly, you’re pulled back to reality.

I’m going to be late!

You hastily check that you have all your belongings with you before you sprint across the crosswalk, much to the annoyance of the other pedestrians who try to avoid a collision with you.

“Hey, wait!”

You sprint the rest of the way to the other side of the road, out of harm’s way. You glance back at where you came from, and see grey hoodie guy waving at you. 

“I owe you!” he yells, his voice distorted by a stream of passing cars.

You’re about to reply, when you feel something nudge against your foot - it’s his board. You pick it up and prop it behind a nearby trashcan to prevent it from rolling away again.

You return his wave, before preparing yourself for more sprinting. “Yeah you do!”

---

“Oh god, oh god, oh god.”

You’re always like this, you reprimand yourself, pushing past people on the sidewalk.

“Excuse me, excuse me please!”

If this report is turned in late, you’re screwed. There goes your chance at a summer internship.

You’re about to push past and escape the crowd of people who had just gotten off a newly arrived bus, when something stops your momentum. You’re about to yell at whoever had the nerve to grab you when you see a familiar face. Well, vaguely familiar. 

“Uh… can I help you?”

The boy in the grey hoodie smiles at you, and the dimples forming on both his cheeks setting off something in your brain.

“You saved my life!” skater boy exclaims, still clutching your arm. You look at him, and see that his other hand is gripping his skateboard. “I still need to find a way to repay you. Hell, I don’t even know your name-” 

“Do you go to this university?” you ask, pulling him closer to you.

“I-uh, yeah?”

“Do you know where building M is?”

He nods, his brows furrowed.

“How fast can you get there?”

He grins, and you can see his eyes light up in excitement. “A minute, two tops.”

You glance at the time on your phone, then dig into your backpack and fish out your report, stapled and organized in its manila folder. 

“I need you to take this to room 514, and put it in the assignment box. Do it without getting run over. Can you manage that?”

He plucks the folder from your hand, and slings his backpack over his torso. He carefully places the folder inside, and zips it up.

He then smirks at you, his eyebrow raised. “Meet me there?”

You nod. “I’ll be behind you.”

---

As you walk out of building M, your chest and your shoulders feel a little lighter. Your head feels lighter too, probably due to the fact that you had been running on nothing but adrenaline and caffeine for the whole day.

You turn to the boy in the grey hoodie, who is just a couple of steps behind you, holding the door open for a post-grad student whose hands are busy juggling boxes of assignments.

He smiles at the student, who mutters a quick “thanks” before sprinting off to another building. You repress a sigh as you watch him. That’s going to be you, soon.

You stop and wait for hoodie boy, and he skips a little towards you, his skateboard under one arm.

You grin at him. “You saved my life. Thank you.” 

He raises his eyebrows at you, looking a little stunned. “I think I’m the one who should be saying that.”

You shrug, as you start to walk again. “Let’s just call it even?”

The boy is silent, as if contemplating on his answer. You catch a glimpse of the underside of his skateboard, and see a name, printed in block white letters on a black sticker.

“What do you say, Daniel? Let’s call it even?” you repeat, hoping he’ll agree with you.

He stops abruptly, making you halt in your tracks as well. He beams again, and those dimples make another appearance. A fluttering sensation blossoms in your stomach - you convince yourself that you’re just hungry.

“Call me Changkyun,” he replies, his voice low and smooth. You try not to swallow audibly. “We’ll call it even after I take you out for lunch. Are you hungry?”

You roll your eyes, but the smile tugging at the corner of your lips betrays you. “Starving.”

[chenqinglingkilledme]

wangxian mafia au???

so idk if i’m really going to continue this, since ik i lose interest in projects so quickly (and i love this au already and i sorta have an outline) 😭  but i want to leave this here, so i don’t forget about it and i’ll build up the motivation to finish it :)) (it’s unedited as well sooooooo ignore the mistakes)

Lan Wangji stepped up to the beginning of the crosswalk, waiting for the light signaling for him to be able to cross to turn white. As he waited, he looked up at the skyscrapers of Yunmeng. It had been years since he stepped foot in Yunmeng, and he wasn’t particularly thrilled to be here. He didn’t want his past to catch up with him, but at the same time, he did. What if he went straight instead and walked to the leading residence in Yunmeng, with the smell of lotuses he always loved because it reminded Lan Wangji of him? What if he ran into him on his way to his meeting-

No.

Lan Wangji needed to stop thinking about him. He let him go with good reason, he wasn’t going to go back now.

With thoughts of the past swept away, Lan Wangji stepped onto the crosswalk as he saw the flashing white light of the pedestrian sign go off. He checked his watch for the time. It wouldn’t bode well for him to be late to a meeting with the Lan’s prodigy client. He almost made it to the other side when he heard the sound of loud laughter right next to him. Familiar loud laughter.

Lan Wangji paused. He took a breath.

Do I even want to turn around? He kept thinking. He wasn’t aware that his body already decided for him.

And there he was. The object of his past. His everything.

Wei Wuxian walked past him, with his arms slung around, what looked like the young heir of Jiang Corps, Jiang Wanyin. Wei Wuxian must’ve said something ridiculous since the young Jiang heir was scowling and trying to shove his brother off. Wei Wuxian just laughed him off and ruffled his hair.

In another world, Lan Wangji would’ve called out for him, maybe hold him in his arms for a while, and then maybe go out and catch up after so many years apart. But in this world, Lan Wangji leads a dangerous life, where love was considered a weakness. Bringing Wei Ying back into it would only plant a target on his back again. Lan Wangji would not risk that.

Lan Wangji didn’t realize he was the only one in the middle of the road until someone yelled for him to cross. He quickly made his way to the other side and turned to look for Wei Wuxian again. Lan Wangji didn’t know himself to be a masochist, but he wanted to see that bright smile again.

He turned in time to see Wei Wuxian crash into the arms of a man slightly shorter than Wei Wuxian in a white dress shirt and pants, with a royal green suit jacket covering it. The man looked sophisticated on his own, with round-rimmed glasses perched on top of a sculpted nose. Lan Wangji felt a pang of something when he saw the shorter man’s eyes soften and his arms close around Wei Wuxian’s broader figure. Lan Wangji closed his eyes and turned away, walking to his next destination.

Lan Wangji didn’t come here to reminisce about a past that was out of reach after all.

__________________

Ao3 <3

~ jc

[gofordrakgo]

Dwelling Chapter Ten

“She threw back the curtain once more, to ask Drew how he felt about the tank-top, somewhat bemused by the way his blush had gotten darker each time she’d asked for his opinion. ‘Joan Jett,’ he said, with a nod, before she spoke. ‘Very cool.’ ‘If you’re saying it’s cool I probably shouldn’t believe it,’ she mocked. Instead of getting flustered, his eyes went wide. ‘You… you don’t know who she is?’ ”

Dwelling Summary

Dwelling Chapter One

Dwelling Chapter Nine

Dwelling Chapter Eleven

Drew informed her, minutes after they put the groceries away and left the apartment yet again, that she had about twelve dollars to buy clothes with. At least she’d remembered to plunk a toothbrush and some other cheap toiletries into the cart before they left the store. She couldn’t do much more than give a nod in response as she tried to mull over how much that would actually be worth.

Ever since she and her brothers had become Team Go her clothes had been designed specifically for her. Even her t-shirts and jeans, which she’d rarely gotten to wear before running away, had been sewn to her exact measurements. Her parents had been adamant that heroes needed to look presentable at all times, which meant wearing her brother’s hand-me-downs was no longer acceptable. They’d been furious when she put up a fight against her uniform being a dress instead of a one-piece like her brothers - they only relented when she pointed out that accidentally flashing a crowd of onlookers would look bad for the team. Shea personally thought that putting her in a flowery green and white dress looked bad for the team on its own. 

She had no idea how much her clothes were actually worth, but if she had to bet, the cuff of her sleeve probably cost more than what Drew was able to provide for an entirely new wardrobe. It wasn’t that she cared about getting the best clothes, but she did have to wonder if she’d be able to afford more than a t-shirt or two. 

“Are you even listening to me?” Drew asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. She’d been nodding along while he ranted and raved about… something.

She shrugged apologetically. “Not really.” She had stopped listening the moment he mentioned the money, too entangled in a vehement debate about how to politely ask how much twelve dollars would get her.

“Well, I was saying,” he snipped, “that we should wait until it starts getting cooler out to buy you a jacket. People donate nicer ones when they realize their children don’t fit into last years any more.”

“I’m not-”

“Teenagers still count as children of their parents, Shea.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets, his shoulders hunching as he added in a mutter, “That’s all I meant.”

“Fine, whatever,” she mumbled back, unsure of why she was getting more and more offended each time he called her a child. It hurt a little, in a way she couldn’t quite identify. Not that she assumed getting defensive and angry made her look particularly mature. 

She forced herself not to scuff her shoe along the pavement as they walked. The silence between them felt like a pressure pushing on her from all angles, worse somehow, than the silence of the apartment without him. His incessant babbling after he’d gotten back had become some sort of a comfort, especially after having been alone for most of the day. The whole walk back to the apartment after they’d gotten groceries he’d rambled about some new show airing on the cooking channel later that night, practically begging her to watch it with him. Then, while they put the groceries away, she’d listened to him babble on and on about how a bar by his school was advertising a karaoke night on Friday. She’d barely been able to get a word in, but she had actually listened to him the whole time. Of course, he only noticed her the one time she distracted herself.

She lingered behind a step, watching the way he shuffled his feet while he walked, and the way he fidgeted with a penny he’d pulled from his pocket. He must have been annoyed with her, she figured, to have fallen silent for longer than it took to pull in a breath. Did that mean she should apologize? Or was it on him to just get over it? She loathed her parents with a white-hot fury just then… or, well, green-hot, really. If they hadn’t pulled her from school and every other social activity she’d been in as a child, maybe she would have known the answer to that. Maybe it wouldn’t have even been a question.

Even if she should apologize, she couldn’t force the words out without feeling insincere. She wasn’t all that sorry, truth be told, she just didn’t want him to be angry with her. Which was ridiculous. Normally she delighted in pissing people off - granted they were perverted creeps or weirdos who really thought the entire population of the city should bend to their will. Instead of speaking she slipped back into her place beside him and after a few more steps, snatched the penny from his hand. 

“Hey!” Drew protested immediately, trying to grab it back.

Mockingly she asked, “Does the school normally give you your allowance in coins?”

“It’s not an allowance it’s - nngh! Give that back!”

Ignoring him, she tossed the coin into the air. He tried to catch it, managing only to swipe fruitlessly at empty air as the coin landed heads-up in her palm.

“Heads, you have to answer any question I ask,” she said, showing him the coin. He reached for it again, and she slipped it between her fingers as she pulled it away.

“No way!” He shook his head, his hair bouncing. “I’m not agreeing to that.”

“Aw come on, Drew.” She nudged his arm with hers’ gently. “Humor me.”

“Humor yourself,” he muttered. She stared, unblinking at him until he looked at her. “Nn - fine! Just… You have to agree to answer questions when it lands on tails, first.”

“Wanna play would-you-rather?” Shea offered, as she realized he’d probably utilize her saying yes to ask for her last name. Which, if he did, she’d have to hit him for. She didn’t love the idea of that - he’d probably start crying again or something, and she didn’t think she could deal with it.

“I don’t see why not,” he sighed. 

Shea grinned at him, then looked around to find inspiration for her first question. “Would you rather,” she began slowly, as a small bakery caught her eye, “be an average, unknown scientist, or a world-renowned baker?”

Drew hummed in thought, running his hand through his hair. “As a scientist, I’d have no way of making myself known? I wouldn’t do anything significant?”

“You could help someone do something, but you couldn’t do it yourself. And you could never get recognized for your help.”

“Well, I’d like to be a scientist, but given the parameters… World-renowned baker.”

“So, what you’re saying is, you’re in it for the attention?” she teased, nudging his arm again. 

“No! I just— I’d like to do something that’s worth it, you know? Something that will actually make a difference. And if I can’t do that as a scientist, at least I could as a baker.” Jokingly he added, “The attention is just a perk.”

“I don’t think I believe that.” 

“Believe what you want.” Drew shrugged and pointed to a shop across the street. “That’s where we need to be.”

While they waited for the crosswalk signal to change, Shea flipped the coin again. “Heads. Would you rather… cook breakfast foods or dinner foods?” The question sounded stupid even in her head, but it was the best she could think up on the spot. It was her fault for asking him to play this game. She could have gotten away with pestering him about his past if she hadn’t been so scared of him trying to dig into hers. 

Drew still mulled it over, as if it were worth the effort to think about. “Dinner, I suppose. Mostly because I have time to cook decent meals for dinner. I normally have to leave too early for a good breakfast. And besides, I can explore more options with dinner.” 

“I need better questions,” she muttered while they crossed the street. 

“Flip the coin again, maybe it’ll be my turn to ask.” Much to her disappointment, it landed on tails. While she was struggling to come up with anything worthy of asking, she worried more about what he might ask her. She expected something goading her into telling him her last name, or an equally unanswerable question. Instead, he asked, “Would you rather drink an entire gallon of iced tea, or eat an entire watermelon in one sitting?” The words left his mouth before she could properly manage to tell him the coin had landed on tails. Surprised by the question, she started to laugh.

“I’ll go with the watermelon, I guess.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “I’m just not a huge fan of iced tea. I like it and all, just not enough to drink an entire gallon.” There had only been one iced tea that she could have drank an entire gallon of, and ever since the comet struck her mother refused to make it. She’d tried to remember the exact mixture, but the times she managed to sneak the supplies into Go Tower, it had never turned out quite right.

“My father, when I was a child,” Drew said, as he held the door open for her, “used to bring home a watermelon on the last day of school every year. We’d eat the whole thing that night, as proof summer had begun.”

“I bet you were the kind of kid who got scared and cried about how a watermelon was going to grow in your stomach if you accidentally swallowed a seed.”

“I was not! I mean– nngh! I was four!” 

“I knew it,” she laughed, slipping past him to step inside. Her eyes widened as she took in the interior of the building. 

A bell above the door rang as Drew closed it. He chuckled quietly as he saw her expression, and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Welcome,” he said imitating a game show host, “to the wonderful world of thrift stores.” Stuffed into one corner was a stack of movies that rivaled hers and Drew’s combined. Next to it was shelves full of books that made her want to sit down and read every single one, and made her all the more grateful for Drew’s library card. Knick knacks and toys lined the back wall. The rest of the building was filled up with rows and rows of donated clothes.

“That was terrible,” she said, turning to look at him. A billboard on the wall next to the door caught her eye. 

“Thank you. Now, come on,” he urged, nudging her forward. “Your size is going to be over here. 

“Wait!” Shea brushed Drew’s hand off her shoulder and pointed out, “Job advertisements. Maybe somebody needs a dog walker or babysitter or something.”

Drew glanced behind him, and when his gaze shot back to hers she thought he looked oddly panicked, the way he had during the movie before he freaked out. With unexpected speed and force his hand smacked back down on her shoulder. “Don't— Don't worry about that right now,” he said in a rush, jolting her back around and shoving her forward. “Next time, maybe. I um… I have to get back and do work, so let’s hurry it up.”

“Yeah, but—” She started to protest, but Drew interrupted her with an almost urgent, “Not now.”

She threw her hands up, stepping out of range of his insistent shoving. “Fine! Jeez. I was just hoping to pitch in, you know.”

Drew made a strangled sort of sound. “And I do appreciate the sentiment, but if we could get going!” 

With a huff, Shea made her way over to the section he’d pointed her towards. “What’s got you so grumpy?” She muttered under her breath. 

He either didn’t hear her or decided to ignore her. “Pick out anything you want. There are dressing rooms over there. Just be sure to check the price tag. I’d suggest avoiding anything that costs more than fifty cents, but sometimes you can convince them to bring the price down.”

“I’d like to see you trying to haggle,” Shea scoffed. In truth, she could picture it pretty easily. After all, it had only taken one flash of his dopey grin and she’d agreed to watch some lame cooking show with him. 

He shrugged at her. “I got… um, something, from here for less than a dollar. It was worth eight. I’ve got my ways.” When he winked at her - more smooth than she ever would have expected from him - she felt her stomach twist in a strange way - a way she couldn’t decide if she liked or disliked. 

She gave his arm a swift punch. She hadn’t meant for it to hurt, but he yelped, wincing, and she took that to mean she’d probably hit him harder than she meant to. She needed to watch her strength, she decided, before she hurt him too badly.

“Something?” She teased anyway, “Real specific, Drew. Not at all suspicious.” He grunted and shot a glare in her direction but otherwise didn’t respond. 

She couldn’t tell if it was force of habit or the knowledge that it looked best on her, but she found herself gravitating towards anything green. She plucked shirt after shirt off the racks, examining them.

“Oh, that’s perfect for you,” Drew laughed, as she pulled out a t-shirt bedazzled with a large purple butterfly and tiny colorful little flowers. 

Sticking her tongue out she faked like she was going to be sick and nearly threw the shirt back onto the rack. “Am I really that small that kids stuff is going to fit me?” She asked without meaning to. 

“Drat!” He exclaimed. “I meant to make you eat some food before we came here.”

She’d all but forgotten about the hunger working a pit into her stomach and the temptation to hit him, for real, came on as strong as the hunger pangs did. “I’m not that little,” she decided, grumbling to herself.

Drew shook his head. “Yes, you are. You wouldn’t be if you’d eat food.”

“I eat!”

“Not enough, clearly! You look like nobody has fed you in years! You’re all bone!”

“I’m just not normally hungry!”

“You’re eating two servings of dinner tonight, at least, since I forgot to make you have a proper lunch.”

“Fine! As long as it’s good.”

“I’m making cantaloupe fruit salad,” he teased, then sighed as she glared at him. “Chicken fried rice sound better?”

“Much.”

“It’s not the most nutritious meal, but it’s cheap. And easy to make.”

With a snort, Shea started walking in the direction of the dressing rooms, figuring the stack of clothes split between her arms and Drews was more than enough. “I didn’t think you’d be into easy to make meals.”

“Oh, it isn’t easy to make because of me,” he said. Something about his tone made her pause, and she turned slowly to face him. 

“I’m not helping,” she stated, shaking her head. “Nuh-uh, no way.”

“Come on, Shea! Everyone should know how to cook. I’ll teach you.”

“I don’t need to be taught how to burn down a building!”

“It’s easy and I’ll be right there the entire time in case something goes wrong!”

“Yeah, and you’ll be right there fighting over the toilet when we both end up with food poisoning. Not happening.”

“You know you already helped me with the first step.”

“What? No, I didn’t.”

Drew hummed affirmatively, “Did too. You helped buy the ingredients! So, now we both know none of it has gone bad yet, which means you can learn to cook.”

“I’m not doing it,” she insisted one final time, snatching the clothes from Drew’s arms and marching into the small closet-sized room to try them on before he could argue. 

After half a dozen t-shirts were discarded on the floor with increasing amounts of annoyance, she heard a knock on the wall. “Having trouble choosing or did you get stuck?” Drew’s disembodied voice teased from behind the curtain.

“I’m too small to get stuck,” Shea grumbled, glaring at her body in the mirror. He was right. She’d never really noticed, with how much her parents shoved the idea of the perfect image in her face, but she really was just… far too skinny. Two pairs of jeans, the smallest ones she’d found, both dangled far too loosely around her hips, and the only other pair had slipped right off when she’d finished buttoning them. One t-shirt had been so baggy she looked like a child wearing their parents’ clothing, another had clung to her skin, showing off every rib and ridge of her spine. Something wasn’t right and she knew it, she just couldn’t explain why.

The pit in her stomach seemed to grow, for reasons far beyond hunger. Her parents had done something to her. They had to. Or maybe those creeps at the lab where she had woken up and lived for seven months of her life after becoming a glowing freak had done something. 

She was tempted to put her own clothes back on, and tell Drew to keep his money but tears started welling up in her eyes at the thought, and she knew if she actually said it he’d know she was upset. She swiped at her eyes and chucked another shirt - this one with long sleeves that dangled down like loose skin on her boney arms - into the growing stack of discarded clothing.

Another knock on the wall and Drew asked, “Shea? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she snapped, snatching up a black tank top from the few shirts left for her to try.

“What’s wrong? You sound upset.”

Shea dragged in a deep, breath, forcing herself to calm down before she snapped at him again and made things worse. At least the tank-top, while still awkwardly too big on her, didn’t actually look horrible. It just looked like it was a little too big. Drews’ clothes didn’t fit right either, some part of her brain reminded which was dumb but a little comforting. She sniffled a bit, and wiped at her eyes again, reaching for a green and black flannel. 

“I’m fine,” she repeated. “Just a lot to try on.”. She thought maybe the bagginess of the flannel wasn’t so bad if she left it unbuttoned. It still looked like she was borrowing someone else’s clothes but… She smirked to herself, as she imagined how the flannel kind of looked like it could have been snagged from a boyfriend, rather than from her dad. That wasn’t so bad, she decided. Girls stole their boyfriends’ clothing all the time, didn’t they? Maybe people would assume she was one of those girls instead of a super- ex-superhero - wondering if her genetics had been tampered with to keep her nauseatingly skinny permanently. 

“Found anything you like yet?” Drew called quietly, clearly trying not to upset her again. 

“Yeah, I guess so.” She spun around trying to get a good look at herself in the mirror. With a sigh, she yanked the too-big jeans up with one hand and pushed the curtain to the side with the other. “How does this look?” she asked before she could convince herself not to. 

Drew audibly gulped, as he looked her up and down. “Looks– looks good,” he stammered. She raised an eyebrow at him and he averted his gaze, the tips of his ears turning pink. “We can get you a belt so you don’t have to hold those up all the time. There’s a ton to choose from.”

“Okay,” she said, admittedly a bit confused by his weird reaction– was he just trying to get her to hurry up? She rolled her eyes at the weak smile he sent over his shoulder and shut the curtain again as he turned away, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

She found three more shirts that she liked, and another tank top with the words, “I love rock and roll” in messy graffiti-style print on the front. It wasn’t much but could get her through a week for now. 

She threw back the curtain once more, to ask Drew how he felt about the tank-top, somewhat bemused by the way his blush had gotten darker each time she’d asked for his opinion.

“Joan Jett,” he said, with a nod, before she spoke. “Very cool.”

“If you’re saying it’s cool I probably shouldn’t believe it,” she mocked.

Instead of getting flustered, his eyes went wide. “You… you don’t know who she is?��

“Drew, my parents got mad at me for reading books. I wasn’t exactly allowed a radio.”

“But you were allowed a television? How does that make any sense?”

She glanced around and grabbed the front of his shirt. He yelped, stumbling as she pulled him into the small room with her. She shut the curtain behind him.

“What are you–”

“My parents gave me a television to watch horror movies on to train me not to let this,” she explained in an almost angry whisper as she lifted one glowing hand up to his face - he pressed himself flat against the back wall, wide-eyed, “flare-up every time I got scared.”

“Oh,” he squeaked out. “I– I’m… Sorry. I– We– I have some of her music on tape. We can…” His shocked expression faded into a small, nervous, smirk as her hand dropped back to her side. “We can listen while we cook dinner.” She realized then how close she had been standing to him. Unnecessarily close, even in the cramped space. She’d had another half foot to step back, and yet she’d decided to take up as much of his personal space as she could. 

“You mean while you cook dinner,” she snipped and gave him a shove back out of the room.

“Not if you expect a meal I don’t,” she heard Drew mutter.

“Says the guy freaking out about the fact that I didn’t eat a big enough lunch.”

He didn’t respond until she walked out, back in her old clothes. “Got everything you need, chef?”

“Don’t start that,” she warned. “And no. Belt, remember?” 

“Don’t start what?” he asked, feigning innocence as he grabbed her elbow to steer her in the right direction. 

“You know what!”

“Well, why not? You are the one cooking tonight, after all.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Four brothers, Drew. I can do this a lot longer than you can. I am not.” Actually, she was usually the first to quit those kinds of nonsensical arguments, quick to turn the fight physical, but he didn’t need to know that. He fell silent again, and she could only hope that was the end of it. 

Drew helped her sift through the belts, pulling ones at random to offer to her. Well, helped was generous. More than anything he picked up the gaudiest, awful belts he could find - a pink one with plastic rhinestones, a Mighty Martian belt, which she was surprised he cared that it was for kids enough to leave behind - she wasn’t even sure he was actually offering them to her, or just offering them up for her to laugh at. Which she found herself doing more earnestly with each terrible fashion choice he showed her, especially once he gave in and began laughing along with her.  

“Look at this one,” he called. She peered around the rack as he flashed a faux-snakeskin belt at her. On its own, she could have seen the appeal, but the previous owner had apparently taken the liberty of tie-dying it with purples and yellows and reds that made her loath having eyes.

“That is…” The word ‘repulsive’ died on her tongue and she pushed him aside, a neon green belt catching her eye. 

“Find something you like?” He chuckled, evidently not at all upset at being shoved. She nodded absently, pulling the belt down. Another came with it. When she made to pry them apart she realized they were meant to be a package deal. The green one that caught her eye was completed with a black buckle, and the slightly larger one attached was a perfect inverse. 

She debated putting them back, but decided against it, wrapping the green one around her waist. 

She glanced up at Drew. “Thoughts?”

“I think you like green.”

“Yeah, kinda got a flare for it,” she joked, immediately hating herself for it.

“That was terrible,” he said, though his laughter belied him. “But the belt works. You should get it.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, “but it’s three dollars cause it’s a package deal. See?” She showed him the other belt.

He shrugged. “So, I’ll get the price down. And take that belt. I could always use more.”

Something in her stomach flipped at the thought of wearing matching belts, but she found it wasn’t because the idea particularly bothered her. She shrugged back and tossed the belts into his arms.

“I guess we’re done then?” Shea asked. Drew nodded and she gave his shoulder a pat. “Let’s see you work that charm, bargain-boy.”

“No, no, no! Stop that. Don’t start calling me things like that.”

“Aw, but it’s so much fun. Is barter-boy better?”

“Nngh! Shea! Just–” Drew sputtered out a series of incoherent sounds at her, until a strangely calm look took over his face. “Would you rather… have to cook dinner with me tonight or stop calling me things like that?”

“You didn’t flip the coin, dork.”

“Just answer it!”

“Does calling you a dork count?”

He sighed, running a hand through his messy flop of hair. “I suppose not.”

“Then I’d rather stop calling you things like that. Cause I’m not cooking.”

Drew hummed innocently. “If you say so. Let’s go.”

Straightening his glasses, he took the bundle of clothes from her arms, placing them gently on the desk of the cashier, an older woman who glanced up at him through glasses almost as thick as his. Her wrinkled face shifted into a smile as she saw him. 

“Drew,” the woman croaked happily. “How lovely to see you again, dearie!”

“It’s lovely to see you too, Lorraine,” Drew replied. “How have you been these last few weeks?”

“Busy, busy,” she laughed, glancing around the near-empty building. “Not that you would guess right now. I’ve missed the company of good boys like you. Where have you been?”

“Busy myself,” Drew said. “Summer courses have just ended, and now the fall semester has just begun.”

“Did you ever find yourself a roommate to split the cost of that apartment of yours?”

Drew pulled her by the shoulder to stand next to him, and she smiled awkwardly at the old woman. “This is Shea,” he introduced. “She’s taken the second room” 

The woman, Lorraine, squinted at her, looking her up and down scrutinizingly. The woman hummed, seeming displeased. 

“A girl, Drew? Are you sure that’s appropriate?”

“We share entirely separate rooms,” he assured her, adding with a shrug, “I’m sure you understand how I couldn’t possibly leave her on the streets.” 

“You always are such a good boy, Drew,” Lorraine chortled. “Nice to meet you, darling.”

The woman didn’t offer her a hand to shake and Shea didn’t offer hers either. “Likewise,” she managed tersely. Drew squeezed her shoulder. She could only assume he intended to convey some sort of message, and she stared up at him, hoping for some help understanding it.

Lorraine looked back to Drew as Shea floundered to figure out what he wanted her to say or do. “I take it you found everything you needed, Drew?”

“We actually came to find clothes for her,” he explained. “I don’t think she’d be particularly fond of having to continue wearing my t-shirts.”

“Well, I should think not. She’s quite the little thing.” Being talked about like she wasn’t there shouldn’t have been comforting, but a sense of normalcy washed over her nonetheless. 

“We tried to stay within a twelve dollar budget but… Well, I needed a new belt as well. We grabbed that joint pack, but even that puts us out of our price range…”

“Drew, I never mind giving you a deal, you know that. But most of this isn’t for you, it’s for her.” Lorraine’s tone held none of the grandmotherly affection towards her as it did towards him, and she found herself simultaneously wanting to step away and stuck where she was.

She settled on looking down, muttering, “I can put things back.” She’d be content to put everything back if she’d stop watching her. She couldn’t decide if she was more freaked out by the idea that the woman would suddenly realize who she was, or by how much the way the woman eyed her reminded her of her mothers constant commentary on her every move, be it how she threw a punch in a fight or how she ran six miles instead of seven during morning warm-ups. 

“How did you meet Drew?” Lorraine suddenly asked her.

Shea found herself stammering before answering as honestly as she thought worth it, “I met him at a bus stop.”

“Are you homeless?”

“If he decides to take away my key, then yes.”

“What are you going to do if he does?”

“I’m not going to,” Drew cut in, looking almost as flustered as she felt. She didn’t particularly appreciate being interrogated over bargain bin clothing. 

“Do you contribute to the financial situation?”

“Well, I was going to look at the job advertisement when we came in,” she grumbled. 

Drew squeezed her shoulder again, far more gently than the first time. “She helps with pretty much everything else, including my work, so yes, in a way she does.”

“That’s quite nice. But I am still curious as to what you would do if he did ask you to leave… Darling?”

Shea’s stomach twisted at the idea. She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “Then I leave. If he really wanted me gone, then I’d leave.”

“Are you quite happy with having her live with you, Drew?”

His brow furrowed as he watched the woman, the familiarity and comfort gone from his expression. “I– yes?” His gaze darted to her, and she stared up at him, silently begging him to just forget the clothes so they could leave. “I wouldn’t have asked you to stay if I didn’t want you to.”

Shea couldn’t help but look away, stuffing her hands into her pockets as she felt her face heat up. 

When she next spoke, Lorraine’s voice had gone back to the voice of a bubbly sweet old lady. “Very good, very good,” she crooned as if she’d just witnessed a spectacular show. “How much of this can you afford, dears?”

Drew blinked, clearly as stunned as she was at the sudden switch. “Twelve dollars worth,” he answered, almost robotically. 

“How about this dear; you give me eight for all this and spend the leftover on ice cream cones for the two of you, while it’s still warm outside? My treat for such a sweet couple.” 

Shea opened her mouth to point out that they weren’t a couple, but Drews nudge - because she couldn’t justify calling something so weak a kick - to her shin told her loud and clear to shut up. 

“Are you sure, Lorraine?” Drew asked, pulling the bills from his wallet. “I couldn’t possibly ask you to drop the price so low.” 

“Don’t you argue with me, Drew Lipsky,” Lorraine lectured, waggling a finger between them. “A sweet boy like you doesn’t often find a girl like her. You take care of her and don’t you ever let her go.”

Shea couldn’t believe the woman hadn’t noticed she was green, with how flushed her face felt. Drew, though she could see the tips of his ears turning pink through his hair, was playing it much cooler than she felt. 

“If you insist,” he laughed, passing over the eight dollars. “We’ll even get double scoops, as an extra thank you to you.”

“That’s my good boy. Lovely to meet you, sweetie!” She waved at them as Drew pulled her out the door, shifting with her to block her view of the billboard on their way. He waved back at the old woman and Shea reluctantly did the same.

“Fifteen dollars worth of clothes,” Drew stated as he passed one bag over to her, “for eight. I told you I had my ways.”

“You have one way,” she protested, laughing, “and that’s being a suck-up.”

“It worked, didn’t it?”

She rolled her eyes, nudging his shoulder with hers. “Thanks for the clothes. Although, a heads up about the questioning would have been nice.”

“I didn’t expect that either,” he told her. “I’ve never seen her like that.”

“Well, of course, you haven’t you’re such a sweet boy,” she teased. 

He glared at her. “Yes, well. Oh,” he exclaimed suddenly, breaking into a grin, “guess what?”

“What?” She asked hesitantly.

“Are too,” he stated simply.

It took her a moment to realize that he was talking about her cooking dinner with him again - enough time that he’d slipped out of range for her to hit him. “I am not,” she protested yet again. “If I’m going to burn down your apartment I assure you it won’t be by accident.”

“You’re going to help if you want a double scoop!”

“Are you… are you really planning on using that money to get ice cream?”

“I promised I would,” he said, shrugging as he fell back in step with her.

“What a sweet boy,” Shea teased again.

“Be quiet before you get no ice cream at all.”

Stifling a laugh, she mimed zipping her lips shut. 

He found her silence worse than her teasing. By the time they made it back to the apartment, he had practically begun to beg her to talk again. 

She smiled at him but didn’t say anything until he said, halfway up the stairs, “Will you talk to me again if I say you don’t have to help cook?”

She didn’t pause to consider as she blurted out, “Sure.”

Drew barked out a laugh, “You spoke! And I didn’t actually promise anything yet! You still have to help.”

He sprinted through their door as she lunged at him, and didn’t stop until he reached the kitchen, clearly prepared to run no matter which direction she came at him from.

She almost gave in and chased him, but the thought of what she would do when she caught him - which she knew was absolutely nothing except tell him again that she would do anything but cook - gave her pause. Instead, she smiled with false calm and composure and sat down on the couch. 

“Food poisoning will work well enough.”

“You’re not going to give me food poisoning!”

She turned her deliberately creepy smile back towards him. “Oh,” she chuckled darkly, “yes, I will.”

Drew paled but didn’t waver as he repeated once more that she was helping him cook and that was that. Damn him. She should have given in and chased him. At least cornering him would have given her something more satisfying. She forced herself to keep up the act, leaning back against the couch to shoot one final eerie smile in his direction.