#My second mistake was deciding he was chill and snarky

[libertys-lovers]

*Sigh~*

Looks like the Rock-Type grunt from GO Rocket has officially made it onto the Romantic F/O list!! I’ve decided to dub him as “Hornfels” Henry, so if I mention a Henry, that’s him 😎👍

I’ll probably go off about the personality I’ve summoned for him sometime, but for now… just look at him ☺️

[bakugou-tm]

Gangster AU ║Bakugou K.

Bakugou K.│Kirishima E.│Kuroo T.│Rin O.│Akabane K. │Tōru O.

plot: Trying to fix your brother’s mistake, you’re forced to do favors from one of Musutafu’s notorious mafia lords: Yo Shindo. On your second mission for the mafia leader, you catch another infamous mafia lord’s eye but not in the way you’re expecting.

part two part three part four

warnings: swearing, club atmosphere, groping, violence

wc: 5500+

mood song: toxic

a/n: You all asked, therefore I shall give the people what they want 😌 I figured since I’m writing for other characters now I would do one for each so stay tuned for the others. Hope you enjoy this asshole as a mafia leader -3-

How did you even get here. Why were you even here? You shouldn’t have been trying squeezing through a crowd of extremely intoxicated people on a Friday night, holding a bag of god knows what sort of illegal substance.

Typically you would be at home, cuddling with your giant ass baby golden doodle and watching an anime that your friends have been begging you to finish already with a box of pizza and lemonade.

Okay yeah that may have been a bit too specific, but only because that’s exactly what you were doing last Friday night when your brother came in with a panicked expression. 

“Did you wreck your car again? I’m not giving you crap this time you already owe me so much.” You said with a dull expression as you took a sip from your bottle.

The thing that scared you was that your brother didn’t have his usual snarky or pleading response back, there was only silence and heavy breathing.

Glancing back to him you raised a brow, your heart rate slowly going up as you let the fear in his face sink in, “Kiyoshi... what did you do-”

You couldn’t even manage to get the final word of your sentence out before the sound of heavy footsteps came down the hall of your apartment, followed by two large men holding the largest guns you’ve ever seen in your life.

“Well well, so this is where you ran off to.” A voice spoke, smooth as satin.

Scrambling back on the edge of your bed your eyes widened, watching as a fairly tall man stepped from the two large men. His gentle brown eyes and calm smile betrayed the actual menacing atmosphere he had created.

His sharp eyes fell on you before he glanced back at your brother.

“I knew you were a coward, but to bring your girlfriend into this?”

Your eyes widened at that letting out a snort which you immedietly regreted as all eyes fell on you.

“Gross I’m not his girlfriend, I’m his sister.” You snapped. Somehow even in a life or death situation you were able to feel disgust from that statement.

“Sister? Even better!” The man said with a crooked grin as if this was the most amusing situation he’s been in.

“L..Look I’m sorry man! My boys and I.. we didn’t realize we were on your side of town!” Your brother stuttered, the more he explained the more you wanted to face palm. 

How could he be such an idiot? All of the time?

“Is that so Kiyoshi (L/n)” The man spoke cooly, the sound of your last name being said sent chills through your body, “That’s why you specifically decided steal my shipment of pop rocks from all three of my boy’s cars?”

Now you couldn’t help yourself. Clenching your fists in your sheets you growled out your brother’s name, eyes narrowed at him as he looked to you with just as much fear.

The tall man simply chuckled at you, the look in his eye almost sincere. Almost.

“It must be a pain having such a troublesome brother isn’t it Miss (L/n)...” The man spoke while stepping towards you making you shift back uncomfortable before he snatched your hand away from your chest and placed a cold kiss on your palm, “The name is Yo Shindo by the way doll.”

Snatching your hand away you quickly slid off your bed to be further away from him until his two body guards of sorts lifted their guns causing you to freeze.

That sight was surely amusing to Yo Shindo.

“You know Kiyoshi (L/n), you’re a lucky boy~” Shindo spoke smoothly, his eyes never leaving your form as he smirked, “I think I’ve found the perfect way for you to pay back what you have stolen from me.”

Your brother looked up with wide eyes, his fearful gaze meeting your own before he tried to move to Shindo, only to be held back by one of his guards.

“L..Listen I don’t want any trouble! I’ll get my boys to give the drugs back and we’ll forget we ever saw a thing! I swear it!”

Shindo simply rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue as he glanced back to the boy, “Don’t make me laugh boy, I think we both know it’s far too late for that..”

Biting at your lip nervously you felt your body freeze once again when his eyes met your own, “Those drugs should have been shipped off five hours ago, surely my men are paying for those consequences now so that means I will require a different payment from you.”

Shindo sauntered forward, his fingers delicately dancing across your jaw before he ran his fingers through your locks that were tied up at the moment.

“She will do.”

Blinking you stepped away, not even meaning to especially with two strapped men standing in the room.

“E..Excuse me? I will not-”

The feeling of a warm finger pressed against your lips silenced you, you blinked up to the man who smirked down to you at your little “fit”.

“Quiet doll, I’m not keeping you for that sort of stuff, do I play you as a pervert hm?” The man questioned, all you could do was blink in response as he still hadn’t removed his finger, “No dear you’re going to be my little assistant for the week, fulfilling every quest I wish.”

The feeling of his fingers against your chin caused you to grit your teeth, the entire situation kicking your ass way out of your comfort zone.

“And if I don’t?”

The next sound sent chills through your entire body. His horrendous laughter filled the air, the worst part is it was a genuine laugh too. This man really thought your fear and reluctance was funny.

“Dear you really do make me laugh, quite the catch of a sister here you have Kiyoshi,” Shindo said before bending down to be eye level with you, “It’s simple love, if you don’t do as I say then I can’t guarantee your brother’s safety these next few days. Or hours! Hell even minutes.”

You blinked back in surprise, your eyes rimming with warm tears as you glanced to your brother. Why couldn’t he have just been a priest? Or a business man? Hell he could’ve worked at freaking McDonalds for all you cared.

He just really couldn’t escape trouble.

Inhaling your eyes fell on your brother, the seriousness in your face bringing a new fear through him as you grit your teeth, “You owe me idiot.”

Shindo practically giggled at that, his eyes excited and almost hungry as he looked down to you with a grin before you glared up to him.

“What do I have to do?”

So here you were. Day seven of this sinful man’s week of requests. Supposedly this was supposed to be your last task, but it was also the most dangerous of them all. The fact that you were even putting a grain of trust in this man deemed you a crazy woman, but what other choice was there?

Honestly you weren’t surprised when he told you the final task. Go find the receiver that didn’t get their delivery last week thanks to your stupid brother at a popular club downtown. After all the shit you went through this week, you didn’t even care.

But of course Shindo wasn’t going to make any part of this easy.

“Don’t forget doll if you take this earpiece out-”

Rolling your eyes you snatched it from him, his face lighting up at your attitude as you shoved it in your ear, “I know I know, you’re gonna kill my brother.”

Shindo pretended to wipe away a fake tear, sneering down to you as he led you down the hall of his headquarters.

“She’s all grown up boys, it’s a shame I’ll never see you past tonight.”

Walking along with him you turned the corner and huffed, a sure shame it will be.

“Anyways, here’s your outfit for the night. Once you get dressed my driver will take you to the venue. Once you’re finished throw the ear piece in the water and you’re a free woman again!”

Half of that went in one ear and out the other when you saw the dress before you. The bright red color wasn’t too bad, the only problem was there was barely any fabric at all. The satin dress had an extremely low neckline that bunched in the front, the rest of the dress looked like it would fall barely below the curve of your ass. And the right side of the dress? Somehow had a slit up to your waist, it was barely being held together by then diamond covered straps. And to top it off a thick diamond choker.

“Are you serious?” You hissed while glaring up to the man.

“No need to thank me doll, I’ll even let you keep the dress after this for all your hard work this week.” Shindo said with a proud grin.

Deadpanning at him you snatched the dress from the hanger and stomped towards the bathroom that was being held open by one of his clan members.

“Great can’t wait to wear it to church next week.” You hissed before slamming the door shut, leaving Shindo to only chuckle as he walked away with his men.

Honestly the dress felt just as comfortable as it looked. You kept an iron grip on the clutch in your hand that contained whatever substance this guy wanted, cause if this thing dropped there would be no way of retrieving it without the entire club seeing your ass.

Luckily everyone at the club seemed to be so far gone everyone just let you brush by as you looked for the buyer. For now you felt almost safe knowing you were another face in the crowd.

If only you knew you had caught the eye of someone who was even more dangerous than the drug lord you were serving in that very moment.

Crimson eyes followed your scantily clad body through the crowd as if there was a beaming light following your figure. As soon as you entered the club it was like an unnecessary light filled the room.

The man wasn’t the only one who noticed, his gang members behind him were the first to say something.

“I bet that’s her boss, there’s no question about it.” His right hand man said behind him, his own similar crimson eyes following your figure as you talked to one of the security guards just beside the door.

The blond haired leader narrowed his eyes at you, nodding in response as his lips curved up ever so slightly.

“They really have Kiyoshi’s sister being their guinea pig huh? Poor girl looks scared out of her mind.” His bright blond haired member said with a chuckle.

And of course he wasn’t wrong. To all of the drunk idiots below him on the first floor you were just another girl, but even from above the club floors he could read the fear all over your expression.

After all you were a simple girl, in an extremely non simple situation, non simple place, and non simple outfit. He understood your emotions perfectly.

What shocked him was the overall innocent aura he got from you. He wasn’t best friends with that dirty snake Kiyoshi, but he knew enough to understand the boy was rough around the edges. The fact that someone blood related to that filthy rat could be someone as gentle and radiant as you shocked him.

As your body twisted and curved around the bodies of everyone else in the club he couldn’t help but watch you, it was like watching a flower dance through a pile of dirt. You didn’t belong here, and yet here you were for the sake of your brother.

“When do you want us to extract the girl boss? She’s getting close to the buyer now.” A cool voice spoke from behind him, the blond haired man glanced back to the multicolored man with an unreadable expression.

“Change of plans,” The ash blond muttered with a grin before looking back down to you, “I’ll extract the girl.”

Meanwhile, you felt like you were drowning. Sure you’ve been to clubs before with your friends, but this was like Miami rave style. The feeling of hands and moving bodies brushing against you had you wanting to succumb to the feeling and just sink to the floor. 

But you couldn’t. Not with your brother’s life on the line.

Glancing down at your phone you texted your brother one last time.

(F/n): Still alive idiot?

Pain in my Ass: So far so good, thanks again little sis..

The sight had your blood boiling, every time he thanked you it sent you through the roof. That boy was going to be your personal slave for life after this was all said and done.

Glancing back up into the crowd your eyes widened when you saw a tall man sitting on a large couch just a few feet away from you. Just as Shindo’s description said, he was wearing an all maroon tux with multiple golden rings on his fingers. Four girls were around him just ogling at his many jewels, but hell at this point you didn’t care.

Quickly making you way toward the man as you made eye contact you stopped when you felt a gentle hold on your wrist. Turning around you only saw a man in a black suit standing before you. Not caring to even look up you just removed your hand from his grasp.

“Not looking for a dance sir, sorry.” You said quickly, making your way back through the crowd until you felt something sharp press against your back. 

A warm palm came up to the shell of your ear, dancing against the rim before pulling the small mic in your ear out and crushing it in their hand causing you to gasp.

“Sorry princess but I wasn’t asking,” A smooth voice purred in your ear causing you to shiver as his hand wrapped around your wrist once more but tighter this time, “Now for your own safety I advise you follow me.”

Your breathing became heavier as you began to shake slightly in fear. Inhaling you nodded your head without looking back, letting the man drag you from the crowd to a pair of double doors by the back of the building.

The man behind you glanced above the crowd, his crimson eyes looking for any witnesses. Unlucky for him, the man in the maroon suit was staring directly at him with a glare in his face before he stood up.

“Fuck.” The man above you whispered quickly dragging you through the doors and into the empty hallway.

“H..Hey, what’s going on?” You questioned, trying to keep up with his running as he ran down the hall.

The man didn’t answer, he only let you see the back of his head which had messy ash blond locks all over it.

The sound of the double doors you had just run through clicking had you both look back in surprise. Before you could glance back at the man who took you he grabbed your upper arm and dragged you in a supply closet along with himself and softly closed the door.

Now your breathing was all over the place, your back was squished against a metal rack causing you to hiss from the coolness of the metal before his chest was pressed against your own body due to the small space.

The feeling of his warm palm covering your face had you jump as you tried to look up but your face was squished against his chest.

“Quiet.” He growled harshly, effectively silencing you as the two of you heard multiple footsteps down the hall.

“Bloody hell where did that bastard take her?!” You heard a man shout causing you to jump at the sudden loud sound.

More footsteps were heard getting closer, the sound of a door opening had to silent but it must have been the exit doors since the supply closet remained dim.

“He must’ve taken her and the damn drugs, they’re probably on their way to Tokyo by now!” Another man yelled, the sound of a punch against the concrete wall made you wince from the force of the punch.

“I’m going to fucking kill that Bakugou right after I shove my foot up Shindo’s ass...” A new voice spoke, rage in his tone, “He owes me cases of that shit and that bitch was supposed to be mine.”

Your eyes widened at that. What did he mean by “mine”. The plan was you drop off the drugs then leave, since when did you come into the picture? Your brother warned you not to trust Shindo, like you had a choice anyway, but still you were naive enough to put just an ounce of trust in him and think you were getting away safe.

Chills ran through your body as you began to process what could’ve happened. You would’ve been kidnapped... gone forever. Everyone from your old life would never be seen again.

This led you to question who the man before you was. Did he just want to get to you first? Or was he helping you? Without him you would be long gone in the back of some van by now, but who was to say you wouldn’t be in the back of his once these men left?

Suddenly your questioning thoughts faded when you heard footsteps grow closer to the door, the sound causing your body to shiver in fear.

Your trembling didn’t go unnoticed by the man above you, his crimson eyes glanced down to you only to see your head buried in your chest as you gripped his white shirt so intensely he thought you would tear it.

Dare he think it, he almost felt bad for you. This stuff was a typical Friday night for him, but for you? It probably felt like you were in a horror movie. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so harsh with you.

Letting out a huff he let one of his hands slide down the small of your back and held you close to his chest, his other hand moving away from your mouth and holding onto the gun he had in his back pocket.

Normally you would feel like you were being harassed, but for some reason the man’s touch was gentle, unlike his previous treatment to you.

At this point you were used to putting false hope in people and whoever this man is was all you had left so you decided to trust him for now. Placing your cheek against his chest you tried to calm your breathing down, keeping your hands tight around his shirt in hopes of clearing your mind.

When the footsteps stopped you both held your breath, waiting for the door to swing wide open and the light of the hallway to seep in before your night came to an end.

But sure enough all that was heard was the sound of the exit doors opening once more. 

“You get in the truck and I’ll take the sports car, we’re going to Tokyo to find that bastard and get what is rightfully mine.”

The sound of footsteps leaving the hallway allowed you to let out a sigh of relief. Your grip on the man before you loosened as you started to look up at him. It was dark so you couldn’t make out much of his face but one thing you could see clear as day were his bright crimson eyes practically glowing in the dark.

They seemed to be just as relieved as yours were, but it was short lived when the door swung wide open. You let out a scream as you hid yourself behind the mysterious man while he pulled his gun out and aimed it at the doorway.

“Woah there boss, don’t light us up just yet!”

The man before you loosed his posture and let out a sigh of relief before clicking his tongue, “You fucking idiots why didn’t you say it was you.”

“Well we’re in a bit of a hurry,” A new voice said from in front of the blond haired man, “We got Neito’s group off our tail but that ear piece you broke from her ear? Had an alarm on it, Shindo’s group is on their way now.”

The ear piece. How could you forget?

“Don’t forget doll if you take this earpiece out-”

“I have to get to my brother!” You cried, your voice startling the five men before you as their head whipped back to your frightened expression, “P..Please if I don’t give that man whatever is in this they’re going to kill my brother!”

“Oh perfect we were looking for that.” A man with two toned hair spoke smoothly, taking the bag from you without regarding what you had just said.

Blinking in surprise you narrowed your eyes as you snatched the back back, the man seeming surprised at sudden action, “Excuse me? Did you hear what I just said? My brother-”

“Is just fine dear.” A voice finished, your eyes looking over to a tall red haired man who pulled out his phone. On the screen was your brother in his room playing what looked like video games. Idiot...

“H..How do you...”

“Unfortunately we made the stupid decision to work with your brother,” The mysterious blond next to you spoke, you looked up to him with wide eyes that made him wince from the absolute innocence in them, “Regardless we owed him one so two of our men are outside his door and window to protect him for whenever Shindo’s shitty guards come after him.”

Furrowing your eyebrows you glanced back at the phone to see your brother totally unphased. Did he know about all of this? Did you go through this week of hell for nothing?

“You say ‘we’...” You questioned raising an eyebrow to the man, “Who exactly are you people? Do you... do you work for the government?”

As soon as that sentence left your mouth the bright blond and black haired men bursted into laughter, the red haired man and ash blond haired man snorting a bit as they all seemed highly amused by what you said.

“Not in the slightest love,” The red haired man said with a grin before pointing to the ash blond beside him, “This guy is Bakugou Katsuki, the most infamous-”

“-mafia leader in all of Japan...” You finished in a whisper, your eyes widening in horror as you looked up to the ash blond.

This... This was the man that Shindo had been talking about. The leader of the most notorious gang in all of Japan: Ground Zero. He told you all about the hundreds of people his men have killed and how he has no mercy, even worse than Shindo himself!

“If you ever see that man face to face dear (L/n)...”

“Run...” You whispered with wide eyes, and before they could even question you, you were out the double doors.

The sound of shouts telling you to stop were getting louder but you didn’t care, like hell you were going to stick around with him. You weren’t about to be another body count on his list, you had made it this far and you didn’t plan on dying just yet.

Running in high heels proved to be difficult but turns out when you’re in a life or death situation, your body goes into olympian mode.

Just as you saw the edge of the parking lot you thought you were free at last until a fancy sports car pulled in front of you just barely missing you completely.

Slamming into the side you bounced off the door and onto your ass, groaning as you held your head. The sound of the driver’s door opening had you scooting back slowly with your hands, only to see the driver’s seat to be empty.

You kept whispering to yourself into confusion as you scooted back until your back bumped into a pair of firm legs. Looking up you saw the ash blond smirking down to you with a raised brow.

“Newest of its kind, it can drive on its own. Pretty cool right?”

Gritting your teeth you scrambled to your feet and backed yourself against the car while holding your hands out.

“L..Look I don’t know what you want with me, but I’ll give you whatever you want okay?” You said your teeth gritting as you saw the bright blond try to speak up but you simply growled at him and narrowed your eyes, “I have been through a hell week. When I say hell, I mean I would have rather burned in the pits of hell then have gone through the shit show of a week I’ve had. I’ve been used and abused and escaped death like six times so for the love of God just let me go and I’ll do whatever the hell you say!”

For once you finally had the boys in shock, all of them staring at you with wide eyes at the sudden outburst.

“There it is,” The red haired man said as he nodded his head as if he just solved something, “She has his sass for sure, I can totally see how they’re related now.”

Raising an eyebrow in disbelief you finally have had enough, throwing the clutch down on the street you began to walk away and flicked them all off.

“I’m tired of your stupid wanna-be gang games! I’m going home and I’m-”

Your words were cut off, for the hundreth time that night, when a familiar grip on your wrist yanked you back and you felt yourself pushed onto the hood of the car, your body quickly trapped by a much larger one as Bakugou bent down and caged his arms on either side of your body.

“You’re not going anywhere princess,” Bakugou hissed with narrowed red eyes.

You heard someone whisper in the back “Oh great now he’s mad” which only made you groan internally. You must have gotten so used to being around these types of people that you got comfortable... too comfortable.

“First of all I want you to answer how the hell you knew about me and my gang doll, do you know more than you’re letting off?” Bakugou growled, his fingers gripping your chin in a vice grip causing you to wince.

“I..I.. When I was working for Yo Shindo, he mentioned you and y..your gang...” You said shakily as you tried to tug your chin out of his grip but he only tightened it, “He said how dangerous you were and how many people you’ve murdered just to get your way... he told me if I.. if I ever were to see you face to face I should run.”

Bakugou looked you up and down as if to see if you were lying before letting go of your chin but keeping his proximity close.

“Well doll, everything that bastard Shindo said is true.” Bakugou said venomously as he narrowed his eyes to you, “So don’t you ever mouth off to me again, got it?”

Biting your lip stubbornly you looked down and muttered yes. But of course, that wasn’t good enough.

This time his two fingers were placed under your chin and lifted to meet his gaze at eye level, “Yes what?”

Gritting your teeth you stared him right in the eye, attempting to match his menacing gaze before you let out a sigh, “Yes sir.”

Bakugou’s stern expression turned into a smug one as if he had conquered a beast, “That’s a good girl, wasn’t so bad was it?”

Pouting your lip out in annoyance he stood back up straight allowing you to sit up from the uncomfortable position he had you in.

“Now as I was going to explain before you rudely interrupted shitty Kirishima here,” Bakugou said calmly, fixing the cuff of his suit before looking down to you, “We owed your brother a request, and that request was to protect you.”

Your eyes that were glued to the floor widened as you looked up to him with a raised brow.

“He... That was his request? Then why do you have your men guarding him?”

Bakugou looked down to you as if you were dumb, luckily Kirishima was able to speak up before he blew a vein.

“Your brother technically is apart of our gang, once you do work for a gang you are pretty much blood bonded to it.”

Your mouth formed into a small ‘o’ as Kirishima explained it, your head nodding before you tilted your head to the side a bit confused.

“So... does that mean I’m blood bonded to Shindo’s gang now?” You questioned with a raised brow.

Bakugou looked back to you and the sight had him groaning internally. Your messy (h/c) locks danced along your left shoulder as you literally tilted your head to the side in confusion. Your lips were puckered out in the most beautiful way from the pure confusion on your expression. God and that skin that looked like silk even in the literal satin dress you were wearing. You made that dress look good, how is that even possible?

Fucking hell you were going to be the death of him.

“Technically yes, but that’s why we’re here to protect you since technically you’re under the ownership of two gangs now.” The half and half man explained, “Shindo will want revenge for you not carrying out the mission and Henkan Clan will want you just because they apparently own you now.”

Your innocent confused expression turned into one of dread as you slouched down in annoyance and mild fear, could this week get any worse?

“But lucky for you, you have the best in the business on your side.” The bright blond haired boy spoke with a bright grin.

Under any other circumstance that would’ve made you feel better, but understandably you still trusted nobody here.

“So... what now?” You questioned as you stood off the hood of the car while tugging your dress down as much as you could.

Bakugou opened his mouth to speak but what cut off by the sound of revving engines.

“Uhhh, now I think we get in the car and get the hell out of here.” The black haired man spoke, the sound of the first bullet hitting the car causing you to yelp and quickly duck down from instinct.

“Fuck.” Bakugou growled, quickly grabbing your hand and tugging you to the passenger side of the car. The bright blond, black haired, and multi colored men dove in the back of the car. Kirishima pulled his gun out to shoot but Bakugou quickly shouted at him to get in the drivers seat and get the car ready.

“Duck down airhead!” Bakugou hissed. Instead of having a snarky remark about the nickname you let your fight or flight instinct kick in and ducked behind the car while he shot rounds at the first car zooming towards them. You heard the sound of bullets against metal before the sound of the car driving went silent all together.

Peering above the window you saw the car was gone, you quickly looked to Bakugou with a raised brow, “D..Did they drive away?”

Before you stood up completely the sight of a car upside down came over your head, your eyes widening before Bakugou quickly grabbed your body and turned you away from the now crashing car, letting his body take the brunt of the wind and explosion from the car crashing into the dumpster beside the two of you.

“What. The. HELL!” You shouted with wide eyes, Bakugou only chuckled to you as he switched places with you and sat in the passeneger seat of the car.

“Hop in princess.”

Blinking in shock still from the explosion you looked back to the now burning car before looking back at him with incredulous eyes, “I..In your lap?!”

Bakugou simply smirked as he narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.

“Don’t be such a pervert airhead just get in the fucking car.”

At this you stepped back and put a hand over your chest, your mouth dropped in annoyance as you pointed to him.

“I’m the pervert? You’re the one that put your hand near my ass in the closet!”

Bakugou’s smirk faded as he clicked his tongue and folded his arms, “Oh for fucks sake I was trying to make you feel better! You were shaking like a twig!”

You were about to open your mouth when the sound of gunshots out the window caused you and Bakugou to look to Kirishima who had an annoyed expression.

“Not to interrupt all this sexual tension but we need to get going!” Kirishima shouted as three new cars sped your way.

Your eyes widened in fear at the sight, causing Bakugou to mutter profanities under his breath before grabbing your wrist and yanking you in the car on his lap.

Once the door was shut Kirishima was quick to skillfully drive out of the parking lot and onto the freeway. Your head whipped back to see the three cars following you all while shooting the car.

Bakugou felt your familiar tremble return, it was weird to see you acting so snarky one second and yet terrified in the next. He really had to practice his patience with you.

So for now he decided to ignore everything you had said previously and the feeling of your ass pressing down on his crotch, and act like the leader he was.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” You heard Bakugou mutter in your ear, your eyes glanced down to him as he had a stern look in his eyes, “Trust me?”

Biting on your lip you glanced back at the cars riding your tail before looking back down to him and narrowing your eyes.

“Yes.”

[magalidragon]

Anger Management | fic teaser

a/n: I am loving kickboxing lately and naturally the most random of things inspire me...like an enemies to lovers smutfic where Dany punches Jon on accident. I have NOT punched anyone in the face in my workouts but I did punch a handsy pervert kid when I was in middle school. Anyway, this fic will have SMUT, an angry Dany, mysterious snarky Jon, Dadvos, and BFF Missandei who has butterflies on her gloves. Also weird Rhaegar makes an appearance. I love that weirdo. 😂

"Ready?"

"Ready," Dany said, jumping up and down in place, patting her fists together. She grinned at Davos. "So? Who am I kicking the shit out of?"

He sighed. "So much for teaching you to channel your anger, to control your emotions."

"Everyone always wants women to control their emotions, but men can get away with anything."

"I am not touching that one."

It was true. Not that her eldest brother had any emotions, but if Rhaegar got angry in court it was "passionate" and if she got angry in court it was "shrill." Although Dany did have to admit, spending every other day in Davos's gym for about an hour and a half was really helping with her anger, frustration, and general stress levels. She discovered she was sleeping better, eating better, and even Rhaegar commented on her "distinct calm" in the partner meeting that morning.

It was because she knew that tonight she'd be able to actually mess with someone else. She liked kickboxing. Missandei preferred to just stay punching the bag and then let Grey try to teach her some of the staff-work, but Dany was eager to try out her moves with someone else. It was the competitive streak inside of her, coming from growing up with one brother as her sort-of father and the other as an annoying twit who pulled on her braids and terrorized her. She always had to outshine them.

Now she wanted to outshine this. She had mastered the punching bag, now she wanted to try with someone else. Even if it wasn't quite 'boxing.' Davos said as much as she thought she wanted to truly 'box', there was no way he was going to risk it. "I'm not delicate!" she'd shouted.

"Oh I know you aren't, I'm scared for the men."

Today, she'd carved out exactly ninety minutes to get through this before she had to be back at work to go over briefs and prepare her statement for Rakharo's hearing the following day. She'd managed to get it reverted back to juvenile court, which infuriated Tyrion, but it made her day. She'd be before the juvenile court judge, all of whom she knew and they were mostly softies who believed in second chances, as they should. Plus, the juvenile prosecutors were usually fresh out of law school and she could walk all over them.

Missandei was still waiting on their source at the courthouse to tell them who the judge would be. Dany hoped it was Brienne Tarth. They were going up against Edd Tollet as the prosecutor and as a former juvie himself, he tended to always give benefit of the doubt. It would be Rakharo's day in court and she was looking forward to winning and getting him free. Then straight into a relative's home and back to school, learning from his mistakes.

She climbed up into the ring, bouncing around in place, liking the feel of it. It was fun. "You have a trampoline? I could do this all day," she commented, hopping around.

"I’m sure the lads would like that."

Dany glanced at some young rugby players from the high school who were doing weight training, their mouths on the floor as she jumped. She glanced at her chest; she didn't have a huge one, but it wasn’t bad. The sports bra was keeping her in place, but boys, ugh. She rolled her eyes, knocking fists together. "Okay, get in here old man."

"I have to help Gendry, he's got a bunch of new kids coming in for the session of Faceless training."

"We're teaching children how to move like assassins? That sounds dangerous."

Davos's eyebrows lifted, agreeing. "Don't I know it. He never should have recruited at the playground, tons of parents want their kids to be involved, but I don't know what they think." He smirked. "You'll be training with one of my favorites today. Jonny boy!"

Dany wondered who Jonny was, she didn't recognize the name. She glanced over and saw movement from the back office, shocked at the sight of the hot man she'd taken to calling 'White Wolf' because she noticed that there was a white wolf on his black boxing gloves and he sometimes wore a black t-shirt with a white wolf head on the front, no other insignia. Missandei wasn't giving up info if she knew him, Grey was silent as ever, and most of the time he wasn't in the gym at the same time as her. When he was, he was busy and so was she, their paths never crossing.

He was kind of mythical, she'd decided, preferring to look at him from afar. He might ruin the illusion if she heard him speak more or learned that he was a pig like her previous two serious boyfriends.

"Jonny?" she echoed.

"Just Jon," he said, accent rough. It was like Arya's, Gendry's girlfriend, who was from the North. He climbed into the ring. He wore a t-shirt over black sweats, feet bare, and his hands were bare too.

"We bare knuckling it?" she asked. That seemed a little crazy.

"Don't do that stuff here, this isn't the 1800s."

Jon picked up two pads from the corner, slipping them over his hands. He held them up, smirking. "Let's see how you do with someone moving your target."

"What?"

"Gotta walk before you can run, lass."

She wrinkled her nose. Fine. She shrugged, rolling her head on her neck. Today's outfit was an all red ensemble, her braids hanging down her back from their elaborate up-do at her crown. "Let's do this then."

Jon smiled; he had a nice smile, she'd give him that too. It was entirely unfair how attractive he was. Probably has an empty skull, all the brains knocked out from boxing, she figured. She noted that he had a couple scars on his face; he had some more on his chest too, when she caught him without a shirt. He also had a tattoo along his shoulder and onto his chest. More wolves and what she thought might have been red leaves of some sort. There was a tattoo on his inner wrist, which she caught sight of now, standing close to him.

Duty

She darted her gaze to his other wrist. There was another word there. Love. She nodded to them. "Your fists are named love and duty?"

"Something like that." He smiled again, flash of white against his dark beard. His curls were half-back from his face in a knot. He also had gray eyes. They looked practically black in the dim light around them. An air conditioner vent blasted down on them, sending a chill through Dany's spine.

Or perhaps it was the wafting scent of spearmint, faintest cigarette ash, and...woodsy pine? She wasn't sure, coming from the man she now stood about a foot in front of. He was built, but not obscenely so, not like her ex-boyfriend Drogo, who spent more time preening before the mirror inspecting his muscles than using them. Her lips twitched, lifting her fists. "What do you got White Wolf?"

Davos heard that, whistling low under his breath. "My, my Jonny, she truly has your number."

Just Jon smirked, holding up the pads, squaring off. "Let's go Dragon Queen."

She flung out her fist, connecting so hard with his right pad that he stepped back, eyes widening, surprised. She grinned.

"Dracarys."

[kanene-yaaay-o-retorno]

The boy on the farthest table

Kanene’s Notes:

So, I’ve been reading all the fluff content with Dadzawa I could find and I am very surprised I didn’t manage to stumble in a Dadzawa running a Cat Café so I thought ‘h e y’ why don’t I make it??? SO here we are!!

Warnings, fun facts, random things and stuff:

* That fanfic has Dadzawa and Yamadad and their relatonship can be seen as romantic, if you wish.

* This happens in the same universe as This Fanfic Here and you can also find it on AO3.

* No warnings this time!! Only fluff and a bit of hurt/comfort.

* This characters do not belongs to me. They all belongs to the amazing the manga/anime Boku no Hero.

* Something around 2.500 words. -w-)b.

* Sorry for any spelling, pontuation and grammar mistakes! Any advice is very very welcome!

* Tô com preguiça de postar a versão em português brasileiro aaaa! Thankys for reading, my lollipops! Eat a delicious snack, sleep a bit, take care and drink water and sleep well! Byeioo!~

                         [~*~]

Aizawa doesn’t really care about his clients more than the strictly necessary amount. He arrived where he is because of the cats and the coffee. If people paid more because he decided to mix both together and open a business with that premise than better for him.

 So, yes. Aizawa doesn’t care at all about his clients. Neither held any favorites above the others, don’t matter what Yamada tried to imply with his ‘discrete’ smug eyes and knowing grin as, for the second time today, the black haired worker narrowed his eyes at the boy sitting on the farthest table, lost in his deep thoughts as he stared intently at his notebook just like he has been doing for the past two hours, lazy scribbles fulfilling the lines in a tired, yet determined attempt to keep going.

 The owner of the Cat Café didn’t really care about what his clients did as long it didn’t annoy his cats or him.

 However, that doesn’t mean he kept himself completely oblivious of what happened at his establishment nor the persons who attended there.

Perhaps he wasn’t the most enthusiastic worker there – that is why him and Hizashi had an unspoken agreement that he would stay firm on his place making drinks and serving pastries, sometimes scaring some insufferable clients away, while the louder, social friend would focus in talking and getting the orders, – but he knew enough to not be a bad one.

 He knew that the girl with yellow bright eyes and nuts and bolts shining in between her curls liked strawberry muffins, tended to not be able to stand still for much time, and visited on Fridays, so he always kept one baked sweet hidden for her on these days.

 Just like he always recognized that tall, skeleton-like adult as soon as his form crossed the door. A client who came especially for the cats and the Jasmin tea, although always sneaked a couple and more glares to the cat-themed cookies, so he made sure to “accidentally” drop one with the donuts he always asked to go for “- a friend! He loves them but is often very busied with work… So, I thought I could try and treat him a bit after everything he already did to me!” And also, who, in the next day, came back to attempt to pay for the free cookie but was, day after day, defeat by Hizashi’s stubbornness and convincing abilities, leading the loyal client to make sure to put a generous tip on the Tip Jar as a revenge, making sure to stare intently at the pouting worker during the whole process.

 Or the young girl with red eyes full of curiosity and a tongue full of questions which him and Yamada took turns to answer, eliciting shy smiles, bright excitement and a glare full of gratitude from her older brother, who used the free time to study while she ate and played with the kittens, sometimes even falling asleep when his two friends – an extremely quiet boy with a gigantic sweet tooth and an electric smiley girl who always convinced the younger one to help her to gather the biggest amount of sleepy cats to nap on the blond teen before he wakes up in the middle of purrs and laughter - accompanied them.

 That being said, Aizawa liked to be informed and, above everything else, was good at getting the information he needed. He mastered the skill of analyzing details and understanding situations others used to ignore, making connections and arriving to conclusions that seemed foreign to others, that is why he continued to cast quick frowns and glances to the boy, doesn’t liking at all how his brain continued to run and turn, seeking for any answer or hints of what happened to him, only to get at nowhere. He was, obviously, just trying to assert the situation, which had nothing to do with the fact that the boy – always shining, always with such a bright smile every time he ordered anything – was alone on this Saturday. A not so rare occasion, since even though the café was a common place for him and his friends to meet – an occurrence impossible to ignore due how full of energy and joy and chaos and energy they all were, - he also seemed very keen to spend hours writing and studying on his own.

 However, there was something different today. Something to do with how quiet, concentrated, calm, lethargic the teenager was acting the whole time, which worrie- no, intrigued him.

 Because Aizawa wasn’t worried. Of course not. That would be illogical and preposterous. He wasn’t anything to the child, not his family, not a friend, not a relative, just the guy who grunted a one-word answer every time the younger tried to make small talk and pretend to not notice him and Hizashi trading cute cat videos and pics during the blonde’s breaks.

 Hell, he didn’t even share more words than the necessary with the green haired boy. The longest interaction they ever had was when the younger one came to him on his first time visiting the place and asked for more cat toys, since all the available ones were already being used. Which maybe or maybe not led to Aizawa leaving his friend to deal alone with the orders while he took his time to show and explain the favorite toys of every cat the green boy pointed.

 Which was, sure, only a revenge on his boisterous coworker since the aforementioned interrupted his morning nap by tripping on him on his way to the kitchen (and yes, it was Yamada’s fault for not looking at where he’s going and obviously not Shouta’s because he decided to ‘JUST FREAKING PASS OUT ON THE FLOOR. HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO SEE IT?’) and, not content with his actions, decided to lock the other out of his own establishment,  only letting him come back after lunch and, consequently, at least five hours of sleep, leaving him on the care of Nemuri, who proceeded to tease him unmercifully for the whole length of yesterday.

 Consequently, it was only a payback, of course. The gleam on the smaller’s eyes as he took notes on a well worn out notebook and the fact that, on the next Saturday, the boy distributed all the correct toys between his friends and their favorite cats were two completely ignorable things and therefore unrelated with the quick, barely visible smile appearing on the corner of his mouth on the respective day and every time he remembered that occurrence.

 But, when a quiet sniff reached his ears, Aizawa almost felt his neck crack with how quickly he turned on the other’s direction, just in time to see the ending of the teenager’s action of wiping a few tears away. The one who definitely didn’t get enough sleep on his entire life to deal with it sensed his left eye twitch.

 That. Is. It.

 “Shouta…” Hizashi whispered behind the usual smile he plastered for the customer in front of him, nodding while writing down what she said and chipping excitedly for her to just wait a little bit to get her order, deviating his attention to his friend when she moved away to sit in one of the unoccupied tables, both taking the opportunity of having no more customers in the line to held some private words. “Do you want me to go there?” his voice was bathed in worry, because his coworker was emotional like that.

 “No.” And Aizawa didn’t know why he was so fast to answer, however he was already washing his hands, mind running, seeking to remember how other people - besides his friends, who were barely humans, - worked. “You know I hate being the cashier.”

 “Riight.” His way-too-smug-grin was fast to become a snicker when his friend aimed a kick on his shin, which he promptly dodged. “Hey! I didn’t even say anything!”

 “Your thoughts are loud. I will be right back.”

 His eyes were focused on the kid, who now was curled on his chair, chin resting on his knees as his arms firmly hugged his legs, making him look even smaller.

 Aizawa grunted, part of him feeling inclined to just drop an entire gallon of water on his head to successfully wash all his problems way, or maybe shake all the bad, lying thoughts taking over his mind and resulting in a few tears to escape what, on its turn, made a strong feeling of protectiveness, which was immediately ignored, shines on him. But Shouta knew he couldn’t act on any of those two options because it wasn’t “socially acceptable” – nor very useful, but he ignored that part, - and “problems” and “people” tended to be more complicated to help than that.

 The older sighed, kneeling on the spot before the front door where the sun passed through the window and made a perfect warm piece of floor for the big, - extremely big - messy pile of purple fluff lay and nap without a single worry in the world, not even stirring as the customers had to tiptoe around him to get in and out of the establishment.

 Shinsou hissed when Shouta first petted him, although was fast to purr louder than a machine as the human began to scratch behind his ears, going back to his peaceful sleep. He was the most calm, chill and snarky cat he has ever seen. His hobbies consisting on getting on the highest shelves to watch the entire place with a judging, tired glare and napping on people’s laps, especially when they were about to head out, which made his customers to order something else and stay for at least more fifteen minutes, not having the heart to interrupt the purple’s sleep.

 Needless to say, he and Aizawa got along just fine. Even with the animal’s habit of climbing him to nap on his shoulders and teaching the younger kittens to do the same thing, knowing very well the one with dark hair would never have the heart to put them away, the human knew he sustained a soft spot for him.

 Nemuri and Yamada liked to tease him, affirming that Shinsou was his cat form and Shouta would never admit he agreed with them.

 He also ignored the implications of that when he remembered Shinsou was one of the green haired bag of energy favorites.

 “I have a mission for you.” It was the only mumbled warning the cat had before being carefully scoped on the human’s arms, melting on the embrace, hissing, yawning and then proceeding to melt even further. Shouta huffed, amused.

 ‘Brat.’

 Another signal that the teenager was much more trapped in his mind than the normal was the fact he didn’t realize the adult coming closer, nearly jumping three feet in the air as Aizawa’s command hit him.

 “Sit correctly.”

 The teenager yelped, looking at him, at himself and then at him again, a strong shade of an ashamed red taking over his features. “O-o-of course, sir! I am sorry!” He bowed, putting his feet on the ground and straightening his back, a slight tremble on his movements making the adult frown.

 “Don’t think too much about this.” And before any protest could come out of the other’s mouth, Aizawa laid Shinsou on his legs, leading the boy to freeze completely, eyes locked on the cat, who just blinked lazily at him and started to knead his thighs, low, rumbling purrs escaping, demanding the new human as worthy.

 A barely suppressed squeal flew from the younger, who already seemed ready to cry again, although for different reasons.

 The cat café’s owner hid his amused smile by catching a kitten who approached with curiosity, petting him and proceeding to flop him on the soft, green curls. Ojiro meowed, purring and immediately attempting to eat his new environment.

 “I…” His wide, wobbly smile increased further as Shinsou butted his head on the teenager’s palm, his voice, a whisper, lapsing for a beat. “I love them.”

 There was no way for the adult to hide his snort at his words, but the Problem Child seemed unfazed with his reaction, turning to him with shiny eyes and smile.

 “Thank you so much, sir!”

 After a nod, Aizawa turned away and came back to his spot behind the counter. And if talking and taking orders when Hizashi uses part of his break to “discreetly” take a few pictures of a beaming boy smiling to the camera and pointing the cats on him to send to him later, is much more bearable than before? It has absolutely nothing to do with the young figure on the farthest table sporadically giggling as he plays with an Ojiro who is fiercely convinced he can win the battle against the red laser.

 […]

 “Excuse me, Yamada-san. I’m sorry, but my order was 476 yens and you only charged me 200.” Aizawa knew the boy was going to lose the fight the moment Hizashi only grinned and locked the cashier, completely ignoring the two pieces of paper on the other’s hand.

 “Don’t worry about it, little listener! Don’t worry! Take this as a thank you for letting Shinsou and Ojiro sleep on you for one hour, okay?”

 “B-but sir! It was no problem at all!” The way he moved to prove his point made Aizawa picture a small, energetic bunny. “I really like them and I was going to stay here longer anyway!”

 “Now, now, young boy.” Hizashi pointed a finger at him, trying and failing miserably to see or sound at least a tad chastising. “Refusing a ‘thank you’ is a serious offense, I wonder if I will need to give you a free blueberry muffin to go because of that…”

 “No!” Aizawa huffed, turning away from them and heading to the tables, taking the opportunity of how low the business was to clean and prepare them for the next customers, stopping right on his tracks, mid step as a wide, pleading glare found his. “Aizawa-san,” he shook the 276 yens at his direction, puppy eyes staring right on his soul, “please.”

 The dark-haired one scoffed, looking away from the powerful graze. “Don’t bring me into this. Fight your own battles, problem child.”

 Hizashi laughed at the pout he received in response, having pity on the loyal customer. “Okay, okay. I give. You can pay for this.” Aizawa glared at him, one eyebrow up in a non convinced expression. His friend winked, big grins as the younger turned to him, much more smiley. “With a hug.”

 Problem child seemed surprised, especially when the flamboyant employee jumped across the counter and stopped in front of him, arms open in an invitation. “Only if you’re comfortable, of course.” His voice was softer. “I can always accept 100 yens if you really want me to, little listener.”

 He didn’t understand the magic thing his friend always managed to do. The way he succeeded to dance around someone’s barriers, finding openings and walking through them, asking no permission to get closer yet always attentive when to stop and retreat or to talk about every or anything. The same magic he showed when they were teenagers.

 Tsuyu meowed and Aizawa kneeled down to give her attention for as long as the embrace lasted, pretending to not notice the two hugging behind him, the taller lightly swaying them while the younger relaxed, melting on the touch.

 A few seconds later the anxious bunny was bowing, thanking them and getting out with a gleam on his face, hugging happily the notebook next to his chest and petting Cloud before going away. Shouta came back to his spot, Yamada followed and the green hair disappeared on the corner.

 “We’re not adopting the Problem Child.”

 “But he already even has a nickname! Shoutaaa, it’s meant to be! And you’re already soft for him as well, don’t deny it.”

 He scoffed. “Shut up. You try to say no to those fucking puppy eyes next time.”

 “You fought well,” Hizashi patted his shoulder, his own gaze getting a dangerous, gleaming light. “Dadzawa.”

 The rarefied clients distributed across the café jumped when, between laughter and dramatics cries of pain, the blonde fell on the ground, a half pleased, half evil smile presenting itself on the shorter’s face in a flash before his impassive expression took over and he calmly continued with his usual chores, pointedly ignoring the ‘It was so worthy it’ snickered by his friend, still laid on the floor.

[raveismysublime]

Why the IC needs to grow the fuckity fuck up

The IC “Mor, Feyre, Cassian, Rhysand, Azriel and EXCLUDING AMREN CUZ THIS DOES NOT RELATE TO HER” needs to grow the fuck up. AND I AM HERE TO TELL YOU WHY THE FUCKING WHY.

***If you guys want to read my post about Nesta you can here ***

**** I have a really shitty blog about why I hate Rhysand here if you guys want to read that too haha ****

If you agree, that’s cool, if you disagree, that’s cool too. BUT do not deny facts my dear friends, because facts are facts are facts are facts and I said what I fucking said. 

Before really getting into each character, which I am going to do, I’m gonna start by saying my main problem with the whole IC is that they are all over 500 fifty fucking years old (excluding Feyre) and still act like fucking cunts of a children. One main thing I’m going to repeat is that they all need to grow the fuck up, yes Feyre too, because 500 years on this planet should teach someone fucking something. 

Honestly the whole IC needs to communicate with each other, but that’s another post for another time. 

Alrightyyyyy this is gonna be LONG so like, sit back? 

Let’s start with Mor shall we: 

Mor, oh Mor. So I actually enjoyed Mor as a character, I didn’t despise her or love her, but I liked her enough to not skip her scenes. She seemed like a fun, girl who was also deep at heart and I liked that. BUT Mor has problems that she needs to solve. What happened to Mor was traumatizing and I actually cried with what happened because, fuck that’s fucked up. BUT that does not give her an excuse and allows her to trail Azriel along, and use Cassian as a buffer for all the problems she refuses to face. Their needs to come a point where you fucking acknowledge your problems and stop tormenting those around you.

Like what did she expect, for all of eternity to never drop poor Azriel (he is not innocent, I’ll get to him soon) out of his misery AND TELL THE GUY YOU DON’T LIKE HIM. I understand it’s deeper than that, but it’s also not. Mor at surface level is this chill, bitchy (that’s a compliment) bad ass, but inside she’s all shades of fucked up (so am I, no judgment). Mor needs to realize that hiding in her little happy bubble of running around the bush is gonna let up.

For instance, when Cassian starts falling for Nesta, Mor is rude to Nesta, snarky, and in the most convenient times, such as during solstice in ACOFAS when for the two seconds Cassian actually looks at Nesta, she decides to give her his present. Mor knows that what’s happening between Nesta and Cassian isn’t some bullshit and she’s not happy. She knows her times out, and she gotta admit to herself her problems and admit it to everyone around her because they fucking deserve it. 

What happened to Mor when she was 17 was all shades of fucked, but you cannot keep defining yourself by that. Mor is so much more than what happened all those years ago, and she deserves to be happy, and should want that for Azriel as well, and everyone for that matter. Mor coming out to Feyre “which in itself IS SOMETHING ELSE I CAN RANT ABOUT FOR HOURS BUT I WON’T” is, I think, one step towards her to being happy.

Mor needs to grow up, and realize she can’t fuck around and expect no one to speak out on shit. 

Now Feyre: 

I don’t like Feyre. From the beginning of ACOTAR to ACOFAS any likeness I had for her just deterred into a pit full of shit. Feel free to disagree with me, I don’t really care. 

So Feyre to me, is a hypocrite and just a annoying character and narrator. I usually enjoy the main characters in books, but this one wasn’t for me. 

Throughout the books, Feyre prided herself on never being a house wife, to never let a man talk for her, to never sit around while the men did the work. 

Well, guess what. She did just that in the end. 

The whole IC coddles her, even when she is out rightly wrong. What happened to Feyre under the mountain was tragic, pitiful but nothing compared to what the rest of the IC went through. I am not downplaying her PTSD, merley saying the world does not revolve around her and that she needs to grow up and realize that, and shits not always perfect. 

After the war, Feyre’s life went into “perfect fairytale mode”. She shops, she cleans, she has sex, blah blah blah. Whenever anyone disagrees with her or Rhys, she justifies her and Rhy’s actions??? because they are always right???

Feyre is young, yet acts older and more responsible than everyone around her and they just let her. In my opinion, Feyre needs to grow up and understand that it is not always about her and Rhys. She needs to realize that she is not perfect, and that she is not always right and makes mistakes. 

Now Nesta has her own issues and I wrote a blog about that here but the way Feyre treats Nesta to me, is downright pathetic and rude. 

I am not saying Nesta is a angle, she has done fucked up things but Feyre just irks me whenever she tries to make amends with her. For instance in ACOFAS (she pissed me off the most here) she pressures and blackmails Nesta into going to starlight, says to do it for Elaine not for her, to make “Elaine happy”. Then she gets mad at Nesta for taking the money??? like what the fuck did she expect???

With Lucien, Feyre goes “he’s a good male” to Elaine. Like no. It doesn’t matter if he’s the most perfect man ever, not everything is perfect with a man. 

Feyre only likes Elaine because she is easy to deal with, like the flower of a rose while Nesta is the thorne. 

I just feel Feyre needs to be more aware about everything around her. Nesta is hurting and you bribing her to come to your little gathering with your pose of friends that just humiliated her the whole time is not right. 

I could get into every thing I hate about Feyre and why I do, highlighting all of her actions and everything she does that is just so wrong, but I wont in this post. 

YAY now Cassian!!!!!!: 

Okay I love Cassian. Him and Azriel are like my literal children but that does not mean that they don’t got maddd issues. 

Cassian’s issue is that he has insecurities, and those insecurities affect his daily life. For example, when he gets Nesta the present and she won’t accept it and he throws it away, we see that occurence from his POV. But, we can also see his insecurities shine through. Him always still being thought of a bastard no body, thinking that no one will ever want him or love him all of those things still affect him.

Mor chose him over Azriel because she knew the affect of her actions would hit harder if she lost her virginity to a “bastard no body”. The one thing that always hurt Cassian was when someone would comment about him being a Bastard nobody. 

He hides these insecurities behind his humour and lax behaviour (okay same) and I think he needs to find a way to deal with it. 

Another point about Cassian is that he does not respect Nesta’s privacy, and basically a minion for Feyre and Rhys to keep tabs on Nesta. If a girl does not want to talk to you and asks you repeatedly to leave her alone, you fucking leave her alone. It does not matter if you meant well, when someone does not want to talk to you leave them alone. Cassian’s insecurities are shown more when he is alone with Nesta, and that is something he needs to grow up and figure out himself. He can’t keep allowing his insecurities and lack of confidence affect his actions, especially around Nesta. 

To me, Cassian is better without the rest of the IC around him BUT that is also when all his problems are shown. He cannot hide behind Rhysand and make jokes with Azriel, flirt with Feyre or Mor, and he has to be by himself. 

The fact that he doesn’t talk to Nesta when Mor is around, or would be talking to her then immediately stop the second Mor walks in shows he cares more about her validation, and that also sends the wrong messege to Nesta. 

I love Cass, I really do but he has problems that he won’t acknowledge. They ALL DO. 

               If yall still reading all this way through I LOVE YALL!!!! 

Okay Azriel!!!!: 

I actually don’t have a lot of negative things to say about Az cause he is literally the most unproblematic one out of them all, but he, like Cass runs on Mor’s validation. 

I understand that he loves Mor and is still waiting out for her and all of that, but (and I may be wrong) shouldn’t their come a time when you talk about things? When you get tired of 500 years of silence and just talk about what the fuck is happening? 

I just want Az to be happy, and he thinks he deserves all the pain he’s got because of his cruel brothers. I want Az to get the light, not Feyre or Mor. 

I want Az to get over Mor, find love, and be fucking happy. I want him to want it for himself. I do NOT want Mor to tell him, I want him to tell her because its what Mor deserves for toying with him this whole time. 

I want Az to find out who his real father is, and for his mother to get justice as well (ugh, it just hurts me) and to be fucking happy. AND TO FORGET ABOUT MOR BECAUSE SHE DOES NOT DESERVE HIM!!!!!!

Now, last but not least 

Riceman: 

So I actually already wrote a really shitty blog (it is honestly terrible lmfao, I’m just angry the whole time) about why I don’t like Riceman and I go into detail from each book on why I do not like him. If you guys want you can find it here  and leave your opinions!!!!!!!!

But one thing I do want to address is how whenever Rhysand does something absolutely terrible, Feyre justifies it by “its something that you had to do” or “they’ll forgive you and understand” (same to Feyre). 

For example, when he makes Mor work with his abuser, and Feyre’s like “she’ll understand it is what you had to do” does he not know how traumatic that would be for someone? He didn’t even talk to Mor before to warn her, to prepare her. No, he just threw it in front of everyone like what the fuck. 

It’s just, Rhysand is so problematic on many levels, and he was one of my favorite characters but then ACOWAR came out and we all know how that turned out. 

ooookayyyyyy that’s the end!!!!!!! If you read all this way your the best omg love yous!

make sure you check out the Nesta blog and the Riceman one, I go into a lot more depth about them and give actual points and factors 

make sure to tell me what you guys think! Y'all agree? Disagree? did i miss any points?? Lemme know

[k-writer1998]

Who Said Love Was Easy? (2/12)

      There are many different kinds of people who come and go from your life. Some will stay constant and sturdy like a river, growing alongside you, others will come like a whirlwind who wreaks havoc and leaves just as quickly, then there is everything in between. In this twisted maze of connections, that is where our story begins. A steadfast boy, a girl with a past, a little bit of alcohol, mistakes, and some love. Where can you go wrong with that?

angsty fluff

w.c: 1.7k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      I’ve been spending more and more time at the pub, partly because I was still trying to coax the weary Jeongin into friendship but also Jaehyung has been inviting me to come over more, his nosy-neighbor-senses kicking in. I’ve nearly broken Jeongin though cause he’s warmed up sufficiently since running into him. Gahyeon on the other hand seems to be cautious around me but as the saying goes “keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” It wasn’t like she was any bad, if anything I could see why Jeongin was so infatuated with her. She gives off girl-next-door vibes minus the naivety. Like Jeongin, she brought in a lot of customers with that personality but as the only female server a lot of guys come through in hopes to be served by her. That meant Jeongin’s eyes were constantly on her, ready to step in at any given moment.

“It’ll be faster if you just start barking at people. Then everyone would think you’re crazy and people won’t pay attention to her. Are you trying to burn holes into her skull?”

“Can you not for one day y/n?” he rolled his eyes.

“I’ll stop if you stop first,” I wink before adding, “If anyone so much as looked at her the wrong way Chan, Younghyun, and Jaehyung would be there in seconds you know.”

“There’s just been a lot more creeps lately and it’s been really packed.”

“It can’t be helped. It’s summer vacation for college students so everyone’s going out to de-stress from exams. Why so overprotective anyways?”

“She got bullied in high school. She’s the type to say what she wants so a lot of the girls didn’t like her and a lot of the guys bad mouthed her because she rejected them bluntly.”

“Oh? she looks so pleasant I would’ve taken her as a pushover.”

“Wait why am I even telling you this?” He blinked a few times at the realization.

“Because we’re good friends obviously,” I leaned forward with a smile.

“Whatever, I’m telling the hyungs you dropped the honorifics.”

“No you aren’t.”

      There was a call from the kitchen and he briskly walked away. I shrugged it off since he was still working after all but as I watched his figure disappear into the kitchen, the next thing I knew Jaehyung bursted from the door and stormed over. My mouth fell agape at Jeongin who was watching me from the kitchen door snickering to himself. Snitch.

“l/n y/n!”

“Jaehyung-oppa listen-”

      Safe to say I was thoroughly lectured but it was worth it to know I made him smile… albeit because of my sorrow but minor details. Jaehyung asked to go home together again so I sat quietly in my corner seat as they had a store meeting. Watching them interact, now and throughout my time here, their dynamic was really something. Jaehyung and Younghyun act like they hate each other and are at each other’s throats yet they match each other’s energy to work perfectly together, Chan is like the middle child who acts like the youngest but will step up when needed, Jimin always butts heads with everyone but she still makes sure everyone is cared for, and lastly there are the two newest members Jeongin and Gahyeon… long term friends from school with the same sunshine type energy that every one of the older employees love to dote on like some dysfunctional… family… 

      Allowing my mind to fill itself with thoughts of Jeongin recently, I nearly forgot what time of year it was. Almost. My thoughts betrayed me and not wanting to make Jaehyung’s worrying/nagging worse I stepped out into the summer night. First it was just the loneliness setting in but it's different now with certain annoyances making an appearance last year. It’s like they’re watching and waiting… haunting me to make sure I can’t be happy for the rest of my life. All because of something I had no control over. As I tried to collect myself before I went down the family trauma rabbit hole, I received a text notification and rolled my eyes at the message. A strong urge to throw my phone came over me as my vision blurred red for a second and felt my arm raise for a moment, phone in hand, before a voice brought me back to my senses.

“Regardless of whatever you saw on there, I would advise you not to break your phone unless you can afford a new one.”

      Of all the people, he was not the one I pegged as someone who would’ve followed me out here. My brain was racing to pull itself together, still spiralling from the earlier train of thought, that my response exposed how confused I was.

“Jeongin? What are you doing out here? Aren’t you guys having a meeting?” 

“Yeah but hyung keeps looking to make sure you don’t leave so I decided to take one for the team and tell you to come back in so he can focus.”

“And here I thought you came out for me,” I joke as my arm falls back to my side, my snarky smartass persona finally loading up again.

“Whatever makes you happy,” he rolls his eyes before asking, “Is something going on though? You almost threw your phone and hyung usually isn’t this antsy with you.”

      He noticed? I couldn’t help the small surge of happiness that shot through me but of all the things why did he have to notice this? As tense as I was at his observation, I threw on my usual smile and did what I did best.

“Awww so we really are friends, you care,” I tease and he glared back at me. “Everything’s fine, really. Jaehyung-oppa thinks I get kinda weird around this time of year cause something happened last year. He’ll be back to normal by next week.”

“... okay. Are you gonna stay out here? We’re basically done anyways,” he responded as he glanced at the group inside before eyeing me suspiciously.

“Yeah, let him know please. Also let him know to stop being a worrywart.”

“Tell him that yourself.”

      With a huff he walked back in and I was finally able to relax. Leaning against the window with a sigh, I wished it was winter so I could watch the smoke curl from my lips into the air. It’s oddly calming to watch it disappear and to feel the chill set in my bones. Instead I’m left with the stifling heat of summer and the slightly unsettling thought that Jeongin possibly saw through the act… I’m such a mess. I want him to pay attention to me and now that he has I’m getting antsy. Well this is the only exception I guess, Jaehyung only knows cause he saw it happen. If I had it my way no one would know. Once in the safety of my four walls, I fell into my bed with a groan. Today kinda sucked but I knew it would only get worse until that day comes. Looking at my desk in the corner of the living room with unfinished work strewn across its surface, I let out a sigh. Might as well work to get my mind off it.

      Ding. Ding. Ding. Drowsily raising my head from my desk, I rubbed my eyes in annoyance. The sun was up and Jaehyung knew my door code so who is being so irritating this early? Looking at the intercom monitor, I should’ve known it would be one of those vermin. With a groan I went to “greet” my half-sister, clad in her expensive private school uniform, as I glared and leaned against the door frame.

“To what do I owe the honor of a visit from the princess herself?”

“You weren’t answering mom’s messages and she wanted to make sure you’d be coming home for dinner this weekend.”

“Let me guess. Grandma is invited so I have to show up to make you people look good? Not interested so leave.”

“Don’t act so high and mighty. If you didn’t want to be a part of this family you shouldn’t have-”

“Get it right,” I sneered. “Your mother kicked me out for being a reminder of her husband’s infidelity and was forced to sign away my rights to the family and shares left to me in dad’s will just so I could get the money he left me for college. I’m sorry I actually care to visit dad besides his death anniversary and happen to run into grandma, nothing changes the fact that I’m the illegitimate child right? So run along before you’re late.”

      She stamped her foot and huffed at my indifferent face and challenging tone before turning on her heel and stomping to the elevator. I tiredly rubbed my face before running a frustrated hand through my hair. I did not need this first thing in the morning. Back inside my apartment, I grabbed my phone and called my best friend.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of this early morning wakeup call?” He groaned in annoyance. We both weren’t morning people.

“How early can we hang out?”

“Depends. On a scale of “I miss you” to “I want to pull my hair out,” how bad is it?”

“Younghee blew up my doorbell at seven in the morning to tell me to have dinner with them.”

“Oof. I’m shadowing my dad today but tomorrow night for sure, okay? I promise we’ll have fun and you can forget about them. ”

“Our handsome Changbinie is so great~ This is why you’re my best friend.”

“Shut up, I’m still two years older and I’m your only friend y/n.”

“No, I have Jaehyung-oppa and the others from the pub!”

“How can you be friends with someone who doesn’t like your best friend? I didn’t even do anything to Jaehyung-hyung to be hated like this.”

“I don’t like you and you are my best friend.”

“I- Nope, you love me by default because I’m the only one who knows all your secrets,” he countered.

“Who said you’re the only one?”

“Lover boy doesn’t count. He was drunk and probably doesn’t remember plus it’s not like you’ll see him again.”

“Wrong. I can since I have~”

“Young master, President Seo says you must get ready.”

“That’s me,” he groans, “you better catch me up! Maybe your life won’t be a revenge drama afterall," he gasped teasingly. "Is it a romantic comedy?”

“Shut up, does that make you the second lead dearest best friend?” He faked a gag and I chuckled, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

[jazzytriestowrite]

Can I request a hq one shot for Tsukishima? Maybe where the reader confesses to him that she likes him, but then downplay it and walk off, because she thought it'd be pointless to tell him/he wouldn't like her the same, but in reality he does like her :> tyy 💕🧡💞

Fandom; Haikyuu!!

Pairing; Tsukishima Kei X Female Reader

Synopsis; You were tired of running in circles, tired of not knowing if your best friend had liked you back or not, or if you were a fool with a one sided crush. Deciding to get it over with once and for all, you pull Tsukishima to the side and confess your silly crush to him hoping that in the end you gain a boyfriend and not a broken heart.

Warning; Fluff, well as fluffy as a Tsukishima fic can be

Word count; 2155

A/N; I have been feeling low for some time, and actually saw this request and my heart leaped. I hope you enjoy this maddi!! Hope i did this salty hoe some justice :))

☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆

You had to do this.

You were tired of sneaking glances at him in class, face heating up every time you were caught or the teacher called you out about it. You were tired of sitting with him at lunch and pretending like your heart didn’t hurt every time he called you his ‘friend.’ It was tiresome, and if you had to deal with being unintentionally friendzoned again, you would rip out all of your hair and move to some farmtown to live out the rest of your days hiding from society.

His constant teasing was starting to leave a huge impact on you, and instead of getting snarky like you usually got with him, you ended up going silent whenever he playfully insulted you. Now taking his playful insults more personally than ever.

You had to do this. The fear of not knowing if he liked you back or if the side glances and extra touchie gestures were nothing but him getting more comfortable with you. Being kept in the dark had only made it more frustrating. You needed to confess and see what happened after that. No matter what happened, he was still your best friend first right?

Wrong.

While you were trying to give yourself that lovely pep talk, you had finally noticed that your palms were sweating. Rubbing them together created a grimmy feeling that made your stomach turn and rumble. The sudden confidence you had earlier had vanished, and now your hands gripped the end of your skirt, shaking lightly as they fiddled with the flimsy material.

You had now stopped in your strut towards the blonde haired male, watching as he messed with his headphones, probably going to put them on and start heading home as usual. Were you going to stand here in fear, never to confess and watch as the boy you’ve liked for so long slip out of your grasp because you were too nervous and too scared to admit you had some silly crush on him?

Taking a step forward, your words died in your throat as you felt a sudden chill. Panic clawed at your throat, making you momentarily freeze. The sudden thought of being rejected flooded your mind, and now just the thought of that made it hard to breathe.

He was your best friend, yes, but who's to say he wouldn’t suddenly start ignoring you because you had made it weird between the two of them? Would you be the one to ruin such a good friendship the two of you had just because you ended up catching feelings.

While you kept tearing yourself down, making it seem like there wasn’t any hope, a small flicker of hopefulness filled your heart. The ‘what if’ he did like you backs filled your mind, drowning out the raging negativeness that seemed to overflow your brain.

What was the point in all these ‘what if’s?’ Why not just figure it out and then go from there, in the end, admitting your feelings to someone wasn’t a crime, and sure as hell shouldn’t end a good friendship the two of you had built if it was a genuine one.

“Tsukishima!’’ You call out, breath catching in your throat as you watched him whip his head in your direction, a scowl already sitting on his face. Walking towards him, you gripped your bag tightly in your hands, making confident steps towards the tall male.

Looking down upon you, Tsukishima didn’t look too impressed to see you standing in front of him. Or maybe he did? You could never tell because he either had a scowl on his face or a teasing grin, and both you didn’t like in the slightest.

“What is it y/n, if you couldn’t tell, I was trying to leave this hellhole and go home for some peace and quiet” He says bluntly, golden eyes staring you down as the height difference between you two became more apparent than ever. His tone was the usual annoying one, the one where it made it feel like you were bothering him.

Gripping your bag tighter, you open your mouth to say something but instead end up closing it with nothing coming out. The panic was still there yes, but standing in front of him right had made it more real now that it was really happening. Shifting back and forth on your feet, you looked everywhere but his eyes now, knowing you wouldn’t be able to tell him when his unwavering gaze was on you.

That was your first mistake, showing him such a panicky side of you would only make him more interested in what you had to say, and that was a known fact. Now instead of looking at you with disinterest, he now had a shit eating grin on his face. His whole demeanor changed in a second, taking your moment of weakness lightly and in his favor. He was now interested. It was easy to see.

His hand now rested on his hip and he leaned in closer to you, wanting you to spit out whatever you had to say to him. He had even stopped messing with his headphones. His attention was now all on you, and you didn’t like it.

“Come on cupcake, by now I could have been halfway home”

His words were playful and provoking. You knew it was too late to go back, he already knew something was up, and giving him some lame excuse or telling him nevermind would surely make him angry.

Taking a deep breath, you looked up and met his golden eyes once more, trying not to get sucked into the beauty of them. He was always handsome when he grinned at you, since it was so different from the scowl he gave everyone else.

“Any Day now, I believe I’ve aged a few years standing here like a fool”

“I LIKE YOU OKAY”

You blurt out, his previous statement making you just spit it out. It had felt good to finally say it, but it also made you cringe when you realized you yelled. What made it worse was when you noticed that a few students had stopped their chatter and walking, stopping to look at you who had created a scene.

Rubbing the back of your neck, you continue your previous statement. ‘’I like you, way more than friends. You are very annoying and half the time punching you seems like the greatest idea in the world. Despite your often teasing, I’ve come to like your annoying, weird, dino loving ass and keeping it to myself has been tough. I just want to let you know how I feel, in the hopes that you like-”

You had paused in your mini rant when your eyes met his again, searching his face for any changes. You had been able to catch the flicker of shock that had crossed his features, but it had changed to his usual shit eating grin again. That grin had made you nervous once more, making your heart close up and your words die in your throat.

‘’You know what” You take a step back, letting your eyes fall to the ground in shame. “April fools, bet I got you huh” Your voice didn’t match your words, and instead of your usual upbeat voice, it was replaced with a sad tone, a tone on the verge of tears. “I’m a good prankster I know”

The silence that you were met with only fueled your now aching heart. ‘’I gotta go’’ You say, turning around and walking away before you not only embarrassed yourself more, like crying in front of a guy who would definitely make fun of you for it.

You felt a hand grab your wrist, and before you could shake it off, you were turned around abruptly, head almost falling off your neck at the sudden force. Stumbling towards the male who had pulled you back, your teary eyes met Tsukishima’s once more. A silent ‘what’ being communicated through your expression.

You watched as he leaned in, so close you felt your face burn painfully now that you could feel his soft breath on you. One of his hands came up and was placed on your cheek, softly caressing the soft flesh. His eyes were filled with an emotion you had never seen before on him, and that took your breath away.

The sunlight had perfectly hit his features, making his golden blonde hair look gorgeous in this lighting. The light breeze helped in his favor, blowing it in the wind to add an extra effect to this moment. His large hand caressing your cheek had made you flustered, along with the look he was giving you. How he had to slightly bend to reach your height added some magic to it.

“You idiot, I had thought I was being perfectly clear with the hints I was dropping. Don’t be scared y/n, I’ve liked you for a while too, and while I may be very annoying, you probably didn’t notice that I ONLY act that way with you.’’ He paused, gazing into your eyes for a few more seconds. “y/n, you can stop being so nervous now” One hand now rested at your hip, holding you in place.

Was this some sort of dream? Her crush just admitted he liked her back and was also acting all cute instead of douche. The new unknown side he was showing you had made your heart race, and for a while you couldn’t even think of something to say. Instead your mind was filled with happiness. He wasn’t that much of a jerk after all.

The way he stared at you like you were the only girl here made you feel special. The way he was publicly grabbing you without being ashamed of what someone else seeing had also made your heart flutter. Maybe Tsukishima could be that hot guy who showed his true feelings to someone he liked, someone who deserved his attention.

“Ow” Your hands fly up to your forehead, your body stepping back and ripping yourself from his embrace. While you had thought the two of you were having a moment, he had decided that your lovey dovey time was over and flicked your forehead with a bit of too much force.

Laughing, his shit eating grin was back. “Idiot, acting all nervous and stuff like I was going to reject someone like you’’ It had sounded like an insult, but listening in closer you heard the compliment amidst it.

Opening and closing your mouth, you watched as he rolled his eyes at you. “Let's not stand here any longer, we should get walking. And maybe, just maybe we can stop and get some snacks” He says, using your shock to slip his big hand into your tiny one. He didn’t give you a chance to notice, instead tugging you so you would start walking.

And god, if you had pointed it out he would have surely blushed at being caught trying to be smooth.

In the end, you hadn’t cared enough to point it out. Instead, you silently agreed to his previous statement. The toll of being stressed out and worried had finally worn off, happiness filling your insides. You had claimed yourself a salty french fry, YOUR salty french fry. Nothing felt better than this.

Tsukishima walked, hand in hand with you in silence. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, it was a mutual silence that felt good. The two of them needing the time to comprehend everything that happened in such a small amount of time.

Since your eyes were averted, he finally dropped his shit eating grin, a real genuine smile replacing it instead. It might sound weird, but he wasn’t just some cocky bastard who had no feelings. He was a human being who had crushes as well.

And as he watched your big grin as your eyes stared off ahead had made him feel butterflies in his stomach. He had liked you for some time, but he himself wasn’t brave enough to say something and opted to drop crazy hints instead. While that didn’t work, he still got himself a girlfriend in the end.

Watching you be happy about being with someone like him amazed him. How you lightly swayed their intertwined hands was making him feel some kind of way, a feeling he wasn’t used to. You were the prettiest girl in the world to him, and just the thought of someone like you liking him back made him feel good.

He had liked you so much, and now that he was able to act on his feelings, he would be sure to give you hell.

He was, after all, Tsukishima Kei, the saltiest human to exist.

“Also, It’s march, not April you fool.”

[buirbaby]

The Wardens: The Far East

Rating:  M + Mature content, language, and violence

Masterlist | First | Next

"We need to do something about your accent and name," Benjen remarked amidst the preparations. His comrade didn't say much as to where she was from and he hadn't pushed the envelope. They were anomalies, people who shouldn't exist, and whatever past life Tabitha had experienced, she was wary of sharing it. He wondered if she had been a mercenary or a thief, maybe a harlot? No, none of those quite fit. Her mannerisms, while gruff, bespoke the regiment of a soldier--more finely tuned than the majority of his own men and subordinates on the Wall. She had been a soldier, he did not doubt this, and she had the skill in hand to hand combat to prove it, utilizing a grappling technique he'd never seen before. Foreign was the only thing he thought when put the pieces of Flores together.

"What, there's no one in Essos who sounds like me?" Tabitha groused, rolling her attire in a compact and methodical manner--yet another militaristic trait. She placed the garments into her saddle bags and gave him a wry, but tempered look.

"Perhaps," Benjen relinquished, he was not exceptionally well traveled. The idea of going to Pentos made him nervous. A queer, brilliantly colored tropical paradise. The polar opposite of the home he'd grown up in. Tabitha's features would be much less noticeable than his own, but her accent and name would draw questions once they managed to gain an audience with the Targaryens. "But do you have any idea of where that would be?"

Tabitha sucked her teeth. "Fine. What do you think would fit? I don't look like a northerner," she pointed out.

"You could be Dornish or Rhoynish," Benjen proposed. "What languages do you speak?"

"Probably none that are useful. The True Tongue--what Fang speaks, a little High Valyrian, and un idioma que nunca has escuchado , " (a language you have never heard) she spoke in the last eloquently, the slipping of the language foreign and lofty, but he'd heard it from sailors.

"You speak Rhoynish," he realized.

Tabitha blinked. "Wha-Oh, well... I suppose then it's been decided for me. I could be a Dornish bastard, my mother is from Rhoynar. Which means I'll need a new name, Tabitha isn't exactly common," she paused her work to contemplate a name, but drew a blank. "Tabris? Taliya?"

"It's the name you're going to have to go by," Benjen chuckled.

"Oh, you're laughing now as if you're going to go by Benjen Stark," Tabitha snorted, reminding him that the Targaryens most definitely would not look favorably upon his name. "Fortunately for you, you've got fire eyes now, but you still look a bit too Stark."

Scowling, he inquired, "What do you mean?"

"Grow your beard out and cut your hair shorter. You can't go by Benjen Stark. Daenerys is young and impressionable, we can win her over. Viserys on the other hand is a malicious brat who will spew poison into her ears. We cannot reveal your true name until we're established and Viserys is gone."

"Hm, I was assuming we were going to ride in on our griffins and give the girl wedding presents. That isn't the plan?" Benjen quipped, eliciting a frown from the woman.

"Never reveal your full hand," Tabitha sniffed. "We are going to be stopping in Braavos first. Hopefully, I can pick up the language a bit more before we get to Pentos. It's a bastardized version of High Valyrian, but it'll be useful either way. Dothraki more so if I could..." Pausing she narrowed her eyes at him again. "Stop evading the subject, Stark. You need to pick a name too. How well do you know Jorah Mormont?"

Sucking in air between his teeth, he obliged. "I know him enough. Saw him in Winterfell a few times when I was young, but not much since I joined the Watch. I know he was exiled for slave trade. He probably will not recognize me-"

"Unless you make it obvious," Tabitha interjected, jerking a finger in his direction. "I know how you Starks are and you better not glare openly at this man. As much as you distrust him, you can't be obvious about it."

Benjen suppressed a sigh, but knew that she was right. Jorah Mormont could get them killed if he discovered who he was. The flaming irises--more gold than orange--would make him unlike a Stark, but all it took was some well placed knowledge and a snarky jab to begin unraveling the aliases they were building. Tact had never been necessary in his line of work. He dealt in truths, honor, and by the posting he had. Now, he had none of that and if Tabitha was going by a bastard name, it was wise that he did as well. He might've been the better warrior, but Tabitha knew more about politics-a cursed game he'd never wanted to play.

"I'll think of a name," he grimaced, continuing to store his supplies. "What is your plan for gaining an audience with Magister Illyrio?"

"I'll send ravens in Braavos," Tabitha told him. "We'll spend a fortnight there so I can establish my contact in King's Landing. There's a good friend of Magister Illyrio who'd like more eyes and I think I have the right information to convince him to place a bet on us. The relics we're taking with us will sell for a high amount of coin, we'll be able to afford the necessary supplies and a gift for Daenerys after we depart for Pentos."

Thank the Old Gods that she had a plan, because his only one really had been arriving on griffin back and Torrhen wasn't large enough yet. "Who is this contact?"

Tabitha paused, lips curling in that same, wicked manner that sent a chill down his spine. The female looked exceptionally roguish and dangerous, the fire in her eyes dancing brightly. "Varys."

The Spider: a name he'd wished had not fallen from her lips or that he'd not asked at all. He had to trust Tabitha to be clever enough to fool the eunuch, but the rumors surrounding the man were abysmal. He was the keeper of secrets for a reason and the fact that the Spider had interest in the Targaryens to begin with spelled ill for the Starks. He was walking into a dragon's den without as much of a piece or armor or weapon to defend himself. Everything in his body rejected this idea, wishing for nothing more but to return to the simplicity of being First Ranger. But he could not. This second life came with a price and he had to play the game of thrones in order to save his family.

"Don't look so pale," Tabitha scolded, diverting her attention to the bags she'd finished packing. "I'll do my best to find a way to save your family. We have to start by changing Daenerys' perception on them... but your brother is a kinder man than King Robert. He is the one who speaks against assassinating her."

Those words were meant to be comforting, but Benjen was still anxious.

"I wish the king never asked Ned to go south," he muttered.

"Me too, but what we can do is earn a friend. Petyr Baelish is behind the fall of House Stark and his most staunch enemy is Varys."

"Why is that?"

"Baelish wants power. Varys wants what is best for the kingdom, regardless of who rules, as long as the common folk are treated justly. Anything we can feed Varys will help make him more powerful before Baelish's plans come to fruition will help the Starks. Varys likes the Starks," Tabitha explained, but sighed deeply afterward. "Unfortunately, your elder brother is naive and surrounded by enemies. He's also distrustful of Varys and more inclined toward Baelish, which is his first mistake. I'll make certain that mistake isn't repeated."

"How? We can't speak or write about the future."

"No, but I can write cryptically enough that all Varys will have to do is unwravel the riddles. He's clever."

"If Robert sits the throne now, why would he be looking toward the next monarch?"

"Because Robert is fat and a drunk. His health is failing. Joffrey and the Lannisters will inherit, which will begin the demise of Westeros. Having other options available is precedent, especially given the Crown's surmounting debt, circling lions, and the thin line they're riding with the favor of the commonfolk. That can all turn on a dime and Joffrey does not make a good king," Tabitha explained.

"Given what I saw at Winterfell, I'm not surprised."

"You have no idea what a tyrant he'll become. He's sick in the head," she tapped her brow. "Hopefully, we can avoid some of his wrath, but I doubt we'll be able to stop King Robert from dying."

"If we can save Ned and the girls-"

"I'll try," Tabitha insisted firmly. "But this all starts in Braavos. We need to do our part beside Daenerys to gain her favor."

Trying was all he could ask, considering he knew the true fate that awaited them all. For all that they knew, their own fate was not written in any visions or words that they'd witnessed. He did not fear for his own life, but for those he knew were going to be cut short if he failed. But to save some, wouldn't that come at the cost of others?

*

Benjen had never been to Braavos, but he had heard of the legendary Free City. Balerion had coasted far above the famed Titan of Braavos, bringing them out to a rural location miles outside the city to land unnoticed. The pair of griffins would remain out in the countryside until summoned. The larger seemed thankful not to be saddled with two adults, allowing for their supplies to be retrieved before he huffed and took off into the sky with a much lighter burden. No where he'd been had ever been as sprawling as Braavos. So choked full of buildings that trees were nonexistent, unless purposely planted in the more prestigious areas of the grey city. A plethora of languages were spoken between the canals, many of which he could not identify. Tabitha, now Taliya Sand, a traveling sellsword and linguist, picked out between the Braavosi and found a Rhonyish sailor to garner directions from.

The weather was not too hot, which he savored now, fully aware in Pentos it'd grow warmer and the Dothraki Sea would be unbearable. Wary eyes traced the streets, noticing the flamboyant colors that many bravos wore, proclaiming their profession lest any other swordsman wish to challenge them. Otherwise, most other locals dressed in muted tones of grey, purple, and dark blues. Songs floated like gondolas through the canals. Art and courtesanship prized greatly within every part of the city that they roamed. To him, it was florid, but not unbearably so. He'd trust a Braavosi before any southerner.

Within the Purple Harbor, the stretching market boasted magnificent goods ranging from Lyseni lace, desert gemstones, to Arbor Wine. There were few foreigners selling goods in this area, as only Braavosi ships were able to dock in this part of the harbor. However, Taliya made due, haggling over the rare treasures that had been preserved in the Roost. Shadowskins, golden chalices encrusted with garnets, antique daggers, fine armor that hadn't suited either of them. It had all been dead weight, things they could not carry forever, and the armor seemed to garner the most attention aside from the shadowskins. Benjen had no idea what they were saying, but the merchant before them was raving, tracing the finely hewn details and glancing up, trying to contain his delight as not to overpay for the work of art.

No sooner were their pockets heavy with Braavosi coin, did Taliya insist that they turn in for the night before darkness fell and they became open invitations for duels as they had swords buckled to their belts. They had passed a few fine establishments, but she took him aback by leaving the Purple Harbor and approaching the religious sector of the city. A large bridge led to another island, a temple of red stone looming before them. Upon the great square tower was an iron brazier as wide as the roof, containing a great fire.

To him, it was still difficult to acknowledge that his 'gods' had not saved him and that he was now in the service of the Lord of Light. A god he was not very familiar with and probably would have never cared for if not for the new life breathed within him. Part of him wished he'd died, resigning the simplicity and lack of responsibility as peace, but knew he'd not be able to save his kin had he not been given this chance.

The temple was grand, embellished with scones, braziers, and fire to emphasize the importance within the religion. It was not as decadent as any of the Septs, but was purposeful in its design. Red was an overarching theme, the priests and priestesses milling around dressed in crimson robes. Burning hearts were depicted on banners hanging from the walls, the sigil of the red god. A female paused, drinking them in, before a crisp smile broke across the plane of her features.

"Greetings," she knew they were not local, as evident by their faces.

"We seek lodgings while we are staying within the city," Taliya started, reaching toward the gloves that obscured her hands.

Benjen expected that the priestess might chuckle and direct them toward an inn. What temple would host strangers? Yet, the priestess paused, glancing between them, before watching as Taliya removed her glove and turned her palm over to reveal the Mark of the Warden. A burn emblazoned upon her left hand, just as Benjen had on his.

The priestess did not falter, but her smile broadened. "Yes, there are quarters we can afford to spare for such esteemed guests. The Lord of Light shines upon both of your faces, Wardens."

He was shocked, but why? The Lord of Light had brought them back as champions for his cause, why wouldn't those who served him know of the secret order? Returning her glove, Taliya gave a stout nod and followed closely behind the priestess.

"I must admit, I am surprised to see holy warriors. My name is Oresha and I am in your service for as long as you intend on staying," the priestess introduced, folding her hands into her sleeves as she led them through the halls and deeper into the enormous building as more braziers were lit for the evening fires.

"Then you will know that we cannot speak of our holy mission," Taliya rebuffed, not unkindly.

"As is the way," Oresha acknowledged, unbothered by this proclamation. "We know our duty to the swords of the Lord."

The main chamber led deeper into a monastery where the priests and priestesses dwelled, including those that were still in training. Night was an active period of time for the Red Temple, as prayers would be said as the shadows snuck in, whispering of the terrors that hid within them. Oresha turned a hall and entered an area with many doors, a few crimson garbed figures going in and out of rooms as they passed by. At the end of the hallway, Oresha unlocked a door, revealing a simple room with a set of dual beds. There was nothing ornate or remarkable about it. A fireplace, a brazier, a chest at the foot of each bed, and desks. It appeared to be intended for those living in the monastery and a roommate, but sufficed perfectly for the pair.

"Is there anything I can have sent to you while you settle in?" Oresha inquired.

"Books on Dothraki and High Valyrian," Taliya asserted immediately, putting her things down on the desk. "Parchment, ink... Do you have a rookery here?"

"Yes, of course."

"Very well, I'll require any ravens that fly to King's Landing and trusted contacts in the city that can deliver the letters."

"I shall send the requested materials with a meal to this room," Oresha complied. "I shall always need to send word to Volantis and the High Priest."

Taliya pursed her lips, but gave a nod. "Very well, as long as we are not made outside the walls of the temple."

"We are aware that the Wardens must work under discreet circumstances. You are the secret flames that weave the Lord's will, not heralds," Oresha retorted.

"Thank you, that will be all," Taliya closed the conversation and Oresha took her dismissal.

"How did you know that they'd take us in?" Benjen inquired after the door had shut and a few moments had passed from Oresha's departure.

"Fang," Taliya informed him. "He hinted that the Red Temples would be our greatest resource. Seems he was right. We can trust them. They're fanatics, incredibly devoted to the prophecy of Azor Ahai. With the amount of coin we were carrying too, even the nicest establishment in Braavos would have posed risk. We already drew a few eyes today."

"We could utilize the Iron Bank," Benjen suggested.

"Trust me, considering how much things were in the market, it'll be easy to spend a good portion on a wedding gift," Taliya snorted.

"And you're going to learn Dothraki and High Valyrian in a fortnight?" Benjen inquired, finally setting his belongings down, mildly amused by the woman's ambition.

"I'm going to learn as much as I can, unless you'd like to take that burden, Ben," she emphasized his name, shaking her head at his choice. "How many languages do you know?"

He'd chosen Ben River. It was a common first name and with his shorter hair, beard growing in, and golden eyes--he doubted even Jorah Mormont would connect the dots given the years since either had seen one another. He'd been little more than a boy playing at being a man when he'd seen Mormont. "Hm, you're rather clever with languages. I wouldn't wish to encroach upon your expertise."

"Oh no, you're going to learn," Taliya insisted haughtily. "Maybe not Rhoynish, but you're a stick in the mud if you don't at least understand the dialect of Valyrian most of Essos uses and Dothraki."

He chuckled at her decisiveness, but knew she was right. He didn't understand anyone and that made him anxious. Relying only on common was a severe disability, especially if they had to be clever. Better that people thought him a stupid Westerosi bastard and it turned out he spoke enough of the other languages to follow along. "Enlighten me, wise maester."

Taliya rolled her eyes, jerked out the chair to the desk, and sat down. Just as he was her mentor in swordsplay, she had subjects to school him on. Despite her typical lack of decorum (with him, at least), she was rather perceptive and cunning. Perhaps her harsh, serpentine personality hinted at this, but he originally thought the woman lacked poise. Obviously, he'd been wrong. She only lacked it when there was no need for a facade and between him, a fellow warden, she did not guard herself. He was thankful for that, uncertain how he would have handled his Wardenship is not for a companion who was polar in nature to him. The Lord of Light had intentionally paired them, each stronger in different fields, and somehow aware that they wouldn't be at one another's throats. Perhaps the fact that Taliya was a woman had a hand in his relaxed nature around her or her courage when facing down the Other.

Despite how much the woman could bark, she was true, a trait rarely witnessed in this world. People were fickle, oathbreakers, and more willing to protect their own hide than to buckle down and remain steadfast to a cause.

While a learned man, languages were complex. Over the simple dinner they had been provided, his mind spun as she tried to impress Dothraki on him first as she learned herself. Her own ramblings, she seemed to make sense of it, but he was stuck on the harsh annunciations. Valyrian, he'd heard a few words of before, and found that it was a bit easier to follow. Still, it would be a long time before he was fluent in either. He turned in relatively early, aching from their journey, while Taliya bowed over the desk and began writing letters.

Come morning, he was astonished to find her asleep at the desk, face pressed to the parchment and candle nothing but a stump of wax with no light. Throwing his leg over his bed, he crept up to see that she'd written numerous drafts and that her handwriting was quite atrocious. However, as he pulled out a sheet, his eyes coasted over the content that flowed like rivers of prose. Ambiguous and had nothing at all to do with their plight. How would Varys be able to understand them?

"Not the hibiscus-" Taliya muttered, jolting up, a piece of parchment sticking to her face as she moved. "Oh. Is it morning already?"

"You spent all night writing this?" Ben waved the work, unimpressed.

"Takes a while to create a code and cipher," Taliya groaned, rubbing her neck, peeling off the parchment from her face to reveal a mess of equations and a more deliberately spaced version of the letter he now held. "Look, this is the key which will be sent a few days after the first letter-" she turned the page over and showed him an alphanumeric mess, launching into an explanation on how certain letters within different words corresponded to others and could be utilized to spell out entirely different sentences. The process by which she broke it down was complex, but without the cipher, the letter would just appear to be a gilded exchange about traveling through Essos from a friend.

"And you think he'll be able to crack this without a full explanation from you?" Ben inquired thoughtfully, enthralled with her diligence to get this done immediately. He hadn't considered the letter being intercepted or read by another, but perhaps that was his own naivity of King's Landing and the inner workings of politics. Until they secured a better mode of communication with Varys, it was best to adhere to a code to draw no attention from anyone who might spy the letter before the master of whispers.

"We'll find out. If not, we're going to have a fun time trying to get into the wedding," she chuckled, standing up from her seat. "Shit, I really need to lay down though. Go out into the city if you'd like, but I need a couple of hours."

He wasn't really keen on the idea of going out into Braavos without a translator, but also knew there were few moments where either of them really got to be alone. Securing a small portion of Braavosi coins, he departed from the dormitory. Where the temple had been aflame with activity overnight, it had simmered down to a quiet lull as he passed a few priests and priestesses who gave curt bows of their head, but spoke no greetings. Word had spread like wildfire and yet, as requested, they were discreet.

Sunrise on the city illuminated the grey stone with a warm, amber haze, refracting off the water in the canals and basking the people. There was still a lot to take in, bustle, and queerly speaking people, but Ben tried to relax. Courtesans milled around openly, smiling at passing men, including himself. Some rode on ornate pleasure barges and unlike those in Westeros, were treated like nobility and with care. His eyes did not linger long, but Ben puzzled about the fact that he was no longer bound to his oaths as a man of the Night's Watch.

He had warned Jon Snow of speaking away his freedoms, including enjoying a woman, at such a young age. Ben knew what he had missed, especially after he'd learned of men going down into the Gift to purchase time with harlots to sate their thirst. There had been a time, before the Night's Watch, where he had known women and what he was giving away. But as a Stark, he'd known his place in protecting the kingdom and supporting his brother from the Wall. It was easier for Ned if Ben had no claim, nor had he ever yearned for the title as Warden of the North.

Whatever oaths he had to uphold with the Lord of Light, he suspected given the fact he did not recall them meant that there were no such clauses as refraining from giving in to carnal desires. Yet, as he espied the comely faces of the women dressed in vibrant silks, he felt nothing. Perhaps because he did not know them, lacking rapport or trust, a rather bad taste situating in the back of his throat at the idea of paying for services. But this was Braavos and while he had a disliking for it, the city revelled in their differences from his home.

Ben followed his nose, finding himself breakfast amongst the stands, freshly baked sweet bread and a hot tea to enjoy by the canals. The city still sprawled before him, beckoning to be explored. Despite his wariness for the urban setting, he curiousity got the better of him. He was a ranger, an explorer in his own right. Be this a foreign city, his legs took him through the bridged paths, between the islands, and amongst the shifting colors and faces. Few paid him heed aside from a few smiling escorts, but he'd simply continued onwards, careful to evade shady alleys and remained on the main roads.

A couple of hours turned into the better part of the afternoon, as he'd managed to get himself turned around, searching for the path back to the Red Temple. After finding someone who was willing to give him directions in common, he returned to find that Taliya was awake, the desk was void of the scattered parchment, and she was pawing through the language books. Her dedication was admirable, but he wondered how she could remain holed up in the stuffy room when there was so much to explore.

"Think the priests will mind if we use their courtyard for sparring?" Ben proposed wolfishly.

"We're Wardens, they'll let us do anything short of murdering them all if it's the Lord of Light's will," Taliya smirked.

*

They kept to the strict schedule of a fortnight in Braavos. As Taliya had jested, there was substance to the claim that the Red Priests would do anything for them. Part of Taliya's plan for Daenerys' wedding went hand in hand with R'hllor and claiming to be religious ambassadors and warriors entering into servitude on the blessed wedding-as was the will of their God. The temple parted with crimson garments for them, burnishing their armor, making certain they had plenty of coin and food for the journey to Pentos. He had not thought that he would have missed the little griffin during their separation, but as they left behind the watery city and trekked back out into the countryside where they'd started in Essos, he found his heart brimming with joy as the griffins touched down and reunited with them.

While Torrhen had grown a bit over the weeks, it was still not enough to ride him. Balerion groused, but in good nature, butting playfully into Taliya as she tried to secure the saddle bags to him, tail swishing around like a cat ready to play. Each passing moment brought them closer to the beginning of their first mission and to say that Ben was anxious was an understatement. What if Jorah recognized him? What if their invitation to the wedding was not solidified and they failed? His doubts and worries did not seem to affect his partner in the same manner. She was difficult to read and aloof, her pensive expression the only inkling that she might be worried about what Pentos had in store for them.

He had to trust in their mission, but his Dothraki was poor and his Valyrian rough. For all he knew, he'd be the fool on the Pentoshi promenade. Even the skills of his companion would not save him from his own ignorance. Gods, the north was so much less complex, even with the Others lurking north of the Wall.

They arrived in the city with a few days to spare before the wedding, allotting them time to get gifts and top of their supplies. Where Braavos had been grey, mild, and riddled with more canals than streets, Pentos was warm, made of many bricked buildings and walled estates akin to miniature castles, and filled with brightly hued residents. Westeros seemed bleak by comparison and Ben was sweltering in his thin doublet, armor, and trousers. While a warm, salty breeze often blew up from the port, the high walls of the golden city often denied them of the luxury of feeling its reprieve.

While the colors of the Wardens had been dark blue and grey, they traded the typical hues of their regal to that of the Lord of Light. Before dawn on the day of the wedding, Ben had settled his wardrobe and his attire. He'd spent the better part of the night polishing his cuirass, emblazoned with the heraldry of the Warden griffin on silvered steel. He did not possess a full suit, only the breastplate, thankful that it was light. The doublet beneath was provided by the temple in Braavos, a deep, garnet red that looked almost black, threads glistening in the sunlight.

His trousers were of a loose fit, as not to make him sweat excessively on the desert plains, though he knew there would be no avoiding it. He had not been crafted to be in Essos. He was a Stark, ice and iron, not heat and fire. The shiny black boots were finer than he would have typically chosen, accustomed to the sublime and mundane as a man of the Watch. What he wore now was a little 'much' for him. Taliya assured him that it was simple, but it still felt rather decadent.

He need only remind himself of the gem hues across the city to feel less excessive. After all, there were men who dyed their beards strange colors and forked them with oils.

Taliya was much more at home in the city than he was. Over the weeks her complexion had warmed to a rich olive, which complimented the tones she wore. That morning, the woman wore a pair of slitted harem pants in a deep, vibrant crimson. An ensemble of gold and cred sashes by her waist secured Fate to her hip, before a thick leather cuirass was fitted carefully over her torso, wrapped beneath sashes that matched the trousers, encompassing her collar and neck and fluttering behind her in scarves. While he knew she had gloves to meet the tight sleeves at her elbows, she had foregone them for the wedding, revealing intricate scrawlings of black and colored ink on her left arm.

Ben had never seen tattoos so ornate or detailed, leaving yet another layer of curiosities surrounded the woman. But as he gazed at her, he had no doubt that she was Dornish, wearing the sunset as she sat astride the dappled gelding that she'd purchased for their journey. Until the dragons were born, they could not introduce the griffins and had to have their own horses to accompany the Dothraki with. Each shuffle of the horse revealed the warm skin of her smooth legs and Ben felt himself watching a little longer than was polite. It was the first time he'd really seen more of the discreet Warden since the beginning of their partnership.

Both of their horses wore blankets with the flaming hearts of R'hllor, pressed to the flanks so that people knew they were embassies of the red god. The wedding was to be held outside of the city, the khalasar so enormous that the city was wary of what the festivities might do inside the walls, given their lack of military protection. Thus, it was to be conducted outside the golden walls and within a field where the Dothraki had made a temporary camp. Running through the lines of Dothraki he did remember, he prayed to any god that would listen that he wouldn't make a fool of himself.

Their trip out of the city and toward the allotted field paused when they noticed an elaborate poliquin gilded with so much golden paint that Benjen was quite certain it could've fed the entire north for a year during winter. Taliya spared him a glance, giving him a quick nod, before nudging her gelding forward to approach the throng of plump Unsullied that were carrying it. With a click, the shutter slipped open and within they could see the greasy face of a very fat man. The man from the visions: Illyrio Mopatis.

"Ah, you must be the swords of R'hllor," he greeted in a honey sweet voice, stroking his yellowed beard that was greasy enough to paint pictures on canvas.

"May the Lord of Light smile on you, Magister," Taliya replied courteously, a staunch difference from the woman he was acquainted with. Still this was not groveling, she spoke as a soldier might to an officer, cordial and polite. "I believe a mutual friend of ours told of our coming from Braavos."

"Yes, yes he did. I am quite surprised that the R'hllor would be so interested in this union," Illyrio simpered.

"The Lord of Light works in mysterious ways. We do not question his will," Ben broke in, earning a careful, but impressed glance from Taliya.

"Hm, indeed. There are not many Westerosi who follow the Lord of Light. Given your accent, my lady, you must be from Dorne."

"I am," she conceded simply, but her voice fell flat as she did not smile or lean into the flattering tone which the man spoke with. "And there are not many Westerosi on this side of the Narrow Sea, yet here we are. The paths in which we led to get here were but the will of the Lord... It seems as if it'll be a fine morning for a wedding."

"Tell me, my lady, have you ever been to a Dothraki wedding?" Illyrio inquired lightly.

" Vo, vosma anha shillolat anha tikh allayafi me ," (No, but I believe I will enjoy it) Taliya retorted, the magister's brows shooting up. "Sorry, my Dothraki is still a bit rough, but I believe it'll get better."

"Our friend said you were clever, but I was not aware you were a linguist," Illyrio remarked.

"I'm a bit more gifted in scholarly pursuits than my companion, but he could best me with a sword any day. Perhaps the Lord of Light was aware of this when he made his partners," Taliya concluded before drawing her horse a few paces away. "We shall reconvene with you at the wedding. The night is dark and full of terrors."

"Farewell," Illyrio watched as they departed, skirting past his poliquin and down the beaten path that led to the sprawling plains where a city's worth of Dothraki were dwelling.

"Shit, I need something to sniff, that man smelled awful-" Taliya complained, rubbing her nose as they broke into a small pocket of solitude. "Could you smell it? Even the perfume didn't hide his reek-"

"No, I wasn't close enough," Ben admitted thankfully. "Who knew you could be so well-mannered."

Her infamous temper flared, eyes narrowing at him, as she opened her mouth to lash at him like a viper, "A side of me you'll never have the luxury of knowing."

He barked a laugh. "If you were being polite to me, I'd suspect death was near and the Lord of Light tasked you with killing me."

"Is it that uncharacteristic? I can be nice when I choose to," Taliya grumbled, drawing in a shimmering gold scarf.

"No one here knows you, so to them, they'd be none the wiser," he pointed out.

"But you know," she gave him a sideways glance, a devilish light playing in her fiery eyes.

"I know," he agreed, tucking away a smirk. Months of being beside her, with only her company aside from the griffins (not to include Fang's sporadic appearances), he thought he knew Taliya well enough. Still, despite all that he knew, he knew little of her history or who she was.

Abruptly, the woman reigned in her horse and dropped from the saddle in a puff of dust. Bending down, she retrieved a dagger and began hacking up a shrub of multicolored flowers, assembling a bouquet with a throng of tall grass to tie it together.

"For the princess?" he puzzled, aware that they'd already purchased excellent gifts for the girl. What good would flowers do?

"Mhm," she got back on the saddle. "Would you believe me if I told you I was a gardener in my past life?"

Benjen chuckled, but then realized she was utterly serious. A gardener?

[song-fox]

Inspired by this post

AU where Thomas is a struggling not-so-popular YouTuber, recently out of school and looking for a better job and, since he’s apparently pretty good with kids according to his friends Joan and Talyn, decides to set up a small business babysitting.

It’s all fun and games and the occasional diaper change, until… (long post ahead) (I got a little carried away lol)

Thomas is, obviously, pretty good and experienced with kids. He’s been in the babysitting business for a couple of months now, and he wouldn’t call himself a professional, but he’s making his way through it

One day a woman asks him to babysit her kids

Naturally, Thomas agrees. It’s just a couple of kids, how bad could it be?

Then he realizes that the woman never specified how many kids

Alright, no biggie. Most people have maybe two kids, four at most

Then the woman shows up at his doorstep with six kids, all different ages

Oh god. Oh god. Six kids?! I can’t handle this. Fuuuuu-

“You sure you can take care of these guys by yourself?”

“Oh, of course! No worries!”

He’s in trouble

The oldest is Janus, at fourteen years old. He’s sarcastic, snarky, clever, and hates Thomas. “I don’t need a babysitter, I can take care of myself!”

Next is Logan, twelve. Reserved, cold, and smart. Prefers to be alone with his books.

Then come the twins at ten years old, Roman and Remus. Apparently they aren’t actually the woman’s kids, she’s their adopted them from an ex-friend who never gave them enough attention

As a result, these kids will do anything to get noticed. Anything. Set a couple trash cans on fire, scream from the top of the roof sometimes, whatever.

Then Patton, nine. Sweet, naïve and almost annoyingly empathetic, he keeps the twins in line with compliments and a ton of hugs. He’s probably Thomas’ favourite.

And lastly, baby Virgil. Surprisingly quiet for a baby, his personality is mostly just spite and a fear of loud noises

Thomas is astounded that this woman can even keep track of their names, let alone take care of them

The first day with them is horrific

Logan is arguing with the twins. Patton is desperately trying to get them to stop. Janus is holding Virgil and trying to get him to sleep. The house is absolute anarchy.

Things are seriously getting out of hand when Remus accidentally sets the microwave on fire

(Remus claims it was an accident, but Thomas could easily see the matches in his hand)

He picks up his phone and hastily dials Joan

“Hey, hey Joan? Joan?! Is Talyn there with you? Oh my god, I need you to come over, quick! Remus set the microwave on fire- one of the kids that I’m babysitting! The baby is crying, the older one is yelling at everyone, I think there’s a feral cat loose in the garden- jANUS WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?! PUT THAT DOWN! Oh god, the fire–”

“Huh. Have you tried making s'mores?”

“jOAN PLEASE TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY–”

Eventually everything is under control. The fire is put out, the cat is back to its owner, Virgil has stopped crying and the twins are content to listen to Janus plan out exactly how he’s going to overthrow the government

Thomas is sure he should be more concerned about that, but as long as there’s no more fires

Joan and Talyn are there to support him too

It’s been a very long day, but eventually the kids go home to their mother

The trio flops onto the couch, absolutely exhausted

“Those kids were fun, but I never want to see them ever again.’

Surprise: it’s a weekly thing now

Haha… yeah

Their mom has a new job now, and with her shift requiring her to work for most of the day and their dad working every weekday, Thomas to look after the kids for five hours a week

Five

Hours

Thomas is sure he’s gonna die

The next time they meet goes just about as well as you’d think

There’s crude drawings on the wall, Logan has threatened to smack Janus with a book at least three times, and there’s a knife missing from the kitchen

Next week there’s a food fight

After that Patton shows up with a stray hedgehog

After that Virgil somehow manages to get stuck in the kitchen sink

After that Logan almost accidentally starts a pillow fight with Thomas’ couch cushions

Then suddenly, everything is chill

The twins are more energised than chaotic, Virgil is calm, the rest are content with simply chatting

Mostly they’re just bored and too tired to do anything

Thomas, Joan and Talyn get to talk more leisurely this time as the kids simply talk with one another

Well, until Patton pipes up

"I really like your eyebrows!” he whisper-shouts and points to Talyn, trying not to wake up Virgil

Talyn’s got bright scarlet and pink eyebrows to match their dyed red hair

They look at him for a second. “Oh- uh, thanks!”

“Can you do makeup?” Roman asks

Talyn shrugs. “Sure.”

“Can you do makeup on us?”

Talyn looks to Thomas. “Are we-?”

“Their mom said they can do just about anything as long as they don’t get hurt or break the law.”

The next two hours or so are full of just Talyn putting makeup on all the kids who want them. Full stage makeup for Roman, a moustache and purple eyeshadow for Remus, and a sheepish request for snake scales for Janus

“Hm, dunno what I can do for that one… oh! Thomas, do you have like, fishnets or something?”

“What? Why would I have those?”

Talyn raises a colourful eyebrow.

“…I’ll go get them.”

Half an hour later, Janus looks amazing

Patton can think of a million puns for his snake side

Virgil seems to find it cool

Logan is listing off snake facts for the whole half hour, pointing out mistakes in colouring or shape until Talyn has it perfect

The kids leave that week happier than last time and with bright faces of makeup

The weeks go on and on, and after a few months, Halloween comes up

Their mother is incredibly sorry that she has to work instead of being with her kids, but she has no choice and has to leave them with Thomas

She also leaves a giant bin bag full of costumes

“They like to go Trick-or-Treating,” she explains.

Thomas as actually kinda hyped this time

Outfits! Makeup! Candy! What’s there not to love?!

Apparently the kids share his enthusiasm

Janus asks Talyn if they can do his snake makeup again, to which they gladly agree. He’s going as a generic villain, with a black capelet and cane and everything

Remus is, to nobody’s surprise, Beetlejuice. He’s got temporary neon green hair dye and a cheap-looking striped tuxedo. Remus loves it

Roman is going as a prince. It looks crudely made and even a little tacky, but altogether the costume is pretty good

Logan is going as Dr. Frankenstein, and no he is not the monster, and no that isn’t accurate to the story, and nO GODDAMMNIT ROMAN I AM NOT GOING AS THE MONSTER

Patton is a werewolf, although he doesn’t really get the whole supernatural vibe of it

It’s okay though, his little floppy dog ears look very cute

Virgil is a pumpkin

That’s it

Nothing too special, just a pumpkin

He looks adorable though

The night starts off great, with all the kids chattering away and baby Virgil being the world’s cutest source of attention

The twins are loving all the compliments that come with their costumes

Logan is actually recognized as Dr. Frankenstein and isn’t able to shut up about it

Thomas doesn’t mind, though

After a couple months with the kids, it’s kind of endearing how chaotic they are

The night ends and the kids go back to Thomas’ place, waiting for their mom to come back

Thomas goes to get some DVDs to watch while they wait, and overhears their conversation

“I miss mom,” Patton sighs

“She’s at work. She’ll return soon,” Logan assures him.

“He doesn’t mean it like that.” Janus.

“Oh?”

“Our parents are never around anymore. Thomas has taken more care of us in a couple months than they have in years.”

“Because they’re always working to support us.”

“Well it wouldn’t kill them to stick around a little more,” Roman pipes up

“They’re not abandoning us.”

“I know that!” Roman snaps

Everyone knows the twins’ issues with negligence

There’s a pause, before Remus speaks. “She’s just never around. Dad, too. They don’t want us.”

“Remus, that’s not-”

“They don’t want us!”

There’s another silence as Virgil threatens to start crying again

Janus clears his throat. “We can take care of ourselves. We don’t need our parents any more than each other.”

Another silence.

“C'mon, let’s trade candy. I’ve got a KitKat bar–”

Thomas doesn’t listen to the rest of the conversation

He knows they have it hard

Their parents are always working, and they don’t always care enough to stick around for too long

So he’s determined to do the best he can with these kids

“Hey, guys! I’ve got Nightmare Before Christmas, yes Patton we can watch Elf afterwards if we’ve got time, and yes Roman you’re allowed to sing along. C'mon, let’s get on the couch-!”

[wildflowerhigh]

Second Time Around (c.h.) | Part 8

Read part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7

Summary: Maybe, just maybe, Calum Hood isn’t so cynical about love anymore.

Word Count: 2.8K

A/N:  This is the end! What a rollercoaster to get here, but we’ve finally arrived. I’m genuinely sad this series is over, but like I said before, this is not the end! I’m hoping to post a couple of bonus one shots. Anyway, thank you so much for sticking with me and reading this till the end. I hope you guys loved this series as much as I loved writing it. Also, y’all are more than welcome to come and shout in my inbox about Harper and Calum! I’m more than willing to keep writing about these two, but you gotta tell me what you wanna read. So… send me blurbs or something, I don’t know hehe. Okay, I’m just gonna shut up now and let y’all read, bye!

---

“HIGH SCHOOL REUNION - CLASS OF 2014,” Harper read off the massive banner hanging inside the school gym. Luke, Michael, Harper and him were at their high school reunion, surrounded by their ex-classmates sipping wine from stem glasses. Ashton obviously hadn’t come, choosing to have a date night with Kaykay instead. Sierra and Crystal had decided not to come either.

“Technically we’re not class of 2014, we dropped out before we graduated,” Luke commented as they surveyed the gym. As Calum scanned the room, different names popped into his head as he recognized each person. Some of them he had actually been friends with, but most he had barely known.

“Yeah, but you’re famous, that’s probably why you got called,” Harper said, smirking, before walking off to talk to someone else she had spotted. The group split, and Calum found himself talking to Jenny Campbell. She had been a cheerleader, and in a quite cliché manner, had looked down her nose at him and his friends. But here she was now, talking to him like they had been the best of friends in high school. If Ashton had been in his place, he probably would have made a snarky comment to her face and walked away, but Calum was unfortunately nicer than him.

“Hey Cal, come with me, I wanna show you something,” Harper slid up next to him, grabbing his arm to pull him away. She interrupted Jenny’s rant about some topic (that was verging on racist territory) and made Calum want to claw his eyeballs out, so he was glad that his girlfriend had stepped in. Jenny cleared her throat, to get Harper’s attention.

“Jenny. Hello,” Harper said, and Calum could hear the mock pleasantry in her voice. “How are you?”

“Calum and I were having a conversation, Harper, before you so rudely interrupted,” Jenny replied scornfully.

“Oh yeah? What you were talking about?” Harper asked, turning around to face her. Calum remembered now that Jenny and her had never actually gotten along; Jenny was fake nice, which Harper hated.

“Something you wouldn’t really understand, Harper.” Jenny smiled at Harper condescendingly, and it was clear that Jenny thought her and Calum were somehow better than Harper. Calum cringed at the thought.

“Right, of course. And how’s the divorce coming along?” Harper asked cheerfully, but Calum noticed the scathing tone in her voice. Jenny’s jaw dropped, and from the expression on her face, he could tell Harper had hit a nerve. “Heard it lasted only ten days, and he cheated on you with your bridesmaid? That’s just so, so, sad.” She looked at her with mock pity. “Okay, Jenny, it was great talking to you, bye!”

She turned Calum around and pushed him away, shooting her a condescending smile. He struggled to stifle his laughs- he managed to say goodbye to Jenny, and she looked like a volcano ready to burst when he last saw her. Harper and Calum made it out of the gym, laughing so hard that his stomach hurt.

“That was cold, baby,” he said between laughs, the nickname seamlessly slipping out of his lips. Harper’s grin somehow got even wider. 

“I’m up to here with her bullshit,” she said when they had stopped laughing, gesturing next to her head with her hand. “I never stood up to her in high school, but I couldn’t give less of a shit now.”

“And that’s how it should be,” he said encouragingly, giving her a high five. She smiled at him, her cheeks slightly red. “How did you even know all of that?”

“Amy told me all of it, just now,” she replied. Amy had been Harper’s other best friend. She was quite a nice girl, as far as he remembered.

“Oh yeah, how is she?”

“She’s doing great, she’s an entrepreneur now,” Harper said, nodding.

“Wow.” Harper and Calum just stood there looking at each other, smiles stretched across their faces. “Why did you pull me away anyway?”

“Oh!” Harper smacked her forehead. “I wanted to go see our old classrooms.” She grabbed his hand, and pulled him up the stairs.

“My Year 12 classroom,” Harper murmured, peeking into the first room to the right. Calum peeked in too- that was where he would have studied if he hadn’t dropped out. It looked identical to his older classrooms, to be perfectly honest.

“Year 11,” she mumbled to herself, moving on to another classroom. By now she had a lazy smile on her face, probably saturated with memories and nostalgia. Calum joined her in looking at Year 11. He was there for most of it- it had been good in terms of the friends, but he just couldn’t hack the studies part of it. 

“What did they say when I dropped out?” Calum asked, and Harper shrugged.

“Don’t remember, actually. I don’t think people were actually that surprised.”

Calum squinted at her. “I wasn’t that bad at studies, was I?”

“No, but everyone knew the band was your main goal towards the end. It simply became a matter of time,” she replied, and rubbed his arm soothingly. “Don’t worry, love.”

They moved on to the Year 10 classroom, reminiscing about that year, and then finally to the Year 9 classroom. The year Harper had joined.

Harper stepped in and looked around the room, a wistful smile stretched across her face. The room hadn’t changed one bit in so long. “I’m so glad my dad got transferred here,” she murmured, and Calum smiled at the back of her head. He was glad too.

After their evening at the cliff, he had taken her out on a couple dates, which had only cemented his decision to make this relationship work. She was absolutely incredible. He had asked her to be his girlfriend, and to his delight, she had instantly said yes.

Calum walked over to his old table, two rows from the back of the classroom. He sat down on the bench (he was too big, he just barely fit on it), facing the blackboard. Harper looked over at him, amused. “I was sat here, just like this, when you walked in that day. On your first day of school.” He tapped the table slightly. “You introduced yourself, and I’ve been whipped for you ever since.”

"Just like that?" She teased, half giggling, and did a mock catwalk into the room, twirling around like a Miss World contestant.

"Exactly like that, yeah," he managed to get out in the midst of fond giggles at his girlfriend's fooling around.

She smiled at him and crossed him to sit at her own old table, diagonally to the right behind his. He swiveled around in his tiny seat to face her. "You would lean over and correct my maths work," he remembered.

She shrugged. "It was the only way to talk to you," she said, making Calum's eyes go wide. “Yeah! I used to keep looking at your work to see if you made mistakes- and you made a lot of them- and I would correct you.” She chuckled slightly, shaking her head. “I stupidly thought that was the way to weasel myself into your heart.”

“But it worked, though,” he said, and she smiled at him. "I wish I had asked you out then."

"I'm actually glad you didn't. We would have turned out as different people if we had been together then, and…" she walked over to sit on his table, and he looked up at her. His hand automatically moved to her calf, lightly stroking it. "I like the people we are right now."

He stood up in front of her, pulling her legs around his waist. She smirked at him, and his heart flipped like it always, always did. "I like the people we are right now too,” he said, and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss almost immediately got more intense, her hands ruffling through his short hair as he tilted his head.

"Mr Hood, Miss Romano, maybe don't make out in this classroom," a familiar voice piped up near them, and Harper and Calum instantly pulled away to look at the source. Mr Wayne, their English teacher was standing in the doorway, frowning amusedly at the couple. "There are children who study on that very table."

"Mr Wayne, hello!" Harper said, jumping off the bench, brushing her hair. Calum brushed a hand over his face and hair as well. "We were just reminiscing!"

"By kissing? That’s an interesting method," he commented.

“Sorry, Mr Wayne,” Calum said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. Mr Wayne shook his head, a smile appearing on his face. He had been a pretty chill English teacher, Calum remembered.

"I really don't know if you kept him and the others in less trouble, or if they got you into more trouble, Miss Romano," he said, walking closer to them, his hands behind his back.

"Let's just say it was a mix of both, Mr Smith," Harper said, making Mr Lee chuckle.

"And you two are reconnecting in an unconventional manner," he quipped, and both Harper and Calum blushed, his hand moving to the small of her back. 

"Yeah, it... just happened."

"Well, please don't make out again in the classrooms. It was nice seeing you two again." He turned around to leave, and then looked back at them. "And I must say, it’s about time." He smiled at them and walked out, leaving the two of them confused.

“What the hell was that supposed to mean?" Harper whispered.

"I have no idea."

---

An hour and a half later, after a decent dinner hosted by the school itself, the four of them drove back home together. They had gone in Calum’s car, so he was driving. Harper had placed her hand on his that was on the gear stick five minutes into the ride, leading to a constant barrage of teasing from Luke and Michael, but Calum didn’t care- all he felt was contentment. 

They dropped off Luke and Michael at their respective homes, and as the car sped away, Harper sighed loudly. “I don’t wanna go home,” she whined.

“You don’t have to go home right now if you don’t want to, you know, you’re an adult,” he remarked, and her eyes grew wide.

“I’m an adult. Oh my god, I can do whatever I want!”

Calum chuckled at her. “Yeah, being back home makes you feel like a kid again, doesn’t it?”

“It really does, I feel like I should be at home doing homework right now,” she replied, giggling.

“So, Ms. Harper Romano, the adult,” he joked. “Where do you wanna go?” He pulled over on the side of the road- he didn’t wanna overshoot their destination that she was yet to pick. 

Harper looked around; suddenly, her hand gripped Calum’s tighter. “Benny’s Diner. It’s right there.” She pointed at a tiny restaurant on the side of the road with her free hand.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah! I remember all the couples used to come here for dates back then,” she said. Calum shrugged, stopped the car and got out, his hand disconnecting with hers for a few seconds till she was by his side again. This time, she slid her hand fully into his, and Calum couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face.

The name of the diner sounded kinda familiar to him, and as they walked in, he realized where he had heard it before. “I’m pretty sure Luke used to come here with his high school girlfriend,” he remarked, and Harper nodded.

“Probably. Literally everyone popular ate here. I’m pretty sure they came here after the school formal too,” she replied, settling into one of the booths. Calum sat down next to her, and he reluctantly let go of her hand. “I didn’t go with them, though. I went home after the dance. There’s only so much socializing I can do.”

Calum smiled at her, and looked around. It was a cute place, but he didn’t think he had ever come there before. He definitely hadn’t come here on a date, he would have remembered. “Who did you go to the formal with?” he asked.

“Tommy Huang,” she said, looking up from the menu she had picked up off another table. Calum’s mouth fell open at her answer.

“Seriously?” he asked, for the second time that night. “That guy was such a douche!”

“Yeah, but he was the only guy who asked me, and everyone else had dates.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “I didn’t wanna be that chick that’s all alone at the formal.”

The waitress interrupted them just then- Harper ordered a chocolate milkshake while Calum ordered a tea. 

“If I had been there, I would have asked you to the formal,” Calum said, after the waitress had left, and she smiled warmly at him.

“And I would have said yes, but you were in London,” she replied. She didn’t sound at all bitter, but the guilt ripped through his heart anyway.

“I’m sorry we abandoned you,” he said, reaching out to grab her hand, and she gladly took it. “And left you to get through the mess that is high school all alone,” he finished, and she shook her head.

“You didn’t abandon me, Cal, you guys were following your dreams! I would be a horrible friend if I felt bad about this.”

“So you don’t feel bad at all?”

“Well, I-” She paused, looking for words. “I was a little lonely, of course, I don’t blame you guys for it,” she said pointedly. “In fact, I’m glad you guys went to London, I mean, look where you are now!”

The universe has a funny way of proving points, and as if on cue, the diner’s speakers started playing She Looks So Perfect. Both of their jaws dropped- while Harper’s expression was more of amusement, Calum’s expression was sheer horror.

“And your song wouldn’t be played at random diners if you hadn’t gone to London!” She clapped her hands in glee, getting up from the booth. Calum put his face in his hands, hiding the smile that popped up from looking at his girlfriend’s joy. 

“You’re kidding, right?” he asked, watching her dance and sing along to Luke’s verse of the song.

“I am not kidding, Calum Thomas Hood, now up you get!” She dramatically raised her hands,  gesturing to him to stand. He got up, smirking at her shining face. “The whole world loves you, baby,�� she cooed, taking his hands into hers, and he laughed. She forced him to dance, moving his hands like that of a doll, and he sheepishly went along with it, unable to stop laughing. He noticed the waitress staring at them like they were crazy, but at this point, he kinda felt like they were.

During the chorus, he even twirled her around; Harper cackled, which made Calum cackle as well. He felt carefree- like the world was only him and her in this diner, dancing to a song that he had made, acting silly.

When his verse came, he serenaded her, getting down on his knees as he sang the line, ‘If I showed up with a plane ticket, and a shiny diamond ring with your name on it, would you run away too? ‘Cause all I really want is you!’

Harper laughed as he sang, cracking up so hard she couldn’t talk. Calum was laughing just as hard- he could feel his stomach clench from laughing so much. After they finally caught their breath, Harper stood up fully, pulling him closer by his shirt. They were still giggling, and Calum doubted they would stop soon. “What are the odds of them playing this song right-fucking-now?” she asked, amused. He shook his head, his hands gripping her waist.

“Very, very slim,” he replied, and bent down to kiss her cheek. She grinned at him, and Calum felt like he was on cloud nine. The song had reached its end by now, and some other hit pop song started playing.

“I would, by the way,” she added, after a few moments, and Calum shot her a confused look. “If you showed up with a plane ticket and a shiny diamond ring with my name on it, I would run away with you.”

Calum didn’t think his heart could melt for her even more than it already was, but it did. Looking at her cheesy grin- the smile that bowled him over in the first place, that would forever be etched in his memory- he fell head over heels for her once again, as he had countless times before. In this time that he had reconnected with her, which was almost a year, he had found something worth fighting for.

Looking into her eyes, Calum felt a tinge of apprehension, of fear that he would lose her and go through the awful feeling that was heartbreak all over again. But much stronger than that apprehension, crushing it into pieces, rose hope- hope for a future of love, with her. A feeling he hadn’t experienced in so long, it seemed almost foreign.

“Consider it done,” he murmured, and her smile widened. And when she stepped closer to him, her hand brushing his cheek, and pressed her sweet lips to his, Calum knew there was nowhere else he wanted to be.

---

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[serendipitys-lie]

Harry Hook x Reader Imagine “Trust Me” Pt. 1

Harry hook imagine

Authors note: Again I take requests on any fandoms I’m always free just ask away! This wasn’t requested but I thought about it haha :)

Also the part where you start with “I’m the girl who loves my island” is basically a passage from the reprise song that Moana sings in the movie Moana and I thought it’d be nice to include lol

Also i split this into two parts (maybe even three) because tumblr says its too long ;-;

Summary: You are the daughter of Moana and after the events of its going down you are left behind on the isle to fend for yourself. You run into Harry Hook who will end up being your best chance on getting out and along the way you will learn more about each other and grow closer in relationship.

MAJOR WARNING: BIG MENTION OF RAPE, I DONT REALLY MENTION IT ITS MORE OF ME IMPLYING IT BUT ITS STILL THERE SO

~~~~~~~~~~~

You woke up from your dream in a daze panting slightly. Taking in all your surroundings you realized, yes you were still in the same place and yes, that place was the isle of the lost.

Normally the isle of the lost was not a place where a princess should be, let alone the daughter of Moana herself yet you were here. You had begged the VKs to take you on their rescue trip to save your closet friend Ben who had been kidnapped on the isle. Sadly a mist the battle between pirates and royalty the group fled in a hurry and had forgotten that you were on the other side of the plank once Mal had kicked it off.

As soon as they realized their mistake they tried all they could to get you back, you assuring them you’d be fine and that they just needed to go. The last thing you saw Mal word to you was “we’ll come back for you” before they disappeared into the pipe and you fled from the pirate scene hoping to stay out of view from any villains.

That had been nearly three months ago when it occurred and they still hadn’t come… you still hadn’t left. Yet it all consisted of the same. Everyday you’d hide out in Mal’s old apartment and leave when you needed food and such making sure no villains or crew members of Uma found out there was a princess on the isle.

You had learned to steal, it wasn’t a favorite of yours but sadly you learned you’d need to do it if you were to survive anymore on this gosh forsaken dump of land. You hated it here, not for reasons many would think. You were homesick, tired, and alone. You’d give anything to be back in Auradon smiling with Ben and your friends yet, you were not.

You sighed preparing yourself to head out for the day. You put on your beige shorts, red top, white sneakers, and your signature Hawaiian flower (given to you by your mother) in your hair. Lastly you tied the look all off with a big, old, dirty cloak so no one would recognize you and you left.

~~~~~~~~~~~

You had been “shopping” around for what felt like hours before you began to grow tired. Your feet were starting to ache and you only wished to go home when something shiny had caught your attention from the corner of your eye. You quickly turned to see the object more clearly and couldn’t help but feel your curiosity grow. You definitely felt your mother’s childlike wonder grow in you more and more as you inched closer now in a more secluded area of the alleyways.

You had decided that you’d just take the item and be on your way. Yes stealing was wrong and always would be but you only ever stole food and you didn’t see why you couldn’t steal for your own pleasure for once. And so you did, you inched closer and closer till you finally grabbed the item, yanking it from its position, and running.

You ran as fast as you could feeling the wind in your hair and your cloak hood fall. You could hear footsteps approaching faster and louder and quickened your haste. When it suddenly seemed like you had won and the steps had died down you reached a dead end in a dark ally way and ran into the wall, falling to the ground with a thud and mentally cursing yourself for being so clumsy.

You were just about to get up and sprint when you suddenly felt a grip on your wrist and chills go down your spine. You were pulled to your feet and pushed in the hold of whoever had caught you. Your back was pressed against the strangers front, whoever it was clearly being taller than you and being able to keep a strong, tight grip.

You wriggled and squirmed but just could not break free of the hold they had you in. You suddenly felt a warm breath down your neck and the words, almost a haughty whisper by your ear,

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you that stealing from a pirate was a mistake?”

Your face flushed at the voice, feeling uncomfortable and hot at the same time. With one strong big push you were able to break free from your attacker, hitting the wall once more, dropping the stolen item, and falling on your butt. As you looked up, one hand shielding your eyes from the sun you saw it, those beautiful blue eyes, the shadow of the figure putting the shiny, stolen item onto his hand. you knew instantly who he was! You had recognized him from the battle to save your friend and what you had just happened to steel was his pirate hook… ouch.

“Harry Hook” you spat out.

“Well well well, you do know me. That’s a shame lass I don’t recall who you are?” He said holding one hand out to you to help you back up with a cheeky grin. As you stood up and were able to give the pirate a better look at your physique, many things seemed to finally come back to Harry.

“I know you doll, you were at the battle! To save king beastie! Oi you must be some kind of princess now aren’t ye? Let me guess lass, go on gimme a princess name” he said with a menacing grin.

You rolled your eyes at the pirate annoyed with his behavior and the fact that you had finally been caught.

“I’m not a princess, I’m the daughter of the village Chieftess. There’s a difference and frankly I’d rather if you didn’t know who I was thank you very much” you answered calmly seeing it as an opportunity to start walking away when he grabbed your arm once more and moved closer.

“Tsk tsk tsk” he began, “you’ve made two mistakes in one day lass. Never steal from a pirate and never walk away from Harry Hook. Now judging by your snarky attitude and rebellious behavior ima say your Y/N, the daughter of Moana ye?”

“H-how… how did you know that?”

“I know all royalty love, I’m a pirate, makes for good loot stealing plans.” You just simply nodded and gave him a straight face hoping he wouldnt ask why you were here.

“Now, what’s a good little lady like you doing all washed up on our shore hm? Are you lost? Stuck? Oh- oh ho ho!!!” He began chuckling and smiling all along. “Did the mean wittle villain kids leave their least favorite friend behind to rot on an island with no one but herse-“

“ENOUGH!” You yelled cutting him off by surprise but not long enough for him to smirk realizing he had gotten to you. “I chose to stay, no one left me, you can stop bothering me now.”

“Oh come on love, no one chooses to stay on this dreadful place, not even I wish to stay here, only madmen and witches. If you did so desperately wish to stay what was the reason? Did ya miss me?” He asked with a cheeky wink at the end.

You rolled your eyes and thought of a quick, untruthful, reply.

“I just wanted to know what it felt like… to fend for myself, to steal, to not be good for once. It’s not to much to ask for!” You began realizing your answer may not have been the best and quickly changing the topic. “Anyway what you did you say about even you wanting to leave?”

“Ah its true lassie, not even the most handsome devil on this island wishes to stay…” he took a seat on a barrel nearby, you taking up room next to him on some crates, listening to him begin to speak. “I wish to go to a place, I don’t expect you to know. Tis a place I come from. My sisters are there and my father, the one I am sure to make proud. I miss them… they were lucky to make it to the unreachable land were as me, I was too slow and got put here. I dream about the beautiful island everyday, a place I’d rather be with my mates and my family just chillin happily. Ah yes, what a glorious place it is… Neverland.”

You choked once hearing the last word… “Neverland”. No not Neverland. You wished to never think of that place again. You wished you’d never have to go back. You couldn’t. You wouldn’t.

“Only thing not too glorious about Neverland is Pan” he mumbled clearly annoyed with the thought.

“N-never. Never mention that name to me. I never want to hear of that man again, got it?” You snapped.

Hook smirked, “Finally someone who hates him as much as my family does! Welcome to the club lass! Whaddya hate em for?”

You didn’t respond. Rather than listen to Hook babble more about his “dream island” you began to think long and hard. You were tired of waiting for rescuers who were sure to never come. You needed off the island now, and you now had a better chance because you had something you didn’t have before. You had a useful persons motive.

Cutting the pirate of you stood up right in front of his sitting figure, gaining his attention and, looking dead into his serious eyes.

“Hook,” You began, “I have an idea and just hear me out. We both really want off this island for different motives but our goal is the same. To just get off the island. If you show me a way to get off the island I promise I’ll take you to Auradon and get you a way back to Neverland.” The last words leaving your mouth left a sour taste… you couldn’t go back to never land you couldn’t…

Hook was not the least to say intrigued at the idea you were proposing and didn’t know what to think. He really wanted out of this gosh darn smelly town but he didn’t know if he could trust you, yet something told him he could.

“How do I know I can trust ye?” He asked raising an eyebrow.

You paused for a second before responding with a smirk.

“You’ll just have to trust me and find out. Deal?” You said sticking your hand out towards him to shake.

He smiled for once, not a smirk but a genuine soft smile and took your hand sending tingles all over your body.

“Deal”

~~~~~~~~~~~

You arrived at what seemed to be like one of the far corners of the isle. A cliff that lead to a straight drop into the murky green water and the bright yellow barrier ahead. Straight across you could see a small rift in the barrier, a part that never seemed to have closed when they locked everyone up here. The hole was too small for even a human infant to fit through but barely big enough to fit a small rabbit.

“That’s our ticket,” Harry whispered behind you sending shivers down once again, man he really loved doing that.

“I’ve known about this hole for ages but never been able to get through it, no one has. It’s just there… taunting us and all we can do is stare at it.” He stated looking at the small tear coldly. You studied more of the surrounding and found out something amazing. The ocean water in the isle never listened to your call despite being friends with the ocean, it was like this water was hypnotized or poisoned. But the water just outside the hole was still blue and filled with life… what if…

“I can get us through,” you said to Harry. “Just umm…” you trailed off looking around. You grabbed him by the arm and sat him on a wooden fence not that far from the cliff. He seemed amused watching you walk back to the edge with excitement. As you reached the side you could feel his wandering eyes on you and just picture his evil smirk.

“YOU KNOW IT DOESNT HELP WHEN I CAN FEEL YOU STARING AT ME!!!” You yelled back at him not even turning around to know.

“Well excuuuuseee meee princess!” He said sarcastically with another huge smirk knowing he had gotten to you again and turning to face the other side of the fence.

You began to feel more calm and at peace. You took a deep breath and tried what had always worked before, you began to sing.

“I’m the girl who loves my island I’m the girl who loves the sea It calls me”

Harry rolled his eyes seeing as it was clearly no time for karaoke. He began to open his mouth to speak for you to knock off the foolishness but stopped as he felt the passion in your beautiful voice grow stronger.

“I am the grandaughter of the village chief We are descended from voyagers Who found their way across the world They call me”

You began to look out onto the horizon and sure enough the ocean seemed to be moving but as you had remembered! Your friend was listening to your pleas!

“I’ve delivered us to where we are I have journeyed farther I am everything I’ve learned and more Still it calls me”

You began to feel a smile creep on more and more on to your face as you watched the ocean rise higher and higher to greet you. Harry not being able to stand not knowing what was going on turned around to witness a giant mass of water squeezing through the rift in the barrier and reaching up to your forehead as if to give you a kiss. To say he was baffled was an understatement.

“And the call isn’t out there at all, it’s inside me It’s like the tide; always falling and rising”

You witnessed your great grandmother, a beautiful spirit Manta Ray leap into the air and splash into the water. You were filled with so much passion and determination tears began to brim your eyes.

“I will carry you here in my heart you’ll remind me That come what may I know the way I am Y/N!!!!”

With the last words you sang, you began to walk backwards a reasonable amount preparing to do the unthinkable. It took Harry less than a second to realize what you were about to do. Oh no, a fall from this height was certain death, there was no way.

Harry reached out to grab your arm but barely missed as you had already sprinted off the cliff and into the waters down below making a huge splash into the mass of crystal clear waves that were still floating.

You began to laugh happily, content to be with an old friend again. After what felt like ages to Harry and seconds to you the ocean hoisted you back up onto the cliff just enough for you to reach your hand out to Harry.

“Let’s go home.” You smiled at him extending your hand for him to grab. He reached out to grab your hand when a booming voice scared the three of you.

“HARRY!!!!” It screeched really loudly. You saw her surprised eyes and remembered instantly. How could you not… Uma.

The ocean immediately became frightened and set you down safely back onto the cliff with Harry, scattering it’s way back through the hole and far, far, away. However it wasn’t fast enough for Uma to notice you could have just found a way out for her.

“Well well well,” she began. “What do we have here? Little y/n! Daughter of the stupid ocean girl… blah blah blah. Grab her.” You suddenly were grabbed on both sides and couldn’t move. You tried struggling but nothing seemed to be able to break you free.

Uma began to circle you as she spoke. “Little poor y/n. Far away from her precious royal friends and even farther from her precious island! How cute! I’ve been rotting on this island for longer than you’ve been alive sweet pea and I was starting to lose all hope off getting off after that whole Mal and Ben fiasco. But now… now it seems fate has brought me something. You. And I’m not failing this time.”

Fear struck your heart listening to her speak “what are you going to do?” You asked. “Kill me?”

“Oh dear” she laughed maniacally. “Of course not… I wouldn’t dream of hurting you! Besides I still need you alive if I am to leave this wretched place, let’s just hope you’re really worth something.” She finished having gotten closer to your face and grabbing your mother’s flower from your hair.

No. You could feel the panic attack setting in. You needed the flower. It couldn’t leave you! It would protect you!

“UMA!” You begged and shouted. “PLEASE DONT TAKE IT FROM ME NO!!! PLEASE!!!! IT WAS MY MOTHERS YOU DONT KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO ME!! GIVE IT BACK PLEASE PLEASE!!!” You screeched, sounding like you were calling for bloody murder. The sobs became harder and the panic began to set in all the while pleas and begs leaving your mouth.

“You’re so cute when you beg!” She laughed evilly. “Harry, lock her up.”

You turned to look at Harry, your bloodshot eyes and sobs escaping your mouth directed right at him. Harry didn’t know why but he could feel his heart break and it broke even more when he heard the next words leave your mouth.

“t-traitor! TRAITOR!!!!!” You screamed. “I TRUSTED YOU! GIVE IT BACK PLEASE I CANT BE WITHOUT IT PLEASE!!! I HATE YOU TRAITOR!!!!” You cried all the way to your cell, Harry having to cover his ears with his hands and his heart with a mask.

[gutterdreams]

77 with steve please ❤

“That’s not what you said yesterday!” / Requests are closed

You were so hurt that your body couldn't manifest anger. Sucking in your cheeks tightly, you sat with a vacant stare and arms crossed while Steve just kept trying to guess what was wrong. He really hadn't any idea. "Do you want me to tell everyone to go?" He asked, glancing at the eight other people on the main floor of his house. It was a small party in an effort to avoid drama, but it seemed to bloom anyway. "Nope." The word popped from your once glossy mouth. "Well, what do you want? You're not giving me anything to go off of here." Steve groaned. He tossed one hand through his hair like a child checking for their security blanket and then rolled his eyes. He couldn't hear the thoughts running through your head. Steve hadn't the slightest clue that you were going over the conversation you two had yesterday morning while driving to class. Insecurity had claimed the best of you and you asked him about Nancy again, wondering if he was over his former girlfriend. Steve swore up and down, clutching both your hands sweetly, that you were the only one he wanted. It was the first time you really believed him. Now, you felt like an idiot. "You said you'd fuck Nancy..." Finally, you filled Steve in on what had you so upset. He reacted with a huge sigh and eyes that couldn't believe what you just said. You were referring to a game of Fuck, Marry, Kill ... that broke out in the kitchen before everyone arrived.Always snarky Angie Samberg-Eden asked Steve who he would fuck, marry, kill between you, Nancy Wheeler, and Ally Sheedy, the famous actress.In his defense, Steve thought about it for a moment before deciding he would marry you, kill Ally, and fuck Nancy. He had no idea that it would burn you at all. He moved on quickly and assumed you did with him. "I said I'd marry you." He reminded you passionately. To him, that was the highest honor in the game."And fuck your ex girlfriend?""I'm not going to kill Nancy." He argued as if you were being ridiculous. "It's a game. You don't really have to kill her."Steve sighed and gave up for a second. He hadn't really wanted the round to get back to his ex. He knew it wouldn't feel good to be told that he killed her off even if it was just a stupid game. "I don't hate Nancy -" He started to explain."That's not what you said yesterday!" Loudly, you snapped at him and shot daggers into his distressed face. He didn't remember ever saying he hated his ex, but he understood the point. "Okay. I made a mistake. I should have said I'd fuck the actress." Trying to clutch your crossed knee, Steve stammered out. It was a sentence he never imagined himself saying to his girlfriend. He really just wanted to put it behind you both. "It's just a game. You said so yourself. It's just a game." He really hoped you were listening to him. "Everyone wants you and Nancy to be together. That's hard for me." It was a truth that proved very difficult to resolve within yourself. A sticking point that you couldn't help, but constantly brush up against. Steve leaned back against the arm of the love seat in defeat. He stared at you with his hands kept to himself and sighed with nothing to say. "I'm sorry..." It was all he had left. He offered you a hand. "It was a stupid thing to say. You're wrong about everyone wanting me and Nancy together. A lot of my friends didn't like her. They thought she was high strung." She was after all. "And it was Gavin who told me to ask you out." He had never shared that with you before. "Really?" "Yeah. He said that somebody chill was what I needed." Steve laughed, remembering his buddy goating him in the locker room. "And he was right."Once you looked up from your bare legs, you grinned at him and he smiled back. "It was just a dumb game." He squeezed your knee and this time you let him. "I'd fuck and marry you, okay?" Making you laugh, Steve declared and accepted your body as you leaned into his chest.

[ivyfics]

Starved

Kei can’t make it this week. Next week, maybe, he’ll be here but Tetsurou is all out of patience.

Read on AO3

Pairing: KuroTsuki Rating: T Chapters: 1/3 Prompt: “I’m tired of being your secret.”

They meet at least one weekend out of the month, always on his end.

They plan it out, send the schedules and call ahead. When he has the itch to take a train and just go, he squashes it down and walks by the station. Doesn’t bother to check the times to see if he’ll make it before lunch, if they could spend the afternoon together, if they’d play together until they’re sweaty and smiling with exhaustion.  

Maybe Tsukki would be too tired after school and practice and they’d just hang out in his bedroom and chill.

On those days he sends a flurry of messages. Sometimes he gets a response back immediately, sometimes he has to wait until late in the afternoon.

Tsukki calls at night those days so it’s fine.

It’s nothing.

 It’s a rocky start, Kei being the way he is, Tetsurou being the way he is.

They were friends, he likes to think, before it became a longing to be closer worming it’s way under his skin and fusing to who he is.

I want to see him, and talk to him, hear him talk and get lost on how his voice dips and peaks —

Kei’s brother lives in Tokyo.

He stays there when he comes over, a compromise to keep everyone happy when he’s visiting so often. When his parents call to ask his brother how Kei’s been, he doesn’t have to lie. It’s not easy, even with that.

They still rely on texts and missed plans when Kei takes a day to spend time with his brother while he’s there. Tetsurou misses the way his fabric softener smells, curled up in his sheets, knowing they’re so close, a mere 25-minute bus ride apart when he’s used to measuring distance in days, arms tightening against his own chest instead of the phantom body he wishes was there.

 The first visit was where it started.

Stepping off the train with a bag stuffed with extra clothes and headphones still on for the first time, Kei looked at ease. Tetsurou’s hands were sweaty, fidgeting from one foot to the other. His heart felt like it was galloping out of his chest.

It’s been more than several times since then but Tetsurou’s body still takes to that pattern every time.

The first visit was tragic, filled with awkward silences and strange brushing of hands that made no sense and all the sense in the world, both of them too chickenshit to actually do anything about it.

They were on the verge, then, standing on the edge and waiting to fall.

Some days, when Kei cuts their conversations short hastily, someone calling for him over the sound of laughter and yelps he wonders if he was the only one standing.

 Kei can’t make it this week. Next week, maybe, he’ll be here but Tetsurou is all out of patience.

The problem, really, is that Tetsurou is not a patient person. He might seem it, with his demeanor, but he’s not, at least not when it comes to boys with snarky smiles that live too far away to have a piece of Tetsurou’s person belong to them.

Nine weekends have passed in a flurry of calls, texts, and all the things they can do to distract them from the fact that their lives are lived apart and meetings seem to happen only by chance. Infuriating, distracting, anxious, all put in a blender inside Tetsurou’s head going round and round till his brain is mush and he’s bit through his lip.

He can surprise his boyfriend every once in a while, can’t he?

Tetsurou would be a walking rainbow churning out smiles every thirty seconds if Kei ever decided to come over without calling. Without the planning and the warnings, and the train will be there at five, but Aki has a thing at six that I have to go so let’s meet tomorrow at eight in the park and then—

Forgo all kinds of digits and just fucking do.

Surely, positively, Kei would feel even a slight inch of the same.

He’d be happy, even if surprises aren’t really his thing, that after missing each other for weeks on end Tetsurou would be a physical body, a chest, an arm, a hand, a hug, a kiss, not a floating head in the digital void that’s Kei’s life.

Unless.

Unless Kei prefers him in the void. Unless Tetsurou only exists there for him, doesn’t bleed out into every aspect of his real life, the life he leads on his own.

That particular thought’s been eating at him and it’s hungry today. Famished, stomach growling and drooling like a beast eyeing its favorite morsel, gnawing at the walls of Tetsurou’s subconscious. Begging for a treat when he’s idle for a moment too long, momentarily shut by a call or a picture sent, like throwing a wolf a cracker and calling it a day.

 Bokuto is hogging the ball. Up high and away from where Tetsurou could grab it, staring at him with a frown. “Go see him.”

“I don’t know. He’s busy doing his own thing, it’s why he hasn’t been here,” Tetsurou lies.

I don’t know if he wants me there, I don’t know if he’ll ask me to leave, what if I’m wrong.

I don’t know.

Bokuto brings the ball to his chest and squeezes it between his hands, knuckles going white. “Tetsu, I love you. I really do.”

“Aww, Bo, I lo–”

“But if I have to see your miserable face while staring at his picture when you think we can’t see you one more time, I’ll knock you out and deliver you to Tsukki myself,”  Bokuto breathes out.  

Kenma grunts from where he’s slouched by the shade, gaps between the leaves on the tree he’s leaning on casting pinpricks of light on his face, eyes buried in his game, “I’ll help. Anything to make it stop.”

 Tetsurou ignores it.

He ignores it when he throws a bag together, ignores it when he’s stepping through the sliding doors. He ignores the voice telling him he’s not wanted and that he’s making a huge, colossal mistake all the way to the front steps of Karasuno.

Too restless to wait by the gates until god knows when and too much in knots to not look at Kei in the face where he sees Tetsurou’s here,  he considers waiting for Kei nearby his house before he remembers he doesn’t know where that is.

Plunging to the deepest of his ribcage, souring the taste in his mouth, he drinks that in.

He doesn’t know where his boyfriend lives.

Is he imagining all of this?

Tetsurou needs to stop thinking about this right now before he spirals. Shaking it off, he heads over to the gym. He’ll peek through a window or something. See them in action, incognito. The chance to get a glimpse of Kei’s playing, of figuring out what that head of his is thinking from the look on his face is too good to pass up. He’s familiar with them now, the way Kei’s body moves from all the times he’s spent analyzing it when they play together.

Rounding up a corner, he’s almost to the ajar entrance of the gym, blonde hair a beacon on gray walls.

The look in Kei’s eyes is something he’s never seen before.

Sheer panic.

“What are you doing here?”

That stings, so Tetsurou coughs and looks away while he composes himself.  “You couldn’t make it, so…”

More time. Tetsurou needs more time to compose himself before coming face to face with Kei. See him from afar first, take his time drinking him in. He gets this instead.

Panic.

Stiff muscles.

Silence.  

Every tick of the clock is another realization made.

Kei’s not relieved to see him. There’s not an ounce of joy in his body.

Standing there, squeak of rubber on wood the only thing reaching his ears, it all comes crashing down. The silence growing more awkward by the second is the nail in the coffin.

What else is there to say?

“I’m going.”

That breaks Kei’s vow of silence. “Kuroo. What.”

Tetsurou’s fine. S’alright. Saw this coming. He shakes his head to clear it, “It’s fine. I’m going.”

Kei speaks, shock not fading, “Where?”

“Home.” Tetsurou stops.

Doesn’t want to do this. Really doesn’t.

Should’ve stayed back.  

He has to now, though. He can’t keep doing this to himself. Gotta look out for Tetsurou.

So he does what impulse tells him. What that growing voice in the back of his head he’s left to fester whispers at him.

He starved. No more food.

No matter how much Tetsurou likes him, how much of a head over heels idiot he is, how he's probably in love with Kei.

“I don’t think you should come by next week. Or at all.”

Kei freezes, hands gripping the bottom of his white Karasuno shirt. “Why not?”

Tetsurou smiles, trying so very hard to hold all the tiny splinters of him trying their damndest to fall out, but it leaks anyway. How does he put this into words?

The sinking feeling coating his throat.

The wanting.

The waiting.

“I’m tired of being your secret,” is how he manages to sum it up.

The door flings open with amazing timing, really, big thanks to whatever being is keeping an eye out on his life for giving him an out to having to look at Kei’s face after that.

“Oi, Tsukishima, we’re gonna start without you- Ah! It’s Nekoma’s captain!!”

The shrimp is as loud as ever.

“Sorry,” Tetsurou winces, sends an apologetic look Kei’s way. Having Tetsurou show up here after months of silence must have foiled his plans to keep this quiet.

He turns to Hinata, “Don’t mind me Shorty, just heading out.”

Hinata gasps, not reading the mood or the atmosphere or the plain need to flee on Tetsurou’s face. “You’re leaving! You can’t! Tsukishima, tell him he has to stay and play with us,” Hinata rounds up on him, “I’ll tell Kenma on you!”

“I think you’re too much for me,” Tetsurou laughs, cold sweat running back of his neck.  “Kei,” he says with a nod of his head in farewell because that’s what he calls him when it’s late and they’re missing each other. Or when Tetsurou is missing him, at least.

There’s a yank on his sleeve, Kei’s fingers gripping the black material tight. “Don’t,” sharper than Tetsurou’s ever heard addressed at him from the boy with golden eyes.  

Whatever’s looking out for him isn’t a powerful being, he understands, so when the rest of the Karasuno crew piles up on the open entrance Tetsurou’s resigned to it all.

Yamaguchi’s the first one to see him, eyes raised all the way to his hairline. “What’s going on?”

“My boyfriend’s here.”

Absolute silence.

3, 2, 1.

“This is the boyfriend you skip Saturday practice for?! Sneaky, keeping him all to yourself.”

“Traitor! Dating the enemy!”

“Tsukishima you didn’t need to use your bedroom skills to steal his secrets, the sacrifices you make!”

Having the focus of the entire Karasuno team on you and around you is as terrifying as it sounds. Kageyama crowds him, ball in hand, along with the shrimp. “Kuroo-san, could you run some blocks for us.” Behind them, the heckling continues.

“You’ve been getting some special training haven’t you?”

It’s crazy.

Hinata’s voice soars over everyone else’s. “Eeeeeh, Tsukishima are you crying?”

Dread flashes cold.

“I’m not, short stack. Back off.”

“Liar, your eyes are all shiny.”

Things... take a turn. Get real quiet, real fast.

Crickets quiet.

Enough to hear the tiniest sniffle quiet.

Fuck.

“Everyone,” Ennoshita claps, somehow holding back the tiny libero and Baldie from murdering Tetsurou with their stares, Yamaguchi taking care of the first year duo, “inside.”  

Tetsurou is having a heart attack. This is absolutely what a heart attack feels like.

When he’s regained the ability to speak, he mumbles, “You skip practice for me?”

Tetsurou should sound less lovestruck, but it’s been a day. His brain is trying very hard to catch up, maximum capacity, whirring and whirling.

Perhaps, perchance, there is a slight possibility that Tetsurou has gotten it wrong.

Embarrassingly, horribly, amazingly wrong.

“You didn’t have to. I could’ve come here.”

“They’ll hog you. You think you’re leaving this gym today? Hope you brought sneakers,” Kei glares at him, Tetsurou can feel it, thick swallow audible. Kei is still holding on to his sleeve.

He takes that as a good sign.

“We should talk,” Kei says. Tetsurou isn't looking at him but nods anyway.

Kei leads him by the sleeve of his jacket, silent.

 The infirmary is empty so they sit there, side by side on one of the cots.

Kei starts with a shaky breath,“What just happened?”

“Well, your in-house Buddha doesn’t seem to like me all that much.”

Shaking his head, Kei crosses his arms. “I think you were breaking up with me. You thought I was keeping you a secret and were about to break up with me. You actually kind of already did.”

What does Tetsurou say to that?

Ding, ding, ding! Bingo!

“That’s what it felt like,” he rasps out. “Like you didn’t want anyone to know. About us.”

He doesn’t know where they are, if hugging is allowed. Tetsurou really needs a hug right now. He’s so tired.

Kei is looking off to the side, avoiding his eyes.

“If it helps anything at all, saying that was like punching myself. Really hard. I had to, though,” Tetsurou continues, “ you can understand that. I can’t pretend like I’m fine. It hurt.”

Everything is so quiet. They’re never quiet, the two of them, always talking garbage at each other without effort. This is like pulling teeth.

“I was going to wait for you on your way home and I realized I have absolutely no clue where your house is. You don���t let me visit and we meet when you come into town, and if you can’t make it, then we don’t see each other at all. Someone asks who you’re talking to and you hang up.”

At Kei’s sharp inhale, Tetsurou smiles, “Your friends' voices carry.”

He taps his knee to do something with his hand, building a rhythm.

“Sometimes, it feels like I’m the only one excited that we’re together. A one-sided relationship won’t make me happy. It’s not something that I’m interested in. Do you care? Do you want to be together? Or is it simply something convenient? After so long I thought you’d be happy that I’m here but you—” Tetsurou’s voice breaks. “Fuck.”

Kei is slow to speak, awkward and stilted when it starts. They don’t do this kind of talk as often as they should, as it obviously shows. ”I don’t like it when there are people in my business. People around me aren’t exactly the kind to leave this alone, so I thought I’d keep you to myself for a while longer. I’m sorry, I’m not ashamed of you or anything like that.”

Fingers stop the hand tapping on his knee, bring it over to Kei’s thigh. Pale fingers wrap around his. “I really missed you. You’re important to me. I don’t want to break up,” Kei whispers.

“I really don’t, either,” Tetsurou whispers back.

Miraculously, that’s enough for now. Kei’s hand on his and tiny whispers is a full meal, like throwing the beast a prime steak.

They whisper a little longer before going silent, full of I'm sorry I didn't say anything before and please tell me next time. 

Leading him up from their twined hands, Kei pulls him out of the infirmary. “C’mon.”

Tetsurou goes without protest. “We’re ditching?”

Kei nods. “I’m showing you where I live and then we’re going to make out in my room.”

[briarjay]

Some Klance angst I wrote

Takes place after the ending of Season 2

“Is no one going to go talk to him?” Lance asked. He had broken the chilling silence. The realization that Shiro was gone put everyone in the room to a stunned quietness. But Lance had had enough. He had watched, moments ago, as Keith slowly drifted away from the group and walked away without a word or second glance. Naturally, Lance felt worried about him.

Allura looked over at Lance, but no words came out of her mouth. She just let out a sigh and lowered her gaze. She thought about it for another second before finally speaking in a dead voice. “Everyone just…Go to your rooms. We’ll figure something out. I promise…”

With that, everyone went their separate ways. As Lance got to his room, he looked off to the left. Keith’s room was right there. There was no other place Keith could have gone to hide away. With a sigh, Lance forced himself to go to Keith’s door. “Keith?” He called out. When no answer came, he decided to give the door a few knocks. “Keith?” He tried again, only this time he sounded more desperate to get an answer.

Silence.

Lance sighed, his eyes now glued to the floor. “Look,” He spoke. “If you want to talk this out, just let me know. I’m here for you.” His last sentence made his face feel hot. He did mean it though, didn’t he? He wanted to support his friends, and Keith seemed to be hurting the most, but that just felt a bit too forward for him.

To Lance’s surprise, the door slid open and standing before him was Keith. Lance’s eyes gleamed. “Keith!” He exclaimed. He suddenly felt joy flood through him to see Keith’s face. Lance took a small step forward, “I—!”

“Why do you want to talk to me?” Keith interrupted in a snarky tone. His eyebrows furrowed and he crossed his arms, glaring at Lance with tired, dull eyes.

Lance’s smile disappeared in an instant. “I—I just wanted to know if you were okay…” He read the mood in the atmosphere. Keith’s attitude flooded the space between them with awkwardness.

Keith jerked his head away from Lance and turned away to the side. “I’m fine. I just—!” His words trailed away, crumbling with a single sigh. Keith’s eyes had the wet gleam of despair. He couldn’t reveal his feelings. It left him vulnerable.

Lance tried to read Keith’s face. His dark indigo eyes only gave away what was on the surface: sadness. There had to be more. “I think I know,” Lance spoke. “You miss Shiro…We all do…”

But that was Lance’s mistake. Keith scoffed in irritation. “You don’t know Shiro like I do! Sometimes it feels like he’s the only family I have! While you, Pidge, and Hunk all have families back on Earth!”

The sudden rise in Keith’s voice made Lance flinch. “The rest of Pidge’s family is out in space missing somewhere! Pidge’s mom is all alone! And what about me and Hunk? Huh!?” Lance fought back. “Our families don’t even know we’re alive!”

Keith stepped forward to Lance with a threatening glare in his eyes. “Back off, Lance! Unlike you, I have no family! I’m all alone! Always have been! Just leave me alone!” With that, Keith stepped back into his room.

Before the door could close, Lance rushed in after him, anger now driving his actions. “Keith! Come on! You’re not alone now! You have me and everyone else!”

“It’s not the same!” Keith yelled. He turned around to face Lance yet again. “I just found out I have Galra blood! My dad left me! You don’t even understand! You can’t understand!”

Lance’s blood boiled. This anger was brought on so fast. “Then help me understand! I bet you don’t understand how I feel either!”

“So it’s about you now?” Keith growled.

Lance crossed his arms now, trying to mock Keith. “You know, it’s not always about you, Keith. Everyone here has some secret or something. You found out you’re part Galra! Big deal! We’re still dealing with that, but it’s not just you who’s suffering!”

Keith made tight fists in an attempt to contain his explosive anger. “Enough dodging it! Get to the point!”

Lance looked into his eyes once more and  felt deeply hurt that he had to reveal himself first. “I—I don’t even feel like I belong here! I’m not smart and tech savvy like Pidge and Hunk! I’m not leadership material like Shiro! And I’m not strong and focused like you! I’m—!” But he stopped himself when he realized tears were going down both cheeks. He sniffled and quickly tried to wipe them away.

It got worse once Lance saw that Keith was giving him a sad stare. Lance tried to look away from Keith because he felt ashamed, but the longer he and Keith stared at each other, the more Lance didn’t have it in him to turn away.

The anger between them seemed to have slowly cooled down and faded away. Keith let out a shaky breath. “Lance…I’m sorry…”

“I can’t believe you started this argument,” Lance grunted. While he was no longer furious, he was still hurt. “Can’t you just understand that you’re not alone anymore?”

Keith opened his mouth to reply, but he quickly shut it. He couldn’t speak anymore. He felt that if he talked, he would reveal too much like what Lance had just done. Being that vulnerable made Keith shy away. He just shrugged and finally turned away again, making them break eye contact.

When the silence between them came back, Lance felt awkward. Why did he let things out of his mouth? Those deep, dark secrets he held inside his head? His heart was beating fast.

But at the last second, Keith changed his mind for one last question. “Is that why you hate me?”

“No!” Lance exclaimed. No hesitation. He stared at the back of Keith’s head. “I don’t actually hate you! I just really…No! I mean…!” How to explain how he felt? He couldn’t find the right words. “I-I’m jealous! Or something…” He trailed off. Now things felt even more heavy in the room.

Keith didn’t bother glancing back at him. “I can’t believe anyone could be jealous of me.”

“You’re better than me at everything,” Lance sighed.

“Not everything,” Keith softly replied. “You can talk to others better than I can…”

It bothered Lance to not see the look on Keith’s face. Why wouldn’t Keith face him again? “I only try so hard to be funny because I have nothing else…”

The hurt in his voice sent a chill through Keith’s chest. Keith glanced over his shoulder at him. “Are you…okay?”

“This is your fault,” Lance replied. “I just wanted to see if you’re okay…now you’re asking me?” With Keith not looking again, he stepped forward and roughly grabbed him, hugging him from behind.

Immediately, Keith tried to elbow Lance to get away, but the more he struggled, the tighter Lance’s hold became. Keith just let out a hushed grumble and let Lance hug him. Keith was then taken by how warm Lance felt. His back was pressed against Lance. Lance’s arms were strong and firm. Keith found himself thinking how safe and comforted Lance’s hold made him feel. He finally let himself relax. With his eyes closed, Keith just breathed in slowly and deeply. Lance was keeping him safe…It almost felt as if he was being cherished.

After a while, they both calmed down some more, and Lance eventually let him go. Despite Lance moving away, Keith still felt warm. When he turned around to face Lance, his eyes looked different. They were more clear, more open. Keith didn’t realize how much of his defenses had dropped.

But Lance noticed right away. He cracked a grin. “It’ll be okay. Just learn to rely on others…You can rely on me if you’re feeling upset.” But when Keith didn’t reply, Lance just examined his face. His eyes lingered on the soft redness of his cheeks. Is he—?  Lance’s laugh began as a slow chuckle which quickly grew  into a loud hollering. “You’re blushing!”

A soft gasp escaped from Keith. He was so embarassed that he stood still, very tense, with his mouth hung open in shock. “N-No I’m not!”

But his protest fell onto closed ears. “You’re turning into a tomato!” Lance wheezed. He was laughing so hard that he was running out of breath easily.

“Shut up!” Keith cried out desperately. But it was probably true. He could feel heat flooding his face, especially his cheeks. He felt warm and fuzzy all over and he couldn’t find a logical reason as to why this was even happening. “P-Please stop laughing…!”

But Lance continued anyways. Loud words fell out of Lance as he kept laughing. “He’s blushing! He’s blushing! I can’t believe it!”

Keith crossed his arms. “You…! You hugged me! I just—!” Wait. He stopped himself as he realized what this meant. He was blushing because of Lance! “Never mind!” He rushed forward and pushed Lance towards the door. “Just go away!”

Lance stomped on the ground and tried to push back, preventing Keith from shoving him any more. “Hey!” Lance protested. “I’m being the best friend ever in this castle by staying by your side!”

Still pushing, Keith didn’t give up yet. “I’m fine! I told you I’m fine! You did your job! You can go now!”

Lance gave one last snort of laughter. “No way, man! I’m not leaving until you admit you’ve learned your lesson!” At this, only then did Keith stop. He got his hands off Lance and just stared at him in confusion. “Wait, what? What lesson?”

“Will you rely on me from now on?” Lance asked simply with a smile. “Will you accept that everyone in the castle if your family now?”

To these questions, Keith thought deeply before speaking. He had to think about it because he had never thought of it seriously before now. “I…” Keith started softly. “I will and I accept…It’s just…I’ve never felt like I could rely on people until I met all of you guys…”

“But you can rely on us…” Lance smiled a bit more to encourage him. “There’s no need to suffer in silence. We’re here for you.”

With their eyes never leaving the other’s, they both felt the same feeling. Keith felt warm for more than just having been hugged. Lance felt warm because he was sure he was happy and now he had helped Keith. But perhaps this new warmth was something more?

Keith could feel his heart beating heavily in his chest. It was so strong that he could feel it as a lump in his throat. “Lance…I…” He swallowed, but the thumping of his heart grew stronger and stronger. It almost drowned out all over ambient noise. “Lance, I really…” Finally he realized that this was what love felt like. The warmth was love. He liked Lance. He felt so safe and secure earlier…These thoughts made Keith’s chest hurt immensely. He looked away from Lance’s eyes. “I really…appriciate what you’ve done for me tonight…”

Lance’s heart skipped a beat. He tried not to be too disappointed, so he let out a soft, half hearted chuckle to hide it. “No problem…” Without anything else to say, Lance backed out of the room.

[song-fox]

Inspired by this post

AU where Thomas is a struggling not-so-popular YouTuber, recently out of school and looking for a better job and, since he's apparently pretty good with kids according to his friends Joan and Talyn, decides to set up a small business babysitting.

It's all fun and games and the occasional diaper change, until...

Thomas is, obviously, pretty good and experienced with kids. He's been in the babysitting business for a couple of months now, and he wouldn't call himself a professional, but he's making his way through it

One day a woman asks him to babysit her kids

Naturally, Thomas agrees. It's just a couple of kids, how bad could it be?

Then he realizes that the woman never specified how many kids

Alright, no biggie. Most people have maybe two kids, four at most

Then the woman shows up at his doorstep with six kids, all different ages

Oh god. Oh god. Six kids?! I can't handle this. Fuuuuu-

"You sure you can take care of these guys by yourself?"

"Oh, of course! No worries!"

He's in trouble

The oldest is Janus, at fourteen years old. He's sarcastic, snarky, clever, and hates Thomas. "I don't need a babysitter, I can take care of myself!"

Next is Logan, twelve. Reserved, cold, and smart. Prefers to be alone with his books.

Then come the twins at ten years old, Roman and Remus. Apparently they aren't actually the woman's kids, she's their adopted them from an ex-friend who never gave them enough attention

As a result, these kids will do anything to get noticed. Anything. Set a couple trash cans on fire, scream from the top of the roof sometimes, whatever.

Then Patton, nine. Sweet, naïve and almost annoyingly empathetic, he keeps the twins in line with compliments and a ton of hugs. He's probably Thomas' favourite.

And lastly, baby Virgil. Surprisingly quiet for a baby, his personality is mostly just spite and a fear of loud noises

Thomas is astounded that this woman can even keep track of their names, let alone take care of them

The first day with them is horrific

Logan is arguing with the twins. Patton is desperately trying to get them to stop. Janus is holding Virgil and trying to get him to sleep. The house is absolute anarchy.

Things are seriously getting out of hand when Remus accidentally sets the microwave on fire

(Remus claims it was an accident, but Thomas could easily see the matches in his hand)

He picks up his phone and hastily dials Joan

"Hey, hey Joan? Joan?! Is Talyn there with you? Oh my god, I need you to come over, quick! Remus set the microwave on fire- one of the kids that I'm babysitting! The baby is crying, the older one is yelling at everyone, I think there's a feral cat loose in the garden- jANUS WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?! PUT THAT DOWN! Oh god, the fire--"

"Huh. Have you tried making s'mores?"

"jOAN PLEASE TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY--"

Eventually everything is under control. The fire is put out, the cat is back to its owner, Virgil has stopped crying and the twins are content to listen to Janus plan out exactly how he's going to overthrow the government

Thomas is sure he should be more concerned about that, but as long as there's no more fires

Joan and Talyn are there too to support him too

It's been a very long day, but eventually the kids go home to their mother

The trio flops onto the couch, absolutely exhausted

"Those kids were fun, but I never want to see them ever again.'

Surprise: it's a weekly thing now

Haha... yeah

Their mom has a new job now, and with her shift requiring her to work for most of the day and their dad working every weekday, Thomas to look after the kids for five hours a week

Five

Hours

Thomas is sure he's gonna die

The next time they meet goes just about as well as you'd think

There's crude drawings on the wall, Logan has threatened to smack Janus with a book at least three times, and there's a knife missing from the kitchen

Next week there's a food fight

After that Patton shows up with a stray hedgehog

After that Virgil somehow manages to get stuck in the kitchen sink

After that Logan almost accidentally starts a pillow fight with Thomas' couch cushions

Then suddenly, everything is chill

The twins are more energised than chaotic, Virgil is calm, the rest are content with simply chatting

Mostly they're just bored and too tired to do anything

Thomas, Joan and Talyn get to talk more leisurely this time as the kids simply talk with one another

Well, until Patton pipes up

"I really like your eyebrows!" he whisper-shouts and points to Talyn, trying not to wake up Virgil

Talyn's got bright scarlet and pink eyebrows to match their dyed red hair

They look at him for a second. "Oh- uh, thanks!"

"Can you do makeup?" Roman asks

Talyn shrugs. "Sure."

"Can you do makeup on us?"

Talyn looks to Thomas. "Are we-?"

"Their mom said they can do just about anything as long as they don't get hurt or break the law."

The next two hours or so are full of just Talyn putting makeup on all the kids who want them. Full stage makeup for Roman, a moustache and purple eyeshadow for Remus, and a sheepish request for snake scales for Janus

"Hm, dunno what I can do for that one... oh! Thomas, do you have like, fishnets or something?"

"What? Why would I have those?"

Talyn raises a colourful eyebrow.

"...I'll go get them."

Half an hour later, Janus looks amazing

Patton can think of a million puns for his snake side

Virgil seems to find it cool

Logan is listing off snake facts for the whole half hour, pointing out mistakes in colouring or shape until Talyn has it perfect

The kids leave that week happier than last time and with bright faces of makeup

The weeks go on and on, and after a few months, Halloween comes up

Their mother is incredibly sorry that she has to work instead of being with her kids, but she has no choice and has to leave them with Thomas

She also leaves a giant bin bag full of costumes

"They like to go Trick-or-Treating," she explains.

Thomas as actually kinda hyped this time

Outfits! Makeup! Candy! What's there not to love?!

Apparently the kids share his enthusiasm

Janus asks Talyn if they can do his snake makeup again, to which they gladly agree. He's going as a generic villain, with a black capelet and cane and everything

Remus is, to nobody's surprise, Beetlejuice. He's got temporary neon green hair dye and a cheap-looking striped tuxedo. Remus loves it

Roman is going as a prince. It looks crudely made and even a little tacky, but altogether the costume is pretty good

Logan is going as Dr. Frankenstein, and no he is not the monster, and no that isn't accurate to the story, and nO GODDAMMNIT ROMAN I AM NOT GOING AS THE MONSTER

Patton is a werewolf, although he doesn't really get the whole supernatural vibe of it

It's okay though, his little floppy dog ears look very cute

Virgil is a pumpkin

That's it

Nothing too special, just a pumpkin

He looks adorable though

The night starts off great, with all the kids chattering away and baby Virgil being the world's cutest source of attention

The twins are loving all the compliments that come with their costumes

Logan is actually recognized as Dr. Frankenstein and isn't able to shut up about it

Thomas doesn't mind, though

After a couple months with the kids, it's kind of endearing how chaotic they are

The night ends and the kids go back to Thomas' place, waiting for their mom to come back

Thomas goes to get some DVDs to watch while they wait, and overhears their conversation

"I miss mom," Patton sighs

"She's at work. She'll return soon," Logan assures him.

"He doesn't mean it like that." Janus.

"Oh?"

"Our parents are never around anymore. Thomas has taken more care of us in a couple months than they have in years."

"Because they're always working to support us."

"Well it wouldn't kill them to stick around a little more," Roman pipes up

"They're not abandoning us."

"I know that!" Roman snaps

Everyone knows the twins issues with negligence

There's a pause, before Remus speaks. "She's just never around. Dad, too. They don't want us."

"Remus, that's not-"

"They don't want us!"

There's another silence as Virgil threatens to start crying again

Janus clears his throat. "We can take care of ourselves. We don't need our parents any more than each other."

Another silence.

"C'mon, let's trade candy. I've got a KitKat bar--"

Thomas doesn't listen to the rest of the conversation

He knows they have it hard

Their parents are always working, and they don't always care enough to stick around for too long

So he's determined to do the best he can with these kids

"Hey, guys! I've got Nightmare Before Christmas, yes Patton we can watch Elf afterwards if we've got time, and yes Roman you're allowed to sing along. C'mon, let's get on the couch-!"