#On the one hand I wish I knew what conclusions to draw from this observation

[randomszzz]

Something something, Joshua rewards his proxies for displaying the virtues he himself does not (will not? can not?)

Joshua in a new day: No telling what will happen to Shibuya.  That’s their problem, not mine.  Neo: I’m so grateful Rindo shouldered the responsibility to save Shibuya AND Neku I’m gonna yeet Shoka into the RG.

Neku in twewy: unable to shoot his partner Joshua: BANG!

[sailtomarina]

The Truth of Us

Hermione x Sirius | @hp-yuletide-bliss Day 16: I gave you my heart | WC 2103 | Rating: M

A sob strangled Hermione’s throat as she shut herself in her room and pressed her back up against the surface. Each breath was a struggle, the inhales loud and desperate for reassurance, the exhales strained. She shoved the heels of each hand into her eyes and willed the tears to stay back. They always made her feel weak and juvenile, affirmations of her stupidity for caring so much about a man who would never see her as nothing more than a girl not even worth consideration.

Nevermind that she was approaching her 30s and knew exactly what and who she wanted in her life.

“Kitten, please, just talk to me.”

Sirius’ voice was muffled from beyond the door. His door, because this was Grimmauld Place and she had overstayed her welcome between flats like she was. She needed to hurry up her search and get out.

“Don’t call me that!”

“Kitten”, “love”, “little girl”—they were all variations of the way he saw her. At one point, they’d seemed signs of his affection. She leaned into them and imagined they meant something…more.

How stupid she’d been.

“Hermione. Can you open the door? I’m pretty sure this is all a misunderstanding.”

Her stomach roiled and heat flowed into her chest. A misunderstanding, was it? Turning swiftly, she yanked open the door and glared up into the dark eyes of Sirius Black.

“I’m pretty sure there’s nothing unclear about what I just saw, Sirius.” 

She’d walked out of the Floo into the drawing room, her hand frozen in the motion of brushing off soot as she scrambled to make sense of the scene in front of her. Sirius leaning against her favorite armchair, where she often curled up at night reading, and a woman standing far too close to him with her hand resting on his chest and a coy smile on her face, the twinkling red and green lights of the Christmas tree playing in patterns across their forms.

The loud thunk of her bag hitting the floor alerted them to her presence, Sirius’ head snapping up and eyes focusing on her. The woman merely looked over with a frown, one perfect eyebrow raised in confusion. 

“Kitten, I–”

Whatever he’d been about to say was lost as she pushed past him and the shite Christmas tree, and up the stairs.

Now he looked at her, one hand buried in his hair at the nape of his neck, the other leaning against the doorframe as if to trap her in. His mouth opened, then closed without saying anything.

She took a deep breath to steady herself. “Look, it’s none of my business, anyway. You’re free to do whatever with whomever you wish.”

Nevermind the fact that he’d certainly lead her to believe otherwise in the recent weeks. Lingering looks, a touch here and there. She let him borrow her books!

Her attempt to close the door was met with the loud smack of his palm against the surface.

“It’s not what you think it is. Don’t jump to conclusions.” His eyes were wide, almost desperate. But no, that couldn’t be right, could it? She was just seeing what she wanted to see.

Hearing him say that to her, like Hermione had a habit of misunderstanding what she saw with her very own eyes, pissed her off beyond measure. Where did he get off telling her what to think?

His hand slid across the door and curled around the edge, knuckles whitened with how hard he gripped it. It was like he meant to force her into believing his version of events and wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Her traitorous heart ratcheted up in beat as he leaned further into her space. It was then that she flicked her eyes up and noticed the mistletoe he’d affixed there with a wink just yesterday.

She took one step back.

He stepped forward.

She could give him the benefit of the doubt and ask him to explain. A part of her loudly demanded this.

The other part? It had her tightening her hold on her wand and shifting her weight to one side. He followed, like the observant wizard he was, and she pivoted immediately to the opposite foot and made a dash for the gaping hole he’d left. If she could just make it out the door and down to the Floo, she could disappear and take the time she needed to come up with a plan of action.

“Oh, no, you don’t!”

Faster than she could believe him capable, he flung an arm out and caught her around the waist. He tossed her back onto her bed in the next movement.

“Expelliarmus!”

Just like that, he had her wand.

“Sirius! You can’t just trap me in here!”

“Watch me,” he growled, stalking forward and waving both wands in his hand to slam her door shut with an ominous click. Rather than pin her to the bed like in one of her many fantasies, he pulled out her desk chair, spun it around, and straddled it with arms folded over the back as he glared at her. “Gina is an estate agent.”

Even though Hermione’s brain begged her to shut up and let the man speak, she couldn’t help herself. “She must be real successful if she touches all her clients like that.”

She sounded petty and jealous and exactly the type of witch she’d never wanted to be. There was a time, when she was younger and thought herself mad about Ron, that she’d indulged in those kinds of feelings. Even now, without her wand, she itched to sic her birds on him and watch as they attacked his salt-and-pepper hair. It would serve him right to show up at the Burrow Christmas Day with peck marks all over his face.

Still, that had been her past, and she’d thought herself beyond such acts. Looking at their predicament now, Hermione was forced to accept that maybe she hadn’t changed so much as she hadn’t felt this strongly about someone else in far too long a time.

Sirius sighed in exasperation, hand tugging again at his bun. “Yeah, she is touchy, but I’ve made it clear I’m not interested in her like that and that I never will be. If you had stayed downstairs just a bit longer, you would’ve seen me push her away.”

She inched up the mattress to press herself back into the cushions seeking some sort of consolation. She bit her lip as she looked at him, taking in the way he stared directly at her with those eyes that always seemed to strip her to the core.

In truth, he’d been really, really good to her these past few months. He always had been, even before she came asking for help. He opened his home to her without any deadline mentioned, just his firm reassurance that Hermione was welcome to stay as long as needed. He’d even gone so far as to suggest she move in permanently since he had plenty of space and could use the company. At the time, she’d waved off the suggestion as the obligatory offer it likely was. She’d assured him she’d be out of his hair as soon as she could find a suitable place.

As the weeks passed and they spent more and more time together, her search had slowed to a crawl. What was the rush, anyway? She didn’t want to hastily pick a place that didn’t fulfill every single one of her needs and Sirius was the perfect housemate. She’d intended to spend the holiday with him and think about relocating in the new year.

Estate agent?

Shame expanded, branching out through her limbs and crawling to the surface of her skin.

“If you wanted me to hurry up and get out, you could have just referred me directly to the witch.”

His scowl deepened and he thrust himself up from the chair to finally prowl forward onto the edge of the bed.

“When will you stop thinking the worst of me?”

The springs creaked underneath his weight as he crawled towards her. It might have been amusing in any other scenario–shouldn’t magic make such things, such Muggle-like inconveniences, nonexistent?

So wrapped up in the random thought was she, that, by the time Sirius bracketed her between his arms, it was too late to dart away. Scents of bergamot and tobacco engulfed her and she breathed in deep.

“Sirius…” The name came out as a quiet plea.

“Yes, I reached out to her on your behalf,” Hermione’s eyes widened, but he continued, “and for mine, as well.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I wanted to see what options were even available before talking with you, but I see now that I had it all backwards. I should have consulted you first, then gone with someone else, anyone else.”

What was he trying to say? Was he dressing up the entire act of getting her out of Grimmauld Place?

“I assure you, Sirius, I can stay with Luna, or with the twins. There’s no need for you to go through all the effort–”

She trailed off when he brought his face close, his forehead pressing against her own and each puff of air a kiss of air against her lips. 

“I don’t want you to leave.”

Nothing he said made any sense, but she could feel the heat of his body as it hovered above hers and wanted to pull him flush against her like doing so would erase her doubts. The only other sound in the room was the ticking of her desk clock.

“What was Gina here for, Sirius?” Maybe saying the witch’s name would help clear her head.

She flinched in surprise at the hand that cupped her jaw and slightly tilted her face closer to him.

“I asked her to look for a smaller place where you and I might both live together.” The hand on her cheek slid down to rest palm-side down against the center of her chest. “I’ve felt more for you than any man my age should for far longer than was appropriate, and you being here has only affirmed everything I already knew to be true.”

Hermione couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. She could barely take deep enough breaths to keep up with the galloping of her heart and mind.

“What truth is that?”

The smile that stretched across his face made her ache in want, the lines at the corners of his mouth filling in deeply. It wasn’t difficult for Hermione to imagine the many years of laughter that had formed those creases and informed the devastating man that he was.

“That I gave my heart to you and intend for you to keep it. I was going to tell you tonight.”

Christmas Eve. He remembered her family tradition of opening one gift a night early.

She pinched herself hard, then yelped as pain bloomed across her arm.

Sirius threw his head back and laughed loudly, before dropping his forehead back down to hers. “This isn’t a dream, kitten.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“Now that you’ve heard my explanation, what’s yours?” His eyes searched hers for an answer.

A myriad of thoughts crowded to the front, but one in particular shoved its way into the light.

“You want me?” Her voice sounded small even to her own ears.

A twinkle appeared in his eyes, the start of another smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I want you so bad.”

“But you already have me.” The words had barely left her lips before he met them in a kiss, his eager warmth enveloping her in undiluted, overwhelming Sirius Black. He lowered himself to lie against her, pressing down with his delicious weight and giving her the undeniable proof of his want hard against her thigh.

By the time they broke for air, he’d worked her into a panting mess, hands clenched so tight into the fabric of his Henley she was surprised she hadn’t torn straight through it.

“I’ll find a different agent.”

“I didn’t give a fuck about the estate agent, Sirius.”

And she didn’t. Not anymore. Gina might as well be a footnote to the love story of Hermione Granger and Sirius Black. Dramatics and misunderstandings aside, Hermione now held zero doubts about the future that lay before them. They had their work cut out for them, talks to be had and truths to be brought to light.

Right this second, though?

She arched her hips and grinned at the muffled groan he made into the crook of her neck. 

Cross-posted on Tumblr and AO3.

I have WritexAboutxMe to thank for my mind being stuck on this duo ever since I read Yuletide Beginnings earlier this week. Now all I can think about are tattoos, a salt-and-pepper man bun, and a wizard who knows exactly what he wants for Christmas this year. If that strikes your fancy, too, then go and read her work this instant!

This story actually started with a far worse premise of Hermione stumbling across Sirius getting a blowjob. It didn’t take me long to realize that I couldn’t really write any sort of recovery from that within my self-imposed limits on length, so I ended up softening the act and turning it all into something else entirely.

[kipsels]

His 'Type'

Hailumi feat. Alhaitham & Kaveh as 'amicable' exes.

“She’s very pretty.”

Alhaitham grunts softly in response, though it was more than his companion deserved. 

Across the tavern, Lumine’s face is lit up with joy as she listens to Dehya exuberantly recount one of her recent expeditions.

His attention is enraptured on the sweet flush that spreads over her cheeks, following the path her delicate fingers take as she shyly sweeps the forelock of her hair behind the shell of her ear. 

Alhaitham downs half his wine in one swallow. 

“You, my dear scribe, have a type.”

Alhaitham rolls his eyes, wishing that Kaveh would spontaneously combust and leave him alone. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Kaveh’s chuckle is condescending as he twirls the stem of his glass. 

“She’s blonde and fair, and has an impeccable sense of fashion. A little on the shorter side, which surprised me at first, but from all the tales I have heard, she’s quite soft hearted and is deeply empathetic to the emotions of others.”

Kaveh states his observations sagely.

Alhaitham narrows his eyes and spares his roommate a withering stare. 

“You did not just describe yourself as ‘soft hearted’ and ‘empathetic’.”

Kaveh's arm hooks over the back of his chair as he leans back, his brow raising in a challenge, “Just because I no longer share your bed does not mean I was never there. Deny it all you want, but you have a type.”

Alhaitham throws back the rest of his wine and turns to face Kaveh directly, his nerves firing in irritation as he readies himself for another war of words.

“Perhaps you should consider returning to the Acadamiya as a student, since you clearly missed the rudimentary lesson on drawing meaningful conclusions from observational evidence. Your spurious claims only prove you’re just as delusional as I always knew you were.”

Kaveh’s crimson eyes spark with challenge, and Alhaitham expects him to throw back a witty retort that will likely snowball into an argument of gargantuan proportions. But the corner of his lips quirk up in a smirk, and Alhaitham wonders if he’s miscalculated the situation. 

“Well then, if my conclusions are as baseless as you claim, you won’t have any issue with introducing me to the little beauty then, will you?”

Alhaitham feels his entire body freeze as Kaveh slips from his chair, the architect reaching forward for a spare glass and the bottle of wine. “If you’re not interested, I certainly am.”

His hand lands on his shoulder before Kaveh can even take a single step, forcing him back into chair. Kaveh folds over himself in riotous laughter, spilling wine over his lap as he basks in such an easy win.

Alhaitham closes his eyes and sneers.

“Oh! To see the unshakeable Academiya’s Scribe turning into a lovesick fool over a woman. My whole year has been made!”

“Shut up.”

The sound of Kaveh’s uncouth guffawing draws Lumine’s eyes, her expression curious as she shifts her gaze between them. Alhaitham feels his ears begin to burn, so he takes it out on Kaveh by kicking him in the shin.

“Ow! What the fuck?”

“Shut up and hand over the wine already. Irminsul will freeze over before I can manage more than five minutes in your company while sober.”

Kaveh hands over the bottle with little protest, but his eyes are elsewhere as he stares over his shoulder. “Needing some liquid courage, eh? Should I avoid coming home tonight, lest I find a sock hanging over your door?”

“Fuck off.”

Kaveh’s laughter resumes, and Alhaitham catches a sweet smile gracing Lumine’s lips.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow he’d get his revenge on Kaveh.

He had other plans for tonight.

[nekoannie-chan]

Secrets Chapter 12: Wish I May, Wish I Might

Pairing: Jack Rollins X OFC.

Word count:  1083 words.

Summary: Sometimes keeping secrets can be dangerous or a heavy burden, which is what Kathleen has been doing for years. She will also be in charge of guiding Steve Rogers into this century; meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. will be looking for a way to kick-start the Avengers Initiative by integrating her as one of the superheroes, but that won't be the only danger they face.

Warnings: Mention of smut, nothing explicit.

A/N:  Thanks to @azulatodoryuga​​ for this idea. After long time working on this longfic, I finally post it. If you wanna be added to the taglist, let me know.

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any kind of permission that my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other's people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

You can read it on Wattpad and Ao3 too. Secrets masterlist. Previous chapter. Next chapter.

Jade put her hand on the knob of her new office. She had never believed that she would rise through the ranks in S.H.I.E.L.D., but most of all, she liked the fact that some of her colleagues had been angry when they announced that she would be promoted.

The only thing she didn't like was that she had to work with the STRIKE team. She had heard a lot about them, especially from the new Commander and Sub-Commander, but that didn't matter. No one was going to stop her.

Jade observed the roles of the new mission. It was not the type of mission that he was used to in his new position. That was up to other teams. Fortunately, there was no need to bring recruits, as this would be the first mission of these. However, in those last few days, there were too many missions and practically all the agents were busy; I would also leave work for recruits.

There was something he didn't like about the mission; he had to work with certain members of the STRIKE team. They usually work with the captain. In less than two hours, he would have to leave to meet with his teammates and start the mission. He had to hurry to finish reading the file.

She looked at her watch. They were five minutes late. She knew she hadn't left because she had all the equipment they were going to need. She didn't want to turn around. She knew that if she saw them, she would claim them, wait until they were in front of her, and of course, they would have an apology.

However, she was surprised that as soon as a man arrived, she was sure that he was not Rumlow, but there was something that caught her attention, although she could not tell at the time what it was.

"You must be Blake," Jack said, standing in front of Jade with an unfriendly gesture.

Jade Blake, Commander of the Recruit Team, "corrected him," squinting. She couldn't believe he was so rude. She was starting to draw a lot of conclusions in her head.

"Jack Rollins," he said, not taking his gaze away from her.

"And Commander Rumlow?"

"He had to go on a last-minute mission with Rogers, but I'll handle this," Jack said.

Jade saw it from head to toe. She was not entirely convinced. However, she would have to adapt to make the mission work. What she least wanted was to have problems or to believe that she was not suitable for the position.

The mission was successful, although Jack didn't seem to be someone who talked much, or maybe he was angry. Jade had already grown tired of Jack's attitude, even though they were a good team.

"It bothers you that a woman is in charge," Jade said.

"No, it doesn’t."

"You lie," Jade snapped, "she had lost patience. She had never worked with anyone like him.

I don't usually trust anyone, but I think you do it very well. "But I don't understand why you were sent on this mission if you are the commander of the recruits," Jack said without flinching.

"Because you have to recruit someone else," Jade joked, or maybe she had been startled for no reason. Jack looked at her incredulously. No, we don't have to recruit anyone, but it seems like all the agents were busy.

A few hours later, they decided to stop at a fast-food restaurant. Jade saw that things were changing and Jack's behavior was beginning to change, even seeming friendlier.

"I've heard a lot about you and Rumlow," Jade commented, then ate the bite.

"No one really knows us. Everything you've heard is probably a lie.

As the weeks went by, Jack and Jade spent more time together. Whenever they could, they went out several times, especially to the cafeteria near the Triskelion.

"So, who is Jack Rollins?" Jade asked before taking a sip of her milkshake.

"I am," Jack replied, with a nod of obviousness.

"No, I mean, what's behind that bad boy face? Why did you join SHIELD? "

"My sister."

"Your sister also works for the organization," Jade said as if it were confirmation.

For "No, she doesn't... it doesn't matter," Jack wasn't sure if he should tell her the real reasons. Few people knew about Leah.

"Jack, you're hiding something, even if it doesn't seem like it. You're very easy to read.

"Did you know that SH.I.E.L.D. has great health insurance?"

"I assumed, given the kind of work we do, there could be any kind of injury. This is a very risky job, I think you know that," Jade replied.

"It also works for relatives."

"I don't understand."

"I'm in SHIELD because of my sister." "She needs a lot of care," Jack finally said. Jade looked at him and then understood what was happening.

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, I'm just making you uncomfortable. "

"Only two people had discovered it. You are the third. "

"I hope one day I'll be able to meet her."

"I think he's going to like you."

After dinner, Jack accompanied her home. Jade got off the bike, took off her helmet and smiled at her. They walked together to the door of Jade's apartment.

I had a great time; I don't know if you want to pass or you have to leave... "

Jack kissed her, closing the apartment door behind him, fiercely taking off her clothes as they walked into the room. For several hours of the night, the bodies danced in ecstasy.

Jade opened her eyes and smiled as she noticed that she was lying on Jack's chest. She had never felt anything like it before.

"Hello."

"Last night was..."

"Fantastic."

I was going to say phenomenal, but I like fantastic. "We have to go to work, so I'll go for a bath, in case you want to join me," Jade said as she winked.

Jade bit the top of the feather slightly. She had never felt anything like it, but now she needed to know that it was exactly her and Jack. She was startled to hear someone knocking on her door. She frowned when she saw that it was one of the recruits. Then she saw the watch. She was late for the tests that were going to be administered to the recruits that day. In fact, she had completely forgotten. After that, she would talk to Jack.

Ꭲꭺꮐꮮꮖꮪꭲ:

@saiyanprincessswanie​​  @sinceimetyou​​ @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad​​

@navybrat817​​ @angrythingstarlight​​ @shield-agent78​​ @charmed-asylum​​ @pandaxnienke​​  @real-fbi​​ @smokeandnailz​​ @white-wolf1940​​  @tenaciousperfectionunknown​ ​ @xoxonotme​​  @bluemusickid​​ @leyannrae​​  @harrysthiccthighss​​ @marvelatthisone​​ @caplanbuckybarnes​​ @sapphire-rogers​​ @lizzieolseniskinda​ @notyourtypicalrose​​ @hallecarey1​  @nana1000night​​ @talia-rumlow​​ @mylifeispainandiloveit​​ @writingshae​​ @alexxavicry​​ ​ @daemonslittlebitch​​​  @sweater-daddiesdumbdork​​  @jtargaryen18​ @chaoticcollectivenightmare​ @endlesstwanted​  @chemtrails-club​  @marigoldreamer​  @whiskeytangofoxtrot555​ @here4thefanfics​ @theestorm​ @patzammit​

[c-schroed]

Surprisingly, the Time Travel in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" Makes Perfect Sense!

This will involve some heavy spoilers for the fifth Indiana Jones movie, so read at your own discretion. We'll end up with my absolute fav temporal paradox, though, so this might be worth your while. Ready? Okay!

So this time our MacGuffin is the Antikythera mechanism, an Ancient Greek orrery for astronomical calculations. In the movie however, this mechanism has another function. And weirdly, everyone calls it just "the Antikythera", as if they're all on fucking first-name terms with the thing. Antikythera is the name of the island where people found the mechanism, goshdarnit! But I digress.

So, the Antikythera device in the movie is told to detect time rifts that allow for time travel. And of course the ex Nazi bad guy wishes to change the course of World War II with it. So they enter some… target deytinationspace time coordinates? And the devices locates the nearest time rift that will bring them to the 1930s. Or so they plan.

But the Antikythera thingy does not bring them to somewhere 1930-ish. Not at all. Instead they end up 200 BC-ish, just in time to see Syracuse fall into the hands of the Romans. And to meet legendary genius Archimedes. Who in the movie has invented the dial of Antikythera. Indy and the gang chat a little with Archimedes, then everyone gets back into their respective timelines (except for the not-so-ex Nazis, they of course died). And it all makes sense. Because no one had to invent a time machine for this to happen. Even more so, no one had to invent a time rift sniffing device!

Because all that we needed for this plot to be coherent was a mechanism that would put out a specific set of coordinates on request. On any request, in fact, because in the whole movie it is only used once, so no one can say if it really would calculate any other coordinates then the ones that lead to that specific time rift leading from present day airspace to 200 BC-ish Syracuse.

So Archimedes built a device that gives out one specific set of coordinates. That should be possible for a genius of his size, right? And how he knew the coordinates, you might wish to ask now. Well, here's where my favourite temporal paradox enters the scene: The bootstrap paradox.

Archimedes didn't have to find out the coordinates. He just had to read them from the Antikythera dial that Indy and the gang brought with them from a future where Archimedes had already built the thing. Remembering these coordinates after seeing the future device should be easy for the legendary mind of his. As should be to draw the right conclusions about what the fuck had happened and what to do next. And that is where our paradox kicks in, because this way the information about the coordinates comes straight out of nothing. They are there because they always were there, but no one in fact calculated or observed the position of the time rift. Archimedes programmed the mechanism because he saw that it had to be programmed this way for the temporal loop to work.

Information comes out of nothing, and it still makes perfect sense. Gosh. I do love the bootstrap paradox. A perfect circle.

[aerosiderwrites]

Archery Practice ... Yandere Childe x Harbinger!Reader

warnings for genre typical portrayals of unhealthy relationships... ngl childe is kinda tame in this one tho

Word Count: 2k

Mid-evening tended to be an unpopular time to train. Most were having dinner, finishing their work day, and getting ready for as restful night as possible in the frigid climate of Snezhnaya. You typically would as well, but with a lot to reflect on and frustrated energy, you brushed off the snow on your person as you entered a Fatui training facility. You gave a quiet greeting to the guards who manned the building, who stood at attention at your arrival. You paid them no second thought as you began to navigate the pristine building.

You followed a path down the corridors you knew by heart, as even years before your ascension to being a Harbinger you found yourself here more than at home whenever your weren’t on assignment. Most windows into the various gyms were dark, and the ones with people in them had young recruits of little consequence to you.

You turned a corner when you heard someone calling for you. You processed the distinct voice as Childe, the most recent addition to the Harbingers. You ignored him, hoping that your increase in pace would not catch his attention. You mentally pleaded that he would avoid the archery range in favor of the other combat gyms.

He didn’t stop, as he never did, as his voice continued to come your way. You closed your eyes in weak attempt to hide your wince as he addressed you by name, by your real name, not your Harbinger title as the other nine would.

You stopped dead and turned to where he was trailing behind you and gave him your attention, unfortunately rewarding his bad behavior, “Titles only, Childe.”

“I wasn’t sure you could hear me” Childe responded, now standing tall right in front of you, his smile still the same, ignoring or otherwise completely unbothered by the standoffishness on your end. “I wanted to see if you wanted to spar while you’re here.”

Like clockwork. Every damn time you came in here and he was here too he’d ask. Each time you’d say no. Each time he’d hover around you until one of you had to leave. It had worked for the other Harbingers, as he now paid them no mind but for whatever reason, he still engaged with you. Tonight, you hoped your verifiable excuse and unfriendly aura would be the last straw for him.

“I’m just going to be doing target practice today,” you said, hoping to deter him. “I don’t want to do anything too strenuous today.”

“Oh you are? Do you mind if I join you?”

You blinked, “I didn’t know you knew how to use a bow,” you verbally dug your heels into the ground, even though you knew he could just walk into the range and practice along side you if he so wanted. There were no restrictions to who could use what when, but you desperately wished he would take a hint and leave you alone.

“I’ve been practicing on my own more recently, actually,” explained Childe, “And considering you’re the best archer among us, I can’t imagine having a better training partner.”

You narrowed your eyes at his compliment, while delivered earnestly, you couldn’t help but interpret his words as being subtly facetious. Since Childe sidestepped your frustrated hint with ease, you relented with a sigh, “Do as you please.”

The two of you headed to an archery range, Childe walking along side you, while you stewed in silent annoyance. So much for introspection time.

No one quite knew how to pester quite like Tartaglia. It was the popular opinion among the other Harbingers that the 11th was obnoxious. While you and your contemporaries preferred to work in the shadows and keep the often extreme extents of your servitude to your Archon hush-hush, Tartaglia, or Childe, as he preferred, ended up with a style that was far more akin to a performance. However, unlike most performers, he would make sure that his performance would be the last his audience would ever see.

You stopped in front of a door to the small range, opening it up unceremoniously, and Childe followed close behind. The room lit up, and illuminating the long room with three suspended targets, at three distances. Even with the unwanted company, you stretched and warmed up on autopilot, the silence between you and Childe surprisingly comfortable.

You glanced over, Childe having gone through his warm up routine faster than you. He had called his bow already, and you found yourself gawking at the absolutely abysmal posture he held as he aimed at the closest target, the one on the far left.

His shoulders were hunched and his bow hand gripped the bow in such a way that seemed entirely unsustainable. The arrow sat flimsy in his drawing hand, the only saving grace of the shot being the strength with Childe drew, which was borderline disturbing. You weren’t sure if he was showing off, or if he genuinely didn’t know to hold back.

You held your tongue as you watched him fire the shot, your eyes barely able to follow as the arrow swiftly embedded itself deep into the target, although the hit was only one by the smallest of margins

You watched him fire two more arrows, the second being a ring outside of the bullseye, and the third a near miss from the top. Both would be a challenge to pull from the targets as the fletching of the arrows were barely all that stuck out.

“See, I have a problem with being consistent in the hits I land,” Childe sighed, aware that you were observing, “What would you recommend?”

You took a deep inhale, “I think most children who pick up bows for the first time don’t have posture as bad as you.”

Childe flinched, his body language exaggerated, a pout resembling a kicked puppy having formed on his face, “Cut me some slack, I’m self taught!”

You remained unrelenting in your onslaught, “That’s obvious,” you scoffed, “You put way to much strength into the draw, especially when you can barely hold the bow itself. I’m amazed you hit the target at all.”

As as satisfying as it was to drag his form through the mud, Childe’s hurt expression only seemed to deepen, and you let yourself be worn down. “Draw the empty string, I’ll tell you what you need to fix.”

He did as you asked, and you rationalized to yourself that you were ultimately helping the Tsaritsa if you assisted Childe here. If he were ever stuck in a situation where he could only use a bow, you didn’t want him to be caught with his pants down. As invasive as he was, you didn’t want him to die or anything.

You lightly tapped his upper back, “Don’t hunch.” He fixed himself quickly. You moved his elbow up on his drawing arm, and went around to bend his elbow on his bow arm, going in quickly, and touching his as little as possible. You gave explanations for why each mistake would be detrimental for any kind of combat, and how to develop instinctive shooting, while making him maintain proper posture.

You were surprised how well he seemed to internalize what you explained, and you didn’t stop yourself from going into more detail than was feasibly retainable, but he stayed attentive, and showed a passion you weren’t expecting. You eased into a comfortable rhythm, and with rudimentary fixes, Childe was able to improve.

Time passed quickly, your engagement far more than either of you had expected. Childe had been trying to gauge you for a long time, but your persistence into giving him as little as possible became entertaining in and of itself. He enjoyed the open resentment of the other Harbingers, and before you had let your shell crack, he had enjoyed yours just as much.

Your patience with any mistakes was unexpected, your exasperation and irritation with his presence having dissipated entirely as you focused on helping him despite yourself. It was endearing seeing this side of you, a side that showed itself with surprisingly little prodding or string-pulling. It felt… natural, and unfortunately for you, it was also very endearing.

“Hey, [Y/N],” he started, interrupting a demonstration you had started about sights, earning a surprised look from you as he got your attention.

It took a split second, but you noticed he used your name instead of your title, your guard went back up, and you narrowed your eyes at him, “Don’t speak informally with me, use my title, Tartaglia.” You hissed out, using his official title instead of his preferred to emphasize your distance.

“Why? You can call me Ajax,” he offered, testing the barrier you set up. He hid his surprise when you hesitated, pursing your lips. He saw through how you tried to treat him apathetically, and forced yourself to be unkind to him. You were so much softer than you wanted anyone else to be privy to, and Childe was excited to exploit it.

In your own head, you had reached a conclusion that you weren’t sure he had reached, or if he even noticed in himself. You could have been way off, but as someone so at odds with his peers, seen as a tool by his superior, and feared by enemies and underlings alike, the pieces fit in your head and spelled out the fact that Childe was probably lonely.

Realizations clicked together quickly upon this conclusion, but you kept them to yourself.

“I won’t,” you maintained, refusing to let up. You couldn’t stop sympathy and understanding from now changing the tint of your interactions or how you viewed them, but you didn’t have to let him know any of that. Childe wasn’t your business, no matter how much he wanted to be.

“Aw, don’t be like that,” Childe cooed, holding back a patronizing urge to pinch your angry cheeks, “I just wanted to ask why you’re helping me, since you seem to dislike me so much.”

You shifted your weight where you stood, “I don’t think you’d leave me alone either way.”

“That hasn’t stopped you from ignoring me before.”

Resentment bubbled in your chest, “So you are aware that you’re a pest.”

“Only because I like you.”

You were baffled that he could just say something that familiar, and you hoped any warmth that showed itself on you wouldn’t be interpreted as anything other than embarrassment on his behalf. “Well, stop.”

Childe seemed more amused than anything at your words, it only feeding into his idea that you’re just playing hard to get, “Am I really so unlikable?”

“You have no idea.” Any understanding you gained during your interactions being emotionally tossed to the wayside as your couldn’t bring yourself to care about someone with such a deliberate lack of regard for boundaries.

You disarmed yourself and made way to the door, pulling it open only for it to shut fast before you could blink. Your eyes followed the gloved hand that slammed it shut, Childe now far closer than you have ever let him get before.

You didn't want to turn around, and when you did you found yourself regretting it. His eyes were cold, completely unamused at your intent to leave while he was enjoying your company so much. He didn't mind a chase, but he needed you to realize that he was serious, and very difficult to deter.

If being pleasant and fun wouldn't get you to loosen up, he could change his approach until you changed your mind.

It had been a very long time since you felt this small. You’ve always been aware of Childe’s strength, but at the end of the day, despite his irritating nature, he was an ally. Or was. In that moment you looked up to see his lighthearted facade disappear so completely, you understood that regardless of your allegiance to your Archon, he was a threat.

“Don’t go, I still have so much I’d like to learn from you, [Y/N].”

[nostaren]

Mr. Lonely

TOJI FUSHIGURO X READER

part 15 | series masterlist | next

Spending time with your underclassmen had proved to be really refreshing, as hesitant to the idea as you had been at first. The time was as such that you ideally should’ve been asleep by now, especially considering you had places to be tomorrow, but you didn’t feel tired in the slightest.

At exactly 3 am, you, Yuuji and Nobara were venturing the school premises, walking animatedly and acting very much like drunken fools without actually having had anything to drink. It was odd how much energy the three of you had, what with having not slept since the previous night.

“I’m telling you, he must be putting wax in his hair to have it stand up like that.”

“I don’t know, Itadori… Fushiguro doesn’t seem like the person to do anything with his hair other than brush it.” 

You thought about it, Megumi standing in front of a mirror and maneuvering his hands to style each strand. You snorted at the mental image. “Definitely not.”

Itadori’s hands moved to run through his pink locks. “And I do?”

“Yes,” both you and Nobara said in unison.

His response was gleeful. “So out of the two of us, I actually take care of myself!”

You and Nobara shared a glance, immediately breaking into a fit of giggles. While not particularly regimen-conscious, Megumi definitely took better care of his hygiene, the lack of smelling of sweat nearly as frequently as Yuuji being evidence to that.

“Why are you laughing? Oh! By the way, Kugisaki, we needed to read some pages in some book until tomorrow—no, later today? I just… don’t remember which book… or which pages.”

“What!? Why the hell are you telling me now?”

“You were away with Fushiguro and Panda all day! Oh no, I forgot to tell him too—ow! Stop hitting me!”

You zoned out the rest of the conversation, not really a part of it, instead becoming lost in your thoughts while trudging along to their pace.

The original plan had been to bring Megumi with you, too, but when Yuuji had incessantly knocked on his door, his response after a few minutes was to open it, call you lot morons for waking him up over something so ridiculous, then promptly sliding it shut. Hence Megumi being the subject of discussion for a good bit of your walk when the male wasn’t there to hear any of it. Nothing too horrible was brought up, just stuff that would surely make him sneeze a couple of times.

Before Yuuji had joined in, it was Nobara that dragged you out of bed, angrily going out about how men weren’t shit and how you shouldn’t spend even one second of your precious time mulling over him. Hearing her exclaim all of that without even knowing the full story pulled at your heartstrings. Nobara proved time after time how much of an unconditional friend she was, having your back even when you didn’t ask for it.

You hadn’t really been left to sort your thoughts the whole day, having been accompanied by at least one person at all times if you didn’t count the small window between when Gojo had escorted you to your room to when Nobara had come to get you. And while it would have been comforting to spill everything to Nobara—heck, even Gojo—you held back because you couldn’t help but feel it was an irrational sadness.

Because yes, you did feel a little sad.

The feeling creeped up on you as a few minutes passed of blankly watching shadows shifting across trees and listening to the bickering of your friends, sometimes adding to it, but otherwise just tagging along.

It was from being attentive of your surroundings that allowed you to notice a fourth person. A lone figure leaned on the railing of the approaching bridge, slightly hunched over and lazily typing away at his phone. 

It was by no means odd to see a person out at this hour, but within these particular school grounds? That was odd. You were outside despite it being past curfew, and you couldn’t recognize the silhouette in the distance to be one of the students. There weren't even as many students as there were fingers on your two hands, so you'd recognize any of them.

Hopefully he wasn't a teacher that you just didn't recognize, like Nanami.

Or, if he was a teacher, you hoped he was one that was as lenient about rules as Gojo.

Either way, you'd likely just pass him by and throw a casual ‘hello’ at him. No need to work yourself up over it.

But in the day's second douse of horrendous luck, your eyes, even in the dark, happened to catch sight of the particular way black strands of hair fell over his face. Your lips puckered as you took in his quite tall frame and the outline of his legs. After a moment of contemplation, you, brows furrowing, craned your neck to get a better look at him.

Was that—?

No. Fucking. Way.

“Guys let’s go that way,” you attempted to whisper over their exhilarated yelling from a heated argument, heart hammering loudly in your ears and adding to the stress of a situation you did not want to be in. When that didn’t work, you pulled at the back of Nobara’s shirt.

“Hey, that’s going to wrinkle!” 

Her exclamation fell short when seeing your form shrunken on itself in an attempt at hiding. 

“…you okay?”

“It’s—“ you threw a pointed glance towards the figure up front. “It’s him.”

 She turned to look.

“Not so obvious,” you hissed, inwardly groaning at how there was no way a certain someone wouldn’t realize you were now talking about him if he so much as glanced up. 

Yuuji meanwhile observed your exchange, oblivious to what exactly was happening but still managing to draw some (very faulty) conclusions of his own.

“Eh? Do you know him?” Yuuji squinted his eyes as if that would make him see better in the dark. To your horror, his arm moved up in a wave. “HEEEEEY!! OVER HE—mmph!”

You tackled him to the ground with a hand pressed to his mouth, tumbling into a nearby brush just as the figure ahead looked up from his phone. That left Nobara standing there awkwardly, staring at Fushiguro looking at her as if she’d grown two heads.

Your hands moved to loosely enclose around Yuuji’s throat in a mock-choking manner, whispering, “You’re a moron, you know that?”

“I know,” he whispered back. “But what did I do wrong this time?”

Your mouth opened to take your words back because now you felt a little bad, but Nobara’s “psst” interrupted you.

You looked up from Yuuji. “What do I do!?” Nobara hissed through gritted teeth.

A few seconds of deafening silence passed whereas you tried to think of something, but you apparently thought for too long because she finally decided on very obviously ducking into the bush with the rest of the crew.

Great. Real inconspicuous, Nobara. No way he could’ve seen that.

The three of you sat looking at each other with wide eyes, not knowing what to do next.

“What’s he even doing here?” you broke the silence, being mindful of keeping your voice low.

“He can’t enter without permission, so he must be here for Gojo-sensei or principal Yaga… Right?” came Nobara’s answer.

She was right. He couldn’t have gone through the barriers put up by Tengen if not invited. So had Gojo somehow found out that it was Fushiguro that was involved? Or…

You couldn’t feel even a slither of cursed energy reeking from his person, no matter how hard you concentrated, meaning he must be a civilian. Gojo had a knack for doing things inappropriately, but to invite a civilian into Jujutsu High? Surely, he didn’t…

But then again, you knew nothing of their relationship.

Either way, you just wished to remain hidden until he was done with whatever business he had here so you could make your way to the dorms and sleep the accumulated stress away.

Some shuffling from the left broke your thoughts. Yuuji was crouching down, peering through the leaves. “He’s gone.”

A collective sigh of relief was heard.

It didn’t last long.

“This peeping tom a friend of yours?”

“Uwaah!”

The three of you scrambled away from the source of the sudden voice.

While the question undoubtedly was directed at you, Fushiguro didn’t seem to know who you were.

The three of you shared a knowing glace, each expression some form of shock, feeling a little disturbed over how he had managed to sneak behind all of you, civilian or not.

His eyes skimmed over your forms, back and forth and then further to the sides as if looking for someone else. Not finding it, his eyes zoned in on you and Nobara. “So, which one of you is it?”

Nobara, immediately realizing what he meant, angrily exclaimed, “Do I look that old to you!?” and pointed an accusatory finger at you, as if you were the one to cause her offense. You wanted to tell her that three years wasn’t much, and that it wasn’t really enough to tell that much of a difference, but your mouth remained clamped shut.

Green eyes met yours. “Leave us.”

From the corner of your eyes, you saw Yuuji moving to stand. “You expect us to just leave Y/n-senpai alone with you!?”

Sweet, sweet Yuuji.

Nobara moved to stand as well, grabbing Yuuji by the arm. “We’ll be on our way now. You two take your time.”

Horrible, horrible Nobara.

You thought she’d want you to—had even told you to—move past him, not to figure things out. Admittedly, you’d rather do the former than the latter because at least then you wouldn’t need to talk about feelings yuck and you hadn’t had any time to really think whether or not to forgive him, should he apologize.

Yuuji sputtered in disagreement and you could do nothing but break eye-contact with the looming man above you to watch as Nobara dragged a flailing Yuuji behind her, wishing it was you in his stead.

“You have alllll night,” she winked.

And then you were alone with Fushiguro.

.

.

next

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[delimeful]

Helpless (2)

the next chapter in the drider virgil fic!

warnings: spiders, slight dehumanizing language, assumptions/jumping to conclusions

-

Logan was certain that he’d tracked down his quarry.

Of course, he’d also been certain the last two times he’d found promising evidence around a swath of woods, but this time was different.

He had learned plenty while traversing through the varied lands of his kingdom, and while physical evidence was ideal, word of mouth was one of the most useful tools a researcher could use to find leads.

That was part of the reason why he’d been so careful to observe typical travelers for weeks before his departure, the reason he was wearing worn, cheap fabric and staying at the second-cheapest room at this town’s inn, despite having plenty of money still hidden on his person. He didn’t want a single rumor about a suspiciously rich noble traveling alone.

The last thing he needed was for his investigative journey to be interrupted by bandits, or worse, would-be do-gooders attempting to return the missing prince to his place in line for the throne.

Logan resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the very thought, putting aside the last half of his travel rations and stopping at the edge of town to stare into the woods beyond. He checked his compass habitually, and he was pointed firmly westward, exactly towards the point of the woods that were occupied by a dangerous monster, according to the barkeep that Logan had plied for information last night at supper.

The whole town knew of it, even the younger residents, which was a point in favor of the creature really existing rather than just being another folk tale.

There was one other potential source on the creature, a town outcast going by the way others’ noses wrinkled at the mention of him, but Logan was more than ready to begin investigating for himself, and the odds that the outcast actually knew anything were low, anyhow.

Decided, he headed into the forest, prepared for the day-long trek that was sure to follow. If he was prone to less scientific notations, he might have jotted down that he had a good feeling about this particular town.

Exactly an hour and a half later, Logan had found himself almost entirely immobilized by layers and layers of gossamer threads strewn about the trees.

Needless to say, he was ecstatic.

Even the foolish manner in which he’d landed himself stuck in such an obvious trap couldn’t dampen his spirits, not when faced with undeniable proof that there was in fact a drider in these woods. He’d been too hasty in his attempt to collect some of the biological material, and by yanking too hard, had ended up pulled forwards into the thick of the intricate spider web.

His immobility was a bit concerning, but mostly frustrating, since he couldn’t reach for his journal to note down the surprising level of the webbing’s tensile strength. Still, proper scientists had to be prepared to hold onto their observations for as long as it took for them to be able to write them down.

Besides, he could hardly complain. His current predicament practically guaranteed that he would actually get to see the creature!

-

There was a person stuck in his webs, and Virgil was freaking out about it.

It had never happened before. Virgil very specifically made the webs closer to town thick and opaque so that any passerby would see them and avoid this exact situation.

Virgil peered around the cluster of bushes he had half-flattened himself behind. The stranger didn’t seem too panicked, at least, going by the way that the web barely swayed with his presence. He didn’t even seem to be breathing hard, which was… admittedly sort of strange.

Skies above, what if this was a trap? Virgil turned his head sharply to scan his surroundings, wary of human hunters suddenly popping out of the undergrowth.

Several moments of silence, and even with all his senses pushed to their farthest, he couldn’t detect anything. It seemed the only one trapped here was the human.

A pang of guilt curled unpleasantly in his first stomach. He grimaced, wishing desperately that Patton was here to mitigate the utter terror Virgil was surely about to inflict on this guy.

No point in drawing it out. He rose up to his full height, grateful that the human had gotten stuck facing the opposite direction, and quietly crept up behind him. All he needed to do was announce his presence and let the human know he wasn’t going to hurt them, but he was immediately distracted at the sight of just how tangled his webs had grown.

“How does one human manage to touch every single support thread at the same time?” he asked, voice incredulous.

The human stiffened, and he couldn’t help but tense in response, cursing his big mouth.

… Really though, he spent hours crafting these, and now this one would have to be completely reconstructed!

“Are you the monster spoken of in town?”

The measured voice snapped Virgil out of his thoughts as easy as a clap of thunder, and he shuffled a bit from side to side nervously. His many steps must have been louder than he’d thought, because the human immediately attempted to twist around and see him.

He failed, naturally, because Virgil’s threads weren’t exactly easy to wriggle free of, but Virgil’s nerves only grew. “I… why do you ask?”

There was a short silence, and then, “Considering my current situation, it’s only natural I would want to know, isn’t it?”

Virgil resisted the urge to wince at his own dumbassery. “Right. Well. Yeah,” he confirmed, already bracing for the fear that nearly every human bore when confronted with him. Even Patton had been afraid at first, though Virgil really thought him braver than any other human, to be so terrified of even normal spiders and befriend a Drider of all creatures.

“Oh, excellent,” the human said with clear excitement. “Would you mind coming around so that I can see you?”

Virgil blinked, befuddled. The last thing most humans wanted was for him to come closer. Maybe it was the natural fear of him being in their blind spot? The guy certainly didn’t sound very afraid, even with Virgil’s less-than-stellar first impression.

“Do you have a weapon?” he asked warily.

“I have a knife,” the stranger offered, “but I can’t exactly reach it at the moment.”

Virgil could see the glint of it, caught bladefirst at the very edge of a web as though it had been used on the threads themselves. He slowly circled around the clearing, watching the stranger closely for any sudden movements, until he stood before him, all eight legs and thorax visible.

“Fascinating,” he breathed, eyes blown wide as they skittered from point to point as though noticing every little detail. Virgil would have thought him afraid had it not been for the prideful little grin that sat on his face. “I thought maybe you were lying to me-- I hadn’t expected you to be so fluent in the common language, living in the woods and all-- but wow!”

Virgil felt his front legs rising up a little bit in an automatic defense against the unexpected reaction. He ran his tongue over his fangs nervously, trying to figure out whether or not he should be insulted about the language thing. And what exactly did this guy mean by ‘expected’?

The stranger’s hands twitched slightly, still stuck firmly in place, and irritation briefly flitted across his face as though he’d forgotten his position. He blinked, as though remembering something.

“Oh, right. Are you planning on trying to consume me, then?” he asked, the question as politely curious as an inquiry about the weather.

Virgil recoiled physically at the idea, skittering back a few strides and baring his fangs despite the difference in size and strength and trapped-ness between the two of them. “What? No!”

The stranger managed to drag his intrigued gaze away from Virgil’s fangs, his hands twitching again almost subconsciously. “In that case, would you mind helping me down? My leg has begun to go numb, and I really would like access to my journal.”

“I-- I mean, yeah, if you aren’t-- I can--,” Virgil stumbled over his words, drawing closer with his body lowered non-threateningly and waiting for the inevitable flinch or shiver of disgust.

It never came. The stranger continued to stare at him with no trace of terror in his eyes, even as Virgil grew close enough to reach out and touch him.

“Take your time,” he offered, despite being the one trapped in a monster’s web. Virgil abruptly felt a bit silly about his obvious wariness, and lifted his front legs to rub them together at the ankles. The stranger’s head tilted to the side slightly, watching the gesture intently.

“... It’s the oils that make the webs not stick,” Virgil explained. “I produce it naturally on my feet so I don’t get, y’know, stuck. I’ll have to touch the webs that are attached to you. With my feet. The spider ones.”

Virgil didn’t have any other kinds of feet, but the stranger graciously didn’t nitpick.

“A built-in solvent… I wonder if natural spiders have similar traits,” he mused instead, and then, “Do whatever you need, I don’t mind. The opposite, really, I appreciate the assistance.”

Sure enough, he didn’t shy away when Virgil began carefully plucking at the threads entangling him, sliding the sides of his legs along them to coat them in the anti-stick oils. Bit by bit, the entanglement loosened, and Virgil had just freed both arms when the human abruptly twisted around to reach for something on his person.

Of course, now that much of the webbing holding him in midair had been removed, his weight was significantly less supported. A few threads snapped, and he dropped a few inches with a startled yelp. If he continued, he’d be in for either a rough fall or getting caught in a whole new layer of webbing, and Virgil wanted neither of those things.

He quickly reached forwards with his human arms and lifted the stranger up and away from further entanglement, batting away any stray threads with his front legs. Belatedly, he realized he had forgotten to check if it was a weapon that the human had reached for. Even more belatedly, he realized that this was the second human he’d picked up in this impromptu carry.

Weird that it had happened twice.

“Perfect, thank you,” the guy said, and then he started writing furiously in a little book, occasionally glancing up at Virgil and locking onto a feature before returning to writing. It was as though he didn’t mind at all being held aloft like a human might lift up a misbehaving cat.

Virgil took the opportunity to continue cleaning any web remnants off the guy while he was distracted, his mind whirring. A stranger who had clearly never done a day of hard labor in his life, who didn’t seem at all afraid of him, and was taking notes.

... Oh, shit.

Virgil set him carefully on the ground while he was still preoccupied with scrawling out a label for a diagram of Virgil’s teeth. He backed up, softening his steps, and by the time the stranger pulled his attention away from his book, Virgil was already well out of sight and planned to keep it that way, regardless of the confused little call the stranger made.

He was not messing with what was clearly a mage out for his parts.

[dreamcatcherrs]

been loving the writing you’ve been posting! i’ve been nonstop thinking about cuddly sapnap🧍‍♀️he would wanna be little spoon so bad that mf... would it be possible to write about sapnap being a cuddly mf? love ur writing so much ❤️❤️❤️ ur doing great!!

thank you! <33 and yesss cuddly sapnap for the win! he’s soooo clingy I swear to god. hope you like this!

cuddle bug - sapnap

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: cuddly!sapnap x reader

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: nick is feeling especially touchy today, and just wants your sweet love and attention after having not seen you for a while.

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1.269

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: nothing but fluff🥴

song recommendation: lover - taylor swift

your eyes scanned the page for about the fifth time now, growing tired from the bright screen-light shining onto you from your laptop. you rubbed the sleep away from your eyes, knowing that you couldn’t take a break before you were sure that every sentence was exactly how you wanted it to be.

you let a sigh fall from your lips, moving your laptop off your lap to stretch your body out. you moved your head to rest on your pillow again, grabbing your computer yet again to scan through the many pages you’d written for an essay.

over the span of fifteen minutes, you managed to find a few spelling errors, correcting them as you slowly lost your will to continue on. you messed with the laces coming out from your hoodie, twirling them around your finger as you zoned out

“I’m done!”

you eyes shot up from your computer to the doorframe, stopping your fingers movements. nick had appeared from his bedroom - something you hadn't seen all day. he smiled tiredly at you, and reached back to scratch the back of his head. you smiled back, feeling a small weight lift off your shoulders just from seeing him.

he was already streaming when you had come over, and since he had his face cam on and your relationship was still not out yet, you had placed yourself on his comfy couch. that was three hours ago.

“yay!” you exclaimed, smiling at him for a moment before returning to your schoolwork. no matter how much you wanted to be with him right now, things had to be done.

nick tilted his head to the side, frowning slightly. it was obvious that something else had your complete attention (other than him!). after not having seen you for a while, he really just wanted to spend some time with you.

he approached you, taking a seat beside you when he got to the couch and rested his chin on your shoulder. he peeked at what you were doing, and once realising what you were so focused on, he understood why you were so caught up in it. he knew you had to perfect everything to the point where it was just too perfect, even though you didn't have to.

you turned your head to him, smiling sweetly as his eyes met yours. he placed his hand on your cheek, thumb brushing over your cheekbone lovingly. “y/n. cuddles. now.”

you laughed at that, rolling your eyes playfully. he gripped your hand in his before you could move it towards the keyboard, holding it to his chest.

“I have to finish this first, baby.”

you kissed his cheek softly, before focusing your eyes on the computer again. nick hated how hard you could be on yourself sometimes. he wished you could realise that people need breaks when focusing on something for long periods of time. and that included you too, of course.

you gave an attempt at untangling your fingers with his, but failed miserably when he just squeezed your hand harder. “that can wait.”

he closed your laptop, removing it from your lap and onto the coffee table before you had the chance to stop him. “wh- hey!” you reached out for it, but his grip on your arm stopped you from any further movements.

he moved over you and spread your legs out using his knees. he lay himself slowly on top of you, legs between yours, wrapping his arms around your waist and burying his head in your chest.

you sighed lightly, laying your head back on the pillow. you only needed to check a few more lines. that’s all you needed! yet your body was so tired and missed the warmth of another body… and oh god you just wanted to cuddle up with your boyfriend.

“nickkk…”

he hummed against you, moving his head so his chin was resting on your chest. you looked into his eyes, giving him the puppy eyes and lacing your hands together in a praying motion.

“pleeease can we just wait five minutes? I’m almost done, I swear!” you crossed your fingers, desperation lingering in your eyes. you sent him a toothy smile while he observed you with a raised eyebrow. he thought it over for a bit, before coming to a conclusion.

“no.”

your face dropped again and you pouted slightly at him. “whyyy?” you whined, sinking farther into the couch.

he sighed. “y/n. you and I both know that you won't just spend five minutes on that stupid thing. besides, would you really rather be doing homework than cuddle with your boyfriend who you, may I add, haven't seen all day?”

you groaned, covering your face with your hands, you knew he was right, of course. you’d give anything to not have to write anymore of that stupid essay and just cuddle up with him. you had missed him a lot…

he moved up from his place on your body, face now hovering over your covered one. a gentle smile pulled spread out on his face, hands moving yours away from your face.

“so?” he asked, waiting for an answer. you looked at the small glimmer of love in his eyes, hypnotised by the way they could so easily make your heart melt and send your whole body into a frenzy of tingles.

“no…”

he smiled wider at your words.

“that’s what I thought.”

all at once he got up, pulling you with him by your hands. you stumbled into his chest, his arms wrapping tightly around your body to keep you there. you smiled as well, closing your eyes for once in what felt like way too long. you let your hands rest on his shoulder blades, feeling the warmth of him radiating through his hoodie.

“you’re so cute,” he mumbled into your hair, hugging you even closer to him. your foot stumbled into his, moving you forwards more than you should. it moved him with you and he giggled lowly, the action adding to what he’d just told you. “c’mon, I want cuddles.”

he pulled away slightly, placing a kiss on your forehead. your cheeks heated up at the action, looking away from him with a smile. he grabbed your hand and excitedly lead you to the bedroom.

“is someone a little clingy today?” you asked teasingly, biting your lip as you lay down next to him on his bed.

“shut up.” the response went by without any cracks of his voice, but the shy smile on his face didn't pass you by. it only made you smile more. he moved close to you, laying his head on your collarbone, nose poking the crook of your neck.

you used that same arm he was slightly laying on to lightly play with his hair, twirling the strands around your finger as you pathed your way around his brown locks. he sighed pleasantly, wrapping an arm around your waist to pull himself closer to you.

with your other hand you reached for the covers, pulling them over you so the cold from outside couldn't reach you. nick planted a few kisses on your neck, almost so light that you could barely even feel them - just a tingling feeling left behind.

“thank you,” you mumbled against his hair, drawing small circles onto the palm of his hand with your other one. “I really needed this.” he caught onto your hand, holding it in his with a slight squeeze.

“me too, baby.”

you smiled down at him, before letting your eyes close, cuddling into the sweet embrace of your lover.

___________________________________

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[okay-j-hannah]

Out Of Sight

Fantastic Beasts : Prompt

Theseus x Reader

Word Count: 1605

Warnings: Nothing but the shameless flirting of Theseus Scamander 😂

Request: “Could I possibly get a Theseus/reader fic using prompt 3? Preferably where he’s the one who is missing, maybe during a mission gone wrong and she’s talking to Newt? Fluff please. I dunno if my heart could take any angst. Thank you! 💙🌻💙” @the-glasses-are-my-disguise​

Prompt:

3. “He’s missing, not dead.”

A/N: You join Theseus and Newt on an undercover job, always the worrier when it came to Theseus’ safety as he tackled Auror investigations

The party was formal and overwhelming.

Dozens of couples in dresses and suits trailed lazily around the hall, drinks and nibbles being woven between them. The professional orchestra played a background tune, seemingly invisible as the people of power chatted.

(Y/N) stood, slightly uncomfortable in such a uniform of lace and silk and edged her gloved hand around Theseus’ arm. She was never one for these Auror missions, though being a devout partner she left her research desk and followed Theseus into the danger.

“How are you supposed to know who he is?”

Theseus raised a slender glass of champagne to his lips, muttering quietly, “He’ll be surrounded by the most powerful. He’ll be the one seemingly bored by the conversation but demanding their attention when he speaks.”

“I don’t like the look of this,” she whispered back, whipping her eyes about the grand hall, “There are too many people. It would be so easy to get lost.”

“Calm yourself, darling,” Theseus chuckled, “You’ll give away our position.”

(Y/N) immediately lowered her eyes, taking a deep breath. She must behave normally regardless of the panic she felt. Newt was not far behind, quietly observing and partaking of his own drink.

“These magical beast smugglers are not used to the skills of a dark wizard catcher,” Theseus stated rather proudly. “We’ll find them in the end.”

“Just because they’re not dark wizards doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous.”

Theseus covered her hand along his arm, “You have nothing to fear, my dear. This is simply a favor for Newt – I would have brought reinforcements if I thought there was any real danger.”

She looked up to find his eyes gazing down at her lovingly. He gave a small smile and kissed her brow.

“I don’t get out of the office much. Forgive me if I’m a little on edge,” though she was smiling when she said it. She couldn’t help it when he held her close like that, protective under his gentle grasp.

He chuckled low in his throat, “You look simply ravishing in that dress.”

She shook her head ever so slightly, instantly flustered by his shameless flirting. “You’re on the job, Theseus – keep your pants on.”

“You’re no fun,” he muttered, moving his hand to her back, trailing light fingers up her spine, “Can I not adore you while enjoying my champagne?”

She shivered, tickled, “I’m going to need you to think with your upstairs brain; we’re working a case.” Though she knew what he was doing – it was always a tactic of his whenever she was anxious. He wished to calm her down, wished to see her flustered or annoyed rather than panicked and afraid.

And it worked every time – she smiled – the worrisome fretting was replaced with a mingling sense of playfulness. Much more manageable and less likely to give them away.

He grinned as realization was coming to her, “You clever girl.” And he scanned the audience again, drinking the last of his glass and shoving a hand in his pocket.

Newt crept behind (Y/N), slightly slouched and upset by the couples flirting. “I don’t suppose you’ve spotted anything?”

“No, Newton, I’ve been too busy admiring my love in her dress.” This time round, Theseus shamelessly flirt to rouse a shameful blush to Newt’s cheeks.

“Don’t tease,” (Y/N) nudged him.

“Or rather,” Theseus narrowed, thrusting his empty glass into Newt’s free hand, “There might be something there near the stairs.”

(Y/N) craned her neck to see, clearly observing a group of enthusiastic conversationalists. The man within its center had a dull expression on his face, picking at his nails and seeming only mildly interested in what was being said.

“I’ll go have a look,” Theseus said, turning to (Y/N), “Be careful, and don’t let Newt sway you to the dance floor. There’s a reason he sticks to his mating dances.”

(Y/N) frowned, “You’re going alone?”

In response, Theseus took her hand and placed a gentle kiss to her knuckles, “I’ll be back before you know it.” And he pulled away, giving her a comforting smile.

He skillfully weaved himself through the crowd, being sure to place a dashing debonair smile on his face. (Y/N) watched him anxiously, the nerves returning with him out of her presence. Newt noticed, placing his empty champagne glasses on a footman’s tray.

“He’ll be all right. He’s Theseus.”

“That’s the problem,” (Y/N) muttered, struggling to keep her eyes on him in the swarm of people. “He is Theseus and Theseus does what he wants without regard to his own personal safety.”

“You and I definitely live with different Theseus’.”

(Y/N) laughed, hollow, “You lived with the schoolboy, I live with the Auror.”

“Fair enough,” Newt muttered, hiding his fidgeting hands in his coat pockets, “Though, I still don’t believe you have anything to worry about.”

It was enough good faith that she calmed somewhat. Newt and she found themselves growing bored with waiting around and spying Theseus being diplomatic with the suspected smugglers. They trailed the outside of the hall, admiring the sparing artwork and grabbing little sandwiches and toothpicked cheeses when they could. They found themselves at the side bar, grabbing a sip of mild fire whiskey and then stirring olives in old cocktails.

“Look at me scolding Theseus and then drinking on the job.”

Newt gave her a rare smile, “I knew Theseus could handle the task himself, but I think he enjoys seeing you out in public.”

She gave him a raised brow, “Oh?”

“I do believe he likes showing you off.”

That made her smirk, “Sounds like my Theseus.” She knew he would never say such things to her face for fear of making her bashful and regret going out. He always knew when to draw the line in his skillful flirtations.

“Speaking of Theseus,” Newt stated, noticing the crowds beginning to thin as people returned home for the night. “I’ve lost sight of him.”

(Y/N) whipped her head around, a sudden lead weight in her stomach. She looked to where she saw him last and saw nothing. This led her eyes to flicker around the rest of the hall, more frantic in her search. Yet she still could not see him.

She moved away from the bar, moving slowly but her eyes whirring about the space. The longer she looked the faster her breath seemed to leave her. It was harder to focus, her mind only jumping to the worst conclusions as to why she couldn’t see him anymore. All notions that he’d be fine were out the window.

There were goosebumps on her arms as she moved farther into the thinning crowds. She was beginning to frantically search, bumping into people and asking to see peoples faces. She stumbled as she went undeterred by the stares of offense.

Newt tried to catch her while spying about. He did not feel the same sense of panic, perhaps because he had known Theseus longer. When he managed to grab her arm, he said, “There’s no need to go shouting about.”

She hadn’t even realized she’d started saying Theseus’ name aloud, “I don’t see him. I don’t know where he is.” There was a burning on the backs of her eyes, “These smugglers were dangerous, yes?”

Newt was taken aback by the look on her face, “Only dangerous to the magical beasts they pawn – I don’t think they’d be so ruthless to wizards.”

She took another shaky breath, “I still don’t see him. Where would he go? Why wouldn’t he tell us? What if something happened to him?”

“(Y/N), he’s missing, not dead.” Newt placed his hands on her shoulders, “You need to calm yourself. No good is going to come from your panic. “

He was right. She finally took a deep breath and nodded, “I just get so worried about him. He’s always out here risking his neck and I couldn’t stand not seeing him ever again. Sometimes when he leaves out the door I wonder if he’ll come home – and it terrifies me.”

“I wish I didn’t make you feel that way.” His voice was gentle and sweet. And when she turned to face him, he felt his own throat bob slightly, “Darling, you worry too much.”

“Theseus,” she whispered, falling directly into his arms, “You scared me half to death.”

He wrapped himself around her, rubbing her chilled back, “I told you I’d be back. I always come back.”

“I couldn’t see you – you disappeared.” That burning pricking her eyes turned them glassy as she hugged him close. “I assumed the worst.”

Theseus sighed, pulling back and cupping her face, “You may be a clever girl, but you go positively rampant as soon as I’m out of your eyeline. Do you really doubt my capabilities as an Auror?”

She pouted, lowering her eyes, “No, of course not. It’s those you fight that I don’t trust. One of these days they’ll pull a fast one on you.”

He gave her a look of longing before kissing her forehead, “I’m all right and you don’t need to worry – that’s what matters.” His fingers were warm and loving where they traced her arms, pulling her into another hug.

“I couldn’t possibly let anything happen to myself because who would be there to calm you?”

(Y/N) sighed, comfort flowing through her.

In return, Theseus trailed a hand up her back to hold her head against his chest, “I’m sorry I frightened you.”

“I’m sorry I panicked.”

Newt grumbled, “I’m sorry, but what about the smugglers?”

Theseus’ chest rumbled with laughter; it bounced against (Y/N)’s cheek, “I see you didn’t share the same worry, Newton.”

~~~

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[mala-sadas]

On the Legendary Wolves’ Plot in Pokéspe SWSH

I really like the way the legendary wolves’ plot is being handled in Pokespe so far. They’ve made a handful of changes and additions to the plot as it’s presented in the games that make it feel integral to the main characters and the overarching story, as well as just being more interesting to follow.

Part of the reason why this plotline is weak in the games is because it’s presented as just a minor subplot. You occasionally get more information about what really happened as you progress through the game, but it doesn’t seem important for you to pay attention to it until you get to the climax and Rose reveals that he’s caused the Darkest Day. Even though you encounter Zacian or Zamazenta in the Slumbering Weald at the beginning of the game, it’s not until Circhester that Hop connects that encounter to the legend you’re unraveling. And in the grand scheme of things, all that encounter does is confirm that the sword and shield Pokémon live in the Slumbering Weald - which Sonia apparently also learns about in a book that mentions Zacian and Zamazenta by name. So, why was it necessary, again?

But right out of the gate, Spe immediately ties the legendary wolves into the main characters’ backstory and motivations. A year prior to the beginning of the chapter, Sou goes to the Slumbering Weald to try to find the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield. He knows about them – and has an interest in them – because he’s from a family of swordsmiths, and he wants to see genuine, historical pieces of armor in person. Meanwhile, Schilly goes to the Weald to look for a Wishing Star that she had seen falling, since she wants to get it made into a Dynamax Band. The pair encounter the illusory Zacian and Zamazenta, and Sou immediately comes to the conclusion that these two are here to protect the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield – a conclusion supported by the fact that when they walk through the illusions to try to take a look at the artifacts, they’re knocked out by a flash of light. When they awaken, the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield are gone - as are all of Schilly’s Pokémon. Sou decides to start traveling with Schilly because he feels partly responsible for her Pokémon going missing, and Schilly decides to compete in the Gym Challenge to spread the word about her missing Pokémon and make it easier for her to find them. Additionally, it’s later revealed that Sou decided to participate in the Gym Challenge so he can get stronger and challenge Zacian and Zamazenta to a battle, believing that they’ll only allow someone with skill as a Trainer and an earnest desire to see the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield to see the artifacts in person.

So, in short, the reason why Sou and Schilly met and their respective reasons for taking on the Gym Challenge are both intrinsically linked to their encounter with the legendary wolves. This makes the wolves’ presence relevant throughout the whole story, ensuring that the reader doesn’t forget about the encounter by the time it becomes relevant again. (I also appreciate that they gave the wolves a concrete reason to appear before the protags in the Weald, something which the games and anime never really bothered to provide.)

Additionally, the decision to introduce the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield right away instead of saving their introduction for the climax like what happens in the games was a really smart choice. First, it ties directly into Sou’s interests, giving him a good reason to be interested in the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield as well as the other legends involving swords and shields. Second, it allows the characters to link together the encounter with Zacian and Zamazenta to the information they’re learning about the legends - Sou observes that the sword and shield held by the statue of the hero in Motostoke as well as the sword and shield depicted on the Hammerlocke tapestries resemble the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield, suggesting that the legends have a connection to the artifacts. And when I say “suggesting”, I don’t just mean in the sense that it’s something you can interpolate from the text. I mean that Sou literally says, “It’s not entirely unlikely that the three are all the same,” and Raihan brings up later that if they’re the same sword and shield, the legendary wolves may be connected to these events in some way as well.

This is another thing that I really appreciate about the way that Pokéspe is handling this plotline: the characters actually speculate, hypothesize, and draw conclusions about the evidence that they’re being presented with. In the games, most of the encounters with Sonia just involve you pointing out incredibly obvious things about the historical artifact/legend, and Sonia agreeing that they’re significant. She asks a lot of questions, but doesn’t postulate answers to them unless they’re directly being shown to you. And even some of the conclusions she draws seem like leaps of logic, like when she assumes that the statue behind the Stow-on-Side mural must be correct because it was made in “truly ancient times” - like, we just discovered this statue, Sonia. We have no idea how old it is.

But in Spe, the characters draw logical conclusions from the information they have, which means they can figure things out a lot faster than they do in the games and makes the conversation interesting to read whenever they learn new information. For example, Sou speculates that the sword and shield wielded by the hero might’ve had special powers, which is true. How did he figure this out? He explains that he thought about it because the hero used them to fight giant, rampaging Pokémon, which is a bit difficult to accomplish with a normal sword and shield.

Another great example of this is in Hammerlocke vault, when Sou guesses that Chairman Rose wants to cause the Darkest Day. One might think that he’s figuring things out way too quickly, but the thing is, this conclusion makes perfect sense given the information he has. While looking at the tapestries, Sou notices that the first one depicts a Wishing Star falling and the second one depicts the Darkest Day occurring. Thus, he guesses that Wishing Stars might have caused the Darkest Day, a hypothesis that Sonia agrees with because they’ve already figured out that the Darkest Day has a connection to Dynamaxing, and Wishing Stars cause Dynamaxing. But Sou had previously learned from Bede that Chairman Rose is collecting a massive amount of Wishing Stars, so it’s only natural that his next thought would be to wonder if Chairman Rose is - advertently or inadvertently - going to cause the Darkest Day again. This immediately ties the Rose plot in with the legendary wolves’ plot, a connection that doesn’t start to be made until your third visit to Hammerlocke in the games.

In general, the Hammerlocke vault scene is way better in Spe than it is in the games, where all you get is Sonia saying that the disaster depicted is probably the Darkest Day and wondering if there was one hero or two. Besides the conclusions that I already mentioned, Sonia also connects the disaster shown in the tapestries to the disaster shown in the Turffield geoglyph, concluding that they’re both depictions of the Darkest Day. However, Sou points out the lack of giant Pokémon in the tapestries, which are always associated with the Darkest Day. I really like how they point out both the similarities and the differing details between the stories, which makes it a little more understandable why no one has ever put together that this myth of the creation of Galar and the legend of the Darkest Day might be referring to the same event.

Finally, the last major improvement that I want to talk about is the one that was introduced in the latest chapter: an explanation for why the legendary wolves’ existence was lost from the legends. The destruction of the Stow-on-Side mural happens offscreen in this story, which is kind of understandable - the main significance of this statue in the games was to introduce the concept of Pokémon being involved in the legend, which Sou, Sonia, and Raihan had already figured out. This statue holds a completely different significance here: when Sonia is telling the protagonists about the newly discovered ruins, she says that she thinks the mural was put up by someone who wanted to deliberately hide the two Pokémon from the legend, giving all the credit to the humans. She points out the tapestry at Bob’s Your Uncle as further proof of this, which - given its condition - looks like someone threw it away so it would disappear from history. 

I don’t believe that the games ever explain how the tapestry ended up in the restaurant, so the fact that it’s given any sort of context here is really neat. But more importantly than that, it’s really interesting that they’re stating outright that the legendary wolves were deliberately removed from the legend. In the games, Sonia wonders why the ruins at Stow-on-Side would be hidden, but doesn’t offer an explanation - she doesn’t even say anything to suggest that it was done intentionally. The question is never brought up again. So I’m really hoping that Spe won’t go that route, and this revelation will have broader implications in the story next chapter or even later - that we’re going to find out who covered it up, or possibly that someone in the present day knows about the cover-up and is willingly propagating it. The immediate assumption is that it’ll be connected to Sordward and Shielbert in some way, since they benefit from the legend being that their ancestors were the heroes who saved Galar. But I think it could also be interesting if we find out that Rose knew about the statue and is deliberately trying to keep the existence of the sword and shield Pokémon covered up - it’d make a lot of sense why he was so unforgiving to Bede for trying to destroy the mural if that were true. Either way, I’m excited to see where they take this concept.

tl;dr The way Pokéspe has been handling the plot points related to the legendary wolves has been really good so far, much better than it was in the games, and I’m very excited to see how it develops going forward!

[kuroopaisen]

tiny love || iii

➵ as tooru’s younger sister, falling in love with iwaizumi hajime is easy. your feelings aren’t ignored, either. but is it worth the complications it could cause? iwaizumi made a decision for you. but, life goes on. 

warnings: f!reader, Emotions 

wc: 4.6k (i’m so sorry we had a lot of ground to cover)

m.list | ch. 2 ↞ ch. 3 ↠ ch. 4 

last time...

“Look, I…” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I think it’s best if we pretend this never happened.”

The world shuttered to a stop. The mild afternoon sun was now searing your skin.

✧ ✧ ✧

“He disgusts me,” Amaya shivered, angrily shoving a spoonful of strawberry kakigori into her mouth. “Piece of—”

“It was ages ago,” you sighed, picking at the mountain of flavoured ice in front of you. “It’s not that important…”

“Yes, it is,” Amaya leant forward across the table. “It’s his fault, right? He kissed you.”

You bit your lip, giving your friend a pitiful look.

To say it was ages ago wasn’t quite a lie. It was finally the summer holidays, and it’d be a few months since that fateful afternoon.

You hadn’t wanted to spend your summer break thinking about this sort of thing. It felt like a waste of emotional energy.

But you just couldn’t get it out of your head.

You kept replaying the same few moments over and over in your mind – the kiss, the morning after it, the conversation…

“In my humble opinion,” Amaya sighed, preparing herself another scoop of kakigori, “I think he should answer for what he’s done.”

“Please don’t say anything,” you whined, reaching across the table and grabbing her wrist. “Don’t do anything, either. I don’t want to cause a mess.”

“He’s the one who caused a mess,” Amaya huffed, dropping her spoon into the kakigori bowl. “You have a right to be pissed.”

“I am pissed,” you sighed. “It’s just… I kind of get where he was coming from, you know?”

“No.”

“Well, like—” You squeezed your eyes shut for a moment, trying to clear your mind. “If we’d broken up, that’d make things really awkward.”

“Isn’t it already awkward?”

“I… yeah…”

“I just think he could’ve gone about it better,” she shrugged. “That’s all.”

You bit the inside of your cheek, twirling your spoon between your fingers. “You’re right about that, at least…”

Amaya watched you for a moment, pursing her lips together. You knew what she was thinking. That was reason enough to fear any potential advice.

“Date someone else,” she suggested. “Maybe that’ll help you get over him.”

You grimaced, cursing her for being able to read your mind. “No thanks.”

“Why not?” Amaya asked, raising an eyebrow at you. “Yahaba seems to be into you.”

You shook your head vehemently. “Ew, no! He’s on my brother’s team.”

“And?”

You shot your friend a dithering look. “That’s the problem, Maya,” you scoffed. “If Iwaizumi’s not ‘good enough’, then I doubt anyone else on the team is.”

“Did your brother say that?” Amaya gaped.

You shrugged. “I don’t know. But that’s what Iwaizumi implied.”

Amaya scoffed, screwing up her nose. “Men aren’t worth it.”

You laugh, shaking your head. “That’s true…”

“And men,” she said, pointing a finger directly at you, “don’t deserve you.”

“You know what?” You grinned, tilting your head at her. “You’re right.”

“I always am,” she replied, waving a hand at you.

You sighed, stretching your arms above your head. “Besides, if I end up going to America, I don’t want to deal with a long-distance relationship,” you grimaced. “Sounds tough.”

“What, you wouldn’t fight for love?” Amaya teased, fishing her phone out of her pocket.

You stuck your tongue out at her, screwing up your nose. “Shut up.”

Amaya giggled, looking down at her phone screen.

You took the opportunity to treat yourself to some of the kakogiri. The two of you had barely made a dent in it.

Amaya dropped her phone back into her pocket, tilting her head at you. “Hey, aren’t those qualifiers coming up soon or something?”

“Hm?”

“For your brother’s volleyball,” she shrugged. “You said something about going to nationals?”

“Oh, right!” You perked up, nodding. “If they win these preliminaries, they’ll finally get to go to nationals.”

“This is your brother’s last chance, right?”

Your stomach sank a little. “Yeah. He’s… he’s been working really hard.”

“Really hard?” She raised an eyebrow. “Or too hard?”

“What do you think?”

She sighed, placing her hands in her lap. “Right.”

You pressed your lips together, frowning.

“Hey, hey,” Amaya hummed, leaning over to flick your forehead. “Try not to think too much, okay? We’re supposed to be having fun.”

You smiled at her weakly.

“No more talk of boys,” she decreed, waving her spoon at you. “They’re a waste of time anyway.”

✧ ✧ ✧

There might be a thousand other places you’d rather be than outside Seijoh’s gym. But, you’d come to the conclusion that God hated you, and therefore would take any opportunity to submit you to some kind of punishment.

Tonight, it was this – standing outside a gym where a mass of sweaty teenage boys congregated, one of which was your brother, and another the Iwaizumi Hajime.

Tooru had always finished practice late, but this was just ridiculous.

Initially, you’d been content with walking yourself home after class, asserting that you were grown up enough to trawl the streets of Miyagi without a chaperone.

But recently, you’d signed up for the student council. You were surprised they let you in so late in the year,

Your parents had been chuffed with that, proclaiming that you were “finally showing some initiative” and that it was “a great way to teach you some responsibility.”

You hadn’t told them that the real reason you’d joined was because you were worried about Tooru.

You peeked inside the gym, eyes scanning the brightly lit hardwood for any sign of your brother.

You didn’t bother to check your watch. It was far too late in the evening for that anyway.

The boys were scrambling around on the court, jumping and spiking and all that volleyball stuff. You managed to catch sight of your brother, who, by your observation, was very much in the zone.

Perhaps maybe it would be okay for you to sit in on—

A flash of spikey hair was enough to make you recede, drawing yourself back into the dark.

You sighed, turning around and slumping yourself against the wall. Somehow, you felt even more exhausted than before.

Fuck this.

Fuck school and all it’s damn responsibilities.

Fuck your brother’s determination to overwork himself until he’s falling apart at the seams.

And fuck Iwaizumi Hajime.

Maybe you should just head home. Tooru would come home eventually, and…

No. That defeated the point.

You’d just have to wait it out, Iwaizumi Hajime be damned.

A few more minutes passed. You heard who you believed to be the coach call out an end to practice, followed by a resounding “Yes!”

You sighed, checking your watch. Seven o’clock. Even that would be considered a late practice.

Usually Tooru would usually wave the rest of the team out, spending the next hour on his own.

But not tonight.

You scampered through the gym doors, making a beeline for your disaster of a brother.

“Hey, Oika-chan!” A voice called out, making you stumble in your approach.

Ah, Matsukawa.

“Hey,” you waved absentmindedly, unsure of how exactly to process that nickname. It didn’t exactly roll off the tongue

“Stop calling her that!” Tooru yelled from the other side of the gym. “It doesn’t even sound cute!”

“You’re just jealous,” you shot back instinctively. “You just wish you were me.”

Tooru scoffed, ready to launch into a new tirade.

But you weren’t listening to him. Against your best efforts, your eyes sought out Iwaizumi. He wasn’t even looking at you.

Ouch.

Sure, you’d be avoiding him as best you could; finding excuses to be in your room or out with your friends whenever he was round at your house, always positioning Tooru between the two of you whenever you were forced to spend time with him... But, that didn’t stop it hurting. 

You shook off the disappointment and continued your route to Tooru.

“Oi,” you barked, jabbing a finger at him. “Hurry up. I’m making dinner tonight and you’re going to enjoy it.”

Tooru screwed his nose up at you, grimacing. “But I still need to practice.”

You came to a stop in front of him, grabbing his elbow. “Too bad.”

“Aw, don’t complain,” Matsukawa grinned, suddenly appearing and looping his arm around Tooru’s shoulders. “We don’t all have a cute girl vying to cook us dinner.”

“Ew!” Tooru shrieked, shrugging off Matsukawa’s arm. “Don’t be gross that’s my sister!”

“I slave over the countertop for you and you don’t even have the decency to respect my efforts,” you scoffed, deciding to ignore Matsukawa’s half-compliment. You weren’t going to make the same mistake twice.

“Just stick it in the fridge,” Tooru sighed. “I’ll heat it up when I get home.”

Agitation brewed in your stomach, your mouth turning dry.

If he stayed here, he’d just overwork himself like he always did. And he’d come home sore and exhausted, bandages on his fingers and bags under his eyes.

But the prefecturals were so soon. If he wore himself out now, he wouldn’t be able to play to the best of his ability.

“Tooru, that’s not fair and you know it,” you whined. “Please.”

He tutted at you, shaking his head. “Now, now, as the older sibling, it’s natural law that I know be—”

“Hurry up, Shittykawa,” Iwaizumi grumbled, coming up behind Tooru and kneeing him in the back.

Tooru yelped, stumbling forward and out of your grasp. “Iwa!”

“We’ll clean up just fine without you,” Iwaizumi muttered, stepping away from your brother.

He caught your eye.

Your breath caught in your throat. Was he going to speak to you? Acknowledge you? Make you feel like things weren’t as weird as they were?

He just gave you an almost imperceptible nod.

You gave him a small smile in response despite the sinking feeling in your stomach.

Of course, Iwaizumi understood. He probably understood better than you did.

“Come on,” you whined, grabbing Tooru’s elbow and yanking him towards you. “Or I’ll kick your ass.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

You stuck your tongue out at him, dragging him towards the door. After a small scuffle he grabbed his bag, whining about how he was still in his sweaty gym clothes.

You waved off his concerns, telling him it was his own fault. Mustering all your strength you managed to push him outside, reprimanding him for wasting so much of your time.

You glanced over your shoulder one last time as you left. You weren’t quite sure why.

But Iwaizumi met your gaze for just a moment, his jaw tense.

That look stuck in your mind for the rest of the evening.

✧ ✧ ✧

The last thwack of a ball on the court.

Your brother, body half-twisted and arms outstretched, fighting to the very final second.

Everything the team had worked so hard for, gone. Crushed.

All those hours, all those late nights spent practicing, all the sweat and grief and band-aids.

All meaningless.

It was written on their faces. Regret, disappointment, shock.

And Iwaizumi. Poor steadfast, honourable Iwaizumi.

You’d never seen him cry. Never. But there he stood on the court, doing everything he could to hold back the tears.

You couldn’t even guess at what was going through his mind: probably some guilt about letting everyone down, for not being the best version of himself for the team.

You hoped, for his sake, that nobody else was paying attention to him.

Tooru patted him on the back. A firm, solid slap.

Even you could tell how much meaning was in that one gesture.

You gripped the barrier tightly, your knuckles beginning to ache. You watched with bitterness on your tongue, ready to cry the tears that Tooru refused to.

By the time you meet the team outside, you knew he didn’t want a hug. Even if you wanted desperately to give him one, he wouldn’t accept it.

He’s too angry for that.

You don’t know what to say; he’s worked so hard for this.

They all have.

And now they have to walk away from it all, no real victory to their name. Oikawa Tooru – destined for greatness, but yet unknown outside of Miyagi. He never did make it to nationals.

You bit your lip, regret and frustration and sympathy twisting in your stomach. There’s nothing you could’ve done, but by God you wished you’d done more.

Something. Anything.

But you’re just his little sister, a girl with nothing to offer. You hadn’t even stepped into the manager role when he’d asked you to in your first year. You’d been so distant from this world of his, a distance you’d only widened since that little hiccup with Iwaizumi.

You turned to the team, racking your brain for the appropriate thing to say.

You bowed. “Thank you for all your hard work.”

It felt empty, but you meant it. You knew that most of all, Tooru was proud of the team. Proud of what they’d built together.

It’d been three years of pain, but they’d done it together. And you knew, deep in your heart, that they’d given their all for him. That, at least, you were grateful.

You didn’t say goodbye.

Your fists are clenched at your sides as you exit the building, rushing home on aching thighs. You hadn’t even realised you’d been tensing so hard during the game.

Thoughts stumbled through your mind on the walk, trying to sort themselves out.

Should you have said something to Iwaizumi? Offered him some comfort?

He was obviously shaken by what’d happened. But perhaps that would’ve been stepping over a line. Maybe it would’ve made him uncomfortable.

And yet, you regretted not addressing him. He, more than anyone else, had given everything for Tooru.

His time, his sweat, his heart.

He couldn’t give anything to you because…

You swallowed, shaking your head. Now wasn’t the time to feel bitter.

Once you walked through the front door, you raced to the kitchen and rifled through your cupboards.

Bread flour, yeast, sugar…

A peek in the fridge.

Milk, butter, eggs.

You set everything on the counter, clattering around in your cupboards until you find a bowl, a whisk, a wooden spoon and a baking pan.

Your next few hours are a flurry of measuring ingredients, kneading dough with aching thumbs, checking oven temperatures and waiting.

You did all sorts of things to distract yourself during the waiting period: cleaning, reading, homework, laundry. But you could only do them in spurts, little five-to-ten-minute blocks until your anxiety returned.

You’d have to sleep this off.

By the time the oven finally pinged, letting you know you were finally free of your baking duties, you were exhausted.

But you rushed back over to the oven and took out your loaf, inspecting it once over. It looked okay – not as good at Kaori’s, but passable. Hopefully it tasted alright. You didn’t have the guts to check.

You let it cool as you grabbed a scrap of paper and scribbled out a little note.

“Good job today, you asswipe. You inspire me to work harder and go farther.

I’m so proud of you.”

You bit your lip, looking it over once. Is it sensitive enough? Is it too sensitive? Would it bring him comfort? Would it piss him off?

Hard to say.

You sighed, folding it over so it could prop up like a tent.

You cut off a third of the loaf, still hot, and plopped it on a plate. You wrapped the rest of the loaf up and placed it in the bread holder. Perhaps you’d have some tomorrow.

Tooru’s room, usually a place that was very out of bounds, was the next stop on your anxious little trip around the house. You placed the plate on his bedside table, propping the note up next to it. Hopefully this would make him smile, even if just by a little.

But you didn’t want to wait up to see.

The comfort of your own bed was calling you, coaxing you into an early night’s sleep.

You laid down with a sigh, unsure of whether or not you could be bothered to have a bath.

A little suggestion crawled through your mind, dragging itself along by it’s fingernails.

You tried to shoo it away. It was a terrible idea, really. One that was bound to end with you feeling quite shitty.  

But tonight wasn’t about you. It wasn’t about your feelings.

You sighed, picking up your phone from the bedside table.

Hey, you typed.

[YOU] 7:31 PM: I hope you don’t mind me texting you like this, but thanks for looking after Tooru so well.

You bit the inside of your cheek as you stared at the name “Iwaizumi Hajime” at the top of your screen. Taking a deep breath, you tapped the blue arrow.

The message slipped into the grey space above, into the train of messages that hadn’t moved in months.

You stared at it a moment longer, fingers flitting anxiously around your screen.

Oh, fuck it.

[YOU] 7:33 PM: And thanks for being the best Ace he could’ve asked for.

It’s not what you wanted to say. It’s not what you feel like you should’ve said. There’s so much more, so much left unsaid.

But tonight isn’t about me, you reminded yourself. It’s about him. About them. About all they’ve been through together.

You waited a few minutes, heart hammering in your chest.

A response.

[Iwaizumi] 7:37 PM: Thank you.

[Iwaizumi] 7:37 PM: I’m sorry it wasn’t enough.

✧ ✧ ✧

“Argentina?” You hissed. “But that’s—”

“On the other side of the world,” Tooru shrugged. “What are you so mad for? You’re the one who wants to go to America.”

You had nothing to say to that. The two of you were sat at the breakfast table, your pieces of toast left untouched.

When Tooru had told you he wanted to talk to you this morning, you hadn’t expected this.

“When do you leave?” You asked, a lump forming in your throat.

“Soon,” he sighed. “I’m just trying to work out boarding and whatnot.”

“So… you’ll leave as soon as that’s sorted out?”

“That’s the plan.”

“It’s like you’re rushing out of here,” you mumbled, picking at your nails.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” he grinned. “I’ve just got to make sure I can get ahead. The sooner I start, the better.”

You looked up at him, frowning.

He wasn’t the little boy curled up in the bathtub anymore. He’s a young man with the tenacity to form his own destiny, circumstances be damned.

This day was bound to come.

But that didn’t make it any easier to swallow.

✧ ✧ ✧

A week passed. And then a month.

The year ended before you knew it. The festivities rolled on, but not without a hint of melancholy.

Each New Years celebration was tainted with the realisation that, after he left, chances were you wouldn’t see Tooru again until the same time next year.

You returned to school for the third semester and everything seemed like it was moving in fast forward.

It’s well and truly changing.

Student council swallowed you up, your family made a point of spending as much time with Tooru as they could, and life plodded on.

And before you knew it, you were standing at the airport at five in the morning, your parents to one side and Iwaizumi to the other. Your older sister, Kaori, was also there, hand-in-hand with your nephew.

For a farewell, it was quite the turn-out.

“Well,” Tooru took a deep breath, looking between the small crowd of faces in front of him. “You all better miss me.”

“Don’t push your luck, Tooru,” Kaori teased.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tooru tutted. “Almost sounds like you’re glad to be rid of me.”

“I am,” your nephew piped up.

“Takeru!” Your mother chided. “Don’t say things like that.”

“It’s fine,” Tooru grinned. “He obviously just doesn’t know what else to say.”

Takeru simply stuck his tongue out at your brother, who just laughed as he stepped forward to ruffle his hair.

Tooru turned to you, grinning. “It’s now your job to take him to volleyball practice.”

You rolled your eyes at him. “Really, that’s all you’ve got to say to me?”

“Of course not!” He laughed, hopping towards you and wrapping his arms around your shoulders. “You be good, okay?”

“Always am,” you mumbled into his chest, wrapping your arms around his waist.

“Study hard,” he hummed. “And don’t talk to boys.”

“Tooru!”

“I’m serious!”

“Don’t worry about me,” you huffed. “Worry about yourself.”

“I’ll be fine,” he chuckled, pulling back. “Stop being such a worry-wort.”

You pouted at him. “Stay hydrated or I’ll kill you.”

“You know I will,” he tsked. “Which one of us is the athlete?”

“And don’t overwork yourself,” you continued, “or I’ll crawl out of the TV like Sadako and drag you back to Japan.”

“You know what?” Tooru grinned, letting you go. “I fully believe you’re capable of that.”

“Be afraid.”

He ruffled your hair; a sure signal that your conversation was over. You bit your lip as he moved over to talk to Iwaizumi. You tottered around to where your sister was, wrapping your arms around her waist – partly to give Tooru and Iwaizumi some privacy, partly to seek out some comfort.

She chuckled, standing on her tiptoes and propping her chin on the top of your head. “It’ll be okay.”

“Hm?” You blinked. “Oh, I’m not sad. Not at all.”

“You sure about that?” Kaori chuckled.

“Mhm,” you nodded. “Glad to be rid of him, actually. It’s my turn to get the biggest bedroom.”

“Sure,” she grinned. “If you need anything, don’t be afraid to text me, okay?”

“Thanks,” you smiled.

“And visit me more often!” Kaori chided. “I feel like I don’t see you enough.”

“I’m sorry,” you whined.

Kaori was right about that, at least. You’d spent the past few months focusing on Tooru, and before that, you’d been moping about Iwaizumi.

Some sister you were.

You peeked out the corner of your eye at the two boys you’d just fled from.

They were fist-bumping. Why they couldn’t just get over it and hug one another, you’d never know.

Especially seeing as this would likely be the last time they saw each other in a very long while.

Even if this was what Tooru wanted, even if this was a decision made on his own merit, something about it still felt off.

You want to be happy for him. You want to celebrate this new chance, this opportunity to make a name for himself outside of this tiny prefecture. But the melancholy wouldn’t budge; it’s like it’s rooted itself deep amongst the marrow of your ribcage.

You take a deep breath, trying to ground yourself.

You needed to be happy for him. And if you couldn’t, you needed to fake it.

“Alright,” Tooru sighed, addressing all of you as he stepped back and grabbed the handle of his suitcase. “I’m off!”

“Call us when you get there!” Your mother called after him, her eyes glassier than they were moments earlier.

“Will do,” Tooru called back, waving a hand over his head but not turning back.

“Make sure you eat well,” Kaori yelled. “Like I taught you!”

“I will, don’t worry!” Tooru called, ever more distant.

You wondered if there was anything you could shout out, anything you could implore him to do. But nothing came to mind that you hadn’t already said. But even that didn’t feel like enough.

Tooru passed through the gate, turning around to give you all one last wave.

He was so bright, so brilliant.

He always had been. But it was as if passing through that airport gate had freed him of the roots twisted around his ankles, finally allowing him to fly.

You frowned. What a stupid thought.

Once he was out of sight, your parents sighed.

“Alright, everyone,” your father yawned. “Time to go.”

You shuffled out of the airport in silence, your eyes cast to the ground. You lagged a few steps behind your family as you let your thoughts consume you.

How was this all going to work out?

It wasn’t like Tooru was just leaving for university. If it was just for education, there’d be a time frame. But he hadn’t given your family any of that.

He was just… going to Argentina. For how long, he couldn’t say. Would he be gone one year? Five? Ten?

Was that really for the best?

But he seemed optimistic. Maybe this would be the opportunity he needs. Maybe this would change everything.

“He’ll be fine.”

A voice over your shoulder made you jump. You turned to see Iwaizumi, a look of genuine concern on his face. You hadn’t even noticed him come up behind you.

“He always finds a way to land on his feet,” he said, digging his hands in his pockets.

“I know, I just…” You sighed, running a hand through your hair. “I’m worried about him.”

Worried about his safety, worried about his health, worried about his tendency to overwork, worried about the possibility he could be lonely, worried about his sense of self, worried—

“But, if he’d just stayed here, he’d never be satisfied.”

You paused, looking up at him. Iwaizumi was staring ahead at the early morning sky, something relaxed in his features.

“He’s got to keep pushing forward, no matter what,” he continued, looking at you. You caught your breath, but you didn’t look away. “If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself for his losses.”

You stared at him for a long moment.

He was right. Iwaizumi was always right when it came to Tooru.

And you were grateful. Of course you were.

But a nugget of regret was buried deep in your heart.

Iwaizumi wasn’t worried about Tooru at all. He believed in him, trust him to go forward.

And yet you don’t feel the same. You can’t.

You can’t have the same faith in your brother because you don’t know him well enough.

Maybe you never would.

✧ ✧ ✧

More time passed.

Your holidays ebbed by in a haze, a flurry of friends, family, serious conversations about your future, and a little bit of snow.

You were trudging home in the waning afternoon after a day out with friends when you saw him. He was coming back from the opposite direction, bundled up in a jacket, with a scarf slung haphazardly around his neck and beanie pulled low over his hair.

You wondered if he’d bothered spiking it up this morning.

“Hey.” Iwaizumi raised a hand at you in some paltry greeting.

“Hi,” you nodded, slowing to a stop in front of your house.

He looked at you for a moment, something unreadable in his eyes. Admittedly, that was usually how he looked at you.  

“How are you?” It was a simple question, but you were more curious about it than you’d like to admit. The two of you hadn’t spoken since Tooru left, your interactions limited to brief nods and hellos if you ever happened to bump into each other in public. Nothing deeper than that.

“Good,” he said, finally breaking eye contact as his gaze flitted to the ground. “I, uh… I leave for uni tomorrow.”

Your heart stopped in your chest.

Iwaizumi was leaving too, huh?

Not that there was much of a friendship for you to miss. But something about him leaving really solidified it all.

Tooru had left to pursue opportunities much bigger than those offered to him in Japan, and now Iwaizumi was off on his own journey.

Your stomach swelled, a quiet nausea rattling through your body.

“Oh,” was all you managed to say. “Well, good luck.” There was a long, painful pause.

He was looking at you again, something else in his eyes. Did he want you to say something else? Ask more questions?

“You’ll do great,” is all you managed to say, a tight smile stretched across your lips.

“Thanks,” he breathed, something between a sigh and a chuckle.

You hurried through your front door, a strange anxiety prickling over your skin.

Whenever you spoke to Iwaizumi, it never felt like enough. Like there was more to say, more to admit.

But regardless of what had happened, regardless of your regrets, you had to move on.

You should’ve done so months ago.

✧ ✧ ✧

a/n: this is SLOPPY but please forgive me! a lot of ground to cover,,, a lot of feelings to unpack,,, 

[magnoliabloomfield]

Possession Part 10

This one is super long, it got away from me, but i don't think any of you will mind lol. Expand for story time.

Gally sat in the gathering hall, his heel bouncing against the dirt floor. As everyone settled in, Newt gave him a glance that put most of his nerves at ease, and for good reason. Once the discussion started it was clear that Alby had already decided that she was to be a Keeper in her own right. Some confusion and groans went around the others but Alby put a fast stop to them, explaining it was the only way to uphold the one rule about her and everything else Gally had said to Newt. He was glad he wasn’t the one trying to convince anyone or having to take credit for the idea.

The only thing left to settle was what she would be a keeper of. They decided to go around to each keeper and see what they had observed about her.

“Gally, you worked with her first, what do you think?” Alby started off with him.

Gally crossed his arms and thought for a moment, forcing his mind to other things than when her eyes softened as she looked at him. “She’s good at following direction,” he started out and earned a nod from every other keeper who had worked with her as well. “If you don’t give her something to do she will just find something to do. When there was nothing left she could do on the building project she went around giving everyone water and wet rags to keep cool. So, she’s not lazy and she has a fair bit of common sense. Plus, being smaller she can help with things no one else can get to.”

“I bet you wish you could be her keeper then,” Zart spoke up out of turn, earning a furrowed glare from Gally that made him backpedal quickly. “Just because of how helpful she seems to be to the building team.”

Gally would never even hint that he wouldn't have minded being her keeper, that he was the only one he trusted to take care of her right. But those feelings were just another confirmation that she should be her own keeper.

“She did well in the medhut, but she admitted that she might not be able to handle some of the worse things that come through there,” Clint spoke up next. “But she is good at organizing, she transformed the storage and it’s totally easier to find things now. If possible I’d like to have her rewrite the notes we took on treating injuries because her hand writing is so much better than mine or Jeff’s, just throwing that out there.”

“She was good at the smaller tasks in the garden,” Zart said. “But she’s not so good at the more difficult physical tasks.”

“I think that’ll be a common thread, nothing heavily physical I should think,” Newt tacked on out of turn.

“I don’t have anything bad to say about her,” Fry started up. “But she just wasn’t fast enough in the kitchen. But to be fair, no one ever is on their first day. It takes a while to learn muscle memory and I just don’t have that kind of time when all of you are counting on me to get you fed day in and day out.”

Gally lightly gripped his chin in thought. There was something similar in everything they were saying, there was some common thread.

“You have an idea Gally?” Newt asked, breaking him from his trance.

“Well, it sounds like, in one way or another, everyone would agree her attention to detail is very good,” Gally mused aloud, not focusing on anyone just yet as he continued to think. “It’s like we all could use her help in certain situations but not necessarily all the time. So… maybe she could be the keeper of odd jobs? She could organize whatever needs organized, she can write down what needs written, she can assist whenever we need someone small, or whenever something intricate or tedious needs done and we can’t spare someone able bodied for it. She could help us all while not belonging to anyone.”

“The Keeper of Odd Jobs?” Shawn repeated incredulously. The Keeper of the baggers was never one to go with the flow. “Why don’t we just make her the Keeper of the Laundry?”

“Laundry is the slopper’s job and it takes more than one person to do,” Alby pointed out. “Unless you want to make her keeper of the sloppers. I don’t know if the little punks would hate answering to a girl or love it.”

“She needs to be the keeper of herself, and then any other girls who may or may not show up,” Gally dared to add.

“Well, let her go off and do whatever she feels like then, why does she have to be a keeper?” Shawn went on complaining.

“Because the keepers decide what happens in the glade,” Alby said with an edge to his voice. “Those decisions effect her now so she should get a say in them, she should have her perspective heard.”

Nikola was surprised when the gathering broke up and no one came to talk to her about her assignment. Even if Alby didn’t come and inform her she figured whoever it was would be excited enough to come tell her himself. Except for Gally. She felt a hopeful little jump in her chest that she was going to be a builder. She knew Gally would do right by her, protect her and be kind enough to her without being creepy. But he wouldn’t be bursting at the seams happy to tell her either.

As she was in line getting dinner that evening, still thinking about her assignment, she felt a presence looming up on her.

“Hey,” Gally’s voice called out to her as he came up from behind.

She felt another jolt, thinking this was finally it, he was coming to tell her he really was her keeper.

“You’ll want to stick around for this meal, Newt is saving a seat for you,” was all he said before walking off to his own table.

Nikola was left standing there in confusion, not expecting that. She also felt a little miffed that he wasn’t saving a seat for her himself, but expected her to go sit with Newt. Nevertheless she followed his instruction and awkwardly sat beside Newt at a table with Zart and Alby himself.

“Hey,” she greeted them blandly. “I heard you were saving a seat for me here, what’s up?”

“We have a special announcement to make and it has to do with you,” Newt started explaining with an amused smirk. “We wanted to make sure you were around to hear it since you seem to get antisocial at meal times.”

Nikola couldn’t help the small furrow in her brow from confusion. She didn’t care about his jab at her not sticking around for meals and didn’t bother explaining that’s the only time she could hear herself think, she just wondered what this announcement was. She looked around, trying to spot Gally as if just seeing him would bring her some comfort. She didn’t manage to catch sight before Alby stood up and addressed the gladers.

“Now that everyone’s here, I want to announce what the council decided on for the latest greenie, Nikola,” he shouted and earned everyone’s attention as the chatter fell to a silence. However, when he mentioned Nikola a few whoops and wolf whistles were heard. “Shut up you shanks,” Alby chastised them. “Because she’s the newest Keeper.”

Nikola couldn’t keep the shock off her face, but her surprise turned sour rather quickly as the announcement was met with a silence that bubbled to a murmur around her.

“I know you might be confused by this,” Alby acknowledged them. “But you’re not going to put up a fuss about it, and you’re certainly not going to give Nikola any clunk about either. It was the council’s decision and she never asked for it. We made her a keeper so she can lead any other girls that might show up in the future, and now that we have girl living here and sharing our glade with us, her voice should be heard about what goes on here.”

Nikola started to think that made a lot of sense and definitely liked that they were willing to listen to her and let her have a say in what went on there. But Alby wasn’t done.

“Besides all that, it was the only way to make sure we didn’t break the new rule,” He added, making Nikola’s brows furrow in confusion. What new rule had they made about her?

“She doesn’t belong to anybody.”

Nikola felt the blood rush to her face. She felt angry, but she wasn’t sure why. It was actually ideal, she couldn’t be ordered around by one keeper, she wasn’t being treated like an object or property, but there was something alienating about it too. It was a very complex situation and so were her emotions about it.

“What does that mean?” she whispered to Newt as Alby said a few last words to cement the whole thing and draw the announcement to a conclusion. “That I don’t belong to anybody?”

Newt shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. “Well, uh, you’re the first girl anyone here has seen for as long as they can remember. But there’s only one of you and dozens of them. We were afraid it would cause some problems if, uh…”

“I had some kind of… exclusive relationship with someone?” she pressed.

“Yeah,” Newt sighed in relief because he didn’t have to try and say it himself.

She turned away with a sigh of her own as she looked out on the grassy meadow of the glade shadowed from the setting sun and camp fires. “If all of them can’t have me, none of them shall. That kind of deal, huh?”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Alby cut in, having heard some of the conversation. “It’s not like anyone else has ever liked the living situation here-“

“And me being here just made it worse?” She cut in, staring him down with a deadened expression.

“That’s not it,” Newt leaned in, trying to smooth it over.

“Whose idea was it?” Nikola asked.

“What, the rule?” Newt asked.

“I came up with the rule the moment you arrived,” Alby admitted easily. “I’m doing my best to keep this place from falling into chaos every day, and I know you didn’t ask to be sent here, but you are here and that’s going to present new problems I have to work hard to overcome whether everyone likes it or not.”

Nikola understood where he was coming from but it didn’t make her feel very good. In fact, she was pretty sure she was going to cry. She hadn’t done that yet, she’d been too busy or had other things on her mind. She pressed her lips together and pushed back from the table.

“It was Gally,” Newt said quickly before she could get up and leave.

She looked at him, her tears put on temporary hold.

“Gally suggested you be a keeper so no one could act like they owned you and you’d have a voice on the council,” he elaborated.

That was a whole new thing to try and process, so she got up, leaving them and the rest of her dinner behind, and headed to her prison tower. As safe and kindly built as it was, it just further isolated her. The worst kind of isolation was not being alone, but being surrounded with people you either couldn’t trust or couldn’t get close to. She realized that’s the kind of isolation she was in. Sure, she didn’t want to belong to someone the way an animal or object belongs to a person, but she wanted to feel like she belonged in the world, even one as small and messed up as this one.

“Nikola,” a gruff voice called after her when she was halfway to her house.

She closed her eyes at having been caught, at having to interact with someone when she needed to go off and feel her feelings. As her eyes closed, she felt tears fall. She hadn't realized it had started already. She stayed there with her back turned to them and hoped they would just talk and make it quick.

“What’s wrong?” She recognized Gally’s voice drawing up cautiously behind her and it felt like a fist wrapped around her heart, and extra squeeze of sadness came over her that she wasn’t expecting. “Nikola?”

“Nothing,” she lied as she crossed her arms, trying to play off how thick her voice sounded from the held back tears.

But he had rounded her to her side and she looked at him. It was a bit of a surprise to see the biggest, toughest guy look like a deer in the headlights when he saw her face. She tried to hide her expression, but she couldn’t suck tears back into her eyes.

“Are you… crying?” he asked quietly.

“So what if I am?” she asked as she fiercely wiped her face. “Am I not allowed?”

He looked away and she thought she saw him ball up a fist.

“You can, I just…” he looked down and then changed his mind about finishing that sentence. “Is there something I can do?”

“I doubt it,” she said and took a step toward her house, toward her well deserved privacy to cry, but stopped. “Why did you want me to be a keeper?”

He seemed surprised that she knew that and his wide eyes quickly looked away from her again. “So you wouldn’t have to answer to anyone,” he said to his boots. “So they’d have to listen to you instead of making you listen to them. They don’t know what it’s like for a girl here, so you should get a say in the things that are going to affect your life. I thought that would be a good thing, I didn’t realize you’d be upset by it.”

“I’m not,” she blurted, not being able to take the kicked puppy act from the big guy. “It’s not that part, it was the part about not belonging to anyone.”

That caused him to lock eyes with her in confusion. “What?”

“No, I know. I know. It just,” she let out a frustrated sigh. “I get it, I’m not property or anything so I appreciate it, but there’s a whole other meaning to belonging and it feels like I’m never going to belong here in that sense when everyone can only get so close to me, you know?”

He just stared down at her like he didn’t know.

“Forget it,” she sighed as she started for her house again, somehow feeling even worse.

“No, wait a second,” he pressed, catching up to her. “I want to understand.”

Gally rarely met a problem within the Glade that he couldn’t fix. Nothing was as challenging as the girl, but he was confident that with proper effort he could do something useful.

“Do you have a best friend?” she spun on him and asked, her voice sounding different as her nose stuffed up a little from the crying. “There are some people that you’re just closer to than others, right?”

He thought of Newt and how he spent more time with him than Shawn who he didn’t like at tall. He wasn’t sure if that would qualify as being best friends though.

“Can I have a best friend here, or would that just make everyone else jealous? Is there anyone I can laugh with, is there a shoulder I’m allowed to cry on or do I have to rotate through everyone in the glade to keep it fair? I’m already the only girl which is a lonely enough thing but it feels like I’m not even- like, I’m not allowed to be human.”

Gally tried to process what she said even as the sight of her crying in front of him caused him unusual distress. He found it hard to keep his hands by his sides.

“Well, I’m here. Aren’t I?” he asked her.

Her eyes were glassy and surprised as she looked up at him, slightly hopeful.

“I don’t know if you’d think of me as best friend material, but I never walk away from people, especially the ones I can help,” he told her, his conviction in what he was saying let him hold her gaze.

She was the first one to shy away. Her head tilted down, her falling tear drops twinkling in the low light, but he thought he saw a small smile before she looked down.

“You’re right,” she nodded. “You’re not really best friend material.”

She looked up and a big grin cracked on her tear stained face, she was teasing him. He broke into a relieved grin of his own, glad she wasn’t serious, and she let out a little laugh, possibly her first one.

“I’m kidding of course,” she assured him. “You’ve been a pretty good friend so far.”

She pursed her lips as her eyes looked skyward, as if recounting all the things he’d done to earn him that commendation. She let out a heavy breath but she seemed to be feeling better than when he found her.

“Thank you, Gally. Goodnight,” she smiled softly, slightly turning toward her house again, but waiting on him.

“Goodnight,” it slipped from his lips before he could even think of restraining it, and he wasn’t upset about it when he saw her smile grow a little before she went off to her house for real that time.

He watched her go for a moment, turned to go, but looked back once more. She was on the bottom rung of her ladder taking a glance back at him as well.

Masterlist

Note about me: Hey yall! sorry for the long wait, I had Vertigo and headaches 24/7 for two weeks. They switched me to to 24 hour release Webutrin and I'm on 500mg of Salt Stick Vitasium for my POTS and that's doing the trick! I finally feel like a functioning human being again and brain can story again. I wanna keep brining you Gally fun, but I also want to get back into my original novel too, so anyone who might want to take a look at some of my own original writing and hype me up I'd appreciate it so much! let me know if you want to.

and now to make some people's notifications happy:

@gladerscake @quackquackbi @poulterjonas @crazysheeplyca @neilox @thesuitkovian @carp3d1em @cottoncandy-dreamxd @emilyhadenbaker

[thewatermelloncat]

Blankets

Deleted Scene

Summary: A Five sickfic I wrote inspired by @too-many-umbrellas post here and the notes from it, because people have amazing ideas and this story barely scratches the surface.

Author’s Note: I might do a whole story with all the siblings causing chaos like in the original post eventually. 

I also have a bonus story which I will post up later on tomorrow that I’ll link onto this one. (Edit: Linked up top)

Warnings: Swearing

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The weather report said it would be sunny – it lied. Thunder crashes outside as Five staggers back into the living room, the booming sound reflecting his frustration. He looks exhausted as he makes his way back to the couch where he had been seated a minute earlier.

“It’s really kicking your arse isn’t it?” Luther observes.

Five nods minutely, closing his eyes and sniffling miserably into his sleeve.

Taking pity on him Luther tosses him the box of tissues from the coffee table. Surprisingly Five manages to catch it before taking a few and blowing his nose as he sits back onto the couch.

“How far did you go this time?” Klaus asks from up on one of the barstools.

“Upstairs and round the corner a bit” Five tells him, sounding weak and raspy.

“Why didn’t you just jump back?”

“Gee, Klaus. I wish I thought of that” Five’s voice drips in sarcasm before he covers a few hollow coughs behind his fist, wincing slightly afterward.

“How’s your throat?” Five’s pained expression doesn’t pass Luther by.

His seemingly younger brother only shakes his head, both not answering and answering his question at the same time.

“How many times has it been today that you poofed off somewhere?” Klaus chuckles slightly as he spins on the chair, his feet lazily dragging behind him in the air.

“Lost count.”

“Well there was when you got sent to the kitchen. Oh-ho and the one where you teleported into Diego��s room just as he was about to leave for work. That was so funny, scared the living daylights outta him” – Klaus laughs, ticking them off on his fingers before Five cuts him off.

“Klaus, stop… It-it really doesn’t matter” Five sighs pulling the blanket from on the couch around his shoulders and tucking his legs up to his chest, resting his head on his knees. He knew his brother was only having fun but it wasn’t helping his headache any.

Klaus pauses his listing while his brother speaks but decides to scrap his list entirely seeing the pointed look Luther gives him. Pursing his lips, he swings his legs forward propelling himself off the chair then makes his way to sit next to Five.

“This has really got you down hasn’t it, old man?” Klaus teases him.

“I’m fine” Five’s voice already muted and now muffled by his knees, does him no favours in proving his point.

“No, wrong letter” Klaus says, wrapping an arm over his brother and pulling him into his side. “It’s said ‘Five’ not ‘fine.’”

Five immediately pulls out of Klaus’ grip, fixing him with a look which would have been a lot more threatening if he didn’t look like he was half asleep.

“Come on!” Klaus whines. “That was clever.”

Five only just has time to roll his eyes before his turns away into his elbow, “Kihh'tschh!!!” and in a flash of blue he’s gone.

Klaus blinks in bewilderment at the now lonely blanket in a heap on the couch before he immediately turns to Luther. “Bet he went” – his voice is cut off by Five’s unimpressed tone sounding from behind the wall near the doorway.

“Klaus if you’re placing bets, I swear” – Five’s raised voice cuts off, leaving them in silence for a few seconds. “Huh’Tschh!”

Suddenly there is a crackle of energy and a faint blue spark that casts rays of light on the doorframe.

“Fuck!” Five’s curse sounds muffled through the floor boards, having been teleported further away up to the third floor.

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The first few times Five had spontaneously teleported he’d come back looking annoyed, now as he re-enters the living room, he seems completely over it. If anything, he’s glad that neither of his siblings make a joke out of it. Sure, he might find it funny later but not now, exhausted from the long trek down various flights of stairs.

“Come here” Luther interrupts Five’s beeline for the couch, gesturing for him to come over to him.

Five bites back a huff of frustration but obliges, only because he can’t be bothered arguing. Slowly he comes to stand in front of Luther who reaches out a hand to place of his forehead.

None of them need anymore clarification to know that Luther’s hum of disapproval means that Five’s fever is going up. “You dizzy at all?” it wouldn’t surprise Luther if he was with all the teleporting he is doing.

Five shakes his head, one of the few things he is grateful for. “Just tired” he sighs as he sinks back into the couch next to Klaus, who wraps the blanket back over his shoulders.

“You hungry?” Luther asks. “Think we’ve still got leftovers in the fridge.”

Five shakes his head.

“Get some sleep then, yeah?”

Five’s hum of content as he goes to snuggle back into the couch quickly turns into a groan of frustration as he pushes himself back up, rubbing his hand against his nose. “Please God, no” he begs, closing his eyes tightly trying to will the itch away. He just got back for fuck’s sake. But there’s nothing he can do and his chest inhales involuntarily. “Ktt'schh!!” and in a poof of blue sparks he’s gone again.

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As the last of the blue sparks fade into nothing, the steady sound of footsteps echo from around the corner.

“Is Five here? I swear I just heard him” Allison says as she stops in the doorway to the room.

“Sneezed and poofed away” Klaus tells her.

“Where did he go?”

“Dunno” Klaus admits quietly, seeming confused that they haven’t heard Five cursing from somewhere by now.

Allison seems confused as well as she looks around the edge of the upper floors from the base of the staircase, “Five?”

At the lack of response to his sister’s calling, Luther pushes himself out of his chair and walks forward to join her. “Five!” his deeper voice carries further, echoing around the foyer.

“He can’t have gone far, can he?” Klaus asks worriedly, coming to join them.

“Doubt it” Luther shakes his head, “it is been draining him.”

“Do you think he could have passed out?” Allison’s question is answered nonverbally as they all share worried looks before splitting off in different directions.

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The raindrops Five blinks out of his eyes may as well be tears from the amount of resentment he currently feels. Except crying is a waste of time, and it would be pointless to cry over an ability he can’t change. So instead he draws in a deep breath beginning to trudge through the puddles on the footpath, already drenched by the rain.

He’d tried to jump back when he first landed but only succeed in turning the air around him blue, too weak to teleport again. He’d given up after his third try and surrendered to the cold walk home.

There aren’t many people around to judge why a boy is wondering around the street without an umbrella, only a few who run along sheltered by their coats above their heads, ducking under overhangs. He makes it to the next street down before he draws in a breath and ducks into his elbow, “hah’kshhhuu!”

He wishes that it could have teleported him back to the academy, but it only manages to fizzle out blue sparks like a battery dying.

His teeth chatter as he crosses his arms with a shiver, and he forces himself to think of something positive. At least he knows where he is and he’s not too far from the Academy. Still, he wishes his uniform had a hood or he had teleported with the blanket that had been wrapped around him, either way he would have had something to shelter him from the rain.

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Diego’s brow knits in confusion as he walks through the foyer seeing no one around. He’d left them all in the lounge before he left for work, and he’d thought they’d still be there. At least Five who was supposed to spend the day crashed on the couch.

Seeing nothing but a blanket he shrugs before heading for the stairs up to his room. Suddenly he turns around at the sound of hurried footsteps behind him, running up the stairs from the kitchen.

“What’s wrong?” he asks Allison as she looks around frantically.

“We lost Five?” she says, barely sparing him a glance as she moves back into the lounge to have another look around.

“What do you mean you lost him?”

“He sneezed and disappeared!” Klaus calls out from the railing of the second level.

“Have you tried his room?”

“He’s not there!” Luther’s voice echoes from a place where Diego can’t see him before he steps into view behind the railing on the third floor. “I hate to jump to conclusions, but you don’t think he” – he doesn’t need to finish his sentence to get his point across.

A few seconds of silence fall over the siblings as they contemplate whether accidental time travel is even on the cards for him.

Allison is the first person to shake her head. “I doubt it, he wouldn’t have enough energy” she speaks assuredly, but part of her doesn’t know whether it’s denial.

“Is there anywhere you haven’t checked?” Diego asks immediately, not feeling that it’s necessary to dwell on it.

Klaus’ sarcastic comment about how there are over 60 rooms to look around in dies in his throat at the sound of the front door handle turning.

“Oh my God, Five!” Allison all but squeaks as she rushes forward to her brother shutting the door behind him, drenched with rain.

As soon as she’s next to him her hands are all over him, brushing his hair out of his face, checking for fever on his cheeks, then pulling off his soaked blazer after noticing how violently he shivers.

“Where’d you go?” she asks as Klaus steps forward with the blanket in his hands, having raced down the stairs and into the lounge.

“Half a block down the street” Five stutters through shivers before his breath hitches and he raises a hand to his mouth in preparation for a sneeze.

Klaus, having almost touched the blanket to his brother’s shoulders, yelps and jumps back using the blanket as a shield, not wanting to touch him and be hurtled through time and space.

Allison having a completely different reaction, quickly reaches forward placing a hand on his shoulder, hoping that he won’t have the strength to teleport the both of them.

“Heh’tshh!” Five pivots slightly away from her and she feels static run up her arm.

Shaking it out she steps back from Five as he turns back to them.

“I can’t – uhm” he swallows seeming distracted with his eyes unfocused. “I can’t – Ah’Tchhhh - teleport, anymore” he finishes sniffling into his elbow.

Deeming that it is safe to come near him again, Klaus gives him the blanket and the tips of his cold, red fingers turn white as he grips onto it like a lifeline.

“Shower, go” Allison instructs, her voice demanding yet compassionate.

Five nods, and Allison keeps her eyes on him as he walks through the group of his siblings and up the stairs. “Not too hot, all right?”

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Five doesn’t mean to announce his presence back in the lounge by coughing loudly into his elbow, that’s what Klaus would do for attention, but completely against his own character. Either way it couldn’t be helped.

He tries his best to ignore his siblings’ looks of sympathy, particularly Luther’s, as he makes his way to the couch dressed in a pair of Allison’s trackpants and a hoodie. It’s weird to see a guy that big with a face that looks like a kicked puppy. Then again, it’s weird for anyone to see Five out of his standard uniform, let alone with his hands bunched up in the sleeves.

Fighting back the want to shiver, Five sinks into the couch and makes to lie down before Allison stops him.

“Hold up Five” she says, stepping closer to him with a thermometer in hand.

“Do I really have to?” he mumbles, not really seeing the point. He’s had a fever all day and doubts that it would have gone anywhere.

“I just want to check.”

“I just want to sleep.”

“And you can after this” Allison promises him.

“I’m fine” Five groans. “I’m just tired.”

“That would be a lot more convincing if you could speak clearer” Diego jabs at him over the stuffy quality of his voice.

“You’re one to talk” Five bites back, immediately realising his mistake even before Diego falls into silence. That was too mean, even for his standards. “I’m sorry Diego. I-I don’t mean that” he sniffles congestedly into his sleeve, adjusting his position on the couch out of awkwardness. “Just feel horrible.”

“You’re all right, bud” Diego murmurs affectionately, shaking off the last of his hurt expression.

Allison breaks the last of the tension waving the thermometer in the air. “I’m about to start making aeroplane noises.”

“You will not” Five staggers out a response, taking the thermometer out of her hand before she has a chance to shove it in his mouth for him.

As Five goes to slip the thermometer under his tongue Klaus takes his chance at making an aeroplane noise, but quickly cuts off when Five glares at him. Though he can only look so threatening with a pale face, pink nose and cheeks, and a stick of glass protruding from his lips. Still Klaus feels sorry for him and picks up the blanket from the couch and wraps it around him as a peace offering.

His peace offering seems to be overly effective as Five leans into him, resting his head on his shoulder. After taking a second to get over the shock of Five wanting physical contact, Klaus wraps his arm that had slightly flailed in the air around his brother’s shoulders.

Before anyone can make a comment about Five and Klaus showing affection to each other, the front door opens and footsteps head towards the lounge.

Even before they can see her, they hear Vanya’s voice starting to ramble something about one of her violin students, and stopping at the store. When she comes into view, she greets them and they respond in various ways. Klaus feeling Five move underneath his arm, raising a tired hand in a small wave.

“How’re you feeling, Five?” she asks him, her expression falling into sympathy that could rival Luther.

The question doesn’t really need to be answered given how Five has surrendered to physical contact in order to remain upright. He can’t really answer her either with a thermometer in his mouth. So, he tiredly blinks at her, figuring that she will understand.

“We’re not doing too great” Luther answers for him anyway.

“Had a little adventure out in the rain, didn’t we?” Klaus adds squeezing Five closer into his side, making him shift uncomfortably. Whether it was because of the increased contact or the fact that his siblings are speaking about him as if he is a child, Klaus doesn’t have the brains to question it.

“Ah-ha, the glitching” Vanya chuckles lightly as she turns around to place her violin case on the bar.

Diego hops up from his chair and goes over to help her unload the snacks and things that she got from the store, explaining the events in more detail.

At the same time Allison moves back in front of Five to collect the thermometer from him.

After handing it over to her Five releases a few coughs that he had been holding back into his elbow, leaning away from Klaus. In the midst of that activity he misses Allison reading out the verdict and he’s not interested enough to get her to repeat it. Figuring it can’t be too bad or she would have placed her hand back to his forehead or gone back to study the measurement again.

“You can go to sleep now Five” Allison withholds her promise, smiling sadly down at him.

He sighs deeply as he shifts against Klaus who moves so his brother can rest his head on his lap. As they get settled, Allison turns and walks toward the bar to wash the thermometer in the sink. With her back to them she hears Five sniffle slightly before sneezing softly causing Klaus to yelp dramatically.

“’m not going anywhere” she hears Five mumble to him tiredly.

“The blue flash says different!” he accuses.

“We’ll he didn’t go anywhere, did he?” Luther points out so Five doesn’t have to.

“If even if he could go somewhere, there’s no way he could take you with him” Allison tells Klaus as she reaches the sink and turns on the tap.

Her reasoning doesn’t seem to settle Klaus and she looks up from the running water to catch Vanya’s eye, shaking her head and rolling her eyes playfully.

Vanya returns the look, switching up the rolling eyes for a smile before she turns back to the group. “Five, I got some NyQuil from the store if you want any.”

“I don’t think we’ll need it” Klaus says, his voice much quieter than a few seconds ago. Adjusting the blanket over the shoulders of the boy who rests his head on his legs, already asleep.

[houserosaire]

Gossip (part 2)

           Honore never had to wait at Felicienne’s. The butler showed him straight into her morning room where she sat at her desk, quill busily scratching. The moment he came in she looked up and sighed, offering him a small relieved smile as she crumpled the sheet she’d been writing on and dropped it into the wastebasket.

           “You saw then?” He said as she rose to meet him.

           “I saw.” She said squeezing his hands once and then gesturing him to the chair beside the fireplace in the corner. “He really doesn’t have the faintest idea does he? That people do pay attention to everything he does?”

           Honore took the offered seat with a sigh, shaking his head as he settled in against the fine upholstery. “He doesn’t. Too used to being the unimportant youngest son.”

           Felicienne paused partway through settling her skirts around her on the sofa across from him. “That was never true. You know-“

           “It was never true to the –family-.” Honore said quietly but with an emotion that surprised even him. “But to society? It was. He wasn’t the Baron or the heir. They didn’t care what he did unless he got involved in a particularly delicious scandal or died bravely and tragically enough. To society he didn’t matter any more than I do. Until…”

           “Until Seraphin.” Felicienne finished for him, her voice soft. “But they care now.” She reached for her copy of Seen, sitting on the low table between them. Her eyes dropped to the paper before her and Honore knew exactly what she was reading without even unrolling the copy of the paper still clutched in his own hand.

           It is well known that the Baron Rosaire has business interests outside the Holy See. It is known also that the Baron often plays host to numerous foreign visitors, presumably in relation to those interests. This is not particularly unusual in and of itself. Good Chocobos are of value everywhere and several unusual and extravagant jewelry orders in the last year suggest that those business interests are quite profitable. Or perhaps they suggest something else entirely? It is well known also that the Rosaire is immovable at Ishgard’s social functions and that none of the elegant and eligible Ladies of the Holy See have ever seemed to catch his eye.

           Recently, however, the Baron has been observed regularly riding in and out of Ishgard with a man in simple and rather clerical garb, who seems to reside in the Rosaire Manor for days at a time. This presumably religious figure is certainly not one of even the See’s most humble clergy. Yet his riding bird is of the finest bloodstock and hardly seems to match his station in life otherwise. Indeed this strange foreign priest rides the sort of animal that might only have been a gift from a noble patron. This paper would not presume to draw any conclusions without further facts, of course. The Baron does still regularly attend services at the Cathedral. But one can hardly imagine that his interest in a humble foreign priest has the slightest thing to do with business, whatever that interest might be.

           “How bad do you think it is?” Honore asked when her eyes returned to his.

           Felicienne pursed her full lips and tapped the side of the paper against her palm for a moment in thought. “I am not sure.” She finally admitted. “Bad enough. He didn’t do this on purpose?”

           Honore frowned for a moment as he considered. “No, I don’t think so. What do we do?”

           Felicienne sighed, setting the paper aside and straightening her shoulders in a way that reminded him of a general on the battlefield, save that Felicienne’s armor was silk and velvet elegance. For a moment she didn’t answer, only stared off into the distance, her golden eyes thoughtful. “First, we have tea.” She said at last. “And then we decide how best to minimize this. I do wish there wasn’t that little insinuation that this had something to do with religion…The social implications alone would be enough to manage. Still, between the two of us I am sure we can think of something.”

           Honore nodded, some of the tension easing from between his shoulders with Felicienne’s calm manner. “Between the two of us.” He agreed.

           “We are frightfully clever after all.” Felicienne smiled. “Did you read the rest of the paper, by the way? Because I do believe you’ll find you owe me a box of chocolates.”

@bookbornexiv for Sui

[kpop-zone]

Blackpink reaction to their s/o being insecure because of shippers

Jisoo

Jisoo had noticed that something was bothering you for quite some time already. You didn’t speak up about your worries though and she didn’t want to pressure you into talking. Therefore, she kept quiet and simply opted to observe you in case your state would worsen. But overall, you seemed to be fine, so weeks passed without Jisoo ever figuring out what was wrong, and it took a stupid TV commercial to open her eyes.

The two of you were watching some TV when the teaser for the upcoming KBS Music Festival came on which caused Jisoo to chuckle.

“Great, now the shippers will go crazy again.”

She laughed amused, because the clip was cut very unfavorable and showed Jinyoung and her in the same scene.

Since they had been the special MCs for an award show together, countless dating rumors circulated, and a surprisingly high number of fans actually wanted to see them together. For Jisoo, this situation was really funny. She liked Jinyoung, he was a decent guy, but she couldn’t ever picture herself with him. Mostly, of course, because in her head, you were a fixed part of her future, but also because she didn’t think that Jinyoung and her were a good match. Therefore, she sometimes read all the weird conspiracy theories by the fans when she wanted to have a good laugh.

Apparently, however, you weren’t able to laugh about this situation. When Jisoo glanced at you, she could see that you were gulping thickly as if you were choking down some tears. Her demeanor immediately changed, and she reached out to grab your hand.

“What’s wrong, Y/N?”

She asked concerned, but you only shook your head in response.

It was clear to Jisoo though that something was bothering you. Intently, she thought about what could have caused your sudden mood change until the penny dropped at last.

“Jagiya, you’re not worried about Jinyoung and me, right?”

You stayed quiet for a while, confirming Jisoo’s assumption which made her feel guilty for not realizing it sooner.

“I’m not worried that you’ll cheat on me. But the rumors always remind me how much better than me you could do and that your fans would probably tear me apart if they knew that you are dating someone like me.”

Your words knocked the air out of Jisoo’s lungs, and she almost gasped in shock.

“What are you talking about? Please don’t say something like that ever again. You are the only one I want to be with and the only one that can make me happy.”

She stated clearly, wondering whether she hadn’t made her love for you obvious enough in the past.

“If you want to, I can talk with the management and ask whether they can make an official statement, denying the rumors.”

Jisoo wouldn’t let any possibility slide to make you realize that the rumors were absolutely ridiculous and that she didn’t want anyone else beside her but you. If those shippers were making you sad, she had to find a way to handle them.

Jennie

“What’s wrong, baby?”

Your question ripped Jennie from her train of thought, and she cursed herself inwardly for not being able to hide her emotions better.

“Nothing, I’m fine.”

She smiled, hoping that you would believe her. It would be selfish of her to complain about a thing that she knew was making you insecure. Exes were a delicate topic in every relationship, but those conversations were even harder when there were thousands of people out there that still wanted to see you together with your ex.

“I can see that you’re lying, Jennie.”

You softened your voice and laid one hand on her thigh in order to catch her attention.

In defeat, Jennie sighed, but still avoided your gaze. She couldn’t make a scene now, but if she saw the concern in your eyes, she knew that she would probably break down.

“It’s nothing important; just the same old. Rumors have spread again about...Kai and me. Just because we’ve been spotted in the same part of the city on the same night.”

Only saying those words were making Jennie feel nauseous. They brought back the memories about all the hate that she had received during her dating scandal and now every ship with another idol that she was being associated with made her anxious.

“Oh.”

You answered simply, causing Jennie to feel guilty for bringing it up.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. I swear, I would have never gone to that restaurant if I had known that he was in the area too.”

She immediately apologized, feeling tears starting to pool in her eyes.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Jennie. None of that was your fault.”

You tried to flash her an encouraging smile, but Jennie could still see the insecurity in your eyes.

“I’m so sorry that you have to go through all of that because of me. If I could make it all stop, I would.”

She grabbed your hand and you squeezed hers tightly.

“It’s ok. I guess we both have to learn how to live with all those rumors.”

You sighed while smiling sadly.

Jennie wished that there was a way to stop people from stirring up both of your insecurities over and over again, but there was none. The only thing you could do was to try giving each other strength. Therefore, Jennie pulled you into a hug while apologizing once more for causing all that trouble.

Chaeyoung

New dream couple? 10 reasons why BTS’ Jungkook and Blackpink’s Rosé are a perfect match

When Chaeyoung read the headline of the newest article on one of South Korea’s most popular news pages, she rolled her eyes. For some reason, there seemed to be an army of shippers out there that wanted to see her and Jungkook together and were analyzing every little “interaction” of theirs to the smallest detail. In the beginning, she had ignored them, because there were a million rumors about her going around and she couldn’t pay attention to all of them. But when the voices of the people claiming that they were dating got louder and louder, she began to be bothered. Not because of herself, but because of you.

It was obvious that you were starting to feel insecure, because of the countless fans and reporters that were claiming that Jungkook and her were the perfect match. This article would only rub salt into your wound once more, causing Chaeyoung to feel endlessly guilty. Therefore, she immediately rushed home after work with your favorite takeout and some flowers in her arms.

“Hey baby.”

She greeted you happily right when she entered the apartment before snuggling up to you, causing you to chuckle.

“Hi to you too. What have I done to deserve all this love?”

You joked, but Chaeyoung just played it off.

“I love you and only you. That’s all.”

She smiled, but in that moment, you seemed to have realized what all of this was about.

“So this is about the article...”

Your expression changed immediately, and instead of your cute smile, a heavy frown was decorating your face now.

“I’m so sorry about that, Y/N. I don’t know where that is coming from again. I swear, I haven’t done anything. You are the only one for me. I would never do anything to fire up those ridiculous rumors. Please don’t worry about them.”

Chaeyoung started rambling, but she simply needed to make sure that you weren’t feeling upset. She knew where those insecurities of yours were coming from and they were absolutely valid, but she still wanted to free you of them; not only now, but sustainably.

Therefore, Chaeyoung started to be even more careful in the future. Not that she would have done anything to encourage the rumors in the past, but now she was paying even more attention to everything she was saying or doing. At award shows, for example, she always made sure to stand as far away from BTS as possible, so that there was not a single picture released that showed Jungkook and her in the same frame. In return, however, that lead to a number of opposing headlines.

All about the breakup of Jungkook and Rosé

Why do BTS and Blackpink hate each other?

Chaeyoung couldn’t care less about those articles though. As long as they helped to ease your insecurities, she would bare the hate.

Lalisa

“Which one sounds better, babe? LaBam or BamLisa?”

Lisa laughed while reading the newest articles about another addition to her countless ships; with her best friend BamBam. It was really amusing to her to watch all those fans colleting evidence to prove her relationship with the other Thai idol. Although she had to admit that if she wouldn’t know better, she might have believed those rumors too. Their stories sounded pretty conclusive sometimes.

“I didn’t even notice that I was looking at him!”

Lisa gasped before giggling when she looked at another Twitter post that made it look like she was looking at her friend in awe.

Her amusement soon died down, however, when Lisa realized that she wasn’t hearing any laughter from you. Confused, she averted her gaze from her phone to pay attention to you. You were staring ahead while the glistening in your eyes almost made it seem like you were about to cry.

“Y/N?”

Lisa called out your name in order to shake you from your trance.

“You would make a cute couple, wouldn’t you?”

You smiled, but the sadness in your eyes was giving away that you weren’t joking.

“What?”

Lisa asked perplexed, being caught off guard by your insecurities. She had never known that you were thinking about such things. The two of you were so happy together and Lisa had never even thought about dating BamBam.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Look, Leo is climbing up the curtain!”

Quickly, you tried to play off your statement by drawing attention to the cats, but while Lisa had to rush off to save her curtains, your question was still stuck in her brain.

This didn’t come from nowhere; you must have been seriously insecure all this time. A massive wave of guilt immediately washed over Lisa and she knew that she had to make it up to you. Therefore, she got off work early the next day in order to spoil you and treat you to a nice, homecooked dinner later that night. It took her several hours and some tries to get it right, but in the end, she managed to make some dishes that were actually enjoyable, and everything was ready for you when you came home.

“What is this??”

You gasped astonished and Lisa immediately wrapped her arms around your waist to pull you into the apartment.

“A token of my love and a thank you for always being by my side. I wouldn’t want to conquer this crazy world with anyone else.”

Lisa smiled, causing you to blush cutely.

It seemed like she had to surprise you more often from now on.