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chelseachilly · 10 months

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the easy silence that you make for me

pairing: reader x ben chilwell summary: you’ve been struggling with anxiety due to stress at work recently, and you refuse to let ben see it until he flies you out to mykonos for the weekend and you can’t keep it in anymore (fluff + light angst) warnings: mentions of an anxiety attack word count: 5k

author’s note: thanks to the anon who requested this, it was nice to write something quick (which ended up being 5k lmao) before embarking on my next ben multi-chap! if anyone has any more concept/one-shot requests for ben in the meantime feel free to send them my way 🥰

After an exhausting season for Chelsea and a particularly difficult one for Ben with his second major injury in two years and missing the World Cup, you know badly he’s in need of a holiday.

When he tells you of his travel plans with the boys for the beginning of summer, a part of you feels relieved that he’s going to finally get the chance to unwind with his mates and leave the past year behind him.

Another part of you, though, is dreading him being away.

You haven’t wanted to bother Ben with it, as he’s had enough of his own stuff going on, but work has been kicking your arse lately. You got promoted recently and although it seemed great at first, it’s more responsibility than you anticipated and much more stress.

The only solace you’ve found during this time has been in Ben. Although you haven’t let him see how much you’re struggling, just his presence is incredibly comforting to you. To come home after a long, terrible day and find him standing in the kitchen making you dinner in his underwear, a bright smile on his face when he sees you, is all the remedy you need.

The moment he leaves for Spain, you feel your mental health start to decline. You know you can’t be with him all the time, and you’ve certainly dealt with separations before when he was away on international break, but this is by far the hardest one yet.

Ben texts you constantly throughout the trip, updating you on the fun he’s having with the boys at the F1 and telling you how much he wishes you were there with him. Obviously, you can’t take weeks off to follow him around Europe, as much as you wish you could.

You struggle more and more as the first two weeks of his time away comes to an end. The days are long, as you work yourself to the bone and come home completely exhausted, but the nights are even harder as you find it increasingly difficult to fall asleep without Ben next to you.

One night, when you know for a fact that Ben is chilling with the boys at the house they’ve rented in Mykonos as you’re tossing and turning in bed, you admit defeat and reach for your phone to text him. It’s a couple hours later there, but they’re probably still up.

You Hey, are you still awake? x

Ben ❤️ Yeah, what’s up baby? Everything ok?

You Just having trouble sleeping

Your phone starts ringing within seconds, and you accept Ben’s call right away.

“Hi,” you mumble quietly into the phone, sitting up a bit in bed.

“Are you alright, love?” Ben asks you, his voice full of concern.

“I’m fine,” you say quickly, snuggling into the pillow that still smells a bit like him. “I just miss you.”

It’s not the entire truth, but you know it’s all you can say to him without him booking a flight home to you this instant and abandoning his holiday, so you leave it at that.

“Oh, babe, I miss you too,” Ben sighs. “One more week, yeah?”

“Yeah,” you agree halfheartedly, though that feels like centuries right now.

“Are you really okay?” Ben asks worriedly. “Because I can come home-“

“No way, Ben,” you cut him off. “You’re not coming home early for me, I won’t allow it.”

“But-“

“I’m fine, I swear,” you lie. “I just needed to hear your voice for a bit.”

That part is true - Ben’s soft, soothing voice is like music to your ears, making you feel more relaxed already.

There are muffled voices on the other end for a moment, and then Ben speaks again.

“Why don’t you fly out after work tomorrow and spend the weekend here?”

Although the thought of being in Ben’s arms less than 24 hours from now is incredibly appealing, you can’t help but feel hesitant.

For one thing, you don’t want to spend the money on a last-minute flight, and though you know Ben will offer to pay for it, you don’t like how much money he spends on you as it is.

You also feel a bit weird crashing his boys trip, knowing that none of the other guys’ girlfriends are there at the moment and you would be the only one.

When you voice these concerns to Ben, however, he won’t hear it.

“Babe, don’t be silly, we’d love to have you. I just asked the boys and they all agreed,” he insists. “And I’m getting you a flight right now-“

“Ben, I-“

“Look, I miss you like crazy too, so it’s more of a gift for me than anything else,” he tells you. “We’ll just have a nice relaxing weekend and you’ll be back at work for Monday. Please, Y/N?”

You pause for a moment, but you know you’re incapable of saying no to him, especially when you miss him this badly and are struggling so much.

“Alright, I’ll come,” you say with a small smile.

“Yes! I can’t wait to see you,” Ben responds, and you can hear his grin through the phone. “I’ll send you the flight details and pick you up at the airport when you get here. Just try to get some sleep now, okay?”

The thought of being able to fall asleep in his arms tomorrow is just enough to be able to lull you to rest tonight, so after exchanging “I love you”s you bid him goodnight and close your eyes.

The next day, your anxiety persists as you hurry to finish up your work responsibilities so that you can make your flight on time.

Unfortunately, a last-minute emergency (which there seem to be a lot of these days) at the office means that you have to scramble to get out of there on time to get home, pack, and make your way to the airport.

Your stress dissipates a bit as you settle in for the flight, enjoying the comfy first class seat Ben got you and a couple glasses of champagne. Most importantly, you remind yourself that you’ll soon be by Ben’s side and everything will be right in your world again.

By the time you land on Mykonos, you’re already feeling a bit better, but it’s nothing compared to when you see your boyfriend for the first time in two weeks.

He’s standing in the arrivals area, wearing a simple black t-shirt and shorts with his blue Nikes. He’s slightly tan, his hair is a bit tousled, and he looks more relaxed than you’ve seen him all year. He also looks incredibly attractive to you right now (even more so than usual) which could be his whole holiday vibe or the fact that you haven’t seen him in weeks - or both.

The moment he sees you, his bright blue-green eyes that rival the colour of the sea you just flew over light up and his face stretches into a smile.

He jogs over to you with open arms and you meet him halfway, dropping your bag to throw your arms around him and hug him tightly.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Ben mumbles into your hair as he hugs you just as close, briefly lifting your feet off the ground. “God, I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” you sigh into his neck, pressing a few quick kisses there. “So much, Ben.”

You could almost cry from the relief of being held by him, his hand rubbing circles on your lower back and the scent of his aftershave as you breathe him in making your worries melt away.

When Ben tries to pull back a bit and you reflexively cling to him tighter, not ready to let him go, he just tightens his grip on you and presses a kiss to your temple.

“Is everything okay, love?” he whispers near your ear, sending a shiver down your spine.

Of course, after a couple of years together, Ben is able to read you pretty easily. Between your phone call last night and the way you’re clinging to him like a lifeline right now, it’s fairly obvious that something is up with you.

“Yeah, I’m good,” you say to him, grateful your face is still buried in his neck so he can’t tell you’re lying.

You aren’t all good, but you are better than you’ve been since he left, and you aren’t going to waste your weekend together before another week and a half apart. There’s still a pit of anxiety in your stomach, but you’re determined to not let that ruin your time with him or his holiday.

To prove your point, you pull back from him and take his face in your hands, admiring him for a moment before pulling him in for a long kiss.

He sighs into your mouth and grips your waist tighter as you kiss him, both of you wanting it to escalate more than you reasonably can in the middle of an airport.

When you pull away, resting your forehead against his for a moment, you think the kiss may have erased Ben’s previous concern from his mind, but no such luck.

“You promise you’re alright?” Ben murmurs, cupping your face and brushing your cheek with his thumb. “I was worried about you last night.”

Your heart swells with affection for a moment at his gentle concern, but then you remember this is the last thing you want - Ben should be relaxing, not worrying about you.

“I promise, babe,” you say with another gentle peck to his lips. “I was just missing you, but I’m good now. Perfect, actually.”

Ben nods, though he still looks slightly unconvinced. He does drop the subject though, at least for now.

Grabbing your bag in one hand and your hand in the other, Ben leads you out of the airport to the car that’s waiting to take you back to the house.

You can tell how much lighter he seems than the last time you saw him, telling you excitedly about everything he and the boys have been getting up to and how nice it’s been.

When you arrive at the beautiful house with an infinity pool overlooking the sea, you’re greeted with enthusiasm by all of Ben’s mates. They’re always nice to you, and have been since you first met them at the beginning of the relationship, but you wonder if Ben told them to be extra nice or something - Harvey has you in a tight hug and Anish is offering you a cocktail before you’re even through the door.

You all settle into the patio furniture out back with some drinks and dinner that the guys made, enjoying some music and the gorgeous sunset over the water. It takes you a bit of time to ease into the relaxation after being so tense for weeks, but it’s hard not to feel at total peace when you’re in such a beautiful place surrounded by people you love.

You’re curled up on the sofa with Ben, your legs draped over his lap and your hands intertwined, when the idea of going to a club is suggested.

While all the others are in agreement, Ben turns to you and murmurs quietly in your ear.

“Totally up to you, babe,” he says. “I’d be just as happy to stay here with you and watch a film or something.”

As appealing as it sounds to stay in alone with Ben, all the boys seem to be buzzing to go out and you don’t want to put a damper on things by insisting he stay here with you.

“No, let’s go,” you say with a small smile, trying to encourage yourself as well. “It’ll be fun, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Ben grins, leaning in to kiss you.

You quickly get ready while Ben takes a quick shower, grateful that you remembered to bring one outfit suitable for going out, a simple light blue dress with matching heels.

You’re just doing up the straps on your shoes, sitting on the bed, when Ben walks out of the bathroom with just a towel around his waist. You take a moment to admire your boyfriend, your eyes raking over his defined muscles.

“You look incredible,” Ben says, walking in your direction with a smile on his face.

“You look pretty good right now, too,” you tease, very obviously checking him out.

“Oh yeah?” Ben smirks, coming closer and bending down to kiss you.

“Mhm,” you mumble against his lips, hands resting on his bare shoulders as you anchor yourself to him, pulling him in for another deep kiss.

You’re interrupted by the sound of someone knocking, immediately followed by Tom’s voice on the other side of the door.

“I’ve ordered the Uber, hurry up you two!”

Ben groans and reluctantly pulls away from you with one more quick kiss.

“To be continued,” he says emphatically as he goes to get dressed.

“Definitely,” you chuckle, already looking forward to getting lost in him the moment you get back tonight.

Within ten minutes, you’re all out the door and on the way to the club. It’s a big, glamorous beachfront club that’s already packed with hundreds of people by the time you arrive. Clubbing was never really your thing, but you’ve found that the ones Ben and his friends go to - on the higher end, with decent music and comfy booths - are generally pretty fun.

Harvey gives your names at the door and soon you’re immersed in the party, Ben’s arm wrapped protectively around your waist as you navigate the room to get to the VIP section.

The first hour or so you’re there is mostly nice, enjoying the feeling of being pressed up against Ben’s side as you sip on overpriced champagne and enjoy the music. You have fun chatting and catching up with all the boys about their various work endeavours and the girls they’re seeing.

You try to suppress thoughts of work and all the stress that is waiting for you when you return to reality on Monday, and you’re mostly successful.

Until you make the mistake of checking your phone in the bathroom and see a million work-related emails that have piled up since you last looked.

You know everything can wait til after your little weekend getaway is over, but the thought of facing another week of hell without Ben home to calm your nerves is enough to make you begin to spiral. You’re already at your stress limit, and you’re not sure how much more you can take before you hit your breaking point.

Suddenly feeling a need to get back to your group - specifically to Ben - you rush out of the washroom.

The bright strobe lights and the loud music, compounded with the way your mind is already racing makes it hard to breathe. You’re completely disoriented as you look around the room, trying to remember where you’re going as you navigate the sea of people.

All the negative thoughts swimming around in your brain and the stress are heightening your senses, and you nearly lose your footing, having to grab onto a railing for stability.

“Y/N? What are you - are you alright?”

You’re calmed slightly by the familiar voice, managing to look up and meet eyes with Tom in the midst of your impending panic attack. He looks confused and a bit worried, obviously not understanding what’s wrong with you. You don’t really know what’s wrong with you in the moment either, just that you can’t breathe properly and you need Ben.

“Did something happen?” Tom asks again, still frantic.

“I-I can’t-“ you try to say, grabbing Tom’s arm for stability as you once again begin to falter. “Can you-I need-“

Tom says something quickly to Harvey, who you hadn’t even realized was there until just now. A moment later, Harvey is gone, and Tom is gently grabbing your shoulders and leading you away from the music and the crowd.

You don’t notice that he’s taking you outside until you feel the slightly cool air hit you, providing you with some relief and making it somewhat easier to breathe.

Tom leads you to a nearby bench and helps you sit down, and though he’s rubbing your back and trying to talk to you comfortingly, you don’t really register it.

“I need-can you get Ben?” you ask him once you’re able to get a few more words out, and Tom nods immediately.

“He’s coming, don’t worry,” he assures you. “Just try to breathe, he’ll be right here.”

You nod, shutting your eyes tightly to fight back the tears and trying to breathe as well as you can.

As promised, within a few moments you feel a pair of warm hands on yours and you open your eyes to see Ben kneeling in front of you, looking up at you with wide and terrified eyes.

“What’s wrong, love?” he asks you, looking from you to Tom, who is able to offer no explanation. “Are you hurt? Did someone-“

“No, no,” you manage to choke out, wanting to quell his fears before his mind can run too far. “I just-I was trying to find you and I couldn’t-there were so many people and I just-“

You know he still doesn’t fully understand what’s wrong, as you’ve never struggled much with crowds of people before. You’ve been to loads of parties and events together, you’ve supported him in stadiums of thousands of people, and it’s never been an issue. Nevertheless, when you begin to cry more freely, your body continuing to tremble, he quickly moves into the spot Tom has vacated for him and pulls you into his arms.

“Hey, sweetheart, it’s alright,” he murmurs into your hair as he holds you tightly, pulling you closer until you’re basically in his lap. “You found me, I’m here now. I’ve got you.”

You bury your face in his chest, your tears staining his white t-shirt as you cry. Although you can feel the panic in your chest lessening with every second in Ben’s presence, the full weight of all the stress and emotions of the last few months hits you like a freight train.

Ben continues to murmur soothing words to you, stroking your hair with one hand and rubbing your back with the other as your sobs gradually wane.

You manage to get your breathing under control, soaking up the comfort of his touch and the gentle words he’s whispering in your ear.

Eventually, you pull back from him, wiping your mascara-streaked cheeks. Ben is still looking at you with immense concern, one of his hands coming up to cup your cheek.

“Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

You nod your head, grabbing his other hand and squeezing it tightly. You know you need to open up to him. This breakdown is proof that you can’t keep holding it in anymore.

“Okay, I’ll call an Uber,” he says with a quick kiss to your forehead.

“Actually, can we wait a few minutes? Maybe take a walk?” you ask. “I think I just need a bit more fresh air before getting in the car.”

“Of course, babe, let me just tell the boys-“

Before Ben can finish the thought, your friends reappear, having given you some privacy so Ben could comfort you. With a gentle smile, Harvey passes you a glass of water, which you gratefully take.

“You feeling better, Y/N?” Anish asks.

“Yeah, thanks, just got a bit overwhelmed in there,” you say, sipping the cold water. “Sorry, guys, didn’t mean to ruin the night like this.”

“Don’t be silly, you haven’t,” Tom insists. “We were just worried about you.”

You nod appreciatively, laying your head on Ben’s shoulder for a moment as you continue to come down from the panic attack, his thumb rubbing gentle circles on your bare knee.

“You want me to call a car, Chilly?”

“Nah, thanks, mate,” Ben says. “We’re just gonna go for a walk and cool down a bit, you guys go on inside and we’ll see you back at the house.”

“Alright,” Harvey smiles, squeezing your shoulder gently. “Glad you’re okay. See you later.”

The boys all bid you goodbye and go back into the club, leaving you and Ben alone once more. He carefully helps you to your feet, and you lean on him even though you’re much steadier than you were before.

“Wanna go down to the beach?” Ben asks, gesturing toward a path that leads to the shimmering blue water.

You nod, taking his hand in yours and intertwining your fingers as he leads you down the path.

The beach is totally quiet at this time of night, a stark contrast from the loud and bustling club you just left, and you hold Ben’s arm for stability as you take off your heels to carry them. The feeling of the sand beneath your feet and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore helps to calm your senses.

You find a nice, secluded spot to sit and look out at the ocean. Before you can even complain of the slight chill, Ben removes his jacket and drapes it over your shoulders.

“Thank you,” you whisper, reaching out to grab his hand again, needing to maintain physical contact with him.

“Of course,” Ben says, squeezing your hand. “Will you please tell me what’s going on now, babe? You’ve seemed a bit off since you got here, and last night on the phone. I’m worried about you.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” you say. “I didn’t want to ruin your holiday with all this, I’ve just been struggling a bit lately. Work has gotten crazy stressful and so much stuff is piling up on me, it’s been making my anxiety a lot worse than it usually is. Tonight I just happened to check my work email in the toilets and I guess it triggered me, then the noise and the lights and everything were really overwhelming and I could tell I was about to have a panic attack. Luckily, Tom found me before it got too bad.”

Ben, who knows you’ve dealt with anxiety in the past and particularly in uni, just nods in understanding.

“You’ve been struggling these whole two weeks I’ve been gone?” he asks, visibly upset that you’re just telling him now.

It makes it even harder to tell him the full truth, but you know the point of this conversation is to be truly honest with him, even if it’s difficult.

“A few months, actually,” you confess. You see how his face falls completely, and you immediately elaborate. “I know I should’ve told you, but you’ve had such a tough year with the club and the World Cup and everything, I couldn’t bring myself to burden you with anything else.”

His eyes flash with a million different emotions, and for a moment you think he’s going to be mad at you, but he ends up just letting out a defeated sigh.

“You could never be a burden to me, Y/N,” Ben says firmly. “You’re everything to me. It doesn’t matter what I have going on, I need you to tell me if you’re going through something like this. Always.”

“I know, I will,” you reply, squeezing his hand again.

He takes your joined hands and brings them to his lips, pressing a kiss to each of your knuckles.

“I am so sorry I didn’t realize there was something going on earlier,” Ben says after a moment, shaking his head. “I feel like the world’s shittiest boyfriend.”

“Don’t apologize, baby, you’ve been going through a lot yourself,” you remind him.

“Yeah, but you’ve been there for me through all of it. Helping me when I was injured and talking me through every loss, week after week,” Ben sighs, the memories of the past season still fresh. “And I didn’t even know you were dealing with your own problems.”

“It’s alright, Ben, I promise,” you say with a small smile, reaching up to cup his cheek. “I’ve been managing okay, just being with you helps a lot. It’s been hardest these couple weeks you’ve been away.”

“I’m so sorry, if I had known I would have-“

“I know, that’s why I didn’t say anything,” you tell him, your thumb stroking his sweet, concerned features. “You needed this holiday. I didn’t want you to be worrying about me.”

Ben wraps his arm around you and pulls you closer, pressing a kiss to your temple and lingering there.

“Baby,” he murmurs so softly that your heart melts. “I love you, but I need you to be honest with me from now on. It breaks my heart that you were going through this alone.”

You nod, resting your cheek on his shoulder. “I know.”

“And as for the holiday, I think you’re in need of one, too,” he continues, rubbing your back. “You should tell your boss you’re taking the next week off and come to Italy with me. We’ve got the yacht all week.”

There’s nothing that sounds as appealing to you right now as spending a week in paradise, soaking up the sun and enjoying uninterrupted time with Ben, but you don’t know how well it will go over if you tell your boss you’re taking a week off with almost zero notice.

“Ben, you know I want to, but-“

“Babe, you’ve been working yourself like crazy since you started there. You’re one of their best employees and they would be lost without you,” Ben reminds you. “Tell them you need a break. I’m sure your boss will understand, and if she doesn’t, then maybe you should tell them you’ll reevaluate whether you have a future there.”

You know he’s right, but you’re still nervous to give that ultimatum. You’ve hardly taken any vacation in the past year and you’re certainly overdue for it, but it doesn’t come naturally to you to make demands - even when it’s necessary.

“What if they let me go?”

“Then they would be bloody idiots,” Ben scoffs. “You deserve to work somewhere that lets you prioritize your mental health, love. And if that’s not this job, then quit and we’ll find you something else.”

“I can’t just quit my job, Ben,” you chuckle, fiddling with the too-long sleeves of his jacket you’re wearing.

“You can if it doesn’t make you happy,” he replies without a beat. “And please don’t say need a steady income, because you know I don’t give a shit if you ever work another day in your life.”

While you’re aware that most of Ben’s mates - at least the ones in football - don’t have girlfriends with traditional jobs such as yourself, you’ve always liked making your own money. It’s not that you harbour any judgement for those who don’t, but you think you would go stir-crazy if you spent all your time waiting at home for Ben.

“I appreciate the offer, babe, but I think I just need to find a better work-life balance,” you admit. “Maybe a week off isn’t such a bad idea. I can talk to my boss in the morning.”

Ben’s face lights up and he begins to press little kisses all over your face, making your heart soar.

“Perfect, I was dreading saying goodbye to you again,” he confesses. “I hate sleeping without you.”

“So do I,” you murmur, pressing your lips against his briefly, pulling apart when a thought occurs to you. “I don’t have enough clothes for a week.”

“You won’t need them,” Ben replies without missing a beat, making you laugh and shove his chest playfully. “Or we can go shopping. Whatever you want, love.”

You smile into Ben’s kiss and he deepens it quickly, his arm wrapping around you to tug you impossibly closer. You sigh happily, enjoying the serenity and intimacy of this moment.

When you pull back again, he gently cups your cheek and you lean into his warm palm, pressing a quick kiss there.

“Are you feeling better now?” he asks softly. “Do you want to go back to the house?”

“I am feeling better, but I just want to stay here a little longer if that’s alright.”

“Of course, baby,” Ben smiles, shifting slightly and opening his arms wide so you can lean back against him.

He positions you so you’re inbetween his legs, leaning against his chest, with his arms tightly wrapped around you and your hands clutching his.

You’re both silent for a whole, listening to the sound of the sea and enjoying each other’s touch after a long two weeks without it.

“Promise me one more time that you’ll tell me if you’re ever feeling this way again,” Ben murmurs into your hair after a few minutes. “Because seeing you like that is one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced. I was so worried.”

Your heart aches a bit as you realize what a sight you must’ve been for your poor worried boyfriend, sobbing incoherently outside the club.

“I promise, Ben,” you say with a squeeze of his hand. “I won’t keep anything from you again.”

“Okay,” he breathes, lips pressed to your head. “I love you so much. I’m sorry you’ve been dealing with this by yourself, but I’m really glad you’re here with me now.”

“I love you too,” you say, snuggling deeper into his arms. “And I’m also really glad I’m here.”

Ben continues to press kisses to your head as you stare out at the sea, the comfort of his touch washing over you like the waves lapping against the shore.

Although there will be more hurdles for both of you to face as you continue your respective careers, you know that as long as you have Ben and ensure that you communicate your feelings, everything will be fine.

And in the meantime, you get to spend a week on a yacht with your hot boyfriend. Life could be a lot worse.

#ben chilwell #ben chilwell x reader #ben chilwell x y/n #chelsea fc imagine #my fics

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junkissed · 11 months

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balloons & handmade cards

member — dad!junhui x f reader genre — reeeally sweet fluff word count — 700 synopsis — your son and daughter tag along with your husband at the store while he buys some last-minute gifts for mother's day. warnings — reader is called mommy, jun is called daddy notes — based on an interaction i saw at the store today that almost made me burst into tears bc it was so cute i love kids so much !! i hope all of you have a happy mother's day, whether you have someone in your life or not, i'm giving all of you big hugs 💓

"all right, kids, we're almost done here," junhui says as he stands in front of the greeting card section, a huge bouquet of flowers and a shopping basket full of groceries balanced in his arms. two toddlers run around his legs, each of them holding a balloon tied around their wrists that say "happy mother's day" and "i ♡ my mom".

he stops in front of the seasonal section, scanning the rack before picking one up and looking at the front. "did you guys finish making your cards for mommy?

"i did!" the older daughter of the two says as she jumps up and raises her hand in the air.

"so did i!" the younger boy adds. "i wrote that i love her a bazillion times infinity."

"well, i love her more than that!" the girl says, and jun has to hold back a laugh as he stands between them to separate them and stop them from fighting about who loves you the most.

"she knows you both love her very much, don't worry."

the girl jumps up and down again and points to a card at the bottom of the rack. "hey, daddy, i drew flowers on my card that look just like those!"

jun grins, reaching to pick out a different card and opening it to read the inside. "great job! i know she'll love it, sweetheart, i'm sure she can't wait to see them. when we get home make sure you hide your cards in a really safe spot so she won't find them before tomorrow."

the boy cranes his neck to stare up at the balloon waving back and forth as he tugs on the string, mesmerized by the way it moves. "daddy, why do we have to hide them?"

jun laughs and grabs an envelope from the rack. "because then it wouldn't be a surprise, silly."

"oh, right."

the girl tugs on his pant leg, and he looks down at her as he tucks his card into the basket and starts walking away from the aisle. "daddy, can i get a piece of candy?"

"we have sweets at home, honey. you can't have dessert tonight if we get candy now, and a little birdie told me that mommy has ice cream for later…"

"ice cream!" they both scream, and jun laughs, happy that his distraction worked. you probably won't be happy to have both your kids bouncing off the walls after he'd promised them ice cream for dessert, but he'd take care of them later.

"yes, ice cream. let's go pay for these quick, we have to hurry home before mommy sees what we got!"

with a squeal the two kids race off to find an open cashier, and jun follows close behind, double checking everything in his basket.

the lady at the cash register rings up everything with a friendly smile, even giving each of them a sticker with the store's logo on it.

"what do you say to her?" jun asks, and a chorus of "thank you!"s erupt from the kids before they dash out of the store, dragging him behind them.

"you guys hold on tight to your balloons, okay?" he says as they walk out the door, shrugging the bags of groceries onto his shoulder so he has both hands free to hold onto each of them. "don't let them fly away, because then we won't have any for mommy tomorrow! now, here, hold my hand while we cross the street, and look both ways first."

jun helps both of them climb into the backseat of the car and buckles their carseats before putting everything away in the trunk.

once he's sure all his passengers and cargo are secure, he slides into the driver's seat, ready to bring everyone home.

"daddy?"

he glances over his shoulder at his daughter as he buckles his seatbelt. "yeah, princess?"

she grins at him, showing off the gap in her teeth from when the tooth fairy visited last month. "i'm so excited, i love mommy so much!"

the car starts with a hum, and jun smiles. "i'm glad, honey. i love her so much, too."

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janicho88 · 9 months

Text

When It All Falls Apart - Chapter 9

Pairing- ex!Jensen x Padalecki Reader

Word count- 5,300

Warnings- Some language. Dealing with a breakup. Sad reader. Angst, If I missed something let me know!

A/N- Back at a convention we go. Someone lets the cat out of the bag here with the breakup. A little off canon, SPN ended after 10 years. We still got all the characters in during that time though. Thank you to @writercole and @leigh70 for your help with this. You two are amazing!!

Summary-Y/N Padalecki loved acting on Supernatural. Working alongside your older brother and your boyfriend, but after ten seasons the guys have chosen to hang up the guns. Now the three of you are moving on to other projects, but that’s all that needs to change right? While you have moved to Austin to be closer to your family and boyfriend, Jensen is working elsewhere. Distance is only the start of your troubles.

Series Masterlist

Turns out you really didn’t have a lot of time to think things over once you returned home. Jared was at the studio, and Gen had her hands full with a wild child and a smelly dog. You leave her with Tom and take Sadie outside for a bath. When you come back inside Tom wants you to play with him.

Jared comes home with your script for the first episode, they had to rework a few things for it. Before bed you spend some time reading it over and making notes for yourself.

When you wake up and go down to a late breakfast on Thursday, Gen starts asking about your flight.

“What flight?”

“Aren’t you flying out today, so you can be there all day tomorrow?”

“What are you…OH CRAP THE CONVENTION!”

Jared comes back from his run just as you finish yelling. “What happened?” he asks, looking between you and his wife before you are dashing from the room.

“I think she forgot it was convention weekend, and that she is supposed to leave today,” Gen tells her husband.

“Got it.”

After a quick shower you are running around your room picking out clothes. Someone knocks and you holler at them to come in. Gen walks in looking at the clothes thrown on the bed and the open bathroom bag on the dresser.

“Do you have anything around for this weekend yet?”

“Um, no. Do you remember ever seeing con pictures of me in this top?” you ask her, holding up a black dress shirt.

“Yes, but only because there is a picture of us together, I have.”

“Crap.” Throwing that in the no pile you move back to the closet.

“What time is your flight?”

“4:15, should probably leave here around 1:30. Which is oh, about two hours away now,” you reply with a grimace.

“What can I do to help?” she asks.

“My bathroom travel things are in the bathroom cabinet. I hope. I don’t know why I unpacked that stuff. Could you throw it in the travel bag please? There should be hair crap, body wash, face cream, lotion. Whatever makeup is on the counter. Oh and toothbrush and paste. Will definitely need those, no one wants to get close to the girl with morning breath.”

Finally figuring out 2 outfits for the days you are there, and one for karaoke, you run out to the pool building to grab your swimsuit. You never know if you will have time for a swim, but you would rather have it with you and not use it than leave it at home and have free time. Throwing in some workout clothes and pajamas you are finally good to go. You pack your carryon bag with your wallet, computer, headphones, a book and some snacks.

Thirty minutes later your bags are sitting by the bedroom door. “Okay, I think I’m good to go.”

“Only a small tornado left in your wake.”

Raising an eyebrow you look at Gen, not sure what she means. She points her finger around your room and you look with a groan. You currently have more clothes on the bed and floor than are likely in the closet.

“I’ll help you pick ‘em up.”

Half an hour later the room is back together and you won’t have to worry about it when you get home Saturday night.

“Gen, I ever told you you are a lifesaver?” You ask your sister-in-law as you walk out of your room.

“Eh, it’s been awhile,” she jokes with you. “But I’m happy to help.”

Taking your things downstairs, you find Tom and Jared on the living room floor building with legos.

“Aunt Y/N, wanna build with us?”

“I can for a few minutes.”

“Are you leaving again?”

“Yeah, I’m off to Orlando, Florida this time.”

“Where’s that?”

“East of here,” he just looks at you, “not that that means anything to you.”

He turns to his dad, “are you leaving too?”

“Saturday morning bud. That’s in two days, and I’ll be gone for two days.”

“You’re flying out in the morning?” you question.

“Yeah, figured I’d come a little earlier. They moved some of our stuff around to get more in on Saturday since you won’t be there Sunday.”

“Oh, thanks for doing that. Sorry you had to.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

After spending a few minutes building a Lego town, you all break for lunch before Jared drives you to the airport. He tells you to have a safe trip and gives you a hug before getting back in the car and taking off.

Once you clear check-in and security, you walk around the familiar space, before sitting down and pulling out your book. It’s finally time to board and you are ready for takeoff. You’re a little nervous about how this weekend is going to go, and the sooner it’s over with the better.

After collecting your luggage at the Orlando airport, you look around for Mike and finally see him hurrying through the doors. You wave at him to get his attention, he slows a little but is still moving quickly.

“Sorry, traffic was a lot worse than I thought it would be.”

“It’s no problem, I just got my bag. How are you doing?”

“I’m good, thanks. How about you?”

“I’m fine.”

The trip to the hotel took longer than usual also. Mike was right about the current traffic. While the convention and most of the guests were staying at the Doubletree Hotel, they had the cast at Embassy suites. It was a few minutes away, but not too bad.

Mike had your hotel key with him, and asked if there was anywhere you needed him to stop before dropping you off. You told him no, and he went right to the hotel.

You found your way up to the room without any problem. It’s close to 9, and your stomach is grumbling. You head down to the cafe in the hotel before it closes to grab something for dinner. The dining area is in the middle of the main floor.

Looking up you can see the walkways on every floor around it. Instead of sitting at the bar, you grab a table off to the side. While you are picking at your sandwich, two hands clamp down on your shoulders and whisper “gotcha.”

You can’t help but scream out.

“Oh shit, way to go Bri,” Kim says as she sits down across from you.

You hold up your hand and repeat, “sorry, sorry,” to those still dining around you. At least this late there aren’t too many people around.

Briana sits down next to you and picks a fry out of your half eaten basket, “sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, I didn’t even see you two walk in.” You look at the pajamas they’re wearing, “how was the pj party?”

“It was good. Lots of fun, like usual,” Kim tells you.

“Yeah, I get alcohol in there now, it’s fuckin great,” Bri agrees.

“So what are you doing here so early?” Kim asks.

“I had to change my schedule around because I can’t stay on Sunday.”

“Oh something exciting going on? Has to be to pull you away from Jay,” Briana questions.

“Not really exciting, I just have to leave Saturday.”

The girls look at each other, then back at you. “You aren’t telling us something. We’ll let it go for now, but we will get it out of you,” Kim says in her best Carrie Martin voice.

“Okay, mom.”

Thankfully, they change the subject and talk about what has been going on with themselves the last few weeks. You are pretty vague when it comes to yourself. Before long, you are all calling it a night and heading up to your respective rooms.

The beeping of your alarm wakes you Friday morning, with a groan you get up to start your day. It’s early enough, you can make your way to the second floor where the outdoor pool is located. Hopefully a few laps will help you wake up. Back in the room you go through your morning routine of making yourself presentable for all the photo ops you will have. Your cell notifies you of an incoming text, letting you know Mike is on his way.

He drops you off at the convention hotel, at one of the back entrances. Chelsea is waiting for you at the door.

“Hey!” you greet her with a hug before moving inside. “Nice to see you again.” You never know who your handler will be until you arrive at the conventions. You work with Chelsea a lot, but it’s not uncommon to have one of the other girls. As long as it’s not Victoria, you’re good.

She hands you a coffee and starts going over your schedule on the way to the green room. First up on the schedule is a 10 am Meet and Greet (M&G). She leads you down when it gets closer and takes her seat in the corner as you greet the fans and answer the questions.

As that half an hour winds down, Adam Fergus comes in the side door. “Someone’s got an early start to her day. I don’t usually see you around this early.”

“Yeah, my schedule is a little off this weekend. I’m guessing if you’re here then our time is up.” With a frown you turn to the group of fans. “I had a lot of fun with you all, thank you.”

You wave to them as everyone gets up and they are being led to the exit. Walking over to Adam you give him a hug in greeting, you don’t have time to catch up because his M&G group is being brought in.

Back in the green room they have some pictures for you to sign. You hear DJ Qualls take the stage for the first panel. Julian Richings, has the second. He doesn’t make it to many conventions, so it is always nice to see him. You mentally make a note that you want to get a picture with him before he leaves.

You have various photo ops, and a panel with Kim and Briana later in the afternoon. After the day programing wraps up, a good two hours of autographs. It’s a little after 6, by the time you are finished. Bri and Kim are already done, Adam and David are also finishing up, everyone else is gone. A group text had gone out earlier about ordering dinner to be delivered to the hotel tonight. As the three of you get in the car to go back to the hotel, Bri lets you all know it’s on the way now and there are some tables by the pool where you can all eat.

Arriving back at the hotel, the three of you all head to your rooms to change before meeting them for dinner. You throw your suit on under your clothes, and head to the outdoor pool area.

Rich is still at the convention center for Dick chat, but you, Kim, Bri, David, Adam, DJ, Julian and Sam Smith are all back at the hotel. Conversation flows a little more freely when there isn’t anyone else around. They do have some questions about Jensen and his new suit you have to field.

“Did you get to see him in that suit when you were in Toronto?” Kim asks.

“What she really wants to know is, did you get to do him in that suit?” Bri interjects, and the guys all groan.

“No, I never made it to set, they keep things pretty tight up there,” you tell them.

“Yeah they do. Suit couldn’t have been much tighter.”

“Not what I meant Bri.”

“Has he told you any behind the scenes secrets?” Sam asks.

“Nope, I know probably as much as you guys do.”

You do your best to turn the conversation to other topics and away from you or Jensen, when it seems to quit working you go hop in the pool. Before too long you need to get ready to go back for Karaoke.

Adam, David, DJ, Julian, Sam and you, all are going back. Bri and Kim are bowing out of this one. When you arrive back, the fans are still watching the screening of ‘Yellow Fever.’ There are a variety of drinks set up in the green for you all.

Adam looks over the table, “what flavor of ‘apple juice’ shall we start with?”

“Something we aren’t going to regret tomorrow morning, would be great,” you tell him.

“Chicago was your own fault Lil Pad, you all were shooting them back a bit quick,” he fires back.

“I blame Bri,” you say with a shrug.

It isn’t long before the film is over and the stage is set for karaoke. With your red solo cups the six of you make your way on stage, while Adam draws the first name. Those that come on stage give it their all, and the crowd is singing along too. Adam is all over the stage and starts running up and down the aisles as well, which keeps not only his handler, but others busy watching him as well.

An hour and a half later, the event is winding down and you’re definitely ready to get back to the hotel and relax before bed. Well, after you pack. You aren’t used to leaving on Saturday afternoons.

The next morning there are two cars to take nine of you over to the convention hotel a little after nine. Adam, David and Jason don’t have to be there until ten. There is breakfast waiting in the green room along with the group's Starbucks order. Rob is talking with the band before looking for you.

“Y/N, did you text me the song you wanted to sing tonight? I can’t seem to find it.”

“I won’t be at the concert tonight, sorry guys. I head out this afternoon.”

“What? That is unacceptable,” he jokes with you. “Is your other half going to cover for you?”

“I have no idea what they are doing tonight.”

Rob, Rich and Louden Swain soon take the stage to start the day and then they call you, Bri, Kim and Sam to the stage. Things are going well, you all are talking, joking, and occasionally answering questions. At least until a little over halfway through when you get a question that catches you completely off guard.

A girl comes up to the mike and looks right at you. “My question is for Y/N.”

“I know her, she’s right here,” Kim jokes, pointing to you.

“What do you have for me sweetie?”

“How could you break up with Jensen?”

The whole room goes quiet, you stare at the girl, and everyone else is looking at you. “What?” you finally stutter.

“He announced it this morning during an interview.”

Everyone is still looking at you, Sam is one of the first to recover. “Um, maybe this isn’t the…’

“Thanks, Sam, it’s alright. I don’t know what Jensen said about this. But we both have different projects we’re working on. And um, I guess you hope things are going to work out one way, but sometimes life has other plans. I would appreciate though, if um, there weren’t any more questions on this right now. It’s supposed to be a fun weekend, let’s not bring it down okay?”

You try and focus on the last twenty minutes of the panel, but your brain keeps going back to that girl's question, and how could Jensen do that today? Why did he feel the need to announce it during an interview even?

When Rob and Rich come back on stage with the band you barely wait for them to start singing you off before you are gone down the steps. You see your brother right behind the curtain, he pulls you into a hug and walks with you back to the green room area.

“Are you alright?” he quietly asks.

“Just great. Have you seen the interview?”

“Not yet.”

You ignore Victoria sitting in the corner with a smug smile and go to the opposite side of the room with Jared. Pulling out your phone you search for the interview. Bri, Kim and Sam had been following you two, but they realize what you are doing and move to give you some room. Finding the video you push play.

Jensen is with Karl, Jack, Chase, Anthony, and sitting right next to him is Claudia. Watching the interview from this morning's talk show appearance, you aren't really paying attention to what’s being said, just trying to find the spot where Jensen throws you under the bus.

The interviewer makes a comment about how some of them have said they don’t want their parents to watch, but what about their significant others?

Claudia is the first to do anything, she laughs before speaking. “Well, Anthony is the only one of us currently in a relationship, so he’ll have to take that one.”

You notice Jensen makes a slight movement to look at Claudia out of the corner of his eye, and some of his castmates are looking at him as Anthony answers. When he’s finished the interviewer turns it back to Jensen.

“Aren’t you dating your former co-star, Y/N Padalecki?”

Claudia speaks up before Jensen can say a word, “ not any more she came up here just to break up with him because he was working.” She leans closer to your ex, and you can’t help but notice the way she is rubbing her hand up and down the top of his leg. Yeah, you aren’t so sure something isn’t going on there.

“We’re so sorry to hear that,” Don, Dan, whoever says to Jay.

“Long distance doesn’t work out for everyone, and I guess we just wanted different things,” Jensen finally speaks up.

The interviewer moves the topic back to the show and continues on.

“I cannot believe him.”

“In his defense,” your brother starts, “he didn’t really announce the breakup.”

“He had to have been talking about it with her, and he didn’t make a move to stop her, did he? Didn’t take him long to move on.”

You turn around and notice your friends on the other side of the room trying not to look at you. With a sigh, you drop your head back and know you have some explaining to do. Before you can get very far, a nervous Chelsea comes and tells you you are needed for your VIP M&G and then photo ops.

After your solo ops, you have photos with the ladies. Even though they want to ask, there is no time for questions now. Jared comes down for his ops with you, when those are finished you are done with photos for this convention. You give Chris a hug and tell him thanks before you follow your brother and handlers out of the room. The last of your autographs are next, it takes well over an hour for you to finish up. There are some comments about you and Jensen, mostly I’m sorry to hear you broke up. But a few rude ones, that couldn’t understand why you would do that.

Walking into the green room you notice almost everyone is in there, since there is a little bit of a break. Grabbing a water you sit on the edge of a table, with Jared coming up next to you.

“I know you all want to know what’s going on, so here it is. Yes, Jay and I aren’t together anymore. No, I didn’t go up to Toronto just to break up with him. It just happened while I was up there. I’m just not really ready to talk more about it right now.”

They all nod, Sam comes over and gives you a hug, Bri and Kim are right behind her.

“This the reason for the schedule change?” Bri quietly asks. You just nod.

Looking at the time, you make sure everything you were supposed to have autographed is done. The few things you have gotten out of your bag are packed back up. Jared is about to head to one of his M&G’s, you give him a hug before he goes.

“You alright?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“Liar. Have a safe flight. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Thanks. Hope all goes well here. Have a safe flight tomorrow. See ya soon.”

You tell the rest of the group goodbye before you head out. You still have a little time before your 3:30 flight, but you want to get out of there before Jensen arrives. Once you are all checked in at the airport, you find a quiet spot to sit, and go through your phone. You know you shouldn’t, but you bet the comments are flying about you right now. You aren’t wrong.

Earlier that morning up in Toronto, Jensen is boarding the plane for Florida. He finds his seat, throws his bag up top and sits down with a huff. He hadn’t had the morning he was expecting to.

His phone went off early this morning, someone from the show calling to tell him he was needed for an interview at the studio. Jesse was sick and unable to make it, they were asking him to fill in. He hurries to get cleaned up and make sure he has everything he needs to fly down for the convention.

Everyone else is already at the studio, they do a quick hair and makeup fix on him. Karl comes over to see how he’s doing.

“Ready for ya trip?”

“I think so.”

“Ya talked to her since she left?”

“No. But I don’t know what more she wanted from me. I haven’t figured out if I want to see her or not. Haven’t talked to Jared either. That’ll be interesting.”

“Maybe, ya just needed some time apart, and you two can work it out this weekend.”

“If it was space she needed, she wouldn't have broken up with me when she came up here. We had plenty of space living in two different countries.”

What neither man notices is Claudia hanging around behind them.

When it’s almost time, they have the cast take a seat and the interviewer comes out and sits across from them. Getting the cue from the studio they start rolling. Everything was going fine until the question about spouses came up and Claudia started talking. Jensen is too busy trying to figure out how she knows to even speak. He looks at her out of the corner of his eye before slightly looking at Karl, who is also looking at him.

Once his mind catches up he tries to shut the topic down before anymore can be said. When the camera moves away from him, he moves Claudia’s hand off his leg. By the time the interview is over, he can’t stay and question her about it, he has to get to the airport. He sends Karl a text on the way.

Any idea how she knew that?

Karl and Eric are the only two up here he had talked to about this. He gets a reply a short time later,

Not a bloody clue.

Once he gets to the airport, he doesn’t have a lot of time before the plane is supposed to take off. He is hoping since a number of fans will already be busy at the start of the convention day, word of the interview will take awhile to get around. There is nothing on his phone when he powers it down before takeoff. Sitting back he spends the flight looking over the final script of the season.

Arriving at the hotel, Mike gives him his room key and Jensen tells him he'll be back down in ten minutes. That gives him time to find his room, leave his bag, and change out of the airport clothes.

Clif is waiting at the back entrance of the convention center when he is dropped off there. He follows him up to the green room, where Victoria is waiting.

“Jensen, great to see you again. Hope you’re doing well.”

“Fine, thanks. You?”

“Good. I’m happy to be here. The suit reveal you posted on Instagram was amazing. I can’t wait until the show premieres.”

“Thanks. So, what’s first on my schedule?” he asks when she doesn’t tell him.

“Oh, solo pictures in a few minutes, then with Misha. You have a short break before the VIP M&G, then the regular one.”

“Ok. Do you know where Y/N is?”

“She’s around somewhere.”

He gets through his photo ops, and looks for you on his way to the M&G’s. He doesn’t see you around anywhere. It’s about halfway through the main M&G when someone mentions they are sorry to hear about what Y/N did.

He’s slightly confused, “what did she do?”

“How she came up to Toronto to, well you know…”

It suddenly clicks, the interview. Guess word got around. “Y/N’s an amazing woman, but unfortunately things didn’t work out.”

“How does this affect you and Jared?”

“If one of us comes on stage tomorrow with a black eye, you’ll know,” he tries to joke.

Finally making it through that half an hour he is escorted back to the green room. Sam is the only one in the room and she is getting ready to go back to photos. He grabs a water and sits at one of the tables, pulling out his phone and scrolling through it. Opening twitter he receives a notification he’s trending, and so are you. “If we’re both trending, I bet I know what that’s for,” he mumbles.

“Who’s fault is that?” a voice behind him asks.

Taking a deep breath, he readies himself to turn around and face his best friend. Who also happens to be your older brother.

“Hey Jare.”

“Ackles. You didn’t answer my question.”

He holds up his hands, “Look man, I never intended for that to come out this morning. I don’t even know how she knew.”

“You didn’t tell her? The two of you seemed pretty close.”

“The only two I’ve talked to are Karl and Eric. I haven’t talked to you, because she’s your sister, so I didn’t know where that put us.”

“That makes two of us. What happened between you two, Jay?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what more she wanted from me. I thought we were fine. Then she comes up to Toronto and tells me she can’t do it anymore. Where did that even come from?”

“She’s been hurting for awhile, but the one person who was supposed to notice it, didn’t have a fucking clue. In case you were wondering, that was you.”

“Then why didn’t she talk to me about it earlier?”

“Did you two even talk anymore?”

“Of course we did.”

Jared raises his eyebrows and slowly nods. “Really? All I know is, I’ve heard her cry, both before and after she went to see you. Gen and I were hoping going up to visit would have made things better, but it didn’t. I’ve seen the hate she is getting today, she was blindsided in her morning panel because of your interview.”

“Where is she?”

“She’s gone.”

“Back at the hotel?

Jared looks at his watch, “no, she should be landing in Austin in about 30-40 minutes.”

“She left the convention?”

“Yeah.”

In that moment, knowing you were already gone, he had his answer. He had been hoping to see you. “Was it because of the interview?”

“No, she had already planned it.

“She didn’t want to see me.”

Jared shrugs, but they both know the answer.

“What about you?” Jensen asks him.

“Your mug is pretty ugly to look at.” Jensen rolls his eyes before Jared continues. “She keeps telling me not to let what happens with the two of you interfere with our friendship. But it’s hard not to be upset with the guy that hurt my sister. You have no idea how much I would love to take a swing at you right now.”

He nods in understanding, “I guess I could possibly deserve that. But she isn’t the only one that was hurt here. She blindsided me with that breakup,” Jensen tells him before he walks over to where Victoria is signaling him from.

The two men go out for their autograph sessions a little quieter than usual. Clif asks them after what their plans are for the night, but both just opt to go back to the hotel and their respective rooms. The next morning is a quiet ride with Clif back to the convention hotel.

The guys are in the green room waiting for the start of the Gold Panel.

“I, uh, talked with Gen last night. Y/N, got home safe last night. She was still a bit upset at being caught off guard like that. I told Gen what you said about the interview. Not sure Y/N will believe us though.”

“Thanks, man. Um, how’s Tom?”

“Good. Keeps us on our toes, for sure. I can’t imagine how crazy it’ll be with two. He asked yesterday before I left when he could talk to you again.”

“I miss my buddy. Wait. Did you say two?”

“Yeah.”

“Gen’s pregnant? Congrats buddy.” Jensen moves to give his friend a hug.

“Thanks. I thought we talked about this a month ago in Chicago? Hasn’t Y/N said anything to you?”

Jensen is quiet for a few minutes, he can’t believe he missed this news. Had the two of you talked about it? Did Jared already tell him?

They continue talking before going on stage. The conversation doesn’t get deep, but they are trying to find their rhythm and work past this sinkhole in their friendship. They have to make it work on stage very shortly. It will take some time before things are like they were before, but neither one wants to lose a 10 year friendship.

The gold panel questions aren’t vetted first, so anything goes. Which of course means there is going to be a question about the breakup eventually.

“Jensen we are so sorry to hear about what happened between you and Y/N, it’s just awful. How are you holding up?” Someone questions.

He knows he needs to try and nip this before it keeps going. “Thanks. I will say this, and then I would appreciate it if there weren’t any more questions on this subject. I had no intention of that coming out in the interview yesterday. What’s going on is between Y/N and I. Long distance can really suck. You guys wouldn’t want to talk about your relationship troubles in front of hundreds of people. I would hope you understand that we don’t either right now.”

When their afternoon panel comes around he has to make the same announcement at one point. Jensen swears during photos and autographs that more fans than usual seem to be trying to flirt with him.

When they are finished for the day, Clif takes them both to the airport. Their flights aren't too far apart in departure time. Jensen tells Jared he’ll be back home in two weeks, and they talk about meeting up once he’s back in Texas. After checking in, they head to their respective terminals.

Jensen is waiting for his flight, feeling a little disappointed. It would have hurt, but he would have liked to see you this weekend. He’s spent a good part of the last 24 hours thinking about what Jared told him. How you had been hurting for a while. How had he not realized you weren’t happy any longer?

Thank you for reading!

Chapter 10

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@woodworthti666 @spnfamily-j2 @stoneyggirl2 @creative-writing92 @kaz11283 @deans-baby-momma @let-me-luv-you @senjoritanana @itzabbyxx @djs8891 @tmb510 @perpetualabsurdity @mellyie @fiftyshadesgrl @jessicalynnann @prettyinplaid94

#jensen ackles rpf #supernatural #jensen x female!reader #when it all falls apart #jensen ackles x reader #jensen ackles

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greazyfloz · 1 year

Note

Can you write number 28 off the fluff list with Nick Blankenburg, please?

Fluff: 28. “Will you marry me?” w/ Nick Blankenburg

Where My Love Began

It was the last night of the regular season, which meant it was the last game for Nick's team of the season. I was expecting Nick to be a little less cheery than he was when he walked out the dressing room doors. He made his way quickly over to me and wrapped his arms around me giving me a small hug. When he pulled away I looked up at him and he smiles.

"Why are you so happy?" I giggle

"Why not?" he says as we begin making our way to his car

"I don't know" I say and he chuckles in response, "I thought you'd be sad about the end of the season, I guess"

"Yeah, I was a couple weeks ago when were eliminated from even being a contender but I got over that fast when I realized I get more time with you" he says swinging my hand in his back and forth making me laugh

"You're cute" I say making him chuckle again

"Not as cute as you doll"

We made our way to the car and left the arena to drive towards our house.

"Be honest, are you more excited about spending time with me or leaving Ohio?" I ask making him laugh before answering

"That's a tie" he says earning a small slap on the arm as I laugh along with him.

"I'm joking of course" he says, "But we are heading back to Michigan tomorrow, and I planned a pit stop on the way home"

"Where?"

"It's a surprise" he tells me

We get home and immediately get ready and go to bed so that Nick can get up to clean out his locker. I packed enough for the few weeks we will be going to Michigan, as we are travelling around most of the summer anyway.

We ended up flying into Detroit that night and driving to Ann Arbor. He pulls into the Yost parking lot before parking the car and opening his door.

"This is my surprise?" I ask him with a chuckle

"Are you coming?" he says ignoring my question.

I follow behind him as we make our way into Yost. The door was open to my surprise but not Nick's. He opened the door to the ice and stepped on it as he gripped onto my hand. I followed along slowly cautious not to fall as we made our way to centre.

"What are we doing here?" I giggle

"Well, I wanted to do something special for you, so I thought I'd bring you to the place I first saw you" he says smiling as he watches me look back at him still confused, "to do this" he continued before bending down on one knee

My jaw immediately dropped causing my hands to come up and cover my mouth. I feel tears form in my eyes before Nick even started speaking. Nick reached for my head and held it with both of his.

"I knew you were the one since the moment I saw you. You were wearing a yellow shirt with Michigan written across your chest. Even though you were sitting in the most crowded section in the arena, you were too beautiful not to stick out to me" he starts as I wipe the tear from under my eye with my free hand. "2 weeks later you agreed to go out on a date with me, and I am still shocked that someone like you would date someone like me. I'm still shocked that someone like you would choose me in general. You packed up your life here to be with me in Ohio and that made me question what I did in a past life to be so lucky to find someone so selfless" he continued

Nick then reaches one of his arms into his coat pocket and reveals a small black box before taking his other hand away from mine to open the box. I closed my eyes after he revealed the big diamond ring inside.

"Will you marry me?" Nick says as I open my eyes to look at him

"Yes Nick, a thousand times yes" I say through my tears as he slides the ring on and stands to kiss my lips.

#nick blankenburg #nick blankenburg imagine #umich hockey #umich hockey imagine #umich imagine #hockey imagines #hockey writing #michigan hockey #nhl writing #nhl imagine #nhl fanfiction

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zhongliologist · 1 year

Note

Hello!! I'd like to send in a request for the writing challenge. I'd like to request a drabble for Alhaitham, and since today's my grandmother's 70th birthday, let's go with the number 70! No specific requests, feel free to take any and all creative liberties with this one! I like surprises. I've been following you for some time now, and think your writing is wonderful, so I'm excited to see what you come up with!!

Hope you have a great day!

(Hi! Thank you so much for supporting this blog and liking my work!! Hm idk if Al-haitham here is a little ooc but whever skskskks hope you like it! I recommend listening to the Korean version as well!)

Al-haitham + Fallin' Flower by SEVENTEEN

It was that time of the year again where flowers bloom amidst the lush green of Sumeru’s forest, like life beginning anew; like love blooming earnestly.

Al-haitham paced in his study, tasked with the job of sorting out old books and journals which have collected dust over the past two years. Some will be placed in the dedicated library of his home, while some will be donated to the House of Daena, usually those which have higher value to scholars.

As for the journals, he once thought it would be useful to have a handy notebook whenever he needed it, but now, it had become quite an obsession. Writing his thoughts in a journal seemed to clear Al-haitham’s mind, and he would just write whatever and whenever, often in various scripts and languages he was fluent in.

Picking up a tattered dark green notebook, Al-haitham pulled it open. It reminded him of the time he has to go to Liyue for a business trip; a time where your relationship were still tiny buds emerging from a branch.

Entry #57

I discussed various things with her again. It was fascinating, to say the least.

She said to me, “What a mind.” Not that no one has ever said that to me before, but why is it different with her?

Perhaps I would calm down once I return home. Out of sight, out of mind.

Entry #59

I told her I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning.

She only smiled to me—a smile that hurts more because it’s beautiful.

Like a heart filled with sadness.

But even so, it’s better this way. No one reaches their hand for falling petals.

Al-haitham closed the journal and placed it in a box on the foot of the table. There was a time when he thought it was the last time he would see you, and he had even resolved himself to that eventuality. Yet, the ultimate truth—fate, liked to play hooky with him in times and places he was the least prepared, much to his chagrin.

He found it, the red journal he was writing on a little later on. Opening it to an entry he remembered writing, he continued reminiscing.

Entry #12

I had thought I’d once again return to my peaceful life as the Grand Scribe, yet I am only confronted with complicated emotions. Going about this rationally; trying to overthink my way out of my feelings remain futile. What is it that makes her special anyway? Why am I feeling this way in the first place? I don’t want to admit it but…

In the end. I simply miss her.

I fly scattered in the wind, drifting away, where will I end up falling?

Entry #22

How hilarious this must be for fate.

For her to appear like this in Sumeru City. What are the chances? I could only laugh at the circumstances.

But then again, who could stop me from seeing her again? This isn’t how it should be. But maybe it’s true that somehow, you change unexpectedly for a person.

Al-haitham chuckled at his stubborn indignation from a year before. “Soon you’ll see that you have already fallen into the trap long before you realized you were in it.” Flipping a few pages forward, the dates change as well as the seasons. From the unbearable summer heat, to the leaves finally getting drenched in light rain, you had already taken root in Al-haitham’s heart.

Entry # 67

I sit here in my office facing this blank page before me. Even though there are numerous words which swirl in my head, I cannot fathom where I begin or end.

It had taken me a few days to reconcile with myself. It is either I be honest or I’ll lose her forever. The wound in my pride, that I can bear but losing her is a thought that is difficult to imagine. Perhaps the Lesser Lord was right, I already have the answers I seek. I just need to face what those answers entail.

I have never thought I would want to fall for someone. I was living in the moment. My life was alright here in Sumeru—my job as the grand Scribe, my peaceful nights reading. I thought that was enough for me. That is, until I met her.

There I realized that everything had a reason after all. This world to me now means more than what I had thought, I came to know that.

Entry #79

In my heart, a flower has bloomed.

It may not be me to say such things, yet I cannot withhold myself. After meeting her, I now understood what Kaveh was fighting for. This love, this romance which grasped even me who was drifting in the wind. The place where my fallen heart has reached is definitely the happiest place in the world. With her, even my dim future becomes clearer as time goes by.

I want to be with her.

I realized that just now.

Entry #89

To you,

It is the time when flowers bloom and fall, our wounds heal and you bloom. We are now living our first and the last, so I will treasure you for all my days. You have truly loved me, a scattered petal in the wind, and I have come to love you too.

Al-haitham offered a small gentle smile at his final account, remembering the day when flowers fell upon you; your smile radiating like the sun. He had no words left to describe how he felt at that time. It was a feeling which needed to be experienced to be understood.

“Al-haitham? What are you doing?”

Your voice rang through the doorway of his study, curious at how his gaze has softened at you. It was not every day that the ever-serious man would give you that look. Surely, there was a reason for it.

“Oh, just reading something interesting,” he replied, smiling gently. “But you know, I’m truly glad to have you in my life.”

You leaned your head to the side, intrigued by his sudden honestly. “Huh? What’s that all about?”

The man only hummed mischievously and continued with his reading. “Oh it’s nothing.”

Spotify Wrapped Drabble Challenge is still open!

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #alhaitham #alhaitham x reader #genshin impact fanfic #spotify wrapped 2022 drabble challenge

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enfys-squees · 1 year

Photo

A thread of tweets from Enfys Book (AKA Lucky Annie) (@enfysbook) on Twitter, from 20 December 2020. [Note that I disabled my account in December 2022, so this tweet thread is no longer accessible on Twitter.] Text follows. You can watch the movie free on YouTube here (under its alternate title, “Beyond Tomorrow”).

I had some unexpected downtime yesterday, so I watched “Happiest Season.” When I finished the movie, I was in the mood for another chill holiday movie, and looked through Amazon Prime’s offerings. I found one called “Beyond Christmas” from 1940, and it’s totally bananas.

The first 30 min of “Beyond Christmas” (which has an 80-minute runtime) are basically “old rich white guys being nice to poor people, just for funsies,” and honestly, I’m here for it. But then it gets weird. Let’s break this movie down. It is a RIDE.

The movie opens with street scenes of Christmas and gently falling snow in New York. We are then brought to a nice living room, where two older businessmen are dictating Very Businessy Things to their secretaries.

A third older businessman enters, arms full of gifts. He basically tells everyone they need to stop working, because it’s Christmas Eve. Secretaries are given gifts, and they go home. Businessmen start getting ready for a Fancy Meal with two expected Fancy Guests.

But oh - Fancy Guests cancel, last-minute. And here these men are, on Christmas Eve, in their own home, in tuxedos (yes, really), with nobody but their deposed-Russian-countess maid (yes, really) and butler (who fled Russia with her) to keep them company. WHAT DO

I’m going to pause the plot description for just a moment to describe these dudes. We have Optimist Guy, Pessimist Guy, and Moderate Guy. That’s basically all you need to know about them, except they are all older, unmarried men and are BUST BUDS and love each other very much.

Optimist Guy gets an idea. Why don’t they take the extra wallets they had intended as client gifts, put $10 in each of them, as well as a business card, and fling them into the street below? Any honest person who attempts to return a wallet would then be invited to Fancy Dinner.

Other Business Bros agree. They make a bet on whether anyone will turn up.

Dinner is at 7. Clock strikes 7, nobody has turned up, and it appears Optimist has lost the bet.

But then - the doorbell rings! It’s a shabby man from Texas, returning a wallet. He has holes in his shoes.

Soon after, a pretty young woman turns up with a second wallet.

Both are invited to dinner. The whole household has a marvelous time. Texas sings a song & woman is 😍.

When the party ends, Business Bros slyly give Texas a nice overcoat, because he didn’t have one.

Then we get a montage showing the next few weeks - this newly-formed polycule of 3 Business Bros, Texas, and Pretty Young Woman are inseparable. They go to parties & bowling.

Then Business Bros get called to a Business Trip. They need to fly somewhere to do a thing. Deposed Countess Maid begs them to take the train, because planes are scary. They laugh at her.

While Business Bros are gone, Texas and Pretty go for a walk and get engaged. They rush to Business Bros’ house to share the news, in hopes they’ve returned.

They haven’t returned. They’re dead. And now they’re ghosts, haunting the house.

Countess invites the young couple to live in the house, and the ghosts nudge her to find an envelope of bonds left for the couple’s wedding. Business Bros knew what was up.

Journalists take an interest in Business Bros’ death and want to keep writing about it, even when there isn’t much else to say. They learn about the couples’ little inheritance and decide to write about it, for reasons. Which leads to the couple being invited onto the radio.

Pretty is excited for Texas to go on the radio, because he’s such a good singer and this could be his big break. I guess it’s normal to get interviewed about a death and then be invited to sing? Did New York really lack content to fill airtime back then? Who knows.

At the radio station, Texas meets Famous Singer Lady, who is excited to hear him sing.

Texas sings, blows it out of the park. Famous Singer Lady invites him to be part of her Famous Singer Lady Tour. His big break!

Cut to Business Bro Ghosts. Optimist Ghost is Jazzed AF for Texas and wants him to chase his dreams.

Pessimist Ghost says becoming a singer will lead Texas to a life of depravity.

Pessimist Ghost says this, then immediately gets sucked into Hell.

Yes, really.

Other two Ghost Bros: “WELP.”

Sure enough, though, Pessimist was right. Texas gets caught up in The Life and immediately begins neglecting his wife Pretty and flirting with Famous Singer Lady.

Pretty is sad. Optimist tells her to fight for Texas. She goes over to the house and they have an awkward conversation that’s basically Texas saying, “Uh, being a famous singer is, like, A Lot, so maybe I’ll just call you when the tour is over?” And she’s like, “K, bye” & leaves.

Optimist tells Texas to chase after her, and he almost does, but then the phone rings and it’s Famous Singer Lady saying she’ll pick him up in 20 minutes for their vacation together in the country.

Ghost Bros (minus one) are upset, but then the sky opens up and a young man in military uniform comes down from Heaven to get his dad, Moderate Ghost. We didn’t know Moderate had a kid. He’s never been mentioned. But here he is. Moderate asks son what heaven is like.

Ghost Army Boy says “what do you want heaven to be like?” And Moderate gets all misty-eyed and says he wants it to be like the barracks, minus the front. He was happy in the war, surrounded by “ready young men.” !!!

Cool, so it shall be. Moderate goes to Gay Heaven. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎

Optimist Ghost is alone, but he’s determined to do...something...to protect Texas from committing infidelity. He rides along in the car going to the country, petulantly knocking Famous Singer’s hood off her head.

They get to the country resort, they’re having dinner, and they get called up on-stage to perform a song because they are famous. As they stand up, both Texas and Famous are shot by Famous’ ex-husband, who had secretly followed them there.

Oh shoot, I forgot something. Right before the dinner scene, Optimist is outside the resort and God calls him to heaven. He says no, he has to stay and help Texas.

God says “you only get asked once, if you don’t come now, you wander the earth as a ghost forever, and also your mom really misses you.”

Optimist says no, he has to stay. God’s all, “K, fuck you, walk the Earth as a shattered soul” and the gates to heaven close.

OK, restaurant scene happens. Texas and Famous are shot, cut to hospital. Surgery is happening. Optimist is pacing the waiting room. Pretty is sobbing in Countess’ arms.

Ghost of Texas walks out of surgery and runs into Optimist. “What up, friend”

Texas sees Pretty and is full of regret. He asks where Famous is. Optimist says, “Gone. She didn’t have a soul to begin with.” (HOLY SHIT)

Heavens open up AGAIN. God calls for Optimist. Says “your mother wouldn’t leave me alone until I gave you another chance.” (Thanks, Mom!) Optimist says he’s ready, but asks God to do him a solid and bring Texas back to life, because he’s learned his lesson. God is all “FINE.”

As Optimist starts walking into the night, Pessimist shows up! Optimist is like “wtf where did you come from” and Pessimist says he was in darkness for a long time, but thoughts of Optimist and Moderate melted his heart full of angst and brought him to the light. (!) ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎

Ghost Bros go to Gay Heaven and Texas gets another shot at life.

FIN.

Merry Christmas?

#beyond christmas #beyond tomorrow #1940s cinema #holiday movies #christmas movies #wtf

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aonoexpat · 9 months

Text

12-07-2023

Bright and early, today I finally set out to explore the famous Abel Tasman National Park! After a quick briefing with the kind people at Mārahau Sea Kayaks, I started onto the Abel Tasman Coastal Track, and soon met my first Weka!

Apparently these little rascals steal whatever they can when you're not looking, including passports, so I kept a close eye on it until it moved along. I continued on my way along the winding path, using my Trekz Titanium for some background film scores that don't drown out the beautiful birdsong drifting down from the trees. It feels magical when the climax in the song coincides with a stunning view on the hike, like it did with the theme song from How To Train Your Dragon and this breathtaking viewpoint for me:

Though I had to keep up a steady pace, I thoroughly enjoyed the walk, the scenery changing delightfully with every turn:

After about three hours I made it to Observation Beach, just in time to meet the Aqua Taxi that brought in my kayak guide. It had some others to pick up still, so they were kind enough to offer to let me come along for the ride. We even dropped by Adele Rock to spot some baby fur seals!

Once the group was complete and we'd all understood all the safety instructions, we took the kayaks out to sea. The initial plan was to paddle back to Mārahau, but a strong Southwesterly wind was building up that would prevent us from getting there, so the guide changed the plan. We paddled North instead, and saw some more seals, shags and oystercatchers along the way. The wind still caught us though, and I literally had to hold on to my hat to keep it from flying off. The spray from the waves coated my face and all my clothes in salt, and my sunglasses felt like they were being blown straight into my skull, but by golly was it worth it! Such a fun activity, and I learned a lot about this more serious form of kayaking that I didn't know before. The guide was an absolute treasure, quick on his feet to make sure everybody had an experience suitable and enjoyable for them, and he knew a lot about the area. Would recommend!

After about two hours of paddling, getting water and sand everywhere, we got picked up again by the taxi and brought home. The ride back through the strong winds was bumpy, but the skilled skipper knew exactly how to navigate the waves. They brought me safely back to Elrond, and after driving home I took a much needed long, hot shower. As I'm typing this I can still feel myself bobbing up and down on the ocean waves 😌

Here's a visual infographic of the day's journey:

I'm really glad to be here in the off season. I met maybe 15 other hikers the entire way, so it almost constantly feels like I've got the whole park to myself. The weather is windy but sunny, so I really can't complain! My feet are killing me right now but luckily they're blister-free, for tomorrow will be another taxing day of hiking. I'm excited!

#aotearoa #backpacking #abel tasman national park

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f1 · 1 year

Text

Pole a relief for Verstappen as Red Bulls tyre warm-up proves very tough | 2023 Australian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen said he was pleased to secure pole position for the Australian Grand Prix after having a “very tough” time managing tyre temperatures during qualifying. The championship leader took his second pole of the season by two tenths of a second ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell. Red Bull were one of few teams to attempt flying laps in Q3 without using a preparation lap to bring the tyres up to temperature. Verstappen temporarily fell to sixth place after his first run and admitted he was relieved to make his later flying laps count. “The last lap was pretty decent,” he said. “Up until then, it was just really tricky to find a grip and try to nail it on one lap. “You could see everyone was doing either like a build [lap] or were going faster on the second attempt. I only had time in that last run to go out and just go for that first time, but this time it worked out so I’m very happy with that. ” Weather conditions have been significantly cooler than usual in Melbourne, which has contributed to drivers struggling to generate heat in their tyres. Verstappen said the road surface around the street circuit, which was re-laid last year, has also affected the available grip levels. “Overall it was going quite well – Q1, Q2, Q3 – but like I said, it’s just very tough to get the tyres to work in turn one and get that comfortable feeling through that corner. That has been a bit the story again the whole week. Showers also reduced the amount of running drivers were able to do on Friday. However Verstappen said “it wouldn’t have mattered if we had full running in FP1 and FP2 – it seems very tricky with this new tarmac around here since last year.” Red Bull are set to start first and last on the grid for tomorrow’s race after Sergio Perez skidded off the circuit early in Q1, leaving him down in 20th position. After his team took commanding victories over the first two rounds of the season, Verstappen is confident in his car’s race pace. “I did a long run in FP3, so I had a bit of a read on the tyres,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a straightforward race, with the tyres, but I think what we’ve shown so far this year, I think the car normally is good in the race.” Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free 2023 Australian Grand Prix Browse all 2023 Australian Grand Prix articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net/

#F1 #Pole a relief for Verstappen as Red Bull’s tyre warm-up proves “very tough” | 2023 Australian Grand Prix #Formula 1

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viscariaa · 2 years

Text

Creation for Another Me | Oneshot

Ship: Saiouma/Oumasai

Words: 1274

Type: Pre-game AU

Trigger Warning: Occasional Cursing

Posted: 07.01.22

Description: If selected for Danganronpa Season 53, what is your dream Ultimate? Although Shuichi knows the answer, his boyfriend, Kokichi doesn’t. But he is determined to help him find out!

Notes: Would you guys want there to be requests open? At the moment, I have free time, but I am not sure if anyone would be interested. Hope you all have a lovely day/night <3

Dear Kokichi Oma,

After careful consideration, Team Danganronpa wants to congratulate you on advancing to the next stage of auditions! We are certain that you will continue to impress us in the next round: in-person interviews!

It will be set up tomorrow at the famous Team Danganronpa HQ located in Tokyo. You do not need to bring anything besides yourself!

We cannot wait to hear from you then.

Best of Wishes,

Team Danganronpa

The purple-haired schoolboy blinks in disbelief. The school rooftop is not where Kokichi envisioned when receiving the email to participate in the show that he’s obsessed with. Especially when he is ditching to hang out with his boyfriend.

This isn’t the first time that he has ditched his school to visit Shuichi during lunch time. In fact, he's probably spent more time at his school than his own.

He looks besides him, to his boyfriend, who’s sitting on the edge of the bench. “D-did you…?” His mouth grows dry, unsure if he should share the news with Shuichi.

The wind acts as a knife to the silence that’s increasing with every passing second. His heartbeat starts to race. Shuichi has to get in, right? If someone like him got in, there’s no way Team Danganronpa would deny him.

“YES! YES! YES!” Shuichi suddenly shouts with joy, the high chain-link fence behind them rattles from the sudden burst of energy. “I can’t believe it! We both fucking got in, my dear, ahh!”

“H-how, do you k-know?”

Not one to shy away from public affection, Shuichi wraps his arms around him, “I looked over… Just. Like. This~”

“O-oh…” The whisper in his ear sends shock waves through Kokichi’s spine. “I g-guess, I was too c-caught up in my th-thoughts…”

Shuichi lifts his cap up and the purple-haired boy can swear he has stars in his eyes, “ah~! I’m so proud of you, my dear~” He kisses him on the cheek.

Kokichi chuckles against his neck. He’s always so enthusiastic about the franchise, it’s so contagious, seeing as he’s also given the show a chance. What an amazing chance it was.

“We’ve got to see the leaked interviews!”

Only after a couple of clicks on Shuichi’s phone, a YouTube video pops up.

Shuichi leans his head against Kokichi’s shoulder, ignoring how his hat falls to the ground and the sunlight hitting his face. He’s been so nervous that he’d have to do this process alone (if at all…), but with his boyfriend at his side, he is sure they will pass with flying colors!

“Hello! Please state your number and name.” A cheerful voice breaks him out of his thoughts.

“Number 04 and I’m Shoda Doi! Wassup!”

“Why do you want to be a part of Danganronpa Season 50?”

“Come on, it’s Dang-an-ron-pa! If there is some way to get famous…!”

Shuichi scoffs, “being famous… dumbass.”

“Everyone has th-their reason…” Kokichi hushes him.

The blue-haired boy merely sighs, remembering an obnoxious guy from his homeroom. Katio Momota? Was that his name? Shuichi never bothered learning the names of his classmates.

Anyways, he faintly recalled him bragging about submitting an application for the very same self-center idea. Kaito better have not gotten an acceptance to the show… he would make sure that lowlife would never—

“If selected for Danganronpa Season 50, what is your dream Ultimate?”

That question makes Shuichi practically foam at the mouth (and forget his threat). “Oh, I already know~! I would loveeeee to bring back the Ultimate Detective role!” He begins to babble. “They’ve been missing for the past seasons and they were always my favorite! And—and, could you imagine if I was the one problem-solving? Since you will be by my side then I will be able to protect you! What if… My dear?”

He takes his gaze off of the video to stare at his boyfriend. Kokichi doesn’t notice the shift in Shuichi’s attention as he watches Doi go on about his life-long dream of being the Ultimate TV Producer, not once realizing his lips turning into a frown.

Click!

“W-why do you turn it off?”

A hand goes to his cheek, “my dear, what’s wrong?” Shuichi sets his phone down, lowering his voice.

Kokichi sees the world grow blurry and tears start flowing down his cheeks. He lifts his arms to wipe his eyes, but Shuichi is already doing the job for him, tenderly drying his face. “I’m s-such… a b-baby…” He sobs, staring down at his shaking hands. “I’m… so s-sorry… it’s just…”

“Shh… you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to…”

“I feel s-so… boring…” He spits out that word like it’s venom. “E-e-everyone has… s-such a c-cool Ultimate. I’m j-just… so uninteresting… I d-don’t know…”

“No!” Shuichi boldly protests.

“You are the kindest, adorable, most lovely person I have ever known! Listen…” He hugs him tightly. “I know that with that genius brain of yours, you can come up with an Ultimate that suits someone as interesting as yourself, no matter what. I promise you, right here and now, that I will do whatever it takes for you to find it.”

Ring! Ring! Ring!

“Let’s head to my house for now,” he says under his breath, ignoring the stern stares of the teachers walking by. “Is that OK?”

Kokichi hums in agreement, his face flaring up red from embarrassment from Shuichi abruptly holding his hand. Nevertheless, they sneak past a couple of teachers, blending into the sea of students, and walk out of the school gates.

------------------------

“What about your hobbies?” Shuichi looks over to him.

Both of them are sitting down on his messy bed, Kokichi with his knees to his chest and Shuichi on his back, tossing a Monokuma plushie up in the air. “You enjoy drawing, reading, and cooking…” He trails off.

“Th-they don’t… I’m not t-trying to be the Ultimate Reader…” He shakes his head, slightly embarrassed.

“Hmm… Is there…” How should he phrase this? “Any character whose talent stands out to you?”

“No, b-but…” Kokichi starts to ramble. “Makoto is c-c-confident, Celestia is r-really ch-charismatic and passionate… Hajime is always so r-reliable. Peko is as selfless as her character can be…” He wilts like a dying flower. “I wish I could be like them.”

He waited expectedly for Shuichi, but he was being unusually silent, “h-hey—”

“You are selfless.”

Shuichi cups his cheeks, “you are charismatic when talking to me. You are passionate about your hobbies. You are reliable in your studies. You are confident by joining Danganronpa with me. God, if only you can see yourself the way I do~”

With that, Kokichi was gone. His ears were painted red and he couldn’t form words anymore except for, ��a l-leader… that’s the Ultimate I want to be.”

“You’ll be the best one ever!” Shuichi wraps his arms around his neck, pausing for a moment. “Hmm… I know, you’ll be a perfect supreme leader.”

A flutter of butterflies swarm inside Kokichi, he nervously nods, returning the hug back.

Ring!

“Shit,” Shuichi reluctantly lets go of him, “it’s probably my uncle. Here,” He opens the latch to his bedroom window behind him, the wind rustles through the curtains as the smell of wet grass enters the room.

He grips onto the white window frame and jumps out, his feet landing on a pile of leaves. He turns around just in time for his boyfriend to seize his collar and pull him in for a brief kiss.

“Do you promise,” Kokichi meets Shuichi’s eyes after, “to still… d-date me if I don’t… make it?”

“Absolutely.” He doesn’t waste a thought, “I’ll see you tomorrow, my dear~”

#saiouma #writing #kokichi x shuichi #fanfiction #oumasai #danganronpa #danganronpa v3 #pregame au #established relationship #fluff

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lady-astras · 3 months

Text

Helpless - Day 1

Gem stood gazing at this large smooth- and black-stone boxy shape, reminiscent of a prison in some regards. It had no windows and a singular iron door with no visible lever, button, or pressure plate.

A single slip of paper had arrived this morning, delivered in a thick parchment envelope by a masked figure, silent as the thick void.

Spawn coordinates. 9 AM tomorrow. Be there or we’ll make sure you’re there.

That’s all it had read. Gem double-checked the time and location - right here.

At 9 AM on the dot, the iron door swung open seemingly of its own accord. Gem yelped and jumped away, but then realised that she was meant to enter. Hesitantly, sword drawn, she stepped in.

Immediately when she did, the sword dissipated in a flurry of blue shards. The familiar weight of her communicator in her pocket had also disappeared.

This is fine. This is definitely fine!!!

The door slammed shut behind her, casting the room in shadows. She cautiously crossed the room but froze in the centre. She tried to move her arms and found they were stiff. There was a faint whipping sound as thick twine ropes wound themselves around her legs, waist, and shoulders, pinning her arms to her side. Gem frantically looked around for anything to cut herself free, but along with her sword, anything sharp had been taken from her. Garden shears, dagger, shovel, axe and pickaxe, the iron ingots she’d been carrying, even some of the rougher buttons on her overalls, anything that could even be used to cut herself free.

Face your fears, a voice resounded through the room, not unlike Tango’s Decked Out II card-reading voice thing. Anyways.

She could tell that there was dark magic at hand. Wizardry training came in handy like that. There was some kind of enchantment prohibiting her from moving, and even if she could have, the ropes were too tightly bound.

Too bad it didn’t stop her from feeling pain though. The ropes managed to chafe against her exposed arms and waist even without squirming. The room dimmed even further as though in a theatre, waiting to put on some horrible play.

And she was going to be forced to watch.

Well, the show she was forced to watch was a terrible medley of things she never thought the Hermits would do - to her, and each other. Could she even trust her friends? Were their two-season-long welcoming faces just a facade?

She needed to get out of here, to be able to stop it, shout, use brute force if she had to. But the enchantment held her to the floor, a fly in a sticky trap. She could try to move her wings, but she couldn’t fly away.

The worst of all was Pearl - Pearl - up there, criticising every one of the hermits for their uncleanliness, but doing it in the worst way possible. Pearl was nice! Sure, she turned a critical eye on her brother sometimes, but it was always in sibling banter. But she was nice. She didn’t deserve to be up there mocking people like that. It was impossible.

There was Impulse, who she never thought could react even violently. He was hesitant to fight her in the first place when she asked to collect his head, but he gave in for the fun of it. Never in a million years would she have expected him to threaten Tango with his life and a dagger to the throat. And not even in their sweet fiance way, a proper threat.

Her soup group would never.

But the evidence was right in front of her.

Finally, finally, she could feel that enchantment fade. The ropes loosened seemingly by themselves, and the door unlocked. She shakily walked out, tired from standing, yet she hadn’t been holding herself up - the enchantment did that for her.

On a pile in front of the door were all her sharp things, including her iron and her buttons. She stared down at them emotionlessly. The sky was the same as when she had first come in, but it had felt like hours and hours she was in there.

She was hungry and her throat was parched from her shouts when they didn’t listen. Could she trust?

Trust, trust, trust, that was all that had failed her.

She trusted her friend not to spill her secret, and the next day her mother had been shot.

She trusted FWhip not to play with dangerous explosives, and more often than not, he was coming to her apologetically and injured.

She trusted her hermits to take care of her.

And now like everyone else, they’d failed her.

Fail, fail, fail.

That’s all people were. Failures.

She screamed the word out loud, just now noticing the hot tears that were streaming down her face.

This was such a cruel prank. She’d hand in her resignation once the week ended. Associating with people like that was not something in her moral code.

And it had been so hard to watch all that happening in front of her, helpless to stop it.

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deke-rivers-1957 · 3 months

Text

Jacklin The Seeker

I wake up early so I can get ready for Gryffindor's first Quidditch game. Even though I won't be officially playing, I still think it's appropriate to follow the same routine as the rest of the team.

"Good morning, Tiger. Are you ready for breakfast?"

Tiger meows from inside of his cage.

"In that case, I'll let you out of your cage for a while."

I unlock Tiger's cage and start to prepare his food. Tiger starts to stretch out and walk around on my bed.

"I have your food ready now, Tiger."

He gets off the bed and starts eating as I start getting dressed in my robes.

"Now you behave while I'm gone, Tiger."

He meows quietly as he eats his food in peace. I leave my dorm room and make my way to the boys' dorm room to see if Toby's awake yet.

"Zzzzz."

I see Toby sprawled out on his bed, lips parted as he sleeps. I realize that to entertain myself until breakfast, I should study my Quidditch book. While I'm more than familiar with the rules, it never hurts to go over special techniques and plays far above my skillset. It helps me learn how to train and prepare should the need arise.

"The Wronksi Feint: A Seeker from high above dives down, sharply, as if to collect the Snitch, causing the opposing Seeker to chase after him, only to pull up at the last second, causing the opposing Seeker to crash into the ground below."

I shake my head knowing I never want to intentionally hurt another player. A play like that is shameful and should be banned. If you see the Snitch, you follow it. You shouldn't have to resort to injuring another player as a means of getting an advantage.

"Ngh ah. Mornin, Jacklin. Yer up early."

I look up and see Toby coming out from his dorm room yawning. He sits down next to me while he rubs his eyes.

"Good morning, Toby. Our first Quidditch game is today and I don't want to be caught off guard."

"Ok. How important is it tha' yer team wins?"

"I can definitely say it isn't a life and death situation. The team with the most number of points by the end of the season, wins the Quidditch Cup. The winner of each match gets 50 points for the House Cup."

"Ohhh. Makes sense."

We walk down with the rest of Gryffindor to the Great Hall for breakfast. As we eat I hear the sound of Arthur flying in with a small package.

"Oh. Thank you, Arthur."

He flies away and I look at the label.

"Who's it from, Jacklin?"

"It's from my father. I was wondering why he didn't send me anything for my birthday."

"Open it. Open it."

I open the package and there's a letter attached to the small box.

"He specifically waited until my present was finished before sending it. It was custom made while he was in Paris and is supposed to wish me luck for my first Quidditch match."

"Wow. Wha'd he get ya?"

I open the small box and Toby's eyes widen.

"Whoa! Ya got a bird bow."

"I think it's also meant to be similar to the Golden Snitch. The wings are golden even though the hair clip is green."

"Do ya know bout humminbirds?"

I think for a tick to make sure I know what Toby is asking.

"No we don't have hummingbirds in this part of the world. Are they small?"

"Yeah they're real small. Ah thought yer daddy sent ya one cause a how it looked."

"Oh. Well it definitely looks lovely. I'll put it on after breakfast and send my father a thank you letter."

"Ok."

We go back to eating breakfast until it's time for our free period.

Time Skip (Toby's POV)

We have lunch an Ah'm gettin excited bout mah first game a Quidditch. Ah still dunno the names a all the balls they use but Ah wanna cheer fer Gryffindor.

"Ah jus can't stop starin at yer bird bow, Jacklin."

"Is that so? Why do you think that is?"

"Cause Ah know it ain't a real bird but it jus looks so much like one."

Ah see 'er smile an Ah hope it ain't cause she thinks Ah'm a dummy.

"Yes the wings definitely make it stand out. I have no idea if this was my father's design or the one who made this clip. I'll definitely be sure to ask him when I send my letter with Arthur tomorrow."

"Makes me wonder though why ya don't use it ta tie all yer long hair up cause yer gonna be flyin round a lot."

"Well. It's because my mother likes to stick to the Veela tradition of keeping our hair long and untied. Veela hair is so valuable in Bulgarian culture, that we can't even cut our hair unless it becomes a hazard. It's only when we become fully grown that Veela women can design their hair anyway they want. Veela men are very rare so they don't have to follow that same rule."

Ah take a sec ta think bout all that.

"Well at least ya ain't gettin yer hair caught in doors cause Ah'm sure yer ma'd be upset ya didn't tell 'er bout it bein a problem."

"She did say in my birthday letter that she will see if it needs to be cut during the Christmas holidays."

"Ok."

Time Skip

"I'll be sitting with Professor McGonagall, Toby. She wants me to be ready in case our regular Seeker gets injured."

Ah look over at Jacklin an' Ah smile.

"Yeah, okay, Ah'll be watchin' ya from tha stands."

"I think you'll get a better view watching the game since I'm not playing yet."

"Really? But, if somethin' happens ta tha Seeker can ya go in, then?"

"That's right."

"Ok 'cause Ah really wanna support ya."

"I know you do, Toby. Maybe you can make a banner for the team."

Ah figure Jacklin deserves somethin' special for bein' real patient wit’ me, so Ah start tryin’ ta think of anythin' Ah can do fer her, but Ah dunno nothin' bout banner-makin' an’ Ah ain’t got no ideas.

"I know it's a little late to get it ready for this game but I think wearing your House scarf would be enough. I'm sure some of the older students already have things prepared."

"Ah guess wearin' tha House scarf could be enough, but Ah know, if Ah woulda been real smart, Ah coulda figured somethin' else out."

Ah look down at mah feet an' try real hard ta stop feelin’ so disappointed in mahself for not bein' good ta Jacklin.

"You don't need to feel bad about it, Toby. I didn't think of it myself until today."

Ah look up an' nod mah head.

"Yeah, yer right."

"At least we can sit together when Gryffindor isn't playing. Our next match isn't until March."

Ah smile wider. It ain’t really wha' Ah was lookin’ fer, but Ah’m just tryin’ ta feel better.

"Now let's walk down to Madam Hooch's office. I have to pick up my broomstick."

"Broomstick?"

"Oh yes I forget to tell you. Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch gave me special permission to use one of the training brooms."

We finish walkin down ta get 'er broom.

"So when ya say trainin broom ya mean tha brooms we use in Flyin classes?"

"Yes of course. It isn't a fancy model since it's only meant to be used to teach, but it still serves well in a pinch."

Ah look at tha broomstick real close.

"Well, that don’t look like no regular broomstick ta me."

Ah hope tha sounds alright ta Jacklin. Ah just want her to know she got a real nice broomstick, ‘cause Ah think she would be embarrassed to be flyin’ somethin' lame.

"At least next next year we'll be able to get something different. What type of broom would you want to get, Toby?"

Ah think real hard ta try an' come off as someone who got tha confidence an' knows tha answers to all a the questions. But Ah don’t think it’s workin’.

"Ah dunno, ‘cause Ah’ve only ever been on tha one broom we use fer Flyin."

"Oh yes that's right, you don't handle it well. You would want a broom that’s safe and reliable."

"Yeah."

"I think you should get the Bluebottle. It's a family model so you and your Pop can safely fly together on the same broom."

Ah look at Jacklin an' Ah can feel tha relief floodin' through mah veins.

"Yeah, tha seems like a good choice ta me."

"Now for me, I would want something that's fast yet controllable. Probably the latest Cleansweep or Comet series. The Nimbus series is just too fast to control."

"Ah guess tha makes sense."

We make it outside ta the stands an Ah feel real cold. It's like Ah'm takin our midnight Astronomy classes durin the day. Ah see a bunch a grown ups who ain't teachers.

"Jacklin who're all 'em people in the stands."

"Oh those are members of powerful wizard families and donors to St. Mungo's Hospital. Headmaster Dumbledore personally invites them to attend the first Quidditch game of the season."

Ah look round the stands.

"Yer dad here? He oughta be if he's one a the wizard kings."

"No he only attends international events held at the school. My father is way too busy doing ambassador work across Europe to attend Quidditch matches."

"How's that work?"

"My father has been meeting with wizards from other countries ever since the darkest wizard in recent British history, Voldemort was defeated. Voldemort's plan was to eliminate all human born wizards in existence. He would've started in the UK, then France, then slowly all of Europe."

"Whoa."

This sure is a lot ta take in. Ah ain't realized this' real serious.

"When he goes on his trips, he builds and maintains alliances. That way if any country ever had a sudden uprising, they could call on allies to help."

"Ok."

Ah see McGonagall come up ta us.

"Come with me, Miss Gryffindor."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall. Well Toby, I'll see you after the game."

Ah watch Jacklin walk over ta where she's gonna sit wit' Professor McGonigal.

"Yeah. Yeah, Ah'll see ya after tha game."

Ah turn round ta walk back toward tha Gryffindor section an' Ah remember tha banner Ah was gonna make. One a the bigger kids nudges me.

"Wouldja like to hold our flag? I gotta help me mates hold our banner."

"Ok. Ah reckon it’s jus holdin’ it up, right?"

"Yeah mate, ya just hold it and wave it 'round for Gryffindor."

Ah take tha flag an Ah hold it up an’ try ta wave it 'round like tha last flag holder Ah saw.

"Am Ah doin good?"

"Yeah yer doing great."

There's a loud whistle noise.

"Captains prepare to recieve the Quaffle on my whistle. 3. 2. 1. GO!"

Madam Hooch tosses the soccer ball in the air an both Quidditch captains start goin fer it.

"And the game is underway! Slytherin just barely gets possession of the Quaffle!"

Ah hear the announcer's voice an can feel all tha Gryffindor fans stare at me. Ah try ta stay calm an’ not screw up tha flag holdin’ job.

"Captain Marcus Flint makes his move up the pitch! He's aiming to score with the Quaffle!"

Ah watch the Slytherin player fly real close an throw the ball. Jacklin's captain flies in front a the hoop.

"Captain Oliver Wood knocks the Quaffle away! No points for Slytherin as Chaser Alicia Spinnet gains possession for Gryffindor!"

Ah hold the flag up an’ wave it ‘round like tha last flag holder Ah saw.

"Alicia Spinnet passes the Quaffle to Angelina Johnson! Angelina Johnson swerves past a Bludger and throws it in the hoop past Miles Bletchley! Gryffindor scores!"

Everybody in Gryffindor's cheerin fer Angelina scorin first.

"Gryffindor's Seeker, Sean Lee spots the Snitch with Terence Higgs following right behind him! A bludger comes flying towards Lee and he dodges it successfully."

Ah keep holdin' up tha flag an' wavin' it 'round.

"Sean Lee makes an attempt to grab the Snitch but is blocked by Captain Marcus Flint! That's going to be a foul on Slytherin!"

All a Gryffindor cheers while all a Slytherin boos. Suddenly Ah start ta see a vision a Jacklin strugglin ta hold onta 'er broom.

"Jacklin?"

Ah look round an let out a sigh of relief when Ah see 'er still sittin wit McGonagall. Ah look back to tha game an' Ah wave tha flag again. Ah wish Ah hadn’t had tha vision, but Ah gotta focus on mah flag wavin.

"Gryffindor's Alicia Spinnet lines up for the penalty throw! She takes aim and the Quaffle goes right into the hoop!"

Gryffindor cheers an Ah'm lookin real closely at the weird soccer ball. Somehow it kinda teleports back ta the Slytherin side cause it's their turn ta have it.

"Gryffindor's up 20-0 as Sean Lee's still following the Snitch! But wait a Bludger crashes right into his broomstick! It shatters from the impact and Lee's falling to the ground!"

Ah watch Ah’ve watched the black ball hit tha broomstick an’ tha boy crash ta tha ground. Ah really don’t want anythin’ bad ta happen ta Jacklin, so Ah gotta figure this out real fast. Ah turn an see Jacklin gettin on 'er. Ah'm real nervous.

"With Sean Lee out of the game, it's up to Jacklin Gryffindor to take his place! Boy is she a cutie!"

Ah hear Jacklin’s name gettin' announced. Ah look at tha flag Ah’m still holdin’. Ah’m still so confused bout how Ah can help 'er. Ah feel like Ah gotta get out there an' do somethin’ ta protect Jacklin.

"Jacklin Gryffindor immediately takes her position high in the air looking for the Snitch! There's a Bludger coming her way as she's flying!"

Ah look over at tha pitch an’ Ah see Jacklin flyin’ in tha middle. Suddenly Ah get tha bad feelin’ again as Ah watch it headin’ right fer Jacklin’s broom!

"Unbelievable! Jacklin flips over her broom and dodges the Bludger like she's been playing Quidditch for years! What a talent!"

Ah see Jacklin flips tha broom over an’ dodge it. Ah watch as Jacklin flips tha broom back ta tha right side an’ continues 'er search.

"What's this?! Jacklin Gryffindor's losing control of her broom! Slytherin is taking advantage of Gryffindor's concern and is racking up points! It's now 60-20 Slytherin!"

Ah watch as Jacklin struggles ta stay on tha broomstick as it bucks ‘round. Slytherin's all cheerin an Ah dunno if it's cause they're winnin or cause they wanna see 'er fall. Ah know Ah gotta do somethin’ even if Ah don’t know what it is, Ah gotta try somethin’.

"Here take this!"

Ah give tha flag to tha student next ta me an’ Ah run over ta Professor McGonagall's seat. Ah reach over tha railing of her seat an’ Ah grab her arm.

"Mr. Kwimper what on earth is going on?"

Ah take a minute ta think, Ah try hard ta say tha right thing that will make her take me seriously. Ah flap mah hand a bit ta help me think when Ah got it.

"Professor McGonagall, someone's jinxin Jacklin's broom while she's tryin’ ta catch tha Snitch! We have ta help 'er!

Ah don’t know if tha’s tha right thing ta say, but Ah feel tha urgency. Ah hope she understands how important it is.

"What exactly do you expect me to do?"

"Jus look at 'er! She's barely hangin onta 'er broom!"

Ah look over at Jacklin an' see her holdin’ on fer dear life.

"It's a rogue Bludger! Watch out in the stands people!"

Ah hear the announcer as Ah dive ta the floor. Ah kinda crash inta tha professors an’ Ah look over at Jacklin. Somehow the broom stops movin weird.

"Amazing! Jacklin Gryffindor manages to gain control of her broom again! You can all rest easy boys!"

Ah help McGonagall stand back up cause Ah feel bad bout knockin 'er over.

"I understand what you mean, Mr. Kwimper. This is a situation that must be investigated. At the very least it is most peculiar to see a bucking broom suddenly stop as soon as the Bludger flew into the stands. I can assure you that it will be taken care of so for now please go back to your seat."

"Yes ma'am."

Ah go on back ta mah seat. Ah hope tha professor knows Ah didn't mean no harm by it. Ah sit next ta tha other student who Ah gave tha flag to an' Ah watch tha game play out without any further incident.

"After what could have been a disaster, Jacklin Gryffindor shakes it off! She sees the Snitch again and gives chase!"

All a Gryffindor's cheerin ta see 'er get back on 'er broom. Ah take a breath cause Ah'm feelin better now.

"Despite only having a training broom she’s dodging Bludgers left and right! But wait here comes the Slytherin’s Seeker, Terence Higgs! Both Seekers spot the Snitch as it makes a nose dive to the ground!"

Ah wonder what's gonna happen, but Ah’m on tha edge a mah seat.

"The Snitch is getting dangerously close to the ground but neither Seeker’s letting up! We have a game of chicken in this match!"

Ah hear tha danger an Ah'm not sure what he means by 'game a chicken', but Ah know it's dangerous fer Jacklin.

"Only 5 meters left before someone’s hitting the ground! This Snitch is baiting someone to crash! But wait, Terrence Higgs pulls up leaving Jacklin Gryffindor alone! She needs to make a move fast!"

Ah’m holdin’ mah breath. Ah don't wanna see Jacklin crash.

"She’s still making a grab for it! She flips upside down to grab it and oh no she hits the ground!"

Ah feel mah heart start beatin' a million miles a minute as Ah watch Jacklin hit tha ground. Ah feel tha worry flood mah body an' Ah hold mah breath.

"She’s sitting up but what’s this?! Is that?! Unbelievable! Jacklin Gryffindor has the Snitch!"

The tension jus flies right outta mah body an' Ah start cheerin' along wit tha rest of tha crowd. Ah feel tha joy flood mah system an Ah feel like huggin' someone ta get rid a tha excitement rushin' through my body.

"Gryffindor wins! 170 to 60!"

Ah watch tha crowd cheer for Jacklin an' tha Gryffindor team. Ah know Ah only played a small part a winnin’. Ah hope Ah did tha right thin’.

Tag list: @arrolyn1114, @aliengoth3, @vintagepresley, @comebackep, @thetaoofzoe, @presleysgirl6, @bigdaddyelvislover, and @mercsandmonsters.

#toby kwimper #toby and the veela #ecu fanfiction

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sounmashnews · 2 years

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[ad_1] Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took pole place on Saturday for the Singapore Grand Prix, however Formula 1 world championship chief Max Verstappen was left fuming after ending solely eighth quickest.Leclerc clocked 1:49.412 in his Ferrari in damp situations to high the timesheets 0.022s forward of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, with the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton third.Stream the FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX 2022™ LIVE and ad-break free Sunday 11pm AEST on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >Verstappen, who has a mathematical probability to retain his world title this weekend, had regarded set to problem Leclerc’s time on his ultimate flying lap earlier than being instructed to desert by his Red Bull staff.The Dutchman, who had set the quickest first sector, then let fly an expletive-peppered tirade over staff radio after being instructed to abort and return to the pits as a result of he was low on gas.“Why? What the f***, why?” the 25-year-old fumed over staff radio.“What the f***? What the f***? What the f*** are you guys saying? Unbelievable, mate. I don’t get it, what the f*** is this about?He later told Sky Sports F1: “We ran out of fuel, so it’s just incredibly frustrating and shouldn’t happen.”Only the top-10 shootout for pole occurred on slick tyres beneath the lights of the Marina Bay circuit after heavy rain earlier.Most of qualifying noticed automobiles on intermediate tyres on a observe too damp to threat slicks, with the unforgiving concrete partitions of the road format an ever-present hazard for any lack of management.“It’s been a very, very tricky qualifying,” Leclerc mentioned.“In Q3 we didn’t know what to do, we went for the soft at the last minute and it paid off. I made a mistake on my last lap so I didn’t think I’d get pole, but it was just enough.” Monaco’s Leclerc can forestall Verstappen from sealing the championship this weekend by ending larger than eighth in Sunday’s race.Leclerc now has a commanding grid benefit over the Dutchman, who will begin from the fourth row on a circuit that provides few overtaking alternatives.Perez might assist his Red Bull teammate by getting forward of Leclerc in the beginning.“It’s a good opportunity to attack Charles and go for the win,” the Mexican mentioned“I was disappointed to miss out on pole by two hundredths. It was so tricky to learn the conditions today and tomorrow could be wet.”Seven-time world champion Hamilton produced his greatest qualifying efficiency of the season, ending within the high three for the primary time, solely 0.054s behind Leclerc.“I was pushing so hard, it was so, so close,” Hamilton mentioned.“These guys are so quick, but I thought with a perfect lap we could fight for first place, but I just didn’t have the grip in the last lap.“We’ll get up and fight again tomorrow.”Verstappen must win the race, rating 22 factors greater than Leclerc and see teammate Perez end fourth or decrease to retain his world title with 5 races to spare, or the chase strikes on to Japan subsequent week.But he has to discover a well past seven drivers to try this, which appears to be like extraordinarily unlikely.Ahead of him are Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso — who was fifth quickest within the Alpine forward of his 350th GP begin — and the McLaren of Lando Norris in sixth.Lining up alongside Verstappen on the fourth row might be Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri.It wasn’t all excellent news for Mercedes. George Russell failed to seek out any grip on his intermediate tyres and had a shock failure to make it into Q3 after being solely eleventh quickest.Alex Albon, who did effectively simply to make it to Singapore three weeks after appendicitis on the Italian Grand Prix after which struggling issues from surgical procedure, was nineteenth in his Williams.— with AFP [ad_2] Source link

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gaysimpsstuff · 3 years

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BNHA Characters + Their Biggest Kinks

PT 2 Here

PT 3 Here

Genre: smut, obviously

Warnings: NSFW themes, hard kinks, BDSM kinks, lots and lots and weird kinks

Other: felt horny, wrote this

NSFW Taglist: @smolchildfangirl @combat-wombatus @mandalorian-baby-bird @waffleareniceandfluffy

Characters: Hawks, Bakugou, Dabi, Shigaraki

Keigo Takami/ Hawks-

Authority Kink- mans has spent his entire life being bossed around, he needs you to submit to him completely and without question. Call him ‘sir’ and he’ll melt. When he’s in this mood, there’s no room for brattyness. Just bend over and let sir take his stress out on you.

Wing Kink- Pretty self-explanatory. The underside of a bird’s wings are very sensitive, and get them horny in no time. Same thing with his back, one when you were cuddling, you were playing with his wings and massaging his back, and you noticed he had his face hidden and he was breathing kind of heavily. It was an embarrassing situation to explain...

Breeding- This one comes more into play during Nesting Season, he just has you pinned down and just keeps going and going and going, trying to fill you up with his babies even if you want get pregnant. You’ll always be his little breeding slut. Even better if you have a bird or lizard quirk and you lay eggs (infertile usually). Even with a male reader he’d want to ‘breed.’

Pegging- He likes to bottom sometimes, so that he can whine and cry and beg and be a good boy for his y/n. Expect him to come home from work feeling more tired than stressed. Total pillow princess. He needs you to fuck him into the mattress so hard that he’s only flying tomorrow.

Praise/body Worship- This goes both ways. You’re his everything, and he wants to make sure you’re aware of how much he appreciates you, but he’s so insecurities that he needs it in return. Soft, teasing touches, whispered I love yous, doing so wells, my pretty baby, go a long way for this man.

Dirty Talk- he wants you to know just what he’s going to do to you, how he’s going to fill you up so good, make you need him and his cock, make you cry for him to keep going, beg for his cum. Even when he’s on bottom, he’s babbling and whining. You can’t get this man to shut the fuck up. It can get annoying at times.

Bath/shower sex- this plays more into his bird instincts. Bathing/ cleaning oneself usually gets birds horny. They usually preen prior to mating season so look out for that. There’s just something about ducking you in his bathtub (jacuzzi) that gets him going like nothing else.

Katsuki Bakugou/ Dynamight-

Switch- this man will present as a top, but he has absolutely nothing against getting manhandled and having the life fucked out of him. Just so long as he can do the same to you. Fuck him rough and good and then take his revenge tomorrow.

Rigger- after all he’s been through, he does not wanna be tied up at all. But he has no problem with handcuffing you or wrapping your pretty body up in Shibari and watching you struggle against them. Will totally tease you the whole time.

Gags- You’re still talking? You need to shut the fuck up. Or else you’ve got something keeping your mouth shut. Tape, underwear in mouth, his hand or fingers, or an actual gag. Loves your muffled sounds when he asks you a question. “Want me to keep going? You gotta say so. Aw I didn’t hear anything so I guess you want me to stop...”

Dirty Talk- Just like Hawks, he can’t keep his mouth shut. But this one is spilling the dirtiest filth you’ll ever hear. Plays into a minor corruption kink. Wants you to repeat it all back to him. On the flip side, gets so flustered when you talk dirty to him. Whining about how you’re a pervert, but just ignore him, he’s hard as shit right now.

Dacryphilia- All those years of Deku crying and you think he wouldn’t have a crying kink? Thinks your tears are so beautiful, might even lick them off your face. “Aww, look at you~ crying for my fuckin cock.” Don’t be weirded out if he licks them off your face. He also cries during sex, though. It’s just too fucking good and he hasn’t had a good cry in a while. Tease him about it and he’ll hide his face, but praise him for it and he’ll cry even harder.

Praise- This man shouts enough degradations outside the bedroom, he wants sex to be different from everything else. Gets a little embarrassed first time he praises you, but if you look at him with those shy eyes and a quivering lip, he’s just gonna keep loading it on. He also wants to be praised, both out of insecurities and superiority. When he’s bottoming just repeat how amazing he’s doing, how no one else is as pretty as him. When he’s on top, he still needs you to be praising him. Tell him how good his cock feels, how he’s gonna make you cum, how no one else fucks you as good as him.

Impact Play- mostly spanking. Uses his quirk. He loves it when your skin forms a light burn in the shape of his hand. Spanks you even if his handprints don’t show up on your skin. He needs it to, just keep smacking his stomach and thighs with a paddle until he’s sobbing.

Touya Todoroki/ Dabi-

Degradation/ Brat Taming- Starting off with the roughness with this guy. These two go hand in hand for Dabi, you need to know where you belong. Underneath him, begging and crying for his cock, his mercy, anything. You need to understand your only purpose is to service him, moan for him, and be his little personal cumdump.

Hard Dom- he won’t go easy on you, no matter what, you’re not getting it sweet or easy. It’s always going to be rough, fast, and difficult. Just try and complain.

Size kink- We all know this man is hung like a donkey, too big to handle. Loves it when you’re trying to suck him off and can’t even get down halfway. Even better when he’s pushing in, and can’t get further than six inches in. Just laughs at how “your cute little hole can’t take my fat cock can it, baby?”

Sadism- Pretty obvious, he likes hurting you. Knives? He’s got plenty. Fire? More relunctant but sure. Impact play? Yes sir. Loves seeing you cry and you babble about how much it hurts. His favorite thing is to write his name on your back with light burns that usually fade in a week or so. Always takes care of your injuries afterwords.

Bondage- Can’t have his little baby trying to touch themself can he? Can’t have his darling trying to escape from him, can he? No no, you’re better off tied to the bed, taking everything he gives you like a good little slut.

Sensory Deprivation- He wants you waiting, dreading maybe, anticipating, his next moves. You don’t know where he’ll touch you, what he’s saying, and you can’t do anything to stop it.

Corruption- He has a thing for people who seem innocent, and he wants to corrupt that innocence. To everyone else, you’re naive, doe-eyed, and probably can’t do anything for yourself. He’s going to change all of that. Bonus points if you’re actually fully capable and he morphs into a co-dependant mess. This man is all Yandere nothing else.

Teasing/ edging- Loves working you up to the grand finale, then pushing you back to the first scene. You’ll never forget his laughter as you beg him for your orgasms. You’ll be lucky if he lets you cum at all. He’ll humiliate the fuck out of you for your pitiful begging.

Tomura Shigaraki/ Symbol of Terror

Mommy/Daddy/Renny (Renny is the gender neutral term for Mommy/Daddy)- This man will call you whatever you want, but this is his go-to nickname for you. You’re taking care of him in and out of the bedroom, at least until he matures.

Switch- Up until he matures, your on top of him the whole time. Loves it when you’re in control, but after certain events in the manga and anime, he starts to gain an apprentice for being on top, although being so unused to it, he has a lot less kinks for being on top than on bottom.

Pegging- self-explanatory. He was always afraid of disintegrating his dick, and anal stimulation meant most of his fingers were pointed away from his body while only two or three were touching his skin. Safer. Now he’s got a huge appreciation for anal play, anytime you see him naked, he probably has a butt plug in.

Pet-Play- he’s your dumb little puppy, okay? Treat him like a bitchy little animal and he’ll do whatever you want. Feel free and drag him around on a leash or feed him food out of a bowl on the ground.

Feet- he doesn’t know why, but your feet are such a fucking turn on. Whether you’re wearing combat boots with spikes, fancy heels with a flower on them, or normal tennis shoes. Socks, thigh-highs and tights? Man is already begging. Just step on him and give him a foot job already! He’s begging, come on!

Water sports- kind of gross, skip this one if it’s gross for you (it is for me but for some reason I’m writing about it) but it’s something he appreciates more as a top than a bottom. Controlling when you go to the bathroom, giving you so many drinks, watching you squirm, begging and crying for him to let you relieve yourself, only to piss yourself. And when you do that, he’s on his knees in front of you, drinking it. Loves how embarrassed you get. Says “anything you make is always gonna be the best” while licking his lips.

CNC- something he enjoys as a top or a bottom. Skip this one if it’s weird or wrong to you, or a trigger. Always pre-planned with a safe word and everything, but he always pretends it’s real. Something about you or him not having a choice, being forced to take whatever the other gives them, begging for it all to stop but being betrayed by your body, it all just drives him crazy.

S&M- Doesnt care of he’s the S or M. He just loves pain. Crying when you spank or slap him, watching you scream as he cuts his name onto you.

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honey-sweeeet · 2 years

Text

call me koushi; kuroo tetsurou

(cross posted from my ao3)

'tis better to have loved and lost than to have never to have loved at all. - alfred lord tennyson

or; the angsty, feels heavy love triangle fic that nobody asked for, but i couldnt stop thinking about. (soulmate au)

word count; 15.6k

"Now we've officially started summer break, you're free to practice from morning 'til night. Tomorrow, we're going to training camp in Tokyo. This time we're going for a whole week - it's the first and last long term training camp before preliminaries. The Spring Nationals are just around the corner... use this opportunity to learn everything you can!" Takeda explained, lecturing the group of tired teenagers gathered around him.

You and Kiyoko were too busy putting away the practice jerseys into the storeroom, trying to make cleanup faster for when the boys were brought away from their brief lecture from Takeda and Coach Ukai.

"Be here bright and early tomorrow so we can leave on time!" Takeda added, waving as he bounded out of the gym door, leaving the team in the hands of Coach Ukai and Captain Sawamura.

You brushed Kiyoko away, "I've got this. Maybe you should go see how Yachi is doing. She's not the best on her own."

Kiyoko smiled back, understanding the implied 'Yachi is probably freaking out right now, go help.' That your words held. Yachi was still very new on her feet as a manager, and while you were no seasoned veteran, you'd at least been at it for a few months before Yachi had arrived. You knew Kiyoko had hopes that when you and the rest of the third year students left, Yachi would take over as the new manager of the club.

She was still too nervous and jumpy on her own though, she didn't really have the authority to be the manager when you and Kiyoko graduated - but she was slowly beginning to fit in day by day, the team were growing used to her and she was slowly morphing into the bold young woman Kiyoko hoped she would become.

A stray ball came flying through the doors of the storeroom and ricocheted off the back wall towards you. Unthinking, you flung your hand out to knock it away from your face, only to end up sending it right back where it came from. Poor Hinata caught the ball he had been chasing square in the chest and went flying backwards with the impact.

"Holy shit! Hinata are you okay?" You cried, dropping the last of the jerseys into the basket and whirling around to face your unsuspecting victim. "Hinata?" You ask, waving your hand in front of his face where he was laid out on the floor like a starfish. The subtle laughter of Tsukishima in the background was drowned out by Kageyama loudly scolding Hinata for being so careless, you idiot! Dachi stood fuming with his hands on his hips, ashamed that his team couldn't act like adults for one moment while Suga quietly approached to help Hinata up.

Before either yourself or Sugawara could begin to hoist Hinata from the floor, the tiny red-head bounced up on his own, grinning and wiping his dusty face from the gym floor. Suga watched you practically deflate with relief realising that the first year was fine and you hadn't actually killed him. Good, or the liability for murder would heavily fallen your shoulders there, and you didn't like the idea of being arrested any time soon.

As the small ginger ran away and was collared by an irritated Kageyama, Suga laughed as he watched you go between frowning to relieved and back to frowning.

"One day he's going to get taken out by a ball and actually die." You sighed, cursing as you stood up from the floor yourself.

Suga shrugged in response: "I'm sure that if anything is going to kill Hinata it won't be volleyball. More likely food poisoning." He shuffled awkardly on the spot for a moment, unsure if he should stay or leave.

"You should go get changed with the rest of the boys while Kiyoko and I finish up here." You said, encouraging him to follow his teammates.

"Go before Daichi comes back for you," You added with a smile, already turning to help Kiyoko lower one of the nets.

There was a chill in the air as you twisted the key into the lock of the gym door and headed to wait by the club room for the guys to walk home with.

“See you both in the morning,” You waved at Kiyoko as she strolled away in the opposite direction with Yachi.

Lingering in the air was a sense of anticipation, the thrill of what tomorrow would bring. The chances to learn new tricks and get ahead of the game for prelims - there were so many things your team could pick up from the Tokyo teams, and you were going to make sure they maximised their chances.

Spinning the key idly on your finger, you waited by the stairs for Daichi to come down and collect the key from you.

“We’ll be down in a minute!” Suga called, leaning over the railing above you and staring down with a lopsided grin.

“Hurry up before I freeze!” You replied, flashing a grin back at him.

“You won’t freeze, it’s the middle of summer.” He threw back, disappearing into the clubroom once more.

You shook your head, pacing back and forth in front of the metal stairs, growing impatient.

Hinata came bounding down the stairs first, bag swinging wildly behind him as he went. Your heartbeat raised as you watched him jump off three steps before the bottom and barely land on his feet.

“He’s going to give me a heart attack one day.” You frowned at Suga, pointing at the oblivious red head.

Suga laughed and joined you at the bottom of the stairs, gently taking the key from your hand and tossing it up to Daichi on the top of the steps.You tried not to let your mind linger on the fleeting touch of his skin.

Once you had all congregated and Daichi had closed the clubroom, a large huddle of you all headed off down the hill in the same direction. Usually after practice you and the boys who lived nearby would visit Ukai’s store for snacks and then walk home together. It was like a mini routine you all had. Tsukki would pretend he didn’t want to be there but would tag along anyway with his headphones on, only ever speaking to Tadashi. Noya and Tanaka would take turns giving each other piggy back rides down the hill and that left the third year boys and yourself to walk at your own (more civilised) pace.

"You never got to go to the last training camp, did you?" Daichi asked, turning to look at you.

"I would have come along if I wasn't sick," You sighed, adjusting the weight of your gym back over your shoulders. "This one is the real deal though, a whole week to practice."

"This will be our last training camp," Asahi mumbled quietly, staring ahead as Sakanoshita store came into view.

Suga whirled around and slapped him in the ribs, hard. "Enough of the sentimental rubbish! We haven't even been to the camp yet. And we still have Nationals to play before you can get all sad about it."

"I'm sorry!" Asahi cried, guarding his stomach from Suga's angry slapping. "I was just pointing it out!"

"He is right," You said, reaching over to pull Suga away from Asahi. "It will be the last training camp, but that doesn't mean we should be sad about it. It's a chance for us to learn as much as we can before pre-lims. That should be cause to be happy, not moping around."

Daichi just nodded solemnly beside you, pushing his hands into his pockets as you all continued to the front of Ukai's store. Nobody else seemed to need to add anything onto what you had said, Asahi was just glad Suga had stopped slapping him out of his negative mindset and Daichi was welcoming some peace and quiet finally. Tsukki and Tadashi vanished inside the store after Noya and Tanaka, and Daichi followed. You stayed outside with Suga and Asahi, waiting for the meat buns Daichi promised to pick up from Coach.

"We're going to give Coach that Nekoma showdown at Nationals, I just know it." You grinned, leaning your head back to look into the dusky evening sky.

"Now who's getting sentimental?" Asahi mumbled, warily glancing at Suga for fear of another punch.

"I just have a good feeling about nationals, that's all." You add, not falling for Asahi's negative mindset. He was such a gentle giant, but he really did have a habit of assuming the worst before it even happened.

Suga was about to open his mouth to reply when Noya came sprinting out of the shop with an entire popsicle in his mouth, incoherently goading Tanaka as he went. Daichi followed, frowning but used to their behaviour. Taking one of the meat buns from Daichi, you thanked him and sat down on the concrete infront of the shop doorway. Suga dropped his bag and sat beside you, stretching his long legs out in front of himself.

"How good actually is Nekoma? I've never seen them play before." You asked, looking up at where Daichi stood infront of you both.

"They have a very solid defence, last time it seemed like they were playing the long game to wear us out." He replied, biting into his own meat bun.

"Their setter is observant too, I don't think we'll get much past him." Suga piped up. "The biggest challenge will be figuring him out before we're too exhausted to keep up."

"So they have their very own Kageyama, huh?" You asked.

"They have been to nationals before, so that puts them at an advantage too. They're seasoned veterans."

"Never overlook the underdog." You laughed, finishing your mouthful and leaning back onto the shop forecourt.

"What are you doing?" Came a loud voice from behind you. Surprised, you jolted upright and wheeled around to look at the source of the noise. Standing there, Ukai angrily had a hand on his hip with a broom clenched in the other fist.

"I told you to go home and go to bed! You need to be back here before 6am tomorrow." Keishin cried, swatting at you and Suga with his brush to make you stand.

"Sorry coach!" You yelled over your shoulder as Suga and Daichi began to usher the first and second years away from Sakanoshita.

A short while down the path, you met with the crossroads. Tsukki walked away without saying anything, Yamaguchi quietly following after waving a meek goodbye. Noya and Tanaka part ways with a fist bump as Daichi and Asahi also peel away towards their respective homes.

"See you guys in the morning. Don't stay up late." Daichi called as he walked away. You and Suga were left to stand together while the others headed home.

"Let's get going then." Suga breathed, setting off down the road towards your houses.

The silence was refreshing in the dusky evening while the streetlights turned on one by one in the distance. Suga kept his hands in his pockets, not quite knowing what to do. It was always fine being around you when the other guys were there, but being alone still put him in an awkward spot even after walking you home for almost the last year. He tried, but he couldn't help the fact that around you he was nervous. That confident, authoritative third year that he was on the court was nowhere to be found when you fell in step beside him and tipped your head back to watch the clouds cover the moon.

Maybe all the teasing from the other boys behind the closed doors of the clubroom was right, he was hopless. He smiled as he looked down at his feet, knowing that Daichi was right. Suga was gone - fallen hook, line and sinker.

You both begin to slow as your house comes into view, knowing that Suga would carry on until the end of the street once you had left.

"Thanks for walking me home, Suga. I'll see you in the morning!" You called, walking backwards up your driveway. "Sleep well."

"...Call me Koushi," Suga mumbled under his breath as he watched you reach your own front door.

You waved, he waved back.

You yawned, staggering off the bus on shaky, tired legs. The last few hours you'd been cramped into a tiny seat and you'd been constantly rattled awake whenever the bus hit a particularly deep pothole in the road. It was certainly not a comfortable sleep, and despite actually going to bed early like you promised Suga, you were still exhausted. Your body was not your biggest fan, all your muscles aching as you rose from your cramped seat with your bag in hand.

You stood between Suga and Asahi, all three of you sullenly stretching your stiff muscles and helping Coach take all of the bags out of the back of the van. Daichi had vanished to go find the other captains who were meeting them to show you all to your classroom, leaving the rest of the third years to keep an eye on the younger boys while also making sure nobody forgot their bags. You weren't fully sure if you were mad because you'd been woken up several times from your nap or if you were mad because Daichi had left the rest of you in the lurch last minute.

Eventually, when everyone had their things and the bus had been thoroughly vacated, Daichi returned with a lanky male with wild black hair. Presumably he was one of the Tokyo captains, although for which team you had no idea whatsoever.

"So, is that the Tokyo Tower over there?" You heard Hinata cry in the distance, excitedly nudging a slender boy with bleached hair.

"No, that's just a normal radio tower." The other boy replied quietly. "Sorry."

"What's the deal? You guys don't have steel towers in Miyagi? Is this, like, a real thing I don't know about?" Teased the Tokyo captain, grinning lazily at you all standing by the bus.

"Oh, well excuse us simple country folk if we don't know what the Tokyo tower looks like." Daichi shot back, tilting his head back to stare down the stranger with the dark hair. You assumed they must know each other because of the last training camp, but you don't push. You simply join the crowd following the stranger towards Shinzen high school.

"Ah- this is Saitama. We're not even in Tokyo." You pointed out. Suga laughed quietly beside you as you all trudged along.

"I want recieve and serve practice now, make sure you're roatating. The sets won't begin for another half an hour. I want at least one spike rotation for the front line. We'll be swapping players constantly, so be prepared for that." Keishin intructs, pointing out the far corner of the gym where Kiyoko and Yachi were already setting up. Every other team captain was already running their team through their warm ups, and Daichi followed suit by leading the team away.

"Can you go find Nekomata and ask for the schedule?" Ukai turns to look at you, hands on his hips as the rest of the team follow Daichi in their stretching.

"Sure thing." You say, picking up your water bottle from the bench and heading for the door.

You clutched at the game schedule in your hand, covered in the last minute changes scrawled in Nekomata's red pen. Taking a swig from your water bottle, you glance over at the Karasuno listings. There were no changes to your sets, just a slightly longer break between the Nekoma and Shinzen matches. That was good news, it would give the boys more time in the afternoon to regroup and go over strategies with Coach.

You strolled into the gym, flipping over the sheet to take a glance at the listings for tomorrow. The sounds of volleyballs ricocheting off the walls and floor, deflected by recieves and shot down by spikes were all that you could hear while the teams all warmed up before the start of the first sets.

"Hey, excuse me? Are you busy?" Came a voice. You didn't particularly pay attention to it, not thinking you were being spoken to. "You there, in the Karasuno jacket!" It came again.

You looked up at that, not sure who was talking to you. Turning around, you notice the Nekoma captain leaning against the pole for the net, beckoning you over.

"Are you busy?" He repeats, catching your gaze.

"No - sorry, did you need something?" You reply, turning on your heel to head over to him.

"Can you just help me raise the net up?" He asks, gesturing at the other pole on the opposite side of the court. "It's just a bit too low."

"Sure." You replied, placing your schedule on the floor and pinning it in place with the bottle. "Who hung it this low? You might as well not have a net." You laugh, loosening the net locks to allow the slack to drop out.

"It was your manager, the blonde one? I think she was setting them up earlier." He replies, letting the now completely slack net drop to the floor.

You both removed the pins from your poles and lifted them to the groove slightly higher than before.

"Oh, Yachi? Yeah that makes sense. She's new."

"I figured," He nods thoughtfully, reaching up to pull the top rope over the pole to hook it. "I didn't see her at the Golden Week match. But then again, I didn't see you at the last training camp either." He pointed out, glancing over the rim of the loose net to meet your gaze.

You shrug, taking up your own end of the slack net. "I was sick last time, so I had to pass."

He nods, without adding anything else while you both secured the net.

"Are you sure you're going to reach that? Do you need a stool or something to stand on?" He pipes up, leaning against the pole with his arms folded and the most shit-eating grin you'd ever seen.

"You're just hilarious." You sigh, but a smile crept out from your teeth nonetheless.

"Just making sure." He cackles, raising his hands in mock surrender.

"Thank you for your help," He added on sincerely. Well, you didn't expect that one.

"You're welcome," You smile, tying the slipknot around the crank hook.

"Kuroo Tetsurou, nice to meet you." He says, handing you back your water bottle and paper schedule. "I can take it from here."

You introduce yourself, shaking the hand he offered in greeting. "See you around, Kuroo."

Finally, you managed to head over to your team, sipping from your water bottle as you went.

"I got the schedule, we have no game changes, just a longer break this afternoon." You say, passing the sheet over to Coach Ukai when you approach his seat on the bench. He takes it from you, brow furrowed as he reads the listings. He nods to himself a few times before standing up and calling the team over.

He pushes his tracksuit sleeves up to the elbow, sternly looking around at the gathered team members in their practice jerseys. Suga looks over at you, smiling. He subtly gestures at you to come over to him, reaching his hand out towards you.

"Can I have some of your water? I'm dying in this heat." He whispers when you get close enough.

"I'll go fill the bottles up. Stop trying to steal mine." You laugh quietly, pushing the drink behind your back where he can't reach it.

"Life saver." He grins, sticking you a thumbs up as you process that he just played you for his water refilling. You shake your head in mock anger at him, wagging a finger in his face as you try reprimand him for his sly games.

"Hey!" Hinata calls as you begin to turn away from Suga. "Are you not warm in that jacket? I'm boiling over here!"

"Well, I'm not really moving around like you guys are." You blush, trying to divert the question. "Anyway, I'll be back with the water soon."

"Sugawara! Are you listening?" Ukai grumbles, fixing his stare at the setter. He flushes, pretending to zip his lips as you walk away with the water bottle carrier.

Heading back from the sink, you heave the carrier up a little higher to adjust your grip on it. Damn you for offering to fill them up. It wasn't your fault that Suga could pretty much convince you of anything when he smiled like that. Damn that boy.

As you rounded the corner towards the gym, a large mass slammed into you at the last minute. The giant, bounding frame of the Nekoma first year stumbled backwards while you overbalanced with the weight of the water bottles in your hand.

When you landed on the floor, the previously secured bottles rocked out of their holder and rolled out in all directions. The water you'd just spent the last ten minutes filling up was now all over yourself and the floor, seeping through your thick Karasuno track jacket.

"Lev! Watch where you're going!" Kuroo reprimanded, pulling Lev back by his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Kuroo. I didn't see her there-" Lev mumbled, twiddling his fingers together anxiously. The absolute giant, Lev Haiba, was currently blushing and cowering at the angry glare Kuroo was sending his way.

"That's exactly why I told you to slow down!" Kuroo whirled around, making an exasperated hand gesture. "Are you okay?" He asked in a more gentle tone, turning to look at you.

You nodded, wiping away some of the water pooling on your tracksuit trousers before they got too soaked as well. Wordlessly, he offered you his hand and pulled you from the accumulating puddle of drinking water that the bottles were still pouring out onto the floor.

"Lev, I believe you have something to say to the lady." Kuroo says, turning around and folding his arms expectantly.

"I'm sorry, I'll clean this up." He mumbles, messing with his hands.

"It's okay. I can always refill these." You point out, starting to pick the spilled bottles up one by one and replace them in the carrier.

"Lev, go fill these back up and take them to the Karasuno team. We can clean this up." Kuroo sighed, bending down to collect the last two stray bottles.

"Okay." Lev whispered, reaching down to take the carrier from you. "Um-" Lev added.

"What?" Kuroo sighed, rubbing at his eyes in annoyance.

"Are you not warm in that jacket?" Lev asks you, only meeting your gaze for a second or two.

"Oh-" You stutter. "No, no I'm kind of cold... I guess," You lie, not wanting to have to take your jacket off.

"If you're cold, you can take mine and go get changed into something dry." Kuroo replies quickly, sliding his own Nekoma track jacket from his shoulders.

"No- no it's okay. I'm sure I can find a spare Karasuno one." You protest.

"...You just said you're cold. Take it while you get yours dried." He insists, holding out the jacket to you.

"...Thank you." You smile, looking at the floor.

"Go get changed, you'll only be more cold if you're wearing soaked clothes." He points out.

"I'll make a start on this," he laughs, gesturing at the sizeable puddle in the middle of the corridor. Lev was already heading back where he came from to try replace the water before Kuroo yelled at him any more.

"I'll be back as quick as I can," You say, quickly turning and dashing for the stairs leading up to the second floor classroom where everyone had just dropped their bags before heading straight for the gym.

Sighing, Kuroo heads for the closest storage cupboard to try and find a mop to clean up after his idiot of a teammate. He had managed to get most of it cleaned up to the point it was no longer a hazard for people to slip on by the time Lev returned with the refilled bottles.

"Kuroo, I got the bottles refilled." Lev calls at him down the corridor. You haven't made it back yet, presumably you were still changing. Kuroo sighed once more.

"Come on then, Lev. Let's get these to where they need to be." Kuroo leads the way towards the gymnasium, Lev trailing behind with the large carrier of water.

Karasuno were still warming up, as were the rest of the teams. From the doorway, Kuroo spotted Daichi and that tiny carrot-top first year talking at the far side of the gym. Lev was still trailing behind Kuroo, not even attempting to head over to Hinata out of fear that Kuroo would give him extra receiving drills as punishment.

"Excuse me." Kuroo called, the two Nekoma students towering over Daichi and Hinata.

"Can we help you?" Daichi asked, turning away from his conversation with Hinata. Suga turned his head in the direction of the newcomers out of mild curiosity.

"My underclassman has something to say to you all." Kuroo said, stepping aside so Lev could no longer hide behind him.

"Hey Lev!" Cried Hinata, uncaring of the other conversation going on. "What are you doing over here?"

Lev cleared his throat, awkwardly shifting the water carrier in his hands. "I- I'm here to deliver your water bottles." He shuffled on his feet, thrusting the carrier towards Daichi.

Confused, Daichi took the water from the tall boy. "Well, thank you. But why are you delivering them?"

Daichi and Suga glanced between the Tokyo players in confusion. Lev shot Kuroo a pleading look, as if to try escape the situation. Kuroo just folded his arms and raised his eyebrows as a prompt. Lev sighed, looking at his feet as he bowed.

"I kind of... knocked your manager over on her way back here..." He admitted.

"Is she okay?" Suga pipes up, slightly distressed.

Kuroo waves his hand, features softening. "She's okay. I told her to go change into some dry clothes while Lev refilled your water."

Suga just nods absently, still planning to check on you when he had the afternoon break.

"Thanks for letting us know, I guess we'll see you later." Daichi nods, setting the water on the ground by his feet. Kuroo nods back at his fellow captain, leading Lev back towards where the rest of the Nekoma team were warming up.

"I'm telling Yaku about this." Kuroo quietly whispers to Lev when they're out of earshot.

The heat was really taking it's toll on everyone in the gym, and it didn't help that there were five teams moving around at the same time. Every door and window had been cranked open, but the dry, hot wind was offering no relief in the slightest. Suga found himself hunched over on one of the benches outside, taking long, desperate swigs from his water bottle. Daichi was leaning on the wall beside him, futilely trying to wipe away the sweat gathered on his forehead.

Some of the other boys were sprawled out like starfish on the grassy slope, chests heaving from the penalty run they just completed.

"Take a break for a while, catch your breath. But be back here in twenty minutes so we can go over the game plan before we go against Shinzen." Ukai called, leaning against the doorway to the gymnasium.

Some of the boys just groaned at the prospect of versing Shinzen, but some of the smarter second and first years made a slow crusade towards the shade of the trees in the distance. Sighing, Suga threw his head back against the wall behind him.

"I'm going to the bathroom," He groaned, stretching his back out as he stood from the bench. Placing his water in the shade of the doorway, he turns on his heel and heads back inside.

It was so uncomfortably hot, and there was no respite from it. The water was lukewarm all the time and there was no breeze to take their sweltering discomfort away. Really, the bathroom excuse was to just try and find wherever you had vanished to - he'd not seen you since you left the gym earlier with the water bottles, surely you couldn't still be changing? If you were then you'd missed two sets since you vanished.

Taking the stairs two at a time, he makes his way up to the second floor of the main school building, trying to remember the way towards the classroom Karasuno had been assigned to stay in. That was the first place he thought to check, realising that if you weren't in the gym, that would be the only other place you would realistically have gone to. As he rounds the corner, Suga hears some heavy shuffling and the occasional thud coming from somewhere down the corridor, echoing through the empty classrooms lining the entire hallway. Curiously, he pokes his head into class 1-9, hoping to see you in the Karasuno team room.

And he does find you.

You're pacing around the room, headphones in, sweating heavily as you drag futons from the doorway into the middle of the room to make a sleeping space. Your laboured breaths from the heat could be heard from outside the room as you dragged the bedding around all by yourself. Before he knocks on the door to alert you of his arrival, he freezes on the spot for a second or two.

Just why on earth are you wearing a Nekoma jacket instead of your Karasuno track one? And why on earth are you even wearing one in this heat anyway? Confused, Suga knocks on the door to anounce himself.

"Need some help?" He asks, snapping your attention to him. You freeze in the middle of throwing a duvet onto one of the futons, removing one of your headphones.

"No- I'm doing fine." You grin back, bending over to straighten the duvet out.

"What's with the jacket? Are you not warm?" He asks, wordlessly pacing over and taking up one of the rolled up duvets himself.

You wave him away with a blush. "No, no. I like having my jacket on."

He clears his throat, uncertain of if he should ask what he wants to ask. He takes a moment in the silence of you both dragging the futons into lines along the walls to think to himself.

"So, the Nekoma captain came over with that first year to apologise about knocking you over earlier. You doing okay?" He asks, putting his hands on his hips after tossing a pair of pillows onto the sleeping mats in the far corner.

"I'm fine. My clothes got soaked though, so they're drying off while I do this." You reply, gesturing over at your dripping wet Karasuno jacket sprawled over the top of the windowsil, slowly undulating in the breeze.

"...You could have come and got my jacket." He adds, suddenly very unsure of why he was saying that.

"You were busy playing, and I didn't want to disrupt that. I'm fine anyway, my jacket will be dry by this evening. No harm done." You grin, moving one of the boy's backpacks aside to clear a space for the last few futons for the team.

"I wouldn't have minded." He replies, turning away to hide his embarrassed grimace under the pretence of fixing up one of the pillows (which was already perfectly fine, but he didn't want to look at you right now.)

"Suga, it's fine. Really," You turn around, nudging him with a smile.

"Come on - I'll bring the futons over if you can do the duvets." He replies, brushing the conversation away.

"Are you just trying to avoid practicing?" You laugh, gently swatting him with the pillow in your hand.

He laughs a little in response, shrugging back at you as he drags the final two futons into place by the windows. "Maybe."

"I'll snitch to Coach." You joke, and he knows you don't mean a word of it.

You work in silence, and he stews in his thoughts for a while about the sour feeling behind his bellybutton that arises whenever he catches a glimpse of you wearing the Nekoma Captain's track jacket. He tells himself he's hurt because the team just lost a set to Nekoma, but he isn't sure he fully believes himself.

You sigh, leaning back in your chair and attempting to stretch your spine over the backrest. The tension leaves your back in a series of satisfying crunches as you slowly turn your torso side to side, returning to rest your elbows on the table infront of Kiyoko and Yachi. You were settled down in the room next to the Karasuno boys, thankfully allowing you all some peace and quite but also some privacy too. Although, the peace and quiet was being ruined by some of the second years in the room next door to you all having a rowdy conversation and the occasional dull thuds sounded suspiciously like a pillow fight was going on since Daichi wasn't around.

Some of the more determined third and first years on your team were still out practicing as long as they could before food was served later on, leaving the likes of Noya and Tanaka alone with Narita to control. You were brought out of your tired reverie by a timid knock at the door.

"Hey... the rest of the managers are going to the baths now. Do you guys want to join us?" Came the bubbly yet uncertain voice of Eri Miyanoshita from the doorway. The young Ubugawa manager winced at a particularly loud thud of a pillow hitting the wall in the adjactent room.

"Sure, why not?" You sigh tiredly as you heave yourself up from the chair and rifle around for your wash bag in the mess of your mattress.

Kiyoko and Yachi timidly follow behind you, not the biggest talkers when it came to strangers. Thankfully, the managers at the camp had all been easy enough to get to know.

Eri leads you expertly through the winding corridors of Shinzen high, presumably from attending the training camps there in the past. The baths in the girl's side of the gyms were already steamed up from the Shinzen and Fukurodani managers warming the water up while Eri had gone to track you guys down. It was humid in the room, and you froze in the threshhold of the room as the door closed behind you and Mako and Yukie began making small talk as they started undressing. You had made a major oversight.

Noticing your slightly apprehensive expression, Kiyoko turned to you: "This is common practice in Japan. There's no reason to be uncomfortable," She tried to reassure you, realising that the non-native Karasuno student was probably a bit shocked at what was happening.

You shook your head slightly, knowing this was normal in Japan. That wasn't what was concerning you.

"No... I'm not uncomfortable," You mumble in response, the embarrassment bringing a flush to your face that was disguised by the steam gathering in the room.

"It's fine, come relax." Yukie says, stepping into the large waist-high bath in the centre of the room. You dither on the spot for a moment, not sure what to do. You couldn't exactly leave now, but you also didn't want to stay and freak them all out when you got changed.

Kiyoko offered a reassuing smile to you as she headed to place her clothes in one of the lockers lining the far wall. Uncertain, you followed behind Kiyoko at a distance, shower bag in hand.

Trying your best to hide yourself from view behind one of the locker doors, you undressed. Which you realised was a useless endeavour because they'd have to see eventually and there really was no hiding it now. You'd fucked up. You really should have thought things through better before agreeing to come to the baths. You took a deep breath to gather yourself, but realised it was useless as the room went silent and all small talk had ceased.

There were a few shocked murmurs going around the room behind your back and you flushed once more, tying your hair out of the way and trying to compose yourself before facing your friends. You knew why they would be shocked, the cultural difference from where you'd lived before was a very wide gap when compared to Japan.

You knew tattoos other than soulmate marks tended to be a bit taboo, especially in small, rural towns.

"Are they real?" Came the clipped, somewhat worried voice of Yukie. She had sank up to her chin in the water and was pinning you with a rather apprehensive stare.

"...They're real." You say slowly, extending your ink-covered arms towards them all. Your legs were also coiled with linework, some creeping up into your hips and lower back. "I got them before I moved to Japan. I didn't want to freak you guys out." You admit, embarrassed tears pooling at your waterline. You tried to pass it off as steam gathering on your face.

"Is that why you've been wearing a jacket all day?" Mako asks, fiddling with her hands in the warm water.

You nod, lacing your fingers behind your back and staring at the tiled floor.

"Just- can we keep this a secret?" You ask, meeting Kiyoko's gaze.

"Of course. You got them before you moved, they're a common thing to have." Yachi pipes up, trying to awkardly cover the silence of the atmosphere. The rest of the girls offer up silent affirmations and you take the opportunity to shuffle timidly towards the water and sink underneath.

Kaori giggles all of a sudden, glancing at you. "How do you even remember which one is your soulmate tattoo? I know I'd never be able to keep track."

"Everyone remembers their soulmate tattoo." Yukie adds, rolling her eyes. She glances at you, and you can tell everybody in the room has a thousand questions to ask you.

"You can ask me, I know you all want to say something." You say, sinking to your chin in the water.

A clamour of questions erupts at once, voices overlapping as curious girls try to find out as much as they can about the life of the foreign student practically covered ankle to shoulder in tattoos.

You blink, a little shocked, and try to answer them as fast as possible.

"Dude, this is such a good idea." Tanaka whispers as he and Noya sneak through the boy's gym and into the girl's building.

"A perfect opportunity," Noya whispers back, slowly cracking open the door to the baths. They crouch in the doorway, peering through the steam of the tiled room. Suddenly, Noya freezes in position.

"I can't see anything, where is Kiyoko?" Tanaka whispers, nudging his friend.

"...Tanaka..." Noya warns, eyes wide in shock. "Did you see that?"

"See what?"

"The new girl... look at her." Noya points out.

"Oh my god. We need to tell Daichi," Tanaka gasps, seeing you tattooed shoulders rising out of the bathwater beside Kiyoko's. He could barely make it out for the steam coming from the other girls washing their hair under the showers, but he could see the ink patterns clearly enough to know it was a problem.

They glance at each other briefly, then take off down the corridor back from where they came. They bounced lightly on their feet for fear of alerting the girls to the sounds of their footsteps. When they hit the corner, they skidded around it at full speed and took off running properly towards the boy's gym, now confidently out of hearing range. Panting, chests heaving, the two burst through the doors for the second gym where they knew Daichi and Suga had said they'd gone to practice earlier.

"What is going on?" Daichi calls, straightening up from his position ready to recieve one of Bokuto's spikes. On the other side of the net Suga paused in place, catching the ball in his hands instead of setting to Fukurodani's ace. Apparently their practice had attracted two Tokyo players, as the captains from Nekoma and Fukurodani had also decided to join in.

"Daichi- you need to come see this, dude." Tanaka pants as he tries to get his breath back, doubling over with his hands on his knees.

"What did you two do?" Suga asks, an amused smirk playing across his face.

"We think the new girl is in a gang." Noya fills in, staring right at his captain.

"What are you talking about?" Suga asks, the playful look completely dropping from his face. He doesn't notice, but Kuroo and Daichi exchange knowing glances with each other.

"We were just outside the girl's bathroom and we saw-" Noya begins.

"You were what?" Daichi yells, cutting the second year off in the middle of his sentence. Suga puts one hand on his hip in angry disapproval while Bokuto's face lights up at the drama unfolding in front of his eyes. The tall spiker thoroughly enjoyed any type of excitement thrown his way, and even if it wasn't any of his business, he would of course be sticking his nose in.

"We... saw her in the shower..." Tanaka admits, meekly. Daichi looks furious, the sweat on his forehead gathering in his furrowed brow. He is beyond angry, and Tanaka is worried about what is going to happen to them.

"What the hell were you two thinking?" Daichi yells, striding over to the two of them. Even Kuroo flinches a little at Daichi's raised voice. "I thought you two knew better. This is serious, what the hell were you thinking?"

"Daichi, trust us. We really do think she's in a gang. Please, just come take a look. It's serious." Noya bargains.

"I swear to god-" Daichi growls, yanking the both of them by the collars. "You'd best be correct about this or you're dead."

Suga hurredly follows after his friend and captain, slightly concerned for what would happen to Noya and Tanaka if Daichi got even more mad at the two of them. Kuroo and Bokuto followed along, exchanging mischevious grins as they waited to find out what Daichi would do. Nothing this interesting ever happened at the other training camps, so there was no way they were missing out on this one. Wordlessly, they all made their way towards the girl's bathroom, Daichi leading with Noya and Tanaka's shirt collars in his tight grip.

In the time it had taken for Tanaka and Noya to find (and convince) Daichi, most of the girls had left. It was just yourself and Kiyoko in there, but Kiyoko had vanished around the corner to change while you stayed in the shower to wash your hair. You'd let Yachi go before you, opting to have a quiet heart-to-heart with Kiyoko and made her promise to try and keep your little secret on the down-low. Unbeknownst to you, it would be useless anyway, as there was a small crowd gathered outside the slightly ajar bathroom door. Your secret was about to be very public, and you had no idea what was happening.

Meanwhile, Suga was flustered with the sight before him, the planes of your bare back were sending his head in every direction imaginable.

His first coherent thought once his embarrassment had settled was to search your left shoulder for the same mark he had on his own shoulder. All he needed was for you to turn around slightly so he could spot that familiar patch of ink that would tell him you were meant to be by his side - but you didn’t turn away from the stream of water pouring down your face. He just needed a tiny glance.

“See? I told you Daichi!” Noya whisper-yelled, pulling on the captain’s sleeve. “She’s in a gang, I’m telling you.”

“She’s not in a gang! And that doesn’t excuse you from staring at the girls in the shower. It’s so unbelievably wrong - and you’re going to apologise in the morning.” Daichi grumbled back, swatting Noya away and fixing Tanaka with a withering stare.

Suga was too fixated on trying to catch a glimpse of your shoulder that he almost missed the conversation behind him.

“Dude!” Bokuto hissed, yanking at Kuroo’s shirt collar. “That’s the same tattoo you’ve got on your back!” He added in a stage whisper. Kuroo made a choking sound from the strength his friend put into tugging at his shirt. It bunched aroud the front of his neck while Bokuro kept tugging at the fabtic.

“Stop...” Kuroo whispered, trying to slap the excited boy’s hands away from the back of his neck. Bokuto was undeterred, excitedly trying to pull Kuroo’s collar down to expose the gap between his shoulder blades.

“Cut it out!” Kuroo repeated, trying to spin around and turn away from his friend.

“But she’s your soulmate!” Bokuto argued, landing his hands square on Kuroo’s shoulders.

Everyone went silent.

Kuroo tried to not look at Suga, for fear of the guilt inside him bubbling over and spilling out in a rather embarrassing way. He didn’t want to ruin the setter’s pride, nor did he want to hurt his feelings either. It was tense while everyone looked between each other and then finally, towards Suga.

“Well, food should be ready in a while. We should probably hit the showers too before the first years take over.” Suga laughed, clapping Daichi on the shoulder and heading off down the corridor.

Kuroo cursed under his breath, pleading eyes looking to Daichi for help.

“I’ll take care of him.” Daichi replied, watching Kuroo’s shoulders curl forward with guilt. Daichi ushered Tanaka and Noya away from the showers, continuing scolding them as he dragged them by their collars.

“I feel so bad...” Bokuto sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s okay.” Kuroo smiled, but it did not quite reach his guilt-heavy eyes.

Sighing, Daichi rolled over onto his side, trying to find a cold patch on the mattress. He'd already flipped his pillow over several times to try find some relief from the Tokyo summer heat, but his shirt was still sticking stubbornly to his chest with a thin layer of sweat. They had pushed all the windows open before sleeping but it had done nothing to fight against the sweltering atmosphere in the room.

Daichi laid there, mouth dry and hair slicked against his forehead with sweat. He grunted as he rolled around, kicking the blanket away from his legs in frustration. Everyone else in the room had also kicked their blankets away from themselves or at the very least stuck their legs out of the sides of the duvet.

Aside from one.

As Daichi rolled over onto his side, he furrowed his brows at the hunched form beside him in the dark. Disoriented from waking up, he couldn't immediately tell his left from right in the foggy frustration of his tired mind, so he didn't immediately register if it was Asahi or Suga facing away from him with the blankets pulled up to their ears. He sat up on his futon a little, kicking the knotted blanket off his ankles.

"Are you okay?" He whispers into the darkness, realising that he was stupid to not have recognised which one of his friends was hunched in the dark like this, not sleeping. Of course it would be Suga after the evening's revelation.

Startled, Suga's shoulders stiffened up beneath the blanket. Not turning over to even glance at Daichi, he quietly replies:

"Yeah I'm fine. Just too warm to sleep."

"You'd be a lot less warm if you didn't have the duvet up that high." Daichi pointed out.

Suga stays silent, and Daichi wonders if he has actually fallen asleep before his friend rolls over onto his back. He lets his legs splay out on the mattress and pushes the duvet away from his face as he stares up at the ceiling with furrowed brows.

"I'll be fine. I just need a while." He sighs quietly, and even though Daichi spots the tears gathered along Suga's waterline, he doesn't point them out.

"It's understandable if you're not okay right now."

"... I knew it might happen. I just didn't want to think that it would." Suga replies, rubbing his eye sockets with the heels of his palms.

"It's probably not what you want to hear right now, but this just means that there's someone else that's even better fitted to you. Someone you're going to love even more." Daichi whispers, fanning himself with his damp shirt collar.

"You're right. I didn't want to hear that. But you're not wrong." Suga admits, turning his pillow over tiredly. "Doesn't make it hurt any less."

"It probably won't stop hurting for a while, and I'm not going to tell you to just get over it because that's not how things work." Daichi also flops down onto his back, lying beside his dear friend. "But I'm just saying it's not the end of the world, even if it feels like it right now."

"I know, I just wish it wasn't him," Suga whispers with a shaky breath, folding his arms behind his head and staring up at the dark ceiling. He lays there in the darkness, hoping for a breeze to pass through the window and offer him the tiny bit of comfort his body and heart needed at that moment.

There is no wind.

Karasuno was losing almost every set, and they were beginning to struggle in the unbearable summer sun that beat down on the hills outside Shinzen as they sprinted out their pentalty laps. Suga's chest was heaving in the heat, his plain practice shirt sticking to him with the layer of sweat that followed every player around in the blazing sunshine. Every time they lost a set, the penalty dashes became more draining; since they were all already tired out from the running they couldn't put enough effort into the next sets. It was a really destructive spiral to be caught in, and Suga was feeling the effects of it already and it wasn't even midday.

As he walked down the hill beside a silently stewing Noya and a wiped out Asahi, hollers of joy could be heard from below. The three boys exchanged a confused glance, and Noya took off running to find out just what was happening without him knowing about it.

"I don't know how he still has the energy to run after all this," Suga sighed, sliding his hands onto his hips and leaning back to bathe his sweaty forehead in the sun.

"Beats me..." Whined Asahi in response.

Eventually, the two exhausted men reached the bottom of the incline, right into the middle of the chaos of the yelling and hollering. Hinata was running towards a rather pertrified looking Kenma with a slice of watermelon in each hand. As he barrelled past Suga and Asahi, he laughed:

"The girls brought watermelon!" And carried on sprinting away towards his quiet friend.

Perked up by the revelation, Asahi and Suga head over towards the crowd gathered around the managers who were handing out watermelon to the players that were acting like they'd never eaten before in their lives. They slowly made their way between the jostle of volleyball players heading towards the shade of the buildings or trees with thick chunks of watermelon in their hands.

"Come on! Before it gets warm!" You grin, waving at Asahi and Suga. They notice your almost empty plate in your hand, and Suga frowns when he notices you're still wearing your jacket when everyone else has abandoned theirs. Gratefully, Asahi took two slices and passed one over to Suga.

"This looks glorious," Asahi commented, appraising the watery fruit in his palm. "And it's cold," He added with a satisfied sigh.

"Lifesaver," Suga mumbled, looking down at his own fruit rather than meeting your gaze.

Asahi glanced between the two, not sure what to do. Daichi had warned him, of course, so he knew what to avoid mentioning. But he wasn't a very sociable person, he struggled to figure out what to do in awkward situations like this. He just wanted the ground to swallow him whole, or turn around and sprint in the opposite direction to let you and Suga talk it out. You raise your eyebrows at Asahi, glancing over at Suga's deflated form. He just shrugs in response, not wanting to let anything slip when he wasn't supposed to. Suga really didn't need that right now.

"So... have you had any yet?" Asahi asks you, an awkward blush rising up his neck from how formal the conversation was becoming.

"Not yet- we've got enough left though, don't you worry." You grin, lifting your plate towards two passing Ubugawa players who quietly take slices with polite smiles and nods as they walk towards the respite of the shade.

"You both look like you need a sit down. Especially you," You say, pointing at Suga's deflated shoulders. You adjust the plate into one of your hands and reach up to press the back of your other against Suga's forehead. "You're burning up from running in the sun too long. Go sit in the shade and get something to drink. I don't want you getting sick."

Suga just mumbles back at you, finally looking up and meeting your gaze. He nods, the ghost of a smile dancing across his lips as he and Asahi turn together to find Daichi.

"He's tired." Asahi mouths at you as they both turn away, the tall brunette leaving you with a jovial wave.

Concerned, you furrow your brows but continue to pass the last few slices of watermelon around.

"Watermelon?" You ask a tall grey haired boy in the Nekoma gym shorts as he bounds towards you. He grins brightly, and you recognise him as the one who almost killed you the day before.

"Thank you," He says as he takes the last slice and you lower the plate to your side.

"...Are you busy?" Another boy in the Nekoma get-up asks as he approaches the both of you, and you have the fleeting realisation that he's their third year libero. The grey haired boy gallops off towards Hinata and the Nekoma setter that you hadn't actually had a chance to talk to yet.

"Not anymore," You reply, holding your empty plate up for him to see.

"Can you give me a hand for a minute? We've got someone with a busted nose." He explains, pointing a thumb over his shoulder towards the gym.

"Sure," You sigh, following him over towards the shadowed doorway of the gym, placing your empty plate on the first table you pass by.

You find Kuroo standing there, cupping at his profusely bleeding nose. He's simultaneously trying to stop it dripping onto his shirt too much while also trying to not ruin the court. His eyebrows furrow when he sees you, and if he could open his mouth without getting a small trail of his own blood running into it, he would have used that opportunity to spew profanaties at Yaku for choosing you of all people to come and help. Things were really not going his way today. Or this week for that matter.

"How did this even happen?" You ask, placing a hand between Kuroo's shoulder blades and prompting him to lean forward. He flinched, panicked that you would accidentally shift his collar a little too low and tried to pass off his worried grimace as pain. He already felt guilty enough about last night, nevermind that Suga was staring at you wistfully from the top of the grassy slope. Out of everyone Yaku had to ask for help, it had to be you. It wasn't even on purpose - because Yaku didn't know about those damned matching tattoos you both sported.

"He tried to dig up one of Bokuto's spikes but he didn't get low enough." The straw-haired libero from Nekoma stated, hands on his hips and sweat on his brow.

You nodded, sighing and pushing Kuroo to take a seat on the steps in the gym doorway.

"Can you go get him an ice pack from the first aid station? I'll keep an eye on him." You ask the libero and he leaves with a half-smile.

You crouch in front of Kuroo, trying to pry his hand away from where it cupped his nose.

"Must have been one hell of a spike." You comment. He simply grunts in response from behind his now-bloody hand.

He kept his brows furrowed and his expression relatively blank while blood dribbled from his nose down to his chin. A few stray drops caught on your hands as you tried to press a tissue to his bleeding nostrils. Kuroo sat there on the steps in silence as you crouched in front of him, some rogue drops of his own blood falling onto your hands and when one fell onto your sleeve, he finally moved.

He pushed your sleeves back to your mid forearms, letting the edges of some of your tattoos peek out from the cuffs below your elbows before any more of his blood ruined your track jacket. You flushed, not sure what to say.

"Everyone knows. Fukurodani's managers can't keep a secret to save their lives." He sighs, not looking at you.

"Oh." You state, unsure what to say. You watched as his nose gradually stopped bleeding, leaving his mouth and your forearms smeared with his blood. You make him stay sat on the stairs, leaning slightly forward and resting his elbows on his knees just in case his nose starts acting up again. Yaku returns eventually, fresh ice pack in hand as he heads towards you. You thank him, taking the ice pack and passing it to Kuroo.

"Yaku, can you go round the team up? I'll sit this next game out so swap Lev into the front row." Kuroo instructs, not fighting you as you began to try wipe away the blood from his nose with a damp tissue. The other boy walks off, nodding at his captain and not mentioning the downcast look on his features.

Gently, you clean the blood away from Kuroo, tenderly feeling the bone in his nose for damage.

"Hey dude," Came a voice from behind you, from the broad shadow cast over your frame you figured it could only be Fukurodani's ace. Kuroo just glanced up through his dark eyelashes at the stranger but you didn't even turn away from your work. "Sorry about busting your nose up. Is it bad?"

Kuroo shrugs in response, not really in a position to talk.

"I'm no doctor, but I don't think It's broken." You pipe up, moving Kuroo's hand to hold the ice in place. "It's probably going to hurt for a while and the swelling might be annoying, but he won't die. The ice pack and some painkillers will be enough."

"It's a good job you've got your lady friend to clean you up." Bokuto laughs from behind your shoulder.

"Knock it off." Kuroo warns as you turned his head to the side to clean the dried blood curled under the edge of his jaw.

"But she is ... isn't she?" Bokuto asks, and then his eyes immediately widened at the realisation of what he had said. Kuroo's eyes narrowed darkly at the bumbling idiot he called a dear friend and was thankful that you couldn't see Bokuto from your crouched position. Panicked, Bokuto made some wild hand gestures to you, then to Kuroo, then pointed at his back with a confused face - his hands were moving a mile a minute trying to convey his inner panic. This was the second time in less than twenty-four hours that his loud mouth had accidentally let something slip he shouldn't have.

"What are you talking about?" You ask, finally standing up and wiping your bloodied hands on the nearest clean strip of tissue.

"Some stupid rumour started because I let you borrow my coat yesterday." Kuroo lies, grimacing as he adjusted the ice over the bridge of his nose. His lips were starting to go numb from the cold.

"I told you I could find my own spare," You chide, grinning at his disgruntled expression.

Kuroo just shrugs in response, stretching his legs out into the space you previously occupied. "People were going to make a rumour about something - we know what happened and that's all that really matters."

"It's fine. Everyone will find something more entertaining to talk about before long." You wave them both away, ordering Kuroo to keep the ice on his nose until the next set was over. You left him in the care of Bokuto, although considering how Kuroo's nose had almost been shattered in the first place, maybe leaving them together wasn't the smartest of ideas.

"So, she doesn't know?" Bokuto asks quietly once you're out of earshot.

"She doesn't know." Kuroo confirms. As he watches you walk away, he wondered if he actually felt as guilty as he thought he did. Because talking to you in passing was nice, and afterwards he would somtimes be hit with a fleeting thought of how glad he was that it just so happened you and him shared those tattoos. But then he remembered the crushed look on Suga's face, the boy that followed you around the camp like a love-struck puppy and asked about you whenever you weren't in the room.

And he realised that yes, he did feel very guilty indeed.

The bus was finally loaded up, with no thanks to the first or second years. You and Asahi had spent the afternoon packing away the classrooms you had stayed in while Kiyoko and Suga had carried all the bags back down to the parked bus. Daichi had vanished with Coach under the pretence of having a last meeting with the Tokyo captains to thank them for the hospitality, but you wondered if they'd just wanted to avoid the work of tidying up.

Probably both.

Everyone was saying goodbye: Hinata and Kenma were exchanging phone numbers, Daichi was in conversation with Kuroo and Yaku while you found yourself receiving goodbye hugs from the Fukurodani managers and Bokuto (who just didn't want to be left out). You moved over to where Daichi and Kuroo were talking, hoping to say goodbye to Kuroo without him avoiding you like he had been for the last few days.

You slide up behind Daichi, stepping close to his side as he shuffled back to let you into their small circle.

"Just came to say goodbye," You say, trying to smile at Kuroo while he avoided your gaze.

"We should really be going," Daichi admits, patting you on the shoulder. "We'll see you at nationals." He grins, cheekily goading Kuroo into a response.

"When we beat you," Yaku laughs, shaking Daichi's hand and giving you a brief one-armed hug.

"I'd love to see you try!" You laugh back, giving Yaku a light squeeze and turning towards Kuroo expectantly. He just puts his hands in his pockets and grins awkwardly at you and bids you goodbye with a quiet wave. You clear your throat, looking to Daichi to save you from the awkward situation. With a few more smiles and awkward farewells, you finally had to leave.

As you all piled onto the bus, filling up the tiny rows of seats one by one as the rest of the Tokyo teams gathered along the front of Shinzen to wave you all off. You found yourself sitting towards the front of the bus with Daichi - while Suga and Asahi paired up in the seats on the opposite side of the row. Everyone was gathered in quiet conversation, some of the boys drifting off to sleep as the bus trundled along the Tokyo highway back towards home.

Nervously, you turned away from looking out of the window to glance at Daichi.

"Can I ask you something?" You say quietly, fiddling with your hands in your lap as Daichi turned to you with a warm smile.

"What's on your mind?"

"Do you think Suga is mad at me?" You whisper, gaze flickering between Daichi and your lap.

"Why do you think that?" He asks warmly, turning in his seat to face you. His broad shoulders block the rest of the asile from view and you're thankful that Suga is on the other side of the row.

"Because he was avoiding me at the training camp. After the first day he... I don't know. He just kind of acted like we weren't friends?" You look up at Daichi, uncertain as to if you made the right decision bringing this up. "And Kuroo was the same. I mean we only really talked as acquaintences for the first couple of days, and then suddenly he avoids me at all costs. Did I do something to annoy them? I mean I know I've never been to one of the camps before so maybe I did something that ruined it for-"

"I can confidently say you did nothing wrong." Daichi cuts you off, taking one of your hands gently in his. "I promise, you did nothing wrong. I don't know Kuroo too well either, we only really speak at matches and training camps. But I know Suga. And I know he isn't mad at you. If I had to guess I would say they're both equally stressed about the Pre-lims. I know Nekoma all want this Nationals show-down as much as we do. Suga has been throwing himself into practice a lot more as of late." He reassures you, keeping a firm grip on your hand, grounding you from your negative thoughts. You nod, trying to mull over his words.

"I guess Asahi did say Suga was tired the other day," You admit, squeezing Daichi's hand for support.

"Everyone is worn out right now and everyone is tired and stressed. It's nothing you've done, I promise." He reiterates, offering you a fond smile and a firm pat to the shoulder before you both returned to facing the backs of the chairs in front of you.

"Thank you, Daichi." You say, still somewhat uncertain about if you believe his words or not.

Sure, you supposed everyone has seemed a bit at the end of their tethers recently, but you'd never seen Suga like this in the last year, even when you guys were sitting the end of year exams and he'd pulled all nighters studying with you. Part of you could believe that maybe Kuroo was just stressed too - you did barely know him after all. Maybe you were being a bit presumptuous to think you were closer than acquaintences at best, you'd only ever talked to him in passing and it was never anything beyond small talk.

Despite the reassurance from Daichi, there was still that dull feeling of worry settling into the pit of your stomach the further you got from Tokyo.

"Nekoma made it past the preliminaries!" Hinata cried, barreling towards the gym at full speed. He held his phone aloft, waving it at everyone he passed by. Kageyama yelled loudly after him, most likely some form of scolding for leaving him behind. You turned around, sliding your hands into your pockets as the ginger sprinted towards you.

"Nekoma just made it past the preliminaries." Hinata stated again, this time looking directly at you. He was clearly looking for someone to share his enthusiasm that they were all one step closer to their trashcan showdown.

"How'd you find that out?" You asked, pausing in place as you waited for Hinata to catch up to you. Daichi was just unlocking the clubrooms for you to all go change before practice started.

"Kenma texted me." He replied, hands proudly on his hips. "I got his number at the training camp - we talk all the time."

You smiled, nodding at him resolutely. "Well, that's great news. We just need to pass the prelims too, now."

The team slowly converged around the stairs of the clubroom, slowly making their way up the metal structure. Hinata was excitedly babbling on about how he simply couldn't wait to see Kenma again at Nationals, and how he was going to show Lev how high he could jump. Asahi and Suga fell in step with you both, rounding up the back of the pack.

"What's got you so excited?" Suga asked over your shoulder.

"Nekoma got through the preliminaries. Kenma told me so." Hinata replied, pocketing his phone swiftly. He had a smug grin on his face, almost as if he was part of the Nekoma team - it was sweet, though, to see Hinata so proud of his friend.

"Good to hear," Suga grinned in response, looking down at his feet as you all filed up the stairs.

"Hey, Hinata?" You asked quietly.

"Yup?" He replied cheerily, swinging around to face you, still grinning.

"Has Kenma mentioned- has he said anything about Kuroo?" You add, concerned how you were wording things - people were sure to get the wrong idea from your question.

"Only that he made it through the preliminaries."

"Has he mentioned Kuroo seeming ... mad recently?"

Hinata shook his head, swinging his arms as he hopped onto the top step and looked down at you. "Would you like me to ask?"

"...Could you ask if Kuroo is mad at me? He seemed really strange towards the end of the training camp." You request, twiddling your hands in your pockets and avoiding eye contact with everyone around you.

"Sure thing!" Hinata cried, taking off towards the clubroom with a spring in his step. Suga smiles at you slightly as he passes, but it does not slip your notice that he refuses to hold your gaze for longer than a second or two before he is gone.

You turn away, wondering where you went wrong.

You stood in the middle of the aisle, completely alone in the stands. Kiyoko was right on the pitchside and Yachi was as close to the court as she could get. Only one manager was allowed on the team bleachers, and rightfully Kiyoko took that spot. Yachi had decided to stay as close to the scoreboard as she could, as if she could will herself onto the court simply by hoping hard enough. You'd decided to get a more bird's eye view of the game, as was befitting of your team's mascot. The only real downside was that you were completely alone - you'd found yourself in a completely isolated part of the stands compared to the Karasuno supporters - a result of a wrong turn in one of the winding corridors of the stadium.

But you were there now, and you wouldn't move for fear of missing a single second of your team playing their hearts out against Inarizaki in the Tokyo stadium.

They were fighting with all they had, just to earn that spot in the finals against Nekoma. For their coach, and for themselves. For the school, for the team, for everyone that had had a hand in getting them to where they were in that moment. They were fighting, giving every single piece of themselves for the right to challenge Nekoma in the showdown they'd all been dreaming of since the start of the year.

So you dashed forwards to the railing that overhung the court, trying to get as good of a view as you could. The crowds had started picking up the longer the Inarizaki vs. Karasuno game progressed, seats filling and more people leaning against the railing beside you. You didn't care. You were staying to watch your team, proudly wearing the Karasuno jacket for all to see.

Suddenly, you felt a hand on your shoulder, and you turned around slightly to glance at the stranger.

"Don't you have a seat?" Yaku asked, folding his arms across his chest. You shook your head in response, immediately turning around to watch Asahi serve.

"Do you want to come sit with us? We have some seats saved a bit higher up. It's a good view, and you don't have to stand down here by yourself." He adds, talking to the back of your head as you stared, enraptured at the action only a few feet below you.

"Okay," You reply, turning around to look at him as the first time-out is called. He leads you up towards the Nekoma seating a few rows higher than where you'd been watching from. In your new position, you could see the entire court, you could watch the whole game at once rather than the narrower field of view you'd had before.

"How did you know I was down there?" You ask as you follow him in slipping between the rows of bleachers.

"Lev spotted you, Kuroo asked if I would come get you on my way back from the bathrooms." Yaku replies, stepping over a stray sports bag in the middle of the seating.

"That was kind of him," You comment, turning back to briefly glance at the court to make sure the teams hadn't started playing again. Yaku just glances at your distracted face, and quietly hums to himself. He isn't sure if he should say anything, but realises that if anybody is going to say something it should be Kuroo. Yaku had finally found out what had happened at the training camp to set their captain on edge so badly, and realised that he should just stay out of it as best as he could and let things work themselves out in their own time.

"We're back," Yaku announces, stepping past Kuroo and Kenma to take a seat beside Kai on the far end of the line.

"Thanks for inviting me up here," You say, bowing your head slightly out of awkward respect. You still didn't really know where you stood with Kuroo, especially not after his rather quick attitude change towards you back at the camp.

"Seemed safer for you to be up here than alone down there," Kuroo replies. He makes a brief hand gesture towards the empty chairs surrounding you. He clears his throat awkwardly. "Take a seat, the view is good."

You nod, taking a seat beside Kuroo, effectively sandwiching him between yourself and Kenma who was quietly trying to sink into his jacket. Kuroo found himself watching you more closely than he was watching the game, frequently turning his attention over to where you leaned forward in your seat and gripped your knees in anticipation of Noya's recieve or Hinata's spike. He watched your forehead crease with worry when Inarizaki was serving, or when one of Karasuno's spikes got quickly shut down. He watched you break out into delirious grinning when Asahi pushed past the block to claw another point back.

He felt guilty all the while, but still struggled with himself internally if he should feel guilty, considering you were literally meant to be together - the marks on your backs proved it. He constantly wondered to himself if he should come clean, or let things happen on their own. But would he get another chance to speak to you? It was almost the end of the school year, and after Nationals there would be no reason for the two teams to come together to train again until the start of the next school year - by which time the third year students would have all left. Was this his only chance? Or would he have to trust that you were meant to run into each other again sometime further down the line? Could he bring himself to trust in fate, when an opportunity was right in front of him?

These thoughts only served to send him further into his own confusion - because eventually he began to mull over if he was only thinking this way because it was fated to happen. The internal turmoil of if he was thinking this way of his own violition or because he was destined to was sending him into a mild existential crisis. He could only hope that his confusion wasn't playing across his face, or if it was then he hoped you would mistake it for concentration as you both watched the game.

Kuroo was hurting, and he was sure that down on the pitch below you, Suga was also hurting. The selfless part of him argued he should step aside, but the selfish part of him wanted his own pain to stop, he wanted to do what the universe had decided he should do. He wanted to trust that fate had good reasons, and that things would all work out for the better if he put himself first.

"You look worried," You comment, quickly dragging him out of his thoughts. "Scared that you'll lose against us?" You goad.

He snorts, folding his arms across his chest. "I'm just worried you guys won't be enough of a challenge."

"You might want to tell that to your face, you seem terrified that you're going to lose. Is seeing us in action more than you bargained for?" You grin, raising an eyebrow as you turn in your seat to face him.

"Do you want to make a bet on it? Nekoma doesn't get taken down by the likes of you country folk." He grins devillishly, leaning towards you. He steels himself, trying to hide his embarrassment just to try and put you out of your comfort zone. He succeeds, seeing a flush creep across your cheeks at his proximity.

"I bet you'll lose, no contest." You throw back, trying to not let him get to you.

"I bet we win, no contest." He replies without missing a beat. "What does the winner get?" He asks.

You shrug, not breaking eye contact. "You proposed the bet, surely you have an idea of what you want to hand over when you lose."

"I'll think of something."

"How do I know that you won't run away when you lose?" You laugh, folding your arms as you watch him recline in his seat.

"On my honour as captain, I would never," He grins, glancing back at the court for a second. "But if you're so worried about it, why don't you give me your number so I can't run away?"

Part of you thinks he's joking, that he's only doing this to get a rise out of you like you know he is wont to do, but another part of you wants it to be real. And you don't even fully understand why, but you don't want it to just be part of the back-and-forth you have going. You pause, watching as his eyes flick between you and the court in what you can only guess to be nervousness.

"Sure, you'd best be thinking of your forfeit quickly." You finally reply, handing him your phone and turning back towards the court as Inarizaki prepares to serve.

From a few metres below you both, right on the side of the court, Suga stands completely still. His fresh, unused jersey feels stiff against his skin. Eventually, he turns back towards his team on the court, tearing his eyes away from the black and red jackets high in the stands. He tears his eyes away from your face as you laugh, frown and grin at the man talking to you. He wants you to watch the game again, like he knew you were before. He wants you to notice, but he realises that you won't see him.

After all, he is only standing on the sidelines.

Daichi had promised that this would be a fun event. A little gathering of all the third year players they knew from high school, meaning other teams would be there too. Suga was frankly, exhausted, but Daichi had incessantly twisted his ear about this get together for the entire week and when Friday finally hit Suga was more drained than ever.

He’d been teaching all day and all he really wanted to do was go home and relax, to sleep early and wake up late on Saturday morning, to collapse into bed and let sleep wash away the aches in his tired muscles.

But no. Daichi was insisting that they all come back together for some high school reunion that simply couldn’t wait.

So that’s how Suga found himself at a restaurant on the outskirts of Tokyo, still wearing his button up and slacks from teaching, swirling his drink around in his hand.

Daichi had also somehow convinced Asahi to take time away from work to join them, so Suga found himself in idle conversation with Asahi and Kai - one of the Nekoma alumni. They were both quiet souls so Suga didn’t find himself in any forced small talk, it was the nice respite he needed from his long day.

Yawning, he stretched his arm over the back of his chair and leaned into the conversation a little more, only to be pulled out of it by some movement behind Kai’s shoulder.

The door swung open and the refreshing summer breeze passed through the stifling atmosphere of the room.

“Sorry we’re late.” Someone announced, and Suga vaguely realised that he knew that voice from somewhere. It only took him a moment to recognise who the person was, or rather, the woman who had entered. She was dressed similar to everyone in the room, some form of smart-casual that could have easily passed for office clothes. She walked right in, smiling at her old friends and greeting the people she hadn’t seen in years.

Normally, Suga would have been happy to see you. If not for a few details about what he was seeing.

The ring on your finger that was barely visible in the dim lighting, the man behind you with a gentle hand on your shoulder as he turned to talk to the ex-Fukurodani captain, but most of all, the dark haired child cradled at your hip.

It was unmistakably you after all these years. Still smiling, talking to Daichi as if you had never left high school. Suga was frozen in his seat, unsure if he should try and greet you or stay quiet.

Tetsurou headed over to where Suga was seated, patting Kai on the back good-naturedly and slipping into a chair beside Kai that nobody had touched all evening.

“Long time no see, Kai.” He greeted, turning to his old teammate. “And I haven’t seen you since nationals.” He grinned, gesturing between Asahi and Suga.

“It has been a while,” Asahi replied, ever the wallflower.

“How have you guys been then? I hear you’re a first rate designer now, Asahi.” Tetsurou attempted to strike up a conversation, reaching for the glass pitcher of water in the middle of the table.

Asahi scratched his beard idly, bouncing small talk back and forth between Tetsurou and Kai while Suga began to zone out.

Suga was too busy watching the way your daughter laughed at Bokuto making animated hand gestures and tweaking her nose. She looked just like you, and if not for the striking black hair of her father he would almost be able to have his guilty fantasy about it being his daughter. He watched as you shifted your weight while you held her, and he watched as Bokuto messed with her hair and you smiled at something Daichi was talking to you about.

It hurt him, he would admit. He believed he had moved on years ago, but an old wound had been opened simply by the sight before him. Daichi shot Suga an almost imperceptable glance across the room that unmistakably said 'I'm sorry. I didn't think this through,' but Suga found he had no animosity towards his captain and old friend, because he'd even convinced himself that the had actually moved on long ago too.

He excused himself to the bathroom.

"So you're putting all those years of keeping Tanaka in line to good use then?" You laughed, teasing Daichi about his new policing job.

He just shrugged. "It's quite boring actually, I feel like I'm over qualified thanks to those guys." He replied with a grin.

"Uncle Bokuto you're messing my hair up!" Your daughter pouted as she wiggled away from the large man-child trying to play with her. In retalliation she shot a hand out to tweak his spikey grey strands which only made the man retalliate with a barrage of tickles. She cackled, wiggling wildly in your arms as Bokuto continued to annoy the child. Suddenly, you feel the weight in your arms being lifted and you turn to see Kuroo smiling down at you.

"I'm going to take her to the park around the back. C'mon Bokuto, let my wife talk to her friends in peace." He says, pressing a fleeting kiss to the crown of your head as he takes your daughter and his highschool friend outside to play an impromptu game of tag.

The evening sky is dark, but through the back door of the restaurant there is a beer garden and a small park. He thinks they're alone in the dusky evening when his daughter and Bokuto take off running towards the swings together, but movement out of the corner of his eye startles him.

"Thought you were going to the bathroom," Kuroo states more than asks as he heads over to Suga's form leaning against the outside wall, staring at the sky.

"I just needed some fresh air." The other man replies.

"So- how's teaching?" Kuroo asks, trying to strike up a friendly conversation as he watches his friend and daughter have a competition to see who can get the highest on the swing-set.

"Tiring," Suga laughs as he exhales. "But worth it. Wouldn't swap my job for the world."

Kuroo nods in the silence, trying to find something to fill the space with.

"So, full-time scientist now, huh?" Suga asks, equally as awkwardly. Neither man looks at the other.

"For a while I wanted to stick with volleyball, but I'm glad I didn't." Kuroo admits, anxiously turning his wedding ring on his finger. "I'm sorry, Suga." He finally breaks, looking over at the other man.

"Don't apologise. It's not your fault."

"No- it hurt you. I am genuinely sorry. I wish I could make it up to you, but I don't know how. I'm sorry." Kuroo mumbles, almost as if he's trying to forgive himself more than ask forgiveness from someone else.

"Don't apologise. You won, fair and square." Suga's voice waivers slightly.

"Suga-"

"Congratulations, I genuinely am happy for you two," Suga interrupts, holding his hand out for Kuroo to shake. Suga turns and heads back inside, leaving Kuroo to stand and watch his daughter laugh as Bokuto pushes her higher on the swings.

And Kuroo realises that no matter what, in that moment, he doesn't really feel like a winner.

Suga slowly pushes the doors open, making his way back inside the stifling heat of the restaurant. Despite the weight that had been taken from his mind after speaking to your husband, there was still a lot of healing that he needed. It would take time and he would have to stop lying to himself; stop throwing himself into work as a distraction; he would have to pick himself up and build everything back from the ground up.

It would take a while, but Suga had all the time in the world at that moment - there was no deadline to be chasing after, it was just a Friday evening with his high school friends. It was just another day in the year, but he wasn't alone in his apartment for a change.

"Any plans to go travelling with Noya again?" You asked, leaning your elbows onto the table.

Suga took a deep breath, heading towards his seat at the table. He knew it wasn't your fault, and it wasn't his fault either. It was just how things were, and nobody was to blame for that.

At the end of the day, you were his friend, and if he allowed that to change because of unforseen circumstances then what type of man would that make him? Not the man he wished to become, that was certain.

"I do really want to travel again, but it depends on when work picks up. If I can take time away then I'll go find Noya wherever he's gone this time." Asahi replied, taking a sip from his beer. "It's good to get out there, though, gives me inspiration for my work." He added.

"I'd love to travel, but I don't really have time. Maybe in the future." You say, breaking one of the complimentary breadsticks and breaking it in half. "But you've changed so much since high school! You've really come out of your shell, Asahi." You smile, nibbling away at your food.

He grins in response, rubbing at his beard, equally proud and flustered at your compliment. "I guess I have."

"Hey Suga! How have you been?" You ask, noticing your friend approaching.

"Good, could be better," He laughed, dropping into his seat opposite you. "I had to come straight from work for this, so I could really go to bed right now." He sighs.

"Where do you work?" You rested your head in your palm and he tried to keep his staring to a friendly level of eye contact.

"Elementary school teacher."

"No way! Although, that makes sense. You always looked after the first years." You grinned at him with awe. "Now you've told me, I can't actually imagine a job that fits you better."

"Don't get me wrong," He began, leaning back in his chair and taking a drink from the wine glass he abandoned earlier. "I'm exhausted. But I wouldn't want to do anything else. It's great to watch them grow up, you know?"

Your reply was cut short when you felt the place between yourself and Asahi shift as someone dropped into the chair. Kuroo had returned, your daughter perched on one of his knees as he leaned his free arm along the back of your chair. You smiled at him briefly as you noticed his arrival, soon turning back to your conversation.

"And what about you?" Suga asked as he finished his glass of wine. He tried not to stare at your daughter with a sense of melancholy as Kuroo bounced her on his knee absent-mindedly while listening to something Kai was talking about.

"Me? Fully trained doctor right now."

"You know, that's not what I expected," Suga laughed. "But I can't imagine it's easy."

"It's not - some days it drives me up the wall. Worth it though."

Anything you said beyond that point fell on deaf ears, because Suga found himself swallowing a lump in his throat as he watched your daughter tentatively reach over to Asahi's long hair, carding her fingers through it bashfully. Surprised, the brunette jumped in his seat as he felt a gentle tug on his hair, not contained by a messy bun for once.

"Don't do that, darling. Not without asking." Kuroo warned gently.

"No - it's okay." Asahi mumbled, trying to not laugh every so often as her gentle pulling tickled his scalp. She was trying her best to braid something presentable into it, but his hair was too smooth and constantly slipped out between her tiny fingers.

And for the next couple of hours, Suga kept as much friendly conversation going as he could, for once enjoying the company of others rather than just his own at his apartment. He found himself watching you, watching your daughter, watching Kuroo, watching you interact. He watched your daughter mess with Asahi's hair, and he watched her eventually tire and slump against Kuroo's chest. Everyone finished their food gradually, some migrating to the bar, some wandering outside and some excusing themselves early. Truthfully, Suga was exhausted and wanted to leave, he wanted to go home so badly, but seeing you again kept him where he sat.

He knew he couldn't have you, and he accepted that. But he was your friend, and you were his. Maybe his heart was hurting all over again, but he refused to run away from the conversation either. He'd done enough running in his life.

"I think we should go, get her to bed." Kuroo eventually sighed to you, gesturing to your daughter who was fully asleep, curled up against his chest, his tie balled into her tiny fist as she snored.

"Yeah, I could sleep right now too," You laughed, stretching your back. You stood, gently taking your daughter from Kuroo so he could stand up.

"It was nice seeing you all again," Kuroo yawned, reaching over to hug Kai and firmly slap him on the back.

"Goodnight, enjoy your travelling, Asahi. Tell Noya I hope he's well. And you-" You turned towards Suga. "Don't be a stranger, Suga." You added with a smile as you headed towards the door, Kuroo leading the way.

"Call me Koushi," Suga whispered, watching your retreating form with a stray tear gathered in the corner of his eye. "...Please."

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