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heyitsyn · 4 years

Text

Prove Me Wrong

M!Reader x Oikawa

a/n: SDKLFJSLDKFJDLSKF OKAY I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW ITS BEEN SO LONG SINCE I LAST UPDATED BUT I REALLY INVESTED MY TIME INTO RESEARCHING AND READING FANFICS WITH AN M!READER BC I REALLY DIDNT WANNA GET IT WRONG SO I APOLOGIZE IF I DID SOMETHING WRONG AND I HOPE THIS ANON LIKES IT!!!

anon:

-heres an interesting thought. what about flamboyant oikawa with a cold boyfriend😳😳

YEYYY I FINALLY UPDATED

LETS GET STARTED SHALL WE?

okayokayokay

so in the request above

this is a m!reader

meaning you will be male in this one so hehe yep the story starts now

you are,,,

distant

and cold

but its mainly just because you were,,,

too tired to actually put in the effort of socializing

between bouncing between part-time jobs to care for your siblings and to schoolwork and book club

the mans can only do so much

so you spend most of your time in school just trying to catch up on sleep bc youre too busy studying up all night for exams since yanno

✨gRaDuaATiOn✨

unfortunately for you, your class had the famous manwhore oikawa tooru

why is that a bad thing?

well, imagine just trying to get some shut eye and suddenly, you just hear a bunch of screaming girls and it gets louder the closer the guy approaches your classroom and when he opens it,

the screams become 10x bass boosted

then imagine that with your sensitive hearing

now,,

it does bother you but it wouldnt bother you as much if he told them to leave

BUT NOOOOOO

he decides to let them in and chat with them and flatter them and continue with that bs until the bell rings

even then,

the girls in your class cant help but keep giggling at him and he always whispers in that obnoxious voice and youre just like two seconds away from ripping his tongue out

now

you dont hate him

you just genuinely dislike his way of living

and the way he talks

and the way he acts

yea see?

no hate

theres a difference

then there was that one time that you got so fed up with it that when oikawa settled on his seat and the fangirls circled him like some cult

they started talking to him all at once trying to get his attention

so it was a garbled mess of sounds and you growled, burying your face deeper in your arms because you would snap really really soon

then one girl shrieked when oikawa smiled at her and then you really just let go of all bearings

your chair made a squeak as you shot up, palms slamming against the wooden desk and your eyes glaring straight at them

‘go back to the farm, ya squealing pigs’

DSKFJLSDFKJSDFKDJS SORRY I LOVE TSUMU

this made everyone silent-even the others in the class just minding their own business

they all knew you as the quiet kid who didnt really talk much but those who did were really scared at you and the way you talked to them with such a cold and monotonous voice that they started spreading rumors about you

even absurd ones like your eyes are so cold bc youve killed so many people that you have no life and empathy left

LIKE WHAT THE HECK YOU STRUGGLED TO GET A SPIDER OUT OF YOUR SISTERS ROOM THE OTHER DAY LIKE EXCUSE YOU

but apparently they were just,,, so scared of you that when you finally got done with them and bursted out, the girls started crying

YALL KNOW THE SAYING LIKE HELL HAS STARTED WHEN THE QUIET KID SNAPS

the females run out of the room scared and the others nervously looks at you

your eyes sweeped through the room and each one of them flinched when you made eye contact with them

YES ASSERT OUR DOMINANCE M/N

the only who didnt was oikawa tooru himself

your eyes landed on him and he still had that stupid smug look on his stupidly gorgeous face and you wanted to ki-WAIT NO SLAP it off of him

‘the hell you looking at?’

you grumbled at him and he just merely shook his head with a smile

‘you remind me a chihuahua, m/n-chan. so cute when its angry’

‘HAH?!’

now it isnt a surprise to hear oikawa tooru say that to a boy bc wowza the school loves him so much that hes a bi icon in seijoh and hes such a king like who cares?

but they were surprised to see you turn red, the tips of your ears to the base of your neck were all flushed

‘see? so cute, right, everyone?’

KSDFJLSDKJFS

THE NERVE OF THIS MAN

the class didnt say anything except just put their heads down bc as much as they wanted to agree with oikawa at how suddenly hot you looked, they were too scared that you might plummet their faces to the ground

maybe thats when everyone started noticing you more

again, you were very quiet, you didnt talk much, you just sat there and listened so obviously you didnt really stand out but then that outburst made you more noticeable

you started seeing girls in your class staring at you then blush and look away abashedly

then the guys in your class started greeting you, even people in the hallways

ngl the attention you suddenly got was overwhelming

especially when oikawa seemed to call out to you all the time now

as you were walking down the stairs, hed see you and he’d shout and wave to you

‘m/n-chan! hiii!!!!’

his loud voice would make everyone turn and look at you and you dont do well with public attention so you turn red and you glare at him

‘shut the hell up, idiot. and dont call me by my first name. we’re not friends’

you turned to walk in the classroom but you looked at him again after taking a few steps

there he was

smiling and giggling with those girls

all he does is smile and giggle and shit

its so damn fake that you cant believe everyone fell for it and the worst thing is oikawa’s doing it to get everyone’s acceptance and validication

it was pathetic and disgusting

poor oikawa :(

now on to baby flatttykawa side,

he was kinda hurt by that

like how the heck are you not friends when youve been going to high school for 3 years?

sure, its only been casual greetings and him waving at you when yall made eye contact

but its still something, right?

right?

when you walked back into the classroom, tooru cant help but feel down at the declaration of the lack of friendship you had

his form slouched and his eyes trailed down but the voice of some girl brought him back to where he was and to fix his attitude

‘oikawa-san? are you okay?’

the others muttered in concern with her but they were eased when he raised a peace sign with the signature smile

‘yep! all good!’

GOD I REALLY CANT STAND IT WHEN HE USES A FACADE TO EVERYONE BUT LIKE I LOVE HIM SO MUCH BC HES SUCH A STRONG CHARACTER THAT DOESNT BREAK AND HES SO INSECURE AND IT PAINS ME SO MUCH THAT HE FEELS THE NEED TO HIDE BEHIND A MASK EVERYDAY AND AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

truth be told,

oikawa has always noticed you

not only do you work at the one bakery with his milk bread but you also work at the convenience store that the team sometimes visits

then he also noticed you picking up your brother from the volleyball practice that takeru’s part of and he cant help but frown at the eyebags under your eyes that he always sees

he lies awake at night just thinking how you would look without those eyebags, without the sickly looking complexion, or even just the lack of life in your eyes

then during class, you sat by the window

tooru knows this bc his eyes always fixes itself on you whenever he opens that door and he has to hold in the need to hug you when he sees you sleeping on your desk

others might call you lazy

others might call you a video game all nighter kid

but they dont notice the things you do

the nervous habits hes seen from you at the times that tooru couldnt help but stare

he knew it was creepy to do it

but you were so silent

you blended yourself into the background and you made sure to stay there

thats why nobody knows anything about you

with good looks like yours and a smart brain (he knew this from mattsun and makki being your students), why exactly were you not known?

maybe thats why it drew you to him

all his life he chased,

but now hes the one chasing?

tooru knows that your left eyebrow lifts when sensei writes something you dont understands

tooru knows that you like to do sudoku in the convenience store while you worked

tooru knows you eat the same meal during lunch every day from the same lunchbox

and he also knows that your brother talks so highly about you from takeru

the little things your brother brags about like your ability to cook f/f or your weird ability to just assemble something without looking at the instruction manual

he notices and knows all these things about you

things that people never really even bothered to

oikawa didnt even know he liked you until iwaizumi pointed it out during lunch

the third years liked to go and eat at the rooftop where it was nice and windy

oikawa was sitting and leaned against the tall wire fence, his eyes fixated on you down below on the bench as you ate your lunch

then you accidentally loosened the chopsticks causing your food to slip off

that made oikawa giggle

he was chuckling and giggling that the others noticed him when he suddenly went quiet

‘oi, oikawa’

makki nudged him back to them and tooru flinched before smiling at them

‘hm? so you do notice me!’

iwa glared

‘idiot. of course we do. youre laughing over there like some damn schoolgirl. did one of your fangirls posses you or something? if not, cut it out. its ugly’

oikawa shot him an offended look

‘what?! iwa-chan so mean!’

mattsun took the liberty to peer over the edge to see what he was looking at and smirked

‘eh? were you looking at l/n-sensei?’

oikawa blushed, feeling like he just got caught doing something bad

‘and what about it? im looking at you too, right now, mattsun!’

makki cackled at oikawa’s poor attempt of reasoning

‘i mean, i dont blame you. if issei wasnt here, id definitely get with him’

SEDKLFJSDLFISDKFJ MATTSUHANA YALL :”)

oikawa’s eyes wandered back down to you and he noticed you put the bento box to the side before sneezing

‘gosh, even his sneeze is cute’

he mumbled then jolted when he heard his own words

iwa sighed

‘what are we going to do with you, shittykawa?’

‘what?! what did i do?!’

iwa’s eyes scrunched and he scrutinized his best friend

‘boke. i feel bad for that kid, doesnt know this stupid idiot likes him’

so thats how oikawa came to terms of it

he thought he was just interested and fascinated with you but he really does like you

and to be honest, he doesnt really want you to know that bc duh, you dont like him so why bother?

baby oiks doesnt interact with you much anymore bc he knows you get uncomfy with attention but he still does look out for you and decides he should just admire from afar

he will live every day just holding his feelings in for you and one day they will disappear

but today just wasnt the day

maybe today was the start of the worst yet the best part of your life

last night was particularly rough as the convenience store you worked in had a drunk person who wanted to fight with you and your manager had to call the police and it was just a mess

to add on to it, midterms were around the corner-like next week- so you were studying up for that

but your sister got sick so you were also trying to take care of her and making sure her fever was going down and her crying ever few hours about her tummy ache didnt allow you to sleep

hehehe single parent working late tingz

ALSO SHE DOESNT HAVE MISS RONA JFC

so yep haha you did NOT get any sleep

so you walked into school that morning, looking tired as hell and mad as hell but you just wanted to sleep bro

the one kid you tutor, matsukawa issei, and his friend who usually tags along, hanamaki takahiro, noticed you dazedly pass them in the hallway and poor dudes felt bad for you

mattsun actually pays you to tutor him bc he knows you need the money while taka preferred to buy you snacks and drinks as compensation

so it was normal that he had an energy drink in his bag that he was going to give you tomorrow during your tutoring day

‘oi! l/n!’

your head perked up at the call of your name and you nodded in greeting at the light brown haired boy

‘hey’

you muttered and mattsun placed his hands on your shoulder to keep you upright

‘oi, l/n, you sure you want to be here? you can go home and we can tell them youre sick or some-’

but you waved your hand

‘nonono todays an important lecture so i cant miss it’

the two guys didnt look convinced but they respected your need to be in school since they too need to be in class for midterms

‘here. at least take this’

makki placed a drink on your hand and you nodded and gave them a small smile

‘thanks’

you mumbled before wandering off

once they saw you at a distance away, makki wrapped an arm around issei to get his attention

‘ya think we should tell oikawa to keep an eye on him? make sure he doesnt keel over and die or somethin?’

mattsun stopped before nodding

‘yea thats a good idea’

SKLFJLSDKJFD NOT MATTSUHANA BEING YOUR PARENTS

oikawa was already in class when you walked in and he cant help but tear his eyes away from the girls to you as you sluggishly walked to your seat

the drop of your bag and the thud of your head meeting the desk made him worried bc you looked worse than usual

his phone buzzed and he checked it to see a message from mattsun

‘keep an eye out for your boyfriend. mightve been working late last night and yanno how he is. just watch out if he faints or something’

okay that made him super worried

totally ignoring what mattsun called you, oikawa knew he needed to talk to you

but these fangirls were the first problem

he shut his phone off and looked up at them with a grin that made them madly blush

‘ladies, class is about to start. oikawa-senpai would hate for you to be marked. so study hard for me, okay?’

like hypnotized cult members, the girls ran to their classrooms and tooru finally had the opportunity to talk to you

he stood up and walked over to your seat

‘m/n-chan’

he called out, looking down at you

‘m/n-chan’

he tried again and was about to put a hand on your shoulder when your hand snatched it

‘dont touch me, oikawa’

you grumbled and tooru furrowed his eyebrows

‘m/n-chan, i just wanted to ask if youre okay’

he whined and you didnt bother to look up but just let go of his hand

‘i was until you came over, idiot’

ouch

tooru was thankful that the teacher came in then and there bc he didnt know how to respond to that

he wanted to brush it off but it hurt him a little

and he knows he shouldnt entertain his crush on you but he couldnt looking at you and watching as you got up to use the bathroom

as class went on, oikawa was starting to worry

now again, hes no stalker bc his observation skills were just phenomenal due to volleyball

so he noticed that youve been in the bathroom for like 20 minutes now

DONT JUDGE US, OIKAWA. WE’RE JUST TRYING TO PUSH OUT THE BIG PIECE OF-

okay nevermind

anyways

tooru, worried that something happened, raised his hand to go and use the bathroom and the sensei wasnt exactly paying attention so he just let him go

thank god he has long legs bc he was able to reach the bathroom quick and he stifled a shriek when he saw your passed out form inside

‘M/N-CHAN!’

he yelled and he cursed when duh you were alone and who knows how long youve been there

and ew bathroom floors is bleh

you were in no way light but you werent exactly heavy either so he was able to muster up all his strength and hoisted you on his back

tooru’s heart thrummed in his chest and he knew it couldnt be that serious but he cant help but think of the worst

and yep

the nurse just told him that your heartbeat was okay and you were snoring so you mustve been exhausted by the dark circles in your eyes

‘keep an eye on him for me. i have to tend to midoriya over there. the kid broke his arm again and i dont know how’

she grumbled at the end but tooru didnt care as he sat on the chair next to your bed

he sighed before laying his head on the cot by your hand

his eyes settled on your face and how peaceful it looked

gosh, you really were so cute

your personality just sucked ass

constantly telling him to shut up and calling him idiot

hmph

not long after oikawa fell asleep, you woke up and cursed, immediately realizing you fainted and you missed class

as you were going to rub your eye, there was weight on your hand and you looked down to see a head full of brown hair that could only belong to a certain someone

a certain idiot

‘oi. oikawa, wake up’

you shook his head and when he didnt budge, you just pulled your hand from under him making him jump awake

at first, he was confused

looking around like a lost puppy and his eyes bleary

yea it was cute and what about it

then he noticed you sitting up and he smiled

‘you feeling better, m/n-chan?’

he asked, leaning close

but you placed your hand on his face to push him away

‘yea. and stop leaning so close, idiot’

you grumbled and he whined

‘youre so mean, m/n-chan! i was so worried about you!’

he complained and you rolled your eyes

‘i didnt ask you to be, idiot’

SLDKFJSDLKFJKL M/N IS SO MEAN WHAT THE FAK

oikawa frowned

‘i cant help it. i like you, m/n-chan’

you froze, looking at him with scrunched eyebrows

then you chuckled dryly

‘yea, okay sure. im okay now so you can go to class’

wOW OIKAWA DESERVES BETTER WHAT

tooru was taken aback

‘wh-what? thats it? after i just told you that i liked you?’

you blinked at him

‘what do you want me to say about that, oikawa? how do you want me to react? im not like your fangirls, squealing and shit’

your words cut deep in him and oikawa held your arm

‘no wait a minute. what do you mean by that? do you not believe me?’

‘who the hell believes something that’s fake?’

there was a snip in your tone and oikawa knew you were talking about this facade of his

‘what? i-’

‘you think i believe you? you telling me you like me? do you even know who you are?’

you asked and tooru sniffled, eyes staring at your chest

‘for years, you told people what you wanted them to hear, regardless if you meant them or not. not once have you ever told them no. who the hell accepts chocolates when they dont even like them to begin with?’

at that last part, oikawa snapped up to meet your eyes

‘how did you know’

you rolled your eyes

‘our brothers are friends, idiot. he gave him some of the chocolates you gave to takeru since the brat couldnt eat them all’

oddly, that brought some warmth in tooru’s chest

so he wasnt the only one who knows the stupid stuff

but you continued on your rant

‘for a guy who doesnt like sweet stuff, youve accepted their nasty treats all the time, like why? oh, wait i know why, because you want them to like you. it doesnt matter if-if this-this persona of yours isnt real because as long as they like you, you dont give a fuck. isn’t that true? am i right? because please, prove me wrong’

maybe your dislike for him came out at that tangent and you half expected him to cry but you were surprised when he glared at you with teary eyes

‘i will. ill prove you wrong, m/n, that i do like you and i will make you like me. ill make you like me with the real me. i swear.’

‘mhm. okay. sure, oikawa’

do you regret it?

i mean,,,

kinda?

but not really?

because you loved watching the girls faces fall when oikawa rejected their treats the next day

you were walking to class when you noticed him with his cult by the entrance and you saw him smiling at some girl before gently pushing away a can of cookies

‘gomen. i actually dont like sweets that much anymore. if you want, you can give me milk bread?’

you stopped and oikawa caught your eye and he grinned

you nodded in greeting before continuing to walk

but he noticed a small smile on your face and gosh oikawa sighed like a lovesick fool

it took iwaizumi to finally send him back and his fangirls were looking at him worriedly

‘could you be less obvious, shittykawa?’

rip iwaizumi hajime in episode 546546546 of daily adventures of oikawa tooru

you noticed that oikawa has started to become distant with his fangirls and hes been sticking to you during lunch, leaving behind the others

makki and mattsun looked like proud parents as they peered down over to you flicking oikawa’s forehead and they smiled

‘god, that kid deserves this’

‘hah? that sounds like more of a punishment to me. but i dont care. it takes him off our hands for a while’

IWA I SWEAR HES SO MEAN BUT HE STILL WUVS TOORU SO ITS OKAY

oikawa would pick your brother up and take him home when youre too busy to go get him yourself and sometimes, he even takes your little sister too which causes them to have a mini sleepover and you sleep there too

also, whenever youre working in the convenience store, tooru would buy sandwhiches and a drink just for you so you can eat them while youre on break and not have to waste money and you told himyou dont want him spending money on you but he doesnt wanna hear it

‘i dont want you buying me-’

‘ssshhhh dont. im doing this because i want to and becaus i care for you, m/n-chan’

overtime,

yea

sure

youve started to like him

youve started looking forward to seeing his stupidly cute face and his stupidly cute giggle

you went to his games and gave him a tight hug when hes about to play as a ritual for good luck and you would open your arms for him wide whenever he wins

then he didnt

against shiratorizawa, you noticed how he was so disappointed

even as you walked home with him, he continued to smile and tell you how good his team played

until you couldnt take it anymore

you pulled him over to some alleyway and you pushed him to the wall

DSKLFJLSDKFJLSDFJ WOW WHAT

oikawa nervously fiddled with his jacket and gave you a shaky smile

‘m/n-chan, what are you-’

‘tell me what youre feeling right here, right now. no bullshit, no lies, tell me everything in that pretty head of yours’

you deadpanned and tooru looked away

‘im fine’

‘are you lying to me, tooru?’

your voice was even but he could tell you were serious

he gulped before taking in a shakey breath

‘im fine. so stop asking about it!’

he exclaimed and you sighed

‘listen, i know its not official yet but you want me to be your boyfriend right?’

tooru flinched before he flushed at the word ‘boyfriend’

then he nodded

‘as your boyfriend, you have to lean on me, tooru. i dont want you to hold it to yourself because i wanna be there for you and i want to go through everything with you because i,,,,,’

you stopped and hesitated, debating if you should say it or not

‘because i like you, idiot’

you confessed and swallowed thickly

oikawa met your eye and his eyes watered

‘im so angry! im so disappointed! but i know my team did their 110 percent! we’re just not strong enough! so its not their fault! but ushijima is such a freak and hes too strong and its not fair!’

he complained and he cried loudly

not once in the 3 years of knowing oikawa have you seen him cry and you were so proud of him for being able to trust you enough to show him being vulnerable

you rushed forward held him close to your chest

‘for what it’s worth, you looked so incredibly hot and cute playing’

you whispered and pecked his neck

of course oikawa couldnt hold his surprise at the feeling of your lips on his neck so he squealed a little

you gigled and continued holding your boyfriend close, even if it was at some nasty alleyway

yall became official and ngl, they didnt see this coming

some nobody dating the grand king oikawa tooru?

what in the wattpad?

yall know that tiktok of like ‘guys you cant dm me anymore. i have a girlfriend now. what else? and i love her’

IF YALL DONT KNOW IM SORRY

but you totally made oikawa tell his fangirls that

YOU KNOW THE FUNNY THING?

when yall became official, you actually gained your own little fanclub

maybe its because you gained clout from your boyfriend but they started noticing you and wowza you were hot

before, it was you getting jealous over tooru but now, it was him getting possessive of you

hes such a brat that he sits on your lap before class and youre just all smirking and feeling all good bc your baby is so cute when hes jealous

YOU CANT DISAGREE THAT HE DOESNT RADIATE UKE ENERGY

but all oiks has to do is pull down your collar and expose your purple littered collarbones and they will know who you belong to

theres a reason why iwa-chan is now the kids babysitter

youre still kinda cold and distant to people but youre soft for your baby and you always hold him close when hes in sight and you just cant get enough of him

:’)

also!!

your sister loves dressing you up and oikawa has his sisters makeup and they both do your makeup and you guys have tea party with the boys and just the cutest domestic stuff

you still call him idiot though

but like affectionately yanno?

and over the years youve turned it down to dummy

and ngl tooru loves it when you call him that

what in the dumbification-

because he knows that equivalent to babe from you and he absolutely just loves you lmao

youre def the more quieter and calmer one in the relationship like you absolutely dont react much

while tooru is the overreactor and hes very animated with his facial expressions and stuff

like the one time

he was cooking some chicken pasta and you cheekily grabbed a piece of chicken and he made a dramatic gasp

‘*le gasp* oikawa m/n how dare steal a piece of chicken!’

you cackled before crossing your arms at the sight ofyour lover with his pursed lips and hands on his hips

‘excuse you. its more of you who’d take my last name’

it was so easy to make him flustered and tooru quickly turned around to tend back to the food but he was really just hiding his red face

‘b-baka. thats not going to happen’

‘not if i do it first’

you shrugged and smirked, wondering if he will fall for it

and as expected with oikawa tooru

‘yea okay sure’

‘i will!’

‘prove me wrong, m/n-chan~’

‘turn around right now’

oikawa rolled his eyes playfully before turning with a smile

‘what are you-*le gasp part 2*’

his hands covered his mouth at the sight of you there in front of him, kneeling on your knee tightly clutching a silver ring between your thumb and index finger

your heart was thrumming in your chest but you gulped and smiled

‘i win. now marry me, dummy’

oikawa screamed

a/n: sorry if this sucked booty :((( but i just really like the thought of uke oikawa and just him with a cute boyfriend for a change like please we all know oikawa is a bi king and thats on docosahexaenoic acid

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pinkcatharsis · 4 years

Text

I dunno if I should legit continue this because I can’t remember where I was going with it. Read a prompt at @sloaners anon or a comment in one of their posts (fantastic art btw go check it out!) about Tsunade adopting a bb Tenzou and well. I wrote this and it’s unfinished and yeah.

I actually don’t even have a title for it. Was supposed to be an eventual YamaIru, too. Oh well!

—

Names have power, they say.

Tenzou can agree to a certain point because his experience from his missions, his targets, countless reconnaissance on high profile politicians has proven that people tend to cower from the syllables of a name if they are a threat.

Names carry prestige more than an identity.Names give history, are the pillars for legacy provided it is a name the people can accept. More often than not, it is a vessel for fear, control

They’re also a convenient excuse for people to either sing with high praise or forget because the truth is always a pill too hard to swallow.

Sometimes it lies ignored despite its great sacrifice to stop a rampaging monster, when the womb still bleeds fresh and a goodbye too soon falls from crimson lips. It is ignored because it is easier to hate someone helpless than to acknowledge a name that saved everyone.

Sometimes it is indifferent, distant, as cold as the unreadable, white irises of its clansmen.

Sometimes it lies abandoned, walls cracking, dust collecting over blood stained tatami mats where the weight of shame fueled enough strength to slice through flesh. Shame because of a choice to save one’s comrades as opposed to prioritising the mission.

Sometimes it is soaking in blood, whispers of its massacre echoing loud, and towards the end of it, the word traitor.

And sometimes, they’re just old, only remembered through history that is a core subject within the Academy walls, a prerequisite in terms of knowledge for every Konoha shinobi. They’re faded, scattered, heirless, visually only present through the carvings of stone that towers over the village.

Tenzou is conditioned to not pay any heed to something as trivial as a name. Not when he’s been conditioned, trained extremely well, that the only thing that matters is servitude to the village. That the name Konoha is the only thing of true value.

Greater people have sacrificed themselves for the good of village and now, their heir wanders Konoha’s walls shunned, sneered, hated, ignored. Their names hardly mattered in the present -- it’s like the Yellow Flash only exists as a tier to be achieved in terms of talent, hard work and mission success and nothing else. As if the man behind the legacy hardly existed.

Legacy means nothing, Tenzou realizes, in the grand scheme of things.

When you die, you just die.

It’s okay to die nameless.

Tenzou hears about Tsunade’s arrival tucked behind the cover of an open locker door. Apparently, Tsunade-hime is in the village for a visit. And like always, she has spent her first day sitting with her former sensei, having tea until she had flung the table across the room, out the window in a fit of uncontrolled, roiling rage.

“I think it’s because sandaime is asking her to stay,” one fellow ANBU says.

“No, it’s got something to do with her gambling debt for sure,” another says.

“Monkey says it has something to do with the council pressuring her to produce an heir,” a softer voice says.

“I thought she couldn’t?”

“Or she doesn’t want to?”

The conversation explodes, only coming to a sudden stop when the sound of a door opening puts a halt on the outright gossip that Tenzou shamefully has been eavesdropping on. Someone dares throw a table out the window in front of the Hokage? And the Hokage does nothing? Tenzou thinks back to Danzou an Root -- if any of them dared show such insubordination, that would mean at least half a day’s worth of lashings under the scorching sun and then dry fasting isolation for thirty-six hours. Not many tend to survive that but that would just mean they’re too weak to remain in Root, anyway.

“Don’t you guys have better things to do?” Kakashi’s voice cuts through with a drawl. It is followed by a series of locker doors shutting, rapid shuffling and then silence. “Oi, Tenzou. The Hokage needs you.”

Tenzou straightens, tugging his clean armor on and running a comb through his damp hair. He slams his locker shut and gives his senpai a wordless nod, acknowledging the summon.

A summon that suddenly renders him not so nameless anymore.

Tsunade is a towering figure, heals almost five inches high, back straight, eyebrows narrowed, hands on her hip and staring down at him like he’s a two year old.

“How old are you?”

“Fourteen,” Tenzou responds, keeping perfectly still. He isn’t intimidated by Tsunade’s persona. He’s just feeling a little too awkward because if Tsunade leaned any closer to examine him, her breasts would be ten centimeters too close to his face to be called professional, let alone proper.

“You are awfully small for a fourteen year old,” Tsunade tartly says, almost disappointed.

“I am a hundred and twenty nine and a half centimeters,” Tenzou agrees, well aware of how stunted his growth is. Danzou always factored his slow growth to the radiation and chemical exposure, a side effect to the experimentation Tenzou miraculously survived. But small doesn’t mean weak, Danzou had said, one of the few times he had been encouraging.

“Do you even eat, boy?” Tsunade scoffs.

“Yes. Five meals a day when I am in the village, continuously supplemented by calorically dense ration bars that Danzou-sama advised to--”

“Hah! Which one -- the one that tastes like sweet wet newspaper or the one that tastes like mouldy bread?” Tsunade snorts.

Tenzou finds himself stammering a little, glancing a little cluelessly at the Sandaime who is taking a very, very long drag from his pipe. Tenzou’s mouth quickly clamps shut before he can voice out his confusion. He can’t honestly say he knows what mouldy bread tastes like nor can he say he’s actually tried eating wet newspaper, let alone a sweetened one. So he goes with what he thinks is the correct response to this kind of inquiry. “The N-4150?”

“Sweet, wet newspaper. At least that old fart chose the better formula.” Tsunade rolls her eyes before taking - thank heavens - a proper step back.

Tenzou blinks once, altering between Tsunade now very put-upon expression and the Sandaime who is standing there as if he were part of the book shelf. “Hokage-sama, should I not continue consuming the N-4150?”

Sandaime rumbles an amused noise, blowing out a slow stream of tobacco smoke before he stands, rounding the table. “Why don’t you demonstrate your Mokuton skills for Tsunade, Tenzou? After all, that is the reason you were summoned here.”

It gets another eyeroll, with a bit of a scoff from Tsunade, who crosses her arms under her breasts.

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” Tenzou acknowledges.

He puts his hands together, channels just enough chakra and forms a small pot in his hands, slowly filling it with roots coiling until it sprouts green leaves, topped with large, black centered white poppies.

“Oh, white poppies,” Sandaime smiles, his face wrinkling. “An interesting choice. You see, Tsunade, Tenzou here has been studying botany for a year now. He’s a bit of an artist with his gardening. Tenzou, didn’t you recently start studying architecture as well?”

“I have only started reading some reference books three months ago, Hokage-sama,” Tenzou responds, with a bit of a nod, as his fingers tightens a little bit around the pot in his hands, not quite sure what to do with his creation-demonstration.

“Hmmm,” Sandaime hums, a touch bemused before he brings his pipe back up to his lips. “Reminds you of someone, doesn’t it, Tsunade?”

Tenzou looks at Tsunade, who in a space of a heartbeat looks far too young in a show of vulnerability, as her throat bobs when he swallows. It gets washed away when he clicks her tongue and turns to look at Tenzou, giving him a once over.

“Well, no one fucks with grandfather’s DNA, gets away with it and then keep it from me. Had it been anyone else but Danzou, Root of all places, I wouldn’t take issue! When did you discover your Mokuton skills, boy?”

“A year before I graduated from the Academy.” Tenzou swallows. “I was five years old.”

“Nine years! With that creep!” Tsuande shouts.

Sandaime’s tobacco inhale had to be the longest one Tenzou has ever seen.

Sandaime exhales, responding with a sigh, “Better late than never, hmm?”

“Fine.” Tsaunde grouches. “I’ll do it. Tenzou, you can call me okaa-san when you’re ready.”

The pot drops from Tenzou’s hands.

“Eh?”

Tenzou thinks it's a good response. Given the proverbial punch to the face he’s just received.

It’s not that Tenzou wants to say he cares much for the idea of family.

It’s more like he doesn’t quite know what to do with it.

(What does family even mean?)

So Tenzou, much like every other time he gets moved around like he’s no more than a potted plant, agrees.

Not like it really matters, right?

He thinks of it as just having another sort of… superior?

A superior that Tenzou apparently now gets to live with after all of those paperwork.

In a large, inherited estate, closed off, covered in wildly growing flora and fauna. The estate does not look like it’s been lived in for decades. There is damage from the growth of vines, some of it poking through the tatami doors, and getting to the interior of the house. There are a few soda cans littered around the gate, some old, some new. Likely the result of dares from the younger crowd of Konoha.

The once heralded Senju estate that Hashirama and Tobirama and their families once resided in is now nothing more than a shadow of its former glory. Uncared for. Outdated. Obsolete.

“Well,” Tsunade huffs. “I haven’t seen this place in, hmm, ten years maybe? Maybe twelve? Tche, what a dump.”

Tsunade toes an old, faded orange soda can by her heel, kicking it further away.

Tenzou wishes he’s no more than a spore in the ground. Should he say something? He may be a Senju by name and by experimental DNA, but that doesn’t really make him a Senju-Senju.

It’s just circumstances.

“Well? What do you think, kid? You like the house?” Tsunade holds her hand out at the once upon a time regal grounds, now overgrown with weeds and littered with random junk.

Tenzou looks at the estate again and decides to go with the most diplomatically acceptable response there is in this case.

“It’s a lot bigger than my apartment,” Tenzou politely responds, as his eyes stray towards the patch of wildly growing rosary pea and oleander growing by the gate.

Tsunade’s booming laughter echoes throughout the entire compound, bemused and real. She doubles over, slapping a hand on her knee, her laugh tapering off to a bit of a wheeze. It almost sounds nervous. A little hysterical even.

Tenzou tilts his head to the side, staring up at this woman, this new mother of his, a legendary sannin, one of the most if not the best, medic there is in the country.

Would it be rude to ask her if she is okay?

“Kid,” Tsunade snorts, shaking her head, reaching out to ruffle Tenzou’s long hair. “I like your sense of humor. You and I are going to get along just fine.”

Tsunade asks to see his apartment.

And then proceeds to wear what Tenzou can only assume is her analytical face. It’s peppered with a little judgment, too.

Tenzou’s current apartment is a shoebox in size, with enough space for a single bed, a small sectioned off wall by the door turned to a makeshift kitchen and a connecting bathroom that Tsunade, no doubt, will have to carefully manage her long limbs.

“You like it here?” Tsunade asks, her lips twisting at the sight of the old hotplate on the tiny kitchen counter.

“It serves its purpose.” Tenzou shrugs.

“That wasn’t my question,” Tsaunde prompts, turning that analytical gaze back to Tenzou.

Tenzou frowns, resisting the urge to reach up and rub the back of his head in partial confusion, partial irritation. It’s a comfortable space -- what is she on about? Having an opinion on something as trivial as a living space serves no purpose in the betterment of Tenzou’s skills in the field. It has no correlation to his successful mission counts. Liking something or anything for that matter doesn’t make missions easier or harder, either.

Unsure of how to respond, Tenzou resorts to Danzou’s advice when it comes to undercover. If you’re caught in a tight spot, the easiest thing to slip out of attention is to either blend with your surroundings or mirror the person in front of you.

Tenzou goes for the mirror, sloping his eyebrows down the same way Tsunade is, relaxing his shoulder to what looks like a wary slump, canting his head just the tiniest bit to the side, and responds with what he hopes is a conclusion to this conversation, “It’s all right.”

Tsunade goes quiet for a while, before she sighs slowly and curses under her breath.

“Let’s try this again,” Tsunade sighs, gesticulating with her hand towards the entirety of the small apartment. “What do you think would make this space better suited for you? Take into consideration that you are also currently studying botany and architecture.”

Tenzou looks at the small stack of reference books he had borrowed from the public library, how he has to do most of his reading on the bed. If he had to sketch on drawing paper, he usually does so on the ceiling given the lack of floor space and a full flat wall that isn’t lined with bulging pipes or the sil of the window, with the paper taped on the corners. Makes it easier for him to get on his knees and practice his pencil sketches.

“Then that’s something you should consider when you fix our house, hmm?”

Oh. So he’s fixing it.

Well.

Okay, then.

—

And yeah that’s all I got. 🤷🏻‍♀️

#yamato tenzo #anbu tenzo #tenzou yamato #yamairu #tsunade adopts tenzou #tsunade is wine mama #senju tenzou #please help yamato

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weebtarurights · 4 years

Text

Tsuzuru Minagi SR (Heroic Tale of the Pure Detective)

Read full translation under the cut!

Story Title: “During the Stakeout “

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ PART 1 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Tsuzuru: This office building is really huge... (Moreover, why am I looking up at the building holding red bean bread on my right and milk on my left... What in the world am I doing?) It all started when....

----*flashback

Tsuzuru: I'm sorry for making you help me find props.

Kazunari: No worries. Fishin' around the warehouse is my cup of tea! Citron: Don't be shy, Tsuzuru! I'm a member of the Spring Troupe too. No need to show duality. [1] Kazunari: You mean, formality? Citron: That's right! Tsuzuru: Eh? That's nowhere close at all. Anyways, thanks for your help. Kazunari: Found the prop you're huntin' for? Tsuzuru: Found it. Citron: We used these handcuffs several times before, didn’t we? Tsuzuru: Right. I will be playing as a detective this time so I have to get accustomed to handling this. Kazunari: U---mmm... Citron: Hmm….. Tsuzuru: (They're staring way too hard… I have a bad feeling about this.) Kazunari: It kinda feels off... Citron: I think so too. It's probably because you're not so detective-like! Kazunari: Right on! I mean, you totes slayin' getting handcuffed rather than vice versa! Tsuzuru: You mean I'm more suitable to be a criminal?! Citron: No, no! That's not it. Kazunari: You see, when you were paired with Chika-chon during Halloween, you were handcuffed as a prisoner, weren't you? You were straight up slayin' those vibes. Tsuzuru: Sigh... Citron: You have to become more detective-like! Kazunari: Right! Tsuzuru: To become more detective-like, huh... I might need to start doing my role study now. Citron: I know it! When you say detectives, it means stake out! Kazunari: True that! Sure got some slick ideas there, Ronron! Why not tail some peeps in the theater for a day? Tsuzuru: No, that's more stalker-like than detective.... Kazunari: It's for your role making; pretty positive everyone's gonna do you solid! It's gonna be OK if we tip off everyone on LIME while keepin' it on the down low for your target. Citron: Sounds great~! I'm sure it's going to be a good reference for you. Tsuzuru: Wait, why are you the ones deciding everything? Citron: Who's going to be your target? Kazunari: Must be someone stake-out worthy ! Citron: It has to be Sakyo! Tsuzuru: It's going to be messy if I get caught sneaking around Ginsenkai! Moreover, Furuichi-san won't allow it. Citron: Ohh~! How about someone mysterious? Kazunari: Isn't Chika-chon our best candidate for that? Citron: Nice idea~! During Halloween, Chikage arrested you. It's about time to turn tables! Tsuzuru: Well, I'm not sure about that... Kazunari: It's decided! your target's gonna be Chika-chon! Citron: As a rule of thumb, you have to take this milk and red bean bread with you! Make sure you shout "You're under arrest!" and finish off by putting handcuffs on him! Tsuzuru: Hey. Do I really need to do that? Citron: It’s a must! Tsuzuru, fighting !

----

Tsuzuru: (It was too troublesome so I just agreed and went with it but....) (It's really suspicious to sneak around the office district. It's my first stakeout. My target is already a tough one.) Sigh..... But well, it's for my role study. I've already started, might as well finish it. (A lot of people are coming in and out of the trading company building. The university is nowhere like this. If I can observe people--) ( Wait, wait, my thoughts are drifting.. I should've at least gone here in a suit...) (No, no, thinking about this and that won't help with my role making... I am a detective. I am a detective.)

-----*LIME Notification* Tsuzuru: Hm? LIME? From who---? Foreign Tourist: Excuse me? Tsuzuru: Eh? Y-yes? Foreign Tourist: <Excuse me, could you tell me the way to the station?> Tsuzuru: That's....? They're asking for the way to the station...right? Umm, the station is---- Tsuzuru: Phew.... I'm glad they understood the directions even in my broken English. Ah. Chikage: .....

Tsuzuru: (Chikage-san finally came out! Alright, gotta tail him.)

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ PART 2 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Tsuzuru: Chikage-san is passing through building streets but where is he going? Chikage: ...... Tsuzuru: (He went into the alley!) (It looks like a back road or something.... What on earth is this place?) Curry Shop Staff: Welcome! Chikage: Is meal set 10, Limited Red Devil Curry still available? Tsuzuru: (...It's a curry shop!? Too dicey... Come to think of it, it's already noon. Maybe he's here to eat lunch? I experienced a little bit of thrill just now. I'm a bit nervous but it's interesting!) (But....) The smell of curry is making me hungry. I want to eat something but Chikage-san might come out while I'm buying food... Can't help it, I have to suck it up. (I think Chikage-san is done eating now. Let me peek inside the shop.) (He's gone! Just hen did he---?)

Tsuzuru: (I went back here hurriedly but I couldn't find him at all...) Damn it---Did I fail my investigation....? I ran as fast as I could so I'm hungrier now. I think I'll just buy something at the convenience store. Izumi: Ah, there you are. Tsuzuru-kun! Tsuzuru: Eh? Director? Izumi: Good work. Here, I brought you some snacks. Tsuzuru: Red bean bread and milk.... ! Thank you for bringing me these. How did you find out I'm here? Izumi: Eh? Well... Citron-kun asked me to bring it. Tsuzuru: ? Is that so? I'm really hungry. I'll eat 'em right away.

CHOICE 1: “How's your role study going?” Izumi: How's your role study going? Tsuzuru: It's my first time going on a stakeout but I think it pretty much went well. I realized how detectives feel when they're tailing someone. I was a little nervous though. Izumi: Ahaha. I see. Tsuzuru: It's also refreshing to observe the people around the office district. I thought it could be a good way to get new ideas. It was a great reference not only for role making but for the script too. Izumi: I couldn't agree with you more.

CHOICE: “You're giving off a detective-like vibe.” Izumi: You look exactly like a detective when you’re holding red bean bread and milk. Tsuzuru: You think so? You see, it's really difficult to tail someone. I felt deeply how hard it is to become a detective. Thank you for coming all the way here to bring me snacks. Izumi: You're welcome. Tsuzuru: I'll definitely do my best for my role after this. --- Tsuzuru: .....Thank you for the meal. It was a life-saver. I ate red bean bread and milk this morning too. Izumi: You did? You ate nothing but red bean bread today. Should we buy something else? Tsuzuru: It's fine, my bad. ???: How about these snacks then? Tsuzuru: Ah, thank y--- EH? Chikage: Good work. Itaru: GJ- Tsuzuru: Eh!? Chikage-san and Itaru-san!? W-why... Itaru: Heh? You haven't checked your LIME? Tsuzuru: LIME? Ah, that's right... I was about to check it when someone suddenly asked me for directions. I totally forgot... Let's see... From Citron-san to... Company-wide Group?!

Izumi: Citron-kun sent it to the whole group by mistake. Tsuzuru: HAH!? Chikage: I pretended to be oblivious about it and kept quiet till now... So I thought I'd buy you some snacks to compensate. Itaru: I met senpai on my way back. Tsuzuru: What ...the hell. So... when I lost track of you, you went somewhere to buy snacks? Chikage: That's right. Tsuzuru: Sigh.... Geez...It won't look cool anymore but there's one rule Citron-san told me to do. Will it be alright for you to pretend and play along with it? Chikage: Sure. Itaru: Oh, so you also brought handcuffs with you. Tsuzuru: "You're under arrest!" Chikage: Good work. Tsuzuru: Sigh....Mission accomplished.

1) Citron mistook 'えくぼ' (ekubo) or dimples for '遠慮' (enryo) or formality, restraint, reservations.

#a3!#a3! translation #act addict actors #a3! actor training game #tsuzuru minagi #a3! tsuzuru #a3! magicians' pure love #currently on a stake out #tsuzuru minagi cards

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hyuwujin · 5 years

Text

brew-tiful | hjs

pairing: reader x jisung

genre: barista!au; fluff

length: 6.9k+

summary: you weren’t the most social person on the planet hence the reason you avoided the crowded coffee shop not far from your dorm. but when you’re forced to go and get your most needed coffee, you had no idea the change your life would go through when you walked through those doors. the cause of the change? the dumb charming barista behind the coutner flashing smiles whenever he saw you.

a/n: i’m back hello!!! wooh, i’m so happy my motivation to write has returned and let’s hope it stays!! i’m hella rusty so soz if this fic suck :/ enjoy bbs!!! also dedicated to @changbear bc she’s been w a i t i n g so long for this oof

You never walked into the campus cafe that was a convenient distance from your dorm building, mostly because of how crowded it always was. You hated crowds. Crowds meant noise. Noise meant distractions.

But looking out the large glass windows at the sight of the cafe while you stood in front of the empty vending machine, your thoughts changed.

I need a coffee to help me stay awake to write this damn essay, you thought to yourself with a frown.

Looking back at the vending machine, your eyebrows furrowed in frustration. Huffing to yourself, you turned around and left the dorms, pulling the hood of your sweatshirt over your head when you noticed the damp ground and the sound of light rain hitting against the pavement.

You passed by smiling students holding their picky coffee orders in one hand, laptop in the other with a flat expression. You pulled on the strings of your sweatshirt.

Maybe you could order a coffee without having much social interaction.

Hah, if only it was that easy.

You walked into the semi crowded coffee shop and your nose was instantly hit by the sweet smell of brewing coffee. The smell alone woke you up a bit, causing you to look up and around for the cash register. Mustering up both the courage and patience, you waited on the end of the line.

One of the baristas, you noticed, was being occupied by a small group of enthusiastic girls twirling their hair and laughing at almost everything he said, causing you to scoff to yourself. Maybe this is why the line isn’t moving, you noted.

Then you noticed another barista rush up to the cash register, nudging the social barista with a pointed expression, before asking the next person in line for their order.

The few single people in front of you knew their somewhat complex order like the back of their hand and you felt uneasy, not having a clue what to get. You could go for an iced coffee...or an espresso...but that macchiato that girl was holding on the way out looked pretty good.

You didn’t notice the barista formerly speaking to the group of girls stop to glance around the shop, until his eyes landed on you. He smiled to himself, looking at the deep-in-thought pout on your face.

“Hey, can I get you anything?” The boy behind the counter excused himself from the group of giggling girls and turned to you with a welcoming smile. The barista originally at the cash register left to take care of a customer’s order. You felt your cheeks heat at the sudden attention you were getting, both from the handsome boy and the group of now glaring girls.

“I uh…” you trailed off, gnawing on your lower lip, scanning over the chalkboard menu behind his head. You admire the neat handwriting on the wall as you scanned; it was definitely boyish but still legible. You don’t notice the barista observing your concentrated face––furrowed brows and twisted lips––with an amused smile.

“Let me guess,” the boy chuckled, wiping his hands on his apron. “You’ve never been here before?”

Averting your gaze to the girls beside you, you felt yourself shrink under their scrutiny. Quickly turning your head back at him, you shook your head. “No, does it look obvious?”

“I think I can recognize everyone who’s ever walked in,” the barista boasted, crossing his arms. “...and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around before.”

“I don’t really go to cafes much,” you shrugged, not taking into account the fact that you were making small talk with some stranger when a few minutes ago all you wanted was a coffee.

“Oh, how come?”

Part of you wondered why the boy seemed so interested but by the way you previously observed his encounter with the now impatient girls waiting for his attention beside you, you figured he was like that with all of the customers. Must be good for tips, you presumed.

“Cafes are usually…loud. I don’t really concentrate well in them so that’s why I usually get a pre-made bottled coffee from the vending machine in my dorm.”

“And today’s different because…” the boy trailed off, waiting for you to continue, the side of his lip quirking up into a half smile.

“They were all out of my coffee,” you pouted, looking down. The barista watched your cute expression with a soft smile but immediately dropped it when you looked back up. He was not used to the way his heart was beating out of his chest.

“Ah, kinda hurts my ego that we were a last resort but I’ll take it since you’re here,” the barista smiled cutely and then you understood why the girls he was previously conversing with were giggling and beaming like idiots. This guy sure was charming.

Noticing the line forming behind you, you felt yourself flush in embarrassment. “Oh god, I’m stalling. Can I just get something strong to go please? I need all the caffeine I can get.”

Shooting you finger guns and a wink, he said, “You got it. Just wait over here.”

“How pathetic,” you heard one of the girls murmur to her friends, staring directly at you. “This girl’s just dying to get out of here.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? Wouldn’t want to stall our Jisung-ie any longer~” Another friend beside her whispered with a knowing smile.

Huffing to yourself with an eye roll, you walked around the group of girls and waited at the end of the counter near the wall.

“Alright, you didn’t exactly give me cream or sugar preference so I kind of guessed? Try it first so I’ll know if I need to fix it.” The barista came back with a steaming hot cup of coffee and held it out for you to take. It’s been a while since you hadn’t had coffee that wasn’t refrigerated and synthetic. Raising a curious brow at the boy’s eagerness for you to try the drink, you were intrigued.

Taking a small sip from the cup, you raised your eyebrows in utter praise for the drink in your hand. “This...is incredible. How much?”

The boy shook his head while waving his hands dismissively. “No charge. Every customer’s first drink at this cafe is free,” he grinned.

“Are...are you sure?” You trailed off, noticing the dropped jaws of the girls beside you just before their glares were replaced.

“Promise! I hope to see you again soon...wait, what’s your name?”

“Y/N,” you cleared your throat awkwardly, feeling heat rise up your neck.

“Well then, I hope to see you again, Y/N. That coffee from your vending machine is probably god awful and full of garbage so I really suggest returning here,” the handsome barista winked after his statement and woah, you didn’t think you’ve ever felt more flustered than you have in the past ten minutes. You notice the group of girls beside you whisper amongst themselves.

“I...I’ll see about that. Thank you…” you trailed off, cocking your head to the side, looking for any name-tag on the boy behind the counter.

“Jisung. My name’s Jisung.” You’d later learn that the reason he didn’t wear a name tag was because he felt the urge to introduce himself to customers as a way of getting to know them better.

“Thanks Jisung,” you mumbled before turning to leave and sprinted back to your dorms, trying your best to avoid getting rained on too harshly. The girls took your place in front of the counter, beginning their conversation with Jisung again but he was too absorbed in the sight of you to pay any attention to them.

“He what!? He gave you a coffee on the house?” Your fellow classmate and best friend, Felix, raised the empty cup from the cafe to examine. You raised an eyebrow as he scrutinized at it.

“Yeah,” you shrug nonchalantly, “He said it was policy that the first drink is free.”

“P-Pol–” Throwing his head back, Felix let out a loud laugh and you sent a confused expression his way.

“What’s so funny?”

“That policy doesn’t exist,” he said in amusement, putting the cup back on the table. Currently the two of you were at the study hall of your dorm building, studying for your economics test in a few days. Although you would have much rather finished your essay, which was your sole purpose of the getting the coffee in the first place, your friend decided to use your generosity against you to beg you to help him study instead.

“What are you talking about? Yes it does.”

“Oh yeah? Then how come I had to pay for my first coffee?”

“I dunno, maybe it’s a new policy,” you reasoned with a shrug.

“No, Y/N, you know what it is? Flirting.”

“Pfft, don’t be so ridiculous! I had maybe a five minute conversation with the guy, got my coffee and left. No flirtation was present during my trip to the coffee shop.”

“Hmm,” he hummed in response, pinching his chin. “Yeah, no. I don’t believe it. You were just flirted with the oldest trick in the book. ‘How much for my coffee?’ ‘For you? Don’t worry about it darling, it’s on the house. My treat.’” He started mimicking your voice unnaturally high in pitch and then mimics Jisung’s response. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes at his imitations.

“Hey,” you frown, smacking his arm. “He did not say that.”

“Yeah but he said something like that...Are you gonna go back?”

“Well,” you gnaw at your lower lip, wondering what to do with this new information. “I guess I have to?”

“You have to? Damn Y/N––”

“To pay him back obviously,” you cut him off, thinking aloud. “Right? Since the policy doesn’t exist, technically I’m stealing and there’s no way my conscience could deal with that without making it eat me up inside so the only reasonable thing to do is to go back and pay them back.”

“I…” Felix trailed off, scratching his head, “I guess so.”

It was the right thing to do wasn’t it? The gesture was kind and all but you couldn’t not pay them back. You knew other people would call you insane for returning back to the cafe you knew you wouldn’t just to spend a few dollars you could be spending on lunch.

You marched through the cafe doors and surprisingly, it was less crowded than you’d originally thought it be. The sun was nearly set, indicating that most classes were well over for the day and you’d think that students would head over to the coffee shop as a way of winding down or to do some homework. Seats were filled around the cafe but it wasn’t nearly as loud and crowded as it was the day prior.

“Woah there, you look like you’re on a mission,” a curly haired barista wiping down a table toward the entrance raised his eyebrows and smiled in amusement.

“Do you know if Jisung is here?” You cut to the chase, panting slightly from your swift walk to the shop.

Furrowing his brows, he looked up in thought, “Hm, he’s on break right now but he’ll be back in,” he paused to look over your shoulder at the hanging clock at the back of the shop behind the counter, “four minutes.”

“I guess I’ll wait then,” you murmured, taking an open seat at a booth against the wall of the cafe.

“Can I get you anything in the meantime? Some dessert or a drink?”

“No, no,” you shook your head with a smile. “Thanks.”

“No problemo,” he grinned, showing off his dimples. Was it a requirement to be cute to work at this cafe? You thought to yourself. “If you need anything, I’m Chan, so just holler.” It was no wonder that this café was so popular; all the workers seemed to radiate such charisma that you just couldn’t not return to say hello again.

You waited a few minutes, tapping your fingers without any sort of rhythm against the wooden table and watched the clock’s second hand gradually make its way around the circumference of the face. Chan noticed your rigid stare at the clock and fidgeting state with a mixture between an amused smile and a confused one.

“I couldn’t help but notice,” he began when he walked back over to the side of the cafe you were sitting at, brushing his hands against the sides of his faded blue jeans, “that you seem kinda nervous? Are you going to confess to him or something?”

Popping your eyes open, you opened your mouth to quickly deny his allegations before you felt yourself choke on your own breath and ended up in coughing fits. Chan widened his eyes in panic at your response and quickly walked away to retrieve some water from behind the counter. Chan walked back to your table and placed a tall glass of water on the table. “Have some water.”

Taking a gulp from the glass, you felt relief in your throat. Placing the glass down, you sighed, “Whew, thanks.”

“No problem.

Before you could even refute Chan’s accusation, you heard the jingle of the cafe door followed by “Good afternoon, beautiful people, I have returned.”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes in amusement at Jisung and his big goofy grin. This guy just exuded charisma. He didn’t notice you when he first walked in, probably because Chan was in his line of sight but as soon as he walked behind the counter and grabbed his apron from the hook on the wall behind him he spotted you.

“Y/N, you’re back!” He smiled gleefully, while tying the back of his apron. “Want another coffee?”

Shaking your head, you get up from the table, giving Chan a grateful smile in the process, and walked up to the counter. “I’m here to pay you back,” you took out your wallet and start to fiddle with some bills.

“Woah, what are you talking about?”

You didn’t look up from your wallet when you replied, “the policy? I know it’s not real. You didn’t have to just give me a coffee on the house. It was a sweet gesture, don’t get me wrong, really smart marketing you got there but––”

“Y/N,” Jisung stopped you and you look up to see his amused smile.

“What?” You blinked at him, tilting your head to the side in wonder. Were you missing something?

“I gave you the coffee because....” he trailed off before scoffing, “nevermind.” You were lucky you were cute.

“So... can I pay you back now?”

“To be fair,” Jisung crossed his arms defiantly, “since your coffee was on the house that means I paid for you so you don’t owe this shop anything.”

“Oh, so I should pay you. How much was it?” You look back down at your wallet.

Sighing to himself, he opened his mouth as if to answer before he closed it. Drumming his fingers against the counter, he hums in thought.

“Okay, how about a way to pay me back is to return here ever so often?”

“What?” You squinted your eyes suspiciously, wondering what he was asking. Is this...another marketing tactic?

“Even though you said you’d think about coming here again, I saw right through you: you weren’t going to come back. And the only reason you are back is to pay me back. So to pay me back, you have to come back to this cafe...once a day for a week.”

“A week?” you furrow your brows. “Dude, are you robbing me!? That’s like four dollars a day!”

“You don’t have to buy coffee if you come. Even if you just come in to say hi, I’ll call it payment.”

You paused for a moment, thinking about his offer. “Why?”

“Huh?” Jisung seemed taken back by the way he straightened his posture, widened his eyes and his former side smile became somewhat pout-like.

“What’s the deal with getting me to come around to this coffee shop? Do you do this with all your new customers?”

“No,” he leans back to grin before taking notice at someone at a table awaiting their order to be taken and Jisung nods at them and puts up a finger, gesturing ‘I’ll be right there.’ Turning back to you, he wiggles an eyebrow. “I guess you’re just special. I’ll see you tomorrow Y/N.”

He walked around the counter and walked over to the student with a charismatic smile and asked there order. You stood there for a few seconds, watching him interact with the customer, trying to figure him out. A clearing of a throat, broke you away from your thoughts.

“Are you sure you don’t want anything?” Chan asks from behind the register. You’d been so focused on the other boy, you didn’t even notice Chan walk around the counter.

“Uh,” you hum, looking down at the desserts behind the glass.You thought you weren’t hungry but the somewhat loud grumble of you stomach told you otherwise. “A blueberry muffin please.”

“Sure thing,” Chan nods, opening the case before asking, “warmed up?”

“Yes, please.”

He wrapped your muffin into a small bag and folded it before placing it on the counting. Typing away on the register he said, “That’ll be $1.75.” FInally you were getting charged for something.

“Here,” you gave him five dollars. “Give the rest to Jisung please? Just add it to his tip jar or something.”

Knitting his eyebrows together, he asked, “Why?”

“Well, since he refuses to let me pay him back for my coffee, I guess this’ll be my only way to,” you grin, taking the bag and waving at Chan. “Thank you!”

Chan watched you leave with an amused smile on your face and it wasn’t until the bell jingled behind you, signaling you were gone that he turned to Jisung.

“Did you literally pull a ‘it’s on the house’ flirt and it backfired?”

The few customers in the cafe look up from their coffee or studying at Chan’s shout, causing Jisung’s ears to go bright red. “Hyung!” He whisper shouted. Turning to the student with a nervous smile, he reassured, “I’ll be right back.” Walking over to the older boy until he was standing on the opposite side of the counter than him, he whined “Why’d you have to announce that in front of the whole cafe?”

“Please,” Chan rolled his eyes with a scoff, “You’re so red and smiley, everyone didn’t need to know because I announced it. You’re so obvious, dude.”

“Not to Y/N apparently,” Jisung grumbled to himself, looking down at the notepad in his hand with his customer’s order before pushing it over the counter for Chan to make. “I tried to do a smooth thing and she doesn’t even notice,” he murmured to himself, rubbing his forehead.

“Yeah that was kind of odd. It’s like she didn’t even acknowledge it at all,” Chan nodded with furrowed brows, turning to make the drink. “Think she’s just clueless or...perhaps, playing hard to get?”

“Hard to get?” Jisung’s eyes widened. The thought never came to Jisung. “You think?”

“Hm, maybe?” Chan shrugged to himself, back turned to Jisung.

Turning around to lean against the counter, Jisung cupped his forehead in frustration. He’s never been in that sort of situation. Granted, he’s also never been so bold with a girl either. It was one thing to charm and flatter girls till they were weak at the knees for him, but to do it upon acting on his own feelings? All of this was new.

And now you were playing hard to get?

Man, did he pick a tough one.

But he was willing to fight to win you over, even if it took months.

“I’m screwed.”

“Oh yeah and I’m pretty sure she’d rather you not know but she left a large enough tip for you in your tip jar to pay for her coffee yesterday.”

“Are you kidding me!?”

The next morning wasn’t a particularly productive one for you. You didn’t have classes till later in the afternoon but you still had studying to do and staying up late to finish your essay certainly didn’t help your mood.

Maybe some breakfast would do you some good. Some actual breakfast. You had a piece of toast when you woke up but the grumble of your stomach told you you weren’t satisfied. You walked out of your dorm building and involuntarily, your feet began moving in the direction of the sweet smell of baked goods.

Of course your luck was that you’d end up at the cafe at the same Jisung was working. Later you’d learn that your timing was so impeccable, you’d end up at the cafe when Jisung was working.

“My favorite girl!” Was the greeting you received when you entered, followed by the looks from random students you’ve never seen before. This boy…

You noticed two boys beside him behind the counter that you’ve never seen before, slapping his shoulder and laughing to each other, before Jisung pushed them off and offered you a grin.

“Do find joy in embarrassing me in front of strangers?” You asked when you reached the front of the counter.

“Maybe a little bit,” he smiles, resting his chin against his palm as he leaned against the counter. “What can I get you, brew-tiful?”

The boys standing behind Jisung stifled laughs while you stared at Jisung’s wide grin with an unamused frown. “Really, now? You’re gonna give me dumb coffee puns?”

“Not dumb,” he denied, the smile on his face never faltering, “genius. Now, what would you like?”

“Something filling, I’m starving,” you pat your belly with a frown. “Any suggestions?”

“How about I surprise you?” He asked, quirking one of his eyebrows up.

“Well the last time you did, I was pleasantly satisfied so why not?”

“Great! I’ll be right back.” Jisung walked further down the counter to grab you a treat.

“So you and Jisung, huh?” One of the boys you noticed before smirked with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

“Me and Jisung what?” You asked blankly. “I just met the guy a few days ago.”

“Oh really? You guys seem pretty close for how long you’ve known each other,” the other boy piped. You looked at the boy’s name-tags with furrowed brows. Hyunjin and Jeongin.

The first boy, Hyunjin, nodded in agreement.

“I wouldn’t say close but I guess we’re friendly with each other. No clue why, though,” you shrugged.

“You’re the one who got the free drink, right?” Jeongin asked, not even bothering to hide his amusement with his grin.

Furrowing your eyebrows in confusion, wondering how they even found that out you responded, “yup, that’d be me. Why?”

“You must feel spe––”

“Hey, what lies are you feeding her?” Jisung cut off the barista with a scowl, holding the small paper bag in your hand.

“None, we swear!” Hyunjin piped, raising his hands in surrender. “Were we?” He asked, turning to you with a look of pure innocence. Yup, your initial thoughts about this place were right: you had to be incredibly cute to work there.

“Not really,” you shrugged before noticing the bag in Jisung’s hands. “Is that mine?” You ask shyly, pointing your finger at it.

“It is,” Jisung smiled, handing you the bag.

You found it funny how he’d look at his own friends with such pure disgust and then turn to you with the brightest smile.

“Uh-uh,” you stopped him from walking away, wagging your finger at him in scolding manner.

He turned back to you with a sly smile, “Aw, don’t want to leave so soon Y/N?”

“No-o,” you drawled, rolling your eyes, “I’d like to pay for it.”

Sighing, he turned to the register and tapped the screen a few times before opening his palm out, “$1.25 please.”

“Thank you,” you grinned, fishing out two dollars from your wallet. “And please...keep the change.”

You flashed him a final smile and a wave before you turn to go. You didn’t notice him go on his tippy-toes, to look over the people sat in the café and waiting on line, carefully looking at your reaction to what he picked out for you. Noticing the pleased smile on your face, Jisung gave himself a pat on the back and nodded to himself confidently.

“Woah, she’s blind. It’s pretty obvious you’re into her,” Hyunjin chuckled to himself, while wiping the counter with a damp washcloth.

“And dumb. You were just going to give her that cookie for free again! Man, I wish I had free food,” Jeongin whined, shoving his hands into his empty pockets, searching for any loose change.

“Yeah well, jokes on her,” Jisungs said, a smile growing on his face, “I gave it to her with a discount.”

“She gave you an extra seventy five cents anyway,” Hyunjin paused wiping to deadpan with a knowing look.

“Oh, shut up.”

“So what’s it like dating a barista? Does he, like, make coffees for you during his free time?” Felix asked in the middle of one of your study sessions the following day.

“Huh? Who am I dating?”

“Uh, that Jisung dude. Isn’t he the guy who gave you the drink for free?”

“Yeah but we’re not dating??”

“Oh really? Everyone I talk to has been saying that so I just assumed you were being an awful friend and not telling me about your love life simply because I’m a guy.”

“Please, when I get a boyfriend, you’ll be the first one to know,” you waved a hand dismissively. “But people seriously think we’re dating? That’s totally ridiculous!”

“Yeah being offered things for free and being smiled at and called his ‘favorite girl’ means absolutely nothing.”

“I….I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you cross your arms stubbornly with a huff.

“Ask anyone,” Felix said with a nonchalant shrug, “They all think you’re dating.”

“I...I just met the guy!”

“Ooh, I didn’t hear anything about you not liking him at all. Usually your first denial against dating anyone would be explaining your feelings but…”

“Don’t say that! I don’t like him, now if you’ll excuse me,” You stood up from the table. “I need to go sort something out.” You were getting a sense of deja vu from needing to confront Jisung earlier days prior.

“Tell your boyfriend I said ‘hi!’” your best friend cups his hand over his mouth to shout after you begin walking away. You shoot him a final scowl of disapproval before continuing on.

That day was a busy one for the coffee shop. You craned your neck around to calculate just how many people were in front of you on line and groaned in impatience when you counted more than fingers on one of your hands.

This is why I don’t go to coffee shops. They’re too loud and busy.

You passed the time gazing around the coffee shop. The first few times you were in there, you didn’t really look at the scenery, too busy focusing on your coffee and paying Jisung back.

You liked how warm the whole place felt. The whole shop was painted a dull forest green and there were brown wooden floorboards, perfectly accenting them. You took notice of the greenery around the cafe, small and tall potted plants scattered about and a fake vine wrapped around the menu board giving it an extra touch. The lights were dim, mostly because of the large array of windows in the front of the shop where the sun shone brightly through.

The tables were all wooden, that you observed the first time you sat down, but you didn’t notice how happy all the customers seemed to be. There were pairs and groups of friends sitting about, talking about their day or what’d they like to do over the weekend, or students in single seats, reading a book or making a conversation with a barista. You didn’t see a frown anywhere. It seemed that this cafe radiated such good vibes that no one could be angry in such a chill place.

“Uh, Y/N? Earth to Y/N?” A voice snapped you back to reality. You blinked at the fingers snapping in front of your face.

“Oh...hey!” You shook your head out of your daze, trying to remember why you’d come to the cafe in the first place.

Chucking to himself, Jisung asked, “Can I get your order?”

“Just a water,” you gnawed on your lower lip in regret. Why show up to his workplace if you simply had to ask him a question? You could’ve easily found him when he was done…

But then again, you never saw him outside the coffee shop so you wouldn’t know where to look in the first place.

“You came all the way here for a water?” Jisung asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, of course she didn’t,” a voice sang, the owner of it showing up behind Jisung. “She’s obviously here to say hello to her boyfriend. Don’t you have manners, dude?”

“B-boyfriend?”

“Uh no.”

The two of you spoke in unison, turning to the speaker.

“You have a boyfriend?” Jisung asked, turning to you with an almost betrayed expression on his face.

“I don’t???”

“Wait what’s going on,” the boy, now confused, scratched his head. “Are the two of you not dating? That is Y/N, right? I’m pretty sure someone told me you were dating.”

“Please excuse Minho,” Jisung leaned forward with a whisper, “He gobbles up any gossip he hears.”

“Hey, I heard that! Now move over, the people need their coffee!” Minho announced nudging Jisung to the side to take the next customer in line’s order.

Jisung nodded his head, gesturing for you to walk further down the counter, to not hold up the line. You leaned against the counter with your arms crossed.

“This is why I came,” you muttered, feeling your cheeks flush. “I don’t know who said what but my friend is telling me that people are telling him, gossiping I guess, that we’re dating,” you motion between the two of you with your hand.

“Wha––really?” You furrowed your eyebrows at how Jisung’s ears perked up and smiled at what you’d told him.

“Yeah, they’re all saying something about favoritism and giving me free stuff and discounts. But I haven’t gotten any since the first time though so I don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“Right,” Jisung chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, I didn’t say anything if that’s what you think. You think I’d do that to my favorite girl?”

“Well you sure like to embarrass me so I wouldn’t be too surprised. You seem like the kind to tease me that way.”

“Huh, that’s probably true but I promise it wasn’t me.”

“I believe you.” You truly did. Even though you probably wouldn’t have a few days prior, but Jisung really new to to charm his way into befriending people. “So, if you didn’t tell anyone, who did?”

Jisung shrugged. “Probably people around saw us and just assumed.”

Feeling your cheeks flush at the thought of people observing you and assuming you two were dating by your actions, you scoffed. “Pfft, what? How on earth could they think that?”

“It may sound like a total shock to you, Y/N, but I don’t talk to many girls as often or as willingly as I talk to you so…”

His statement did shock you. Several days prior, you saw the guy swarmed with girls around the counter giggling and cooing at him, and he seemed to bask in it. At least, you thought he did.

No doubt about it, you thought the guy was attractive since you first saw him so it didn’t come as a surprise that he had girls crowding him, hoping to earn a chance with him.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Jisung deadpanned. “I talk to other girls here in the coffee shop, sure, but it’s my job. I can’t just ignore them. You, though, I engage conversations with you first.”

You didn’t like the warm feeling you felt in your chest.

“Oh,” you mumbled, fiddling with your fingers.

“I understand if you want me to back off and stop bugging you so people stop assuming we’re—“

“It’s fine,” you cut him off sharply, snapping your head up to look at him. He was taken back by your answer, raising his eyebrows and widening his eyes. “You’re, uh, pretty cool so I don’t mind.”

“You don’t? Didn’t it bother you like two minutes ago???”

“It did,” you admit quickly, looking away for a split second, “But I changed my mind.”

“Oh, so you’ll still come around?”

Smiling at him, you raise an eyebrow, “Where else am I supposed to get my coffee?”

“Oh.”

“I’ll see ya around. I have a test to study for. Bye Jisung,” you gave a final wave before making your way to the entrance of the café.

Even after you left, Jisung was frozen, mouth agape and eyes widened.

“Uh, dude?”

“She’s willing going to come around,” the lovestruck boy sighed longingly, feeling his heart flutter in chest.

“Oh man, he’s whipped,” Minho chuckled to himself, patting Jisung on the back a few times before returning to making coffees.

And man, he was. At first, he might’ve seen you as a mystery, looking so out of place in that cafe the first time he saw you, but then the more of you he saw, his initial curiosity became anticipation in seeing you again. He couldn’t put his finger on it but something about you drew him closer to you. Maybe it was your first impression of him which wasn’t like the other girls he came to meet in the cafe. Or maybe it was the fact that you treated him like some normal guy and not eye candy. Maybe he liked the fact that you were a challenge to go for.

“I think I like this better,” Jisung mused, leaning over the counter, while you sipped your steaming hot chocolate.

“Hm?” you hummed, looking up at him curiously. You were currently sitting on a stool pushed up the the coffee counter, watching Jisung clean up from the busy work day. It was a Wednesday evening and there were plenty of crammers in the cafe that day.

“You being here voluntarily. When I made you come, I felt a little guilty so this is much better,” he smiled, turning away from you to clear the counter of any stray mugs a customer left around.

“Yeah,” you nodded in agreement, looking around at the empty coffee shop. “I definitely like being here when it’s almost closed.” It was only the two of you in the coffee shop. Chan was there about an hour earlier but left when Jisung offered to close up for him.

“Y/N, we closed up a half hour ago,” Jisung said, putting the mugs in the small quaint sink in the back corner. You paused sipping from your mug to look behind you at the door. The sign was flipped open to face the interior of the cafe.

Looking up at the clock, your eyes widened. “Crap, I didn’t even notice! Why didn’t you kick me out?” No wonder nobody had walked in.

“Because it’s just you.” He shrugged before turning to you, patting his hands against his apron. “Besides, it’s not like I’m itching to go back to my dorm.”

“You’re not getting paid extra though,” you frowned, feeling bad for wasting his time. Here you were, blabbing about how sucky you lab day was because your impotent partner couldn’t even hold a scalpel correctly when your dear friend could’ve been in his dorm sleeping peacefully.

“Your company is enough,” he sighed with a side smile, resting his hands against the counter and holding himself up.

“Alright, charmer,” you rolled your eyes, taking another sip of your hot chocolate. You’d grown to get used to Jisung’s smooth comments but that didn’t mean you weren’t affected by them. “You still look tired.” His eyelids were drooping and he seemed less perky during the later hours of the day.

“I’m fine~” he cooed, waving you off, motioning you to finish your hot chocolate.

“No, no, you need to go to sleep. Take it, I’m finished,” you handed him your half full mug.

“Y/N,” he whined, hesitantly taking the mug out of your hands when you shook it around slightly.

“You have to close up,” you ignored his whines and stand up from the counter stool. “Come on.”

“I’m not a baby, don’t baby me,” he frowned, putting your mug in the sink and turning on the faucet to rinse it off.

Raising an amused eyebrow at him, you gestured to his face, “you’re pouting like a baby.” You tugged his sleeve and handed him the keys sitting on top of the counter. “And you have an early class tomorrow, no?”

Honestly, you thought your friendship was going to maybe last a few weeks before you inevitably lost touch or got too busy to see each other. But, weeks later, your friendship prevailed. Neither of you shared any classes in common together, yet you managed to see each other everyday.

You weren’t at the coffee shop everyday, however. Sometimes, he’d meet you in your dorm’s lounge to hang out, with an occasional interrogation from a very suspicious Felix.

People didn’t bother to stop talking about the two of you either, or even bother to hide. Sure, people knew you guys weren’t official or dating, but that didn’t stop them from shipping it from afar. You always ignored it. You thought you ignored it for the reason that you didn’t even care but maybe you did. Perhaps you ignored it because you didn’t mind being shipped with him.

“Yeah,” he murmured, accepting the keys and shuffled behind you. You both exited the café and you waited for the barista to lock up before heading off in the direction of your dorms.

“Why’re you still following me? Isn’t your building over there?” You asked, pointing in the direction of a few buildings in the distance.

“Can’t I walk you all the way to your dorm to make sure you get in safe? It’s 8 p.m., who knows what psychos are around,” Jisung shrugged tiredly. Even through his obvious exhausted state, he still wanted to be a gentleman and you smiled in response.

“Thanks,” you murmured, looking down at your feet, feeling heat rise to your cheeks. It was getting harder and harder to keep your pulse under control with Jisung’s blunt statements with some sort of underlying meaning.

“You know, I may be half asleep and it’s dark out and all,” Jisung began when you approached the doors of your dorm building, “but don’t think I didn’t notice you get all quiet just now.”

“Hm?” You hum, snapping your head up from fumbling around your wallet for your student card. “Wha-What are you talking about? I’m not being quiet...Why...why would you think that?” By the end of your pathetic rambles, you rubbed the back of your neck nervously.

Jisung raised an eyebrow at your obvious flustered state.

“Just admit my endearing comments are affecting you~” He sang, holding open the door you unlocked with your key. Walking in and turning around to face him, you scowled.

“They most certainly are not!” Total lie.

“Mhm, sure thing, sugar,” he smiled to himself knowingly.

“Oh yeah? If your endearing comments affect me so much, what’re you gonna do about it?” You huffed, crossing your arms.

“Well, I would most likely ask you out but being that you fail to acknowledge any of my advances on you, I’m sure it would just go over your head and you’d think it’d be a friendly hang out.”

“Pfft, as if!” You rebuke stubbornly, furrowing your brows.

“Bowling last week? That was supposed to be a date...And then you invited Felix,” Jisung trailed off with a knowing head tilt.

Oh.

“W-wait, you’ve been asking me out this whole time?”

Noticing your look of pure shock, Jisung threw his head back to laugh and smacked his forehead. “To think I thought you were just playing hard to get and it’s just that you are indeed blind.”

“Hey!” You whined uncrossing your arms to throw them up, “I was out here thinking you were just so flirty by nature! You know, part of your whole charm package. I didn’t actually think you wanted to date me.”

“Well, I do, so now here I am being as clear as possible: Y/N would you like to go out with me?”

“Well, duh. I wouldn’t have stuck around such an annoying dude for so long if I didn’t have feelings for him,” you smile coyly, finally accepting the blush heating your cheeks.

“Hey, I am not annoying. I’m charming and kind of clingy sometimes. But NOT annoying!” He grinned, beginning to walk backwards away from your building. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

You hummed in agreement before calling out, “You know I actually kind of hated you when we first met? You were too happy and it messed with my ‘don’t care’ aura.”

“Yeah, you made that a bit obvious. It was more the reason to be your friend and bug you though,” he called back before giving you a final wave.

You thought consuming too much caffeine was the only cause of jitters but the race of your heartbeat told you maybe it wasn’t just coffee; perhaps it was some annoying barista who snuck his way under your arm and into your life.

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abundantchewtoys · 4 years

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Hiveswap: Dammek’s basement + SERPENT password entry game

Odds are pretty good that we are now in the basement of Dammek's hive, in opposition to leaving the attic of Joey's house.

I wonder if his communication device is purely speech based? It would be kind of an upgrade for her, if it's an actual smartphone, with video chat capabilities!

And yes, presumably it isn't text based, since it would mean Joey has a learning curve due to Alternia's alphabet.

We're in for her introduction to Xefros, in any case. And potentially with Dammek's lusus as well, who I presume is bonking on the door there. I wonder if Joey can sate the beast / calm it down quite quickly, due to her Junior Vet knowledge and also the pet treats?

---

Ooooooh! The start screen of the game has changed, now that we're reached Alternia! That's a pretty sweet function!

Cool, this is the art which we saw concept art for already.

Look at that city in the background, skyscrapers like Sollux' hiveblock. And don't think I didn't notice that hidden trident the lights make some of the time. ... Man, I swear, if instead of Hidden Mickeys I have to be on the lookout for Hidden Tridents...

So these can be taken as just general propaganda by )(IC, but it could also be said to be done under the influence of the current Heiress Apparent, Trizza (whose name Blaperile reminded me of just now).

This gonna be good.

---

PORTAL > GO... HOME? : Yyyyeah no, that wasn't gonna work. I guess I'm pleasantly surprised it didn't quite sting, though.

Seems like the timer above the portal gives different prompts.

FLASHLIGHT > I wonder if there are even light switches in troll hives. They're (sun)light-sensitive, we know, so maybe not? Guess it's a good thing she spared the batteries then, heheh. Heh. ...

TIMER > Yup, as I thought. Joey has eleven days and change to get home. Just watch how that timer conveniently fails to count all the way down until the most plot-critical moment. :P I wonder what'd happen though. It could be it's simply like the lotus flower, that after the count has passed, the shield goes down. But what'd happen after swapping back? Is the cherub key gonna be spit back out? Quite an irrelevant question, since I presume the portal is getting smashed, it's just a matter now of finding out where all these teens ended up, after.

ROBOT > Something... intense went down according to Joey. So it isn't just a battlebot, then? Did Trizza send these after him (and Xefros), because he's part of the Grubbles/Grubbels?

FORKLIFT > (At least it isn't a TRIDENTLIFT) So there's a giant crate in here as well, just as in the attic. Did Doc Scratch arrange for Dammek to receive it, I wonder? I wonder what his influence on the story of this game is, and if it's going to be relegated to vague references being made to the "man in the moon"?

I do like Joey called it futuristic, meaning she definitely knows something's off with her surroundings.

Hey, Blaperile just noticed there are pawprints in brown blood on the floor! ... Seems like the lusus got hurt helping to fend off the robot.

Aaaahhh, we found the giant crate in the bottom right corner. Though what was all that slime to do with the packaging? Was it packed inside a grub? ... This IS Alternia after all.

Oooh, the DIAGRAM is an inventory item, I thought it'd be something to look at like the invoice on Earth. DIAGRAM + BATTERIES > ... Yeah, she would have a hard time reading this, if it has the Alternian alphabet on it.

PET TREATS + DIAGRAM > ... Wow, Jude really went off on a spiel there. So she was fully aware of being transported through space. (She just doesn't know she's in another universe, too.) The kids on her school are mean. And she's unsure of how to be a good big sister to Jude. :(

DIAGRAM + TIMER > So... Was the timer counting down as well before the portal got activated?

HIDDEN BEAST + PET TREATS > Yep, once the lusus is out, we'll definitely need these.

DIAGRAM + CONTROL PANEL > Joey... got a "serpent" vibe from the panel? Uh, excuse me? Troll tech works on grub. So... What, is it made by cerulean blood with a snake lusus?

Okay, after checking out the RAY GUN, the only thing left is to pick up the smartphone. I assume it isn't on video mode, it would be too soon yet to reveal Xefros as an alien to Joey, probably.

Blaperile has a good point, perhaps both of them will get the chance this way to bond before realizing the other is an alien, hah!

TABLET > ...

Wow.

Okay.

So... Xefros calls Dammek "Tetrarch", is that, like, his rank in the rebellion? I don't think we're venturing off into a world where trolls DON'T have names made up of 2x6 letters. Joey was somehow able to read Alternian alphabet just fine, which might be the effect of the portal. Quite convenient, anyway.

Hah, and it seems Xefros and Dammek were so paranoid, they made up all these codes and such to anonimize themselves, and as a result Joey can just be assumed by Xefros to be him for a while longer.

Xefros activated the portal at what he thought was the request of Dammek, it'll just have to be seen what the truth of the matter is.

And I hadn't noticed yet, but Joey pointed out that the portal on this end is more "space-agey", huh, so they're not exact duplicates, or the same portal on different points of its timeline!

It seems Xefros saw an explosion in Dammek's hive, but he doesn't seem to know about the robot.

So the tablet wasn't equipped to our toolbar, and we're kind of at a loss now. I tried the help function and, oh shit, is that Doc Scratch talking back at us??? Welp, useless assist is useless.

We'll try to reload the game and actually "pick up" the tablet, maybe that'll work.

Wow, okay, that worked. Previously we had tried to use an item on the tablet and that activated the chat but didn't equip the tablet...

TABLET > ... Wow, okay, so the diagram looks familiar to Joey somehow, but she doesn't know how. And Xefros informs her the "snake machine" is the way to power the grid of the hive. But Xefros is, like, really confused and thinks he's messing up their "arrangement" of espionage and code. Poor, confused, innocent Xefros.

CONTROL PANEL > Okay, so there's some kind of password entry program starting up - FIRST OCCURENCE OF THE NEW ALPHABET! ... Yeah, so, we MIGHT have to print an index in the future.

Pfff, the "entry" is done via a SNAKE game, hahah. Old school.

Okay, so we printed out the alphabet and checked what the name is of the game. ... SERPENT, pffff, yeah, that was kind of to be expected. And so now we play the game, collect the letters. Is... is Dammek's "password" serpent as well, it is, isn't it? Okay, something else appeared to, I presume "CONFIRMED" or "ACCEPTED" or "PASSWORD". And the power went on!

The next room is unlocked... As... Is... Dammek's lusus. Wow, so majestic. I thought it was more akin to an antlered bear, but it can be ridden! Cool.

And... Yeah...

It was kind of a given. Joey freaks the flip out and absconds into what appears to be Dammek's living room or study! That's something to explore tomorrow.

#homestuck #hiveswap #joey claire #xefros tritoh #dammek #tetrarch dammek #reaction #alternia

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freetobeafcknriot · 5 years

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☆ oinoya headcanons ☆

( ...that I originally posted on Twitter in the heat of the moment; sorry I’m not sorry at all. They’re quite a lot, so I’m gonna put them under the cut! As always, don’t like ship? Don’t read. )

They meet when Noya starts university and joins the volleyball team and wow, the sparkles in the first triage!

They kinda knew each other already because they played against each other in middle school and are both incredible players. The good-hearted competition is insane!

Oikawa tends to use the suffix -chan / nicknames even with people he doesn't know all that much. There are exceptions though; Noya is one of them (that's canon).

"OIKAWA-SAN!" "...Nishinoya-kun, right?" "Drop the -kun already!" he bluntly cuts him off. Then, in the blink of an eye, the libero's piercing glare shifts and melts into a look of awe and entusiasm. "Your serve was amazing just now! Next time, let me receive it again!"

That guy's impossible so okay, Noya-chan it is! They're teammates anyway and once they hit it off, it's actually endearing!

Started off by accident: it was raining, Oikawa ran into Noya (who didn't have an umbrella) right outside of a restaurant. Might as well dine, right?

Nishinoya hates small talk so awkwardness? Never met her!

Noya calls Oikawa 'Oika-san' at first. Switches to his given name after they start dating.

'Yuu-chan' is meant as a bit of a joke, but then it starts to hold more affection than what Oikawa would like to admit.

They don't use pet names all that often.

Usually, when Oikawa doesn't use any kind of honorific it means they're in the middle of something really intimate and important or that he wants Noya to seriously hear him out.

Noya speaks mainly through gestures and is a bit rough around the edges and not really into sappy stuff 'cause he gets flustered but I mean, he doesn't shy away from voicing his own feelings. He calls Oikawa 'babe' when they're being cocky during practice.

Like, they'd be on different sides of the net and then you hear him shout: "Bring it on babe!", and Oikawa, who's about to serve, will answer with a cocked up eyebrow and a sly, "Coming, hot-shot."

Yeah, hot-shot. 'Cause that's how his boy is: hawt.

• They bicker quite a bit (in childish way) and tend to rile each other up, especially on the court.

Given their positions, there's no rivalry between them (...in volleyball, mind ya). There's just a whole lot of admiration.

• Nishinoya's admiration will probably dislocate one of Oikawa's shoulders someday, but heh, love is tough.

And that's another thing: they have each other's back!

Noya's the hot-headed boyfriend who gets all protective, like, "Excuse you?! Got a problem? Come say it to my face, I dare you!"

He will fight anyone if he has to.

...doesn't gloat about it much though; Oikawa's ego is fine as it is.

He's supportive af (hella boisterous too) and always there cheering on Oikawa so fiercely, like, "BREAK A LEG, TOORU!" (pun unintended) or, "That serve was AWESOME!" or, "You're doing great!" [insert powerful slap on the backside]

Can you feel the love? 'Cause I can!

Oikawa, on the other hand, is pretty cheesy an shameless and yes we know your boyfriend he's amazing Shittykawa now shut up.

He knows Noya is admired by many people, and although he thinks he deserves it he also takes pride in being the one who gets the whole package deal.

He's elegantly smug about it, or so he likes to think. The truth is, he's not elegant at all.

They're neither opposites nor complementary, their personalities just mend so well though!

Noya is genuinely supportive and straightforward, Oikawa is reliable and attentive to a fault.

Oikawa gives Noya tips on how to toss better. He has his own way of doing it, but Noya almost never falls for it (also because tbh he often just doesn't get the irony lmao).

So ideally, that's how Watachi usually did it. But then again, compared to him you're quite small, Yuu-chan." "Hah?! D'you want me to kick you in the shin, Gulliver?"

The height difference is nice, jokes aside. Oikawa says that Noya's attitude could easily be measured as 6'2 and it's true and he finds it adorable and here's another reason why they're pretty physical, ladies and gentlemen.

Leaning against each other on the train because there's so little space and it's convenient? Check!

Hugs from behind? Especially in the morning? Check!

Picking your smol boyfriend up just for the hell of it? Double check!

Please, don’t ever say anything about Nishinoya’s small stature in front of Oikawa; the boy will look at you straight in the eyes and smirk, “Aw, trust me, he’s not as small as you think he is. At all.”

h e h .

They often train together outside of official practices and stuff their mouths afterwards.

Their dates are never boring, even when they just stay in!

Aquarium, roller-skating (Noya teaching Oikawa how not to fall on his ass), mall, planetarium (Noya can't stay quiet though), taking the train to go visit some city for the most varied reasons... anything really.

If they're in the city, Oikawa's the one to guide them (he knows how to read maps). Otherwise it's Noya, who is used to outdoors and has got an incredible internal compass.

Study dates are a thing but they usually take place at the library because Noya is easily distracted and Oikawa finds it cute, sure, but also quite unsettling. Like, he eventually snaps, why doesn't he ever worry? Where are his priorities? Is he even human?

He is, by the way. While not being a genius in school, Noya is pretty self-disciplined and we know he's pretty hard on himself, too. It's just that he balances it all with his attitude.

Oikawa, on the other hand, wants to be as good as he can possibly be and more. He's dedicated, he's pushing forwards to make his talent bloom and that's something that Noya deeply admires about him, even though he thinks (and says) that Oikawa is already talented.

Dates at home include cuddling, movies and TV series, stuff popping out of the oven that looked tasty on the internet, pillow fights, playful wrestling (Noya's fault), shenanigans we're not supposed to know about, conversations of any sort and more cuddling.

They enjoy going out to eat together even if they don't share the exact same taste in food.

Oikawa always manages to snatch one of Nishinoya's egg rolls and get away with it and given that Noya's got a bigger appetite let's be honest: if this isn't love then Idk what is.

Oikawa is one of the few people who can stand talking, eating and watching Nishinoya waving his hands around between a mouthful of food and a sentence (all of this at the same time) without getting a headache.

If you ask him, it's actually cute. Noya's talkative and expressive and he's witty, more mature than it seems and he makes Oikawa feel at ease, comfortable and carefree. Really, look at them and wonder at the high level of dorkiness (I might be making up words now, sorry).

They're both pretty observant and accepting. Oikawa has an analytical and restless mind, there is nothing he doesn't take note of as well as there is not knowing what is going through his head.

Despite all of this, Oikawa knows he has people who he can rely on though, and he actually trusts Nishinoya. The boy's bold and loud and energetic to a fault, but when nobody is looking it's almost scary how piercing and quick those eyes of his are.

The only thing he doesn’t trust Nishinoya with, it’s movies. They have very different preferences. While Oikawa loves sci-fi and films like E.T., Interstellar, Star Wars etc., Nishinoya is into action movies and basically anything that has him screaming his lungs off. Everyone knew Oikawa was serious about them when he came out with, “I found the perfect combination between my excellent taste in movies and, well, yours!”

Ended up being Mars Attacks! lmao.

Sometimes, they watch rom-coms together. Oikawa kinda likes them, Nishinoya doesn’t get the drama but still gets invested in them.

They’re not into the same exact music genre, really, but they once sang Wannabe (Space Girls) in the car. Dorks.

They're a weird mixure of being nosy/pushing and staying out of each other's hair when needed. Especially Noya, who's more independent from this point of view.

But when it's due, there is no escaping his intensively caring side. Oikawa can fight him as much as he wants.

They're both cuddly ~ So very cuddly!

Noya's restlessness made them roll off the couch once and Oikawa is pretty demanding and pouty when he wants to be, but it's really the warmest feeling in the world.

Oikawa's usually the big spoon since Noya's little and as snuggly as a koala(?). And a lot easier to deal with, too!

Reason being his boyfriend's literal softness and sweet scent; cue Noya covering Oikawa in kisses.

They switch though. Like I said, cuddle bugs!

Oikawa has got a bit of a habit of nuzzling Noya's neck when he's the one being held and because of his floofy hair, it always ends up like this: (x).

They do argue from time to time due to their different perspectives, but it never lasts aaaall that much. They're both pretty stubborn though.

The key is communication. In this case, while Oikawa can have difficulties, Nishinoya doesn't, since he's so confrontantional.

This is to say that they're not perfect; they just care enough to be willing to compensate each other and meet in the middle.

Also, they're pretty passionate, if you get my gist!~ (...don't look at me like that, they ain't kids).

Also, hand holding. A whole lot.

Picture these two idiots talking all snuggled up while playing with each other's fingers. You're welcome.

For real though, hands are probably their primary source of PDA.

Oikawa randomly petting Noya's head, Noya poking Oikawa's dimples; you name it!

Next best thing: hugs.

It's flying hugs when it's Noya initiating because he will never stop jumping on people's back. He's a bit more considerate with Oikawa due to his knee.

Nishinoya hugs Oikawa every single morning for 21 seconds straight before jumping out wide awake and full of energy. The shot of oxytocin he gets works wonders far better than coffee.

Speaking of coffee, Oikawa is not a morning person. At all. He’s quite bitchy and needs a lot of time to get ready (and lookable, so he says).

Nishinoya makes coffee for him when he gets up first, but he’s not very good at it since he never drinks it and therefore has never had to make it. He’s improving though, and Oikawa appreciates the effort.

Them icing their own knees late at night; Noya doing his best to massage Oikawa's knee with the essential oils in the gentlest way possible; Oikawa peppering Noya's colored bruises with small kisses.

Oikawa feeling comfortable enough to watch Area 51 documentaries while studying, glasses on and hair mussed, and Nishinoya letting him even though it's his own room because he's smitten and he knows it.

They're both cheesy and will shoot a random pick up line at each other that will result in laugher, sassiness or both. Other than that, they're the opposite of sappy; they're just dorks.

"I asked Kuro-chan to teach me this one!" He's got it written on his hand. "Are you made of copper and tellurium?" "Of what?" "Because you're CuTe!" "...Okay, the one he taught to me is: if I was an enzyme, I'd be DNA helicase so I could unzip your genes." "Kinky, Yuu-chan.~"

When they're not together (they're one year apart in university after all), they sometimes send a quick text or picture to each other. Just 'cause, you know.

Noya: "Do you think I'm pretty?" Oikawa: "No, you're too short and bossy and your nose is all funny."

( Spoiler alert: Oikawa thinks Nishinoya's the prettiest and he will eventually giggle and tell him so, seeing his adorably outraged face. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talks! )

#oinoya #noyaoi #nishinoya yuu #oikawa tooru #nishinoya #oikawa #haikyuu #haikyuu!!#oikawa x nishinoya #nishinoya x oikawa #headcanons #haikyuu headcanons #rarepairing #saturn&thunder #noya #haikyuu rare pair #ciel writes

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folerdetdufoler · 6 years

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if mondays at sixteen even had picked (i guess he didn't really pick BUT anyway) a different way to propose, how would he have done it?

hah, now i gotta write an au for my au? niiiice.

i sort of entertained a different proposal here. but now that i reread it it doesn’t feel right, and it also doesn’t fit anywhere into the finished timeline. but i do like the idea that even would’ve loved isak so much he wouldn’t mind a public proposal like that, and that he would do it while isak was still camming, literally. he would say “this man, in this exact moment, exchanging sexual activity for money, is who i want to be with for the rest of my life.” no shame in this game.

but the way i wrote it, we also know isak would never reveal his face on camera, so this level of exposure of their relationship probably would have only come if isak kept camming and made it his career.

anyway, let’s try a different proposal that wasn’t based on “oh god i forgot that i love you my bad.” if he had to think about it, plan something, i think he would have gotten quite stuck. he’s seen and heard so many proposals, from the couples he worked with to the couples he researched. sometimes he would want something different, to stand out from his work. other times he would want something cliché, just so he could say “our love is just like any other love and deserves the same pomp and circumstance.” i think he would spend years getting caught up in these conflicting desires.

that wouldn’t be a bad thing, of course. isak is happy because he has what he wants and needs as they are. he doesn’t feel pressure from anyone else to be married, and it isn’t a fairytale he was raised with. so he’s not watching the time tick by waiting for a wedding, nor is he planning to make one happen on his own. he has zero expectations, which means the smallest surprise will still shake him to his core.

so, years later, they still meet up at helene’s café on mondays at sixteen. at this point christian knows how important that time and place is, so his work schedule allows it. it’s also a convenient excuse for delivering any prescriptions in that neighborhood. isak hangs up his white coat, leaves early, and drops off bags of medicine on his way. sometimes he arrives before even, sometimes after, depending on how long he spends chatting with the customers he sees. this time he got there first.

“i’ll probably have a heart attack if you ever order something different.”

“I probably will too. my heart wouldn’t be able to handle any variation on this specific amount of caffeine or sugar.” isak swiped the cup of iced mocha off the counter and swung around to his usual seat. he didn’t say anything about the missing bun but helene knew he was expecting it.

“i’m pulling fresh ones out in a minute.”

“my heart thanks you.” he settled in. helene disappeared to the back. isak pulled out his ipad, ready to start a case study that sana had sent him a few days ago. the link was in his email but he quickly realized nothing was loading. “helene? your wifi?”

“new password!” she hollered back. he heard her oven door slam shut. then he looked over his shoulder at the chalkboard.

the password hadn’t changed for years, but one day even noticed how slow the wifi had gotten when he was working, and between the two of them they figured out that helene’s new neighbors were hogging her bandwidth. “while i’m actually trying to hog it myself in this moment, i’d like to point out that i’m a paying customer. you should change your password whenever it gets bad. make people come into the café and buy something if they’re so desperate for the internet.” even then proceeded to write up some excellent (his word choice) puns for helene to use, which would make both the password and the café memorable to the customers. this gave him an idea for a humor instagram account, where he could post latte art and the chalkboard puns, but he never got around to it.

helene changed the password though. sometimes they were even’s puns, sometimes they were whatever she could think up on the spot. they rarely made sense, and this new one fit that description. isak typed it into his ipad’s settings and waited for his inbox to refresh after it connected. once he was able to click the link he felt relieved. he didn’t realize how anxious he had become by not feeling connected, and it was silly considering that he had data he could use instead. but all of those feelings were brushed aside when he saw even walk in. then he just felt light. “hi hi.”

even didn’t say anything, he just walked right up to him and kissed him on the cheek. helene brought out a plate with a steaming cinnamon bun on it and a glass of tea for even. she set them on the counter in front of them and exchanged a look with even before walking away. their small nods were probably an agreement on who was paying for that afternoon’s treats. it was even’s turn.

he settled in too. isak let his bun cool but started caffeinating, warding off the headache that would come if he went too long past sixteen without a daily hit. he got through a couple of pages of the study before even leaned over and whispered, “do you have wifi?”

“oh, yeah. there’s a new password. will you marry me?” isak said it all without looking up, not wanting to lose his place on the page.

“yes.”

“you’re connected?”

“not yet. but that’s my answer.”

finally he looked up, since he was confused. “answer to what?”

“you asked me if i’ll marry you, so i said yes.”

“no, that’s the wifi password. will you m—” that’s when isak noticed. his eyes slid over to the counter where helene was practically shaking by the register, watching them in rapt silence, her hands clutched in front of her mouth. even was twisted on his stool facing isak head-on, a small smile twitching on his lips. “did you just….”

“no, but i think you just did.”

of course even would do this. of course he would turn it into a trick, a joke, something he could tease isak about. of course this is how even would propose to his boyfriend: by getting him to do it first.

“do you want to get married?” isak still wasn’t sure how earnest the trick was supposed to be.

“yes. hence the earlier ‘yes.’ i think this means you’ve proposed twice.” even had unleashed his complete smile now, letting the joke ease his nerves, letting his answer speak his truth.

“no, i mean i’m just asking in general, like a conversation. do you want to marry me?”

“third time is the charm, eh?”

“even!”

even laughed. “yes.” isak could see it in his eyes now, that the joke was over, and he was saying what isak wanted him to say, answering the question he wanted to be asked. and because even knew all of this, because even knew isak, he asked him in return. “will you marry me?”

isak wanted to say yes. but he also couldn’t resist: “that’s the wifi password.”

even laughed again. he grabbed at isak’s chest, gathering a handful of his shirt to tug him closer. “i know. fuck, this is like the worst abbott & costello gag. but isak,” even leaned in to meet him, resting their foreheads together. they were close enough that all they could see was the other one. all they could see was the rest of their lives. “will you marry me?”

“yes.”

helene cried. she tried to stay quiet while isak and even kissed and hugged in the window. she grabbed a napkin to wipe her nose and cursed the noise that the paper made. then, to hide her face and look busy, she turned to the chalkboard and erased the proposal. she picked up the piece of chalk next to the register and wrote their answer: yes.

she left it there for a month, and proceeded to propose to every customer who came in and asked for the new password.

#kerrywrites #mondays at sixteen

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jadewing-realms · 6 years

Text

“You know what I mean.”

Fictober 2018 - Day 28

The Pro-Hero Insight makes sure he remains on his patrol partner’s right hand side, and keeps his head turned just so he doesn’t have to glimpse that hideous orange abomination he calls a Hero costume.

Bad fashion sense is one thing. Ever since he was a child, Sasuke’s dealt with that with Izuku, and frankly, he’s adjusted. A little. Maybe he still clowns his friend for it now and then, especially when tabloids and fashion mags release casual photos of Deku in a classic All Might hoodie, Uravity tank, off-brand shorts, and hand-me-down sneakers. But… he’s generally more tolerant of it now than he used to be.

Uzumaki Naruto—or, on duty, the Kitsune Hero: Kyuubi—is a different story entirely.

This is beyond bad fashion sense. It’s no sense at all. It’s like he couldn’t even afford a thrift store so he picked up a caution tarp and got some color-blind designer to actually use the fabric for his jumpsuit and sew it with mismatching navy thread.

On top of that… it’s a jumpsuit. Not even a body suit. Frumpy, baggy. No hint of aerodynamics whatsoever.

If worst comes to worst and a villain shows up on this patrol, Sasuke won’t be able to count on Uzumaki to be a quick mover. It’ll be up to him. The troublesome nature of this unfortunate match-up makes him sigh—for the seventh time.

“Geez,” Uzumaki says, glancing his way if the sudden clarity of his voice is any indication. Sasuke still has his asymmetrical bangs as a curtain between him and the orange monster. “You got a demon you’re trying ta exorcise over there or somethin’?”

Sasuke rolls his eyes heavenward. “No, Kyuubi. It’s called a sigh. Generally done when people are tired, irritated, or oxygen-deprived. Sometimes all three.”

The neon Hero grumbles a little. “Well then, whaddya sighing so much for? It’s makin’ me depressed.”

“Your uniform is making me depressed.”

“Hah!?” Something shoves Sasuke’s shoulder—presumably Uzumaki’s hand—not hard, nothing he can’t recover from with a single step, but… he also could’ve dodged it had he used his Quirk. But then, it’s hard to see things coming when your hair’s in the way… Hm. This could be a potential flaw in his own design preferences. Something to rethink later.

Oh, Uzumaki said something. Sasuke missed it.

So he just doesn’t say anything.

Apparently, Uzumaki takes this as an excuse to continue. “You’re just jealous that my outfit draws all the attention, ya know?”

At that very moment, a pair of high school girls hurry across the street toward them, their squeals and giggles preceding them. There’s no denying who they’re after and, with yet another sigh, Sasuke halts his steps to prepare for their arrival. Better to get this over with sooner than later. At least, as he said, Uzumaki’s outfit should draw all their attention. If not his outfit, then surely his bright hair and stupid grin.

However, Sasuke’s surprised when the two instead make a beeline for him, dodging Uzumaki’s greeting in order to crowd in front of him instead. His head rears back a bit, trying to maintain some semblance of personal space, and yet despite himself, the smallest of smirks creeps onto his face for the convenience of coincidence. How fitting. He shoots his smirk in Uzumaki’s direction, willing it to ooze his smug victory, and with his head turned, he’s rewarded to see a squinty-eyed pout on the other Hero’s face.

Serves you right, peacock.

The girls, stuttering and blushing and barely able to look Sasuke in the eye, bounce on their heels and manage to piece together matching requests for his signature on their school notebooks. He expects as much and signs each one as quickly as possible, but not without proper flourish for Uzumaki’s sake. This is all a part of the occupation… Heroes need to reach the people they protect. The people they inspire. And judging by the notes he glimpses on the notebooks’ lined pages, these two are Hero students as well. Even more reason to give them the cool, collected Pro he knows they expect.

He’s still on his way to the #3 spot. He needs the influence of rank in order to initiate the changes to the system he wants… and he needs ratings to get there.

“Hey, you want me to sign too?” Uzumaki offers with a toothy smile as the girls gush their appreciation of Sasuke’s penmanship. He jabs a thumb against his own collar. “We work at the same agency!”

The girls quiet a little, seeming to remember Uzumaki’s even there, which despite being somewhat annoying, still brings the smirk back to Sasuke’s face. Because he enjoys seeing the twitch in Uzumaki’s brow and knowing just how much the difference in approach is getting under his skin.

It’s not that Sasuke hates the guy… he’s not horrible, other than his wardrobe choices. It’s just as easy for Sasuke to annoy him as it is for Uzumaki to annoy Sasuke, and he considers it turnabout’s fair play. It’s a satisfying demonstration of ‘what goes around, comes around.’ And theirs is a seemingly endless cycle that’s almost on par with Sasuke’s dynamic with Bakugou.

The girls seem to have recovered themselves and return Uzumaki’s smile with their own, though they’re not nearly as bubbling and overwhelmed as when they approached him. They let him sign their notebooks, he makes small talk, asking about their studies and which school their from. Shiketsu, they say. His alma mater, apparently. That makes them brighten a little.

“This loser over here went to U.A., you know?” Uzumaki says, gesturing in Sasuke’s direction with a casual thumb. His crooked smile says this factoid is meant as anything but a compliment. He’s probably making an attempt at solidarity, singling Sasuke out as the odd one.

But Sasuke just smirks on, knowing what will come of that.

“Oh, we know!” One of the girls nods emphatically, going starry-eyed again. Usually, it would be enough to make Sasuke curl his lip and roll his eyes, but the crestfallen look that passes over Uzumaki’s face is too priceless for him to particularly complain. “That famous class! Is it true you know Uravity and Ground Zero?”

“Or that you’re best friends with Deku??” the other chimes in, and suddenly, they’re pressing close to Sasuke’s side again.

He does his best not to look uncomfortable while he answers. He really just wants to get on with his patrol… “Yes, both are true. Uravity’s a good friend, Ground Zero’s an a** as usual, and I’ve known Deku since we were children.”

They look positively awed at this confirmation and mutter amongst themselves. Sasuke changes another glance toward Uzumaki, who’s just staring at him with a dirty look on his face.

Sasuke snickers.

“Yeah, well,” Uzumaki blurts, straightening and attempting what Sasuke thinks is supposed to be a cool pose, “I know quite a few—”

“Unfortunately, ladies,” Sasuke interrupts without shame, “we’re actually on patrol right now. It’s a Hero’s duty to make sure the streets are safe for you, so if your business is concluded, we must insist to be on our way.”

They hurry to agree, apologizing for keeping them and bowing their gratitude before hastening off, back to the side of the street they came from. A woman exits one of the shops there and waves for them, and they hurry to her side, babbling their excitement at their encounter.

Sasuke resumes his brisk walk without bothering to wait for Uzumaki. He doesn’t need to anyway; the other Pro sprints to catch up and fall into step beside him. Sasuke’s hair saves him from the atrocious orange once more.

“Okay, that’s it,” says Uzumaki, out of his line of sight, “you are now officially my rival.”

Sasuke resists another sigh. “Please don’t.”

“Come on! I don’t like you, you don’t like me. We have a good rival kinda chemistry, ya know?”

This time, there’s no way to help the grimace that twists his face, and he actually has to cast a glare at his blond companion. “Don’t ever say the words ‘we have’ and ‘chemistry’ to me again.”

“I felt it!” Uzumaki insists with a raise of his palms. “You know what I mean!”

“I can’t say I do.”

“We’d both get some great publicity out of it!”

Sasuke sighs heavily. “Kyuubi?”

“What?”

“Drop it.”

#fictober18 #my hero academia #naruto #crossover #fix-it au #sasuke uchiha #naruto uzumaki #rivalry #pro heroes

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maedarakat · 7 years

Text

Tuffstrid day . . . I’m late. Sorry @despiteherself Not even sure how late. But here is a short whump!fic because of reasons.

Prompt: “I’m not leaving them!”/ Protection

—-

There were many dangerous things in and out of the Archipelago, and Astrid supposed they had fought them all at some point.

The men they’d fought, however, seemed worse than any dragon - and the one standing before them now was no exception to that rule. Krogan walked closer, looking bored and mildly irritated - but that wasn’t what chilled her.

Viggo was also standing nearby, close enough for Astrid to see his expression. It was one of unease, and he kept switching his gaze from her to her companion. Astrid swallowed a growl. Viggo had absolutely no right to look like that - like he was worried for them. She half wondered if he was doing it just to get under her skin, as well as Tuff’s.

Both of them had been captured on the team’s latest mission - trying to get a wounded Typhoomerang and her hatchlings out of Dragon Hunter territory.

They’d been ambushed halfway to the cave system Fishlegs had scouted out, but all of them might have gotten away regardless had it not been for one impossibly headstrong Thorston twin.

Tuff had seen one of the Hunters grab a hatchling by its leg, cruelly hanging on as it desperately tried to fly to its mother. He had jumped off Belch, spare mace swinging wildly, and managed to take the man down - plus four others. The hatchling fled to safety and promptly afterwards, Tuffnut found himself surrounded.

Astrid had to hand it to him - Tuff certainly knew how to ‘frenzy’ with the best of them. What he didn’t seem good at was the art of getting out of impossible combat situations. Naturally, she had charged through the line on Stormfly, reaching down a hand to pull him up.

They’d only scattered for a moment, all converging too quickly to grab Tuffnut’s hair and throw him down. By consequence, they had also yanked Astrid out of the saddle - using her refusal to let go of Tuff’s hand against her.

Hiccup and Ruff had called their names, but the Hunters swarmed the area - quickly subduing the captured mother dragon and her brood. He and the other Riders had no choice but to retreat, no doubt for a rescue attempt later.

Krogan studied her face carefully, walking a circle around the tree she and Tuff had been tied to. Finally he spoke.

“A curious thing, endangering yourselves like this, just to rescue a Typhoomerang. What was your long term goal for rescuing such a dragon? Were you hoping to tame her?”

Astrid was about to snap a reply, but Tuff beat her to the punch.

“You don’t mean tame. You mean subjugate. Why would you subjugate a Typhoomerang?” Tuff replied, arching an eyebrow.

Krogan scowled. “Don’t play a fool with me, dragon rider. I’ve heard from Viggo that you and your sister are far more clever than you seem.”

Tuff cracked a grin, one which made Astrid tense and groan. He was going to be a smart-ass, wasn’t he?

“Aww, thanks. I bet you’re more clever than you look too.”

Yep. Smart-ass.

There was a mixed reaction from the Hunters - some startled coughs, quite a few winces, even a whimper from the back, but Krogan didn’t lash out.

He sighed, looking weary for a moment. “I honestly don’t need either of you alive, despite Viggo’s insistence that you will draw Hiccup in. I am sure he’ll come back for the girl alone, whether she’s alive or dead. Revenge can be just as powerful as love, and equally devastating to the clarity of one’s mind.”

Astrid’s blood ran cold. Hiccup was vengeful - he’d proven that with Viggo. His head was clear and focused when he had an idea - a purpose. But with no other recourse but avenging her death . . .? They would bring him down.

She glowered at Viggo, who actually had the gall to look vaguely guilty.

“Well,” said Tuffnut. “Not for nothing, but that was a real spine tingler. Have you been taking menacing dialogue lessons from Viggo?”

Krogan looked at him quizzically. Apparently Tuffnut didn’t have the expected reaction. Of course he didn’t - when did he ever?

“I know you heard me clearly, boy. And that you did not hear how useful to me you would be - dead or alive.”

“Uh, I heard, yeah. Or did . . . not hear. That’s confusing, wow. Anyway, the only reason we’re still alive now is because you need two of us to torture, because if one completely shuts down from the pain, the other one is going to care enough to spill all the beans for their sake, right?”

Krogan stared and blinked, completely thrown.

“Hah, so predictable,” Tuff stage-whispered to Astrid. He straightened to look Krogan in the eye. “Okay, so bring on the torture already. My body is ready!”

Astrid gaped at him. “Tuff, what are you doing!?”

He didn’t answer, but Astrid felt him tremble slightly as Krogan stepped closer to loom over him. Her stomach dropped at his grin, realizing what Tuff was trying to do. For them . . . for her.

“Interesting. You have no fear at all. I’m certain that will change shortly. I’m wondering - is Miss Hofferson your second-in-command, or are you two perhaps seeing each other behind Hiccup’s back?”

Astrid opened her mouth to hurl indignation, but Tuff kicked her ankle lightly and refused to answer, just staring back at Krogan and giving a shrug. “Never really thought about it. Hey, Astrid, wanna date behind Hiccup’s back?”

She blinked, momentarily too startled to reply, then kicked him in the ankle - much harder than necessary. Tuff yelped and a moment later Astrid felt a twinge of guilt as she realized how he’d just covered for both of them.

Krogan wasn’t just baiting them to get a rise - he was gathering information. Tuff had given him barely any to go on, and even that much was incorrect. Since Astrid was Hiccup’s second in command, it would have been assumed no boy in her patrol would dare talk to her that way.

“Hmm. So you don’t really know much in the affairs of men, do you, Hofferson? Hiccup keeps all his plans and schemes out of your dainty little hands - to protect you from knowing too much should you get captured? Is that it, missy?” He taunted.

Rage bubbled up and Astrid nearly started cussing Krogan out like a soldier, but a crunch on her instep made her eyes water instead. Gods, Tuff was viciously repaying her for that last kick.

“Hey! Don’t you call her that! Only I can call her ‘missy’, and in a much nicer tone than that!”

Deflecting. He was deflecting, bringing Krogan attention back around to himself.

It definitely did him no favors; Krogan backhanded him hard enough to make Tuff bleed. His nose was pressed against Astrid’s ear for just a moment, long enough to hear a nearly inaudible squeak of terror before Krogan hit him again - snapping his face to the right.

Astrid gasped and struggled against the ropes, thinking only of throwing her arms around Tuff and shielding him from further pain. Tuffnut looked up at the man defiantly and Astrid heard herself actually whimper with fear for him.

Don’t say anything else, please, please - look scared, don’t give him another reason . . .

She was aware she didn’t look like Astrid the Fearless right now. To Krogan, she likely seemed just a silly little girl who’d run off to join a rebellious Dragon-Rider vigilante, and was dating their leader.

As humiliating as it was, the lie shielded her from being a person of interest as far as torture went, and it was the best one Tuff had managed to weave for her at such short notice.

She resented him for it . . . and she also couldn’t.

Krogan stared Tuff down, chuckling when he didn’t avert his eyes. He raised a hand suddenly, which made Tuff flinch hard against her. The chuckle turned into a full throated mocking laugh and Astrid had honestly never hated anyone more in existence.

The other Hunters laughed as well, until Krogan cut them off with a curt order.

“Get me the tools.”

———

Her back ached.

Astrid straightened in the chair and stretched her arms over her head, then resumed her vigil, resting elbows on her knees and face in her hands as she watched the sleeping boy.

They had been rescued nearly too late - though by her definition ‘too late’ was the moment Krogan’s horrible silver instruments had made blood well up under Tuff’s skin - had made him finally scream.

The Typhoomerang’s mate had helped them first - appearing suddenly in their midst from the tree line. It was a diversion from Hiccup’s precision attack on Krogan’s camp, and it worked brilliantly. Viggo had conveniently vanished as soon as their dragons started blasting the area around them free of men.

Astrid had no idea how in all the chaos their bonds had been suddenly cut - probably one of Stormfly’s spines. It hardly mattered anyway.

They were home now and Tuff was going to be okay.

Right until he woke up, because then she was going to kill him.

It had been seven hours now, and the first morning light was turning the sky a rosy gray. Gothi had been sent for, but between Heather and Fishlegs’ healing salves and herbal teas, Tuff was already as comfortable as he could be. Astrid had sent Ruff to bed to get some sleep, and for some odd reason - after an irritatingly long searching look - she’d allowed it.

Astrid stilled at a noise outside the hut. If it was Hiccup coming to talk her into going to bed, he was out of luck. She wasn’t budging from Tuff’s side until he opened those gray eyes of his and said something ridiculous, so she had an excuse to punch an injured person.

For now it was just her alone with her thoughts - and they weren’t very good ones.

She’d thought she’d seen bravery in all its forms - on the faces of Viking men and women who rushed into battle to protect their homes. On Hiccup’s face as he faced off alone against the Red Death, with Toothless. On his face when he’d tried walking around the village on that leg the first time.

She’d seen it on Tuff’s face before too, but never so much as tonight - when there was just him and Krogan’s gleaming tools and no guarantee of survival.

And he had been fearless for her sake.

Astrid felt a stab of guilt - that it had surprised her so much what he was capable of. She found herself reaching down to adjust the blanket that had slid down his chest, knuckles brushing across the shallow cuts and gashes and blood blisters, so far avoiding the urge to pull it down and catalogue the damage.

She had tried - honestly tried - to redirect some of that pain onto herself through insults, curses, anything she could think of to infuriate Krogan. His response had been to stuff a wad of fabric into her mouth and keep his ministrations centered on Tuff.

Her hands rebelled finally, disobediently tugging the covers down, looking for injury on every inch of new skin the blankets exposed. All the way down to his thighs, his body was a map of pain - ridges and gashes made up the land borders, and a dozen colorful bruises for the seas.

All that, and he had been so brave - he had given nothing up to Krogan.

Astrid’s face flushed and she sat by his hip, quite forgetting herself as she leaned down to press her forehead against Tuff’s. She felt weak and dizzy for reasons she never wanted to analyze.

Tuff’s lashes twitched. She held her breath as his eyes opened, looking around blankly in a hazy sort of panic. They softened and seemed to clear when they landed on her.

“Oh good. You didn’t choke on Krogan’s socks after all. Okay.”

His eyes rolled up, tipping back gracefully into unconsciousness.

Astrid sputtered, nonplussed. “They weren’t his - it was just a piece of cloth . . . Tuff?” It was no use; he was out for some much needed rest. She gently brushed cool fingers across his cheek, trying to soothe the vivid bruise blooming there.

“You’re crazy,” she muttered softly, fondly. “Thank you.”

A soft snore was her only answer.

#tuffstrid #rtte #tuffnut #astrid #im on NyQuil rn so I hope it makes sense to someone

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