#also just noticed that the library continues like 2 floors down

[ofdarklands]

oh same

[cranberryjuice-posts]

ARLT GIRL I HAVE A REQUEST FOR CLARISEE‼️

OK SO CAN YOU DO LIKE A ATHENA!DAUGHTER!READER WHERE MOST PEOPLE ASSUME THE ENTIRE ATHENA CABIN IS JS BORING ITS ALL NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AND BOOKS

AND THEN WHEN THE READER AND CLARISSE JS LIKE KINDA STUMBLE APON EACHOTHER, CLARISSE JS ASSUMES THE READER IS VERY FUCKING BORIJG BECAUSE THEYRE A CHILD OF ATHENA

AND RHE READER TRIES TO KIND OF CONVICE HER THAT SHE ISNT BORING AND ALL

(and pls a lil make out im begging you😔)

(also i love your work stay strong girl‼️🔥)

RAHHHH‼️‼️‼️

Let’s give this thing a try

Pairings - Clarisse La Rue x Fem! daughter of Athena! Reader

Pt 1 — pt 2

The big house was quiet. Quiet was something you had to fight for, being a demigod your life was always chaotic and well noisy— so when you wanted to actually spend some time reading you would make arrangements to spend time in the big houses libary.

That’s how you now found yourself sitting in the library’s floor with multiple astrology books open around you and a note book filled to the brim with your findings

You heard the door open behind you, you looked back and saw clarisse standing in the door way with a few books in hand. Confused you raised an eyebrow studying the beautiful girls collected face. “What’s with the books?” You asked.

At first she didn’t respond, only setting them down on a chair. “Chiron asked me to leave some books here.” Her tone flat and uninterested, in the pile however you noticed a book about the stars that you had been searching for for hours.

You practically ran across the room grabbing the book like it was going to disappear. You looked down smiling at the cover— your excitement was innerupted as clarisse scoffed.

“I swear only Athena kids get off on this shit.” She rolled her eyes while turning to leave.

“Excuse me?” You spoke harshly.

Clarisse let out an irritated sigh. “What?— did I stutter I said Athena kids are the only people I know who can actually enjoy crap like this” she gestured her head towards the mess you had made earlier. “All you guys are the same boring blueprint of your mom”

“I’m not boring” you let out a scoff like laugh. Setting the book down on a table you crossed your arms not wanting to stand down from where you were.

Clarisse raised an eyebrow, it was clear she didn’t believe you. “Know what fine” you walked towards her. “Come here tomorrow midnight and I’ll show you that I’m not boring”

“And why would I do that?”

“Because I can get you out of whatever trouble your in with Chiron”

There was silence for a moment until clarisse rolled her eyes once more, threatening you to make it worth her time before actually leaving

———

You laid face down in your bed with Annabeth standing near by. You screamed into your pillow fustrated “and who does she think she is! I’m not boring she’s suc—“ you continued to complain until annabeth stopped you

“And Why do You Care what she thinks?” Annabeth sighed while sketching on a map of the forest, making plans for the upcoming capture the flag game.

You kept quiet.. annabeth turned in her seat looking over at you, her sharp grey eyes analyzed you until you knew the secret was you. You groaned in you pillow while annabeth sighed. “Her?! Really.. y/n there’s so many better options here but her your really gonna go with her?” She scolded you.

“Look, It’s.. fuck ok she’s really pretty and her being a bitch is attractive sue me” you rolled over in your bed embarrassed. Annabeth shook her head in disapproval. “Besides your not so innocent I see how you look at the son of Poseidon, uh Percy right? Yeah how does mom feel again about you fraternizing with the man she hates son”

She threw a pillow at your head in response. You just held the soft fabric close wondering how the hell you were gonna survive clarisse, you didn’t even like her that much

…

..

You did like her that much.. fuck

———

You sat in the big house looking out the wall length window admiring the stars. You had a telescope set up propped outside the window with a few books opened around you. Annabeth so graciously and forced helped you set up a cosy scene with some blankets and pillows.

You wore a cute form fitting black jumper dress with a light blue camp sweater underneath and a white ribbion in the back of your half pulled up hair. But this wasn’t a date. You had to constantly remind yourself that you were just proving you weren’t boring.

In mid thought you heard the libary door open, stepping in clarisse wearing some red plaid pj pants and her normal orange camp shirt. You felt your voice get stuck in your throat.

Clearing your throat you patted beside you. “Common”

“This looks boring I’m going back to my cabin”

“Dude”

Clarisse rolled her eyes and sat down— only there because you could get her out of cleaning the big house which you found out was because she may or may not of broke a kids jaw.

There was uncomfortable silence, it clear she was just trying to psyc you out so you would call quits but being the stuborn girl you were you refused.

You saw a shine in the corner of you eye making your face light up. “Look” you smiled. Clarisse groaned as she moved over and looked into the telescope. “It’s a meteor shower”

“I’ve been studying the stars for years but recently I’ve noticed a shift in some of the stars usual locations, see a meteor shower happens when the Earth passes through the trail of debris left by a comet or asteroid, As a comet gets closer to the sun, some of its icy surface boils off, releasing lots of particles of dust and rock—“

You had to stop yourself from continuing, proving you weren’t boring didn’t include you yapping about stars. The shower ended quickly and which was normal for a small storm like that one. While clarisse continued to look at the sky however You put a hand on the tool.

“Right here” you shifted it, you showed her the Aries constellation. “There’s Aries, and that red circle underneath it is mars” shifting the telescope some more you continued to talk “and there is the great square of Pegasus”

It was still quite the only round being the creaking from the telescope. You pulled away fiddling with your hands. “I—“

“It’s cool” clarisse mumbled “i guess” she looked over at you from where she was laying. Your cheeks flushed from the sudden compliment. “I still think your boring though spending all your time reading in here, but this” she titled her head more toward the window “this is all right”

You rolled your eyes. “I’m not boring”

“Mmhm” she sat up stretching as she did.

The two just sat there looking at eachother. You now taking the chance to really admire the girls features with the only source of light being the moon. “Your hair.. I like it, the way you style it and keep your curls in such good condition… it’s pretty”

“You can touch them if you want” her offer took you back, but you didn’t deny her. You reached out and touch her soft hair wrapping a curl around your finger. “Your hair smells like fruit punch” you giggled.

“Thanks?” She laughed softly, her hand now tracing gentle circles on your thigh. You could tell she liked the jumper dress on you, making your heart beat faster.

You leaned closer to clarisse nervous you read the situation wrong. Your lips were close just barley brushing against eachother.

You felt your heart start to race, you’ve kissed girls before but something about clarisse made you nervous, nervous like you wanted to run away but excited like you needed more.

Clarisses hand trailed up your body and found its way to your waist, she gently pulled you forward finally kissing you. The kiss was short repeating a few times adding a sense of hesitation.

You felt clarisses Hands squeeze you lightly as you both looked into each others eyes. Your left arm was now around the girls shoulder with your other hand keeping you up for balance.

You moved you hand to her hair before leading her in for a more passionate kiss. It was immature and inexperienced but needy. Clarisse Bit You bottom lip making you moan allowing her to move her tongue into the mix, you moved while kissing her to sit on the girls waist.

You both fell now with clarisse laying on her back and you pinning her down, both panting while looking deeply into each others eyes. You kissed her again with a sense of urgency.

Whines and soft moans filled the air as you kissed. Clarisses hands finding themselves under your tight jumper dress resting on the sides of your thighs while you had your hands held the girls face.

Pulling away you hid you face in the crook of clarisses neck allowing her to shift positions around now with her on top, trailing kisses down your cheek jaw and neck.

She pulled back panting. “How far are we going” her eyes meeting yours.

“Only.. only this” You whispered, clarisse nodded before kissing your neck again while softly nipping leaving dark hickeys.

——

The following morning you had to hear a long lecture from annabeth about the marks on your neck and the new found relationship between you and the daughter of ares

Annabeth - shes a terrible Person

Y/n - now it’s suddenly a crime for a woman to have a personality?

—

Go look at this persons post about Palestine and aid links

[daycourtofficial]

Falling in Love on the Fourth Floor - Part 7

Summary: Out of an act of desperation, you move in with a guy you kind of know who happens to have a really hot brother who lives next door.

Author’s note: eeeek I’ve had parts of this one in the drafts for AGES the middle section has been drafted for at least a month I swear and I’ve been sitting on it like 🧍‍♀️ waiting to share it. I think this is my favorite part so far (but not my fav overall 🥰)

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Masterlist)

Your day had been shit. Ever since that godsawful date Mor ambushed you with last night, you couldn’t stop yourself from wondering about Azriel and Nesta’s date. What they were doing, how things were going, if she was making him laugh.

Hell, you couldn’t stop thinking about their date while on your own date. The guy was good looking, and he wasn’t terrible, but there was nothing there between you two.

He also was very into cryptocurrency, a topic that quickly took over the conversation at dinner. A topic you did not encourage him to continue on. He somehow didn’t get that memo, insisting on walking you up towards the doors of your building when he was dropping you off, where you had made a lame excuse about going to bed early before ducking into your building.

You had followed the same path Azriel took only moments ago, continuing on to your own apartment. You open the door, finding a note on the fridge in Cassian’s messy scrawl.

Have fun.

He drew a winky face, and then several crude drawings on the post-it. The drawings made you groan, Cassian’s enthusiasm for your date further solidifying your nonexistent chance with his brother.

Of course Cassian would have Mor set you up after he found out about your little crush on his brother. You felt so stupid when you saw Nesta on their couch earlier today. You hardly spoke to Rhysand on the way to lab, your thoughts too flooded with how terribly you had read the whole situation.

Cassian probably told Mor all about your dumb crush and got her to fix you up tonight. Maybe Azriel had even mentioned your text to Cassian, asking him what to do about the annoying roommate who developed a crush on his brother.

Your chest hurts, but it was just a silly crush. You’ll get over it.

Eventually.

-

Azriel stood in the elevator, waiting for the doors to close as he looked at his phone, looking at the last message you had sent him Friday morning.

Wanna grab lunch tomorrow?

He hadn’t answered, his phone having been on silent all day to focus on finishing his work for the next week and the reception in the library not allowing messages to come through. He hadn’t seen the message until he woke up this morning, the timestamp seeming cruel.

Now he stares at it and wants to throw his phone. Missed opportunities, he supposes. But what would this lunch have looked like since you’re dating that dickhead from last night? Would you have had to reject him outright?

He can see your face contort in a smile as you tell him, “oh no, Az, I’m seeing someone.” Then you’d probably laugh about it with the dickhead.

He runs his hands down his face when he hears someone yelling, “hold the elevator please!” He juts out an arm on instinct, not noticing who it is. He sees you slip inside, the doors bumping against his arm, bringing him back to reality as he looks down at you.

Fuck.

A light scent of oranges fills the elevator, and he notes it’s likely from your shampoo. He pulls his arm from the door, allowing them to close, locking the two of you in the metal box.

You look up at him, eyes going wide, cheeks heating in embarrassment at the close proximity. You’re standing right in front of him, and you can smell his cologne, a scent of night-chilled air and cedar filling your nose. You take deep breaths, telling yourself that it’s okay, it was just a little crush.

On a very pretty, smart, and very kind guy.

Who smelled incredible.

You look down at your feet, unsure how to speak to him now that you knew he was dating Nesta. And not wanting to further embarrass yourself by flirting with him.

Gods, this was how you were going to die, you think, shuffling to lean against the rail. Azriel’s voice puts a halt to the spiraling of your thoughts.

“Nice date last night?” Azriel asks, trying not to let whatever he’s feeling bubble up. Your eyebrows shoot up, unaware of Azriel even knowing about your date.

Of course he knows, you think, Cassian probably told him he’d handle it.

“He spent the while night telling me about stocks and crypto and how he wants to be in Forbes 30 under 30,” you scoffed, “so no, it was not nice.”

The elevator starts moving, and his eyebrows shoot up. “So that wasn’t your boyfriend?”

You scoff, “hell no. Mor ambushed me yesterday. She told me to get dressed up and we’d go out and have a fun girl’s night, but when I showed up she texted me that she set me up instead.

“The worst part is Mor was so confident that she told Cassian about it, so he had stayed at her place last night to give me ‘privacy’. He even left crude drawings around the apartment to help the ‘atmosphere’.”

Azriel laughs as the elevator dings for the third floor. He feels his chest lighten, knowing you definitely weren’t seeing anyone. “Mor’s always been ambitious, hasn’t she?”

You laugh. “Maybe it was just a ploy for her to have sex with Cassian.”

You say it, but you know it’s not true. The real truth was they wanted to put you out there, help you get over the beautiful man standing next to you. They knew you didn’t have a shot, especially compared to Nesta. You’re brought back to reality, and decide to hurt yourself further.

“How was your date with Nesta?” You ground out, after a pause in your conversation. You needed to know so you can completely cut off your feelings for him. You needed him to pierce you with the final dagger.

His eyebrows arch up, and he looks at your expression.

Were you upset? You won’t meet his gaze, and you’re clenching your fists. Were you - jealous?

His mouth curls up at the thought, “uh it wasn’t a date. Nesta and I study together every Thursday night. We take a lot of the same classes. We did it last night instead because she was busy on Thursday.”

Your eyebrows raise in surprise, “so you’re not dating Nesta?”

He laughs, “absolutely not. No that’s an avenue I’d never go down. But there is some-“

His words die as you hear a screeching sound and the elevator stops completely, leaving you two stranded somewhere between the first and second floors.

“No - no, no, no.”

You start freaking out - elevators always gave you a bit of concern, their small dimensions making you feel cramped. You hit the button to open the door, jamming it with your finger. Realizing that it was fruitless, You pull out your phone only to remember that the elevator always has no service.

“Fuck,” you mumble, and your breaths start coming faster and faster, and you’re trying to remember your calming techniques, when you feel cold hands gently grab your cheeks.

“Hey, look at me.”

You look up, finding hazel eyes looking back at you. They’re etched with concern, not a trace of mockery in them.

“We’re okay. Breathe with me, can you do that?”

He grabs one of your hands, placing it on his chest so you can feel his breaths as they come in and out. Your eyes stay trained on his, not wanting to look away, wanting to get lost in the gold flecks you find there.

You start following the rhythm of his breaths, but he keeps talking to you in a soothing tone. You’re too focused on breathing to register what he’s saying, but you do register the soothing tone he’s speaking to you in. You could get lost in his voice, its deep timbre a melody in your ears.

Eventually you come back down enough to focus on what he’s saying and he’s telling you about his night - everything he did yesterday.

“Rhys texted me to get some trash bags on my way in, which is where I was coming from when I pulled up and found you with crypto douche.”

You smile, your first real reaction to his words since the elevator stopped.

“There she is,” he says, his finger tapping your cheek, “wanna tell me more about crypto douche?”

“He wants to be a landlord.”

Azriel snorts, “of course he does.”

“I didn’t even want to go on this date,” your eyes stay locked with his, the golden flecks calming you down. “But Mor has been begging me to go out with this guy for ages, and then she finally decided to ambush me by forcing it on me.”

“You know you can tell Mor “no”. It’s a complete sentence.”

“I know,” you sigh, “but she loves playing matchmaker, even though she’s awful at it. Usually once every other month I let her set me up, but she was just throwing a tantrum I wouldn’t let her set me up this time once I figured out the rouse.”

He doesn’t let himself linger on the fact that you haven’t let her set you up since meeting him. Coincidence, maybe. “Have any of them been successful?”

You blow out a breath, “uh, no. Usually I stay for an hour then leave. None of them have ever gotten a second date.” You pause, thinking. “In the words of the great philosopher of our time, “I’m a pathological people pleaser,” you chuckle.

“And who said that?”

“…. Taylor Swift.”

He looks at you, a chuckle on his breath, such tenderness in his gaze it shocks you a bit. “You should stand up for yourself more.”

“I’m… not really sure how. It’s kind of new to me.”

You look at your feet, but he taps your chin so you’ll look at him again. “I stood up to my parents, and it was the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”

You had tiptoed around the topic since your admission to Cassian the day you moved in, the wound still too raw to discuss with anyone other than Feyre. Mor knew some of the details, but not the whole story. You’re sure Rhys and Az knew that something happened with your parents, but you never let them know too much about it.

They didn’t know that your parents had told you that you became everything they had tried to avoid. That, despite everything they did for you, you didn’t turn out right.

You hadn’t told Mor because you knew she would have burnt down their house with them in it.

“It was scary, moving here with a guy I hardly knew.” His grip on you tightens slightly, and he’s hanging onto every word you say.

“But I don’t regret it. Not even when Cassian wakes me up at 6 AM with his singing.”

He chuckles, and he stills as you look into his eyes, your voice clear and strong.

“I don’t… I don’t regret any of it. I don’t regret meeting you.”

His hands are still cupped on your face, his face mere inches from your own. Your confession hangs in the air as you two look at each other, and he leans closer, pressing his forehead to yours.

Your breathing hitches, but not because you’re stuck.

He opens his mouth to reply, but the elevator comes back to life, moving downwards again. It startles both of you into jumping away from each other, and you clear your throat.

“Where are- where are you going?” You ask, gesturing towards his helmet.

“Oh, uh Cassian forgot his lunch and doesn’t have time to grab anything between clients. I was going to bring him something.”

The air is lighter between you two, and Azriel feels like he can breathe you in again. The fog of confusion has lifted between you two, leaving you to be seen clearly by him.

“Do you want to get lunch?”

He echos your previous text message to him, and you nod.

“Yeah I’d love that.”

You stroll through the lobby, putting as much distance between the falter elevator and yourselves. Once you make it to the parking lot, Azriel places his spare helmet on your head, tapping the top of it lightly affectionately.

You zip your jacket up as Azriel gets on the bike first, his thighs straddling the seat. He holds the bike steady, allowing you to place your hands on his shoulders for balance, letting go of your fears as you swing your leg around to straddle the bike behind him. Your body leans against his, wrapping around him, holding onto him.

You place your head on his back, your fingers clutching onto his jacket. It feels new, electricity crackling through every inch of you that is in contact with him, despite the layers and helmets that separate you.

He chuckles at the gasp you let out when you two start moving, how your hands hold onto his jacket a little tighter than before.

He pulls a hand away to place it gently on one of the hands you have clutched to his jacket, squeezing three times before moving his hand back.

[yougavemeyourheartyouknow]

On thin ice (Hockey player! Miguel O’Hara x Figure skater! Fem! Reader)

A/N: this is pre-shits about to go down chapter guys 🤭. The usu, Miguel ooc, not proofread, blah blah blah. Also half of this was made when I was drunk cuz Mexico Independence Day 🇲🇽. 😊 enjoy

(Y/N) - Your name.

Cursing, mentions of sex/ sexual stuff (no smut but very VERY light nsfw [like if you squint])

Word count: 1.4K

Series Masterlist

Chapter 7: How many secrets can you keep?

—

“This is like the 6th iced coffee I’ve seen you drink today. You’re gonna die of caffeine overdose, Logan.”

“If I die of too much caffeine, I’ll die happy Kate.”

“You’ll also make all your studying pointless Logan.”

“Shut up (Y/N).”

You and Kate giggled at Logan’s words, shifting in your seat a bit before putting your pen down and stretching your arms over your head. You’ve been in the library with your skating partner and your dorm mate for the past 2 hours now, studying for midterms, and to say you were stressed was an understatement. Not only were midterms next month, but regionals were the week after. So you were lucky if you got time after class and practice to do anything but sleep, eat and breathe. (Although you barely got time for that too.) You made yourself a promise to atleast give yourself time to relax when September started, that the weekends were strictly to chill and to party. No studying, no homework, no skating, but unfortunately, with that promise, you didn’t realize how much more packed the rest of your week would be.

“I’ll be right back, ima go grab a book.” You said to your study buddies, before getting up and making your way to the other side of the library, finding yourself in a small and quiet row of bookshelves, full of different science textbooks. Your hand trailed the spines of the books as you tried to look for the specific one that your professor used in class. “No… no…ugh… oh!” You mumbled to yourself as you looked over the books, before eventually finding the one you needed, turning to go back to your table only to be stopped when you clashed with what felt like a wall.

“Oh shit- Sorry!” Peter quickly helped you get off the floor after realizing you had run into him.

“No it’s okay, I didn’t see you… god you hockey players are so fucking big… do you guys not have any ounce of fat on you?” The question was rhetorical of course, but it still brought it a chuckle out of Peter’s lips as you grabbed his hand and he pulled you up like you weighed nothing.

“Mid-terms?” He asked as he bent down to grab the textbook that was now face down on the dingy carpet of the library floor.

“Mid-terms.” You confirm with a sigh, grabbing the book from his hand and mumbling a small “thank you” before you turn and start to walk away. You heard Peter call out your name to stop you, his hand finding a place on your shoulder.

“Um, (Y/N), can i talk to you about something…” he asked in a low whisper, after you turned to face him again, you raised a brow as you crossed your arms and held the book to your chest. He seemed somewhat serious, very different from the usual bubbly and loud personality that you’ve grown accustomed to.

“About what?” You questioned after a second of silence, leaning against the bookcase you were just searching through. He hesitated for a moment, his eyes flickered to the side as he brought his hand to run through his hair.

“It’s about Miguel.”

Oh?

“…what about him?” You asked as you looked up at him, your heart pace picked up slightly as anxiety slowly starts to creep through your body. Peter sighs before he spoke again.

“If you haven’t noticed, he has been acting… different…” (you have) Peter started in a low whisper, glancing other his shoulder then yours before continuing, “And well, I think it’s might be because-“

“Peter!- oh there you are.” Miguel sighed in irritation to his friend when we rounded the corner when seeing Peter's back, Peter stood up straight and turned to face Miguel, who couldn’t see you behind Peter’s back since he was taller and bigger then you, blocking you from Miguel’s sight. You used this to your advantage and snuck away from the two males while Miguel started to scold Peter for “taking too long” and “wasting his time that he could be using to do anything else but he decided to be nice and help him study.”

Once you’ve rounded the corner of the bookshelf behind you, letting out a quiet sigh once you were fully on the other side, how having the bookshelf divide yourself from the two hockey players. Making your way back over to your table before Peter could realize you were gone.

—

“I’m not in love with her, I was just drunk.”

“I’m not in love with her, I was just drunk.”

“I’m not in love with her, I was just drunk.”

“I'm not in love with her, I was-“

“That’s 20.” Peter said to Miguel, before Miguel dropped the barbell down onto the gym floor mat, it landing with a loud slam. Miguel moved over so that another one of the guys on the team could have their turn, grabbing his water bottle and taking a chug from it. Miguel tried to stay focused the whole time he and The Spiders were conditioning, he really was, but his mind kept drifting back to you. The way you look while on the ice, the way you’d scoff and roll your eyes at his remarks, the way you looked in that tight sexy dress at the party, your eyes, your smile, your laugh, you.

Miguel quickly shook the thoughts of you that plagued his mind and repeated the mantra that has been playing in his head all day, “I’m not in love with her, I was just drunk.” But a part of him knew he was lying to himself, hell, all of him knew he was, but he refused to accept it. Miguel felt like he was going through the 5 stages of grief, and he was currently in between stages 1 and 2, denial and anger.

How DARE you.

How dare you be so beautiful? how dare you be so perfect?

He hated the way you’d mumble about “hating hockey players” under your breath when you’d walk past him and his team.

He hated how’d you toss your head back and how’d your hand would find a place on your chest or fly up to cover your smile as you laugh at one of Logan’s jokes.

He hated how you’d always give him sassy remarks and playful glares when he’d call you ice princess.

He hated how you’d make his heart flutter and his knees weak.

He hated how his name sounded coming from your mouth.

He hated how hard you make him.

He hates you.

He hated how you made him fall for you.

He decided next time he saw you, he’d give you a piece of his mind.

—

You sighed as you pushed your laptop away and off your lap, declaring it useless to focus on your assignments as you shut your laptop close and laid down fully on your bed with an exasperated sigh.

“Why can’t he get out of my head…” you groaned as you turned and buried your face into your pillow. Ever since that party, ever since you were locked in the bathroom with him, ever since he had his body pressed against yours and his large hands gently placed on your face, you hadn’t stop thinking about him. It was embarrassing, it was annoying and most of all, it was insufferable. You’ve known and hated Miguel ever since you started attending this school and had the displeasure of meeting him. So why is it that all of a sudden, you were in forced proximity with him one time for-what? An hour-you’ve all of a sudden developed these odd feelings for him, one’s that you’ve never imagined yourself feeling in a thousand years.

You’ve despised him with your whole being.

You despised how his team would always go over there ice time on Thursdays.

You despised that permit smirk whenever he talked to you.

You despised how he always teased you in front of his teammates and they’d laugh in response.

You despised how whenever he calls you an ice princess your heart would skip a beat.

You despised how his chuckle would make your stomach flip.

You despised how when he’d stare into your eyes for a second too long it made you want to crumble to your knees in front of him.

You despise him.

You despised how he made you fall for him.

You decided that next time you saw him, you’d give him a piece of your mind.

—

Taglist: @tayleighuh @cowboylikeevie @coralineyouareinterribledanger @jukioku @loser-alert @migueloharaspookiebear @serpentstarr @littlexscarletxwitch @darksidescorner

[soobpricity]

this love - kang taehyun

letter 2 ; in which , you become my hydrangea love 💗

synopsis: what happens when soccer player!kang taehyun, who isn’t focused on school but is smart enough to pass, sees yn walk in the hallways nearly everyday after homecoming. taehyun’s new hallway crush begins to grow into something bigger, but what happens when he has to make a choice between yn or continuing to fail school ? will taehyun be able to focus on sports, classes, and trying to win yn over ?

taehyun’s coach, coach lee, led him to the school’s library. no sight of a single person due to the late hours. the sun was still up, rays of sunlight entering the library through the large glass windows. taehyun’s feet led him directly behind coach lee, who guided him towards a table. taehyun’s eyes wandered throughout the room, taking in each and every little detail. he focused back in on what was right in front of him. a wooden circular table with a single student sitting down, which seemed to be the only person there aside from him and his coach.

he had been so excited to go home, tuesday afternoons were the perfect time to go home and play games with his friends. typically his friends and himself would go to gaming cafes and spend sometime to relax after worrying so much about soccer practices and a few future games that they had coming up in the upcoming season. instead here he was spending the afternoon with his coach and his new tutor in the library which was practically a new place to him. after all the years he had spent in the same school, he had never really gone into the library. it wasn’t exactly what he had expected, he thought it was going to have a more older kick to it, but it was quite a cozy place.

“taehyun, this is yn.. lin yn. yn, this is kang taehyun, he is the soccer team’s center back and captain.. although if he fails to improve his grades then i’m afraid that his role will go to yeonjun, which i, myself, don’t wish to do, simply because he’s a good captain. but i hope he will improve and i don’t think i’ll have to worry much if he’s receiving your aid.” coach lee smiled, attempting to not put too much pressure on the two of you. however, his words worked in a completely opposite manner. a small huff leaving taehyun’s mouth. the news of him being removed as the captain of the soccer team was completely unexpected to him, it wasn’t until right now that taehyun had found out that possible punishment.

“right, i’ll try my best to take care of him. i wouldn’t want him to get in trouble.” you smiled, putting on the nicest tone you could. you truly had no desire to continue your tutoring ‘job’, but whenever coach lee had approached you earlier and told you about the things that would happen if he wasn’t able to get his grade up, then it really guilted you into taking the time to tutor him.

“thank you, i should leave the two of you alone, enjoy your ‘get to know each other’ session.. oh- and i can see if you leave early taehyun.” his coach yelled out as he left the library. taehyun turned over, fully taking in the student that sat still, waiting for him to take a seat. although, he also took in the recognizable face that he had been spotting in the halls nearly every day since homecoming.

he noticed as the golden rays that the sun released were reflecting beautifully off of your glowy skin. a notebook occupying the spot in front of you, atop of the table. taehyun felt himself beginning to blush as he realized that he had just been standing there.. staring right at you for the past few minutes. he finally took a seat across from you, placing his book bag on the floor.

“..hey.” taehyun wasn’t a person to typically be nervous, but he couldn’t help himself, he couldn’t help the way that his heart was beginning to beat like crazy.

“hi, umm- do you mind sharing your phone number with me ? i think it’s better to have each other’s contact information so we can schedule sessions.” you mumbled, your shyness beginning to get to you. it was easier to communicate with an extrovert, but currently taehyun seemed to be playing a more introverted way of communicating.

taehyun nodded, looking for a pencil in his bag and a piece of paper. “oh- i have a pencil.. and a sticky note.” you spoke up, handing over your pink and rather cutesy mechanical pencil over to taehyun along with the pink stack of sticky notes. he wrote down his number unsticking the piece of paper and sliding the stack and paper over towards you. as you grabbed the stack of paper, gliding your hand across the paper and gently handling it over towards taehyun.

and taehyun couldn’t help but realize, that you, the school’s sweetheart.. has him, the school’s most best athlete, completely wrapped around your finger. and yet, you didn’t even know it.. how could you. if he hasn’t even admitted the fact that he likes you to himself. he can’t even be 100% sure of his feelings for you. but you sure did make his heart go crazy, make his cheeks heat up just by keeping eye contact with him. he was so unprepared, he didn’t think his tutor was going to be the person who he had only showed interest in for nearly the past month or two.

you on the other hand, had barely noticed the boy, other than the times that you had gone out to see a game. to be fair, you were quite familiar with the school’s soccer team.

“is everything okay ?” you questioned, breaking the inevitable silence that rested in the air. taehyun nodded, completely turning his attention towards you. his head tilted as he attempted his best to pay attention towards you, but to be honest, your words were going in one ear and out the other. “did you even catch anything that i said ?”

“hmm ..? of course.. i did..”

“can you repeat them to me ?” you challenged, you had gone through this multiple times, after all it wasn’t your first time tutoring someone who didn’t even pay attention during your first meeting which you considered to be the most important meeting, after all first impressions are quite important.

“umm-“ taehyun paused.. what did you say ? he didn’t expect for you to be the kind of person to put him on the spot. especially since you had been so kind to him.. until now. but it wasn’t your fault and he knew that, it was his. he wasn’t paying attention and he was facing the repercussions for not doing so.

“it’s fine… just be sure to get here on time every time we meet up, which is every tuesday and thursday.. oh- and what exactly do you need help with ? i like to go through any material myself before tutoring so i can grasp the details and concept..”

“i’m.. not sure what i need help with.. everything is kind of easy.. but i’m kind of just behind on a lot of work..” taehyun confessed, feeling a bit embarrassed to confess that he doesn’t do anything during his classes. he wasn’t usually embarrassed about it, in fact he typically joked about it with his friends, but it was you.. and he had been crushing on you for the past few months.

“then, instead of tutoring, why not do a study session. i do my work, you do your work.. and if you need to.. you can ask me questions. doesn’t that seem fair ?” you asked him, tilting your head. a soft smile resting on your face. taehyun nodded. his heart quickened, your gentle smile softening up his heart. he never thought he would’ve been in this kind of situation, the kind of situation where he felt like he was head over heels for someone else.

taehyun had dated throughout his high school career, but never had he ever felt so strong emotions towards someone. and you weren’t just anyone, but before this meeting, he hadn’t even talked to you and he already felt so much adoration for you. he didn’t really accept his feelings or acknowledge them, mainly because he was worried that it was weird. he felt weird that he had such a crush on someone who he hadn’t even known, for all he knew, you could’ve been someone rude and he was already liking you so much.

“that seems good to me…” he agreed, hand fiddling with his other. his focus on you, ignoring any thoughts that he was having, mainly because he already felt like he deserved a scolding for not listening to you earlier, so now he had to be better than he was earlier.

“oh.. and is there anything else that you want me to know ?” taehyun rested his head on his hand, listening to your question. slowly beginning to grow his confidence back.. how ? well, he just knew he had to take advantage of the situation he was in. when would he ever coincidentally have a tutor that just so happens to be his hallway crush.

“what’s your favorite kind of flower ?” he asks, sending a rather smug smile at you. he loved catching your rather taken aback reaction. sure he may not have been doing any of his work in his classes, and he decided to take a bit of nap during those classes, but ! he was a curious person, and to say the least, he had quite the knowledge of flowers.

“… hydrangeas.. pink hydrangeas.. why do you ask ?” you look at him, giving him a look full of curiosity. brows furrowed, eyes filled with curiosity as your mind wondered.

“nothing, i’d just like to know what kind of flowers to put in the bouquet that i’ll be giving you.” he smirked.

“taehyun, that’s not really necessary.. you don’t have to give me anything..i’m just your tutor.. i don’t need a bouquet.”

“and why not ? it’s completely appropriate and necessary, you and i are both students who will be spending quite some time together. plus, just because nobody else you’ve tutored has given you a bouquet, doesn’t mean that i can’t.” he responded, standing up from his chair, pushing it in as he stands right next to it. you simply watch as he packs up his things, hanging his bag on his shoulder.

“what about you ?”

“me ? i like gloxinias.” he smirked, taking one last look at you before making his way out of the library, “see ya’ on thursday, get home safely.”

you watched his figure as he made his way out of the school, completely in shock. you felt as though taehyun was communicating with you in floral language. shocked that he was so behind on work but had managed to memorize the meanings of flowers.. maybe he was communicating in floral language..

©️soobpricity

this love taglist : @run2seob @soobadooba @soobnuuy @pockychuwu @crazynyctophilia @rencarnationofangel @esther-kpopstan @mrsyawnzzn @matcha-binz @michinri @hanstarrs @ariam-96

an: hehehe tyun was 100% responding to yn in floral language 🤭🤭 kind of want to incorporate a ton of flowers in this smau, and i know that you guys might not feel like looking all of that up, soooo i will leave a chart anytime i mention a flower.

gloxinias : love at first sight ; proud spirit.

pink hydrangeas : love and sincere emotions.

[allthefandomthings55]

Life in the Limelight

A few weeks later, Spencer asked you to dinner at a restaurant and you, of course, said yes. You got dressed in a black bralette with a skirt that was striped with peach, white, black, and brown. Then I put on a pair of white sandals. I also put on a holey sweater where you could still see the bralette underneath, however, it was a little hidden now. Checking in the mirror, I approved of how I looked. Spencer is actually coming to pick me up. I sat on my couch and continued to read. I heard a knock at the door and checked the peephole and it was Spencer. 

I threw open the door and pulled him in, “Did anyone see you come up here?”

“No, Y/N”

“What about follow you-”

“Y/N, I was very careful. I know you are paranoid, and for good reason, but I promise I was careful.”

You let out a breath, “Ok, thank you. I know this is all crazy but I really appreciate all of the effort you’ve put in.”

He nodded and walked over to you, “I’m glad you noticed. I went to the library and researched you a bit and it seems like all of you exboyfriends never wanted to put in effort. Plus if my mom knew I didn’t treat my girlfriend like a princess and a queen, I’m pretty sure she’d fly up ear to lecture my ear off,” you both chuckled at that. 

You gave him a hug, “Thank you again,” you let go of him to look at him, “but are you ready for dinner?”

You both left for dinner, Spencer escorting you by the elbow like a true gentleman and him helping you down the stairs. He opened his car door for you before closing it and going to the drivers seat. “You know,” I started, “I think after dinner we should just go to your place.”

He looks over at you, “Really? Are you sure?”

You nodded, “Yeah I’m sure. I never know who’s going to be stalking my house or my apartment just to get a picture with me or of me and whoever I’m with, but, if we go to your place we wouldn’t have to worry about that.”

Spencer though for just a moment, “I mean, I guess your logic is sound and I wouldn’t mind having you over,” a smile slowly started to spread on his face. 

You grabbed his hand and kissed it, “I’m glad we’re on the same page, Spence.”

After that little exchange, you had made it to the restaurant. The meal was fast and really delicious. Nothing eventful happened. You even made it to the car, only having to autograph a few napkins for the staff that served you. 

Once you made it to the car, you took a deep breath, let it out, and smiled. It was so nice living a somewhat normal life. “What’s the smile for, Y/N?”

“You. This. Everything you do for me to calm my stupid paranoia.”

“You know,” Spencer started, “your paranoia isn’t stupid. In fact your paranoia has actually probably helped you a lot. See when we get hurt, emotionally, physically, or mentally, our brains make sure to remember that and then they also remember what led up to that moment. So, when you come up to a situation that looks the same or similar to your brain, your brain sends you signals to try and stop you from getting hurt again.”

You chuckle slightly, “You know, I love it when you tell me little facts like that. Not only are they interesting, but they remind me of how smart you are.” Although it was hard to tell in the dark, you could see the small blush that appeared on Spencer’s face.

Once we made it to his apartment, you automatically looked around to see if you could see a lens or a telescope, but you couldn’t. Spencer opened your door again and held out his hand for you. Once you held his hand you could feel the calluses and how firm his hand was. He escorted you up to his apartment on the third floor then unlocked the door for you. 

You looked around inside and saw bookshelves lining every inch of the place that he could. You did see a TV that faced a chair and a couch that could seat four people. “Sorry my place is a little bit of a mess. I didn’t put away the books I read before our date,” Spencer started to pick up a stack of four books and put them away. 

“Wait, you read all of those before you came and picked me up?”

“Uh, yeah. I was a little distracted because I was nervous, but I can read 20,000 words per minute.”

“Wow,” was all you could breath out.

“So,” Spencer scratched the back of his neck, “I don’t know what to do now. I don’t really go on many dates and when I do, I don’t normally bring the girls back with me.”

You laughed. A genuine laugh that escaped you. No filtering it, just a laugh. “Well, do you have wine?”

An hour later you and Spencer were sitting on the couch, a little wine tipsy, talking about your awful past dates.

“Yeah and then she said ‘I didn’t think you would be cool because you seem so nerdy,’ like how rude is that?”

You laughed and took a sip of wine, “That is so rude. Just because someone is nerdy doesn’t mean they can’t be cool too. You know they usually say it’s the nerdy ones you gotta look out for.”

“Look out for? What do they mean?”

“They mean,” you took a deep breath, “that it’s usually the nerdy ones that know what they’re doing in terms of bedroom activities.”

A blush crept its way along Spencer’s cheeks and neck, “Oh, uh, well I guess that’s true.” Now it was your turn to blush and look into your glass. When you looked up again, Spencer was closer to you than before. “Y/N, I’d really like to kiss you, if you’re ok with that.”

You looked him in they, “Wow, polite and asks for consent. Spencer, I think you’re a fictional character of my dreams.” You then leaned in to kiss him. 

Once your lips connected it was like sparks flew. Your lips molded perfectly into his and once you started, there was no stopping. While still kissing, you slowly pushed Spencer back and straddled his legs. “Wait, Y/N,” Spencer said while you both pulled back to get some air, “I, uh, I would like it if we could just keep things here tonight. I just want to manage expectations and for us not to hate one another.”

You looked at him, really looked at him, “God you really are the perfect man. I totally agree, however I think that after this, because I do want to continue just this, we should cuddle until we fall asleep.”

Spencer smiled, “Yeah I like the sound of that.” So you both continued to kiss on Spencer’s couch. He held your waist and you had your hands in his hair. His hair felt so silky and soft that you never wanted to let go. Honestly, you could stay here forever. When the clock chimed indicating that it was midnight you sat back. 

“Do you think we should go to bed?”

“Probably, I have to go to work in seven hours. And you, well what do you have to do today?”

“Well, I actually have to leave at seven too. I have to fly to Milan to be in a fashion show.”

Spencer looked puzzled, “I though you sang?”

“I do,” you laughed a little, “but sometimes, if I have time, I model and I act. Only if I have time though. I mainly sing.”

Spencer let out a long whistle, “Wow, you are a busy woman.”

“Yes I am. Now let’s go to sleep.”

You and Spencer were cuddled up, sleeping peacefully, until his phone rang at four in the morning. “Hello? Ok, yeah I’ll be in give me twenty minutes. Ok bye.”

“Spencer,” you called out the sleep evident in your voice, “who was that?”

“That was work, they’re calling us in early.”

“Ok, do you have time to take me to my apartment?”

Spencer thought for a moment, “Yeah, it’s on the way anyways.” You both got dressed, him in different clothes and you in the ones you wore last night. Spencer drove you to your apartment. Once you arrived you looked at him. 

“You know, I had a lot of fun last night. Anytime you want a make out session, you have my number. Oh! Speaking of number, you totally don’t have to accept and I know that you are anti-technology and we’ve only known each other a month, but since we both have busy schedules I would like to send you pictures, Not nude ones or anything like that, not yet anyways, I mean like, I could send you pictures of the outfits I’m wearing in this fashion show, and some tour outfits. Even what I’m wearing for the day. Just so we don’t have to miss each other that much. Sorry I rambled.”

Spencer looked at you, like really looked at you, “I’ll give it a try only for you though. I couldn’t stand to not see you in some capacity.”

You squealed, “Perfect! So I anticipated your answer and I set the phone up and added my number to it. I’ll text you soon. Be safe and have a good day, Spence,” you kissed him before you got out and went into your apartment.

[i-am-baechu]

Title: I See You! (M)

Genre: College! Hoseok, College! Reader, strangers to lovers!, music major! Hoseok, film student! reader, ghost seeing! reader, stress out reader, Hoseok is the ball of sunshine we all deserve, fluff, comedy, and smut

Summary: The L/N family has always been different from other families. For starters, they see ghosts. Y/N hated this gift but as she grew older, she became used to it. Through her college years, she hasn’t seen that many ghosts but that was because they all left alone after her breakdown towards an upcoming test. When one of her classmates has a ghost attached to him, she realizes she needs to get rid of the ghost because it was starting to annoy her with the constant talking and poking her head. How come she never noticed his smile or his bright brown eyes before?

“Your eyes make me shy”

[ Preview 2 ]

On the top floor, Hoseok was studying with the maknae group and so far it was mostly him trying not to kill them. Jimin was studying but he was also texting his girlfriend, Taehyung brought his laptop for his PowerPoint but he was watching Netflix, and Jungkook was playing Mario kart on his switch. He tried to calm himself down because one, he didn’t need blood on his hands and two, Namjoon told him not to fight in the library. So far he was listening.

He continued to write notes until Jungkook started hitting his shoulder, “H-Hyung…”

He sighed and smacked his hand away. He raised his eyebrow and closed his notebook, “Jungkook, what?”

“Y/N…”

Hoseok's eyes widened and turned to watch Y/N walk in with her textbook and laptop in hand. She was wearing a black shirt with a bear on it that was surrounded with hearts, ripped boyfriend jeans, a simple black jacket but the string in the hoodie was bedazzled and black vans. She looked so cute. He quickly turned back when he saw her walking past them and he gripped his pen tightly looking at his closed notebook. He glanced to his side and he watched her walk down to an individual study desk near the window. The small sunlight made her shine and looked like a gift from god in his eyes.

He heard a small laugh and quickly glared at Taehyung, “Why are you laughing?” 

“It’s just, I don’t think I’ve seen you so into a girl before. It’s kinda funny.” 

He rolled his eyes and glanced back at Y/N and a small smile appeared on his face. She was reading something on her laptop with her eyebrows furrowed showing how concentrated she is. He sighed to himself and went to open his notebook but was stopped when Jimin closed it, “Why did you do that?”

“Go talk to her.”

He glared at his friend and shook his head, “I can’t just go up to her and talk to her.” 

“I mean Chanyeol is doing it right now.” 

Hoseok whipped his head towards his crush and his mouth dropped when he saw Chanyeol sitting next to her, talking. He turned back to the table and slammed his head, “Fuck, I can’t compete with him.” 

“Dude, you haven’t even tried. So, there’s no competition.” 

“Thanks Jungkook.”

[nerdysleepybunny]

plssssss do a part 2 to yandere norman also i would like to request that the reader accepts him :))

Mhm! I’m leaving y’all on a cliff hanger so if you want a part 3 you know what to do! >:) Thank you so much for the request, hope you enjoy! <3

🩷☁️N E R D Y S L E E P Y B U N N Y☁️🩷

Fandom: The Promised Neverland

Character(s): Norman (ft Ray)

Reader: Gender neutral

TW: Yandere behavior, murder

Style: Short story

Summary: Norman kills Ray after he gets too close to you, and you catch him in the act.

You had spent the rest of the day with Norman, and Ray was nowhere in sight. You had asked what happened to him, and he told you Ray wasn’t feeling well. You eventually forgot about it and continued having fun with the albino, nothing was on your mind except him and he loved it. He even messed with the air conditioner when you weren’t looking, your blanket becoming useless against the cold, forcing you to cuddle close to Norman all night to steal all the warmth you could.

The next morning, Norman walked down the stairs just in time to see you setting the table, minding your own business. That is, until Ray walked up to you. Norman felt his blood begin to boil and his heart begin to race. Looks like someone doesn’t know how to listen… he’ll have to change that!

Ray flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It would look gentle to anyone else, but Ray could feel the tight grip, and winced as Norman’s fingers dug into his flesh, right into his wound. You immediately got closer to Ray, asking if he was alright. Norman took his hand off Ray’s shoulder and pushed him aside, walking up to you.

“He’s fine, his shoulder is just sore from yesterday. We practiced climbing in the library for the escape.” Norman reassured, giving you a sweet smile.

“Oh! Well I hope you feel better, Ray!” You smiled back at the two boys, innocent and oblivious as ever.

“Speaking of which, I should take Ray to the infirmary to make sure his shoulder is healing. Come on, Ray.” With you believing Norman’s lie, there was no way the raven haired boy could protest, so he grumbled and followed along. You gave the two males a hug goodbye, if only you knew it’d be the last one you gave to Ray.

The library doors were slammed and locked shut, with a blade held tightly in Norman’s hand.

“I believe we had an agreement, didn’t we, Ray?” Norman slowly stalked closer, the sharp knife pointing directly at the other boy.

“You can’t just stop me from seeing (Y/N)! They’re my friend!”

“I believe I can…” Norman jumped closer to Ray, the knife directly at his throat.

“I told you if you went close to (Y/N) again I’d kill you, didn’t I?”

“N-Norman… what’s wrong with you?!” Before another word could come out his mouth, Norman slit his throat. Ray gasped for air as blood gushed out, before falling to his knees and dropping to the floor dead, blood continuing to gush out and create a large puddle of blood. Norman clenched the knife and began to giggle, before throwing his head back and laughing loudly like a maniac. His laughing was so loud he couldn’t hear the small clicking of you picking the lock. He finally noticed you and stopped laughing when the door was slammed open, you standing frozen in the doorway, eyes wide with shock. He looked at you mortified, dropping the now bloody knife. Your eyes flickered between Norman and Ray, mouth agape, words completely stolen from you.

“(Y/N)?…”

[cloudsmooch]

Immaculance | Chapter 2

Whitney makes good on his promise to Nora from their encounter over the summer break. Read on AO3 here! warnings: light violence

Nora’s lungs burned as she sprinted around the side of the school. The September air made her teeth ache from her heavy breathing, and her book bag hammered against her lower back in an annoying rhythm. She had only one destination in mind, and she hoped and prayed to whatever deity the Temple worshiped that Doren was already there and that his door wasn’t locked. The other teachers were even less inclined to leave their doors unlocked this early in the morning, and the library was too crowded, ruling that out as well. She’d just have to make it to the rear courtyard before Whitney did, assuming he wasn’t already posted there waiting for her. If he was, her only option would then be to hop the fence and lose him in the industrial alleyways, and hopefully make it back before the first bell rang.

She spared a glance behind her. Although out of sight now that she’d rounded a corner, the heavy footsteps and hollering of the boys were progressively sounding closer and she couldn’t afford to stay on the narrow pathways that lined the campus property. Veering left towards the gymnasium she continued on, a burning stitch forming in her side. She ignored it the best she could. Students in her path blessedly parted like the sea upon noticing her, preventing her from having to slow down.

She cut behind a row of sheds and other storage buildings that neighbored the gym, feeling a bit bad for stumbling through a little garden plot that some of the agricultural students had been tending over the summer and making a mental note to come back to assess the damage. A stream of water from the sprinkler system misted her before she could dodge it, dampening her hair and soaking her shoes and knee socks from a lighter gray into a dark soggy black. She groaned and rolled her eyes at the sensation of wet socks, squeezing out water with every thud of her feet. This was just the cherry on top.

Perhaps she deserved this. The boy she eventually learned was named Whitney had promised her in the park a few months ago that he'd make her life a living hell, the day she teasingly stared down at him from a tree he and his friends had chased her into. He had certainly tried all summer. Of course it was easier for her to weasel her way out of his grasp when she had the whole town at her disposal, with all its nooks and crannies that she knew like the back of her hand. That particular day she'd just waited for them to lose patience, as she learned early on they had little of it, and they soon left her but not before Whitney threw a beer bottle at her and swore he'd get her eventually.

It was also easier to laugh it off back then, but their little cat-and-mouse game was finally catching up to her. They were on Whitney's turf now.

Maybe she should've just let him beat the shit out of her the day he caught her in his backyard, let him get it out of his system and think they were even.

She had been particularly desperate that day. Her birthday had been looming over her, and the older girls on her floor had warned her about what turning eighteen meant. The problem was nobody seemed to know exactly how much Bailey expected from them, and anybody who did know was gone, so she'd started saving everything she could spare. Unfortunately, despite the fact that it was summer and the busiest season for the cafe, Sam had been cutting her hours shorter and shorter. He claimed it wasn't anything against her. They hadn't been doing very well with the town seeing one of its lowest records of tourism in years, and the other employees had seniority over her. If business picked back up again, he promised he'd schedule her more.

It hadn't, and it made her antsy enough to go to Danube. Knocking on doors was never very fruitful, but occasionally it connected her with people who needed help with errands or other small chores. Sometimes people were just lonely and wanted company, but she tried to avoid people like that. Nobody was really looking for help that day and she told herself she'd try one more house before calling it quits, finding herself waiting awkwardly in front of a big brick manor and not really expecting anything to come of it. A frazzled looking lady in a servant's uniform had opened the door and waved her in once she heard Nora was offering babysitting services.

She had no way of knowing that the person who needed babysitting was Whitney, and if she had she would've fervently declined.

There was no use speculating about it now, because she sealed her fate as she rounded another corner that led into the rear courtyard of the school. He was waiting for her there, a lit cigarette in hand and two burly looking boys flanking either side of him.

"Grab her," she heard Whitney say. Knowing she was fucked, she made one last ditch effort for the fence, but the boys grabbed her before she could put a shoe in the chain link and attempt to haul herself up. One of the boys seized her book bag off her shoulder roughly and threw it somewhere she couldn't see, while the other boy grabbed her by the waist and flung her to the ground, momentarily crushing one of her hands with his shoe. They pinned her down, and she hissed from the weight of their knees digging into the flesh of her forearms. Sand and grass clung to her damp hair and clothes as she struggled against them. Whitney just watched as she thrashed her legs at him, a small smirk on his face.

He crouched down and squatted over her thighs, eyeing her over. "Mornin', slut."

This was the happiest she'd ever seen him. She realized he would be quite handsome if it weren't for the harsh scowl that always seemed to be on his face, one brown eye usually covered by a curtain of dirty blonde hair. He took a lazy puff from his cigarette as he studied her, letting the ashes fall onto her squirming body beneath him. She tried to raise her legs to push him away from her, but at some point in the scuffle the boys who had been chasing her had arrived and were now pinning each of her legs down.

"Uh, uh, uh," he scolded playfully. "No running away this time."

Nora began to panic as his gaze shifted to a sliver of bare skin that had been exposed where her shirt had ridden up, for the first time genuinely afraid of him. Without thinking she gathered as much saliva as she could manage in her mouth and spat it in his direction, not caring if it hit him and mostly hoping to redirect his attention. She could handle getting knocked around by bullies; it was when their eyes lingered a little too long on her body, a voracious, nervous spike of energy in the air that sounded the alarm bells in her mind. She recalled the girl from that morning, and the vacant, far off look on her face, and the conversation she'd had with Bailey.

Maybe this was something she'd just have to get used to, but for now she wasn't ready to stop fighting.

Whitney cursed at her, and his large hand grabbed her by the jaw and slammed her head hard into the ground. She tried to blink away the stars forming in her vision, doing her best to level her breathing and not groan out in pain. "You don't know when to quit, do you?" He grumbled.

He looked at one of his friends and flicked his head in Nora's direction. "Cover her mouth."

The boy hesitated, but still crouched obediently down where Nora's head lay on the cold ground. "But what if she bites me?" He asked pitifully.

"For fuck's sake, use your fucking tie!" Whitney spat. He looked around impatiently, looking out for anyone who'd come and spoil this moment for him. The boy's necktie was soon thrust into Nora's already dry mouth, the little fibers sticking grossly to her tongue and removing what little moisture she did have left. Closing her eyes, she huffed hot air through her nose in an effort to calm herself, almost as impatient as Whitney for this to be over.

Satisfied that she wouldn't try to spit on him again and that she was slowly becoming more docile the more energy she spent, Whitney's attention returned to her body. He peeled her shirt up even further, exposing her belly and the underwiring of her cheap bra. Nora willed her panting to slow, but it only made the rise and fall of her stomach faster. Whitney smirked.

"I've been waiting for this all summer," he said, unable to hide the hatred in his voice despite the calculatedly calm air he was projecting. "But I'm sure you already know that."

There was a sizzle, and a searing pain bloomed from a spot under Nora's ribcage. She closed her eyes involuntarily as she flinched and couldn't stop a small whimper from escaping, the sound fortunately muffled by the fabric stuffed in her mouth. She struggled again under the crushing weight on her limbs as dull hot flashes creeped over the expanse of her skin, desperate to wrest herself free and sweating in spite of the cool temperature outside.

Whitney sat fully on top of her now, gloating at her discomfort before discarding the now put out cigarette. He cupped her jaw with his hand, almost delicately this time, and leaned down to her ear.

"You're mine, bitch. We're gonna have a lot of fun this year."

She held his gaze once he leaned back up to look at her, her eyes burning in defiance. Bring it on, she thought bitterly. He scowled, looking a little less pleased with himself, and opened his mouth to say something else when somebody's hushed voice interrupted him. "Doren's coming!"

Whitney and his friends scrambled, the weight that had been crushing Nora blissfully leaving her aching bones. Immediately she ripped the necktie out of her mouth and gasped, taking in a deep breath of fresh, cold air. "See ya around, slut!" Whitney yelled, the laughter of his friends growing dimmer as she pushed herself to sit up and cradled her sore arms into her chest.

Robin appeared, kneeling down on the ground beside her, and she saw Doren's shaggy mop of red hair following closely behind with a wolfish look almost hidden under his impressive beard.

"You alright, lass?" Doren asked as he came near, his voice gruff and unhappy. Nora nodded, wincing as he helped her up.

"Take her to the nurse," he said to Robin. "I'll write you a note if you're late. I'm goin' to go have myself a talk with Mr. Clark."

"No, it's okay." Nora said. She waved off Robin who had begun to gently tug her in the direction of the infirmary. "I'm fine. Can't we just wait in your room?" The burn mark on her stomach screamed in protest at her, but she grit her teeth and ignored it. She was not going to the nurse on her first day if she could help it.

Doren, who had been staring off grumpily in the direction of the pathway that Whitney and his friends had ran away down, turned and fixed her with a glare in the way only a disappointed teacher can.

"Nora," he started, sounding a bit exasperated, like he couldn't believe she was arguing with him but was too tired to put up a fight. He looked down and noticed the discarded necktie and cigarette lying in the grass. His eyes narrowed, but he sighed as he bent down to pick up the tie, tucking it into the back pocket of his pants.

"Fine," he said. "But go clean up first." And with that he left them at a purposeful pace, his large frame taking up most of the path.

Nora slumped with relief and faced Robin. He shifted uncomfortably next to her, his big doe eyes silently asking her if she was okay.

"Don't look at me like that," she bristled.

His eyes widened at her tone, and she ignored the pang of guilt it roused in her in favor of finding her book bag. He hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, he'd saved her by finding Doren, but Nora was overwhelmed and figured she had enough on her plate without having to worry about upsetting him. She raked her eyes over the courtyard in search of her bag.

"It's over here," she heard Robin say, his voice soft. She turned and watched him bend to pick it up, extending her hand to take it from him. Instead he threw it over his shoulder and gestured without looking at her for her to follow him down the short pathway and in through the glass doors of the school's rear entrance. Nora put on her best poker face as students in the hallway stared at her, caught off guard by her disheveled appearance. She could feel the sand dislodging from her body as she walked, and when she looked down at herself she saw her socks and shoes were caked in it, her skirt wrinkled and off kilter. She discretely fixed it, rotating it back into place by the waistband.

Apart from shameless staring, they made it to the toilets unbothered. Robin waited outside for her, still guarding her book bag like it was something precious and doing his best not to fidget under the attention on them.

Mercifully the girls bathroom was empty, because Nora's reflection startled her as she walked in. Blades of grass stuck awkwardly in clumps of damp hair on the back of her head, the ponytail she had put it in this morning looser than ever. She wrestled it out of its hair band, wincing as she combed her fingers through it and carelessly pulled hairs from her scalp. She must've tugged too hard because the elastic of the band snapped apart, shooting on to the tiled floor.

Every muscle in her body flexed in sharp annoyance, her anger over whatever cruel joke the universe must be playing on her barely being contained. She turned the sink on and dunked her head under it. The water was cool and felt good against her warm face. She opened her eyes and watched the little gray dots of sand being washed down the drain, wishing she could shrink herself down and follow them.

She gave herself an extra moment under the water before reaching blindly for the paper towel dispenser on the wall, cranking it a couple times and collecting the towels it spat out. She did her best to soak up the excess water from her hair and used the soggy paper to scrub the sand off the exposed skin of her arms and knees. The burn on her stomach tingled as she moved, and she lifted up the hem of her shirt to inspect it.

It was yellowing slightly, bubbling into a small blister with the skin encircling it an angry red. Unsure of what to do, she got a fresh paper towel and dampened it with some soapy water, patting it onto her skin without applying too much pressure and then dabbing it dry. That would have to do.

The door opened and a few girls walked in, their chattering quieting a little after noticing Nora quickly dropping the hem of her shirt. That was her cue. She brushed past them and tossed the used paper towels into the bin, catching the door before it could swing closed.

Robin was standing against the wall opposite the toilets. He handed her her book bag as she approached him.

"Thanks," she said a bit sheepishly. "Sorry for snapping at you."

"It's okay," he said. She could see his features visibly relax as they fell into step together. He suggested they go get their schedules and locker combinations from the front office before heading to Doren's classroom where they could wait for the first bell to ring, and she agreed, eager to pretend this was just a regular morning at school.

If he was worried Whitney would make another appearance on their way, Robin didn't show it, but she could feel him sneaking glances at her in her peripheral. It was strange to her how he towered over her now. For the longest time they were similar heights and she didn't have to crane her neck to see his eyes. It felt wrong, his growth spurt something uncontrollable like a helium balloon slipping out of her grasp. Even stranger, she kept noticing now that she looked more presentable that they were still being stared at, but it wasn't her fault anymore. They were staring at him. If he noticed the two girls huddled by a row of lockers, ogling him and whispering to each other, he didn't show that either.

She knew there was a chance he could be building up the courage to ask her about Whitney and she really didn't want to have to answer, so instead she brought up something she knew he'd be excited to talk about. "What are you doing after school? I don't have to work, but Sam said he had something for me at the cafe."

"I'm not doing anything," Robin smiled. "I'll swing by with you. Do you have any idea what it is?"

Nora shook her head. "Maybe he's firing me," she joked, although after this morning she wouldn't be surprised if that ended up being true. What was one more cosmic punch to the gut?

"Well, you're welcome to work at the lemonade stand with me." He said, nudging her. "I'll put in a good word for you."

Nora smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Robin made next to nothing at the stand, working only on the weekends. If there weren't enough tourists for the cafe, then there most definitely weren't any down at the beach. She never seemed to know how to tell him he was wasting his time there, but she'd have to figure out a way soon before it became too late for him.

They'd made it to the front office by that point and checked in with one of the counselors, giving their names and receiving their schedules and locker combinations. Their lockers unfortunately were very far apart, as they were sorted alphabetically by surname. Robin gestured for her to hand him her schedule as they left the way they came in, hopeful that they had at least a few classes together.

"You're lucky, you have Biology with Sirris," he said. "And it looks like we only have History together." He handed her back the schedule with a pout as they came up to the English classroom door. They knocked in case Doren was in there, but when they got no answer they opened it and went inside. He was most likely off giving Whitney and his friends detention, if he could find them. Nora didn't know whether she'd be worse off for Whitney being punished or better. It was probably the former.

She'd worry about that later, though. Instead she helped herself to one of the English textbooks Doren would be passing out later anyway, and sat down on a bean bag in a corner of the room. Robin followed and sat down in a chair next to her, taking out his cheap phone to play a mobile game.

Doren's classroom, and Doren by extension, had become one of her favorite things about school and would be one of the only things she'd miss after graduating. At first she just assumed he liked her because she was quiet and didn't disrupt class, but she eventually realized he kept an eye out for most of the orphans in the school. He always kept granola bars in his desk and random toiletries that he could pass to them in secret, and was always generous with deadlines for assignments. Some days he let her get away with eating lunch in there with him, but that generally wasn't allowed and she didn't want to press her luck with him.

She skimmed the table of contents of the textbook, flipping through to see if she recognized any of the short stories they'd be going over. Faint arcade music played from Robin's game, one she wasn't familiar with.

"Did he hurt you, Nora?" Robin asked softly.

"Huh?" She looked up from the textbook. He wasn't looking at her, his eyes trained on his phone. His brows were furrowed.

"Did he hurt you," he repeated, less of a question this time. "Before Doren and I got there."

"I'm fine," she started to say, but he turned to face her and her irritation died in her throat. She hated when he looked at her like that, like she was breaking his heart into tiny little pieces. His game jingled to signal that his character had died, and he turned away from her again frowning.

"Why is he doing this to you? Who even is he?" He asked.

Even if Nora felt like telling him, she didn't know where to begin. "He's just some asshole," she said. She flipped a page, pretending to be looking at her book. "He doesn't have anything better to do."

Robin shook his head and sighed, probably frustrated with her but too afraid to push the issue. He tapped his phone to start his game over, the glow from the screen lighting up his face. "I just don't like when you get hurt," he said.

"You don't have to worry about me." She curled into herself, shrinking as far as she could into the bean bag.

"I know," he agreed. "That doesn't mean I won't, though."

Nora felt her own heart break in her chest.

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

Read Chapter 3 on tumblr here!

[bush-viper-cutie]

New Student, New Friend

Pairing: Young Snape x french!reader

Word Count: 2,751

Request: #1 “Hi! Can I request a young!Snape x french!reader where the reader's transferred from beauxbatons and isn't fluent in english/has a thick accent? Love your work!!”

#2 “Hi hi! Love your work! Can I request Young Snape x French reader? Sorry if I dont speak well, english is not my first language <3”

Warnings: none

A/N: Hello everyone again! :D I combined both requests because they are pretty similar so enjoy!

Posted: 9/10/21

Masterlist

---

~*~*~ = time skip

(Y/n) = first name

(L/n) = last name

~*~*~

~*~*~ = POV change

---

~*~*~*~*~ *~

There was a strange static in the air this morning, one Severus couldn't quite place. He brushed his long hair back behind his ear and listened in to the hushed whispers of passing classmates.

"...Beauxbaton, can you believe it?"

"Nice to not know someone for a change - "

Beauxbaton? Severus gathered they were talking about a new teacher perhaps? Although it wasn't that odd to get new professors in the middle of the school year. Just last year the Dark Arts professor was promptly replaced when he went mad after a spell backfired on him; In fact, every year there was a new one.

It was strange that the new teacher should be a transfer from another school such as Beauxbaton... Maybe they were fired and no one else wanted them, must be down on their luck. And if that is the case, how very fitting for Hogwarts, home of inadequacy.

Severus, still deep in his bitter thoughts, almost tripped over the shoe that had extended out in front of him. He caught himself and whirled around angrily. "Watch it!" he growled, straightening.

James Potter smirked. "Oh, Snivellus. Didn't see you there.” His Gryffindor friends snickered behind him, bolstering his ego. "I'd get along to class if I were you. Wouldn't want to be late on your first day back."

Severus grit his teeth and did everything he could to not growl his displeasure of being in so close proximity to the pinnacle of mediocrity that was Potter. It had been a week after winter holidays had ended but after another nearly fatal encounter with Black, he’d been forced to stay in the Hospital Wing un-zippering his mouth and a couple of fingers before being allowed back.

The memory of the experience made his knees weak, making keeping his riled demeanor that much harder. He was lucky he'd had the foresight to cover his nose before Black unleashed his hex. It wasn’t a quick run from the lake to the nurse, and he certainly wouldn't have made it with his nostrils zippered together as well.

"Mind your own business, Potter." Severus spat out his name like rotten apples, furrowing his brows in an attempt to seem more threatening however he could not help but notice the hallways getting emptier by the second. He knew better than to get caught alone with Potter.

He laughed and turned to catch up with his friends. Severus watched him go, only relaxing his shoulders after Potter had rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight. The hall was empty.

He turned and continued down the corridor when his hearing perked at the scuff of loud footsteps. He whirled around, hand plunging into his robes, but it was too late.

"Levipeds!"

Severus' head snapped back as his feet whipped out from under him. He hung limp in the air, watching his wand roll away on the stone floor. His hair nearly touched the dirty ground.

James laughed. "Welcome back, Snivellus!"

He closed his eyes as his boiling blood rushed to his head. He was hanging upside down in the air, alone in the empty corridor. He couldn't scream for help, he'd just get yelled at for disturbing lessons, and he couldn't reach his wand - as long as his limbs might be, his wand might as well have rolled down into the dungeons. He'd have to hang there until classes were over or one of the portraits decided to help him out for once.

"Eh... Excuse moi?" A quiet voice wrapped in a thick French accent broke the silence.

His eyes flew open and stared straight into the face of a beautiful but completely unfamiliar student. She bent down low to meet his eyes. She must be the mystery person from Beauxbaton, the new student as it turned out.

This was worse, so much worse than being caught by anyone else in the school - except for a very select few. Severus looked around in search of anything that might make this all less embarrassing.

"You need help, no?" Her voice was more confident this time, laced with a hint of friendly amusement.

"Uhh..." He met her eyes and hoped this new student would excuse his red face to be due to all his blood rushing down.

She straightened and pointed behind him. "This is your wand? I'll give to you?" His wand was in his hand with one quick flick of her own.

His eyebrows automatically shot up at her use of nonverbal spells. "Thanks," he tried swallowing but ended up coughing. He covered his mouth and performed the counter-hex, dropping to the floor with a grunt.

She rushed forward, looping her arm through his and helping him up to his feet. She laughed and dusted the dirt off his back while he stood paralyzed.

"Better, no?" she smiled, facing him a foot from his stiff figure. "I'm new seventh-year transfer... And you?"

For a moment his mouth opened but no words flew out, and then all at once words poured out as fast as if under a curse. "I'm - oh - yes you're from Beauxbaton, right? Yeah - er - yes, seventh-year as well."

Her hands flew up and she waved them in front of herself with a laugh. "Slow please!" she laughed again. "One more time?"

Severus gave an awkward laugh that matched hers and nodded. "I'm also a seventh-year."

"Oh!" she held out a paper and pointed down to the class he was late for. "I am so lost! You help me now? Oui?"

She smiled up at him and his heart nearly leaped out of his mouth. He nodded quickly, "Yes - er - oui, I'll help you... Actually, that's my class too..."

"Oh!" Her smile widened, "I need partner for the class! You have one?"

For once Severus thanked his unlucky past self. His time in the hospital wing all week meant everyone would be already partnered up. "No, I don't..." his face flushed red again and he cleared his throat, looking away. "We could be partners?"

"Bon! Lead the way, partner," she motioned for him to lead, keeping a very close pace next to him as they walked. "I am lucky to find you, did not know anyone yet. You are only third person met!"

He gave her a small smile as they walked together, but he knew it wouldn't take long for her to find out his status at the school. Being a new student, he was sure she’d make all the friends she could ever want by the end of the day. Then she'd reconsider her luck after everyone tells her all about her lab partner, 'Snivellus'.

~*~*~

They made it to class late. The professor looked up and frowned, ready to tell them off when Severus' new ‘friend’ spoke up.

"Excuse us, Professor, I am new and got lost."

The professor sighed and waved his hand, giving her a pass. "And I see you're back Mr. Snape. Get to your seats, you'll both be working together - get moving."

The two back seats were empty and Severus was glad to be away from the front for once. His new partner set down her things, and as she bent to pick up her books Severus caught a glimpse of Sirius Black glaring at him from the front, a seat behind where Severus had been sitting the last term. Black had anticipated his return and was obviously annoyed with the change in seating.

"What may I call you, Mr. Snape?" The new student whispered, giving him her full attention despite the lesson continuing.

"S-Severus." He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to him. He'd die of embarrassment if they started teasing him in front of her for daring to open his mouth. "And you?"

She smiled. "Severus Snape? That's a beautiful name." She looked back up to make sure their conversation was still private and turned back. She reached up and gripped his tie, pulling him towards her. She leaned and held a hand to his ear, moving her lips inches from his ear. "(Y/n) (L/n)."

Severus’ heart beat faster than it ever had before. The immense drumming in his ears almost made it impossible to hear her whispers. When she released him, he turned to look at her, feeling his face heat up either from proximity or from her warm breath flowing over his face. "(Y/n)... Good to know." He swallowed and realized he had not moved since she had pulled him towards her. He would have felt like an idiot if she wasn’t looking at him so playfully.

"You gonna kiss her, Snivellus?"

Severus pulled back quickly and clenched his jaw at Black.

The professor smacked Sirius' head with a roll of parchment. "Mr. Black, disturb my class again and I'll assign you an essay for every night this week." Severus smirked. "And you, Mr. Snape," the Professor smacked the board, creating a puff of chalk, "- will hand me your notes tomorrow before class - legible notes, might I add."

Severus nodded as the class snickered and turned away from (Y/n). The rest of the lesson went by agonizingly slow. Severus counted the seconds until he could run away to the library, away from taunting eyes. He hated himself for turning so red, but he hated Black even more for making him the fool.

~*~*~

~*~*~

You could tell the boy, 'Mr. Black', had embarrassed Severus greatly. He was hunched over his parchment, focused completely on the professor's words, and never once looking back up at you.

You read the words on the board but soon your eyes ventured down to look at the tall lanky boy currently trying to visibly shrink in his seat. The moment shared between you both still played on your mind. He had beautiful long lashes and deep dark eyes to match. It had been fun to see him so flustered over you, but the guilt of what you'd caused sat heavily on your chest. That boy had noted Severus had been in the perfect position to kiss her, which... did she kind of wish he had?... Just to see - for just a curious taste.

You didn't know what specifically was so alluring about Severus, but you could imagine yourself wrapped in his arms, pulling on his long hair, biting his lips, and hearing that deep voice of his purring for more. Something about him - or maybe everything about him - made you wonder how gentle those hands of his could be.

The bells rang in the distance, marking the end of the lesson. You packed your things and sat waiting for Severus to do the same. He was slow at first and then after a quick flick of his eyes up to you hurried along.

You stood at the same time and motioned for the door, scrambling to translate your thoughts into English. "Lunch now? We can sit together?"

People filed out of the class, which Severus watched closely before turning back to her and answering. "Look, this isn't the only time… I'm not someone to hang out with unless you like hexes and spells to be thrown in your direction."

You could see the hurt in his eyes, the way his brows furrowed, and his down-turned eyes filled with tears that wouldn't fall. Before you could bring yourself to respond, he sighed shakily, giving you pause.

"It's not your fault... I'll show you down and then I suggest you forget about being friends." He pulled open the door and held it open for you without meeting your eyes.

What could you say to him? You stepped out into the corridor, contemplating how to phrase what you were thinking when laughter pulled your focus.

"I see you've met our Snivellus." The stupid boy, Black, came forward talking to you but keeping his attention on Severus. He had long curly hair nearly as long as Severus' and was taller, with proud shoulders held in a loose demeanor that still made him seem important in some way. His eyes shifted to you, "Hope he didn't drip any snot on you while he tried for a kiss."

You scoffed, “You do not understand what you saw. Please leave us alone.”

“Love, maybe you’re not understanding me. For your own safety I insist YOU leave this sniffling slime alone.” Black took a step closer.

Severus pulled out his wand but held it low, at the ready in an instant. "I’m done with your games. Unlike you, you nitwitted tower troll, I have places to be." He finally glanced your way, "Excuse me," and made to leave.

Black blocked his way, laughing at the now pointed wand in Severus’ hand. "Go ahead, I’ll be glad if you finally get expelled for using wands in the corridors. Mine's not even on me."

You eyed the smirk on his face and the tiny shift of his hand towards his trousers pocket. Was that a lie then? Whatever the case, you had enough of this game too. "My friend, Severus, is showing me to lunch. We are going now." You stepped between Severus and Black, giving the taller boy an annoyed look.

"I’m telling you, be careful," Black chuckled. "He might try to kiss you again if you’re too nice."

You paused and stepped back, looking up at Severus, whose eyes were fixed on Black, staring daggers into him. You bit your lip and chuckled the same way Black had, finding a different kind of amusement than him in this situation. "I hope he will."

Severus' head snapped to you, his cheeks slowly going a light shade of pink all over.

Black made a disgusted sound and a show of his fake nausea. “Darling, I don’t think I understood you correctly. Check your dictionary and if that’s not the problem maybe your eyes.”

This boy was really getting on your nerves now. If you’d been back at Beauxbaton you’d’ve already hexed him into a soggy pile of starter yeast, baked him into the perfect Pain au Levain, and chucked him out the tallest tower window. “Move it,” you made sure your French accent coated the word heavily.

Severus’ hand wrapped around your arm, pulling you back. He kept his wand and eyes trained on Black but spoke to you. “Go down to lunch. I’ll stay here to have the chat Black so desperately wants to have with me.” He looked up again, “Let her leave.”

Black smiled, “That’s fine. Been meaning to ask how your winter holiday was after I last saw you.”

You turned to Severus, ready to protest when the door to the classroom opened, cutting Black off. You all stood very still and awkward, hoping to hide the atmospheric hostility that had been created.

The Professor locked the door with a flick of his wand and looked at everyone with concern. "Off to lunch, no need wandering the corridors. Now." He ushered everyone down the stairs, walking close behind in equal silence.

You reached the floor second to last, after Black and then Severus, and pulled on Severus' arm the second your Professor had turned towards the staff room. You kept your hand on him to make sure he didn’t decide to leave before you could talk to him. Before Black could step towards you to continue the ‘conversation’, other Gryffindor students pulled him towards a small crowd gathering across the floor. Whatever it was seemed to be of higher interest and he left with only single backwards glance.

You both watched him go dissolve into the rowdy group and suddenly the air around you shifted. Severus turned instantly, searching your eyes with an intensity you could almost feel. You blushed and slid your hand down his sleeve and lingered on his bare hand. Neither of you said a word but the electricity connecting your eyes and the comfortable silence that enveloped you both spoke volumes. "We could eat together, no?"

His eyes settled on your hand still on his until you let go. "Oui," he whispered with a smile pulling at his lips. “Lunch then.”

As you both walked on, he slowly crept closer with every step, making your shoulders brush against his arm. His pinky tickled the skin on your wrist, making you cough to hide a giggle as you entered the Great Hall. Your eyes flickered up at his and you smiled, seeing a gentle blush and an even gentler smile on his face.

~*~*~*~*~ *~

Masterlist

—-

General taglist:

@setsuna-meiou31

@severuslovebot

@bionic-otp

—–

[sevendeadlymorons]

Ok mc is still unused to devil Dom and the house and the boys so they usually wake up in the middle of the night, if they even sleep at all the first few weeks. Just them their thought a hot cup o any beverage on the big chair in the library at 2 am just lost and a little sad.. who would find them first how would they react? I just had this idea in my had for such a long time and!!!! Sorry but I positively love your works so much!!

Just pretend that Belphie wasn’t locked up and he was there in the start of the game, ok? Ok.

Thank you! And this is so sweet I’m loving it :,)

Brothers Reaction to Newly Acquainted MC Sitting Alone At Night

You’d woken up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night for the third time this week, hyperventilating after the nightmare you’d just endured. You check your surroundings but quickly realise that you weren’t in your room, but in the room you were assigned to when you were dragged to the Devildom against your will. You sigh and hold your head in your hands, desperately trying to shake away the irrational fear you’d embedded deep inside of you the past few nights. You knew you weren’t going to be sleeping tonight so you decide to get up and go grab a hot drink and sit in the huge chair you saw in the library when you walked past with that demon. When you’d finished making your drink and sat down in the chair, ready to start drinking it, you hear the floor boards creak from across the room...

——————————————

Lucifer

Seeing the eldest of the brothers in the middle of the night wasn’t exactly the most comforting situation to be in, but you composed yourself as best as you can when he spotted you and walked in to the room, sitting down dangerously close to you. Lucifer stares at you questioningly, wondering why you were up so late. He was going to say something but felt, since you’re new here, it may stress you, so he kept quiet.

Time passed and you two were still sat in silence, awkwardly sipping on your now lukewarm drink. You wanted so badly to just get up and leave but God, he had a presence that made you stiff. You thought you were about to lose it until he finally spoke, breaking the painful silence around you. He told you softly that if something was troubling you, that he would try and help, his eyes glistening in the ray of moonlight from the open window, making him look like an angel, causing you to feel much more relaxed. You nod politely and go back to drinking your drink, his gaze still locked on you, but now, it felt more comfortable. He went on to talk about Diavolo’s plans for the future and how you were helping them get there, reminding you how grateful he is to have you here. It was a nice thought, honestly.

Hearing such soothing words from him calmed you down, overall, and you both talked about music and hobbies. He wasn’t such a bad presence in the end, and his smile still makes you feel safe whenever you think about it.

Mammon

The demon you knew to be Mammon walked into the room with a surprised look on his face. Obviously you wasn’t the person he was wanting to see at 2 in the morning... Ever since you first lay eyes on him, you knew he was the more eccentric brother, as he quickly became quite vocal and perhaps even comfortable in your presence?

He marched towards you straight away, your paranoia rising as you wonder what he was going to do. But instead of all these awful things you’d thought up in your head, he stopped in front of you and started telling you how late it is, calling you foolish. You thought you saw concern flash in his eyes for a brief second as he was nagging you though. He sighed and shrugged, realising that you may just be overwhelmed, so he took a seat next to you and just went silent, letting you dwell in your thoughts, but not entirely letting go of the fact it was still very late and you had RAD tomorrow and he wasn’t going to be the demon to drag you out of bed.

Weirdly, in the end, he made you feel more relaxed somehow? He obviously showed some care for you and that made you feel a bit more secure in your surroundings. He was just who you needed to see in that moment.

Leviathan

Seeing the third born, Leviathan, came as a shock to you more than it did to him. As soon as he saw you, he rolls his eyes and huffs, then continues on to what you imagined to be the kitchen. You thought he’d left at first, leaving you in a peaceful silence with just you and your hot drink, alone in thought. Then, why do you feel so hurt by him ignoring you...? Your thoughts continue to attack you, until another creak echoed into the room. It was him again.

He looked into the room at where you were sitting; it looked like he was deciding whether to walk on or comfort you. He seemingly made up his mind as he walked in and sat down opposite you. You knew he was awkward to be around as soon as you met him, and you weren’t surprised whatsoever when he pulled out his phone and started playing a game, the light from the screen illuminating his face. You noticed his eyes darting up every few seconds, maybe to check you were still there and you hadn’t left him? He wasn’t going to say anything anytime soon, and you knew that, so you sceptically asked him what game he was playing. He didn’t even look at you when he answered, his eyes glued to the screen as he quickly tapped buttons on his phone. You chuckle, telling him you play it too, and you’ve never seen someone’s neck snap up to look at you so fast in your life. His eyes light up as he begins to talk about his favourite characters, then going to ask you yours. He was like an entirely different person; he even dashed up to sit right next to you, showing you all his rare cards, but then blushing after your legs brush against eachother.

Levi made you feel safe, and like you had someone to relate to. Talking to him was also like talking to an old friend, insults included. He really was a joy to be around.

Satan

From out of the shadows, you realise it was Satan, a face that you trusted because of his tranquillity and ability to stay more or less level headed. He obviously came in to have some alone time as he looked like he didn’t expect to see you sitting alone at this hour. But nonetheless, he flashes you a comforting smile, making you relax just a bit, but you still kept your guard high; he was a demon after all...

He quietly minded his own business and went to pick out a book from the various shelves. Reading at this hour sounded a bit odd to you, but perhaps he couldn’t sleep like you? He pulled out a book and sat down on a large chair besides you. The silence was almost deafening as the two of you sat in complete silence for what felt like hours, the only sound audible was the rustle of paper and the sip you made as you drank your drink. You was tempted to get up and leave but he suddenly spoke in a calm and soothing manor, something you never expected from him. He asks several questions, from what your favourite book is, to your favourite genre, and even told you if you ever needed something, come to him and he’d sort it out. He was a kind soul at heart, you noticed, sharing his love for cats with you and watching his eyes light up as he continues to tell you about the ones he looks after outside.

He made the night just that bit better. All you wanted was a friendly face and Satan provided that, along with a much needed conversation.

Asmodeus

You sighed as you realised it was just Asmo. He was probably the least threatening to you compared to his brothers, but you had to admit, being alone at night with the Avatar of Lust did feel slightly unsettling. He caught on to your presence pretty quickly and casually walked over to you, flashing you a big smile and a friendly wave. You cautiously smiled back and went back to drinking your beverage.

He was unsurprisingly friendly, starting up a conversation, or a lecture, you suppose, about how you shouldn’t be up this late unless you want your skin to suffer. He talked quite a lot about himself, so thankfully you didn’t have to respond much, and instead stuck to drinking and nodding occasionally to show you’re still listening. He even gave you little compliments to try and cheer you up; complimenting your hair and skin to which you laughed and thanked him. But he never took his eyes off your hands for some reason, and you couldn’t understand why until he took your hands in his and you soon realised you’d been shaking. He looked at you with sparkling eyes, his tone suddenly quite serious as he began to tell you that if you ever felt lonely or distressed, come to him and he’ll make you feel all better. You couldn’t help but smile and look down in embarrassment, his thumb rubbing the back of your hand soothingly.

After sitting with Asmo for a while, you came to realise he actually had such a kind heart. His aura was calming and you felt safe. He definitely improved your mood.

Beelzebub

Coming from around the hallway was Beelzebub. He always threatened you in a way, what with his large frame that towered over yours and the way you don’t think you’ve seen him smile yet. How could you not be slightly worried about his intentions? He didn’t see you as he made his way to the kitchen next door. You sighed and went back to drinking your hot drink, staring into your lap and feeling painfully lonely. You heard yet another creak and quickly looked up, but all you could see was a stockpile of food held by none other than Beel himself.

You felt your heart leap out your chest in shock. You didn’t even hear him come towards you. He kept staring at you with that same emotionless expression, but when you looked closer, it wasn’t a scary one, or a threatening one. He sat down across from you and started to eat through the huge pile of food he’d gathered, an entire steak lasting maybe 5 seconds. You got heartburn just from watching him so you turned away and continued to sip your drink, listening to the awkward sounds of Beel devouring his next piece of meat. Not even 5 minutes later and you look up and notice all the food was gone, all that was left was this huge grin on his face. In that moment, you felt peaceful, like his smile was lighting up the room and making you feel better already. He looked at you and smiled that same smile, causing you to smile back. He was actually such a happy soul and you soon started talking about your favourite foods and he even got up to get you some fruits that you said you enjoyed.

He was comforting to be around and your first impression on him was no longer as negative. He made you feel safe and you knew you could be open with him without judgment.

Belphegor

Out from around the corner was Belphegor. You could’ve swore he went to sleep ages ago, so you thought he’d be one of the brothers you could avoid, but apparently not. He didn’t even say anything to you as he walked in, blanket and pillows in tow, and spread himself out on the couch across from you, falling straight asleep.

You had no idea what just happened as you listened to his gentle snores, feeling like you’re intruding on something even though you knew he was the one who walked in here and fell asleep right in front of you. You felt slightly weird just watching him sleep and instead focused on finishing your drink and getting out of there. The drink was still hot so you couldn’t exactly just down it, and leaving straight away would’ve just looked weird, what if he wakes up and sees you staring at him? You couldn’t calm yourself as multiple thoughts rushed through your head at the same time, leaving you with a pounding headache. You didn’t even notice the demon across from you peaking one of his eyes open to watch you carefully. You hear him call out your name suddenly, disrupting your panicking thoughts. You stare straight at him and see that he’s now sat up, the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He apologises for interrupting you and tells you that his twin, Beel, was just snoring too loud and it woke him up, so he came to sleep down here. You smile and nod, but still felt kinda weird. He notices and proceeds to get up and sit right next to you, wrapping you up in his blanket and resting his head on your shoulder, telling you to sleep as you look tired. You blink in surprise but agree silently, waiting for him to fall asleep before trying to yourself.

Belphie was a soothing demon to be around. He never smiled much, but he was warm and made you feel safe and wanted, even if you did sorta play the role of a pillow for him. Falling asleep was quite easy with him around.

I had way too much fun with this, holy shit, thank you to whoever sent this me

[scorchieart]

Honor Roll - Chapter 2

Honor Roll - Chapter 2 | AO3

Chapter List: 1 2(here!) 3 4 5

Characters: Jin Grandet, Nokto Klein

Rating: G (no warnings)

Word Count: 2,013

A/N: Wow, this chapter has been stuck in the editing void for 2 months now, it's just insane how life eats up the days like little snacks.

Idk if it's too late now, but this is technically a continuation of the first chapter which was part of @atelier-maroron's 2022 Spring Bouquet Content Creator Challenge, so also technically a continuation of that prompt as well.

Will Jin make it back to the kitchen in time for the picnic? Will Nokto tell us why he's lurking around in the library? Will I ever finish this saga before next Spring? Tune in next time on... whatever this is 🙃

************************************************************************

Jin couldn’t recall the last time he ran through the palace halls. He figured it would have been to chase down one of his brothers, but it had been years since he last played tag. He remembered how the youngest ones would complain about how he would catch them too quickly, pointing out that his legs were much longer than theirs, but their shrieks of protest would quickly turn to ones of delight the moment he lifted them onto his back and shuttled across the grounds. He let the memory linger a while in his mind as he caught his breath by the library entrance; he truly did not want to be the cause of any of his brothers’ dismay ever again.

His determination slightly faltered however the moment he pushed through the massive oaken doors and gazed upon the dozens of stacks towering before him. Hundreds of books loomed overhead of varying sizes and thicknesses, and Jin’s spine gave several sharp pops as he swiveled his head taking it all in. He rubbed the back of his neck, set the basket on a desk near the windows, and glanced at the grandfather clock mounted at the apex of the room. 

9:28 . If the rolls needed an hour to prepare like Belle claimed, that meant he had just over an hour and a half to find the book, read up to the passage about the Forest King, and make it back to the kitchen. Mentally kicking himself for not asking Belle where the book was stored, he resigned to scanning the shelves that contained the fiction novels and hoped he’d stumble upon it soon.

The first half hour passed with no luck, and panic started to settle in Jin’s mind as his finger brushed over the final covers of the fiction stacks. Belle said the book would be here, and there was only one person in the entire kingdom he trusted more with the library catalog. The titles did all start to muddle together after the first couple hundred, was it possible he passed over it without noticing? No, if there was one thing Jin was confident in, it was his eagle eyesight.

Well… that and his ability in charming women, but it seemed both were failing him today.

Perhaps the fiction section was larger than he thought? The grandfather clock began its head of the hour ringing as he raised his head and gave a quick pass of the shelves he just searched, then backed up slowly, one step per chime, adding more and more rows to view. 

4… 5… 6… His lips silently moved as he counted until his back bumped into something soft and he toppled over.

“Arggh!” groaned a voice under him.

Jin scrambled onto his knees and turned to find Nokto lying on the floor beneath him, bug-eyed and grabbing his stomach while he coughed and hissed in between clenched teeth. He had fallen directly onto his sword, and it looked like the hilt jammed uncomfortably into his abdomen.

The clock completed its tenth chime just as Jin walked Nokto over to the nearest table and sat him down. Nokto hugged his gut, bent over, and coughed profusely while Jin awkwardly patted his back and quick-fired apologies. 

When Nokto could finally speak, he wheezed, “Was going to tell you — cough — you hid your naughty magazines over on the back shelf. Figured your memory was finally starting to fail you — cough — old man.”

Jin ceased his patting and frowned. “Do you really think that’s the only reason I’d come to the library?” he asked.

“Isn’t it though?” Nokto rested his arm on the back of his chair and lifted himself to meet Jin’s eyes with a challenge. “Of course, I’ll bet you’re telling everyone who passes by that you’re reading up on economics or something, like a good prince.”

Jin took a seat and knitted his fingers together. He considered himself to be on fairly good terms with Nokto; the boy rarely interfered with his day-to-day proceedings and he could always count on Nokto to lighten the mood with some witty banter. However, it was common knowledge throughout the palace that Nokto’s favorite bantering victim was Yves, and Jin figured it would be best not to privy the fox to his true purpose.

“Secrets and lies… my-oh-my, I do so love a good game of fox and mouse.” Peering down from atop the jumble of twisted oak branches, the wounded fox shakes his lustrous tail side-to-side hypnotically, as though casting a spell on the adventurer. The dense thicket behind him growls with concealed dread and alluring mystique, though its riddles pale in comparison to the danger in the fox’s twinkling eyes at the sight of the adventurer’s unease. “Do try to keep me entertained longer than the last one.” 

“Is it so hard to believe that I’ve found a new hobby in reading?” said Jin airily, catching a glimpse of the clock overhead to avoid the look of suspicion growing on Nokto’s face. 

10:02. He wondered if he could convince Nokto to help him search for the book. “In fact, I was just in the middle of searching for my next great caper. Belle recommended this one to me, One Step Back, Two Springs Forward . Maybe you’ve heard of it?”

But Jin received his answer the instant he saw the look of discontent enveloping Nokto’s face. 

“Ugh, not you too. It’s all the noblewomen have been talking about since Valentine’s. It’s all forests and magic and friendship with them, can’t even mention the word ‘Spring’ without one crying all over you.” Nokto rested his head on one hand and turned his gaze towards the window as if the mere sight of the books repulsed him. “I tell you, the season’s just started, but Summer can’t come soon enough!”

“So you’ve read it then?” Jin asked hopefully.

“No, and I’ll thank you never to make such an atrocious suggestion again,” tutted Nokto. His eyes steered to the basket at the edge of the table and he lazily reached over to it with his free hand. “And even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t find it here.”

“Why not?” 

Nokto pulled the basket towards himself and narrowed his eyes at Jin. “It’s not exactly what I’d call your brand of literature. Why do you want to read it so badly? ” he asked.

Despite his injury, the fox gracefully leaps down from his perch onto the prickly forest floor without so much as a totter, and advances towards the adventurer.

Jin felt his palms start to grow sweaty. “I hear it’s full of desserts and I wanted to see if Yves would make me some.”

“That so? Looks to me like you’ve got enough here to last you a while.” Nokto lifted the lid and peered inside hungrily. “Maybe I could give you a hint as to where it is… for the right price.” 

Jin hesitated as he watched Nokto pick a roll out of the basket and examine it admiringly. Surely Nokto would recognize Yves’s handiwork the instant he bit into the pastry, and surely he would  waste no time in tattling to Sariel or the other princes.

Jin’s gaze dipped to Nokto’s other arm, still clutched protectively around his midsection. He could stop Nokto easily if he wanted to in this state, it would take little more than a grab and a shove…. No, the guilt of hurting him already rattled so madly in his mind he couldn’t even continue that thought.

“Of course,” the fox continues, his beady eyes never wavering from their target, “the law of the forest dictates I am entitled to fair compensation. An eye for an eye, after all. So what shall I take from you?”

Jin closed his eyes and sent an apology to Leon and Belle; they were no doubt out there busting their guts trying to fix a substitute up in time. He prepped another apology for Yves; maybe if these signals reached him they’ll temper the blow when Jin delivers the truth in person. Finally, he gave a silent prayer for all the future delicacies he would be denied when a devilish idea popped in his head.

“If the right price is one cinnamon roll, then you’ve got a deal,” said Jin, leaning back in his chair and smirking. 

Nokto gave him a wary look, but bit into the pastry with gusto.

“As I thought, this is Evie’s work, which means you've been lying to me, old man .” Nokto took extra care to enunciate the last words as he finished off the roll and licked his fingers. “Now the question remains, why were you hiding in the library after plundering our poor brother’s toils when you were explicitly told it was forbidden?

Jin raised a hand. “Now hold on, a deal’s a deal. You’ll have to hold up your end of the bargain first.”

With the aura victory, Nokto folded his hands behind his head and smirked. “It hardly matters at this point, but where would a book be if it isn’t found in the library?”

Jin frowned at Nokto’s typical circumvention. “How should I know? That’s why I’m asking you.” 

“Come on, it’s really not that difficult.” Nokto said.

“A bookstore? Hasn’t been added to the collection yet.” Jin offered.

“Not quite. There are more ways to get your hands on books than just buying them, you know.”

“Someone borrowed it then!”

“Right! And aside from our sweet Belle, who in this castle is the most up-to-date on the latest book trends?”

Jin felt those last words hit his ears like a well-rounded punch. “Not him ,” he moaned.

Nokto nodded his head sympathetically. “Afraid so. Saw Clavis giving it to him yesterday. You could probably ask if he’s done with it, though I highly doubt he’d be up yet…. Ooooh, this is not your day, big brother.”

Jin scowled as Nokto chuckled derisively. The only consolation he felt was that Nokto appeared to still be gripping his stomach in pain while he laughed, though it pained Jin himself that his mind came to that conclusion.

“At least I won’t be alone in that regard,” Jin replied, and Nokto wiped away a tear. 

“Sure, I guess you’ll have poor Evie to confide in, though I doubt he’ll be in much of a comforting mood after he finds out what you’ve done,” he hiccuped. 

“You mean when he finds out what you’ve done. The decree did say any prince would face punishment if he ate one of Yves’s desserts,” Jin said.

Nokto nearly choked on his laughter as it died out, gripping his sides more strenuously as he forced himself to lift his head. He wildly shifted his gaze between Jin and the basket as if both conspired against him before finally landing on Jin with a wide grin. 

“You’ve beaten me, nicely done. You may proceed, but be warned of what lies ahead.” The fox winks, turns back towards the flora abyss, dives in headfirst and vanishes into the night. “Oh, I do hope you’ll come play with me again.”

“And I thought I was the sly one,” Nokto said gruffly. “What do you want then?”

“Just keep Yves out of the kitchen. He’s having a picnic at noon, tell him Belle’s going to bring his dessert to the site for him.” Jin picked up the basket and started towards the door.

“That’s all you’d have me do? You really pulled the short end of the stick here,” Nokto called after him.

“Consider this my atonement for my transgression. Besides, I feel kind of bad tricking you into it.”

Nokto huffed as he stood and scurried up beside Jin. “Well, I don’t fancy feeling like I owe you something, so I’ll let you in on something else.” He balanced himself with one hand on Jin’s shoulder and rested the other on the basket. “Recently, King Highness has been indulging Luke during his snacktimes. I’d say it wouldn’t hurt to offer him a trade,” he said sweetly, patting the lid.

[brezchez]

Bruno and bonding

After being absent for 10 years of their lives, Bruno attempts to amend things with his nieces and nephews. Hopefully, it all goes according to plan.

[Prologue] - Mirabel and Julieta

[1] - Luisa

[2] - Isabela

[3] - Dolores

[4] - Camilo

[5] - Antonio

Please do leave comments on what you think I'd love to hear them! And follow my blog for random shananigans :D

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3: Dolores

The next day, Bruno decided to visit Dolores. Being the one person who knew of his presence the whole time, he was admittedly nervous to talk to her. All those years, she had to keep a secret she never should have had to; he couldn’t help but feel guilty for it.

Walking up to her door, Bruno noticed it flickered slightly. He raised his knuckles to knock, but before he could, the door opened.

A little startled, Bruno took a step back. Dolores opened the door, calm and relaxed, wearing her usual white blouse with yellow details and deep red cumbria skirt that effortlessly twirled and swayed with her movements. Her signature crimson bow still sat upon her chocolate, curly locks, though this time her hair was loose and free, no longer in a bun.

Bruno expected her to be expecting him, but weirdly, she was surprised. “Tío Bruno?���

“Hi,” he said with a bashful smile. “You didn’t hear me coming?”

“Uh- no. Well, I faintly heard someone but I didn't expect it to be you,” replied Dolores, shaking her head. Bruno raised an eyebrow at this.

“But I thought you had super hearing…?”

“Not when I’m in my room. It’s specially designed to be soundproofed so I don’t hear as much of everything when I’m in here,” she answered and Bruno understood. “Do you want to come in?” the young woman offered, opening the door wider for him, and her tío stepped inside.

His eldest sobrina’s room was smaller than the others’, yet still quite large. It had all the normal things you would find in a casual room, and if you were to visit it without any knowledge of the Madrigal family, you would think that Dolores was just like anyone else.

Everything was very neatly kept and tidied and Bruno seemed to prefer her room over all the others, as it seemed most homely. (Just don’t tell Mirabel.)

“I- I wanted to thank you,” Bruno said softly. The room emitted an atmosphere similar to that found in a library; like you were obliged to be quiet, although no one was actively enforcing the rule on you.

“What for?” Dolores asked as she sat back down on her bed and carried on mending her nightgown sleeves.

“For not telling anyone about me. When I was living in the walls, I mean.” At this, the needle in between her fingers stopped sewing. She looked at the floor for a second, then to her tío, who stood by a little timidly. Sensing his nervousness, the girl made sure to soften her eyes in case she might have accidentally been pulling the wrong expression.

“That’s alright, tío,” Dolores gently replied, continuing with her sewing, though still facing Bruno. “At first it was a bit hard and I contemplated telling someone. But I knew no one would believe me, so why even bother trying?”

Though her expression was blank and relaxed, Bruno could feel a sense of sadness and neglect emanating off of the girl.

I’m also really sorry if some nights I may have kept you up for reasons that we don’t need to go into,” he apologised, turning a little red from embarrassment.

“Don’t worry about it,” Dolores giggled. “Your little rat telenovelas were actually quite interesting. Dios mio! What plot twists!”

Bruno grinned, relieved that she held no ill feelings against him. “I’m glad you enjoyed them. What are you doing there?”

“What, this?” Dolores looked up and pulled the dress up a couple centimetres off her lap. Bruno nodded in response. “The sleeves accidentally tore when Camilo scared me in the middle of the night as I was getting a glass of water.” She chuckled softly at the memory and Bruno did the same. “I don’t really know how it ripped, but it did, and I got so mad at him because I just finished fixing it three times. Three!” Sighing, she rolled her eyes and laughed off her growing frustration. “I don't know how we didn’t wake Abuela.”

“He seems like a great brother,” Bruno commented, sarcastically yet also lightheartedly.

“He is, really. But sometimes, he’s just…argh! You know?”

Softly, he smiled at his sobrina’s actions and the way she became so animated when she talked. “I would have loved to have a brother,” the man remarked wistfully.

Dolores looked up suddenly at the sad tone of his voice. “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to-” she started apologetically, but Bruno stopped her.

“No, no Dolores. Don’t apologise. I’m not actually sad, just sometimes I wonder what it would have been like living with other children that were a bit like me, in a sense. You know what I mean?”

Dolores nodded. “Sí. Well, sort of. I don’t have any sisters but I have primas,” she sighed. “Still, it’s not the same.”

Seeing Bruno smile sadly to himself, she patted on the edge of her bed. “Tío,” she called for his attention. Shuffling over, she made space for him to sit down, and he did. “What was it like living with two sisters though? Especially since you were all triplets. I've had to live with two brothers, which I'm not complaining about, but I wonder what it could've been like to live with sisters."

Bruno breathed in a quick sigh and looked to the left corner of his peripheral vision. “They were hectic. But also calm. And bossy and also kind. It varied depending on their moods,” he answered with a laugh. Dolores smiled as she listened attentively. “Oh, and there was a LOT of gossip.”

“I can imagine. I don’t need my miracle to know what all the girls in Encanto are gossiping about. Their whispers are louder than Abuela when she's mad,” she joked, and Bruno laughed with her.

“Honestly, I was the best at keeping their secrets, and they weren’t even mine to keep.” He leaned in a bit closer to Dolores and lowered his voice. “And your mamá, Pepa, was hopeless at hiding her crush on Félix.”

Dolores gasped. “I knew it! She always says that out of all of you she was the best at hiding it!”

Shaking his head, Bruno grinned, “No, she really wasn’t! Every time she saw him, it would be sunny and not a single cloud could be found in the sky. But when she was physically near him, Encanto suffered many hurricanes. I don’t know how your papá wasn’t blown into the sun!”

Dolores cackled, unable to stop herself, and her laugh infected Bruno, who couldn’t help but giggle too. Their stomachs ached as they laughed, picturing Félix being launched into space by Pepa’s torrential winds. Every time they tried to calm down, they both failed miserably as one couldn’t stop imagining the scenario and the other became too infected with the contagious laughing disease.

Suddenly, knocking was heard on the door.

“Dolores, have-” Pepa froze at the sight of her brother and daughter being a laughing mess on the bed. She raised her eyebrow at them in confusion, and Bruno and Dolores tried to compose themselves. They almost succeeded, if it weren’t for Dolores snorting, prompting her to cover her mouth and fall back onto her bed. Bruno covered his own face with hands, audibly chuckling.

Pepa stayed standing by the door, tapping her feet and waiting for them to stop. She rolled her eyes at them, behaving like children.

“What’s up with them?” Camilo asked as he passed by.

“I’m not sure, hijo. But they better stop soon,” Pepa answered. Shrugging, Camilo patted his mother’s shoulder.

“Doesn’t seem like they will, but good luck mami.” He entered his own room, leaving Pepa with Dolores and Bruno, who were still laughing like there was no tomorrow.

[ashedflower]

Sleep Deprived Prompts

Chapter 2: Set in Butterfly Reign AU.

TW: Sickness, Mentions of Neglect, Hurt no Comfort, implied death.

Tommy gets sick, right? Yeah, and at first it was just a normal sickness. A headache and a sore throat, maybe some dizziness here and there. But overall, he can still power through the pain. (Pog through the pain!)

So he downs some warm tea and gets to work. He is the Crown Prince, after all, he's got a alot a of dutys to attend to.

So, our dear Theseus, with little to know self-preservation, ignores his sickness and continues to spend a sleepless night doing his paperwork with barely any food in his stomach, and a pounding headache. Sickness lays in his bones and his body is just begging to get some rest. Theseus ignores the call of his bed and continues to do his work.

This continues on for another day until eventually (and inevitably) he passes out in his office's.... Floor. Yes, the floor. Why? To make it more dramatic.

His sickness has taken over his body, and made him unable to work any longer. 

Now, nobody actually knew that he was sick. Beau noticed how he was a little warmer than normal, but got told not to worry by Tommy. Dream was worried because of how usually uncoordinated his little brother friend was, but again, Tommy told him not to worry. That he'll be fine. Of course, his .... family, didn't notice. They were too busy having sticks up their ass.

So Theseus ended up being passed out and incredibly sick in his office for hours until a maid (who cared about the Crown Prince just like the rest of the Palace staff) went to bring him a midnight snack, and was shocked to see the Crown Prince passed out on the floor.

Of course, she didn't really think he was passed out....she thought he was dead. So naturally, she screamed bloody murder. 

"THE CROWN PRINCE IS DEAD!!!!"

And of course, since it's not every day a maid screams how the crown prince is dead, the closeby apalace staff who heard rushed to checked to see if the crown prince really is dead. 

He wasn't, just passed out with a VERY horrible sickness. 

One of the other maids slapped the maid who was still screaming, grapped her shoulders and told her to stope crying and shouting, the Crown Prince is still alive.

The other staff went and carried little Theseus to the.... Medical wing? Of the palace? Um.... To his room! Yes, to his room, and called a medic.

Now, naturally the other Royals noticed how the staff seems to be in a frenzy. Some of them rushing for a medic. 

The other Royals were....um.... Doing stuff. Idk, maybe Techno was in the library, Wilbur manipulating spineless Ranboo, Philza sitting in the thrown room. ... I really don't know. Oh! And Tubbo was... Getting some sweets from the kitchen...

Coincidentally (read: for plot reasons), they all somehow met up in a intersect hallways, Wilbur (or someone else) stopped one of the palace maids and asked them why the fuck did they act like a tsunami was going on.

And then the maid, who was coincidentally (read: for plot reasons) the one who screamed, rambles about how she found Crown Prince passed out on the floor of his office and heavily sick and how they couldn't get a hold of a medic because they were all busy and how it's possible he was gonna die that day... Yeah, they did not take that well.

Because as much as I wanna write them being heartless losers who doesn't care, I know they still do. They just- REALLY suck on showing it to Theseus. Doesn't mean I don't hate them tho.

So they rushed to ask the maid where Theseus currently was, the maid was hesitant because even the Palace staff was aware of the neglect and pain they caused the Crown Prince. Also, this wasn't the first time the Crown Prince got sick and nobody in his family noticed. It's just that it never got to the point where he passed out. 

But still, orders were orders. So she told them how he was currently in his rooms.

They all rushed there to see Theseus layed in his bed with blankets on top of him, and still incredibly passed out and not showing any signs of waking up. He was surrounded by the servants, all looking sad and defeated. A lone medic stands at the side, because he'd already done what he can, and this wasn't modern times, or a wound that a health potion can fix.

Wilbur (the fucker. I still hate him) rushed to his side with tears in eyes, clutching his little brother's hands, because at that moment his brother looked exactly like their mother, and he was terrified of losing him too. 

He whispered teary apologized over and over again. Wondering if he was already too late.

Technoblade came in next, clutching his brother's other hand. Silent with tears running down his face. Because this was another thing he couldn't protect his little brother from. And he knew that apologize can only do so much.

Tubbo fell down to the floor. Eyes wide and glistering with tears, while Ranboo tried to comfort him.

And Emperor Philza? He stood in the doorway, frozen. He was once again gonna lose someone because of his own actions... There was no turning back from this. He has to actually do something. Because if he doesn't...then his youngest soon will die knowing that the last thing his father said to him was that he wasn't good enough.

A few weeks later and the crown prince still had not shown any sign of waking up.

News had reached the street, and multiple people of their empire cried. 

 Cries rang around most of the streets, while those who remained silent kneeled before alters and prayed for their god to save their beloved crown prince.

Dream found out about the news and did not hesitate to travel to the Empire and had not left Tommy's side since. His sister stayed behind to take care of the kingdom whilst he was gone.

Sam tried to be there, but he was dismissed by the emperor, told that his son needed his family right now, not a random noble he'd only known for a little while.

(Truth was, Philza found out about the late night dinners and bonding times that the noble man and his youngest had. He would never admit it to anyone, but he felt jealousy after finding out that someone else was spending more time with his own son than him. Though he knew that it was mostly his own fault.)

The Empire was not it's usual shinning self. Not with it's Sun currently hidden behind clouds.

I'll let you guys take it from here.

[jisungscaramel]

dare | han 

❀ genre; smut, a little fluff, best friends au ❀ pairing; han jisung x reader (fem) ❀ word count; 2k

[warnings] explicit sexual content, oral, unprotected sex (be safe y’all), (mild) edging, cockwarming, saucy truth or dare

The intangible friction between you and your best friend was undeniable, yet with conviction, you held this idea that it was all in your head, and instead of fleshing out the inkling of frustration you felt every time you’d hang out, you chose to ignore it.

You chose to ignore the way he’d press his palms into the small of your back when he’d pull you close, the way he’d keep your body tight on his when he’d hug you, the way you’d catch his curious stares, the way his eyes seemed to send endless subliminal messages. 

You chose to ignore the way the butterflies would flutter in your chest whenever that physical contact was made, the desire that would pool in the pit of your stomach whenever your wordless gazes collided. 

You chose to ignore it. 

Until today. 

Honestly, you couldn’t say if he was on the same wavelength as you but as soon as he said these words on what you perceived to be a usual Netflix date (hold the chill), you were definitely suspicious: “Let’s play truth or dare.”

You knocked him on the head. “Han Jisung, you know there’s only two of us here… right?” 

He blinked at you innocently and rather cutely, as if he couldn’t see the correlation between your questions. “Yes… you’re point?” 

You clicked your tongue, sinking back into the worn in leather couch with your arms crossed. “Have you ever played truth or dare with just one other person? I sure as fuck haven’t.” 

He rolled his eyes in an exaggeratedly exasperated manner. “No, but I don’t recall there ever being a rule saying you can’t.” 

“But,” you turned to him to put on your best puppy dog face… which was mediocre at best but a valiant attempt, “don’t you wanna watch Avatar? We’re almost done with Book 2.” 

“We watched it already… 4 times actually… in the past month.” 

“Yes… your point?” you wrinkled your nose, repeating his previous words. 

“Let’s do something different for a change.”

You turn the television off. “Ok fine,” drawing out the latter word as if it were stuck on your tongue. 

Next thing you knew, he was constricting your body with his limbs, happily rubbing his cheek on yours like a child. “Yee!” and then all of sudden, he was sitting back, deadpan, folding his arms with determination. “Truth or dare?” 

“Hmmm truth.” 

And then that small child was back. “What? Why? That’s no fun!” 

You shrugged. “You wanted to play truth or dare, remember? Emphasis on truth.” 

“Fine, is it true that you hooked up with someone in the library?”

“Ji, I already told you that story.” 

“I know, but it was so wild that I didn’t really believe you. Now you have to tell me the truth.”

“What makes you think I’d be any less truthful otherwise? And also, what makes you think that I’d absolutely tell you the truth now if I was possibly lying before?” 

He widened his eyes and flared his nostrils in a rather comical manner. “If you can lie during truth or dare, you must be satan.” 

You stared at him rather blankly, speaking quite frankly, “that… made no sense.” 

His lips pressed into a firm line. “It does; you just won’t admit it.” 

You snickered, rolling your eyes. “Whatever… truth or dare”

“Dare, I ain’t no bitch.” 

You smacked his shoulder - playfully. “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”

And he pouted, rubbing his shoulder. “Nothing… nothing at all.” 

“I dare you to leave Felix a voice note confessing your love to him.” 

He offered you a begrudging glare but he wordlessly unlocked his phone with no hesitation, opening his messages with his roommate. He lifted the end to his lips: “Oi Felix! I just wanted to let you know that I love you bro.” He smiled in satisfaction as he sent the note. 

“That’s not what I meant!” you protested. 

To which, he shrugged. “You didn’t specify what kind of love.” 

Your hand made contact with your face in embarrassment. “Why are you like this?”

“Because you,” he placed his palms on his cheeks to squish them, “love me.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Ok, truth or dare?” 

“...Just to make you happy: dare.” 

“Hmmm,” he bit his lip in contemplation, “what should I get you to do?” he gripped his chin. 

“Please don’t make me eat wasabi. I almost burned my nose off that one ti-” 

“I dare you to kiss me… on the lips.” 

When you met his eyes, you expected the usual teasing glint, but you saw none. He was dead serious, and you felt the saliva thicken in your throat, forcing you to swallow a little harder than normal. 

As if your body was moving on its own, you leaned forward toward Jisung, resting your hands on his shoulders, distance lessening an inch by every passing moment. You were only planning on giving him a peck, but it just felt more natural to slightly part and purse your lips into a proper kiss. As your eyes fell shut, your heart began trembling in its confines, rattling your spine - you just hoped it wasn’t as obvious to him as it was to you. 

His plush peach lips were as soft as you imagined - though you’d never admit you’d been imagining it in the first place. And for a moment, maybe two, you passed through the mix of emotional signals, focusing instead on the physical, the subliminal body language: how his hands found themselves on your hips, how his lips occasionally broke the rhythm to tug on your lower lip, how he’d let out the softest groans every time there was a change in pressure. 

But then you removed yourself from your physical position, remembering the mental position you were in, biting your lips and looking away, biting your lips as if you wanted to say something, but your words clung to your throat - so you cleared it. “...truth or dare?” 

“Truth.” 

“Why did you want me to kiss you?” 

His expression was serious - something you weren’t used to. He leaned back, folding his arms, lips parted, tongue smoothing over his teeth to graze the edge of his top lip. “Same reason why you couldn’t get your hands off me.” 

You didn’t even have a moment to be dissatisfied with his answer. “Truth or dare?” there was a sultry tone to his voice, and although it was out of character for him, it was perfectly in line with the vibe he was giving in that moment. 

“Dare.” The first time you’d chosen that, it was for no reason other than to spare yourself of Jisung’s complaints, but this time? Curiosity laced your tongue, wondering where he would take it next, if he would take it anywhere at all. 

“Go down on me.” 

You tugged on your lower lip with your teeth as a subtle smirk grew on your face. Of course, he would. You got down on the floor, kneeling in front of him. 

You placed your palm over his crotch, feeling a stirring beneath the fabric of his jeans. “Are you gonna help me with this?” You prodded the top button with your index finger.

He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “You’re a big girl.” 

Challenge accepted. 

The finger on his button flicked it undone, but you took your time pulling the zipper down. You were in no rush. 

But he was. 

You could tell from the slightest gestures: the way his back kept sinking back in the couch, the way his fingers kept combing through his hair, the way he hissed under his breath, the way his hips rolled up - if you weren’t so close to him, you wouldn’t have noticed any of it. 

When you finally took it upon yourself to free his personified frustration, you were taken aback, not because of his girth or the throbbing redness - although that was in the back of your mind. You were teetering on a metaphorical edge of your friendship. The kiss was one thing but now you were approaching the gate of no return. But you’d have plenty of time to worry about that later... and after the fact. 

You let the lust shroud your head with its black clouds as you leaned in closer. You delicately ran the flat of your ring finger up his length while dragging your tongue down, eliciting an explicit gasp from him.

And he couldn’t help but squirm under you when you circled your tongue under the head, where he was the most sensitive. 

Your lips secured around the tip, and you sunk them down as far as they could go, until they pressed firmly on his pelvis. The vulgar gurgling sound you inadvertently made while fighting your gag reflex only did more to stir his arousal. 

“Fuck, since when were you this hot?” 

You started bobbing your head up and down, cheeks hollowing as a result of the increased suction. Every now and then, you’d slow down to trace his prominent veins with your tongue, and when you’d pick up your pace again, grunts and groans continuously trickled down his lips. 

You wanted to smirk. Your nostrils flared as the corners of your lips lifted up as much as they could in their limiting position. You had to take your hands away from his hip and the base of his dick to place them behind your back just to show off.

When Jisung’s sounds became gruffer and more primal, you had an inlinking of what was to come. So, you stopped, smacking your lips with a loud pop. 

“Truth or dare?” Desire poured from your half-lidded eyes, lacing your voice in a tone that sent electricity through Jisung’s nerves. 

“...Dare,” he whispered, still heavily breathing. 

You stood up. “Take your pants off and don’t move for the next five minutes… no matter what.” 

He peered up at you with suspicious eyes, but did as you asked. His suspicion turned into surprise as you pulled your leggings and panty off in one motion, setting the garments on the ground. 

“What are you doing?” he asked in a strained voice as you straddled him, gripping the back of the couch for support, aligning your now-dripping heat over his erection. 

“Making,” you started lowering yourself, taking him in, “things more,” all in, “interesting.” 

He threw his head back, “Fuck.” 

“Remember,” you tapped your phone on the other side of the couch to see the time, “no moving for five minutes.”

“You’re so evil.” He glared at you. 

You couldn’t help but laugh. “I thought you knew this already.” 

“I didn’t-” his attempt to amend his statement was cut short when you attached your lips to his jaw, trailing kisses up its line, slowly, taking your time. 

He held his breath when yours blew into his ear, heat searing his skin, and you could feel him twitch inside you.

“I’m gonna destroy you when my turn is up.”

You tapped his chin with your finger. “If you can manage to behave until then.”

“You think I can’t?” 

“It’s not that I think you can’t… I just don’t think you can.” You waved your hips to increase the pressure between your connected skin, and you could tell he had to bite his tongue just to suppress a moan. 

When your lips latched onto his neck, he gulped, staring at the clock at the other end of the room. He tried to fixate on the constant movement of the second hand, but his body had a different agenda, preferring to focus on how good your lips felt on his sensitive skin, how you alternated between sweet pecks and French kisses, hard sucking and soft nibbling.

He felt the heat radiating from his skin, sweat dripping down the back of his neck as a result of his attempt to hold himself back. He grit his teeth, frustration crippling his body; he was this close to caving, this close. 

“Time.” 

He bucked his hips up, gripping yours tightly. “Such a fucking tease.” But he still held back, keeping his pumping slow and steady. “Truth or dare?” 

You crashed your body to match his tempo. “Truth.” 

“Do you want it harder?” 

“...Yes.” 

 ><><><><><><><

A/N This one is also a reimagined version of a scenario I wrote for a different idol years ago

[reidyoulikeabook]

Right Where You Left Me

Ship: BAU! Gender Neutral! reader x Spencer Reid

#Request - Could you do some angst with “you dont deserve my forgiveness?” Any ship!

Word count: 2.2k

Warnings: Mention of death, violence, injury (not serious), angst, mourning, a lot of tears. Also, swearing, anger, fighting (verbal, not physical.)

Summary: You and Spencer Reid had been together for a year before he ‘died.’ You grieved him. You mourned him.

A/N: Title stolen from my (current) favourite Taylor Swift song. Not sure how I feel about this one but! Here it is anyway! My requests are open & pls feel free to let me know what you think!!

14 days and 30 minutes exactly

You don’t think about the day Spencer Reid died. You can’t, because even remembering he’s dead feels as if an ice bucket has been tipped over your head. Not even now, two weeks later, have you really gotten over the initial shock that you felt. Every waking moment felt like you were trying to solve some kind of never-ending puzzle. Each emotion was overwhelming, too much to process. It felt like things would only start to get better, like everybody promised they would, when you started to be able to name the emotions rather than describe them as the physical sensations they brought on.

And you didn’t think that’d happen anytime soon.

The shared apartment was too much. You hadn’t slept in your bed since he’d been gone, and forbid anyone else from going into the bedroom. It was a sanctuary.

You understood now more than ever why victims families never changed a thing about the room of their loved ones. Every single thing felt deliberate. Theirs. It was a reflection of the time they were most alive, living. A unique snapshot of them in motion. The mess they left that they expected to come home to.

Rationally, you knew that wasn’t true. There wasn’t a sock hanging off Spencer’s bedside table, or a clean cardigan balled up on the floor, for any reason other than he’d been in a rush that morning, and had left an uncharacteristically large mess in his wake. In more ways than one.

***

2 months, 5 days, 8 hours

Being back at work helps somewhat, but the office feels empty without him there to ramble off factoids about anything and everything, to hear Morgan calling him ‘kid’ every five minutes. He only called you that now.

Simmons is nice, really he is. It isn’t his fault he’s there in place of Spencer and you try hard not to feel personally aggrieved by his presence. He doesn’t do anything to antagonise you, he stays out of your way more than anything. You don’t do anything to purposely make him uncomfortable: you do try to be agreeable and make small talk. But it’s hard not to look at him without thinking how, if everything was how it should be, Spencer would be stood in his place.

***

3 months, 26 days, 3 hours.

There is no ‘new normal.’ You’ve heard the term tossed around a few times in relation to grief, but if there is a new normal you’re still struggling to find it. When you’re not on cases, there’s no ‘normal’. You still don't sleep in your own bed. Sometimes you stay on Rossi’s, or Morgan’s, or Garcia’s couch. Sometimes, read: maybe once, it’s in the spare room at the place you and Spencer used to share. Sometimes, when you get worried about being a burden, it’s a hotel. It’s easier to feel as if you’re choosing to stay away from home, rather than acknowledging that home, as you understand it, no longer exists.

You still wake up and instinctually search for Spencer most mornings. Sure, work is keeping you occupied and you smile a little more these days. You even allowed yourself to be dragged out for drinks last weekend. But nothing feels like it should. You don’t know if that’s normal for grief or if you just aren’t moving forward at all, doomed to tread yourself deeper into the melancholic quicksand that’s got a hold on you.

You talk at length about it with Garcia over wine one night.

“Nothing feels right,” you admit, “Everything just feels...”

Garcia waits, just tipping her chin slightly to encourage you to continue. She’s got the counsellor act down and you’d have the decency to feel embarassed if you weren’t just so damn exhausted all the time.

“I feel trapped, I guess. Like I’m frozen. I keep thinking maybe it’ll get better once the trials over. Once the whole legal aspect of it is over and put to bed, then maybe I’ll have some closure on the whole situation,” you mumble, “I just don’t know how to move forward. I don’t feel like I’ve moved forward. And I know it’s only been three months but I’ve only stayed at our apartment twice and I can’t bring myself to move any of his things and...”

She just waits. In that moment, you’re so grateful for her.

“I’m stuck here. I can’t change anything. I can’t bring myself to move any of his things. I’m paying rent on a place I don’t live in but I can’t move because how can I live somewhere he’s never been? I feel like I’m stuck. I can’t move out of the world he lived in but the world is moving on even without him. And I’m just...I’m just here, Garcia.”

She nods sympathetically, placing her hand on your arm, “Maybe it’ll help when the case is wrapped up. When you have that closure.”

“Yeah,” you agree, “Yeah. I hope so.”

“There’s something you’re not saying,” she says, gently, “And you don’t have to say it. But if you’re holding back because you feel guilty then you don’t have to feel guilty about anything you say to me, my darling.”

You start to well up then. The pressure in your chest is heavy, something akin to guilt. It slices into your chest, cut glass sitting between your ribs and slicing you open every time you breathe in. You’ve been thinking it a lot lately. Too much. It’s making you feel awful and you can’t decide if putting it out into the world verbally is going to be a release or make it feel too real.

Garcia waits patiently.

You decide to believe it’ll be the former, then whisper, “I wish I loved him less. I wish I’d loved him less so this wouldn’t hurt as much.”

And then the sobs come. The sobs that wrack your chest and sting your eyes and leave you looking like you’ve been on the receiving end of an upper cut. Because how could you? How could you possibly want to take back any of the love you had so willingly, freely, given to the person you loved most? What kind of person did it make you to want to take back the good memories: to wish that instead of having waffles on the couch that last Sunday, you’d had a fight about the library fine he’d gotten because of you? How could you want to switch the puzzle pieces to create a less idyllic picture of your life together, just so you wouldn’t feel so much loss when you looked at it?

She just rubs your back through it, knowing that no words can help but still saying the thing she thinks you need to hear most, “That doesn’t make you a bad person, sugar plum. That makes you human.”

***

4 months, 6 days, 14 hours.

Hotch calls you all into the briefing room.

“A few months ago a decision had to be made. Somebody had the potential to make an incredible breakthrough on a case that had been airtight for years. But it wasn’t possible for that individual to complete that work without cover. They needed to be officially gone,” Hotch’s voice booms but you swear you can hear a hesitation, “It wasn’t necessary at the time for you to have that information. Providing you with it would have compromised the safety of one of our agents, and the integrity of their investigation.”

You glance around the room, confused, noticing everyone is sharing the same bewildered look. Except Emily.

“I apologise completely for having to keep this from you, it was a decision that was not taken lately, and I did not have the final say. That being said, any discontent about this decision should be directed towards me,” he glances towards Emily, and she’s looking nervous now.

Hotch lets out a huff, somehow more tense than usual, “SSA Reid was not killed after the attack in Seattle. That was his cover, but he was investigating a case.”

He’s still talking but you can’t hear anything. SSA Reid was not killed. SSA Reid was not killed. You flip the sentence over a hundred times. And for the millionth time since SSA Reid was killed, you have no idea what you feel.

There’s uproar from everybody. Shouting. And then Hotch says something and everybody is looking at you, scanning you for a reaction and you have nothing. Nothing at all.

“Hi,” a voice from the doorway, nervous and shy, a voice you’ve only heard in dreams and voicemails and recordings from nights out that you must have watched hundreds of times by now, if they were tapes you would have worn them out long ago.

And you know you can’t face him. You can’t face any of them.

You look around the room, first at Hotch whose eyes flicker with what looks like remorse. Then, at Emily who just looks guilty as all hell. You don’t look at him. You can’t look at him.

The tension in the room is palpable but in your peripheral you see Garcia and J.J flock to the doorway, embracing him.

Rossi, is the one who comes to you, “____?”

You stare at him, completely blankly, “Yeah?”

“You need to speak to him. Need to hear him out.”

“Yeah,” you murmur, allowing him to help you to your feet. His reassuring hands on your shoulders turn you around and you meet his face. The face of the boyfriend you spent the last four months mourning while everybody watched you fall apart. And half of them knew.

So that’s what you feel. Anger.

“Glad you’re back,” you snipe, pushing past him, “Glad you’re alive.”

Everybody watches you go. A tense silence fills the room. Spencer clears his throat, after what feels like an eternity, muttering, “I-I’ll go after ... I’ll go and see if I can...”

It wasn’t the reaction he was hoping for, if he’s honest. Although he wasn’t sure what exactly he’d been expecting.

“____ please, just let me talk to you, I’m sorry, please just let me have a chance to explain,” He manages to catch you at the elevator just in time, slipping through the gap with his lithe body, “Please. I need to explain. I need to apologise.”

“You can apologise as much as you want. You don’t deserve my forgiveness. You’ll never deserve my forgiveness.”

The venom in your tone leaves him floundering.

“___ please,” he’s begging, and you won’t look at him because you can hear the tears in his voice and he’s begging again, “Please, please look at me, please listen to me. You have to understand, you have to give me a chance to explain, please.”

You’ve never been this angry at him before. But you are now. It consumes you, you’ve never understood a crime of passion before and you’re not going to put your hands on him, of course, but fuck do you understand it now. How a person could just snap. The rage swells in you, screaming. Every muscle in your body is tense. It takes all you have to ball your hands into fists, digging your nails into your palm so hard you’re sure they break the skin. You’re furious. Furious at every single one of them.

“You lied to me,” you spit, “You lied to me and let me think you were dead. You and Hotch and Emily. I didn’t sleep in our bed for four months, Spencer. I’ve spent the past four months frozen, like, I couldn’t move forward without you. I didn’t start to move on. I've spent the last four months falling apart and trying to find a way to put myself back together without you, and then what, you just come back? You think we can just go back to normal? Spencer, I didn’t feel alive this past few months. I’ve been floating through, barely keeping it together. And for what? A case? That was important enough for you to do this to me?"

It’s true, you’ve spent the last four months feeling like you were the one who died. That you were united in being ghosts, except you were haunting all the places you used to go together, and he was just haunting your dreams. And he’d been alive. This. Whole. Time.

You storm out of the lift, lifting your head to look at him for only the second time in four months, “Please. Just leave me alone. You’ve done enough.”

He knows you aren’t wrong. Knows he doesn’t know if he could forgive you if the roles were reversed. Knows, more than anything, that he’s really fucked things up. You’ll never forgive him. That’s what you said, and right now, seeing anger like never before in your eyes, he has no reason whatsoever to doubt that isn’t completely true.

You don’t even make it to the parking lot before you feel your resolve melt into absolutely nothing. Anger descending into relief, hot tears cascading down your cheeks as the mantra starts again on a new loop in your head: SSA Reid was not killed.