#and nobody at my second high school clocked it until they were doing my graduation clearance

[cinematicnomad]

this is incredibly random but my best friend just texted me something which reminded me that for a brief shining moment in our senior year there was a genuine concern that i wouldn't graduate on time bc of fucking P.E.

[xoxo-teddybear]

Heyo! I'm a REALLY REALLY REALLY! Big fan of angst and your works, so I have a suggestion! So like, in this au Bakugou and Y/N are aged up and they have a daughter (let's just say her name is either Katsumi or Kirumi). So, the child is 4 years old and she didn't get her quirk yet. Let's just say Bakugou got drunk when his friends dragged him to a bar and this woman decided to hit him up and let's just say he cheated- so Y/N found out because kiri just had to tell her because it wasn't manly at all for him to keep a secret and Y/N left him with his child and boom! Bad ending. Please tag me in this one tyy!

Bet.

(Changed it up the slightest bit to make Katsumi remember bc I kinda wanna do a part 2 for this)

Nobody to Blame but Yourself - Bakugou Katsuki

Bakugou x f!reader

Warnings: ANGST, cursing, cheating, alcohol consumption

BAKUGOU’S MASTERLIST

Pt.1 Pt.2

You have a small, beautiful family. Your loving husband, Katsuki and your adorable daughter, 5 year old Katsumi.

Katsumi was your precious baby girl. She had Katsuki’s ash blonde hair with your silky smooth hair texture. She had your E/C eyes and Katsuki’s porcelain skin. She had Katsuki’s bravery and boldness along with your kindness and compassion. She was a perfect mix of you both.

Y/N and Katsuki have been together ever since their childhood. Their families were close and they grew up together. Katsuki always swore to protect his princess. They got together in their junior year and about 5 years after they graduated from UA high, Katsuki proposed.

—

—

“Be back soon, okay Suki?” You sweetly said to your husband as he got closer to the door. He pulled you in with a smile and pecked your cheek.

“Yeah, yeah Teddy Bear. I’ll probably be back sooner than you think, don’t even wanna go with those losers.” He complained with a strained face. You giggled at his expression and went on.

“Those losers have been your best friends since high school. You love them. You know you do,” you teased. “Besides, you haven’t spent some time with them in forever.”

“Yeah Y/N. I’m a husband and a dad. I don’t need to be around my friends, I need to be with my family.” He exclaimed with a playful voice.

“Well your family will still be here when you get back. Just as long as you always come back to us too.” You said with a wink.

“Always will Teddy Bear.” He said holding you tight. He held you close until you both heard the little pitter patter of feet running to the front door. You both looked down and saw your daughter in her pjs and watched as she jumped onto Katsuki.

“Be back soon daddy!” She said with a squeal. Katsumi was definitely a daddy’s girl. Her and her father were attached at the hip the second she was born. They were best friends and you loved their father-daughter dynamic.

“Katsumi, you’re supposed to be sleeping, love.” You said with a chuckled as you held her tiny hand while Katsuki picked her up in his arms.

“I wanted to say bye to daddy before he went to see uncle Kiri! And uncle Denki and uncle Sero and Auntie Mina!” She said and watched as you and Bakugou lip synced to her voice as she said the Bakusquad’s names. She laughed at her parent’s teasing as Katsuki assaulted her in kisses.

“That’s sweet baby bear. Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon. So get to bed you brat,” Bakugou said as he placed his daughter down and ruffled her hair. Others would look down on the rough treatment but you knew Katsumi never took it seriously. She always laughed and played back with Katsuki whenever he put on his ‘mean guy act.’

“M’kay.” Katsuki bent down to kiss her cheek and you followed doing the same action before Katsumi ran back off to her room. You and Katsuki said bye to each other after Katsuki gave you a loving kiss. He walked out the door to meet with his friends as he knew he was in for a long night.

It would soon shock him to see how true that statement would be.

—

The night was going well. Katsuki left around 8:30 and he said he would be back sooner than you thought so considering he was now a family man, you thought he’d be back by midnight. However, you woke up in the middle of the night and saw it was 3 in the morning...and he still wasn’t home. You were starting to get worried now.

If this was back in your earlier years of marriage, you’d say this was okay. Not great but okay, except now, Katsuki has responsibilities and promises that he vowed to keep. He should’ve been home a long time ago. Where was he? You stayed up deciding to sit and wait for him to come home and after almost 2 hours, your phone rang.

You picked it up quickly with a little bit of fear and anger sitting in your stomach. You didn’t even bother to check who it was so when you heard the voice of your husband’s best friend instead of Katsuki, you grew concerned.

“Katsuki! Where are you?!” You asked with worry as you slightly shouted into the phone.

“Hey Y/N..... It’s Kirishima. Umm...I have something to tell you.” He said with sadness detected in his voice.

“Kiri? Is everything alright? Wheres Katsuki?” You asked.

“I’m so sorry Y/N...”

Listening to the red head’s voice made your eyes pop. Your body trembled and tears began to pool in your eyes as you shook your head in denial. Katsuki loved you. You both had a daughter! A family! He would never....he wouldn’t....right? After talking to your friend for some time and getting the crucial information you needed, you made up your mind on what you had to do.

“T-Thank you, Kirishima. Goodnight.” You said into the phone with a hiccup.

“I’m sorry Y/N. You don’t deserve this. You and Katsumi....goodnight.” He said and hung up the phone. You placed it down and sat in silence for a moment. After about a minute, you broke down again and cried into your hands. You sobbed as tears flowed down your cheeks. Rivers of heartbreak and anger streamed down your face as you cried the night away.

Well..you couldn’t cry all night. Katsuki would probably be back in the morning and you had plans. You’d have to save your tears for later. You looked at the time.

4:18 a.m.

You set your alarm for 6 and went back to bed. The whole night, all you could think about was your precious baby girl. This was going to break her little heart. Instead of crying over your husband’s betrayal, you wept for your daughter’s future without her best friend. Eventually you cried yourself to sleep and the sun rose in time.

—

10:00 a.m

Katsuki opened his eyes to the alarm on the nightstand. He yawned a bit before adjusting his eyes to morning light. The more he looked at the stand, the more he realized he didn’t recognize it. Nor the alarm clock. He looked around and noticed he wasn’t in his bedroom. Katsuki shot up and sat on the bed and looked down to notice he was completely undressed. He looked to the side and saw some random woman. A complete stranger who was also naked in bed with him. His heart grew rapid as his eyes grew frantic.

“No, no, no, no, no, no this can’t be happening..this can’t be happening!” Katsuki said as his hands found way to his hair as he tugged on the blonde locks. The woman next to him awoken to his shuffling and smiled up at him. She placed her hand on his bare chest and cuddled in close to him as she sighed in content.

“G’morning handsome. Had a fun night?” She teased, reminding him of his affair and unloyal actions.

“Get the fuck off me!” He said as he jumped out of bed and found his pants. He pulled them on and continued to scream. “What the fuck is wrong with you?! The hell did you do to me you fucking slut?”

“What’re you talking about? And who the fuck are you calling a slut?” The woman said with sass.

“Just tell me where I am!” Katsuki demanded.

“A hotel! You know, the hotel you dragged me to so you could get your dick wet.” She said as she sat up from the bed but still covered herself with the blanket.

“Why the fuck would I do that?!” He screamed.

“You tell me. All I know is that I saw you in that bar, you drank a hell of a lot with your friends, I came up to you and flirted with you, you flirted back, we shared a few more drinks, and you dragged me here. I mean, I consented of course but still.” The stranger explained. Bakugou shook as he looked around in a frenzy. “Anyway, round 2?”

“You fucking bitch, I have a wife!” He screamed at her as he got himself dressed.

“Heh, wow. Well when your wife leaves you after she finds out you cheated, give me a call.” The woman said as she layed back down on the bed. Katsuki seethed at her as he squinted his eyes in disgust.

“You shameless slut. Like hell I will! And Y/N’s not gonna leave me! She loves me! And I love her-“

“Sure didn’t seem like it last night~” the woman said. Bakugou had enough and blasted the bed she was on with his quirk before cussing her out and leaving her there. He quickly ran out the hotel and found his car. He hopped inside and started it as he quickly sped off home.

“Shit!” Bakugou screamed at himself. How could he do that?! How could he cheat on you?! You were his everything! You and Katsumi! His two girls were his entire world! And he betrayed the both of you by doing this. He could only hope that you wouldn’t find out. He can’t tell you what he did. He would lose you! He can’t lost you! This whole thing just has to pass over and things will be fine. Right? Well something didn’t sit right with him as he inched closer and closer to his house.

—

When the 6 o’clock alarm rang, you woke up, ready for the day to begin and the drama to unfold. You were quick to get yourself ready. Brush your teeth, shower, get dressed, a little makeup, and you packed your important belongings and your clothes. Everything else would be replaceable. You put on a pair of shoes and put the rest in the large suitcase you had.

You made a quick call to Mina, assuming she already knew what happened. You asked if you could drop Katsumi off for some time and she of course said yes. After saying ‘thank you,’ you brought all your bags into your car and went back inside to get your daughter.

You walked into your daughter’s bedroom to see her sleeping peacefully. Next to her bed, a framed picture of your once happy family. It was Katsumi’s 4th birthday and she didn’t want to spend it with anybody else except for Mommy and Daddy. Now, you were gonna have to take someone out the picture. You shook your daughter awake and watched as she opened her beautiful E/C eyes that resembled your own.

“Katsumi..hey baby, wake up.” You softly said with a reassuring smile to not alarm her. You watched as she rubbed her eyes with her tiny fist and looked up at you.

“Mommy? What’s going on?” She asked as she looked around in a daze.

“You’re gonna have a little play date at Auntie Mina and Uncle Kiri’s house. Uncle Denki and Uncle Sero will be there too! You excited?” You asked with enthusiasm to hide your pain.

“Really Mommy?!” Your daughter asked with excitement.

“Mhm! Get ready and get dressed for Mommy. They’ll be here at 8, okay?” You said rubbing your daughter’s back before she quickly jumped out of bed and into her own bathroom.

“Okay Mommy!” She said as she ran into the bathroom, turning on the sink to begin her morning routine. Some time passed and Katsumi got dressed and you went back in her room to help her dry her hair. You helped her put on her shoes and by the time they were on, Mina and Kiri were already at the door.

You opened it with a soft smile and the couple looked at you with supportive, sad eyes. “Hey guys..”

“It’s okay to be sad Y/N, we’re here for you.” Mina said. Your eyes teared up at her words but you shook your head and gave her a hug.

“Thank you, but I promise myself I wouldn’t cry. At least, not when Katsumi’s around. I gotta be strong for her. Her whole life’s about to change after all.” You sadly said as you looked down and released your hold on Mina. Your pink friend nodded before walking into the house to find Katsumi in her bedroom. You and Kirishima stayed at the door and talked a bit more.

“I’m so sorry for all of this Y/N. I should’ve been watching him more.” Kirishima said as he looked down in sorrow.

“Kiri, you shouldn’t have to watch him. He cheated and that was his choice. Your choice was being a true friend and telling me. A true man,” you joked. You both gave a little bittersweet laugh before calming down again. “Thank you so much Kirishima.”

The red head did nothing but pull you in for a tight hug. You almost cried on his shoulder before your daughter came to the both of you. “Uncle Kiri!”

You both separated and looked down at the excited 5 year old. She jumped onto her uncle and he happily held her in his arms. “Hey squirt. Ready for a day full of fun?”

“Mhm!” Katsumi replied. You all talked some more before Katsumi said her goodbye to you and went off with Kirishima and Mina. You shut the door and took a break as you allowed a few silent tears to drop. You wiped them away and went to pack your daughter’s bags. Just a few more hours and he’d be home..probably. All you knew was that you’d have to face him eventually.

Finally, you finished packing your daughter’s things and placed them in your car. You put on a jacket and waited for Katsuki to walk through the doors. Soon, this perfect little family would go crumbling to the ground.

—

Katsuki pulled into his driveway and his eyes took notice of your car still there. He smiled at the sight and quickly got out of the car. He slammed the vehicle door shut and ran to the entrance. He unlocked the door in a rush and to say he was happy to see you on the couch, still there, was an understatement.

“Y/N! Hey Teddy Bear! I am so sorry!” He said as he ran to you and sat down next to you on the couch, pulling you in for a tight hug. He was too happy to even notice your jacket and shoes that you wore.

“Katsuki, you were gone all night. Where were you?” You said in a soft voice as you placed your hand on his chest so you could face him.

“I-..I overdid it and spent the night at Kirishima’s. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you, love. I was passed out the whole night.” He said and attempted to pull you in again but you pressed a hand to his chest to stop him. You couldn’t believe he was going to lie to you. Actually, now that you think about it, cheating wasn’t below him so why would lying be either?

“So why didn’t Kirishima call me? Or Mina?” You questioned. Unfortunately, you underestimated Katsuki’s quick tongue. He was a good liar, and if you hadn’t already known the truth, you’d probably believe him.

“Shitty hair’s phone died and Alien girl was asleep by the time we got back. By the time he put me in the guest bed, I knocked out so don’t asked me what happened after.” He said. Your anger and fury grew at his lies but he didn’t notice. “Look, I’m so sorry I came back so late but I can make it up to you Teddy Bear. Now would you just give me a hu-“

“SHUT! UP!” You screamed as you pushed him off of you. You stood up from the couch and Bakugou watched you in “confusion.” Bakugou felt his heart racing as he had a guess at why you were so mad but he refused to believe it.

“T-Teddy Bear, whats wrong?” He asked with shaky hands as he tried to reach out to you but you dodged all his attempts.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?! You’re fucking lying to me! You’re lying to me after doing what you did! Katsuki, are you just gonna act like you don’t know what you did?! Because I know! So why don’t you?!” You screamed at him. Bakugou still couldn’t believe you knew so he tried his soft attempts once more and reached out to you again.

“Baby, please calm dow-“

“Are you fucking serious Katsuki? You’re gonna tell me to calm down?!” You laughed out in disbelief. You watched as Katsuki’s lip began to tremble and he looked down in shame. “Say it.”

“What?” He spoke softly.

“Say what you did.”

“......”

“Say it Katsuki! Tell me what you did and how you betrayed not only me but your daughter too.” You specified. It took Bakugou a second before he spoke up in a soft, quiet voice.

“I cheated on you...”

“Louder.”

“I cheated on you!” He said while standing up and facing you with tears in his eyes. “I cheated on you! Okay?! I got drunk last night and slept with someone else but baby I swear I didn’t mean it!” He said as he walked to you and tried to hold you. You once again pushed his hands away before speaking back.

“It doesn’t matter if you meant it or not Katsuki! You still did it!” Your voice grew dry as it began to break. Your eyes pooled with tears as you continued. “I would’ve NEVER done that to you. I wouldn’t even be CAPABLE of doing that to you Katsuki! Because I love you!”

“I love you Y/N! I swear I do!” He fought back but you retaliated.

“It doesn’t seem like it! Because you slept with someone else! You promised me you would never hurt me. You promised you would always protect me. You promised me that you loved me and only me! Not only that but you promised your daughter that you would never bring harm to her! Guess what?! You’re the reason her whole life is going to be so fucked Katsuki! Do you realize that?!” You screamed at him.

“I do, Teddy Bear, I do!” He said.

“Don’t fucking call me that Katsuki!” You said with an exasperated voice. Bakugou shook his head as he walked to you and kneeled infront of you.

“Baby, please! I’m sorry! I was drunk, it didn’t mean anything! It was a mistake but if we can forget about this I promise I’ll make it up to you!” He begged.

“Forget? Forget?! Are you insane?! I’m never gonna be able to forget any of this Katsuki. How the hell am I supposed to forget that my first friend, my first love, my first kiss, my first everything betrayed me like this! How am I supposed to forget that my husband, who I’ve known since we were fucking babies, cheated on me?! Tell me!” You said as the tears finally fell.

“I don’t know...I don’t know but I promise I can make it up to you! So please forgive me! Please stay!” He pleaded. The whole time he couldn’t let go of you. Every time you pushed him off, he just came right back.

“How am I supposed to trust that you’ll actually keep that promise?” You said softly with a sad voice. “If it wasn’t clear already, I’m not staying. We’re getting a divorce, Katsuki.”

Bakugou felt his heart shatter. He looked at you with his trembling body and shaky irises. “W-What?”

“Katsuki...you cheated. There’s no other way around it. No explanations or excuses. And you can’t even blame it on the alcohol because I’ve been blackout drunk before too and the idea of cheating on you never even crossed my mind. You have nobody to blame but yourself.” You said with a broken voice and a shrug. “We’re getting a divorce and I’m taking Katsumi with me.” You said and began to walk to the door.

Bakugou couldn’t believe what he just heard and so he got up from his knees and ran after you. He ran in front of you and held you by the shoulders. “What?! No! Baby!! Please, that’s my daughter! You can’t just take her from me, please!”

“I won’t be taking her from you,” you said and pushed his hands off your shoulders. “We can co-parent, but when she’s old enough, when Katsumi asks why we’re no longer together, I’ll be telling her the truth. So you can still see her, but when she’s ready to know, if she decides she hates you and doesn’t want to see you ever again, then you’ll have to accept it.”

At this point, Katsuki began to openly cry as he allowed his fat tears to flow down his face. Hiccups left his mouth as he shamelessly sobbed infront of you. “Y-Y/N....please don’t go. You guys are my family, you’re both my entire world..I-I love you both so much,” he said and went in to grab your hand, which you allowed. “I know I hurt you both a-and I know I fucked up, but please just give me another chance. I swear this was just a mistake, I never meant to do it. Please stay...please let me fix my mistake. I love you.”

Tears once again filled your eyes but you didn’t allow them to flow. “.....I love you too Katsuki,” at those words, Bakugou felt a bit of hope. “But I just can’t stay with you. If it was just me..I probably would give you another chance..but Katsumi is your daughter Katsuki. She’s your own flesh and blood and you betrayed her. You’re supposed to be her hero and you betrayed her like this. I just can’t trust the fact that you won’t do something like this again, and not just for my sake but for our daughter’s too. I’m sorry, but this is where we end.”

Once you said that you walked away from Bakugou, leaving him in shock. He stood there, regretting everything. Not just his mistake, but all the times where he could’ve been a better husband.

‘I should’ve held her more..I should’ve been home more...I should’ve been more for them,’ he thought until he heard the door open and slam shut. He turned to face it and looked around the now very empty house. He allowed silent tears to drip down his face and then he took a little tour of his new environment.

He walked to the master bedroom and saw all your belongings gone. He saw your closet was empty, all your shoes gone. He went into the bathroom and saw all your stuff was missing. The tears flowed faster and when he walked into his daughter’s room, it made it 10x worse.

He opened the door to the pink room and saw her bedsheets missing, all her toys gone, her closet was barren, and her bathroom was hollow. He walked back out to his little girl’s former bed and sat down. He cried on the bed and sobbed into his hands. He broke down as he thought back to your words. You were right.

‘You have nobody to blame but yourself.’

Katsuki looked up from his hands and when he did, he took notice of the picture frame that was left faced down on the night stand. He picked it up and his heart turned to dust. It couldn’t break anymore. He looked at the picture of his once happy family. His beautiful wife, his blessing of a daughter. His two girls who had a protector...that protector was supposed to be him...and he failed. He smiled at the picture but continued to cry. It was a beautiful sight but you left it behind.

He took the picture with him as he walked to his bedroom. He sat on the bed and held the frame close to his chest as he layed down on the cold mattress. Tears still freely fell as a shadow casted over his eyes. No words could be said except for a few.

“N-Nobody to blame but myself.”

@darl1ngmei

A/N: Hey Cubs! It’s been awhile since my requests have been closed AND THEY STILL ARE but the reason why I took this one was because I’ve been on a writing spree recently (I literally have 15 drafts full of different writing pieces🤣) and I rly liked this request! Please don’t start sending requests because they may just get lost. When I open up my requests, then you guys can send some because I love to satisfy! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this piece and thank you to the cub who requested this! 🧸💗

[kur0obee]

Title: Talk to You

Pairing: Lev x Reader

Genre: Hurt/comfort (kinda?)

Word count: 3.8k

Notes: Adult language, slightly suggestive implications, alcohol consumption.

One of the people I follow was doing a game where you send in a song, and they’ll pair you with someone. I sent the song Talk to You by Ricky Montgomery, and they matched me with Lev. This has lived in my head since then.

MINORS DNI! 18+ ONLY

Today was easily one of the roughest days you’d had in a while. The day started with your alarm not going off at the usual time. You had to rush to get dressed and barely managed to catch the train in time to avoid being late for work. When you arrived, your boss called you into his office to let you know that your coworker had called out sick, meaning you’d be presenting in their place. This wouldn’t have been a problem if you had actually worked on that project at all, but your boss insisted that you were the only one he trusted to present to these particular clients.

Right before the presentation, one of the interns gave you a coffee, which you proceeded to spill on your button-up. Thankfully one of your coworkers had an extra cardigan to lend you; a small mercy in the otherwise chaotic day.

There seemed to be a never ending string of problems with the computer you were supposed to present from, so you ended up reading directly from the document, which meant you had to translate technical jargon into everyday language on the spot. Without being able to prepare in advance, your presentation seemed to be quite boring to the clients, who were hardly familiar with the inner workings of the projects they’d potentially be investing in.

Since you were running late in the morning, you didn’t have time to pack the leftovers from dinner to use as lunch, not that it would have mattered. Your boss came to you right before your usual lunch time and told you that he needed you to finish the project you were working on today rather than next week when it was originally due.

You worked through your lunch break and well into the evening, clocking more overtime hours than anyone else. By the time you left, it was already 8 pm, and you were the only one in the office.

In short, today was a total shit show. You needed something to help you unwind from a stressful end to your already stressful work week, so when your closest friend called you on your way home to ask if you wanted to go to a bar with her and two of your other friends, you happily agreed. What better way to unwind than having a few drinks and laughing with your group of friends?

“Hello, anyone there?” A hand waving in front of your face snaps you out of your recollection of the day. Apparently Haruka has been trying to speak to you, but you were totally zoned out.

“Oh, uh, sorry,” you offer lamely, “what did you say?”

“You poor thing! Today must have been crazy hard on you,” she says sympathetically and points at what you’re assuming is a TV behind you, “I said, didn’t you two go to school with that guy? He went to Nekoma, right?”

You turn around to look at the TV, and your eyes are met with a familiar mop of light grey hair and piercing green eyes. Lev Haiba. She doesn’t turn directly towards you, but you can feel Reina’s eyes searching your face for a reaction.

You have complicated feelings towards Lev. He was your boyfriend starting near the end of your second year of high school all the way until the day he left for Europe after graduation. He wanted to pursue a modeling career which his family had told him was best to start in Europe, while you wanted to stay in Tokyo to attend university. Naturally, you both decided that a long distance relationship would be too hard at your age and promised to keep in touch, hoping that one day fate would bring you back together.

Lev never responded to your messages though. It’s been six years since he left. It was probably easy for him to forget about you. You were just a university student, a nobody. For you, it was much more difficult to forget about him, especially when his modeling career picked up, and his face was plastered everywhere. He did fashion shows, perfume commercials, magazine spreads, and countless other projects. Recently magazines have been talking about a potential romance between him and a French model that he had some photo shoots with and who he had been spotted with at a park and cafe. Not that you cared.

At first, you tried to convince yourself that he was simply too busy with shoots and fashion shows and that he would get back to you as soon as he had a moment to. After a month of radio silence, it really hit you hard that your high school sweetheart, the boy who loudly confessed to you in the halls after school and proclaimed his love for all to hear, forgot about you like you were nothing more than a toy he had outgrown. Reina was there for you the whole time, trying to comfort you and helping make sure you kept up with your university classes. It was really hard, but eventually you got to a point where seeing his face didn’t make you burst into tears anymore and recalling all the special moments you shared didn’t make you yearn for him so hard.

You turn back around to face Haruka and respond plainly, “yeah.”

Even though it doesn’t hurt anymore, you still have so many unanswered questions. You’ve fantasized about coming face to face with him again and what you’d say and ask, but it’s one of those things you don’t truly know how you’ll react to until you’re put in that situation. Part of you hoped desperately that you’d never come face to face with him again, but a larger part of you just wanted to talk to him one last time, to see if his smile still made you smile and to ask if he had thought of you for even a second in the years he’s been gone. How would he react coming face to face with you? Would he even give you the time of day?

You down the rest of your drink and slide out of the booth, “I’m gonna go order another one. Anyone want something?”

Haruka looks at you apologetically, realizing she must have hit a nerve and says she’s still drinking her first. Risa and Reina respond similarly, the former looking confused and the latter giving you a reassuring smile. You make your way to the bar and get the bartender's attention.

“What’ll it be?” the bartender asks with a smile. You point to one of the shots on the menu and a fruity non-alcoholic drink. He nods and gets to mixing your drink and preparing the shot.

While you’re waiting, you look around at the other bar patrons. Maybe it’s time you finally truly move on and have a string of one-night stands to forget about your first love. You’ve never done that before but maybe it’s just the push you need to start dating other people. Besides, it should be easier with a bit of alcohol in your system to give you the courage you need to talk to strangers.

As you’re scanning for a potential target, you feel eyes burning into you and turn in the direction you feel it coming from. You end up looking into a VIP section and making eye contact with a pair of all-too-familiar green eyes. What are the chances?

Lev’s mouth drops open slightly when your eyes meet, and you quickly look away, hoping to any deity listening that he won’t approach you. You thought you’d be ready for this moment, but the way your stomach dropped at the sight of him physically present proved that you’re not actually all that ready.

“Can you make that a double actually?” you ask the bartender as he’s about to start pouring your shot. He nods and gets another glass.

Your shoulders stiffen when you hear a familiar voice say your name from right beside you. The bartender places your double shot and non-alcoholic drink in front of you, and you take the shot immediately. Your throat burns, and it suddenly dawns on you that you never ate anything before coming here. The hangover tomorrow might suck even worse than the events of today.

“Lev,” you say, slowly turning to face him before awkwardly adding, “hi.”

His face lights up, and your heart squeezes at the sight of his smile. Yeah, his smile still makes you smile.

“I wasn’t sure it was you when I saw you sitting at the booth over there, but when you looked at me, I knew it was you,” he sits down in the stool next to you, leaning in your personal space.

“Yeah,” you respond flatly, taking a long sip of your fruity drink and hoping he will be able to pick up on the fact that you really don’t want to talk to him right now.

It’s Lev though, so he doesn’t pick up on the way you’re keeping things short. He never was good at reading the room.

“It’s been a long time. How have you been?”

In that moment, something in your brain snaps. Maybe it’s the alcohol, maybe it’s the shitty day you’ve had, or maybe it’s the fact that a man who used to be one of your best friends, who stopped responding to you and never reached out, is sitting beside you, talking to you like no time has passed at all. Hot tears sting your eyes, burning wet tracks down your cheeks. Your lips start to wobble and snot begins slowly dripping from your nose.

“Whoa, hey, what’s wrong?” Lev looks genuinely concerned and moves to put his hand on your shoulder.

You pull away before he can touch you. Six years. It’s been six years since you heard from him. You messaged him every day for a month when he first left, which slowly turned into once a week, once a month, and by the end of a year, you stopped messaging him all together. When it first happened, you were sad. Your heart seemed to beat harder and slower, like pumping blood through your body became a challenge. No matter how deeply you breathed, your lungs never seemed to get enough oxygen. Your thoughts became a jumbled mess, and your limbs seemed to be made of lead. Dragging yourself out of bed and being motivated for the day was the hardest part, but you had to do it. Even if you stood still, the earth would keep spinning, and the world would leave you to drown in yourself. It felt like dying.

Did Lev feel even a fraction of what you felt? Surely not. He was the one who didn’t respond or reach out to you even once.

After the sadness had faded, you started to feel angry. Just the thought of him would send fire through your veins, searing straight into your heart. Maybe it was the only way you could cope at the time. Under that anger was pain, embarrassment, and betrayal. You had never given so much of yourself to one person, never allowed yourself to be raw and vulnerable, not in this way. It felt like Lev took a part of you with him to Europe, a part that you would never get back.

Why did he craft such a delicate, precious love with you just to let it shatter? Was all your time together so forgetful for him?

Eventually the anger and sadness faded into mostly indifference. There was still a strange tug in your chest whenever you saw him in an ad or magazine, but it didn’t make you want the world to open up and swallow you whole like it had before. At this point, your mind just goes blank when you see or hear about him. You don’t even register the hollowness he left you with anymore. Him approaching you with that smile, with those same eyes that looked so lovingly at you once, broke what you had created to fill the empty spot his sudden disappearance left in you.

Part of you had wanted this though, right? You wanted to know why he never spoke to you. You wanted to know how he erased you from his being so quickly, like you didn’t leave your shape in his heart at all.

It was a high school romance. You’ve tried to bury your feelings with that thought, but just because you were young doesn’t mean your love felt any less real for you. As cheesy as it might sound, he truly was your first love and the only person you’ve ever loved that way.

He probably didn’t feel that way though.

You want to just ask him why he ignored you, but you can’t stop your next words from tumbling out, “don’t you have a French model girlfriend to be worrying over?”

It’s a petty thing to say. As soon as the words leave your lips, you regret it. You look down, unable to make eye contact as your face heats up, and wipe your cheeks as thoroughly and quickly as you can.

“French model girlfriend?” Lev trails off in thought, seemingly not offended by your words but also unsure of what you’re talking about.

You glance up with just your eyes, watching as he tilts his head before coming to some conclusion that has him smiling again.

“Oh, you mean Elodie,” he concludes, “she’s not my girlfriend. She’s my sister-in-law.”

Those words are probably the most shocking thing he could have said. You try to subtly see if there’s a ring on his left hand, but it’s resting under his right arm.

“Oh,” you sit down on a stool, taking another big sip of your drink before adding, “I didn’t realize you got married.”

Your head starts swimming with muddled thoughts. The alcohol is definitely making your emotions more difficult to manage. The sound of Lev’s laughter, hearty and just how you remember it, cuts through your hazy mind.

“No, I’m not married,” he holds up his left hand, “she’s Alisa’s fiancé’s sister.”

For some reason, this makes your chest feel lighter. Lev is still looking at you, and you take this moment to really look at him. His green eyes are still the same as you remember, piercing and mesmerizing. His jaw is a little bit sharper, and he seems to be a little bit taller too, though it’s hard to tell now that he’s sitting down. The biggest difference is his hair, which is about the same length as you remember, but his bangs are swept back, giving him a more mature look.

“Lev,” you hear Reina’s voice approach from behind and feel her arm rest on your shoulder.

“Reina! I thought that was you,” Lev greets her cheerfully, “it’s so great to finally see you both again.”

“Yeah,” Reina replies tightly, feeling you tense at Lev’s words, “sorry to cut the reunion so short, but we were actually just about to leave and get some food. Good seeing you.”

Reina starts to help you up, but Lev grabs your arm. The touch is unexpected, like a jolt of static in the winter, and you can’t help but gasp, your eyes moving from the place where his hand is holding you up to meet his eyes. The smile is gone from his face and replaced by something else. Panic maybe?

“I can do it,” he doesn’t let go of you, “I want to catch up.”

Reina looks at you, waiting for an indication of what she should say. Part of you feels like being alone with him might be too much for you, but another part of you is telling you that you need this closure, which is true. You give her a subtle nod.

Reina smiles and takes her arm off you, “all right. Good seeing you again.”

The smile returns to Lev’s face, “what do you want to eat? My treat.”

His hand is still on you, warm and familiar, and, this is definitely the alcohol talking, you want to put your hand on his, just like you used to. You want to feel his long slender fingers locking with yours, want to feel his hand resting against your cheek as he leans in, breath ghosting over your lips before—

“I can pick if you don’t want to,” he interrupts your thoughts. You must have been zoning out for a bit there.

You blink a few times, deciding at that moment that you need to talk to him for sure, but you also need to get home as soon as possible, to get away from the way he makes your mind wander to things that will only hurt you when he’s gone again.

“I have leftovers from last night actually, so you can just drop me off at my place,” you go to stand up, but the sudden change in position gives you a head rush. You sway a bit, and Lev stands up quickly to help keep you upright.

“Sure, I can do that.”

His car is black and sleek looking. You don’t really know much about cars, but even you can tell that it must be really expensive. Lev opens the passenger door and helps you in before going around to the driver's side. The seats are leather, and the interior is overall immaculately clean.

“So,” Lev looks over at you, “do you still live at your parents place or?”

“No, I live alone now,” you reply and give him your address, which he plugs into his GPS. The map on the display screen says it’s about a twenty minute drive. Twenty minutes? You can survive that.

You want to ask all the questions that have been etched into your mind over the years since he’s been gone, but you can’t will yourself to speak. Lev must finally have picked up on how awkward this is, or he just doesn’t know how to start whatever conversation he wants to have.

You decide to just focus on calming yourself for now by taking some deep breaths, hoping it will help break through the muddled mess your mind has become since Lev said your name. When you breathe in, your nose is met by new car smell and something else that you would recognize anywhere. Lev’s cologne. It’s the one he started wearing in senior year after his sister bought it for him, the one you said smelled so good that you needed to spray on your pillow for when you missed him.

Did he keep using it because you liked it? Did the smell also remind him of you?

Naturally, this memory doesn’t really help you calm down. All the questions you’ve thought to ask him over the years flood your mind so quickly that you can’t make them apart from each other. You close your eyes and just listen to the soft sound of the radio.

“I missed you,” Lev breaks the silence, glancing over at you briefly, “I thought about you every day.”

You can’t control yourself once he says those words. Everything just sort of comes rushing out of you at once.

“You missed me? I messaged you every single day for a month. I tried to convince myself that you must be busy with settling into your new life, but you never responded. You didn’t say anything to me for six years, Lev,” tears spill down your cheeks again. You can’t tell if the warmth in your body is from anger or embarrassment, but at this point you don’t care, “you thought about me every day? Why didn’t you call or message me then?”

“I’m sorry,” Lev looks more serious than you’ve ever seen him before, frowning deeply as he continues, “I’m- you know I’m a dumbass. I lost my phone on the way to Paris, and, and I didn’t have your number memorized and couldn’t reach anyone else who might have it. I wanted to come back and see you, but by the time I had enough time to make a trip back to Japan, it’d been over a year. I figured you’d moved on or that you hate me or-“

Laughter spills out of you. What happened isn’t funny, and from anyone else it would seem like nothing but an excuse, but as Lev said, he is a dumbass. Him losing his phone and then getting too busy is exactly the sort of thing Lev would do. It reminds you of the times he would become so absorbed practicing volleyball that he forgot to respond to you.

“Wh-what?” Lev looks at you bewildered.

“It just sounds like something you would do,” you say, “and I know you’re not the kind of person who lies. I just wish you would have come back anyways. I hadn’t—-haven’t moved on.”

It’s true. You had tried to date a few different people, but nothing lasted more than a few months. No one could fill the hole that Lev had left behind. They spoke in riddles, lied, behaved pettily when they were jealous, and they didn’t make you feel like you could open up to them or let them have a piece of yourself. As much of a dumbass as he could be, Lev was open, honest, and confident, and he created a space where you could be that way too. He created a space where you could actually be yourself and share your genuine thoughts and feelings without the other person holding them against you.

“So you still love me too,” Lev smiles again, turning to look at you after he parks the car.

“I said I haven’t moved on from you,” you tease before adding, “I spent too long with confusing feelings about you—about us. I do still love you, but I also still feel hurt.”

Lev nods and grabs hold of your hands, “I understand. I’ll just work hard to make it up to you. That won’t be hard at all.”

His enthusiasm and confidence makes warmth bubble up in your chest and spread through your body. It feels like eating after a long time without food or putting the last puzzle piece in place. You missed him so much. You dreamt of this moment for years, wishing that you could have a conversation with him at least one more time.

“I’ll probably just eat, chug some water, and go to bed, but,” you bite your bottom lip, hesitant as you continue, “do you want to come in and spend the night? I still have some of your old clothes. I don’t know if they’ll still fit you.”

Before you even finish asking your question, Lev is unbuckling his seatbelt, “absolutely.”

Even though today had been one of the roughest days you’ve had in a long time, it ended up being one of the best nights.

[mourntheantagonist]

#HarringroveApril Day 12: Soda

***

Billie planned to up and ditch Hawkins at the exact moment she threw her cap in the air on graduation night. She had her bag already packed and ready to go, just waiting in the back seat of the Camaro in the school parking lot with enough clothes to last the multi-day drive from Indiana to the Pacific, and all of the cash she’d been saving since she was only fifteen years old because this had been her plan from there very start. Graduate, leave, never come back.

But there were two things she hadn’t considered. One, her original plan didn’t take into account the relocation across the country, which would require almost half of her funds. And two, the pretty brunette that sat beside her through the whole ceremony. The girl who wore sneakers every day and stumbled in her out-of-practice high heels as she walked across the stage to receive her diploma, the girl who nudged Billie’s knee with hers and giggled alongside her at Nancy’s salutatorian speech, the girl who looked at her for the first time since she’d wound up in the shithole with those big brown Bambi eyes and there wasn’t a tinge of hatred in them, just those big and bright eyes looking at her almost fondly and it was enough to make Billie melt on the spot and instead of driving toward to interstate like her plan entailed, she turned left down Cherry Lane and slept another fearful night in that bed because those eyes were like a teather.

She put in her application at the pool the next day. Might as well get a paycheck while hopelessly pining after the girl who made it clear the day that she met you that she wanted nothing to do with you.

But, despite all of that, Billie was definitely hoping that despite the rich girl having a pool of her own, maybe she’d come around for a dip at least once so she could see her in that itty bitty two-piece she had fantasies about.

Billie’s favorite part about Hawkins Community Pool had nothing to do with the water at all, Billie’s favorite part was the little tucked away vending machine behind the locker rooms that nobody seemed to know about. The one that still had leftover classic Coca-Cola from before the switchover to New Coke. That’s where Billie first saw Stevie adorning her little blue bikini that was more than her wildest dreams could have pictured, and that wasn’t even the half of it. Her hair was wet and sticking to her shoulder and there were little water droplets peppered all over her body alongside her moles, perfectly glistening in the sun making her look like she was sparkling.

And then she bent over to grab herself the bottle of Coke out of the machine and Billie had to refrain from staring at her ass as the bathing suit rode up and gave its little show to the world.

Billie awkwardly walked to the vending machine and pretended like her heart didn’t just stop for a second.

“Billie? I didn’t know you were still in town.” Stevie gave her a once over at the red one-piece suit with the Lifeguard logo on the front. “You work here?”

“Uh, yeah. My shift is just about to start.” Billie said, fiddling with the strap on her suit. “Figured I could use the extra cash.”

“So you’re still planning on going huh?”

She didn’t want to just say yes, not with the way Stevie was looking at her all hopeful for something else. “Only if nothing stops me.” she finally said.

Stevie gave her a half smile before patting her on the shoulder. “Well good luck out there.”

And before Billie could ask her what she meant by that, she was already around the corner and out of sight.

But Stevie came back just two days later. Same suit, different color, a bright red that matched her own lifeguard getup. And Billie had an aerial view from her lifeguard tower of Stevie laid out on a beach chair as she sipped from her bottle of cherry cola, and Billie got to watch her comfortably from behind her aviators and nobody had to know where her eyes were fixed, right on the image that looked like it was pulled straight out of Coca-Cola commercial.

They had talked again at the vending machine earlier, but it was still the same dry conversation as the first time. Billie stole a couple of looks for herself and then they talked about work or rumors about former classmates. And then like last time, Stevie walked away, and the cycle continues.

And it did become a cycle.

Every day Billie would go over to the soda machine before her shift would start and Stevie would always be right there, already reaching for her new bottle, preparing for their minimalist conversation and following it all up by Billie ogling her through the guise of her sunglasses while Stevie attempted to tan on that pale skin of hers.

This continued halfway into the summer to late July where the heat was cranked up as high as it could go and suddenly the pool started getting more and more crowded, and Stevie had burned one too many times in an attempt to get that sun kissed glow that her visits to the pool became less and less frequent.

But still, Billie would keep going to that vending machine every day and even wait around for several minutes hoping that maybe she was just running late.

But she never was.

And Billie was left to drink her bottle of Coke alone, and think about how if there even was a chance, she’d completely missed it.

Mid August hit and she had come back, wearing that same blue swimsuit she had on that first day at the pool and Billie had already put her two weeks in.

Billie was known for her confidence. The way she strode through the halls of the high school like she owned the place on her very first day. The way she turned down the entire football team saying she could do better, she appeared to ooze confidence. But talking to pretty girls, especially when trying to flirt, not one of her strong suits.

So she rushed over to the vending machine and put her plan into action before Stevie made it from the parking lot to the back of the building, where she would hopefully still go, and hopefully notice the note taped to the number pad.

Billie did like she said on the post-it. She waited by the pool until after closing when the sun was setting and the sizzling temperatures of the mid-day had settled to a comfortable eighty-five. She tried not to look at the clock, but she couldn’t help herself but stare as the seconds ticked away and nine-o’clock grew closer and closer and the familiar hum of the Beemer wasn’t heard over the sounds of crickets and crows flying overhead.

She was ready to leave as nine o’clock had finally hit, already pulling her feet from the water and throwing her zip up back on. She was just going to finish out her two weeks and high tail it out of there. Forget Hawkins. And try to forget Stevie.

But it’s hard to forget a person when they’re standing right in front of you.

Billie had turned around the second Steve had walked in, still in her bikini with a cardigan over it holding two bottles of coke from the vending machine.

Their vending machine.

“These were the last ones.” She said, handing one of the bottles over to Billie.

“Well that’s depressing.”

Stevie laughed. “Yeah, and fitting I guess.” Billie sighed and took a seat back down on the pool's edge and took a drink from the Coke bottle, and as much as she enjoyed the flavor of classic, she could really go for a beer right about now. Steve followed and sat right beside her, their knees touching, just like graduation night. “So you’re really leaving?”

“I put in my two weeks.” Billie drew circles in the water with her finger, watching it ripple instead of looking at her. “I take it you got my note?”

“Yeah.”

“So...?”

Stevie took her own swig from her bottle, pretending and hoping for the alcoholic placebo.

“You told me you’d go as long as nothing stopped you.”

“Are you gonna stop me?”

Stevie took Billie by the chin and made her look her in the eye. And once again she was caught in those deep brown eyes like they held the whole world. “If you’ll let me.”

Billie didn’t waste a second before closing the distance between them. Lips contacting with a soft but lust-filled force. She tasted just as sweet as Billie thought she would.

She tastes just like classic Coca-Cola.

[thevampirearcher-md]

something med school didn't cover - accurate (#3) 🩺

they're getting to know each other, my two dears

also on ao3

Evenings bring a certain kind of peace to a paediatrics ward - there’s the muffled steady beeps from the ICU beyond the glass door at the end of the hallway, there’s the faint sounds of televisions and children’s music drifting out from beneath room doors, there’s the occasional squeal of joy or screech of hunger of the younger inpatients, but wards are peaceful in the evenings. Activity winds down to the point where Denali feels relaxed enough to go back to the locker-room for the book she’s brought along.

Twenty-four hour shifts are ideal occasions to read - or do crosswords, if you’re her mother. But to Denali, reading is the perfect activity to keep her brain awake and occupied enough not to think about the late hour or the silence she’s been plunged into.

“Hey!”

The voice startles her - a sound that doesn’t belong in the evening atmosphere of the ward. It’s coming from the doctor’s lounge, the room whose lights she had just turned off. She’d thought it deserted - the attending on call had locked himself in the office and the resident on call was downstairs in the emergency room, ready to tackle all the cases that would be walking in. She thought she’d be economical.

She pushes the door to reveal a sight she didn’t think she’d be faced with: doctor McCorkell sitting at one of the desks, with her hair down around her shoulders and a pained expression on her face. Spread out in front of her are two charts - one brand new and blank and another one that has carefully been stuck together with clear tape.

“Why are you still here?” Denali’s brow furrows.

Rosé only huffs, gesturing to the messy pile in front of her. Seeming defeated, she stands, walking over to the coffee machine. Its sound startles the calm atmosphere of the evening. It takes a long while for it to warm up, whirring and sputtering in the silence. Rosé’s pink mug is already filling up by the time Denali realises the silence almost borders on weird.

“I don't get it,” she’s still rooted to her spot in the doorframe, so she takes a step into the room, leaving her book on the couch near the door.

“Professor Visage has torn another one of my charts,” Rosé shrugs, sipping her coffee.

“Another one?” Denali’s eyebrow rises.

“At least, this one she tore in the hallway, I’ll call that improvement,” Rosé jokes.

“Over what?”

Denali knows about Professor Visage’s habit of tearing apart charts that don't follow her guidelines, but she didn’t think it could happen to doctor McCorkell of all people. It is an unspoken agreement among the attentings on the ward that she is the best intern of her generation.

“Tearing them in the room next to the mothers?” she throws herself back into the chair and scans the papers again.

“When did this happen?”

Rosé breathes out a startled chuckle. “Today?” It’s her turn to quirk her eyebrows at the woman in front of her. “I really don't want to know what would happen if I took my time to redo them.”

“Wait…” Denali breathes out as the cogs in her mind turn. “This is not the first time that this happens?”

“Nurse Foxx,” Rosé begins, only to be interrupted.

“Denali,” she corrects automatically, even though none of the other interns will get to call her that for a good long while. Not even some of the upper-level residents call her by her name.

“Fine, Denali, don’t tell me you haven't noticed it,” Rosé laughs. The way she says her name is careful, slow, steady and rounding out every syllable. A complete contrast from the rest of her sentence, playful and teasing.

Denali’s pause is more than answer enough for Rosé, who smiles. “I would have hoped you were paying more attention to me, but I guess now I know,” she sips her coffee again, focusing back on the work she still has to do.

“It’s just that I never would have expected it to happen to you, Doctor McCorkell,” her lips move of their own accord, drawing the ginger’s attention back to her, and her legs move of their own accord, bringing her closer to the desk she has claimed.

The ginger’s eyes narrow. “Rosé, please. I stop being doctor McCorkell,” her face scrunches up at the name, “as soon as I clock out.”

“We’re still working,” Denali reminds her.

“No,” the ginger shakes her head, momentarily drawing Denali’s attention to her luscious curls, which she has let flow free of her usual bun. “You’re still working, I’ve been off for…” she turns her wrist to check her watch. “the last four hours,” she smirks.

Denali nods. “Fine, I didn’t expect it to happen to you, Rosé.”

“Oh, but it does… almost every week,” another shrug, as if it doesn't even bother her anymore. “Usually, though I would have figured it out by now and crawled back home to my bed and my Nelson,” she explains and Denali’s brain starts to piece it together - Rosé out of scrubs and in pyjamas, Rosé in a bed, Rosé reading a paediatrics book before bed.

“Need any help?”

Professor Visage is a particular person - someone who wants things done a certain way, who corrects people and gives out advice to improve everyone. She holds the people who work with her - attendings, residents, even nurses - to the same high standard that she holds herself. They’re working in one of the best paediatrics wards in the country because of it.

But it does sometimes scare away the interns.

“Would you?” Rosé’s eyes light up. “I don’t think I can stand to look at it much more,” she deflates. “And I’ve assured Doctor Luzon that I wouldn’t need her help, so now I’m embarrassed to call her,” she runs her hand through her hair, straightening it out to its full lenght and Denali refuses to be mesmerised by its colour.

Denali laughs, stretching over the table. She notices, sneakily out of the corner of her eye, how Rosé’s body slightly tenses up at the sudden closeness, but she smirks - a tiny pull of her lips, too small for the doctor to see it. Her hands grip the torn chart as she finds a spot to perch on the corner of the desk.

“Got a red pen?”

Rosé’s eyes narrow. “Aren’t you funny?” Her lips clamp shut as she bites back the ‘baby’ that she tends to sneak into almost every sentence that she says. Still, it’s too familiar a term. It would bring Nurse Foxx uncomfortably close.

“This,” she says, her finger pointing to a place on the second page that Rosé recognises to be the family history. “She really hates this wording,” she explains. “Says it leaves too much up for interpretation.”

Rosé huffs. “Interesting,” she murmurs. “I don’t even know how else I’m supposed to say that,” her brows furrow in focus, revealing a little crease between them.

“In the standard wording?”

“My mentor back home hated that,” she murmured, “but I guess, that’s it, Rosie, we’re not in Kansas anymore,” she grabs for the new chart and her trusty pen and starts scribbling fervently.

“You went to med school in Kansas?” It’s Denali’s turn to furrow her brows. She had figured that Rosé hadn’t graduated from NYU, the med school that sent its student doctors over to be taught in their hospital, but she’d never let her curiosity wander further.

“U of T in Austin, actually. Yee haw!” she gestures vaguely with the hand that’s not writing, mimicking the tipping of a hat. Denali giggles.

“Why come to New York then?” she asks, before she can think any better of why she needs to know.

“Here,” Rosé pushes the newly written chart towards her. “That sound better?” Denali nods and she starts writing again. “Besides the illustrious reputation of Professor Visage and her ward?”

Denali rolls her eyes.

“My sister got divorced last year and, it turns out, that being alone with three kids is a lot,” she explains, her attention still split between their conversation and the chart. “I came to provide support,” she shrugs.

“That’s very nice of you,” Denali musses.

“Yeah, well, she’s one of my two favourite sisters,” she winks, finishing up the chart with her flourish of a signature. “That look good to you?”

“How many do you have?”

“Sisters? Just the two, but they’re both my favourite people on earth… And they both live here now,” she smiles. There’s an obvious fondness in her eyes that Denali knows far too well. She adores her siblings, too, even if they all live in different corners of the United States.

She mirrors her smile before her eyes scan over the paper in front of her. “Perfect.”

Rosé’s shoulders slump forward. “Great, I’m feckin’ beat,” she says on a low breath. Nobody ever believed that Rosé “I-curse-every-other-word” McCorkell had gone into paediatrics, where swear words were not even supposed to exist.

Denali’s expression turns slightly pained. She still has half a shift left.

“How do you take your coffee?”

Denali’s attention snaps back to Rosé, standing next to the coffee machine, whose whirring she hadn’t even noticed. “Milk and two sugars,” she answers automatically.

“One of these days, I’ll get you some actual good coffee,” Rosé says, busying herself with mixing in Denali’s two sugar packets. “But until then,” she hands the steaming paper cup over the desk, “thank you, Denali,” she winks. “Have a good night.”

[myluciferiscody]

(Dandy anon here!)Ok switching it up now! A tristan x reader where basically the reader is a vampire turned by the countess (when the reader tried commit suicide in the cortez in the 1950s after the death of their husband who was drowned 😉) and the countess see's a little bit of herself in the reader and tries to cheer them up by introducing them to Tristan ~also I really apericate you answering my asks! Its great!❤~

warnings: mentions of death, suicide, and depression

word count: 1,851

"y/n?"

You paused in front of your door, Room 237 when you heard the sound of your 'mothers' voice. It was very late, just past three in the morning when you decided to wander back home. 

When you didn't respond, she continued on, "I never see you around. You hide from me." You felt a hand on your shoulder, turning you around to face the woman you had despised for years. Elizabeth looked stunning, even her face free of makeup, and dressed for comfort rather than vanity. Her eyes observed you quietly, seeing that you looked well-fed, and you weren't missing any limbs. 

"It's that time again. You know how it is," you respond, brushing her hand from your shoulder. Elizabeth nodded, her eyes casting downward as you refused her attempt to be a mother figure towards you, again. 

"I know. I worry about you, y/n. You think I don't, but I do." Elizabeth said, watching as you fiddled with the handle to your room. "Which is why I want you to meet someone tomorrow evening."

"Elizabeth, I'm not interested in a relationship, you know that-."

"Just come," Elizabeth nodded, gripping your free hand tightly in hers. You allowed it, finally meeting her eyes as she smiled at you, leaning in. As much as you hated to admit it, you almost liked it. You hadn't known the comforting touch of another for years.

"I think it would be good for you," Elizabeth said. "He is a bit troubled, a little lost, like you. Trust me." 

So you agreed. As you watched the clock tick by slowly, you wondered who it could possibly be that she wanted you to meet. You stayed in your room as the morning and afternoon hours ticked by, catching up on some reading and browsing through social media. Elizabeth swung by and told you to be in the lobby by eight. 

When the time came, you changed into better clothes before heading downstairs. You dodged Sally as she stumbled down the hall, laughing and yelling in gibberish at nothing. You could hear her voice ricocheting off the walls as you sat at the bottom of the staircase, seeing an empty lobby, like always. Not even Liz was around. 

You had waited on the stairs for a little while until you heard the sound of heavy boots coming down the stairs behind you. They paused, and you could feel a presence behind you, causing you to look. 

For a moment, you thought that Elizabeth was playing a cruel joke on you. You didn't believe your eyes as you looked at this man, his cerulean eyes observing you as if he also thought Elizabeth was fucking with him. 

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, glaring at you as you gaped at him. 

"I... I... I, uh..." you stuttered out, fumbling over your words like nobody's business. 

He raised an eyebrow at you, before he smirked, coming down the rest of the way. You stood up, seeing as he towered over you by a few inches. "Are you y/n? If you are, I gotta say, you're better looking than I thought you would be."

"You look like someone," you said calmly, finding yourself taking a few steps back from him. "What's your name?" 

"Tristan. Tristan Duffy." he said gruffly, "So... you are y/n, then?"

You nodded, "That's me."

Tristan kind of laughed, "You don't say much."

"I'm sorry, I just..." you decided to shut up, knowing that you'd only be spending one night with this man. He didn't need to know the details of your life, he was just going to be gone tomorrow, anyway. 

"Come on, I'll buy you a drink," Tristan said, gesturing for you to follow him. You did, wondering what Elizabeth's deal was, asking you to meet this guy that looked identical to your dead husband. 

You had sat at the bar with Tristan for a few hours. He seemed pleased that you finally seemed to open up after a bit. Despite his gruff appearance, he was rather endearing and had a great sense of humor. You found yourself laughing at his jokes, and before you knew it, you had moved to one of the couches in the lounge, sitting side by side as you talked.

"Who do I look like that, you know?" Tristan asked, "It's weird, Elizabeth said the same thing to me when we first met." 

You picked at a piece of string on one of the pillows sitting in your lap. You realized that you were starting to like Tristan. After all the time you had spent at the Hotel Cortez, it took you years to tell anyone. And why you have moved to California all the way from Southern Florida. 

"You look like my husband," you said quietly.

Tristan sat up straight, giving you a confused look, he almost seemed disappointed, "You're married?"

"No! No! Not anymore, at least," you said, watching as his posture relaxed. "He died. A long time ago."

Tristan quirked an eyebrow at you, "Are you..."

"Yes."

Tristan nodded, "Me too."

You sighed, "Elizabeth?"

"Who else?" Tristan laughed. 

You smiled, "I've been this young since 1954."

"You're really old," Tristan said, eyeing you up and down. "You're still banging, though."

You threw the pillow at him, smacking him directly in the face. He laughed before tossing it back. "Seriously, though. What's your story?"

"I'm afraid to tell you," you said honestly.

"Why?" Tristan frowned, his arm draping over the back of the couch. His hand itched to touch your shoulder, but he refrained. "I'm good at keeping secrets, sometimes." he joked.

"Everyone I have ever cared about, or loved, has left me," you whispered. Tristan watched you silently, and you continued on. 

"I was born in Florida in 1930. I was born to a wealthy family, and we lived next to the same family ever since I was born. They had a son who was just a few months older than me, his name was..." you swallowed, you haven't talked about him in so long. "His name was Dandy."

Tristan snickered, and you found your lips twitching at the sound. However, he quickly masked it, giving you a solemn look. "I'm sorry, please continue," Tristan said.

"Anyway, we went to school together, some fancy private institution that started allowing girls a few years before we enrolled. We spent a lot of time together, he didn't have many friends, except for another girl and me. When we were in high school, things between us changed. I had a boyfriend at the time. We dated for two months before he went missing." you swallowed.

Tristan perked up, "He went missing?" 

"Yes. They never found him, I don't think." you sighed. "But after that, many months later, we started dating. We dated nearly five years before we finally got married. His mother liked me, but when we announced her engagement, she tried to break us up. We both came from wealthy families, but she was afraid I was going to take their money." you rolled your eyes. "It was all a big mess for a while. When we got married, it was only the two of us."

"What about your parents?" Tristan asked.

"They died not long after graduation. They were driving home from a party when a storm came through, it looked like they lost control of the car and drove off a hill." you frowned, "Ironically, I was supposed to go with them that night, but... Dandy begged me not to go, I ended up pretending to be sick last minute, I watched them drive away from my window, and I never saw them again."

Tristan didn't say anything, but you felt his hand finally press against your shoulder. Much like the night before, you enjoyed the contact from another person. 

"We got married in October of 1951. We were married only a few months before he was taken from me." you sighed. "Dandy never wanted kids growing up, but after we got married, he talked about them. It was actually the last thing we talked about before he died."

"How did he?-"

"He drowned." you said flatly, "I came home one day and found him, someone had moved his body after he passed."

"y/n, I'm so sorry," Tristan whispered.

"You look just like him," you continued, "I still have all of our photo albums. The few photos I had of us in color disappeared," you frowned. "I look at them all of the time, but everything else about him exists only in my memory. Tomorrow is the anniversary of his death, he's been gone almost seventy years."

"How did Elizabeth find you?"

You smiled weakly, "After he died, I inherited his money. I still had the large fortune left to me by my parents, including the money I received selling my parents' house. I lived in Florida for a few more months. I went into a deep depression, I hardly left my room, I lost so much weight that I ended up being hospitalized. Until finally, I just packed some things and left."

Tristan was still interested, and you continued telling him your story. You went to Los Angeles after traveling the world. Dandy had always talked about going to LA or moving there eventually. You came for him, but Elizabeth found you one night, sleeping in Dandy's car. 

"She could practically smell the tragedy wafting off me," you said. "She offered me a room here, said that I could stay as long as I wanted as long as I wasn't living in my car. I lived here for a few weeks, but staying in one place, especially the same city Dandy had always spoken about visiting, caused my depression to get worse." 

"On his second anniversary, I tried to kill myself," you laughed dryly. "I tried to drown myself in the bathtub, but it was hard. It made me think of what he went through in his final moments. So I took a bunch of pills, not wanting to wake up the next day."

Tristan winced, his hand still lingering on your shoulder.

"But I did. I woke up in Elizabeth's room, standing over me. She was crying, asking what happened to me that made me want to die. I was very angry, I stormed off, and I stayed away for a few days. Until I couldn't take the hunger anymore, and I came back, asking what she did to me."

"Do you still hate her?" Tristan asked.

You looked at him, seeing how intensely he was watching you. 

"I did." you answered honestly, "I hated her for a long time. I felt like she took away my one chance to be with him again, to finally stop all of the suffering I was going through. She told me about all the loss she suffered, but I always said she never understood how I felt." you frowned. "Now, I think she always did."

Tristan smiled at you, and you smiled back. For the first time in a long time, you felt hope. 

[hopesangelsprite]

Before I Die P.JM

Summary:

Y/N has had a crush on her older brother’s bestfriend for ages, and now her brother and his other bestie are making her do something about it. Because she’s tired of waiting around and wishing, she agrees.

“No.”, I stated plainly whilst pushing my fingers through my (H/C) hair. A strangled growl followed by a whiny groan met my impassive response. “Oh my fucking gosh, (Y/N)!! You’ve said ‘no’ to ALL of our ideas!”, my older brother, Jungkook, hissed in annoyance. Beside him on the California king bed sat his second-oldest hyung who was glaring daggers at me.

“I think it’s... it’s too much!!”, I huffed with anxious butterflies fluttering around in my gut. “Nah. That’s not it, is it? You’re nervous, aren’t you?”, Taehyung said whilst raising an accusatory eyebrow.

I paused and looked away. He was wrong. I wasn’t nervous. I was fuckin’ hysterical! Today was a very important day. Today I would finally be confessing to the love of my life a.k.a my everything a.k.a the most beautiful man on earth a.k.a Park Jimin. I’d been in love with him since I entered high school!

When I was brought to Korea, after being adopted by the Jeons, I was a total fish out of water. I had no friends, I was socially awkward, I was extremely introverted, and I could barely speak the language. I was a complete wreck. Then I met Jimin.

Around the school, he was known as a playboy. A guy who was only interested in what a woman could give him physically not emotionally. So when he approached me, I was beyond skittish. What was a guy like him doing approaching a girl like me?

All was well, though. He introduced himself as a friend of my brother’s, and we quickly became friends. After that day, we were inseparable. We hung out all the time and ate together. I had the honor to get to know the sweetheart underneath his playboy persona. I grew to love him more than just a friend.

But I never had the guts to admit it to him. Even when he was dating and talking to other girls, I never said anything to him about the pain I felt when he was with a girl that wasn’t me. Seeing this, Jungkook and Taehyung grew more annoyed by the day. Until finally, they confronted me and asked if I needed help confessing. I agreed and the rest is history.

We’d been planning for weeks, but I shut down all of their ideas. It was because I was afraid it was either too cliche or too farfetched.

Taehyung, who had become bored with my guilty silence, had occupied himself with Tik Tok. Suddenly, he sat forward and looked at me before turning his screen around. On the screen, above the boy and girl, were the words “Today I’m gonna confess to my bestie: GONE RIGHT!!!”. ‘Before I Die’ by Ayzha Nyree was playing as the girl stared into the boy's eyes and sang the words to him. The boy smirked before pulling her into a kiss, ending the Tik Tok.

I looked up at him in confusion causing him to facepalm. “You’re an amazing singer! This the song you and Jimin play every single time you’re in the car together! You’re going to confess to him with this song!”, he yelled with slight annoyance and even more excitement.

My eyes widened as I thought it over. Slowly a smile made its way across my features. I nodded making him and Jungkook shout in triumph. After a moment of celebration, the two looked at me with mischief in their eyes. “Okay! So here’s the plan.”, Tae started as he began explaining what was going to go down

*TIME SKIP*

I bit my lip nervously as I waited for the phone to pick up. This was the first step of my plan: Call Jimin and invite him over. Suddenly, there was a click and a deep male voice spoke from the receiver.

“What’s good, baby?”, came Jimin’s sleepy voice, sending chills down my spine. “H-hey Minie! Um...could you come over in a bit? I-I wanna show you s-something!”, I inquired. There was a pause before he responded with, “Sure, babe! Are you ok, by the way? You sound a bit nervous. Is everything alright?”. I mentally cursed his intuitiveness before answering him.“I’m fine Minie! Just hurry up and come over!”, I demanded causing him to chuckle. “Alright, alright! I’ll be over ‘n five!”, he said before hanging up.

I sighed as I put the phone down and looked into the mirror across from my bed. Earlier Tae had brought me a black bag and told me to wear what was inside it. The outfit inside was very… scandalous. It consisted of a silky black mini dress, fishnet stockings, and a pair of tall black stilettos. After I’d seen what was in the bag, I tried to protest, but Tae said he’d smack me so far away Google wouldn’t be able to find my ass.

So, I wore the outfit, and Jungkook began styling my hair. My hair was about knee-length and was pure white since birth. Jungkook had decided not to pull it up but to straighten it and curl the ends. While he was focusing on that, Tae did my makeup. He went for a natural look because he thought I was “already pretty enough”.

After they’d finished, they wished me luck and left the rest of the plan to me. I had wasted a good hour and a half psyching myself up to call Jimin over, so here we were. I glanced at the clock and gasped. Jimin would be over any minute now!

I stood and began checking that the speakers were working and that everything was ready. Once I was sure of it, I adjusted the microphone stand Namjoon, Tae’s cousin had let us borrow to my liking. As I finished, the sound of a door opening met my ears. “I’m here!! Where are you, (Y/N)?!”, came Jimin’s voice. Nervousness filled me once again. I forgot he had the keys to my apartment.

“I’m in my room, Minie!”, I called out and readied myself. Seconds later, the love of my life came walking in wearing a simple pair of grey sweats and a matching hoodie. He looked over my outfit before raising a playful eyebrow. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re trying fuck! We goin’ somewhere because I can change real quick.”, he said making me roll my eyes.

“We aren’t going anywhere, Jimin. Just sit down and listen!”, I ordered making him chuckle and raise his hands in surrender. He sat at the foot of my bed and gestured for me to proceed. I sighed and prayed for this to go well because, if it didn’t and I lost my best friend, I was going to murder Tae and Jungkook. I pressed the remote in my palm causing the speakers to begin playing the instrumental for the song. Just like Tae had told me, I began swaying my hips and let the music take control.

“I don’t even wanna go back home… What is this love and war? He know that I love him, got him fucking me raw He know I ain’t with it, never did it before He got me all in my feelings, now he got you all in yours”

I sang with a tiny smirk as I watched his eyes trail across my body. I swayed and moved my hips a little more and continued.

“It’s like that He ain’t never leaving. No, he coming right back I know that he need it cause shawty gon’ bite back And he don’t want nobody else hittin’ it like that

Before I die, I’m tryna fuck you baby Hopefully, we don’t have no babies I don’t even wanna go back home Hopefully, you don’t leave on your own

Before I die, I’m tryna fuck you baby Hopefully, we don’t have no babies I don’t even wanna go back home Hopefully, you don’t leave on your own”

I sang smoothly whilst gesturing between me and him. His eyes were clouded with lust as he held eye contact with me. His bottom lip was trapped between his teeth; something he only did when he was attracted to someone.

I continued to sing and dance sensually. A few winks were sent here and there as I moved my hands across my body. I flicked my tongue across my lips before singing the final set of lyrics.

“Yeah~ I don’t wanna play no games, play no games I don’t wanna play no games, play no games

I don’t, I don’t I don’t wanna play no games. play no games

All these lame *****s keep pissing me off All the lame bitches tryna fuck with your heart I know what you want, I ain’t fucking you off Bae, You deserve it all, I know who you are~”

I sang the final adlibs with as much passion as I could. I poured my heart into every syllable and note. I sang the last line of the song and opened my eyes. Jimin sat forward with his chin resting on his fists. Awe filled his expression and a bright smile had stretched itself across his lips. He stood and gestured for me to walk over. I obeyed and stood in front of him. He wrapped his arms around me in a gentle embrace before pulling away and pressing his lips to mine. Though the kiss only lasted for a few seconds, it felt like a lifetime.

“So, you finally decided to tell me that you loved me, huh.”, he teased after breaking our kiss. My eyes widened slightly. “You knew the entire time?!”, I asked in disbelief. He nodded. “You think that I wouldn’t notice how quiet you’d get when I had a girl over, or that I didn’t see how hurt you looked when I told you I had a girlfriend. (Y/N), we’ve been friends since your freshman year, and we’re going to be graduating college together soon! I know all about you, love”, he admitted.

I paused in thought at his words. “Why didn’t you say something, Jimin?”, I inquired softly, He sighed and buried his face in my neck before answering, “I didn’t think it would last long; I thought it was just a high school crush or something. When I noticed that you still liked me… I got scared. I’m not a loveable person. I haven’t been involved with only one girl since I started dating when I was 14. I’m no good, and you deserve so much better than me.”.

I frowned lifted his face in my hands gently. “Park Jimin, I love you not for who you were or who you are now. I love you because of who you can become. I trust you with my life and now I trust you with my heart. Can you trust me with yours?”, I asked softly. He stared at me with what I could only describe as pure love in his eyes before nodding. “Yes… yes, I can!”, he cheered before connecting our lips again.

This time it lasted for a few more minutes. Jimin pulled away and smirked down at me. “Now you said you said you wanted to do what with me before you die?”, he inquired whilst guiding me toward my bed.

[ghostfacesvalentine]

Why didn’t you tell me this before? (Loki x Fem!Reader)

Pairing: Loki x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Talk about the readers past, not many, maybe a bit of cold Loki in the beginning

Type: One Shot

Request: Ooo I loved your Loki headcanons!!! ❤️❤️ could I request a being touched starved and dating Loki would include? Like reader just never really got the physical affection she craved and it’s her love language, and Loki figures it out and just fluff? ❤️❤️❤️

Word Count: 1,848

Prompt: Loki finds out about the reader being denied of physical affection

Notes: Thank you! & thank you for the request! I’m still getting the hang of this, I hope this is how you imagined it, I kind of wrote it in the way I perceived it, hopefully you’ll enjoy it! Also I’m sorry if this is rather short, if you want more fluff def let me know!

You and Loki had been dating for a few months now, you never would’ve imagined being in a relationship, much less with a god, even less with Loki, the God of Mischief.

There was slight hesitancy at first, it was always like this with the sparing relationships you’d have as you grew into a woman. There had been internal conflict within you, not pinpointing your sexuality, unsure if you were asexual, aromantic, demisexual? 

There was so much information now, you were thankful for it, but all you were really sure about was that you flinched when someone touched you for longer than two seconds.

It was a true struggle, it pained you every step of the way. You longed for intimacy, yet, when someone would place their hand on your forearm to get your attention, you were quick to pull away.

Your coworkers caught on after a few instances, preferring to exchange smiles with you rather than soothing touches.

Yet you mourned warmth.

This was not something addressed with the trickster, at least not yet. You had gotten better, if you knew someone was going in for a nudge or a hand shake, you mentally braced yourself, easing your breathing and withstanding whatever contact you pained through.

Subtle icy arms would snake around your sides, followed by a chilling smirk,  it would be Loki, setting his chin on your shoulder as you did whatever task he caught you doing.

In this particular instance, you were prepping fruit, cutting it up to your liking, consisting of different shapes and forms, displayed across a medium sized plastic container.

“What are you doing dearest?”

He hummed as his eyes peered towards your now jittering hands, at first he thought it was flattering, you getting your cognitive thinking cords all jumbled up when at his touch.

Usually, what would salvage you was his attention turning elsewhere, whether it was you asking for his help or one of the team members walking in to interrupt his affection.

Today, nobody came to your aide, due to the frustration, you couldn’t ask him of everything, you had everything you needed, your mind froze, all you could think about was his embrace and almost as if were some curtain that came loose, dropping to the floor due to a lost bolt, your wall of discomfort just, dropped.

There was no urge to pry him off of you, no desire to run to the other side of the room, this was monumental for you.

For months you kept your silent triumph to yourself, closely.

As months rolled, your acceptance of affection increased like a snowball rolling at a rapid speed down a steep hill. Not only did you accept this, you invited it. 

You began to indulge in this warmth you longed for your whole life, it wasn’t your fault you’d dunk yourself in it a bit too much for the frost giants liking.

Without your explanation of why you were this way, or so you assumed, Loki was prone to get irritated from time to time, specifically when it came to PDA around the team, he couldn’t stand them seeing him in such a state, he wasn’t at that level of comfort yet.

When he’d be gone on missions, or just on errands without you, there wasn’t much to worry for, you’d simply slip into one of his cozy sweaters, or t shirts if it was hot, you’d giggle to yourself feeling as if Loki were hugging you the entire time you’d sport his clothing.

At first, Loki didn’t mind, he thought of it as a romantic gesture, letting you borrow his jacket when you were shivering, or if you had nothing to wear as you spontaneously spent the night.

Yet, this became increasingly frequent, he began to run out of clothes, whether it was because you kept them, or they were in the dirty hamper.

He figured maybe a few new additions to his closet wouldn’t hurt.

It did.

They were soon to be surrendered to you.

This wasn’t the only thing that irritated him, you began to need to hold his hand as a small child would during an intimidating task, but there was nothing to be intimidated with during your simple tasks, yet you still held his hand, at times hugged his arm, restricting him from using it.

Loki did his best to avoid confronting you about it, he still initiated cuddle sessions from time to time, or would hold your hand or lean on you as you watched movies, yet sometimes, when he would get frustrated, it would show on his face to those around him, unintentionally.

He loved you, he was learning to accept this about you, yet it was taking some adapting to.

Of course Clint was still bitter about their history, throwing kicks at him whenever he could.

“You sure turned into a cuddly snowman instead of your usual frost giant form.” Clint would snark as you were curled up into your boyfriends bicep.

Loki would just glare as the others would chime in that Clint was only kidding, this was no insult, this was how they all got along.

This was all bs of course, but they didn’t need to get on Loki’s bad side.

The final straw was when Loki bought three other t shirts, one a creamy brown, the two others were black. You had worn the creamy one to sleep last night, awaked in one of the black ones while the spare one was in the dirty clothes hamper.

It had been a long day of meetings, you know, typical avengers stuff. 

In no way was Loki looking forward for this, all he yearned for was to come home, get comfortable, drink something warm in his favorite mug, and continue his reading.

Sighing to himself as he pushed the door open only to be greeted by you, wearing his shirt, drinking a cup of warm tea with honey leaning over the kitchen counter, your eyes shot over to see him.

You gleamed, like a puppy waiting for their owner to get back home, you rushed over to hug him, only this time he didn’t hug you back. He huffed, not directing a word towards you which made you pull away in concern.

Loki simply made his way over to the bathroom, only hearing the shower run, you feared you had done something wrong.

Deciding upon making him his favorite tea, you mixed the steamy drink with honey, setting it upon a small plate and walked it over to his room, covering it with a mug topper to keep warm until he got out.

Usually Loki didn’t take long, but maybe he had a tiring day, which in your mind should’ve given him all the more reason to come to bed and unwind. 

You stared at the clock blankly, the shower was still running, you simply made yourself comfortable, snuggling under one of his blankets you closed your eyes, just for a second, but it didn’t take long for you to remember.

Growing hadn’t always been sunshine for you, your parents had their own unresolved issues and because of that, they tended to ignore you and your siblings. As you grew older, you didn’t hate them, but you knew this was wrong. 

The bitter memory of seeing your classmates run to their parents arms as they were picked up from school stung, this was all you wanted, to be received by warm arms, it all stung. 

Nobody knew of this, everyone just thought you were abnormally clingy, some people were like this and you knew those some people, you were simply piled onto that group, but nobody knew of the extent or the why.

Being pushed away was an all too familiar feeling, it even got to the point where your siblings would be uncomfortable with touch, they would hesitate in hugging you back, holding their hands was mostly your effort, the most comfort you ever got was a limp cold damp hand only two years apart from you. 

You still persisted, as you grew on and on, you got your first boyfriend your freshman year of high school, you were over the moon. Kissing, hugging, hand holding, that was all included right? Well no, unfortunately you landed a cold heart. He would bail on your dates, stand you up constantly, but you persisted, yearning for a love you saw everywhere. Now, you’re graduated, with only your arms to comfort you. 

Months after, you basically took off, left no notice nor any clue as to where you could be found. To be fair, you didn’t know where you were going, but you couldn’t take the isolation of that place. You could’ve sworn your hometown just cursed you.

You only got worse, growing accustomed to the lack of touch, it became something foreign to you, yet, it still became something you longed for.

You awoke to Loki standing before you, with a soothing expression, he was holding your hands, your vision was blurred, but you could distinguish his hand reaching to you, he wiped your cheeks.

Confused you sat up, had you been crying? You looked to the dresser mirror, your eyes were puffy, your cheeks were reddened, so were the circles underneath your eyes, all evidence of your state.

You then wiped your own cheeks, in confusion, but Loki was still holding onto your hand, you were quick to put two and two together.

He must’ve read your thoughts.

You closed your eyes as Loki kept his arms wrapped around you.

“My darling.” His voice was soft, softer than any tone you had heard from him, he was always gentle, or attempted to be, but this was his reaction to you, to discovering something incredibly intimate.

“I would’ve never thought- why didn’t you tell me this before? Please forgive me.”

Loki cradled your head, holding you as if you were going to break, you couldn’t utter a word, your eyes couldn’t stop spilling tears at the exposure of your past. He then pressed his hands against either side of your face and looked to you with the softest concerned look you’ve ever seen him with. He understood now, he understood it all.

Wiping your tears away he kissed your forehead softly, then pulling you in for another hug, Loki was new at this of course, he hadn’t had a romantic relationship in quite some centuries now, but he knew he would do his best with you, he had to.

Pulling you away only to look you in the eyes, he uttered

“Will you forgive me?” His eyes were not piercing blue as they usually were, instead they were clouds from heaven, something you found comfort in.

You nodded wordlessly, once again being embraced against his chest, you looked cute in his clothing anyway, and he would grow to love the affection. After all it would do him some good, to be loved as he always strived to be as a child.

It wouldn’t be long until you both fell asleep intertwined with one another of course.

[animefan299110]

Family Matters Chapter 9: Operation: IzuOcha

Hey guys! AnimeFan299110 here with the latest chapter of Family Matters. Now most of you know what to expect. But to those who don’t, this is the IzuOcha chapter you have all been waiting a year and a half for! Thank you all so much for your patience and I hope you all enjoy the chapter. As usual, My Hero Academia is owned by Kohei Horikoshi, Jump Comics, and Funimation.

And now, without further ado…here is the newest chapter of Family Matters!

It was two days after Eri made her self-declaration to get her ‘parents’ to confess their love for each other when she woke up from her slumber. She glanced over at the digital clock on Midoriya’s nightstand and saw that it was 6:00 AM. ‘Alright,’ she thought, 'better go see if Auntie’s awake.’ She got out of bed and opened the door, cringing a bit when a squeak came from the hinges. Fortunately for her, Midoriya only snorted in his sleep. Careful not to make any further noise, she closed the door. Eri proceeded up two flights of stairs and past Uraraka’s room until she reached her destination.

Meanwhile inside her room, Mina was lying on top of Kirishima and kissing him passionately. Both were in their underwear. It was a weekly tradition for them; ever since their Christmas kiss, they just couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other. It had gotten to the point where Iida had told them to have their moments in private. So it became natural for them to have their make-out sessions in either of their rooms. But they shared one rule: no sex until after they graduated. They were still in high school and they didn’t want any complications.

“Hey Mina? Can I ask you something?” Kirishima asked between kisses. “If you had the ability to go back in time, would you change anything about our relationship?”

Mina only smiled, sitting up on his lap and placing two fingers on his chest. “Nothing at all, Eijirou,” she said, moving her fingers upward with each syllable. Kirishima smiled before pressing his lips against hers once more. At that moment, a knock came from outside the door.

“Who could be up at this hour on a Saturday?” Kirishima asked in a quiet voice.

“I’ll check,” Mina said. She walked over to the closed door and asked, “Who is it?”

“Auntie Mina?” Eri’s voice called out from the other side. “It’s me, Eri, can I talk to you for a second?”

Upon hearing the little girl’s voice, both Mina and Kirishima looked at each other, terrified.

“Uh…” Mina said in a nervous tone. She scanned the room frantically. Her eyes soon fell on the space between her bed and the floor. “Sure thing. Be with you in a minute.”

“What are you doing?” Kirishima asked in a horrified whisper.

“Hide under the bed,” Mina whispered back, “she won’t see you, I promise.” Kirishima only nodded and slid under the bed with some difficulty. Mina knelt down and said, “Stay still and don’t make a sound.” She gave him a quick peck on the lips and proceeded to put on short pajama bottoms and a tight t-shirt that hugged her figure.

She opened the door to greet the little girl. “Hey, sweetie, how are you?”

“Fine,” Eri said. She tilted her head to the side to look behind Mina. “Auntie, who were you talking to?”

“Nobody, pumpkin,” Mina said, moving her leg in order to block Eri’s view. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Eri turned her attention back to Mina. “Well, the thing is…I need your help with something. The truth is…I…I need your help to get Mama and Papa to love each other!”

There was a sudden silence in the area. “A-Auntie?”

Mina swooped the little girl up, embraced her, and gave the biggest smile Eri had ever seen. “Oh my God, Eri!” she squealed, pressing and rubbing her cheek against Eri’s. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for someone else to recognize that your Mama and Papa are perfect for each other.” She brought Eri inside her room and closed the door behind her.

“I’ve been analyzing their reactions toward each other ever since the Final Exams last June, months before we met you,” she said, putting Eri back down and walking over to the bedroom window. She pulled back the curtains to reveal a huge rectangular wooden board blocking out the view from outside. As Eri looked on, she noticed the board had notes, some pictures of her Mama and Papa, and lots of red string connected to said items. Eri’s eyes soon followed the numerous threads until they reached the center of the board to a pin and a paper that read 'Possibility of relationship: 100%’. “So, what do you think?” Mina asked with a huge smile on her face.

“I think you have too much free time, Auntie,” Eri said. “So what does this have to do with Mama and Papa?” she asked.

Mina lifted an eyebrow, but her smile didn’t waver. “Well, the truth is that I’ve been trying to get your parents together for the last few months. I’ve locked them inside a room together and I even put them under the mistletoe during Christmas, but it didn’t work. But then I realized something; the problem wasn’t my methods, it was that I was working alone. With your help, I think we might be able to do it.”

“So, what do we do?” Eri asked.

“Well, the first thing we have to do is to get them to ask the other out on a date. If you can convince Midoriya to ask Uraraka, then I can take care of Uraraka. I have a few things and ideas afterward for them. But we need to do this first task before anything else.”

“And then Mama and Papa will love each other?” Eri asked, her eyes filled with hope.

“If all goes smoothly, yes,” Mina said.

Eri smiled and cried out, “Yeah!” And before Mina could stop her, she leapt onto the bed and jumped up and down. Kirishima let out a muffled gasp when Eri’s feet connected with his back.

“E-Eri!” Mina said, terrified. She quickly lifted Eri off the bed and set her on the floor. “Wh-Why don’t you go try and get some more sleep? I’ll talk to you about the details later.”

“Okay,” Eri said and made her way to the bedroom door. Before she left, she turned and asked, “Oh, Auntie? When Uncle Shima comes out from under the bed, tell him I said 'hi’.”

“Will do, sweetie,” Mina said, watching the little girl leave. She knelt down by the bed and looked at her boyfriend. “How are you holding up, babe?”

Kirishima only responded with a simple “Ow.” He extended his left hand and let Mina pull him out. He stretched his back to ease the pain. “So,” he said once he was comfortable, “you two are gonna try and get Midoriya and Uraraka together, huh?”

“Yep,” Mina said with a huge smile, “and I can’t wait! It was nice of Eri to want to say hi to…you…”

They looked at each other, eyes wide open, and exclaimed, “How the heck did she know?!”

A few days after her talk with Mina, Eri was standing by the stairs on the first floor watching Midoriya speak with Uncle Iida. According to Mina, all she had to do was find a way to convince him to ask Uraraka out. 'Alright,’ Eri thought to herself, 'just remember what Auntie taught you.’ She walked over to them. “Hey, Papa! Hey, Uncle Iida!”

“Eri,” Iida said in a somewhat stern voice. “What have I told you about using that word?”

“I know, I know,” Eri said. “Hay is for horses.”

Midoriya couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at Iida’s dislike for that word. He turned to the little girl and asked, “So, what’s up, Eri?”

Eri turned to him and smiled before saying, “Well, the thing is, Papa, I wanted to tell you something about you and Mama.”

Midoriya’s cheeks turned a bright pink. “O-O-Oh, a-and what did you want to talk about?”

Eri smiled; everything was going just as planned so far. “Well,” she began, “I noticed that you and Mama looked tired lately. I was just wondering that you two should spend some time together without me.”

“Me…and Uraraka…t-together,” Midoriya mused. His blush deepened. “W-Well, y-you see I would, but I-I-I’ve g-g-got homework to do for Mr. Aizawa and then I have to meet up with All Might for training. I also have to meet up with my mo-” He noticed Eri’s head facing the floor. “E-Eri?”

Eri tilted her head back up to reveal her watery eyes and a sad look on her face. “Wh-Why don’t you want to spend time with Mama?” she asked, her voice on the verge of breaking. “Don't…don’t you like her?”

“No no no no no, i-i-i-it’s not like that!” Midoriya said. “I-I-It’s just that I’ve got so much stuff to do and, well…” He paused when he saw Eri’s eyes brimming with tears. “Oh no, don’t cry Eri. L-Look, I-I’ll talk with Uraraka about spending the day with her, okay?”

Eri rubbed her eyes with her left arm and sniffled. “Okay.”

“Good,” Midoriya said, relieved that Eri had stopped crying. “Now why don’t you go get ready for school?”

As Eri made her way upstairs to get her school supplies, a small smile crept on her face. She had completed her part of Phase One; she just hoped Mina had done hers with Uraraka.

“Hey, Ochako!” Mina called out. They were making their way to class after training with All Might.

“Hey, Mina,” Uraraka said, smiling at her friend, “What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing much,” Mina said, “I just wanted to talk about you and Midoriya.”

Uraraka’s cheeks turned a slight pink. “O-Oh?” she asked. “W-What did you want to talk about?”

“Well, I’ve just been noticing that you two haven’t really been spending time together. Before Eri came into our lives, you two would hang out in the living room watching TV, spend time at the mall, and even team up together during game nights.”

Uraraka’s cheeks maintained their pinkish hue. “W-Well, we’ve been busy lately, what with schoolwork and training. If you add caring for Eri on top of that, the two of us really haven’t had any time to relax.”

“Well,” Mina said, her smile growing slightly. “What if I were to look after Eri for a day? Maybe you and Midoriya could do something together then?”

Uraraka paused while considering Mina’s offer. “It would be nice to have a day to ourselves,” she said. “J-Just as friends, of course.” She turned to Mina and said, “Okay, I’ll ask Deku if he wants to get together for a friendly outing. I believe next Saturday will work for me. I’ll ask him after class today.”

“Sweet!” Mina said with a wide smile on her face. As Uraraka walked away, the smile on her face shifted into a smirk. 'Well, that was easier than I could have imagined,’ she thought with delight, 'let’s just hope Eri had some luck with convincing Midoriya.’

'Okay, you can do this, Izuku. You can do this,’ the green-haired student thought to himself. It was late in the afternoon at Alliance Heights and Midoriya was waiting in the hallway, hoping to talk to Uraraka before dinner. 'It’s not like I’m asking her out on a date, we’re just gonna hang around. Maybe find a place to eat, go to the park, and…wait, that’s exactly like a date! I can’t go through with this! What if she thinks I’m a weirdo and won’t even talk to me again? How do I explain it to Eri if that happens? Will she not see Uraraka as a mother figure just because she doesn’t like me in that way? Will I have to-’

“D-Deku?”

“AAH!” Midoriya screamed. He turned to see Uraraka standing a few feet in front of him with a look of concern on her face. “U-Uraraka, hi.” He tried to compose himself.

“Hi, Deku,” Uraraka said before asking, “Are you okay? Your face is really red.”

“I’m fine,” Midoriya said. “Listen Uraraka, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“Oh?” Uraraka said. “What is it?”

“W-W-Well, the th-thing is…um…” Midoriya trailed off, unable to get the words out. “W-What I wanted to ask was”-he bowed and shouted-“DOYOUWANNAHANGOUTSOMETIME?”

“What?” Uraraka asked.

“What I was asking was,” Midoriya continued, still in bowing position, “would you like to hang out with me sometime? Just the two of us.” It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Midoriya came back up to see a red-faced Uraraka shaking and stuttering in front of him. “I-I’m so sorry!” Midoriya said. “I-It’s okay i-if you d-don’t want to; I j-just thought what with Eri and everything-”

“S-Sure,” Uraraka finally said after freezing for what seemed like forever. “T-T-That sounds nice.”

“Oh…really?” Midoriya asked in surprise. When Uraraka nodded in response, his mouth formed into a nervous smile. “That…that’s great! So, when do you wa-”

“Next Saturday!”

“W-What?”

“S-Sorry,” Uraraka said, “I’m available next Saturday. Is that fine with you?”

“Um…” Midoriya said, still unable to believe that the arrangements were going over smoothly. “Y-Yeah, that’s…perfect. It’s a date!”

“A date?!” Uraraka exclaimed in surprise.

“N-N-No, I-I-I didn’t mean it like that!” Midoriya said, gesturing wildly in embarrassment.

Around the corner at the far end of the hallway, a certain pink-skinned girl and a one-horned angel who had heard everything were looking at each other and grinning from ear to ear.

“So, you and Uraraka are going out, huh?” Kaminari asked with a smirk on his face as he, Midoriya, and the rest of the male student body of Class 1-A sat around the living room. It was Wednesday, three days before Midoriya and Uraraka’s outing, and the news that they were going out had spread throughout the dormitory like wildfire.

“Y-Yeah,” Midoriya said nervously, “b-but it’s just an outing between friends, that’s all.” His response was met by a few chuckles from some of the male students.

Bakugou only grumbled and said, “About damn time, if you ask me.”

“Wow, man,” Kirishima said, looking at his best friend. “I didn’t know you cared about them that much.”

“Are you kidding me? Like I give a shit if they get together! I’m just sick of them getting all nervous in front of each other.”

“Ignoring Bakugou’s language,” Iida said before turning his attention back to his friend, “When are you two socializing?”

“Oh, this Saturday,” Midoriya said. “It’s the only day she and I have off and we figured it would be nice to…” he noticed Mashirao, Kirishima, and Kaminari smiling slyly at him. “What?” he asked in confusion.

“You do know this Saturday is the fourteenth of February, right?” Kirishima asked with a hint of mischief in his voice.

“Y-Yeah?” Midoriya answered.

Kirishima placed a hand on Midoriya’s shoulder. “Midoriya…the fourteenth of February is Valentine’s Day.”

Midoriya continued to look on in confusion until Kirishima’s words finally sunk in. His whole face turned a pinkish hue and he began to shake like mad. “EEEEH?!” he exclaimed. “Are you serious?” The others nodded their heads. “Oh my God, what am I going to do?” he said, pacing around the room with worry. “Should I cancel and rearrange for another date? Should I expect chocolates from her? Will it be so awkward that we can’t even talk to each other like we do now? Do I-”

Iida placed a hand on his shoulder. “Listen, Midoriya,” he said, “you shouldn’t worry about any of those things. Like you said, it’s just an outing between friends.”

Midoriya calmed down and took a deep breath. “You’re right,” he said with a smile, “it’s just a friendly get-together, nothing more.”

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” Uraraka repeated to herself while continuing to smack her head against her planner. “How could I forget about Valentine’s Day?! What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?”

“Well, for starters, you can calm down,” Jiro said, rolling her eyes. “It’s just a simple get-together. It’s not like you’re going out on a date with him.”

“But what if he’s expecting something else?” Uraraka asked. “What if he expects me to give him chocolates since it’ll be Valentine’s Day? What if we’ll be uncomfortable around other couples? What if we-”

Momo placed a hand on her shoulder. “Listen Ochako,” she said, “you shouldn’t worry about any of those things. Like Kyouka said, it’s just an outing between friends.”

Uraraka sighed and said, “You’re right. I shouldn’t worry about this too much.”

“Sweet,” Mina chimed in, “now let’s figure out what you’re gonna wear!” She began to pull out various clothes for Uraraka to try on.

“Well, someone’s enthusiastic about this whole thing,” Jiro muttered.

After three long and grueling days, Valentine’s Day finally came. The forecast was sunny with a high of sixty degrees and a humidity of forty percent, unusual for that time of year. The news anchors said it was to be the nicest day to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Meanwhile at Alliance Heights, Midoriya was pacing back and forth in the living room waiting for Uraraka to join him. He was wearing dark brown pants, a light green shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a sleeveless dark blue vest. Of course, he had to wear his signature red shoes as well.

“Midoriya calm down, will ya?” Kirishima said after watching Midoriya pace back and forth for the twentieth time.

“Sorry,” Midoriya said, rubbing the back of his head, “I’m just nervous. Truth be told, I’ve never hung out with a girl on my own before.”

“It’s true,” Bakugou said. Before UA, girls at their old school would look at Deku like he had three heads if he even so much as tried to talk to them.

“Trust us, Midoriya,” Iida said, placing a hand on his shoulder, “everything is going to be fine.” Midoriya only responded with a smile.

“D-Deku?” The sound of a familiar voice caused Midoriya to turn his attention towards the stairs. His cheeks turned pink when he saw Uraraka standing at the top of the stairs with the other girls behind her and Eri by her side. She was wearing denim shorts, a white t-shirt, and a beige button-down coat with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She was also wearing green track shoes. She walked up to Midoriya and blushed a little. “You…You look nice,” she said.

“Y-You as well,” Midoriya said as the redness from his cheeks covered his entire face. For a few minutes, they stood in total silence wondering what to do or say while the rest of their classmates either smirked or giggled.

“ARE YOU TWO MORONS GOING TO LEAVE OR NOT?” Bakugou yelled in frustration, causing both of them to jump nervously.

“R-Right, sorry.” Midoriya said. He turned to the others. “Okay, we’re going to be gone for awhile. We’re counting on you to look after Eri. All of her nutritional information and what she doesn’t like are on the fridge. She’s not allowed any sweets until after dinner. And that’s only if she behaves herself.”

“Well, that’s all the time, isn’t it Eri?” Mina asked, pressing Eri’s cheeks together and smiling at her while Eri giggled and nodded vigorously. “Besides,” she continued, “she’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it. You two just have fun today.”

“Well, alright,” Uraraka said and retrieved her purse. “We’ll see you all when we get back. Be good, sweetie.” She and Midoriya leaned forward and gave Eri a quick peck on both cheeks, causing the little girl to giggle again.

“Bye, Mama and Papa,” she said. Midoriya and Uraraka smiled and walked out of the building. As soon as the doors closed, Mina and Eri ran upstairs to get ready for their mission.

Meanwhile, Bakugou’s phone vibrated in his left pocket. He picked it up and, seeing a new message, texted back:

On my way

Should be there at 11:10 at the latest

Pocketing the phone away, he said “I gotta get going. Something important.”

Kirishima raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“None of your damn business, that’s what it is!” Bakugou snapped before slamming the main entrance doors behind him.

In some part of the city, Midoriya and Uraraka were walking down the streets while trying to act calm and casual. It was difficult, however, since they had to pass couples who were either holding hands, hugging, or kissing. Seeing such sights caused the two students to blush and glance away from each other.

“S-So,” Midoriya said, trying to break the silence, “n-nice weather we’re having, huh?”

“Y-Yeah, it is.” Uraraka said. Midoriya made a mental note to kick himself for talking about the weather.

Two black-hooded figures wearing sunglasses followed them at a distance, trying to look inconspicuous. The smaller one was wearing a cute hat, which drew the attention of the passers-by.

“Why aren’t they doing anything?” Eri asked, a sense of worry in her voice.

“Patience, Eri,” Mina said, “everything comes to those who wait. Besides, I’ve got a few things that may help ease the tension between them.”

Midoriya scratched the back of his head before he turned to Uraraka. “So…where are we going again?”

“Oh,” Uraraka said, Midoriya’s voice snapping her out of her thoughts, “there’s this street market that Mina told me about. It’s supposed to have some weird and interesting stuff. She went with Kirishima a couple of times in the past.”

After thirty minutes of walking, they arrived at the market. The whole street was filled with pedestrians. Pop-up tents with blankets and tables displayed the various items on sale. As Midoriya and Uraraka looked around, they saw a diverse variety of items, ranging from international antiques to vintage goods, handicrafts, accessories, and organic food; as well as flowers and plants. Midoriya and Uraraka moved through the vendors, checking out individual items like hats, action figures, vintage CDs, and clothes, all the while unaware that Mina and Eri were tailing them every two booths.

Midoriya and Uraraka came across a booth that had various articles of jewelry, handicrafts, and accessories. The old woman running the booth smiled at them while they looked at the various items. Uraraka’s eyes soon fell on something pink and pretty. It was a pink rose with a clip on the back. Midoriya noticed it as well and picked it up, amazed at how light it felt in his hand. “Hey Uraraka,” he said, “Isn’t it nice?”

“A hair clip! It’s cute!” Uraraka exclaimed before looking at Midoriya. “Can you put it in my hair?”

“Umm…sure.” His hands were trembling. He had no idea what to do. “W-Where do you want me to put it?”

She pulled a strand of hair behind her left ear and pointed at it. “Around here should be fine, Deku.”

He gulped and took a deep breath. He caught a whiff of her shampoo and almost let the hair clip drop. He was pretty sure she could feel the heat radiating from his face.

He gently put his left hand on her hair to keep it in place and, after what seemed like an eternity, managed to clip it on. “H-Here you go, Uraraka.”

“Thanks, Deku…” She caught Izuku’s look and realized how close they were to each other. For a minute they stood frozen in place, their faces turning bright pink while looking at each other. The silence between them was finally broken when Midoriya leapt back. “WAAH!” he said, “S-Sorry! I-I-I sh-should’ve asked first!”

“N-No!” Uraraka said, her face still red. “I-It’s okay! Thank you!”

“Hehehehe.” The two students turned to see the old woman chuckling at their antics. She looked at them and said, “If you like it so much, I can give you the couple’s discount on that hair clip. Only six hundred yen.”

“Couple's…discount?” Midoriya and Uraraka both said before glancing at each other. “NO-NO-NO-NO-NO, I-I-I-IT’S NOT LIKE THAT! W-WE’RE JUST FRIENDS, THAT’S ALL!”

“Oh?” the woman asked. She smiled again and turned to Uraraka before saying, “Well, how about I give you the discount anyway since that hair clip really does suit you, dearie.”

“Oh,” Uraraka said. “Th-thank you.” She handed the two coins to the woman and she and Midoriya walked off, their faces still flushed in embarrassment.

Two booths behind them, Mina and Eri were giggling at Uraraka and Midoriya’s reactions. “'We’re just friends.’ Yeah, sure,” Mina whispered while Eri continued to giggle. “Right, then,” Mina said once she composed herself, “if all goes according to plan, they’ll be kissing by lunchtime.”

“Right!” Eri said in agreement.

The rest of the shopping excursion was uneventful, though Midoriya and Uraraka had avoided each other’s gaze for a while out of embarrassment. By the time they had reached the last booth, Midoriya had gotten a vinyl record of Elvis Bresley (his mother’s favorite singer), an old Farchie comic (a favorite of All Might’s), and a copy of To Kill a Jaybird. Aside from the hairclip, Uraraka had also acquired a pair of durable work gloves for her father, an antique vase that her mother could use, and a ball-and-cup game for Eri.

It was around noon that their stomachs began to growl with hunger. “I guess it’s that time of the day, huh?” Midoriya said sheepishly. “You wouldn’t happen to know any good restaurants around, would you?”

“Actually, I do,” Uraraka said. “Mina suggested this restaurant close by that’s supposed to have some really good food. Wanna give it a try?”

Midoriya smiled. “Sure, that sounds great!”

After a few minutes of following directions on Midoriya’s phone, they arrived at a sit-in restaurant. Once they walked inside, they saw that it looked completely normal if you didn’t count the heart decorations dangling from the ceiling. Midoriya and Uraraka proceeded to take a booth and looked through the menu.

A waitress walked over to them. “Hello! My name is Mika and I’ll be your server. So, what will you two be having?”

Midoriya took a quick glance back at the menu. “I’ll have the pork korokke and for a drink, just green tea, please.”

“And I’ll have the chicken katsu and green tea as well,” Uraraka said before she and Midoriya handed Mika their menus.

“Alright then, I’ll be back with your drinks,” Mika said, walking off to leave the two students to themselves.

Mina and Eri had taken a table on the opposite side of the restaurant in order to keep enough distance from the two. Eri whispered, “So, do you think this plan will work, Auntie?”

“Trust me on this one, Eri.” Mina said with a smirk. “There’s a good reason I suggested this restaurant to Uraraka.”

Midoriya and Uraraka were nervously twiddling their thumbs while avoiding each other’s gazes. The tension was broken, however, when Mika came back with two cups and a kettle of green tea. They each poured themselves some and quietly sipped the warm beverage.

“S-So,” Midoriya said when Uraraka set her cup down, “H-How’s your tea?”

“It’s nice, actually. How’s yours?”

“Same. I mean, we both ordered the same drink.”

“Oh, right,” Uraraka said sheepishly. “Sorry.”

They resumed their silence for a few minutes until Midoriya said, “So, I found out that there’s going to be an all-new All Might figurine coming out next month. I just got on the waitlist for it yesterday.”

“Well, that sounds…exciting,” Uraraka said. Midoriya could sense her lack of interest in the subject.

“I…I’m sorry, Uraraka,” he said. “It’s just that…I don’t know what to talk about in this situation. I mean, I’ve never gone out with a girl before.”

“It’s alright, Deku,” Uraraka said. “To be honest, I’ve never done this either.”

“Really? Why wouldn’t someone want to go out with a girl as sweet and beautiful as you?” The question he had asked soon dawned on him and his face turned beet-red. “Oh God, I-I’m so sorry! I-I just thought m-m-maybe you’ve been on a couple outings. Not that I’m saying you’ve dated a lot of guys, it’s just that…Oh God, what was I thinking?!” He buried his face into his hands.

“PFTHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Midoriya moved his hands from his face when he heard Uraraka laugh. After a while, she ceased and placed her hand on his. “Deku,” she said with a smile, “it’s okay. I know you didn’t mean to imply that. But it was really sweet of you to say those things.”

“Oh,” Midoriya said. “Well…you’re welcome.”

“Here are your meals!” The announcement caused both Midoriya and Uraraka to turn and see Mika holding a plate in each hand. “Enjoy,” she said, setting them down carefully. Midoriya could smell the meaty aroma of his deep-fried pork. It came with a side of shredded cabbage. Meanwhile, Uraraka’s mouth watered at the sight of her chicken katsu, which also came with shredded cabbage and sliced tomato wedges.

Using her chopsticks, Uraraka picked up a piece of the chicken and ate it. Her eyes widened when the juicy meat and the spices hit her taste buds. “Wow, this is really good!” She picked up another piece. “Hey, Deku, you wanna try it?”

“Huh?” Midoriya asked. It took him a few seconds to remember what she had asked. “S-Sure, Uraraka.” He leaned forward across the table and took a bite from Uraraka’s outstretched chopsticks “Wow,” he said after swallowing, “that is really good.” He picked up a piece of his own meal. “Do you want one as well, Uraraka?”

“Sure!” she exclaimed. Uraraka opened her mouth and bit down on the slice of pork that was between Midoriya’s chopsticks. She chewed on it slowly with closed eyes. “Wow, that’s delicious!” She opened her eyes again and turned her attention to Midoriya, who was staring at her with an odd expression on his face. “Deku,” Uraraka asked. “Is something wrong?”

“Huh?” Midoriya said. “Oh, sorry, Uraraka. Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.”

The rest of the meal went well. Midoriya and Uraraka each enjoyed their meals and talked casually like two good friends. Uraraka was even kind enough to share a few of her tomato wedges. Meanwhile, Mina and Eri were both keeping a watchful eye on the two students. Mina turned to the little girl and whispered, “See, the strategy is to get them to calm down and make them feel comfortable around each other. And when the time is right,” she continued with a smile while Eri drank apple juice from her cup, “we reel in the prize.”

After a good twenty-five minutes, Midoriya and Uraraka rested against the back of their seats with their plates empty and their bellies full. “That was delicious,” Uraraka said while patting her stomach, “I don’t think I can eat another bite.”

“Same here,” Midoriya said.

“So, did you two enjoy your meals?” The two friends turned to see Mika standing before them with a smile on her face.

“Yes we did,” the two said in unison.

“Excellent! Now, before you two pay and leave, I would like to know if you would be interested in participating in our annual Biscuit Challenge.”

“Biscuit Challenge?” Midoriya asked.

“It’s a contest this restaurant hosts every year on Valentine’s Day for couples.” Mika showed them a cup filled with chocolate-covered biscuit sticks. “The challenge is to gently put one end of the biscuit in your mouth while your partner does the same with the other end. Then, you keep biting into the stick until either of you stop or the biscuit breaks off. The shorter the distance, the greater the prize.”

Midoriya and Uraraka looked at each other before glancing back at Mika. “And what has to happen in order to get the top prize?” Uraraka asked.

Mika smiled and said, “Well, in order to win the top prize, there would have to be no trace of the biscuit between you two. In other words, you would have to be kissing.”

Midoriya’s face reddened when Mika finished explaining the rules. 'Me…Uraraka….K-K-K-KISS?!’ he thought in panic. If they kissed, what would happen to them in the future? Would they still be considered friends?

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Mika said abruptly. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. Maybe this was a bit too much to ask-”

“We’ll do it!” Uraraka exclaimed, causing many of the other patrons to turn their heads in confusion.

“U-U-Uraraka?” Midoriya asked.

“W-We don’t really have to fully kiss, Deku,” she said. “W-We’ll just stop with whatever we feel comfortable with. A-And besides, it would be cool to win something.”

Midoriya thought about it: it would be nice to do something out of his comfort zone. And even if they didn’t kiss, they would win something nice. “O-Okay, let’s do it!” he said with confidence.

“Excellent!” Mika exclaimed with delight. She pulled out a biscuit stick from the cup and handed it to Uraraka. Uraraka lightly placed one end of the stick in her mouth while Izuku placed the other end in his. Both students gulped nervously at how close they were to each other.

Eri and Mina were glancing over to try and catch a glimpse of the two students. “Now, Eri,” Mina said with a smirk, “the real fun begins.”

“I….I guess I’ll go first,” Midoriya said.

“S-Sure,” Uraraka replied. Midoriya began by taking a few small bites before pausing. Uraraka took it as her cue to start biting, inching closer and closer until there was about four inches left. Gulping, the two rose up in their seats, careful not to break the stick as they did. They soon began simultaneously chewing on the stick, their faces growing redder and redder by each inch. Unbeknownst to them, their hands started to get closer as well.

After a few agonizing minutes, Midoriya and Uraraka found themselves with half an inch of the stick between them. They were so close to each other that the tips of their noses were touching. As they continued to stare at each other, their faces became a dark shade of red. They immediately froze, each of them afraid to make the first move.

Around them, the other patrons and even the staff paused at what they were doing and looked on in curiosity. Even Mina and Eri were covering their mouths to silence their squeals of delight.

“S-So,” Mika said, “d-do you two give up?”

Uraraka blinked in surprise at Mika’s words. It was then that her mind was set: she was not going to back down from this challenge. There was no way she would give up. She slowly opened her mouth, ready to take the final bite while many of the patrons, including Mina and Eri, hitched their breaths in anticipation.

“Yo, Midoriya! Uraraka! What’s up?” Kaminari’s voice called out from behind them.

“GAH!” Both students jumped apart from each other while the last bit of the stick landed on the table. Some patrons sighed in disappointment. Mina and Eri, however, looked devastated. The former made a mental note to make the Electricity User pay for interfering with her plans.

“K-K-Kaminari, J-Jiro,” Uraraka stuttered, “W-W-What are you two doing here?”

“Remember that incident last month when the scaffolding from that building fell and this idiot tackled me out of the way from getting crushed?” Jiro asked, pointing a thumb at Kaminari. “Well, apparently I owe him a favor, so he brought me to this restaurant.”

A sudden cough caused the four of them to turn their attention toward Mika. “Well, it’s a shame you didn’t complete the challenge,” she said, causing Midoriya and Uraraka to blush, “but you two did win a free meal voucher for this restaurant!”

“We’ll use it for our meal, please,” Midoriya said, glancing downward. Both students were red in the face and could barely look at each other. With the meal all paid for, they quickly grabbed their things and left the restaurant.

“You think I interrupted something between them?” Kaminari asked. The Earphone Jack User only shook her head while they went to their table.

“I can’t believe that electric-brained moron ruined that part of the plan!” Mina exclaimed once she had paid their waitress. “That whole biscuit challenge was the reason I suggested this restaurant to your Mama.” She looked at Eri, who had an expression of sadness and disappointment on her face. “But don’t lose heart, Eri,” she continued while they made their way to the doors, “there’s still one plan I have for your Papa and Mama. If it doesn’t get them to confess and kiss, I don’t know what wi-”

“Pinky? Short Stack?”

Mina and Eri looked up, only for their eyes to widen when they saw Bakugou and a slim girl with fawn-colored hair standing next to him. Mina recognized the girl from the Provisional Hero License Exam last year. She had been part of the group from Shiketsu High School.

“Were you two spying on Deku and Round-Face?”

“Never mind what we’re doing here,” Mina said. “What are you doing here with…I’m so sorry,I just can’t seem to remember your name.”

“It’s alright,” the girl said. “Name’s Camie Utsushimi, Baku-bae’s girlfriend.” Mina gaped at the news.

“How many times have I told you not to call me 'bae’?” Bakugou asked through gritted teeth.

“Aw, but it totes suites you, bae,” Camie said before turning her attention back to Mina. “And you are?”

“Mina Ashido. I’m one of Bakugou’s classmates,” the Acid User said before glancing down at Eri. “And this little one is Eri. She lives with me, Bakugou, and the rest of our classmates.” She noticed Camie’s confused look. “After a few of us rescued her from some villains, the principal put us in charge of her.”

“Oh,” Camie said before her smile returned. She knelt down and smiled at Eri. “Hey, Eri. Name’s Camie. Nice to meet you.” Upon her greeting, Camie saw Eri scuffle behind Mina’s leg and cling to it in fear. Camie extended an open palm. “It’s okay, Eri. I know Bakugou. You can totes trust me.”

After a few moments of thought, Eri decided to make her way toward Camie, stepping hesitantly until she placed her hand in hers. Camie’s hand was soft and smooth like Uraraka’s. Eri looked into Camie’s eyes and saw trust and comfort, which caused her to ease up. Camie’s gaze moved to her horn. “OMG, Eri, your horn is totes adorable!” Eri giggled at her sudden excitement. Camie touched it gently while maintaining her smile at Eri, who returned said smile in response.

Mina met Bakugou’s signature glare. He got in her face and whispered, “Tell anyone about her, even Kirishima, and you’re dead, Pinky.”

Mina only gave an evil smile at Bakugou’s threat. “Oh, don’t worry, Bakugou. As long as you remain a good boy and don’t tell Midoriya and Ochako about us following them, nobody has to know about you and your girlfriend.” She said the last word in a sing-song voice. Bakugou only scowled, his cheeks turning a bright pink. “Well,” Mina said, taking Eri by the hand, “it was nice to meet you Camie, but we have to go. Say 'bye’, Eri.”

“Bye, Ms. Camie. Bye, Kacchan,” Eri said before she followed Mina through the restaurant doors.

“It was nice to meet Mina,” Camie said, watching the two of them leave. “And Eri was totes adorable.”

“Yeah, she’s really precious,” Bakugou said through gritted teeth.

Midoriya and Uraraka were walking around the city with red faces. Even after they had left the restaurant, they had avoided looking at each other out of embarrassment for participating in that challenge.

After walking for almost half an hour, they came upon a park with a large gazebo in the middle. Looking around, they saw families enjoying the sunshine or playing, couples holding hands or dancing, and a band playing music in the gazebo. The two students noticed an empty bench close to them and decided to take a break.

It was after a few minutes of silence that Uraraka finally spoke up. “Deku, I,” she began before taking a deep breath to steady herself. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable back at the restaurant. I wasn’t thinking about your feelings and-”

“No, Uraraka, don’t.” Midoriya said. “You shouldn’t apologize. I agreed to take part in that contest with you. You just seemed so happy that I didn’t want to disappoint you by saying 'no’. And besides,” he added before glancing at Uraraka with a smile, “we got a free meal out of it.”

Uraraka couldn’t help but smile along with Midoriya. No matter the situation or how upset she was, she could always count on his smile and kind words to make anything seem better than it was. It was one of the many reasons why she liked him so much. “So,” she said after a minute of silence, “how about we put the incident behind us and just enjoy the rest of the day?”

“Sounds great,” Midoriya said, still maintaining his contagious smile.

“Alright, all you happy couples out there!” The lead singer of the band called out. “Since it’s Valentine’s Day, we’re gonna be playing some love ballads for you. First on our lineup is the song 'L-O-V-E’ performed by our very own Pat Cole!”

A middle-aged man walked up to the microphone and waved at those who were applauding. He nodded to the band, who began to play a classic jazz tune. Pat then snapped his fingers and began to sing.

As the song began, many couples began to swing and sway to the beat of the music. Even Midoriya and Uraraka were bopping to the rhythm and smiling. Midoriya turned to Uraraka and an image of the two of them dancing together popped into his mind. His face turned a shade of red at the thought, but something inside him told him to do something he had never done before: ask a girl to dance with him. 'I mean,’ he thought, 'it would just be some dancing between friends, nothing more.’

As the song reached it’s instrumental bridge, Midoriya knew that this was the moment to ask. He stood up, turned to Uraraka, and asked, “U-Uraraka…w-would you like to dance? I-I mean, i-i-it’s okay if you don’t want. I-I-I just-”

“Sure.”

“Huh?” Midoriya asked.

“Sure,” Uraraka repeated before taking his hand. “I’d love to dance.”

“Oh,” Midoriya said in surprise. “G-Great.” He led her to the brick pathway and placed his right hand against her waist. Uraraka placed her left hand on his right shoulder, with her pinkie raised in order to prevent him from floating away. They began to sway to the music as Pat picked up on the song.

While the music continued to play, Uraraka and Midoriya both began to calm down and smile at each other. Both soon laughed a bit at how much fun they were having, even if they were just swaying and not actually dancing.

The song came to an end and the two friends clapped along with everyone else when Pat Cole took a bow and returned to his seat and instrument. “Thanks, Pat!” The lead singer of the band said.

Mina and Eri were hiding in a bush near the pathway, watching Midoriya and Uraraka. “And you’re sure this will work, Auntie?” Eri asked.

“Trust me, sweetie, it will,” Mina said with a smile. “I gave the band a hefty tip to play a song I requested. Your Mama and Papa will be kissing in no time.”

“And now,” the lead singer announced, “we’ll be playing one of our hits, 'You are in Love’.” He picked up a guitar and started strumming it. After a few seconds, he sang.

Many couples moved closer as they danced to the slow rhythm, Midoriya and Uraraka among them. Midoriya placed both hands around Uraraka’s waist while Uraraka placed her hands on Midoriya’s shoulders. Once they felt comfortable, they began to move in a circle.

Uraraka and Midoriya looked at each other and soon realized how close their faces were. She was able to make out the smallest freckle on his face while he was able to make out the scent of her lavender perfume. Uraraka looked into Midoriya’s green eyes and saw the boy who had saved her when they first met. The boy whose words and determination gave her the strength to continue on with her dream. The boy… she had feelings for, but had pushed them away so she could become a great hero, just like him.

Midoriya was looking into Uraraka’s eyes and saw the girl who always saw the good in things. The girl who always greeted the day with a smile. The girl…who he had feelings for, but had pushed them aside because he felt that she deserved someone better than him.

Looking at each other, they lost track of everything else. A new sensation built up inside both of them. Neither one could tell what it was, but that it felt strangely good.

“Uraraka,” Midoriya whispered. “T-There’s something I have to-”

“Ochako.”

“Huh?” Midoriya asked in confusion.

Ochako only looked at him. “That’s my first name: Ochako.”

“Oh…okay,” Midoriya said.

Almost on instinct, Uraraka and Midoriya closed their eyes and slowly leaned in toward each other, tempting to close the gap between their lips.

“ACHOO!”

Uraraka and Midoriya retracted from each other in surprise. “You heard that, right?” Midoriya asked.

“Yeah,” Uraraka said, “and it sounded very familiar.”

“It came from over there,” Midoriya added, pointing to a bush on his right. The two of them walked over and were surprised to find a certain one-horned angel and a girl with pink skin and pink hair hiding there with their backs turned to them. “Eri? Mina?” Midoriya asked.

Mina and Eri whipped right around to see Midoriya and Uraraka staring at them. “Midoriya! Ochako!” Mina exclaimed with false excitement. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We were spending time together,” Uraraka said before her features went dark. “Why are you two hiding in the bushes? And spying on us?” She picked up the set of binoculars next to the bush.

“Well,” Mina said while Eri fidgeted nervously. “You see…the thing is, we…ummm…”

Midoriya crossed his arms and frowned. “I believe you two have some explaining to do,” he said.

“So, let me get this straight,” Midoriya said after Mina had told them the whole story. “This entire excursion was just a set-up to make Uraraka and I confess our feelings for each other and kiss?” Mina and Eri nodded in unison.

“I cannot believe you, Mina!” Uraraka exclaimed while glaring at the Acid User. “This was highly irresponsible and downright manipulative. And to top it all off, you got Eri involved in it. I mean, what were you thinking, dragging her into something like this?”

“Mama, stop!” Eri cried out. “It’s not Auntie Mina’s fault, it’s mine.” At this revelation, Midoriya’s and Uraraka’s eyes widened in shock. “I saw how you and Papa got nervous around each other and I thought that it was because you loved each other, but were afraid to show it. I wanted you to show your love to each other so we could be more like a family. That’s why I asked Auntie Mina for help. Don’t punish her, punish me!” At this, Eri couldn’t stop the flow of tears that ran down her face.

Midoriya’s and Uraraka’s features immediately softened. They both looked at each other with concern and understanding before directing their attention back at the little girl. “Sweetheart,” Midoriya said in a calm manner. “Do you know why Mama and I were so upset about this whole thing?” Eri shook her head. “It was because we felt like we were being used and it made us feel uncomfortable knowing that. You should never try to force something onto two people because it might damage the relationship they already have and that could hurt them in more ways than one.”

“But that doesn’t mean we don’t love you any less, honey,” Uraraka said, kneeling down and placing her hand on Eri’s cheek to wipe her tears away. “And we are proud of you for being honest and admitting your mistakes. And just because Papa and I aren’t together doesn’t mean we are less of a family.”

“Am…am I going to be punished?” Eri asked through her sniffles.

Midoriya and Uraraka once again looked at each other and nodded. “No,” Uraraka said. “We think you’ve been punished enough and you seem to have learned your lesson. But if you do this again, there will be consequences. Understand?” Eri nodded.

The two students pulled Eri into a tight embrace. “Now then,” Midoriya said once the trio finished hugging, “how about we all go home?” Eri and Uraraka nodded; the sun was going down and it had been a long day. Eri took a hand each and walked between them.

“Well,” Mina said, who was walking alongside Uraraka, “today certainly has been interesting, huh?”

“Oh, don’t think you’re off the hook just yet, Mina,” Uraraka said while glaring at the Acid User. “You’re still in trouble for getting Eri involved.”

“Wait, what?”

After the four of them returned to Alliance Heights, the rest of the day was uneventful. When asked by their fellow classmates how their excursion had been, Uraraka and Midoriya merely stated that they’d had fun. Of course, there was an incident later on in which Kaminari sustained injuries for blabbing about Bakugou dating Camie Utsushimi.

“Now, Eri,” Midoriya said once they had tucked her into bed, “what did we learn?”

“Don’t play matchmaker,” Eri said while clutching her Deku plushie.

“Exactly,” Uraraka said before leaning over and kissing her horn gently. “Okay, munchkin. Good night.”

With that, Eri rested her head and closed her eyes. Midoriya and Uraraka walked back slowly in order to not wake her. It was only after they had closed the door behind them that they started laughing. “Wow,” Uraraka said, “she certainly is something, huh?”

“Tell me about it,” Midoriya said before shaking his head. “We’re going to have to watch our backs around her from now on.”

After a few minutes of laughing, they calmed themselves. “Hey, Deku,” Uraraka said, her tone becoming more serious. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, what is it?”

Uraraka gulped. “When we danced…did you feel anything unusual? Like something warm?”

Midoriya hesitated at her question. “Y-Yeah,” he replied.

“I see,” Uraraka said. “Truth be told, I’ve felt it before in the past.”

“Y-You have?” Midoriya asked. “W-When?”

“Well…” Uraraka’s face turned bright pink. “It happens whenever I look at you or see you in action.” She looked him right in the eyes. “Because the truth is…I…I really like you, Deku!”

Midoriya’s eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything.

“I’ve liked you for a very long time, Deku,” Uraraka continued. “Ever since you saved me during the Entrance Exam, I started having these feelings that I couldn’t explain at the time. But after I got to know you more and saw you in action, I began to understand them more. You never seem to lose hope in the darkest of times, you’re always willing to help those in need, and you always give me the strength to accomplish my own goal. It’s because of who you are and what you do that I understood that these feelings I have for you are more than just liking you as a friend.”

“But when I realized I liked you more than as a friend, I knew that in order for us to accomplish both our dreams, I had to push aside these feelings. And besides,” she added, “I figured you deserved someone better than me. I mean, I’m just some plain, boring girl who can’t even- Eep!”

Midoirya pulled her into a tight embrace. “Uraraka, stop,” Midoriya said softly. “I don’t see you as some plain, boring girl. You’re the most amazing girl I’ve ever met in my life. I’ve always admired how you see the good in every situation and greet the day with a smile. Whenever I begin to lose hope, you’re always there for me. And just like how I give you the strength to work toward your goal, you give me the strength to achieve mine.” Uraraka couldn’t help but smile at Midoriya’s words.

“Truth be told,” Midoriya continued, “I also pushed my feelings for you aside because I felt that you deserved someone way better than me, like Iida or Todoroki. I mean, who would want to be with a nobody like me? A late bloomer in regards to his Quirk who-”

Uraraka broke away from the embrace and placed her hands on Midoriya’s cheeks. She gave him a stern look before speaking. “I’m going to stop you right there, Deku, because there are a few things I need to tell you. First, I don’t ever want to hear you say that about yourself. You are an amazing person who is selfless, caring, brave, honest, and who is willing to fight for what he believes in, no matter what. Understand?” She waited for Midoriya to nod before she continued. “Second, Iida is a great guy, but he’s like a brother to me. As for Todoroki, he’s a bit dense when it comes to girls. And Momo kinda has feelings for him already, so he’s off limits.”

Uraraka’s gaze softened as she continued. “And finally, stop calling me Uraraka. I told you at the park that my name is Ochako. I wouldn’t mind if you started using my first name.”

“O-Okay,” Midoriya said before taking ahold of Uraraka’s wrists and gently pulling her hands from his cheeks. “A-And you can call me Izuku. I mean, that’s i-i-if you want. I-I don’t want to p-pressure you or anything. I mean, I-I’m fine with just Deku.”

“S-Sure,” Uraraka said. “I-I mean, we can use our first names whenever we’re alone or if we’re with Eri.”

“Oh,” Midoriya said before calming himself down. “O-Okay.”

The two continued to stand in silence, still holding hands, until Uraraka spoke up. “So…what are we now? Are we friends? Are we something more?”

“I’m not sure, exactly,” Midoriya said. “I like you a lot, Ura-…Ochako, but I don’t want to ruin what we already have.”

Uraraka’s eyes lit up. “Then how about this,” she started. “We make a pact that, no matter what happens between us, we’ll always be friends. I don’t want to ruin what we have either, Izuku, but I’m not afraid to try and see if we could be more than just friends.”

Midoriya thought about it for a moment. A smile grew on his face and he said, “Yeah, no matter what, we’ll still be friends.”

They stood there, smiling at each other, before Midoriya spoke. “So…I guess we’re dating now?” he asked.

“I-I guess so,” Uraraka said.

The two of them realized how close they were to each other. Uraraka had her hands on Midoriya’s chest while he had his hands on her hips. The heavy breathing between them caused both their cheeks to heat up.

“O-Ochako,” Midoriya whispered, “I-Is it okay if I…”

“S-Sure,” she whispered back, knowing full well what he was asking permission for. Gulping, Midoriya began leaning toward her, his eyes slowly closing while she followed suit.

After what felt like an eternity, their lips finally connected with each other. It was a clumsy first kiss; it was off-centered and hesitant at the same time. But to the two students, it was perfect. They continued the awkward kiss until they pulled apart for some air.

“I-I’m sorry, Ochako,” Midoriya said. “I’m sure it wasn’t the best kiss ever.”

“It’s okay, Izuku,” Uraraka said. They stood in silence again before she continued with, “We…We could have a do-over, if you want.”

“O-Okay,” Midoriya said. And before he knew it, Uraraka had pressed her lips against his. Midoriya stiffened at first, but after a few seconds he kissed her back. Uraraka took the opportunity to move her hands from Midoriya’s chest to his shoulders. For the two friends-turned-lovers, time stood still. The rest of the world could go about in the same way; what mattered most was this moment with just themselves and no one else.

Neither of them noticed a smirking Mina taking pictures of them on her phone from the corner of the hallway, nor a smiling Eri peeking through the open bedroom door.

Bonus Content 1

Kyoka Jiro was lying on her bed and looking up at the ceiling. It had been one hell of a day: First, she was asked by Kaminari to go out for lunch. Then, the blonde idiot had to interrupt whatever Midoriya and Uraraka were doing at the restaurant. After that, he had ordered the spiciest meal at the restaurant. He had screamed so loud that they were thrown out. And of course, Kaminari just had to open his mouth about Bakugou dating that Utsushimi girl. That, of course, resulted in Bakugou blasting him with his Quirk. Jiro only sighed and draped her right arm over her eyes. At least the day was over.

A sudden ping from her phone caught her attention. She unlocked her screen and her eyes widened at what she saw. It was a picture of her and Kaminari taken while they were walking to the restaurant. Kaminari was holding the phone with one hand while his other was placed on Jiro’s right hip. Jiro herself looked tense while she glanced away from both Kaminari and the phone.

It was while looking at the picture that Jiro remembered that there were some moments about the day that were good. Like how he wanted her to choose the restaurant so she could enjoy herself. Or how they shared similar interests when it came to music. And there was that moment when he lightly kissed her on the cheek and thanked her for spending time with him before she went to bed.

Jiro lowered her phone onto her chest and rested both hands on it before closing her eyes. “He’s an idiot…” A small smile formed on her lips.

Bonus Content 2

Earlier that day…

Inko Midoriya was at her favorite cafe, waiting for her date to arrive. She was nervous; this was the first time she had ever tried dating since she met Hisashi almost twenty years ago. One might say it had been love at first sight. She always knew how to make him laugh, shared her secrets with him, and was more than willing to help him in any way she could. Hisashi, in turn, made her feel safe and warm, knew how to make her smile, and cared for her enough to let her into his life. Her features saddened when she remembered how happy she was with him before the unfortunate incident.

Seventeen years ago, Hisashi had been called to handle a hostage situation in downtown Tokyo involving a rich CEO’s family and a gang of villains. The mission was a success, but Hisashi had sacrificed himself to save a child from falling debris. Inko remembered how devastated she had been when she heard the news; it was like her life had ended. Seven months later, Izuku was born.

When he was old enough to ask where his father was, Inko couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth. So she fabricated a story that Hisashi was off in the States doing hero work. Fortunately for her, little Izuku believed it. When he got older however, Inko suspected that her son knew the truth, but didn’t want to upset her by telling her so.

Truth be told, Inko had been contemplating dating again for years. However, she always held back in fear of her son being hurt by the idea that she was replacing his father with someone else. But after seeing how Izuku looked at that Uraraka girl, she figured that now was as great a time as any to start getting back on the market.

The bell over the entrance rang, indicating the arrival of a new customer. Inko looked up above the crowd and smiled when she saw her date approaching. “Sorry I’m late,” he said before sitting down, “traffic was a nightmare.”

“It’s quite alright,” Inko said with a warm smile. “I hope you don’t mind; I ordered your coffee for you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, taking a sip of the caffeinated drink. “It’s delicious.” Setting the cup down, he glanced at Inko. “To be honest, I was a bit surprised that you agreed to meet me here.”

“Well, I figured since my Izuku is growing up and might leave the house one day, it was time to start dating again. And…” She looked at him before continuing, “I wanted to personally thank you for everything that you’ve done for me and Izuku.”

Her date nodded. “It’s no trouble at all, Ms. Midoriya.”

To his surprise, Inko giggled and placed her hand on top of his before saying, “Please, no need for formalities. Call me Inko.”

The man returned the smile and placed his other bony hand over hers. “Very well, Inko,” he said, “call me Toshinori.”

Yes, yes, YES! IZUOCHA IS FINALLY CANON! And we are finally introduced to both KatCam and InkoMight (or whatever the internet has called that ship)! This was both exciting and exhausting to write, guys. I hope you all enjoyed it.

For those of you who haven’t read the latest chapter of my RWBY fic, I will be taking a month-long vacation from writing. Why? Because RWBY and My Hero Academia are equally demanding when it comes to get a story updated! Seriously, I love you guys, but even authors need a break once in a while. But don’t fret; this doesn’t mean I’m done with this amazing story. You will hear from me before the end of August.

Huge, huge, HUGE kudos to RD1042 for editing and giving me tips within such a short time frame. If you are reading this RD, I cannot thank you enough for what you did for both me and this fic. Oh; and if you guys want more BNHA goodness, check out his story “Keep Talking and Somebody Explodes”. Let’s just say it involves a certain short-tempered student and his explosive personality.

And of course, don’t forget to favorite, review, and follow this story if you want more sweet goodness. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to someplace warm and relaxing.

Oh, and one more thing, if you spot me at Boston Comic Con on Saturday August 17th, 2019, I may just put your idea into a future chapter of Family Matters. (Hint: I will be dressed as the Joker).

Until then, this is AnimeFan299110 encouraging you all to go beyond…PLUS ULTRA!

[sope-and-shine]

Don’t Save Me, I’m Fine: Prologue

->  Pairings: Yoongi x OC // Hoseok x OC // OT7 X OC’s -> Save Me! AU // Fluff // Angst  -> Word Count: 2.4k -> Summary: After finally bringing all of them together and settling the loop once and for all, the boys find themselves creating a new chapter in their lives. They rekindle friendships, form new bonds, and try to start over again with the 7 of them all together again. Everything is fine until one day of fun turns into a day that just won’t seem to end. Friends need help, but what if they don’t want it? -> Warning(s): Angst // Future mentions of death // Future mentions of suicide // Future mentions of blood, violence, and toxic relationships // Mild and vulgar language in future chapters // This story does continue where the Save Me webtoon left off, so there will be spoilers and our own interpretation of how things may have happened where the story doesn’t specify or how things may have progressed afterwords with our own characters. I do not recommend this story if any of these mentions could be harmful for you. I’d hate for someone to get into the story and then not finish if it becomes too much.

A/N: Admin Belle and I have been working on this for almost a year now, and we’re both very excited to share it with everyone. This story has gone through several plot changes, theories, and depictions of how exactly this loop will work for us. I really hope everyone likes what we’ve done! ~ Fae  

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The seven boys watch the sun as it descends into the ocean, taking the weight on their shoulders with it. They spent the previous night in Jin’s empty apartment counting down the seconds, cheering in victory when April 11th turned into the 12th. Tears were shed in happiness that the timeline was back on track, and sadness for everything that they had put each other through. For the first time in what felt like forever, there was no shattering, no screams, and no one trying to pull them back. No more days spent racing the clock. No more days hoping and praying everything would be okay. The countless hours spent writing and rewriting their fates was finally done for. 

They were free…

Shoulder to shoulder, sitting on the edge of a stone wall that overlooks the sea, Jimin is the first to break their comfortable silence, “What do we do now?” 

“What do you mean?” Hoseok asks, lifting his head from Yoongi’s shoulder.

“Now that everything is okay, where do we go from here?” Jimin asks, playing with the ends of his sweater. It all felt too good to be true. One wrong move and the day they’d been reliving over and over again would just become another day to relive again.

“We live our lives the way we want to.” Taehyung says. His boxy smile is bright, and it’s the first one in a while that isn’t forced or fake. No more tiptoeing around his father, no more worrying for his sister’s safety, no more late nights just hoping his dad would be asleep when he arrived. The past few years have been rough for everyone, especially Jin in the last ‘few days’. Just being together like this again was like a new beginning for everyone. However, it would seem Taehyung wasn’t the only member of the group excited about the news. 

“Guk, are you crying?!” Taehyung laughs. Sure enough, Jeongguk - who sits next to him - has a silly smile on his face and red rimming his eyes from where the tears had been falling silently.

“No!” The youngest protests, his voice cracking and tattling on him. He looks down to his lap and moves a hand to shield his face from the view of his elder, “I just have something in my eye…”

“Leave the kid alone.” Yoongi grumbles, his hood resting on top of his head. He would never admit it, but the hood was really just a cover for his own tears. It covers most of his face, but Taehyung still manages to catch a glisten on his cheek.

The hyper boy slaps a hand on the recluse to his right, “You’re crying too!”

“Taehyung!” Yoongi is quick to turn to his friend in anger to shove him off, but Taehyung is even quicker. The younger boy is up and running away before the angry grandpa-man in his 20s can even land a hit on him, and Yoongi is quick to shuffling out of Hoseok’s side hug to chase after him.

Namjoon leans back on his hands and sighs with everything he has, “You’re all too much…”

Even with the sounds of Taehyung’s screams and pleas to the older man to spare him, the sounds of the boys laughing at them, and the sounds of the waves crashing below them; this time together was still one of the most peaceful moments of Namjoon’s life. All of his friends together again, spending time together, just enjoying life together how life should be enjoyed.

After the boys have all settled back into their places and the sun has finally gone down past the horizon, Jin stands from his spot on the wall to head back into the city. “Let’s just go and watch the clock change, then we can get some sleep.” 

“Thank you.” Yoongi huffs. He’s still covered in sweat, not used to running for an entire 30 seconds like he had. 20 minutes had not being enough of a recovery time for his poor, grandpa-like persona. He and the rest follow Jin back to the truck to pile in for the ride home.

“Can we get some food first?” Taehyung asks, climbing into the truck bed with Jeongguk.

“Hey, who wants to be my cuddle buddy?” Jimin pouts playfully, a smile tucked into the corner of his mouth while scanning his eyes over all of his friends in hopes that one will agree to his request. None really want to answer him nor do they want to partake in the action, but Yoongi is the only one willing to speak up, “I will actually castrate you if you even try to touch me.”

Jimin puffs out his lips and makes grabby hands, “But Yoongi~”

The two have a stare down, Yoongi glaring while Jimin tries not to smile. The others around them ignore the exchange in favour of climbing into the car, the battle finally being settled when Yoongi turns away from the boy in front of him. “Get in the back with, Kookie.”

“Fine.” Jimin uses the tire as a step, pulls himself up, and hops over the side into the bed with the other two, “Make room for me!”

As the days kept coming, they all needed to work their way back into the world. Jeongguk had gone back to school with the encouragement of Jin and Namjoon. He was back in every class, including new weekend tutoring sessions to improve his math and English. He even went home just to test the waters a bit. It wasn’t completely new, and he was still anxious to be in the environment, but he was happy to be there anyways. Taehyung moved into a new apartment with his sister after finally leaving that godforsaken apartment. He got a small job working at a pet store a couple blocks away so he could still be close enough to his sister in the event that she would ever need him. Jimin and Hoseok had eventually found jobs despite the problems they carried with them; just the two of them working at a small dance studio looking for help. They worked with children since nobody else really wanted to, but neither of them really minded it all that much. Namjoon had dragged Yoongi to work at the gas station with him so neither of them would be alone anymore, and at least they’d be there to care for each other. Jin continued his job, working well with his coworkers now that he wasn’t stuck in time trying to save his friends. Now he could live his life as normally as possible. He could see his family again, take the time off to see them after so much time was spent away. There were so many people that he had yet to see because of the loop, and it felt like he had neglected those that he loved. But Jin would let the feeling pass, because he knew the truth…

…they all did.

As the days continue on, the boys began to pick up old conversations as they came into the picture. Guk found himself seeing his tutor two times a week rather than once on the weekend due to how much he genuinely enjoyed being there! Granted, it was only enjoyable because he already knew her before everything had happened, actually being a friend to him before she had graduated and moved to study abroad. She was nice, and didn’t reprimand him as most teachers usually did, she made him feel like he was in a familial environment and that made him happy.

Then there was Jimin and Hoseok. They figured they would get attached to some of the children at the studio, but they never expected some of the kids to be this cute! It was easy to love them, especially when they were all so good at dancing. A pair of twins - one boy and one girl - had definitely caught their attention with how cute they were together. Always insisting to work with each other and helping the other out. They even tried to sneak snacks to each other during practice(But that ended in a long talk about how you could hurt yourself eating while practicing). They both had brown hair - the sister having longer hair than her brother, big hazel eyes, and cute dimples that would appear from time to time. All in all, they were cute; however, the surprise got even better when they saw who was picking them up.

In a turn of events, Jin’s sister was actually the one who was picking up the kids, and they hadn’t noticed until Jin came by one day to bring them lunch. It was an emotional reunion for both siblings, especially with Jin thinking the kids were hers at first. Thinking for even a moment that he had a niece or a nephew was a big deal - let alone to have two! - but she was quick to stop him before he got overwhelmed. After explaining that she was just picking up her godchildren to babysit for the afternoon like she did most days, the two finally got to spend a day together as siblings - with the children present of course - and it was nice for the both of them to be together again.

Yoongi and Namjoon also hadn’t expected to see old faces. One of the cars that had pulled up one day was an old buddy of Namjoon’s from high school, someone that would hang around with both of them on the occasion. It was that typical, ‘I haven’t seen you since high school!’, ‘How have you been?’, ‘We should totally catch up!’ kind of thing. Despite mistakes and differences there may have been in the past, it was nice to see that he had grown since those times. And it was easy to accept the offer for free booze, so why not give him a chance?

Everything in the world was right now. 

Everything was working well for them. 

It was Saturday, and it was the only day of the week all of the boys could be together all day. They had agreed that one day a week was necessary for keeping their friendship - and the universe - at bay. Saturday’s were always fun for that reason, and the boys couldn’t be happier. It was later in the day, and they were all settling in for the night on the floor of Jin’s living room. Everyone was winding down despite the slightly early hour of 7:45, and the takeout in front of them smelled so good. The laughing and the movie playing in the background really drowned out everything, and Jin was sure his neighbor’s would complain sooner or later for the noise. 

The serial killer on the screen slashes into the teenage victim, mutilating her as his 2nd victim within 5 minutes. A few boys are slightly bothered - but the sight isn’t terrible enough that they can’t bear to watch at all - there are the few that are completely unbothered by the scenes in front of them, and then there’s Hoseok who is hidden behind his pillow trying to block out the grotesque scene before him, “How come we always watch horror movies?” 

“Because your reactions are the best!” Taehyung says, munching on his popcorn. Hoseok glares at him and sends a pillow his way, knocking the popcorn bowl right out of his lap and sending its contents all over the floor. Taehyung, not amused by his hyungs antics retaliates with another pillow right back at him. The two continue their petty fighting until receiving a pillow upside the head from the youngest of the group, “Stop it! This is the best part!”

Yoongi - who’d been suffering in silence this whole time from his blanket shield - finally speaks up, “How is this the best part?!”

The door to the room on the screen bursts open, banging against a wall and scaring everyone. The police officer heroine is hidden amongst the shelves with her gun in one hand and her other covering her mouth. Her partner is somewhere up top amongst the shadows as her back up, but the killer could still end them both. In the end, the heroine was able to end the night in peace with her partner at her side knowing the killer was locked up, but the ending scene left them knowing a sequel would be coming soon. 

“Well, that’s another movie that I’ll never watch again added to the last.” Hoseok sighs, laying his head against Jimin’s thigh on the couch. The small boy lets out a soft chuckle and pats his brother’s head, “It really wasn’t all that bad, hyung.”

“I think Yoongi disagrees,” Jin stares at his friend from his seat, watching the small rise and fall of the blanket. He shakes his head with amusement, “Nevermind. I think he’s sleeping.”

The boys start cleaning up around the living room, all avoiding the sleeping man lying on the floor. Even through the loud, piercing sound of the vacuum and the hearty laughs from his friends, the man was not stirred from his slumber. All of them were both equally disturbed and surprised that he managed to remain peaceful through it all. 

“How long do you think he’ll stay like that?” Namjoon asks from his spot at the kitchen sink, staring into the open space of the living room of the studio apartment. In the midst of all the now clean space, Yoongi laid wrapped in his blanket without a care in the world.

Jeongguk - from the hall closet alongside the kitchen - shrugs as he puts the vacuum away. “Who knows.”

The others take their seats once again to continue their conversations, discussing what they should do for the rest of the night. In the distance, the sound of a siren is blaring. It’s whining getting closer and closer, more prominent to their ears as it reaches them. Taehyung becomes curious, “Do you guys hear that?”

Yoongi lifts his head in curiosity, “It sounds like an ambulance or something.” He showed no sign of fatigue at all, only the bed head from having his head submerged under the fabric of the blanket.

“Were you awake this whole time?! You bastard!” Jin yells, throwing his pillow in his direction.

“He’s right though… There are first responders here.” Jimin had moved from his seat to take a look outside. Down below at the bottom of the building were two police vehicles, a firetruck, and an ambulance with lights flashing. A crowd of people were formed around them and it looked pretty serious as another police cruiser shows up to the scene, “Someone must be hurt.”

Jin slumps in thought, “I hope it wasn’t the old lady on the first floor. She shares her cookies with me sometimes.” 

“I’m sure she’s fine Jin, maybe it’s something minor.” Namjoon says, trying to reassure his friend. It would’ve been reassuring, had it not been for the cold chill that swept through the room like a ghost. Chills down everyone’s spine as the room continued to grow colder and colder by the second. “Why did it get so cold?”

Jin had frozen in his spot, this feeling all too familiar to him. The feeling of an old friend he wished to never meet again, yet here it was with arms wide open for him. He knew… something wasn’t right. Lifting his head up, he tried to warn them of the danger ahead of them, but he - as well as the others - were already disappearing right in front of him. 

Slipping through the cracks of reality.

[alitaimagines]

Can you do a scenario where all might meets his girlfriend in high school, possibly like a POC girl like you did last time?? and they start dating but fast forward years later and their married. She sees all might fighting a villain and she they caught off the TV when she sees him getting extremely injured and when he comes home, he finds her sobbing while listening to the radio and watching videos of them when they were younger. I live for angst and then fluff.

Toshinori Yagi x Reader

Summary: “We’ve been together for years. I can’t lose you. Not now, not ever.” ( Listen to this song when you read the party scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUGFhVWPOFs )

You had been dating Toshinori since high school. Toshinori had been a bit of a wild card and everyone thought he was going to be a bachelor his entire life. The two of you had met at a party and while neither of you expected to still be together, you had been happily married for over a decade.

You were invited to a final send off party for all the 3rd years. You were all set to graduate within the next two days and you felt like for once in your life, you needed to let loose. 

The party was being hosted in the house of the a boy who you didn’t know. You were all encouraged to bring liquor as it was a high school party and no one was the age to buy it. You had brought a twelve pack of Mike’s Hard Lemonade. It was a starter drink for anyone who was a light weight. 

You sat around with the same cup of tequila as you mingled around. Students were already acting like they were drunk off their ass as they ushered themselves to different rooms in the house. To do what? You didn’t want to know.

“American girl! You should totally pick the next song!” A boy slurred into your ear as he gave you a napkin. “We need to shit to dance to since everyone in this party is acting lame!”

You laughed, “Sure. Just type this song in and you should be good to go!” 

You had written down “We be burning” by Sean Paul. It was a good song for everyone to dance to. Although it was totally out of the music element for Japan, you knew everyone would dance to it anyway. 

Just as you went for your second drink, you felt the first cup start to kick in. You had participated in a couple of rounds of beer pong as you continued to ask for you cup to be refilled. You friend had cautioned you to watch your drinking but did you really care? No, not really. 

“Hey, you’re really good at beer pong!” You heard a voice say from behind you. “You should really be my partner next time.”

You turned around to see Yagi Toshinori. He was in your class and although the two of you were classmates, you never spoke to each other. He was extremely popular amongst the girls and you had never been the type of flock the popular school crush. You were a bit more reserved and understood other people’s boundaries. 

“Thanks! Well, if they decide to have another round, I’ll call you over!” You said smiling as you slapped your hand on his shoulder. “I don’t think they are though.”

“Well, how about you dance the next song with me?” Toshinori asked as he held his hand out for you. It was the song you had suggested and all of the people flocked the living room floor. 

You grabbed his hand and put your arms around his neck. You started to grind on him slowly as you started to sing the words into his ears. (I really suggest you listen to the song or else it’s not going to make sense. It’s really just the beat of the song that you should listen too.)

“Everyday we be burnin’ not concernin’ what nobody wanna say. We be earnin’ dollars turning ‘cause we mind de pon we pay. More than gold and oils and diamonds– girls, we need dem everyday. Recognize it, we be pimpin as we ridin. ”

“I didn’t know you were this much of a great dancer,” Toshinori slurred as you continued to dance on him. “I would have asked you out to dance with me a long time ago. 

“I know your infatuation with American things so I should have mentioned that I am half American, the other half Mexican,” You giggled as you turned around to grind on him with your arse in his crotch area. 

Toshinori didn’t speak as he enjoyed the dance that was being given to him. He knew that if you weren’t as drunk as you were, he wouldn’t be getting the dance in the first place. If he wasn’t as drunk as he was, he wouldn’t have accepted it either. In the back of both your minds, the last bit of sober thoughts went away as you both accepted the last two shots of vodka. 

“How about we head back to my place? I need to lay down before I pass out,” Toshinori managed out as he grabbed your hand and led you outside of the house. 

“Maybe I can give you the dance I just gave you again. This time with less clothes on and you on a chair,” You whispered as he carried you bridal style. You slowly started to kiss him down to his collarbone and he just knew he had to get home. 

The next morning, you woke up in Toshinori’s bed. The birds chirping extremely loud and you felt like your head was about to explode. You felt a hand tighten against you as you finally started to regain your memory from last night. 

“Toshinori! Toshinori, get up!” You whispered as you shook him awake. 

He groaned and opened his eyes. Toshinori looking extremely rough as his hair was all over the place. You could say the same thing about you. Your hair standing up in different places and you breath reeked of alcohol. 

“Don’t tell me we did something last night,” Toshinori groaned as he finally got a good look at the two of you. “Please tell me we both consented to this.” 

You couldn’t help but laugh as you covered yourself with the blanket, “With the way we were last night, I don’t think either of us were sober enough to do anything.” 

You ran your hands through you hair as you tried to start gathering your things together. Before you could even step foot on the floor, Toshinori grabbed you and pulled you back on the bed. 

“What’s up?” You asked as he started to close his eyes. 

Toshinori shrugged, “You should stay a little longer. I know you live on campus so you have no one to come home too.” 

You thought for a second before giving in. You laid back down and Toshinori immediately cuddling you. His hand rubbing your sides as you laid your head on his chest. 

“I should really treat you to dinner soon. Have any plans later?” Toshinori asked. “You know, with you being my girlfriend and all.” 

You felt yourself blushing different shades of red. You knew he was bold but not that bold. 

“Sure,” You giggled as you ran your hand through his golden locks. 

You had been watching the TV intensely. There was a major attack in the downtown area. While everyone assumed that All Might was going to take care of it in a flash, the villain managed to strike him hard enough for him to go down in pain. 

“Toshinori, you need to come back home,” You whispered as you clutched your hand that held the beautiful promise ring. 

The two of you had already found out the consequences of his quirk recently. His body was about to start giving out if he didn’t stop fighting and while he was already training his next successor, you knew he would continue his pro hero work until he felt finished training Izuku. 

The camera of the news station panned into All Might as he was holding his left side. If his body gave out, the whole world would know his secret. His body showing the major consequences of his quirk and you begged him to start distancing himself from major city attacks but he never listened. 

“Fuck,” You whispered as you clutched your phone to your heart. “He’s going to be alright. He has to be alright.”

Suddenly, the TV cut out and the last thing you had seen was Toshinori being carried out on a stretcher. He wasn’t moving. Almost like he was dead. 

Your sobs continued as you felt your phone vibrate. It was a video message from your best friend. She had known the secret Toshinori and was probably texting you to check up on you. You looked at the video and you felt the sobs come even harder. 

It was the video of you and Toshinori at the stupid party that got the two of you together. It was blurry as hell as it had been recorded on one of those RCA Camcorders. You could see the two of you being completely wasted as you were dancing like an idiot on him. 

“Thought you would need to see this. I hope he’s alright.”

It soon turned into you watching videos of the two of you that you had on your phone. They were all different occasions but the genuine happiness made you cry even harder. 

You felt your sobs soon turn into you having an anxiety attack. You were gasping for air more than you actually cried. You heart was racing and you felt your mind being fogged. You had crashed up against the pillows as your anxiety attack put you to sleep. 

Toshinori walked into the house the next morning looking like he usually did. Small cuts on his face but after Recovery Girl worked around the clock to fix him, he walked out of the hospital with a sprained ankle as his major injury. He could see the videos of the two of you playing on the TV as he seen your tear stained face. The guilt immediately bubbling up. 

“Get up,” Toshinori whispered as he shook your leg. 

You jumped up and seen your husband looking down at you with a small smile. You tackled him into a hug as you sobbed into his shoulder. He knew you were worried out of your mind, as every wife had the right to be. 

“Don’t you do that ever again. What did I tell you? You need to slow down. I was worried sick but since you specifically told me never to call you while you were on duty, I didn’t try. Fuck Toshinori, remember what the doctors told you? Your body isn’t meant to handle those injuries anymore. You aren’t 25. You’re in your 40s! Sometimes, I feel like you don’t even listen to me anymore,” You lectured as your tears kept coming down. 

Toshinori slowly bent down on his knee as he took out a black box. Your back towards him as you didn’t feel like showing him your tears. 

“I’m sorry. You have every right to be mad at me. Just please, turn around,” He whispered as you turned around with an attitude. “I know I can’t fight like that anymore. After last night, Recovery Girl nearly killed me herself when she found out the status of my health. While I was covering from surgery, I had a dream of you. You were laying flowers on my grave next to Izuku. The two most important people in my life seeing me dead is not the life I want. This time I promise you, I will start to push myself to not fight every villain that attacks the city. I also want to ask you this question, will you marry me?” 

“It took your near death experience to finally realize that you can’t fight anymore? I swear I’m marrying an idiot. Yes, yes of course I’ll marry you!” You screamed as you hugged him. “It took you nearly two decades to ask!” 

Toshinori laughed quietly as he held you close. Having you in his life was all he needed now. Maybe nearly dying was his wake up call but seeing you in such a state of distress is something he never wanted to witness again.

-ALITA (requests open!!!)

[lilbeankiddo]

Cricket legends who played in the Indian Premier League

“It’s only a few people, administrators and umpires, who had some doubt,” Murali recalls about the controversy over his bowling action. “That is their opinion,  but someone’s opinion can’t be the rule. Doubt is part of life, that’s fair enough. But there are two sides to every story. An Australian university proved me right, in the end.

“If you leave the decision to the umpire, though, I don’t think that is fair. Not on the umpire and defi nitely not on the player. How can you see from the eyes and say that this is not right? Two people might see it diff erently. When you’re bowling, your arms rotate quicker than anything and you can’t see properly. So use the technology, see if what you’re saying is right, and then come to a conclusion. And then you can tell the bowler to change their action. These rules have been brought in aft er my incident, so things are done in diff erent ways. Now a bowler has a fair chance.

Cricket boards get millions from TV rights, the ICC pay you a lot. And who wants to take that money? Not the cricketers. Everything is politicised. In the 1990s, nobody wants to come to develop the game, so honest people do the work. Aft er the World Cup win in 1996, money started coming in by 2000, and in ten years’ time, they spoil all the game.

“We have good youngsters, but confi dence levels are going down. We used to be very confi dent. The most important thing is to get them mentally right. They have all the shots, but they don’t know how to make fi ft y, hundred or even a partnership. Those are the things that are lacking in the national side.” Since retirement, Murali has gone into manufacturing – his father made biscuits, while he has gone into aluminium cans. He’s also heavily involved with former manager Kushil Gunasekera’s charity, Foundation of Goodness. “The foundation helps people in the poorer areas, those parts of Sri Lanka aff ected by the Civil War and the 2004 Tsunami. We also have built sports facilities and helped run sports tournaments. “I was fortunate to play cricket, to play for Sri Lanka. When I had my troubles in Australia in 1995, the Sri Lankan people stood by me, supported me during those diffi cult years, where I worked hard to prove myself innocent of the charges. The people of Sri Lanka helped me a great deal and I thought then that I would do something to help them, too.

“I was actually there when the tsunami hit southern Sri Lanka in 2004. I was visiting a village near the coast with my wife and mother-in-law, delivering books for school children. We saw the sea was high in the distance, but suddenly people were running towards us. They didn’t know anything about tsunami, so when we asked them what was happening, they just said ‘the sea has come to land’. We ran away quickly. If we’d been 20 minutes later, the tsunami would have got us.”

Bringing up bats in the IPL

The development of young Australian cricketers hasn’t been quarantined from a fast-changing world. The difference from the system in the 1950s is dramatic but in recent years it’s occurred at a much quicker pace. The last exceptional Australian side began to disband when Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath retired in 2007. The first World T20 event was held later that year and up until then the development system for young Australian cricketers was evolving gradually. With the widespread growth of T20 leagues, the players now have an extra choice when it comes to earning a living and this also means having to choose a development direction from a more cluttered path. A young player now comes through a system that includes many structured net sessions, hours facing bowling machines or a coach wielding a “whanger”. All these sessions are closely monitored by a coach who has various technology aids to emphasise his point.

The system I grew up in had few structured net sessions and many hours of playing matches, whether they were in the backyard against my brother or at one of the many venues where pick-up games were available. There were no bowling machines, unless you count the thousands of balls thrown by our father, Martin. There were no whangers – we didn’t throw balls to the dog, we hit them and Champ gleefully chased them, diligently returning the missile – saliva and all – to his master.

The hours of playing matches were crucial in the development process. Without knowing it at the time, all sorts of information was being embedded in my brain which stood me in good stead when I later faced first-class and international bowlers. The coaching was at the weekend and it was from an excellent tutor in Lynn Fuller. This experience has led me to the conclusion that it is best to have good coaching, or none at all. Not having formal coaching allows a young cricketer to spend hours honing his skills and better understanding his own game. The careers of great players such as Sir Donald Bradman, Bill O’Reilly and Doug Walters all began in the bush where they unearthed their own particular way of developing skills.

As the modern young cricketer progresses, he reaches the stage of playing various level under-age matches and attending an academy. My academy was the backyard and the local playing fields. Soon after playing in my only under-age competition – an under 14 state carnival – I entered the realm of senior cricket, competing against men. This was a critical part of my development and it undoubtedly hastened my cricket education. On leaving school, I graduated to A-grade cricket in Adelaide where I competed with and against Test and interstate cricketers.

When Dennis Lillee walked into the Kingston Hotel in October of 1995, it was as if Dennis Lillee himself had walked into the Kingston Hotel. It was, for a Canberra kid, flat-out unbelievable. Dennis Lillee! In the Kingo! Our local! Even 26 years old and six schooners deep, I was the fan kid in Almost Famous when he clocks David Bowie. Lillee! It’s Dennis Lillee! My mate Pagey didn’t care. He bounded straight over. “Oi! Dennis Lillee!” declared Pagey and began yapping away like they were pals. And DK laughed at some bit of nonsense, and at the front of the bloke, and soon enough I was over there, in the great man’s orbit, shaking hands, unable to speak.

And he smiled that lop-sided Dennis Lillee smile, the one you’d seen on the beer ads, and said, “How are ya, son?” And I smiled back like a shy kid with Santa, and said nothing lest it come out a squeak. Mike Veletta was there too, laughing along with Pagey’s babble. Lillee’s fellow man of the west was in town to captain-coach the ACT Comets, the local boys playing their first season in the domestic one-day comp, the Mercantile Mutual Cup. Veletta was 31 and had played Tests and ODIs for Australia, and would’ve been a big enough deal for we cricket-mad locals. Turn up with Dennis Lillee and he was Mick Jagger’s wingman. Safe to say we didn’t get a lot of cricket in Canberra. Not the top stuff, anyway. We  did get the Prime Minister’s XI; Robert Menzies’ muse brought back to life by Bob Hawke because he knew Australians as John Singleton knew Australians. Singo knew what sold Winfield Blues and Tooheys Draught, and Hawkey knew what sold Hawkey. And in those days, as Kerry Packer would have attested with a vengeance, cricket sold. And those PM’s XI fixtures, for cricketstarved Canberrans, were magnificent.

The first one was against the mighty West Indies side of 1984. Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, big Joel Garner, and all the rest of those ridiculous humans with their long limbs and languid moves, and other-worldly skill – they were so unbelievably cool. Their visit energised the town; the match was sold out. Three thousand people snuck in under the fence. Manuka Oval heaved. It was ridiculous: January day; hotter than hell. Man, it was good. Desmond Haynes fielded just in front of us, on the fence backward of square. He was our guy, diving around, smiling his head off. And every time he came back from some bit of adventure we’d cheer, “Dessie! You beauty!” And he’d laugh and wave, into it. It was so cool.

Kids were mad for those West Indians. For the Aussie team, too. A mate of a mate, Coyley, played locally for Easts and wore his cricket kit to the game: woolly jumper, thick white socks, Greg Chappell hat. And he stood outside the Australian team's dressing shed signing autographs. Quizzical kids lined up. Years later, a younger mate dug out his toy bat with all the autographs, and there between “Michael Holding” and “Greg Ritchie” was “Peter Coyle”. Out in the middle, another relatively anonymous cricketer, a squat Tasmanian called David Boon, was whacking big Joel down the ground on the way to 134. And in a summer in which the Windies’ quicks were more four-pronged killer attack squad than men, we bayed for this boy Boonie, and for the PM’s boys, and for Hawkey who’d made it happen. The great man took a walk inside the perimeter, lapping it up, a rubbery figure come to life, shamelessly in love with himself.

And we loved him for it. And Hawkey knew it. ScoMo? There can be only one. In 1990 came England, and mates and I had a gig selling ice creams at the PM’s XI. We worked out you could wedge a six-pack of VB in amongst the dry ice, and we’d sit there, watching cricket, selling Cornettos and sucking on VB stubbies. Now and again you’d chant “Ice cream!” and down they’d come, the people. And I got half-pissed watching Allan Border belt the Poms around Manuka. At stumps, I was paid 150 bucks cash. Still the greatest job I’ve ever had. Another was operating Manuka’s Jack Fingleton scoreboard. They’d brought it up from the MCG, plank by plank, this great, hulking old banger, heritage-listed. And mates and I would sit inside it, shirtless, sweating up a treat, drinking tinnies, watching cricket.

One day saw a young Michael Bevan belt a ton against Wayne “Cracker” Holdsworth, bowling heat for NSW seconds. Cracker was short, skiddy and rapid. He was Malcolm Marshall without the guile. And without the Malcolm Marshall. But he bolted in and let rip, Cracker. And he was quick. At least he was this day, bouncing Bevan and the Canberra boys. In the same match, Marty Haywood who’d taken plenty of Cracker because, truth be told, Bevo didn’t much fancy it – was run out in the shadows of stumps as Bevo scurried back to the non-striker’s end. And I can still hear Haywood’s bull moose roar of “craaaaap!” reverberating around the empty concrete stands of Manuka Oval. And I thought, “My but I love this game.” And I love this ground. And now Manuka’s got a Test match. Little Canberra has become.

Canberra has four distinct seasons. Autumn is dead leaves. Spring is blossoms. Winter is colder than Krakow by night. And summer is just hot. Broken Hill hot. It’s a dry, “bush” heat. It’s African savannah. It’s scorched earth. It’s stinkin’. And you played cricket in it because that’s just what you did. And you watched cricket. And you lived and loved it.

We played on “synthetic” wickets which were concrete strips overlaid by “AstroTurf” of various plumage. They could be bouncy as bejeezus. A top-edged cut shot would soar into space. Not a lot of seam. But bounce, baby, bounce. The turf wickets could be a bit how-you-goin’, as they say. Shades of the old MCG: shooters, bounders, rip-snorters. Ordinary, lot of ’em. And a lot of ordinary bowlers got wickets. Outfield grass was generally long because it was cold at night, and wouldn’t grow back if you cut it. Thus, batters did their best.

Yet a steady drip of first-class cricketers has come out of the joint, punctuated by the odd Michael Bevan and Brad Haddin. Greg Rowell bowled accurate fast-meds for NSW, Queensland and Tasmania. Wayne Andrews went to WA and played 91 Sheffield Shield games. Mark Higgs bowled left-arm wristspin and gave it a whack for the Blues, once belting 181 not against Queensland. Nathan Lyon came from Young to pilot Manuka’s mowers before doing the same at Adelaide after Les Burdett.

Largely, though, the very good ones stayed, big fish in a small pond. Few reasons: there were plenty of players like them in Sydney grade cricket; there wasn’t money enough to uproot a family to chase a dream; in Canberra there were public service jobs forever that gave you time off to play. And it was fun to play for the ACT.

Brad Bretland kept wicket for the ACT. You haven’t seen a bloke with quicker hands, whipping bails off standing up to the quicks. He played indoor cricket for Australia. Unbelievable eye, reflexes. Peter Solway holds the record for most games and runs for the ACT, and most games and runs in the ACT comp. He played in the PM’s XI of ’93-’94 alongside young guns Hayden, Langer, Ponting. Fellow local legend Greg Irvine played in the PM’s XI two days before Christmas 1987. Took 5/42 swinging the ball both ways before going down swinging in a run chase against Richard Hadlee, bookended in the batting order by ME Waugh, DW Hookes and AR Border. Solway says there were a couple of nibbles from Sydney but things were progressing nicely in Canberra. The Country Championships had kicked off. There were regular tours and second XI fixtures. And in ’95 came the Mercantile Mutual comp. “And I had a decent job, I was married,” he says. “It crossed my mind to move to Sydney. But I suppose I didn’t want it bad enough.” Was he good enough? Solway reckons he’d have backed himself. Yet the NSW team was a tough nut to crack. “The era I came through of under-17s and under-19s – and I don’t know if it put me off – but the NSW team was Taylor, Waugh, Waugh, McNamara and a heap of guys.

“I don’t regret [staying]. I’m happy with how things have panned out. Was I good enough? I dunno. I probably would’ve backed myself. But until you do, you don’t know.” Mike Veletta believes Solway was “easily” first-class level. “He was one of those great blokes who was happy doing what he was doing. He worked for the government, he was content, his family was entrenched in the community. There’s no doubt – temperament, nous, technique – he would’ve thrived at first-class level.” After Solway, Irvine and company, however, came a generation of cricketers for whom there was a genuine pathway and opportunity to play up. They were my generation – let’s call them the under-19s of ’89-’90. These talented ones could get amongst it at the AIS or the academy in Adelaide. Michael Bevan was of this generation. You played against Bevo, he was left-arm quick. Going across you, bending it back in – he was a bit bloody good, Bevo. Scary, even. A singular fellow, but a good fellah. He could bat, sure – but there were batters better.

One played in his own team – Huntley Armstrong, a Greg Ritchie-shaped belter with Shane Warne’s mullet. In a semi-final at Rivett Oval, my Woden Valley under-16s played Huntley’s Weston Creek. Bevo wasn’t playing, there was a soccer tournament on. But they still had plenty. Bunch of blokes would play U19s for ACT. But Huntley was the wicket.

On 20-odd on a ridiculously, freezing cold March day (truly, it was maybe six degrees, sleeting, wind-chill factor hideous), Huntley smashed our Laxman-wristed leg-spinner Michael Streat one thousand yards into space. I waited for it to come down. And waited. No-one thought I’d catch it – me included. Damn thing soared towards me like an ice comet. But I pouched it, somehow, and punched the air, and we knocked off the Creek, the hot faves. And all the dads said over again, “catches win matches”. And Huntley’s mum declared, “It’s all Michael Bevan’s fault!”

Week later in the grand final against St Edmund’s, another top player from that class of ’89, Marty Haywood, was on maybe 42 when he smashed Streaty high, and long, and way out to cow corner. And there waited I – The Hero of Rivett – underneath it. Beautiful day. Saw it all the way. Grassed the bastard. And watched our man Marty go on to plunder 157 not out and win the game. And that, as the cricket gods would tell you, is cricket.

Haywood went to Campbelltown and onwards to Mosman, where he captained the club for 20-some years. He would play 13 matches for NSW when the Waugh twins were playing for Australia. That was his competition in the Blues’ middle order: the bloody Waughs. Today, a good one would’ve gone to Tassie or somewhere. Haywood stayed and notched his highest score, 97, at the Junction Oval. And you play golf with him today and there’s longing behind his eyes. Huntley went to Adelaide and the academy there, and stayed on playing grade cricket. He played a couple of one-dayers for South hero of mine, David Hookes. Michael Bevan went to Sydney, and fashioned a fairly decent career in the game. Today there are several ex-Canberrans playing first-class cricket, such as Will Sheridan (Victoria), Jason Behrendorff (WA), Jason Floros (Queensland), Nick Winter (SA) and Tom Rogers (Tasmania). It’s always been the same – and it’s the same for those from Townsville, Geraldton, Innamincka – you want to be taken seriously, you leave. And until the ACT gets a Sheffield Shield team, that’s how it will stay. And that’s why they want one.

Mike Veletta had played 12 years of first-class cricket when it was put to him that he might like to captain-coach the fledgling one-day team called the ACT Comets in the Mercantile Mutual Cup. There was a job in property with a reputable firm. There was a chance to learn about coaching. It ticked a few boxes. But jeez, it was different to Perth. “They flew my wife and I over to Canberra in July, and you can imagine the weather,” Veletta remembers. “It was horrible. Four days later we got on the flight home, my wife said, ‘Thanks for that – I don’t need to see any more.’

“A month later we were there.” The move was still a punt for Veletta. The Comets were still an idea, there wasn’t actual confirmation that they’d be a firstclass entity. Yet he rocked up for pre-season training and learned things were done a little differently in the Bush Capital.

“I was told the first pre-season game was always against Manly, and they’d always stay at the Steyne Hotel,” says Veletta. “It wasn’t going to be a typical cricket tour. So we played against Manly and spent a long weekend at the pub! It was pointless going to bed early. It was a great way to get to know your team-mates and a great introduction to ACT cricket.”

Veletta was allocated a local club, Weston Creek, and was expected to dominate. Yet conditions were so different to Perth that he battled. “The pitches were average, really. Average bowlers could get wickets. It took me a while to work it out.” But he grew to love it. He was captaining guys for whom the interstate one-day competition would be the highlight of their careers. He found it refreshing that people played for love alone, and were proud to represent a tight-knit community.

Yet after three seasons and 18 one-day matches, the Comets were axed. Solway blames politics. And Cricket Australia. And a few other things. “Cricket Australia [then the Australian Cricket Board] showed a lack of vision,” Solway says. “It was shortsighted. It was voted on by states thinking about what they had to lose rather than the good of Australian cricket. Denis Rogers from Tasmania was chairman of the board. He drove it. Tasmania and South Australia were thinking about what they had to lose.

“We had players coming to Canberra to get an opportunity. Instead of going to Tassie, they were coming here. We were always keen to play first-class cricket. And I reckon it scared people. “But more teams wouldn’t weaken the standard. Australia’s had the same six state teams forever. Cricket’s set in its ways. And look how we’re going.” The Comets had their supporters. Alan Crompton was one. Geoff Lawson was coach of NSW and saw the ACT as a good destination for kids from his region of Wagga Wagga and the Riverina.

“I asked people on the cricket board why the team was axed and their responses were very political,” says Veletta. “It didn’t make sense. In regional cricket, the ACT could’ve played a huge role. I always thought for all the country guys between Sydney and Melbourne, the one-day comp would’ve been a great stepping stone.” In terms of cricket competition, though, the territory was, and remains, a fairly poor cousin to the metropolitan centres. It’s seen as a nudge above the comps in Newcastle, Ballarat, Sunshine Coast. Sydney boys will tell you Futures League games against the ACT are like hard first-grade games. Good cricket – nothing you can’t cop.

Today the Comets – which played its last, first-class 50-over matches in February of 2000 – are the ACT/NSW Country Comets and play List A Futures League fixtures against state second XIs, academies, and various mobs of young turks. Locals lament that the Comets are a de facto NSW side. Trent Copeland recently played “back”. There was a Comets teams that played recently, didn’t have any ACT players in it. And this when Sydney grade cricket’s yearning for their people. One assumes Pat Howard’s KPIs are being ticked. “It disappoints me that the Futures comp is ACT and NSW combined,” says Veletta.

More on IPL can be found on https://iplnewslatest.blogspot.com/

[jinnish]

Little Lover Pt. 6

Sorry I took so long! This mini series is soon to a close, I really hoped that you enjoyed them cause it was a lot of fun writing this series. I hope to start writing more mini series of other BTS members and oneshots too. Enjoy!

♡ Genre: slight Fluff/Smut, High School!AU

♡ Pairing: Seokjin x reader

♡ Word Count: 2.1k

♡ Contains: dom!Seokjin, daddy kink, sex, spanking, foreplay

♡ Summary: Seokjin knows what you did. He worries about the relationship and ultimately breaks, wanting you more than ever. The whole affair was all a dirty secret, until now.~

Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 | Pt. 4 | Pt. 5 | Masterlist

You looked at the pictures with amazement. The one picture of Seokjin was him right after he took his shirt off having the remainder still attached to his arms. You sat on your bed knowing that he is definitely pissed off on you spying him. But you secretly couldn’t wait he was going to do to you.

Regular boring day at school. You started to realize that it was a good idea of Professor Seokjin to keep your distance from time to time. You were getting better grades and you didn’t have to worry so much about being caught with him. But after two weeks you missed him, you wanted him back, holding you in a big tight hug and tell you how beautiful you are.

You slide the doors open, seeing Seokjin with his fancy white dress shirt, black tie and slacks. He was standing in front of the room waiting for the students. As much as you wanted to fawn over him, he glared at you, his jaw clenched as you walked by.

“G-good a-afternoon, P-professor Seokjin..” You quietly peeped the words out. He nodded with a cold expression never leaving his face. You quietly walk to your seat, the awkward seconds of silence felt like eternity. His expression was very enraged, but his eyes looked disappointed and sad.

The rest of the class finally enter, Jungkook joking around with his friends. He looks to see if you’re there and when he sees you, he becomes sheepish hiding behind a friend. “Alright class please be seated.” Everyone ran to their desks and waited for Professor Seokjin’s instructions. Jungkook shyly waved to you and you smile back.

“Finals are coming up, so from now on we will be reviewing and preparing for the exam. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to talk to me, I am available after class til’ 5 o’ clock.” Seokjin’s eyes stared straight to you as if he was signaling for you to be there.

Luckily nobody even bothered to come after class. You wait until all the students left the classroom, Jungkook suddenly paused knowing that you weren’t coming. The only people remaining was you, Jungkook and the Professor. Jungkook’s arm rested on the door frame before leaving.

“Y/N!” He shouted to you. Professor Seokjin’s head immediately looked up from his book. Jungkook seemed to hesitate as he eyed Seokjin and then back to you.

“I-I love... y-you..”

Jungkook’s voice, almost quivering at the words. He begins to hyperventilate and he suddenly rushes out of the class, tears pouring out of his eyes.

Just as the door slammed to it’s place, Professor Seokjin went up to the hallway windows inside his classroom and immediately shuts them leaving the room somewhat dark.

Seokjin turns his head toward you and he calmly strolls to you. He chuckles, “That stupid Jungkook... you don’t belong to him, you belong to me sweetie..”

His fingers bitterly grasp your chin, he snickers and harshly pushes you aside. Your back falls on top of a desk, surprised at his sudden actions. The feeling felt different, he was rougher than before. “S-seokjin-”

His palms slam onto the desk making sure you don’t leave. He leans in and his lips crash into yours. He roughly plays with your tongue.

“Y/N you’re mine..”

You reach for his shoulders and pull him deeper into the kiss. Just what you needed, you wanted him so badly. Your legs quickly wrap his waist and tug him closer to you. He moaned at the feeling of his bulge pressing against your body. “No Y/N-”

He pulls away and wipes the saliva that connected with yours off of his face. He pulls you off the table and turns you around. “You must be punished baby girl..” He leaned into your ear and whispered, “It was you that was spying around my house right?”

You gasp, almost forgetting what you have done. “Y/N I saw you with Jungkook in his car. I didn’t expect that you would be with him let alone immediately come to my house later.” He turns you over. “Didn’t you remember what I told you? If we get caught, our love will severely fall. It’s all your fault if it does Y/N!”

He gives your ass cheek one hard slap, causing you yell in pain. “Ow that hurt Professor!” The slap was harder than the last time and you could tell that he was serious. “Y/N.. I’ve done so much for you! I WANT US TO BE TOGETHER BUT I KNOW THAT WE CAN’T!”

“Seokjin!” You tilt your head to see his face in pain, his tears dripping down you back. He sobs sinking his head behind your shoulders. He clenches your waist tightly, not caring how much it really hurt you. He slams his palm harshly on your ass multiple times. “S-seokjin.. it hurts!”

“Y/N I had my full trust in you.. why did you do it!?” His eyes filled with sadness, his face now red from all the crying. He shakes your shoulders trying to get you to speak. You bawl your tears out and shout, “BECAUSE I LOVE YOU SEOKJIN.. I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE Y-”

“Y/N!” He turns you back around and slaps your face to stop. You wince in pain as you cry. He pulls you back to him and hugs you tightly. “Princess.. I have to do this, it’s for the best..” You easily forgave him, you loved him so much that you didn’t care what he did to you.

You quietly whisper to him, “D-daddy..” You kept repeating yourself, “I love you, I love you...”

Your cheeks felt warm and your eyes were puffy from the crying, but you felt like he was the perfect person to lean a shoulder on, the one to help you solve all of your problems. Seokjin began to huff some words out.

“You know Y-Y/N, I’ve been imagining u-us... t-together, away from everybody. J-just the two of u-us...” He cups your cheeks, wiping away the tears from your eyes. He swiftly hands you a handkerchief from his shirt pocket, you embarrassingly blow out all the snot as Seokjin curiously gazed at your actions.

“Y/N... we’ll never be together, you’ll graduate and I’ll retire someday. I want this moment with us, to be special...”

“I... want you.”

His sudden words triggered butterflies in your stomach. You love Seokjin, and letting him have you would be the most pleasing, beautiful thing you’ve ever imagined. To such a godly being like him, it was a blessing.

You nod, “Yes P-professor Seokjin... I want you t-too.”

His thumb tugs at your lower lip and he makes his way pushing his plump lips to your own. His strong arms roam around your body, feeling every inch of you as if it might be his last.

“S-seokjin..” Every touch made you shiver, from his hands caressing your lower back to his lips physically giving you his love. You were at the edge of the table trying to get him a little bit closer to you. Your hands roam around his toned chest and you desperately unbutton his shirt. “Gosh Y/N anxious are we?”

Seokjin smirks and guides your hands down his bulge, slowly unzipping his pants. As you do so, his hands slide over your shirt unbuttoning it and he reveals your hard nipples. “So lovely.” He teases them with his wet tongue.

His big cock pushes itself from his boxers, falling between your palms. “Fuck...” He shivers at the contact of your warm hands. You slowly slide your fingertips to the head, tracing circles around it.

“Stop playing around baby girl...” His fingers harshly twist your nipples making you groan. He holds your hips and pulls you to sit on top of a desk, leaning in to leave a trail of kisses starting from your collarbone to your bellybutton. He pauses, lifting your skirt to peer at your soaking panties. “Y/N you’ll always be bad for me..”

He strokes your clit, making you squirm even more. “S-seokjin.. I want it..” You pant. You tug at his dick, urging him to finally take you.

He nods his head in disapproval, “Uh uh, you must say please..” You blush at his baby voice, looking away as you pout. “C’mon Y/N, I won’t do it unless you say please..” Seokjin leans in and grasps at your cheeks with his two long fingers. You look back into his dark eyes. You hesitate but childishly say, “P-pretty p-please... with a cherry on top?”

He beams in delight and slowly removes your panties, they slowly fall to your ankles. He left you with your checkered skirt and sheer white shirt on. “Alright let’s get started..” He leans in and pauses, gazing at your core. His eyes widen at the sight, “Still as beautiful as ever..” His thumb rubs on your clit, he leans in and swipes his tongue over your folds.

“Mmm, P-professor...” You moan with pleasure, your pussy already dripping wet. Seokjin leans closer, his dick a few inches away. “Look’s like you’re ready for me Y/N.” He smirks. The head of his dick lightly grazes your core, making you shiver. He slowly inserts himself into you.

“Oh my gosh...”, you moan as he slides himself in. He grunts as he finally inserts every last bit of him. “Okay... Fuuuck..” He rolls his eyes back moaning at the sensation of your tight pussy wrapped around his dick.

It’s so big oh my gosh!

“God you’re so tight Y/N..” Seokjin grunts having his dick literally pushed inside your inner walls. His hands clench onto your thighs as he slowly begins to thrust into you. Your breasts jiggled at every thrust, your eyes daze off into the corner of the classroom, the immense satisfaction made you feel light headed.

“Y/N.. fuck.. you’re so fucking perfect..” Seokjin’s hands roamed around your body, finding the perfect spots to massage you, making the sensation even more pleasurable for you. His rough movements filled you up, his cock inside you made your belly feel warm.

Oh god this is happening!

He would move you into different positions, in doggy style or your legs over his shoulders, find every possible position to take you before it was over. “P-professor.. Seokjin.. thank you.. for this moment..” Your voice would cut off at every hard thrust. Seokjin grins and winks at you, “Anytime kid, I should be.. thanking you.. If it wasn’t f-for.. you and.. your confession.. this would have.. never happened..” He chuckles and he begins to pick up the pace.

He slowly leans into your neck as he pushed harder, leaving marks all over you. He’d spank your ass every time he grunted with pleasure. “Fuck.. fuck fuck..” The squeaking of the table would become louder as Seokjin thrusted faster and faster. His white shirt drenching with sweat, his eyes had become dilated from looking at your almost naked body.

“Y/N I’m very c-close...” Seokjin’s voice quivered as he almost reached his high, his reddened face scrunched with pleasure. You arched back holding onto the edge of the desk. “D-daddy..” You squeal, “Seokjin! I’m about to-” He cuts you off with his lips and he quickly plays with your tongue before reaching his climax.

His face leans into your neck as his big hands clench on your thighs trying to hold you still from his sloppy thrusts, “Say my name Y/N! SAY IT!” He desperately begs you.

“Seokjin! I love you Seokjin!” You squeal wrapping your arms around his neck, your legs over bouncing up in air while over his shoulders. “Y/N!” Seokjin suddenly stops and he lets a loud deep groan. You reach to the edge and you let out a high pitched moan feeling waves of pleasure run all over your body.

Seokjin slowly pulls out, your juices dripping down to the floor. “H-holy..” He leaned on a table gasping for air. Your vision became blurry, all the stress finally left you. He looked down at your core and chuckled for a second, “Wow.. Y/N.. that was the best sex I’ve ever had..” He slowly pulled out, his dick twitching after cumming inside you.

You hide your face madly blushing at what he said. Seokjin’s face becomes red and he suddenly starts to look sad. “Are you alright?”

He sighs, “Y/N no matter what happens between us, I’ll know that you were, once mine.” He reaches towards you and hugs you tightly. He cries and grunts with sadness. You gasp in disbelief, “No Seokjin! Whatever happens between us, I’ll look for you and we’ll be together forever!”

“Oh sweetie..” Seokjin warmly smiles and once again, gives you a warm hug. Just as Seokjin was about to release you a loud noise suddenly stops him, both of you stay frozen in place. 

“Y/N?!” A familiar voice shouts your name. You widen your eyes and look up at Seokjin.

“Jungkook..” You whispered to him.

[hella-queer-hero]

Palm Springs Celebrity Encounters: Ray Bradbury

I've met numerous VIPs throughout the years. Be that as it may, few have been as liberal, charming, moving and interesting as Ray Bradbury.

My first experience with Ray happened quite a while back. He was the keynote speaker at my High School Graduation: Palm Springs High School, Class of 1983. I recall two things about Ray from that night.

1) He recounted to the account of a time traveler who came back to his current time and educated his associates about the future which was consummately naturally driven, space gutsy, and socially rich for each resident. At the point when the current clocks at long last lived to a mature age and had fabricated the future the time traveler had seen, they all accumulated at the specific recognize the matured future history specialist had quite a while in the past moved himself to so they could observer the return of his more youthful self. The clock ticked past the allocated appearance time, where they cordially paused, at that point became on edge. At last, well past the normal snapshot of his appearance, the old researcher went to those accumulated and conceded, "I lied."

2) The second thing I recollect about that night was the ASB President gloating about how they persuaded Ray Bradbury to be the keynote speaker: He possessed a home in Palm Springs and didn't charge them to come.

A long time later, I got myself a book shop proprietor in Palm Springs. I'm in my mid thirties and the landowner has constrained a name upon my store in needing to make a Hollywood topic for the square of customer facing facades he is attempting to lease gavin magnus phone number. My store was called big name Books and I'd gathered an enormous choice of Biographies and was attempting to grow an Autographed Section with regards to the topic of the store. It was right now that I recollected the ASB President's words: "Beam Bradbury claims a home here."

Presently the web was a developing thing in the mid 1990's and I found Ray would have been at a first historically speaking excellent book reasonable up at UCLA and I was resolved to converse with him. I did, and over the clamor of the group making it for all intents and purposes difficult to hear, he marked my book and added his telephone number to the cover sheet.

I called and he came. Beam appeared in an old wood sided station cart turned taxi by a man who I learned had been his own driver at whatever point he came to town - since Ray didn't drive - for more than thirty years. During the occasion, Ray got parched and requested a chocolate milk shake and a toasted cheddar sandwich. I sent a sprinter to a close by café. We requested off the customary menu and obliged him. We sold a larger number of books than I at any point had in my life in a solitary day. My little, unfortunately worn and unglamorous, on the whole utilized product, store was host to a huge number of supporters, customers and fans. That day, Ray Bradbury changed my store from an intriguing recycled business to a Palm Springs milestone.

The following year came and I called Ray once more. This time we were unable to plan a fitting time for most extreme impact and he at last proposed, "Simply set up the books you can and I'll make a trip and sign them." The day came when he should appear and I had different things I needed to do. My worker at the time was an old companion who had quite recently moved around here from the east coast and he was hesitant to accept that Ray Bradbury was going to give up and indication this gigantic pile of books for me and not need a thing. As I was attempting to disclose the circumstance to my companion, Ray appeared, and with scarcely any words marked each book in the store he'd composed - right away turning the pleasant however standard estimated heap of books into a significant heap of abstract gold. My companion called home (saucer peered toward) to his mother and disclosed to her who he had quite recently run into.

I had the store for a long time and Ray demonstrated about multiple times. Each time he was liberal with me and the group, and he was close to home and interesting to each person. A considerable lot of his fans talked affectionately of the first occasion when they'd at any point met him. Beam talked about composing what you know and not letting dismissal make you stop. He talked about pursuing your fantasies and not letting life get you down. He was overwhelming, and still is. He matured throughout the years: going from a develop man at my graduation in his late fifties or mid 60's to his 70's and afterward 80's.

One of those occasions when he was visiting the area and couldn't meet the store plan, he welcomed me over to his home to sign a couple of books. I thought about this as a genuine look into the life of a living legend. His place was decent however not showy. He had a servant who opened the entryway. Inside there were a lot of books on ledges, night stands and such. In any case, it wasn't until he requested that I get him something from the carport that I saw his genuine fortune. Beam had been a book man for his entire life; an admirer of everything distributed - particularly sci-fi, which he accumulated - and I think he kept each thing he at any point bought stacked in this carport. There were old Amazing Stories mash magazines returning fifty years. There' were books stacked higher than a man stands tall. One of them was even marked by some other light of science fiction to beam himself. I had discovered the winged serpent's fortune of sci-fi fans. At the point when I got some information about the plenty of books and encouraged him to let me sell them for him, he just stated, "Eric, I have grandkids." My maniac considerations of six figure commissions were run. Yet, it additionally gave me that beam thought about family.

Some other time, Ray Bradbury couldn't come do a marking since he had constrained time, so he offered to simply drop by the store and sign a couple of books for me. Lamentably I would not have been at the store, or so I thought, when he was expected. A companion of mine, Kevin Hooper, was working for me at that point and I disclosed to him the circumstance and gave him what I needed marked. Kevin didn't accept that beam Bradbury was going to simply give up and indication this huge pile of books. While I was repeating his obligations while avowing Ray's expectations, Ray appeared. Kevin was in stun that he got the chance to meet Ray Bradbury face to face and that he was so ideal to sign a gigantic pile of books for nothing.

The last time I had Ray for a book marking was at the Palm Springs Villagefest. We'd planned it months ahead of time. Every one of my regulars, who had developed in numbers, were anticipating his appearance. However, when the night came, the climate was horrendous. It was cold and blustery - an unpleasant night for an open air book occasion. Just a bunch of merchants, out of the typically hundreds, were in any event, going to set up: the sausage fellow was close by and a couple of different sellers route down the square. Nobody else would work together on such a hopeless night. I called my Dad and requested that he bring by our spring up shelters saved for flea markets and we immediately spread out in the road. We set up the books, which was a gigantic rambling jumble of tables secured with truly a large number of Ray Bradbury works of art. Beam appeared driven by his normal driver and decisively asked, "Where do you need me?" and afterward immediately planted himself under the coverings outside, crawls from the falling precipitation.

Contrasted with an ordinary occasion at the road reasonable, scarcely any individuals appeared, yet for the individuals who did, they were agreeably astonished to locate an artistic Science fiction goliath sitting outside under canvases marking books and amusing the group with his agreeability and nearness. Beam referenced the cold, so I purchased a warmer and we ran the additional string through the downpour. Fortunately Mother Nature was delicate on it and the gadget heated up my matured companion without episode. He got ravenous and we sent for food however he declined the milk shake and rather requested a glass of wine. "My better half doesn't regularly allow me to drink," he trusted. I again sent a sprinter and this opportunity arrived back with a toasted cheddar sandwich and an enormous soft drink cup with top and straw. Obviously the restaurateur would not like to be discovered sending an open glass of liquor out onto the road. Beam was excited and turned out to be increasingly more glad with each top off.

Beam's despite everything composing and marking books. He's in his nineties now and scarcely easing back down. As I became acquainted with him throughout the years I construed that he was a person who got the opportunity to receive the rewards of doing what he adored professionally for a long prolonged stretch of time. God love him.

In the long run I sold the store and the women who got it shut it down following a couple of hard years. My companions respectfully consider Ray Bradbury when they notice 'past times worth remembering of the book shop. I haven't seen Ray in five or seven years now and last I did it was at a similar book reasonable at UCLA where I previously got his telephone number. He recalled that me and we talked quickly. He was harmonious, generous and credible; as usual. I expressed gratitude toward him for a couple of more signatures and delivered him to the blockbuster swarm in line behind me.

[ours-is-feral-love]

O Captain! My Captain!

Summary: Klaus and Caroline are declared team captains for a girls versus boys dodgeball game on the last day of senior year. (AU/AH)

It was too hot to be outside. Southern Virginia in mid-June was no friend to gym classes. Because of the outrageous heat—103 degrees Fahrenheit, to be exact—Mr. Tanner decided to keep them in. Caroline Forbes was glad for it. She despised the humid weather, mainly for its adverse effect on her sweat glands, but the way it frizzed her gorgeous blond locks didn't help, either.

They were rounded up in the centre of the gym. Mr. Tanner stood in front of them, his favourite whistle hanging around his neck. He swerved his eyes and moved around, making sure to look each of the twenty students in the eye before he opened his mouth.

"Are you guys ready for this?"

Caroline nudged her best friend Bonnie and the two girls had to work hard to hold in their inappropriate giggles. If there was one thing Mr. Tanner hated more than when the Mystic Falls High Timberwolves lost their football games, it was when kids laughed out of turn.

Not that they were really kids. Each person in the room was of age. They were the seniors who had opted to keep up with gym due to their athletic tendencies. Mr. Tanner adored each of them, really, but he would still yell if someone laughed at an unsuitable time. Caroline remembered unceremoniously chuckling her first day as a freshman when Damon Salvatore—a repeat freshman forced to be in a gym class with his little brother—face planted after trying to dunk a basketball. Tanner shouted at her in front of everyone for her discrepancy, which only made Damon stare smugly at her the rest of the period.

She cried in the locker room for almost five minutes after gym finished and was late to her next class. Ever since she had learned to keep her mouth shut whenever something funny happened in Mr. Tanner's gymnasium.

"Come on, people, are you ready for this?" Tanner repeated, and the crowd around him cheered as loud as they could. He smiled. "Perfect. Alright, the game is dodgeball. You know the rules. Girls versus boys, with Mikaelson and Forbes leading. Let's see who can win this battle of the sexes. Break." Tanner blew his whistle loudly and the group of seniors disbanded, the girls following Caroline to the basketball hoop nearest their locker room, the boys following Klaus Mikaelson to the hoop nearest theirs.

When the other nine girls had settled around her, their bodies forming a crescent-shaped shield, Caroline clapped her hands together, her heart racing as she mentally prepared her pep talk.

"Alright, girls," she said, looking at her teammates, "this is it. The last class of our last day of senior year. As soon as this game is over, we leave the grounds forever. Well, we leave the grounds until graduation next week, but you get my point." Caroline took in a deep breath. Each woman surrounding her was wholly absorbed in her words, all of them nodding along. "It is our time to show those asshole guys what we're made of. Time to beat their asses into the ground with our superior dodgeball playing skills. We will not be defeated by them. We will exit this gymnasium champions! Too long have women in sports been looked down upon, but we are going to go out there and prove we are the stronger sex."

"Hell yeah!" Bonnie cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

Caroline grinned at her best friend, so happy in that moment they were headed to the same university in the fall. She couldn't last without Bonnie Bennet in her life. "Elena and Kat," Caroline pointed at the Gilbert twins, "you two are taking the left side. Klaus will place Stefan and Tyler there, but you can't fear them. You must crush them. Anna and Lexi, you'll take the right. Matt and Lucian'll have that side. Rose, help us from the back. You're the tallest and you've got a good throw. Bon and I will be up front with Klaus and Stefan. The rest of you are our backup. Everyone good with that?"

Nobody challenged Caroline's placements. They understood how well she knew Klaus Mikaelson's mind. There was no questioning if her calls were correct. If she said it, it would end up being true. Her girls nodded in agreement and Caroline called them to put their hands in.

"This is our last chance to defeat them," she said, noting the excited energy rising in the room. "Let's do this. Down with the boys on three. One, two"—

—"DOWN WITH THE BOYS!" the girls cried, throwing their hands in the air.

"Let's go!"

Caroline pushed her teammates towards the lined up red and black balls. They all lined up accordingly and Caroline smiled to herself when, after they broke—DOWN WITH THE GIRLS (how original)—the boys all took their spots exactly where Caroline had said they would.

Klaus came to stand directly in front of her on the other side of the line.

"I'm gonna bring you down, Mikaelson," she vowed, raising an eyebrow. She bent at the knees and bounced on her feet.

"I'd like to see you try, Forbes," he responded, smirking his famous smirk.

Frowning, Caroline stretched her arms. Klaus Mikaelson was captain of the cross country team. His bronzed curls, lean body, and English accent (and let's not forget that aforementioned smirk) got all the girls at their school hot and bothered. Caroline had to admit he looked good in a gym uniform. The red somehow brought out the blues of his eyes and the light tan on his usually pale skin.

The two were standing so close she could smell the hint of lavender in the cologne he had sprayed on his chest. She loved the scent of lavender.

Shaking her head, the blond-haired team captain shook out her legs and arms, reminding herself to glare at the boy standing opposite her.

"Is everybody ready?" Tanner asked from he sidelines. He held his whistle inches from his mouth.

"Ready," Caroline and Klaus said in unison. Oh, she was going to beat him so bad he would bruise.

"Okay! Let's dodgeball!" Tanner blew his whistle and the game began.

Caroline lunged forward and reached out for the ball nearest her. She beat Klaus to it, snatching the red ball and retreating from the centre line. There was a frenzy of squeaking trainers as the separate teams attempted to gather up the remaining balls.

"Nice work!" Caroline applauded when the line was clear and her team came away with the most weapons.

Rotating the ball in her hands, she watched as Elena Gilbert chucked her black ball into Tyler Lockwood's knee. The raven-haired football captain staggered back. Tanner's whistle let out a shrill whine, announcing Lockwood's exit from the game. He limped off court, throwing an angry look towards Elena.

Caroline threw the ball in her hands towards Matt Donovan, a footballer as well. It brushed his shoulder, forcing him to drop the ball he was holding to the floor. Tanner blew his whistle twice, and Caroline looked briefly around, watching as Lexi angrily stomped off the court. Her replacement came off the bench, giving Caroline a high five as she passed.

"Come on, ladies, we can do this!" Caroline said as she dodged a throw made by Stefan Salvatore. Reaching down, she managed to grab a ball and lob it back to her tormenter, smacking him square in the gut. Winded, Stefan retreated. "Keep it up!"

The game continued. Caroline's blood pumped like fire through her veins. The whole room was making a fuss, cheering on their separate team. Tanner's whistle blew every few seconds as the tough black and red balls were thrown all around the room, knocking players out left and right. She watched out of the corner of her eye as a ball slammed into Bonnie's shoulder, and her best friend ran for the bleachers after flipping a very discreet middle finger to her attacker.

"You can do it, Caroline! He's got nothing on you!" she exclaimed as she sat down.

Caroline glanced at the sidelines, shaking out of her reverie. She had been so focused on the game she had failed to realise the only two players that remained on the court were her and Klaus Mikaelson. Most of the balls were on Caroline's side of the court, but Klaus had two he could easily chuck in her direction. She knew his footwork, though. Knew his strategies. Ever since they came head to head in a girls versus boys soccer match when they were twelve, she had made it a point to study his game. Maybe she could still win this one.

Bending down, Caroline grabbed the red ball nearest her. The bouncy, plastic material felt wet and hot. She tossed it in her hands. Threw it to the ground and caught it as it came back up. She sucked in a deep breath through her nose and opened her mouth to let it out. She was ready for this.

Klaus had no ball. He was biding his time. Standing before her with nothing but his hard face, he flared his nostrils and swiped his sweaty hands on his dark red shirt.

"It all ends here, Mikaelson," she said, bouncing the ball on the ground. The crowd was silent. The only noise in the room was the sound of her ball hitting the wooden gym floor. "This game is mine."

"In your dreams, Forbes. I'll find a way out of this."

"Oh, yeah? The two balls on your side of the line are out of reach. One move and I throw this thing so hard you'll be telling your friends for years to come about that last day of senior year and the awesome, spectacular, gorgeous blond who knocked your front teeth out with a dodgeball."

Klaus' lips lifted briefly in a half-smile. "You'll be paying for the dental work, love," he said, his use of the word love accelerating Caroline's heartbeat. "Besides, I've got something up my sleeve."

She knew what he had up his sleeve. Quick dodge to the left to grab the nearest ball. But Caroline was ready for that. She was also ready for the four backup plans he could potentially employ should his first plan fail. She intended to get to him before he had time to find his footing.

Checking the clock above the exit, Caroline noted they only had five minutes before the bell released them. She needed to end this quick.

"You've always got something up your sleeve. When will you learn that I'm always two, five, ten steps ahead of you, though?" she taunted. "In dodgeball, in English, in life. Give it up, Mikaelson. I've already won."

The spectators couldn't keep their mouths shut after that remark. Their friends rose to their feet and started chanting. Even Tanner joined them, just as into the game as his students.

Klaus lowered his heavy forehead. His brows moved down. Caroline couldn't see his eyes anymore.

In a flash, Klaus Mikaelson dove to the left—of course; it was so obvious—and reached for the black ball a few feet away, but Caroline Forbes was poised for the kill. She threw the ball in her hands with all that she had, clipping her opponent on the forearm before his fingertips grazed the ball he had originally lunged for. And just like that, the game, the year, her life as a high school student, was over.

Their classmates poured out from the bleachers. All of the girls surrounded a panting Caroline as the bell rang for the final time.

"You did it!" Bonnie shrieked, squeezing Caroline tight.

"I did, I did!" she responded, eyes meeting Klaus' as he was comforted by his pals. She could see them again. The blue in them calmed her, like it always did. She pulled away from Bonnie. "But I couldn't have done it without all of you girls. Thanks so much"—

—"Shower time, ladies," Mr. Tanner interrupted. "You can give your thank you speech in the locker room."

Dismissed, the girls headed for their changing room, laughing freely now they were not bound by Mr. Tanner's silly rules.

"Bye, Caroline," Bonnie said, blowing Caroline a kiss as she exited the locker room. "I'll see you on Sunday for dress shopping!"

"Bye, Bon!"

Caroline applied a dusting of translucent powder to her face, white fluffy towel still wrapped around her body. She liked being the last person out of the locker room. It gave her enough time to get herself ready for whatever the rest of the day had in store.

Done with her makeup, she threw on her Last Day of High School outfit, a white dress with an embroidered rose on the hem, and closed her gym locker. She inspected herself in the full-length mirror by the exit door and, satisfied with her look, opened the door and stepped out into the outrageous heat. Already, she could feel her makeup sliding off of her face.

Caroline went around the school to the back lot and found a black Mustang soft top blocking her path. Leaning against the driver's side door, arms folded and sunglasses atop his curly-haired head, was none other than Klaus Mikaelson, decked out in a grey t-shirt and his favourite dark jeans. How he wasn't dead wearing long trousers was beyond her. Weren't the English supposed to despise hot weather?

"Waiting for a rematch, Mikaelson?" she jeered, adjusting the strap of her backpack as she approached him.

He placed his hands inside of his pockets and gave her a shrug. There was a bruise forming where she had hit him with the ball. "You beat me fair and square, Forbes. I won't contest that."

"Good." She stopped just short of reaching him. There was that lavender scent again. It lingered beneath her nose. "How long have you been waiting?"

Klaus' face broke out into a wide smile. He opened his arms and Caroline stepped into his grasp, burying her face in his t-shirt. "Long enough. You always take forever to get ready. Sometimes I contemplate just leaving you here to walk home."

"Hey." She caught his gaze. "I do most of this for you, you know."

"I like you the way you are. You don't need to put makeup on to impress me anymore. It's been three years, love. I'm comfortable looking at you with a clean face."

Grinning like a lovesick fool, Caroline closed the tiny gap between her and Klaus, cementing her lips over his. Warmth that had nothing to do with the overbearing sun crept beneath Caroline's skin.

"You're only saying that," Caroline said between kisses, "because you're afraid I'll bruise your other arm."

"I am not."

"Are too."

"Okay, maybe I am."

Caroline laughed into Klaus' mouth before pulling away. "Come on. Let's go to the Grill to celebrate."

"Celebrate what?" Klaus asked as she got inside the car. "The end of the school year or you beating me at dodgeball."

Smiling up at her boyfriend, Caroline said, "Both. Now get in. I'm sweating my skin off in this heat."

[xxjaytx87xx]

Better School Daze * I had been dating a girl that same year. I don’t know how I pulled that off, it just kind of happened. I’d bring my acoustic guitar to school and saw she could play too, so it went from there. But man, I was even timid around her. It took me forever to grow the guts to kiss her, much less, hold her hand. Everything was on her schedule because she had to make the first move, every time*. * I was the first in my group of friends to go all the way, sexually, though. So I had that going for me. It felt like real love at the time. I really thought I was (more on that later...).* * I was able to go to prom with her since she was a junior, while I was only a sophomore.* *This was another reason for my experimenting with alcohol. I’d be an idiot kid when it came to prom and the many after parties, if I had never drank before.* So there I was, sitting comfortably in World History, feeling beyond great. I could feel as though my eye lids were hanging on for the dear lives. They descended into two slits in the middle of my face, while my mouth was gaping and giggling. Who knows what was so damn funny, I just had to laugh. I had taken about five swigs in a three-minute period. A tingling sensation grew in the back of my neck, as well as the top of my head. The rest of my body was numb, inside and out. Internally, my conscious revealed that I had just been reborn. I couldn’t remember who or what I used to be, only what I was now. I turned around to Sam, sitting behind me, and whispered, "Oh my God, getting drunk is awesome!” She glanced at me, lifted her eyebrows as high as they could go, surprised, exclaiming, “I know." All the while, nodding her head. I turned back around in my seat—a chair connected with half of a desk, instead of the full ones we had back in the middle school days. I wasn’t able to get that goofy grin off my face. I was permanently, The Joker from Batman. Sensations of confidence flowed through my body and soul like waves on a beach. Filling me with, what felt like, a new power. A secret that I had found. And it was all mine. I took another long swig from the bottle that was now half-full. I sat up a little and took a long look around the room at everybody. It was dark, but I could still see all their faces. Now, normally, I’d be thinking everybody was looking at me, judgingly; however, nobody was looking. Nobody was judging (except maybe Sam, who probably thought I was an idiot for drinking in class). This was what having no worries, no fears, and no inhibitions felt like. This was how I was supposed to be—without a care in the world. I didn’t care what others thought of me anymore. I was able to be my true self. It was an awesome thing our substitute put on some boring-ass movie, otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have had this spiritual and mental revelation. I put on my inconspicuous headphones—my desk was across the room from the teacher’s desk—and pressed play on my Disc-Man. It was a fast-paced punk band known as The Casualties. Their music was blaring inside my head. It seemed like my ears were bleeding. That felt impeccable. *I* felt impeccable. I wanted to jump out of my desk-chair and go wild. Dance in front of everyone like they weren’t watching, and who gives a damn if they were, too. I needed to keep myself hidden though—I still had that sense—so instead, I sat back and slunk down in my chair. Loving myself. Loving life. After all these tortuous years, I was finally comfortable in my own skin. I ended up killing the bottle by next period. * I gotta do this again.* ________________________________________ *Beep, bzzzz, beep, bzzzz, beep*— The radio clock read 5:00pm in digital, red numbers. Our time was up for this session. I turned to look at Gail— "Wow, there's so much more that I gotta tell you." "I'm sure there is. What a story, so far! I am very glad you had the courage to tell me certain things. Thank you. That was very brave of you," she said. I sat up, then glanced down at my black chucks, shaking my head, "that's funny. 'Cuz that is nothing compared to the rest." I looked at her, eyes up but my head down. She jotted down something on her clipboard. Maybe where I left off in the story, for when I'd see her next time. But I wasn't ready to end it there... "Can I at least finish the high school part? It won't take but a minute." She looked at the clock again and asked if I could make it quick. I nodded and began, again— "Ok, well... I ended up breaking up with that girl I was dating back then, after I went to prom with her and her friends twice. She was crushed, heartbroken. Didn't know that would come back and bite me in the ass later. "I started experimenting with pills which went great with alcohol. I remember in Geometry, feeling the Valium kick in with some vodka I drank earlier. As it kicked in, The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" started to play in my headphones. I slowly melted into my seat feeling pure ecstasy—until I later tried real X at a show, which was truly surreal. I loved X. Took it every time I had the chance. I didn't care for mushrooms or acid, though. I had had a bad trip when my parents weren't home and my buddy brought over a gallon-sized Zip-lock bag of shrooms, then told the five of us to eat up. I wish I knew how much I took 'cuz it was horrible, everybody went insane. I tried acid and found it a lot more smoother than caps (or shrooms), until I felt a sharp pain in my lower abdomen. It hurt so bad. I couldn't tell my parents because I thought it was from the acid. A day later, I couldn't bear the pain anymore so I eventually told my parents. They took me to the Emergency Care doctor who said I needed to be rushed to the hospital. My appendix had ruptured," I laugh, "a doctor in the E. R. told me I'd be dead, had I waited another day"— "Oh my god!" Gail stopped me. "Ok, this is becoming longer than a minute. Let me check to see where my next client is." "Sure thing, doll." *Every female nurse or counselor has been a victim of my charm*. After she picked up the phone and waited a few seconds, she started talking. I took glances around the room looking at the different furniture, pictures, and little knick-knacks she had. Of course, she had a full bookcase containing probably every textbook she bought for schooling and counseling. She had two different versions of the DSM, including the most recent one (DSM-IV, at the time). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It's used to categorize and determine a patient's diagnoses. It has a list of every single disorder or disease you can think of. If your therapist doesn't have one on their shelf, it's time to find another one. She hung up the phone after a minute and said her client was running a little late so I can continue if I want. "Of course I do. Quickly, though." I gestured my hands in a chop-chop motion. Then stuck out my index finger, rolling it. "I had a band back then, too, where I played drums. Sorta hippy jam band, but we had a decent following. It was right before our last show when my appendix flaked out on me, so we had to cancel the gig. I was super pissed. "So back in high school, I was always at school, high." *I laugh at my corny-ass joke. *"I was drinking everyday or getting tipsy, at the very least. Then I'd have a wicked hangover at the end of the day. That's when the drugs came in handy. I started doing cocaine at parties, then quickly, everywhere. As a senior, I'd sell key bumps to underclassmen for five bucks each. Stupid kids. Then we graduated. When I walked, tons of people cheered. The alcohol was my liquid courage throughout the years, which brought me out of my shell and into life. I became a popular guy, knowing almost everyone in my school and dated some very cute girls. On the other hand, I was becoming an alcoholic, though I didn't know it at the time. Even for graduation, I took some X and drank before our school-run grad party, afterwards. "Out of high school, nothing changed. I kept drinking. Blacking out became a routine thing for me. I felt like a detective the morning after, trying to figure out what I did the night before. I was constantly sneaking out of the house and fighting with my parents. They couldn't take much more of my destructive behavior, so we agreed that I go see a therapist. We tried to keep it a secret, but I didn't care, I was either drunk or high on something. Even when I met up with my new shrink. I could not talk to him unless I had drank beforehand. "This one time I had to pay a bum to get me a pint of whiskey, so I ended up being late. In his office, I would talk and talk and talk, usually about nothing, and always being a smart ass. This lasted a few months, until one day I could see and feel what the drugs and alcohol were doing to me. I had scars and bruises obscuring my pale skinny body. My parents then brought up rehab. Initially I said, "no, absolutely not!" "Until, I finally gave in and told my shrink that I was sick. His eyes were half-closed with his head resting on his hand when I said, 'I think I need help.' "He jumped up as if he'd been shocked by a taser. "Yes, yes, you think?" The expression on his face was of huge relief. I think he was tired of my blabbing and knew I drank every time I saw him. So he called my parents, who had already found a rehab, and two days later... I was off." I took a big breath in and slowly exhaled. "So then you went to rehab," said Gail, confirming. "Yep. The first one." I nodded. "Ok well, thank you for having the courage to tell me all this. I'll see you next week?" "Indeed. And that's when things get juicy."