#and nothing wrong with that but I think it was supposed to be tea flavored or something

[mistbornhero]

*lounging in the floor with a drink and dark glasses, even indoors, for the aestheticTM

Hello my dear, what it's your favorite cake. Assuming you like cakes. Describe it to me.

Excellent aesthetic TM

Sorry for the delay in reply, yesterday a podfic event was closing so it was The Rush to finish followed by Too Tired To Think lmao

I think my favorite has always been Tres Leches Cake? Asked for it for most of my birthdays, she makes the cake itself with pancake mix, because why not, and then while it is hot you dump in a can of sweetened condensed milk and a can of evaporated milk and leave it (best overnight, because it has more time to soak up the flavor). And then once it's cooled down you take heavy cream and powdered sugar and whip up chantilly cream and (artfully) cover the whole cake.

So it's wet, I guess, and very sweet?

I also love chocolate cakes. All kinds? I have a great recipe for pecan chocolate cake, throw a ganache over it and ta-da. That one is less wet, but still moist? And has more cake texture because it's not as wet.

I do love cakes other people make, but my mom is great at baking so I'm also somewhat picky about it

Love Devil's Food cake? partially because of the name, partially because chocolate.

[cherryc1nnam0n]

Never let you go, baby | Dark!Ethan Landry x Afab!Reader

Due to many requests here it's part two of Before you go, baby. Enjoy ;)

Part 1

Summary: Your plans have been ruined due to your newfound pregnancy, so you come back to Ethan, just how he planned it

Cw: Dark themes, manipulative!Ethan, kidnapping, blackmailing, baby trapping, pregnancy symptoms, vomiting, pregnancy sickness, stalking, mentions of smut

It had been 3 months since you had left for college and now you had to come back, due to something you never expected or planned, a baby...

A baby of your best friend, who you had sex with before you left, without being on the pill and while being a virgin

You thought nothing would happen and that you would be okay, nobody gets pregnant on their first time, right?

Wrong

You were very pregnant, growing Ethan Landry's baby, you sometimes wondered how they would look like, would the baby have his nose?

You shook your head coming back into real life, you were close to your stop on the metro, back home after a long travel, your stomach was rumbling

"Y/n are you okay? You've been in there for a very long time" your friend from college asked from outside the stall you were locked in

"I'm okay, just... I think I ate something bad" you said holding your stomach, hunched down on the toilet

"Okay... I'll wait for you outside" she said going away

"Fuck..." You knew it wasn't food

Your stop was announced and you grabbed your bags and walked out, finally stepping home on the familiar place you knew, your stomach rumbled from hunger, all you had eaten was a sandwich and some tea, not very nutricious

"I know little one, we'll get food soon" you spoke to your tummy

You went past a pizza place, your favorite one from when you were in highschool, you were supposed to wait for Ethan so you went into the shop

"Y/n!" The attendant said coming over to the counter when he saw you "How's it been? Didn't you leave for college?" Small town things

"Uh yeah I did but uhm, I need to take back some stuff" you lied

"Oh okay, the usual?" You nodded

"Yes please"

Soon you were served your favorite flavor of pizza, and ate it like it was the best meal of your life, which you felt it was

"Hungry aye?" He asked you and you just giggled

"Had not eaten today"

"Poor thing, you enjoy that" he went to serve someone else

Your phone rang and you saw a text from Ethan

Where r u?

Tom's pizza

K

Not even 5 minutes later he came in to the shop, smiling at you as he sat down next to you

"Glad you're back" he said grabbing your hand

"Yeah..." You didn't feel so happy about it, but he seemed like it "Can we go home?" He nodded

You were about to grab your wallet when he stopped you

"I'll pay honey, it's okay" he said going to pay for you

"Thanks" you said while walking out

He threw his arm around you, your bag on his shoulder

"No need to thank me babe, that's what I'm here for"

You sighed, you couldn't get used to him calling you cute pet names

"Eth..." He hummed "You said- promised, that nothing would change between us but... It did... Right?"

He thought for a moment, or, acted like it, he had planned this whole thing beforehand and you didn't even know

"Well, yeah technically it does, we're gonna be a family now"

"Yeah I know..." You pouted, not ready for this yet "Did you let mom know that I'm here?"

He swallowed "Yeah, she knows, we'll be there soon, we just need to go to my house to pick something and we'll go to your house, okay?"

"Oh, okay" you said softly

Soon you reached his house and he opened the door for you

"Come in, I'll be right back"

You looked around as he left to who knows where, nothing had changed but it certainly felt different

"What the-" you said when you saw a crib mid built up, but suddenly you were grabbed from behind and you became very sleepy

"Shhhh, it'll be okay my love, I'm never letting you go"

Your eyes drooped until you finally fell asleep, darkness taking over...

Some hours later...

You woke up on a bed, a really comfy bed actually, but you were somewhere different

"Wha-?" You looked around to see if you could recognize something

"Good morning my love" Ethan said coming out of the shadows "Sleep good?"

"Ethan, what the fuck are you doing?!" You yelled at him

He just smiled

"Forming a family that's what I'm doing" he sat down on a chair in front of you "Oh you silly Y/n..." He chuckled making you shiver "You think I didn't know this would happen?"

You swallowed heavily "What would happen?"

"You getting pregnant of course" he said standing up "This was all part of my plan, I would get you pregnant and that way you would be mine, forever" he said in front of you, making you back away "Don't be afraid baby, I won't hurt you, I love you too much to do that, never when you're growing my baby" he said touching your tummy "So precious..."

"Ethan... It doesn't have to be this way, please don't lock me away"

"Oh it'll be temporary, until you get used to being my little housewife, only good for breeding and staying at home, being all pretty and full of my babies" he kissed your cheek "I know you'll be good for me baby"

You should be scared, you should be running away, smacking him away, fighting back but... All you did was give in, you loved Ethan and you had always been an outcast, no one had ever asked you out of even had a crush on you, and now this boy, this handsome boy is wanting to keep you all to himself? You couldn't say no to that, could you?

"I'll be good for you Eth..."

"Good girl..."

...........................................................

Requested by:

@ethanslaundry @angel-of-the-eon @yourslxttysurprise

[violetlunette]

For the sake of this Ficlet, Silver is a young woman, and Lilia's her befuddled father.

Twst Spoilers:

*One Line about Malleus' mommy

--

“Father! You’re back!” Lilia beamed at the sound of his little girl’s voice. 

He had been at NRC for a while now and decided to visit home for the holidays. The college was fun, but Lilia couldn’t wait to share his experiences with Silver.

“Yeah! I’m--”

Lilia’s bag slid from his shoulders as he froze mid-sentence as a young lady with aurora eyes bounded towards him. Lilia’s eyes blew open and his jaw dropped.

“S-Silver?” It certainly looked like his sweet little girl—or rather, she shared features he recalled her having. However, there were some features he didn’t remember her having, some—not so little girl things. Things that Lilia couldn’t ignore as they—stuck out.

Silver—oblivious to her father’s confusion—smiled brightly as she stopped before him, her skin pink and covered in sweat from training in the sun.

“I’m so glad to see you! Welcome home.” She pressed her hand over—no, between her--her--~~

“Father?” Lilia snapped back to reality, though his head spun like a spell disc being tossed in the air.

“Hm?! Oh. OH! Y-yes. Sorry about that. Just—surprised,” he admitted, running a hand over his neck. How long had he been gone? Were they there when he left? Was she hiding them?! When did his little girl get—get—those?!

Silver tilted her head to the side, her messy silver hair slipping from the messy braid.

“Surprised?” she repeated. Lilia waved his hand through the air, looking away.

“N--never mind,” he mumbled, face red. “Er, let’s--let’s go inside and talk, shall we?”

He ushered her inside, where Silver insisted Lilia sit while she made him some tea, as to her appeared feverish. Usually, Lilia would use his magic to make tea so they could converse but right now, he welcomed a moment to think. This was a difficult task as his mind was blown.

It seemed that during Lilia's absence, his daughter had grown—she developed—oh, where did those come from?! No. He knew where they came from. He grew up alongside Malenore, after all. (Though hers weren’t as large as Silver’s. And if Lilia was honest—he did not handle that development much better. [Though that was VERY different.])

He was thankful they didn’t bounce, at least. If they did, the old man would not be standing right now. (Not that he was, as Lilia was in a chair, but still.)

“Mr. Zigvolt gave us some new herbal flavored tea,” Silver explained as she set two cups down. Lilia tried not to notice how they hung as she leaned forward. “Would you like some melons?” Lilia physically jumped in his seat.

“What?!” Silver was taken aback by the reaction.

“Uh, melons?” she repeated. “The fruit?” Lilia deflated, though his face was still flustered.

“Oh. No, that’s okay, that’s fine.” Lilia sipped the tea, trying to calm himself and hide his face.

He was overreacting. Silver was a girl, and girls had those. It was nature. But it was too soon. Silver was just a little girl, barely fifteen, and now--

Silver’s shirt slipped, revealing a bra strap on her shoulder. Lilia sputtered in his tea.

“Father?! What’s wrong!”

“NOTHING!” the fae said too loudly. “Nothing at all! Just—wrong, tube, ya know? No, that’s okay. I can clean myself up.” He added as Silver stood to get a rag. He waved his hand, and the mess on his shirt was gone. The mess in his head, on the other hand...

‘A bra. She has a bra.’ A bra. His daughter had a bra. When did she get that?! Was it new? Did she always have one? Baul’s daughter took her shopping once in a while in the past. Was that one of the things they grabbed?

“Father? You seem distracted,” Silver noted with a frown as he subconsciously pushed her sleeve up. (Thank goodness.) “Is something wrong?” Lilia forced a laugh, which came out as a loud boom.

“Nope! Not at all!” He couldn’t ask. True, he was her father, but—well, he was her father! How the hell was he supposed to ask this stuff?! 

This was almost as bad as the time poor Silver had woken up with bloody sheets—actually, no. He was wrong. As shocking as this was, it was nothing compared to THAT day. (Baul’s daughter was still laughing at him for it.)

Lilia sighed as he leaned forward, head in his hands, as Silver went to grab him some water. He was being silly. Lilis knew it was just a body part. He knew that. Malenore had them, as did every female he met. And it wasn’t like they “bothered” him. In fact, he rarely noticed them. (Really.) It just bothered him that Silver had them. They were a symbol that his little girl was growing, and that thought—they came too soon. This was too fast for Lilia.

‘Nature doesn’t wait, though.’ And just as flowers bloomed, so was his daughter. And as her father, he shouldn’t be mourning the fact his Silver rose wasn’t a blossom any more. Instead, he should be proud that she was becoming a beautiful woman.

‘It’s going to be difficult to keep boys from buzzing--’ Lilia turned white as paper. ‘Oh, fiddlesticks!’

Boys.

It was hard enough keeping them away before, but now the symbols of his daughter’s blossoming were going to attract those fiends like hornets. Well, if they thought they were going to try anything with HIS daughter--

“Father! You’ve been acting weird ever since you came back! Are you sure you’re---”

“I’m great!” Lilia proclaimed loudly. “In fact, I have some things to teach you! Right now.” Silver’s wide aurora eyes blinked in startled shock.

“Huh? Train? We’re going to train? But you just got back--”

“No time to waste! Come on, I’m going teach you how to break someone’s wood.”

“Eh? You mean we’re going to chop wood? Now?” Lilia laughed.

“No, no not that kind of wood—But while we’re at it, go grab the wood chapter from the shed. I’m going to teach you an interesting trick.”

“H-huh?”

--

Lol, poor Lilia! 700 years old, and he gets completely thrown off by his daughter's "growth" and has no idea what to do. Anyway, I wanted to write a little ficlet with a baffled Lilia and a female Silver, so here we are.

[niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian]

Cutting it kinda close with not posting this for awhile just do to not being able to get the feel of it down till recently.

(This was an idea that I originally wanted to draw out at some point in the future, buuut the urge to write it over took the urge to draw it instead.)

(A03 link)

=======================

Down in the grumps

Tails huffs audibly as he flops down on the couch next to Sonic, who was reading a magazine with his head resting on his hand as he quietly reads. Sonic's ear twitches when he hears Tails' loud huff and raises an eyebrow.

"What’s wrong?" He asks, keeping his eyes locked onto the page.

"Nothing…'' The kit's voice came out in a slow, dull tone, bringing his knees to his chest and hugging his arms around them with his appendages also curling around his feet. This gains Sonic’s attention away from his magazine and looking at his brother in slight concern.

"Are you sure? Your voice doesn't sound like it's just "nothing" to me." He places the magazine on the table and scoots closer to him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. “What’s going on, bud?”

Tails gives a shrug, but not hard enough to shrug Sonic’s hand away. "I don't know. I just feel kinda…sad today."

Sonic’s ears perked up. "You’re sad? Why's that?"

"I just don't feel like I'm in a good mood today for some reason. I even tried to work on one of my projects, but I just don't have the energy for it right now." His frown deepens. "I think it's my brain making me feel this way."

Sonic goes to lightly run a hand between the kit's ears, smirking slightly as he watches him lean into the gesture and closing his eyes. "Really? And your brain is making you feel all of this?"

"I suppose so, yeah." He answers quietly.

"Hmm-mmm." He couldn't blame the kid, everyone had those types of days where sadness just snuck up on you with no warning and had its hold on you for almost days at a time, he remembered when he would have 'em.

It was extremely rare for Tails in this case since he was so upbeat and positive like Sonic usually was. The last time he could remember this happening was when the kit was little and was so quiet when he got like this, in which this must be a really bad case if it's got him this down.

"Do you maybe want some warm tea? I know you have that one that has the rosemary flavor you like in it."

Tails shook his head, leaning away and placing his chin in his hands.

"Well, then maybe watch a movie? How about one of those sci-fi movies you've been wanting to show me for weeks now, we can watch that."

He only got another head shake as an answer while his lips had formed into a small frown and let out a heavy sigh.

Wow, this was definitely a serious case.

'Well, that simply won't do.'

Seeing Tails being lost in his inner thoughts, Sonic takes the opportunity by reaching up and beginning to ruffle both of his ears, hearing the fox exclaim out in surprise.

"Hey!-" Sonic cuts him off by ruffling his ears even quicker, messing with his fur in the process. "What the-, Sonic!"

"Yo, Tails' brain! Stop making my buddy feel all grumpy!" Sonic mocked yelled, randomly poking around Tails' head and ears. "I'm commanding you to stop it this instant!"

Tails attempted to block the numerous poking with his hands to no avail as Sonic would work his way around the makeshift shield. Sonic then changed tactics by grabbing onto his shoulders and shook his whole body back and forth in a rough, yet gentle manner.

"Wha-, what are you doing!?" He tried to make himself sound annoyed by this but the growing smile on his face made it rather difficult.

"What’s it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to shake all the grumpiness out of you, that's what!"

“I'm feeling more annoyed than grumpy! Knock it off!" Tails slapped his hands away and tried to push him away. Sonic grabbed both of his hands and held them as he "inspected" Tails by searching around his face and under his arms, pulling him in closer.

"Yikes! That still sounds pretty grumpy to me!" He wrapped his arms around the kit, trapping the boy's arms against his body. "We need to hurry before it takes over your whole body!"

"Would you stop it-IT! STAHP!" Sonic grinned at Tails’ high pitched squeal when he purposely moved from poking his head to poking at his sides and ribs. "No, quit it!"

Tails did his best to curl away but ended up scooting towards the armrest of the couch instead, further trapping him and making it easier for Sonic to continue his attack.

"I'm trying to help you, the grumpiness is going to consuuume you if I don’t!" He exclaimed, in an over-the-top goofy voice. "I can't lose you to the dreaded grumpiness!"

"Your-, not-! GAH-! Okay, I feel behehetter now!! Juhust stohop!" Tails pleaded. He was tightly gripping Sonic's wrists, trying to pry his hands away. The hedgehog merely rolled his eyes, amused.

"Oh, but are you really? Or are you just telling me that so you can pretend to be okay when you're really still, very much upset?" He teased, still rapidly tasering at his sides, making the poor kid squeal and then dissolve back into his giggling fit.

"I'm being serious! For Gaia’s sahahake, stohohop!”

"Hmmmm, OK." He immediately pulled his hands away and sat back as Tails caught his breath. "I'll take your word for it, and from the way your voice cracked just now."

That earned him a cushion being thrown at his face, which he caught with ease and gently chucked it back at the kit's head.

"You...are....so evil." Tails panted.

"Says the kid that hacks into Eggman’s email and sends messages to random women on dating sites." Sonic witted back, holding back a snort when Tails snapped his head up and looked appalled at him.

"Hey, that was your idea!"

"Yes, true, but you still acted upon it."

"I hate you." He muttered, shaking his head.

"No, you don't." Sonic leaned back against the couch. "So, how are you feeling?”

“Exhausted.” He replied with a small crack in his voice

“I can definitely hear that. But, do you still feel sad?"

The fox pauses and blinks. "No."

Sonic raises a brow. "Do you remember why you were feeling sad?"

"No. I actually don't."

Sonic raises up his hands. "See? Still got the all-time, magic way to get rid of the major grumps." He quickly ruffled his bangs, but Tails didn't push away his hand like he tended to do. “And to think you were so doubtful.”

Tails let amused huff. "What made you think that was even going to work?"

"Well, other than the fact that it did," He smirked at the light scowl Tails threw at him for that comment. "It always worked back when you were younger, so I decided to test it out again. You just probably don't remember it."

"Oh no, I definitely remember when you used to do it. I just don't remind you of it so you don’t keep doing that all the time."

Sonic grinned slyly. "Ah, so you admit that it works?"

"No, I didn’t say that."

"The end result says otherwise, bud. You're not even frowning anymore.”

Tails raised a finger to retort, but lowered it once he realized it was a null argument. He sighed in defeat. "You're so annoying sometimes, you know that?"

Sonic reached over and jostled his side. "Meh, sometimes that's a good thing."

Tails slapped his hand away this time. "No, for you it definitely isn't."

"You just keep telling yourself that, grumpy."

[sigurdjarlson]

Ooooh!! Pls tell us how they are dropping the ball in TWW. I’d like some tea ☕️

So like I do like some aspects of TWW but imo Khadgar’s fakeout death and Dalaran falling was done quite poorly

Like if you’re gonna kick the expansion off with what we at the time assumed was a major character death you could have at least…had more than 2 characters care about it

I think that’s what bothers me the most? Alleria and Anduin express genuine grief. Mostly Alleria though. Jaina does for a few seconds. And then no one else in the game like ever mentions it.

No members of the council of six, no Medivh, no citizens of Dalaran who may have liked him, nothing.

Turalyon doesn’t say one word about it :(

It just doesn’t work because his death has 0 impact on anyone except Alleria. No one even MENTIONS it except her and Anduin

We have Alleria’s vengeance arc that personally I think could have been much more impactful

For a successful fakeout death you gotta make it impactful, emotional, etc.

And you do that by showing the grief it causes other characters and the effects it has on their actions or what the absence of that character does in general

They do this with literally only Alleria which imo probably doesn’t work for some people either

Like lbr most players haven’t read Beyond the Dark Portal. Their friendship in the game exists mainly in some flavor text and what they try to throw in there in the beginning of the expansion. A little bit in Legion (which was years ago)

They do nothing to make new players attached to Khadgar before killing him (they’re probably like who is that Lmao) or even just refresh the bond some current players who aren’t obsessed with him like me have with him

There’s some very sweet text between him and the player character in the beginning quests (“I’m glad to have you by my side.” I’ll give them that)

For god’s sake Dalaran falling doesn’t seem to do much of anything. Think of Teldrassil (regardless of the shit writing that led to it) how they have you desperately try to save civilians and ultimately be overwhelmed by the smoke.

They show how significant of a loss this is in various ways, show the refugees, suffering, etc

You get a few stragglers from Dalaran who express very mild grief about it imo. Most of it is “it’s a shame we lost so much knowledge” which is very valid Dalaran was full of it but like…where’s the emotional impact bruh

Then of course they give us Khadgar back

On one hand I’m happy he’s not dead. The cinematic was very sweet.

On the other…what was the point except to make Alleria make some impulsive grief fueled decisions?

Literally what was the point of any of that when no one cared and it did not impact much of anything significantly alskdkslf

Personally I think they should have drawn it out longer, really let the loss sink in..but to do that they’d have to actually acknowledge he died lmao

I still don’t like how he got one shot by Xal either. This man can hold his own with Gul’dan and various other powerful characters.

You could have let it be a fight that she just ends up winning but have him actually get to fight. He deserves that.

Idk I just think it was all written very poorly and mainly for shock value. It didn’t do justice to the character but I suppose I should just be happy they let him live

Idk this expansion in general doesn’t really make you feel like anything happened. it leaves you in a lot of ways going “what was the point…of any of that.” By the end of it?

Xal is fun in a way but she’s also very..one dimensional. Some people find that refreshing to be fair. Just someone straight up evil for evil’s sake. I think it’s a bit lazy that she doesn’t have much of a motivation except that.

And they try SO hard to make her the Uber powerful threat and she’s ~so cunning~ but to do it they nerf other characters and make them make dumb decisions and that’s also lazy :|

Like don’t get me wrong there’s some strong aspects to the expansion. (Especially in side quests. We got some real good side quests this expansion but the main quest itself is lacking in some serious ways particularly in regards to how it started)

Mostly I just don’t like that no one cares Khadgar dies. It drives me nuts lmao.

Literally being Medivh’s ass in. That could have been painful. The character he has the closest bond with.

Legion era writing I miss you…

They wanted a Varian’s death situation (except surprise he’s alive) but it didn’t work because none of them put any effort into having other characters react to it except Alleria ._. They rushed it and just kinda dropped the ball.

We got some good stuff. I like the Earthen, Neurbians and Kobolds. I like the Magni stuff with him, Dagran and Moira

I really like Faerin and some other new characters too.

It’s just..I have more examples of them dropping the ball but my brain isn’t working lmao. Mostly I’m mad at how they handled Khadgar and Dalaran which was supposed to kick off the expansion

Also why Thrall in the loading screen (which implies he’s gonna be a big character this expansion) with Alleria and Anduin when he literally doesn’t show up until the end and does absolutely nothing but bring the horde fleet

I guess we should be thankful they kept Metzen on a leash there. It could have been all Thrall all the time but I just think it’s kinda funny like they just threw him in there for no reason (Metzen probably)

I also do hope there are consequences for Anduin bailing on his kingdom. I love him. I totally get it but you can’t tell me his people aren’t gonna lose complete faith in him after he runs off AGAIN Like that.

I don’t mean he should be punished for having completely reasonable reactions to trauma just that..decisions do have consequences especially in regards to running a Kingdom

He’s gonna need to work to regain their faith in him or at least he should have to but idk if Blizz will do that. Like this should severely weaken his people’s faith in him as a leader.

[tobiasdrake]

Back in action! Four notes to find and... an amount of time to find them in!

Oh man, last night was a blast. Wasn't anticipating Artificer showing up with a chocolate, gooseberry, and banana pie. What a weirdass combination of flavors. Who would even?

But you know what? It worked.

I don't know why Prophet was so insistent on karaoke when he has the voice of a tortured cat.

Did you know Shopkeeper is a woman!? I've known her for 500 years and never even realized! Not once!

I wouldn't describe that as 'knowing someone for 500 years'. Though it was pretty fun to watch her kick your ass at that old Wheels machine you guys dug out.

Hey, it was my first time playing... anything like that, honestly. And you know what? I didn't lose my temper and start throwing hands, so that makes me a better student than the fucking moon. I'm choosing to be proud of that.

Oh cool. I think this was Yoyo's cottage. That's probably her pear tree with what is clearly a person imprisoned within it, ala Shopkeeper's "magic pear tree that imprisons those who steal from it" tale.

Wonder what ever happened to her? Probably died, I'm guessing. The Three Sisters are a weird metaphysical thing that happened one time but they aren't, like, immortal deities or something. I'm pretty sure they can grow old and die.

That's definitely Pyro. But I can't glide from here. And there's nothing to latch my graplou onto. What is there to...

...

I just had the worst idea ever.

HAHAHAHAHA HOLY SHIT IT DOES WORK LIKE THAT

How is the surface of the lava not melting my tabi?

Oh, they produce a weak little energy field to resist the liquid underneath. I just thought they used buoyancy. I. Realize now. What a stupid assumption that was. These are tabi, not mizugumo.

Nobody wants to talk about how they ended up at the site of their greatest fears. I'm beginning to think it's a masochism thing. They're too embarrassed to admit that they did this on purpose but then got stuck.

What.

What the fuck happened here?

Guys. Guys. Were you seriously waiting for this stupid flower to grow until you died!?

Oh my goddess, you were seriously waiting for this stupid flower to grow until you died. I will be right back, but retroactively.

...actually, while we're at it....

Fuck yes. This is a perfect spot for growing Astral Leaves. In that we know, 500 years from now, absolutely nothing will have changed.

Gonna make some tea and learn... something about... sharper eyesight? I think? I dunno, the elder somehow manages to be impressively boring when he talks. He opens his mouth and awareness flees from my brain.

...

Never mind. You two don't even know what I'm talking about. Point is, I'm going to brew a tea that's so good, I won't have to get contact lenses. ANYWAYS. Now that that's taken care of, let's tend to your dumbness.

Yes, the one that's in the ground over there. I have it right here. Please do not mind the temporal paradox; In any system of physics in which time travel is possible, there is absolutely nothing wrong with an object existing at two parallel points in space but separated by a great length of time between. Paradoxes are overrated.

Happy to be of service.

...out of curiosity, could I get a taste of that stew? I'm super curious to know what's in it.

...you know what, now that I think about it, it's visibly boiling so maybe I'll hold off until it cools.

Oh goddess, I know exactly where this is going. Guys. Guys. Let's not do anything that we're going to reg--

IS MY PELVIS SUPPOSED TO TASTE LIKE SHRAPNEL!?

Yeah, I had a feeling they'd punched me into one of these. What is this, the crystallized essence of my ruptured spleen?

...so. Yes. That's a yes, is what I'm hearing.

The power thistle made them so strong that their sheer overwhelming might crystallized into the tapestry of reality itself.

Okay. You know what? That's fair. If I was a Gym Bro, I'd wait 500 years for an herb like that too.

[rose-reads-visualnovels]

reply sent to me by homa from @goldenwolfwitch

So I've been thinking on how to address this for a while, because I can see this is a topic very close to your heart. It's not my intention to be callous or victim blaming when dealing with abuse, and it's also not my intention to say being forgetful is an intentional act by people who just want to be punished.

However, I must stand both with my reading of Shannon as a blind liveblogger and with my liveblogging method itself. I show my genuine interpretation of the characters and their dynamics, but I also think about what it all means beyond the characters themselves.

Shannon has been working as a child servant for the Ushiromiyas since she was 6 years old. She's 16 now. 10 years of her life spent in that island where nothing happens and time stands still as she cleans and serves while being abused by those in a position of power over her. (emotionally by Natsuhi and who knows how by Kinzo). Kanon helps her now, but he's only been working here for about 2 years.

When discussing the character, Shannon is someone who appears to be completely broken in spirit. She has her pride, when she doesn't let Kanon snitch to Genji about what happened between her and Eva, but her resistance towards abuse thrown at her is at zero. She has no boundaries she won't allow her masters to cross. She has completely given up on the idea of not being disrespected at every turn. Battler can molest her in front of her maybe boyfriend George, the family heiress Jessica and Maria a 9 year old. Shannon's mind is far, far away from her body.

If we talk about her place in the narrative, she's shown in contrast to Kanon in a very particular way. It's not a furniture vs furniture dynamic. It's the "real" vs "unreal". Even when she self identifies as furniture, Shannon is real. She represents the reality of being a child in servitude to a family of unstable power hungry adult children. Everything that could go wrong in such a dynamic does go wrong. Shannon is always being scolded, and teased and harassed because being completely powerless and surrounded by abusive people opens you up to abuse. Kanon only gets scolded by a fellow servant for not smiling enough and then all the Ushiromiya adults jump in to defend his honor from that old mean Gohda. He lives a fantasy. He represents a fantasy world, a magic world where masters are good towards their servants, where "going through puberty" is justification for not punishing bad behavior.

The family conference happens once every year at the same time every year. With that whole timeframe to prepare herself, be familiar with what's inside the kitchen and what tea Natsuhi usually wants served, why didn't she? Why must Shannon forget about the flavor of the tea when everything about her background (10 years working in Rokkenjima) says there's no way it can even be possible?

The Watsonian explanation is that the nervousness made her mind blank. This is what you took from the scene because you're also a forgetful person, according to your own words. But the Doylist explanation says Shannon must be punished. The narrative threads around Shannon would never allow her to escape an interaction with Eva with a simple answer and smile. Shannon must forget and she will forget in the future again, she won't be allowed to ask Kumasawa or Gohda beforehand for more information on the things she's supposed to do because Shannon has to suffer.

Shannon is doing her best to be the target of abuse, because there are no other ways her character can go. I'm not saying she - the character we're watching - is intentionally throwing herself at situations unprepared out of a desire for punishment. I'm saying she's the first victim in a horror movie who's making all the terrible obvious mistakes that will get her killed that make audiences groan in frustration.

Shannon is walking towards her doom every time she enters a room. This is not her fault, the script is obviously against her. Shannon's forgetfulness doesn't reflect her inner feelings and heart in the same way a group of friends splitting up to investigate an abandoned house doesn't mean every individual in the group is a low IQ worm.

Shannon is a lynchpin of human suffering, and thus she is furniture.

-- Rose, the Revolutionary Witch

[findingmypeace]

I think maybe I’m coming out of denial. I get migraines. I don’t think it’s related to the ed. But I just had an extremely pain full headache come on very quickly. My friend from work gets migraines too so I texted her. I explained the symptoms and she said it sounds like a stress or tension headache. It felt different than a migraine. It was headache and then listed some things I can do to help it. Those things were to put an ice pack on my forehead and lay down for a little while. That helped quite a bit. I think just relaxing for a little while helped. But then her other advice was to drink some warm tea and ingest a little bit of sugar to let her body know it’s “safe”.

I knew her advice was probably appropriate. There is no way I can have some sugar right now. I just had a small scone a little while ago. It wasn’t that many calories. I can’t have something else right now. Maybe in a few hrs. But that’s not what I freaked out about.

This is the most ridiculous thing and I hate myself for it. In the past few days I’ve become absolutely terrified of fluids. Wtf is wrong with me? How can I be so ridiculous? It’s just tea. It’s my favorite kind too. I already made it. But I haven’t taken a sip yet. I am going to make myself drink it but as it was heating up in the microwave I had a complete meltdown realizing just how bad things have become.

And of course the thing is I’m terrified of the water weight gain and that’s why it’s become this way. But the thing that has frustrated me beyond all else (and this is even more ridiculous) is no matter how little I keep down for the past several weeks my weight has been fluctuating within two pounds. On Wednesday I kept nothing down and when I took my “official” I was up by 1.5 pounds. This morning I was only down by .3 pounds. Why is this happening so close to treatment? I am only 10 pounds away from my highest weight and I am very shortly going to treatment. Treatment is going to push me past my highest. I don’t think I can handle that. That’s why I’ve become afraid of fluids. I don’t want the water weight gain. But being afraid of water or flavored water is absolutely ridiculous.

After I started to feel better, I went to put the water for the tea in the microwave and I felt very lightheaded and I still feel a little dizzy. I think it’s because of the headache. I still feel a little dizzy. While I was waiting for the water to heat up I almost passed out. I just felt so incredibly lightheaded. When I feel like that why do all the medical professionals think I perfectly healthy or that it’s just the machine malfunctioning.

I’m working from home today, for the most part. I was planning to go to the female house for a short while to finish two more client satisfaction surveys that are supposed to be done quarterly. I’m already very late on them and I’m being bugged to get them done asap. But, honestly, I don’t think I can drive even though it’s probably only a 7-10 minute drive to the house. (That’s the one that’s farther away.) I know my friend is there working a floor shift so I’m thinking I might just call over there and ask my friend to help me out. I absolutely hate that this is affecting my job. I just feel like I’m letting everyone down. And maybe this is the part that’s in denial but this whole headache thing feels like something completely unrelated to my eating disorder. It’s just stress.

[nkogneatho]

𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐘 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘

— 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐆𝐎𝐉𝐎 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐔

#series m.list #m.list #taglist #tip me

—word count: 1.5k

—cw: fem!reader, semi-public sex, cunningulus, fingering, protected sex.

—A/n: was rubbing my thighs while writing this. Anyways. Enjoy. Send feebacks.

—Reblogs are appreciated.

You know how there's always a man that people find annoying, but somehow you're the only one ridiculously attracted towards him? Yeah. Gojo Satoru was like that to you.

Don't get me wrong. Girls loved him. A lot of them in fact. And why won't they? He was rich, tall, good-looking, and known to be extremely flirtatious. A prince charming. But anyone who had met him in real life found him egoistic, immature, ignorant, and annoying. In fact, he had a nickname among the people who back bitched about him. 'Self obsessed whore.' Sounds about right. But these same qualities turned you on. You found that self-obsession and ego laced voice—when he would say something to piss the higher ups off—sexy. So, when the Kyoto School principal ordered you to go to the meeting with Satoru, you almost fainted from happiness.

You had put more than usual effort in your makeup. Made sure your shirt missed a few buttons to flaunt the bare skin that might catch his eyes. You even shaved. You felt like a clown because what were you expecting? The leader of the Gojo clan would be interested in fucking me? Haha. Yes. Maybe I should've put on a clown makeup. You thought. But you shaved anyway. Who knows? Perhaps you'll get lucky.

The whole time in the meeting, you were staring at him. He might've thought you were seriously invested in what he had to say, but all you could think was of those lips. They were glossy. Maybe he had a lip balm on. And if he did, you badly wanted to know what flavor. Perhaps smell it. Or even taste it—

“So anyway. That brings me back to my point that we're not going to execute Itadori unless it's officially clear that he's a threat to humanity,” he confirmed, fidgeting the matcha tea cup in his hand. “Although even if he was a threat, you know I won't have any trouble to put Sukuna in his place.”

God. You hated that you blushed at that. And you hated it even more knowing that it was clearly visible to him. But it all went away when you saw a faint smile appear on his face. You couldn't see his eyes, but you knew they were staring right at you.

“Thank you so much for your assistance. I'll confirm this with Principal Gakuganji. We shall look forward to carrying out the concluded plan,” you said as you shook hands with him. He had this slightly firm grip on you and send shivers down your spine. Wow. I am holding hands with Gojo Satoru. When what you were actually doing is having a professional handshake at the end of the meeting, just like how any other person would.

“Well, if you may, I shall leave.” But he didn't. Instead, he was staring at you with an expression you couldn't comprehend. Then you looked down and realized that you hadn't let his hand go. Shit. You dumb bitch. Now he might know you have eyes for him. You felt embarrassment creep over you, but Satoru saved you and just laughed it off.

You both left the room together. He headed towards his car and you towards yours. You both once again noticed each other in the same place. Apparently, he had his car parked next to yours. You gave him a warm smile, which made him say something totally unexpected.

“I thought you just had a crush on me. But now you stalk me too?” He laughed. Your brain did a 180° after processing what he had just said. He knew?

“Wh–what? I wasn't stalking you. My car is parked here too,” you stutter.

“Oh. So, I am only right about the crush part then.” Dammit. You knew it was a joke. You knew this was his nature. And wasn't this exact thing why you liked him? Then why did it piss you off?

“I— ugh. No wonder they call you a self obsessed whore,” you mumbled. It was supposed to be inaudible. You didn't realize you were thinking out loud.

“Come again?”

“What? Nothing. It wasn't about you—”

“I am a self-obsessed whore. You knew that then, why the heart eyes in the meeting, baby?” He got closer and closer. It was becoming difficult to breathe. Shit. He is an asshole. But people should emphasize that he is also hot, flirtatious, attractive, and tall. That same tall body was towering you now.

“Please. If you come any closer, then…”

“Then what, baby?” he held your chin, making you look up at him.

“Then I will end up kissing you.” Your breath was heavy.

He took in all the air you had exhaled, before consenting a “then fucking kiss me.”

That was all that it took for you to lose control and crash your lips on his. He didn't budge, letting you do everything you wanted. After some minutes, he wrapped his arms around the waist, lifted you off the ground, and placed you on the bonnet of his smoke gray car. He then started pushing his tongue through, rubbing his hands on your back. You found yourself moaning into the kiss. He did have a lip balm on. And now you could taste it. It was a mix of blueberry and mint.

“Need you.” You pleaded, breaking the kiss and catching a breath.

“Right here?”

“Mhm. Please.” And there it was. Something he can't resist. A kind request from such a pretty person. And there is no way in hell he was gonna miss a chance of fucking you in an empty underground space, which was apparently also a parking lot for the abandoned school.

Gojo quickly went inside his car and pulled out a condom and all the other needed things. When he came back to the front, he saw your hands reaching between your thighs. Your eyes closed. You looked so sexy.

“Baby?” He whispered. “Hold on to this for me, please.” He pleaded, tugging the hem of your shirt between your teeth. He inserted two wet fingers that he spat on, stretching you out nicely. You whimpered, feeling erotic. The hands that you were thirsting on earlier were now into you, fingering you.

“Need to feel those lips.”

“They are already on your lips, baby” he assured, kissing you, but you pulled away.

“No, no. Uhm—fuck. Need to feel them—” your hands traveled between your legs, pointing on your pussy, “right here.” All those feelings he was holding back emerged from his body as he bent down, kissing your pussy. Thank god I shaved. Your drooling cunt was fluttering at how good those lips felt on your wetness. He pushed his tongue, rubbing them harshly on your clit. He was so passionate. You loved the feeling.

A few licks later, your orgasm came crashing down on you. He held your legs when they were shaking from the pleasure. He crawled up to your lips, trying to hear your moans clearer. They felt like music to his ears.

“I wonder how blueberries lip balm and my cum tastes together?” You grinned.

“Why don't you taste it yourself?” His lips once again crashed yours. It tasted surprisingly good.. Fruity, but a little sour. You loved it.

Satoru wore the condom. He gathered your wetness, teasing your clit before pushing past your hole. “Holy shit,” you moaned so loud. His length was long enough.

Halfway through the sex, you were losing your grip, but he held your hips tightly, guiding you on his cock. He brought one of his hands to your clit and started rubbing it. You once again closed your eyes, feeling another orgasm approaching you.

“Fuck, baby. Ah! You're so hot. So fucking tight. Wanna cum.” His hips thrust hard into you.

Satoru was close too. It was one of the reasons he wanted to make you cum while he does, so you milk him dry.

Your legs shivered and wrapped tightly around his hips. “Ah! Fuck. Oh shit, baby.” He groaned, stopping his thrusts. With a stuttering hips, he came while being inside you. There was a barrier if rubber, but you could feel how warm his cum was.

“Well, that was…” he wiped the sweat off your forehead. “—amazing. I was good.”

You laughed at his comment. “You really are a self-obsessed whore.”

“Never denied it, baby.” He pressed his forehead against yours.

You both were just looking into each other's eyes. Just two half naked bodies in a parking lot. But it didn't feel cold. Your hearts warmed up at how fondly you gazed at each other. How gently your body was pressed against each other. That's something you never wanted. Yet needed.

Taglist: @hyenalite @katsukichu @half-baked-biscuit @jjstsksen @dukina @koifish69 @bbytamaki @kyanyakya @arlertslove @certified-dilfhunter @romiyaro @aasouthteranoswife @xxrwzy @xo-lynx @crtlove-com @mutsu422 @hollowpurpl @megumischubbycheeks @sleepy3 @valhallawhispers @solar-starlight @kirislilwhorewife @suguruwrx @dassmyname @chaotic-nick @crackheadwithtoes @lordbugs @hanmasbunny @jujutsukaisenfan @eyetachi @kawaiitoga @m00k83 @imvivian @hoe4katsuki @ryumiii @lumpywolf @stygianoir @kaylabee06 @luvjiro @vodkasjedi @ebiharachan @sauza @sanjithesimp @garoujo @callistos-woods @dorogaya-lena @taihjj @yuujispinkhair @temptedbysyn @coffee-on-a-rainyautumn

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers LOST EDEN ー Reiji Ecstasy [05]

CHAPTER MASTERLIST

ー The scene starts in the living room of Kino’s manor

Kino: Haahー Ahー ...That Old Fart seriously pisses me off!

Yuuri: You’re still upset about that, Kino?

Kino: We could be here all day and I still would have more to complain about! Just who does he think I am!? Lecturing me for what felt like forever!

Besides, how come that girl wasn’t at the Vibora Castle? None of this makes any sense!

I was told that she wouldn’t make it back out once inside...Did somebody give me a false report?

It seriously grinds my gears...!

Yuuri: Calm down, please. You still have tricks up your sleeve. 

Kino: You’re right. Even though we missed the mark in regards to Eve, we got lucky that the Church eliminated the Vibora for us. 

That’s one opponent less to worry about and I didn’t have to lift a single finger myself...I guess my time has come. 

Yuuri: Yes, exactly. 

Kino: Still, it’s hard to believe a human would storm the Demon World. I was rather surprised, to be honest. 

Yuuri: I suppose that just proves how desperate he truly is. ...Could this be what they call the love between a parent and their child?

Kino: Hmー? Cannot relate. 

Yuuri: My apologies, Kino. I crossed the line just now.

Kino: Nah, it’s fine. ...Don’t worry. I have you and the others after all. 

Yuuri: ...

Kino: Huh? Your face tells me you’re not convinced? 

Yuuri: ...No, you’re just imagining it. 

ー One of the Ghouls enters the room

Male Ghoul C: Pardon me. ...I have come to report. 

Kino: I’m listening?

Male Ghoul C: Lend me your ear please. ...It seems. This time, there should be no mistakes. 

Kino: ...Ahahaha. Found youー!

ー The scene shifts to the living room of the Mukami manor

*Pshhh*

Reiji: ...

Yui: What’s wrong?

Reiji: No...It’s nothing. 

Yui: ...Please ask me if there’s anything I can do for you. For example...

Selection

→ Cook

Yui: ( It’s nice how we’re stocked up on plenty of ingredients because the others went grocery shopping for us. )

Reiji: Thank you very much. I will definitely rely on your services at a later point in time.

Yui: ...Okay. Are there any requests you would like to make?

Reiji: Let me think. I suppose I would like a dish which combines multiple different cuisines into one. I am very much looking forward to the flavor combinations you will come up with. 

Yui: Eeh?

( Will I be able to make that? I feel like that’d be hard to pull off from the first try... )

Reiji: ...Fufu, I am only joking. I will eat anything you’ve made with pleasure. 

Yui: ...

( It’s honestly kind of embarrassing when he says it up-front like that...! )

→ Give him a massage (❦)

Reiji: That would be very helpful. Where will you massage me? 

Yui: Then, your hand...Excuse me.

*Rustle*

Yui: ( I’ll press down rather hard on the palm of his hand... )

*Rustle rustle*

Reiji: ...I can definitely feel that.

Yui: Does it hurt, perhaps?

Reiji: No, not at all. If anything, it still feels somewhat lacking.

Yui: Eh? I’m sorry...

Reiji: However, I feel comforted simply watching you fervently squeeze my hand like that. 

Yui: I see...

Reiji: Yes. We can swap places once you get tired, so could you please keep going just a bit longer?

Yui: Sure...!

*TIMESKIP*

Yui: ( Well then, we’ve finished our tea, so what shall we do now? )

Reiji: ...

Yui: ( I think I’ll step away for a bit. It’s clear he’s thinking very deeply about something. )

I’ll go do a little cleaning, okay? 

Reiji: Yes...If you’d please. 

ー The scene shifts to the balcony

Reiji: ( The report I received from Ruki this morning...I suppose Eden’s demise cannot be evaded after all. )

( Ever since that day on which I decided that I would continue to act based on my own emotions, its break-down has become more apparent than ever. )

( While I expected this to happen, being directly confronted with its decay does hurt. )

( ...I wonder if something else at Eden is falling to ruin at this very moment I can feel my heart ache? )

( This world held no secrets for Father. Therefore, he must have surely been aware that this would happen. )

( In that case...Why did he choose me as his successor regardless? )

( One would almost assume that he made his decision hoping that Eden...No, that the whole world would be destroyed. )

( I simply cannot believe that Father - out of all people - would make the wrong caーー ... )

ーー ...Could it be?

( What if he deliberately chose me...Knowing that all of this would occur? )

No way, that is simply ridiculous...

ー The door opens

Reiji: ...!

Yuma: Yo. Whatcha lookin’ all down ‘bout? I went and got everyone. Now come. 

Reiji: ...I will be right there. 

ー Yuma walks away

Reiji: ...Father.

Were you perhaps...trying to bring an end to this world...? 

ー The scene shifts to the living room

Kou: Just as we thought, the Sakamaki manor has been invaded by a mixture of Ghouls and Church people, it was a real mess. 

Azusa: The manor was heavily guarded as well...So there was no way we could sneak inside...

Yuma: If we wanna save those dudes, we’re really gonna have to come up with one hell of a wacky plan to break through their line of defense. 

Reiji: As we feared. Which means...

I believe I will need a bit more time to come up with a plan. 

Yui: ...

( I wonder what’s going on inside his head this time? )

Monologue

I have faith in him,

but when I look at him right now,

I get kind of worried. 

A way to stop Eden’s break-down,

a way to save (助ける方法) the others,

everything regarding the Vibora or the Church.

I can tell he is being surrounded, by a plethora of tricky issues,

all concentrated in one. 

Then there’s me who can do nothing but stand by his side (寄り添うことしか),

watching him from the side,

as I try and hide the sigh,

which falls from my lips. 

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

[zhongliologist]

Tea Ceremonies | Dom! Zhongli

Pairing: Zhongli x Fem!Reader

Genre: SMUT SMUT SMUT!!!

Words: 3.1k

A/N: No one asked for this but here you go. This was supposed to be another half dragon Zhongli fic, but oh well, the plot went somewhere else. This is btw based on another fic I’m working on which is a Teashop AU,, so Zhongli is the boss, Keqing, Xiao, and the reader are the employees;;;

Warning: THIS IS AN 18+ FIC, SO MINORS OUT THERE, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.

*

After hours in the teashop was almost identical to its opening hours.

It was peaceful and quiet, with all the chairs stowed away and the window covers rolled down—the only difference was the void of loneliness left by the absence of the customers’ chatter. Yet this was the perfect time for you, as a waitress to practice your skills in preparing tea.

While one can say that preparing tea is simply a matter of steeping tea leaves in a pot of hot water, such practice does not bring forth the full flavor and aroma of the tea leaves, and does not completely align with the purpose of the tea shop.

Well, that’s how your boss, Zhongli would say.

Thus, with all the materials before you at the counter and an incense stick lighted up somewhere, you were already in the middle of the tea ceremony. To his credit, it was indeed a meditative task—you can allow yourself to just relax and slowly prepare the tea in meticulous steps Zhongli has instructed you to.

You were already in the middle of heating up the Yixing teapot when the tea sommelier stepped out from the kitchen, his handsome face still calm as ever even after a day’s work.

“Oh? Are you practicing?”

Zhongli asked, walking towards you and observing your actions closely. You suddenly felt self-conscious at his presence; your hand holding the iron kettle trembling.

“I-I…yeah,” you managed to reply, even if you were beginning to flush under his scrutinizing gaze.

You had long realized your massive crush on this man; it wasn’t even a secret to your co-workers Keqing and Xiao, yet as an employee, there was no way for you to act upon your feelings on your boss.

“Careful now,” he muttered behind you, covering your hand with his. “We wouldn’t want to get you scalded.”

Slowly, he guided your hand and poured the hot water on to the Yixing tea pot; the steam making your face even hotter than before. While he was busy teaching you, your mind was definitely elsewhere—concentrating only on how warm your back was against his broad chest, or how close his breath was to your ear.

He brought down the iron kettle back to the heating stand much to your relief. However, unlike what you were expecting, he hasn’t left your side, rather, he felt even closer than before.

What…What is this…?!

Inwardly, you were panicking. There was no way for you to continue the tea ceremony like this. Zhongli was so close, too close that he could be snuggling to you at this point. Your heart beat was racing at a hundred mile per hour yet you couldn’t leave your thoughts aside anymore. Your boss isn’t flirting with you now, is he?!

“What’s the next step, YN?” he asked, forcing you out of your mental dilemma. His voice was sultry, and seductively close to your ear, he could nibble on it any second.

“A-ahh….uh…er…leaves! I’m putting in the leaves!” You exclaimed, hand clammy as you searched for the Da Hong Pao among the containers before you.

When you did finally find it, your hand was slightly trembling as you scooped out a spoonful of it until the pot was four-fifths full. You swear you could die from both nervousness and embarrassment as you wondered if Zhongli saw you clumsily filling in the tea pot.

Yet he only chuckled behind you, making you jump as he propped his head on your shoulders. “Excellent. And then?”

Don’t mind him, YN! Just…Just do what you need to do!

“T-The water….to…to m-moisten the leaves!”

Taking the iron kettle once again, you lifted it up at a certain height and began pouring, aiming towards the rim of the teapot. You kept on willing yourself to focus on your technique, but it seemed like your boss has other ideas.

With his free hand, you felt Zhongli glide up his fingers on your back; slowly and deliberately, as if he was intentionally teasing you.

“Stand up straight now, love.”

The effect was immediate. You jolted up from your position, almost missing the tea pot you were pouring water into.

“S-Sir…!” you exclaimed, wide eyed and flustered. “What are you doing…!”

Zhongli only hummed amusingly, much to your chagrin. “I’m simply correcting your posture. Is something wrong?”

You’re definitely not ‘simply correcting’ my posture!

If only you could say that, but you continued on.

The custom was to pour until the water spills out slightly from the teapot, but you were still a few inches away, no thanks to your boss’ antics.

“Now, listen to how the water sounds as you pour it into the teapot,” he was now back beside your ear, as if he was whispering sweet nothings to you. “Does it not resemble the trickling of a mountain stream? Does it not sound good?”

You weren’t really sure what he was referring to as ‘good’ in his last question, but you knew he wasn’t talking about the water anymore.

“As you add more heat, the tea leaves will gradually unfurl and open up.” He continued, “it’s flavor and aroma unlocking as you begin to moisten it up.”

Are…are those innuendos? You pursed your lips despite how his deep voice sends in waves of arousal down between your legs. You were not giving in. Definitely not.

Looking down, you were glad the water had begun to spill out from the teapot—the iron kettle was beginning to weigh on your arm, and your boss was being such a delightful distraction. Placing the kettle back, you then picked up the lid of the teapot and began scraping away the bubbles that had floated on top.

“You must be gentle with it, YN,” he whispered, voice almost raspy, as his hands settled on your hips. It instantly sent shudders down your spine. “Just like how they say, ‘as gentle as a spring breeze, stroking one’s skin…”

As he said those words, his fingers danced on your waist as it eventually slid down your thighs, and stayed there; meandering lines on your trouser-covered skin with his digits.

You bit your lip, stopping a moan from escaping. It was beginning to feel difficult to breathe since he was already embracing you; feeling you up. Even if this was a surprise, you were relishing at his attention; not wanting him to stop.

“S-Sir…I—!” You closed your eyes tightly as he groped your thigh; making you halt all your actions.

“Don’t stop now. Continue.”

Despite, his deep and gentle voice, you knew what an order was. And so you did what he told you, despite how distracting the weight of his hands were on your sensitive skin.

Carefully, with eyes sharp, Zhongli watched as you continued with the tea ceremony—washing the teacups with the first steep and draining the rest into the tea tray. Once again, you picked up the iron kettle and poured boiling water into the teapot for the final infusion.

“You’re doing an excellent job, love,” he murmured to your ear; lips playfully nibbling. “What will you do now?”

“I…I…mmnh…” you tried to reply, yet his hands only made your heart jump to your throat. “…I have to…p-pour hot water outside…too…”

“For what?” He nuzzled on your neck.

Your hands gripped on the handle of the iron kettle tightly. “To…to i-isolate the heat…inside the pot…”

Zhongli made a low chuckle as it reverberated to your ear and down to the part between your legs. “Correct. Perhaps I shall reward you when you’re done. What do you think, love?”

“Nghh…o-okay…”

You can feel him smirk against your neck. “Well then, you still have a few steps to do. Please continue.”

Yet despite your best efforts, you couldn’t shake the arousal that had long been swirling inside your stomach. Squeezing your thighs together, you tried to seek some sort of friction to at least alleviate the haze of lust that was clouding your thoughts. Much to your dismay, your boss held on to you firmly, unable to do anything but dazedly glance at the unfinished ceremony before you.

“Oh? Do you want to stop now?” he asked, his erection now rubbing against your backside. “Will you forfeit your reward then?”

“N-no…! Wait!” you hurriedly replied, panicking.

Reaching for the teapot, you then poured its contents into the fairness pitcher. It only takes a few seconds for the Da Hong Pao to finish steeping because of the high leaf-to-water ratio, and you were glad you didn’t have to wait for too long.

“Now, now, love,” Zhongli admonished you softly, but it came out more like a purr. “Remember that the tea ceremony should not be hurried. Savor and take pleasure in this activity as much as you can.”

Without warning, he rubbed his leg against your most sensitive spot; earning a surprised yelp from you as you gripped the counter until your knuckles turned white. It was good you weren’t holding anything at that time.

“Nghh….Sir! Please…I can’t—!”

Zhongli only tutted at you, his hands inching dangerously between your legs. “It’s a mere few steps left, YN. Perhaps you don’t deserve a reward after all.”

The threat concealed in his voice was obvious to you—it’s either you continue or he’s gonna leave you like that, wanting and unsatisfied.

You pursed your lips and picked up the fairness pitcher. Even if your hands were trembling, you have to finish the ceremony just as he instructed because you know how much he will stick to his word. Pouring into the fragrance-smelling cups quickly and evenly, you came to the point where there was only a small amount of tea left inside the pitcher.

“And what will you do about that?” he suddenly asked, lips pressing against one sensitive pulse on your neck; his knee rubbing against your core.

You bit down a moan, and gathered what remaining strength you still have left. “I…I…have to pour it…”

Your boss pushed his knee harder, making you mewl against the counter. “Pour how?”

“Ahhh…! Haa….d-drop…by drop…”

You were surprised how you still managed to reply with how he was relentless with his stimulation, but it was far from over.

“Could you show it to me then?”

Damn it, Zhongli! You inwardly cursed him, but there was nothing you could do. This was the most laborious of the ceremony but this was to ensure that the flavor and aroma is even in all cups. God knows what he’s going to pull while you concentrate on doing it.

With what little is left inside the pitcher, you then poured a drop in each teacup, slowly but surely. You could feel him grinning as he perched on your shoulders, his hands lazily and deliberately missing your now drenched core.

Just how long will he continue to tease you?

Your patience had long been worn down into tiny slivers, but Zhongli held control over you as much as how he securely pins you to the counter. You could only chew on your lip as you felt his hard on pressing against you as if he was testing how much you could endure.

 And finally, as if an eternity has passed, the pitcher was empty and you covered all the fragrance-smelling teacups with empty teacups—arranging them into a presentable display.

“S-sir…! I’m d-done—”

Suddenly, Zhongli turned your head towards him and captured your lips into a searing kiss. He was rough and harsh; all nips and bites and tongue as he prodded your lips open. At the same time, he kept on rubbing your core with his leg which you eagerly responded to with a loud moan.

“Here’s your reward, love,” he told you in between kisses, with a lilt of scorn in his voice. “Rub yourself against my leg and come.”

His vicious lips then turned to your neck and shoulders, littering them with bites and marks wherever he went. He would move his lips sensually on a pulse point before sucking and leaving a bruise for everyone to see tomorrow.

“You seem to like this so much, don’t you?” he asked, grinning as his teeth sunk gently on your shoulder. “Do you like being touched by your boss?”

“N-No…sir—I…!”

Zhongli raised an elegant brow. “Oh, you don’t? Perhaps I should stop here then.”

Your half-lidded eyes shot wide open. “N-No! Please don’t….! S-sir…! Please…!”

“Please what?” he asked, gazing at you with such sharp amber eyes.

“I-I…I need you, Sir…! I need to come….p-please! I…I can’t!”

Your boss smirked at you and pulled away.

You panicked in an instant, wondering what you had done wrong. Turning around to see where he went, you were instead bent to the counter, the tea ceremony set already at the side. Quick hands made quick work of your pants until you were only left with your underwear.

Feeling his hands on your hole, you could only moan at his incessant teasing. Fingers prodding and poking but never really committing to making you feel good, your yearning for him inside you only increased further.

“You’ve been so good for me, YN,” you could hear him beside your ear, his chest warm against your back. “I shall fulfill my end of the contract.”

Pushing aside your underwear, he slipped in two fingers inside you, scissoring them on your hot folds. Delirium filled your entire head as you finally felt him give you something more after those long periods of teasing.  You have never expected him to be this merciless but you loved it anyway.

“How amusing. You’re shaking your hips on your own,” he remarked, still pumping his fingers in and out of you. “Perhaps I should’ve filled you with my cock instead?”

“Nghhh…Sir…! Y-yes…ahhh…!”

“Would you like that, hmm?” Zhongli asked, scoffing at you. “You would, wouldn’t you?”

 You could feel his digits now rubbing against your most sensitive spots, driving you closer and closer to climax. But of course, this was Zhongli. As soon as he felt you tighten up around him, he immediately withdrew his fingers and pushed them inside your mouth.

“Mmnhh…..! Ohh…! Haaa….haa—"

“You whine like a poor beast in heat,” he openly mocked you, his now hard shaft rubbing against your hole and covering it with your slick juices. “How adorable.”

With his fingers in your mouth, you can only groan as he gradually entered you, stretching you out with his large dick. Your thoughts were only swirling with ecstasy as he filled you, pushing in and out of your hole.

And in one sharp thrust, Zhongli buried himself fully into you—triggering your climax. Shaking underneath him as your orgasm flooded you, your boss continued to pound into you, unrelenting despite how sensitive you are at that point.

Pulling his fingers out of your mouth, he took a fistful of your hair as he set his brutal pace—smirking as he watched your teary-eyed yet debauched expression.

“You take me in so well, love,” he praised you, though there was a mix of derision in his tone. “You like being fucked by your boss, don’t you?”

“S-Sir…! N-No…Ahhhh….! Nghhh…! Sir! Please…”

At your denial, Zhongli only shoved deeper inside of you, drawing out a long groan from your throat.

“Admit it now, YN. At least your little hole here is being honest,” he continued, shifting so that his cock was rubbing right where it feels so good.  

“No…ahhh….not there! N-not…!”

Zhongli smothered more kisses on your neck, his shaft buried deep inside of you; hitting all the delicious places which were once again pushing you towards your second climax.

“Would you want me to stop then?”

“F-fuck…! No—! I—”

“Then what should I do, love?”

In the face of all the pleasure and stimulation he was giving you, you had to throw all your shame out of the window.

“M-more…! Nghh….sir please…f-fuck me!” you cried out, loving the way Zhongli was chuckling right behind you.

“As you wish.”

Pulling almost out of you, Zhongli then shoved his dick back inside in roughly, earning a throaty mewl from you. He himself could only growl at how tight you kept on gripping him.

“It feels…ahh! S-so…good….! So good—” You repeated as if in a trance.

“I’m close, love….ughh…fuck…!” He groaned, pulling your hair as your back arched. “Take all of my seed…!”

He plunged in deep inside of you, his warm seed filling you up in long bursts while you orgasmed at the same time. You were quivering at how full you were of him, savoring the moment where he clung tightly on you.

“YN…” you heard him whisper your name in his deep voice as if lulling you. “YN…”

“Zhongli…sir…” you muttered back, closing your eyes. “I…I love you…”

“Hush now, love…” you heard him reply softly.

“Zhongli…”

….

—!!

A rude push jerked you awake.

“What are you doing, sleeping in the breakroom?”

Your eyes widened.

It was Xiao, who was looking at you irately, that you first noticed. Then you saw the wooden lockers and the musk green wallpaper of the breakroom.

Wait. You continued processing what had happened.

“…what?” you asked him, disoriented.

“What do you mean what?” he replied. “Go home if you’re tired! It’s already closing time!”

“Huh…?”

Xiao leaned his head to the side. “Why are you so dazed? Still on dreamland?”

That…! That was all a dream?!

Everything that had happened—you covered your face with your hands—everything that Zhongli did….it was all a dream?! Inwardly, you grimaced. You thought something had finally progressed between the two of you, but at the same time, you realized you can’t look at him in the eyes after all of that.

The door creaked open.

“What’s the matter here?”

As soon as you heard those words, you jumped—face flushing instantaneously. Just as luck would have it, the real Zhongli had to appear as soon as you realized your dilemma. Not knowing what to do, you could only stare at the real Zhongli, who was gazing at you oh-so-innocently. That is, until your brain finally imploded.

You stood up.  

“I-I…! I-I think I’m going home now! Bye!” You declared loudly, gathering most of your things from your locker and raced pass through the two men in a matter of seconds. It would also be best to call tomorrow a day off.

Xiao watched as you dashed through the back door as if you were being chased by hilichurls and raised a brow.

“Don’t you think YN looks a bit red just now?” he asked Zhongli, who only shrugged.

“She seems fine to me,” the tea sommelier replied with a flippant tone in his voice which seemed to have alerted the perceptive Xiao.

“And what about you?” he asked before the older male could escape. “You seem to be in high spirits.”

“Am I? Perhaps you’re imagining it.”

“What did you do?”

Zhongli only blinked and smiled. “Have you ever heard of ‘gifting dreams and visions’?”

[luvluvnitrodynamite]

random dates with jujutsu kaisen characters

ft. itadori yuuji, fushiguro megumi, kugisaki nobara, zenin maki, inumaki toge, nanami kento, and gojou satoru

g/n!reader (except maybe for maki but that's more personal pref)

itadori yuuji - "hey!-", you were essentially muted as itadori plops a strawberry in your mouth. you bite down, wrinkling your nose up at him in fake upset. he just smiles and laugh, as you drop the pout and laugh with him. you two were on a picnic, drinking lemonade and watching the hours melt away into the sunny sky. currently, you two were demolishing a carton of strawberries, the green tops abandoned on a plate next to you. you swallowed, relishing the sweetness lingering on your tongue.

taking one last berry, itadori reclined and sprawled on the blanket while putting his hands behind his head. you laid down on the blanket next to him, placing your head on his chest. he glanced down at you and took one of your hands in his, his thumb starting to trace gentle circles on your palm. with your free hand, you pointed up to the clouds in the sky. "that one looks like a bus," you suggested. "mmm, i think it looks like a log," he responds. "that one looks like a cat." "i think it looks like a log." "ok, that one looks like a tree." "mmmmmmm i think it looks like a log," he says again. "yuuji, you think all of them look like logs," you say. you can feel his laugh bubbling in his chest as he says, "because all of them do look like logs." he points up at the sky at different clouds, "that one does....and that one does....i think these are actually all logs in disguise." you playfully swat his hand and turn your head up at him, saying, "you need to use your imagination a bit. if you're only looking for logs, all you're going to find is logs."

instead of responding, itadori shifts forward and captures your mouth in soft kiss. you respond, pushing your lips against his in a sweet dance. his tongue finds its way into your mouth, deepening the kiss. his hand has slipped out of yours and now is on the small of your back, pushing you closer into him. he smiles into the kiss, pausing. "what?" you ask, temporarily affixing your head above his. "nothing," he responds, "i just hope we can stay like this for a little while longer."

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fushiguro megumi - he's is nursing a cup of black tea in a porcelain cup and saucer, while he chews on a black ballpoint pen. fushiguro is in a cafe across the street, but you can see him through the window. as you walk in, the bell above the door jingles and he glances up at you. he smiles and clears a pile of papers, making room for you at the table. you sit down across from him, noticing that he's already ordered a cup of tea and a croissant for you.

"hey 'gumi. what'cha up to?" you ask, lifting the cup to your lips. "working on this latest batch, but it's tough. did you bring your stuff?" he asks. you pull out a small notebook, untying the ribbon that holds the pages shut. "of course i did, i want your feedback on my latest poems," you respond. "this is the most recent one i wrote." in the garden of my mind/you sink my heart into my soul/blooming into something unknown/glassy eyes speaking of that garden untold is what you hand to him. he furrows his brow as he reads over the lines, once, twice, three....ohmygod how many times is he going to read it? is it bad??? you catch your lip between your teeth as you wait for his critiques, anxiously tapping your fingers against the table. finally, he looks up to you. "i like the use of garden as a metaphor, but i think you could expand on it more. it's a short poem so i know you don't have much room, but i'm really fixed on this idea of a garden. what grows there? who takes care of it?" he questions. his brows is still furrowed and you can practically see the wheels turning behind his poofy hair.

you smile over at him saying, "well, megumi i think you already know the answer to your questions." he blushes and looks out the window. the wheels are turning in his head again, but for a different reason. you know fushiguro isn't exactly the greatest with his feelings, so you give him a minute. he still gets flustered when you even allude to loving him, it's so removed from his own view of himself that he needs to take a minute to process. in the meantime, you rip off a fluffy piece of croissant and feel the buttery layers melt on your tongue. you look out the window, quietly drifting off to another world. "did you want to read my poem?" he asks, snapping you back to reality. you nod, picking up the piece of paper he passes you. your eyes focus on the first line: i love you.

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kugisaki nobara - you love nobara, you honestly do, but sometimes you forget about that when she gets in a yelling match with the man at the ice cream truck. you're pulling your hat over your head, hoping to spontaneously melt into a puddle while the two of them go back and forth. "i don't know what you want me to say! i'm sorry i gave the wrong flavor to them, but i can't change it," the vendor says exasperatedly. nobara wrinkles up her nose in disgust at the vendor, retorting, "this business is absolutely shameful. i come all the way here for ice cream, and you can't even properly fulfill my order. what if i reported you to the better business bureau? hmmm? would you be a bit more cooperative then?"

yeah, it's been going on like this for a few minutes. you think you're going to evaporate into thin air when you realize the arguing has stopped and nobara is on her way back. and...omg...she's holding a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone!! you immediately perk up. "you got it!" you exclaim, quickly taking the cone from her. you take a bite (do you bite ice cream???? lick??? v unsure), and faux-swoon at how good it is. forgetting your previous embarrassment, you swiftly press a kiss to nobara's lips as a thank-you. "thank you nobara, this was so sweet of you!" her face deeply reddens, every ounce of toughness from the earlier altercation dissipated. she tosses her hair, trying to play it off. "oh, you know, it wasn't difficult. you just had to ask nicely." you smile at her, suddenly wanting to pay her back for the embarrassment she dealt you before.

before she can react, you quickly leave a flurry of kisses all over her face. you zing from her cheeks to her nose to her lips to her forehead and back around so fast it makes her dizzy. if you thought she was red before, she's somehow gone an even deeper shade of brick. now she's the one pulling her hat down over her head. "y/n!! cut it out, we're in public!" she hisses at you, but there's no real venom behind it. "sorry, i couldn't help it. you just looked too pretty to resist," you say, and start walking toward the city. even through the brim of her hat, nobara can see you walking away. before catching up, she's rooted in place wondering how on earth she got so lucky.

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zenin maki - "y/n, i look stupid. can i take this off?" you smile at her, only your head sticking out from your door. "nope!!," you gleefully respond. maki stands outside your room with an annoyed look and crossed arms, wearing the maid outfit you dropped off at her house this morning. you quickly close the door and speedily drag your socks up your thighs and tuck the matching headband into your hair. admiring yourself in the mirror one last time, you opened the door and shyly step out in your own maid outfit. "how do i look?," you say, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear.

maki.pdf has crashed. her eyes flick up and down your body, a slight blush forming on her pearlescent cheeks. you note her silence and flounce over to her. tucking your hands behind your back and rocking on your heels, you lean forward. "maaaaaaaaki," you languish in her name, dragging out the syllables. "cat got your tongue?" she snaps back to the real world, a coy smile on her lips. she moves swiftly, and before you know it she's pressed up against you with a hand on your lower back and the other hand tilting your chin up at her. "of course not, darling, but i wouldn't mind getting yours," she says, gently stroking her thumb over your lips. you momentarily flush, a pretty pink haze spreading over your face. you wiggle out of her hold and kiss the tip of her nose, before dashing down the hallway.

confused, maki watches as you return with...a broom. "c'mon! maids clean, don't they?" you say as you hand her the broom. maki bemusedly watches as you pull out a rag and a can of pledge. "y/n. you called me here, with a maid outfit, so we could clean your house?" she ask. "yep!". oh my. maki watches as you spray chemicals over the table, then polish it clean with the rag. fuck it, she starts sweeping your hallway. "am i even going to get anything out of this?", whining, she stops sweeping. you pause and smile. "of course maki. after all, i have to pay you for your services." maki smirks at you, resting her hands and head on top of the broom. "oh? and what would that be?" she says, raising her eyebrows. "anything you want." maki's smirk deepens, and she goes back to sweeping. "and if i want you?" you too go back to your cleaning. "well, in that case, i suppose you have to do a really good job of cleaning."

your house has never looked cleaner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

inumaki toge - you dip your paintbrush into the water, swirling it around and making sure it was clean before dipping it into bubblegum-colored paint. inumaki sits on the other side of you, though part of him is obscured by his easel. you would have asked him to move a few hours ago, but luckily you were almost done painting him. the sun was starting to set, so the colors of the setting were changing a bit but you were sure inumaki wouldn't care too much if you took some artistic liberties. you added the pink streaks in the clouds, trying to fluff them up as much as possible and make them look sweet. you frowned as you went a bit too far, having to clean your paintbrush and then touch up the painting with white.

finally, a few more mistakes and fixes later, you think you're satisfied with your work. it was a portrait of inumaki, sitting on his artist's stool with the blue sky and green hill in the background. a few hours ago it would have been an almost perfect rendering of the scene, save for the fact that you decided to paint him without his trademark collar over his face. you happened to love the seal on his face and tongue, but his covering of it made him more insecure about it as time went on. as he got used to seeing his face without it, he wondered if it would just be better if he didn't have a seal on his face at all. now he barely pulls down his collar, only ever to shout out cursed speech commands. "toge can we see each others' paintings now?" you ask. "okaka!" he responds. you sigh and say, "okay, let me know when you're done." you continue to add a few more cursory details until you hear "takana!" from the other easel. you poke your head around, asking, "do you want me to go first?" inumaki nods, and gets up.

you hold your breath as he walks over to survey your work. you feel him stop behind you and just...stare. no tsunamayo, no sujiko, not even an okaka. "what do you think?" you ask. he says nothing, and just points to his painted mouth. you look at him and feel a little bit crushed; he doesn't look angry or anything, but rather a little deflated. "are you upset i painted the curse seal?" you ask him. he responds with a slightly desolate "okaka" and your chest clutches a little bit. you wanted to show him how pretty he was with the seal, but you supposed you would have to go a bit further. "toge can you come a little closer?" he complies and moves right next to you. you quickly jump off the stool and clasp his face in your hands. slowly, you pull down his collar, revealing the seal. you hold his gaze for a moment longer, and then gently press kisses along the surface of the curse. you make sure to touch every angle, feeling the heat of his skin rise each new time your lips touch the curse. you pull your head back and say, "i think the curse seal is pretty. the way it curves along your cheek is just gorgeous, it's such a rich shade of black, and it looks the best when i see you smile. but most of all, you make it look pretty. i like the curse seal because it's a part of you." inumaki softly smiles when he hears this, and just wraps you up into a hug. you two stay like that for a minute or two, interrupted only by "can i see your painting of me now?" "shake."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

nanami kento - you two are at home in the kitchen. normally you both take turns cooking and cleaning, but tonight you decided to make dinner together. nanami is cutting up vegetables for your curry, while you focus on cooking the chicken in the sauce. soft music plays while a delicious aroma fills the room. nanami finishes cutting up the vegetables, neatly zooshing them into the pan with the knife. you add coconut milk and spices, stirring as the sizzling gets loud, and then gently recedes into a soft bubbling. you watch the pan carefully as nanami shifts behind you, wrapping his arms around your front. his face rests on your shoulder as you both watch the pan bubble away.

he gently bites your ear, asking, "how was your day?". your hand comes up to rest on his cheek, sighing contently. "fine. i was a bit busy, but nothing out of the ordinary. how was yours?". nanami sighs, the air lusciously dancing around your ear. "mmmmmm...annoying. or, more aptly, gojou was." you laugh, imaging all the ways the he could have been a nuisance. "is that so?," you say. "yes, but i don't want to dwell on it. work is work, and i'd rather focus on my time outside of it," nanami says. "like focusing on you," he breathes into your ear. he gently spins you around so that you're facing him, and pulls you closer to his body. he wraps his arms around your back, and you wrap your arms around his neck. you two begin to softly dance to the music, not even moving from the spot you're currently in. it's not perfect dancing by any standards; in fact, you think you're off-beat. still, with nanami humming in your ear and such a comforting aura surrounding you, you don't really think it matters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

gojou satoru - for once, you two aren't running around and acting crazy. instead, you've just woken up to rain pattering on the window and cloudy skies overhead. gojou is still asleep in bed, blindfold slipped over his face with his closed eyes revealed to the world. you smile, enjoying the sight. it's not often you two get time to just be together, with gojou being gone all the time, his students needing his attention, and your own life and responsibilities. you slip out of the room and into the kitchen, cutting up fruit and making coffee. you bring it back into the room, the smell waking up your drowsy boyfriend. crystalline eyes look up at you, filled with love and adoration. you sit on the bed as he sits up, passing him a plate and a mug.

"hey, i just had the craziest dream," he says, mouth full of raspberries. "oh? would you like to tell me about it?," you respond, sipping your coffee. gojou smirks at you. "well, normally i would say to never tell a bad dream before breakfast because that's the surest way to make it come true, but i don't believe in that, and anyways i could kick the dream curse's ass if it came to it. so, itadori is a woman, and sukuna keeps taking over to play with boobs, right?". he rambles on, and you think he's actually making some of this up on the fly, but it's entertaining and you don't want to interrupt him. he tells you the whole story, and by the end you've both finished your breakfast. you're still laughing at the part where inumaki is left at the alter by nobara chasing after maki, when he picks up your plate and mug and places it on the little table beside the bed.

"satoru, what are you-," you're interrupted as he swiftly pulls you into his lap, your back flush against his chest. confused, he hands you the book on the side table while he picks up a stack of reports. he opens them and starts reading, while you look at him in confusion. he apprehensively pauses and looks at you. "we don't get to have a lot of quiet time like this," he hesitantly explains, "so i thought we could just do something with each other, even if it's just reading. i have to read these reports and you wanted to finish that book anyway, so i thought we could start like this." he smiles down at you, and it's like he shoots warmth straight into your chest and fans it out to the tips of your fingers, toes, and eyelashes. you ghost his cheek with a kiss and burrow into his chest. "of course, 'toru. this is absolutely perfect." you feel his chest skip a beat through your skin, and try to hid your smile. you open your book while he resumes his reports, and bask in the comfort of shared love.

[noodles-and-oodles]

Hello! May I request HCs of Riddle Rosehearts, Idia Shroud, Kalim Al-Asim, and Malleus Draconia (Separately) with a [S/O] [Gender Neutral] (Romantic) who got Boba Tea for both of them? I don’t think Boba drinks are popular in Twisted Wonderland but I could be wrong. Who knows? You can choose which flavor that suits the Four Dorm Leaders’ tastes.

I had boba last week!! So I really like this ask 😁😁 silly me kept writing booba smh lmao. Thank you for requesting and I hope this is to your liking! (I did my best to check this one over for any mistakes sjdjsjd)

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Riddle Rosehearts

Anything strawberry flavored is naturally suited to Riddle’s tastes and you keep that in mind when purchasing your drinks. The dorm leader has never tried boba before so you thought it’d be something neat to try together.

When you bring the drinks to him during you guys free time together, the red head is a bit surprised. Riddle recognizes the drink, he’s seen Cater with it at times, the magicam obsessed boy would pose with the drink in his hand as he holds it up for the world to see

Riddle’s a bit hesitant but he sees you enjoying yours very much so he figured that it has to be somewhat good. Not to mention the fact that you are staring at him intently, silently encouraging him to drink the liquid goodness

I’m sorry but he definitely chokes on the tapioca, likely trying to drink it all in one swift move. You’ll frantically rush to pat his back and soothe his choking, explaining to him that he’s supposed to eat the tapioca pearls. Wow, Riddle, smooth.

Once he sips his drink correctly, he’ll chew the pearls for a bit, finding it’s gummy texture extremely strange. He doesn’t dislike it but he’s not entirely sure if he’s on board with it either. He may ask about your favorite flavor and will want to try it, but if you offer yours to him he’ll go red (indirect kiss baby hehe)

Kalim Al-Asim

When you mention boba to Kalim, he’s immediately interested in it. It’s something new and Kalim is all for trying new things! Plus, it’s something that you seem to like as well so it’s only natural that he’d want to share it with you

You bring him Taro flavored boba! It’s sweet flavor is like-able for mostly anyone that is fond of sweets so you think Kalim would enjoy it a lot. Once Jamil inspects it and clears it, the two of you begin to enjoy your boba together~

Kalim loves it! He also really likes the tapioca pears, something about the tasty little gummy things just really sparked his interest. His drink is practically inhaled and he’s definitely up for trying more flavors

Some of you guys’ dates now consist of the two of you heading to different boba shops and trying all the flavors they have to offer. Kalim will even bring back some for Jamil and if the vice dorm leader is touched, he says nothing about it lmao

Idia Shroud

Thinking of Idia’s preference, you try to get him something that isn’t too sweet but enough so that it keeps him satisfied. So you go with blueberry! Plus, it matches his hair so you think it’d suit him perfectly~

Upon bringing the boba, Idia instantly knows what it is. It’s a pretty popular drink that he’s seen some social media influencers Cater show off before. He’s wanted to try it for a while but has been too afraid to actually go out and get some

He gets nervous when you watch him take his first sip, feeling as if he was being pressured to give a good review of sorts. Thankfully, he wouldn’t have to fake it because the drink is actually pretty good! He compliments it and thanks you for bringing him some~

From time to time, Idia may ask for you to get you guys some and you agree! But there are times where the two of you will be stuck trying to decide what flavor to get since there was just so many you wanted to try

Malleus Draconia

This fae likes sweet things so your immediate choice was to go with Vanilla Milk boba tea. It’s simple, yes, but the sweetness is something that can save the drink should Malleus not like the tapioca pearls all too much

Ho? His child of man always finds new ways to surprise him is what Malleus thinks when you bring him the drink. He’s never heard of boba and you take a few seconds to explain to him what’s exactly in his drink. It all really just waters down for him having to taste it in order to understand

Malleus is quite surprised by the texture of the tapioca, and he’s not sure if he’s a fan of the slimy, gummy ball. Though it was soft, the taste didn’t sit right with him but he’ll finish the drink anyways since you so kindly brought it for him

When Malleus apologized for not really enjoying the drink, you’re quick to tell him that it’s not to everyone’s taste and that you’re glad he still tried it! Although that was the first and last cup of boba for Malleus, he’ll gladly accompany you to your favorite shops to get some

[imalwaystiredzzz]

C2: Sisyphus happy. Yan Zhongli x Reader

Warning: Yandere behavior, unhealthy relationships

< Sisyphus happy. chapters >

“Perhaps you would fear if you saw me, and love is all I ask. There is a necessity that keeps me hidden now. Only believe.” - Cupid and Psyche ══════════════════════════════════

You have a dream; heavy and looming as you carry a boulder on your fragile back. It dares to crush you under its weight, while you trudge up a steep path towards the peak of this mountain. The sun glares with its heat like a guard set to watch your endless labor, sweat trickles down like rain on your skin as you pray for water. 

The relief comes in the form of waking from this endless dream.

Breath. Breath. Breath. You breath as if your lungs were crushed and you had drowned in earth, wondering why the familiar pain of doing so was gone. “Slowly,” smooth like velvet and deep that it reverberates to your being, your dear husband hushes next to you observing for any hint - even a twitch - that you might need help. 

“I felt like I had a really long dream,” you say, sitting up from the warm sheets of your shared bed. 

“Care to tell me what it is about?” He is the epitome of patience practiced and perfected, waiting for your reply; though try as you might to remember what it was, the dream had long  slipped from your mind like sand held between cupped hands, flowing and flowing until nothing is left.

“Have I been asleep long?” Voice groggy and eyes a bit blinded by the light, small hands felt the sheets on his side, the warmth and ghost of his form long gone, your dutiful husband, always awake and dressed before you even rouse from slumber. 

Zhongli leans toward you, his gloved fingers graze your cheeks with tenderness only to tuck a strand behind your ear and it is warm as the morning sun that rises on your window. “It’s alright, I know that you need rest after our move.”

You blush, heart soaring like a pure maiden in love with her suitor even though it is none other than your husband who gives you his full attention. It’s supposed to be endearing. It is endearing. Yet there is an ache at the back of your head, that something is amiss.

His fingers, barely touching your skin, made you think of claws, long and sharp, shining with polish. You brush it aside, under the bed long forgotten in the dark, while you would begin your routine. 

You could say that a day does not begin when you wake, rather it is when you make his tea.

He once told you that brewing is an art no less than painting or writing, it is not a matter of simply sprinkling leaves on a clay pot. It is a meditation and a ceremony practiced to bring forth a harmony of earth and water.

You take his words to heart. You take almost all his words to heart and memorize them the way he recites poems to you before bed. You command air to bring forth an aroma that allures the butterflies and with practiced elegance, you hold the Yixing teapot to pour him his cup while Zhongli is nothing but a spectator to this show.  

There are no words exchanged before he sips. It is a little game between you and him, a show of trust you would like to think. Even the heavens could not imagine Zhongli take abhorrent food, not even for his wife.  

He is nothing but an expert, listing the leaves you secretly used and the flavor in full detail like a practiced line from a play. You’d wager that had he been blessed to borne out of better parents, had he been blessed with a better standing rather than a son of a merchant who had a herbalist like you for a wife, he would have stood as the finest in a world of history and art with those deft amber eyes that miss nothing.

Not even the way you look as he leaves through that door with a kiss. 

A kiss of parting as you wave him goodbye, the wind whispering that this is not your simple husband, who goes down the mountain to sell herbs and trade merchandise in the city. He is your foreign husband, who disappears from your presence and hides a secret deeper than the mines the humans could hope to till.

But who is to listen to the wind? Zhongli tells you that it is nothing but your active imagination and you are nothing but (Y/n) (l/n), a herbalist, who belongs to the soil.

This thought repeats in your head like a broken record and rings in your ear. 

It is spring now, you remember looking up and thanking the clouds and the lush leaves of the tree that hide the harsh glare of the afternoon sun. The grass was evergreen and the wind smell of the oncoming summer heat, fragrant with flowers that bloom in the wild.

In spring, he tells you that a gardener is happy for the harvest is abundant and the lands teems with life. In spring, you should be happy.

The plants are alive and they grow easy, they are not shriveled by the summer heat nor do they hide under the ground because of the winter. The flowers and herbs bloom, almost too perfectly as if the little pots were visited by the dendro archcon themselves in your sleep. 

You are (Y/n) (l/n). In spring, you should be alive.

Yet cannot help but notice the absence of the worms nor ants that you once complained about. Once upon a time, you would be maneuvering them all throughout the day away from the lush green leaves and bountiful earth. And sometimes your imagination would play tricks and whispers of their avoidance.

“What cruel little pest,” you tell the soil while planting new seeds until the sun goes down and hides from the skies, when you light the lamps in the house, but most especially by the door, red and glowing like a star against the vast darkness of this lonely mountain.

Hoping, praying that this simple light will lead him back, if he might ever be lost in the shadows in the road. 

Even before he walks through the door, your ears are listening to the whispers of the air that carries his footsteps as it taps the ground so when he opens the door, you are there with a warm welcoming smile and a kiss to his cheeks, heart calm as you know he is safe and he is here. He is home.

You should laugh, really. Your husband who has mapped this mountain like the back of his hand would never be lost but the anxiousness of it never fades. A perpetual worrier, he would call you with eyes lost, staring at yet never really seeing. You know that he has his moments, he doesn’t mean to show, it is fleeting as it comes and no more than a blink of an eye hence you blink and pretend that you don’t see and lead him by the hand to the table neatly set and filled with warm food. 

You dine as he talks about the people he has met and worked with in the city, how the land has begun to thrive and the mora flowing. He tells you of a harbor, where boats are ever growing in size as the days go by and the merchants travelling to do business within it. As far as you can remember, there was never dinner where Zhongli does not talk endlessly about the city - always proud yet humble like a poem, you would think that he talks about it like a child of his own.

“I wonder when will I see the lights of the city from here.” You don’t know what compelled you to say this, maybe it was the stories that he never ceased to tell, maybe it was the lantern that still hung lit outside and darkness that encloses it like a sky with a single star. He pauses,  struck and still as a statue, he looks at you in a way that you have never seen before. 

This smile is is not warm as the morning sun when you wake; it is not tight and constricted when he leaves; nor is it practiced the way it would fall so easily on his visage like a mask; rather this smile dims the glow in his amber eyes and wrinkles the skin akin to sadness and guilt held back.

He reaches for your hand on the other side of the table and kisses it, tenderly, gently as if you are glass that would break with a tap and this is his silent promise that you feel would never come to fruition, “Maybe one day when you are feeling better.” 

The routine ends when your dear husband leads you to bed, the fire closed and you are both in the dark. Tonight he kisses you with unhinged passion, holding unto your small form against him like you were about to disappear into thin air and he is a stone cage. 

“Is it so selfish of me to keep you by my side and never want to let go?” 

He asked barely a whisper above your skin, like a prayer to a god that never answers while the only thing on your heart was pity for your dear husband’s deep sadness, who was an embodiment tragedy that could make you cry.

Had you been born with a stronger body, maybe then you could promise him tomorrow and the rest of your days yet you are nothing but ephemeral so you don’t speak; simply hold his arms, firm and hard under your touch briefly wondering why you thought of scales, mighty and solid as the unblemished core lapis from deep underneath.  Under your fingertips he is foreign yet familiar, in every wrong and right way possible. “You have enraptured me, body and soul. I will always love you, even after I have long passed”

“Is that what it means to love”

“That is what it means to be human.” 

You fall asleep, long before he does. He holds your hand, tightly. 

Step by step by step. An endless walk as you contemplate: why? What sin so great that you have committed for this to be an equal torture. And yet even as millennium of wondering have passed you don’t know, rather you’ve forgotten, memories and thoughts lost in the pain that seeps into the bone, desert in your throat and the eyes that cannot see the peak of this mountain you climb.

[retvenkos]

romantic at heart | m.

Legend of Korra - Mako x Reader, fluff

tw: none

word count: 4.6k

A/N: canon? who needs her? certainly not this fic. korrasami deserved to be canon earlier so i vaguely mentioned it, and mako and bolin’s apartment is the perfect setting don’t @ me.

Summary: Mako has always had bad luck when it comes to love, but with (Y/n), things feel easy. So why, then, is it so hard to admit it?

the three times he didn’t say it, and the one time he did.

one;

“I’m telling you guys, this is going to be great! Part Four is my favorite in The Adventures of Nuktuk: Hero of the South!” 

Mako shared an amused look with (Y/n) as Bolin led the way into the darkened theater, holding open the door for the group to enter. Asami and Korra passed hand in hand, and when (Y/n) walked past Bolin, they tossed a piece of popcorn at him and Bolin caught it in his mouth.

Mako brought up the rear of the group, and as they walked up to find their seats, he whispered, “How many parts are there, Bo?”

“Seven! And the Finale’s great, don’t get me wrong, but it just doesn’t have the heart that part four does.”

“That’s just because he kisses Ginger,” (Y/n) leaned in and whispered to Mako, earning an incredulous “hey!” from Bolin.

“How’d that work out, by the way?” Asami turned to the earthbender with what sounded like genuine curiosity and Bolin chuckled nervously.

“Ah, well, you know, the hearts of mover stars are fickle, so we didn’t last long… there was something about it being a publicity stunt, but that didn’t make much sense, so…”

“Well it’s her loss,” Korra elbowed Bolin in the side with a smile and he forced a chuckle.

“She doesn’t deserve you, Bo.”

“Yeah, you’re a great mover star.”

A few people in the theater shushed them, and the group settled down into their chairs, just moments before the lights dimmed further and the mover started. The disembodied voice of Varrick boomed through the speakers with a recap of the previous 3 parts of the daring adventure, and everyone fell silent, slowly getting sucked into the mover before them.

Ever since their debut, the Nuktuk movies were a success - a staple of Republic City culture - getting replayed in theatres again and again. After learning that Mako hadn’t seen Nuktuk in its entirety, Bolin called for a state of emergency and got the whole group together so they could schedule a time for a complete rewatch of the seven-part masterpiece.

Mako had been planning to make some excuse - a series of cases that Beifong put him up to, or a slew of paperwork that some higher-paid coworkers pawned off onto him. It wouldn’t be the first time he had to miss something for work, and it wouldn’t be the first attempt at lying to get out of a viewing party. Just three months ago he narrowly avoided a showing of Love amongst the Dragons by faking sickness and saying that Beifong told him to sleep all day so he could be back at work the next. Everyone but Bolin believed him, and Bolin (who didn’t want to see it either but promised Asami he would go) let it slide.

After that, Bolin was better at guessing when Mako was lying, and whenever he needed Mako’s compliance, he set (Y/n) up to the task of cajoling Mako to come along.

So far, their track record had been impeccable.

(Y/n) chuckled at something they saw on screen, and Mako turned to them. “How many cases of Vari-dye do you think Varrick sold after that product placement?” They gestured to the screen where the once blonde Ginger flagrantly mentioned her hair dye product before becoming a, well… ginger. The script was somehow able to loosely tie the product placement into the plot, but the moment earned a couple of well-earned laughs throughout the theater.

“Millions, most likely. Aren’t these movers big in Ba Sing Se?”

“As comedies,” (Y/n) muttered, leaning in, clearly trying to keep their voice down so Bolin didn’t hear. The theater around them was dark and silent, but the light reflected in (Y/n)’s eyes was full of life and mirth. Mako found himself unable to look away.

He cleared his throat, “You do have to give it to Nuktuk and his comedic timing.”

“And Juji’s heart-wrenching death and subsequent resurrection.”

Mako found himself chuckling at their lame joke, and for once, he didn’t mind. (Y/n) smiled triumphantly, as though they had accomplished something truly grand, and angled their bag of popcorn towards Mako. He took some and popped a piece in his mouth, his laughter still dying on his lips. 

“Varrick must be quite the director, to get you to laugh in a totally serious, not-a-comedy mover.”

“Varrick?” and there was just enough suggestion in Mako’s words to say all that he couldn’t, though why he couldn’t seem to get anything else out, he didn’t know.

Things were always easy with (Y/n); their smiles were soft and infectious, their tactics in getting him to open up were effortless and effective, and falling in love with them had been the most simple and uncomplicated thing in this world. It should have been with such ease that Mako told them that it was them that got him into the theater and their corny comments that made him burn inside, like a thousand dying comets that took the form of shooting stars.

But for some reason, he was stuck.

Unsurprising, really, Mako had never really had luck when it came to love and even friendship. There was always something complicating things; there were always two sides of him, fighting the other for reasons even he couldn’t fathom. Eventually, one of them would lose. Eventually, something would give. 

But until that eventuality…

“I suppose I am quite the comedian. Should I write a screenplay?” (Y/n) was speaking, but something in their demeanor was different - a little stunned - like they hadn’t considered something before and it was only now dawning on them, slowly, but comfortably. Easy. “It would have to be a sequel to Nuktuk, of course. Maybe I can introduce the grumpy, mysterious fire-bender who he’s now forced to share a quest with?”

(Y/n) nudged him in the shoulder, already rolling their eyes at their own idea. Mako looked down, suddenly interested in picking the perfect piece of popcorn. “Yeah. If you’re making it, why not?”

(Y/n) snorted and turned back to the film.

two;

Taking the steps to his apartment two at a time, Mako fished for his keys in the pocket of his pants. Walking the beat had the potential to be more trouble than it was worth, and often Mako found himself at the gym at the end of the day, taking out his frustration the way he used to - pro-bending. Well, not so much pro-bending, anymore, seeing as they disbanded the Fire Ferrets, and dissolved the team, but it was the same training, nonetheless, and Mako had been a pro-bender so long that oftentimes, nothing felt more comfortable than the gym.

As he walked down the hall to his door - second on the right, Bolin had insisted - Mako could hear the sounds of laughter and the beeping of the oven. Despite himself, he smiled, breathing in deeply as he fiddled with the lock and opened the door.

Inside the tiny apartment, (Y/n) and Bolin were working side by side, leaning over the oven as they looked at the baked goods that lay within. The counters were a mess of cluttered ingredients and mismatched bake wear, Pabu had tracked flour across the carpet, and by every measure it was chaotic, but Mako simply leaned against the doorframe, speaking just loud enough to be heard. “Stress baking, again? Y’know, I’m really starting to regret giving you a key.”

"This was all Bolin, actually.” (Y/n) pulled the baking sheet out of the oven and set it down before turning to Mako with their usual countenance. “He told me to come over - he bought a set of mixing bowls and everything.”

“He didn’t buy more counter space?”

“Hey!” Bolin called incredulously through a mouth full of baked goods. Pabu scuttled beneath him, eating the crumbs that fell to the floor. “Counters wouldn’t fit.”

“It’s alright Bo,” (Y/n) nudged his arm with their shoulder, turning back to the task at hand. They used an old spatula to take their masterpiece off of the pan, and Bolin took two from them. 

“You have to try this batch, Mako, (Y/n)’s gotten really good at their green tea cookies.”

“Oh?”

Mako shut the door behind him and walked over to the couch. (Y/n) met him halfway with their signature, light green cookie, Mako took it with an appreciative smile. “The secret is in the matcha. I wasn’t putting in enough before, so they didn’t taste right.”

Mako broke off a bit of the cookie, making sure to get a bit that had a white chocolate chip in it, and savored the taste. (Y/n) was watching him with one of their expectant smiles, and he nodded his head, the bittersweet flavor still lingering in his mouth. “These are your best yet.”

“High praise, coming from you.” And there was an edge of sarcasm to their voice, but their eyes were bright. Mako just looked at them for a moment, really looked at them in all of their casual beauty. (Y/n) had moved into his life so early on and so slowly that Mako didn’t know what life would be like without their casual teasing and easy grins.

And, of course, their random (but not unwelcome) bouts of stress baking.

Mako must have been staring a bit too long, because (Y/n) raised a playful eyebrow, and not too long after, Bolin broke the silence. “Uh, Pabu and I have to go, and uh... y’know, do adult stuff, with uh....”

“With Korra?” (Y/n) supplied amusedly, turning to Bolin, who was stuffing a napkin with cookies hurriedly. 

“Yeah! Y’know, Avatar stuff...” Bolin shrugged, slipping out the door, only to open it up again and grab his shoes before shoving off again.

(Y/n) scoffed and Mako sighed, calling after him. “Real smooth, Bo!” 

A muffled response called out to them, and (Y/n) laughed, walking back over to the kitchen area, where they started to put together another batch of cookies, measuring the sugar with their hands and putting it into a bowl with butter. “I’m surprised you haven’t been kicked out from noise complaints.”

Yeah, well Bolin charmed our neighbors into liking us too much to see us go.”

“His charm does go far, doesn’t it?” Mako watched and (Y/n) moved through his apartment with ease, pulling spoons out of the drawers and cleaning the dishes as they went. Their practiced movements had the surety and preciseness of someone who lived there, and the thought was enough to make Mako’s throat dry.

“So,” Mako cleared his throat and walked over to (Y/n) passing them the egg they were reaching for. “you measure everything with your hands, and yet you’re constantly insisting that baking is a science. How does that work?”

“It’s all in the weight and look of it - a full cup is a far cry from a fourth.” (Y/n) mixed the ingredients together, their brow set in concentration, “Or, at least, that’s what my mom used to say. What I will tell you—” they looked up at Mako rather suddenly, that intensity still alight within them “—is that it’s in how it feels.”

“So the weight of it.”

“Yes... but it’s more than that.” (Y/n) looked at him with their sharp eyes, as though trying to judge something. “Go wash your hands,” and they jerked their head to the side, “I’ll show you.”

Mako didn’t even hesitate to do as they said, and even though Bolin had left, he could hear his voice - a surprised “what...?” - nagging the back of his mind. It was easy to shrug off. It was (Y/n). Everything was easy when it came to them.

“Alright,” (Y/n) said, with a hint of childish excitement, as Mako slung the towel he had used to dry his hands over his shoulder. “Give me your hands.”

Their touch tickled and their fingers - dry and powdery from the flour - grazed over his, opening his palms with a gentle sort of care.

“Here is one cup or so.” (Y/n) grabbed a handful of flour, transferred it to their other hand, and skimmed some off the top before placing it in his. “Yeah, you can feel the weight, and you can see how much there is, but you have to kind of trust that what you're feeling is right, because it’s not always going to feel the same, right? When you’re tired or you’ve been baking all day, things feel different, even though they’re the same.”

“All this for flour?”

“For each cup of flour. We need two and a half.”

��I can see why Bolin asks you to do the baking.” (Y/n) chuckled and guided his hands to the mixing bowl, where Mako let the flour slip out of his fingertips like really fine sand. “But I can tell that you feel it...” the last bit of flour fell out of his hands, but Mako let his hands hover near (Y/n)’s for just a moment longer, “and that’s good enough.”

They smiled, and it has all the serenity and beauty of dawn. “I’ll make a baker of you, yet.” They added more flour to the bowl and started mixing, their gaze flicking up to Mako. “One of these days you’re going to understand the feeling of it.”

“I...” and part of Mako wanted to say that he already did, that his feelings were about the only thing he understood when it came to moments like these, but the words got caught in his throat, and he found himself unable to get them out. “I think we’ll have to do a lot more baking, then.”

three;

Mako ran, the ground beneath his feet steady and his breathing exact. The beauty of Republic City Park surrounded him and in the early morning, when the air was just nippy enough to need a jacket, there were few people to be found. The usual groups of people practicing tai chi or playing Pai Sho weren’t out yet, and the sun was just peaking over the horizon. 

Morning runs often gave Mako a sense of clarity - there was very little he could focus on when in fast, forward motion, and everything complicated fell away. It was just him, the ground, and the fire in his veins. 

Mako slowed to a jog, and when he found an empty park bench, he sat down, wiping the sweat off of his brow. The shadows were just starting to creep away, losing to the brilliance of the sun and hiding in each recess and tiny alcove. The duck pond in front of him was warming to a crystal-like blue. Mako breathed out and tipped his head back, letting the stillness wash over him, his thoughts slowly catching up with him.

“Mako?”

And at first, he thought it was just his feelings for (Y/n) meeting up with him once more, but then he heard the steady pounding of the pavement and there they were jogging toward him, ushering in the morning with a comfortable pace.

“Heading into work later than usual?” They stopped by the bench and Mako slid over so they’d have room to sit.

“No, Beifong told me to take a day off. I usually do paperwork today, but she handed it off to someone else.”

(Y/n) hummed in acknowledgement. “So you’re joining Asami and me for our run, then?”

"Huh?”

“Asami and I usually go on a run, at this time. We meet here.”

“Asami told me that I should take a run since I wasn’t going into work today.”

Both of them scoffed, relaxing deeper into the metal bench. For a moment they just sat there, taking in the moment, and letting the world dawn on them, a beautiful mixture of colors - a painting slowly completing itself. Eventually, (Y/n) turned to Mako, an eyebrow raised in jest. “Do you reckon they think they’re being slick?”

“Probably - and it’ll only get worse once they get Korra on board.”

“Who’s to say they haven’t already?” The two chuckled, shaking their heads at the efforts of their friends, and (Y/n) knocked their knees together, leaning in a little closer. “It’s alright, I like spending time with you.”

“You’re gonna hate me once we finish this run, though.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to buy me some tea, afterwards.” (Y/n) stood up, stretching their arms and letting out a yawn. “To make it up to me, of course.”

Mako stifled a smile and stood, making a show of his weary sigh. “Alright” —(Y/n) rolled their eyes at him— “You drive a hard bargain.”

They started off at a slow jog, and every minute or so Mako upped the intensity until they were sprinting across Republic City Park, occasionally dodging the wayward soul taking a morning stroll. The world blurred around them, the lush foliage turning into swaths of green with the occasional pinprick of color - purple or yellow, green or blue. As they slowed down, the world became more defined, and when they came to a walk, (Y/n) pulled ahead and turned around so they could walk backwards, facing Mako with a breathless grin.

“You owe me at least a muffin to go along with that tea, after what you just pulled. I almost ran into a woman walking her toddler! Could you imagine what would have happened, had I hit her?”

Mako laughed, still coming down from his high, and (Y/n) grinned at the sound - dazzling and so bright, it put the sun to shame. “Let’s get you out of the park, then, before you start running down Pai Sho players.” 

The two fell into step beside each other, taking the path out of the park and into the busy streets. Already, Republic City was booming with life, and the two were rather quick to slip into the quiet tea shop that was just around the corner. Inside, the cafe was fairly empty, with slow music playing from the speakers. (Y/n) closed their eyes and breathed in the smell of freshly-baked muffins, and Mako was quick to look away when they caught him staring.

(Y/n) walked towards the case that held all of the baked goods, trying to read the different types they had displayed. “This is way better than trying to throw something together at my apartment.”

Mako pulled his attention away from the menu board, where he had been searching for the right type of tea. “Your apartment? You mean you actually have a place to go, other than mine?” 

“You gave me the key.”

“For emergencies.”

(Y/n) scoffed. “Well, ‘emergencies’ is in clear need of a mutual definition.”

The two ordered, and Mako paid, despite (Y/n) saying they had the money, and when their order was ready, they took a seat in the corner, next to a window that overlooked a busy intersection. (Y/n) insisted they split the muffin and gave half to Mako, and after settling into their more calm atmosphere, (Y/n) turned to Mako.

“So, what are you going to do for the rest of your day off?” (Y/n) took a sip of their tea and fixed Mako with one of those stares - the kind that saw through everything else, and somehow got down to his core. “I can’t imagine this is what you had planned.”

“Uh… I don’t know. I figured I’d go home and work on finding a lead to a case or something.”

“Even though Beifong told you to take the day off?”

“Well, I’m not at the station…” Mako trailed off, suddenly finding great interest in the rim of his cup.

“And you’re not going to work from home, either.” (Y/n) scoffed exaggeratedly, and though Mako was the most incorrigible person they’d ever met. Although, in their defense, he probably was. “Not on my watch.”

“So what, you’re going to find something for me to do all day?”

“If that’s what it takes.”

Mako watched as (Y/n) sat back in the booth, a triumphant yet challenging smile on their face, and he felt the disbelief in his chest melt into something softer. It was there, again, that urge to say something both incredibly brave and terribly stupid; that desire to put all of his feelings into words and express them more truly than anything else.

“Alright,” Mako swallowed and allowed himself a small smile. “If that’s what it takes.

✧ *:･ﾟ

one;

Just when Mako had admitted to (Y/n) that he was an avid reader, he couldn’t remember, but at some point, they had found out, and ever since, the two spent their lazy weekends sprawled out on his sky blue sofa, books in hand. This time, (Y/n) had come earlier than usual, and by midday, they had already finished their novel - a fast-paced murder mystery with just a bit of a redemption arc for one of the main leads. They had talked about (Y/n)’s book while walking down to the market to get the necessary fixings for dinner, and when they came back to Mako’s tiny apartment, he passed them one of his favorites to read - a historical fiction that combined elements of notable legends and recorded history to make an interesting thriller with plenty of easy-to-digest drama. 

When (Y/n) took it from him, they took one look at the summary and raised an eyebrow.  “This is one of your favorites?” Mako had tried to push down his embarrassment, stuttering out some kind of response, but had just smiled. “It’s not a bad thing, just surprising. I’m sure I’ll love it.”

And they did. For the next hour and a half, the two sat in Mako’s apartment in relative silence, reading separate novels and making the occasional exclamation of shock, betrayal, joy, and surprise. Mako had looked over at (Y/n) occasionally, trying to judge where they were in the book, and whether they were enjoying it just as much as he had, the first time.

At some point in the day, the sun filtering through the window matured into a deeper, golden shade, turning the afternoon into early evening. Mako, who had been thoroughly engrossed in his novel for the better part of the day, stood up from his couch and stretched when he noticed the change in light. Letting out a sigh, he made his way over to the kitchen area. As he started to make dinner for the both of them, Mako missed the way that (Y/n) turned to look at him from their place on the couch, a lopsided grin on their face. They still lay on the turquoise material, sitting upside down with their feet in the air, book in hand and the red couch cushion resting on their stomach, watching as Mako turned on the stove with a click of propane and a bit of fire bending. 

It wasn't long before the apartment was full of the comforting smell of Mako's cooking, and soon (Y/n) found it impossible to focus on the page before them. They opted to right themself instead and watch Mako as he finished up, adding the finishing touches to the meal before splitting what lay in the pan into two different bowls. 

He handed a bowl to (Y/n) as he settled onto the couch, both of them moving to sit cross-legged, their knees touching. (Y/n) savored the flavor of Mako's signature dish, and he gestured to the book beside them. 

"How're you liking it so far?"

"The book? It's great. Perfectly paced, in my opinion, although I wouldn't mind for a little bit more world-building. The time period is so interesting and they could lean into it a little more."

Mako nodded, satisfied with the smile on their face and the eagerness in their tone. "I figured you'd like it. There's a lot happening, but the characters are good enough to carry the story."

"That's a raving review, coming from you." (Y/n) laughed, the sound falling from their lips effortlessly. "And I can see why it's your favorite. You like a good redemption arc, don't you?"

"It's an interesting enough idea."

"A rather sweet one, too. Are you sure you're not a romantic at heart?"

Mako scoffed in response, but even so, he could feel his cheeks burning up, the nagging voice in his head (the one that told him to just confess already, or do something equally as rash) getting louder from conviction. "I think that's you."

"Oh definitely, but there's always room for one more," (Y/n) mumbled through a mouth full of noodles. "And judging by your taste in books, I'd say you already are."

"There's not even a romantic subplot!"

"The main character literally took lightning to the face for his best friend, and then proceeded to say that he’d do it all again, if it meant they could stay together. Are you telling me there isn't something there?"

“You said yourself that they’re friends!”

“C’mon, Mako,” (Y/n) deadpanned, setting aside their dinner so that they could use their hands to punctuate their speech. There was a fire in their eyes, and something restless in the way they moved - like there was something important they were trying to say. “Friendship is clearly just an excuse for them.”

“An excuse?” Mako felt his throat dry. Suddenly, he was acutely aware of their proximity, and the little space that still existed between them - like they were almost touching, and yet oceans apart. 

(Y/n)’s hands fidgeted in their lap. “Yeah, like… An easy out when you’re too afraid to go for it...or when you think you’re not enough.” Part of Mako wanted to look away, but (Y/n)’s eyes had caught his gaze too fully and the other part of him battled to stay. For the longest moment, he couldn’t move. “But they love each other - you can see it.”

There was a battle waging war inside Mako; each side fighting the other for dominance, and only one coming out on top. When he spoke, his voice was low, almost like a deep sigh. “Yeah, they love each other.”

(Y/n) smiled, their mouth moving with just the slightest tremble, and part of Mako wondered what had disrupted the ease with which they did everything, but another part of him already knew. Mako reached out and cupped their cheek, the feeling of their skin against his flooding him with courage he didn’t know he had.

“And I love you, (Y/n).” 

“About time you confessed to me.” (Y/n)’s eyes sparkled in jest before they surged forward, kissing Mako and igniting the fire in his chest. All he could think about was them and the way they blissfully invaded all of his senses, how soft their lips were, and how strong their hands were, as they wrapped around him, pulling him nearer. When they broke apart, (Y/n) rested their forehead on his. 

Then they said it, their voice a whisper that sent him tumbling over the edge, their breath fanning against his cheek.

“I love you, too.”

Mako kissed them again, craving the feeling of their lips against his, chasing after the way they made him feel - like every moment had led to this, like every battle had been worth the struggle. Time seemed to stop, and for a moment, it was as though there was no gravity, and the only thing anchoring Mako to this world was (Y/n), and their touch.

“Like I said,” (Y/n) was smiling when he pulled away, and their gaze made it easy to come back down to earth. “You’re a romantic at heart.”

Mako chuckled and (Y/n) laughed with him, the sound filling the tiny apartment with something undefined but utterly perfect. 

“Alright, so maybe I am.” Mako relented, tipping his head back. “But an epic romance doesn’t happen within that book, if that’s what you're after.”

“Well, maybe we’ll have to write a sequel of our own."

-- taglist: message me if you want to be added to a taglist!

[cruecifymesixx]

Love and Leather /part eighty nine/

Word Count: 4.9k

A/N: Hi! Enjoy the update!

Warnings:major angst

Taglist:   , @miserablecunt , @dangerous-like-a-loaded-pistol, ,  @a-simple-salmon,  @hi-my-name-is-riley, @extremesadnerding, @thatbandchick39, @awkwrdcait, @countrygirlswonderland, @awesomealmostdopestudent, ,  @krazykatkay456, @terror-triplet, @shouttatthedevill-blog @beachystars, @rodriguez025, @kickstart-myheart-sixx, @s-outhie, @anxious-diabetic, @awkwardblackgirls-blog,  @shamelessobsessions, @jerseytaint, , @criminalyetminimal, @motley-queen, @trapt-in-a-dream,  @broke-n-bitchy​,  @lovesick-heart0, @keepcalm-and-beyou, @miriampraez, @teenwolflover28, @lilyhw1, @herbertweeest, @random-internet-user-4471, @falcon-arrows, @talranocchia2001,  @waywardprincess666, @iluvmesomemarvelndc, @vamprlestat, @supersoldierballerina, @electradestiny, @marshbev, @n0-sh0rtage-0f-faults, @cruebaby, @ggorehorror, @valentines-in-london, @nassauartist  @cmft-jr-winchester, @bokkie92, @notworthyofyou1120 @xrosegoldwolfx, @mgkobsessed, @chaoticvybe,  @kellysimagines @thoughtsoftheantagonist @marvelismylifffe, @sleepyjunhong  @meetthesixxter @sparxx27 @gingerspicetalks @kaitieskidmore1 @unknownoblivion @nevergoodenuffbutokaaayyy @sublimeprincesswasteland @kylieinwonderland @haileynicoleseavey17 @lavendersoundbarrier @xxisxxisxxis, @dogmom2014, @cruesixxlover1991,  @m0rnlngstar,  @findingmyths,  @i-want-to-shoot-myself, @arianareirg, @fentitrbl, @patheticgay69 , @redlipscrystalskies14, @samanthadegaro @jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels @thechangingme, , @makaelahdelvalle

*Nikki’s POV*

I sighed heavily through my nostrils, resting my head against the couch as I sucked on a hard piece of watermelon flavored candy. Dr. Peterson left a few very persistent voicemails on my phone as well as pages on my pager, attempting to get me to come to the therapy office. Reluctantly I agreed, but I wish I didn’t as I assumed Vanity would be here too, however she’s not.

“Hey Doc…” I speak lightly when she walks in, sitting directly across from me in the leather chair as she crosses one knee over the other.

“Thank you for coming in Nikki, I’m sure you are a very busy man.” She eyes the handful of empty candy wrappers on the oak coffee table, “It’s new candy, I just put it there today…and looks like I have to add more.” She smiles as she jokes.

“I like the strawberry ones better…and it’s okay, I wasn’t super busy today. Sorry for taking long to get back to you.” I sit up more in the chair as she opens up her folder and takes out the good ‘ol notepad.

“So how’ve you been? Anything new?”

I shake my head, “I’m okay, just been busy. We finally wrapped up the album, then we do some promoting and then we hit the road for tour.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that it’s hectic and time consuming. Have you taken anytime for yourself to relax recently?”

My lips pull into a small grin, “Is this where you poke my brain and tell me I’m putting myself into work too much?”

Crystal chuckles a bit, “Do you think you’re putting too much of yourself into work?”

“It’s my job? I kinda don’t have a choice. Not like anyone else is writing songs, well good ones for that matter.”

She nods, “So you’re the one in charge? excuse my ignorance, I don’t really follow your music. I’m sure that’s stressful having everyone depend on you. Do you deal with stress well?”

I shrugged, “I don’t have to write all the songs, it just happens that way.” I chuckle a bit under my breath, “Too loud for you? I mean, yeah it’s stressful. I used to go out and get high, but then that overtook everything. Now I just work out or take my camera out or write more songs to relax.”

“Just not my cup of tea, Nikki. Have you done any of that recently? Vanity mentioned shopping helps her relax.”

I roll my eyes and laugh, “Anything that revolves around spending money sounds good to her. And no, I haven’t had the time. Stuck at rehearsal with the band and when I’m not at rehearsal I’m hanging out with the band at a bar.” I stare when she writes something down, “Taking notes already?”

She glances at me, “I do it with everyone, you know that. So you only hang out with the guys? The same guys you’re around all day? You never really escape work, do you?”

“Well…I mean no…but I have fun when I’m with them. Tommy and I are like practically married and Mick is fun and John is cool too. I see Tommy constantly cause Van and Clementine are best friends. Sometimes it’s a little much. At times I just want to take a break but I know I can’t because it’s my music and it keeps the nice things flowing and Arianna’s school.” I explain to her, “I mean…I would have enough to take a break for a long time but still…I don’t want too.”

“Tommy, right…Vanitys mentioned him a few times, same with Clementine. But why are you so worried about money? Vanity has money does she not?”

“Yeah…god mother of the year.” I roll my eyes, “Yeah, yeah…Van has plenty of money for her, she’s a great mom. I missed out on a lot the first few years of Arianna’s life so I just want to make up for that.”

“Well…as you know, everything you missed could have been prevented. Kids don’t remember a lot from their childhood anyways, with the exception of a severe traumatic even happening. They usually won’t start remembering moments until the ages of 7 and 8.”

I glare a bit, “I don’t need to be told the same thing I already know. If I had kept my dick in my pants I wouldn’t have missed anything, I know.” I lean forward reaching for another piece of candy and shoving it in my mouth.

“Theres no reason to jump to the defense Nikki. We’re just talking.” I would think she was being condescending if she wasn’t a damn therapist.

“Right-“ I roll my eyes, “Talking? You’re blaming me for it.”

“Well who is to blame them? Vanity? You’d be surprised to know she never wants to talk about this.”

“Wait-no, no. You’re twisting my words. No, it’s not her fault, it’s mine. But still, she could have called or retuned my letter letting me know.” I defend myself as she looks at me.

“Nikki, we can spend all day talking about the things Vanity, should’ve or could’ve done differently. We can talk for hours about how things were suppose to go differently.”

“Then why the hell did you bother me? What could you possibly want to talk about if it’s not that?”

“How are the dates going? Let’s start there.”

I stare at her a moment, rubbing my knees as I take a breath, “I don’t know…Donna, she’s great but she’s just…she’s just not Vanity.” I look away feeling disappointed, not because it wasn’t working, but in myself. That it took me seeing someone else to figure out what I wanted, “Donna’s hot and funny, well tries to be funny. But she hangs on to every word I say, thinks I’m right about everything, doesn’t ever disagree with me…it’s…it’s boring. I don’t know if it’s just because I’ve been with Vanity for so long, that nobody else can compare or what. But I just…it’s not working. Donna’s too clingy anyways.”

“Really?” Crystal sounds surprised, “You were so vocal about seeing other people.”

“Well…I wasn’t excited about it. I did it because I thought thats what Van wanted. I just wanted to help fix us. I would do anything for us, for her.” I sigh as I lean back against the cushion.

“You thought.” She pointed out, “You assumed and didn’t really ask what would have helped, did you?”

“Well…I-“ I stumble over my words before sighing, “No, I didn’t. I just took the first suggestion that was brought up. I wanted to get out of the office before I was ganged up on.”

Crystal chuckles, “Nobody thought about ganging up on you Nikki. You just don’t like when you aren’t in control, that is both of your issues.”

“I don’t have control issues.” I glance at Crystal as she stares at me, “What? I don’t.”

“Yes you do, wether you like to admit it or not. You mentioned earlier it’s always you writing songs because nobody else will do it.” She says, using air quotes might I add as I glare in return, “I’m sure they would if you backed off and gave them a chance.”

“I just like to make sure things are perfect, there’s nothing wrong with that. Mick isn’t interested and Tommy wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“Nikki, maybe if you gave them a chance they would shine and pressure would be taken off your shoulders. Nothing has to be perfect, there’s no such thing as that.”

I roll my eyes, “Okay, so maybe I have a slight control problem but this, the band, has been the only thing in my life I actually have control over.”

“And the other parts you don’t? Can you tell me about it?”

I groan in annoyance, “Oh come on. I’m sure Vanity has mentioned a thing or two about me. I’m sure she’s told you all about the reason why I’m fucked up is because of my childhood.” I reach for a candy disk, unwrapping it before popping it into my mouth.

“The subject has came up once or twice but Vanity never dived deep, she said it wasn’t her place to talk about it. Do you want to talk about it?” She asks softly, like how every other therapist in the past has done.

“No, not really. But I just moved around a lot as a kid…”

“Oh, well I’m sure that had an affect on you. Always being the new kid and what not. Are you parents still together? They must be so proud of you.”

I laughed, probably a little too loud “God no. My dad split when I was a kid and my mom and I don’t talk, at all. Every time we do it explodes into something bigger.”

“I’m sorry for that, I’m sure it was hard without a dad in the picture. So your mom raised you?”

Again, I laugh, “Here and there when she wanted me. Half the time I’d be with my grandparents.”

She glances at me, “Is this why you’re so scared of failing as a father?”

I stare at her a moment, “I’m not like my dad. I didn’t just abandon the girls. I begged her to move here so we could be a family.”

“So…they had to uproot the life Vanity had built for them in New York to make you comfortable? Which is essentially what you had to do every time you moved as a child?”

I shake my head “You’re twisting my words. I just wanted them close. Vanity hated New York, she basically stayed for Clementine.”

Crystal shakes her head, “Are you assuming she hated it because she told me she loved it there.”

I chuckle l, “Loved it? Of course she loved it! She was nose deep in fucking coke when I got there.”

“And that’s a problem she’s been working on has she not?”

I sigh, “Yeah, yeah. And I’m proud of her. I know it’s not easy. But I’m not like my parents alright? I’m not just leaving Arianna high and dry nor am I leaving her alone in a run down fucking house okay?”

Crystal looks at me, her head slightly turning to the side, “If you know that, then why are you so worried about messing up? You sound like such a great dad Nikki, from what Vanity tells me. That little girl is lucky to have you.”

I exhale deeply as I nod a bit and lean back against the chair, “Because something always happens…”

“If you spend all your time waiting for bad things to happen you’ll miss out on everything life has for you. Can you give me an example of something happening?”

“I don’t know…I could relapse, Vanity could relapse. We could break up, she could fall in love with someone else and leave me…” I mumble the last part “..and I don’t want her to leave me.”

“You both work hard on your sobriety right? Then what is the worry?” Crystal looks at me, taking off her glasses as she leans forward a bit, “I think you need to spend less time worrying about her being with someone else and only worry about her being with you. Like I said earlier Nikki, we can spend all day talking about the what if’s but it doesn’t help anything or anybody in the long run.”

I frown a bit, “I guess you’re right…it doesn’t do me any good, just drives my anxiety up the wall.”

She smiles a bit, “See…I knew I could get through to you. Is there anything else you want to discuss? You said the dates you’re going on aren’t fulfilling?”

I nod, “Yeah they aren’t. I’d rather be at home with the girls.”

“So…now I’m gonna assume you and Vanity are going to sit down and talk? If this is how you’re feeling, plus with how she feels..”

“I want this to work with her. I need it to work. I can’t picture myself with anyone but her. I hated my ex wife because she wasn’t Van. I just forced myself to pretend that I tolerated her, let alone love her.”

“Then I think you two need to sit down and discuss what you both want from each other and what it will take to make it work. You can’t always blame your issues on your childhood, just like she can’t blame everything on her temper and how she reacts to stressful situations.”

I laugh under my breath and grin “Yeah, she does get mad at the slightest thing.”

She cracks a smile and nods, “That she does. But just like you, Vanity also needs the control. I think you two need to find a solid ground and share it evenly, 50/50. Not 25/75 or 60/40. But right down the middle.”

“And what if we can’t?”

“Nikki.” I sigh and let my shoulders fall back, “As long as you two actually talk about your problems instead of holding onto the anger and grudges. I think both of you also need to learn how to let certain things go.”

“Like the cheating?” I look at her, “She throws that in my face any chance she gets. I just don’t know how many times I can say sorry for it.”

Crystal nods, “I understand Nikki, I do. But put yourself in Vanity’s shoes okay? It’s a traumatic situation for anyone. Just think if the tables were turned. How would you feel? How would you’ve reacted? I believe what bothers her is the principal of it, if you being with someone else. She didn’t want to see it, just like mentioned earlier, you don’t want to see her with another man.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll work on being understanding and sharing control. I need to be home more, hopefully after this album I can take a break for a while and we can get to know each other again.”

“It’s not a bad thing to get to know one another again, you aren’t kids anymore.”

*Vanity’s POV*

“It’s okay Ari! Just brush it off and keep going!” I yell, cupping my hands around my mouth as I sit back down on the folding chair. I wince when I see Arianna trip over the soccer ball again and get a mouth full of dirt, “You’re doing great, sweetie!” I give her a smile when she looks over, glaring as she brushes the dirt off her knees.

“Come on Van, she can barely kick the ball without eating shit. Maybe soccer isn’t for her.” Nikki states, flicking a peanut shell at me. I glance down, seeing him laying on his side on the blanket, “We could try gymnastics. Or cheerleading.” He points in the direction of coaches surrounding a little league team.

I sigh as I slump back in the chair, groaning when Arianna falls again, “It’s only the first day of practice, Nikki. She’ll get the hang of it.”

“Or she’ll get kicked off the team.” Nikki laughs before sitting up and leaning against my leg, “However, it is pretty entertaining to watch.”

I roll my eyes and tap the back of his head, “She has to start somewhere, she can’t just be great over night. I know it took you some time to get good at bass playing.” I smirk a bit as he tilts his head back to look at me.

“Don’t go there. She clearly has no coordination at all and she’s kicking way to hard at the ball and that’s why she keeps falling.” He shakes his head when Arianna kicks the ball and hits another kid in the gut, “See? And she’s being a ball hog.”

“A ball hog? Maybe you need to coach this team instead, Sixx.”

“Well I do look good in stripes.” He laughs but it quickly stops when his phone starts ringing. I watch him dig it out of his pocket as he shakes his head and shoves it back in his jeans.

“If it’s a work call then take it.”

“No, no it’s fine. It’s just Donna, she can wait till later.” He tells me, glancing in my direction as we look at each other for a moment. I watch as he scratches the back of his neck before he looks back at the field, mumbling something under his breath.

I chuckle to myself when his phone starts ringing once more, he digs out of his pocket again before shoving it away, “I’m sure you wouldn’t want her upset with you since you’re ignoring her calls. It’s okay Nikki, you aren’t missing much, it’s just practice.” I explain to him as I see his back raise with a deep inhalation of a breath before he exhales.

“No. This is important, unlike making plans for another expensive restaurant or some stupid high end club.” Nikki spews out, I can hear the annoyed tone.

I clear my throat a bit, “Is everything okay with you..and her?” He side eyes me from the corner of his black shades as I see the corner of his mouth pull up a bit.

“Just...she’s...she’s just making it complicated. She’s asking for too much. Always wants to talk on the phone or hang out or meet up for coffee. She doesn’t grasp the idea of space. Donna wants to be a girlfriend and she’s not girlfriend material, at least not for me.” Nikki leans back on his hands, his legs stretched out on the blue and black flannel.

“Girlfriend material?” I question him as he turns his head to look at me.

“Yeah? You know...girlfriend material? She’s a great women but she couldn’t handle being with a rockstar. Grew up catholic and has all these beliefs that just make me want to gag. She’s hot but she can barely talk about anything other than the modeling and acting. I like someone that can at least tell me what they’re thinking at any given moment.” I feel him nudge my leg as he rests a dandelion on my knee, “I don’t know...it’s just fizzling out.”

I fumble with the yellow flower between my fingers as Nikki cheers for Arianna. My eyebrows pull together in confusion. He was just spending this whole past week with her so I wonder what could have changed. I was still thinking about everything Dr. Peterson had told me last week, I was nitpicking the pros and cons of the situation. Nikki had apologized the next day after our fight like always and then that turned into me being under him...like always. And then it was back to ignoring the problem.

“Hey Nik? Can we talk-“

“Mom! Mom! Did you see how good I’m doing?!”Arianna runs to me, exuberant as always before she’s taking the juice box Nikki hands to her.

“Of course baby! Daddy and I are so happy you’re enjoying it.” I smile at her, smoothing her hair back and wiping some dirt off the side of her cheek, “Just try to be careful okay? And let some of the other kids get the ball.”

She nods feverishly, “But coach Taylor said I’m doing a really good job!”

“And you are princess, but it’s a team sport. So you gotta let the others play with the ball too.” Nikki tells her as he ties the laces on her cleats and tucks them into her shoe, “Sixx’s always play as a team babe.”

“But Blackwoods know how to get the job done themselves.” I wink at her as she giggles and hands me her juice box, “Go finish and then we’ll grab some dinner and maybe ice cream.” Arianna nods before she gives me and Nikki a hug and runs off to the field again.

“So...how are you and Jon?” Nikki questions, almost uncomfortably as he glances at me for a split second.

I shrug, “He’s been busy with studio stuff so

I haven’t really talked to him that much. He calls every few days or so just to see how I’m doing.”

Nikki nods as he leans back on his elbows, “Oh…well that’s good at least…”

“Yeah, I guess?” I chuckle a bit and shake my head, “It’s not like you really care.” 

“Yes I do..” I glance when Nikki mumbles, picking blades of grass and flicking them away. I chuckle at his words and shake my head, my eyes going back to soccer practice.

“Yeah, okay Nikki.”

“I’m gonna go get a drink at the concession stand.” He mutters quietly, getting up as his bangs fall over his eyes. I glance at him as he shakes his head and runs his hands through his hair as he walks across the field. I look down, noticing the unopened bottle of Coca Cola from earlier.

*A few days later*

I took a deep breath in and exhaled as I paced nervously outside of Nikki’s office door. Why was talking about how we felt so scary for us? My heart was racing as I hear the light hum of bass strings being pulled. Nikki had came home from having lunch with Donna an hour ago and slammed every single door he went through, so I wasn’t sure what had happened. I said hi to him but he brushed me off and went straight up the stairs.

I crack my knuckles as I try to find the courage inside of me to knock on the door. I just wanted to talk and I figured with Arianna being at school still, it would be the best time to do so. Ya know, in case of it getting ugly.

My lips puff up as I exhale deeply, glancing at anarchy as she’s sprawled out on the floor watching me, “Wish me luck.” I knock on the mahogany door, not hearing any response to come in. I wait a second before reaching for the doorknob and slowly cracking it open, seeing him hunched over in the usual position when he plays his bass with headphones on. I watch him for a moment as he reaches for his journal and writes something down. He notices me through the reflection on the blank computer screen.

Nikki turns around in his chair as he takes off the headphones and smiles “Hey sorry. I just had an idea and I wanted to play it while I had it.”

“No, no it’s okay. I get it. I uh just wanted to talk but you’re busy so we can just talk later.” I stay by the door, gripping the handle as I swallow the lump in my throat.

Nikki stares at me for a moment “No, come sit.” He motions to the futon, “What’s going on?” He sounds concerned as he rolls his chair closer.

“Okay..” I mumble as I sit criss cross on the cushion as I hold the pillow in my lap, “I went and talked to our therapist the other day to get some things off my chest and now I want to talk to you about them.” I take a breath as I look at him, he looks as worried as I feel, “I-I just feel like we aren’t getting anywhere. That this-“ I motion between us “..isn’t going anywhere.”

“You think that?” I notice the slight frown playing on his lips “I took the advice the therapist gave, Van. I didn’t want too….is this about me locking you out? If it is I’m sorry, I was just messing around.”

“Yes, I think and feel that. Like we’re just not letting go and we’re trying to stay together for the sake of Arianna. No, no it’s not because you locked me out. I’ve been feeling like this for a while now..”

“Is that what you want? For this to be over?” Nikki stares at me as he gnaws on his bottom lip, “Are you breaking up with me?” It’s faint but I hear it and it makes my heart heavy.

“I-I I don’t know..”

“My dates with Donna haven’t been that fun, not like how they are with you.”

I smile a bit before it fades, “I just feel like it’s me that’s trying to save our relationship, or what little is left to save. I’m just confused Nikki.”

“What’s there to be confused about Van? You either want to be with me or you don’t.” I stare at him, I wish it was as simple as that but it’s not. 

“Do you wanna be with me?” I ask him as he chuckles a bit and rolls closer to me.

“Vanity, of course I want to be with you. You should already know the answer to that. It’s always going to be you every time.” I look away at the painting on the wall as he touches my knees, his thumb gently rubbing back and forth.

“I just feel like our relationship is one sided now. I told you from the start I didn’t want to do this, seeing other people. I vocalized how much I was against it and you still wanted to do it anyways.”

Nikki nods as he lets out a deep breath “I know, I know. I should have listened to what you were saying. It put an even bigger strain on our relationship. I broke things off with Donna today. She was just getting on my nerves. I was only going out with her because I saw how much fun you were having with Jon and how happy you looked. It made me jealous because the whole time I was miserable.”

“You didn’t seem like it..I don’t want to break up. I just wish it wasn’t so hard all the time. We aren’t kids anymore, it feels like how it did 10 years ago and I feel like it shouldn’t be. It should be easy for us by now. Do you think other couples have it this hard?”

Nikki chuckles as he gets off the chair and sits down next to me, “No baby, I don’t. Because not everyone is as complicated as you and me. What do you want from me Van? You want me to actually work on us instead of finding excuses not to?” I glance at him as he smiles at me.

“But that makes me feel like a bitch when you say it like that. I feel selfish. Do you want this?”

“Vanity, you may be a temperamental brat and a pain in my ass sometimes, but you aren’t selfish. You’re far from it.” He reaches for my hand as he brings it up to his lips “I want this. I want you and only you. We shouldn’t be doing this because of Arianna, we should be doing this because we love one another and cause we want this to work. I do love you Vanity.”

“I know you do and I love you too.” I feel him kiss my knuckles again as he’s gently pulling me closer and into his lap. I feel him wrap his arms around me as he lays his head against my shoulder. I sigh as I lay my cheek atop of his head and let my nails run over his neck and back.

“I’m sorry for making you feel this way. Like we weren’t gonna have a chance. I never wanted to do that.” He tells me as I nod and kiss his temple.

“I know you didn’t do it on purpose, it’s okay. I just worry and overthink sometimes because you’re you. You’re Nikki Sixx. You could literally have anyone you want and I could be so easily replaced at any moment. It just scares me.”

Nikki looks up at me and laughs, “You? Oh come on you’re joking. Doll I love you just the way you are. Sure, models and playboys are hot but they couldn’t even touch you. They’re not the ones running out of the house applying make up and dragging a kid behind them because they’re running late. Or throwing water on dinner because they forgot they were even cooking. They don’t have eyes that remind me of the ocean when the sun shines. They don’t have soft lips for me to kiss, even when my breath is so fucking rancid in the morning.”

“Hey I haven’t set dinner on fire in a few months alright?” I laugh a bit as I lean forward to give him a kiss, “Thank you for saying that.”

Nikki licks his lips as he leans back against the couch to look at me, “Plus who else on this planet is able to make me cry? Besides Arianna, she’s just harsh.”

“Yeah she has been pretty mean to you lately hasn’t she?” I chuckle as I move pieces of hair back and out of his face.

“Yeah all because I wouldn’t let her crawl into the that claw machine at the arcade a few weeks ago. You know she put her blue goo in my boots? That’s not something I ever want to feel again.” He shudders as he looks at me and smiles “I’ve also been trying to meditate and write my feelings out instead of keeping them inside.”

“Oh! So that’s why you’ve been sitting at the pool every morning? I thought you were just having a mid life crisis or something.” I grin and laugh when he pinched my hip.

“Hey just because I’m getting closer to 40 doesn’t mean shit.”

“Kinda does a little bit, Nikki.” I lean forward and squint “is that….is that a grey hair?” I tease him as I pretend to pluck it out of his hair.

“Oh shut the hell up. You have them too probably.” He rolls his eyes as he pretends to pout.

“Oh no no baby. Not on this head of hair, you won’t find a single thing.”

Nikki leans forward as he gives me a quick and simple kiss, “Well whenever it happens, I’ll still love you when you’re old and grey.”