#and of course i have exams starting AGAIN next week as if the last wave didn't just fucking end

[verystressedcollegestudent]

im just so fucking done

[minawritesfanfic]

Backyard Boy Part 3

Rodrick Heffley x Reader

Word Count: 2k+

Summary: School is officially back in session and things are looking great, well we’re looking great. An unexpected reunion at the beginning of class is throwing you for a loop, and it seems you aren’t going to be able to avoid the impending confrontation. But hey pizza with your favorite drummer boy is bound to make you feel better, right..?

Part 3

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Summer came and went faster than I wanted it to but at least it was fun, I was able to split my time evenly between hanging out with Rodrick and Racrn. Racrn is the silly little acronym I came up with using the first letters of everyone's names: Renatta, Alejandro, Cecily, Reese, and Nolan. Apparently, they liked it too, and it ended up sticking as a nickname for the group. It was just an easier way to refer to the group compared to ‘insert someone's name and them’. Lame and obnoxiously wordy.

School finally started up again, in my senior year. In a sorta new town, new friends, new clothes, and a very new me. I walked into the school like I had months before during the last week of school, this was different though. No longer did tension hang heavy in the air from final exams, instead the air was full of life and excitement as students talked through the hallways buzzing with joy and telling their peers the glories or tragedies of their summer break.

I exhaled with a smile, very happy about the changed atmosphere, and made my way through the sea of people to my locker. It was in one of the main school hallways which thankfully wasn’t too crowded at the moment. I opened it and tucked my backpack neatly inside before pulling out some of the locker decorations I’d bought the week before. I lined the inner part of the door with taped-up pictures, one from hangouts with Racrn, pictures of me and Rodrick, and a few cute stickers. I smiled at the sight of my freshly customized locker then grabbed the stuff I’d need for class before shutting and locking my locker.

I headed towards the stairs hoping to make it to my first period in time when I spotted a certain black-haired dork standing off to the side. He talked animatedly to his friends as he twirled a drumstick idly in his hand, he glanced over at me when he presumably felt me staring. He flashed me a grin and I waved and mouthed a ‘Don’t be late to class’ before walking off. I didn’t manage to catch him rolling his eyes before I disappeared up the stairs though.

My first few classes weren’t that bad, it was a bunch of electives since I opted out of most of the classes I already had enough credits for. Except for math, for some stupid reason, I needed to take it. My old school was apparently weird and because I didn’t finish out the secound semester for math I didn’t get the full credit, why or how that is I have no clue. So I buckled in mentally to take another math class, which of course was pre-calculus and my next class.

I walked into the classroom and it was partially empty as there were still three minutes until the bell rang. I smiled seeing Renatta was in class with me nodding along as a blonde girl spoke to her. I waved as I walked over, she waved back and the blonde girl turned to look at me.

“O m g! If it isn’t little ole California Sunshine themself, what on Earth brings you to this side of the world?” Heather fucking Hills said with that same condescending tone and smile on her pretty face.

I forced a smile while sitting down behind Renatta who looked like a deer in headlights, her mouth agape and all, looking between the two of us. I knew I would have a lot of explaining to do later and I was not at all looking forward to it.

“Nice to see you’re still the Same Heather, never thought I’d see you again.”

‘More like I hoped I’d never see you again.’

“I know, but seriously what are you doing here? Didn’t you totally say you’d never leave California, like ever?” She asked, quaking her head to the side, her face etched with fake curiosity and a hint of unease.

“Yeah that was the plan, but there was a pretty bad earthquake that ended up splitting our home in half. My parents were tired of earthquakes and moved us out here to completely avoid them. What are you doing here? I thought you lived in Oregon?”

“Okay, I’m going to cut you guys off right there. How the hell do you two know each other?!” Renatta asked, flabbergasted as she looked back and forth between us, Heather glanced quickly over at me but I didn’t even have to look at her to know what she was feeling.

“We met on a family vacation, she was in the room next to mine and we just ended up.. hanging out,” I said with a shrug and Heather just looked me up and down before turning away.

“Hanging out is a bit of an overstatement, but whatever.”

Renatta looked ready to ask more questions but as the bell rang, Mr. Lanaski began class giving her no opportunity to. I knew that this would only be a temporary measure though, as I had lunch with the whole Racrcn group next period. I slumped back into my chair and absently listened to the teacher as he gave us a rundown of how his class would be, it was even worse with me receiving knowing looks from both Renatta and Heather. Who I would also probably have to talk too soon, and I had no idea how that conversation would go.

★ ✮ ★

The bell rings and both girls try and drag me away with them out of the class, they cast glares at each other while everyone else is quickly filling out of the classroom. I managed to break free from their grasp but the looks on both their faces told me that I’d regret even trying to leave, I just started to pack my things as they argued about who gets to talk to me first.

“They were my friend before they were yours!” Heather huffs crossing her arms.

“I thought you guys barely even hung out, besides don’t you have a class to go to? We’re headed to lunch.” Renatta snapped back flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“Oh really? That’s perfect, we’re all friends, yeah, so I’ll join you at your lunch table.”

“Oh, absolutely not!-“ Renatta began but I immediately opted out of sitting with Heather AND Racrn at one lunch table, before either of them could react I grabbed my stuff and bolted out of the classroom.

Thankfully the hallway was still crowded so I could blend in and quickly get away, once I felt safe I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. I headed to my locker ready to drop off my stuff and spend lunch anywhere but the library when I felt someone blow on the back of my neck and whisper.

“Boo.” I jumped and slammed my locker shut, I turned slowly praying it wasn’t Heather or Renatta but thankfully it was just Rodrick.

“Jeez Rodrick, don't do that! You scared the ever-loving shit outta me!” I said with a heavy sigh and leaned back against my locker while Rodrick stepped back his hands in the air to surrender.

“Sorry, sorry! I couldn’t resist, anyways where are you headed next?”

“I have lunch right now but I’m definitely not going to that cafeteria, for a number of reasons.”

“Perfect, cuz I was wondering if you would be down to skip the rest of school with me. It’s all just boring ass-“

I didn’t even let him finish trying to convince me, “Yes! I mean yeah, let’s cut school. Nothing important I’m going to miss out on, let’s go.”

He was a bit surprised by how readily I agreed but rolled with it, he led me out of the school to where his van was parked then we peeled out of the parking lot. I let out a relieved sigh as I watched the school grow smaller in the rearview mirror, though I could see Rodrick eyeing me curiously out of the corner of my eye.

“So… what do you want to go and do?”

“You asked me to ditch and didn’t even have a plan to do anything?”

“I didn’t expect to get that far okay! I figured you’d be a stick in the mud and I’d just have to ask Ben to skip with me.” I just laughed and shook my head.

“Fine, since I’m skipping lunch let’s go grab something to eat then we could hang out at my place. How’s that sound?”

“You had me at lunch.” He said with a grin speeding off to the nearest fast food joint.

★ ✮ ★

We ended up splitting a pizza, Rodrick ate on the floor while I sat in a bean bag chair I’d recently gotten. Rodrick talked on and on all, while he ate, I was perfectly content on just half listening and trying to be grossed out that he talked while he ate. I was kind of lost in my own head, trying to figure out what to do. I glanced over at my phone and sat on my bed, I was not looking forward to the dozens of calls I likely already had from Renatta.

“- and then he turned into an alien and kidnapped me… Dude, are you even listening?” Rodrick said and I snapped my gaze down to him, nodding quickly.

“Uh huh yeah, an alien guy kidnapped you- no I’m sorry I wasn’t at all. Just start again from the party I’m listening to now.” He shook his head and sat up, taking another slice of pizza.

“Nah it’s not that important, talk to me. You’ve seemed out of it since we left school, what’s up?” He took a bite out of his pizza and gestured for me to talk, I let out a heavy sigh and sunk deeper into the bean bag chair.

“My entire world kinda just flipped on its axis? I mean it’s not that huge of a deal but maybe I’m minimizing it cuz if I do start thinking it’s that big of a deal I might just die on the spot. But uh so you know how I lived in Cali, right? I was on vacation in a different town there and met this girl, we bonded over some stuff and became really close. Well turns out she goes to our school and is kind of friends with Renatta, both of whom really want to talk to me. And I’m just not ready for it.” I paused letting some of that sink in as I finished the rest of my slice of pizza before going for another one.

“When do you think you’ll be ready to talk to them?”

“I don’t really know to be honest, I don’t even know what to say to either of them. But I can’t talk to one without talking to the other, and I can’t even talk to anyone about what we need to talk about. Which would easily explain how we know each other, just ugh I might just drop out.” I groaned and angrily took a bite out of my pizza as I stared up at my ceiling, Rodrick stayed silent for a moment thinking about what I said.

“Well you have to talk to them eventually, but they’ll both have to accept that that will only happen on your own time. So just like let them know that and take it slow. If they’re even worth your time they’ll understand and wait until you’re ready, especially if it’s important.” He said in between mouthfuls, though his words resonated with me.

He was right, I didn’t have to explain and talk about everything right now. Heather’s cool but she knows how much I have at stake here too and should understand where I’m coming from, and Renatta is still a newish friend and shouldn’t expect me to relay every little detail of my life to her.

“Thanks, Rodrick, that was really helpful. I don’t owe either of them an explanation or my time right now. You really rock dude.” I said with a smile feeling a little bit better.

But then the doorbell rang, again and again and again. I jumped shocked by the incessant ringing, Rodrick looked as surprised as I was and got up. He went into the hallway and peered through the blinds out the window before coming back into the room.

“By any chance.. was that girl you met on vacation Heather Hills?” He asked wide-eyed as he held the door frame, I nodded and stood shakily.

I could tell her that we would talk later, it would be simple enough right? It’s not like we left off on bad terms, we left off on great ones, right? No amount of reassurance seemed to work as I descended the stairs and made my way to the front door, the doorbell still ringing loudly through the house. But the closer I got the more clearly I could hear her yelling, I took a deep breath and opened the door. She was mid-doorbell press and all of Racrn stood behind her, all of them equally confused and loving the drama.

“Uhm Hi…?”

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[scorchieart]

Understaffed

Genre: Comedy

Wordcount: 1326

Prompt: In A Flash CCC hosted by @flash-exchange - October 2023: Magic Apprenticeship

A/N: My first entry for the In A Flash CCC! This one was inspired by the folks over on Discord, you guys rock for helping me finish a fic after so long! I will try my best to write some more as the challenge continues. For this fic, it's been split up as 2 separate parts, the first part being mainly from Jin's perspective and the second continuing from Yves and Nokto's. Many thanks to @lorei-writes for the feedback and suggestions. Enjoy!

Jin Grandet was not a warlock. At least, not officially.

It wasn’t because he had a late start. Most children couldn’t even read spells from the rudimentary tomes at age six, let alone pronounce them. And it wasn’t as if he was without talent. It was common knowledge throughout the kingdoms that the sorcerer’s gene manifested strongest within royal bloodlines. No, the true reason Jin failed his Warlock Mastery Examination was far less magical than he’d like to admit. 

But that’s a story for another time. And even if the minimum age to apply was fifteen, it didn’t mean he was barred from trying again another year. Heck, most applicants didn’t even make an attempt until they were double that! But of course, Chevalier came of age the next year, and while the exam was merely a formality for the prodigy, barely anyone bothered to register for that round. Fueled by fiery rivalry, Clavis was hot on Chevalier’s heels the year after that, and Jin was too preoccupied with helping him train to even consider enrolling himself. And just a few weeks prior, Leon passed his exam with flying colors. A feat Jin attributes to his apt sideline encouragement and diligent inspections of Leon’s daily meat intake. 

So what if he didn’t pass? Jin could still perform magic as well as any warlock. He just didn’t have a staff to show for it. Instead, he could boast that the never-before-seen-three-year-streak of fifteen-year old graduates were his students.

“For the last time, we are not your students,” Yves declared.

“And why wouldn’t you want to be?” Jin asked. He waved a hand and the curtain of low-hanging branches before him parted, revealing a narrow dirt path ahead. “I have a one-hundred percent success rate. And you’re my next conquest, Yves.”

“Yeah, Evie. Why don’t you take him up on his offer?” Nokto said, following Licht as they climbed down after Jin. “Then you can tell us if he’s legit or not.”

“Oh, he’s the real deal,” Leon said. He took a steady stance beside a cherry oak and swung his newly acquired staff overhead, making all the barren trees in the vicinity shake and shoot their branches upward like spikes. Nokto watched in awe as Leon calmed the trees down and flashed him a toothy grin. “Can’t recommend the big guy enough.”

“No, no, no, my brothers. You mustn’t let the opinions of others sway your decision making!” Clavis said, pushing past Leon. “Ask yourselves this: do I want to be taught by a syrupy dropout, or by the youngest, most renowned warlock of our age?” He struck the ground with his own staff and the dirt rumbled. Moments later, roots and tubers erupted from the earth like the undead, making Yves screech and trip on an upright rose stem. Clavis laughed maniacally as the plants continued to grow, until Leon whacked him on the head and the vegetary scene immediately reverted underground as if it never happened. 

“I’m younger than you, remember?” Leon countered.

“And I was younger than you both when I passed,” Chevalier added, his pace leisurely as he joined them.

“Yes, yes, you don’t have to remind us again how your test happened three days after your birthday,” Clavis said, rubbing his bruised forehead. “It is insufferably pedantic of you.

“Shall I remind everyone instead of how you only passed because the examiner happened to sneeze when you flubbed the fire retardancy enchantment on your trousers?”

“Like I said, little ones. Follow what Jin says, and you’ll do just fine,” Clavis said.

“If you’re done sharing my many virtues, hurry on over!” Jin called. The group exchanged speculative glances before filing through the unanimated greenery towards his excited voice.

Flummoxed by their seniors’ effortless display of magical prowess, Yves and Nokto insisted they take the lead, bewitching wayward wood knots and saplings from the path. Once or twice they glanced back, hopeful to receive praise for their successful spells, only to find the trio engrossed in their own conversation. 

“Maybe he wants to take us all on at once? Six against one?” Leon suggested.

“Please,” Clavis yawned, stretching his arms above his head and waving his staff teasingly. “He could squash the kiddos, no problem. But he won’t get much farther than that unarmed.”

“He brought his sword. Or is your staff so far up your rear that you did not notice?” Chevalier said, swatting Clavis’s staff away from his face. 

Yves and Nokto whirled their heads towards the track ahead, struggling to keep their attention back on moving the plants. Is that what this was all about? Despite Jin’s domineering stature, they had never once seen their brother in a fight. But Jin also was the most knowledgeable about the contents of the exam, even if he did fail his. Was this the type of error-correcting that guaranteed Chevalier, Clavis, and Leon’s successes?

The path eventually fed into a wide clearing as large as one of the training arenas at the palace. Even in peak autumn, thick shrubs still flanked all sides like a fence except for one; a cavernous cliff plummeted behind where Jin stood, his arms folded and mouth stretched in an expectant grin.

“Are we really gonna fight?” Nokto said nervously, reaching for his sword.

“Alright! Loser gets thrown off the cliff!” Clavis whooped. “Chevalier, fight me!”

“Slow down, we’re learning defensive tactics today,” Jin said. “Magic has limitless potential to attack, right? So it stands to reason that the same should be true in defense. Far too often does a warlock fall into the assumption that one trumps the other in combat.”

“Spoken nearly verbatim from Elemental Charms and Combat,” Chevalier said unamused.

“That means he knows his stuff,” said Leon. “But then why’d ya bring us here too, Jin?”

“No, Chevalier’s right. There’s only so much you can learn from theory alone. We need experience to connect the dots. And I sure as sugar wouldn’t hurt a hair on the little guys’ heads, so that’s where you lot come in.” Jin crouched beside Yves and Nokto and patted their shoulders. “Yves, you’ll spar with Chevalier. And Nokto, you get Clavis.”

Yves froze on the spot.  

“Oh, goodie…” Nokto mumbled. 

“Just remember the basics, and you’ll be fine,” Jin said, then he turned to the warlocks. “And don’t you go blasting infernos at them. We’re out here to prevent unnecessary bystander injuries. But remember, this is still a highly flammable area.” He glared at Clavis, who seemed to get a chill and wrapped his cloak firmly around himself.

“Wait. Where’s my partner?” Leon asked. A quick lookover of the clearing proved Licht was nowhere to be seen. 

“Maybe Leon’s branches pulled him up to the sky?” Nokto suggested.

“Or Clavis’s roots dragged him down below!” Yves gasped.

“Both,” Chevalier said, pointing over the cliff. Halfway down, Licht hung suspended and looking below, his shirt caught on a thorny branch tangled with crisscrossing roots. 

“Licht!” Yves and Nokto cried.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Clavis called down to him.

“Something tells me the branch will snap if he so much as breathes wrong,” Leon said. Licht answered with a shaky thumbs up.

“Everyone, change of plans!” Jin bellowed. “Today we’re doing rescue training. And not a word of this gets to Sariel, got it? Okay, let’s go!” He drew his sword and leaped over the edge, jamming it into the cliffside as he descended.

Shocked, and slightly relieved, Yves and Nokto followed Jin’s lead, the scraping sounds of their blades cutting rock disappearing with them.

“Moron,” Chevalier huffed. The air around him began to crackle as he inhaled deeply and swung his staff in a circular motion. “He didn’t even evaluate the situation for a full minute. And they still wonder why he didn’t pass—”

“You heard the boss!” Clavis and Leon yelled. Together they seized each of Chevalier’s arms and hurled themselves over the cliff, leaving their staves behind.

Listen, it is liberating to write Chevalier, Clavis, and Leon as comic relief side characters. Trust me.

Tagging: @queengiuliettafirstlady @violettduchess @venulus @thewitchofbooks @leonscape @rhodolitesrose @venti-tangents @dear-sciaphilia @ikesenwritings @myonlyjknight @ladyofcrowsx @otomefoxystar @my-day6

If you would like to be added or removed from my tag list, please send me an ask or a message.

[jessicanjpa]

evil alligator king

It's Edward's first time in medical school! He has been shadowing a local doctor and this is his first time treating a patient. An excerpt from this chapter of 1950.

I snapped the chart shut, feeling accomplished. I had just written my first doctor's note, which Dr. Warren had read and signed with only two corrections.

"Next one's yours, kid," he said loftily, handing me the new chart.

"What do you mean?"

"Another cast coming off. You watched me do that one last week, so you're going to do this one. You're getting your lab coat tonight, after all." In addition to the chart, he laid the cast-cutting saw onto the high counter of the nurse's station. Its sharp teeth gleamed in the artificial light.

"But we're not supposed to—"

He scowled. "Look, do you want to get some experience or not?"

"Of course."

"Well, hop to it then. And besides, you're really not treating the patient. Technically speaking, you're untreating her." I don't understand this kid sometimes.

I took the chart, frowning when I saw that our patient was another young girl, only five years old. She had broken her arm while trying to "fly" off of the dresser in her bedroom. Her time in the cast was up, and it was supposed to come off today.

Dr. Warren had just handed an oscillating saw to a vampire and told him to apply it to the squirming arm of a five-year-old human girl. Was this a bad idea?

He took a long drag on his cigarette, frowning at me behind his ever-present cloud of smoke. "What're you waiting for?"

I stared at the saw again, trying not to imagine what could go wrong here. After all, if I was ever going to treat real patients, I had to start somewhere. I scooped up the saw and the chart, heading on into the exam room and making my announcement before I could change my mind.

"Good morning, ma'am. My name is Edward Cullen, and I'm a medical student at Dartmouth. I'll be assisting Dr. Warren today, if that's all right." Assisting. I liked the way that word sounded.

The girl—her name was Mary—looked exactly like the kind of girl who would jump off a dresser and break her arm. Her pretty blue party dress was enhanced with a pair of cardboard wings, which had been cut from a box of Corn Flakes. Her barrettes were askew in her hair. She was already perched up on the exam table, lying on her back with her feet tapping on the wall. Animal noises came out of her mouth while she flew a doll around in the air with her casted left arm.

Her childish mind was a wonder. I smiled as I observed the fantasy world in which the doll (who was secretly a fairy herself) was flying through the night to save the fairy princess from the evil alligator king. While she played, Mary was wishing that her mother had let her bring both her dolls so that she could have a battle.

The mother was sitting down, holding Mary's crying baby brother and looking pretty frazzled. She raised her voice to be heard over the baby's cries. "Mary dear, sit up like a lady! I'm sorry, young man, what did you say?"

Dr. Warren came into the room, and to my rescue. "Morning, Mrs. Wilson. Edward here is one of our medical students, and he'll be taking care of the cast."

She glanced at me. "Are you sure? He looks awfully young…"

Dr. Warren waved his hand dismissively. "He's one of our finest. Go on, Edward."

I approached little Mary with the saw, unsure how to begin. I couldn't remember having ever spoken to anyone this young before. Why would I? How did one address children? "Hello there, Mary. I see your arm is feeling better…"

Her animal noises increased in volume, and the doll flew across the room to be caught in midair by the mother. Not bad for a human.

I cleared my throat. "So, it's time to take the cast off today. May I see your arm, please?" I inched closer, reaching for the cast with my empty hand.

Mary finally noticed my presence, and her eyes caught immediately on the sinister-looking object in my other hand. Her animal noises ceased, to be replaced by screaming. The baby brother took a deep breath and added his own dissonant squall to the mix, hurting my ears. I retreated, looking anxiously to Dr. Warren for guidance.

"Now, Mary," the mother called over the racket, "Listen to the doctor. We'll have a cookie at home afterwards, if you're a good girl."

Mary screamed louder, and Dr. Warren sighed in resignation. It's no good. I'll have to hold her down. "Edward…"

That wasn't going to work. Children were squirmy enough, and throwing Dr. Warren's restraining arms into the mix wasn't going to help me. I needed her to be perfectly still if I was going to be wielding a vibrating blade half an inch from her skin.

"Wait." I had an idea. I set the saw down behind me on the counter and approached Mary again. She was clambering against the wall to get away from me as I sat on the exam table beside her. She didn't seem to be instinctually afraid of me; she was only picturing me cutting off her arm with a much larger version of my "scary sword." Of course, I was laughing maniacally as I wielded it. In her imagination my face morphed into the scaly visage of the evil alligator king.

"Mary," I said quietly, throwing every ounce of sweetness I could into the word. She stopped crying instantly and turned to face me. I swung my legs up to sit fully beside her and leaned casually against the wall. Her eyes finally met mine, and a tearful smile tugged at her lips as I favored her with the best Prince Charming smile I could muster. She sighed, and her mind instantly replaced my evil persona with a fairy prince, complete with wings.

Without looking away, I held out my hand toward the mother. "May I have the doll, please? She's very important to this… ah, mission."

The mother stood and handed me the doll. I finally released Mary from my gaze so I could study the doll intently. "This is no ordinary doll," I began, and Mary's eyes grew wide. "I think that she may secretly be a fairy. If only she had wings…"

I took my notepad out of my pocket and ripped out a page. While Mary watched in awe, I quickly fashioned a set of tiny wings and affixed them to the doll's back.

"Much better," I pronounced. "Now, the mission is going to be to rescue the fairy princess from the evil alligator king. The trouble is, that if she's going to be, um, rescuing in the water, she'll need a boat, and fairy boats are always made of plaster. Don't you agree?"

She nodded dumbly.

I looked around the room. "If only we had some plaster… oh! There's some!" I pointed to her arm, and moved my face downwards to catch her eyes again before she could get suspicious. "If we could get that off your arm, it would turn into two fairy boats. One for this fairy, and another for a friend."

Mary stuck out her arm. "I have another secret fairy at home," she announced.

"Well, that's perfect," I replied, sliding off the exam table. "I'm going to separate the boats now, using my… boat-maker. But you must be very still, or the boats will be mussed."

She nodded solemnly, and I explained that the boat-maker made a buzzing sound, just like huge fairy wings. I turned on the saw and took a deep breath, just in case the worst should happen. But Mary was a trooper. She and the doll watched carefully as I turned her cast into two perfect doll-sized canoes.

I flicked the saw off, letting my breath back out. "Well done, Mary," I said in relief.

Well done, Cullen, Dr. Warren thought in awe. I hope he's planning on pediatrics.

I shuddered inwardly at the thought. It was one thing to risk the lives of human adults with my ministrations. But despite my success just now with Mary, I didn't think I would ever care to endanger human children on a regular basis. And besides, their screaming and crying was offensive to vampire hearing, to put it mildly.

But Mary wasn't finished with me yet. Before I could react, she jumped into my arms and planted a kiss right on my cold cheek. She giggled at the temperature, thinking that I felt like ice cream. Her acceptance did something strange inside my chest; I felt the most curious feeling of warmth.

"Well, everything looks good," Dr. Warren told the mother after poking quickly around Mary's arm, which was still wrapped around my neck.

"And I think this little fairy has definitely earned her cookie," I added, gingerly removing Mary from my torso. She gathered up the halves of her cast and the doll, hopping down from the exam table with her treasures. She was already imagining the rescue mission, now enhanced with her new boats.

I headed out behind Dr. Warren, and was just closing the door when Mary blurted out, "Goodbye Doctor Ice Cream!"

My mentor sputtered out a cloud of smoke. "Doctor what?"

I closed the door behind me, grinning and shrugging in confusion. "That was interesting," I said.

"I'll say," he replied. "You never told me you were so good with kids. You should go into peds."

"I might," I surprised myself by saying. "I just might."

[someone-who-loves-kpop-saranghae]

Stress Reliever

Ler: Seonghwa

Lee: Reader

Warnings: fluff, stress, reader anxious, mentions of depressions

Genre: This fiction is about tickling, so if you don't feel like reading it then don't do it.

A/n: Sorry this isn't about the tickletober but I wanted to write it because I often take my feelings into my stories..

🖤⭐🖤⭐🖤⭐🖤⭐🖤⭐🖤⭐🖤⭐🖤⭐🖤

It has been a long week, even though it was only wednesday. The teachers this year love complicated homeworks and some just never explained their themes.

So the whole week you had that one teacher who stressed you so damnit much. She was (of course!) your maths teacher.

She was an old lady who teached the same themes and same classes for like 40 years now. Even parents of your friends had been teached in maths by her.

The problem was: she was ... special.

Very... special. For example, she had her own way to explain, and literally nobody (only the three maths geniouses in your class) understood it.

And when someone asked a question, she just explained another theme! She literally never explained the theme/question it self, she just said how beautiful your stuff was. Or how well drawn this exercise was. Or that you need to do this and this when you want to do this. But she never explained what you wanted her to explain. Ne.Ver.

The second problem was, that she introduced a new, complicated theme and you didn't understand it. Nothing you did made you understand it. And every day, she introduced new mini-themes to that theme.

Every. Goddamn. Day.

You did only get like 4/12. And that was not good. But you knew that yourself! You were so stressed because you were going to write an exam about that theme soon but you just didn't understand. So you were stressed. Very stressed.

Not only because of maths, but because you also were sick the last two days and had to review and copy all the stuff from your friends. You had already copied some stuff and done some homework, but not all.

So today you had school until 15:30 and came home at 16:40. Tomorrow was a vocabulary test in french.

You had to copy three worksheets in history because you'd need them the next day. Three work sheets. Full of text.

Besides that, there were the english homework: reading a 4 pages short story and analyzing it. Then maths -of course- because you had maths every singe day.

So you came home at 16:40, Seonghwa waiting for you. "Hey my friend, how was your day?" he asked as you came in.

You just waved and went busy into your room.

"Okay" you said, to not make him think about you. But no chance with Seonghwa.

He followed you -of course- and stood in the door, watching you worried.

"Hey... are you okay?" he asked. You just shook your head.

"Hey" he whispered. "I'm here for you" and came closer.

You took some deep breaths to hold back your tears and went in the kitchen to get some food because you were hungry.

Then you sat down in the kitchen at a table and started eating. He came to you and sat down next to you.

"Wanna talk?" he asked softly.

You just shook your head again, because if you talked, you would start crying. As you stopped eating and stood up, took your dishes into the cleaner and wanted to walk to your room again, he grabbed your arm as you were walking up next to him.

He pulled you closer and then in his lap. "You know I'm here for you, right? You can talk to me. I love you" he whispered.

A first tear now rolled down your cheek. "I know"

He wiped away the tear. "Sure you don't wanna talk?" he asked again.

"I'm just so ... stressed. I have so many homeworks and studies left and it's already 5pm! I gotta go shower today, I gotta study french vocabs, I gotta do maths, english history,... It's so much! I suffer from school. I mean, I'm only (your age) years old! I can't handle this all by myself. I don't understand maths, history is too much, i have problems remembering some vocabs in french and english is so much! I gotta study until midnight if i wanna do this all!" you whispered, a second tear rolling down your cheek.

"It's okay" he whispered back. "I'm here for you. I can help you. We can do this. I promise, I won't let you suffer. At least not alone. I'll always be here for you. I love you. Thank you for coming into my life."

You nodded lightly and hugged him. "Thank you Hwa".

"It's okay. I'm here for you. Now lemme see that smile again, cutie" he said and pinched your cheek softly.

You weren't able to react much, just lightly smile.

"Pleaseee? Pretty pleasee?" he said teasingly.

You giggled lightly because his behavior was so childish.

"Aww your giggles are so cute! And I know how to make you even cuter~" he said and smirked.

He let his hands slide under your hoodie and lightly clawed over your tummy. What indeed made you giggle.

But you didn't even care, you actually enjoyed it this time because you were so stressed and sad these days, you could really need a little cheer up.

And he felt that. That you needed it. So he went for your sides, ribs and back too, he scribbled and clawed all over them while you giggled your heart out.

As you cried tears from giggling and laughing so much, he stopped and hugged you.

You hugged him back and whispered a "thank you" into his ear.

He smiled softly. "You're welcome, sweetie" he said.

"And now we're gonna kick those stupid homeworks in their butts and beat them up, right?" he motivated you.

You laughed a bit. "Yeah, sure" you replied.

"And I'll help you <3" he whispered and tickled you under your chin quickly, before you both went to do your homework s and learn your vocabs.

In the end, you only needed 2 1/2 hours to complete it all with Seonghwa's help.

+End+

A/n: Sorry this fic is so depressing, but I tried my best. I just can't write these days, I know it. Just how I feel rn. Not interesting, I know .. but ..something. Also the tword scene isn't very long, so sorry for those who expected more. I understand you.

[polarisbibliotheque]

Nemesis (Vergil x Reader) - Chapter 3

Nemesis

Pairing: Vergil x Reader

Summary: The Abyss opening is a rare occurrence. In his youth, Vergil wanted to harness its power, but never thought he would meet his greatest adversary along the way. Years later, the Abyss is once again open and that might call for some rather unlikely alliances.

Chapter 1 (Prologue) | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 (you are here!)

Age restriction: 18+ - there’s a lot of blood, violence, cursing and all those things people want to forbid younger audiences of seeing. Also, cosmic horror is a thing here. Procceed with caution.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Deals with trickster entities and death omens :)

Special Thanks and Credits: @furyeclipse is the wonderful creator of a very main character in all this plot, Ovid - the trickster being the reader will be dealing with and who will have many interactions with the crew. Fury helped me to write some of Ovid's key moments, their realm, their appearance and their mannerisms - after all, it was all Fury's creation and I'm just honored to be able to share such a rich character and worldbuilding!

Thank you so so much for allowing me to add your character to Nemesis and for being such a wonderful friend!

You can check Fury's work on their Ao3, which you can find here: FuryEclipse Ao3

Strongly suggest you guys reading Devoid of Purpose, where you can understand Ovid better ;)

Author's Notes: It took me a little while for this one and I do apologize, but my health isn't the best currently. I will have to go through some medical exams in the upcoming weeks and I'll start taking some meds, so I might have some delays/disappearances from writing. But I will ALWAYS come back to post Nemesis!!

This was a very fun chapter to write. I do enjoy Ovid a lot and their interactions with the reader are 10/10 based on knowledge seeking. Get ready for fighting (and annoying) Vergil on the next chapter, though ;)

Chapter 3

The city reeked of blood and destruction.

After so many years from your city’s incident, you never expected your memories to feel so alive. But there they were, haunting every corner of a new disaster – ghosts of a past you longed to forget, back to cling to your slivers of sanity like demons burying their claws in human flesh.

That city had fallen into chaos. People were crying, screaming, running around in despair looking for solace – for something or someone to save them from whatever the Abyss had attracted.

They first looked at you with hope and admiration – only to change to fear and horror when they realized that, even if your victims were demons, you were a killer after all.

And a very skilled one. Behind your footsteps, no demons were allowed. To fall into your protection meant to be safe; to find salvation amidst all that hell. Even if people feared you and your bloodstained hands, they were grateful for being their only hope of survival.

“Is everyone out of the city already?” You cleaned the blood that spilled on your face while walking towards the captain of the city’s guard, in charge of the evacuation.

Even the soldiers looked at you with a certain unease in their eyes. No one would want to get into a fight against you.

“The last two safe buses are just ready to go.” The captain, though, was the only one able to look into your eyes without hesitation. He could use a soldier like you. “Next one is for me, my crew, and you, y/n.”

“Thank you, but I’m not going with you.”

Your comment sent a wave of whispers among the soldiers. Before the captain could answer, you explained yourself.

“The Abyss is far more dangerous than we know. Someone has to stay behind and make sure it’s going to close without anything going in or coming out.”

Of course, you’d never say it was the only place you would certainly find the blue coated devil who almost killed you back in your city. You were certain he would be there but, so far, no blue demons crossed your view.

And you were especially aware of it.

“Well. You have a good point there. Just make sure to come back alive, alright?”

“Will do. I have to help a friend with laundry next week.”

No one understood your comment, but they also wouldn’t ask. You swinged your silver blade to get it rid of the blood and paced back into the city.

It was time to meet an old enemy.

*

As your steps echoed through the streets of the abandoned city, you had this uncomfortable feeling at the base of your stomach. It seemed like eyes were fixed on the back of your head and hands rested heavily on your shoulders.

But no one walked those streets except you.

Keeping your silver sword in hand, you didn’t stray from your path. The Abyss was close: you had learned to discern between how demons and the Abyss felt like as you started working as a devil hunter. While demons were certainly unnerving, the Abyss had something of… Uncertain. A sense of unknown – and the knowledge of what that was could be worse than fatal; probably better left in the realms of shadows.

But there was a… Third energy. Something else you couldn’t quite pinpoint its origin. It was unnerving, yes, but it felt… Old. Older than whatever demons you could’ve met.

Your steps approached an ancient building – probably a public school; you couldn’t exactly tell what it was. And you would’ve remained focused on your main objective if you hadn’t glimpsed inside the building.

A pair of eyes observed you from the shadows. It stared at you before disappearing deeper into the darkness, but you could swear those eyes were yours.

“What gives…?” You murmured to yourself, barely feeling your feet unconsciously following those eyes, as you crossed the derelict entrance.

You should be going towards the Abyss. That was the reason why you were there, it was the main purpose of you being hired that day. But… How come you saw a being with your eyes inside that building? As you entered the main hall, you found nothing but a reception desk and paper tossed around, ripped and burnt as people fled. Observing into the darkness, that place was a library.

Infinite rows of old mahogany seemed to go deep inside the shadows – until your eyes could barely make out any shapes. It was all probably in your head: dealing with demons made one prone to hallucinations, sooner or later.

As you prepared your feet to leave, you heard a scratchy metallic noise – faint, in the distance, but still there. Turning around, you stared into the shadow and you could swear your eyes picked up something moving.

You couldn’t tell what it was – if it was a demon, a creature or a human. But it was someone. If it was a human, it needed your help. If it was a demon, it deserved to die.

You decided to let your steps follow the sound.

Upon entering the rows of destroyed bookcases and rotting books, you kept on following that light metallic noise – like gentle knifes scratching at the floor, wood or any surface it could touch. Your eyes caught glimpses of a shadow, but never its full form. You turned your head around, your feet followed with precision – your curiosity leading you further and further into the labyrinth of old pages and decaying wood.

When you reached what it seemed to be the center – a round open space, surrounded by aisles and aisles of mahogany bookcases – your white rabbit seemed to have disappeared. There was no other indication of which path you should follow to find it, and you couldn’t deny you were certainly lost inside the library.

Your steps circled the room, slowly, trying to find your way out or the creature leading you further inside. Perhaps… Perhaps it was him. The devil who defeated you that fateful day, the one you longed to rematch. Maybe it was his way of leading you into a trap – and, if it was, you would be ready. Holding your silver sword with certainty, you wouldn’t be caught by surprise.

That library certainly looked like a proper place to defeat him and hold your sword to his neck, while one of your feet held his chest down on the floor, keeping him in his place. No demon was superior to a human, and you would prove him that.

The metallic tapping brought you back from your thoughts, dissipating the image of you finally subduing the blue coated demon. Turning around, you found your eyes again at the end of a long, dark aisle. With resolute steps, you plunged into the darkness, without flinching or thinking twice.

The eyes disappeared as soon as you started to follow them – but, upon reaching the end of the aisle, you found a great wooden door with an old plaque by its side. Cleaning the dust to see it better, you read what it was: “Forbidden Session – Entry allowed only upon authorization”.

Indeed, the door had an old black iron lock, probably requiring an iron key to enter. You tried to force it open a few times, but it was to no avail. With a deep, slightly frustrated sigh, you turned around to look for a way to open it – but your search wasn’t needed: as soon as you rotated on your feet, you found a great, heavy iron key waiting for you in one of the shelves filled with dust.

It didn’t escape your eyes the key was clean despite how abandoned the place looked.

Without questioning, you took it on your hands and finally opened the heavy door. Its hinges complained as you pushed it open and your steps entered the room.

Your heart slightly jumped inside your chest for a couple of quick seconds. It seemed like your eyes got used to the darkness, but soon you realized that session of the library was lit in a procession of warm candles that seemed to never really burn out. The door behind you was closed, and the reception desk had an old, heavy guestbook ominously waiting for you between two candles lit with purple flames.

You didn’t let go of your weapons. Strengthening your grip around the silver, you walked over the guestbook – finally noticing your steps weren’t the only sound to be heard: a faint, albeit calm, piano song filled the air. You didn’t know where it came from, but it was weirdly… Soothing.

“Traveler from afar, if you wish to drink upon the knowledge of forbidden and forgotten books, you must let go of your protections and sign your name. Only then, the library will welcome you among its pages and endless words. Beware, though, not to get lost in other worlds: some writings are tricky and the search for knowledge might claim your soul.”

Those were the words written on a blank, old page of the book waiting for you at the reception. Let go of protections and sign your name. Both conditions were tricky and asked too much of you: the protections were your weapons, and your name could be used in ancient spells for many purposes. The book asked you to be completely vulnerable and you weren’t comfortable with that.

“Hmmm…” You wiggled your nose while thinking, murmuring to yourself. That presence remained around you, but there was no reason to believe someone was really watching you. And, if there was indeed a being following you, they could at least try to answer any questions. “I wonder if this place has information about the Abyss…”

As you muttered, something seemed to fall in the inner part of the round reception desk. There was no one to receive you, so you took the liberty to inspect what made that noise. You found another book on the floor – this time bigger, older, and seemingly infinite: clearly a product of magic. There were no doubts you had crossed into another realm and, even if you didn’t know how to go back, your curiosity was bigger than your fear.

Taking the leather cover into your hands, you leaned the book in one of your arms, opening it with your free hand. Your eyebrows raised in delight as you realized you were staring into a library Index: all books and their subjects were noted down in beautifully crafted calligraphy, with a note on their location inside the library.

You turned page after page in what it seemed like an endless passing of time – as if Time itself didn’t exist in that wonderful realm of books and knowledge you had found yourself into. That presence seemed to keep watching you; intently, carefully… Curiously. As curious as your eyes running on the pages searching for more knowledge on the Abyss.

“Aha…” You finally found what you were looking for. The Abyss and other Ancient Realms – that was the only title on that theme. It was in the Restricted Session, and that could only indicate you would have a price to pay for that knowledge. “Alright. Let’s find the Restricted Session then.”

As you murmured those words, a path of purple flames lit the way to said Restricted Session. You wouldn’t have to worry about becoming trapped or never finding your way back: the library would show where the knowledge you needed was – your will would have to bring you back.

With a deep breath, you let go of your silver sword, leaning it on the reception desk. You placed your guns by the side of the guestbook, taking an inking pen and, after dipping it in the deep purple ink, you signed your name in the old, yellowish pages.

You were completely vulnerable, but you could use your arcane knowledge to your advantage. You had tested it before in several situations: the blood spell you did on your silver sword was very efficient in bringing it back to you in dire need. The blood inside it felt the calling of the blood in your veins, it didn’t matter the distance. It could take some time, but your trusted sword would be there to protect you – and that gave you some peace of mind.

The Restricted Session was less ominous than you thought it would look like. Behind the black iron bars of the gate that kept curious hands at bay, lied an obsidian box that could keep just one book inside, framed by the light of many sparkling purple candleflames.

“You who search the oldest of secrets must leave something in return.”

An old, golden altar stood beside the bars of the Restricted Session, keeping you between the knowledge of the Abyss. It was at your hand’s reach, so close and yet, so far away. You wanted it with your whole heart, but that altar was a warning and a deal: you had to sacrifice something if you wanted to learn something new.

No small offering would be enough for that book – no, it had to be a big one. Something beloved, something cherished. Something your heart would break to part.

Your guardian angel’s deep blue shawl.

You touched the soft fabric, your heart jumping inside your chest. Of everything you were willing to part of, that was your most prized belonging. It was the only thing that reminded you of some protection, of some gentleness. You didn’t want to let go – you wanted to keep the memory of your guardian angel close to your heart forever.

But you could never attain the knowledge you needed without making sacrifices.

You closed your eyes, taking a deep and slow breath. It was stupid to cry over a piece of fabric, so you wouldn’t – even if your heart wanted to weep. Unwrapping it from your neck, you once again opened your eyes, carefully placing your beloved shawl in the ancient golden altar. The purple flames reflected a beautiful dance in the only memory you had of your guardian angel… Of you being cared for and remembered, at least by someone.

With your heart sinking in your chest, a heavy click opened the gates of the Restricted Session, allowing you to go in.

The obsidian box was open, revealing a big, ominous book with a deep blue leather cover. The Abyss and Other Ancient Realms – the letters were in silver, slowly fading with time, but beautifully crafted inside a gothic frame of vines. You took it into your hands, the weight almost heavier than your sword. It shouldn’t be, but some books held more knowledge than others. Some enchanted books, with infinite pages, impossible to run out of space in its binding.

You left the Restricted Session, looking over your shoulders one last time to catch a glimpse of your cherished blue shawl. It seemed like leaving a piece of your heart behind, but you took a deep breath and kept on your path back to the reception desk – you wouldn’t cry, at least not with your eyes, and you wouldn’t turn back once more either.

What was done was done. You had made your choice, and you wouldn’t go back.

As you approached the reception desk once more, though, a dark figured towered around it – and the eyes. It had your eyes.

It looked like a Eurasian Eagle-Owl, feathers in deep purple and black, glistening with the trembling candle flames. Its chest carried a blood red glow, faintly able to see under its jet-black wings. It stood tall, far taller than you, smart eyes mimicking yours as it followed your every move with interest and mischievous curiosity. Only when your careful steps got close enough you were able to see it had two sets of wings – one close to its body, another resembling the mannerisms of human arms.

You had your eyes in it – carefully drinking its every move. You didn’t know if it was friend or foe; if it tried to attack you, your sword, peacefully laying behind it, would have to make its way to your hand.

“If you’re looking for that white rabbit, he’s not here.” Its voice reverberated through walls and the floor, catching your ears and your heart. You’d say it was a demon, but something about its energy was… Different. Ancient. “But I sense that you seek a knowledge that is worth pursuing to the darkest depth of the Underworld to find it.” As it finished speaking, a small laugh followed the words, clearly enjoying your curiosity that led you to that realm. “How will curious little Alice accomplish such a dangerous feat?”

“With courage. You have to be curious in order to be brave.” Your answer was certain albeit careful. Never before you had encountered a demon that resembled the creature standing before you – and the Codex Daemonica had no information about that. “I wonder. If I was led here but there’s no white rabbit to be seen, who am I talking to? The Cheshire Cat?”

Once again, that laugh reverberated through your chest, while its feathers shook with delight. Of all creatures you had met, that was the first who made you unsure. As far as your knowledge went, you could be talking to a trickster, like the ancient Norse deity, Loki.

“Alice should know better that names are not to be given so lightly.”

You just stared back into your own eyes, a small unsatisfied smile coloring your lips. You had signed your name; you had given it already. But words have power, especially the ones voiced by one’s own lips. If you wanted its name, you had to give yours – you had to voice it so it could voice its own. An eye for an eye, a hand for a hand, a name for a name.

“Y/n. My name is y/n, as I signed in the guestbook already.” You said after a deep breath. You could be making a huge mistake, but the book in your arms was worth whatever price. You had already left your guardian angel’s shawl – there was no going back now.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, little Alice.” The creature bowed its head slightly, making you mirror its chivalry. “You can call me Ovid, master of this realm.”

“You certainly have a wonderful library, Ovid.” You couldn’t keep secret the fact that you had a Restricted Session book in your arms: Ovid probably knew what you had given up for it already and you had every intention to check that book out. For good or for bad. “With knowledge that even the best arcane libraries in the human realm only dream of.”

“Indeed, y/n, indeed… How far would you go fur such knowledge, little Alice?”

“As far as necessary, dear Cheshire Cat.”

Its eyes reflected the same fire that burned in yours – but you didn’t look down. You had already met that stare before: years ago, when fighting the blue coated devil, it was that sort of glance that commanded you to give up and made you only ignore it and remain stronger in your own will.

It was rare for Ovid meeting such a strong-willed human. A journey alongside you could be quite interesting, after all.

“I see you have already accessed the Restricted Session…” Ovid murmured back, glancing quickly at the book in your hands. “To check out such knowledge, in the other hand, there are a few conditions.”

“As I said before, I’m willing to go as far as necessary. I already gave up something dear to me.” It was rare for you to put yourself in such a vulnerable position, but there you were. That book was worth much more than you could ever dream of and, if you needed to, you would fight that creature for it – even if you didn’t know what it was.

“And you can read it in my realm whenever you see fit, as long as your offering remains in the altar.” Once again, it bowed its head slightly, only to turn those bright, cunning eyes back to you right after. “But in order to return constantly, I shall need something in return.”

You smiled. There was always a catch. That’s how it was when dealing with demons.

“What is it?”

“For which purpose does little Alice needs such a book so desperately…?” You could hear it in its voice: they knew you had a goal, that you needed that book not only for curiosity, but for something else.

You had to be honest and vulnerable – something you avoided with all your strength. There were no cards left up your sleeve and the only thing you had in your advantage was that you could summon your silver sword at any moment – unless Ovid had sensed that spell already.

“There are no books in the human realm with knowledge on the Abyss. Whatever it is, I need to know more about it to keep it from destroying entire cities like it did to mine.” You took a deep breath, never lowering your eyes from Ovid’s cunning stare. “I will write a Codex Abyssae, just like there is a Codex Daemonica, so other hunters may be able to protect other people. This…” You looked down at the book in your arms, furrowing your brows. “This is the best source I found to this day. I can’t let it go.”

As your eyes went back to Ovid’s, you could swear it was smiling – after all, you knew how your eyes looked when you were doing so.

“Well, well, little Alice…” There was a tinge of delight in its voice, and you couldn’t refrain your heart from being wary. “It seems that the Fates brought our paths together, then. This book can only be read on my realm, however you might be able to come and go as you please for your research as long as you keep its information updated.” Those eyes, your eyes, glinted with a smart burst of energy of something that hadn’t had that much fun in centuries. “You see, my collection, sometimes, gets obsolete. Inside this book, you will find everything you need to know on the Abyss, but I’m afraid there is so much more yet to be discovered. It will be an honor harboring a copy of your Codex Abyssae along my many pages and oceans of words.”

One of their wings pointed back at the book. As you observed the cover, The Abyss and other ancient realms title disappeared, only to give room to the carefully crafted, gothic silver words of Codex Abyssae.

That was your book. That was your research. If you accepted it, all that knowledge, all that power would be yours – and you would get to update it, as well as write your own version for the human realm. It was really a lot more than you could have wished for, even if it bounded you to that creature you knew so little about.

“What happens when I am done?”

“You cannot return.” Ovid’s voice was calm, acting as if it was just another day in their eternity. Their eyes, though, glinted with delight. “The Codex will return to its safety in the Restricted Session. Your shawl will be returned. You will have your knowledge, and I will have mine. Our deal will be over.”

Of course, it was a deal. Something like that always had a price.

And you were willing to pay it.

“How do I access the library to read the Codex when I need to?”

“You can always summon me with one of my feathers, dear Alice.”

It seemed like you hadn’t noticed it before, but right by the guest book, there was a golden dish with a silky, long black feather in it. Like you imagined before, you would be bound to that creature to a certain extent, as long as you kept your part of the bargain. They would give you knowledge if you delivered knowledge in return.

It was a small price to pay, in your point of view.

“Well, then. You have yourself a deal, Cheshire.” You took a deep breath, declaring your will out loud. “I will keep the Codex Abyssae updated as long as I can come and go from the library and read it for my research, Ovid. Deal.”

That laugh reverberated through the library once more as you reached for the feather. You could finally leave the Codex on the reception desk, knowing you could come back any time and spend hours and hours reading it to your heart’s desire.

“I have to finish the job I was hired to do, but when I want to come back…”

“I will be there to guide you into my realm, little Alice.” Ovid made a small signal with their head, making you slightly bow in return.

“Thank you for allowing me to have access to your library, Ovid.”

“Thank you, little Alice, for giving me such knowledge to build upon, but do be careful on the road ahead.” Their warning caught you off guard, making you stop as you were ready to get your weapons once more. “You have been close to death once before, I can see that.” As those words filled your mind, you furrowed your brows. “Before you go, I shall give you a piece of advice to mull over. The next time you end up on death’s doorstep, it will take you without hesitation. So, live a fruitful and fulfilling human life, with the time you’ve got left. Death does not give second chances lightly.”

That warning placed a heavy weight on your heart, taking your breath away for a few seconds. You had defied death once but, as it seemed, you wouldn’t be able to do it twice.

With so much left to do, you kept that warning in a place you could think about later. You struck a deal. It was done. You couldn’t turn back now.

*

As soon as your feet left the door that got you inside the library, you found yourself back into the derelict building that led you there. You glanced back, hoping to see the purple flames and the reception desk once more – now with your weapons back to your grip and the feel of your trusted sword hilt calming your heart – but you only found an old empty room, with books and paper scattered all over the dusty floor.

You were back – and it all seemed like a lifelong dream. You would consider it all to have been just your imagination, if Ovid’s feather didn’t weight inside your coat’s pocket. Checking once more, your fingers found the silky touch of the feather and you knew; it was all true. You had struck a deal with a trickster, maybe a demon, maybe something older – you weren’t sure. But you had done it for a knowledge and a power the strongest demons could only dream of.

Your steps quickly led you back to the round hall surrounded by the labyrinth of mahogany aisles, lit only by a sheer light that entered through the cracks in the walls. Soon, you would find your steps away from that building, back to your job, to make sure the Abyss would close, and nothing would be able to go in – or get out.

“This time, I will not allow you to go any further… Little human.”

That voice. It was his voice. You were certain of it.

Turning around, you smiled as you saw a very well-known silhouette lit only by the stray rays of light, framing his shoulders and his conceited head held high in the air – the sword on his hand, ready to attack; the smirk framing his arrogance… His eyes, defying yours with a fire burning in silver. The blue coat gracing him as a frame.

You smirked back, holding your head high and staring back with your burning eyes.

“Long time no see… Demon.”

**

To be continued...

[jsprnt]

Healing Hearts PT.9 | Virgil van Dijk

Would a fresh start bring you more than just a new job?

A/N: Hi loves! Sorry for the late post. I’ve been studying for exams I have this week and the next week and it’s been insanely time consuming. That’s also why I’m choosing to take a two week break from writing, I hope you guys will understand. Don’t worry, I promise I’ll be back with a banger. For now, enjoy this chapter <3

WC: 4.326

Summary: Y/N L/N is a very skilled and praised physiotherapist. A certain event pushing her for a fresh start, as a physiotherapist for Liverpool FC. One question always being in the back of her mind: Will she be able to let go of her past and allow herself to experience new things?

I let go of the steering wheel as I arrive at the terminal, half slumping over it due to how tired I am. Rubbing my eyes lightly to not smudge my mascara, even though I knew that the moment I sat down in the plane I would be out cold and my make up would be smeared. Thankfully, I could use all my energy on driving carefully and properly.

I groan, cursing the scheduling staff for planning a flight with the team at seven in the morning. The match against LASK would take place tomorrow evening, so why the rush?

I grab my small suitcase filled with all the essentials I would need over the course of the next two days. I throw my handbag over my shoulder, actively trying to avoid the September sun, beaming into my tired eyes while locking my car.

I turn around walking towards the small private plane terminal. The wind had picked up since I left my home, making me feel like my suitcase weighed a million pounds. I place my hand above my eyes, looking down at the floor as I continue walking.

"Lookin' tired doctor."

I turn around abruptly, eyes meeting a cheery Robbo.

"Hm slept way too little." I respond, zero energy in my voice. He walks up next to me, a comforting smile on his face while he pats my shoulder.

"Sleep on the plane. Four hours should be good enough doctor."

"That was exactly my plan." I mumble a small smile cracking on my face, continuing to walk beside him. Pulling my suitcase behind me.

It had been about a week since the guys had come back from international duty. The away game against Wolves last Saturday was an amazing way to start again, with a 3-1 for Liverpool.

I had totally been busy with injuries lately, working on the recoveries and planning that came with them. Ibou could start tomorrows game thankfully. I still had to work with Trent on his injury, but I had full faith in his recovery.

Things between me and Virgil had been- normal. He'd joined the team on the away game, showing support to the guys even when he was suspended.

Thinking about that £100.000 fine he had received had me sweating just at the thought of having to pay. Expensive things and prices weren't that foreign to me, but having to spend that amount on a fine had me shocked. I had teased him about it, telling him he could abstain from buying a new super car that week. He had given me an annoyed look, as he continued to run faster on the treadmill during one of our appointments. I had never laughed at him that hard before.

He had brought up our conversation in his car after the appointment, urging me to not keep problems to myself again. I had waved him off with a smile, telling him I'd be fine. Truly, I hadn't lied. Everything had been going fine so far, no calls and no messages from him. I had just been living my life as normal as possible.

The week without Virgil had been a busy one, me being fully engrossed with work and everything. Both the paperwork and recovery of Trent and Ibou consuming most of my time.

The messages from Virgil were the only thing keeping me sane as I worked from morning to the evening. I couldn't lie, going to bed after reading a sweet goodnight message was something I really missed experiencing. That week had blessed me with the best sleep I'd ever gotten since I had moved to Liverpool.

We walk into the terminal, seeing all the familiar faces making me realize I had to actually socialize, instead of trying to sleep standing upright. We both walk through security quickly, being done within a couple minutes.

"I'm sitting." I mumble quickly to Robbo. I greet the people I walk past curtly, making my way over to the lounge, walking up to the very comfy looking seat.

I plop down, head down as I lean back into the chair. My handbag placed, on my lap. I close my eyes, sighing to my self at the peaceful feeling. Though sadly, that peace is broken by a hand tapping my arm lightly. I open my eyes, ready to yell at the person, but my mood changes as I am greeted by a hand holding out a warm cup of coffee. My eyes trail up the arm of the person, tired eyes meeting with Virgil's.

"Oh it's you." I mumble, squinting slightly due to the sun beaming through the glass panels. "Yes it's me. Disappointed?" He replies, a small smile on his lips.

"Very disappointed." I tease my voice tired, arms folded on my chest as I shake my head at him. He raises a brow, clicking his tongue before pulling the cup of coffee away from me.

"See, I saw you that looked tired and got you some coffee, but since you're disappointed by seeing me-" I chuckle at him, extending my hand to grab the cup of hot brown liquid. "I'm kidding, of course I'm happy to see you." I tease, taking a sip of the coffee. He sighs, looking at me with an annoyed but amused look.

He takes a seat beside me, as I sip on the coffee. The caffeine is either going to keep me up or give me the worse headache known to mankind in the next hour. I slump back in my chair, feet off the ground as I sway them a little.

"Why are you acting like you barely slept?" He asks, leaning closer. I lift my arm, putting it above my eyes in a comforting way. "Cause I barely slept like five hours." I mumble, a soft huff leaving my lips.

"Why? You were off pretty early yesterday."

"You'll either call me an idiot or laugh." I sigh before continuing. "I woke up in the middle of the night after dreaming- well having a nightmare about losing my passport." I explain, arm still placed on my head. "So- I woke up panicking. I immediately started looking for my actual passport and couldn't find it. Which lead me to turn my entire apartment upside down and a panic attack until I realized I had placed it into my handbag." I pull my passport out of my handbag, waving it at him. He doesn't spare a second before he's laughing as loud as he can, way too loud this early in the morning.

"You're serious?"

"Dead serious." I grumble, a little embarrassed at the attention he's drawing. "Stop laughing- you're making my head hurt." I mumble.

He clears his throat before turning to me again. I lift my arm and look at him, seeing the most beautiful smile on his face. My eyes travel down to his tatted arms, getting practically lost in the pretty designs.

He opens his mouth to say something, but he's stopped by the announcement of us being allowed to board. I groan, squeezing my eyes fully shut for a moment before standing up along with Virgil. He pulls his training fleece on, following me out.

The overly tired girl stands up, grabbing her handbag as Virgil walks alongside her. He observes her slumped and tired looking frame, feeling a slight thump in his heart. He didn't like seeing her mood so down.

He reaches out to her and grabs her handbag, her head moving to the side and up to look at what he's doing. His hand now clinging onto her handbag.

"Let me hold it- looks heavy." He mumbles, his hand coming to rest in between her shoulder blades in a comforting manner. She doesn't react, exhausted and slightly slumped forward as she practically lets him guide her towards the plane.

Both are unaware of the gossiping and teasing looks exchanged in between the other Liverpool players.

The cold winds blow past them, making them slow their pace significantly before stepping into the plane and taking their seat, next to each other. She slides into the window seat, head already slumped against the soft cushion of the luxurious seat. He sits down after putting his belongings up, her handbag placed on the small table-like space in between their seats.

They take off a while later, but Virgil taps her shoulder, taking her out of her tired trance.

"Hm? What's wrong?" She asks, turning slightly to face him. "Here, drink this and go to sleep." He says, handing her a bottle of water. She raises a brow, grabbing the bottle and taking a few gulps.

"I don't know if I want to sleep now." She mumbles, standing up to remove her phone from her back pocket. "Why? You still look tired."

"Yeah but-" she begins looking into his brown eyes. "Do we have wet wipes on the plane?" He looks at her confused, wondering why she'd need them. "I'll be back." she says. Walking away as he's looking back at her confused.

She walks back not even a minute later, wet wipes in her hand as she sinks back into her seat. She starts wiping off the make up that was quickly applied that morning.

"You're wiping your make up off to go to sleep?" He asks, looking at her intently. "Yeah, these white seats won't look pretty nor will my face." She jokes, running the wipe along her cheeks. Carefully removing the last of her eye make up before turning to him. "Can you look if all the mascara is gone?" She asks, moving her face close, so he can see.

Virgil stares at her, taking in the beauty of her bare face, realizing he'd never seen her without make up before, this time she was fully bare faced. "The make up? Yes, I think it's all gone." He replies, a breathlessness in his normally deep voice.

She smiles, moving back to sit in her seat comfortably. "Thank you for checking." She discards the used wipes. She can feel her head staring to hurt and places her head back on the soft cushion, a yawn leaving her lips as her eyes become droopy, her exhaustion taking over and pulling her into a slumber. Soft snores making it obvious she was in need of a nap.

The athlete notices the snores, chuckling at the physio sleeping peacefully next him. Staring at her for a moment, tracing her beautiful features with his eyes.

He notices her shiver, and tugs his training fleece off, leaving him in his T-shirt and draping it on her sleeping figure.

He notices his teammates loud banter from across the aisle, hearing them joke loudly brings a smile to his face. He glances back at y/n, noticing her stirring, half awake. He reaches out, placing a hand on her arm and trying to calm her down.

"It's just the guys, go back to sleep hm?" He whispers tenderly, and her eyes close again. He watches her fall back into a slumber, and returns to watching his show he had selected earlier. He'd send a glare to the younger guys when they'd get too rowdy, telling them to calm down just incase they'd wake their physio up. Glancing at her sometimes to check on her.

A quiet "Sorry Virg" sent to him after he would glare. Virgil unaware of the fact that his teammates were gossiping about their way too obvious captain. Making up stories and betting on ways he'd finally confess to their beloved physio.

I open my eyes, squinting at the sunlight beaming through the window, noticing a jacket on my lap. I fix some of my hair and look at Virgil who looks totally invested into the show he's watching. I look at his bare arms and realize he must've placed his jacket on me while I was asleep. Making me feel warm at the thought. I reach over to nudge him, he turns his head immediately, removing his earphones.

"Oh you're awake."

"How long did I sleep?" I ask him, rubbing my eyes. He checks the time on his screen. "About two hours."

"Really? I was out for two hours?" I gasp.

"Yeah, I just let you sleep because you looked so peaceful." He says, staring at my slightly disheveled form. I can feel my face flush, so I decide stand up, grabbing my handbag and telling him I'll freshen up. I walk past him, sighing to myself as I walk down the aisle to the toilet.

I stare at myself in the mirror, thankfully I didn't look that bad, though my eyes were definitely puffy. I wash my face and fix my appearance a little, pulling down the soft white top I'm wearing since it had ridden up a little while asleep.

I walk back into my seat, plopping down and staring at the screen Virgil was watching, he notices, taking out one of his earphones and handing it to me with no words exchanged. I smile at him, accepting it as we continue to watch the show together.

I watch as the guys train, the sun had gone down a while ago in Linz, the sky pitch black with stars twinkling as I look up to admire them. The beauty of the sky in an open field was incomparable to the view of it in the big city, but both were amazing to look at.

I had been to Austria before, not necessarily stayed but visited it during a road trip me and my family went on when I was younger. We had traveled all around Europe for about three weeks. My parents had taken much-needed time off and decided traveling and seeing as many places as possible was the way to go.

I snap out of my thoughts at the sound of a whistle, realizing training had finally ended for the day. I tug my jacket on, chuckling at myself for being cold while all the players were drenched in sweat due to training. I watch as I see some of the players sit down on the chairs on the side of the pitch, and walk over to hand them some water.

"How are you even cold?" I hear Ibou yell, visibly tired. I laugh at him, handing him a bottle.

"Because I didn't go running throughout the entire field like you guys." I retort. "Besides I have low iron." I say, zipping up my jacket, hearing some players laugh. "Low iron yeah?" I hear Virgil say, smirking. "What? Can you let me live?" I say, hands on my hips while looking at him offended.

Our conversation- well bickering is interrupted as I turn my head to look at Dr. Woods, who's calling out to me, talking to me about the condition of some players.

Since Dr. Davis couldn't be here I would have to step in for him. This also meant I could join Dr. Woods on the bench as physiotherapist, making me feel super excited for tomorrows game. Finally, my bench debut would happen!

We arrive back at the fancy hotel, our luggage already brought up to our rooms. I was told I could take Dr. Davis'. So, I had my own private room I didn't have to share with any other female staff member, making me long for the comfortable silence and the big soft bed.

I walk along with some players, listening to them chat amongst each other. I reach into my jacket pocket, grabbing the chocolate snack I had stuffed into it, just in case. I had been craving sweets lately, undoubtedly an early sign of my period. I unwrap it, taking a bite before realizing I'm being watched by someone.

"What? I can't have low iron and a snack?" I ask Virgil. My eyebrows raised defensively as I take another bite, shaking my head at his judging expression. He raises his hands, jokingly surrendering with a smile on his face. "I didn't say a word."

"You've been on the doctors case a lot captain, give it a rest." I hear Robbo say as he puts his arm around my shoulders. I smile at him, as he tries defending me. "I know right he's being so rude." I say, as I start fake crying and Robbo laughings. I glance back at Virgil, seeing his expression drop for a moment, something flickering in his eyes.

"You've been teaming up with my teammates! What is this, no support for your captain at all!" He points to Robbo, but other players around us laugh, knowing they've joined me with teasing him. "Sorry lad, the doctor is the one helping me recover after I get injured. I don't want to be on her bad side." I smirk at him, holding back a laugh as we walk into the hotel.

I tell the guys goodnight as I get off the elevator on the level my room is. Walking into the hotel room, immediately walking over to check the view. The shining city lights making me admire them for a second before jumping into the shower.

I walk back out of the shower, bathrobe on as I plop onto the bed. Picking up my phone from the nightstand, realizing my friends had been ringing it. I press onto the missed call, their faces coming into view as I lift the phone closer to my face.

"Finally, miss sports physio called us back." I hear Monet say. I roll my eyes at her, leaning back and throwing my self fully onto the bed. "I was in the shower." I say, voice tired. "How was the flight?" Priya says. "Fine, I took a nap." I reply, running a hand on my face.

"You guys, she called me at two in the morning! Thinking she lost her passport, panicking for I think an hour, before realizing she put it in her handbag!" Jul shouts complaining about my late night call to her. I hear the others chuckle.

"Stop, it's not funny! I really thought I was fucked this time!" I whine. "You really need to stop overthinking, girl you used to always do that back in uni." Liz replies sternly. I groan at the tone in her voice, a scolding from her was always imminent.

I talk to them some more, before hanging up as I had to go to bed. I yawn, grabbing my suitcase and choosing my sleepwear. Changing as fast as possible and getting ready to finally rest properly.

I cheer as the referee whistles, clapping at the team's performance during the game. Liverpool had won 3-1 and I couldn't be prouder since they were on top of their table. The match was full of exciting moments like, Ryan's first assist for Liverpool and most importantly the final win. Not to mention, my first time being actively working on the pitch during a Liverpool match.

We walk back into the team bus, everyone tired but in a good mood. I pull out my phone, checking my notifications before clicking on the highlights of my childhood football club, who also had a match, the same time as us.

Despite only getting interested into football in my late teenage years, my dad always made it a point to teach me to love his childhood club. It was a generational tradition at this point. Since my dad is part Turkish, and was raised by my Turkish grandfather, he had to support the same Turkish football club: Fenerbahçe. It was one of the things that bonded me and my dad, at least a little.

"What are you watching? Highlights of what game?" I pause the video turning to Virgil. "My childhood club." I reply. "Fenerbahçe? Right you're part Turkish." He remembers, and I nod. "Think Galatasaray is better to be honest." He blurts, and glare at him. He really had to say that he liked my clubs biggest rivals in their league?

"Stop right now, I swear I'll never treat you again." I threaten, offended. "You're a little too fanatic- Okay I'll stop." He surrenders, a smirk on his face. I sigh, and return back to watch the video. "Oh they won, are you happy doctor?" He interrupts, again. "Yeah, my dad is so happy." I laugh, showing him the rare message my dad had sent in our family group chat.

I glance back at him, noticing him staring at me instead of the phone screen. I see him look away quickly, mumbling something about football making everyone happy. I can feel butterflies in my stomach, but I try to shrug it off, returning to finish watching the video. This time paying half the attention with my thoughts somewhere else.

We feel the bus park a while later, and we all walk out and go up to our hotel rooms. I wave everyone off, getting into my room, not feeling very tired, but remembering we had to get up at nine thirty this time, to get back to Liverpool.

I hear my phone ping as I'm watching TV on the couch, snacking on some candy and chocolate I had gotten this morning. I check my phone, seeing that Virgil had texted.

"Are you up y/n?"

I immediately feel butterflies in my stomach. What's with late text?

"Yeah, I'm up." I text, snapping a picture of the snacks on the table. "Craved some candy and a good movie."

He sends a funny sticker, also snapping back a video of him laying in his bed, might I add, shirtless. He pans the camera to show his own empty room, hearing his TV blare in the background. "Ohh so captain gets his own room?" I text, teasing him.

I smile to myself. If anyone else was in this room, they probably think I looked like a giddy teenage girl, texting her crush.

"What room are you in?" He replies, and my heart stops for a second. Why does he want to know that? Does he want to come here? I mentally panic before, getting it together and telling him what number.

"311 why?" I ask.

"You'll see." He replies, and I shoot up from my position. Is he actually coming to my room? At almost ten o'clock? I neglect texting back, running to my bathroom, fixing my hair and putting on some sweatpants underneath my oversized shirt. I take my time, just in time for a knock on the door.

I calmly walk up to the door, placing my head against the door to check through the peephole.

It's hotel staff?

I open the door carefully, sticking my head out of the opening. "Hello miss! Your room service." I stare at him for a second, tilting my head before it clicks. Virgil wasn't coming over to my room.

No, he'd ordered room service for me?

I open the door wider, allowing the man to bring in the food, he leaves shortly after and I close the door behind him.

I grab my phone off the couch, walking up to the food that was ordered for me. Two charcuterie boards; one consisting of all sorts of fruit and the another one full off savory snacks.

This was the sweetest thing someone had done for me in a long time, it making me a little emotional. Tears well up in my eyes at the thought. I couldn't tell if it was my hormonal cycle changing or it was due to the fact that I genuinely was so touched.

My phone pings with Virgil sending messages.

"Did you receive it?" He asks. "I thought this would be better than eating unhealthy snacks."

I feel a single tear drop down my cheek, replying with a picture of my crying face. "Wait, why are you crying? Do you do not like it?" He texts and I feel more tears fall down.

"No, it's so sweet that you thought of doing this." I reply, wiping away the tears on my cheek.

"Come on anyone would think of doing that." He says, and I laugh to myself. He was either way too oblivious or trying to be humble.

"No, seriously. You're so sweet, thank you." I reply, along with a sticker of a cute kitten. He sends a sticker back, before telling me to enjoy the snacks along with the movie.

I suddenly get an idea.

"Do you want to come over? I mean I couldn't finish all this by myself.” I ask, a little nerve wracked, fidgeting with my necklace.

"Are you sure? It's late, and we have to be up early." He replies.

"It's fine come down!" I text back, before dropping my phone on my bed and running to pull on some more appropriate lounge wear, this time knowing he'd come over for sure.

My phone pings a couple minutes later and I open the message. "I'm at your door." I read, before hearing a knock.

"I'm coming." I say, a little quieter too not wake up everyone on my floor. I swing my door open, revealing a very relaxed looking Virgil, in gray sweats and a black T-shirt. The dream combo, I hold back a laugh.

I notice how good his hair looked, his waves done neatly. Did this man just take his durag off or? His hair always looked freshly done, no matter what.

"Hey." He mutters. A pretty smile on his face.

"Hi." I whisper back, returning the smile as my dimples show. I step aside, making way for him to enter my room, and closing the door behind him.

[the-wales-5]

"Crazy for this girl" (Chapter 4)

November was shaping up to be a tiring time for everyone owing to next month's Martinmas semester exams. Aware of it William wanted to organise a party in October, to help everyone relax but also to make up for the few parties he had missed. He revealed his plans to a circle of friends he had gotten over the last few weeks while they were sitting in the dining hall.

“Will it be a costume party?!” Laura asked

“No, but I was thinking of a themed one, and the most popular thing these days is Harry Potter as I reckon so might be it” William said

“Sounds great, it’s a pity I am unable to be in two places simultaneously” Catherine sighed

“Why?” her friend Olivia Bleasdale asked.

“People from Rupert’s course are organising something on the same day, and he already confirmed our attendance. It is all planned weeks in advance. I'm sorry”

“A lawyers party full of snobbism instead of a Harry Potter themed one, that sounds fun” Fergus laughed sarcastically. Kate took a sip of orange juice “This is not my fault that he planned something, right?” She shrugged off.

Laura looked at William at the same moment as she asked “Is your girlfriend coming?”.

The prince had been meeting Carley Massy-Birch, and their relationship was well-known amongst his friends.

“She hasn't given me a direct reply yet, but I think she'll be there” he replied “Anyway, would 7 pm be the right time for a start?”

“Yes, but only if you want us to be drunk as hell by 9pm, Wills. Make it 8 pm at least” Fergus replied

“That way you’ll be drunk as hell by 10 pm” Catherine said, wanting to have revenge on him for his recent remarks about her boyfriend. Everyone burst into laughter.

“Stop making him feel embarrassed. Boyd knows the reality. He'll be drunk yet before the party starts” Olivia said, and that caused yet another wave of laughs.

“You can help me to write down the list of attendees” William said then

“But this is not a royal gathering, Wales”

The prince laughed and rolled his eyes in a playful way. “I just want to make sure that everyone who attends the party knows to address me as Steve. For security reasons. Stop teasing me and give me a pen instead”

“I haven't got one. They'll address you as Mr ‘writing names down without our consent’? Be careful. We may all boycott your social event before it even begins” Fergus joked again.

“I was about to write yours right now, but it looks like you are the first to be crossed out instead” William chuckled, got hit on the elbow from his friend, and then finally noted down several names on the paper with Catherine’s pen.

~

“Are you busy or going somewhere in particular now?” William asked her as soon as the rest of their friends left the table.

Middleton looked at the phone and noticed no response from Rupert to a text message that was sent by her yet in the morning.

“I thought that we could finally talk about the Raleigh expedition. For some reason, we had no time for that before”

“Some reason being endless hours of lectures” Catherine remarked, and William looked down, awaiting her final reply, assuming that it would be a negative one.

“Yes, sure. We can talk about it now” Catherine replied within seconds as she switched her phone off at the same time. “Share your experience first. You were there before me, right?” She smiled a little.

As it turned out, the Chile gap year was just the first of many topics they touched upon in a conversation that lasted for almost two hours until they decided to return to their rooms.

“It was so nice to talk and to think about something more than our classes, Kate”

“That was nice for me too," she said as she stared at William, who was slowly going upstairs to his room.

“I hope we'll continue this discussion soon” William said and vanished from Middleton's view. He smiled with his eyes closed, thinking how those few hours were so far one of the best times at St Andrews for him. “I need to give her that pen back finally” William thought when he noticed it in his pocket and slowly turned back. Right at that same time, Catherine saw Rupert on the other side of the hall. She was about to ask why he had been ignoring her text messages and felt ready to argue when she realised that he hid a huge bouquet of red roses behind himself and apologised for his behaviour. Catherine smiled and slowly kissed him on the lips. William had been staring at the scene between the two of them from a distance until Middleton closed her door.

*

“Do we really have to attend that party?” Kate asked her boyfriend while they were on a walk moments later.

“You had no objection to that before. Why do you ask now?” Rupert frowned a little

“Can’t you call it off and for once go somewhere with me?”

“I am often going out with you, Katie”

“I want to have fun yet before exams, not listen to boring conversations between you and other guys wearing a tie even though they're just 24!” she replied, a little bit louder

“Katie, stay calm, please. Now, all you show is that you are simply over-dramatic. Don't you remember? Raisin Weekend and foam fight had taken place not so long ago, and it was fun, wasn't it?”

“Indeed. The thing is, I just want you to think it all over, Rupert” she said, getting lost in her thoughts. She then simply carried on walking and looking at the early evening's sky from time to time.

***

Chapter 5

[eunseok-s]

five — i messed up...

pairing: yoon jeonghan x gender neutral reader

warnings: jeonghan calls the reader pathetic, swear words, a hurt y/n

genre: angst

word count: 0.6k

previous • masterlist • next

taglist: @honeyhuii @soobin-chois @fylithia @enhacolor @ja4hyvn @bambisgirl @hiqhkey @its-madi @byeolwonnie @yizhoutv @shuatm @end-hyphen @yeosangiehwa @kayleeshinee @joonsytip @justasoftstan

a/n: i apologise for the delay in updating, a work friend of mine passed away and i needed to take some time away. this written part is not my best work but i wanted to update as soon as possible. i hope you guys are all okay ❤️

You manage to make it to the library with a few minutes to spare, you look around before you park yourself on a random seat, just to see if Jeonghan made it before you did. The room is empty, the only other person in the library being the librarian making sure everything is ready before the day begins. She gives you a small wave which you return.

As you sit down, and pull out your laptop, you start to feel nervous. The last time you or Jeonghan breathed a single word to each other was when you were both eleven. It all started when he muttered "show off" under his breath when you and Joshua were the only two students in the year to pass an exam with full marks. He would always make little remarks at you whenever you had gotten 100% on any test or exam at school.

In retaliation, when you and Joshua were walking home after school, you pushed Jeonghan into a muddy puddle. You remember him falling face first into the water, his t-shirt covered in mud and grass stains. He responded by trying to pull you down with him but Joshua managed to block his hands. You remember immediately feeling horrible that you chose that path to go down but it was too late for you to do anything when he ran off.

Your mom told you it would all be fine, that his t-shirt would survive in the washing machine and would come out white again. You first apologised to Jeonghan weeks after but he never accepted your apology, all he did was make you feel bad for the incident by reminding you every day of it. You apologised multiple times and even bought him a similar t-shirt to replace it but your attempts failed.

He turned up at the library fifteen minutes after 9am, his hair slightly wet from the rain outside, "Sorry, I'm late," he mumbles, throwing his bag under the table and making his way to the coffee machine. You take a deep breath and exhale, this is going to be a long morning.

By noon, you had exchanged no less than fifty words to each other. When you’d asked him about his ideas for the project, he slid his work book to you and said nothing. Great minds think alike though; the two of you had the same ideas.

Though, whenever you tried to communicate anything to Jeonghan, he wasn’t listening to you. He would shrug and just focus on whatever he was doing on his laptop. It bothered you.

You started to feel hungry and offered to pick something up for him when he slammed his pen down on the table, sighing and looking at you for the first time today.

“Look, y/n, I appreciate—in fact, no, I don’t appreciate that you’re trying so hard for us to be friends or something, it’s not gonna happen. I’m only here because I have to be, because I want to pass this course and get the hell out of here. I wouldn’t work on this project if you were the last person on earth. So please, stop trying so hard because you’re pathetic.”

Jeonghan regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth but it was too late to take them back, he’d already said them. You were aware he didn't like you and that he felt like that but the way he said those words… they felt like venom and you just wanted to get out of there. You look around the room, your eyes locking with Seungkwan’s who stood a few tables away from you. You gathered all of your stuff together, pushing everything into your bag.

"Y/n, wait..." Jeonghan pleads for you to stop and listen but you just want to leave. You're not going to cry in front of him. You won't.

"Y/n..." He calls for you once more but you're already halfway out of the library, heading for the bathroom.

[greazyfloz]

Lust or Love - Chapter 5

Other Chapters

We didn’t end up going to the same party Saturday night, so I didn’t end up seeing Nick again until Thursday afternoon after my classes. I was on my way to my car in the school parking lot when I saw Nick walking from across the common area. He smiled awkwardly at me as I made my way over to him. 

“Hey” I speak first before he can say anything, “I’m sorry about last friday, I just- I don’t know” I started 

“I was wondering if we were going to bump into each other again so I could tease you” he says laughing and I look at him with a puzzled look on my face, “I’m joking, it’s fine. I hope you aren’t mad at me for not… you know”

“Okay, good talk!” I say with wide eyes walking away from him and back towards my car

“I’ll take that as a no” he asks after me teasingly

“We’re good!” I say lifting a thumbs up in the air as I continue walking to my car. 

I didn’t end up seeing him again until that Sunday night when Nolan asked if I could go over to help him study for the text we had the next day. Of course I said I would help him since he was away for the weekend playing hockey. After we studied Nick came down and joined us along with the rest of their roommates and we just chatted about random things. I actually exchanged numbers with some of them as we were sending each other pictures according to the stories we were talking about. 

Throughout the next couple of weeks what happened between Nick and I when we first met felt like history. We became close and I started going over to the house everyday, not only for Nick but for all of the guys. 

It was the week before Christmas break and I had just finished up my last exam when I received a text from my mother:

Mom: “Christmas is back in Connecticut this year!”

Mom: “So instead of picking you up tomorrow, I will meet you in Connecticut!”

Y/N: “Are we going to Grandma’s?” 

Mom: “Yes, Auntie Bea said she could make Christmas this year, so we are just going to go to Grandma’s instead of her coming here!”

Great. I think to myself. Connecticut. I haven’t been back to my hometown since Kyle and I were dating, I wonder if the kids from high school found out yet. I sit in my car after my exam and wait for Tori to finish hers. As I sit and wait, Nick waves at me as he walks by. 

“You want a drive?” I ask him after opening my door

Nick gets on the other side of the door and we wait together for Kali. As we wait we chat about the Christmas break and how his is shorter than mine and what our plans were. 

“Yeah, I’m actually going to Connecticut” I tell him

“Connecticut? What’s there?” He asks and I laugh

“My grandmother still lives there”

“Oh yeah, Grandma” he says making me laugh, “And Kyle”

“Yeah, it’s fine though” I say and Nick knows I’m lying and takes a deep breath

“Hey, what do you say, you and the girls come over tonight after you are all packed up and have a couple drinks” Nick asks as we watch Kali wave and make her way to the back seat of the car. 

“Hey sorry to keep you waiting” she says, “Hey Nick”

“Hey” he says then looks back, “A little de-stressor” he laughs

“Sure” I agree, “Kali, we’re going to Nick’s tonight” I tell her as I look at her through the rear view mirror before backing out of the spot. 

Nick ends up just coming to our place and helping me pack, before we all headed over to his. We all walked so none of us had to worry about leaving our cars at Nick’s. The walk was cold but Nick didn’t live too far from us. We walk inside his house and great everyone before sitting in the living room to start taking shots. 

“To the first half of Senior year!” Amber says lifting her glass up and the rest of us copy before we all take our shot. 

As the night full of laughter went on, Nick and I lock eyes. I smile at him and he smiles back. I announce to the group that I’m going to get a refill before making my way into the kitchen. At this point I was drunk but definitely tipsy. I walk into the kitchen and Nick follows in soon after. 

“Can I ask you something?” Nick asks leaning against the counter beside me

“Shoot” I say as I pour myself another drink

“Do you still think about fucking me?”he asks me. I stop pouring my drink and look over at him. I try to think of what to say but I can’t think of the right words, because of course I do. He’s hot. But do I want to tell him that? “Because I think about fucking you all the time”

Okay, he’s drunk

I take a sip of my drink and watch him as he comes closer to me then resting his hand on my hip. I down the rest of my drink then set the cup down, then grabbing his bicep to pull him closer to me. Once our bodies hit each other, I smashed my lips against his and we began making out in his kitchen. I feel his hand travel up my shirt then squeeze my tit as we continue to make out, and I let out a soft moan on his lips. 

Realizing that I’m standing in his kitchen and that anyone could walk in, I pull away. I tug down on my shirt, straightening it before leaving Nick in the kitchen and making my way back to the group. Nick comes in a little later and smirks at me as he takes a seat making me blush. 

Eventually the group end up in the kitchen. Everyone laughing and talking to one another except Nick and I, the sexual tension filled the air between us as we stared at each other from across the room. I waited for the perfect moment to leave the room, and on the way out I made sure to brush against Nick, letting him know where I would be but he grabbed my arm making me look back at him. 

“Make sure you’re naked”

I swallow and feel my panties dampen as I turn to make my way up to his room. I shut the door behind me then took my shirt off first, followed by my pants until I was completely naked. I sit on the bed until Nick walks in the door already shirtless with his pants undone. He locks the door and I make my way over and begin making out with him. I reach down and slide my hand down his boxers to stroke his hard cock, “thinking of me?” I ask him before sliding down to my knees. 

I pull his pants and boxers down at the same time letting his hard cock fly out. I stroke his cock as I bring my head in licking from the base of his cock up to his tip. He breathes a bit harder as I flick my tongue around his cock then begin sucking on his tip. I release his cock from my mouth and suck further down before taking him in back and forth seamlessly while stroking the rest of his cock my mouth can’t reach. Once warmed up I took him out of my mouth and hit his hard cock against my lips a couple times fast, then took him in my mouth again sliding him as far as I could making him grunt slightly. 

I took him out of my mouth again and began stroking his whole length while I tilted my head slightly so I would be able to look at him while I suck on his balls. My mouth makes a popping noise as my mouth tugged his balls then falls from my mouth. 

I stood up and pushed him back against the bed. I climbed on top of him and reached down to position his cock at my entrance. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine holding both sides of my head while he makes out with me. I sink down slightly on his cock so I could continue making out with him then pulled away to slide up and down. Nick reaches up and massages my tits as I bounce up and down on his cock, letting out soft breathy moans, careful not to be too loud while I ride him. 

“Fuck babe” he says as I take him all the way and and begin grinding back and forth, “I’m cumming” he says throwing his head back followed by a grunt that escapes his lips as he fills me up. I quickly get off him and stand from the bed

“Shit!” I say collecting my clothes and making my way across the hall to the bathroom. I clean myself off in the bathroom then get changed before opening the door again. I open Nick’s door and he isn’t in there so I go back downstairs where everyone was. 

Once I walked in the room everyone went quiet, I look around and give everyone a questioning look before reaching over for another drink. Everyone’s conversation continues again, and I walk over beside Nick, “Do they know?” I ask him only loud enough for him to hear and he laughs

“Probably” he says 

“We are going to need to go to the store” I tell him

“I know” he hums, “already taking care of it”

I look at him confused for a second and he tells me to trust him. 15 minutes later there was a knock at the door and Nick walks away from the group to answer it. He wasn’t gone long. He came back into the kitchen minutes later but stands next to the boys instead of back over beside me. 

“Okay, we should get going!” Tori announces, “not all of us are done finals”

We all get up and make our way to the door. I grab my bag and see the morning after pill inside as I pick it up. I smile at Nick and he smiles back as everyone begins saying goodbye to each other. I give Nolan a hug first and wish him a happy holidays then make my way down the line, until I reached Nick. I gave Nick a quicker hug then the rest of then told him I’d text him over the holidays before we all left.

[specialagentlokitty]

Martin Evershed x reader - the biker and the teacher

A/N: italics will be a Spanish

You were back from being away, it was your first day back at work, and you were running slightly ahead of time, so you decided to take a detour to pass it by.

Humming to the music playing through your earphones, you pulled up to a stop at the traffic lights and set your foot on the ground, tapping the handle of your motorbike.

You saw a few familiar bikes on the other side of the road and you waved to them, and they waved back.

Looking at the lights, you revved your bike as you watched it go Orange then turn green.

You sped away, making your way down the streets, one hand holding the handle, the other rested on your thigh as you turned down the street where the school was.

You drove up, and turned the corner, a car turning at the same time and you sped up to beat it.

Whoever it was honked their horn at you and you drove to the furthest bit of the parking lot and pulled up, pulling your phone from your pocket.

You sat there for a few minutes before you finally got up, pocketing your phone you grabbed your keys, stuffing them into your pocket as well.

Hands in your leather jacket, you made your way up the path and through the doors of reception and walked over to the desk, leaning on it.

“And you’re so close to being late.”

Grinning under the helmet you held your hand out to the woman.

“I’m not headteacher anymore, that’s Martin. I assume you’ve already met him.”

Mandy handed you some papers and you stood back up, tapping her on the head with them.

“Nope.”

“You cut in front of him before coming here.”

“Oh the red car dude. Yeah he seemed a bit mad, anyways gotta run, later Mandy.”

She laughed and watched you jog down the hallways and you made your way into your classroom and set the papers on the desk.

Pulling your helmet off, you put it under the desk with your bag and hung your jacket up behind the door.

Walking back over to your desk, you sat down and began to organise the papers, and the classroom door was opened and closed.

“(Y/N) do you have a minute?”

You glanced and Mandy stood with a man you hadn’t seen before and you nodded, standing up you leant against your desk.

“Of course Mandy, what’s up?”

“I just wanted to introduce you to the new headteacher, Martin Evershed. Martin this is (Y/N) (L/N), your GCSE languages teacher.”

He held out his hand and smiled at you.

“It’s good to finally meet you.”

You smiled back shaking his hand.

“You took, how long have you been here for I haven’t seen you around.”

“Oh I started as the English teacher last year, come to think about it I haven’t seen you around either.”

You nodded your head and let go of his hand.

“Yeah, I had some time off.”

“Speaking of which, are you sure you’re supposed to be back?” Mandy asked.

You grinned a little.

“All cleared.”

“Alright then if you’re sure, I’ll leave you two to talk.”

She left and you turned around attention to your new boss.

“Time off?”

“Ah not important, so, I assume you’re implementing a new regime? New order and all that?”

Martin chuckled a little bit, shaking his head.

“No, no. Everything’s just like it was, I’m just in charge now that’s all that’s change. What language do you teach?”

“Spanish, my classes don’t start until next week though, but I’ve come in to start prepping everything, and reading over the exam results for my students.”

“Exam results? We didn’t have a Spanish exam.”

You nodded your head, reaching behind you, you grabbed the papers and held them out to him.

“I know you didn’t, but I did. I teach both advanced Spanish and beginner Spanish, I need to see what level my students are working out so I can place them in the right class.”

“Right, right that makes sense. Is it just Spanish you teach?”

“Yup, I’m only coming back part time for now, but when I come back full time I’m also able to cover English and Science.”

He smiled and nodded his head, handing you the papers back and you set them down on your desk again.

Martin asked you a few more questions before he had to leave, and you went through marking your exam papers.

You got through some of them and you sighed, rubbing your hand up and down your side and stood up.

Grabbing your stuff, you left for the day.

You come back late morning the following day and carried on with your work, pacing up and down the length of the classroom.

Waking over to your desk, you grabbed you pen and began to scribble on the sheet of paper.

“Seriously this isn’t even half Spanish..”

You furrowed your brows and grabbed a different pen, marking where the Spanish ended.

“Just absolutely nonsense this isn’t even a language…”

You looked at the name and you flicked through the papers, seeing you had a few papers by this student and all of them were the same.

“Wasting my time.”

Grabbing the papers you made your way back up to reception and gestured to the office behind Loraine.

“Is he in?”

“Uh.. let me check.”

She stood up and knocked on the window and pointed to you.

Martin nodded and gestured for you to come around so you did, and you set the papers on his desk.

“I want this student withdrawn from my class.”

“Any reason why?”

Mr Evershed picked up the papers and looked through them, though he had absolutely no idea what they said.

“Those papers, not even half of it in total is Spanish. The rest is absolutely nonsense it’s not even a langue.”

“Are you sure?”

“I speak five different langue’s Martin, that is none of them.”

He set the papers down.

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you.” You smiled.

He nodded and handed you the papers back.

“Seriously five?”

“I’m a woman of mysteries.”

With that, you grinned and walked away back to your classroom.

It wasn’t long until the following week came, and you lessons were due to start today, and you were running slightly behind schedule today.

Speeding through the streets, you saw the familiar red car ahead of you, and like every morning you’re in, too races ahead of him.

Heading to your parking spot, you pulled up and rushed into the school before he realised it was you.

You were in the staff room when Martin came in grumbling to himself.

Smirking a little, you turned around and supposed at your coffee

“Bad morning?”

“Something like that, so you know anyone at the school who drives a motorbike?”

You hummed a little.

“Nope, sorry.”

He nodded his head and made his own coffee, standing next to you.

“It’s like a race I swear to god, most mornings they race me through the gates.”

“I mean bikes are small than cars, that’s a pretty big gate.”

“It’s not a big gate when you’ve got a motorbike speeding to cut in front of you.”

You laughed softly, shaking your head at him.

“Could be speeding at you.”

He shrugged a little, nodding his head.

“Yeah that’s true. It’s just stressful.”

You nodded your head and sipped your drink a little.

You weren’t going to tell him it was you, of course you weren’t, you just like the little game you had created.

Every time he came in to rant to you about it, and it was entertaining to you. Of course you did it safely, you weren’t reckless, you only did it when you had enough time, but it was still fun.

“Your first lesson is today, right?” Martin asked.

You looked up and nodded your head.

“Yeah, it’s after break. It’s just going to be a simple lesson, introductions and all that.”

“Do you mind if I sit in? Just to observe, nothing serious.”

“Yeah go for it, I don’t mind at all.”

“Thanks, I’ll see you then.”

You smiled as he left and you made your way to your classroom to begin setting everything up for the lesson.

It came around faster than you thought, and not long into the lesson Martin came in.

He watched you carefully, seeing how you taught, how you interacted with the students and the lesson plans you ran.

And it seemed to go smoothly, all the students interacted happily, you seemed happy up there teaching, talking.

And when the lesson came to an end, he stood up and approached you.

“A good lesson, though a couldn’t under stand a single word of it.” He chuckled.

You laughed softly, smiling at him.

“Thanks, I’ve always enjoyed teaching people new things.”

He nodded, and he watched you rub a hand up and down your side and he frowned slightly.

“Everything alright?”

“Yeah. Yeah it’s nothing Martin, don’t worry about it.”

“You sure?”

You nodded and eased yourself into the chair behind your desk and he looked at you slightly concerned but said nothing about it.

“Well, a few of us are grabbing a drink tonight if you want to come? Celebrate your first successful day teaching?”

“I’ve still got two classes to teach, and I’ve got plans tonight. But, how about Friday, we can celebrate a full week back.”

“Sounds good to me.”

He smiled and left and you smiled to yourself, glancing down at the helmet under your desk.

This was going to be very interesting to say the least

[emilycollins00]

Can I request a Kazunari x reader where neither of them is sure if their relationship is platonic/romantic?

Yes, yes, yes!! Literally went from not really sure how to start this to reinventing it all SO fast like-? The only answer I find is that I might love Kazunari too much which honestly, fair.

Please enjoy! 💕

Promise me we won’t let go (Kazunari x Platonic/Romantic! Reader)

Kazunari believes he has -over time of course, he was never this smooth despite what others might believe- been able to gain certain knowledge, regarding other people’s feelings and what they look for.

This obviously carries its own problems as well.

He had already admitted to himself long ago being overly accommodating to keep up with every single soul’s like and dislike he met: Kazunari is so good at listening! in his ears translated to, if he spoke up, he might end up saying the wrong thing -because people like to have someone who listens. Even those you’re so easy-going! came from learning to control his opinions to a degree that his real thoughts felt more like a side note.

Regarding this aspect, Mankai had certainly been an eye-opening experience. A before and after point in his life.

Thanks to everyone at the dorm -and especially his super-amazingly-cool-and-talented summer troupe members buddies- current Kazunari was more confident than ever in standing by what he actually enjoyed. Last week he even turned down quite the bizarre idea for that group project he had to present for his graphics and Illustration course! Like, hello? Yes. Kazunari Miyoshi was proud to say he had grown.

Which lead the blond actor to wonder, after seven Thursday nights in a row spent dancing with you until wee hours of the morning, whether this is the point he should be asking himself if you two were turning into a thing.

Seven weeks, and it's become such a regular thing that both of you have built your schedules around it, changing plans to ensure you two can make it out to the pub no matter what else is going on. He never gave it much thought. You both have known each other for years, after all. And yet-

A sudden buzz coming from his phone distracts him.

Are you finished with your classes? I'm in the cafeteria and I wanna see you before I leave back to the library.

He can’t help but notice his mood lights up considerably when the icon that pops on his screen is from you. Humming quietly, he enters the conversation.

Almost done! On my way~

He adds a few stickers and concentrates again on the professor's instructions about where they'll have to submit their canvas for the exam. Minutes later and learning storaged, he picks up his bag and waves a quick goodbye at the group he shares classes with. It’s almost six o’clock, and the summer actor enjoys the breeze and bustle of people while scrolling instablam’s stories, opting to go straight to where you were. His reflection shows on the phone briefly. He pouts and fixes his bangs. Maybe he should have worn his hat? His roots were starting to grow back and-

“Yo, Kazunari.”

“Oh?” he looks into the direction the familiar voice was coming. “Setzer, my man! What’s up? Never saw you around this time before.”

The purple-eyed clicked his tongue. “Class got cancelled. Talk about annoyin’” A noise from his pocket makes Banri pick up his phone, roaming through it distractedly. “Ya leavin’ too?”

“Ah, my bad. Y/N-pii is on their break at the cafeteria. I’m going to pass by before heading home. Wanna join?”

“Nah, pass. Got a paper due so might as well go and finish it.” Still looking at the phone, the autumn member frowns. “…Talkin’ bout Y/N-san, do ya think they are free next weekend?”

“Next weekend? Probably. Why?”

The autumn member sighs. “It’s Sora’s birthday.”

“Sora… The one we meet that time at the after-party of your club?” Kazunari’s mind goes back to the events just last semester. They were one of the first people Banri had gotten to know from his major at uni and honestly had a blast at the time. “Sounds boom! How are they doing?”

“Fine, I suppose. They have this house near the river where they want to do a barbeque  and has been askin’ me to contact Y/N-san.”

Kazunari thinks about it. You have always enjoyed get-togethers, especially birthdays. Moreover, even the few times you met with Banri’s friends he remembers you commenting how much you enjoyed it. “Mmm… I don’t think it’d be a problem? Y/N-pii is the type to let you know if something comes up anyway so you should totally ask them!”

“Sweet. They have been so freaking’ insistent about it.” Banri sighs, relieved. Yet as he’s about to start writing, he seems to falter, stopping his fingers midtrack. He looks at the blond, and his eyebrow frown confused. Kazunari has lived long enough with him to know he’s debating to say or do something -which is not really typical of Banri.

It makes him uncomfortable.

“Yahoo, earth to Setzer?” he laughs, waving in front of him. “Your eyes are creeping me out, man! You ‘kay?”

The autumn leader takes notice of his own actions and massages his neck. “My bad. I was just… you’re good, right?” he arches his eyebrows.

“Whadaya mean?”

“You know, my friend asking Y/N-san out. ”

Oh.

Should it bother Kazunari to know others were interested in you?

“It’s not like we are dating,” he replies with a short laugh. “Even if we were, Sora seems fun to hang out with, and a barbeque of all things? I bet it’s going to be epic! Remember to snap some cool pics to show off later!” he pats the young actor’s back.

"Okay, okay, you can stop now." This time, he does write on his phone with decision -though Kazunari notices him glancing in his direction one last time. “Then, I’ll let Sora know. Thanks, man.”

“No prob~ careful on your way home!”

Soon after he resumes his walk, another buzz and light come from his screen phone. It’s you again. He looks at the time and understands why you would write. It had gotten late.

Everything okay, prince charming?

He smiles at the nickname. And as a matter of fact, Kazunari feels okay with what just happened. Maybe. Honestly he can’t really make up his mind. But he’s no one to decide who you should hang out with in any case.

Found Setzer leaving uni and stopped to talk. Save me a seat!

Pff as if I hadn’t done that already you silly.

The sudden rethinking about your relationship shouldn't make him this weird.

.

.

.

For the longest time you came to keep certain parts of your personality hidden. The rough, ugly parts. At least in your opinion.

Maybe that’s why you are able to see through Kazunari. A side of him that no one else saw, or at least that’s what your selfish self liked to think. To the world, Kazunari is a friendly, fashionable, and outgoing art student who also handles all too well graphic designs and whatever you may throw at him. Always open to being friends with anyone who crosses paths with him, no matter who they are.

As years pass by, your relationship has unfolded into whatever intimate thing it might have become nowadays. Now, you see more. You see his actual dorkiness. You see the way he gets frustrated with himself when ideas don’t come no matter how much he tries when the answer to the problem eludes him. See how incredibly smart he is. How much he truly loves studying. How selfless he is. You see the faint traces of what you can only call sadness when Kazunari mentions smiling at someone's low opinion of him as a person. How his eyes sparkle when he’s talking about a new art event.

He told you about his old days one time. It made you want to tell everybody who had never bothered to get this close to seeing the real him you didn't try hard enough. Which is why you couldn’t thank more in your mind to Tsuzuru’s unaware assistance for reaching Kazunari and allowing him to become the passionate actor he has come to be.

So yeah, you could say you with confidence you adored Kazunari.

And yet, there was something bothering you for a while.

You two have gotten used to people mistaking you for a couple. You didn’t pay much thought to it since you are both incredibly clingy with each other, and to be fair half of your instablams are photos of the two of you -and others, sometimes.

What you do notice, is that neither you nor Kazunari correct people when they assume so anymore.

What you notice is that you can hardly wait for it to Thursday night and be alone with him, even if you see each other almost everyday. And it scares you a bit.

.

.

.

.

“So! What are you in the mood for before we hit the pub?”

You hum in thought. It’s gotten late, so you are sure the places you two usually go to must be almost full. “I'd like something cheap. This month I’m almost broke-” You sneeze. “Also preferably inside. Didn’t know it was going to be this cold today.”

“Hang on a sec, I gotchu!” happily, Kazunari takes off his jacket and puts it on you, making you sight. That was much better. “Aw, you’re so cute! Stay still!” he coos taking up his phone.

You laugh, letting him take a picture. “’Kay but give me your arm. I can at least give you some heat back.”

It feels like usual. You both decide to try some pizzas at a place near some park and are about to head inside when you hear someone calling your name in the distance. You wait a bit to recognize the person. Kazunari doesn't, mostly because of the talk he had with Banri not too long ago. Assuring he will wait for your conversation to ask for dinner, he takes his phone out to entertain himself.

Not too long he notices you walking back, and it takes even less time to know something is wrong. You are not looking at him, after all.

“Y/N-pii?"

"Shall we go?"

"Sure but are you ‘kay? Cuz I can-”

“No!” you hurry, almost tripping over your words in a rush to cut him up. “It’s- it’s fine.” You say under your breath, moving far from him. “You really don’t want to know.”

Smooth, Y/N.

You whimper, still holding tight onto Kazunari’s jacket. It really does smell like him and you feel like crying at how much it calms you down. You look into the blond's eyes. There's worry. And of course, that's what it takes for you to give in.

"Y/N-pii?"

“…can we sit?”

.

.

.

“One drink coming right up!~”

You watch Kazunari walk towards you with a bottle of water that you open instantly as he sits next to you. This was the last conversation you wanted to have and yet somehow, destiny decided it should happen. You close the bottle. Ok then.

“So!” You finally speak with more confidence than you felt. “Sora invited me to their birthday party next weekend.” Kazunari nodded. That, he also knew. “Seemed fun, so then I asked if you could come too.”

“Me?”

You shrugged, playing with the bottle. “We met them together and I thought we all had a good time. Remember the karaoke?”

“Duh. Who knew their club was so good at impersonating?”

“Right? That was so cool.”

The conversation somehow ends there. A bark in the distance catches your attention.

“...So? What did Sora say?”

You press your lips, leaving the bottle to the side.

“They asked if I was dating you. And I…? I didn’t know what to say.” you take some air and lean back on the bench, closing your eyes. You feel Kazunari tense up and you don’t wanna see it. “Like, I know we are not because- actually I don’t know. I’ve been feeling confused about… this.” You sigh, sitting back again and pointing to both of you.

The summer actor desperately wants to say something. He wants to say the right thing, because you deserve it. He wants you to feel as comfortable with him as it always is. How could something supposedly so… possibly wonderful be so intimidating at the same time?

“Kazu what… are we?”

Again, he freezes like a coward when he finds himself trapped under the intensity of your fond stare. “I-” there’s pressure in his chest. “I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it lately too.”

“Same.”

Silence appears again. Kazunari awaits a groan, an angry puff, or any type of discomfort on your part. Yet to his surprise he hears a faint laugh. although you fought it, it was there. Free, genuine, hard, and heartfelt, eyes closed and shoulders shaking. It really isn’t hard for Kazunari to imagine a more precious sound.

You infect him. It feels good, to laugh with you. Despite everything, he feels the tension dissipating somehow. “Oh god, I’m so sorry I don’t mean-” he hears you try to explain yourself between laughs. “It’s just- ugh, we are so lame.” you finally express softly. You lean on him. “Like, having a crisis about this? at the same time?”

“At least we can use it for the art.”

“Kazu!”

You rise your head and he winks, letting you know he’s joking. You take his hand, and he squeezes it. The act comes naturally. After a while you speak, although your voice breaks a bit.

“I just- I adore you so much Kazu. And the thought of falling in love with you is great, but at the same time is it really okay for us to roll with it?”

Kazunari squeezes your hand again and leans in to kiss you on the forehead. As he imagined, your eyes are glassy. "You know?" he informs you as he lets go of your hand and hugs you tightly. "Out of aaall the people I’ve known so far in my life, you are totes at the very top. Hey, I’m serious over here!” he insists when he moves away and sees you smiling skeptic. “For realsies, your name is next to like- a bazillion of red hearts! A place reserved for the mega-talented, mega-loving Y/N As long as I’m at least high in your top too.”

“Wha- did you hear a word I just said? Of course you are!”

Kazunari smiles. “Then I think that’s good enough for us right now, don’tcha?”

You sniff and reach out to kiss his cheek this time. "Let’s continue to go out on Thursday nights," you murmur, using your wrist to remove the tears that had accumulated. "Every Thursday night unless you have a performance, in which case I will definitely go see you and then we’ll go out afterward. I don't want to hear any excuses." You let your voice turn mock-stern.

“Hai, hai captain~”

As you get up, the summer member grabs your wrist again. You look down confused, finding a gleaming pair of green eyes, showing his phone.  

“Wanna take a selfie?”

The lights from the streetlights reflect on the back of his blond hair, and you suddenly feel weak on your knees with the most overwhelming relief. You love this person so much. “Sure. It does has been more than a day since we have.” You laugh, and do your usual pose, which is resting your arms around him in an embrace as you both decide what type of filter does match better for the day.

It doesn’t matter if it takes a while to put a name on what you two have. At the moment, Kazunari simply wants to go and spend some good quality time with you.

Which is fortunate -because you feel just the same.

_________________________________________________________

This was difficult but sooo worth it and interesting to write! Thank you for your request.

Wishing you all a wonderful day! 💕

[hummingbird-of-light]

Against All Odds

Part 559

McCoy

McCoy sat with Christine at a table in the library after lunch. The afternoon before had been perfect. A walk to the lake in the crisp winter air, Scotty warm at his side, life had felt nearly normal again. Of course guards had followed at a respectful distance, but it really felt like the start of gaining back their lives.

But that had been yesterday, and with only a few short weeks left of classes before break, it was time to really buckle down and study.

“You’ve improved a lot,” Christine said, looking over McCoy’s biochem homework.

“Dr. Boyce was a big help in explaining it,” McCoy said quietly. “I know the teachers here are good, but he just—”

“He gets you,” Christine filled in.

“Yeah,” McCoy agreed. “He was my teacher for years, I suppose he knows how I learn things by this point.” He smiled.

“Did I ever tell you, my parents were a bit jealous I got to meet him at your home?”

“Really?” McCoy looked at Christine with interest.

“Yeah, his surgical papers are highly regarded.”

“Oh. That’s cool. Maybe someday I’ll understand them.”

“It’ll be sooner than you think if you keep working like this.” Christine tapped on McCoy’s PADD. He smiled again at the compliment.

They went back to working quietly again. Soon enough it would be time to head off to their afternoon classes. McCoy glanced over at another table where Scotty sat. Jaylah, Keenser and Chekov sat with him, heads altogether working on something engineering related.

In the pool for swim practice, McCoy’s mind wandered. How many afternoons had he spent in the pool at home with Scotty during the six weeks they had been there. He’d lost track, but Scotty’s swimming had gotten stronger. He glanced over at the bleachers as he turned his head for a breath as he swam laps.

He hoped the Scotts would come stay for the break. He would love to take Scotty north to the mountains. The Scotsman had seemed disappointed when McCoy had said the palace rarely received snow. Did Scotty think Georgiares’ snow was like it’s rain? McCoy pushed off the wall underwater as he turned. He’d take Scotty to see a Georgiares winterscape, but he hoped his fiancé wouldn’t be disappointed.

“Mr. McCoy? Are you going to join us?”

McCoy’s stroke faltered. Lost in thought he had turned again as he reached the other wall. Mr. Archer was looking down at him from the side.

“Sorry,” he said, as he turned back and joined the group at the wall. “My mind…” he waved a hand in the air to indicate his thoughts free floating.

“What were ye thinking about?” Scotty whispered, as they lay in bed after curfew.

“Thinking about?” McCoy asked.

“In the pool. When Archer called ye.”

McCoy frowned. “Oh,” he said as he remembered the afternoon. “Swimming always settles my thoughts. I was thinking about break. If Mother has asked your mom yet.”

“I think they’d let us know love.”

“Maybe. They might wait, or forget to tell us. Or tell Robbie to tell us when he comes.”

He heard Scotty sigh softly in the dark. They had spoken to Robbie and Leah the night before. They had seemed happy, all things considered. But McCoy knew Scotty was still worried about Robbie.

“I was thinking about places I want to show you too. The mountains and all that. Places we didn’t get to see last summer.” McCoy yawned. Scotty was warm against him.

“We’ll see them yet love,” Scotty said. McCoy could hear his fiance’s smile.

“You have holidays over break? On Earth?”

“Aye,” Scotty agreed.

“Us too, but they probably aren’t the same.” Another yawn split McCoy’s head and he felt the vibration through Scotty’s chest as he chuckled at him.

“Go to sleep mo ghràdh,” Scotty said. “I’ll teach you about earth holidays later.”

“Ok,” McCoy said through a yawn. His eyes were already closed. “I’ll teach you Georgiares’…” He felt a brush of lips against his forehead.

“Love ye Len.”

“Love… you…”

Part 560

Scotty

The next few days passed them by quite quickly. They studied for the upcoming exams, spent time with their friends, went to see Dr. Hudson on Friday.

It was more to cope now after Robbie’s kidnapping, but the psychologist knew just how to catch the two boys. And she would be ready to help Robbie, too.

Scotty was waiting anxiously at the gates of school after the afternoon classes were finished. His wee brother would return to school so that he had the weekend to settle back in, before the next week of school would start.

“Ye think he’s really ready to return?” Scotty glanced at Leonard who was standing next to him.

The prince smiled softly at him and grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently.

“Of course. And we will make sure that he’ll be fine,” Leonard reassured him.

Just when Scotty was about to answer, a car pulled into the driveway. Both boys turned their heads and almost instantly a smile crossed Scotty’s face.

“Robbie!”

The car stopped and several people got out.

Sarek, some guards, Robbie and Leah… and two very surprising guests.

“Mum? Granddad?” Scotty asked when he saw the two of them. He quickly let go of Robbie and ran over to the rest of his family, hugging them as well. He couldn’t believe it!

“Hello Monty,” his mother chuckled, running a hand through his hair.

“What are ye doing here?” Scotty looked from one to another.

“We wanted to make sure that our wee lad gets here safely,” Granddad answered.

Robbie groaned.

“I’m not a wee lad anymore!”

Francine just chuckled as she ruffled her youngest son’s hair.

“Yes, ye are.”

Robbie quickly stepped over to Leah, trying to avoid his mum’s affection.

“Come on, love, you know that they don’t mean it like that,” the princess said, pressing a kiss onto her boyfriend’s cheek.

Greetings and hugs were exchanged and the boys found out that Francine, Alasdair and Leah would stay until dinner.

Scotty was over the moon. Never before had parents been at school if not for bigger events.

Mr. Pike joined them quickly and welcomed Robbie back. He then chose to have tea with the adult guests, allowing for the younger ones to have some private time.

“Come on! We meet with the others!” Scotty said, already grabbing his brother’s sleeve, but Robbie stayed where he was.

“Uhm, I… wanted to show Leah the lake. But… ye can join us if ye want to.”

Scotty blinked in surprise. But slowly a smile formed on his lips. He knew why Robbie wanted to show Leah the place. It was special, after all.

“Oh, uhm, no. No, it’s fine. Ye better head off without us.”

Scotty looked at Leonard who nodded in agreement.

“Sure. Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do,” the prince just said and Leah grinned as she grabbed Robbie’s hand.

“Well… that leaves a generous margin,” she said with a wink and Scotty and Leonard watched them leave with some guards.

“I… suppose Robbie’s better.”

“Aye. Aye, ye’re right.”

[missluckycharms]

can you do a imagine where y/n plays volleyball and she gets hurt and h take care of her?

A/N: hiii! I hope you like this! I also had to look up some details about volleyball as it’s not really that commonly played here in Ireland, if I say something wrong pls ignore it I tried my best. The vaccine is kicking my ass rn, I got my second dose so if this sucks and there’s mistakes pls ignore that also 😭 Enjoy !!

This is college!Harry and Y/N I hope you don’t mind !!

Warnings: talks of smut, strong language and Harry being a sarcastic loveable asshole.

Today was not Y/N day.

First of all, she woke up late, giving her only twenty minutes to get ready and make her way to college, which is usually a thirty minute drive without traffic. She was like a lightening bolt running through her apartment, falling over Harry’s shoes that were just abandoned around her room and trying to find any clean clothes as Harry came over last night and as usual, he distracted her from doing what she needed to do, which was her laundry.

He was asleep while she did all this, her small huffs and puffs picking up his shoes and throwing them into the corner didn’t even cause the lazy log in the bed to move once, his body tucked up under the covers as his face smushed against her purple sheets as he let out small snores, she looked at him and silently wished that was her. She was lucky she packed her gym bag last night before he arrived over, all of her clothes, her ankle braces, her knee pads and her favourite trainers she wears for games all packed into her bag and all she needed to do was pick it up and throw it into the trunk of her car along with her book bag.

She kissed Harry’s forehead and again, he did not even move, he may of given out a slight hum for a grumbled word but Y/N didn’t have time to contemplate what he said, she was rushing out the door wearing clothes that were probably Harry’s as the joggers were nearly falling off her as she ran. She didn’t care though, she needed to be in her first lecture or her grades would go down. She made it to campus with only thirty seconds to spare, she doesn’t know how she wasn’t pulled over for driving faster than the speed limit when she saw the campus come into view. Her body ran through the halls, dodging anyone in her way as she dragged herself to the lecture hall where her professor was probably already starting lesson, his usual morning introduction as everyone set up their laptops or notepads for the hour lecture ahead.

She got a disapproving look from her professor when she slide into a row, flopping down onto the seat and apologising as she rummaged through her bag looking for her laptop. Her professor was already going over what they would be covering today when she realised she doesn’t have her laptop. Then she remembered where it is, it’s in her apartment in the bathroom.

Harry insisted they had a bath last night to relax her after she took some exams in college that day, the pair were soaked under the bubble filled hot water with her laptop propped up on the sink playing a show on Netflix as they relaxed and spoke about their day. She grabbed her notebook and pen and immediately began to scribble down the notes she would have to transfer onto her laptop tonight, if Harry doesn’t distract her again. She knows he might not, he has classes of his own today, his starting later than hers and his classes only being on four days a week instead of five like Y/N, yesterday was his day off, hence why he was being a needy little shit and clinging to Y/N like his lifeline until they fell asleep.

The day dragged out for Y/N, her usual one hour classes feeling like four hours, her notes taking for ages to write up as she tried to keep up with what was being displayed on the board, her lunchtime consisting of her bumming off her friend for a few dollars to get something to eat as she left her purse at home, her friend didn’t mind but she felt awful for asking. When the day finally ended she was relieved, all she wanted to do was get into the gymnasium and play some volleyball with her team to get all the anger she felt today, she was not having a good day and the only things that can help her with that is Harry or volleyball, and because she had training today over their at home game being played next week, she was relieved she could get some stress reliving in before going back to her place where she knows Harry will be — he hates his own apartment as he shares, Y/N only having a one bedroom one that she snagged and Harry being left with a flat thats shared between four people, there’s no privacy there, none.

“You’ve been tense all day, is everything okay?” Abbie, Y/N best friend asks as they begin their warm ups, the two sat on the floor side by side as the stretch their legs and arms getting warmed up for practice.

“Today wasn’t my day, woke up late, forgot my laptop and purse and now I have to go home and type up nearly fifty pages of notes onto my laptop — Who’s idea was it for me to study Biochemistry?” She laughs out, stretching her arms behind her head as Abbie follows suit, the pair watching as the coach shows them what to do, the pair sat at the back to avoid being yelled at for talking.

“I think that was your idea, I certainly didn’t force you to do that. If it helps, environmental studies isn’t easier, I swear I’m constantly writing up lab reports and giving presentations each week” Abbie rolls her eyes, the pair now doing lunges as they continue to chat.

“Shit! I have a presentation next week, I totally forgot” Y/N groans, squeezing her eyes in frustration as she hasn’t even started yet, her mind immediately going to how she has to type up the whole presentation while probably having Harry hang out of her. Harry is studying sports science, in hopes to one day set up his own personal training business. They usually have study sessions together as Harry has just as much work as Y/N, but Harry isn’t as much as a perfectionist as Y/N, he’ll slap together a presentation and call it a night while she has to make it look pretty and aesthetically pleasing.

After a fifteen minute warm up, the girls are already playing a mini match for practice, six players per team, Y/N being up nearest to the net with three other girls. She’s been named as one of the teams best scorers, her jumps are high and her force hitting the ball is something that scares opposing teams when they play competitions. She’s been on the college team for nearly two years now, her whole college course is five years long — she’s aiming for a bachelors degree in Biochemistry, she’s so happy she has something else to do while in here, she knows she would of went crazy if she didn’t have something to calm her down.

They play three games, Y/N’s team wining the first game and the teams tying on the last game due to the positions being switched and she was put to the back to give other players the chance to spike the ball up. She’s back up front on the third game, her body now rested from the small water break they were given in between the games, her body full of adrenaline and ready to play. The game is playing out as usual, Y/N jumping and spiking the ball up and over the net with the help of her team mates, the other team just as good as them as they all battle it out on the court. In the last two minutes is when it all goes downhill, Y/N jumps up to spike the ball, when she lands, she wobbles and falls over, her ankle rolling as she cries out in pain on the court, the coach blowing the whistle to stop the game as everyone rushes around her.

She tries to stand up, she falls back down again, Abbie and another girl holding her up as she shuts her eyes in pain. The coach takes off her ankle brace and sock with her permission, she’s now sitting on the bench as her ankle is iced and checked over by the coach, Abbie helping Y/N by refilling her water bottle when needed, her ankle now propped up on a chair with ice on it as the rest of the team begins their warm downs.

“It’s definitely sprained” Abbie says looking under the ice at her ankle, Y/N wincing when Abbie presses down lightly, jumping when she lets out a small cry.

“Yep, definitely sprained” she says putting the ice back on and sitting down next to her friend as they both laugh a little, the pain easing off with the ice as Abbie distracts her with stories and jokes.

“Y/N, do you have anyone to take you home?” The coach asks, allowing the rest to leave as Abbie stays seated with Y/N.

“I’ll call my boyfriend, thank you for your help” she says as the coach pats her on the back, telling her she can take all the time she needs off while also still being allowed to attend the games to support. She’s devastated about it, but at least she can support her team from the sidelines.

“What happened?” Harry asks running out of his car, the door slamming as Abbie wheels Y/N out in wheelchair given to them by the coach from the injury room.

“Fucked my ankle, doesn’t surprise me honestly, today wasn’t a good day” she sighs s Harry laughs a little, helping her out of the wheelchair and guiding her towards his car that’s parked only three steps away.

“You’re okay now, let’s get you home and rested, yeah?” He says laying her down on the back seat, picking her leg up and resting it on the seat as she winches in pain a little as she adjusts herself on the seat.

“Thanks for all your help, I’ll have Niall come and pick her car up later” Harry says to Abbie, closing the back door and smiling at the girl who’s waving in at her best friend who’s mortified in the back of the car, laughing masking the pain she’s feeling.

“If you both need anything give me a call” she says as Harry nods waving her off as he sits into the car, turning around to look at his girlfriend who’s looking back at him holding in her laugh.

“Only you” he shakes his head laughing as Y/N lets out a loud cackle, knowing he’s right, only her would end up fucking up her ankle even with a brace on it, it’s defiantly a Y/N thing to do.

The car ride home is filled with laughing and a few sing songs as Harry tries to distract her from the pain. He helps her into her apartment by carrying her bridal style up the flight of stairs and placing her down onto the sofa, propping her leg up on the coffee table, raising her ankle up on a pillow as he races to the freezer to find something to put on the injury.

“Okay, all you’ve got is frozen peas” he says placing the green packet down onto her ankle, the picture of peas hilarious as it rests on her skin, the swelling gone down since the gymnasium which is good, as Harry says.

“I’ll run to the store to get you some bandages soon, right now, you need some tea, the sugar will help with the shock you got” he says immediately snapping into Mum mode with her, Y/N smiling at Harry in the kitchen behind her, her head turning and resting on the back of the sofa as she watches him saunter around her kitchen.

“Do you have any homework you need completing? I got all mine done in library period we had today, I’m free to do yours if you have any” he says fiddling with the kettle and switching it on, placing a tea bag into her favourite purple polka dot mug.

“I have to transfer handwritten notes onto my laptop, I can do that” she says as Harry turns around, waiting for the kettle to boil as he looks at her.

“Nope, I’m doing that for you, you need rest! I’m here to help you, I’ll be your nurse” he says turning back around to pour the boiling water into the mug.

“I’m fine Harry, it’s just a small sprain” she fights back, Harry shaking his head as he walks in with her mug filled with warm tea, passing it to her as he sits next to her wrapping his arm around the back of the sofa.

“I’m not leaving you here alone, if you fall what will you do? Get up and walk?” He says sarcastically as she rolls her eyes laughing, resting her head back on his arm as they begin watching the TV before them.

“Also, I expect the same in return if I ever get hurt” he jokes as she slaps his arm playfully, laughing loudly as Harry wiggles his eyebrows at her.

“You’re on top for the next few weeks Styles” she says sipping on her tea as Harry laughs, reaching over to kiss her check.

“I’m always on top, darling” he whispers to her as she pulls back looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Babe, please can you be on top? I had a leg cramp this morning and it might come back” she says lowly, imitating Harry and his deep British accent as he looks at her rolling his eyes.

“I don’t sound like that” he says taking her mug from her and sipping a little from her tea as she takes it back off him with a loud groan at what he just did — he always does it to annoy her, or he’ll dip some biscuits into her tea when she’s not looking.

“Oh yeah, must be what my other boyfriend sounds like” she says riling him up, his head turning to her as she looks at the TV screen laughing behind the rim of her mug.

“You’re lucky you’re injured m’love, if you weren’t you would be over my shoulder and thrown down onto your bed and I’d show you who’s your boyfriend, or daddy as you like” he says wiggling his eyebrows as she groans into her tea.

“It was one time! I said it by accident!” She shouts, turning bright red as Harry laughs loudly, kissing her cheek as she pouts looking down at her mug.

“You know I liked it, it’s okay baby” he says resting her head on his shoulder as she cuddles into him, her empty mug on her lap as she pulls the blanket down from the back of the sofa, placing her empty mug on the floor and throwing the blanket over them both.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you” she says feeling sleepy, her day catching up on her as Harry helps her nurse her injury, his hands fixing the frozen peas on her ankle if they move a little.

“You’d probably break your neck or something” Harry says as she groans looking up at him, his dimples popping out as he laughs at his own joke.

“I’m being nice!” She says as he bends down to peck her lips, their smiles against one another lips as they pull away looking at one another.

“I know m’baby, I don’t know what you’d do without me either!” He says sighing in contentment as she rolls her eyes squishing her face into his chest.

“Harry!”

[thefanficmonster]

Casual

Ranboo x Reader (Female)

Warnings: None, unless talking about the future counts

Genre: FLUFF, Humor, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: Following the arrival of the dreadful invitation to his cousin’s wedding Ranboo turns to the only cover-up he can think of to keep his still-single status hidden from his family.

Requested by Anon. Hi darling! Thank you so much for your wonderful request! I’m so glad you sent your idea to me and I’m so glad you were my first official Ranboo request. I’m really sorry it’s taken me so long to write it but I still hope you’ll come across it and read it! Love, Vy ❤

“Heyyy, so Y/N, I have a favor to ask you...um yeah, call me back, it’s awkward sending it via voicemail. Bye“

Huh - that’s the first thought that goes through my head when I listen to the voicemail left after a missed call from my best friend Ranboo. The favors he usually asks for consist of requesting assistance for his videos in which I also appear with a mask and sunglasses to keep the brand running. I genuinely have nothing against my face being shown but when I think about it, I’m honestly a bit glad people can’t identify me.

Anyways, back to the favors, Ranboo is no stranger to asking me for them but they’ve never been considered too awkward for a voicemail which is why I’m no slightly concerned. I’ve been swamped with work for school and studies for the graduation finals for the past two weeks and it seems like I’ll never get on top of it and I know Ranboo’s been in a similar situation too, so maybe he needs help with that? He’s not used to asking help for school stuff, he sometimes even has a hard time accepting it when I openly offer it to him.

I eventually sigh, decide that playing this guessing game will not get me anywhere and settle on giving him a call as I make my way home from the gym with my legs barely putting up with the task of carrying me around.

He picks up on the second ring.

“Hey! Wh-...“

“Would you pretend to be my girlfriend for my cousin’s wedding next weekend?!“

My legs take that opportunity to stop moving in the middle of the sidewalk which is luckily void of any people at the moment. It’s not my fault my body’s first reaction was to freeze up at the question that came flying at me like an out-of-control jet, almost as though he’s been dying to say it and get it over with.

“Um...run that by me again please, I think I misunderstood.“ I say, blinking blankly as though awoken from a fever dream. No, actually as though I’m IN a fever dream right now.

“Ok, now that the cat’s out of the bag, wanna grab some coffee and talk about it face-to-face. I need to see your facial expressions to gauge what response to expect.“ He says, the previous nervousness gone and his voice calm as regularly once again.

I’m this close to face-palming but I squeeze my eyes tightly shut and bring myself to utter a reply, “Our usual spot. Be there in ten minutes.”

                                                             *  *  *

“No freaking way.“ I shake my head, folding my arms over my chest as I lean back in my seat in the booth we picked when we arrived. Good thing I got an iced coffee cause even a hot one would’ve gone cold by now considering I haven’t yet taken the time to have even a sip of it. I’ve been too busy listening to the long and short of the explanation and begging speech Ranboo probably made last night to try and convince me to agree to this nonsense. “Dude, we’ve been friends since middle school-...“

“Exactly! Who else was I gonna ask?“ He cuts me off, pleading gaze meeting my unimpressed one.

I huff before continuing my previous statement, “We’ve been friends since middle school so you know my opinion on weddings.” I put extra emphasis on the word ‘opinion’, giving him the clear hint at the distaste I’ve expressed on the topic multiple times before.

“And you know we’re on the same page there but there’s no way I can avoid going unless someone kidnaps me.“ He too now gets in the same stance as me, his coffee forgotten too.

I can’t help but snort out a little laugh, “I’d be more than happy to kidnap you considering the other option is far less appealing to me.“

He, of course, rolls his eyes at me as though he didn’t offer to do the same thing so I could avoid an exam but anyways. “So you’re gonna choose to fake a kidnapping that has the potential of landing you in jail over coming to eat some great food and maybe even have some fun at a wedding with your best friend? I’m hurt.“ He says, frowning to cover up the smile that’s fighting its way onto his face.

Now it’s my turn to roll my eyes, “I’d be kidnapping you, dummy...” I cut myself off to let out a long sigh and calm down before I go off at him. His smirk isn’t helping me much with the task either. I’ve known Ranboo long enough to know he’ll eventually convince me and he’s known me long enough to know how to do that exactly. With that in mind, there’s really no point in getting so worked up and wasting my energy. And so, despite my own rationality, I cave. “Fine, but I’m not staying the whole wedding.“

His eyes immediately light up and almost makes me feel the compromise was worth it. Almost. I mean, when you’ve been best friends with someone for so long, seeing them happy is worth more to you than your own comfort sometimes.

And he knows it too. Which is exactly why he outstretches his hand for me to shake and says: “Just one dance and you’re free to go. Deal?”

I take his hand without hesitations. That’s a better offer than I could’ve ever imagined. “Damn straight it’s a deal.“

                                                            *  *  *

“How long until you kick the heels off?“ Ranboo asks, bringing me a non-alcoholic cocktail and sitting down next to me.

I take a sip and giggle, “You kidding? I already kicked them off and replaced them with flats. I need mobility if we dance. They also lower the risk of me severing off a toe of yours if I step on you on accident.”

He laughs, clinking his glass against mine before he gets a bit more serious, “By the way, thanks for handling my family’s attack so well. I know it might’ve been a bit much but you handled it like a pro. Still, I’m sorry on their behalf.”

I shake my head and wave my hand dismissively, “Don’t mention it. I’d probably react the same way if my brother or cousin brought a date to an important family event like this.” I instinctively turn to look in the direction of where the majority of his family has gathered around, chatting with guests, smiling brightly. It’s hard not to immediately take a liking towards these people. They’ve been a second family to me ever since Ranboo and I started hanging out so I completely understand why they were so shocked to see me in the role of his ‘girlfriend’.

“I’ll tell my parents the truth later, our extended family is the ones I wanted to fool to be perfectly honest.“ He looks around as do I and we catch more than a few pairs of eyes fixated on us that turn away when they realize they’ve been spotted, “Mission accomplished by the looks of it.“

I chuckle. I’ve never felt so comfortable at a wedding before. I don’t feel stressed nor anxious despite knowing that there’s quite the number of eyes on me and there are whispers going around about my ‘relationship’ with Ranboo. It’s oddly calming and relaxing to be surrounded by some familiar and some unfamiliar faces. This cocktail is pretty great too.

Speaking of which, if it had any alcohol in it I’d blame it for the decision I’m about to make but this one’s entirely on me: I tap Ranboo with one hand while taking out my phone with the other. “If we’re already the talk of the wedding, let’s give them something to talk about.“ I say as I put up my phone, pretending to be taking a selfie leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek.

When I pull away I can clearly see that he’s still processing what just happened. I can’t help but burst out in a fit of laughter as I reach out to wipe the lipstick stain I left on his cheek. He looks like a lost, clueless puppy with the question: ‘what on Earth just happened???’ replaying in his head and it’s so freaking cute!

Wait....what was that? Since when do I use the adjective cute to describe Ranboo? Didn’t I think he looks handsome in a suit earlier too? The hell is with me today?

Then it hits me - the feeling isn’t foreign. Like, I know I’ve felt it before but I never analyzed it or even bothered to acknowledge it. But now that I do, I’m afraid of what it might be.

“There!“ I say, desperately trying to push the thoughts away along with this little firework show in my stomach, “Now you have pinker cheeks. Well, cheek, singular.“

As if snapping out of his state of confusion, he returns to Earth with a smirk, “Kiss the other to even it?”

Alright, his blush might not be even but mine now is and it’s ten times as intense and very much apparent but I don’t let the feeling shine through anything else as I proceed to actually kiss his other cheek too, wiping the lipstick stain.

“Thanks. You’re the best.” And just like that, as though it’s no big deal, he kisses my forehead.

See, that’s the thing, it shouldn’t be a big deal! It’s never been! This is far from the first time I’ve kissed him on the cheek or the first time he’s given me a forehead kiss. These are regular occurrences after years of this lovely friendship we have. Why do they feel so different now?

Then, much to my relief, the music starts and the lights turn off leaving only one spotlight for the groom and bride to have their first dance. They look absolutely astonishing and I can certainly say I’ve never before stopped to think that about any newly weds of the weddings I’ve preciously been to. I don’t know if it has something to do with the company I have for this particular wedding or it’s maybe the fact that my mindset’s changed over the years without me realizing.

Then I automatically look at Ranboo who just so happens to be looking at me too and all I can say is: my mindset hasn’t changed.

A loud applause takes over when the couple finish their dance, officially opening the dancefloor for any other pairs who’d like to occupy it and I’m happy to see how many people are eager to rush up with their partner.

 Ranboo gets up, putting the glass down and offers me his hand, “So, wanna dance? Don’t take this as a sign to leave though, we said one dance and you CAN leave, not SHOULD.” He says, giving me a warning look.

I roll my eyes and am about to give him some sass right back but he takes my hand and picks me up from my seat, leading me to the dancefloor.  And I gotta admit maybe it’s a good thing he did. If he left it to me I would’ve probably said no to the dance and ran the hell away. Why? - Cause I’m freaking terrified of this new mindset and point of view and these intense emotions I never used to pay any mind to before in regards to my best friend.

Friends don’t feel that way about friends. Friends don’t look at friends that way. What’s happening to me?

When I gotta look him in the eyes like this, not for the first time might I add, I can finally understand how the friends-to-lovers trope works: it’s all meaningless until it starts to mean so much to you. It’s all platonic until it reminds you of a romantic movie moment. It ‘best friends’ until it’s ‘I wish we were more than that’. It’s all casual, until it’s not.

And, unfortunately, it’s irreversible.

Damn do I wish I ran away now...

[miekasa]

daylight’s wasting (you better kiss me)

↯ pairing: eren jaeger x reader

↯ genre and warnings: college au, fluff, someone please be gentle with this boy i’m begging you, jean and eren pretending they don’t give a fuck about each other whilst actually being best bros for the win

↯ word count: 2k

↯ summary: based off of that reddit post about some guy talking about his girlfriend washing his hair for the first time + hoping it fills a request for someone asking for reader playing with eren’s hair for the first time :’)

↯ notes: this is cross-posted and edited slightly from another blog in a completely separate fandom, so if you’ve seen it before, no you didn’t </2

Jean can’t say that he immediately noticed a pep in Eren’s step when the green-eyed boy met him in the library, but what he does notice is the stupid, dopey looking grin and starry-eyed gaze in his eyes that he’s sporting while he’s not doing his part for their project. And while Jean considers himself relatively attractive, he knows for sure Eren isn’t shy about making it known that he doesn’t; so the brunette doubts the literal heart eyes Eren has are for him.

“Eren? Eren, bro, are you good?” Jean calls, a dark eyebrow raised above his left eye. Eren barely registers the calls of his name, and it takes Jean waving his hands in front of the shorter’s face for him to wake from his trance, looking up at Jean with that same, longing smile (that’s, admittedly, starting to creep him the fuck out).

“Yeah,” Eren sighs, something reminiscent of a lovelorn cartoon prince, as he rests his elbow atop his notebook and his chin the palm of his hand, “I’m good.”

Jean looks at him, skeptical and confused. He shifts in his seat, but Eren’s eyes don’t follow—he just stares ahead, lost in thought and completely unaware of everything around him. He looks like a lovesick little bitch if you ask Jean. Or completely sloshed.

Slowly, Jean leads forward, eyebrows pinched, looking for streaks of red in Eren’s eyes, “Are you stoned right now?”

“What?” Eren pulls back, almost offended, “No, I’m not high—Jean, what the fuck?”

Jean simply shrugs, leaning back into his seat, “I dunno. Yesterday you were so stressed about your acrobatic salt cycle samples—”

“—Acetylsalicylic acid. It’s basically Asprin, and I wasn’t stressed, they just weren’t crystallizing the they way they’re supposed to—”

“I don’t fucking care. But now you look mellow as hell,” Jean cuts him off, “Just thought maybe you rolled a good one before coming here or something. Not that I’m judging, of course. But you’re much more of a lightweight than you think, so try not to go—”

“‘M not a fucking lightweight,” Eren groans, “You and Reiner are just heavy bodied.”

“Just admit you can’t hold your shit, Jaeger.”

“I’m not admitting shit. Mikasa makes strong drinks, that’s all.”

Jean grits his teeth at Eren’s stubborn antics, but lets it go. It’s not like the conversation was going anywhere, anyways. “If you’re not baked, then what’s got your head in the clouds?”

Eren shifts in his seat now, pulling his hand off the table, and into his lap. Jean’s suspicious eyebrow is quirked again, and that slightly creeped-out feeling is back when he spots Eren’s ears going red.

Jesus Christ, he just asked a simple question.

“Not that I care,” Jean tacks on, feigning disinterest, “But if it’s gonna keep you from doing your half of the project, just spill it already so we can get this shit over with.”

Eren rolls his eyes, but that blush is still there. He looks like he contemplates waving it off for a minute, before he sighs. “(Y/N) and I showered together yesterday,” he finally blurts.

Jean blinks. “Oh. So you got laid—”

“—No, no, it wasn’t like that!” Eren corrects him, the red on his ears spreading to his cheeks slowly, with every word that spills out of his mouth. Eren stutters, a hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck, “She just… She washed my hair.”

Eren sighs, flustered and frustrated, and annoyed that he looks like this in front of Jean’s horse-faced ass of all people; but he knows, that no matter how much shit Jean talks, he can rely on him. For better or (often times) for worse.

And Jean, for as hotheaded as he can get, and for as much as Eren annoys the shit of out him, knows how to read a room; and in this moment, he can see that Eren is actually coming to him with genuine emotions, other than masked anger and abrasiveness. So, the both of them concede; pull back from their usual pointed commentary, and listen to what the other has to say. 

“Ah,” Jean comments, lamely; an embarrassed blush of his own growing on his face at his stupidity. The two sit in silence for a moment, before Jean speaks up again, “It’s, uh… It’s nice, right?”

Eren’s eyes snap to him, wide. He almost completely forgot that Jean’s in a committed relationship, too. The two don’t often go to each other for relationship advice, or… relationship venting, but Eren makes a mental note that maybe, just maybe, he should.  

“Yeah,” Eren admits, “I don’t, uh, I don’t know how to explain it. It was just—”

“Relaxing?”

“Yeah. Like all the bullshit from school just melted away all of a sudden,” Eren confesses, “All she fucking did was wash my hair and hum for, like, five minutes, but I feel like… I don’t know. Good.”

Jean hums, acknowledging Eren’s words and mulling them over. “Loved,” he chimes in with an awkward cough, “Pretty sure that’s the word you’re looking for, Jaeger.”

Eren chokes on air, his eyes darting around the room. So, yeah, it’s still a little awkward, talking with Jean of all people about his relationship, and love, and all that gushy stuff; but, even Eren can admit, it’s comforting to know that someone knows what he’s feeling—even if that someone is Jean.

“You should tell her. Girls like that shit, when you tell em what you’re thinking, you know?” Jean comments, picking up his pen to resume scribbling in his notebook. He sounds nonchalant, but from the redness on his face, Eren can tell he’s just as flustered, and probably thinking about his own girlfriend. “Besides, you’ve been together for a long ass time now. Don’t know what you’re waiting for at this point.”

“Yeah,” Eren coughs, pretending to resume his own homework, “Yeah, I think I will.”

“Good,” Jean nods, “Now will you fucking paste your paragraph in the Google Doc so I can rewrite it and make it coherent.”

“Fuck you, it’s coherent as is.”

“As if. I’ve read your shit before, and it sounds like it was written by six year old on meth. You science majors can’t write to save your life.”

“Tough talk from someone who can’t do basic addition.”

“Derivatives and shit aren’t basic addition, they were created by a man who died a virgin. Tells me everything I need to know about them and you.”

Three days later, Eren finds himself alone in your off-campus apartment, laying on your bed, stomach to the mattress, while he tries to convince himself to study for his upcoming biology exam. He finds looking around your room to be much more interesting, though, and takes the time to notice things he hadn’t before.

There’s a small strip of images of the two of your in a clear mason jar on your nightstand—the newest addition to your collection—from the photo booth at the ice-skating rink you went to last week. Eren doesn’t know why you insist on going to every photo booth you come across, but who is he to deny you the pictures.

When he looks to your closet, he isn’t surprised to see two of his hoodies, one of his warm-up soccer uniforms, and last season’s hockey jersey hanging up. What does surprise him, is the way they’re all hung up next to each other, like they have their own little section amongst your clothing; like they were reserved, special almost. He bets they’re all probably washed and clean, too; because you take care of his things like that.

He thinks about how he has a few pairs of sweatpants and pajamas—hell, even a pair of slacks and a button-down from one of your fancier dates—all tucked away in his very own drawer in your dresser. The bucket hats thats you claim are oh-so ugly still have their own place in your room, hanging next to your belts. Even his psychology textbook sits on your desk, clearly set aside for him and taken care of, but still integrated amongst your other belongings. 

You seem to be the only person who thinks Eren and all his baggage can have a place in your life. You seem to always have space for things to fit in, no matter how stupid, or ugly, or tattered they are; no matter how emotional, or lost, or impulsive he is. Nothing is out of place here, himself included. 

Lost in his thoughts, Eren doesn’t register the sound of your front door opening, or your footsteps growing louder. In fact, he doesn’t register that you’re home at all, until you come padding into your bedroom, shaking your backpack off of your shoulders and setting it next to his on the ground.

“Hey, baby,” you greet him, almost offhandedly, as you place your coffee down on your desk. He doesn’t mind—actually the element of practiced casualness in your tone brings a kind of warmth to him, and makes his stomach flutter. 

“Hey,” he smiles, a stupidly fond look in his eye as his watched you shimmy your jacket off of your shoulders. 

Eren sits himself upwards, shifting so that his long legs dangle off the edge of your bed as he watching your silhouette move throughout your bedroom. When you’re finished removing all your layers and jewelry, you finally look to him, greeting him a second time as you walk towards him and your bed.

Eren cages you in when you reach him, his ankles wrapped on top of each other as he secures you standing between his legs. He wraps his arms loosely around your waist, while your fingers crawl up the nape of his neck.

“Your hair’s dry,” you hum, your fingers raking through his brown locks as if to make your point, “You didn’t shower yet?”

Eren shakes his head lightly, craning his neck forwards to tuck the cold tip of his nose into your collar. He holds you a little tighter when you smooth his hair down, one of your hands resting against the back of his neck, and lightly scraping at the hairs near his nape.

“How come?” you question innocently, “I thought your classes ended a few hours ago—did your lab go late again? You should tell your TA you have a life outside of trying to culture bacteria in a dish, you know.”

Eren chuckles lightly, but feels the concern in your voice tug heavily at his heart strings. You seem to really hate his lab TA.

“Wasn’t him this time,” Eren mumbles against your skin, “Was waiting for you.”

“Yeah? That gonna be a regular thing, now?”

“Wouldn’t mind,” Eren confesses, words barely audible as he buries his face into your neck. He tries tickle you with his eyelashes, shift the heat towards you, but you move out of reach too quickly; your hands on his shoulders, forcing him to sit upright.

He has to look up you, just slightly, and he hopes he doesn’t look like a complete blushing idiot. If he does, you don’t seem to mind, if the way you cup his face between your hands is any indication.

“Well then, come on. I bought two new loofahs yesterday.”

Eren follows you to the bathroom with a smile, borderline giggling with excitement all the way to the shower. When it comes down to it, he relishes in the feeling of your fingertips against his scalp, suds of shampoo cascading down his neck as you find amusement in coiling his hair into a bubbly mohawk.

It’s so mundane, so simple, yet overwhelmingly intimate the way you’re taking care of him—the way you always take care of him. It fills Eren to the brim with emotions he can’t even begin to convey with words.

And when you’ve had you’re fun, and made sure his hair is throughly clean and smells like apples, you take your body wash on the ball of his (his! his very own!) loofah, and scrub away at his back, down his shoulders, across his torso; and Eren can’t stop the tears from falling.

He realizes his must look bizzare, to be standing the middle of your shower, crying like a baby with soap and suds all over his body, but he can’t help himself.

“Eren? Baby, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing,” he assures you, hiccuping between his words and sniffling away any more tears that threaten to fall. You don’t seem convinced, and once again, Eren feels his heart swell at just the sheer thought at you’d hold even an ounce of concern for him the way you do.

“You’re crying, Eren,” you point out, voice soft, but clearly concerned, as you reach your hands up to cup his face again, “Did I hurt you? What’s wr—”

Eren cuts you off by wrapping you in a hug, hoping—praying—you know that you could never hurt him. The two of you spend nearly five whole minutes like that, your arms wrapped around each other’s middles, with warm water pouring over your naked skin. Eren can feel you pressing shallow kisses into his chest, and he feels his heart physically swell every time your lips make contact with his skin.

It’s on the fifth, quiet press of your lips that Eren knows he can’t hold it in anymore; pulls away from your embrace to look you in your eyes.

“I love you,” he finally confesses, with wet hair stuck to his forehead, and teary eyes. It’s hardly a picture perfect moment, but Eren can’t bring himself to care; he needs you to know.

But, of course, you already did. “I know, Eren,” you say with a smile, kissing his chin, and then on the tips of your toes, his lips, “And I love you more.”