#and then once my math teacher when I talked about my brother taking up history and international relations course was like so he's not as

[merinelsa]

.

[haruhey]

Wish I Never Met You

check out my masterlist!

Word count: 4k

Fluff | Angst | Thank you @weretheones and @normanplusdaryl for betaing <3

You’re part of Daryl’s past, but you could also be his future.

or

A bad day leads the two of you to each other.

or

Whoever said it’s better to love and lose Never loved and lost you

Daryl barely made it through sophomore year.

In all honesty, he was impressed he even got to junior year. When Merle left at the tail end of spring, he - in all of his younger brother naïveté - thought he would come back before the semester ended, taking him from the dump they called a house and from that asshole they had the unfortunate pleasure of calling their old man.

But July came and went, then August, and by the time the new school year rolled around, Daryl stopped waiting for him - just shouldered his backpack and went to school because where the fuck else was he supposed to go?

He gave the whole school thing two weeks. It was enough time to mark off attendance - to lay low before he traded his backpack for his crossbow and started hunting for that weird butcher shop three blocks down to make some money - and he had intended on following it.

Intended, being the right word, because the plan went to shit the second Mr. American History started pairing people up for those dumb, mandatory, biweekly collaborative projects.

Intended, because it just had to be you he was paired with, didn't it? His stupid classroom crush he tried so hard to stop thinking about?

He remembers seeing you for the first time in some math class in sophomore year, and he’d, in his hormone-ruled, bored-out-of-his-mind teenage brain, spent the better half of the period just looking at you. He never worked up the courage to say anything about it to anyone, but you were the prettiest thing he’d seen in his 16 years on Earth, and he hated the way you made his hands all clammy.

Even years later, he looks back on the months he spent being your friend, and he still feels that crushingly familiar clench of his chest.

Maybe it wormed its way almost permanently into him those weeks he first sat next to you in American History. It was a compulory course and both you and he hated it. The teacher - Durand, but Daryl took to calling him Dickhead and Deranged just to see which would make you roll your eyes the hardest - was a notorious douchebag, round glasses over a nose that was entirely too big to stay on his face and three strands of gray hair that seemed to be holding onto his head by spite alone.

He never seemed to take Daryl seriously, even though Daryl knew more than double the amount of history you did. You could pick his brain for hours about the pirates and the Sumerians and the Cherokee and their legends, and he’d let you, despite the glare that marked over his face for anyone else.

In exchange, you let him pick your brain, too. Over the piece of apple pie the two of you would share on the rare occasion you’d both scraped together enough to figure it would be worth buying, he asked about your future. He tried picturing himself with you through it all despite knowing there was nothing for him outside of this shithole town, and he listened to you talk.

He could listen to you talk for hours.

You had big dreams, considering you came from the same place he did, but he had faith you could do it. He knew you could, and even looped his pinky with yours, your thumb pressed up against his while he promised to make it to graduation. He had to watch you toss your cap and flip the bird at 4 years of hell, didn’t he?

But then winter came, and with the Christmas break rounding the corner, Merle came back too, peeling into the dirt road in front of the Dixon dump and taking Daryl along with him. You remember coming back when the second semester started, the same room that had once been used for History now a Government class, and you had hoped to suffer through it together.

You made it through one school week until you’d started asking around.

Nobody got themselves involved with the Dixons - with their surly tempers and their permanent scowls, but you’d gotten into the habit of ignoring those words when you were with Daryl - so when no answers turned up, you weren’t really surprised.

You figured he must have finally gotten his out from his old man.

It was only at graduation that you’d found out what happened to him, overhearing one of the principals talking about how both of Will Dixon’s sons had run away from home and how he’d drunkenly bragged about finally beating sense into them, and, though you knew it was selfish, as the ceremony ticked on, you still hoped Daryl would come back in time to watch your cap toss.

He never did.

When he finally did come back to Georgia, it was a little over a full year later. The old lady that ran the diner the two of you hung around after school had told him that you got a scholarship offer in May - some bigshot school out west - and that you’d packed your bags and left in August.

You weren’t set to come back until the year ended in April, and he wasn’t planning on staying.

He wasn’t planning on making staying anywhere a habit, and, in the blink of an eye, twenty years passed.

A second blink and the world fell.

Everything changed so quickly that it truly did feel like an instant as minuscule as a blink - the dinosaurs had the meteor, and life before them had the ice age - and he couldn’t help but wonder if this was just a breath before a new age flooded in.

It seems like everything he thought about was about the future. Some of it he would have considered trivial before - when the next meal would come, when the next time he’s going to fill his canteen is and where the next source of freshwater is - but, in this blip of time, he hesitates to call it that.

Sometimes, when he went out on his bike or shouldered his crossbow and slipped his knives into his holsters, he thought about how Li’l Asskicker and Carl would grow up - how they would never really get to be kids in the same way Rick probably wanted them to be - and almost nothing he did felt trivial anymore.

It scared him, he guesses - how much he cared about those kids and how much everyone else did, too.

He wished someone cared about him like that when he was younger.

It was good, though, this pressure. Daryl was never really one to half-ass anything in the first place, but with the intake of Woodbury and the Council’s decision to start bringing people in, there was a new drive to care. It rippled through the prison, and he liked it, being a part of something bigger than himself.

He felt like someone new.

Someone that mattered - that did good - instead of being some asshole with a bigger asshole for a brother.

At least, he did until he saw you.

Two weeks after taking in the people of Woodbury - with one week spent out recruiting and another spent in the infirmary because they’d met some less than friendly people who definitely did not fit the recruitment criteria - he saw you from around the corner, an all too familiar face helping Carol with meal prep in the courtyard.

He didn’t eat lunch that day, and to say he avoided you was an understatement.

There was something about you that brought back feelings he would have rather left in the past. You reminded him of when he was a teenager, stuck in his shitty hometown with his piece of shit old man and no way out. But at the same time, you reminded him of those nights spent down at the creek, skipping stones and staring at the stars, that comforting lack of second-guessing because he knew he was, for the first time in his life, in the company of someone who actually wanted to spend time with him.

You reminded him of that diner with the warm apple pie, and he never could forget the first time his heart ever beat against his ribs like it was too big for his chest.

But, most of all, you reminded him of first love and his broken promise - of a future he could never have had.

Daryl hated it, being confronted with his past like that.

So yeah, maybe he did revert back to his old ways of hiding and just trying not to think about his problems, and yeah, maybe he did take one too many runs back to back so he wouldn’t have to keep fighting the urge to look for you despite simultaneously being scared shitless at the thought of talking to you, but it was successful in staying away from you, and that’s all he cared about.

Or, well, he thought it was.

Because, though it’s been nearly two decades since you’d thought about high school - with it long since becoming college, and college into adulthood - it’s crossed your mind more than you’d liked to admit lately. It’s an odd feeling, an ill-fitting nostalgia creeping through the holes of your blanket-covered cell bars, but it was oddly comforting. You never thought you’d ever think of that place as comforting, but maybe it wasn’t high school that you found yourself chasing in the dead of night.

It was him.

Daryl never really knew how popular he was - here, and back then, when those minutes before and after gym class divulged into shushed remarks about his looks and half-serious confessions of crushes muttered to the secrecy of the changeroom’s four walls - but you did. You were always on the other side of it, silent in your agreement.

Woodbury - or, well, ex-Woodbury - was no different.

He’s a far cry from that scrawny little kid you split your lunch with all those years ago, but there's still the linger of boyish handsomeness to him that made your cheeks heat when you thought about him too long. There was no mistaking him for anyone else, but that subdued, ultraviolet warmth you’d grown familiar with was gone from his eyes.

He’s not seventeen anymore, flipping his uncut hair from his face as he taught you how to skip stones and catch fireflies, but you wanted to talk to him all the same. There’s not much left from the old world - let alone much that you could have considered good, or wanted to remember - but he’s one of the few things you’d cared enough about to keep safe from the pulling tide that faded your memories.

He made that shitty town more bearable, even if it was for those few months. Gritting your teeth and enduring had become tiring until he’d grimaced at that first History Inquiry project and made you laugh with the annoyed upturn of his lip. 

You’d planned on thanking him at graduation, but he’d left months before then. 

You’d planned on a lot of things to be frank, but there’s no reason to linger in the past when now is a shell of what then was.

There’s even less of a reason when now feels heavier than then ever was.

Today would have marked ten days without incident, a first foray into the monumental double digits until the sun had set behind the return of the run crew’s RV and Beth was forced to flip the number back to zero.

It’s been four hours since they came back - a quarter of the group gone from the unfriendlies they’d met, another dealing with the aftermaths of the encounter and one more made up from those the crew’s recruited - and it’s the first time in those four hours that you’ve left the dingy wing of the infirmary.

You didn’t hate it in there. Far from it, actually, with Hershel and the others being half-decent company and seeing the work you did benefiting people, but the infirmary, especially on days when the crews rounded back, meant the stinging smell of blood and death lingered no matter how much you scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. It stuck to every crevice on your body, and it permeated. Guilted you for not trying hard enough and not knowing enough.

On days like this, everywhere you went seemed too small and too unforgiving, and you’re not sure if you can stand tossing and turning in your bunk. The night sky is a friendlier sight than your ceiling, and the view from the abandoned watchtower is a hell of a lot better than the tiny, barred-up window at the corner of your cell.

If you’re lucky enough, maybe sleep will steal you for a couple of hours before the sun comes up. At least enough to make it through the next day.

You have faith it will - you can already feel the first wave of exhaustion pull at your bones.

Taking a breath, you press your hands into your pockets after pushing the door to the Prison open and slipping out. Autumn is beginning to seep through the cracks of summer and the nights are starting to get colder, but your jacket should be enough until you climb up and find sanctuary in the sleeping bag you’d left there three days ago.

It doesn’t take long to reach the door - if you jig the knob to the right before twisting and skip the third step from the top, the trek upwards is close to silent - but when you open it, the creak yields, at first, an expletive before the annoyed voice tears through the quiet.

“I already told ya I ain’t talkin’ ‘bout-”

The volume of him makes you take a step back, the sound of a man making your body lock up for just a second before you recognize the mess of hair atop his head and the wings stitched on the back of his vest, and you make quick work getting to him, crossing the platform in a single stride.

“Daryl?”

And he’s quick to realize the person speaking to him isn’t Carol like he’d thought. Though he really really really hopes it’s not you, the familiarity of your voice leaves little room for speculation, even before he turns his head and - for the first time in a long time - really, really looks at you.

“Oh.”

His heart beats in his ears and locks his throat before he can muster up anything else to say, and for a second, you wonder if you should introduce yourself to him. 

“Sorry, I, uh, wasn’t expectin’ no one to be here.”

But the knowing upturn of his eyebrows - his apology, and the way he scoots himself over to make room for you the same way he did in those library reading nooks - tells you you don’t need to, and your shoes slide against the concrete as you drop down to a sit.

He remembers you, too, the sweat of his hands too obvious with the fact, even though he wishes he didn’t.

He wishes there wasn’t a familiarity in the way you sidle your body against his, swinging your legs underneath the railing and over the balcony, and he wishes he couldn’t feel the heat coming off of you.

He wishes it didn’t wrap him up like the warm rays of sun, and he fights down a smile at the fact that you always were so bright. He wishes he didn’t remember you like that - glossed over in a blinding, yellow hue.

Daryl wishes he never remembered you like sunshine - he wishes he didn’t still.

Picking up the glass next to him - just to occupy himself and bide the time until his nervousness hopefully washes away into general apathy - he takes a sip before setting it down and taking a pull of the cigarette in his other hand.

The smoke is slow to fill his lungs, but he welcomes it anyways, holding it there as the nicotine-drawn buzz settles in his brain, and then he breathes it out, angling his head up and away from you.

You never liked it, the Malboros he’d swiped from his old man that he’d keep tucked in the smallest pocket of his worn-down backpack, but you’d told him one night, not unlike the one you’re both trying to find solace in right now, that you were scared of what his father might do if he found out.

Then you slipped in the obviousness of his health, just to break the tension of vulnerability, but it hit Daryl like a truck, the fact that he’d never had someone think about him like that before - like they actually cared.

“Heard your brain cells can rot if you do that.”

He raises an eyebrow at you only to be met with a small smile playing at your lips and the slightest bit of a sparkle in your eye, and the taste still lingering on his tongue reminds him of what he’s been doing. The glass is half full with the room-temperature whiskey he’d tried to make himself feel better with after stitching up his own wounds, and there’s ash from his smoking gathered beside one of the railing's poles, and despite the knowing you’re probably right, he sighs, waving your concern away.

“Ain’t worried. Don’t got a lotta them anyways.”

The cigarette between his fingers is lit still, and he takes another drag before the grayed end of it crumbles to the floor, fighting the upward tug of his cheeks at the sound of your amused huff and your quick response.

“That’s why you gotta take care of the ones you still have, Daryl.”

Scoffing, he tilts the edge of the glass towards you, holding it out for you until you take it from him, and he tries not to think about how the tips of his fingers burn when they brush up against yours. It’s not as sweet, the innocence of a teenage crush long since faded into the dull pang of expired love and loss, but it rushes through him all the same.

He would have offered you a cigarette, too, but you’ve never been one to pick up habits that bad.

A comfortable silence falls over the two of you then, the sky offering a serenity the two of you are less than strangers to, and you wince from the liquor when you finally take a sip. It’s nothing like the moonshine he’d smuggled from his dad’s stash - it went down a hell of a lot smoother than you remember that shit going - but your tolerance has taken a nosedive since weekends unwinding and inter-departmental parties had ended.

Besides, the only places you could get alcohol back in Woodbury were way above your paygrade.

Placing the cup back onto the concrete, you steal a glance at Daryl, spending just a second studying the curve of his nose and the jut of his cheekbone. He’s more handsome than he’s ever been, and you can feel the heat rush up your neck before you blink away the thought.

Get a hold of yourself.

But you can’t, not when he’s so close, and you’re not sure if it’s wholly unselfish, what makes you drop your eyes down from his face, but you do, and you realize why he was so on edge when he heard the door open.

He’s fidgeting. Ever since he put out his cigarette, he’s restless and can’t quite figure out what to do with his hands in the same way he was when you’d asked him why he never wanted to go home back in the school library, and it sends you back, too, a familiar pit growing in your stomach. It’s like he’s that kid again, scared of telling you - or, well, people - things that hurt because his stupid brother and dad drilled into him that he’s less of a man for even feeling hurt in the first place, and it’s equal parts infuriating and concerning.

You can tell that the gears are turning in your head as you try to piece him together; a run crew came back just today, and you haven't seen him in a little while. It doesn’t take a genius to make the connection - especially with everyone’s propensity to talk about how Daryl brought them in - and though you might regret it, you decide to pry.

Not pry, just ask.

Conversation used to flow so easily between the two of you. Were you naïve to hope it would again?

“Bad day?”

It’s small, your voice, teetering in the air with its uncertainty, but Daryl doesn’t seem to notice. Instead, he glances down at the space between you, wrapping his fingers around the highball before meeting your gaze, and he bites the inside of his cheek, weighing the option of telling you or not.

“Jus’ tired is all.”

And though he hesitates those first few words, your eyes are so kind - so genuinely caring - that he can’t stop himself from saying more.

That was what he was scared of.

Why hasn’t he let you go? 

“Sick’a fuckin’ losin’ people.”

The frustration when he speaks is palpable, and you’re not sure if it’s bravery or stupidity that makes you move - maybe it’s both, culminating in your own desire that someone would finally see through your crippling bravado and offer you a hug or something - but your hand snakes out to grab his before you even think, shaking it slightly in the strength of your squeeze.

Then he freezes, and for a second, you think you must have overstepped - that he’s going to push you away and yell at you and leave - but he doesn’t. He just takes a breath, the heft of it rising his shoulders then dropping it as he squeezes your hand back harder, a silent thank you in the press of his fingers against yours.

But still, he lets go, afraid the warmth in his chest might make him do something he regrets, and you chew at the dried skin of your lip, thinking about the right thing to say.

Fuck, you could never navigate things like this - it got better as you got older, sure, but words always seemed to fall short when it came to you and him - and when you finally settle on something, half of you wonders if it was just because you thought it better than nothing.

“I feel you.”

Because what else are you supposed to say? That it’s going to be alright and that he shouldn’t blame himself because it's so blatant he is? It’s thin ice you’re walking on, the fear of sounding patronizing drowning out the spark of hope you want to light him with, because you remember the man he was. He’s never had anyone fighting in his corner, and you’re not callow enough to think he thinks of you as something - someone - different.

But he does. He does think of you as someone different, and he wants to say more, but he doesn't know where he stands with you, or with himself. If he says what he’s thinking - that he feels like it is his fault and that he’s not sure if he could ever stop feeling like that. That he’s scared shitless and like it’s some big joke that people actually look up to him for things - wouldn’t that make it feel too real?

So he doesn’t. He just tips the lip of the glass against his and takes another sip to make sure his mouth is occupied, staring down at the bottom ridge of it until you speak again, and he’s helpless to do anything but look at you.

“At least it’s beautiful out tonight.”

He’s sent back to twenty years ago then - the scrawny redneck you’d somehow deemed good enough to be your friend forcing his old habits back to the him of the present - and he can’t help the squeaked little noise of a response. Words have always been hard for him, too. They’re hard for him to think of and even harder for him to form, and it’s made worse by the fact it’s almost like he’s back at 16, convinced that you’re too pretty to talk to.

“Yeah.”

And though you hear his hum of agreement, he never looks away from you, admiring the curve of your familiar smile and the rise of your cheekbones.

The lurch of his heart comes back then - the same beat against his ribs that he hated all those decades ago - and it’s stark then, the realization you’ve never really left him.

“Ain’t never seen nothin’ like it.”

Pressing his lip to the edge of the glass once more, he welcomes the burn of whiskey when you smile at the moonlit horizon, and he watches as you lean your chin against your arms.

You’re beautiful - more beautiful than all the colours in the star-speckled sky - and he could stare for hours.

[namelysane]

Wouldn't it be funny if when hellspawn... well spawned garm/misako called wu and the ninja to try and tell them to come over (and bring baby stuff while their at it) but the situation was so chaotic that the ninja only understood a small part of it and, with the little info they had; concluded that lloyd was turned into a baby?

Takes place sometime before s3.

Don't get him wrong. Cole had always been someone who liked kids.

Just...just not these kids.

"Being a teacher is hard work," Kai complained, plopping down a nearby chair as soon as he could step into the break room. His usually well-gelled hair was beginning to droop miserably. "If my work of art gets another spitball when my back is turned again I swear I'll—"

"Work of art? FSM, who told you that lie?" Nya snorted, only to receive a very nasty glare from her brother at that comment. "That's a mess."

"Those kids are the mess," Kai grumbled, hands reaching up to comb through his hair to find any remaining atrocities. "They're even worse than the baby gremlin version of Lloyd. Can you believe that?"

"You're telling me," Cole rubbed his eyes. "I come in ten minutes late and someone lets Ninjago's most poisonous scorpion walk around the classroom."

"How did they even bring one in, again?" Nya sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose wearily. "Enough said. We need stricter rules."

"As if that'll stop them," Kai huffed, chucking his file across the room. "Keep dreaming."

" 'Educating the future of Ninjago' my butt. Wu definitely hates us."

"Bad day too huh, zaptrap?" Cole winched sympathetically, watching Jay's head dip in a depressed nod as he made a beeline for the freezer.

"We went from saving Ninjago to needing to be saved," Jay stressed, eyes scanning through the contents of the refrigerator before then widening. "Hey. Who took my pudding cup?"

"You had a pudding cup?" Cole blinked, his gaze briefly falling on the empty plastic container in front of him on the table. At that, Jay's eyes locked on it as well. "Um...sorry?" He tried, grimacing at once.

"Bullied by my students, and now bullied by my friends," Jay said miserably, slamming the fridge door shut at once. "This is just great."

"Perfect for a villain arc," Kai said helpfully, only to receive incredulous looks from everyone else in the room. "What? Literature is finally growing on me."

"I can't believe I got stuck with history," Jay groaned, sounding as though he was tempted to bang his head against the table. "Zane's the walking textbook. He should be teaching history."

"Unfortunately, that would leave a vacancy for the science teacher position," Zane replied, walking into the room — weirdly percent timing, Cole thought suspiciously. "I believe Wu does not wish to look elsewhere for a replacement."

"Yeah," Kai rolled his eyes. "So he can continue to pay us like—"

"But Nya could teach science," Jay suggested, looking at her pleadingly. "Right, Nya?"

Nya seemed to contemplate that thought. "I guess I could—"

"See?"

"But you're gonna have to take over math," Nya told him, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "You have to spend the rest of your life hearing those kids talk about how much they hate you and—"

Jay blinked. "Wait, what—"

"Yeah," Nya shrugged. "And then, they start debates with you asking why the heck do we have to learn this—"

"Well that's normal for me," Jay said, and then frowned. "Anyway, why are we forced to learn math, again?"

"I often wonder that myself," Sensei coughed.

All of them nearly jumped at that, not having seen him enter. The old man merely shook his head.

"You five have become less vigilant," he stated exasperatedly, the bottom of his bamboo staff colliding with the floor as he continued to step forward. "Such carelessness could be your downfall."

Kai just stared at him in disbelief. "So is that why those brats keep scheming against me?"

"Probably," Jay suggested, only to earn a scowl in response. "And by the way Sensei, I kinda have a teeny, tiny little request as a teacher—"

"Oh, I've already heard that," Sensei replied, giving him a brief knowing look. "As long as Nya and Zane are alright with this new arrangement, I don't see any reason to refuse you."

"I have no issue with this," Zane chimed in, and Nya nodded in agreement.

"Oh, those kids don't know what's coming, alright," she grinned mischievously. "I can't wait for the experiments—"

It was then when the sound of ringing cut the air.

Cole's eyes immediately fell on the telephone.

"I will get it," Sensei told them, before any of them could bother getting up. Cole felt his eyebrows knit into a frown. Hang on, hadn't the last time that phone had gotten a call been when—

Jay's face was suddenly as pale as a sheet. "Please tell me they aren't going to enroll in another—"

"Hello. This is Darkley's Boarding School For Great Children how may I — brother?" Sensei blinked, sounding genuinely surprised at the fact the former dark lord was calling him at this point of the day. "Is everything alright?"

Cole watched questioningly as the old man's expression suddenly tightened, before then proceeding to take the deepest dive into confusion in the history of Ninjago.

"What do you mean?" Sensei asked incredulously, both of his eyebrows rising high enough to be concealed by the shadow of his straw hat. "Brother, of all the methods you could use to antagonize me—"

"What the heck is going on?" Jay whispered.

"No idea," Cole mouthed, continuing to listen intently with a deeper frown. Had Garmadon sprouted another pair of arms again or something?

Then, suddenly, the old master stilled, his golden eyes far wider than they had ever seen them. The knuckles of the hand holding the phone were visibly white with how tightly he was gripping it.

It was a while until he managed to bring himself to speak once again.

"A baby, Garmadon — what was he thinking—"

"What?" Nya gasped, and Kai's jaw dropped open at once, the hothead looking as though he was about to faint. Even Zane was no different.

What. On Earth. Was Going On.

"He is more like Father than I thought," Sensei lamented miserably, as though he very much regretted that fact.

He, Cole realized, taking note of that detail immediately. That could only mean Sensei was referring to—

"Alright, alright," Sensei sighed, his grip on the phone faltering slightly. "We'll be there, brother."

Then, he placed the telephone back on its holder, pushing it away immediately.

"What was that about, Sensei?" Nya asked.

The old master met her gaze tiredly, appearing as though he regretted hearing the sound of ringing in the first place.

He heaved out a sigh. "Garmadon has called."

Kai shot him a deadpan stare. "Yeah. We could tell—"

"I'm afraid we will need to leave the academy in the care of Dareth until we return," Sensei said, running a hand over his face wearily. "Garmadon requires our presence. As soon as possible."

"Well care to tell us why?" Jay crossed his arms. "And what was that about a baby?"

"You also used the third person pronoun 'he' at the three minute and thirty one second mark of your conversation," Zane pointed out, sounding genuinely curious. "That would most likely mean—"

"—that this is something related to Lloyd," Cole finished, unsurprised that the others had pieced it together too. "Master," he then asked hesitantly. "is Lloyd okay?"

"What the hell is happening?" Kai yelped.

Sensei closed his eyes, raising his head as though to stare at the ceiling in despair. "Dear First Spinjitzu Master."

"I think we broke him," Jay whispered mournfully. For the first time in his life, Cole was forced to agree.

"I believe this will be easier to explain once you have seen it for yourselves," Wu finally admitted, his voice painfully strained. Cole held back a grimace. "In the meantime, gather as many items that can be used to care for an infant as possible—I'm sure Garmadon will greatly appreciate it," he told them, giving them all a weak smile. "Now excuse me, I must go find Dareth."

Jay looked at them all in bewilderment after the old man had turned around and left. "But we don't even have baby stuff—"

"Exactly, so screw it," Kai hissed, something in his eyes now ablaze. "I'm going to head there now and storm the place until I find out what's going on. Who's with me?"

"Me," chorused four other voices without hesitation. After that, Nya suddenly furrowed her brow in concentration.

"I just really don't understand the baby part," she muttered, her forehead creasing as she continued to ponder on that thought. "You know, at first I was convinced that Sensei G and Misako had welcomed a baby — but then, that thing about Lloyd came along."

"Or maybe Lloyd's the baby?" Jay offered.

Cole's mind went blank.

"What?"

"You're kidding me," Kai said, his tone edged in disbelief. "No. There's no way."

"But what if there is?" Jay begged. "I mean, didn't Sensei mention something about Lloyd and the FSM?"

"He is correct," Zane confirmed with a nod. "There was a moment where Sensei expressed regret at their similarities — thus hinting that the current matter at hand is something the First Spinjitzu Master experienced himself."

"And what does Lloyd have that the FSM did, again? Power," Jay said, flailing his arms for emphasis. "We're not talking about just any power here — the golden shit."

"So you're saying Lloyd turned himself into a baby," Nya actually sounded more amused than scandalized at the suggestion. "Actually now that I think about it, that makes sense."

Cole stared at her like she'd just conjured a dragon. "Sense?"

"Yup," she hummed, and then gestured to Kai as though she was showing all of them an artistic masterpiece. "Just look at who's his mentor."

Kai let out a pained groan as all eyes fell on him. "Why is it always me—"

"I had hoped you would have an explanation for that," Zane said dryly. Kai buried his face into his hands.

"My baby brother, here I come," he mumbled, shaking his head.

Wu to Lloyd later : There is something I haven't told you—

Thanks for the ask!

[dem0nguy]

PART 2.2 THE ELECTRIC BOOGALOO‼️‼️

Previous part :D

9/23/19 - Part 2

Despite the… unique, events that took place this morning. I was still hopeful that this would be a great first day of middle school! Though for once, my brother did not.

Conner had been as ecstatic as I was about entering 6th grade. But now I watch him practically shaking with anxiety. Sat beside me in the back seat of our dad’s car, he fidgets with the bracelet on his wrist.

I look down at my bracelet. I didn’t really observe it too much before, but I notice a sort of indent on the side. A small divot in the cold black rock. It almost looked like a switch or button, but I wasn’t going to mess with it. At least, not right now… Good plan past me, very good plan.

Me and Conner got out of the car and waved our dad goodbye, then turned to stare at the giant concrete building before us. We’d been here once, for a sort of “walk your schedule” night. But it was still intimidating to think that right in front of me was so much potential. (In turn, it gave me so much anxiety.) Jeez, I was this anxious when I was twelve?? Makes me wonder how I made it to seventeen.

The two of us entered through the large reinforced doors of the school, into a crowded hall filled with one too many students. I share a look with my brother, before I take my schedule out.

We didn’t have first period together, the both of us knew that. But we do have math and history together later in the day.

I glance back at Conner, who took a deep breath, regaining his composure. “Adam, we better find answers to this.” He whispers, “Because I don’t think I can live every day normally knowing that one potential slip up could actually just ruin me forever.”

I couldn’t help but giggle at him, he’s always had this notion that he’d be super popular in middle school. I wouldn’t doubt it if he did become popular, he’s very talkative. But the goal was just a little silly to me. We have a small group of good friends, what more do we really need? Water, kielbasa pasta, steak, chicken—I’m just hungry again…

“Adam this is serious!” Conner exclaims, going back to fidgeting with the bracelet. “What if someone finds out? We’d be the school freaks!”

“Conner as long as we keep the bracelets on we’ll be fine.”

“I don’t trust these things, I don’t know what they are or what we even are.” He stops to think for a moment, “We need to find Mr. G as soon as possible.”

I nod in agreement, “Yes, but first we need to get to class and stuff.”

“Class isn’t important Adam. We are literal supernatural entities! And we need ANSWERS.” Conner whisper-yells. I’m surprised Conner didn’t just tell the whole school himself, with how loud he is all the time.

“We’ll be fine Conner.” I pat him on the shoulder, “We both have him fourth period right before lunch, we can stay after class and ask questions then.”

Conner huffs, as though he still wanted to disagree with me. “Fine.” He says, “But if someone finds out I’m a supernatural creature they’re gonna figure out you are too.” He starts off down the hall ahead of me, I shake my head.

Conner was always one for dramatizing things. Though, this is a pretty dramatic situation… Well, it isn’t immediately endangering. It’s just weird, really weird. Honestly I’m getting a headache just thinking about it. But it could also be cool, in an odd-dramatically-weird kinda way. I mean, supernatural means superpowers right? So what if we have superpow—

An obnoxiously loud bell goes off. Right, class, first day of school. I look down at my schedule again, science. Room 1703. I hope that’s close by… It was not close by.

My first three classes were boring as hell, I expected at least science to be interesting! But the teacher sounded like he was half asleep the whole time. At the very least I shared that class with Brice, one of me and Conner’s friends.

English I shared with Lily, my best friend. But it wasn’t the most interesting either. Math was especially boring, I don’t like math. I got to see Conner, but we were sat on opposite sides of the room. I still don’t like math.

Now, history is where things get interesting. Mr. G, our teacher, seems like a nice guy overall. He has graying light-brown hair, sea-green eyes, pale skin, and a kind smile. He wears a forest green jacket over a burgundy sweater-vest, and that over a white button up. (Part of me wonders how he doesn’t overheat) He also wears dark blue pants, with very professional looking black shoes. Well, I know how he doesn’t overheat now…

Despite any notions I had about him, he ended up teaching us some super interesting stuff! He said most of this year, we’d be learning about ancient cultures. Including what beings they worshiped, which intrigued me. If I’m a demon of sorts, that means demons and angels and stuff are real. So is there a god to accompany those creatures?

This would probably be the first of many questions I would ask him… Spoiler, there is no god. (If there is, he left to get the milk.)

After class ended, me and Conner hesitantly approached him. “Hey, uh, Mr. G?” Conner says, getting his attention.

He turns to face us, a welcoming grin on his face. “Hey you two! What do you need?”

Hell, are we actually doing this? What if Uncle Sam is wrong? What if Mr. G can’t help us? What if we do become frea— “We were wondering if you could help us with something.” Conner continues.

Mr. G nods slowly, “Alright, what is it?”

I share a nervous look with my twin. It seems neither of us have full confidence that Mr. G can help us.

“It’s uhm,” Conner hesitates, “A little complicated I guess…” He didn’t exaggerate for once! +5 points to you Conner.

“I’m sure I can understand.” Mr. G shrugs.

“We—uh, well we’re….” Conner struggles to find the words to explain our predicament.

“You’re nephalem.” Mr. G says.

“What?” I raise an eyebrow. I’ve never heard of whatever that is in my life. “And how did you—“

“Your Uncle sent you to me, right?”

Me and my brother nod.

“That’s how.” He chuckles kindly. “I can help you out, no worries.” Mr. G moves to a nearby bookshelf, shifting through it. Holy shit this makes so much sense now, I need to write this in my jour— oh wait I threw that one out. Fuck.

“Well uh, we had some questions first.” Conner asks. Mr. G hums in response, pulling down a book from the shelf, which he places on a nearby desk. “Ask away,” He says, flipping through pages of the book.

“Wh—“ “What’s a nephalem?” I interrupt Conner, he elbows me. I elbow him back.

“A nephalem is a creature made of both angelic and demonic energy. In turn, it shares traits of both angels and demons.” Mr. G frowns, closing the book and putting it back on the shelf.

“Demonic, energy?” Conner questions.

“Oh,” Mr. G turns to us. “You guys really don’t know anything do you?”

We shake our heads.

Mr. G sighs, rubbing his brow before readjusting his glasses. “I would’ve expected Sampson to at least tell you something… Well, no worries.” He clears his throat. “I can teach you everything you need to know.”

“Ok, but, how do you know all of this stuff?” Conner glares. He was rightfully suspicious y’know.

Mr. G shrugs. “I’m a cambion, a lesser cambion. But a cambion nonetheless.” Liar, liar, pants on fire. (I love that stupid rhyme.)

“What is a cambion??” Conner shouts, becoming visibly annoyed. He had every right to be, but perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to yell at the one person willing to help us… I beg to differ, you get em Conner.

Luckily, Mr. G was unbothered. “A cambion is a being that is half human, half demon. They have a lot less demonic energy than a demon does, and in place of it they have neutral energy.”

“So long story short,” I begin slowly, “You’re a demon?”

Mr. G nods, “As is your Uncle.”

Conner scoffs, “Our Uncle is a demon?”

“Cambion,” Mr. G corrects, “but as Adam stated. It’s essentially the same thing.”

And now I’m confused. In retrospect, it all made sense. The whole, demon-human logic or whatever. That’s not what confused me. What did, was how we could’ve gone our entire lives not knowing our Uncle was a demon?? I have so many questions, too many questions. I don’t even know where to start or what to do or, hell, maybe this is some sort of elaborate dream. I hope this is a dream because this is just too much and it’s way too weird—

Conner taps me on the shoulder. “You alright Adam?”

I nod quickly. I guess my anxiety was getting ahead of me. Ya think?

“I know this is a lot to take in.” Mr. G starts, as if he were reading my mind. Can he read my mind? Maybe it’s best not to think about that, wait, if he’s reading my mind he would say something about it right? Hey, Mr. G! You reading my mind? I’m thankful that there are few demons with telepathy.

“So I have a little gift to help you out.” Oh no not more gifts, this is worse than mind reading, what if it does something more crazy than those stupid necklaces?? Pftttt, those stupid necklaces? There’s so much more worse shit than those things.

Mr. G pulls a dusty book off his bookshelf, holding it out to us. The cover reads, “The Legend of Demons and Angels.” I take the book from him—surprisingly, it’s not heavy at all. Yk how past me was talking about superpowers earlier? Yeah. Super strength comes in handy.

“That book has most of the information you need to know,” Mr. G continues, “But if you have any other questions, I’m always available.” He smiles, it seems genuine. Again, really? Here we go: LIAR, LIAR PANTS ON FIRE.

I think I’m gonna like this teacher. No, no we are not. (Ok maybe for a little bit but I don’t wanna think about that.)

“Great! Thanks Mr. G.” Conner grabs my arm, pulling me towards the door. “Goodbye!” He drags us both into the hall, I jerk my arm from his grasp.

“Conner what was that for!?”

Conner scoffs, “I don’t trust him Adam. We go to get answers and we just get homework.” +3 points to Conner for trying to talk sense into past me.

I roll my eyes in turn, “You just don’t want to read.” Conner did just not want to read though… +3 points to me?

“I never said that—“

“It’s implied.” I interrupt him. “Besides, he’s giving us some answers. That’s better than what Uncle Sam did.”

Conner sighs dramatically. “Fine, let’s just get to lunch.” He turns, walking down the hall. I hesitate, there’s a lot to this. Probably way too much for me to fully comprehend, but there’s one thing I can do.

“Wait, Conner!”

Conner stops, turning around, “What?”

“Well,” I pause, “Are we going to tell Lily and Brice?”

“No!” Conner exclaims, “We aren’t telling anyone Adam. We can’t risk it.”

I sigh, “Alright.” Before following after him.

Hopefully Conner will warm up to telling them at some point. I can’t go very long without at least telling Lily about this, she’s my best friend. I tell her everything. Oh I remember this, oh yeah, that was a fun conversation…

Next Part >:D

[scarlettjade420]

Pt. 4

this is PT. 4 of a story i have been writing. to see pt 3 go here or you can go thru my page and fine the other parts too. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re sibling?” “Mhm” “Man, I don't think my siblings could stop insulting me long enough for us to hang out if it would save their lives,” he says with a smile and giggle. He says with a smile so pretty it’s like looking into a spring sky. He smiled a smile so bright it’s like the sun and a smile so big it’s the blue void we call a sky.

I'm pulled out of my thoughts as I grow insecure about how long of a pause I might be making. I laugh a bit and smile “Yeah most of my brothers are...kind of similar- particularly my older brothers” I reply as I think about every fist to the face and kick in the stomach that our parents encouraged from them. As I think about every word they were trained to yell out as i walk out of rooms or the house.

“But my sibling and I get along well. We have- a lot in common. And I care alot about them.” that wasn't a lie, just more of a misspoken truth that leaves out information. We have a lot in common; yes. like the abuse from mom or the words from grandparents or having to hide ourselves. It’s like having a mini me I love but wish didn’t exist because they don’t deserve the family i have, and there is only so long I can bear the bourdons from our birth-giver that I lift off the ground for them while being berated. “How old is your sibling?” “14, their in middle school now. But they're already taking highschool level classes.” “Oh?”

“Yeah, they’re taking a freshman level math class and English, they have to go to an entirely different school for part of the day because their middle school doesn’t even have an advanced level English class for them.” “You speak very highly of your sibling, older siblings are usually the ones who give the others the most shit” Alex points out. I chuckle a little. “Yeah, usually. But technically I'm the middle child. And they are also a middle child. They're the second youngest and I'm perfectly in the middle of the age gap between each of the siblings.” “Damn, so you’re the forgotten child” he says with an extra amount of drama. I chuckle and shake my head as I continue finishing a problem on the homework I was working on. I’m very confused when a hand starts moving my papers away. I look up and of course, it’s Alex. “What are you doing?” I ask with a laugh as I try to get the papers back. He hands up holding them above his head “Rude, give those back” I say as I jump, trying to get them out of his hands. “BOYS, sit down!” we hear the teacher's voice boom over the classroom at us. We take our seats, but still, Alex holds my papers in his hand. I still make protests to get them back. “Oh come on, can’t you just take a break from homework? You only have 10 minutes left anyway” he perswayeds. I sigh finally in defeat. “Ok, fine. But I still need you to give me those back.” “Fine” he says exaggeratedly as he gives them back to me.

“And then he finally gave me the papers back, but when he talked to me in history class, I started to work on the same homework after I finished the homework for history, and he took them away again!” as i talk about him for the second day in a row to my sibling, they giggle and continue giving me banter. asking if he was cute or oo’ing after every sentence in typical middle schooler fashion. “Kai! Stop it. Oh my god you’re annoying.” “At least I'm not a nerd.” “At least I can drive. And also you can’t call me a nerd for doing homework during freetime at school when you're already taking highschool classes.” they shrug in defeat and chuckle, before asking me to use my ability to give them a hand reference while they draw. “Why do you always need a reference for drawing hands, i feel like you ask me for a hand reference at least every other day. Is there something you’re not telling me” i tease. “Hey! Hands are hard to draw, ok!” Once again days start to repeat, except now i have a boy who is kind of cute to talk to in biology and history class who takes my homework but i don’t think i ever see him do any of his own. Weeks go on, and then months, soon it’s early October. Spooky season is here, and the school has decided this is a perfect time to do school fundraising. It’s a futile effort though, because there are very few people who want to come help fund a school of so-called “freaks" Except for families with only one child and that child happens to have the power and go here. Or those few are the adults with powers too, they also might come to this stupid thing. Every year there are multiple of these fundraisers where they “encourage” students to volunteer at these fundraisers.few people want to Volunteer at all, however, because it is so, mind-numbingly boring to do because so few people show up. “If you find this fundraiser so stupid, why are you volunteering there?” kai questions with a tired tone. “Two full weeks where I can be away from our parents every day until 10, maybe longer? Uh duh” I say, matter-of-factly. They nod a bit as they consider my words. “Fair point.” “It’s just gonna be so incredibly boring” I complained. Kai responds to my dramatic despair with a sad trombone sound. “womp-womp-womp-woooomp” “Oh you shut up.” they simply laugh in response.

[houseofperfecttaste]

Stiles Stilinski - Relax

YScott was the true alpha and with me being his sister I was an alpha and to be completely honest it sucked...a lot. With every villain that we faced we had everyone looking at us for the answers on how to stop it. Even though I'm happy that we beat the Ghost Riders and Garett there's still a lot of trauma that comes with it and I don't know to cope with it or all of it and it's building up. I feel like I'm gonna burst any day now.

Right now Stiles, and I were in history and the only thing that was replaying in my head was running into the library seeing Theo kill my brother and our mom running in behind me going to do CPR on him. Theo disappeared before I could kill him and I was sitting next to my brothers body. I turned my attention back to my teacher when I heard her voice and I was bouncing my knee rapidly chewing on my lip as Stiles looked at me with a worried face.

The bell rang and I gathered my things quickly running out of the room before Stiles could talk to me. I ran to my car locking it once I was inside and I closed my eyes breathing in and out slowly trying to steady my breathing. I saw Stiles get into his jeep and he followed me home since we were doing homework. We headed up to my room, him sitting on my desk chair and I laid on my stomach on my bed pulling out the math homework. The numbers and letters were getting scrambled and nothing was making sense in my head and I started getting stressed rubbing my face as Stiles kept glancing at me.

"God what's the point of learning all this? I mean when am I going to use this in the real world, it's so pointless." I exclaimed angrily slamming my math book closed throwing it aside with my homework tugging on the roots of my hair as Stiles pulled my hands away sitting next to me. I started breaking down from all the stress of finals and the whole town out for me and my friends heads. Stiles pulled me close rubbing my back kissing my head and stroking my hair.

"Talk to me baby." Stiles pulled me into his lap caressing my thighs soothingly looking into my eyes.

"I don't know how much more I can take. You becoming possessed, the Berserkers, the dead pool, the Dread Doctors, the Ghost riders, it was all so much to deal with and I don't know how to cope with everything, it's not like I can go to a therapist and say all this. And now we have the whole town trying to kill us. Everyone looks at Scott and I for answers and I feel like I always have to have one or else I let everyone down. I don't want my answer to be the reason someone we love dies. We can't afford to fuck up not now not with our lives on the line like this and it's up to Scott and I to save everyone." I sobbed out clinging onto Stiles soaking his shirt in tears.

"Y/N baby, just because you and Scott are the alphas doesn't mean you have to deal with everything by yourself. You guys are always going to have your pact to back you up. No matter what."

"On top of trying to stop Monroe and Gerard from killing all the supernatural, I have like five tests coming up, three projects, and a paper. Finals are kicking my ass and I feel like I'm drowning and I'm never going to be able to escape."

"You need a day to yourself baby, so how about no more studying or anything tonight. Tonight you're going to disconnect from the outside world and relax. Give me your phone." I placed my phone in his hand knowing he was right and he shut it off putting it in my drawer. He placed me on my bed gently before going to my bathroom turning the water on and coming out minutes later. He grabbed my hand leading me to the bathroom and Stiles had ran me a bubble bath and lit candles around the room dimming the lights. I began to slowly undress as he came back into the room with my laptop.

He put on my favorite movie as I climbed into the tub as he placed my laptop on the toilet seat cover and I leaned my head back against the tile sighing in relaxation letting my body sink further into the warm water. Stiles kissed my head and I grabbed his hand before he could walk away and he looked down at me confused.

"Will you get in with me?" I looked at him with a pleading look and he began to strip my eyes wandering all over his body looking at his v-line as he took off his sweatpants. I moved forward so he could sit behind me and he climbed in pulling me against his chest rubbing my arms.

"Thank you Stiles. This is calming me down." I looked up at him smiling as he kissed my cheek and jaw and he relaxed against the back of the tub. I rested my head on his shoulder closing my eyes as he traced circles on my stomach kissing my temple and his phone started ringing the caller ID reading 'Scott.' Stiles got up to answer the phone wrapping a towel around himself going into the other room to talk. I started picking at the skin around my nails as I worried that something was wrong and Scott needed me. Stiles came back into the room moments later putting his phone down giving me a reassuring smile.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah baby everything is okay, Scott needed help with Econ. Nothing supernatural." Stiles climbed in again behind me and once he was settled he grabbed my body wash and lufa rubbing it over my body gently. When he was done I turned around to face him, straddling his lap wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him.

"Thank you for sticking by Scott and I through everything. It means more to me than you'll ever know."

"Of course baby, I am not going anywhere. I would die before I left you." Stiles caressed my cheek as I bit my cheek looking down and he put his finger under my chin making me look at him.

"What's wrong?"

"You can't die." I whispered tears threatening to spill out of my eyes at the thought of Stiles dying. I would become a wreck if I didn't have Stiles in my life. Stiles wiped my tears away kissing all over my face.

"I'm sorry for saying that baby. Shhh it's okay." He soothed me petting my hair as I calmed myself down kissing his lips passionately. I pulled away intertwining our fingers kissing the back of his hands. I stood up stepping out of the tub with Stiles smacking my ass multiple times. I wrapped the towel around myself handing Stiles one as he also stepped out. Once I was dry I went into my room pulling out Stiles lacrosse hoodie putting it on with nike pros and fuzzy socks. I laid down on my bed a relaxing smile on my face and I pulled the covers over me watching Stiles throw on a pair of sweatpants.

"Woah McCall whatcha looking at?" Stiles joked winking at me as a blush crept up my cheeks and I covered my head with the blanket hiding my face. I heard Stiles' laugh as he kneeled on the bed pulling the blankets down. "Gotcha." Stiles started tickling my sides and I thrashed around trying to get away from his fingers. I got away from his grasp grabbing a pillow and swinging it as his head, his body falling on the bed as he raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh no you didn't."

"Oh yes I did." Stiles grabbed the pillow from my hands hitting me with it gently over and over as I laughed shielding my body with my arms. He put the pillow down laying down next to me pulling me closer placing sweet and light kisses on my neck.

"I love you Stilinski, thank you for the best relaxing day I've had in a while." I placed a kiss on his jaw snuggling into his chest my eyes fluttering closed drifting off to sleep.

[demonicheadcanons]

The Obey Me Brothers Reaction to MC Breaking Down Over Schoolwork

(Initial ask contains an ableist slur and so cannot be posted. Please, in future, refrain from using slurs in any asks sent in!! It has since been added to my rules and I will straight up delete asks with slurs in them. Thank you <3)

AN: Apologies for taking so long to get to this one, its been in my inbox for a while. I’m sorry you were feeling that way, its really difficult getting adjusted to everything again, I work in a school and a lot of the students and teachers alike are definitely really struggling. Best wishes <3

I think I’m usually okay at not letting slip that Levi is my favourite boy, but you can tell here ;u; Sorry

Lucifer

He realises all too late that things are probably tough. Initially Lucifer is distant, and whilst he notices how tired you look sometimes at RAD, he decides to ignore it - you were probably distressed because you had been pulled into the Devildom out of nowhere, you’d just have to adapt because nothing else could be done. In his mind it was pointless worrying about it.

However, as he begins to pay more and more attention to you, he realises its more than that. You frown in class, your grades jump around and you don’t leave your room regularly, probably too busy focusing on studying. The few times you’ve accepted his offer of help, you seem to be on edge.

He decides one night to check in on you, and he hears a harsh thud from a few paces down the hall. He throws the door open without knocking, convincing himself that he was just worried you might be hurt because they needed you for the exchange programme and it would be a pain replacing you now, months into the whole endeavour.

You whirl around, arm still raised, your grip tight on your textbook. He looks about and sees other books scattered about, the room a mess.

Lucifer makes a low growling noise in the back of his throat, raising a hand to press against his temples before he freezes, finally taking in the look on your face. Your eyes are wide, having been essentially caught by the one person you really, really wouldn’t want to see you right now. You lower your arm slowly as he approaches, taking your face in his hands before you can duck away from him.

His tone and expression are impossible to place as he silently examines you, gloved hands wiping across your cheeks to get rid of any traces of your tears. You don’t have the time to process any of it before he pulls you against his chest, wrapping his arms carefully around your shoulders.

Lucifer is silent, almost eerily so, and he holds you there without moving until you either push him away or until you stop sniffling and drop the book. Even when he does speak again, he’s quiet, deep in thought as he looks around the room and tells you simply to head over to his - he’ll bring you something to eat shortly, get some rest in the meantime. You mumble something about a test, and he waves a hand. He’ll bring the textbook, its fine, go rest.

It takes him a half hour to get to his room, carrying a tray with some tea and snacks. Your textbook is tucked under one arm, and he gently invites you to eat before he starts talking things out. He asks if classes are too difficult, asks if there’s anything in particular you’re struggling with. He makes a lot of offers - Luci is a busy guy, but he can free up a time slot if you want to study with him, or he can get you a tutor, or you can simply text him your concerns and he’ll respond as soon as he’s available. His advice is simple and realistic.

Once you’re done eating and drinking, he opens the textbook and goes over the things that are most likely to be on the test. He gives tips, explains the things that confuse you in a clear and concise manner. He’s a good teacher, and he’s a lot more patient than you’ve seen him before.

Overall, Lucifer is a quiet comfort, but a determined one. He works to make things easier for you in the background, marking out important parts of the textbook so you know what to focus on, and offering a hand whenever you need it. Also, when you get back to your room later, your books are neatly organised on your desk.

[Other brothers under the read more]

Mammon

Mammon randomly pops into your room quite often, making excuses about how he’s absolutely entitled to because he’s in charge of taking care of you. On this particular evening, you have absolutely no warning as per usual and he doesn’t bother knocking, because this boy only has good manners when it benefits him.

He freezes instantly, and he’s over to you in a second before you can throw whatever’s in your hand. His grip is careful but tight on your wrist and he squeezes until you let it go, tossing whatever it was onto your bed without looking and wrapping you up in his arms. You might feel trapped for a second, but he has this fear that you’re Going To Get Hurt and so he just holds onto you until you settle and start sobbing against his chest. (Mammon is panicking too much to think about it, and he’ll definitely apologise after and try not to do it again if he scared you.)

He pulls you over to the bed and sits you down, a hand smoothing through your hair. His grip remains on you at all times, and you can feel his hands shaking when he asks what’s wrong, MC? Did something happen?

Mammon listens carefully, swallowing and smoothing a hand over your hair when you tell him its because the work here is just too damn hard and you can’t do it, you can’t, you can’t remember all the dates for the history or recall the right Latin to say for this one course and its not like it matters anyway because you’re human, why would you need this?

He mumbles back “I know, I know,” and runs his hands down your arms, back, along your hair. Wherever he can to comfort you, wherever makes your breathing slow back to a normal pace and takes away the hiccups left from sobbing. He doesn’t force you to look at him, almost doesn’t want you to as he bites back sniffles and sobs and wipes his face against his sleeve because crying right now won’t fix anything for you.

When you’re both calmer again, he starts rambling about something or other to take your mind off it. Mammon isn’t one to offer any immediate solutions, and rather tries to distract you with stories until you fall asleep and he can lay you down and march straight to Lucifer and demand he talk to Diavolo about this, as fearless as if he were defending Belphie or Levi for accidentally breaking something.

You’re assigned a tutor, and have tutoring sessions with each of the brothers for things they’re good at, with Lucifer and Satan covering any areas the others don’t particularly excel in. Mammon himself helps you with maths, and although he isn’t always the best at explaining it, his presence along is comforting and helps makes working through a little easier, and he’s good for taking your mind away from any stress so that you can focus without worry holding you back.

Leviathan

He had just wanted to get something back that he loaned you, a book or DVD. He can’t remember what it was the second he hears a crash and throws open your door, and finds you in a ball on the floor, the room a mess around you. You don’t even look up as the door opens, and the two of you stay in place for a few moments.

Levi doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know where to start, but he can do one thing. Quietly and carefully, he tiptoes around your room and starts putting things back where they belong. He tidies your desk, faintly organises whatever notes he finds by subject and piles them up together. He doesn’t touch you, because he’s worried you wouldn’t want him to right now, that he might scare you, and so he just tidies until the room looks a little more normal again.

When you finally look up, he’s sitting a few feet in front of you, headphones on as he stares at his D.D.D., either playing a game or watching a video or scrolling through Wikis as he waits patiently for you to start the conversation or ask for whatever comforts you need. You move over to sit beside him, and he blushes but takes off his headphones and holds an arm out so you can rest against his shoulder.

He lets you watch whatever is on his phone for a beat before asking in a hushed voice if you need anything, if something was wrong, or if someone (maybe him?) upset you. When you tell him it’s about schoolwork, he sighs and pulls you closer without thinking about it. He hands you his D.D.D. and puts his headphones on you, tells you to stay there for a bit and keep watching until he gets back.

Levi returns a few minutes later with Satan in tow, each of them carrying a bag with their own textbooks in them. Levi kneels down to take back his D.D.D. and headphones and to help you up, and tells you you’re all going to start studying together in the library. If you’d be okay with it, he means... he could use the help too, and maybe it wouldn’t feel so bad if you were there. Not for any reason in particular!

Study sessions are added to your schedule after that. Even on days where Satan is off doing something else, Levi will tutor you on whatever he finds easiest - usually history, and oftentimes its history involving the navy. His shyness melts away into confidence as he talks about all the things he’s done, about how he was appointed head thousands of years ago and he thinks he’s yet to let Diavolo down.

After study sessions you go and get a drink together, something like bubble tea or smoothies or whatever, and then play games together to relax and let the info sink in instead of obsessing over it. If you ever start to get stressed out again, Levi gently puts his headphones on you and the two of you wait it out together, and he smiles at you every time you take the headphones off and take a deep breath, ready to keep working. He’s proud.

Satan

Satan is observant enough to notice ahead of time that something is about to happen. You seem horribly stressed and unfocused in your classes one day in particular, and he decides to stop by your room the second he gets home to find out what was wrong.

He knocks and waits for a while, but you don’t answer, and he was sure he heard noise before but now your room is deathly silent. He carefully creaks the door open a bit to call in and see if you’re there, and hears paper crumpling against the door. Deciding to investigate, he opens it a little more and slides in through the gap.

The room is a mess of books and paper and pillows, and you’re at your desk, hands clamped hard over your ears. You’re making some kind of whimpering noise every now and then, and Satan starts to piece things together as he gathers up books in one arm and smooths out paper. He taps you on the back before moving back a pace or two, just in case.

You freeze before turning around to look at him, seeming almost guilty, and he doesn’t really get why you’d feel that way but he holds up your books and clears his throat. “Do you want some help?”

Satan is more practical than emotional and, whilst he isn’t sure what kind of comfort he can offer you right now, he knows he can help with the work, help make it easier. He pulls a chair over beside you, motioning for you to scoot over, and leans against you as he opens the first book and asks where you were struggling. He keeps a constant connection between the two of you, either has his leg against yours or his entire side against you so that you know he’s there, so that you’re permanently aware of his presence.

He doesn’t look at you too often, not when you can see him do it. Even then, there’s no judgement in his gaze, just his brows furrowing slightly out of concern until your breathing in alright and you start to smile in little bursts again. He smiles then as well, scribbling down some notes for you.

After that, Satan regularly pulls you aside after class and asks if you want to come out with him to a cafe or to the library, or he’ll call you to his room in the house and ask if you’ll let him teach you this set of notes so that he can remember it better. He’s subtle, never really brings up what happened and never asks you about it because he’s already got it all figured out in his mind. Instead, he just works on moving on from it and making sure it doesn’t happen again, and if it does, he’ll be ready to be there for you again.

Asmodeus

Asmo had decided to visit your room because you weren’t responding to his messages asking if you wanted to go out shopping with him. Majolish had new season wear and he absolutely needed to go get first pickings at it, and he wanted you there by his side.

He knocks but opens your door immediately after anyway, not giving you time to do much more than turn to face the door, bringing the pillow you were about to throw up over your face instead so he can’t read too much of your expression. He sees the tears, anyway, and without thinking walks over to you and holds your face in his hands.

His voice is laced with concern as he asks what’s wrong, and he immediately looks like he’s going to cry as well, but he just did his makeup and he’s not going to risk ruining it right now. Instead he moves over to the bed and pulls you down onto his lap, holding you tight against his chest. He keeps asking, every few moments, if something was wrong and if there’s anything he can do, and his eyes dart around the room to try to piece it all together. Your books were still out on your desk, pillows a mess around the room, and you... You were curled up against him, shaking and choking down sobs.

Asmo pouts and holds you in silence until you calm down and start talking to him, start telling him what was wrong, what subject you’d been struggling with over the past hour and you were still stuck on the same damn page and not making any progress and the test was only a few days away and everyone was expecting so much from you, you who never even asked to be here. Obviously you weren’t good enough for this, obviously they should’ve chosen someone better-

Asmo cuts you off there, pushes against your shoulders until he can see your expression and cup your face in his hands. He’s not having you put yourself down because you’re struggling with work that the centuries-old demons also had a hard time with, not on his watch, and he tells you just as much. When he’s done half-scolding you, his expression softens and he offers whatever help he can. He’s sure he can rope Satan or Lucifer into helping out, and if not he can charm the examiners into giving you a better score... he keeps going until some of his silly advice gets you to snort out a little laugh, and then he relaxes.

He lays back and pulls you down with him, sighing as he instructs you to take a nap, and then after you two can go out shopping and you’ll figure everything out as you strip Majolish bare of its new wonderful outfits. And Asmo keeps to his word. As you’re trying things on he talks through the stall walls, proposing different ideas to you whilst simultaneously boosting your confidence as he compliments you and finds the perfect outfits for you.

Asmo makes it clear that if ever you should need a distraction, just give him a call - there’s always something better to do than reading over textbooks, and he’ll throw in study sessions so long as you’re there to spend time with him. Anything to make you feel better.

Beelzebub

Beel was in the kitchen, clearing out the fridge as usual when he heard a muffled thud against the wall. He pauses, turning to look in that direction, and realises that its the wall attached to your room.

He’s outside your door in no time, and taps nervously against it with his fingertips before opening the door slightly and calling in to ask if you were okay, and could he come in please? He hesitates when you don’t respond, but decides to head in anyway, because you might be hurt and any embarrassments he’s sure the two of you could live with, but with an injury there was no guarantee, not for a human.

There are books everywhere, the room as messy as he’s ever seen it, and you’re... nowhere to be seen. Not until he hears a sniffle and rounds the corner into the dining room section, and finds you curled up in a ball against the wall, face against your knees. He’s quick to back away, worried that he’ll upset you more, but then Beel kneels down a few paces in front of you and leans forward to tap your arm.

You flinch and look up immediately, pulling your knees closer to your chest until you realise its him, and then you just look guilty. Beel’s chest hurts, he feels horrible - what happened to make you feel like this? Could he help, or should he go get someone else? He asks just as much, voice somewhat broken over the questions as he hesitates. He doesn’t get this anxious often, but right now you remind him of Belphie a few thousand years ago, and he doesn’t know what to do with that.

He pushes the thought away and slides closer, sitting against the wall beside you. His presence might not help, and he waits for you to tell him to leave, but after a while you press against his side and he opens his arms to you and holds you as tight as he can until you feel a little bit okay again. And then he asks, again, what’s wrong, and he waits for you to tell him, shaking but as patient as can be. You open up to him slowly, and he listens.

Beel doesn’t know how to help, doesn’t think he’d be a good tutor for you, doesn’t know how to relieve the stress really. But, he promises his arms are always there if you want a warm hug, and... he is sure that there is some resolution to be found, but for now you should just do your best and that’s all anyone could expect from you, and if anyone doesn’t like that then... he’ll be your bodyguard, ready to defend you at any moment. He was good at that, sometimes.

Beel smiles at you and gives you the warmest smile he can manage before tucking your head back against his shoulder or chest. He tells you to rest for a little while, and then you can try working again later. Whilst you’re asleep, he pulls out his D.D.D. and messages Belphie asking for advice, and then Lucifer. By the time you wake up, he’s got a few tips from the brothers and a tutoring timetable is being organised by Lucifer for the two of you, so that you wouldn’t be alone.

Belphegor

Belphie doesn’t know why he was on his way to your room, and he stops thinking about it the second he throws the door open and sees you crying. He’s too tired to put the pieces together as he looks around, too tired to really take in the room, but he’s on high alert when he runs over and wraps you in his arms, looking around properly to see if anyone was there, if anyone had hurt you.

You can hear him growling in the back of his throat until he slowly relaxes, shoulders lowering as he takes in how messy your room is. It must’ve been you, he decides, holding you closer to him. A demon would’ve left this place in a horrible state. But nothing was torn, just scattered around.

He’s more awake when he pulls you over to the bed and immediately lays down with you on his chest. He doesn’t get what’s wrong yet, but he’ll figure it out. He wills his powers, his sin’s influence, over you until you’re drowsy and fall asleep, still sniffling occasionally, and then he starts to work things out.

By the time you wake up, Belphie apologises for how disorientated you might feel. He probably should’ve talked to you first before making you fall asleep. He smiles sheepishly at you, but the concern in his eyes is only thinly veiled, and you can see through to it.

“So, school, huh?” he asks, lopsided smile almost teasing. He wants to make you smile, or laugh if he’s lucky. Instead you make a frustrated noise and press your face into his chest again, and he pats your head to comfort you. You hear him swallow before he pushes against your shoulders to get you to look at him again.

He’s not hiding so much when he asks what’s wrong, and he listens as you stumble through an explanation before sighing and asking if you want to take another nap. He grins when you glare at him, before adjusting you both so you’re sitting up again. “Let’s get to work, then. What subject is first?”

Belphie isn’t the best at a lot of the work, and he’s missed a lot of classes, but he’s a decent help and he keeps your stress down by cracking jokes and patting your head when you do well. He’s a comforting presence, and if you get overwhelmed again he leans his elbows against the desk, head in hands, and suggests you take another nap with him because he could really use one right now. He laughs when you swat at him and tell him to focus, and then looks at you and tells you that you can come to him if you need help, anytime. Don’t wake him up if he’s deep asleep, though - get Mammon or someone stupid to do that, he jokes, just in case he lashes out.

In future, Belphie will tap on your door when he knows you’re studying and, although he often falls asleep at your desk or just immediately heads over to your bed to nap, he gives off a comforting aura that makes the work a bit bearable for longer.

[cc-tinslebee]

Okay, so, about a month ago, my brain just conjured up probably the most random au possible: Legally Blonde Adam Banks/banksway au.

Believe me, it's as chaotic as it sounds, but lowkey, I'm kind of in love with it.

Adam never joins the Ducks because there aren't any Ducks to join. Bombay never had to do community service with District Five so there was no one to realise that Adam was on the wrong team all along. He continues to play for the Hawks and, eventually, the Eden Hall Warriors, never getting the chance to become the well-rounded individual we know him as because he's never known anything other than his rich privilege and the "win at all costs" mentality. He ends up going to college on a hockey scholarship and not straight to the NHL or the AHL (shocking, I know). While he's unsure of his major and where his life is heading, he finds solace in the fraternity he joins, which, by some sheer twist of fate, Jesse and Guy have also miraculously joined.

And his life is perfect for a while. He's the star player on yet another school's hockey team, all of his fraternity brothers adore him (though, it took a bit for Jesse to warm up to him), and his secret, not-really-official thing with his former teammate is going swimmingly. (Not to slander my boy, but I was picturing Larson for the role of Warner, purely because the alternative seems to be Rick Riley and that's kind of an unsettling image-- though, maybe that's the point?)

But then his secret boyfriend breaks up with him because, with his high aspirations in life, he needs to be "more serious." And dating Adam Banks, a guy in a stereotypical fraternity who only really knows hockey, in 2001 isn't exactly the white-picket-fence life he's looking for if he's going to be a politician.

And since this non-Duck Adam clearly doesn't have the braincells that canon Adam does, in his devastation, he decides it's a brilliant idea to prove that he is serious by applying to Harvard Law. His parents try to talk him out of it, since they want him to pursue his dreams of hockey, but being a lawyer is a respectable career so they can't exactly argue with him.

He gets accepted thanks to Jesse, Guy, and the rest of his fraternity helping him study for the LSAT and keeping him on track. He's trying his darndest when he gets to Harvard, but (despite his struggle not being as significant as Elle Woods'), not a lot of people take him seriously as an aspiring lawyer, considering him a meathead jock who only got in because of daddy's money.

And that's about the time he meets Linda, who he vaguely remembers from his time at Eden Hall. What he doesn't remember is her being so competitive, because she's deliberately beating him at every turn, just trying (and kind of succeeding) at making him look like a fool. To make matters worse, all of the sudden, she's engaged to his ex-boyfriend, who is very adamant about never telling anyone that he and Adam were more than friends (because, you know, early 2000s homophobia and such).

But things get a little brighter for Adam when he meets Charlie, an undergrad teacher's assistant who gives him all sorts of advice about surviving the school. He introduces him to Professor Bombay, who Charlie claims is the only reason he survived his first year and quickly becomes Adam's favourite teacher, and Charlie's childhood friend Connie, who aspires to be a state senator one day. Charlie's charismatic and even if he's not the most well-liked person at Harvard, Adam feels a weight lifted off his shoulders once he becomes friends with him and Connie. Things become a little easier.

Just before he and Charlie start getting really close, Adam meets Casey at a local diner on a day he's feeling particularly upset and alone, and the two start bonding almost immediately. (He bullshits his way into scaring an ex-husband of hers with legal repercussions he has no idea about and she basically adopts him in return.) It takes him an embarrassing amount of time to realise that it's not just a coincidence that Casey and Charlie share the same last name, which results in poor Adam feeling extremely embarrassed for not connecting the dots sooner while Charlie's having the time of his life teasing him for it. Eventually, when the dust of that settles, Charlie and Adam join forces to set Casey and Bombay up, their schemes borderline ridiculous at times, but they'rere not exactly failing.

And after realising he isn't the Warriors moron she thought he was for going on five years, Linda starts warming up to Adam, which is surprisingly nice? She figures out on her own that there used to be something between him and her fiancé, and is more understanding of Adam than she is mad. Linda actually spills to him the lengths Adam's ex had to go through to actually get into Harvard, aligning more with the rumours about Adam's acceptance being bought than having the aptitude for the law that Linda and Adam share. (This may be me saying Linda and Adam friendship rights, what of it-- /lh)

To make things all the better, Bombay chooses Adam, Linda, Connie, Charlie, and Adam's ex to be on his legal team for a murder case he's responsible for (and while he knows about Adam and Charlie's ploys to hook him up with Charlie's mom, they're his favourites, so he doesn't say anything).

And this is just so much better than anything he had before. After all the initial unpleasantness, Linda and Connie become some of the most genuine friends he's ever had. He misses Guy and Jesse, of course, and he'd never take them for granted, but back when he was with them at the fraternity, a part of him was still being as superficial as he had been in middle and high school. Being authentic for once in his life is liberating.

And Charlie's just about the most considerate person Adam's ever met. Adam doesn't even mind when Charlie teases him over his absurd and juvenile insults because he's just this source of light for Adam, supporting him and always pushing him to be the best version of himself. His ex hardly even exists when Charlie's around because his energy is just so contagious that Adam starts falling for him long before he even realises it. (And when Jesse and Guy come to visit, there's a moment where it all clicks and the four of them realise their history together, however brief. I strongly maintain that they'd be that Starkid meme: "Fucking Hawks? We hated you guys!" "We hated ourselves!" But it does make Adam realise how much better off he would've been if he had Charlie and his team when he was little instead of the Hawks, and it just further makes him understand that people like Larson and Rick Riley just aren't worth it.)

But there's also another revelation Adam goes through. Between helping Casey, his rigorous studies, and his position working with/for Bombay, something just clicks for Adam. He likes being able to help people, fighting for the good guys who may not have the resources they need to be properly defended. Practicing law calls to him in the same way hockey did; it's the feeling of knowing this is what he's meant to do. He still loves hockey, he always will, but it helps him finally grasp that there's a world for him outside of it; when hockey ends for him, there's something equally as rewarding that he can pursue, which was something he never thought he would have.

I haven't a single coherent thought about this au past that point except for these little inklings of an ending--

There's absolutely no SA scene like the movie had; Bombay's just Adam and Charlie's favourite teacher and those are his boys, so he's going to make sure they succeed as if his life depends on it.

With that said, Bombay believes in them both enough to let them finish the case because with their joined determination/stubbornness (and Adam's in with the defendant), Adam and Charlie are a force to be reckoned with and he knows it.

After a handful of comedic failures, they do end up succeeding at their attempts to set Casey and Bombay up, and they start living together sometime during the kids' Junior year :) (All I'm asking is for one (1) story with a Casey/Gordon endgame-- I just think they're neat--)

Linda dumps her fiancé (as she should) and goes on to live her best wlw life as a successful lawyer. (If I'm not mistaken, Linda's actress actually is a lawyer, which is a pretty cool fun fact!!)

Adam and Linda's ex gets the Warner ending because, man, screw that guy /lh (rip to Larson if this is him, I'm sure you'll get a nice endgame in some other universe, king)

Honorary mention for Connie, who was going long distance with Guy this entire time to everyone but Jesse's shock, and they get their Game Changers endgame of State Senator Connie Moreau and stay-at-home dad Guy Germaine with their seven -- sorry, three -- children :)

Adam's an absolute bundle of nerves after graduation, which definitely concerns Charlie. So, when he asks if he's okay, Adam starts nervously monologuing about their time together until he runs out of breath. He ends it by proposing to him, and Charlie smiles so surely at him when he says yes. They both become damn good public defenders and stay engaged until the point they can legally get married, but they're practically husbands long before that happens.

Also, if I did my math right (which I should’ve, it’s my entire basis for my Share Your Address series), the Ducks’ would have the same graduating class year as Elle Woods anyway (2004), which is pretty neat!

Thank you once again for listening to me ramble :)

[stylesluxx]

imprint – p.lahote

[warnings: angst, swearing, an anxiety attack]

summary: in which y/n thinks it's just the imprint talking | part two

word count: 6,171

masterlist

"Long night?"

You sighed and turned around to face your best friend. You've known Jacob for as long as you can remember. You went to the same schools (you begged your parents to keep you together) and his house was a two-minute walk from yours.

"Very," You nodded and turned back around to shove your chemistry textbook in your locker.

"I can't believe you spend your nights looking through this stupid textbook."

"I can't believe you think it's okay to bother me at 8 AM," You retorted playfully and shut your locker.

"Don't be friends with me then," He shrugged and wrapped an arm around your shoulder as you started walking to your first class.

"I hope those two idiots are on time."

"Embry and Quil? On-time? Come on, Y/N, let's be realistic here."

You laughed and shook your head as you walked into your Spanish class. You happily greeted your teacher and sat in your usual spot in the middle of the class. Jake took the seat next to you and you looked over at the empty seats Quil and Embry would later occupy.

The bell rang, signifying the start of the first period and you felt Jacob move to take your backpack off your back.

"You really must be tired," He chuckled and set the bag next to your seat.

"You have no idea," You yawned and put your hand up to cover your mouth.

Quil and Embry ran into the room, panting and heaving, right after the morning announcements ceased.

"Typical," You mumbled.

They apologized to the teacher for disrupting the class before moving to their seats. As they walked in front of your table, you stuff a foot out and watched Quil trip and push Embry forward involuntarily.

"Watch it, you clumsy idiot!" Embry whisper-yelled, making you giggle.

"It was Y/N's fault. She tripped me," Quil argued as they both took their seats.

Quil and Embry were a package deal. One summer you went to Boston to visit some family and when you came back, Jacob had made some new friends. At the age of eight, you were used to having Jacob all to yourself but the two idiots refused to leave you alone once you came back just in time for school. The two boys grew on you fairly quickly (they brought you candy every day to get on your good side) and the four of you grew super close, they were practically your brothers.

You glanced around the classroom to see if anyone was distracted by the two idiots but at this point, no one bothered paying the two any attention.

You noticed there was one empty seat left and you realized the spot belonged to Paul Lahote.

Paul Lahote was an enigma. Well, only to you. Everyone knew he was hotheaded and cocky but there was something about him that pulled you in. As deluded as it sounded, you believed there to be another side to Paul Lahote.

You looked away from the empty seat and fixed your eyes on the classroom door opening and closing. There he was, in all his glory.

Jacob scoffed and rolled his eyes as he watched you become entranced in the boy you had a crush on.

"Still don't know what you see in him," Jacob whispered.

"I have a thing for unrequited love," You shrugged.

Paul would usually walk in with a boastful smirk on his face but today it was replaced with a frown and his eyebrows were furrowed in discomfort.

He quietly talked to the teacher and handed her a note. She nodded and took the piece of paper from him, setting it on her desk.

He kept his head down as he trudged over to his seat by the window and sat down. His head immediately met the table, his arms in between his head and the desk to give him some comfort.

"Have you guys ever thought about setting alarms?"

You scoffed at this question that was directed toward Embry and Quil. It was lunchtime and your hand was moving fast, trying to finish your Spanish homework so you wouldn't have to waste time doing it at home.

"Ashley, do you think they've ever even heard of alarm clocks?" You questioned.

Ashley was first introduced to the group during freshman year. She was new to La Push but had no issue walking up to you and asking for a friend.

"I figured since it's the first day, we could just be each other's comfort," She shrugged.

Of course, she didn't know about the boys but she was soon introduced to them during gym class. Quil embarrassingly kicked a ball directly in her face, causing her to turn red, clearly infuriated.

"Of course this happens on the first day," You sighed and ran over to her. "Are you okay? I'm really sorry about my friend. He was born uncoordinated."

"Yeah, no kidding," She huffed and rubbed her red cheek that was beginning to swell.

She was still making Quil pay for the incident. Every time she wanted something from him, she'd milk the remind him of "the most tragic moment in La Push history." 

She wanted him to get lunch for her?

"Quil, remember when you almost shattered my face? Well, I do. It was the first day of high school. Can you go get me lunch?”

He’d just sigh and shake his head before standing up and doing whatever she asked.

While Embry and Quil argued over whose fault it was that they were always late, Ashley turned to you, head on palm and elbow on the table.

"So how's day one million of crushing on Paul Lahote?" She teased and of course, Jacob just rolled his eyes.

You reached over and tugged at his long hair gently, making him swat your hand away.

"Day one million of my ordinary life is going great," You nodded with a smile.

"You do realize, he's just your typical arrogant asshole, correct?" Embry spoke up.

"Well, it's not like I'll ever have to deal with it. As if he'd even think about talking to me," You blew a raspberry and scooped up a spoonful of the rice sitting on your plate.

"Speak of the devil," Ashley grinned and elbowed your ribs, making you jolt up from your sulking position.

You watched as he practically dragged himself over to the lunch line and grabbed a tray.

Any other day you'd watch his pretty brown eyes follow around the prettiest girls at school and give them a wink. Any other day, your heart would drop to your ass and you'd sigh in defeat. But today his bright smile stayed hidden and you watched as he scowled uncomfortably.

"Looks like someone's in a bad mood today," Quil observed.

"Oh, thank you, Captain Obvious. What was the giveaway?" Ashley quipped, her and Quil rolling their eyes at the same time.

"You guys realize he's human and can have a bad day, right?" You asked and watched him flop into a seat at an empty table.

"Oh really? I would've thought he was a god the way he walked around here," Jacob spoke sarcastically while chewing his food.

"He's just... misunderstood."

—

Days went by and Paul just stopped coming to school. The day after he came in looking out of place, he came to school two periods in, and then the day after that he just left school early. That was the last time you saw him.

For the first couple of days, you looked for him but after a week, you just gave up. Weeks went by and there was no sign of him, you just hoped that he was okay.

"Still have hope your little boyfriend isn't a high school dropout?" Jacob teased as he saw you look over at Paul's empty seat.

"Are you obsessed with him?" You rolled your eyes and hit his water bottle obnoxiously, knocking it down. "You guys always bring him up. Are you sure you're not the one crushing on him?”

"Don't disrespect me. If I was interested in guys, it definitely wouldn't be Lahote; I love myself enough."

You rolled your eyes again and scoffed before telling him to “just shut up.”

Once the bell finished ringing, Embry and Quil rushed in claiming they weren't late. Quil learned to walk behind your table instead of in front and tugged at your hair.

"Jackass," You mumbled and rubbed your head.

15 minutes into the lesson, the door opened and shut but you didn't bother to lift your head until you heard the voice.

"I apologize for being late," He spoke smoothly and your head whipped up in shock.

You watched the boy hand a note to the teacher with a smug grin on his face.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Jacob mumbled and raised an eyebrow.

"He looks much better," You mumbled back as you watched him confidently walk through the classroom and claim his seat.

"Yeah, and he got all muscly and tall. How do you gain that much height so quickly?"

"And you're sure you don't have a crush on him?"

But Jacob was right. When Paul disappeared he was scrawny and 5'11" but now he was muscular and at least 6'4". And was that a tattoo? He wore a shirt that showed off his muscles and a tattoo that wasn't there when he disappeared.

Once Spanish class let out everyone rushed out the classroom and in the doorway, you spotted Jared Cameron. Paul walked out ahead of you and met Jared, punching his shoulder playfully and laughing at whatever his newfound friend had said.

And now that you saw the two together, you remembered that Jared too disappeared earlier that year. He was in your second-period math class and one day he was there and the next he wasn't. He also looked sick the days leading up to his absence and came back taller and muscular. You looked closely and saw they both had the same tattoo in the same spot.

"Don't stare too hard, Creep," You heard Embry's voice.

You shoved him away before turning around and walking to your next period.

The day slowly dragged on and before you knew it you were in chemistry, the dreadful class right before lunch. You listened to your teacher drone on and on about something you didn't understand. By the end of the lesson you realized you'd have to skip lunch to get some help, so you sent the group chat a quick text before grabbing your things and moving to the front of the classroom. You sat down and politely asked the teacher for help, which she happily agreed to.

You were in the middle of balancing a formula when you heard feet shuffling into the classroom.

"Do you mind if I pick up some of the work I missed? It's all been excused."

"Sure, Paul. Let me head upstairs and grab it from my office. Just wait here," The teacher said and stood up from the chair. "And keep going Y/N, you're doing great!"

You nodded and kept your eyes on your paper as she retreated from the classroom. You finished the problem you were on and started working on the next one but you were stumped. This problem was nothing like the first and different rules had to be applied.

"I can't," You muttered to yourself and tossed your pencil down on the desk.

You pulled away from the desk and raised your head to look at the board in front of you but your eyes met another pair.

You weren't expecting Paul to be leaning against the board directly in front of you, his arms crossed over his chest. He must've looked over when he heard you speak and your eyes met coincidentally.

You gave him a forced and awkward smile when you realized he wasn't looking away. His arms fell to his sides and his mouth gaped as he continued to stare.

"Uh, are you alright?" You asked him and gave him a concerned look.

Before he could answer, the chem teacher came back in the room with a stack of papers in her hands. Paul quickly turned his attention to her, grabbed the papers, and whispered a soft thank you before bolting out of the room.

You felt your cheeks grow hot in embarrassment and turned your focus back to the paper in front of you.

For the rest of the day, you tried to push that moment to the back of your mind. You couldn't believe that was your first encounter with Paul. You were so embarrassed you weren't even going to tell your friends because you knew you'd never hear the end of it.

The rest of the day and into the next goes completely uneventful until it's time for lunch.

You were at your locker with Jacob, switching out notebooks and binders, teasing him about how he was drooling in his sleep during first period.

"You were snoring too," You lied, trying to get a reaction out of him.

"You are such a liar. What do you even gain from lying?"

You laughed and went to respond but were cut off by the view of Paul Lahote walking in your direction. He turned to look at Jared who just shooed him over with a hand motion, before turning back around, his eyes on you.

You ignored Jacob trying to regain your attention and gave Paul a gentle smile and prayed you wouldn't embarrass yourself.

"Hi, I'm Paul. Lahote. Paul Lahote. I've never really introduced myself which is weird because you're... stunning and we're in the same grade and I think we have some classes together," He babbled on nervously, making your eyebrows crinkle while you tried to keep up with what he was saying.

"I'm Y/N," You cut off his rambling and reached your hand out for him to shake.

He looked at it for a second before looking back at you with a smile and reaching his hand out to meet yours. You stood like this for a few moments, your hand in his and his eyes on you in awe.

Jacob cleared his throat and pulled Paul out of his trance as he turned to glare at Jacob, dropping your hand in the process.

"Is there something you needed?" You saved Jacob from Paul's death glare with this question.

Paul's head snapped toward you and he started to grow red in embarrassment or nervousness, you couldn't tell.

"I was, uh, I was wondering if you'd go on a date with me?"

You lightly gasped, unnoticeable to anyone but you, and your eyes slightly widened.

"O-oh wow," You mumbled and bent your head to look at the binder in your hands, trying to avoid the three sets of eyes on you. You felt the heat rise to your face and a shy smile grow. You weren't used to this type of attention especially from the boy you've been crushing on for three years, so you were a mix of nervous and shocked and happy. You were feeling everything at once.

"Only if you want to!" He started to backtrack when you didn't give him an answer.

You looked back up at him and shook your head at his words but you realized it looked like you were rejecting him when his face started to fall, disheartened.

"No! I mean, no, I don't mean no. I mean yes, I'll go on a date with you," You stammered, trying to clear everything up.

"Okay cool," He nodded and his pretty smile returned to his face. "I'll pick you up Saturday at noon?"

"Yeah, okay, sounds good."

"Okay cool," He repeated before walking away, making sure to give you a shy wave as he went toward Jared.

"What... the hell was that?" Jacob broke his silence and looked at you wide-eyed as you kept your eyes on Paul's retreating figure.

"Looks like I got a date."

—

The days leading up to your date had to be the most delightful days you've ever experienced while in high school.

On Wednesday morning, you were greeted by a smiley Paul who was leaning against your locker.

"Good morning," You smiled as he moved off your locker and leaned on the one next to yours.

"Morning! I thought I'd walk you to first period."

"Oh wow, you'll be early to class today," You teased, making him laugh and nod.

On Thursday, Paul walked you to class again; of course, you weren't complaining, you'd take any opportunity to talk to him. On this day, he met you at the doorway of the chem room and walked you to the cafeteria.

You thanked him as he opened the door for you and got hot in the face when you saw Ashley give you a wink and a thumbs up from the lunch table.

He kept you company as you waited in the lunch line and separated once you sat at your table, softly bidding you a good rest of the day.

And on Friday, everything was repeated but with a new addition.

Paul was waiting for you in the lobby and usually, Jacob would be trailing behind you but it was boys night for the boys and girls night for you and Ashley. So Jacob was catching a ride with Embry and Quil and Ashley was already waiting by your Jeep.

"Do you just want my schedule so you won't have to wait longer than you need to?" You asked him with a playful smirk.

"Then I'd officially be stalking you," He played along and followed you outside. He took your umbrella from your hands, opened it, and held it over your head to shield you from the rain.

"Are you always such a gentleman?" You giggled and looked up at him, his eyes already set on you and filled with admiration. "And it's not stalking if I want to be pursued."

"Oh really?" He raised an eyebrow.

You turned away and gave Ashley a quick smile once you reached the car.

"Do you need a ride?" You asked the boy next to you, turning back to face him.

"No, I've got a ride with Jared. But I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Can't wait," You confirmed and took the umbrella from his hands.

You shut the umbrella and got in the car as Paul walked over to Jared. You set the umbrella on the floor in the back and your backpack on the seat. Ashley followed your lead and punched your shoulder in excitement.

"Stop it," You whined and rubbed your shoulder.

As you pulled out of the parking spot, you drove by Paul and gave him one last wave before driving home to start the weekend.

Paul arrived the next day at exactly noon. When you heard the doorbell ring throughout the house, you sprinted down the stairs to make sure neither of your parents got there before you. You already told them you were going out with a friend earlier in the week but they assumed it was one of the dorks you usually spent your time with and you let them think that. You didn't want to introduce them to Paul just for things to not work out. It even took you a while to introduce them to Ashley. People meeting your parents is a sacred thing, a rite of passage if you will.

"You look gorgeous. You are gorgeous!" He greeted you with a bright smile.

"Thank you, though I'm just wearing jeans and a sweatshirt," You shrugged and shut the door behind you. "No offense, but you look tired. Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Oh no, it's okay," He shook his head and his eyes fell toward the ground while he thought of a response. "I just was anxious about the date is all. Couldn't really sleep much."

He walked you over to his truck and opened the door for you, which you thanked him for, before going over to the driver's side. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Try to get some rest tonight. Some tea usually helps me. I'll give you a couple of my relaxation teabags when you bring me back home. Just remind me," You spoke softly while giving him a concerned look. "Will do," He nodded and pulled out of your driveway.

He brought you to your favorite diner in all of Washington and was super polite. He was opening the doors for you, pulling out your seat, and even paid for the meal even though you argued against it. And though he was tired, he was clinging onto every word you said, leaning in to show he was interested. "Is that your favorite food?" He asked once the waiter took your orders. "No, but I do enjoy it," You shrugged. "What's your favorite food then?" "I like any kind of pasta," You said after pondering for a moment. "Spaghetti, ravioli, lasagna, and anything else." And that's how it went the whole time. Paul would ask you questions, trying to get to know you in any way possible and you'd answer and ask him questions.

It was fun, there was never a dull moment, and even when things were getting quiet, he'd crack a joke that'd make you burst into laughter. It was the perfect date in your eyes; he was so polite and caring or maybe it was just you giving your crush more credit than he deserved, but that still didn't change how you felt.

When Monday came around, Paul was at your locker and classes, waiting for you and walking with you. At lunch, he was standing by your chem class with a Tupperware bowl in his hand and a nervous demeanor.

"Hey, what's that?" You asked and pointed to the bowl he was gripping onto tightly.

"I, uh, I brought you pasta. It's spaghetti. You said that pasta was your favorite food so I kinda made you some. Well, I helped make it," He nervously stumbled over his words, making you giggle. You stopped walking once you got to your table and he held his arms straight out, handing the bowl to you. "Here you go."

You felt the heat rise to your face once again and you took the bowl from him. You glanced down at the bowl before looking back up at him and pulling him into a hug.

"This was so beyond thoughtful. Thank you so much," You praised him and rubbed his back with your free hand. You pulled away and held the bowl up to your eyes so you could see the food. You set your hands back by your waist again and locked eyes with his, both sets of eyes filled with amazement. "This was so sweet."

"Anything for you," He nodded.

"I'll give it back to you right after lunch. I promise," You told him and held out a pinky.

He chuckled and grabbed onto your pinky with his own, "I believe you."

He let go of you and walked off to sit with Jared but you kept your eyes on him and watched his friend grab onto his shoulders and shake him happily.

You turned to your table and sat down, already replaying what just happened in your mind.

"Wow," Embry started.

"I've never seen you that cheesy before," Jacob chortled.

"I've never seen Paul that cheesy before," Quil scoffed. "So are you gonna share that?" He asked and pointed to your bowl.

"Anyway, Y/N, how was the date?" Ashley asked, pulling your attention from the boys.

"Oh it was great, he was very sweet! I like him. I told you guys he's not bad like everyone makes him out to be," You swooned at the thought of how you spent your Saturday.

"It's like he can hear you, that stupid grin won't leave his face," Embry observed, making you turn your head to look at Paul.

"So what if he's happy? Y/N's happy," Ashley regained your attention and you nodded at her statement.

"Very happy."

Once you finished up the spaghetti, you excused yourself from the table and went to go rinse it out. You walked over to Jared and Paul's table; Jared was the first to notice since Paul's back was toward you and pointed at you. You gave him a small smile before turning your attention to Paul.

"The food was really good. I rinsed the bowl out but of course, you'll have to wash it when you get home. Thank you again though," You spoke gratefully and handed the bowl back to him.

He took the bowl from you and then you proceeded to lean down and peck his cheek before scurrying back to your table in shock by your actions.

"This is a proud moment for me," Ashley feigned tears and held a hand over her chest, making you laugh.

—

For weeks it seemed like the joy Paul brought to your life was never-ending.

You've gone on a couple more dates which you thoroughly enjoyed. He took you to the movies but fell asleep within the first five minutes. You laughed quietly and shook your head as you rested on his shoulder.

He explained to you how he sometimes has to work overnight shifts at his job, so you didn't fault him for being tired. You tried to cancel the dates and get him to catch up on his sleep, but he insisted on spending time with you, making you adore him even more.

The two of you were in Port Angeles for the next date and while it was freezing, you were both sitting on a bench outside eating ice cream.

"You're not cold?" You looked at Paul as you shivered.

"No, are you?" He asked and you nodded your head quickly. "Come on, let's go sit in my truck."

You stood up and he wrapped an arm around your shoulders. You leaned into his warmth and hummed happily at the feeling of him.

He opened the door to his truck and helped you get in then shut the door behind you. He got in on the driver's side, turned the car on, and turned the heat on.

"You have that big coat on and you're still cold?" He teased.

"You only have a sweatshirt on and still feel hotter than the sun."

He laughed and watched you lean back in the seat and go back to eating your ice cream. You felt his eyes on you for a while but you kept your eyes on the rain that started to fall outside.

"You know, you could always just ask to take a picture," You teased, looking at him from your peripheral vision.

"Okay." He took his phone from his pocket and faced it toward you. "Smile!"

You turned to him enthusiastically and gave him a big childlike smile before giving him a regular one.

"Let me see," You softly demanded, losing the rush of confidence you just had.

He turned the screen to you and showed you the pictures.

"You're so beautiful," He complimented as he set his new screensaver as a picture of you. The heat automatically rose to your cheeks and giggled happily.

"I could say the same."

You looked up at him and met his eyes, your heart racing, and your stomach full of butterflies.

"Do you mind if I kiss you?" He asked politely, looking from your eyes to your lips, and then back.

"No, not at all," You slightly shook your head and leaned in closer.

He filled in the rest of the space and his lips gently landed on yours. He set his phone down and both of his hands reached up to cup your face. With your eyes shut, you focused on the kiss and how soft his lips were; you knew you were instantly addicted, not wanting to pull away. But you had to breathe, so when you pulled away, you gave him one last peck before coyly turning around to face the windshield and finish your ice cream.

"That was perfect."

—

Paul arrived at your house a week later, pulling you by your hand energetically into the woods.

"Paul, where are we going?" You giggled as you held onto his hand while stepping over a log.

"We're going to the beach but I have to tell you something. Well... show you something. That's why we're walking."

"Oh okay, what is it?"

"So, you've heard the Quileute legends, I'm sure" He started and pushed a tree branch out of the way. "Jacob has probably told you. But what if I told you it was real? And I'm a shapeshifter?"

"Uh, I'd probably laugh," You chuckled and looked up at him.

"Well, it's true. I can, uh, I can show you if you'd like," He stammered nervously and rubbed the back of your hand with his thumb.

You raised your eyebrows and nodded hesitantly. He pulled his hand from yours and backed up. He shook his head as he kicked his shoes off and stripped out of his clothes.

"Paul?" You questioned.

"Just trust me. I need you to know that I'd never hurt you," He said before he started shaking and getting red all over.

Your eyes widened and your feet moved backward to get some more distance as he leaped into the air and was suddenly on all fours.

"Paul?" You said once more but shakier.

In front of you stood a huge dark silver wolf that was five times larger than your boyfriend that previously stood in front of you. At first, he was intimidating but then once he noticed your frightened expression, he started whining and the wolf tried to come closer.

You wanted to step back but you remember he said he'd never hurt you, so you tried to relax your mind and reached a hand up to pet his head.

He snuggled into your palm and huffed happily. You let out a breath of relief and giggled when he licked your cheek.

"My Paul," You nodded, coming to terms with what is.

He reluctantly pulls away from your touch and goes over to where he left his clothes. He picked his shorts up in his mouth before walking away and going behind a tree somewhere.

You assumed he needed to change back so you grabbed his shirt and sneakers off the ground, but stayed put otherwise.

He jogged back over to you in his human form, already holding his hand out for you to take. You latched onto his hand and he took his sneakers out your hands, but let you keep his shirt.

"So do you believe me?" He asked, sarcasm laced in his voice, as he pulled you along toward the beach.

You nodded but asked the question that sat in the front of your mind. "Does it hurt when you..?" You trailed off, not knowing the right term.

"When I shift?" He finished. "It used to hurt a lot like my whole body was on fire but now it just feels like little pinches all over my body."

"I don't like that, Paul," You frowned and shook your head at the thought of him being in any type of pain.

"Oh, me either, Darling," He said while pulling you closer and kissing your forehead. "Also, you can't tell anyone. Not even Jacob. It's imperative that you don't."

"Okay," You nodded obediently before demonstrating you zipping your mouth closed and tossing the keys somewhere in the trees.

"Silly girl," He smiled.

"And what about Jared?"

"He shifts too. Along with Sam Uley. I'm sure you know him; La Push is only so big. We think Jacob might be next. Him or Embry."

"There's nothing they can do to stop it?" You asked him, worried for your friends.

"If the lee-" He cut himself off. "Sadly, no. If they seem a little off to you, a little more on edge than usual, tell me. And try to get some distance, I don't want you getting hurt if they shift."

You slipped your sneakers off once you got to the beach along with your socks and stuff them into the shoes. You insisted that you sat right there the water would be able to touch your feet but still far enough where your clothes jeans stayed dry.

Paul dragged you out of the house while you were only wearing a tank top on your upper body, so the beach air sent chills throughout your body. You pulled on Paul's plain brown shirt and leaned against him, your own personal heater.

"So being this warm is a wolf thing?" You inquired.

"Yeah," He nodded. "There's also something called imprinting."

"And what's that?"

Paul looked around to see if anyone was close enough to hear but it was 8:00 PM, no one would be here unless it was one of the boys.

"Basically it's like a soulmate; a soulmate mixed with love at first sight. After phasing, I was able to imprint. It was completely involuntary, I didn't have a choice. When you see the person, your person, it's like nothing else matters. They're the reason you've been put on this earth. It's your job to protect them. be whatever they want you to be. A friend, a lover. You just will do anything for them. It hurts to be away from them for too long. You hurt when they hurt," Paul explained while keeping his eyes on the moon ahead of him.

"You know the feeling?" You hesitantly asked while turning to look over at him. You didn't want to ask in case you weren't his imprint but the curiosity took over and you needed to know.

"I imprinted on you. You're my imprint," He confirmed.

"Oh," You breathed out and turned to look at the water that gently touched your toes.

You received a lot of information today. And then to find out that Paul imprinted on you gave you a lot of mixed emotions. You were happy that you found the person you're supposed to be with forever but now you were looking at the whole relationship differently.

"So when did you phase?" You asked, keeping your eyes down.

"You remember when I was out of school for a bit?"

"Mhm," You hummed quietly and nodded.

"That's when. I imprinted on you that day you were getting help in the chem room."

"So..." You trailed off, trying to think of the exact words you wanted to say. "You only asked me out because you imprinted on me?"

"Yes," He answered quickly but then shook his head when he realized what you were trying to get at. "No, I mean no. It's not like that."

"I've had a crush on you since freshman year. I thought you'd finally noticed me and wanted me for me, but I guess it's only because of the imprint," You humorlessly chuckled and held your knees to your chest.

"No, Y/N, it's not like that-"

"Think about it, Paul. You've never noticed me before and our school is so tiny; La Push is only so big like you said. Everyone knows everyone and you still didn't notice me. You would've never even breathed in my direction had it not been for the imprint. I'm only beautiful, or gorgeous... or stunning, because the imprint tells you I am. You don't really think that and you don't really like me. Be honest with yourself," You ranted but still had a soft and gentle voice.

"Y/N..."

"I want to be with someone who chooses to love me. You are forced to love me," You sniffled and wiped your nose with your hand.

It was silent for a while after that and you just let the tears fall down your face. Somewhere deep down you knew everything with Paul was all too good to be true but you ignored it. You believed you were finally getting the fairytale story you deserved. But this wasn't it. It was like some twisted joke the universe was playing on you. And you just wanted someone to hold you. You wanted Paul to hold you and tell you everything would be alright. Despite how you were feeling, you still felt a sense of safety and home around him. But you couldn't fall into that anymore. You were now full-on bawling your eyes out and hiccuping while trying to keep the sobs from escaping your body.

"For your sake, l-let's still be friends. But for m-my sake, very distant friends-"

"Y/N, please-"

"Goodbye, Paul."

You stood up quickly and grabbed your shoes, trudging through the sand. You let a sob escape your mouth once you were a distance away. You felt it getting harder to breathe, so you picked up the pace, wanting to get to your destination before you passed out. There was only one place you could think of going that gave you the same warmth and homeliness you felt in Paul's arms. Jacob's.

[AN: omg I’m so nervous about posting this but I’ve been working on it for weeks and I’m really proud of it. thanks for reading!]

[rad-fulltime-exchange-program]

Brothers as Teachers

I want to be a teacher so here's my take on the brothers having my dream job.

Lucifer: - the war veteran history teacher - hates the curriculum and text books and makes sure his student KNOW they are terrible - seems strict but his students know he's very soft - will helps kids who put in effort and leave behind those who don't - enjoys it when his students get involved and debate - dad mode will activate sometimes on his students - has a rumor about him dating the Principle Diavolo - doesn't address it directly but his students know and support him

Mammon: - the math/ business teacher - he's the math teacher kids pray to have - so understanding of learning disabilities and hardships - believes every kid is smart and tries to foster their love to learn - he's been in their shoes and always tells stories of him getting in trouble to boost their mood - brings chaos to the classroom - probably taught his kids how to gamble

Levi: - low key the crazy biology teacher - has like 4 different class pets all named Henry - his room is anime themed with a corner dedicated to TSL - is the sponsor for the anime club and will show certain episodes in class as "educational videos" - his students know about his beef with Mammon and help him pull pranks on Mammon and his students - is also the swim coach so sometimes they will have class by the pool - keeps his room open during lunch for kids with social anxiety so they don't have to go to the cafeteria

Satan: - the English teacher who flexes their personal library - is probably the most "strict" - has his students keep notebooks where they can talk to him about anything and everything - if you get 100% on something he draws a cat for you - every Friday he doesn't actually teach but instead its a personal reading/writing day no grades attached - holds debates every Wednesday to help grow his students perspectives - ships his students and WILL pair them up this man lives for dramas

Asmo: - in the know art teacher - this is the best class to be in if you want drama - you can listen to music OR gossip with him - can and will give out relationship advice - probably started the rumors about Diavolo and Lucifer - Solomon is always visiting the classroom that it's not even a rumor they are together - also ships his students but is less sneaky about getting them together - keeps a bunch of hygiene things in his room for everyone. If you need something come get it you don't have to ask and he won't ask questions

Beel: - the chill PE teacher - is so sweet and understanding of others that if you can't do something that day he tries to comfort you - has an open door policy where you can come to him for anything - I like to think in this AU he has a PTSD service dog and if they go outside that day one of the activities you can choose is to play with it - will ALWAYS do the workout or activity with his students - runs at the back during the mile and helps motivate kids - keeps a bunch of snacks that students can swing by and take without asking. He believe kids shouldn't go hungry so stop by whenever

Belphie: - the will fight the government psychology teacher - you either get whole rants about the subject and how terrible the systems are or sleepy boy who gives you the period to work - tries to keep his lectures short to have your full attention the whole time - the structure of his classroom is to optimize productivity and if students have all the brothers you can see he makes his brothers do the same thing - sometimes has class outside next to Beel's - if a student needs a nap he keeps blankets and pillows in his room - hates desks so he doesn't use them in his class, you sit in a beanbag or something comfy and you will like it - once a week gives students a free period to catch up on other teachers work

[kim-chann]

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

       ❝   Siblings  ❞        --       Chef’s Special

            - - - | Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, Nobara Kugisaki, Satoru Gojo

                                 Synopsis ;; being siblings with some of my favourites

                                                           ﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏ $ 0.00

               - - - Includes slight manga spoilers - - - 

༺ Chef Note: Another Chef’s special! This has been on my mind for quite some time. This is some just some indulgent stuff cause siblings relationships are so fun but the worst at the same time lmao. 

Also!! I’m going to reopen matchups soon once I hit only 5 left. Currently, I have 7 left to write. So if I finish two more today, they’ll reopen later today!

༺ Chef Note: Adding a border, cause this is quite long...

〄          ⤷ Yūji Itadori | 虎杖悠仁 - - - 

       ☉ Being Yuji’s sibling is a wild game, jesus dude

       ☉ It doesn’t matter if you’re older or younger than him, he’s still as wild as ever

       ☉ Yuji is such a brat, he pulls pranks on you, blasts music in your ear when you’re sleeping, uses your stuff without permission, and overall, just plain rude...

      ☉ Just kidding!! (but he will do those stuff listed above)

      ☉ Being his sibling is the two of you guys being stupid as hell

      ☉ And siblings fights! He’ll always win whenever the two of you guys are wrestling and might accidentally hurt you, and will profusely apologise 

      ☉ Hurting you is the last thing he ever wants to do

      ☉ He’s the type of sibling to throw things at you just to get your attention instead of calling your name

      ☉ Whether it’s from a snack that he’s eating, or even a rock

      ☉ “Heyy, heyyy, I said hey!!”

      ☉ Once Yuji gets bored, he will barge into your room and bother you until he finds something better to do

      ☉ If you’re on a call with your friends, he will embarrass you. I feel like it’s always a siblings job to embarrass the hell out of each other 

      ☉ Yuji will start spilling your deepest secrets in front of your friends and tell the most embarrassing stories about you when you were younger

      ☉ Also! He always does head pats and ruffles your hair whenever he walks past you and doesn’t care if you just fixed your hair or not

      ☉ He will always ruffle it, and there’s nothing stopping him

      ☉ Yuji is also the type of sibling to accidentally break your door down

      ☉ “It was locked!!”

      ☉ “But you didn’t have to kick my door down!”

      ☉ “I didn’t mean to!”

      ☉ That’s... not even an excuse, Yuji

      ☉ Sometimes, he’ll ask for your opinion on a subject cause he trusts your words of wisdom

      ☉ “Hey, (nickname), do you think that my muscles are getting bigger?” He flexes his biceps and even invites you to touch it

     ☉ Once you say that he’s fine, and tell him the answer that he expects, he’s self esteem will boost (honestly, positive comments from siblings just feels more genuine, ya know?)

      ☉Yuji will always ask for homework help and is ass at math

      ☉ “Help meee, I don’t know how to do Geometryyyy” 

      ☉ Yuji is always whining 24/7, which he redeems to be a puppy 

      ☉ If you don’t know how to do geometry either, or forgot, then the two of you will struggle together. 

     ☉ “If I’m going down, you’re going down with me.” Yuji whines

      ☉ Can I also say that he will cook for you? (And it’s always delicious, might I add)

      ☉ Be can try to cook you anything you want, by researching recipes, then improvising to make it “tastier,” according to him

      ☉ But somehow, it always tastes better than you expected?? What kind of sorcery does he possess? cursed energy

      ☉Overall, being his sibling consists of the two of you going wild and him making fun of you

〄           ⤷ Megumi Fushiguro | 伏黒恵 - - -

       ☉ Being his sibling is him being protective of you

       ☉ Like Yuji, he doesn’t matter if you’re older than him or not, he will always protect you because “you don’t know what could happen,” Megumi says

      ☉ It’s really sweet, but sometimes, it can get pretty annoying whenever he walks you to a friends place and he makes sure that you get in the house before he leaves

      ☉ Going somewhere? “Let me come.” Leaving the house? “Where are you going?” Eating food? “Can I have some?”

      ☉ Even though it seems like he wants to protect you 24/7, he wants to be with you because honestly, he can get lonely

      ☉ Megumi didn’t really have many friends throughout his life, and since you’re always by his side, he just thinks that you’re his best friend/sibling 

      ☉ He thinks that protecting you is sibling bonds, but if you’re uncomfortable with him doing so, let him know and he will stop

      ☉ Megumi isn’t one of those mom’s who uses an app to track you down and sees whatever web browser history you go through, cause that’s honestly fucked up

      ☉ Megumi respects your boundaries and wants to make sure that you’re comfortable and safe 

      ☉ Sometimes, he’ll even wake you up in morning so you can go on walks with him and even summon his Divine Dogs to have them stretch and walk

      ☉ Since he’s a jujutsu sorcerer, you know about all the curses, grades, and schools around Japan

      ☉ Even if you’re cursed yourself and can see curses or not, Megumi will educate you about them 

      ☉ He’s really reliable on information cause I always see him as a smart boy

      ☉ Need help with homework? He’s got you covered

      ☉ Sometimes, he’ll even offer to do it for you if you’re too tired to (Which is really sweet not gonna lie)

      ☉ He’ll make you coffee in the morning and occasionally cooks for the two of you, and makes sure that you’re okay and well taken care of 

      ☉ Since the two of you didn’t have parents to look up to, he’s basically your sibling and parental figure 

      ☉ He basically raised you, per se

      ☉ Overall, he’s a great brother that just wants to see you happy and safe. Cherish him!

〄           ⤷ Norbara Kugisaki | 釘崎野薔薇 - - - 

      ☉ Nobara is a wild sister to have, oh my god

      ☉ She’s pretentious and wants to be the one that’s basically worshiped in the family

      ☉ Nobara hates you with a passion

      ☉ She’s like a spoiled sister that wants everything, and if you ask to borrow something that she has, she’ll say, “Who’re you?”

      ☉ She won’t let you borrow anything and always gets mad if you just go into her room

      ☉ “I can’t talk right now, I’m doing hot girl shit.”

      ☉ Nobara always gives you the stank eye or rolls her eyes whenever you ask her to do something, “can’t you do it yourself? I’m on my phone right now.”

      ☉ “I literally hate you, get away from me.” 

      ☉ Will only do what you say if she’s in a great mood

      ☉ She’s a sister that bullies her older or younger siblings all the time, but will stop if they start to cry, but not with her saying, “don’t be such a baby. Grow up!” 

      ☉ However, if someone is bullying you or made a snarly comment about you, she gets all defensive like she’s the one who got insulted

      ☉ “Excuse me? The hell did you just say?!”

      ☉ She’ll argue towards the person that insulted you, even complimenting you to counter the comment that was made against you

      ☉ Nobara is only allowed to bully you, nobody else!

      ☉ If necessary, she’ll even throw hands against that person to prove that you’re not what they say you are

      ☉ Don’t worry about Nobara losing. Every time she fights, she will win 

      ☉ After the fight, she’ll walk back to you with ruffled clothes and a bloody nose, and say, “If they bother you again, let me know so I can kick their ass.”

      ☉ Sometimes, Nobara spoils you (keyword: sometimes)

      ☉ She’ll buy you something that you’ve been wanting to have, like a new phone or something

      ☉ Once you thank her, she’ll be like, “Yeah, yeah, it’s nothing.”

      ☉ Nobara doesn’t hate you, despite her bullying you in every way possible, but it’s the littlest things she does for you that proves that she loves you as a sibling that she adores

      ☉ Overall, you got a bully for a sibling but makes sure that you’re actually loved 

〄           ⤷ Satoru Gojo | 五条悟- - - 

      ☉ I-- dear lord, how do I even explain this?

      ☉ It’s a bit tough being his sibling at the beginning 

      ☉ So I’m going to explain something else for a minute 

      ☉ When you were born into the Gojo clan, the family often discriminated you because you were an accidental pregnancy 

      ☉ So you were often discriminated as a child instead of getting worshiped and praised by the clan. You were practically a servant to the clan (like Mai and Maki)

      ☉ However, Gojo was always there to protect you because he was worshiped for inheriting the “six eyed,” curse 

      ☉ Gojo has been protective of you ever since you were a child and even helped you with your duties as a “servant.” 

      ☉Even if you inherited a technique or not, the family still looked down because you were not the “six eyed” curse

      ☉ Gojo wouldn’t be surprised if you hated him as a child because the family always compared you to him 

      ☉ So once Gojo was legible to attend Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical High school, he made sure to bring you with him

      ☉ It took his family a lot of arguing and convincing, but in the end, you got your bags packed up and ready to leave for the school

      ☉ If you don’t have cursed energy, and you’re younger than him, you can be trained how to defend yourself along with your brother for you not to get left out (like Maki)

      ☉You’re going to be a first year way earlier than other students, but like what Kamo said, “age doesn’t matter in Jujutsu.”

      ☉ Gojo will sometimes tease you as the two of you are students, but he’s a great mentor whenever you need help about something 

      ☉ Suguru and Shoko will also be your best friend too!

      ☉ Currently, Gojo is still a protective older brother, but goddamn he’s such a tease and a bitch at the same time

      ☉ “(Nickname)~~, what’re you doing?”

      ☉ Like every typical sibling, he can get bored and he will bother you, even if you’re busy

      ☉ If you become a teacher like him, he will randomly interrupt your class and sit down in one of the empty seat and act like nothings wrong 

      ☉ He’ll even act like a student by raising his hand and answering the question

      ☉Gojo disrupts a lot of your activities quite often just because he wants to and sometimes enters your room, stares at you for a few seconds, then leaves

      ☉ Whenever the two of you are free, he’ll invite you to go have some lunch or dinner to take a break from the school

    ☉ Expect him to order a lot of desserts too lmao

      ☉ Gojo honestly pays for anything, even your groceries, necessities, etc

      ☉ Gojo is literally rich, rich, and doesn’t care about his spendings sometimes, and will buy you anything if you ask him

      ☉ He spoils you a lot, to secretly redeem his forgiveness for how the both your parents treated you

      ☉ Overall, he’s a great brother and he’s really fun! Being his sibling is just him being himself, but extra protective 

༺ Chef’s Note: Trying my best to clear my inbox. I have 7 matchups left, wish me luck!

[swearingintengwar]

I'd love to see 13 off your list :)

So this kinda got away from me and ended up only tangentially related to the prompt, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out

The sound of a door opening startles Rin out of the manga he's reading.

He looks up, tail flicking attentively, but it turns out to just be his exhausted-looking brother. Yukio sets down his bag with a distinct thud, his shoulders hunched forwards in a way they only are when they're sore. "I'm home," he mutters in Rin's general direction.

Rin dog-ears his page and sets the manga down. "Hey there. Long day, huh?"

"Is it that obvious?" Yukio wipes sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his coat.

Rin nods. "Frankly, you look like you've had an anvil in your bag all day." He pats the edge of the bed. "C'mere, I'll give you a backrub."

Yukio takes off his shoes and coat before trudging over to Rin's bed, sitting down, and propping his forearms on his thighs. "A backrub sounds great."

Rin scoots over to kneel behind his brother, rolls his wrists, and puts his hands on the corners of Yukio's shoulders. Starting with a light touch and gradually working deeper, he presses his thumbs into the tight muscles, slowly rubbing away tension. "Tell me if anything I do hurts, alright?"

Yukio nods with a happy little sigh. "I will."

Rin slides his hands a bit inwards to reach another section of muscle. "Wanna talk about what happened? It's totally fine to say no."

"Not much to talk about," Yukio replies. "I'm just worn out, that's all."

It's the same excuse he's used a million times. But this time is different. Rin's finally gotten wise to his brother's tells, but his bullshit detector doesn't so much as twitch. Yukio's serene fake smile is nowhere to be seen, and his tone isn't reassuring or dismissive, just genuinely tired.

Cautiously optimistic, Rin moves his hands again, following the curves of Yukio's trapezius muscles upwards and inwards towards his neck. "Well, how'd you end up with so much stuff to haul around?"

"A lot of textbooks, first off." Yukio shifts his posture slightly to give Rin better access to his back. "I had math, history, and chemistry today, and I don't have digital copies of any of those textbooks."

"Ugh, lugging that history book around is the worst," Rin commiserates, pressing a little harder in an attempt to unravel a stubborn knot of tension under his thumb. "I swear it's twice as heavy as any of the others."

"Then - well. You know my history teacher, Mrs. Kagami?"

"Rings a bell." Rin adjusts his angle.

"She always returns a lot of assignments all at once. And she's been keeping us busy lately, so I got a couple pounds of paper from her."

"Whole pounds? What's she been making you do, write her a novel?"

"Essays," Yukio groans. "Lots of essays."

Rin leans forwards to touch his brow to the top of Yukio's head. "Sorry to hear that. Essays suck."

"I don't mind them, usually, but that was objectively too many," Yukio agrees.

Rin moves his hands inwards again, reaching for the nape of Yukio's neck. The muscles under his thumbs are shockingly tight. "This is gonna hurt for a moment, but it shouldn't last, okay?"

Yukio clasps his hands together. "I'm ready."

Rin summons the barest flicker of flame, just enough to make sure his hands are warm enough to ease the pain, and digs his thumbs into his brother's neck, rubbing little circles into the seized-up muscles until they start to loosen. Yukio's hands clamp down on each other until his knuckles are white, but he barely winces.

Working quickly, Rin works up the back of Yukio's neck, breaking the tension that's built up there, then gently probes the muscles on the way back down to make sure he didn't miss a spot. Satisfied, he puts out the flame and lets his hands slide down to Yukio's back, wrapping his tail around his brother's arm reassuringly. "I'll go over your neck again later, but we're done with the painful part."

Yukio's hands relax. "I didn't even realize I was carrying so much tension there."

"I getcha. I'm that way with my hands." Rin positions his hands and starts working on Yukio's upper back. "Now, where were we?"

"Well, I had a few minutes to spare during lunch, so I decided to pick up some supplies I've been running low on." Yukio sighs. "But the shop was so crowded, I didn't end up having time to bring them back here. Which wouldn't have been a problem most of the time, but it just had to be on the day I needed a big bottle of holy water."

"Life's a bitch like that sometimes, ain't it?" Rin finishes the spot he's working on and moves to the next one. "I know you're not much for crowds."

"Thankfully, that's all that happened." Yukio lets his head droop further down. "But it was still enough to have me carrying twice as much as usual all afternoon."

Rin tries to imagine carrying two backpacks in middle school, before he'd come into his heritage. It's not a pleasant thought. "Well, no wonder you're wiped out."

Yukio smiles, weakly but genuinely. "You know, it's good to be able to talk to you as a brother again."

"It really is." Rin moves his hands again, working into a new spot.

"Careful," Yukio gently warns. "Right up next to my spine's a bit sensitive. You're pressing really hard, and it's starting to hurt."

"Oh, sorry!" Rin adjusts his pressure, carefully changing his angle on the spot of tension he's found. Thankfully, this one isn't too big, and he unravels it quickly, even with a light touch just firm enough not to tickle. Sliding his hands outwards, he feels around for where he left off.

They sit in companionable silence for a while after that, enjoying the moment. The simple, precise, physical task is almost meditative, honing Rin's racing thoughts down to a point. Feel around for a tight spot, set my hands, start shallow and work deeper. Rub in little circles, gradually adding more pressure. Move slow. Careful of his spine. The slightly irregular rhythm keeps him from going on autopilot, letting him feel every second of Yukio slowly relaxing under his touch, and his heart swells with affection.

Rin is the first one to break the silence. "That's your back done. I just need to finish your neck now. It shouldn't hurt this time."

Yukio nods, and Rin sets to work. His brother's neck is still tense, but much less so than before. He doesn't need to get it over with quickly this time, so he works much more gently, coaxing the tension out bit by bit. "Does this feel alright?"

"It's wonderful," Yukio murmurs, and Rin's struck by the utter peace in his voice.

"I'm glad." Rin keeps working, intent on his task. Yukio's neck is bound to still be tender from the first round, so he's gentle and cautious, only pressing as hard as he needs to, occasionally calling a bit of flame to warm his hands.

It really hits him, then, how intimate the whole thing is. He's so used to swapping backrubs with the other esquires while they're cooling down after sparring, he's forgotten how it really feels to sit at someone's back and know they trust him. If his heart had felt swollen earlier, now he could swear it's fit to burst.

Up and down, gradually pressing deeper. Rin's hands are getting tired, but he barely notices. This is the home stretch. He can't falter now.

Finally, Rin feels the last of the tension melt out of his brother's body. He lowers his hands and scoots over to sit on the edge of the bed, stretching out his legs and shaking his hands, and - is Yukio crying?

Rin unwinds his tail from Yukio's arm and uses it to brush the tears from his cheeks. "Something wrong?"

Yukio's throat silently works for a moment before he manages a hushed, reverent whisper. "Thank you so much."

Rin leans up against his brother's side, soothing him through the tears. It's not long before Yukio comes up for air, looking more relaxed than Rin's seen him in years, and immediately pulls the elder twin into a tender hug.

Rin hugs him back and smiles a little, draping his tail around his brother's shoulders. Yukio gives great hugs, strong and tight but never crushing, and all the more precious for their rarity.

When Yukio lets go, he doesn't pull back far. "Let me do your hands."

"Hm?"

"Your hands." Yukio takes one of Rin's hands in both of his own. "You said they get tense a lot."

"Oh!" Rin lays his head on Yukio's shoulder and lets his brother take hold of his hand. "That sounds really nice."

Yukio smiles and sets to work, massaging Rin's hand with a gentle, precise touch, and oh, it feels really damn nice. Rin sighs and closes his eyes, snuggling closer to his brother. "Love ya, bro."

"So do I," Yukio replies, his smile audible in his voice. "So do I."

[goblinselfshippr]

Oh shit I dont think I've talked about the library in depth here yet. I’m gonna go ahead and post as is because I don’t think I’ll ever be done, but it’s already long as hell. Get ready for a shit ton of parentheses because I have a weird need to constantly use them

Also called the Library of Alexandria II, it is its own little pocket dimension of knowledge. It isn't technically infinite, but it definitely feels like it. Being Demon King of Time and Space, Sam exists in all dimensions, but not at once. Time is everywhere, meaning there isn't a world that doesn't have a version of him (confusing double negative I know). This means that all versions of him have access to the library.

Since the library is communal between his other selves, it is very common that I am asked where a certain dimension's version of a book is. I don't mind, but they really could just summon it themselves... For some reason I'm the only version of me in the library (it is entirely possible that there's a filter so that I can't see other me's), but most of the other Sam's recognize me. The few that don't just know me as the librarian, which is quite sad that they don't have a version of me. My version of Samael says he would get very lonely because none of his brothers appreciated Assiah the way he did I dont think he realizes I hated it here too until he took me in.

Anyway back to the library, it contains all knowledge that all versions of Samael have personally collected. Yes he has a section of works that he hand copied from the actual Library of Alexandria, but I am not big brained enough to understand all that math. His handwriting from that time is AWFUL too, so even if I could it would take weeks to decipher. This section is the only one that hasn't been updated. The others have since been retyped for easier reading, but these he keeps as they are.

He has a place for his outdated science and math textbooks that were more than likely stolen from a college centuries ago, that he sometimes reads for laughs over a glass of wine. He has so many cutesy math books it is hilarious, these are very obviously children’s books for maybe elementary age kids at the oldest, and they’re all well loved. Big kindergarten math teacher vibes. While demon lore and summoning is in the occult section, there are plenty of books on demon and general nonhuman biology in the science area! 10/10 very interesting. Really cute fact: my favorite bedtime story as a kid was Cosmos by Carl Sagan, (when I say kid I mean I was bringing this nearly disintegrated copy to preschool for show and tell) and the dark blue, gold embossed, absolutely dilapidated copy I grew up with is encased in glass in the science section. Yes I still know every word and when I found out he died before I was even born I cried for a fucking week. I need to buy my fourth copy soon-

The endless history and occult sections are my personal favorites. I actually got to contribute to some of the books in the occult section!! It really comes in handy when helping Dante out on his missions (yeah I’m self inserting by saying I personally made the demon information panels in the first-fourth games bc Nico made the ones in the fourth dhisbcish). There are so. Many. Cursed. Items. In the occult section. I ended up having to make a little corner for them so I wouldn’t accidentally get cursed from putting them back. They’re all given a sticker label like “bat amulet, wearer gets chased by bats until it gets taken off” and put behind glass. You have to come get me to personally unlock whatever item you need and write your reasoning for checking it out.

What about the history right? Surely someone as old as time itself has some really cool information about how people acted prehistory. The answer depends on whether you’re someone that scrolls past the notes or someone who reads as many comments as you possibly can. Sam is a drama queen and self described anthropologist, which means that there are entire file folders of amusing human interactions he witnessed. Things like “Today Neidhart decided he was going to begin courting Grede, and the idiot threw an onion at her. I am still laughing. Worse still, Grede’s sister overheard him wailing to his friend about what happened. All was well in the end though because once she heard the kind words relayed by her sister, Grede decided to give him another chance. How sweet.” It isn’t the flowery biased works about historical figures in power, it’s almost entirely research journals about collective social ideas based on time and region or little snippets that show humans have always been humans. These he keeps the original and hand typed versions together. He does have several signed scores from famous composers and a few original scripts from Shakespeare that he says were gifted to him (idk I wouldn't put it past him to have stolen them or asked for them in exchange for a contract).

Which brings us to the fiction. One of his favorite things about Assiah and the humans that reside there is the creativity, so of course as many nonfiction books as he has, he probably has twice the amount in fiction. Especially since common themes in fiction can show ideals of people at the time. The sheer amount of terrible romance novels in this section is very telling. Some of them have highlighted sections or notes that just say “lol what?” Or “that’s not how any of this works” etc. The only thing he has more of than romance is science fiction. Yes everything is alphabetical, but this section is also sorted by most to least possible. He will get bored one night and just reread the entire section, or at least as much as he can before the sun comes up. He absolutely hates Dr Seuss though and if you bring one in the library he will kick you out. I have no idea why, but this man could not would not in HIS house lmao.

[gxmonth]

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Month 2020

IT’S ON!

We start on August 31! I realize this may be a bit short notice for some, so I’ll be sure to get the word out earlier next year. Just do your best, take breaks when you need to, and most importantly have fun!

Draw/write/create, it’s your choice! All creativity welcomed!

Please remember to tag you posts with #gxmonth2020. If I miss a post please let me know.

And special thanks to @crystalbeastruby​ for creating the awesome banner!

Day 1 (August 31): “Game on!” It’s Judai/Jaden Yuki’s birthday today! Let’s celebrate!

Day 2 (September 1): “Red, Yellow, Blue!” Ah, the tier system at Duel Academy. Which dorm is your favorite?

Day 3 (September 2): “Rule the School” These kids might be saving the world, but they’re still students with homework to do and exams to pass. Celebrate the school life today!

Day 4 (September 3): “Sometimes I Can’t Believe We’re Related” 10Join! Today is all about the iconic brother-sister pair, Fubuki Tenjoin/Atticus Rhodes and Asuka Tenjoin/Alexis Rhodes!

Day 5 (September 4): “Pass The Salt” No story is perfect. So what is something you wish you could have seen in the story of GX?

Day 6 (September 5): “Going Down With The Ships!” You know what I’m talking about. We all have an armada parked in the bay, but there’s that one ship, that one ship, that you would die for. Today is all about OTPs and OT3s!

Day 7 (September 6): “Bring the THUNDER” Ichi! Juu! Hyaku! Sen! Chazz it up! Today the world does in fact revolve around Jun Manjoume/Chazz Princeton.

Day 8 (September 7): “The Power of Friendship!” Favorite dynamic duo, two characters you think would have been friends if only they met, how friendship saves the day, or maybe a friendship fail. It’s up to you!

Day 9 (September 8): “Born to be Bad” Inherently evil, brainwashed, misguided, or misunderstood. GX boots a colorful cast of villainy. Who’s your favorite bad guy?

Day 10 (September 9): Free Day/Introductions Tell us about yourself and your GX experience! Your favorites, why you like it, how you got into it. Or leave the day open to do whatever you want!

Day 11 (September 10): “Cyber Legacy” No Yu-Gi-Oh! show is complete without a pair of brothers. Today’s stars are Sho Marufuji/Syrus Truesdale and Ryo Marufuji/Zane Truesdale!

Day 12 (September 11): “But What If We Had Bikes?” That’s right! It’s time for the GX crew to rev it up on their very own D-Wheels/Duel Runners!

Day 13 (September 12): “And You Are...?” Got a favorite OC? Or one you’ve been hiding in the closet? Introduce them to the world today!

Day 14 (September 13): “The Perfect Formula” He duels with the power math and science! Today, show the world that you still remember Daichi/Bastion Misawa!

Day 15 (September 14): “Insert pun here” It’s meme day! Recreate your favorites! Make some shitposts! Be the troll you’ve always wanted to be!

Day 16 (September 15): “Creation and Destruction” The Gentle Darkness and the Light of Destruction. The eternal struggle. And also the Darkness that tried to drown the world. Huh. Feels a little unbalanced.

Day 17 (September 16): “Putting the D in Destiny” Pro duelist by day and crime fighting vigilante by night. Today is Edo/Aster Phoenix’s day!

Day 18 (September 17): “In Another Life” It’s AU day!

Day 19 (September 18): “I Was Here Too!” GX has a vast array of unique characters, some of which we only saw once. Pick a “one shot” character and show them off!

Day 20 (September 19): Free Day 2/Support Fellow Creators Show some love for your favorite creators, or leave the day free for whatever you please!

Day 21 ( September 20): “Prehistoric Predators” The dino duelist with a fossil in his leg. Today is all about Kenzan Tyranno/Tyranno Hassleberry!

Day 22 (September 21): “Stop Blowing Holes In My Ship!” Some ships are popular and some are...not. Today is all about rare pairs and crack ships! Give those underdogs some love!

Day 23 (September 22): “And For Today’s Lesson...” The teachers at Duel Academy have their work cut out for them, but they still take care of their students. Show the DA staff some love today!

Day 24 (September 23): “Legend of the Seven Gems” Resurrect the greatest light in history today with Johan/Jesse Anderson and the Crystal Beasts!

Day 25 (September 24): “For The Glory of Academia!” We got to see Asuka/Alexis and Edo/Aster over in Fusion Dimension, but what about the rest of the cast? Show us some Fusion counterparts today! What are these dorks up to and what part do they play in the war?

Day 26 (September 25): “Dream Team From Overseas” Austin O’Brien/Axel Brody, Jim “Crocodile” Cook, and Amon/Adrian Gecko. Today is all about them!

Day 27 (September 26): “Duel Monster Spirit Day!” The world of GX is full of spirits. Do something fun to celebrate your favorite!

Day 28 (September 27): “Gold Eyes in The Darkness” Today’s all about the Supreme King! Unleash the Darkness and create your content!

Day 29 (September 28): “Don’t Forget Me!” Have an underappreciated character you wish you’d seen more of? Give them some love today!

Day 30 (September 29): Free Day 3 Share anything. Anything at all. It’s free game.

Day 31 (September 30): “Gotcha!”  The series ends with Judai/Jaden running off another adventure. But where is he going? Today’s the day to share your post-GX headcanons!

[forevfangirlwrites]

Okay so either a teacher AU, secret relationship AU, more actress Annabeth, or cheerleader Annabeth? I love all of your writing so really anything is amazing

Betting is not encouraged at Jupiter High but that doesn’t stop half the students from forming a pool.

“They hate each other,” Katie asserts, rolling her eyes at the Stolls’ nonsense.

“Or, and hear me out,” Travis holds up his hands, “they’re actually flirting with each other.”

“Who flirts by being mean? That’s ridiculous.”

Travis, looking taken aback by her outburst, rubs the back of his neck meekly. “Some people do…”

Katie rolls her eyes again and turns back to the math homework incidentally assigned by the subject of conversation.

Ms. Chase was one of the hardest teachers at the school, but damned if everyone that entered didn’t walk out with a comprehensive understanding of mathematics.

Silena Beauguard, a senior, who had hated every moment of the class the year before, now sang praises of Ms. Chase and just how easy Calc was now. The girl had even decided to get a math minor.

Katie’s not quite at that level yet, but there’s no time to dwell on it as the bell rings.  

“I’m telling ya, you should get in on this,” Connor says. “Will bet twenty that they don’t actually hate each other but aren’t flirting either.”

“What kind of bet is that?”

Connor shrugs. “Don’t know, but it’s easy money.”

Shaking her head, she looks around in search of the other Stoll. Travis is lagging behind, suspiciously quiet, which usually means he’s planning some obnoxious prank on her.

“Travis, hurry up, we’re going to be late,” she urges against her better judgement.

Surprisingly though, he complies, and they make it to history with time to spare.

Mr. Jackson is the kind of teacher that encourages dressing up for a mock historical debate. But his energy is a bit contagious and makes the topics bearable.

He’s got a wide smile on his face today as he starts writing on the board, just as the second bell rings.

“Today,” he turns to address the class. “We’re going to be covering—“

A knock on the door interrupts him and everyone turns their attention to the front of the class.

Despite not getting along, the two teachers often interact with each other. Because standing at the door is none other than Ms. Chase.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she begins in a tone that doesn’t sound like she’s that sorry. “But Ka—”

She interrupts herself as her eyes land on the green letters on the board. “Are you talking about Hamilton? The musical?”

Mr. Jackson, keeping a very neutral face, responds, “Yes. There’s a lot to be learned from it.”

“Are you sure it’s not an excuse to just listen to a musical?”

The conversation is wholly civil with no undercurrent of anything in particular, but the whole class is watching in raptured silence.

“What brings you here Ms. Chase?” Mr. Jackson asks instead of replying.

“Katie.” Ms. Chase turns to the class. “You forgot your homework on the lunch table, I saw it when I was walking by.”

She takes two steps into the classroom as Katie, ears burning red, hastens to meet her. “And given that it’s for my class, I thought I’d return it,” Ms. Chase continues.

Katie mumbles a thank you as she accepts the paper, and hurries back to her seat, not wanting more eyes on her.

“How nice of you, Ms. Chase.” Mr. Jackson says. It’s a complete sentence but it feels like there’s things left unsaid as she turns back to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ll let you get on with your class,” is all she says before stepping back out of the room. Mr. Jackson turns back to the board as Connor whispers to Travis.

“Dude, did you see? He was totally looking at her when she handed Katie her homework.”

Katie rolls her eyes. Of course, this bet business comes up again.

“But did you hear they way they were talking to each other,” Miranda whispers from behind her, evidently hearing the conversation. “They hate each other.”

Before Katie can shush all of them, Mr. Jackson turns back to the class.

“Anything I’m missing over there?”

Stifling a groan, she shakes her head.  “Actually, Mr. Jackson,” Connor speaks up, immediately overriding her answer.

“We were wondering if you’ve ever seen Hamilton?”

Thankfully, Mr. Jackson is also the kind of teacher to cut some slack, because he responds.

“Yeah, we saw it last year and it’s an incredible stage performance.”

“We?” Connor asks again, in an all too innocent voice.

Any other teacher and he would have been reprimanded but Mr. Jackson looks too caught off guard by the question to even say anything.

“Yes…me and my…girlfriend.”

She will never forget the moment that the whole class collectively lost their shit.

A silent shift, but the bulged eyes say everything, and even Mr. Jackson looks uneasy at the way they are staring at him.

“Right, so let’s get back on track. Hamilton…”

And despite her best intentions to try to pay attention to what he’s saying, the note passing between the Stolls get the better of her as the betting pool started to crumble.

-.-

“Maybe she doesn’t know he has a girlfriend and that’s why she’s flirting?”

Travis nods thoughtfully. “But then why would he flirt back?”

“Guys, lets face it, they don’t like each other.” And with that she turns back to her locker, her final words on the matter.

“Don’t know about that Katie Kat,” Travis says, still contemplating how to interpret this news. He’s not the only one, the entire class burst into conversation as soon as the bell had rang and PE next period made it all too easy to continue talking.

“I agree,” Connor adds with a smirk. “You’re pretty bad at figuring out when people like each other.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She turns angrily towards Connor, only to find him cackling. Travis remains, once again, suspiciously quiet. And once again, before she can think further on what that means, the bell rings.

Walking into math has never been so…charged before today. The entire class is buzzing when Ms. Chase claps for attention.

“Alright class, we’re going to pick up where we left off on—”

But it’s difficult for anyone to pay attention and even Ms. Chase stops in the middle of a formula to address the obvious tension.

“What’s going on with you all today?”

Suddenly the whole class is silent. Her sharp grey eyes scan the class before landing on Travis and Connor.

“Well boys, you always know what’s going on.” She waits for an answer.

“Well,” Travis starts (after a lot of nudging from Connor). “We found out that Mr. Jackson has a girlfriend.”

The surprise is evident on her face. It’s rare to see Ms. Chase look taken aback, but she composes herself quickly enough.

“Good for him, why does that matter to all of you? A teacher’s personal life is allowed to be private.”

One day Connor will stop himself from speaking without a filter. Today is, clearly, not that day.

“Have you met her?”

Ms. Chase is exactly the kind of teacher that would never let anything like this stand but by some miracle of the gods, she’s not only taken back for a second time, it’s enough for her to not actually reprimand him.

“I..uh..yes, I have, not that it should matter to you.” Her composure, however, is lost on the entire class that, for the second time in that day, collectively loses their shit.

“Quiet!” Ms. Chase is still commanding enough to get everyone to shut up though.

“What’s she like?” Some girl in the back asks.

“She’s fine, now that’s not the point of—”

A loud knock at the open door has everyone’s attention.

And of course, of all the teachers, Mr. Jackson is standing there with his arms crossed.

“She’s great actually,” he says loudly.

For the first time, Ms. Chase actually rolls her eyes at the words.

“It doesn’t matter, that should not be a topic of discussion.”

Mr. Jackson nods. “You’re right. But for the record, she’s great.”  And with that he’s walking away again.

Ms. Chase actually rubs her face, letting out a huge sigh. She mutters something that Katie can’t make out.

“Okay, that’s enough, we’re getting through this formula now.”

She doesn’t know how they get through the class.

-.-

“Maybe—”

Katie cuts him off before he can say another word.

“Connor, please do not deposit another theory, I’ve heard like fifteen today.”

“Can you blame me? This is big news!”

She can’t, honestly. Despite her best efforts, she can’t stop thinking about it either. “No, I don’t blame you. I just can’t right now. Plus, I have a theory of my own I need to test.”

She shuts her locker and turns to her right. “Travis? Can I talk to you for a second?”

School’s out and most of the students have left, she’s only staying behind for Art Club and Travis and Connor usually chill with her for a bit before driving off. It’s been a long day, but she thinks she’s figured out at least one thing from all this chaos.

Connor immediately peaces out, walking down the hall as Travis looks nervously at her.

“What’s up?”

“Is there anything you want to tell me?”

She can see a hint of red flushing is face. “I don’t—”

“I’m SO sorry to interrupt but you guys NEED to see this NOW!” Connor’s whisper yelling and beckoning them towards a classroom door.

Without even looking at her Travis immediately jogs to his brother, Katie following behind, shaking her head.

The door is only open a little bit, but it’s enough to hear what’s going on.

“I can’t let you shit talk my girlfriend!” Mr. Jackson’s voice is clearly recognizable.

“I didn’t shit talk and it was so not the time to bring that up.” Ms. Chase’s clear voice is also obvious.

“Okay maybe I shouldn’t have said that, but I can’t let anyone say something bad about MY girlfriend.”

“I didn’t even say anything bad!”

“You said fine, FINE. Are you kidding me? That’s—”

“I think I should be allowed to say whatever I want.”

Katie looks over at Travis and Connor, both of whom are staring with wide eyes at the whole exchange. There’s no way she just said that.

“No.” Mr. Jackson’s voice sounds like a pout.

Ms. Chase sighs. “You’re so stubborn.”

“I have to be to date a goddess.”

There’s a small chuckle at the words. “You’re actually ridiculous.” Ms. Chase sounds unbelievably fond.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “But you still love me so I’m not gonna change.”

They can hear the smile in her voice when she responds. “I would never change you.”

“Even when I disrupt your class?”

There’s a beat of silence. “You’re lucky I love you.”

There’s another chuckle followed by more silence and Connor nods back in the direction of the hallway. They immediately run all the way down to her locker.

“NO FREAKING WAY!” Connor is leaning against the lockers as Katie automatically starts opening hers even though there’s nothing she needs to get from there.

“You can’t tell anyone.”

Connor looks at her. “What? Are you crazy?”

“Look, they clearly want to keep it private. We shouldn’t spill.”

Connor makes a face. “I mean it, Connor.”

“Ugh! Fine!” He turns towards Travis. “If you weren’t my brother, I would have kicked you for choosing someone with morals.”

And with that, he walks towards the doors.

It’s the last bit of confirmation she needs. She turns back to Travis who’s still nervously teetering close to her.

“So? Figure out if there’s anything you want to ask me yet?”

Travis makes a face. “You’re making fun of me!”

Smiling, she steps closer to him. “No, I’m not. I’m not mean to people I like.”

The sparkle in his eyes at her words makes her heart soar and she think she gets why Ms. Chase puts up with Mr. Jackson. It’s easy when the other person makes your heart flutter like that.

A/N: Hello! Thanks for the prompts! Another person also requested a teacher AU so I combined that request with yours and added some secret relationship in there! Told from an outside perspective but I hope you liked this! 

[stevesharrlngtons]

34 with roman 🥺

(remember when i talked about a nanny!au? well... here it is. somewhere in an alternate universe...) 

the feel of fingers brushing together by accident

sorry if roman is a bit ooc

You sat at the breakfast bar with Nadia, your arm outstretched creimously on the countertop as you watched her fumble through arithmetic. A bowl of Hershey Kisses sat between you both, crinkled balls of their foil scattered about. Your temple rested against the crook of your elbow as you fussed with the tin, waiting for Nadia to need any assistance. 

“You could be cleaning,” Peter quipped from the sink. 

“You’re the only old maid around here. I have better things to do,” you countered back, as you flattened a wrapper and began to peel it apart. 

“Scrolling through Neiman’s and sleeping ‘til noon?” 

“Precisely,” you looked up to grin at him in time to see him roll his eyes. 

Nadia gave a little giggle at the encounter and you threw her a playful wink. 

Most late afternoons into early evenings looked just like this one. You with Nadia at the counter as she did school work, and Peter wandering on the fringe of your conversations as he tidied and cooked dinner. It had felt strange at first, how quickly you had created such an effortless routine that rarely held hiccups or upsets with the two, who were supposedly notoriously closed off and unaccepting. But, it had seemed to be fate, that you had been the missing gear to their unit that was needed to have everything run smoothly. You were extraordinarily lucky to have earned both their favors, as well as Nadia’s father and Peter’s stringent boss’. 

You rolled a discarded foil ball between your fingers before promptly flicking it at Peter’s head. Nadia burst into giggles once more and your heart swelled at the noise. Peter gripped the sink and turned to look at you. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be helping her with her homework? Or are the concepts a little too lofty for you?” he snarked. 

“It’s third grade math, Peter,” you scoffed and fell back on your arm causally. 

“I know it is,” 

You huffed and stuck your tongue out at his back. Nadia began to laugh again but you poked her with your Manolo, a silent signal to keep quiet. She obliged, but her lips still held a wide grin. 

It was always a beautiful sight, her smile. A beaming expression that you rarely saw from her father, but often in photographs of her mother. Their upper lips curled the same way, which only widened her plump lips that she gained from her father. Her blue eyes crinkled at their corners and sparkled when she looked at you head on. Her smile was a wonder of the world, and after you informed her of this, the action that used to be next to impossible to achieve, happened regularly. 

“How many times does eight go into one hundred ten?” Nadia asked you, moving her pencil so you could see her long division problem. 

“Ok, c’mon, you got this. Start small, you know how many times eight goes into eleven right?” 

“But do you?” Peter muttered, just loud enough so you would have no trouble hearing him. 

“Quit, dish bitch,” you picked up another foil ball and tossed it at him. 

You heard him chuckle under his breath. 

“Once,” Nadia stated. 

“Great! Now put the one there, and the eight below,” you guided and Nadia did so. 

You both worked out the rest of the problem, and only one short curse word was said by you by the end. You were never good at long division, or math in general, so a worksheet filed with even basic division and fractions was a nightmare to you. Maybe Peter’s jab had some merit after all… 

When you and Nadia were on the tail end of problems, with your phone calculator out and helping on certain equations, the distinct sound of a key entering the front door’s lock disrupted the little girl. 

“Daddy!” Nadia exclaimed, the problem you were both painstakingly working at was immediately forgotten, as she rushed toward the door to greet her father. 

Roman opened the door just as she reached it, compensating quite well for a surprise rogue nine year old jumping into his arms. 

His hair was handsomely disheveled, likely from running his nimble fingers through it during moments of stress in his day. His suit jacket was discarded, the top button of his dress shirt undone, and his silk tie loosened to reveal more of her perfect alabaster skin. His broad shoulders fought the seams of his shirt and you could tell that he had recently run his sinful pink tongue over his plump bottom lip. He looked positively good enough to eat. 

“Daddy is right,” you mumbled, busying yourself with cleaning up the Hershey wrappers to save yourself from combusting over your boss’s good looks. 

“Yes, but not yours,” Peter said, coming over to help you. 

“A girl can dream, can’t she?” you replied with an exasperated sigh.

“Yes, and many have,” he said knowingly. 

You pinched his wrist with manicured nails and he smirked at you. It was no secret the droves of women who lined up to have a chance at landing Roman’s attentions. While many earned an entrance exam, none were asked back. You would sometimes see them with an exaggerated pouts on their lips the morning after as they trudged down the stairs and out the door. You couldn’t blame them for their theatrics or bad moods, however. When Roman Godfrey was on the line, any and all hissy fits were accepted and expected. 

Roman entered the kitchen with Nadia perched on his hip, his jacket and suitcase deposited at the door. 

“Evening, Ms. (Y/L/N),” he greeted professionally, as he sat his daughter on the counter next to you. 

“Evening, Mr. Godfrey,” you greeted melodramatically, something Roman shook his head at. 

You and Roman had never had a strictly employer-employee relationship, but you supposed that’s why you fit in so well in the Godfrey home. Since the day of your interview you were warm, practical, and up front with him and his family. You were nurturing, but firm. You treated Nadia and Roman like you would your own family and friends, and that had made you stick out from the crowd. As much as Roman needed a nanny for his daughter, he needed a friend for himself. He needed a maternal figure for Nadia, and he desperately needed a woman in his life he could trust wasn’t after anything insidious. And you fit all the requirements in spades.

“When will dinner be ready?”

“Twenty minutes, give or take,” Peter replied, peaking into the oven to check on the chicken. 

“I’ll be in my study until then,” Roman replied, as he retrieved his suitcase and then walked back toward his office. 

The sound of the door shutting made you and Nadia sigh. Her little face was void of any more smiles it seemed. 

“Hey,” you reached out and gave her spindly leg a squeeze, “how about we just cheat on the few we have left and watch some TV until dinner?” 

“We aren’t supposed to cheat.” 

“Sweetheart, I promise you that you will never need to do any of this mess in your head again. Calculators are the future -- have been the future! I’m sure when you’re in college they will be implanted in your arm and cheating will be encouraged.” 

“Really?” 

“Maybe,” you shrugged and Nadia crept back over to her worksheet and moved into her seat, “we’ll get your dad and all his scientists right on it.” 

Dinners mainly consisted of Nadia speeding through a book of topics while you and Roman desperately tried to keep up. She was a sociable little girl and always had a story to tell from recess or gym class. She loved playing make believe on the playground, but didn’t love how her peers wouldn’t follow the strict rules she had set up for them. This was often a bone of contention for her, her brows furrowing in frustration as she explained a quarrel she’d had at the slide that day. 

But tonight was different, tonight all she could do was talk about the following day. 

Nadia’s third grade class was going to the Natural History Museum on a field trip and she had been anticipating the trip eagerly for months. Not only because of the normal excitement all children held for field trips, but because this one would be chaperoned by her favorite person in the world: her father. 

You had convinced Roman at the beginning of the school year to sign up to attend the field trip with Nadia. He had hemmed and hawed about it for a week before he reluctantly signed the permission slip and gave it to his giddy daughter to hand in to her teacher. He would never admit it, but you knew that you were the one to push him over the edge into agreeing. 

“This will be one of those memories that will make her smile for the rest of her life. I swear, if my dad had ever come with me on a field trip, I would have never forgotten it.” 

And maybe it was because you had both bonded over absent parents in the past; or maybe it was the look that he often saw on your face when he had a nice moment with Nadia, the look of a little girl trapped behind your eyes, longing for her father to love her like that; or maybe it was because he knew it would make you happy; or maybe he just really believed you. It didn’t matter in the end, because he had agreed and made his little girl very happy. 

“Jenny Krinkles brother had Mrs. Bridge last year, and she said that he said that there is an exhibit where you get to touch all this weird slimy stuff, and I’m not sure why it’s there, but Jenny’s brother said it’s fun! So, daddy, I want to make sure we get to see that, ok? I think you’ll think it’s fun, too,” she prattled on. 

Nadia was too busy reiterating what Jenny’s brother had said about the dinosaur skeletons to notice how her father had become stock still and how his eyes were staring off into space. 

You settled your fork down next to your plate and watched him with a worried expression as his jaw tightened and his eyes bulged. 

“Are you alright, Mr. Godfrey?” you asked quietly, in a hope to not startle him. 

Roman’s stare switched over to you in a mechanical way, his lips formed a hard line as his eyes bore into your skull. 

“Daddy? Are you feeling sick?” Nadia chimed in, now noticing her father’s strange mannerisms and paling complexion, as well. 

“Yes, I-- I feel fine,” Roman dropped his silverware with a soft clatter onto his plate, “I feel fine.” 

You just nodded, but ducked to catch his gaze as he looked away. You wanted him to see your concern and know that you were only there to help. 

“Are you sure? You can’t be sick, you’ll miss the museum, daddy and -” Roman cut off his daughter before she could spiral. 

“Nadia, I’m fine. I am, but… something has came up at work last minute…” and he didn’t need to finish his sentence, it was clear what he was getting at. 

Nadia’s little face crumbled into pure anguish as she burst into hysterical tears. She pushed away the remnants of her dinner and fled the table without a word. While this reaction might have looked like an exaggeration to an outsider, it made sense to you. Nadia rarely got to spend one on one time with her father, it was why she was so reluctant of your hiring and why she sprang to action the second she heard him come home. She loved her father almost to a fault, and when his promises fell through (which they often did) it hurt her a thousand times over. She wanted her father’s attention so desperately and got it so rarely. Not to say that Roman wasn’t a good father, he was just a busy one. A busy single father running a multibillion dollar company. 

Roman called out weakly for his daughter, but the resounding thud of her door being slammed was louder. 

“Fuck!” he raged, pounding the heel of his hand to the table top, causing the dishes to quake. 

“You couldn’t push it off for one day?” you admonished. 

“I don’t fucking need this from you, too.” Roman snapped viciously. 

“I’ll deal with you later,” you bit back, as you took the napkin from your lap and threw it on your plate. 

“You’re not my fucking mother.” 

“And thank Christ I’m not,” you spat back at him, before you ran up the stairs and after Nadia. 

After over an hour of coddling the sobbing nine year old and snuggling her to sleep, you carefully left her under thick blankets and in the comfort of her Barbie night light, and went to find Roman. 

Unsurprisingly, you found him in his office, one a desk lamp illuminating the dark room. His tie had now been completely abandoned and two more buttons had become undone to reveal the ribbed undershirt he wore. Roman held a cigarette and a tumbler of scotch in one hand, and his forehead in the other. 

“What’s the damage?” he asked in a small voice. 

You walked slowly into the room, “She thinks you hate her.” 

“Fuck.” 

You crossed your arms over your chest as you stood in front of him, “She’s an emotional little girl. And you bailing on her constantly doesn’t help.” 

“So, you’re here to give me a fucking parenting lecture? Because if that’s your goal, I think I’ll pass,” Roman replied with a scowl. 

“But I’m so good at lectures! Can’t you just humor me?” 

You saw Roman’s tense expression falter a bit at your banter, which was silent permission for you to go sit on the corner of his desk. 

“You need to remember your priorities, Mr. Godfrey. Work is work, and I know it’s important to you, but your daughter should always take precedence,” you said. 

Roman was so tall that while you would be looking down at any regular man in a desk chair from your perch, you were eye level with him. In these moments when Nadia was away and it was just the two of you in his office; him in his chair and you firmly planted on the desktop; it was easy to forget the outside world existed. It was easy for you to forget a lot of things when Roman was around. 

“I work so I can give her the best life possible. If that isn’t showing her that she takes precedence, I don’t know what will,” Roman argued, before he gulped from his tumbler. 

“What a boring, easy answer to give.” 

“It’s the truth.” he griped.

“Maybe it is, but it’s not the right answer.” 

“Yeah? Since when was this a test?” Roman scoffed. 

“Since the minute you had her. Parenting is always a test,” you shrugged and Roman let out a humorless chuckle. 

“Ain’t that the fuckin’ truth…” 

You both let out twin sighs. Roman took a drag from his cigarette before he looked at you. The way he looked at you when he felt weak, helpless and in need of guidance. He had once told you in confidence (and many sheets to the wind) that you were the only person in his life he felt comfortable being vulnerable with. 

I don’t know what we would do without you. I don’t know what I would do without you,” he had slurred as you guided him to the master bedroom. 

You still hadn’t forgotten how the weight of his body around yours felt, or the way he had stared at your lips just a few moments too long, or his musky cologne that had embedded itself into your pores for days. 

“You’re smart, Mr. Godfrey. You’re gonna pass whatever messed up test raising a kid is. You just need to apply yourself and get your priorities straight,” you nudged his shin with the tip of your heel, much like you had done to Nadia earlier, “Daughter first. Work second.” 

“It’s not that simple…” Roman said. He pinched the bridge of his nose with a groan. 

“Since when is anything simple?” 

There was another lull between the two of you, and you were suddenly incredibly aware of how short your skirt had become from your seat. You tugged the sides down your thighs the best you could. You didn’t notice the yearning look Roman gave you as your painted fingers ran over your nylon covered skin. When you looked back at him, his eyes were once again tied with yours. 

“How do you know all this?” he asked, lifting his chin gently. 

You let out a deep sigh, “I just watched my parents do all the wrong things, so I can only guess the opposites are right.” 

“Leighann seems like she turned out all right,” he replied and you smiled. 

Leighann, your younger sister, had been reared by you and you alone. Your parents had fucked off for most of her childhood and it left you to take care of her. Roman of course knew this, as it had come up on your application. He had a knack for remembering important facets of your life that always made your stomach twitch with affection. 

“She did, didn’t she? So, you better take my word for it and start getting your act together. You don’t want her to turn out like me, do you?” as if to prove your point, you stuck out a hand and wiggled two fingers for Roman to pass you his cigarette. 

He looked at you with an amused expression, but did so anyway. He held the smoke by the filter and you took it carefully. When you brought it to your lips, you could taste his fingers and his skin. As you blew out the smoke in a smooth stream from your puckered lips, you watched as Roman’s smirk grew. He widened his legs and reclined back in his seat to take you in. You knew you shouldn’t be thinking about grabbing your boss by the wrist and popping his fingers into your mouth, but the way he was looking at you was so primal and seductive, you couldn’t help it. 

You motioned for him to take the cigarette back before your mind talked you into doing something you would regret.  

Roman leaned forward to take back his cigarette, his elbows coming to rest on his knees. 

“I can think of worse people for her to end up like,” his voice husked. 

As you passed the cigarette back to him, you felt the light touch of his calloused fingertips against your own. You hoped Roman didn’t hear the way your breath caught in your chest or the small shiver the touch gave you. 

Roman made a show of taking the cigarette back to his plush lips, setting the filter between them and sucking deep into his lungs. All while his green eyes watched you with purpose. 

“You taste like cherries,” Roman said as smoke billowed from his lips. 

Your thighs pressed together on their own accord to silence the aching between them. 

“So, what are you going to do about the field trip?” you changed the subject without acknowledgment. If you had, you knew it would end up with you on your knees and Mr. Godfrey’s cock in your mouth. And as much as you fantasized about it, you really loved your job, and you couldn’t let your sexual attraction to your boss ruin it.  

“If it was Friday insead of tomorrow, I could make it work. But…” 

“Then you’re making it up to her, y’know? This weekend: daddy-daughter day. No but’s about it. You will spend the entire day with her to make up for being an ass about tomorrow,” you chided. 

“I can do that,” Roman nodded. 

“Good, because I’m serious, Mr. Godfrey. She will remember this moment, you need to outshine the heartbreak with a day of happiness.” 

“Ok.” 

“If you schedule anything for Saturday or claim you are needed at The Tower, I swear to God that I will march down there and force you home myself, got it?” you said, standing up, just barely able to hover over him now. 

“I’d love to see you do that,” he smirked and you rolled your eyes. 

“Hardy har har,” you waved your hand flippantly, before you began to walk back toward the door. 

“Wait,” Roman called, “what about tomorrow?” 

“What about tomorrow?” 

“Who's gonna chaperone?”

“Oh, I will,” you said with a shrug, “gives me another opportunity to piss off all those stuck up private school moms anyway.” 

Roman’s smirk morphed into a grin, “They’re just jealous.” 

“Don’t I know it.” 

You smiled at him one last time before you started to exit once more.

“Ms. (Y/L/N)?” you turned to see Roman had stood from his desk and was standing only a pace or two away, “I-- well, thank you. I want to say thank you.” 

“It’s my job,” you laughed good naturedly, hoping to shuck off the tension that had begun to build again now that he was close to you.  

“Still,” he said sincerely, inching nearer, “thank you.” 

“You’re welcome, Mr. Godfrey,” you peered up at him with wide eyes as he towered over you. 

There were his eyes darting to stare at your lips, there was his delicious cologne infiltrating your senses, there was his radiating warmth pricking at your skin and erupting goosebumps across your neck. 

“(Y/N)?”

“Yes?” 

He seemed to be battling with something, his mouth opening just to close again. His brow furrowed briefly, before relaxing once more with a sigh. 

“Good night. I’ll see you in the morning.” 

You ignored the supreme disappointment that quelled in your belly as you gave a strained smile. 

“Good night, Mr. Godfrey.” and with that, you left.

feedback is always appreciated