#and... I'm so tired and so numb and so ready to be done | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hellsfirekeepsyouwarm · 1 year

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I Swear To You

Frank Castle x Reader Requested:

Hello my lovely writer, I'm in great need of some protective care taking fluffy angsty Frank Castle fic. And so I was wondering if you are interested in my request =) please let me know what you think. Frank has a cute new neighbor. They ended up talking a lot, Frank even flirting with her, but doesn't have the guts to make a move. One evening she was on a date which went sideways. The creep drugged her. As she notices something is wrong she snuck out of the bar calling a taxi to go home as fast as she can. He manhandled her as he notices she waiting for a taxi but she makes it home... She barely made it to pay the driver as she stumbled to her door to out if it from her spiked drink, so she isn't able to open her door let alone find her key. She collapses at Sehr front door, lying in the Cola night (maybe she hit her head pretty badly when going down). Frank comes home and finds her in feoneof her door. She's hypothermic and he notices her weird state and knows instantly she was drugged. So he takes care of her and her wounds and tries to warm her up. He nurses her back the next days

I hope you like it and thanks for requesting, and sorry for pushing this out for too long.

TW: Mentions of dru-gs, mentions of SA, puking, a terrible man doing terrible things

Frank was a goner. The moment he spotted you at the end of the hallway, gently balancing on your high heels, dress hugging your curves perfectly, hair and makeup done like you were ready to walk the red carpet, he knew he messed up. He messed up when he let his facade fall, and let you see the real him. Or part of him. Nothing was out of place, he came back from work, catching your right opposite of his door, going to a walk, to get a coffee, to meet up with your friends. You greeted him just the same, but your smile was giddy, a little bit too wide for a regular day.

He was oblivious to a lot of things, but even he could see that you are going to a date. And the guy is pretty fucking lucky tonight. He could see you wanted to impress, and you already won, because he was fascinated. He took sneaky glances, tried to act casual when you eyes spotted him walking towards you, shoulders heavy with a long ass day behind him. You greeted him as usual, asked about his day as usual, but he just couldn't act like usual. He had to acknowledge how beautiful you looked, and he did just that. A compliment, then a hidden question to confirm his suspicion. Your hips swayed as you walked away from him, giggling at his compliment, dissepearing into the night.

He was in deep. Too deep.

You had a good time, the best since a while. He was charming, charismatic, a kind face with a killer smile. Smooth talk, lingering touches. He was literally perfection. He really was.

As the night progressed, your glass never emptied out fully, he made sure you had plenty to drink. You didn't think much of it, his glass was the same, always full, often smiling into the golden liquor that grazed his lips. You ate, but surely not enough for the amount of drinks you consumed. How much did you really drink? You couldn't recall when your vision started to feel so tunnel like, or how your head felt heavy like a brick strapped to it. The more you felt it, the often his smile faltered.

First you thought you were just tired, haven't ate enough, that's why you are being a lightweight now. But in the back of your mind something told you it wasn't that. You only drank wine, wine that most of the time brought the frizzy numbness to you and the giggles out from you, meanwhile right now, you feel like you drank an entire cupboard of alcohol.

He is closer now. Pulled his chair next to you sometime you don't remember happening, if you saw it, you already forgot it. His breath fanning you ear as he speaks to you, something along the lines of going home, having a good time, taking it somewhere more private.

You wonder if you can walk to the restroom, or even stand up on your feet. You never had to wonder. Alcohol never made you think you physically can't move your body as you want. Panic have settled in your bones, silently urging you to do something. Anything, just to get away from him. You felt his fingers grazing your thigh, pushing your dress higher with every stroke, his voice still murmuring into your ear, although you cannot understand what he's saying.

You excuse yourself, trying to mimic you half an hour ago self. Flirty and joyful, you try to laugh it off, telling him you have to freshen up, telling that you have to pee badly, giggling while admitting it. You must act good, because when you slip off the chair, his warmth doesn't follow, nor his voice. You heart is beating rapidly in your chest, probably the only thing that you can concentrate on to not fall face first to the ground.

You are so fucking hopeful you walk somewhat towards to restroom, so he doesn't realize you are figuring your way out of the place.

A cute face emreges in front of you, your body oddly colliding with the person, you hands flying up to steady yourself on their shoulder. You would be so embarrassed if you were sober. It's a waitress, asking you if you are alright, honest concern in her voice.

You mumble something out, praying it makes sense and she'll know what you need.

"You want to go home? Want us to call a taxi?" She asks with a comforting voice. "Do you need us to call someone?"

Frank's name comes to mind first, and you silently scold yourself for never asking for his number.

"Hmmm, no."

"Let us call a taxi, yeah love?" She says, gently pushing your body forward with her hands eloping you in a side hug. Everything is blurry, your vision only picking up bits and parts of the world around.

You were more than sure that he put something in your drink. If your body wasn't so numb, you would be an erratic mess right now. Your senses are limited, everything comes and goes like a dream. You are not even afraid what he had put in your drinks, you just want to get away from him far away enough so he cannot talk the sweet lady out of helping you. You momentarily feel the cold breeze outside before the early winter air hits you in full force, the cold easing your flaming skin.

"HEY, excuse me. Where are you taking her?" The hair stands up on your whole body from his voice. Sweet, hidden malicious. "No i won't take a step back, where are you taking my girlfriend? Honey look at me!"

You don't have anything in you to respond. You just want to go home.

"Sir you need to leave her alone."

Hushed voices follows movement, softly pushing and pulling you around. Where is your purse? Did you left there at the table? You have your phone and wallet in it, you'll need that.

"My purse, my phone.." You mumble, feeling your body lowered to a flat surface.

"It's in your hands love, take care." The lady says, her voice is distant. You squeeze your hand, feeling a tiny little strap in your palm confirming your fingers are locked on your bag. You barely feel the material on your skin.

"Where to?" Your eyes go wide with a new voice calling out. You are getting comfortable at the back of a taxi, an older man looking at you, waiting for an answer, the dim light up on the car's ceiling giving him a really bad angle.

You hear yourself telling him the address, the sound is like someone else and not you. The car goes smoothly, at least that's how you feel it, the seats smell funny, and the lights outside paints a weird image through the windows, your head's starts to spin as you can't comprehend your surrounding no more. You just wish the taxi driver is kind enough to lead you to your door.

You wished and you were so wrong. He calls out to you plenty of times before you manage to get out of the car, almost tripping over your own feet while doing so, trying to give him money for the ride.

And that's it, the car speeds off behind you, leaving you trembling on the sidewalk. Just a few steps right? That's all it takes to get to your apartment.

Your body sways with each drag of your legs, barely standing up. How you manage to get to your door? You don't know, probably will never know. But you eventually do, legs giving out right in front of it, landing on your knees with a sharp pain then ending up on your butt, the ice cold ground burning your skin where it connects.

Your body gives in to the drug in your system, turning the world to black.

He took a peaceful walk to the nearest diner, a place he and you are very fond of, often bumping to each other there, one of those times you said yourself how you love the oldschool vibe and the quiet there. Frank only grabbed a coffee to go, the couple of minute walk clearing his messy head, head that is filled to the brim with thoughts of you. It's rare to him, to have something else on his mind than his family or blood rage and revenge. It's refreshing and terrifying. When he left, you weren't home yet, almost two hours after you waved goodbye to him, and he started to feel restless. Two hour isn't too much for a first date? He wouldn't know, even back in the day he wasn't the guy who took girls to a date. His parents raised him old fashioned, but he usually liked the simpler things. Car rides, walks with deep talks, cheap picnic with soda and snacks. So what does he knows about fancy restaurant dates?

It's cold, too cold for the tiny dress you were dressed in, but he would take you home right? He would take you home, making sure you walk in your front door, seeing it close behind you before leaving. But that's him, and he knows for sure not every man thinks like that.

The coffee warming his palm, giving him some sort of comfort to his uneasiness, his eyes searching for the familiar door when he takes a turn to your street.

No lights up yet? Now he's worried. You might went home with him. It's possible, you are a beautiful grown woman, who probably knows very well what she wants. But his jaw clenches nevertheless at the thought. His eyes dart away in shame, knowing he has no right to be mad at you for having a good time.

His head snaps back so quick it hurts his neck, in the corner of his eyes a big dark spot in front if your door that wasn't there before. He blinks for a few times to make sure it's not just his brain tricking him into some illusions. His mind failed him before, showing him terrible things that weren't really there, but the rapid beating of his heart and the pounding in his head is a signal of the familiar danger he encountered so many times before. The type of feeling in his gut when he knows the worst is coming.

And nothing could have prepared him for your frozen body on the freezing ground. In your tiny dress, exposed skin sticking to the concrete, the contains of your purse scattered around.

His instinct kicks in with full force, his hands fumbling for a pulse under your skin. He checks your wrist and neck before pulling your numb body up to his embrace, without thinking twice about who might see him taking you into his apartment. God knows how did you end up there, and he's not risking it if your date shows up at your door, finishing what he had started.

Because why else would you be lying knocked out in front of your home, why couldn't you get in, why else would you loose consciousness if not because of a doing of a horrible piece of shit man?

He is a man on a mission. Something he felt ages ago, and now it's welcomed with a sense of purpose and a sharp sting in his heart.

You are terribly cold in his hands, and he has to hush the voice in his mind that tells him the worst possible outcome.

He rushes to his bed, putting you down on his sheets gently, fingers trembling as he pulls your damp dress off of you, at this point he can't bothered that you are nearly naked in his bed, this isn't how he imagined it. He rushes off, his boots heavy on the creaking wooden floor, looking for the warmest clothes he has in his mostly empty wardrobe. It's a hoodie and sweatpants he comes up with, the best he can offer.

He knows you'll be greatly embarrassed when you come to your senses, so when he removes your undergarments, he tries to do it as respectfully as it's possible. One clothing off and another on, your icy skin burning under his warm hands, the sensation leaving a bad taste in his mouth. A reminder that he has a bastard to find after you are recovered.

His mind is racing, the loud thump in his ears slowly quieting down as he checks for your pulse again, cursing himself that he doesn't have a damn thermometer. He should have called an ambulance, he thinks. But god knows how much time they need to get here, if they ever. He's being selfish. But you are in good hands, he wants to think you are okay with him.

He's greatful for his years in the military, now more than ever. When it comes to himself, he's tactical and precise but numb. Any wound he stitched up and treated is decent enough, but nothing more. His own discomfort and pain is a welcomed guest. But right now it's not his body that is in pain, and he's not allowed to be careless and emotionless. You are wrapped up in his bed, safe and sound, but it's nothing to soothe his nerves.

He grabs a towel from the bathroom, the exact same of the pretty set you gave to him a couple of weeks ago when you saw his own torn up one, insisting he needs it way more than your wardrobe where you kept it since buying them. He gently lifted your head from the soft pillow, neatly covering your damp hair in it, your soft breaths music to his ears, he leans closer, just to confirm you are breathing evenly.

He considers for moment before deciding to open your eyes with his fingertips, his suspicion is confirmed by your blown pupils, the color of your eyes barely visible from the blackness of it. He sighs, rage and anger coursing through his veins, tempting him to get up and find the fucker. It would be easy, so easy. But you need him more than he needs to ease the bloodlust.

Just now he realizes he is still in his coat, sweat glistening on his forehead, his body hot under the layers he should get rid of, dirty boots tainting the already year long stained flooring of his apartment.

He glances over to you, a last conformation you are okay before he himself changes from his street clothes.

He doesn't mean to overstep, but when he goes back to you, and you body is just as cold as when he found you outside, his mind is set. He carefully slips in to the bed, he himself isn't sure how he manages to get under you, he searches for the best way for his body to give off it's heat to you. So you are now trapped between his legs, back laying heavily on his abdomen, hair tickling his bare skin. It's more intimate Frank anticipated, but to be honest, he wasn't debating about it much before doing what his brain told him to do. He would change his mind about the position if he couldn't feel your body soaking up his warmth. It's satisfying, how you take unconsciously, and he's basking in the feeling of giving. It's been so long since he was able to serve gently, in a quiet manner. Like when he ruffled his son's hair, or put the school bag on his daughter back. Or how he played with a single strand of Maria's hair, putting it behind her ear.

So his hands pulls you closer, every part of you hugged by his body, giving and giving everything he has to offer.

Your head hurts. No, not hurts, splits into two, even more when your eyes open with a painful sharp feeling behind them. You would groan if your throat would let it slip past the desert that's inside. The rest in your bones mixing with various aches under your skin, and the comfort around isn't enough to reach your body. You are tempted to back to sleep, sure another hours wouldn't hurt, before you mind clears up, shaking the sleep out of you.

It hits you like a lightning. What day is it really? What day was yesterday?

You shot up, dizziness almost pulling you back down with a terrible feeling in your stomach. Before you could comprehend anything that's happening, something is held to your face where soon you empty out the contains of your stomach. A soothing hand appears on your back, trying to keep your hair there while you puke your literal life out. Sweet words reach your ears when your traumatized body calms a little bit down.

"You are alright, sweetheart." It's Frank's voice. "How you feelin'?"

Your grimace, disgust being the only thing you are feeling besides every ache of your body. "It's okay, darlin'. Just breath, let it out if you have to."

You look sideways, seeing him half naked, his body so close you can feel his warmth radiating towards your trembling body. He's concerned face is looking for something in yours, perhaps panic that why he is here with you, or the fact, that you aren't in your own room, or apartment, or why are you wearing his clothes that hangs on you loosely. There is an explanation for it, you know that, and you don't have the will or the energy to be panicked. Despite these thoughts, you heart beats out of your chest, hearing your blood rushing in your ears.

"What happened?" You ask. If you are with him, he's having all the answers. What is the last thing anyway that you remember? You getting ready? Was it yesterday? Your date. You don't remember your date. It's daytime right now, so it's surely passed.

Maybe it's too apparent on your face how you put together the pieces in your head, or he's just panicking at how you are starting to panic that you don't realize. Your shaking body is fumbling with the duvet around you, eyes snapping to Frank then to your surroundings, frantic with your every move. Like an animal cornered.

"Hey hey hey..You are alright! Look at me darling! Look at me." He forces you to look in his eyes, warm and safe, attention seeking. "You were drugged last night, but you are okay, you hear me? You'll have a hell of a day today, but it's gonna pass. Nothing happened, okay? He did nothing to you."

It's sincere. Everything he says he believes. How does he know?

"How..?"

"You know how, sweetheart. Let me get you some water okay? Get back in bed." He commands, leaving you on the side of the bed. So he is Frank Castle after all. You had you suspicion for a while, and you might asked too risque questions he caught on. How does this makes you feel? Kind of relieved, and grateful? You are grateful that your neighbor is a cold-blooded killer?

"There you go. Drink slowly, okay?" He murmurs, a black t-shirt now covering his upper body. You take careful sips, eyeing the man next to you without shame. He does the same, watching intently with so much comfort in his eyes.

"I don't remember anything." You voice is defeated, drained even without using it for hours now.

"I know, i'm sorry." Tears are threatening to fall as your mind tries to navigate the information that you have been drugged.

"What if he.."

"Nonononono, look at me! He did nothing to you. He put it in your wine, let you have too many drink, but he did no more than that!"

You nod. Accepting it. He's the Punisher after all.

He takes your hand in his, planting a faint kiss on top on your knuckles. "You are safe, i swear to you."

You are safe with him.

#frank castle x reader #frank castle imagine #frank castle oneshot #frank castle #the punisher x reader #the punisher

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kengan-daddies · 11 months

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The Boy Next Door Baki Hanma X Motherly! Older Female Reader

Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4

Anime : Baki: Son of Ogre Character : Baki Hanam Warning : Mention of child abuse, child neglect, possessiveness, possessive love

The Boy Next Door Baki Hanma x Motherly! Older Female Reader

The rice cooker beeped, the smell of grilled fish hummed throughout the apartment, and the ingredients for miso soup laid out on the countertop everything was already chopped and ready, and the water was just now starting to boil. The sound of the TV playing in the background was a constant noise, the male news reporter speaking about the weather and anything else that may be of importance as of late. You sighed tiredly as you dumped the vegetables for the miso soup into the boiling water, placing the lid over it so that it could cook properly. You opened the grill on the stove, seeing the fish was just starting to brown. You closed it, looking over at the rice cooker and checking the timer.

It had a good few minutes left in it, you huffed as you walked over to the dining table, pulling a chair out you sat down, propping your chin up in your palm as you rested. 'As soon as this food is done and we eat, I'm taking my tired ass to bed.' You thought as you yawned. You looked over towards the living area, seeing Baki sitting at the small table, his back to you as he sat hunched over, papers scattered over the table as he worked on his homework. He was still in his school pants, he got comfortable, taking off his school top and folding it neatly he placed it on the couch, leaving him in his muscle shirt. You smiled at the sight, happy to see him living the life of a teen.

'He deserves to live a normal life, coming home and doing homework while mom cooks and cleans.' You thought as you watched him scratch his head in confusion and irritation at whatever he was struggling with on his homework. Your smile slightly faded as your gaze trailed along his muscular arms, seeing the scars that littered his skin. 'All those scars, all those years, trying to beat his father, gain his mother's love, to gain their affection... It's so unfair, it's so wrong.' You thought, still bitter with the bitch that was his unfortunate mother. You hated her so much, just thinking about her made your blood boil.

'That stupid bitch had the audacity to tell me, not to interfere with her son's life. "I'm his mother, so it's my job to oversee him how I see fit." ... That bitch... Poor Baki, that sad look on his face as he stared at me, the poor boy felt so bad about getting me in trouble with his mother. But he had no reason to feel bad, I would've faced his mother down a million times if it meant seeing him smile.' You thought your gaze downcast at the table surface, your other hand drew lazy circles with the pad of your pointer finger, you did it for so long till the tip of your finger felt numb. A large scared hand gently weighed on top of yours, stopping your hand. You blinked in surprise at the sudden hand, looking up you saw Baki standing behind you, a small smile on his face but worry could be seen in his eyes.

"You shouldn't do that, you'll wear down your skin." He said his hands scooping yours up in between his palms as he held your hand. "Your wrist will wither earlier with age, causing arthritis." He explained as he held your hand in one palm while the other rubbed your wrist gently. "You need to take care of your hands, Mom, you only got two, and they're beautiful." He said gently, his voice soft yet firm. "They're strong with pride, they're tough with resilience, yet they're still so soft with tenderness, still beautiful with love. Take care of your hands, Mom." He said. You stared up at him, your brain processing what he said, you looked down at his hand and you placed your other hand over his, stopping the rubbing on your wrist. "What about your hands, Baki, they're covered in scars and hard before their time."

You said, your fingers rubbing over his knuckles and the scars on his hand. He smiled. "These are the hands of a warrior who fights to protect, who fights to get stronger, who fights for others... My hands are supposed to be hard so that I can help you." He said. Your eyes softened and your rubbing stopped. "The strength, yes, the scars, no... Your hands are supposed to be still delicate yet strong, that wasn't a choice you were given." You said. Your hand tightens around his. He chuckled as he leaned down, his nose nuzzling into your hair. "It may not be, but it was a choice I chose to carry." He said. It was silent for a while, the both of you just enjoying each other's company, the sounds of the TV, the rice cooker, the water boiling, the sound of sizzling... All of that was the sound of home. This is what home was supposed to sound like.

The Boy Next Door

The house was quiet, the kitchen was clean, everyone was in their beds asleep... Except for one... Baki was up in his room, sitting on the floor deep in meditation, his ears open to everything around him. The crickets outside, the buzzing of the street lamps, the fluttering of the moth's wings, the sound of your even breaths as you slept... All these noises surrounded him, calming him. He opened his eyes and he stood up, a calming aura surrounding him. He stood there, staring at a pencil on his dresser, then in the blink of an eye he threw a sharp kick, he stood there for a moment, his eyes trained on the pencil on his dresser, watching, listening... He lowered his leg he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, the sound of wood splitting sounded out, and he exhaled. He opened his eyes, looking at the pencil that was cut clean in half from the lead to the eraser.

He walked over to it silently, staring down at it. 'Soon, soon I'll be strong enough to protect you mom... I'll keep you safe, I won't let him learn of you, and even if he does, I'll be more than ready to protect you.' He thought, a determined glare in his eyes, the thoughts of the demon back flashing across his mind. He broke from his thoughts when he heard your breathing change, he looked over at his room door, listening intensely at the sound of you leaving your bed and tiredly shuffling over to your bathroom. He looked out the window when he heard a tap, his eyes sharp and on the defensive, but he relaxed when he saw who it was.

'Ah, master... It's good to see you... Sadly, I can't let you in... Mom would freak.' He thought in amusement as he bowed his head in respect at the roach outside on his window. He stood up straight once he heard it take flight, he sighed tiredly as he walked over to his bed, he laid down in it, his arms crossed behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. 'Tomorrow, I should start moving my clothes over here... I like it here better than 'home', this is an actual 'home' and not some cheap imitation. It's real... And I intend to soak it up to the fullest.' He thought. He looked over at his room door for a moment, before he rolled over on his side, his back facing the door, his body relaxing and his breathing evening out.

His door cracked open, and you looked in seeing him in bed asleep, you smiled as you walked over towards him. 'She's coming in... Why?' He thought as he lay there. You stopped by his bed, a smile on your face as you reached out to stroke his hair. 'She's stroking me?... I mean I'm not complaining, it feels really good... Damn, that's actually a really nice thing to feel... It's real relaxing... I could...' His thoughts trailed off abruptly, as the sound of light snoring took its place, you giggled softly. You just had a feeling that he was having a hard time sleeping, this seemed to prove it. 'A woman's intuition is never wrong.' You thought.

The Boy Next Door

You were in your bathroom, doing your hair, you were already dressed, makeup already on. You were deep in concentration making sure that your hair looked nice. You nearly jumped when Baki poked his head. "OOH!! You scared me." You said as you placed your hand over your heart, you stared at him in the mirror. He smiled sheepishly at your reflection. "Sorry about that." He said. You sighed as you went back to doing your hair a small smile on your face. "Good morning, Baki." You said, he smiled. "Good morning, mom." He said. He sounded so happy, just saying those few words and it made your heart flutter. You checked over your hair one last time nodding in acceptance as you turned towards the door.

He shuffled backwards as you walked out and he followed you like a curious child. You smiled sweetly as you walked down the stairs. "Did you sleep well?" You asked him as you walked towards the kitchen, he followed close behind. "Yeah, I did actually, I slept like a baby" he said in a pleased tone, he really did. It was probably the best sleep he ever gotten actually. You chuckled as you opened the fridge getting out eggs, green onions, and sausages. "That's good, I'm glad to hear that, Baki. I want you to always try and get a good night's sleep." You said, balancing all the objects in your hands as you closed the fridge with your hip. He watched you walk over to the counter as you placed everything down.

You reached up, and pulled the square-shaped frying pan down from its hook, putting it on the stove, and turning the heat up to 8. "Baki?" You asked. He perked up. "Yeah?" He questioned. "Can you get me the oil? It's over in the pantry, top shelf on the left." You said as you washed your hands, getting out knives, forks, and bowls. He nodded his head as he walked over to the door, opening it his eyes scanned the food that was inside. It was all sorts of foods, from easy prep to homemade. Seasonings and additives, condiments, and sugary coatings. His eyes soaked in everything as he looked up, seeing the oil. 'Damn, it's right where she said it was too.' He said as he reached up, his eyes widened when he realized that he nearly had to get on his toes to reach it.

'Wait, she reaches up here every day? She must get a chair or something to help her, why placed it so high though?' He thought as he pulled the bottle down. He closed the door and stepped over to you. He watched as you cracked the eggs into a large bowl, he saw 4 yolks in the bowl and you were reaching for another. "Here you go." He said holding the bottle. You looked over your shoulder and you smiled. "Yes, you can put some in the frying pan, the eye is already on." You said as you went back to cracking eggs. He walked to the stove taking the top off before he poured enough into the pan, watching as the oil slowly coated the bottom of the skillet.

'She's making breakfast for us... Should I ask her now?... I'm not sure why I'm hesitant on asking... Why am I so nervous?... I'm just gonna ask a simple question, and hopefully, she'll say yes.' He thought. He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt your hand touch his arm, gently pushing him to the side, he stepped over looking at you in question. "You wouldn't move when I asked you to, so I just decided to push on in, sorry about that." You said with a sheepish but teasing smile. He relaxed against the counter, his elbow resting on the top as he leaned into it. "Sorry, I was just thinking." He said in a soft voice. You looked over at him, the sound of sizzling loud as you poured in some of the yolk into the frying pan.

"Thinking about what?" You asked him. He seemed nervous, his other hand picking at the underside of the counter's edge. "Would it be an issue... If I moved in?" He asked tentatively. You stared at him for a moment before you looked over at the egg, you scooped your spatula under the omelet, rolling it up carefully, you left it at the end of the fryingpan as you poured in more yolk, the sizzling growing loud once more. You looked over at him, an excited gleam in your eyes. "No, Baki... It wouldn't be an issue at all. You can start the process now if you want. I'll just call in sick and you can take the day off school to complete it." You said. His eyes lit up and a bright smile graced his face. "Really!?" He said. You nodded and chuckled at his excitement. "Yes, really!! We can start as soon as we finish breakfast." You said.

The Boy Next Door

After breakfast, you and Baki got busy right away, he didn't live far so it made going to his place easy. You both went to the nearest storage unit, you bought a few nicely sized boxes, the both of you went to his place, folded the boxes, and got to work. He didn't have a lot of things, but it was enough to fill up five boxes. Two of his boxes contained his clothes, neatly folded and organized by you. One box had shirts and pants, and the other had socks and underwear. In another box, you placed all of his school supplies at the bottom and his hygienic products on top in a grocery bag. In the fourth box, you had somehow squeezed in a folded blanket, and his pillows, and even placed his shoes in a nice bag in the same box. In the fifth box, you placed all his dog's stuff in it. Dog food, bowls, leash, and bed.

He looked at all the boxes in wonder and amazement. "Wow... She was able to squeeze everything in, nice and neat... and even kept it clean and reasonable... I guess, this is what they call 'A Mother's Touch.' ... The ability to make the impossible possible." He mumbled to himself as he looked at the boxes, he looked up at you when he heard you sigh tiredly. Your back facing him as you whipped your arm over your forehead. Before you both left your home to come to his, you took off your makeup and put on a casual outfit. A large baggy shirt and some comfortable sweats. "Woo!! Finally done." You said tiredly, you looked down at the box with the dog things in it. You bent down to pick it up, but Baki's hand on your shoulder stopped you. You looked back at him in question.

"You can rest, I'll take it from here." He said. You stared at him in wonder as he gently pushed you aside, he picked up the box, placed it on another box, and then he picked those two boxes up and placed them on another box. He did that till all five boxes were stacked and then he picked them up with a little grunt. "Alright... I'm all packed." He said, a happy gleam in his eyes as he stared down at you happily. You chuckled and you shook your head putting all your weight on one leg and one hand on your hip. "You're something different Baki, you really are." You said fondly. He giggled boyishly. You turned away from him, rubbing his dog's head gently before you continued on to the doors. "Well come on then, we gotta get you settled in." You said as you slipped your shoes on, and slid the door open. He followed suit his dog not far behind. Once outside, he looked back at the place he once called home.

'For 7 years, I lived here for about 7 years... so many things happened while I lived here... both good and bad... it's been one hell of an adventure... and now, it's nothing more but a place to train at... maybe I'll turn it into a personal gym... I mean, I might as well... It'll be like a man cave in a way... Yeah, a man cave.' He thought as he stared at the building, the sound of you walking away caught his attention and he followed after you. He, his dog, and his mom all walked to their new home and life. A happy smile on his face, a pep in his step as he walked, his hair bounced and his eyes gleamed. 'When was the last time I was this happy?... When I met Kouze?... When I kissed her?... When I fight a new strong opponent?... When I win?...No... It was about 5 years ago now... when my mother died... I was sad but I was also happy... Happy that she was free from her torment, happy that he was free from her constant abuse and neglect... he felt relief for both him and for her... It sounded wrong but it also felt so right... That was the last time, I felt this happy.' He thought.

As he followed after you, your home... No... Their home could be seen ahead of them. 'Home... with a family... My dog, my mom, my own room, my own bed... it feels different now... I've always had my own, but it was my home... Now it's under someone else's roof, but it was still mine... it's so different, it's so domestic... I love it.' He thought as he followed you inside, he kicked his shoes off before he went in further, placing the boxes down on the floor. You smiled as you patted his back gently, the dog went to the couch and he flopped down with a yawn. You both looked at him for a while. "Well, glad to know you're already settled in." Baki said, you chuckled at his silliness as you walked past him and into the kitchen. "I'll fix you a snack, until then get your things settled in, the dog things can go on the balcony." You said pulling down a plate and a cup. He nodded his head as he picked up the first box, and he placed it next to the balcony door.

'I'll get his stuff settled in once I'm done with my own things.' He thought as he picked up the other four boxes before he walked upstairs with them.

The Boy Next Door

Baki flopped back on his back, his hair falling back from his face and forehead, a relaxed and pleased look on his face as he stared up at the ceiling. His room was finally officially his room... He's slept in this room many times throughout his younger teen years, finding refuge in your home, his make-believe life with you. Many times he's passed up on his training to spend many days with you. You were his ideal mother, his ideal home... You were his escape from reality. He'd leave his training behind for some time, never coming to his assigned weight training his mother gave him, never going home to that half-ass excuse of a home that his mother gave him. He'd seemingly vanish for days then he'd just reappear like nothing, expecting a lashing from his mother but he'd never care. He'd skip out on training, he'd miss out on getting stronger, just to be with you.

Just to get your affection, your hugs, your kisses, your comfort, your love. Everything he wanted his mother to give him, you would spoil him with. He grew reliant on you, he'd run to come see you after a training session, and he'd hug you, his head buried in your breasts, listening to your heartbeat, your arms wrapped around him tightly, fingers combing this hair gently. He'd lay there for hours in your arms, even falling asleep sometimes, he'd wake up on the couch, the smell of food wafting into his nose, seeing you in the kitchen, cooking up a meal for you both. You'd just happen to look around, seeing him up on the couch and you flash him your beautiful smile. 'I love that smile... It's so full of love, understanding, and acceptance. I love that smile, so much.' He thought, inhaling through his nostrils as he closed his eyes, relaxing on the mattress. 'I don't think... I'd never fall out of love with that woman... The woman who took the place and love of my birth mother... I love her so much.' He thought his eyes opening, a possessive gleam in his eyes.

"I love my mother... And I won't let anything happen to her... I'd kill anyone who'd even try and separate us... No matter who they are." He said.

#baki son of ogre #baki the grappler #baki #baki hanma #baki x reader #baki x y/n #baki son ogre x y/n #baki son of ogre x reader #baki son of ogre baki #baki the grappler baki #baki hanma baki

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naughtyneganjdm · 8 months

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Naughty or Nice - Chapter 14

Summary: The aftermath of the fight at the Greene farm and Y/N denying Negan's proposal takes place.

Characters: Negan, the reader (OC), etc.

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51464518/chapters/134560708

Warnings: Swearing, severe angst, etc.

Notes: I'm sorry this wasn't up yesterday. I got tired and I passed out. It was a rough day. Thanks to everyone that still kept with the story. I appreciate each and every single one of you!

Twenty-four hours ago, Y/N was in the arms of the man that she loved. She was happy. She felt safe. Even though she was in pain, she felt loved and cherished. In Negan’s arms she felt more comfortable than she ever had in her life. Now? She was miserable.

This was not how Y/N thought she would be spending Christmas Eve. Alone in her apartment. Depressed and sad. Last night she was hopeful. Tonight she was miserable. Sitting in a chair in front of one of her windows that overlooked the city had her feeling more alone than she had in a very long time. Outside the snow was heavy and she felt like it fit her emotions right now. It was a vast difference from how she felt last night. Even though her father broke her, in Negan’s arms she felt far from alone.

Looking to the bottle of Cognac she had in her hand made her let out a long sigh. She probably looked ridiculous sitting in the dark alone. Having the lights off just fit her mood better. There was a darkness settling inside of her heart after what she had done today. Turning Negan down after his beautiful proposal was terrible. Did she want to marry Negan? Of course she did. Negan was everything she could have asked for and more. He was gorgeous and he made her happy. A lot of people were never that lucky to find someone that made them feel so incredibly loved and joyous. Even in the worst of times, Negan was always good at making her feel good. Yet being at her family’s home made her realize that she didn’t think she deserved all of that. After years of trying to break away from the person that her family made her believe she was, she realized that it never left her to begin with.

Turning Negan down was the hardest thing she ever had done in her life. Technically they were already engaged before but telling him no made it clear that it wasn’t real to begin with. And she hated that. She hated hurting Negan because seeing him cry like he was when she left was one of the most devastating things she had ever felt in her life. What she had done was just her trying to do the right thing. Allowing him to eventually find happiness with someone better than her is what she wanted for him.

Lifting the bottle up again, she knew that it was the same one that she had shared with Negan at the Christmas party. She hadn’t drank any of it yet, but she felt like it was in her future. Getting drunk to numb the pain was beginning to sound like the only way out of her feelings and emotions right now. Sitting alone, drunk in her woes sounded much better than being sober. Of course the fact that she shared it with Negan previously had her mind lingering back to him and it hurt. Negan was an incredible man that deserved an incredible woman. Not someone like her. No matter how much she loved him, she knew it was for the best to let him go.

Observing the buildings surrounding her, she imagined that so many families were together. Getting ready to go to sleep to prepare for their big holiday. Christmas was often about joy and family. Yet here she was all alone to herself and heart broken. Right now she just wished the world would swallow her whole.

Since she had left the farm her cell phone had been off. After everything she put up with, she didn’t want to talk to anyone. Especially if it was someone from her family. Even though she loved Annette, Beth and a few others, she just knew that she couldn’t handle talking to them. So much happened that just made her feel like the worst person on the planet and it was for the best to just shut the rest of the world out.

Even thinking about everything that happened had her mind lingering to Glenn. If Glenn was really as upset about things as he claimed to be, he would have come home back to the apartment. He would have found a way. Yet, here she was. Alone. There were no doubts that Glenn was still at her family’s home likely starting a life with Maggie. Why wouldn’t he be? Love was mentioned several times there so it was clear he was in love with her older sister.

It wasn’t so much that he was in love with Maggie that upset her. It was the lack of remorse for it. There was no jealousy or really anger from it. To be fair, she never really loved Glenn. Glenn was not the man that she wanted to spend forever with. He was her friend. Probably her best friend. So, even his actions based on that alone were upsetting. Maybe he tried to call her? Maybe he didn’t. Regardless, the things he also said and did weren’t that of someone who truly cared for her either. So much time was wasted with her worrying about hurting Glenn’s feelings. Yet, the moment he found something better, Glenn eagerly jumped ship and didn’t care.

With everything going on, she had no doubt that Negan had called her. It shattered her to know that because he was trying his best. But she couldn’t face Negan or talk to him right now. It would just hurt too much. For both of them.

A soft knocking sound was heard. Originally, she thought it was just movement from another apartment until it repeated. That was definitely a knock at her door. Gazing back over her shoulder, Y/N let out a grunt. Maybe with the lights off, the person would take the hint that she wasn’t home and leave. At least she hoped they would. She wasn’t in a very talkative mood. But there it was again. Another knock. This time it was louder and determined for her to hear it. Slouching down further in the chair, she felt a lump developing in her throat. Answering that door was the last thing she wanted to do.

“Hello?” a familiar voice called out and amongst the silence. It made her heart skip a beat. Clutching tightly to the neck of the bottle, she sat forward in the chair and sighed. She knew that voice. Setting the bottle down next to the chair on the ground, she bit at her bottom lip and determined her next move. “I know you’re in there Y/N. I asked the doorman if you were here and he told me that you were. He’s the one that let me up here. So please open the door.”

“Fuck,” she scoffed hating that she was even debating not answering the door. Once the next knock was heard, she slowly stood from her seat. This was a case where she couldn’t not answer the door. Heading over toward the door, she was sluggish in the way that she moved. Depression had taken its toll on her. Probably her crying too. It had brought forth an exhaustion and weakness into her that she couldn’t describe. If she would have known what was good for her, she would have been in bed right now trying to sleep it off, but she wasn’t.

“I hear you moving around in there, so please…just open the door,” the voice begged once more from the other side. Was she really making that much noise? Flicking the lights on, she heard another knock and shook her head.

“I’m coming,” she assured them with a sigh, finally getting to the door. Undoing the lock, she pulled the door open. Being met by the familiar set of hazel eyes had her clutching onto the knob and the doorframe at the same time releasing a long exhale deep from within her. “Beau? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to talk to you,” Beau pulled the hood of his jacket down, his cheeks a rose color from the snowstorm that he had obviously been in. Tugging at the hat he was wearing, Beau shoved it into the pocket of his jacket. Slicking his hair back, Beau tried to straighten his dark hair that had gotten messed. Shifting on his feet, Beau seemed nervous at first before pushing his hands into his pockets. “Thank you for opening the door. I was wondering if you were going to ignore me.”

“I’d never ignore you,” she whispered, reaching out to brush her fingers in over Beau’s cheek to feel the coolness of his rosy cheeks against her touch. It had Beau’s long eyelashes coming to a close and she sighed. Brushing her fingers through Beau’s dark hair, she stepped out in the hallway to see that Beau was alone. “Is your father here?”

Upon her question, Beau’s hazel eyes grew wide and he cleared his throat uneasily, “About that…”

“Beau?” she tipped her head to the side realizing that he was avoiding the question.

“We were at home in the apartment, watching movies…” Beau began, throwing his hands up in the air when he spoke. “I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I got Erin to distract him. I told him I was going to go grab something from the kitchen and…I snuck out.”

“Beau! Your father must be worried sick about you,” she commented, grasping tightly to the doorknob. Mirroring his father’s expressions, Beau tipped his head from side to side and let out a long sigh.

“Not really,” Beau’s face scrunched up, his lips parting when he contemplated what she said. A dramatic expression flooded his young features, his eyebrows bouncing up. “Okay, that’s a lie. He was furious with me for taking off.”

“I can imagine,” she noted, folding her arms in front of her chest, resting her shoulder against the doorframe. “It’s hard to believe that he wouldn’t demand you to come home.”

“Listen, he called. A lot. He wanted to know where I was, but I wouldn’t tell him,” Beau explained to her, his words coming out almost in a whisper like he was afraid to admit this all to her. “I just told him that I was safe and that I would be home soon.”

Giving Beau a worried glance, she reached out to place her hand in over his shoulder. Stepping aside, she held her hand up in the air motioning Negan’s son into her apartment. Moving slowly, Beau stepped inside with her closing the door behind them. Leading him toward the kitchen, she placed her hand in over his shoulder motioning him toward the table. Pulling out a seat for him, she got Beau to sit down and he stared up at her with his big, hazel eyes.

“You’re freezing,” she commented, brushing her fingers in over the side of his face again. Shaking her head, she moved over toward the cupboard to pull out a mug. Setting it down on the counter, she went over to another part of the kitchen. Grabbing some items for hot chocolate, she immediately started to make him something warm. Glancing back at Beau, she noticed that his eyes were hooked on her watching her every movement. “I assume you are okay with hot chocolate?”

“Of course,” Beau whispered, placing his hands on top of the table.

“Do you want anything in your hot chocolate? Marshmallows? Whipped Cream? Peppermint? Sprinkles?” she asked, bracing her hand on the counter while she put together the hot chocolate for him in a pot on the stove. A smirk tugged at Beau’s features and he shrugged his shoulders. “What?”

“It’s nothing,” Beau shook his head, rubbing his hands together in attempts to get some warmth into them. “Surprise me.”

“Sure thing,” she went back into her cupboards to grab something else. “Why would you run away on your dad like that?”

“You have to ask?” Beau muttered, his eyes narrowing when she looked back at him. “He’s miserable Y/N. He’s doing his best to be there for us, as he always does, but I’m not stupid. We all go get a ring together for you and he comes home looking heart broken. It doesn’t take much for me to realize what happened.”

Hearing that drew a breath from her throat and she clutched tightly to the mug that she had grabbed for Beau, “I wanted to talk to you. I needed to talk to you,” Beau corrected himself with a sigh, shrugging his shoulders when he adjusted in the chair that he was in. “I knew that if I told him what I was doing, he wouldn’t let me go. He’d tell me to leave you alone. But I just…I couldn’t do that.”

“How did you even know where I lived?” she wondered, pouring the hot chocolate into the mug. Grabbing some whipped cream from the fridge, she put some on top before topping it off with chocolate sprinkles. Setting it down on the table before Beau had a small smile tugging at his lips when he looked to it. “I put some peppermint extract into it to make it more…Christmas like?”

“Thank you,” Beau accepted the mug, pulling it in closer to him on the table. Lifting it carefully, he took a small sip of the hot liquid. Lowering it made Y/N smirk when the whipped cream covered his top lip from his first sip. Grabbing a napkin for him, she slid it across the top of the table while she lowered down in the seat before him at the table. Cleaning his face off, Beau let out a hesitant laugh before stroking his fingers over the mug she gave him. “I found your address online. You can find pretty much anything on the internet if you know how to look.”

“Touché,” she agreed with him knowing that he was right. Beau took another cautious sip of the hot chocolate, getting comfortable in his seat. Once Beau set his mug down, he felt her hand sliding in over his and he lowered his stare. “You’re still freezing.”

“I’ll be okay,” Beau assured her hearing the worry in her voice. “I’ve got the hot chocolate to warm me up. I’ll just hold onto the cup.”

“You shouldn’t have come out here in the storm Beau,” she pointed out, feeling Beau’s fingers hooking with hers. “Is your father’s place even close to here?”

“Not really,” Beau was honest with her, thinking about how long it took him to get here. By the expression over her face, Beau knew that she was upset with his answer. “I had to do it Y/N. I needed to talk to you and it couldn’t wait.”

“How did you get here Beau?” she inquired, brushing his dark hair back behind his ear. Bringing the mug to his lips, Beau took a long sip of the hot chocolate that she made for him. It was obvious that he was trying to avoid the question. “Beau?”

“It’s complicated,” Beau whispered when he lowered the mug back down. There was an innocence in his eyes when he looked back to her.

“You sound so much like your father,” she acknowledged, leaning back in her chair. An ache grew at the center of her chest thinking about how she had Negan’s son sitting with her in her apartment when he should have been home with his family.

“I got dad to talk to me about what happened with you Y/N. I know that you told him no when it came to marrying him,” Beau conceded to what he knew and it made her let out a saddened sound. “And I don’t understand why. You told my dad yes originally. The two of you were already engaged. I know you want to be with my dad. So why tell him no this time? Especially since you might be pregnant.”

“I’m not pregnant Beau,” she interrupted Beau’s thoughts noticing that he seemed confused by it. “Your dad and I really only were trying for two days.”

“That’s still two days,” Beau reminded her with a huff, “You don’t know if you are pregnant or not. But regardless, it’s still not answering my question. You said yes to marrying my dad. So much so that you two planned to have a baby together. So why suddenly have those emotions changed Y/N?”

“Because things have changed since that day Beau. That time in the woods wasn’t exactly official,” she thought of the first thing she could. But god. That sounded awful when she thought about it. A lump was growing in her throat the more she thought about it. With Beau’s hazel eyes on her, she didn’t exactly know what to say. “It’s adult stuff.”

“Come on,” Beau scoffed, his eyebrows furrowing showing that he hated that response. “I’m thirteen years old. I’m not a baby. I think I understand things more than most adults do.”

Beau reached or his mug to wrap his fingers back around it to warm himself up, “Don’t do that to me. You’ve always been honest with me. Don’t stop now.”

Hearing that took her breath away and she nodded, “Because I think your father deserves better than me. You saw what happened with my family when we were at the farm. It’s because of me everything happened. I can only imagine that the same thing will happen to your family if I’m in it. And I don’t want that to happen to your family. Sometimes if you love something, you have to let it go.”

“No, I don’t think that’s true,” Beau countered, his young features scrunching up after her answer. It surprised her that he was willing to shut her down that fast. “Anyone with eyes could see that all the drama came from your family. You were just doing your best in a situation that you were destined to fail at because the people you were fighting to get the love from were never willing to give it.”

Yeah, that last sentence was incredibly deep for a thirteen-year-old boy, but he wasn’t wrong, “Do you know what gaslighting is Y/N? because your family is a perfect example of it.”

“I…I know what gaslighting is, Beau,” she responded back with a frown, brushing her fingers over her forehead knowing that it was something that Negan had said a few times.

“Then how can you not see that is what your family did to you?” Beau pushed, sliding his chair in closer to her at the table. “I understand why you are feeling the way you do. It’s hard to have the person that is meant to love you treating you the way your father does. Abuse effects everyone differently and I’m trying to understand that, but you have to know that you are not the problem. You were never the problem. Deep down, you know that.”

Lowering her head, Y/N swallowed down hard and Beau leaned forward, “I think it scares you to be happy because you have no idea what it feels like. For the first time in your life, you knew what it was like to be happy with my dad. To not feel alone and I think that scared you because you have always been alone. You got used to it. You let the loneliness become part of you and you got scared. You let that voice inside of your head become your father. You let it tell you all the awful things that he did growing up and you decided to believe it. But that voice? It’s not real. You have to shut it out because you are not your father. You will never be him.”

Tears burned at her eyes hearing Negan’s thirteen-year-old getting emotional the more that he spoke to her, “How old are you again? Because you sure as hell don’t sound thirteen.”

“I had to grow up fast Y/N,” Beau explained, his raspy voice hitching with his eyes burning. “You think you’re a bad person. You think you don’t deserve happiness, but what was the first thing you did when I got here? You took me into your kitchen, sat me down and got me a hot chocolate to warm me up. Your first thought was to take care of me. It’s the most…mom coded thing that someone could do.”

“Beau,” she half smiled that he was going to bat for her, much like he always did since she met him. “I did what was right. Anybody would do the same thing.”

“No. No they wouldn’t,” Beau denied that thought, sliding his hand across the table to place it over hers in a supportive grasp. “Other than my dad, there is only one person in this world that would do what you just did for me and that was my mom.”

After talking about Lucille, Beau’s lips parted and he let out a tiny whimper that he clearly didn’t want to when his mom came to his mind, “I’ve experienced a lot of this world Y/N and I’ve never found someone I’ve connected with like I have you. We’re so much alike. You and I.”

“Beau, we’re so vastly different too,” she confessed and he let out a hesitant breath. Beau was so much purer than she ever thought she was.

“Yeah, because I was given a chance you never were,” Beau retorted with a frown recalling everything he knew about her family. “I’m a positive example of how things can be when people are depressed because I had a support system. I have a support system. Something you never did.”

It was amazing how a teenager understood her life so much more than most people did. A long exhale fell from her throat with Beau’s fingers curling tighter around hers, “If someone would have loved you the way you were meant to be loved when you were my age, you wouldn’t have had to feel this way. Why won’t you allow yourself the chance to finally be loved that way?”

“Beau, I appreciate what you are doing here, but we need to call your dad. Do you have any idea what time it is?” she tried to avoid this whole thing, looking back over her shoulder to see the time. Getting up from the table, she reached for her phone that was plugged in on the counter. “We need to get you home.”

“I love you,” Beau stammered, pushing the seat back when he let out a whimpering sound. It made Y/N turn on her heel to stare out at him and he shrugged. “Not in the way that my dad loves you. That would be creepy. I love you in the way that…someone loves a mom. Or a potential mom. It wasn’t just my dad that fell in love with you. Because I love you too. And I think you feel the same way about me. Which is why it doesn’t make sense why you are doing this to yourself. Why you’re doing this to us.”

“Beau,” she frowned hearing him start to cry. Moving forward, she lowered down before him and knelt on her knees. Reaching out, she stroked her fingers in over the side of his face attempting to comfort him. “Of course I love you. How couldn’t I love you? You are the most amazing young man I’ve ever known.”

Hearing his cries continue, Y/N lifted up and felt his arms wrapping around her tightly to hug her. Hushing him, she stroked her fingers through his dark hair and felt her heart breaking, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you. That is the one thing I wanted to avoid more than anything.”

“And you thought by taking the one person I’ve connected with the most since my mom passed away would be the way to do that?” Beau’s bottom lip tremored when he pulled back enough to stare out at her. “You didn’t just have my dad falling in love with you Y/N. I did too. And I don’t think it’s fair that you are letting your family take us away from you and you away from us. Because all of us are miserable Y/N.”

It broke her heart to hear that. What she was doing she thought was best for Negan and his family, but hearing how broken Beau was over everything hurt.

“I know you think you don’t belong with my dad…with us,” Beau started with a broken breath, “But I’m certain that my mother sent you to be with us. That you were meant to find my dad because…she knew that me and my dad…we were both broken. That we both needed someone like you in our lives.”

Motioning her to wait, Beau took out his wallet and stood from the table. Pulling out the drawing that Y/N had done for Beau had a breath catching in her throat seeing that he had kept it. When they talked in the past, he told her that he carried two notes with him always. One from his mother and another from his father. Seeing that she was added to the notes took her breath away. Grabbing one of those other notes from his wallet, Beau unfolded it, put it down on the table and pointed between both of them.

“To Beau, your heart shines brighter than the sun. Never stop being you because you are one in a million. You’re a shining star in the night sky,” Beau read what she had written to him with the drawing when they had spent time together that first time. Pointing to the note that was a little more withered, Beau shook his head and let out a whimpering breath. “My sweet Beau, your heart shines brighter than the sun. Never let that leave you because you are one in a million. You’re my shining star and never stop shining.”

Beau’s hand dropped at his side, the tears sliding down his face harder after he read both things to her. A shuddering breath fell from her throat after hearing Beau compare both things. Dramatically Beau pointed between both her drawing and the note from his mother, “If that’s not a fucking sign, I don’t know what is.”

Wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand, Beau stared out at Y/N and bit down on his bottom lip, “I know you’re not her. I know that. I’m smart enough to know that. I’m old enough to not be that stupid, but I think my mom is out there somewhere. Maybe she’s one of the stars out in there in the sky. I think she saw that I was broken. That dad was broken. And I think she found you and she brought us together. Even if it was in a way that you consider wrong, it happened for a reason. You were meant to find my dad. You were meant to find me.”

Shakily reaching her hand out, Y/N hooked her fingers with Beau’s and he instinctively grasped a tight hold of them, “I saw my mom die, Y/N. She died in my father’s arms holding onto my hand,” Beau thought back on the hardest moment of his life. “My father has always been the strongest man I’ve ever known. But that day? I watched him break down. I’ve never seen him cry like that. And he wouldn’t let go of her. It took a long time before he was finally willing to let her go,” Beau was sobbing and she didn’t know what she could do to make everything better other than to listen. “That night I watched the light in him disappear. My dad was broken hearted and there was no fixing it. It was gone. And it was gone from me too. But I tried to hide it the best I could. My mother asked me to watch over him before she died, so I did. I held it in. And I never saw that light return to him, until I saw him with you. Something I never thought I would see again with my father, I saw when he was with you.”

Not crying was impossible when Y/N looked down at the ground, “And you did it for me too. I felt like I finally had a mother again. That’s how I knew my mom had to have a hand in this. She knew you were hurting and you needed us just as much as we needed you,” Beau insisted, placing his other hand over Y/N’s too. “So if you love me, if you love my dad…how could you possibly think this is the best option Y/N? I don’t care what your family has told you. I don’t care what that voice in your head tells you because it’s wrong. We love you. And we both need you. So much.”

Instead of responding, Y/N moved forward to wrap Beau up in her arms feeling his tears soaking her shirt the longer than she held onto him, “I do love you Beau, very much. But I don’t know how your father would feel after I told him no to his proposal. I can only imagine how much pain I’ve put him through.”

“He’s head over heels in love with you,” Beau tipped his head back, allowing her to brush away his tears while she stared down at him. “The pain of not having you in his life is worse than you telling him no. I’m not trying to guilt you into doing what I want Y/N, I just need you to see how important you are. How important you are to my dad. How important you are to me.”

“I know baby,” she hushed him hating that he thought she may have even considered that. “I know you wouldn’t do that.”

“You do want to be with my dad, right?” Beau confirmed, drawing her to lean back and let out a shuddering breath. “Because you told him yes when he asked you to marry him the first time. I still think you want to marry him. I still think you love him and you want to be with him.”

“Of course I do, Beau,” she was truthful with her answer. Negan was everything she wanted and more. She just hadn’t felt like she was good enough for him. “I love your father more than I’ve ever loved anyone. I told you, the only place I’ve ever felt like I’ve belonged is with you and your dad.”

“Then come home with me. Tell him how you feel,” Beau suggested, shaking his head and squeezing her hands in his tighter. “I know that he will be accepting of everything because he loves you. I love you. Please?”

Right when she was about to answer, she heard the sound of a knock and Beau did his best to reach up to wipe at his face to get the tears away, “Beau?”

“There’s something else,” Beau announced motioning her to wait. A sudden rush of nervousness flooded his body and she couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. “I really hope you don’t get mad at me for this. You see, dad was really distracted today. Even though he was doing his best, I was able to get away to my room for a while and I called someone. I got them to come pick me up and they are the person that brought me here. They couldn’t find a parking spot, so I just hopped out when we got here and left them to find a spot to park. I wanted to talk to you first. Alone.”

Tipping her head to the side, Y/N watched Beau moving away from her and heading for the door to pull it open. There was a sinking feeling in her gut when she saw Hershel moving toward the entrance of the kitchen. Beau closed the door and moved around Hershel to return to Y/N. Lowering her head, she didn’t know how to respond to her father being there.

Hershel looked between the both of them, sliding his hands into his pockets. It was obvious that both Beau and Y/N had been crying and he wasn’t sure what to say.

“I take it I missed something big?” Hershel concluded as Beau moved in beside Y/N. Grabbing a hold of Y/N’s hand, Hershel knew that Beau was incredibly protective of his middle daughter. With a nod, Beau stood his ground almost declaring in his body language that he was there to protect her. After a minute, Y/N lifted her head, her eyes locking with her father’s. It seemed like Hershel wanted to say something, but he stopped. Pointing over toward Beau, Hershel cleared his throat and sighed loudly. “This young man loves you a lot. I hope you know that.”

“I do,” she spoke softly, standing up from the chair that she was in. Wrapping her arm around Beau’s shoulders, she pulled him in closer to her and gave him a tight squeeze. “And I love him too.”

“Good,” Hershel uttered, giving a firm nod. “It’s good that the both of you have each other.”

They stood silent for a moment. Hershel was motionless, his eyes dropping to the ground when he shifted slightly before them. Taking in a long, shallow breath Hershel nodded toward the living room that he saw in the distance, “Do you think that we can sit and talk for a minute?”

“Sure,” she didn’t know how to respond to things when Hershel moved from her kitchen into her living room. Beau grabbed his letters from the table that he had pulled out so he could put them back into his wallet. Leading Y/N toward the living room, Beau looked up at Y/N with tears still in his eyes. “Just hear him out. If he upsets you, I’ll kick him out myself.”

“Okay,” she faintly smiled, brushing her fingers through Beau’s hair and moving over toward the couch with Beau. Taking a seat, she realized that Beau sat close to her making sure to show her that he was still going to be her support system no matter what. That was never anything she questioned. Beau was always there for her and that was never going to change.

“This is a really nice view,” Hershel spoke, heading over toward the large window that looked over the city. With a nervous nod, Y/N wondered what her father was really doing there anyways. “You did really good for yourself Y/N.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, still having a hard time looking at Hershel. The only reason she wasn’t losing it was because of Beau. Obviously, this was something that was meaningful to Beau, so she was going to hear her father out for that reason alone. “What are you doing here Hershel?”

“Well, I was at home. There was a big family meeting going down when this young man called me,” Hershel explained pointing over to Beau who looked to Y/N with his big eyes. “He asked me not to talk and to listen to him. So I listened for once in my life. I listened to everything he had to say. It was a long conversation with some back and forth. We hung up. I spent some time alone in the kitchen and it didn’t take long for me to think about what he said. I called him back, I drove out here to the city and I picked him up. We drove here together, he took off while I parked and that’s pretty much it.”

“Not to be rude,” she started, her head tipping from side to side, “that just explains the steps of how you got here. Not why you’re here Hershel.”

Hershel’s expression showed that he was surprised that she called him out on that point, but it was true. Sure, it was a good lead up, but there had to be more of a reason why he was there.

“I owe you some explanations,” Hershel began, heading over toward the seat that was across from Beau and Y/N. In his body language, it showed that he was uncomfortable and it was strange to see from her father. Usually, Hershel didn’t care about anything, but to see him uneasy was not a sight that she was used to. “And I’m going to do my best giving them to you,” Hershel tried to gather himself, hooking his fingers together. “I think you know some of this, but it’s important to things. When I was younger, my father was very abusive. I hated him. He was an alcoholic and it ruined our family. The second I could get away, I did. My father was a cold man. Always mocked me for having a love for animals, but I didn’t care. When I was gone, I became a veterinarian because it’s what I wanted. And hell I did it just to spite him. Kind of like you with your art.”

“Yeah,” Y/N breathed out, she knew this information. It was something she had only heard somewhat about, but it was something more so directed at Maggie. Hershel always let Maggie know that the reason he stopped drinking was for her.

“You and I were a lot alike when we were younger,” Hershel informed her, giving a shrug knowing that she would probably hate hearing that. “Only when we were younger though. We both had our fathers that were unbearable and we desperately wanted to get away. Prove to them that we could be what we wanted without judgement.”

It hurt being compared to her father, but he wasn’t wrong. From what he talked about when it came to his father, their pasts did sound very similar. Especially with them wanting to do what they loved and escaping so they could.

“When my father was dying on his death bed, I came back to that farm. I saw what he became and I vowed to never be like him,” Hershel thought back on his past, his words coming out shaken because he was visibly trying to hold himself together. “I had become an alcoholic in that time away from him. It was the best way I could deal with all the pain I felt because of him growing up. Hell, it was kind of in my blood to become an alcoholic. The day I saw him on his deathbed is the day that I vowed to stop drinking because I never wanted to be like him. Especially after I found out about Maggie. I didn’t want to have my family growing up the way that I did.”

A tremoring breath fell from her lips when she dropped her head down. That sounded very familiar to her, but from her own point of view and it hurt hearing that come from Hershel’s own mouth considering everything that Hershel put her through.

“I thought I had the perfect life. I was married to Josephine, we had Maggie and everything felt right in the world until she got sick. When she got sick, it was the hardest thing I had ever had to experience in my life,” Hershel recalled back on his life, his eyes lifting to Y/N’s to show that he was emotional. “I had this little girl that I had to take care of and I knew that her mother was dying. And when she did? It broke me.”

Even though these were things that they knew growing up in their family, they were never things they really touched on. Hershel wasn’t always open with his emotions. In fact, he was rather cold when it came to him opening up. When it came to loving Maggie and Beth, he was mostly warm to them, but never when it came to getting deep about feelings.

“I never thought I would fall in love again. And because of that, I fell. I was so close to drinking again because I remembered what it was like when I was younger. I remembered how it helped to ease the pain that I had when I thought about my past with my father,” Hershel declared, holding his hands out as if drawing together his thoughts from the past. “It was a while after Josephine had passed. I wasn’t doing good. I was a single father. Maggie was sad. I was failing in all the areas that I should have been thriving with, but it was hard. It was really hard. So one night, I went to a bar. Maggie was in bed and I left her alone. I should have never done that, but your sister was a deep sleeper when she was younger. I knew I’d be fine until morning…”

Hershel took a moment to stop and catch himself. Lowering his hand, Hershel rubbed it against his knee and raised his gaze. Both Beau and Y/N were listening to him intently. Neither one broke from him and it was strange that both of them were actually giving him a chance to explain things after everything that they had been through.

“That night was the night I met your mother,” Hershel explained to Y/N seeing her posture change once he finally mentioned her mother to her. “I hadn’t been to a bar in a very long time. So everyone there was a stranger for me. I was deep in my sorrows and I had gone to the bar. I took a seat and almost immediately I had spotted your mother. People were drawn to her. She was standing by this jukebox. There was a light on her and like I said, she was hard to miss. With her smile and her energy. Even the way the room was lit, it was like it almost brought the attention directly to her. But of course she was surrounded by other people. People were always drawn to your mother.”

Noticing that Y/N seemed to tense up, Beau squeezed his fingers around hers and gave her a small nudge. This was everything that she wanted and more growing up, it was just hard hearing it for the first time.

“I was about to drink. The bartender put it right in front of me and when I was about to take my first sip, someone fell right on top of me,” Hershel chuckled, shaking his head while deep in recollection of his memories. “The drink spilled all over me and the person who fell on me was your mother. You see, your mother was wearing a new dress that day and she tripped over it. Even though it was her that fell, she ripped me a new one for spilling that drink all over the both of us. She was a spitfire.”

There was something that changed in Hershel’s features when he sighed loudly and reached up to rub at the back of his neck, “We bickered back and forth. But God, she was so beautiful just standing there lecturing me. I thought she was my guardian angel. A sign sent from God to show me that I wasn’t supposed to have that drink. I tried telling her that, but she didn’t want to listen to me. I guess she was on a date that was going horrible at the time and she just wanted to get the hell out of there. I followed her out of that bar like a lost puppy, just trying to get her to listen to me.”

“And she fell for it?” she wondered watching the smile tug at Hershel’s lips.

“Nope, she told me to screw off,” Hershel declared with another laugh, his face having a light shade of pink flooding into it. “Before she did that, I told her everything. I told her about my past, why I was there and how I thought she was my guardian angel. Of course doing that meant I told her about my alcoholism and she wanted nothing to do with me. Why would she? I had a lot of baggage in my life and someone like her didn’t need all of that. I thought I would never see her again after that night. Maybe she was just put there to stop me from having that drink. So I went home back to Maggie and made sure to make a promise to myself that I would never drink again. I even threw away the clothes so Maggie wouldn’t be able to smell that.”

There was a silence between them when Hershel looked down at the ground again, “At that time I was very careful with your sister. See, Maggie was like Beau. She lost her mother too. She was younger than Beau, but it did something to her. So I was always protective of her,” Hershel claimed, lifting his gaze to both Beau and Y/N. “After Josephine died, Maggie just wasn’t…right. I think we all know that your sister is, I don’t know the word. A bit reckless maybe?”

“Hershel,” Beau muttered his name trying to get him to focus on what he wanted him to talk about since it seemed like Hershel was getting distracted.

“I’m getting there son,” Hershel assured Beau with a frown, holding his hands up to motion him to wait. While they agreed that losing her mother was hard for Maggie and they understood him being protective of her, it was getting away from the point he was really there for. “I took your sister to a fair that was in town one night. While we were there, we ran into your mother again. She was there with her godson and she was so good to your sister. I was smitten with her almost immediately. I knew when I saw her interacting with Maggie that I had to have her, so I asked her out on a date. She reluctantly agreed, but she was cautious. I think the only reason she said yes to me was that she fell in love with Maggie and liked the way that I was with her.”

Maggie was young, so it was likely that she never remembered much about her mother, but God Y/N wished that she would have. It would have been nice hearing things about her mother from Maggie because it sounded like Maggie actually had gotten to experience love, real love from her mother. If even for a short time.

“We went on our first date and I proclaimed my love for her at the end of the night. I asked her to marry me almost immediately. It was there. That special thing that I had with Josephine. I felt it. I know she did too, but she knew about my past. I was honest with her from the start and no matter how many times I asked her to marry me, she wouldn’t,” Hershel continued on with his story, biting at his bottom lip when he paused to think things out. “But it didn’t stop us from being together. She fought it, but you can’t stop real love. Can you?”

A tiny smirk tugged at Y/N’s lips hearing him say that as he continued, “Eventually she got pregnant with you and she was scared. She had lost her parents a long time ago and she didn’t have a lot of family, but I promised I would take care of her. That I loved her and I would always take care of her,” Hershel’s eyes started to tear over and, in that moment, she could actually sense the pain in her father’s tone. “God she was so excited to have you. Always writing down names in books that she wanted if you were a boy or girl. And when she went into labor, she finally agreed to marrying me. I was so happy. I felt like the luckiest man alive. I was in love with someone perfect. She really was perfect. I had a beautiful daughter and a beautiful new baby girl. I couldn’t have been happier.”

This story was not the one that she was used to. It was completely different and hearing it for the first time had chills running down her spine. Goosebumps covered her arms and she didn’t know if she should say something or just keep listening.

“We brought you home and everything was perfect up until you were about nine months old,” Hershel’s voice got raspier, his body becoming stiffer when the worst part of his memories returned to him. “Your mother started feeling run down. She never sat still that woman. Always on the run, always helping other people. I just thought she wasn’t getting enough sleep. And then she went to the doctors…”

It was then she heard the hurt sound escape Hershel’s throat and he lowered his head down, “your mother was sick. With the same…exact…thing that kill Maggie’s mother. There was nothing that could be done. We couldn’t stop it from happening. How does that happen? Two women in a row getting sick from the same thing? It didn’t make sense. I wanted to believe that a miracle would happen because it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that I found love again and she was going…she was going to leave me. Just like Josephine.”

Leaning back on the couch, Y/N felt her throat tightening hearing what it was that finally did kill her mother in the end.

“This time it was fast. Not like Josephine. At least with Maggie, she got time to be with her mother. The sickness, it took your mother so fast. She was one of the strongest people I knew and she was always going, but it took her so fast. You were so young. The last thing she made me do was promise to take care of you,” Hershel thought back on Y/N’s mother showing that he was truly shaken up by the idea of losing her. “You don’t understand. I loved her, so much. I fell so hard. I thought I had found two soulmates in my life. And then the world took her away from me. I was broken. So broken,” Hershel tried to explain, pulling himself to the edge of the seat so he could look more directly at Y/N. “Even though I said I never would, I started drinking again.”

A sense of shock flooded her veins. Hershel always insisted that he stayed away from alcohol once he learned about Maggie, but to hear that he had lost his way in the time after her mother passed away had really shaken her up.

“I had two little girls at home waiting for me. The thought of her destroyed me. It broke me in two. I realized that the problem had to be me. I was poison. How could the two women that I fell in love with die of the same exact thing?” Hershel emphasized his words, tears sliding down his face when the two women he lost were remembered. And he wasn’t wrong. That was incredibly bad luck. “Then I started thinking, if I would have never approached your mother, maybe she would be still alive. Maybe she would still be here if she didn’t get with me.”

Beau’s arm hooked tighter around Y/N’s when he could see that she was getting more upset listening to her father talk about her mother. Looking to Beau, she felt her throat tensing up and Beau laid his head on her shoulder.

“I was drowning and no one was there to take care of my babies. I had a friend tell me it was time to wake up, so I had to do the one thing that would keep me alive for the two of you. And that was erase the memory of her. It was the only thing I thought I could do to help carry on. I tried setting everything on fire that reminded me of her, but I couldn’t do it. I loved her too much. Instead, I went up to the attic and I put those things there for years. Even if I wrote her off, she was still there in the back of my mind,” Hershel pointed toward Beau since he was the one that found the things that Y/N had approached Hershel about. It wasn’t the best excuse, but it made sense in how closed off from emotions her father was. Seeing her father crying was new for her. It was rare and it was a sight she never thought she would see. Especially when it came to her mother. “It was the only way to keep myself from falling again. I was so afraid of getting too close to someone because of how they always ended up sick. Annette I just got lucky with. When I was failing, she was there to pick up the pieces and take care of you girls. She’s put up with my shit for so long.”

Tears still lingered in her eyes when Hershel frowned, “I know I’ve not been a good father to you. You look so much like her Y/N. It hurts looking at you because I’m reminded all the time of the love that I lost. The woman that saved me…the woman that died because of me.”

“You didn’t make her sick,” Y/N interrupted her father knowing that if she died from the same thing that Josephine died from, there was nothing that he could have done to cause it. “That was just really bad, unfortunate luck, but it wasn’t your fault.”

“Isn’t it though? How does that happen?” Hershel looked to Y/N for an answer, her lips parting, but she had nothing more to say. Hell, if it was her in his position, she would have thought the same thing. That it was her fault. She just knew that she would have never taken it out on her child like Hershel did. “I thought I would lose you girls. I thought I would lose Annette. I know I’m poison. I’m no good. I wanted to so desperately be what my father wasn’t and I was so blind because my pain drew me to become just like him in many ways for you. I always knew you were going to leave me. You were so much like your mother. So independent. And it just made me cold. You looked like her, you acted like her and I just couldn’t handle it. That’s no excuse. I know it’s not, but I was so afraid that you were going to leave me that I broke myself off from you. It was wrong. I know that. I just did what I thought was the best way to keep myself from being my father and it’s not what I should have done. I should have let your mother live on through me and you. Instead, I erased her because I was scared. Scared that I would break down and leave you girls with nothing. So I made the wrong choice. It was very wrong, but you saw those photos.”

“I did,” she looked to the booklet that was sitting on the table in the distance and she agreed with him, she did look like her mother. Hershel was crying and Y/N was doing her best to be strong even though everything hurt to hear. “Thank you for telling me.”

“If there is such a thing as an afterlife, your mother is going to kick my ass when I finally meet my end,” Hershel proclaimed with a frown, reaching to wipe at his face. “I don’t expect you to ever forgive me Y/N. After this long, I should have been able to man up and be honest with you. I just convinced myself that if I allowed myself the time to grieve, I would become what I was so scared of being all over again. Just to make the pain stop. Because every time I think of your mother, I feel that pain…”

Hershel raised his hand up to place it over the center of his chest, his bottom lip quivering showing that he was emotional in the moment, “So I let you believe the lies I told. I even wanted to believe them myself so I didn’t have to face that pain again. It’s no excuse, but I am so very sorry. I know you won’t believe me, but I do love you. I just didn’t want what happened to your mother to happen to you. When we fought and you left…when you never came back, I just shut down that part of me like I did your mother. Instead of facing my feelings and taking on the pain, I was so cold to everything. I was just afraid of being hurt, so when the idea of pain reoccurred, I just tried to erase everything. And it was the wrong decision. I wish I could go back and change it, but I can’t. You were the last bit I had left of your mother and I lost you. This time it was completely my own fault.”

“Dad,” she breathed out watching when he stood up and moved before her. Hershel lowered down, reaching out to shakily cup her face in his hands. A loud exhale fell from her throat because she was not used to this kind of affection from the man knelt down before her.

“Your mother would be very proud of the person that you became. You’re none of the things that I’ve said. I’m just a mean old man that is angry that you left me and never looked back. I just never realized it was all my fault that it happened,” Hershel declared, his own words coming out shaken while he spoke to her. “I am so sorry. I know the mistake is mine and mine alone. I’m proud of who you are and what you have done. I should have been there every step of the way encouraging you and helping you instead of shutting down like I did.”

At this point, she was a mess when Hershel moved in to wrap his arms around her to hug her. It was the first time in her life she had ever heard him say something like that to her and she knew it was a big deal because of everything that happened, “I don’t want you gone from my life. I want you in my life because you are my daughter and I should have been showing you the love you deserved your whole life. I am so sorry that I didn’t.”

Forgiving him would be hard because of all the pain she went through her whole life, but this was a start. She just needed to know that he really meant it.

Pulling back, Hershel brushed her hair behind her ear and frowned, “Then this boy calls me and tells me that you turned his father down to a marriage proposal because you are torturing yourself over me,” Hershel recalled what had happened with Beau during their conversation, “If there is one thing I can tell you honey, it’s not to let that happen. I may not like Negan’s approach, but the things he said to me that day when he was upset with me in the attic, it’s exactly what I would want a man to say if he loved my daughter. That Negan loves you and if you learned anything from what I told you today, it’s that you can’t waste a minute if you truly love someone. Your mother was so scared about marrying me that we never did it and I regret every minute of it. I lost the woman I loved twice, don’t give up real love. Not when it’s there right in front of you.”

Looking to Beau, Y/N could see that his eyes were still damp from the crying that they had done and he was emotional with her being upset as well.

“What I’ve seen from both this boy and Negan is real love. You don’t always get that in life,” Hershel suggested with a shake of his head. “So please don’t make a mistake that will leave you broken hearted because of the words of this miserable old man that has done nothing but make mistakes his whole life. If you love that man, really love him, don’t let happiness slip through your fingers. Because if you mean what you said, that he’s the only person that makes you feel like you belong, then that’s the man that is for you. That’s who you are supposed to be with.”

A tense laugh fell from her throat. That took a lot out of Hershel. She was sure of that since Hershel and Negan had butted heads more than a few times. But with Hershel even telling her not to let that slip through her fingers, she knew that it was a big deal.

With a nod, Y/N looked between both Beau and Hershel before letting out a shuddering breath, “Are you willing to give us a ride?”

“Of course I am,” Hershel leaned forward to press a loving kiss against Y/N’s temple. Once he stepped back, both Beau and Y/N stood to their feet, but he motioned them to stop before they could get ready to leave. “Although, you’re going to have to wait a minute because I have no idea where I parked and I need to find the car first.”

“We’ll help you,” she responded, hooking her fingers with Beau so she could lead him toward the kitchen to grab her things.

As they were all about to head out, Y/N called out to Hershel and he stopped to look back at her. Heading over to him, she wrapped her arms around him to give him a hug. At first, he didn’t know how to respond, but after a moment he wrapped his arms around her. It was a firm hug, one that she had needed to have for a very long time from her father.

“Thank you for telling me what you did. If you really mean what you say, I’d like to spend more time with you and learn more about my mother,” she admitted with Hershel squeezing his arms around her tighter. "Because from what you say about her, I think she’d want me to forgive you and I’m willing to. As long as you put in the work too.”

“I will,” Hershel assured her, leaning back enough to stroke his fingers in over the side of her face. “I promise.”

----

Shifting uneasily on the couch, Negan looked to his watch to see the time. When Beau assured him that he would be coming home, Negan thought immediately. So the fact that it was taking this long for Beau to return was really making Negan panic. Beau had sent him multiple texts assuring Negan he was safe, but it was scaring the hell out of Negan. They had been watching Christmas movies when Beau had taken off and he still was with Erin. Well, Erin had fallen asleep in his lap while they stayed up waiting for Beau. There was no way that he would go to bed until his son was safely home.

Letting out a long sigh, Negan slid his hand into his pocket to pull out the jewelry box that was still there. Pushing it open with his thumb, Negan stared out at the ring and felt his chest aching at the sight of it. Earlier he thought he would have been spending his Christmas Eve with his children and Y/N. After she turned him down, it broke his heart, but he was doing his best to still show up for his children for Christmas since they were really what Christmas was about anyways.

Hearing the sound of the elevator ding, Negan turned his head back to look for Beau. When Beau didn’t walk into the room, he let out a small grunt. Adjusting Erin carefully, Negan moved his daughter so that she was sleeping comfortable on the couch. Cautiously getting up, Negan moved quietly to make sure that she stayed asleep before heading for the hallway that led to the elevator.

When he was met with an empty hallway, Negan’s head tipped to the side and he dropped his arms down at his side. The sound the elevator made was that it did when someone was returning to the level his apartment was on.

“Beau?” Negan called out to his son, worried when there was no response on the other side. Sighing loudly, Negan assumed that it was probably because Beau was moving slow, worried about his father getting upset with him. “You don’t have to hide Beau. I’m not mad at you, I’m just relieved that you are home. I promise. So why don’t you just come give me a hug and we can all go to bed. We can talk about whatever you did in the morning after we open gifts.”

A loud exhale fell from Negan’s throat when Y/N stepped out into the hallway and he felt his heart skip a beat, “Well shit. I was about to ask you not to go hard on him, but you have to go being the good father again. Don’t you?”

Speechless, Negan didn’t know what to say when she stepped forward in the hallway. Undoubtedly, the first thing he wanted to do was go up to her and wrap his arms around her, but after everything, he didn’t even know if that would be appropriate. “Beau was with you?”

“He was,” she answered with a frown, holding her hand out. Stepping forward, Beau accepted her hand and moved in beside her. There was a rosy color to Beau’s cheeks and he almost looked worried with how his father would respond to everything. “Beau showed up at my apartment and we had a good talk. Where he opened my eyes up to a lot of things. A lot of important things.”

“Oh yeah?” Negan’s eyebrow arched in curiosity when Beau rest his head in against her shoulder. Whatever their conversation was, it had no doubt an effect on the bond between his son and Y/N. “What kinds of things did you realize?”

“That I’m head over heels in love with you, him and Erin,” she explained stammering through her words, bringing Beau’s hand up to press a kiss over the back of his hand. Giving Beau a wink, she released his hand and stepped closer to Negan. The expression over Negan’s face was everything that she needed to see. Hearing that she still loved him drew him to let out a shuddering breath of relief. “Beau made me realize that it didn’t matter what someone said to me or what that voice inside my head tells me because it’s wrong.”

“He’s right,” Negan responded with a weak smile. “You are so much better than you really give yourself credit for.”

“And it’s because of the two of you that I see it,” she was close enough to Negan to draw him to let out a tremoring exhale. “Beau also made me realize that there was something in this world that brought us together. We were meant to find one another and be together.”

“Yeah?” Negan’s voice was broken, his Adam’s apple bouncing in his throat when he felt his eyes burning over.

“Yeah,” she answered, stepping before Negan who was frozen where he was standing. Lowering his head, Negan saw the back of her hand pressing in against his and he bit down on his bottom lip. “I’m so sorry I did what I did with running away. Your son is right about me. I got scared. I’ve never felt happiness like I do when I’m with you and your children. I was afraid that I would lose you or make life worse for you so I pushed you away. But you are the first person in this world that makes me feel like I’m not alone Negan. Like I’m actually special and I don’t want to lose that.”

Holding her hand out, she saw Negan look down at it, his lips parting and his bottom lip tremoring, “I want to be with you and your family Negan. I love you. I love everything about you. I love your smile. I love your personality, even when you are pissing people off. I love how good of a father you are. I love how much you love me. I just love you…”

“I love you too,” Negan whispered, accepting her hand, squeezing it firmly in his. Sweeping his thumb over the back of her hand, he could see that his son was watching on with awe in his eyes.

“You’re not wrong Negan, being separated from you hurts and I don’t think I would survive without you,” she repeated some of the things he had said to her in the past drawing a tiny smile from him. Lowering down onto one knee had a confused expression flooding in over Negan’s features. Digging into her pocket, she pulled out the ring pop that Negan had given her that night on the trail. A muted laugh fell from his throat when he saw it. “I’ve wasted enough of my life on things Negan. I need you. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. The love from both you and your son saved me when I didn’t even realize that I needed saving. I’ve never felt more alive than I do when I’m with all of you. So would you do me the honors of being my husband? Will you marry me Negan?”

“What do you think?” Negan scoffed, watching her smile when he nodded his head about. “Yes. Fucking of course I will.”

Sliding the ring pop up his finger as best as she could, they both laughed when it got stuck about a third of the way up. Pulling her up to him, Negan wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in against his chest. Bringing their lips together, Negan drew out the kiss and hummed against her lips before they separated.

“You stole my move,” Negan lifted his hand to stare out at the ring pop that she had proposed to him with.

“It was a good one,” she responded, nuzzling her nose in against his. Slipping his hand down, Negan managed to grab the jewelry box from his pocket. Opening it up, he grabbed the engagement ring he had bought for her and raised her left hand up. Sliding it down her finger, Negan stared down at it for a minute before lowering his head to press a kiss over the back of her hand. “I’m sorry for saying no earlier. I just wasn’t thinking with a clear mind. But now I know. I love you so much and I can’t be without you.”

Instead of responding, Negan brought her into another loving hug that had him nuzzling his nose in against the side of her neck, “you don’t have to apologize to me Y/N. I love you and I was going to wait for you as long as I had to because I knew that we were meant to be together. I love you so fucking much and I would have never given up.”

“I know,” she pulled back enough to stroke over the side of his face in a tender sweep. “Are you going to be okay with the fact that I’m the one that asked you to marry me?”

“Well, technically I asked first, well, twice, but…” Negan teased with a wrinkle of his nose, stealing another quick kiss from her. “I’m okay with telling people that you were the one to propose. Whatever makes you the happiest, makes me the happiest.”

The sound of something knocking over was heard and it drew Negan to lift his head to see Beau standing at the edge of the kitchen. Giving a half wave, Beau smiled uneasily before shifting on his feet.

“So I owe this to my son?” Negan wondered, squeezing his arms tighter around Y/N who eagerly accepted the gesture.

“You do,” she acknowledged that this was all because of Beau that she was here right now.

“Come here,” Negan ordered, wiggling his finger out at Beau who gave a big smile. Nodding, Beau moved forward swiftly, eager to accept the group hug from the both of them. “Thank you, buddy. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you.”

“He always knows what to say,” Y/N informed Negan with a weak smile, pulling back enough so that she could press her hand in over the side of Beau’s face. “I’ve never met someone with a bigger heart than Beau.”

“My beautiful, sweet boy,” Negan brushed his fingers through Beau’s hair noticing that Beau’s eyes were tearing over. “I love you. So much.”

“I love you too,” Beau whispered dropping his head down to cuddle it in over Negan’s shoulder. “I just want all of us to be happy. And I knew that the only way for all of us to be happy…was to be together.”

Taking that moment to cherish the two in his arms, Negan closed his eyes and squeezed them close. Even though this didn’t turn out exactly the way that he thought it would, this was the best outcome that he could have wished for after everything that occurred. They were together and that’s what counted most.

“How in the world did you get all the way out to her house?” Negan blurt out, pulling back and interrogating his son, surprised that Beau was able to pull off what he did. “I know you hate the subway and you wouldn’t get into a cab…”

Someone cleared their throat making Negan lift his head to see that Hershel was in his hallway with his hands behind his back alerting Negan that it was him that Beau was with, “Well shit. You don’t have a shotgun with you. Do you?”

“Oh, no,” Hershel pulled his hands forward to show that they were empty. “And no more shotguns. Unless you plan to break her heart. Then, I might have to reconsider on the shotguns. I am sorry for that.”

“I don’t plan on breaking her heart,” Negan snickered, leaning down to nuzzle his nose in against the side of Y/N’s neck. “So I think we’re going to be good Hersh.”

“I may have called him and talked to him while Erin had you distracted. I convinced him to come down here to talk to Y/N so she could finally know about her mother,” Beau educated his father on what happened and what he missed. Surprised, Negan looked to Y/N who simply gave him a nod. “They are willing to work on things together.”

“Really?” Negan was surprised to hear that considering everything that happened.

“Really,” she informed Negan with a loud swallow. “We will talk about things tonight.”

“Are we all better now?” Erin’s tired voice was heard and they looked to see that she was standing in the doorway of the kitchen staring out at them with her big, tired, green eyes. Her polar bear stuffed animal was under her arm and she looked like she was ready to pass out. Waving Erin forward, Negan picked her up in his free arm pulling her in close so they could all be together.

“Much better,” Negan peppered kisses against the side of Erin’s face.

“Well, then…what are we still doing up?” Erin asked, pointing back toward the Christmas tree. “If we don’t go to sleep Santa won’t come. You know that.”

“You know what? She’s right,” Negan agreed with Erin, looking beyond them to Hershel. “I have a guest room Hersh. What do you say? You can stay with us until morning and then you can leave in the morning after Santa has come. I think with all the snow it would be a good idea for you to stay here for the night.”

“Are you sure?” Hershel confirmed and Negan gave him a slow nod.

“We’ll set you up in a minute,” Negan assured him, lowering in to press his forehead against Y/N’s. Having both of his children and Y/N in his arms was everything to him. Especially now after everything they had been through. “This is the best Christmas gift I could have ever asked for. With you, Erin and Beau. I couldn’t picture anything better than being with the things I love the most in this world.”

“I’m sorry the present came a little late,” Y/N hummed against his lips, stealing another quick kiss from them.

“Better late than never,” he whispered with a smile, nuzzling his nose in against hers. “I have a whole life to look forward to with you and I don’t plan on wasting a single second of it.”

----

ONE YEAR LATER

“Is dinner almost ready babe?” Y/N called out from where she was before the Christmas tree with Beau and Erin putting the presents under the tree. Looking to her watch, she stole another quick glance at the time before sighing. “I think Maggie said she would be here with Glenn and little Hershel in less than a half hour. My parents and the others will be a little bit later.”

“Almost,” Negan called out from the kitchen getting her attention back on him to see that he was standing in the doorway with their three-month-old son in his arms. “Felix and I are doing our best to get everything done, but daddy needed to take a break to feed him because he got hungry.”

“Aren’t we all?” Erin questioned with a small laugh, gazing upon the presents that were before her. “I’m glad everyone is coming here this year just for dinner. Last year was nice, but home is so much more comfortable than being at the farm all that time.”

“You’re not wrong and we’re lucky they are going home after dinner,” Beau piped in with a tiny snicker getting up from the floor. Heading over toward Negan, Beau grabbed Felix and held him closely to his chest. “Unlike last year where we had to spend days with everyone, at the end of tonight we get to kick all of them out of our apartment.”

“What are you trying to say?” Y/N smirked drawing Beau’s eyebrows to bounce up before he chuckled and started humming something to his little brother who was cooing out.

“I’m saying I think we’re all going to be happier when it’s just us at the end of the night together on Christmas,” Beau answered as he made a silly face down at Felix who was staring up at him behind heavy eyelids. “I know you are getting close to your family again, but it’s still nice to have them leave. We have Christmas Eve with your family, they leave and then Christmas is for us. I think that will be nice. Don’t you?”

“I think Christmas alone with all of us will be wonderful,” she agreed with Beau, letting out an amused sound before pressing a kiss to his temple.

“He’s not wrong you know, it’s nice getting people to leave at the end of the day,” Negan commented when they all headed into the kitchen. Negan helped Erin into her seat where she stole one of the sugar cookies that they all had made together earlier. “I like when it’s just all of us together.”

“That’s my favorite too,” Y/N hummed, stepping forward to draw her finger down over the center of Negan’s chest. Tipping up on her toes, she brought their lips together which had Beau letting out an overwhelmed sound.

“We’ll be quick,” Negan promised his son with a wrinkle of his nose, hooking his arms loosely around Y/N’s hips. “It’s interesting how I predicted our future almost a year ago. Married with a young baby…”

“Anyone could have predicted the baby with how the two of you are,” Beau reminded them moving forward to hand Felix to Negan again carefully. Once he had Felix in his arms again, Negan headed over toward where Erin was sitting so that she could see her little brother. “I have to get the food out of the oven.”

“Hey,” Y/N called out motioning both Erin and Beau in so they could all do a group hug. “I love you all so much. I hope you know that.”

“And we love you too,” Negan hummed, pressing a lingering kiss over her cheek, enjoying the way that their little family still continued to love one another. “And we always will.”

----

Tags: @slutlanna976 @fuckthis-and-fuckthat @jennydehavilland @de-gabyconamor @ibelongtonegan @smallsadjellyfish @labyrinthofheartagrams @msjamesmarch @thebeautysurrounds @hotfornegan @redmercysugar @caprithebunny @tuttifuckinfruitty @emoryhemsworth @a-girl-interupted @akumune @stoneyggirl2 @xsarcasticwriterx @haleygreen23 @xhannahbananax03 @sanctuaryforthelost @burningredaffair @killaweiser @dead-of-niight @ayumi-wolf @hollyismentallyillhelp @promiscuousbarnes @tone-stark @lanadelnegan @flippittygibbitts @stickyhuesos @dilfsandmartinis

#Jeffrey Dean Morgan #Negan #The Walking Dead #negan fanfiction #negan x reader #twd fanfiction #negan x you #negan smith

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gfcheol · 2 years

Text

late blooming pt2 | j.wonwoo

pairing: wonwoo x f!reader

genre: slowburn, sugar baby!au, smut

word count: 5k

tags: emotionally constipated trustfund kid!wonwoo, snarky roommate!jeonghan, food ment, insecure artist!reader, fingering, making out, jealous!wonwoo, miscommunication, angsty ending

tag list: @bangchanbabygirlx , @amiga-qmilagraso , @listxn , @bloomyroses , @yoozuku, @revluv909 , @laylasbunbunny , @thinkinboutwonu , @springdaybreaks , @97-liners , @weakforsvt

In those two weeks, since you'd agreed to let Mr Jeon Wonwoo financially take care of you, you'd learned three things about him.

One - He'd gushed about every cat picture or meme you'd sent to him, commenting on the pretty fur or the shape of their triangle ears. During one phone call, you even got him to meow for you. You'd laughed almost a solid minute at the sound of his dark voice, clearly enunciating a very lifelike "meow". If only you had thought of recording it.

Two - He loved to read. You weren't really sure about which books were to his liking but everytime you'd mentioned an author you'd liked, he'd tell you he was either familiar with their work or had read their work as well. It was difficult, to say the least, not to feel intimidated by his intellect, though you didn't mind as much once you'd realized that, even though he already knew so many literary works, he still listened quite intently to your opinions on them.

And three - He asked a lot of questions.

It was almost embarrassing, in hindsight. How much you were willing to tell him, about your upbringing, weird food habits you'd developed as a child, about the time Mingyu and you got food poisoning from your favourite fast food place, back in college. It felt easy to confide in him. Your own personal confession booth. Wonwoo was a good listener and despite leaving snarky comments here and there - there was understanding laced in his every word, making it hard not to fall deeper into conversation with him. Maybe, just maybe, it had helped that all of these talks happened, while you were on the phone with him, either on your way from work or tucked in bed.

"It's probably bad timing", he had sighed, "but I'll have to leave the country for a week. It's purely out of formality, although necessary. Or so I've been told, at least."

His explanation had seemed sincere enough, a tired smile playing on the edge of his lips, yet you couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment from you. Selfish desires be damned, you actually hoped to spend time with the man who'd provide you with money for whatever reason. It still felt somewhat strange to you, no matter how rational he had been while explaining his intentions with you, the skeptic in you was hard to please.

You'd only shaken your head in response, your "No, it's fine! I hope you'll still manage to have fun", sounded insincere even to your own ears, though Wonwoo had enough courtesy not to mention it.

You hadn't quite expected him to still try to stay in touch, thinking his hectic schedule would suffice in keep him busy. But apparently, Wonwoo had a tendency to defy your expectations about him. His first text had comee as a surprise to you, your eyes almost bulging out of their socksts, as you sat slumped and exhausted in the driver's seat of your car. Work had been the usual hell, customers and colleagues robbing you of every nerve you had left until they left you a complete shell of yourself - Not like you hadn't been used to it.

[Wonwoo J - 17:55] Are you as bored as me?

You had blinked several times, mind feeling a bit too numb, attempting to remember that, yes, this was indeed The Jeon Wonwoo, billionaire, business man, and art snob, texting you oh so casually.

[y/n - 17:56] more like tired rip just got done working

[Wonwoo J - 17:57] Oh? Hope I didn't interrupt anything

[y/n - 18:00] literally sitting in my car rn lmao

[y/n - 18:01] gimme 15 and then i'm free to chat

You remembered rushing home, quick to brush Jeonghan's half hearted greeting off, ready to lock yourself in your bedroom and panic an appropriate amount before calling him back. Though in the end, all panic had ebbed away the second his tired voice muttered your name in greeting, at the other end of the line. And despite your worries, it'd felt so natural to share your day with him - His faint laugh, whenever you'd complain, proving to be your very own remedy against bad moods.

Maybe he'd merely been polite this whole time, your insecurities were quick to point out. A cynical viewpoint for sure, but not unrealistic. Not impossible.

It'd be so easy to drop all caution, to ignore every bad experience and disregard every hurtful comment ever thrown your way by previous romantic partners. It'd be so easy to trust the silly old fashion emojis he sent your way, or the way his laughter grew louder everytime you gasped out in mock offense to any of his jabs. It'd be so easy to let your heart ache at every whispered goodnight you'd mumbled into the speaker of your phone. But easy was naive. You weren't a teenager anymore, you knew better or were supposed to at least.

♡♡♡♡♡♡

"Hmm, Episode IV. Easy question. Obi Wan might be hot but he doesn't beat childhood nostalgia. Next question."

"Obi Wan hot? Questionable. Hey, how come you're not tired yet? I thought you said that your shift was draining 'as fuck'."

"Why do you have to remember everything I tell you, oh my godddd. You know what, I change my mind, guys who only pretend to listen get a bad rep."

"You just don't want me to point out that you should stop rambling about Star Wars and catch some sleep."

"Not my fault that we're not in the same timezone right now, Mister. C'mon, ask me another question."

"Fine... Have you always been this difficult or do I get special treatment from you?"

"... Wonwoo, I hope you know how lucky you are that you're not within fighting distance."

"Aw, I was hoping you'd get so huffy, you'd hang up and finally rest."

"You're mean."

"And yet you're still insisting on talking to me."

"AND a smug bastard."

"Goodnight, y/n. I'm... looking forward to talking to you tomorrow. I'm uh- enjoying our talks."

"Oh. Y- yeah, same. I mean- goodnight to you too."

♡♡♡♡♡♡

Jeonghan's form was draped across the couch, arm covering his eyes to shield him from the intrusive rays of sunshine that dared to tickle his oh so sensitive face. The apartment lay in comfortable silence, a rare occurrence these days but not unwelcome. You aimlessly scrolled through your phone, enjoying the luxury of being lazy on one of your rare off days.

Usually, it wouldn't be you who'd have to suffer because of Hannie's tendency to take up too much space. It'd become quite normal to see his current conquence and him lounging on the couch, limbs, as well as lips, entangled in a disgustingly open display of love. You'd roll your eyes, questioning yourself, if you'd ever been as bad as him, while you were with any of your exes. You shuddered at the mere thought of them. The past was the past for a reason, wasn't it? You should know this by now.

"Wanna watch a movie today?", you asked absentmindedly, eyes still glued to the colorful pictures of your screen - Pinterest truly was a rabbit hole to get lost in.

Your roommate barely reared his head. "Only if i get to pick. Sick of watching Pride and Prejudice over and over with you."

A groan. "Fine... No movie then." Giggles erupted out of you when you felt Jeonghan's foot digging into your side.

"Is your sugar daddy not gonna call you today?" You felt the heat in your face rise at the teasing edge of his voice. "Or are nudes enough to get him to shut up?"

Your head perked up, your tone quiet "Nudes?"

"As in 'sexy pictures to help him beat his meat on his sexy man business trip'?", Jeonghan raised his arm to glance you up and down.

For some reason, it had never even crossed your mind that this very adult man with adult needs would desire - well - adult pictures from you. You were simply too enthralled by the sweet words thrown your way, that the skeptic within your mind forgot to remind you that this was not, in fact, a normal relationship. Money and talent and contracts were involved in this. And while a large part of why Wonwoo felt drawn to you, must have been your potential as an artist, there was very likely sexual interest as well. Embarrassment simmered in the depths of your stomach, groaning into the air. "Oh fuck."

"Wow, you've never even sent him a sexy selfie or something?"

"Well, it never really came up in conversations!", you squeaked, voice too nervous, too shrill to sound rational.

He pushed himself off his cozy, little spot on the edge of the sofa, a grin now evident on his features. "You guys don't flirt?"

"You know what?", you narrowed your eyes at him, shoving his leg away from your side. "Single you fucking sucks! At least your girlfriends all liked it when you were being an absolute dick to them. Now you just kinda- inflict it all upon me. I can't help it that you're bored without a girlfriend!"

The dig didn't seem to affect him much, the sheer Schadenfreude he felt was enough to brush off your insult. How in the living hell did he always have the upper hand in every argument you guys had? Your leading theories were either A) he had enough practice in torturing his little sister and was happy enough to treat you the same way or B) he was one of Lucifer's very own lackeys. Your money was on theory B. One of these days, you'd find the portray he'd sold his soul for in order to stay young and live out his hedonistic lifestyle - Oscar Wilde style.

"I'm sure I'd be way less bored, if we could watch a different movie that doesn't star Keira Knightley's angry pout", Jeonghan huffed, raising his brow - and while you knew, this was a mere attempt to get a rise out of you, you couldn't help but gasp in offense.

"How dare you? She's a delight in-", your phone vibrated in your lap, attention shifting immediately to the notification you'd received. Your anger was put on halt as you noticed, it was indeed Wonwoo, who had texted you, offense melting away in an instance. "A sec", you mumbled.

"Oh, he's got you whipped!", he laughed.

Pressing on the notification, you gave him one last exasperated look, lips pressed into a pout, "Hannie, please."

[Wonwoo J - 14:12] Flying back today. Care to have dinner at my place tomorrow?

"Oh." Your heart felt like a young bird, threatening to escape the cage that was your ribcage, beating so loud, you barely reigstered your own reply. You'd met him before - more than once, even! - why were you so fucking nervous? Was this normal? Oh god. "H- he invited me to his place tomorrow."

"Oh fun, spicy second date then?"

"What?! Oh my god, he wants to fuck me?! I- I haven't even shaved in like a month!" You shot up onto your knees, fingers still firmly grasping your phone as you stared down at your roommate with panic in your eyes. "He wants to fuck me, right? This is what this means! Right? Right?!"

"Holy shit, calm down." The way his tone remained basically unbothered, only added fuel to the whirlwind of thoughts coursing through your brain, a string of whines slipping past your lips.

"What if he wants to fuck?"

"Then he wants to fuck", he shrugged, nonchalant smirk slowly creeping back onto his face. No matter how annoying Hannie could be, his quiet confidence worked wonders on you in times of stress. "You don't have to do anything, geez. If you also wanna smash your bits together, then wear something sexy or something. Didn't your ex get you the tacky lace set for your birthday? If you don't - then don't? He didn't buy you, y/n, you can say 'no', I'm pretty sure he'll live."

This gave you pause. He had a point, a pretty good one even. Nothing explicit had been stated so far, as to what Wonwoo expected from you in your arrangement. There was... an undeniable interest he had you, that much seemed obvious to you - yet the details were fuzzy to you. What was it that had piqued his interest in you? Sure, there was you talent for are - which you'd have to discuss with him again tomorrow evening - but what else was there? A teeny, tiny part of you screamed and begged for it to be romantic interest - though the more rational part within you wasn't quite so sure. He's a man who could have anything and anyone. So why would he require someone like you in his life, if not, for some strange power fantasy that you probably would never really understand.

You let yourself fall back to your previous position, brows still furrowed as you pinched the bridge of your nose in a feeble attempt to calm your approaching headache. The question still stood - Would you want to fuck Wonwoo? All insecurities and feelings of pressure aside, did you want him? He was attractive, that's for sure. There was something special in the way he presented himself, you felt, a bit awkward, a bit stiff, yet still elegant. You liked the way he texted like a man 20 years his senior, liked that he sent you passages of books he'd read, liked his deep laugh. You swallowed.

"Why the fuck do you still remember the lace set Jonah got me?", you grinned, wrinkling your nose at the memory of your ex.

"Because, for some reason, he thought it was necessary to ask me for my opinion. Such a charmer."

You smacked his arm. "And then you guys got me the tacky one? Tsk, you call yourself my friend."

Jeonghan's smirk only deepened. "You mean, you call me your friend. I just kinda let you." Another smack, this time a tad less gentle than the previous one. "Ow- Alright, alright! Put that energy into your hookup."

Moreso a question than a statement, your gaze shifted back to the display of your phone, thumbs hovering over your keyboard. "Shush you", you snickered. "I gotta respond before he thinks I'm blowing him off."

[y/n - 14:27] sounds good xx pick me up from my place?

Wonwoo's reply came in a matter of seconds.

[Wonwoo J - 14:28] Send me your address

[Wonwoo J - 14:28] I'll send my driver to pick you up.

[y/n - 14:30] will do!! have a safe flight!!!

It should be illegal to feel this giddy about dinner plans. Illegal enough for you to be locked up, so you could calmly succumb to your feelings of yearning for a man so incredibly out if your league, it almost hurt. A sigh on your end, "He'll be so disappointed to hear I haven't done any painting while he was gone."

"Eh", Jeonghan chuckled. "I'm sure that won't be the first thing on his mind once he sees you."

♡♡♡♡♡♡

John Everett Millais, you read, tuning out the distinct chatter of your parents' conversing with your father's work colleague. Your seven year old self had been enthralled by the dark hues on the painting you'd noticed above their dinner table. A woman floating in water, hair a soft shade of red, mouth agape, surrounded by water and flowers - you could feel something profound stir inside your gears then. The unknown evoked emotion you had no inkling of yet, though it felt, as if she could pry them out of you just by her presence.

Why was she in the water? You'd wondered to yourself, your dessert that consisted of cheap strawberry ice cream, completey forgotten. And why was she still wearing her dress? Was she a rich lady? A princess maybe? A sad princess who wanted take a bath in a pond? But if she was a princess, then didn't she have a bathtub in her castle?

Maybe the painter, John Something, knew the answer to all the questions that were floating inside your brain, distracting you from the sweet taste on your tongue. Maybe there were secrets only painters knew when they looked upon a scene to capture. You frowned, thinking about your own pictures. While yours gained a lot of praise from your parents, comparing them to the glamour and sadness of Princess in front of you, let a strange sense of disappointment course through your veins.

And you quickly realized - You weren't one to settle for disappointment. There was a drive, inside that bundle of shame you were subjected to. A drive to do better, to improve, to create. A smile crept its way to your lips. Maybe your mother was right to bring you along to the boring business dinner after all.

♡♡♡♡♡♡

You almost jumped at the sound of your phone vibrating with a new notification, nerves already on edge.

[Wonwoo J - 18:02] Should arrive in ca 10 min. I'll see you later.

As soon as you'd received the text, you rushed to the bathroom mirror, reapplying your bold shade of lipstick for the millionth time that evening. Your reflection stared back at you with wide eyes. Would he notice the amount of effort you put into looking effortless?

The drive to Wonwoo's apartment was relatively quiet. His driver had parked directly in front of the entrance to your building, exactly ten minutes after you'd gotten the confirmation, a polite smile graced his lips. It felt a bit too spacious to sit all by yourself in the back, windows tinted black and driver completely silent, focused on the busy road ahead of you. Although, you'd most likely dislike it even more, if he had decided to start a conversation with you - You didn't quite mind, being alone with your thoughts. Fidgeting with the hem of your dress, you listened to the hum of the motor, attempting to drown out the sound of your rapid heartbeat. This would be your second maybe-something-akin-to-a-date... an almost-date. Or did the several phone calls count as something?

"Miss?"

You blinked a few times, turning your head towards the driver, fingers still clutching your dress. "Yes?"

There was a hint of a smile in his tone, as he raised his brows, meeting your eyes through the reer view mirror. "We're here."

"Oh", was your reply, only now realizing how the car had come to a halt, the hum of the engine gone. With heavy legs, you shuffled to open the door. "Thank you so much for picking me up."

He gave you a nod, smile lines appearing around the corners of his eyes. "No problem, Miss. Have a wonderful night."

The calmness of this stranger acted like an antidote to the anxiety poisoning your thoughts, offering a shy smile in return. The kindness stood in stark contrast to the playful harshness your best friend usually soothed you with, though nonetheless effective.

The building was huge, entry halls adorned with minimalistic art, you'd never even seen before. The simplicity of the design, you mused, was too pretentious to admire. The echo of your shoes hitting the marble floor, felt like an intrusion. The gall, the echo sneers at you in your mind, the nerve you must possess daring to trespass. Wealthiness evidently could not buy good taste.

After a dreadfully long elevator ride (and a very awkward coversation with the concierge), you finally find yourself right amidst Wonwoo's four walls. If you could call it that. You weren't quite sure what you'd expected to find - A coffin and a chandelier? White walls and a furniture made of glass? Though reality was far more grounded than one could expect. A row of paintings adorned his walls - some of them modern, some of them clsssics - soft music was coming from, what you presumed to be, his kitchen. It almost seemed... ordinary. You frowned.

"Y/N?", you heard his voice from somewhere out of sight. "Yeah, hi! It's me! The uh- concierge? Let me up, I hope that's okay."

His reply was instant. "Why wouldn't it be? I told him I'm expecting a lady." Your frown melted into a smile at his words. "Come to the kitchen, will you? Dinner's almost done."

Rounding the corner, your ran your fingers through your hair as one last effort to tidy yourself up more. Any confidence you'd tried to muster up prior, faltered at the sight of him. Gone was the usual business suit, traded for a nice black shirt and jeans. You were painfully aware of your contrasting attire, the urge to curse yourself feeling unbearable. His back was facing you, unscrewing a way to expensive looking bottle of wine.

"Hi", you greeted again.

His eyes immediately lit up as he turned to face you, a smile hanging off his lips. "You- Oh, wow." his brows shot up, his long fingers adjusting the frame of his glasses, as if he to check the validity of the image in front of him. "You look-"

"I'm sorry if this is too much? I don't know why I thought, you'd meant like a proper dinner, that's on me", the longer you spoke, the heavier your chest, your brain begging you to shut up already.

Wonwoo merely shook his head, softly laughing. "Well, I'm not complaining, don't worry-"

"Also so sorry I interrupted you, I didn't mean to." A pause followed.

"Hm", he cocked his head to the side, gaze searching your own. His frame, even in casual clothing was just as intimidating as you remembered. "Still so shy and nervous? I didn't expect that."

"I'm not shy-"

"But the evening's still young", he smiled at the appearance of your pout. "And I hope you like take out. I tried cooking one of Mingyu's recipes and it was... not as easy as expected."

Any snarky comment died right on your tongue at his tone. Taking one of the half full glasses located on his marble counter top, you quipped, "Harder than it looks to recreate artistry like that, right?"

He gazed down at you, taking a sip of wine himself. "And you're a great cook then, I assume?"

Without meaning to, your shoulder brushed against his arm, the proximity after all these evenings getting to know him making you dizzier than the alcohol. This is the same Wonwoo, you reminded yourself. The same cat loving, nerdy man you've been talking to all those days. "That's for you to find out next time."

For a blink of an eye you thought you saw his chest rise and shoulders stiffen, though his face remained the same mask of indifference you were used to. You considered this a triumph. "Well uh- I can't wait to find out."

Once dinner finally arrived, korean food made a restaurant you'd never heard of, you settled in his dining room with your second glass of wine of the evening. Deciding to ignore the gnawing question of just how expensive the bottle must have been. The food was way too well prepared to let bad thoughts ruin it either way. Conversation was just as easy as you remembered it. You'd gasp at any teasing remark and he gave affirming nods when you vented about work, art or your very impossible roommate. Though the latter conversation topic never seemed to earn you any smiles.

"And Layla was the...?", his face scrunched up as he tried to remember, leaning back in his chair. "Waitress? She seems sweet from what you've told me, what happened?"

You shook your head, giggling into your glass. "Exactly! What happened!", a sigh. "But he's great. Sometimes that is. When he's not lying to make me look stupid or convince me to do dumb stuff."

"Like what?", he asked, fingertip brushing alongside the glass. You really did hope he had yet to catch you staring at his hands.

You waved him off with a flick of your wrist, groaning at the memory of all of Jeonghan's previous shenanigans. "One time he gaslit me - and yes, it was gaslighting! - into making me do his laundry for a month! A month! I can't believe I fell for it too", you'd bury your face in your hand if you didn't have any makeup on. "He even convinced me to wear all this, can you believe him? Dress, lace set, hairdo-"

"Lace set?", Wonwoo repeated. Your smile dropped in an instant.

"What?"

"You said he made you wear a lace set." It wasn't a question, really. It was a statement the needed an answer. A response, an explanation, a confession. Every fiber of your being stood alert, ready to flee the scene and fling yourself off the balcony if needed.

Your eyes drifted to your empty plate, looking for an appropriate response in the remnants of your kimchi rice. "I did?"

"I'm afraid so." You weren't sure when Wonwoo had left his seat, his long legs looking too handsome as he sauntered closer to you. "Were you hoping on me seeing you in it tonight?", he asked, now only a few steps away from you.

A trap question. He knew your answer already, you were sure. It was the hidden sadistic nature in him that urged you out of your shell and into the humiliation of utter vulnerability. In a last act of defiance, you blinked up at where he stood, not paying heed to the beating of your heart. "Hannie told me to-"

"Since when are you doing what anyone tells you to?" The warmth of his fingers found your cheek. His touch felt electrifying. "If you don't want me to see, all you have to do is tell me. Use your words."

Your breath hitched in your throat. "I... hoped you would."

A smirk spread on his lips, bending down until he was on eye level with you. Licking his lips, his eyes drifted down to yours, an unspoken question lingering between you, before he rasped, "That's what I thought."

He had you on your back, dress long discarded between the couch and the dining room, as you lay there writhing in your underwear, his mouth pressing open mouthed kisses to you neck. The friction of your bra against the silky fabric of his shirt felt almost sinful as his hand reached for your chest, quiet whines slipping past your lips. Whatever you'd hoped for, you'd never have thought he'd actually want you like this. Maybe the alcohol had messed with your brain too much.

"You're so pretty like this", Wonwoo breathed, slipping your panties to the side before he ran his thumb over your clit. A sharp inhale escaped you, body jolting against him in surprise. He smiled into your skin. "Let me hear you."

It felt forbidden to see him still this in control, while you were somewhere between bliss and anxiety. He lay fully clothed on top of you, using his knees to spread your thighs apart for easier access, glasses foggy. You'd almost giggle at the sight. "Fuh- Oh", you gasped, a finger finally sliding into you, wetness coating his hand in the blink of an eye. "Wonwoo..."

A soft laugh. "Yeah?"

"More", you demanded, hips grinding into his steadily moving hand.

"More? Whatever could she mean?" He grinned at your frustrated huff, kissing the top of your lace covered breasts.

"You know!", you grumbled. Or whined. You weren't quite so sure anymore.

He complied to your demands, adding another, long finger, heel of his palm rubbing against your sensitive clit. Moan after moan tumbled from your parted lips, pressure rising in the pit of your stomach with every flick of his wrist. It'd been too long for you to properly relish this moment, pleasure almost too fleeting before even falling off the edge. An artist's curse to live in melancholy and nostalgia.

As your hip brushing against his crotch, he finally let a moan of his own slip, squeezing his eyes shut. The sight was almost too much to bear for you. He looked so handsome like this - cheeks flushed, slightly out of breath. You stared in awe. "Your pussy's so tight", he sighed.

"Won-" a gasp. And with a brush against your spongie spot inside you and the friction against your clit, you let go. Pleasure illuminating your whole body. Wonwoo could swear you shined as bright as any beacon at that moment.

He kissed your lips for the final time, soft and sweet, before he gathered you up in his arms, hugging your fucked out form closet to his chest. "What about you?", he heard you mumble, face buried in the crook of his neck. He only shook his head, reaching for a blanket to cover you with. "I'm tired."

You'd slept surprisingly well on his couch, the fabric of the cushions softer than most of the bedsheets you'd slept in. Though as you stretched out to find the man on your mind, you were met with an empty spot. Reluctantly, you opened your eyes, after sex exhaustion and alcohol making your lids feel especially heavy this morning. "Oh fuck", you cursed softly, images from last night flooding your mind. The memories of his lips on your skin, his kisses, his hands... It was way too early to think about all of this.

You rolled to your side, on the search for your phone, a creme colored envelope catching your eye immediately. Careful not to tear the paper, you squinted trying to make out Wonwoo's handwriting.

Last night was lovely. I transferred some money to your account - There's a new art dealer in town. Let's talk soon.

Money. Oh. Yeah, you remembered. This is what this was about, how could you forget? It's an arrangement first and foremost. Your fingers felt numb as you held the piece of paper in the too big, too expensive, too empty apartment of Jeon Wonwoo. Wealthy trustfund kid, CEO to be Jeon Wonwoo. How could you forget?

#wonwoo x reader #wonwoo smut #wonu x reader #wonu smut #svt smut #svt x reader #seventeen x reader #seventeen smut

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somber-sapphic · 8 months

Note

Hi I was wondering if you could do the sicktember 24. “Did you just sneeze?” - Yelena x Sick Reader.

Little Kitten

〖Summary: Yelena teases you for the way you sneeze.〗

〖Word Count: 550〗

〖Pairing: Yelena x Sick Reader〗

〖Notes: I would greatly appreciate if everyone is nice about this one, I will admit that Yelena is not my best character and I'm working to get better at her characterization.〗

〖Translation: котенок = kitten (according to google translate; I don't speak Russian, I'm sorry if it's wrong)〗

☾Masterlists☽

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“Did you just…sneeze?” Yelena asked, incredulous at the small kittenish sound you had just made. You pouted at her and grabbed a tissue that you used to paw at your nose. Her face split into a grin as she watched your movements, noting that even those were strangely catlike.

“Lena,” You whined, sniffing in a rather pathetic way. “Le’me alone, I don’ feel good.” A permanent pout had settled on your lips since this mind-numbing cold had started and you felt rather pitiful.

To her credit, Yelena had been doing a surprisingly good job at taking care of you. She wouldn’t win any awards for being the most nurturing person, but she made sure you ate, drank water, took your meds, and supplied you with more tissues than you’d ever need. She even cuddled with you when you asked, though the act was performed with a lot of grumbling about germs.

You didn’t blame her, this was a monster of a cold that had you laid up in bed for three days already, days that felt like weeks. It had hit you hard and fast, one night you were fine and the next morning you were an absolute mess.

Your head ached. Every part of you ached, your nose was stuffy, and you had a low-grade fever that was just enough to make your bones hurt. You’d developed a cough the day before that was clinging to your chest, making it feel heavy. Concerns of bronchitis had floated across your mind for a moment, but you didn’t feel well enough to care.

If it was bronchitis Yelena was making sure you were doing what you needed to combat it and you were pretty sure she wouldn’t let you die. Not like that anyway, that would be rude of her.

“Fine, but that was cute. Do you need anything?” she asked, still chuckling. The little smile on her face would have been sweet if it hadn’t come at your expense. You glared at her and crossed your arms over your chest, huffing your frustration. Not only were you plain old tired, but you were tired of being sick.

“No.” You muttered, staring with dead eyes at the TV. You weren’t sure what was playing but the bright light was annoying you. Everything was annoying you. You were mad about being sick, mad that TV was boring, mad that your nose was running, mad that your throat hurt. Mad mad mad.

“Okay grumpy, why don't you go sit on the couch and I’ll make you something to eat? We’ve got some great boxed mac and cheese.” she offered, trying to guess what you were thinking. She was right of course, the most frustrating thing about your current situation was that all you had eaten was soup. You were so done with soup.

“Fine.” You took in a quick breath and sneezed again, making the same sound as earlier. Yelena laughed and leaned over to kiss your forehead, the bed shifting with her weight.

“Rest котенок. Food will be ready when you are.” As she left you allowed yourself a small smile. You were touched by her warmth, something saved only for you. She had such a hard exterior, which made sense considering what she had been through, and her caring held a different level of meaning.

#sickfic #fever #fanfiction #sick fanfiction #marvel sickfic #sick reader #fever whump #yelena x you #yelena black widow #yelena belova #avengers sickfic #sick fanfic #sick whump #minor whump #flu #marvel fanfiction #yelena x y/n #yelena x reader #yelena x sick reader

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thescarletnargacuga · 3 months

Text

PLAY PRETEND

A BUNNYDOLL ONESHOT

WARNING: unhinged Ragatha, SO much digital violence, NPCs die

~~~

"CUT!! No, no, NO!! Do it again! Do it right!" An NPC wearing a ball cap labeled "Director" threw a script down on the ground in frustration.

Jax dragged a hand down his face. "We've done this scene 87 times!!"

"And we'll do it 87 more times if you don't do your job and act right!" The NPC gripped the arms of his chair, fit to break. "Go again! Reset!" The movie set came to life with activity. People rushing to reset props and touch up make up on the actors.

"Jax, please, just do what he says." Ragatha pleaded. She was as tired as he was, plus she was standing in bad heels the whole time. At least he got to stay barefoot. "We won't be able to finish the adventure until the movie's finished." She coughed when an NPC powdered her cheeks.

"I agree. This is getting very dull." Kinger said from his position next to them. "Just go with it and it'll be over soon."

"But why did I get this part? Why can't you be the groom??" Jax tugged at the tight tux collar choking him.

"Because I play the part of an ordained minister better." Kinger said matter-of-factly.

"I'm not exactly thrilled about it either, Jax. I'd much rather kiss Kinger. At least he wouldn't complain the whole time." Ragatha sneered.

Kinger had a smile in his eyes. He looked to the maid of honor and best man. "You two holding up okay?"

"My legs are numb." Gangle whimpered. The dress she was forced to wear was heavy on her spindly body.

"I should have stayed at the circus with Zooble." Pomni muttered. At least she got to wear a suit, so she wasn't too uncomfortable.

"Hey! Could we fix the best man's hair?" The director called out. "He looks like he just crawled out of bed!"

"I'm a GIRL!!" Pomni snarled, only to be ignored. Another NPC rushed to her and adjusted her hair.

Jax sighed and pinched the area where the bridge of his nose would be if he had one. "Shut up, you little cross dresser. Yelling at the moron doesn't do anything. Caine made the director a bit too passionate about his movie."

"Tell me about it." Ragatha crossed her arms. "I read the script, we're not even in the final scene! There's a whole other act that centers around our characters fighting a horde of mutant unicorns"

"Say what?" Jax gaped.

"Yeah, once the wedding scene is over, a horde breaks in and we fight. Pomni dies in your arms, Gangle escapes with Kinger but we break into the church's armory and fight them off."

"There's an armory??" Jax grew increasingly interested.

"Yeah? Did you not read the script?"

"Of course not, I have you to do it for me." He grinned. "Do you know where the armory is now?"

"Yeah, it's under the altar behind Kinger." She arched a brow. "Why?"

"Things are about to get interesting. Hey, D-man, we doing this scene or what?"

"If you're finally ready." The director answered incredulously. "From the top! Quiet on set! Camera! Wedding vows take 88 and...action!"

Jax and Ragatha held hands, believably happy looks on their faces. Kinger opened his book that had nothing on it. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join two hearts and souls to be one in the eyes of God." Kinger raised his hands up, light poured in through the stained glass window behind him that had Caine as this movie world's proclaimed religion. Pomni subtly rolled her eyes. "Mr. Smith, would you say your vows?"

Jax cleared his throat. "Maggie, you've been by my side bringing love and laughter into my life when I've needed it most. I feel like I've known you forever. Maybe even in another life. You have a heart of gold that I intend to have and hold forever. I love you."

The director looked at the script. Jax was improving some of his lines. At least the scene was still moving along.

Ragatha was blushing for real and completely forgot her lines. Jax was so convincing when he actually tried. She almost missed her cue and winged it the best she could. "Oh, Jack, my love. You have been my rock. When life was too much, you'd bring me back to earth and tell me...it doesn't matter. You've put things into perspective for me when my mind would run away. You've stood steady fast against the world, no matter what it threw at you. Your bravery is inspiring, I will always love you."

The director checked the script again. "What..?"

Gangle and Pomni looked at each other, but stayed in character.

"The rings." Kinger said and Pomni handed them to Jax. He slid the rose gold ring on Ragatha's finger and said, "With this ring, I ask you, are you ready to kick some [%$!#]?"

"Huh?"

Before the director could yell "cut", Jax kicked the altar over and pulled out the first weapon he could reach. A good old boot-zooka. He aimed it at the director and fired. The director dove out of the way in time for the boot to turn his chair to splinters, and the crew scattered screaming in terror.

"Grab the camera!" Jax ordered as he reloaded.

Kinger slid over as fast as he could and hoisted the cinema camera off its stand.

"Whatever you do, don't stop rolling! We're finishing this movie our way!" Jax fired again at the director, who took it to the face and was thrown through a set wall.

"This is insane!" Pomni grabbed a random weapon, it looked like a weird water gun.

Gangle didn't grab anything, she hid behind Kinger.

Ragatha could hear frantic neighing over the calamity. She saw horses with an inhumane amount of paint and prosthetics plastered onto them tied to a far wall. They were apparently the mutant unicorns they were supposed to fight in the next scene. She dug into the weapons and found a huge butcher's knife. She looked at Jax, who had run out of boots and was grabbing a shotgun.

"For once, I agree with you. Let's get these [%$!#]holes." She wielded her knife and ran to the horses.

Jax grinned so much, his face hurt. "[%$!#] em up!" Security came to control the situation and Jax leveled his gun at the first NPC that tried to rush him. The gun exploded and a roll of dollar bills hit the NPC in the chest, downing him. "Buckshot. Heh, I get it." He racked another bundle and fired.

Ragatha cut the ropes tethering the frightened horses. One by one, they ran in random directions. They galloped off in straight lines and didn't stop for anything in their way; not NPCs, sets, walls, or Pomni.

"Everybody run!! They're mad!!" An NPC, who Ragatha recognized as the one who constantly did her makeup by shoving powder in her face, screamed. "Oh, you haven't seen anything yet." Ragatha threw the knife and it lodged itself in the NPC's head. They fell backwards to the ground. "By the way, your makeup skills are TRASH!"

She never realized just how much rage burned beneath the surface. It felt so good to finally let go, at least in the moment. She'd probably hate herself later, but right now, she didn't care. She yanked her knife out of the unresponsive NPC and looked for her next target. An NPC was baring down on Jax as he was fighting off three others. She ran up and started chopping.

Jax turned to see the absolute ruin Ragatha had left the NPC in. She was huffing, her hair was disheveled, and gripping the knife like an axe. "Anyone every tell you you're gorgeous when you're crazy?"

She tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled at him. "Someone has now." She tore at her wedding dress; losing the sleeves and frills. She ripped the skirt so she could move faster. She blushed when Jax wolf whistled at her.

Pomni whimpered as she shakily held her gun up at some advancing security NPCs. She pulled the trigger and hot glitter glue shot out and covered everyone in front of her. They screamed until the glue hardened, turning them into glittery gooey statues.

"Atta girl, Pomni!" Ragatha encouraged.

Pomni did not share Ragatha's enthusiasm. "ARE WE DONE YET!?"

"Do you see a portal? The movie isn't over! Kinger! Get this in frame!" Jax shot another NPC in the leg.

Ragatha chased another NPC past a supply closet. She stopped in her tracks when the word flammable stuck out in her periphery. The door was locked, so she hacked away at the handle like a madwoman. She opened it to find stacks of crates marked for various pyrotechnics and explosives. She gave a grin that would make Jax proud. "Jackpot."

The director was coming to after being booted through the wall. He groaned and climbed out of the hole in time to see Ragatha come out of the fire closet with an oversized roman candle. She fired at some of the few remaining security. Multicolor balls of sparking fire rained down on her enemies.

The director tried to scramble away but the butt end of a shot gun punted him into the supply closet. He crashed into the crates, one dumping half sticks of dynamite into his lap. He looked up in fear to see Jax looming in the doorway. "You know, without that hat. You're no more distinguishable from the rest. You're nothing but an annoying hack rack." He flicked the hat off the director's head with the barrel of his gun.

"Please...please don't hurt me."

"Oh, I'm not gonna do anything. You see, my bride is a bit pent up. You're all hers." Jax stepped back and dropped his weapon.

As if on cue, Ragatha came over and jumped into Jax's arms.

Jax caught and held her like the battle bride she was.

Ragatha aimed the giant roman candle at the director. "And they lived happily ever after!"

"Mother[%$!#]!" Jax held tight as the roman candle kicked back. It sent three colorful fireballs into the pile of explosive crates, blowing them and director sky high. The explosion blew back Ragatha's hair, silhouetting her against the fiery glow.

Jax couldn't help himself. In the literal heat of the moment, he kissed her. He expected to be punched or berated but...she kissed him back. She dropped her weapon and wrapped her arms around his neck. His grip on her tightened, holding her close until the kiss came to an end. They parted only enough to look each other in the eye.

"You don't have to keep pretending, dollface." The usually degrading nickname held a tone of endearment.

"I think we should both stop pretending." She kissed his cheek. "I think this could work if we let it."

"Yeah....maybe it could."

Kinger cut the camera. With the movie complete, the portal back to the circus opened.

~~~

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed it, please leave a comment or check out my blog for more TADC oneshots!

#the amazing digital circus #tadc #tadc fanfiction #tadc bunnydoll #tadc jax #tadc ragatha

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call-me-copycat · 1 year

Text

I'm so sorry @pink-lemonadae-san ! Tumblr has a nasty problem for me where random drafts of mine go missing for no reason. Luckily I take a screenshot of every ask before saving the draft (since this has happened in the past).

➤ Welcome

Request rules, info about me, and links to all my masterlists

♡ ••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈•• ♡♡ ••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈•• ♡

▶ Pairing: Tamaki Amajiki x GN Reader

▶ Genre: Fluff (tiny bit of a slowburn), Romance

▶ Word Count: 11,800 (Exactly!)

▶ Story Notes:

- "Shokupan" is just Japanese for Milk Bread

- I began writing this during Golden Week, but it's over now (Apr 29 - May 5)

- Golden Week is a series of festivals and holidays in Japan, but I didn't go into much detail with it in the story

▶ Warnings: None (Although I might want you warn you that this isn't exactly the best I've written since I'm not very good with romance >///<)

The bell chimed by the door, the light ringing making its way throughout the little bakery. Golden ribbons of sunlight were just barely beginning to peak through the windows, coating the entire shop in its sleepy yet cozy filter.

It was early in the morning, much earlier than when most people got up for the day, but as a baker you saw it as your duty to fulfill the daily tasks for your job - no matter how tedious or dull. It was what got you your job, after all.

Just as any other day customers filed in and out in wide, nearly empty groups, the early morning crowd mainly consisting of office workers, students and teachers, tired night-shift workers ready to rest, and sometimes a hero or two if you got lucky enough.

The syrupy aroma of various pastries, breads, and sweets filled the shop in a warm and inviting atmosphere. The sweet fragrance was something you had enjoyed when you first started working there, but you realized to your disdain you had eventually grown numb to it's smell.

The bell chimed in rhythm with the creaking of the door, accompanied with the sound of the cash register letting out its little clicks and beeps as you paced yourself around the small group of customers. And so the steady rhythm of your everyday life was beginning once again, just as it had done so many times in the past.

Finally, after waving goodbye to a little boy and his older sister you looked up at the clock to realize the early morning rush had finished. It wasn't too bad that day, and since it was the smallest rush of the day it normally helped to wake you up and let you prepare for the bigger crowds that come later on.

Just as you were pulling out a new tray of sweet pastries from where they were sitting in the warm oven, a small commotion gained your attention. The bell on the door rang, and it was quickly followed by three students that came crashing in, clearly in a rush.

Upon closer inspection, you realized that they were most likely around your age. The tallest one had a bright and cheerful smile on his face despite the concern of what time they had on hand, with bright yellow hair to go with his blue eyes.

The girl next to him was also all smiles, with a warm and rather cute expression as she forgot about her surroundings and smushed her face up against the display case that showed what pastries and sweets you sold.

Finally, you didn't even notice the boy standing behind them at first, but after he stepped out to say something to the blond-haired boy you saw that he was much more timid, a shy and nervous expression on his face - some if it being hidden by the indigo colored locks that fell in front of it.

The blonde haired boy was the first that went up to you, the timid boy trying to pry the girl from the case as she went up and down the long glass rows.

"Hey! Is it alright if I get one honey croissant, and- just a sec" he smiled kindly and turned to the other two, a gentle urgency in his voice as he asked them what they wanted.

"Ooh! The mochi! No, wait, the coffee jelly! Wait, wait, wait! I changed my mind, I'm going with the mochi, it looks yummy!" The blue haired girl was ecstatic, jumping around with the energy you felt could compare to an excited 5-year old who wandered in with their mother.

Suddenly, all eyes were on the shy boy, and even as you packaged the orders that were already asked, you could see him visibly shrink under the attention. A small part of you felt a little bad for the boy, so you decided that you'd do something kind to make up for the nervousness he had, especially since you had some extra goodies left over from the night before that you didn't want to go to waste.

"So Tamaki, what's it gonna be?" The blonde asked the shy boy - Tamaki, you learned.

Upon this request, he visibly hunched inwards, stuffing his hands in his pockets and directing his attention to the ground, muttering a simple "I'm fine".

"Nonsense! C'mon buddy, pick something out and then we can head to school - it's on me!" The blonde enthusiastically patted the boy, Tamaki on the shoulder. He seriously didn't seem to want the attention, but nevertheless he still sheepishly pointed at the Milk Bread in the display, a plain yet sweet bread for the less adventurous. You realized he might've just picked something to get the boy's attention off of him for the time being.

Quickly handing the girl her mochi and and placing the honey croissant on the counter, you went to packaging the single piece of Shokupan in its box. Only, before you closed the lid, you got an idea.

The three rushed out of the bakery after paying, and in a way you felt a little accomplished, enjoying the tiny break in routine. It certainly wasn't everyday you met such characters like them, with such contrasting personalities. You could only hope they'd come back for another visit sometime.

As Mirio, Nejire, and Tamaki hurriedly made their way back to UA in order to beat the bell for first hour they snacked on their little pastries, all except Tamaki, who shoved the box into his bag for lunch without even opening it.

It was a typical day at UA, with studying, training, quizzes, and so on. A day that Tamaki felt he could easily handle since the familiar routine with comforting and predictable.

It went this way up until lunch, where he sat confused with a blank look on his face as he started into the box that held his Shokupan he had ordered earlier out of panic. Blinking his eyes, he registered that there wasn't just a single piece of the sweet bread in the box all by its self, but rather it had company.

A cute little cookie sat next to the bread, decorated to look like a little kitty. He normally would've found it charming, but at the moment he felt like a thief.

There was another pastry in the box! What if you put it there by accident?! What was he supposed to do, eat it? Give it back? It had been sitting in his backpack all day, so Tamaki doubted it would still be able to be sold if he gave it back. But he didn't pay for this, was he considered a criminal if the offense was on accident?!

Paranoid thoughts ran throughout his mind, and he struggled to come up with a solution. Mirio looked over, and upon seeing his friend starting intensely at the box with his bread in it, leaned over to check out what was going on.

"Oh, sweet! They gave you an extra!"

Tamaki's eyes flew open at his friends dismissal.

"No! No, they must've put it in here by accident! Mirio what do I do? I can keep this, it's not mine!"

Mirio chuckled reassuringly, patting his nervous friend on the shoulder.

"Well even if it was an accident, I don't think you can give it back-"

Tamaki's panicked expression worsened, but Mirio quickly finished his sentence to avoid being taken out of context.

"- Buut what else can you really do but enjoy it? Besides, there's always the chance they were just being nice!"

Tamaki grimaced as he looked at the little cookie in the box, Mirio's words not reassuring him the slightest. He mentally slapped himself, it was just a cookie! It was probably just 50 yen anyways, why did he always have to overthink everything? Why did he make things so hard for himself?

Before he could decide on what to do, Nejire caught up on the situation and smiled while cheerfully reaching over the lunch table - towards his cookie.

"Hey, it you don't want it I can always eat it for y-"

However, before she could get another word in, Tamaki snapped the little container shut, causing the two pairs of eyes to settle on him due to the unexpected and sudden reaction.

"It's... Fine. It'll be fine"

The two others looked at each other in confusion at Tamaki's sudden change in demeanor, but before either could get a word in, the bell rang and signaled for them to get to class.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Later at the end of the day, you were just coming home after your own day of work, tired yet fulfilled. It was a fun aspect of your life, getting to bake for people and all. Seeing people eat your own creations and enjoy them was what made it all worth it

As you got ready for the night, you couldn't help but wonder what happened to that shy boy and his friends that visited earlier that morning. They were so entertaining to see, and in a way you felt the most similar to the nervous boy - Tamaki.

It was silly to realize about, but everytime you thought about the boy, you felt a small tug on your heart. For now, you just decided to chalk it up as pity since the poor guy was a shaking mess when you saw him. Maybe he'd visit again with his friends...

The day after was the exact same, making pastries and sweets, serving people, cleaning some, and so on. Only, a small part of you was hoping to see the unlikely trio again, and everytime the door opened your eyes would involuntarily flicker over with a spark of hope.

The day dragged on, and the further it got the smaller your hope would shrink. At the end of the day with no sign of them, you could only sigh and scold yourself for thinking so foolishly, after all they were only customers that visited once.

Just as you were stacking the used trays so they could be put in the dishwasher, a small knocking on the front door caught your attention. Turning, you saw none other than the trio you were hoping to see - well two of the three, that is.

It was only the blond and Tamaki that were standing there, the girl being nowhere in sight. Admittedly, you chuckled to yourself before gesturing for them to turn the handle, only to have to yell in response to further confusion "It's open!"

The blond chuckled and rubbed the nape of his neck, while Tamaki groaned in either embarrassment or annoyance. Perhaps it was a mixture of both.

The door swung open, the bell chimed, and then they were in the shop. Seeing the place near empty (except the one regular who was eating by his lonesome near the back), both their expressions turned a little apologetic.

"Ah! Sorry if you're closing, we-"

The blond got caught off mid-sentence by Tamaki, and this was the first time you saw the boy speak on his own without being pressured.

"We.. We can go. You look busy- don't th-they look busy, Mirio? L-let's not bother them." He tried turning around to leave, tugging his unmoving friend's arm in the direction of the door. Finally he stilled and his shoulders slumped as he looked at his friend who refused to budge, a pathetic and pleading expression on his face. And that's when you felt it again, that thumping of your heart.

"Actually... It may seem empty, but I don't close for another hour." You gave off the warmest smile you could in hopes of reassuring the both that they weren't intruding. The blonde - Mirio, you learned- smiled in response while Tamaki's expression stayed one of pitiful nervousness.

"That's great! We just wanted to visit again to say how much we liked your sweets! They're great, really. Tamaki especially agrees, don't you buddy?" Tamaki groaned his friend's name as his face blossomed into a shade of red at his friends comment, and once again you tried to defuse his anxiety.

"Oh! That's so sweet of the both of you, I have some extras if you'd like one?"

Tamaki waved his hands in front of him, not wanting to deal with the guilt of more free food, while Mirio was about to ask something.

You cut the both off with a genuine smile, "No, really it's okay! It's technically regulation to get rid of the day's batch since we can't use or sell it the next day, so you'd be helping to not let some of that go to waste. Y'know, only if you want of course"

They both looked at you, watching them eagerly with your hands clasped together and a bright smile stretched across your lips. Tamaki felt his face grow hot and his heart speed up, and in a panic he gasped out and clutched his shirt, confused on this newfound feeling and not knowing what to make of it.

Mirio didn't hear any objections from his friend, so he looked over and assumed Tamaki was just panicking over the social settings again. Taking matters into his own hands once more, Mirio smiled and accepted for the both of them.

And so, that's how they walked out each with a small box of slightly stale (yet yummy) treats, courtesy of you being the kindest baker they've met so far.

They walked across the little town, the rays of the sun slowly lowering, it's golden streaks begrudgingly being torn from the surfaces it once covered. Since it was cool, people were out and about as they pleased, cleaning their shops, playing in the park, going shopping, walking pets, and so on.

The evening was nice and calm, allowing Tamaki's chaotic thoughts to settle down once again. Mirio was already eating his way through the box he was given, while Tamaki could only clutch his tightly in his grip.

He thought back to you in the bakery, with your kind smile and genuine atmosphere. Of course he noticed how everytime he became panicked your eyes would flicker over to him. Only, instead of the typical curiosity or pity, he saw something else in your expression. Relation. Familiarity. You understood how he felt, what his position was like.

The fluttering in his chest grew at the thought, and he could barely restrain this feeling of desire and longing that surrounded him everytime he thought of... You.

It was stressful and chaotic.. but it was pleasant. A feeling that wasn't like any other he's experienced before. After so many years of so much anxiety, finally getting someone who knew what it was like and finally feeling some emotion that was a joy to experience... It a freeing in a way.

The sun glittered where it sat, the golden beams of light stretching over Tamaki's face as he conclusively came to terms with what he was feeling by finally taking a bite of the cookie you gave him. And a newfound satisfaction filled his head, his emotions swirling around in a sweet mixture of chaos and joy.

After that interaction with them, you began to see the trio everyday, and they let you know that they had dubbed your bakery as their new hangout spot since they were there so often. It was never set in stone though, because sometimes you'd see all three, other times you'd just see two or one of them. Either way, it flattered you to have a new set of regulars visiting on the daily.

A new rhythm was put in place as they squeezed their way into your life, and as the weeks passed you slowly saw them less as customers, but more at friends.

You had already talked to most of them individually a few times, but you noticed that Tamaki rarely came by himself, mainly with one of the two. He talked everytime he was spoken to, but you could never get him to speak freely on his own.

Truth be told, each time Tamaki tried to approach you, his emotions would get in the way and he'd second-guess himself enough to bail out at the last moment. He couldn't even look your way without you immediately meeting his gaze and smiling, causing his brain to malfunction and his face to erupt in a shade of red. He hated how hard his heart beat in his chest whenever he entered the bakery, the mere thought of seeing you causing his mind to go into overdrive.

You on the other hand began to think his distancing was probably due to lingering anxiety, and so you wanted to do everything you could to get him to trust you more. Both his friends were naturally trusting and friendly people, so they were easy to befriend. Tamaki however, was much harder for you. He'd never reach past the initial point of politeness that you had already passed with the other two. It was shallow, and you wanted something deeper.

Each time Tamaki visited since then, he'd always be greeted first and he noticed you spoke to him much more than you did before. He couldn't shake you off, your kindness was sticky in a way, and it was hard to avoid. It only served to cause his emotions to rush about his head more aggressively, and as much as he was flattered to have your attention on him, there was only one problem. He wasn't good with attention, whether it good or bad.

Every night he laid on his bed, pondering how he would go about this. He couldn't just tell you about his feelings, what if you were just being kind because of your job? No, that wasn't an option for him, it was unprofessional.

He so desperately wanted to look you in the eyes and pour out everything that he was holding in his heart. To have your eyes set on him while he let his thoughts and feelings loose made him clutch his heart over his shirt, the mere idea thrilling but terrifying.

Every smile given his way caused his heart to thrum with elation, and every pastry you gave him made his head buzz with thoughts, always so loud and overthinking on the inside. It was a contrast only he knew of.

To be so excruciatingly chaotic and loud beneath the quiet and somber surface was nothing but a secret held past closed lips. He wanted to open up everything he held inside and let you in, you being the key to his lock. Truth be told, Tamaki was tired of holding it all in. Your welcoming nature and caring behaviors made him feel safe around you, as if he could just hug you and melt away as all his stress was lifted from him.

His thumping heart and doubtful thoughts made themselves known, and that's when he remembered what was keeping him from you. A chain of his own mind was the strongest leash that held him down. As much as he didn't want to be a prisoner of his own creation, he found that no matter how much he struggled he just couldn't loosen the reigns that his mind held over his heart.

And so, all he could do was to continue visiting the bakery, simply being glad to see your face wherever he could. Your sweet remarks were what made his day, being music to his ears. Tamaki had never met such a kind soul before, and he was absolutely captivated by your charms.

Soon enough, he began visiting more frequently on his own, and you were thrilled with the thought that he was getting more comfortable around you. Each time he visited you'd always send him with a little goodie bag with a pastry or two, something that you normally wouldn't do for just anyone.

There were only a few key encounters that you remembered with him. One was when you were closing up, with Tamaki sitting at one of the tables and keeping you company since you were by yourself that night. You had to walk home since the train was down that day, and Tamaki had offered to walk you there - for safety, of course.

"Are you sure?"

You hadn't wanted to push him so far out of his comfort zone.

"...It's dark. It wouldn't be safe you to walk on your own. Sorry."

And so you accepted, the two of you walking side by side until you got to where you lived. It was the fact that it was something out of the ordinary that made the memory so important to you. Along with the realization that he had come to you on his own advances, surely that could be a sign of acceptance or comfort?

Either way, you cherished the thought, and you held onto it with a rigorous hope blooming in your heart, growing only with each interaction.

As time moved on, the three continued visiting as much as they could, and you even spent some time with them outside of the bakery. Small festivities were being held since the one and only Golden Week was coming up, and they each invited you to come with them to the festivals and parades in the coming week.

The air buzzed with excitement, and the bakery was swamped with cheerful orders as people planned out their celebrations. You even had to go as far as pushing back your closing time just to accommodate all the orders, but you didn't mind too much since it was all in great spirit.

The end of the day approached much faster than you had realized, and you only came to know this due to the trio arriving at their usual time at the end of the day.

"Wow! It's crowded in here! Looks like you're gonna be busy for awhile, huh?" Just the same, Mirio was the first to greet you, with Nejire piping up behind him.

"O-oh, so does that mean you can't hang out?" She asked with slight dejection in her tone, yet it wasn't as prominent as her air of glee that nearly shadowed the small negative moment.

You looked at them with an apologetic smile, promising to take a day off to spend time with them at the festival. They both smiled in response, and Mirio went to Tamaki to hear his thoughts on the idea.

"That sounds fine with us! You can't control work after all, what do you think- ...Tamaki?" Your attention was directed to where the taller boy was looking behind him, and you three were all met with nothing. He wasn't there.

"Hm, I swear he was with us when we arrived!" Mirio's expression was now one of confusion, his brows furrowing.

"Yeah, I wonder- Oh! There he is!" Nejire began, then turned to point outside the door to see the missing boy still standing at the entrance - hands in pockets and trembling slightly.

The three of you turned to see what she was pointing at, and you huffed out a small laugh, realizing that so many people in one area would naturally be Tamaki repellent. So in a way you had no idea what you were expecting, but you weren't upset with the thought - just a little amused.

"Well, I guess that's where he is. I'll be sure to tell him, and we'll come back when it dies down, thanks for having us!" Mirio waved his hand as he held open the entrance door, Nejire skipping out and then waving from behind the glass window (shouting a muffled "bye bye!" that you couldn't fully hear due to the surrounding chatter).

You watched them go for a second, then realized something as Tamaki's eyes sorrowfully met yours, clearly upset with his timidness that caused him to not be able to see you properly due to his apprehensive feelings of being around large crowds.

It was the same look he had in the beginning when you first met him, one of utter powerlessness and regret. You weren't about to undo all the hard work you had built up to befriending him, so you rushed out with a small bag of goodies to help remind him of all your chats and walks.

"Tamaki-kun! Please wait!" The trio all turned almost immediately upon hearing your voice, Tamaki being the quickest to come to a halt and whip around. You were calling out for him, for him. Looking closer, he saw the typical goodie bag and understood your intentions.

"Here." You grabbed his hands and placed the bag gently in them, giving them a squeeze before waving bye to them and rushing back inside to assist your coworkers with the rush.

Tamaki was frozen in place. You held his hands. He couldn't believe it, wouldn't believe it if it didn't just happen in front of him. Mirio and Nejire both looked over, curious at the new information. Mirio then grinned as he realized what was going on, nudging his friend in the side with good hearted intentions.

"So-o~" Tamaki frowned at his friend's teasing voice, directing the gift away from his sight only for Nejire to approach him on his other side and attempt to grab the bag from him with gleeful curiosity.

"It's nothing, seriously" Mirio didn't seem to believe him as he looked at him with a smug grin and waved his eyebrows. Tamaki furrowed his own, and Mirio silently responded with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. Before anything else could be said, Nejire turned at Mirio and they both shared a look of understanding before Mirio patted Tamaki and the shoulder.

"Alright, alright, if you say so~"

"I'm serious, Mirio-" He cut Tamaki off with a wave of the hand.

"Yeah, like I said, I get it. We'll just all hang out some other time, 'kay?"

And with that they all walked off, yet Tamaki couldn't forget the expression the two of his friends held, knowing they were always up to something. He'd just have to hope it wasn't anything bad.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

The next morning things began to slow down because your bakery was taking a day off to restock and prepare for the upcoming influx of orders, one of the biggest times of year - only coming second to Christmas and New Years.

It was your favorite kind of day, a day filled with no orders or customers, just baking and decorations and preparing. It was all hands on deck, the bakery set up to be swarmed with workers in the upcoming hours. You had come early to set things up, seeing as you had nothing else planned that day.

As you reached the entrance, you fumbled around your pocket for the key, the feeling of some unknown paper catching your attention. You huffed to yourself, hoping you didn't forget some wrappers in there again, only to be met with a neatly folded note upon pulling it out.

Catching you off guard, you nearly forgot to open up the bakery if it weren't for the sudden clank of your keys hitting the cement as they fell out of your pocket. Opening the doors and setting your things down, you finally unfolded the note to read its contents.

"Dear [Name],

When I first met you, you were the sweetest person I had ever met. You saw something in me others didn't. Your baking skills are unmatched, and your desserts are like little pieces of heaven. I always look forward to coming to the bakery just to see you.

If you want to find me, follow the upcoming clues. Find the next clue where you usually get your special ingredients.

- Your Secret Admirer"

Red began to coat your cheeks as your face warmed upon reading the note. Rereading it over another two times to make sure you didn't miss anything, you simply stood in shock, not knowing what to make it the sudden event.

It couldn't have been a person playing a prank, right? But then, why would they go through the efforts to write such a sweet note? It didn't make any sense to you... and all of a sudden it hit you. What if Tamaki-...?

Shaking your head, you pushed the thought away. He could've... He wouldn't... Right? But it did make sense with how shy he was... But he's not the type to do that! Right?

For a split second you considered dumping the note somewhere and starting work, when a flicker of curiosity got sparked on by a sliver of hope.

Maybe...

You'd give it a shot, after all what harm could a little game cause? Hopefully it'd be quick.

You read over the note once more, and immediately pinpointed the spot, as the "special ingredients" of yours were simply things that were prepared for the festivals.

You went out to the kitchen, and as you opened the pantry you saw white in the corner of your eye.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Meanwhile, Tamaki was getting ready to walk back to his home after training at UA - a daily occurrence on weekend mornings. Packing his things in his duffle bag, he jumped a bit upon hearing a crinkling after shoving a piece of his equipment in the bag. Hoping he didn't forget or damage something important, he took out a few things one at a time until he found the source.

A cute little note was sitting in his bag, surrounded by his clothes and training gear. A shiny red heart sticker decorated the front flap, and it was milk white. Not being able to do anything but stare at it in shock, Tamaki swallowed thickly, the note seemingly weighing heavily upon him.

He gently brought it out, hands shaking as he looked at it. His mind once again went into overdrive, thoughts pushing in and flying out all around his head.

On one hand, he didn't want to raise his hopes up only to be crushed. He was given enough joke letters in middle school to know better, and the memories of it caused him to break into a cold sweat as he stared the note in indecisive agony.

Then again... There was the (ever so small) chance that it could've been real. He didn't want to think about the logic, Tamaki only wanted this to end without anything bad happening. There was no shame in opening it, after all.

He delicately unfolded the note, taking a deep breath before reading its contents.

"My dear Tamaki,

You're always one of my favorite faces to see each day. You light up my day and you have the true heart of a hero!

If you want to find me, follow these clues: To find the next note, go to the spot that's filled with life in the air fluttering around you.

I look forward to seeing you!

~ Your Secret Admirer "

Nope. He couldn't do it. A simple note was one thing, but a whole search was another. What if he was led on? What if it was nothing but a prank? No, he couldn't handle the embarrassment.

He folded it and put it in his pocket, hiking his bag over his shoulder as he left UA high. As he made his way throughout the streets, he couldn't help but continually think about that note.

What if it really was someone that made it for him out of love? What if they were waiting somewhere for him? And how disappointed would they be if he didn't show up?! They'd think he was a jerk!

Tamaki stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and gripped his bag tighter under his hands. Looking down at the ground with an agonized expression, he didn't know what to do. He didn't like drama, and he certainly didn't want to in middle of something like this, completely the dark.

Well.. 'fluttering'...

He had a small idea of where the other note might've been. Maybe taking a small detour wouldn't hurt...

Tamaki breathed in to ease his nerves. If it got to be too much he wouldn't push himself, he'd just quit.

He turned and made his way to the park, heading straight for his favorite area where the butterflies liked to group since there were clusters of flowers over there. He looked around, in no hurry and simply enjoying scenery. That's when he saw a note taped to the large oak tree- right where he liked to sit and do his work sometimes.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

You turned to see the note that was sitting ever so delicately over the ingredients. You plucked it off from the wall it was taped to, and quickly opened it to read it.

"Dear [Name],

Your bright personality fills my day with joy. The way you treat your customers shows me you have a big heart of gold. You're much too sweet for this world!

The next note is placed where a statue of gold stands with its fist in the air.

See you there! ♡

~ Your ever so loving Admirer "

Gold? Gold... You thought about it for a second before immediately remembering the All Might statue that stood on the center of taken, decked completely in gold paint.

Town square... You knew it'd be quite busy with preparations and festivals, but you still went seeing as it was close by. Your coworkers were doing just fine, and everything was ahead of schedule, so why not?

A quick trip on your bike and you were there. The area was buzzing with activity, and you had to swerve around groups of people just to get to the statue.

Upon arrival, you looked up at the statue standing mighty and towering over everyone. Some people had placed Boy's Day carp streamers on the sides and some necklaces on the neck of the golden All Might. You laughed a little, enjoying how he was always decorated, before circling around to search for the note.

Panic began to seep through you as you circled twice and came across no sign of a note. They said golden, right? You knew of no other golden statue in the area, the only other one being a golden flame all the way in Tokyo.

Your eyebrows creased, and worry gnawed at you as you frantically searched all over the statue. Only to come up with nothing. Was this it?

Sighing, you turned to leave, disappointment weighing heavily upon your heart. Before you could take more than 3 steps, a sudden tap on your shoulder caught you off guard, and you turned to see a friendly looking lady smiling at you while offering you something. Initially thinking it was a free sample, you tried to decline, only for your eyes to widen in realization. Looking closer, you saw that she was holding a white letter with a shiny red heart sticker holding it closed.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

As Tamaki went over to the tree to pull off the note, he began to hope that all this wasn't some elaborate trick. From all the little notes you put in the bags you gave him that held the pastries, he began to suspect this wasn't even the same handwriting.

He opened the note to read it, hoping this game wasn't going to last too long. It was beginning to get tiring living in a state that was a mixture of hope and worry.

"Dear Tamaki,

I'm so proud of you combating your anxious thoughts everyday, I know it's hard. Your courageousness certainly benefits! You help so many people each day, you're a true hero, through and through!

Go find next note where you took down your first villain. See you there!

~ Someone who admires you with all their heart"

These notes were getting to be too much for him. Why did this have to happen? He finally catches the eye of someone, and he can't even know who they are unless he plays this game.

It was a little enjoyable though, the unfamiliar events causing him to rethink so many aspects he once held about himself and his life. It was eye opening, too bad it had to be shoved in his face for him to see it.

Gently folding the note and placing it with the others in his pocket, he sat back and thought. Now.. where did he take down his first villain? What could be considered his first win?

The more he thought about it, the more shocked he grew at the number of things he's accomplished over the years. He didn't think it all added up to much, but just trying to remember a certain event that happened his first year of secondary school all seemed like so much alone.

Racking his brain, he came up with a small list of villains he took down around the same time.

There were three instances he remembered, but he just couldn't pinpoint the first if asked. Panic ensued, and he started hyperventilating until he calmed himself down.

'Let's think logically now...'

The first one was more of a con-man than a hero, tricking innocent civilians into believing his lies about heroes and trying to get people to buy his quirk supplements. Tamaki scratched that one off the list, the man put up no fight.

The second one was a cult member who believed quirks were the downfall of society. She had set up an elaborate trap in the center of town, where numerous stands, shops, and people were. It was busy, with vendors selling food, ingredients, and supplies.

She had tried building several barricades around the area and blowing it up, but ultimately failed after Tamaki got to her first. Now that he thought about it, he remembered that in a last ditch attempt she had grabbed a hostage and threatened to use her quirk on them. He was sure he had taken the lady down himself.

Then the third was simply a person who could alter photos on any piece of media. They had tried violently assaulting a hero to frame them and pretend that heroes hurt innocent civilians unprovoked. Tamaki was quick to take them down, even with as sneaky and sly as they were with escaping.

Picking through his options, he decided to go with the second one. The one in town square. The place that was currently crowded full of people celebrating Golden Week...

He gulped at the thought.

The white paper crinkled and deformed in his shaking grip as he clutched it tighter unconsciously at the thought. He'd only have this one chance find out if it was worth it...

Truth be told, Tamaki knew he had to train himself on getting better on dealing with crowded spaces, seeing as he going to be a full fledged hero one day. He just didn't think it'd be so soon.

It was now or never...

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

You looked at the note the mysterious lady had given you with a blank expression. It held no letters of affirmation like the others except for an "Almost there!".

On it was a map. A map you weren't familiar with. You recognized the very place you were standing, and decided to break it down into chunks. You saw the statue... And took a few steps in the direction of the arrows until you saw a crooked sign that matched the one on the map. One step at a time, you followed the steps on the map to the best of your ability.

It was entertaining in a way, as it reminded you of the pirates you always on the TV when you were little. In a way, you were also hunting for a treasure - it was just a little different than gold coins and shiny jewels.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Tamaki stood frozen. All around him people bustled about, swerving around him, running past him, carrying heavy, hot, or delicate containers. Talking in loud voices, singing songs, placing decorations on things, running around... It was overwhelming.

For a split second Tamaki wondered if he was in too deep and debated on whether or not he should leave.

'No... It'd be silly to give up this far...'

Steeling himself the best he could, he breathed in and tried to ignore the crowd that caused his body to shake with nerves.

He stuck close to the walls, looking around for a clue, any clue. This letter was so vague, he would be lying if he said he wasn't worried about finding it out not. Even if he were to ask for help, the number of people that would actually be able to direct him or do anything helpful would be too tiny to risk sounding foolish.

Sighing out tiredly, he looked at the sky to see sun lowering. Not to the point to where it was dark, but just enough so it surprised him with how long he had been playing this game. No, he definitely couldn't quit now.

A tap on his shoulder caught him off guard, and he almost jumped into the air if he hadn't been on guard all day. Turning around, he saw no one. Now this was confusing. He simply scratched his head and supposed it was someone playing that tap shoulder game.

Well, he did at first. Until he looked down and saw a note left sitting on the edge of the golden statue, almost as if it was waiting for him. He groaned, knowing what he had to do.

Tamaki clenched his jaw, and hesitantly pushed his way through the crowd of people. Slowly... Slowly... A sharp contrast to the hurried, constantly flowing around him.

People pushed and pulled, the crowd moving in an almost hypnotic manner. It was as if it was alive, like a river winding down the roads of the city. A sea of people that threatened to swallow Tamaki in its deep, dark waters. It swelled, it shrunk. It swerved and straightened. It was like he was looking the beast of his fear directly in its glowing eyes.

And it looked back.

What was supposed to be a short walk normally was stretched out beyond, due to the fact Tamaki had to shuffle around so many bodies that brushed against his.

Closing his eyes, he reminded himself.

'I can do this...'

Opening them, he almost didn't believe it as he looked at statue that sat directly in front of him. He had so many worries and anxious thoughts about whether he could, he didn't stop think about what would happen if he did.

And yet, he was there. The white paper in between his fingertips bearing the weight of his struggles.

He opened it, only to be greeted with a congratulations and a map...

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

You had struggled a bit and had to restart after mistaking a certain shop for the one on the map. This time, you decided you'd give it your all.

The sun was setting lower and lower in the sky, the purple color taking place of the bright orange, and the darker blue (that was almost black) taking place of the purple.

Slowly, more and more lights began flickering to life, and you panicked once again, hoping you weren't slowing things down.

Step by step, slowly but surely you eventually followed the landmarks in a chain, one by one. You let the guide lead you up to a grassy hill in the park next to town, right at a point where you could see both the town festivities and what went on in the grassy field on the other side.

It was a beautiful sight. The sun lowering with the creamy beige and pink clouds surrounding it, the flickering lights as they began to be turned on, streamers and kites rising above the city... It was magical.

You stood, simply enjoying view. You had already saw the note sitting on the tree that stated you had reached the final destination. But you weren't too bothered with that anymore.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Tamaki grunted, frowning at the map as he nervously sped around the landmarks it read. He didn't know what was expecting him, but he was tired and the anxiety of not knowing what it was drained him further. He clung onto the hope that whatever it was, it was worth the effort. He didn't know what he'd do if it was all a joke. The pain would be monumental.

He passed the statue. He curved around the bent sign. He walked past the shop. Following all these steps diligently, Tamaki was determined to make the most of his time and effort. It had to be worth it. He really hoped so.

As he was walking, Tamaki began thinking. That villain he took down... Memories began surfacing, vague and fuzzy. It was difficult, trying to bring something into sight when you can't even remember what it was you wanted to see. The more he thought, the more a distant shape began to take place, unstable and quick to fall apart if looked at too long, too delicate to handle.

Now that he thought about it, your face looked so favorite familiar...

However, Tamaki didn't have much time to think about it as he looked up to see a grassy hill - the end point of this whole thing.

He stalled, now suddenly feeling shy and timid. He remembered the initial fears he had when he first started this game, and now he didn't know what he should do.

Only, he looked up at the hill, and those fears went away. Because standing at the top, in all your glory... Was you.

You were looking off to the side, looking at the beautiful scene that played out in front of you, the golden and orange colors of the setting sun swathing you in its sheet of light, only serving to further cement the look of grace and elegance that surrounded you. You hadn't noticed him standing at the bottom of the hill, too occupied with the gentle landscape ahead of you, a look of bliss adorning your face.

And at that moment, for the first time Tamaki felt... Calm.

Calm when normally his heart would be breathing out of his chest.

Calm when normally he would've broken out into a cold sweat.

Calm when normally his head would be barraging him with terrible, fearful thoughts.

All he felt was at ease. And it was amazing, astounding even. He normally only felt comfortable whenever he was at his own house, alone.

Yet, looking at you gave him a sense of comfort, a feeling that he couldn't explain, only feel and experience.

And that's when he remembered.

All those years ago during his first year of UA, he had started interning with Fatgum. His anxiety back then was eternally much, much, worse. So much farther behind his peers, Tamaki had wondered if he'd even make it out as a hero. When all his classmates were already being seen as future heroes, when they had already taken down too many criminals and villains to count... He was still hiding his face in the wall.

He wasn't even on the clock that day, he had just been strolling around and enjoying a calm, cool day. It began to get crowded, and naturally he went to leave to somewhere less populated.

And that's when he ran into a shady figure with the same idea. There was a lady who had been walking around, hands in pockets and head down. He knew something was wrong, but he doubted his judgement.

The actual fight was blurry, he didn't remember much of that. Just the fact that he saw her placing what he knew was explosives, and a chase ensued where he also saw her locking in gates, doors, and walls to keep people from escaping.

He had looked around for a hero, nervous about whether or not he could actually do this alone. All his classmates at least had the wisdom of their mentors at their side... He was alone.

He had to steel himself that day for the first time. He had to scream at himself in his head that if he didn't do something because of his anxiety, people would die.

And he fought. And he was ahead. He was winning. The lady wasn't the best with combat, but she still put up quite a fight. Yet, Tamaki was winning, he had the upper hand. It was thrilling, yet terrifying. But still, he'd do it again to prevent the deaths of innocent people.

However at that moment, the lady split off and ran into the crowd, and Tamaki followed her without thought. He only knew something was up when a ring of shouting and worried people started to form, and he had followed the crowd. Only to see the lady holding a random person she had grabbed from the crowd, holding her hand against their head. And that person..

Was you.

It was you.. Tamaki couldn't believe he forgot. He knew your face looked familiar.

He had defeated the lady, and you had thanked him in abundance, a sweet smile decorating your relieved face.

After that, you had walked off. Only, right before that he remembered you had reached into your bag to hand him something.

What was it again?

Tamaki toiled adamantly, trying to piece together the random floating fragments of memories that flew around the vastness of his head. He thought about the past and the present, trying to come to a logical result.

Was it a trinket? No, he would've kept it.

How about a small drawing or something? No, he wouldn't put it in his pocket, and he remembered there was nothing in there.

What was it? You were a baker, so he began to believe it was a treat of some sort...

He gasped lightly to himself. That's why it all looked so familiar.

It a cookie... Decorated to look like a cat.

Too many things clashed together at once, and all Tamaki could do was look up at you in awe and nostalgia. The sounds around the park had subsided as it was getting darker, people all going inside to prepare before going to come out again in some time.

The empty air whistled around, rustling the trees and giving a slight chill to the both of you as the sun lowered even further into the darkness - not quite gone, yet not quite there.

He looked up at you solemnly once more, taking in a heavy breath as he shook at the implications that awaited him. He looked back to the time you rushed out of the bakery just for him. You had run out to still include him, even if he shied away due to his anxious thoughts.

Now it was his turn.

He walked up the hill, step by step. Bit by bit.

The entire way there he didn't take his eyes off you, not even once. His thoughts were screaming at him in his head, and his face was practically lit aflame. Yet he walked up to you with the practiced stride of that of a hero who had a deep focus he intended to complete.

You watched the sun slowly lowering, the light quivering and distorting the lower it got to the bottom of the horizon. The largest stars began to litter the sky, a balance of grey in a black and white world. Where it's not yet day, nor night.

A slight crunching off to the side caught your attention, and it suddenly hit you. You remembered the game you had played, and you stilled for a second in confusion before turning to see the source of the noise.

Eyes widening in surprise, your breath hitched as you came eye-to-eye with the person you had been wanting to see all day.

Tamaki came to a slow halt once he stood directly across from you. Neither had expected to get this far, yet it was equally desired.

Tamaki's hands broke out into a cold sweat as he trembled in place, scared yet still determined. Your heart hammered in your chest, a look of wonder taking hold of your expression.

"I-"

"You-"

Looking at each other with a bewildered appearance, a grin suddenly formed across your face as you broke out into a fit of snickers, Tamaki joining in with that crooked smile of his. He was eternally grateful you knew how to defuse his nervousness, even without particularly trying.

"I suppose... You got the notes too?"

You chuckled a bit, rubbing the back of your neck. "Yeah, I don't suppose you were the one responsible for them?"

He shook his head, a knowing smile growing on the both of your faces as you recalled two particularly mischievous friends of yours.

"No, it wasn't me, sorry."

He swallowed thickly, quickly deciding to get this over with.

"But..."

He choked on his words a bit, the idea and fear of rejection taking hold once again. He loved having you as a friend, and while the idea of being something more was certainly appealing, he couldn't risk losing what he already had. It was terrifying. Even with that small part that constantly screamed for him to get over it.

You smiled softly, a silent understanding. "But..." You parroted, stepping forward and gently taking his hand in yours.

He felt the connection, and you both went silent, only looking at your intertwined hands. He furrowed his eyebrows, trying to force the words out. All that came out was his hand enclosing yours.

Yet it spoke so much more than words could've.

The sun had completely gone down at this point, leaving the two of you to depend on the few surrounding street lights that were placed farther below. The darkness was comforting in a way, and Tamaki felt a little more at ease without his sight constantly worrying him.

If he looked closely enough however, he could trace the outlines of your face, the soft light of the curved moon lighting up the edges of your jaw and nose, along with adding a slight shimmer to your eyes. The darkness took away most of his sight, but it strengthened his other senses. Such as the feeling of your warm, soft hand in his.

The cool breeze blew by once more. A setting that Tamaki knew he was comfortable with.

You were about to say something, when you felt a gentle tug on your hand. Looking back up, you saw the silhouette of Tamaki looking back at you, gesturing gently downwards towards an empty field of grass at the bottom of the hill.

You silently followed, a giddy grin on your face and fuzzy feelings in your stomach. You both stumbled down, softly laughing at the clumsiness caused because of the lack of light. Your laughter rang out like sweet chimes and bells to Tamaki, and he wanted to hear more. He wanted to see you smile more. For you to be more content. All around him, with him, because of him.

You both came to a stop in the middle of the flourishing grassy area, filled with moist plants trying to cling to your legs and the calming aroma that was caused from the rain that fell the night before. You giggled and grabbed Tamaki's other hand, unknowingly giving him a slight confidence boost that was so badly needed for him.

He smiled at your cheerful state, thrilled that this wasn't going bad as he feared. He looked at you directly, silently diverting your attention to him. Tamaki smiled kindly before turning to look at the expanse of grass that grew tall and short all around you.

You turned to try to see what he was looking at, and Tamaki looked at you from the corner of his eye with a tender smile before softly brushing his arm over some of the taller grasses that grew, causing them to gently sway. You were about to ask him the reasoning behind his odd behavior, but your question died out before you could get it out of your throat.

What had caught your attention was little yellow and golden glowing specks that flickered to life before hazily floating around in the air, some almost as if they were half asleep, others shooting around as if they were a coiled spring waiting to jump to life.

They were fireflies. Tons of them.

You looked up around you in awe, and for a split second Tamaki was grateful for his secluded lifestyle, only knowing of this trick after years of visiting this grassy plain since he was a child. It was a secret only few knew of, and he was more than willing to share it with you. The look on your face caused him no regrets - a first in his life.

You continued looking around at the fluttering orbs of light, their soft glows weakly illuminating the area. It was surreal in a way, and the constant feeling that you were floating around in outer space never left you.

Letting out a soft chuckle, Tamaki gingerly squeezed your hand a little, seeing no way in which he'd allow this moment to be ruined by his nervous thoughts.

Laughing in response, you grabbed his hand tighter in yours, and with you leading the way you both walked around the field together, igniting many more of the fireflies to begin flying around at the disturbance in the grass. All around you now they fluttered, their glow flickering and buzzing. It was as if little stars were surrounding you, always in constant motion.

The sounds of the people beginning to come out started trickling in, fading in from small laughs and chatting and growing into an inferno of singing, clanking, yells and screeches of joy from little children and the barking of a random dog every now and then. The festivals were starting, but luckily they were held on the other side of the park, it being split in two by a thick layer of trees heavy with leaves.

Your attention was brought back to Tamaki again as he feebly tugged your hand once more, avoiding eye contact with you when you turned by directing his attention to ground, timidly rubbing the nape of his neck.

Reaching out a hand, you softly brought his head up to look you in the eyes, offering him a kind smile when he followed suit. He felt inside of his mouth grow dry and his heart skipped a beat. You looked too lovely for him to handle, the light caused by the flames of the lamps being set out illuminating you in a dreamlike manner.

"So... About those notes" you started.

His eyes flickered up to yours for a second before just as quickly flittering back away. "I'm sorry if they caused any trouble... "

He looked down further at the ground, the swaying grass helping to comfort him a bit. He liked being outdoors, being one with nature.

"But... Whatever they held... Ne-never compared to how I really feel about you"

Darn, the stuttering was kicking in. He needed to get his words out or it'll get worse. He didn't think he'd be able to bear the embarrassment.

"Tamaki-"

He grabbed your other hand in shaking grip. All inside, his body and mind was going into overdrive, he was melting from the inside out. His brain screamed and his body trembled. Things were falling apart, deteriorating. But he wasn't going to leave without you at least knowing how he felt. He was terrified. But bravery isn't the absence of fear. It's being courageous in the company of fear. Fatgum taught him that.

Time to be brave.

"I can't keep this from you anymore, and-and I'll understand if you don't feel the same. I-I'll get it..."

He took a deep breath before looking you in the eyes.

"I really don't want to lose you... So ple-please, if this is stupid, please tell me now. I want you in my life anyway I can-"

Before he finished you squeezed his hands, cutting him off. "I can never leave you. I never want you to worry about that, okay?" Your voice was soft and serene.

Tamaki gulped and nodded. "I have this weird feeling when i'm with you, I can't explain it, but I know it's a good feeling..."

"...So please... [Name]"

He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, trying to get it out quickly enough before his mind could retort.

"Iloveyousorry.." (I love you, sorry)

He froze in place, not even bothering trying to take his hands back from you to his side. He simply stilled, every inch of him frozen in terror, worry, and anticipation. He's never even felt this anxious over any of the villains he fought.

A thick silence weighed down upon the two of you as you tried to take it all in. It was heavy, the sheer power of three simple words.

You could see Tamaki beginning to shake more and more, and through his shut eyes you saw small tears forming. Quickly jumping into action, you attempted to calm him down.

"Hey... calm down, it's okay." You rubbed his hands in yours with your thumb, trying to urge him to look up at you. He didn't speak, only shaking his head to the side a bit.

"Tamaki..."

You looked down at the ground too, your own stomach fluttering and heart thumping in your chest. Now it's your turn.

"I... I love you too."

Clearly not expecting that response, Tamaki blinked opened his eyes, slowly pulling his head back up to look at you once again. He looked at you in silence for a second, caught off guard by the response.

"You.." he then pointed to himself, dazed. "M-me...?"

You shook your head, chuckling a little.

"Yes, you. Yes, I love you. It's always been you, just you and only you..."

"You're everything I've always wanted and more..." He whispered lightly, stunned and barely holding it all together. He felt lightheaded, and drunk on joy. His heart no longer beat in aching desperation, but rather now for you. His mind no longer screamed at him but rather sat silently, you being the only one that was able to make the painful words disappear.

The wind bristled the leaves of the trees and caused the tall blades of grass surrounding you to flutter and quiver. Someone was cooking something nearby, because the smell of warm cooked foods wafted through the air. Laughter rung about and filled the area with a sense of comfort.

Time seemed to freeze around the both of you, the feeling of being the only ones to exist engulfing you both entirely as you looked each other eye in loving eye.

You both seemed to be drawn in by each other's presence, as if a magnet was pulling you towards each other. Soon enough, you both were barely inches from each other. You looked up at him, simply enjoying each other's company in comfortable silence.

"Can I... Can I hug you?" You broke the barrier with your question, and for the first time Tamaki saw you nervous. You, the one who was just as boisterous as Mirio and Nejire. You, who was friendly with everyone you ran into. You, who was now standing in front of him, fiddling with your fingers in his hands and switching your weight on each foot as you fidgeted from side to side.

He shook his head, a small tender smile growing on face. "I'd like that..."

You leaned in, a little surprised to see Tamaki leaning in as well to meet you halfway. Both your arms wrapped around each other in a loving, silent embrace. He rested his head on your shoulder, and you noticed his grip was light, too afraid of squeezing you too tight.

Staying that way for a couple minutes, you both visibly relaxed at the relief that came with the realization that it was all over. No more games. No more desperate pinning. No more lonely heartaches. You had him and he had you.

Feeling Tamaki begin to pull away slightly, both your faces warmed when you realized just how close you both were. He stuttered a bit, quietly to himself, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Can I... - no sorry, forget I said anything"

He tried diverting his attention to the ground again, although you noticed he never removed his arms from around you, both not wanting to leave the warmth and comfort of the other. You gently brought him to face you again.

"No, no... You can ask me anything. Please don't worry about any judgment from me, I'm not going to get upset with you."

He slightly brought in some air through his teeth, creating a light hissing sound as he debated over it, ultimately deciding to go for it.

"May I... I-is it if I kiss you?" His voice grew quieter as he spoke, until it was almost unintelligible at the end - which it possibly would've been if you weren't so close to him.

Your face warmed as your heart hammered away once again, a shy smile forming on your lips.

"I'd... Like that. Please"

He nodded, and without any further words leaned in, connecting to you in a quick, sweet peck. He pulled away for a second, but you leaned in and crashed your lips against his once more. He froze for a second, face burning hot, before finally melting into your embrace. His hand moved from around your back to settling on your waist, content and comfortable.

The moment was tender and soft, and the two of you were too wrapped up in each other to pay any attention to the fireworks that blazed across the sky in their colorful glory, marking the peak of the festival.

Pulling away, you both looked at each other for a split second, before Tamaki burst into red, pulling you a little closer and nuzzling his head in the crook of your neck, the red reaching all the way up to his ears.

You simply held him close just as he did to you as well, both reveling in the loving solace you brought one another. The fireworks continued to go off. The fireflies were still flickering. People were laughing, and music was still being played.

You smiled as you turned to Tamaki, the smile growing at how content he was while holding you in his arms.

"Tamaki...?"

He opened his eyes, pulling away to look at you clearly. "Yes?"

"Do you want to go look at to festival with me?"

At that moment Tamaki realized just how drained he was. That game had taken most of the day to complete, and being constantly surrounded by people along with the anxiety that was brought on by his worrying about confessing only served to drain him further.

"I'm a little tired..."

"It's alright, we can get something to eat and then head home."

He smiled softly and held you tenderly, completely enamored by how you were so loving and kind.

"I'd like that..."

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

"So-o ~"

Mirio teased Tamaki as they walked through the hallways to the cafeteria.

"I-it's nothing, Mirio" Tamaki groaned in response, regretting having let his friends in on what had went down only a few nights before.

You had both agreed to start seeing each other officially, and soon enough Tamaki became a regular at the bakery you worked at, much to Mirio's and Nejire's delight.

"Seems like it's something to me!"

Nejire piped, am equally teasing look on her face as well.

Tamaki could only groan and hide his face in his hands as Mirio and Nejire congratulated him, with Mirio patting him in the back with his good hearted nature.

Tamaki was eternally grateful he had you in his life. You helped him see things about himself he never knew before, helping to boost his confidence a smidge along with easing his anxiety levels. In a way, you were his new emotional comfort, no longer needing to hide his face in the walls as much (he'd just go to you for a hug instead).

And it was all because of a little cat cookie.

∴∵∴ ୨୧ ∴∵∴ ୨୧ ∴∵∴ ୨୧ ∴∴∵∴ ୨୧ ∴∵∴ ୨୧ ∴∵∴

BONUS:

"I knew she looked familiar!" The blue haired girl exclaimed.

"Yeah, but he's never going to admit he has feelings for her anytime soon, you have any ideas?" The blond boy questioned, his finger on his chin.

"Ooh! I know! What if we write them confession letters, and sign them from each other!" The girl came up with.

"Hmm, I was going to say Scavenger Hunt, but I like that idea too"

The girl hummed in thought, when a mischievous smile broke out across her face.

"Why don't we combine them?"

The blond chuckled, an equally wily smile growing on his own face as well, his blue eyes sparkling playfully.

"I like the sound of that. They'll be sure to have lots of fun!"

Fun for them, maybe.

A/N:

I'm sorry if that wasn't the best! It's not exactly what I normally write, but it was still such fun writing anyways! ୧꒰*´꒳`*꒱૭✧

Also for some reason a lot of my friends were particularly interested in seeing how this one turned out [probably because it's the first romance I've written wwww ( ´⁠ε⁠｀⁠ ⁠) ]

I hope you liked this at least a little, I tried rather hard with this one because I wanted it to be realistic but not boring, and fluffy but not embarrassing to read ヾ（´▽｀）

Requests are open! Tags are open! Feel free to ask anything or let me know of any feedback/comments you have! I appreciate it a lot! (ृ´͈ ᵕ `͈ ृ )

Thank you all again! I hope you have a lovely day! ⁠♡

年2023/月05/日10

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