#autumn troupe x reader

[midnightlee25]

Random Yandere Headcanons: Most delusional to least delusional: Autumn & Winter Troupe

Completely delusional:

Taichi Nanao

Hisoka Mikage

Homare Arisugawa

Not completely in reality but not completely in a fantasy:

Banri Settsu

Tsumugi Tsukioka 

In reality:

Juza Hyodo 

Omi Fushimi

Sakyo Furuichi

Tasuku Takato

Azuma Yukishiro

[dilys-min]

Aeipathy

Pairing: Yan!Chrollo Lucifer x Reader

Warnings: Yandere, Unhealthy relationship, Obsession, etc.

Word count: 2500+ words

For many things, Chrollo has never regretted the path he had taken.

He himself, like a phantom, exists only on the verge of hushed rumors and whispers of others, if there was anyone lucky enough to be alive to tell the tale after an encounter with the Troupe. To be vulnerable means to be seen, and to be seen will allow you to be hunted. Maybe that’s why he had chosen such a befitting title for the Troupe for it is only common for a phantom to remain in the dark, committing atrocities without the knowing of others.

He had thought that the picture that he had meticulously painted since the time when his name is the only thing he owns, a picture in which he is the greatest villain, spreading terrors to those who dare to cross paths with him or the Troupe, would last until the end of time. Or so he had thought, until you came. 

 .

 .

 The weather during autumn always feels chilly in this city, not enough to be cold, but enough to leave a tingling sensation on your skin. A breeze blows past, causing the leaves from the nearby maple trees to fall and coating the road with different shades of orange and red in the process. As a child, you would excitedly scurry off to the nearest pile of maple leaves before jumping into one, claiming to be making an angel out of the leaves when your mother scolded you for dirtying your clothes. All while your father laughed at the oddly familiar scene. It is a perfect day to-

 “Excuse me, miss!”. Woken from your daydreaming, you turn around to see the owner of the voice. A charming young man dressed in a beige trench coat, coupled with a turtleneck. A distinguishing feature you notice from him is the bandana wrapping around his forehead. As you realize that you have been staring at him quite long enough to be considered rude, you try to make up a respond when he continues

“Sorry to disturb you from your thoughts. I have been trying to find a way to the gallery and it seems that I haven’t gotten any luck in that. Perhaps you could show me the way? If it isn’t such a hassle to you of course”

“N-no, not at all. It seems like we were heading to the same direction after all. I could just show you the way there, if you don’t mind”.

Luckily, the man seems to not mind as he nods and begins following you. On the way, you would make sure to occasionally turn around to check up on him (which is absolutely unnecessary since he could easily outrun you if he wanted to). When it is only a few blocks away from the exhibition, the man behind you suddenly speaks up

“No matter how much you look at it. Rembrandt’s works always a sight to behold, right?”

A warm voice erupts from behind, attempting to break the silence and likely to prompt you into a conversation. You turn around just to see him gesturing toward a page about the information on the artist of the brochure occupying your hand. Normally, your shyness would come out at the worst of times, usually stirring you away by a nod of the head or a simple reply, not to be rude in others’ eyes but enough to let them know your intention. Maybe he was trying to break the awkward atmosphere between the two of you, but somehow, there is something about him that makes thought of a short conversation doesn’t sound too bad, you even feel a bit giddy. You aren’t particularly cut out for art nor did you exceptionally good at guessing the subtle meaning behind each picture, but it does feel nice to have someone you could share your interest to, even for a short time. 

“Well, it always has been. However, I actually have a different interest in mind when I come here”

“Oh, and what is that? Do tell”. You swear if you turn your back at the right time you could see how his eyes glimmer with a hint of curiosity, how his smile seems to widen a little more.  

“To be honest, I am not an encyclopedia of arts or am I in a place to be judging others’ works. But, truthfully, I have found myself more attracted to a work of John Everett Millias- "The Blind Girl”. You say sheepishly as heat slowly rises to your cheeks.

“There is no need to be shy about that. Must I say, you have quite an exquisite taste. Usually, when it comes to arts, people tend to associate with more universal names like Rembrandt or Salvador. So, it is quite refreshing to see someone who’s also on the same page as me”. His eyes crinkles as he goes on. 

You don’t know what spurs you on at that moment, maybe it’s the calming, unjudging demeanor of the stranger before you or maybe it’s the enthusiasm when someone shares the same interest with you. Either way, you have unconsciously found yourself strolling right next to him rather than marching forward.

“Yeah! People tend to be misguided when first looking into it. The painting seems to depict a normal couple of sisters enjoying the vibrant nature around them. Rather, it’s actually an allegory of the contrast between the blinded and the sighted. You can see that the younger girl shields away from the sun while her sister relishs in it, holding herself at a complete standstill just to enjoy the beauty of what surrounds her. If you take a closer look into-”

You quickly stop when it dawns on you what you are doing.

“Ah… Sorry if that was too much; I t-tend to get carried away when it comes to things like this-”

Great! You’ve done it again, you’ve probably scared off the poor man. It’s almost like a routine for you by now. You would meet someone and; you would proceed to overshare your hyperfixation on things to the said person and then; they would be weirded out and leave. At the end, you only have yourself to blame before going on and making the same mistake all over again. You just hope that there is a hole nearby so you could jump down and possibly live there for the rest of your life, maybe change your name in the process. But, you know that’s not gonna be the case and if you’re lucky, maybe he will at least be polite enough to continue to accompa-

“Please, don’t concern yourself over trivial matters. If anything, you are undermining yourself, dear.”

The endearment just rolled off his tongue with ease, like he was addressing a friend rather than a stranger. It’s a wonder how one’s mental state could drastically change in one single moment. Suddenly, the weather feels incredibly stifling despite it being mid-autumn; Has your cheeks always been this warm?

As though bemused by your stammering, he goes on

“Even so, what further entices me is why you happen to be so fascinated by the painting. Would you view it in the same light again, knowing that might be a pure act of compassion toward the fate of the two sisters?”

A soft smile appears on your face, taking away the place where a frown once resided. Instead of being offended, you find yourself unusually relaxed around him

“Maybe I will, maybe I won't. Honestly, I don’t know either.” A breathless laugh left your mouth and at the corner of your eyes, you could see his brows are burrowed, likely confused at your answer. 

“Be it a doing of my sympathy or just a passing interest. When I look at the painting, it feels like my mind, which has always been  at an impasse, could progress toward something now.” You pause for a moment before going on

“While it is good to have common ground, but not because of which should you confine yourself to what others view. Anyways, I could never find myself getting bored of this.”

A heartfelt laugh erupts besides you, rich in the sincerity that catches you off guard. You turn your head and something ridiculous passes your mind in that moment.

 It feels as if the young man before you was a child whose smile is just as carefree as he is

The thought doesn’t stay in your mind for long as the outline of your destination begins to appear, prompting the end of your time together. This time, you don’t even bother to hide the disappointment lying behind your voice.

“ Oh… it seems like we’re here. Well, I hope that you enjoy your visit here. It was nice talking to you.”

The man extends his hand to you before speaking up

“While I am here with the intention to visit this exhibition alone, it appears that I might not completely have a grasp around here. So, would my current tour guide be interested in accompanying me for a while longer?”

There is a nagging feeling at the back of your mind. You should be more careful but you don’t care. The offer stands as tempting as that of a siren calling out for any sailors unfortunate enough to cross and for once, you want to feel what it like to have your head submerged in water, to reach out for more while you drown in the sweet voice of the monstrous being. 

You reach out, placing your hand in his. His hand is calloused, a contrast to his immaculate face. He gives your hand a few tender squeezes, your hand fits perfectly in his.

“Well, if you are willing to hear a whole ramble on paintings, then that is. But before that, can you tell me your name? It would be weird to not know your name, considering all the time we spent together.” 

The name spilled out from his name rings like a bell in your head. But whether it is for a blessing or a bad omen remains a mystery to you.

“Chrollo-”

“Chrollo Lucilfer”

.

.

Chrollo has never been one for closer connections, maybe the closest he has ever been to anyone was when he was younger, when the hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow were still beating in his chest. But even the foolest would know that innocence equals vulnerability in Meteor City, a deadly one at least. What started at a normal interaction- where you help him and he will be on his merry way- quickly spiraled into something more. Even Shizuku noticed his shift in demeanor. It’s quite reasonable when it’s not a common occurance to see the head of the infamous Phantom Troupe- a ruthless criminal who is nothing but a nightmare, the devil’s incarnate in the tales of even the cruelest criminals, to be head over heels towards a normal civilian. He has traveled far and wide and yet, he rarely lingers on for long. Nonetheless, the mere thought of someone other than him might come across you, soaking in the warmth and vibrancy you have to offer like a sponge irks him greatly. The possessive nature of a thief runs deep in his blood. A credo through which he has devotedly followed, ingrained on every single molecule that forms his very essence. If he wants something then he steals it. Anything that falls under his possessions are meant to be admired from a distance not to be leered at, and not he himself could make an exception for you. While Chrollo is no halfwitted to not realize that letting you as you be there would always be someone, far better than him, to come in and swoop you up your feet when he has to part for one of his ‘ business trip’ , he is not cruel enough to strip away your freedom, at least not for now. He would like for you to remain your individuality for a while longer and captivity could do so much to one’s mental state. While it is just an inevitable bump of your relationship, it is not one that could be easily smoothed over with kisses and comforts. 

Chrollo is not a sentimental person, but he would go as far as to say he has become quite fond of the gesture where couples would wear matching items. It gives a profound message that you are off limits, lest anyone who are dense enough, well, they could try. His gestures are subtle, but not obscure, a keen eye will be able to spot one or two, which usually under the form of the choker wrapping around your neck or the form-fitting black dress that seems to suit his taste more than yours. He wonders how much he can imprint on you, how much he can steal before you notice or would you ever be aware of his tendency at all. Give him an inch and he would take a mile, once you give your heart to him, you could never expect to receive it back without giving up a few parts of you to him. 

 Throughout his journey, Chrollo has his fair share of experiences with others, through which he has learned how to gouge out the worst in people. Humans are just a combination of different components linked together and each requiring a unique blueprint. Treading the water carefully, using the right combination of words and as though every part is laid bare before him. While Chrollo uses this ability to see the worst in order, you, on the other hand, use it to see the best, to put back the mangle parts of the said people he always inclined to break. Despite your timid nature, you seem to hold more than you view, for better or worse. In a way, he would go as far to say you and him are so alike in many ways, and yet, so acutely different at the same time.

Nostalgic is an unfamiliar term as well as a foreign experience to him. What’s there to long for when there is already nothing to begin with? And normalcy is impossible for him, with the fall of his friends, the blood on his hand; with everything that he has gone through, Chrollo knows there will never be a day when he is able to rest. Domesticity is a privilege you made possible for him with what you have got. And for that, it will be your downfall. His past experiences have taught him to cling as tightly as possible to what dear to him. So even if you end up with a few scratches and bruises, if his hand ends up bloody in the process, nothing won’t be resolved with consolations, which will serve as your comfort and your eternal sentence. 

So, even if the path he has chosen is one leading straight to hell then so be it. He will gladly drag you down with him, even if it means the gate to your eden will be shut forever.

[iridescent-flowers]

I Never Planned On You (Ao3 Repost)

Banri Settsu x GN!Reader

Tags: romance, fluff, some flirting, a silly cafe story

Summary:

Banri Settsu, is the beloved leader of The Autumn Troupe, Mr. Super Ultra Easy Mode, the damn renaissance man, the list goes on. But despite basically living his life on a silver platter, he finds himself acting like a silly school girl fawning over one particularly mysterious Amabi student. Only god knows how this one's gonna go down, given that this man never put so much thought about romantic relationships up until this point.

[✨Likes, Comments & Reblogs are supper appreciated!✨]

Note: This work is also available on Ao3, feel free to leave kudos, comment or read there if you prefer Ao3 more ❤️

Word Count: 3,591

------------------------------

The ballad of Settsu Banri is anything but a dull tune. In his past, the young man would run so much that he could’ve been mistaken as a speedster from a superhero comic. The only difference was that he wasn’t a hero. He was just a kid running from everything and anything. 

But there was one good thing that came from all of this running. While he thought he was just going in circles running away all the time, it somehow became his chance to find home. A place he needed to be in for him to understand that he should’ve done more to find a challenge, rather than resigning to another win for the day.

That's the short version of it. The story of a reformed delinquent channeling his skills and emotions into better outlets. Accepting a challenge instead of running away from it.

Everytime he thinks about it, he would always put it as a sweet spot between being “eons ago” and “just yesterday”. Sometimes one would outweigh the other depending on what kind of conversation calls for such reminiscence. 

The situation he’s in right now feels mild compared to all of that. He finds himself in, what he thinks to be, a silly predicament which is why he can’t help but laugh at how pathetic the state of his mind is right now. It’s not bad, but it is unusual.

He sat on the seat that he and Tsumugi would often take up at the cafe they loved visiting. Zoning out a little, he comes back to his senses when he hears a ping on his phone. He pulls it out to check the notification that was sent in, finding Tsumugi’s icon on the left side. Beside it, the message he left read: ‘Sorry Banri, but I think I’ll be a little late. A student of mine that I’m tutoring right now asked for an hour extension for today’s session.’

As if on cue, another message came in after Banri finished reading the first text.

‘We can go another time if you’re not in the mood to stick around at the cafe for too long.’

Banri contemplated that last message. But shrugged and typed in… 

‘No prob, I’m still down to chat after your session. I’ll just order a drink while waiting for you.’

In response, he would get a sticker emoji of Kamekichi giving the thumbs up. 

Banri let out a sigh, tutoring was hard that much he was sure of. Eventually he pulled away from his phone and let his eyes wander around the cafe.  He doesn’t really pay much attention to people except for you, this one particular person which, he notices, was there every time he would make his rounds by the place. It seemed to be like that for some time now, a new customer has become a regular at the cafe. 

What made him more curious though was how he realized that, not only were you at the cafe for the most part, but he’d seen you in college from time-to-time. Mostly out in the field or by a small empty table in the library. You were pretty much doing the same thing you’re doing just now. A few materials were sprawled on the table, your eyes laser-focused on the screen before you, your ears preoccupied with flowing music, your one hand had a gentle grip on a mechanical pencil while the other was holding the notebook still. 

Banri stared at you with intent. If he was his old-self, he would never think to understand why people would go into any effort to push through the day the way you always did. But now he would probably applaud you if you two had any aligned interests or opportunity to talk to one another.

He had been thinking about it for some time, about how he wanted to approach you and strike up a conversation. But with the way you always kept yourself preoccupied, he found it hard to and shied away from the idea. It’s a bit crazy to approach her at random, but he wanted to time and time again. Really, it was quite a funny predicament given that he’s experienced worse, but it was still mind muddling to him for some odd reason.

But by some miracle, the moment he pulled his eyes away in fear of getting caught, he noticed that you had taken off your earphones, tossing them aside lightly. You’ve stopped everything to rub your eyes. It’s as if you’ve forced yourself to loosen up. The two of you were just a seat apart diagonally, so he was able to see you more clearly than usual. Of course, considering Banri was making his best effort to look calm and less nosy, he wasn’t able to see how you stared blankly at anywhere but the screen to contemplate on leaving the cafe or staying longer and buying another drink.

Your eyes turn to the task that you’ve pressed pause on, and find yourself resigning to buying another drink. A caffeine type-drink to fuel the tank that’s running on empty. You then told yourself that if you ever began to consider buying a drink for a third time, it probably means you should leave.

Standing up, you let out a noise that ended up being louder than you’d hoped for causing a few people in the seats nearby to stare while Banri just glanced at you casually. 

“Sorry…” you mumble in embarrassment before moving to the cashier counter to give the barista your order.

Banri resumed his little observation project, watching as you order a chocolate and matcha latte. He couldn’t help but take note of the drink you ordered so that he could perhaps buy one for you as a conversation starter in the future. 

As the barista tells you that a waiter would give you your drink like the last time, you bow slightly to thank them for their service. 

It finally hits Banri, to the point that he could’ve sworn that his heart leapt… today was definitely the day to see what your deal was, or at least get to know you more a little bit and kill the curiosity that ate his mind away. He turns to you with a casual smile on his face, nothing that came off as cocky or condescending, it just seemed more cool and polite.

“Exam jitters?” he asked as smoothly as he could, but if he were a bit more honest, he was hoping he didn’t sound stupid. Yes, even Mr. Super Ultra Easy Mode has days where he over thinks his actions, it is a human condition after all.

Now able to get your attention your gaze meets with Banri’s blueberry eyes, a bit caught off guard by the suddenness of his question. You smile to yourself, a little embarrassed at how easy to read you were. 

“Hah… sort of I suppose.” you respond, feeling a bit more willing to indulge the guy talking to you. Maybe it’s the crippling time-pressure, but you feel the need to release at least a little bit of the stress. “My professor in art theory is just impossible. He gave us a reading assignment and paper due by the end of tomorrow… which happened to fall on the day he set a date for a short exam.”

“Jeez, sounds brutal.” was the only thing Banri can respond with. It’s how he would normally respond to someone engaging in conversation with him, but he wonders if he had to act a bit more interested than that. 

“Yeah it sucks, but I signed up for it so I gotta go with it I guess. It’s no midterm or final though so I figured I don’t have to prioritize exam review. I just need to figure out how to actually turn my report outline into paragraphs magically or otherwise.”

That made the guy chuckle a bit. In a weird way, he was happy that things were going well so far in terms of conversation. He still wanted to keep inside voices at the cafe as they kept talking, so he pointed at the vacant seat and table next to you and quietly asked, “May I?”

You shrugged and gestured to the chair. “Free country, man.” you respond in the same volume. So he brought his drink with him and moved to the table in front of him. He sat parallel to where you were sitting, while adjusting his seat so that the both of you can hold a conversation face-to-face. 

“You’re a student in Amabi too right? I see you on campus a lot.” Banri asks you, another query that came out of the blue. Was he changing the subject too quickly? Was he coming off as too bored or too excited? Perhaps creepy? His head really was in a tizzy. If the guys at the dorm could see him now, they’d take this opportunity to tease him about how out of character he was getting. 

“O-oh really?” You let out, still feeling slightly surprised and flustered by the conversation at hand, something the blond hoped wouldn’t happen because he couldn’t tell if you were feeling awkward, annoyed, or creeped out. Why was he so worked up over this? It’s just a little chat. Geez, where did his powerful people-reading skills go off to, and why did it have to be when he was talking to you? 

“Yeah I am, does that mean you are too?” You bounce your question back to him, a bit curious now. Since you were quite the busybody, you hardly took the opportunity to familiarize yourself with faces of people outside of your classes. You’re completely curious and oblivious to the chaos running through the man’s mind right now. 

He hummed in response ���It’s kinda why I think I get what you mean. I took art theory last year and yeah, prof’s really something. You need willpower if you wanna live to see the light of day.” as he responded, a very clear thought pops into his mind 

‘Wow… they’re actually cuter up close.’ especially when you perked up with enthusiasm seeing that one other person can relate to your woes. He never knew making someone smile would affect him like this, much less someone he hardly talked to. It’s really embarrassing.

“That’s so true.” You let out a sigh as silence came, you glanced at your work a bit before looking back at him, he was looking down at his phone. It wouldn’t hurt to extend breaktime a little more, right?

“Uh… do you come here often?” You slap yourself a bit thinking about how cliche the question is.

“I’m supposed to be meeting up with a friend from my theater troupe, but he’s just running a little late.”

Your heart raced the moment your brain started forming thoughts, or at least tried to. This fellow uni student was talking to you out of nowhere. He was good-looking as you’ve observed, and was weirdly familiar. Since he mentioned he was in a theater troupe, it sort of made a bit more sense that he’d be one of those familiar looking faces, but you wanted to pry a bit more if you could to see if you actually did know him.

“Woah you must be crazy skilled to be doing theater and attending college!”

Banri let out a half-hearted laugh when you broke out the compliment, maybe as a jab to himself knowing that what you said was spot-on. 

“It’s actually why I decided to study in Amabi to begin with,” he said. It’s not too much information and it’s not less either. It’s just a balance of the two because he really didn’t want to scare you off.

“What troupe do you work for? I’ve seen a few shows in Veludo, but I don’t think I was able to see your shows.”

“It’s a small company actually… Mankai Company.” The moment you hear the name it felt like the last piece of a puzzle fell into place. 

“Crap wait… I’m super dumb! You’re from Autumn Troupe right? Settsu Banri.”

He nods in a cool mannerism, moving his chin slightly upward in one swift movement while you snap your fingers in response to guessing correctly.

“My god! I’m seriously sorry I didn’t pick up on it sooner, especially with the word of mouth often being about you around campus.”

“Nah it’s cool, it’s not like I wanna announce to the world who I am or anythin’”

“Still though I feel a bit bad for having it go over my head the way it did.” You laugh nervously, causing Banri to raise an eyebrow at you.

“Well in that case… I’ll accept your apology if you don’t mind giving me your name?”

He knows that that was pretty slick, but at the same time he hopes that it isn’t making you uncomfortable. He got worried as he saw your eyebrows furrow and your lips form a smile of what he thinks is discomfort. 

Shit, did he blow it? Hopefully not because it’s just a name right? He really wants to get to know you and try asking you out if possible. He was flustered but at least he’s good at hiding it.

The moment he heard you giggle though, he felt relief washing over him and heat rise to his cheeks. Really, is everything he’s good at flying out the window today? He hopes he was just feeling hot and not actually blushing before your eyes.

You let out a flustered response not knowing how to word the answer “it's… my… y/n.” 

He subtly mimicked the way you stuttered so that it didn’t come off as completely insulting “what’s the matter, you’re not sure?”

“N-no I’m sure… It’s just that, you’re a really straightforward person aren’t you?”

“Am I?” 

“Not that I mind,” you defend yourself quickly “I mean... It probably means that you’re an honest guy or something.”

It was Banri’s turn to have his lips curl into a smile. Anyone that knew him would know that it was the kind of smile that he reserved for the most significant people in his life. Even though he doesn't pick up on this, he just thinks it’s a simple smile because of the compliment.

“God… I’m really all over the place today huh” He hears you mumble, but he was focused on being too smitten. If he could mention it though, he’d love to bring up how your face looked even more beautifully up close. His vision romanticized this moment, the gentle orange glow of cafe lights shone softly on your skin, the way brown hugged you and the rest of his surroundings… it weirdly felt like a gift from the universe, as silly as it sounds. 

“It’s all good, no worries.” he says in a gentle voice… oh he really had it bad for you.

The conversation goes longer than intended. At some point he even offered to help you out with the paper a little bit to help you relax more, to which you gladly accepted in desperation. To you, he was an ultimate godsend lifting a bit of the weight off your back. Under 15 minutes, you managed to get half of the paper done. You never pictured him as the generous type, and you were right.

“Thanks so much, I honestly dreaded writing the rest of this paper until you came along.”

“Just wanted to be a good Samaritan for a fellow Amabi student.”

“Hmm… Sounds suspect.”

This was his chance, he smirked to himself being able to come this far than just ogling at you from a distance like he usually did.

“Okay maybe I lied… just a bit, I was planning on asking you for a favor afterwards.”

“Oohkay…?” you sounded out jokingly 

“My next play’s opening next week, I’d appreciate it if you could support me and my troupe on the first day.”

“Ah yeah, of course! I’ve actually been meaning to watch some of the Mankai plays for some time, but ended up either busy or forgetting to.” Banri smiles at how lovely your response was. 

“If you’re also up for it… we could hang out after the last show of the day, I’m not too busy and we usually wrap up by 6 pm.”

“Are you asking me out?”

Banri nearly stammers, but catches himself before he does. He doesn’t expect you to pick up on what he was asking of you so quickly so his eyes shifted from being composed to completely panicked for a nanosecond. Your eyebrows shift expectantly.

“Is it wrong to?”

“Not at all, I’m absolutely game.”

Feeling more composed after your reply, he smirks. this must be beginner’s luck given you were quite a catch in his eyes. Still... As much as it made sense that asking you out went pretty well, he somehow believed he could do better to impress you more. 

You suddenly realize how late it has gotten as the sun has sunken completely, dimming the sky and welcoming the moon.

“Oh, I should probably head out since it’s getting late. How about we swap numbers and continue chatting there?”

“Seems I’m not the only straightforward person between the both of us.”

“W-well! If you don’t want to, that's ok too-”

“Hey now, I never said I didn’t wanna give you my number.”

He reaches for the notebook that was nearest to him before taking your pen and scribbling on the corner of a fresh notebook page. When he finished, he slid the notebook right back to you.

“There you go.” you smile, taking the notebook and keeping it with the rest of the materials you brought out, including your laptop.

“I don’t want to rip pages out of my notebook so I hope this napkin does it.” You grab the pen from the table and begin to jot down your number as gently as you could on the napkin that usually came with the drinks sold by the cafe. Then, carefully, you fold it and hold it out for him to which he gladly accepts and places it in one of his pockets.

You check the time on your phone, “I still have the other two activities to worry about.” You let out a sigh before zipping up your bag and turning to leave.

“Oh uh… thanks for today again.” you give a shy smile and waved goodbye, truly the infectious type given that Banri smiles back. It was as if you were like sunshine on the coldest day.

“The pleasure’s all mine.” He says, causing you to smile wider and leave the cafe with a skip in your step. He continues to watch you until you leave his line of sight. He calmed down after that.

He let out a sigh and leaned back against his chair. Arms up and legs crossed in celebration of this moment. Then, out of great timing, he spots ablur that looked to be Tsumugi. Finally.

He rushed as he entered the establishment, looking around until he found Banri's seat. He gestures to Banri.

“Banri! So sorry I’m late, another thing came up at the last minute, but it seems my message didn’t send anything detailing everything.” 

“Eh… no biggie, really. I just talked to someone while waiting for you.”

“Huh? Who?”

“I’ll say the rest of the details later, you should probably go first since it sounds like today’s been rough Tsumugi-sensei.” Tsumugi let out a defeated and embarrassed laugh as the two continued to catch each other up to speed.

Eventually they took their conversation outside of the cafe. They had to head back to the dorm early to catch Omi’s cooking fresh from the stove after all. While walking home, Banri would explain what went down the three hours he was waiting for Tsumugi. Tsumugi, being the mature and good friend he is, listened with intent and enthusiasm.

“From the way you talk about them, they sound nice.”

In the back of his mind, Banri couldn’t help but think ‘they’re more than just nice…’ but he wanted to keep his thoughts to himself since he didn’t like rambling too much. That, and he wanted to keep the rest of the smaller details to himself since they’re more significant.

It was absolutely crazy honestly. Banri would get admirers left and right, but out of all of the options that had come and gone, he chose you to try and envision a relationship with. Maybe it’s too soon to think about it now, especially since he isn’t sure about how long the both of you would last.

‘Baby steps man, baby steps’ He said to himself, maybe he’ll start to throw in more compliments and do a bit more flirting when they’re at a more comfortable level in their relationship…whether or not you skip the friendship phase, a relationship is also built on comfort and trust. Something in him begs to earn it. 

He looked at the buildings that lined the road at night. At this time, neon signs started lighting up the night. The radiant blend of pink and red neon signs displayed at the front of the stores illuminated him. He smiled that special smile again feeling great as he recalled all the events that occurred in the past three hours.

He did have a hunch, however. Maybe… just maybe… he might be able to pull this off. 

"Yeah... I guess they are." He laughs to himself.

Life is quite unpredictable, huh?

[princessmisery666]

Sam Is Wearing Green Today

Warnings/Genres/Troupes: fluff. 

W/C: 450

Characters: Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester.  

Pairing: Sam Winchester x Reader (you - no descriptions of gender, body type, or ethnicity).

A/N: I had a dream that I shared with @deanwinchesterswitch , and she encouraged me to write it out, so here it is - purely self-indulgent fluffy Sam appreciation.

Betas: @deanwinchesterswitch

Graphics: dividers @firefly-graphics

Master Lists: Sam Winchester // All The Fandoms

Sam Is Wearing Green Today.

Sam’s wearing a green plaid shirt today. It’s distracting. You're supposed to be listening to Dean and the theory of what creature you're hunting. But it's all white noise because Sam is wearing green today. 

If you were more poetic, you could have described how it made his kaleidoscope eyes brighter. You could have likened it to a forest of evergreens, alive and fresh, or Autumn nipping at Summer’s nose, tingeing the edges of green leaves with brown. But you can’t find the perfect description because Sam is wearing green today. 

Your nose is stuck in a book, but your eyes are locked on Sam. The white noise fades, and his voice comes into focus while he counters Dean’s theory and offers his own. You also have a theory, a mixture of both being correct. But you can’t voice it because Sam is weaning green today.

Dean’s phone rings, and he steps away from the table to answer it. Sam glances over at you, and though you know you’re staring, you're unable to look away. He offers the softest smile as he stands, probably feeling extremely uncomfortable under your watchful eye. But you can’t stop your ogling because Sam is wearing green today. 

You follow his movement as he walks to refill his coffee mug, going as far as turning your head to look over your shoulder to keep your gaze trained on him. The shirt looks soft, and you're momentarily jealous that it gets to caress his skin all day. Does it know how lucky it is? You chuckle to yourself at how ridiculous the thought is. But it makes total sense because Sam is wearing green today.  

Fresh cup of joe in hand, he turns back around, his eyes immediately landing on you. “Why are you staring at me?” he asks, self-consciousness dusting his cheeks. It was never your intention to make him feel uncomfortable. But you can’t tell him that you can’t take your eyes off him because he’s wearing green today.

You shrug and give an unconvincing lie, “No reason,” even though it’s clearly causing him concern. You make no attempt to stop your peculiar behaviour because Sam is wearing green today. 

Sam’s chuckle morphs into a bashful dimpled smile as he approaches you slowly, never taking his eyes off of yours.  “I love you too.” He bends and kisses you, firm but sweet. He lingers against your lips for a long moment before pulling back to focus on you again, “Now I know why you haven’t stolen this shirt.”

He’s right. You left that one because it’s always a treat when Sam is wearing green. 

A/N2: if anyone has any good pictures of Sam/Jared in green please share 🥰

Master Lists: Sam Winchester // All The Fandoms

Tag lists open: see here Info

Tags: @alexxavicry / @b3autyfuldisast3r-blog / @deanwinchesterswitch / @fandom-princess-forevermore / @foxyjwls007 / @jc-winchester / @justagirlinafandomworld / @leigh70 / @letsbys-library / @mrswhozeewhatsis / @nancymcl / @shanimallina87 / @stoneyggirl2 / @waywardbaby / @wildbornsiren / @writercole / @pank0w / @kmc1989 / @sams-sass

[rivalry-trope-enjoyer]

Autumn Troupe: When they have nightmares

(PSA: this one’s a little self indulgent since I can’t sleep tonight so apologies if the headcanon’s inaccurate to the character ^^’)

Juza

Juza’s one to hide whatever gets him down because he doesn’t want to burden those around him.

He wants to be a good influence for Muku and Kumon and he tries not to rope them into anything negative that he has going on.

He tried to have a positive impact on you, too, so most times he doesn’t know how to express or want to express his vulnerabilities to you.

It was inevitable the night he had a nightmare, unfortunately it was you turning your back on him and was suddenly scared of him and thought of him as a monster.

Juza woke up in a cold sweat next to you, and he had no time to panic as he quickly rose up, reaching the air in front of him in a frenzy.

It would be best to hold him and/or reassure him. He needs to know that he isn’t alone and that it’s safe to open up to you, he will melt and quickly try to forget what happened in his dream.

He won’t tell you much about the dream, he won’t resist your efforts of getting close to him. In fact, it’s all Juza would have ever wanted. The love and care of someone that would accept him for who he is.

He’ll silently accept the love you give him, holding onto you tightly to steady his shaking and reassure his head.

Banri

Banri didn’t care much about nightmares, it never really bothered him and he kind of blew it off as some meaningless sign to ignore.

He never read much into things and didn’t see the need to start now. He was just rolling through life without a care in the world.

That was, until you came into his life.

He cared for you greatly and the feeling of putting in time and effort into someone that wasn’t his own self was almost foreign.

You had genuinely supported Banri throughout acting and everything he did, and he returned the favor which he had never thought he ever would.

Every bit of affection, every compliment he’d shrug off from literally anyone else meant more to him than anything.

To the point where waking up from a nightmare felt different when you were involved.

He was terrified that this meaning that he found in his life was gone, he woke up trying to laugh it off but saw his hands shake from the after math.

Just a simple “I’m here, I’m here” would ground him and bring him back to reality. Your voice was like a song to Banri, one that he would never get tired of.

He’d laugh still, but in a more genuine manner, tease you and asked if you actually worried about him.

Inside, he was grateful that you affirmed you were there with him, but it’ll take a while for him to admit it.

Omi

This boy has a lot to unpack.

He’s riddled with nightmares ever since his best friend had died. Despite all the changes in his life it still comes back in his sleep to bite him in the back.

He convinces himself that he’s gotten used to the nightmares and accepted it all as what he has to live with, but it deeply bothered him.

Despite this Omi tends to put a strong face for everyone; his brothers and father, the Mankai company, and for you, too.

Initially, he saw his weak points as being a burden to you, so Omi likes to perform acts of service to you like making you food before he goes to work or to rehearsal, get groceries with you, and of course also make sure you get a good night sleep before he would have to leave to run errands of his own.

He rarely takes rests and keeps himself busy a lot, he loves to help the people he cares about, but at the same time he will over work to avoid the nightmares that come late at night.

It was bound to happen that he would knock out fast asleep next to you. He had a whole day of errands, photo shoots, a lengthy practice and cooking for both you and the troupe. Omi deserved a rest.

However he started twisting and turning in his sleep frantically and you woke him up in fear of what was going on.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you” he immediately goes, rubbing his eyes to hide the clear discomfort, stretching to get up and make himself some tea.

Refuse his offer to do anything, right now it’s best for him to recover, and even without any cooking skill, offer some calming tea and some snacks or comfort food from the fridge or pantry.

He’ll be endlessly grateful, laughing as he constantly reassures you that he would have been perfectly fine getting it himself, but still thank you in the process.

“I know you’d do the same for me, it’s time I help you, too”

Those words hit him in realizing how much he has already done the whole day, and how acts of service doesn’t need to be a one-way path. Showing how much you cared for him gave him a sense of trust and security with you almost instantly.

Taichi

He admired you so much, and he would desperately try to hide anything that made him seem uncool.

He still fears being alone more than anything, despite wanting to stand out, he hated the feeling of isolation.

Often times it comes in his nightmares ever since he left the God Troupe, he had been scared of being singled out as a traitor and left neglected.

He woke up in tears that he sobbed out, carelessly forgetting that you were sleeping right next to him, but were awoken by his cries and immediately got up to go to him.

“Taichi, are you okay?” “Yeah! Yeah I’m perfectly fine-“ “Taichi.”

You sounded stern but he was still stubborn and tried to convince you that he was in top shape.

“See? I got all my fingers and everything! Still the same-“

You didn’t believe him but instead pulled him into your arms and his tears bursted out even more, taken by surprise of the overwhelming affection and support that he loved from you so much.

He shamelessly cried in your arms and soaked your shoulder, apologizing for his uncool he looked, but you not caring made him cry even harder.

After that nightmare he was truly happy to show this side of himself, even if Taichi had thought of it to be shameful in the beginning. He felt that you would stay at his side even with his true colors, he was open to accepting his own self as much as you accepted him with open arms.

Sakyo

In comparison, Sakyo handles nightmares as if they were nuisances like a fever. He still has difficulty sleeping after them so he lies awake just staring at the ceiling for a while to let it fade away.

In his past he was not able to have a lot, and often times because of his past affiliations he did not have much room for error.

As much as possible he did not want to mess up anything with you as well. Upon meeting him, he did come off as cold, and it took a while for him to warm up to you and was careful when talking to you about his previous encounters with the yakuza, as much as what didn’t scare you off.

When realizing you had done more than stay, but instead support him with being the actor who Sakyo was trying to be today, he was thrilled.

As much as he’d lecture you about running water and spending on groceries, it was his own way of trying to be helpful and caring.

In a way it showed that he knew what he was doing, but when it came to seeing him in shambles after waking up after a nightmare of his ugly past, he froze.

You were lying right next to him and he didn’t know how to cover up his own tracks of vulnerability. The ice he encased himself in melted away when you crawled up to him and asked him what was wrong.

He never wanted to involve you in the dangers of what his line of worm was before, realizing how much he wanted you in his life, but you still being there after learning all about it was reassurance to him.

With that he was able to go to bed easier, knowing that act of his life was over, and he was able to start fresh with a life with you, in an arc that he hopes to never call the curtain on.

[garden-of-omegas]

⚜ FIRST MEETING [A3! - AUTUMN TROUPE] ⚜

┌── ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ••✎•• ──────────

characters: banri settsu | juza hyodo | taichi nanao | omi fushimi | sakyo furuichi | azami izumida summary: the details of your first meeting with your future mate. warnings: references to violence, references to organized crime rating: sfw a/n: finally done! i had to start work recently so i'm probably going to be a bit more slow with everything (like i already wasn't) but i'm going to try and get a move on with all of these!

~🎕

└── ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ••✎•• ──────────

≿━━━━༺❀ banri settsu ❀༻━━━━≾

✿ you were an aspiring stuntman, to the stress of your parents. but unfortunately someone of your age didn't get a lot of opportunities, least of all in films, so you decided to turn to the world of theatre acting and find work there.

✿ you were 18, on your first year in university though you unsurprisingly weren't particularly focused on your studies. banri was a year younger than you, at 17.

✿ you'd already been scouted for the autumn troupe, as izumi thought that it was the troupe that needed someone for more challenging roles. and when banri came into "audition" and bad mouthed you, he got a fist to the face faster than ever before. you subsequently realized what you did and refused to come out of your room for the next two days.

✿ you and banri were assigned to room together (on sakyo's orders). it did not start out good, as banri kept trying to get you to actually fight him, while you adamantly refused to even speak to him. it wasn't until you had to actually start practicing that you were actually forced to talk.

✿ for banri, it was love at first sight. sort of, anyways. he's always been attracted to people who can beat his ass (even if he didn't particularly pick up on it) but your 'take-no-shit' attitude really hit it home. at first you didn't like banri, and then you just got embarrassed by your behavior. how could you just punch someone, no matter how annoying they are? and then having to room with him... well, you debated locking yourself away in your room for the rest of eternity. away from him.

≿━━━━༺❀ juza hyodo ❀༻━━━━≾

✿ you were the charismatic leader of the theatre club at your school, but as you were soon set to graduate you wanted to find a more permanent spot to continue acting at. thankfully, you'd recently been informed of the mankai company by a friend of yours.

✿ you were 17, the same age as juza. you'd been into acting since you were way too young to remember, but you'd not seriously started doing it until you were in high school.

✿ it was even prior to the audition, when juza came to your club room to ask you to give him acting lessons. delighted by his "enthusiasm" you gladly said you'd teach him, which turned out to be a bit too big of a promise. but you weren't ready to give up on him, not if he was to become a co-actor of yours.

✿ you had two weeks until audition, and you promised to spend all your free time teaching juza. you'd meet up at your place every few days, and though juza was a hard student to have, you did manage some progress during your two weeks.

✿ juza had admittedly had a huge crush on you for years, as had most of the omega population of the school. but actually meeting you, he couldn't help but grow an even deeper love for you and your passion for acting. juza was admittedly a difficult student in the art of acting, but you could respect his love for the craft. so even if you struggled to keep from screaming whenever he monotonously recited another line, you didn't out of sheer liking for him and his silly ways.

≿━━━━༺❀ taichi nanao ❀༻━━━━≾

✿ you were a nihon buyo dancer, as your oma had been, and her oma before her. you were actually the first alpha in your family to take on the practice, but as an only child it was to be expected. but you weren't quite satisfied with your craft, and thought that some theatre acting practice could help you improve.

✿ you were 17, and under the tutelage of your oma still. unfortunately for her, you were starting to really hit that phase where you wanted independence. taichi was 16 at the time.

✿ you'd just had another argument with your oma, which led to you storming off. you ended up stewing on a park bench by yourself, where taichi happened to catch sight of you, and being a gentleman raised by two alpha's went over to comfort the distressed omega. you were not happy to discover his assumption later on.

✿ while you were initially not very happy about being approached casually, taichi had the sort of puppy energy that made you forgive him quickly. that, and he listened to you rant for almost an hour and didn't complain, which made him pretty good in your eyes.

✿ taichi just thought that you were a pretty omega, as with his limited world view he'd never even considered an alpha doing an elegant hobby like dancing. probably why he didn't particularly mind your "weirdly" strong personality. to you, taichi came across as a cute little puppy, a little omega with a good heart. so, he was the cutest thing you'd ever seen. though your upset mind didn't really pick up on it instantly, you had already grown a bit of a crush on him.

≿━━━━༺❀ omi fushimi ❀༻━━━━≾

✿ you were... well, you were the leader of a biker gang. you'd been one for three years already, though you were slowly starting to doubt the lifestyle you'd chosen and were thinking of quitting. but you still needed a small nudge to take that step

✿ you were 20, a year older than omi. you'd been part of your biker gang for six years at that point, and became the leader at 17 after the sudden death of your previous leader.

✿ you were staring at a shelf of cleaning supplies, having an internal crisis in the middle of a grocery store. you didn't really mean to, but you'd been thinking about your life for days now. and a certain photographer was staring at you in turn, wondering what the hell you were doing. he really needed to get to those cleaning supplies. you almost screamed when he finally tapped you on the shoulder.

✿ after almost kick-dropping omi to the floor, you reluctantly apologize and help him with his groceries. omi didn't actually mind (he understood the instinctual reaction) but was grateful anyways, which ended up with him rambling about his life, which made something with you click.

✿ omi didn't take long to realize what kind of life you'd lived (or were still living, he wasn't sure), and he felt rather bad. he'd never want anybody to live the kind of life he had in high school (oh, if only he knew). he was hoping you'd turn out fine. you had never met such a pretty man before, especially not one so kind. for the first time in a long time you felt bad for the instincts instilled in you since your youth, and hearing him talk about his life made you think about exactly how badly your life was going.

≿━━━━༺❀ sakyo furuichi ❀༻━━━━≾

✿ you were the child of a yakuza boss, though you weren't particularly interested in your appa's work. instead, you loved acting and dancing, which she didn't particularly agree with but was glad to see you happy. you, on the other hand, didn't care for her opinion on the matter.

✿ you were 6, the same age as sakyo. you were living full-time with your appa, who'd actually inherited the group from your oma who'd died a few years ago.

✿ you were on veludo way with one of your appa's subordinates, who was assigned to babysit you. it didn't take long for you to run away from them though, and end up at a certain theatre company where a group was rehearsing. there, a little stern looking boy caught your attention and you immediately decided that he had to be yours.

✿ after actually talking to sakyo (read as: you talked his ear off while he kept wondering where you appeared from), you kept showing up to the mankai company practices, both to see them and to talk to sakyo, who you were absolutely determined to make your friend.

✿ sakyo was mostly confused by you. you showed up out of nowhere, declared him your new friend, and kept showing up to talk about the magic of acting. at least that last part he could tolerate, but you did initially weird him out, a lot. you weren't really certain what about sakyo made him so interesting to you, you just knew that he was. so even when he was less than enthusiastic about your offers of friendship, you didn't take them particularly seriously. nothing would make you give him up.

≿━━━━༺❀ azami izumida ❀༻━━━━≾

✿ you were pretty much a common thug. you'd like to describe yourself otherwise, but you weren't dumb, you knew that you didn't mean much more to the yakuza group you were part of. it was just the lot in life you were born to.

✿ you were 14, while azami was 13. far too young for the life you were living, but having been born into a yakuza family you didn't have much of a choice.

✿ you were really just on a walk, having nothing better to do when you laid eyes on a very lost looking boy who you immediately recognized as a rivalling group's leader's kid. you weren't really sure what to do in a situation like this, but you couldn't let such an opportunity pass you by. so you immediately went up to him, under the guise of wanting to help.

✿ azami was looking for a make-up store, which you rather easily directed him to. you didn't really care for it, but your oma liked experimenting with her make-up. this seemed to get azami comfortable enough to start talking to you, which lead to the topic of his dreams. something about listening to him made you think.

✿ azami didn't actually pay much attention to you at first, really only interested in finding the damn make-up store. but once he actually started talking, and got one look at your amazed face, something in his chest jumped a little. you also didn't really pay much attention to the kid at first, beyond his usefulness to you. but once he started talking... something about his passion for such a mundane thing (to you) was so endearing. you were certain that you just fell in love.

[lcs-library]

can i ask for C,D,E,I and J of the alphabet with omi fushimi please :3

Yes, I’d love to, although this request game isn’t actually the one I’m running right now. Before you request next time, please be sure to look at my pinned post for the current request game and my rules/boundaries. Thank you!!

Request rules

Current request game

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

📷Hello??? Have you looked at this man?? His hugs n cuddles are probably PHENOMENAL

📷I like to think he finds comfort in you playing with his hands because his younger brothers used to do it to him

📷BOOB PILLOW BOOB PILLOW BOO-

📷boobies<3

📷oh, I forgot there were questions to answer

📷YES he loves cuddling you just as much as you love cuddling him

📷he usually likes to lay on his back so you can put your head on his chest and listen to his heart <3

📷his arms lazily lay across your back as he lightly stokes up and down your spine, sending shivers down it

📷With lots and lots of soft kisses all across your face and neck<3

📷Often times, it’s when youre trying to talk, too.

📷But only when youre trying to talk about something that stresses you out

📷he lets u vent of course, but if you’re complaining about something petty like your job and you’re clearly too tired to talk properly he’ll cover you in kisses.

📷“Shhh, if it’s that bad, you should just sleep, okay?” “Mmngh, fine.” “Good.”

📷HHH HES HOT

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they around the house?)

📷MALEWIFE

📷*ahem* yes. He wants to settle down with you, he thinks it’d be a dream.

📷And, admittedly, having to cook for only one other person instead of 23 would be nice.

📷He’s so good around the house have you SEEN him?

📷Of course, you do split chores and housework, because you’re a GOOD PARTNER DANGIT.

📷You take turns making dinner, too, but once a week, you make it together and it’s something you both look forward to.

📷It’s kinda obvious that Omi is clearly comfortable in the kitchen, and he likes to guide you through techniques you don’t know.

📷it’s very sweet and you both enjoy it

📷 “Hey, if you wanna make this cut, you should do it this way.” Omi makes his way over to your small station with the cutting board and gently places his hands over yours to guide you. You blush, slightly backing into his torso, allowing him to take over your movements momentarily.

📷Once it’s fully cut, you notice that it’s much neater than if you’d have done it yourself.

📷“Oh…thanks.” “It’s nothing, dear. You know that.” He softly claims, his deep golden eyes gazing into yours as he gives you a quick peck to the forehead. “Keep it up.”

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

📷I’m honestly stumped on this one

📷He’d probably let you down gently, and he’d attempt to stay friends.

📷Depending on what your relationship was like, it could either work out or not.

📷but for some reason I feel like it wouldn’t

📷And that’s just because he’s such a romantic person that it would be hard to see you as a friend after being in love with you for so long.

📷and I can imagine it’d be tricky for you, too

📷okay this hurts I’m done

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

📷Oh, he’d DEFINITELY wants to get married and settle down, as I mentioned in D.

📷I think he’d want to wait at least 2 years after dating to marry.

📷He wants to be sure he would be okay living with you for so long and if the relationship stays stable.

📷he wants to secure his place before committing

📷And I can imagine that he doesn’t do anything super special when he proposes

📷I can imagine you’re just having a cozy night in, cleaning up dinner, and when you turn around from putting something away, he’s on one knee with a ring out.

📷He’d say nothing and let you process it until you realize what’s going on and accept.

📷Afterwards, you decide to wait to tell your family/friends and just enjoy the rest of your night watching a movie or something with this fluttery feeling in your heart.

📷yeah :)

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

📷He’s so RESPECTFUL

📷He probably thinks you’re just so perfect, and if you have other people in your life, that’s fine, everyone does and he understands that.

📷I physically can’t see him getting jealous, like, at ALL

📷So even if he was jealous, he’d not show it, nor would he do much about it.

[sly-writings]

Crush saying "I could kiss you right now"

Fandom: A3!

Pairings: Banri x reader / Azami x reader

Warnings: None

Reader: Gender Neutral

Banri

"What's stopping you?"

Leans closer your lips are practically touching

Pulls away then starts teasing you

Well if you really want to kiss him he's not gonna reject it

Next time you say it he's the one who's gonna kiss you

Azami

Immediately goes beet red

"Y-you only do that kind of thing when you're married!"

Azami's brain almost stopped working after you said that

Cannot perform a single word after

You laugh while he frowns his face still red

He actually wants to kiss you but he's too innocent for that

[citowon]

Beware of Dog 🍒 Taichi Nanao

c4tb0y0: Ahhhhh that last masumi fic + hc was so cute and funny! I loved it so much, could I please request hcs for taichi with a gn!s/o who looks very intimidating on the outside but really they are a big softie anyways please have a nice day, eat + drink lots and please stay safe! <3

WAAAAAH ya girl just got slammed with 4 essays due this week. it’s why i’m actually writing this at 5:24 am right now, actually, i really wanted to get my ideas out for this one and get it queued so i can concentrate on my work! thank you for your patience. this reader’s personality is one of my favorites that i’ve written, and i hope you enjoy this total sweetheart and everything they fight for. 🌟

not to be one of Those Bitches™ but i love water- i don’t drink soda, only coffee when i need the rush, and juice and lemonade as a treat. please make sure to drink at least one glass of water per meal everyone! ...though i will admit i’ve only eaten one meal today, i think, i lost count. and because these essays are rocking my shit and i wanted to get beware of dog up today i’m not sleeping tonight and i’ll just take a phat nap after class and i have to type quietly so i don’t wake up my light sleeper roommate... i’m getting off topic. sleepy wave is a little silly sometimes. a lot of times, really. please enjoy yourself.

word count: 9154

tags: fic, gender neutral reader, fluff, hurt/comfort, i wouldn’t call it angst but yeah, there’s a bit of angst in there, cursing,  physical violence (no weapons fistfight)

summary: As your relationship with Taichi deepens, you would go through hell and high water to protect the ones you care about, and the feeling is mutual.

Sakyo should’ve known something was wrong the second he saw Nanao on his phone.

Nanao was a lot of things; young, brash, excitable, but never inattentive. Ever since the first tech rehearsal of The Stranger, he never picked up his phone, even with all its vibrating. He said something about “getting into the zone,” and Sakyo respected his choice to avoid the distraction. Sakyo has never seen Nanao even considering going back on his word after over a year of productions in Autumn Troupe, which was something to be admired, especially with how flighty he could be off the stage.

He was so used to every other actor checking their phone, though, that when Nanao picked it up today thirty minutes before the curtain rose on Fiery Mantou Fist, he didn’t even bat an eye. Nanao’s eyebrows were furrowed together as he took a giant, puffy-cheeked breath and typed something in determination.

Then Sakyo carried on without a second thought. What, was he supposed to do something? He was a grown-ass man; it wasn’t his responsibility to psychoanalyze everyone he passed by. All he wanted to do was set the Mantou Fist scroll prop before the show. Sue him, he was focused on the wellbeing of the play.

And Nanao was in the right headspace as well during the show, but right after he thanked everyone who congratulated him, he sped through his post-show routine and went back to his phone, which is how Sakyo made the connection and put two and two together.

He loomed over Taichi’s shoulder, the younger actor still typing away with full attention on the screen. Sakyo spoke up. “Oi.”

“AAAAHHHH!”

Sakyo lurched back, ears ringing from the scream. Damn. Maybe Bon was onto something whenever he called Sakyo an old geezer; one more screech like that and his hearing would go out. Then he really was done for, and as much as the Director made him want to play for keeps, this would be one bet he’d have to tap out on.

“It’s not what you think! I promise! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m-” Nanao swiveled in his chair, his face aghast and eyes riddled with fear, until he wasn’t. He blinked and his face reset, glancing at Sakyo with boyish, though minimal, guilt. “Oh, sorry, Sakyo! I didn’t see you there. Did you need something?”

Sakyo pinched his nose. His ears were still ringing. This was even worse than the last time someone fired a gun point blank next to him (don’t ask). “What… was that? Is something wrong?”

“I get scared easily. Sorry! I was just about to go outside, actually.”

“...Right.” Sakyo’s brain was so scrambled, even his common sense eluded him. “Don’t be out too late.”

“I won’t! I’ll be back before you know it!”

Sakyo just watched him leave as he pieced his thoughts back together.

Settsu piped up during the stunned silence. “Hey, Sakyo, real quick question. What the hell was that?”

“I don’t know,” he said lamely. “Do you think he’s in trouble?”

“He seemed out of it,” Hyodo chimed in. “He looked… worried?”

“If you’re not sure, then keep your mouth shut.”

“Like you would know.”

“I sure would! I’m great at reading people.”

As Settsu and Hyodo continued to bicker- really, it was only a matter of time before they started- Azami spoke up. “Well, I’m concerned. He looked like he was about to shit himself.”

“Maybe he is in trouble,” Fushimi wondered aloud.

That was all it took for Sakyo to get his head back in working order. Fuck. Fuck.

Fuuuuuuck.

He got complacent. Even after Azami’s abduction, he got complacent. Nanao was a good kid, and athletic enough to keep up with Autumn Troupe with ease, but he was small, and honestly, a little stupid. Of course he would be the glowing neon target on Autumn.

Was someone trying to fuck with Mankai again? Worst case scenarios drove through his mind. Nanao being blackmailed. Nanao in a street deal. Nanao as leverage- fuuuuck. What if an enemy family figured out the connections between Ginsenkai and Mankai? Taichi was a member close to Sakyo and the least capable in a fight. What if this was a ploy to start a gang war?

This needed to stop. This needed to stop before it even started.

Sakyo turned on his heel, voice unemotive but blood boiling. “I’m going to follow him.”

“Call me if anything’s wrong. I’ll check on him,” Fushimi called out.

Oh, if only something was just simply wrong.

Sakyo wished something was just simply wrong.

He cased the joint branching out- and found him in an alley relatively close to the perimeter. This was good news. Staying close to home turf meant he only needed to grab Taichi, sprint back to the theater, and then the abductors wouldn’t dare try entering and exposing their identity unless they were real stupid.

He clung to the wall, watching the interaction out of the corner of his eye. Taichi’s hair made him stick out like a sore thumb, but in front of him, someone virtually unnoticeable. Average.

So why did they carry themselves like a wolf with its claws wrapped around a deer?

Young. Young like Taichi, but their presence was so much bigger. Their face tightened into sharp features sculpted by the shadows of the alley. Taichi stared up at them in reverence.

Not flighty enough to be a thief, not charismatic enough to be a scammer. Yakuza, probably. Fresh meat. Too hopped up on the movies to realize it’s not all blood, guns and girls. No self-respecting seasoned family member would pull a stunt like this right next to the theater. Dumbass didn’t even know how to carry out an abduction.

Whispering. Sharp enough to register, quiet enough to be indecipherable. The mini-gangster stepped closer to Taichi. When they approached Taichi shivered and Sakyo saw red.

Time to intervene. Sakyo crossed his arms as he strode to the opening of the alley. “You got a problem with our man?”

“Sakyo-”

But they stepped forward before Taichi could call out his name, and held a dark-sleeved arm out to block him. “The fuck do you want?”

“I could ask you the same thing. Let him go.”

The corner of their mouth rose, flashing bared fangs. “Better idea, you turn around and forget you ever saw us.”

Sakyo rolled up his sleeves. “You wanna see yourself bleed?!”

“Bring it! I’m not letting him get hurt-”

“Stop!” Taichi yelled with his whole body. He sprinted forward, past the abductor and between the two. “Please don’t fight! Stop!”

“Outta the way before you get hurt!”

“Let me handle this myself!”

Despite their protests Taichi grabbed a hand from either person and smacked them together, forcing them into a handshake. “Sakyo! This is Reader! They’re the one I’ve been talking about!”

The gangster- Reader’s- hand went from tight fist to loose. Sakyo watched their stone-cold exterior fall to just plain dumbfoundedness.

Which was perfectly understandable, mind you. Sakyo opened and closed his mouth like a fish, trying to figure out something to say.

So Taichi just threw his hands in the air in a half-hearted razzle-dazzle move. “Suuurprise?”

Sakyo settled on, “It’s a… pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise?” Reader limply shook his hand. ”I’ve seen your shows. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you. You look a lot paler in person.”

“People look different under stage lighting.”

“Sorry. My bad. Sorry.”

Reader hadn’t broken the handshake yet.

“I heard a lot about you from Nanao,” Sakyo said. “I hope you’re taking care of him. For your sake.”

“Sakyo, please don’t threaten my partner,” Nanao whined.

Reader nervously laughed. What a contrast to their demeanor. “It’s understandable. I’ve also heard about Autumn Troupe. Thank you for taking care of him.”

“You’re welcome.”

Reader still held Sakyo’s hand in theirs, but didn’t even bother to continue shaking. This had to be one of the worst alleyway confrontations Sakyo’s ever had in his career.

Nanao scratched the back of his head and turned to the other actor. “Are they looking for me?”

“Not once I get back.”

“Okay, cool. You see, I was actually in the middle of something…”

Actually, make that the worst alleyway confrontation Sakyo’s ever had in his career. Forget mortified, Sakyo felt just plain gross. Reader covered their face with their hands.

“I’ll just tell them you’re fine,” he said, then reconsidered. “You are fine, right?”

“Yes! Oh my god. Totally fine, I swear.”

“I’ll take my leave then.” Sakyo toyed with his glasses. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Reader.”

“Likewise,” Reader mumbled.

“I’ll be back soon, Sakyo.”

“...Bye.”

Sakyo couldn’t walk away fast enough.

“Haha.”

Taichi stared off into the brick wall behind him and couldn’t help but awkwardly laugh. “Hahaha. Sorry. I didn’t expect you to meet Sakyo like that…”

“It’s-it’s fine. He was going to meet me sooner or later…”

But that really had to be one of the worst ways to go about it, wasn’t it?

“He’s a good guy. Really! I know he seems scary. It’s because he is. He’s actually really scary. But only when he wants to be! Which is often, but that isn’t the point. He’s just... looking out for me.”

His gaze darted to you, teal eyes full of worry. You reached for his face and kissed him on the lips.

“I know,” you said, voice stuttering. “It’s okay. I’m okay. I… I just d-didn’t expect it. That’s all. Really.”

“I didn’t expect that either!”

“Yeah, I didn’t either.”

“No, not the Sakyo thing, I mean the… the thing that...” Taichi waved his hands around, trying to figure out the word. But it never came to him, so he just decided to wrap an arm around your neck, lead you closer, and kiss you back.

This boy really was going to be the death of you, huh?

When he pulled back, his smile was genuine. Small and sweet, cheeks flush and light with a sigh that soon escaped him. Oh, the things you would do to never let that smile falter. You’ve been dating for some time now, but the feeling’s always been there, flighty in the beginning, but easing into a comfortable, mutual love.

So you held him tight in your arms and said what was on your mind: “I love you.”

His head tilted to perch on your shoulder, and the arm that was already around your body rested along your neck. “I love you too.”

Oh, what you wouldn’t do to protect that love.

Ding-dong!

Your hand retreated the second the doorbell rang, and your mind ran through every hot romance tip you skimmed over back when you and Taichi first started dating. Your relationship started with two inexperienced people relying on teen magazines and dating advice sites, but it was awkward, and soon abandoned for the comfort of your prior friendship, but like, with kissing and flirting and stuff. Affection was casual and easily earned, and Taichi’s antics taught you long ago that you didn’t have to be composed in front of him; he loved you all the same.

But, well, this visit wasn’t exactly for Taichi’s eyes only.

Noise echoed through Mankai Company. You could hear shouts and conversations resonating through the halls and leading outside- not exactly enough to earn a noise violation, but at that volume where you know the neighbors have considered it.

Chest out, back straight, don’t fidget and don’t slouch. Taichi always insisted on escorting you home after a date, but you’ve never returned the favor. ‘It’s like meeting the parents,’ he said once on a coffee date, flustered and staring into his latte. ‘I’m sure you’ll meet them some day! But let’s not do that now!’

That was a few months ago. He requested you meet him at the dorms so he could escort you to a bowling alley arcade, but it was about the same distance from the dorms as it was to your house. Does that mean he wanted to show you off to his troupe? Does that mean he loves you? You knew that, you’ve exchanged the words with him countless times before, but is there another degree above just love? Did something shift in your relationship, and was it for the better or a step back? Did you mess up something? You hoped not. You really didn’t want to mess up with Taichi. You didn’t want to mess up in general, really, but not with Taichi, anyone but Taichi.

No one opened the door yet. You should ring the bell again.

Ding-dong!

“COMING!”

That was… decidedly not Taichi. You could hear heavy clunking against the wood floor as someone approached the door. Was the floor always that loud? Maybe these dorms were older than you thought.

“Mankai Company!” The door swung open. “Do you need…”

You stared down at a head of green hair. His chin rose as he met the eyes of an absolute beast of a person towering over him, stiff as a board and frightening as frozen hell, even with the little bouquet of flowers in their arms.

He squeezed his lips together before he finished the thought. “Do you need something?”

“I’m looking for Taichi.”

“The dumb dog?”

Ouch. You winced for Taichi. You noticed the teen in the threshold tremble, and held back a huff. Great work, Reader, you already scared one of the actors Taichi lived with before you even got his name.

He forced a stiff upper lip. “I’ll get him.”

Then he turned on his high heel- high heels indoors? Now that was extra- and shut the door. You watched him briskly walk through the window until he was out of view.

Well, you already blew it! Might as well relax.

You told yourself that, but while your body rested, your head was anything but relaxed. What if that guy was Taichi’s best friend in the whole entire company and you lost his approval just then? You didn’t want him to choose between his best friend and his partner. You’d feel awful if he had to.

You sighed, and looked down at the pansy bouquet in your arms for comfort. It was less of a bouquet and more of a bundle, with small blooms and no filler flowers, but the petals varied from bold white to crisp blue. You didn't know if Taichi had a favorite variety, but these were the brightest of the bunch, and Taichi deserved flowers as beautiful as him.

The door opened once more, and you straightened up, but dropped your gaze to meet the eyes of the boy that you scared off, or maybe even your boyfriend. After all, they were both small enough you had to lower your neck to make eye contact with them.

Instead you were greeted by a tight white shirt outlining absolutely shredded abs. You cast your eyes up and nearly balked at the glaring face that looked up at you. The man was six feet of pure muscle, still not tall enough to look down on you, but massive enough to overpower you. His stare was downright ghastly, only accentuated by the smear of black grease on his cheek, and under his fingernails, and… pretty much everywhere, actually. He smelled like smoke, sweat, and oil.

He scrunched up his nose. You felt a shiver run down your spine. “You got beef with Taichi?”

“No! No beef!” You nearly dropped your flowers, but forced yourself to be strong. “I’m here to pick him up.”

You scowled, hoping it would be enough to get this guy to step down. He scowled back. Great, now you were starting to understand what it was like to be on the receiving end of an intimidating face. You wanted to cry.

“For what?” Big Guy said. His voice was low like rolling thunder.

“A date.” You crossed your arms, growing defensive. “He told me to meet him here-”

“You’re Reader?”

“You know me?”

Big Guy averted his eyes. Was he embarrassed? “I’ve heard your name.”

“Oh. I’m his partner. How’d you know my name? Does he talk about me?”

“Uh…”

Sakyo walked back into the dressing room. They had already struck the Mantou Fist set, and in the corner all their costumes were neatly hung up on a rolling rack.

Fushimi practically pounced on him the second he entered the room. “You didn’t call me back. Is Taichi okay?”

“Settle down, Fushimi. He’s fine,” Sakyo said.

“What happened?”

Maybe in another world, he would’ve been more sympathetic. Had it been earlier, certainly, he’d try to cover for Nanao. But it was late and Sakyo was tired and Bon was going to throw a fit about wrinkles if he didn’t get his beauty rest anytime soon.

“He’s busy. He needed privacy with Reader.”

No one really broke the pregnant pause that came after. On one hand, good thing he was safe, but on the other...

“Good for him,” Settsu finally said, surprisingly quiet, like he just wanted to gloss over that fact. The others matched his volume.

“That’s good.”

“Yeah, good for him.”

“Gross, you’re a voyeur. Barf.”

“...Yeah,” Big Guy finally said.

“Huh.”

“Come in.”

“Okay.”

That’s how you found yourself sitting in the Mankai Company lounge across Big Guy, who fetched High Heels along the way, the latter incoming with a pot of tea and cups.

“I’m Reader,” you said. Someone had to start the conversation, after all. You weren’t good at it, but it was a start.

“I know,” Big Guy said.

“I didn’t. Why didn’t you lead with that?” High Heels placed one of the cups in front of you, steam rising out from the ceramic. “I wouldn’t have gotten Juza to shoo you away if I knew you were the dumb dog’s partner.”

“Sorry.” You gently placed your pansies on the table, careful not to crush any of the petals, and wrapped your hands around the cup. “Wait, I was being shooed?”

Juza raised his hand to apologize. “Yuki thought that if someone tough like me greeted you, you wouldn’t hurt Taichi.”

“But I don’t want to hurt Taichi,” you said, crestfallen. You grew up tall, big and menacing, and you knew what a mysterious (read; shy) demeanor did to already established rumors, but still, you were taken aback. “I wouldn’t even think about it.”

Yuki poured Juza some tea. “We had a scare a few months ago. Sakyo said he thought the dog got caught up in a yakuza affair. Alleyway abduction or something.”

“Was it during Mantou Fist’s run?”

Juza and Yuki traded a knowing look. The former nodded.

“That was me.” You stared at your tea. “I just wanted to say hello and congratulate him. Sorry. Everyone thinks I’m a gangster, but I’m not. I promise. I’m not a bully or a punk either. I don’t do hard drugs, and I definitely don’t deal them either. Oh, on that subject, I don’t drink. I’m not a criminal, and I don’t pickpocket-”

“Do people really think that of you?”

“Yeah,” you said, and you stared at Juza when he said it in sync with you. “You too?”

“I still get punks tryin’ to pick a fight with me.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

He waved a hand. “It happens.”

...To people with unfairly scary faces, sure, but that still didn’t mean he deserved to get caught up in fights!

Yuki sipped his drink. “For the record, If Juza has that reputation but acts like a sloth all day, then you’re probably okay with me. I don’t care about your image.”

“That’s good. I thought I scared you earlier.”

“I was not. Scared. Got it?” Yuki gave you a murderous glare that made you sink in your seat, but his ears were red. “The point is, Taichi really likes you. So unless you screw up real bad, you’re fine in my book.”

“But if you try to hurt him, you’re gonna have to go through us,” Juza said.

You and Juza were kindred spirits, you could already tell, and both suffered from being too naturally intimidating for your own good, but jeez. The way he leered at you when he said that made you feel like you were doomed to a Mankai firing squad execution if you ever made a misstep.

“Trust me. Whatever you think he’ll do, I’ll make it worse,” Yuki threatened. The dryness in his voice made Juza look like a Pomeranian.

“Okay,” you whimpered. “I will not do that. I will literally do anything but that.”

“Good.” The corners of Yuki’s mouth turned into a smile, but the way he said it made it so much more chilling.

“...Stop hazing Taichi’s partner.”

“Guhwuh,” you squawked.

Look. It wasn’t exactly a fine moment. You know this, and you aren’t ashamed to say you were scared, because really, who wouldn’t be when a strange new voice calls out from behind you and you turn around and literally not even a foot away is some rando with snowy white hair over one eye like a 2005 emo kid that somehow managed to sneak up on you despite being on edge this entire time and also up against a wall?

You digress.

“We’re just having a chat. The dumb dog said he’ll be downstairs in two minutes.”

“That’s fair. I was kind of early anyways, so it’s only natural he’s not ready yet…”

You trailed off, but the man continued. “He’s happy, Reader. He always is but he’s truly happy he met you. Don’t disappoint him.”

Juza may be a Pomeranian, and Yuki made your blood run cold, and it might’ve just been because of how caught off-guard you were, but this guy just won an Academy Award for Scariest Shovel Talk.

Then he had the audacity to yawn (rather cutely, you might add) and drink the rest of Juza’s untouched tea. “...Juza, how’s your bike?”

“Omi said there was a problem with the tank, but it’s a simple fix once he gets a replacement part. Tasuku’s driving to find a store that sells them right now.”

“How long has he been out?”

“Since noon?”

“That’s a long time.”

“Yeah. But he’s determined. Says he really wants to get this done today.”

“And Omi?”

“Trying to plug the leak.”

“That’s good.”

“Why?”

“There’s no one to stop me if I do this.”

You were about to ask what ‘this’ was when the man stuck out a half-hearted peace sign, shut his visible eye, and fell backwards. You jumped out of your seat to help him, but his back arched over the sofa and sent him somersaulting over the sofa, and he landed face-down perpendicular to the cushions.

You were speechless. “What the- oh my god. What just happened? Is he okay?!”

“It happens.” Yuki waved a hand dismissively.

“But- but he just-”

“It happens,” Juza repeated. “Hisoka does that a lot.”

“I- wh- um.” The man, Hisoka, let out a giant snore. You slowly sunk back into your seat. “...Okay.”

“Are these for the dog?” Yuki asked.

You shifted your gaze to where Yuki’s clear-coated fingernail was pointing. It was your flowers. “Um! Yeah! They are! I garden, you see, a lot really, it’s my hobby. But I’m not very good at it. They aren’t that pretty. I didn’t do a good job of fertilizing them last time I planted. You can see blemishes on this petal. And this one, too.”

“They’re his favorite flowers, you know,” Yuki said.

“Um, yeah.” You calmed yourself after your nervous rambling. “Yeah, I know.”

“Do you have any other varieties in your garden?”

“Yes! Yes, actually. I- um, he loves them, you know, so when we started… you know, being serious, I really got into pansies? Since he likes them. So I just have a lot of them now. Just a lot. My garden’s a good size so I still have a lot of diversity between plants but I have a lot of pansies. I kind of collect different species of pansies now. I’m trying to get some black devils. They’re purely black, but they have a little yellow spot in the middle. Kind of weird but in a pretty way. They don’t sell them in local nurseries since they’re so weird, even though I think they’re cool. Oh, but I have almost every other color though. But only with the black blotch in the center. Makes them look really stark and pop-arty compared to all my other flowers. The ones without the blotch are nice, too, but they just look so plain. I like raising flowers that most people think are too, oough, it’s ‘out there,’ you know? It’s like Bob Ross. Get a little crazy with it, haha. My hot pink pansies always bloom a little late compared to the others, so they’re still budding. But the others are coming along nicely. You kind of have to have yellow pansies, right? They’re a classic. I’m a really nontraditional gardener but yellow pansies are just a must. But I also have burgundy. They’re really unique and kind of tiding me over while I search for black ones. I’ve got two different purples, too. One of them is really dark, like, royal purple, but the other is lavender? Like, not lavender lavender, that’s a whole other plant, but like, the same color, lavender. Oh, and I really love these multicolored ones I have, they’re kind of a burnt red but the further away you get from the center they turn yellow. It’s so cool. They look like fire.”

“You should show him the fire flowers,” Juza said. To be honest, you really spaced out there, and totally didn’t expect either of the actors to listen to you, but sure enough, they seemed interested enough. Even if Juza made your prized plants sound like Super Mario power-ups. “He likes them.”

“You think so? That’s really convenient actually. They aren’t in full bloom yet but they will be soon.”

Juza nodded. “Taichi’ll like ‘em.”

“I’ll like what?”

“Seriously, what is up with people sneaking up on me today,” you half-hissed, half-squeaked.

“Sorry, Reader!” Taichi wrapped his arms around you in a back hug. You couldn’t resist the warm smile that spread across your face. “Yuki, Juza, have you met Reader yet? We’re dating.”

Yuki scoffed. “We’ve already introduced ourselves, made plans to go out for brunch every day of the week, and shared all our embarrassing stories about you.”

“Yuuukiiiii. Don’t make me look uncool in front of my partner. We’re dating.”

“You just love saying that, don’t you.”

“Of course I do! We’re dating!” Taichi spun on his heel to approach Yuki and clapped either of his hands on his shoulders. Yuki smacked them off and dusted off his blouse. “This is Yuki! He’s super cute and younger than me but he’s my mentor! I help him sew all of our costumes!”

“You saying cute people can’t master their craft, intern?” Yuki said, the humorous lilt in his voice betraying the sharpness of his words.

He slid beside Juza next. “And this is Juza! He’s a total man’s man! He’s everything I want to be when I grow up!”

“Hey,” Juza said, like he hadn’t just spent the last ten minutes talking to you. Then he pushed Taichi away. “Don’t get close to me. I smell like a garage gym.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, buddy!” Taichi snapped and finger-gunned in one smooth motion, then held out a hand for you. “See you guys! I’ve got places to be with Reader! We’re dating!”

You took his hand, and he led you out of the lounge. “It was nice meeting you two.”

“Yeah, yeah. Hurry up and get out, I don’t like rom-coms,” Yuki teased.

“Have a good time,” Juza said.

“Gsnrk,” Hisoka snored.

Metal met soft earth, and cracked the layer above it.

Your shovel was firmly planted in the dirt, but you kicked your boot along the edge to really sink it in, and heft some soil out of the ground.

Wheeew. Your backyard looked like a flower prairie in a neighborhood pocket, with cobblestone pathways to traverse between flowers, fruits and veggies, and- you know you might be biased here- it really was one of the most beautiful things you’ve ever seen. But man, keeping the yard in tip-top shape was hard work.

You rolled your shoulders and stretched, taking in the not-too-searing sun. It was late morning, and you really wanted to get things done before the day grew much longer and you had an afternoon sun beating down on you as you worked. It would be best for Taichi, too.

You’re not totally sure why he was so interested in helping you garden. Not even thirty minutes after he arrived, he already threw his shirt off to cool down, and was currently inside the house so he could make you some lemonade. He said it was so digging wasn’t as much of a chore to you, and joked about something like ‘being a malewife,’ but you were pretty sure he just needed a moment to recollect himself in the air-conditioned home.

Well, no matter, these cherry tomatoes weren’t going to plant themselves. You brushed your hand over your forehead, wiping off the sweat that pooled along it, and shook your head to flick back your damp hair. As you pushed it back, you noticed Taichi standing smack dab in front of the door, a tray with glasses and a pitcher of lemonade in his hands.

“Hey!” You waved at him. The shovel was still set under the earth by your boot. “I’m gonna take a break. Let’s chill out for a second.”

He nodded, and you led him to one of your favorite places in the garden: the trellis bench. It seemed sparse when you first bought it, forged with thin cast iron bars that kept two seated and not much else, and a sweeping arch above the bench fortified with extra iron bars. Not that long ago, your parents once dragged you along to a winery. You couldn’t drink any of the wines, but you explored the vineyards instead, and were greeted by pergolas everywhere, with curls of grapevines along the wooden shaft. They inspired you to start your own little grapevine, and now, your grapes had already gone through two or three harvests as they tangled and twisted through the bars of the trellis. Right now, there were a few tendrils of flowering buds, but you could see the beginnings of grape bunches along the vine and metal, bright green and small.

And, as mentioned earlier, the bench kept two seated and not much else. You slid a nearby iron table by the bench, and gestured to Taichi to place the tray down. He did so.

When you sat you brushed against Taichi’s thigh, and huffed out a sigh. “I work out here all the time but I keep forgetting how easy it is to get winded.”

“Yeah,” Taichi said. He took a big gulp of lemonade.

“Tough work, right? It’s really not as fun as it looks. You know you don’t have to garden with me. I’m sure it’s not much of a fun date idea, and I’m kind of gross right now but if you just want to hang out inside-”

“Nope! It’s fine! I’m totally fine!” He finished the lemonade and immediately started pouring himself another serving. “I can handle it! Yep! No issues here!”

Your eyes lowered as you looked down at a cobblestone path and the greenery rising from between the cracks. “Okay. But you’d tell me if you don’t like it, okay? You’re really quiet today.”

“D-don’t worry about it! It’s not that important...”

“But you know me. I’m horrible at not worrying.” You held the hand resting in his lap. “Whatever it is, I’ll help you through it. I promise I won’t judge you, and if you just need to talk about it, I’m available too-”

Taichi blurted out, “It’s because you’re hot.”

Whatever you were thinking, it dissolved into nothing as your mind went blank. Taichi slapped a hand over his mouth and averted his eyes. You stared at the ground harder.

“I’m what?” You finally asked, still in disbelief.

Taichi’s voice was muffled through his hand. “‘S b’cus mure hot.”

HUH??? You thought.

“Huh?” You said.

“You're hot! I’m sorry!”

Your face blossomed bright red. “Th-th-thank you? I- um? Thanks? Er, why are you apologizing? Did I do something wrong-“

“No! No! You’re fine. It’s me. That was weird, I’m sorry-“

“It’s alright, I’m…” you smacked your mouth, hoping the dryness would fade and you’d make a coherent sentence. “…Just taken aback?”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. That was really out of line-“

“It’s okay? I’m not against it. I’ve just never… thought of myself as…” You cleared your throat. “No one’s ever told me that.”

“But you are.”

“I mean, not really. Not compared to other people.”

“Really? Never? Reader-“ Taichi grabbed your hand with both of his. “Reader, you definitely are.”

“But I scare everyone I meet.”

“But you’re the sweetest person I know.” He squeezed your hand. Your heart jumped. “You’re so pretty. I love you.”

You turned to face him, your head still spinning. “You’re serious? You really mean that?”

“I mean it.” He closed the distance and pressed a kiss to your hair. “I love you.”

Another on your forehead. “I love you!”

Nose. “I-“

Cheek. “Love-“

And Taichi held your warm face in his hand with an even warmer smile, and the last word, your name, on his tongue until you took it from him with lemon on your lips.

You were no good with words, but touch made it easier. Your hand trailed along his shoulder, barely hovering over bare skin brushing, shiny and sticky under the sun. Quiet support; I trust you. His lips moved in tandem with yours, soft and fond and appreciative. Tart, but traces of sugar clung to his breath. Poetic, hm? He was sweet on you, so open to everything that made you his Reader from your flaws to your strengths, and the type of person to welcome those attributes without question.

You took his bottom lip between yours and gently nibbled as he ran his hand through your hair and brought you closer. You continued wrapping around his lip and his hand tightened, clutching onto you like you were all he needed, and you fell in love all over again. I couldn’t have done it without you.

When you ran out of breath, you rested your forehead against his, eyes still closed.

“Thank you,” you whispered, so light and quiet, like simply speaking would break the calm. “Thank you for letting me love you.”

It’s late when you leave the karaoke club, red-faced with exertion and your hoarse voice begging you to stop, but your smile stretches to either side of your face, constantly trying to widen more than it can as you laugh.

Because it’s late, and karaoke gets you in a devil-may-care state of mind, and, well, Taichi is holding your hand, with your palm untouched but his fingers laced between yours, loose between the knuckles but refusing to break away.

It’s so amazing that he still makes you feel like this. Time has passed. The novelty of a relationship must’ve died down long ago, you’re sure of it now, and it’s no secret your feelings are reciprocated, but it’s something in the bounce in his step and the sunshine underneath his voice and the glitter in his eyes that makes your breath threaten to hitch every time he calls your name.

You’ve said it so often, but it never ceases to amaze you. This is love. This is love!

“It’s love!” You tug Taichi close to you, and bump against his arm with your own. “I love you.”

“Wh-! You can’t just say things like that out of nowhere, you’re going to make me blush!”

As if he wasn’t already. The lighting is dim on this street, but his voice is slightly shaky. You can tell. You drown in it every day you see his face.

Unfortunate, really. If you weren’t so immersed in it all, you would’ve noticed them approach before the leader did.

A young man stood before you, maybe a year or two older than you. His pullover hoodie covered his hair and left his face in a dramatic shadow. Classic look, but frankly, you thought, if you’ve seen one delinquent in a hoodie, you’ve seen them all, and yes, these were delinquents. You can tell by how he looked you up and down with a smug leer.

“Oi, it’s the giant from O High,” he called out. You instinctively moved one foot forward, and held an arm out to block him from Taichi. “You got some nerve stepping on our turf.”

“I’m going home,” you said.

“Should’ve gone a different route.”

“I go where I want. Leave us alone.”

“Look, we’ve got a tough guy!” The leader threw his head back like it was a joke. The hood slipped off his head. “I’ll leave you alone if you pay for trespassing on our territory. Sound good?”

You scanned the street with the corner of your eye. It was a small gang of delinquents, an even five including the leader, all eyes on you like a rat in a cage.

Taichi murmured into your ear. “Are you okay with this, Reader? What do you need me to do?”

“Nothing yet. I’ve got this. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Shut the hell up already. Give me your money, or it’ll go to your hospital bills once I’m done with you.” The delinquent sneered, black hair falling into his face, and then looked down at Taichi. “I’m talking to your little boy toy too.”

You didn’t even think as your gaze went dagger-sharp and steely, and stepped forward once again. “Don’t you talk to him like that.”

He shoved you back. You stumbled. “Awww. Did I hurt your feelings? What’re you gonna do about it-”

Taichi dropped low and swept the fucking leg.

While you regained your balance, the leader sure as hell didn’t. His ankle buckled and sent him to careening to the pavement while Taichi rose. “Reader, behind you!”

Your body moved before your mouth did, and you smashed a fist into one of the goons now approaching. “Taichi, what the fuck.”

He sent another kick up to the sky this time with a loud smack of rubber against flesh. You dodged the delinquent that staggered from the blow and toppled right next to you. “I learned kung fu for Chan in Mantou Fist!”

Goon #3, an ugly dog with chapped lips, tried to take advantage and hit you while you sidestepped, and you went on the defensive. “Taichi, what the fuck!”

“It was for acting!” Goon #3 landed a blow to your shoulder. A heavy thrumming pain spread across your arm as you hissed through clenched teeth. “I have an excuse!”

He dove to avoid a tackle from the biggest punk, then stuck a foot out to trip him. Hilariously, it worked. You swiped Goon #3 into Goon #5 and they both floundered as they smacked into each other. “That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it!”

You spun on your heel to watch Taichi knee his opponent, and the leader slam you down. You sprawled onto the pavement, fresh blood searing against your back. Strands of black hair broke your vision as he pulled back and punched, over and over again, as you grappled and tried to throw him off.

You flung yourself to the side, disorienting him enough to kick him in the shin just before he shoved you aside. While you regained your bearings and stood, he did as well, and spat on the ground.

Wordless punch to his face. You didn’t like to fight, and maybe everyone kept challenging you because you aimed for the face, but nothing quite gets the point of ‘leave me alone’ across quite like a crushed moneymaker.

Someone behind you grabbed at your hair and sent you teetering back like a chair on its hind legs. You thrashed, but long nails kept you restrained while he charged a punch. “Get away from me!”

A flash of red and royal blue crossed your sight and twisted the bully’s arm. With his free hand, Taichi swiveled. Quick backhand to the face, hard chop to the hip, then he threw another kick, this one a blow against the leader’s stomach that knocked the air out of him. He bought you enough time to finally break free, and you threw a hook to your assailant. She held the nose you struck, and gave you the opportunity to fling her into the pile of Goons #3 and #5 just as they were reorienting themselves.

You ran to help Taichi, currently in a heated dodging stalemate with the leader, before the big guy threw himself at you. You cried out as he pinned you, and kneed his groin just as you fell to the floor. You swallowed down the stinging of the cuts on your knuckles, and slammed two punches to his chest, hoping it was enough to keep him down as you returned your focus to the lone bully remaining.

The leader huffed as he shot one, two punches out, retract, one, two punches. Taichi found himself in a pattern- left, right, sidestep, left right, sidestep, left, right, sidestep. He was getting tired, but so was the punk. It was stamina. He wasn’t muscular or beefy or really all that tough, but he was athletic, he’s worked hard, he can do stamina.

Left, right, sidestep. Left, right, sidestep. Left, right-

“Guhh,” Taichi gasped, pain blossoming from his side.

The wild look in the leader’s eyes went bloodthirsty, but he was slow returning his fist, and in a rush of now-or-never Taichi drew forward and shoved him away-

Just as Reader body-checked him into the bush on the other side of the sidewalk.

Taichi slapped a hand over his mouth on instinct. The shock was starting to set in as he watched you stumble to your feet, shaking out your head and bouncing on your feet as you stood tall.

A groan sounded from the hedge, but you snatched his hand before he could ask any of the questions spinning through his head. “We need to go.”

“Wo-rd?” His voice cracked. Damn. The most cinematic moment of his life and his voice cracked as he started to run.

“We’re going!” You broke into a sprint, and led him away from the faded light of the street.

You only stopped running when you ran into a gas station door. Literally. Like, you ran into the door expecting it to be a push, and nearly fell over as you realized moments too late it was a pull when you crashed into the glass with a hefty thump.

Taichi squeaked and pulled the door open as you shook off the incoming bruise. His breath was short and heavy, and you couldn’t blame him even if you wanted; your adrenaline was dying down, and the blunt soreness was already starting to set in. The clerk at the counter cast a strange look at you and Taichi as you held onto each other like crutches, and likely with a few bruises formed.

“What?” Taichi asked, his voice spacious and confused. He followed you as you strode down the first aid isle like a lost puppy. “What just happened?”

“I-” You grabbed a pack of band-aids and some painkillers. “It was self-defense. Either we defended ourselves or they beat and steal from us.”

“I know that! I know that. But what-” you ordered two all-day breakfast tacos, one Icee and one Coke. He continued as you paid. “Does that happen to you often?”

“Yeah,” You said. Forlornness settled in your face as you ordered an Uber on your phone. “It does. People think I’m some wannabe delinquent because I’m so big and tough and because I’m such an introvert.”

“Was that what happened?”

“They jumped us.”

“Honesty, Reader. Please. I recognized them from O High.” You and Taichi leaned on a wall as you gave him one of the tacos and the Coke. Dead fluorescent light highlighted the shadows on his face and the scrapes on your knuckles. “I see them skipping class all the time. Were they trying to mess with you?”

“...I didn’t recognize any features. But you’re sure? They must’ve followed me.” Your face fell. “I’m sorry about this.” You reached a hand out to hold him, but the overhead lights highlighted the not-quite-dry blood on your hand.

So you retracted it. Touch was easier than words, but- but- but you didn’t protect Taichi. How do you apologize for something so horrible?

“I’m sorry,” you said, voice wet. Tears prickled in your eyes and caught onto your lashes, but didn’t give you the solace of falling. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I-I’m sorry.”

You returned home quietly, Taichi in tow, and led him to your bed while you gathered more first aid supplies and ice packs.

“It’s not that bad- ah!” You placed an ice pack over the bruise on Taichi’s side. “Cold!”

“It is that bad,” you said. “Ignoring even minor injuries deteriorates your health.”

“I can take care of it myself. You haven’t even looked at yourself, but you’re way more bruised than me.”

“But this is…” You licked your lips, hoping it’d rehydrate your dry mouth. “It’s normal for me. But was this your first fight?”

“Yes,” Taichi said.

“Don’t make it a habit.” You held his face, searching for cuts. “It’s not good for you. You see someone roll up their sleeves to fight you, you turn around and run. You understand me?”

“But they were going to hurt you.”

“But I don’t want them to hurt you.” Your lip trembled. “I don’t want anyone to hurt you. You haven’t done anything to warrant that, and you don’t deserve to get hurt, and no one is allowed to hurt you.”

“But what about you?” Taichi countered.

“People’ve wanted to punch me out for so long now. I’m used to it.”

“But you don’t deserve that either!” Taichi cried, then hushed after he remembered the late hour. “It doesn’t even matter that I don’t want to see you get hurt, because you as a person don’t deserve to get hurt.” He took your right hand off his cheek, looked at it, and reached for the box of band-aids. “You do this thing where you constantly put yourself down for the sake of following what everyone else says, even though the ‘everyone else’ that you listen to are all just bullies and deadbeats.”

He dug into your box of medicine, and fished out a bottle and some cotton. “You fell on concrete. Let me clean your scratches.”

A single nod from you, and he went to work wordlessly, the quiet only interrupted by your occasional hisses as the alcohol sunk into your tissue.

Then he dug into your box of medicine and pulled out an ointment buried deep within. “This prevents infections.”

“You know a lot about first aid,” you observed, not quite courageous to say anything else.

It was the first time since the fight that you saw him smile, small but focused, as he held your hand and lightly applied the ointment along the web of scratches. “I don’t act like it often, but I’m still a big brother. I take care of people.”

“That’s kind.”

“I guess it is. I spend so much time caring for other people that it becomes second nature.” He wrapped gauze around the hand next. You didn’t even know you had gauze. “Wait, first nature. I get it mixed up all the time. But the point is that if I see someone I love in trouble, I want to help, simple as that.

“Researching kung fu was for role study, really. But really learning the techniques and moves, and then putting them on stage, it was…” He struggled to find the word. “It felt like what I was doing was right. You know? I’ve spent so much time surrounded by my friends who are the toughest guys I know, and my siblings who are learning to stop crying when they get hurt, and you, someone who is so strong and patient, that I realized how out of my league everyone was compared to me.

“I didn’t realize until after learning how to fight that it made me feel like I can help people before they need it. It’s prevention.” He tied off the gauze, and inspected your hand. When he couldn’t identify any more cuts, he pressed his lips to your fingers, careful not to touch the injury, and started the process all over again on your left.

“Fighting isn’t something to look forward to.”

“It’s not like I want to. I was scared when that guy was getting up in your business. And when I realized you were about to throw hands? Terrified. I realized then and there they were going to hit you if I didn’t hit first.”

“So you hit first,” you said.

“Well, I say first, but it was really second.” He laughed a broken little laugh. “I know you don’t want to see me in danger, but the feeling’s mutual. I know I can’t always be there whenever someone tries to fight you- and it was my first fight- but it still hurts me to see you hurt.” He held your fingers to his lips again, and kissed properly this time, a small chu as he parted. “So if I can ever be there when you need me, I’ll help you. Because that’s love, and- and that’s because I love you.”

“Okay.” Your voice broke. Taichi was about to let go of your hand, but repositioned to squeeze. “Okay.” Impossible tears ran down your face, and you squeezed your eyes shut. “Taichi?”

“I’m here,” he said. His voice was quivering, too. “I’m here. I’m here.”

For the first time ever, you let your guard down in its entirety. You let out an ugly sob. Two arms wrapped around you tight, and when you hiccupped you could feel his body gasp and weep, and so you only sobbed louder. “I love you.”

❖ bonus ❖

“Thank you for watching!”

You’ve heard of thunderous applause, but this had to be a hurricane. Was it the audience size? Was it truly such a brilliant play? Both, probably. You settled on both, but if anyone asked, it was the latter.

The point was, even after the audience filed out of Mankai Theater, the clapping trailed behind you and through your head as you fought the current of people.

You were big, of course, and usually all these people would make you anxious, but you were more nervous about the bouquet in your hands staying safe than anything else as you held it over your head and weaved through the playgoers.

Taichi gave you instructions on where to find the dressing room, and you internally recited it like a pledge. Back wall, left corridor, turn left and it’s on your right. Back wall, left corridor, turn left and it’s on your right. Back wall, left corridor, turn left and it’s on your- found it!

You knocked on the door a healthy two times. Normal people knock twice, right?

You twitched. Fixed your jacket. Then stood up chest out and back straight, refusing to fidget and refusing to slouch.

Then you knocked one extra time. No one can blame you, okay? Three is a round and nice number.

But doesn’t it just seem like two knocks and one weird knock? There were zero signs of the door opening. You cleared your throat, fixed your jacket again, and knocked three times.

Just as you lifted your hand from the final knock the door swung open, and you yelped a little bit.

“Mankai Company! Who am I…”

The woman on the other side tilted her head up slowly. Her big pink eyes went even bigger. “Can I. Um. Do you need anything?”

You bowed way deeper than you should have, and shouted, “Hello, I’m Reader, I’m here to see Taichi and congratulate everyone on a show well done!”

You rose with a bit of an embarrassed blush, but simply refused to be apologetic about your fast speech. Not right now, at least.

“Alright? Um. Be right back!” The lady slammed the door.

You wondered if this was another Yuki situation. What if that lady was Taichi’s best friend in the whole company-

You lightly smacked your cheek with your free hand. Dammit, Reader, you’ve already gone through this once! If you can handle a judgmental middle schooler you can handle a grown woman!

…That still didn’t prevent you from being a nervous ball of tension all the way until the door opened.

“You got beef with Mankai Company- oh. It’s you.” Juza, still in his stage costume, stood in the threshold. “Good to see you again, Reader.”

“The- the pleasure is all mine!”

“I like your flowers.”

“Thank you! I grew them myself!”

“Come inside.”

At least it was Juza on the other side of the door. You might be treading into unknown waters, but his familiar face made you feel a little calmer.

He led you through a turn in the corridor to a combination green room and dressing room area. A swathe of people- actors, you presumed- congregated here. You recognized Autumn Troupe in their costumes, and Yuki in the corner, but you could already place faces you’ve never seen to stories Taichi loved to tell about his family, the bleached blond guy next to Yuki being one of them, and another, the foreigner in the middle of a strangely captivating dance.

Then you made eye contact, and you could see Taichi’s gaze melt in real time.

“Guys.” Juza cleared his throat. “We have a guest.”

You placed your bouquet on the table beside Taichi, the glass vase lightly clunking against the surface. Your autumn harvest has been kind, and rows of various blossoms poured through the vase, all in shades of red, yellow, and orange. Sweeping stems of fern divided the tiger lilies from snapdragons, but most notable of all were the pansies that lined the majority of the arrangement, all in blended shades of wildfire red and yellow.

You met Taichi’s eyes again. His pinky wrapped around your hand, an unspoken I’m here.

So you breathed in, exhaled, and spoke. “Congratulations, everyone, the show was great. I’ve been told you’ve heard a lot about me? My name is Reader.”

You scanned the room, and wrapped your pinky around Taichi’s.

And then, you didn’t even think about it, but your smile shined. “It’s a pleasure to meet everyone!” 🍒

[h3art-n-s0ul]

A3 Boys' Colognes or Scents part 3

Autumn Troupe

(Please feel free to reblog and comment)

___________________________

Banri: Cedarwood and tea tree oil! He uses essential oils. (Or just grease. Greasebag Banri back at it again. Love the guy but B O Y he’s greasy)

Juza: Lavender and sweets! At first glance one would think he smells dark and manly, which he totally can if he wants to, but he prefers the smell of a lavender mist that Muku gave him, and has found that kids seem less scared of him when he smells like one of Omi's fabulous desserts.

Taichi: Blue Raspberry Jolly ranchers, and a hint of weed. :) Just a hint, though.

Omi: Baked goods! Most often scones (With hints of berries and cream) but has also been spotted smelling of cookies or vanilla bean.

Sakyo: On a bad day, hand sanitizer and money. On a good day, a deep, warm, earthy cologne and old books.

[finch-writes]

autumn troupe & back hugs

✧ summer troupe & reader / headcanons, fluff ✧ spring troupe / summer troupe / winter troupe

banri: a fiend, if only in private. has a reputation to maintain outwardly but he's a sucker for physical affection, presses his face into the back of your neck and just chills there when he needs a moment and he knows nobody else is around. makes snarky comments when you do it to hi,.

juza: a little awkward with the practise of it, but likes the concept and how it feels to hug you from behind. he's very solid and that's comforting, likes when you put your hands over his around your waist. remarkably chill with being hugged too, but prefers to be the one hugging.

taichi: also a little awkward but Enthusiasm Edition. pulls you backwards a little bit when he does pull you in for a hug like this. likes chilling like that while you talk about your days! on the flip side, hell yes he'd like a backpack hug, thanks.

omi: PRIME OFFENDER NUMBER TWO. THIS JACKASS (also affectionate) KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT HE’S DOING. sets his chin on your shoulder/head so he can see what you're up to and just chats while he has his arms around you, 100% aware you're a little distracted.

sakyo: no.* *i am mostly kidding, he's a very affection-behind-closed-doors person and is likely to just pull you into a hug properly if he wants one that badly. does not mind backpack hugs, again, as long as it's behind closed doors

azami: NO?* *if hand holding is for after marriage what makes you think you’re getting in hugging range?

[writer-akihiko]

mamaaaaa-SYSVDVGDJSB idk if you take requests 4 azami but uuuuu- im craving for fluff w him SJDHDHSHH i genuinely don't know what to add- bc i want u to surprise me :DD SJSJDJDH i never asked any request so this is a firstSGHDHD

Dense Confessions - Azami X Reader

Despite knowing Azami for over 4 years, you've never gotten along with him well. After being recruited by Yuki as his sewing helper, you met the actors around his age. Being one year older than Yuki, they treated you respectfully but somehow Azami Izumida was always the boy that ruffled your feathers.

It all started when you complained that it was such a pain to take his measurements since he was taller than you'd ever dream to be. You assumed he was older than you, but you certainly had the shock of your life when you found out that Azami was the same age as Muku and Yuki.

The constant bickering never ended with just the height teasing. Preference of movies, shows, even makeup styles. You two would always have a difference of opinion. Yuki didn't bother when you'd two argue, but Muku somehow ended up being the arbiter between you two.

Over the 4 years, Azami had never anticipated he'd manage to graduate. Sure he was a smart child, but his interest with his school peers never showed. Sure enough, his graduation day rolled around and he was unprepared. Sakyo and Izumi as his proud pseudo-parents would be there, but when you said you wouldn't come to his graduation, he felt frustrated for some reason.

Why would he? You only annoy him everyday, trying to prove that you were better than him, and you'd just hang out with other people which to be honest, annoyed him-

Why would that annoy him?! He slouched over the couch, smothering himself with a pillow in an attempt to rid of any thoughts of you.

"Hoi, Azami, move your long legs over. I'm trying to sit here."

It was none other than Yuki with a plate of snacks, with Muku behind him. The Summer Troupe must've been done with practice…

He huffed, shifting so that he was leaning his legs against the coffee instead. A cough from Yuki was already enough to warn him to move them to the floor. Muku was never one to pry, but Azami's heavy sighs bothered him enough.

"Azami… Are you alright?" He asked. Azami chucked the cushion pillow aside, gritting his teeth.

"She's not coming."

"H-huh?..."

"I'm talking about YN!" He huffed. "She said she wasn't coming to my graduation!"

"Didn't she say she had a date?"

~○~

"Just… Just don't go on a date him!" He exclaimed. Gosh, why was he feeling this way?

At this point your blood began to boil at Azami's antics. "What?! You're not my boyfriend so why would you tell me that?!"

"What if I am your boyfriend?!"

…

The awkward pause between you was interrupted by Azami's cough. "S-Sorry… I didn't…" Azami caught his words before saying it any further. "No, I actually mean it."

He took your hand in his, continuing his statement. "This whole time I've been trying to figure out why I was so angry when you were just going on with life. I didn't… I didn't mean it, some of those things I said…"

You hit Azami in the chest, with little tears about to slip from your eyes. "Azami… you idiot, you finally noticed that I like you too."

"R-Really?!"

"Oh just kiss you two!"

The two of you turned around and there were the younger Autumn Troupe and Summer Troupe hiding in the bushes miserably. You could see Yuki slap his hand over Banri's mouth. Azami, on the other hand, couldn't hold back his anger at his other troupe mates for ruining such a perfect moment…

Oh well, all's well that ends well…

[jjuzoir]

Tall Male MC | ft. Juza, Chikage, Banri, &  Masumi 

request: “helloooo im not sure if requests are still open and if they are: can you do juza, chikage, itaru, banri, misumi with a taller male mc (if ur not comfy with male then gn would be okie :)))) -🤡anon (can i use 🤡?) PS: if requests are closed pls feel free to ignore this ask or like- idk save it for when requests reopen? skjdkss sorry its my first time requesting 👉🏻👈🏻” from 🤡 anon!

warning: none!

a/n: hehe^ yes you can be clown anon! hehe** also i’m 100%% okay with male readers so don’t worry at all! i was super excited about this request ngl^^ i pumped it out faster than expected too lolol you’re alright too! requests are open so don’t sweat it !

— Juza

- Considering he’s one of the taller members of the company, he doesn’t pay much mind at first to your height — he only pays attention to it when he sees you standing next to Omi and seeing how close in height you two are.

- He doesn’t have to tilt his head much, but it’s kind of different to see someone taller than him other than Omi or Tasuku. He might ask you about your height, especially if you are taller than the previously mentioned pair, and if anyone’s ever tried picking a fight with you.

- He’d be kind of protective if anyone tried starting a fight with you based on your height, he knows it’s shitty when people start things with you about things you can’t control like your looks.

— Chikage

- He’s known his fair share of tall people, but it doesn’t mean he’s completely indifferent about it. He may tease you, mostly about meeting people even taller than you, but he doesn’t do it trying to hurt your feelings. He does find it funny when you’re standing next to the shorter members and might make a joke or two out of your expense - but he does find it quite a useful thing, to be tall, he doesn’t feel bad hiding things on the top shelves.

- He’s fairly tall himself, so it’s not like he’s got to break his neck looking you in the eye, but he might make a remark or two about how it wouldn’t kill you to try crouching down.

- Utsuki might try to play around about your height, sarcastic remarks about you being too tall for your own good or making jokes about needing to gift some of your height over to Sakuya or Muku.

— Banri

- He’s kind of pissed, he already doesn’t like not being one of the taller members (though you wouldn’t catch him dead admitting to it) but the fact there’s someone else taller than him? If you’re taller than Juza he’ll find it kinda funny, though he’ll get pissed if anyone mentions how he’d be shorter than the two of you since Juza is 2cm taller. After a while, he does grow used to it - he might even join on the teasing alongside Chikage.

- Unconsciously might try standing up taller when he sees you around, it’s kind of funny to see. He finds it kind of cool though, he knows he’s on the taller side - so seeing someone taller is always kinda nice for him, just… don’t make fun of him since he’s gone down on the tall-list. Will ask if his hair looks good from the top though, might even crouch so you can check well.

— Masumi

- He’s average height and a fair share of members are taller than him, but if you’re indeed taller than Juza then that means you’re at least +10cm taller than him. He finds it cool though, he doesn’t comment much on it — unless you play a role similar to Izumi too, which means he has a crush on you, and if that’s the case he will never shut up about your height.

- In the case he’s also got a crush on you, then he’ll be talking nonstop about how cool your height is and how you’re so much better than the other guys because you’re so tall and oh my god, has Masumi talked about how tall you are and how cool he thinks that is because he thinks it’s cool that you’re so tall.

- He might ask you random questions about your height and kind of… just, admire it? Kind of wishes he was as tall as you sometimes, he just finds it really cool. Like, really cool.

[a3-headcanons]

Hello! Oh, was your day bad? I hope tomorrow will be much better! Anyway, Could I request a Reader x a Character of your choice, Where the character has to introduce their s/o to their troupe? Please Take Care!

wahh thank you;; and this is a fun prompt! thank you! but now I have to make a choice aaaA

Sakyo + Introducing an S/O

“Sakyo, it’s fine,” You reassured him once more when you reached the Mankai dorms. “I’m sure they’ll like me just fine. Don’t fret so much, dear.”

“I know, it’s just...” Sakyo trailed off, almost uncertain. “I fear they’ll be rowdy. Especially the Autumn Troupe.”

“Hehe. It’s so nice to see you flustered for once.” You teased him, placing a kiss on his cheek. Sakyo made a face but he let a smile slip through. That quickly faded when you opened the door to find a bunch of people staring at you and Sakyo. 

“Frooch! When did you get a partner!” Taichi immediately started in on questioning the two of you, causing Omi to pull him back by his shirt collar. Taichi pouted and Banri smirked, causing Sakyo to glare at him. 

“Since a few months ago. Behave yourself.” Sakyo nearly snarled the last two words which caused you to laugh. The Autumn troupe all turned their heads towards you, where you were hiding your laughter behind your hand. 

“Sakyo, dear, it’s really alright. This isn’t nearly as bad as meeting your yakuza group.” 

This caused the rest of the troupe to pester Sakyo even more with questions like “You introduced them to the yakuza before us?!” and “What’s their favorite food?”, “Do they like games?”, “What about the rest of the company? What about the Director?” 

All in all, a very lively meeting. You secretly hoped there would be more in the near future - being a part of Sakyo’s life in every way was always thrilling. 

[rivalry-trope-enjoyer]

Autumn Troupe x Reader: First Kiss PT. 2

Has: Omi x Reader, Sakyo x Reader

Omi

You and Omi have been dating for a while, and came to you tired as hell one day but he kept on denying it.

He definitely deserved a rest, and coming to you was like a recharge for him.

Knowing this you had surprised him with his favorite dinner.

Sure some of the ends of your dish were burnt, you accidentally scorched your hand a bit in the process, and there was too much salt and pepper here and there, but nonetheless, it took effort to make.

When he arrived he was in shock. At first at a loss of words realizing you put so much effort to him coming to your house that it definitely made his entire day.

“Y/N...?”

“Hi, Omi! So... dinner’s a little burnt, and there were some issues with the stove so I had to fix it up, a bit, the tables aren’t made and-“

He did not care how imperfect you made it sound, what mattered was that you were here with him and he quickly pulled you into a loving and tired embrace where he rested himself over your shoulder.

“...Omi?”

“...”

“I know the dish might not be to your standards but-“

“I love you...”

He sounded so drained yet genuine when uttering those words, he was just glad to have been in your presence.

Still keeping you in his arms he looks at you and gives you the softest, feather-light kiss on the forehead with his hand on your cheek.

“You’ve gotta be the sweetest person I’ve ever met.”

He knew his way to sweet talking, but you never thought it could get you this flustered.

He peppered kisses around your face, each kiss causing you to turn a shade redder than before.

However just moments away from kissing your lips, he takes a small pause to just admire you.

“Are you sure I can...?” He doesn’t finish his sentence before you break out in laughter.

“Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage?” You smile at him, tip-toeing against his tall figure to reach for a nice kiss on the lips.

It was a nice, sweet kiss to share after the both of you were tired and worn out from a long day, all of a sudden bouncing with energy.

Of course, Omi worried sick about your hand once that happened and would not leave your side that night.

Sakyo

Angry.

He had been trying to ask you out for actual decades, but something had always seemed to get in his way, it was almost comical at this point.

Every time the two of your had time together, some chaos was always going on in the Mankai Dorms ranging from Banri’s and Juza’s never ending rivalry to Misumi literally evading the cops for stealing what he said was a “special triangle”.

He did enjoy spending time with you, but it was just never enough with the craziness that continued to go on.

No matter how hard he tried or what excuse he tried to come up with, nothing seemed to work to find the time to ask you.

Then again, he was honestly very emotionally dense. Didn’t know if when you were sad was the right time to pop the question, or when you were in the clouds and he was worried about pulling you down.

It was only when he had a chance to have a drink with Azuma that he was able to sort out his thoughts.

He went on rants about you, though trying to stay civilized under the influence, Azuma stayed and listened and wrote down advice for him to not forget later.

Of course, waking up in the morning, he had the worst headache and couldn’t make sense of Azuma’s writing.

He did the next best thing and freshened up in the bathroom to get rid of his headache, and went to get some fresh air only to find you sitting by the porch.

“Oh! Sakyo, you’re up early. Shouldn’t you get some rest? Azuma told me what happened when the two of you got home.”

He immediately looked around, mentally slapping himself to sober up as he peered at every window and inch of the dorms.

Not a single soul was awake. He couldn’t hear Itaru’s Game Over sound, Muku’s sniffling over shojo manga, Tsuzuru’s aggressive typing, none of it was heard.

He felt as if he was still dreaming, but frozen as he realized that he had no excuse when it came to telling you now.

He was fully aware, and at sunrise he held both of your hands and flashed a smile.

“For the longest time, you have no idea, for how long I’ve been trying to get to you.”

This man has been frustrated for what feels like centuries and has just been aching to tell you his feelings.

However when it came to the word, nothing would come out.

You began to listen intently but there were so many gaps full of silence it was difficult to see what he was going to portray, but boy did he look stressed and worried.

You tried to inch closer to him and took note of how he was acting. He had never been this much of a wreck in front of you, but now that he had the chance to try and express himself, you could only come to one conclusion.

“Hey, Sakyo?”

“And then so I- yeah?”

You continued to inch closer and put your hand on his shoulder.

“You’re free to yell at me if this goes wrong, or if I’m wrong, but there’s been something on my mind I need to get sorted out.”

“Y/N what are you-“

Right then as the sun had finally come up, you gave him a kiss on the lips.

Sakyo had pulled you in closer, his hand on the small of your back and begged in his mind for this moment to never end.

The endless pining and pain was now over for him, and for you as well.

However the moment the two of you heard a tiny gasp from the window coming from a certain triangle-lover, you knew that that was not the end for Sakyo’s bitterness at his ridiculous, ridiculous timing.

[absolute-sakuya-stan]

nicknames | all troupes!

sakuya - he’s very shy and probably will not be able to use a nickname with out blushing furiously. but if he does decide to use one he’d probably go for something like honey, sweetie, or baby. or some variation on your name. he likes being called pretty much anything but calling him saku or babe makes his heart flutter.

masumi - won’t go for nicknames right away. but he does like calling you babe. he’s happy to be called anything as long as it comes out of your mouth. he does like being called masu, sweetheart, or babe too.

tsuzuru - he’s super big on nicknames. it’s actually shocking when he doesn’t call you by one. sweetie, sweetheart, princess, and love are some of his favorites. he’s big on being called ruru (as in tsuzuRU) or just simply babe or bae.

itaru - he isn’t too big on nicknames, but he likes sweetheart or darling. or even better, calling you his player two. this man loves it if he can make some kind of geeky reference in a nickname. he absolutely loves it if you call him taruchi.

citron - definitely calls you princess or darling. he has no issue with using nicknames (though occasionally he might mess them up). he doesn’t really care if you use nicknames for him or not.

tenma - more nervous then he thought he would be when he first tries to give you a nickname. he’s done it plenty of times on tv, it shouldn’t be too hard, right? wrong. he might be able get away with saying cutie or kitten before becoming a blushing mess. otherwise he can get away with calling you sunshine without becoming too much of a mess.

yuki - he really isn’t a huge fan of nicknames. maybe he’ll call you darling or bear if he’s really tired. yuki doesn’t really have a preference of what you call him.

muku - muku loves using nicknames. all of his favorite shoujo manga characters use nicknames so he definitely does. he really likes princess, peaches, angel, and sweetheart. using anything on him makes him a huge mess. just calling him mu will make him blush.

misumi - oh boy, he’s going to call you any name with triangle in it he can. he’ll call you, my triangle, my favorite triangle, the best triangle, or just triangle. the most normal one he’ll call you is baby. if you call him your favorite triangle he’ll be very happy, but honestly giving him any nickname will make him an overly happy puppy.

kazunari - this boy is for sure gonna call you babe, baby, bae, boo, queen, sunshine, hot-stuff, gorgeous, etc. basically, anything you can think of, he’s probably called you it at some point. kazu is down for being called anything, he particularly likes bae though.

banri - he’s another one who likes to call you babe, hot-stuff, or sexy. he would jokingly say he’d like to be called daddy, but he’d actually end up liking it.

juza - definitely any sweets related name he’s going to call you. if you’ve got a favorite candy he’ll call you that. otherwise honey, sweetie, sugar. calling him anything will make him a mess.

taichi - he’ll like to call you cutie for the most part. you can also retaliate in calling him a cutie and he’ll be as red as his hair.

omi - babe, darling, love, he definitely loves more romantic nicknames. omi is pretty happy with being called anything, but if you want him to blush, call him daddy.

sakyo - the only nickname he’ll call you is love, and even that is one very rare occasions. otherwise is probably strictly calling you idiot or dumbass. most nicknames you call him will just earn you a small smile and an eye roll.

tsumugi - definitely flower related nicknames, rose, lily, or just flower works for him. he also likes calling you darling or love. tsumugi likes being called tsumi or tsumu. a lot of other nicknames make him smile shyly and blush.

tasuku - he is not good with coming up with nicknames. if you want to be called something you have to tell him. he might call you snowflake without you telling him though. he doesn’t really care for nicknames, but if you call him one, he might have a odd look on his face.

hisoka - definitely calls you marshmallow, kitten, or kitty. he might call you snuggles too. he doesn’t really mind if you use nicknames, he does like being called hiso or mika (as in mikage) but he really doesn’t have much of a reaction to them.

homare - my rose, mon amour, darling, my inspiration are all names he likes to call you. he doesn’t really what you call him, but if you call him minou he likes that because it’s french

azuma - he calls you darling, sugar, or angel. it really doesn’t matter what you call him. he unironically likes being called daddy though