#but instead sitting in a room doing math on paper or doing nothing but staring at a computer screen

[batilenima]

Clark's there. In plaid, again. Holding two cups of coffee and a brown paper bag that smells like fresh pastries.

Bruce stares at him like he's trying to solve a math problem made of emotion.

"…Why are you here"

"Hi" Clark says, grinning "I brought breakfast"

"Uninvited"

"You gave me a key"

"That was for emergencies"

"And your blood sugar after patrol is an emergency"

Bruce stares, Clark just walks in.

Bruce watches him go to the kitchen like he belongs there. Watches him unpack croissants, pour coffee into Bruce's favorite mug, and hum like he's in a rom-com instead of in a room with the most emotionally walled-up man on the planet.

Bruce walks over eventually, still in the hoodie he fell asleep in, jaw clenched like he's annoyed—but he doesn't leave.

"I don't do domestic" Bruce mutters.

"Okay" Clark says cheerfully "Then I'll do it for both of us"

Bruce takes the coffee and grumbles under his breath. He doesn't sit at the table, just leans against the counter like a gargoyle in socks.

Clark leans on the opposite side, all warm smiles and easy posture.

"You know this is a date, right?" Clark teases.

"It's not"

"You let me in, you drank the coffee, you're eating a croissant. That's three signs"

"You're unbearable"

Clark laughs. Bruce doesn't smile—but he does look away, ears pink.

There's a long pause.

Clark watches him eat in silence, eyes soft. Then—

"You looked peaceful this morning" he says.

"You were watching me sleep?" Bruce deadpans.

"Just for a second. You looked…"

He hesitates, then finishes gentler:

"Safe"

Bruce's hand tightens slightly around the mug.

He doesn't say anything.

Clark lets it hang there, not asking for more.

Then—quietly, like it's nothing—Bruce says:

"You make it easier. To rest"

Clark looks at him. Really looks.

Then he nods, like he just got handed a cathedral in the shape of a sentence.

"I'll bring breakfast again tomorrow" he says.

"That's not necessary"

"Okay. I'll still do it"

Bruce doesn't protest again.

He just finishes the coffee, silent, soft. Maybe not smiling—but not fighting it either.

And when Clark leaves later, Bruce watches him go through the window for a long, long time.

[scuderiahoney]

Tangerine

Oscar Piastri x reader

Masterlist // Part 1 // Part 1.5 // Part 2

Summary: You’re definitely not an insomniac. But Oscar keeps finding you awake at all hours, and he’s starting to get worried. Or: I wrote this while actually being unable to sleep, passed out for 3 hours, woke up and finished it. So… here you go, I guess?

Word Count: 6.8k

Warnings: insomnia, anxiety/mild paranoia?, alcohol, limited knowledge of the actual structure of the MTC and the corporate structure of McLaren in general, a poorly researched night in Tokyo

The MTC lobby is empty, besides you. The lights are half turned off, motion sensors that have gone hours without detecting anything. You’ve stuck to your table in the corner. It’s quiet, just how you like it.

You look up from your notebook after who knows how long, blinking your weary eyes. Outside, the floodlights reflect off the inky black lake. There’s a car, pulling up in the drop off area outside the front doors. It’s Oscar, you think, his car one of a few that are easily recognizable. Sure enough, it’s confirmed when he climbs out of the driver’s side door. He leaves it running as he makes his way up to the door.

Oscar scans his pass and the doors swing open, followed by all of the lights in the lobby flickering on. You squint, fighting the urge to shield your eyes from the harsh lighting. Oscar is rushing through the lobby, a man on a mission, but he skids to a stop about halfway across the shiny tiled floor.

He turns, slowly, and makes eye contact with you. “Jesus, you scared the shit out of me.”

You hold back a laugh, thinking that might be a little mean, all things considered. “What are you doing here?”

He sighs, hands hanging at his sides. “I forgot my phone charger, and my laptop, and…” he pauses, frowning at you. “What are you doing here?”

You raise your brows right back. “Working?”

You watch his eyes flicker across your setup. You’re still in the same McLaren sweatshirt you’d been wearing when you saw him that morning. Your hair is piled atop your head. Your laptop sits open in front of you, the only source of light before Oscar burst through the doors. There are papers and notebooks scattered on the tabletop. Your pen is missing- you selfishly hope that as he scours your table, he’ll spot it.

“You got here at 8am,” he says, bewildered. “It’s almost midnight. That’s almost 16 hours.”

He says nothing about the pen. Why would he? He doesn’t know it’s missing. Logically, it must be here somewhere, probably under a paper or clipped to a notebook, but you’ve given up.

“Yes,” you answer, smirking. “You’re great at math, Oscar.”

He rolls his eyes. “Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, home? Sleeping?”

You shrug. “I took breaks. It’s not like I’ve been working all day straight.”

You’re not lying. You’d taken a good, long lunch break, and an afternoon walk around the grounds. You’ve gotten up to stretch a couple times, made runs to the break room for coffee. You hope he doesn’t see straight through it, though. Hope he can’t see the dark circles under your eyes, the paleness of your skin, the exhaustion weighing your shoulders.

It’s not that you weren’t tired. You just knew you wouldn’t be able to sleep. One of those days. So instead, you had decided to be productive. Which had led to this- you in the lobby of your office building, hunched over a laptop. Oscar, the driver whose data you’re scouring, staring at you with wide eyes.

“Go grab your stuff,” you tell him, nodding towards the doors he’d been headed to. “You have an early flight tomorrow.”

He blinks wildly. “We’re on the same flight.”

You nod, because you both know this quite well. There’d been a meeting this morning about who had to be where and at what times. You’re on the first flight out with the main team, headed to Singapore.

“I’m not the one who has to drive the car at very high speeds this weekend,” you remind him, pointing the eraser of your pencil at him. “Or the one who has to be in front of the cameras. You need your beauty sleep.”

Oscar laughs at that, a happy sound that makes you smile, too. “Okay, okay. I’ll be right back.”

You think about disappearing to the bathroom or the break room while he’s gone, just to avoid any further questions. You know Oscar relatively well, though, and knowing him, he’d just wait around until you came back. Or worse, come and try to find you. You can picture it- you pouring your third cup of coffee in the last hour, Oscar watching from the doorway with disdain. You stay put, sipping from your mug and scribbling notes.

He’s back within a few minutes, a backpack in hand. His keys dangle from his fingertips. You don’t look up from your laptop as he walks towards you, that is until he’s standing right in front of you. You blink up at him through your lashes. There’s a frown on his face- this close, you know your lack of sleep must be obvious.

He nudges the top panel of your laptop with a single fingertip. “C’mon. Time to go home.”

“I’m fine,” you tell him, shaking your head. “I’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early.”

“What, you just gonna stay here until we all meet up in the morning to go to the airport?” He scoffs.

“That would be ridiculous,” you laugh.

“It would,” he agrees. He seems to see straight through you, though. “Come on. Close the laptop, close the notebooks. You can work on this on the flight, like a normal person.”

“I’m trying to improve your car, you know.”

“I’m not leaving until you do,” he finally says, and you scoff with wide eyes. “And remember, I’m the one who has to actually drive the car. And go in front of the cameras. I need my beauty sleep.”

You rear your head back, unsure how to even counter that. He takes the opportunity to close the laptop for you, and you bat at his hands. Then he’s sweeping your papers into piles, stacking your notebooks and gathering them up into his arms.

“That’s my intellectual property, you know,” you scold him, reaching for the papers. He holds them up above your head easily, and you groan. “Okay, okay, I’ll go, just- I lost my pen, earlier. It’s my favorite one. I just have find it and then I promise I’ll go- you can go home, really, I’ll see you-“

He’s reaching for your head, suddenly, and you freeze. When his hand returns to your view, he’d holding the pen between his fingertips. You blink once, twice, then reach for it, but he’s holding it above your head within seconds, too.

“We’re leaving,” he tells you, firmly. “Come on. Up we go.”

You get to your feet reluctantly and pack your things into your bag. Oscar helps, handing you your papers in neat little piles. He keeps you in front of him as you both exit the lobby, like he’s afraid you might take off running further into the office building. His car is still parked out front, still running, and you see him wince.

“Didn’t expect to be inside for so long,” he says sheepishly.

You laugh lightly, starting your walk towards the employee lot. It’s down a well lit path, but every step feels heavy this late at night.

“Wait,” he says, and you pause. “Do you want a ride? You seem tired. You know, sometimes that’s as bad as driving drunk.”

“I’m not gonna fall asleep behind the wheel,” you tell him. You say it with confidence, because it’s pretty likely you’re not going to fall asleep at all tonight.

He cocks his head at you, cast in the bright glow of the floodlights. “At least let me drive you to your car. Otherwise, how do I know you’re not going to just go back inside?”

You roll your eyes. “And how do I know you’re not trying to kidnap me?”

You end up getting in the car, because he makes it pretty clear he’s not leaving until you do. You contemplate just walking to your own car, but honestly your feet feel so heavy it’s just not worth the fight. Oscar, to his credit, doesn’t kidnap you. He also doesn’t comment on your very modest car, the only one left in the parking lot. He does try to offer you a ride home one more time, but he lets it go after your repeat refusal.

You say goodbye, climb into your own car, and start the engine. The heat kicks on quickly, thank god, and you start up a playlist. It’s only when you look up, ready to leave, that you notice his car is still sitting there. You can just barely see Oscar behind the windshield, and he waves at you. He’s waiting for you to leave.

You flip him off as you roll out of the parking lot, and you watch him laugh in response.

…..

You’re one of the first ones at the office the next morning, and therefore one of the first ones on a shuttle to the airport. Oscar’s chronically late, or as he would call it, chronically precisely on time, so you don’t see him until he’s climbing on the plane. McLaren’s rented out a charter plane for this trip, with the double header making it the easiest solution.

You’re already settled into a seat, laptop open on the table in front of you, headphones on. You barely even look up when you feel him looking over you, but then he’s tugging one side of your headphones off your ear.

“Did you even sleep?” He asks, brows furrowed.

“Yes,” you lie, raising your brows at him defensively.

Oscar raises his brows in return. He obviously doesn’t believe you.

Before he can say anything else, Lando’s behind him, leaning up over his shoulder. “Oscar, mate, get a move on.”

Oscar rolls his eyes but does as Lando’s urging. There’s not assigned seats, per say, but the two drivers are headed towards the middle of the plane where their trainers and other senior staff are sitting. That’s how these things normally go- it just makes sense. They’ll have meetings on the plane, talk about meal plans and strategies and get ready for the weekend. You’ll spend your flight going through the data just one more time, trying to unlock all of the secrets to give Oscar the best possible chance on Sunday.

…..

Singapore is good. Not great, not perfect, but good. For Lando’s team, it’s a huge weekend. And honestly, 4th place for Oscar in his rookie year is huge too. He’s thrilled, tells you as much after the race, after the briefing.

“I know you worked hard this weekend, put in a lot of hours,” he says. “Thank you.”

“Just doing my job,” you say with a shrug.

“Right.” He says. “Thanks, though.”

You smile up at him, knowing it’s wobbly and insincere. You don’t take compliments well. “No problem.”

When you get to the hotel that night, you lay down in the bed and try to fall asleep. It’s no use, really, because it’s not your bed, and because your mind is racing. There’s nothing even bothering you, that’s the stupid thing. Just… a billion thoughts flying by all at once. So you wander the hotel, up and down the stairs, down the halls. You make a pit stop in the exercise room, walk on the treadmill, try out the rowing machine. You’ve never been one for working out, but the internet says exercise can help with sleep issues. It’s worth a try, but it doesn’t work.

You contemplate sneaking into the closed hotel pool, but ultimately decide against it. You’d probably get caught, and then you’d get in trouble, and it would somehow make it back to your boss. Then you’d get fired in Singapore, left to find your own way home. So instead, you head for the vending machines on your floor. There’s got to be something in there that’ll cure the racing in your head. Or at least bring you some comfort in the dead of night.

What doesn’t bring you comfort in the dead of night is a face in the reflection on the glass of the vending machine. You nearly scream when you meet someone else’s eyes. You whirl around, arms in a defensive position, and come face to face with Oscar.

“Would’ve pegged you for flight, not fight,” he says drowsily.

“You can’t sneak up on people like that,” you hiss, dropping your hands to your sides.

“Payback,” he mutters, dragging a hand down his face clumsily. “B‘sides, I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you. I was trying to get a snack.”

You blink at him. “Oscar, it’s 3am.”

He nods, blinks slowly. You almost expect his eyes to stay closed, almost expect him to fall asleep standing up.

“I woke up starving,” he says, shuffling towards one of the vending machines. “Promise you won’t tell Kim? I’ll buy you whatever you want.”

He’s cute when he’s sleepy. You want to tuck him into bed and tell him bedtime stories. You want to kiss his forehead. You blink hard, trying to reset your brain. The sleep deprivation is really getting to you. This is your coworker, your teammate.

You shrug and nod in agreement. “Would’ve kept the secret without the bribe, but if you’re offering…”

Oscar laughs, a quiet sound in the empty night air. “What’ll it be, then?”

He’s leaning against the glass heavily. He must still be half asleep. You can’t blame him. You point at the bag of chips you’d been eyeing, and then at the gummy worms in the corner. He nods in approval of both, selects them, feeds the machine his money. Then he’s picking his own snack- a poptart and a bag of Cheetos. He backs away, but you make a noise and point at the drinks machine.

“And a Red Bull?” You ask, pointing at your favorite flavor where it sits, lit up by fluorescent light.

He turns back, almost puts the money in, and then he pauses and looks at you. “It’s 3am.”

“Right, we established that.”

“Why would you drink Red Bull at 3am?” He asks, bewildered.

You shrug. “Because I like Red Bull.”

“Go work for them, then,” he suggests. You laugh. “Actually, I have a feeling that would be severely detrimental to your health. Too many free energy drinks. Do you ever sleep?”

“Those are big words for 3am,” you tease, nudging his shoulder. “Come on. The tangerine one, please.”

“I’m not buying you a Red Bull.” He shakes his head. “I am walking you back to your room and you’re going to bed.”

“I’ll tell Kim about your snacks.”

“No, you won’t.”

You let him walk you back to your room. He stands there as you swipe the key card, as you open the door and shuffle inside. He says goodnight from the doorway. You close the door after you echo the sentiment, lock all the locks, and lay down in your bed. You close your eyes and try to go to sleep. You really, truly try. But when the clock turns over to 4am, and you realize it’s useless, you roll out of bed and head down to the vending machine. You buy the Redbull with your own money, carry it back to your room, turn on the tv, and settle in until the sun comes up.

…..

Tokyo may just be your favorite city in the entire world. Everything is open all the time. You’ve never felt more seen by a city. The days that you and the rest of the team spend there between the two races are heaven. You have meetings during the day, but they’re short and easy. At night, there are plenty of places for you to roam, plenty of things to do and see.

You spend your nights in ramen bars, in arcades, in toy stores that seem to stretch on for miles. You collect so many souvenirs you’re worried you’ll have to buy a second suitcase. Frankly, you’re going on week two of sleeping only in one to two hour stints, and it’s likely you’re beginning to get a little manic. In Tokyo, though, nobody bats an eye.

You join the team for breakfast in the hotel lobby on Thursday. You’ve somehow ended up at a table with Oscar and Lando- you’d gotten here before anyone else, and Oscar had chosen the seat across from you. Lando asks what you’ve been up to. They’ve been busy with promo stuff, you’ve hardly seen the two of them all week.

You regale them with your stories and hand off your phone to Lando so he can scroll through your pictures. Oscar listens with rapt attention, leaning to look at the photos too.

“How do you do all this and find time to sleep?” Lando asks, an amused tone in his voice.

“She doesn’t, mate,” Oscar replies, pointing at your phone. “Look at the time stamps.”

You roll your eyes and snatch the phone away from them. Lando’s looking at you with wide eyes, Oscar is smiling amusedly.

“Sleep is for the weak,” you tell them, and you swear Lando’s eyes are going to bug out of his head. “We’re in Tokyo, I’m making the most of it.”

To Oscar’s credit, he doesn’t bring up the encounter at the MTC, or the run in at the vending machines. Still, this revelation seems to bewilder Lando.

“Sleep is like, the most important thing,” he says, shaking his head. “For your health.”

“Not all of us have to be in tip top shape,” you say, stabbing your fork into a waffle on your plate. “Some of us get to have fun. Exhibit B. Our breakfasts.”

Lando looks at your plate, filled with waffles and bacon and your cup of coffee, next to it. He casts his glance to his sad looking bowl of oatmeal, then, and sighs heavily. Oscar’s laughing at the two of you, though his plate looks just as sad.

“When you pass out halfway through the day,” Lando says, a retaliatory furrow in his brow, “I’m telling Andrea why.”

“That won’t happen,” you reassure him. “And besides, it’s media day. I have it easy.”

…..

Oscar makes it on the podium on Sunday. You scream your lungs out with the rest of the team, run to the pit wall, watch the podium celebrations. He’s wrapping everyone in enthusiastic hugs, slapping everyone’s backs and grinning so, so widely. All the lost sleep feels worth it, just to see him smile like that.

When he makes it to you, he hauls you into his chest, arms around your shoulders, holding you tight. You could stay like that forever, if he’d let you. He tucks his chin atop your head and you think you’d like to make a home right there, in his arms.

The celebrations go late, and so does the debrief. By the time it’s all said and done, everyone looks exhausted, including the drivers. They start shuttling you all back to the hotel for the night, back in Tokyo so you can get on the plane easily tomorrow morning. You’re just glad to be back in the city. On a night like tonight, buzzing with adrenaline and caffeine, there’s no way you’re falling asleep.

You somehow end up in a shuttle with Oscar. He smells like champagne and sweat, and you tease him about it when he sits down in the back row next to you.

He smiled sheepishly. “So I smell like a podium finisher, then.”

You watch as the city goes by out the window and listen to him chat idly with the others in the van. When you get back, you’re the last one out of the car. He’s waiting outside the hotel, leaning on the wall.

“So, what’s your plan for the night?” He asks, cocking a brow.

“No judgement?” You ask.

“No judgement,” he promises.

You shrug. “Not exactly sure. There’s a lot to do. I’ll probably get some ramen, maybe go shopping. Might just take a walk.”

He nods. “Sleep?”

“Not high on the priority list,” you admit.

He nods again. “Can I come with?”

You blank, staring at him. “What?”

“On your adventure,” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest. “Can I come along?”

Suddenly your heart is pounding in your chest. He wants to come with? Why? There’s a part of you that doesn’t like the idea, that thinks your sleepless adventures are for you and you alone. The other part of you, the one that wins out, thinks it might not be so bad to have some companionship.

“… sure,” you agree, eyeing him carefully. “But you have to play along. No forcing me to go to sleep.”

“Promise,” he says, holding out his pinky.

You hook yours with his and seal the deal.

…..

You both head up to your hotel rooms to change clothes, and in Oscar’s case, to take a shower. He sends you a text when he’s ready and you meet him in the lobby. He’s in a casual outfit, jeans and a hoodie. You’re dressed similarly, in a pair of black jeans and a crewneck.

“Where to?” He asks, wide grin on his face.

It turns out that Oscar is the ideal late night adventure companion. You start your night out at a sushi conveyor restaurant, both of you joking about how Lando would never dare to eat there. You eat to your heart’s content and make comments about fueling up for the night ahead. He even joins you in having an energy drink, some Japanese brand that you’ve never heard of. Oscar reads part of the label to you, balks at the amount of caffeine in it, and drinks it anyways.

After the restaurant, the two of you climb into a cab and head to the Shibuya district. It’s crawling with people, buzzing with energy, and you feel right at home. Oscar sticks close to your side, hanging onto the back of your sweatshirt as you cross the busy crosswalks in a sea of people. When you turn, though, he’s smiling like he’s having the time of his life. The two of you climb the stairs to an observatory where you can watch the dance of pedestrians and traffic from above. There’s a glow to the city that feels akin to how your brain feels when you can’t sleep- like it never goes out, never turns off.

You tell this to Oscar, who gives you a contemplative look.

“Is it the energy drinks?” He asks. His hand is on your wrist, likely just to keep track of you in the crowds.

You shake your head. “The energy drinks came after the… not sleeping-“

“Insomnia,” he suggests.

“… not sleeping,” you repeat, narrowing your eyes at him. “Anyways. I was like a zombie. The energy drinks make it so I’m functional. I figure if I’m gonna be awake, may as well enjoy it.”

You head back out onto the streets and begin to wander again. Oscar follows along, always holding onto you in some way, always smiling when you look at him. The two of you wander through art galleries and museums lit up with neon lights. Somewhere in the middle of one of them, he slips his fingers between yours. You’re not complaining. There’s something grounding, leveling about his presence.

You stop for drinks at a bar- some sort of local beer that Oscar orders for both of you in Japanese. It’s followed by a vodka Red Bull, at your insistence. Oscar wrinkles his nose but drinks the whole thing, seemingly determined to match you.

Next door, there’s a highly American themed bowling alley. Oscar laughs about how Logan would love it and pulls you inside. It’s the first stop of the night that he’s suggested, so you go along eagerly. He’s snapping pictures, ones to send to Logan, ones for himself, ones of you smiling, renting out bowling shoes. He pays for the game, and you both do terribly. The worker puts the bumper guards up out of pity, because the two of you obviously have no idea what you’re doing. He’s a world renowned athlete, you’re a highly skilled engineer, and yet, you both suck at bowling.

“When did the in-“ you fix him with a glare, and he stops mid sentence. “When did the not sleeping start?”

You look up at the ceiling of the bowling alley and purse your lips, watching the disco ball spin. “Next question.”

He huffs and shrugs, rolling the ball down the lane. “I don’t have a next question.”

“What’s your family like?”’you ask him, and he smiles, softer than you’ve ever seen him smile before.

“Well, I have three sisters,” he starts, eyes lighting up.

Somewhere between the bowling alley, the next bar, and the shopping mall you end up in, you start to really get to know Oscar. It’s funny how the night opens people up. Everything feels safer in the dark, surrounded by other people. It’s creeping up on 1am- in theory, both of you should be sound asleep. The fact that you’re not makes anything okay. You learn about his family, his childhood, his friends back home and in the UK. You tell him about yourself, too. He listens with an eager look on his face, laughing at all the right moments, squeezing your hand at the right ones, too.

You end up in a store that’s packed to the brim with stuffed animals. He lets you drag him around the whole thing, pointing out cute ones and the ones you think are a bit odd. Then you gasp, pointing excitedly, pulling on his hand.

“It’s you,” you squeak, the delirium beginning to set in. It’s a stuffed Kangaroo, and he groans softly. “Look, you’re even making the same face.”

Oscar seems unable to argue with that. Both he and the stuffed kangaroo do seem to be scowling. He smiles instead, picks it up, and takes it to the register. He buys it before you can really even say anything, and the cashier packages it in a bag. The kangaroo’s head sticks out over the paper, your second faithful companion for the night.

By 3am, Oscar is starting to drag. He perks up every time you look at him and smiles brightly, but you can tell. His grip on your hand is looser lately, and his blinks are growing longer and longer. You turn to him, a sympathetic smile on your face.

“We can go back to the hotel, if you want,” you say, poking his cheek lightly.

He smiles. “Are you tired?”

You sigh. “No, but you are.”

“I’m okay,” he insists, shaking his head. “What about the batting cages you mentioned? That sounded fun.”

You pout at him. “Oscar, you’re half asleep. You’d definitely get hit by a ball.”

He nods in agreement. “Maybe I just need another energy drink?”

You cock your head at him, take in his heavy eyelids, his parted lips. “That would be your third one of the night. And that would be very unhealthy.”

He nods again. “Yeah. Okay. Just… I said I’d be along for the ride.”

“We can hang out at the hotel,” you suggest. “The pool area is open all night.”

“I didn’t bring my swimsuit.”

“Me neither.”

You somehow end up with a pizza on your way back, and the two of you plant yourselves in the pool area on one of the chaise lounge chairs, the pizza box in front of you. You eat the greasy, cheesy food, and even Oscar indulges in it. He has his hand planted on the chair behind your back. Every so often you lean backs against his arm just to feel his presence. His knee bumps against yours, and you smile.

The pool is clear and blue. Neither of you will be swimming, but this felt like a neutral enough place. You’d thought about inviting him back to your room but had felt weird about it. There’s something calming about the still water and the smell of the chlorine, anyways.

He leans his head on your shoulder. The heavy weight of him is nice. He’s solid, sturdy, grounding. You’re chatting idly about something that happened at the race, something he’d missed while he was driving the car. You break off in the middle of a sentence to yawn, and then you close your eyes for just a moment. Oscar’s breath hitches.

The two of you are silent for a moment. You stare into the clear water, aching to drift and float and fall asleep. You sigh and pull your knees up to your chest.

“It started when I was a kid,” you tell him. “I just… stopped sleeping. It comes and goes in cycles. Sometimes I’m fine, sometimes I just…”

“Can’t sleep,” Oscar finishes for you, his words contradicting the sleepy tone of his voice.

“Yeah,” you say, blinking slowly again.

Your head droops, resting against his. He’s so warm, so comforting. He must feel you drifting, must feel your grip faltering, because then he’s sitting up, tucking you into his chest.

“Is there anything I can do?” He asks, drowsily.

“M’so tired,” you admit, curling into him. “Justwannasleep.”

Tears are stinging at your eyes. You hadn’t expected this, hadn’t been prepared for this part. The moment when your lack of sleep catches up to you, and you become an emotional, distraught mess. You’re seconds away from full on sobbing.

Oscar seems to sense this. “Okay. Okay, how about- I have a pull out couch in my suite. Why don’t you- if you’re comfortable, you could come sleep there. Maybe it would help to know somebody’s there if you need it? Maybe-“

“Okay,” you answer, nodding against his chest. “Okay, yeah.”

He takes care of the empty pizza box and guides you up to his room. You know there’ll be questions to answer if anyone sees you, but you’re comforted by the fact that it’s 4am and nearly every sane person is sound asleep. He scans into the room, and you let out a sigh when he lets go of your hand. He moves quickly, unfolding the pull out couch, grabbing extra blankets from the cabinets. Before you know it, you’re sitting down on the bed, rubbing your eyes.

It’s strange, now that you’re here. You’re in Oscar’s hotel room. You’ve just spent the night wandering Tokyo with him. You’re exhausted, sleep deprived, still on the verge of tears. Everything feels hazy and blurry.

“I can… go, if you want,” he says, and you blink up at him through your blurry vision. “Or I can sit with you till you fall asleep.”

“That might take a while,” you tell him. “Like, you’re more likely to fall asleep. Even… when I finally get to this point, it takes a while.”

He shrugs. “We could put on a movie.”

That’s exactly what you do. He turns on the tv, spots Finding Nemo on the guide, and turns it on. He sinks down on the bed, leaning against the couch back. You crawl up next to him as he turns the volume low. At first, you just sit shoulder to shoulder. Then he reaches out, wraps an arm around your shoulders, pulls you into his side. You sigh against him. Cradled close, you let the exhausted tears flow. He can’t see you, probably, and even if he can, you can’t bring yourself to care. He leans down, brushes his lips against your forehead.

“M’right here,” he says, softly. “I’ve got you.”

You wake up at 8am with your head in his lap. His alarm is blaring from the side table, and you’re both springing apart. He fumbles for his phone, shutting the alarm off with the shaky hands of someone who’s just been woken up from not nearly enough sleep.

You, on the other hand, have gotten the most consecutive sleep of your last two weeks. You stretch, rubbing the blur from your eyes and blinking at him.

“Sorry,” you mumble.

“For what?” He asks, voice steady.

“For… I don’t know. Keeping you up so late? Falling asleep on you?” You shrug. “I… that was a lot, for me to put that all on you.”

Oscar shrugs, so nonchalant about it. “It’s what friends are for.”

You nod, though you’re not convinced. You pull away, and Oscar’s soft smile drops to a flat frown. He reaches for you, but you dodge his touch.

“I should go,” you tell him. “We have to leave soon, people are going to be getting up and- if they see me come out of your room-“

“We can be friends,” he says, again, brows furrowing. “We didn’t do anything wrong, everything is okay-“

He doesn’t understand. It’s fine for him, but this is too much for you. He wants to be friends, but you’re looking at him and thinking about how if you could curl up on his chest every night, you might never have trouble sleeping again. He wants friends, you want more. You can’t have more, though, because there’s no way you’ll keep your job. And he doesn’t want that, anyways. Why would he? You’re just his pity project, the poor girl who can’t sleep, who fails at counting sheep.

“I should go,” you repeat, standing up. You can’t look at him, can’t watch him watching you. “Thank you. For everything. I’m sorry.”

He stands up too, and he grabs your hand. You pause, stuck between ripping your hand from his and running, or whirling around and snapping at him. Fight or flight. Instead, you take a deep breath. You’re still sleep deprived, still exhausted. 4 hours doesn’t fix two weeks of little to no sleep.

“I’m sorry,” you breathe, shoulders sagging. “I have a hard time letting people take care of me.”

“It’s okay,” Oscar says. “Just- come sit down? Let’s talk, okay?”

You sink down on the bed, rest your elbows on your knees and your face in your hands. “Why do you care?”

Oscar sits down next to you. He reaches out, knits your fingers together. You’re reminded of the art galleries, of the crowds, of the bowling alley. You split yourself open last night, in the safety of the time when you should’ve been sleeping. He saw you and he’s still here, somehow, hanging on. Your bones are tired. Your head is pounding. You need caffeine.

“I care,” he says, gently, “because I care about you. Because I think you’re a good person, and I want to get to know you better. And because this whole thing is not healthy.”

You sigh. His thumb brushes over the back of your hand methodically, back and forth. The funny thing is, you could fall asleep again, just like this. You could lean into his shoulder, let the warmth of him seep into your skin, and fall asleep. You wonder if he knows it.

“I’m fine,” you tell him, rubbing at your face sleepily. “Osc, I’ve been like this for years. It’s not just going to change now.”

“Not overnight,” he says, softly. There’s a callous on his thumb, you can feel the scrape of it over your skin. It’s oddly soothing. “But I can try. I can be here.”

“Why would you want to?”

“Because despite all the craziness, last night was the most fun I’ve had in weeks,” he says, and you could cry. “I want to spend time with you. I want to get to know you. Take you on dates. The whole nine yards.”

You should’ve expected this. Oscar can be shy, and quiet, but he can be straightforward, too. He’s pretty easy to read. He’s blunt with Lando, almost to the point of contention sometimes. But you’d been so focused on trying to prove to him that you were just fine that you hadn’t considered he was feeling the sparks, too. That maybe he wasn’t holding onto you in the crowd just so he didn’t lose you. That maybe he liked the feeling of your skin on his, too.

“If you want that,” he says, voice low.

You blink blearily, pull away to look up at him. “I do.”

He nods, leans forward, kisses your forehead. The rest of it will come later, you think. You can work all the details out when you’re both more awake. Right now, he pulls you into his chest and flops back onto the bed.

“We have an hour before anyone comes looking for us,” he says, rubbing your back lightly. “Close your eyes? You don’t have to sleep, just-“

You blink once, twice, and then you’re fast asleep before he can get another word out.

…..

Oscar wins the sprint race in Qatar, and then takes second on Sunday. He’s nothing but endless wide grins all weekend, despite the heat and the dehydration and his obvious exhaustion. You laugh when you watch him lay down on the floor in the cool down room and smile when he gets sprayed with champagne on the podium. He chases you through the garage afterwards to give you a hug, despite your screeching about how sticky he is.

He tucks you into his chest. “Couldn’t have done it without you, baby.”

Later, you help corral a very tired Oscar and Lando to the shuttles and back to the hotel. They’re each stumbling over their own feet, giggling and laughing about the race, shoving at each other’s shoulders. For a minute, you’re walking through an empty parking lot, far from any other McLaren staff, and Oscar links his fingers with yours. They fit together like puzzle pieces. His fingers are sticky with champagne, but you can’t bring yourself to care. Lando sees and doesn’t say anything, just smiles.

You’re keeping it quiet for now. Time to figure it out between the two of you before you get your bosses involved. You have a feeling it’ll be mostly okay. You’ll figure it out, one way or another.

You follow Oscar up to his hotel room, saying goodnight to Lando as he heads further down the hall. He knits his fingers with yours again, leads you into his room, and collapses onto the bed.

“I’m exhausted,” he says, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Are you?”

You smile down at him, laid out on the bed. He should probably shower, at the very least change his clothes, but you can’t bring yourself to tell him that.

You sigh. “I mean, yeah, but if you’re asking if I’ll be able to sleep… probably not.”

He nods in understanding and purses his lips. “D’you think… would you just… stay, until I fall asleep?” He asks, blinking up at you. “After that you can take my card and get a Red Bull and go do whatever, just-“

“Yeah, I’ll stay,” you tell him.

It’s the easiest thing you’ve ever done. He gets ready for bed, and you do the same. You lean against the headboard and he crawls up the bed. He puts his head on a pillow in your lap, curls up into a little c shape. He’s very cat like, you’ve noticed, especially when he’s sleepy. You run your fingers through his hair, the tv playing quietly in the background, and he sighs and closes his eyes.

“Goodnight,” you murmur, leaning down to press a kiss to his temple.

He’s out within minutes. Oscar is a sound sleeper. You could move him, could shift his head and get up. You could wander the halls, take his card and buy all the energy drinks you desire. But you look down at him, his brow unfurrowed, lips parted, and you can’t bring yourself to do it. You could sit here and watch him breathe all night. It’s a terrifying and comforting thought, all at once.

You don’t sleep. It’s likely you’ll crash on the flight home, or maybe shortly after that. With your luck, you’ll pass out in a meeting when you get back to the MTC. Oscar doesn’t scold you when he wakes up and it’s obvious you’ve been awake all night.

He gets you coffee from the breakfast bar, exactly how you like it. And when he finds you in the backseat of the airport shuttle, he hands you a tangerine Red Bull. It’s early, the sun just peeking up over the horizon, washing the whole city with orange. He’s smiling at you, and you’re smiling right back.

When you fall asleep on his shoulder on the way to the airport, nobody dares to say a word.

…..

“Did you hear we’re gonna be sponsored by Monster next year?” Lando asks, throwing a tennis ball at a wall in the courtyard.

You sit up in the grass nearby, eyes lighting up. “You’re kidding. Free Monster?”

Oscar, whose stomach you’d been laying on, sits up behind you and wraps his arm around your waist. He rests his chin on your shoulder.

“Your consumption will be restricted,” he says, and you laugh.

You suppose that’s fair. Besides, Monster is fine, but nothing will ever top tangerine Red Bull.

check out the companion blurb, Glad You’re Here

thanks for reading, hope you sleep better than me! you can find my other fics here! sweet dreams y’all

[jyeoulzhu]

i am going to kill you with my bare hands

summary . jimin and y/n are academic rivals, constantly fighting for the top spot. they argue all the time, even about love.

pairing . student!yu jimin x academic!rival!gn reader

“love is just a biological response,” y/n declares, leaning back in their chair with an infuriating smirk. “it’s hormones and chemicals. nothing more.”

across the room, yu jimin looks like she’s about to launch her mechanical pencil at their head. “that’s the dumbest shit i’ve ever heard. love is a deep emotional connection between two people, not some… some chemical reaction like photosynthesis.”

y/n snorts. “did you just compare love to plants?”

“no, dumbass,” jimin snaps. “you’re the one making it sound like love is just some robotic function.”

“because it is!” y/n exclaims, gesturing wildly. “it’s literally scientifically proven that love is just oxytocin and dopamine making your brain think you need another person. it’s like a drug addiction, except instead of crack, it’s—i dunno, a girlfriend.”

a collective gasp ripples through the class. their classmates, who had previously been half-asleep during this lecture, are now wide awake, eyes darting between the two rivals like they’re watching the climax of a drama.

jimin’s eye twitches. “so what, you think people only stay together because of brain chemicals? not because they actually care about each other?”

“that is caring for each other,” y/n argues. “you’re attached because your brain rewards you for it. it’s biology. basic science, really. i thought you’d get it, but i guess even the second-place student has their dumb moments.”

jimin slams her hands on the desk. “EXCUSE ME?”

the class erupts.

“OH, HELL NO—”

“Y/N, YOU JUST SIGNED YOUR DEATH CERTIFICATE.”

“JIMIN, DRAG THEM.”

“PLACE YOUR BETS, PLACE YOUR BETS!”

meanwhile, their teacher, mr. park, looks like he’s experiencing a premature midlife crisis.

“both of you, SHUT UP!” he finally yells, slamming his textbook onto the desk. the room goes dead silent.

y/n and jimin freeze, still locked in a death stare.

mr. park takes a deep, exhausted breath, rubbing his temples like he’s reconsidering every life decision that led to this moment. “y/n. jimin. if i have to listen to another second of this nonsense, i will quit my job on the spot. clean the classroom after school. both of you.”

“but—”

“NO BUTS.”

jimin turns to y/n and mutters, “you’re cleaning the whiteboard.”

y/n glares. “like hell i am.”

“oh, really?” jimin smirks. “guess i should remind you that losers do all the grunt work.”

“bitch, i did NOT lose—”

“detention,” mr. park interrupts, not even looking at them.

immediate silence.

the class erupts into muffled snickers as jimin and y/n begrudgingly sink into their seats, shooting each other one last glare.

but as they turn away, the tiniest hint of a smile lingers on both their lips.

-

“you’re actually the bane of my existence.”

y/n doesn’t even look up from their paper. “thanks. you’re the bacteria of mine.”

jimin, sitting across from them, scoffs. “yeah? well, you’re the fucking plague.”

the classroom is empty except for the two of them, sentenced to cleaning duty after yet another screaming match in class. the teacher had snapped, thrown an eraser at them, and made them stay behind to “learn how to get along.”

as if that was possible.

y/n and jimin had been at war since the moment they met. for years, they’d gone head-to-head in every subject, fighting for the top rank like their lives depended on it. math tests? y/n won by 0.3 points. history essays? jimin destroyed them with an extra credit answer. science projects? a tie, because their teacher got tired of their bullshit.

but god forbid one of them got a lower score than the other.

(“did you just smile at my test score?”

“huh? no, that’s just how my face looks.”

“wipe that smug look off your face before i do it for you.”

“oh, so you admit i’m smug?”

“i’m going to throw myself out the window.”)

now, sentenced to wiping the whiteboard and stacking chairs, they’re left to their own devices in the classroom.

“you’re not even doing anything,” y/n accuses, side-eyeing jimin, who is sitting on the teacher’s desk, swinging her legs.

“and?” jimin shrugs. “work smarter, not harder.”

y/n throws the whiteboard eraser at her face.

jimin catches it effortlessly, grinning. “nice try, nerd.”

y/n exhales sharply through their nose, turning back to the board. “you’re so annoying.”

“you love it.”

“i’d rather drink paint.”

“red or blue?”

“oh my god.”

jimin slides off the desk, padding over until she’s standing beside y/n. she grabs another eraser and lazily swipes at the board. “you know,” she says, “it’s kind of fun being rivals with you.”

y/n glares at her through the reflection of the window. “oh, don’t start with that ‘i secretly admire you’ bullshit.”

“it’s not bullshit!” jimin laughs, nudging y/n’s side with her elbow. “i mean, yeah, you piss me off on a spiritual level, but like… you’re smart. you actually make school interesting.”

y/n freezes.

because, okay. maybe they secretly admire jimin too.

maybe they enjoy the stupid arguments, the competitive tension, the way jimin rolls her eyes whenever y/n outperforms her, only to bounce back ten times harder on the next assignment. maybe they live for the smug smirk she gets when she wins. maybe they actually like having someone who challenges them.

but admitting that? never.

“you’re such a loser,” y/n mutters, face warm as they wipe the board more aggressively.

jimin hums, tilting her head. “you’re blushing.”

y/n drops the eraser. “shut the fuck up.”

“oh my god.” jimin gasps, clapping her hands together in realization. “you like me.”

“do you hear yourself?” y/n bends down to grab the eraser, avoiding eye contact.

“ohhh my god,” jimin drawls, leaning down too so she can meet y/n’s eyes. “y/n. do you have a crush on me?”

y/n whips around and grabs a textbook, holding it up as a shield. “back the hell up.”

jimin cackles, stepping closer anyway. “you totally do. you like me.”

“you’re delusional.”

“you wanna kiss me so bad.”

y/n makes a distressed noise, tossing the textbook at jimin (who dodges it with a laugh). “you’re literally insane.”

“so you don’t wanna kiss me?”

y/n glares. “absolutely not.”

jimin grins. “liar.”

“i hate you.”

“so kiss me about it.”

y/n freezes.

jimin tilts her head, a playful glint in her eye. “what’s wrong? scared?”

and maybe y/n is.

scared of crossing the line they’ve spent years toeing. scared of what it would mean if they actually acknowledged the tension between them. scared of the way their heart hammers whenever jimin leans in, teasing, tempting—

jimin pokes their cheek. “earth to nerd?”

y/n swallows. then, before they can overthink it, they grab jimin’s collar and pull her in.

their lips crash together, and it’s messy and desperate and filled with years of pent-up frustration. jimin makes a muffled noise of surprise before melting into it, hands tangling in y/n’s shirt.

when they finally pull away, breathless, jimin is grinning like she just won the lottery.

“see?” she says, smug. “told you.”

y/n groans, covering their face. “i’m never going to hear the end of this, am i?”

jimin loops her arms around their neck, pulling them close again. “nope,” she chirps, pressing another kiss to their lips.

and, well. maybe losing to jimin isn’t so bad after all.

[literaila]

your newest fic has woken something in me, verity. can i request nice sweet petter with mean!reader, who isn't actually mean ? but she just teases peter and flirts with him and leaves him tongue tied and peter is like "its cruel of you to make me fall in love with you". thank you, you're the best !

masochism

tasm!peter x reader

a/n: this means absolutely nothing. and everything.

*

“peter,” you say, dryly, frowning as you set your bag on the chair next to you.

the library is usually empty this time of night. nothing but bookworms and tired librarians with their yawns to break the silence. but that’s how you like it.

that’s why you come this late. you don’t want to make small talk with a stranger asking if they can borrow one of your chairs. and you definitely do not want to get charm and pretty eyes all over you. it doesn’t come out.

“fancy seeing you here,” peter says, and he’s moving from his table to come and sit at yours. his papers are a mess and he doesn’t even blink when he almost drops a pen on the floor.

of course, he doesn’t even need an invitation because he’s peter parker.

“are you stalking me?”

“intentionally?” peter asks, and his smile is teasing and far too bright for the dark of this room. “no. it’s not my fault you always show up where i am. but i’m not complaining.”

“well, i am. i came here to study. alone.”

“and you got the pleasure of receiving my company instead. lucky you.”

you grunt but sit down anyway. even if you actually wanted him to leave, peter wouldn’t. he’s far too stubborn and shiny for that.

it was a mistake to take calculus in the first place, but it was a certifiable failure on your part that peter seemed to latch onto you. he was good at math (another red flag) and he liked to coo and you and your smudges and erase marks.

and he seemed to show up when you least expected it; like he wanted to give you a heart attack.

peter leans over the table, his hair falling over his eyes. “what’re you working on?”

“an essay.”

there’s a beat of silence, and peter laughs. “about…” he ducks his head, eyes teasing and smile incandescent. and irritating.

“the probability of committing homicide in libraries at eleven pm,” you tap a pen against his forehead, pushing him back.

“always at your service.”

“why are you here?” you ask him. “don’t you have babies you need to swaddle? old women you need to fond over you?”

“pfft,” peter says, leaning back, looking far too comfortable. “i already did that today. plus it’s a wednesday night, and the visiting hours at the nursing home end at eight.”

you nod understandingly. “well, unless you want to become apart of my research study, shoo.” you wave him away.

he only laughs. “but i haven’t seen you in almost a week. you’re not taking calculus b.”

peter is wearing a mock pout. his eyes are glowing in the three foot distance between you. and the smirk on his face is only a harsh reminder of how much you hate him. his hair is curled at the edges and it’s brushed across the top of his forehead. his teeth are straight and white.

and you can see when he swallows.

“oh you mean bodily torture part two? yeah, no, i figured i’d go with the classic bondage exposé class this semester.”

peter clears his throat, chuckling, and you watch as his cheeks tinge with pink.

“you’ve taken that class, haven’t you, peter?”

“haven’t had the opportunity, no.”

“well, if you never need a quick lesson…” you whisper, voice sultry and on the edge of manic laughter. watching peter squirm in his seat almost makes up for the lack of studying going on right now.

“good to know.”

you purse your lips at him, making an effort not to laugh.

while this conversation has headed into unfound territory, you’ve managed to pull out your notes and turn on your computer, making peter a little more than an object in the distance.

but not peter spins your computer around, illuminating his face, and frowning as he stares at the screen.

“this is a blank document,” he says.

“what wonderful observation skills you have.”

“your name isn’t even at the top.”

you steal the computer back, scowling. “i’m working on it.”

“oh, are you?”

“you’re distracting me,” you hiss at him, eyes glaring and heart burning as he smiles back.

peter is too smiley. he’s too effortlessly calm. too much for you, and too much for this entire library.

“oh, i’m distracting you?” he repeats, shaking his head. “that’s priceless.”

“i’m not sure what you’re implying.”

“i’m saying,” peter whispers, “that you’re the one talking to me about bondage while i’m trying to make pleasant conversation—“

“oh, i’m so sorry,” you interrupt, hand going to your chest in mock sympathy. “it just seemed like something you’d be in to.”

peter snorts. “really?”

“if the rope fits,” you say back, looking away from him and counting to ten.

you need lessons in holding your tongue. lessons in how to respond when someone smiles at you like there’s nothing else they’d rather be smiling at.

“that’s not funny,” peter says, but his lips are curled.

“then why are you laughing?”

“i like riling you up,” he says, “it’s very amusing.”

“you just called yourself a tease. you’re not even trying to hide it now,” you point out.

your computer dims because you haven’t touched it in the last three minutes.

“that would make you the masochist, wouldn’t it? since you’re the one enduring my teasing?”

“is this your idea of foreplay, peter?”

“is it working?”

you hadn’t even realized that you were leaning in with him. just a couple more inches and you’d be nose to nose.

you smile at him, undeterred by his proximity—at least, mostly—pretty and sweet. “why don’t you come over here and find out.”

peter tuts. “don’t say things you don’t mean, bub.”

“who says i don’t mean it?”

you’re mostly teasing him. mostly trying to get him to move as far away from you ask possible before you wrap your hands around his neck and either strangle him or kiss him until he wants to strangle you.

but finally, peter leans back, sighing. “you’re driving me insane, you know that?”

you shrug. “you’re the one stalking me.”

you look away from him, pulling your computer closer to you, and tapping on the keys to wake it up.

“i wouldn’t have to stalk you if you would just accept my offer to go to dinner.”

“i’m not really a dinner person,” you say, licking your lips while you purposefully avoid his gaze.

“coffee, then. or a trip to the schools gift shop. i’ll buy you a sweater.”

“mmm… i’m not really a peter person.”

“now that’s just mean,” he says, but you can hear him smiling. you can feel him watching you, his eyes burning circles into your skin.

it’s a pleasant warmth, though.

“i know,” you drawl, looking up at him. “and you still won’t leave me alone.”

peter sighs, shrugging, and he’s smiling while he looks at you. “maybe i’m the masochist.”

you try not to laugh and fail.

*

part two

[sulumuns-dootah]

12. 10. Seduction - Gusion

    ༺☆༻

⟡ Masterlist ⟡ 

⋆��⁺‧₊☽Helltober '24☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

    ༺☆༻

“Ugh, what the fuck?”

Gusion has been crouching in your living room for the past 5 hours and getting more and more irritated with some math problem. You're trying to give him some space, but his constant proclamations of frustration are starting to get on your nerves. Begging the other demons of Niflheim to give him a reason to leave didn't bare any fruit either.

“Gusion, you should take a break. Plus that crouching can't be good for your back.” you walk to stand above the smart demon with arms crossed to get your seriousness across. Things would be easier if he feared or even disliked hospitals, but sadly he doesn't and so you don' have much leverage in that direction.

“Ah, maybe after. I gotta solve this thing first.” the annoyed demon moved his head in your direction, signaling that he really is talking to you and not the paper like before.

“Well, maybe I can help. Just bring it over here.” you move to sit on the very comfortable sofa and pat the spot beside you. You know nothing about the sort of math he does, or you doubt any human would be able to, but you'd do anything to stop him from ruining his back like that.

Gusion hesitates for a few seconds. You'd never shown any interest in helping nor even seeing his work. Over your time together, he's noticed that sometimes even basic human math gives your trouble. But it's worth a try, right?

“Okay... Both of these equations should come out as the same thing so that the result aligns with the curve.” he explains to you as soon as he's seated and showing you the mixture of numbers, letters and symbols. You have no idea what they mean and even less what he's talking about.

To at least seem like you actually want to help, you skim the paper and note some of the parts that could make sense even to you. Then the thing hits you, “Oh, you have two there, but here you accidentally wrote three instead.”

You were waiting for Gusion to sigh and painstakingly explain to you that it's meant to be there because of the way he's solving it, but no, “You... 're right... How did I not notice that?!”

��You've been staring at the paper for who knows how long. Your eyes got tired.” you feel a bit bad, but you'll still be riding this high for another few weeks. Out of the corner of your vision, you can see him loosen his tie a bit.

“Hm, yeah. Guess I'll need yours for the remainder of this solution.” the smart demon's hands lift you up and place you into his lap with your back towards him, wrapping them around your waist so there's no escape. It's actually not the first time you're sitting like this, but this time there's something new. Something hardening underneath you and starting to only get more and more intense.

With a slight wiggle of your hips Gusion grunts and presses you more into his chest to restrict your further movements. You turn your head to face the tired demon, “Na-ah... You need your break now that I helped you.”

    ༺☆༻

Shhh... The prompt for tomorrow is Phonecall ^^

[kakao-lovey]

✦ ೄྀ࿐ Remaining sane when you need to study for very long, very hard

I used to believe that putting such great value on your academics and studying for hours uninterrupted, completely immersed in the information was a bad habit and a weird trait. The kind of people I was (was) friends with lived by 'School sucks, the education system is below me, I want to rebel and become a Twitch streamer', but I haven't been happier without them.

Sometimes, I need to completely submerge in the facts, the stories, the skills I practice, and that's fine. However, what's not fine is taking it beyond your mental and physical capacities and burning yourself out. So, if you're that kind of person, take with you this list of burnout first-aid and prevention tactics.

🎧Preventing burnout, and knowing when to stop

If your body physically hurts: you've been immersed and sitting in the same strange position for a long time. Stretch, especially the shoulder, wrist and finger muscles, and take a break. It's no use studying while distracted by pain you can easily fix.

If you're waking up too tired to move in the mornings on consecutive days: you probably are not getting enough sleep. Instead of planning your sleep schedule to be eight hours from the time you get in bed, add another hour or so for you to actually fall asleep. Your brain needs to first process through the memories of the day before it can shut off.

If you feel you can't form words correctly: It happens occasionally that I lose my ability to write cohesively, or I just can't think of anything to answer a question. It's like writer's block times a million, and it usually means I've worked myself too hard and desperately need to rest.

If you're falling asleep at the desk: you are harming your back sleeping like this. Don't try to keep yourself up, you won't even remember a thing you did when you wake up the next morning. Get yourself to your bed, or the floor at least (/j).

If your eyes are hurting: you have been contracting your ciliary muscles too long (Looking at a screen or paper very close by) and should go outside for a while and stare instead at your neighbours or the horizon.

🎧What to do to boost your endurance studying

Take short breaks (Just three minutes every half hour is fine). Fill up your water bottle, stretch, use the bathroom or tidy your desk.

Vary your studying methods. Instead of doing flashcards until you drop, mix it up so it feels less monotonous. Do some blurting, do timed practice tests or ask a family member to quiz you.

Mix up your environment. Try studying in the living room, in bed (preferably lying down or with a lap desk), or even outside in the garden.

Do extension work that interests you, instead of studying the same facts over and over again. I love case studies, and they aren't just restricted to Geography: when doing human biology, look up rare diseases that target the system you are studying, when doing maths, see how it applies across different professions.

🎧First aid for burnout

Brown noise: instead of listening to sad music or analysing every sound that occurs in your environment when resting, playing white noise or brown noise on headphones helps tune out the anxiety.

Ask a friend to write down homework if you're missing class: the last thing you want after academic burnout is burning yourself out again because you have no idea what's going on. Wait until you've rested, then slowly start catching up.

Spend time with pets: soft creatures with big eyes release happy hormones in our brains, and they don't drain your social battery. Exploit this.

If you are spending lots of time crying, you need to drink water, or you'll become dehydrated.

Takeaway: studying is fun, it isn't supposed to suck like your friends say it is, and there's nothing wrong with liking it, but please take care of yourself and don't overdo it.

[cerberus-new-owner]

the marshmallow (that's probably gone stale by now)

the thing I've been procrastinating editing for the past idk 3 months??? the thing I may or may not have been over hyping considering this is all written and edited when was tired asf the thing I restarted like eight times the other seven edits and restarts that shall never see the light of day the thing that made me hesitant to talk about the game with my parents cause neither of them know I write fanfiction and both of them know what fanfiction is but only know if for the weirdly sexual side of fanfiction and I tend to blab about what I'm currently doing/working on to my parents

There is mentions of alcohol but this is Lucifer what do you expect he drinks demonus and surely a human dealing with the same carp needs their own drink (there are no underage drinkers in this fic, unless someones mc is like idk 8 but imo that's kinda weird but you do you cause I write my fics to not mention ages as best I can cause I don't want to have to deal with that crap and maths unless someone else has figured out how demons and angels age but idk what age you guys are/what age you've made your mc's someones mc could be like 80 or smth, oooooooo new idea) but yea if you aren't comfortable with alcohol then just don't read it I guess, also its probably pretty bad cause idk a lot about alcohol (no one in my family drinks and if they do its alcohol free/they have a really high tolerance) uhhhhhhhh it also gets a tiny bit suggestive at one point but I navigated it like I navigate life one big joke/hj

It had been a long day for the both of them between, Mammon's schemes having increased ten fold, Leviathan refusing to attend RAD again for the 4th week in a row, Satan and Belphie's constant pranks, Beel getting banned from several more food establishments and Asmodeus disappearing on another week long shopping spree, it all began to stack up taking a toll on Mc and Lucifer. After a long day of cleaning up the brothers messes, they found themselves in Lucifer's office drinking demonus and a rare bottle of human realm wine instead of doing the paper work required to fix the issues. 

Lucifer groaned at the headache that was bound to follow with a drunk Mc on his hands, but he didn't stop them, instead he just observed them quietly as they rambled to him about nothing and everything that came to mind. zoning in and out of listening to them until he blinked, and suddenly they were on top of him, staring into his red eyes with their own (insert colour) eyes the light from the fire dancing in them, it distracted Lucifer for a second before he realised he was staring, flustered his wings puffed up watching as Mc leaned in closer kissed him on the cheek and returned to their place beside him wine glass still in hand as they took a sip watching the fireplace like nothing happened. 

"Mc... what was that?" Lucifer asked once he found his words again, he was still blushing as he looked down at them sitting beside him.

"what was what? Oh, did you miss the last of what I was saying about the new flowers barbatos planted in the RAD courtyard, they're really pretty and like vanil-" they rambled again before Lucifer interrupted.

"no, why did you kiss me?" 

"huh?" 

"you kissed my cheek just before did you not." He replied, more of a statement than a question as he gently took the wine glass from Mc, setting it onto the coffee table next to his own glass and the two bottles now half empty bottles. 

"maybe..." They mumbled leaning against him with a small cheeky smile.

"If you're unable to recall such a recent event perhaps we should put an end to this evening's drinking." He offered leaving no room for argument as he guided them to stand keeping a hand around their waist to hold them steady. 

"wait, wait, i did, i kissed you." Mc answered quickly backtracking on what they had said in favour of seeing more of this newly discovered side of Lucifer.

"if you say so dear, but it may be best that we stop drinking tonight anyways," he stated his voice calm like nothing happened "too much alcohol can harm your fragile human body, even if I'm not quite sure just how much it takes, i dare say half a bottle in one night is more than enough for regrets in the morning."

Mc sighed still leaning against him now giving him a pitiful look silently asking for one more glass despite knowing there was no chance they'd win the already lost battle.

They straightend up realising their silent pleas for attention or more wine were being ignored, moving their face closer to his deciding experimenting with just how flustered they could make him was of course the next best thing to do, watching how his face flushed red as they got closer.

"aww Luci, you're blushing~" Mc cooed kissing his cheek smiling at the slight fluttering of Lucifer's wings watching as a few small feathers that were lose freed themselves and landed on the floor around them. It was rare to get him this flustered and even rarer so for him to not counter their teasing remarks with his own. 

"you just got lucky. catching me off guard," he countered looking at them from the corner of his eye. "besides you and I both know I can make you redder my dear."

Mc stayed quiet, unable to think of something to reply with as the last glass of wine hit them at the same time Lucifer's words did making them go several shades of red.

"what? not even going to deny it dear?" he asked smug as he turned to look at just how flustered he had made them. 

"I believe my point has been made, as my victory prize I guess I'll just claim what's mine." he moved to kiss them soft and tender at first deepening the kiss slightly before pulling away. 

"goodnight my dear, I'll be in bed if you need me, feel free to join if you wish." He said smiling at just how red they were now as he walked off to his room. he knew they'd be annoyed with how quickly he left after pulling that stunt, but he also knew it was getting late and this was his best option to get them to bed and not disturb his brothers.

He knew his plan worked as soon as he had started to change his clothes hearing the sound of Mc's footsteps entering his room he smiled proud of himself for such an effective plan looking over at them as he changed noticing how they were still flustered. 

"coming to bed Mc?" he asked moving to lay down "whether you are or not anyways turn the light off for me." he shifted getting comfortable in his bed as the light was turned off and a now very visibly tired Mc had crawled into bed next to him.

"asshole" they muttered softly moving under the covers clumsily before Lucifer took over tucking them in resting his arm over them in a strange half hug as he pulled them closer. 

"if I was an asshole I would've kicked you out of my room by now" he murmured in response "now sleep dear, or you wont just be dealing with a hangover tomorrow." he left no room for argument as he gently kissed their forehead pulling them closer.

Thank you for reading me going insane for idk how long of a read this is 2 maybe 3 minutes if the ending seems kind of rushed and lazy that's cause I'm really tired right now and a tiny bit loopy

have a good day/night/crayon/tea/cup of tea/hbdlucifer/ikitslatebutidc/jkilyluci/sky

Quick reader grab onto the link and see my masterlist of random carp

also small side note apparently I had this stuffed in my drafts, I think it might've been what sparked this fic but heyyyyy maybe i'll do this one next cause I do kind of prefer my rambles/hc they're easier to write than actual fics

"you dirty dirty little grub" sounds like something one of my irl friends has said to me before lmao

also wtf was I on, "if not every day every two days" he's finding a way to get clean after a long day he takes pride in being clean

[bao4aohao]

chap 3 - detention

-> tsukishima's yandere arc is coming -> warnings !! - none

" WHAT? YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

you slammed on the desk infront of you before retreating, saying a small sorry for slamming.

you stared at the principle disapproval expression as he sighed. he placed his hands together and gesture you to sit down.

" well I'm sorry ms y/n, there were many witness of the fight. it would just be a 3 hour detention and I will rule it as self defence. " he tried to compromised.

he gave you a pity look before sending you away. you closed the door behind you as you walked out of the principle room.

Detention was not a common thing for you. Back in high school, you used to be troubled kid but it changed once you saw your mother on his death bed, fighting cancer.

you felt guilty for bring so much trouble to her but all she does is comfort you like a little child. her kindness has led a change of heart inside you and you turned over a new leaf after spring break.

your grades improved, you stopped getting into fights and more people start to approach you after seeing you become a gentler person.

-

you texted shoyou about the detention news and he sent you a selfie of him eating in response. you mentally want to strangle him but you knew deep down he cared for you.

walking to the classroom that you have been told to go to. you slowly opened the door peeking inside, hoping no one is there.

" oh wow look who finally arrived "

a voice echoed from the end of the seats. you followed where the voice came from and saw tsukishima walking down.

" have a seat, detention will start now " he said, placing a paper in front of you.

you sat down on the given seat and saw some math questions. however, the more you stared you realised that this are the topics not given to first years in uni but third years.

" urm sir, I don't get why I have to do this? isn't this for third years? " you genuinely asked.

he dragged a chair nearby loudly and placed the chair in front of your desk, facing you.

he sat down and said, " that's why I will be teaching you right now. don't you always wanted to be ahead of class, hmm? " he smirked, knowing my weakness.

' shit he's right..it woulddd be good to be ahead of class.. ' you sighed. you thought for a second then smiled as you bend down to dig for your materials from your bag.

when you were ready to start, he started to teach you the basics. you were surprised with the way he was teaching, usually he would glare and have no patience towards his students. To him, patience is something you earn and not everyone can do that.

somehow, you managed to pass that step. knowing how strict and scary he was, you were scared that you might get scolded

" well you have to solve the intersection before integrating the number here. that's why your answer for C was wrong. " he calming corrected. He then analyzed the rest of you equations, focusing on the paper.

you slowly glanced at his face for a second, he was holding a concentrating expression. Brows were furrowed, lips were shut tight as his eyes travelled up and down, scanning more anymore errors.

' I would tap that ' small blush crept your cheeks.

while writing, you suddenly had a crammed in your hand causing you to drop your pen on the ground.

you quickly bent to grab the pen but the blonde was having the exact same thought as you. the two of hands conisidencely reached out for the pen, but instead touched each other.

you instantly retracted your hand while tsukishima picked up the pen and passed it back to you.

you quietly thanked him before getting back on your work.

" why do you seem so tense, y/n? " he nonchalantly asked, as if nothing had happen.

" it's nothing sir.. " you replied, not looking up.

" call me kei, y/n. Let's leave the formalities shall we? I'm not too old too you know. " he casually said.

" o-ok kei..how old are you then? you seem really young for a teacher.. " you hestitately asked.

he snapped out of his concentration and chuckled before facing you.

" why don't you find out? " he mumbled.

" what was that? " you asked.

" nothing. I'm 25 if you're curious. I'm aiming to be a professor so the head of education sent me here for training as a new teacher. They say it is to test my ability whether I could teach right or not, basically. " he explained.

we carried on with the math problems and soon, I was getting tired and bored.

-

" well, that's it for today. Good job y/n, you lasted more than what I have expected " he patted your head as you smiled in returned

he stood up dusting his pants while packing his things. we continued the conversation as I began to ask more questions. This led to hours of talking and laughter. You were glad he wasn't a creepy old guy because imagine having a small infatuation on an old man.

" so you skipped a few levels that's why you're so young for a teacher!? " you awed.

the two of you walked out of the classroom and headed out of the school.

" that's right dear, that's why you're only five years younger " he smirked, seeing how amazed you were definitely fed his ego, especially by you.

This detention wasn't that bad after-all. After this incident, he did proposed to you if you would like more after school tutoring with him for advance mathematics, which you agreed instantly.

before he left the premises, you shyly tugging his sleeves before he walked the opposite direction from you.

" um..would I be able to contact you since I need to know more about the details for our tutoring? " you gestured your phone to him, hoping he would take it.

he stared for a bit which caused you to retract your hand but he caught it on time.

" you don't have to! if you feel uncom- " you were interuppted with a short deep chuckle that vibrates down your skin, feeling the goosebumps instantly.

" I was just teasing you y/n "

he took you phone and tap on the keys before returning it back to you.

" you better get home, it's quite late already. " he said, checking the time on his watch.

you stared at the glommy sky which indicates it would going to rain soon. you bowed and thanked him.

his arm suddenly grabbed you from the side, pulling you close hitting chest.

" huh- " you were confused and shocked by the sudden movement. but before you could react, a few crows zoomed pass almost attacking your face if it weren't for tsukishima, or you can say kei.

" jeez y/n you really need to watch out for the crows.. "

you thanked him profusely before running away in embarrassment.

" .. since they hunt previous doves like you " he finished. he creepily smiled thinking to himself.

he slowly walked the other direction into the darkness of the night.

-

you settled down on the bed after a long day in school. you already changed into your pjs and done your skincare.

however a suddenly thought came into your mind.

' how did he know my age? ' you wondered for awhile. you didn't mention your age or anything personal.

you shrugged at the thought thinking you were just overthinking it.

...or were you?

prev | next | main pg

NOTES

It's coming soon guys..calm before the storm hehe but how did know your age?

© all works are done by @ bao4aohao do not copy/rewrite/steal thank you.

[solarissun]

could I maaaaaaybe request a clapton/male!reader fic where clapton and the reader are close friends and the reader has a fat crush on clapton and clapton realises he also likes him back and stuff

Teenage Dream

WC: 1k

Warnings: just fluff

A/N: Thank you so much for your ask! I had a lot of fun writing this <3

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

Clapton was attractive. No one could deny it. You definitely couldn’t blame the girls in your grade for being infatuated with him. But, it hurt seeing him give them attention back.

Ever since you met him when you were younger, you knew you felt differently towards him. It just took until your high school years to realize exactly what you felt.

Every time he laughed, you wanted to scream and rip all your hair out. Every time he looked at you with those… Big, painfully beautiful brown puppy eyes you wanted nothing more but to drop on your knees and confess your undying love for him.

But you never could. I mean, you're his best friend. And you weren't really sure if he would even fee that way towards you.

⚫︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡⚫︎

You’re sitting on the floor of his room, Clapton lying down on his stomach. His missing assignments are spread in piles around you, seemingly never-ending. He groans, throwing his head against the carpet. “Ugh… This is so dumb!” You laugh, your stomach filling with butterflies as you watch the muscles in his arms flex as he erases half of his work.

You quickly shake your head, looking back down at your work. “Hey, you’re the one who didn’t do them in the first place!” He lets out another dramatic groan, scribbling down curse words all over his paper. “Maybe they shouldn’t give me so much work! I’m a very busy man!” You roll your eyes, leaning over to erase the words he scrawled all across the page.

“Busy doing what? Picking up girls?” You chuckle, covering up your jealousy. He glances over to you, an almost guilty look on his face. You both stare at each other for a few moments, before he glances away. “Leave some for the rest of us…” You add quickly, trying to scrub the awkwardness away.

His pencil stops scraping against his paper, and the room falls to dead silence. He doesn’t look at you while he speaks, “Talking about… that.” He pauses, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows. You look at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak. “Why… Why have you never had a girlfriend? I mean, you’re an attractive guy.”

Now your entire body is lit on fire. Attractive? He just said you’re attractive. You feel like you could run a marathon. You feel like you’re flying, soaring through the stars. You know your face is bright red, but luckily Clapton is too focused on the concerningly realistic penis he’s doodling on the corner of his math homework.

You shake your head, realizing you should probably give him an answer instead of sitting there like an idiot. “I don’t know… No one’s ever been interested.” He finally looks over at you, his face blank. “I’m sure there’s someone interested. I mean- I don’t know for sure- But... You know!” He stumbles out, his cheeks tinting a rosy pink shade.

You look over at him, smiling at his embarrassment. You’re not sure why he’s acting like this, but you don’t mind. You both sit in complete silence for a few minutes since you’re not too sure how to respond to that.

Out of nowhere, he quickly sits up, pushing himself off of his stomach. He scoots over to face you, looking into your eyes. “Okay… I’m sorry but… Can you be honest with me for a second…? Do you- Shit…” He speaks quickly, rambling and not making much sense. You raise your eyebrow at him, wondering why he’s stumbling over his words like a drunk college girl.

“Do… Oh my god.” He holds his head in his hands, and you can see him slightly trembling. “Spit it out..” You awkwardly laugh, rubbing his arm.

“Do you have feelings for me?”

Your whole world crumbles around you. What do you even say to that? Who told him? You never told a soul. Were you that obvious? He’s never going to talk to you again. Oh god, he hates you.

Millions of thoughts ping-pong back and forth through your head as you try to come up with any words that would help you get out of this situation.

“Fuck, you do.”

He stands up, backing away from you. He begins pacing back and forth, holding his head in his hands. You quickly stand up, unsure of what to do. You know this moment is the end of your friendship.

“Clapton- I’m sorry… Please… Please don’t hate me! I-“

“I do too!” He blurts out with no warning.

You freeze, your body going rigid. You’re absolutely dumbfounded. If your heart wasn’t beating out of your chest, and if you weren’t so sweaty, you would probably think you were living in a dream. You just stare at him, your jaw hanging open.

“What?”

“I like you…And… Recently I realized….You might too?” He stops pacing and starts fidgeting with his hands. He doesn’t look up at you, instead focusing on the hangnail he’s picking at.

You step closer to him, stopping a foot away. “I… I do.” He finally looks up, a relieved look washing over him. He sighs out and physically deflates. You step closer, and you reach out to take his hand in yours.

As you rub your thumb over his knuckles, you can feel him still shaking. “Are you.. okay?” He looks up and smiles, his face still flushed. “Yeah… This is just- Really new to me. I’ve never felt like this before…” You move his hand to cup your face, shuffling even closer.

“It’s okay. We... We can go slow.” You both stand there awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed. You’ve never imagined this would actually ever happen. You always assumed it was just some fantasy you had of your best friend. But it's real. He really has feelings for you.

Clapton finally swallows his nerves, slowly inching closer to you. His eyes flutter shut as he closes the gap between you. You lean into the kiss, wrapping your arms around his neck. He pulls you against him, the smell of his cologne consuming you.

The kiss is delicate and short-lived, but it’s everything you’ve ever imagined. He pulls back, his eyes glossed over and his hand still cupping your face.

Basically reading your mind Clapton clears his throat and speaks up, “That was better than anything I could’ve imagined.”

You giggle, and rest your foreheads against each other. Goofy smiles find their way to both of your faces. You both know it might be difficult, but you don’t care. As long as you both have each other, everything will be perfect.

[goose-duck]

✏️ Stress and Tests 📜 - 👁️ Mandela Catalogue fanfic 🌺

~~~~~~

💔Angst💔 to 💝comfort💝

~~~~~~

Jonah's sitting in math class, they have a test, Jonah hates tests. He's one of those people that is great at everything until he has to take a test then he loses everything, can't even remember 2+2.

Jonah's sitting there at his desk, staring at the paper, he hasn't even answered the first question and it's already been 10 minutes. He starts sweating, getting stressed. All he can think about is how stupid he is, how his mother will yell at him for getting a bad mark on his test, how he'll be sent to his room and not given dinner.

Jonah starts to breathe heavily, his vision blurring a little. He knows exactly what's happening, he's having a panic attack. He hates when this happens, he hates feeling so powerless over his emotions.

Jonah sits there, slowly breaking down more and more as tears finally begin to fall, making the test paper wet and smearing what little ink was on it.Jonah starts to get more upset seeing this, thinking about how pathetic he is for crying over something other people find so easy. Why was he so stupid? Why'd he have to freeze up? Why's he crying? These thoughts raced through Jonah's mind, putting more pressure on his already distressed mind.

Adam is sitting beside Jonah, Adam finds tests easy, having finished this one in record time, 20 minutes. Adam hears Jonah sniffling and looks over at him, seeing Jonah shaking and the tears on his paper he makes a weird face at the side of Jonah's head, not understanding why Jonah was crying.

Adam may not know how to express he cares or like to express it, but he is a bit worried seeing Jonah has only written his name and the date on the paper. Adam wonders why Jonah's got nothing done and why he's crying. As Adam's thinking he's making a face, it looks like he's glaring at Jonah, like he's annoyed with Jonah for crying, but he's not, he's just not sure what to make of this.

Jonah looks over at Adam, seeing that look on Adam's face Jonah assumes he pissed Adam off and starts whipping his tears, trying to make the crying stop. Adam sees this and realizes the face he's making, relaxing his face and giving Jonah a concerned look. Jonah doesn't see this look though, only telling himself off mentally for assumedly bothering Adam.

Adam raises his hand, calling the teacher over. Adam asks to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat since he's done with his test. The teacher gives him the okay and Adam leaves.

Seeing Adam leave so quickly after him seeing Jonah's tears solidifies for Jonah that he'd bothered Adam with his crying, making Jonah insult himself further.

Adam walks down to the cafeteria with the intent of getting something to make Jonah feel better. Adam isn't good with words and given they're in a test he wouldn't be able to use them even if he knew how, so instead he's using his actions. When Adam gets the the cafeteria he asks what they have available.

The lunch ladies give him the list, when Adam hears there's jelly filled cookies he buys two and quickly rushes back to class. Jonah loves jelly cookies, how could Adam not get him one? He of course bought himself one two, he's got a while until the class is over and snacking may make the time pass quicker.

Adam gets back to class and sets a cookie on Jonah's desk before sitting down in his desk and munching on his cookie, no longer paying attention to Jonah and just zoning out from pure boredom.

Jonah sees Adam set the cookie on his desk and stops crying for a second, shocked Adam wasn't upset with him but had in fact gotten him a cookie presumably to make him feel better, or maybe just to shut him up? Either way it's a cookie from Adam rather than an insult or an annoyed scowl so Jonah will happily take it.

Jonah eats the cookie, calming down enough to try again with his test, he's got 30 minutes left, maybe he can do it. Jonah looks over at Adam hoping for reassurance but Adam's just staring into space. Jonah sighs and smiles to himself, it's just like Adam to be staring into space when done his work, he can do literally anything else, like draw or listen to music, hell, he could even leave the class, yet every time he chooses to just sit and wait for Jonah.

Jonah begins his test, still not confident he can do it, but feeling better knowing his best friend will still be there when it's over.

[griseldabanks]

Let Me Count the Ways ask game

Requested by Princess of Words from the Fig Tree Discord

Fandom: Sherlock Characters: John and Sherlock Prompt: "Of course we're best friends. No one else would put up with your shenanigans."

Please note that this is part of my kidlock AU, in which John and Sherlock meet when they're 8-ish/9-ish years old (I don't think I've ever specified exactly how old they are).

Maybe he should have picked a different subject. John realized, as he read over the paragraph he'd written for Miss Martin, that he would have to read it out loud in front of the whole class. Maybe he should have picked a movie star or a football player, like most of his classmates probably had.

But when Miss Martin had given them the assignment to write a paragraph about someone they admired, the first person that had leapt into John's mind was Sherlock.

The person I admire most is my best friend Sherlock Holmes. He is very smart. We are the same age, but he is two years ahead of me in school. Sherlock is very good at maths and science, and he wants to be a detective when he grows up. I think he will be a very good one, because he is very smart because he's brilliant because he knows how to do deducktions deductions, which means he can look at clues and figure out what they mean. To be a detective you have to know a lot of things about the world, and Sherlock is always learning new things and telling me about them. That is something I admire in him very much.

John sighed over the piece of notepaper covered with his attempts at summing up what was so amazing about his friend. Nothing he came up with seemed to even scratch the surface. How could he describe the way his heart thrilled every time Sherlock came bounding over to him, dark curls practically sparking with whatever his newest idea was? What words would be enough to explain what it meant to John that someone as unbelievably incredible as Sherlock Holmes wanted to muck around with him, of all people, playing pirates and detectives and mad scientists?

When John sighed again, a groan from across the room followed it up. “Aren't you finished yet? We still need to solve the case of the Camden Garroter!”

John frowned over at Sherlock, who lay on his back on his large bed, hanging backwards off the end because it 'helped him think better.' But now, instead of folding his arms under his chin in his favorite 'thinking pose,' his arms flopped down to either side over his head as he looked pleadingly across the room at John.

“I guess I've finished it,” John said doubtfully. “But I don't know if it's any good....”

“Oh, give it here.” Sherlock didn't flip head-over-heels to the floor, instead rolling over and over until he dropped over the side of the bed and flopped onto the ground, whereupon he scuttled across the room on hands and knees. That was the rule now, after that time he'd passed out after standing up too fast after being in his 'thinking pose' too long. Naturally, he couldn't just sit up slowly like an ordinary person, but had to carry out this bizarre reenactment of a human crab every time.

Reluctantly, John handed over the piece of paper. “Well...you can at least check my spelling, I guess.”

Sherlock knelt on the floor in front of him, poring over the paper. He always finished reading things in a fraction of the time it took John, especially after he'd found that book about speed-reading in the school library. Now he would breeze through an entire book in under an hour, and he was practicing to cut that time down even further.

So John was puzzled when Sherlock just sat there, staring at the page, as the minutes ticked by. Was his writing really so terrible that Sherlock was paralyzed with horror and disgust? Was he angry that John was writing about him? John didn't think his handwriting was so bad Sherlock wouldn't be able to read it....

“Sherlock?” he said hesitantly. When he looked closer, he saw that Sherlock's eyes weren't moving. He wasn't reading the paper, just staring into space. “Sherlock?”

Sherlock finally looked up, his eyes glazed over, lacking their usual intensity. John waited for another minute for Sherlock to say something, or at least to give the slightest indication he hadn't transformed into a statue or something. “Okay, it's getting a bit scary now.”

At this, Sherlock drew in a deep breath, blinking rapidly and finally focusing on John's face. “The first...the first sentence....” he said breathlessly.

“Yes?” John squirmed a little under Sherlock's scrutiny. Was it really so bad that Sherlock hadn't even got past the first sentence?

“Did you really...you really meant that?”

John looked down at the page, where Sherlock was pointing vaguely at the top corner. The person I admire most is my best friend Sherlock Holmes. “Yes, of course,” John said impatiently. He wished Sherlock would get on with making fun of him or berating his word choice or whatever he was about to do.

But Sherlock just kept staring at him, as if he couldn't understand what he was looking at. As if the great Sherlock Holmes, for once, was utterly stumped. “So...I'm your...best...friend?”

Now John was the one staring at him, at a loss for words. How long had they known each other? Months? For practically the whole school year, they'd spent as much time as they could together at school, even though they were in different classes. Every day, one of them would go to the other's house—usually Sherlock's, since there was much more land they could rove around as pirates or explorers or detectives. They'd met while fighting off bullies. John had been there when Redbeard died. Sherlock had confided in him about his parents. John had told him about his dreams of joining the army.

Sherlock had changed John's life completely and irrevocably. And yet...somehow he didn't know they were best friends.

“Of course,” John said, his voice shaking with a disbelieving little laugh. “Of course we're best friends. No one else would put up with your shenanigans.”

Sherlock's eyes looked blue today, John noticed. They widened as John's words sank in, skittering from one of John's eyes to the other and back, as if checking any of the thousand minute details that would give away a lie. John sat there patiently, knowing Sherlock wouldn't find anything other than the simple truth he should have figured out ages ago.

“You know, Sherlock,” John commented when he still didn't say anything, “in moments like these, you're supposed to say something like, 'You're my best friend too.'”

At that, the stunned expression on Sherlock's face broke into a smile as he pushed himself impatiently to his feet. “I don't have friends, John!” he scoffed. He held out his hand with a little grin, full of sincere joy. “I've just got one.”

John grasped his hand and let Sherlock haul him to his feet. They raced off to solve the latest mystery, school assignment fluttering to the floor behind them, forgotten.

[perlmuttpoems]

Current School System

I was in third grade and we had English class and we crafted cute little mouse cards for our mothers because mothers day soon would pass.

And since we were in English class, we had to add a little English phrase to the card, which our teacher put up for us, or we could use our own, if we were imagination-enthusiasts.

Every kid started working, cutting out mice from grey and white paper, scraps and shapes flew around like confetti and streamers.

They drew pink hearts with colored pencils on the ears, red circles on the cheeks and black eyes with big lashes, staring into your soul with reflective flashes, and everything they needed, they put onto their cards to make them look unique.

And it didn't take long for me to think up my own little poет, so I put it on with all my pride and victory, thinking me teacher would be proud of me!

I raised my hand high enough to touch the moon, which didn't happen to me too often in this room.

Seconds later, the teacher held my card in her hands, but her reaction wasn't what I expected, her face turned red and mad and she yelled at me: „Do I speak Chinese or something!?"

I didn't understand.

We caught the attention of all my classmates in this moment, no scissors or pencils were heard anymore and she continued: „I said you have to pick an ENGLISH phrase, NOT German!"

I was so embarrased of myself and got back into the idea of not raising my hand for another couple of hundred years to avoid the yelling of the one and the laughter of the others afterwards.

My mother didn't even speak English, but my brain wasn't able to sort my reasons for this poem, because I was too panicked to think about anything.

I wished she could overlook my own insecurities of having problems with thinking ahead and instead appreciate my potential in something, but of course i hadn't thought ahead, again.

My school reports always said

I was talented in art, but still I was afraid to show them to my parents because of the grades I received in math and other subjects I couldn't concentrate on because they felt useless and unintelligible, nothing I would need in my future ever again.

This teacher let off all her anger by asking why I couldn't bring the same amount of knowledge from my favorite book at that time onto paper about the lessons we were taught and I had no answer, because at that time I was nine-year-old without enough words to explain that this school system isn't compatible with every individual soul in this classroom.

One day, when all my classmates went to another class, she asked me to sit down and have a talk. She started asking if I drank enough water, if I had breakfast and if I ate enough fruits and vegetables. Immediately I understood what she was up to, blindfolded trying to figure out why skipped school on a regular basis, not knowing that every day in school was a nightmare for my free spirit and I got shivers just thinking about entering this classroom and getting asked why I don't do certain things all the time that I try to avoid just to lock up my overdramatic tears.

Every time I convinced my parents that my stomach was in pain and I felt sick, my heart felt free and could finally feel joy, because I used this time to escape into my dream world and draw tons of comics about talking dogs and dragons and roommate friends, fairies, my toys and Yoshis and myself of course, with a big smile on my face, without a teacher telling me to put a smile on while being clearly done with everyone's shit.

She asked why I was so quitet all the time, clearly because this system gave me anxiety and didn't allow me to enjoy being myself, instead I said I was afraid to not make it to 4th grade.

Tears bursted out of my eyes, not exactly knowing why, because my gut feeling already got deprived.

While they taught us in theory how self expression worked, they didn't care a grain of sand on how different individual children were, and how instead their potential got stirred up in a brew full of destructiveness and ignorance.

I talk about my experiences, but I speak for many. Now, I can happily say that I can actually enjoy going to school because I don't get judged upon the things that I can't do, but get supported in following my dreams and doing what's important for me, with my passion being big part of my degree.

[chrisevanslovesposts]

A United Front

Tay was sat in her English class bored when she decided she didn't want to be in the class anymore. She told her teacher she had a paper she needed to finish in math and got up and left. As she walked down the hall she saw her mom and Cal talking in the hallway and she walked over to them.

"Mom?" She asked and Maddie turned to her.

"Oh, hey, um, I've got to go." Maddie hugged her then smiled at Cal and left leaving Tay with more question's.

"See ya, Cal." Tay said after watching her mom walk away for a moment and went to turn to go.

"See-, yeah, no, that ain't happening, it's Coach Maddox." Cal chuckled as he walked the other direction

"Mhm." Tay chuckled

"I mean it." Cal pointed at her.

"Yeah." Tay said laughing walking the rest of the way down the hall.

%

After practice Maddie picked them up from and they drove them home. Katie and Kyle ran inside as Ty and Tay took their time to get out.

"Hey, guys, hang on a second." Maddie told them before they made there way up the stairs.

"Coach Maddox wants to meet with me and your father to talk about about the issues that you've been having at school." Maddie told them

"What? No. Don't tell Bill. Just you go, please? He'll ruin everything. It might already be ruined but, I'd rather not have my coach get yelled at by him. Dad thinks he's on top of the world and Cal is at the bottom…. He'll reem him.. for nothing." Tay told before turning around going inside. Tay went to the work room to start on homework and a couple minutes later Ty walking in.

"Hey." Tay said looking up at him before looking back at the computer

"He's not gonna be there." Ty said sitting down beside her.

"Good." Tay said before standing up, "I gotta go start reading the chapters for higgens class." Tay said patting the top of his head a couple times.

"I love you, little bro." Tay said walking out.

"It's only by two minutes!"Ty yelled her as she started her way the stairs laughing.

%

Right when Ty and Tay came home from school they started on their homework, knowing they both were very close to failing and Maddie and Cal had given them multiple warning's. Tay decided she was gonna start getting her crap together and she was gonna drag Ty long with her. By 9  they both had passed out on the couch.

%

At lunch Tay sat by Ty when CeCe came up and started flirting with Ty. Tay rolled her eyes before Ty told her he had to put his and Tay trays up and they needed to get to class. Ty took his and Tay's tray to the garbage before they went to class.

Baseball Game

Tay watched as Ty ran out onto the field as they switch outfield. Tay ran over to him and they did there hand shake the best they could with Tay's broken arm. They hugged before Tay went back to the dug out. They were losing by two. And Ty was struggling because all that could be heard above everything else was Noreen and Bills yelling. Ty pitched the first ball and the guy hit the ball. Ty threw again and it was another hit by the other team.

(This is their handshake)

"Come on, bub, you got this!" Tay yelled wringing her fingers through the gate.

As Ty was about to pitch Noreen started yelling over everyone else. Tay looked over at Bill, he slowly looked up at her. She just stared at him, he was quick to look away before saying to Noreen to which she shook her head.

"Come on, Ty. Block out all the unnecessary things, that obviously bothering you." Tay yelled as she looked over at Bill and Noreen. Noreen looked at her and gave her weak smile.

"Come on, Ty. Focus." Cal yelled

"Tay, it doesn't help him when you embarrass him instead of help. Trying to call your father through her brother is not right." Cal told her making her sigh.

"That isn't my father. My father wouldn't have left his family to "do the right thing." By his mistresses. My father wouldn't have cheated in the first place." Tay told him, but nonetheless she didn't make any more jabs at her father through Ty cause she knew he was

"You got this, Bub!" She yelled giving him a smile that he threw back.

Ty pitched the ball and it was a foul. Noreen started yelling again.

"This time, Tyler, this time." Jackson said in a girly voice from the bench.

"Jackson. How about you shut the hell up." Tay turned to him. He laughed at her but he still shut up.

Ty pitched the ball and the batter hit it. Bill yelled as the guest team got a point. Ty got ready to pitch again and Noreen started to scream more. Tay looked over to see Cal staring Bill down. They both stared at each other before Bill looked away and said something to Noreen. Cal turned away and called a timeout. Cal and Tay walked out to the mound where Ty stood.

"Townsend, I know you got a lot messing with your head right now, but you gotta take a deep breath and try to push it all aside." Cal told him.

"You're rushing, and flying open on your front side. Just come to the plate a little slower, and stay a little bit longer on your back leg." Tay told him as Ty nodded.

"And then focus and fire." Cal told him

"Thanks, guys." Ty told them and Cal turned to walk away before turning back to him.

"And if it helps, just imagine the Face ID of your nemesis in the catcher's mitt." Cal told him hitting his shoulder before walking away.

"They're gone." Tay said and she watched Ty look at the stands and smile.

"Focus." Tay smiled before going back to the dug out. After that Ty was striking people out over, and, over, and over.

Pizza Parlor

Tay sat with Maddie and Katie coloring pictures when someone interrupted them.

"Hey, guys." Cal said causing them all to look up.

"Is this seat taken?" Cal pointed to the seat next to Tay in the four person booth.

"Sit with us, Coach! I don't want Kyle to come back because he always eats the pepperoni off my pizza." Katie explained to him as Tay slide out of booth for him to slide in then she sat down beside him.

"Oh,well, I assure you, I am no pepperoni thief." Cal told her.

"Good. Since I don't have to protect my pepperoni, can I go play in the arcade?" Katie asked

"You know, sweetie, I don't know that I have any quarters." Maddie told her looking through her bag.

"Oh, I always have quarters let me look." Cal told her as he reached into his pocket.

"Yeah. Here you go. Knock yourself out." Cal handed her a handful of quarters.

"Hey, what do you say?" Maddie asked stopping Katie before she left.

"Thank you, Coach." Katie told him the left.

"You're welcome." He smiled at her as Tay stood up.

"I'm gonna sit with the boys." Tay told them and they both nodded their heads and smiled.

%

At school CeCe said something about Kyle and Tay went and talked to her.

"Hey, question, do you know what happened to my arm?" Tay asked her.

"Yeah, I've seen Jacks face." CeCe said like it was obvious.

"Okay, well if you don't want that to be your face then don't talk about my brother." Tay said then walked away.

After school she was sat on the couch when Ty came in.

"Hey ms. Im gonna brake your face if you talk about my brother." Ty said sitting down beside her.

"Well, his name shouldn't even be in her mouth." Tay chuckled as Ty laughed.

[sixflame438]

Forever

Synopsis - Its exam season and you just finished your last paper. What better way to celebrate than to spend the night with the love of your life?

Pairing - Pham Hanni X Reader

Tags - Fluff, jumping jokes, swear words i think? Established relationship, possible spelling and grammar errors as i proofread this at 3am. You’re both so in love

A/N - FIRST POST!! Lowkey quite excited to make my debut but it’s scary lol. Hopefully you enjoy reading it. This is in honor of me finishing mocks, cant wait to fuck up my real ones :D

Word count - 4044

“Pens and pencils down students, your exams are now over” called a monotone voice. A crack of bones could be heard as the invigilator stood up and walked around collecting all the papers.  You hurriedly finished off what you were writing before dropping the pencil in your hand, looking back at your paper with disdain and disbelief. 

3 hours. You had spent 3 hours writing and erasing the same thing over and over again. The first time you had done spelling mistakes, the second time you had thought of a better way to rephrase everything and by the fifth time you rubbed your work out you had 5 minutes left.

Why did you even take that subject? You never enjoyed it and it was a chore to even complete the work assigned. Well it was either this or advanced maths and chemistry you thought to yourself, lowly chuckling knowing you would’ve rather jumped than take either of those courses.

Reluctantly you handed the paper over to the old man who said nothing as he hobbled over to the next desk, still with the same bored expression he wore when he first walked in. You cant blame him though, he had been sitting in the same room as you for 3 hours doing nothing but staring out the window. 

Scanning the room you could see the mixture of emotions, some ecstatic that the paper went well, some just as distraught as you were while some were just glad  it was over. Deciding maybe that’s the best thing to think about right now you also let out a sigh of relief, following your peers out of the exam hall.

After collecting your phone and bag you open it to see the time and no new text messages. Strange, Hanni should be free around now considering she had finished all her exams last week and the one you just took was the last one on the schedule. Thinking nothing more of it you trudged your way through the busy corridors of the building and found yourself in the cafeteria, the long, dreadful hours of your exam really took a toll on your energy.

After surveying your options for lunch you eventually decide to just keep it simple and grab 2 of the prepacked sandwiches, not even caring enough to see what flavours they were, you were just too hungry. As you took a bite of your sandwich (inside was ham, scrambled egg, hash brown and sauce) the deafening sounds of the dining hall finally catching up to you.

It was always busy, hundreds of students gathered in one place to hangout and enjoy some mediocre food, not to mention that an exam had just finished so the level of activity in the hall was tremendous. Deciding it was too much you opt to go home instead, back to your dorm you shared with the best (and your only) roommate you could ever ask for. It was the end of the week and you had no classes left either so there was no reason to stay anyways. 

During the hike home (you lived 10 minute walk away from campus) you stopped as you walked by the local park and playground. Seeing all the kids running around so carefree and excited had you reminiscing about all the times you and Hanni had fun there too. When one would have too much energy to sleep or were too bored to study you would always find a way back to the park together having the time of your life doing the most stupid shit known to man kind. Small but precious moments like those were the ones you cherished most. You didn’t need big grand and fancy to be happy, being quite content with small and intimate instead.

Finishing off the last bite of your sandwich you reached into your backpack and pulled out your second one as you continued your trek home. The first sandwich although did surprise you wasn’t all that bad. The flavours worked well together especially with the house made special sauce but it was all probably leftovers from breakfast anyway as they were your typical morning foods. You would kill to find out what was in that sauce though, there was just something about it that had your tastebuds melting away into a land of bliss and yumminess. Hanni never agreed with you (being a strong hater of the sauce) but found you quite endearing and just marked it off as one of your weird but adorable quirks. 

By the time you had finished your second sandwich (just a basic BLT but with chicken??) your legs had carried you to the front of your door. Scrambling around the pocket of your backpack you pull out your bundle of keys (filled with memorable keyrings and charms you and Hanni got one another) unlocking the door and slowly closing it behind as you enter.

Kicking off your shoes and placing down your stuff on the nearest table you walk over to your bedroom, quietly opening it to find a sleeping Hanni curled up in a little ball deep in the depths of her slumber. You giggle to yourself as you take a picture of the sight with your phone, adding it to the preexisting album of similar photos you had been sneakily taking for the past (almost) 1 year you guys had been together.

Hanni sleeping was one of your favourite versions of her. Here she is all calm and relaxed which is a stark contrast to when she was awake, lively and chaotic bring havoc anywhere she went. You loved her for it though, it brought a sense of uncertainty to your day and you just loved to see her have fun.

Deliberately trying not to disrupt the serenity you had found yourself in, you place your phone on the bedside drawer. Taking off your hoodie you change into more comfortable sleeping shorts. You carefully crawl into bed next to Hanni and wrap your arms around her waist. Instinctively Hanni responds to your touch pulling you closer to her and snuggling her head into the space between your head and shoulder. Your heart fluttered inside your chest at the small movement. The two of you did this every night but you knew you would never get tired of having her in your arms, basically sharing the same air. A small smile could be seen on your face as you drifted into the slumber of your afternoon nap, the exhaustion of the early morning hitting you hard. 

—————

Shifting around you warily open your eyes to be met with closed blinds, a blanket placed over you (now ruffled up as you had woken up) and an empty spot where Hanni used to be. As you got out of bed and peeked behind the door you could clearly hear light jazz and the sound of Hanni tapping away on her phone.  Tiptoeing over to her you gently pull her into a soft embrace. She flinches a little startled by your presence but quickly reciprocates the hug. 

“Hey baby how was your nap?” 

“It was nice but i woke up to find my giant teddy bear missing” you say with a pout.

“Aww baby your so cute, I’m right here though and I’m not going anywhere” she says back with a light chuckle, clearly amused with your response. “How’d your last exam go?” 

“I don’t think its anything worth talking, it wasn’t anything good thats for sure.” You reply, disappointment clear on your face. 

“Hey its alright, its just a measly paper you can always do better in the finals yea? Mocks are just for practice anyway” 

“Yea yea” you say dismissively “Whatcha doin?”

“Oh yea i was replying to Yunjins text, she was asking if we were gonna go to Wonyoung’s party tonight, you know the one she hosts after every last exam?” 

“Are we?”

“That depends on you, do you wanna go?”

“Uhh I’m kinda tired and parties aren’t usually my scene anyway”

“I think you should though. It would be a good way to let loose after exams and have some fun. I’ve seen how tense you’ve been the past few weeks, studying so hard to do well. Plus you would get to see the rest of the girls, its been a while since we’ve all hung out outside of class.”

In all actuality you didn’t want to go at all but with how much Hanni wanted you to just have some fun, you couldn’t say no to those pleading eyes. You missed the girls anyway so it would be a nice bonus.

“Yea okay but I’m only gonna have a few drinks max.” 

“Its fine you drink as much as you want i’ll stay sober for you tonight. Just have some fun okay?”

Parties were always more Hanni’s forte and for her to stay sober just for you was heartwarming as you knew she didn’t want you to risk doing anything dumb or getting hurt. Testament of how you had broken a large ceramic vase at the last party you went to when you had drunk too much and tripped over your own foot while walking. Luckily Wonnie didn’t care too much about that specific vase, saying she wanted to get rid of it anyway so you just gave her more of a reason to do so.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel left out or anything because of me”

“Yes I’m sure plus taking care of you is my full time responsibility can’t let anything happen to you. Now come on lets go get ready” Hanni says excitedly.

You grumble in annoyance but ultimately allow yourself to be dragged back into your bedroom, how could you ever say no to Hanni anyway???

—————

“And done!” Hanni exclaims as she steps back, admiring her hard work. “I’m gonna go get myself ready now hurry up and put your outfit on! I’ll be waiting outside” your girlfriend says before kissing your cheek and skipping out of your shared bedroom. A light blush appears below the blush she had just finished applying to you as you smile to yourself. God you loved Hanni so much she was just so adorable and treated you so well too.

You were never a big fan of doing your makeup or purposefully dressing to impress and you only really started putting in that effort when you started trying to rizz Hanni up. (You tried and failed but she found you quite endearing) How you managed to pull her you will never know but you would go through all your failed attempts again if it meant having her by your side. She is literally the love of your life and the amount of things you would do for her makes you seem borderline insane, but anything for her right?

After putting on the outfit Hanni had planned for you and grabbing a few other essentials you walk out to see the girl in her own outfit, although simple it did wonders on making her look so much prettier. Or was it the other way around?

“Aww baby you’re so beautiful, I’m so glad I get to call you mine” 

“Such a sweet talker, have you seen yourself in the mirror? The pleasures all mine” You reply back in between kisses. If there was one way you would happily die to it was lack of oxygen while kissing Hanni. Her soft pillowy lips were quite literally to die for and just thinking about them could have you watering. 

“Okay we can continue this later let’s go!”

—————

Hand in hand you walk up to the house that was blasting hiphop tunes, door wide open as you could see that it was already packed. You felt a queasy feeling come up but pushed it aside as you felt Hanni squeeze your hand in comfort. “Remember if you want to leave just let me know, i’ll probably be talking to other people but I promise to stand in open places so you can find me easier okay?” 

“Okay I’ll keep that in mind, thanks again for tonight”

“Aww baby you’re too cute” Hanni says with a happy pout, giving your face a little squish in the process. “Now go have fun its what your here for” 

“Yes ma’am” you respond with a small salute before going over to the drinks table. Hanni giggles again at your behaviour, how could she have not fallen for you? Although nonchalant on the outside you were just an adorable little loser, HER adorable loser and she wouldn’t trade you for anything. 

“Aye Yn you look so hot girl! If I didn’t know any better I’d so hit on you tonight” 

A small laugh escapes your mouth as you feel 2 arms wrapping around you. 

“Hey Gigi its nice to see you too and don’t even get me started on you’re outfit! Are you trying to get hit on tonight or something??”

“Haha thanks girly, I’m not but Minjeongs definitely trying to. She’s been attempting to flirt with Karina all night but she’s so short and cant stand her ground because she keeps getting interrupted by not only her own stupidity but also the other partygoers who are also trying to hit on Karina. I feel sorry for Minjeongie but its fucking hilarious to watch especially since she keeps stumbling over her words. She’s both whipped and drunk, its a great combo” Giselle tells you as she laughs at the situation Winter had gotten herself into.

“Enough about her let’s go get you some drinks in your system and have some fun!” 

You nod in agreement as you allow yourself to be dragged away again, twice in one day. 

—————

By now you had had multiple drinks and played 4 rounds of beer pong against different classmates. You danced here and there when good songs started playing and also managed to trip up Yunjin completely on accident as she has tried walking up to talk to you. You didn’t drink much normally and were quite the lightweight.

Some how during the night you ended up with Minji instead, neither of you knowing how you ended up together. You were barely coherent as you tried to drink more, swaying from side to side as you walked. 

“Okay girl I think you’ve had enough where’s your girlfriend at? Come on Yn let’s go” Minji whines as she attempts to drag you over to Hanni but you weren’t having it, choosing to grab onto the nearest object you could to prevent yourself being dragged away. You weren’t about to be kidnapped today and no one but your girlfriend could touch you. 

“God you’re so stubborn how does Hanni deal with you everyday? You know what forget it you’re a lost cause” 

“HEY! You say exasperated “thats so meeeeaaannnnn” purposely elongating your words to annoy Minji even more.        

“Yea? Well I’m done ah perfect timing here’s the angel you speak so highly of.” 

“Hey Minji sorry for having to deal with her but I can take over now” Hanni had been easily alerted by your loud presence and came over to see what was up.

As soon as you registered who the owner of that angelic voice was you turned around and did a little jog over to her with outstretched arms ready to crush her and never let go.

“Hannnnniiiiiiiiiiiiii” You were always extra clingy when drinking but ONLY towards your beloved, everyone else had to face an annoying baby who was actively praying on their downfall. 

“Hey baby I’m here now” she tells you but she’s sure its gone straight over your head as you do nothing but cling tighter. 

Minji just stands there amused at the scene in front of her. “Nah don’t worry about it Yn hardly ever drinks anyway and despite how annoying she is she’s quite entertaining haha”

“Yea she’s something when she’s drunk alright. Do you and the rest of the girls wanna hang out sometime? Exam season is over and its been a while”

“Oh yea of course I’m so down, i’ll ask the girls later. Speaking of I should probably go check on Dani, last I saw she was throwing up in a random bush” Minji says wincing at the last part, Dani no anyone throwing up was a disgusting sight.

“Oof yea have fun dealing with her, I think I’m gonna take Yn home now. I’ll text you later yea?”

“Yep sounds like a plan, have a good night!” 

“I think you need that more to me haha” 

“Yea I probably do” Minji says deadpanning before leaving to go find Danielle “Cya!”

During her conversation with Minji you had managed to almost fall asleep just hanging onto Hanni like a koala and if it weren’t for the support you would’ve fallen over by now with how much you were swaying on your feet, the alcohol making you unable to stay still. 

“Hey sweetheart wanna go home now? You look very sleepy” Hanni cooes gently. However you were unresponsive so she pokes you in the cheek and squishes your face with her hands. This does nothing to wake you up though as the warm hands against your face just make you feel more at home. 

“Yn?” Hanni chuckles lightly. What a sweet sweet voice that is you think to yourself, should only belong to the prettiest girls in the world. Oh wait thats my girlfriend. Hehehehe, mine. Hanni chuckles again as she hears you mumble out that last part 

“Ynnie you’re too cute, come on lets get going” 

“Nooooo but I don’t wannnnaaa go homeeeee” You whine pouting your bottom lip even further as if it would convince Hanni more.

Your girlfriend thinks for a second before replying “how about we got get some food then? From that one place we go to when I’m hungover and your too lazy to cook?”

“Oh yay I love that place! They make the best fried chicken and cold noodles. Its always so yummy, there isn’t a single time its been bad. And their homemade dumplings??? Ugh so good. Have you tried their…” You carry on rambling as Hanni leads you out to your car, most of your words slurred but having spent so long with you now Hanni has no problem deciphering your drunken thoughts.

The entire drive over was just more of you asking and answering your own questions like a loopy idiot. Hanni did nothing but listen and hold one of your hands as she drove towards the late night restaurant you both frequented. Usually it was always Hanni yapping away so it was a nice change for both of you today.

—————

After you both devoured that one hell of a meal;(you ordered almost everything and Hanni couldn’t find it in her to stop you. If it weren’t for the old grandma who owned the place you would probably be out of money now “yah don’t eat so much so late! Come back another day”) you decided to go to the local park.

It wasn’t far from your home (the same one you walked past earlier) and had a beautiful view. Not prettier than your girlfriend of course but definitely up there. Sure it was now 4am but thats beside the point and you both had nothing planned anyway. Somehow after spending the entire time laughing and giggling away your drunk ass still had too much energy, the alcohol still apparent in your system. Hanni didn’t know how you did it, you were always so energetic when drunk, more hyper and affectionate.

It was as if all the energy you didn’t use in the day gets stored and just comes out all at once. She loved you like this though as it gave her a chance to take care of you like you normally did to her. Hanni was always more appreciative when you drank though as it was when she realized how much energy it truly takes to look after a drunkie and made her feel sorry for you as you were always there for her after every night out. 

Hanni made her way over to your spot on the little hill, luckily she didn’t have to lug you around this time as you had bolted off as soon as she had parked the car. Running around like a child in the meadows, basking in the sunlight. It wasn’t the afternoon or anything close but the bright moon rays casted a wonderful glow over everything it touched, including your body that was now sprawled out on the grass. 

Sitting down next to you she leans on the giant oak tree standing proud as the flagpole of your sacred space. You shift closer to Hanni and put your head in her lap, staring up at the stars above. Tonight was the first time you had seen this many stars out in a while, the sky free of clouds as the stars shone like glitter in the night.

No matter how radiant the stars were you couldn’t stop yourself from looking at your girlfriend, her dazzling beauty and kind personality captured you in a kind of enchantment. There was no other star you needed except her. The both of you just sit and stare out at the stars as you enjoy being in each others presence. It had been about 10 minutes before you spoke up, nearly dozing off against Hanni.

“Hey Hanni thanks for taking me out tonight, I think I really needed this and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

You speaking out of the blue catches her attention as she looks down at you with an affectionate smile.

“Aww sweetheart there’s no need to thank me I’m just returning the favour” She replies back proudly

“I love when you take care of me like I’m the only girl in the world” 

“I’ll make sure to do it more often then my sweet baby angel” Hanni says as she brings her hand up to your hair, combing through thoroughly and getting rid of the knots that formed from the eventful night you’ve had. “ you’re lucky I love taking care of you and I’ll keep doing it for as long as you’ll have me” 

“Make yourself comfortable then cause I don’t plan on leaving any time soon.” You retort back with a muffled chuckle. “Or ever for that matter” Whispering the last line softly when you feel a warm hand fall to your left cheek.

“Oh really? So forever?” Hanni asks a little amused but more wonderstruck as the implications of your words didn’t escape her. 

“Forever” you replied back, asserting your previous statement. 

Hanni’s face goes flush as she turns her head away from you in embarrassment, not that you could tell either way as your eyes had almost fully closed. A small ping from both of your phones regains Hanni’s attention as she glances down at the notification. Beaming at you she bends down to leave a kiss on your forehead. The gentle and delicate touch wakes you up as your eyes open up again, looking back at your girlfriend with a dopey and sleepy but loving gaze. 

“I love you so much you know that?” You remind Hanni as your eyes start fluttering close again, shifting in and out of consciousness. The mix of her tender touches and the stress of the week adding to your sleepy state. 

“You remind me everyday, how could I not?” Hanni quips before fondly adding  “I love you too Yn, happy 1 year anniversary” 

Tearing her gaze away from your drowsy figure, she could see the glimpses of sunlight start to poke through the sky.

A low whisper could be heard as you mumbled back an I love you too.

There is no combination of words Hanni could use to describe how much you meant to her and how much she cherished you. You were her everything. She smiled lovingly as she heard your breathing slowly even out.

Ironic how you fell asleep as the world began to wake but sometimes it’s better to just have that moment to yourselves. And what better time to have it than when everyones asleep? Not a single soul out to bother you.

Just you and the love of your life.

Together, forever. 

[skloomdumpster]

#25 (as a 'yes') or #36 (to give up control) for Saul x Andreas, pretty please!

…as a ‘yes’.

…to give up control.

"There's still time to run, if you want," Andreas says and there's amusement coloring his words. As a father who's telling a child you don't really have to go on that stage, when they all know the child will.

Saul feels an urge to roll his eyes at his own correlation. Andreas is not the type of father to do that, anyway, nor was his own dad. This is something he got out of the movies he watched with Sky.

"Run where, exactly?" Saul fixes his belt buckles, staring at himself in the mirror.

Andreas shrugs, "you have contacts down in Eraklyon... Hell, you have contacts everywhere," he collapses on an armchair and Saul looks at him in the mirror reflection. Saul might be sporting the ill-fitting, borrowed specialist uniform, but Andreas is dressed for a party. He catches the other man's eyes.

"So I run," Saul theorizes, "I throw the pardon that Rosalind worked so hard to get me to the wind and then I run... And who does that benefit?"

Certainly not Saul. He'd be, once again, hunted by the crown. He wouldn't be close to Sky. He'd be jeopardizing the safety of all the allies who offered him asylum. Pissing off Rosalind. It's a simple math.

The one person that running would benefit is Andreas. Then he could step up, take his rightful place in Sky's life and finish ruining him for good. So he wouldn't have to put up with Saul or even share Rosalind's favor.

"It's freedom," Andreas picks at his nails, "so I guess it'd be benefiting yourself."

"Please," Saul rolls his eyes, "...You don't believe this. You didn't run," he turns around, away from the reflection and so he can face the real deal, "you stayed put, sixteen years following orders and choking yourself on her leash, like a loyal dog."

He crosses the room in three large steps. Andreas is spread out on the armchair, legs open and stretched ahead, arms uncrossed. Open and inviting and honest, taking up as much space as he can, because he's not the one clinging to one piece of paper to have his life back in paper. He's secured himself back in the hole left for him in their lives, made himself at home.

"You're not listening," he says and again the amusement is back. Saul sits on the coffee table that's in front of Andreas, leans on his knees and feels himself be transported twenty years before. Being chastised by a 23 year old Andreas, whose ground he wanted to kiss back then. Now he feels contempt and annoyance at most, as Andreas shakes his head and leans forward, bracing against his knee, "you're not listening to what I'm telling you."

"Enlighten me, then," Saul rolls his eyes, "tell me why I should turn my back now and let you keep Sky, Alfea, my life."

"Because I didn't run," Andreas sighs, leans further in and now they're so close that Saul can taste the mint and champagne in his breath, "you're right. I stayed put, sixteen years. Take it from who knows it best, run now. Before you turn around and find that the collar around your neck, the one you've been pushing against, has been strapped to nothing and you have no one to blame but you."

It paints a picture so vivid that it causes Saul to reel back. This is the closest he'll ever get to an apology or an admission of guilt or regret. He hates himself, because his mind is made up. He's staying, tightening the knot around his throat, for love.

"too late for that," Saul sighs, leans in and closes the space between them. Andreas doesn't jump back, instead he kisses him back almost instinctively, as if the kiss was coming all along. Sealing a deal, "sixteen years too late for that, Andreas. A whole son too late. A whole life."

[messers-moony]

Wish | F.H

Paring: Five Hargreeves X Wife!Reader

Summary: Five storms out to time travel after an argument with his wife and comes back to an unexpected surprise.

A/N: Five time travels at the age of 26 instead of 13

He was angry, that wasn’t mistaken, “ You aren’t listening to me! “

“ Are you hearing yourself?! What you’re about to do is dangerous! “ She yelled in response, and he scoffed.

They stood in the main room of their apartment. Y/n was placed in the kitchen leaning on the island while Five was dangerously close to the door. Both of them at the age of twenty-five. They had gotten married only a year before finding each other during one of his trips to Griddy’s with his siblings. He thought she was the prettiest thing he had ever seen.

Five stalked closer to her, “ You are so stubborn. “

“ I am the strongest one. “ His voice was dangerously low as they stood only a foot apart, “ I will do this. I don’t care what you say. Nothing will change that. “

“ Five, please. “ Y/n begged, “ I’m- I’m just worried about you. “

“ You don’t need to be. “ Five snapped, and he fast-walked to the door.

The male swung open the door, “ Five wait, please- “ But before she could finish, the door slammed, “ I’m pregnant. “

It was new news. She didn’t find out until a week earlier. She didn’t know when to tell him; there never was a suitable time. Now he had just threatened to fulfill a lifetime goal of his– time travel. Since he was a boy, he’s wanted to prove his worth. The only way Five could think to do that is by time-traveling into the future. He didn’t know what the future would entail. He definitely didn’t plan to get stuck in an apocalypse.

So for nine torturous months, Y/n endured a pregnancy. She was carrying a child of her presumed to be dead husband, which she didn’t believe in the slightest. Five Hargreeves was alive, and she knew that regardless of what anyone told her. She had a baby boy who she named Malachi. The same bright, alluring green as his fathers.

Despite his birth father not being around, Diego was a significant help. Diego stepped in where Five couldn’t. He was there for all of Malachi’s firsts and everything in between. But he was always Uncle Diego. A constant reminder that this man wasn’t his father. As far as the little boy knew, he didn’t have a father.

Things got more tricky as he got older. Malachi realized that a father figure was more common than not, which brought raising questions. She answered to the best of her abilities, but nothing was ever valid. None of her answers could be a hundred percent true because she didn’t know either. It was killing her to see her son this way.

He longed for a father. Wanted nothing more for a father-son relationship. Every birthday, every Christmas, he wished for his father to come home. It was killing Y/n because she understood his pain. The amount of dread, guilt, and sadness.

Maybe if she had told Five sooner, he would’ve never left. The guilt ate away at her. It was like an insect slowly crawling its way under her skin into her bones and nibbling them until they were gone. It didn’t help Malachi was an exact replica of his father. The dark, almost raven hair parted to the side, the glittering green eyes and a defined face.

No matter how long Five was gone, Y/n never took off her rings. She was a married woman until proven otherwise. Malachi had never even seen photos of his father. That was normal to him. All he knew was that his Uncles and Aunts told him he looked the exact same. Despite the same appearances, they had clashing personalities.

Malachi was the sweetest guy you could ever meet. Kind no matter who the person was. Wise beyond his years and intelligent like no other. His strong suit was English while he struggled in math. The irony was amusing. His father excelled in math, but he couldn’t do a two-step equation if he tried.

In the grand scheme of things, this didn’t matter. He got all the way up to high school. He was seventeen, to be exact, in his junior year of school. It was the summer before his senior year, and he couldn’t be more excited. As the years went on, the hope of meeting his father diminished to the point where he didn’t even think about it anymore.

He had his mom, and that’s all that mattered. His mom was his rock, his number one supporter, and his best friend. Malachi loved his mom more than anything and would give anything to keep her safe. Diego had grown to be like a father to him, but it was never the same. Malachi was sitting at the island doing homework while Y/n was cooking.

“ Hey, mom? “ He called, “ Yeah? “ Y/n turned to look at her son.

Malachi fidgeted with the pencil in his hand, “ Can I- Can I see your rings? “

“ My rings? Why? “ She asked, “ Well, dad gave them to you, didn’t he? “ Malachi replied.

Y/n nodded, “ Of course he did. We were married, technically we still are married. “

“ I just wanted to see what dad gave you. “ He murmured.

Hesitantly Y/n twisted both her engagement ring and her wedding ring off her left ring finger. She set them down on the granite island before her son so he could look at them. Gently he picked the engagement ring up and looked at it. It was the only time he’s ever seen the ring this close. She never took them off.

“ We got engaged in the snow. “ Y/n informed quietly, “ I really wasn’t expecting it. He never seemed like one to settle down. “

Malachi listened intently, “ Regardless. It was almost Christmas, and he took me to go Christmas shopping at one of the malls which was outside. “ She chuckled, “ Why he did that, I don’t know, but it was amusing. We got hot chocolate despite his love for coffee, and I made him wear a Santa hat. “

“ He was never into festivities before meeting me. Neither were your Aunts and Uncles. I started making holidays become more festive when you were born. Eventually, they got the hang of it. “ Y/n continued, “ Why was dad's name a number? “ He interjected.

“ He never got a name like the rest of his siblings. “ She answered plainly, “ Why? “

Y/n sighed, “ His father, more specifically your grandfather was a cruel man. Still is a very cruel man, which is why you’ve never met him. Reginald made the Umbrella Academy, where he adopted your dad along with his other siblings. “ She explained, “ They endured long days of training without breaks and horrid living environments. They were treated as experiments rather than children. “

“ They all got names, but Five didn’t want one. He rejected it because it didn’t matter. Name or anything. Their numbers would always define them, and Five was the only one who understood that. “ She finished.

“ What really happened to him? I know you’ve given me vague explanations, but I think I’m ready for the real thing. “ Malachi stated, “ I’m seventeen now. “

“ I know. Your father had powers. His others siblings do as well. They all do certain things. Five could travel through space and time. “ Y/n began, “ Growing up, he always felt the need to prove himself, to be better than everyone else. “

“ So, one day, he told me he was going to time travel. It was a big argument that definitely didn’t need to happen. At the time, I was a week pregnant with you, and I didn’t know how to tell him. “ She swallowed the emotions arising after remembering Five’s glare,

“ When I told him, it was too late. He was already out the door and gone. “

Y/n walked forward and took the rings back. She placed them back on her ring finger carefully as her son watched every movement. He knew she was upset. Malachi couldn’t help but be a bit resentful towards his father. All this to make a point? It seemed far-fetched.

“ That solution seems a bit absurd. “ Malachi commented, “ That's what I was trying to tell him, but he was very prideful and stubborn. “ Y/n replied.

A knock echoed through the apartment. The room felt tense. It wasn’t right; something felt off. Malachi felt it immediately cause he stood up and began walking to the door, wanting to protect his mother if a threat was there. Secretly Diego may have given him some defense classes, but that didn’t matter.

The boy opened the door to see almost the exact same face staring back at him, “ Who are you? “ Malachi snapped.

“ More importantly, who are you? “ The man retorted.

Every hair on Y/n’s body stood up. She knew that voice, and she knew that tone. It was him. He was back. It took everything inside her not to scream or cry but seeing Malachi hold his defensive stance against his own father was worrying her.

“ Malachi. “ She called, and he turned to her as she began to walk to the door, “ I need you to go to your room and promise not to eavesdrop. “

He wanted to protest, “ Please, sweet. I’ll be okay. I promise. “

Reluctantly Malachi backed away from the door giving the man a harsh glare that made the man evidently tense. Y/n waited for Malachi to be fully retreated in his bedroom before looking at the man in front of her.

“ Well. It looks like you’ve moved on. “ Five murmured, “ No- please. It isn’t what it looked like. “ She pleaded.

Her hand took his, and he recognized the rings on her finger. The same rings Malachi had just been examining. The same rings he took months to search for to find the perfect fit for his perfect girl. Everything seemed so colorful in his greyscale world now. His wife was still his.

“ Who- Who is he? “ His voice trembled as his lingering suspicion felt more accurate than ever, “ Come in and sit. We need to talk. “ Her voice was gentle and held no malice.

Five entered the now unrecognizable apartment. It wasn’t the same as when he left. In fact, everything seemed moved out of place. Y/n walked to the stove and turned off the burner that she was using. Five had peered at the papers on the island that were math worksheets and took a seat beside them.

“ Where did you go? “ She asked, “ The future. “

“ No shit. What did it look like? “ Y/n retorted playfully, “ It’s not as I hoped. It’s an apocalypse, love. “ His voice held so much pent emotion it was almost radiating off him.

She sighed, “ Okay. We need to talk about that- “

“ I- I want to know who that kid is. “ Five interrupted, and she gave him a knowing look, “ Malachi, can you come out here. “ Y/n called, and instantly he was out of his room.

The boy stood beside his mom, still not comfortable with the unfamiliar man. This time Five got a chance to really look at the teenage boy in front of him. The defined face, the almost raven hair, the same sage green eyes. His posture was protective and territorial, obviously for his mom.

“ Y/n… “ Five began as he swallowed the tears in his throat, “ Is- Is he mine? “

She nodded, “ Five Hargreeves, I’d like you to meet your son, Malachi Hargreeves. Malachi, I’d like you to meet your father, Five. “