#but we all know he was scared the entire time

[moonstruckme]

rooomate james. 😭😭 literally obsessed w himm!!

Me too I love him (and you!) sm <3

part 1 │ part 2 │ part 3 │ part 4 │part 5 │ part 6 │ part 7 │ part 8 │ part 9

roommate!James x shy!reader ♡ 808 words

You don’t recognize James’ car until he shouts at you. 

“Hey!” 

You give a little jump, turning midair to find James smiling out the rolled-down window. 

“Want a lift?” 

“God, you scared me!” You backtrack and open the passenger door. The seat looks to have been tidied in a hurry, receipts and takeaway containers tossed into the backseat. “How’d you even know I’d need a ride?” 

James refrains from responding to give you an expectant look. You roll your eyes and buckle your seatbelt. Satisfied, he puts the car in reverse, setting his hand on your seat to look behind him as he backs out of the parking spot. 

“You weren’t home when I got there,” he says, “and then I remembered on Sundays you usually get off at eleven, so here I am. Is Art not with you?” 

“No, he wasn’t working tonight.” 

James doesn’t seem too disappointed by this. He pulls onto the street. You watch him, looking almost unconsciously for signs of wear and tear. 

Now that rugby season is in full swing, he’s gone not just during the day for training but sometimes overnight for away games. You’ve been alone in your apartment for the whole weekend while he played in London and then Bristol. It was weird. You think you’ve accidentally grown used to having James around. You don’t fancy yourself a very tactile person, and the urge to hug him isn’t terribly strong, but it’s there. 

“How was work?” he asks you. 

“It was fine. How were your matches?” 

“They were fine,” he imitates you, grinning. “No, it’s like I said. Winning the second one’s always better than winning the first and losing the second. It’s nice to end on a good note.”

He’d texted continual updates while he was gone. You sat on your couch, pretending to yourself or perhaps to some invisible, judgemental observer that you were watching TV when really you were entirely focused on James’ texts. You imagined him sitting in his hotel room doing the same, or maybe in a pub with his teammates, smiling at his phone each time you responded. 

Your imagination has become terribly overindulgent lately. 

“Honestly, I was pretty disappointed you weren’t home when I got there,” James says, a familiar teasing lilt to his voice. “I was hoping to come in and catch you wearing one of my jumpers and staring tearily at a framed photo of me.” 

You roll your eyes, but your face burns. You did use his shampoo, once. In your defense, you’d run out of yours, but you thought that it wouldn’t be so bad to smell like him, nice and fresh and comforting. It had foamed more than you expected. It did smell really nice, but it made your hair feel dry (boy shampoo always does that, you’ve no idea how James’ curls seem to thrive under such poor treatment) and you felt silly about it for days, lovesick in the most derogatory sense. 

Didn’t stop you from sniffing your hair occasionally, though. 

“You weren’t gone to war,” you reply. “And where would I get a framed photo of you?” 

James looks affronted. “I assumed you already had one. How did you get through the weekend without even a photo? You brave, brave girl.” 

“I actually threw a rager,” you deadpan. “Rented out your room to six people traveling through with the carnival and let them invite over all their friends. Did loads of hard drugs.” 

“Well, we all have different ways of coping.” He reaches over to squeeze your shoulder consolingly. You pretend goosebumps don’t skitter all the way down your arm from the brief touch. “And what a marvelous job you’ve done covering up your escapades!” He exclaims as you pull up in front of the apartment. “I haven’t come across the cocaine dust on our bathroom counter yet, so you must have really done a thorough cleanup.” 

“Keep looking, it’s around there somewhere.” 

James laughs. You’re slower getting out of the car than he is, and by the time you emerge he’s in front of you, pulling you into a hug. You think your bones liquefy. He’s warm and strong and he smells like his shampoo, both arms squishing you heartily before he lets go with a little laugh. 

“Sorry,” he says, bringing his hands to your upper arms, “I didn’t even ask. I just missed you, you know?” James has this look on his face, smile brilliant and eyes wide open. So saccharine sweet you almost can’t look at him. “Guess I got used to having you around.” 

You do your best to smile back. “Yeah, me too.” 

He squeezes your arms before turning to go inside. “You smell like Italian food, too. I don’t suppose you’ve cooked anything recently that’s still in the fridge? I’m beginning to think about second dinner.” 

[seresinhangmanjake]

His

Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen x reader

Summary: You used to be a Lady, a daughter of a Great House until Feyd took you. Since then, your sole purpose has been to warm his bed, but when Rabban asks about having you for himself, Feyd makes a choice that changes your future.

Words: 2600

Notes: Possessiveness. Grumpy Feyd. I know it's similar to another one of my fics, but I realized that after the fact, so...

Feyd-Rautha Masterlist

You didn’t sleep. Not a wink. You laid in his bed all night, waiting for the man who never came, and your heart didn’t cease its ferocious beats for a second. Where is he? Why isn’t he here? Is he ok? What happened? The sun rises without answers to those questions. 

You shoot up in bed when the door eases open. Expecting to find him, you’re disappointed to see instead his harpies enter one after the other. They don’t look at you. One goes about riffling through your dresses in the closet, one heads into the bathroom and you suddenly hear a rush of water filling the tub, and the last of them goes to the vanity Feyd brought in for you, lining up makeup and hair pins that she intends to use on you. 

The air about them is poised—an echo of who they used to be before they were turned into pets—as, for the moment, their vile, more carnivorous side lies dormant. 

Feyd only allows them to near you a couple hours after they’ve been fed; the peak time between their hunger sated and their bellies rumbling. At any other time, your uniquely foreign scent wafts to their nostrils and they are incapable of holding themselves back. More than a handful of instances—when they’ve managed to manipulate the guards to open their cages with their seductive smiles—they’ve gone on the hunt for you; one time in particular, sneaking into the bedroom in the middle of the night and yanking you from Feyd’s arms with the intention of sinking their teeth into your flesh. Feyd had been so furious he’d cut a finger from each of their hands. 

Still, they don’t scare you. You see in them women not entirely unlike yourself: owned, and therefore, changed. Soft are the women who have had the luxury of marriage and child-rearing in the comforts of wealth and beautiful homes—and good for them; how lovely to be soft—but it is the women who have not a choice in their existence that develop a steel shell. And you and the harpies have steel shells. In that way, they are your kin, and you try to subtly express that when you can, even though their allegiance to Feyd can make that quite difficult.

“Where is he?” you ask. 

They ignore you, continuing with their tasks, and you huff. Yes, sometimes they refuse to speak with you, and always it seems when you need their words most. In the past, you’ve been tempted to dangle your arm in front of their sharpened fangs in the hope that the offering will encourage their cooperation, but you’ve yet to find the bravery for that. Plus, Feyd would lose his mind. Well, he would lose the rest of it. 

“You’ve spoken to me before,” you continue. “Why not now?”

One of them stops and faces you. She glances at her sister who shakes her head. 

“Tell me,” you plead. 

“We are not permitted to speak with you on the matter,” the other says to your frustration. That is not good enough. Regardless of how he sees you and how you feel, he is the one thing keeping you alive on this lifeless planet and you refuse to go about your days worrying over his safety and what his disappearance means for your fate.

You throw the sheets off your legs and stand. 

“I don’t care,” you spit as your silky nightgown falls at your ankles, but then you reconsider your tone. The harpies do not do well with aggression. Being so animalistic, their instincts are easily drawn out, and they tend to attack when attacked, which is not a fight you would win. 

You take a calming breath, placing a hand over your heart. “We are the same. He owns us, he clothes us, he feeds us,” you remind them. “On this planet, I am as much your sister as you are each other’s. We all care about him in a way and if I knew what happened to him, I would have the decency to tell you.”

The harpy who drew your bath returns to the bedroom. Having overheard your words, she crosses her arms and says, “With respect, my Lady, we are not your sisters,” she says. “We have never had him the way you have, and he does not feel for us the way he does you.” 

Your clenched jaw loosens, lips parting. If you had assumed anything about the relationship between Feyd-Rautha and his harpies, it was that they had once been where you are; that when you came along, they lost their rank and became something alike the handmaids from your home world. You’d assumed that when they warmed his bed, their handmaids were the women who entertained him before them, and so on like a disgusting, perverted pattern. But if that is not the case, then your sense of identity is even more confused. Not to mention, nary a soul has referred to you as ‘Lady’ since you were taken from your family. So why show that respect now when Feyd practically stripped you of the title months ago? 

You look to the only one of the three who seems unsure of the situation. She’s biting her lip, worrying the fabric of your unworn gown between her fingers. 

“What about you?” you ask her and her head lifts to meet your eyes. She’s the smallest of them—pixie-esque, like you read in fairytale stories as a child—and despite the core of their primal nature, the gentlest. “You want to tell me.”

The harpy by your vanity hisses, but the gentle one does not shy away at the warning. “She has been kind to us,” she tells her sister in the most self-assured tone you’ve ever heard leave her mouth. 

The sister snaps back. “He instructed us to do one thing: get her ready for the day and act like nothing is wrong. It was not to tell her what happened.”

You lightly gasp. “So something has happened,” you state, feeling your heartbeat quicken. Your chest begins to rise and fall to match the rapid rate. “Is he ok?”

There are a few seconds of silent pause before Pixie stands a little straighter, setting her shoulders in a strong line. “Our Lord na-Baron was answering for the death of his brother.”

Your head jerks back. “Rabban?” you question, your brow pinching. “Rabban is dead?”

“Yes, my Lady.”

“And Feyd is the one who killed him?” That doesn’t make any sense. While Feyd has complained enough for you to know Rabban is a bumbling idiot, he eventually found a way for his brother to serve a purpose. Why would he kill a man when he is no longer the nuisance he once was, you wonder, so you ask, “Why?”

“The Lord Rabban…made suggestions,” Pixie tells you. One of the harpies groans as the other shakes her head.

“What suggestions?”

She bites down and swallows hard, then she says, “He suggested that the na-Baron share you for his own pleasure.”

Instantly, you’re hit with a wave of nausea. Share? Share you? The concept of a foreign woman hopping between men of status is not unusual, but at this point, you assumed if Feyd were going to participate in something like that, he would have sent you off already. Not doing so didn’t even surprise you. He’s too possessive. 

“You said he was answering for Rabban’s death,” you say, but answering for that surely wouldn’t have taken so many hours, not when the Baron saw Rabban as a waste of space. “So where is he now?”

—

He doesn’t notice when you step into the training room and you’re thankful for that. You came on a mission to extract more answers out of him, but you don’t mind having a second to admire him sparing against his trainer. 

He’s sweaty. You like him sweaty—sweaty and bare-chested and perfectly, effortlessly mesmerizing as aggressive grunts leave his lips. You silently watch their violent dance, your form mouse-like by the door until his trainer looks up and halts to stare at you. Feyd whips around to follow his line of sight, then he sighs and turns back to the smaller man. He mutters something as he grabs the rag at his belt and runs it down his face. 

The trainer leaves and Feyd places his knife back on the table among many others. “I told them to keep you away today,” he says dully, monotone, not meeting your eyes as he runs his finger over the blade and fiddles with the hilt. “Incompetent brats.” 

“You didn’t come to bed.”

“I was busy,” he responds without letting a beat pass. He continues to avoid your stare and mess with the knives as if he’s never wielded them before.

You slowly step down the stairs into the pit of the room. “Busy killing your brother?” you ask. The muscles in his back twitch and flex under pale skin as he grips the hilt harder. 

“That is none of your concern.” The distance between you lessens until you’re a foot from his back, but he doesn’t turn around. 

“Even though you killed him because of me?” you ask. His neck ticks and his head tilts and shifts to adjust to the tension. When he still doesn’t respond, you try another angle. “Why are your harpies referring to me as their ‘Lady’?”

That seems to do it. Feyd faces you, crosses his arms, and leans his lower back against the table. “You think spending one night without me gives you permission to be nosy?”

You don’t give in to his method of shutting you up by aiming to make you feel silly and guilty. Instead, your eyes narrow and you mirror the crossing of arms. “Why am I a Lady again?”   

“You just are.”  

“Are you sending me home?”

His eyes flash. Blue irises darken a shade. “Don’t be stupid.”

“So I’m a Lady on Giedi Prime?” you ask, dropping your chin to emphasize how ridiculous that sounds. 

The edge of Feyd’s jaw sharpens as he clenches his back teeth. “Stop asking questions.”

“Then answer one,” you say. 

It’s a shot taken by an untrained hand, as he doesn’t enjoy demands, especially not from you, but you figure you have nothing to lose in the attempt, so you don’t cower under his menacing glare. You wait. And much to your surprise, he surrenders. 

He blinks, and when his eyes open, they have softened ever so slightly. Then he says, “You’re marrying me,” and everything from your lungs to your limbs freezes in shock. 

“W–What?” you stutter. That makes less sense than Rabban’s sudden death. 

Feyd groans and stands straight, his arms falling at his sides. “See what being nosy gets you?” he snaps. “I wasn’t going to tell you immediately, and you had to go and ruin it.”

He grabs a fresh knife and stomps his way over to a dummy, ready to attack something other than you for the insecurity that he can’t completely contain. You’ve never witnessed him insecure, but you know the feeling when you see it—the defense mechanism, the distancing himself, the grumbly attitude. 

“I’m not sure I understand,” you press as he slashes and stabs at the soulless victim. “I’m marrying you because you killed your brother for wanting to fuck me?”

With a grunt, the dummy’s head severs from its torso and flies off in your direction. It rolls and rolls and stops just before hitting your feet. The dead eyes stare up at you in silent amusement. Now you’ve done it, they mock.

“I don’t ever want to hear those words come out of your mouth again, do you understand me?” Feyd growls.

Your eyes shoot to his. “The marrying you part or The your brother fucking me part?”

He tosses the knife aside. It clatters against the ground as he closes in on you. His hand wraps around your neck. “Don't test me,” he grits out through clenched teeth. “I will sew your damn lips shut if I have to.”

An empty threat if you’ve ever heard one. He would never harm you, but even if he were going to try, his fingers would need to be squeezing much tighter.

You roll your eyes. “Well then how am I going to suck your cock?”

Something about the tease stuns him. His tense features immediately settle and his whole body eases with his exhale. Glancing at your lips, he licks his own, and you think he might decide to kiss you—after all, it’s been a good twenty-four hours since the last one—but he doesn’t.

You snort. “Didn’t think that one through, did you.”

Long fingers unwrap from around your neck. “You’re not funny,” he mumbles with an odd sense of shame.

“If you don’t find me entertaining, can you maybe take the time to explain all of this better?”   

Feyd considers keeping his mouth shut. You know him well enough to know that. However, it’s ridiculous to contemplate since he’s already spilled the bigger news. Nothing could be more shocking than you, after the bed-warming position you’ve held for months, becoming his wife. 

“My uncle was going to take you away from me for killing Rabban,” he finally says. “So I told him I've had plans to marry you for the alliance and that's why I refused to share you. Rabban wouldn’t take no for an answer, so he had to die.”

Raising a brow, you say, “The Baron accepted that explanation? My House may be one of the Greats, but we do not offer much for Giedi Prime.”

Feyd shrugs. “My uncle enjoys anything that causes upset. Marrying me means we will always own something very valuable to your family.”

It would likely offend another, but you don’t mind being owned. While the Baron may believe the Harkonnens as a whole will own you, you belong to Feyd and Feyd alone. He’ll never allow anyone to hurt you and now he’ll never have to fight or argue with anyone to stake his claim, which works for you just fine, to say the very least. 

“Thank you,” you say.

“For what?”

Your head tilts as you smile. “Caring enough to protect me.”

“Don't flatter yourself,” he says. “I didn't do it for you, I did it for my own benefit.”

Your sweet smile morphs into a smirk. “The benefit being that you get to keep me all to yourself…for the rest of your life.”

With a scoff, Feyd rolls his eyes and crosses his arms again. “Whatever.”

“Feyd…” you sigh, leaning into him.

“What?” he returns in his snarky tone as if he doesn’t want you near, but he doesn’t step out of the bubble of your space.

“I'm happy.”

A pink tinge sneaks onto his pale skin, and he quickly looks away. And before he has a chance to come up with some witty remark to smack you with, you grab his face and press your lips to his. 

You hold on to him until he starts to kiss you back, and then he's reaching for you, pulling you close, wrapping his arms around you, and you know you won't be going anywhere for a good long while.

[hoshiina]

pairing: hoshina soushirou x gn!reader (no prns)

request: a reader that keeps messing around w him and at some point they mention they like him but then hoshina thinks theyre just playing... ..but they r not and he doesnt quite get it at first because hes so used to them joking around and then he ends up overthinking the whole thing until reader actually goes up to him to kiss him (or hug him very tight!!!!!!!! or both maybe!!!!!!)

maybe he liked them too but that thought didnt sit right with him because he doesnt believe hes worthy of something like that

notes: mentions the reader's face "flushing", reader is rather lively/outgoing, reader is not a fan of horror and is more a fan of romance, reader is a hoshina stan, one part is inspired by a scene in wakaba no komorebi, omg why are there so many notes I'm so sorry TY FOR THE REQ!!

wc: 2800

A new day, a new chance for you to shoot your shot at none other than your vice-captain of the third division.

You were always messing with him. This ranged from embarrassing pranks a grade school boy would menace his crush with, all the way to borderline hitting on him. There wasn’t a single day you’d forget to remind him he was stunning, and you’d always be bragging about him to the officers in the first division, regardless of the fact that you had absolutely nothing to do with the things you were bragging about. Simply put, you were loud about Hoshina.

Yet, every day, he'd brush you off and tell you to get to work. You didn't let that mind you much though, because you could tell he wasn't actually upset. You liked him unconditionally, and as long as you weren't actually bothering him, you couldn't care less if your feelings weren't returned. Well, you did care, but that wasn't going to stop how you felt for him.

Now, you said all of that, but naturally, you were still scared to just put your feelings out there so you hadn’t actually told Hoshina you liked him. You assumed he knew, but if you said it out loud, you’d have to hear an answer. And that, you were not ready for.

However, you weren’t going to stop messing with him anytime soon. Hoping one day he’d actually fall for you and one day you’d have the courage to properly tell him how you felt.

You were in the cafeteria with the rest of the division, having your breakfast while mindlessly scrolling through your phone, when you saw a post about a new movie in theatres. Immediately your mind went to possibly inviting Hoshina and you scrolled right back up, trying to find out what it was about. Horror. You sighed and continued to scroll. Horror was absolutely not your favourite.

“Oh, is it finally out?” you heard a voice from behind you say— your favourite voice say.

“Would you like to go?” you asked, whipping your head back to see none other than Hoshina Soushirou. Just the sight of him and your heart would flutter. How you loved him. “Together? Us? Just us? You and me?”

“Oh, like we have time to go,” he said.

“Man,” you said, knowing he’d say that. The entire defence force in general had been a lot busier ever since the appearance of so many identified grade kaijus. However, it did make you wonder if that meant he would if he did have time. No, he’s just declining your invitation politely, you’d tell yourself, bringing you back to your senses.

You’ve done this since always, and you do this every time without fail. Whenever a new shop had opened, or a new movie to watch had come to theatres, you'd always shoot your shot— hoping he'd say yes one day. Yes to a date.

Although you were used to getting turned down, it still wasn’t the best feeling. Recently, you've been letting it get to you far more than you used to. Maybe after all these times, the rejection did start to have an affect on you. Maybe you were falling for him even harder recently, or maybe you were starting to hope for your feelings to be returned.

Perhaps a relaxing day at the movies was exactly what you needed. Maybe you’d ask for a day off next week— just to go watch a movie you liked.

So you did exactly that, you filed a form to Captain Ashiro, requesting a day off anytime the next week. Preferably on a Tuesday, because movie tickets were cheaper on Tuesdays.

A few days later, you were called over to her office. You assumed it was just to let you know if you could have your day off and if so, when it was. To your surprise, when you walked in, it wasn't Ashiro but rather Hoshina there, working away.

“Hoshina?” you asked, pleasantly surprised. “I didn't expect to see you today.”

“You didn't?” he asked, genuinely perplexed. “But this is my office?”

“Your office? I thought it was Captain Ashiro’s?” you said.

“It used to be, but I took it over a little while back,” he said. “It's just a lot faster for me to do the paperwork.”

“Oh… I see,” you said, rather surprised you weren't already aware. There was a moment of silence.

“It was rather recently that I had officially started working here,” he said, somehow noticing that you were dejected. Oh, how did he always know exactly what to say? You were never going to get over him at this rate. “Anyways, you requested a day off next week?”

“Um… yes,” you said. Now you felt a little awkward about going to a movie alone, and you really hoped he wouldn't realize where you were going.

“On a Tuesday… are you going to see that movie after all?” he asked and he noticed you stiffened a little, so he immediately followed with, “Sorry, you don't have to answer that. You're absolutely free to take that day off.”

“I am,” you said. Half a lie, because there was no way you were watching a horror movie, let alone by yourself. But you were going to the movies. That was true. “It's been a while since I watched a movie in theatres, I realized.”

“I've never gone alone actually,” he said, imagining you were planning to go alone. “Or are you going with someone?”

“No, I'll be by myself,” you said, but instinctively you asked him out again. It was practically in your subconsciousness to do so. “Unless you'd like to tag along?”

There was a long pause before he said anything, and his unreadable expression only made the silence feel longer. You were expecting a quick rejection again, so the silence was absolutely killing you— you hadn't expected it one bit.

“Actually, I'd like to,” he said. “If that's okay with you, of course.”

You couldn't believe your ears. What did he say? You couldn't have possibly heard that right. What had he said?

On the other hand, he had no idea why he said yes. Why after turning you down all these times? Why now? He had turned down every offer of yours because he knew you were just messing around. You didn’t feel about him the way he felt about you. He knew this because you had done this since the moment you joined, and you couldn’t have liked him back then— you hadn't even know him yet.

But still, he hoped you were serious.

“You're joking,” you said.

“Were you?” he asked. This must be why he said yes. He wanted to know so badly— he was rather exhausted of playing the guessing game with you.

“Not at all,” you said. You thought he had known, but perhaps not. “I've never been. Not for a moment.”

“Then, let's go,” he said with his poker face on, but he was a little shaken. He didn't think you were at all serious, let alone that serious.

“Hoshina, is this a date?” you asked, and you could tell your cheeks were flushed. However, there wasn't much to be embarrassed about at this point, so you might as well have asked before you drove yourself insane.

“Okay…” you said, but you were spaced out. You had no idea what had prompted this all of a sudden, but this was the moment you had been waiting for, for your whole life. Yes to a date.

A date? Was it a date?

“Would you like it to be?” he asked. You had no idea what he was thinking.

“Yes,” you said. “Of course…”

“Then, let's go on a date,” he said. “On Tuesday, at 2pm. I'll pick you up from your unit and we'll go and watch a movie.”

It was yes to a date. A date with none other than the love of your life. You were going on a date with Hoshina Soushirou.

You left the office soon after, thanking him as you left, and you were lost in thought. You truly felt like the world around you had stopped, but at the same time, the time passing was a blur. You thought it’d be forever before your long awaited day, and you’d have plenty of time to calm yourself down and prepare, but it had rolled around before you knew it.

You put on what you personally thought was your best date outfit, but you had no idea if he’d like it. You really hoped he would. Now, you were sitting around, waiting for him to come pick you up. It was still 10 till 2, but he was always ahead of schedule— he hated making people wait, so he was always early. A few minutes later, you heard a few footsteps and some rustling outside your door, and you were pretty sure it was him. You waited for a knock, but it wouldn’t come.

Quickly, you opened the door and it was him, waiting by your door with his phone in his hand, opened to your messages with him.

“Oh,” he said. “Sorry, were you waiting?”

“No,” you said, immediately. “I just finished getting ready. Why didn’t you knock?”

“Well, I’m early,” he said. “Didn’t want to rush you.”

Gosh, you were on a date. With him. You had actually never seen him in anything other than what he wears at the defense force, and as much as you liked that training shirt he had on, he looked so incredibly gorgeous today. And this was just for you. He wore a black corduroy turtleneck, and a simple long coat to go over it. You were still so lost, how had you gotten to this point in the first place?

“You’re stunning today,” he said to you as he smiled a little and you swear you felt your heartrate spike. Did he even know what he was doing?

“Not to mean you aren’t usually…” he said immediately. “Sorry, I never say the right things when they count, do I?”

“No, I thought my heart was going to stop,” you said, frankly. This was the way you always were, there was no point in getting flustered all of a sudden. “You’re gorgeous everyday, but even more so today.”

“Well, I’d have to be glad our date is today then,” he said.

While the two of you walked to the theatre, it was rather quiet. Far more quiet than you usually were. Suddenly, you were so nervous, and there was nothing to say to him. So many questions filled your head but none of them felt appropriate to ask. You felt like the spell would break if you took one wrong breath. You wanted to know why he was here with you today. Why he said yes all of a sudden, why he took a precious day off to go on a date with you, and what he was thinking when he said yes. You wanted to know how he felt about you, or at least how he felt about this date.

“I’ll go get us tickets,” you said, as soon as you got to the theatre. “Please pick a snack and a drink in the meantime, I’ll get the tickets quick.”

“Oh, don’t be silly, I’m getting the tickets, and the drinks and snacks, for that matter,” he said. “Besides, we haven’t even decided on a movie yet.”

“We haven’t?” you asked. “I thought we were watching the movie that came out the other day?”

“What? Why would we?” he asked, genuinely confused. “You don’t even like horror." He pointed at another poster on the wall. "Why don’t we watch that one? Romance is more your type of thing, isn’t it?”

You thought you’d cry. If there was one thing that was worrying you about this date, it was the movie. Horror really wasn’t for you, and you weren’t sure if you could watch the movie without showing it.

“How did you know?” you asked.

“It’s obvious,” he said. “You’ve never asked me out to a horror movie, have you?”

Just how did he notice? “But didn’t you want to watch that one?” you asked.

“Please, I can watch that whenever, on my own,” he said. “I’m here with you today. I’d be a horrible date to make you watch it with me.”

“Thank you,” you said, starstruck. “At least, let me pay for it then?”

“No way,” he said. “I’m taking you out today.”

“No, I asked you out,” you said.

“Don’t care!” he said and went off to get the tickets and snacks.

You were in love with him, and you were going to tell him. You were sure he knew, but you had to tell him properly. It wasn’t even that you were hoping for him to return your feelings, you just wanted to tell him.

You thought you wouldn’t be able to focus on the movie at all, but you were, strangely enough. You were watching a cliche romance movie that couldn’t possibly be about you and Hoshina, no matter how much you tried to stretch the narrative, but you loved it. It was a sweet movie, a type that you've always loved, and you were watching it with the one you always loved. You couldn’t be happier.

So as soon as the movie was over, you went for it.

“Hoshina, I love you so much,” you said, and kissed him. On the lips.

His eyes were wide and his cheeks were faintly flushed. You weren’t expecting that, not even for a moment.

“You’re serious?” he asked.

You were confused, did he think you were playing around all this time? “Yes, of course,” you said. “I’ve loved you for forever.”

“Since… when?” he asked.

“Since the day you saved me, 3 years ago,” you said, immediately. It was like you had waited all your life to answer this. “You definitely don’t remember, but I remember like yesterday.”

He wouldn’t reply, but he was still looking at you surprised, so you continued on.

“I thought I had told you this actually. Not the part that I liked you, but the part that you saved me. I joined because of you, Hoshina,” you said. “Yes, you’re my vice-captain and the love of my life, and I’m one of your officers, but you were my hero and I was your biggest fan for all this time.”

Something in him shifted. It felt like someone had woken him up from a weird haze, and showed him how much colour there is to the world. You joined for him. Not for Mina, not for Gen, but him. To you, he was a hero. To the one he treasured most, he was irreplaceable.

“I love you too,” he said, with the softest smile you had ever seen from him. He was serious, you could tell.

“No way,” you said.

“I do,” he said, but he could tell that you were a little skeptical, or at least puzzled. “I love the way you work hard, the way you joke around, but actually care so much. I love the way you give everything your all. I love the way you always smile when you see me— it makes me feel so special. You make my day, absolutely every single day.”

It took everything in you to stop yourself from sobbing, but that made Hoshina laugh. He kissed you this time, and tears rolled down your cheeks anyway.

Wiping your cheeks with the pad of his thumb, he kissed you on the forehead.

“I absolutely adore you.”

BONUS:

Later that day, you were going to open up the one cardboard box you still hadn’t unpacked. The one filled with your posters and merch of Hoshina you had collected through these years. You were hiding them, because you thought it’d be a little too weird if you had those just hanging around, but finally, they’d see the sunlight. You would never have even imagined this day when you had those in your room, dreaming of him. If only you could tell your past self— just how thrilled you would’ve been. Well, not that you were any less thrilled now.

The next time Hoshina came to visit you in your room, he was utterly flustered, it was absolutely adorable. He couldn’t believe people actually bought the merch they sold of him, let alone put them up— and in the room of his loved one nonetheless. But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like it, because it made him so incredibly happy.

He was thrilled that you did, in fact, love him the way he loved you.

[firefistacesfreckles]

i'd read several people saying that this chapter sucked and that the end was bullshit so i was a little scared at what had happened but...

i literally don't understand how someone could be upset by this...?? i feel like this outcome has been heavily implied throughout the entire arc. like, just a few chapters ago, bonney used a technique very similar to one of luffy's. are we reading the same manga? lol

and from a storytelling standpoint, it's just so poetic. both of bonney's parents suffered and ultimately died (we still need confirmation on kuma, tho) at the hands of the WG. she, herself, fell terminally ill because of saturn's human experimentation. she carried a lot of unresolved trauma, and now that she's met luffy, she's starting to overcome it all. kuma told her that nika would free her, and it's happening!! how could anyone complain about this?

and to say that this undermines luffy's journey and efforts to awaken his df... please. we still don't know if she's gonna have a quarter of luffy's power if anything at all. stop assuming things just off of one panel. time will tell. for now, i very much like this concept, and i'm excited to see what oda will do with this in the future. he's never disappointed me, so far, when it comes to the story. i don't see why he would now.

[cristinacclearwater]

Robin Time Travel AU!!

A fic where Dick or Damian or Jason or all three time-traveled and stop Ethiopia from happening... Only they didn't anticipate the consequences.

With no Ethiopia happening, Jason never dies and neither does Bruce go off the rails... Thus never giving Tim a reason to join the Batfam...

Dick never saw nor tried to find out exactly how bad Bruce got after Jason... And was waiting for Tim to find him again... Even going to Harley's where they met... Keeping the entire schedule for the week very simple for Tiny Tim to easily follow... Only Tim never shows up...

Jason does not know the circumstances of Tim joining and is wondering when Bruce is bringing Timbo home...

While Damian convinced Talia that it is better for him to join his father in Gotham... By 'investigating' and 'arriving' at the 'conclusion' that his father is Batman... Thus he comes to Gotham early... Like months before Tim... Like he coincided with the week Jason would have died...

Again, he does not know the circumstances of Tim joining... Just knowing that this time when he has Robin, it will be on Tim's terms... He is looking forward to a good relationship with him because Dick said Tim always wanted a little brother and now Damian has the chance to be that little brother... No, he is not jealous of YJ or how close they are with Tim, or that bloody speedster... What are you saying!?!!!

Tim never comes.

Now, Tim on the other hand decided to explore Paris and gets caught in shenanigans... Meets Lady Shiva... Gets mentored by Lady Shiva... Unknowingly insults Snake... Gets challenged by Snake... Defeats Snake... Refuses Lady Shiva's offer... And comes back to Gotham... Only this trip was a year or 9-10 months long...

In Gotham, he takes up the cape... Works smaller crimes, nothing with rogues (like Spider-Man) and becomes beloved... Of course, Tim is still that little stalker at heart and keeps updating the Bat's info... he doesn't want to be burdensome to them, Thus, Tim makes sure Bats and him don't cross paths... After all, Batman might feel obligated to take him in as he did Batgirl, Spoiler, and Black Bat... They didn't have training. He does...

Meanwhile, Batfam is wondering where they went wrong and missed Tim... And slowly Dick starts remembering the context as to why Tim sought him out... Not to be Robin but to make him take Robin back up... And when Dick refused to... Then Tim took up the job of keeping Batman in line... Because Gotham needs Batman and Batman needs a Robin...

Dick tells Jason and Damian... They don't believe... Because of course, my info is not wrong... He was replacing me/was an interloper... It takes them that entire year to accept that Tim is not coming... Then scrambling to find him... Then they started hearing rumors... Of this little vigilante who helps with small crimes... And try to intercept him, maybe introduce themselves, to no avail... It was as if Gotham herself was against it, they always missed him...

Meanwhile, Tim's life continues pretty much same as in earlier comics... Batfam, out of the city, Metallo attacks Gotham... Tim calls Superboy... Thus, the first meeting of TimKon, same as comics. Only, instead of Tim, he travels as Alvin Draper, a child who was helped into his seat by his parents and will be picked up by his cousin Shanks at the airport... Actors he hires to help him... And "will you please watch him, we are so scared he will be traveling alone"... The story works for both going and then returning and Cousin Shanks helps Alvin back onto the plane when needed...

School trip for Bart and I do not believe much will change with Bart as he will know Tim's rep from the future, rather than the past, so Bart still believes Tim's awesome... And makes friends...

They still start Young Just Us... And still go on every mission they did in YJ98... Tim still develops a rapport with Batman... Only he is not his Robin or known as his prodigy... Compared to when Batman taught him everything and knew him well, lying to Batman was quite easy for Tim... Because Tim grew up in Gotham society and was his mother's son through and through...

Tim's parents are not bad in this either... Like can Janet put the fear of god in businessmen? YES... But when it came to family and especially Tim, she was soft... I see Tim's relationship with his parents same as Kudo Shinichi's from Detective Conan... Like they have wanderlust and Tim does not... But just because they are not in the same country or continent, does not mean they do not keep in contact... They know exactly what shenanigans Tim gets up to and know better than to stop him because otherwise, he will just hide them... They know all his friends, his interests, etc... Especially his mom, and hiding about Robin probably hurt their relationship a lot...

{I 100% believe the only reason Tim didn't tell Jack he was a vigilante was because he was Robin and thus was responsible for the entire Batfam identities... And that is why Jack believed Tim did not choose but rather was coerced into being Robin because otherwise they would already know...}

So, in this fic, Tim keeps his parents in the loop from the beginning and Janet makes sure a part of DI is dedicated to helping Tim, so he's never without help in Gotham... Also, they know life is dangerous so they get separate mobile/communicators for "just emergencies", like a "Need help! Will die if not given" button... So Tim knew the moment his parents were taken by Obama Man and rescued them with Young Just Us...

Because NO BATMAN RULES thus Tim was able to tell his parents and team his identity much earlier than in canon... He still makes contingencies for fellow heroes, especially Justice League, including the entire Batfam, including Alfred... Because Janet Drake's son is taught better by her mamma... And Tim does not know Wayne beyond being a fanboy and does not have an emotional connection to them...

Just a fic where Batfam lives happily and Tim is successful but they never have more than a coworker relationship... Like Tim is closer to Wally or Donna or Roy or Bisaro or Jon than Dick, Jason, and Damian because they have a familial connection to his team, while Batfam only has the connection of Gotham... Like Oracle has the most influence over Tim's actions in his vigilant life because she sometimes directs him to crime if no one else is available...

Tim is still friends with Stephanie but here Tim's self-respect and confidence are not broken again and again and again... So Stephanie does not get away with treating him like shit on or off the field and that's dangerous on the field, so they mutually decided to not team up unless with a mediator in between that could lead both...

Off-field they are good friends, friends who know their secret life so they can share any grievance, WITHOUT endangering any identities, etc... But they do not date... Tim dates Ariana, yes. And felt Stephanie might be a rebound and knew she deserved better than that. If Stephanie confesses, Tim makes it clear he is not in a position to date yet (don't know if the timeline is right, if not feel free to correct)...

{OK, one thing I make clear, No hate for the character of Stephanie Brown but I just hate how she treats Tim in Canon and everyone acts like it's OK because it's not. It's fucked up and a toxic relationship. Especially how Bruce used their relationship later and Stephanie agrees)...

Tim also seeks mental help for the school shooting and other civilian events, while Jack is looking for a trusted therapist for his son, Janet absolutely approves... When they have one, Tim gets a contract of confidentiality from John Constantine to sign for the therapist and drags his team, kicking and screaming with him...

With the team being introduced to the Drakes early, they spent a lot of time in Gotham, and adults (Janet) understand what is happening with Ross, Tana, etc. And helps Kon before telling him to stay with Tim, "because that boy absolutely cannot take care of himself, never mind he has done so for years, you stay with him, do you want to go to Gotham Academy or do you like your current one"... While Jack is ready to smack some sense into Flashes, with his golf stick... And becomes quite good friends with Max...

Just competent adults who understand they can't stop their wild child but can and will give him every tool to survive.

[salethe2]

I’ve seen a lot of takes on this scene, and honestly they’re all so interesting, so I decided to give my perspective.

Okay, starting with Armand’s costume, which Carol Cutshall absolutely nailed. Here’s what she said about Armand’s costume design:

—“One of the things about Armand is he is so ancient and so powerful that he always presents himself as very open. Whereas some of the other characters are very covered up, he’s always very open because he really doesn’t see anyone as a threat to himself. He didn’t have any predators or any reason to be on guard, or be armoured.”

Personally, I find this design choice fascinating because, despite being a predator at the top of the food chain, vampires like Armand, especially as a coven leader, would normally need to remain vigilant. Yet, he’s completely at ease, even surrounded by other vampires.

I mean, look at him here. Sure, it’s not the deep, open V-neck shirts he wears in the interview scenes, but his outfit is still loose and open. And he’s literally surrounded by a group of vampires he knows are plotting against him. He even has his back to said vampires and yet, he’s not the least bit nervous in either situation!

Even with Daniel, he’s not nervous or afraid because he doesn’t initially see him as a threat.

So, if Armand isn’t scared of his own coven—a bunch of vampires ready to kill him at the first opportunity—or Daniel, who could potentially expose all his manipulations, then why on earth does he go into full armor mode to meet a seemingly inconsequential human he’s never encountered before? He’s literally in a turtleneck, shielding his most vulnerable area for crying at loud!

A for body language—honestly, Assad Zaman deserved an Emmy for this scene. We see Armand being aloof, a little suave and condescending, employing the whole, “I’m a four-century-old vampire; you’re just a lowly human” tactic. It’s like he’s sizing her up, wanting to understand who she is while simultaneously aiming to provoke her, curious to see how she will react.

As for his questions, he frames them in the way you might expect a coven leader to interrogate a human he’s about to turn. Questions like, “How will you survive? Are you okay with killing people and being a monster?” It almost seems like he’s trying to make her reconsider her decision to turn, but it’s all a facade.

Because the question he really wants to ask is the last one, and when he finally approaches it, his entire demeanor shifts.

He sheds the suave demeanor and shifts to a more serious tone, embodying what Louis describes as his "post-apocalyptic look." He towers over Madeleine, gazing down at her in an attempt to intimidate. At this point, Madeleine's expression turns genuinely nervous, perhaps even frightened—and understandably so. Yet, she holds her ground. It's then that Armand poses the crucial question he had come specifically to ask.

“And what will you do in a few decades when she throws herself into the fire? Because she will.”

Now, why does this question seem familiar? It’s because Armand has previously made a similar statement to Louis. He had forewarned Louis that Claudia’s mind was bound to deteriorate over time. Now, Louis tearfully countered that Armand couldn’t be sure of this, yet part of him probably recognized the truth in Armand’s words, which likely contributed to his emotional plea for Armand to look after her.

Armand realized then that Louis, despite his deep love for Claudia, lacked the resolve to keep her grounded, effectively sealing her fate, which seemed all but inevitable by that point. He even assigns Claudia the role of Lulu as a way to infantilize her and further break her spirit—almost as a test to gauge Louis’ reaction. Unfortunately, Louis does nothing about it, while Madeleine clearly recognizes it for the manipulation it is.

And what does she do next? Madeleine quickly gets Claudia out of that outfit and into one more fitting for her. By doing this, she threatens Armand’s plans without even realizing it.

It’s also interesting to note that the only time Armand is ever truly angry with Claudia is when he sees her with Madeleine. This reaction underscores the threat he perceives in their bond, disrupting his control of the situation, and here is why.

When Armand posed the question to Madeleine about what she would do when Claudia throws herself into the fire, her response was:

“Or maybe she won’t. You don’t know. Maybe I’m what she needs to survive.”

And the way she meets his gaze as she says this marks a shift in their conversation. Throughout their entire conversation, Madeleine often looks away and breaks eye contact, but not in this moment. Here, she meets his gaze head-on. Even though she is clearly nervous, and likely a bit scared, she holds his gaze because she is sure of her words. This is a powerful moment where Madeleine not only asserts her belief but also turns the tables—now, it’s Armand’s turn to feel uneasy.

Of course, you don’t see it in his face, but it’s evident in his body language. The way he becomes closed off, his hand fidgeting, and his gaze fixed ahead as if deep in thought. He doesn’t even refute her.

Even with Lestat, when he warns him about Nicky, Armand doesn’t stay silent; he confidently affirms his insights, and Lestat—of all people—clearly believes him. But with Madeleine, it’s a different story. He goes silent, not uttering a word in response. He doesn’t attempt to persuade her because he recognizes that her mind is made up, her resolve unshakable. But perhaps the words that really hit home for him were “You don’t know.” This was probably the words that sealed Madeleine’s fate because the last thing you want to say to a master manipulator and control freak like Armand is that they don’t know something. Because now, all of a sudden Claudia’s death isn’t a certainty anymore and he can’t just sit back and wait for her to lose her sanity. He must take matters into his own hands now.

Anyway, one might think that Madeleine and Claudia leaving, thereby leaving Louis all to Armand, would satisfy him. After all, one of the first things he asks Claudia and Madeleine is if they’re considering returning to Paris, and you might assume Madeleine’s answer pleased him. However, her answer doesn’t satisfy him, not after what Madeleine says soon after.

Madeleine’s words confirm that Claudia indeed loves Louis, and because Madeleine loves Claudia, she persuades her to return to Paris despite her obvious and valid disdain for the city. This revelation proves to Armand, even if they leave Louis, Madeleine and Claudia will always remain a significant part of Louis’s life. For Armand, this is intolerable. To him, Claudia is a dangerous manipulator and a competitor of Louis’s attention.

So even if they all lived happy, separate lives, Armand’s nature is such that he cannot live with the doubt and fear that Claudia might draw Louis away from him. Having been abandoned too many times in his life, deeply wounded by those closest to him, and left behind for others, he cannot risk experiencing that pain again.

Thus, in that moment when he speaks to Madeleine in the apartment, he decides that both she and Claudia need to be eliminated. I believe this was the real reason Armand was there under the pretense of turning her. He needed to evaluate how much of a threat Madeleine posed to his plans, and upon realizing she was basically a live grenade, he knew he needed to act swiftly to get rid of her. Because as long as Madeleine is present, so will Claudia, and as long as Claudia exists, Louis will never truly belong to Armand.

[sparkles-rule-4eva]

I'm aware this is random timing but I've wanted to analyze this scene ever since I saw it and I was rewatching the Frontiers cutscenes so I decided "why not now" lol

This scene right here.

First of all, I'd like to say that Sonic & Tails's interactions throughout this entire game are IMMACULATE. And while I've seen some people complain that Tails "wasn't concerned enough" at the fact that Sonic was so clearly sick, this scene begs to differ.

It also shows, in both a good way and a sad way, how well Tails knows his big brother.

The entire time before, Sonic's been (for the mostpart) going around with a front. Pretending he's fine and brushing aside everyone's worries about him to turn the focus instead on THEM and THEIR problems, not his. ESPECIALLY with Tails. And this little fox knows probably better than anyone that Sonic doesn't like it when people fuss over him. So he's been playing along. Doing his part, doing the best he could in his digitized state, staying busy and all the jazz.

And sure, a couple times before this, Sonic was acting more tired than usual around Tails, but Tails didn't point it out. And he still doesn't point it out here, but his expression and body language say it all.

Now the corruption's getting worse, and Tails is just about done pretending along with Sonic that everything's fine. This time, unlike the last two times when Sonic had defeated a Titan when Super Sonic had flown down to find Amy and Knuckles, Tails is the one who runs to find him afterward.

He's clearly very worried, especially when Sonic barely acknowledges his presence and is really just doing his best not to keel over at this point. Tails reaches out in a vain attempt to touch him — whether to comfort him or help him up, I'm not sure — but still cannot touch him at all for obvious reasons. He pulls back and just watches him intently with this deeply sad, almost regretful look on his face. The End starts talking again and Sonic lifts his head a little to listen, while Tails just quietly shakes his head as he looks at him. As if he's saying, "Please don't do more, please just take a rest, I want you to be okay." 😢 Or it could just as easily be a sad sort of understanding, a resignation to what Sonic does, like, "I want you to rest, we both know you need it, but I know you, I know you'd sooner run yourself to death before you let us stay trapped any longer. And I can't do anything to stop you." 💔

And then, after having his fists clenched in obvious distress, Tails tries to reach out again, one more time. Almost unconsciously, as Sonic looks up to where the voice is coming from. Almost like he does want to stop him. He opens his mouth for a moment, too, like he wants to say something, but bites it back at the last second.

Then he pulls away again. His face is nothing but sadness and worry. Sonic tries making a quip at The End's new instructions, but he's still so clearly exhausted.

It's also interesting how Sonic won't look at Tails this whole scene, until Tails asks in that tiny, scared voice, "Sonic?" and he stands up, tells him to hang tight, reassure him they're almost done. Trying so hard to play the part of strong older brother even here, when Tails can so easily see how sick he is. 😔

Their dynamic will always be so fascinating and sweet to me. Even in these darker, more painful moments, the familial love they have for each other is beautiful. 💙💛💔

[lottiembae]

control; shauna shipman x fem!reader

Summary: an english group project. a crush on shauna. and the power to control shauna's bad temper.

Warnings: fluff, bad words, crush. unnecessarily long :)

Note: English is not my first language.

The sound of a pencil hitting a notebook repeatedly called your attention. The sound came from the other side of the classroom, where Shauna Shipman decided to sit. The left side was hers, the only one taking the spot away from them all.

If you didn't know her, actually you didn't, but you two shared classes those years and at least you know some tips from the Shipman's girl, Shauna would scare anyone she proposed to. Her constant stoic face, the challenge on their brown eyes and the brief but pronounced frown on her eyebrows make her look that at any moment, she would snap you. And maybe she does it, only that you need to be really stupid because the girl usually remains quiet. You think you only saw her relaxed with her group of friends or what is the same, the yellowjackets soccer team. It didn't help that the most matches they won, the popularity rose too, and you learn quickly that Shauna Shipman hates attention.

And stupid people.

Ted Berman, the leader of your group for an English assignment, was a complete jerk. For your luck, you are on his good side but you can't say the same for some of them, including Shauna. You'll see, since Shauna is on the soccer team it means that she needs to go to training and sometimes, she came late to some meetings and Ted didn't like that. So in a punishing manner, Ted gave her the more difficult tasks, something that you told him that it's not fair, only receiving ignorance for his part, not wanting to hear you.

There is too that Shauna is very smart, and somehow Ted is glad and resentful about it.

"You will be in charge of searching for them in the library, Shipman." Ted finished to say with a not subtle snide smirk.

Turning your head towards the mentioned, you could see how her nostrils opened, her breathing accelerated and her jaw tense. Still, she remains quiet. Her deep brown eyes speak louder than the words she would say out loud.

"It would take time if she does it alone. I can help." You offer, raising your hand momentarily in the air.

You never crossed a word with Shauna, and you feel a little scared of how her reaction to this would be.

"I think she can handle it very well, since she has the highest note from all of us." Ted said, emphasizing the last part with now a full snide smirk. He is looking directly at her, he is not a fool. Ted wants to gain a reaction from the Shipman's girl, the problem for him is that Shauna never gives him the satisfaction.

"And I hope you don't forget about it, leader." Shauna said in a fake kind tone, with the most smug look on her eyes. Some of them try to hide the laugh for the comment, making Shauna feel pleased about it and the smugness display on her features.

Clearly it takes another turn for Ted, who erases the smirk quickly from his face. Knowing what would come soon, you stood up and already stopped Ted's steps towards the girl.

"Ted, think about it. If she does it all alone, we need to prolong the assignment and we can't afford that. We need to give it to Mr Jones in less than two weeks." You tried to reason with him, seeing how he is thinking about it for the change of his expression.

"Alright," he starts, letting out a sigh. "you help her then, like you offer." He said, turning his back on you and going back to his table.

You come back to yours, avoiding to look where Shauna is. It doesn't matter if you avoid her the entire time of the meeting duration, you need to talk to meet and work together about the assignment. You take a seat next to Jessica, the girl in charge of the art side of the project and she gives a kind smile, already knowing Ted's behaviour because well, she is his girlfriend.

"I swear to god that he is such an asshole sometimes." She mumbles, her gaze focusing on the cardboard almost finished.

You laugh quietly. "Only sometimes?" You tease in a whisper, gaining an elbow on your ribs by her side but you can see a faint smile on her lips.

You two remained quiet, sometimes sharing some comments about what you are doing until you pack your things to go to the chess club.

"Don't forget about it." It's the only thing Ted told you before you get out of there, making you roll your eyes.

•••

The first thing you did when you arrived at the building the next day was go to the library and search for the people you need to learn. You are mindlessly reading the inside cover with a few books you think are good for your information when a soft chuckle startled you.

A pair of brown eyes are set on you, walking next to you with a mischievous gaze. Her steps came to a stop and without asking she took away the books chosen from your right hand, scanning them carefully.

"This one doesn't matter. These two could do the job." Shauna rasped out, putting the first book on the shelf it belongs and saved the other two on her blue backpack. Her gaze came back to you, moving to look at the other book you are holding. Her fingers covered by her rings grace your hand the moment she takes it gently from your grasp, reading the inside cover. "It seems good too." She whispers, raising once again her eyes to look at you and see a glint of mischief of them, like before. "See you around." She leans briefly, tapping your bottom nose with her index finger and stepping out from there, not waiting for a reply for your part.

You are speechless, not assimilating what happened. It's the first time you have an interaction with Shauna, even if you don't speak to her. She seems so herself interacting with you, that it gives you some pride, thinking too that maybe you don't deserve her kindness.

The rest of the day passed slowly, the meeting that was planned for that afternoon was cancelled, leaving you a little with free time before you schedule with the chess club and you decide to do some more research. You still didn't talk with Shauna, you barely saw her that day since you two didn't share any class that day, you offered to talk to her about the cancellation of the reunion, a good excuse to approach the Shipman girl, but Ted told you that he would warn her.

You frown when you walk by the hall where the English classroom is, seeing a figure sit down on the floor with her head down. It's Shauna.

"What are you doing here?" You ask, approaching the girl with your purple folder on your arms, hugging it.

Shauna raised her head, uncrossing her legs and closing the book she was reading. "I knocked but there is no one in." She explains, standing up. You grimaced, something Shauna caught quickly. "What is it?"

"Shauna... the meeting was cancelled because Ted had a familiar problem..." You explained, seeing how slowly her features hardened. Before you could say something else, she starts to scream angrily.

"That piece of shit! WHO THINK HE IS." She shouted, kicking her backpack hard, sending it a few meters away. Her breathing became irregular. "WASTING THE BARELY FREE TIME I HAVE SITTING HERE WAITING FOR A REUNION IT DOESN'T HAPPEN."

It's the first time you see Shauna snap like that, seeing how she is walking up and down trying to calm herself. Both hands on her forehead, face flushed thanks to the rage she is feeling.

"I was gonna warn you but he told me that he was going to tell you..." You explain in a small voice, hugging more of your folder.

This new information made her stop abruptly, looking at you with her doe eyes. She let out an ironic laugh, shaking her head. "He is going to regret it." She murmurs to herself, her gaze now lost on the floor.

"Do you want to come with me?" You ask, blushing a lot when you realise your words. Shauna looks at you with an unreadable expression. "I need to go to the chess meeting, and I was thinking that maybe we can discuss how we need to work on our assignments..." You explained in a rush.

Shauna thinks for a moment then, she walks a few steps towards her backpack land before, grabbing it and walking towards you again. "Okay." She murmurs, waiting for you to start to walk.

You swallowed, a little surprise. You are glad that she forgot about Ted's bad play, knowing very well that if something happens, he searches for it.

"It's in the next hall." You informed her, leading the path. You could feel how Shauna started to follow you closely, her breathing became steady. Before you open the door, you turn to look at her. "I'm going to warn them. Sometimes they are sceptical about people watching." You explained awkwardly.

For your luck, Shauna nods with her head and leans on the wall next to the door. You went inside and saw the rest of your chess mate there. Again your luck is by your side and they agree letting Shauna be there.

"They are in a good mood." You let her know the moment you open the door, smiling. You move to let her go inside.

Shauna walks in and greets your friends politely, going to sit down in an empty spot in the first row of chairs.

The whole time that the reunion lasted, you could feel Shauna's gaze on you. Of course it has an effect on you, failing some dumb moves that easily the opponent would take advantage of, but fortunately you are good at this game.

"You are good at this." Shauna murmurs next to you when you walk outside. You noticed that she pulled up her hair in a messy bun, finding the new look attractive. Shit, you curse Shauna Shipman to have that effect on you.

"We all are." You said, chuckling at the end when you see her expression. "Seriously, we are. But I am a little better than them." You admitted playfully.

Shauna let out a smile, walking to the parking lot and stopping in front of her car making Y/N stop in front of her.

"We can meet tomorrow, after hopefully the meeting of this shit project." Shauna suggested, letting out an involuntary sarcastic laugh.

You soften your eyes, knowing very well that Shauna has the right to be annoyed. "Cool by me. And if you need to be late tomorrow, I would understand." You said casually, starting to walk and wave a hand towards her, seeing your mother's car parking there.

Shauna waves back, watching you go inside of the car.

•••

You supposed that the next day, things between Ted and Shauna would be tense. But never thought that Jackie Taylor would be involved. Everything happened in the cafeteria, during the break. Usually you sit down with Jessica, and consequently Ted sometimes is there, like this time.

"What the hell do you think you are?" A new voice interrupts the conversation you are having with your friend. You look at the person in question and recognise her, seeing too that she isn't alone, a blush mess was behind her friend, tugging the sleeve repeatedly while calling her friend's name, but Jackie ignored her. Her hazel eyes are glued on Ted, who looks confused when raised his head from his book.

"What?" He asks confused, blinking. Then, his gaze fell on Shauna and recognition came to his face. "You are Shipman's friend." He state.

Jackie gave him a sarcastic smile. "Yeah. The only one you can't stop to tease on." She rasped out, crossing her arms around her chest. "Are you that mad at her that you didn't warn yesterday there wasn't any meeting? Really?"

Ted became another blush mess, his gaze avoiding his girlfriend's one. You remember the first thing you did that day was scold him, but of course he didn't care. Maybe if Jessica is involved, he could listen finally.

"Did you do that?" Jessica asks astonish, looking at him. She opened her mouth a few times, not knowing what to say, then she turned to look at the pair of friends. "I'm sorry, Shauna. He told us that he was to warn you about it and like I fool we believe him. I'm really sorry." She apologised.

Shauna softened her features. "It's not your fault." She said.

"No, it's from your shitty boyfriend." Jackie barked out, gaining a warning by Shauna.

In another circumstance you knew that Jessica would defend him the moment Jackie left those words out, but right now she felt so pissed with him that Jessica remained quiet.

"I'm sorry." Ted said in a low voice, his blue eyes focusing on Jessica. "I'm sorry, Shauna." He said this time, looking at her.

You believe him, rarely he would apologise for something, but he gained that Shauna doesn't believe him.

"See you later, leader." Shauna spat quietly, this time grabbing Jackie's wrist, the blonde's complaining echoing their path.

Throughout the day you witnessed how Jessica gave the cold stare to Ted every time he tried to explain, you awkwardly remained quiet and when you tried to give them some space, Jessica grabbed your wrist to stop you.

Late that day, after an hour of the reunion started Shauna showed up, hair down wetting her green flannel from the small drops of water falling from her brunette hair. The silence involved them, everyone aware of what Ted did.

You see how Shauna avoided everyone, going to her usual seat, but you wanted her to feel better.

"Shauna." You call her softly, calling her attention. Once the Shipman girl looks at your way, you point the empty chair next to you. "Come here. I have a few ideas to start."

The brunette changes her steps and walks slowly towards your left side, letting her blue backpack down. You could feel how tense she is, so wanting her to relax, you start to rant about your idea and how you visualise the parts on the cardboard.

"Fine by me." Shauna lowly said, playing with her rings while giving you a small smile. "I'm not that artistic, so I like your idea." She shrugs.

You nod, grabbing from your purple folder the parts you wrote last night thanks to the only book the girl next to you left. "Read them, maybe you want to put your part together." You offer, tending the few pages to her.

Shauna grabs them gently, eyes moving on them. "It seems pretty good." She murmurs, distracted.

You notice how Shauna got more relaxed with the minutes, the quietness from the start turned into mindless comments, also joking with you a little. Is in the middle of the reunion when she tenses back, remaining her carefree position on the chair but her gaze turns dark, jaw clenching and her hands turning into fists.

Ted starts to talk, that's what happened.

Your eyes alternate between her hardened expression and white knuckles, knowing that she probably scratch herself with her nails. You know that if you don't do something to distract her, something would occur. So you grab a piece of paper from your notebook and draw Ted in a caricature, imitating the pose he usually does. You pass the small piece of paper to her discreetly, your fake being paying attention whatever Ted is saying.

You hear how Shauna let out a snort when she opened the note, catching your gaze when you turned to look at her. She leans on, leaning her elbow on the table and supporting her head with her hand.

"You catch his essence." The brunette whispered, the corner of her mouth turning up in a smug smile.

"It's not that difficult." You whispered back, chuckling a little.

Someone clearing their throat broke your bubble, looking at the front you saw Ted, giving you two inquisitive looks.

"Something funny?" He asks in a hoarse voice, his gaze alternating between you and Shauna and definitely lingering on her.

"Fuck off." You hear how Shauna muttered under her breath in a resentful manner.

Is a whisper, a thread of voice but enough for you and Ted to hear.

Ted hardened his features, his lips turning into a fine line. "What did you say?"

You look at Shauna, begging she turns to look at you and understand not to repeat those words again, but she doesn't turn to look at you. Shauna raised her gaze at him, still leaning her face on her hand. Her brown eyes burning holes into Ted's.

Before she opens her mouth, you interfere. "I was explaining something to her. Sorry to interrupt your explanation, Ted." You lied, giving him a sweet smile. Hopefully you wish he gave up and came back to explain whatever he was saying.

"Ted..." Jessica called him after a minute where he stood up in front of us, looking at Shauna. He slowly turned, without his wishes and started to explain again in his bored tone of voice that he chose for today.

Shauna scoffed at your side, the anger approaching on her face. She turned her hands into fists again, so without thinking too much you grab her right hand and deposit your hands on your lap, intertwining your fingers while with your other hand start to play with her rings. You look at Ted, too shy to look at Shauna about your bold move. And you wish to escape from her intense gaze she is sending you, surprisingly Shauna left play with her hand on your lap.

You are glad to feel how she calmed down, when Ted stopped to explain you didn't let her hand go, not until you needed to write your part on something for Elliott's draw. Slowly you left her hand without thinking too much, forgetting about letting Shauna's hand on your lap.

It's when you finish and turn to look at what Shauna is doing giggling by something Elliott said, finding the most puppy eyes someone gives you. Your heart melts, tilting your head.

"Are you okay?" You ask in a worried voice.

Shauna nods with her head, still quiet.

You frowned, not understanding her pout. It's when her cheeks blush, shyly intertwining your pinkie on hers that maybe, you understand her behaviour. Was she pouting because you left her hand?

Her brown eyes focused on the pages in front of her, writing with her left hand. It caught your attention, you thought that Shauna writes with her right hand. Also you notice too the warm her body radiates the moment you get closer, feeling gladly at the moment because today was a cloudy and cold day.

"It's enough for today, guys! Thank you for coming." Ted announced.

You left her pinkie out, starting to save your things in your backpack, grabbing the cardboard you and Shauna shared and carefully rolling it up.

It surprised you that Shauna stayed there waiting for you to finish, even though she helps others to save things for the next reunion. She has her arms crossed about her chest, leaning her back on at the table while her gaze is entirely on you.

"You don't have to wait for me." You said kindly, putting on your jacket.

Shauna shrugs, brushing her hair aside. "I don't mind." She lowly said.

The moment you two get out of the classroom, avoiding Ted's gaze on you, the cold hits your face making you scowl. Shauna looks at you curiously, but didn't say anything. You two remained quiet the rest of the journey.

"See you tomorrow, Shauna." You wave your hand, smiling. Turning around to start your walk towards your home, you feel a hold on your wrist.

"Are you going alone today?" She asks, letting out the hold on your wrist. A brief frown made her way on Shauna's face.

You nod. "Yeah. Usually my mom came to pick me up, but today she needed to be with my sister's appointment." You explained, not knowing why because with a simple no was enough.

A few seconds of silence passed until Shauna spoke again. "I'll take you." She said.

"Don't worry, Shauna. I can walk alone." You kindly reject her offer, not wanting to waste more of her time.

"Let me take you." She insisted. You sighed when you saw it again, the start of a pout on her face.

"Alright." You gave in, cursing the power that pout already has on you and you barely are seeing it for the second time.

Shauna steps back to her car, opening the back door and throwing her backpack there. You sit down on her copilot seat, sighing relieved when the warm inside of the car embraces you.

"It's not that cold." She murmurs, the corner of her lips turning up. You frown, tilting your head. She chuckles and turns on the engine. But you notice that she turns on the calefaction and you smile inside of your head.

Little details.

•••

You left a trail of curses with every move of your hand trying to clean on the big stain of apple juice from your white shirt. You are in the toilet, next to the sink and time from time to wet a new piece of paper to take off the stain. Spoiler; it didn't.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" You hear someone comment behind you, making you jump on the spot.

Turning around, you see an amused Shauna walking to you. "Hey... Right now I don't care about anyone. Just this stain goes away." You muttered, your eyes coming back to your shirt, your movements getting faster.

"What happened?" Shauna asks curiously, positioning herself in front of you now.

Without removing your eyes from your shirt, you answered. "Some jerk stumbles with me in the cafeteria and pours me with his apple juice. The idiot only laughed and left without apologising. I'm sure if it was the contrary he didn't find it funny." You explained, letting out a sarcastic low laugh at the end.

"Take." You raised your head when you heard her, seeing her leave her backpack between her legs and pull off the beige flannel she wears today, staying with a thin black t-shirt. She extended the flannel towards you, her brown eyes fixing on you.

"Shauna... Are you sure? It's freezing today." You doubtfully said, alternating your gaze between her and her flannel.

"It's not that freezing, but I have another one in my gym bag. Don't worry, take it." She reassured you, pushing the flannel carefully into your arms, not letting you have the option to reject her.

"Thank you." You said sincerely, pulling on her flannel. It's a little bigger on you, but you like how it looks on you. The soft fabric emanates Shauna's perfume, hugging your senses.

"You're welcome." Shauna said back, giving you a lipped smile. "The classes are to start. Give me a minute and I will accompany you." She offers, not waiting for your answer because she left her backpack at your feet and locked herself in the empty cubicle.

You never imagined that Shauna Shipman would show you a soft side in two days of interaction you have.

Soon Shauna came out, washing her hands on the sink and grabbing a piece of paper to dry her hands. Then, she grabs the backpack from your hand and walks out with you by her side.

"If you don't mind I'm going to grab my other flannel in my locker." Shauna comments, a few steps up to the way towards her locker.

You hummed, muttering okay. You lean on the left locker, watching with a glint of smug how Shauna is putting on the red flannel.

"How many do you have?" You ask curiously.

Shauna clears her throat, blushing a little. "I lost count." She admitted in a small voice.

You smile, bringing a hand to the collar of her flannel and putting it correctly. Your hand pulls off the ponytail from her flannel too, admiring the curl formed at the end. You come back from your dreamy state when you notice the deepness of Shauna's gaze, right now matching her red cheeks.

She closed the door. "What class do you have now?" She leans on you a little, the noise the other students are making is loud, knowing that she didn't lean or raise her voice you wouldn't listen to her.

"French." You reply, praying that Shauna didn't notice how her closeness is affecting you.

She opened her eyes a little, like knowing something you didn't. "I have some friends taking that class too. They suck though." She comments, starting to walk towards the French classroom alongside you.

You chuckle a little when you hear the last part. "I'm not that good either." You admitted.

For your bad luck, the classroom is near Shauna's locker. You two stopped before reaching the door, you facing her. "Thank you for lending me your flannel, Shauna." You thanked her, biting the inside of your cheek.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about returning it anytime soon." She said, squeezing your forearm kindly briefly.

You nod, licking your lips. "Have a good day." You wished with a shy smile.

She nods too. "You too." Then, she proceeded to gift you with one of her rarely toothy smiles that she only had reserved for close people, because you never thought that Shauna would give that smile.

You turn around and step inside, going to your place. You feel how some stares remain on you the whole walk to your table. You catch briefly Jackie Taylor's and Lottie Matthews' eyes on you. Did they recognise the flannel you are wearing? Maybe they saw before how Shauna wore it. Also you didn't lose the way the pair of friends shared a look before the teacher approached the classroom.

Many hours after you are in your bedroom, sitting in a chair leaning both elbows on your desk, memorising the words you are reading for an exam you have tomorrow, well one of them. For your disgrace, the exams are stressing you more than usual, something normal considering you are in your last year of high school, still you feel drowning with every exam.

You feel some consequences about it, like biting your lower lip more frequently, scratching the palm of your hand or pulling your hair while you study.

You reread the previous sentence, your frown deepening. You are so caught up on it, that the sound of something hitting your window startled you, jumping in your chair letting out a small squeak, putting both hands on your mouth to cover and your heartbeat accelerated. Confused, you saw a shadow out of your window when you stood up. You pull up your glasses, walking slowly towards the window and when you see who it is, you can't believe your eyes.

"Shauna? What are you doing here?" You ask once you open the window, the frown you wore before coming again.

Shauna looks really nervous, biting her lip while she is sitting awkwardly on the border of it. "Sorry, I can't sleep and you mentioned the other day this is your bedroom... Sorry." She said in a rush of low voice, looking everywhere.

Your features soften, turning aside for Shauna could go inside. Stretching your hand to help her, the brunette quickly puts hers on you and with a soft thud, she is in and lets go of your hand for you to close the window.

When you turn again, you see Shauna looking at what you are wearing and you curse yourself, already feeling the warm colour going to your cheeks. You are in your pajamas, but you feel a little cold and saw Shauna's flannel and you can't avoid putting it on, again.

"Are you okay?" You ask, clearing your throat and going to sit on your chair, offering with a hand to sit on your bed, near you.

Shauna takes a few seconds to react but she sits down, face to face with you. "Today I have a little more time to think I guess. No practice or meeting, just homework and study... I get overwhelmed." She messily explained, playing with the ring of her index finger.

You nod, a little worried. "You can stay here the time you want." You said sincerely, smiling while you grab her left hand between yours.

"Thank you." She whispers. You could feel the emotion in her voice, not liking it.

"Do you want to see something on my TV?" You suggested, signaling with a hand the place where it is.

Shauna frowns, looking at the place you signaled. You hold your laugh when you see her surprise expression. "Are you rich?"

This time you laugh quietly. "No, it's old. My parents bought a new one and they gave it to me. I only use it when some friends stay over." You explain.

"Van would love you." Shauna murmured to herself, standing up and gently removing her hand from your grasp, going to inspect the films you owned. "Literally." She said again, her fingers brushing the VHS' covers.

"Vanessa Palmer?" You ask, curious.

Shauna hummed. "Yes. Don't call her like that though. She hates when someone says her full name." She explains.

You are content to see Shauna distracted, like a child with a new toy. You are a few minutes watching her until you remember about the exam you have at the first hour.

"Do you mind if I put it on?" Shauna interrupted your mind, shyly standing a few steps away from you showing the film she wants to see.

"Of course." You agree. "The controls are next to the VHS."

You turn to look at your Geography book again, putting yourself in the previous position you have before the brunette interrupted in your bedroom.

"Do you don't want to watch it?" Before you could turn, you could hear the pout on her voice. If you feel yourself melting when you see her face you melt more. You meet with big brown eyes looking at you with a sad expression that she tried to cover but failed. Shauna walks towards the bed and sits down in the same place.

"I have an exam tomorrow at the first hour." You informed with a sad smile.

This new information made her change her sad expression, but the pout remains. "About?"

"Geography."

You two stare at each other for a few moments. "I can leav-,"

"Don't!" You interrupted her. "Stay here. I just need to study fifteen minutes and I will watch the film with you." You said, pulling on your glasses.

Shauna nods, eyes going to the TV and starting to watch the film. You see how the bright light from the TV illuminates her face, her dazed face paints a smile on your face. You decided to come back to study and accomplish what you promised.

You bite your lip hard, repeating mentally the sentence, the meaning of it. Cities, countries, dates... you decided to put a stop, because you feel something tightening on your chest and you didn't like that. So you close the book and pull off your glasses with a tired sight, rubbing your eyes.

You stood up, gave two steps and lay yourself on the bed, face down. You hear a soft chuckle, making you open your eyes. Shauna is looking at you by her spot, half turned to you.

"Tired?"

You hummed, hearing a soft sound coming from outside your door. You see Shauna looks curiously towards the door. You walk and open the door, Sera going inside happily and stopping when she spotted a new face. You close the door while watching how Shauna stretches a hand for her to smell, and knowing your cat, she will soon be on Shauna's lap.

Sera starts to purr, making you leave out a chuckle while laying once again on your bed, Sera jumping on it and massaging your stomach she soon lay there, grateful with the attention she is receiving.

Shauna slowly half lay on your left, caressing with a hand Sera's head and keeping an eye on the film. You are sleepy, half watching the film because Shauna was in the middle, but you don't care. It's a few minutes later when the brunette rests her back on the mattress, changing Sera for your arm to caress. Her fingertips draw patterns on your forearm, lulling you.

•••

The next day when you opened your eyes, the last thing you waited to see was Shauna snuggling you. Involuntarily you paint a smile, seeing how calm she looks, soft snores escaping from her plump lips.

Strands of brunette hair falling from her bun, framing her calm features. You could feel her arm wrapping on your waist, also noticing that under the red flannel she is wearing under it she wore pajamas. Sera was between you two, mostly on Shauna with her head leaning on her chest, it made your smile open. You never thought that Shauna would like cats, she seems like a dog lover instead.

You brought a hand to her hair, carefully pulling off the hair tie letting her hair down. It made Shauna stirred in her sleepy state, approaching her face near your neck. You freeze when you notice her breathing on your skin, your right hand hanging in the air until you feel tired and start to caress her hair, playing with her soft strands. You don't know why or how, but you feel a little pleased when the Shipman's girl lets out a content sound, snuggling more on your side and this time hiding her head on your neck, brushing her nose on your skin.

Your eyes are fixed on Sera's sleepy form, stopping your movements on Shauna's until this one blinded put a hand on yours and start to move it up and down, indicating she wants for you to keep going.

"Good morning." You greet her in a whisper after being chuckled by her antics, hoping she didn't raise her head and see the red mess you become.

Shauna hummed something, lips brushing your skin and her grip on your waist tightening. "How do you sleep?" She asks, raising her head and rubbing her eyes, failing to hide a yawn.

"Better than other nights, actually. What about you?" You admitted, stopping to caress her hair and scratch Sera's head when she stirred.

Shauna focuses her eyes on you, sleepy brown eyes boring into you. "Good." She gives you a shy smile. You barely know her, but you feel that simple good, means something. So you reciprocate her smile. "Do you sleep bad these nights?" She asks, petting Sera's head.

You shrug. "It's nothing... I have been studying, that's all. I guess you know what I'm talking about." You rest importance, starting to stand up.

"How many exams do you have today?" Shauna still asks from the bed.

"Three. Geography, French and Math. In that order." You reply, going to your closet and grabbing some clothes for today.

"I don't start the exams until next week." She admitted. It took you by surprise, but thinking about it, not too much. The teachers put exams in the same days from the same year, maybe one day of difference. Today is Friday, so Shauna would start on Monday.

"I'm going to change. Do you want something? Or want to go to the bathroom?" You offer, opening the door. She shakes her head, raising her back from the mattress.

You nod.

When you return, you have some toast and orange juice in case Shauna is still in your bedroom, and she is. The brunette was sitting on your bed, now with her shoes on and scratching Sera's head on her lap.

"Good you are here. I brought you this." You said, walking towards her and offering the small breakfast you brought for her.

Shauna thanked you, grabbing from your hands the toast and the orange juice.

"If you don't mind, we can go to my home and take you to high school." Shauna said after chewing, eyes on you following every move you made.

You think about it. It would be nice to spend some more time next to Shauna. So you turn and nod with your head, seeing how she gives you a wide smile.

"I'm going to tell my mom that I'm going with a friend." You inform, already walking to the door.

"Wait! Let me finish and I can go for the window. We need to walk over there, but it's not too far, don't worry." Shauna said, giving a big sip to the juice.

You see with amusement how Shauna eats fastly, red cheeks for the attention receiving for your part. Sera waited patiently in front of the closed door, licking her paw.

Shauna stood up and nodded with her head, chewing. You grab your backpack, open the door and let Sera get out first, from the corner of your eye you see how Shauna starts to fix your bed, making you laugh quietly.

When you get out of your house, you see Shauna pull down from the vine, jumping off. You offer her a smile, waiting for her to lead the way towards her home. The silence enveloped the way over there, no necessity to speak when you two feel comfortable like that. In your case you have an excuse, and in your mind you are revising what you studied last night and if the brunette notices your distraction, she didn't comment on it.

"We are here. Wait over that window, I'll give the car keys for you to not freeze outside while I change my clothes." She teases you a little, making your gasp and playfully nudge her side, for the first time making her let out a laugh and you think that it will become one of your favourite sounds soon if you have the chance to hear it again.

"Mean." You whispered, receiving a nudge for her side now. You did what she told you and waited for the car keys. The white curtain was removed and you see Shauna opening the window, giving you the keys.

You walked towards the car, unblocking it. You sit down where the last time you sat down, and while you wait for the Shipman's girl, you pull out from your backpack your assigned Geography notebook. You got so caught up, that you didn't notice when Shauna sat down next to you, only when the notebook was removed from your grasp.

"Hey!" You whined, seeing how Shauna saved it on your backpack and threw it towards the backseat, next to hers.

"You will nail it. Studying more would mess more what you already know." Shauna said, starting the engine.

You didn't say anything, preferring to look by the window. Some minutes later, something warm was placed on your lap. Your look and see her hand there, opened palm in a gesture that invites to what happened last day. You placed your left hand there and laced your fingers with hers, feeling too the cold of their rings.

It's weird. No one of you commented about it last day, but it looks like it's an unspoken rule. Shauna starts to caress the palm of your hand, gaze focuses on the road. You study her expression, only noticing her features relaxed but with a shadow of pink on their cheeks. You see too that the collar of her green flannel was bad, and without thinking too much, with your free hand put it correctly.

Your ways separated the moment Jackie Taylor was waiting for Shauna in the parking lot with an angry face until it transformed into a suspicious one. You excuse yourself, Shauna wished you good luck for the upcoming exam and parted ways, inevitably hearing how the blonde asks her friend why we came together.

When you finish the last exam that day, you feel your heart on your throat. Tears picking your eyes, the stress running for all your body. Your hope to have a good note with this exam was absent, cursing that maybe you should study more for Math than Geography.

Today you need to go to a chess reunion before going to the other reunion. You feel a little grateful because you don't know how, but playing chess relaxes you. An hour later, you are knocking on the English classroom and going inside. Quickly you apologise and go to your table with your head down, taking a surprise when you notice someone else sitting there.

"Don't practice today?" You ask, letting your backpack on the floor and sitting next to her.

You think you saw a hint of worry in her eyes, but maybe your tired mind tricked you. "Tomorrow we have a match and the coach wants all of us to be in the training. So we postponed for a few hours." She explains in a low voice, not wanting to disturb the rest. "How did the exams go?"

You turn your face, pretending to look something in your backpack. However you know that Shauna, from all people, isn't a fool.

"Fine." You murmurs, clearing your throat again. "What are you guys doing?" You change the topic, putting on your glasses. You tried to occupy yourself in the meantime Shauna answered you.

"Stop." She interrupted herself, putting a hand to stop your movements. "Calm down." She leans and whispers in your ear. Shauna soothes your back gently, in a slow manner. With her free hand, bring one of yours to her lap, intertwining your fingers and her thumb caressing your palm.

You focus on her movements, trying to find that comfort that Shauna brings you when you think of her. The smell of fabric softener of her flannel, the mint of the gum she is chewing, the rings embracing your fingers.

"Better?" Shauna asks after a while, keeping an eye on you the whole time you remain in silence.

You nod, biting your lip. "Yeah, thanks." You muttered, squeezing her hand.

"Tell me about chess." She comments, letting your hand on her lap and starting to write again, putting herself nearer you.

You frown briefly, but start to tell about the reunion you have. You didn't care about she knowing some secret tactics, you knew you could trust her.

And like that, you spend the hour talking about it, Shauna listening and sometimes asking you some things, but mostly remained quiet. You feel so relaxed, even smiling to little jokes you made.

It fades when you and Shauna approach Ted, the boy too quiet for his liking with Shauna today, he decides to scold her for something so stupid like a mistake could be corrected easily. You were behind Shauna, a few steps away only. You flinch when Ted raises his voice, not liking the way he is treating Shauna.

"If you don't agree, you are free to go." He said sterling, crossing his arms in a challenging air.

And that sentence you explode.

"SHUT THE FUCKING UP, TED." You shout, bringing now the attention towards yourself, but you don't care. "I'm so tired of you trying to find something and reproach about it at her. You are jealous of Shauna, Ted and you are acting worse than a child. So if she goes, I'm going too." You finish more in a calmer voice, also the tiredness and seriousness could be appreciated in your voice.

You ran away from there, tears now streaming for your cheeks. With a blurry vision you run to the place you feel safe, the empty classroom where the chess meetings are. You slam the door the moment you go inside, throwing your backpack somewhere and colliding next to sit down near a window, where the only light coming inside thanks to that window.

A few knocks were heard, but you ignored them. You wrap your arms around your legs, hiding your face the moment the door is open. You hear how it closed again, soft footsteps were heard, getting near you until they stopped. You know who the person is the moment you smell the citric perfume.

"Go away." You murmured, holding your sobs embarrassed that Shauna could see you in that state.

"I'm not going anywhere." The brunette said firm, in a bold move she wrapped you between her arms, making you lean your head on her chest while she put her chin on the top of your head.

Shauna stayed, waiting patiently until you stopped crying. Soft touches on your arm, painting shadow figures there calmed you. Who is someone who looks so rough outside, could be this soft with someone she barely knows? Shauna keeps surprising you.

"Do you want to come with me at the training?" She offers you in a soft voice, her cheek pressed on your head.

Unconsciously you snuggle on her chest, the idea of separating from her makes you sad. "Are they privately?" You ask in a hoarse voice, playing with her flannel button.

"Depends. I think you are safe from all of them." She reassured you. "We need to go now, though. I don't want to listen to Jackie complaining."

You left out a snort when she mentioned the blonde's name, separating from her chest but remaining on her arms. You saw how she has a raised eyebrow, you poked her cheek playfully.

"We can go." You said, opting to not joke about it.

You stand up first, the brunette following you quickly. With the sky now dark, the way over there Shauna explains a little about tomorrow's game, about the rival. You notice she hesitates on her next words, making you curious.

"I'll take you to the bleachers." She changes her words, turning a corner and stepping up of them. "We are training on this pitch, where already some of them are warming up." Shauna said, eyes focusing on the pitch and seeing some of her teammates.

"Okay." You said, sitting down and seeing some of them greeting Shauna, calling her to go over them.

Shauna turns around, a soft smile playing on her red lips. "Don't think too much about it, okay?" She said, bending down to be at the same level of eye as you. "And if you can't, think about chess' tactics." You chuckle by it, making her smile wide.

She pokes your nose before she stands up and walks away, following her with your eyes until she disappears, focusing now on the pitch where some of them give you curious gazes or joking with each other. You see after a few minutes how Shauna walks in with another one, giggling about something. If she wants you to be distracted, you definitely are when you see the new outfit for the practice. Blue shorts where her toned legs are showing, grey t-shirt showing her strong arms and her face free of her hair that is in the usual ponytail.

Then, she turns to the bleachers and joggers towards where you are, jumping on the barrier. The sound of the soccer shoes echoing the pavement. "Hey. I was wondering if you can hold my rings? I forget to take them off."

You focus on her fingers, seeing every finger covered with a ring. You nod, seeing how she pulls off the rings and deposit them in your extended hands. Shauna thanked you and came back to the pitch, not without rolling her eyes when a dyed blonde called her name nonstop.

You laugh quietly when Shauna elbows her side.

The whole training you appreciate how good Shauna is. The intensity of the training doesn't stop her, every dribble, scrimmage or whatever she needs to do, the brunette did it. And not to devalue the rest of them, noticing too that their friends are good in their positions.

"How are you?" Shauna asks you once she approached you in the bleachers freshly clean. You don't believe how she could leave her hair wet with this cold.

"I'm fine." You promised, walking the few steps that separated from her. "And you? I don't know how you could move with that training."

Shauna chuckles quietly, shaking her head. "It could be worse, believe me." She muttered, brushing her hair to the side. "Let's go. I'll take you home before you freeze out." She teases you, stepping down the staircase. "You are worse than Jackie."

"Maybe we are the normal ones." You tease her back, when you step down you see how she is trying to repress a smile.

"Talking of Jackie. She is coming with us, I am always her ride home. Do you mind?" She asks you, her gaze turning insecure while she looks at you on the way to her car.

"Of course no, silly. In that case we need to ask her if she is okay with me going there." You said shyly, seeing two figures next to Shauna's car.

Surprisingly for Shauna, you two get along really quickly. Jackie offered to go in the copilot seat, but you declined kindly and then, since you two are together in French class, the conversations went smoothly from there. Shauna dropped Jackie first, promising that she will not forget about her to come for her before the match they have tomorrow.

The whole ride to your home went silent, only The Smiths' songs playing in the background. Shauna's hand flies mindlessly towards your knee, and was there you noticed how naked her fingers are, so slowly you put one by one the rings from that hand, doing the same with the other hand when she pulls off in your driveway.

Before you go away, you lean and give her a hug, memorising the smell she emits.

•••

You opened your eyes when you felt a heavy thing on your side, you move your hand in the dark to switch on the lamp and see what it is. You are surprised to see Shauna there, hiding her face into your neck, her grip on your waist makes you think that she is awake. You start to stroke her head, hearing how the Shipman's girl left out a sigh.

"I can't sleep." Shauna murmurs in a muffled voice, drawing patterns on your waist.

"It's okay." You whispered. You close your eyes again, the tiredness on them. Sleepily you find out how you don't mind if these things with Shauna keep happening.

"And I forgot to ask if you would come tomorrow to the game?" Shauna asks shyly, raising her head and looking at you. Brown eyes inspect your sleepy face, face mere inches away from yours.

"I would love to. But I am meeting some friends that I haven't seen for a while." You explained, feeling a little bad. It intensifies when she gives that puppy look on her eyes, big doe brown eyes looking at you with... sadness? Shauna nods, coming back to hide her head on your neck. "I can go to the next one." You said, wishing that she would remove that look on her face.

"It's an away game." She informed you, her breathing tickling your neck.

"And can I go?" You suggested. "When I needed to go away in the chess tournament, some parents came." You explained.

Shauna thinks for a moment. "We can bring someone, two people like much. I can ask." She said, hearing in her tone now much content. "So, I will see you tomorrow...?"

You suppress a smile when you hear the little hope in her voice now. "Nope, unless you would come at night. Something I don't suggest only because the next day I need to go to a chess tournament and my mom would come to wake me up." You explained, your fingers scalping her head.

"Until Monday then?" She asks rhetorically, raising her head again and frowning. You put your index finger between her eyebrows and try to erase it, making her relax. "I guess I will pass my Sunday studying." She huffed, letting her head on your shoulder instead.

No one of you speaks anymore. You start to think about what you feel towards Shauna Shipman. You know that you have a crush on her, for a long time. At first you tried to deny it, but with time you give up and accept you feel attracted.

Could it be a possibility that Shauna will feel something towards you too? It would be unbelievable, a crush being reciprocal? Usually it's not that easy. You remember some of your friends with their crush, the majority of them weren't corresponded, even with Jessica. At first Ted didn't like her, they got together with the time.

You are a mess.

So maybe with these two days apart from her, you could clear your mind. Detoxicate from Shauna.

•••

Cheers and claps were heard, alerting you and raising your head up. You see how Shauna approaches in the classroom, one of the classes both of you share. The teacher stopped her, noticing how her smile was forced while she nodded whatever Mr Kyle said to her.

Your eyes collided and you sent her a reassuring smile, pulling up your glasses and hearing how your partner in your table rant about something. Shauna starts to walk, towards your table. A scowl installing on her features, stopping in front of the table.

"Move." She grunted, throwing a hard look at James, who looked confused and scared. "I'm not repeating myself." She said more serious, without blinking.

James swallowed, grabbing his things and going to another empty seat.

Shauna sat down where he was, throwing her backpack on the floor and hiding her face between her hands, leaning her elbows on the table. You look sympathetic to her, squeezing her shoulder.

"You okay?" You whisper, leaning a little on her.

Shauna nods, rubbing her eyes when she removes her hands from her face. "Yeah. Only tired of people congratulating us." She growls, rolling her eyes. Then, her gaze turned soft. "How was your tournament? Also last night I couldn't go because I stayed studying with Jackie on hers." She explains, giving you an apologetic smile.

"It was good. We won." You said, giving her a thumbs up. "Don't worry. Just try not to bite the rest of the day at them." You joke, fixing your eyes on the new piece of clothes she is wearing. "Do you have a jacket about your team? With your name? That's pretty cool." You compliment, caressing the fabric of it with your finger.

"We put it on special occasions." Shauna sarcastically explains, grabbing her things and putting it on top of the table. Then, she sneaked a hand on your lap, intertwining your fingers. She gave you a shy look, relaxing her face when you squeeze her hand. "Maybe if I have you by my side all day I will contain myself." She murmurs, looking straight when the teacher starts to explain and losing your shocked expression.

What does that mean?

It has been less than a week of talking and you two are holding hands already. Not only that, if not you two sleep in the same bed two nights because Shauna went to your house.

Are you treating her so well to have these privileges?

You always thought that Shauna was someone difficult to read and be careful to treat. You know she has a gold heart only the way she treats her friends, especially Jackie. The rough appearance is only a wall to protect herself. And the way she treats you those days affirmative what you think about her.

"You look distracted." Shauna interrupted your mind, her thumb drawing pattern on your hand.

You look at her, pools of chocolate looking you back. You shrug your shoulders, resting importance. You didn't want to share what you were thinking, but a few ideas came to your head and one of them you didn't like.

But you didn't want to suffer in the future.

After that class, your ways are separated and you see her again when you are in the cafeteria that a very annoyed Shauna sits down next to you, ignoring the couple there. You see how red their cheeks are, the frown pronouncing and a death stare that could kill anyone who dares to speak to her.

"I hate people so much." Shauna scowled, throwing the jacket to the bench and pulling her flannel sleeves up, starting to eat with angry movements.

You side eye Ted, seeing who he pallied a little. You two are on good terms, the boy approached you on Saturday when your friends and you collided with the couple.

"That bad is going? Think that you aren't the only one, I witnessed how Mrs Deans said one of your teammates who barely gets credit on her class." You said, remembering the moment.

Shauna gives you a sarcastic smile. "Mari, I know."

You let her eat, wanting she calm down. She never says a bad word to you, and usually Shauna comes to you because she can be herself, not necessary to talk.

The couple finished and they went away, mainly for Jessica. Seeing that Shauna's mood isn't improvising, you take her things with you and grab her hand, walking outside. You take her to the bleachers the other day you sit down, appreciating the empty pitch on a sunny day, in the background soft murmurs of people around you two.

You deposited her things next to you, leaning your head on her shoulder while you sneak your arms on hers. You feel how she tense momentarily but soon relaxed, leaning her cheek on your head.

"We finish the project today." You comment, playing with her flannel sleeve.

Shauna hummed. "Something good. Or not. I think I'm going to see Berman frequently."

This comment caught your attention. "Why?"

"Because we are friends. What else?" She said in a matter-of-fact tone, chuckling at the end.

You didn't wait for that answer. "We are friends?" You ask dumbly.

"Well, if you aren't my friend, I don't know what I'm doing with you." She said in a whisper.

It's your turn to tense up.

Would you two have this conversation? I mean, maybe she truly feels that this thing is a friendship, friends hold hands, right? All the time?

"Shauna...I think we should take some time apart." You said bluntly. You are the same surprise as Shauna, because you thought about it but just for a moment, maybe your heart betrayed you before things went too far.

Shauna separated her cheek from your head and looked at you. The surprise transforms into a serious look, her lips into a fine line and her posture goes straight.

"No." She said firm, letting out a breath. This answer surprises you more. "Why? I mean, we clicked. Did you?" She asks the last part insecure, the frown on her eyebrows increasing. "Time? You can't give me a taste of yourself and later go away like nothing." She said in a hurt voice.

You opened your mouth, and closed it. Would you say the truth of why you wanted to pull off? You don't want Shauna hating you.

"We did." You admitted. You could see some relief on her face. "But Shauna, I don't want to be hurt...," you start, looking at the field. You can't watch her face the moment you admit your feelings. "I feel like you are a drug to me. Thinking about you all the time. I prefer admiring you from a distance than getting involved and getting hurt at the end." You explain in a thread of voice, letting go of her arm and biting your lip strongly, afraid of her reaction.

You are waiting for her to scream at you. To say how much she hates you, something in that line. Though you never imagined that Shauna Shipman would hold your hand and with the other one grab your chin to look at her with the most softer gaze she has on her eyes.

"Do you think that I don't feel your eyes on me?" She whispers, caressing your chin with her thumb. She has a playful smile, Shauna didn't say it to tease you. However the comment made you blush. "It's been awhile. With every gaze I wonder what would you see on me to like you. I never approached you because... I'm shy and you too. You know the rest."

She knew. Of course Shauna Shipman would know about your crush on her. You thought you were subtle, but clearly not.

"If you want to pull away from that, I'm reassuring you that you need to search for another excuse, because I'm not going to buy it." She reassured you, getting bold and removing her hand from your chin, she wraps both arms on your waist and hides her head on your neck. "I'm not letting go of the person that calmed me down, my friends never would forgive you." Shauna tried to light the mood, making you laugh.

You can feel the smile on your skin.

•••

You bite your lip, worried.

Shauna got a yellow card to snap to the opponent player when they foul her. Some of the yellowjackets tried to pull her off, Lottie pushed Shauna away with a strong grip, seeing the only one who could with the brunette.

Your vision from them is hidden because someone put themselves in front of you. A tall young man, curly hair and kind eyes call your attention with his hands, you recognise him to be the second coach, a man loved by the girls more than the actual coach.

"Hey." He greets you when you approach him, a nervous gaze alternating between you and the pitch where the players are. "Look, I have been informed that you are Shauna's friend, right?" He asks, sighing relieved when you nod. "Alright, I need you to talk with her and calm down. Her temper is getting worse at the minute and we can't lose her." He said, almost beg you.

It surprised you a little. He probably knows her more than you, but he is here asking you to calm Shauna down.

So you nod again.

"Thank you. Soon will be the break, I'll come for you after the coach gives them new tactics." He said, offering you a relief smile and walking back to the bench where the rest of the team are.

You waited, eyes glued on the number six. You could feel the anger she is holding, the piss when she takes the ball away from the opponent, sometimes she dribbles them with an elegant move and then, more piss she felt with the foul received.

Shauna is in a thin line to snap again.

Jackie kept whispering things to calm her down, in vain. The brunette was the first one to go inside the moment the referee whistled. You waited for the guy from before, seeing him approach you after a few minutes.

"Sorry." He apologised, helping you walk into the pitch. He takes you to a small hall, voices proving from two doors were heard. You supposed both teams are locked near each other. He opened the left door, quietly apologising when the coach stopped shouting. You walk behind him, some of the girls give a smile or wave at you.

You wave back, sending them a sad smile. They are losing by a goal, the dream to go to Nationals very far right now. You stood next to him, seeing the eleven players who played in a circle, some of them standing up or sitting down. You have a glimpse of the Shipman's girl, sitting down with a pronounced frown, sipping from a bottle.

After a few encouraging words, the coach goes out, the curly hair man gives you an apologetic smile and follows him. A redhead a few centimeters away from you turns her back, her cheeks flushed letting out a sarcastic comment, gaining some laughs and protest by them. You recognise her like the goalkeeper, its contrast with the tough face she wore during the game and now with a cheeky grin it's shocking, also you knew about her behaviour because you share some classes.

Her baby blue eyes meet your face, a glint of mischief swimming on them. "Well, hello darling. I thought you were there to support us." She hummed, wiping her face with a towel.

"Van." A curly hair girl hissed with a reprimand expression that turned into a softer one when she looks at you. "Don't pay her any attention."

You laugh quietly.

"Nah, Van. She is here for Shauna. Personal cheerleader." A dyed blonde comment, the same mischief pooling on their blue greenish eyes. She walked next to the pair, crossing her arms with a smug smirk.

You didn't offend by her words. "Do you want me to chant your name for you to score?" You tease her, gaining some laughs from them.

She just blushed, wiping her smug smirk from her face. "Talk with Shauna and reason with her." She murmurs, walking away followed by Van and the other curly haired girl.

Lottie gave a sweet smile, going out too with another blonde girl. You walk slowly towards the pair of friends, Jackie has an arm wrap around Shauna's shoulder and was talking at her. Since Shauna has her head down, she doesn't see you approaching, but Jackie does and gives you a nod, standing up from her spot and walking away after squeezing your arm.

"Don't be pissed." You said in a small voice, gaining her attention. Shauna looks surprised, her brown eyes opening. You smile, going to sit next to her. "You know that she is provoking you, right? Don't give her that satisfaction."

Shauna looks around, noticing that the only ones were you two there. She wraps her arms on your waist and hides her head on your neck, brushing her lips there, making you squirm.

"What are you doing here?" She asked in a muffled voice, feeling how she relaxed the moment you brush your hand on her neck.

"That guy... the second coach came to talk to me to calm you down." You explain.

"Scott?" She asks, confused. She raised her head from your neck, making your hand fall to her back. You didn't know his name, so you nod while shrugging your shoulders. "And to calm me down? He learned fast." She muttered for herself.

You look at her curiously. "What was that?"

Shauna shakes her head. "It's nothing. I guess some of the girls told him how I worked when you were around."

"It's working?" You ask, tilting your head.

Shauna suppresses a smile, leaning a little into your face. "Maybe... but I think something else could work." She whispers, eyes darting between your eyes and mouth.

You left out the smile she is trying to hold. "Don't you have enough?" You whisper back, brushing your nose with hers. The memories from last night making out on her car clouding your mind.

She brings a hand to your cheek, her thumb trace slowly the skin until she reaches your lower lip. "Never." She whispers, closing the distance and capturing your lips with hers.

You melt into her touch, slipping out a content sound. She separated quickly, remaining close. Her hand keeps on your cheek, looking at you. It's you who closed the gasp and kissed her, feeling how chapped her lips are. It's your turn to separate, watching with a smile how Shauna follows you to keep kissing.

"You need to go back over there." You press a hand on her chest, stopping her.

Shauna frown. "One more kiss and we go." She promised, but you shake your head, pushing her back again. "Why?" She deepened her frown.

"If you pass another 45 minutes without snapping the opponent, I will give a lot of them tonight." You offer.

The brunette gazes at you. "You are mean." She whispers. "You promised?" She said in a small voice.

"I promise." You said, grabbing her chin but kissing her left cheek.

Perhaps Shauna turns her head quickly and steals you a peck, giving you a smirk when separated and sees your face. She stands up, grabbing your hand and leading the way out.

"I hope you win." You murmur once out, closing an eye because the sun was hitting your face.

"I already won." She leans and whispers in your ear, brushing her lips on your cheek and giving you a smile, she joggers into the pitch.

You come back to your place, blushing and with a silly smile.

Damn Shauna Shipman.

[deathbecomesthem]

Cry Baby

Eddie Munson x GN!Reader

Warnings: Angst, discussion of sex, unrequited feelings, drug use

Summary: You take Eddie to a crybaby bridge a week before you leave for college.

---

“Do you have it?” Your hand is deep in your handbag brushing around the dirt and tobacco dust. It’s in here somewhere, you remember dropping it in your bag before rushing out of your front door. The sound of the horn from the old rust bucket of a van was loud enough to wake the neighbors, and he wasn’t going to let up until your ass was sitting firmly in the passenger seat.

“Just – fuck – give me a second,” he’s so annoying sometimes, too eager. You’re anxious to get moving, too, but you’re not willing to risk life and limb. Without even moonlight filtering in, the woods were pitch black this time of night. You let your frustration out in the form of a dig, “I have it, Eddie, can you just back the fuck off for a minute. Christ, why couldn’t you bring your own flashlight?”

His frustrated groan just puts you more on edge. It’s been like this with him lately. What used to be simple fun has felt like a chore. You know why. It’s because of her, but that’s not his fault. He’s allowed to have a girlfriend. You’re allowed to feel sad about it. You’re not allowed to take those feelings out on one of your best friends. He’s not a mind reader, and you’ve never given him a hint of a reason to believe the two of you could be anything more than what you are.

“Ha! There it is!” The flashlight, a tiny penlight your grandpa bought for your graduation, was hiding behind a tube of lip gloss in the bottom corner of your bag. “You ready to go find some ghosts, Ed, or are you too scared?”

“Oh, fuck off,” he’s already out of the van, swinging the door shut. He’s extra amped up because, despite his protests, he’s terrified. When you asked him to join you, he couldn’t say no, he couldn’t risk your mocking. But he hates this shit. Why bother looking for trouble when it finds him either way. And he happens to believe in ghosts.

“We don’t have to do this together, I can come back alone tomorrow night.” He knows this, and he knows he’s not going to let you tromp around in these woods by yourself to look for the old stone bridge. He also knows that he’s not going to miss a single second he gets to spend with you before you leave him.

“If you don’t get your ass out of that van, I’ll assume you’re the one that’s chickenshit. Let’s go!” It was his idea for both of you to dress in all black. Not exactly a far cry from the norm for either of you, but you felt a little ridiculous wearing your brother’s oversized black sweatshirt. All of yours have some sort of logo, and Eddie insisted you’d both be picked up for trespassing if the cops could see you. You’re waiting for the perfect moment to point out that his bright white knees are showing through the holes in his faded black jeans.

You consider your bag and decide it has to stay. You grab your smokes, your lighter, your pepper spray, and the baggie with a couple of pre rolled joints before hopping out of the van. He’s already got a cigarette lit, his hands move agitatedly from like he’s trying to shake out his nerves. It’s enough to make you feel a little guilty.

“Let’s go, Ed. The sooner we get out there, the sooner I’ll smoke you out to calm your ass down.” You lead the way, setting a quick gait. Eddie is on your heels, and you know from experience, he’ll be that way through the entire trek. A little less than a mile, but in the dark it will feel longer.

Normally, Laura would come out on an adventure like this. Your best friend for years, and Eddie’s new girlfriend. The three of you do, or did, everything together. Until a little more than a month ago when you walked in on them making out on Eddie’s bed. The pain, you masked as disgust that night, has turned sour. A bitter taste on the tip of your tongue that twists your words and makes them a little harsher than they should be. To Eddie and Laura. Your two most important people.

So, Laura passed, telling Eddie the two of you need some alone time. She really just can’t be around you right now, because she knows how you feel about Eddie. And it’s killing both of you. It’s too hard to be with them together, pretending that it doesn’t hurt. You want them to be happy, and that’s what they are. Perfect and happy. You’ll be gone in a week, anyway.

“Jesus, Eddie,” you hiss out when his chest connects to your back for the third time, “why don’t you just go wait in the van or whatever?” Your tone is mean and biting. You immediately regret it.

“What’s your problem? When did you get so fucking mean?” The fear is gone, replaced with anger. You’ve known this was coming for a while now, but hoped you could leave for school before the shit hit the fan with him. “You’ve been nothing but a grade A bitch to me lately,” he lets out a mean little laugh before adding, “not just to me, to Laura too.”

It’s like a slap in the face. Eddie has never gotten involved in anything between you and Laura. Never taken sides when the two of you fight. You feel like the ground under your feet has lost its firmness. Like it might break open and swallow you up. He’s right, but it hurts.

“Yeah, well, your girlfriend can take of herself, Ed, or did you fucking forget that now that you spend your weekend balls deep in her cunt?” The tip of the finger you have pushed into his chest is white with the effort. You want to hit him, you want to cry, you want to say something so cruel he’ll never want to speak to you again. “This is so fucking stupid, why are you even out here with me? You should be with your little plaything?”

“You know,” he slaps your hand away from him, “Laura said she thinks you’re jealous, and that’s why you’ve been acting like this.”

“Oh, did she come to that conclusion when she had your dick down her throat?” You hate yourself for it, but it’s been the only thing you’ve been able to think about. The two of them together in all of the ways you’ve been wanting him. You are jealous, and you can’t deny it. You can’t lie to Eddie. It’s pointless. He can always tell.

“I can’t do this, let’s fucking forget it. Please.” Even in the pitch dark of the woods, you can see his big stupid eyes shining at you. “Let’s go find your ghosts. C’mon.”

This is what he’s good at. Diffusing the bomb inside of you just as it’s about to explode. You always have that rage sitting close to the surface. He’s known you long enough to know you’ll do anything – anything – to push him away when you’re feeling hurt. He won’t let that happen when your time left together is so short.

So, you spin your body around. It’s easier when you don’t have your eyes on his face. It’s the face you’ve seen every day for the last 3 years. It’s the face you think about when you fall asleep at night. It’s the face you see in your dreams. It’s killing you.

The fear must be back, because Eddie’s thick fingers are gripping your bicep like his life depends on it. The light of the flashlight bounces across the leaf covered path, and you catch sight of what you’ve been looking for. A stone foundation, and the stone bridge beyond it.

Beer cans are littered around, a testament to the spot’s popularity. Someone had a fire there recently, you can see the remains of burned logs just off the path. It’s not technically a historic spot, but the rumors persist. The witch’s house and the bridge where she left her baby to die. So the legend goes. It’s bullshit, of course.

“You ok back there, tough guy?” Somehow, the grip on your arm is tighter, and Eddie is practically climbing your back with how close he is. A warm feeling of fondness spreads through you at the feeling. He wears his leather armor, but he’s so soft underneath. The only time he went to a haunted house with you, he made you lead him through it while he walked with his eyes closed. He screamed every time anyone brushed up next to him.

“I’m fine,” his voice is quiet and shaky, “can we please do whatever it is you want to do and get out of here? We can go get a six pack and watch a movie or something.”

“I don’t want to do anything. I just want to smoke a little and see if we see anything.” You shrug his hand off your arm and head to the bridge. The trees open up enough here for the moonlight to shine down creating an eerie atmosphere that contributes to the area’s reputation.

You’re laughing while you watch Eddie’s panicky jog to catch up with you. You’re holding up a joint in triumph and wiggling it at him like an owner offering a treat to their dog for doing a trick.

“You know, I sold this to you, I could smoke my own stash at home.” He grumbles to you, but still accepts your offering. The flash of flame from his lighter makes his face glow. He’s so pretty, all of the time, and it breaks your heart to see. But you push that shit back down as he hands the joint back to you.

You take the joint and grab his hand. His calloused fingers cupping your hand back while you lead him to a spot in the middle of the bridge and sit. You pat the ground next to you in invitation, and he accepts that offering as well. You let your head rest on his shoulder, a thing you’ve done countless times before, but the first time since that night you saw him with Laura.

You watch a cloud pass across the moon, it’s nearly full and you feel so glad to see it like this with him. It almost feels right. It almost feels like you could angle your head up to look at him, but you won’t do that. It feels wrong when the only thing you want is for him to look back and see what you’ve been hiding from him.

“You know,” it’s been quiet for a while, and of course Eddie’s the first one to break, “if I had known –“ you reach your hand up to cover his mouth before he can say anything else.

“Don’t do that,” you whisper out, barely loud enough for him to hear, “just don’t.”

He doesn’t. He lets you have this, let’s you be with him in this spot. Forgetting for a few minutes that when you leave it, he’ll find her. He’ll kiss her, he’ll tell her he missed her. He should do those things, because they’re right and true.

“I’m gonna miss you so fucking much.” His kiss to the top of your head is what finally does it. The dam broken, tears spill down your cheeks. “This is a lot nicer than I thought it would be. Thank you.”

[supercorpkid]

How You Get the Girl - Final

Supergirl. Lena Luthor x Reader!, Kara Danvers, Barry Allen.

Word Count: 3335.

Part 1 / Part 2

Lena holds your face firmly, planting kisses all over it, making it impossible for you to move. Not that you would—there's nowhere else you'd rather be. You wouldn't move even if the room was on fire.

"I can't believe this is real." she whispers between kisses. Your cheeks flush, not because of her words, but the raw, desperate sincerity in her voice. It makes you feel like the most amazing person in the entire multiverse.

"Mhm, you know," you say, pausing between her soft pecks on your lips, "I love all this, but maybe we shouldn't be at CatCO anymore."

Lena pulls back slightly, her face betraying a flash of insecurity. Kissing someone that looks exactly like her employee at the workplace, one in a committed relationship even, clearly unsettles her.

"Okay, you're right." She slips into CEO mode so quickly it startles you. Pacing the room, she starts brainstorming. "Should I sell CatCO? Or find someone to run it for me and come back to this Earth on sporadically occasions? But what’s the point? Should we be worrying about which universe we're going to and—"

You get up from the couch, silencing her with a kiss. She's left breathless, lips shiny and red, staring at you as if you've taken all the words from her. "You were asking a lot of important questions, honey, but I was thinking of something else. I meant we should go to your place. I'm pretty sure there's a bed there, and we'd be much more comfortable."

"You know what? You do have good ideas!" She grins, and you can't help but mirror her smile. This smile. This one is new. Something your Earth's Lena never did.

"Look at that, I found a difference," you say, kissing the corner of her mouth. "That smile, I've never seen it before."

"I've never given it before."

You raise your eyebrows, surprised. "It's mine?"

"All yours." Lena says with such depth it knocks the air out of your lungs. And you realize she’s not just talking about the smile.

Lena looks at the ring on your finger, and you give her a nod. There's a lot to be scared of while facing this new reality you both wished into existence, but figuring out where to go next shouldn't be one of them. Yet, Lena's sweaty hands gripping yours tell you she didn't get the memo.

By now, you have traveled to so many Earths that they all look different and somewhat the same. It's hard to explain. The novelty of new worlds has started to wear off.

"Hey Barry!" 

"Y/N!" Barry exclaims, his voice filled with surprise. "And Lena?" His eyes drop to your intertwined hands. "Wait, which Earth are you guys from?"

"Earth-99," you say, pointing to yourself. He nods, recognizing you. Then you point to Lena. "Earth-242."

Barry's eyes widen, and he stays silent for a moment. You don't rush him, knowing he needs time to process. "Okay, wait a minute. Kara told you about the Earth I visited?" You nod. "So you went to a different Earth and found a Lena that loves you?" You nod again. After a pause, he adds, "Please don't tell me you're here because—"

"You guys could use my powers," you interrupt, raising your eyebrows suggestively. "And you could use her brains."

Barry looks like he wants to argue, but he can't. Not when he’s the guy who makes some of the most questionable decisions across many worlds. "I guess this is kind of my fault, isn't it?"

"One hundred percent started with you, yeah."

"Well—" He still seems like he wants to argue, but then something clicks. He realizes you and Lena could be valuable assets to the team. Soon, he smiles like a child. "Fine, you guys can stay. Welcome to Earth-1! Oh, and the S.T.A.R. Labs. The team will love having you here."

Lena looks around with a huge smile on her face. "Oh, I'm going to like this place."

You can't help but mirror her smile, seeing how excited she is. "If you're happy, I'm home."

Barry gestures for you both to follow him. "Let's go tell the others."

Earth-242 loses its Lena. She sells CatCo, donates some of her money, and invests the rest in her friends. Initially, they seem upset, but when they see her smiling at you, their anger softens. They want her to be happy, and she is happy. If they find it awkward that she is dating you, they don't mention it, and you’re grateful for that.

Assuming it would have been the same on your Earth, however, was a clear misjudgment of your friends' characters.

"So," Lena is helping you pack. She carefully folds your clothes while you toss them haphazardly into a box. "When are you going to tell your friends?"

"Well, I sent my resignation letter from CatCo a few minutes ago, which pretty much means Kara will be barging in through the window anytime now."

Lena comes closer, "And you're sure, right?" Her hands make way to your face and her touch is so good you lean into it without a second thought. "Darling?"

"Hm?" Lena has her eyebrows raised in question while waiting for your answer. "I've never been more sure about anything else in my life, ok?" You hold her waist and smile at her insecure expression. "You and I working in S.T.A.R labs sounds like a dream."

"There's no Kara in his universe." Lena makes sure you remember that. 

"Yeah I know." You kiss her forehead and smile. "We'll be fine, honey." She still looks uncertain. "Come on, Lena. I can live without Kara just fine."

"Oh really?" Kara barges in through the window that very second and you roll your eyes at the situation. Great, here she comes right on time. "You can live without me, huh?" 

You've never seen Kara this upset before, not while looking at you anyway. Perhaps at one super villain that got her really mad. But not you, never you.

"Kar," Your heart beats faster while you approach her. "I can explain. That was completely out of context." 

"Well then, please." Kara points at you, then glances at Lena behind you. "What is Lena doing here? I thought she was at headquarters."

"Right." You gesture for Lena to come closer. "Kara, this is Lena from Earth-242."

"Hi!" Lena smiles kindly. "I know this is confusing, you look exactly like the Kara from my universe too."

Kara's mouth opens and closes, unable to form a sentence.

"Well, Lena and I are together!" You smile brightly, throwing your arm around her. "And we're moving to Earth-1. Barry got us a job at S.T.A.R. labs and so we're packing my things."

One of Kara's eyes blinks, just one, while she tries to comprehend all that you're saying. She stumbles back into the bed, and lets herself fall into it with a murmured, "What?"

"I emailed in my resignation letter to Ms. Grant today, I was terrified to face her."

Kara clutches her chest. "What?"

"Darling," Lena calls your attention and you look at her. "Maybe go slower." She points to the door. "I'll be packing your kitchen stuff. You two can take your time."

Kara isn't listening to you. She fires off question after question, without giving you time to answer. So, you stay silent, watching her process everything.

"You're leaving? With a Lena? You're dating Lena? Oh my Gosh, you did love Lena. And I said it was crazy. But it is crazy. It's so crazy you're dating a different Lena from another universe and you're moving to Barry's universe? Is that even legal?" Kara reaches for her comm. "Emergency meeting in the headquarters, something insane is about to happen."

You sigh, looking at her, about to argue, but Kara points a firm finger at you. "Get your Lena there. Now."

"You know you're not my boss, right?" One hard look later, you call out, "Honey, we're going to the headquarters!"

You and Lena make it to the headquarters with Kara on your tow, so she is sure you two won't vanish into another universe (her words, not yours). The whole team is there already and Lena squeezes your hand a little stronger when she senses your anxiety.

"Hey," She whispers close to your ear. "They love you, they'll be happy that you're happy." You look at her, swallowing hard as she assures you with her eyes. "And if not –" She taps on your ring lightly.

"Is that…" Lena narrows her eyes at her counterpart waltzing in the headquarters hand-in-hand with you. "Me?"

"Hi everyone. This is Lena, from Earth-242." You decide to tell them all at once, so they can't argue. “She’s my girlfriend. We’re very happy, and we’re moving to Earth-1 together and working at S.T.A.R labs.” 

Kara points at you, “See! Something crazy!”

“It’s not crazy.” You huff annoyed, even though all of your friends are looking at you like you just grew a second head. “It’s love!”

Earth-99 Lena, it’s the first one to say, “well, this is awkward.”

“No, no. There’s nothing awkward about this.” But they are all looking at each other trying to understand how to best react to this. 

J'onn clears his throat. "Well, I wish you both good luck on your journey." He says getting opposite reactions from everyone else. He ignores them, and comes closer, shaking both yours and your girlfriend's hands. "I hope you two find happiness on Earth-1, and visit us anytime you have a chance." 

"What the fuck!" Alex exclaims from behind him.

"You'll be missed, Y/N, but I understand your decision." J'onn looks back at the others. "I'll patrol the city while you continue this conversation."

For a moment, the room is silent, but then Kara takes a deep breath, and everyone starts talking at once.

"You're crazy!" 

"This is insane!" 

"Are you shitting me?"

When they finally stop, they all look at each other, seemingly agreeing on a plan.

"Earth-242 Lena, can we talk to you?" Kara starts.

And at the same time, this Earth Lena looks at you, “Can we talk in private?” 

You agree with your head and follow her into a private room in the headquarters. Only Kara would be able to listen to your conversation, but you don’t think she is dying to know what’s happening inside this room when she is quizzing your girlfriend to death in another one. 

“So, you’re dating… me.”

You bite your tongue. How will you get yourself out of this one? “Well, you said that we’re all different people, remember?” 

She doesn’t, by the way she is looking at you completely lost. You’re not surprised she doesn't recall the moment when everything changed in your life, she was, as always, barely aware of your presence.

"I asked about it and you said there wouldn't be a paradox. We're different individuals."

"Well, yes, but she's still me somehow." She seems to be carefully choosing her words, but when she speaks again, you don't think she chose the right ones. "Isn't that the reason you're with her? I mean, you barely know her. What you know is because she reminds you of me."

"That's not true. You two are different."

She doesn't believe that, but for the sake of winning this argument she lets it slide. "Then how do you know that you're in love with her?"

"Sometimes there's no proof. Sometimes you just know."

She stares at you in disbelief and repeats, "Darling, she is me." 

"No, she isn't. And you wanna know why?" Lena raises her eyebrows, encouraging you to speak. "Because she loves me. Because, God, Lena, she can give me everything you never could. Love and smiles and—" You turn around, you can't look at her face while you say that. "We've been falling into beds together, and in each other's arms. Just loving each other so hard, I can't even remember what it's like to be a mess over someone who never gave a damn about me." You breathe out. "So, do I still need to tell you how she brought me back to life?"

She doesn't talk for what it feels like an eternity. You never once thought this was how you were going to confess your feelings for her. But now, it doesn't matter anymore. It might never have mattered in the first place.

You turn around slowly, Lena's eyes are filled with unshed tears. "Smiles?"

"What?" 

"She can give you smiles?" She repeats. You're sure you've said many, many words after that one, but 'smiles' is the word she decides to focus on. You nod slightly and Lena lets out an incredulous laughter. "Like I never smiled at you?"

"Different smiles."

"Different smiles, okay." Lena parrots, wiping her eyes even though no tears have fallen yet. "So, what? You jumped into different universes to find a version of me that would give you different smiles?"

"Shut up." You try to push past her, but she blocks you. "You don't get it. You'll never get it."

"Why?" Lena's voice is small, despite her standing tall in front of you, blocking your escape.

"Because!" You try to move past her, but she holds your wrists, pinning you against the wall.

"Because what? Say it!" Lena growls with such intensity, a hard gaze flickering between your mouth and your eyes.

"Because you wouldn't love me!" You yell.

Lena blinks at you. The splash of blue in her eye takes you off guard, you've never noticed it before. You knew that about your Lena, but you hadn't realized all of them had just a tiny bit of heterochromia. 

Then she finally blinks away a tear. You hold your breath to the small tear rolling down her cheek and time just stops between you. You both get so caught up in the moment, she lets go of your wrists, hands dropping to her sides. You swallow deep while raising your hand to her face. Your thumb brushes softly against her skin to clean a single tear she shed for you. 

You smile. "Different smiles, different tears." You explain. "I know you're confused, and I was confused too. For so long I was confused about this. But then I kissed her, and now I know."

"Well, maybe you need to be confused again." Lena pushes you further into the wall, no space for you to even breathe without having your body fully pressed against hers. 

You know what's coming next, and here's the thing, you could fight it but it doesn't even seem worth it. 

So when Lena kisses you, you think back of the many Lenas you've kissed in different universes. The sweet familiar pecks; The passionate disgraceful kisses; The 'you're mine' kisses; The 'I wish you were mine' ones; The many lips and tongues and hands; And then this one.

When she breaks the kiss for air, you have a dopey smile on your face and a light behind your eyes, you don't think it was there before.

Lena smiles too, satisfied with herself. And if you're being fair, you don't think you've ever seen this smile on her face. 

"Ok. So now that I have you confused again," She starts and you think she keeps talking, something about how to keep you on this Earth and get the other Lena back home or whatever. You're not even sure, you're not listening. Body buzzing so loud, you're shaking. 

"Sorry, I've got to —" You run to the door, since now she's given you enough space to do so. 

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Oh." You offer her a smile, the first one since this whole conversation started. You see, the other ones, they weren't for her. "I'm going home."

She looks puzzled, so you give her more information.

"You know, Lena, when you have perfect, 'almost' is never enough." You run back into the main space, you think Lena is right behind you but you're not sure, can't see her. You're not even aware if there's anyone in this place except for her. Your Lena, the Lena. 

She's caught by surprise when you hold her hand, but is quick to get up and ignore the last question fired at her by the three musketeers. "She's done explaining herself to you. We're going home."

"Wait —" Kara tries.

"No." You keep making your way out.

"Y/N, please." You think you hear Lena's voice, but it could've been Kara, or maybe even Alex, you don't care. But your escape is put to a halt, and you turn around with a frown on your face.

"No, you guys don't get it. And we don't have to explain ourselves. I love her. This one." You raise your intertwined fingers so they all can see it. "This Lena is the one for me. And you can accept that and be happy that I'm finally happy, or not. But what you can't do is try to mess up with this. Do you all get me? Me and my girlfriend are moving to Earth-1, we're starting a life together. Because she is the one I want. And no other Lena will ever do. No other person will ever do." 

You look back at her and see the smile. Different, unabashed, yours. Earth-99 Lena might have a thousand different smiles you've never seen, but you don't care about them. You like this one. This one is yours.

You look at her, doe-eyed. "You're with me?"

"I'll die." She whispers. "I'll die a sure death if I can't be with you."

Epilogue.

"Honey, do you know if Barry is bringing Iris?" You ask, going to the kitchen. Lena is organizing the many dips she bought so they look nice. She has her hair down in messy little waves, a large t-shirt and comfortable sweatpants. Barefoot on the kitchen floor, and not even an ounce of make up on her face. You smile at the perfect sight. "Why are you making all of that? It's just a game night with our friends."

"You know your friends from Earth-99 are coming too. And yes, Iris is coming too." She accepts the kiss you plant on her cheek with a bright smile. 

You peek inside one box. "You bought potstickers just for Kara, didn't you?"

"And the special beer Alex likes, and I snuck the new prototype out of the lab so I can show Winn." Lena says, sounding more excited to see your friends than you.

"That's why they love you a lot more than they love me." You joke and she chuckles, holding you from behind.

"I'm just happy they came around."

You turn around so you can face her, but her arms never leave your waist. You kiss her forehead and peck her lips.

"They would be crazy not to. You're the best Lena in the multiverse, even they can't deny that."

"How about Earth-17 Lena who helps every other Earth when they are in crisis? You know, the one responsible for this." She raises her eyebrows and you know what she means.

"No one's responsible for this, but us. If we hadn't kissed, we would never know." Your finger goes to her chin and you tilt it the slightest so you can kiss her better. And God, how is it possible that every kiss you share with her, feels the exact same as that first one. Explosive, urgent and in perfect harmony. "Just don't tell Barry that, or he might kick us out of S.T.A.R. labs."

"We're indispensable at the labs, darling."

"No. You are indispensable. I'm just the comic relief." You joke and Lena laughs as bright and easy as the sun. And shit, this Lena is so much better than any other Lena. Not only because she is yours, but like, damn, look at her. You're sure, you'd have died many deaths if it wasn't for her.

[fiber-optic-alligator]

(Not a request dw) (I definitely borrowed a little from what you wrote and slashed through earlier)

Knock Out brainrot time. >:3c

Just thinking of him occasionally taking his human Back to the train tracks where he caught them the first time to torment them further. Especially about how they failed to escape him the first time. Not that they Actually Had a Chance, but he's an arrogant asshole so he's gonna act like they did. And that they failed to utilize it correctly.

Maybe he pretends to give them another chance to properly flee, with the same rules/time limit as last time? 20 minutes, but after 5 he's going to begin his search for them. But this time? The human has something of a plan, even if it'll only delay the inevitable. They use the fog cover to sneakily dash about, and cover things in heir scent. They're trying to fool his nose so he has to try harder to find them in the fog.

Five minutes pass of him tracking their progress, and he begins to move. Taunting them about their plan to con a Con, and how it won't work. Of course he knew what they were doing, and it's a decent plan outside of the fact that he can See them trying to put it into action. But, oh well, better luck next time, morsel.

At the ten minute mark, however, he loses sight of them. And with minimal sign of them beyond the smell of terror they leave behind, he begins to grow a little antsy. Not worried, no, he's going to catch them, and It Will Be Easy. They just... hadn't been much of a challenge before. This is certainly proving to be an interesting round of Hide and Shriek.

It's a little past the fifteen minute mark that he catches a definitive trace of them. "Ah, There they are." He laughs lowly, and stomps closer to the boxcar they'd stashed themselves away in. Now that he's locked onto where they've hidden, he decides to walk a little further away from them. To make them think he's still oblivious to their hiding spot. A minute passes. Two, three. Little footsteps pad through the door to the next boxcar.

At nineteen minutes, Knock Out decides to stop playing with his food. He saunters over to their new hiding spot, and tears the door open. Leaning the whole boxcar at an angle with a servo, so His human is forced to skid over to the far side and look up at him. "You know, this game of Cyber cat and Glitch mouse was certainly thrilling, but all good things must come to an end eventually. Now, sit still for me won't you? We have things to do once we get back to the Nemesis."

He reaches in with his right servo to daintily pluck them from their rusty tomb, but stops short when something blunt smashes into one of his digits. He pulls his claws away from them to survey the damage, and notices rusty little scratches in one of them. He growls in displeasure before lunging to harshly pin His Plaything's arm to the wall, and wrenching away the offending weapon. An old crowbar sits pinched between two of his talons before he snaps it in two, and throws it away like a used tooth pick.

He regards his captive with a snarl, hating the effect their resistance has on him. The fact that they have the Audacity to attack him is in itself is infuriating, and he loathes losing his cool. Especially in regards to a fleshbag he's been ever So lenient with. He'll make them buff out the scratch later, but for now... "As much as I can respect your meager survival tactics, don't you think it's a little late to be trying this hard to escape?" He tries to maintain his self-assured tone to scare the human into thinking that their efforts to piss him off were Entirely in vain. But even they can detect the wrath bleeding into his tone like a drop of ink in water.

Knock Out lunges to pin his prize to the far wall with a servo again, making sure that the sharp ends of his claws graze their flesh lightly. "Has it Not sunken in yet human? You. Can't. Escape. From. Me. You only get as far as you do during our little games, because I let you. You didn't stand a chance In The Pits of escaping the second I laid my optics on you the first time, and you certainly don't have a shot now." He lifts them out of the boxcar, and drops it back onto the tracks, a crumpled heap of scrap metal. He ceases to keep his contempt for their petulance out of his voice now that he's got a proper grip on them.

"In case you haven't noticed, human? I am Faster than you. I am Stronger than you. And no matter how Far you run, I will Always find you. Remember that the next time you forget your place in this little arrangement of ours. Though, in case you Do need a reminder after all that?

You. Are. Mine.

His grip tightens while he speaks, and only loosens his grip again once he can he feel them gasp for air. He sighs, satisfied that he'd gotten his point across, and brings his little Snack down from optic level. "Once we get back to the Nemesis, you're getting a bath. And then, you're due for a night long tour of my tank. That's a fitting punishment for a squirmy little fleshy like you, I think. Oh, and you Will be buffing this scratch out of my hand, by the by. Don't think your panicked flailing fit with a piece of scrap metal slipped my mind, dear. I won't be as gentle with you the next time you lash out like that."

Anon. Holy shit. I literally have no words. This is absolutely incredible. I have nothing to add to this because it’s so damn GOOD!!! I don’t even have to write a part 2 anymore because this is that AMAZING!!!! God I am going to be rereading this at least twice a week SHAUZISKDJFNFJJFAAAAAAUGH!!!!!

I can only imagine afterwords when this is all over and you are within his tank. You have never seen Knockout that angry before. Though he makes an effort to intimidate you and show how terrifying he can be, he’s always been relatively gentle with you. Now, though? The memory of being slammed against the boxcar, how his claws grazed your skin, his snarls, the way he nearly squeezed the life out of you. And his words…

“You. Are. Mine.”

You curl up tighter and bury your head into your knees, shaking. You begin to quietly weep.

Meanwhile, Knockout is tinkering away with some stuff when he hears your soft sobs rising up from his middle. Pausing his activities and looking down, he listens to you cry and feels you tremble. A part of him feels smugly satisfied that you know your place now…but there’s another part of him that feels strangely…guilty. Your a small, fragile little thing. He could have seriously hurt you.

Heaving a low sigh, he clenches his tank muscles to squeeze you gently. “Settle down, little thing,” he murmurs. “I was harsh with you, I’ll admit. But you must understand that at moments, harshness is necessary. You need to know your place. You need to know you are mine.”

You don’t respond. He doesn’t expect you to. His comfort is not exactly the most comforting. He’s silent. He doesn’t feel as triumphant as he did earlier.

Even Decepticons can feel remorse sometimes.

[willbyersabyss]

This shot has been discussed extensively about how it hints at byler and El eventually figuring it out, but I want to talk about the drawing just before this one. And maybe even consider a different context for this drawing too...

The drawings are completely different. This one has a wider head and the thought bubble is skinny. These two drawings symbolize different things.

So what does this version of the drawing mean? Well just listen to what El is saying. She says that Vecna is going to be in someone's mind, but the thought bubble that represents the mindscape is above Will. This means that Vecna is already in Will's mind. But Will doesn't feel him until he gets back to Hawkins... why? And why would Vecna be in Will's mind during the finale, but we never see? Well... we did.

The Upside Down is Will's mindscape. This is hinting at that. Vecna has been residing in the UD the entire season, and we do in fact see this in the finale.

If that didn't convince you then the next thing El says will. El mentions Terry and Billy who both have a shit ton of parallels to Will. Terry's mind loop sequence relates to Will (see here). Billy's name is literally William, he had an abusive father, and he was possessed, all things that relate to Will. Interesting thing to bring up while the mindscape bubble is above Will.

Terry's mind is in a loop/stuck in time and so is the Upside Down. Billy's mind was stuck in the memory with his mom on the beach. The Upside Down is stuck because of a memory. Will's memory.

Let's bring El's drawing back into it's original context for a second. The girl in the middle represents Max. The two figures in the mindscape are Vecna and El. But they're above Will. So Max's mindscape somehow also collided with Will's. When did this happen?

When she travelled to the Snow Ball. Vecna and El are both in her mind at the same time during the Snow Ball. This is when El's drawing comes true! And this is when it connects back to Will!

This is the only time we see the California crew once El reaches the Snow Ball memory. Will is almost entirely out of shot! We don't see his reaction at all here. Very convenient that we don't see even a snippet of how Will is feeling during the Snow Ball sequence. We only see him again once they go into Vecna's mindscape...

OK! But how do we know the Snow Ball memory connected to the UD at all? When Vecna showed up, so did the spores. It started rotting and turned dark just like the UD. The only thing that's missing is the vines which we see in Vecna's mindscape later.

(I already have another post explaining how Max's Snow Ball memory links to the UD being stuck in time here!)

Robin says that Nancy's house is frozen in time, not the entire UD. We honestly don't even know if the entire UD is stuck on the same day. It's entirely possible that the Wheeler house is stuck on November 6th, but other parts of the UD are stuck on other days. Why? Because Will travelled into a memory.

When Will got kidnapped, he was probably trying to think of happy memories because he was scared and accidentally ended up in a memory. This transformed a once rocky smoke land into Hawkins.

What memory? This is where the other byler drawing shot comes in. El's drawing lines up with Mike and Will here to represent how Will chose a happy memory with Mike (and others) to hide in when he got kidnapped. Not just a memory Mike is in, but MIKE'S HOUSE! We only saw evidence of the Wheeler house being stuck. So I think Will thought back to the most recent happy memory of the party playing DnD just before he got kidnapped. This would place Will at the Wheeler house and explain why it's stuck on that day.

If the rest of the UD is on different days, it's possible that Will mastered this trick and continued memory hopping until the entire UD transformed to replicate Hawkins. But if the entire UD is in fact stuck on the same day, maybe Will wandered too far out of the Wheeler house memory and this triggered the rest of the UD to look like Hawkins.

BUT I’ve also been recently pondering another theory. The UD isn't just Will's mindscape, but multiple, or a meeting place for mindscapes. Perhaps Vecna's collection of minds completed the Hawkins puzzle being pieced together in the UD. Will contributed first, but so did other victims. Evidence? Max's Snow Ball memory was already seen in the UD at the end of s2.

The Snow Ball decorations are there. This along with Robin's comment proves that the UD might not be entirely stuck on the same day. The Snow Ball decor shouldn't have been there if that were the case because the dance wasn't until December, not November. As I said in the other post I linked, Max travelling into her Snow Ball memory influenced the UD version to replicate it. There's some time paradox stuff happening here.

So basically: El's drawing hovering above Will was not only to hint at byler, but also to link him to the concept of memory travel, implying that he has done this before, despite us never seeing this occur… or did we?

[cringe--is--dead]

“So? You nervous?”

You huffed, doing your best to ignore the finger poking your cheek in favor of studying the clipboard you were holding.

Lev whined your name, sounding more like a petulant toddler than a 6’4 high schooler, “Hey— don’t ignore me! It’s mean!”

“Lev!” Yaku turned around in his seat as much as he could, glaring at the first year, “Drop it!”

The taller boy fell back into his seat, pouting dramatically, “I just wanted to help her if she was nervous.”

“Pestering her isn’t helping her, is it?”

You heard Kuroo and Kai snicker from where they were seated in front of you, and you put the notes down in your lap, placing an arm on Yaku’s shoulder to sit him down.

“Lev, I appreciate that you want to help me,” You leaned into the isle of the bus to look back at him, “But poking me isn’t going to help me.”

His playful pout turned serious, and he looked sheepish at your light scolding, “Sorry.”

He looked so much like a kicked puppy you felt almost bad, and just smiled lightly at him, “If I have any questions I think you can answer I’ll come to you first, okay?”

Lev brightened almost immediately, a proud glow on his face, “Well of course! As Nekoma’s future ace I can help you with anything!”

“Except your receives.”

“Yaku!”

You shook your head, turning back around in your seat.

“Hey,” You glanced up, seeing Kai peeking back at you between his and Kuroo’s seats, “Are you feeling nervous?”

Yaku and Lev were busy bickering, and your head dropped forward a bit, “A little,” You admitted, “Meeting other schools and all these strangers sounds terrifying.”

He smiled at you, and the calmness in his eyes did as it always did, calming your racing heart, “Don’t worry. We’re pretty close with all the teams coming, everyone’s friendly, if not a bit overly competitive.”

“With that in mind,” You both jumped as Kuroo interjected, sitting on his knees to turn to you, “You have a few ground rules, our dear, little manager.”

You raised an eyebrow at your captain, “Why?”

He grinned, that stupid, cocky one he knew got under your skin, “We can’t have you being kidnapped or scared off after our first training camp, now can we?”

“Kuroo—”

He waved Kai off, and he had caught the attention of most of the team at this rate, much to your embarrassment.

“Rule one; no being alone with Bokuto, especially if Akaashi isn’t nearby. God knows that spikey haired owl would try and steal our manager to join their manager duo.”

Yaku plopped down into his seat, crossing his arms as he glared up at the captain, “I doubt Bokuto would actually—”

“Rule two! No being alone with Karasuno’s libero and that bald headed spiker of theirs.”

“Okay, that’s a rule I can get behind.” Yaku muttered.

From a few rows back Yamamoto decided to pipe in, “Don’t worry cap— I’ll keep those two away from our precious manager! After I rub it in their faces, of course.”

Kenma, who had been playing his console game with his headphones on, glanced over at his seatmate annoyed, “Sit down.”

“Are those the only rules?” You crossed your arms, mimicking how Yaku was seated.

Before Kuroo could respond, he was interrupted, “Sit down! All of you!”

Everyone fell back into their seats quickly, Kuroo’s cheeks flushing as Nekomata chuckled as Naoi scolded the team, “You all have ridden a bus enough times to know better, c’mon.”

“Sorry, coach.”

“Sorry!”

You leaned over to Yaku, “What’s with the people I’m being warned against?”

He sighed, smiling at you, “Bokuto is Fukurodani’s captain. He’s just a bit overly energetic. He and Kuroo are really good friends, so you can’t avoid him entirely. He’s nice, don’t worry about that. And Karasuno…”

He trailed off, as if debating on the proper response, “Their libero, Nishinoya, and their spiker he mentioned… Tanaka, I believe. They’re a bit… what’s the word?”

“Girl crazy?” Lev pipped up, leaning his face forward between the seats, cheeks squished.

“They have two managers there, a first and a second year. They used to rub it in our faces, well, more Yamamoto’s face that they had two managers, and we had none. Until now.”

Lev glanced at you, attempting to grin, though it looked rather funny, “You don’t mind being paraded like a trophy, do you?”

“What?” You felt your face warm at Lev’s question, and Yaku huffed, pressing his palm against Lev’s face, pushing him back.

“Ow!”

“Why’d you have to say it like that?”

Lev rubbed his nose, “What? He’s gonna wanna show her off! We got the coolest manager!”

His childish praise made your heart flutter, and you picked up the clipboard once more, staring at the papers but not processing any of the words before you.

“If he does anything stupid just let me know,” Yaku sighed, eyes closing, “I’ll run drills so hard they’ll pass out from exhaustion.”

“And the demon upperclassman shows his face once more.”

Without opening his eyes or responding he sent a strong kick against the seat in front of him, Kuroo’s startled yelp ringing through the bus.

[luminecent-sky]

I wanna hear your sahsr infodumping, lay it on me

I decided to use text to speech just so i didn't have to keep speaking to myself to remember the points i wanted to make tbh, olease don't mind the grammar screw ups, I'm very tired...

OK? How do I speak about him?Just this is about sunday ok, him in a self aware au He believes in anna like the order right if and he believes their grand plan right, well if he was you know faced with the concept of fate itself. I feel he would like have a little crisis. Like this is a man who's entire ideology parallels christian like beliefs. We see this in How he acts, how he was raised

If he was made aware of the player it would send him down onto a spiral. I think because if this is in my Aeon of fate AU. He would also believe in fate as like an ally of the order or he would think that if Ena, didn't get subsumed by the harmony that the order would have been subsumed by fate instead.

He would also think is that his plan is going all accordingly to the Weaver's strings, Is his plan had succeeded?It puts him in his mind. Then this is the will of order and fate.

And that's before he gets taken by Elio and the rest of the Stellaron Hunters, if we're talking after he fails then after all that... He'd be a little bit hesitant to follow with plans at first but that's only at first, becausehe would see that whole fight as him going against the will of fate, trying to break from the cosmic strings of the Paracae's tapestry. And he wpuld belive that becoming a stellaron hunter and not being able to interact with his sister ever again, losing it all is his punishment, Because if there's one thing Christians can do, it's to believe in a nebulous concept, like y'know, fate and it's punishment. It's just that Aeons are real now, so it does help,

That's just if he doesn't know this is a game if he does, he's a little bit more bitter, Because from the start he was supposed to fail. That no matter what he tried, he was never going to succeed with it. Especially if the player is the type to start light talking in the middle of the fight which I did. And the I got into- I got into a one sided (for me) argument with him, during the scene where he talks about the past, present and future, I was refusing his points in like actively getting frustrated at him, retailing genesis towards me like I didn't go to christians school, I was, I was literally being like. ‘Don't even explain Genesis to me. I had to read it for Bible study’, but aside from that I feel like if the player were to match his eye ideology and provide a counter-argument. He'd be all for it. Because he's basically a homeschooled Christian kid and like challenging the ingrained beliefs in homeschooled christian kids is like a different kind of fight, turst me i would know.

Yeah, but anyways, I fight his fight.I fight his boss fight at least thrice a week, after my weekly fights are done, just to like vent out my frustration, amd to listen to his battle lines.

I don't know how he would feel about the players saving for him.And you know trying to get his E6 S5,

But like the first time I saw him afraid I was like pretty angel character.I'm going to have him, I would sacrifice life, limb, organ and soul for him.

Sorry this just turned into me simping for sunday…

Ok

Going on to Aventurine, he's a different can of worms.

This is a man who has already been blessed by God and is or was holding a piece of godly power before he destroyed it in the fight with Acheron He already thinks life is a gamble, and if his next gamble in believing in us, the player? Well he's gonna come out on top, especially if the player decides to build him right and use him often… and why wouldn't you?

But of course under all that he's just a scared vulnerable guy who is scared of losing it all and failing his family and the people who helped him, he's lost so much and if the player could help him through it… show him his worth and a reason to keep holding on it'd heal a long wounded part of his soul that still calls itself Kakavasha.

Sorry this was so short, my brain focused on sunday and him only.

[guqin-and-flute]

I can't get over how much Xichen loves Wangji I just

[undermostcorgi]

drawing other people's dnd characters based on the image i made of them in my head and NOTHING ELSE because i'm evil