#first date idea: i come over and defend you until my last dying breath

[deadscell]

[willow-tree-writes]

❀Bet {4}❀

JJ Maybank x Reader

Summary: The bad boy realizes how stupid he was and tries to get the good girl back. Will the good girl listen, or is she forever stained by his wrongdoing?

Request: N/A

Author’s Note: It’s finally here! I’m so sorry this took so long and some of you have been waiting months! But I wanted to get it out today for all of you! And thank you so much for over 100 followers! This series is what brought a lot of you in, so I hope I’m doing you justice with this last part! I’m thinking about making a prompt list to help me get back into writing more, so if you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them.

Word Count: 3.6k

Warnings: Cursing, Angst, Fluff, 

Part 1 ♥ Part 2  ♥ Part 3 ♥

!I don’t own this gif!

JJ laughed in your face. “You’re a real fucking idiot, you know?”

You took a step back from him, shaking your head. 

He wasn’t real. This wasn’t real.

He came closer as you tried to move away. “Why would I like you? Why would anyone like you?”

He wasn’t real. This wasn’t real.

“You should have quit while you were ahead. If you could consider anything you did being ‘ahead.’”

He wasn’t real! This wasn’t real!

----

“Y/N, please. You have to get up at some point.” Kelly’s voice drifted through the door as you closed your eyes for the tenth time within a minute.

You didn’t trust yourself to speak properly as you tried desperately to wipe any memory of your dreams. Nightmares, more like it.

Your door creaked open and you simply turned so that your back was facing it.

“Y/N…” You mom walked in slowly, sitting down on your bed softly right behind you. “Please talk to me, sweetie.”

It had maybe been a week since you had been to the boneyard. It had been a week since you saw your friends. Since you saw him. It had been a week since you entered your room and decided to not come out.

You threw off your blanket abruptly and turned to your mom. “What is there to talk about?” You didn’t mean to snap, but you couldn’t hold back. Not anymore. “He never wanted to date me. It was all some stupid joke so he could get paid.”

No tears could leave your eyes anymore. You were just so sick and tired of crying.

Without letting her say a word, you turned your back back on you mom and laid down.

You could hear her sigh, as if what she wanted to say wasn’t what she should say. “That can’t be true, Y/N/N.” But she said it anyway.

How could your own mother be defending the boy that broke her daughter’s heart?

You let out a scoff, and that was it. Anything else said or asked fell on deaf ears.

----

Di yanked your arm, pulling you out the front. “You’re up and dressed, you’re not turning back on me now.”

“You sat on me until I agreed to get up…” You muttered in a grumbly manner. If it was up to you, you’d spend your dying breath lying in bed.

She rolled her eyes and glanced back at you as she unlocked her car. “That’s because I know what’s good for you. Moping around like Tom Holland will come and make you feel better if you wait long enough is not good for you.” She brought you around to the passengers side of the car and forced you in like a mother forces her child into a car seat.

You were going to grumble some half-baked comeback, but your mind couldn’t even think of how to start a response. You were just going to go along with everything Di said until you could go back to your bed.

“Where are we going?” You asked after Di pulled away from your house.

“You’ll see.” The smile that creeped onto her face was hard to miss.

You groaned, complying in a slow manner - you took your time putting your seatbelt on. When Di pulled up to the boneyard, you took even longer to get out of the car.

“I don’t want to be here…” You whispered, eyeing the place like a monster was going to creep out and attack you.

Di rolled her eyes as she got out. “You don’t want to be anywhere but your bed.”

“Di.” You gave her a look.

She sighed and lightly pulled your arm. “Look, Y/N, I know. But you this is the only place we could think of coming.”

“I-” You started before pausing. “We?”

The smile reappeared on Di’s face. “Yes, we.”

Just then, the chatter of two girls came closer to you. You could just barely grasp what it was about.

“That’s not very reasonable.”

“Hey, it wasn’t my idea.”

“But you’re the one who agreed with it.”

“So did you.”

“I can’t believe we’re doing this for him…”

“Kie, Sarah? What are you two doing here?” It was a stupid question, as the boneyard was free for anyone to go to.

They both smiled, completely discarding their previous conversation.

“Di said you could use some girl time.” Sarah answered, lifting up an eight-pack of beer.

Kie nodded, lifting up a cooler. “And what better way to enjoy ourselves than a little picnic?”

The smile that was slowly creeping around her lips vanished completely at that one word. 

The three girls exchanged looks, having a mini conversation within their eyes before any of them tried to diffuse you.

“Come on, Y/N/N. Let’s drink and have some fun for once.” Di says as Kie starts handing everyone beers, starting with you.

----

“This isn’t going to work.” JJ muttered as John B peeked out the van’s back door. 

John B rolled his eyes and looked towards his friend. “When did you turn all lovey-dovey?”

“I could ask you the same.” JJ shot back, deflecting the question.

“But you didn’t,” Pope entered, turning around to look at JJ from the front seat. “So spill.”

With a sigh, JJ slumped back against the van’s sliding door. “I don’t know, man. I didn’t even know who she was until Gavin…” Trailing off, he shuddered. “I’m such a fuck up…”

“No doubt about that one…” Pope muttered, only to be hit by John B. “Okay, sorry.”

John B pushes JJ to the side so he can open the sliding door. “Look, dude, you gotta confront her and tell her the truth.” He hopped out of the van.

JJ groaned as Pope followed John B out, hitting JJ on the shoulder. “She’s not going to listen to me.”

“Yeah, she won’t if you sit on your ass all day moping around.” John B said, banging on the side of the van.

JJ groaned again and practically fell out of the van.

----

Sand collected in your shoes as you and the girls walked down the boneyard, full up on food.

Sarah stopped at one point and looked towards the horizon. “It’s getting late…”

There was something in her voice like she was expecting something. Like something hasn’t happened that was supposed to. And that made you nervous.

“Well, I really did have a good time, but I should get going… Di?”

You looked towards your best friend, who’s face seemed to resemble that of how Sarah’s voice sounded.

“Di?” You asked again.

She gave you a sheepish smile. “Let’s just wait a moment more.”

A moment more? Did they plan something else?

You opened your mouth to ask Kie something when you heard a boy’s voice.

“We’re already late, dude. I wouldn’t be surprised if they left.”

It took you a moment to connect the voice to a face. John B. AKA, J’s best friend. If John B was here, JJ couldn’t be far behind.

You turn you back towards where the voice came from, looking directly at your friends. “I have to go. Now.” 

You just had the first decent day in a little while - you couldn’t have that ruined.

No one made an attempt to leave. To usher you away. They all just gave you apologetic smiles, looking at a presence that stumbled behind you.

The urge to just walk away was almost too strong. But you pushed past it to turn around.

The boy before you didn’t look the greatest. The blonde hair that could never get messy was completely unkempt. The blue eyes that were always shining were dull and looked like they couldn’t shed a tear, even if in desperate need to. 

You stumbled back. You couldn’t decide if it was because he was standing in front of you, or because he looked so different.

“Y/N…” His voice was quiet, as if afraid of breaking something if he raised it. “Can we please talk?” There was something shaking within his being that transferred through his voice.

You shook your head. And shook your head. And shook your head. 

You couldn’t do this. Not here, not now.

“Red, please.”

He took a step towards you and you immediately stumbled back again, tripping over your own feet.

He moved to help you up, but someone you couldn’t see stopped him.

You scrambled to your feet, moving backwards. “No…” You shake your head, trying to string together your words. “No. You don’t… You don’t get to do that…”

He tried to reach out to you.

“No!” You snapped, balling your fists and biting the inside of your cheek to bite back tears. “I woke every morning wondering what you saw in me. Wondering why suddenly, one day, the guy every girl at school wanted asked me out. Gave me the time of day. I couldn’t sleep some nights because all I could think about was you, JJ!”

You didn’t know if it was your blurry vision, but it almost looked like he was breaking as much as you were.

“You’re a real jerk, thinking you can toy with someone’s feelings like that, JJ Maybank. A jerk I would do anything to go back in time to stop myself from falling in love with.”

When you felt a sob suffocating you, you turned your back on JJ. You wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing you this way. That’s why jerks did this right? Hurt people? To see them upset?

Everyone, not just JJ, seemed stunned by the mention of love. You couldn’t blame them. If you had been told you’d fall in love with the bad boy only for him to break your heart, you wouldn’t believe it either.

But the mention of love seemed to make him more determined. “You have to let me explain…”

“No, I don’t,” you couldn’t stop your voice from shaking. “I don’t.”

You couldn’t turn to even give him a look or say goodbye to anyone as you started to walk away.

You didn’t care if Di was following you or not. You’d walk home if you had to. They had to have orchestrated this on purpose.

----

You hadn’t talked to anyone since then. You had your mom drive you to school and home everyday. As much as you could, you made sure to either be alone or away from the participants that made your heart hurt more.

They seemed to get the hint after a day or two, leaving you alone. For the most part.

Every now and then, you could catch a glimpse of Di and Kie looking your way in the hallways or in class.

At lunch, you either sat alone or went off to the library. When you were in the cafeteria, you noticed that Di seemed to replace an empty seat.

It had now been two weeks. Maybe three. You couldn’t tell anymore. Every day just blended in at this point.

At your locker, on the Monday of the third week, you opened it to find a note fall out on the floor. Looking around, you couldn’t tell if anyone stood out in the crowded hallway.

You stooped down and picked it up, looking around once more before you read it.

“I’ll use you as a warning sign.”

With furrowed eyebrows, you looked around once again. This had to be in the wrong locker.

You sighed and shook your head, placing the note in your book and walking off to your next class.

The next day, when you went to your locker at the end of school, another note slipped out to your feet.

“That if you talk enough sense then you’ll lose your mind.”

This note left you even more confused than the last.

The next day, you got two notes in one day.

“And I’ll use you as a focal point.”

“So I don’t lose sight of what I want.”

A feeling started in your stomach after reading Wednesday’s notes. The lines felt familiar, and you felt like you knew who they were coming from.

Again, the next day, there were two notes.

“And I’ve moved further than I thought I could.”

“But I missed you more than I thought I would.”

The last note had hit you hard. Harder than you thought a note could.

You knew who was giving you these notes. You knew who, but you couldn’t figure out why. You knew who, but you couldn’t bring yourself to throw them away.

On Friday, you walked to school. You were going to have to walk home too.

You went through the whole school day like normal. Each time you stopped at your locker, which was almost after every period for some reason, there was never a note.

You wouldn’t admit there was a sinking feeling replacing the other feeling in your stomach.

When the bell rang to signal the end of eighth period, a glimmer of hope tapped you on the shoulder. Asked to be seen. Heard. But you ignored it.

Once at your locker, you froze for a moment. You didn’t know why. If there was another note, then there was another note. If there wasn’t one, why should it matter?

You opened it slower than you wanted, messes up on the combination three times.

There was a moment's pause before you flung the piece of metal open. Nothing came out. There was just no note today.

Why should you even care? It was just the lyrics to a song, written on a post-it note. Of all the kinds of paper he could have used, he chose post-it notes. That has to mean he doesn’t care.

Why do you even care? It was him who was the jerk, only dating you for a quick buck. Of all the kinds of ways he could have gotten money, he chose to break a girl’s heart. That has to mean he doesn’t care.

You put away the books you don’t need and grab the ones you have to take home. It was going to be another long weekend, and you knew you couldn’t do it without some distraction.

You closed your locker, only to jump at the sudden appearance of someone behind it.

“I’m really really really sorry, Y/N, but not being able to talk to you has been killing me!” Di did look upset - her usual complete peppy personality was obviously crooked. Like something was tipping it off to the side.

She spoke again before you could start anything. “I know we shouldn’t have gone behind your back like that. We - I thought it would be a good idea and it was the total opposite.”

You sighed a little and shook your head, throwing your backpack on. “I just wasn’t ready to face him like that...”

“I know, and I should’ve known then too.”

“Promise me one thing, Di.”

Di nods. “I’ll promise you almost anything.”

You couldn’t help but smile a little bit, as you knew what she couldn’t promise you. “Promise me you’ll stop intervening with my love life. That’s something that should be just my business.”

She looked to be thinking it over for a second before nodding again. “I can promise you that.”

You smiled as she hooked her arm in yours, dragging you outside to her car like she used to. 

As soon as you got to the parking lot, feet away from Di’s car. You froze. 

There was a path laid out right in front of you. A path of ripped up pieces of paper. Each piece of paper had something written on, but you’d have to stoop down to see it all. 

The back of Di’s car had a giant piece of paper taped to it. It was the note you didn’t receive today.

“I found love where it wasn’t supposed to be.

Right in front of me.”

“Before you say anything,” Di started to whisper as she walked off to the side. “This was already put into place before I made that promise.”

She was completely out of your line of sight, but you didn’t care. You were too caught up in the boy that was walking into your sight, right next to the note.

You didn’t know what to say. Seems like JJ didn’t know either.

Biting the inside of your cheek, you said, “Who picked out the song?” 

Lame first question to ask him after everything that’s happened.

He was a little caught off guard you spoke first. “Kie…”

“She has good taste…” You trailed off, biting your cheek harder as your vision threatened to block off JJ’s image.

He simply nodded, as there isn’t much else you could say about that.

“So you were the one leaving the notes in my locker…” It wasn’t a question, as after the third note you knew who it was.

He nodded. “I didn’t want to get you upset again…”

“JJ-”

“Y/N, look,” he took a step away from the car. “Please just let me explain my side. Then you can yell at me as much as you want. But I just need to tell you my truth.”

You shut your mouth and nodded. You might have been a little bit of a bitch for the past couple weeks to him, but you had good reasoning. Nonetheless, you thought he still deserved to explain everything to you. You deserved it.

He took another step, this time towards you. You didn’t move away.

“This kid named Gavin came up to our lunch table a couple months ago, wanting one of us to do his dirty work. None of us were going to do it. Even me. But I took it. That was the day I came up to you at the kegger.” He paused, running a hand through his hair. “I never thought any of this bullshit was gonna happen. On our first date, I was going to tell you everything. I really was.”

He paused again, so you asked a question. “Why didn’t you then?” Your voice was quieter than it had been minutes prior.

He took a second step towards you. You didn’t move away.

“It was like when I took the stupid bet. I looked at you, and it felt like John B was going to shoot me in the gut with a paintball gun if I ever ruined that glint in your eyes when you just smile.”

You couldn’t look at him, so you tried to read as many of the notes on the ground as you could. “You’ve done worse than that…”

JJ sighed. There was more in that sigh than just, “oh well,” or anything like that. It was shaky. “I know… I’ve been beating myself up everyday about it…”

“As much as I hate admitting this, I was scared. Scared of this way you made me feel. That’s why I kept pushing back telling you the truth. Because I was afraid, if I did, you would leave.”

This is when you decided to look at him again. But not just look at him. Really look at him. And he looked how he did at the boneyard, yet somehow worse. There was a sense of vulnerability in the way he stood and the way he looked at you and the way he talked to you.

He was opening up.

You took a step towards him as he began to speak again.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me. I don’t expect you to ever want to talk to me again. But I needed to tell you this. Because I…” He couldn’t find the right words. “Fuck it,” he muttered his breath. “Because I love you. I fucking love you, even when I didn’t mean to.”

You froze in your spot.

JJ loved you.

And that look on his face told you he couldn’t be lying. He really loved you.

A new wave started to wet your ankles - guilt. You had yelled and screamed at him. You had used loving him as a grievance while he used loving you as a defense.

There was still validation behind your acts, but your heart doesn’t always care about that.

You took another step, forgetting to keep in mind the shakiness of your legs. The notes cluttered around your feet didn’t help either - you almost tripped. And you kept note of the way JJ flinched, as if going to catch you.

“Talk some sense to me…” You whispered, mustering a small sad smile as you felt your cheeks grow wet.

He chuckled weakly, but it was a weakness that was slowly getting stronger. “I’ll do more than talk some sense to you…”

You laugh was something caught between a laugh and a sob. “Just not in front of everyone.”

That comment brought attention to the crowd of teenagers that had found itself in the parking lot.

“Ignore us!” Di called out from beside Kie.

“Just kiss already!” Sarah called out from John B’s side, who was next to Kie. Pope was behind her.

You blushed a little and JJ set his hand on your chin, making you look at him. “I can’t say no to that bet, Red.”

You laughed and rolled your eyes. “The next time you bet something, I’m going to make sure you lose.”

“Well, I’ll just have to consider the win to be you.”

He leaned down and captured your lips before you could interject.

This kiss was explosive. There were no fireworks. It was comforting. Soft. Like a warm fire gracing your lips. It was a kiss you had missed.

Who would have thought the good girl, so caught up in her practical ways, could make the bad boy, who sleeps around and doesn’t listen to anyone, fall in love with her?

---- ----

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[josjournal]

No Idea Why

Written for @averysterekspring Theme: Free Space

He really should have expected it. Combining Derek’s sass around Stiles with their shared nerdtastic love of the Star Wars franchise, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Still, when, after six months of officially dating, he’d finally worked up the nerve to tell Derek that he loved him, the last thing Stiles had expected was for Derek to smirk and respond with, “I know.”

“You...you know?” Stiles asked, his voice caught on a massive lump in his throat. “What do you mean you know?”

Derek’s smirk softened into a fond smile. He took a few steps closer to Stiles and pulled him into his arms, pressing a kiss to his forehead, ignoring Stiles’ attempts to break free in a huff. “I mean, I know that you love me. I’ve known for a long time,” he whispered, keeping his voice low and forcing Stiles to stop huffing and pay attention to his words.

“But, how did you know? I just figured it out a month ago!” Stiles shouted, remembering the morning he’d woken up late for school and found a cup of coffee and danish sitting on the front seat of his Jeep along with a note telling him to drive safe with a small heart around the D scribbled in the corner.

His brain, even before the first sip of coffee, kicked into overdrive, and he thought, “I love him.” It had been such a surprise to him that he’d ended up sitting in the Jeep until the coffee went cold and he’d missed his first class. He’d then proceeded to spend the next month trying to figure out how to tell Derek and hope he didn’t laugh in his face, just to find out he didn’t even need to worry because Derek already knew!

“Your head may have just figured it out, but your heart and instinct have known all along,” Derek told him.

“You’re infuriating with your crypticness!” Stiles snapped. “I’m going to start calling you Deaton Junior.”

Derek’s eyes flashed blue. “Don’t even think about it,” he growled, showing fangs through his smile that broke through the threat.

“Then give me answers that make sense,” Stiles huffed, but he smiled in return.

“The first time, looking back, that you showed me that you loved me was when you ignored your own fears and prepared to cut off my arm,” Derek said.

Stiles gaped at him. “That was only a few weeks after we met! I wasn’t even sure I liked you then!”

“I said, ‘looking back.’ There were a lot of those moments when you look back over the years we’ve known each other,” Derek continued. “The time you held me up in eight feet of water for two hours even though it would’ve been easier on you to let me drown.”

“I thought you said I did that because I needed you to survive,” Stiles reminded him.

Derek ducked his head, hiding his face in a way that Stiles knew meant he was embarrassed. “I said and did a lot of things during that time that I regret.” He took a deep breath before looking back at Stiles. “We’re not talking about me right now.”

Stiles shrugged. “We could be.”

Derek shook his head. “Do you remember the hospital when Jennifer...Julia had your dad, and we were at the hospital?”

“Kind of hard to forget when a psychopathic Darach seduces my Alpha and kidnaps my father,” Stiles snarked. Derek grinned, and Stiles slapped him on the arm. “Yes, I said my Alpha. You were the only Alpha I trusted at that point.”

“Jennifer left me unconscious in the elevator, and you could have left me there, but you made sure I woke up. You didn’t leave me there at risk of dying,” Derek said. “But even that, that wasn’t the biggest clue.”

“Something bigger?”

“You recognized me when Kate turned me sixteen again. You defended me and stuck by me,” Derek said. “You reeked of arousal.”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “That wasn’t anything new, though.”

“True, but that was the first time I realized that scent was specifically because of me.” Derek reached up to cup Stiles’ cheek. “But that’s still not the singular moment where I no longer had one single doubt that you loved me from the very depths of your soul.”

“Now you’re just being poetic,” Stiles teased, leaning into Derek’s touch. “Get to the point. When was this moment?”

“Mexico. When the berserker mortally wounded me. You didn’t want to leave me. You looked back at me seven times, fighting listening to what I was telling you and wanting to stay by my side. Seven times.”

“I left you dying!” Stiles said, still feeling guilty for leaving him there.

Derek took Stiles by the wrist, moving his hand to lay over his chest. “I’m still alive. I’m still here.” Derek reached up to cup his cheek again, using his thumb to wipe away the tear that had escaped. “I”m still here, and I know that you love me because you have shown me so many times in the years we’ve known each other. Those are just the big moments.”

“There are more?”

“The times you brought me dinner when I was working because you knew I wouldn’t stop to eat. When you reminded me to buckle my seatbelt even though I’d heal from an accident. You always pick up my favorite foods when you swing by the store, just in case I stop by. You are always thinking of me.”

Stiles smiled. “You do all the same things for me,” Stiles said. Derek raised his eyebrows, locking his gaze on Stiles. It took a moment for Stiles’ brain to catch up with his words. “Holy shit, you love me!”

Derek chuckled, leaning in and brushing their lips together. “I do, and I have absolutely no idea why.”

Cross-posted to AO3

[anon-rebel-writes]

Utterly In Love

I have no idea how this idea came to me. I got a bit of second-hand embarrassment writing this XD

Although this story is a bit strange, I hope you all enjoy it!

The story begins under the cut! Ao3 Link

Luka doesn’t regret this job. He’s doing this for Juleka’s birthday. He doesn’t feel embarrassed about this job! Why would Luka ever feel bad about this job? He needs the extra money for a gift, so he has no reason to complain.

Although Luka tried to tell himself that things could always be worse, he couldn’t help the feeling of regret that was bubbling inside his gut.

It seemed normal when he interviewed. The position listing was vague, but how bad could a job at an ice cream shop be? While he’d probably have to deal with the occasional upset customer, it didn’t seem like a job he couldn’t do. But then he got there on his first day and the owner handed him a costume.

A cow costume. A cow costume with pink spots. While that was bad enough, the cow was also supposedly ‘modest’, because it also wore a blue frilly apron with the shop logo on the front.

Luka had no regrets. He needed the extra money for Juleka’s gift. He was doing this for his sister, so he couldn’t be upset. Honestly, he had no one to blame but himself. He should’ve asked more questions about the job a little more during the interview.

Any shame he had could easily be hidden under the cow’s head, so he could suck it up for three hours a day. As long as he couldn’t be recognized, he had no reason to hold regret. The job wasn’t even bad! Although the heat of the sun was cooking him alive inside the pink cow of death, all he had to do was pass out samples. That wasn’t bad! That was easy!

At least that’s what he thought, until a certain blonde girl’s scream pierced his ears.

“OH MY GOSH! I LOVE YOUR COSTUME!” Rose quickly ran up to him and looked him over. She lunged herself into his arms, nearly knocking over the samples, and gave him a crushing hug.

“You’re so pretty! I love the pink on your fur! And your apron! You’re beautiful!”

Luka took a couple of deep breaths, trying to regain his composure. All he could do was nod at Rose. The last thing he wanted was for her to find out he was under the costume. Because with Rose finding out, that meant Juleka would find out. If Juleka found out, then she’d ask why he got a job dressing up like a cow.

The gift idea would be ruined and he would have to live through the embarrassment of Juleka teasing him daily. Which may or may not lead to a certain lady who had completely stolen his heart finding out. Which also may or may not lead to him dying of mortification.

So him keeping his mouth shut could save him from any of those scenarios.

“Rose! Please don’t harass the worker!” Then he heard that voice, that sweet, melodic voice that could only belong to one person.

Regret. Now Luka Couffaine could only feel regret.

Marinette, Juleka, and Alya finally caught up to Rose. “We’re so sorry about her! She just gets a little excited when she sees anything pink and cute.” ‘Oh my god, she just called me cute,’ the boy-cow thought.

After a bit of pulling and yanking, they finally managed to pry the pink girl off of the costume. But suddenly, Luka felt a lot more exposed. He tried to use the tray of samples to hide himself as he turned his gaze away from the pink girl who just got ripped from him. His eyes unconsciously wandered over to Marinette, who wore a simple pink dress with matching sandals. Her set of pigtails were now being held up with a matching pink ribbon. She looked so effortlessly put together.

If the heat of the sun and embarrassment didn’t kill him, seeing the girl of his dreams dressed so nicely surely will.

“Oh are these samples?” Luka finally managed to tear his gaze away from Marinette to look at Alya. She pointed right to the tray in his hands. He was about to answer before remembering what he was wearing. Instead, he held out the tray to silently offer it to the group.

Each girl took a cup and took a bite. He watched as each girl quietly hummed in content. But Marinette’s eyes shot up and she looked straight into the cow’s eyes. “Wow! This is delicious! It tastes just like blueberries!”

Alya and Juleka exchanged sly looks as they watched Marinette hurry to finish her cup. Alya stealthily put an arm around the girl’s shoulders and leaned into her. “Well, we all know how you feel about blueberries,” she teased.

Marinette lifted an eyebrow up at her and looked at the other girls in the group. Rose was squealing and bouncing in place while Juleka rolled her visible eye. “Gross. You haven’t seen him in a day and you’re already thinking about Luka again?”

While Marinette began to quickly defend herself, Luka’s brain felt like it shut off. Maybe he had been boiled inside the suit. He must be dead. This couldn’t actually be happening. His mouth was completely slack and his eyes were about as large as the cow’s.

“W-what?! No! Me and Luka? I mean- Luka and I? Never! He’s cool and interesting and dreamy and amazing and kind- I MEAN! Even if he is sweet and selfless and attractive- NOT ATTRACTIVE! I-”

Alya howled with laughter and clutched her stomach, interrupting Marinette’s rambling. Juleka let out a soft chuckle while Rose joined with her screams of joy. “Girl! You are SO into him.” Luka was barely listening now. His own heartbeat was ringing in his ears, beating abnormally fast, and Rose’s high pitched screaming didn’t help his focus.

His face was definitely flushed, at least this costume helped him hide it. He happened to glance at Marinette again. She had moved from under Alya’s arm and was now beet red. She looked at the ground wringing out her hands, but she had a slight smile on her face.

‘Wait. She’s not denying it. Oh my god. I did die, didn’t I?!’

“Oh! I have an idea!” Marinette met Rose’s eyes through her bangs while Alya and Juleka managed to stop laughing enough to face the pink girl. “You could ask Luka out! Ask him to come here with you! That way you don’t have to hunt down Andre’s cart and still share ice cream together! Plus they have a blueberry flavor! It’s so romantic!”

Juleka and Alya turned to Marinette with excitement painted across their faces. But Marinette could only pout and shake her head. “No, I think I already missed my chance with him. I didn’t return his feelings the first time; I doubt he’d give me a second chance now.”

The girls all let out a defeated sigh before it was interrupted. “You should ask him.”

Suddenly all four sets of eyes were staring at him. ‘Wait, did I say that? Why did I say that?!’ He turned his head to face Marinette. Her cheeks weren’t as red as before, but her mouth was agape as she looked back at him.

“What I meant was- Well, maybe he really wants to ask you out, but he also wanted to go at your own pace?” Suddenly the identity beneath the cow was clear and all the girls widened their eyes.

“Y-you’re-”

Before she could begin her over-thinking, Luka held up a hoof to stop her. “I have like, ten more minutes before I can de-cow. Do you think you’d wanna hang out afterwards? If everyone else is okay with it?”

Marinette whipped her head around to look at the other girls. Rose was clinging onto Juleka’s arm bouncing around with an ecstatic look on her face. Juleka shared a similar look, although it was a lot more reserved. Alya quickly waved her hands to let Marinette know it was okay.

With their approval, she turned back to the cow with a timid smile on her face. “That sounds perfect-” Rose let out another shriek and quickly pulled Marinette into the shop. Alya and Juleka shared a quick fist bump and then the former followed the other two inside.

Juleka looked at Luka before rolling her visible eye at him. “We’re talking about this when you get home,” she mumbled before also making her way inside.

Luka didn’t regret his job. Maybe he has a bit of disdain for the pink cow, but in the end he had no reason to feel negative about it anymore. After all, he had a date with a very cute girl afterwards thanks to the cow. So really, he was very pleased with his new job. It seemed like things were looking up. He didn’t even seem to mind the mild embarrassment he was feeling due to the costume.

Until Juleka came back outside and took pictures of him in said costume, for future blackmail.

[thebadchoicemachine]

Petting Party (pt 1)

Rundown of dimensions AU: Quackity’s from 1920s dimension called Prowa, Schlatt and Charlie are his business partners *cough found family cough* and they run a casino/speakeasy. Sapnap is a knight from a fantasy dimension called Quarry. Karl is like Dr.Who. 

tw - Mentions of guns and alcohol (1920s mobster dimension)

 This is really just the fluffiest full I have ever written. 

•••

@thecatchat

•••

•••

Quackity walked through his rooms, digging around drawers for his keys. He squawked a little in frustration as he rummaged. He felt so paranoid, like he was already short on time even though he was about half an hour early and it’s not like Sapnap or Karl would mind waiting. He just wanted this to go perfectly. They’d had dates in his world before, they’d even had proper ones where they weren’t running from cops or mobsters or some other guns/knife/bat-wielding foes. Heh, foes. He was starting to think like Sapnap… and he was starting to feel like Karl— where was his damn key? Karl had literal worlds full of stuff to keep track of, it only made sense he got turned around and mixed up, what was Quackity’s excuse? 

Finally, a glint caught his eye and he snatched up the silver piece of metal, stuffing it into his sleeve and practically skipping to the front. Their home was really just the back half of the casino so he just walked through into the back room. Schlatt and Charlie were sitting at a table, various game pieces scattered across the top, counting cards, chips, and cash. Charlie seemed to be in the middle of a failed game of solitaire and was stacking up a house of cards while Schlatt was just old-fashioned sorting, looking rather bored. It was a quiet night for them. Probably a few drinks and catching up till bed after they double-check the games for cheating. Quackity would usually join them but it wasn’t strange for him not to show. He gave them a wave as he walked past, motion enough for them to look up and acknowledge him. 

Schlatt only glanced up before returning to his work. “What’s with the getup?” 

“I told youse, I’m going out tonight.” 

“Doesn’t answer my question.” 

“I’m going out to meet my partners.” Quackity struck a joking pose. “No harm in good impressions.” 

“Hey,” Charlie frowned childishly, “aren’t we your partners?” 

Quackity chuckled, rolling his eyes, “Of course. My new partners, then. Actually, lemme see a cut of that doe, I wanna butter ‘em up tonight.” He snatched a few bills from the table and turned to make his exit. 

“Wait,” Schlatt commanded, still barely looking up from his work. “Partners like you’re out for coffee to discuss getting new tables?” He took a sharp bite of his apple, eyes lazily growing dark. “Or do youse mean partners like I outta trail behind... y’know, keep you from gettin’ lead poisoning.” 

“Uh...” Quackity blinked. “Partners like I’m off to a petting party.”  

Schlatt choked. Charlie laughed while he coughed, moving to pat his back and smiled at Quackity. “Well, good luck.” 

Quackity narrowed his eyes as he was almost certain he caught a ‘all knows you need it’ under Charlie’s breath. He played it cool and simply snapped, “Hey, I don’t need no luck. Certainly not from you.” 

“Sorry, sorry, didn’t mean to offend.” Charlie held his hands up, grin still plastering his face. “Was just wishing you the best.” 

“Yeah... yeah,” Schlatt nodded, coming out of his state but still red-faced. Whether it was from embarrassment or lack of air Quackity couldn’t tell. He rolled his eyes again, smiling but waving goodbye without giving them a chance to drag him onto another conversation.

He stepped into the front, waiting patiently by the front of the door. Karl had said they’d meet him at the Vidrio, but should he wait inside or out? He paced, routinely adjusting his feathered headband and combing the actual feathers on his wings. He still worried he was overdressing a little but when he tried to lessen his look he panicked about underdressing. He wanted to look good for his boyfriends, a bit of makeup wouldn’t hurt that... would it? In the end, he’d settled on a simple pale blue dress, eyeliner, and a small headband. Nothing too gaudy but he still looked good. He looked good in everything, of course, he had absolutely nothing to worry about. So why was he all jittery? What, was he suddenly a dud? It didn’t matter. It was probably just because of the surprise factor. 

He’d assumed they would come and get outfits at his place (no offense to them, they just really couldn’t go the way they usually dressed) but Karl had insisted they pick him up like a “proper date.” He didn’t know what Karl knew about proper dates or when he’d started to care about them, most of their dates involved some form of running for their lives. Quackity wasn’t complaining but he’d be lying if he said the idea of just being a snuggle pup for a change wasn’t wildly appealing, especially if it meant getting to have Sapnap and Karl got to hang out in his world and not just flee and sneak. There were some nice things here he felt he never got to show them. 

He sunk into himself, suddenly feeling ashamed. It was bad manners, it was. Combining his work and love life to the point he may as well have made chumps out of his own boyfriends. He knew they didn’t mind, it was all new and fun for them and he was pretty sure Sapnap did the same thing. (He wasn’t entirely sure what his job was, like a knight sure but where was the line between work and just regular old Quarrian life?) Still. He should take them dancing more or something. Technically, that’s what he was doing here but he’d like to make a better habit of it, it really sounded like the bees- 

A bright, impossible, but familiar, swirl interrupted his thoughts. He straightened himself, quickly fixing his headband one last time. His heart was pounding out of his chest— but not because he was nervous, because he was excited. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling like a giddy sap as out from the portal stepped Karl and Sapnap. His breath was caught in his throat as he got a good look at them. He wasn’t sure what he expected, nothing bad, but he mentally made a note to give them an apology for being SO wrong. Whatever he’d imagined, they looked a million times better. 

Sapnap was in a white dress shirt. He had on a maroon vest and black tie he clearly didn’t know how to wear but wore well nonetheless. He had his hair slicked back, completely showing his pretty silvery, misty, eyes. Quackity noted the headband he usually wore in his hair was tied in a ribbon around his neck. Sapnap just couldn’t be without it, he warmly mused. 

Karl had on something with colors in patterns like Quackity had never seen before, not in his world at least, which— of course, it was Karl. Beautiful, strange, mysterious, adorable Karl. The top of the pantsuit was made of several pale shades of green. They washed over it like waves of seafoam, a strip of pale purple lace swirled around it, almost mimicking a deconstructed form of his usual crazy attire. A herringbone cap was pulled over his head, shaping brown curls. 

Quackity stared, absolutely gobsmacked, until his brain caught up to his eyes. Sapnap was saying something and waving his hand a little. Quackity blinked, shaking himself out of it. Egad, he was goofy for them. Luckily, Karl and Sapnap didn’t seem to mind his zoning out. In fact, Karl seemed to find it tickling, he clearly held in a giggle as Quackity snapped to. Quackity guessed this wasn’t the first time he’d found himself stunned. It certainly wouldn’t be the last either. 

“Hey, jackpot,” Sapnap gently flicked his forehead. “I asked how you think we look.”  

“You... good. You look good. Mmhmm,” he managed to squeak out, finally remembering to close his mouth. Slick. He was slick. 

“I’m glad you like it,” Karl chuckled. “I know you don’t really trust me to dress myself for nice places in Prowa.” 

“Hey, I never said I didn’t trust you!”

“You never said it, no.”

Quackity gave Karl a small punch in the shoulder. He flinched way more than was warranted, stumbling dramatically, but a broad smile settled on both their faces. 

“Aw, sugar! Did I hurt you?” 

“Yes!” 

“Hey, hey! Sir,” Sapnap stepped between them, also joking. “What is wrong with you, daring to assault my beloved in front of me?”  He threateningly toward over Quackity, grabbing his shoulders and backing him up against the wall. His eyes flickered with playful malice. He leaned in close, expression caught between a smirk and a snarl, completely aware of the growing blush on Quackity’s face. “I’ve half a mind to challenge you, and another half to crush you right here for your audacity.” 

“Aw, my knight in shining armor,” Karl sarcastically patted Sapnap’s shoulder, thoroughly less impressed by the display than Quackity. “Whatever would I do without you here to defend me from this sweet, cuddly, small, duckling?”

“Hey!” Quackity snapped defensively. “I could fuck you up if I-“ 

“Ey, Q! Have you seen-“ Schlatt stopped upon seeing the scene, turning on his heel and walking right back into the back. “Nevermind. Not my business. None of my business. Absolutely not my business…” 

“I-“ Sapnap dropped his boyfriend (who crumpled onto the floor in laughter), instantly turning a shade twelve times redder than Quackity had been. “I am so sorry.” 

“Ah- Schlatt?” Karl called over Quackity’s wheezing. “Schlatt, it’s fine-“

“NONE OF MY BUSINESS!” A shout came from the backroom. 

Quackity dropped his face into his hands, his chortling turned to full hysterics as he sat curled up against the wall. His dress, which he had been so unreasonable nervous about moments before, creased and probably picked up some grime from the floor. He didn’t care at all. Now that his boyfriends were actually beside him he could care less if he was painted green and orange. He had no one to impress, at least no one who would let anything bad happen over a stupid look. “Oh,” he snickered, the burst dying down. “Oh wow.” He wiped his eyes as jubilant tears stung, apathetic as he’d become he hoped his makeup didn’t run. It wasn’t necessary but he’d still like to look nice for the occasion. He pulled himself to his feet, brushing off his outfit and sighing. “Ah. He’s got a point though, really should be saving that for the party.”

“Speaking of which—“ Karl snapped his fingers in a jazzy rhythm. “Are we ready to go?” 

“Yes, let’s!” Sapnap turned with Karl as all three of them began to speed out the door.

Quackity made sure to bump in front of them before they made it out, he was not letting Karl anywhere near the wheel.  

The car ride was bright and lively although quiet. Quackity couldn’t help but grin just being next to these goons, one could practically feel Karl vibrating with excitement in the back, even Sapnap seemed to be enjoying the drive (he’d never quite gotten over the time Karl had offered to drive... Quackity could barely blame him for remaining he cautious and paranoid around automobiles). The blanched twilight hummed overhead as they made their way through the streets. It was relatively empty this time of night, too late for errands but just before everything started to swing. They pulled into the end of the road and all stepped out.

“It’s a bit of a walk the rest of the way,” Quackity explained. “Especially cause ‘s considered… ‘impolite’ to pull attention.” 

“Hmm…” Sapnap nodded, glancing behind them.

“What’s up?” Karl put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Nothing.” 

“You sure?” 

“It’s fine, I just-“ 

“Just what?” 

“Uh, maybewecouldgoseeSchlattandCharlie?”

“Huh?” Karl blinked. 

“Is… Schlatt and Charlie coming? Could we go get them?”

“N-no?” Quackity stammered, surprised to say the least. “This— uh- ain’t exactly the kind of party you bring your family to. Not ‘less they got dates of their own... and you know Charlie ain’t keen on that stuff.”

“Okay, well, maybe we could spend some time with them for a while at the casino? Before we commit here. The night is young!”

“I means, I’m pumped for your sudden urge to hang out with them and all, but I kind of wanted to spend time with the two of you.”

“Ah-“ Sapnap shrunk into himself. “Of course, I- me as well, I’m so sorry to imply otherwise. I was just thinking Charlie may like to hear about the slimes...” He trailed off, fiddling with the headband around his neck, just the slightest hint of panic on his face. He was very good at hiding it but Quackity and Karl knew him better than that. They shared a glance, this had nothing to do with Charlie. 

“Spice, are youse nervous?” 

“N-no!” 

“You sure? We don’t gots to do nothing you don’t wanna.” 

“Yeah, it’s just-“ 

“Chivalry and all that?” Karl chimed in, sympathetic. “I know our courting isn’t exactly conventional.” 

“No. Well, not exactly. Ah... think I’m merely... flustered?” 

“Flustered?” They spoke at once. 

He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s just… romance in my world is so different. Much more complicated. It involves a lot of the other’s family and specific sets or roles for meetings, it changes depending on how long you’ve been together and what kingdoms you hail from, so such and so forth. I’ve never been a martinet for the rules but, the way you describe these kinds of parties, I- I- find myself… lost.” 

Karl blinked. “So, you’re used to having a bunch of guidelines and, while you don’t miss them, are floundering without the stencil?” Sapnap nodded at the ground. He took a breath and shook his head, clearing his mind before bowing slightly. He held his left arm over his chest, middle knuckle up with his pinky and thumb slightly out, keeping the rest of his hand balled in a fist. Quackity recognized the symbol by now as something like a salute of the Nether kingdom. It was used to show respect while speaking. He stopped himself from rolling his eyes, remembering the formality was only habit. 

“I apologize for my trepidation,” Sapnap held a bashful tone. “I am just not used to courti-“ he paused, searching for the word, “dates being so… open. I don’t mean that as an insult to your world! I only-.” 

“Okay, buddy,” Quackity pushed Sapnap upright by his shoulders. He seemed confused but obliged. “I get it’s polite and nice for you but, if you really love me, please never do this again.” 

“Do... what?” 

“You have a habit of getting all formal when you’re worried you’re messing up with us.” Karl shrugged. 

“I do?” 

“I don’t know.” Quackity tapped his chin. “Let’s see.” Without warning, he grabbed Sapnap by the shoulders and takes him downward, planting a firm kiss right on his lips. He tensed a little as he felt a sudden wave of hotness wash over him (that was to be expected from surprising a demon) but stayed in the moment. As he pulled away, Sapnap blinked a few times, stunned although the faintest hint of a smile shone through. His gelled hair fell just a little messy.

“What the fuck, Quackity?” 

“There we go! Back to normal! You see the difference?”

“I- I guess so!” He nodded, a look of mild surprise mixing his comprehension as if he’d just realized what color his own eyes were. 

“Now, did youse like that?”

“Yes?”

“You want more?” 

“Yes...”

“You wanna go inside?” 

“Yeah.” Sapnap energetically nodded, slamming the car door shut, slicking back his hair again, and holding out his arms. “Yes, I do.”

Karl jumped between them, linking arms on his side before Quackity had the chance, and holding out his own instead. Quackity shot him a look but took it, joined by Sapnap in confusion at the sudden demand to be in the middle. Karl only smiled as they made their way down the street, nearly skipping at the attention until he lowly murmured, “So… do I get a kiss?” Quackity opened his mouth, smiling, but was cut off by Sapnap swiftly swooping in and planting one on Karl’s cheek.

“Oh- you-!” Quackity squawked, envy and agitation peaking his tone. “I was gonna-!” 

“Well, I did.” 

“Boys, boys, I do have two hands… and two cheeks,” Karl half-sang, leaning over to Quackity awaiting his kiss. 

“Oh, no. Fuck you. You’re gonna have to wait for it now,” Quackity pouted. Sapnap let out a taunting laugh as Karl gasped in mock offense. Well, probably mock. Regardless, Quackity only smirked and turned to face a door in the wall next to them. “Besides, we’re here!” He unlinked his arm, rattling out a little pattern into the door. It opened slowly, revealing a dapperly dressed serpentine blocking the view inside. He smiled wildly as the warm smells and colors hit him regardless, it had been a while since he’d been to one of these, long before he ever met them and certainly not while they were dating, but he missed them. 

He couldn’t wait to share this.

[imaginethathaikyuu]

kinktober - day twelve

futakuchi kenji - reunited 

kinktober faq kinktober prompt list NSFW warning including: kind of possessive i miss you sex, thats it baby Just Sex other tags: angst! super angst!, a little fight, reunited at last, should-be high school sweethearts, getting back together after a break up, tfw university causes u to break up with ur bf</3, Selfish Kenji, reader who doesnt need a man but Wants One fem reader

(sorry this is late! i’ll get back on track sometime this week!) 

word count: 2913 -

“You’re pretty.” 

A deep breath. 

“Really?” 

Spoken through a dry throat, “Yeah,” with an nervous nod. Kenji had no idea what he was doing there. 

Your perfume smelled the same. Your cheek was still soft underneath his thumb. He could still tilt your head to look up at him with ease. 

“I’ve always thought so.” 

What was he doing here reveling in the familiarity of you and calling you pretty and wondering if your lips were as soft as he remembered? Why was he putting himself through this again? 

“You’re only saying that.” 

“You know I’m not,” he said.

He needs to learn to shut up sometimes - to say no to going down paths that never lead anywhere good. But when it comes to you, nothing would stop him. Not even rough roads or unsavory destinations. 

“You know I don’t just say things.” 

“You do to me.” 

“Not anymore.” His nose brushed against yours and it killed him to be so close to you again, so close but still not having you. He thought about how badly it hurt the first time to feel you slip between his fingers like sand; you could do it again, and he couldn’t stop you. He wouldn’t. But still, he told himself it’d be different now. “This isn’t high school anymore.”

“I know, Ken.” 

And his heart started throbbing again; he felt that old pain all over. “Don’t…” 

“Kenji…” You were speaking under your breath, whispering on purpose so he had to listen. So he had to hear you. “I missed you.” 

“I miss you,” and he could cry, because he’s shouted these words before while wishing you could hear them. “I missed you more, baby.” 

His hand was still on your face, your lips were still too close for comfort. He wanted them. All he’d have to do is pull you a bit closer and they’d be his. 

He’s played through this scenario in his head dozens of times over the years; he knew a reunion between the two of you was inevitable, and he also knew it probably wouldn’t end how he wanted it to, just like his first go around with you. 

But you two were high school sweethearts. Your old classmates said it themselves hours ago at the Date Tech Class Reunion - nobody could believe you two weren’t together anymore. You were meant to be. They said it so much that Kenji started believing it himself. 

He wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. He wasn’t going to hold back and just let you slip away from him again; he wanted to kiss you - he felt like he needed to, so he was going to kiss you. What was there to lose? 

But really, you were the one who kissed him; he was too lost in the shock of feeling your lips again to be able to kiss back. 

He couldn’t believe it. If you told him he’d time traveled and he was in back high school, he’d believe you, because there’s no way in hell he’s gone five years without this. 

He did feel 18 again; he felt the same rush he felt when giving you his first kiss all those years ago. This time was a lot similar to then: he had you pushed up against a wall - though this time it was your front door rather than the backdoor of the gym - and he was too nervous to even move his lips. Your hand was gripping his shirt, right over his pounding heart, and his hands had fallen to your hips. 

But it hurt. He didn’t know a kiss could be so painful; he pulled away the moment he felt it sting. 

“Y/N.” 

“Come in with me,” you whispered to him as you tugged on his shirt. “I want you. I miss you.” 

“I can’t,” he stuttered out; he felt like he was running out of gas and there was nothing to get him over this hill you’d just placed him at the bottom of. “This is… it’s too much.” 

“Are you just going to let me go?” 

“Are you just going to leave me again?” 

He watched you wilt in that way you do when he says things you don’t want to hear, and like always it reminded him of the rose bushes in his garden that his mother could never seem to keep alive. And he waited for you to show him those thorns of yours, to spit them out until he was covered in them and bleeding, to defend your dying flowers until your last breath. 

But you didn’t. And he was bracing for the wrong thing - he was ready for vitriolic words to pierce his heart. He wasn’t ready for you to grow right in front of him. 

“I didn’t want to leave you.” You said it as softly as the hand caressing his wrist, too nervous to take his hand. “I know you never believed me. I know you still don’t. But I didn’t want to leave you.” 

A step back. “Then why did you?” 

He already knew your answer, and you knew that. 

“I asked you to come with me. You didn’t.” 

Another step, then another; your hand dropped from his arm but your gaze raised to him. 

Kenji didn’t know what he wanted to say, he didn’t know what he wanted to do. He wanted this to be easier. He wanted to feel comfortable in your arms and under your piercing stare; he wanted to go back to an hour ago when he was boldly flirting with you and being teased by all of his old friends for it. He wanted to give you all the parts of him that you left behind five years ago in Miyagi. 

But he couldn’t. Not until he knew that you wanted to have him again. 

“I’m sorry, Kenji.”

“I know.” 

It was awkward while he twiddled his thumbs and paced around and tapped his feet; while you stood with your back against the door, arms crossed, looking down at the ground as if you couldn’t look at him anymore. 

It was only when his back was to you that he felt more like himself. “You’ve really changed, you know.” 

“So have you,” you replied with a dry laugh. “I like your hair better like this.” 

That made him turn back to face you. “Do you?” 

“Yeah. It’s shorter, it’s cuter.”

Kenji found himself wanting to sit down and wishing he had a beer in his hand. “I didn’t mean physically. You’re still pretty.” 

“Then what did you mean?” 

He shrugged. Honestly, he’s not sure what he meant. 

“You just feel different.” If he was paying attention, he would have heard your breath catch. “Must’ve been those years in another city.” 

Both of you laughed at that, even though it wasn’t funny - even though there was a hint of bitterness in his words. 

“But I’m not there anymore.” It was your turn to step closer to him, and he was stuck in his place as you did. “I’m right here, Kenji. And I don’t have anywhere to run to. I’m right here, and I want you, and I still- ” 

You froze, biting your tongue and looking like you were about to say something you shouldn’t. 

“You still what?” 

You tried to back away but he grabbed your hand and pulled you closer to him, and he stood with bated breath as he watched you try to keep yourself together. 

But you couldn’t, and he understood why even without you finishing your sentence. 

“I still love you, Kenji,” and your crying came out of nowhere, “I’m sorry if I shouldn’t but I do. It feels like I never stopped.” 

Kenji felt it again: the need to kiss you. Apprehension was quick to follow. But he asked himself one more time what there was to lose, and he realized that the answer was a lot, but he didn’t care. He kissed you anyway. Because he needed to. Because this was possibly the last chance he’d ever get. Because you told him you love him - whether you meant it or not didn’t matter. 

He pulled you closer than you had been in years and forced himself to stop thinking about anything but what was happening now. Now, you were back in Miyagi. Now, you were both finished with university. Now, he had you right between his palms, and he was going to hold on as tight as he could to keep you there. 

“Inside,” he mumbled against your lips as he pushed you back to the door. If you didn’t listen, he’d take all of you right there on your porch step. He didn’t care. He was going to take this chance while he had it. 

You got the door open, somehow, and when you were inside he turned around and pushed you right back against it, closing it hard. 

He needed you. Five years without you, without this, felt like hell compared to the heaven he felt when you were kissing him. 

“Kenji,” you said, a beautiful whine for his ears only. 

“What, baby?” 

“I want to be yours again.” 

That took his breath, and so did pulling your hips against his. 

“I’ll make you mine,” Kenji told you, securing that promise with a kiss. “You’ll be mine again.” 

You led him to your bed in a frenzy; your jackets and shoes and Kenji’s pants came off along the way. 

“You have no idea,” he started, swallowing the lump in his throat as he looked down at you lying beneath him, “no idea how bad I want you.” 

You bucked your hips up, feeling how hard he was for you. “I think I have a clue,” you said with a light laugh. “Take my dress off.” 

You didn’t have to tell him twice; he peeled the fabric off of your body slowly, carefully, as if he was trying to stretch out the time. He didn’t want this to end too fast, because he was sure you would only be his until this night was over, and if he took his time maybe he could convince himself that you were permanent. 

“My god.” 

He missed you. And it was hard to admit, but the sight before him left him with nothing but that thought repeating in his mind. Over and over, he thought it again and again. 

And it made him sad - angry, even - that you had the nerve to leave him and fall in love with a different city while he was stuck sinking in missing you. 

It was selfish, he knew that. To wish you had done what he wanted you to do, to sink with him, was one of the ugliest things about himself. But it was the truth. 

Kenji wasn’t selfless, no matter how badly he wanted to be. 

He had this frozen look on his face, one you couldn’t quite place. But you had seen it before, only once, when you told him you were leaving him so you could live a dream in another city. 

He was still analyzing your body, hating how familiar you looked, when he forced himself to speak again. 

“I have you now, right?” 

You nodded, “You have me,” and it was the response he needed. 

“I’ve missed you too much,” he said, laughing at his sad honesty. “You’re still too hot for me, you know that?” 

“I think we’re a perfect match,” you said, and those words caused his mind to drift to places it hadn’t in years. 

“We are,” he hummed, and finally, he let himself kiss your skin. Your neck, your chest, the curve of your breasts, the top of your abdomen. “Remember how well you take me? It’s like a perfect fucking match.” 

“I remember,” you said through broken moans - your back was arching into his lips, your legs were shaking on the bed. “Come on, Ken, just fuck me - just want you to fuck me, want you inside me again. Please, Kenji.” 

You sounded so desperate that he almost felt bad, but he felt good knowing that you wanted him as much as he wanted you. 

Kenji knew he’d regret doing it this way. He had spent countless nights wishing he had done things with you differently. He took you for granted, he knew that. He didn’t hold you close enough or ever dare to do things slowly - all he ever did was take from you, and here he was making that mistake again. 

He told himself if he ever had this chance with you again, he’d do it right. He’d take care of you piece by piece, he’d be the one giving, he’d make it last forever. 

But that wasn’t good enough, not for a man as selfish as him. How could he wait when he could have you now? How could he stretch out time he had so little of?

You were kissing him, undressing him, touching him; you positioned his cock at your entrance and he sunk in as if he didn’t have control of himself. He didn’t, really, not when it came to you. 

“That’s it, fuck,” he breathed, “god, you feel fucking perfect. Like you were made for me, holy shit.” 

“I’ve missed this,” you said, and his only response was a desperate thrust into you. You’d get the hint. 

It would be so easy to savor you, and yet, he couldn’t. His hips wouldn’t slow down even if he knew he had all the time in the world; he was going to fuck you like he had no time at all. 

And Kenji knew that if this was your last time, he would wish he had done better. At least turn the lights on to get an image of you in his head that would last in his mind, or tell you how he feels instead of trying to show you. 

But he’d stop thinking about inevitable regret, because it was easier to only think about you. 

“This is where you belong,” he told you. “Right here. Taking all of me. You belong here - you belong to me.” 

That’s what he said, but he meant the opposite. You didn’t belong to anyone - he knew that when you so bravely followed your dream. But he belonged to you. He was only yours, he always had been. From the moment he kissed you outside of the gym in high school, you had him hooked. 

Maybe it was his desire for you fueling these thoughts - it was his sex driven brain thinking this way. It wasn’t rational or even normal - he didn’t care. 

But, suddenly, you kissed him, the same way you had on your front porch; one hand over his heart, the other holding his cheek, kissing him even though he wasn’t kissing back, and everything slowed down. 

Kenji’s movements faltered, he lowered his entire body so every part of his bare skin could be touching yours. Your hips thrusted up into his, fucking him, and that was it. You had him. 

“Keep going,” you said against his lips; he nodded, took your hand into his, and kept moving - slower this time. 

He watched you and your every reaction to his touch. You were desperate like him, but not frantic. It was like you knew something he didn’t - like you were living in a forever he didn’t realize he was a part of. 

And he said, “God, you’re so pretty,” followed by a deep breath. You squeezed his hand and looked up at him with a smile, this time knowing he meant it. 

He thought going slower would make it last, but he was wrong; you were so intoxicating, the feeling of you was so new but somehow familiar, and Kenji was never going to last as long as he wanted to. 

But you were one step ahead of him, pulsing around his cock and throwing your head back, moaning his name while making a mess on the sheets. Kenji only added to the noise and the mess, giving you an extravagant display of how much his need for you had grown over the years. 

Before he was even finished cumming you were pulling him closer, your grip around his waist tight, your love for him spilling from your lips. He was too out of breath to reply, and too nervous to move. 

But, soon, loud breathing drew quiet. Highs wore off. Things felt different, but still the same. 

A question lingered in Kenji’s mind, one he’d been wanting to ask you all night, from the moment he saw you again. He awkwardly scooted away so he could ask. 

“Do you regret it?” 

You knew what he was referring to. 

“No,” you said, honest with your short reply. 

His eyes locked onto yours and he said, genuinely, “I’m glad,” even though your answer stung the most selfish parts of himself. 

“Do you want to know why I don’t?” 

“I guess.”

“Because I knew this would happen.” 

He had some idea of what you meant. 

“I was never scared of losing you,” you continued. “I was only afraid of not finding you again. But I did. I knew I would.” 

Kenji had nothing to add to that, because you’d answered any questions he had for you. You knew how he felt, and now he knew you thought the same way. 

Despite spending years longing for you again, he knew he’d have more time with you. He knew it was never over.

“You’re right,” was all he could say. “You found me.” 

-

tune in tomorrow for kinktober day 13: angry 

[theonewiththefanfics]

Because Hearts Get Broken - I Know That You’re Scared (Part 2/3)

Continuation of ‘Because Hearts Get Broken’ - see my masterlist for it :)

Synopsis: She’s trying to move on. He’s still hoping for a chance

Pairing: Harry Styles x fem!Reader

Genre: angsty, bruh, but with a sprinkle of fluff and a hopeful (??) ending

Warnings: swearing, emotionally distant mindset... can’t think of anything else, really. 

Word count: 3656

Heartbreak isn’t loud. Y/N doesn’t even know if it had a sound what it would be like. Like glass shattering against the ground? Or maybe like a book being ripped and shredded apart, memories of time spent together ruined. Or maybe it'd like the crackle of a fire, as it slowly but surely crept up and turned everything into charred remains before it became nothing but ash and was carried away by the winds.

        No one in her family talked about feelings. If they did all they received back was ‘suck it up. That’s life’. After that, it was time to move on. So, when she got together with probably the most open-hearted person in the world, it was almost laughable.

        Y/N had always been the friend others went for advice, relationship or not, but she herself never asked for one, simply because she didn’t wanna bother anyone. Not that she thought the others were bothers. It’s just having grown up in a household where emotions were basically suppressed, opening up was quite impossible. 

       Then came Harry. Perfect, impossible, loving, sweet, kind, ridiculously open Harry. God, she just wanted to punch him because no one should be that nice. 

        January 2nd, 2020 he’d called her up, having gotten Y/N’s number from Sarah (after ages of pleading, because as much as Sarah sometimes couldn’t handle drunk Y/N, she’d defend and protect her until the very last breath), and they set up a coffee date.

        Slowly but surely, they spent more and more time together and seeing as her job had her based in LA for a while, visiting Harry was no problem. Then the pandemic hit, and on March 18th the whole stay-at-home order was issued in California. 

        Y/N was in a panic. She was meant to leave LA in ten days, and the hotel her company was paying for had been paid until the 28th. With all flights getting rapidly cancelled, she was scrambling to get one, but even her firm was unable to get her a seat. That’s when Harry had called up, his tone a worried, urgent mess as to if Y/N was alright and what her plans were.

        Of course, him being him, he immediately offered her a place to stay.

        “We don’t even need to stay in the same room, there’s like five other guest rooms you can take up,” he tried to joke, and ease her tension.

        “Fuck, Harry, just rub it in how rich you are.” Y/N cackled, and when she heard him laugh in the background, her heart did that stupid fluttery thing she’d grown so used to. 

        It took a little persuasion from Harry’s side, and reassurance at least seven more times, that Y/N wouldn’t be intruding on his space, and he was more than happy to spend the quarantine with someone else, instead of being alone, and that in no way her taking over a room or two would limit him and his own artistic endeavours. So, apprehensively Y/N packed her suitcases, grabbed an uber, wearing a mask the whole time, and drove to Harry’s place.  

When Y/N saw the gated community and the palace he was living in, the inside of her cheek was practically bitten in half. They’d barely been together for three months, and now she was basically moving in with him, but given how it was either live with Harry in a fucking mansion or walk across the country to New York, she took the first option. 

        As much as Harry loved on her, pretty much shagging her brains out every possible second, and loving on her until her cheeks hurt from smiling, the anxiety about the whole situation never left.

Harry was worried about his mom and sister, Y/N was scared of what was happening in New York. So, when the state boarders opened, immediately, although reluctantly, she flew back to her apartment and her dying plants, but never forgetting to FaceTime with Harry. But they couldn't stay away long from one another.

        Which is why they decided, given how she was able to work from home now, and Harry could do so as well, they’d fly over to one another every two weeks, quarantine together for the next two weeks, and then fly to the other place. Her boss actually loved the idea that Y/N was so willing to go back and forth between the two cities, so all her flights were written off as business expenses, not to mention when she said she wouldn’t need a hotel, he was more than thrilled to let her be in LA whenever she wanted, as long as her work got done.

        It seemed funny to her now, that before Y/N couldn’t wait to get back to the sunny state of Cali. Now when she had to fly over (which was just a couple of times since the breakup), going through JFK security made her sweat, and landing was a vomit-inducing action. And the last time she’d gotten back to the home-base state, she’d actually thrown up, Harry’s last words ringing in her ears.

        It’d been three weeks since Sarah’s New Year party, and three weeks since she’d spoken to him although he still kept calling. Every morning she’d wake up to a couple of notifications of missed calls, and each time she’d listen to the messages; it was all the same – I miss your voice. And every time she’d listen to it, her thoughts were exactly the same. You could say it was almost pathetic as to how many times she’d listened to his albums, just to hear him sing. Almost like he used to do right before she fell asleep.

        But Y/N had no one else but herself to blame for it. She’d been the one to call it quits, she’d been the one who walked out of his apartment, and the one who decided she wouldn’t fight. 

        Now, she was sat by her small magazine table, documents spread out in front of her as if a tornado had rolled through, while an apple and cinnamon candle spread its delicious scent through the air. 

        Y/N would only admit it once because, well, the proof was all over the apartment, but she was very lazy when it came to taking away the Christmas décor. It made her feel warm and comfy. And it reminded her of Harry. How when she’d woken up after their first date, already in the new year, he still had colourful fairy lights strung across the curtain rods, giving everything a soft, cosy glow. 

        He’d also been the one who convinced her that a real Christmas tree was so much better than a plastic one. 

        “Yes, it’s a hassle,” he’d said through slurred words as they’d slinked away from the partying crowd after the countdown was done, and each of them had taken three shots of vodka. “But it’s so worth it. Smells like a fucking forest in your room. Like proper Christmas!”

        And although she’d spent this holiday season alone, Harry had been right. Just like he’d been right about Y/N.

        She tapped her pen against the glass surface and readjusted her position on the floor.

        “This is the periodic table, noble gases stable, halogens and alkali react aggressively,” Y/N hummed as she highlighted the incorrect parts of the paper in front of her. “Each period will see new outer shells, while electrons are added moving to the right.”

        Just as she was about to start off the second verse, her doorbell rang, and her stomach gurgled in response.

        “Ugh,” she groaned to herself. “Pasta come to fuckin’ mama.”

        But when she opened the door, she wasn’t greeted by the Uber Eats delivery man.

        “Harry.”

        Y/N was taken aback. She didn’t expect him to visit her, especially not so soon and especially to fly out to New York (as much as he was most likely there to do other stuff as well, her gut told her he was there for her). 

Sure, she hoped that one day they could be friends, if not acquaintances, he was too important of a person for her to lose completely from her life, but that was looking like five years into the future.

        “I bring gifts.” He raised his hand where her boxes of food hung in a paper bag. “Can I?”

        “Uh, yeah, of course!” She shook her head to clear it from the shock and allowed Harry to enter into the warmth of her apartment and escape from the cold January air.

        “I was on my way up when the delivery man came in, and I recognised by the boxes it was yours.” The smirk on Harry’s face was something Y/N loved to see, but usually, she liked to also wipe it away. Preferably with her own lips. 

        She let out a small scoff, not waiting to see if he followed inside, as she scurried to the adjacent kitchen and grabbed two plates, while he opened up the white cardboard containers and allowed the delicious smell of spaghetti Bolognese as well as a carbonara waft into the air. Y/N had wanted to eat the latter at some point during the night when the munchies hit, but she supposed Harry was probably hungry as well. “Maybe there’s someone else here, who likes Italian.”

        “Probably, but only you would order from the shittiest Italian restaurant just because they have pesto and parmesan bread.”

        “Hey!” She slapped his arm. “They’re not shit. They provide me with everything I need – calories, carbs and bread.”

        “What more does a person need?”

        “Exactly!”

        Both of them let out small chuckles and then settled down on her couch to dig into the meal. They ate in silence, and despite Y/N’s initial shock, it wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, they were sitting pretty much shoulder to shoulder, as she watched Harry re-read the spread-out articles on the table and use her marker to tick some stuff that could use re-wording. He had a knack for words, after all.

        “I uh…” He wiped his mouth with one of the napkins provided by the diner before clasping his fingers together and looking at the woman sitting next to him, as she slowly set her empty plate on the small cupboard beside the sofa. “I was hoping we could talk.”

        Y/N hung her head. She should’ve known he wasn’t here to just check-in and have some dinner. “We already did. Twice might I add. What makes you think this time the ending will be different?”

        “Third times the charm?” Harry let out a little laugh, and she rolled her eyes. “Look, I didn’t wanna leave everything the way I did. I – I said some pretty shit things.”

        Y/N fiddled with her thumb. ‘I had,’ Harry’s words echoed in her head. ‘Only she didn’t trust that I loved her the same.’ “Nothing that was untrue though.”

        “See, that’s where I think both of us are wrong.”

        That was not what Y/N thought this conversation would be whatsoever.

        “I – “ He cleared his throat. “I know I said I didn’t think you trusted me that I loved you enough. I think you know I did – do.”

        If Y/N still had any food in her mouth she would’ve choked on it, as she bit back the rising lump in her throat, but instead of interrupting him, she let Harry continue. “And honestly, it’s not your fault that it fell apart, ‘s my fault too. I pushed you to do something, you didn’t want to, weren’t comfortable with, when you told me not to… just because I wanted to feel important, ‘nd because I wanted to get a role in your life you weren’t ready for yet. And I’m sorry for doing that. I should’ve never forced you.”

        “Harry…” Y/N was at a complete loss. “I – I don’t really know what to say.”

        He took her left hand in his and clasped it, finally able to properly say what'd been eating away at him. “During the New Year party, I didn’t go about it the right way. I was just – I was just still so hurt, and I wanted you to hurt the same because… it didn’t seem like you cared at all, which I know you did… I know you loved me, and…” He took in a deep breath. “I hope that you still do. At least enough to give us another chance. We can take it at your pace,” he instantly added, knowing how she’d react, expecting the sigh and the almost tired and resigned ‘Harry’ that escaped her lips. But he’d say everything on his mind. “You can take how long you need to feel like you can trust me with what’s bothering you.”

        “Harry,” she repeated, but it didn’t seem like he was about to stop.

        “But I think we can do it, and we can do it right this time. We know where we stand, we won't make the same mistakes.”

        Y/N’s hand came to rest against his cheek, and he practically melted, engulfing her palm with his as to not let her touch leave his skin for even a second. “Are you even listening to yourself?”

        “Look, I know, you’re scared, and the thing is, so am I. I don’t want it to end like that or end. Period. But I do want to try again.”

        And if nothing but to humour him Y/N asked, “And if it does end the same way?”

        “It won’t.” He was so sure of it, she had to laugh.

        “Harry, the big difference between us is – you like to talk about your feelings. You like to go through them and stuff. I don’t. I feel… icky when I even think about talking to someone of what I feel. We’re just too opposite.”

        “Opposites attract.”

        “No,” she pointed a finger at him, stifling her laughter, though Harry seemed not to be hiding his smile. “Do not use science against me.”

        He raised his hands as if in surrender. “I’m not, I’m just supporting my point with facts. Scientific facts, that you can’t argue against.”

        “I mean…” Y/N shrugged her shoulders. “I dunno… Maybe it was a good thing we ended it when we did. It was ten months – almost ten – amazing months, but… can you imagine if we’d gone so far as to think about moving in together, and then it fell apart? That would’ve been a whole different kind of a mess.”

        “Do you love me?”

        Y/N sighed, resting her cheek against the couch while she smoothed away his brown locks from his face. “Of course, I do. Don’t think there will be a time in my life I don’t.”

        “Then that’s all I need.”

         “Is that really enough for you?”

        “Yes.”

        And there was no lie in that single word. Did he want for Y/N to feel comfortable enough with him that she talked about whatever concerned her, however small? Of course. But he also wanted her to be comfortable enough to be herself. If that meant her keeping things to herself, and trusting Harry to support her decisions, it’d be enough.

        Her Y/E/C eyes hadn’t left his green ones, and they only widened as he leaned forwards and pressed his forehead to hers.

        “Haz…”

        Fuck, how he’d missed her calling him that. It wasn’t an exclusive nickname by any means, but when it came from Y/N’s mouth, it was the sweetest sound in the universe.

        He was her Haz when he broke a plate, he was her Haz when she threw her head back as pleasure exploded through her body, he was her Haz when he took her hand in his to quell her anxiety, and he was her Haz when he gave her tissues as they watched a movie, and she couldn’t help but cry each time a dog or cat died (or a dragon, but he was a sobbing mess as well because ‘Dragonheart’ messed with them both).

        His lips were so close, and just as they skimmed over her own, Y/N’s phone rang making her physically spring back, eyes like saucers.

        “S – Sorry,” she stammered, scrambling to find the annoying device between the cushions. It was Sarah’s name that lit up her screen.

        “Hey, what’s up?” Y/N started, voice trembling and shaky. God, when had she suddenly gone so out of breath? And why was her head so dizzy, as if she’d just gotten off a rollercoaster?

        “Yeah, he’s here,” she replied, eyeing Harry. “Yeah, just a sec,” and Y/N handed him her phone with a quiet ‘why’s your phone always dead?’

        ‘Didn’t know it died’, he said, but that was untrue. He’d turned it off so this sort of a situation wouldn’t happen; so a call or text wouldn’t interrupt him at the most critical moment. He had to give the universe a proper talk once he was done.

        “ ‘Ello?” 

        Seconds of silence passed, and Y/N didn’t like how weird it was, so she took the empty plates and put them in the sink to soak.

        “Now?”

        She could see the frustration rise in Harry as his forehead creased, and he let a hand rake through his hair. “Fuck’s sake… yeah, I’ll be there in ten. ‘S alright,” he sighed. “Not your fault Sarah. Tell Jeff not to worry, and that I’m not dead.”

        With that, he pressed the red button and ended the call, drumming his fingers against the screen. God, he really didn’t want to leave. Not now. Not after he’d been so close.

        “Uh, work?” Y/N asked, arms crossed in front of her as if she was protecting herself from the answer. 

        “Yeah, sorry. I uh a meeting from tomorrow got rescheduled for tonight, like right now because there was some sort of an emergency from the label’s side."

        “ ‘S alright, I get it. Showbiz never stops.” Y/N motioned to the door. “I’ll walk you out.”

        There were a couple of times in his life Harry wanted to give himself a beating. Once when he was six and Gemma had told on him after he’d broken a favourite vase of their mothers, he decided to get revenge and destroy her favourite plushie. He’d never forget the tears Gem had cried, and how absolutely heartbroken she’d sounded. He vowed although he was the little brother, to never ever let anyone hurt her like that, and if someone did, they’d meet their maker sooner rather than later.

        The second time was when he was still a teenager, One Direction on the rise, and it had gotten to his head just a little bit more than it should’ve. He’d gotten really messed up at a party (which Harry shouldn’t have even been at). The disappointment on his mother’s face as she scolded him through FaceTime was gut-wrenching enough to make him promise to always know the limit.

        And Harry guessed this was the third time.

        He could’ve said no to the meeting. Jeff was there and so was Sarah and Mitch. The three of them could handle it for him. It’s not like he would mind much whatever they came up with if it had given him the time to settle things with Y/N. 

        “It was great to see you, Harry.” She brought him out from the thoughts as she unlocked the door and opened it for him, bringing her jumper sleeves over her palms to hide from the cold outside air. “Really. I – I missed you, and honestly, I’m glad we got to talk. I uh well, take care. And say hi to Sarah from me please.”

        “I – “ he took hold of Y/N’s wrist before she could turn away. “I’m holding a small concert in a week. Here in uh in New York. It’s for charity… I want you to come.”

        “I umm… I’ll have to check if I’m free, but yeah. I will. Thank you.”

        “ ‘S no problem… Sarah missed you like crazy now that you’re not in LA as often… ‘n yeah. Anyway. I’ll put your name on the guest list, so just bring some ID, and they’ll let you backstage.”

        “Okay,” she whispered and gave him a small, genuine smile. “Thank you. I’ll really try to come.”

        “Yeah.”

        And he was going to go without doing anything else. Harry truly was. But as he released her wrist, going to the stairs, he gave Y/N one last glance back, and it was like his feet had a mind of their own, as they carried him back to where she stood by the still open door, grabbed her by the waist and pressed his lips to hers. 

        He expected Y/N to push him away, but to his very huge delight, she didn’t. Instead, her fingers wove through his hair and her legs almost on instinct rose so he could take her by the thighs, wrap them around his middle and press her against the doorway. 

        The groan that Harry swallowed from Y/N only ignited the fire that’d been burning ever since he met her, but it wasn’t the destructive kind, like the ones that leave nothing but charcoal behind. It was warm. Safe. Like the light of a fairy light. Like the embrace of home.

        “Come to the show,” he muttered against Y/N’s lips, as they broke apart, and he set her down on the ground, not letting go until he was sure she was steady on her feet. “I’ll wait for you.”

        With that, he left because if he didn’t, he’d make sure Y/N would be unable to walk for a week.

        And Y/N watched him retreat while her brain fought with her heart.

        What was it he’d sung in ‘Golden’, as he’d twirled her in the sea of bodies and glitter a little bit more than a year ago? ‘Loving is the antidote?’ 

        Maybe love was the antidote to her fear.

        She closed the door.

        And smiled.

Tags (crossed out wouldn’t take):

Everything tags: @lumelgy @palaiasaurus64 @supernaturalbaesduh @breezy1415 @crazy--me @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @sea040561 @staryeyedgirl @deathbyarabbit @s-c-a-r-e-d-po-t-t-e-r @reblogger-not-a-blogger @m-a-t-91 @dalilx @i-need-a-hero-i-need-a-loki @maladaptive-ninja-returns @averyrogers83 @in-the-end-im-still-trash @gallifreyansass @dewy-biitch @avxgers @unlikelygalaxygiver @magicwithaknife @ollyoxenfrees @bnhvrdy @tvwhoresblog @celebsimagines @thatkindofgurl @sj-thefan @teenwolflover28 @lestersglitterglue @im-squished

Harry Styles tags: @sarcasticallywitty15​ @breezykpop​ @girlboss99​ @harrystylesdoesntknowiexist​ @alliyjane​ @sirtommyholland​

A/N: I’ve been listening to ‘Fine Line’, ‘The Periodic Table Song’, ‘Welcome to the Christmas Parade’ (Welcome to the Black Parade mix with All I Want For Christmas) and ‘Rasputin’ Boney M remix exclusively... I feel like a complete crackhead... :D

Decided to tag also those who wanted a part 2 but didn’t necessarily ask to be tagged :)

P.S. I guess there will be a part 3???

P.S.S. if you wanna be added to a tag list drop me a message :)

[jungjaehyunnies]

broken promises; j.jh

☆ summary: nobody ever told you that falling out of love was just as easy as falling in love. ☆ genre: fluff, angst, slight smut ☆ warnings: mentions of alcohol, swearing, sex ☆ word count: 3.3k+ ☆ note: happy birthday to my favourite person in the world c: this is also my first nct fic :o <333

The first time you recalled feeling your heart jumping out of your ribcage was the fourth time you met him.

You and Jaehyun only ever interacted through Mark, your high school acquaintance turned closest college friend and Jaehyun’s basketball teammate. With conversations limited to polite nods and smiles and small talk before one of you would walk away to class, he rarely crossed your mind.

That was, until you’d stayed out late studying in the library one night and came across Mark and Jaehyun practicing at the basketball court halfway to your dorm. And Jaehyun was sweaty… but hot and sleeveless. And when Mark convinced you to stay back an extra twenty minutes for them to finish up so that you wouldn’t need to walk across the dark campus alone, you’d perhaps spent too much ogling at how his biceps flexed with each movement he made, whether he was attempting to shoot or defending himself.    

You couldn’t quite remember how Mark had been able to convince you to join him in a small match against Jaehyun (two vs. one because he had the height advantage amongst you three); it was something to do with Jaehyun apparently being a competitive asshole who absolutely needed to prove that he was better than both you and Mark playing together.

Oh yeah, he was definitely competitive, you realised within thirty seconds when you were bulldozed onto the ground by a heavy weight and you fell straight onto your ass, pain shooting up your spine.

You fell just a little bit in love when he held your hand to pull you back up to your feet, with soft, apologetic eyes that seemed to pierce through your soul and a promise to make it (‘it’ being your bruised tailbone) up to you some time within the next week or so. 

The next time it happened was when he held true to his promise and took you to a twenty-four hour coffee shop just outside of campus, purchasing you the biggest cup of coffee they offered as well as a slice of strawberry cheesecake and keeping you company for seven hours.

Exam season was around the corner, and you were both stressed. You were ready to pull your hair out. Studying had become a chore, but you just needed to manage for another two weeks.

Jaehyun didn’t seem to mind though. He picked up on your small signs and studied quietly with you, only taking the occasional break to ask if you wanted some more cake or coffee, or to make small talk and discuss briefly about your classes. Neither of you took the same classes, but you took comfort in the fact that you both tried to help each other where possible. 

By the time it was past midnight, you could tell he was tired of studying. You didn’t miss the way his eyes flickered constantly around the café, how he started dozing off every few minutes before blinking his eyes open, and how his handwriting had become sloppier with each line.

Despite that, he kept you company and walked you back to your dorm.

“You really didn’t need to walk me back,” you said. Although you were very grateful he had done so, you felt guilty for taking up his time when he was clearly ready to knock out. “I feel bad now though, do you live close by, at least?”

“It’s fine,” Jaehyun responded, lips pressed into a cute, closed-mouth smile that made you want to squish his peachy cheeks. His ears were tinted red, he glanced at you shyly and admitted, “I actually live in the dorm near the café. Same building as Mark.”

That was a twenty-minute walk back.

“But, really, I don’t mind,” he insisted. “This was nice. We should meet up again after exams are over.”

With the promise to meet up again without the need to study, he engulfed you in a hug that filled you with so much warmth, you were sure you’d stopped breathing.

The third time you experienced that feeling, you were both half-drunk at an end-of-exams party.

You may have been half-drunk but you were sober enough to be dragging Mark back to his dorm together. You and Jaehyun had wrapped your arms around the dead weight between the two of you that was struggling to walk in a straight line and ready to pass out.

You groaned as Mark’s knees wobbled and threatened to give out under him.

“I told him to eat dinner properly before the party but he never listens to me,” Jaehyun grumbled, heaving more of Mark’s weight onto his shoulder to relieve you of the pressure. “Fucking dumbass.”

With a huff, you complained right back at Jaehyun, “If you took it easier on us during beer pong, he wouldn’t be dying like this.”

Jaehyun was unbelievably talented at beer pong and had looked way too unbelievably attractive across the table when you three had been playing. It was unfair.

“It’s not my fault you guys suck,” he pouted in response. “Besides, Johnny was the one who made him chug two bottles of soju in a row after beer pong.”

You sighed in defeat. He was right. You’d all lost count of how much Mark had to drink, who was way too desperate and excited to let loose after the stress of exams.

Getting Mark’s keys out of his pockets and into bed took a lot of grumbling, dry heaving and whining before your friend finally knocked out. You watched through tired eyelids that threatened to close shut as Jaehyun placed a few pills and a bottle of water by Mark’s bedside.

He was a sweet friend, and your drunken mind couldn’t help but wonder what he’d be like taking care of someone more than a friend.

“He’s going to feel like shit tomorrow,” Jaehyun spoke softly, as the two of you walked out of Mark’s dorm and closed the door behind him. “And uh…” he trailed off.

“Hm?”

“I don’t want to sound too forward, but you can stay at mine tonight if you want,” he said, all in one breath, words slurring together from the rush. It took you a few seconds to process what he had just said, and when you looked up at him, his ears were tinted pink again.

Cute.

“Only because it’s past two now,” Jaehyun reasoned, “And you look so tired and it’s not safe for you to walk back alone in the dark right now.”

You were hesitant, but ready to take the offer. You were indeed very exhausted, your feet hurt from walking and dancing around in heels all night, and the alcohol (and also dragging Mark here) was draining all the energy out of you.

But… spending the night in Jaehyun’s dorm? Even half-drunk, you knew that was possibly not the best idea.

Gnawing at your bottom lip nervously, you said, “I don’t want to impose though.”

Jaehyun shook his head. “You won’t be,” he responded before offering you a cheeky grin. “Besides, we can wake up Mark tomorrow and make him buy us breakfast for dragging his ass home tonight.”

A giggle escaped from you as you agreed, looking forward to the nagging and teasing you would put Mark through tomorrow morning.

It took a lot of arguing between Jaehyun (who insisted on sleeping on the couch) and yourself (who felt too guilty to allow him to do that after he offered you his shower and clean clothes), before you both settled on his mattress. You promised him that you would pay for his next meal and coffee for letting you stay over for the night.

Just before you dosed off, you felt Jaehyun’s fingers thread through your hair delicately and heard him murmur, “You’re so gorgeous.”

Each time you ended up meeting up with Jaehyun, you found that the two of you continually made promises before each farewell to pay the other back. Walks back to your dorm slowly progressed into lingering touches and attending every one of his basketball games, which then became pet names and stolen kisses between classes and during study dates over the months.

One night, he dragged you to the amusement park a half hour away from campus, promising to win you all the plushies you wanted. His fingers stayed intertwined with yours for the whole night, thumb rubbing circles over the back of your hand whenever you got the slightest bit nervous over a thrilling ride.

You tried not to express your disappointment when he eventually let go of your hand so that he could hold an ice cream cone in one hand and a giant sloth plushie in his other arm. Your disappointment didn’t last long, though, when you eventually found yourself in a small gondola of a ferris wheel that hovered over the pretty night lights, cuddled up in his arms.

“Can I try some of yours?” Jaehyun asked, referring to your half-eaten cookie dough ice cream.

When you nodded absentmindedly and lifted your waffle cone up, you didn’t expect for Jaehyun to press his lips against yours. It took all your self-control to not let go of your cone and to thread your fingers through his fluffy hair as you melted against him.

Just as you were ready to press up closer to him, the cheeky bastard pulled away. Before you could blink, he’d taken a massive bite out of your cone with a grin and said, “Mmmm, yummy.”

“Jae!” you gasped in disbelief. About half the remaining of your cone was gone.

Jaehyun giggled, showing off his dimples, and pecked your lips softly.

“I’ll buy you a whole tub tomorrow, I promise,” he murmured, making it up to you, his nose nudging your cheek. “Happy birthday, baby.”

For someone who had a cute, peachy, dimply face, your boyfriend sure had a body that screamed quite the opposite, and it was still mildly surprising to you after all this time together.

“Mmm, I love you,” Jaehyun murmured, soft lips pressed up against your neck and his hips pressed right up against yours.

A gentle pull at his hair elicited a delightful groan from him as you muttered, “You’re only saying that because your dick is in me right now.”

“Say it back,” he whined in response, the movements of his hips coming to a halt as he tickled your waist. God, he was so needy, but you weren’t going to complain because you secretly loved it. Just not when you were just about to experience a mindblowing orgasm.

You squirmed under his grip, laughing but refusing to give in. “Baaabeeee,” he drawled, “Say you love me back.”

“Maybe I will after you fuck me and make me cum,” you said and wiggled your hips, “Or I’m never saying it back.”

Jaehyun gripped your thigh, lifting your leg around his strong back and you bit back a moan from how wonderful he felt inside of you even with that slight movement. “I can do that,” he murmured, before slanting his lips against yours, tongue delving into your mouth as he slammed back into you and eventually brought you to a delightful state that had you seeing stars.

Another round later, you were too exhausted to do anything but curl up in Jaehyun’s strong arms and seek out his warmth. “I love you a lot,” you mumbled, eyes closing shut, as you kissed his chest. “You’ll wake me up before you go for practice in the morning, right?”

“Of course I will, baby, I promise.”

Those promises were nice, until they became meaningless.

You broke your promises to attend each of his games as your workload picked up over the next semester, and Jaehyun broke his promises of waking you up each morning before he left for practice.

And, both of you eventually broke promises to keep each other around and to love one another forever.

You weren’t sure when the cracks started appearing and when you’d started falling apart, but you guessed it was inevitable to slowly fall out of love at one point, but you hadn’t expected it to happen so fast and so easily.

It started off with less dates and less sleepovers. You could blame that on both of your insane schedules at college, but in the end, despite how busy you were, you knew you both should’ve made time for each other.

Somehow, updating Jaehyun about your days (which weren’t very eventful) suddenly became a chore. You got the feeling that he felt similarly, as he started responding to your texts much later and later, sometimes even a day’s delay between your messages. But, you were too stubborn to let go of what the two of you had.

At one point, you’d realised that the two of you hadn’t even had sex for two months. If Jaehyun wasn’t too tired from basketball or practice, you were too stressed over your studies. Sex used to help you both relieve from your exhaustion and stress on top of showing each other how much you loved each other, but now, it wasn’t even an afterthought.

Stolen kisses between classes eventually stopped too, and your goodbye smiles started feeling more forced and effortful.

Almost out of obligation, the two of you went to a nice restaurant to celebrate your one-year anniversary, and things almost seemed back to normal. Like a spark reignited.

You’d dressed up nicely and he looked as handsome as ever. You were, for once, able to catch up on each other’s busy schedules and enjoyed a meal together finally.

But, eventually, when you found yourself back in his dorm, hands and knees on his mattress, as he pounded into you from behind, you couldn’t help but wonder if the two of you were just using each other at this stage.

No soft ‘I love you’’s or teasing, no alternations between rough and soft sex, and no whispered sweet nothings this time. Just the sounds of panted breaths, skin slapping against skin, and the final moans of release at the end.

Aftercare seemed like a routine, like muscle memory, as the two of you engaged in the same motions you had done so familiarly months ago. 

You and Jaehyun tried cuddling, but eventually you both fell asleep facing away from each other. When you woke up, he had already left for practice.

Weeks of overthinking had you gnawing nervously at your nails, shaking in stress (perhaps that was from your insane caffeine intake too, but you weren’t sure at this point), and pulling at the ends of your hair. 

You hated to admit it, but you knew that it was over. You weren’t stupid. You just didn’t want to let go of it.

You finally broke down to Mark over a tub of cookie dough ice cream. Mark was so panicked and taken aback from seeing you cry out of nowhere as you two walked to the library from your shared class, that he bought you ice cream, bubble tea and three slices of strawberry cheesecake before dragging you to his place.

He offered you his blankets, his hugs and all his snacks, while he shooed his roommate outside the dorm.  

“Do you know what Jaehyun thinks of me?” you mumbled pathetically, shoving another spoonful of ice cream into your mouth.

“Uh, I-“ Mark seemed hesitant to respond. From his curious gaze, you figured that Jaehyun hadn’t spoken to him about whatever relationship problems you guys had. “He’s your boyfriend. He loves you. He’s so in love with you, Y/N.”

No, he’s not.

You stayed silent, too embarrassed to say anything, and curled up under the blanket he’d offered you, staring blankly at his TV screen until you dosed off.

Jaehyun, 11:07pm: We need to talk. Can I come over tonight?

You weren’t sure how long you spent staring at that small notification on your screen, but eventually, you agreed, despite every fibre of your body begging you to respond with ‘no’. Couldn’t you keep him for at least a little bit longer?

You waited anxiously after class, waiting for a knock on your dorm door. That feeling of your heart slamming against your ribcage returned, but it didn’t feel good this time.

It felt heartbreaking, because you knew how this was going to end.

When your boyfriend arrived at past nine, he looked at you with a grim expression that showed he was just as exhausted as you were.

“Mark told me what happened yesterday. I’m really sorry,” Jaehyun said, fiddling with the ends of his sleeves. “He told me to fix this and I am. We should end this.”

Jaehyun looked into your eyes earnestly. “I really love you, Y/N. I really did, you have to believe me, and I do still want to, but I don’t- I don’t know what happened,” he added, voice quivering with the last few words as he reached up to brush a tear away from your cheek. 

He was a soft person, and he tended to cry when others cried as well.

Within seconds, you found yourself back in his warm embrace again, your tears soaking his hoodie while his own ran down his cheeks. You hesitantly brought your arms around his waist. If this was going to be how it ended, you didn’t want to finish this off on bad terms. 

“I know, Jae,” you said, pulling away slightly to look up at him in understanding. “I think we both knew this was coming.”

We were just too cowardly to admit it.

“I’m so sorry. You deserve so much better than me.”

When you tried denying that and shaking your head, Jaehyun placed his hands firmly on your shoulders, eyes red and cheeks puffy as he looked into your eyes. “You are! You’re an amazing person with a beautiful personality, and you’ll find someone better who won’t break their promise of keeping you around forever. They won’t be an idiot like me… and if they are, I’ll beat their ass.”

You couldn’t help but laugh even in this situation. “You’re not an idiot,” you argued weakly, wiping his tears from his cheeks as well. “You were the best boyfriend I could’ve asked for. I just- I don’t know… I don’t know how we got here either. I’m sorry, too.”

Jaehyun managed to crack a smile. “I don’t know either. We’re both idiots,” he said and pulled you in for another warm hug.

It felt comforting this time.

The breath you let out almost felt like one of relief. You’d loved him so much and ended up being so terrified of losing him that you held onto him as your boyfriend, and yet this felt like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders.

“I don’t want to lose you, though,” you admitted. “I’m okay with this but… I don’t think I can lose you.”

Even if you’d fallen in love with him, you weren’t sure you could go around with life without him. He’d wormed his way into your heart and your daily life, and you knew he would be an amazing friend, despite the history. You couldn’t bear to imagine what it would be have a Jaehyun-sized hole in your life from here onwards. 

Jaehyun stayed silent and held onto you for a few more minutes before the two of you let go of each other. He took a step back outside your dorm, as if clearly setting the new boundaries now.

“Let’s take some time apart. I think some space will be good for us,” he suggested, reasonable as ever. With a soft smile that displayed his dimples to you for the last time in a while, Jaehyun added, “We’ll be friends after that, I promise.”

But, promises were made to be broken.  

[deafwestnewsies]

be my first last kiss

You can plan on a change in the weather or time, but you'd never planned on him changing his mind.

jack kelly x davey jacobs

read it on my ao3!

Earnest to goodness, Jack Kelly was going to murder Racetrack Higgins.

No, Anthony Higgins, this was the sort of thing that makes you pull out the tarnished christian name of a friend (or so you thought) you’ve known since he was toppling over on baby-fattened legs. Anthony Higgins would die by the sword of Jack Kelly.

He just had to get this godforsaken Youtube video filmed first.

You’re doing this for the cash, Jack grumbled to himself as he passed through the metal doors of a nondescript building on the Lower East Side- it was the kind of place being slowly taken over by hip and fun corporations promising Asian-fusion bars and eco-friendly thrift stores while edging out the relic businesses built on the backs of immigrant dreams. Jack couldn’t stand areas like this, the air thick with wasted luxury, so he rarely left the barrio. Why would he? Spot Conlon slept in the bedroom next to his. Katherine Plumber and Sarah Jacobs ran the bookstore that bought his baked goods and sold them for decent money. Medda lived down the street with her plethora of children, and Racetrack still beat the known path, doing tricks on the street corner for spare change and internet views. Davey- David. David Jacobs wasn’t there. It was right where Jack wanted to be.

Much unlike the dim studio where he now shuffled his feet, waiting for the perky young PA with bright red streaks in her hair to come back with further information about the video he would be shooting. Jack wasn’t a stranger to this small production company; He participated in a few Youtube videos back before they had millions of subscribers, he played truth or dare with lots of liquor and a complete stranger, he confessed about the first time he fell in love so it could be put to pathetic music.

Cash where you could get it, right?

“Kelly, right?” Cherry Streaks was back with a vengeance.

“Jack, actually,” he corrected.

“So you’re going to stand over there where the little blue X marks the spot and wait until the producer, Adam, starts asking you a few questions. The first one might be a test for our boom guy. Answer honestly, we can pretty much tell when you’re making up a story by this point. After that, the main part of the video will begin. Got it?” She was pointing wildly with a Number 2 pencil that had previously been stuck through her ponytail, and she smelled faintly of jasmine. Jack felt dizzy.

“Wait, I thought this was one of those ‘Choose who’s the best kisser out of ten strangers’ type of deal?” I mean, that’s what Race told me- oh God. Oh Santa Maria. Oh Saint Francis.

The young woman smiled like she was keeping an excellent secret. “Have fun, Jack Kelly.”

Walking off at her ominous dismissal, Jack stood where he was directed. The fluorescent lighting made him sweat under the knowledge that he had virtually no idea what he was doing there, Race had lied to him so that he would participate in some sort of sick, horrible scheme, and for all he knew, behind door number three could be his third grade teacher with a baseball bat and a basic multiplication grudge.

“Jack! It’s nice to see you again.”

Romeo was walking towards him with that easy gait Jack had memorized so long ago- Romeo had shot the original videos on an Amazon tripod and the unfounded hope of human connection, and now he owned the entire shebang. Jack dropped his tense shoulders to give him a warm smile. “Romeo. Boy, am I glad to see a friendly face.” Jack lowered his voice to a stage whisper. “You’ve got a production assistant who actually does work, so I’m assuming we’ve died and you earned a really nice deal in Heaven?”

Romeo barked out a laugh. “If I’ve died, do not resuscitate. I’ll never be able to look at another bodega meatball sub after cooking food bought in a real grocery store.”

“Rub it in, why don’tcha?” Jack punched the shorter man on the shoulder. “Listen, Romeo, you gotta tell me what I’m in for, a buddy totally sold me out for the cash and I have no clue what this project is gonna be like.”

Before Romeo could respond, a tall, lofty man behind the camera cleared his throat. “Darling? We’re ready to begin when you are.”

“Jack, meet Specs. Or Adam, but we all know how well nicknames stick. Specs, this is the old friend I was telling you about.” Romeo ended right above Specs’ elbow, and it was all Jack could do not to laugh.

The man fixed his thoughtful gaze on him. “It’s nice to meet you, Jack. You’ve got a real presence on the camera. Have you ever considered acting?”

“I’m afraid I’m, uh,” Jack flexed a paint-stained hand. “Strictly canvas, as they say.”

Nodding as if that was a phrase people commonly used and not something Jack invented on the fly, Specs then clapped his hands together. “Folks, let’s film this sonofabitch.”

---

“I’m Jack, and I’m a twenty-four year old artist living in New York City.”

“Have you ever been in a relationship?” Specs questioned from behind the camera.

Jack blinked in surprise. “Sure. One throughout high school, another in college and a little bit beyond. I wouldn’t call myself a heartbreaker or anything.”

“Do you stay friends with your exes?”

“One of ‘em, yea. It was more of an amicable thing, you know. She ended up being a lesbian. And I am… not.” His clumsy fingers tugged at a constricting collar.

“And the other?”

“Just because I’m not a heartbreaker doesn’t mean I can’t be a real asshole sometimes,” Jack nervously chuckled. (Davey had laid out rose petals, for God’s sake. Rose petals.)

“Was this girl the high school girlfriend, or the college one?”

“Boy,” Jack quickly corrected. “Man. I guess. He was in college- four and a half years.” (It took him four days to clear away the rotting flowers, the bleeding color slowly seeping into his carpet. Katherine found him delirious with whiskey on the bathroom floor; Sarah couldn’t bear to walk through his front door.)

“How’d you meet him?”

(He twisted in his high-backed blue chair. “It’s habláis in el presente.”) “Freshman year of high school actually. Spanish class. Funny story, actually, that other girl I dated? His sister. Broke her heart for his. He was so mad at me that we didn’t talk for like, months after.”

“It was six and a half months, actually.”

Of things Jack was expecting to see today, Spiderman was more likely than David. A flash mob singing death metal, maybe. Pigs flying through the polluted air.

“I was told to come in. I now see why.” David’s eyes narrowed behind his thin wire frames, different from the heavy Ray-Bans that he had dedicated himself to sophomore year of high school. Jack hated that he looked older, wiser, and all around… better.

Specs cleared his throat before the bewildered set of men (one more angry than the other, both desperately avoiding eye contact) could demand what sort of sick joke this was. “Can you introduce yourself?”

They broke up on a Tuesday, an insignificant, momentary Tuesday. Fourteen months ago. (Yes, fourteen months, like their terrible split was a baby that Jack was nurturing bit by bit. He refused to round down- fourteen months ago, he left David Jacobs.) So when David ran his thumb across his jawline, a nervous tick older than his younger brother, Jack couldn’t fathom why he felt so relieved. Some things never did change. “David. Jacobs.” David’s jaw flexed as he looked into the camera. “I dated Jack for almost five years.”

“Tell us about your other relationships.”

“Unfortunately, I spent the better part of high school and college pining after a total cocksock. Not a whole lot of time for casual dating in between.”

A deep silence permeated the studio as two boom mic operators swapped awkward glances. Jack didn’t attempt to defend himself- he was sort of a cocksock. David Jacobs had asked him to uproot what little life he had in New York and move to Santa Fe for a prestigious, so-accolated-you-could-cry medical school, and Jack Kelly broke up with him over containers of kung pao chicken and scattered rose petals. He was a cocksock, a dickhead, and complete asshole. An ex-boyfriend of mass proportions.

“Okay, so.” Specs was wiping at his glasses with the tail of his shirt. Jack wanted to snap them in half. “Today’s video is entitled ‘Exes kiss for the first time since their breakup’. If you need more explanation…”

“I think we’ve got it.” David snapped, clenching his fists rapidly.

Jack stepped half an inch closer to David and began murmuring under his breath. “Davey, if you don’t want-”

“Don’t call me Davey.” His eyes were alight with flame- Jack’s chest caught fire.

Of all the things that felt domestic when dating Davey Jacobs, kissing him never managed to become routine. Davey kissed like he earnestly meant it. The gears in his brilliant mind would grind to a halt so he could dedicate himself to the lilting curve of Jack’s mouth, a gentle sweep of warmth when the artist’s mouth was otherwise preoccupied with his needless words, and the world would spin on a delicate axis. (Jack’s shoulders rose to meet Davey, the physical ache of being someone’s other half drawing him forward. Davey had avoided him for so long, Jack living on a diet of lingering stares and a brief touch of the hand, that kissing him felt like a dying man knelt at a replenished well. How did they exist for so long without this innate knowledge of the universe? Could he stand to go on a single second longer without the praise of Davey Jacob’s lips?) Of all the things Jack missed about spending his life with Davey Jacobs, kissing him was certainly one of them.

There was a moment where the pads of Jack’s fingertips brushed the nape of David’s neck, a habit borne from the small noise it would draw from the back of his throat, and the steely corporate floor felt more like the worn carpet in the old thirty-second street apartment. Jack could feel his thready pulse with the gentle press of a thumb.

Davey was a fan of the dramatics- he would pull away from a passionate kiss in the middle of a busy New York street to stare into Jack’s eyes, foreheads gently touching and cheeks furiously blushing. Now, he simply drew back. Took a step away. Swiped at his lips with the back of his hand.

Jack felt like he was falling. (“If you ever break up with me,” Jack began. He laughed at Davey’s unexpected shudder, the honest and visceral kind. “Make it quick.”

“What about when you break up with me?” Davey peered over his glasses.

Crinkling his nose, Jack quickly answered before the other boy could detail any breakup preferences. “I’m not an idiot, Dave. ‘M not going anywhere.”)

---

He stared at the limp fifty dollars in his hand. Romeo had apologized, explaining that the people who had organized this got half the cut, and handed them both an envelope- Jack, one with “Tony Higgins” that he planned to run through his shredder, and David, one with “Sarah Jacobs,” which made Jack gawk in disbelief.

Jack didn’t want to walk away; David’s feet were shuffling against the worn pavement.

“It’s funny,” David started. “I listened to a lot of Taylor Swift to get over you.”

He winced. “Sorry?”

“Please. I know she’s been your top artist since 2013.”

(Katherine walked through a worryingly unlocked apartment door. “Is that... Begin Again? Jack, what the fuck are you doing?” She had seconds to worry about the cluster of wilted flower petals her heel had put a hole through before Sarah pointed at the pair of legs sticking out of the bathroom’s entrance.) “Yeah, okay. Fair. But… funny? Did I miss a joke?”

David closed his eyes to roll them, as he so often did when he was trying to be polite, and it hurt to be on the receiving end. “We just had our last kiss. You know, like-”

“I’m Joe Jonas?” Jack interrupted, bewildered. The semi-glare he received in return was all he needed to know- “Right. Dickhead. Listen, Dave- David, why didn’t you tell me you were back in town?”

There was a brief moment where something unrecognizable flashed over David’s face- pity? Regret? Dejection? It was quickly replaced by a soft smile tugging at the edge of his lips, his eyes glazed over with a practiced professionalism. “I’ll see you around, Jack. Have a good day.”

David turned and walked down the street, and Jack just missed the passing moment he chose to look back.

---

Comment on EXES KISS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THEIR BREAKUP by IncredibleKinsey: those two dudes are all mad and then just make out like that????? yeah okay call me when the wedding happens

[shirtlesssammy]

15x18: Despair

Then:

The entire fandom preparing for this episode

Now:

We literally start off right where we left off last week. Jack is a ticking time bomb. Sam hauls his nephew/son into the war room. Team Free Will freak out and try to come up with a plan. Jack wants to get far away from them. “Don’t let me hurt you.” AGGHH. We’re fine. It’s only 2 minutes into the episode, WE’RE FINE. Dean insists that they’re not giving up on him, and we love a good 180. 

Billie pops up and tells them all that she can’t stop what’s happening to Jack, but she can help. 

She sends him to the Empty where he promptly explodes. 

Billie explains to the trio that the Empty was the only place/entity that could absorb that kind of power. Jack could survive --and the Empty could survive, but it won’t be happy. Billie points out that the Empty will want her, but can’t get to Earth without being summoned (coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool). 

Billie wants God’s book back from Sam. Sam Fucking Winchester confronts Billie about her end game plans of restoring order --and sending all of them back to their death. Billie tells Sam that if they want Jack back, he’ll give her the book. 

JACK’S ALIVE!

Petty, petty, sullen Sam brings Billie the book, but throws it on the table instead of handing it to her, and we love him and his insolent little heart. 

She grabs the book and starts to open it. Cas wonders what she’s doing. 

She tells them that God’s book has a new ending. Dean’s done and wants Jack back. 

Meanwhile, the Empty recorpealizes and is D O N E. She drags Jack to her and just as she’s about to HURT HIM, he disappears. 

He’s home, but Billie claims him. Dean doesn’t like that idea so he grabs Death’s scythe before she can ditch the bunker with the kid. He slices her arm and she sends him flying. Billie disappears without the book, her scythe, or Jack. 

Later, the Brothers Winchester take a moment in the library. Dean apologizes for pulling a gun on Sam. 

(Listen, if we’re going full Bicon clown with Dean these next couple of weeks, this shot reminds me SO MUCH of the shot of James Dean from Giant.)

He also breaks down that Chuck is probably now all powerful, they’re on Billie’s hit list, Jack’s powerless, and Michael’s in the wind. They toast to their impossible odds. 

*Charlie and her cute GF Alert*

Stevie, the cutie from episode 3 is making perfect scrambled eggs for Charlie, and I’m dying inside. Charlie suggests a hunter’s date, and they smile and ARE CUTE, and I’m dying inside. The eggs are perfect, but this story isn't. Stevie just poofs away before Charlie’s eyes. 

Cut to Dean and Sam checking out Charlie’s place to piece together what happened. Charlie tells the brothers that she didn’t see or feel anything before Stevie disappeared. 

Outside, Cas waits with Jack. Cas asks how Jack is doing. 

Jack feels “strange”. He doesn’t know how to feel now that he’s not needed for the big plan. Cas assures him that he wasn’t there to get absolution from the Winchesters. “We don’t care about you because you’re useful or you fit into some grand design. We care about you because you’re you.” BRB CRYING. 

Jack is crying, I’m crying, and the world is crumbling. Jack is scared, and Cas, gripping his son’s shoulder, tells him that he’s scared too. 

Inside, the brothers tell Charlie that they think that Billie’s killing people that shouldn’t be on Earth. Charlie gets upset and admits that she promised herself that she wouldn’t do “the love thing” again. Sam gets a call from Bobby. More people are disappearing. Dean points out that no one is safe. 

Sam instantly thinks of Eileen AND WE HAVE EMOTIONS. They take off to find Eileen. 

Sam texts Eileen as they drive, but doesn’t tell her what’s up. Sam watches the dots...until they disappear. Hahahahahahah, NOPE.

They get to Eileen’s place and find her purse and phone on the sidewalk. 

She’s gone. “If I let myself go there, I’ll lose my mind.” AND WE’RE RIGHT THERE WITH YOU SAMMY. 

Sam activates action mode. He tells the others that they need to protect the other hunters from Alt World. Dean tells Sam that he should do this, but he’s going to make Billie pay. “I’ll go with you, Dean,” Cas volunteers. OF COURSE. 

We jump to a close up on Donna and her fabulous D-TRAIN license plate. Readers, I love her. She talks to Sam over the phone. She’s found a silo they can ward up and hide out in while Dean and Cas try to take out Billie. When Sam hangs up, he notices that Jack’s looking unrooted and gives him a job to do. Jack “has to drive” so that Sam can do work. Jack scooches over to the driver’s seat, ready to do something at last. Readers, I love Sam.

Dean and Cas arrive at the bunker and make plans to barge into Billie’s library. Dean plans to trash the place like a particularly unruly raccoon who breaks into a kitchen, until Billie arrives to stop them. He grabs Death’s scythe and they’re off. 

When Sam and Jack arrive at the silo, Donna tells Sam that she’s there for him - whatever he needs. 

The hunter network is on high alert, and Bobby’s got his AU crew holed away in the silo already.  Charlie pulls up, transformed from her sunset bright t-shirt into apocalypse world Charlie again.

Sam joins the crew in the warehouse and reconnects with Bobby, who immediately informs him that Sam’s the boss of the operation. When Bobby told the hunters that Sam wanted them to head to the silo, “they came running, no hesitation.” ….Excuse me, I have something in my eye. They’ve warded the whole silo with every warding they can throw at it, and Sam’s using one of Rowena’s spells (EXCUSE ME, I HAVE SOMETHING IN MY EYE) to bolster the strength of the sigils. 

Jack and Donna are painting sigils together, when Jack notices a plant. She recommends pulling it to protect the warding, but when Jack extends his hand it withers and dies.

Dean and Cas creep into the library, where Billie stands waiting for them. Dean tells her that they’re after her because she’s been killing off his friends. Her only reply is, “Interesting.”

Dean jabs Billie in her wounded shoulder, and the pain is high enough that Dean can get the upper hand. She holds the scythe at bay with just her hand, and Dean orders her to call off the hits. Billie laughs right in his face. She’s not killing anyone! Dean’s little papercut to her shoulder is enough to kill her, so her only plan at this point is to kill herself a Winchester and go out in a blaze of vengeance. 

Sam powers up the warding in the silo, ready to defend against Billie. Meanwhile, Billie thinks Chuck’s the likely one who’s been disappearing people. Quickly enough, a little girl is the first to disappear. As her family breaks down into full freak-out mode, all the hunters hiding out in the silo flash away. ALL OF THEM.

Hey, if I have to suffer, you have to suffer.

Sam, Jack, and Donna can only watch this with horror and then Donna looks down at her hands. She smokes out too. NOOOOOOOOOO!

Billie power-smacks Dean across the room. It’s vengeance time! As much as I don’t want Those Two Idiots™ to die, it is lovely to see Billie storm around in battle-Death mode. 

Dean and Cas race into the bunker without a plan, Billie in pursuit. It’s only moments before Dean is buckling. As he collapses, we reveal Billie on the balcony. I do love how this is framed!

She’s clutching Dean’s heart in her grip and pursues them through the bunker. “I’ve got you,” Cas tells Dean as he supports him. HELP, I’ve been murdered by emotion!

Cas directs them to the dungeon, grabs Dean’s pocket knife from his back pocket (I’m FINE, btw), and slices his hand. Quickly, he wards the door with a sigil, and Dean recovers instantly.

That is, he recovers physically. Emotionally, he is in ROUGH SHAPE. While Billie pounds away at the sigil, Dean realizes that they’re trapped. He blames himself - he was angry and needed something to kill and that’s ALL HE KNOWS HOW TO DO. f r o w n y f a c e

Dean’s in a pretty bad headspace. He thinks Billie’s going to break in and kill Cas, then himself, and then EVERYBODY ELSE. He apologizes, while Cas puts his strategic commander-of-garrisons brain to work. There is ONE thing that Billie’s afraid of. 

Readers, it was at this point that Boris and I were shouting our usual gleeful shit at the TV. Things like, “Lay one on him, Cas, and the Empty can come!” And then CAS SAYS, “I made a deal.”

“Kiss ‘im,” I murmur while wondering WHAAAAAAT IS HAPPENING when Cas brings up the “moment of true happiness” requirement. At this point, I’m thinking they’re in the dungeon and it’s full of spellwork supplies probably. So, like, I guess they’ll light some quick candles and summon the Empty? 

We fall silent as Cas starts talking about FEELINGS. “The one thing I want, it’s something I know I can’t have.” He says this RIGHT TO DEAN’S FACE. RIGHT IN OUR FACES. “Happiness isn’t in the having. It’s in just being. It’s in just saying it.” 

We stop breathing.

And then Cas murders us forever when he shifts to talking about Dean. He knows Dean sees himself as a killer, a “blunt instrument.” But Cas sees him differently, and his way is true: Dean cares more than anyone Cas has ever met. He’s powered by love and not anger. “You’re the most caring man on Earth. You are the most selfless, loving human being I will ever know. Ever since we met. Ever since I pulled you outta Hell, knowing you has changed me. Because you cared, I cared. I cared about you. I cared about Sam. I cared about Jack. I cared about the whole world because of you. You changed me, Dean.”

Cas is crying and we are murdered dead in our beds by this show. 

Dean thinks it sounds like goodbye. “That’s because it is,” Cas tells him. And then he follows up with one last thing. “I love you.” 

And...it’s there. The love we’ve seen in his eyes for eleven seasons is there, out loud, and centered on Dean. We joke a lot at ShirtlessSammy about the need to just KISS ALREADY but this flayed us in the way a kiss could never do. It heightens everything. Castiel’s care for Dean, his loyalty and friendship now have a new layer - that of textual, unrequited love. We’ve obviously been personally clinging to the destiel train car for quite some time, but laying out Castiel’s feelings and saying it’s enough for him to acknowledge them out loud is SO POWERFUL. As a love story, it’s tragic beauty. As a personal coming out story, it’s just BEAUTY. 

For HARD TO PROCESS Science:

With this dropped between them, Dean can read the writing on the wall. “Don’t do this, Cas,” he begs. Immediately, gooey sounds begin to squish out from the brick wall behind Dean. 

The empty swirls in, and Billie breaks through the door at last. Cas grasps Dean by the shoulder. “Goodbye, Dean,” he says, hurling him away from the twin threats. 

In an instant, the Empty advances, swallowing Cas and Billie and retreating back into the wall without so much as a howdy. (Please join me for a displeased hiss at Billie’s apparent demise.)

Sam and Jack emerge from the silo, shocked. Sam tries calling Dean, while Jack looks around. Jack wonders if it was just the people in the silo who disappeared. 

The camera POV pans out to abandoned playground equipment, still-spinning bicycle wheels, and cars left behind on the road. It’s the end of the world, and suddenly the world feels too big. Too lonely.

We cut to Dean. He’s on the floor in the same place Castiel threw him. His phone rings. It’s Sam. Dean stares at it, before dropping it to the floor. He pulls himself inward, and the episode ends on the sounds of choked sobbing.

Boris and I are monsters, as WE end the episode entirely too jubilant for words. Here’s to being right! Readers, while Boris can’t fully hope for a happy ending (gotta protect that heart), Natasha has zero doubts. We’re getting them back, damn it! And love’s gonna light the way.

Never Gonna Quote Me Away (From You!):

I don’t wanna hurt you. Don’t let me hurt you.

To somehow

I wanted to make things right. And now I don’t know why I’m here

Let’s go reap a reaper

I brought a bucket

I guess this is the part where I say, “Hello, boys”

It’s you, Dean. It’s always been you. Death defying. Rule breaking. You are everything I live to set right. To put down. To tame. You are human disorder incarnate

You think that hate and anger - that’s what drives you. It’s not. Everyone who knows you sees it. Everything you have ever done - the good and the bad - you have done for love.

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 

[rainydayhogwartsimagines]

What dating draco as a hufflepuff is like pt 2:

Trigger warnings: Death, bodily harm and war.

Draco was at a loss for words with you

My God you were gorgeous to him

He and you were just so focused on each other the entire night

And a funny thing happened

You kissed.

You walked into your common room heels in hand and squealing.

Everyone loved seeing you happy that night...

You didn't realize how everything was about to change.

The final trial was coming up and you and Draco were now officially a couple

You sat next to him, hand in hand, a couple of whispers in the other's ear followed by giggling

You were happy

Then the end came

Harry won and you cheered until you noticed Cedric.

All sound drowned out as you ran down to them and Draco's eyes were huge.

Dead.

Cedric was actually dead.

You were crying the entire night, no one even daring to touch you.

When Draco showed up to help everyone basically just said "Do something. We don't know what to do."

You couldn't sleep anymore, it all came back to you

You'd wake up crying and screaming

Your parents could see how tired you were.

But this summer something definitely changed

Draco was now more hush hush about something

He absolutely hated keeping things from you

You didn't really care though about the secrets, you were too tired to care

Then that bitch Umbridge came in.

You were promoted to head girl and Draco was Head boy

For some reason he was the golden child to her

So getting away with being with him wasn't too hard

For him

She'd punish you. By carving into your skin with her wand

When he found out about it he was livid.

You had to calm him.

You were slowly coming back to your normal self.

Fred and George told you about their plan after you caught them with fireworks

You did a glance back and smirked.

"Fucking do it. I want to see pictures of Umbridge's face when it happens too."

Sure enough they did and you were laughing the entire time

Considering your friendship with the boys her natural reaction was to assume you were in on it.

So you got dragged back to her office

This time neither Draco or Harry was having it.

Both barged in and told her if she even so much as breathed in your direction she'd regret it

She expected that from Harry.

But Draco?

Oh no she was angry.

But Draco wouldn't back down.

He did something Harry didn't expect.

Draco threatened to tell his father what was happening

And Umbridge was suddenly off his back.

Harry was stone cold at first but slowly warmed up to Draco being in your life.

As did Ron and Hermione.

You were now noticing the secretive nature of Draco and he was anxious

The summer involved you both staying at draco's and the burrow.

You spent the first half of it at the burrow

And when you did finally go to the manor it was very clear why Draco was secretive.

Voldemort. Was right in front of you.

The whole family was dead silent as you dropped your bag and gulped.

That's when an idea hit you.

You did a curtsy and Lucius rose a brow and Draco was taken aback.

"Who is this... Girl?" Voldemort asked sending shivers down your spine.

"She is my son's... Fiancee." Lucius said making Draco look at you and then his father.

You cleared your throat. "Sorry. What?"

"the engagement dear." Narcissa said looking at the dark lord and then you as a way to say "GO ALONG WITH THIS."

You nodded and chuckled. "Right! Right. Still new to... All of this please forgive me." You said.

Voldemort was suspicious of you, naturally.

But after a long summer of lying he didn't doubt your loyalty after there was a legitimate engagement ring on your finger.

Which you were taken aback by.

Especially when you and Draco finally had a calm moment of peace and you asked him if he wanted this to be legitimate and he said of course.

So you ended up engaged, agreeing to marry after... Everything was over.

You then became a double agent

Which so did Draco. Because that was dangerous and he wasn't letting you do this alone

You'd report back to Harry what you learned with Draco

You were more so just present when secrets were given, not really told them

Draco would tell them everything though in full.

Everything came to screeching halt though on information after Draco walked out of his father's study pale

You two went to the burrow and he basically was shaking.

He couldn't say what they asked him to do all they knew is that it was bad and it was going to involve a fight.

And then later that year it was made clear what he was asked to do

Dumbledore was killed

And you and him both were given the marks of death eaters.

You absolutely loathed it too, as did Draco.

It didn't help that the situation was getting worse with Harry too

After the vault incident your friends were being held captive and you were just staying near Draco to keep from saying anything.

And then Bellatrix got a hold of Hermione

You watched as Hermione screamed in agony

It didn't help that you had to fight them at one point either.

Which you ended up injured after the chandelier fell

Draco tended to your wounds, apologizing over and over again for you being hurt.

You kept telling it was okay, you weren't badly hurt.

You knew the war was starting soon and Draco almost wanted to send you away with your parents but you refused to leave.

You told your parents though, to quote: "get the fuck out of London. Trust me."

So they did. They promised they'd be back when you needed them and you gave them hugs before leaving.

Snape's death was a shocking thing to come back to, increasing Draco's anxiety about the two of you being double agents.

The battle was coming and you were spending any free moments looking at hogwarts because you knew things were going to change.

Then the battle broke out.

People were dying left and right and you were having a hard time keeping up.

You didn't even have time to mourn Lindsey as she took a hit for you.

You however noticed something hurdle towards Fred and you slammed into him, taking the hit instead.

That's when both Fred and George went to find Draco

They did, explaining exactly what happened

That you were protecting the students who were injured and you noticed something about to hit Fred from an explosion.

Draco immediately booked it and found you barely clinging to life.

There was a fucking miracle though

Remember how you were a good person with animals?

Fawkes took a loving to you. You were his last tie with hogwarts and he managed to lend a few tears, sealing any major wounds.

You smiled at the creature, giving it loving pets and thanking him

Everyone was relieved to see you safe, especially Draco.

You were a crying mess though when you were with Tonks and Remus in their final moments, asking you to make sure Teddy ended up with Harry or you.

You agreed and had a full blown meltdown when they died.

With you being in the medical wing many people saw that mark.

So now you were in immediate danger

Then that time came where Harry was killed.

Your heart pounded and you swallowed hard seeing your dead friend in Hagrid's arms.

Everyone was divided and you decided that wherever Draco went you would follow.

Draco whispered a quick plan that you both would go over to the dark side just to get the elder wand.

You were ending this in whatever way you needed to.

You both did and everyone who stood with Hogwarts was shocked.

Thankfully Neville knew this was a fluke after you looked at them and then him and shook your head, passing it off as you stretching.

That's when Harry came back, gasping for air and falling onto the ground

You slammed into Lucius, Draco grabbing the wand and throwing it to Harry

The battle was in your court now, you being able to fight for the side you really wanted before it reached it's peak

Harry and Voldemort fighting, the magic lighting up the courtyard.

And then... Nothing.

Voldemort was gone and the death eaters knew they were screwed.

Most of them retreated and were later apprehended by the ministry.

Including Draco's parents.

You both were finally free though, both of you finding ways to remove that damn mark.

Molly was grateful for you saving her son and actually threw a proper engagement party now that the war was over

Draco was nervous seeing as Ron never fully trusted him but after he found out that he helped defend Molly from Bellatrix he was all for the guy.

Everyone was finally celebrating, raising glasses to honor the lost ones they couldn't save.

You went on to become a professor for magical creatures

And Draco became a healer, working along side Madame Pomfrey

Later down the road you two had twins.

Cedric and Lindsey Malfoy.

You both assured them that any house was going to be wonderful.

When Harry saw you two again there were smiles

"Potter."

"Malfoy... Still an arse?" Harry asked making you snort as you waved the twins off.

"According to my wife, yes." Draco nodding making Ron and Hermione laugh.

You all went out for dinner, catching up and talking about life

This. This was family

And there wasn't a damn thing you'd change about them either.

[everybodyscupoftea]

sick (of you)

pike jj x reader

cody and jj are idiots, you have to deal with it

pre-relationship - sorry but i’m sure y’all knew it was coming eventually

(warnings: cursing, zero? editing)

“I told you,” you paced, “I literally told you fucking idiots that it was a dumb idea. And did you listen to me? Of course not. Don’t know why, I’m clearly the smartest one in the group.” 

JJ was sitting on the couch, arms crossed petulantly, frowning, until he couldn’t hold his breath any longer and had to open his mouth to breathe.

“Fucking mouth breather,” you muttered. “Hey,” JJ protested, sounding stuffy, “it’s not my fault, it’s Tyler’s. He’s the one that challenged us in the first place.”

“And if Tyler challenged you to jump off a cliff,” you started, only to be interrupted by the man himself.

“Now there’s an idea.”

“No,” you glared at him, “no dying on my watch.” 

“Simply do not watch,” he shrugged.

Ignoring him, you went on, “Now all you idiots are sick and who has to house you for the time being? Me. Because the rest of the house kicked you out so you didn’t spread it to all of them.” 

“I really don’t think we would,” Cody spoke up for the first time.

“I really think you would, boys are fucking gross as it is.” 

“Yet here you are,” JJ smirked.

“Only because I love you guys, I wouldn’t otherwise.” 

“Hmm, I disagree, you’re simply the best of us.” 

“Well I certainly suppose that’s the truth,” you decided to take the compliment even though Cody was clearly just buttering you up.

You sighed, as JJ coughed pathetically, “Some soup would be awesome,” he suggested.

“Sure. I’ll order some from Panera. Then Tyler can babysit while I take a shower.” 

“Woah,” Tyler held his hands up, “why do I have to babysit?”

“You’re the reason they jumped into the pool in 20 degree weather asshole. Reap what you sow,” you pointed at him accusingly.

He sighed, put upon, “Fine.” 

“You guys are just lucky Zach is out of town because if he weren’t and I couldn’t see him until you fools get better, I’d be mad.”

“Where’s Zach?” JJ asked, sitting up.

“He’s with his parents for the next two weeks. He’s coming back straight after Christmas.” 

Cody waved his hand, “It’s fine, we’ll FaceTime him eventually.”

-

Tyler left after a day because he didn’t want to get sick. He said it wasn’t his fault they forgot to get their flu shots. Which, to be fair, it wasn’t yours either, but you were nice enough to let them crash on an air mattress in your living room for the time being.

And to your fear, they got stir crazy quick. Cody was the first to start whining, “We’ve literally watched everything on Netflix.” 

You raised your eyebrows, “They literally posted a new season of Criminal Minds yesterday that we haven’t even started yet. I’m literally waiting on you hand and foot. Not getting paid and risking my health. What the fuck could you possibly be complaining about?” 

Cody did at least have the decency to look a little chargrained, “You’re right, I’m sorry.” 

You sighed, thinking a few seconds, “I could paint your nails if you want.” 

JJ brightened immediately, “Yes please. Can you do Christmas colors? Tis the season and whatnot.”

Standing from the couch, you shrugged, “Unsure, let me go check what colors I have.” 

There was no green, but you did have red and white, JJ hummed, “Candy cane. Good enough for me.” 

“I’m not doing stripes,” you warned, “but I’ll alternate fingers.”

“Deal.”

So you settled in, all three of you on the floor, and started the new season of Criminal Minds. It started quiet, but Cody got antsy quickly and started talking, “So, how are things with you and Zach?” 

“Good,” you answered, tongue sticking out a bit in focus, “I talked to him last night. Things are going well at home. As well as can be at least.” 

JJ knew nothing about Zach’s home life and the pressure his family but on him, but Cody did, so he nodded understandingly, “Fuck, well I’m glad it’s not a total shitshow.” 

“Yeah. When he gets back we’re celebrating our anniversary. It was actually a few weeks ago, but obviously finals and now he’s not here so.” 

“Oh yeah, what are you getting him?” JJ asked eagerly, crossing his legs and leaning forward on his elbows.

Your cheeks heated up, “It sounds so dumb, but I was planning for the main gift to be me telling him that I love him.” 

Cody cooed and JJ wrinkled his eyebrows, “You haven’t told him yet?” 

Sighing, you looked up at him, “No, why?” 

“Has he told you?” 

“Well, yeah.” 

JJ hummed, “I see.”

Defensively, you crossed your arms, “I’m not obligated to tell him just because he’s told me. That’s not how relationships work.”

JJ’s eyebrows shot up and he held his hands out, “Hey, not accusing. Just wondering. It’s not personally how I’d like things to be done.” 

You scoffed, slamming the cap back into the nail polish bottle, “Well guess what, you not only have zero say in my relationship, you also have zero control over me or my feelings. Zach and I have talked about it and turns out he’s not a selfish dickhead and understands where I’m coming from.” 

Cody raised his eyebrows at your snap and put a hand on your shoulder, “Help us understand, sweetheart. Talk it out.” 

Without meaning to, you teared up, frustrated that you had to defend yourself to two boys who didn’t really need to know, but you were going to do it anyway.

“I don’t want to say I love you to someone until we’ve been dating at least a year. Because love is a choice, feelings of attraction are how two people get together, but feelings fade, ask literally any girl. Based on how you know that person, you choose to keep being with them. You choose to love them despite their flaws, despite their mistakes, and despite the things you may not like so much about them.”

You paused, taking a shuddering breath and blinked back the tears, “And once I’ve chosen that person for a year and they’ve chosen me. Then I’ll say it. Because being in love with someone isn’t something I just take flippantly, it’s not just a word to casually throw around. It means something to me. So I’m sorry if my reasoning isn’t up to your standards.”

They were both quiet for a moment, JJ wouldn’t meet your eyes, but Cody lunged forward, wrapping his arms around you tightly. For a split second, you melted into it before realizing he was there because he had the flu and jerked away.

Face hot you stood up, “Finish your own nails, I’ll be in my room.”

Pacing a few times, you turned your phone over in your hands anxiously. You didn’t have anything to prove to them, you and Zach really had talked about it. But as tears rose in your eyes, and your throat tightened, you dialled the number.

Zach picked up on the second ring, greeting you breathlessly. You could hear the smile on his lips and had to wonder how the fuck you deserved this sweet sweet boy. And it was very clear to you, you loved him, would keep choosing him because no one else knew you quite like him, not even your friends.

“Hey hon,” you managed to croak out.

He sounded concerned, “What’s wrong, sweetheart.” 

“I just,” you paused and twisted your fingers in your shirt until you’d calmed down, “I wanted to let you know that I love you.” 

Zach was quiet, stunned into it if you had to guess, and he eventually whispered back, “I love you too.”

It gave you enough relief to lay down and relax. The two of you spent the next few minutes catching up, and eventually went silent, listening to each other breathe.

“I missed you,” you whispered, and then a bit louder, “or I guess I should say miss.”

“I miss you too, so much. I want to see you, and my parents haven’t been,” he paused, looking for the word, “good enough to justify me staying here.”

You sat up, excited, “Seriously?” 

“Seriously.”

“Oh my god. Okay, I’ll see you soon?”

“You absolutely will.” 

When you walked back out to rejoin the boys, you felt significantly better. Sitting down, in the armchair instead of the couch with them like you had been, you told them cheerfully, “Better get well soon because Zach is coming home early, and I’m ready to see him.”

Cody cheered and JJ looked at you with a face you couldn’t quite figure out. After a few seconds, you got a bit annoyed, “What?”

“Nothing,” he mumbled, finally looking away.

~

day 16 of @obxmermaid​‘s holiday challenge: under the weather

[fxrstreaper]

Blooming Sorrow

Quick thing I pulled together in a few hours ��️ Kind of a vent-y piece too so ummm 🤠

I took a lot of liberties with how pacts and magic work uhhh do pardon that 😅 I’ll probably post this to my AO3 (same name as here) as well so do look for it there too! 

The battle and summoning aspects mentioned in the beginning is meant to be reminiscent of Fire Emblem Heroes, which I’ll probably go into the details of my idea with at a later date. With that in mind, you can probably guess who I based Fallen Rheannon off of if you’re a Fire Emblem fan.

The character Pandora is my reinterpretation of the purple haired succubus from the A Cup of Red Coffee chat image, who you can find my designs of on my art account @obeyme_rheannon,  on Instagram. 

All in all, I feel this is the most personal emotion I’ve ever put into a piece, for good reason, and so I hope you enjoy!

~

“There is no hope.” said Pandora to the lesser demon before unleashing the full might of Scabiosa, a rain of glowing purple thorns falling upon the hapless demon, which was then slammed by a vine of the same colour and iridescence, longer and thicker than a pillar. The demon disappeared, as all of them did to recover for the next battle, and just in time as Rheannon plowed through, spear in hand with a roar of “We won’t lose!”

…the real Rheannon, anyway.

Pandora soon found herself approached by the alternate that Rheannon had managed to summon the other day. Physically, they were one and the same. Emotionally and in terms of how they dressed, they could not be more different. 

The real Rheannon was kind and jovial even during the heat of battle. Quick to cut down her foes so they’d feel as little pain as possible. Easy to approach, and seemed to draw others to her. This…Fallen Rheannon, as the real one had taken to calling her, was devoid of any and all kindness. Merciless as she burned her foes into nothing from the inside out, with a flame that was not really a flame as it held no warmth. Solitary, and unsettling enough that her presence was enough to put the likes of even Pandora on edge.

Whereas Rheannon dressed in bright colours of cyan and white, symbolic of the beacon she’d become for demons, angels and humans alike, the alternate dressed in dark colours of red and black, in no way trying to hide her nature as a fallen hero.

“You know,” The alternate’s voice was laced with some sort of demonic reverb. Which made sense, as according to Rheannon, this alternate had sold her soul away by reciting a spell which allowed the pacts to corrupt her. 

“Once, a long time ago, I would have disagreed with you.”

The demon brothers of her world had tried to reverse the effects of the spell, and Rheannon’s trailing off when she was explaining the alternate’s origin heavily implied that the alternate had either killed or severely injured at least one of them. She had then escaped into the furthest reaches of her Devildom, plotting to attack the human world and purge it of its corruption. Until she’d been pulled here. ”Once, I may have told you that hope can move mountains. That hope is what makes or breaks someone, be they demon, angel, human or otherwise. That hope can unify and divide nations. Build and tear down empires. Preserve and destroy life.” The alternate—Fallen Rheannon, she reminded herself—looked at her with Rheannon’s eyes. But they were soulless and cold, devoid of the light that the real Rheannon’s eyes sparkled with so brightly, the warmth they radiated that brought comfort to even Pandora’s icy heart.

“But that was once, a long time ago.” Fallen Rheannon stared into the distance. “I forgive my old self for being so trusting, so loving, so naive. But I no longer believe in what she would tell you. I can’t, believe in what she would tell you. Not after what I have witnessed of humanity.” ”And what have you witnessed exactly, Rheannon?” The name burned her tongue to say, for there was no way this…husk, could be Rheannon. But Fallen Rheannon responded anyway.

”Betrayal. Heartbreak. Despair. Over and over and over again. I can no longer believe her now, not after people I loved, respected, admired, adored, cried with, cried for, prayed for… betrayed my trust. Broke my heart. Plunged me into the depths of despair over and over and over again.” Her empty eyes met Pandora’s, and she could’ve sworn there was…pain in them?

“So, your true goal is not to purge the world of its corruption; that’s just a front to make yourself seem like some kind of noble demon, so that others are less inclined to step in even with the forbidden power you wield.” The purple haired succubus deduced. “What you really plan is—“

“To plunge the world into despair and pain and sorrow.” Fallen Rheannon finished for her. “Make the world feel the same despair and pain and sorrow that it dealt to me.” 

Pandora remained silent.

“The world withered away the faith I had in others to nothing, because people are so stupid and selfish, dying to defend what they know is not right—whether it be illegal or taboo or inhumane or the actions of their own sorry carcasses—to their last breaths!” Fallen Rheannon was roaring now, her words pure venom even as they remained so very vague. Somewhere, the old Rheannon that she spoke of must still be in there, despite her claims to the contrary. What exactly happened to the real Rheannon that would cause this to befall an alternate of her? Pandora would have to ask…and then repay anyone she mentioned in full for their kindness to her dear friend. ”All I ever wanted was for the people who betrayed me, broke me, destroyed me piece by piece, to be honest; I believed once that people can change. People can make amends. People can grow and learn and atone for their mistakes. They made mistakes, I won’t deny that; I called one of them out for their mistakes for God’s sake.” The name made Pandora flinch, but she remained calm. 

“But I believed that they could change; I wanted so badly to think that they would see what they’d done wrong, that they’d admit that they’ve hurt others… because I loved them. I loved them. Others loved them. And they spat on all of us like we were dirt to them. Less than dirt to them.”

There were tears building in her eyes, to Pandora’s utter shock. This was the first time Fallen Rheannon had ever shown emotion beyond zealotry in her belief of purging corruption, beyond mercilessness in destroying those who stood in her way. Pandora slowly reached a hand out to try and comfort the grieving monster, only for her to swat it away.

“But they didn’t. They never did. And they never will.” Fallen Rheannon took a deep breath, then looked Pandora directly into her eyes. Whatever tears she had glimpsed were gone, replaced by a cold, burning flame. The same flame, Pandora could feel, that slowly burned the candle of her hatred on a long, everlasting wick. The candle that had started burning the moment the power of the pacts had eaten away at her soul.

Fallen Rheannon would have forever to make her tormentors feel that hatred, too, because she had made herself immortal through the pacts. And she would be able to torture their souls long after their physical bodies withered away, no matter where they ended up. From what the real Rheannon would likely tell her, most of them would end up in the Devildom anyway, and it didn’t take a genius to get into Purgatory. Though it would take a lot of magic. And will power. But as Fallen Rheannon herself had already demonstrated, nothing would stand in her way. Pandora could not say she felt one ounce of pity for those people, whoever they were.

“But that’s alright. Because whether they remember me or not, I will come. One day, when I find a way out of this damned contract that my old self has me bound to, I will come. And remind them of the debts they owe.” She stared out over the battlefield, watching as the real Rheannon defeated yet another lesser demon. 

“But I will not kill them… or at least, I will try not to. After all, there is one thing that both me and my old self still believe in.”

“And what would that be?” Pandora willed her features to remain cool, neutral. As she had learned and become over the centuries.

The smile Fallen Rheannon gave her turned her blood to ice.

“That there are fates worse than death.”

[handonshipper]

If I Knew Then What I Know Now: Chapter Three

Hope headed downstairs after putting her father to sleep. The voices in her head caused by the Hollow were getting to her. It was getting harder and harder to manage. The most relief she had gotten since she took in the Hollow's magic again was when she was spending time with the waiter from the Mystic Grill, Landon Kirby, yesterday. Something about being around him was different. A little distracting at least. But she was dangerous to be around right now, and she knew it. Which was why she did not consider going to find him.

The tribrid wondered what exactly the waiter was doing in New Orleans, her home town. Was it merely a coincidence or something more? She felt drawn to trust Landon and felt comfortable around him, but she had also recently been betrayed by Roman, her ex boyfriend, which resulted in her mother's death. At the thought of this, the voices grew, and she struggled to ignore them. She breathed out slowly and entered Rousseau's bar. "Declan, hey, I need a favor from the bar." Suddenly her body froze as she spotted a familiar face, her anger flaring up again. Elijah Mikaelson. Her uncle. "What are you doing here? Killing my mom wasn't enough? Now you've come for Declan?"

"That's not what I'm here for." Elijah disagreed, but Hope didn't care. She just wanted to be angry at him. To not let her own guilt sink in. It was painful enough the brief moment it had while she was with Landon. It was easier for her to be angry with Elijah instead of facing all of it. And the voices in her head certainly weren't helping.

"He killed her" Declan said, stunned.

"That's not what happened." Elijah defended

"No, but if you weren't there, she'd still be alive." Hope said, and her rage fueled the voices, causing then only to get louder and louder. She clutched her head. "Stop! God, stop!"

"What's going on with you?" Declan asked, confused and concerned at what was happening to her. He moved to go towards her but stopped as Elijah grabbed his arm.

"Stop! Shut up! Shut up!" Hope shouted. Their voices certainly weren't helping the situation.

"What did you do?" Declan interrogated Elijah. Elijah grabbed him by the neck and pinned him up against the bar.

"Hey, don't hurt him!" Hope said, moving closer, momentarily distracted from the voices by the scene before her.

"I won't. We can't do this in front of him."

"Okay, fine." She waved her hand and put Declan to sleep. The human then fell to the floor. "Now it's just the two of us."

"My memory was gone. I didn't know who she was."

Considering everything the tribrid was feeling at the moment, that wasn't a good enough excuse. "Well, now you do. How does it feel?"

"Like the worst pain I've ever experienced."

The whispers got more intense in her head, and she put her hands on her head and looked around a little, trying to force away the voices. She lowered her hands and looked at her uncle. "I hate you."

"I hate me, too." Elijah said, self loathing obvious in his eyes.

Hope knew she shouldn't blame him, but right now she needed to be angry with someone, and it was easy to be angry with him. "You let her die." In a flash of rage, consumed by emotions and the hollow's magic, Hope waved a hand, cutting him magically repeatedly as though she was clawing into him until he collapsed

"Hope" spoke a familiar voice, but the tribrid didn't give herself a chance to process who the voice belonged to. In a flash of rage, she waved her hand back and caused a deep gash across the person that entered. "Hope" the voice repeated, though now it had a groan, and the tribrid suddenly realized who the voice belonged to.

Landon Kirby.

Landon was walking down the street as he thought about everything that happened. He wanted to make sure Hope was alright. He hadn't seen her since the day before. But he also did not want to interact with her, no matter how much he wanted to. He knew that he was no longer the same Landon Kirby he had been before he melted into a pile of goo. Before he had been sent to Malivore and lived what felt like years in complete isolation, Before he had to fight monsters in the prison world to survive.

He knew he was darker, fought with both brawn and brain. He attacked first and didn't let himself worry about the consequences. He just needed to fight and kill. That had been his mindset for the past several weeks since he got out of Malivore. And now he was here, surrounded by people.... It was a lot, and he wasn't sure that he could manage it well enough not to end up being a burden on Hope or anyone else.

Suddenly, he heard Hope's voice from inside Rousseau's as he neared it. "Stop! Shut up! Shut up! Hey, don't hurt him!" There was a little bit of a pause "You let her die!"

A concerned Landon Kirby stepped into Rousseau's and called out her name to get her attention. "Hope" Suddenly, without really paying attention to who it was, Hope waved a hand back. Suddenly, a large gash cut across Landon's chest magically, and he stumbled back a bit, leaning against the wall as blood started soaking his shirt. "Hope" he repeated, groaning a little in pain. This wasn't a wound he could exactly stitch up.

"Landon?" Hope questioned,   her eyes widening in horror at what she had done. "Oh god" she said as Landon slowly slid to the ground, putting pressure to his own wound. She grabbed something sharp from nearby and cut her palm. "Here, drink this", she said, putting it near his mouth but not on it.

Landon shook his head, not wanting to risk being sent back to Malivore. He wasnt sure what exactly happened. But he also didn't want to take any chances.

"It can heal you. Drink" Hope said, looking at him, her eyes wide in concern.

Landon shook his head again. "Not you" he said, forcing back a groan of pain

A hurt expression flickered across her face, and she moved her hand away. He could see her wound closing up. Her uncle, Elijah, was healing from his own wounds at the moment.

"Hope. What happened?" Klaus questioned, walking inside the bar.

"I uh. I attacked Elijah, and Landon came in. And I accidentally hurt him too" Hope said. "And he's refusing to drink my blood. I don't know why. I told him it would help"

Klaus walked over and bit his own wrist before feeding it to Landon forcefully. Landon drank some of the hybrid's blood. He coughed some of it up, anxious about how vampire blood would affect him.  But the blood already started to heal him. His eyes drifted shut and Landon lost consciousness.

Hope was pacing downstairs in the Mikaelson home, trying to keep herself calm and have as much control over the whispers as she could. It had died down after she hurt Elijah. The pain wasn't as bad as it had been before. But she knew it was only temporary. She looked up as her father came downstairs after putting Landon.

"How is he?" She asked immediately.

"He's alright, just sleeping. He's getting a bit feverish, but it's mild." Klaus said, looking at his daughter. "Who is he?"

"His name is Landon, and he's human. He, uh, he used to serve me milkshakes at the Mystic Grill. He took a trip here. I'm not sure how long he is staying. He says it depends on if he has reasons to stay."

"What was that? You won't take my help, you reject the bracelet, you're throwing Elijah around" Klaus said, looking at his daughter with worry.

"It stopped the voices." the tribrid admitted, trying not to sound as vulnerable as she felt.. She had all of this power and she knew it was killing her. And the voices were so intense, part of her wanted to scream and take out all of New Orleans to feel better.. But she didn't want to hurt people. She never wanted that. It was why she worked hard to control her magic so she never used too much. Never used more than necessary for a given occasion. Though she hadn't exactly been following her own rules lately.

Her father looked at her, stunned "What?"

"Ever since I took the power back, the whispers... I can't think, I can't sleep, I can't even breathe. But right now, it's silent. Is this the rest of my life? A rage that can only be quieted by violence?"

"Hope, if violence is what you need to feel better, then you have the perfect father. We'll handle this. In the meantime, you should probably keep your distance from your friend. Landon"

"I was thinking the same thing." Hope said, looking at him. "Thank you for bringing him here and making sure he was alright."

"You're welcome" Klaus said.

"I saw Landon yesterday" she said, trying to talk to him before the voices grew too loud again. "We talked for a bit, and I showed him around New Orleans"

"You could manage it? The voices?"

"It was... I don't know, easier around him. I can't explain it. It was still there and bothersome but it wasn't as bad. I have no idea why" Hope said as she followed her father upstairs to her room. "I thought I could handle it. I really did."

"You're handling it as best you can, and I'm gonna be here with you every step of the way." Klaus promised as he looked at his daughter.

"Will you stay with me awhile?"

"Of course I will. So do you like this boy?"

Hope was silent for a moment, but she was grateful for the focus on Landon instead of the voices constantly in her head. "Even if I did, it doesn't matter"

"What makes you say that?" Klaus questioned curiously.

"My last love interest betrayed me. I dont think I am exactly the right person to be dating"

"The first person I was truly involved with is currently under a sleeping spell in this very building." Klaus pointed out with a slight smile. "Do you like this boy"

"Yes. But I can't think about a relationship" Hope said. She never would be able to. She could feel herself dying. It wasnt fair to him. It wouldn't be fair to get involved with anyone while she was dying. Though she couldnt exactly say that to her father. "He's human. Our family gets ourselves involved in a lot of dangerous situations. And mom just-" She shook her head

"Your mother would want you to be happy"

"I know she would." the tribrid said simply but she had already made up her mind. She wanted Landon to be safe. Not be killed like Camille, Hayley, Jackson, and many others had been while close to their family. If he was genuinely as nice of a guy as he seemed, then she definitely didn't want to ruin his life, which is probably exactly what she would do if her family got involved with him. Invaded his life. He already got hurt because of her. Hope wasn't sure she could avoid that happening again if he didn't leave.

Hope was confused on why he was pushing her to be in a relationship, especially after how he reacted whenever anyone else got in a relationship. However, after looking at him for a moment, she recognized the reasoning from his expression. He wanted her to have hope. To find something to live for and to look forward to. Something to fight for besides family.

[mrfippstuff]

Fipp: This is just a crackship fic, nothing more.

Also, let's assume this takes place in an AU where things went better than they did in canon.

Schnee Sibling Brunch

Whitley has brunch with Weiss and Winter to better reconnect. Winter has a stroke. (Qrow/Willow Jaune/Winter crackship)

Among other things, Whitley had to admit that this was... nice. Yes, nice, that seemed like the proper way to refer to how the relationship between him and his sisters had developed recently. Much of the animosity had faded away and allowed them to grow a better and healthier interactions with one another, though they had yet to reach that stage and seemed to be in this awkward phases where none of them knew exactly how to talk to one another.

Or maybe it was just him. Weiss and Winter seemed to talk easily to each other well enough, and while he could have conversations with Weiss, with some struggle, talk between him and Winter was of a much more difficult manner, since neither one of them seemed to really know where to start there.

Hopefully these brunches Klein had suggested should help, having the three of them get together every once and awhile to talk about their weeks and breaks some ice between them. It could work, he thought, after all there were only three of them here, and in his experiences, more than three members of his family tended to end in arguments and yelling.

On the table, Weiss' scroll buzzed, slightly moving as it vibrated, while she gave an annoyed huff and chose to ignore it. That in itself isn't anything noteworthy, but what was that this was not the first time this had happened, and it had been going off nearly every minute since they sat down to eat.

“Aren't you going to answer that?” Winter asked, having taken a sip of her tea.

“It's only Ruby,” Weiss said with a roll of her eyes.

“Ruby? Whitley asked.

“Yes, Ruby. She's one of my teammates, you've met her before.”

Whitely tried to think of the faces of Weiss' friends, but while he knew what they looked liked, he couldn't say he ever got their names. “The one with the arm?” he tried.

“No, that's Yang. She's the one in the red hood.”

Oh yes, the one who crashed the sandwich tray last week. Wait...

“So the one named Ruby Rose is the one in the red cape?”

“Yes, what about it?”

“Doesn't that seem a bit on the nose?”

Weiss Schnee picked up her snowy-colored napkin and laid it across her lap, to protect her white dress from any stains or spills. “Of course not.”

“What does she keeping texting you about?” Winter asked.

“Well...” Weiss said, only to pause, looking as though she was not certain how to explain herself. “Okay, so you two know about the recent... situation with our parents, correct?”

A heavy tension suddenly appeared over the table, and Whitley felt his appetite vanish.. Everything between his father and mother, his father in particular, filled with him complicated feeling and emotions that he didn't know how to place or work through. So the best course of actions on dealing with them was to ignore them and hope that they somehow worked themselves out when he's not paying attention to them. Yes, that seemed like a good idea.

“Well, as we both know, Mom recently took up to dating again and-”

Winter made a gagging noise.

“Could we not talk about that please?” Winter said, putting a fist to her mouth, her skin taking on a slightly green complexion to it.

“Yes, I feel like there are other things we can talk about,” Whitley added, wishing the subject could be about anything else than this. The thousands of  square miles of barren icy desert outside the city would be a more interesting thing to talk about in his opinion.

“Are you going to do that every time someone brings up Qrow?” Weiss asked, glaring at Winter. “I would think you would be a bit more mature about this, at least more so than Whitley”

Yes, Qrow. That ragged-looking man. Whitley didn't care for him.

Wait.

“What do you mean more mature than me?” Whitley asked, staring daggers at Weiss, who only seemed to grow in annoyance with her sibling.

“Okay, listen,” Winter said, interrupting anything Weiss could have said to defend herself. “I'm happy for Mom wanting to move on, I really am, and while she would have to dig through the bottom of the barrel worst than Jacques, there are still plenty of options better than Qrow Branwen!”

“You're over exaggerating,” Weiss said, taking a sip of her coffee.

“I am not! He is an uncouth, vulgar, vagabond! Every encounter I have had with the man has ended with me wanting to stab him in the throat!”

“That's a bit violent, don't you think.”

“Also! He's a drunk! That's the last thing Mom needs right now!”

“Actually, Ruby told me Qrow hasn't had a single drop since we got to Atlas, and Yang says that he wants to take her to one of the meetings he's been going to.”

“Weiss, while Winter and I have some obvious reservations about Mother and Qrow being... together.” Again, Winter gagged, harsher this time, like she was fighting to keep her food down. “Why don't you seem to bothered by this prospect?”

“Because unlike you two, I can be a mature adult when it comes to such matters.”

“Right,” Winter said, barely under her breath, like she was trying to hide her comment, but didn't want to do it very well.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Weiss shot back.

“You know what.”

Whitley sighed, feeling a headache coming on. “So anyway, the texts from Ruby, what does that have to do with Mother and Qrow?” Winter heaved again.

With a sigh, Weiss picked up her scroll and began to flick her thumb across the screen. “Every since they started dating-” hruk “Ruby has gotten a bit to exuberant over the idea of them together, the point where she has completely gotten ahead of herself and wants them to get married so we can be cousins.”

Winter dropped her spoon, and with sluggish movement pushed her omelet to the center of the table. “I'm done, I can't stomach anything else right now.”

To a degree, he shared the sentiment.

Weiss continued, ignoring Winter. “For the last week she has much of sent me more than a hundred texts, about things like Cousin Activities, and Cousin Weekends, and has even gone as far as to threaten me with matching t-shirts.” With a sigh Weiss continued to scroll through the long list of messages she seemed to have been sent. “There's even something here about-wait, what?”

“Is something the matter?”

“Yeah, for some reason she's talking about Jaune being my brother-in-law? What?”

“Seriously? This again?” Winter groaned.

“Jaune?” Whitley asked.

“He's the blond guy with the sword.”

Oh yes, the one who knocked over the drink tray last week.

“The one with the bad haircut.”

“It's not a bad haircut, I rather like it.” Winter continued. “A while ago, he and I were on a team to eliminate a grimm that had been stalking an outpost in the tundra. A Krampus to be precise.”

A Krampus? Oh yes, their grandfather had first gotten his name as a Hunstman for killing a particularity dangerous one that had been known to target the children of Mantle when he was a young man.

“Well we were separated from the rest of the team and ended up fighting it on our own, and while he had several close calls in the end we managed to kill it.

“So can you summon it now?”

“No, Jaune got the killing blow on it. Anyway, the weather had gotten so bad by that point and turned into a blizzard, we were forced to take shelter in a way-station until it had subsided. We spent a couple of hours together alone and well, he's not half bad.”

“So you're dating him then?”

“I suppose,” Winter said, averting her eyes while a slight red came across her cheeks.

“Wait, you're dating someone?” Weiss asked, and Whitley could only look on in confusion why already Winter was looking frustrated.  “Since when?”

“I don't understand, what's going on?” he asked.

Winter could only groan, dragging a hand across her face before she looked Weiss hard in the eyes. “Weiss.”

“Yes?”

“Me, Winter.”

“Okay?”

“And Jaune, your friend.”

“What about him?”

“We. Are. Dating.”

For several seconds, Weiss had this odd look on her face, like she was trying to figure out a difficult puzzle that kept cheating without her knowing. “I don't understand.”

“See!” Winter cried out. “She's been like this whole time! It's like she's physically incapable of comprehending that I am dating Jaune!”

“Who is dating Jaune?” Weiss asked, clueless.

“Me! Weiss! I am dating Jaune! We have gone on three dates so far. Just last night, we spent an hour walking around the mall downtown. We had ice cream and then made out.”

“Okay, you're saying a lot of words that I individually understand, but the order you are saying them just doesn't seem right to me. Winter, are you having a stroke?”

“No I am not having a stroke!”

“Wait,” Whitley said after a thought. “You're dating? Since when do you have time for a social life?”

“Shut up,” Winter snapped. “Also, just what the hell does Ruby mean by 'brother-in-law'? We are not getting married! Marriage isn't even on the table yet!”

“Yet?”

“Shut up again!” She turned back to Weiss. “First of all, you're friend is way over the line here, and she-”

Suddenly, Winter frozen, her words and anger dying as quickly as they had come, and her expression had shifted into something akin to fear from an unwelcome realization.

“Winter?” Weiss asked, and Whitley contemplated poking her with a fork.

Winter next words came out weary, and defeated. “I just recalled some insults Qrow once threw at me regarding our mother, and it occurred to me he could actually carry some of those out.” Without explanation, not that he felt that such a thing were needed, Winter pushed her chair out and slowly made her way to the door, her forming retreating into the hallway beyond.

“Is she going to be okay?” he asked.

“Why wouldn't she be?” Weiss said, reaching forward to take Winter's small bowl of melon slices.

There was then a loud, and muffled scream of anguish from down the hall.

“Right...” Whitley then took the remains of Winter's omelet, knowing she would not return for it.

000

Please be well,

Mrfipp

[hanacantwrite]

❀ 𝙨𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨: “𝙞'𝙢 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙮 𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡. 𝙞'𝙢 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮.”

—[𝘺/𝘯] 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴’ 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷. 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘴𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘺.

“𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨?” 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘬. 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴. 𝘴𝘩𝘦, 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘺.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

𝘮.𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 ─ 𝘰𝘯𝘦 ─ 𝘵𝘸𝘰 ─ three ─ four ─ five

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

𝙄𝙏 𝙒𝘼𝙎 𝙄𝙈𝙋𝙊𝙎𝙎𝙄𝘽𝙇𝙀 𝙏𝙊 𝘼𝙑𝙊𝙄𝘿 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙍𝙐𝙈𝙊𝙍𝙎.

The fact that you were roommates with the entire team didn't really help matters but whenever news outlets reported on the living situation between all of you they made it sound more glamorous than it actually was. They always made it sound like being roommates with them was a dream come true. 

It was the complete opposite.

Living with the MSBY Black Jackals was a nightmare and that was a fact that you could say without a doubt, if you could you would definitely move but then again there was the high likelihood of them dying five minutes after you step out the door with your things.

Yelling, messes, stealing of each other's things, you name it they've probably done it at least once.

At first, living with friends seemed to appear as if it was a nice idea, you did it before in your last year of high school so it didn't seem like it'd be that weird of a transition. 

Plus, at the time living with people that had a stable life as a struggling college student seemed to be more than ideal, at least you wouldn't have to work five jobs at once like before. 

Of course, it was all too good to be true. 

It was hard to believe that they were adults that were on their own with how much they acted like children and depended on you overall. 

Just how on earth do you burn down a kitchen while making a hot pocket?

It didn't make sense to you so of course, it was something that they were capable of doing if something seemed humanly impossible in your eyes it was the first thing that they'd do.

That was why whenever those rumours went around it was just something that got you more annoyed than anything. 

Not for the fact that people were making the extremely unprofessional accusation of you dating players of the very team that you coached, it was the fact that they suggested that you'd ever date a professional athlete. 

You didn't really discriminate in the dating except when it came to nice guys and people that would pull an Atsumu on you. 

So, you're really only against people that deserve to be ignored but an exception to that rule of only ignoring nice guys and people like Atsumu was definitely professional athletes. It was hard to believe that some professional athletes even had relationships outside of their blood-related family and teammates. 

I mean, you're entire family have been centred around volleyball since before you could remember but you still couldn't understand it. 

The only explanation that you could come up with was the fact that your mo, was just as intense when it came to volleyball as your dad, had it been any other way you're sure that relationship would've ended in mere weeks is not in the first few days. 

You're sure that was the main reason why every single professional volleyball player that you knew wasn't in a relationship, well, at least not in a long-lasting relationship. 

Despite being someone that did love volleyball, enough to the point of becoming a coach for a professional team, you did not want to get into a relationship with a pro player. 

Sure, they were nice looking and you would've probably fawned over their looks as a fan if you didn't know that they were essentially five years old in adults bodies and that they probably shared a singular brain cell between all of them. 

You glanced over all of them sitting down in almost complete silence with a conversation or two going on between all of them. 

It seemed to actually be peaceful for the first time what seemed to be decades and considering their personalities you wouldn't really be surprised if that would actually be the case one day. 

Was now really the best time to say it?

They looked so peaceful...

Yes. The answer to that question was yes, absolutely yes and there was no question about it as you opened your mouth to say what you've been wanting to say for the past few minutes now. 

Hm...

As you set your gaze onto the older male you narrowed your eyes and stiffened your shoulders as you sat up straight in the chair you were sitting in. 

"Shugo."

Upon the sound of the dull tone of your voice, said male looked up from his book and turned his attention to your with a nervous smile. "Is there something wro-"

Before he could get his question out you cut him off without any remorse as you raised a hand up to stop him from speaking any further. "For the next few days, I don't want you to so much as look at me, all right?"

"Wha-"

"Okay," you clapped your hands as you ignored the confused look on his face. "Now that we've got that done and over with, I should get going."

The captain looked at everyone in the room only for them to ignore the familiar scene that was unfolding in front of them. 

He turned to the younger open hitter with a look of desperation. "Sakusa!"

All he did was look up from his phone and look up at the older man, giving him a bored look as he blinked slowly before slowly looking back down at his phone. 

Shugo gasped in shock. 

You arched a brow at the sight as you put a hand on your hip. You weren't exactly quite sure why he was so shocked in the first place, it's not like that was new behaviour or a new response from Sakusa, in fact, it'd be weird if he didn't give that response. 

"Are you just going to leave without explaining anything?"

You simply tilted your head. "What do you mean?"

Shugo's eye twitched.

Were you being serious?

You know what?

He shouldn't even be asking that question, in all the years that he's known you, you've always been like that and this behaviour wasn't anything new. 

Despite that, he still was in the need of you a further explanation of what you meant as you just ignored his concerns and instead got yourself ready to leave. 

Your eye twitched at the feeling of his eyes burning holes into your back, he definitely wasn't going to stop staring at you until you explained yourself at least a little. 

Taking a deep breath, you looked over your shoulder and narrowed your eyes watching him, feeling a bit of amusement washing over you as he shrank under your gaze. 

"Do you know what happens every single time we hang out with each other in public outside of games?"

He tilted his head in confusion. 

"Nothing?" He squinted in confusion as he tried to understand what you meant. 

Without any hesitation you slammed your hands on the table sitting a few feet away from you, leaning across the table you somehow was able to narrow your eyes even more. 

"Exactly!"

"Huh?"

Shugo jumped back slightly, looking you up and down with concern. "Exactly wha-"

The older male wasn't even given enough time to ask his question when you interrupted him once again, cutting him off without much thought. 

"Nothing happens and it looks like we're on a date so everybody thinks we're dating and this week it's you!"

Your eye twitched at the confusion on the dark-haired male's face. 

It shocked and didn't shock you that he didn't realize what was happening, for someone that seemed to be as smart as him he wasn't the best when it came to reading the room or really anything like that. 

A sigh left your lips as you ran a hand through your hair.

Even with his confusion you couldn't help but feel sorry at the confused look on his face. 

He always reminded you of a puppy with how easily he showed his emotions, it was as if he had no idea how to hide anything. It was endearing. 

"No offence," you sighed out, "But, I can't really deal with having to see another news story on my feed about how I'm 'abusing my power' by dating you."

Your eye twitched as you looked away. 

"Though to be honest I'm more insulted by the fact that people actually think I would date a volleyball player," you mumbled under your breath as you looked away. 

"What is that supposed to mean?" Shugo asked, sounding a bit more offended than you had expected. 

Crap. 

He overheard you, didn't he?

Of course, you just had to make the mistake and explain yourself even more than you wanted to in the first place. 

Freezing, you let your shoulders rise and fall as you let out a deep breath in an attempt to not say anything that would be too rude. 

"Shugo, we're friends and all but you barely have enough time to clean up your own room, what's the chances of you having enough time to have an actual relationship?"

He raised a finger to speak. 

But of course, he was once again cut off by you. 

There was no way you were going to allow him to try and defend himself with a less than convincing argument. "I mean, the longest relationship you had was what? A month."

He continued to shrink at your words as well as everyone else in the room. 

While it was clear you were speaking to Shugo it was obvious to all of them that your words were directed towards all of them, especially with the way you'd give them a small glance before turning back. 

"Plus, to be honest, you guys don't exactly have the best personalities, in my opinion at least-" 

Even with the looks on their faces, you continued to go on and on with the reason why you couldn't picture dating a volleyball player, the lack of shame you were showing was more shocking than anything. 

You let out a long sigh.

Letting all of that out was a lot more stress-relieving than you had ever expected it to be. 

It seems like Yanagi was right when he suggested you talking everything out, though the way you went about it wasn't exactly what he meant. 

Shaking your head you flashed them all a smile before turning on your heels and giving them a small wave from over your shoulder. 

All they could do was watch with blank stares as you walked out, not being able to take their eyes off until you closed the door behind you. 

"What just happened?"

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

[Y/N] has been roommates with Atsumu since college but she still can't stand the way he lives and considers moving out almost every day.