#going to reread this whenever I am not feeling well too | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

james-is-here · 2 months

Text

Aah, oh my god, a part three, holy shit, what am I doing, AAH!! Anyway, this is a Binnie post but...with a little extra bit of...✨Spice✨ 😏🤭 I promise you are gonna love this, I was getting giddy and shy just writing it alone 😂 and if you don't then I'm sorry. 🫤 To think I have other parts to write, don't know if they'll be as good as this one.

Blogs: @whatdoyouwanttocallmefor @uso-dakedo @vernonvernoff98-blog | @heartbinn Lookie, Binnie post!! and honestly, I was rereading a series by @writingforstraykids which inspired me to write the extra ✨Spice✨ ☺️

Masterlist | Series Tag is "Sleeping Around by James"

Tags: attempted dacryphilia?, sub Binnie, dom-ish top reader, cum swapping, BJ (Mn receiving), *gasp* Double penetration Whaat?? 👀 (As much as I want this to be a secret I must give a heads up that this contains Member x member)

"Shit...Changbin-Hyung..."

He giggled softly at your sleepiness, sliding his hands down to your stomach, grazing his fingers over your torso. "Hi."

"Morning, I guess, what- Why? I-I mean, y-you feel good but, fuck, why are you..." You whisper, glancing at Chan whose face is still buried in your neck with his arm draped over your collar bone. "I'm sorry, Mn-ie..." "Don't be, Hyung..." He whimpers, shifting slightly. "I know you were with Hyunjin...but is this also your first time...bottoming?" You try to stay quiet, right arm squeezing around Chan when he shifted.

"Yeah..." "Why me?" He ask gently while moving your free hand to his thigh and squeezing as he gently starts to move, trying not to move too much. "I-I came to wake Hyung up to go over preparations for later today...and I saw you..." "You...You saw my morning wood and decided to ride me?" " 's stupid." He mutters, placing his hand over yours, wrapping his fingers around your hand that moves to his hip. "It's not. I'm not denying you, am I?" You look to your side when Chan rolls onto his other side, Changbin pausing as well as you both wait for him to settle and finally your right arm is free.

You groan, pulling it up and stretching it. "Honestly, that was falling asleep a while ago, just didn't have the heart to move." The ravenette giggles softly, starting slowly to rock again as he takes your right hand into his left and holds it at his waist. His rocking has turned into gentle bounces but you stop him. "Careful, Binnie-Hyung." You mutter, deciding to carefully sit up, lift him off you and lay him between Chan and you.

"Wait, Mn-ie, what are you-" "Trust me." He nods, getting comfortable. "Lift your leg a little." He does so which lets you gently insert a finger, then two, then three. The texture was familiar and you pull back to see your slick fingers. "Binnie-hyung~ Did you really come in here for Chan-hyung?" He whines quietly and turns away from you. You place a kiss on his neck which has his breath hitch. "I- No, I did, Minho-Hyung asked me to...but before that I...tried to finger myself...didn't go well so I stopped and started my day..." "Awe, Binnie."

You hold his leg, inserting yourself into him again and his hand flies to his mouth to cover his noises, his eyes focused on the back of Chan's head. "Never thought I'd be here with you, Bunnie." He whimpers, you've always called him 'Binnie-Hyung' whenever you could and there was one point you slipped up and called him Bunny-hyung and it's stuck, but he liked it in this context, felt intimate and made him happy.

You gently rock into him, wrapping your arms around his waist to pull him closer. Your right arm under him, meaning to wrap around his chest, moved wrong and ended up wrapping around his neck. He whines with a gasp, you apologize and move but he put your arm back and pushed further back into you. You weren't as built as Changbin but he still clenched around you and moaned behind a bitten lip.

Rocking into him gently, his head falls back onto your shoulder, lips pressed tightly together as he hums, his lips parting a second later when you start thrusting into him slowly, pushing in harshly every couple seconds. He gasps when each thrust is into his prostate but he needs more, grip around your wrist tightening as he tried to rock back into you, wanting you to go faster but it shakes the bed and you move your hand to hold his hip.

"Settle, Binnie. You don't want Hyung to wake up, do you?" The whine he lets out is pathetic as he stutters out a small 'no', contradicting himself without realizing. "You do, don't you?" You thrust sharply, the bed jolting and he gasps. "N-No, wait..." He protests before whimpering when you pull out.

"Mn..." "Hold on, Binnie." You crawl over him, rolling Chan onto his back and Binnie starts whispering for you to not wake him.

You ignore him, rubbing Chan's chest and brushing his hair away from his face. "Channie~ Hyungie, wake up." Changbin's ramblings have stopped and you look over to see him staring at you. "What?" His eyes move to where you've moved to straddle Chan and you chuckle. "Binnie." He hums mindlessly and you shake your head, going back to trying to wake Chan up.

He stirs, rubbing his eyes and brushing his hair back before looking up at you. "Oh, Good Morning." He smiles lightly, hands falling onto your thighs and you smile. "Good Morning." "You...are still very much naked..." "I am. Someone else is too~" You smirk, looking over to Changbin and Chan follows your gaze, he's pulled his knees up and covered himself which you didn't like, reaching over to pull his knee towards you but he fights you. "Binnie, spread." You say sternly and he listens but his hands stay put.

"Shit..." You giggle at Chan, getting off of him and pushing the blanket away. "Come here." You gesture towards Chanbin who sits up, still covering himself. You move him onto Chan's lap and take his wrists, holding them behind him. "Mn-" "It's okay, Hyung." Chan's hands are now on Changbin's thighs, rubbing the skin softly from his knees up to his hips.

"I-I wanted to..." Changbin started but he stopped, looking away from Chan and you. "What is it, Bin?" Chan asked gently, inhaling sharply when you moved the rapper slightly to wrap a hand around his length to get him hard. "I-I wanted...Mn to fuck me." "Aw, Bunnie...I will, but look at him~" You purr, placing you hand on top of Chan's on Changbin's hip and looking down at your Hyung, head thrown back as you fist his tip, soft pants leaving his mouth as he moves to bend his knees slightly. You giggle when he bucks his hips and Changbin lurches forward slightly, catching himself with one hand on the bed and the other on Chan's chest.

"How about...you ride our Hyung for a little bit before I give you what you want. I can fuck you while you fuck Chan." He bit his lip, silencing a moan as his head drops, nodding rapidly.

"P-Please, just do something." Chan begs, his hips squirming in your hold and you laugh. "Settle, Channie." You pat his thigh before pulling Changbin to sit up again, moving onto your knees. You guide Chan to his slick hole and Chan protested like you did before you simultaneously pushed him in and brought Changbin's hips down. Changbin gasps, eyes squeezed shut as Chan groans, hand gripping his hip.

"Ah~ So...t-tight..." Chan mutters, face flushed red as he throws his head back again with a moan. Changbin is still other than small sharp inhales, he couldn't help but whine, finally parting his lips as he exhales a small moan.

'Hyung is so big. So full.' He thinks, he spiraled so fast he didn't realize he started rocking his hips, small moans and whines leave his parted lips. "You sound so cute, Bunnie. Does Chan-Hyung feel good?" "Mhm...s-so good..." He mutters, looking over to you and you smirk. His eyes brimming with tears and there's an all too familiar shine behind his blown pupils as you smirk.

"Aw, feels good, Bunnie?" He nods, tears falling as you lean forward, you bite his shoulder, he yelps at the sharp pain and more tears fall. You pull back, kissing his tears away before kissing him fully. He gasps when your tongue takes over, hips picking up speed before he lifts himself slightly. Chan's grip tightens on his hips as he thrusts up to meet the others hips, hitting his prostate with each thrust.

Watching them, you feel a bit left out but at the same time it was an amazing sight. Pulling away, you push Changbin forward by his shoulders, he catches himself, hands either side of the other head and his face turned impossibly more red, his ears and neck joining as well. He never thought he'd be in the position but at the current moment, he could barely think.

Chan's right hand moves to Changbin's chin, pulling his bottom lip out from his teeth before leaning up and kissing him. The moan that leaves Changbin was swallowed by Chan before you repositioned Chan's hips and pushed into him slowly. His hips falter, a gasp separating him from Changbin who leans into the crook of Chan's neck.

"Fuck, I'm gonna cum..Shit..." He groans, the tightness of Changbin around his cock and you filling him up was such a delightful sensation.

A few thrusts later and he stills, pulling Changbin's hips flush against him and you kept thrusting into his prostate, helping him through his high. Changbin cums onto Chan's stomach a moment later as well, both panting heavily and Changbin letting out small whines.

Chan thrusts up into Changbin a few seconds later, causing him to yelp. "Y-Your still h-hard?" He asks bewildered as he pushes himself up. The older one smiles sheepishly. "Y-Yeah."

You've already pulled out, stroking yourself a couple times before your tip was where the two are connected, they both gasp, Changbin turning his head around towards you as Chan leans up on his elbows. "Wh-What are you doing?" You lean into Changbin's shoulder, kissing it before speaking. " 'm sorry..." You mutter pulling away. You knew it was a step too far but the thought of rubbing against Chan inside Changbin made you twitch and you zoned at at the potential feeling.

"Wait, what's wrong?" Chan asks concerned. "The sight back here is...so good..." You spread Changbin's ass, watching how some of Chan's cum leaks out and drips down his shaft. "I got ahead of myself and wanted to feel the both of you at the same time." You pull your hands away, shaking your head. "But I don't want to hurt you. Especially with the schedule tonight." "Y-You want to...be inside at the same time?" "Y-Yeah, but it's also your first time bottoming I don't-" "Please." He interrupted and both you and Chan looked at him in shock.

"But I promised I would fuck you too." "You are, technically." "O-Okay." He leans back onto Chan as you rest a hand on his lower back. "This is gonna hurt, y'know." "Yeah, I know..." "Chan?" He nods with a smile, arms wrapping around the other as you line yourself up. "Just relax, Bunnie, okay?" He did his best to relax as you decided to reach over to the night stand for the lube from last night, definitely gonna have to get Minho a new bottle as well, before squirting some on your hand and Changbin's hole.

Spreading the cold liquid along your length, you line up again, looking up to Chan for a moment. "Kiss him." You mutter and Chan gets the message, kissing him slowly as you push your tip in slowly. He stretches further and you pull a somewhat muffled scream out of him, he pulls back and Chan kisses where he can reach, distracting him and keeping him relaxed as you push further in. "Fuck, Fuck...ah~ so...so- ha~" His brain can't process words fast enough as he feels dizzy, the stretch is painful but as you stop and rub his back after every push and Chan's kisses, the pain turns into pleasure and he's moaning into Chan's shoulder. "S' full... shi- ah~" His whines and whimpers were so cute.

Eventually you push all the way to the hilt, reaching up and rubbing Changbin's back. "How you feeling?" "I don't-" He exhales sharply before whining. "Full...i-it hurts..." You immediately became worried and went to slowly pull out but he stops you. "N-No, No! Good, 's good. Don't...Don't pull out." "You sure?" "Yeah."

You thrust experimentally, pulling a gasp from both of them. Chan gripping Changbin's thigh with one hand and the other trying to find a place to settle, you grab it, holding it on Changbin's back. "Fuck." Chan groans, his head thrown back.

You groan, dropping your head and watching as you push back in slowly, starting a gentle pace that pulls more noises out of the two. The sight was definitely something, he was stretched so wide, you and Chan moan in unison when you thrusted and Changbin clenched around you.

You pull back slightly, applying a little more lube before pushing in and going at a much faster speed. The two beneath you moan and Chan yelps, Changbin had bitten into his shoulder. "S-Sorry, Y-You're door is s-still open..." You glance over to it, it looks wider than the last time you looked at it but you shook it off.

Chan's hips started bucking slowly with your thrusts and his grip on your hand and Changbin's hip got tighter. "Oh~ God, you go any faster I'm gonna cum..." He mutters. Smirking, you do as such, picking up the slightest amount of speed.

A second later, he's cumming inside the rapper again, an amused look on your face when it's Changbin's name he moans as he finishes. Changbin clenches as tight as possible and his thighs shake, you reach around, stroking him a few times before he's cumming on Chan's stomach again.

"Fuck...You still haven't cum yet?" Changbin asks and you laugh nervously. Chan then leans towards Changbin's ear, muttering something before the other nods. "Mn, pull out." "S-slowly...please." Changbin cut in, you and Chan chuckling softly before doing as such, him moaning at the emptiness.

You're pulled to the edge of the bed and the air is taken out of your lungs. You thought Chan looked good on his knees for your but him and Changbin? You were dead. You could've cum the moment Changbin took your tip into his mouth and Chan licked at your shaft. Chan pulls back, moving to bite your thigh as the other took you down his throat. You realize that he wasn't as experienced with this like Chan as he pulled away and started coughing. "Go slow, Hyung." He nods, going back down on you as you thread a hand through his hair.

Changbin picks up speed as Chan sits up on his knees and kisses you, hand moving up to graze his nails over your abdomen, near your base. "Mmh, Fuck, gonna-" Chan pulls Changbin off and they attack either side of your shaft, alternating taking your tip before your finally cumming into Chan's mouth, head thrown back and gripping the bed.

Changbin whines, he wanted to taste you, but his disappointment turns into shock when Chan releases you with a pop and kisses him, sharing your release with him and they both moan. It was honestly messy and gross but really hot, spit and cum dripping down their chins but Chan seemed to be addicted to kissing Changbin, your cum long been swallowed as they just make out.

You release a breathy laugh, panting as you try to catch your breath and leaning your head back you catch something at the door. It's definitely wider since you last looked and you just barely saw a shoe step back and something on the floor.

You pat Chan's head, trying to get his attention. "Let him breath, Hyung." He pulls away, smiling sheepishly as you step around them to go close the door.

Looking into the hall, you hear a little chatter in the living room before you hear a cuss, turning the other way, you see Felix's door slam shut and you find it odd before looking down to see what you saw from the bed. Chuckling darkly you shake your head, taking one last look to Felix's door before you used a shirt near Chan's hamper to wipe up the few drops of what you believe is to be cum.

Walking back to the bed, you notice the two already cuddled under Chan's blanket. You guys have to prepare for the fan meet soon but what harm will come from a couple more hours of sleep.

You crawl in behind Changbin, wrapping your arms around him and pulling him as much as you can into your chest. "Will you be okay tonight?" "Yeah, I'll just...sleep the soreness away..." He mumbles and you smile, kissing his cheek before your left arm draped over Chan as well and you all slept for another hour and a half.

Later, you couldn't help but smirk at rehearsals every time you looked at Felix and he'd find every which way to not look at you or his Hyung's, hiding his very obvious blush.

*Extra big gasp of air* *screams incoherent* OhMyGodIHonestlyDidn'tKnowHowToEndThisButThenItWentPowAndIFoundAnEndingPlusACliffhangerEnding

*cough* Anyway, Changbin's chapter is here and 😮‍💨 now to decide on either doing the 'how it started' chapters or the next one...which is obviously...........Jeongin.....No, kidding, it's Felix 😅

I'm finishing this at 5:06am so Imma go pass out and if this is as good as I think it is, Imma be overwhelmingly excited to see my tumblr notifications.

I really hope you enjoyed Changbin's Chapter 😁

Feedback and comments are of course welcome. It makes me like incredibly happy knowing that my creativity when it comes to writing is actually really good and I'm not just weird 😅

Also, I added the first tag of this post to the other chapters incase the links I eventually post just decide to not work for some reason. I have link problems sometimes, it's weird.

#Sleeping Around by James #random #bleh #stray kids #straykids #stray kids x male reader #seo changbin x male reader #bang chan x male reader #bang chan #seo changbin #stray kids smut

131 notes · View notes

thatumbrellaoni · 10 days

Text

hey. so what were ryous thoughts while witnessing all of That?

what was going through ryous head seeing yugi choose to literally sit inside that inferno to attempt solving the Puzzle again with no guarantee he would?

what does ryou think of the fact that his friend refused to leave the Puzzle behind even at the cost of his life?

but you know what, ryou risks his life everyday by choosing to wear the damn Ring so. context is a bit different, but, I mean, the stakes are the same.

actually, lets use this frame to compare/contrast the yugis and the bakuras.

here, yugi has very beautiful feelings for atem.

YUGI: I'm so sorry, Other Me... Your soul ended up shattering... Hold on, okay? I'll solve the Puzzle... And when I do, we'll meet again... then I can tell you how sorry I am (lit. I owe you an apology)...

when the yugis come together, its always heartwarming, isnt it? meanwhile, whenever the bakuras come together, its always tempestuous

see this post for the comparison.

so I wondered then... what would happen if the situation were flipped? lets say it was ryou and the Ring trapped in that burning building...

lets be honest now, ryou is sentimentally attached to the Ring, not bakura. ryou really doesnt like it when you badmouth his cursed pendant lmao see here and here.

so what would ryou be saying to the Ring? to bakura, even, if ever?

the interactions the bakuras have are always quite confrontational, so I assume itd play out the same in this scenario. ryou would be yelling at bakura in that burning building 🤭 actually, Id like him to.

RYOU: (desperately trying to unhook the Ring from where it's trapped while communicating with Bakura) Do you want to burn, Spirit!? Come on!

BAKURA: I believe in you, Landlord. You do some of your best work under intense terror after all. Remember Monster World? You're unbelievably resourceful. You always find a way, so surprise me.

RYOU: This is not the time to be petty! 💢 Don't annoy me right now, or I'm going to leave you here!

BAKURA: Heh. You won't.

bakura doesnt like endangering his host if its out of his control (see first BC match up), but he also believes in his host's abilities (see memory world)!

as this other write up I did pointed out, the spirits in the Items are bound to protect their bearers no matter the cost. on the other hand, the bearers develop sentimental attachments to their Items. its quite the symbiosis. also, as dsod said, in ryous case anyway, one must be faithful to the Ring's will.

tbh these Item bearers are mad lads for their Items in their own ways. ryou just greatly overshadows yugi in this aspect because ① ryous spirit is malignant/malevolent so its emphasized, ② ryous a natural denpa (aka he has the occult thing going on with him too).

also I just wanna say, bakura fucked off when he got what he came for.

he was seeing all this happen through ryous eyes, no?

you think bakura was like, "how do the flames taste, pharaoh!? (maniacal laugh)"

cuz yknow. kul elna.

for all the monologuing he did about needing yugi to be the bearer of the Puzzle, bakura sure was ready to let them burn lmao

well, then again, like I said previously, bakura knows how fucking robust Item bearers are.

all of that to say, I wish the story explored and delved deep into how the yugis and the bakuras were foils of each other, individually and as pairs.

72 notes · View notes

zhongrin · 2 years

Note

Actually how would Zhongli react to us being pregnant? I just reread that post you just reblogged about his heats and well.

I rarely see follow up on this.

Like I would be terrified to find that I got pregnant. Like kinks aside, that's a real thing living in you now. And zhongli doesn't have any children, so how would he know how pregnancy goes? Is mortal body even capable of handling a god's child?

He can morph, so I guess it is possible to him to impregnate someone (or get impregnated, since he can shapeshift, but i think he still could be biologically male, but idk, he a dragon, so logic doesn't really apply that much) like human and not having to do it with a reptile.

Would we produce a baby dragon or like a hybrid when it was being born? Or just looking human?

Ganyu has horns but is human, so I guess it would be possible to give birth to human baby, but with a tail and scales ig?

I'm just trying to break down a fictional character parental planning, help

slfjsldksl luke we share one braincell bc i have some ideas about this in the draft but that one’s gonna delve deeper into his protective draconic nature so have this for now hehehe

(also, this post about gow!reader kinda touches pregnancy too, and i feel that some points applies for normal reader)

tags: minors dni, afab!reader, pregnancy, kids, (in one small section) monsterfucking, implied ovipos

if the baby was an adeptus or a half-dragon, i feel like he’ll be able to sense it. as in, one day as he’s cuddling with you, he would just suddenly stare and caress your stomach in wonder, a slight frown between his brows, before he suggests for you to go for a medical checkup out of nowhere.

the moment he gets a confirmation that yes, there’s life growing inside you, i think he would be a little shaken - but he wouldn't show it outright, especially if he can see that you're freaking out from the revelation. he would reassure you, cradling your trembling form against his and stroking your back as he murmurs softly about how you'll be okay and he'll be there with you all the way. when you're way calmer and seem rational enough, he would ask you what you want to do. and if you tell him that you want to become the child's parents with him? that's when the happiness really hits him. he'd place a sweet kiss on your lips, nuzzle into the crook of your neck, and literally starts purring.

he might not have any experience being a father and a husband with a pregnant wife, but i believe he has watched many who have gone through the experience, or he would at least know a lot of people whom he can ask about it. and this is zhongli we’re talking about, so he will 100% do his own research aside from preparing everything with you.

your devoted husband might have read about the hormonal changes that will inevitably hit you, but it still surprises him sometimes; the way you swing between moods and you showing him the sides he didn’t even know existed. he’d massage your swollen feet and your tense shoulders. he’d hold you as you cry because your wedding band can’t fit your finger anymore and assures you that it’s normal for that to happen... and if by the end of your pregnancy it still doesn’t fit, he tells you he can always enlarge it, and he promises he wouldn’t love you less if you have to take it off for the time being.

he’d offer you his arms whenever you want to walk, carry you when you don’t want to walk, insist on decorating the nursery while you sit and supervise him without lifting a finger, beat some sense into lecture childe when the ginger says something that unknowingly touches your nerve and makes you burst into tears, pick up the things your drop, help you put on your shoes, help you bathe and towel you dry and dress you in loose silk robes, fulfill all your weird cravings, hold your hair as you throw up the pickles and ice cream combo he got you at three am in the morning - listen. this man. he will literally be at your beck and call.

now about the baby itself… whether it would be a full human or half/full adeptus of half/full dragon, i'd like to imagine it's not set in stone and it'll be a roulette lol personally i would say that him having a normal human baby would be preferable to zhongli himself, since it adheres to his wish of living the rest of his life as a mortal… but imagining him cradling a half-dragon baby who’s yet to be able to shapeshift to hide their horns and tails and tiny claws just. makes me so soft ;w;

[cw.monsterfucking, cw.implied ovipos] there's also the possibility of him impregnating you in his dragon form and pumping his clutches inside you but i will leave that to juju @/seakicker

oh, and ganyu and xiao would definitely dote over the child (in their own way) when they’re born, you can’t tell me otherwise-

ps. if you want to be removed/added from the taglist, just send an ask!

#genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #cw.pregnancy #cw.kids #afab!reader #zhongli #zhongli x reader #rin writes #minors dni

1K notes · View notes

aurumacadicus · 3 months

Text

Tony gets personal mail a week after he sends off his Dear John letter. He stares at it like it's a venomous snake, hands shaking whenever he reaches to open it. Finally, he takes it to Pepper, too ashamed of the disgust he might see on Rhodey's face when he tells him why he's scared to open it. (Rhodey had received a Dear John letter on his first deployment and it left him gun-shy of starting relationships anymore. Tony had promised he'd never be like the girl who broke his heart, wait to break up in person, but the idea of faking it in letters for eighteen months just to drop Steve on his ass as soon as he saw him feels no better.)

"...Tony," Pepper whispers, shoving the letter back at him frantically. "He hasn't gotten your letter yet."

"HUH?!" Tony bellows, snatching the letter open, and crumples to the ground when he sees it laden with 'sweetheart's and 'baby's and 'honey's. There's also some really raunchy stuff that he is mortified that Pepper saw. He looks back up at her, clutching the letter to his chest. "What. What do I do."

"Well, I don't think you can write back at this point," Pepper says after a brief pause.

So Tony doesn't, even though he keeps reading and rereading Steve's letter. Steve just didn't know he'd been broken up with when he'd written it. When Tony's letter catches up to him, he'll learn why Tony never wrote back to the one he sent. It's embarrassing, but, what can he do.

But Steve's letter's keep coming, week after week, and it dawns on Tony, as he reads about the things Steve's been doing, and he finally gets the PS of "I know mail is dodgy where I am but when are you going to write back :(", that his Dear John letter... must have gotten lost in the mail. Steve doesn't know Tony broke up with him two months ago.

Tony sits down to write another one, but in the end, he can't quite bear to write 'I think it's better if we part ways' twice. Especially not when he's found himself enjoying Steve's letters. Part of the reason he'd wanted to break up was because he knew he was clingy, and he'd never managed a long-distance relationship before (although, he realizes as he stares at the blank paper, he'd never broken up with anyone because of it; he'd been the one broken up with). Plus, all of Steve's comrades had such involved family and friends when it came to their service. Tony doesn't have the leisure of going hard for the army when his company is trying to change its image. Steve had said he'd understood, but he'd also looked a little sad about it. He hadn't really wanted to break up, anyway, he figures, rubbing a hand over his face. He'd just been trying to get ahead of Steve dumping him.

So he sends Steve a letter. He tells him his other letter must have gotten lost, but there was nothing important in it. He'll try to write more often. He just didn't know how often Steve would get his letters. He pauses writing again after sending it off, but then he gets a letter back from Steve telling him he was sorry he missed the other letter, and yes, mail calls might be sparse, but he'd happily take a stack of letters with the same joy as the letters trickling in one by one.

Tony falls more in love with Steve through their letters. This is a different side of him than he's ever seen before, somehow impossibly sweeter and yet even more sincere. He understands why Steve insisted on letters instead of emails beyond the basic 'there's not always internet where we are.' He adores going back, reading over things, tracing his fingers over the ink as if he can read how Steve felt when he wrote. He can't wait for Steve to come back from his deployment so he can see him face-to-face, tell him all about his stupid first letter and how glad he was that it got lost. Steve will almost certainly laugh. Tony's confident in that now.

And then, all at once, the letters stop. Tony doesn't notice at first--sometimes mail is sporadic. Steve can't give him his exact location, but he knows enough that sometimes, bags of letters aren't important compared to bags of supplies. He keeps writing, hesitantly deciding that maybe they're just... moving locations? Or. It's too dangerous for mail. Which is scary. But Steve being deployed is scary in general anyway. So. And Steve said he'd like a stack of letters. He'll be delighted by the size of the stack he gets.

Then one day his letter comes back. He didn't even know the army did 'return to sender.' He stares at the envelope for a long time. Maybe he'd gotten the address wrong. Maybe they moved? He doesn't know how addresses work in deployment. He turns the letter over, to see if it's still sealed.

DEAR JOHN is scrawled on the back, in big, block letters.

Tony drops it as if it burned him, and he claps his hands over his mouth to muffle the wounded keen tearing at his throat.

#ideas #stony #welcome to the suffer club i guess

61 notes · View notes

officialstrawhat · 1 month

Text

The Rose Of Dressrosa- Chapter 5

Chapter List

Hello! Wow, it's been forever. But on the bright side, I am completely caught up with One Piece! :D Please enjoy this Chapter!

Trafalgar D. Law x Fem!Reader

Summary:

After King Riku is dethroned, Doflamingo takes you under his wing and asks you to follow only one strict rule, "do not leave the palace alone". However, your sense of adventure is too great.

Law had only one thing in mind... Revenge. And you seemed like the best way to do that.

Trigger Warnings!: Please be advised there will be some allusions to grooming, non-con touching, and manipulation.

Word Count: 1.7k

Note: Gif is not mine. Not Edited.

Chapter 5

You hummed happily as you sat in the courtyard of the palace. You sat back against the trunk of the large tree rereading your favorite parts of your adventure book. This was a great chapter:

In the South Blue, there are descendants of wayward giants from Elbath. According to legend, centuries ago, these seafaring giants were shipwrecked on a tiny island in the South Blue. In an attempt to return to Elbath without a ship, they tried to build a stone bridge to reach their homeland. Eventually, the island ran out of stones, and the giants soon realized they would never see their homeland again. Now, every year, their descendants walk across the stone bridge to honor their ancestors...

“You're chipper,” Dellinger came up from behind you.

“So? Am I not allowed that as well?” You bite back at his comment, rolling your eyes.

So what if you were happy? Was that so bad? Whenever you left the palace you felt a euphoric bliss that only satiated until the next time you could sneak out again. Anytime you would go out it was all very secretive. At least you hoped so, you tried not to ever talk to anyone unless it was necessary. Which only made it all so lonely.

That was until you met him. Law. He was new and told you all about his adventures sailing from island to island. It captivated you.

He captivated you…

You began to blush furiously at the thought. He was attractive, that was easy to admit. But to act like this it was a feeling you had never felt like this.

“Hellooo?!” Dellinger began to snap his fingers in front of your face.

Oh shit. Was he talking to you? “Hmmm…”

“I said, Doffy wants to see you.”

Your heart sank, “Did he say why?”

“Oh yes we had a great big chat all about it over tea,” the Sharkboy said mockingly.

Rolling your eyes again, you rise from your grassy spot.

“Have fun,” he laughed as he sank to lay down on his back the brim of his cap hiding his eyes. “Hopefully he doesn’t kill you”

“Asshole.” you tossed out as you walked off.

Shit. Shit. Shit. you curse.

Did he know? Did someone see you while you were out? With some strange man no less. You weren't stupid this could be bad. You had heard rumors of how Doffy would kill if he felt like his family was put in jeopardy. Maybe if you explained…

Taking a deep breath you knocked on his massive office doors.

“Young Master?” You say as you enter cautiously.

When you fully entered his office it was empty. It had been a long time since you had stepped into his room. You looked over to his desk and there were the flowers that were browned and dead in an expensive crystal vase. You waved your hand over the petals, reviving them back to life. The act caused a memory to revive as well.

Seven years ago…

Doflamingo sits in his desk chair reading a newspaper

“Doffy!”

He looks up, “Aww there's my Rose.”

“I made you something!” You tell him excitedly

“Did you?”

You nod and reveal a wildflower from behind your back lifting it up to him.

“Watch what I can do!” You turn the one into several different colors.

“My that is something,” he smiled and placed an invisible string to the flowers and tied it together before placing the bouquet in a crystal vase, “I think it works well there.”

“Mhmm.” You agree as he places you on top of his lap. “Doffy? How many strings can you make?”

He chuckled, “How many stars are in the sky?”

“You hung all those stars,” you gaped.

“Let me tell you a secret,” The Young Master leaned in close to your ear, “Only for you”

“Y/N,” you heard causing you to spin towards the entryway.

“I was told you wanted to see me,” you said hesitantly as you watched Doffy walk over to his large chair next to the window.

“Yes. Come sit,” he said once he placed himself in his large chair, you moved to the opposite chair in front of him. Before you could sit he stopped you by grabbing hold of your wrist.

“No, right here.” he patted his lap. You felt your stomach turn. Gulping you moved and sat on top of him, causing the grin on his face to widen at your obedience.

“I am proud of you, you know,” he says pulling you closer to him, “for keeping up with your training. In no time you will be able to unleash the full potential of your power.” He ran a hand through your hair brushing a strand behind your ear.

“Will it always be Monet training me?” you ask trying to focus on your breathing as your heart beats faster against the cage of your chest.

“Yes. As difficult as it may be,” he spoke, his words trailing off before speaking again this time his voice dangerously low and slow, rubbing your thigh. “Unless you want me to step in and teach you. I am a very good teacher.”

You watched his hand inch closer and closer to the most intimate part of yourself. Immediately you jumped out of his lap, “Was that all you wanted to speak with me about?”

“No,” He chuckled, seemingly amused at your jumpiness, “I wanted to speak with you before I leave for The Reverie.”

He’s leaving? This was news to you. You had heard of the meeting before. He had gone before, four years ago.

“I also wanted to warn you that while I’m away-”

“Don’t leave, I know.” You finish.

He stared at you with a grin on his face, “I know my rules may seem rigid but I do so because I care.” He rose from his seat and walked toward you. “You are naive my dear and I would hate to see you taken advantage of. I've only ever wanted to take care of you. Let me take care of you.”

He towered behind you, “Perhaps the next reverie I’ll let you attend with me” he spoke lowly again but this time he snaked his large hand down the length of your back eventually resting and firmly grasping the curve of your backside causing you to take a sharp intake of breath, “On the condition you continue to be a good girl of course.”

He moved too quickly for you to even understand what was going on. His hand wrapped your loose hair pulling your hair roughly, exposing your neck to him. Frozen in place you watched him smirk and lean down to the crook of your neck. He inhaled your scent deeply before rapidly running his tongue from the base to the top of your neck to the point where you could feel the tip of his wet tongue lash against your ear.

Before you could push back he let you go. Dismissing you back to your room. Quickly you scurried out the door as Doffys laughter echoed in the room.

Four hours later you met Law just like you had planned and tried to block out the events earlier today. As you walked through the alleyways you were at war with yourself. You kept thinking about Doffy and how he held you. How he touched you. It felt- not good. But Doffy had looked out for you your whole life.

He wouldn’t hurt you.

But he just did…

Maybe this was always meant to happen?

What was it that Doffy said? “Let me take care of you..”

Maybe it wasn't a big deal. He was very clear. All you had to do was play by his rules and in four years possibly get a taste of freedom. Do what he says, stay on his good side? Allow him to touch you and-

“Are you hungry?” Law asks as they walk down the dark street pulling you out of your head.

“No,” You say flatly arms crossed against your chest.

“Ya sure? I found this great little booth down this way” Law replied. He could sense something was off you weren’t your normal cheerful self.

“It's nothing.” You push back suddenly changing your mood into one of fake enthusiasm. “Food sounds great. Let's go.”

You two walked in silence for a considerable amount of time before he brought you to a small cart parked on the sidewalk of a market street. There were so many people and Toy people that it brought a certain warmth you always loved about the city.

You knew this place although it looked different in some aspects. Your attention immediately went to the two-story building the stucco roof was a different color and bicycles as well as their seller could be seen from the new glass windows but you could only imagine a woman who looked a lot like you did now helping customers in the quaint shop.

Law passed you the food and drink he purchased and led you away from the area until he found an empty alleyway.

You both slid down the building and remained quiet until Law finally spoke. “We don't have to talk about it.”

“Hmm?”

“Whatever it is that's wrong,” he told you, “We don't have to talk about it. Frankly, I’d rather just eat my empanada.”

“I used to live there,” you aren’t sure what made you say it, “Above the bike shop. Well It used to be my mother's flower shop”

He remained silent. Allowing you to continue if you wish.

So you did. “She died. I was ten.” You felt the tears but managed to push them back. “It sucked.”

Law nodded. “To your mom” You raised your glass of bottle letting it clink to his.

You both continued to eat in silence. Law wished he could say he was pretending to care about your sad story. But he did. It made him think of his mother. He was ten too. Or maybe it was because he knew something was up the moment he saw her walking over to him. He wondered what could have- No. he shook the thoughts from his head. He had to stay focused. He couldn't afford to start caring about some spoiled girl's sob story. She was just a key to his plot and it was high time to start putting it in motion.

@rebeccawinters @mj-airlines @awkwardspontaneity @cresent-z

#one piece x reader #romance #angst #donquixote doflamingo x reader #trafalgar law x reader #fem!reader

42 notes · View notes

rrxnjun · 2 years

Text

i'm not bitter anymore (i'm syrupy sweet) ;; ljn

pairing: lee jeno x fem! reader genre: slight band au, college au | fluff, hurt/comfort wc: 4.8k (4.817) warnings: mentions of alcohol, swearing

a spin-off to my fic i'm not angry anymore (well, sometimes i am) where jeno gets a redemption arc <3

When you first meet Lee Jeno, his exterior calls at you with hard chords that keep slowly burning out. Now, rather than a piercing echo, he holds himself to you like a soft melody.

Lee Jeno sits on his bed, chewing on his bottom lip as he nervously types into the chat he has opened, kicking his leg up and down in a steady, but fast rhythm. Looking around the room for one moment, trying to calm himself down with a loud breath in and out, he glances back at the phone screen and rereads the sentence he wrote over and over again, trying to hear it in his own head, desperately needing the tone to be just right.

hey i thought of you while making this haha

Furrowing his brows, he deletes the words he wrote, huffing out in frustration. He sounds too awkward. Too casual, even. He doesn’t know how these two even go together, but somehow, he managed to do it. He didn’t know he was able to get across two very different emotions in one sentence, but he thinks that this is perhaps his new talent. Maybe he can use it in songwriting someday… if he ever gets back into music, that is.

Fastly typing on the screen, holding in his breath, he changes the sentence from its base and finds himself reading over the new one, trying to figure out if it’s better.

hi! i made you this. listen to it if you have time!

His eyes scan over the words countless times again, hating the way it sounds in his brain. This is too enthusiastic. Too joyful, sounding piercing in his brain. This is not how he wants you to perceive him. Not after all this time, not after all the emotions you’ve awakened in him. Is this the same emotion he used to see in Ryusol’s eyes whenever she used to look at him last year? It’s scary to think that he let her down so much, but he finds comfort in knowing that Yangyang was there to catch her when he let her go. Maybe he wouldn’t be so stupid if he understood this emotion all this time ago. Maybe he wouldn’t have made so many mistakes…

Cracking his knuckles, he rolls his eyes at himself and deletes the message again, promising himself that this is going to be the last attempt. He either nails it, or he doesn’t– in this case, he will keep the whole thing a secret and never attempt to subtly hint you his feelings ever again.

hey y/n :) i made you a playlist

The message is simple. The smiley face gives it more sparkle, a sense of emotion, even. The tone it reads inside of his brain is casual, but with a giving undertone– he hopes it gets through to you in the same way. Adding the spotify link to the playlist he made for you, he finally presses the send button and throws the phone away to the other side of his bed, not wanting to see you react to it in real time. That’s too stressful. He’s not used to the frantic speed of his heart whenever he’s around you yet.

If he really thinks about it, this might be the first time he’s ever tried for someone. All of those times before, girls threw themselves at him at every step he took, every song he used to sing with his band, making countless hopeless hearts break for him when he only stayed with them for one night. He’s never had to try for anyone. He’s never had to do nice things for someone, he’s never had to pay attention to the conversations he was having, he’s never had to give gifts to girls to get them to be with him. They came naturally to him, and he never really cared about their emotions anyway. Love wasn’t something he was inclined to feel, and he never felt the need to have someone by his side for long enough.

Perhaps, he was battling loneliness more effectively– without having to try to make someone stay, he chose to have a different girl every night. It was easier. He never got attached, so it meant that he never had the chance to get his heart broken. Sometimes, he didn’t even realize he was breaking somebody’s heart– he never quite understood how somebody could feel deeper for him, when all they saw was the surface he chose to show to everyone at his concerts and after parties. The first time it dawned on him was when he broke Ryusol’s heart. Maybe that was the moment that opened his eyes.

Lee Jeno thinks he’s never tried for anyone before. In his eyes, this is the first time he’s openly caring for someone.

He doesn’t think about all those times he helped you with your assignments. He doesn’t think about all those times he assured you you looked nice or all those times when he went grocery shopping with you at 8pm, even though he was tired and you lived 20 minutes away. He doesn’t think about all those times he’s given you a ride home and about all those times when he walked you to school, helping you revise for your exams.

It doesn’t click for him when he breaks his habits, even. When he doesn’t try to get you to sleep with him the first night you sleep over at his house when you’re too tired to walk to your dorms, when he doesn’t leave you on read for three days or when he actually listens to what you’re saying, offering advice when needed and being the shoulder for you to cry on when you don’t really feel like solving your problems.

It only clicks for him when he sends you the link to the spotify playlist he made while thinking about you late last night, adding the song he recorded about you and posted to his new solo spotify account last week.

Perhaps Lee Jeno still only expresses himself through music.

Sitting in the university auditorium, Jeno finds himself to be hyper-aware of your presence next to him. You’re sitting in the very last row, accompanied by all of Jeno’s friends– Renjun, Donghyuck, Mark, Jaemin, Chenle and Hendery (even though the band isn’t active anymore and they broke it off for the best for everyone), hell, even Ryusol and Yangyang, even though the boy doesn’t even go to university. It’s kind of surreal how one year can change everything, Jeno thinks; what he thought was the best for him was now broken off, and the friendships he found himself to be mistreating now had stronger bonds than ever.

He wonders how you even ended up in the middle of it all, in the middle of his small galaxy. You two met in the club, where you were working part-time and he often went to drown his feelings away. After he had a falling out with his friends because of the way he was acting when he was too busy with chasing fame with his band, he found himself to be the loneliest he’s ever been, now that he didn’t have the support of others and the screaming rows full of girls that were all over him. Without the band, he often felt like nothing– worthless, not interesting.

But then you came– asking him if he was the Lee Jeno from the band, and if he was feeling alright after the band’s breakup. No one’s ever asked him about it before. It opened up a pit in him, made him cross all his barriers and finally let his feelings take over. It’s mainly on you that he managed to apologize to everyone and realize what he lost.

And ever since that night, he found himself not wanting to let you go.

Nervously kicking his knee up and down, he feels the contact of your hand on his thigh, trying to calm him down. Looking at you from above, he tries to fake a smile as you squeeze his flesh and intertwine your fingers with his, shaking your hands in enthusiasm. Leaning closer to him, you whisper encouraging words into his ear.

“You’re gonna rock it, Jeno.”

Snickering, he shakes his head. “It’s an acoustic set, Y/N. I can’t rock it.”

Rolling your eyes in mock annoyance, you shake your head. “You know what I meant. So stop stressing, you’re a professional.”

It’s been months since Jeno last sang on the stage. His band was no longer in service, but all of his friends and bandmates still encouraged him to join the university’s recital– he was a good musician with a good voice, and his songs had more depth this time around. He almost gets emotional at the growth he’s made, but there’s no time for that when he notices the person in front of him being done with their song, meaning that it’s now his time to shine.

Seconds before he stands up from his place and takes his acoustic guitar with him, you reach over to his hair and ruffle it with admiration. The blush that forms on Jeno’s face is hardly noticeable from the bright lights of the stage, but it still makes Yangyang and Renjun snicker from their seats– they know this state all too well.

Lee Jeno doesn’t realize that now, this is you trying.

No one’s ever tried so subtly for him before.

“So, which one do you wanna watch?” you ask as you stumble around his messy room, getting his laptop and laying next to him on the bed. You’ve been trying to make him watch your favorite movies with you for the last half an hour, and when you finally succeeded after giving him countless options, he insisted that he’s too lazy to get the laptop himself.

Sometimes, he’s a pain in the ass. But more than often, you don’t find yourself caring.

“Hm?” you poke his side as you turn on the computer and type in his password (that you helped him out with when he first got his new laptop. He didn’t know what to set it as and you told him to make it your name as a joke. He hasn’t changed it since.), waiting for him to reply.

“I dunno,” he shrugs, “what do you want to watch the most?”

“I asked you first! I’ve seen most of them already, so I don’t really care much,” you mutter, opening Netflix and turning to him when the pincode comes up, raising your brows up.

“0423,” he mumbles before continuing, “why do you even want to watch movies that you’ve already seen? Isn’t that boring to you?”

“Your pin code is your birthday? That’s… so unsafe,” you mutter as you type it in, shaking your head at your friend’s antics, “and I like watching movies I’ve already seen, because it gives me a new perspective. And also, I like watching your reactions when you watch movies. Your face lights up and stuff, it’s adorable.”

Jeno feels his cheeks getting red again, but he tries to hide it by pulling up the hood of his hoodie, shifting a little in the bed to leave you more space. “Which one have you watched the most times?” he asks.

“Hmm… probably Dirty Dancing,” you muse, grinning, “I’ve seen it like 15 times already.”

“Can we watch that one?” he mumbles, seeing your fingers dancing along the keyboard already, typing the movie title in and searching through the page to find it.

“Why?”

“I dunno… ‘cause it’s obviously your favorite?” he says, not realizing the implication his words have, only stating what he truly means. When you silently click on the movie and let it play, laying next to your friend and putting the laptop onto his lap so you can cuddle into his side, he wonders if this is what all friends do on cold afternoons.

He wonders if there’s something more in the way you wrap your arms around him, if there’s something more in the way you look at him from time to time when your favorite scene of the movie occurs or when you hum the soundtrack under your breath, trying to make him join you just so you could hear his voice. He might have a lot of experience with girls, but when it comes to relationships, he’s utterly clueless.

And when he giggles at the scene with Baby’s sister singing, moving very sternly from side to side, hearing you replicating the scene into his ear almost word-to-word, he doesn’t regret choosing the most corny, romantic movie he’s ever heard of. He might even comply if you asked him to learn the choreography with you. He’s not opposed to anything.

When the movie comes to an end and the final credits roll, he feels a soft peck pressed to his jaw, keeping him from looking at you in fear of not seeing the admiration he so deeply desires to see in your eyes.

He wonders if this was you trying.

“What’s the deal with you and Y/N?” Jaemin asks one day, silent enough to not make the rest of the friend group hear, but loud enough to land in Jeno’s ears and make him look at his friend with shock.

“Nothing…?” he replies, but already feels his cheeks heatening. He despises how his emotions always show in his face. He wants to be cool about everything, but it’s hard to look unbothered when every small thing about you makes his heart race and makes his brain turn into a fuzzy mess.

“Sure,” Jaemin grins with a knowing smile, making Jeno roll his eyes. Of course Jaemin noticed. He always notices first, it seems– the boy has a good nose for human emotion. Perhaps it’s his very well developed sense of empathy. Jeno wonders if he’s good at relationship advice as well, but since you and him aren’t dating, he figures it’s too early to ask.

“Nothing yet, I guess? I don’t know…” Jeno mumbles under his nose, sensing that he can trust Jaemin. The boy knowingly nudges him into his waist, making the older one (by 4 months only, but that’s still something) grunt in mock annoyance.

“Oh would you look at that, our local player finally let his heart soften for someone!” Jaemin exclaims, still paying enough attention to not being too loud, leaving you deep in conversation with Yangyang and Ryusol in the back of the group.

“Stop,” Jeno rolls his eyes, but grins at the comment.

“I love this for you, though. Ever since you’ve known her, you’re different. You’re nicer, you’re paying more attention to others, hell, you don’t even drink anymore. I think this is a good thing,” Jaemin says with an encouraging smile.

“Jaemin, stop talking like my therapist, please,” Jeno mutters, trying hard to compose his expression.

“I mean it, though! It’s… it’s nice to see you actually trying for someone, you know. I hope this works out for you two,” his words are sincere and sweet, leaving Jeno in hesitance. He’s never heard any of his friends encouraging him in a relationship with someone before. He’s never been this close to anyone before, his emotions were never this deep– all of his past encounters with girls were purely sexual, and he can’t even imagine how he could ever live like that.

But before he can open his mouth to reply to Jaemin, he feels your warm hand in his (he doesn’t even have to turn around to know it’s you. He’s not used to the feeling of your hand in his– he just purely senses your presence.), catching him off-guard with the feeling of falling he gets inside of his stomach, suffocating a little.

Looking around at you, seeing you smiling, a sentence of “What are you two gossiping about?” uttered out of your lips, Jeno finds himself content with the state he’s in right now.

It feels good to try for someone.

Noticing you shivering as you two sit in the cafeteria, Jeno finds himself feeling like a worried mum for the first time. Squinting at the open windows, as if he could be mad at inanimate objects for the state they can’t control, he curses in his mind at whoever decided it was a good idea to leave them open in the middle of November.

“Are you cold?” he asks the obvious, seeing you look at him with wide eyes, reminding him of Bambi. A burst of admiration spreads on his insides, but when you reply, he can’t help but glare at you.

“No.”

“What do you mean, no? You keep shivering. You should’ve taken a hoodie with you, you know it gets cold out here,” he mutters, seeing you roll your eyes at him.

“I forgot,” you peep, “but that’s okay. I was stupid and now I have to bear the consequences,” you say, making the boy’s protective instincts kick in once again, finding himself automatically taking off his large hoodie and throwing it into your lap.

“Wear it,” he says.

“But you’re gonna get cold-”

“I can bear the cold. Wear it or else you’ll get sick again, your immune system is more unstable than my mental health. I don’t need you stuck at home with a fever for two weeks again, I’d get bored to death,” he says, trying to reason with you, while also simultaneously trying to make it seem more casual than it felt inside of him.

“Jeno-”

“Can you please just wear it?” he asks, seeing you finally back down, smiling as you put the hoodie on and tug the sleeves down to make the most adorable sweater paws, making the boy coo on the inside.

You look absolutely adorable in his eyes. He never really knew how it feels to see someone you adore in your clothes– while he’s lent his jackets to random girls in the bar countless of times before, it never really held any significance to him. But seeing you in his jacket, drowning in the fabric as he likes his own clothes a little oversized, he can’t help but feel his heart swell with the sight. You should borrow his clothes more often.

Maybe he could “accidentally” leave one at your place once. Maybe you’ll wear it if you find it there. He won’t know about it unless you tell him, but the thought is enough for the boy to go crazy about the imagination.

“You look good,” slips out of his lips, making him instantly curse at himself on the inside. This might just be the corniest situation of his whole entire life– and he’s sent you a playlist before.

Looking at him from under your eyelashes, you almost look shy as you burrow your nose into the fabric of the hoodie, smiling at him. “Thanks.”

“You can… keep it if you’d like,” he hesitantly says, not knowing what’s gotten into him. If Jaemin was here, he’d scream and yell at him for being this awkward with you. He’s known you for quite a few months now– he should already be used to the way you make him feel by now.

You grin at him as you nod, looking away from his eyes and breaking the burning eye-contact. “Okay,” you say.

The table falls silent for a second, both of you too immersed into your own head to register the quietness, when you move in your place and reach towards your hair, dragging the scrunchie that was holding your hair up off your hair, letting your locks fall free on the gray fabric of Jeno’s hoodie. Running your hand through your hair to shake it off a little and give it volume, you turn to Jeno and take his hand into yours before sliding the light-pink scrunchie onto his hand, giggling at the contrast of it against his all-black outfit.

Jeno looks at you with furrowed brows. What’s this supposed to be? Why is your hair tie suddenly on his wrist?

When your eyes lock for a split second, you must notice his confusion. “Keep it,” you say.

And he will. He’s convinced he would keep anything you give him, even if he found no interest in the thing, or if he found the item to be the most unuseful thing in the whole world. It’s from you, so it’s important.

He doesn’t know what the whole action means– he’s too clueless to understand the girl code. He doesn’t know that this was him marking you his, and you letting the world know he’s yours. The item exchange was solely a game of your hearts. A slight push forward to giving this whole thing a new title.

He doesn’t know that this was you trying. But he feels he’s too impatient to keep waiting for signs any longer.

When you first meet Lee Jeno, his exterior calls at you with hard chords that keep slowly burning out.

You never really liked your job at the bar. It was too loud, you came in contact with too many men with high egos that thought they could make your day any better, and you also had nothing else to do than to observe people the whole night. Observing the guests of your bar was one of your favorite activities. Sometimes, you make up a whole story about them in your brain, puzzling the pieces together with a bit of fantasy; sometimes, they come to you and tell you all about their problems and why they chose to drink them away at the bar tonight.

Jeno was no different. You knew about him– because realistically speaking, who didn’t? He had quite the reputation in the town, and you can’t say that the one he had amongst girls he slept with was a good one. You heard all about him from your coworkers– he’s a showstopper, a bad liar, drama starter, a player, fuckboy… you name it, he’s probably been called that name before. And you can’t say you didn’t believe those words, not when you saw him at the bar with that confident smirk of his every other night, but this one evening, when you actually came in contact with the boy, you thought they might have been lying about him just the slightest.

He came to you with a dark look on his face, ordering himself a drink. He seemed out of it– like most days, lately– and you suddenly thought about all the rumors that spread around the town when his band broke up, wondering if they were true and if he really was such a dick everyone made him out to be. His expression is remorseful, the look never leaving his face, and you suddenly catch yourself asking him if he’s okay, met with surprise in his eyes.

You think you must be the first one to ever care about how he feels.

When you first meet Lee Jeno, his exterior calls at you with hard chords that keep slowly burning out. When you get to know him, the contrast between his inside and the act he puts out for everyone to see gets harsher and harsher.

You learn a lot about him over time. They said he was overly-confident when he was starting the band– you just think he was ambitious. They said he was a liar– you just thought he never really had the full picture. They said he was a player– you just thought he never really thought he was playing with anyone’s heart. They all said he would hurt you– you told them you don’t see that happening any time soon.

Nobody believed in him until he put himself back together. Nobody but you.

“I think I’m in love with you,” he whispers into the dark one night, his face illuminated by the show he put up on Netflix to just mumble in the background, when you’re too tired to go back to the campus and choose to stay over at his place, because you sleep better by his side anyway. His words don’t surprise you, if you really think about it– they just fall into place, filling you with a soft harmony, making you 100% content.

Turning your body to him, his expression is nervous and he keeps biting at his lower lip, the habit of pulling at his chapped skin making itself known again like in any situation like this. You don’t even realize there’s a smile spreading on your face, a soft one, to be exact– because that’s how everything with Jeno was so far.

“Can I kiss you?” you reply with a question, catching the boy off guard. Breathless, he nods, letting you completely in, breaking all the walls he’s spent ages building up around himself.

He’s had a lot of experience with girls and you’re sure as hell he’s kissed more than a couple of them in his life before, but when kissing you, he’s as nervous as the first time, a shy boy looking at you from under his eyelashes as you lean closer to him and nudge his nose with yours before connecting your lips together in what feels like a seal of something new.

When you first meet Lee Jeno, his exterior calls at you with hard chords that keep slowly burning out. When you first kiss him, he’s the softest entity.

There’s something unexplainable about the contrast of his dark hair, harsh jawline and the chains on his clothing with the unbearable softness of his kiss, the movement of his lips against yours almost hesitant to get more, afraid of going too far and messing up the moment. The humming of Netflix is no more than a background noise when you pull away from him for just a second, gasping for air and going for more, this time deeper, letting the boy know that he doesn’t have to fear you, that although you’re fragile, in his arms, you have no chance of breaking. His palm, adorned with cold silver on his fingers, comes in contact with your jaw, steading the movement. The touch burns you up, makes you yearn for more, but he still holds you like you’re the finest piece of porcelain, treasuring you so much more than anyone ever before, the drunkenness of being in love with someone completely changing his brain chemistry.

Pulling away from him once again, the state of him takes all air out of your lungs. In the white glow of the TV, Lee Jeno looks up at you with eyes an endless pool of serenity, all wide and glimmering, his lips swollen and parted, aching for more. His cheeks are a little tinted, his raven hair falling into his forehead a little disheveled, his strong features shining with a softened glow, inviting you in for more. You want to keep this image of him forever.

“Thank you for giving me a chance,” he whispers again, into the dark, making the pit in your stomach deepen. He must have felt like everyone gave up on him– like there was no other script for him and he was left with nothing at all. You wonder if he truly thought he would never get a second chance again. You wonder if he really thought he messed it up this bad.

Something about his words makes you want to kiss him again. You lean into him, catching his cheeks into your palms– almost feeling like you’re holding your whole world– and see his eyes flutter close when your breathing fans over his lips, softly taking him in again.

His hands are a little cold when he covers yours, still sitting at his face. “I’m in love with you,” you whisper against his lips, thinking to all the times you wanted to say it but couldn’t, knowing it’s too soon and he’s not ready for it yet. You took things at his pace– he’s never been in a serious relationship before, and you didn’t know if he was prepared to have one, prepared to get attached, prepared to let you stay, when all everyone ever did was leave him. You wonder if the trajectory of his life would have gone differently if his father was still present– even though it’s still only an explanation, not an excuse– but you think you’re perfectly content with watching him grow by your side.

When your lips grow tired of the kissing, you smile against each other’s lips, holding each other close. The vulnerability of it all breaks you into pieces and glues itself together in one swift moment, wanting to treasure this moment forever.

When you first meet Lee Jeno, his exterior calls at you with hard chords that keep slowly burning out. Now, rather than a piercing echo, Lee Jeno holds himself to you like a soft melody.

You’re the first person Lee Jeno ever tried for. But even now, that he’s so sure you’re his and you’re not leaving any time soon, he’s convinced that for you, he’ll always keep trying.

#nct #nct dream #lee jeno #nct x reader #nct dream x reader #jeno x reader #jeno fluff #jeno imagine #jeno angst #jeno drabble #nct fluff #nct imagine #nct angst #nct drabble #nct dream scenario #nct dream drabble #nct dream angst #nct dream fluff

678 notes · View notes

r-2-peepoo · 1 year

Note

Do you have any good Codywan fics to recommend? Preferably on AO3, preferably not too spicy, and preferably ones that will leave me happy inside and not drowning in a post-Order 66 pit of despair. If you don’t feel like answering this, that’s fine, I hope you have a good day! :)

First of all, I am so sorry for not replying to this sooner. I didn’t see the notification and also I really wanted to make sure I gave you a good list. I love getting asked this so thank you for giving me an excuse to make another one of these posts. Here is a link to the first one I made.

These are all masterpieces in my mind. I have like twenty bookmarks in total even though I read fics all the time so here are some of my holy grails:

AUs

Oh, the weather outside is frightful by Celaestis (Christmas fluff modern au)

I wish there were more Christmas fics because I just love them and it certainly doesn’t hurt that the writing quality of this one is nothing short of breathtaking. This is ever so slightly spicy but its mostly fluff. Just a line or two of spice and it’s implied too. This writer has a way of describing things that is so intricate and intimate and I am just obsessed with their writing style.

love me long, be my sunlight by ricken (love island au)

I have never been able to sit through an entire episode of Love Island but when I tell you I screamed when I first saw this au. It is the most fun I have had with a fic in so long but it’s also actually incredibly heartwarming too. And what a creative idea as well. This is one of the fics I reread a lot and if you give it a go, you’ll understand why. It’s positively delightful and is such an original concept too.

Probably the spiciest fic on the list but there’s nothing crazy. It’s mostly just dialogue and references (it is a dating show after all) and the spiciest scene is interrupted. I had such a blast with this one and I really wish more fics were like this.

hunger + dreams by catboydogma (hockey/figure skating au)

Tell me why Codywan suit every genre. The very concept of a Codywan figure skating au is enough to make me screech but this one!!! It’s just so cute. Truly the most adorable little getting together fic and it does such a good job characterising everyone too. The interactions Obi Wan has with Anakin and Ahsoka are so much fun and Codywan deserve to be happy above all else and this fic absolutely delivers that. I would read a thousand chapters of this if I could.

Silver Lining by Wixiany (skiing au)

This fic!!!! Oh my god!!!! I have always believed that Codywan have suffered too much in canon that every au they are place in should be a romcom and that is precisely what this fic is. The sweetest little romcom ever. This fic has everything. A ski-slope accident meet cute. A Cody’s scar origin story. An Omega cameo (if you know me, you know that my opinion of any Codywan fic skyrockets if my fave Star Wars girl makes an appearance). Basically no angst!!!! I think this fic cured all of my problems ngl. I cannot recommend it enough. I genuinely just found this like thirty minutes ago and it has instantly become one of my favourite Codywan fics ever.

An Officer and a Gentleman by jimmytiberius (regency au)

I read this one last year and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. This is a Codywan regency au and regency era literature may be the only thing I love as much as Codywan so naturally the being combined is immaculate. This fic does a fantastic job of capturing the delicate romanticism of the time period and it’s a style that suits Codywan down to the ground. It just makes sense for them. I mean a Sense and Sensibility au??? Are you serious??? What an amazing concept. If you’re familiar with Jane Austen at all, you’ll feel right at home with this fic because it is just so incredibly sweet.

Rhapsody in Blue by KCKenobi (orchestra/mystery au)

Now I know I mentioned it on my last post but I have vowed to always recommend this fic whenever anyone asks. It is truly my favourite fic of all time and I’ve read it multiple times now. How many fanfics can you say have their own soundtrack? I think this is the third time I have recommended this fic in a post but it really is that good. This is a warning for some angst but I would never recommend a fic with an unhappy ending unless specifically asked so you can rest easy knowing that everything resolves well in this story.

What I also adore about this fic is that it does brilliantly what so few others do, which is that it doesn’t ignore its side characters. They are not just props in Obi Wan’s story. Each person, no matter how small their appearance, feels like a real person. They’re so believable and every relationship, platonic, romantic or otherwise, is completely fleshed out.

There's also a very sweet Codywan oneshot here but it is set during the pandemic and is a bit of a heavy read depending on how much that topic affects so be careful.

I would also like to say that, while this author doesn’t generally write Codywan, first of all when she does it is magical. Secondly, she is absolutely fantastic if you like platonic fics. There’s so many to read and every single one I have read so far has been wonderful.

Canonverse fics

Incognizant by marshMeister (5+1 fic)

It wouldn’t be a true list of recommendations if I didn’t mention a fic by one of my favourite humans @legobenkenobi. When I say he is one of my favourite writers ever, I am not just saying it because I talk to him basically everyday. I cannot think of a single other person I would trust more to characterise both Cody and Obi Wan. It’s perfect every single time, whether its just in a post or in a full fanfiction, and this fic is such a good example. It’s that classic 5+1 format but it’s so sweet and so in character.

What’s the one thing that could improve a Codywan fic though? Anakin being completely oblivious and (lovingly) made fun of for it. He has absolutely no clue how Codywan feel about each other even though basically the rest of the galaxy knows so this fic is him figuring that out and it is joy to read (and then reread like six times).

Also if I could make it required by law to read everything Ben has ever written, I would. So definitely check out literally all of his other fics.

if i don’t make it back from where i’ve gone (just know i’ve loved you all along) by thebitterbeast (featuring art from thegreencarousel) (time travel, non linear fic)

This fic does have some angst but rest assured everything works out eventually. It’s such a unique take on the events in canon and I already enjoy a time loop/ time travel fic. But the part I love the most about this fic is that it’s pro-Jedi. Too many Codywan fics find it necessary to disparage or misrepresent the Jedi and their beliefs in order to make the relationship work but Jedi are allowed to love! And this fic is such a beautiful reminder of that. It also captures the gentleness that Cody and Obi Wan have in their relationship with each other in such a lovely way. I fully accept this as the new canon.

Ghosts of the Dead by Just_Here_To_Procrastinate (zombie au)

This is definitely the heaviest fic on the list but trust me. It’s a masterpiece. Also happy ending too, so don’t worry. Just be cautious for mentions of blood and gore if that isn’t your thing. It doesn’t go overboard with it at all but better safe than sorry.

This is a zombie au and I understand that genre isn’t for everyone, but when people say that they’ve read fanfictions that are better than traditionally published novels, this is the kind of this they’re talking about. There’s a section of this fic which is maybe one of the most beautifully written things I’ve ever read. I wish I could give more context but it happens to be at the most pivotal moment of the entire story and I don’t want to spoil anything so you’re going to have to trust me. This fic is insanely good. It’s quite a long one and worth every single second you spend reading it. I love the narrative style and how it fits into the actual plot of TCW too. The characterization is fantastic too.

#codywan #commander cody #obi wan kenobi #clone wars #star wars prequels

217 notes · View notes

fatuismooches · 8 months

Note

its your boy. the one and only 😈

i bring—surprise surprise! fluff.

recently i've been really obsessing at the idea of akademiya zandik actually having someone to look up to!! like his senior 🥺 someone who approves of his research and is actively critiquing him as an equal, commenting about his papers how he expected his peers would back then,, and i can just imagine a head over heels zandik trailing where ever you went,, because you have the sweetest smile and he feels so happy just being your side. and you seem happy having him close to you even though he's not talkin and just reading or writing. you tell him stuff he didn't know and he's in awe on how smart you are.,, you're not like those narrow-minded scholars in the akademiya, thats why you're far more famous in the akademiya,, like oh, your darshan's sage has their eyes on you??? everyone asks for your opinion or be in your expiditions???

and he feels sooo special when u refuse others because, well, zandik was first to get your attention so now he's going on an expedition with you. alone! and ahhh he LOOOVEESS when you defend him against others scholars whenever they comment on him badly.,, like zandik offers a solution that wasn't even inhumane but people still look at him in disgust because how dare he suggest even a thing when he's the freak of akademiya and you step up, agreeing with him and passive aggressively calling out others with a tense smile...

idk i really wanna give zandik someone who he could look up to n make him feel somewhat normal about his ideas 😭😭😭😭

OH MY. OH MY MYMYMY EUDEWWD i am actually eating this up so much... Zandik falling in love with his senior will be occupying my mind forever now thanks. Even better when you're a well-respected member of the Akademiya, everyone expects you to condemn and criticize the actions of Zandik. And he doesn't expect anything else from you at first, he thought you were just like the rest of them. But nope! Unlike the rest of your fellow scholars, instead of dismissing his work with barely a passing glance, you sat down and read it. You annotated it. You highlighted bits you agreed with, disagreed with, questions, parts that needed further clarification. All handed back to him with a smile on your face and a pat on his back, as you walked away happily.

Zandik's stunned and is already a bit head over heels.

All the other scholars are now blowing up at you. Someone like you shouldn't be doing this! He goes against what the Akademiya stands for! Why are you entertaining him! He and his ideas are freakish! You're going to regret it in the end! All you hear is a bunch of whining and crying. Sure, his ideas aren't quite normal, but perhaps the Akademiya needs to reconsider their standards! Maybe that's why nothing good ever comes out of the school besides scholars with a whole lot of ego with nothing to show for it! Your blatant defense of him has both your fellow classmates and Zandik shocked and quiet. Although Zandik was oddly touched by your attention to his work, he wasn't quite sure if you could be trusted or not, after all, he was used to people shitting on him all the time, but this declaration to the whole of the Akademiya just solidifies the beginning of his obsession with you.

Suddenly he has copies of every single academic paper you've ever written, thoroughly studying them and learning about your research and interests too. He realizes not only are you so incredibly intelligent, but you're open-minded to many things. The best possible combination. It's only this one time he slightly curses himself for not paying more attention to the Akademiya's affairs, because how did he miss how much even the sages like you and how people are begging you to reread their essays or tutor them? And then... it starts to go past that. He wants to know everything about you. Zandik wants to know what makes you smile, tick, what you do in your free time... do you have more things in common than he thought? No, no of course he's not trying to be your friend! He's merely interested. Curious.

Zandik's so strangely into you. Instead of locking himself up in his room all day, he finds himself coming out to find you, which he does rather quickly with how much people are crowding you with questions. But as soon as you spot him, you brighten up and break away from them, making him stiffen from all the eyes on him now. Though you merely drag him away from there and he lets you!! And you take him out to... lunch? With desert too? For such a genius, you are so... weird sometimes. You're the one chatting away and gossiping and dumping about so many things that aren't important at all while he's just nodding... but he likes it.

DUDE Zandik feels on top of the world whenever you ignore others for him 😭😭❤️🥺 Like he just gets this shit-eating grin on his face as he sneers at the other person. Hah, did they really think they were worthy of your attention? Your brilliance? These idiots don't deserve your brain much less your kindness. He still thinks you entertain them too much, your intelligence should be spent on far more important things. AND UGHH YESS <33 Being his #1 defender <33 He genuinely loves you so much for that, going out of your way to defend someone like him that everyone hates so much. He knows that no matter what you say people won't change but... it's nice.

You two going on expeditions alone... yes the work gets done obviously, you two are smart enough to get it done easily... but it drags on far longer than initially planned because you keep kissing Zandik when he starts talking all smartly, and when he gets a super cute concentrated look on his face... and then he yells at you for wasting time... and you kiss him again because he's cute when he's mad... yea the expeditions are totally productive! 🤭 I just think Zandik deserves to feel special and flustered. Bby needs some positive attention on him for once.

#smooches talks #moots: kai <3 #dottore love notes <3 #omfg... this is such a good concept #he really just needs someone like this #u think this reader could possibly prevent his descent into madness...#probably not but teehee

118 notes · View notes

minki-moo · 9 months

Text

♡‧₊˚ 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙥𝙩. 1 ♡‧₊˚

pairing ♡ mingi x f!reader rating ♡ m for mature tags ♡ office au, boyfriend!mingi, long distance, petnames (mingi calls reader baby), suggestive w/c ♡ 800 pt. 2

a/n ♡ so i originally posted this on ao3 and since it did pretty good on there i decided to post it here too. pt.2 is already done so i'll be posting it right after this one. pt. 3 is also in the works so i hope you enjoy!!!

you look at the clock. 9 pm. you hold back a sigh. it's been a week since your boyfriend left for his trip, and you can't say you're not disappointed. you had just gotten together after months of the both of you being absolutely clueless about each other's feelings. when everything seemed to be going smoothly, his work pushed a 2 week business trip onto him. and if it couldn't get any worse, with his trip and your workload suddenly increasing, you barely had any time to call each other, and when you did, the call wouldn't last anymore than 5 minutes.

you plop into your bed, exhausted from work. as you scroll aimlessly through your emails, you get a text:

minki <3: good evening shnookums

you smile as you read his text, silently cursing him for being so adorable

you: good evening princess

minki <3: how was my wittle cutie patootie

you: better now that i can talk to you <3

minki <3: awww ur making me blush

minki <3: ��i miss you

as you reread the last text over and over again, different feelings start flooding your mind: lovesickness, longing, sadness, and…lust.

yes, you haven't been dating for that long, and your busy schedules made it difficult to meet up. mingi, being the gentleman that he is, always made the most out of your dates; taking you out to different restaurants you've always wanted to try, and planning other fun things that made you fall for him every single time.

although those sentiments were very touching and thoughtful, you have to admit that you were ready for more. you were ready for more than little pecks on the cheek, you were ready for more than tentative cuddles while watching tv.

the problem is, you don't know how to bring it up to him. mingi always seemed so happy whenever you had time for each other that you convinced yourself that where you guys are right now is enough.

a loud ring shakes you out of your thoughts. you look at your phone, a bright "minki <3" pops up on the screen. clearing your throat, you answer the phone and put it on speaker, letting it rest on the pillow beside you.

"hellooooooo beautiful~", mingi's soft yet melodic voice makes your heart skip a beat.

"you were taking a while to answer, so i thought i'd call you. are you doing ok?"

you take a few deep breaths, hoping he didn't notice how your breathing had become uneven.

"no no i'm ok, just a bit tired", you reply.

you could practically hear the pout on his lips when he replied.

"awww you shouldn't be working too hard. how am i supposed to talk to you if you're tired?".

you chuckled as he continued to curse at your workplace for making you work so hard.

after a brief silence, you hear mingi take a deep breath, and proceed to say something that made your efforts to stay calm go to waste.

"i wish i was with you right now."

calming yourself down, you manage to reply, "i wish so too, mingi."

"oh really? it doesn't sound like it". his voice practically oozed with sarcasm.

rolling your eyes, you say, "of course i want to be with my boyfriend".

"well i don't believe you~", mingi says in a cute little sing-song voice.

"then what do i have to do to prove it to you?".

"kiss me".

huh???, you think in awe. "mingi, darling, you're miles away, how am i supposed to kiss you?"

"kiss me through the phone~", he replies, as he continues singing the rest of the song in an out of tune voice that makes you giggle.

"ok ok fine", you say after you stop giggling.

you pucker up your lips and give your phone a big smooch. a small laugh from your phone makes you smile.

"thank you, love. i really needed that".

you and mingi talk a little more before he dozes off, still on call. you let the call continue, not having the heart to cut it off. picking up your laptop, you start working on an email while listening to mingi's deep breathing and incoherent mumbles.

"mmh, baby".

you freeze, slowly turning your head towards the phone, not believing what you are hearing.

you hadn't noticed before, but small moans had accompanied mingi's breathing. your face starts to heat up as you struggle to keep your heart rate down. what was he dreaming about that made him say stuff like that in his sleep?

"fuuuuck yeah, right there".

this was the last straw. you quickly grab your phone and end the call, still in shock at what you had just heard, and ashamed at yourself for letting it affect you the way it did.

after calming yourself down, you close your laptop and head to bed, your mind reeling over the phone call you just had.

#ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez x reader #mingi x reader #mingi #mingi x you #mingi smut

75 notes · View notes

definitelynotafurinasimp · 1 year

Note

Hey, I like your writing. Would it be alright if we get Ganyu and Hu Tao with a pre-S/o who obviously has a crush on them but is to shy to confess their feeling. So it's up to them to take initiative. Thank you.

Them with a reader that’s too shy to confess their obvious crush to them

characters: Hu Tao / Ganyu / Keqing x gn!reader (separate)

warnings: none, just fluff

a/n: I decided to add Keqing because I feel like I haven't written for her in a long time, and frankly, because I could.

If there's something I got wrong about your request, feel free to say and I'll try again once i find the motivation/time to.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Hu Tao

While, at this point, most people would think that Hu Tao had no idea how to read a room, the funeral director was confident in saying that their theory couldn’t be more false, as she simply chose to ignore it whenever she could. So when you started acting increasingly shy and nervous around her, she was quick to pick up on your behavior. And once she noticed how you were acting, her discovering why was already on the horizon.

Of course Hu Tao used this gained knowledge to sort things out for the two of you. Or at least she will… eventually. After she got her fun first.

The longer you stared at the lines of the poem Hu Tao had handed you, the more of a weird feeling you got in your stomach. It was unusual enough for her to write anything that wasn’t at least 50% meant as a joke, so when you saw that it was about love you wished for nothing more than to either sink into the ground or wake up from this awkward scenario.

What didn’t help was the fact that she continued to stare at you with a grin the whole time, not seeming to blink once whenever you stole a quick glance towards her.

“Uhm”, you tried to find the right words to start, only for Hu Tao to cut you off.

“Is there a problem?”, she asked, almost sounding genuine, if it weren’t for her grin growing bigger.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but why didn’t you choose anyone else to proofread this?”, you nervously asked, seeing her playfully tilt her head from the corner of your eye.

“Who else should I hand it to? Xingqiu? Nothing against him, but he really isn’t made for criticizing romantic poetry”, she was quick to respond, letting out a small yawn as the first sunrails made their way towards you, causing you to realize how long it was since she had dragged you out here.

“And I am better at talking about these kinds of texts for what reason?”, you asked with all the sarcasm you could muster, both of you knowing damn well how bad you were with any material about romance.

“Your reactions are funny”, she stated almost matter of factly while raising her pointer finger and pointing at a specific verse in the poem, looking at you expectedly. “Reread this once more and tell me if there’s something to change”, she demanded, causing your eyes to scan those words once again, only for the realization that the person described shared a lot of features with you… Almost too many for this whole thing to be a coincidence.

Before you had a chance to say anything however, Hu Tao snatched the paper out of your hands, giving you a smile before playfully patting your shoulder.

“Oh no, it seems like a new morning has dawned, which means that a new day of work lies ahead of us, so sorry that I have to cut this short all of a sudden”, she feigned sadness, only to give you one of her usual mischievous smiles. “But hey, if you need to tell me anything, you know where to find me.”

Ganyu

When you first began acting awkwardly around Ganyu, going so far as to avoid looking her in the eyes, the more anxious side of her began worrying she may have unintentionally done something that caused your behavior, only for you to blush whenever she mentioned it before trying to assure her that everything was fine.

It was only after one specific, purple haired coworker of hers started to notice the way you two acted around each other and decided that enough was enough, that Ganyu was confronted with the possibility of you having caught feelings. And while the intention of revealing your somewhat obvious crush was to make the half Adeptus stop worrying too much, it turned out to have the exact opposite effect as Ganyu also began to turn into a nervous wreck whenever she was around you.

Taking the initiative in situations like these never was something Ganyu was all too fond of, her own anxiety not exactly helping in making things easier. Nevertheless here she was, waiting for you to meet her as she requested, doubts about this whole thing quickly starting to invade her mind, only for her to try and shake them off once she saw your form in the distance.

“Good morning Ganyu!”, you greeted her, a smile on your face as you made your way over to her, completely oblivious to how much of an anxious wreck she was at the moment.

Or at least you were until she presented you with a rose, barely managing to look you in the eyes as the color of her face started to turn into the same shade of red as the flower.

“I-I’ve heard of a nearly opened shop that sells beautiful flowers, so I wanted to… buy you one”, she mumbled just loud enough for you to hear, the sudden change in atmosphere causing you to start blushing as well, slowly taking the rose out of her hand, making sure not to sting yourself on any of its thorns.

“T-Thanks, I would have brought something with me too if I knew you bought me something. Please excuse me for a minute, I’ll get you something”, you offered, trying your best to get out before your nervousness took over completely, only to stop when you heard Ganyu speak up again.

“Wait!”, she almost yelled, immediately stopping herself once she realized how loud she was, lowering her voice drastically.

“There’s something I wanted to tell you.”

Keqing

No matter what way she looked at it, Keqing couldn’t help but feel slightly infuriated. You were her secretary, the first one to hold out for such a long time at that, so why were you spending less and less time around her, preferring to pretend to be busy running errands around the office?

This wasn’t jealousy that was speaking of course, it wasn’t like she started to enjoy having you around her at work so much that she couldn’t help but feel lonely whenever you weren’t, but if you had a problem with her, you should simply tell her that face to face instead of trying to run away.

And so, the Yuheng decided to ambush you somewhere private, fully intending to resolve whatever issues you had in a direct way.

“O-oh Keqing. Is there something you need?”, you asked, nearly jumping as Keqing appeared from behind the corner, cutting off your way suddenly enough that you nearly ran into her..

“Yes. I need you”, she stated, her tone sounding slightly frustrated, only for her eyes to slightly widen once she realized that her words could be taken another way, quickly adding a few more. “-to do your job as my secretary.”

While Keqing may have been full of resolve when she set out to confront you, the longer she had to wait for you, the more she began to actually fear what could happen. What if you really had a problem with her? Would you resign? Did you not enjoy working together as much as she did? At this point it was fair to say that she was feeling somewhat nervous, increasingly hoping that this all turned out to be some kind of misunderstanding.

“I can’t help but feel like you're avoiding me. Even now I had to basically ambush you to get you to even speak to me”, she explained while crossing her arms, checking your face for any reactions before taking a deep breath and continuing, “If you have a problem with me, just say it”, Keqing tried her best to continue her confident facade, only for it to slowly giving way with each and every word, her nervousness making its way onto her face.

“I don’t have a problem with you”, you quickly blurted out, only to almost instantly be cut off by the Yuheng.

“Then what is it?”

Her question almost instantly managed to shut you up, causing you to look around nervously as you tried your best to find the right words to continue with. Eventually letting out a long sigh as you closed your eyes in defeat.

“Could we go somewhere more private? I… have some things I need you to know.”

#hu tao x reader #hu tao x you #hu tao x y/n #hu tao #hu tao imagines #ganyu x reader #ganyu x you #ganyu x y/n #ganyu #ganyu imagines #keqing x reader #keqing x you #keqing x y/n #keqing #keqing imagines

244 notes · View notes

transimailisa · 11 months

Text

“bushi made lisa too obsessed with yukina”

this is a statement that i commonly saw around when entering the fandom and bc i am so normal i wrote about this and also bc it is something i wanted to write about for a while. have fun reading thru.

First of all I want to clear something off because it is just something that ticks me off personally. Bushi has no weight in the writing and the card art in Garupa. Or it must be really limited. (Thankfully Yours, a Professional Creative)

So we can reformulate, Craftegg made Lisa too obsessed with Yukina. Which we shall now explore.

I think it’s important to start with which kind of character is Lisa. One of the common descriptors being used ingame and outside of the game for her is that she is friendly, and lots of adjectives that go with this (true) declaration : lively, kind, caring etc.

This friendliness most often and most importantly comes with a lot of affection, no matter the friend. It is most often verbal, but also can be physical and Lisa absolutely does not shy away from showing it. A non exhaustive list of examples shall follow.

Moca Aoba - Detour on the Way Home (card episode 1)

Kasumi Toyama - Colorful Rocks (card episode 1)

Lisa Imai - Together Always (card episode 2) (talking about all of roselia)

And many more but we’re trying to be concise here.

Lisa’s affection for Yukina being the most obvious one, which I won't bother to show examples here because of how recurring it is. As seen previously it is not a Yukina only occurrence, but the different kind of affection be it by Quantity or Things that are Being Said, such as I quote “And I still want to be there for you. Whenever you feel lost or worried, I'll be sure to lend a hand.” ( Lisa Imai - Inevitable Bond - Card Episode 1)

That affection can definitely be explained by the sense of familiarity between the two. Literally childhood best friends ! So isn’t it normal for Lisa to be all that affectionate with her BEST friend, which she has now known for over a decade.

All of this to me proves more that Lisa truthfully loves Yukina, which is not a question of being “obsessed” with her. Extremely affectionate at most and yes, in the worst of cases, overbearing but we shall come back to that.

But now we know that said time and friendship wasn’t all rosy either and that it came from a long way, which we shall now discuss in the second part of that essay.

Lisa’s self worth and being on the edge of abandonment (or so she believes).

Abandonment might be a strong word here, but hear me out.

As all good readers and rereaders of Roselia BS1 know, Lisa and Yukina’s relationship was tense in many aspects. Many things fell apart throughout the years between them after Yukina’s dad quit music, and one of them being their love for music which in part tied them together.

Lisa gave up on it, by fear of being an obstacle to Yukina progress.

4koma Lisa and Music

Story 1: Bloom Of The Blue Rose

Chapter 10: Blue Rose

That fear makes it that at no moment Lisa seriously reconsidered picking up music. Which makes that when Yukina finally found Sayo to form a band :

Story 1: Bloom Of The Blue Rose

Chapter 4: Tattered Sheet Music

(I always knew this day would come... and now, here it is.) To me this quote specifically indicates that Lisa always expected at some point for Yukina to properly walk away from her. She doesn’t play music anymore and can’t be useful to her, in Lisa’s twisted vision of her self worth, and Yukina now found one person who can exactly do that.

What does she bring to Yukina that would stop her from walking away completely ?

If we take all of that in consideration then, for a good part before the story and even ! During the story we get to see later on, as their relationship does not immediately get fixed after BS1, Lisa views each moment with Yukina being possibly the last one with her, as she views herself being a liability for Roselia as well.

That culmination makes Lisa end up being overbearing with Yukina, which is a common complaint I have seen since the MOMENT I stepped into the fandom. Problem being that people do not realize that it is framed to be a flaw to overcome and has now been overcome since Noble Story 1. Lisa’s story is about mending her friendship with Yukina, not feeling like an impostor within Roselia and accepting that she loves music all the same as the other members of her band.

Overcoming all of that comes hand in hand with not being overbearing with Yukina, or anyone truly, due to her fear of being left behind. The newest Australia Event is also another good example of how when she is under Severe Stress, Lisa’s coping induce being extremely overbearing with EVERYONE in the group. (Which is why btw do not refer to Imai Lisa as the Mom Friend as it is a Sign of Clear Distress when she is.)

So to me Lisa’s love and overbearingness being framed as “craftegg making Lisa obsessed with Yukina” is a clear miss in her character and in her story.

Now this could have been the end of that Already long rant but Ohoho. Isn’t a relationship made out of two people ? What about Yukina in all of that ?

The Yukina who immediately wrote a song calling Lisa her sun, her moon, her home, and declared that Lisa was essential to her and Roselia, when Lisa was away for three hours ? (Hidamari Rhodonite lyrics/ Don’t Leave Me Lisa Chapter 7/ Lisa Imai - Indispensable - Card Episode 1)

The Yukina who said that, no matter the choices they made and what would have happened, Lisa would have ended up, by her side, in Roselia ? ( Lisa Imai - Her Wavering Feelings - Card Episode 1)

The Yukina who said I quote “ If there's ever a time when it seems like you're about to make the wrong choice, I'll stop you. Just like you've guided me this whole time, I want to be able to do the same for you.” ? ( Lisa Imai - Inevitable Bond - Card Episode 1)

And so so many more. Weirdly enough, people tend to forget how often and how strongly Yukina responds to Lisa’s affection. Not even shying all that much from it, apart from the first few stories, and yet none of it is framed in a “obsessed” with Lisa way. Yukina loves and is as affectionate as Lisa, if only in a different way.

So to conclude for good this time : To me Lisa’s love and overbearingness being framed as “craftegg making Lisa obsessed with Yukina” is a clear miss in her character and in her story. But it also discards a lot of Yukina’s character that reflects in that love and affection that she bears for Lisa and her friends too.

#bang dream #bandori #minato yukina #imai lisa #yukilisa #FINALLY PUT THOUGHTS ON THAT !!#tho it is a now way less common complaint. it sometimes pops up. and now i have this ready for whenever it shall

96 notes · View notes

rhoorl · 6 months

Text

Week in Review | Dec. 10

Hi! How are you? I can't believe we're nearing the midway point of December! I am happy to get back to my typical Week in Review style after an abbreviated version last week!

Same shit different week for me when it comes to my TBR, I add more than I can read. But alas, here's what I got to:

Fics I read this week:

Frankie Morales

I Like the Way You (Frankie) by @undercoverpena - I've kept this series in my Current Compulsory Series section for weeks, but I'm pulling it up to the top this week because we got the final part this week! It's always a bit bittersweet to me when I get to the end of a series, especially one I'm following in real-time. I loved following along each week and immersing myself in this story and I’m sad it's done (but hey, great news, I can now reread it from the beginning and binge!). Great job Jo! 💕

While I'm talking about Jo, here's this saucy one-shot Coming Under the Christmas Tree

Joel Miller

Footprints by @sin-djarin - This brought back some Christmas morning nostalgia for me! Joel as a dad and the love he has for Sarah makes me melt. And we have an Uncle Tommy appearance too!

Mr. Ben

SOS by brnn on AO3 - I’m not sure if this creator is on Tumblr, but if they are let me know! I had several chapters of this story built up that I hadn’t caught up on and when the final chapter dropped I binged what I had left! Mr. Ben and OFC Clare are adorable.

Din Djarin

Safe to The Touch by @linzels-blog A touch-starved Din gets some lovin’. 💕

A Baker’s Dozen by @avastrasposts Part 2 in Mel's series saw Din come into the bakery. This was so sweet (no pun intended!).

Other Characters

Good Things Take Time by @oonajaeadira - This series is so good! I've had it recommended to me several times and I've been slowly working my way through it, savoring it because I don't want it to end! I read Parts 2 and 3 this week along with the various drabbles in between. The chemistry these two have is *chef's kiss*

Current Compulsory Series:

These are the series I am keeping up with at the moment.

Holiday Prompts (Various) by @trulybetty - A healthy serving of delicious stories this week. I officially want to move to Maplewood, well, maybe visit. I'll be honest, I'm not made for the cold anymore. 😆 Also, Tim and Cagney continue to be a favorite as are Frankie and Mav! And Dieter made me google Christmas hippo socks which somehow I already did not own! 🦛

Delta Palms Tropical Resort (Frankie) by @linzels-blog The rollercoaster I felt with this latest chapter … I have to know what happens next!!

Destiny & Deliverance (Dieter) by @mysterious-moonstruck-musings This latest chapter had me all up in my feels. These two are 🥹💕

Paranoid Heat (Javi P) by @goodwithcheese I think I've finally managed to pick my jaw up off the floor from the spicy scene in the latest chapter.

Undercover (Tim Rockford) by @secretelephanttattoo Another great chapter update this week, El!! Grumpy Tim and his pet fish are living rent free in my head.

It’s Never Too Late (Javi P) by @javierpena-inatacvest - There is some dad Javi content I need to catch up on!!

Posts from the week:

The moodboards @wildemaven puts out are always gold, but this Frankie holiday-themed board just made me swoon

@laurfilijames made me think about which holiday movies the TF boys would be into. I also hastily made a graphic lol. Speaking of asks @maggiemayhemnj gave me an almost impossible this or that choice. My friend @laughing-in-th3-purple-rain offered up these choices.

If you need a badge for any Pedro boy, @morallyinept has you covered

We got our first look at Pedro in Freaky Tales and oh goodness … the scar. Seriously help us all whenever the Gladiator photos leak.

In case you missed it, the fun writing challenge that’s going around here's another plug. I finally have an idea … now I just need to write it. I think I’m going to end up throwing it back to my college days and cramming this in at the last minute….

Feral corner:

There was simply too much to keep track of this week. I was overwhelmed by thots. I think this post sums things up well.

This photo altered my brain chemistry. This photo of Pedro as Dieter and THEN this video… oh hey Working Title Dieter. 😏 Frankie tummy always gets me. Javi P in this jacket. Talk about gifs you can hear. This outfit - he knew what he was doing when we wore this right?

@foralonglongtime - no pressure but I’m very excited about the prospect of this…

This scene from TLOU forever changed me.

Garrett Hedlund: This man was utterly too much this week. Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C, and finally, the post that started my spiral.

Things I watched:

I didn't make it to the movies this week, Mr. Rhoorl went and saw Godzilla Minus One and loved it. He's a huge Godzilla fan so he was pretty excited to see it. I’m off fo work tomorrow so I’m planning on seeing Wish.

Something that is releasing soon that I'm excited to see is Rebel Moon with Charlie Hunnam on Netflix. It looks like it will be available for my UK fans this week, but we in the US have to wait until the 21st.

Personal Stuff

Busy week. Both Mr Rhoorl and I had PTO on different days this week and we both had our plans thwarted by a sick baby. She's ok now, all good! Otherwise, we've been mostly laying low. I have managed to get most of my holiday shopping done and our Christmas cards arrived so that's exciting! We've also been checking out the various theme parks - I love the way they decorate this time of year! We did a holiday cookie stroll at Epcot last night and it was yummy

Fic updates:

I had Benny Miller brain rot again (when don't I at this point?). Anyway, the result was a third part of what I guess is now the unofficial "Are You on Mute" series. I do have plans for wrapping those one-shots up into something bigger. I just frankly keep having thots I have to get out and it's distracting me😆

I did manage to get a good amount of writing done for the next chapter of Delta Landscaping. Hoping to get the new episode out early this week. Whenever I get down on myself that I'm not updating that series fast enough I remind myself it's essentially like 6 different series in one so therein lies the delays 🫣

This can be such a stressful part of the year, so I hope you are able to take some time for yourself! Have a great week and thanks for reading if you made it this far!

Masterlist

Working Title (Dieter, series, ongoing) | AO3

Delta Landscaping (Triple Frontier, series, ongoing) | AO3

Turbulence (Frankie, one-shot) | AO3

Are You on Mute? (Benny Miller, one-shot) | AO3

Are You on Mute? Part Two

Are You Alone

#rhoorl week in review #rhoorl fic rec #pedro pascal characters fic #garrett hedlund

34 notes · View notes

a-small-batch-of-dragons · 6 months

Text

Hot Chocolate, Ice Skates, and Prince Charming

Heya! I’ve just been quietly reading and rereading all your Roman angst and I hope you’re not tired of writing it because I have an idea 😅 How about some christmas Roman angst? I can’t think of anything specific but there’s that XD Keep up the writing and don’t feel pressured to post the fic on Christmas or to even take the request ❤️- lio-the-chaotic-nonbeanie-weenie

Hello hello! :) Absolutely adore your work, and I hope you're having a wonderful holiday! I have come with a request for whenever you're up to it. If you would, it would be amazing to see your take on a Christmas-y themed fic with a focus on disabled Virgil. I had a hankering for Hallmark styled Christmas movies lately and I was just thinking about how fun it would be in your style. Hope that's ok! – anon

Read on Ao3

Warnings: some ableist language

Pairings: prinxiety (i am ashamed at how long it took me to fucking remember what their ship name is jfc)

Word Count: 10,080

At some point, Virgil will work out the exact science of how much to say 'yes' to friends who desperately want to do holiday-spirit-festive-stuff because they're his friends and he loves being there to watch them love things, but he also does not enjoy dying of either pain or sensory overload. This year doesn't look to be one of those years where he does better than others, though, if being surrounded by screaming children and off-key grainy speakers belting Mariah Carey for the past Too Fucking Long is any indication. He ducks his head to avoid yet another flying something-or-other as he huddles in on himself, making sure his cane doesn't get knocked over for the fourth time in as many minutes. "Excuse me?" He turns, half expecting someone selling cotton candy or those little memorabilia keychains, and— Oh. Hello. *** Virgil, fed up with the holiday spirit, meets Roman, a man who seems far too good to be true for such an auspicious time of year. From apology hot chocolate to late-night Christmas lights, maybe this year the magic will linger just a little bit longer.

May your days be merry and bright indeed.

He sighs, squinting fruitlessly through the crowd to maybe catch sight of one of his friends' coats or something, before realizing that there's absolutely no way he's going to be able to do that when he can't even see the skating rink over the crowd gathered around the outside. And sure, he could stand, but is he going to? No. So he may as well just continue sitting here until one of them remembers that yeah, he's here too, and wades through the horde to his little bench oasis.

"Excuse me?"

He turns, half expecting someone selling cotton candy or those little memorabilia keychains, and—

Oh.

Hello.

"Sorry," the actual fucking model in front of him says, smiling sheepishly, "is the other half of this bench taken?"

"No," Virgil says way too quickly, but can you fucking blame him? The prettiest human that's ever existed just asked if he could sit down next to him. "Bench, uh—bench is very much not taken, you can—you can sit."

"Thanks."

Well, this might have backfired, because now very-pretty-attractive person is sitting right next to Virgil. And he definitely knows how to deal with this. Yeah, this is fine. This is totally fine. He just has to not keep sneaking glances at his perfectly coiffed hair…or his jawline…or the freckle right on the end of his nose…

"Is there something on my face?"

Shit. Fuck. "No, no, you're fine—" really fucking fine, dude— "sorry, I, uh, didn't mean to stare."

He chuckles. Not fair. Not fair at all. "It's okay, honey, no harm done."

Abort fucking mission, abort fucking mission, Very Pretty Person just called me a pet name, shit fuck holy shit what the fuck am I supposed to do?

He's spared the humiliation of verbal floundering when he chuckles again and holds out his hand. "Roman."

"Virgil." Please God, I hope my hand isn't too sweaty. "Nice, uh, nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Roman nods his chin toward the skating rink. "Taking a break?"

"Oh, I, uh, I'm not really big into ice skating."

"You've dragged yourself all the way to the madhouse and you're not going inside?"

"My friends," he says lamely, waving toward the entrance, "they really wanted to come, so I tagged along."

Roman hums, tilting his head. "Not very nice of them to leave you behind, is it?"

Shut up, he hisses at his heart which starts to pulse threateningly towards his throat, it's fine. This is fine. "It's fine. I don't really mind."

"Yes, being surrounded by extremely loud children and sitting right underneath a speaker," Roman says skeptically, "I'm sure."

"Well, I—uh—"

Roman sighs. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude. It's none of my business, I know."

It totally could be your business though. Like, I would have exactly zero problems if you decided it was your business.

"I'll go with you if you want."

Virgil shakes himself out of his thoughts in time to see Roman smiling softly at him and he needs to figure out what the fuck he just said real fast before he gets lost in it. "Sorry, what?"

"If you want to go skate," Roman repeats, "I know it's hard if you're by yourself, especially in a crowd this big, so I'd be happy to come with if you wanted."

His heart sinks and the cane at his side grows a little colder. He forces himself to smile and shakes his head. "Sorry, I, uh, really am not into skating."

"Come on," Roman coaxes, holding his hand out, "I promise I'll be nice."

This is torture. This is literal actual torture and Virgil is about to sink into this fucking bench because the most attractive person he's ever fucking laid eyes on is asking him to skate and he can't and he's going to have to say no and then Roman might leave and they won't get a chance to talk anymore or he'll find out why Virgil doesn't want to skate and then it might turn out that he's not actually as sweet and charming as he's acting right now and—

Virgil's eyes slide to his cane and back up to Roman's. Roman follows his gaze, a cute little wrinkle between his brows, before his eyes widen in realization and his mouth drops open.

"O-oh," he stammers, "sorry, I thought—I didn't—"

"It's fine," Virgil mutters, picking up his cane and hunching over it.

"There's—well, I suppose there's no coming back from that." Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Roman's cheeks turn a little pinker—so cute—and scratch the back of his head. "Can I buy you a hot chocolate to make up for it?"

Virgil's head snaps around. He stares at Roman. "What?"

"As an apology. I'll even make sure they put extra whipped cream on it."

He vaguely hears himself say something about sprinkles and then Roman's grinning again and sliding from the bench and vanishing into the crowd. Part of Virgil wants to immediately get up and run after him, but his hands are still wrapped around his cane and all he can do is hope to God that Roman wasn't some hallucination or fantasy and there really is a cute guy going to but him apology hot chocolate.

Five minutes pass.

Ten.

Fifteen.

No sign of Roman.

Virgil checks his phone and sees nothing—no text messages from his friends, no alarm, nothing except the battery he really should have charged before leaving the house and he now has to use extremely sparingly. The sinking feeling in his stomach is back; maybe Roman just wanted a quick and easy exit away from the pathetic whelp with the cane, or maybe he realized that there was something better he could be doing. He wouldn't blame him, not really. He might call him an ableist asshole the next time—if they ever saw each other again, but—

"Sorry, I'm so sorry," he hears breathlessly, "the line was miles long and then they couldn't find the sprinkles."

He turns, hardly daring to believe it, when he sees a massive cup of still-steaming hot chocolate with a mountain of whipped cream and red and green sprinkles held out toward him. He pries one of his hands from his cane and takes it, looking between it and Roman with disbelief. Roman smiles at him again and nods to the cup.

"Is that enough whip-cream?"

"Yeah," Virgil says faintly, "that's—I don't think I've ever seen this much before."

"Well, you deserve it," Roman says like an asshole because now Virgil has to down like half of it in one go to prevent him from seeing how fucking red he gets at that one little comment and he nearly burns his tongue off for it. "Whoa, whoa! Slow down, no one's gonna take it away from you, don't burn your mouth!"

"Too late."

Roman just chuckles again, like he's fond, like that's something they do, and he leans back against the bench. "Suit yourself, honey."

And now he has to do it again. Honestly.

You could not pay Virgil to remember what all they talk about. He doesn't know. He's too busy memorizing the crooked half-smile Roman has when he's vaguely amused by something, or the cute wrinkle that forms when he's thinking or concerned, or the way he keeps reaching out to almost touch Virgil's shoulder before changing his mind last-minute and leaning on the bench instead. He wants to reach back for him so bad but he's trying to hold the hot chocolate and his cane at the same time. His cheeks hurt from smiling and blushing and apparently Roman is really good at saying little things to make that worse. Does he remember what they are? No, because he's not paying attention to shit like that.

They're laughing at something—again, who knows what—when Roman checks his phone and sighs.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. But it was really nice to meet you and sit with you."

"You, uh, you too."

Roman grins and stands. "Happy Holidays, Virgil," he says, and disappears into the crowd.

"You too," he says, way too late, just as he realizes that he didn't even ask for Roman's number.

He looks down at the dregs of the hot chocolate and finds himself smiling slightly.

Maybe being dragged out here wasn't the worst thing after all.

He truly doesn't expect to see Roman ever again, and he may have moped around the house for a few hours upon realizing that, so it takes him by surprise when he ends up sitting in the corner of some mall as his friends go last-minute shopping and a familiar voice calls out.

"Virgil?"

He almost breaks his neck with how fast he turns around. "Roman?"

Roman grins at him, a bag over his arm, before nodding to the other chair at the table. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Yes! I mean, no. I mean—please sit down."

"That's on me, I should've asked it in a less-annoying-to-answer way." He sets the bag on the floor and tucks his hands into his pockets. "Can I be really honest with you?"

"Sure."

"I wanted to run back to the bench the second I left because I realized I didn't ask you for your number. So, can I do that now before I forget again?"

"Yes," he says, pulling his phone out before Roman's even finished speaking, "yes, absolutely, go ahead. I wanted to do the same thing."

They exchange numbers and Virgil's in the middle of totally not putting a bunch of cute things after Roman's name because he has standards and a reputation—but come on, his last name is literally 'Prince,' what the fuck is he supposed to do?—when Roman calls his name and he looks up, surprised. Roman laughs and holds up his phone.

"Can I take a photo? For your contact?"

"Uh—um—sure?"

"Not that I'd forget what your pretty face looks like," Roman says as he takes a picture in the middle of Virgil blushing like an idiot, "but in case I want a reminder."

This. This is what he didn't remember. That Roman is apparently really good at being charming—literally Prince Charming, this is fake, this isn't real, people like Roman don't actually exist, where are the camera crews and reality show hosts?

"Alright, now that's out of the way…" Roman trails off when he notices that Virgil's still staring at the table, his cheeks bright red. "Hey, you okay?"

"I—uh—you—"

He chuckles. "Still stunnable, I see? Sorry, honey, am I being mean?"

"Okay, well, it's hard to tell how sincere you're being when you're still doing it, so—"

Roman throws his head back and laughs, holding his hands up in surrender. "Okay, you got me."

"Rude."

"You're still smiling at me, though."

"Shut up."

"Your smile is cute."

"Shut up," he mumbles again, trying to hide his face in his sleeves. Unfortunately, that means he's not balancing his cane against the table anymore and it falls to the ground with a loud clatter. A few people walking by turn to look. He goes to pick it back up only to realize Roman's already doing it, leaning it back against the table. "Oh, uh, thanks."

"Of course." He inclines his head toward some of the stores nearby. "You here by yourself?"

"No. Friends scrambling for last-minute stuff."

Roman makes a noise. "I'm not getting a fantastic impression of these friends of yours who drag you places and then leave you."

"They're not so bad, they know to pick places with easy seating so I can take breaks when I need them. Besides, they know better than to take me in certain places."

"Oh? Do tell."

"Apparently there's only so many times I can call out fancy soaps for smelling like ass before I get politely asked to leave, but—"

"Wait, wait, wait," Roman says, sitting forward with a grin, "you gotta tell me everything now, you can't just leave it there."

And so, Virgil dutifully recounts the story of the time some of his friends decided a fun way to spend the afternoon was to go into the fancy soap and other scented things shop to 'browse,' when in reality they were just going to see what the most obscure and specific scent was and mock it mercilessly. They managed to find everything from 'Bourbon-soaked Cotton' to 'Miasma,' which of course prompted Virgil to point out that they really didn't think that one through because miasma was the 'bad air' that supposedly caused things like the Black Death and you probably didn't want a candle called 'Miasma' in your house, which logically led to them all pretending to be plague doctors by wrapping up the complimentary cardboard box/bag things and holding them in front of their faces like plague doctor masks and acting like they'd discovered some new herbs to treat the nefarious diseases with.

Needless to say, they were politely asked to never come back ever again, and they definitely kept pretending to be plague doctors as they were 'escorted from the premises.'

Roman's fully collapsed back into the chair, shaking with laughter, by the time Virgil finishes telling the story. He has to stop and just look at him, because of course Prince Charming is really fucking pretty when he's laughing, and then he looks up at Virgil with that soft smile again and he can literally feel himself melting inside his hoodie.

"Well," he says through the last of the laughter, "I can see why they asked you not to come back."

"Yeah, well…" He shrugs. "Plus, if my friends actually want to get any shopping done, they decided it's best if I don't tag along so they can actually, you know, focus."

"Can't say I blame them, then. I'd be distracted by you too."

"Roman!"

"Okay, okay, I'm done, I promise." He grins. "I think your face might explode, it's so damn red."

'Yeah, well, whose fault is that?"

Roman holds a hand over his chest and bows halfway, like he's actually out of some period drama and wearing a fancy knight's costume instead of a button-down coat and scarf. "My deepest apologies, Virgil."

"Yeah, yeah, knock it off," Virgil grumbles as he chuckles.

They sit there in the quiet for a few more moments as a few groups of kids run by. The lights strung up around the pillars and various levels of the mall sparkle with that faux-snow-wet look as Christmas carols play over the speakers, Virgil taps his fingers absentmindedly to the beat, watching an ad play inside one of the stores.

"Okay, I have a potentially rude question that you can totally tell me to shut up for."

Part of Virgil immediately raises its hackles, but he turns to look at him. "Okay?"

Roman nods to his cane. "Where did you get your cane? My great-aunt uses one and she's been complaining about how boring her current one is for like, as long as I can remember, and yours is sick as hell."

It is pretty cool—it has this purple holo body and Virgil's stuck all sorts of stickers to it and the base is really nice and it's got an adjustable length too. "I can text you the name of the place?"

"Yeah, that'd be great, thank you."

He sends it off and puts his phone on the table. "That wasn't a rude question, by the way. That was fine."

Roman's shoulders visibly slump. "Okay, great, I wasn't—I really wasn't sure. I don't—sorry."

Virgil's eyes widen slightly as Roman starts to…fluster?

"I don't know a lot of people who use mobility aids on the regular and so I don't…really know what sort of things are appropriate to ask."

"You're fine," he says, still a little bemused, "you're doing great."

But then Roman smiles at him all soft again and he has to look away and cough before he starts getting all red again.

"Besides, you're right. My cane is sick as hell and it deserves compliments."

"It's definitely the coolest one I've ever seen. How did you get the stickers to stay so well?"

"There's this Etsy seller who specifically made them to go on mobility aids—she has forearm crutches and hers are decked out with cool shit, so I bought a couple for mine just to try them out and then, well, I couldn't stop."

"Could you send me the name of that place too? My aunt might want some."

"Sure, yeah, give me a moment to find it."

As he looks through his phone, he catches sight of Roman watching him. Not in a creepy way, he's just doing that fond thing where he's got his head slightly tilted and he's still smiling like he's just happy to be here with Virgil and he needs to stop thinking about it right now before his ears start going bright red too.

"There. Sent."

"Thanks, Virgil." He checks his phone just to make sure he's gotten it before he stands up. "I'd love to sit here all day with you, but I do have to run."

"Oh. Okay."

"I'll text you, okay? If you're not—I mean, if you don't have plans, I'd really like to see you again."

"Yeah," he says, grinning like an idiot, "I'd like that too."

He's still staring off in the direction Roman went when his friends come to tell him that they may have gotten kicked out of another store.

Prince Charming: I have another potentially rude question.

Virgil tries not to grin when he sees Roman's text. He knows better than that. Absolutely not.

He fails.

Me: what's up

Prince Charming: How far of a walk is too long of a walk before you need a break?

Me: walking is actually fine it's standing that makes me want to die

Me: i mean i'm not trying to hike a mountain

Prince Charming: No, I suppose that makes sense.

Me: why?

Prince Charming: One of my favorite things to do this time of year is go to the Tadford Park Conservatory. They have this really cool thing they do to get all festive and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me? They have places to sit on the way and it's basically a greenhouse so we don't need to lug big heavy coats around.

Virgil quickly looks up 'Tadford Park Conservatory' and scrolls through the pictures of the plants and decorations. Honestly, it looks stunning. He's about to say as much when he gets another text,

Prince Charming: And I have a car so I could pick you up and we could drive.

Me: that sounds really amazing when do you want to go?

Prince Charming: Are you free tomorrow?

Me: sure am

Prince Charming: Can I pick you up at 9?

Me: absolutely see you then

Prince Charming: Perfect :)

Only after Virgil's put the phone down and gone back to what he was doing does he realize he has no idea whether this is supposed to be a date or not.

Is it? No, Roman would've said. Right? That seems like something you'd say. You'd be like: 'hey, I want to do this thing with you as a date.' Or 'hey, I want to take you out and I thought we could do this.' Something like that. Something that puts a big and flashy 'this is a date' sign on it. Roman didn't do that. And Roman seems like the person who would do that. Right? Maybe Virgil should ask. That was reasonable, to ask if something was a dare. But then what if Roman hadn't intended for it to be a date? Then it would get really awkward and Virgil would have to backtrack and then Roman might offer to make it a date out of pity and then it would be even more awkward and Virgil wouldn't actually get to enjoy anything they did because he'd be too busy thinking about how awkward it was and then it would be ruined and—

No. He's just gonna act like he's going to do something fun with a friend. He does that all the time.

Just so happens that Roman's Roman.

It's gonna be fine.

So fine.

He really is so fine—okay, that's enough of that.

He definitely stresses over what he's wearing for way too long before he gets a knock on his door and he just throws a coat over it before he can overthink it and goes to meet Roman. Roman opens his car door for him like he's really some prince that crawled out of a storybook and it doesn't even feel like he's doing it out of pity, like he'd do it even if Virgil didn't have a cane, which is another thing to fret about as Roman drives them to the conservatory. As they walk inside, Virgil goes fumbling for his wallet only for Roman to reveal that he's already gotten their tickets, scanning the code at the front and going over to the coat closet.

"How much do I owe you?"

"Oh, it's on me." Roman hangs up his coat and huffs a laugh when he sees the way Virgil's staring at him. "What's that for?"

"No, really, I saw those ticket prices, there's no way—"

"My mom has a membership, we basically got in for free. It's okay, honey, you don't have to worry about it."

Virgil mumbles something about pet names being unfair as Roman chuckles and they start walking toward the doors. A wave of warm air washes over them as they step through and Virgil's eyes widen as he looks around at the plants and decorations hanging from the ceiling. It's like he's stepped into some alternate reality, trees curling up and over him in a green ceiling as vibrant flowers bloom impossibly bright, catching the glistening light as the giant ornaments overhead twist and turn in the faint breeze. The faint smell of freshly watered plants mixes with the pine and gingerbread from the lobby as they start walking and he can't pay attention to where he's going because every few seconds, he sees something else incredible. Bright blue flowers. A tree with bark like peeling parchment. A crawling vine straight out of a fairytale book. Roman keeps him as much on the path and out of the crowd as possible and he can't even spare the attention to thank him.

"It's beautiful," he manages as they near another door, "it's so pretty, Roman."

"Yes, it is."

"If you're looking at me while you say that, I swear to God—" Roman pushes open another door and they start into a room filled with flowering trees— "holy shit."

Roman chuckles and guides them to a bench underneath one of them. "Do you want to sit for a second or keep going?"

"How close is the next bench after this one?"

"Two rooms down, I think."

"I can make it until there."

They walk through a room of twisting and turning jungle trees, ferns and other smaller plants hiding between the leaves. They pass a pond of koi fish swimming underneath a massive tree. The room with the bench has a long, clear pool in its center, flanked by paths through what look to be walls of moss and other ferns, a waterfall at the far end. Roman walks them carefully over one of the paths to a bench tucked into a little alcove, through which they can see the pool and the bright green foliage on the other side. Virgil sits down, still spellbound at the room.

"I'd ask if you were enjoying yourself," comes Roman's voice, "but I think I know the answer."

"It's like I've been transported to some fantasy realm, this is so cool. How have I never known this existed?"

"A lot of people don't come here. Which is good because I'm selfish and I really like when there's not a lot of crowds." Roman sits back, one leg slung over the other. "But—I don't know why. Maybe it's because they think plants are boring or something."

"They're fucking wrong."

He chuckles. "Yeah, I think so too. I'm glad you like it."

"Okay, it's my turn to ask a potentially rude question."

"Shoot."

"Why here? I mean, it's gorgeous, and the decorations really help, but it's not—a conservatory isn't really what I think of when I think of festive stuff."

Roman sighs. Ripples from the waterfall spread out along the pool's surface. "I don't know, really. I think it's just because holidays are really hectic for me and this place…never really feels like that. It's always sort of like this, calm, serene. Quiet. I think…I think I just really like that."

Virgil turns at the wistful note in Roman's voice, watching him send one of those soft smiles at the pool. The greenery around them almost seems to curve, like the petals of a flower around its center. Roman…fits here, like he really is some prince that even nature itself can't help but adore.

…fuck, he's so far gone.

He loses track of time as they sit there, just enjoying the still quiet of the room. The ferns have their own smell, soft and sweet, that mixes with the crisp dampness of the water as some misters turn on to water the plants. He holds his hand out in front of one, just for a second, watching the droplets catch on his hand and sparkle as he turns them in the light. Roman's side presses against his after a while and he finds himself lost slightly to the solid comfort of it. And then, well, then that's all he thinks about for a while.

At least until his stomach growls and ruins the moment.

"Come on," Roman chuckles, "the food's not far from here."

The cafe bustles with energy after being in that quiet room for so long, and Virgil quickly finds a table to sit at while Roman goes and gets the food. He does have to slightly threaten Roman into letting him pay for their lunch, but Roman concedes after a while and goes to stand in line. He pulls out his phone to send the few pictures he remembered to take to the group chat, when suddenly—

"Shame on you, young man!"

Virgil startles so badly that he almost drops his phone. He looks up to see a stern older woman glaring at him, hands on her hips. "Uh—"

"How dare you?" she says again, wagging her finger at him. "You go and find whoever you stole that from and give it back right this instant!"

"I don't—what—what are you talking about?"

"What do you mean, what am I talking about?" She points at his cane. "That does not belong to you! You're old enough to know better, especially to steal something like that, your parents would be so disappointed in you!"

Oh. Oh, fuck, it's one of these. Disgust and embarrassment crawl up his throat as a few people at the surrounding tables start to look over. He swallows. "Actually, that is mine."

The woman scoffs. "What do you think, I was born yesterday?"

"That is my cane," he says, voice a bit firmer. "I bought it with my money, I use it for my disability. I didn't steal it. It's my cane."

She looks him up and down over the rim of her glasses. "You? You expect me to believe a young person like you uses a cane? What on earth could you possibly need a cane for?"

And really, he should be used to it by now, he's had ableist assholes like this yelling at him for actual years, he shouldn't be this upset over it. But goddamnit, this day was going well. He was having a good time. And now someone is telling him his disability doesn't exist and he should be ashamed for using a mobility aid and he can feel his eyes starting to water even as he struggles for words.

"Excuse me."

Roman. He looks up to see Roman setting a tray with their food on the table, his hand coming to rest on Virgil's shoulder.

"Would you like to explain why you're bothering someone you don't know?"

The woman splutters. "I—well, I—"

"It is none of your business what someone else does to take care of themselves," Roman says, cutting her off firmly, "you do not get to make assumptions about someone else's life and act as though you know the truth. No one would be so rude as to insist you don't need glasses, would they?"

"People your age don't need canes!"

"And people your age should know to treat people better." Roman gives her a look that's so profoundly disappointed that he can see a few people wince in sympathy. "This time of year is supposed to be about sharing compassion and kindness. I hope for your sake you learn that this season."

He turns his back pointedly and the woman shuffles off without another word.

"Are you okay?" Roman asks, his voice so soft and worried that it almost gives Virgil whiplash. "I'm so sorry that happened."

"It's not your fault," he mumbles, "and…thank you."

"You don't need to thank me for being a decent person, honey."

"Yeah, well…" Roman's hand is still on his shoulder and he dares to lean into it a little. "Still. Thanks."

Roman still looks a little worried but he pushes Virgil's food towards him. "Here. Eat."

"Thanks."

Roman doesn't sit across from him. He sits next to him and after a moment, lets his leg rest against Virgil's. Virgil almost chokes on his sandwich but quickly shakes his head when Roman looks up, concerned.

"Is this alright?"

"Yeah, it's…more than alright." Virgil smiles. "You're really great, Roman."

Nice one, asshole.

"So are you." After a moment, his smile widens. "When we're finished, do you want to go see the desert room? There's a bench in there too."

"Cactuses?"

"I think it's technically cacti, but yes."

"Don't make me look up grammar while I'm eating."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Virgil gets another text the night before he's supposed to get lunch with Roman. He peers at his phone, sitting up from his horrible position on the couch.

Prince Charming: Hey, I'm sorry to do this so last minute, but my boss really wants me to come in in the morning tomorrow. I don't think I'll be able to come pick you up to go to the place.

Me: is there public that can get me there?

Prince Charming: You'd have to walk a fair ways and it's not like it's nice outside right now.

Virgil glances at the snowstorm outside and winces at the thought of all the ice. He's about to figure out a way to propose a rain check—or snow check—without upsetting either of them when his phone buzzes again.

Prince Charming: I mean, if it's not too much of an ask, I could always pick you up before I go into work and you could come with me? I don't think it'd be longer than a few hours at the most and then we could just go straight there afterwards.

Me: what do you mean come to work with you?

Prince Charming: I could pick you up and drive us both to the arena. There are the offices and stuff upstairs where you could sit and work or do something until I'm done then we could go?

Me: would your boss care that there's just some random person with you?

Prince Charming: You're not just some random person, Virgil. And no, he won't care.

Virgil's too caught up in the fact that Roman said he's not just some random person to really think about it when he sends back a 'yes,' nor did he really read the part where Roman mentioned an arena.

But sure enough, that's what they pull up to the next morning and Virgil's left blinking at the giant sign that says 'Stadium Entrance' as they get out of the car. He glances at Roman, who looks truly nonplussed as he leads the way to the door. He waves at the person at the front—Virgil waves too on instinct—and nods toward the elevator.

"I told them I was bringing someone, you can go on up and find somewhere to sit, if you want. I can come with too if you'd rather?"

"You, uh, you can go. I think I can find something."

"If anyone tries to give you shit, just say you're with me, okay?"

He huffs a laugh. "What, are you some kind of famous person?"

Roman laughs too, but it comes out a bit too forced. "Something like that."

And before he can ask what the fuck that means, Roman's walking off down another hallway and Virgil just shrugs and goes to find somewhere to sit. The elevator takes him up to something that looks almost like an office and he wanders into an open room, sitting down and shooting off a text to let Roman know where he is. He gets a quick acknowledgment and that he'll let him know when he's done. He switches over to the thing he'd been looking at in the car and loses himself quickly in the mindless scroll of the Internet.

He's not sure how much time passes before he glances around for an outlet to charge his phone. He drags a chair over to the corner and plugs in the charger, looking around as he waits for the little beep that lets him know it's working. There's a set of screens on the far wall, each showing a different camera, he presumes. One of them looks out at a loading dock, one of them shows a skating rink where someone's training, one of them shows another empty rink, and the last one has another door—probably a secondary exit of some kind. He shrugs and looks back at his phone.

"Excuse me?"

He looks up to see a man with glasses and a big coffee mug with cat whiskers peering through the door. "Uh, hi?"

"Are you supposed to be in here?"

"I, um, I'm with Roman? He said I could find somewhere up here to sit?"

"Oh, you must be Virgil!" Virgil blinks as the man grins and comes over to offer his hand. "I'm Patton, nice to meet you."

"Hi, Patton. Uh—you are? Sorry."

"No, it's fine, you're all good. I'm one of the event coordinators for the arena. Roman talks about you all the time, I was wondering if we'd ever get to meet you."

"Yeah, I, uh…nice to meet you too." Virgil shuffles a bit. "You, uh, have you worked with Roman for long?"

"Sort of—I don't work with Roman directly, but I see him when he's booked here. They've decided to train here this year, which is exciting, but he's so busy all the time." Patton grins, crossing his arms. "But I guess you know that, huh?"

"Yeah, I—wait, you—" he frowns. "What do you mean 'booked here?'"

"For a show or a competition or something." Patton leans down, muttering like they're sharing a secret. "Between you and me, I don't blame you for sitting up here. It gets cold in the rinks, doesn't it?"

"Sorry—can we go back another step?" Virgil shakes his head. "What do you mean, for a show or competition?"

Patton frowns. "For the season."

"What season? Season of what?"

He frowns for another second, before something like exasperation makes him sigh. "Did Roman tell you what he does?"

"No. Not even a little bit."

Patton sighs again and nods to the screens. "That's him, on the camera there."

Virgil turns to look. The only person on the screens is the one skating. Wait—

"That's Roman?"

"Roman Prince, reigning champion," Patton says, coming up behind him as Virgil stares at Roman training on the ice, "I'm not that surprised he didn't tell you, he's surprisingly private about his off-stage life."

Roman skates. Roman is a figure skater. Roman competes at a professional level as a skater. Roman is the fucking reigning champion?

He hears Patton say something about getting back to work but if he needs anything, let him know. He must respond—he hopes it wasn't too rude—but he's too focused on the way Roman is literally fucking dancing on the ice right now. He looks like he's at the Olympics. Shit, has Roman been to the Olympics? Why didn't Roman tell him he skates for a living? Why is he here while Roman is training? And what the fuck did Patton mean about Roman talking about him all the time?

He completely fucking forgets about his phone as he watches Roman skate. Every so often someone else skates up to him—his trainer, probably, even though Roman called him his boss. Shit, Roman really didn't want him to know about this, did he? Is he gonna be mad that Virgil's watching him?

He's really fucking good.

It feels like no time at all before Roman's disappearing from the frame and then he gets a text that he's almost done, coming up to find him, and Virgil's still staring at the screen trying to fit the pieces together that Roman's a professional skater who talks about him to the people he works with.

He doesn't quite manage that by the time Roman's pushing the door open with a breathless smile, his hair slightly messy, and his cheeks glowing from the exercise.

"Hey, sorry about that, but I'm all done, we can…"

He trails off when he notices Virgil staring at the screens, smile fading a bit.

"Right," he says, mostly to himself, "forgot about those."

"You, uh," Virgil mumbles, "so you skate?"

"Yeah. I skate."

There's a moment. Someone down the hall opens a door.

"I'm sure you have questions," Roman says finally, "but can I answer them in the car?"

"Yeah, sure."

Roman's quiet as they go back downstairs, waving to the front desk person again. They get in the car and start driving. Virgil bites his tongue for as long as he can before they finally stop at a red light and he musters his courage.

"Why didn't you tell me you skate?"

He hears Roman sigh. "I didn't mean to keep it a secret from you, it's just…I didn't know how you'd react."

"Did you think I wouldn't think it was a real job, or something?"

"What? No, no, I just—I didn't know if you watched skating or followed it at all or—or if you'd know who I am, or something like that." The light turns green and Roman turns onto the next road. "And then…well, it's not like I know what you do for a living either."

"I'm a systems engineer."

"Oh. That's cool."

"Thanks."

They drive for a few more minutes.

"Patton said you're quiet about your private life," he says, like an asshole, and he wants to take it back as soon as it comes out but Roman's already answering.

"Yeah, well, I'm not famous famous like some people are, but I'm…people know me. And it's not like I want people poking into what I do when I'm not being Roman Prince on the ice. Plus, especially with it being the holidays…" He trails off and sighs again. "Sorry, I don't want to bring the mood down."

"You're not bringing the mood down, you're just talking. You can tell me if you want to."

They stop at another red light and Roman looks at him. Really looks at him, like he's trying to figure out if Virgil's telling the truth. Which he is, he totally is, and he hopes Roman can see that. He must, or at least decide Virgil's not just asking to be nosy, because he looks away again.

"There are people who are into figure skating all year long and that's great, but they're, like, fans. And I love my fans, really, but I don't—sometimes it gets a bit much, you know?"

"Yeah."

"And then there are people who just like it for the holidays because it's 'festive.' Like, 'oh, let's go ice skating, it's Christmas,' or 'oh, let's go see a skating show because it's winter,' that sort of thing. And then they do it, and then it's done, and they go home and have their actual holidays together, and…"

Something terribly sad enters Roman's voice as they sit in the snow at the light, and Virgil suddenly has the image of a performer's smile fading as the lights go out. And it strikes him how terribly lonely what Roman's describing sounds, like he's just something people check off their lists and then move on with those they actually care about. And how much Patton seemed to understand that of course Roman didn't tell him what he did for a living.

"You want people to want to spend time with you for who you are," he says quietly, "not what you are."

"Yeah," Roman says back, equally soft, "that's it."

He looks down at his cane, spinning it in his hand. "I get that."

"I know you do." Roman reaches out and puts a hand on his shoulder. "I really didn't mean to keep secrets."

"It's fine, I get it. But thank you for telling me."

The light turns green and they start driving again. The silence feels gentler, somehow, Roman even starts humming under his breath. It's that same song that was playing over the speakers when they first met at the park.

Wait a fucking second.

"You asked me to skate."

"Huh?"

"When we met, at the park, you offered to skate with me. Even though you skate for a living and someone might have recognized you."

"What was I supposed to do?" Roman sighs, but this time it's clear he's going for drama. "I was talking to this cute guy and my brain fell out of my ears."

"You—what?"

Roman glances over and chuckles. "You're getting all blushy again, you know."

"I—what—shut up!"

"Did Patton also say I talk about you all the time?"

"Maybe!"

"Well, there you go, cutie. Wha—hey, hey! I'm driving!"

"You'll fucking live, you absolute dick."

But Roman's laughing again and he looks so happy that Virgil can't be mad for very much longer. And, you know, he is driving, and he would like to make it to the restaurant in one piece.

"You're paying for lunch, you know."

"Whatever you say, cutie."

"If you dragged me all the way out here for nothing, I swear to God—"

"We're almost there, I promise, I promise."

Virgil groans, slumping down in the car seat at Roman makes yet another turn. Roman texted him two hours ago asking if he was free and could they go somewhere really quickly, he promises it's worth it, and Virgil had been too caught up in the sappy floaty feeling of Roman's excitement to say no, and now here they are, driving who the fuck knows where, in the dark, up a path that barely has any lights.

"How do you even know we're not getting lost?"

"We're not lost, I know exactly where we are."

"So if I got out a paper map and said 'where are we,' you could point to it and you'd be right?"

"Well, I'd be more impressed that you had a paper map with this exact area that you could be accurate about—"

"What, you don't think I've got maps?"

"I'd never doubt your map capabilities, Virgil."

"You'd better not, the atlas my mom got me for fourth grade would be so disappointed at you when I throw it at your head."

"I'm sorry, you're the one throwing it and it's going to be disappointed at me?"

"Yeah, 'cause you did something so outrageous it's made me need to throw it."

Roman chuckles as he makes another turn—are they going up a hill or something? "My mistake. Really, we are almost there."

"Uh-huh."

"What, you don't believe me?"

"I believe you about as much as I did the last ten times you've said it."

"I have not said it ten times!"

"No, you've said it way more than ten times."

"Well, if you keep asking 'are we there yet,' I'm going to keep answering you."

"Are we there yet?"

"Almost."

"Are we there y—" Roman reaches over and pushes his shoulder lightly. "Okay, okay, I'll knock it off."

"Look, see that sign?"

Virgil sits up and peers through the windshield at the sign that reads 'Observation Point.' "Yeah."

"That's where we're going."

"Fine, fine, you're not a liar."

"Thank you."

Sure enough, it really is only a few more moments before Roman's pulling the car out onto a large flat overlook and putting it in park. Virgil looks around, trying to figure out what exactly they're doing all the way out here and why Roman was so insistent that they go tonight, when Roman turns the headlights off. "Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?"

"Relax, I'm keeping the heat on so we don't freeze." He nods out the window. "Look."

"I can't see shit, Roman, look at what?"

"Give your eyes a second to adjust."

He looks, truly not expecting to see anything. It's just blackness, the afterglow of the headlights still burning his retinas out. He squints. There are surprisingly few clouds out tonight, especially considering the winter weather they're supposed to get later this week. He can sort of see something through the gloom, below them, but it's not that clear yet. Slowly, little by little, his eyes adjust and…

"Oh," he says in a rush of breath.

The entire city sprawls out beneath them. Glittering and shimmering houses, buildings, Christmas lights and flashing decorations. The snow sparkles with it, the glow almost a sea of wonder against the inky blue night sky. Reds, greens, blues, purples, far-away inflatables that must be giant but look like nothing more than storybook characters from this high up. Some of the houses closest to them have trees, right out front, others have sleighs and reindeer, even more have snowmen just barely lit by the edges of the shining lights.

It's incredible.

"I didn't think I'd get a chance to see it this year," Roman says, as if he's afraid to break the silence, "but then it cleared up and I knew it'd be perfect."

Virgil can't say anything. He's too spellbound.

"Thank you for coming with me."

"Thank you for asking. This is—holy fuck, Roman, this is so fucking cool."

"I'm glad you like it. I was a bit worried with the roads, sometimes they don't clear them properly, but at least we can sit in the car instead of having to walk or something."

Maybe it's the fact that he's tired, or the surge of sappiness when Roman had said he'd known it'd be perfect and he'd reached out for Virgil, or maybe he's been holding this in since Roman held out that stupid hot chocolate. Whatever it is, Virgil sniffles.

"Whoa, hey, hey," Roman murmurs right away, reaching out for him like the stupidly perfect Prince Charming, "what's wrong, honey? Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?"

"No," Virgil spits through his stupid tears, "no, you did—you did everything right."

"O..kay?"

"You did everything right," he says again, "you—you made sure we could drive so we could just sit in the car and you picked me up so you could drive me instead of making me take the bus and you asked how much walking was too much walking and you stood up for me and you asked me if it was rude before you asked about my cane and you got me hot chocolate and you're—you're—"

An actual sob chokes out of his mouth and he claps a hand over it, only for Roman to let out a noise of dismay and coaxes his hand away, holding it tightly. He leans over the console and tenderly wipes away one of Virgil's tears and it's too soft and gentle and perfect—

"You did everything right," Virgil manages, not daring to look at Roman's concerned face, "you—you're too sweet."

Roman lets out the softest noise and strokes his cheek again. "You're worth being sweet to, honey."

"Shut up, you're gonna make me cry more."

"That's okay, honey, you can cry. That's—it's a good cry, right?"

"Yeah, you bastard, it's a good cry." He sniffles. "Now shut up."

"Can I shut up and hug you?"

"Yes."

And goddamnit, an awkward hug where Roman has to lean halfway out of his seat over the console to get his arms around him should not feel so warm and safe and comforting, but fuck it, Virgil's already crying into his shoulder anyway, he might as well fully commit to it. If Roman has a problem with contorting himself to hug a sobbing mess, he doesn't say anything about it. No, he just keeps humming and shushing Virgil with sweet nonsense, his hand alternating between carding through his hair and stroking his cheek. It's not fair, and Virgil's not giving it up for anything.

Eventually, his tears run dry and he scrubs his nose with his sleeve as Roman sits back down, keeping one hand on the back of his neck. Fingers play with the hair right above his collar. He sniffles.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize, honey, it's okay. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I just cried all over you."

"Oh no," Roman says dryly, "however will I survive such a terrible fate?"

"Yeah, yeah, shut up."

Roman chuckles, fingers still scratching lightly at Virgil's scalp. "Really, Virgil, it's alright. I'm just glad I'm not the only one getting all sappy."

If he were less emotionally drained from crying, or if Roman's fingers were less good at making him melt into a boneless little puddle, he might have had a retort for that. Instead, he just looks out over the lights in all their sparkling glory and sighs, leaning into the touch. Roman starts humming again and there they sit, enjoying the night.

"If I fall asleep," he mumbles, "will you wake me up?"

"If you fall asleep, I'll drive you home and then wake you up so we can get you to bed."

"Fine."

He tries. He tries doggedly to stay awake, to not miss a moment of this, of the lights, the night, of Roman and his stupid Prince-Charming self. But he must fall asleep, or at least get close to it, because the fingers in his hair slow, and stop. Roman chuckles softly, and the car starts, and they drive through the night. And for a moment, as they leave behind the sea of lights, he thinks that Roman lied to him—they can't be in a car, just driving home.

Not when it feels like they're flying.

+1.

It's really a surprise that he managed to hold it back for this long, but it was eventually going to happen.

The swirling mist of a monster that is his anxiety has been biding its time, waiting for him to let his guard down to spring out and warp him up in its stupid fucking mess and make him stop appreciating everything that's going on and make it just the fucking worst.

Roman Prince is too perfect, it decides. There's no way this all gets to happen to him and there's no catch. The image of the hidden cameras and the reality show crew comes back; when do they jump out and say it's all fake? When is the illusion going to shatter?

Maybe he's just biding his time and trying to find a way to exit Virgil's life and never return. Maybe he has a partner, or something, and he really thinks Virgil's just his friend. Maybe he's not even gay. Maybe Virgil's just a fling and he's going to leave as soon as New Year's is over. Maybe he's going to get swept up in his life of professional figure skating again and Virgil will be stuck with chasing down his shows and competitions to even see him ever again. Maybe they're going to become the friends that aren't really friends but they still have each other's number for some reason.

Maybe—

"You're thinking too loudly," Roman murmurs from where his face is tucked near the crook of Virgil's shoulder, reaching out to pause the movie, "are you okay?"

Virgil sighs, leaning back into Roman's embrace. He'd surprised him by coming over—well, no, he'd texted to ask if Virgil would mind if he came over, but that was out of nowhere, so it counted—and then they'd ordered way too much food and put on a Christmas movie, and Virgil had pushed for The Nightmare Before Christmas and Roman hadn't protested. And then Roman had asked if he could cuddle him—"Because it's a crime to leave you sitting there on the couch, in the dark, like you have no one to cuddle you, honey."—and then he'd wrapped his arms around him and it'd been all warm and soft and cozy and Virgil hadn't wanted to move to get his hot chocolate from the coffee table that probably wasn't even hot anymore—

"You're still drifting." Roman sits up, pulling away. "Is everything okay?"

Virgil bites his lip. "It's dumb."

"I like dumb things."

"You'll laugh."

"Only if you say something funny."

"You'll be mad," he says in a very quiet voice, and he feels Roman stutter above him. He squeezes his eyes shut.

"Oh, honey," he hears distantly, before the couch is shifting under him and there are warm hands carefully cupping his face. "Will you look at me, please?"

He doesn't want to. He wants to stay here in the dark with Roman touching him like he's something precious, but then Roman's calling his name and fuck it, he can't disappoint Roman, so he opens his eyes. Roman smiles at him with that same fucking soft smile that's been taking him out at the knees since day one, and he can tell he's pouting before Roman even says anything.

"I'm not going to be mad," he says with all the patience in the world, "if something's bothering you, I want to know about it. Please, tell me?"

"You're not leaving, right?"

As soon as the words leave his mouth and Roman scrunches up his face in confusion, he wants to run away and hide under all his blankets and never speak to anyone again.

"Never mind. Forget it."

"What do you mean, am I leaving?"

"I said forget it. See? Dumb. Never mind."

"Don't do that," Roman chides gently, pulling his focus back, "don't hide from me. What did you mean?"

Virgil sighs, trying to not lose himself in how warm Roman's hands are. "It's just—everyone leaves. Sort of. I know—I mean I get it. I get how these things go. You—it's the holidays, right? You get all the emotions and then New Year's happens and you move on. I know that happens, I know that's how it works sometimes, and it's fine, I get it, but—"

"Slow down." He sits up. "Why do you think I'm leaving?"

Fuck it. "Because you're too perfect, okay? You—you're sweet and kind and you help me with everything and you're fun to be around and you're funny and you're smart and—and you're really fucking attractive, and I don't—" he takes a deep breath— "I don't know what to do about it anymore, okay?"

Roman's quiet. He's quiet for a long moment. Then his hands leave Virgil's face and he cringes, curling up in on himself—he's done it, he's made Roman leave, it's his fault, it's all his fault, they didn't even make it to New Year's—

His eyes fly open in shock when Roman suddenly hugs him tightly. His breath leaves him in a rush as Roman squeezes, holding him with such a fierce strength that he just ends up going limp in his hold.

"I don't know," Roman growls, "what sort of absolute assholes have been so cruel to you that you think everyone is just going to leave, but they'd better fucking hope we never meet."

"Wh—what?"

"You're fucking perfect too, Virgil. You're smart and you make me laugh and you're genuinely kind to people and you—you make me feel safe, okay?" He pulls back but somehow this is worse because now they're just staring into each other's eyes. "You're amazing. Why the hell would I want to leave you?"

"I—um—well—"

"I don't want to leave," Roman confesses, and fuck, Virgil can hear his heart breaking, "do…you don't want me to leave, do you?"

"No," he says in a rush, "no, I don't want you to leave."

"Great, 'cause I wanna be stuck with you until you're sick of me."

"I'm not gonna get sick of you—"

"Well, I'm not gonna get sick of you either—"

"Great!"

And then he's the one leaning forward to knock Roman over with a hug. Roman wraps his arms just as tightly around him and suddenly there's a kiss being pressed to his head.

Everything stops.

"Shit," Roman breathes, and it curls around his ear, "I…I meant to ask if that was okay before I did it, I'm sorry, I—"

But Virgil's already turned and pressed a kiss of his own to Roman's jaw. He feels more than hears Roman's breath stutter, the chest under him jumping as Roman turns to look at him. Like this, their faces are barely a few inches apart, and Roman smells like hot chocolate.

"It's okay," Virgil mumbles into their shared space, "it's…more than okay."

And there Roman goes, curling his mouth up into that fucking soft smile again, and then he's sliding a hand up to cup the back of Virgil's. "So I can kiss you?"

"Yes, you can kiss me."

Fuck, he tastes like hot chocolate too.

"I'm not leaving," Roman whispers against his lips, not bothering to pull away, "I'm not leaving you, baby."

"Fuck."

"No good?"

"Very good," Virgil mumbles, leaning forward again, but then his phone is buzzing and he's pulling back with a curse to make it shut the fuck up. Roman comes up and wraps his arms around him again, hands slowly playing with the hem of his sweater as his chin hooks over his shoulder. "I'm almost done, I promise."

"Am I 'Prince Charming' in your phone?"

"No," Virgil says, like a liar as he throws his phone onto the floor.

"Aww, that's so cute, baby."

"Shut up and kiss me, Princey."

"As you wish," Roman murmurs, and then Virgil doesn't have a chance to think about the fact that he just called Roman 'Princey.'

They don't end up finishing the movie, but Roman says they can watch the rest over breakfast instead.

General Taglist: @frxgprince@potereregina@gattonero17@iamhereforthegayshit@thefingergunsgirl@awkwardandanxiousfander@creative-lampd-liberties@djpurple3@winterswrandomness@sanders-sides-uncorrect-quotes@iminyourfandom@bullet-tothefeels@full-of-roman-angst-trash @ask-elsalvador @ramdomthingsfrommymind@demoniccheese83@pattonsandershugs @el-does-photography @princeanxious@firefinch-ember@fandomssaremysoul@im-an-anxious-wreck@crazy-multifandomfangirl @punk-academian-witch@enby-ralsei@unicornssunflowersandstuff@wildhorsewolf @thetruthaboutthesun @stubbornness-and-spite @princedarkandstormv @your-local-fookin-deadmeme @angels-and-dreams@averykedavra @a-ghostlight-for-roman @treasurechestininterweb @cricketanne @queerly-fluid-fan @compactdiscdraws@cecil-but-gayer@i-am-overly-complicated@annytheseal@alias290@tranquil-space-ninja @arxticandy @mychemically-imbalanced-romance@whyiask@crows-ace @emilythezeldafan@frida0043 @ieatspinalcords @snowyfires@cyanide-violence@oonagh2@xxpanic-at-the-everywherexx@rabbitsartcorner @percy-07734@triflingassailantofmyemotions @virgil-sanders-the-gay-emo@cerulean-watermelon@puffed-up-bees@meltheromanstan@joyrose-fandomer@insanitori@mavenmush@justablah65@10paradox10@uhhh-hi-there-i-am-nervous@cutebisexualmess@bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti@ultrageekygirl

#dragonbabbles #sanders sides #roman sanders #virgil sanders #prinxiety #fic

50 notes · View notes