#guys i actually hate tagging it's such a hassle

[gremnda]

Fight against a demon

[snaillock]

could I pls ask for a boyfriend's Nagi x male reader? like him having a weakness for the reader and being like a puppy with him? idk if I'm explaining myself idk how to put it in words 😭 I love blue lock and there's almost no x male reader with them so I'm excited to find this sorry 😓

nagi x male!reader

AHHH my first request!! tysm for asking i would love to make this! i also got curious and only found like three nagi x male readers (two of which were smuts that i was too uncomfortable to read☠️) but don't worry im here to save the day. this also ended up being a lot longer than expected but still really hope you enjoy!! ^^

tags: male reader, sad nagi backstory moment, me getting too carried away with build up again

you were one of the few people who didn’t look at nagi like he was some anomaly. while others in your school would steer clear and gossip about him behind his back, you were one of the only people who spoke to him and treated him like an actual person and not some freak of nature

you would try to talk to him in class but he wouldn’t talk back (since “talking is such a pain”) so you assumed you were bothering him and eventually stopped.

nagi eventually noticed you wouldn’t talk to him in class anymore and it didn’t bother him at first. but eventually he finds himself missing it and would make the rare effort of trying to initiate conversations with you.

that led to you guys talking every day during class. the more you two spoke, the more you realized how much you had in common with him. you soon asked him if he wanted to come over to hang out.

he usually rejects any hang-out offers from literally anyone. though when you asked him if he wanted to come over to your place to play video games together, he accepted because he found you to be less of a hassle to be around compared to others.

when he came over, he realized he actually really enjoys being around you and had fun spending his time playing games with you. he even took a look around your room to admire all the things you’ve collected that represent your personality and interests. this only made him more captivated by you and wanted to be much closer friends

now for the exciting part

once some time has passed and you two got closer, you soon find out he’s a shamelessly clingy person both emotionally and physically.

whenever he would see you, he randomly wraps his arms around you and latch onto you. he hates being forced to let go whenever you two have to go to class.

he gives absolutely zero fucks about being publicly affectionate with another guy in school, paying no mind to the weird stares and whispers

he constantly wants to stay over at your place and when you come over to his for the first time, he introduces you to choki (a hugeeee moment for him trust me)

nagi truly loves being with you. at first, he didn’t care about being an outcast until you showed up in his life and showed him what true friendship and love was like

soon his feelings for you as a friend develops into something much more unfamiliar before he can realize it. falling in love was definitely a new experience for nagi and falling in love with you specifically was a slow delicate process

he definitely didn’t realize for a while that he likes you in that way until he finds himself admiring you as you somehow have soft lighting all over your face and pink flowers and hearts circling your head (all in his imagination my boy is completely whipped). he then thinks, “hmm this feels like one of the shojo mangas i’ve read befo- ohhhhh!”

once the initial shock is over, he’s already bold enough to confess to you quickly after. i can imagine him suddenly telling you how he feels in the most random scenario ever.

it would be so out of nowhere. you guys could be out walking in the park. you casually sip out of your bottle when he nonchalantly says, “wanna be my boyfriend?” with his signature neutral face, making you choke and cough on your water.

he would then elaborate on how much he likes you with the plainest face ever like it was a regular tuesday conversation. the one difference is the light flush on his cheeks and you can definitely tell that he truly means all of it. so once you stopped coughing, you obviously accept his confession

if you thought he was already pretty damn clingy prior to you two becoming a couple, then be prepared for that to increase tenfold

holding hands isn’t enough for him, ideally he needs to be super glued onto you permanently for the rest of his life

you guys are definitely the couple people gag at when they see you both curled up cuddling each other in the hallway.

once again, he gives absolutely no shits. he needs to show off what an amazing boyfriend he has so he’ll never tone it down on the pda

on the very very rare occurrence that you're not with him and you happened to be talking to someone else in the hallway, he sees this and immediately gets a little possessive. so he walks up right behind you and wraps his arms around your waist, resting his head on you. you assume he's just being needy again and find it cute, completely unaware of how he's now glaring deep into that person’s soul from over your shoulder. i mean you’re his man and his man only so everyone needs to know.

he requires you to pet and run your fingers through his hair for a low minimum for uhhh 2000 times a day. you swear that he purrs every time you do it but when you try to listen out for another one, he already fell asleep on your shoulder

whenever you guys are cuddling either at his dorm or your place, he just lays his entire body weight onto you like a heated blanket while resting his head on your shoulder with your fingers carded through his hair. if you try to gently nudge him off so you can get up and use the bathroom, he audibly whines and eventually relents. he totally tries to follow you into the bathroom after that.

whenever you compliment or praise him, he looks totally unaffected but internally, he’s jumping around screaming. meanwhile, he will randomly drop the most endearing and beautiful arrangement of words at you in a completely neutral voice and just move on with his day like you didn’t just witness the most flattering thing you’ve ever heard.

loves whenever you randomly grab his chin and give him a short but very sweet kiss.

nah actually scratch that. nagi loves kisses from you anytime anywhere. fleeting cheek kisses before you both head to class. kisses on his forehead as you hold him close under the covers. drawn out victory kisses you both finally finish a difficult match together. no matter what it is, he always helplessly melts into each one.

before you appeared in nagi's life, his world was just one big dull pain he simply had to push through every day. now that he had you by his side, he finally had the motivation to get out of bed every day.

[fandoms--fluff]

Sleepy Head

Female vampire reader x Hope Mikaelson

Summary: You don't want to get out of bed in the morning, but Hope has different plans

Warnings: swearing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope woke up to the sound of the blaring alarm clock on the nightstand and quickly turned it off. Looking down, wrapped in her arms, you groaned, not wanting to get out of bed.

“Come on, we have to get up, baby” Hope kissed the top of your head. 

“It’s too early for this shit” You mumbled out, and pulled the blanket over your head before nuzzling further into your girlfriend’s chest. 

Hope looked down and rolled her eyes with her lip twitched up into a smile at your antics. You guys have been through this basically every morning and it’s still a hassle to get out of the comfy bed.

"I agree, but if we don't go to classes, we're going to get in trouble. So time to get up, sleepy head" she said, slowly peeling the blanket away from you.

She's met with your grumpy looking face looking up at her with a pout on your lips. "Hmmph" you said and tightened your hold on her.

"I'll carry you down to breakfast in your pajamas if you don't get up" she tells you.

"Okay, okay, getting up now. Geeze mom" you grumbled.

She chuckled and got out of your slackened hold. As she was getting dressed, she watched you also getting ready haphazardly. Considering you're a vampire, she'd thought that you'd be the energetic one out of the both of you in the morning, but she was ultimately wrong.

After slowly getting out of the comfy bed, you get dressed into the first clothing items you see which are ironically Hope's sweatpants and t-shirt. She better not mind, considering it was her doing to get you away from the warmth.

After brushing your teeth and washing your face in the bathroom, you decided to give Hope the silent treatment. Though it all lasted for a total of 6 minutes and 24 seconds when you laid your head on her shoulder instead of eating the cereal in front of you.

"You done giving me the silent treatment now?" She asked amused. "Oh, shush" you said with your eyes closed.

-

"Y/n...hello? Earth to y/n. Y/N!" Lizzie waved a hand in front of your face.

"What?" You asked groggily, coming back to reality just to notice that you're in math class.

"I get that your normally tired, but this has been the entire day... Did you and Hope have a long night?" Your best friend asked, smirking.

"Real mature. No, I just don't exactly like classes when I could be in my bed upstairs. Especially math, I hate math" you look up at the board and grimace at the equations written out.

"Who's stupid idea was it to put letters in math?" You groaned, shutting your textbook and ultimately giving up while Lizzie chuckles, used to your hatred for the subject.

"It would be funny if you actually knew him and now loath him" Lizzie told you, thinking of how it could be a possibility from you being a vampire since 1656.

"Then I'd go back in time to kick his ass so hard he can never sit again" you quickly came up with the idea. "Let me know when, I'll tag along" Lizzie shared a matching smirk with you. "Of course" you said before feeling someone standing behind you guys.

"Really? I suggest opening your textbook back up as we still have twenty minutes left" you heard the voice from behind you which made Lizzie jump in surprise. He nodded down to your closed textbook that you haven't exactly ever used during the year besides for a drawing surface.

You turned around and saw the teacher there, and watched as he walked away. You just rolled your eyes before groaning and turning back forward.

"Whyyyyyy" you groaned again and Lizzie placed a hand on your back in comfort. "It'll be over soon and then you can go back and have some steamy time with Hope" lizze 'consoled' you.

"Oh haha" you sarcastically said.

-

A long nineteen minutes later, the bell rang, telling everyone classes were over for the day.

"Finally!" You exclaimed and were the first one out the door while Lizzie packed up her stuff, laughing at your sudden energy.

You walked through the halls, over to where Hope's last class is, and see her walking out of the classroom with a textbook in her hand. Quickly, you walked over to her and held her unoccupied hand, leading (more like pulling) her up the stairs to where the rooms are.

"Hey y/n/n, you alright?" Hope asked, concern etched in her voice.

"Yep" you said, opening the door to your guys' dorm.

You dropped your bag onto the ground next to the desk and flopped onto the bed. Hope put her things down after closing the door and turned back around to see you laying on the bed, making grabby hands at her.

She smiled and made her way over to you, laying down with your arms wrapped around her and her head laying on your chest, breathing in your scent.

You adjusted yourself after a couple minutes so one hand was still wrapped around her tightly and the other ran through her smooth auburn hair.

"Staying here forever" Hope told you before she dozed off.

"I agree, baby" you kissed her head.

[yae-energy]

n is for anywhere <3

synopsis: saiki’s top 3 favorite places to hang out with you (but it’s the progression of your friendship)

cast: bestie! saiki x black fem reader (kaidou, nendou, and kuboyasu cameo)

cw: light cursing, a call back to “get in bitch we’re going shopping” | wc: 612 . 3,164 char.

a/n: this is a different format from the previous two bestie saiki posts ikk, but you gotta let me cook with this one y’all !!

—

03 - his house

saiki is a homebody through and through, the sanctuary of his home (despite the ruckus his parents cause with all their requests) was undefeated. however, upon meeting you there was now an extra person in his home at all moments. it took some time - and i mean TIMEEE, to get used to you being all in his personal space like this.

you touched all his shit, ate his food, and annoyed him to the depths of hell and back, he absolutely hated having you over…or so he thought.

the more you swung by his house for movie nights, sleepovers, study sessions, whatever the case was. the more he valued your company- and you as a person to be truthful. it never set in to him how nice it was to have someone be present with him, even if it was just for a few hours and you guys didn’t talk much it still meant a lot to him.

maybe you weren’t that bad afterall.

—

02 - the mall

with saiki not being the biggest fan of outdoor excursions like this, the mall was somewhere you frequented. it could be for new clothes, new shoes, or more bags (which lets be honest…you didn’t need more of ANY of these items.)

but whenever you did go, saiki tagged right along with you. at first it was mainly due to the promise of coffee jelly right after your shopping spree, but as time passed and you two became closer, the promise of coffee jelly was just a plus. it was no longer an incentive to get him to go anywhere with you because these outings slowly became a routine for him. if you were going out he automatically came with and vice versa.

even if being in public was a hassle for him *cough cough psychic powers* he didn’t mind it too much anymore. of course he’d still complain like it was, but each trip to the mall with you was a new memory to cherish.

saiki didn’t mind the hassle all that much anymore.

—

01 - your house

your home environment was quite different from his own, it was quiet and peaceful. no unnecessary shouting or people constantly asking him for things, it was somewhere where he could actually relax and enjoy his time however he wished.

your room specifically is where he preferred to stay the most, your bed was comfy enough for him to fall straight asleep on and you never said a word when he did. not to mention all the snacks you had in hidden away in the cupboard right below your nightstand. it amazed him how often you kept everything stocked up for when you had friends over, nendou would eat all of it in a heartbeat if he saw it which is why he, kaidou, and kuboyasu had to stay on the hush hush about it.

the biggest reason he enjoyed being at your house so much was the fact you mentioned that you were picky on who you gave your time to. the fact he even got to take naps in your room whenever he pleased opened his eyes to how much you valued having him around, he felt honored even.

being in your life as much as you were in his - and enjoying it at that, is what solidified you as his best friend. and even if he didn’t say it often (or at all on most occasions) he enjoyed having you around as well. he enjoyed coming over, touching all your shit, eating your food, and annoying you to the depths of hell and back.

he enjoyed being your best friend.

—

production credits: thank you to @haksluvr for helping me work out the initial idea for this!!

tags: @morosis-haze @chinieh @jogeto @mypimpademia @miirene @milesmolasses | taglist

[maxemilianverstappen]

Tag game💃

Tagged by @il-predestinato which is a privilege 😎

rule(s): post a snippet (however long or short or longish or shortish) from a wip !!

This is from the 2022 season recap fic that has a twist to torment Charles more spice things up more:

"Ferrari's corner exit looks smoother and faster." Max was telling him in Bahrain, on the beach. 

It was their off day between the testing and the race weekend; so, most of the grid was trying to enjoy their free time either at horse riding or golfing or by swimming. 

The two of them had come to the beach separately, of course, but as soon as Max recognized him, he came over where he and a few guys from his team had been lounging. He quickly started up a conversation about the Ferraris while his friends left them alone to join Charles' group to play a ball game on the shoreline.

"We lack the Red Bull's straight line speed, though." Charles argued. 

Max grinned at his claim. "I doubt that, but let's say it is so." He rummaged through his bag and found a bottle of sunscreen. 

Charles watched him take his shirt off, remembering to turn his head away and not stare only when Max talked to him again. 

"Even then, you have the talent to make up for whatever disadvantage you think your engine has. Cornering might actually make the difference and you have always been exceptionally good at it."

Wide-eyed, Charles looked back at Max in wonder. Thankfully, the other young man wasn't looking at him at all and instead was turning around the spray bottle in his hand as if he was trying to decide what to do with it. 

It wasn't the first time Max had complimented his driving style and talent so openly like this, but it always hit home hard somewhere in Charles' chest and left him in amazement. He was glad he was wearing huge shades to hide his expression, because Max looked back at him in that instant and smiled a bit sheepishly.

"You think I'll need this?" He asked, clearly unwilling to put the sunscreen on as if it was too much of a hassle.

Blinking a few times at the unexpected question, Charles reminded awkwardly. "It is 34 degrees, Max. I think you need some."

Max made a funny face and swore under his breath, spraying some lotion on his arms and half heartedly spreading it on his skin. "I don't like the oily feel of this at all, but better than getting painful burns before a race weekend, right?" He was explaining as if to make it look less awkward.

Charles could only nod and mutter a "Yeah…", watching Max. He realized it was actually the first time he had seen the other man like this up close. Half naked…

What a way to put it. Half naked… Really, Charles? He cringed at his own way of thinking, but it was impossible to ignore the familiarity of their situation. 

Max was so pale. He didn't have much hair on his chest. It almost looked silky smooth. Charles was mindlessly transfixed as his eyes followed the movements of Max's hand running across his skin. It was so hard to turn away and look elsewhere. "Don't forget your face." He pointed out to cover up how he had been rudely staring at the other man just now. 

"Ugh, I hate this part." Max sprayed some of the lotion into his palm, closed his eyes tightly, and just rubbed it on his face haphazardly like an impatient kid would do. 

Charles found himself chuckling at the sight. "Come on, that can't be so bad." Damn, I am still staring…

"But it is!" Max refused with a chuckle of his own and caught him in the act. He must have thought nothing of Charles' staring because he made an exaggerated expression of disgust before smiling ruefully and turned his attention to his friends as if he wanted something from them. But the others were away and immersed in their game. "I guess my back will have to stay like this." He shrugged and made to stand up. 

Completely on impulse, Charles offered. "I can put some on your back if you want?" He realized what he said only after hearing his own words. 

Max looked back at him as if he was trying to assess if he would be inconveniencing Charles, but he relented when Charles straightened up on his beach seat and wordlessly opened his hand for the bottle. He turned his back and waited.

Hating his own spontaneous reactions when it came to Max, Charles sighed silently and sprayed the sunscreen on the pale broad back in front of him. If his hand trembled and hesitated a bit before he touched the other young man, Charles refused to acknowledge it and just concentrated on trying not to notice every single detail about how Max's skin felt under his palm, how his back was both muscly but also soft and smooth and hot to the touch. How there were little freckles, especially on top of his shoulders, how the curve of his spine gently sloped lower to his… his... No need to put lotion that low, Charles… He berated himself and bit on his lip in annoyance before announcing hastily. "There… You are good to go." 

"Thank you." Max turned around with a bright grin. "Want to play with us a little?" He offered, but Charles shook his head. 

"Maybe later on. I need to check my messages." He lied. 

Max pouted a bit, looking disappointed as if he had just missed an opportunity. "Right, then. We are over there." He pointed out needlessly even though for Charles, it was impossible to not be aware of Max's presence.

Charles didn't understand Max, didn't understand how he was able to get so effortlessly familiar with other people like he had done with him just now. He was always so open and so ready to mingle. Was he like this with everyone? Charles wasn't about to get conceited enough to think that their interactions were anything but how Max was always treating everyone else as.

There was nothing special about it. About him… But he refused to touch elsewhere after that, compulsively clenching and unclenching his fist. He told himself it was because his hand was now oily, completely ignoring the real reason.

He didn't want to lose it that quickly. The sensation of how Max's body felt under his touch…

-

I am tagging @wolfsbanesbite if they would like to do it 😘

[goldenlol]

Hey, sorry, what is wrong with darkmilk as a ship name? Is it just that chocomilk sounds better to you? /genq /lh

Like, yes, I can see how it sounds cuter, but, with a large majority of people tagging choccy milk and choco milk memes and such makes it a hassle to find what one is actually looking for. I mean, darkmilk also has that trouble with the actual existing chocolate, but, I feel like fewer people are posting about the chocolate itself compared to choco milk. Still a pain to look for because people post A LOT about selling the chocolate and such. (Instagram's got it the worst.)

I'm just a little confused about why you dislike it so much, that's all. Hope nothing came out as aggressive.

Oh dw, but yea I just think chocomilk sounds better than darkmilk, cmon guys, they make chocolatemilk.. 😔

(you kinda lost me at the end)

ykw let me go on a rant rq cause ,, but what I hate is whenever people say negative things about chocomilk and then tag it.. like no one wants to see you complaining bro I promise you that, and since darkmilk is the more popular ship name, it’s all I see. Sm hate it and I hate seeing all the damn negative things people gotta say about it

Also people who see them as “father and son” ... why? I actually don’t wanna know but how do you see this and think “yea that’s father n son” like,, alr. Just like how y’all are saying it about elderlily, like that doesn’t even need to be romantic but it is not father daughter!! Ty.

[theredcapeofk]

20 Questions

Thank you @silv3reyedstranger  for tagging me! Sorry for the delay, I needed to finish my Halloween fic first

How many works do you have on AO3?

22 with 4 still ongoing. This also includes 9 artworks (aside from the 6 in my illustrated fic)

2. What’s you total AO3 count?

177,544 words. Wow! I didn’t expect this much. Cool 🙂

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Supercorp

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

My Eyes are up Here

Change my Direction

Gifts (My first posted Supergirl fic <3 )

It’s a Super Life

The Five Senses of Affection (I plan to update this one soon ;) )

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes. Always. Sometimes it’s hard to not spoil the rest of the fic when I answer questions, but I love it when you guys ask questions. I respond to comments because I like to exchange thoughts with people who comment, or simply thank people who took the time to write something.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

@silv3reyedstranger I don’t like to copy but your answer is exactly what I think, so I’m mostly gonna keep what you said.

I'm really not the biggest fan of angsty endings (because it makes me sad), so I don't write them. I'd much prefer piling on the angst throughout and giving them a happy ending. There's too much sadness and grief in the world already, I feel like everyone should get a happy ending.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I don’t know, they all end well, but since I need to choose one I'd say Don’t Leave Me because of what happens in the fic

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I did, on Change my Direction a few chapters ago (which is basically a year and a half ago.). People(who had never commented before on this fic) had a lot to say about how I handled a specific chapter.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yes I do (I think most of my stuff is rated E on Ao3 lol). I’d say mostly fluff. And…what would you call Kara and Lena have been longing for each other for years and finally decide to…? 

I wrote more kinky stuff I haven’t posted yet. There’s angry sex in a fic I’m working on

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I did. Harry Potter and Charmed, City Hunter and Cat’s eyes (1980s and early 1990s mangas by the same author). I used to draw crossovers a lot which was a lot easier than trying to figure out how some characters could meet. I don’t think any of my written crossovers were too far-fetched, but my art on the other hand…I had the Golden trio from Harry Potter meet Naruto characters, and Outfit exchanges(with Naruto and other mangas) a few times in my art.

“Recently” I had Kate Kane and her step-sister visit Kara and Lena in Suddenly I’m in too deep. And I will write crossovers again with other characters from the Arrowverse

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I hope not.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

No one’s ever asked, so not that I know of. I’ve tried translating my own fics once upon a time, but what a hassle lol. Although that was back when I was writing in French so translating to English was harder (and my English was not what it is today), maybe it would be easier to translate my current fics in French, but I don’t really see the point lol

13. have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Yes 2 with @lenaralanvers. One is Let’s let go of our Broken Hearts (she did the actual writing but we took decisions together) and the second we haven’t posted yet.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

My OTP? I don’t know. I’ve loved all my ships with passion, still do. I think RonMione, Linzin, Korrasami and of course Supercorp will always hold a very special place in my heart.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I hope I’ll be able to finish all of my Supercorp ones in any shape or form. Sometimes I just write down a short idea and it turns into a multi chapter fic. Or sometimes I write something I think could be huge, but it turns out to be a few paragraphs and it’s just as finished as the fics I post online. 

16. What are your writing strengths?

I’m not good at knowing what I’m good at lol. I think I’m good with fluff scenes and how people react with their senses (sight, touch etc)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions. Which is all the more frustrating because I usually get a very precise picture in my head but I can rarely show it with words.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I don’t write entire dialogues in another language, just a few foreign sentences or words here and there. I like to keep it organic for the reader and this method is easier when it comes to including translation

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter. I was desperately waiting for Book 5, and after theorizing for a while about serious plot points, one day I sat down to write goofy interviews given by the Golden trio to the Daily Prophet. The funny thing is, fanfiction came naturally to me, and I’m not sure I even knew the name of what I was writing then.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Oh that’s a tough one, because favorites tend to change. I can list a few that I love in chronological order (each one of these marked a milestone of some kind in my writing journey): 

Il était une fois à Shinjuku (the City Hunter and Cat’s eye crossover), 

A post Book 1 Korrasami and Borra fic (that I never posted anywhere so I never bothered to properly name it XD), 

My eyes are up Here 

The Five Senses of Affection 

and Don’t Leave me

tagging a couple of people if ya’ll wanna take part! @spaceman-earthgirl @lenaralanvers @chaotic-super @inkedroplets @guessimreallyhere

[ch0kehold-ch3rry-pyth0n]

The Spirit ask blog

So, I have made one of these before. However, it is old and I am unsatisfied with it. So I am rewriting it by myself without an annoying tiny pink ghost nagging me and talking over me.

With that said, let's try this again.

Introduction section - Get to know Spirit and her world

Hello, Tumblr. My name is Spirit Auraveil. I am a second year Ramshackle student at Night Raven College as of writing this. I don't really know what else I can say about myself. But I am a gorgon with albinism and I am very normal about the color red, as you can see from the text color I set it to. I go by she/her and I'm omni and poly.

I share a dorm with a couple other idiots. Apparently a cat possum thing is considered a student for whatever reason? But we have a Housewarden named Comet. She was the first one to be put in this dorm (along with the possum) and she nearly broke her back trying to renovate it from looking like a total dump. Ramshackle would not be the dorm it is today without her. And then there's people like Alice, Jude, Heaven, that one guy that Floyd and Jade hate for whatever reason, and whatever the fuck Andro has got going on.

We're a smaller population of students in comparison to the other 7 dorms. It's not that bad when you don't have a ghost breathing down your neck at 3AM while you're trying to make kraft Macaroni and Cheese. But we're who makes Ramshackle a home.

Except for Andro. He kinda just locks himself in his room all day. To a point where he's more of a cryptid than the actual cryptids that live here.

Anyway, what else do I put down? Oh, right. The rules. Cue the next section.

The rules - What is and isn't okay to say or do when interacting with Spirit

[Red = Spirit's text]

[Default = ooc/the creator's text]

Don't be rude unprompted. I am aware of how I come off. But that is no excuse to give me distasteful asks. I will not respond to those types of asks.

No nsfw. I may be over 18+, but I still don't look forward to publicly answering asks that are inherently sexual. That just feels weird and uncomfortable. So if you could avoid doing that, that'd be great.

Don't feel bad if I don't respond. I get burnt out pretty quickly. So I may not get to your ask right away. But I will try to get to it as soon as I can so long as it doesn't break any rules or boundaries.

Don't question my tags. I let my acquaintance, Alice, tag my posts because I usually just don't feel like doing it myself. If there's anything strange or goofy in there, chances are that is all Alice's doing.

No derogatory language! Swearing is okay, as this is an account for audiences that are teenagers and older. But we do not condone the usage of slurs of any kind. Nor do we condone any type of homophobia, transphobia, racism, ableism, or anything of the sort. If this rule offends you, then you're more of a snowflake than I am and I kindly ask you get off this page.

Don't spam. I am not online all the time and neither is Spirit. I may occasionally go into long hiatuses, mainly due to me forgetting that I have this account at all. But still, please don't spam. That is honestly just a hassle for me more than anything.

No god modding. As in do not attempt to control my character, force things that I did not agree on, try to majorly hurt or kill my character without consulting in me first, or anything of the sort. It ruins the fun when things are forced!

Other character and oc interactions are welcome! I am happy to roleplay and interact with other rp blogs and accounts. I aim to build some kind of storyline with this ask blog. And I appreciate when others add onto that!

Try to remember that this is all lighthearted. I deeply apologize if I come off as uninterested or cold. It's just how my neutral expression and voice is. And I mean you no ill will. Although I appreciate honesty in terms of confronting me when I make you upset. Gives me more room to try and fix the problem at hand.

Conclusion - final statement from Spirit

Anyway, that is just about it. I hope that we can get along nicely. Do take care of yourself.

I'll see you all in my next post. Later.

(Check out my other accounts: @aetherphobia @enigmacitrus-rp)

[sillylittlevulpine]

15 Questions

Was tagged by @seradyn Thank you dear!! It made my day! 💜

Tags for people if you wanna try. No pressure! Just love you guys and wanted to let you know I was thinking of you!

💜💜💜💜

@savage-rhi @guildwarsgirl @hauntedadagium @herafizzbee @lunarlegend @bostoniangirl21 @ronkeyroo

1. Are you named after anyone?

My middle name was passed down to me from my maternal aunt. But my first name is all unique. I'm trans and took a piece of my dead name for the one I use now. I am thinking about swapping my middle name to Delta at this point. Cause I'm going for a legal name change and a legal adoption to cut ties with my family.

Like I'm an adult, but it would cut the legalities of needing my parents' info for financial aid and such without a hassle. I won't have to use their info or let them know about specific things. Etc etc

She's not blood related to me, but I thought having all ties cut from either side of my family would be great. My aunt is basically my mom at this point. And I love her dearly.

2. When was the last time you cried?

At about 1 AM this morning, I had a massive panic attack. And broke down pretty hard. But I've been crying several times a day at this point. Things have been rough. But I'm still fighting

3. Do you have kids?

I have plants and a fish. But as much as I love kids, I have a lot of mental health issues. And I don't feel like I could give them a good environment. My childhood severely traumatized me, and I don't want to even cause a small fraction of the harm my parents did to me. Of course, what they did was intentional. But I wouldn't ever want to cause trauma to a kid cause my mental health.

I'm also Asexual and would not have kids of my own. But I also have an autism diagnosis, and adoption would most likely not be a possibility. And kids that are up for adoption have so much on their plates and need so much love and support. I don't have the mental capacity or the spoons to give them what they need and deserve.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

No.. not me~

Yes, yes, all the time. Actually, I'm really bad about it, and with my autism people sometimes don't actually pick up on it.

I really love to respond to other people's sarcastic remarks with my own and they often think I misunderstood them. But they misunderstood me.

It's harder to pick up on when you've never met someone irl so I don't often do this to my online friends, so I don't accidentally hurt anyone. But I'm a sarcastic asshole to my irl friends.

Being an ass to them is how I show my affection, and then they respond to being even more of an ass to me. Then we laugh and do it some more.

5. What sports do you/have you played.

I was on a competitive soccer team, as a really young kid. Like ten years old, maybe??

I don't really like sports that you play in groups, but I do love to be active. I like going for runs just because. I'm not doing it for any good reason. I'm in good health. I just enjoy it.

I used to Rollerblade. I loved to jump rope.

Honestly, I've been tempted to get a gym membership, but I don't wanna be stared at.

Like not as a person who wants to get more fit, but I just like to exercise. It's fun.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Their demeanor, their thinking styles.

I can see a lot about a person by the way they interact with their environment and other people.

What makes them happy, what are the things they seem so excited about.

I just love to see people being happy and bring themselves. It's beautiful.

7. Eye color?

Blue ^^

8. Scary Movies or happy endings?

Scary movies. No second thoughts. I love horror a little too much. Anything super dark.

But I don't like true crime. Actually I hate it. Feels weird to me to give bad mean people all this attention.

But I will drool over fictional villains all day every day with NO shame!

9. Any special talents?

I've got a tiny bit of a green thumb. I really love working with plants. And I'm really good with cats. But I'm also an artist!

I'm the tiniest bit obsessed with math, too.

10. Where were you born?

The USA. That's all the detail I'm willing to give

11. What are your hobbies?

Drawing is my main one as well as writing.

I listen to so much music it should be considered my full time job, a side hustle, and my second job all at once. I listen to music more than I do anything else.

But also Botany, Kalimba, piano, fish keeping, photography, gaming, reading (mostly fanfic at this point), poetry here and there, singing, working with dogs and cats, math and science.

12. Do you have any pets?

I had a cat, and though she's still alive, I had to leave her at my parent's house for several reasons. She's got my brother to take care of her. But I cry about how much I miss her and how I'll never see her again all the time. Her name is Angel, but I always called her Stinker or Stinky

But I also have a fish! Her name is Nyx, and she's turning two this month. She's a Betta and a menace to society. She's wanted for the murder of the aquarium plants. We have decided that any other life in the tank is forbidden. People keep telling me to get a snail for her tank they don't move fast. Like, oh, sweet summer child, she kills plants. She'd kill that snail pretty quickly. She attacks her hides. She doesn't NEED it to move. She just has the blood of a serial killer.

This child bites me the entire time I clean her tank and will chase bugs she sees on the outside of her tank.

She was a baby when I got her. Here's the contrast!!

I also have several house plants but I have too many to fit all the pictures so just take Bob Ross, cause he's my favorite.

13. 5'1" ... and a half! I gotta emphasize this!

14. Favorite subject in school?

Art, math, engineering, coding.

15. Dream Job?

I know people don't always dream of having a job. But I DO like to do specific types of work.

I'd love to pour my heart into the agricultural side of Botany. And study the science of plants.

Or be a mechanical drafter. Or an architect. Maybe a machinist. Makes some engine parts for cars and planes.

I'd love to code for video games. Or work on coding in general.

My mind is incredibly full and always busy busy. I don't like to sit still, and I have to do something that makes me think really hard.

I'd like to say I want to go into creature design for horror films. And I would, but not in the soul sapping way the industry does. I don't want them stealing my passion.

But working with some people I know to make something awesome to benefit and entertain people?? Absolutely!

[shockersalvage]

Danganronpa Kirigiri Cast Designs - Victims of the 12 Duel Noir Challenge

For twelve of these guys, hard to believe most of them lack in the image department. So NAI was used to correct that, creating most of them base off their novel descriptions, with a few exceptions. Also did end up using the DR tag for some.

Korisu Kakitsubata

“Technically, one could count her as having art since she did appear as a sihloutte in volume 3. Buuuut, silhouette’s aren’t much compared to the full body art the other cast gets. Originally, had trouble with getting her to look suitably like a party girl, but of the variations think is the best one for it.”

--

--

Toru Uchida

“A friend called him a generic isekai protagonist. Given how he’s supposed to look pretty average...I’d say its fitting!~”

-

Hironori Hari

“One of the least intimidating Victim gets a badass generation? More likely than you think. Don’t let it fool you. Guy still pretty ‘eh’ through and through.”

-

Kaei Kuchiki

“NAI hates generating good, decent looking, old people so his was quite hassle to get through prior to figuring out I needed to add ‘Danganronpa’ to the mix. Like his out there beard and hair”

-

Otsuko Kuchiki

“Otsuko, and Seika, are notable for only having ‘is a girl’ as their description in DRK. So...had to improvise. My favorite part is how she’s wearing her jacket.”

-

Seika Kumano

“Now, my pal at @drmedicsgamesurgery​ actually gave a unique description for Seika on this one....however for the life of me, aside from the hair and shades, I can’t replicate it kin there. I’m sorry ;_;. So think of this like an alt, where I tried for a detective vibe as much as possible. Love the fedora.”

-

Tatsutora Oboro

“Definitely feels the part of a man that would get involved in wacky family antics. At his side is supposed to be his gun, but NAI can’t replicate guns for shite so...yeah.”

-

Shiro’o Shima

“No description so had to improvise. The main idea running in my head was that the guy would be badly battered after getting muffed. Thus the mummy man you see here.”

-

Gunzo Arai and Kariyasu Karasuba

“Unlike the others, these guys were finished much faster...mostly since I couldn’t really bear to give these guys more generations than what they’re worth XD. Always picuted Arai as having that kinda colored hair and like how it captured Kariyasu’s instability.

[the-firebird69]

And he is in a lot of trouble he is fighting DeSantis who is governor and the census wants him out of the house and they're trying to deliver an eviction notice I have been trying for a couple weeks now and they don't want to near him and they're pushing pretty hard they are attempting each and every time and they don't seem to be able to do it and they don't have to use the Charlotte county sheriff it is a state agency and they're trying to find him a sheriff too it's going on today and tomorrow Monday until he gets them out of there and Stan is trying to get him out now too between the two of them and they might but they need to have backing and boy did it take a long time for them to figure it out.

-and it's like this Stan went after Trump and hitting his areas he heard all sorts of stuff is investigating and found out that it's him screwing him over and the sun was right he said he's all the stuff and have nothing by comparison and he's got a whole bunch of land-based stuff and he is attacking him quite seriously to take it and to get ships he's gotten quite a bit of few ships already he lost 100 million and he's gained 50 million ships back. It's a huge huge day for him you realize something too my son's been saying it so he's going after him and he's hitting and he's getting stuff and he hears that he's taking tons of and he has this rag tag he did a force. And amongst them is BG and BG is hearing tons of stuff about what the trumps have been doing to him and he couldn't believe it it's coming right out of their mouth as insults is there attacking and they're taking tons of stuff as a result so of course we are and we're talking and we're laying into them and it is in the eastern hemisphere and they are giving them a brand new one it is opening it wide other people are hearing it and a striking them in their areas and it's finally coming out important that take a long time hours and hours and days and years of this lunatic yelling stupid crap and finally people hear it it is amazing how long they can just sit there with dumb stuff going on

-huge pukes here little babies and the idiot drives by there's no idea everybody's watching him and his idiotic son they're going to get their asses handed to them and they are pitiful people okay they don't do nothing for a living they're riding around screwing around with people support state of affairs so they're getting beat up pretty good and they're losing all this stuff and the areas getting demolished and it is wholesale slaughter and they are slowly becoming aware of it but send idiots marching by and if hearing stuff from all around them it's actually people who are nearby saying they'll just shoot them and they're going to try and take his phone and send false messages shortly and yeah it's around 8:00 p.m. here but really it's going to be around 5:45 p.m. they will begin strikes in the Western hemisphere and stand included and will take a sits back on Trump and he's the one who was taking the ships and he's the one who said he should attack and that's how I figured it out and the guys a sleazeball and everyone hates him and his time is coming he's King and he wants to force his way back into the UK instead of your message to bja with a huge shoes and having Sarah do it and it is a joke cuz the guys screwing himself probably cuz his AI boy and a lot of people are laughing at it cuz they see people of their own stopping his program

We published now because of the importance of this post it's been a very huge hassle the guy is much more than a nuisance and he's going to go down starting today this time for real and yeah he's taking a punishment and he has too much stuff

Others stuff

Thor Freya

Have a lot to say about it most of it is very negative and they are very very slow to realize that people see them and they're extremely weak people I need to tell you that they're used to circling around him all day long and they're like 10 people or 10 characters in 15 minutes and people are getting used to it no I've seen them doing it wondering where they're getting the power for that kind of energy and they're going to go after because they do it all day long

-we have new numbers in you said that we think they reach 1% by the end of the day and they're at 1.2% and it's not yet the end of the day and that's all more luck this thing with Trump is accelerating it but they have to because he has too much stuff and he's a weekly and his name is Percy as in a purse

-the numbers are real here in Charlotte county the Charlotte county sheriff was 400 the other day and they've been bringing it down over the past 4 days and now it is reaching 300 they should be at 300 at the end of the day

-and the local police department in punta Gorda they're at 20 yesterday and they have been losing officers are at 15 right now and fired for a lot of crimes and against the state instead you're lucky or not in the news so they might try to get their own in the news to try and recover

-Florida law enforcement was that 1000 couple days ago and it's worked its way all the way down to about 600 they're trying for 500 but they're going to work on residuals and they're going to keep on doing it and that's the whole state that's very pitiful it's hardly any of them and there's a few in each office and they get beat up all day long

-that certain people that are not liking what's happening and they shouldn't and our son says the right thing they need to have certain things in place and Stan has a place to go and it's not Australia or New Zealand no it's one of the other and he says it's New Zealand but he can't go there so they might have someone confident on stuff

-the numbers are reducing across the board but the Florida State highway patrol started with like 2 million they worked at all the way down to 100,000 last week 30, last Monday and 15,000 today it's a very very big drop

-along with those agencies there's the civil servants are there around 3 million no there are 30 million in the state and now they're dropped down to about 2 million in the state no it's a pitiful 100,000 statewide and they're going to drop further yeah there's a bunch of them wandering around

-and a son says you're going to pay for it Dave unit threats this is in high school it was shooting in your f****** moron you get shot all the time so your knit weights you're taking around me stupid pots is the last people that help he's such assholes it says you can't wait till you're gone and we can't wait either you stupid pots such a f****** loser

-aside from what's really happening here because they really are nasty to him and you really can't stand them they are finally the law all day long by harassing him and the federal government is coming down on them all over the world too finally and they're actually pulling them out and going after them and a lot of it's because the money and they found that he's sitting on her son's money in New Jersey and he knows he can't use it it's coated by the max but the fool thinks he's threatening him so we're trying to straighten it out today and tell him no he's doing the job and the max for killing him this is really Max money and our son's money is how digitally you keep saying I'll ruin it digitally and said you try and ruin your computers please go ahead and try so we can ruin your computers cuz they're tired of hearing you say they do everything with a piece of crap so he starts trying and we knocked out with half of them today and he starts yelling it and of course the computers are mostly defunct and he's going down and you can't believe it and after a Time he started saying this today we have to go see him we have to bother him cuz you know masturbate in public are you doing it I'll see you guys this doesn't do anything we got to turn it up and said we're going to start hitting you it's just trying to turn it up when it nailing them the guy is ridiculous person so he's overseas getting hit the transition is going to start in 30 minutes and he's going to get now very very hard and it's not expecting it this is not smart I'm pretty sure it's going to start hitting he likes it it's about time

-a couple other things happening there are women too who getting fired from the sheriff's office and they're blaming chief prunell and that's Trump and they're coming down hard on him and they're taking his stuff and they feel justified now son says he's not physically actually doing it but he's getting everybody laid off is he sitting there being an a****** next door I think there's a I will do it all and even though it won't he's the one doing it because he's an a****** they feel better about it but it's actually true and Sarah doesn't care maybe it's not letting her have anything yeah pursuit of you but there's some other things happening in this area

-the federal agencies are all cut in half already and they're cutting them in half again and say we don't know why we keep you on there's so many of us just get out and they're doing it and the eight points are loading and it it's going to be one of the last times it does and the idiots think they're going to get in and you think I pushing them back just to show they can't it's a question which way will work better or some things are not too hard to fool she let him feel all eight points and they'll think to do with the last time and that they're the last in line and they'll get away with it they found something like that it's going to continue doing it and they just drive through feel the place up and think think everyone's getting tricked and to get now what's going on today and it's going to be huge right now it's like 3 million octillion in there and our son says how big does it really get it's had up to about 10 million octillion no it's as big as it gets right now and they'll probably get wiped out. It's a huge huge huge attempt and they're pretty sure that they'll get something and we see them get wiped out easily we think that's what's going to happen and there's about 10 million going to the big holes and 5 million octillion going to the rest that will drop their 2% down to 1.5% if all three fail it's coming up in a few minutes and at 5:45 they're going to start striking the Western hemisphere.

We're going to publish because it's pretty big and it's happening now

Thor Freya

Took him a couple seconds to realize it we just got it now in publishing

Hera Zues

Olympus

[krappykawa]

fake dating headcanons with atsumu, oikawa, and kuroo

ANON ASKED: “hi i really like your writing 🥺🥺 could i request fake dating with atsumu, oikawa, and kuroo? like they told their teams that they have a girlfriend but they dont lmao so they ask one of their classmates to pretend to be their gf so the team can meet her? and they end up falling for her along the way :)) i look forward to reading more of ur works!! 💖”

atsumu x f!reader, oikawa x f!reader, kuroo x f!reader

genre. fluff

warnings. language

word count. 6.3k

note. DAMN this one got away from me ... 6.3k words for a headcanon post ...... sorry anon i’m not sure if you wanted a long post but i mean, here we are lol 

note 2. had to repost because something was up with the tags lol i hope it works fine this time

ATSUMU.

- the team has a favorite twin and it’s osamu, we all know it

- one day after practice, the team finds out that one of the first-years managed to get a girlfriend

- most of the inarizaki vb team is single at that point in time so it starts a conversation about relationships

- somewhere in the conversation, aran says, “osamu, man. I can’t believe ya haven’t gotten a girlfriend yet. yer easily one of the best-looking people in the school.”

- osamu just shrugs, but atsumu’s like “huh??”

- “hey ‘samu and i have the same face. don’t cha mean that we’re some of the best-looking people in the school??”

- the guys in the locker room exchange glances

- aran‘s like “look, atsumu. don’t blow up on me or anything, but most girls don’t really want to date you.” (keep in mind that aran’s strictly speaking about the girls that aren’t a part of the miya twins fan club)

- “and why the hell not?”

- at this point, aran’s looking at literally everyone in the room and pleading with his eyes for help because he doesn’t want to start a fight with atsumu

- suna takes pity on aran and says, “hate to break it you, miya, but girls don’t want to date a guy who’s a massive asshole”

- now, atsumu could care less if the entire goddamn world thinks he’s an asshole, but it rubs him the wrong way that his teammates think that osamu’s a better catch than he is

- sibling rivalry pride or whatever

- so atsumu goes “i think my girlfriend would disagree because oh will ya look at that, she’s dating me!”

- he was most definitely not dating anyone

- osamu raises an eyebrow at him because to his knowledge, atsumu didn’t have a girlfriend

- “since when did you have a girlfriend?”

- osamu looks at atsumu with knowing eyes and smirks. “yeah sumu, who’s this girlfriend of yours? I don’t think i’ve met her yet.”

- atsumu knows he’s gotten himself in some deep shit

- but still he’s still full of pride, so he says, “i’ll bring her by to practice tomorrow.”

- now miya atsumu has a dilemma because there are some things he just shouldn’t lie about (because now he’ll never live it down if he can’t figure out a way to get himself out of this one)

- atsumu knows that he’s got that fanclub that would probably be more than willing to date him, but the thought of being in their presence for longer than two seconds makes his skin crawl because he doesn’t think he could handle the excessive screaming

- so that night he decides to go to the bakery down the street that he frequents because they have some of the best macarons in town

- you’re one of the bakers at that bakery that works the shift when he usually comes in for his weekly macarons so you two are acquainted

- you also go to inarizaki, so you hear the rumors that circulate around atsumu, but you don’t really pay much attention to them because he’s not that bad whenever he comes into the bakery

- like sometimes if he tries to only order 2 macarons but notices that there are only 5 macarons left, he’ll buy them all just to make your life easier

- when he comes in that day, he has this troubled look on his face. “hey y/n. can i just have my usual? oh and an iced matcha.”

- you like to keep tabs on your regulars and what they order, so when he orders an iced matcha, you know that something’s probably up (he never orders drinks from there because he said that his brother would kill him if he didn’t bring him home a drink too and having to carry the two drinks up to their apartment is hassle enough)

- you’re in the middle of making his drink when you decide to ask him what’s up “everything alright?”

- it’s almost time to close up and you two are the only two left so you figured you had time for small talk

- “i may have outright lied to my team about havin’ a girlfriend.”

- “you don’t?” that surprises you because so many girls at your school have a crush on the miya twins (you would know because your best friend is practically in love with osamu)

- when atsumu shakes his head dejectedly, you don’t quite understand what he’s so down for

- “you do know that there are like 50 girls that are practically lining up to date you right?”

- “yeah, but they’d expect a real relationship and i’m no good at those.”

- “why not?”

- “i’m too argumentative, let's just say, plus i’ve been told that i kinda come off as an asshole.”

- “and volleyball right?” you would know since he always comes into the bakery after a practice and he looks like he’s both dead and alive

- when you hand him his matcha and packet of macarons, he pauses

- “listen, don’t take this the wrong way but yer single right?”

- you almost smile to yourself because wow for a guy so attractive, his way with words isn’t great

- “i am.”

- he stands there for a good 20 seconds just looking at you with that look in his eyes that tells you that he’s trying to ask you something but he doesn’t know how to do it

- “you want me to act as your fake girlfriend don’t you?”

- cue atsumu chuckle @%EUTYDJBCJWER)*&# hhhhfs

- “ya know, i’m kinda seein’ why i get called an asshole all the time. it doesn’t sound as great when ya’ say it like that.”

- you agree to pretend to be his girlfriend, but on the condition that your best friend will be able to tag along if osamu’s gonna be there

- and that’s the start of it

- you visit his practice the next day before work and his team looks at you in surprise because they were 100% sure that having a girlfriend was just another one of atsumu’s lies

- they all kinda stare at you a little extra too because you’re really pretty

- “aye, get yer asses back to volleyball and stop starin’ at my girl like that.”

- you know it’s all fake, but him saying that kinda makes you blush anyways

- when you first agreed to fake dating him, you weren’t expecting that you’d have to spend too much time with him (he did tell you that he wasn’t looking for a real relationship) but that changes because osamu’s insistent that atsumu should at least try to be a good boyfriend and eat lunch with you and stuff

- you’re both aware that osamu doesn’t buy your little arrangement one bit

- atsumu’s got this raging pride when it comes to his twin brother, so he actually listens because now he’s made it his personal mission to convince osamu that you and him are actually dating

- it takes a while for you two to get into the hang of it, but once you do, it’s like a regular routine

- you and your best friend eat lunch with the twins (you and atsumu both watch as your best friend fumbles her way into talking with osamu), you drop by before work to give atsumu a kiss on the cheek before practice, he drops by the bakery after practice nearly everyday, and you come to his games while wearing a jersey that he lent you

- his teammates like you a lot and tease atsumu all the time because they claim that you’re way too good for him

- surprisingly, he always gets a little protective when they say things like that and always slips an arm around your waist

- one day when you’re over at his apartment, you help atsumu learn how to make macarons (with some help from osamu)

- it takes a while because he would get mad at the macarons when they would come out in weird shapes

- “stupid macarons! they got it out for me i’m tellin’ ya! they’re being like that on purpose!”

- LITERALLY A CHILD

- you learn to like that about him though

- dates with him are usually on the weekends (you both drag osamu and your best friend out with you) and it’s always something fun that osamu suggests because atsumu wasn’t joking when he said he sucks at real relationships

- most of these dates consist of holding hands as you walk around the streets until osamu sees a restaurant he wants to try out

- he always insists on feeding you at least once in your meal

- he also loves doing the walrus-chopsticks face?? (he only started doing it because he liked hearing you laugh)

- as time passes, you two start going on dates without osamu and your best friend (atsumu always claims that it’s because he wants to show osamu up, but you start to notice that osamu doesn’t even find out about these dates most of the time)

- you secretly like these dates better than those with osamu and your best friend because atsumu feels more at ease and will develop a softer tone around you during these dates

- eventually, he starts to always greet you with a forehead kiss whenever you’re in public (you’re not sure if he does it just because his brother is watching, or if maybe he might be starting to like you)

- you try to make your brain forget that most of the time, he kisses your forehead before osamu even walks in

- one day after practice, you’re waiting for him because you didn’t have a shift at the bakery that day

- he walks out of the club room looking mildly pissed and you’re a little wary

- but then he gets to where you’re standing and just pulls your waist towards him and full on kisses you

- mind you, this is your first kiss on the lips with him

- it’s not a quick peck either, like you can hear the wolf whistles from his teammates in the back and you’re left breathing hard and flushed pink afterwards

- damn if that’s what his kisses are like, you suddenly wish he’d do it more often

- “what was that for?”

- “nothin’”

- sometime in the future you find out that he did that because his teammates were once again talking about your relationship and one of them joked that atsumu paid you to pretend to be his girlfriend

- he knew that what you had wasn’t necessarily real, but he just had the urge to kiss you then (he swears to you that he doesn’t know why)

- he does know why. it was because it was starting to slip his mind that your relationship was fake and the reminder made him a little mad at himself

- he realizes that maybe he’s fallen in love with you when osamu brings it up

- atsumu had asked for osamu’s help because he wanted to surprise you by making you mochis for your upcoming four month anniversary of being his fake girlfriend (typing this out was so funny, this man is so whipped he doesn’t know it)

- “ya know, when i first met y/n, i was sure that it was all fake and that you’d slip up about it one day. i guess i was wrong.”

- atsumu doesn’t say anything to that because in his head he’s trying to convince himself that “no. this is all still fake.” but it’s hard to convince himself of that when his hands are covered in the rice flower that he’s using to make your favorite dessert for your four months of faking being together

- he tries not to think about what osamu said when he gives you the gifts later that night

- he tries not to think about it when he gets that funny feeling that he’s been feeling for a while now when he sees the way you light up upon opening the box of mochis

- he most definitely tries not to think about it when you accidentally give him your second kiss of the relationship because you were caught up in the spur of the moment

- it’s on the way home back to his apartment that night that he realizes he’s fucked

- because good god he’s fallen for you

- he tries to break it off after that

- you’re confused at how sudden it is, but you let him break it off because at that point you’re already in love with him and are still too scared to say it because you keep remembering how he always said that he didn’t want a real relationship

- IDIOTS IN LOVE YOU'RE BOTH SO .

- he tries to go back to normal after that

- but for the love of everything he just . can’t

- his eyes always linger a little too long on the door right before practice because you would always come see him before going to work

- his feet would instinctively move in the direction of the bakery after practices until he realizes what he’s doing and forces himself to go home

- his eyes would scan for your figure wearing his jersey during games until he remembers that you probably weren’t there and that you most definitely wouldn’t be wearing his jersey

- he wants to kick himself because the reason he asked you to be his fake girlfriend in the first place was because he didn’t want a real relationship

- yet here he was. wallowing because if there’s anything more he wants, it’s a real relationship with you

- osamu gets fed up with him eventually

- “take yer ass to the bakery right after practice. i’m not letting you into the apartment until you see her.”

- and surprisingly, he actually listens to his twin brother

- he walks into the bakery for the first time in a while and says “hey y/n. can i just have my usual? oh and an iced matcha.”

- you look up at him then because you vividly remember that night. how could you not?

- you’re in the middle of making his drink when you decide to ask him what’s up “everything alright?”

- “i may have outright lied to myself about loving you.”

- you nearly drop the drink in your hands

- “‘tsumu? what are you on about?”

- “i know i said that i’m no good at real relationships. but i’ve found that i want to learn to be good.”

- a pause

- “i want to learn with ya.”

OIKAWA.

- this poor boy is always the butt of the jokes that come from his team

- seriously though. it’s always “tease oikawa day” (he teases them back so it’s all good)

- but one day, they’re all in the locker room when hanamaki brings up this girl that he’s planning on asking out because he’s not sure how to do it

- oikawa, being the little shit that he is, goes “step one, makki. have my face. step two, have my amazing personality. step three, ask her out.”

- he barely ducks in time to miss the shoe that comes flying towards his head

- “makki! such unbecoming behavior! my advice is perfect!”

- matsukawa snorts and says “perfect advice my ass. you can’t even get anyone to like you. let alone go out with you, crappykawa.”

- “don’t spread lies, mattsun.” oikawa clicks his tongue like a mother scolding his child. “or do you seem to forget the dozens of confessions i get on the daily along with the girls that you three complain about all the time because ugh shittykawa’s gonna make us late if he keeps talking to them” (he’s so dramatic lol he says that last part in this weird, whiny voice)

- iwaizumi scoffs. “doesn’t count when you reject every single one.”

- “i do not!”

- “right. right. as if you don’t make them cry because you’re so nice about rejecting them too.” (oikawa frowns at that one because he doesn’t mean to make them cry)

- “yeah, shittykawa, you’re pretty bad at love in general. i’d die before listening to your advice.” (this one is from matsukawa)

- “there’s also the fact that the girlfriend’s you did have all broke up with you because you would rather cuddle with a volleyball than cuddle with them.” (this one is from hanamaki)

- oikawa scowls at them “i don’t cuddle my volleyball.”

- “sure you don’t. just like you most definitely don’t have a name for it either.”

- “leave iwa-chan the second out of this!” (he drew an angry face on his volleyball too because he claims it looks like iwaizumi)

- iwaizumi groans. “i hate you. so so much.”

- at this point, oikawa knows they’re right, but he’s also really prideful. “and besides. i would suggest taking my advice because i got a girlfriend just today!”

- he most definitely did not

- “sure you did. hey mattsun, i bet a week tops until she breaks up with him.”

- “nah i’ll bet five days.”

- after practice, oikawa came up with a plan for the next day to get himself out of the hole he dug for himself

- he usually got confessions before school, so he told iwaizumi that he was going to school early to practice and instead waited for a girl to confess to him

- but the moment he saw this second-year walk up to him with a little box, he knew he wouldn’t be able to do it

- he couldn’t do that to this innocent girl

- and he tries to say yes to her. he really does.

- but he can practically hear his older sister’s voice yelling at him about how “even when you get popular and get confessions from people left and right, i don’t want you leading anyone on. you only accept a confession if you actually like them.”

- he’s probably more scared of his sister than he is of his own mother, so he says no to that second-year, even when she starts to frown and walk away

- he’s leaning against the gym and rubbing the bridge of his nose when he hears you

- “everything alright?”

- you two were pretty close because he found out that you had a crush on iwaizumi in your second year and tried to set you two up (it didn’t work because he’s pretty bad at being a wingman)

- even when iwaizumi rejected you, oikawa had already grown to like your presence, so you two stayed friends despite how his best friend broke your heart

- “y/n-chan! what are you doing here so early?”

- “just returning a book to the library before the librarian knocks down my door and kicks my ass for having an overdue library book. what are you doing here so early?”

- “would you believe me if i said that i was practicing volleyball?”

- you look him up and down, and the smell of fresh cologne reaches your nostrils. his uniform is neatly put together.

- “looking like that? no, no i would not.”

- “well, what would you believe?”

- “i don’t know .. the truth maybe?”

- “the truth is embarrassing and is defamation to my good name.” that makes you raise your brow at him.

- “okay now i only want to hear the truth. i will not accept anything but the truth. now tell me, what kind of embarrassment have you proved yourself to be this morning?”

- “so mean, y/n-chan! now i see why you so very adored our precious iwa-chan.”

- you groan because you don’t want to remember that rejection. “oh just hurry up and embarrass yourself instead of embarrassing me.”

- “but it’s quite embarrassing.”

- “come on, spit it out.”

- “i may or may not have told iwa-chan, makki, and mattsun that i have a girlfriend when i don’t have one.”

- you look at him like he’s the dumbest person you’ve ever met, because at that moment, you really believed that he was. “couldn’t you just … i don’t know … accept one of your many, many confessions?”

- oikawa tells you about his fear of his sister and the second-year that just confessed to him

- you find yourself admiring his sister because she’s probably the one person on this planet that can humble oikawa tooru (the next person to be able to do so will be you, but you don’t know that yet)

- after hearing his explanation you get an idea. “can’t you ask someone to fake being in a relationship with you? you know, so you don’t get the angry sister devil/angel thing on your shoulder?” (LOL if you don’t get what the angel/devil thing that i’m talking about is, it’s like when you have an imaginary angel and a devil that sits on your shoulders and criticizes every choice you make)

- “are you offering, y/n?” he has that shit-eating grin on his face again, so you know he’s mostly joking

- “hmm, i don’t know. i think you’ll have to formally ask me to be your fake girlfriend. it’s only polite after all.”

- oikawa blinks for a second because he didn’t actually think you were serious. “what?”

- “are you going to ask me to be your fake girlfriend or not? maybe throw in a flower and i’ll say yes.”

- oh. oh.

- well, he wasn’t going to let what might be his only opportunity to get someone to fake date him pass by

- he looks around and sees a small flower on the ground and picks it

- he takes both your hands and puts the flower in one of them before saying, “y/n-chan will you, take me, oikawa tooru, as your loving pretend boyfriend, and save me from irrevocable embarrassment?”

- you laugh in his face because he’s trying so hard not to laugh through his “proposal.”

- “minus points for not getting on one knee but i guess i do.”

- you mainly did it because you may have already gotten rejected by iwaizumi, but you did like the possibility of being friends with him, and fake dating oikawa would probably let you do that

- you also kind of felt bad for oikawa, knowing that he wasn’t exaggerating how embarrassing it would be if his teammates found out he was lying

- when you and oikawa walk up to the seijoh third-years while holding hands, makki and mattsun are jostling each other while iwaizumi looks mildly surprised

- “see matsun! pay up!”

- oikawa and you both look in surprise as mattsun reluctantly shoves a few bills into makki’s awaiting hand

- oikawa’s looking between them both. “what bet did you use me for this time?”

- “i bet mattsun that you and y/n secretly liked each other.”

- blink blink

- iwaizumi sees the mildly awkward situation brewing so he says, “anyways, y/n if you ever get tired of this dumbass, you’re more than welcome into our group. we’ll just kick oikawa out.”

- after that, you and oikawa fall into a dating routine easily (you have a pretty busy schedule too so both you and oikawa understand each other schedules well)

- usually this is where oikawa’s relationships fail. he spends so much time with volleyball and the team that he doesn’t really spend time with his significant others

- it’s different with you though. maybe it’s the fact that the stakes aren’t so high because it’s only a fake relationship after all, or maybe it’s because unlike his past significant others, you don’t mind spending most of your time and “dates” with the other seijoh third-years, or maybe it’s because he remembers that locker room conversation and he wants to prove to makki, mattsun, and iwaizumi that he can be a good boyfriend (even if it’s a good fake boyfriend)

- dates with oikawa are usually laid-back because he’s tired from practice (so like walks in the park, getting ice cream, or study dates where you don’t get much done because you spend most of it just laughing and cooking in his kitchen)

- you find that he’s secretly a decent cook (the only thing keeping from saying that he’s a good cook is because he can’t cut vegetables for his life, and he also managed to accidently burn the onions you were trying to caramelize).

- neither of you acknowledge the fact that since nobody’s there to see those dates, you two technically don’t have to go on them since it’s only a fake relationship

- oh and takeru LOVES you

- seriously. he thinks you’re probably the coolest person ever (he tells you one day that he thinks you’re even cooler than oikawa and oikawa is a pouting mess the rest of your day. you can only pull him out of his slump when you jump on his back and force him to run to the bakery and buy milk bread)

- sometimes you’ll come with oikawa when he needs to watch takeru

- as takeru teaches you how to receive a volleyball, oikawa will watch you two with a little smile on his face (this loser is so whipped like man people passing by reminisce on how they were young and in love once because oikawa looks at you like that. oikawa doesn’t notice that he’s doing it though.)

- you sometimes spend time at his house with iwaizumi or on select days just by yourself (mostly for study dates or for watching weird sci-fi movies that oikawa seems to love)

- since you’re at his house so often, oikawa’s mother takes a liking to you because “you finally got her boy to care about something that isn’t volleyball.”

- it’s when oikawa groans a “moooom” in response that you start to feel those pesky butterflies

- oikawa will run up to you after games and just hold you tightly (he tells himself that it’s because his fan club and the team are watching, but really it’s because he can’t thank you enough for being there because he just plays better when you’re watching)

- my god, dUDE . he has no idea that he loves you like . MAN .

- mattsun, makki, and iwaizumi always tease oikawa about how you’re so much cooler than him

- oikawa whines to you and says, “y/n-channn they’re being mean again!”

- “what do you want me to do about it?”

- oikawa pouts like the baby he is and says, “kiss,” while pointing to his cheek. you give in and a round of groans comes from mattsun and makki. oikawa looks so smug and those pesky stomach feelings come back. iwaizumi is smiling to himself.

- speaking of iwaizumi

- you two become best friends after he finds you looking dejected as you wait for oikawa to get out of practice. you confided with him about how your relationship was all pretend. you might have also told him that you may be teensy bit in love with his captain

- iwaizumi tells you that, “there are some things you just ... can’t fake. the way that shithead looks at you is one of them. trust me.”

- he also tells you that his suspicion that you and oikawa had this weird spark was what kept him from ever reciprocating your feelings and why he rejected you (oikawa literally tried being your wingman before by texting iwaizumi things like “did you see how pretty y/n was today? don’t you think she was pretty?” and “iwa-chan! y/n is so funny and that’s coming from me, so she really is funny! i think maybe you should talk to her to see what i’m talking about (≧◡≦)”)

- at this point everyone knows that you’re in love with oikawa for real (except for oikawa himself)

- everyone also knows that oikawa’s fallen for you (except for oikawa himself, and you because you refuse to believe it)

- the moment he realizes he’s in love with you is on another one of those dates that you both know you don’t have to have but still choose to have anyway

- you’re making milk bread and he’s helping to measure the ingredients when he turns around to see you covered in flour and he just kinda stops

- and he realizes

- like yeah he’s been getting that small tugging feeling with you a lot over these past few months

- but now he finally realizes it’s because he’s in love with you

- he’s staring for a long time and for a second you think he’s going to make fun of your flour-coated self, but he’s staring at you with that look and you’re confused

- “everything okay? is there something wrong? did you mess up the measurements?”

- then an idea hits him

- “something’s wrong. it’s kind of embarassing though.”

- “what is it?”

- “no but it’s really embarrassing.”

- “what .. what is it?”

- cue cheeky little grin. “i think i might’ve fallen in love with my fake girlfriend. i don’t have another flower to ask her out though. i hope she doesn’t say no.”

- you kiss him for the first time then and take pride in the fact that you get him covered in flour in the process

KUROO.

- it happened the second day that you were at the tokyo training camp

- kuroo was with bokuto and a few of the karasuno first-years when bokuto started telling the first-years that kuroo had a girlfriend because he saw kuroo helping you carry your bags the day before (listen . this man is like . clueless when it comes to emotions sometimes i’msosorry)

- kuroo got this confused look on his face because he thought he would remember getting a girlfriend. “i do?”

- “don’t you? remember the girl you were holding hands with yesterday?”

- this was all some big misunderstanding

- so basically what happened was this: you’re shinzen’s team manager and you were tasked with carrying bags of equipment to the training center. kuroo was waiting for kenma to finish talking with lev (more like trying to avoid though lmao) and noticed that you were struggling so he came over to help

- kuroo figured that bokuto must’ve seen him holding the bags for you and assumed that something must’ve been going on (or maybe he looked over for the split second when kuroo held your hand in order to transfer the bags to his hand)

- he was about to clear things up when lo and behold, you walked into the gym

- “kuroo look! it’s your girlfriend! hey, come join us!”

- bless bokuto’s soul. bless that poor, oblivious soul.

- you walked up to them and looked at kuroo like “what??”

- you remembered him from the day before, but you didn’t remember ever agreeing to being his girlfriend of any sort

- he smiled apologetically at you and asked to talk to you on the side

- “what’s going on? why did he call me your .. girlfriend?”

- “look i’m sorry, bo’s a little … i don’t know. he saw me carrying your bags yesterday and assumed. i’ll clear things up, don’t worry.”

- when you two headed back to where bokuto is standing, it was obvious that kuroo’s smooth-sailing explanation wasn’t happening anytime soon

- because lev was there, and so was yaku

- “KUROO-SENPAI? THIS IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND? SHE’S VERY PRETTY SENPAI!” (bless lev’s soul too. another part of the extremely oblivious club.)

- yaku took no hesitation in teasing kuroo. “since when does kuroo ever get any girl to like him? this is new. no offense, of course.”

- kuroo tried clearing up the air by saying, “guys- listen this has all been som-“

- hinata doesn’t let him finish either lmao “YOU’RE THE TEAM MANAGER FOR SHINZEN!” (extremely oblivious club member number 3 here)

- “a team manager, kuroo? what’d you do to get her to say yes? is she a chemistry nerd too?”

- “bo-“

- they kinda just went like that back and forth, and kuroo kept getting interrupted

- you were just laughing to the side because it was kind of funny

- you also kinda felt bad for kuroo because damn his friends had like no faith in his romantic skills at all??

- maybe that was what made you say it, but after his friends were done teasing him you said, “he’s kind of a catch though, don’t you think? nerdy and funny is a girl’s dream isn’t that what they say?”

- kuroo blinked at you because what??

- once kuroo got you alone by asking you to take a walk outside of the gym, he asked, “so … what does this make us?” (surprise, surprise, he never got the chance to tell them about the misunderstanding)

- you just shrugged because really how bad could this be? “i felt bad at how much they were teasing you, so we could keep up the fake boyfriend/girlfriend thing for the week. it shouldn’t be too bad. plus it’ll save you the embarrassment of having to tell your friends that you didn’t actually get a girlfriend.”

- you guys did pretty good for the week of the training camp

- you’d cheer him on in secret if he got a spike or a block during a practice game while simultaneously still watching shinzen’s game

- you two walked around the halls when bokuto was watching just to keep up pretenses

- you learned that he’s a major nerd during these walks, which you found really endearing

- on the last day of camp, he tried to throw pieces of broccoli in your mouth (he didn’t stop until he finally got it in after his 9th try)

- you guys initially planned to “break up” after the camp was over

- but here comes bokuto again

- “hey y/n! kuroo, akaashi, and i were gonna go out for karaoke tomorrow if you wanna join.”

- you grew to like bokuto too so you said you’d come

- it was actually a really fun night

- you and kuroo sang a duet together

- he also stole some of your ramen

- you took a video of bokuto as he serenaded akaashi

- when you guys are leaving to go home, bokuto goes “you two are so cute. y/n do me a favor and don’t break up with kuroo until after the qualifiers would you? i wanna play him at his full game.” (again. seriously, he basically is the greatest accidental wingman ever)

- “we can’t break his heart, can we?”

- “no, we can’t.”

- and so your fake relationship starts

- you don’t get to visit each other often because you don’t live in the same vicinity, but you guys text often (it’s a friend thing, you both swear to yourselves)

- on weekends when kuroo’s not spending time with kenma, he’ll ask you to meet him at a park or a cafe (you two always send selfies to bokuto during every date)

- dates with him are always really fun because he’s spontaneous and also very active so sometimes he’ll take you by the hand and just drag you places

- he is not afraid to smear different colors of ice cream on your nose and call you some obscure name from some really old movie that he may have watched that week

- he also makes you push him on the swings

- the little kids get mad because what is this rooster man doing taking up a swing when he’s so old

- you laugh at him when the kids eventually come up to him and ask if they can use the swing

- dates will usually last the whole day because you’re both fine with just walking around and randomly finding stuff to do

- with all that time spent talking, you two also get to know each other really well

- like basically your life stories

- it took him a while to open up and at first he insists that you tell your story first, but after a while you notice how he starts letting little things about his life slip here and there until he starts telling you bigger portions

- you also get really close with kenma

- not close close the way him and kuroo are, but kenma would probably see you as his second closest friend

- that’s why sometimes kenma tags along with you guys (it doesn’t feel like third wheeling or anything because both you and kuroo enjoy kenma’s presence as much as each other’s)

- eventually, once you two got the hang of it, you’re like the couple that everyone likes

- because you’re both pretty funny and overall just have nice vibes

- his team starts to call you mom and dad as a joke because sometimes when shinzen doesn’t have practice, you’ll stop by at nekoma at the end of practice just to say hi

- they’re not wrong about the mom and dad thing though (it’s a really cute dynamic though i swear)

- your team used to not like him at first because they were protective of you, but eventually they reluctantly warmed up to him

- they threatened to demolish him if he hurt you though

- LMAO ANYWAYS .. MOVING ON

- you guys have lots of study dates too!!

- since you’re both busy because of volleyball related things, a lot of your schedule lines up with each other (this also means that kuroo knows when you haven’t had time to study)

- you’ll be sitting on his bed on your stomach with your legs draped across his thighs as you read your textbook and he’ll be sitting against his bed frame reading one of his assigned readings (i also like to think that kuroo has glasses for these readings that only you and kenma have seen)

- sometimes, when you finish studying before he finishes, you’ll come up behind him and just start to play with his hair

- his hair is actually really soft despite looking like a bird built its nest in it

- you also have two of his jackets that are just lying around your house

- he likes when you wear them because he thinks you look so cute (he doesn’t tell you that though)

- after a while, it’s like both of you have forgotten that this was all a ruse just so bokuto wouldn’t get heartbroken after you two break up

- at this point, kuroo has learned all your quirks, habits, and has also memorized your schedule

- like … he doesn’t realize that he’s fallen for you until someone points it out

- he realizes he’s fallen for you on the day that shinzen loses in the tournament (this would be your last match)

- now nekoma just played a game, but kuroo’s first instinct is to check whether or not shinzen won (he’s been doing this for every game in the tournament)

- when he sees that you lost, he knows that you’ll be sad and in need of a pick me up

- as kenma and him are packing up, he says, “shinzen lost today. i probably can’t make it to your house tonight. y/n will probably want to go out with her team for a bit, but she’ll probably crash at my place. do you think i should make her a strawberry cake? or maybe she’ll want onigiri? no, she’ll probably want the cake. she always gets the little smile with her one dimple whenever she eats my strawberry cake. makes me proud.”

- kenma’s just looking at kuroo with arched eyebrows because HIS BEST FRIEND IS WHIPPED

- kuroo doesn’t get why kenma’s looking at him like that because he thinks about things like that all the time. “what??”

- oh kenma knows your relationship is fake

- so he just looks at kuroo and says, “try to refrain getting down on one knee today. i doubt you have a ring, and i’ll bet that y/n will want a confession of you being hopelessly, madly in love with her before you propose by the way.”

- kuroo kind of freezes and blinks at him.

- “wh … what?”

- “kuro, do i really need to spell out for you that you’re totally smitten with her? you have been for a while now.”

- “have not.”

- “yes, you have.”

- “have not.”

- “yes, you have.”

- “have not.”

- “yes, you have.”

- at this point, kuroo knows that kenma’s onto something, but kuroo doesn’t wanna jump to conclusions until he sees you again

- when you knock on his door and run straight into his arms that night, he knows kenma’s right

- like you’re balling into his chest and he gets that feeling that he wants to hold you forever and never let go

- and he knows. he knows.

- after you start to calm down, he offers you the cake that he made just for you

- he swears that he feels ten times lighter after he sees that exact smile with the exact dimple on your face

- now kuroo may be loud, and rambunctious at times, but when he loves, it’s quiet, simple, but not any less there

- as you finish eating the cake, kuroo notices that there’s a few pink crumbs on your lips

- and he kisses you

- like a “slow, hand on the cheek, nose touching after he pulls away” kind of kiss

- “i made a realization today. kenma told me to hold back on proposing, so i’ll go with confessing instead.”

- you’re looking up at him with your heart beating hard in your chest

- “i think you might’ve made me fall in love with you.”

sorry if there are any mistakes lmao i tried catching all of them but ... 6k words ...... yanno. .....

[sopejinsunflower]

A Timing Misplaced - MYG One Shot

a/n: idk why I'm a bit more attached to this one. I guess it's relatable? In a way? I just like torturing myself :') Check out Ashes in the Wind to get a full understanding of this one.

Summary: He's the senior you had eyes on since freshman so when he finally sees you, years later, it's enough to close one eye to the truth your gut has been screaming at you. It's a classic case of being at the right place at the wrong time.

Pairing: Min Yoongi x you, Kim Taehyung

Word count: 5.9k

Tags: AU! established relationship, right time wrong place kinda stuff yknow, idk what else to put here lol

Yoongi hates arguments, hates it even more when you refuse to wait till he’s off of work to talk at home and would rather be hours on the phone picking out every little wrong thing he did.

So when he sees his best editor, who also happens to be his good friend and business partner (something she doesn’t answer to anymore after she decided taking charge of the company was too much), walks into his office after he called her earlier, he couldn’t quite get off the phone, apologising to you just to restore peace but you won’t have it.

He knocks on the glass window overlooking the office floor, making eye contact with one of the interns as he scurries in. To his friend standing in front of him, he says, “Go with him. He’ll show you the fuck up he did.” He doesn’t wait for any response, turning his chair around as he refocuses his attention to your raised voice over the phone, holding in a sigh.

“Y/n, I have a lot of work to do today,” he says in a tired voice, head in his hand. “Can we talk about this later? I’m having a hard time enough already at work and I’m expecting a client to call back anytime soon. They’re pissed at us enough.”

“You never listen, do you?” he hears you say with a tremble in your voice. “You don’t care.”

Yoongi sighs again, rubbing his face. “I do care but now it’s just not a good time.”

“Fine.” The call clicks and Yoongi is left staring at his phone screen, weary for what will come next. He pushes the thought out of his head at the moment; he has more pressing matters to take care off, like his business. He lets out a loud groan, wishing he could just leave out the door, get on a plane and fly to Madagascar. Not that there’s anything particular there, he just wanted to be away from all this hassle. He loves you, he does, but sometimes you can just be too much, especially on days like today.

He leans his head back. What was it that had pissed you off?

Oh, yeah. He’d forgotten White Day, which is today, actually. He had been late to work, rushing through traffic with a piece of toast in between his teeth. You don’t live together so he had forgotten to call you in the morning like he always does and that had also been another factor. Not the main factor,but enough to add salt to the wound. In all honesty, compared to Valentine’s where the girls pamper the guys with gifts and chocolates, White Day is where the guys return the favour, which is why it’s clearly not as big as its counterpart. Men are pathetic when it comes to remembering dates, even worse when something is expected of them on those dates. Or that could just be Yoongi. He’s been doing that a lot lately, which is the biggest factor of this argument this time.

He had forgotten their five hundred days together, forgotten last monthiversary and now this. Really, he’s pushing your limit by this point. But work has been so busy lately, barely any space to breathe. He should be happy, the business is growing but at what price? This has been his dream and he thought you’d understand. He sighs what seems to be the hundredth time today. He can feel a headache coming on. He sends a quick text to you.

I’ll come over to your place tonight. Love you.

Then, on second thought, he erases the last sentence and presses send. He pockets his phone and goes back to work. He sees the earlier intern passing by his window again in a half jog, coffee sploshing around in a mug he recognises and smirks. He bought it for her, that time he went to Disneyland with you, much to your disdain, had chosen it carefully, remembering every one of her favourite Disney characters. You had sulked all the way home because, as opposed to his best friend, he had forgotten you love Princess Jasmine just as much as she does but Yoongi had shrugged. This was his best friend, the friend he was maid of honour for on her wedding day and you, at the time, were only his girlfriend of six months.

You had swallowed the bitterness, never to bring the subject up again. Something about his best friend that makes him touchy, protective, even. If you were honest to yourself, it truly does seem that you’re second to that woman but her being married to this over six feet tall dude you met once is the only thing that’s keeping your thoughts from spiralling towards something happening between Yoongi and his best friend. That, and the fact that she doesn’t come into the office as often. Her husband makes a lot of money, travels a lot, too.

Across town, in a single building with splashes of pastel colours, you read the text from him with an angry huff before putting your phone away in the front pocket of your yellow apron just as a group of four-year-olds race past you. You look up to find another teacher, giving you a sympathetic look, probably having heard your  phone conversation. You smile at her and turn away to go after the kids, yelling at them that no running is allowed inside. They stop but still jostle each other before you herd them back to their class, one of the smaller ones insisting he must have his hand in yours.

A cute kid, Minjun, with dark wavy hair and big eyes and chubby pink cheeks; a little shy around people and used to cry every morning when his mother dropped him off and refused to eat unless it’s bread day, which is on Fridays. He’s come a long way since last year now that he’s a little older with a baby sister on the way, a lot quieter now and the easiest kid in class. The other three kids are not your kids as you usher them back into Sakura while leading Minjun back into your class, Camellia. He runs back to his seat, greeting his deskmate. You breathe in deeply, trying to recentre yourself away from the negativity of the argument with Yoongi earlier. The bell chimes and you say to the class, “Alright, everyone, sit down, please.”

The day goes by pretty fast and before you know it, you’ve been on full autopilot until it’s time for the kids to go home, their parents, mostly mothers, arriving first in groups, and then one by one. Four o’clock rolls around and still no sign of Minjun’s mother. She’s never been late before but there had been no calls either. There’s still a smattering of children in the playroom and Minjun is in one corner with a little girl in pigtails, playing with some dolls and animal figures, talking quietly. You check your phone again, rereading texts between you and Yoongi. It hasn’t been good between you two lately. It’s like he’s losing interest, forgetting important dates and dismissing it when you get upset. It’s the same excuse all the time: work. It’s getting tiring, honestly.

You’re scrolling through your phone when you see from the corner of your eyes Minjun standing up and running towards the big windows that overlook the front of the kindergarten. His face lights up and he runs out of the class towards the entrance. You peek out the window and, seeing an unknown man rather than his mother, you do a double take and run after him, calling out his name to wait. You find him just by the entrance waving at the man who is standing on the other side of the door. He has dark curly hair on his head, very handsome and tall, but looking too young to be his dad. You shake your head, not wanting to judge.

“Wait here,” you tell Minjun as you put on your outside shoes and go to greet the man outside. Whoa, you think, he’s really tall and really beautiful.

You put on your best concern face and ask, “Hi, sorry, but who are you?”

He flashes you a boxy smile. “I’m Taehyung, Kim Taehyung. I’m here to pick Minjun up.”

You give him a once over. “But who are you? His mother didn’t inform us of anyone else coming to pick him up.” You cross your hands over your chest, wondering if she forgot the kindergarten’s policy. There’s no way you can release a student to a person not specified, whether in the kid’s file or verbally by call and this person’s name doesn’t ring a bell.

His eyebrows shoot up, his mouth agape. “What? She didn’t call you?” When you shake your head, he continues. “I’m his uncle. She asked me to come today. I’m visiting them for a week and it’s supposed to be a surprise for Minjun.”

You don’t look convinced and he fishes out his phone, taps on something and shows you a text message. “Look,” he says, “says so here.”

You step away from him. “I appreciate you showing me that but I’d need to confirm that ourselves. Can you wait out here for a few minutes?”

He nods. “Yeah, sure. No problem.”

Just as you step back inside, the Principal comes running out, looking breathless. “Minjun’s mother just called. Her brother’s coming to pick him up today.” She sees Minjun by the entrance and then the man outside. She points to him. “Ah, he’s here.”

You glance back towards the man, Taehyung, and he waves cheerfully back. You go back to your class, with Minjun following, and grab his things. When you return to the entrance, Taehyung is inside talking with the Principal. You help Minjun with his coat and hat and then his shoes as Taehyung approaches us. You hand over the boy’s bag to him and he slung it over one shoulder, taking Minjun’s hand in his. He winks at you. “Thanks, teacher.” To Minjun he says, “Say bye-bye to your teacher, Minnie.”

You wave them goodbye, watching as they both leave the kindergarten, Minjun happily chatting with his uncle, hands swinging by his side. The Principal turns back around to you. “Handsome lad, that one.”

You chuckle. “He kind of looks like his uncle. Minjun, I mean, not the man.”

The Principal gives me an I know what you mean look before going back to her office, leaving me by the entrance still staring out at the uncle and nephew pair, just tiny in the distance. Sighing, you walk back to class where three other students are still waiting for pickup. Once they all leave, it’s close to half past six and you dread the train ride home. It’s going to be packed to the brim. You wave goodbye to your colleagues and step outside, the sun low on the horizon. Walking out of the front gate, a black car glides to a stop right before you. You look up, the driver’s window rolling down to expose the driver, sunglasses on, behind the wheel.

“Can I give you a ride, pretty lady?”

You narrow your eyes. “I’d have to ask my boyfriend first.”

“It’s all been taken care of.” Yoongi flashes you a smile and you can’t help but do the same. You go over towards the passenger side and jump in.

A bouquet of baby’s breaths is stuck under your nose and you glance over to Yoongi, his hand outstretched. You arch an eyebrow at him.  “What’s this?”

“A peace offering,” he replies. “Do you accept?”

You regard the bouquet of your favourite flower for a while and finally take it. “Fine, I accept.”

Yoongi sighs dramatically. “Phew! I’d have busted out the box of chocolates if you didn’t but thank god you did.” He adjusts his seating and puts the car into gear, his face nonchalant.

You stare at him, open-mouthed. “I take it back! I don’t accept, I don’t!

He laughs, reaching behind into the back seat and pulling out a box of Godiva and you squeal with joy. You reach out to take it but he pulls it away. You pout but he leans his cheek over to you. “Payment first, please.”

You giggle, kissing him on the cheek with an exaggerated mwah. He hands over the chocolates and puts the car into drive. You spend the car ride home munching on the sweets, busy depositing them into your mouths and occasionally into Yoongi’s. You both don’t talk, enjoying this one happy moment; you staring out the window, Yoongi humming along to a few songs over the radio. You know that when you reach your apartment, the one you share with a friend from college, you’d both have to have a serious sit down, something you don’t look forward to.

You think back to the first time you saw him; freshman year of college and he was a senior from your music club that never seemed to notice you. He was always in the corner on the grand piano, playing something and writing down in a sheet note. He hardly ever joined any club activities, always left alone on the piano to play to his heart content. You had watched him with fascination, mesmerised by how deftly his fingers move over each key, as if he’s just gliding over them.

After weeks of staring, your friend encouraged you enough to go up to him and say something but once you stopped next to his seat, you froze, voice stuck in your throat. And just like that, you watched him get up and left, not even noticing your small figure standing there, mouth moving like a fish underwater. He didn’t even look back once. It was a few days later when you saw him with another girl, the girl that stayed in his life until today but back then the only explanation you could come up with is that she was the girlfriend, judging by how close they looked. When you gave up on him, you barely even noticed when the piano would play in the corner of the clubroom, a sad, melancholic sound that used to call to you now disappearing as background noise.

When he graduated that year, you went on to date other boys but none of those lasted more than a couple of years. It wasn’t until you finished school yourself and got a job at the small kindergarten in town that you finally ran into him again at a hardware store. Older and with more self-confidence now, you walked up to him and introduced yourself. You weren’t even surprised when he didn’t even recognise you, much less remember you from college but you were a little amazed when he asked you out for coffee. In hindsight, it was probably to make up for the lack of memory of your existence but you didn’t mind, the butterflies waking up from their long slumber.

When he asked you out to lunch on the weekend, you quickly agreed, followed by dinner on a weekday, scheduling to meet after work. You learnt then that he just started his own company with a friend, that he lives just on the other side of town, that he travels back home every other weekend to visit his parents, and, more importantly, that he’s single. On the fifth date, he invited you to a BBQ at his business partner’s house, which turns out to be the girl you saw him with years ago in college. He introduced her to you as his all-time best friend, his confidante, his partner in crime to which the girl had giggled cutely, swatting at his hand. Your stomach falls for a reason you couldn’t quite understand, given that nothing, in all the years, had happened between them, according to him. And yet, you had always been insecure of her. Even today.

The BBQ party had been a small one with about ten other people, one of them a very handsome-looking guy that looked as if he could be a movie star with his broad shoulders and airy laugh. Later that evening though, you watched Yoongi watch the host talking to this tall dude, her fiance, standing only inches apart as she laughed at what he said. Something flickered in his eyes but he had turned away and looked at you in a way he never did before.

Your relationship had been a slow one where he would sometimes hangout at your place but you were never invited over at his, not until he finally introduced you as his girlfriend six months later, around the same time his best friend’s wedding invite arrived, the card a posh one, your name as Yoongi’s, who is the maid of honour, plus one. Their friendship was that deep, you realised but when he was helping her with her wedding vows, you couldn’t help but be a bit jealous as he spends hours on the weekends with her.

“We’re here.”

You are transported back to the present as Yoongi removes his sunglasses and places them on the dashboard, his car parked in front of your apartment building. You both exit the car and go up to your unit, a little relieved to find that Meena hasn’t come home yet though it wouldn’t be too long now. You hang your coat up and dump your work bag by the door, taking off your shoes and padding down the hallway in your socks to the kitchen, Yoongi close behind. You open the freezer and look in. “What do you feel like for dinner?”

“What do you have?” Yoongi asks, standing behind you.

“Hm, some chickens, and fish?” You turn to look at him. “We’re out of beef, though.”

Yoongi rolls up his shirt sleeves to his elbows. “Want me to handle dinner?”

You stare at him, wondering what’s gotten into him today. Is he trying to make up for forgetting White Day today? The flowers and chocolates would’ve been enough but you don’t argue. Yoongi is a better cook than you, anyway, so you step aside and decide on making something to drink instead as he rummages through your fridge.

“You have rice, right?” he asks as he brings the chicken to the sink to thaw it out as you put the kettle on. You nod, pointing to the tub of rice in the corner. He gets to work by preparing the rice first and putting it into the cooker to do the rest, just in time for the kettle to pop and I make tea for myself and then iced coffee for him. He uses the rest of the hot water to help fasten thawing the chicken. He looks through the fridge again. “Do you want kimchi fried rice or just normal fried rice?”

“I’m fine with either one,” you tell him.

“Kimchi fried rice it is,” he says, taking out a tub of kimchi. “You need to do grocery shopping soon.”

You groan. “Don’t remind me, please.”

He chuckles. “Just get them delivered, lazypants.”

“Stop with your man logic, please,” you whine but take a mental note anyway that you could actually do that next time. He cooks dinner while you sit at the dining table doing some lesson plans for tomorrow. You both don’t talk, not much. When he finishes, you get up to set the table and see that he cooked enough for an extra person, including the rice. Meena will be glad to have dinner waiting for her when she gets back.

You both eat through small talks, asking mundane questions like how was work, what was for lunch at school today, did the problem at work get settled, did anything interesting happen with Minjun. After dinner, he helps you dry the dishes you wash, putting them aside just as Meena comes through the front door, exclaiming out loud about the delicious smell and clapping her hands in glee when you tell her that there’s food. She goes to take a shower and you move to the living room, sitting side by side on the small sofa.

He opens his arm in an invitation and you put your head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry I forgot about today.” You don’t reply.

As much as you want everything to just be normal again, you know that there’s more to that. It’s something that’s buried deep in the foundation of your relationship but you’re too scared to pay it much attention for fear that you’d lose the one person you’ve wanted for as long as you can remember. You appreciate his calm demeanour in contrast to your overthinking anxiety, love that he has this strong determination to do what he thinks needs to be done, ambitious in whatever he sets his mind to. But his composure sometimes can feel like indifference, his determination a stubbornness, his enthusiasm a sort of blind obsession. They grate you the wrong way when your personalities clash, making him more cold than loving, more distant.

You don’t look up when you speak. “Do you still want this?” When there’s no answer, you add, “Do you still want us, Yoongi?”

You feel him sigh against you. “I-”

His phone rings then and he looks at the screen, his brows furrowing. You catch the name flashing there and your heart does a little twist but you watch as he answers it. “Hey, what’s up?”

You can hear her voice through the phone but not quite what she’s saying. From her distraught tone, you can tell something is wrong and your assumption is proven when Yoongi’s face darkens and says, “I’m coming home now. I’ll be there in ten.”

Your heart immediately falls, untangling yourself from him and watching him get to his feet and following him to the hallway where he puts on his coat with his phone still to his ear. He’s still listening to her and then, as if he just noticed you’re there, he tells her, “We’ll talk more when I get there.” They say goodbye as Yoongi puts on his shoes.

“What’s wrong?” you ask with no concern in your voice, just annoyance.

“I’ll tell you later,” he says as he ties his laces.

“So you’re just going to fly off to her the moment she calls?”

He looks at you like you’re asking him if the sky is actually blue. “She needs me. I’ll call you later when things are more under control.”

“And what about me?”

He pauses at the door. “What do you mean?”

And as much as your chest hurts and your throat constricts, that is the moment you knew. You chuckle dryly, shaking your head and folding your arms together. “Nothing. Go.”

Yoongi gives you one long look, one foot hovering out the door, one hand on the door handle. You hope to see conflicting emotions there but there is nothing except sympathy and it’s the one thing you don’t want from him. “Go!”

He leaves and you lock the door behind him, leaning your back against it and, as the energy leaves you, you slide to the floor as you heart-wrenchingly sob. Meena, her hair up in a towel, hurries to the entrance and her eyebrows go up as her mouth falls open at the sight of you. She gathers you in her arms and guides you back to the living room.

“What happened?” she asks urgently, passing you a box of tissues that you ignore. “Where’s Yoongi?”

You cry even more at his name, your hand at your chest. Then you shake your head at her, blubbering through your tears. “He’s gone. He was never truly here to begin with.”

“What are you talking about?” she asks, confused, her eyes wide. “I saw him just now. What do-”

Then it hits her, the true meaning of your words. She doesn't say anything else anymore but pulls you into a tight hug, rubbing your back.

“Three years gone down the drain,” you stutter through your tears. “Three years, Meena. Why did it take me so long to finally come to terms with it? I wasted so long for a guy who used me as a replacement.” You continue to bawl and Meena continues to comfort you. She knows nothing she says now will make you feel any better so she lets you cry. She thinks to herself that later, when you’re calmer and would be more open to listen, she will explain to you all about sunk cost fallacy. But for now, for now she just holds you together as you break apart.

A few days later, on a Sunday, Yoongi is standing in front of your door. He doesn’t take off his shoes, doesn’t come past the doorway.

You watch from the entrance, your face puffy, dark circles around your eyes, arms around yourself as if you might fall to pieces if you don’t physically keep yourself together. His face is unreadable, hands in his pockets. “I’m going to be away for a few days, maybe weeks. Something’s come up.” He pauses and swallows some spit. He takes out something from his pocket. “You want this back, right?”

You look at the spare key of your apartment in his hand and then look away. “Just put them there, on the shoe rack.”

Yoongi sighs but obliges. He runs a hand through his hair. “Look, we should talk but-”

“There’s nothing to talk about anymore, Yoongi,” you say, your voice low. “You’ve made your choice.”

He looks pained. “I didn’t-”

“Just go,” you say, turning away. “Please.”

He does and you suck in a deep breath in an attempt to steady yourself as the door closes behind him. You leave the surrendered key and walk back inside to hole up in your room. To anyone who hears this story, the reason for the break up might sound so stupid and shallow. They’ll see that you broke up because he forgot White Day but it’s so much more than that. It’s the underlying fact that all this time you were never his first choice, that all this time he was with you because you had been the available option, the one that threw yourself at him. That, at the very base of your relationship, you had been somewhat competing with her, the best friend, for his attention.

And it’s tiring, frustrating to try and match up to someone he would always choose. You came second, and at first you thought things will change once he starts to love you more, love you deeper, but watching him run to her for the nth time, well, patience isn’t an infinite resource. It had to end. It was long overdue, in fact. But as you’re reduced into another bout of wailing mess, your heart longs for him, for once, to turn around and choose you.

Days turn to weeks, weeks into months and soon enough the seasons change.

It’s winter now, the last day of school before the holidays.

It’s past five o’clock and the only kid still here is Minjun, waiting quietly by the windows, a T-Rex in his hand as he looks out at the falling snow outside. The snow doesn’t stick, not yet anyway, melting away as soon it lands on a surface. You watch him from your desk, lost in thought, when the Principal knocks on your classroom door.

“Y/n, I just got a call from Minjun’s mother,” she says, looking at you over her glasses, “and she’s stuck at work and won’t be back till late. Her brother’s at home but they have some repairman in so he can’t leave the house until they’re done and they’re not sure when that’ll be. Do you think you can take him home?”

You get up and stretch. “Yeah, sure. I’ll drop him off. Is she fine if we take the train?”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

Ten minutes later, you’re walking out the kindergarten gate with Minjun holding tight to your hand, his little fingers wrapping around your index like it’s his lifeline. He seems fascinated by the snow, hardly using his umbrella. You don’t either, using the hood of your jacket for protection instead. It takes three stops before you arrive at the nearest station to Minjun’s house and right after you exit the station, he gets all excited, recognising this part of town.

He takes the lead, pulling at you to walk faster. It’s not long until you see his place, larger than the other surrounding houses. Minjun’s mother is a regular office worker, the father the school has no information on. Not even a mention of him so everyone just makes their own guesses as to Minjun’s home situation. But he seems normal and happy, like any other kid, so the absence of a father isn’t a big concern. But at the sight of the mansion, you can’t help but be a little more curious than necessary.

You ring the doorbell and wait. You bounce on the balls of your feet and watch as Minjun copies you, grinning up at you as he matches your movement. Then the door swings open wide and his uncle appears. “Minnieee!”

Minjun jumps straight into his arms, giggling as Taehyung easily lifts him up high into the air before bringing him down again in a huge arch. “Coats off, boots off,” he instructs in a playful voice. “The fire’s warm in the living room. Go, go, go!” He taps Minjun’s butts as the boy runs on inside, waving goodbye to me in a half-turn.

Taehyung finally turns to you, a huge smile on his face. “Thanks for taking him home.”

You shake your head. “No problem. He’s a good kid.”

He looks back inside to where Minjun disappeared to. “Yeah, he is. Sorry, I don’t think I’ve officially introduced myself.” He holds out a hand. “I’m Kim Taehyung, Minjun’s favourite uncle.”

You take his hand in yours, feeling how soft his skin is, unlike Yoongi’s callussed ones. You catch yourself, shaking the thought out of your head. “I’m y/n. Minjun’s homeroom teacher.”

“And his favourite, it seems.” He chuckles and his eyes twinkle. He’s looking straight into your eyes, a smile still playing on his lips. You realise your hand is still in his and quickly pull away. You hear some voices coming down the hallway and it takes Taehyung’s attention, too. Two men in dark blue overalls appear, talking between themselves about some pipings and stuff. They see Taehyung and loudly report on their job.

“I’ll take my leave now,” you say but Taehyung barely hears you as he’s preoccupied with the two men so you just shuffle backwards, wondering if he’ll remember you standing there. When it becomes clear that the repair work seems to be of higher importance, you turn around and leave for real, closing the small gate behind you. You catch Minjun’s small face in one of the windows and wave to him, his little arm moving side to side enthusiastically right back.

The train ride back to your station is a quiet one despite the train being packed. You have your earbuds in, head down as you scroll aimlessly through your social media. You’re so lost in thoughts that you missed your stop by two stations and when you hurriedly got off, your heart filled with dread as you realise this is the nearest station to Yoongi’s place. You purse your lips together to keep them from trembling as you check the next train’s schedule back.

You have to change platform so you’re walking back up into the station to cross to the other side. The station is pretty busy and you weave through the crowd, jumping out of the way when two middle schoolers run past you, bursting through the throngs of walkers like anomalies against the current. You make it safely to the other side and stand on the platform. The intercom announces that the next train bound for the opposite direction is arriving soon and for everyone to stand behind the yellow line. You look up at the little signboard above your head that counts down the minute until your train arrives: two minutes.

Across from you, on the platform that you were just on minutes ago, there’s a lot more people compared to this side. So when your eyes casually fall on the two figures standing on the platform you wonder what it was that had attracted you to look. Is it the way that he’s staring at you, too, from across the two tracks? Or because he’s wearing the coat you gifted him last winter, you recognising it from the dark green colour that you spent hours choosing? Is it the way his eyes widen, his stance frozen as he looks like he’s in between running over to you and remembering he can’t, not anymore?

Your eyes move over to the person standing next to him: her, with her hair falling down perfectly over her shoulders, eyes looking back at you apologetically, the small body that seemed to look fuller as you wander to her slightly protruding abdomen. It’s as if time is passing in slow motion as you take both of them in, standing there as if the universe decided to go against you one more time by showing you the one thing you didn’t want to see. And just like the universe is teasing you with this one hurtful thing, time resumes its normal pace and the train comes zooming into the platform, blocking your view of them.

Your heart beats fast, you shudder to breathe again, your chest feeling tight and your vision growing blurry with tears. You back away from the tracks, moving so far back people are moving out of your way in both surprise and disgust. The intercom blares again to inform that your train will be arriving shortly but you don’t hear it even when the music in your ears has stopped. You can’t breathe, your heart like a jackhammer against your ribcage. You need to get out of here. You need to leave. You need to go.

You run up the stairs, back the way you came from, your brain on semi-autopilot as you think about fresh air, fresh air, fresh air. You leave the platform.

You leave the platform so you never see how, when the train that came in earlier sped off, only one person never got on. You leave the platform just as your train comes in, just as Yoongi runs across the station to get to the other side, pushing through the people, not even bothered to pretend-apologise and arriving on the platform just in time before they close the door.

You leave the platform, escaping into the night outside, heaving with your hands against your knees as fresh air fills your lungs, just as Yoongi dashes into your train that was supposed to take you back home.

:MASTERLIST:

a/n 2: check out the rest of the one shots to catch glimpses of this story, from a different angle ;)

[littlemisslipbalm]

I live in the neighbourhood

When Y/N moved to Hampstead she was unaware of the implications the decision would have on the course of the rest of her life.

or

Harry is Y/N’s eccentric neighbour who sweeps her up in the whirlwind that is his life

this gif bc its maybe my favorite clip of him EVER holy fuck - this is the harry of my dreams this is the harry of i live in the neighbourhood

HEY YALL it’s been a minute and I missed yall so much and I’m just about to be on break so maybe i’ll be back to posting writing regularly but with school its so hard and I think I’ve been working on this for months so yeah <3 lol PLS PLS PLS leave me feedback and reblogs and that stuff bc otherwise my writing just feels...empty and you have no idea the smile i get when even just the tags say like “god this was everything” it can be anything honestly but it keeps my passion up. Thank you again and hope you enjoy.

Word Count: ~10k | Warnings: swearing probably? no smut (yet), rich and famous harry - mentions of Taylor Swif 

-

She considered herself an average young woman in her mid twenties. She liked screaming Taylor Swift and Megan Thee Stallion songs alone in her car and thrifting on weekends. She hated cable because of commercials and when doordash didn’t deliver all of her order. She had asthma when she worked out or the air quality was bad. She had dumb celebrity crushes that her friends and her still laughed over with every new instagram post. She had hopes and dreams she had yet to achieve and she had past trauma that many would never know about, especially at first glance.

Sure, she was successful. She would admit that. How else would she be able to afford even the modest little house she had found in Hampstead? She had studied international business in college and hopped on a plane to London the first chance she got. After a few years of a more than decent paycheck and an advantageous stimulus check from her kind parents, she was able to move out of her starter flat into the suburbs. The definitive push for the move was two-fold. Her parents wanted her to take her dog and her apartment complex was strict on no pets. Then her promotion at work - which included a pay raise - made it hard to wave off taking full ownership of her childhood ten-pound best friend.

So with life happening as it usually does, Y/N first found herself scouring Zillow, then touring homes in the area, and finally standing outside a three bedroom, two bath, two-story cream house in Hampstead. Her house.

The little moving truck she had rented sat beside her as she stared at her future. The realtor had told her they would be there in ten minutes. For the next ten minutes all Y/N had to do was keep herself from combusting, or worse, sobbing.

She felt overwhelmed already. Renting a flat in London was one way to describe herself as independent. Owning a home in Hampstead seemed like a whole new level of adulthood she wasn’t sure if she was prepared for.

After taking a few deep breaths to ground herself, Y/N walked up to the gate that kept her front yard narrowly separated from the sidewalk. She lifted one hand from beneath the box she clutched tightly to her chest to push past the iron-rod gateway. The garden was cute, a little bland, and she thought to herself that maybe she’d develop some gardening skills now that she had her own front yard. The thought made her smile a little, refraining from laughing aloud while on her lonesome, since she had never taken interest in gardening before. But this house. This house. It was a new beginning. It was a fucking unwritten journal. Blank film. Unknown territory. She could be anyone in this house.

She gently placed the cardboard box on the first step up to the front door. There was no porch, but she couldn’t complain. It was gorgeous and she was lucky to get it at the price she did. The house was cream with dark blue accents and a grey shingled roof. Lots of windows. It was classic and it was hers.

After the realtor came with her keys and made sure everything seemed alright, Y/N’s couple of friends, Amélie and Daniel, arrived with their cars filled with items she had needed picking up from various stores. They helped her move her stuff into the house. Thankfully it was already half furnished, meaning she didn’t have to go out and buy beds or couches or any of those big items that are both expensive and a hassle to deal with.

By the time the evening had rolled around, everything was in the house and it actually seemed semi put together. Y/N looked around, sweat apparent on her face and hands on her hips, proud of what she had accomplished. The nerves from earlier had been drowned by pride.

-

The next day, she woke up from her first night in the house. It felt like a dream even though she was sure she was awake.  

She had to navigate her way to the airport today to pick up her dog from his long flight and then mainly settle into the house. Her house sat on Sherwood Avenue, one of the many streets in Hampstead. It’s neighboring houses were much larger. The ones directly next to and across from her weren’t drastically bigger but what she had yet to learn was that next to the house across from her there were two houses that had been joined together by their slightly eccentric owner. A man who would be the match that ignited the flame that was the rest of her life.

This unknown fact quickly became known after Y/N’s first few weeks in her new neighbourhood. The eccentric - more so absurdly rich - neighbor who conjoined the houses was Harry Styles.

The first time they crossed paths she wasn’t even aware of it. It was the day she moved in. He had been out for his usual morning run and was rounding the corner when she had pulled up in her moving van. Once inside his home, he snoopily watched on as his neighbour began to move in. He hadn’t taken note of much about her, just that she was new and that she had a nice pair of jeans on that day.

The second time, Y/N was convinced she needed to get her eyes checked because there was no way that she had just seen Harry Styles key himself into the house across the way from her. There was no way that she had moved into the same area as him, let alone the same street. It seemed far more plausible that she needed a psych evaluation or a strong glasses prescription.

But the third instance of them crossing paths, she was proven wrong. She was on her way back from the neighbourhood park when she saw a guy jogging towards her. With a yellow beanie and a black Columbia sweatshirt paired with running shorts and shoes, he was hard to ignore running straight towards her. The iconic curls, strong jawline, and soft green eyes were dead giveaways this time. After making brief eye contact as their paths literally crossed, she felt herself make a little face of odd interest. Her head quirked and her eyes narrowed, lips pursed with slight confusion. That was definitely him.

After that, she found herself seeing Harry around the neighbourhood a relatively good amount. She’d see him at the park, at the coffee shop, on their street, and more. They didn’t speak. She really didn’t think he would want to be bothered by his neighbours and she certainly wasn’t willing to test the theory. They sometimes gave a small smile of acknowledgement but nothing really friendly. Just ‘you exist and I know that’.

-

Fridays are Y/N’s favorite day. It’s the beginning of the weekend, she never has to go into work and it’s simply a nice day. People are happier, they smile brighter and it just seems like the world is a little better than usual.

Friday was especially amazing today because her childhood best friend, Cate, was arriving at London Heathrow in the evening. Y/N had begged Cate to fly out to see the new house in person and Cate had finally found the time to run away to England for a week.

She shut her front door carefully behind her and placed her headphones in her ears. Rori, that little terrier, who had made a similar flight to see Y/N’s place not too long ago, scampered out the door with her and jumped happily at her legs as she fiddled with her phone. Her coat ruffles around her disturbed from the morning air. It’s blanket-like fabric that consisted of a deep blue backdrop with felt giraffes sewn on it, kept her warm while she walked. With her mind racing with weekend plans and ideas for her and Cate to do both in Hampstead and the city, she crossed the street like usual and began to walk with her dog to the coffee shop for her morning tea.

Unlike usual, she fumbled just as she was putting her phone in her pocket and bumped into something large and definitely not sedentary.

“I’m so sorry!” She blushed and moved backwards from the man who had just been shutting his own front gate to head somewhere.

“S’alright. No harm, no foul.” He looks down at her and her dog. Rori seems excited by the stranger and sniffs him eagerly. A single paw prodding at the man’s long leg.

She grimaces, hearing the voice and stepping back allows her to fully recognize who she had just bumped into. Her neighbour. The runner. Harry Styles.

“Sorry.” She mutters again as Rori continues to prod at Harry’s leg.

She tries to coax Rori away, but Harry simply smiles and leans down to the small dog.

“Hi there buddy,” he coos and rubs the top of the fluffy dogs head, in between his pointy ears, “What’s your name?”

“Rori.” She states easily, Harry’s eyes flickering to her smoothly. Rori makes a smile babbling noise that sounds a bit like a tiny roar - hence the name - and Harry chuckles to himself.

“He’s really adorable,” he finally says and straightens up from his admiring of the dog.

The grimace becomes more of a smile on her face and she mumbles a “Thank You”.

As her neighbour - who hasn’t introduced himself (which wasn’t necessary, but still) or bothered to ask for her introduction - seems to be about to say something new when his phone begins to vibrate obnoxiously. He twitches, his large hands immediately going to his pockets for the important device. He checks the message and looks back at her face.

“Sorry, I have to run...um,” he’s not sure what to say. He really does have to go, but he doesn’t even know his neighbour’s name. He’ll have to make sure to get it at some point in the near future. Especially now that he’s acquainted with her dog.

“No worries,” she smiles completely this time, relieved for the whole interaction to be over. She felt like she was going to explode with each passing moment. In the presence of a legendary musician, c’mon, who wouldn’t be freaking out. All she could think about was how Harry Styles now knew her dog’s name. What the fuck!

-

Upon arriving at the airport, she waited patiently for Cate to walk out of the customs area.

When she did, the two young women began jumping up and down excitedly, Y/N squealing only slightly. They hugged and began chattering intensely, catching up on lost time that generally occurs when you live an ocean apart.  

Finally, one comment rings through the constant back and forth and Cate stops.

“Wait, what did you just say,” she questions as they begin walking to catch an uber back to Hampstead.

“I think my house might be haunted?” Y/N’s voice raising because she’s unsure if that’s what Cate was talking about.

“No, no, the thing after that. I think I must’ve misheard you.”

“Harry Styles is my neighbour?” Y/N’s brows raise as she looks over at her best friend, curious to know what she will say.

“Yes! Explain. Now!”

“It’s not really a big deal. It’s a nice neighbourhood, it makes sense that celebrities of his caliber want to live there.”

“That is not explaining. You have to introduce us!”

As they climb into their uber and settle in for the short ride back to Hampstead, Y/N sighs and tells Cate everything she knows.

“We’ve only just spoken today and I’ve been here for a couple weeks. He lives across the street and down one, I guess. I just see him around, it’s not like he knows who I am. He didn’t even get my name today, just Rori’s.” She laughs lightly, still finding it funny that Harry knows her dog’s name.

Cate nods, leaning in slightly to her best friend, hardly able to contain her awestruckness from the story and baffledness at Y/N’s calmness. “So, like, when do I get to meet him?”

“Girl, I don’t fucking know. Never, if you’re going to act wild. I don’t want the neighbourhood to think I’m not chill.”

“Sometimes…” Cate starts and leans away from Y/N jokingly, “I hate you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

They both smile, bumping elbows silently. The song on the radio fading in louder as their words die out.

-

The next day, Y/N took Cate to the local park. It was expansive and connected to the football fields that local teams would play at. The park section was a luscious green that was maintained with copious amounts of watering by the township.

She and Cate settled on a patch of grass near a slender tree that would offer some shade if the sun’s rays became too harsh. The quilt they sat on was something her grandmother had made her when she was maybe 8 years old, meaning it was torn in places and completely worn in a different shade of pink than it had been initially.

They set up their picnic and played music, enjoying the sunny day. Something rare and fleeting as the fall began to creep up on Hampstead.

They eat and catch up on life for about an hour. Basking in the sunlight, Y/N had laid on her back and was staring up at the clouds passing along the sky. Cate was carefully watching their surroundings, simply taking in her friend’s new home, but possibly for another reason too.

“Hey, isn’t that…” Cate trails off, trying to subtly nod in the direction of an approaching figure.

Y/N sits up, her hands holding her up from behind her. Her hair fails in front of her shoulders slightly and it’s a little disheveled from being mused in the grass. She looks discreetly in the direction of Cate’s nodding and then looks at her friend and rolls her eyes.

“Yes, but don’t say anything, he might not even notice me and I’m certainly not calling out to him.”

‘Illicit Affairs’ by Taylor Swift is playing off her speaker and as she’s about to change it, Cate turns it up slightly. They share a glare with one another before trying to act casual again, even though both of their eyes kept flickering to the man who seemed to be continuing closer and closer to their set up.

It became clear that Harry was approaching them after all and Y/N tried to carry on an unbothered conversation with Cate, which was hard with the constant nudging of Cate’s foot on her shin.

He stops a mere foot away from their blanket, beaming at the two young women lounging on the ground. He makes an attempt at a casual wave, his large hand splaying his fingers quickly, before opening his mouth to speak.

Cate beats him to the punch. “Hello there!”

“Erm, hi!” He says nicely to her and then looks at Y/N.

“No Rori today?” He inquires.

“No,” she smiles, slightly blushing at the fact that he remembered her and her dog. “He’s napping.”

“Ah, I see,” He pauses, “I feel like I need to apologize.” He continues.

“For what?” She questions and Cate watches on anxiously, mesmerized by Harry and dying to see what happens next.

“I ran off before I could even ask for your name or introduce myself. It was terribly rude.”

“Oh,” she can’t stop smiling, “It’s nothing to apologize for, I’m sure you’re busy. Besides I had to get my day started, otherwise I would’ve been late picking her up.” She points to Cate who smiles sheepishly, still internally screaming over the fact that her friend is able to talk so easily to a celebrity.

Harry nods and looks at Cate again, “Just visiting I take it then?”

She nods quickly, words escaping her. Y/N chuckles under her breath and swoops in to save her friend any embarrassment. “Cate’s my best friend and she’s been kind enough to take time out of her extremely busy life to come look at my new house.”

He hums, still standing a respectful distance from their set-up. “Nice to meet you, Cate,” he says very kindly. Then he laughs, but in a way that is like he’s beside himself. The two women both quirk their heads at him. Y/N squints her eyes slightly, trying to understand the guy she is talking to and connecting him with the man that is all over the news all of the time for his musical genius.

“Now I know your dog and best friend’s names but still not yours. At this point, I’m begging you to tell me.”

They all laugh and Y/N feels nervous for the first time since Harry had walked up.

“You first,” she smiles slyly.

His eyes widen slightly in surprise, but then go back to normal. Harry was very smart, she likely knew his name, but one, she was trying to be funny and two, she was also trying to be courteous. He preferred to introduce himself rather than just be told who he is, even if people already knew. It allowed him to maintain some normalcy.

“‘M Harry,” He says with a smile.

“Alright.” She says and then remains quiet.

Harry’s lips quirk up in a faint smile, amused at her expression.

“I thought it was a ‘show me yours and I’ll show you mine’ type of situation or was I mistaken?” He finally asks when she remains silent still.

The two young women laugh and Y/N bites the inside of her cheek, both feeling flustered and completely in control at the same time.

“You weren’t mistaken, I was just thinking.” Then she pauses again and Cate thinks Harry is about to combust and Harry thinks he’s going to as well with all the anticipation that has been built up over his neighbor’s name, even though he was pretty sure he’d heard it in passing at one point or another but had forgotten quickly afterwards.

“It’s Y/N.”

Harry releases a facetious sigh of relief, “Oh thank god! Finally!” His words quickly turn into an infectious laugh that is paired with a shining smile and she feels like she’s swooning right then and there. The control has gone out the window and she’s taken with her neighbor. He’s wonderful in that moment and she forgets about Cate or the park or anything. It’s just Harry and how it seems like he’s smiling just for her.

“Now that I’ve gotten your name,” he smiles pointedly at her after his laughter has faded away. The smile doesn’t leave his face though, his eyes still crinkled, his dimples still showing.

She nods, encouraging him to continue. Cate feels like she’s watching a movie unfold in front of her and she wishes she could record the entire interaction.

“I can finally ask you, Y/N, where did you get that fabulous coat I saw you wearing yesterday?”

She twitches further upright, eyes bringing themselves directly inline with Harry’s gaze. “Oh,” she inhales, “The giraffe one, yeah?”

He nods.

“I got it from a Goodwill years ago. It’s some vintage company that used to only make sleepwear. I looked up the tag one time and it doesn’t exist anymore. Super cool, though. Wish I could buy more.”

“Yeah,” Harry says eagerly, even taking a step towards the women, “It was so intriguing. Maybe, if you didn’t mind of course -” he falters, losing his courage for a moment, “you could bring it over and my stylist could check it out. I would love something similar and I’m sure he could figure it out.”

She shrugs. It wasn’t crazy, especially not for Harry - she assumed. She was certain he often found things he liked but there was only one of them so he would just order his own. She couldn’t help the pride that was swelling inside her though it that moment. Harry Styles liking her jacket so much he asked where it was from and then wanting his stylist to look at it. She’d jump for joy when she was in the safety of her private home later tonight with Cate.

“One condition,” she says and Harry’s brows quirk amusedly at her.

“You are a very tit for tat person,” he muses.

“Fair’s fair,” she shrugs again and then looks around her quickly, “It’s simple so don’t get too worked up over it, buddy.”

He laughs slightly again and tries to figure out what she’s looking for. When she extends a scratched up, sticker-covered point and shoot film camera he smiles.

“Can you take a picture of Cate and I? It’s always just the two of us so we never have anyone to take pictures of us together.”

Harry grins at this and her sincere face. Cate is a little taken aback, because while it’s technically true, it’s not entirely factual. They have plenty of film pictures of them - maybe not recently though. And she wasn’t going to question Y/N right now. It seemed like she knew what she was doing.

Harry takes the camera and begins to look through the viewfinder. The women scoot closer together and Cate wraps her arm around Y/N’s shoulder. She leans in to press her cheek against her best friend. They smile up at the camera and Harry crouches slightly to get a better angle.

“Alright,” he mumbles, “Ready?...Cheese!”

Their smiles stay hung on their face as they listen for the click and when the faint sound befalls their ears, Cate laughs and Y/N pulls away. She reaches forward for the camera, her hand easily brushing Harry’s large one.

Their smiles meet each other and Cate can’t help but notice how they grow as the two of them look at one another.

“Thank you,” Y/N says sweetly and pulls back to retake her seat on the blanket.

Harry straightens up, his grin falling back into that signature smirk. “No problem.”

“So-” He begins but she cuts him off.

“Well, I’m sure I’ll see you around, yeah?”

He clears his throat, feeling thrown off. “Yeah, sure. I guess next time I see you we can talk about when a good time would be for your jacket to come over?”

His voice raises at the end of his question a little more than usual, he’s trying to get her to bite, but she doesn’t seem like someone who is easily thrown off. He is trying to read her and she’s been completely cool the entire time. It’s intriguing. Even more so than the jacket, even though he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like it, it wasn’t really his focus when he walked across the park to her and Cate.

“Yep! It was nice finally meeting you Harry.”

He feels the cue to walk off and says his farewells. As he walks off, back on course to his intended destination, his head is filled with questions. Most important of them being when he would see her again.

Cate and Y/N watch him walk towards the football fields. They see him meet with a group of men and it seems like they’re there to practice or play a game. Y/N couldn’t be sure.

“He likes you!” Cate finally bursts out.

Y/N rolls her eyes, “Stop trying to make me take the piss. That’s a fucking lie and you know it.”

“It’s not! He likes you and you obviously like him, I mean, but we been knew.”

“Having a crush on the famous Harry Styles when you’re 17 is different than me liking my neighbour Harry.”

“But you like him don’t you? He’s even better than he was when he was 19. Now he’s all grown up and established and more your style anyway.”

“Shut up! He could hear you.”

“He really couldn't, he's yards away, you’re just paranoid.” Cate continues to tease and ridicule her best friend over Harry and Y/N is just about ready to up and leave, but she also can’t help but laugh it off.

“I’m literally gonna kick you out if you keep talking,” Y/N says between laughs and the women feel like they’re back in high school losing their minds over the stupidest joke ever.

“Okay, fine. But all I have to say is I will hold this over you when you end up together.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure, whatever. Just be prepared to wait forever because I can promise you Harry Styles and I are never ending up together.”

--

Two Weeks Later

Y/N walked to her door after hearing the doorbell ring and opened it to find her neighbour standing with his arm raised ready to knock.

“Hey, Harry,” She greeted easily, but not entirely sure why he was here.

They hadn’t really seen each other since their official meeting in the park. It hadn’t bothered her and it hadn’t really bothered Harry either. It seemed like they both had extremely busy lives that they didn’t plan on throwing out the window because they had said they would meet up at some point. She liked that.

Harry had come over because he finally had a break in his schedule and was hoping to talk about the jacket and anything else really. He was interested in getting to know her and he didn’t care to hide it.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go get a coffee or something?” He asked, leaning himself against her door frame now.

Her eyebrows raise and her eyes widen a little bit, not completely sure she heard him correctly.

“Right now?!” She asked incredulously.

She was wearing an oversized grey sweatshirt and black bike shorts that peaked out from underneath the sweatshirt hem. One of her socks was shoved around her ankle while the other was pulled up flat to touch the base of her calf. She didn’t think she was looking the most presentable at the moment. She had been basking in her day off by simply laying on the couch watching hours of Netflix.

He nods, his smile growing on his face. Her flustered expression only made him happier. She was always so nonchalant with him, he wanted to see her a little more antsy.

“Unless you’re busy,” he adds seriously, not wanting to bother her, just wanting to spend time with her.

“No, no. I’m not...I’m not busy. I just wasn’t expecting any plans where I would be required to go out in public. Let me just...um, come inside and then give me five minutes.”

“Sure,” Harry smiles again as he steps into her home.

Her smile is sheepish and much less genuine then the one Harry holds on his face as he takes in her abode. She tells him to make himself comfortable and then runs to her room to try and possibly fix her state in under five minutes.

She tears around her room, heaving off the frumpy sweatshirt and grabbing a long sleeve striped v-neck top she had hanging out half out of her hamper, a sign known to her that while it was clean enough to wear, if she happened to do laundry she should wash it. Slipping it over her head, she walks to her dresser and leans over to open the bottom drawer and unfolds a pair of dark wash oversized jeans. There’s no holes in them and she throws them on the bed so that she can slip out of her current pants. Next, onto the socks, she swaps out the current ones for a fresh black pair and finds her tortoise print boots to flick on. As she just about runs into her en suite bathroom, she zips the two boots up between steps. A quick comb through her hair, deodorant, two spritz of perfume, her eyelash curler and mascara and she’s running back to where Harry is waiting in her living room.

He blinks surprisedly at her promptness, usually giving people more time then what they say they need. She had indeed gotten ready in five minutes. He thought she looked breathtaking. And she felt like she was at a lack for breath in any case.

“It’s a bit cold out,” he glances to the window.

“Isn’t it always?” She smiles, finally catching her breath.

He chuckles and then nods, a smile appearing on his face as he feels a warmth in his chest at her wit.

“Ready?” He checks in.

She nods, grabbing a coat she kept hung by the door.

“Just the coffee shop down the way?” She inquires as they exit the house and she locks the door behind her.

Harry hums, waiting down a step for her to turn around and walk beside him. It was so strange to her, this felt all too normal with him. Like he was just a friend who had come to pick her up for coffee, her neighbor, nothing more.

“Did you hear the new season of the Crown is coming out soon?” Harry asks as they walk shoulder to shoulder (technically since her shoulder wasn’t in line with his).

“Really?” She looks at him, “I love that show!”

“Me too,” He looks at her and smiles happily.

“That’s amazing,” she breathes mostly to herself, half about the show and half about how Harry watches television and that he watches one of her favorite shows.

There’s silence. The brisk air pricking their cheeks as they walk down their street. Their puffs of breath create a slight mist of white ahead of them and then quickly dissipates.

Her eyes flit up to Harry’s chiseled jaw and face and she watches him as his eyes carefully and meaningfully take in his surroundings. Was it her turn to take a stab at conversation? It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence but she just wasn’t sure what was going on.

“You play football right?” She says finally as they turn onto the next street that would bring them closer to the café they both frequented.

She remembered seeing him there on several occasions. The tips he left were always overly generous, which she assumed you could do when you were exorbitantly rich. He always smiled when he ordered and knew the baristas by name. His order rarely differed and she hated to admit but she knew his two regulars. His actual “regular” was a 12 ounce black coffee, dark roast, no cream and no sugar. The other, his “I’ll actually have”, was a 16 ounce iced green tea, no cream and no sugar.

She couldn’t help that she was observant and that when ‘H’ was called at the bar she looked at what was pushed out, patiently waiting for him to come snatch it up with a smile and nod to the workers before he left. Sometimes he’d even smile at her over the lid of his drink as he exited the establishment. It was warm and inviting and she felt good about the twinkle in his eye that never seemed to waver no matter the day.

Now they were going there together and she’d have to pretend like she’d never noticed what he got as a drink.

He responds to her question with another glance at her and a simple “yes”. His hands shove into his pockets and one side of his pink lips quirk up. He continues, “I’m on a local team with some mates. We’re in a little competition with our league. The final match is coming up this Sunday actually...You should come.”

He says it so casually it almost doesn’t catch her off guard. Harry inviting her to his football game, maybe this was going to be her life now. Going to her neighbours football match. Going to Harry Styles’ football match.

“Sunday…” She sounds out, choosing to look out into the distance instead of at him. “What time?”

“Eight.”

“P.M. right?” She responds quickly, worried since she never wakes up that early and rarely before 10 a.m. on the weekends for that matter.

“Of course,” he chuckles.

They’ve come upon the café and he’s quick to grab the handle to open the door and let her go before him. She can’t stop the blush and smile that spread on her face as she ducks her head into the warm and cozy shop. Men had opened doors for her before and she really thought of herself as a strong woman who didn’t need a man for anything, but something about Harry’s action felt especially, and specifically, chivalrous. Why, she had no idea.

Neither of them stop to look at the menu. They were regulars and they both knew that about each other as well. He gestures for her to go first and she mutters her thanks before turning to the patiently waiting barista. She orders and is about to hand over her card when Harry suavely steps in and says, “Don’t worry about it. I invited you with me, I’ll pay.”

It was both completely unexpected and expected at the same time. Knowing she’d never win this fight, she thanked him again, glanced at the man taking her order and then stepped aside. Harry orders his own drink and then pays for both. Today he leaves double the amount he usually leaves for tip, she assumes since it’s two drinks he was paying for.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know?” She says quietly to him once they’re in a corner of the café waiting for their drinks.

He stands slightly slumped against the wall, closer to her height right now. He only shrugs, his good natured smile not once leaving his face since he entered this place.

“I wanted to,” he said simply right as the drinks were ready since it wasn’t particularly busy on this random Friday afternoon.

They glance outside and see that it’s begun to drizzle while they’ve been inside. She sighs, having hoped to walk around a little after being inside all day.

Instead, they sit at the corner table in the café, across from each other. She moves on from the paying thing, knowing it was simply how this guy probably operated most of his life.

He got a black coffee today, the cold and rain likely contributing to that choice.

As one pop song fades out, slightly under the sound of the coffee machines, she’s about to tell Harry she’s pretty sure she can make his final football match when ‘Cardigan’ fades in. It’s the second time a Taylor Swift song has been playing while she’s been in the presence of Harry and they were conversing. She tries to ignore one of her favorite songs at the moment. Harry doesn’t seem to pay much mind to it. His foot is tapping against his other, but it’s been tapping like that since they sat down.

“I think I could probably make it to your game,” she says finally after a pause and a sip of her own drink.

Harry grins at the response and launches into how great it will be if they win and how happy everyone will be. She smiles along and doesn’t notice the slight head swaying to the song that she’s begun.

“Fan of Taylor?” Harry inquires and Y/N’s face drops, eyes widening cartoonishly.

She stutters, a nervous laugh leaving her mouth before she can actually say something. How does she respond about liking Taylor Swift to a man who counts her as an ex. She’s at a loss.

“Yeah, uh,” she finally starts.

Harry watches her curiously, obviously noticing her discomfort as his question.

“I used to not really consider myself a fan. I don’t really follow her just because I don’t really follow...um...musicians,” she chokes out the last word realizing Harry fits that category. “But, after folklore, I don’t know, this album really spoke to me. I also really like Lover and...uh” she pauses again, sticking on 1989, an album she has argued with her friends about how it’s basically a tell all of the man before her and Taylor’s relationship.

He nods, hoping she’ll continue. He wanted to get to know her and he kind of liked seeing her squirm. “1989?” He finally supplies.

Her blush isn’t able to be covered this time. If her hair didn’t fall in front of her ears she was sure they’d be flushed with blood.

Then she draws out of her own self stress and looks at the smooth man before her and grows calm. He was amazing at winding her up and she didn’t want to seem like some young, impressionable fangirl to him. So, she squared her shoulders and straightened up in her chair.

“Yes, it was pop perfection as one of my college friends liked to say. I’d always listen to it at the gym.” Then she pauses, taking a measured breath, gaining her confidence back. Her eyes meet his, “Is there any songs off it that you particularly enjoy, Mr. Styles.”

He chuckles, mostly because of her emphasis on ‘Style’.

“Shake it off?” He asks.

“Oh fuck off!” She laughs and he joins in with her.

When they catch their breaths from laughing, they simultaneously take sips of their drinks and settle their eyes back on one another. Exes and songs written about oneself weren’t exactly the topics Harry had in mind for the coffee outing he had asked Y/N out on, but talks of exes had never been this funny with anyone else. He was grateful for her playfulness, her demeanor.

“Can I ask you something personal?” She asks quietly and seriously.

“I think we’re past that question, love,” he responds.

“Yeah, I guess,” she pauses and just about whispers, “Pretty much all of them are about you right?”

He shrugs again, his felt coat rustling around his seat. “We never really talked about every single song.”

She leans forward at the ‘we’ Harry is using about himself and Taylor Swift.

“But when I listen to the songs, I hear us in just about every one but a few.”

“Wow,” she breathes and sips her drink. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lived through something that intense and then someone commemorated in a masterpiece.”

“Do you have a favorite on that album?” He asks, moving on from her revelation.

“I love ‘I know places’, it has a cool sound. But I also really love ‘Wonderland’. They both have kind of dark sounds, yet it still is like what you have is so special that the bad bits are worth it. I don’t know, it just seems like a tv show. I don’t think my life could ever be that crazy or dramatic.” She doesn’t notice her use of ‘you’ because she had meant it as a form of analyzing the song theoretically as she had done hundreds of times with her friends,  but this time the ‘you’ is literally the ‘you’ the song is talking about.

“Love can turn anyone’s life chaotic.” Harry muses.

The green eye’s that flashed at Taylor throughout that album look at Y/N from across the table and she feels a flip in her stomach at his tone.

Maybe he notices her mild discomfort, maybe that’s just who he is. But after a beat, Harry’s onto the next topic on his mind. He launches into how he’s just returned from Scotland for a shoot for something so undercover he can’t even divulge to her, much to his dismay. She’s taken aback since she didn’t consider her someone Harry would divulge any of his private matters to, but it seemed like he already considered her a confidant. Just not for that. He wants it to be a surprise.

She smiles and listens attentively. She wonders as he goes on about his interesting yet absurdly lavish life whether he even knows what regular life is like anymore. Or if he’d even enjoy it if he experienced it.

Sure, coffee and football were plenty part of regular life . But the football league was something novel to Harry. He had just gotten to do it and he was thrilled by its normalcy.

She regarded him carefully, unsure what the next step was in this budding friendship. Was it dangerous to get involved with someone’s life which seemed to be filled with whirlwind rigor and constant change.

She liked her chaos, don’t get her wrong. She felt like she often was the odd one out in life. Always thinking differently than the ones around her. She often was the one to suggest spontaneous late night trips around town or exploration of an abandoned building known for spooky stories. She liked inviting friends over for themed parties for no specific occasions and she liked taking film pictures of friends like they were models even though it was only for her and her memories. She thought of herself as silly and fun, but what Harry described as his chaotic fun actually was regimented tight schedules of constant travel and work. Interesting experiences came out of that constant travel and work, but didn’t seem like something she necessarily wanted to get herself wrapped up in.

After coffee, they leave the café and it’s pouring now. Instead of going home, Harry insists on walking her to her place. She relents, realizing, once again, that Harry wasn’t someone who took ‘no’ for an answer. She then invites him in because it’s the polite thing to do. And Harry being Harry accepts.

“Want a dry sweatshirt while you wait?” She asks as she slips off her wet shoes and jacket in the entryway. Harry follows suit, his knit sweater being pelted with rain for the last eight minutes left him feeling cold and shivery.

He nods as he toes off his shoes and ventures back to the living room she had him wait in a few hours ago.

“Here,” She says as she tosses a grey sweatshirt in his direction. She believes it's her one from earlier, an innocuous pullover with ‘London’ in collegiate lettering on the front. He catches it as she rounds the corner to turn up the heater.

Her mistake was being so careless to not look at the sweatshirt before handing it over to her neighbor. Anyone else, maybe they wouldn’t have questioned it. But Harry, how could he not.

“What’s this?”

“A sweatshirt,” she doesn’t spare him a glance on the coach as she fiddles with the thermostat.

“It’s one of my sweatshirts,” Harry says and she can hear the smile on his face.

“That’s impossible, I’ve never borrowed-” Her brows had raised at what he said but now her words fall short.

He didn’t mean one of his personal sweatshirts that she possibly borrowed if they were better friends. No. He meant his merchandise.

“It was a gift,” she sighs as she turns to face him. He’s now wearing the sweatshirt proudly and grinning up at her smugly.

She rolls her eyes when he gives her a knowing smile.

“I didn’t know that it was the one I was handing you. Honest!”

“I thought you didn’t “keep up” with musicians,” Harry says playfully, his fingers making quotes appropriately.

“I don’t.” Her tone is serious as she plops on the couch beside Harry.

“I enjoy your music from time to time. Is that a crime?!” She finally exclaims when she can’t handle Harry’s knowing smirk.

“No it’s not, you could have just told me you were a fan!” She tries to stop him and protest that she wouldn’t consider herself a fan, but he continues, “I still would have wanted to have been friends.You’re one of the liveliest neighbors I’ve got. Everyone else on the street is rather dull.”

She chuckles, remembering finding out quickly that the street wasn’t a lively bunch.  

“I just wouldn’t say I’m a fan,” she presses and sits across from him.

He continues smiling like he knows the truth.

“I don’t think you’ve met an average person in awhile, Harry.” She finally says after they sat in silence for a few minutes because they were both too stubborn to be the first to talk.

“I would hardly call you average if that’s what you’re implying, Y/N.” He nods her way and he shifts on her plush couch, his legs adjusting themselves on their own accord. “And I know plenty of average people,” he adds huffily.

“I normally wouldn’t either, but compared to who you seem to surround yourself, I very much am. And that’s not meant to be a jab at anyone involved.”

His right hand sneaks up to his head to scratch at the base of a particularly perfect curl. His eyes squint a bit as his mind processes her claim.

“What are you trying to say exactly?”

“I’m just curious to see if you’d actually like me in your life. It seems like you want to be friends with me and that’s great, but realistically I don’t know how much I would fit into it.”

Harry scoffs, “That’s literally bullshit, just relax. I’m so chill you won’t even know what to do with me.”

Now it’s her turn to scoff. “Chill?!” She asks incredulously. Harry nods with a seriousness she hadn’t seen before.

“When’s the next time you’re flying off to another country for work?”

Harry pauses, “Um...the day after the final match. I’m beginning to film a movie, so I’ll be there for a month.”

“Busy bee,” she muses and they both chuckle.

There’s something about the somber look Harry is giving her. His eyes twinkled in the coffee shop and with playful winks she was excited to be in his presence. But after she mentions when his next trip is, he seems saddened. There’s skepticism behind his eyes and maybe he doesn’t like being challenged about who he is from other people, especially those who are new in his life.

But that’s who Y/N is, she’s straightforward and doesn’t lie to someone. If Harry was now her friend, she was going to tell it like it is to him. That personality trait she worried wouldn’t make her long for his world.

“So the cardigan? Do you have it here?” Harry changes the subject, clearly not wanting to actually consider a realistic friendship together instead just charging ahead with no hesitation. Whatever happened they would deal with it as it came. Maybe she should just go with the flow, let herself be swept up into his madness. Maybe it would be easier than fighting it.

“No.”

“Oh?”

“I do, I was joking. Where else would it be?” Her tone is light, trying to get back the shine she had seen Harry exhibit before it had vanished.

Maybe that was Harry’s effect on people. He was vibrant and like an Elton John song. You never wanted that shine to go away, never wanted the song to end. Never wanted him to stop shining his light on you. She felt this happening in just a few hours with him. When he was happy so was she and when he wasn’t entirely shining she wanted to do whatever she could to get it back.

A smile curls on his face and his green eyes narrow slightly. He’s trying to figure her out, know what she’s all about.

“Do you want to go and grab it?” His voice sweetening, almost like a tease. Maybe he means to bite his lip, maybe he doesn’t, but the effect on her is nonetheless earthshaking.

She pops up and smiles back, happy to have made him happy. As she walks out of the room to go get the cardigan that had started this all, her head tilts and she furrows her brow wondering why she felt such a sense of pride just for making him happy.

Would this man cause her to finally put someone else’s wishes ahead of hers?

-

“Are you on your way?”

She listens to Harry’s slightly worried voice crackle over the speaker of her phone as she shuts her door with the hand not holding her phone to her ear. His voice is raspy and muffled. She assumes it’s from the cold air of London at night and the scarf he is likely got wrapped around his neck.

“Yes! Jeez, I’m on my way. Walking over right now.”

It’s the final match for Harry’s football team and if they win the game then they get a trophy and it’s all Harry has been talking about since they got coffee and she handed over her cardigan.

Harry huffed an “alright” on the other side of the line and she called a “see you soon” before hanging up.

He was both eager for Y/N to come and possibly meet some of his teammates and a few of his close friends who he had invited and for her to arrive so that she wasn’t walking out late at night alone. He hadn’t known her for long, but he felt a certain protectiveness over her. She was relatively alone here, only two friends at work that she had mentioned and everyone else lived far away. She said she didn’t mind it, but Harry had a hard time understanding it since he surrounded himself with his friends as much as he could and was constantly either traveling or having them travel to see him.

He had even contemplated inviting her to come to Los Angeles with him for a month, but knew she would remind him of her ever important job that she couldn’t just randomly take a month off.

He’d have to ask her what exactly she did because every time he tried to remember, it always slipped his mind.

When her figure came into sight below the fluorescent lights, he breathed a sigh of relief. A grin spread on his face as she beamed at him and waved a bit. He didn’t understand how she couldn’t see how special she was. Every time he saw her he felt himself straighten up and feel a bubbling in his chest. Her smile was infectious and the way her eyes glittered when she looked away quickly and then returned eye contact made him want to stay in her presence forever.

“You made it!” Harry said and scooped her up in his arms, not realizing just how happy he was to see her, swinging her around in a half circle.

She laughs in surprise, but appreciates the warmth Harry’s hug offers her. She’s not quite sure they had ever touched each other before this moment beside shoulder brushes and hand touches. Nothing so...purposeful.

“I made it,” she confirms and pats him on his broad shoulders.

Questions in her mind raced as she questioned whether it was normal for friendships to happen like this. She knew in college friendships could happen this quickly. And that’s when it dawned on her, she really hadn’t made a new friend since college and that was why everything with Harry was so odd to her. She had forgotten what new friendship was. She needed to stop questioning everything and just live in the moment with a person she really liked being with.

Harry’s hands move from her waist and one stays to lead her forward so he can introduce her to some of his mates, as he had promised.

She felt at home in that moment. His hand on the small of her back, his heat radiating off of him and her hair swept behind her ears and her cheek pressed to his shoulder staring up at him sweetly.

She meets Charlotte, a member of Harry’s band who lives in London, her boyfriend, Mitch (who had just happened to find himself in Hampstead this weekend), Ben, and a few more people she couldn’t remember all the names of.

Harry’s team wins the game and Y/N’s not sure if she’s ever seen someone so happy to win an adult league football match. There wasn’t any official trophy except the one Harry had made himself and said he would even give to the other team if they won. It was engraved with the words “The World’s Greatest Football Team of Stars Ever. October 22, 2020”. It doesn’t even make sense but she’d been holding it for the entire night as he played.

He goes down the line of his friends who have been watching and gives them all jubilant kisses on the lips. When he reaches Y/N she holds out the trophy and he grins and gives her a kiss on the cheek. His lips are surprisingly soft and his scratchy stubble tickles her and she swiftly pulls back, a smile on her face and blush on her cheeks nonetheless.

Charlotte and Mitch share a look between the two of them and Ben’s eyes narrow slightly at the interaction. His eyes narrow just as they had when Harry had strutted over to the group with Y/N before the game. He had happily named everyone and she had shaken all of their hands with a warm smile on her lips. Ben had regarded her warily and she had shaken it off as the chill of the night air. But there it was again, not quite trusting of the neighbour girl Harry had just randomly befriended a few days ago.

The team and the friends of the team decide they deserve to celebrate this win, mostly at the request of Harry.

Y/N tries to find a time to leave, to return to her place so she can prepare for her day at work tomorrow. But no excuses will be heard from Harry and she has a hard time saying no to his sparkling eyes and gorgeous grin that she’s growing far too accustomed to.

She’s ushered down to the closest pub with the rest of them and finds herself chatting with Charlotte’s boyfriend. He’s the most...normal. She’s not sure how to explain it, but he doesn’t seem to be regarding her as different, unlike every other one of Harry’s friends. They were all perfectly nice and cordial with her, but she just felt like she wasn’t a part of their group, their world and she didn’t know how to explain it.

Charlotte and Mitch are rather nice too, but they’re more reserved with her. They’re musicians, like Harry, and they somewhat have that air of awareness around them that Harry sometimes gets. She thinks it’s from the fame, having to constantly be wary of who is around you, what everyone is doing, what is happening next. She doesn’t mind it, it’s just not something she’s used to.

She wishes she could just throw back some drinks and she could allow herself to be more...well just be more. More of a presence, more of herself, but she has a job she has to get to bright and early. Tomorrow was Monday and for her that meant work. So she sips a beer that Harry insisted be on his tab and she makes small talk with Charlotte’s boyfriend about how he’s been helping her produce her first EP. Charlotte occasionally pops in when she hears her name, but mostly is conversing with Mitch over something silly. Y/N knows because they keep laughing.  

Harry is going around to just about everyone in the party and she watches as he happily talks with every one of his friends. He’s ecstatic and she wonders if she’s ever experienced happiness like he has.

At midnight she attempts to make a French exit, as her mother always called it, and slip away with little to no farewells, but Harry spots her before she can.

“You’re leaving already?” Harry asks loudly, the euphoria of winning his silly little game and drinking a fair amount of pints has him at his peak boisterity.

“I have work tomorrow,” she says warily, slumping slightly from the weight of Harry’s arm slinging around her shoulder.

He turns serious and straightens up slightly, his green eyes looking especially dark in the pubs dim lighting as they look her dead in the eye. “Let me walk you home.”

“I can get home by myself,” she laughs, shrugging off his hold. “Plus, the host can’t leave his own celebration.” She gestures to everyone else happily celebrating on a Sunday, somehow not bothered by the beginning of the average week.

He steps closer, his brow furrowing for the first time that night. One of his large hands raises to his tousled hair and he runs it through the tresses. He even nibbles at his lower lip as he contemplates his decision. Then quickly and suddenly, he makes up his mind,

“No, I’ll escort you. Can’t have my neighbour walk home this late alone. I’ll just leave my card with Mitch. He’ll settle up the tab.” He smiles at his perfect plan and she grimaces feeling slightly embarrassed that he would leave his friends to walk her home. “Won’t you Mitch?” Harry calls as he grabs his coat from the wall next to the door. Mitch simply nods and Harry yells his farewells, Y/N waves meekly.

“That was...interesting,” she mulls over her words as they walk through the cold night air outside of the pub.

“Amazing, right?” Harry speaks over her less enthusiastic voice.

“You have a lot of friends,” she mused, trying to sound less disheartened than she had in her last statement.

Harry only hums and shivers slightly from the cold. His breath comes clearly out in puffs in the cold night air. Y/N’s is muffled by her scarf wrapped tightly up to her chin. She’s tucked his face as far into it as possible but her nose won’t stop from freezing as they walk.

Her hand goes up to it and she rests her palm to the tip of it. The motion grabs Harry’s attention and he looks directly at her curiously.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m freezing,” she muffles out, “This helps my cold nose not be so..cold.”

He chuckles and wraps his arm around her shoulder and she easily folds into him, welcoming any warmth right now.

After another moment of silence and them enjoying each other’s warmth and slight smell of whatever perfumes they had chosen earlier that night as well as beer and wood of the pub, Harry nuzzles his head above hers and then asks her something.

“Was that overwhelming for you?”

She’s quiet, thankful his eyes can’t reach hers right now. He was too powerful with those things.

“I, um, a little. I just...I just realized today that I haven’t made a new friend since college outside of work and it was overwhelming just hanging out with you. So all of your friends as well, yeah, it was a bit much for me.”

Harry looks out at the empty street ahead of them and sighs in realization. In his excitement, he hadn’t accounted how she might have felt tonight until just now. He wanted to kick himself for not thinking of her feelings, but other’s feelings slipped his mind so easily sometimes.

They round their street corner and she nuzzles back into his side.

“I’m sorry, love.” He rubs at her outer arm, “I didn’t think about it like that. I was just so excited for my plan to come together. Maybe next time, it’ll just be a couple of them rather than so many?”

“Sure,” she says quickly, wanting to make him happy, knowing how much he cared about his friends. “I feel like we need to hang out more with just you before I osmos into your friend group though if I’m being honest.”

“Well that can definitely be arranged,” he says and reluctantly lets go of her body. They’ve arrived at her door.

“I also want to see the inside of your house at some point.” She tugs at one of his hands before it can disappear into his warm coat pocket. “Houses,” she corrects.

“That can also be arranged,” Harry smiles with his lips closed. Pink lips and rosy cheeks extra bright from the cold. He plays with her fingers as the two stand close to one another, happy for the alone time and chalking the proximity up to heat sharing.

“You leave tomorrow right?” She finally asks.

His head falls and he sighs.

“Yeah…”

“It’s just a month,” she smiles, trying to stop Harry from being so dramatic. Especially when there was no logical reason for him to be so upset over not seeing his neighbour - she keeps telling herself.

“Are you sure you can’t quit your job and just fly out with me?” He pleads.

She throws her head back in laughter and shifts closer to him, her front porch light illuminating and shadowing every perfect place on Harry’s gorgeous face.

“Not even a chance.”

“That is a shame,” he takes an experimental step closer and she feels his breath fan across her cheeks at his last word.

She wrinkles his nose at the smell of his last beer, even though coming from him it was endearing.

Just as she feels him being to shift his head closer, she steps forward and gives him a tight hug.

“Goodnight Harry,” she whispers into his ear, “Safe travels.”

Then she’s stepping back and swiftly unlocking her door. She moves it slowly so as to not wake Rori and then Harry’s left alone and dumbfounded on her doorstep.

He definitely preferred being with her alone, but now he didn’t even have that chance until next month. And nonetheless she had just sidestepped his kiss with such ease he’s not even sure if he meant to kiss her. It had felt right, but why? Because it was cold and picture perfect? Or because he was enchanted by her and liked her as more than a new friend?

She slumps in her kitchen and fixes an Emergen-C to stave off the chill of the night and any germs that might have been lurking around the pub. She hopes when she walks to her bedroom she can check the front porch and see that Harry has gone home because she would hate to turn the light off on him.

How could he have expected her to kiss him just then? They’ve only just met each other a few weeks ago? And he’s Harry Styles and she just lives in the neighbourhood. What the actual fuck had happened to her life?

[thatweeboverthereisthirsty]

OK so I got this idea. S/o (who's this time has to be female) is also an octo mermaid but still from another world. So s/o gets into one of the pools and they discover she's a blanket octopus (if you haven't seen a female blanket octopus they're one of the most beautiful octopus out there with their gradient colors) and they get popular af like everyone is like "wow she's such a beautiful meroctopus" Yada yada. And Azul it's mad. Part 1

Part 2. And both Jade and Floyd notice it and decide to tell s/o who is shocked and sad because they have a HUGE crush so they decided to give him a gift. Since they know he doesn't have a octopus pot they decide to make him one. After months they give it to him and confess and he's shocked and ask for their forgiveness as it isn't their fault. At the end he and s/o cuddle inside of the octo pot in their mer forms.

OMG THIS TOOK ME FOREVER!!!! I probably got this ask before thanksgiving so I am very sorry that it took me this long, HOWEVER, it is the longest oneshot I have ever written so that’s quite an accomplishment. There are photo references that go with this story as well so check those out before you read. 

Warnings: Slight language, insecurities, fluff, very very minor angst, fem!s/o

Word count: 4,710

Azul x Reader: Cuddle Pot

The above images are references for the s/o’s octopus species and the octopus pot. I don’t know who the original artist is for the second so if you know please let me know so I can give credit where due.

   “Wait seriously? You’re a mermaid!” Ace practically shrieks and you giggle. Placing a finger to your lips, you shush him as Deuce slaps the back of your over energetic friend’s head. 

   “Yes. I am a mermaid, but you can’t tell anyone yet.”

   “Why not?” Jack questions. His tail flicks in confusion.

   You sigh and think back to the last time anyone found out about your true form. Most of the people back in your world found merpeople to be odd and cursed. It was considered a disability and a disease. Human society often shunned what they didn’t understand. And that lack of understanding led to fear. 

   A boy in your old school had been your middle school sweetheart for approximately 7 months before you decided to tell him your secret. He had seemed so eager to finally go swimming with you that you had naively believed that it was all going to be fine. However when he stared at your flowey, shimmering form you felt yourself grow worried that he would no longer like you. 

   “Babe,” you started, leaning closer to try and grasp his face with your smooth, webbed fingers. “It’s alright. It’s just my merform. It’s going to-” He quickly slapped your hand away and stumbled back. 

   “F-freak, monster, disgusting. Stay away from me you animal! We’re over you deceiving B*tch!” He quickly ran away from the side of the lake where you had brought him. As dawns lovely lights sprayed your body with pinks, and soft oranges, tears slid down your cheeks and into the water below. He hated you. Oh what a fool you had been to think that he would be different, that he would love you anyway. 

   School had become increasingly difficult after that. Word spread fast and you were quickly isolated by everyone you had called a friend. Eventually you moved to a new place and decided that you would never love again.

   This wasn’t the case however in Twisted Wonderland. You were so pleasantly surprised to find people like you, and they weren’t considered freaks because of it. It had been a shock and you quickly found yourself yearning to tell others about what you truly were. Fear had you back though. At least up until that point.

   “I had a bad experience with someone I cared about back in my home world.” You stated softly. The boys looked at each other and smiled. 

   “Well this isn’t that world. You're good to go here since I can’t imagine anyone judging you for what you look like in this place.” Ace’s words reassured you.

   “He’s right. At NRC it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be bullied because of something like this. But what are you anyway?” Deuce questioned. 

   You giggled and leaned in closer to the 4 people sitting at the lunch table, (5 if you included Grimm, but he already knew). “I’m an octopus.” You said with excitement and slight nervousness.

   “Really? That sounds so cool!” Epel was quiet but excited when he spoke up for the first time since the conversation started. You smiled to yourself and mentally sighed in relief that the people you had next trusted with your secret didn’t view you any differently. 

   “Wait hold the phone. Octopus? Like Azul?” Ace pressed close enough that you could reach across with a napkin and wipe the side of his cheek that had been smeared with BBQ sauce when he scarfed his lunch.

  “Yes and no, Azul is a Common Octopus, which means that he is the standard octopus you mostly see around the ocean or in pictures. Basically what you imagine when someone says Octopus. I’m a different type of octopus, one that is more rare.” You pulled out your phone while talking to bring up an image. You held the phone so everyone at the table could see.

   “This is a female Blanket Octopus. We’re pretty rare but we are also one of the most beautiful kinds.” 

   Everyone went wide eyed and watched the screen as you scrolled through images of your fellow eight legged friends. Epel turned to you and grabbed your shoulder. 

   “You absolutely have to show us your merform.” Ace, Deuce, and Jack all nodded in agreement. You flushed and fiddled with the hem of your shirt. 

   “I don’t know guys. It would be a hassle to find a place where we could do it and I’m not sure I want anyone else seeing me. What if someone shows up and freaks out?” This time it was Jack’s turn to speak when he leaned back before smiling slightly.

   “Not that I care but I personally would show up to support you if you needed it. Besides, the school pool is closed after dark. However I’m pretty sure Ruggie has snatched a copy of every key to every lock in the building.”

   “Of course he has.” Deuce says rolling his eyes. “That hyena couldn’t keep his paws to himself even if his life depended on it.” You giggled but ignored the comment in favor of asking Jack if he could get the key. The wolf nodded and you told everyone to meet you by the pool at 9:30. Your friends nodded in agreement just as the bell rang.

----------

   The air was humid and warm, it was perfect for a late night swim, although your clothes would likely stick to your body when you changed back. Still you shifted uncomfortably at the idea of getting in the water with what you are wearing. A pair of leggings was slipped on underneath a waterproof skirt. You had a jacket over your bikini top but per usual you were unable to wear bottoms unless you wanted them to tear. You would have to be very careful not to let the skirt go up before you shifted.

   A sigh left your lips and Grimm, sensing your nervousness, rubbed up against your leg in silent comfort. Your friends were unlikely to freak out but it was still nerve wracking to think about exposing your true form to other non-merpeople. Hundreds of scenarios where something went wrong filtered through your head and promised that your anxiety wouldn’t leave anytime soon. 

  “BOO!” Half a shriek pierced the night before a hand clasped over your mouth.  

   “Shishishishishi.” You turned around in surprise and pulled the fingers away from your face.

   “Ruggie! What are you doing here?” You whisper shouted. The hyena snickered again and held up one finger. He made a circular motion and a key ring twirled around in response. 

   “Jack said you needed to get in here. Thought I’d tag along.” The smirk on his face irritated you but you couldn’t be surprised. You should have known that having Jack of all people ask for keys to break into the pool after hours was going to raise some eyebrows. Honestly you should have just asked him to invite Ruggie along anyways. Key or no key the hyena was likely to want to know what was going on. 

   “Alright fine, but if you tell anyone what you saw here today, and I mean anyone, then I will hide your piggy bank from you.” Ruggie’s eyes went wide before they narrowed.

   “You have my word.” You smiled knowing that you had convinced him to keep your secret despite the fact that if he really had told someone you wouldn’t have actually done more than try and punch him. Of all people you knew how precious money was in this world, considering the fact that you had none.

   Footsteps alerted you to the approaching presence of your other friends. You turn

around and find Jack, Epel, Ace and Deuce walking over to you. They wave and Jack frowns when he spots Ruggie.

   “What are you doing here? I thought you already gave me the key.” The hyena snickers and points towards the key Jack was holding. 

   “I gave you the one to the janitors closet, which I’m gonna need back by the way. I wanted to see what was going on for myself so I hung out here till Y/n came over, and then I figured it had to be interesting if she was involved. I didn’t know there was gonna be a crowd though.” He looked at you, “This must be one hell of a surprise if you got all the first years here.”

   Deuce pointed out that Sebek was a first year as well but the hyena shrugged it off saying “he doesn’t count as a student since he’s basically just a guard.” You figured that was Leona’s opinion and Ruggie agreed.

   “Guys it’s already late and I don’t wanna get caught so let's go in already.” Everyone nodded and Ruggie opened the gate. 

   Carefully you unzipped your jacket as you walked over to the bench. The water appeared calm and undisturbed, allowing a clear view of the illuminated bottom which was surprisingly clean considering teenage boys flung about in the water all day.

   You sighed and shrugged the jacket off before stepping out of your shoes. Setting down the bag with your extra clothes you mentally prepared yourself for what was about to happen. 

   Ruggie leaned closer to Jack and whispered something you didn’t catch but Jack’s response of “You’ll see.” was enough to tell you what had happened. Pushing your anxiety out of the way you lowered yourself into the pool, sighing as the cool water licked your skin. Giving yourself a moment to relax you let your worries leak into the water around you. You had always felt better in the water. It’s a merfolk thing.

   “Are you guys positive you won’t freak out?” You called to the edge of the pool where your friends were standing. 

   “Not unless you grow 10 heads.” Ace sniggered until Epel elbowed him. You rolled your eyes and looked suspiciously over to Ruggie who still had no idea what was going on. 

   “No promises.” You sighed, but smiled when Jack nodded at you, signaling that it would be alright. Who were you kidding Ruggie was a hyena man who grew up in the slums. What did he care? Feelings of worry taken care of, you sunk deeper into the water and closed your eyes.

   The feeling that comes with shifting is always a little strange. It’s almost like your skin has been turned to putty and it is remolding itself and when it reaches the desired outcome it snaps back into place and holds like it has been that way the whole time. 

   Once you felt the transformation had completed you righted yourself in the water and peeked an eye open to look at your friends. Ace and Epel had their mouths wide open in a gasp. One that quickly turned into a smile. Jack looked as though he had just witnessed a miracle and Deuce was still in shock. Ruggie’s reaction was by far the most extravagant. His eyes were wide and his mouth was curved into a questioning gape. He had taken several steps back and his ears lay flat on his head. Behind him his tail bristled and stood fairly straight, pushing up the too large shirt. 

   You bit your lip and examined their faces trying to come up with a conclusion to what they were feeling. 

   “That… Is so cool!” Ace blurted out excitedly and ran over to the pool's edge to get a closer look. Deuce and Epel followed him and Jack trotted over as well, but not before snorting at Ruggie. The hyena man looked your form up and down and took in the swirling shades of color that decorated your now sea creature bottom half. He made a small noise before shaking himself and casually patting down the fur on his tail, which was still tense but not as much. 

   “Ok, of all the things I’ve seen. That, I was not expecting.” You giggled at Ruggie’s flustered reaction and felt yourself relax now that you knew pitchforks and torches weren’t coming out. 

   The hyena moved closer to the pool and joined your other friends who were staring at you in awe. You blushed uncontrollably as you felt their gazes roam your colorful body. Decorative markings that spread up to your collarbone changed to a darker shade with your blush.

   “So like can I touch you?” Deuce smacks his hand against Ace’s chest and gives him this look that says “dude you can’t just say that''. You giggle and glide closer to them before lifting your arm which was for the most part pretty human, but had a lavender shade to it and a long silky strip of webbing that shimmered as it moved. The longest tentacle on your body rose out of the water as well and you shivered as the webbing stuck together in an uncomfortable manner. 

   Ace leaned forwards and stroked your arm and tentacle. His eyes were filled with curiosity and wonder. Deuce looked a little more unsure but Epel had no problem reaching out and gently caressing your webbing. Ruggie joined him and Deuce eventually stuck his hand out to stroke your arm, but Jack held back and decided that ultimately he only wanted to look.

   “Wow! This stuff is so soft!” Epel said excitedly. He was generally pretty quiet so you were glad he was comfortable enough to speak out. 

   “It’s so colorful. If we had silks this pretty in the savannah then we’d have lots of money. Say, where could I find more of your kind.” Ruggie’s smirk told you that he was just joking but you glared at him anyways and flicked water his way. 

   The hyena flinched and shook his head before laying his ears back and moving away from the water. Jack and Ace laughed at the antics before Ruggie growled playfully and distracted them from what had happened moments before. 

   It was then that Ace leaned a bit too far forwards and fell straight into the pool. You jumped and swung your tentacles back, instinctively spreading them out to make yourself look bigger. 

   You willed your body to relax as you recovered from the little panic attack and laughed when Ace’s head bobbed to the surface. He sputtered and swam over to the edge and climbed out of the pool. He lay on the concrete and breathed heavily while the boys around him cackled. Ace glared and stood up. 

   “You jerks I’ll show you how you like it.” Deuce shrieked as Ace shoved him into the water. You laughed with everyone else as Deuce came up for air. Sensing a sudden threat of being pushed into the water Ruggie backed up against the gate and watched as Jack pushed Epel in before diving in himself. The five of you giggled and splashed as Ruggie snickered at your antics. 

   You were so glad your new friends didn’t mind your merform. Even better, they really liked it. It felt like a weight had been lifted from your shoulders as you dived down to swim with your friends. As the five of you splashed and played with Ruggie distracted with your antics, none of you noticed a dark form smirk in the bushes. Nor the click of the camera that he had with him.

----------

   The next day was a nightmare. Apparently someone had spied on you and your friends and photographed you in your merform. People swarmed you asking you all sorts of questions. It was difficult to just get through the halls. Luckily none of the people who stopped and talked to you had anything unkind to say and the stares you received were more curious than malicious but it was still an uncomfortable situation to be in.

   For the most part people who knew you were pretty considerate about your space and privacy. Cater seemed absolutely thrilled to know that you were an octopus but only asked if you were alright with everything going on, instead of bombarding you with questions. 

   Kalim was a little more enthusiastic about the whole situation. Jamil ended up apologizing for him and pulling him away. Vil and Rook subtly commented on your merforms beauty before moving on. Diasomnia rarely came near you but Lilia gave you a sympathetic smile. Trey offered you a few baked sweets as he sensed that you were overwhelmed and as for everyone else you had yet to see them.

   The person you were most worried about seeing though was Azul. He was an octopus merman like you, yet you had never seen his merform. Unless you counted his overblot the only time you had seen him in full shift was in the picture you had borrowed from the museum. 

   He and the Leech twins will probably have an absolute field day over the fact that you’re also a mertype. You worried what Azul was going to think of you hiding it. Over the past few months you had developed a crush on him. You had a plan to confess and everything, but now that the secret was out you were worried that he wasn’t going to like you for keeping it from him. In truth you planned on telling him first, but figured there was no harm in letting your other friends know. Turns out there was and the whole school knew.

   Trapped in your thoughts, you failed to notice the two approaching twins and bumped into them as you turned around a corner.

   “Hiii~ Shrimpy-chan~!” Floyd’s ever changing mood seemed to pleasant as he greeted you with a smile and not a squeeze. 

   “Hello, Y/n. How are you today?” Jade's gentleman persona greeted you but failed to hide the questions and mischief in his eyes. 

   “Just say it already. I know you two already know.” You sighed and watched their faces light up with excitement. Floyd grabbed your arm and took off, dragging you behind him. “Wait!” Soon the three of you arrived at an empty classroom which you were promptly shoved in before the tweels followed, shutting the door behind them.

   “Y/n, my apologies for Floyd’s exuberant behavior, but we have been meaning to speak with you in private since the most recent exposure of your true nature.” Jade was calm and collected as always when he spoke and gently fixed your crumpled uniform which had been shifted while running. 

   “Shrimpy-chan! We have something to tell you!~” Floyd sing-songed before sitting on a desk.

   “What? Wait what is it? And where’s Azul? Wouldn’t he want to speak with me too? If this is about a deal the answer is no.” You folded your arms in front of you and put distance between yourself and the seemingly respectful brother. The twins looked at eachother and you caught a glimpse of something passing through their eyes before Floyd pouted.

   “Aww, what’s wrong with making deals with us? We promise to be real nice this time and not leave you homeless. You could stay with us at Octavinelle!” You rolled your eyes as Floyd giggled and swung his long legs despite the fact that they could easily reach the floor from his seat. 

   “The truth is, Azul is jealous.”

   “What!” You turned and exclaimed at Jade’s statement. The tall mage nodded and continued with a strange look on his face like he wasn’t bothered by this at all. 

   “You are far more beautiful than him in your merform and he is bothered by it. Everyone has always shunned him for his octopus body and now you present yourself as one and everyone goes wild with excitement over your gorgeousness. Something he believes to never have possessed.” 

   You were stunned. Azul was jealous of you. He was upset because you were more beautiful than him. No. You wanted him to love you, not be bothered by you. Why hadn’t you thought of Azul’s insecurities. He just wanted to be an attractive merman and here you were, the same mertype as him and you were advertising your beauty to the world where he had to hide his away due to the fact that he was insecure. 

   Not bothering to say a word you quickly left the room and raced down the hall. You needed to fix this as soon as possible. Otherwise Azul might not like you ever again. Two pairs of mismatched eyes watched your retreat and shone with anticipation. 

   “How long do you think it will take?”

   “Not long Floyd. Luckily she was already prepared before we released the picture.”

----------

   Azul was so over this whole thing. He had rewatched the video and looked at the pictures about 20 times. You were so gorgeous and graceful in your merform; it just made him frustrated that he couldn have been admired for his tentacles. They were simple and slimy so most people hated them yet you were swathed in colorful silks that attracted every creature in the ocean. While most would swim by him or threaten to eat him, any sea animal that came across you would be hypnotised by your beauty. 

   The worst thing about you being an octopus is that it gave him one more reason to tell himself that you will never love him. He was so drab and you were well amazing. Of all the creatures in the sea you had to be a blanket octopus. If you had been a simple mermaid or even better a common octopus like him then surely he would have a chance with you at least. 

   A sudden knock on the door startled the mage and he stood quickly to make sure he looked alright before answering the door. You stood anxiously as he opened the door and grabbed his wrist before he had the chance to shut it. Surprisingly, Azul offered no resistance as you dragged him to the entrance of the aquarium. 

   Octavinelle’s aquarium had two sections, one was for regular fish and the other sea creatures that were on display from the mostro lounge. The other was for the residents. Any and all merfolk could use the aquarium if they felt homesick or separated from their true forms. This was where you chose to place the gift you had made. 

   Coming to a stop you turned and looked at Azul. He looked confused and excited at the same time. You took this as a good sign. 

   “Azul. Will you swim with me?” The merman’s eyes widened and he stood there processing your request for nearly a minute before responding.

   “Sure.”

   Giddy with glee you quickly leapt into the water and shed your clothes before transforming. Rising to the surface you looked up at him from just underneath the surface and he peered back at you.

   Strange. He thought for sure he would feel angry again when he saw you but the darling flush on your face and how you were genuinely happy to swim with him gave him another feeling all together. It bubbled inside of him and made him blush as he slowly lowered himself into the cool water beside you. 

   It had been a while since Azul had consciously shifted so he was a bit worried that he would do it too fast or slow and something would go wrong. Fortunately he was able to shift without incident. Once shifted he suddenly felt very self conscious. As a common octopus he was far more simple and plain compared to your swirling and colorful body. 

   You didn’t seem to mind however as you twirled and circled around Azul excitedly.

   “Come on I have something to show you.” Azul frowned in confusion but followed you regardless. You led him to a sort of grove area that he had never seen before. It was very well hidden but gorgeous as well. 

   You looked back at him excitedly and pushed through the sea vines to an open area where a ray of sunlight fell across and illuminated the gift you had spent months on. Azul’s jaw dropped when he laid eyes on the octopus pot that sat in the middle of the small room. 

   The base was grey and made of some type of stone. Around it sat lavender pillars and corals that surrounded the base except for the entrance. The round opening was smoothed and carved in a delicate design that resembled sea coral. Behind it sat a dark velvet cloth that was tied back with a golden rope.Azul assumed that was to block the entrance or allow for privacy. 

   The inside was decorated with lavish pillows in all sorts of cool shades. They were illuminated by a small yet classy lamp that hung off to the side. The outside of the pot was for the most part smooth and grey with a few purple undertones, but off to one side there sat a carving that resembled the waves and water foam, on top off which held a large pearl that glinted in the sunlight. On the other side a darker grey octopus clung to the top portion of the pot and spread its tentacles out in an elegant manner. Azul took note that the few that rose off the pot appeared to be for hanging things and one looked suspiciously like it was meant to support a staff. 

   You floated in place for what felt like hours as you waited for Azul to react. You reminded yourself to stay patient as he might not respond to it immediately. When he finally did react he did so without words. He simply pointed to himself and raised his eyebrows. You nodded excitedly before bowing your head bashfully. 

   “I’m so sorry that I upset you Azul. I never meant for it to get out in the first place. I was actually planning on telling you first and then giving this octopus pot to you since I know you don’t have one. Then things got messed up and everything and I’m so sorry. I think you’re beautiful in your merform and I hope you’ll accept my apology.” Your face burned when you spoke and you swished your tentacles nervously.

   “What?” You looked up when Azul spoke and saw confusion on his face. “I’m not upset at you. It’s not your fault you’re beautiful. Besides I could never be upset at you, octopus or not. I was distraught because I thought you were so amazing and I’m so plain and that there was no chance that you’d like me back.” You gasped and watched as his face slowly turned pink. 

   He dove into the pot and curled up, mentally berating himself for letting that slip. Shocked you glided over to the entrance of the pot and leaned your head in.

   “Azul. Do you mean that? Do you really like me?” He didn’t respond, you took a deep breath and admitted your own feelings. “Well I like you so…” His head snapped up and he let his expression grow into an ecstatic smile before coughing into his fist and composing himself.

   “Well in that case, do you want to come in and lay with me?” Azul ignored the fact that his face felt like it was on fire and waited as you giggled and moved in beside him. 

   “I’d love to. What do you think of the pot?” The merman smiled gently at you and spoke as he curled his tentacles around you and yours, him. 

   “It’s exquisite. I couldn’t love it more. Where did you get it?” 

   “I made it.” You muttered and flushed at the surprised and impressed look on his face. He shifted closer to you and gripped your hand with his. 

   “You did an excellent job. Thank you.” Your fingers intertwined with his and you pressed your forehead against his. 

   “I love you Azul.” You mumbled sleepily.

   “I love you Y/n.” He spoke before shutting his eyes and enjoying the warmth that spread through the pot. You’re silky webbing fell across the two of you like a blanket and after a stressful morning Azul allowed himself to slip into a comfortable sleep.

----------

   Two pairs of heterochromatic eyes watched the two octopus merpeople sleep soundly inside the pot and smirked with wicked teeth. 

   “How did you know she was an octopus as well?”

   “Floyd, surely you must have noticed. They both smell like takoyaki.” The eels laughed and quietly zipped away, leaving the octopus pot behind.

[ihatebnha]

🦊I saw your Bakugou baby fever thing and just...........YES!!!!!!!!!! I spent a few hours going through the girl dad tag on tiktok and......my ovaries wanna explode. Like girl dad Kiribaku?!?!?!?! Gah!

(I did send this off anon on purpose)

hi foxie, thank u for coming of anon hehehe!!!🧡🧡🧡

but GOD.... i literally know right..................??? You don’t know how much time I spend on pinterest just looking up “dad bakugo” images LMFAOOOO

like idk... there’s really just something about “big, dangerous (mean) man” + “teeny, tiny babbie” that makes me absolutely LOSEEEEEEEEEE MY MIND... esp since we actually get to see clips of bakugo when he was a kid, too... 

like whenever i see him i get so 🥺  bc i literally just want to kiss his baby cheeks so bad LOL... even though he’d probably HATE it.

But god.... daddy!kiribaku.... i know there’s a pretty good fic floating around for it that I’m too lazy to find rn but, FUCK jSdkf;LSJNKfld;sdjn... 

They probably fight over your baby SOOOO often, nearly speeding to get home just for their turn (and it’s making me laugh to think about Baku being like, “give me my baby NOW,” and Kiri calling you to tell him to stop)...

And I bet taking them to PTA meetings or parent-teacher conferences is such a hassle... they’re too big for the school chairs and they make such a fuss when anyone does anything except praise your child... Kiri getting all pouty and Baku getting mad... 

That being said, omg... you guys definitely run the best bake sale stand during the fair, are literally cheering the loudest during school events (even if your kid sucks at everything, which they probably don’t) and when your baby gets old enough, your house is always the hangout house... with Kiri being the super invasive and weird dad who always asks the kids stuff like “how’s it hanging, children?” and Baku is the grumpy one who tells them all to get “the hell” out of your room. 

ANYWAY, I should probably do a full post on this one day... but for now, yeah. ❤️