#he's incredibly observant whenever we talked face to face I don't know why I thought that didn't apply to text

[melonpond]

it turns out it only takes 4 weeks of sending someone a pun every single night before they inquire about your mental health

[emeraldelysian]

Ateez ✧ Their S/O Has Anxiety

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Genre: Angst, Fluff

Synopsis: How the Ateez members would react to their s/o having anxiety

Wordcount: 2.4K+

Warnings: Mentions of anxiety of all kinds

Note: Considering I have really bad social anxiety, I wanted to write about some of my personal experiences while tying them to helpful ways of calming down in case anyone else has been in a similar situation! Also, this is not meant to represent how everyone experiences anxiety as we all don't go through it in the same way.

♡︎ follow, provide feedback, or reblog if you enjoyed but please don't repost or translate!♡︎

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.·:*¨༺ Kim Hongjoong ༻¨*:·.

Color/Paint By Number Books

Being the leader of his group, Hongjoong had learned to be very observant of the people around him. That's why he knew something was off the moment he saw you. It wasn't obvious, no. You had a more subtle way of showing your distress, but Hongjoong had learned to pick it up. You were zoning out a bit more than usual, responses only varying between yes and no, with the occasional small nervous laughs.

He wouldn't try to push you into talking much about how you were feeling, instead opting to indirectly help you. He made sure to work from home that day, letting the others know that he couldn't make it into the studio. He made sure to order lunch for the two of you just in case you weren't comfortable with talking to too many new people.

Only when you flinched at the sound of his laptop closing did he realize how tight of a grip your anxiety had on you. It wasn't a big jump, but it was enough for him to know that your thoughts were spiraling more than the usual anxious thoughts. So, instead of continuing his work for the day, he pulled out some of his art supplies and a few paint-by-number sheets. The newest project for you two was a rainy day in Paris. He gently coaxed you to join him, and you both sat down and started painting.

He couldn't help but be mesmerized by the fluid movements of your hand as you carefully painted each section. With every stroke of your brush, he could see the worries melt away, even if just for a moment.

.·:*¨༺ Park Seonghwa ༻¨*:·.

Play Calming Music

'I need somebody who can love me at my worst.'

You both were on a walk when your thoughts began to spiral, somehow coming to the conclusion that Seonghwa may be finding you incredibly annoying for having you spend time with him rather than letting him relax on his day off. Of course, that wasn't true. You were a relaxing space for him and he loved spending time with you whenever he could. But you couldn't help but feel burdensome, like everything you were doing was bothering him and that he didn't want to tell you and hurt your feelings.

'No, I'm not perfect, but I hope you see my worth.'

It didn't take long for Seonghwa to realize you were lagging behind him as the walk continued, moving at a slower pace than when you started. So, when you both got to the nearest bench, he stopped and urged you both to sit down. It was only then that he properly saw your teary eyes, which had been looking down at the ground for most of the walk. His heart dropped at the sight, and it took him no time to take out his phone and headphones. He offers you one of the earbuds before putting the other one into his own ear and pressing play.

'Cause, it's only you, nobody new, I put you first.'

Seonghwa hummed along to the song, one earbud in his right ear. He looked over at you softly bobbing your head along to the music playing on your left. He had made a playlist for moments like these, where words couldn't be found to describe feelings. He brushes the hair out of your face before mouthing the next line as if he had written it just for you.

'And for you, I swear I'll do the worst.'

.·:*¨༺ Jeong Yunho ༻¨*:·.

4-7-8 Breathing Technique

Yunho called out your name as he walked through the door, tired from the long day behind him. He decided to not call out a second time when he didn't hear your response, believing that maybe you went to sleep. He didn't mind you not staying up for him; in fact, he'd encourage it because sometimes he'd stay for hours practicing and he wanted to make sure you took care of yourself. Oftentimes, you didn't listen, however, instead choosing to stay up and wait for him.

He'd be lying if he said it didn't worry him when he didn't find you in your shared bedroom. He called your name out once again, looking around the house before realizing the light to the bathroom was on and the door was slightly ajar, just enough for light to peek through. He gave a soft knock on the door, before opening it. He stopped when he saw you curled up on the floor, back leaning against the cabinets, with your head on your knees.

He immediately dived down to the floor in front of you, wrapping his entire body around your frame as a protective shield. He tried to ask what was wrong but in response, he could only hear your shaky, choked-up breaths. He quickly interpreted the situation and realized he needed to help you get your breathing under control.

He talked you through a breathing exercise you both had done before, doing it along with you. You both inhaled through your nose until the count of four, indicated through his soft, rhythmic tapping on your back with his hand. You both then held it for seven more taps and exhaled for eight. You both repeated this process until you could finally feel enough air reaching your lungs and you calming down.

.·:*¨༺ Kang Yeosang ༻¨*:·.

Butterfly Hug

Yeosang woke up at the feeling of you sitting upright on the bed. You had just woken up from a terrifying nightmare, your hands shaking at the memory of it. Still disoriented from the sudden wake, it took him a few moments before he realized your shaken-up state. The moment he did, he moved slowly to sit upright in order to not startle you. He quietly calls out to you, thinking he could bring you back to the safety of his arms.

Instead, your shaking worsened at the thoughts of you waking him up. His heart shattered as your voice wavered in calling out his name before breaking down into endless apologies for waking him up and disturbing him. He shook his head and pulled you onto his lap to calm your thoughts before whispering small assurances into your ears.

Your shaking seemed to calm down a little but not completely and you tightly closed your eyes to try to block out whatever intrusive thoughts were hitting you at that moment. You knew Yeosang was trying to help but for some reason, the little murmurs in your heart just wouldn't go away.

He too realized that you still didn't feel completely fine, so instead, he positioned you with your back leaning against his chest. He crosses your arms over your chest and places each hand on your collarbone. He puts his own hands onto yours and begins lightly tapping them, whispering little nothings about how it was just a dream and that you're safe with him. Your breathing began to slow down as you focused only on his words. You stay like that for a bit, and he doesn't mind. However long it takes, he'll be there with you.

.·:*¨༺ Choi San ༻¨*:·.

Scent Focus

You both had been looking at plushies in a smaller, less populated store in the mall when you had heard your name being called. Turning to expect your lovable boyfriend, your smile dropped when you instead saw a toxic friend you had once had. You felt frozen as they tried to catch up with you, making it seem like you had just been two lost souls, distanced by time. But inside, your mind was racing. You felt genuine fear seeing them, recalling all the times when they'd make you feel as if you didn't matter.

When San came back from the aisle he was checking, he initially was excited at the idea of you finding someone you hadn't talked to in a while. Or at least, that's what he thoughts from hearing the person talk. It wasn't until he saw your face that he realized something was very wrong. That you were paralyzed in this situation. That you weren't simply just catching up with a friend.

He quickly gets you out of the situation, saying that you both were late for something before getting out of the store and entering the nearest gender-neutral bathroom. He holds you against him tightly, wishing nothing more than for your fear to disappear. For you to know that you're okay because he's here right now.

When he realizes you're not snapping out from your state, he pulls a small bottle of your favorite essential oil scent and asks if he can put some on your wrist. When he feels you nod, he puts a drop of the oil onto your wrist. The scent helps you calm down, creating a more welcoming and soothing atmosphere for you as San continues to hold you tight.

.·:*¨༺ Song Mingi ༻¨*:·.

Hold Hand Tightly and Release

There were a lot of people in the studio today and it was putting you on edge. You tried not to focus on it but it felt like everyone was staring at you. Now you were just holding this wrapper waiting for the right moment to throw it out into a trash can that was just on the other side of the room. It's not like anyone was actually staring at you, but with the number of people that there were in the room, it felt like there was absolutely no chance that not a single person looked at what you were doing. Just waiting for you to mess up.

Mingi could tell you were on edge as well, with how you'd glance at the wrapper in your hand and then at the garbage can and then at the people in the room. You had been repeating this cycle for maybe 20 minutes or so, and while he knew that the act might seem so simple to others, it was a difficult decision for you.

He'd been in similar situations before, with anxiety kicking in so high that he didn't want to leave his bed. And yet, here you were, supporting him through dance practice despite the accumulation of bodies in the room. That's why, as soon as he found a break between the practice, he rushed over to you and kneeled down in front of you. He gave you a small smile before jokingly mentioning why the wrapper was getting more attention than he was.

You couldn't help but let out a stifled laugh and mutter a small sorry. He shook his head at your cute apology before taking the wrapper out of your hand and replacing it with his own. You squeezed his hand tightly while he muttered small reassurances to you. Once he realizes he has to get back to training, he moves to stand back up but is stopped by you. He turns back over to look at you, who now had your palm out. He places the wrapper in your hand and watches as you take a deep breath before walking to the other end of the room. You throw out the wrapper and turn to him with a relieved smile. He gives you an even bigger smile in return, throwing two small thumbs-up your way before mouthing a small 'I'm proud of you.'

.·:*¨༺ Jung Wooyoung ༻¨*:·.

Meditation

Seeing your caller ID flash on his phone was always a pleasant surprise for him when he'd be on tour. However, seeing your swollen red eyes that had indicated you crying changed his demeanor entirely from the usual jokester he tends to be. Instead, he immediately asks you what happened and what was wrong, threatening to absolutely murder someone twice if they even looked at you the wrong way.

Despite your constant assurances that nothing was wrong, you couldn't help but start crying again in front of him. It felt childish to admit, but being alone terrified you. And while you wouldn't say that you were clinging onto Wooyoung, lately your anxiety had kicked into overdrive, and the thought of him being on tour didn't help things. You didn't want to tell him though because you knew it wasn't his fault, and that these feelings would pass eventually; they always did.

However, Wooyoung wouldn't quit. Instead, he decided to suggest doing a guided meditation. It was something you both had tried before, and it would allow both of you to calm down from the stresses of your days, even if just for a little while. He had even decided to come up with his own just for you, adding little funny twists and characters. He enjoyed being able to help you with your anxiety, even if to him, it didn't feel like much. But, for you, it meant the world that he'd take the time to just care for you, even if he was tired.

.·:*¨༺ Choi Jongho ༻¨*:·.

5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique

"Name five things you can see."

Jongho is always observant of your behavior. Not in a creepy way, or at least he'd hoped so. But he wants to take care of you and make sure that you're okay. So he tries to pay attention to any changes in your behavior. That's why it was so easy for him to realize something was off about you that day. Even though you seemed calm on the outside, you were much more pensive than usual. It was almost as if you had so many stresses that you ended up in a state of calm on the outside.

That didn't stop him from checking up on you though, and the moment he did, he could see your bottom lip quiver. You immediately broke down, pouring out how you felt like there was so much work to do and so little time and you didn't want to disappoint anyone so you just have to get them done. He listened quietly, realizing that you need to rant about how you feel and let out everything you have bottled up. However, he also realizes that your breathing becomes more shallow because of the increasing panic you're feeling.

He always aimed to be your anchor during moments like these and this time was no different. Once he realizes that you're reaching your limit, he immediately moved to hold you tightly. He then asked you what five things you could see in at that moment. Once you responded, he proceeded with asking what four things could you feel. Then he continued with three things you could hear, two things you could smell, and finally, one thing you could taste.

He can feel you calm down with each response, focusing on the things around you in that moment rather than the stresses you had in life. He then helps you find ways to manage the things you're stressing about and offers to help out with anything he can.

[natewriteslol]

Hey! Could i request the dorm leaders with an esper MC? Kinda like Mob psycho or Saiki k :) and maybe they don't really use this ability of theirs that much since in their world they're literally a teen who's trying to live a normal life(like Mob basically), so nobody knew about their psychic powers except Grim since the mirror said that he couldnt sense any magic in them(i'm pretty sure that psychic powers don't really count as magic but idk lol).

Feel free to ignore if you don't wanna write it! :)

 A/N: Ooh this was a fun one! I haven't watched Mob Psycho (I know about that fine ass blonde man-) but I have watched Saiki k and I loved it, still need to finish it tho jlafljhdas 

Characters: Kalim Al-Asim, Riddle Rosehearts, Leona Kingscholar, Vil Schoenheit, Azul Ashengrotto, Idia Shroud, Malleus Draconia

P.S: I’m so sorry this is so long omg but I guess this is a strong comeback-

Warnings: none except for language

Riddle:

-You wanted to stay as far away as possible from him

-Riddle was part of the trio of people you wanted to stay away from: Riddle, Vil, and Azul

-Riddle paid so much attention to fine details that if something was up, he'd definitely notice it

-But unfortunately you were best friends with the two goobers of Heartslabyul: Ace and Deuce

-And Riddle had started to pay attention to you and your habits, and something was off with you

-It's almost as though you tried too hard to be normal, like Jamil

-And he could never let something like that happen again, so yes he was watching you

-One day you accidently slipped up and was irresponsible with your powers

-Grim was bothering you since he got into a deal with Azul for tuna and they were standing outside with the twins, since Grim lost

-You told him to fend for himself and teleported, however you didn’t plan where you would go

-And you teleported into the Heartslabyul dorm

-What sucks is that your teleportation power was literally flashy with a bright ass green light every time you popped in somewhere

-Just when you thought you were lucky since the whole dorm was uninhabited...except for Riddle who watched the whole thing

-He was completely shocked, he didn’t know what to say other than “What did you just do?!” 

-You explained to him, and that just pieced everything together

-How you solved overblots with such ease, and that one day you had a “strength potion to test for Azul” was such bs!

-Riddle ends up keeping your secret, since he values your privacy but if you do something major and mess up then he will tell!

-”I understand but please be more careful with your powers. I need to institute discipline and you are no exception, Y/N.”

-He really does care about you and doesn’t want you to be found out 

-Goes the extra mile to cover for you often, and in exchange you help him out with things :)

Leona:

-He didn't really care about you at first but as you started to hang Jack and Ruggie, Leona started to get more suspicious

-Your scent had proven that you had some trace of magic, but Leona just couldn't put his finger on it

-So he sent Ruggie after you for a couple of days

-If you were a threat to Savanaclaw, Leona would crush you

-But Ruggie had only reported back that everything with you was perfectly normal

-"Just give it up Leona, they're just an ordinary human. The scent is probably weird because they're from a completely different world."

-But Leona still had that feeling, so he was keeping an eye on you

-You had made a deal with Crowley to keep your powers secret to solve problems on campus (it did cut repair costs and handymen costs in half so-)

-Your new quest was to rid the forest of the Angolo fungus that was manifesting into living fungus blobs 

-The one thing that gave you away was Grim, as you both had to stop by the Greenhouse to read some info about the fungus

-The cat beast was being far too loud, not understanding why he had to go and mess around with the icky fungus

-You simply replied “It’ll be quick, I’ll just use Hydrokinesis and dry out the fungus since they’re mainly filled with water. They become fertilizer once dried so we can just leave them there.”

-And there Leona was, ears perked up once he heard your voice

-Hydrokinesis? What are you talking about?

-So he set off, following you to the forest

-You started to fly, turning the once green and lively fungus to brown dust while Grim napped against a tree

-Leona for the first time in the while, was left speechless

-Once you noticed him, you realized you had to talk to him

-Confronting him later on, luckily Leona didn’t spill to anyone 

-He promised to never tell anyone about what he saw, and had no clapbacks for what you had to say 

- Leona doesn’t even benefit from this secret...besides mayyybee one day asking for your help if his pride lets him

-By the Great Seven why does everything have to not be in his favor-

Azul:

-Another one who you have got to be careful around, since he’s incredibly observant

-More observant than Riddle

-Azul noticed that you’re an incredibly average person, and were incredibly relaxed even during the most stressful situations

-And almost every single time whenever you were in a tight spot, it works in your favor

-Just how is that possible? Solving overblots left and right? Every single time you disappeared the infestation of magical beasts are gone? 

-One day, you were getting picked on by a three guys, their stature far above yours and incredibly strong. How could you possibly win?

-Just as he was about to scoop in a save you, you slammed one of the men into the concrete, taking on the other two by electrocuting them, the blue lightning buzzing in your palms

-They were completely knocked out, dusting off your palms and picking up your things only to face Azul’s eyes

-After giving an explanation of what that was, he was still speechless

-Azul at first was incredibly shocked and then since Azul is Azul... later on realized this had benefits

-He could just blackmail you to be his new bodyguard!

-Oh how he always manages to bend life to his will-!

-So you could just wipe his memory... or turn him into stone...nvm

-You’re now Azul’s arch nemesis since you end up saving people from his scamming and you’re basically untouchable and there’s nothing he can do about it

-But he does find your great strength admirable (and a lil hot, I mean what can u say seeing someone floating in the air with electricity flowing through them is a nice look okay Nate shut up)

Kalim: 

-Oh Kalim my beloved

-He just thinks that you’re incredibly talented and a little mysterious

-You have your little quirks and he has his! Who is he to judge?

-Until one day you wanted to make the load lighter on Jamil, since the berries that Kalim had requested for were only in season in one country

-You decided to just teleport and then come back with the berries so Kalim wouldn’t be pouty 

-You were outside the door ready to teleport when last minute you felt a hand on your shoulder

- “Oh Y/N you forgot-!”

-And there both you and Kalim were, in a berry field thousands of miles away from the Scarabia dorm

-Kalim screams, falling to the lush green of the field

-What happened?! Where are we?! How did you do that?!

-You quickly gathered all the berries at light speed, making sure that you got back before Jamil realized that you were gone

-Kalim wasn’t scared of you, rather impressed that you were able to keep a secret for that long, he could never!

-You’re already super cool, and on top of this you have otherwordly powers!

- “It must’ve been stressful living your life like this! But don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret!”

-Yes he sometimes asks you to perform some of your powers for him, sorry Y/N-

Vil:

-While you were his friend, he was incredibly suspicious of you

-Even though you wiped everyone’s memory, he still had the faint memory of when he was in overblot mode of you blasting him with a beam of light

-Vil was incredibly upset as one of his assistants had mixed up his items, and left one of his vital skincare items on the set of where they were filming a new commercial

-It was being shipped and would take 3 days to reach NRC

-His mood was horrible and you had to do something about it to give grace to the Pomefiore dorm

-So you went to the second story of the Pomefiore dorm, ready to use Apport (the power to pull anything before you) 

-However, Vil felt incredibly guilty

-He was acting like a child and he shouldn’t have taken it out on the people who he loves and values

- “Y/N, how I was acting was incredibly inappropriate and- is that my moisturizer? How did you get it?”

-Starts freaking out as this was impossible as it was on it’s way from being shipped from another country

-This was the last straw for him ther was no justification for this that wasn't done by some form of magic

-He takes you to his room to make you sit down and give him an explanation for this

-Once you finished, Vil understood but was still freaked out

-He cares alot about keeping your powers a secret and will cover for you

-"So my aport powers need to exchange something of equal value so... I exchanged it with that Scucci purse over there-

-"MY LIMITED EDITION SCUCCI PURSE?!"

-He loves you, but you're dead to him, Y/N dear

Idia:

-Before he knew you, he didn't really notice anything off with you

-A little quiet sure but he minded his own business, he had bigger things to focus on

-Until you hung around Ignihyde more often for a project, fixing a huge generator by yourself for one of your partners for a project

-They took a break only after you told them that they could and apprehensive went to go get food and water

-Anyone with eyes could see that there's an overbearing amount of energy flowing through the fairly large sized cube

-Wait, you were wearing no gloves, you could get electrocuted! Why would have your bare hands on something like that?!

-Just as he was able to yell, it was too late, your whole body was flowing with the bright blue energy... and then you let go

-You were walking completely fine, you went and held a random wire on the ground, placing the electricity inside

-The static from your hair was gone, and you looked completely normal. . .

-Just what the hell are you?

-He did hours of research trying to figure you out, even sending Ortho to monitor you

-Yet there was nothing, you were just a “regular teen” 

-Was ready to get S.T.Y.X.S on your ass- (is that too soon to joke abt my bad overblot boys-)

-Until one day he caught you again bending electricity to your will

-Is incredibly impressed with your power (lowkey wanting to experiment on you)

-After he realizes that you can read minds Idia is so damn frightened

- “O-Okay I promise not to say anything, just don’t tell anyone what I’m thinking a-alright?!”

Malleus:

-You were one of the only people who he trusted

-Malleus had always detected some form of magical aura that was otherworldly from you and it never seemed to fade

-And it wasn’t often, but it was almost like you knew what he was thinking

-Whenever he was deeply upset he felt a twinge of energy from you, and then you would insist and help him out with his problems

-And he flat out says “Are you reading my mind, Y/N?”

-You had never been directly outed like this before, you felt horrible 

-You never read people’s minds unless it was very necessary

-whenever Malleus felt deeply gloomy you felt like it was important to just read his mind and help him with the problem

-You explained it to him and apologized, but he wasn’t upset

-In fact, he was smiling?

- “It seems like we have alot of things that we’re hiding from each other. But... you always had the best intentions whenever you used your abilities”

-He let out a sigh and reluctantly admitted, “And, I know that I’m quite stubborn with revealing my feelings.” 

- “I will keep your secret as long as you keep mine, Child of Man,” the dragon fae said, you both shaking on it

- “I always had a feeling that you were special, but I never thought it would be something of this caliber...” 

[aomine-ryo]

Hi! I hope you're having a nice day. I don't know if you still take requests or not but if you are, then can you do a part 2 for the head canons of Midorima, Kiss and Aomine assuming that their so is in third year but with the rest of the GOM, Kuroko, and Kagami?

Sorry it took so long to get to this request!! I hope you enjoy! xx

Headcanons: Kuroko, Kagami, Murasakibara and Akashi with an s/o that they thought was older

Kuroko

He’s a generally very observant person, but you acted so much older that his intuition convinced him that you were a third year at least

He absolutely adored how independent and mature you were as well

So when you two began dating, he didn’t really question your age

Furthermore, he’s a very polite boy so he knew that asking for your age would seem rude

The two of you went to different schools so that’s why it took him some time to figure out that you were a first year like he was

Your school was right next to Seirin so he’d often come pick you up afterwards so you could walk home together

One day, you were in a bit of a frenzy because you realised that you’d left an important notebook in your classroom

So Kuroko offered to hold your things for you while he waited outside

While he was waiting, he spotted your student ID card hanging from your bag

Curious to see a cute picture of you, he pulled it closer to him

Of course, you looked as beautiful as ever to him

But what really caught his eye was the detail about your class

“I’m back,” you panted after having jogged all the way back because you didn’t want to keep him waiting

“Oh Y/N, did you get your book?” he asked you and you nodded, waving it in the air for him to see

He handed you your things back and the two of you began to walk

“I didn’t know you were a first year, Y/N,” he said, his usually expressionless face showing a tint of confusion and surprise

“You didn’t? What did you think I was?” you questioned

“I thought you were a third year,” he said simply

“You did? Do I really look that old to you?” you asked, pretending to sound hurt even though you really didn’t care

“No no, it’s just, you’re just very independent and cool, I thought you’d be older,” he said quickly

“Well I’m flattered. Unless you’re disappointed now? Are you not interested anymore because I’m your age?”

Kuroko took your hand in his and gave it a tight squeeze, “Don’t be silly. I like you for you, not your age.”

As cheesy as it was, you felt your heart melt

It was weird how he always knew exactly what to say

You didn’t really bring it up after that because the relationship was fairly new and you were still learning more about each other

It didn’t change the fact that you definitely acted older than he was at times

And it often led to it slipping his mind every now and then

Kagami

He has like one working braincell so it’s a miracle that he realised at all

The two of you went to the same school, but you were in different classes so since he didn’t see you around much, he assumed you were older

He’d often see you around the school courtyard during recess and he thought you were quite hot

It took him a bit of time, but he finally mustered the courage to ask you out

The only thing he knew about you was your name because Kuroko told him

So he walked up to you when you were wandering around alone

Despite looking quite confident, he was incredibly nervous on the inside

“Hey, you’re Y/N right?” he asked

“Yeah, I am. Um, aren’t you Kagami, from the basketball team?” you said, knowing full well who he was because you’d gone to a few of the games and found him incredibly attractive

“Yep, Kagami Taiga,” he nodded affirmatively, “I was wondering whether you’d like to hang out with me some time.”

He wasn’t really expecting you to say yes to be honest, as he thought about why a third year would want to go out with a younger boy

“Like a date?” you asked, your straightforwardness only convincing Kagami that you were older even more

“Uh y-yeah,” he said, beginning to get a bit flustered because he was expecting you to just laugh in his face

“Sure, that sounds fun,” you nodded, acting cool on the outside though you were fangirling on the inside

“Wait really?” he said, eyes widening as he realised that you’d actually agreed

You laughed and nodded, before exchanging numbers

The two of you ended up dating for some time after that, all while Kagami still believed that you were older than he was

Sure he’d walk you to and from school, but you usually waited for him outside the gate so he never found out what class you were in

He didn’t even ask because he was just so excited to be dating someone older

Plus he found you so hot that any relatively coherent thought would be thrown out the window whenever you were together

A few weeks into dating you, the two of you had already gotten pretty intimate, and you seemed so experienced with everything you did

It was hard for him to keep his hands off of you

He’d also be really proud about dating you that he’d tell almost everyone he knew

One day, you had a project and you needed to carry a lot of stuff to your classroom

So being the gentleman he is, he offered to carry it for you

You began heading towards your classroom which was a few rooms down the hall from his one, but he just stopped and looked at you with a confused expression

“Y/N, where are you going? Aren’t the third year classrooms in the floor above?” he asked you

“Yeah, but my class is here,” you said, pointing at your first year classroom

“You’re a first year?” he asked, jaw nearly dropping to the floor

“Yeah, what did you think? We’re the same age,” you said, still trying to make sense of what he was getting at

“Oh god,” he said, his cheeks turning as red as his hair, “I thought you were a third year,” he mumbled

You began to laugh at the sound of those words, “A third year? Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know... you just seemed more mature and sexy,” he said, mumbling that last word as his eyes became fixated on the ground

“Taiga, we’ve literally studied together, how did you not realise we were in the same year?”

“I don’t know! I thought you were just helping me!” he groaned, wanting to die of embarrassment at this point. “Can we please move on?”

You agreed to move on at that moment, but you kept bringing it up for the rest of the day and he just learned to take it

When he brought it up to Kuroko, he just stared at Kagami with disappointment

“Kagami-kun, you dated her for almost a month, how did you not know?”

“Just shut up.”

Murasakibara

He met you at this cafe that he liked to frequent

You worked there part time so you were very familiar with him (how could anyone really forget the 2 metre tall, purple-haired boy that orders an ungodly amount of pastries every time)

He never really thinks about other people, but since he saw you quite often he began to wonder what you were like

He thought that you were very hot— like very hot

So he naturally began to assume that you were older

“There’s no way someone my age could be that hot”

He was quite nervous when he finally decided to ask you out one day because if you said no, he’d probably have to find a new cafe to go to to avoid the awkwardness

And he really liked his cafe

After a few stutters and nervous laughter, you’d agreed to go on a date with him and he was elated

The fact that he thought you were older didn’t really have an effect on how he behaved around you

Sure, he was nervous at first because he wanted to impress you

But as time went on, like most of Murasakibara’s other peers, you ended up having to care for him a lot

Which only drove him to believe that you were older even more

Plus the way your lips moved whenever he kissed you seemed so experienced

However, he did question why someone as mature as you were would entertain his childish antics, but he didn’t think too much of it

And to be honest, he wouldn’t have ever found out that you were the same age as he was until he was zoning in and out of a conversation between you and Himuro

For some reason, Himuro was aware of your actual age so he was just normally talking about the differences between the syllabus in your school and Yosen

“Oh I don’t think we’ve gotten to that chapter yet,” you said when he was complaining about the difficulty of a particular topic

“Huh? Shouldn’t you have finished it two years ago?” Murasakibara chimed in

“What? Why would I have done that?” you asked as a confused expression overtook yours and Himuro’s faces

“Because it’s a first year topic, isn’t it?” Murasakibara said, popping a potato chip into his mouth

“Yeah... and I’m still in first year,” you said slowly, failing to understand why he’d say something like that

He nearly choked on his potato chip

“You’re in first year?” He said, surprise filled in his usually unbothered tone

“Yeah, why do you sound so surprised?” you replied

“I thought you were a third year,” he said, bewildered as he turned to Himuro, “Muro-chin, did you know this?”

“Yeah I did. Haven’t you been dating her for like, three months now?” Himuro questioned as you brought a palm to your face in disbelief

“It’s been four months actually, Atsushi,” you sighed, “why’d you think I was a third year? Do I look that much older?”

“You’re just too hot to be a first year okay,” he groaned, munching on his chips in frustration

“Aw really?” you smiled, looking up at his flushed face

“Yeah,” he murmured

“In that case, I’ll let it slide,” you said sweetly as you placed a kiss on his cheek, making a small smile appear on his lips

However, Himuro didn’t miss the opportunity to bring it up to annoy him every now and then

Akashi

He’s such a smartass that I feel like it’s nearly impossible that he wouldn’t know that you’re not a third year upon meeting you

However, when he met you, there was a brief moment where he thought that you were older

His team was playing a practice match against your school and you were the team manager

The way you carried yourself and the way that you seemed rather mature compared to the people around you, led him to consider the possibility that you were older than he was

Unlike everyone else, he’d probably figure out your actual age upon first meeting you

Once the match was over, he spotted you with your hands full of dirty towels so he decided to help because he’s a gentleman like that

“Hey, let me get some of that for you,” he said, taking half the pile into his arms

You gave him a grateful smile, surprised that he was helping you when no one from your own team offered to help

“Thank you, um, Akashi Seijuro, right?” you said, even though you were sure that it was his name

“Yes, you can call me Sei, if you like.”

Talk about straightforward geez

“Nice to meet you Sei,” you said, feeling slightly odd referring to someone so intimidating with such a casual name, “I’m Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you too, Y/N,” he smiled, dumping the towels in the same basket you did. “So, how long have you been managing?”

“Just a few months, I’m still a first year after all,” you replied

He was a bit surprised, because he found you much more attractive than other girls your age

Furthermore, you had this sultry, independent reeled him in and made him think that you were older

He didn’t show any of this surprise on his face though

In fact, he looked like he never even had a doubt in the first place

And to be honest, with his ego, he’d never admit that he was wrong anyways

The two of you continued chatting for a few more minutes until Akashi was called by his coach to leave

Of course, there was no way he was leaving without getting your number and asking you out first

So the two of you eventually ended up dating

And whilst he was aware that you were the same age as he was for the most part, sometimes it would slip his mind

Especially when things got heated between you two, he would sometimes pretend like you were older— because you certainly looked and moved around like you were

[under-sedationnn]

eleventh: divine museum (pt. 4): "cold metal and tepid tea"

@impinehoney said to under-sedationnn: may i have a request for the eleventh doctor? maybe an adventure that leads them to an art museum, but like some more divine type because it’s on a different planet or something?? ahH THANK YOU

Word count: 2280

part 1

part 2

part 3

tag list: @gayandfairycore

if you would like to be added to the taglist, just comment on this post (or any of the other parts), send me a message or submit an ask! that way you will be notified whenever a new part is posted :) thanks and happy reading!! <3

Invisible, frigid hands seemed to pull us toward the ever growing light, leaving paint stains smeared across our bodies. It grabbed at us blindly, though the grasp was light, not as suffocating as it was before. My nose and mouth did not seem to fill with paint, though it had captured every inch of my body.

Falling through the frame of the painting, I turned to the side and saw the Doctor collapsed on the floor, smiling broadly. “Woo hoo! What a rush!” He put his arms in the air above him, and acted as though he had just gotten off of a ride.

Although I enjoyed his enthusiasm, I did not share his joy for the feeling. “Not in a good way, though,” I countered, placing a hand on my forehead, “it makes my head feel all strange.”

“Ah it’s just because you haven’t eaten dinner!” He jumped up, pulling me up with him. I teetered slightly, his arm catching me around my waist. “Yeah, sorry about that. We’ll stop somewhere nice to eat after all of this is over.”

Placing a hand on his chest, I laughed, “We are covered in paint. Honestly, if we could just have breakfast for dinner in the TARDIS after all of this, it would be lovely.”

“Just the two of us?” His eyes seemed to light up at the thought of such a small, intimate meal with me. I shared the feeling, my face heating slightly.

“As long as that’s okay with you.”

“Of course,” he began, his thumb rubbing absentmindedly over the sides of my waist. A gesture he didn’t seem to notice, but made my heart race. “Eating with you, just you, sounds wonderful. Quiet.”

A smile creeping onto my face, I responded, “I hope it’ll be quiet, I need a peaceful night after this.”

“Mm, yes,” he said, as I wound out of his embrace. Clearing his throat, he said, “Well, at least we know how to escape the paintings now!”

“We do?” I asked.

Gazing around the room again, to find our next painting, he responded, “Yes! They admitted whatever truth they had been keeping from one another, that’s the trick! The question is, what are they hiding?”

I followed his eye, and found the painting of the mother and child we had found earlier. The mother looked pained, worried; and the infant was screaming out, clawing to get away from the woman.

I huffed out a small sigh, worried of what we would find upon entering the painting. The Doctor gave me a comforting look.

“Y/n, what’s the matter?”

“We just- When we go into these paintings and we have the people within them admit their darkest secrets, it feels… invasive.” I rubbed at my arms, chasing away a quiet chill, a creep down my spine.

“I know it feels wrong, but we are helping these people. It’s never good to keep secrets in, ever.”

Although I knew he meant those words, he seemed hesitant. His eyes a little sad, far away and deep in thought. He had lived such a long life, there were bound to be things that he hadn’t shared with me, or didn’t want to.

I asked without thinking. “Are you keeping any secrets from me, Doctor?”

He shot a look at me, his eyes going wide. Restoring a neutral expression, he simply answered, “Of course, not. There are things you don’t know about me, yet, but I have never kept anything hidden from you.”

Once again, doubt in his voice. Rule number one, the Doctor lies. He’s a terrible liar.

Stepping closer to the painting of the mother and child, he busied himself. “Are you keeping anything from me, Y/n?”

I too busied myself with observing the painting, not wanting to answer the question. “No.”

A lie.

“Good, good!” He smiled at me, though a little pained. “Well, should we go then?”

“Yeah,” was all I managed.

Our arms became increasingly enveloped in the sticky paint on the canvas, the fumes from the substance overpowering. I held down a gag, and silently thanked myself for not making time for a meal. Before I was completely within the painting, I noticed a flash of orange on the wall behind the Doctor.

The painting held bright tangerines and low hues of pumpkin. Lights flashed within the scene, and a central cylindrical mount was the focus of the setting. The console room.

The paint consumed us.

-----

A townhouse on a rainy night appeared ahead of us. The wind howled, making a river flow down the cobblestone street, icy water lapping at our ankles. Rain dribbled down our clothes, seeped in deep, and stained the water running away from us. Though, the hues were not bright blotches of green and blue and pink like the ribbons and flowers of the sunny wedding venue.

Bold gray, dull chartreuse and bright splotches of yellow instead covered our clothes. Yellow came from the single street lamp, illuminating the green copper roof and the stoop of the townhouse, where the woman and the wailing infant sat.

Despite the weather, the two sat completely still. She seemed to be rocking the baby back and forth, but to no avail. Although the two were motionless, the sound of the child echoed through the street. The longer we stood there, the screams only became louder, cutting straight through the sound of the wind and rain.

Rushing forward, the Doctor and I ducked through the rain and approached the woman, the screams of the baby growing louder and louder as we approached.

“We need to create a shock, right? To get her to talk?” I asked.

He gave me a nod. Against all my better judgement, I launched myself toward the woman, wrapped my arms tightly around the bundle, and tugged. The unnamed woman met us with wide, grief stricken eyes. Her neck snap crack snap-ped into motion, as though I had just awoken a statue, and her arms actively tightened around the baby. Her center curved back, crack crack crack, and her knees raised to her chin, cradling the baby. The mouth of the infant began to sync with the sound of its shrieks.

“No! Please don’t take her! Please!” she pleaded, shielding the child from us in an attempt to create distance. Tears rolled down her tan face, the light of the street paling her skin and giving her a particularly ghastly appearance.

“We’re not, we’re not!” I yelled, raising my hands in surrender, “We just want to help you.”

She sat silently, her arms wrapped tightly around the screaming bundle in her arms, scrutinizing our appearances.

“You’re lying.”

“We are absolutely telling you the truth,” said the Doctor, “but you’re not.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Doctor,” I warned.

He turned back to me, whispering, “She must be hiding something, and the fact that it has something to do with this child has me worried. Please, let me handle this.”

Reluctantly, I nodded my head, hoping that he would be patient with her.

“You’re lying,” he started, “about something. That’s why you’re here.”

“What do you mean I’m lying?” She yelled, and the baby only grew louder at the volume of her voice.

“Where are we right now?” I asked, attempting to defuse the situation slightly.

She squinted against the rain, looking around towards the door of the townhouse.

“This is my boss’ house! Although, I thought…”

“You were at a museum, right?” I asked, hoping to jog her memory.

“Yes!” She shouted over the storm, “I had taken Melanie out for a day trip.”

“Are you her mother?” The Doctor asked, and the woman shook her head no.

“I’m her babysitter!”

I gave the Doctor a knowing look. “What’s your name?”

“Cassandra.” She attempted to calm the baby once again, but the infant had begun to unravel its swaddle, the blankets falling onto Cassandra’s lap.

“Cassandra, I’m the Doctor and this is Y/n. You’re still at the museum to took Melanie to and you’re trapped in a painting.” Cassandra gaped at the two of us, but the Doctor trudged on. “Did you tell anybody that you were Melanie’s mother? Or even one of her family members?”

I watched as Cassandra’s face melted into realisation. “I- I did,” she admitted, “when we arrived, someone in line told me that she was a beautiful child and asked if she was mine. I said yes without thinking, but not for any malicious reason.”

Instantly, the two of them began melting into dull hues of paint, splashing down the stone steps of the building and washing down the street.

“Doctor, she wasn’t even really lying!” He stood silent, thinking. “If these ‘gods’ are trapping these people for lies, or untold truths, that means they could be trapping them for small things as well. Lies that don't even matter or lies that were mistakes!”

“For the gods of Tyoonibe, truth is incredibly black and white. There is no gray area where some lies are acceptable to tell.” He pushed his hair out of his face, soaked by the rain at this point.

“So what, we can’t stop them from doing this to people?”

“No, not unless we completely rewrite the ways in which this culture works which would be, frankly, unjustified and rude. It is not our place.”

“What can we do?” I asked, desperate to help. I crossed my arms around myself, trying desperately to trap my own body heat.

“We can help the people who are imprisoned right now, get them out, and try not to get trapped in a painting of our own.”

I thought back to the painting of the console room and shuddered. What is he hiding?

“Y/n, come along!” He motioned to the door at the top of the steps, the entrance now choked with darkness, the edges lined with ripped canvas.

Stepping through, we moved through the paint with more ease this time. The fumes still overwhelmed my senses, but in my control, I found the Doctor’s hand and grabbed on tight. We fell to the floor of the museum once again, and I shot up quickly, my eyes meeting the painting of the console room.

It was still there, unmoving, lifeless. Though, an invisible rope seemed to yank me in its direction.

I should tell him. “Doctor, there’s uh- there’s a pai-”

I was cut short by a pounding in the hallway. We ran to the double doors and ripped them open, finding Sybil nearly throwing her body against the entrance to the museum. Her grunts echoed off of the round, marble walls and high ceiling.

“Sybil, darling, please do be careful!” shrieked Villiam.

Rounding on him, Sybil barked, “I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD FROM YOU, CHEATER!” Her round, red cheeks jiggled with each word, and Villiam nearly sank to the floor. From embarrassment or fear, I couldn’t be sure. They were no longer in their wedding attire, their clothes now appropriate for the anniversary they had attempted to celebrate.

Cassandra stood nearby with Melanie, the baby finally quiet and asleep. She looked up from the bundle, realizing we had entered the room amidst the chaos.

“Doctor, Y/n! You made it out too!”

“We’ve been able to freely move to whichever painting we pleased,” said the Doctor, “did you all end up here after you were freed?”

“No,” began Sybil, who spun around to face us. She spoke between deep, unsteady breaths, exhausted from her attempts to escape. “We ended up in the truth room and now we are trying to leave.”

Placing his hand on his chin and pacing around the room, the Doctor searched for what we could have missed. “We already freed everybody here, we’ve all admitted our truths, what am I missing? What am I missing?”

Growing frustrated, he let out a low grunt and slid down one of the marble walls. I stood away, looking at him expectantly. Though, I knew what the next step was. I knew why we couldn’t leave. I have to tell him, I have to tell him, I have to tell him.

“What?” he snapped, recognizing my stare. I winced at his tone, and his eyes softened. “Y/n, what?”

“Um,” I began, walking towards him slowly, “we have a painting.”

“We do?”

I shook my head slowly, and offered him my hand. Walking from the entrance hall and through the doors of limbo, I led him to the bright, frame canvas.

“It’s the TARDIS,” he said, “it has to be ours.”

“What are you hiding, Doctor?” I smiled at him slightly, asking in an almost playful way.

He returned the smile, though his voice was grave, “I should be asking you the same thing.”

With a squeeze of my hand and a deep breath in, we placed our hands on the rough canvas. The smell of paint overtook my senses once again, the slick, cold feel of it against my skin. Though this time, I could hear the hum of the TARDIS thrumming like a heartbeat, the smell of cold metal and tepid tea, long forgotten by the Doctor.

Stepping through the door of the TARDIS, the Doctor and I were no longer covered in paint, and our clothes had returned to a normal state.

He had his bowtie, suspenders, and leather shoes. I had my jeans, my sneakers, my favorite top. At least we would be comfortable for whatever was about to ensue.

“So,” hopping up to sit on the center console of the TARDIS, the Doctor watched me lovingly, amused, the orange glow of the room hitting the sharp angles of his face, “where do you want to start, Doctor?”

TO BE CONTINUED.

[samwise-writes]

The Gala: A Dance?

Part one, because this got really heckin' long. I've sat on this for too long, so here, have a thing.

Follows A Promise and The Invitation so those might be worth a gander for context!

CW: Hisoka; stalking; Possessive behaviour

She was uncomfortable. The fabric that was draped around her body felt as though it was suffocating her - she was painfully aware of how the outfit restricted her movements and of the overwhelming number of blind spots in the room. She fidgeted with a lock of hair that had escaped the carefully crafted updo she had managed to wrangle her ginger strands into only a few short hours earlier.

She was brought back into a more present state of consciousness as Mairi took a step closer to Serena's side. She must have sensed the shopkeep's uneasiness, as when Rea met the other woman's gaze, sympathy coloured the Hunter's blue eyes.

Rea held back a cringe and forced a smile onto her face, attempting to ease her posture into something even just slightly less defensive (at least in appearance). It certainly wouldn't do for the entire ballroom to observe how uncomfortable she was - the last thing she needed was hundreds of Hunters and other highly dangerous people to mistake her discomfort as something more threatening.

"I wasn't being facetious when I told your clown that these sorts of events were not my cup of tea."

Mairi made a face of displeasure at the mention of the redheaded magician - "Not my clown."

Rea snorted and a genuine smile cracked across her face for the first time since they had stepped into the building.

"Hey, you brought that nuisance into my life, he is yours." She paused thoughtfully before smirking, "Anyways, he seems to be a bit of a package deal with your boyfriend... so, he's yours, no take-backs!"

Mairi looked confused for a split second before a look of realization dawned and transformed into a look of horror, "Excuse me? No? Illumi is not my boyfriend." Rea cackled at her friend's reaction.

"If he isn't your boyfriend then why is he always lurking around the shop like he thinks he's being stealthy whenever you visit me?"

Mairi blinked at Rea.

"He what?"

Rea was not expecting her friend's reaction to be... well, what it was.

She didn't know that he had followed her to the shop all those times.

Rea was thinking as quickly as she could; now was not the time nor place for frightening revelations, (as one of the Zoldyck family members following you tends to be).

"You are way too easy to tease, you know. He only seems to be around when Killua is with you, so you can chill out. Probably just being a creepy and possessive older brother, like you said he has the tendency to be."

It was a lie - he hadn't only been there when Killua was with Mairi, but she didn't want to send her friend into a panic. She paused, closely observing the other woman, but for once Mairi's expression was difficult to read. Linking an arm with the Story Hunter she started pulling her deeper into the room, "let's go find something to drink."

She hadn't realized how much of an effect her words would have. Although reflecting, she should have known better. She herself had had a similar reaction to the Story Hunter’s when she first noticed the assassin's presence. It had taken a while to even become aware of him (and if he was anyone other than a Zoldyck she would've accused herself of getting rusty).

The eldest Zoldyck child was very much the opposite of Hisoka - while the magician was more than happy to make himself known through his loud and dramatic behaviour, and by flexing his aura and bloodlust all over the place - the assassin kept a very tight control on his own: if he didn't want you to know he was there, you wouldn't, at least not until it was much too late. It was a coincidence that Rea had even noticed him - and it was very much thanks (unfortunately) to Hisoka. The magician had seemed to sense something when he was in her shop one day, and the flare in his bloodlust seemed to trigger the slightest slip up in the assassin's aura (it was, after all, incredibly difficult not to instinctively react to Hisoka's bloodlust). That day Mairi had yet to make an appearance, so the shop owner hadn't initially connected the assassin's presence to her friend. She had a moment of panic where she lost control of her own aura, thinking that the Zoldycks had finally figured out who she was - and she had to fight to retain her control. She wasn't quite quick enough, and when she dared to glance at Hisoka he was looking at her with a manically delighted look. She hoped that he thought her reaction was simply from the unexpectedness of the flare in his bloodlust; something in his eyes, however, told her that he knew that she too had become aware of the assassin's presence and that the ravenette was the cause of her momentary loss of control. Needless to say, he was very interested to know what the possible connection between the little shopkeeper and Illumi was: as far as he knew only the Story Hunter had met the assassin before. In an attempt to deescalate the situation, Rea had stuck her tongue out at him in the most childish manner she could muster and told him to: "stop looking at me like that, you creep."

After that, Rea had been able to pick up on the assassin's presence whenever he did make an appearance. He never came in, but the former-Hunter was able to connect the fact that his appearances often coincided with her friend's visits. While she was concerned for her friend, she felt herself relax in the knowledge that he wasn't there for her, and therefore the Zoldycks likely still didn't know who she was. She never brought up the issue with her friend, she had clearly wrongly assumed that the woman had known.

Despite the levity that Rea had attempted to introduce by teasing the other woman (because let's be honest that royally failed), there was something undeniably charged in the atmosphere of the room. It was making the back of Rea's neck prickle. She wasn't sure if it was due to the disquiet that had fallen over her friend, or simply her own unease of being at the gala.

Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as simple as that, and it didn't take very long to understand the true cause of the uneasy atmosphere.

The two women had managed to collect champagne flutes and were standing off to the side of the ballroom's dance floor, talking in hushed tones, both seemingly comparably more at ease than they had been just a quarter of an hour ago.

Suddenly Rea tensed up to a greater degree than at any other point during the evening so far. She stood stalk still as a certain aggravating presence loomed up beside her.

"Well, don't we just look positively delectable tonight," Hisoka purred in her ear. She could practically visualize the smug look the magician would be sporting; Rea had to fight every instinct in her body not to whip around and smack the man in the face. The women, in a controlled manner, turned to face the magician and another unexpected figure.

Rea thanked Mairi for what she did next because frankly, Rea had not expected Hisoka to look like that.

"What are you doing here?" Rea's eyes were going between a very normal(?!) looking Hisoka, her friend's quickly reddening shocked face, and a man with long black hair, a blank face and dark eyes that resembled pieces of the void. After she got past the initial shock of Hisoka's appearance Rea gathered enough wherewithal to discover that the dark-haired man was in fact the assassin who had been stalking her friend.

"You know, it is only good manners for you to return the compliment," Hisoka tore Rea's attention back to him, getting in her face with a smirk.

"You know,” Rea gave the magician a practiced bored look, “it’s bad manners to fish for compliments." She was proud of her acerbic tone. She would NOT give him the satisfaction of knowing how attractive he looked. He kept staring at her, a smirk growing wider - she could feel her own face slowly becoming more and more flushed by the second.

She gave a huff, and crossed her arms, trying to play off her affectedness with nonchalance, eyes returning to her friend who seemed to be growing tenser and tenser.

"You don't look like a clown for once: congratulations."

The assassin's eyes moved from Mairi for the first time since the men approached them, and fell to Rea, before quickly angling toward Hisoka; he blinked as though taking in the other man's appearance for the first time.

"She is right, you know."

Rea had to swallow the laugh that came bubbling up her throat at the ravenette's monotone delivery and oddly unobservant treatment of his companion. She wondered if he really hadn’t noticed or if he was just acting like he hadn’t in order to get under the magician’s skin.

The assassin returned his gaze to Mairi, his eyes drinking her in.

After a short pause, he spoke again: “To answer your question… I was invited.”

Rea watched her friend blink a few times face getting even redder, shifting ever so slightly under Illumi’s gaze.

“Oh. Right. Yeah, that makes sense.” There was a pause and Illumi seemed perfectly intent on continuing to stare at Mairi. Finally, she cleared her throat and began again, “Um. Right. Hello.”

Rea wanted to save her friend from the awkward situation but was also attempting to ignore Hisoka, who looked unfairly good in a suit and was staring her down as though she was his favourite dessert.

Rea slipped her arm through Mairi’s again, but this time pulled the other woman into her a bit closer, she proceeded to intertwine their fingers and gave the hunter’s hand a squeeze. Illumi’s eyes narrowing the tiniest degree, fell to their hands, before following Rea’s arm back up to her face.

Interesting.

“So, what, Hisoka,” Rea started, returning her gaze to the other man and inwardly cursing herself for doing so, her voice much breathier as she continued “I refused to bring you, so you annoy this guy into doing so? Wanted to dance with me that bad, huh?”

Hisoka took a step closer so that there were mere centimetres between them, and Rea had to tilt her head up to meet his eyes: they flicked down to her mouth momentarily before meeting her gaze once again.

“Is that an offer?” His voice was so low it sent a shiver down her spine. He grinned at her reaction – and then suddenly he had one hand clasped around the back of her neck, thumb stroking over her pulse-point ever so slightly. A small gasp escaped her lips – she hadn’t even seen him move. Fire spread over her shoulders, and up into her face – she could only imagine how flushed she was.

"Oh, is this why you didn't want me to be your date? Because you knew your undeniable attraction to me would be a distraction from the evening?" He had bent his head down, his red hair tickling her forehead, as his breath danced across her ear. That snapped her back into action. Using her one free hand, she pushed him away from her with a solid press to the middle of his chest.

She sputtered, "NO YOU CLOWN. Shut UP. Just. Leave. I'm leaving."

Then she tugged on Mairi’s hand, attempting to draw her attention away from the other man who was back to staring at her: however, to Rea’s dismay, she was met with a sight she hadn’t expected. Illumi had one hand extended to her friend – was he asking her to dance?

She saw her friend was looking at her with wide eyes, as though looking for an escape. Serena opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out, Hisoka stepped closer to her again, placing his hand now lightly at her waist.

“Dance with me.” His voice sounded in her ear again, this time more serious than Rea had ever heard him. She made an apologetic face at her friend. They were stuck in the situation, it seemed.

Serena redirected her gaze, opting to trace the pattern of the marble floor, rather than meet Hisoka’s too-close eyes.

“I don’t know how to dance.”

There was a pause and Rea finally met Hisoka’s gaze. It seemed he was waiting for her to do so, as his sharp grin spread further across his face.

“Worry not, Dearest, I won’t let you fall.”

She cursed under her breath “Sure you won’t.”

She heard him chuckle, assuming he had heard her, as he proceeded to guide the woman out to the dance floor. He stopped a reasonable way in, avoiding the other dancers who had already begun to gracefully move through the waltz and then turned to face Rea.

She stared at him wide-eyed for a moment, as he rearranged them: taking her right hand in his left, and placing her left on his shoulder, before replacing his hand back at her waist.

“Wait – do you even know how to dance?”

He just raised an eyebrow at her for a moment.

And then he took the first step.

A/N: Frankly I had way too much fun writing this, and once again, I blame @crocworkships and our fantastic conversations for this.