#i could ramble for ages but i still need to figure out my own AUs deity situation

[futurepastme]

Emrys and the council of the seven

Just another thing I need to throw in the void to see if it leaves my mind alone. This "chapter" is just a rambled info-dump that I started before falling asleep and decided to continue today, so I acctually still have more to this universe and might do a part 2.

Au where Merlin didn't turn his back on his kind and accidentally became the unofficial king of a secret kingdom that he created himself. ≈ 2400 words

Prologue: The vanishing door

Camelot was known to be the strongest kingdom of the five lands that composed what would one day be known as Albion, its knights were fierce and strong, its walls were tall and impenetrable, and its King was imposing and unforgiving.

The knights of the king were trained by their own Prince, a man known for his swordsman skill throughout the five kingdoms.

The knights were strong, noble men, whose family's loyalty to the crown surpassed generations, men who dedicated their lives to the king and to the people, sons of Dukes and Earls and Barons.

All men who came from a noble blood lineage could try for a position as a Camelot Knight.

The common man who didn't, however, could still try for a position as a guard. 

The guards that protected the castle went through rigorous training before being worthy of their station, difficult trials meant to test their loyalty, strength, and resilience would take place through an extended period of time. Only those who could pass them all managed to qualify for the position, and only those who could survive training with the prince could keep it.

The Prince was a man made for war. From a very young age he was trained in the arts of politics, strategy, and combat. He knew how to read an opponent as well as he could read a map, could come out of seemingly impossible situations like no other, and knew how to inspire his men to fight for his kingdom to the death and without hesitation.

Besides training the knights, one of the prince's duties was to come up with the rounds for the guards; they were assembled in a way to be confusing but efficient and were cautiously scheduled just so, so people couldn't figure out a pattern.

All these capable groups of men worked together to ensure the kingdom's safety, to ensure their walls were kept strong and to ensure that no one could breach their defenses without being caught.

It is why, after all this training and planning, it is almost comical that we can see the figure of a man seamlessly passing through every guard like they weren't there.

It was on a normal night, uneventful in its nature, that we could see this hooded figure dancing down the halls of the castle, taking advantage of every guard’s blind spot and every secret passageway known to him.

The figure never ran, he didn't have to. He would count down his steps and easily avoid anything that could possibly get in his way.

One, two, three steps forward and one backwards, to avoid being spotted by using a pillar as cover. Thirteen steps ahead and through the door on the right, waiting for six seconds before going out again, to avoid a group with three guards. Eight more steps and push down the torch bracket to go through a secret shortcut.

Step by step he went on his way through abandoned halls and others not so much, passing by paintings and tapestries, bedchambers and supply closets, down staircases and through secret doors until he reached his goal.

He went through one last door and finally found the abandoned staircase. Dark gray coloured stones formed the uneven steps, spiderwebs covered the broken sconces and a stale flavour weighted the air.

Behind the closed door he finally let himself relax completely, in a way he wasn't allowed during his daily life, and with a soft wave of his hand a floating white ball of light appeared, following him about as he continued his path down the cold steps.

After all this sneaking around, it might surprise you that the biggest crime this man committed so far was in the form of that small floating light.

Camelot was a great, strong kingdom that for over twenty years had been at war with magic users.

The purge, as it is called, has many beginnings. 

The baker that lived in the citadel his whole life, would whisper of how a sorceress enchanted the king into confidence and used this trust to try and kill the unborn prince, taking the queen's life in her attempt.

The shoemaker one town over would tell how the enchantress was actually the king’s old lover, who had learnt magic to steal his heart back and kill the queen to take her place, but botched the order her plan should go and forgot to enchant the king before getting rid of the queen.

A traveling merchant, that now could be found in the kingdom of Mercia, would spread the story of how the queen's own lady in waiting had traded her soul for the secrets of magic, but when the time for payment came she took the queen's life to try and offer it instead, effectively losing her soul and her heart along with what was left of her mind.

The bards would sing the sad prose of a king who had a sick wife with child. He begged an old friend to save his wife and son, not knowing that this friend had lost her soul to magic. The sorceress took the queen's life but was chased away by the brave king before she could get to the prince, and the king swore to protect the land from such evil, to never harm them again.

The court physician wouldn't say a thing, loyal to the king, he is one of the three people who were there the night the queen died. But from his mouth, the most one would hear on this matter is a solemn phrase and nothing more. The Queen died giving birth to the prince.

How many variations can one single story have? It's fascinating how one simple tale, retold a thousand times, can change form and become something so different from its origin that turns into its own thing. 

But if you look closely, all the overlapping facts and the substantial discrepancies draw one single truth.

The purge began twenty years ago, because the king lost his queen. 

After that night, no one with magic was safe. No woman, no elder, no child. The King chased and burned, slashed and drowned. He hunted down sorcerers with every man he had, with every dog he owned. He burned their books and burned their bodies, and no one could escape the rage of his darkened heart.

The ones that survived went hiding, running away from a destiny of pain and death.

As the years went by, the slaughter diminished along with the numbers of magic users found in the kingdom, but that didn't mean the king's hatred was any less latent. The use of magic or association with a practitioner of magic would still be punished by death at the stake, and any rumors related to magic would be met with search parties and red caped knights following a bloody mission by the name of the King.

The hooded figure reached the bottom of the stairs, his floating light following dutifully. 

He found himself inside a great cave covered in darkness. It was so big that he had to make the light shine brighter to be able to see the edge of the cliff that separated the entrance of the staircase from the rest of the abyss that composed the cave.

Once upon a time this cave was home to a great dragon, a magical creature, that was captured by the King during the worst years of the purge.

The dragon waited years to meet his liberator, until the same hooded man came through the gates of Camelot. He then told the man about the prophecies that for centuries predicted his birth, about his duties to his kind and about his destiny.

In exchange for this knowledge and many other insights that helped the man fulfill his part of the prophecy, the dragon was released. And now the empty cave had almost no trace of once being housed by a dragon, apart from the broken chain links that littered the ground and a few claw marks that decorated the walls.

The man approached the edge of the cliff, to an untrained eye there would be nothing but the abyss that dragged down the cold air and unbalanced unprepared men, but the man knew this cave as well as he knew the guards' rounds. 

Hidden by darkness, a barely accessible ledge could be seen a couple of meters lower than the edge of the cliff, big enough to fit a person.

With calculated care, the man jumped down to the ledge. 

If someone were to look down at him from the cliff, they would think our sorcerer was trapped, but the view from the top of the cliff had a blindspot that made it impossible to see that the ledge continued with a narrow path to somewhere under the castle. Somewhere only accessible by that ledge and the unassuming cracked slit on the wall by the end of it.

He continued on his way, slowly gliding through the narrow ledge with his back flushed to the wall, the tips of his feet losing ground for a second before regaining it later on as the ledge broadened slightly when he approached the slit.

Upon reaching the slit one would see that it didn't reach the ground of the ledge, with its bottom sitting at the same height as the man's chest, the slit from up close looked like a narrow tunnel. With the ease of someone who's done this before, the sorcerer jumped up and with a little bit of struggle managed to stand almost straight inside the tunneled slit.

He pushed his way through the tunnel, moving his body to fit through as its space changed size. Turning his body on the side when it was narrower and bending down when it was lower, avoiding sharp edges and tripping holes. 

After all the trouble he went through, one would be disappointed after reaching the end of the tunnel and finding nothing more than another empty cave. Different from the one that once housed the dragon, this cave was barely big enough to fit a dozen men, a frustrating sight to anyone who followed the man's steps hoping for adventure.

Jumping down inside the cave, he continued with confident pace towards the backmost wall of this disappointing place.

That wall was different from the rest of the cave, while the other walls were jagged and uneven, this wall was smooth from the bottom to the top. It resembled the walls that formed the hallways of the castle, except, instead of being made out of cut stones shaped for building, this wall was composed of one single smooth stone, like a vertical tablet.

The sorcerer let out a small sigh as he brought up one hand to glide across the stone's surface, at the same time he raised the other hand to the hood of his cape bringing it down and revealing his face to the emptiness of this secret place.

With dark blue eyes that never left the stone, the sorcerer brought both his hands to a chain that sat on his neck, pulling it out. His brows frowned as the chain got caught on one of his ears, he let a small sound fall from his mouth as he fought the bothersome thing off of him, leaving a small red spot on his ear caused by the aggressiveness he used to pull the chain.

Dangling from the chain was an iron key, simple in its look, the key didn't seem to be of any importance, just another key like many others.

The sorcerer held the key in his hand and took a second to frown down at it, letting mumbled curses reprimand the misbehaving object, as if it were its fault to get caught.

His gaze did a quick once over of the cave, as if daring the walls to say anything about what happened, before coming back to his senses. There was no one but him there, and the walls couldn't possibly be laughing at him. 

He brought his gaze back to the cursed thing in his hand and finally brought it up to the stone wall at the same height a keyhole would be. Once it made contact with the stone, it stopped for a second, before going through the hard surface and sitting in a perfect fit. 

He turned it once, and the little cave was suddenly consumed by a blue light coming from the stone as the frame of a door began to blink into existence.

He waited for a few seconds until the light diminished, and now in front of him was a hard oak door, with hinges, iron straps, a handle and yes, a keyhole. He turned the key two more times and reached for the handle.

The room was rapidly filled with a warm light that came from the open door. 

A waved hand dismissed the ball of light, relieving it from its duty now that the light coming from the door would be sufficient.

The man took the key out of the keyhole, stepping through the threshold inside the lit room before quietly closing the door behind him.

For a couple of seconds the cave was drowned in darkness, only a faint line of light escaped from underneath the door, before it was once again lit up with the same blue light as before.

Slowly, the magical blue light started to fade beginning from the frame of the door towards the middle, and as it went off, the door too began to disappear.

In a matter of seconds the stone wall conquered back its space, it consumed the frame, the hinges, the whole door until there was nothing but the keyhole. It blinked for a second before it too disappeared.

The stone wall was back to its natural form, inside a hidden cave with no trace a doorway could ever have existed, with no magic light to ease its darkness, and with no hooded man staring at its smooth surface.

On an uneventful night at Camelot, a sorcerer waltzes through the defenses of the castle to reach a cave that no one has heard about, with an illegal magic light that followed his steps, towards a secret door that didn't exist.

And as his journey through the depths of the castle reached its end with his magical disappearance through the said inexistent door, Camelot continued with its routine dance: the guards continued their rounds, a few knights drank at the tavern, and the prince slept on his bed, all of them unaware of the shadow man and his magic door.

[maxladcomics]

How old do you think Sans and Papyrus are? Is their age different in other universes?

[This turned into a ramble, the short answer is I think Papyrus is somewhere around 18-25, and his brother could be a teenager or old man. In other AU's I've made my own version for, it's the same until I got into the Gemknight AU's. So for most versions of AU's I've made, Papyrus is the younger (Great for angst!) but later (Gravel-type AU's) Papyrus could be the older brother (Also great for angst) ]

The ramble:

I used to think that Papyrus was the younger one but I'm starting to question/doubt that, but it's difficult to tell with all the deceit between those two bastards. The way they're both different levels of liars makes it hard to tell what's true and what's not (I know about the Japanese version where it's heavily implied Papyrus is the younger brother).

I have a theory that sits on the side of "Why are they like this?" and "I'm probably reading this wrong" but I get the impression that they are both playing/acting a part to purposely deceive us. Papyrus acts out depending on the prompts that he's given by his brother, it's happened more than once and I'm very suspicious at it. Is it a prompt game? What would it mean? Is his brother being malicious about it? (doubt it, he's too lazy for that) So am I imagining it? Did they plan this 'game' because it lowered the risk of a murder run? I know Papyrus would agree to a risk like that.. but it wouldn't make sense for his brother to.

If they're playing a game like this, it's possible everything they say around each other is an intentional (or lazy) lie. So I guess unless I learn to read/translate Japanese myself I probably won't be able figure it out and I don't think Toby would restrict important lore like that.. but at the same time I'm not sure. Either way I don't trust what Papyrus pretends to be around his brother.

But back to the main question:

I'm starting to lean on the idea of Papyrus being the older brother, I think it's a fun concept to explore and I'm glad @fluo-skeletons AU's brought that idea into my range and I've started to adjust any new AU's I make into a similar concept/theme because I want to see how different things turn out. (Nothing changes, it's still angst)

I think Papyrus is in his late teens, or early 20's.. maybe 25 at the highest or maybe older than Asgore himself?? I've recently discovered timeline things in Undertale that are making me question everything (I know, some things avoid me when all I do is weird shit like check if there's patterns in Papyrus's bookshelf) so I need to evaluate and line things up to understand the full timeline and what's going on. I don't know how old his brother is and there's no indicator to guess, he could be an old man or an edgy teenager.

A lot of the AU's I started with have Papyrus as the younger brother by a few years, (his brother appears a lot older but that's because he didn't have much growing left to do) and newer AU's I'm changing that around, not that it changes anything between them, it just makes Papyrus's behavior make more sense, which is good for consistency.

[monstrsball]

atla au info (masterpost)

the hq atla au has been on my mind again and i figured i should make a new summary post so people know the lore!!! shout-out to @eurydicees who helped me a LOT and contributed a lot of ideas to the au. you are the best. oikawa's story would not be as interesting without you. thanks bestie.

anyway, i'm gonna try to be concise but this will probably get long. i like to ramble. au info under the cut!

the general gist of the au is the same as the show. long ago, the four nations lived in harmony but everything changed when the fire nation attacked. etc etc... you know the rest.

to make this easier for me, i'm just gonna sum up the major characters in the au and their roles. (and i'm including ages because they're aged down from hq canon a little, somewhat following the ages from atla)

HINATA (13): the avatar. his backstory is pretty much the same as aang's!! he grew up at the southern air temple and found out he was the avatar when he was 13. his friends no longer wanted to play with him because it wouldn't be "fair" and there was talk amongst the monks of sending him away from his guardian (i'm thinking... takeda? or maybe even ukai sr? open to thoughts on this!) so he ran away. he gets trapped in an iceberg for a hundred years and is found by suga! unfortunately, this is kind of it when it comes to hinata which is uh... not great. i should try to brainstorm more about him.

SUGA (16): waterbender. his backstory is very, very similar to katara's. he's the only waterbender in his village and so he's entirely self taught. his father is off fighting the war and his mother was killed during a raid when he was a child. he lives with his little brother and his grandmother. he finds hinata in the iceberg and ends up traveling with him!! he offers to be his waterbending teacher but it doesn't go as well as it could. suga's knowledge is unfortunately limited to what he has been able to figure out on his own. when they go to the north pole, they meet kageyama and suga realizes that kageyama is the teacher that hinata needs. he has a lot of complicated feelings about it but he doesn't say anything because kageyama teaching hinata is for the best. he instead opts to put all of his energy into getting back at healing - something he can do that kageyama can't.

he learns from kageyama alongside hinata but he himself also ends up teaching kageyama a lot. (how to be a good teacher, for one, lmao)

he's a bit of an older brother figure to all of the younger ones (hinata, kageyama, & the miya twins). the one who keeps them all on track and spends a lot of time defusing fights among them. pour one out for him. (he still gets his own mischievous moments though of course <33 he is a menace sometimes)

relevant posts: 01. 02. 03.

KAGEYAMA (12): waterbender, ends up being hinata's waterbending teacher. he grew up in the north pole with his grandfather. he has an older sister too but she left a while ago. he's an extremely talented waterbender and ends up ostracized by his peers because of this. (it doesn't help that he comes off as standoffish and abrasive) the only person who spars with him is his grandfather, who has also taught kageyama a lot of what he knows about waterbending. his grandfather dies and then he's left alone.

he meets hinata and suga when they arrive at the north pole and is surprised when suga approaches him later asking him to be hinata's teacher. it takes a lot of convincing but he eventually agrees and leaves the north pole with him. and he realizes that there's still a lot he has to learn too. (about how to be an effective teacher for one LMAO he is so bad at it at first)

relevant post: 01.

MIYA TWINS, mostly atsumu (14): earthbender!osamu, nonbender!atsumu. they're six when they find out that osamu is an earthbender and eight when they have to accept that atsumu isn't. atsumu learns how to fight as osamu gets better and better at earthbending. and he's pretty good. he learns a lot about how to hold his own against earthbenders from his fights with osamu. (sparring and regular sibling fights lol) he's beaten every earthbender in their village in a fight at least once and he never lets any of them forget it. despite this, he still feels a lot of resentment over not being an earthbender like osamu.

hinata comes to their village and, after seeing osamu spar against someone (i've been thinking of maybe still incorporating the underground fighting ring like in atla but idk), asks osamu to be his earthbending teacher. osamu says no at first which makes atsumu really angry and leads to a fight between the two of them. probably their biggest fight ever. still not sure what leads to osamu changing his mind but he does!! he has a condition though: he'll only go with them and teach hinata if his brother can come too. he's fully prepared to plead atsumu's case (excellent fighter, strategist, etc) but hinata agrees immediately. why would he say no? the more the merrier!

atsumu's story arc is basically becoming comfortable with being a nonbender and no longer lying when he says that it doesn't bother him. being the one to save benders on several occasions certainly helps. as well as his eventual friendship with another certain nonbender (oikawa).

osamu's is still up in the air though... sorry osamu.

relevant post: 01.

OIKAWA (16): son of the fire lord, nonbender. all he really wants is to prove himself to his father who has looked down on him ever since it became clear that oikawa wasn't a bender. he learns how to sword fight and how to strategize and how to chi block all so he can defend himself but also... because he wants to find something to show his father that he's worthy of being the crown prince of the fire nation. he's only 13 when he speaks up during a war meeting and is subsequently challenged to an agni kai by his father to "teach him a lesson". he is scarred and then sent away to search for the avatar. (this event plants the initial seeds of doubt in the fire nation)

despite everything that went down with his father, he still wants to find a way to earn his approval. maybe if he finds the avatar, he'll finally get it. (it doesn't matter what he does. it's never going to happen :/) his road to redemption is long but he gets there eventually. and he teaches hinata how to chi block :')

please, please check out the links below for more info. the others are kind of optional but i really think you should read these ones.

relevant posts: 01. 02. 03. 04. 05. (seriously, shout-out to eury for all of these. you are the mvp!!! all of your contributions were so so good. your brain is sooo huge)

IWAIZUMI (16): son of a high-ranking fire national general, oikawa's childhood friend, highly skilled firebender. he sneaks off to go with oikawa when he's exiled. because who else is going to protect him? iwaizumi's been doing it all his whole life. iwaizumi comes around a lot quicker, he saw firsthand what the fire lord did to oikawa and what that did to him, but he doesn't leave oikawa's side and still helps him with his quest. he helps oikawa on his journey to becoming a better person and he's right there with him when oikawa apologizes to hinata and the gang. (with apologies of his own, of course).

and he becomes hinata's firebending teacher!!!

USHIJIMA (16): son of a fire nation general, firebender. grew up near the palace with his mother. he and oikawa used to be friends but they grew apart as they got older and ushijima's firebending grew stronger. after oikawa is sent away, ushijima is taken under the wing of the fire lord who sees him as the prodigy son he never had. this only further solidifies oikawa's belief that ushijima has always looked down on him and always been looking to take his place.

relevant posts: 01. (linking to eury's post bc her tags are excellent) 02. 03. (more oikawa, atsumu, & iwaizumi info here too, i just didn't want to link it before i explained who ushijima was)

----

and... i think that's it for now? i'll update the post whenever there's more to add (mostly links to posts i think) but i tried to summarize each character's roles as best i can. hopefully i didn't forget anything.

i'm still open to brainstorming stuff about it :) i'm always open to hearing people's ideas!!!

[felikatze]

Fell family dynamic in a Shrek au sounds hilarious

if you've read the shrek fic that exists (dont ask me why it does) you will notice that gangrel is farquaad. he's trying to get married to one up his ex aversa, who dumped him because she figured out she's a lesbian

this AU started because of the sentence "grima would sing i need a hero from shrek 2" and i kept imagining him as the fairy godmother. if you may. imagine. robin and chrom, both half dragons, go to plegia to meet robin's family. validar is king of Far Far Away. aversa is crown princess.

grima is still the fairy godmother. they're all still trying to do the whole "awaken grima" thing, except robin has... already accepted his dragon side? he's married to a manakete? he has wings and everything?

grima is confused. validar is confused. grima only met chrom after his first husband gangrel "mysteriously disappeared" and chrom was in peak depression era by spending too long alone in self imposed exile. it was a messy relationship. chrom died in suspect circumstances he's a zombie now it's fine.

so like. robin already HAS his happily ever after. validar decides one thing. to truly bring about the grima he wishes to see - robin needs to get divorced. aversa is in on it because she is, in fact, mad that he got married before she did.

(PLEASE imagine risen king chrom as prince charming in this i beg of you. morgan is also here because i just cant get rid of em. please imagine the scene where the fairy godmother takes prince charming to mcdonalds with grima rkc and morgan.)

validar and aversa are playing nice with gritted teeth and just preparing the death cult shit in the background trying to kill chrom via looney tunes shenanigans (owain is puss in boots it just works).

it's so weird because. the apocalypse just. averted itself. chrom and robin met BEFORE they both hit their midlife crises and had an incredibly toxic relationship and they're well adjusted and in love and it's healthy and fine. the future children are just kicking around trying to figure out what the FUCK they did for this to just happen

there's so much here it's not like shrek at all outside the very basic framework that spiralled out of control but these wack versions of the characters are just very neat to think about.

robin crucially does NOT know his family runs a death cult about him. he THINKS he has the regular fiona backstory of "i was born a monster so my family sealed me away" but what actually happened is that "his family recognized that he is their god reborn and sealed him away so no one could kill him until he became of age to perform the awakening"

i'm just rambling here. spitballed lore from chats with anakha and salem is also "grima officiates weddings AND is a divorce lawyer" because it's really fucking funny. he will give you a happy ending that slowly crumbles before your eyes until you're divorcing your prince 10 years later and you think its your own fault but grima deliberately picked out the prince charming who will woo you at first but his minor character quirks will slowly grate on you and escalate with your annoyance

grima WOULD sing i need a hero. after the shrek 2 of this au grima starts crying at chrobin's genuine love and he tries to rekindle his relationship with rkc. morgan gets a raise and three months paid vacation.

[hiding-in-the-vault]

I've read that you like the concept of Immortal Dream and Time Traveller Karl, and I have an Au similar to this concept.

Karl and Dream, alongside Mamacita, XD and Drista, are siblings that were created by the Goddesses of Life and Time. While XD, Drista and Mamacita are Gods of something else (Fate, Chaos and Love respectively), Karl and Dream are the Future Gods of Time (Karl Time Travel) and Life (the Revival Book is just Dream using his magic), for when their moms will retire/die.

Karl and Dream are really close, but it all changes when, during the Manburg vs Pogtopia war, they both sense a glitch in the SMP, so they go and found it, but they don't ask for help and straight up fight it, loosing. So, at the end, Karl looses his memories and Dream gets possessed by the Glitch

What do you think, and for you how would the other members react when the truth is revealed?

yo yo yo yo that sounds really cool!!! I especially like the idea of them being like- heirs; successors to godship. Dream and Karl are just vibing like 'yeah, i'm gonna be the god later, no big deal :)' I love that for them.

With that upbringing, makes sense that they'd be confident enough to tackle some mysterious threat underprepared and straight up losing. That's fun :D Karl forgets he's not Just a Dude™, and I assume Dream goes on his chaos arc or something?

As for how others would react, if I were writing it? Hmm. I imagine their siblings would be pretty alarmed and would want to get that fixed as soon as they learned about it. Like this Glitch being able to defeat these two would come across almost like an insult to their station. "How dare you harm our kind?" Except how are they gonna find out it even happened, right? If Karl doesn't know them anymore, and Dream has gone off to do whatever. Might take a bit~

As for mortal characters, I guess it depends on who you care to involve. I could see a lot of people being freaked out, that these two important figures were taken down, even if they don't have full god powers. Maybe some would see this Glitch as a Stronger Force to worship. Maybe possessed!Dream would get wrapped up in starting a cult. But I would also want to avoid too many egg arc similarities, if only just to separate this from that. It'd be funny if people just started following him around, trying to protect themselves by gaining favor, and he gets annoyed lol

hmm. yeah. hard to say too much without knowing how different this au is, in regards to mortals relationship to gods. If the gods are more involved and noticeable than in canon, then I think there's a lot of fun things you can do there depending on the individual. Fictional religions are my jam, but my thoughts on them are rarely organized or coherent :')

[scarlettriot]

Quirked - A 1920s Themed Fic

Pairing: Kirishima X F!Reader

Summary: People born with Quirks in the 1920s were drastically misunderstood and forbidden from using their abilities for any reason. People were running from the law, fleeing states and even the country if they were lucky enough, and one bartender was using his speakeasy to help them do it.

Warnings: SMUT | Minors & Ageless Blogs LEAVE. Discrimination against people with quirks. Blood. Guns.

Contains: Story is set in an unnamed American city in the 1920s. Double lives, secrets being kept. Shitty past relationships. Age difference between Reader and Kiri is 5 years, Reader is also a virgin, Kiri isn't. Kiri has his natural hair color because hair dye was a bitch in the 1920s. Mutual pining. Porn with Plot. Lots of consent. Protected sex. Assisted/Instructed masturbation. Nipple Play. (Kinda) Rough sex (Kiri's strong and loses control of a second). Nicknames: Baby, Babydoll, Doll.

W/C: (Holy shit guys, this is BY FAR my longest fic) 10,545

A/N: This fic is part of the In Time (Decades Theme) Collab brought to you by His Good Puppy. Please make sure to go check out the other fantastic pieces people have made! It was a lot of fun tackling an AU historic piece and I really hope you all enjoy it. I tried to edit this as best I could, but, as always, I'm sorry if a mistake or twelve crop up. A very special thanks to @mistyfoxsong, @swirrley, @ace-of-books, and @weebaboobs for listening to me ramble about this fic and helping me when I was stuck! You guys are lovely.

"I'm just a bartender."

Eijiro had been saying the half-truth long enough that it slipped easily off his tongue as he poured the gin into the drink for the pretty woman who'd been chattering at him for the last half hour.

"Well, everyone around here seems to know ya! Could have fooled a gal into thinkin' you owned the whole darn place."

Oh, if only she knew.

Librarian by day and sort of a bartender by night.

"You're too kind, ma'am." He slid the lime onto the rim of the glass before handing it off with a smile, turning to the rest of the eager patrons of The Crimson Door.

He'd nearly missed a gentleman's order because, out of the corner of his eye, Eijiro had spotted you.

The pretty little lady that, for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why the heck you'd want to work in a speakeasy of all places. And yet, he really didn't care what the reason was exactly He enjoyed having you as a coworker ever since you showed up in the red doorway on that warm summer night, navy skirt paired with a white blouse, asking for a job. He couldn’t forget it if he tried.

Eijiro had wiped off his hands and wandered into the back to get Katsuki that night, telling him he needed to play the role of owner, to get a feel for you because the last thing Eijiro needed was a rat in his establishment.

At 25 Eijiro had found himself in a unique position, one that granted him the ability to help people like him get a real chance at freedom, people with quirks, as they were being called.

The first record of one being born with a quirk was only sixty years ago, people were still terrified of them! And that meant the government put strict laws and regulations in place to control those with unexplainable abilities. If people thought the laws placed on alcohol were strict, they had nothing on the Quirked.

The Crimson Door acted as a front, a safe haven for Quirked who needed work and it also gave Eijiro opportunities to get people out if needed. It was a cause near and dear to Eijiro's heart, one he'd fight, and if need be, die for, and that meant he had to take precautions.

He'd often been described as someone who could see the good in anyone if he looked hard enough. He was kind and easy to speak to which was good! Quirked needed to trust him to get them to safety. But, it had its downsides too... That was where Katsuki Bakugo came into play.

Hot-headed and possessing the ability to see through anyone's bullshit, he was the perfect man to act as the tough, unforgiving new owner of The Crimson Door, no one was hired without Katuski's approval, just as Eijiro had designed.

But, you were cleared by his blonde-haired best friend, and you sure as hell were one dedicated worker. Of course, all the waitresses were objectively beautiful, it's what kept his regulars, well, regular but you, damn, there was something different about you that Eijiro never could quite put his finger on.

You made coming into work fun. Smuggling people to safety often took a lot out of the man leaving him little time to enjoy life in the three years since he'd begun this mission. But you made him feel like a silly schoolboy again.

His cheeks turning red when you complimented his drink of the night. Or the way he forgot how to speak when he'd see you humming to yourself, picking up empty glasses when all the patrons had gone. But, perhaps his favorite thing was the way you smiled when he came back from a drop-off.

After being gone for two or three days, making sure the small group of Quirked he'd been with had made it safely across the border, he'd settle back behind the bar where he felt most comfortable. You'd come out from the back and bump your hip against him. "Did you have a good couple of days off, Kiri?"

You didn't have a single clue what he really got up to, he preferred it that way, but you were always so damn thoughtful.

"He's lookin' at you again." Mina giggled when you brought her the tonic water she requested in between her set. Her eyes glanced between you and Kirishima who was stationed behind the bar.

Her golden dress shimmered under the lights, making every man in the place act like crows to a shiny object but she paid them no mind. Far more interested in the gossip going around The Door just as she always was.

Starting over at 23 hadn't been easy on you. Running away to a new state when you'd been outed as a Quirked. That'd been the worst day of your whole damn life, but, you often thought things could be a whole lot worse.

You'd heard whispers of an establishment located beneath the city's public library that was safe for Quirked to work at, where they wouldn't be questioned. Said establishment might not have been legal by any means, and the owner was said to be a real hardass but that wasn't going to deter you.

You sought out the raven-haired bartender with unusually pointy teeth that was said to be the heart of the place, and you were pleased to report that in the six months of being employed at The Crimson Door, that statement had held true.

But, he wasn't the only kind soul to work there. You'd been fortunate enough to find friends within these walls, one's that cared about your well-being and looked after one another. In fact, you'd grown particularly close to The Crimson Door's favorite singer. Gracing their stage multiple nights a week with her curly pink wig that reminded you a whole lot of candy floss.

"You know, I really thought he would've made a move by now. It's obvious he likes you and he's not gettin' any younger." Mina went on.

"We work together, Mina, I don't think it'd be best to mix-"

"Nonsense!" She waved away your remark while sipping the water. "Can't you see the thrill of it? Seeing each other often, slipping away for some heavy petting, a little tryst when no one's looking... It's a lot of fun."

She spoke from experience. Never a woman of convention, Mina took a chance on romance at every turn. She finished off the drink, adjusting the dress so it dipped generously low. "If you felt so inclined, you could make the first move, baby. Be brave and bold! Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't always have to be the man. And I don't think Kiri's the type whose ego would be bruised if you did. He's quite progressive like that."

Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted Kaminari trying to get Mina’s attention from his spot at the piano bench, "I think you're needed back on stage."

She rolled her eyes and spoke no more on the topic. However, her words still lingered. They wrapped themselves around you like a blanket until they sank into your skin.

They whirled around your head for weeks and you couldn't help but wonder if maybe there was some truth to what Mina had said. Could he like you? Did you like him?

You'd have to be blind not to notice Kirishima was an attractive man. He towered over most people and he was built like an ox! By all accounts, he should appear very threatening and he could be. You'd experienced it when someone got a little too friendly with Mina but more often than not, Kirishima's warm eyes and friendly smile were counterproductive to his intimidating stature.

He was also a delight to talk to. Charismatic, throwing his arms about and constantly moving when he told tales. He listened when other's spoke, providing them with the attention they deserved, often with his chin in his hand, listening to every word.

But there was more to the man than what met the eye. A side that he didn't like to bring up, you gathered that much and pieced together that it probably had to do with the repercussions of working so closely with the owner of an illegal establishment. The old scars that were just barely visible across his face, the new one's hidden under shirt sleeves that appeared after his "days off", and there was also the way he'd flinch after closing when someone would enter even though they left just moments before to take out the garbage.

You didn't push him to talk about that part of his life. Just remained content with the bits he was willing to share and, in those moments, you'd decided it would be easy to fall in love with Eijrio Kirishima... if you didn't have a damn quirk and needed to be ready to up and vanish at any moment.

If you ever took a shot on romance again, and that was a large if, the person would have to accept you, all of you. Not rat you out to the first group of buttons they came across as soon as they found out you had a quirk.

Weeks spent at the bar turned into months, months with late hours, some of which included quiet evenings. Leaving you to close with Kirishima after Bakugo and the others called it a night. It'd become almost too easy to trust him with your heart, every smile he offered and each heartfelt laugh had you trusting him all the more.

And, before you knew it, the concept of falling in love with Kirishima became a reality. You couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it happened and you didn't know how to talk about it, how to bring it up, but you knew it was happening nonetheless.

"This weather is shit," Katsuki pointed out, letting the curtain fall to cover the window again, not that it did much to keep the cold out, "I think we can wait a week before makin' another pickup."

Eijiro sat at his desk in the back of The Door, the one Katsuki usually occupied for a majority of the night working on lesson plans and grading papers pretending like it was business work. But now Eijiro went over the over ledgers, and then made sure no Quirked were waiting on them and that they would have enough booze to get them through another two weeks.

"Yeah, yeah you're right." He ran a hand through his hair, long enough now that it could be pulled back if he really wanted to. Also, long enough that he was scolded by any older woman he’d come across.

In the quiet of the night, blending nicely with the crackling of the small fire he had going, Eijiro heard soft singing drifting through the old walls, barely audible but he recognized it anywhere. Hearing it a couple nights a week for almost seven months. Even Katsuki perked his head to the pleasant sound and smirked.

"Forgot it was her night to close. It's my night too, but," His smirk grew and Eijiro's face warmed under the knowing gaze of his best friend.

Katsuki had called him out on his crush months ago. Called him a sap more times than Eijiro could recall.

The blonde pulled his coat off the rack. "You've got it covered tonight, right?" He tried to come up with some excuse but Katsuki was already pulling open the office door. "I've got exams to grade anyways."

"You do not! It's the winter holiday!"

Katsuki laughed and headed up the stairs leaving him alone surrounded by your beautiful melody.

He listened to you restart the song that had become one of his favorites. It was popular in its own right, Mina and Denki even dueted it a couple of times but, Eijiro especially liked the way you sang it. Something about the words when they came from you felt different to him... like they held a deeper meaning, some kind of understanding that he could sympathize with.

I've been wishing today I could just run away,

You swayed between the tables, wiping the clutter to the floor, his heart swelling as you hummed the bit of the song meant for a masculine counterpart.

There was a possibility that Katsuki and Mina had a point, that maybe he was letting life pass him by and he was a coward for merely passively flirting with you. Maybe he could act on his crush, have faith that you felt something more like he did.

You won't know if you don't man up and ask her. Katsuki had grumbled at him over a whiskey late one evening after he'd poured out his heart, Someone's gonna snatch her up one day, you should take your chance before it's too late.

Something in his chest told him this moment was that chance.

Eijiro never fancied himself a dancer and Mina threatened to throw her shoe at him every time he tried to sing but he didn't just want to watch. He had to act.

I'd like to leave it all behind, He spoke the words more than sang them, stepping in and scooping you up in some odd form of a waltz, trying desperately to remember what Mina had taught him years ago.

Someplace that's known to god alone, he continued, pushed on by the wide smile that graced your face chasing away his insecurities, Just a spot to call our own.

You sounded a million times better than he ever could but he kept up.

We'll find perfect peace, where joys never cease,

Out there beneath a kindly sky.

His stomach flipped but he ignored it. Pulled you close to him to avoid spinning you directly into a chair. He guided you around every obstacle as if the entire room was a dance hall.

You were laughing your way through the lyrics but somehow that made it even better. It made him fall for you that much more.

We'll build a sweet little nest, somewhere in the west,

And let the rest of the world go by.

By the time the song came to a close, Eijiro's cheeks hurt from smiling, his breathing still rapid as he asked if you had another tune in mind.

"I, um, I'm having a little trouble thinking of one right now." You admitted, "I'm a bit distracted."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I-"

His hand slid from your waist but you quickly put it back in place. "I didn't say I minded."

You had his confidence soaring.

Time slipped away, Eijiro happily leading the way to a melody that existed entirely in his own head, thrilled that you seemed to be able to hear it too. He was more than content dancing with you for the rest of the night until he felt your fingers tighten in his and he noticed your skin prickle with chill.

"This old building really is shit at keeping heat in." Without even thinking about it, he slid the burgundy suspenders off his shoulders and began unbuttoning the dress shirt he wore, leaving him in just a white t-shirt while he draped the other over your shoulders.

"That any better?"

Your wide eyes softened, slipping your arms into the sleeves that dangled far past your fingertips. It could have been a dress on you.

"Aren't you gonna be cold now?"

"I tend to run warm."

"I can tell." You nuzzled the shirt around you and, damn, he thought he might explode on the spot. "We should probably get cleaning up since it seems the boss man took off already."

Eijiro smirked. "Yeah, can't believe he'd leave all this work to us."

It didn't take long to finish up the nightly chores, just under an hour, and you both were bundled up at the doorway, staring out into the white wasteland that awaited you.

He watched you out of the corner of his eye. You flipped the collar of your knee-length, wool coat, and then burrowed inside it until the only part of your face that remained visible were your eyes, your very pretty eyes.

"Do you have a long way to go?"

Your response was muffled by the coat and he really hoped he'd heard you incorrectly. "Did you say twenty-one blocks?"

His heart sank when you nodded your head and his mouth was speaking before his brain had caught up. "Listen, I don't mean to be forward but the weather is horrid, you could literally freeze! My home is only eight blocks away and I have a spare room and I do not expect a single thing to happen, I don't think you're some chippy or anything! I just, cannot, in good conscience, allow you to walk all that way when you could just... stay... with me." Eijiro's words slowed, hoping you wouldn't think he was some creep and ruin whatever it was that you'd both started.

You poked your head out of your coat and looked at him. "A spare room?" He nodded, "With heat?"

"Plenty."

"May I borrow this shirt of yours to sleep in?"

Eijiro shook his head. "Absolutely not, doll. I've been workin' in that all night, it probably stinks. I got pajamas at home you're welcome to."

"In that case," You burrowed again, "Lead the way."

Just two blocks from the library and you were shivering cold.

"May I?" Kirishima asked, his arm hovering just over your shoulders and you smooshed yourself against him for an answer. He kept you tucked under his arm, snow crunching under your strides, hurrying off further into the night.

His arm flexed keeping you upright and at his side when the heel of your shoe met a patch of ice.

"You live by the water?"

"I do, yes. Not too much further now." He made a left and then a right, suddenly you were in a community of homes that were simply massive in size. All surrounding a quiet lake. "The water tends to make it colder here but I'm just down at the end of the street there."

You followed his pointed finger to a gated drive, wondering how the heck a man who worked as a librarian made enough money to live in a place like this. You knew he certainly didn't make that much in tips from bartending either. But, these were all questions you could ask once you were up the winding drive and inside the warmth of the home.

"Shit," Kirishima muttered after latching the door behind you, "I'm soaked through, you've gotta be too. Come on, let's get you outta these wet-"

"Ah, Eijiro, home already? I thought you had- who's this?"

You'd both been standing in the grand entryway, you brushing snow off your shoulders while Kirishima shook it out of his hair, when a slender man dressed in warm pajamas walked into the room.

"Wes, meet Y/N. We work together and the weather, it's..."

"Bad?" Wes offered.

"Yes. So, I told her she come back here. I figured she could stay in one of the guest rooms."

One of the guest rooms? Just how many were there?

You felt a pair of cool grey eyes inspect you. He had to be older than Kirishima, blonde hair streaked with shocks of grey. If he was family, you didn't see the resemblance.

Wes finally opened his mouth to speak again. "The second room on the left upstairs is already put together, fresh sheets and all."

"Great!" Kirishima beamed and placed a hand on your back to lead you up the dark oak staircase. He pointed out the room that Wes had mentioned, "My room is right over there. Um, lemme get you some dry clothes."

By the time his sentence finished, he was already pushing open his door. When he was out of sight, you turned the knob to your own room for the evening.

You had to remind yourself that Wes had said this was a guest room.

What kinds of guests was Kirishima used to having? Distinguished dignitaries?

If only there was a kitchen, you could have lived in this guest room. There was even an attached bath! The bed looked huge and inviting with a plush white quilt as a plethora of pillows. An unlit fireplace was against the opposite wall, along with an ornate wardrobe that had a matching desk and nightstands on either side of the bed.

Kirishima cleared his throat from the doorway before you had a chance to admire the artwork decorating the walls. He'd shed his coat and in his hands were a folded set of pajamas. "I hope these will do. I know they'll be big but,"

"These are great, Kirishima. Thank you."

"Right then." He ran fingers through snow-dampened hair.

"Off to bed?"

"Not just yet. I'll probably be up for a little while longer. Talk with Wes a bit before he goes back to bed, you're welcome to join me if you like."

You considered his offer, while also considering the tub you'd found... imagining it brimming with warm water and bubbles, "I think I might wash the day off first." You told him.

"Of course! Tell you what," He pointed out his door again, "I'll be in my room, knock when you're done and, maybe I could make you a nightcap?"

It felt like there'd been something there between the two of you for ages now that neither of you spoke of. A little flirting, a brush of hands, but nothing went further.

But now, Kirishima had opened that door by sweeping you off your feet literally, and here you were, in his house with his pajamas in your hands; the next move was yours to make.

"Could you make me a hot toddy? I think it'd be nice on such a cold night."

Kirishima's smile came easily. "I'm a bartender, I can make you whatever you'd like, doll.”

You felt heat rise to your cheeks. Quickly you excused yourself and made for the bathroom hopefully before he realized the effect he had on you. Letting the hot water fill the tub and steam fog the mirror while you peeled the wet clothes off your body.

So many questions filled your head as you sank below the warm water and bubbles that you generously poured in.

Of course, there was the obvious question of where your friendship with him might go but you also couldn't stop wondering about how Kirishima lived in such a lavish place. Not only did the finances not make sense but he was too kind of a man, too humble, to have this much money!

You hadn’t had too many run ins with people in high society but the few you did, they were nothing like Kirishima. He didn't flaunt his wealth around, didn't dress in the latest fashions or wear any fancy accessories.

After heat had been saturated back into your bones and your fingertips resembled raisins, you'd decided on the only logical explanation: He was the sole heir to a vast fortune. The rest of his family had been killed off and so, to protect himself, Kirishima lived well below his means and kept his personal life private to ensure his secret.

The fact he'd left you with beautiful silk set of pajamas and a robe to match, only confirmed your theory.

You had to cuff the pant legs as best you could to prevent yourself from tripping with each step you took but, besides that, this dark set of pajamas was the most comfortable set you'd ever worn. Deep red with dark grey embroidery work.

There was a note scribbled and slid under your door. It seemed so childish and silly when you picked it up and read Kirishima's awful handwriting.

Bring your clothes with you. I'll have them dry cleaned for tomorrow.

You were careful to hold the soggy garments away from your body when you walked down to his room. Knocking quickly and then stepping back onto the rug that covered the cool marble flooring of the hall.

He swung the door open, now dressed in pajamas of his own. He still wore a white cotton shirt but had on another dark pair of pants with an even darker robe left hanging open. "Hell- oh..." Suddenly you felt warm under his gaze. Kirishima's smile faltered, settling into something unreadable with eyes wide.

"Hi. You said to come get you when I was done. Is this a bad- should I have waited?"

He seemed to recover from whatever had overcome him, "No, everything's perfect! Come in, I'll grab you a bag for those." Kirishima raised his brow when you hopped over the marble floor but was quirk to deduce why before you had to say anything.

"I should have given you something for your feet." He mumbled something about his slippers being too big for you while he rummaged around a drawer. You realized while he did have personal items out and the room was clearly lived in, the size of it seemed to be the same as your guest room.

Maybe the bed was bigger and the curtains darker, the fire place was also lit but besides that the rooms were the same.

The musing was chased away though when he held up a pair of thick socks. Much like the other clothes, they were in fact, too large. Bunched up but hidden under pant legs so no one could tell.

You followed him around his home, surely you would have gotten lost on your own. All the halls and rooms he walked through had you dizzy but you'd managed to keep up with him. He explained along the way that your clothes would probably be ready before either of you were awake since it was nearing four in the morning and the dry cleaner opened at 6.

When you questioned how it would get to the dry cleaners, Kirishima casually told you Wes would take it. He’d already gone back to bed so he’d be up in plenty of time to take them.

"I've got to ask, Kiri," You hopped up on the counter and sat while he put on a kettle, "How do you own all this?" Gesturing around to the vast kitchen that looked like something out of a magazine, "You even have a servent-"

"Whoa, first of all, I don't like that word and neither does Wes." He interjected, "He's just a friend who happens to work for me. We think butler sounds better." He went on, gathering a few lemons from a pantry and a glass decanter that you assumed was whiskey and some other assorted items, "And second, I said I live here, not that I own this place."

"Well, you're obviously welcome here. I'm sure Wes would have called the authorities if you weren't."

He chuckled, "I'm allowed to be here, yeah. You could say I inherited the place."

"Passed down through family?" You asked, hoping you didn't sound too excited at the possibility of your bath time theories actually being correct.

"No, not family."

"Who then?"

"For a waitress, you ask questions like a journalist." You chewed the inside of your cheek after apologizing for prying, "Hey, I don't mind. There are just some questions you're probably better off not knowing the answers to."

In resisting the urge to ask him why, a truth slipped past your lips instead, “I guess I just wanted to know more about you." Because, for all the late hours you'd spent with him, it felt like you barely even scratched the surface of who he is.

Kirishima leaned with a hand on the counter and the other palming the back of his neck. "Me, huh? Not much to know. I'm a librarian during the day who happens to bartend at night. Nothing too thrilling here."

You picked up his hand that was resting near your thigh. "And all these scars, do you expect me to believe they're just papercuts? Casualty of shelving all those books, right?"

His eyes had dropped to where you cradled his hand, the difference in size between them. "Would you believe me if I said 'yes'?"

Your pointer finger traced a thick scar that ran across his knuckles. "If I say 'no', would you tell me the truth?"

"No," His tone wasn't harsh but quiet and more than a little distant. When you looked up into his eyes they were darker than you were used to, sad in their own way. He slid his hand until his fingers filled the spaces between yours and his head dipped down towards yours with a quiet confession of his own, "But, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to tell you."

"I'm rather good at keeping secrets, Kirishima. I've got a few of my own."

"You know, you could call me Eijiro if you wanted."

"That's very nice, Eijiro, but now you're deflecting."

His nose nearly brushed against yours, the balls of his cheeks rising with his smile, crinkling the corners of his eyes, and then his lips were soft against yours. Warm and steady, so very slowly moving against yours before backing away with a sigh.

"And now you're trying to distract me."

"Is it working?"

"Perhaps."

Eijiro's lips had barely brushed yours when the kettle started to whistle.

You watched as he made the drink, just a hint of a smile tugging up the corners of his mouth as he went.

"Careful, still hot." He handed you the piping cup with a napkin to protect your hand and after a moment of blowing the tendrils of steam away, you finally took a sip.

Over the course of your friendship, Eijiro had made you many a drink. Some had names that everyone knew and others were inventions completely of his own design, made on a whim for whatever you happened to be in the mood for. But this... he'd outdone himself. And, apparently, the look on your face told him as much.

"I used that bourbon you like," He explained, "And sometimes I add a little bit of maple syrup to them. I guess I just like the flavor a bit more."

"It's delicious, Eijiro! Thank you."

His smile grew wider, cheeks flushed once again. And just before he took another sip, he admitted, "I really like when you say my name... and compliment my drinks."

You scooted off the counter and walked in front of him, gods, he was so much taller than you. "Could you come down here, Eijiro, I have a question to ask you." He eagerly lowered so you could whisper, "Does that kiss we shared have to be kept a secret too?"

"That depends, would you like it to be a secret? It doesn't have to happen again..."

"I'd like it very much if it could happen again."

Eijiro's thumb and forefinger gently held your chin in place and you closed your eyes, and you sighed when you felt his lips on yours again. He fumbled setting your drink down, refusing to take his mouth from yours. Months of wondering, the little comments and passing glances poured out into the kisses you shared with each other in the quiet morning hours.

Fears and doubts were far from your mind, maybe, just maybe it was because a part of you believed that if you had to flee again, Eijiro would be right by your side. That he wouldn't care if you had a quirk. He'd run away with you just like it the song that wrapped itself around your heart.

His thumbs brushed the apples of your cheeks, holding you in the palms of his hands, "I don't wanna keep this a secret," He pressed his forehead against yours, "I might wanna keep you all to myself but, I sure as hell don't wanna keep you a secret."

"Is this your way of asking me on a date, Eijiro?"

He nodded his head, dark locks falling in front of his eyes for you to brush away. "Where ever you wanna go, just tell me, doll."

You'd go just about anywhere with him but, he had to know everything about you first, you weren't going to start something with him or put him at risk by hiding who you were.

So, you slid your hands down his arms and pushed creating a pocket of space between the two of you. "I- I need you to know something before we go making any plans. And, if it bothers you, I'll leave and forget this whole thing happened," Worry creased his brow and you didn't waste any more time getting to the point.

"I need you to know I have a quirk. I don't use it! I'd never want to get caught but, sometimes it activates if I'm caught off guard, surprised, you understand?"

He blinked down at you, soaking in your words, "Does anyone else know?"

You explained about your previous life, the one you left behind and never looked back. He held your hand as you went through the difficult parts. When you told him about how your ex had gone to the cops, he urged you to sit back down and take small sips of your drink. "But here, Bakugo knows, he startled me when I came out of the pantry one night and it activated. He promised me he wouldn't say anything and if it happened in front of anyone else that I should tell him immediately so he could handle it but it never has."

Eijiro let out a long breath. "Katsuki is a great person to trust, he's kept my quirk a secret for years now."

"Wait, what?"

He laughed and rolled up his sleeve and you watched as his skin quickly altered before your eyes. You ran your fingers over the now hardened skin, cracked, looking like broken plates but smooth. And then you heard his fingers shift into claw-like talons.

"I've been able to practice with mine for a while now. My skin can go hard as a rock but I've been able to control the texture of it if I concentrate for a couple of years now. When I don't though," He took your hand away with his unaffected one, and then the jagged texture of his fingers spread up his arm.

He winked, "You won't tell on me, right?"

Relief flooded through you, you forgot how to speak. Instead, you grabbed his cheeks and pulled him back to you, lips crashing against his laughing grin.

Eijiro pulled you closer, both hands were soft on your sides and your head tilted, deepening the kiss wanting more of him still.

"You won't," You panted in between kisses, "tell-"

He understood your question before you finished it. "Not a chance, doll, you have my word."

It was easy to swing your leg across him was easy thanks to the pajama pants and Eijiro welcomed you in his lap, arms ensnaring you. His tongue brushed your lower lip and you eagerly opened for him. Head swimming, feeling more intoxicated than you ever could remember.

Below you, he stiffened and though you didn't have too much experience, you had enough to know exactly what you were doing to him.

Eijiro groaned and his hands lifted you so you were hovering over him. "'M sorry."

"What for?"

He set you back closer to his knees with a strangled chuckle. "I thought I'd have more decency than to get all excited from some petting but, seems I was wrong and the last thing I want is to make you uncomfortable."

Be bold. That was what Mina kept driving through your head and you couldn't think of a better time to start.

The silk made you slide effortlessly in front of him again and Eijiro didn't take his wide eyes off you when you wrapped your arms around him. The desire swirling low in your abdomen when you brushed against him again.

"That's very kind of you, Eijiro, but why don't you let me decide what makes me feel uncomfortable?"

"I- Alright," He conceded, "But, you've gotta tell me the moment you are. Or if I do something you don't like you need to let me know, promise me, Y/N."

You experimentally rolled your hips. "I promise and you'll do the same for me, right?"

He closed his eyes and let his head fall back when you rolled again. "'Course, doll."

You leaned closer and kissed the exposed length of his neck making him groan. Lower you went until you found his pulse point, sucking a red mark and making a twin on the opposite side with Eijiro subtlety rocking his hips up.

When his hand snaked between your bodies you'd barely noticed it, too distracted by what you were making him feel to notice his fingers inching closer to your core. A single-digit pressed against you and you reeled backward making him sputter an apology.

"It's fine," You quickly assured him, "I've just never..." Your sentence trailed off.

"Not at all?"

"Well, I have but never with someone. Never someone else doing things to me."

Eijiro's cheeks and the tips of his ears reddened. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed."

"Stop apologizing, I just wasn't expecting it."

He sat up straighter in the chair with you perched in his lap, his hands respectfully on your waist looking more serious than he had all night. "Doll, have you ever, I mean, you said your boyfriend before ratted you out but, how serious was it between the two of you?"

"I'm not a complete novice but if you're asking if I've ever had sex with anyone before the answer is no."

He nodded. "Ever had anyone do anything to you before?"

You could feel warmth blooming in your cheeks, "Maybe I went to a petting party in college once but, nothing too explicit happened."

"Okay then,"

"Is that a problem?" You'd asked before he could finish his sentence.

"Not a problem at all." He kissed the tip of your nose and then your lips, "Just means I'd prefer your firsts of anythings not be in a drafty kitchen. That is if you want to continue this?"

You scooted off his lap. "That bed in the guest room did seem pretty comfortable."

Eijiro stood and adjusted his robe doing a pitiful job of masking his erection. "Mine's more comfortable, trust me." He held out his hand for you and together you practically ran back to his room.

Eijiro took his time with you once the door closed. Kisses that were hot and lingered. Long fingers that tugged, asking permission before pulling the sash that held your robe in place. It pooled behind you in a heap but neither of you noticed.

You’d heard stories from your friends, from Mina, and even had an experience or two of your own in which men did not ask, they simply took what they wanted from women. But Eijiro never moved to new territory without getting at least a hint of an okay from you first.

The robe was where it began. Followed by, “Join me on the bed?” You let him pull you, dropping down onto his lap again, slotting his lips with yours. He hoisted himself backward until he was against the fluffy pillows with your hands running down his cotton-clad chest.

His fingertips ghosted across your thighs, inching closer to where they’d been in the kitchen, “May I?”

He waited for your nod before moving further. You’d been kissing his neck again when he finally touched you. Lightly, pressing through the silk and then sliding along making your brain lose focus until he chuckled.

Low and gravely, just beside your ear. “You said you’ve done this before, doll,” you muttered that you had, “then tell me how to make you feel good.”

It took you a moment to come out of your haze. “I want you under my clothes, not over them.” He was rubbing but not able to hit the precise points that you’d taken a liking to in your own self exploration.

“That what you want?” Eijiro kissed you before giving instructions. “Then sit between my legs with your back against my chest. That’s it, baby, perfect.”

He tipped your chin back with one hand, bringing you into a kiss while his other hand found yours. His palm on the back of your hand, intertwining your fingers. He ran them down your body, dipped beneath the elastic band, and then mumbled five words against your lips.

“Show me what you like.”

Your cheeks burned but your fingers started to move between your folds, zeroing in quickly on your clit. Eijiro moved with you for a while, his fingers extending over yours, teasing every now and then while his mouth trailed down your jawline, down your neck to where he currently resided at your shoulder.

He sucked at your skin the way you had his, softer maybe, holding back but it still had your ministration slowing.

“Come on, baby. Don’t you go slowing down.” His hand left yours, two fingers venturing lower and you knew he gathered your arousal on them. You felt it when those two fingers spread it up, catching the slick on your own. “How do you feel about slipping one of these perfect fingers of yours inside, hm?”

“Can you use yours instead?”

“Oh, pretty baby, mine are a lot bigger than yours. It’ll be tight.”

You abandoned your clit and grabbed his hand with sticky fingers, pushing him down where you desperately wanted to feel him. “Okay, okay. Keep playing with yourself for me. Tell me if you want me to stop.”

Eijiro cooed about how good you were doing while he slid into you, passed the second knuckle of his index finger. How proud he was even though you squirmed at the new sensation. He had to remind you to keep paying attention to yourself when he started moving his finger back out and back in again.

That familiar coil wound tighter in your abdomen. Threatening to spring at any moment. “M-more, please, Eijiro.”

Easily his middle finger joined it. “Can I see, baby?” His free hand tugged your waistband and you lifted your hips as best you could for him to push them down, kicking the socks off with them. “Look at you,” he mused, you could hear the grin on his face, “Oh no, doll, don’t be shy,” he nudged your legs back open, kissing the tip of your ear, “you’re absolutely gorgeous.”

What you were was soaking wet and ready to combust. Growing more sensitive the deeper his fingers went, the way he curled them inside you. You’d only used one finger before and Eijiro had been right, his were so much bigger. They went further than you thought possible and it had you circling your clit at a rapid rate.

You wanted something more but didn’t know what. Eijiro though, he seemed to have an idea. His free hand brushed the side of your chest. “Ever toyed with these?”

“N-no.”

“Would you like me to?”

“Please.”

He kept his hand above your shirt but rolled your nipple between thumb and middle finger, your hips instantly thrusting, one hand grabbing the back of his neck for support.

“That’s it. I can feel you gettin’ close, ya know. You’re squeezing my fingers so nicely.” He gently tugged your nipple and you moaned for him, begging not to stop. “Don’t worry. ‘M not gonna stop. Not until you're satisfied, baby, not until you’re undone.”

Whining, getting far too close, too sensitive. “Move your hand for me, I’ve gotcha.” The second your fingers left his thumb was on your clit. Rough and callused, totally foreign compared to your fingers and he had you cumming, crying out just the first syllable of his name. It was all you could manage until you came down from the high.

Your breathing started to even out, and that was when you noticed the faintest pop come from above you. You looked up just in time to see Eijiro removing his finger from his mouth, grinning ear to ear.

"Did you just suck me, what I did, off your fingers?"

"Yes, I did."

Your interest was piqued. "Is it good?"

Again, he tipped your chin back so he was only an inch away. "Wanna taste and find out? I think you're delicious."

You rolled your eyes at him before looking down at your own fingers but again he brought your gaze back to him. "I gotta better way, doll." His soft lips met yours and he did taste different, you noticed it right away, a hint of salt that wasn't there before. But when his tongue roamed your mouth it was far more apparent and almost sweet.

The kiss became lazy. Soft, slow movements as he helped you turn in his lap to face him again. "How are you feeling?" Eijiro asked, his thumbs brushing your cheeks, pulling back only enough to look at you.

"Euphoric..." Your fingers laced behind the back of his neck, "Invigorated, even." Eijiro's eyebrows rose.

"Oh?"

"I think it's your turn, Eijiro. Tell me what to do for you." Your eyes still held his but your fingers had wrapped themselves around his clothed cock and he sucked in a sharp breath.

By touch alone, you knew he was bigger than your ex, your fingers didnt even touch when you wrapped them around his shaft. Slowly you stroked, feeling the shape of him, the ridge of his head, and then the dampened silk of his pants where his arousal had made its mark.

"Tell me what you want, please."

"I want you." He bit his lower lip when your thumb circled his head again, "badly, but I understand if, damn it doll, if that's goin' too fast."

You pressed a kiss below his ear, "It's not, I want you too."

His face, when you looked at him, was a mix of emotions; happiness being the obvious one by how large his smile was but his eyes were wide with surprise and then he was kissing you again. Desperate and needy, effortlessly flipping you so you were pinned below him.

Your hands tugged at his shirt and he yanked it off, taking advantage of the broken kiss to quietly ask if he could remove yours too. When each button had come undone, the top split in two leaving a trail of skin for him to explore. Eijiro pressed kiss after kiss down your body, halting when he reached your navel and his breath hitched when the fabric slid away, exposing your chest to him for the first time.

"Baby..." He hummed, his face nuzzled against them, kissing each, "Have I told you how divine you are?"

"You might have mentioned it."

"'M gonna keep fuckin' sayin' it." His laugh was muffled thanks to his mouth descending on your nipple.

His sharp teeth nipped at it before his tongue, Gods, that wonderful tongue, swirled around. His fingers had been great but this, this was something else entirely.

He paid one ample attention and then gave the other an equal amount. The longer he played the more you whined, begged for him to give you more while your fingers tugged at his ebony hair.

Eijiro's brought his knee up, pressing it against your core while you rocked against him. If he kept this up you were sure to come undone again before his cock was even inside of you.

"Pl-please, Eij!" Not even able to get out his full name.

He showed mercy after teasing both of them with a quick tug and then he was up and off of you completely, off the bed too. Your indignant whine had him turning and telling you to be patient, "I'm just grabbing a condom, baby, I'd like us to be safe about this."

Oh, protection. That was a smart idea. Having a child with a quirk right now was a terrifying thought. You couldn’t bring a child into the world and expect them to live in hiding their whole life.

Eijiro walked back to the bed, double-checking you didn't have a latex allergy, and when he knew you were all good to go. He maneuvered the comforter back and let his pants fall.

Even though your fingers had been wrapped around him, you were still surprised by the sheer size. There wasn't much time to appropriately admire him though, the chill in the room despite the fire had Eijiro joining you under the blankets in a hurry.

He'd positioned himself among the pillows propped up against the headboard. "On my lap like you've been, perfect," You had his shoulders in a vice and his hands were tight on your hips, "Go at your own pace, don't worry about me."

You nodded and lowered your hips just a fraction feeling his head against you. A breathy sigh escaped when you flicked your hips, pushing the head of his cock where you were most sensitive making him hiss as you kept gyrating.

The hands at your hips tightened and you could feel him moving you along until his head caught your entrance and you both stopped. "Deep breath." He told you, forehead pressed to yours and you sank, "Slowly, baby! Take your time."

It hurt. It felt like being ripped apart, nothing like his fingers had been. Tears pricked the edges of your eyes and Eijiro was quick to kiss them away while his thumb rediscovered your clit. The pain didn't last though, you could feel yourself start to relax, adjust to him enough that you dropped lower still.

"You're doing so good, baby." His thumb rubbed circles into your hip, praises pouring from his mouth while he allowed you all the time in the world until you were seated with Eijiro stuffed inside. He gave you time to catch your breath.

Your hands trailed over his broad chest and, through the expanse of dark hair, you noticed them. All the scars that littered his torso. The ones you saw regularly on his hands and forearms, they weren’t the only ones, not by a long shot. Eijiro's body was covered in them.

It seemed he noticed where your gaze had gone and where your mind had wandered so he took your face in his hands, bringing your eyes back to his. "Please don't ask."

"Okay, but, you'll tell me one day, won't you?"

"One day I'll tell you everything."

You felt everything he put into his next kiss. All the things he couldn't say when his teeth pulled at your lower lip, all the things he wanted to when he held you closer still. And when you drew your hips up, his head fell back with a shattered moan and you yanked him back for more, sinking down so he impaled you again.

Eijiro's hands explored every part of your body they could reach as if he was committing it to memory and you were busy doing the same. Each scar you traced, kissing the ones you could while your hips alternated between bouncing and grinding. Getting so lost in the new sensations that it became overwhelming.

Every inch of him could be felt inside you and it brought you right to the edge once again. But he hadn't had his release, Eijiro was still hanging on despite how he fisted your hair and the sheets below him and that was why you slowed your pace.

"Wha- why- why're you-"

"'M feeling close again and, and I need you to first."

Like lightning, his hands were back on your waist with a bruising grip. "’Said don't worry about me, 'member?" And then he started moving you, grinding you down against him while you sputtered about how you wanted to make him feel good too. "Babydoll," He dragged you nice and slow, "Can't you tell how good you're makin' me feel?" And sped right back up again.

"Squeezing me like that, fuck, you feel so damn good. You can let go again, baby, c'mon, do it for me." Your head fell to the pillow beside him, giving him complete control over your movements. His mouth was on your neck, leaving kisses and bruises alike until he made it to your shoulder and you felt his teeth.

Those sharp teeth and fevered curiosity took over. "Bite. Go ahead. Please." And he did.

It felt better than you ever could have imagined. You clenched around him rapidly, arms clinging to him for dear life as you toppled over the edge. This time there was no period of rest, now Eijiro flipped you onto your back as easily as he flipped a bottle of whiskey when he was trying to be fancy behind the bar.

Spread wide, he fucked himself into you so easily now, his large hands pressing your thighs down into the mattress. He was muttering something you wished you could hear but the blood was pounding in your ears, still dizzy from your orgasm that he was dragging out.

He had no rhythm to his pace just frantic movements and you noticed the skin of his neck crack and spider outward, down past his collarbones and up over his jaw. He let your legs go just in time so you didn't have to use your quirk. Hardened hands slamming down next to your head. His head hung just over yours, hair falling around you, and he came with your name on his tongue like a damn prayer.

His chest was still heaving but his eyes looked terrified. "You didn't hurt me, 'm fine, Eijiro. Promise."

"But, but I lost control. Haven't done that before. Not like this."

You lightly nudged his chest and he backed off. "Eijiro, look. I'm alright. And you shouldn't worry so much, it'd be hard to hurt me with a quirk like yours."

His tired brow furrowed. "I just realized, I never asked about yours. Can I know what it is?"

"I call it specter." You explained with a groan when he pulled out at your request and then you activated it.

"What the... Y/N, where'd you go!"

"Right here, silly." You leaned up and kissed him even though all he could feel was a chill, "I'm able to walk through objects at will too... or they can pass through me. Like your sharp skin."

You faded back into view while he sat stunned on his haunches, suddenly leaning forward and enveloping you in a tight hug.

Morning light had crept through his windows when he finally joined you back in bed. He added another log to the fire to keep the room warm while he ran around getting a warm towel to clean you up. Hovering as he went, making sure you were, in fact, as okay as you claimed to be.

He got himself into his shirt again, a fresh pair of pants too after wiping himself off and dismissing your many apologies sorry that you’d bled on him.

With the blankets covering you both, Eijiro tucked you against him, kissing your forehead, then your nose, and finally your lips.

Seven months flew by before you knew it. Spring had chased away the bitter cold of winter and now summer was soaking in. Days spent cuddled up in the sitting room of Eijiro's library were traded in for sipping cool drinks beside his pool.

You stayed at his home more often than your own, even when he accompanied Katsuki to get supplies for work. When he'd come back with a fresh cut or possibly something broken, it felt good to help care for him.

There was something you greatly enjoyed about bringing him lunch at the library, eating with him in his tiny office, and then letting him bury himself inside you for dessert.

All your coworkers had put two and two together quite quick, Mina being the first, noticing the very next day in fact. The woman pulled you aside and demanded to know what had changed. You showed her the mark his teeth had left and she screamed with delight. Katsuki learned in that same night, you overheard the blonde ask his best friend why he was grinning like some damn palooka and you gave Eijiro the okay to tell him.

Some of the regulars had picked up on it too. Taken to calling you Kirishima's Moll making the raven-haired man beam with pride.

Compared to where you started when you first walked through that crimson door just over a year ago, things now were better than you could have dreamed... until you were working a closing on a hot July night.

It was just you on the floor, Eijiro and Katsuki had gone into the office to discuss an upcoming run, Mina and Denki had already left for the night and only one table remained. The three guys were so piss drunk you thought Eijiro might have to help them out into a cab. They had a fourth but he'd stumbled off into the night already.

"Anything else I can get you? We're just about closed for the night." You told them with your usual smile.

The moment three pairs of eyes landed on you, your blood ran ice cold. They were too quick for men who'd been drinking as long as they were and one of them had you by the arm.

"Heard there’s a buncha Quirked workin' here." He sneered, breath absolutely revolting. "Shame you can't always tell one just by lookin'. You look too pretty to have one of those revolting things, doncha think, boys!" His party agreed.

"I don't, I don't have one. No one here does." You lied and clawed at the arm that held you but he just hissed and squeezed you tighter. "You heard wrong!"

You stomped down hard with your heel and he released you with a howl but another guy was quick to snatch you up. "If you do have one of those mutations, should be easy to overpower a normal human like me, even a pretty skirt like you could do it-"

You were tugged backward with the man who held you, now yelping in pain. "Get your fucking hands off my girl." Though you were deeply in love with the man, the venom in Eijiro's voice terrified you.

Looking back, Eijiro was leaning over the booth with his hand caught up in your captor's hair, his hardened hand. "Eiji... they're quirk hunters."

"And he's got one!"

Before you could blink two guns were drawn pointed directly at Eijiro and fired. Sardonic smiles faded fast when Eijiro only grunted, the quirk neutralizing bullets merely compressing against rock-like skin. "When are you punks gonna realize lead doesn't work on me!" He flicked the modified bullet back at one of them, “these things don’t stand a chance!”

The eyes one whose foot you assaulted slipped towards you, "Yeah? Might not work on you, bet it will on your little squeeze though."

Eijiro's hand tried to reach you but the gun had gone off before he could. You activated your quirk long enough for the bullet to pass through and imbed itself in the booth behind you.

"Looks like you missed."

"Naw, you both got'em!"

"Alright fuckers!" All heads turned to the bar. Katsuki's jacket sleeves were past his elbows, and a shotgun in his hand, apparently the professor didnt feel like revealing his own quirk. "Thought I'd even the field. Red, get her and breeze off. Take my car."

Eijiro slowly stepped out of the booth and stood in front of you with his hand outstretched even though the man who held you didnt relinquish you. "'S okay, doll. Use it."

The moment your hand touched his, you activated your quirk, making you and Eijiro both effectively disappear from sight. He pulled you close, a trick you learned recently: if you made another person incorporeal you could interact with them if you choose to.

"There was a fourth." You whispered to him before he led you around the bar.

"See you at my aunt's," Eijiro muttered the code to Katsuki.

"Right. Next Tuesday."

Eijiro hadn't spoken a word for three blocks but he finally sighed, "Looks like I finally gotta tell ya everything."

You listened to his story, every single word. How a wealthy politician once owned The Crimson Door, the speakeasy below Eijiro's work that he loved to frequent but after his shift at the library one night he'd found the man bleeding in the stairwell he had two kids with him, not even teens yet but they had quirks and were wanted.

"I didn't even think, I just asked him what I could do. He gave me instructions, a code word, and two addresses. He asked me to take the kids and protect them, and that's exactly what I did. I didn't know it at the time but I ended up getting them just over the border, safe, with new identities."

Something in his story sounded so familiar to you. You heard of a man smuggling people out of the country, thought about finding him yourself but there had been rumors he’d gotten out of the business.

"Are you talking about Crimson Renegade?"

He nodded slowly. "He tried everything he could within the law to help people because he secretly has a quirk too but the system failed. He was too well-known of a figure to keep up the work he started, he needed someone to pick up where he left off,"

"And you offered."

"Yeah."

"So, you're Crimson Renegade now?"

"Sort of, I go by Red Renegade, taking up the name of a person that great felt wrong to me. In case I couldn't live up to it, I wanted something different."

"Has he been in since I've worked at the Door?"

Eijiro turned onto his street. "No. When I took over he left, I don't know where he is now."

He was so good about answering every question you had with total transparency. "You said you inherited the house, from him?"

"Yes."

"And he gave Katsuki the Door?"

"No. He gave me that too. Technically I own it, Katsuki just runs it. He's less trusting than I am and I needed someone like that. He's the only other person who knows, by the way. If we ever were found out, I didn't wanna in danger other people, our friends,” He took up your hand, “The one I love. You understand, right?"

Your heart hurt but you did understand. All the pieces suddenly adding up, the scars, the 'supply trips', and closed-door meetings, it all made sense.

"What happens now?"

"Now, now we run."

Eijiro led you through his house with Wes at your heels, apparently, Wes and Crimson Renegade had been childhood friends, both born with quirks.

Wes's was the ability to morph himself into another person if he consumed a drop of their blood. Eijiro explained while he drew a thin line of blood from your pal, that if anyone came looking for you two, Wes would assume your identities.

He'd walked you to a part of the home you'd never been in before, that you never knew existed. Tucked away behind a bookshelf and three large doors, you stood hand in hand with Eijiro in front of a second Crimson door.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I know it was a long one! I just wanted to point out the song Reader and Kiri sang was Let The Rest Of The World Go By by: Elizabeth Spencer & Charles Hart.

[buddieboos]

I'm rewatching bones for the nostalgia but I'm also subscribed to the castle buddie au fic by @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (which, im so impressed with how you married the two stories while still making it its own thing) and im trying to figure out if a similar route would be possible so heres what I've got so far:

BONES / BUCK

older brother who vanished

Older sibling who they lost touch with at a young age but become close to once they return again later in life

neglected by parents

Visited lots of different places on a journey of self discovery

built a found family around themselves

extremely open about sexual history

Generally takes scenarios at face value

Knows a lot of cool facts and will share them at inopportune moments

afraid of being left behind

Cool nickname bc their given name is extremely boring

BOOTH / EDDIE

Catholic upbringing

Shares a son with a woman who separated from him

War vet

Unhealthy coping mechanism developed as response to war-related trauma (gambling / fight club)

Toxic masculinity upbringing (eddie has been way more successful at deconstructing this)

needs to take the first step in bringing romance into the relationship (this is a headcanon of mine to be fair)

Invoking the others given name in situations of high emotions

Knows how to read a room and will guide the other on when not to ramble or spout facts

OVERALL

They've got each others backs for real for real utter trust and connection

Including digging the other out of the ground like oh my god

Obvi Bobby is the director but WHAT IF athena is Camille and instead of being his replacement she becomes head of security

Hen as Angela who is most in tune with everyone's emotions. Dr by proxy through her wife the rocket scientist. Comedy potential if Karen is the person she married in a wack semi legal ceremony while drunk on her holidays. This could make for a v cool subplot where they need to divorce for whatever reason but that means she needs to find Karen first and then maybe the judge pulls a what happens in Vegas move (took me a while to realise i watched that film more for cameron diaz than ashton kutcher oh well) to force them to work it out and stay married. THINKING THOUGHTS

Chimney as Hodgins for the comedic relief and absolute conspiracy nut

Maddie as Russell I guess???? We'll need to take some license, she can just be maddie tbh

Ravi, Lucy, and jonah as the rotating interns

PS @clusterbuck thought this might be of interest to you as well

[johnsamericano]

𝓓𝓪𝔂 8:

‎נυиg נαєнуυи

23 days of NCT masterlist.

taglist: @whathamelon @unknown5tar @curieouscapt @notbeforelong @silent-potato @ajhdr @mrcarbonatedmilk

warnings: sugar daddy!au, age gap.

“Hi, can I call you back later? I’m at the bus.” You answered the phone, hand beside your mouth to avoid making to much noise. After all, most of the passengers were sleeping.

“As I suspected, you’re still working at that convenience store, aren’t you?” He sighed, you could almost see him rubbing his hands over his face, a thing he usually did when stressed. “It’s not safe to be working at this time of the night, y/n.”

“And yet, I bet you’re still at your office, aren’t you?” The other side of the line grew silent.

“That’s different and you know it.” You had to suppress the growl bubbling at the back of your throat. “There’s a reason why you have a weekly allowance.”

“Yes, but I don’t like the idea of depending on you.” It wasn’t unusual for you to fight over this sort of stuff, but Jaehyun seemed extremely pushy today.

“There’s nothing wrong about that. After all, that’s why we’re together.” Oh no. “T-that sounded bad, I-”

“I need to go, good night Yoonoh.”

The fact that you didn’t call him ‘bubba’, ‘Jae’ or ‘Jeffrey’ like you usually did, was more than enough to let him know you were mad. And he didn’t blame you, to be honest. He knew your relationship went deeper than the economic support he provided you with.

He tried calling you again, but your phone was off, probably to avoid him for the rest of the night at least. With your one year anniversary nearing, he couldn’t have you mad at him, not when he was planning to give you the most special night.

The next day, he sent a box of chocolates to your apartment. It had a yellow, sticky note on top.

‘I’ll come by later, please forgive me for yesterday.’- Jae.

His plan backfired, the short note only serving to piss you off even more. Briefly after receiving his lame chocolates, you called the number of his office, knowing it was more likely he’d answer there.

“Hello?”

“I’ll have to cancel our dinner tomorrow, something came up.” You lied, not even trying to sound convincing.

“But darling, it’s our anniversary.” He was already swinging the grey blazer over his broad shoulders, getting ready to go out.

“Why would we celebrate when we’re not even dating?” He swallowed the lump in his throat, mouth feeling dry.

“You know I didn’t mean that yesterday, y/n.”

“I truly don’t, Jaehyun. I’ll hang up, I need to get to class.” Well, he was fucked.

Communication was often a problem between the two of you, after all, your age gap wasn’t precisely short. But he never blamed it on you, not even when you were the one at fault. This time, however, he had to admit, there was no one else to blame but him. He cancelled all of his meetings for the day, driving at full speed to the supermarket and then your apartment complex, easily entering your home with the code you’d given him months prior. He was relieved to see you weren’t there, but the clock was ticking and there were so many things he needed to prepare. Jaehyun quickly chopped the veggies and meat, pouring it all in a big pot to make your favorite meal. While the stew started boiling, he started hanging the decorations he’d bought days ago and he’d luckily forgotten inside his car.

By the time he was done with the preparations, you were probably already on your way home. He was fixing his messy clothes when the sound of the door opening interrupted him.

“Fuck, you scared me!” You almost fell on your ass as you saw his tall figure standing in front of you. He quickly reached out for the controller of your old stereo, accidentally dropping it before a calm melody started coming out of it.

“Surprise?” His shirt was stained with all kinds of foods and your kitchen was a mess, not to mention the decorations on your ceiling that were about to fall due to the lack of tape used. “I panicked cause you cancelled our date tomorrow, so I figured out I could move our date one day...” he started rambling, your eyes too busy scanning his cute attempt to surprise you. “I know it looks bad, but I made your favorite stew! I tried it and it tastes nice.”

He walked closer to you, who hadn’t moved from the same spot ever since you walked in, and took your hands into his own shaky ones, kissing your knuckles ever so sweetly.

“I am so sorry about what I said yesterday.” Surprisingly, you pulled him into a hug, burying your face in his chest, which smelled like homemade food. “What’s all this?”

“You’re always so understanding with me. After calling you, I realized I was being immature. I was gonna call you when you almost scared the shit out of me.” You could feel his chest vibrate with laughter. “I’m sorry, bubba.”

“Don’t be, darling, I’m the one at fault here.” He kissed the top of your head, taking the chance to smell your hair, a peachy scent coming out from it. “Let’s eat before the stew gets cold.”

You set the table while he served two plates with food. Everything was absolutely delicious and Jaehyun was more than pleased with your reactions.

“I was supposed to bake a cake as well, but I didn’t really have much time to do so.”

“I still have those chocolates you sent me.” You ate while sitting on the white rug under your coffee table, laughing at Jaehyun’s old college stories. Your eyes were fixated on his dimples, amazed by the way the skin would sink every time he laughed.

“I have something to tell you.” He extended his hand, squeezing your own while scooting closer. “If you don’t feel the same way about me, I would totally get it, after all, who would want to date an old man like me?” He laughed it off.

“The hell are you talking about? You’re not even 40.”

“Y/n, I want us to be exclusive.” Your heart drummed against your chest, heat rising to your cheeks. “Everyday, I wake up with fear that you might’ve found someone else, someone who can understand you better that I do. And I can’t do anything about it as long as our initial arrangement doesn’t change.”

“Took you long enough.” You sniffed, crying with a big smile on your face as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “I don’t want to be with anyone but you, Jae.” You climbed onto his lap, hugging his waist with your legs as your cheek rested on his shoulder.

“Even if I’m out of fashion?” He hoped you wouldn’t be able to see his burning ears in this position.

“I think that’s adorable.” You lifted your head to pinch his soft cheeks, pecking the reddening areas tenderly. They felt so nice under your lips.

“I’ll still give you your allowance, though. I can’t have you working on that god awful convenience store.”

“You’re really stubborn, aren’t you?”

“I only want what’s best for my princess.” His hands rubbed the small of your back.

You gagged.

“Don’t make me regret this, Jung.”

[worminstuff]

The Balcony of the Treehouse pt.3

sleepy bois x reader au

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“I want to preface this, I do love you all so much, but I'm incredibly disappointed.” Phil stared at the 4 kids in front of him. He knew his words struck as deep as they would to any kid hearing that from an adult important to them. Especially Techno, he strived to make Phil proud even more than Will. Y/n on the other hand, he wasn't sure of. She often was a chaotic wild card, and she didn't get much parenting from anyone other than him from what he's seen over the many years. Phil believes he's disciplined her more than her own guardians, and she listens to him. But she's also gotten herself in many tough situations all the same.

She's not necessarily his own, but he treats her as if she were.

Out of Techno and Y/n she was definitely not the mediator. The only time he's seen her relatively responsible, is when it comes to being home alone, and interacting with Tommy. Which both impressed him greatly, but not enough per say.

“I know all of you are stubborn, some more than others,” he directed his gaze to Techno, whos eyes seemed to hold more self loath than before, “but unless you all talk even a bit, it's only going to get worse.” he turned to Y/n and placed a hand to her shoulder, “i want you around. I know you don't tell me everything I should know, especially about home, but I know enough and I see enough. I want you here with us when you need us. And we need you too.” he watched as her eyes welled up with tears.

Y/n turned her head slightly to glance at Techno, who was finally looking at her for the first time since the night prior.

She watched his lip give a small wobble as his eyes seemed to fight back a bit of tears.

“He's not wrong.” Techno mumbled out.

Y/ns brows furrowed, “why would you need me?”

Techno looked at Tommy in Y/ns lap not wanting to look at her. Tommy realized he was looking at him, and upon seeing Technos teary eyes Tommys started to get a bit watery even.

“You're my only friend.. Who's gonna sit with me in the treehouse? Who's gonna listen to me ramble? I wouldn't get good morning hugs..i wouldn't get anything you do for me on a daily basis and i don't wanna think of that.” his voice was barely audible but Y/n could hear him. She felt a tear run down her cheek. Tommy looked up at her too, now wondering why everyone was crying. His face started to contort in baby-like sadness, smacking a hand on her leg, but not harsly. He was reaching up at her face. Y/n looked down at Tommy and her heart melted, she leaned down slightly and he set a small hand on her face.

“No more crying!” Tommy didnt often speak, he very much could, pretty well sometimes, he was just more physical usually when conveying his thoughts. Which made this situation all the more meaningful.

Phil was the only one who had looked at Wilbur yet, who was sitting silently watching Y/n and his little brothers, Wilbur had more tears on his cheeks than all of them. Well maybe not Tommy, but he was rivaling him.

Wilbur was realizing how Y/n really meant to Techno. But all the same, he was realizing how much she meant to him too. She was everything to him since he was 12 and realized he liked her. Since he was 15 and realized he loved her.

“Even Tommy needs you. Trust me, we all do.” wilbur said softly. Y/n looked over to him, her eyes softening, her heart hurt for him. Wilbur was really getting the worst of this situation.

Before she could say anything, he spoke again, “Techno i know you don't like how i feel but we're both being selfish. It very much isn't our decision to make for her.” he said to Techno but quickly looked back to her, after wiping away a tear, “not that i want to force a decision on you any time soon,” she nodded as she rubbed tommys back to calm him a bit.

“I just..it's..she's my Y/n” Techno looked at Wilbur, it was the first thing he'd said to him through all of this, and everyone was a bit taken aback.

“Your?” Y/n said, the most taken aback.

“I know that sounds bad but, but it's been us since..since forever!” his voice cracked slightly, he looked at her, “were us! Y/n and Techno! You're my person!” he was getting angry, “and you!” he looked to wilbur, “and you're my brother! You shouldn't get to try to take that away!” his face was growing red.

“That's not what i want! I don't want to steal her, she decides how she spends her time not me! If she wants to spend time with me shouldn't she be allowed to?” wilbur scowelled.

“I don't like this at all'' Y/n mumbled towards phil. “This is like some stupid cheesy movie with two brothers fighting over a girl. Its stupid to be frank. I think we should just..we should just get over ourselves yeah? Wilbur i..im not commenting on either of our feelings cause i don't want to. And Techno, I get that we are us and all, but I'm still my own person. I love you, and you're my person too, which is why you need to talk to me.” she wiped away all the tiers from before, as did Techno, and he nodded at her.

Wilbur was solem, he figured he was setting aside their problem as to not talk about it infront of Techno. At least he hoped that much.

“You're right, i'm sorry I was mad Y/n.” he felt entirely better.

“It's okay, no biggie.” She offered him a smile which he returned. “Treehouse?”

Techno nodded excitedly.

Y/n looked at tommy in his lap, he seemed less upset now, “see Tommy, not more tears,yeah?”

Tommy seemed to lighten up at that, so she looked to Phil who gave a silent nod and picked Tommy up from her legs.

Techno stood, looking at her to follow,

“I'll be a be up in a bit, go ahead.” she smiled and nodded towards the backyard. He nodded back and turned to go.

Phil left the dining room, leaving Wilbur and Y/n alone.

He looked at her with a small smirk, “do you still have my sweatshirt?”

Y/n's face reddened slightly, she pouted. “I wanted to apologize, you know.”

“You don't have to, Y/n” he chuckled.

“I slept in it actually.” Y/n mumbled, not looking into his eyes.

“In what?”

“Your sweater.”

His stomach felt queasy.

“Y-you did?”

“Erm..yeah. It was comfy. And i felt close to you..” she looked up at him, only to see the widest grin shed saw on him in a while.

“Well, i have a lot of them.” he leaned back in his chair, gaining a bit of confidence.

Y/n smiled shyly and stood up, “yeah because you're obsessed with spending money.”

“I'm so not!” he laughed slightly.

Y/n gave him a small giggle, “i'll see you later wilby.” her voice was soft and smooth, she leaned over the table and placed a small kiss to his cheek. Leaning back she watched as his eyes grew wide and his cheeks burned a faint pink before she turned to make her way to the treehouse.

Before he could get another word out, she was already outside.

Phil poked his head into the room, letting out an airy laugh.

“Yeah?” he said to wilbur, laughing at how shocked he still seemed.

Wilbur looked up at phil, “Dad?”

Phil nodded, “mhm?”

“I love her.” he had a starry look in his eyes. “Shes-she's-..” he was trying to think of a word when suddenly Tommy spoke up from phils arms again for the second time that evening.

“Pwetty!” he grinned and looked up at phil.

Wilbur and Phil both laughed softly.

“That's for damn sure..” wilbur smiled to himself and shook his head slightly.

Once Y/n had made it into the treehouse, Techno immediately pulled her into his arms. Y/n quickly hugged him around his shoulders.

Techno was tall, not as tall as Wilbur, but definitely taller than Y/n and tall for his age. He leaned down to rest his head on her shoulder as he hugged her.

Looking over his shoulder she noticed the contents of her bag on the floor, “so you found the book?”

Techno nodded into her shoulder, “can we sit?”

She nodded and slowly pulled away looking up at him, moving to the rug.

He sat in front of her, but reached his arms out. She smiled and moved to be in front of him, leaning back against him. They usually sat this way when he was reading, so he could either read to her or she could just sit close to him while he read.

Techno leaned his head on top of hers, and slid his arms around her waist pulling her close.

“Thank you for the book by the way.” he mumbled.

“Did you cry?” she smirked.

“I did cry. But not because of the book specifically.” he said.

“Oh.” her smirk fell. She put one of her hands on top of him, pulling it from her waist to hold on to his fingers. “Did you..sleep here?” she saw the way the blanket was on the rug and the book around it.

“Uh..yeah. I did.” he picked his head up to look at their hands. He flipped his hand so it was facing up, Y/n traced small patterns into his palm.

“I almost came up here..” she turned to look up at him.

Techno stared down at her, his eyes tracing each feature on her face. His free hand came off of her waist to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, “I wish you had..”

Both of their eyes were lazy. “Will you tonight?” Technos eyes weren't on hers, they were watching her lips, and his hand was resting at the base of her neck, he could feel her pulse quickening.

“Yeah..of course.” she tried to contain her nerves at the way he was staring at her.

He stared at her a little longer before she moved his hand from her neck up to her cheek.

“You signed that letter “your Y/n”..” he mumbled, looking at her eyes for a split second.

“I did, yeah.” her eyes almost seemed glazed over.

“You're mine?” his eyes were wild, unlike hers. Her head lulled more to the side, into his hands at his words.

“Say it..i need to hear it please..” his words were so soft, but they felt like he'd just knocked the wind out of her all the same.

“I'm yours.” she stared at him, as he seemed to tense at her words. His eyes drifted to her lips again as he slowly leaned down to her, his face less than inches from hers.

“God..” he mumbled as his lips clashed with hers. She reached up behind her to rest her own hand on his cheek, pulling him closer.

Y/n could barely think clear with the way his lips felt on hers, he was being so gentle.

Meanwhile Technos thoughts were running rampant. The way her small hand felt on his jaw, the way her pulse was going so quick, the way her face felt so warm, the way she was still holding onto his other hand grasping it so tightly. And it was all his doing.

He pulled away for a moment, needing to know how she was feeling and what she was thinking.

As he pulled away Y/n gave a small whine, unhappy with how he moved away from her. Her eyes were still closed even as her brows furrowed.

He smiled softly down at her, he couldn't believe he'd kissed her.

Her eyes opened for a moment, finding his loving gaze.

He was about to pull her face back to his when they both suddenly heard a knock to the doorway of the treehouse.

Wiilbur was standing on the balcony outside the doorway. His eyes seemed almost empty.

“Dinners em..dinners ready. Dad sent me up to get you two.” he turned quickly, getting away from what he'd seen as quickly as possible, before they could see any sort of tears that had formed in his eyes.

This time it was Techno that had messed up royally.

^^^

pt 4

[poprockpanda]

Tubbo and Techno for the Out of the Fire and Into My Hands au.

Ramble about them.

God damn it @bigshota. The two people who I don't really know what to do with. How could you do this to me?/s And my computer just had to turn off and delete the original version of this so that's fucking fun.

Let's get into this bullshit.

Tubbo was a junior mechanic on a small cargo ship before he was captured. When he escaped he snuck aboard a government ship for a much larger species. He set himself up in a nice and cozy area deep within the ship, taking supplies to survive and making repairs to the ship as payment. The ship lands at a trading post to refuel and Tubbo decides to gather some supplies while they are landed. As he tries to sneak back onto the ship one of the crew notices him and throws him off the ship.

So Tubbo, stuck in an unfamiliar place with only a few cans of food and the stuff in his backpack, is stressed the fuck out. He starts looking around the trading post for a place to stay before someone decides to take advantage of a lost child. He eventually comes across a shipyard and decides to approach some of the owners, hoping to get some cash from repairs. He gets a good bit of money, and most people taking pity on him and tipping more than he would usually get, one couple not paying at all.

He starts wandering again, one of the ship owners told him directions to a small inn. On his way there he stumbles across an injured Ranboo slumped over in an alleyway. Seeing someone with a massive cut across their face is very distressing and he rushes over to Ranboo. He makes sure that Ranboo is still alive, very glad he didn't just find a dead body of what appears to be a kid around Tubbo's age.

Tubbo is looking Ranboo over when he wakes up. Barley coherent Ranboo begs Tubbo to not take what little he has. Tubbo promises to not take anything and he tries to get Ranboo to stand up so he can get him to help. Try as he might Ranboo can't seem to stay standing and Tubbo has to carry him wedding style (his species is very strong).

He runs into the nearest clinic. Ranboo gets stitches but his eye is too far gone for him to ever be able to see out of it again. When the time for payment comes, Ranboo nervously tells Tubbo that he doesn't have any money. Tubbo forks over the rest of the cash he has, telling himself that he can make it back there will always be ships in need of repair. They stay there overnight while Ranboo is recovering.

In the morning Ranboo is good enough to walk and the owner is not very subtly signaling them to go. Ranboo tells Tubbo that he'll be fine and that he can just drop off wherever, but Tubbo isn't having it. He got attached and he isn't letting Ranboo off on his own. Ranboo takes Tubbo to his little hideout where he has been staying for the last couple of days.

They stay there, bonding happens, and now their friends! One night as they are stealing some food a large piglin, avian, and snake hybrid come barreling past. they look back the way they came from and see the police chasing them. Ranboo and Tubbo start booking it too, catching up with the group. As they are all running Tubbo tells them that they are running from the police too and that they have a place to hide out.

They reluctantly agree and make sure to lose their tail before Tubbo shows them to the hideout. Phil thanks them for their kindness and introduces everyone. He explains that they really need to get off of here quick. Tubbo tells them that he has an idea and to wait there for a minute. He rushes back to the shipyard to make sure. The asshole's ship is still there! He makes sure that the owners aren't there. He goes back to the hideout and tells them that he has the perfect out of here.

They all go to the shipyard and get aboard the ship. Tubbo hotwires it and they take off. They set a course for a route jungle planet.

Found family bullshit ensues.

I'll ramble about Techno when I figure out what I want to do with him a bit more, might make him a fugitive.

Thanks for the ask. Hope you have a good day/night!

(This was really fun. GIVE ME MORE./nf also if you want to send in any specific questions about anyone I would love that!)

[hongism]

the little things - j.yunho

↣ pairing: yunho x reader; mentioned poly ot8 x reader ↣ genre: sfw, fluff, hurt/comfort, angst, fantasy au, witch ateez au ↣ wc: 3.3k ↣ summary: it’s been quite some time since these intrusive thoughts came around, but whenever they do, there’s always one person in particular who comes to brush them away. ↣ warnings: mentions of intrusive thoughts, seasonal depression, and general Sad Feelings

The soft pitter-patter of raindrops drums against the window, filling it with strewn and random patterns of the water that falls from the sky, and you watch the movements with a blank mind. It’s a cold and resigned feeling that blossoms in your gut as you sit by the windowsill, elbow propped up on the wood and chin resting atop your clenched fist. You could sit here for hours just examining each little dragging drop on the glass, maybe even seeing which drop can reach the bottom of the window fastest, but instead, you pull back with a quiet sigh falling from your lips.

Winter.

You aren’t sure how to explain it but the season is simultaneously your favorite and least favorite wrapped into one lovely little bundle. The air outside isn’t quite cold enough to let snow fall and stick to the ground quite yet — hence the rain — but the season brings you as much joy as it does pain and emptiness. You enjoy the snow and seeing what kinds of animals hustle and bustle in their winter coats outside your cottage, and you love seeing the way the sun bounces off the icy lakes and rivers nearby or how the evergreen trees catch hold of little snowflakes. But those are just temporary things that don’t last in the long run because you cannot shake the dismal feeling that begins to enter your gut around autumn.

Living alone in your little cottage has its perks, of course, although they always seem few and far between when it comes time for this seasonal plague to grip your mind. Work is always most busy in the winter as well, which only adds to your despondent mood when you cannot spend more than an hour in the presence of your lovers. So really, it’s one bad thing after another, a myriad of bad to worse that leaves you in tears at the end of the day more often than not.

You should probably be working now, at least filling next week’s orders or double-checking the ones you finished bottling earlier today. There is hardly any energy in you right now though, so the best you can do is blink a few times and stare out the window again.

It’s in times like these when you truly consider Seonghwa’s never-ending offer. The season wouldn’t be nearly so difficult if you lived with the rest of them in the coven’s home. Yet it is near impossible for you to entertain the thought while in this state. Your mind prefers to be less than kind and give you endless scenarios that have you biting back tears and crying yourself to sleep.

Maybe they don’t really want you. They have each other. Why would they need you on top of that? Seonghwa just pities you because you act so pathetic. You would just be a burden if you lived with them. You aren’t a witch like they are, you don’t have any magical abilities in you, what could you provide? They can do all the things you do in half the time surely. You are, quite literally, useless in their eyes.

Sometimes the thoughts become more cruel and harsh than that, all following the same theme of not being needed or wanted. And as much as you want to rely on them for comfort and support, you lose the internal battles more often so you resign yourself to sitting in a bed of your own tears and heartbreak. Fall asleep eventually, wake up, work until you cannot stand anymore, then repeat the process.

This week alone has seemed to pack more of a punch than any of the previous years of this seasonal plague, but that could be because you haven’t been through a winter alone like this since before your relationship with the coven started. Last year, Wooyoung and Jongho took to living in your cottage throughout the whole season just to keep you company. Perhaps the reason they are not here this year is because you’ve become too much, too burdensome, too emotionally draining to be around. Logic tells you that is not the case. That melancholy black dog residing in your mind does not.

Someone will surely be by to visit soon given how quiet you’ve been these last few days. You’re shocked that no one has come by sooner, but the second you begin to think about it, the black dog returns to barking loudly where he sits in your thoughts. The noise in your head is so loud and overwhelming that you actually have to push away from the window, shaking your head fervently and jerking out of your chair in a desperate attempt to make it stop.

“Y/n?”

The voice intrudes on your ugly thoughts, and it fills you with panic before anything else. You whip around in your little window seat, eyes immediately looking towards the door to your bedroom which is now cracked open. You can’t see anyone behind the door or in the room, and merely hearing your name did not give you enough clues as to who could possibly be in your home at this time.

“Baby, are you in here?” The noise resounds again, and this time you recognize it better.

Yunho. Why is Yunho here? A shadowy figure pushes past the doorframe, and your lover slips through the opening with his shoulder. You try to hide your signs of panic, furiously blinking away the tears that begin to spring to your eyes. Why is he here? Did someone send him? Maybe they sent him to tell you that the relationship is over. He is best at handling emotionally charged conversations since he’s a fae and can influence thoughts and emotions. Maybe Hongjoong and Seonghwa decided that he would be best for delivering the news or—

“Hi, love, I didn’t know if you were home because you didn’t answer the door.” Yunho pushes a soft smile onto his lips, and as he fully steps into view, you catch sight of the two mugs in his hands. You can’t see the contents in them, but there are small wisps of steam curling up from both as Yunho comes closer to where you’re sitting. “I saw the kettle boiling away though so I figured you wouldn’t up and leave with it still running.”

Yunho doesn’t stop moving until he reaches the window seat, and he extends one of the mugs towards you. The inside of a mix of green of brown, no doubt some type of tea that he’s brewed for you. You take it with a slight nod and restrained smile.

“I know Hongjoong said you didn’t want to be bothered without notice but…” Yunho trails off, cheeks glowing a bit red. “I was worried about you since this time of year is always hard for you.”

“I’m fine,” you insist, but your tone is too clipped and noncommittal to be normal. Yunho surely knows that it is more than a simple white lie. “Did one of them send you?” He most likely knows who you’re talking about, but he shows more confusion than anything else.

“Why would one of them send me?” He asks as he eases down in front of you on the window seat. You blink back with a bit of dazed wonder to your stare, half-expecting Yunho to explain further, but he just sits and waits patiently for you to speak again.

“To – to make the conversation easier?” 

“What conversation?” Yunho leans across the space between your bodies, and his free hand spreads forward to tangle with yours. You let him interlock your fingers. It’s a small comfort that sends shockwaves through your body. It hasn’t even been that long since you last saw one of the witches, but you’re still somehow so desperately touch-starved that just the slight touch has tears springing to your eyes. “Oh, my baby, sweet angel, what’s wrong?”

Yunho pushes forward until he’s all but in your lap at this point, hand tugging the mug free from your hands, and he sets it down beside his own on the windowsill before returning his full attention to you. He tugs you into his embrace, arms folding around your body until he can loop his hands about your waist. 

“Why did you think I came, baby?” He asks once you’re fully secured in his lap. 

“I just — when I saw you — I-I don’t know. M-My mind said that it had to be – that you were here to end things or something. I don’t know, I’m just rambling, I don’t know what I’m saying or what I was thinking. I’m s-sorry, I—”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, Y/n,” Yunho interjects, drawing a hand up from your waist to brush over your scalp. “Don’t ever apologize for something you can’t control. Those thoughts are not your fault. Did you want to have them?”

“N-No, of course not, why would I ever want that?” You mumble against Yunho’s shoulder. He hums into your hair, lips pressing a soft kiss to the same spot, then he lifts his chin a bit to rest it atop your head. 

“Then it isn’t something you need to apologize for, baby. Not now, not ever.” You cling tighter to Yunho’s body out of sheer instinct, and he picks up on your grip in less than a second. “Our minds… regardless of how strong and resilient we are, they can be cruel. They can lie to us, tell us awful and heartbreaking things, lead us to believe the impossible with ease. Sometimes it is easier to cave in and listen to those demons rather than reason, but that doesn’t mean you are weak. The strongest person in the universe can be broken by his own mind because that is all part of human nature.”

“Easy for you to say,” you huff out as a few tears begin to soak through Yunho’s tunic. “You aren’t human.” Yunho laughs a bit at your quip, not at all offended by it. Perhaps it’s a bit childish for you to pull that card, but Wooyoung pulls it out every time the pair have a disagreement without fail, so what’s the harm in you using it just this once? 

“Perhaps not, but I still understand emotions and thoughts better than any human could. And having lived for so long, I think—”

“You don’t need to pull the age card,” you whine.

“If you’re going to act like Wooyoung, then I’ll treat you just like him too.”

Admittedly, your mind is still elsewhere and you aren’t fully engaged in the conversation now, head propped on Yunho’s shoulder in such a way so that you can stare out the window and watch the rainfall again. He doesn’t comment on your silence and merely eases the both of you back until he’s leaning against the wall with you neatly draped over his larger form.

“Do you love me?” You ask after some time passes. It catches Yunho a bit off-guard, and his breath hitches sharply, hand pausing in its rhythmic drags over the small of your back.

“Always and forever, baby,” he says once he recovers a bit. He pauses, and you can almost hear the gears turning in his head as he figures out what to say next. “We all love you. We would never lead you on or toy with your feelings. You are more than enough, but never too much. While it’s easy to lose yourself in these feelings of loneliness, we would never blame you for feeling them.”

“Isn’t it hard on you too though?” You ask, balling your fist around the material of his shirt. 

“It’s hard for all of us, darling. Seeing you in pain and hurting is never easy. There are some things we cannot fix though. We can ease the pain for a time, but certain things never go away. Sure, we can make them easier to manage and handle, we can provide methods that will help support you and help you not feel so alone, we can do everything in our power to help you. We cannot pretend to be able to fix you. You have the strength to overcome it; we support you when times are tough and help you up when you fall. Because we love you, care about you, cherish you, and want the best for you. That… that doesn’t make it easy, but it is never easy to work through these sorts of things.”

“How can you be so patient with me?”

“Why would I ever want to rush something that takes time? I don’t need to put a time limit on you, and we certainly don’t have a time limit on our relationship. Thus we are willing to wait as long as it takes even if it just means making winters easier to handle and manage.” Yunho’s hands trace patterns over your skin, slipping under the hem of your shirt to have more contact with you. The sudden chill of his fingers sends goosebumps over you. He cracks a small smile as you shiver in his grasp and tucks you closer to his body without saying anything for several minutes. 

It’s comfortable and needed right now, easing the dull and aching pain in your chest, but as Yunho said, it doesn’t completely take it away. Makes it manageable and easier to breathe. It’s enough, more than you could have asked for, and what you were wanting so desperately. It was just too hard to admit it and voice it to them.

“I did talk with Hongjoong before coming,” Yunho says after letting the silence drag into something warm and comfortable. You hum in acknowledgment, too content in his arms to move in the slightest. “Asked him if we could prepare the guest room.”

“Is someone coming into town?” You mumble through the sudden wave of drowsiness washing over your bones.

“No, I — we... we were hoping that you could come live with us, at least through the end of winter.”

That causes you to perk up, and you sit up, hands firmly planted on Yunho’s chest so you can better look him in the eye.

“What?”

“I know last year Wooyoung and Jongho came to live in with you, but we were thinking that perhaps it would be easier on you if you just came to live with us. It doesn’t have to be permanent if you don’t want it to be. Don’t – it isn’t meant to pressure you or anything like that. Merely an offer. Something we can do to help you. I figured having a room to yourself would give you an opportunity to have a space on your own for when you need it. The goal isn’t to eliminate all your alone time, as that is just as important as spending time with others, but a fresher perspective might help. Or even just having the option to sleep beside someone every night could help with the loneliness.”

Your heart swells with emotion, and the gentle smile pulling at Yunho’s lips only makes you want to sob from how touched you are. Yunho sees the sudden twist in your expression. His hands dart up to cradle your face, eyes falling into soft crescents as a more bashful smile overtakes his features.

“Are those happy tears or sad ones?”

“I d-don’t know how to respond,” you whisper through a small sob, and Yunho tugs you down to his chest again. He rocks your form back and forth as best he can with the awkward angle, but it provides the right amount of comfort for you to settle against him once more.

“Think about you, baby. You don’t need to answer right away. Seonghwa won’t mind extra time to clean, of course.”

“Or I could just sleep with you until it’s cleaned to his liking.” You smother the words in his clothes to keep him from hearing them, but that is to no avail because he huffs out a loud laugh at your comment nonetheless.

“Or I could stay with you here until you’re ready to make a decision.”

You twist in his grasp to look him in the eye again, searching his dark gaze for… something you aren’t wholly aware of. The light from outside — a dull and grey-toned white light — reflects off his eyes and shows off those pretty purple flecks in them. The allure of his features hits in that moment, the dastardly effect of staring too long at a fae, but Yunho blinks his eyes shut before you fall into a daze.

“Don’t let me influence your decision. It’s up to you as always. I am content to do whatever is more comfortable to you, so you—”

You cut him short with a swift peck pressed to the tip of his nose, and Yunho scrunches up his face at the suddenness of the action. His eyes flutter open once more but this time you don’t stare directly into them.

“You’re the devil,” he grumbles, but the smile on his lips betrays how flustered he really is.

“Don’t laugh too hard, I’m comfortable here.”

“Is that a smile I see?”

“I love you,” you murmur, ignoring the question for the time being. Yunho doesn’t seem to mind all too much. “Thank you. Both for being here and for helping me think clearer.”

“Always, darling. I may not be human like you, but I do love you and want the best for you. And I know the other would do the same whenever you need it.” You respond with another quick kiss to the tip of his nose, but this time Yunho catches you when you pull back and he plants a kiss on your lips before you can duck completely away. “As comfortable as this is, I am quickly losing feeling in my ass, so maybe we could resituate or go to the bed?”

“I don’t know, you make for a rather nice cushion.”

“I wonder if this is how Yeosang felt when I accidentally sat on him,” Yunho whines, slumping further back against the wall. You slap his chest with a bit of force as he complains.

“He was in his cat form and you put the full weight of your ass on him!‌ That’s completely different!”

“He survived, didn’t he?”

“Then you’ll survive having a numb ass for a little while.”

“I hate when you’re right. It’s too sexy and makes me think of inappropriate things.”

“So you’re still a man, after all, fae or not.” You land another quick jab to the side of Yunho’s head as he laughs. He doesn’t complain any longer though, even as you force him to lie completely flat on the window sill with your body still draped over his like a blanket.

“Wooyoung is downstairs, by the way.” Yunho distracts you from the sudden revelation by pressing a line of kisses down the side of your face.

“What?”

“He’s cooking dinner for us, I believe. And drawing a bath for you. We wanted to treat you.” He layers the words with more kisses, pausing over your lips to say one more thing. “Shit, wait, I think I was supposed to be in charge of the bath actually.”

“Yunho!”

“I’ll make Wooyoung do it after dinner so I can cuddle you some more.”

...

a/n: this one feels rather weak compared to the others but i was trying not to be too heavy handed with all the emotions and such in it so that’s why it might feel a little ~awkward~

[firelxdykatara]

You’re doing a LoK rewrite, correct? Would be really interested in hearing how you plan on fixing Suyin’s character and the Lin-Suyin conflict because……. oh boy. Man there’s a lot to unpack there. This is what happens when we don’t let Toph just raise her fucking kids for the sake of pushing a stupid as hell narrative about working women and single motherhood.

I am indeed!

In... you know, the way I'm doing most of my big potential projects, in that I have a folder with some documents that have plot notes and... some day I may actually get full, finished fics out of them (h2o AU is in there, as is my voltron!atla fusion AU, and uhhhh my book 3 atla rewrite, and a few other things), so... but I will say that the docs I have for my LoK rewrite so far amount to roughly 4.2k words of just Plot and Character Notes, which may some day turn into words of Story, hopefully.

ANYWAY, POINT IS: yes, this exists, and I have Many Many Thoughts.

Including how the Gaang kids would shake out! Cause I know I'm doing Zutara, and maybe Tokka???? Although I don't wanna just leave Suki out either... maybe a throuple??? Or Sukka having an amicable breakup before Sokka and Toph get together--maybe she already has Lin by then, and Sokka helps support her through the grief of losing Kanto???? Idk honestly, I haven't actually figured any of that out definitively yet except that Aang was perfectly happy to settle down with an Air Acolyte from one of the rebuilt temples because he grew up and out of his crush on Katara pretty easily once he hit puberty and matured a bit.

UHHH none of which is actually an answer to your question, because it's a valid one! Which is why I've been sitting on this a while (10 days I'm so sorry) bc I haven't made any solid decisions but I've been letting it percolate around my head a bit. And the more I think about it, the more I really like the Sukka -> Tokka idea (and I don't want to kill off Suki since the kids all deserve their awesome Kyoshi warrior auntie in their lives, and also I want a Sukka kid to be besties with Iara [zuko and katara's youngest] so maybe she gets with someone else after she and Sokka split? I could be talked into Ty Lee/Suki actually, the more I think about it....), but obviously having a stable father figure and a Toph who is... not what LoK made her out to be will dramatically change the Beifong family dynamic.

That said, I think I actually have a solution. (I'm so sorry for what I'm about to do.) Toph has Lin with Kanto--and he passes away when Lin is two or three, which is why she has very few memories of her father. (Although none of this 'she doesn't even know his name until she's 50+ cause Toph didn't tell her daughters about their fathers' bullshit.) Sokka is there for her through it all (all of the gaang is, of course, but you know that it sometimes just hits different when it's someone you're also starting to fall in love with, especially when there are older and much more deeply buried feelings there that are now resurfacing, because at least in my version Toph was deeply in love with Sokka when they were teenagers, but he was in love with Suki and she also loved Suki so she didn't want to mess up anything about their family or the group dynamics by making her feelings anyone else's problem), they fall in love, get married and have Suyin.

(Sokka may jokingly refer to it as a shotgun wedding, but the truth is he wanted to propose well before he found out she was pregnant, his attempts just kept getting messed up in increasingly comedic fashion.)

Throughout all of this, Republic City has been established, Sokka is Chancellor, Toph is something of a defacto police chief--mostly because, at the time, no one else was willing to volunteer, and she jokingly offered to whip the law enforcement, but unfortunately everyone else at the meeting took her seriously. However, she is also the founder of the probending league, and basically her feelings about law enforcement are complicated and she actively discouraged her kids from joining the force which is part of why Lin did. How else do you have a teen rebel phase with a parent like Toph? (Which, in this instance, means tough and firm but fair, with a 'you break it, it's up to you to fix it' attitude and very little desire to actually control her daughters and their behavior.)

Ah, but here's the rub.

Suyin is ten years old when Sokka dies, and Lin is sixteen. I'm not sure how he's killed--maybe by Yakone, to tie it into my plans for Amon and book 1. (Note that I'm not sure when the Yakone bloodbending trial happened in canon, but it doesn't matter. The timeline I'm gonna build will be completely different post-comet, and I'll eventually write it all down so that I can keep things straight.) Which would incidentally provide excellent means of having Katara have a very personal stake in the Amon conflict, and perhaps color the fight between him and Iara, but I'm getting off track. And I think Sokka being killed by Yakone, and Toph being unable to protect or save him, or deliver her own brand of justice to avenge him (because Aang is there to stop her and.... shit probably got ugly, I suspect she didn't talk to Aang for at least twenty years after Sokka's death--and this isn't to say I think Toph is particularly violent or murderous, but in that moment, she absolutely wanted to kill the man with her bare hands, and however much she may have regretted it afterwards, she took a very long time to forgive Aang for stopping her in the first place), is what results in Toph stepping down as police chief.

She didn't withdraw from her daughters or fuck off into the swamp or anything (words cannot express how much I hate that part of her canon history), but she did grieve for a very long time. Lin, meanwhile, felt like it was up to her to keep her family together, while also feeling a desperate need to... prove herself, I think. And because her mother was so adamant that she not join the police force, that's exactly what she does. I think Lin completely misread Toph's intentions, too, and believed that the discouragement was because her mother didn't think she had what it takes, when in reality I think Toph was scared of Lin losing herself in the job like she herself had begun to, and eventually coming up on something she couldn't change or fix and making the same mistakes she had.

(I think Toph and Lin have communication issues largely because they are both headstrong and willful, but where Toph thought she was giving her daughters the room they would need to make their own way, what Lin desperately craved was direction and she felt like that was something her mother simply couldn't understand.)

Suyin, on the other hand, fell in with a bad crowd like in canon. I think that what she desperately needed was attention, similar to Lin craving direction, and Toph was trying so hard not to be her own parents that she went a little too far in the other direction and Suyin began to feel like it didn't matter what she did, her mom wouldn't care, or get angry, or discipline her, or anything. Lin and Suyin butted heads a lot growing up, too, especially after Sokka's death, because Lin tried to rein in her sister's behavior and this was met with resistance and derision because Suyin felt like Lin was trying to be both mom and dad and she was neither but her big sister would never admit to being just as lost as she was and it made her furious.

So when Suyin is sixteen, and Lin is twenty-two and new to the force, The Big Rift happens. Lin catches Suyin and her gang, tries to apprehend her, gets a scar on her face in the ensuing conflict. But instead of abusing her power and sending her problem child off to her mother before fucking off to the swamp to avoid the consequences of her actions, Toph tries to actually fix things. Suyin cools her heels in prison for a while, because she was paralyzed by guilt at the time when she hurt her sister (a few inches lower and she could have slit her throat), and was still there when Lin's backup arrived.

Uhhhhhhhhhhh..... I'm so sorry I rambled for so long, BUT THE UPSHOT IS: I think Suyin learned a bit about culpability and taking responsibility for her own actions, Toph realized that her daughters had different needs than she did at their age (and I think a lot of the problem was that grief clouded her own ability to connect with her daughters, and in trying to not be her own parents she lost sight of how to be the parent her own daughters needed), and Lin, I think, had to realize that she had never fully processed the loss of not one but two fathers and had turned to her job in order to avoid actually confronting the grief that had overshadowed her childhood.

However, she did not forgive Suyin, at least not right away--and she wasn't forced or expected to. Suyin understood that she crossed a serious line, she took her lumps and did her time, and no one shamed Lin for her anger. I think, as a result, she had less reason to hold onto that bitterness, and perhaps by the time the story actually begins, she and Suyin are on much better terms, though I haven't worked it out exactly yet.

UHHH yeah I went on for days lmao. All of this is subject to change, too, depending on the needs of the story whenever I get around to actually writing it all down, BUT these are my initial thoughts, at least.

[shotorozu]

𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤

𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔬𝔲 𝔥𝔦𝔱𝔬𝔰𝔥𝔦 ᥊ 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔯

𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: you find yourself in a bar that you and your ex used to go to regularly. the local bartender calls your ex- shinsou hitoshi; thinking you guys are still together. 

𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝗴𝘀: angst to fluff (happy ending), sfw, pro hero au (aged up), drinking (alcohol mentions and intake) ex to lovers, minor todomomo (not the center of this fic) reader is in the top 5, some swearing. 

𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱: [Y/N = your name, L/N = last name, H/N = hero name, ] f! reader, quirk not mentioned. 

𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀: i also did this trope on ao3 with todomomo, so i better not see people think i plagiarized them because.. that’s literally me lol. also! i was very conflicted, bc i also wanted to do this with shouto but since I already have 2-3 fics in the making, i went with hitoshi (but let me know if you wanna see shouto’s version.) 

word count to be added when im not sleep deprived

　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　˚✧₊⁎⁎⁺˳✧༚

You swivel down another shot down your throat, not caring of the burn in your nose, nor do you care about the smell of the alcohol. 

You’re never like this, this is not the best representation of yourself, no. This is not who you are as a person, and the way your former classmates look at you with concern when you chug down another shot shows how unusual this is to them.

“Take it easy..” Momo pats your back, and you exhale heavily, putting down the glass. Everyone is certain that you’ll obtain some serious hangover, almost to the point that you’d have to take the morning off to treat your hangover. They’re aware that you’re not this careless, since you're in the top 5 after all. 

But they let you be momentarily, but why you may ask?

Because this is your way of coping a breakup with your boyfriend of 3 and a half years, Shinsou Hitoshi. They’re aware on how hurt you really are, and to be real- they were the ones that asked you to come out with them tonight to distract you. 

“They’ve been going at it for a while, it’s almost concerning.” Tsuyu comments, as she tends to a slightly tipsy Mina, holding her so she doesn’t fall face first into the floor. 

The least they could do is let you be, while you're not totally blacked out.

The local bartender- Maki, looks at you with concern when you order another shot, yet they still give it to you (with the slightest hesitation) since you’re such a good friend to her. (Your rank makes you very respectable, it’s almost intimidating! but your casual friend ship with the bar tender says other wise.) 

But on the contrary, you'd know when you’ve reached the limit, and you’d probably know when they’d start refusing your requests of another shot. 

One by one, their friends depart from the table, either they were too drunk to even handle it so they were brought home, or something came up- everyone could agree that they all had some sort of worry towards their dear friend’s very out of character coping mechanism. 

“I have to go soon,” Momo sighs, when she receives a text from Todoroki- though it’s very obvious that she’s still very concerned for you, considering that she’s the only friend left. “Please take care of Y/N, Maki-san.” 

Maki nods at your black haired friend, and the creation hero looks at you one last time before leaving the bar. 

Lifting your head, your words are slurred as you request for another shot, which seems like the umpteenth time that you requested for a shot. The concerned bartender still attends to your needs, yet- she’s contemplating of calling someone if you ask for another. 

Likewise, you finish that shot in a moment, and you slump down on the table. Eyelids fluttering slowly as your laughter is filled with intoxication, your cheeks are warm from being inebriated from the intake of alcohol. 

You don’t notice how your concerned bartender dials up a number, requesting for them to pick your drunken state. 

     »»————-　➴　————-««

“Did you know the word bed is shaped like one?” 

It’s now past midnight, and you’re mouthing off about something random, the train of thought is endless (but it’s more like a shower thought ramble.) Your fists are deep into your hair- holding your head up so it doesn't hit the table, meanwhile Maki paces back and forth- still tending to other requests from the very few customers left. 

“Now that you’ve mentioned it, yeah.” They answer absentmindedly, “Man, I haven't seen you in nearly 4 months! it’s been a while. You knows how to hold your alcohol so frankly, this is the first time I’ve seen this side of you!” 

“Oh really?” You slur, continuing on to spout out purposeless words.

The bartender’s response is a total blur, words turning into background noises, and a part of you is lucky to still be conscious and still functioning (yet it's barely) 

“..But you hold it well for--” 

You’re also very lucky that you’re a little too under the influence to even register the name.

You didn't know you’d take this breakup with him harshly. The most you were expecting was just.. crying while eating ice cream. 

But no, it was an utter shit hole. 

The door busts open, and the bartender’s expression seems to brighten up “Ah, there you are!” 

You grumble, the bar’s lights causing your eyes to sting- and your head hurts too. You might need some aspirin later.. you close your eyes shut. The bartender is chatting with the unknown person, and frankly- you just wished you didn’t intoxicate yourself this much.

“Y/N,” 

The baritone voice is almost sufficient in sobering you up. Turning to the familiar voice, you see the tall figure, sporting bedraggled purple hair. 

It’s Shinsou Hitoshi. A reason why you’re in such a mess, coping with a breakup in the first place. 

You almost fall off your chair in sudden revelation to the appearance of your ex lover. It was almost like.. your drunken state was making you see things- a possible hallucination maybe? it has to be that. Maybe it’s the side effect of the growing headache?? What was in that shot?

“Ugh, I must be crazy,” You wipe your cheek from slob, your head throbbing from the growing headache. The weary purple head raises an eyebrow, and the bartender is confused by the sudden tension. It's abnormal, alright.

The reason why you broke up was because of his lack of self care. 

Again, it’s not like he was being a shithead and cheating on you, or being a total prick of a boyfriend and neglecting you, and it’s definitely not the other way around either. 

It was probably the opposite. He'd neglect himself for days on end, not caring about himself, and not caring about his own being. It was.. not what you wanted at all. 

You figured just because the both of you are rising up heroes, and also adults- he would’ve gotten a grip of not neglecting himself. 

But even habits like that don’t get old. 

“Hitoshi- seriously, when was the last time you’ve took a breather?” growing slightly irritated by Shinsou’s continuous neglect of his own self care, and also the fact that he’s clinging onto you 24/7. 

“It doesn’t matter.” He shrugs, pinching your cheek. Heck, you should be glad he wants to be with you for the majority of the days. But you can’t tolerate him when he’s constantly complaining about being tired, although making little to no efforts in taking care of himself. Heck- his dark circles got even darker- how is that even possible?

“’Toshi, it really does. You can’t neglect self care.” Your brows furrow when he chooses to ignore your words. “You’re not listening to me.” 

“You should be glad that I want to spend time with you.” 

It stung. What the hell did he even mean by that..?? scoffing, and slightly offended, you reply “That’s not the main issue.” you cross your arms “We’ve talked about this before, remember?” You reason out, giving him the nice benefit of the doubt. You'd like to be civil here. 

He ignores you once more, and you can actually feel the irritation grow within you. “I don’t want to be the reason why you neglect yourself.” 

“I’m really not, okay?” He retorts back, “Why do you always have to bring up things that don't matter?” 

Aggitated, you snap back “Wh- we’re talking about you! Hitoshi, we’ve talked about this- and you said you’d work on it! do my words mean nothing to you?” Hitoshi’s gaze flickers up, only staring at you, as if it was his own way of judging you and your intent. 

And that’s how it erupted into a full fight, and into your eventual breakup. 

You didn’t know how expressing your genuine concern for him blended into him saying things he’d never mean in his entire life. He doesn’t stop you when you walk out, not saying a thing at all

There was no verbal breakup. It was just.. there. 

The unknowing bartender interrupts the nonverbal tension, “I thought you’d be a lot happier, y’know.” 

“We-”

“..’ll get going now, thanks again.” Before you know it, Hitoshi’s hooking your arm around his shoulders— as he walks to the door, leaving the very familiar bar.

It’s awkward, surely. You’re not sure why he was there, and you’re not so sure as to why he decided to come to your aid in the first place. If Maki called him, and he was requested to come to you in question, then he could’ve just..

“..sent someone else,” You mumble. You reek heavily of alcohol, and your skin is undeniably warm. Frankly, he doesn’t remember the last time you were like this— was it the first time you had a drink? it was years back at this point.

You’re pretty.

Beautiful,

That’s one thing that hasn’t change. Surely, what changed things was the fact that he said some.. horrible things— and refused to even listen to your concerns, which ultimately cause your breakup. His relationship status changed into some lonely and young hero, and his heart ached in different ways.

But you’re still very beautiful, to him.

Doesn’t matter if you’re all dolled up for a hero interview, or a mess on a off saturday. You’re still beautiful.

But now— he’s focused on your words, and he’s taken aback when you continue to speak, causing the both of you to stop in the middle of the sidewalk.

“You’ve coulda asked s-someone else to pick.. me up.” Your words are slurred, a normal side effect of being drunk. However, seeing your ex has surely sobered you up.

“That’s true,” Shinsou moves to continue walking, so you guys weren’t standing on the middle of the side walk on a cold early morning.

“What are you even doing at a bar at 1am?” He changes the subject, but you’re still caught on to your previous question. “You didn’t answer my question at all, meanie.” Her grip is firm, so there’s no way of budging it.

His laugh lacks humor, yet he feels obligated to answer her. Or else they’d be stuck on the sidewalk, due to her hero grip.

“It didn’t feel right,”

“Yeah sure.” You grumble, “Because you suddenly care.”

“I’ve always cared, Y/N.”

“Really?” You say, not really believing him anyway. “You seemed pretty sure with your words back then to care.” Despite being toxicated, your words have undertones of venom

“You may say that, but.. I’ve always cared.”

“Then why the hell did you say all of that back then, huh?” Overwhelmed by seeing your ex, who you still fucking loved by the way— tears grow at your eyes. “If you’re lying, stop it.” You say, literally not in the mood to be lied to right now.

You’re literally being carried by your ex, while intoxicated, while also having a throbbing headache.

“I’m not.” Hitoshi answers firmly. A certain edge grows in his throat, and he hates it.

“Yes you are,” Your voice is now wobbly, it’s really just a mix of your overwhelming emotion, as well as your drunken state. “You would’ve told me that weeks ago!”

You were always right, and he knows it. Ever since from the last moment you shared with him, your words were just.. nothing but the sheer truth. Yet, he’s only hurt you— because of his denial.

He knows you’re right, and he knows that he had his habits of neglecting his own care. Though that’s why he decided to change, that you were in fact- correct all this time.

And he was just an ass to even admit it.

“You’re right,” His fists crumple, grip tight as he fights his sudden urge to break. “You were always right. I’ve always cared, and you’ve always cared about me. Yet I was worried of changing, not being around you just so that I could take care of something that’s not really important-”

“But you are, Hitoshi,” You sob, nearly collapsing onto the ground— “You matter so much, yet you don’t even see it, and if I’m going to contribute to your destructive ways— then...”

“How could you? If you don’t care about my words, then do you care about yourself..?”

Shinsou sighs, bending down to meet your level— you’re gasping and sobbing into his chest, tears angrily running down your cheeks.

“I know, kitten, and I’m sorry.” Wiping your tears with his thumb, he speaks once more. “That’s why.. I’ve thought about what you’ve said, and I decided to take care of myself a bit more, I want you to know that.. I do care.”

You glance up at him, the city lights luminating his face— enough for you to see the adorning expression he’s sporting.

“..really?” You speak, in a nearly hush tone, again— you’re still very drunk, and overwhelmed with emotions. This could’ve been passed off as a fever dream, and you could’ve been normal with it.

“Yes, Y/N.” His mouth perks up into a small smile.

“Then.. would you allow me to start over with you again?”

Pushing against Hitoshi, you envelope him with your arms— it’s almost cliché and dramatic, the way you collapse into his arms like it’s the last day on earth.

But.. Shinsou’s glad he has you again. Finally a chance to prove that he’s changed.

ーーーーーーー

BONUS

You sit on the counter of your apartment, hands covering your face— as a way to shield your eyes from the prodding sunlight that peaks from the windows.

“This should help,” Hitoshi hands you a cool glass of water, “The way you hold your alcohol is terrible,” You chug down the glass of water, and you take a jab at him with your feet.

He hisses at the sudden attack, and only chuckles, “You’re mad because it’s true kitten,” He teases

“Shut up,” You draw him in with your leg, setting the glass down, “Just kiss me already,”

And so he does, pressing your lips against his— savoring the sweet warm moment he’s been practically starved of for nearly 4 months.

He pulls back, his expression showcasing that he’s tasting the aftermath.

“Ew, you taste like beer.”

You glare at him, and take another light jab, “Of course I do, Idiot.”

Despite saying all of that, he pulls you in once more.

　　　　　　　˚✧₊⁎❝᷀ົཽ ❝᷀ົཽ⁎⁺˳✧༚

likes and reblogs are appreciated, thanks for reading (literally the first fic i’ve ever posted, so y’all BETTER like it or i’ll 💀)

i do not own bnha/mha and it’s characters. boku no hero academia/my hero academia belongs to horikoshi kohei, i only own the writing

do not plagiarize my work :)) (literally don’t, it’s 3:26am on a tuesday.)

[xskyll]

The BNHA x Chobits AU that no one, not even Mineta, asked for.

The ramblings of my mind under the cut. Warning, it’s loooong.

Okay, so bear in mind that I only watched four episodes of Chobits and it was probably about 14 years ago, and also I didn’t really like it, lol

-Todoroki finds Midoriya laying on some bags of trash next to a dumpster.

-First he’s like “oh no, I need an adult,” because for all his “training,” dad never actually told him what to do when he found a dead body, (this is the summer before he starts U.A., so he’s still living at home). Endeavor is away for a week, and Fuyumi doesn’t count to him (sort of an Aristocats, “she’s not [an adult,] she’s just a sister!” thing). While he’s trying to remember that the police exist, he notices this dead body has very strange ear-like things. He comes closer to investigate. There are lots of weird body types in the world, because of quirks, but these things look metal, which isn’t unheard of, but something about these ears just strike him as unnatural.

- Good news, it seems like a robot, not a dead body. The ears open easily, and there are buttons inside. A power button (that’s right CHOBITS!! It’s in the ear! My love story isn’t going to start with molestation), some USB ports, an aux port, a slot for a microchip or SIM card or whatever, some sort of safety switch (he flips that on)…what really convinces him this is totally a robot are the blutooth and volume buttons (that’s right, Midoriya in this au can charge phones AND he’s a speaker, although the volume buttons’ primary function is to control the volume of his voice).

- He has no good reason for taking this thing home. It weights a ton, it’s awkwardly naked, except for some bandages wrapped around it, which do nothing to hide how anatomically correct this robot is, and he already has a phone charger, so he really has no use for it. 

- He feels weird about it though. While he was checking out the ears, he touched its face and the skin was soft and warm. He checked for a pulse, just out of curiosity, and found one. It looks like a person, aside from the ears, and it feels like a person. He feels bad leaving it in the trash. So he takes it home.

- Cue comedy routine where he gets this thing, not just in the house, but to his room without Fuyumi noticing.

- Once in his room, he hits the power switch. Nothing happens. He holds the power switch. Bingo. Robo-boy powers to life, bright, adorably large green eyes open. He’s holding it in his arms, and it’s still all tied up. It looks up at him and says hello.

- He drops it.

- He apologizes as he picks it back up, tugging at the wrappings to try to get its arms free. He realizes he needs to get pants, or at least boxers, for it, because it’s awake now and very much naked.

- For the very first time, he realizes that this adorable, thin-yet-lean-muscled, between 14-16 looking robo-boy might have been someone’s weird sex doll. They probably threw it away because they found a real person to date and they didn’t want them to know about their underage sex robot. This also sort of explains the pulse; the mystery pervert person probably programmed a fake pulse and did something to make his skin warm, to make him feel more real. Gross.

- He’s broken from these thoughts when the robot speaks. It says, “Please insert memory bank files or turn on base memory.” Todoroki is already freaking out, because this thing wants its memories, and he doesn’t have them. He opens the ear again and investigates. Next to the empty slot, there’s a small button labeled BM. Base memory? Sure, why not. He pushes it.

- The robot goes blank faced for a few seconds. When he comes to, he looks at Todoroki, then the room, then down at himself. He flexes his arms, trying to break the bands around him, but stops, saying, “Safety mode is on.”

- Todoroki finishes helping unwrap him, awkwardly doing so while pointedly looking away, once he gets to his lower half. Once he’s free, he goes and gets a pair of boxers and throws them in his direction. “Can you put them on?” He’s curious if the robot can do something like that unaided, and also he doesn’t want to cloth it himself, because even though this is a robot, it looks like a very cute boy his age. And it has a pulse. He can’t stop thinking about that.

- The robot puts on the boxers, after inspecting them for a second. He honestly does struggle to figure it out for a moment, cause he has zero common sense, but he does figure it out. It probably takes him about a minute. Once they’re on, he stands and starts inspecting the room.

- “Do you have a name?” seems like a dumb question, but he asks anyway and the robot answers, “I’m Project Midoriya.”

- Background info time. Midoriya is not fully a robot. He was kidnapped just seven months ago, coming home from school. It was the day of the sludge villain attack, but he got nabbed before they could cross paths. AFO wanted a quirkless person to experiment on. He did his research and found Midoriya Izuku, a quirkless boy with no friends and little family, who wouldn’t be missed very much. He’s confident enough that he won’t get caught that he titles his new project by its name: Midoriya. Midoriya’s memories are still in his mind, but they’re suppressed. AFO found it easier to backup his memories to a chip, so he could remove them as needed. When they were installed, Midoriya responded best to his own name anyway, so calling him that was also the easiest thing. Without his memories, AFO found him a bit annoying, because he had no social skills or common sense. He needed to be taught, which he didn’t have the patience for, so usually he just left the memories in. He was a timid boy anyway and easy to intimidate, especially if he threaten to hurt his mom.

- The cops figure his disappearance was maybe a runaway situation, but given his track record and the profile on him they’d compiled from listening to his mom, classmates, and teachers, they figure it’s more likely a kidnapping or murder. Fun fact though, he got kidnapped the day Bakugou told him to kill himself. Obviously no body is found, but he knows people go to forests to hang themselves, or put weights in their pockets and drown themselves. Those bodies can take years to find. So while all of this is happening, Bakugou is out there just every day, “what have I done, what have I done, what have I done?” When they finally see each other again, Bakugou freaks out and Midoriya’s suppressed memories are triggered. Bakugou demands answers, Todoroki is confused and defensive, and Midoriya is just, “System overload. Shutting down,” and then face plants to the floor.

- Anyway, back to Shouto. He asks Midoriya if he remembers anything. Midoriya has exactly one memory (or at least, one easily accessible memory), and it’s this: “A man. He looked like this.” He put his hand over his face. “He said, ‘Sensei put so much work into you. Why are you so useless (Deku)?’”

- More bg info, AFO gave Midoriya to Shigaraki, telling him to try to make him useful, and Shigaraki DID try for a couple of months, but he was over the whole situation after basically one day. With his memories, Midoriya was scared and traumatized, had morals, cried a bunch and sometimes tried to escape, and was just UGH. He could mute his voice, but even that didn’t help, cause this kid was just sooo annoying. Without his memories he was awkward and boring and still annoying. Eventually he just yeeted him into a trash heap, but took his memory chip, since it technically contains LoV information.

- Midoriya considers his only memory and thinks being called Deku feels sort of normal, so he says as much. “Deku might also be my name. You can call me that, if you want.” Todoroki says he’ll stick with Midoriya, because Deku isn’t a nice name for his new robot friend.

- So the first section of the story after this is fairly light-hearted. Todoroki has to keep Midoriya a secret from Endeavor and Fuyumi (I feel like she does find out eventually, but agrees to help hide him, as she sees it’s good for her little bro to finally have this (maybe?) living thing/person to talk to and take care of.) Speaking of care, Midoriya is very easy to care for. He can eat, drink, and sleep, but doesn’t need to. He has some sort of self-charging system. Most of his “care” involves teaching him social skills (which oof, blind leading the blind, but they say teaching is the best way to learn, so this is actually good for Shouto too). Embarrassing stuff happens. Fluffy stuff happens. It’s a good time.

- Shouto spends the summer with Midoriya this way. Most of their interactions are fluffy and light, but not all. The first time he comes back to his room after training with his dad, he learns two things: Midoriya has first aid knowledge programmed into him and he’s capable of crying. As the trainings continue, Midoriya eventually reveals that he has over a hundred fighting styles programmed into him and knows over 70 ways to kill a person, but he can’t access any of that information while his safety is on. Todoroki is just like, “Uuuuuh, that’s really good to know…but we’re gonna keep the safety on for now, okay? I hate my dad but also please don’t murder him. He’s famous so we wouldn’t get away with it. Also murder is bad, don’t kill people.”

- Midoriya wants to know if all heroes are like Endeavor and Shouto is like, noooo and shows him the debut video of his personal favorite hero: All Might. Watching this video is the first time Midoriya has a “System overloading. Shutting down” moment. Shouto has an absolute panic attack, because if Midoriya reboots and his memories are wiped, then he’ll have lost the best friend he ever had. But Midoriya restarts and he’s fine. He explains that sometimes he shuts down, to prevent a system failure, which would damage his…idk, hard drive or whatever. He quietly admits that the All Might video is very familiar, and he thinks maybe it used to be important to him. Shouto questions him about his memories and Midoriya theorizes that perhaps he has them backed up, but he isn’t sure how to access them. 

- This is exciting for Shouto, because he thinks maybe if Midoriya experiences more “triggers,” like the video, he might regain his memories and be able to shed some light on the general mystery of where he came from/who made him/what his purpose is. Whenever Endeavor is away, he tries to sneak Midoriya out, so he can see the real world. He isn’t too concerned about his ears, because in a world of quirks, there are plenty of odd looking people around. So far he’s been wearing Todoroki’s clothes, which a little too big on him, so they go shopping and get him clothes. None of their outings seem to trigger anything, except one time when they pass a park where Midoriya and Bakugou used to play as kids. Midoriya grows quiet and seems far away for a moment, but he doesn’t overload and shakes off the familiar feeling.

- Whenever they see All Might stuff he’s just !!!!!!! He can’t remember why he likes All Might, but he remembers how he feels about him. The more All Might stuff he sees, the more his old feelings return. One day they pass a large All Might poster and Midoriya says, “I think maybe I wanted to be like him, once.”

- Eventually Todoroki starts school. He feels bad about leaving him, but Midoriya is content to stay in his room and occupy himself until Todoroki comes home. He’s part computer, so he’s a total boss at helping with math homework. He likes doing homework with Todoroki in general, because he likes learning. This is great for Todoroki’s grades because again, the teaching thing helps everything stick better for him. 

- The attack on USJ happens and Todoroki sees Shigaraki, who has a hand on his face, and he’s like, “Shit, shit, shit, this is the guy who threw away Midoriya,” and he has NO idea what to do with that information. Midoriya belonging to the LoV does explain the “70+ ways to kill” programming though. He tells Midoriya what happened and Midoriya is kind of whatever about it. He says, “Maybe I belonged to villains, but I belong to you, now.” And Shouto is like, “No, no, no, no. You do not. You belong to yourself” and Midoriya is just ????

- I think for the Sports Festival, Midoriya convinces him to use his fire. It’s sort of like, “It’s your power, even though its origin is Endeavor. Just like how everything I can do is my power, even though I was programmed by villains. Being made by villains doesn’t make me a villain. Using the resources they gave me doesn’t make me a villain. Being Endeavor’s son doesn’t make you Endeavor, and using your fire doesn’t either.” Todoroki turns off Midoriya’s safety, confident he has nothing to fear.

- Midoriya watches the Sports Festival on tv (using his blutooth, he can actually just hear the volume in his head, so he can watch silently). He sees Bakugou. Seeing him on screen doesn’t have a huge impact on him, but he does feel something. Fear, unease, admiration, and affection. He’s confused and uncomfortable, and ends up looking away from the screen whenever he’s shown for too long.

- Shouto actually starts making friends at school. Being with Midoriya has taught him a lot about being kind and the joy having other people in your life can bring. Still, he doesn’t trust anyone enough to tell them about Midoriya. He’s terrified of losing him.

- For the Hosu incident, Midoriya is home alone, probably doing something on Shouto’s laptop. He sees the breaking news and is just, “Welp, that’s where Shouto, the official best person in the world, is, so guess I’m going to Hosu to make sure he’s safe.” He leaves the house alone, for the first time ever, and just runs to Hosu. Idk how far away Hosu is from the Todoroki residence, but Midoriya doesn’t fatigue and he’s also outrageously fast, so it’s fine. Also he can see in the dark, but only if he activates his night vision, which makes his eyes glow. Not good for sneaking, but very pretty and cool. I’m not sure how he finds Shouto, or how Shouto found Iida, but I imagine Stain is like, seconds from skewering him and then Midoriya comes out of nowhere and collides with Stain (which is a big deal, cause remember, Midoriya is filled with metal parts and is super heavy). They fight together and at some point Stain cuts Midoriya and he bleeds, which for Shouto is like !?!??! And then he licks his blood and the paralysis works and Shouto is just !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Later, after the life threatening stuff is over, Todoroki has some seriously thoughts about this, because what if Midoriya is human? Or part human? That would be a huge development, and also kind of relief for him, because he sort of feels like he’s been falling in love, but he’s been desperately stomping down on those feelings, because he knows falling in love with a robot probably isn’t healthy. But falling in love with a half robot? I mean, Iida could be called part robot, with his legs, if you want to get technical about it. And Todoroki does want to get technical about it, thank you very much. If Iida is dateable, then so is Midoriya.

- Back to Hosu. They beat Stain and, after securing him, Todoroki tells Midoriya to go home, before his dad arrives. Once he leaves, he begs Iida not to tell anyone he saw him and promises to explain later. For ease of narrative, Native was unconscious the entire fight.

- Endeavor shows up, as does the Nomu. It takes Shouto but Stain rescues him. At the hospital, Todoroki explains the Midoriya situation to Iida, revealing that this incident was the first time he realized Midoriya had blood in him. Iida agrees to keep the secret, but urges Todoroki to tell someone. Maybe Aizawa. He agrees to consider, but he doesn’t want Midoriya to get taken away and like, locked up to be studied or something. He and Iida become better friends, bonding over almost dying together and sharing the secret of Midoriya. 

- Midterms! Shouto scores higher because he has an awesome robot tutor. He doesn’t actually care, but good for him regardless.

- Summer field trip time. Midoriya can’t come, obviously. I’m thinking during this time, he decides to sneak out of the house and explore on his own. He feels guilty, because Shouto would worry if he knew, but he just feels this draw. He feels like maybe his old memories were important, and he’s becoming curious. He keeps thinking about the boy from the Sports Festival and about All Might. He ends up in his old neighborhood. He sees his middle school and he doesn’t remember anything, but seeing the building makes him feel lonely and sort of bad about himself. It reminds him of Shigaraki calling him Deku, and the familiar feeling that gave him. He leaves and finds himself on his old street. He isn’t close at all to his old home - he can barely see the apartment building - but he can still see it. He almost shuts down, but turns away quickly and starts back the way he came. He doesn’t remember anything, but seeing that building fills him with overwhelming emotions. The strongest one reminds him of his feelings for Shouto, but it’s different. He can’t place it, but he knows he’d die to protect Shouto, and he feels like maybe he once knew someone in that building that he would also die to protect. Once he gets home, he realizes he’s crying. He decides to sleep and he dreams of green eyes and a smile that looks like home.

- Shouto is injured during the villain attack and goes to the hospital. Once he’s released, he agrees with Kirishima that they’ll go rescue Bakugou. That whole thing pretty much goes at it did in canon, except All Might never found a successor, so he’s more powerful. He defeats AFO and does not have to retire, though he’s feeling an overwhelming pressure to find a successor now, because he knows he’s hanging on by a thread.

- Dorms!! Shouto is bringing his boy with him. He figures he can hide him just as easily there as he can at home. Getting him in is a little tricky, but he manages. From there, it’s smooth sailing.

- Except not really, because living with 18-19 other people (19 if Hitoshi is in the class, which, maybe) is way different than living with 2. Midoriya is discovered in like, a week and everyone is freaking out, most of all Bakugou, who basically breaks down. He tries to hit Midoriya and screams at him, about thinking he was dead and going to his funeral and how it was his fault and having to face his mom and did Midoriya even think about his mom??? As previously mentioned, Midoriya just shuts down and face plants to the ground.

- Shouto finally learns Midoriya’s full name. Midoriya Izuku. A+ name. Very cute. He plans to use it immediately.

- Bakugou’s insight changes the situation completely. Now they know Izuku was once 100% human and something awful happened to him. They end up bringing him to Aizawa and explaining the situation and everything they know. Todoroki gets scolded, cause Izuku could have been dangerous and he should have known better, but he doesn’t even pretend to have regrets. Endeavor would have made him throw Izuku back into the trash where he found him. His best friend isn’t trash.

- Now the name of the game is helping Izuku restore his memories. Bakugou is a huge help, but patience is required, to keep Izuku from overloading. He remembers bits and pieces at a time, all centered around Bakugou. Aizawa agrees to let him attend classes, so they can keep an eye on him. He’s also hoping a school setting might trigger more memories. He meets All Might and he doesn’t even get to announce his system malfunction before he’s out. He sees him, starts smoking at the mouth and hits the floor. All Might is very alarmed.

- Tsukauchi is made aware of the situation. He wants to keep things under wraps though. If the LoV is aware Midoriya is out and about, they may target him. If they can restore his memories though, they may gain insight into the group’s plans. That being said, he thinks it’s only right that they tell Inko. They tell her they have information on her son and make her sign a contract, agreeing not to release any information. Once she agrees, they brief her on what they know and, at the end, bring in Izuku.

- Izuku has been talking with Bakugou about his mom, to prepare for this (he usually wants Shouto with him for these conversations, and Shouto and Bakugou sort on inadvertently become friends). He can’t remember her at all, but he remembers the face in his dream. He knows it’s her. While talking, he’s shut down a few times (which drives Bakugou up the wall, and also scares him a little, cause he kind of looks dead when it happens), but he thinks he might be ready to see her now. He’s brought in and he does not shut down, not fully, but he comes close. He definitely glitches a little, maybe doing a quick reboot, quick enough that he doesn’t even fall, and his voice comes out cracked and metallic when he speaks, and there are sparks in his mouth, but he manages, “Mom?” They both cry and she holds him while he tells her, voice wavering between sounding normal and sounding robotic, that he doesn’t remember her, but he loves her, he knows he loves her so so much and he knows he’s missed her, even though he didn’t know who she was. It’s very emotional, and extremely hard for both of them when they finally have to separate, because Izuku can’t go home with her. She’s allowed to visit though, and each visit helps him restore little pieces of his memory. Between her and Bakugou, he starts making enough progress that he stops shutting down when he gains a new memory, and he starts remembering his old hopes and dreams. He doesn’t remember what AFO did to him, but he remembers enough of his past to feel self-conscious now, about his body. He breaks down one day and Shouto holds him while he grapples with his identity, his humanity, and his future. 

- I’m picturing a scene where he’s crying and Shouto takes his face in his hands and explains all the beautiful things about him that make him human, and he finishes up with something corny like, “I know you, Izuku. You’re human. You have to be human, because I’m in love with you.” And then they KISS and it is ROMANTIC!

- He decides he still wants to be a hero and he becomes a real member of 1A, instead of just a visitor. The whole class helps him design a costume and come up with a name and in general are just like, “Cyborg Hero, yay!!”

- And that’s all I got. I think eventually he would fight the league, and probably retrieve his chip, giving him 100% of his memories. There’s a LOT of trauma to deal with there, because he was basically torn apart and put back together several times by AFO, but they do gain all the information they need to take down the LoV for good. And the Overhaul arc is in there. Izuku might still intern with Nighteye, because All Might is like, “Robot successor? Maybe???” and he wants Nighteye’s opinion. Nighteye can’t see his future, because he’s not fully human, but eventually he gives his stamp of approval. Eri is rescued and that’s a very personal fight for Izuku, because he identifies with what she’s gone through. And of course she loves him and thinks his ears are cute and his glowy eyes are pretty.

- Oh, and the School Festival. I honestly don’t even know what to do with him. He can learn any instrument just by like, downloading some YouTube tutorial videos. He can learn any dance by watching it once. He’s really strong, really fast, and can also operate as a speaker (though that can be awkward, cause it’s through his mouth, so he’d just be standing there with his mouth open). They might keep his role same as canon, idk. They’d probably all fight over him.

- I’m sure none of this was anything like Chobits. Sorry. I just think the ears are neat, really, and liked the idea of Izuku being a cyborg (Chobits isn’t even about cyborgs, lol).

Sorry this is outrageously long! If you want to write this into a full fic, feel free to use my ideas! Just give me a shoutout, maybe? And tell me about it, so I can read it!

[sapphiccrypt]

The Names You Call Me

Oh boy- I don’t have an Ao3 account so I guess I’m putting this here.

Ship: Wanda x Agatha (MCU) AU: Soulmate AU Word Count: 2578 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Agatha had been around for a while- of course she had. She was a witch from all the way back in the time of the Salem Witch Trials. However, in the roughly estimated 350 years she’d been alive (she’d lost count around the first World War), she hadn’t figured out who her soulmate was. Everyone had one, or at least, everyone was supposed to. Every little nickname or term of endearment your soulmate called you was supposed to be inked somewhere on your skin. However, she herself had been a blank canvas for centuries. It’s not like she minded, she was always more focused on acquiring more magical knowledge.

However, this didn’t stop the witch from giving little nicknames to everyone. It had become a habit over time. Was it so that she’d finally find her supposed soulmate one day? Or perhaps it was just to prove to herself that said soulmate didn’t exist and would never exist. Either way, this habit hadn’t shown any positive results, at least, that’s what she thought. 

It was one of her habits that carried over into the nosy neighbor persona she had become forced to play. 

------ 

Wanda’s parents always told them about soulmates, how those little names that appeared on your skin were supposed to be so meaningful and lovely. Oh how she wished that was the case. Of course, life always seemed to want to throw a curveball at her. 

She was in her cabin in the vast wilderness when she had decided to shower. As she stepped out, her hair was intricately braided with magic. She had decided to check said braid in the mirror when she noticed something that made her heart sink. 

Written in small lettering along her lower back were different words. Wanda knew what this meant, of course she did. Everyone was told about soulmates. There were so many rom coms and tv shows about it. Hell- in the show she’d weaved together from the town of Westview, she’d finally been able to make Vision and herself soulmates. However, the few nicknames the deceased synthezoid had called her in the past weren’t written there.

Instead, there were ones like “buttercup,” “hon,” and “toots,” among a few others. In the back of her mind, she knew where those nicknames came from- who those nicknames came from. She stared at the writing for a while. Why her of all people? The one that betrayed her and tried to take her magic? Why couldn’t it have been Vision, or anyone else for that matter? Why did it have to be Agatha?

The mirror shatters.

------ 

Agatha didn’t know how long she was trapped in the lonely and painstakingly quiet void of own mind. Mere minutes could feel like years just for the next hour to pass like milliseconds. Feeling and watching herself do and say things, think things, without it really being her was a fate worse than death. No matter how hard she would scream, no one could hear her there.

Agnes, meanwhile, was brewing herself a morning cup of coffee. She had always been a coffee person, for as long as she could remember, just like she had always been living in the quiet town of Westview. Of course, she found her hobbies. Along with being the neighborhood gossip, she would tend to her garden and watch fun movies. It was a simple life, and she liked it, despite the part of herself buried deep within the far corners of her mind that told her this wasn’t what she should be doing.

As the housewife was pouring her coffee into one of her many ornate mugs, a knock at the door echoed above the noise of the television and her own humming. She almost spilled her coffee but set the pot aside on the counter. “I’ll be there in just a moment!” Agnes called as she speed-walked over to the door and opened it to see her former neighbor. 

“Wanda! What a pleasant surprise,” Agnes began with the same neighborly smile she always put on. The one that seemed so permanent that her cheeks would often hurt after a while. “And here I thought you had forgotten about little ol’ Agnes,” she teased, stepping out of the doorway so the other could enter. “Please, come on in.”

Wanda would nod, smiling calmly over at the other. “It’s nice to see you again, Agnes,” she’d comment as she looked around the neatly decorated house. The whole place had a sickeningly sweet atmosphere, as to be expected of the role she had put upon the other. She sat down on the couch Agnes guided her over to, looking over at the sitcom playing on the television. She had been meaning to watch that one.

“Would you like anything to drink? Coffee, tea, something a little more...adult?” Agnes asked with a mischievous smirk as she moved into the kitchen. “Take your pic, pumpkin.”

She looked down as the other called her a new nickname, knowing it was probably added to the list of words that were written on her back. “Tea is fine, thanks,” the Sokovian woman commented, quietly resting her hands in her lap as she prepared for what was to come. Hopefully the runes she’d placed on the house and Agatha herself would stop her from attacking or playing with her mind again.

Agnes rambled on about life in Westview and tidbits of gossip she’d picked up on since the other had left the small New Jersey town. Soon enough, the shrill noise of the teapot pierced the air and she prepared the other’s drink, walking in with both mugs after reheating her own coffee. 

Wanda talked with Agnes for a few minutes, thanking her for the tea and sipping it as they chatted and watched the television program. When the other set her mug down on the coffee table, the younger witch moved a glowing red hand to the other’s temple, bringing back the witch that she had previously locked away. 

Agatha’s eyes widened and she gasped as all her senses came back to her and she was in her own mind again. She looked over at Wanda, stumbling away from the other on the couch some before her gaze narrowed. “What do you want?” She asked. She knew deep down she couldn’t really do much besides listen to the other, as she couldn’t feel the usual buzz of magic underneath her skin.

“Well it’s nice to see you too, Agatha.” Wanda said, still keeping a calm demeanor about her as she looked over at the other. “I had to come by and see how my nosy neighbor was doing.”

The older of the two grumbled as she got up, blue eyes gazing at the other and desperately trying to figure out her motives. “You and I both know that isn’t the reason, Red.” Agatha commented. At least she was herself again, although being powerless like this was still worse than death, in her opinion.

Wanda sighed. What was with this woman and all her nicknames? She was sure her back was soon to be covered in words. “I just want to talk,” she paused, considering her next words. “Ags.” She noticed the hint of some marking on the other’s left arm, although it was mainly covered by her sleeve.

Agatha looked a bit surprised at the nickname before glaring once more. “What do you want to talk about.” She muttered, sitting down at a chair adjacent to the other. She didn’t really want to talk, but she didn’t quite want to be Agnes again either.

“Well- I have two things. First, a sort of proposal of sorts,” Wanda replied. “You said I would need you, so this is a time to make yourself needed. Teach me the secrets of the Darkhold, I know you know it well.” Some of the spells in the book were quite confusing, and at times the book itself seemed like it didn’t want to be read, and surely giving this incentive would give her the insight she needed on the book.

“The second...” she began again, “....is this,” Wanda said as red magic rolled up the left sleeve of the other’s shirt, causing Agatha to tense some. “Take a look for yourself.”

The brunette’s gaze settled on her arm, eyes widening as she read out the small, 3 letter nickname the other had just called her. She opened her mouth to speak for a moment before promptly closing it right afterwards. She was silent for what seemed like eternity before she let out a low chuckle.

“You must be covered then, huh, dearie?”

------ 

Months passed as the two resided in Wanda’s cabin. The Scarlet Witch’s training was going alright- save for a few clearings in the forest that definitely weren’t there before. Overtime, arguments and harsh words turned to cheeky and sarcastic remarks. Neither of them brought up the soulmate thing too much, as if the situation was a creature one would be advised not to poke with a stick. This didn’t stop Agatha from coming up with new nicknames just to add to the collection and tick off Wanda, however. Meanwhile her own arm was mostly bare save for a few names she was called when the other wanted to try at the game that the older witch was playing. 

It was late morning, Wanda was usually the first to wake up, whether it was from her just being an early riser or nightmares she got frequently was up for debate. She prepared a small meal, just some bacon and eggs, making her some tea. Agatha often made her own coffee, through normal or magical needs.

She had decided after a couple weeks to let Agatha use her magic, as trust had grown between the two and it was easier for the magic lessons to have someone who could actually use magic. Agatha hadn’t attacked or anything, she seemed to know it wouldn’t end well. Plus, through the passing months, both women were beginning to take a liking to one another, whether they wanted to admit it or not. 

Agatha came down from her room a few minutes after Wanda had sat down for breakfast, pushing messy brunette hair out of her face so her vision wasn’t obscured. She grabbed a mug, magically making herself some coffee before getting a portion of breakfast and sitting down across from Wanda at the small wooden dining table.

“Good morning.” Wanda commented with a soft smile. Although part of herself hated to say it, she really enjoyed Agatha’s company. She had grown to enjoy the little nicknames, the teasing remarks, the way her laugh made her feel like her heart was made of butterflies. Disregard that last part.

Agatha nodded, sipping her coffee. “Morning.” She said, taking a few bites of breakfast that the other had prepared. “This is good, buttercup.” She smirked some at the other before sipping her coffee. “Ready for today’s practice?” 

Wanda looked up from her cup of tea and over at who had become her mentor. “Of course.” She responded. Her control over her magic had been getting better, and she’d been learning all sorts of spells and runes from the other witch.

After breakfast, the two women got changed and went out into the forest, into one of the clearings that had been there before the two had started using the area for magic practices. This spot was quite peaceful, and the two spent many hours reading through the Darkhold, along with other books of magic that Agatha had acquired over the centuries of her life.

Practice went as normal, going over a few new runes and such, like one Agatha had used to block out her mind from the other’s telepathy in Westview. It was a difficult rune but Wanda had proved to be a quick and skilled learner. After a couple more runes, Agatha would switch over to spells. 

Wanda didn’t like to admit that elemental magic was really frustrating. How was chaos and creation easier than controlling water? The two had moved to a nearby creek for this spell. Agatha instructed how to control the water but each try ended in one or both of them getting splashed. 

Agatha had an idea and moved closer to Wanda. “Here.” She began, standing behind her and placing her hands on her wrists, ignoring the quickened beating of her heart. Yeah, she was falling for the other, who also happened to be her soulmate, so be it. She’d deal with that “problem” later. “You have to follow the flow of the water with your body, be fluid in your movements and calm in your emotions.” 

It was hard to be calm when Agatha was against her like this and her cheeks were tinted the same color of her magic, but Wanda was determined to get this seemingly simple spell down. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths as she tried to cast the spell, moving in tandem with her mentor. Things seemed to be going quite well, opening one eye to see the water moving with them.

Until she fell, of course.

She had heard a rustling in the bushes and her concentration broke and caused her to stumble and fall forward, Agatha falling along with her into the cold shallow water. A deer ran out of their view. Wanda began to apologize before the other let out what was probably the most genuine laugh she’d ever heard, causing her already pounding heart to skip a few beats. She found herself laughing along.

Agatha stood up, helping the other to her feet as well. “Well that’s a way to become one with the water,” she teased, smiling at Wanda. “If I wasn’t already awake, I definitely am now.” She added before smirking and splashing the other.

“Hey!” The younger witch exclaimed as the cold water made her shiver, although the smile she had on never left her lips. “No fair,” she added before splashing the other in return. 

Agatha chuckled before reaching over to move some wet hair out of the other’s face. Her hand lingered on her cheek for a moment as their eyes met before she quickly looked away, going to climb out of the creek before a hand grabbed hers, and she looked back at Wanda. “What is it, darling?” She asked.

Wanda ignored how much the nickname made her face heat up. She hadn’t really been thinking as she grabbed the other’s hand, and she ended up staring into the other’s eyes for longer than most normal friends would. Her heart kept beating and she felt like if she didn’t say something to break the tension would be infinite.

“I think I’m falling for you.”

Ok- anything but that.

The older witch was the one blushing now, before chuckling softly as their fingers intertwined. “And here I thought you couldn’t stand me.” She teased, smiling at the other as they moved closer to one another.

It doesn’t matter who ended up kissing who, what matters is that it happened, and neither seemed to want to pull away.

When they finally did so, Wanda found herself leaning into Agatha’s touch as the other woman caressed her cheek, and she entangled one of her hands into the other’s unruly dark hair. 

“I don’t think I mind being your soulmate, Aggie.”

Another mark appeared on Agatha’s arm, and they both leaned in for another kiss

[jeonqqin]

man up. [m] | pt. 6

h. jisung x reader | netflix rom-com au

— ❝Even with classes, annoying brothers, and an unrequited crush, you still figured your first year of college was going pretty well. Until you managed to get your first boyfriend, and suddenly your brother and his stupidly attractive best friend were attached to your hip for the whole damn ride.

or alternatively;

Why did Jisung care about you so much, and had his eyes always been that pretty?❞

WORD COUNT: 4.8k

CONTAINS: brothers best friend au, teen rom-com au, sorta crack fic, love triangle au, college au

WARNING: language, eventual smut, heated kissing, minor groping, a wee bit of angst 

A/N: sorry this one was late... like all the others. but hey you can’t blame me for trying lmao

▸ request

CHAPTERS:  01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 +

blog masterlist | ⟲ fic song

© jeonqqin 2020

—UNEDITED

Your head began to spin as your eyes dropped to the text sent to you, the number attached to a name that you least expected. You would never admit to how fast your heart pulsed in your chest as you skimmed the words over and over. Had Jisung said anything to her about what happened?

Was she upset with you for sending her precious boyfriend into a panic attack?

Maybe you were walking straight into a bear trap but you couldn’t bring yourself to decline or ignore her message. The guilt of hurting Jisung was too fresh, so you had a hard time doing anything against him—and in a way, ignoring Hyunae’s messages was just that. You just hoped it wasn’t an elaborate set up where she jumped you and scratched your throat out with her excessively polished fingernails. But even if she did, it was pretty fair to say that you deserved it. 

So after your first class, you were able to hop on the bus for a quick trip to Haven, the thought of your next class lodged in the back of your mind. After the incident in Minho’s apartment, you hadn’t stepped a foot back inside. Granted it had only been twelve hours at the most, but it felt like days when it seemed like everyone was mad at you. Word of what happened traveled fast, and despite no one in your group of friends asking you about it specifically, you knew that they knew. You suspected that Changbin was the culprit, but you really couldn’t blame him. He didn’t exactly know the extent of the situation. 

But it was hard when even Felix seemed hesitant to talk to you. 

Chan was still there to text you every hour, even after you explained most of the situation to him. But he remained understanding and sweet. 

As he was all the time.

When you walked into the diner, a burst of warmth enveloped you and your nose turned up at the scent of comfort food and coffee. It was nice, and eased some of the tension in your muscles. 

Hyunae sat along the inside booths where most of the diners traffic was, close enough to the door that you could run if you needed to. She had her eyes cast down on her phone and your arrival hadn’t been noticed—you could’ve turned around and left then and there, ending all of your messy doubts and fears for the day. But you couldn’t. Your feet continued forward without your consent, dragging you those last final inches to her table. 

With the new presence, she looked up.

Hyunae’s eyes widened for a second, darting over your form as if to double check that you were really there. 

“I kind of didn’t think you were going to come.” She exhaled a small laugh, motioning towards the other side of the table where a still hot cup of coffee sat. 

You took the cup in your cold hands, “Thanks…”

You didn’t know what to say—the ball was in her park and she was in control of where things headed. 

She sighed, leaning back against the booth, her pretty skin flushed with the nip of the air. “I’ll just cut to the chase… I wanted to apologize for what I did—for everything that I did. I’ve been a bitch for a while, and I only realized it now.”

With her avoiding eye contact, you could openly gape at her confession, because—what?

The Hyunae was apologizing to you?

“I don’t—I don’t really understand why you’re suddenly apologizing.” You said, voice hoarse. 

Hyunae tugged her sweater closer to her form, arms curling around her waist as someone else walked through the door, sending a blast of cold air through the diner. 

“You know, for being a complete bitch to you while Ji and I were dating. It was all a jealousy thing to be completely honest. I didn’t actually—”

You blinked, waving your hand out to stop her rambling. You weren’t sure that you could process the first half of her words, let alone the endless ramble that she was capable of spewing. 

“Are…” you swallowed. “Are you guys not together?”

She frowned, brows furrowed.

“Jisung broke up with me, Y/n. Did he not tell you?”

The scratch of a broken record echoed through your head as you nearly dropped the ceramic cup of coffee all over yourself. 

“What?”

She nodded slowly, “I thought you would be the first person he told, considering…”

“Considering what?”

Her briefness and dodging was only making you frustrated, your hand waving in front of her face to finally gain her eyes. You had no idea that Jisung broke up with her, and you had no idea why. Some part of you hoped that the reason had something to do with you, but you just pushed that load of feelings away. It wasn’t fair to think of such things while the girl who had recently been broken up with sat directly in front of you. 

You really were a god awful person. 

She laughed a little, her eyes taking in your complete disbelief. 

“Well I’ll be damned. You two really are perfect for each other, huh?”

Before you could ask exactly what that was supposed to mean, you watched as her cheeks flushed a bright red—this time not at the fault of the air. Again she laughed, all humor aside, and her hands lifted to her face as tears leaked from her eyes. 

“God,” she sniffed, frantically moving to wipe her face with her sleeve. “You both really suck.”

You leaned forward awkwardly, passing her a napkin from the holder with a small tilt of your head. “I’ve come to realize that recently.”

She gave you a look that read, “don’t agree with me” and it managed to pull a laugh from your own throat. Hyunae might’ve been a little bit of a bitch, but it wasn’t without reason. She was insecure and jealous and those two things are away at someone like a virus. It was almost impossible to not feel such things at your age.

You always forgot that you were barely out of high school, the years of petty emotions and fake relationships hadn’t quite yet been erased from your minds. You were all in the same boat.

Just trying to learn along the way. 

“You know what’s funny…” Hyunae smiled, her eyes wet. “I always kind of routed for you two. I didn’t really know it, but it was always in the back of my head.”

You felt your lip wobble, but you bit it down, clenching your jaw. There was no way in hell that you were going to cry. You weren’t going to do that—you had no reason to. Hyunae was the one who just lost her boyfriend, and she was the only one who was supposed to be sad. 

“Every time you and him were together it just looked so right. I don’t know…” She swiped her hair over her shoulder with a sigh. “I honestly couldn’t believe it when he asked me to be his girlfriend, I thought you two had been a thing for a while—” right, you nearly forgot about the time when Hyunae was simply a friend. “—but then he came bounding up with a goofy smile on his face and that was it. It was over.”

Hyunae and Jisung had some math class together back in high school, he didn’t tell you much about her, but you knew enough to think she was a decent person. Back in those days, Hyunae was much different; sporting a thick pair of glasses and dark hair. But still just as gorgeous, as everyone with two eyes could see. 

She followed Jisung around like a lost puppy, and even had to be shooed away by Minho a few times. You were just glad that she listened, since Minho’s temper had been much worse then. You didn’t remember the details but you did remember the day that Jisung jumped back to your house with a big smile and flushed cheeks. It was a time when you were still an angsty teenager and listened to terrible love songs when you were in emotional distress. So that news was a real punch in the face. 

“I’m sorry.”

You didn’t know what else to say, she wasn’t exactly your friend, so you didn’t know how to take in and process the information that she just threw at you. 

Hyunae shook her head.

“Don’t be sorry. I had a feeling before that it was going to happen sooner or later. Who knew it was going to be so much later?”

You sent her a small smile. She wasn’t half bad when she wasn’t completely ignoring your existence and sending murderous glances your way. 

The waiter rounded up to your table—unfortunately, not Jeongin—and proceeded to ask you what you wanted to order. After Hyunae promised to pay for your meal as well, the two of you talked for what seemed to be hours. You didn’t talk about anything at all—going on about classes and professors that you couldn’t stand. Your mind was clear for the first time in weeks and it was beyond refreshing to talk to her about things that only another girl would understand. Being around boys every day of your life had taken a toll on you and you hadn’t realized it until you were laughing as Hyunae ranted about how obviously sexist your communications professor was. 

You could be yourself around the boys, of course. But with her, you could be someone you hadn’t been in a long time. 

With a fry between her fingers, she hummed, leaning her chin on her hand. 

It was only a matter of time before she reverted to what she came to talk to you about, and you tried your hardest to redirect the conversation each time it looked like it was going to be lead down that spiral of absolute hell—

“I think you guys would be cute together.”

You deadpanned, flicking your empty straw wrapper in her direction. 

“Are we really talking about He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named right now?” You quirked a brow, not at all happy with the way she snickered at your question.

“If it makes you feel better, Y/n… I think I’ve had feelings for Hyunjin for a long time as well.”

“Oh yeah, my guilt is cured.”

She nearly snorted her water, sputtering a little bit around her mouthful. You took a bit of pride in that. 

“I actually missed your sarcasm, believe it or not.”

Sighing, you threw all of your remaining trash onto one plate, your belly finally full and happy. “Wow, you actually remember when we didn’t hate each other?”

“You really hated me?”

“A little bit. Your whole lovey-dovey act was a bit sickening.” You shrugged. 

“Because you’re in love with Ji?”

You froze immediately. 

Hyunae couldn’t just drop it? Her constant mention of Jisung was really putting a damper on your mood, and the itch of fight or flight was really beginning to kick in once again. 

And to think things were going so well. 

“No,” you said, shaking your head quickly. “No no, I have a boyfriend. Sort of... I’m not in love with anyone—”

“Y/n, look at me. Please,” she reached over the table to tap your chin with her pretty manicured finger, her face pulling into a soft smile. “Darling, it’s been almost two years since we graduated high school, and nothing has changed between the two of you since then. Even while you were dating other people. He still looks at you like you hung the damn stars and you still blush whenever he calls you those stupid little pet names he has for you. You’re both whipped.”

Your face softened under her stare. Her words hit a cord inside of your chest, but it was just something that made your head hurt when you thought about it. You didn’t want to think about it, let alone talk about it. 

“Jisung and I have only ever been friends. Yes, we’ve been good friends for a long time, but he has never told me anything about liking me. If he can’t tell me something as simple as this then I don’t think I can—”

Suddenly her eyes were hard set, piecing fiercely into yours. It stopped you in your tracks immediately. 

“Don’t make me get any more upset with you, okay?” 

Hyunae was definitely a force to be reckoned with. 

“Listen,” She sighed, her eyes fluttering shut. “Jisung is the best guy I’ve ever dated and that probably won’t ever change. I want him to be happy, and I want you to be happy too. So please just think about things. I’m here telling you that this boy is head over heels in love with you—that he has been for years. His fault here is the fact that he’s so oblivious to his own feelings that he can’t see yours. He just—” her hands flailed in front of her, searching for her next words. “—doesn’t know how.”

You sighed. “I always liked Jisung when I was a kid. Hell, even earlier this year I could turn to you and say—yes, I am in love with Han Jisung.” 

Hyunae blinked. 

“But who the hell am I to say that I’m in love with someone? I’m not—I’m definitely not.” You sighed, mind wandering back to when things barely crossed your mind for longer than a minute. Things had been tossed around so lightly. “It was frustrating because it was so easy to like him when I was young. There wasn’t this huge word hanging over my head like there is now.”

Hyunae pushes her empty plate to join yours, speaking without a care. “You know that you don’t have to love him, right? You could simply like him.”

You felt the weight behind what she was saying in your chest, you didn’t have to label what you felt for him if you still weren’t sure. The only problem with that was that you knew what you felt for Jisung, and it was stupid. Because how could you look at someone and know how you felt when you hadn’t even seen every side of them? 

You couldn’t remember when he had last been serious with you. Never once had he looked at you with the eyes of an adult and told you about his inner thoughts. That wasn’t who Jisung was, he avoided those thoughts. 

He was only ever happy around you, and whether that was a good or a bad thing, you had no idea. 

“Was Jisung ever serious with you?”

Hyunae was momentarily stunned by your out of place question but she recovered with a small hum. “Well, a little bit. Whenever he was upset or tired he’d get a little snippy, but serious? I’m not really sure.”

That was just how Jisung was.

“Huh…”

“Oh,” she chirped suddenly, her lead raising as if she remembered something. “There was a moment when he was always serious.” 

Your head quirked to the side in question, eyes wide with curiosity. Despite knowing him for years, there was still plenty of unknowns to Han Jisung, and you were curious to know more.

“What is it?”

Hyunae’s mouth opened for a moment, then closed. Many things flashed over her face at once, but it was safe to assume that she was rethinking her words. Your chest fell. 

Her eyes darted away from yours, guilt flashing over her features. “I don’t think I can tell you that.”

“Not fair,” frowning, you pouted. “That’s the worst cliffhanger ever.”

She tisked, small smile pulling to her lips. “Well,” she shrugged. “You could always move forward to find out.”

She was right, you could. 

There were many things you had to move forward with, many people you had to have a conversation with; Jisung definitely being one of them. With a mental list of all the people that you had questions and answers for, everything only just began to clear themselves up. It was small, but it was something. Your head was always busy anyway, having things clearing out was like a breath of fresh air that you could barely reach. 

But it was still something. 

“You’re right. I think I just have to start with someone else.”

Hyunae smiled, “Get on with it then. Hurry your ass out of here.”

“Well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t expecting this,”

Maybe you shouldn’t have listened to Hyunae. 

Your heart was pounding radically in your chest as you sat straight as a board on the spinning office chair of the notorious recording room. You hadn’t seen it since that day it all began—honestly it had seemed so long ago. The room was cleaned up and organized, all the wires neatly tucked into the back instead of sprawled all over the floor, and you found yourself focusing more on that than the person in front of you. 

You almost had to force yourself to your chair, everything feeling way too heavy for your liking. 

“What do you mean?”

Chan ran a hand through his messy curls. It was only a few days ago that you had wanted to run your own fingers through his dark hair. 

“You and Jisung aren’t very subtle, but uh, I was just hoping you could like me—” he paused for a moment, filing through his mind for the right words. “—as well, I guess.”

“Oh…”

“Hey, it’s fine. Jisung’s a good guy, you guys will be good together.”

Had you stepped into a parallel universe where every ex was supportive instead of filled with rage?

“But—well, I don’t even know if we are going to end up together or anything like that. My head has just been all over the place lately and I definitely never intended to drag you into this mess. I feel awful, god I’m a terrible person, aren’t I—?”

“Y/n.” Chan said, voice firm. 

Your cheeks heated at the realization of your otherwise embarrassing ramble. 

“Sorry…” You squeaked. 

Chan sighed, leaning more weight against his desk. “Don’t be sorry. I just don’t want you freaking out here. You need to know that I’m an adult too, none of this is all your fault.”

You froze for a moment—one stupid moment just looking into Chan’s pretty brown eyes and realizing how weak they made you feel. 

Chan’s mouth curled into a sympathetic smile as a tear rolled down the apple of your cheek. His hand reached forward to swipe the intact droplet with his pointer finger, and a small giggle rippled through his chest. 

“God—Don’t cry, stupid,” he suddenly brushed his hand over your face, an attempt to raise your spirits to the very end. “You’re making me feel bad.”

“I hate you…” You sniffed, swatting his hand away with a quiet sob. 

As his finger ran over your wet cheek to collect the little drops that leaked down, you weren’t sure whether to laugh or cry so you did both, once again crumbling under his touch.

“Hey,” he smiled. “You can’t hate me. I should be the one hating you.”

Your lip jutted out into a pout, one that he wanted so badly to kiss from your lips. 

“Then we can hate each other.”

Chan hummed, watching as your jaw clenched in an attempt to keep your emotions from falling down your cheeks. You didn’t want him to see just how conflicted you were, he knew that much. 

“Okay. We can do that.” 

And he leaned down to place a soft kiss to the top of your head, careful of the affection he gave you. 

But it only made your stupid heart hiccup in your chest, opposed to the way it would’ve raced had it only been days prior. 

With Jisung it was warmth that spread over your body, but with Chan it was like floating in a pool of water with all your clothes on; encasing and safe and just a little sticky. 

You were sure if you wanted to chase after the brief relief that Chan brought to you, it was difficult to tell with the way you were trying to find your answers. Was one more chance unfair to Chan? Even after explaining your inner (and slightly unknown) thoughts and feelings to him about Jisung, could you still salvage anything if you tried one more time?

“Can I… kiss you please?” You asked, neither looking in his eyes or at his plump lips. You really liked his lips. 

Chan smiled, eyes darting down to your little pout. He liked your lips too. 

“You want to?”

You hummed, a small nod to tell him that you were too embarrassed to confirm his words with those of your own. But Chan was understanding and patient. He didn’t push you to do anything as Jisung did—Chan was so perfect, why the hell did you think about Han Jisung?

What was wrong with you?

You didn’t want to answer that question. You wanted it all to go away—the fear, the confusion, everything. And the way Chan was looking at you made you feel it all simmer down to nothing. His eyes were so soft. 

You were backpedaling, you knew that. But it was hard not to when Chan felt so safe.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” His lips quirked up. 

You felt bad for not liking Chan the way you liked Jisung. He was better to love and he showed you everything you had missed before. He held you when you were sad, cooed into your ear that everything was going to be alright when it was him who was taking the loss. Why did he do that?

Leaning forward, you all but collapsed into his embrace, finally feeling his soft lips again. 

One thing you loved about Chan was his arms. You loved how they felt around you, and how strong they were. A lot of people liked his arms for those reasons too, you supposed. He may have been your first, but you certainly weren’t his. 

How long were you going to go back and forth?

Reassurance was what you had with Chan, but with Jisung there was time. You took your time with him unknowingly, watching him with your brother as they played video games in Minho’s room. You were yelled at, pushed, and locked out, but you still got back up and pushed back. As uncool of a sister you were back then, you persisted. 

Minho and Jisung would tease you and pick on you all they wanted, but you were still there at the end of the day. Tear stained cheeks and dirty clothes, and you were still there carrying your silly crush on your big brother’s best friend. 

There was time spent building something to stand on, years of pining and banter lead to a feeling that you couldn’t just replace with a kind heart and a kiss. 

No matter how nice the lips you kissed were. 

Chan knew this too. He knew you were thinking of so many different factors at once, and he was still pulling you tight to him, aware that your kiss would be his last from you. What he felt with you was terrifying. 

You both meant to forget. 

His arms held you tight, hands respectfully placed on your waist as you pushed and pushed into the embrace. The kiss was all new and too intense, but there was something screaming at you to just keep going. 

It grew more heated and your emotions mingled as a small voice began chipping away at the back of your mind; telling you that you didn’t deserve it, that you didn’t deserve him. Even as you found yourself lifting to your knees and straddling his waist, the voice persisted, not even silenced by the soft words that Chan spoke. 

“I feel like you’re going to break if I touch you.” He admitted, voice unstable. 

You shook your head in a daze, “I won’t, I promise.”

You wanted the thought of Jisung out—the thought of him touching another girl the same way Chan was touching you. Did he hold Hyunae like this? Did he kiss her like she was the most precious thing to him? Was there a chance that he would with you? Did he even want to? 

You wanted no part of that thought so you pushed further. 

“I’ll be okay, Chan. If it’s you, I’ll be okay.” You murmured.

Chan’s heart thudded in his chest. 

And in that moment, he almost forgot that you were in love with someone else. 

“Okay, I’ll take care of you.”

You smiled, a small burst of heat running over your cheeks. 

“Sap…”

Chan nearly responded with, “but I’m your sap” but he managed to bite his tongue, distracting himself by slipping one hand under the hem of your shirt. His hand was cold but not unwelcome as it felt along your stomach, and for the first time being with Chan your thoughts slipped—his hand was too strong, too rough. It wasn’t soft and pretty like Jisung’s, it wasn’t warm and comfortable like Jisung’s had been around your waist that morning. Chan’s hands were veiny and cold to the touch. Of course ther was nothing wrong with that. But they weren’t Jisung’s.

All it took was one hug from Jisung to stir up your head, huh?

But he had felt so nice against your back, his with but muscular build feeling like it was meant to be there all along. He had hugged you from behind back in high school many times, his chin resting on your shoulder and his breath fanning over your neck. It was hard to focus then, and it had been hard to focus that morning as well. How did you not know it was Jisung?

Sure, he and Chan were similar in height but Jisung just fit differently. 

And when his eyes landed on your neck, it had been the feeling of panic that crossed you. You didn’t want Jisung to see you like that—with another man’s markings over your throat. 

A sudden thought crossed your mind as Chan slowed his lips journey on your neck…

Was it really Minho that was preventing you from dating? 

The look in your brother’s eyes had been one of disappointment, but he hadn’t done anything, and deep down you knew there was no way he would really hurt the person you were in a relationship with. Of course he would scare them away and make it clear that he wasn’t a fan of you dating, but there you were, watching him do it, barely giving your big brother a slap on the wrist—

“Y/n,” Chan called, and you hadn’t even realized that he had taken his mouth off of your shoulder. “Babygirl…”

He tested the name on his tongue.

But his doubts were confirmed as you frowned. The nickname would’ve once sounded like heaven leaving his lips, but now...

He sent you a small smile after studying your features for a moment. 

“Do you miss him, right now?”

Your eyes widened at his words—you did. 

“No. Of course not,” you said, shaking your head with shaky inhales. “Why are you asking me that?”

There was an internal battle behind Chan’s eyes as he watched your face morph into discomfort. He was a little frustrated. 

Chan removed his hand from underneath your shirt. 

“If we’re going to be friends, Y/n… I don’t want you to lie to me anymore, okay?”

The shock that his words gave you made your eyes well up. It was like a punch to the gut to hear Chan scold you. He had never done such a thing before and you knew—you knew for sure that you couldn’t keep lying. 

When you cried, Chan didn’t wipe away your tears, he simply kept his eyes on yours as his hand rubbed small circles on your back. You needed to cry, and of course Chan knew that. 

He was Chan after all. 

“I’m so sorry—” you hiccuped, swallowing air as your palms lifted to cover your eyes. “—this sucks. This really really sucks.”

Chan sighed, feeling the sleepless nights catch up to him as he watched you break down. It was the worst feeling. It wasn’t that you were very obviously in love with someone else despite how his own chest aches for you to sink back into him and kiss the tiredness away, no—it was the fact that it was tearing you apart.  That was what hurt him the most. 

“Go see Ji.” 

Chan topped your head up with his finger, leaving one last peck to your tear covered lips. 

“He’s probably still upset.”

You nodded, laying your head down on his chest with a shaky sigh. “You’re a good guy, Chan…”

“Yeah, I know.”