#i had a few thoughts that probably shouldn't be repeated out loud

[s1m0nth3swag]

i apologise if i already sent this ask, my memory is terrible! if your requests are open, may i get an easily flustered male Reader/doorman who is mercilessly teased and flirted with by a doppelganger Francis and the real Francis watches? Whenever it's smut or not is up to you

I just absolutely need to imagine Scarlet Milk Francis and regular Francis.... thats a physical need actually.

Like flirty Scarlet Milk and Francis who's just like "bro i would never say that, cringe" UNTIL HE NOTICES READER GETTING FLUSTERED AND HE JUST GOES "damn. whore." (judgy Francis for the win <3)

I'm not at all down bad for Scarlet Milk Francis wdym this is normal, isn't it?

Also, uhm, uhm, a little badly written because I wrote this in Latin Class, and my brain is positively fried!

WARNINGS/ CONTENT INFO; Slight suggestive themes (not full blown smut though), Francis being judgy, Reader being down bad (relatable), part two worthy bullshit (because i love the thought of taking Scarlet Milk and Francis (totally in a fight.))

Blood. That's the first thing you noticed as your favourite Milkman walked in. He was covered in blood. When asked about it, he simply said it was 'Scarlet Milk', a new type of milk. You had simply nodded along, like yeah. This was totally normal. Not like you had let the actual milkman in just a few minutes later, and you knew that if you called the apartment his voice would sound from the telephone. You reached there, eyes fixed on the doppelganger - you had always thought Francis was attractive but this.. well, it was definetly a new high. "Don't call him." The doppelganger spoke, voice too sweet and buttery. He knew he'd gotten caught, but seemingly he.. didn't mind. He smiled at you through the small window that seperated the hall and your office. "Bet the real one doesn't even bat an eye at you, hm? You're so good looking, he really should." You flushed slightly, even though you know you shouldn't. This was a doppelganger, for gods sake! A ruthless monster that could easily kill you! Yet here you were, blushing at the fake Francis. And he knew he got you on the hook, you could tell by the grin that adorned his face.

If you had known that the actual Francis still stood just outside the door that led into the building, and had seen the fact that a Doppelganger with his face had walked in, you probably wouldn't be talking to it anymore. Much less if you had known that Francis hurriedly made his way to your office - he trusted you didn't have a memory of five seconds, but something told him you were in trouble. He didn't even bother knocking, just opened the door to what was probably the weirdest scene ever. You with a bright blush covering your face, his doppelganger having a shit eating grin on his face... Yeah this had to be a fever dream.

Meanwhile, you were absolutely done for. Sweet nothings, things you didn't think anyone would dare speak out loud - the doppelganger had probably given you the most compliments you'd ever received in your lifetime. You turned around in shock as you heard the door open, staring at the real Francis like a deer caught in headlights. "Look who decided to join us! Real me!" The doppelganger chuckled. "Was just telling this sweet thing what I'd do to them if they let me in." He purrs, tapping against the window teasingly. "They got real shy about it." You glared at the doppelganger, looking between him and the actual Francis. "What'd he say." Francis practically demands to know, and your cheeks flush a deeper shade of red at the thought of having to repeat the things the doppelganger said. This was probably a moment to sink into the ground forever. "Just said I'd give them something to do with those pretty lips. And then some other things.." The doppelganger answers in your stead. Yup, you definitely want to get swallowed by the floor at this point. Francis looks at you, raising a brow in silent judgement. "Seriously? I'd never say stuff like that. That's stupid." He sighs, his face scrunching in a frown. "And honestly, you see me covered in blood and think "Yeah I'd fuck that"? Really?" He adds, serious annoyance in his voice, and you don't even know what's happening anymore because this whole situation is so unreal. "I'm sure I'm really handsome." The doppelganger quips in. "Though.. I would look better without this awful uniform, don't you think, sweets?" You let out a silent groan, covering your ears in embarrassment.

You don't know why this continued, but now Francis and the doppelganger are yapping about how the doppelganger doesn't get Francis' speech right - you seriously stopped listening after they both told you to shush when you said you'd just terminate the Doppelganger... you only listened to hints of the conversation. Something about sharing is caring or so.

God, how did you get yourself into this...

[iloveblogging2]

Blue lock boys reacting to you telling them your pregnant

warnings: angst, teenage pregnancies, mentions of getting an abortion (a lot), heartbreak etc

Isagi:

He loves you.

Everything about you, the way you act, your beautiful smile your encouraging personality, your rosy lips that just turn him on and makes him think of stuffs he shouldn't be thinking of

he really does but not like he loves soccer.

in the few seconds you told him about your pregnancy he has already analyzed how his life will take a turn if he accepts and takes care of the baby.

he won't have time to play soccer.

he can't become the best striker.

if he is here for you he wont be here for soccer.

all because he had sex too young.

no

like ego said you make your own destiny

"please get an abortion" he said piercing you with his deep blue eyes

"what" you asked you couldn't believe your ears

sure he had soccer and blue lock but at least he should accept the baby.

he isn't gonna leave you alone is he?

doesn't he love you

"abort the baby" he repeated "or i'll break up with you''

you couldnt believe your ears

"HOW DARE YOU HOW COULD YOU YOU WANT TO LEVAE ME BECAUSE I WANT TO KEEP THE BABY ISAGI'' you cried "I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME"

this broke his heart but he had to continue he couldnt ruin his futeure because of a child

"i do' he replied ''thats why i'm asking you to abort it'' he said puttimg a hand on your shoulder

''so'' he began ''i'm leaving for the bluelock camp again so please abort the child or ill deny ever dating you'' he threatened

Nagi

''man what a hassle'' he accidentally said out loud

he didn't mean to sure that's how he felt but

He adores you

I mean

Sure you sometimes- most of the time you annoyed him sure but he did care for you.

especially the time when you just obeyed him

that wasn't normally your bubbly energetic and stubborn personality would do but for nagi you were willing

Nagi and you deserved each other.

you were still young

but you thought this was love

he made you smile when you think about him

which was everytime

everytime you think about you him

aaah you just wanna get married already and have his kids

that was probably why you agreed easily to have sexual intercourse

that means he feels the same way you thought

so why was he saying this

surely he didnt mean it right?

‘’sorry’’ he hesitated before he continued  

“i dont think i can be a father, i have blue lo-” 

Slap 

“WHAT ABOUT ME !??, I HAVE TO QUIT SCHOOL MY PARENTS MIGHT NO THEY WILL KICK ME OUT AND YOU- YOU JUST WANT TO LEAVE!!!!’’ 

‘’LEAVE ME ALONE!!” he responded “IT’S NOT MY FAULT YOU ARE PREGNANT, ABORT THE BABY THEN IT’S A HASSLE TO KEEP IT”  

Charles 

Note: he is still a new character and i know nothing of him

‘'Are you sure it’s mine?’’ 

You and Charles have been dating for a while. 

And while you barely see him because of his soccer career and neo-egoist league- you still loved him. 

So when you found out you were pregnant you were elated 

Since a baby is involved he would spend more time with you  

After all its his child involved 

You smiled when you thought of charles playing soccer with his little son 

What would we name him you merrily thought 

So it hurt hurt you a lot when he asked you 

‘’Are you sure it’s mine?’’ 

“w-what” you replied in disbelief 

“i mean” he yawned “i don’t know maybe you cheated on me” 

“h-how c-could y-you s-uggest th-a-at" you asked tears welling in your eyes 

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go 

“woah don’t cry i-i just mean that maybe it’s a- mi-stake yeah, look im not ready ready to be a father and to be honest i dont think i like y-” 

You burst into tears 

You're so annoying Charles thought  

He liked you but you just annoyed him in ways soccer could never 

Soccer never asked for attention and tried to baby trap him 

You made his heat skip a beat but no the way fighting a strong opponent in soccer did 

When he thought about you- the rare time he did he smiled but when he thought about soccer it didnt just make him smile – it brought out a whole new monster  

He can neglect and insult you but not soccer never soccer  

To a normal person this sounded ridiculous 

Soccer was a thing, a sport, a way of life to egoist like him. 

YN was a human being- not that special 

She didnt bring out a whole new ego- she was boring. 

Also he knew if he accepted his role as the father of the unborn child he’ll have to spend more time with yn and not soccer 

So he had to break it off right now and maybe convince her to get an abortion 

“listen YN......” 

Notes: Charles is a new character and i know nothing of him

if you have any requests you can ask me

 

` 

[livwritesstuff]

Just in connection to my reply to one of your posts with little baby Moe (Okay she wasn't a baby but you get it.)

I really, really need some scenes with the girls (all of them or one by one) where they tell Steve (and Eddie too) how amazing he is as a dad. Not as teeny tiny children but rather as teenagers or even as young adults. Just genuine love between them, no ulterior motives.

Because I feel like Steve NEEDS that too. Every now and then. I know parents always have moments where they feel like they've fucked up or that their children don't really like them. And I feel like Steve could spiral about these things on a bad day. Eddie telling him that the girls love him to pieces doesn't help a lot on these days, I believe (You can correct me since it's definitely your universe and your Steve and Eddie).

So I'm just asking, very VERY politely :))), what you think those moments could look like and what the girls would say or why Steve even feels like he failed them. (Okay that's a LOT I'm asking of you, I'm sorry.) Just see where the flow takes you, if it does.

Thank you thank you thank you 🥰🥰🥰🥰

HAZEL

Steve was home alone with the kids because Eddie was away for a few days of work meetings in New York. The second day of Eddie’s absence, Steve was hit with a killer migraine – his first really bad one in a while – so he set the girls up with a movie (a long one) to give himself a couple hours to try sleeping it off.

A while later, he woke up to an alarm blaring – weird, he’d thought in the moment because he probably wouldn’t have set a loud alarm for a migraine nap (seems a little counter-intuitive), but everything about his brain was foggy so who's to say.

Then, outside the door, he heard this exchange between his two oldest daughters.

Moe: Papa can turn it off.

Robbie: But we’ll get in trouble.

Robbie: It’s on fire.

Half-convinced he was dreaming, he got up and followed the girls into the kitchen where, yep, the microwave was on fire. All Steve really remembers is unplugging it and leaving it to the elements outside.

Turns out Moe had wanted to make mac and cheese (which she knew how to do – they’d actually been about to graduate her to toaster privileges until this incident) and it had been a fluke timer-based accident.

Eddie had thought coming home to a melted microwave in their driveway was hilarious, but Steve was seriously rattled about it because it was the first time he'd felt like something had happened because of a failing on his part. He shouldn't have let himself succumb to the migraine, he should have pushed through it to be there for the girls, but he’d let himself slip and then they set the goddamn microwave on fire.

The same day he got back from his trip, Eddie went out and bought a new microwave (even though it’s one of those purchases Steve would normally handle because he doesn’t trust Eddie for a second to not buy the dumbest appliances he can find), and he took all three girls with him so Steve could have a bit of time alone. When they all returned an hour or two later, the sheer volume and amount of excitement they brought with them pretty much confirmed for Steve that whatever microwave Eddie bought had way more bells and whistles than any person on Earth could possibly need.

Steve didn’t go downstairs to greet them and not too long later, the door to his and Eddie’s room opened, and then three-year-old Hazel was climbing into bed and snuggling up close to him.

“There’s a new microwave,” she told him in her matter-of-fact way she reported on everything that happened in her world.

“I know,” he replied, running a hand through her tangled blonde curls (unlike Robbie, Hazel’s tolerance for “hair time”, as they call it, is pretty much rock-bottom – her hair is more frizz than curls these days and Steve is figuring out how to cope).

“Daddy wants to turn the old one into a diagram,” she continued.

Steve furrowed his eyebrows.

“A diagram?” he repeated.

“He wants to put all the melted spoons in and make them look cool and put it on a shelf.”

Oh – also, no fucking chance. Not in Steve’s kitchen.

“I think he said diorama, Haze.”

Hazel nodded.

Then she said, “You were like a firefighter.”

Steve refrains from pointing out that he shouldn’t have needed to be like a firefighter in the first place (because that would be putting his own issues onto his children and he doesn’t want to do that), even though he knows it’s true. He should have been there.

“You’re the best dad ever,” Hazel continued.

“Yeah?”

“Uh-huh,” she nods, and she’s just as matter-of-fact now as she was before, and she’s sitting on his chest in a way that has her little knees digging into his ribs, which should hurt but instead feels like a tether to the real world he can grasp onto and pull himself out of his head.

 “You think we should go check out this microwave?” he asks, starting to sit up.

Hazel nods.

“Alright, let’s go.”

MOE

When Moe was 21 – a junior in college in New York City – she and her best friend since kindergarten, Gray, started dating (finally, in Steve’s opinion, because he’d seen that coming for ages).

Steve and Eddie have known Gray for as long as Moe has, and they’ve watched Gray grow up nearly as much as their three daughters – as a kindergartener with freckles and dark brown pigtails, as a middle-schooler tearfully coming out as non-binary knowing they’d have to hide it from their family, as a high school senior, still with all those freckles, eager for the fresh start that college would bring.

It was nice to be for Gray (and for a handful of their daughters’ other friends over the years) something that Eddie and Steve had needed when they were their age – a place where they could be themselves without any consequences, a place where they didn’t have to hide, because sometimes, as was the case for Gray for many years, you have to hide. It’s nice to have a safe haven where you don’t.

During Moe and Gray’s senior year of college, the pair made plans to come home for their final spring break. When that first week of March finally rolled around, Moe called from the train to tell them that Gray was finally pulling the trigger – finally coming out to their parents, finally telling them about their relationship with Moe.

“Are they sure,” Steve had asked – not because he doubted Gray but because he hadn’t been too much older when he’d taken that leap for himself and he’d felt the subsequent loss of his parents like mourning a death.

“Positive,” he’d heard Gray reply.

Three hours after their train dropped Moe and Gray off at the Wellesley Farms station, Steve and Eddie heard the back door open. A moment later, Moe trailed in with something heavy in her eyes.

“How’d it…” Eddie started to ask from where he and Steve sat on the couch, but he stopped when Moe shook her head.

“Not over yet,” she told them, “Gray made me leave. It’s a fucking trainwreck.”

And even though he knew that was always going to be the outcome, Steve’s heart still sank.

“Damn,” Eddie commented while Steve shook his head, “They’ll always have a home with us, but…”

“Yeah,” Moe nodded, “Still sucks.” 

Steve recognizes something of his own experience in that – he feels so damn grateful that Jim and Joyce had slid into that parent role for him, especially after he’d become estranged from his actual parents in his mid-twenties. Still, they weren’t his parents, and Steve would’ve never not wanted his parents to pull through like they should have.

Moe sat down on the couch between her dads.

“Why did Gray make you leave?” Steve asked (even though he had a sneaking suspicion why).

“Uh…” Moe paused, pushing her blonde bangs back, “Well, I wouldn’t say I was yelling, exactly, but…I dunno. If you ask Gray they might tell you I was yelling.”

Yep, that seems about right.

“I just,” Moe continued, “I know Gray was prepared for this – for their parents, like, rejecting all of this – and I know they’ve always totally sucked so this was obviously how this was gonna go, but I think I had a hard time seeing it because I’d never really had to consider what it would be like for that to happen.”

Moe shook her head, her bangs falling right back into her eyes, and Steve had to resist the urge to ask if she wanted his help trimming them like he’d done when she was little.

“I just mean – it never made a difference to you who me and Haze and Robbie were or what we did. You just, like, love us regardless…and always, y’know? I never had to imagine anything happening to make that stop, and I never had to consider that it might not be like that for everyone.”

She paused again, this time for a while, her eyes trained on the carpet as she fiddled with cuffs on her jeans. 

And then Moe looked Steve dead in the eye.

“You’re the best dads,” she said, “and I’m really, really lucky.”

ROBBIE

There were eight hours between Steve and Eddie finding out their fifteen-year-old daughter had been in a car crash during a school trip to Disney World and when they finally made it down to the hospital in Orlando she’d been taken to. There were another agonizing two before Robbie woke up.

When she did, her eyes groggily blinked open, and she looked blankly around the hospital room for a moment, and then she saw them.

Then her pale face crumples and suddenly she’s crying.

And that had Steve’s heart plummeting even faster than the phone call from hell he’d gotten eight hours earlier, because Robbie doesn’t cry.

He can’t remember the last time he’d seen her cry – not since she was a baby, anyway. She’d cried constantly as a baby, but the second she had a firm enough grasp on the English language it had ceased entirely, replaced by an endless stream of words – demands and trains of thought and exclamations and everything in between.

Eddie had joked that she’d only ever been crying out of frustration over not being able to tell them what she needed, and as soon as she could tell them, she had no use for it anymore, so seeing Robbie sobbing – the kind of crying where no sound could come out, where she was barely breathing, where her tears were soaking her cheeks and staining the collar of the hospital gown someone had changed her into – it practically had Steve crying himself.

After a few minutes of we’re here and you’re okay and what do you need, Robbie had tearfully admitted, “I need a hug,” and then she’d broken down again.

She wasn’t exactly in any position to get up, obviously, so Steve had taken off his shoes (because even through tears she’d still side-eyed his sneakers) and slid onto the hospital bed so he could pull Robbie into his arms just like he used to do when bad dreams woke her up in the middle of the night.

Later, when Eddie was just outside the hospital room talking to the nurse and the chaperone for the trip about the accident and how the school was planning on moving forward in the aftermath, Robbie finally spoke.

“Papa,” she said, her face pressed into his shoulder.

“Mm-hmm.”

“I’m sorry.”

Steve looked down at his daughter.

“Robbie, you don’t need to–”

“Not for this. For…just, like, in general. You–”

She paused, and Steve let her.

“I just mean…” she continued, “I haven’t been, like, good lately, and I’m sorry.”

Steve didn’t know what to say.

She’s not exactly wrong – it’s true that Robbie had been a total piece of work lately, especially since she started high school, especially since she got bumped up to the senior-level band class because she’s that good at the violin (which he and Eddie had been thrilled about initially until they realized it meant she was making friends with high school seniors) – but Steve didn’t exactly know how best to explain to her that up until this, up until she’d nearly died because of it and no matter how much Steve didn’t like it, it was normal.

It was normal for teenagers to do dumb shit, to hurt themselves, to hurt others, to drive their parents goddamn insane with worry. It wasn’t normal for them to nearly end up dead because of it, and this time it wasn’t really even her fault.

It sort of reminded him of Nancy in a way, of how Nancy had never been the same again after what happened to Barb, how Nancy had never let herself be a dumb teenager, never let herself relax, even though picking a boy over a friend was normal. Sneaking out and drinking during a badly-supervised school trip was normal. Sure, there were supposed to be consequences but there shouldn’t be a goddamn death toll.

“I know, Bean,” he finally said, something about the situation pulling out a nickname for her that he hadn’t used in a long time (because when she was born, Moe had turned Robin into Robbean and the rest was history).

“You’re really good to me,” Robbie whispered, “You and dad are so good to me, and I’m not always good back, and I’m sorry.”

“I don’t need you to be sorry,” Steve told her because, for right now at least, it was true, “Just…just stick around long enough to work with us, okay?”

Robbie nodded.

“Okay.”

[skadren]

sephesis week day 1. infatuation / introduction: "we seek it thus."

(all prompt fills are interconnected and will be posted as a oneshot on ao3 at the end of the week.)

-

The first picture Genesis ever collects of him is black and white, dark ink printed against pale newspaper. Still, Sephiroth's features are striking and handsome even out of focus, and when his parents throw out the week's paper, Genesis steals it from the trash and cuts the photo out, stashing it away underground alongside the rest of his secrets. And just like the rest of his secrets, he lets each photo gather there, safe and cherished as time passes.

When he comes to his newest resolution, the only one he tells is Angeal—his good and only friend Angeal, who tilts his head and squints with a telltale frown of concentration, then says, "They're saying he's a war hero? At our age? I wonder what he did."

"It says right here in the papers. Killed a bunch of people, captured this-or-that territory, and so on. It's a war, after all." Genesis rolls his eyes; Angeal can be so dense sometimes.

"Don't be so flippant, it must have been important," Angeal insists. "He probably saved a lot of innocents with his efforts. Why else would they call him a hero?"

"Oh, never mind that. I showed you the paper so you could look at him, not debate the significance of his actions."

"He looks… short?" Angeal looks confused.

"He looks like he needs a friend," Genesis corrects. If he's being honest with himself, his heart had been set the instant he'd seen the boy in the papers, the soulful look in his eyes stirring something in his chest, although he'd been good and done what Angeal keeps nagging him to do and sat on it for months before acting on his decision.

Thankfully, Angeal knows Genesis well enough that his expression clears with immediate understanding. Less thankfully, he doesn't seem to be quite on board with it.

"And what, you're going to be his friend? You, a famous war hero's friend? If the papers are telling the truth, he's been out fighting in Wutai since he hit puberty."

There's an odd note in Angeal's voice; Genesis ignores it. Angeal is always praised as the good one, the sensible one, the one with his head securely on his shoulders and who keeps Genesis from causing any more messes in town, and yet no one bothers to point out how he always goes along with Genesis's ideas anyways. A buzzkill is what Genesis thinks he is, and he's gotten quite good at filtering out Angeal's requisite complaints. He'll be more willing to listen to what Genesis has to say once he's done.

"So I'll join ShinRa and go fight in Wutai too," Genesis declares—quite reasonably, in his opinion, given the majority of his collection consists of recruitment ads, and he doesn't get why Angeal sighs, loud and heavy.

"You shouldn't get your hopes up, Gen. You probably won't even get the chance to speak to him."

"Not if I become a hero too." Genesis flashes Angeal a bright smile, uncowed. "I've a new dream, now. I'll be best friends with Sephiroth, and tell him all about Loveless, and dumbapples, and—oh, I bet he's never even had a dumbapple before! There must be some way to be able to export them from here. Maybe if I—"

"I'm going too."

That's not what he'd expected Angeal to say at all. Wind torn from his sails, Genesis blinks at him for a few moments, because—isn't he supposed to be the spontaneous one, not Angeal? He'd thought there would be more protests.

"I'm going too," Angeal repeats, chin jutting up defensively. "Someone has to look after you if you're deciding to go off on your own. And if joining ShinRa means doing some good too—if it means being able to protect the people—then I want to join too."

"No need to worry, I understand. We seek it thus, and take to the sky." Genesis laughs, bright and carefree. "Certainly beats growing old and stale in this boring village, doesn't it? How exciting!"

Admittedly, the idea of his childhood friend being with him while they venture into the unknown is something of a relief. After all, he'd grown used to the assumption that they'd grow up and grow old together. Now, nothing about that is going to change—it's only going to be more, because now there's Sephiroth too.

They're going to be the best of friends. Genesis is sure of it.

-

next day

[chackyxyooj]

You Grew Up Too Quickly

No Manga Spoilers Present! - Modern AU

WC ~ 12,000

"We were all young once. There's no shame in that."

There are times in our lives where we feel like we have done more for others than others have done for us. When we, as individuals, take on a burden that shouldn't be ours to begin with, or when we are forced into situations where the outcome is weighted unfairly against us, a seed of indignation is planted within. When left unchecked, that seed will undoubtedly grow into the monster known as resentment.

But why is resentment such a difficult emotion to handle?

If we know exactly how it starts, doesn't that mean we can easily prevent it from happening?

Is it, after all, such an unavoidable future? If we are all so familiar with the persistent ache of resentment, why aren't we better equipped to deal with it?

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

In all the years you've lived, you've never considered yourself a fan of surprises. There is an exception to every rule, but one good experience didn't mean you had to like surprises. Similarly, having one bad surprise didn't mean that someone was obligated to say they hated surprises. For you though, you've had a few too many unpleasant surprises in your life - enough that you could say with confidence that you didn't like them.

In that same vein of logic, you considered yourself someone who very much preferred to be prepared. The stormy season was quickly approaching and you'd be a fool not to prepare yourself for it.

Although the first of the early-summer storms hadn't taken you by surprise, certain circumstances had arisen and left you a bit overwhelmed. Today was a particularly humid day. You've lived enough life to know that this kind of weather warranted one thing: an oncoming storm. So despite your desire to stay home you dragged yourself out to a shop.

Between avoiding puddles and protecting yourself from ravenous bugs, you suddenly found yourself face to face with something you actively disliked.

A surprise.

The surprise you currently found yourself facing wasn't something that someone could easily prepare themselves for. Perhaps it was silly of you to think that a situation like this needed to be prepared for, but that didn't mean you couldn't get swept up in the flow of it all.

You blinked slowly, staring at the young boy standing in front of you.There was no way he was older than four or five, so where were his parents? You took a moment to glance at the aisles around you but were met with disappointing prospects. Maybe you'd be better off bringing him to the front of the store? The employees here could keep a better eye out for his parents than you probably could anyway. But maybe if you waited just a moment longer you'd-

"Did you hear me, miss?" The young boy in front of you stared up at you, grinning.

You shook your head slightly as you snapped back to what was happening in front of you. "Sorry, could you repeat that for me?"

"Of course!" The young boy's grin grew wider. "Can you be my girlfriend?"

There it is again - that unpleasant feeling of surprise. Even so, you couldn't bring yourself to dislike the young boy.

You kneeled down to meet the gaze of the boy. "Shouldn't you be asking that to someone who's closer to you in age?"

The boy shook his head. "But I want you to be my girlfriend, miss!"

"You shouldn't be asking girls to be your girlfriend if you don't even know their name..." The words slipped out a little too quickly, but the young boy took it in great stride.

"You're right! Can I have the honor... the joy...no..." The boy scrunched his eyes shut as he suddenly fell deep into thought. You thought it was cute but didn't say it out loud. When the boy opened his eyes again, he gave you a desperate look. "What am I supposed to say again?"

"The pleasure?"

"Oh, yeah!" The boy's look suddenly disappeared as he returned to his previous smile. "Can I have the pleasure of making your acquaintance, Miss?"

"(L/n) (Y/n)."

"Okay (Y/n)-san, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Um... well, I can't be your girlfriend if I don't know your name... so I guess that means I can't be your girlfriend." You stood up once more, your eyes darting around again only to be met with what you'd gotten before: nothing. At this point, you decided you weren't going to get anywhere without the help of an employee. A bit hesitant, you turned your attention back to the boy.

"So if you know my name, you might be my girlfriend?" There was a certain look in his eyes. It was a look of innocence, naivety and hope. "Hmmm... but I'm not supposed to tell anybody my name..."

So the issue with him asking you to be his girlfriend wasn't because you were a stranger, but because you told him you had to know his name before you became his girlfriend? What kind of strange logic was that? Actually, you could probably answer that question yourself - it's childish logic, of course. So technically speaking it wasn't logical at all and- wait, what were you even going on about?

You let out a short sigh. Perhaps you've been entertaining him for too long.

"I don't think I'll get in trouble if I tell you my name because you're pretty." The young boy looked at you with a cheeky grin. You had to hand it to him, he was pretty crafty but his logic was seriously lacking. "My name is Uzui Ten-"

"There you are!" A new, third voice called around the corner. Relief floods your senses when this new, third person enters the fray.

Within a moment's notice, the newcomer had run up to the young boy and grabbed his hand.

As you turned your gaze to investigate the newcomer, you let out a quiet sigh. "Oh, good, you must be this young boy's... father...?" The relief you once felt suddenly turned to surprise when the newcomer was but a teenager who looked to be barely older than yourself.

"Do I look old enough to be his dad?" The newcomer quipped.

You shook your head profusely, standing up to meet the newcomer's gaze. "Oh- no! I didn't mean it like that! It's just that with your reaction and the age of the boy I just assumed that you were his dad but now actually looking at the two of you it's pretty obvious that you're probably brothers! Please accept my sincerest apologies."

Although a look of displeasure had been etched onto his face, the newcomer suddenly smiled at you. If that wasn't enough to throw you for a loop, his sudden change in attitude was definitely enough to make you reel back in surprise.

"Don't worry about it." He smiled a rather charming smile. "The name's Uzui Tengen. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Your eyes darted down to the young boy once again. "So... you're both named... Tengen?"

Shock momentarily filled the newcomer's expression, but it was quickly wiped away with a slight smile. "Ah, yeah... our parents wanted both of us to... be named after our dad! Yes, that's it. He's a serious narcissist and wanted two of his kids to share his name."

"Oh..." You had your gripes with the story, but it wasn't like this newcomer and the young boy were unacquainted. You decided that as long as the young boy was someone he knew, he was in good hands. "Well, I suppose that's none of my business in the first place. Now that the two of you have found each other, I hope you'll understand that I'll be taking my leave."

The older boy nods in understanding but the young one isn't as keen to see you go. You can hear him whining to his brother as you walk away, which amuses you, but you have shopping to tend to.

Things go smoothly for the most part, but you quickly come to realise just how small this seemingly large store is. It feels like you're running into the two boys at every turn. Each time you run into them is a bit more awkward than the last. The young boy is always sending you childish grins and you'd be remiss if you didn't at least smile back.

Even when you finish shopping, you find that the two boys are lined up behind you.

Once is by chance, twice is a coincidence, but more than three times? This felt ridiculous. Things like this don't usually bother you, but you have to draw a line somewhere right?

As the cashier is ringing up your items, you turn to face the older of the two boys. With a slightly joking tone, you address him. "I just can't seem to get rid of you two. Are you following me or something?" Though your question comes out playfully, it's much more sincere than an onlooker might suspect.

The older boy flashes you a playful smile. "Must be a coincidence."

"Twice is a coincidence. Three times though... not quite."

The older boy gives a short laugh that makes you just a little embarrassed. You think it's befitting for someone of his stature though. "Is that so? That's no good. Why don't you let me do something nice for you in apology."

"But... why?" You raise a brow in a mix of confusion and intrigue. It wasn't your intention, but your reaction causes the older boy to give a short laugh.

"You did help me out by finding this little rascal over here." The older boy says, ruffling the hair of his younger brother who swats at his hand. It's a fairly funny sight to see, but your attention is immediately redirected back to the older boy when he adds to his previous statement by saying "Plus, you're pretty cute."

You can feel heat begin to rush to your cheeks but the attention of the situation quickly shifts away from you and to the young boy.

"Not fair!" The young boy pouts. "I asked her to be my girlfriend first!"

"You did what now?"

The young boy turns to you with a childish grin. "I asked her to be my girlfriend!"

"You shouldn't be saying that kind of stuff to girls... espically at your age!" The older boy scolds his brother before turning to you with a bit of embarrassment. "I can see that I, well, my brother has caused you more trouble than I thought he did. Please, let me pay for your groceries as an apology."

Now it's your turn to be surprised. The things you bought weren't what you would call expensive, sure, but it wasn't cheap either. You were able to afford it because both your parents had overseas jobs, but him? He said himself that he wasn't much older than yourself and yet he was trying to pay for your groceries as an apology? "No, it's fine. You don't have to do that."

The older boy shakes his head. "I insist."

Despite adamantly declining his offer, the older boy pushes past you and pays for your goods anyway. He acted much faster than you thought he would. Even when you tried to protest, there was no way that you could push past him. When all was said and done, you were left staring at the boy in utter shock.

"Why did you...?" You can't even manage to finish your initial thought. "Let me pay you back immediately!"

The older boy just laughs. "Nah, don't sweat it. I was the one who insisted, remember?"

"Yes, but I declined so-"

"Don't worry about it."

"But I still-!" You bite back a response when the cashier motions for the older boy to pay for his own set of groceries. You have half a mind to try and pay for his things but there's no way you're making it to the till before he does.

As you mentally curse the older boy for being so nonchalant, you notice that the young boy is trying his best to pick your items off of the counter for you.

You gently lean over the young boy and pick your things up from the counter. Though the young boy pouts in response, you can't help but let out an amused sigh at the sight. "You two brothers are definitely cut from the same cloth."

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

While you'd planned to go straight home after shopping, you now found yourself sitting at the park instead. You weren't really sure how you ended up here. Okay, that wasn't exactly true. You knew exactly how you ended up here but you weren't exactly sure why you were still here.

You let out a soft sigh to yourself, your eyes trailing over the bag groceries at your side. You'd never had a stranger pay for your stuff before. While it was a nice gesture, you couldn't shake the feeling of guilt away. Life was kind enough that you didn't have to worry about your finances so you would have preferred to pay for yourself. You tried to tell that to the older of the Uzui brothers multiple times, but nothing worked. He'd just laugh it off or play it down with a compliment.

During that conversation, you and the older boy had instinctively followed the younger boy all the way to a nearby park. At this point in time you've given up on trying to reimburse the boys. It's not like you didn't believe in good karma, but this felt like it was bordering on too much.

You pressed your palm against your forehead and sighed once more.

"(Y/n)-san..." When the young boy calls your name, you find yourself being brought back to reality. He's looking up at you with such a childish grin again. You'd be lying if you said you didn't expect the young boy to try something a bit cheeky, but you couldn't find it in yourself to not return his smile.

"Yes, Tengen-kun?" You can tell that the young boy's smile grows ever so slightly when you use his first name.

"Do you want to play a game with me?"

"That depends on what game you want to play."

Tengen shifts in his spot slightly as he clasps his hands behind his back. "I won't tell you unless you agree to play first."

"Is that so?" You tilt your head slightly as your curiosity gets the better of you. "I suppose I have no choice then. Alright, I'll play."

Tengen's eyes light up when you agree to humour his request. He eagerly grabs your hand and pulls you over to where his older brother is sitting. Though he was browsing something on his phone, he puts it down when he sees you approaching.

He sports a playful smile that's similar in nature to his younger brother's smile, but you do catch the slight confusion that clouds his eyes. "What's the rush?" He asks. His eyes are focused on you but shift toward his brother when he asks the question.

"(Y/n)-san said she'll play family with me! Do you wanna be the son?"

The older Uzui's eyes widen in shock, yours likely doing the same. You weren't against the idea of playing family, but you also felt like this wasn't a very good idea either. Even so, the excitement on Tengen's face and the pure shock on Uzui's face amused you.

When the older Uzui finally collected his thoughts together, he pulled his brother closer to himself with a stern look.

"First of all, you should address people who are older than you more respectfully. It's rude to call people by their first name if they're not family. And second of all, you shouldn't make (L/n)-san play childish games like family."

"But (Y/n)-san said she'd be my wife, so technically she is family!"

"That's not-" Uzui gives a brief sigh before turning his gaze to you with an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry about him. I don't know where he gets off thinking he can do stuff like this. It's so different from how I was as a child."

You shake your head quickly. "No, it's alright. He's not lying or anything since I agreed to play. Plus, it's not like children at his age do things like this maliciously."

Uzui shoots his younger brother a stern look but lets him pull away. The moment Tengen is free from his brother's grasp he basically clings to you. It's a little bit awkward but it surprisingly doesn't bother you too much. It feels much less like Tengen is clinging to you and more like he's making fun of his brother.

Tengen pokes the side of your leg to draw your attention to him. "You'll be my wife, right (Y/n)-san?"

"In the game?" You clarify.

The young boy nods his head with a cheeky grin. "Yup! In the game!"

You hum to yourself for a moment, closing your eyes as you debate your options. There's a part of you that wants to go back home, but there's also a part of you that finds this whole ordeal rather amusing. These two boys don't seem like bad people, and they certainly act like brothers. If only to get back at the Uzui for paying for your groceries, you decided that playing along wouldn't hurt.

"Sure. You can be the husband and I'll be the wife." You respond as you open your eyes. When Tengen turns to his older brother after hearing your response, the grin on his face could only be described as satisfied - almost like he'd gotten the last cookie in the cookie jar.

"So I'll be the husband, (Y/n)-san is the wife..." Tengen turns to his older brother, his look of satisfaction turning triumphant. "And you can be our son."

"Hold on a minute, shouldn't I be the husband and you be the son?" The older boy says.

"Of course not. (Y/n)-san said she'd be my wife so that means that you have to be the son."

"That doesn't make any sense. I'm literally older than you."

"Too bad."

The older boy shoots you a look of confusion, hoping that you'll shift to his side in the debate. Instead, he's met with your laughter. It seems that between the young boy's childish logic and your desire for retribution in whatever way possible, you can't stop yourself from letting out a short laugh at how things seemed to be unfolding.

The sound of your laughter makes Uzui's expression soften. It's a stark contrast to the playful smiles he's been giving up until now. You think it makes the older boy look rather attractive.

"Fine, why don't we let (L/n)-san be the tie breaker?" All of a sudden, the older boy's gaze has shifted from his younger brother to you.

You can feel a light blush beginning to form so turn away from Uzui.

"Well then... Since I'm the one who gets to decide, I'll offer you a deal, Uzui-san." You turn your gaze toward your bag of groceries that are still waiting for you on the bench just over from this one. "I'll take your side if you let me reimburse you. If not, well..." You give a short laugh as you turn your gaze back to the older boy. "I guess you'll just have to play the son."

You can tell by the way he brings his hand up to his face to help hide his expression that you've taken him by surprise. Perhaps he wasn't expecting you to be so stubborn about such a matter, let alone to use it against him at such a strange opportunity. Or perhaps you were just waiting for the best moment to bring about your true intentions all along.

Just as it seems like the older boy will give his answer, you quickly interject with a playful grin. "I'm only joking. Why don't we play a game that will make better use of the playground instead of just playing family?"

"Really?"

Both boys ask in near unison. You can't help but become amused once more. For two brothers who are so vastly different in age, you can't help but notice the similarities they share. Perhaps it all goes to show how similar two people can be no matter their age.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

It's been a few days since your encounter with the Uzuis. Between the bickering and teasing between the brothers, you had to say that you enjoyed spending time with them. You likely wouldn't be running into them again, but with all things considered it was time well spent. Now that you've gotten over your initial surprise, you find yourself falling back into the rhythm of your life.

School. Volunteer work. Home.

It was a simple and straightforward way to live, but you enjoyed the normality of it all. Today was your day off from your volunteer work so you'd be going straight home. It was a good thing too since it was supposed to be a rainy evening.

When lunch time rolls around, you decide to visit the school shop to buy something. There are more people lined up than you initially expected, but the length of the line doesn't bother you.

You pass the time waiting like most other people probably do - on your phone. You're not looking for anything in particular, but a voice from a passing clip catches your attention. It's familiar for no apparent reason. When you scroll back to it, you realise that it's not an influencer you usually see being recommended to you.

'Sounds_2EZ'

Upon inspection, you come to find that the channel is hosted by a gaming oriented influencer who competes in esports tournaments. It seems like their main brand is to play FPS games, but they have a recurring theme of rhythm games. It doesn't strike you as odd since gaming has become a viable way to make a living, but you still can't shake that sense of familiarity.

As you go to search the influencer up on the internet, someone lightly tugs at the bottom of your uniform. You can feel your heart dropping at the action, only complimented by a deep feeling of dread filling your chest. The last thing you needed was to deal with a pervert.

Your eyes quickly shoot up from your phone only to fall back down to the perpetrator.

You're met with none other than a certain young boy and his excitable grin. "Hi (Y/n)-san! I found you!"

While you're glad it wasn't some random schoolmate of yours who was trying to get your attention, much less a pervert, the worried feeling in your chest doesn't immediately subside. "Tengen-kun? What are you doing here?" You ask, bringing yourself down to match the young boy's level.

Tengen puts his hands on his hips with what you can only describe as a proud grin. "I snuck out of daycare to come here! I didn't know you went to the same school as-" The young boy goes quiet for a moment, his eyes darting from side to side. You unconsciously mimic the young boy's actions and come to realise that a handful of people have redirected their gaze to you and the young boy.

"So your brother goes here too, huh?" The young boy nods silently in response to your question. "And you're here because you're trying to find him here?"

The young boy nods once again. "I wanted to go to school with him, but he said no. But I really, really wanted to, so I came anyway!" Tengen's expression is hardly one of guilt. It makes you think that the two brothers are rather close if Tengen is willing to sneak out of school just to find his older brother. Still, you're surprised he was able to get away at all.

A light murmuring has begun to sprout in the general area around you. There's no doubt that it's in relation to you and the young boy. It probably wouldn't look very good for you if you were to just ignore the young boy at this point in time. Even if you were hungry, it was better that you dealt with this situation before anything else.

Giving a short sigh, you offer your hand to the young boy with a smile. "Come on, Tengen-kun."

The young boy takes your hand graciously as you lead him down to the teacher's office. You notice a few odd looks being thrown your way but Tengen seems unbothered. Every time you look down at him to gauge his reaction you're always met with a childish grin.

When you get to the teacher's offices, you explain the situation to them. Though you were going to leave Tengen in their care, the young boy clung to your hand. Despite reassuring him that he was in good hands, there was a certain sadness in his usual expression that you couldn't overlook. It reminded you of someone from your past, but you couldn't quite place your finger on their name.

While sitting with the young boy, you learned many things about him. You learned that he has a fondness for video games and that he especially enjoyed going to the arcade. You assumed that many children his age liked similar things.

After a while of idle chit chat, a familiar white haired male was making his way through the corridor to where you and Tengen were sitting.

You greeted Uzui with a warm smile which he reciprocated, but you managed to catch the slightly irritated look on his face he had when he initially turned the corner. You got the feeling that the older Uzui brother wasn't very happy to see his younger brother at his school, especially after he said not to come. Still, here the three of you were.

"You're here too (L/n)-san?" The older boy inquires as he approaches.

"You mean at this school, or with your brother?" You can't help but ask with a playful lit. In part it was to lighten the tension, but a part of you wanted to do it just because. In the end, it seems to do the trick.

The older boy relaxes slightly as he lets out a short sigh. "Both I guess." The older Uzui takes another breath before meeting your gaze directly. "I- uh, apologise for the trouble I've caused for you. Twice now, as a matter of fact."

You shake your head. "It's not a big issue, Uzui-san. Now, if this becomes a regular occurrence then I'd say that we have a problem." You give a short laugh and Uzui shares it with you.

"Yeah, I guess so." There's a stiffness in Uzui's voice as he speaks. His eyes flicker between you and his younger brother. "Still, I just don't understand why he's acting so brashly like this. I was never as thoughtless when I was a child."

At this, the young boy pouts and clings to your arm. "Tell him he's being mean, (Y/n)-san!"

Your gaze shifts momentarily to the young boy. He's looking up at you with that childish smile of his - as if he knows you'll take his side. Although you'd like to downplay the situation to avoid creating tension somewhere you have no place being, you decide against it. "Your brother has a point, Tengen-kun. You shouldn't be wandering around places by yourself at such a young age."

The young boy's smile shifts to a small pout. "Why not?"

"Because you're a kid." The older boy snaps. "That's why."His tone is pretty stern, though it's not like you don't understand why. No matter how peaceful your town may be, walking out and about at such a young age wasn't a good idea. But as the young boy pulls himself a bit closer to your arm, you can't help but feel like this might be a bit too much.

"Don't you think you're being a bit too harsh, Uzui-san?"

The older boy shrugs at your question. "It's fine. He can take it."

"Even so, your tone is too harsh." You gently place your hand on top of the young boy's head and smooth back his white hair. "His thoughts and feelings are valid, too."

The young boy's body relaxes beneath your hand as you brush your fingers through his hair. He's leaning his forehead against your upper arm as he hides his expression from both you and the older boy. It's such a simple action, but it's one that amuses you. It seems that children are much clingier than you recalled.

When you turn back to the older boy, there's a slight hitch in his expression. You only caught it because you looked over at him without much warning, but once the older boy realises that you're looking at him his expression changes immediately. This time you're certain that he's trying to hide it from you.

"Are you alright?" You're a bit surprised by the fact that you've asked Uzui that question, but you're more surprised by his reaction. He just laughs it off and gives you a pleasant smile.

"Yeah, of course. I'm always good to go."

The words you want to say get caught in your throat. You don't feel like you're really in a position to question the boy; especially since you don't know Uzui enough to want to pry any deeper. It's not any of your business, so you don't want to overstep your bounds. So instead you nod your head and give a slight hum in acknowledgement. "Alright. If you say so."

As you drop your question, the older boy smiles and abruptly takes a seat beside you. You very nearly ask Uzui what he's doing but he cuts you off before you can. "You're really cute. Did you know that, (L/n)-san?"

"What?" Blindsided by the boy's compliment, you avert your gaze from the older boy. "I don't think that has anything to do with what's happening, Uzui-san, but thank you?" Even without turning around, you can tell that your response has amused the older boy. He lets out a short laugh and lightly bumps his shoulder against yours.

"I'm serious, you know... You really are cute." You can feel Uzui leaning forward in his seat. He lingers there for a moment before sitting up straight again. "Do you have any club activities today?"

You shake your head. "No, none in particular."

"Nice." Just as you feel that the moment is beginning to linger, the older boy stands up and ruffles his younger brother's hair. "Alright then, it's time to say goodbye to (L/n)-san."

The younger boy looks to have been caught in a daze by his older brother. There's a bit of resistance on Tengen's part but he eventually stands up and goes along with his older brother. As the two boys take their leave, you find that the feeling of Uzui's compliment is lingering in your chest. It's a bit weird though. You can't really tell if you enjoy how it feels or not.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

As the end of the school day approaches you find yourself more and more eager to get home. Today has been quite a long one, and the most comforting thought for you right now is to get home and lay in bed.

As you help a few of your classmates put chairs on top of the desks, a knock on the classroom door catches everyone's attention. A few excited whispers circulate around the room, prompting you to look up from what you're doing. When you finally look up, your eyes quickly meet with a familiar pair.

"(L/n)-san! I finally found you." The older boy quickly steps into the room and strides up to you. You feel a bit self conscious as several pairs of eyes flick over to where you're standing but Uzui seems oblivious to it all. "Let's get going."

"Let's get going...?" You look at the older boy, confused by what he means.

"For dinner. My treat."

"What? When did we agree to that?"

"Clocks-a-ticking." He gives a short laugh as though you've been joking this entire time. The older boy motions toward the door with the playful grin you've gotten used to seeing. When you don't follow after him, he turns to meet your gaze curiously. "You're not being held up with surprise club activities, are you?"

You briefly shake your head. "No, but-"

"Then let's go." Before you can protest, the older boy grabs your hand and practically drags you out of the classroom.

It feels like eyes are attracted to Uzui wherever he goes. As he leads you from the school and through the streets, his charisma pulls in glances from all around. You can't help but feel conscious of all the attention that falls from Uzui and onto you. It's a bit uncomfortable to be honest, but you can't seem to pull your hand away from the boy. Physically you could of course, he's not holding you with an iron grip, but you suppose it would feel... rude?

You attempt to interrogate the older boy with a few questions, but Uzui doesn't stop until the two of you are standing outside of a daycare center. Unlike the older boy, you're completely out of breath. It takes you a minute or two before you can form coherent sentences.

"Shouldn't you... I mean, could you please tell me... why you've dragged me all the way out here on my day off, Uzui-san?"

"Didn't I tell you already?" The older boy gives a short laugh, clearly amused by something or other. When your expression shows no signs of changing, he meets your gaze head on. "I'm taking you to dinner to express my thanks for your help."

"You mean with your brother? Something like that is common courtesy. There's no need for you to feel indebted to me."

The older boy shakes his head adamantly. "Even if you feel that way, I still want to do something to show how thankful I am to you."

"I don't think that this much is necessary though..."

"No, I insist. It would be rude of me to accept help from such a lovely lady without properly expressing my appreciation."

That feeling from before sprouts in your chest once again, so you ignore it to the best of your abilities. "I understand your thoughts, Uzui-san, I do! But-"

Uzui's demeanor changes slightly. You can't really put your finger on it, but his words suddenly seem a bit heavier than before. "Is it really fair of me to accept so much kindness from you, only for you to turn around and reject all of my kindness? Seriously, let me treat you to dinner. I really and truly insist."

The older boy's sudden change surprises you. For as long as you've known him (which isn't actually that long), you haven't taken him for someone who would be so serious about this kind of thing. Then again, he did pay for your groceries without much care or concern for what you'd say, but this felt like it was too much. You didn't want to make him feel like you were being stubborn or rude about his choices, but you also didn't want to take advantage of his kindness.

As you're about to give your response to the boy, a familiar voice catches your attention. Before you know it, Uzui's younger brother has come up to you and grabbed onto your hand.

"(Y/n)-san!" The young boy says cheerfully. He's looking up at you with the childish grin that's already grown synonymous with him. "You came all the way here!"

After hearing the young boy's response, you suddenly have an idea of what has transpired. "Have the two of you been working in cahoots to get me all the way out here?"

While Uzui gives a short laugh in response to your accusation, the young boy looks up at you in confusion. "Cahoots? What does that mean?"

"It just means that you two have been working together." You explain, though you quickly turn your attention to the older of the two boys. You look Uzui down with clear suspicion but he doesn't shy away. In fact, it almost feels like he's challenging the look in your eyes. "So you kidnapped me so that I could spend more time with you and your brother?"

The older boy chuckles to himself before answering your question. "No, of course not. It's like I said before: I want to thank you for your help."

"And that's the whole truth?"

"Of course not." The older boy replies as his playful smile returns. "I also want a chance to get to know you better."

The blatant honesty in Uzui's answer surprises you. You can feel your face beginning to warm again, and it causes you to avert your gaze. "You're quite a charmer, you know that? Paying for a girl's groceries, dragging her along to pick up your brother and taking her out for dinner. I don't think I know of any other people who could be as bold as you."

"Not even me?" The young boy asks as he lightly tugs on your hand.

You give a short laugh as you kneel down to match the young boy's gaze. "Yes, I suppose you are also quite a charming young boy, though you should really save all your charm for when you're older." You turn your head to look up at the older boy once again. "Well then, I suppose this is the part where I ask you where we're going..."

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

You and the two boys ended up going to a beef bowl place near the center of town. Though Uzui had suggested going somewhere more befitting for you (which you deduced was a compliment), you didn't want to get caught up in the rain that was supposed to hit this evening. It seemed that for once the older boy didn't try to convince you otherwise because, well, here you were.

The two boys sat on one side of the booth and you sat opposite them. Up until now you've been exchanging short pleasantries with the two, however, it's been a bit quiet since the food arrived. You supposed that's how things usually happened, but it still felt weird.

When you look up at the two boys, you notice that the younger of the two is shifting in his seat back and forth. Curious, you turn to him. "Are you okay, Tengen-kun?"

The young boy looks up at you and nods, but you notice that he doesn't immediately make eye contact like he usually does. Before you have a chance to inquire further, the young boy pulls on his brother's sleeve. "I need to use the bathroom..."

In response to his younger brother's pulling, the older boy waves Tengen away. "Then go to the bathroom. It's just over there."

"Can you come with me?"

"Why do I need to? It's right there."

"But I-"

"You'll be fine."

The tone that Uzui uses surprises you a bit. It's not the first time you've heard him take this tone with his brother, but this felt a bit unprompted.

Although the young boy pouts, he gets out of the booth and wanders over to the bathroom by himself. You briefly debated going with him, but that didn't seem like a very wise decision. So instead you continued to sit across from Uzui in relative silence.

While you initially thought that the two boys were very close, you weren't actually sure that was the case anymore. To you, it definitely seemed like the younger of the Uzui brothers was much more attached than the older, but maybe that was how things usually were between siblings? To be fair, they were at least a decade apart. If that wasn't room for disagreements then you weren't sure what was.

When you turn back to the remaining brother, he looks like he's deep in thought. It's very different from the playful smile that you constantly see him sporting. It's not a bad thing of course, but it's... familiar. Not familiar in the sense that you've seen it on Uzui's face before, but more like it brings back a familiar gut feeling.

Not really a fan of uncomfortable silences, you find yourself shifting in your seat. "Won't your parents be worried if the two of you come home later than usual?"

Uzui shrugs. "Probably not. I don't live with them anymore."

"So you've been living alone for a while? Just the two of you?" You try not to let the shock show in your expression, but you're not sure you do. "Are you sure you should be paying for me then? Let alone other people's groceries?"

The older boy laughs a bit as he leans back in the booth. "Nah, it's cool. I've been making decent money on my own for about a year now."

"Even as a full-time student? I'm surprised you found a part time job that pays well enough."

"Oh, it's not a part time job..." Uzui laughs again. His eyes flicker up to meet yours and it catches you off guard. "Technically speaking I'm self-employed."

"Self-employed?"

"I'm a streamer."

You nod your head and give a short hum in acknowledgement. "Oh... I see. That's cool. Actually-!" You pull out your phone and search up the streamer you came across earlier today. It totally slipped your mind before, but you were almost certain now that the clip you came across earlier was from Uzui. Before the older boy could ask you what you were doing, you slid your phone across the table. "This is you, right?"

An amused look crosses the older boy's eyes. "So you're a fan?"

"No, not really." You laugh as you pull your phone back. "But I came across it earlier today. Considering your content came to me unprompted, it seems like you're getting pretty popular."

"Nah. You probably came across an ad I did recently. I partnered with a pretty sizable brand too, so I'm not too surprised."

Now it was your turn to be amused. "What a humble brag."

That familiar playful grin has appeared on Uzui's face once again. "I have no clue what you're talking about. I'm a very humble person."

"Oh, yes. You're completely right." You return the playful smile back to the older boy. "How could I be so foolish?"

"It's alright. I tend to have that kind of effect on people."

"You do, huh? And what kind of effect would that be, exactly?"

"A very endearing and pleasant effect. One that naturally draws people in. Charming, some might say."

"Ah yes, you're very charming indeed." You give a short laugh as you lean forward against the table. Your head naturally tilts as you rest your chin against your palm. "I suppose that's a good thing though, being a streamer and all."

"That's true..." The older boy leans forward slightly as he meets your gaze. "But I like to think that being charming is only reserved for people I really like. People like you, (L/n)-san."

And there it is again; that odd feeling in your chest. It returns in full and makes you feel strange. You've had crushes before, but this was different. You can't say it feels like attraction, but you aren't being repelled by it either.

Before you can say something in response, someone in your school's uniform approaches the two of you. She's quite tall and very pretty - most likely a third year. She approaches with a soft smile and waves to the two of you. Well, probably more to Uzui since the two of you have never spoken until today. And as if to confirm your thoughts, the older girl greets Uzui.

"Tengen-san! I didn't think I'd be seeing you here."

The older boy pulls away from you as he shifts to face the newcomer. You mirror the boy's actions, though you're much less engaged in the conversation than he is.

You'd almost forgotten that the two brothers shared the same name. It felt a bit weird to hear someone calling the older boy by his first name, but it's not like you had any reason to hear it before now.

Your eyes flickered between the two third years. They were both very attractive individuals, and they seemed quite familiar with each other. You wouldn't be surprised if the two of them were good friends. Actually, judging from the way the girl pushes the loose strands of her hair back while talking, you can't help but wonder if they're more.

At this sudden thought, you become aware of the eyes that are on you.

You're an outsider in this conversation. Just a first year who happened to get dragged along to Uzui's tune. Without the younger Uzui here, would outsiders be inclined to think that you...? Are other people thinking the same things as you? Are they assuming things worse than that? Just the thought alone makes you push further back against your seat.

The eyes that hovered over you suddenly pierce you through your practiced smiles. They can see through the cracks, can't they? It's uncomfortable.

You're uncomfortable.

You're confined to your seat with nowhere to escape and nowhere to hide. Is there any way you can get away?

The bathroom maybe?

As your eyes jump up from the table, you quickly realise that Uzui and the older girl are looking at you. Did they ask you a question? Should you smile and nod? Should you just ask them to repeat themselves? But you were supposed to be listening to the conversation, right? Wouldn't it be rude of you to admit that you weren't paying attention? At this point, you should probably just play it off, right? Or maybe you could-

A small hand grabs your own. When your eyes snap over to see who it was, you're met with none other than the young boy.

He meets your gaze with a curious look.

You finally take a breath. "What's up, Uzui-kun?"

The young boy flashes you the same childish smile he always does as he pulls you out of the booth. "I'm ready to go home now. You'll come with me, right, (Y/n)-san?" Before you have a chance to answer, the young boy pulls you through the shop and outside. You hardly get a proper apology out before the door closes behind you.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

The air outside is humid. It's clear that heavy rain is on the horizon, but you're pretty sure you'll be fine. You should be able to outrun the rain if you're walking at a good pace. Oh, but then again, you're not going straight home.

You look down at the young boy beside you. He's struggling a bit to keep up with your pace, but he insists that he's keeping up just fine. As to not hurt his pride, you've shortened the length of your strides but kept the pace the same. You're pretty sure that if you did anything else, the young boy would notice.

As you walked alongside the young boy, you couldn't find it in yourself to tell him to wait. You and the young boy haven't gotten very far from where you had dinner - likely just a block or two away at this point, but a part of you knew that it would be better to wait for the older boy. And yet, that's the part of you that made you want to keep going. Perhaps part of the reason was guilt from leaving Uzui in the shop, but you knew better than to tell yourself that. As much as you want to, you won't bring yourself to admit what you already know.

"Hey (Y/n)-san?" The young boy's tone urges you to look down at him. He isn't looking up at you like you expected he would be. "Did I do something wrong?"

You unintentionally cock your head when the boy asks his question. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you called me Uzui when we were leaving the shop. I was just wondering if you were mad at me for something..."

"Oh, that's not it at all!" Hearing the unease in the young boy's voice, you stop and kneel down to meet the young boy's gaze. He doesn't make eye contact with you like he usually does. "You haven't done anything wrong, I promise. In fact, I want to thank you!"

The young boy finally turns to look at you, albeit confused. "You... do?"

"Yes, I do." A soft smile pulls at your lips. "If you didn't pull me out of the shop back there, I would've been wedged into a love triangle for sure! That kind of thing is the silliest stuff to get worried about, so I'm glad you helped me."

The young boy laughs a bit. "I bet (Y/n)-san would be the leading female in any love story."

"What? Why do you say that? Wait... I didn't even realise kids your age liked romance stories."

The young boy laughs a bit as he focuses on the question you'd asked. "Because you're really pretty and really nice, and you always know what other people are feeling!"

A tinge of guilt pulls at you, but you hide it. "Is that so? Well, thank you for the compliments Tengen-kun. That's very sweet of you to say." You smile softly and force out a short laugh. "Though, I still think you should save those kinds of compliments for people in your life who are more important than me. Like your brother."

"But you are important to me, (Y/n)-san! I love you!"

You'd think you would get used to the young boy's antics by now, but it still manages to catch you by surprise. Instead of responding to his statement directly, you give a short laugh and shake your head.

As silence slowly fills the space between you and the young boy, he looks up at you with a look you could only describe as determination.

"(Y/n)-san, will you marry me?"

You smile gently as you ruffle Tengen's hair. "Sorry Tengen-kun, but I'm afraid that I can't be making any more promises than I already have. You see, there's a certain someone in my life that I've already promised my 'tomorrow' to."

As the young boy opens his mouth to reply, your attention is pulled toward a pair of approaching footsteps. From around the corner you see the young boy's older brother approaching. The mixture of concern and irritation in his eyes makes you feel bad about leaving so quickly.

"Why did you two leave like that?" Uzui asks the moment he reaches your side.

"Sorry Uzui-san. It's just that-"

"No!" To your surprise, the young boy stands between you and his brother. "(Y/n)-san shouldn't have to apologize to you!"

"What did I tell you about using people's first names? It's disrespectful."

"You were being a meanie by making (Y/n)-san feel bad, so I saved her. You're the one who always says we should help people we care about!"

"I wasn't... I didn't..." Uzui looked over at you, conflicted. "I mean, were you uncomfortable?"

"Well I... I mean..." You keep your gaze averted from the older boy. It's gotten hard to gather the words you want to say, and the tension in the situation isn't making things better. "I'm not really good with new people so it's not like it was entirely you or anything."

The older boy turns back to his brother. "See? You're just putting words into (L/n)-san's mouth."

"No I'm not! You're just too worried about yourself to notice."

"You-!" The older boy sighs deeply, pressing his palm against his forehead. "Why are you so difficult? I was never like this as a child, so why are you so annoying? You're so clingy and needy and always get me into trouble. Can't you just behave for once?"

Tengen is surprised by his older brother's outburst. You can tell the young boy is on the brink of tears now, but he continues to stand between you and the older boy. At this moment, you can't help but feel that you were part of the reason why this argument had come to this point. You take a deep breath in hopes that it will help calm your nerves. It does, but barely.

"Don't be so mean, Uzui-san." Your voice is soft as you speak. "He's just a kid."

"But I wasn't like that when I was a kid!"

You visibly recoil at the boy's harsh tone. You know it's not directed at you, but it still hurts. Seeing you pull away, Uzui instinctively steps toward you and offers his hand. You're still kneeling on the floor so you assume that he was offering to help you stand, but the juxtaposition of his words and actions make you pull away further. The strange maneuver causes you to shift your weight in a way that causes your ankle to waiver.

Pain shoots through you as you fall back and roll your ankle. You instinctively let out a short curse under your breath as you grab onto your ankle. In the heat of the moment you can see a worried look cross Uzui's expression.

"Are you okay?" The older boy leans down to try and help you but you quickly swat his hand away. You immediately feel guilty about it though, as Uzui's expression turns surprised.

You turn your gaze away. "I'm fine." You attempt to stand up but it's obvious that you're in pain. Uzui holds out his hand in an attempt to offer support to you, but you don't take his hand. Instead, you slowly kneel down to talk to the young boy again. "Are you okay, Tengen-kun?"

The young boy, though initially nodding, shakes his head.

You gently hold the boy's hand with your own. "Do you want to talk about it?"

The young boy shakes his head again.

A short sigh escapes you as you gently rub your thumb against the young boy's hand. "I think it's time for me to go now. Make sure you hold your brother's hand while you walk home, okay?"

The young boy finally lifts his eyes to look at you. "He doesn't let me."

You spare a moment to glance at Uzui. His expression is... complicated, to say the least, but not threatening. You wonder what he might be thinking, but you would never ask. You turn your attention back to the younger of the brothers with a soft smile. "Oh... well, how about you hold my hand then, okay?" You hold your hand out toward the young boy. Though Tegen doesn't take it immediately, he does eventually.

His hand seems softer than it did before. Gentle, even.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

By the time the three of you arrived at Uzui's place of residence, the raincloud from earlier had arrived in full. Despite saying that you would be able to make it home, Uzui insisted that you stay - just until the rain let up a bit more. You could tell he was trying to avoid making you uncomfortable. You felt bad making Uzui go out of his way like this, and you didn't want to worry him by walking home through the rain, so you decided to just wait inside.

It wasn't a big place; just a small apartment with two bedrooms and a bathroom. The main space of the apartment was just one big room separated by a counter used to differentiate between the lounge and the kitchen. As to not intrude too much, you took a seat in the lounge.

It's been nearly half an hour since the three of you arrived. You were content with sitting in the loungewith the young boy - he talked about everything and nothing at the same time. You found yourself thoroughly entertained just by talking with the young boy. He seems to be in a much better mood now that he's home.

Just as Tengen was about to show you a drawing he'd been working on, his older brother enters the living room. His eyes briefly glance over to you before returning to his younger brother. "It's about time you leave (L/n)-san alone and go to bed."

"Right now? Can't I sleep later?" The younger boy pouts in protest.

"No, you can't. You're going to wake up early whether or not you sleep late, and I don't need you to be grouchy when you wake up tomorrow."

Although reluctant, the young boy eventually makes his way to the room Uzui had just emerged from. On the other hand, Uzui lingers between the kitchen and the lounge. He's likely debating whether he should sit to chat with you, but he eventually decides to stand in the kitchen. He leans a bit awkwardly against the counter that separates the two areas.

"So... how's your ankle doing? You kind of took a tumble earlier and I saw you limping." Uzui's eyes glance over to you briefly. You can tell there's something else on his mind, but it's not something he knows if he can bring up.

You give a brief sigh. "It's not the worst thing that's happened to me as of late."

"Really?"

You nod your head with a short hum. "I cut my hand pretty badly the other night. It needed... three stitches, I'm pretty sure? It's almost fully healed at this point, but I still keep it wrapped up."

Uzui briefly inhales through his teeth. "Damn. That sounds pretty nasty."

"It's not as bad as it sounds." You assure the boy. Uzui opens his mouth to respond, but no words immediately form. He takes your word for it with a slight nod.

The silence between the two of you is only filled by the sound of rain tumbling against the window. You can tell that the older boy wants to say something, but he doesn't. There are plenty of things you could talk about at this point, but after all this time you finally decide to bring up what's likely on both your and Uzui's mind.

"I'm sorry for what happened back at the beef bowl shop. I feel bad for leaving all of a sudden."

Uzui shakes his head. "No, it's fine. It's not really your fault, it was... well it was probably mine."

"Yeah... it kind of was. On both ends, as a matter of fact." You can see as the older boy's expression turns confused, so you finally decide to lay your cards on the table. "The two of you aren't actually brothers, are you?"

There's a slight shift in the way Uzui is standing. "Huh? W-what do you mean?"

"Forgive me for saying so, but would I be right in assuming that you and him are the same person? More specifically, that he's literally the younger version of yourself." You sit up slightly from your spot on the couch. "I hit the mark, didn't I?"

"How...?"

"Did I know?" You shrug your shoulders. "Aside from how you both share the exact same name, there are a lot of similar traits and mannerisms. I've got to say though, the most damning piece of evidence is your smile. It's similar in a way that siblings' smiles usually aren't." You shift in your seat slightly as you attempt to become comfortable. "So, am I correct?"

"Honestly... I have no idea. He just like... appeared one day. Not at the door or anything, but right in my apartment." The older boy shifts how he's standing. He turns his body so that he faces you completely. You can see his expression clearly now and it's one that is honest and genuine. You wouldn't say that it's sad in any way, but thoughtful didn't exactly capture it either. Perhaps it was the look of someone who had finally reached their wit's end?

"Completely unprompted and out of nowhere?"

"Well no... not exactly." The boy answers. You tilt your head curiously at Uzui's confession. He, on the other hand, averts his gaze from you. "I already have a general idea of what's happening to me. One of my friends at my old school went through something similar. Okay, 'similar' is a stretch, but I'm pretty sure it's a symptom of the same syndrome."

"Adolescence syndrome?" You ask curiously.

The boy nods his head. "Yeah, actually. How do you know about it?"

"I've had a few run-ins with people who were also affected by it. There was someone who kept repeating the days they lived, someone who affected the weather and someone who ended up body swapping with their sibling. But to have an entirely new person come into existence, let alone that person being a younger version of yourself... That's on a whole different level."

"I take it they've gotten used to their new ways of life then?"

"No, actually. Their syndromes were so abrasive that they had no other choice but to confront the problems that caused their syndromes in the first place. Aren't you trying to do the same?"

Uzui hesitates as he presses his lips. "I mean, I guess I am but I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Do you think you can tell me what you've already tried?" As you ask the question, the older boy hesitates. He doesn't want to accidentally start trauma dumping onto you, especially since the two of you don't actually know each other all that well. It doesn't take a genius to sense his reluctance, so you quickly follow up your question with a statement of your own. "Sorry, that's probably too forward of me to say. Could you tell me what your favourite colour is, instead?"

The older boy gives you a puzzled look. "What? Why?"

"I won't lie to you, I want to help you with your Adolescence Syndrome, but I fully understand that something like this isn't an easy thing to talk about. Adolescence Syndrome is usually a manifestation of a person's deepest feelings, so of course it will be hard to talk about. That being said..." You shift in your spot on the sofa and make enough room for Uzui to sit beside you. "...what's your favourite colour?"

Even if your approach confuses him, it causes Uzui to relax. He slowly makes his way to the couch beside you. "Apricot."

"Apricot?"

"Yeah. Like, it's not yellow but not orange either. It's something in the middle."

"You must really like sunrises then, huh?"

"Ehh... I guess I like them most of the time."

You give a short laugh. "Only most of the time? What's wrong with the sunrises that don't fall under 'most of the time'?"

"Nothing really. It's just that sunrises feel kinda... I don't know... sad?"

"As in, it feels nostalgic or melancholy?"

Uzui nods his head, his playful smile ghosting over his lips. "Yeah actually. That's exactly right!"

You nod your head with a small smile. "I get what you mean. Watching the sun rise is such a beautiful thing, but sometimes it leaves a pang of sadness for reasons you don't really understand. Perhaps it's because sunrises represent the start of something new. That feeling of leaving something else behind for the start of another can just sneak up on you, so I get it."

"You do?"

"Nope! Not a clue." You hold Uzui's gaze for a moment before sharing a laugh together. It feels natural and simple. Gentle, even. At this moment, Uzui can't help but feel that he'd misjudged you upon his first meeting. You were turning out to be more cunning than he initially thought you'd be.

And for him, that was enough of a reason to open up. Not too much, but just enough.

"I um... I grew up with a lot of siblings. Being one of the oldest children, I had to take care of my younger siblings a lot of the time. It wasn't easy, but that was just life. I couldn't stand the way my parents treated us. It was to the point where at some point, I knew I needed to get away no matter what."

"Do you regret it?"

"Moving out? Not a single bit!" Uzui forces out a laugh to himself, but he eventually clears his throat. "But sometimes I wonder about my siblings. I kind of just up and left them. Sometimes I feel bad about it, but when I remember how much I was always stepping in because my own parents didn't, I just-!"

As Uzui lets out a deep sigh, you gently place your hand on his shoulder. "I see. That sounds like a very difficult situation to navigate."

The older boy lets out a sound of feigned amusement to himself. "Yeah, no kidding. But I still don't understand what that has to do with my Adolescence Syndrome."

You pull your hand back and rest your chin against your palm. "Do you consider yourself similar to your younger version in any way?"

"Not at all." Uzui thinks he might have answered a bit too quickly, so he ends up backpedaling a bit. "I mean, to an extent I guess. But he was literally asking you to be his girlfriend when he met you, and I have enough decency to not do that."

"You say that as if you haven't been actively flirting with me ever since we met." You tease the boy, causing him to let out a short groan in embarrassment. In contrast, a soft smile pulls at your lips. "In actuality, when I found your younger self, he was crying."

Uzui lets out a short huff. "Okay, but that still doesn't make him very similar to me. He doesn't even address you in a respectful way! Even as a kid I knew better than to be so disrespectful."

You let out a short sigh. "You're really harsh on yourself. Why is that?"

"Harsh? I don't think I'm being harsh. I think the expectations I have for myself are perfectly valid. It's my own fault if I don't live up to them."

"I know that you have to hold yourself to a higher standard, especially since you always had your siblings to care about, but that doesn't mean you have to dismiss your own feelings in turn. That little boy, no matter how 'clingy' or 'childish' he is, is just a kid." You shift in your seat to more easily see Uzui.

"Seriously? That doesn't give him, well, me a reason to act like a brat."

"No, maybe not, but he's young." Amused, a short laugh escapes you. "We were all young once. There's no shame in that. In fact, I find the young version of you quite charming."

The older boy lets out a short huff. "Yeah, sure. Charming is one word."

"Yes, it's one among several others, but I hardly think that's a bad thing. I can tell that he loves you a lot. But what about you?"

"Me-?"

Your words linger in the air longer for longer than what the older boy is comfortable with, and they hit him harder than he thought they would. He wants to believe that he's been trying his best, but he can't get over the fact that this supposed 'younger him' acts nothing like he did. He's actually inclined to say that the version of him that appeared is not him at all, but a child who is the complete opposite of himself.

He's tried to change his younger self's attitude multiple times, but it only ever seems to have the opposite effect. At some point, Tengen Uzui was tired of dealing with his 'younger self.' He was just about ready to leave him behind completely, but that was when he ran into you.

For the first time since he'd appeared, the younger version of himself actually listened to someone. Not only that, but the 'young him' finally listened to himself - to the current and real version of Tengen Uzui. What you did within the span of about five minutes was something Tengen Uzui was not able to do for nearly two weeks. It was the real reason why he felt so indebted to you.

But even though that's what he wanted to say to you, he found himself stumbling over his words. How could he just admit something like that to you? Something like that would surely break your heart.

So instead, he says nothing.

And to you, Uzui's silence speaks more than what he might have had to say at all.

A soft sigh escapes your lips. You let your gaze soften and your practiced smile fall away.

"I've always believed that children are some of the only people in the world who love others as earnestly as they do selfishly. Sure, there's a lot that they have to learn in life, but that doesn't make their love disingenuous. It gets harder to love others when you spend your whole life catering to other people's needs and ignoring your own. It's not really fair for ourselves, or for the people we love. At some point, we need to understand that it's okay to love and care for ourselves, too. That doesn't mean we have to stop loving others. It simply means that we have to re-learn how to do both at the same time."

"You say that like it's easy."

You give a short laugh. "Oh, it most definitely isn't. Your feelings literally manifested into a younger version of yourself! That alone is a testament to how hard something like this can be, but that doesn't mean it's not worth the work."

The older boy goes quiet. In fact, the entire room is quiet.

The rain has stopped.

You realise it before Uzui does, so you politely get up from the couch. "I don't want to overstay my welcome, so I'll be going now. I wish you the best of luck in life, Uzui-san."

"Right..." A tight feeling envelopes Uzui's chest. He isn't sure how to feel about you leaving, but he knows it's for the best. He doesn't want to force you to do anything more than he already has. He leaves a considerable amount of distance between you and himself as you walk to the front door.

Uzui waits with bated breath while you put on your shoes. The left side before the right side, but the right laces before the left laces. You stand straight up before using the heel of your foot to turn around.

Your smile as you wave goodbye causes Tengen to lose track of anything he might have wanted to say. Even when you're standing in the doorway, Tengen hopes that you'll stay for a little bit longer. He's never liked leaving interactions on such a bittersweet note. It always leaves a tightness in his chest that lingers for a bit too long.

But when you reach forward and lightly flick his forehead, Tengen Uzui can only find it in himself to laugh.

Bittersweet as this may be for him, just this one time, he figures that it's okay.

As soon as the door closes behind you, the older boy lets out a deep sigh. Time feels much heavier right now. He straightens out his shoes at the door, and the shoes that the younger him has been wearing. He turns off the light in the foyer before mimicking the spin you did earlier.

When he finally turns around, Tengen Uzui immediately notices the younger version of himself at the door of his room. He looks tired.

"Did (Y/n)-san leave already?"

"Yeah... She did."

"But I didn't get to show her my drawing."

Although it feels wrong and unnatural at first, the older boy smiles. "You can uh... you can show it to me if you want."

"Really?"

Tengen Uzui can feel his breath catching in his throat when the younger version of himself smiles excitedly. "Yes, really. I want to know what kinds of cool things you're up to when I'm not around." Tengen Uzui watches the young 'him' run into the living room and grab the sheet of paper that's been laying on the table all this time.

It's a strange thing to see a younger version of yourself so excited to show you something, but for the first time, Tengen finds it endearing.

When he sits down on the couch, the younger version of himself excitedly hands him the drawing. The colours are crude, the shapes rudimentary and the wax of the crayons have left the drawing feeling blotchy, but none of that matters. In the center of the drawing are two stick figures holding hands.

"Do you like it?" The young boy asks all too honestly.

"Is that...?"

"Us!"

The older boy lets out an amused laugh. "It's pretty good, but I think that we could look even better if our stick figures are wearing clothes."

A small pout pulls on the young boy's lips. Almost on instinct, the smile on Tengen Uzui's lips softened. He rests his hand on his younger self's head slowly. It feels different, but not uncomfortable. Gentle, even.

"How about we draw another one, but this time we draw together?"

══════════════════

Epilogue

There are times in our lives where we feel like we have done more for others than others have done for us. When we, as individuals, take on a burden that shouldn't be ours to begin with, or when we are forced into situations where the outcome is weighted unfairly against us, a seed of indignation is planted within. When left unchecked, that seed will undoubtedly grow into the monster known as resentment.

But why is resentment such a difficult emotion to handle?

If we know exactly how it starts, doesn't that mean we can easily prevent it from happening?

Is it, after all, such an unavoidable future? If we are all so familiar with the persistent ache of resentment, why aren't we better equipped to deal with it?

"It's no secret that the popular online streamer 'Sounds_2EZ', is a very attractive man! That's why today, us hosts of 'Red Light Delights' have brought him in for questions. That's right ladies, keep your eyes and ears on us to get the hottest scoop about this new viral influencer!"

"Thank you for having me today."

"Please tell us, Uzui-san, have you ever fallen in love?"

Tengen laughs as he flashes his all-too-well-known smile at the camera in front of him. "While I would usually call myself more of a flirty man, there was this one time I asked a girl I barely knew to be my wife!"

"Really? And what did she say?"

"No, unfortunately, but that's alright."

"She must have been quite a catch if even you wanted her to be your wife. Could you tell us a bit about her?"

"Well... she was an extremely kind person. I'd never met anyone quite as compassionate or empathetic as her before, and she genuinely blew me away. She helped me through the toughest time in my life and I can't thank her enough. Without her, I don't think I ever would have become the person I am today."

"Wow! She certainly sounds like an amazing person."

"She definitely is..." There's a softness in Tengen's voice as he briefly looks away from the camera. Picking up on this, the interviewer quickly improvises a question for him.

"If that girl is watching this interview right now, what would you want to say to her?"

"There's a lot of things that I would love to say to her right now, but I think that the thing I want to say the most is... if 'tomorrow' doesn't work out, I will gladly be yours from today onwards."

[torawro]

DAN HIROKI WITH SEX TOYS.

LINA !!!!!! *shakes you violently and then kisses you excessively* baby....sweetums....i am so so SOOO INFINITELY SAWRY that i have not gotten to this ask any sooner than now, it's been over two weeks and i just feel plain awful about it :(( the last few weeks have been busier in school finals are approaching but im here now !! i hate giving half-assed replies so yeah :') can't wait to see u add this to ur dan hiroki master list <3 let's get into this tho :) DAN HIROKI SUPREMACY !!! @touyyes we back on our shit again heheheheee

okay so! dan hiroki with sex toys is one of those things you wouldn't expect to see in your relationship. i mean, he is just so so good at pleasing you already, the rotation between his mouth, fingers and cock made you feel like you were ascending. so of course you would have never expected him to invest in a little 'assistance'.

dan was very secure in himself, and even more so now that he shared his apartment, as well as his heart and soul with you, so his pride was never wounded, or his ego prodded at when the thoughts of getting a few toys for you to play with crossed his mind every now and again. dan loved you, so much, but he loved the way your eyes rolled to the back of your skull and the way you'd drool as you called out his name like a prayer even more. a pretty little angel like you should be able to get a taste of heaven too right? not just common mortals like him. that's what hiroki believed, and that's certainly how he felt when you squeezed and clamped around his cock when you came, or taste the sweet nectar that dripped from your budding flower whenever he sucked on your clit like a pacifier.

and after serving a despicable man a cold plate of chilling justice, his clothes tattered in blood stains, he had done some research online and this only confirmed and unearthed one his deepest desires regarding you: he wanted to see his pretty angel completely come undone without him even touching you.

and the perfect opportunity arose when he-- as trivial as it may sound-- caught you talking negatively about yourself. dan is one of those men that get truly offended when their partner says something about themselves, like their physical features, their personality, the way they think or feel, literally anything. he hardly expresses that much emotion but little did you know, you had spelled your own doom for your poor little cunt.

this leads to the present, where he softly commanded you to spread your legs as wide as you could and keep them open, lest you wanted to be punished further (his words shouldn't have made your pussy pulsate but it did). you're not even sure how much time has passed but you knew it had to be at least 20 minutes that you've held the blue vibrator against your pussy, not daring to move your arm even an inch, because your beloved hiroki was watching you-- intensely at that, his cock straining against his pants, practically trying to push its way free. but his face remained steely with a mask like calmness, a subtle smile permanently etched on his perfect lips. the way his gaze never left yours sent a chill down your spine.

he had gotten one of those bluetooth vibrators that you could control remotely and man, did he have a ball with that, at the expense of dangling the sweet feeling of orgasming in front of your nose, just to yank it away again at the last minute. he'd also had you repeat the same sentence over and over: i'm the prettiest girl in the world, because yes, all of this stemmed from you talking negatively about yourself, and it genuinely confused him because he never saw you in a negative light; not now and probably not ever. and whenever your words faltered or became a little too jumbled (or he just wanted to tease you, he's a kinky bastard man for that) he'd turn up the intensity to its max, making you arch your back and scream out the words loud and clear, just how he liked, or turn it down to its lowest when you were so focused on cumming you didn't bother putting forth any effort. it went on like this for what felt like ages, and he only stopped because the aching in his pants was becoming a little irritating and made his eye twitch.

you were just on the verge of cumming again, before he completely turned off the toy, gingerly taking it from your hands and tossed it somewhere on the bed. slipping off his pants and boxers in one swift motion, he wordlessly climbed on top of you and pushed your trembling legs all the way back to your chest, so your twitchy, puffy, glistening clit was on full display (as if it wasn't before). putting all of his weight on top of you to kiss your tears away, you hissed and felt your body shake when his shaft rubbed against your cunt. you were so sensitive, hiroki could have came right there just from seeing you underneath him like this. "my sweet girl, you performed wonderfully for me, did so good."

his praise dragged a pathetic whine, needy mewl from the back of your throat. "i'm your good girl hiro!! p-promise i am!!! i am!!" the dark haired man stared at you in awe. his 'persuasion' had worked. after he was done with you, he was definitely going to order a bulk of more playthings to try out on you.

"i know you are angel, i know you are. and now i'll give you your reward now."

[imongkoneho2]

OPPOSITES ATTRACT

Hobie Brown with an MC who's an opposite of him.

(Hobie is out of character here, i think 💔💔)

[Y/N] has a big fat crush on Hobie. When she first joined the Spider Society, what really dropped her jaw down the floor was a Spider-Punk literally walking to Gwen to greet her. She didn't know she could feel emotions this fast in a second. Happiness, love, Jealousy and sadness.

He was so cool. Handsome. tall. And oh my gosh, his voice - accent. Listening to it everytime made her melt like butter. After that, she made it her mission to know every little thing about him. So she bombarded her dear friend, Gwen with questions. Her friend didn't mind, finding the crush amusing.

Her eyes roamed around the vending machine infront of her. After listening to one of ever so repeating Miguel's speech about how 'the multiverses fate is in our hands, so we shouldn't goof off' she wanted a drink. The speech echoed in her head. Gosh, everybody knows. So mostly they all just stare off to space or find reasons to not listen to his speech.

She crouched down, as her drink fell down the machine. Nice and cold for her. It was strawberry milk, she probably just bought it because of the cute color and packaging - and the cute cat mascot - but being cute is her thing !

When she stood back up, she noticed a presence behind her. Turning around, she was greeted with a chest. A familiar one. One with a black vest on his spider suit. Her gaze flickered up.

"Hey." The Hobie Brown said, a smirk adorning on his face. Blush immediately made it's way on her face as she sputtered, looking for an answer. The Punk walked next to her as he looked for a drink. Slapping herself on the cheeks, she ran away from the scene before Hobie could even say something to her.

"And I stuttered!! Like a child!!" She cried as Margo and Gwen comforted her. "I don't think Hobie cares. You didn't embarrass yourself." Gwen chuckled as she rubbed her friend on the back. "Girl, say 'Hi' back! Own him, be confident!" Margo motivates.

She thought back to another memory.

"Hey guys, this is [Y/N]." Gwen smiled as her friend latches onto her for dear life.

"Hello!" Pavitr greeted. "'Sup." Miles lifted his hand to wave. "Hey." That accent, gosh. She froze, as Gwen secretly rubbed her back to keep her focused. "This is Miles, Pavitr and Hobie."

Nothing much happened, Hobie didn't bother that much to talk to her. Why would he though? They literally have nothing common. Hobie is a punk. Who hates the government and labels. While [Y/N] likes cutesy stuff, who doesn't give a shit about the Government and is a hopeless romantic. Hell, she doesn't even know if she knows any punk songs. Nothing in common.

But no labels? Please, her heart can't take it. She has no chance. Zero. Nu-uh.

----

She was in a different universe for her mission. Which she completed, successfully trapping two anomalies that wasn't supposed to be in this universe. She wasn't supposed to stay there any longer - but found out that a company was using animals to experiment on them for who knows what.

She looked at the files the company had hidden away, stating that the government gave a them a warning a few years ago but never did something about it. Some people they are.

So what's supposed to be 6 hours turned into 12 in that universe and Miguel was going berserk. Insane. Batshit. Where was this girl? And here he thought she's better than the problem causing children he recruited (ehem, Hobie, Gwen, Miles. Ehem.)

And no matter how many times he called the girl on her small watch, she proceeded to ignore it. So, he ordered Hobie to bring her back.

"Poor baby.. I'm so sorry that happened to you. How could the Government do this..?" [Y/N] softly said, as she caressed a bunny on the head, giving light pats. One of its ears are cut off, and it's other eyes are sewed shut.

A loud thud was heard as her head whipped to the dark alleyway. A random old dude collapsed infront of her. As familiar footsteps left the darkness and revealed himself.

"'Cause it's the Gov'ment, luv." Somehow, she kept her composure. Being with the cute bunny comforting her in a way to not squeal at Hobie like a weird fan girl.

"Oh, it's you! I'm glad." She breathed out a sigh of relief, faint red coating her cheeks. She smiled through the mess that's happening in her brain.

"I'm sorry, you're probably here to take me back...how long was I here..?" Hobie took a seat at a trash bin, drumming his hand on his guitar. As a frail cat rubbed against his leg. "Twelve hours." "TWELVE!?" The girl suddenly stood up in suprise.

"I need to find a safe place for them though...leave me. I'll come back as fast as I can. Even if Miguel will go batshit on me." She winced at Miguel's yelling voice echoing in her mind, softly placing the the small animals back into their crate.

Hobie smirked. "Breaking Miguel's rules? I like it." He walked next to the girl, taking one of the crates in his hand. "Let's go." [Y/N] paused, blush immediately making it's way to her cheeks. "Yeah- let's go."

They made their way to the city's farm, where an old couple lived. "Hello! We've uhm, found these poor babies at a science lab and we were thinking if you could take care of them?" She pointed to the crate as the old man looked at them.

He waved to his wife, as the two looked at the animals. The girl inhaled nervously, as she took a step back next to Hobie. "Do you think they'll take them in?" She whispered, knitting her eyebrows together in worry. "If they don't, then we'll take em' in."

She looked at the punk in suprise, but was only met with a smirk. "We?" "We. Ion' mind having likkle creatures runnin' around. Probably will get in Miguel's nerves. Even better." He chuckles, maintaining eye contact as [Y/N] smiled back.

So this was the reason why she fell for him in the first place. "We'll keep them." The old man said, lifting the crates and walking away to the farmhouse. As the old lady approached the duo and smiled at them.

"I'm glad that this generation still has some good apples. You two make such a good couple." She beamed. The Spider-woman paused, blushing furiously. "W-we aren't-" "We gotta go, we'll visit some time!" Hobie interrupts with his bright smile and dragged the girl somewhere.

After that, they got yelled at for an hour straight. But whenever Miguel turned around to mumble that he was going to loose it under his breath, Hobie would look over at the girl and whisper jokes to lighten up the mood. Making her sullen face brighter.

Yeah, the same guy she fell in love with.

-----

Gwen and Hobie was somewhere together. So now, [Y/N] was sulking with Miles while Pavitr listens in. "I'm sure they aren't anything special, I was jealous of Gayatri's friend once but we still fell in love." He relishes in the lovely feeling of his love life.

Miles and [Y/N] stared at him and at eachother absolutely done. The girl was the first one to cry. "I love him so much, I can't anymore." She covers her face with her hands. "Love who?" The thick accent spoke up as Gwen walked beside him, giving a knowing smirk to her friend.

"[Y/N]. Let's visit that farm again." "Now?" "Now."

They walked around the city, looking around. "Couldn't we just swing there?" She titled her head, facing the tall Spider-man. He pointed to a shop ahead.

She looked at it, seeing that it was a ice-cream shop. "You wanna go in there?" "Why not?" He smirked and wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder, walking her to the shop. And she swore she just felt her heart stop for a second.

"Hey you twoo, what would you like to buy?" "Pick fo' me." Hobie said as his gaze stuck to the menu, the girl nodded. She gasped seeing a cute sanrio themed ice cream, for couples. A Kuromi cookies and cream ice-cream, and a vanilla Cinnamaroll ice cream with cute toppings on it.

Hobie's gaze landed on where she was looking at and slightly bend down to look at it. "You want that?" "It's cute.." she blushed a little embarrassed, Hobie was probably weirded out by her. What was she a child? Gosh, why did she have to like cute stuff and they're not even coupl-

"We'd like these two." He nodded to the lady behind the counter as she left to go make the orders. "You like cute stuff?" "..yeah." The girl was left speechless as Hobie looked into her eyes.

"That's cute."

Heart for part 2 🫶?

[miras-ash]

It's fanfiction time!

Disclaimer before you read! This story is probably super unrealistic especially the characters of Mira and Ash. Overall it's a dramatic mess. So reading on ur own risk. Have fun💜🧡

Chapter 1 of "Just as the stars love the night"

Mira's pov

"Everyone on alert! There has been an incident. Security code red is being initiated, I repeat security code red." Hibana's voice came through my com.

I looked up from my laptop and saw a few colleagues jump up and immediately drop everything to go to their designated posts. I shut down everything in the lab and then quickly made my way to our briefing room. Whatever had caused Code Red had lousy timing. I was just getting ready for the upcoming onboarding of a new operator for Viperstrike.

Once in the room, I sat down in the last empty seat between Jackal and Dokaebi.

"Hey, do you guys know what's going on? Why Code Red and where is Yumiko? Shouldn't she be here first to brief us? Even Harry isn't here."

The two of them seemed as clueless as me and the rest of the troupe.

After a while some of us got restless and started speculating, whatever was going on here was not normal.

Half an eternity and many speculations later the door opened and Hibana came in, silently she walked past us to her place at the top of the table but she did not sit down. Her eyes were red and glassy and something about her look scared me to death. There weren't many reasons to upset her, unless it was something really serious.

The conversations in the room abruptly stopped and all eyes were on our squad leader.

Her voice was loud and clear, yet you could hear the shaky undertone.

"Team, as you know I have ordered Code Red for us here and that includes Wolfguard, Ghosteyes and Redhammer. They are being informed on current events at the same time as you right now. Something terrible has happened. Our esteemed friend and leader of Team Rainbow Harishva "Harry" Pandey was recently found dead in his home and the circumstantial evidence points 100% to murder."

Shocked looks and exclamations went around the room but immediately died down as Hibana raised her hand and pointed to the screen behind her.

"Bodycam footage was found on him from our active squad that was on duty at the time of the crime to interdict the Nighthaven arms trade. Among them: Thermite, Ash, Sledge, Zofia and Caveira."

She started the recording and dropped exhausted into her chair.

Spellbound and by now nervous, I stared at the screen. Why should we watch the footage, what did it all have to do with Harry?

A horrible thought formed in my head and I tried to push it away and concentrate on the video.

At first nothing too exciting happened, just an ordinary mission from Jordan's point of view. They worked precisely and exemplarily as a unit under Thermite's leadership.

They took out the guards, entered the warehouse and made their way through enemy territory until they got all the gun runners. Through Jordan's bodycam, I could suddenly spot them. Ash; Eliza. My rival, friend and wonderful wife.

She reached out her hand to Thermite to pull him to his feet as his gaze, and with it the image, turned to something else. Only briefly could the timer be seen on whose display a clock was still counting down a few seconds. Jordan shouted to Eliza and the others to run. The image was blurred by the movements, then a loud bang and that was it. The connection was lost.

Still in shock I looked out into the crowd, had they seen the same thing or had I just imagined it. I had so many questions but couldn't get a word out, but I didn't have to. Doka next to me said what we were all wondering.

"And what about the squad now? Do we have any information, where are they now, are they okay?"

It was only now that I noticed that Hibana was facing the screen the entire time and when she turned around it was clear why.

Even though she was really trying to control herself you could clearly see the traces of fresh tears and when she started to speak her voice sounded rough and broken.

"We had a brief radio communication with Thermite earlier, he was able to make an emergency call. He's fine under the circumstances, probably took a beating but he'll survive. Sledge is worse, he is being flown here to Herford Hospital and will have emergency surgery. Cav and Zofia barely got hit, they probably managed to escape through an upper window into a blind spot of the explosion and... and Ash... "

Hibana slapped her hands over her mouth to suppress a defiantly audible sob before continuing.

"Ash... she was thrown against something by the force of the explosion and buried under collapsing rubble. That was the last Jordan saw of her. After he regained consciousness, he and Zofia tried to get back into the burning building and get her, but it was too late. Everything was on fire and half the roof had already fallen down, they couldn't save her..."

No, no that couldn't be, that just couldn't be true. Eliza was still alive, I just knew that, she wouldn't just leave me like that. We had talked on the phone this morning, she had told me we would meet again in a few days when the Nighthaven thing was off the table.

"Are you sure?" What's the latest? "

Breathing heavily, I stood up and slowly walked forward while most eyes were on me.

Hibana's information was surely outdated again at this point and they had long since found her, she was surely on her way to the hospital as well, on her way to me.

"Mira, I know how hard this is for you, for me as well. She is, was my best friend but that doesn't change anything anymore."

I didn't want to hear all of that, she was wrong, she had to be wrong.

By now I was standing in front of her.

"Yumiko come on, you know Eliza. She knows how to take care of herself and gets out of any situation. Maybe she wasn't hit by debris at all and just got out the other side of the building, or maybe she's just trapped and is being freed right now."

I tried to talk myself out of it all and imagined the wildest fantasies of how to make it out of such a situation, a big part of me even believed it, anything was better than the opposite.

"Elena, no. They found her, she's dead."

"You're lying, why are you doing this?"

I grew louder with each word and two hands grabbed me by the shoulders, probably to hold me back in the trap. Had everyone gone crazy now, was I the crazy one?

"Then show it to me, I want to see it with my own eyes!

Hibana shook her head and sank back into her chair.

"No you don't, you want to remember her as she really was, otherwise you'll never get rid of that image when you think of her."

"Please, I need to see it. How else could I believe that she really isn't here anymore."

By now tears were streaming down my face and my hands were shaking when she finally handed me her tablet with the recording of Zofia's bodycam.

She carefully walked through the smoldering and still partly burning debris of the old factory building, they had obviously had to wait until the fire had died down. Beside her a strongly taken Thermite called constantly for Eliza and that chased me a shiver by the whole body. The two searched for a while until Thermite called Zofia to him from a little further away.

"Zofia you have to help me, I think I found her!"

Together the two stood in front of a pile of heavy beams that lay on top of each other and only with effort they managed to push them away one after the other. With each piece they moved, the stone in my chest grew heavier and heavier.

With a dull sound they heaved the last beam away and Jordan was right, they had found her.

I sank to my knees, still holding the tablet with the last image. She was right, I would never forget this image, but it was the only way I could really know.

Eliza was dead.

[ficreadergirl]

Dangerous Inquiries (ch.11)

It was almost morning. The sun was starting to rise. You still hadn't slept since the night before. You just laid there lying awake thinking about Jason's words. What did he mean by "What if it's someone else?". You wondered to yourself. You believed Dick's words. He wouldn't lie to you. Especially about your dad. You also wanted Jason to be right cause you didn't believe your dad could do anything bad to anyone. You checked your phone again if any message from Jason. There was none. You sighed softly and lay still in bed for another few minutes. When was he gonna call you? After a few moments of waiting, you decided to finally get out of bed. You took a bath to wake up and went downstairs to make breakfast. As you reached the kitchen, however, you suddenly froze completely. The front door was wide open. Your heart skipped a beat. Was somebody home? You looked around cautiously but there was nobody there. Slowly you approached the door to close it. How couldn't you hear anyone you thought. Was it Jason again? But why would he leave the door open? You stopped as you realized that maybe it wasn't Jason. Maybe it was your dad's… murderer. That thought caused you to freeze completely. Was it Red Hood? Was he planning to come back? Had he been listening to your conversation? You felt scared. Quickly you backed away from the door. You tried to calm yourself. But no matter how much you tried to convince yourself there was no threat to you, fear kept creeping up inside of you.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and the front door opened wide revealing Red Hood standing behind it. Your heart skipped a beat and you gasped loudly as you started trembling uncontrollably. He quickly pushed you towards the kitchen. He grabbed a knife and placed it under your chin forcing you to look directly in his eyes. "Did you talk to him?" he growled angrily. Your breath caught in your throat. Did he know about the conversation you had with Jason? What if he found out you talked to him? "Nnn… no-" you tried to answer but you couldn't even finish your sentence. A sudden pain shot through your neck. "Ow!!" you cried out as you fell unconscious. You woke up from a nightmare. For a while you were confused. After a while you realised that you must've fallen asleep. Didn't I talk to Jason you wondered. You slowly got up and walked over to the front door. It was closed. You turned to glance over your shoulder and saw that the clock showed it was 3:15 AM. You let out a sigh. You didn't remember falling asleep. Probably because all your thoughts and fears. You sighed again and returned back to bed. You laid there staring up at the ceiling in silence. Eventually you eventually drifted off to sleep. You opened your eyes. There was sunlight streaming in through the window. You rolled out of bed and headed towards the shower. As soon as you entered the bathroom you switched on the faucet and let the hot water run down onto you. The warm water helped you relax. You took a quick and deep breath. And once you felt calmer you began to wash yourself. After finishing washing up you stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around your body. While you were drying your hair with the second towel, your cellphone rang. You frowned when you saw a number you weren't familiar with appear on the screen. You picked it up reluctantly. "Hello." you said warily. "Hello Y/n." came an unfamiliar female voice on the other end of the line. "Who's this?" you asked confused. "You were cute in your sleep." she chuckled. "What do you mean?" you asked nervously. She giggled again. "Oh… I'm sorry, dearie. It slipped out. I shouldn't have said that." she said chuckling again. "Who's this?" you repeated. But she already hung up. "Shit!!" you cursed. You ran your fingers through your wet hair. What should I do now? You wondered as you stared at the phone. Suddenly you noticed another text message arrive on the screen. You stared at the screen wondering who it could be. It was from a number you didn't recognise. You tapped on the notification. The message popped up. "Hey Y/n, this is Jason. We need to talk. Immediately." Finally a message from him. Finally. You took another deep breath and texted him back "Sure. Tell me the place.".

Read more

[thepenultimateword]

Could you please continue civilian mentor and fiamora villain? It’s really good and I need to know what happens next!

Part One

Civilian's cheek squished against the desktop, one arm stretched in front of them, the other serving to prop open the newest gorgeous, leather-bound tome they'd convinced the school to purchase as "important research material." The fully illustrated edition at that. Technically it was true. Civilian would benefit wildly from this book when it came to plotting against Villain, and if any of those illiterate brats--er, precious children--deigned to come in, they might write a magnificent paper on fiamora behavior.

What was wrong with them these days? Everything made them irritable or sad, their brain raced endlessly but got nowhere, and they caught themself staring off into space way too often. It was really becoming tiresome. Even books couldn't stabilize them. At this very moment, with this big, beautiful, page-turner in front of them, nothing was sinking in. They read the same paragraph over and over but it never registered. Most brain power seemed dedicated to intermittently blowing their pen to the top of their desk between sentences.

Screeech!

Civilian didn't need to look up to recognize the casual lope of Hero's steps.

"What's up?" the teenager said, slinging off their backpack and rolling a few feet past the desk as they threw themself in the extra wheely chair.

"Just reading. New book came in. Thought it might help for planning."

"No, I mean what's up with the face? Did Villain dump you?"

Civilian didn't lift their head, but they carefully slid their book to the side and gave the lip of the desk a tight squeeze. Their next vicious exhale sent the pen just nigh of toppling over the edge. For some reason, that comment had sparked a more aggressive reaction than was typical for them. It shouldn't have, so they tried to keep their voice level as they responded.

"You know very well that there's nothing between us."

Hero rolled in closer. "Ooooh, so that's the problem."

"Noo," the pen hit their lips and they spluttered on it.

"Want me to bring it up in our next fight?"

Civilian sat up sharply.

"No!"

"I won't say you're the one asking," Hero said, rolling their eyes like Civilian was an amateur to this game. "I'll just bring you up casually and feel out the situation."

"And how are you going to bring up your mentor in the middle of battle? They'll know it's a setup-- Wait, no, that's not the point. I don't want you doing anything because I don't care about Villain. Understand?"

Hero raised their eyebrows at them with an expression that read something along the lines of, "Are you stupid or do you think I am?" That kid was getting way too sassy. But that probably was Civilian's own doing.

Maybe they were an amateur. Not enough to be condescended to by a teenager, but enough to be very, very confused. When was the last time they dated? When was the last time they'd even had feelings that superseded their affection for books? Not in a long, long time. But that couldn't be what this was. What they felt a month ago had been akin to terror, maybe not so much toward the end, but still. It was a red flag, and it was wrong, and they were done thinking about it.

"I don't care about Villain," they repeated more firmly.

Hero cocked an eyebrow. "Hmmm, so what you want is a rebound crush. Want me to set you up with my neighbor? They collect a lot of weird garden statues, but other than that they're nice."

Civilian dug their palms into their eyes with a loud groan. "Let's focus on the upcoming plan, alright? Remember what I told you about fiamora instincts..."

***

Civilian's breath blew out in a large cloud as they stepped out into the icy, slushy school parking lot. Most of the students' cars had dissipated, leaving Civilian's little, dirt-stained civic alone at the corner of the tennis courts.

They watched their feet as they picked their way across the slick lot. It was hard telling wet road from ice, so each step was slow and ginger. Meanwhile, they fished around in their coat pockets for their keys, mittens slipping off the ring twice before they finally found purchase on their compass keychain.

They looked up from their shoes and came face to face with a pair of intense bottle-green eyes and a long saber-tooth fang.

"Hiya, cutie," Villain said.

The keys clanked sharply on the asphalt.

"The kid around?"

Civlian blinked at them dumbly. "They went home twenty minutes ago."

"Good. Then where were we?" Villain's hands slammed on the car door to either side of Civilian's arms.

Civilian fell back, glasses slipping askew on the bridge of their nose and body reflexively flattening against the window. A chilly, eastern breeze mussed Villain's wild hair and carried the scent of sweat and river stones to their nose. A splitting grin showed off the start of a new fang point poking out their gums, and glinting eyes progressively took up more and more of their vision. Oh, they were getting closer.

They were a tidal wave coming crashing down, ready to drag them under, to sweep them away into a deep, black current, maybe even to drown them.

Civilian grabbed Villain's wrist, twisting it to the side to duck under their arm. They retreated several steps around the nose of the car. Their dress shoes weren't built for snow, and wet seeped through the eyelets, but they had a better chance running on this than ice.

"Hero was right before," they said sharply. They weren't sure where they got the courage when their heart was beating so fast, but the need for sense pressed them onward. "What is this? What are you doing?"

"Courting you. Was that not clear?"

It hit Civilian like electricity, more intimate an answer than they had been expecting. Several questions and arguments rushed their brain at the same time, but they settled on the most important one. "You're a villain!"

"And?"

"I-I'm a good guy." It sounded infantile. They desperately searched for better words. "I'm a mentor for Hero. I'm here for Hero. Furthermore, I don't agree with the things you do, and I never consented to, to...to being snuck up on and backed into corners!"

"You said you liked fiamora."

"Yes, I like to study them. Read about them. Write papers on them. That wasn't an invitation to put the moves on me."

The phrasing of that last sentence tasted awkward in their own mouth. It was more something Hero would say. But it was too late to take it back, so they stood tall and let it rest.

Villain's tail curled up and thrashed out like a whip. Amongst their wild hair, the tips of their ears twitched restlessly. "So last month...there really wasn't anything..."

"I don't know," Civilian snapped, turning to the side. "I was in distress."

"Ah." The tuft of Villain's tail splashed in the slush. For a split second their mouth pulled into a straight line, but then suddenly they were smiling again, even wider than before. "What a misunderstanding, I must have scared you out of your wits out here. I'll give you a nice interview sometime to make up for it."

With one last swish of their tail, they turned around and started away.

Civilian's body lurched after them before they knew what they were doing.

"Y-you're leaving?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Villain said over their shoulder. "That's what you want."

That was what Civilian wanted. Right? All good sense told them it was the better decision. But the sick feeling that curdled their stomach when Villain turned away prevented them from confirming it.

"You're giving up pretty easily; aren't you even going to argue?"

"Should I?"

"Well, I said my piece, usually now you'd say yours." Civilian wrung their fingers and toed at the snow, unable to look Villain in the eyes. "And if you have good points then maybe...I might be convinced. You never know..."

They were being so confusing. They knew that. Villain must be so annoyed with their mixed signals. But either direction felt wrong, and they just didn't know--

The point of Villain's claw hooked beneath Civilian's chin and gently raised their face toward them. Civilian wasn't sure when they'd crossed the space between them, but thank goodness there was gentleness in their eyes instead of contempt. They hadn't even known Villain could make that face.

"Why don't I buy you dinner? We can just talk."

“Won’t people recognize you?” Civilian asked quietly.

"I'll wear a hat."

They nearly laughed at the unhelpful solution, but instead they smiled and nodded. “Ok, let’s do that.”

Part Three

[marchtothefuckingsea]

Sincerity - Ten (Doctor Who)

Finally did something for ten! I'd love to do some longer fics for him in the future, and I actually have a couple of ideas planned out already! Enjoy :)

My Masterlist, if you're interested! I don't have anything else for Ten right now but I have some in the works as well as a ton of ideas for future works!

Hurt/Comfort, angry but soft ten, no usage of y/n,

x gender neutral reader !

Word Count: 700 give or take i don't remember

Warnings: Slight slight mention of injury (broken ankle), that's about it.

"I don't know how I ended up with you. Of all my companions, in all my years I have never met someone as utterly incompetent as you."

He said that to hurt me, in his fit of rage, I knew that much. And so, I would not allow it to get to me, to worm its way into the crevices of my brain, unlocking all the insecurities I have had since I decided to tag along with him.

"It's a broken ankle! It's nothing, for crying out loud!"

"It could've been so much worse! You could've died." I knew he was right, but I didn't want to think about how close I had come to certain death today. It was too much to contemplate over in the middle of a heated argument.

I snorted. "Like that would really be important compared to disrupting the entire fucking fabric of the universe." I turned away, sighing angrily. "Compared to that I'm nothing!"

For a second, his gaze softened. "You're something to me." He said, barely audible, before turning back to the TARDIS console.

I turned away quickly, limping down the hall and leaning heavily on the cool, metal walls of the TARDIS. Rounding a few corners, I allowed myself to sink down onto the floor, hissing in pain. Pulling off my boot, I grimaced. My ankle was terribly swollen, the bone jutting out of the skin on the side. I almost threw up.

I gave it an experimental twist, slapping my hand over my mouth to muffle the sob that threatened to escape. I wasn't even sure if I could get up again.

"Let me see." He said gently.

I jumped, I hadn't heard him approach. I immediately stuffed my foot back in my boot, biting down on my lip to keep from crying out again. I tasted blood.

He sighed in frustration. "Let me see." He repeated.

"It's fine." I muttered, attempting to stand. I couldn't put weight on my ankle long enough to get my footing with the opposite leg. "Fuck." I swore under my breath, leaning back against the wall. I swallowed the lump of agony in my throat.

The Doctor knelt down beside me and this time I made no attempt to get away from him. I turned my head the other way.

When he reached for my injured ankle, I bit back the pain and tucked it in closer to me. I heard him let out an exasperated breath.

"Look at me." He said, gently cupping my face with one hand and turning my head so I had no choice but to meet his eyes. They were soft with concern.

"I didn't mean it. I'm sorry." His voice became a whisper.

"It's okay." I murmured.

"No. No, it's not. I shouldn't have snapped at you." He insisted. "I know, I do this every time you get hurt and I resent myself for that. No, shhh. Let me finish." I had opened my mouth to argue but he tenderly pressed his index finger to my lips, effectively cutting me off before I even started. My breath caught in my throat.

"I apologize. I realize you've probably had your doubts about joining me. I never once thought I could've been adding on to that. It's just-" He paused.

I silently wondered how he knew I had been feeling that way. I thought I had mastered the art of carefully concealing away my emotions. It appeared as though he had seen right through it.

His voice lowered, barely above a whisper as he slid his arm around my shoulders and sighed, "I guess you ought to know." I leaned my head against his shoulder and he sucked in a breath. I glanced up at him, urging him to continue his train of thought.

He looked down at me, nothing but affection and tenderness in his warm eyes now.

"I would sacrifice the entire universe for you, you know." He said it lowly and with such sincerity, such finality that there was no doubt in my mind at all the he meant it.

[astorytotellyourfriends]

I'm soft for PeterPatter and 51. You’d marry me if I asked, right?

Luke doesn't even really use Facebook anymore, but every time he goes on it (which is like once every couple of months, he swears), it seems like his entire feed is either engagement announcements or wedding photos. He's pretty sure he doesn't even know most of the people he's friends with, or why they're showing up on his feed in the first place, but what he does know is that it's really fucking annoying.

It's entirely possible that he's mostly annoyed because, well, he sort of wishes he had someone who wanted to marry him. Most days he doesn't really mind being single but the older he gets the harder it is not to feel like he's defective or something.

His relationships never seem to last longer than a couple of weeks, maybe a few months if he's lucky. Even when he and Julie dated, they came to the decision that they were better off as friends barely two months in. And while he doesn't want her back like that, he probably would've married her if he'd thought she'd say yes.

"Hey, Reg?" Luke asks as he snaps his laptop closed. "Can I ask you something?"

"Is it about the rent?" Reggie asks with a wide-eyed look. "Because I told you--"

"No, it's--" Luke rolls his eyes, "it's not about the rent. It's something else."

"Oh." Reggie sighs in relief. "Okay, sure. What is it?"

Luke purses his lips and pauses for a moment. How can he put this in a way that doesn't make him sound totally crazy?

"You'd marry me if I asked, right?"

Judging by the look on Reggie's face, Luke didn't phrase it as well as he thought he did.

"I…" Reggie swallows hard and looks away as a bright blush practically envelops his face. "W-Why are you asking me?"

"I just…" Luke shrugs, "I dunno. We already live together. We're best friends, a-and it's not like either of us are dating anyone. I just…" Luke bites his bottom lip and shrugs again. "I just wondered."

Reggie nods his head as he considers all of the information that Luke just rattled off, and after a couple of seconds he shrugs.

"I guess, then… yeah? If you wanted to marry me, I'd say yes."

Luke snorts. "Okay, but would you wanna marry me?"

"Of course," Reggie blurts out, and a moment later he looks absolutely horrified that he said that out loud. "I-I mean…"

"Of course?" Luke repeats. "Why of course?"

"I didn't-- What I meant was--"

"Reg," Luke says in a voice so soft it shouldn't have been heard over Reggie's rambling, but he stops short anyway. "Do you… want to marry me?"

"I…" Reggie buries his face in his hands and groans. "I mean, m-maybe we should start with a date, first," he mumbles. A smile creeps its way across Luke's face and he slides closer to Reggie, who snaps his head up as soon as he hears Luke move.

"Do you wanna go on a date with me?" he asks, keeping his eyes fixed on Reggie's face.

"Y-Yeah," Reggie whispers, licking his lips before he starts rambling again. "But not if you don't wanna, because I don't--"

Luke cuts him off with a kiss; before this moment, he hadn't ever really thought about what it might be like to date Reggie. This isn't the first kiss they've shared, but most of those were either quick pecks on the cheek or sloppy, drunk kisses that didn't really mean anything.

When Luke pulls away from Reggie's mouth, the only thing he can think about is doing it all over again.

"You free tonight?" Luke asks, laughing breathlessly when Reggie replies with an eager nod. "Good," Luke replies before leaning in to kiss him again.

filled prompts

[amateurduhhh]

Intoxicated Care | Jotaro x Reader

Jotaro feels a strong conviction to make sure drunk reader gets home safe.

Reader identifies as a woman.

Content warnings: alcohol, groping, vomit

"Can I get a shot of Kahlua?" you sat down at the bar early in the evening. The bartender filled a shot glass with liquor. With a swift tilt of your neck, the alcohol slid down your throat. "Er, can you just... just keep 'em coming?"

The bartender filled your shot glass and you repeated the motion. The clock ticked on and the bar became more crowded. The time slipped easily through the air like a breeze in the summertime. It was loud and the masses began taking up more space along the bar, at the pool table and other distractions the bar had.

A man sat next to you. He glanced at you every so often, likely judging your poor drinking habits, but you felt too intoxicated to care by the fifth shot. He noticed you had taken six or so shots. "You shouldn't be drinking so heavy on your own."

You turned your head to the man and reran the words in hour head until they clicked. He wasn't unattractive or crude by any means but something tells you he didn't have much merit in the world of morality. With a tongue thick with the coffee-tinged alcohol, you spoke. "Don't like Kahlua?"

"I prefer shots of Chartreuse. A friend recommended it to me."

You looked the man up and down. He wore a pin with two dolphins making a heart. It was honestly a little cringe, but your intoxicated mind found it hysterical. "Herbal liquor– the vibe matches. Cool pin."

"Thanks."

"You like dolphins?"

"I prefer sharks." Jotaro found himself conversing with a strange woman at a bar. His younger self would roll his eyes as far back as he could if he saw him now.

"I love sharks. They're more friendly than dolphins. Did you know that?" you asked him.

"Had no clue," he lied. It was funny to lie about such a thing. An expert like him, harmlessly feigning ignorance to hear you drunkenly recall anything you knew on marine life. His lip quirked up. "Just... drink responsibly."

"If I don't will you take me home?"

"To your house?"

You nodded.

"No," he said, watching you down another shot, filling him with uneasiness. "Uh, do you have a name...?"

"(Y/N)," you replied after a pause. In the back of your head, you knew you shouldn't be telling this strange man your name, but honestly, alcohol was driving the car that was your brain. "You?" you asked, but it sounded more like a demand.

"Jotaro."

"Joe Tar Oh." You rolled the name on your tongue.

"Don't drink too much," he advised, ignoring what you said. Seeing as you were unsupervised, he glanced at you a few times but not enough to come off as a freak.

"Can I get a fe-ew more sh-hots," your speech was slurred and your concentration was drifting from you as you tried to grasp the situation.

"How many have you had?" Jotaro asked.

"I think er, uh, te–eight, probably."

Jotaro rolled his eyes as the bartender poured you another shot. The number you gave was likely inaccurate. Your coordination was becoming worse and worse as your fingers nearly fumbled the shot glass. At this point, it seemed you'd downed a whole flask.

"Shit, (Y/N), where do you live?" His voice became uneasy. He grabbed his keys, abandoning his half-full beer. Not that you noticed, but he began giving the bartender lethal glances, causing him to take the shot glass from you. The bartender looked at Jotaro with a confused eye.

"Dude, put the glass back," the bartender said.

"No, can't you see she's had too much, dipshit?"

"Chill out. Some of us gotta make money," he argued. "And some of us gotta get laid." That part he muttered quietly, like a secret.

Jotaro's face scrunched up in disgust. While he was beefing with the bartender he didn't notice you wandered off. Fuck, he thought. If he left now without following up, it wouldn't sit well with him if anything bad happened to you. Especially given his status and abilities.

"(Y/N)?" he called out. He didn't even know if that was your real name. It could have just as likely been a pseudonym. "You can't be this dumb, good grief."

He turned to a dark corner of the bar near the restrooms. You were crying, digging through your bag as a stranger was getting a little too close. "I can't find my keys." You wiped your tears with your wrists.

The situation wasn't exactly clear to you at the moment. The man got close, his breath hot on your neck. Jotaro furrowed his brow as the man whispered something in your ear, his hand traveling too far downwards. He didn't know who this guy was, but he didn't seem intoxicated at all.

"What the fuck are you doing, man?" Jotaro prompted, approaching the man with his gun up in the air. There was yelp that definitely came from the man as he looked up to find Jotaro brutishly drawing near.

"Listen, dude," he surrendered. Quickly, he backed up, putting space between him, you and Jotaro. His hands were up in the air and he was shaking. "I– I didn't know that was your girl!"

There was a bit of rage that boiled in Jotaro's gut. He rolled a bullet he kept in his pocket around in Star Platinum's fingers. Star Platinum squeezed down and shot right past the man's ear, making sure the shot was quiet. Jotaro found satisfaction in the asshole's pants growing darker. "She doesn't gotta be my girl for you to not be fuckin' creep, dumbass. Who the hell do you think you are creepin' on defenseless women, huh?" He swung a first into the man's skull and kicked him to the ground.

You looked up at Jotaro and then down to the creep, slightly flinching and began silently crying. If you had been sober, you would definitely have been embarrassed, but you couldn't help the effect alcohol had on you.

"Are you good?" He asked.

You shook your head, clutching your cramping stomach. He watched as you turned and scrambled into the women's room as gracefully as you could, which meant nearly falling through the air, followed by the sound of gagging and vomiting.

There was a clanging sound that came from the man that writhed on the ground. Jotaro bent down and saw the man had dropped some keys. He checked his pockets and found a different pair of keys that didn't match.

You stumbled out of the bathroom, still drunk but on an empty stomach. Jotaro crossed his arms and shook his head. "I think I found your keys?" He reached them out to show you the keychain.

"Yes! Thank you so much, Jo... Jo...!"

He held out a pair of rattling metal for you to grab but before you could he snatched them out of your reach. "No fucking way. I'm gonna drive you." He pulled his phone out and helped you put in your address, with a little help from your driver's license. "Tomorrow you can come back and get your car."

"I got throw-up on my shirt," your voice broke. It sounded wet and shaky.

"It's whatever," he assured. "Did you know that man?" He asked as he started the car. "

You shook your head. "N– hic– no."

Oddly, that didn't make Jotaro feel better. At least if you knew him, it'd be easier to get him off the streets. Unfortunate for him, if he ever came across Jotaro again he'd have a one-way ticket to hell, courtesy of Dr. Kujo, himself.

After pulling into your driveway, Jotaro looked over to see you were asleep and drooling on the seatbelt. He looked back at the front door and then at you again and sighed.

"Hey, you're home, wake up," he said as shook your shoulder. "C'mon."

As you regained consciousness, a wave of nausea hit you like a truck. You opened the car door and hurled what was left of your stomach contents onto the pavement. Jotaro grimaced and got out of the car to help you inside.

You stumbled through the front door, the storm door hitting Jotaro as he helped you across your living room. His heart thumped rapidly in his chest when you grabbed onto him so tightly. He gently set you down on your sofa and decided to not cover you up since your clothes were dirty.

"Jotaro–" you muttered, trying to get up but feeling sick as you head jerked forward. You rocked back and forth, wringling out of your pants and kicking your shoes off. Instead, you ended up on the floor, with your pants around your ankles.

Jotaro was occupied writing something down and then looked over to see you in the sorry state you were in. He saw you peel the rest of your bottoms off and crawl to your feet in just your shirt and panties. His face reddened and he adverted his gaze and then glanced back at you.

"What are you doing?" He walked toward you to direct you back to the sofa. You charged past him, into your bathroom. On your way, you bumped your hip into a corner and stumbled through the doorway. He saw your knees hit the floor and your stomach contracted. Jotaro followed you, to make sure you made it. "Good grief woman, be careful."

"Gonna p–ugh" Whatever was left sitting in your stomach was gone. Dry heaves followed the last of your stomach contents.

Jotaro held back your hair and sighed. His mind wandered as he waited for you to stop. What on earth caused you to get so drunk like this? After a few minutes, you passed out, leaving him to lay you back down on the sofa, a throw blanket to cover your exposed legs. Before he decided to go he scribbled out some words on a note he left on your counter. He had one foot out the door before he glanced back at you, serene in slumber, thanking his conscious for forcing him to get you home safe.

He tugged his hat down to hide his face from nobody.

The following morning, the fat beam of sunlight that warmed your sofa struck your eyes like a hammer to a gong

You had no idea how you got home. There was a large pounding that ached in your head. If that wasn't bad enough, your mouth was as dry as a desert and left with the most disgusting coat of alcohol aftertaste. At least you weren't drinking White Russians last night, lest the aftertaste is worse. Your clothes were rancid, covered in fluids you couldn't recognize.

When you tried to stand, your headache worsened. Thankfully, the memories of the night before were foggy. If you had remembered everything, you'd probably die of shame right then and there. The shame would cause so much blood to travel to your face, it would leave no more blood to support the rest of your body and the amount of blood that would be heating your face from embarrassment would cause it to explode. So thank god, right?

Anyway, back on your feet, you navigated with wobbly limbs to the bathroom where you cringed at the sight of the mirror. Not only did you sleep in your makeup, but your top was stained with an unidentifiable bodily fluid. You quickly peeled your clothes off and proceeded to shower and change.

When you walked into the kitchen, a slip of paper caught your attention. You filled up a glass of water and picked it up. "Hm? This is not my handwriting..." you commented, scanning it. The glass was on your lips, the water spewing everywhere as the contents of the note registered in your head. Quickly, you rushed outside to find your car was not there. With that, more memories flooded back like a collection of scattered, vague puzzle pieces.

You felt heat radiate from your face all the way up to your ears. Humiliation churned in your chest as you reread the note.

It was a brief and sloppy.

The handwriting was tiny and random letters were capitalized. "Your car is at the bar. I drove you home. If u have any questions my number is here," it read. Below the words were a series of digits followed by a signature that was hard to make out.

You dialed the number, shocked and even more embarrassed to hear a deep voice. A man. "Jotaro Kujo."

You looked at the note. Yeah, that somewhat matched the signature. "H–hey, you're the guy who brought me home last night, right?"

"You're awake?" he said, sounding too surprised for comfort. "Yeah. That's me."

"Listen," you said, feeling your face become unbearably hot. "I am so sorry. That was so stupid of me to get drunk like that."

"Yeah, it was," he bluntly agreed.

You felt like throwing up but not from the alcohol. "Anyway," you enunciated. "How can I repay you–"

Before you could finish he cut you off. "That won't be necessary," he said, talking over you.

"No, it is," you insisted harshly. "Meet me for lunch tomorrow, I'll send details."

Jotaro was silent. You had done what many women had repeatedly throughout his life had failed to do: pique his interest. Maybe the method of doing so wasn't ideal, but his interest was typically a dormant entity that you miraculously managed to entice.

"Fine," he said. "I'll accept." By no means was Jotaro in need of this charity, but he would say he was before he would admit that a part of him he often ignored itched to see you one more time.

You let out a sigh of relief, unaware of the favor you were granting him. "Oh! Great, thank you. I'll talk to you later!"

"Yeah, sure." Jotaro held the phone to his ear, letting you hang up. He cursed himself for becoming so enthralled so easily.

[imaginesbymonika]

Standing by and waiting at your backdoor.

Part 2 of the three part finale.

Pairing: Johnny Knoxville x fem!Reader

Plot: Johnny never had any problems with picking up girls, one of the bonuses of having a TV Show. But when he falls in love with his childhood best friend, who is in a relationship with a jerk who doesn’t understand her the way he does, his fame isn’t helping him at all.

Warning: angst, heartbreak and of course my good friend/enemy nostalgia

Inspired by the song ‘You belong with me’ by Taylor Swift (and an edit i saw on tik tok by @bowiedjarin)

masterlist / previous part

It was one of the last days of summer and P.J., who stood a couple of meters away from her doorstep took one final deep breath. He awkwardly shifted his body weight from one foot to the other, this suddenly felt much harder than he initially thought it would. And his hand, the one that was carrying the flowers began to tremble slightly.

He had already thought about what he wanted to say. It was the type of speech, he just needed to get right on the first try, otherwise, he would probably lay awake at night for the rest of his life.

P.J. knew that he shouldn't worry too much about the whole thing, it's Y/N after all. His Y/N, right? She always told him, that he could speak to her about everything. He didn't understand why being truthful suddenly felt so overwhelming.

He wanted to knock on the door and tell her, that she had always believed that she was the most beautiful girl. That he wanted to take her out on a date and then on another one, and another one. How he would do everything for her, oh her. The prettiest girl, his best friend. The only one who was capable of matching his humor. If everyone in the world thought that he was intolerable, he knew that if she’d tolerate him he’d be fine.. For her, he even started reading Kafka a few month ago. He had never been much of a reader. But for her, he thought he’d give it a try.

"It's like Kafka wrote: " “I’m tired, can’t think of anything and want only to lay my face in your lap, feel your hand on my head and remain like that through all eternity.”", Johnny repeated the quote a couple of times, while he got closer to her back door: "Will you go out with me?” But before he was able to reach it, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It pulled him back with a tremendous force and he nearly dropped the flowers.

"Clapp!", Joshua Rebel said, and smiled widely at him. It was an unspoken secret, that he was a bully towards those he didn't like. Tall and muscular. Handsome, but definitely not the brightest. "Hey.", P.J. responded sharply and furrowed his eyebrows: "What are you doing here?"

"I was just here to pick up Y/N.", he responded, as if it's the most natural and obvious thing in the entire world. He wrinkled his forehead and glanced down at the bouquet, and P.J. saw how his mind began to work. A chuckle escaped him: "Oh man, I'm sorry. Did you... want to ask her out? Like for real? Are you serious?”

Johnny felt how his heart dropped:” What’s so funny about that?”

Joshua bit on his lower lip, as if he made an effort not to laugh out loud before he cleared his throat. The night sky above them abruptly lost every single star and moon. “Well, it’s Y/N we’re talking about. Prom queen Y/N. She’s popular and drop dead gorgeous and you’re- well you’re you. No offense, but you’re just different and weird.”

P.J. opened his mouth, but when no words left his lips he simply closed it again. ‘Whatever you do, don’t start crying’ he thought to himself, and Joshua pointed at the flowers:” But yeah, thank you for bringing those around.”

Without waiting for a comeback, Joshua grabbed the bouquet and quickly made his way towards the door. Everything happened so fast that poor P.J. didn’t have enough time to properly react. The next thing he knew was that the door unlocked and Y/N stepped out.

She looked amazing and the way she reacted to the flowers confirmed to P.J that he had memorized her favorite kind after all. When Y/N passed him, she pulled him into a tight hug. She asked him what he wanted and he just shook his head and informed her that it wasn’t anything meaningful.

That night when he returned to his house he didn’t cry, he didn’t have the strength for it. Instead, when he laid down in his bed he read a couple of pages from the Kafka novel before he tossed the book across the room. Was he as weird as Joshua said he was? All he knew for sure was that he couldn’t face Y/N anymore.

Something inside of him shifted, and he knew there was no turning back.

[artistsfuneral]

Chapter Three - Masterpost

The first few days after that, Jaskier had to use all of his energy to stay awake for more than a couple of hours. Schrödinger, being an absolute darling of a man, never left his side for long. Getting the bard's strength back was the first goal on his list, which he proceeded to fulfill by always having some kind of food at hand. They started with broth and light stew and when Jaskier could stomach those easily, Schrödinger brought him dried meat, bread and whatever else he had foraged during the night.

During the night, because apparently – just like their animalistic counterparts – the Cats were most active at dawn and dusk, preferring to either spend the day traveling or sleeping it away. When he had asked Schrödinger about it, the witcher had explained that was more a seasonal thing than anything; As soon as autumn would come the Cats' habits would change too.

As it was now, Schrödinger would stay with him until he fell asleep in the evenings and then venture out with his brethren. Even then, Jaskier knew he was never truly alone. He couldn't leave the caravan on his own yet, in fact he had promptly passed out the first time he tried and he was not fond of repeating that incident, but if he listened closely he could hear some of the witchers meddling about on the outside.

He probably shouldn't have felt this safe surrounded by complete strangers, especially not with said strangers being Cat witchers, the very ones Geralt had warned him about many times. Melitele wept with the knowledge that Jaskier felt strangely comforted around them.

It may have been Schrödinger's fault, if Jaskier was honest with himself. Whenever he woke up in the mornings, the Cat was sprawled across his chest, lap or was sleeping completely on top of him. If he woke before Jaskier, he'd start kneading at the bard's soft stomach with his knuckles and purr as loud as he could until Jaskier opened his eyes. It also meant that Schrödinger's sleepy face was the first thing he saw every morning after waking up, something that made Jaskier's poor heart flutter like it hadn't done in a long time. The golden-green of his eyes, his sleep-tussled, chocolate brown hair and the stubble on his cheeks were almost too much to handle. It was, Jaskier thought to himself, absolutely unfair how attractive witchers were.

Eventually though the Cat deemed him strong enough to leave the caravan for more than just a quick leak in the next thicket. Which in return meant, that Jaskier got to meet the other witchers.

As it turned out, Jaskier had been right to think that the oldest of the Cats was their leader Guxart. Their first conversation was rather awkward on Jaskier's side, who immediately tried to apologize for causing such a hassle and assure that he never had had the intentions of falling ill right in front of them. Guxart had stared him down while he babbled, his glaring red eyes sending a shiver down his spine. Jaskier was almost scared of him, almost. But the tiny witcher dozing in Guxart's lap, happily snuggled between the elder's legs, kind of ruined the imposing imagine.

To his credit, the old witcher simply waited until Jaskier was running out of words (and out of breath) before telling him to calm down and take a seat. Schrödinger then proceeded to pull Jaskier into his lap, because apparently 'taking a seat' meant cuddling. Guxart, never taking his eyes off Jaskier's face, relaxed his back and pulled the small witcher closer to his chest.

“I don't think, we've been properly introduced yet, have we? I'm Guxart, grandmaster of the school of the Cat.” The witcher in his arms let out an offended noise that made him snort. “And this tiny brat is Nines of Malhoun.” Nines' eyes snapped open and they outright hissed at Guxart, before biting into the older man's fingers. Guxart didn't even flinch.

Jaskier's heart jumped, but the only consequences were Schrödinger's arms tightening around his middle. “My apologies, Master Guxart,” Jaskier bowed his head in what he hoped to be understood as a sign of respect. “I'm sure Schrödinger has already told you, but I am best known as Jaskier, the Witchers' Bard.”

Nines raised one of their eyebrows and echoed, “Best known as?” Jaskier sent them a sheepish smile, “Usually artists such as myself tend to have a... selective arrangement of names we can adapt to. I prefer Jaskier, I have been Jaskier for years, but if needed I'm also Dandelion of Cintra, or one Professor Pankratz of Oxenfurt.”

This time it was Guxart to react first, “Pankratz?”

Jaskier made a face as if he'd just bitten into a sour apple. Of course, the old witcher had heard his family name once before. “Ah, indeed. I was born Lord Julian Alfred Pankratz the Viscount of Lettenhove.” Nines hissed when he mentioned his title. Quick to defend himself, he added, “I have never held any favor for that role, I might say. With Nilfgaard having invaded half the continent it's also a rather useless birthright.”

Nines let out an offended huff but turned their head back into Guxart's chest. Said one hummed, considering Jaskier with an unblinking gaze. The staring seemed to be a Cat thing.

When he found what he was looking for, the witcher slowly blinked and then nodded at Jaskier. Behind him, Schrödinger started purring. “My kits have taken a liking to you, Jaskier,” Guxart spoke slowly, “as long as I don't find you stabbing anyone unprovoked, you may stay in Schrödinger's care.”

Schrödinger took that role rather serious and during the next couple of days, Jaskier had the pleasure of getting to know the other Cat witchers by their level of stabbiness. Schrödinger and his litter mates Axel, Joël and Aiden counted into the category of “won't stab you”, as did a Cat named Geatan, who currently wasn't with the caravan.

Cedric, Hilda and Frida (Jaskier was more than surprised to find out that the Cats had female witchers) were deemed “nice enough to warn him before a stabbing” whereas Conni, Nines and Dragonfly would probably stab him without needing a reason for it. When Jaskier had quietly asked in which category Guxart belonged, Schrödinger had only responded with one of his loop-sided grins and a wink. For his own sake of mind he decided not to think about it any further.

Despite the initial warnings and – more surprisingly – even despite his inner demons telling him that he wasn't wanted, that he only was an imposing liability to the witchers, Jaskier found himself quickly befriending the Cats.

Growing up with Schrödinger, his litter mates were just as tactile as him. Axel and Joël were the ones that still had somewhat of an understanding of personal space. They sat close to Jaskier, bumped their shoulders and legs together, hugged him after coming back from a hunt and just shared gentle touches with Jaskier in general. Aiden on the other hand, was exactly as touchy as Schrödinger. Approximately two hours and one meal after meeting Jaskier for th first time, Aiden had an arm around his shoulder and pulled the bard into his lap. Schrödinger let out a hiss that almost sounded jealous, but before Jaskier could apologize for hogging Aiden, Axel and Joël had started teasing their brother, repeatedly calling him “Eddie” and “Pussycat” until Schrödinger's face turned a lovely shade of angry-red and the man all but pounced Axel and send them tumbling off into the forest.

Jaskier would have been alarmed had it not been for Aiden's caterwauling laughter and Joël's shrieking giggles. He learned quickly enough that similar outbreaks were normal when traveling with Cats. The “stabbiness rating” wasn't a scale regarding Jaskier, but a general thing. Especially Nines had absolutely no problem with throwing their knifes across the whole camp, regardless of who was in the way of his target.

The Cats could fight over anything and everything. Be it Schrödinger going feral because the others called him Eddie, Casper igniting Frida's breeches for getting mud on his skirt, Joël and Hilda screaming at each other until their voices gave out because... because of something.

It wasn't just fighting, though.

Spending time, living together with the witchers, Jaskier was smiling, laughing, enjoying life more and more each day. He spend his mornings with Schrödinger, watching the sun rise from their bed in the caravan, cuddling and purring until someone let out a call for breakfast. Sharing stupid jokes with Axel and teasing Joël until his ears turned red, helping Hilda and Frida with lighter chores, discussing poetry and prose with Conni, even helping Dragonfly with potion brewing.

Jaskier was happy.

He was without doubt absolutely happy. Excited to wake up in the mornings and completely at ease to fall asleep in the evenings.

He was dozing in the sun, cuddled up with Aiden and Schrödinger on a soft blanket, enjoying the last of the fading summer heat. The familiar chirping sounds from some of the other cats waking him up enough to see Guxart and Conni coming back from the nearest town, where they had shared a contract. As soon as they entered the camp, Jaskier saw it.

Jaskier shot up from the blanket, back ramrod straight and eyes huge as he stared at Guxart. Schrödinger let out a confused noise next to him and Aiden's arms wrapped around his middle. Jaskier barely noticed them as the oldest witcher approached. His face was stern like always, red eyes once again staring right through Jaskier's soul.

The leader of the Cats placed a familiar case in Jaskier's trembling hands. “Funny, isn't it? Destiny seems to favor you.” For once, the hot tears that ran down Jaskier's cheeks were tears of joy. He had his lute back.

---

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[hermitblurbs]

i am so very in love with all of your work and your pirate au has my heart 😩😩

He doesn’t know what he expected, really. But Grian’s got a ship to run, and Scar is nothing if not an outsider. He attempts to note something during the trek to his assigned quarters, though with everything that happened, the only thing he can pick up on is the character. The ship is much nicer than any of the ships he's been on previous, not in quality--the merchant ship he came on was plenty nice--but The Hermit was a home to its inhabitants in the way very few vessels are.

The room he's been given is practical, and almost comically barren, with two hammocks and a chest for storage. It feels like a challenge, like a dare to fill it with personal items and make the room his. He couldn't complete if he wanted to. His last crew made sure he had nothing to his name, and the merchant ship weren't willing to share anything they could sell.

He picks up the sound of a duo bickering about everything and nothing as they pass by his door. He can't stop the pang of jealousy that follows, staying long after the voices fade. A room without a bunkmate should be a blessing on a ship; there's more room, more privacy, and more alone time when you're trapped with a group at sea. Instead it leaves him empty. He's alone, as always.

What is his plan for this? Maybe he expected more from his old friend than a hug and the two minutes they filled with disbelief and half-formed phrases. He understands, he really does. There was a storm in the distance and avoiding that would be top priority. He'd also want to avoid causing a scene, no matter how loyal the crew is. They wouldn't know what to say either, wouldn't know how fill in all those missing stories. So really, this was better. They'll catch up later. Probably.

He sets Grian's gun in the chest, exhaustion weighing on his coattails. Maybe he’s losing his touch.

He banishes the thought instantly with a firm shake of his head. That's ridiculous. He knows what he’s doing. He always has. Confidence is key, expectations leads to disappointment, and insert a third motto here. He’s sure he’s got a third somewhere.

The chest's shut and bolted with firm, confident motions. He's always been alone, so this shouldn't be any different. He'll put his coat away and get some rest, and then he'll be all ready to help sail and charm the crew when he wakes up--

"YOU!" His door slams open, and he does not squeal at the according, sudden, loud bang.

"You," the newcomer repeats before Scar can get a word in. He manages to pick up green and fuzzy on the stranger's appearance before there's an accusing finger in his face

"Me," he echoes, drawing out the 'e' until it ends in a trail.

"Hi. Hello. You're Scar, right?" He continues, moving the finger to hold out a hand. "I'm Bdubs. Grian talks a lot about you. He thought you were dead."

The change leaves his already-anxious nerves reeling in its speed, but Scar's a gentleman first and foremost, so he collects his bearings and gives Bdubs a strong handshake.

Then he finally registers what he said, and his brain stutters again.

"He--Grian talks about me?"