#i really hope this looks okay on mobile because I will not be fixing anything

[subjxctseventeen]

Assassin's Creed + TV Tropes ↳ Desmond Miles 1/?

[cheri-2047]

I have a request for, Zhongli Neuvillette and Ayato so they are forced to marry a reader, who looks a mess like their appearance and they aren't really into them. I hope I explained it properly it's hard for me at times and I got the idea when I saw some mobile game ad.

i think I know this ad LMAO, sure !! I’ll make it headcanons though cause those have been easier for me to write lately. thank you for the request!

Arranged Marriage (Zhongli , Neuvillette, Ayato)

SCENARIO: Your parents somehow got to get you an arranged marriage with these men. You grew up in a rich family, but due to a bad decision, your father’s company ended up going bankrupt. Suddenly, your mom just told you to get into the car and drove off, not knowing where you were going.

MENTIONS OF: Furina, Thoma, Ayaka

NEUVILLETTE:

When you enter the court (please tell me where he works guys in the comments, I forgot what it’s called), that’s when you realized.

“shit.”

This is the first time you’ve actually SEEN him. You felt embarrassed because your mother didn’t even let you change out of a decent pair of clothing or even fix your hair.

you quickly tried to change your appearance as much as you could. But when the Melisune opened the door, that’s when you panicked.

Neuvillette was…shocked. He was shocked to see you in a state but he didn’t show it. “Ah..I suppose you’re y/n?”

“yes… I apologize for my appearance, My mother pulled me out of my room and just forced me to leave without a word haha…” you were nervous as hell.

”I see. Nice to meet you.” He stands up and walks over to you, shaking your hand.

”I’d like to go over the terms of our marriage, nothing official just what we both are comfortable with.” Even with your messy appearance, he still treated you with grace and kindness

he asked the melusine to give you some tea, and now you Two were left alone.

”Well…I understand if you don’t want to do this at all, so during our relationship, I will not require you to be affectionate towards me.”

He sat in a chair nearby and he held your hand. “If there’s anything I am doing, or will do that makes you uncomfortable, please do not hesitate to tell me.”

“If you need anything, just say the word and I’ll have to for you.”

“if you would have…other affairs, since were not actually in love…I’m okay with it. Just be careful to not show it in public.” He understands that this is a forced marriage for you, so he tries to still let you have a normal life.

“ah no it’s okay, I’m not interested in anyone at the moment, but I…I would like to try to get this- us to work.” You smiled, and Neuvillette was touched by that.

During your marriage, you lived with him. He wasn’t extremely close to you but you could tell he was trying. On the first night you two slept beside each other but on the next one if you were uncomfy, he arranged another room for you in his mansion.

He lets you do anything really, if you want to work go ahead but if you just want to stay home that’s okay too.

Overall, he grew to like you. And the marriage was like a real thing.

Since he wouldn’t be home often, he apologizes by sending you gifts. When he notices you’re lonely, furina actually lets him have a day off.

as for affection, at most he would kiss you on the forehead or cuddle you close. He won’t force you to kiss him on the lips (since he doesn’t want to intrude on anything) so you’d have to initiate those <3

AYATO:

When you saw your car drop in front of the kamisato, that’s when you realized.

You tried to fix your appearance, tying your hair up with a desperate attempt to look more elegant.

thoma welcomed you, not gonna lie he noticed how you shuffled your clothes a lot and before taking you to ayato, he let you in a separate room.

”I don’t mean to be rude, but I noticed the way you shuffled with your clothes” he chuckled, handing you an old dress that ayaka owned, (since it didn’t fit her)

he let you changed and once you did, he brought you to ayato.

Ayato welcomed you and thoma left the room. He motioned for you to sit in front of him.

”nice to meet you” he smiled and bowed (iirc in japan they bow as a sign of respect/greeting? Please correct me if I’m wrong!)

you did the same. It was awkward for awhile until he spoke.

”I am sure you’re aware of what’s about to happen correct?” You nod. “I want to try to make this work” he said, looking straight at you.

”if… if we don’t work out that’s alright, but I’d like to know you more.” He smiled as you nodded.

”me too, I’m glad we’re on the same page” you smiled.

you two talked about your own interests, but now you had a problem.

its not that he hated you or judged you, but there are times it’s dead silent. for now he passes it off since you both are new to each other.

”well, I will have thoma show you your room and ah- no more need for formalities it’s okay”

After the marriage you move in together and though it’s still awkward, you two actually end up becoming close.

At some point, during the night when he’s working late, he actually started seeking comfort from you.

sometimes he would visit your room, if you were asleep he would sit beside you on the bed and tuck you in nicely after

or if you’re awake, you (aside from ayaka sometimes) are one of the only few who actually gets him to go to bed.

you sleep in separate rooms but one day he offers for you to sleep with him.

overall, this marriage was a success. Sometimes he’s busy but you take note of it and if he notices you’re lonely, he would invite you over to his room while he works/signs papers and he talks to you.

as for affection, he appreciates if you give him hugs but there are times (mostly when you’re away for a long period of time) when he tilts your chin up and goes “may I?” Before pressing a kiss to your lips

Sorry if I mischaracterized this, I haven’t done the inazuma quest and idk much about him !

ZHONGLI:

to your surprise, when you almost stopped in a mansion, you saw him standing outside waiting for you.

and that’s when you started to realize.

the moment you got out of the car, you fixed your dress. He was quite welcoming actually.

he welcomed you to his home and set you on the couch. He actually didn’t mind much your appearance.

he sat in front of you and smiled. “Nice to meet you” he handed you a cup of tea before you two got started.

he saw you uncomfortable shuffling around your clothes. “Are you alright? Is something wrong?”

”no no! Just fixing myself a bit, sorry” he wondered why you seemed so tense about your appearance.

”I do not care about such matters if that’s what you’re thinking” he reassured you.

”now..as for this marriage, I do not want you to feel forced. I will allow anything you’d like, if you’d have other affairs, I am okay with that.” He really just wants you to be comfy is all, especially since this was forced.

”however… I would like to get to know you more” and just like that a few months after the marriage, you two actually clicked.

often at night he’d sleep beside you, in the mornings he makes you both tea.

He’d be very respectful with boundaries and he appreciates when you respect his as well.

for dates he loves bringing you to gardens for a picnic or relaxing lakes, somewhere with nature. he hugs you a lot and kisses on your forehead. If you want a kiss on his lips, he will gladly say yes anytime of the day

A/N: OKAY. I loved writing this, I enjoyed Neuvillette and Ayato’s part, I kinda lost ideas for zhongli but THERE WAS AN ATTEMPT. Anyways thank you for requesting, I only have… 2-3 requests left until I can open them again ! I love how thoma would also be a gentleman to you idk I think he’s pretty cool this wasn’t proofread and comments are appreciated !! (Drop by for a tip, or if I mischaracyerized them or just say hi!)

[in1-nutshell]

The second part of the previous post is here!

Megatron finding out the Batmobile Buddy is still active

SFW, Platonic, mention of injury but brief, Romantic, Cybertronain reader

Another Decepticon attack hit Detroit at night.

Buddy and Prowl were set to try and flank some of the air born Cons while the other made sure the civilians were safe and fought on the ground.

The Cons thought that Prowl was being extra fast this time around.

Or even found a cloning machine.

That was until Starscream realized who it was.

Buddy on top of Starscream’s alt mode

“Hey Screamer! Long time no see!”--Buddy

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! SHE’S BACK! SHE’S BACK FROM THE DEAD!”--Starscream

Starscrem tries to fly away but Buddy uses her grappling hook to catch him in the air.

She is now sitting on Starscream moving him in the direction she wants.

“What’s wrong Starscream! Aren’t you happy to see me?!”--Buddy

“GET HER OFF ME! GET HER OFF ME!”--Starscream

Buddy saw Ratchet getting cornered by Blitzwing and drove Starscream into his back.

Blitzwing was about to yell at him when he also noticed the familiar bot. He quickly transformed and flew off with Starscream behind him.

Buddy quickly grabbed Ratchet’s servo trying to lead him away from the fight.

Not before someone rammed into Buddy’s side making her let go of his servo.

She crashed into a nearby building.

Buddy opened her optics to see a giant sword coming towards her.

She quickly moved out of the way to be face to face with Megatron himself.

Buddy quickly dodges most of his attacks.

She could also briefly see his optics.

They were set ablaze.

Buddy narrowly avoiding a punch.

“I thought you had gone down with your ship!”--Megatron

Buddy shoots her tasers at Megatron.

“I live to disappoint others don’t I!”--Buddy

“This time I will personally make sure you are properly offline!”--Megatron

He grabbed Buddy by her throat and flew up high in the clouds.

Buddy managed to kick him straight in the chin making him drop her.

She activated her jet pack (because bat mobile stuff) trying to slow her descent down a bit.

Something hit her back causing her to spin out of control and land harshly in a pile of scrap metal and motor oil.

Buddy knew that there was no way she was going to be able to fight Megatron in her condition now.

So, she did the next best thing.

She lowered her spark intensity and hoped that the scraps and oil would help her blend in.

Her back was killing her and her right pede but she kept quiet and hoped that the others were okay.

That Ratchet was okay.

She hated that she couldn’t do anything, but she knew she wouldn’t be any help right now.

A couple of minutes passed, and her spark began to hurt a bit.

She wasn’t going to be able to keep it low while she had all these injuries for too long.

Someone moved the scrap above her, and she froze.

Instead of gun metal grey.

She saw a familiar green helm poking out.

“Hey guys! I found her! She’s okay…ish.”--Bulkhead

“Hey Bulkhead… how’s everything?”--Buddy

Bulkhead is trying to dig Buddy out.

“The Cons left as soon as you went down. Ratchet really worried about you. Lie he was actually yelling!”--Bulkhead

“Is that so?”--Buddy

“Move it Bulkhead!”--Ratchet

Buddy was enveloped in a soft pink hue floating up.

She was set down and was just lying there on her back trying to ignore the pain as she saw Ratchet’s worried face in her view.

She tried smirking but flinched when the pain shot up again.

Sari came over and put in her key.

In a couple of seconds, Buddy injuries were fixed.

Buddy stood up with Ratchet and Optimus helping her.

Ratchet sighed a bit in relief before put his arm around her as everyone made their way back to the Plant.

Back at the plant Buddy sat on the med slab while Ratchet ran up the checkup.

“Ratchet.”--Buddy

“…”--Ratchet

“Ratchet.”--Buddy

“We both know I’m okay, you can stop with the check-up.”--Buddy

Ratchet looks at her with a stern yet tried look on his face.

She makes some room on the med slab and pats it down for him to sit.

Ratchet sits next to Buddy interweaving her digits with his.

Silence.

“Do you want to talk about it now?”--Buddy

“…No…”--Ratchet

“But we’ll talk about it later, okay?”--Buddy

Ratchet leans his helm on Buddy and just sighs.

Buddy pulls him into a side hug and stays there.

Everything will sort itself out soon enough.

[pellucid-constellations]

A Million Reasons - Three

Pairing: College!Bucky x Reader

Summary: Bucky Barnes, with all his trust fund money and family connections, gets assigned community service. You, as someone that’s technically part of the community, now have to put up with him. Every day. And he won’t stop killing your plants.

Warnings: Awful men, discussion of family issues, tensionnnn

Word Count: 4.6k

a/n: Thank you for sticking around and waiting for this one :) I hope you enjoy!!

Series Masterlist // Main Masterlist

~~

Your choked words echoed into the phone receiver, making you cringe as you thought about poor Peter on the other end of the call. You knocked your head back against the headrest of your car seat, bringing your sleeve up to your dampened cheeks. 

“I’m not even that upset, I don’t know why I’m crying.” 

“Hey, you can cry if you want,” Peter comforted. Sounds popped through your speaker as he moved around. “Tell me what happened?” 

You sniffed, adjusting the temperature dial to blast more heat through your car. “Wanda had Natasha set me up on a date.” 

“Okay… Why?” 

“I don’t know! I never know what’s going on in her head,” you lied, unwilling to share the real motive behind Wanda’s antics. “But it doesn’t really matter because the date was terrible and I never want to date anyone ever again.” 

“Oh, c’mon! Don’t say that. Wait, give me a sec—” you heard him call out to someone, rustling papers and loud footsteps filling your ears until, “I’m so sorry, y/n, but I’m next up for Stark’s office hours and if I don’t go in he's gonna kill me.” 

You breathed out a rough sigh. “That’s okay. Go ahead, Pete, I’ll be fine.” 

“You want me to meet you after? I can be quick.” 

“No… No, I have to stay in the greenhouse with Barnes. I’ll be okay in a few minutes, promise.” 

“You sure?” 

Your mouth twisted into a frown, frustration and embarrassment still gnawing at your stomach as time ticked by. You were almost ten minutes late for Bucky’s start time and you had a mountain of work to do; you’d have to suck it up for now and stop reliving the awful coffee date Wanda had insisted on. 

Because she had insisted. Relentlessly. 

She had gone on and on about this being good for you, giving you an in-depth speech about distractions and rebounds as if you hadn’t been single for the past however many months. All it took was one fleeting comment about your weird feelings for Bucky, and she was on a rampage, landing you in some cafe with a man from Natasha’s jiu jitsu class. 

And what an awful man he was, all of his cruel words and uncomfortable touches still making your skin crawl. But you could almost catch Bucky’s figure lingering in front of the greenhouse, right on time as he had been for the last couple of weeks, and you felt bad for wasting his punctuality. 

It wasn’t as if he was ever doing anything after he arrived—other than texting and playing mobile games and poking mercilessly at your plants—but at least he was never late. That was more than you could say for yourself right now. 

“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” you assured Peter, taking a steadying breath and straightening out your hair. “You go meet with Stark, I’ll call you later.” 

The line went dead after a few more parting words and you struggled with the mirror in your sun visor as you attempted to fix the puffiness in your face. Your eyes were still red and dimmed with tears and anyone looking at you for longer than twenty seconds would definitely be able to tell you had been crying. You sighed, gave up on your appearance, and silently prayed that Bucky would have some pressing matters on his phone this evening. 

The outside air felt nice, at least—a tiny reprieve from the awful day you’d had. It was tinged in a floral scent from the surrounding garden and made sweeter by the setting sun; cool against your tear-stained face and light as it whispered reassurances in your ear. 

And then you saw Bucky leaning against the greenhouse and all that comfort turned to lead in your stomach. 

He glanced up from his phone, frustration furrowing his brow, and called out, “About damn time! I get that you’re running this show, but some people have places to be. And I have hours to fill.” 

You chewed the inside of your lip at his tone. Normally, you didn’t let the slight condescending lithe bother you, but today it was pulling at a weak thread. You’d already been berated during your date; you weren’t sure if you could hold up against Bucky’s light taunting. 

“Sorry,” you mumbled, keeping your eyes glued to your keys as you brushed past him. “I’ll sign off on the full day.” 

He didn’t respond to that, the slight shift in his stance marked only by the soft sounds of his jacket. His phone locked and he shoved it in his pocket as you tugged at the door, but he didn’t say anything else. You were grateful for the small silence. 

You deposited your bag on the floor by your desk and shrugged off your jacket, already over the evening. The air in the greenhouse was especially stagnant today, and there was a pipe that kept creaking although you couldn’t figure out which one. A few of your books tumbled out of your backpack when you dropped it to the ground, effectively breaking your spirit just a little bit more.

And then there was the headache you were sporting, a mixture of crying and cruel words replaying in your mind being the root cause. 

A girl that looks like you must put out, huh?

God, do you ever stop talking about that project?

Like hell I’m paying for this. Want a tip? Try smiling more. 

“Your books are gonna get all soggy if you leave them there.” 

It was easy to forget Bucky was here when you were on the verge of spiraling. 

You let out a long breath through your nose, bending at the knees to pick up your things and set them away from the water damage. You readied yourself at your table, but Bucky simply continued. 

“I could just buy you new books if you needed. Or I could ask one of the professors to just give me some.” 

He was usually less blunt than that.

You ground your teeth together. He sat on the stool in the corner of the room, making it groan and slide into the wall. His heel clicked against the ground as he crossed his leg over his knee—a haughty posture that you could just sense from your peripheral. 

But it didn’t grate at your nerves as it usually did. Today, you were just trying your best not to show how emotionally exhausted you were. 

“No thanks,” you replied, voice small. 

The notebook in front of you was blurring and you were beyond frustrated with yourself. With your back turned to him, Bucky wouldn’t be able to see if you started crying, but you could feel his eyes burning on your skin. If you so much as brushed your hand against your cheek, he would see it. 

His stool creaked, sliding against the floor as he leaned his forearms on his thighs. “What, no comments today? Nothing about my shoes? Maybe my sweater? I tied it around my shoulders just so I could hear you complain about it.” 

Why did his voice sound so gentle? It was making you feel sick. You would’ve preferred his mean tone because at least then you could’ve been angry at something. 

The pit in your stomach grew, and you fought against your tears with a grimace. “You look fine.”

Your eyes were starting to get itchy, pleading with you to blink and let the tears free. You dug the eraser of your pencil into the palm of your hand and pushed yourself further into the table, hoping the movement would’ve distracted Bucky from the weird crack in your voice. It didn’t. 

“Oh I look fine, huh?” he questioned, a lightness that didn’t match his words. He stood. “Well I think you look terrible, if I’m being honest.” 

You knew it was a ploy to rile you up; in your few weeks together, Bucky had never made one comment on your appearance. He always kept his comments to your plants or the silly ringtones on your phone or your department’s low budget. He loved to annoy you, but he never seemed to want to poke fun at you personally. 

So you knew he didn’t mean it, but today, after everything, that didn’t matter.

You sniffed, cringing as a tear made its way down your face. 

His shoes clicked against the ground again. “Hey, look at me.” You definitely didn’t want to look at him. “C’mon, y/n, turn around for a sec.” 

At this point, your charade was up. There were multiple tracks now staining your cheeks, and looking up at the ceiling didn’t seem to be slowing them down. You could try to wipe them away, but he was standing so close again—the scent of him and the warmth at your back making this so much worse. 

So you turned, your embarrassment now your defense. “What, Barnes?” you snapped, crossing your arms over your chest. 

He looked startled by your tears in a way that didn’t make much sense to you. His brows came together at a sharp point and his head shook as if to undo something. His lips parted, and he took another step forward. 

“Hey, I didn’t mean that, alright? You don’t look—”

You scoffed, but the sound was far from biting. “It’s not about that.” 

“Is it about those Marigolds?” he asked, his words fast and his tone unfamiliar. “Because I really didn’t mean to kill ‘em. If it ruined your project you can blame it on me.” 

You were surprised he even remembered the name of the plant he prodded to death; the guy in the cafe probably couldn’t even do that, and you were supposed to be on a date with him.

“No, it’s… it’s nothing, okay?” you cemented. “Just leave it, I’ll be fine.” 

Bucky didn’t look like he wanted to leave it. Something about you crying was making him very restless, and he didn’t appear to be sitting down anytime soon. 

Instead, he pressed, “Does it have something to do with why you were late?” 

“Why? Are you going to hold that against me for the rest of the week? Make me sign off on extra hours to make up for it?” 

“Y/n,” he stressed. He stepped forward again, leaning his side against your table and getting so close to you that your chest tightened when you looked up at him from your chair. “I’m bein’ serious. What’s up?”

You felt your face crumble, all plans of keeping a strong, annoyed front flying out the broken door. You were supposed to have this conversation with Peter—get all the tears and the mean words out of your system and get on with your day. But Peter was busy, and Bucky was right here with his oddly kind eyes and that stupid sweater tied around his shoulders. 

And then his hand came down on your shoulder—wide and comforting and warm—and you were suddenly speaking more than you wanted to. 

“It’s dumb,” you began, trying to brush off so many tears. “It’s really dumb, it’s just… I went on this date earlier and the guy was a total jerk. He called me boring and ugly and told me I talked about plants too much. Then he skipped out on the bill and took my coffee with him and I just… I know I’m really focused on school, but I hadn’t been on a date in a while so I just thought—” 

“Hey,” Bucky softly called. He crouched down in front of you and you didn’t have the time to be shocked before his hand slid down to rest on your knee. “That’s not dumb. If someone called me boring and ugly and I probably woulda punched them in the face.” 

“But if he was telling the truth…” 

“He wasn’t.” 

You raised your brows, tilting your head to the side and doing your best to look accusing despite your puffy eyes. It almost sounded like he was complimenting you, and that certainly wasn’t the norm in your relationship—whatever that actually was. Prison guard and prisoner? Babysitter and unrelenting toddler? 

It didn’t really matter; Bucky swiped his thumb along your knee in a soothing gesture, and your brain felt fuzzy. 

“You know I kinda like it when you talk about all these plants in here?” he posed, nodding his head toward the back of the greenhouse. “You get real excited. Makes me laugh.” 

“I don’t talk to you about the plants.” 

“No… not exactly. I don’t think you do it on purpose. Sometimes you just start mumbling stuff about symbiosis or whatever and then you go off. I’m pretty sure you write it all down after—I just get the sneak preview.”

 You felt your face heat, pressing a hand to your forehead in an attempt to quell your embarrassment. “Oh god, I am boring.” 

Bucky chuckled, so soft it made you feel warm. “Pretty sure I just said I liked it.” 

Your crying had stopped, the need hide away in your sadness shadowed by your need to catch your breath. Bucky eyes hadn’t strayed from your face as he crouched before you, and you hadn’t stopped trying to find an interesting pattern in your jeans—well, a pattern in the material not covered by one of Bucky’s hands, that was.

He squeezed your thigh when you got too lost in your head again, and you glanced up this time. His cobalt eyes blinked back at you. You felt as if you were drowning in something foreign. 

“Your pants are going to be covered in dirt,” you informed him, the only thing you could get out when he was barely a foot from your face. “I bet your dry cleaner's going to have a fit.” 

“There she is,” he grinned, standing up and dusting his knees off. You hated to admit that your leg felt cold. “Get up, I’m taking you somewhere.” 

You sniffed, trying to clear the remaining blurriness from your eyes. “What? No, I have things I have to get done in here.” 

“Are your plants gonna be gone in the morning?” 

“Well, no. But I have to make sure—” 

“Then let me make you feel better. Just for a little, Daisy. C’mon,” he pleaded, knocking his head back in feigned exasperation.

You held your breath at the nickname, the sound of someone remembering something about you making your heart hurt. Someone that definitely didn’t have to be nice to you or spend the last ten minutes trying to get you to stop crying. Your eyes trailed from him to the notebook still flipped open at your desk, and Bucky was quick to speak again. 

“It won’t be boring,” he promised. 

The sun was setting and you shouldn’t. 

“Fine.”

~~

The crickets sounded off from the foliage surrounding the parking lot, the only sound between the two of you as you stood and tried to school your face into a neutral expression. It was proving difficult; Bucky kept glancing over at you in confusion, and each awkward movement of his hands threatened to send you into a laughing fit. 

“Are you gonna get in the car, or…” 

You bit into your lip, hard, and finally met his eyes. “What is that thing?” 

“What’re you talking about? My car?” he asked, offense clear in the shake of his head. “You gotta be kidding me, right?” 

You shrugged, offering him your own clueless head shake. He scoffed at you, spinning his car keys on his finger and raising his brows in disbelief. This car certainly didn’t look common, and the fact that he was acting so surprised was making your tears feel like a thing of the past. 

“This is a 1950’s Jaguar. Barely driven. Brand new refurbished engine. It’s worth like—” You shot him a look that immediately shut him up. He raised his hands, walking over to the passenger’s side and pulling the door open. “Okay, I’ll keep the price tag under wraps. Just get in, will you?” 

“It’s not going to like… explode, right?” you questioned, eyeing the foreign car. “Seems like this thing is more fit for car shows and less fit for, well, driving.” 

He rolled his eyes, motioning to the open car door yet again. “Hey, don’t diss my car. And I thought we already established that I won’t let you die.” 

“Yeah, on campus maybe.” 

“What was that?” 

You sent him a smile to cover up your mumbled words, sliding onto the seat. “Nothing!” 

“Uh huh,” he jabbed sarcastically, closing the door behind you and jostling the car as he got in. 

The interior was stiff and expensive looking, but the lack of a roof made it feel more inviting somehow. You glanced up at the sky and the emerging stars as Bucky started the engine, tucking your hands under your thighs to combat the chilly air. The radio flipped on for a second, static disrupting the night, but Bucky clicked it off, bringing his arm up around the back of your seat and looking over his shoulder. 

“Where are we going?” 

Bucky threw you a smile, his broad chest on full display as he backed the car out of the parking lot. “Somewhere that’ll make you feel better. It works for me, promise. Do it all the time.” 

“It better not be some country club,” you threatened, the teasing words doing little to calm the deep thud in your chest. 

His smile morphed into a pointed glare, and he turned back around and started driving. 

The car drove nicely, you supposed—not that you had much experience with cars from the 50s. It didn’t go very fast, but there wasn’t exactly a rush when you weren’t even supposed to be out in the first place. It went over potholes smoothly and the brakes didn’t squeak. 

But more than the car, you felt the fresh air as Bucky drove through the town—the way it brushed against your skin and felt cool on the tears dried there. It nipped at the edges of your jacket and left you blinking at the force of it. It made you feel calm and lit you up at the same time. 

“You too cold?” Bucky called over the engine as he stopped at a light. 

“No,” you almost laughed. You weren't sure why you wanted to laugh. 

The side of his mouth turned up in response, and you were left wondering if he felt this strange exhilaration as well. You looked away from him to get a view of the street, poking your head around as if you weren’t still by campus and you hadn’t seen this road a thousand times. But it felt different with no windows and low doors; it felt different being in a car with Bucky Barnes. 

A honk startled you away from your gaze at a storefront. You whipped your head around to find a green light and Bucky only just taking his foot off the brake, a jesting reprimand on the tip of your tongue. 

“You are going to get us killed if you don’t watch the road.” 

He tilted his head to the side, the wind whipping through his hair—carefree and featherlight. “Sorry,” he chimed, but he didn’t look sorry in the slightest. 

Bucky took you to the coastline and up its many side streets. He stuck his tiny car in between narrow roads and let the sky get its darkest shade with no apologies for the dim streetlights. You were distracted for the longest time by the novelty of the bracing wind and the clear view of the scene; it was charming and enticing and every other word you couldn’t think of as restless seagulls flew up from the road. 

But after another circle in a neighborhood he didn’t live in, you were getting suspicious. “We’re not actually going anywhere, are we?” 

“I told you we were going somewhere to make you feel better,” he replied, slowing the car to a pace that allowed his words to be heard. “Doesn’t have to be one place.” 

You blinked, sliding your palms down your thighs and keeping your gaze on the side of his face. He looked bright, especially with the moon still fresh on the horizon and pale white. He looked happy. Driving did make him feel better, and even though it was in an incredibly expensive car—and even though that sweater was still tied around his shoulders—you felt better here as well. 

And you were grateful for Bucky Barnes, you realized; your chest felt light and you were grateful for the man that forced you out of that grim greenhouse and drove you around New Haven, Connecticut as if it were Rome. 

Maybe you were more than grateful, because Bucky was consistently making you feel annoyed and angry and short-tempered, but he was also making you feel a myriad of things you had never experienced before. 

But also, maybe a label wasn’t necessary—wasn’t feasible. 

“Can I ask you something?” Bucky sent you a casual glance as he pulled closer to campus. “Don’t gotta answer, I was just thinking about something.” 

“Sure,” you shrugged, holding the seat belt at your neck. 

He shifted the car into park, letting the motor run in the now empty parking lot. “Why were you so bothered by that guy? You’re not really the type of girl to humor crap like that. Not like you’re ugly either—that part’s obvious.” 

Your lips parted, blinking back at him as he started with a sincere expression. Did he just… compliment you? A full-on compliment? “Uh, I—” 

“Not that you were being dramatic or anything, guy sounded like a dick. But c’mon, y/n, you had to know he was lying.” 

“Well, I guess I just figured—”

Bucky cut you off again, clicking his seatbelt away and throwing a hand in the air. “Can’t believe he didn’t pay and he took your coffee with him. You shouldn’t waste your tears on assholes like that. I know I’m an asshole, but god, to think you were sad about a guy that��” 

“Barnes,” you pressed, catching his rant as he slapped his hand on the bench seat next to yours. “It wasn’t just about… him.” 

“What do you mean?” 

You sighed, weighing your next words carefully. There was always a chance that spilling the truth to Bucky Barnes in his million dollar car would lead to a lifetime of embarrassment and the memory of his taunting laugh, and after the day you’d had, you were sure it’d make you cry again. You had a hard time believing that he would be able to relate to the real reason you had been so upset earlier; he would probably find it trivial, if anything. 

But he had tried so hard to make you stop crying earlier—coaxing the truth from your tear coated lips and driving you around until the wind wiped away the damp evidence. Sure, he had been a jerk to start, but the comments he was making had you questioning if that was all part of his weird plan as well: get you pissed off, and then get you to insult him. 

And it had worked, to an extent. 

“It was the boring thing. And the plants,” you admitted, avoiding his eyes. “My family never really…cared about the things I was interested in—my dreams, I guess. I grew up the oldest of a lot of siblings and money was always tight. My parents only ever listened to me when I talked about getting a job straight out of high school. Anything else and I was practically talking to a brick wall. “ 

You bit the inside of your cheek for a long, painful moment, and the continued, “When I got a full ride to Yale they were mad at me. I had long since given up on sharing things with them, but I had to tell them I was moving out. It sounds terrible, but I was excited to be something other than a glorified babysitter for once, you know?” 

He didn’t know, obviously, but Bucky still furrowed his brows together and nodded his head when you finally met his gaze. You felt a whisper of his fingers by yours on the seat, so faint you almost missed it, but the fluttering in your chest proved it was real. 

“Anyways,” you sighed. “College was different. People—professors really—were actually listening to me for once and it felt nice. They didn’t make me feel like an idiot for talking about something other than a bank job or a receptionist’s salary. I haven’t talked to my parents in a while, so I guess I just wasn’t used to all those… those words.” 

A silence fell over the car, blanketing you in insecurity as the seconds ticked by and Bucky still hadn’t said anything. You knew he wouldn’t understand the pressure you were under and the feelings that still lingered from the years of the same treatment. He probably had people begging him to go to college; tutors and nannies and friends that all hung onto his every word. 

Embarrassment twisted in your gut. “I told you it was dumb.” 

“Hey,” Bucky chastised, his hand jutting out to cover yours now, fully. “It’s not dumb. I just feel like a dumbass for thinking that you cared about superficial stuff like a jerk stealing your coffee.” 

“I was also upset about the coffee,” you laughed lightly, losing your breath when his fingers squeezed yours. 

“I’ll buy you another one.” 

“You can’t just keep offering to buy me things. Doesn’t work on me.” 

Bucky shrugged, his smile boyish with wisps of his hair curling around his face. “Worth a shot.” He grew a fraction more serious, rubbing his thumb along the back of your hand. “I meant what I said earlier—about your little symbiosis speeches.” 

You clicked your tongue, rolling your eyes as your face heated. “You can stop lying to make me feel better. I’m fine now.” 

“Well, that’s great. Wasn’t lying though.” 

Something in you squeezed, a pang of an indescribable emotion hitting you in full force. It made it hard to breathe for a moment; Bucky looked windswept and charming as he kept his eyes locked on you, and your blood was thumping under your skin. 

You’d felt pieces of this before, but never with such a weight. It was odd and exhilarating at the same time, hopeful and peaceful and neither of those things as well. Because this was Bucky Barnes, and he was holding your hand and looking at you as if you meant… something to him. You weren’t sure what implications that held, but there was a large part of you that simply wanted to bask in that look and pretend it meant nothing other than what you wanted it to.

But you knew you had to look away, because, in the same sense, this was Bucky Barnes. Incredibly rich, possibly engaged Bucky Barnes, and the latter was actually the smallest reason why his gentle gaze couldn’t mean something more. 

“Um, I should leave,” you stuttered, pulling your hand away and curling it into a fist. “Thank you—for the drive. I’ll see you later.” 

Bucky gaped. “Wait, uh, your bag.” 

You followed his finger and snatched up the bag you were definitely about to leave in his car, shouldering the door open and briefly shutting your eyes as you went. It was meant to ground you, but really it just made your heart beat faster. Bucky’s hand was still on the seat when you turned back around. 

“Thanks again.”

Bucky sent you an unsure smile. “Text me when you get home?” 

You nodded, but you’d forget when you got home. You had to forget, because texting him would’ve been a terrible idea. 

[oldinterneticons]

I'm on mobile and for the longest time icons or showing up so tiny you could hardly see them. But now they are back to being big and I hope that them being small did not cost you any likes or anything. I felt really bad when they got small cuz I thought that people would pass them by more. But I don't know if you knew any of this because I don't know how it looks to you. Anyway everything looks great again and I just wanted to say hey and have a nice day!

Oh cool, I hope they go back to being larger on my phone soon lol. Seems Tumblr updates Android first and then iOS (or that's what happened when they went small anyway). I think the smaller size is reducing the number of likes, but that's okay. I do hope they fix the gifsets though, because they look weird and spaced out now.

[coridallasmultipass]

Vent/endometriosis/on mobile idk/suicide mention

There's seriously something really ironic in the most fucked up ways about being a guy, but being trans, but also having endometriosis that has caused lifelong trauma, but getting a hysterectomy and feeling better, but then the pain comes back, but going on meds that make it better, but then the meds stop working.

There is literally nothing I can do to escape the presence of uterine tissue in my body. I literally have a piece of my uterus framed on my wall to be like, "I survived, mothafucka." And yet, somehow, it keeps coming back like a fucking slasher movie villain. No one wants to see this sequel. Especially not me. I just want to be a normal dude, and not internally bleed from God knows where my body decided to start regrowing a uterus literally just to spite me.

I fucking hate this shit so much. I literally JUST got over the trauma of the last episode that happened just over a year ago. I can't go back to daily panic attacks again, but I do not know how I am supposed to survive when my body pain is at an 11/10. Menstual/cramping is literally the only pain I cannot tolerate. I have broken a toe and gone out to go dancing right after. I've torn the padding in my shoulder and kept lifting weights. I have arthritis and fibromyalgia and tmj problems and chronic headaches. But cramping? I almost kmsed during the last episode, but I was in too much pain to move and find anything to do it with.

How the fuck am I supposed to live with this curse for the rest of my life?? Because guess what, menopause isn't even a way out - people with endo can still have endo problems even after going through menopause. I can say I'll probably be in that camp because the meds I've been on simulate menopause and here I am suffering yet again.

I looked it up whether starting T would do anything and the only answers I got were 'there's no data available' (lmao why does society hate trans people), or 'your body still produces some estrogen while on T, so you could technically still grow endometrial tissue.' Like thanks, that was like my one and only hope that, if I just come out to my family and start T maybe it would get my body to shut up about uteruses, but apparently that's not a solution.

I don't even know what to fucking do right now. I know my doctor isn't gonna have a solution either, because this med was supposed to be a 'fix' and when I come off it later this year, it was supposed to last me a while until the pain comes back, BUT I HAVEN'T EVEN STOPPED TAKING THE MED YET AND ALREADY I'M SUFFERING. I can't fucking do this. Lmao, okay I'm panicking. Stop thinking about dying lmao.

I hate this so much. I'm a guy, and then it's like I'm being punished with woman disease. Can't look up anything about endometriosis without being reminded that 'endometriosis is a condition that affects WOMEN.' Literally the only thing I have serious dysphoria about was having a uterus (and my voice), everything else I could manage or just accept even if I didn't like it. And of course, I'm stuck with a body that's gradually growing me more uteruses. 'Oh, hey, you dropped your uterus, have another. Wait, I hit ctrl+V a thousand times, sorry, bro.'

Brb gonna go die of internal bleeding, I guess?? Where does the blood even go?? I don't have a uterus, and IDK where the fuck the cells are. I swear it feels like they're growing on my pelvis and intestines. I don't even want to know if endometrial cells can grow on bones. That knowledge would devastate me.

I wish I could have enjoyed 2020 more. After I healed from the hysto, it was like, the best time of my life. No more pain during penetration, no fear of period blood, no worries about getting pregnant, no cramps at all, I felt so free.

Now, I feel like I don't even have a life to look forward to. I literally just started turning things around with a new psych med and taking up drawing and writing again. And now I'm gonna constantly be on edge waiting for the next episode to rip its way through my body. I don't want to do this.

[cleostoohot]

OOKAYYYY

im sure u get a lot of anons asking why they dont have results, blah blah blah. as someone who recently uncovered my root problems heres some advice. imma continue to to roex3dol even if the 3d doesnt show results (which it eventually will) imma continue affirming after 3 days.

HERE IS HOW TO COMBAT THE INSECURITY:

as im sure you have all heard before, dont stress the results will show up in the 3d if you keep affirming.

THE BIGGEST INSECURITY that will get in your way is "what if...." or imagining yourself after 3 days not having your desire or really seeing your future self not with ur desires. If you fall into any of these categories or something similar, catch yourself and start affirming that it has absolutely zero choice but to work. when you imagine yourself failing you are creating that room for failure, you cant believe two polar opposite concepts at once. IT IS POSSIBLE TO BELIEVE IN THE ONE YOU WANT!

ive known abt manifesting (attraction) since aug 2020, i found solar subs and law of assumption in jan 2021, in around aug 2021 i found neville and loa tumblr, in nov 2021 i started manifesting small things. now i still have manifested small things but not my dream life it hasnt appeared in the 3d. thats my experience. ive fumbled AAAAALLOOOTT. i was gonna write this on my blog but after almost two years of experience ill quickly list my largest cause of failure.

WAVERING/NOT PERSISTINGl

one day i would try affirming for the void and after that didnt work i would do a challenge, and after that didnt work i did bkanket affirmations and after that didnt work i did sats and after that didnt work i would do meditations. i didnt think i was doing anything wrong, looking back im so frustrated with myself for wasting so much time. and if lets say i did void affirmations, blanket affirmations, meditations all in one manifesting routine if i missed one i would start over because i believed it wouldnt work despite reading otherwise. this is a new realization, im not even sure i have a total grasp on my mistakes now, but imma keep persisting.

how im going to fix this: i have 1 thing i will do daily which is affirming. i have 2 affirmations i will always use "roe i have all my desires" "roe i manifest in 3dol" even after 3 days imma keep affirming. im working towards holding the assumption that it has no choice but to appear in the 3d. even just yesterday i was abt to quit "maybe i should just be okay with what i have now and revise___" NOPE. im working towards my dream life so i wont stop. just because im getting some material items in my 3d doesnt mean i should be good with what i have now. i will wake up in my dream house and blah blah blah other dream things. my tendency to do that is most likely bc im scared i wont manifest my dream life. I WILL, YOU WILL, WE ALLL WILL!!!! stick with your decisions, dont be afraid of time passing, that will hold you back.

i said this earlier i was gonna write this on my own blog but i feel more ppl would see it here. i hope that previous example i said about switching to void, to med, to affirmations really sticks with someone because that realization was key.

if you dont have what you want in the 3d after 3 days, GENUINELY address your beliefs. when blogs suggested to address your limiting beliefs, i never would bc i thought i was doing everything perfectly. BUT IM SERRRIOUUUSSSS address them. heres cleos post abt somethings that may be holding you back that was my catalyst fr to address what i was doing wrong, even if my exact problem wasnt listed there.

TYYYY CLEOOOOOOOO ill continue affirming!!!! sorry for typing mistakes i manifested a laptop but ive only used tumblr on mobile.

tysmmm for this luv💗💗💗 you should put it on ur blog too

[general-gt]

Foresight is 20/20- Part 3/4

Warnings: Mentions of past broken bones, mild fearplay. If I missed any, let me know!

Here is the 2nd to final part of this story! I’m writing the next chapter already and it’s pure fluff.

“Be careful, Izuku.”

The borrower ignored the warning and continued climbing up the expanse of white fabric. His arm was healed and he was absolutely taking advantage of having his mobility back in the most awkward way he could.

Climbing over Mirai and giving the human many near-heart attacks.

Grasping the edge of the pocket, Izuku climbed in, leaning his back against Mirai’s chest. Being in his pocket, he could hear the slow thumping of the man’s heart and it was soothing.

“I’m always careful.” he called, grinning when he felt the sigh Mirai heaved at his shenanigans.

After a long seven weeks, Izuku could confidently say he wasn’t afraid of Mirai anymore. The first time he’d picked him up after breaking his arm, Izuku panicked so hard he blacked out. Now, he was sure Mirai probably wished he had a little more fear for himself considering he made the perfect climbing frame.

“You are a strange child, Izuku.” Mirai’s hand came to settle over the pocket Izuku curled up in, like he was reassuring himself that Izuku really was as okay as he said. “Alright, are you ready to go?” Mirai asked.

“Yep!” he chirped and rested his chin on the edge of the pocket.

Mirai promised to take Izuku back to his home in the agency now his arm had healed. He was excited to get back and see Katsuki and Ochako again.

“Remember to keep your head down.” Mirai said as he walked and Izuku hummed in agreement as he ducked back into the pocket.

He clutched his bag close to him and kept his breathing quiet. Leaning his head against Mirai’s chest, he focused on the steady sound of human’s heartbeat. It was surprisingly pleasant to listen to, if jarring because of how loud it was when he was that close.

Past the fear that had been a constant in his life, he’d always been intrigued by just how similar humans and borrowers were. They were just borrowers but bigger!

After spending the past seven weeks with Mirai, he would just find himself looking between his own tiny self and the human. When he got comfortable being held, he’d just sit in the palm of Mirai’s hand, staring at the swirls of his fingerprints and compare them to his own.

“We’re here, Izuku.” Mirai murmured, pulling him from his thoughts and he peeked from the top of the pocket.

The office was only distantly familiar, since the borrowers living in the agency could never pluck up the nerve to try and take anything from the most observant human. Still, it was familiar enough he was comforted by the sight.

Mirai held up a hand to the pocket and Izuku climbed onto it. “Is there anywhere in particular you want to be set down?” he asked.

“Your desk please.” He hopped off the hand, watching Mirai as he sat and opened his laptop. Izuku would go home later, but for now he was content to watch Mirai work.

“You’ll be sticking around for now?” Mirai asked and Izuku hummed.

“Yeah, it sounds weird but I still want to spend time with you.” Izuku blushed, embarrassed at his own admitted clinginess. “And I’ll definitely still visit you!” he declared.

Mirai smiled softly at him. “I’d like that.”

——

Izuku was missing.

He’d been missing for 3 months. He’d gone borrowing one day and just hadn’t come back.

Katsuki was losing hope. It was a childish hope that made him believe Izuku would just come back one day, completely fine, grinning and rambling about the adventures he’d been on while he was gone. He just wanted his friend back so badly it hurt.

He went around like normal but the absence of his best friend’s constant chatter while he borrowed made it seem so lonely.

Ochako had been trying her best to keep his spirits up, coming with him on his usual borrowing trips. She usually would focus more on fixing clothes since Izuku was clumsy but without him there, there wasn’t as much of a need.

So she joined him.

Katsuki blamed himself for this. He should’ve kept a better look out with Ochako being so unpracticed. He should’ve seen the loud blonde human coming ages away.

But he didn’t.

He didn’t even notice the human’s presence until he was snatched up in a fist. Ochako certainly did when she heard his yelp but she was grabbed before she could run.

Katsuki struggled but the grip was unrelenting, the overbearing heat stifling as he gasped for breath past his fear. What was the human going to do with them? Throw them in some cage to ogle at?

Katsuki wanted to scream and yell at the human to put them down, but he didn’t. He couldn’t bring himself to say even a word. The rule about not speaking to humans was the only thing that he could even think about.

The human ran, sending Katsuki’s stomach reeling and bile burned at the back of his throat. His vision blurred before he clenched his eyes shut.

There was the sound of a door being slammed open. Something was said that made his ears ring with it’s volume and he felt himself falling.

He snapped his eyes open as he slammed into a solid surface. Katsuki paled when he realised it was a pair of hands and he immediately grabbed Ochako, pulling her close.

Mentally, he hoped that it wasn’t who he thought it was. That it was any other human but that one. His eyes trailed up and locked onto the cold golden gaze of the one human he desperately hoped it wouldn’t be.

It was just his luck they’d be given straight to Nighteye himself.

——

“Sir! I found something!”

Mirai looked up as Mirio barrelled into his office. Izuku was hidden by his laptop screen, but he stood and walked over to his intern just to be safe.

“What is it, Mirio?” he asked and the teen thrust his hands out, something gripped in each fist. Mirai took the things dropped into his hands out of instinct before he could even register what they were.

When he did, however, his eyes widened.

It was a pair of borrowers. A brown haired girl and a blonde boy who stared up at him with terror in their faces as they clutched to each other desperately.

“Where did you find them?” he asked the blonde, keeping his tone cool.

“They were in the kitchen for some reason.” Mirio answered. It made sense, considering it was where he found Izuku. The boy had explained that borrowers took things from humans which included food and what could be classified as junk. A kitchen was the best place for both, apparently.

“Alright. I’ll deal with this,” he didn’t miss the flinches that phrase got, “Thank you, Mirio.” he dismissed the teen and turned his attention to the borrowers in his hands.

The boy stood shakily in front of the other, glaring defiantly up at Mirai.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.” he said softly, walking to his desk and laying his hands down, where the pair shot off like they’d been burned. They kept their eyes on him, cautious and obviously distrusting.

“What was it-” Izuku poked his head around the laptop and his eyes met the other two borrowers.

“Izuku!”

It wasn’t surprising that all of them knew each other. He felt awful that he’d kept Izuku from his friends for so long but he couldn’t find it in himself to regret it. Even Izuku admitted injuries like his broken arm made borrowing near-impossible.

“Where were you!” the blonde one yelled but it was obvious he was worried as he fretted over Izuku.

“I was with Mirai,” Izuku said, gesturing up at him, much to the obvious horror of the other two. Mirai tried not to be too offended that every borrower seemed even more terrified of him than of any other human. Was he really that scary?

“Izuku, you know how dangerous that is!” The brunette was trying to be quiet but didn’t succeed.

——

Izuku pouted at Ochako. “He helped me when I broke my arm!” he protested, leaving out the fact that Mirai was responsible for said broken arm.

“You broke your arm?” Katsuki paled and Izuku knew the thoughts of everything that could’ve gone wrong, living life as a borrower with only the use of one hand. Ochako looked equally horrified.

“It’s fine, see.” he rolled up his sleeve and showed he still had full motion in his arm. They both scrutinised him for a long moment before deeming it healed.

“I’m glad you’re okay but you need to be more careful, Izuku.” Ochako scolded, flicking him softly on the forehead. He whined but didn’t object because she was right.

Katsuki pulled him into a fierce hug and Ochako joined soon after, leaving Izuku content, if a little squished. They stayed like that for a while until Katsuki pulled away and turned on his heel to face Mirai.

The human had moved to give them a moment of privacy and he was again sat at his laptop, completely ignoring the borrower trio.

Katsuki marched over and hesitated only for a split second before he walked along the strip of plastic between the keyboard and the screen, standing where he’d block anything important. Izuku trusted Mirai but he couldn’t help the spike of fear at Katsuki’s brazen actions and he had to stop Ochako from running after him.

Obviously Katsuki wanted the human’s attention and he definitely had it.

“Why did you take Izuku?” He asked, crossing his arms and glaring up at Mirai. Izuku knew he was clutching his arms to hide the shaking of his hands and Katsuki’s legs stayed tense.

“I didn’t mean to,” Mirai said, slowly moving his hands away from Katsuki and settling them in his lap, “I found him passed out and assumed he was a doll of some kind.” His voice was low and open as he explained himself and Izuku was thankful that Mirai didn’t take offence to Katsuki interrogating him.

Katsuki glared even harder, like he was trying to figure out if Mirai was lying. He huffed but stopped glaring as hard, returning to his base levels of glaring.

“Okay. I believe you,” he declared, “but I don’t trust you!”

Mirai nodded. “That’s understandable, Izuku needed time to trust me as well but could you please get off my laptop? I have a lot of work to be done.”

Blinking at the human in surprise at the casual way he talked to him, Katsuki did what Mirai asked. He got a small smile from the human that seemed to confuse him further.

——

Katsuki thought he knew everything about humans.

They were cruel, loud and big. That’s all he needed to know. Stay away from humans and never trust any of them.

But then Izuku came back, vouching for a human. He wasn’t stupid: if anything, Izuku was one of the smartest borrowers Katsuki had ever met. For Izuku to be trusting a human, there had to be a good reason.

He figured he may as well try and test the human’s patience while getting an answer to his question. So he stood directly on the human’s laptop, where he couldn’t be ignored.

But Mirai didn’t lash out or even snap at him, even purposefully stopping his work to move his hands away. It was a level of consideration he hadn’t expected out of the human responsible for Izuku disappearing for 3 months.

Maybe… there were a few exceptions to the rules.

——

Introducing other borrowers occurred to me and I just hope that inspiration doesn’t hit like a bus because I already have a good few WIPs and abandoned projects I may revisit.

[shroudcore]

Speak now, or forever hold your peace. (Finale)

Summary: The ghosts may have left, but the wedding they officiated is not something to be easily forgotten. Will unsaid feelings remain hidden? Idia thinks so, after seeing you with your admirers. 

Idia x GN!reader. Reader is MC, or takes the role of MC in this story.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4)

Warnings: none

After that 3-star difficulty sidequest, it was finally time for the ghosts to leave. They were filing out through a shimmering silver portal to the Land of the Dead, which you joked about jumping into “for the meme”. Idia was quick to discourage it. The joke would’ve been funny at any other time than right now. 

Each ghost made sure to give the newlyweds their congratulations. Each congratulation made Idia want to take off into the night, never to be seen again. It was beyond embarrassing. Unbearable. Way past his limit of social interaction capability. Things were getting way too much to handle for his now-empty Energy bar. 

While Idia longed for the comfort and isolation of his dorm room, you were the one who thanked the well-wishers and said the goodbyes—from a safe distance, of course. 

“When we return, I want you to meet our baby!” Eliza announced before she stepped into the portal. You and Idia shared a look. As if reading each other’s minds, you checked your schoolmates’ faces for their reactions—which did not disappoint. Different ways of saying “Don’t come back!” filled the hall, in varying degrees of anger and vulgarity. Before she disappeared for good, Eliza huffed and stuck her nose up in the air—an expression that tonight’s failed suitors knew all too well. 

At her departure, the portal shrunk into a mere speck until it completely disappeared. Then came the loudest cheers of the night serving as Victory fanfare. It was all over! But before he went, Idia hoped to say goodbye and take a look at you in your suit one last time. Or maybe even ask you to hang out tomorrow, depending on his current Courage level. 

While he silently rehearsed his thank-yous and good-byes, he wondered if you knew that you were still holding his hand. He decided not to mention it. 

Unfortunately, his brief moment of (weak) celebration was cut short when he noticed that the now-mobile Groom Rejects were approaching. They might as well have red bars floating over their heads to warn him of danger. He froze, contemplating whether to: 

> Bear it and stay with you just until he was prepared to say goodbye (+10 relationship points -20 comfort LV)

> Just run off on his own without saying anything, ignoring your calls. (-10 relationship points +10 comfort LV)

For now, he decided to stick with Option 1. Just a little bit longer. 

“That was amazing!” Deuce exclaimed, rushing over to give you a high-five. You laughed and  met other high-fives, low-fives, fist bumps, and head pats that came your way with that lovely smile of yours. 

Suddenly, Ace rips you away from him. Suddenly, you weren’t holding hands anymore. The loud first-year put his arm around you and Idia couldn’t help but notice how easy and natural it looked. Meanwhile, there he was: someone who needed to rehearse his goodbyes. 

Clearly, there was a huge level difference here and Idia was the one disadvantaged. 

“Our hero!” Ace yelled, inspiring more cheers. The distance between you and Idia grew as your wave of admirers and friends swept you farther and farther away. He was an outsider once again, stuck watching the fun from the sidelines. Their eyes sparkled. Their mouths smiled. Their loud voices laughed and praised you and laughed with you again. 

They loved you. And Idia was no different. 

Everyone’s Friend and the Weird Shut-in. Was there hope?

“Brother, I’m so glad you’re safe!” Ortho’s voice cut through his stream of thoughts. Immediately, he feels the weight on his shoulders lighten. 

He watched as his brother, his beacon of hope, made his way around your fan club until he eventually reached his spot. Ortho wouldn’t care if he looked like a loser, standing there awkwardly at the side all alone. Finally, he was saved. 

My savior! “Ortho! Thank you, thank you…” 

“No injuries… tense muscles… an increase in cortisol production,” Ortho muttered, frowning. “Are you okay?” 

“No…” 

Ortho nods. “We’ll return to the dorm, then. But before that, we should thank the Prefect.”

“Oh… right.” Idia looked over to you, still surrounded by your “fans” like the SSR character you were. You listened to Azul, who prattled on and on about something that was oh-so-interesting that you couldn’t take your eyes off him. And Vil judged your suit’s design, reaching out to fix something near your neck. You cracked up at something Floyd said. You posed and smiled beside Cater as he took a selfie with you. 

His mind raced as it continuously spotted the students on his list and everything they did. What was so interesting about Azul? What was so funny about Floyd? Did you like Vil’s hardworking, confident attitude? Did you think Cater had a way with words? 

He looked away. 

“Ortho, I’m going back to my room,” he said with a heavy heart, admitting Defeat. He was underleveled, had zero energy, and zero SP (social points). He’ll see you… some other time. After his cry-sesh, maybe. 

“Huh? Don’t you want to talk to the Prefect first?” 

“I’ll just… DM them later,” he lied. In truth, all he wanted was to drown himself in a video game while he gorged on candy and tried not to think about you. Ortho’s eyes narrowed, but followed him as he sneakily left the hall anyway. 

You’d understand, right?

Once he and Ortho were out, he looked back at the hall doors, hating himself for being too shy and cowardly to make a move. He imagined charging back into the room, wedging himself in between your friends, grabbing your arm, and pulling you away. Then he’ll kabedon you and—

Who was he kidding? He can’t do that, and you probably wouldn’t like that. 

“It was terrible, brother. Nobody wanted to help!” Ortho said, and Idia thinks he didn’t need to be reminded that nobody liked him. 

“When the Prefect and I reached Diasomnia, we expected them to reject us too…” he mused. “But Malleus Draconia agreed to help us! Can you believe it?”

“Wait… Malleus-shi?” 

Ortho nodded enthusiastically. “Yes… because the Prefect talked to him… and then he cast a charm on them to help us ward off those ghosts! It was really nice of him.”

“I see…” Idia knew that you and Malleus were friends. But to actually help you and him? Maybe your relationship with the Diasomnia dorm leader ran deeper than he thought. Why else would he go through that trouble? 

“The Prefect volunteered without needing to be asked, you know,” said Ortho, who he now noticed was observing him carefully. Idia tried to ignore the way his brother’s eyes lingered on him as they walked (floated in Ortho’s case). 

“...I’m so glad their plan worked!”

Wait, what?

“Volunteered? Their plan?” All this time, he thought you’d been forced to do this by the Headmaster! You did always rant about Crowley promising you different sorts of rewards if you did jobs here and there. But… you got yourself into this mess… all for him? 

Idia looked at the hand you held just moments ago and dared not hope again. Maybe you would have done this for anyone else in his place. Maybe you treated everyone the same, and it just so happened that he was the one kidnapped by a ghost bride. 

Still, he felt bad for not doing as Ortho said earlier. It was too late to turn back, however, as Idia and Ortho finally reached the Hall of Mirrors. 

“Finally… I’m so tired,” said Idia, meaning it in all ways. But as he put one leg forward to enter the door to Ignihyde, he heard someone’s voice, along with the scuffle of shoes against the floor coming closer and closer to where he and Ortho stood. 

“Idia, wait up!”

Oh no. It’s you. Enter now! Enter now!

But no matter what his head told him to do, he remained rooted to his spot. He stood still despite his pounding heart, that elevator-like feeling in his stomach, and the blaring alarms in his head. 

Object of affection at 5m…

Ortho was probably seeing his vitals going haywire and giving him that look again. He turned to look at his brother… only to not find him there. 

Help… oh no…

2m… 

“Hey,” you gasped out, catching your breath. “When I turned around, you were gone…”

Yeah, same. Just like Ortho… 

No one said a word for a while. The silence was only filled by your heavy breathing as it slowly evened. Inwardly facepalming at himself, he decided to take the chance to tell you everything he should’ve said before he left. 

But before he could open his mouth and apologize for leaving, (gods know he had too many things to apologize for after tonight), he was taken into a warm embrace. 

OHMYGODSOHMYGODSOHMYGODSOKAYLET’SCALMDOWN

“I thought I was too late.” you mumbled into his suit. 

At that moment, without anyone else around, nothing else mattered but the safety of your arms. And damn, how good it felt to be embraced. Did anyone else get these hugs from you? Idia didn’t think so. He hesitantly lifted his arms up and hugged back. 

Looking up at the domed castle ceiling, he wondered what he did to deserve something this good. 

It’s okay. I can have this. He allows himself to melt into your arms, head drooping down to rest against your neck. 

“G-good thing you weren’t,” he finally whispered back, freezing as he heard you sob against his chest. Oh no, oh no, what do you do when your love interest is crying? Quick, quick, pull up the archive of romantic scenes from your memory. 

“Hey, hey, I-I’m okay, you see?” he said, patting your back awkwardly. You let go after releasing another sob to wipe your eyes with your sleeve. 

“Sorry I got your suit wet,” you said softly, turning your face away. “I’m really, really sorry about what happened there too.”

“About what?”

“The whole wedding thing...” You took a quick look at him but immediately dropped your gaze to the ground. 

Idia blushed. “I-It’s okay! D-don’t worry about it… I-” 

Come on, say more! Ugh… I hate myself. 

You pulled at our vest and slipped something out of it—an envelope. “I… wanted to tell you everything through a letter.”

Tell me what?

“But… Eliza came and took you before I could give it to you.” You avoided his eyes as your fingers tightened around the white envelope. Idia’s breath hitched, expecting you to crumple it. But to his relief, your fingers relaxed. Then, as if it took all your courage, you handed it to him with a slightly shaky hand. 

“It's old-fashioned, I know but yeah... just read it!” 

In the hall’s silence, he could hear your breaths quicken once again. 

“Th-That’s all I came here for. Goodbye!” 

Before he knew it, you were running off. Your arm waved frantically from a distance as every step carried you farther, farther away. He lifted his arm to wave back but you never saw it. You were gone and all he had left was the letter. 

His curiosity made him impatient. With fast and purposeful steps, he sprinted on the way to his room. What did he feel? Excitement? Dread? An unpleasant mix of both? His room, feeling farther than usual, was the only safe place he could experience whatever it was.

After a lot of walking and almost slipping over someone’s spilled soda (he cursed the shoes those ghosts made him wear. His very own would never fail him like that), he found himself in front of the doors, which slid open, revealing Ortho already inside. 

“You left me there!” Idia huffed. 

“Couples need alone time, brother,” replied his brother, innocently blinking.

“Wh-wha… we’re not a couple!” 

“Hmm? I could’ve sworn the signs were all there...”

A blushing Idia threw off the silly coat those ghosts made him wear and threw it over his desk chair. He sat on the bed, fingers racing to open the envelope. Ortho watched with great interest as two sheets of paper covered in your handwriting slipped out.  

Unfolding the first page, Idia took a deep breath and began reading:

Hey Player 1!

Sorry I couldn’t make it tonight last night. Maybe you can show me your new manga tomorrow? I know how excited you are about it.  I’m writing this while Grim’s asleep. He’ll never let me hear the end of it otherwise. 

I figured that this would be the best way to communicate my thoughts and feelings. This way, you won’t feel pressured to respond immediately. You can open and read it whenever you’re ready, in the safety of your room. I know it’s old-fashioned. But to me, a handwritten letter feels more personal—like I’m giving you a piece of myself. So here’s that piece of myself. Please, handle it with care. 

Beware. I’m about to get sentimental and mushy and cheesy and everything you cringe at! I hope you read on, anyway. 

First of all, I want you to know how much I admire you. Right from before we were friends, I was impressed by your intelligence and knowledge with technology. I’ve seen nothing like it back home. I always wondered why you hide yourself and those talents away. My curiosity drove me to want to get to know you. I’m glad I did. 

You were closed off. To you, I was just another normie. Do you remember? Your dismissal annoyed me, so I challenged you to a 1v1 match. I thought I was good, but you crushed me. I guess that’s where it started: our friendship… and something else. Soon, I found more and more reasons to admire you. Honestly, I find more with each passing day. 

I should have known, right from when songs started to make me think of you, that I was falling. I started to see you as, well, more than a friend. Your quick mind, your expressive hair, your soothing voice, your precious grin… your voice when you talk about things you love, your love of cats, and your candy, and your cold hands… Okay, I think you get the point.  But if you have time, I could go on forever. 

There’s something different in your eyes when you truly care. You say you’re bad at being sentimental and feel-y, but that’s okay! We express love differently. I see your love pour out in the way you perfect every detail on Ortho’s modifications, anyway. I’m sure he knows how much you love him. 

I want you to know how special you are to me. You’re so amazing, Idia. I wish you knew that. I want you to know that. 

I know it’s hopeless. You’re the young master to a noble house. I’m just… me. A homeless, magicless foreigner with nothing to my name. Nothing to offer but my feelings (and my superb gaming skills of course). I’m not asking nor expecting to be your special someone. But hey, I can be a top-tier teammate. A worthwhile BG opponent. A movie buddy. And most importantly—a friend. 

Our time together has always been a highlight of my difficult stay in NRC. The times we hung out in your room were my refuge from the outside world’s demands. Somewhere I was untouchable and safe from harm. Safe from demeaning remarks. Even if you never get back to this letter and decide you never want to see me again, I will always treasure the matches we played, the movies we watched, the candy we shared, and the memes we laughed over.

That’s all of it, really. Please don’t sleep too late. Watch your sugar intake. Listen to Ortho. Take care of yourself. 

Oh, and enjoy your new manga. 

Your best raid teammate, 

Player 2

Wide amber yellow eyes glistened as they repeatedly flitted over the words. A shaky thumb caressed the smudged ink from where a fallen teardrop marked the paper. Burning different shades at once, fire-hair slowly released itself from the tie it was forced into. Now free, it swathed Idia’s back in warmth like it should.

“Th-This can’t be real!” he sputters as he waved your letter around like he was fanning a bonfire. In a way, he was. 

However, Idia knew his hair wasn’t the only thing that kept him warm. He stared at the letter and it stared back. But no matter how many times he blinked, the words remained the same. You felt the same. 

“What have I done to unlock this route?” Idia clutched the letter to his chest, but noticed he was wrinkling it. “Nooo!” He quickly smoothed it over again. 

“They… they like-like me!” Saying it out loud made it more real. It was a fact! It was true all this time! Thinking of everything you did tonight: rescuing him like a true hero, running after him because you couldn’t keep your feelings secret for much longer… he couldn’t stop himself from swooning. 

“Like-like… did you mean love?”

“L-love?” Idia exclaimed. He suddenly felt dizzy, so he fell back onto his bed and talked to the ceiling. “It’s too early for that word!” 

But he knew the effect which that word had on him didn’t go unnoticed by Ortho. Well, at least he knew now that Idia wasn’t suffering from an illness. Can love be considered an illness? Idia recalls a documentary that said it was. Back then, he ate that up. Love made people do crazy things, after all. 

But ‘illness’ wasn’t an apt word to describe this dizzying happiness surging through him, was it? It was way too wonderful for a word like that.

“I’m so glad the Prefect finally confessed!” Ortho bounced happily, reflecting his brother’s joy. “I knew they would do it soon!” 

Mouth hanging open, Idia looked at his brother. “Wait… you knew?”

“I’ve known for a while,” Ortho giggled. “Vitals can’t keep secrets!” 

***

Contrary to plan, Idia didn’t touch his video games, nor gorge on candy, nor cry himself to sleep. Instead, he replayed the night’s events in his head over and over like a song he couldn’t get enough of. It had been two hours and thirty-five minutes since he read your letter. Two hours and thirty-five minutes since his world was turned upside down. In his reflection on the dark screen of his off tablet, he almost looked different. He saw someone who was admired. Wanted. Loved. 

Was that what you saw whenever you looked at him?

Ortho told him what the next move was: asking you out. He was scared. You might have changed his view of himself a bit, but that didn’t mean he was suddenly ready to go the distance and conquer the world, or whatever those overenthusiastic extroverts say. The night was still too much, and maybe he still needed those three weeks of being a complete hermit. 

Okay. Maybe with your help, I'll get there little by little. 

Perhaps you could watch a movie in his room... Would you be okay with that? You always hung out with him in there. But what if you wanted to do something outside? Eh, maybe it all didn’t matter, as long as you were together. 

When he put on his headphones, he knew which song to choose right away. There was one forgotten song in his music library that he couldn’t bring himself to delete. A love song. It wasn’t a bad one, because Idia would never keep a bad song in his music library. It’s just that the lyrics  were too happy—its singer so blissfully in love that it amplified the loneliness that had always been there.

Now playing: “Immortal Flowers” — SERPINA

This time, it’ll be different. Tonight, he puts it on repeat. He listens to it with a head for once clear of uncertainties. Instead, he thinks of fluffy otome scenarios. 

That date idea would have to wait. For now, he’ll imagine and dream of you, with your warm smile and open arms—skin basking in the glow of blue fire light. 

THE END. 

~

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4)

There you have it! Thank you for reading. I had fun writing this 4-part series. Would love to hear some feedback! 

Btw, the title of the song Idia listens to at the end comes from “Conversations with Persephone” by Nikita Gill. “What Hades gave me was a crown made for the immortal flowers in my bones.” 

[cottonfeltgembira]

i want to thank you for addressing the (current) issue with TWST, feels like it’s a new one every week now. i don’t have much to say besides i agree with your stance that YT is shit and it’s SO hard to enjoy the game with all the shit that keeps getting revealed, i was an idiot to expect better from Disney after they released movies like Encanto and Turning Red and getting my hopes up. but i like the idea of essentially curating your own experience: redesigning characters, adding characters, rewriting plots, etc to fix the bad in a way that makes it still somewhat enjoyable. it’s still hard, esp when it’s a hyperfixation, but it’s something ig. on that note, would you be okay with other people following your example and making their own Diasomnia uniform redesigns? i just… really can’t stand looking at them anymore after this lmao. thanks again in advance.

HELLO ANON (*´∀｀*)!! And ouhhh no problem (=^・・^=)!!

Ouwa I don't fink you're stupid to expect better from Disney, however we are dealing with Disney Japan :0c media like Encanto and Turning were made with 1) an international audience and 2) to be family friendly in mind, they're also pretty big projects, twst feels like a small scale project with how it was only opened to Japan for its first year, only adding English translations for a few other regions later (=^・・^=)

Which is to say, it's more so Disney Japan being poor about background checks, twisted wonderland as its core concept definitely feels like a cash grab for me,

gacha free to play mobile game where classic Disney villains are pretty handsome boys? instant money!

And you can tell since their target audience are specifically young girls and young women. They probably decided that since twst wouldn't need any thorough cleaning of anything that could be offensive because it wasn't going to be advertised to an "for all audience" they were probably a bit to lax with picking a director, and it just happened to be the most bigoted one... (=_=;)

Ohh anon you're right!! I think it's the best possible remedy when you find out a media you've grown so attached turns out to be bad or made by a horrible person but you struggle to truly let go, I still enjoy twst but my idea of twst is far FAR different than the actual canon game itself, trying your hand at your own rendition of that media can actually be a lot more fun :]c

And I'm totally fine with it!! Encourage it actually, I'd love to see everybody make their own diasomnia uniforms, hell even do the other dorms if you want (*´∀｀*)!!

[kckenobi]

Okay I could not resist any longer. For the comfort prompts: “just breathe. breathe with me.” with hurt Obi-Wan and caretaker Anakin? YOU’RE AMAZING THANK YOU 💕💕💕

“just breathe. breathe with me.”

you know I couldn't resist mixing some search-and-rescue whump with claustrophobic obi-wan. thanks for the prompt!!

It was almost dark when they finally dug him up.

The building had gone down that morning—a rogue bomb had triggered a sinkhole, bringing the whole Republic base to the ground in a matter of seconds. Only a few troopers had been inside, thankfully. The medical team fixed up the survivors as they were found, while Anakin led the rest of the troops in the search.

But by sunset, there was only one person unaccounted for.

"Status report, Commander."

Anakin approached Cody, who straightened immediately.

"Still no sign of General Kenobi, sir," he answered. "There's an area of the rubble that's particularly thick, and it's blocking our scanners. It's possible he's down there—but we haven't picked up any life signs yet..."

"Well, do better, Commander. "Possible" isn't good enough."

If Cody was taken aback by the sharpness in his tone, he didn't show it. He offered Anakin a stiff salute. "Yes, sir."

"Sorry, Cody. That was..." He exhaled. "I'm just worried."

"I know, sir."

"Yeah." Anakin ran both hands through his hair. "But I shouldn't use that as an excuse. You're trying your best. We all are. And he's—he's your..."

He didn't finish the phrase. Sensed Cody probably didn't want him to anyway. But it didn't matter, because suddenly they were both whirling around as a trooper's voice called out:

"We've got him, sir! He's here!"

And then they were both running.

The trooper was holding a scanner over the rubble, and it was all Anakin could do not to rip it from his hands. Anakin dropped to his knees and tried to probe through the ground with his mind, searching for a familiar life Force. And yes—it was weak, but it was there.

"I can lift the rubble away," Anakin said.

"Sir, respectfully, any movement should be approved by the engineering squad; the mass is unstable, and might collapse—"

"Fine, then. Show me which rocks to move. But do it fast," Anakin snapped, then huffed. "How far down is he?"

The trooper consulted the scanner. "About 10 meters, sir."

"And his air supply?"

Neither Anakin nor Cody missed the trooper's hesitation. "It could depend on a number of factors," he said cautiously. "It's...in our best interest to move quickly."

"Roger that."

And so Anakin and Cody began distributing orders, mobilizing the rest of the team and planning the most effective movements. Obi-Wan had always excelled at this sort of thing, Anakin thought—at leadership in the midst of disaster.

If only he were here now.

When he'd gotten approval from the lead engineer that the rubble was ready to move, Anakin pulled Cody aside.

"Commander...there's something else," Anakin said quietly. "When we pull him up, have a medical team ready. But no one else. There's...well, we want to give him space."

And so, even knowing Obi-Wan would be furious, he gave Cody the abridged version—how Obi-Wan wasn't fond of being trapped.

He couldn't bring himself to explain why.

"Sir, can I ask one question?"

Anakin nodded.

"General Kenobi told me once...well, how his Master died," he said. "Does this...his aversion to being confined...does it have anything to do with...?"

"Yes."

Cody nodded.

They left it there.

Anakin could feel the troopers watching him as he closed his eyes, their awe and neat disbelief rippling through the Force like waves. He used their hope, their light, to harness it now—to begin to lift the rubble.

The time passed quickly—at least for Anakin. When the sounds of the troopers' voices began to fade back into his consciousness, Anakin lightly set the rubble down and opened his eyes, unsteadily rising to his feet.

And then he heard the coughing.

"Sir," Cody said. "We've uncovered him, but the rubble on either side is unsteady. We have to extract him quickly."

"Send me down," Anakin said.

And he didn't wait for an affirmative.

Anakin rushed to the edge of the pit he'd created when clearing the rubble, peering over the side. Then, he leapt down into the crevice.

"Obi-Wan!"

Anakin pushed back some more rocks he'd been advised not to move, and slid beneath a slab of concrete. And there, coughing into his dirt-caked sleeve, was his Master.

Obi-Wan was sitting with one leg outstretched, bandaged with a piece of his tunic to quell the bleeding. The other knee was pulled to his chest, his arms wrapped around them tightly. His face was coated with dirt and blood and ash, his eyes wide.

He was breathing fast.

"Hey," Anakin said, relief and worry flooding him all at once. "There you are."

"Anakin. I--" His voice was more of a rasp. "The air—I still can't—"

"You're okay. Hey, you're okay." Anakin sunk to his knees and reached for Obi-Wan's wrists. "We found you. And we're gonna get you out."

Obi-Wan nodded. His eyes were dull. "Please."

Anakin pretended not to notice how his voice broke.

With a quick squeeze of Obi-Wan's arm, he crawled back under the concrete slab to call up to the others.

"Got him!" Through the dust, he could just make out Cody's face up above. "You can toss it down!"

A few moments later, the rope landed in front of him.

Anakin crawled back to Obi-Wan. His eyes were closed, and his breathing sounded more like a wheeze.

"Hey. We're gonna help you up, but you need to breathe. Breathe with me, okay? Nice deep ones."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "Can't."

"Yes, you can. Listen to my breaths, and--"

"No, I can't." He swallowed, wincing. "Hurts."

Oh. Anakin looked him over. If he was breathing shallowly, and the air was thin in here...

"Are you dizzy?" A nod in response. "Think you can crawl through there, then stand?"

A shrug, then a nod.

"Okay. Now your knee doesn't look good, so take your time with the crawling. After that...I've got you. You'll be fine."

He sounded sure. He wished he felt sure.

The crawling was painful for Anakin to watch--Obi-Wan's breathing came harder and more ragged until at last he popped out on the other side and rolled to stretch his leg out again. It looked like it had started to bleed again, too.

"There we go," said Anakin. "Hard part's done. You ready to get out of here?"

Obi-Wan seemed to be beyond talking at this point. He offered just another nod.

The rope had a few knots and a loop at the bottom, a place for Anakin to put his feet and somewhere to grab. Anakin tugged to let Cody know they were nearly ready, then turned back to Obi-Wan. He was still on the ground. Eyes closed again.

"Don't go to sleep on me now, old man," Anakin said. He went around behind Obi-Wan, reaching under his arms. "On three. You try to stand, I'll lift. One...two..."

Obi-Wan cried out as he put weight on his leg, and soon enough Anakin was holding him up almost entirely. They hobbled over to the rope again, and Anakin got them situated. Then, he tugged the rope one final time.

"See?" Anakin said. He was holding Obi-Wan up, and Obi-Wan's head lolled against his shoulder. "I told you I've got you."

He nodded into Anakin's tunic. And up they went.

Both of them tumbled to the ground the moment they reached the top.

"Medics!" Anakin called out, even as they already rushed forward. Obi-Wan cried out as they turned him over. There was a stretcher nearby, and Cody waited behind it. He couldn't even fathom the willpower it took Cody not to rush straight to Obi-Wan's side. Force knows I don't have it.

Kix and the other medics lined Obi-Wan's sides, to where was lying on his back. "Sir, we're going to lift you onto the stretcher."

Obi-Wan hummed. "Thank you."

The first two words he'd uttered since they'd first found him. As the medics lifted him, Anakin winced at the sharp breath he choked out.

"Kix--the base was destroyed," Anakin said. "Do we have enough medical supplies to--"

"Affirmative, sir. We don't have a lot to spare, but we have enough," Kix replied. They began to push the stretcher toward the ship. "My first assessment indicates the leg wound isn't deep. Potential fracture in the ankle. And probably a punctured lung."

"Sheesh, Master, you weren't kidding--you really couldn't breathe," Anakin said. "I thought you were just panicking."

"That too."

The subtle humor took Anakin by surprised, and he looked down to the stretcher. Obi-Wan gave him a small smile.

"Thanks for coming for me," he said softly.

"Obi-Wan," Anakin replied. As the stretcher moved along, Anakin reached down and squeezed his shoulder. "You know I always will."

comfort prompts

in case anyone was looking for the other fics in my claustrophobic obi-wan head canon:

the lift // six feet under // ray shields

[shoutoismybaby]

Omega Shame Part 3

Part1 /  Part2

Hey! I would like to thank you all for your patients for the last part of this fic. My depression hit me pretty hard so I only just finished this yesterday, hope you enjoy!

This is the final part so it ends in Fluff!

Warnings: depression, cursing, 

***

You did nothing to protest as your teacher's arms surrounded your figure, taking you off towards the school. Barely did you register the terrified faces of your classmates as you passed in Aizawa's arms. The sound of their voices reached your ears, but there was a disconnect between your senses and body. The instincts to preserve your body had disappeared hours ago, so you barely budged as you were moved to Recovery Girls office. Though your omega appreciated how soft the bed was compared to your floor. A much more comfortable place to die,in your opinion at least. You lazily stared up at the white ceiling above you, the bright lights burned your eyes, but you didn’t care enough to turn away. There was only a few moments of silence before the door opened once more, the heavy footsteps combined the scent of musky blueberry that you associated with the former number one hero joined you and the two other pro heroes in the room.

“This feels like a waste of precious time. What is sticking them in the same room supposed to do?” The deep voice you recognized as your homeroom teacher asked.

“There is very little that can be done for a depression medically. But there’s an old wives tale that placing an alpha and omega together that are both going through a depression will be able to pull eachother out of it because of their instincts to care for the other.” Recovery Girl explained, her voice following her around the room. Heavy footsteps could be heard to the right of you, then rustling. That’s when a terrible scent hit your nose. It smelled of burning rubber and heavy smoke.

“We are trusting the fate of my students' lives, to a wives tale?” A growl could be heard underneath Aizawa’s voice, and the terrible scent was beginning to cause your nose to sting and tears to form in your eyes. Though you doubted that you smelled any better.

“I understand your frustration Aizawa, but there isn’t much else we can do but call their parents.” All mights attempt to calm his coworker did little to help. You simply turned your head away in an attempt to avoid the smell, you didn’t want to think about who it belonged to even though you recognized it from the start. It belonged to the alpha who didn’t love you.

“I should have noticed, as their teacher, I should have seen this coming.” Aizawas statement turned further into a growl as he continued. “How is this supposed to help if (L/n) was only courting Bakugou out of fear?”

This statement completely stopped the thoughts flowing through your head.

“What are you talking about Eraser, they’re courtship was one of the strongest I’ve ever seen.” All Might's worry finally started to show through his voice, and your confusion finally opened yourself up to what was going on around you. You could finally hear Aizawa's frantic pacing, Recovery Girls pen as she scribbled on some papers, and the soft breathing you recognized as bakugou behind you. Laying on the only other bed that resided in the office.

“I thought so too but Bakugou said it himself, she thought he would destroy her nest. She was terrified of him and he felt like he failed as an alpha. I thought that alpha depressions were just a rumor, until this.”

“If she was scared of him, then it makes no sense that she is in a depression, she should be happy, right?” All Mights response to Aizawa was filled with confusion. As were you.

What did they mean you were scared of Bakugou? You were in love with the blond. How could he think you were scared of-

Oh. No.

“Now, now, sitting here not understanding these pups feelings isn’t going to fix anything. It’s best we leave now, I’ll check in after an hour but I don’t want any of our scents to interfere with the process.” The only other omega in the room, recovery girl, quickly ushered the other  pros out of the room. You didn’t want them to leave, you had so many questions to ask them. But you could barely move, if only your omega would snap out of the depression! Bakugou needed you.

You had been so blinded by your panic before that you didn’t even think of how the situation might look to him. While you were reliving a past experience, Bakugou was looking on to his own Omega sobbing at the sight of him. Your heart ached at the thought of how he might be feeling. How hopeless and useless he probably felt.

He had always held himself to high standards, always doing his best to overcome his inferiority complex. It was something you had wanted to help him with. But all you had done was made him feel like he failed.

You had to tell him that it was a mistake, a misunderstanding, that you could never be scared of him. You needed to fix this.

As you began to attempt to move yourself, you quickly grew agitated. Your omega was still stuck in her depression. You knew that this was all a big misunderstanding now, so why couldn’t you move?

Bakugous life depended on you and just the thought about how this was all your fault made you growl at yourself. You had to get up. Bakugou loved you, he cared for you. Even if your parents would never value you for who you truly were, Bakugou did. Aizawa did, All Might did, your classmates did. You had people who liked you, the entire you. Omega and all.

It was then that your fingers began to twitch. It was like waking up from sleep paralysis, your control over your body was gained slowly. From wiggling fingers to rotating your wrists, you gained mobility as your omega was filled with determination. The determination to save Bakugou.

Alpha depressions developed much faster than Omega ones, and you didn’t know how much time you had left. You could never forgive yourself if Bakugou died because of your past trauma.

You flipped over your body as soon as you were able, and gasped at the sight. Bakugou was lying on his side, body curled into a fetal position as his face scrunched up in a similar manner. Sweat dripped down from his forehead and it was like you could feel the pain he was in. The pain of his body trying to end itself. Careful inspection would have revealed the slight tremors of his body, his body temperature reaching so high that even the warmth of the sun from the nearby window couldn’t compare. The scene made a whimper fall from your throat.

“Bakugou?” You whispered, unsure of what to do now that you were able to move. His body didn’t respond to your call at all and you began to panic. You had to take care of him, you had to. But how? What if he was too far gone?

Pushing yourself up from the mattress, you went to his side and ignored the stinging of your nose as his scent worsened with your closeness. Tears gathered in your eyes, you didn’t know what to do.

“Bakugou, I’m sorry, this is all my fault.” Your words turned into a whine, your hand coming up to stroke his cheek, almost yanking away when you felt the burning heat radiating off of him. “But you have to wake up okay? I have to tell you that you did nothing wrong.”

The hot tears that gathered in your eyes began to race down your face as you began to choke on your guilt. Even if people loved you for who you were, how could you? If you were never an omega, then your parents wouldn’t have ever destroyed your nests, and you wouldn’t have panicked at the sight of Bakugou the day before. It was because of your omega that Bakugou was  in a depression. But you didn’t have the time to wallow, you were going to take care of your alpha.

You turned and looked around the room, grabbing a hand towel from the stack and wetting it in the sink. It was easy to push his limp body onto his back, and you tried not to think much of it as you dabbed away his sweat. You didn’t bother to wipe away your tears as you tended to him, as though he simply had a fever. But you knew better, and your omega seemed to begin to pace as time passed. Your heart-rate sped up as you grew desperate.

“Come on Katsuki! I’m doing everything I can here but I don’t know what to do!” Your cries fell on deaf ears while they turned into sobs. You were so scared to lose him, but you were out of ideas. At least you could hold him before he really left, right?

Your body was covered with a numb tingle as you moved again. This time pushing Katsuki body over as you climbed up next to him. Your tears beginning to dot his shirt as you placed your head on his chest. Hands moving one of his arms around your shoulder before wrapping your own around his muscular waist, legs tangling around his own. If nothing was going to work to bring him back to you, you just wanted to hold him. One last time.

“I don’t know what to do to help you,” you confessed, rubbing your cheek against his uniform, uncaring about how it continued to dampen with your tears. “But I really want you to come back. I need you, okay? I need you to protect me, and love me. And I need you to know that I wasn’t scared of you, and that I love you Alpha.“ your body went ridged as you felt his body jolt at your use of his title. You whipped your head up to meet his, large red eyes meeting your own.

“(Y/n)?” His voice was gruff, and quiet. But it made your heart leap with joy.

“Katsuki!” You wrapped your arms around his neck immediately and rubbed your face against his own, “Katsuki I’m so glad you're okay, I was so scared.”

“What are you doing? I thought-” He trailed off, looking away from you.

“I’m sorry, this is all my fault.” You apologized, continuing when he gave you a confused look. “I wasn’t scared of you, promise. I mean, I was scared, but not, of you.”

“The fucks that mean?” His crude words brought a smile to your face that quickly faded. You let out a long sigh and tried to relax your body as you dug into your memories.

“You know why I used to take all of those hormone medications right?” You asked, not wanting to dive right in. As if sensing the tenseness you were trying to conceal Bakugou wrapped his arms around your waist.

“Cause your stupid fucking parents convinced you that there was something wrong with you even though that’s bullshit.” Bakugou moved his face into your neck and you briefly wondered if your scent had returned yet. His sure hadn’t, but it was improving slowly.

“Yeah, they really hate that I’m an omega. They really hate it. So much that they-“ A lump suddenly built up in your throat and blood rushed to your face. You really didn’t want to continue. The images that flooded your mind were almost too much to bare. The smoke, the flames, your parents unbothered faces…

“They destroyed your nest, didn’t they?” Bakugou growled, his skin heating back up like it was before, but this time out of anger. You just nodded, you didn’t want to make him upset, but he had to know the truth.

“The first time is when I was little,” you whispered, “but then when I presented at 13, they.. they,” Tears built up into your eyes. Bakugou’s scent now changed quickly as he worked to push out calming pheromones. It still took you a few moments to collect yourself, but he was patient with you. He almost always was. “They set it on fire.”

There was a few seconds of silence after you rushed through your words, but it was ripped through by a deep growl. Bakugou had growls so deep and feral that almost all that heard it had to fight their instincts to run away. Your alpha truly was one to be feared, but you just rubbed your cheek against his in an effort to calm him. You could tell without looking that his canines had extended and that his hackles had begun to raise all from how he began to grip you tighter. He was thinking, you could tell, of how to best respond.

The way of thinking your parents possessed had never made sense to him, even though he was extremely intelligent. Maybe it just meant that they were wrong, but you preferred to not think about it at all.

“So that’s why you freaked out, your omega panicked at the smell of an alpha near your nest because alphas had destroyed it before.” Bakugou spoke slowly, and through gritted teeth. You pulled your face back to get a good look at him, and you could tell how much he was repressing by the vein that made an appearance on his forehead. You simply nodded, hands coming up to cup his soft cheeks, fingers working out his tense expression by rubbing Small circles.

“Even though I realized it was you, after I smelled the smoke from your quirk. It was like I was back to being 13 again, being forced to watch as my own parents burnt my safe space. I was so lost in my own head that I forgot you were there, or that I was even there actually. But then I could just tell that you had taken off the courting bracelet and,,, I snapped back to reality. I thought you left because I was nesting.” You explained,

“That’s stupid.”

“I know, but I wasn’t thinking right, you know. I was so stuck in my own fear… I’m sorry that I caused all of this.” You sighed and dropped your hands back onto the bed, you wanted to just go back to your own bed and sulk, but Bakugou wasn’t letting you go anywhere anytime soon.

“Don’t you fuckin apologize, you got that! It’s not your fault and I wont have you apologizing for something so stupid, apologies are supposed to mean something damnit!” He was yelling now, but you could tell it wasn’t at you.

“You went into a depression, katsu, you could have died because of me.” You tried to explain. You had messed up, couldn’t he just accept that?

“I would die for you anytime Omega, Okay? So don’t worry your fucking peanut brain over anything,” you didn’t get a chance to counter him before he continued, “besides, I’m tired. I have to kill your parents and scent things for your nest later so I need my beauty rest.”

He turned the both of you to your sides and you couldn’t help but let out a laugh Bakugou had been so dearly missing since the day before.

“You’re not going to kill anyone.” You rolled both your eyes and yourself out of his muscular arms. A warning growl easily ignored by your much-too-used-to-him self left his mouth as you walked over to your clinic bed and grabbed at the blankets,

“What do you think you’re doing? Get back here.” You spun back to him immediately, bed covers stacked messily in your arms.

“Well you’re going to need a lot more than beauty rest Alpha, at least a few days for you to fully recover from your depression, and where better to recover than in your omegas nest?” You asked, a happy chirp following your question. Bakugous face reddened and he turned from you,

“I wont need days to recover, I’m not weak like that loser Deku.” He grumbled. You sighed and placed the bedding back on the mattress behind you.

“If you didn’t want to be in my nest, you could have just said so.”You put a teasing pout on your face. Sure, he was the alpha in your relationship, but you could play him like a deck of cards.

“I NEVER FUCKING SAID THAT YOU STUPID OMEGA.” He whipped back at you, canines bared. “Now get those blankets over here and let me scent them for your nest!”

You couldn’t help but let your smile take over your whole face. You really loved your Katsuki.

***

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[mandoalorian]

The Nanny [Maxwell Lord x Dave York x F!Reader] SMUT

Summary: Dave York is cold and rough around the edges, but he’s all you’ve ever been used to. And you’ve never been opposed to the amazing sex that comes alongside working for him, as a nanny for his two young daughters. However, things seem to spice up when you’re requested to watch over none other than Maxwell Lord’s son, and the two meet in an unlikely situation.

Rating: 18+

Warnings: SMUT; threesome, unprotected piv, fingering, male receiving oral, female receiving oral, orgasm denial, creampie, cunnilingus, choking, slapping, use of handcuffs, use of vibrator (on Maxwell!), face fucking, degradation kink, voyeurism kink, praise kink, food mention, allusions to murder/missing person. The suburban murder daddy and my sexy capitalist boyfriend come with their own warnings ;)

Word Count: 7000>

Masterlist

REBLOGS ARE SO APPRECIATED. 💛

He was your best customer. You’d been a nanny for the York family for two years now, and Alice and Molly were sweetest children you’d ever worked with. They were good as gold, always doing their homework to the best of their ability, they had wonderful manners thanks to their parenting, and they played nicely together. However, you’d be lying if you said you didn’t have a second motive for babysitting the girls.

Dave York was a single father. Despite being close to the family, you never asked what happened to Carol (his ex-wife/Alice and Molly’s mother), you assumed it was a touchy subject and quite frankly, none of your business. It did pique your curiosity though, how she had just seemed to vanish into thin air. It was unexplained, and you assumed it was hard on the family, especially the kids. Although Dave had been handling it quite well all things considered. It was strange to you, how they never spoke a word of her. She was truly an enigma. You saw her face in the very few family portraits that were peppered around the house, but that was all.

When Carol disappeared two years ago, Dave figured he’d need an extra pair of hands to help around the house while he was at work. You had your own place, sure, but you practically lived with the York family anyway. You had the mornings and early afternoons to yourself because Molly went to school, Alice got sent to daycare and Dave went to the office, but it was at night when he needed you the most.

You didn’t know where Dave went at night. He’d call you, once or twice a week on short notice, telling you he needed you to watch the girls. Whatever he was doing, he called it business, and didn’t explain it further. Dave was super accommodating to you, immediately telling you that you could just make yourself at home in his beautiful, extensive sized suburban house. He was like family to you. In fact, he was more. Dave relished in his own independence, but the truth was, he relied on you more than he’d like to admit.

You had your own room-- a soft, plush queen sized bed all to yourself. He even let you decorate. You smiled fondly at the memory of getting the girls to help paint the walls with you while their father was out on a ‘job’ one night. Your smile grew even wider when you remembered hearing the front door open in the early hours of the morning, and shuffling about downstairs. Every time Dave would come home, he’d slide into your bedroom and climb on top of you, smelling suspiciously like blood and sweat (although you knew better than to question it). His demeanour was ravenous and primal as he’d slide his thick, calloused fingers along your body. He’d push your nightgown up, squeeze your thighs, lift your legs up and wrap them around his waist. You were fucking him, sure. And you had been for the past two years. He was the most attractive man you’d ever met, with dark hair and big brown eyes. He was rough around the edges, intimidating, but it only spurred you on even more. Of course, nothing was ever made official. You were nothing more than his daughters’ nanny, just lucky enough to have your own bedroom in the York family home.

Dave was your only source of income, and he provided you with enough to get by. You never requested a large sum of money for watching the girls-- to be honest, you’d be satisfied enough with just the sex, but the pay was decent. You hadn’t really gotten any other babysitting jobs, and when you had, you’d deny them for the sake of keeping Dave in good spirits. You’d favour him over any client. Except today.

Your phone rang and you dived into your purse to answer it. The girls were playing on the floor and Dave was buttoning up his winter coat. “Hello?” you answered, not recognising the number.

“Yes, hello,” a feminine voice replied. “This is Raquel, I’m an assistant to Mr. Maxwell Lord, the CEO of Black Gold Cooperative.”

Your eyes practically bulged out of your head upon recognising the name. “The oil guy from TV?!” you gasped, slapping your hand over your mouth in disbelief. Dave turned to you, quirking an eyebrow as he tried to gauge your reaction.

“As you may know, Mr. Lord is an esteemed businessman and well, he saw your advertisement in the paper saying you were a nanny-for-hire.” Raquel trailed off before pushing straight to the point. “He has a son, Alistair, six years old. He was wondering if you could watch him tonight? We’ve tried every other nanny in the area but no one else can take him short notice.”

“I- I’m actually on a job right now…” you bit your lip nervously.

“Mr. Lord will pay handsomely.” Raquel hummed, trying to coherese you.

“Just a moment,” you placed your mobile on the coffee table and looked up at Dave, whose dark eyes were already burning into you. They hadn’t left you once. He gave you a questioning look and a shaky exhale left your lips. You didn’t know why you were this nervous -- maybe it was just the intimidating aura Dave gave off. “Uhm… you know that guy on the television with the blonde hair who sells oil?”

“Maxwell Lord.” Dave said, matter-of-factly. You were slightly impressed that Dave already knew who he was.

“Uh… yeah, well. He has a son, apparently. And he can’t get a sitter. And he’s asked for me.” Dave’s expression didn’t change once.

“And?” 

Why was your heart beating this fast? Why were you so fucking afraid of pissing Dave off?

“I-- nothing. You’re right. I’ll just tell him--” you stammered, reaching to grab your cell again.

“--tell him that you’ll take the job, I hope.” Dave’s lips curled into a smirk as he finished your sentence for you.

That was… weird. He didn’t seem jealous or anything like he’d usually be. He fiddled with the rest of his buttons on his coat before flicking his wrist out and checking the time on his watch.

“Are you-- are you sure?” you asked cautiously.

“Of course!” Dave beamed. “How old is the kid?”

“Same age as Alice.” you hummed.

“Perfect,” Dave smiled before kneeling down to kiss the forehead of his two little girls. “Daddy’s heading out now but there’s gonna be a little boy coming over to play with you. So be kind to him, okay?”

“Okay daddy, love you.” Molly smiled, wrapping her small chubby arms around her father’s neck.

“Love you too princess.” Dave chuckled and your heart gushed with warmth upon witnessing the interaction. Dave York might have been a scary man but he was a hell of a good father.

“Hi,” you said, picking the phone back up and putting it to your ear. “I can watch his kid but-- he’ll have to bring him here. Uhm… how long for?”

“One second,” Raquel hummed, holding the phone to her chest and looking over at the blonde haired businessman who was sitting at his expensive oak wood desk, neck deep in paperwork. “Mr. Lord?” Maxwell glanced up at Raquel, his eyes tired and a strand of his hair falling in his face. “She can do it but she requests that you bring Alistair over to the house she’s currently working at. And she wants to know how long she’ll have to watch him for.”

Maxwell sighed, exasperated, before looking back down at the paperwork and trying to gauge how long it would take him. “Three… four hours maybe?”

Raquel nodded her head in understanding. “Four hours max,” she promised you. “What is the address?” You gave her the address of the York homestead, watching Dave as he left the house without even muttering as much as a goodbye. Raquel scribbled down the address and handed it over to Maxwell who stood up and fixed his tie. “Thank you Ms Y/L/N, your service is very much appreciated.”

“Oh please just call me--”

And then the line went dead. That was… weird.

Maxwell grabbed his suit jacket and straightened out his clothes, grimacing at the ache in his back that he had from sitting at his desk all day. He shuffled out of his office, took the elevator downstairs, and found his son Alistair playing with a train set in the lobby of Black Gold Cooperative.

“Daddy!” Alistair cried out excitedly, shooting to his feet and running up to his father.

“Hi buddy!” Maxwell grinned, forcing out some enthusiasm as he knelt down and wrapped his arms around Alistair, pulling him into a tight hug.

“Are you finished work now? Can we go home?” Alistair quizzed, and Maxwell’s heart broke at the hopeful spark in his eyes.

“Ah-- not quite,” Maxwell admitted and Alistair’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. “But I’m going to take you over to someone’s house… a uh-- a friend! And she will watch over you until daddy finishes work. I just don’t want you to be bored, okay? Raquel is going home now and I can’t… I can’t watch you. So…”

Alistair frowned sadly. “But I don’t want to go… I want to stay here. With you.” he mumbled.

“I know sweetie, but I won’t be too late, okay? And once I’m done tonight we can spend the whole day tomorrow together. How does that sound?” 

“You said that yesterday…” Alistair whispered.

Maxwell sighed and pulled his son into an even tighter hug. “I-- I’m sorry. You know I’m doing my best, don’t you?”

“I know.” Alistair sniffed.

“And I want to give you the best life. Better than all the other kids. And better than what your old man had when he was your age. So… I have to work hard, okay? And one day you’ll get your pool that you want. And the pony and the race car…”

“I don’t want that daddy, I just want you.” Alistair confessed, his dark eyes glazed with unshed tears.

Maxwell pressed a kiss into Alistair’s forehead and pulled off him. “Okay. Go get your coat and I’ll pack up your trainset.”

“Can I take it to your friend’s house?” he questioned, his lips curling into a smile.

“Of course.” Maxwell replied.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Holy shit. He was even more attractive in real life than what he was on television. You weren’t necessarily nervous when you heard the knock on the door, but when you answered it, your heart slammed against your chest. Maxwell Lord stood before you, holding the hand of his son, but your eyes were just completely fixated on him. He donned a slightly oversized power-suit that broadened his shoulders significantly. It was a pale blue colour and even under the dark evening sky you noticed the lilac and purple tie and matching pocket square. It made you smile. It was endearing, almost.

“Good evening.” Max grinned that same, charming, TV smile that was so familiar. 

“Hi.” you sighed longingly, your eyes wide and doe-shaped as you became lost in his gaze.

He looked like a fairytale prince. His hair was styled perfectly and despite the hour, you’d never expected his designer outfit to be pressed so perfectly.

“I’m Max Lord.” Maxwell greeted.

“I know.” you hummed, biting your lip as your eyes trailed down his body.

Maxwell chuckled, finding you absolutely adorable. He cleared his throat and gently pushed a begrudgent Alistair in front of him. “This is my son, Alistair.”

“Yeah…” you murmured. Molly tugged on your arm and pulled you straight out of your thoughts about Mr. Lord. “Uhm-- shit! Right. Sorry!” you gasped, becoming flustered. “Oh fuck-- I didn’t mean to curse-- I just--”

Maxwell raised his eyebrows and gently placed a hand on your arm. “It’s okay.” he said slowly and you felt your cheeks flush with heat.

“Um…” you took Alistair’s hand and grinned. “Hi love, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Hello.” Alistair said quietly.

“Now Ali, don’t be shy.” Maxwell chastised.

“It’s okay,” you reassured Maxwell. “Uhm, this is Molly.” you presented Alistair and Maxwell with Dave’s little girl who had been standing by your side the entire time.

Alistair’s eyes lit up excitedly when he saw Molly. “Hi Molly, I’m Alistair Lorenz--Lord. Do you maybe want to be friends?”

“Hi Alistair Lord. I’m Molly York. Do you like popcorn?”

“Yes.” Alistair nodded merrily.

“Okay. We can be friends. Come with me.” Molly said, grabbing Alistair’s hand and pulling him into the house.

“I don’t have many friends…” you overheard Alistair say as the children padded into the living room and your heart shattered. He was clearly such a sweet little boy. 

“Uhm, thanks for the favour. Short-notice and all.” Maxwell said, clearing his throat and scratching the back of his neck.

“It’s honestly fine.” you assured Max.

“Okay. Good. It was uh-- nice to meet you.” Maxwell smiled, before taking your hand and brushing a soft yet polite kiss over your knuckles. His gaze didn’t break away from you once and the butterflies in the pit of your stomach were overwhelming. His soft lips against your skin felt like an electric and you couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel capturing your own lips with his.

“You too.” you gasped.

“I’ll… see you later tonight.” Max grinned, dropping your hand and straightening out his suit once more.

“Okay. Yeah. Tonight.” you replied nervously, fluttering your eyelashes.

“Good night.” Max said politely before spinning around on his heel and walking back down the lawn to his Cadillac.

“Night!” you called after him, and he waved his hand.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

As it turned out, Alistair was the sweetest little boy you had ever watched over. After Molly insisted you make popcorn, and Alice begged you to put on The Little Mermaid, the four of you were lounging on the floor in a hand-crafted pillow fortress. The conversations between the three children were endearing, to say the least.

Alice: Y/N, what do you want to be when you’re older?

You: Well, when I was little I wanted to be a veterinarian and look after all the sick animals.

Molly: That’s what I want to do!

Alice: I want to be a princess. 

Molly: What do you want to be, Alistair?

Alistair: I want to be like my dad, I s’pose.

Alistair didn’t talk much-- he definitely was shy and you could tell he wasn’t used to being around other kids, which was truly a shame. He didn’t have the communication skills that Alice and Molly had and by the sounds of it, he was living a pretty sheltered life-- private school and all. But if one thing was clear, it was how much Alistair idolised his father.

The kids played well together, all three of them dressing up as different Disney princesses. Before the movie even finished, they passed out and fell asleep on the floor. You didn’t bother carrying them to bed, not wanting to wake them. They looked comfortable enough in their LED lit castle made from blankets. So you just left them there, and changed into your own pajamas. You settled down for the evening with a glass of red wine and changed the movie to something you figured you’d enjoy more.

You found your mind wandering, thinking about the businessman whose son you were babysitting. In fact, you hadn’t even thought about Dave once. It was a welcome change. Maxwell was definitely gone for over four hours but he was so handsome, you absolutely could not stay mad at him for one moment. When the knock came at the door, at around 2a.m., you gasped and raced over to the mirror to fix your appearance the best you could. You grabbed your silk robe and wrapped it over your body before padding to the front door and unlocking it.

Maxwell greeted you with a bouquet of roses, and your jaw dropped. “Oh my--”

“These are for you.” Maxwell beamed. “An apology for being so late.”

“You really didn’t have too…” you smiled but graciously took the bouquet from him nonetheless. “Where did you even get these from? It’s so late. Nowhere’s open.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Maxwell hummed, watching you intently as you turned away from him to place the roses on the side table in the entryway.

His eyes clung to your body and he admired the way the silk robe hung against your perfect shape, emphasising the curve in your ass and even the way your nipples poked through the material. It was cold outside, afterall. When you turned back to face him, you noticed that his eyes were almost black and lust blown. You swallowed and offered him a nervous smile. 

“Alistair is asleep. Would you uhm-- like to come in? For a nightcap?”

“Yeah,” Maxwell’s response came instantly in a breathy sigh. He let himself in, pushing past you and his broad chest grazing against your own, much softer chest. “Nice place you have.”

“Oh… thanks. It’s actually not my home-- I mean, I live here but…”

“I used to live in this neighbourhood,” Maxwell muttered, nosing around the different rooms. “Before my big pay rise, obviously.”

You gulped and looked down, following him around the house. You opened the living room door. “Alistair is sleeping.” you whispered and Max just smiled. “The kitchen is this way. What do you usually drink?”

“Do you have whiskey?”

Yeah. Dave’s whiskey.

“Um yes… I think so…” you mumbled, checking the liquor cabinet.

You gasped when a strong arm wrapped around your waist and gave your hip a little squeeze. Maxwell nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck and pressed a soft kiss into your skin. “Is it okay if I do this?” he whispered, licking a stripe across your jaw.

Your eyes snapped shut as you tried to fight back a moan. “Y-yes.”

Maxwell skillfully navigated his hand to the ribbon that binded your robe together and tugged on it so the thin material fell open. His large ring clad fingers rolled over your stomach and grabbed your tits, squeezing them a few times as he nibbled down onto your skin.

“Your wife… I mean-- uhm… Alistair’s mother?” you huffed, leaning into his touch. You had to make sure.

“Divorced.” Maxwell promised, and you smiled longingly before turning around and pressing your palms flat against his chest. He chuckled darkly and pushed the robe off your shoulders, letting it fall to the tiled kitchen floor.

He swallowed upon seeing you in your short lace nightgown, that cut off mid-thigh. He felt his cock began to throb within the confines of his tailored suit pants just from looking at you. 

“So… hard day at the office?” you cooed, helping him out of his suit jacket and tugging on his tie.

“So hard.” Maxwell grumbled, biting his lip before leaning in and capturing your lips into a kiss. You moaned under his touch and pressed your body into his. His hands found your ass you began to rub your knee over his erection.

“I see,” you giggled. “Would you… would you like to see my bedroom, Mr. Lord.”

Maxwell grinned and pecked your lips. “Yeah, but please, call me Max.”

Max. 

God, you were smitten.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You had been so caught up with Maxwell you had honestly forgotten about Dave. The same Dave who came home at around 3 a.m. every single night, who fucked you senseless until you couldn’t walk the next morning. He was a man who didn’t want to be messed with-- but shamelessly, you had completely forgotten about him. And poor Max hadn’t even got a warning. The second Dave got home and saw the discarded bouquet of roses on the side table, he saw red. Someone else trying to seduce you? That was never going to be okay with Dave. You were his and his only.

“Oh fuck Max please,” you gasped, thrusting your hips upwards as he needlily sucked on your clit. You arched your back, burying your face into your soft pillow. “So good.”

“You taste so fucking sweet.” Maxwell gasped, the curve of his nose nudging against your sensitive bud. You cried out with pleasure and grabbed a fistful of the blankets as you felt yourself begin to chase your oncoming high.

“Doesn’t she?” Dave’s deep voice came from the bedroom door, where he’d been watching Maxwell go down on you for the last ten minutes. Your heart dropped when you heard him-- and clearly, it was unexpected for Maxwell too. His chocolate brown eyes looked up at you as he tore his face from your soaking pussy. His lips were wet with the sheen from your arousal and he licked at them, relishing your flavour before turning around to face Dave.

Dave chuckled dryly. “No, please, don’t stop. I can't have you deny my nanny of an orgasm, can I?”

You felt your eyes go comically wide. “Dave I-- I can explain-”

“No need babygirl,” Dave reassured you, but his tone was dripping with malice. “Now… why don’t you show Mr. Lord how good you can be by cumming in his mouth?” 

Maxwell hummed in surprise and proceeded to press a sloppy kiss into the apex of your thigh before giving you a kitten lick between your folds. “Fuck!” you gasped, celebrating in the way his golden tongue felt like magic. He was a salesman, sure, and a persuasive one at that-- but Maxwell Lord knew how to use his tongue efficiently, that much was clear.

“Didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend.” Maxwell growled, pinching your skin between his teeth.

“I don’t.” you sighed, tossing your head slightly and reaching down to lace your fingers into the CEO’s hair.

“So who is he?” Maxwell interrogated. You held back, knowing that if you replied he might stop lapping you up. It felt too good to risk it. Maxwell plunged a thick finger into your entrance without warning, causing you to squeal at the intrusion.

“Shit!” you cried out. Maxwell steadied his finger inside of you and began to brush the digit against your sweet spot as he began sucking on your clit, his cheek even hollowing. “I can’t-- I can’t hold on. I’m gonna--”

Your orgasm struck you before you could even get the words out. The hot blaze of wildfire rushed through your body and your mind was filled with such haze you hadn’t even heard Dave discard his belt and unzip his own trousers.

Maxwell dug his fingernails into your inner thighs as you came undone in his mouth. Gently, he pulled away from you again and stood up. His eyes followed Dave who was now naked and pumping his cock by the side of the bed.

“Who are you?” Maxwell changed his tactic by asking the darker haired man this time.

“You’ll soon find out,” Dave shot back. He turned to you and raised his hand, slapping your cheek so you focused your attention on him rather than Max. Maxwell was taken aback by his action, but truth be told, sex with Dave was always on the rougher side. “Open your mouth.” Dave commanded, and you happily obliged.

Still laying on your back, you opened your mouth and stuck out your tongue. Dave pressed one knee down onto the bed next to you and pushed his cock in between your lips before fucking your mouth. Tears pricked the corners of your eyes as you adjusted to his length, and he thrusted into you with no remorse. You were used to it though, gagging around his girth and letting a mixture of your saliva and his precum dip down your face.

Maxwell’s eyes darted between you and Dave. He didn’t think he’d ever been this turned on before.

“Take your clothes off,” Dave said to Max, before groaning as you swiped your tongue along the underside of his cock. “Baby, why don’t you watch him undress.”

Maxwell stood up, even feeling slightly nervous. He shouldn’t be nervous. He’d hosted thousands of high press business meetings before, he’d even spoken at the White House and done broadcasts that had been seen by millions all around the world. He stood up and began to slowly undo the buttons down his shirt, and, just like Dave had requested, you watched him with a primal glint in your eye.

He was so hot. He wore an undershirt too. And when he took that off, it revealed a gorgeous tan chest. You watched him pull down his tailored pants and noticed the small pink blush cross his cheeks. That’s when you decided you actually, really liked Max.

You liked Dave too. Dave knew how to satisfy you in every way possible. He was always there, ready to go. And Dave was your protector. Somehow, you just knew that if anyone ever hurt you, Dave would make sure they never got the liberty of meeting you again. Dave was brutal, and certainly a little rough around the edges, but you didn’t mind it.

This thing with Maxwell though was new. He was handsome and polite. You’d never had a customer bring you red roses as a token of their appreciation before. He was flirtatious but also, so far, sex with him had been a lot sweeter and passionate. It was a new experience and you certainly weren’t opposed to it.

Once Max was completely naked, Dave’s lips curled into a smirk. “Good boy,” he cooed, and Maxwell felt his cock twitch at the appraisal. “You can use her, you know? Do whatever you want. Why don’t you fuck her?”

Of course the thought had crossed Maxwell’s mind, but he’d never got off with a woman in front of another man before. His delay in a response prompted Dave to speak up.

“I see you on TV,” Dave chuckled. “I know you’re not shy.”

That’s when Max remembered he had a reputation to uphold. Dave was right, he wasn’t shy. Maxwell Lord was powerful and he exuded confidence and charisma. He wasn’t going to let Dave intimidate him anymore.

You pulled off Dave with a wet pop and gasped for air. “He’s right Max,” you assured him, wiping your lips. “Anything you want.”

“I want a blowjob,” Maxwell shrugged casually. Dave quirked an eyebrow. 

“From me or her?” He asked incredulously and Maxwell felt his cheeks heat up even more.

“Her obviously!” Maxwell said, his voice heightening an octave and you burst out into a fit of laughter.

“Okay,” you agreed and gave Dave a tug on his dick. “Change positions.”

Still hard, Dave padded over to the end of the bed and Maxwell knelt next to you.

“You’re so big Maxie,” you hummed, wrapping your fingers around the base of his cock and starting to jerk him off slowly. Your pace was teasing, but Maxwell didn’t press you to go further. He knew you would in your own time. The nickname ‘Maxie’ had the blonde haired man throb in your hands and you giggled, pressing a sweet kiss to his tip.

Dave turned around from the bed for just a second, and opened the bottom drawer of your dresser. He knew you kept a box of very special toys underneath all your panties, since he was the one who had bought them for you in the first place. Opening the velvet black box, he sighed in delight, reflecting on all the different things he could use.

Dave took out a pair of padded handcuffs and presented them to both you and Maxwell, the metal chain dangling before your eyes. He passed the cuffs to Max and pointed his finger.

“Tie her to the bed. It’ll keep her still while I fuck her.” Dave ordered and you felt your pussy clench around nothing as you anticipated what was to come.

“Are you alright with this?” Max leaned into you and whispered, wanting to be sure. His hot breath fanned over your earlobe and it sent a shiver down to your core. You nodded your head ‘yes’ and Maxwell unclicked the cuffs before carefully attaching them to your wrists, and then the bars of your headboard. You wiggled around, getting comfortable before spreading your legs wide for Dave.

You already felt yourself becoming increasingly sensitive from when you’d just come from Max’s tongue, but countless experiences with Dave meant that you could go at least another two or three times.

“Shit baby,” Dave muttered under his breath, drinking in the sight of you. Your folds were glistening and it was clear that Max’s thick finger had already stretched you open quite a bit. “You’re beautiful.”

“Come on and fuck me,” you moaned before turning to face Max again.

This entire time you’d been stroking his length, and like a good boy, he’d just been taking it. But Max had asked for a blow job and that was exactly what he was going to receive.

You started by giving him small kitten licks along his slit, collecting his salty precum on your tongue. You had to admit, he tasted delicious. He was thick though, thicker than Dave, and you managed to wrap your lips around just his head before feeling the need to take a moment to let your mouth adjust.

As you sucked on his tip, part of you wished that you weren’t cuffed to the bed. You would have brought your free hand down to the base of his cock and begin to cradle his balls, squeezing them and tracing your fingers along the skin there. The guttural whimpers that escaped Max’s throat were enough to soak your cunt again, which was just as well when you started to feel the bulbous head of Dave’s cock teasingly slide between your pussy lips.

The shock when Dave slid his entire length inside of you came without a warning, and somehow, it got you to open your mouth even wider so you could fit more of Max into your mouth. You supposed it all worked out.

The sound of the chain clanking against the metal bed frame filled the room as Dave began to thrust his cock in and out of you, his movements fast and rough just like always. He pulled your legs over his head, giving him complete access to sink himself right into you. You wanted to scream as he filled you up, his cock brushing against that sweet spot he had memorised inside of you every damn time.

Instead, you forced yourself to keep your cool and continued sucking off Max. You made the effort to open your eyes and look up at the boy who you had wrapped around your lips. His once styled hair was now disheveled and falling into his face, and you had to fight the urge to push it back. His chocolate brown eyes were on Dave though as he watched the man fuck you fast and hard. Dave’s pace was bruising and you knew that you wouldn’t last long.

Dave could tell you were close by the way your pussy walls clenched around him, aching to milk him of his seed.

“Want me to cum inside of you, pretty girl?” Dave asked, and you nodded your head desperately. 

“Jesus-- fuck!” Max gasped, his large ring clad hands coming down to hold your head in place. 

“You gonna cum down her throat, Lord?” Dave quizzed, but there was almost a taunting nature to his question that Max didn’t like one bit.

Getting a few more sucks out of you, Max doubled back and pulled himself out of your mouth completely, depriving himself of his own orgasm. You were surprised to say the least.

“You could’ve-- fuck-- you could’ve cum down my throat,” you moaned as Dave leaned over your fully exposed body and thrusted harder. “I would’ve let you.”

But Maxwell’s eyes had caught focused on the velvet black box Dave had left out. Curiously, he wandered over to it and took a look at the contents for himself.

While Max was momentarily absent, Dave made it his mission to get you to cum again. He brought his thumb down to your clit and began to rub tight circles into your sensitive bundle of nerves. You were so wet, the noises that were coming from your cunt were obscene and if you weren’t already so comfortable around Dave, you might have been embarrassed. His thrusts became sloppy and erratic as he started to chase his own high.

He knew that the second you came, the second your perfect pussy tightened around his cock, he’d spill inside of you. So that was his goal.

Maxwell familiarized himself with a small bullet vibrator, silver in colour, and switched it on. The buzzing noise alerted both you and Dave, your heads snapping to face him. Dave halted in his movements and you couldn’t hide the way your lips curled into a grin, seeing Max with the vibrator in his hand.

“Come here and untie me,” you requested of Max. Max gulped and removed the handcuffs from your wrists. You rubbed the skin where they’d been gripping you and took the vibrator from Max. “Have you ever used one of these before?”

“Huh?” Max asked, furrowing his eyebrows together. He’d initially planned on using it with you. Holding it against your clit while Dave fucked you.

You giggled and held the vibrator to the tip of Max’s cock. The vibrations ran through his body and his eyes snapped shut as the pleasure consumed him. How come he’d never thought of trying this before? It felt so good.

Dave resumed fucking you and now, with your free hands, it meant you could stroke Maxwell’s cock. The combination of the vibrator and your hand was enough to send Maxwell over the edge.

He came, all over your face, his milky white seed spurting out. His load was impressively big and you opened your mouth wide for him, hoping to at least taste some of it.

After that, it was like a chain reaction. Once Max had finished, the feeling of his warm cum dripping down your skin sent you into a frenzy and you came around Dave, your walls clenching around his manhood. The feeling of you gripping him tighter than a vice meant that on Dave’s final thrust, he spilled inside of you, just like he wanted. The heat of Max’s cum on your face and the warmth of Dave’s cum fill you up felt amazing. You laid there, panting and breathless, wondering how you had ever gotten so lucky.

You tossed the vibrator to one side and extended your arms, pulling Max down on top of you and pressing a sweet kiss to your lips. “Was that okay?” you asked him, and he nodded his head, unable to hide the grin across his lips.

“Never done anything like that before,” Max admitted bashfully. “But I’d like to do it again.”

Helping Maxwell explore his sexuality like this could be really fun, you thought. You cupped your hands around his cheeks and he nudged his nose against yours. The intimacy between you both was outstanding and you loved every second of it.

“Good,” you smiled. “By the way, that’s Dave. He’s uhm.. I watch his kids.” 

Maxwell looked back over at Dave who was tidying up the little black toybox. “Hi.” Dave mumbled awkwardly.

You shot your employer a glare. “Really Dave? You just fucked the shit out of me in front of Max, and now you’re gonna be all weird with him?”

Maxwell reluctantly pulled away from you, stifling a laugh before putting his clothes back on. 

“You can uh, stay the night. If you like,” Dave offered. “It’s late and I’m sure you don’t wanna wake your kid up.”

Maxwell scratched the back of his head as he contemplated Dave’s comment. He made a good point. “I can take the couch?” Max asked. “I really don’t want to intrude.”

“Don’t be silly,” you smiled, interlocking your fingers with his and pulling him back over to your bed. “You can sleep with me… if you’d like.” 

And boy did Maxwell like the sound of that. “Do you uh-- do you sleep with her? I mean. Besides her?” Max asked Dave.

“He never sleeps next to me,” you replied for him. “Prefers to sleep alone like the cold man he is.”

“Whatever,” Dave sighed. “I’m going to bed. Night.” 

You rolled your eyes and blew Dave a kiss goodnight before turning back to Maxwell and pulling him back down onto the bed. You worked at the buttons of his shirt and pulled the expensive material off his broad shoulders.

“Is he… married?” Maxwell asked you nervously.

“Why? You interested?” you asked, a joking lilt to your voice, but Max just scowled. “No,” you told him. “His wife uh-- went missing a while ago. Before I worked here. She was presumed dead. Sometimes I think Dave killed her.” you scoffed incredulously and Maxwell’s jaw stood agape.

“Are you serious?” he asked and you laughed.

“No, I don’t think so,” you said, swatting his arm playfully. “Dave can be cold, and rough. But behind that mean face he’s actually a good guy. A good father.”

Maxwell nodded knowingly. “Well that’s good then.” he mumbled. It was so easy to compare himself to other dads out there, knowing he’d never be good enough for Alistair.

“Are you okay?” you asked Max, smoothing out his dark blonde hair and kissing his jaw softly.

“Yeah, of course,” Maxwell reassured you, suddenly flashing one of his famous, charming television grins. He picked the bullet vibrator up and twiddled it between his fingers. “What do you think about going for a round two?” he smirked. “Just us. And maybe this time I can use this on you?”

You smiled, roaming your hands along his soft chest. “I like that idea.” you whispered wantonly before attaching your lips to his and pulling him on top of you.

You liked Dave. He knew his way around your body, he knew how to make you feel good and safe. But Maxwell came with feelings. He was attentive and affectionate, things you’d never had in a sexual relationship before. You were excited to see where things went between you two.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

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[smolcobie]

Hyunjae | Butterfly Effect

↪ Summary: After a dangerous fire, Hyunjae is unable to hide his feelings for you.

Word Count: 3,5k

Warnings: Suggestive | Fire | Friends To Lovers | Heavy Making Out

Genre: Hyunjae x Reader | HYUNJAE FIREFIGHTER AU | Female Reader

Dedicated to my fav deobi friend @santacruz-sand​ <3

Human beings are known for their daily mistakes. We used to say that every day we make a mistake, some don't make that much difference, others can change the course of your life, better known as the butterfly effect. Each action has its reaction, gradually shaping the path you will take in life.

Some say that this is fate, that no matter how much you try to escape, it will happen. Others prefer to believe that you create your own destiny. I didn't believe in any of these theories, in fact, I always preferred to think that it is easier to do your best every day than to be disappointed by the path you took because you thought that this was your destiny after all.

The greatest example that my theory was real, was seeing how my best friend lived. Every single day he left early, before the sun came up, and came back when it was night. Being a firefighter required perfection in his form, discipline, punctuality, courage to face his fears, and a lot of willingness to risk his own life for the benefit of society.

I watched him cautiously, analyzing his ways and manners. The way he slammed the gate hard to make sure it was locked, or how he sighed and gave a silly smile when he managed to do something he liked, but what I liked most was the way he struggled every day to cheer people's lives.

- ▪︎ -

"[NAME], do your best every day and no one will have the courage to speak ill of the way you live." He said with his red cheeks and heavy eyes from the soju he drank.

"What are you talking about? I live very well, you're the one who lives next to my house and keeps risking your life." I laughed, fixing up his fringe that was messy "You're already starting to get drunk, let's go home." I got up pulling on his shirt and he made a weeping face.

"[NAME], why are you so mean to me?" He said slyly and I lifted him up with all my strength hugging him around the waist "Hyunjae, come on, you need to rest." He sighed and started walking making a pout on his lips.

"Stop pouting, you know you need to rest. You work a lot and when you take a break you want to drink soju and philosophize about life with me." I commented while walking down the dark street.

"But you are my best friend, you have to listen to me." I laughed at his comment "If you paid me I could even quit my job, after all, listening to you is all I do." "That's why I love you." He chuckled and put his head on my shoulder as I opened the door to his house, after entering the password.

"I love you too, so go to sleep." I tossed him on the bed and he smiled happily hugging his soft pillow.

- ▪︎ -

It was almost always like this. Hyunjae coming to my house to vent about life, I laugh while making some cards to post on my Instagram and the company. Being a calligraphy artist was a happy part of my life, being able to decorate bookstores, houses, gifts was something that gave me the strength to live.

Hyunjae was such an essential part of my life, that I only realized when our mutual friend asked why we lived so close to each other. My first thought was to think that it would be easier to go out, have fun and talk. My second thought was that I was completely in love with him, and I didn't want to admit it.

It was complicated, an old love that I knew had no way out, but nothing was going to change because I couldn't find any nice guys. I lived with Hyunjae and I had already accepted my condition. Romance went from something I dreamed of as a teenager, to something I value as an adult, but not as much as my sanity.

It was easier to live with Hyunjae than having to go on blind dates with bizarre guys that our friend Sunwoo arranged (probably from the deep web). And I keep ignoring my feelings, being inspired by its way of life.

That day was more beautiful than usual. The sun was shining brightly, the sky was clear and blue, the traffic seemed calm and the weather was perfect for an outdoor meeting, perhaps a date in the park. The subway was surprisingly empty, although it was very early, and I was completely rested.

It seemed like the perfect working day. I had made many cards at the company, sent some orders by mail, and placed new orders for a major literature event that would take place at the company. Lunch was great and our boss was in a good mood telling stories from when she was in college.

The day had gone well, my colleagues finished their jobs earlier than expected so we were able to go out early and eat fried chicken in a new restaurant near the company. I returned home happy and completely shocked at how perfect my day had been.

I got home and changed my shoes. I took a relaxing bath while listening to the news of the day through my radio hanging from the bathroom sink.

"URGENT NEWS! THERE IS A FIRE IN A BUSINESS BUILDING LOCATED IN THE GANGNAM REGION, MANY ARE THREATENING TO JUMP THROUGH THE WINDOWS. SOURCES CONFIRM THAT THE FIRE STARTED BY THE BAD WIRING THAT HAS NOT BEEN CORRECTLY REPLACED. THE FIREFIGHTERS HAVE JUST ARRIVED AND ARE PREPARING TO RELEASE THE PLACE AND REMOVE SURVIVORS. ”

I immediately turned off the shower, drying myself quickly, putting on any clothes, and going to the living room to turn on the TV and see the news.

All the channels were talking about the fire. It even seemed ironic, as I had a great day, and now a building near my company was on fire, and I had to see desperate people on the TV screen.

My heart stopped and my eyes lit up when I recognized Hyunjae running away with a long sheet and other men helping him from afar. This was apparently what he was supposed to do, try to stay calm and help people in a tragedy that could cost their lives.

“FIREFIGHTERS MOBILIZED QUICKLY AND SURVIVORS ARE GETTING TO THE GROUND SAFELY. THE FIRE HAS BEEN CONTROLLED AND WE HAVE NO NEWS FROM ANY VICTIMS IN SERIOUS STATE UNTIL THE MOMENT-” The woman turned and the cameraman filmed Hyunjae leaving the scene with a woman unconscious in his arms “THIS YOUNG BRAVE MAN REMOVED THE LAST VICTIM FROM THE LOCATION. AMBULANCE HAS ARRIVED AND WILL TREAT EVERYONE IMMEDIATELY. ”

I closed my fists tightly, my mouth dried and my heart sped up. Hyunjae had entered that burning building, risking his life, to save another one.

The fire subsided until it was extinguished. Reporters were still talking about how the police were already investigating everything and how fortunately no lives were lost and the victims had only minor injuries. I sighed with relief and sent a message to Hyunjae, congratulating him, but mostly asking how he was doing.

Me:

[Are you okay? I just saw it all on TV, I'm so worried!]

[I am proud of you, you were amazing.]

[I hope you're all right, send a message when you see this.]

Received.

I sighed and laid down on my bed covering my eyes trying to remember that he was fine.

"Nothing happened."

"Hyunjae is fine. No need to worry."

I was trying to convince myself that he was fine, alive, and doing his job, but my heart couldn't calm down. I decided to take a light tranquilizer and lie down again.

Maybe he would answer me in the morning, I would wait patiently and everything would be fine.

I turned on some drama on TV while I was busy watching cute animals on Youtube to pass the time. After a few hours and having a quick nap, I was surprised by the ringing of my cell phone and saw that it was Hyunjae.

I got up and answered quickly.

“Hyunjae ?! Are you okay? Where are you?" I hurried over and felt him give a tired laugh on the other end of the phone.

“I'm outside your house, please open it for me. It's a little cold here. ” He made a little joke like he always does, maybe, trying to calm my worried mood.

"Okay, I'll be right back." I hung up the phone and ran out to the door.

I opened the door feeling my heart racing, my joints tingling from suddenly getting up and automatically everything calmed down when I saw his face.

He had his bangs glued to his forehead, his face was dirty with some ash. He still had his work uniform on and was holding some bandages probably bought from the pharmacy near our homes.

"I came for you to heal me." He gave a sarcastic smile as I felt relief wash over my entire body.

"Come on, staying in this serene is bad." I pulled him inside, locking the door and putting his usual shoe in the doorway.

"Unfortunately I bought anything I saw at the pharmacy, so I hope you help me, I'm deadly tired." He started talking quietly trying to hide how he was shaken by that night.

"Hyunjae... are you okay?" I asked seeing him sitting on a chair in the kitchen taking off his uniform, leaving only the standard white blouse and pants.

"Yeah." He said dryly biting his lip and looking away. The habit he made when he lied.

"Stop lying to me." I walked towards him crossing my arms “If you were really well, you would have gone home, answered on your cell phone, and slept in peace."

He sighed and looked at me with a look that made my whole body tremble. He looked scared, anxious, but mostly nervous about something.

"What is it?" I touched his cheek and he sighed, closing his eyes and leaning into my hand.

"I almost lost my mind today." He stood up scratching the back of his neck with a choked voice as if he were about to cry.

"What do you mean?" He looked at me so sincerely that I felt my heart soften.

"We were on the traffic patrol when we heard the call." He laughed, but it was sad. "When they said the address, and I realized it was on the same street as your job, I despaired."

My eyes flew open and he sat on the edge of the couch burying his fingers in his dirty, messy hair.

“I thought you could be there and I lost it. When I got there, all I could think about was you.” I approached and realized that in fact, his eyes were watery "I know I should be concerned with other people, but I could only think ‘What if it is her building? What if she is there? What if she is in danger? What if I can't save her?’ And I went into eternal despair.”

I felt my heart racing so fast it could come out of my mouth.

"I-I didn't care if other people were hurt, as long as you were fine..." He looked at me and I felt a huge urge to hold his face "And it scares me. The way I was afraid of losing you and I couldn't think rationally, on the professional side.”

I sat next to him listening to everything he had to say.

"Hyunjae, anyone would feel the same way, you don't have to feel guilty about it." I wiped away his tears and held his cheeks in the palm of my hands "I would have done the same, thinking about you all the time."

He gave a smile sniffing before holding my hands.

"But it's different this time." He said before looking into my eyes with an invisible force that made me nervous "I thought nothing would make sense if I didn't have you by my side."

I took a deep breath trying to follow his argument.

"I don't want to lose you." He whispered as if it were a forbidden confession "You are the most important person in the whole world to me." He touched my cheek with the palm of his hand "You know that, don't you?" He swallowed hard, leaning his forehead against mine.

I took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair.

"I know Hyunjae, you are also the most special person for me." I said seeing how he had relaxed a little more "Now get up, you need to take a shower and put bandages on these cuts."

I stood up first, but I felt his hand close to my fist. He was taller than me, not so much, but his body was so strong that it made me feel small around him.

"What? Come on, you're very tired. ” I took the lead before I felt him pulling me again.

"[NAME]." He said hoarsely as I studied his face curiously.

Hyunjae was too different that night.

“What is it Hyunjae? Your face is dirty, you need to take a shower. ” I touched my hips trying to understand what he wanted.

Hyunjae approached pulling my wrist towards him before giving a kiss there.

"Come with me." He said making me petrified on the spot.

"W-WHAT?!" I asked nervously as I felt my heart pound so loudly that I was afraid he might hear "I-That's not funny, Hyunjae."

He released my fist and pulled me by the hip, staring deep into my eyes.

"I'm not kidding." I felt a shiver down my back when he admitted it wasn't a joke or a friend flirt "I got tired of pretending I don't feel anything for you."

I couldn't say anything, I was too shocked to reply.

“[NAME], you are the most important person to me and I don't want to live any longer having to treat you just like a best friend.” He touched my chin and raised my gaze to his “Please, be honest with me. Am I just a best friend to you? ”

I felt his gaze enter my soul and I knew I had no way to lie anymore, this was the only chance I would have to admit what I feel.

"No." I swallowed and stared at his mouth, which formed a small smile of satisfaction.

It was amazing the effect that Hyunjae had on me. Even if I wanted to run away, I wouldn't be able to lie because it was already obvious from the way I act.

"Great." I felt my stomach churn when I felt his left hand hold me tighter as his right landed on my cheek, making his thumb touch my chin, caressing it. "I hope you don't mind this."

"Mind wha—" I could barely finish the question and I felt his lips on mine.

I pulled away unintentionally from the shock and looked into his eyes that seemed to be staring at me with an indescribable fire. I swallowed and felt my heart racing as he just smirked sideways, as if he knew what I was thinking.

He approached me slowly, touching our noses and I closed my eyes feeling his breath warm my face. I felt my face heat up and my palms sweat when his lips brushed against mine again. I held on to his white blouse with the rest of my strength and waited for Hyunjae to close the distance that bothered me so much.

I felt his hand move and his fingers pulled my chin down, opening my mouth that was closed by shock. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding and felt him laugh through his nose before wetting my bottom lip with his tongue lightly, kissing me gently.

I lifted my hands to his hair where I pulled slightly, feeling my back against the bathroom door. Hyunjae took a quick breath, trying desperately to open the bathroom door, trying not to break the kiss.

I opened my eyes after Hyunjae got rid of me, feeling my heart stop at the sight of him focused on trying to open the bathroom door. His face was flushed, but his ears seemed to burn at how red they were. His dark eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth was pink and inviting.

"Aish." Hyunjae said finally opening the bathroom making me smile slightly.

I held on to his blouse when I almost tripped over my own rug and Hyunjae grabbed my waist with his arm. He gave me a shy smile before leaning his body against mine, making me even more nervous.

His fingers played with the old buttons on my wool blouse. I held his neck intoxicating myself by his smell invading my senses. I felt a shiver down my spine when his fingers touched my skin gently, as if it were the most expensive porcelain that should be handled with care.

Hyunjae started the shower making me more and more nervous. He pushed me with some force making my back touch the tile on the cold wall of the bathroom. I felt his wet abdomen touching mine and tried to take his shirt off awkwardly making him laugh with amusement.

I looked into his eyes feeling my cheeks flush hard as I held his necklace in my hand. I smirked when I realized it was the gift I had given them for his last birthday. It was a sun necklace that was completed with another necklace, which was mine and was shaped like a moon.

I used to say that he was the sun that lit up my life and that reflected in me. I didn't expect him to wear it every day, because he is so critical of his clothes and his style, so I was surprised when I saw the jewel on his soft, wide collarbone.

"I-I like that necklace." He justified himself by making me smile as I felt my hair gradually get wet from the shower water.

I caressed his cheeks, removing all the dust and ashes from his face. He closed his eyes as I carefully wiped his face by raising my hands to his hair. My stomach churned when I kissed the corner of his jaw and he let out a long breath squeezing my waist.

"I like you." I confessed by kissing his neck, stroking his hair "Really."

"N-Noona." He said slyly in my ear making me smile. He only called me Noona when he was embarrassed "Don't do this to me."

"What?" I asked, acting like I didn't get his thoughts while looking at his beautiful body in front of me. I moved my hands down his chest feeling my whole body softening and looked him in the eyes hoping he understood the message I wanted to convey.

"You know." He responded by pinning me to the wall as he fiddled with the buttons on his pants, leaning his forehead against mine, chuckling through his nose.

I hugged him feeling slightly embarrassed when I felt him take off my bra and toss it on any floor in the bathroom. I closed my eyes tightly as I felt his lips kiss my neck slowly and lovingly.

"[NAME] ..." He sighed and kissed my collarbone "I-I know you like romantic guys, but the last thing I want to do now is to be patient and romantic with you."

I felt my whole body tremble and my thoughts were confused.

"I-Is this okay with you?" He asked suspiciously and I nodded, unable to speak, "Are you sure?"

I just answered him by kissing him again. He returned it immediately, deepening the kiss, holding me in his strong arms.

So, I closed my eyes and just let all those feelings accumulated from so long being satisfied without thinking about anything else.

- ▪︎ -

The truth was that love could come from anywhere, from a friendship for years, from a complete stranger, from a colleague at work or college. There are no limits to define where love should be born.

For Hyunjae and you, it was born out of years of extreme care. An affection that could not be limited by friendship, and by the undeniable attraction you felt for each other. There are people who spend years like this without the courage to declare themselves.

At that moment, a questioning is born within you. What if you hadn't declared yourself that night? What if you had run away? Hyunjae would probably walk away and leave your house feeling his heart broken. You weren't going to have the happy ending you wanted, and you could probably lose a precious friendship.

Ultimately, the butterfly effect has been proven and you should admit that your best 'mistake' was to have overcome your fear and admitted your senses. His best 'mistake' was sleeping with his best friend.

The question that remains is: Was that your destiny, or just the butterfly effect?

Ultimately, none of that mattered, because you both loved each other deeply.

▪︎

▪︎

MASTERLIST

[everysongineverykey]

I'M DONE. HERE. TAKE THESE CHAPTER 2 THOUGHTS AND RUN, BABY.

so i'll try to go in order here. uhhhh... there's a LOT i have to say. first: toriel giggling sprite my beloved

on that note, ALL THE NEW SUSIE SPRITES MY BELOVEDS

NOELLE YOU'RE SO GAY. I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY JUST BECAUSE I TOLD HER TO IN CHAPTER ONE BUT SHE GAVE SUSIE THE LUNCHBOX FULL OF CHALK!! I LOVE ITTTT

ralsei's, uh... kinda sus. the whole "recruiting" thing REALLY sketches me out. and he looks kinda... smug, all the time, like he knows what's going on.

LANCER JOINED! ROUXLS JOINED EVEN THOUGH NO ONE WANTED THAT! STARWALKER JOINED, TO EVERYONE'S JOY!

LIBRARY PORTALLLL

so before i entered the city there was that pre-city area? that looked very much like the city? except it had different music? and i thought they'd cut welcome to the city and i was SEVERELY disappointed. but then they didn't! just something i wanted to mention

NOELLE!!

throughout this game i went from despising berdly to feeling bad for him to not really liking him again, but not hating him as much as before. he'd better stay the fuck away from susie though

the queen is the best villain. she's the kind you love to hate! she's literally so funny AND her boss battle is actually tough (rip to the king but he just. wasn't a formidable enemy at all lol)

THE GANG CHARLIE BROWN DANCING TO WIN A FIGHT! SUSIE GAINING THE POWER TO ACT THROUGH SHEER FORCE OF WILL! SUSIE FORCING RALSEI TO LEARN TO ACT EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN'T WANT TO! THAT ENTIRE BATTLE WAS AMAZING! THE "BATTLE WON" END DANCING SEQUENCE! GOING INSANE GOING INSANE

the puzzles in this chapter were genuinely really impressive! i especially loved the word search puzzles and the ice-ee undertale word search reference💙

that being said. the mouse puzzles were SO fucking infuriating. i caused poor noelle a LOT of grief with those and i feel bad.

SPEAKING OF NOELLE!! the scene where she and kris are walking through the puzzle, the one that spells "december", and she's talking about when they were kids, how she loved sneaking out? beautiful. the cinnamon tography <3 also i guessed dess's full name was december a while ago and while i guess it was obvious, it's nice to have that confirmed!

also, i love that susie and ralsei are real friends in this chapter! he taught her a healing spell!!

ugh. fucking berdly. so smug and pretentious. i love queen's desire to be as far away from him as possible though

i also like his backstory. it gives his behavior, even if it's still annoying, at least some context. i get the feeling of feeling like if you're not smart, people will forget about you, and that's scary.

ALSO ALSO. GAMER BERDLY. LITERALLY EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT IS PERFECT. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE A GAMER!" "i only play mobile games, berdly." "NOOOOOO!" like i ADORE that

anyways. time for me to talk about the only thing that matters in this world: suselle. i mean, did the gays win in this chapter or DID THE GAYS WIN IN THIS CHAPTER?? THEY RODE A HEART-COVERED FERRIS WHEEL AND HAD A HEARTFELT, TENSION-FILLED CONVERSATION!

"did you ever wonder why the real susie never picked on you? well, maybe it's because... when you were both new to class, you lent her one of your pencils, like... maybe a dumb one with candy canes on it or something, and... even though it didn't actually taste like candy, she... remembered your smile." okay god thanks toby it's not like i needed my heart or anything

SERIOUSLY. TOBY "i'm gonna give the gays everything they want" FOX IS BACK WITH ANOTHER BANGER LADS

QUEEN'S BOSS BATTLE! ACTUALLY TOUGH, UNLIKE KING'S! AND GIGA QUEEN! I'M GOING INSANE THAT WAS SO SICK AND SO HARD

the way my heart BROKE when lancer turned to stone good god thank GOD our boy's okay

AND ROUXLS KAARD IN HIS PIRATE DUCK!! WITH HIS LITTLE HAT! DEMANDING THE QUEEN MAKE HIM BUTLER SUPREMETH! I LOVE HIM MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF

also!! kris and ralsei's little moment on the swan boat💙 i wasn't a kralsei shipper before but uh... that may be starting to change

it's hard because ralsei's still suspicious but at the same time i love him and want him to be happy. i don't know how to feel

also, if darkners outside of their dark worlds turn to stone after a while, why didn't ralsei? that's, uhhh... VERY sus. very weird. mr fox i need ANSWERS

WE FINALLY HAVE A WAY TO SAVE AFTER WE'VE FINISHED MOST OF THE EPILOGUE LADS. REJOICE!!

seriously the thing that peeved me about ch1 was that the last save point was on the battle stage and if i wanted to play the epilogue again, i had to. do that entire battle all over. BUT NOW THAT'S BEEN FIXED!!

UNDYNE AND ALPHYS HAVE MET UNDYNE AND ALPHYS HAVE MET THIS IS NOT A DRILL UNDYNE GAVE HER A BOX OF CANDIES EVERYBODY SHUT UP THEY'RE IN LOVE ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD

ALSO! NEAR THE BEGINNING! I FORGOT TO MENTION THE LITTLE WHITE DOG DOING DONUTS IN A TOY RACE CAR AND BACKING UP TRAFFIC! THANK YOU LITTLE WHITE DOG!

on that note: "looks like a car. this one has a man in it. he waves at you happily." AND THEN THE MAN'S GONE??? HEY TOBY???

ALSO. THE SEGMENT WHERE THE ANNOYING DOG HELPS US FIND THE KEY THROUGH THE POWER OF WANTON DESTRUCTION. THE BEST PLOT DEVICE!

TORIEL TEACHING SUSIE TO MAKE PIE STOP ITTTTT

and yes yes i KNOW kris slashed toriel's tires. that was extremely troubling. but THEY MADE PIE TOGETHER!!

"leave the chalk alone, kris" TORIEL!!

sans and toriel making egg puns and asgore running in and going "don't forget me, your eggs-husband!" is the FUNNIEST sitcom moment type thing ever. GOD.

on the other hand sans let me meet your brother god dammit i'll kill you

METTATONNNNNNN

RUDY... "who got you these flowers?" "is it weird for a married man to get flowers?" "so your wife did?" "oh, no! kris's dad did!" "...not even gonna try to understand this..." TOBY STOP ITTTT YOU'RE GIVING THE ASGORUDY SHIPPERS FALSE HOPE. YOU KNOW YOU'RE JUST GONNA KILL RUDY. YOU'RE JUST RUBBING SALT IN THE WOUND!

NUBERT! MY MAN!

seeing kris repeatedly they-themmed by multiple characters makes me so happy <3 poor kid... "college summer vacation when" "you opened the door with your eyes closed. you saw nothing" kris....

KRIS...

fucking. BLACK FOG STORM IN THE LIVING ROOM KRIS STOP IT. HOW'RE THEY GONNA REVEAL THIS WAS INNOCENT? THE KNIFE IN CHAPTER ONE WAS EASY BUT HOW WILL THEY EXPLAIN THIS

the staticy tv appearing in the dark and a toothy smile slowly fading into view in the center and lingering there ominously for far too long >>>>>>> every hollywood horror movie ever god. GOD

snowy and monster kid checking out the red door. implying there's something in there. something that kris knows about. knowing we won't get any more deltarune content for 5+ years does NOT fill me with determination

also. gaster's symbolic theme being mus_smile. and the final image in the game being a smile. god. gaster's COMING lads.

onionsan hears a song at night... a familiar song... memory, perhaps? or maybe a certain... four-note arpeggio that's hidden in a sound test room in undertale? who knows? guess we'll just have to wait for chapters 3/4/5.

this concludes my ramblings for now, but don't get it twisted- this is FAR from the last post i'll make about ch2. this whole chapter was absolutely amazing! brilliant! showstopping!! i'm genuinely soooo super impressed and excited for the chapter 3/4/5 bundle!!!

[samuel-de-champagne-problems]

Blurb #9

Pairing- Spencer Reid x Female Reader

CW- none

Author’s Note- this comes from this ask by @leahblackk thanks so much for this love!! it was so much fun to write 💛 also sorry if it looks a little wonky I’m on mobile!!

Word Count— 2K (not really a blurb)

-

Studies show that the music we listen to at 14 years old is the most influential on our personality and development. Naturally, there’s some exceptions to this. Spencer, for one, tended to listen to classical music or the Beach Boys records his mother had around the house as a teenager. He still can’t listen to jazz without the bittersweet memories of Ethan coming back to haunt him. His music taste, in his opinion, didn’t really develop until Derek made him listen to his CDs on rides during their commute.

It wasn’t until he met his neighbor, Y/N that he learned just how impactful music can be on someone’s life. Spencer, despite Derek and Penelope’s efforts, doesn’t really enjoy modern music. There’s one expectation to that though: Y/N. Everytime she drags him over for late night dinners and movie nights, she always ends up putting a Taylor Swift album on her vintage record player. It’s like a ritual that either comforts her, hypes her up, or softens her heartbreak. Through the months that they’ve been friends, Spencer’s come to enjoy the music nights. There’s something about the way that she sings about love and life that is so familiar to Spencer. The day he realized, it hit him like a ton of bricks. Y/N makes all those magical, heartwarming, Taylor Swift songs make sense.

So everytime he goes over to her apartment, before he knocks he’ll listen for the music. It’s hard to not let his profiling instincts kick when he does this. Thanks to his eidetic memory, Spencer can recognize any of the songs with only a couple seconds of the lyrics.

On a sunny Monday, Spencer listens closely for the record player. He can hear the upbeat, dance tunes of New Romantics. Okay, he thinks. If Y/N is listening to that song, she’s probably happy. So he knocks on the door, a big smile on his face ready to listen to the happiest Taylor Swift songs with the girl he’s pining for and try not to reveal just how much he wants her to love him back.

“Spence! Come on, we’re dancing” Y/N shouts loudly above the music. Spencer doesn’t want to burst her bubble by telling her he doesn’t dance, so he takes her hand and dances his heart away.

In between the jumpy and laughter the song shifts. Y/N must be playing it from her Alexa because the next song is from a different album, Paper Rings comes on next. A song dedicated to the kind of love that probably makes the most sense to Spencer. He’d marry Y/N without any kind of ring- and that’s a terrifying thought.

“I love this song!” Y/N says, closing her eyes and dancing wildly, “You like this one too, right Spence?” she says above the loud music.

Spencer, unable to fully articulate how much he loves this song, decides to grab Y/N by the hand and twirl her around and around. She’s laughing and smiling, happy as she could be. Spencer’s thoughts shift from how beautiful she looks, to how easy this is. How simple loving her could be, but how hard telling her is.

The music slows, turning to Lover, a song that Spencer has dreamt of dancing with Y/N to on a white veiled occasion several times. This must be her happy playlist, Spencer thinks as she pull him close. They’re slow dancing and if Spencer closes his eyes and quiets his mind, he can trick himself into thinking she loves him back. Afterall she holds him like she does.

“I like this one the best,” Spencer whispers, his eyes still closed as he and Y/N sway to the beat of the song, “It’s comforting,” he explains.

“It’s a good wedding song,” Y/N says, resting her head against his shoulder, “like a first dance song,”

“It is,” Spencer says, “It’s actually in the proper beats per second to be a waltz, which is a common dance for a traditional first dance at a wedding,”

“Yeah,” Y/N says, pulling herself in closer to Spencer as she pets small circles into his soft cardigan. The spot where she touches leaves her mark; his heart has belonged to her for awhile now, but Spencer’s ready to give her whatever else she wants, “but dancing like this is also very nice,”

“Hmm,” Spencer says, not trusting himself to say anything else. The music switches again, and Spencer knows the song, probably before even Y/N. Dress comes on and Spencer really isn’t sure how he’ll get through listening to the sultry song that croons about pining after your best friend. Part of him seriously thinks he’s being stalked, because those songs perfectly encapsulate his love and his admiration for the girl next door.

“Oh, I got asked out on a date,” Y/N says, seemingly shocking Spencer out of his daydream, “at the coffee shop. His name is John, he seems nice,” she tells him, sounding a little nervous.

“That’s great, Y/N,” Spencer says, trying to put on a smile for his best friend, but fails to do so, “I’m happy for you,”

“Well it’s, you know. I think I just need to put myself out there and stop waiting around for my wild dreams to come true. Because after all your wildest dreams are just that, dreams,” she says, a little sadly.

“Call me after, Y/N, just to make sure you get home safe,” Spencer requests, he squeezes her hand, in what he hopes can be seen as a friendly gesture, despite him not wanting to let go.

“Of course, Mr. FBI,” Y/N teases, “Alexa, shut up! Hey, Spence, you want to order pizza. It’s been like a week since I watch Long Pond and I’ve got that itch that only listening to This Is Me Trying while stuffing my face with pizza and white wine can fix,”

“Sure, Y/N,” Spencer says, smiling through his heartbreak. He tries to not let Y/N see the tears that prickle in the corners of his eyes when the 1 comes on. It would have been fun, if he could have been Y/N’s “1”. Even in heartbreak, Taylor Swift can capture exactly what Spencer feels.

--

He almost didn’t bother checking by her apartment because he knew it’s her date with Jake or John, or whatever his name was. Spencer’s not a man to get jealous, he knows that Y/N doesn’t owe him her love just because he loves her. He knows that, but that doesn’t lessen the hurt of her falling for someone other than him.

As he walks by, Spencer’s ears catch the music coming from her apartment. He hears the unrecognizable twangy strum of the guitar and knows it’s going to be back news. Without thinking, Spencer rumages into his pocket, looking for his spare key to Y/N’s apartment. He unlocks the door and is greeted by Y/N’s cat, August, meowing at the door.

“Where’s our girl?” Spencer says, picking up the cat as he slips off his shoes, “hey, Y/N. It’s Spencer. I heard the music and I just thought I’d check in. I thought you were going out on your date?” he asks, finding Y/N curled up on the couch, with piles of tissues littered around her.

“Please, Spence. I’m a mess. I don’t want anyone to see me like this, especially you,” Y/N tells him, mopping her eyes up and petting her lap for August to jump up.

“Hey, hey, honey. You don’t have to worry about being a mess in front of me, I already think you’re amazing,” Spencer says, softly. He tries to gracefully avoid the spoiled tissues, he might be in love with Y/N, but he’s not in love with her used tissues.

“He-he stood me up,” Y/N stutters as a new wave of tears floods her face. Spencer leans over, shutting Alexa off. The sorrow, regretful tunes of Dear John turn off, leaving Spencer with the thought that it probably was an appropriate song to choose.

“I don’t even know why I try any more, Spence” she says, leaning into his body as he puts a comforting and protective arm around her upper half, “it’s useless. I’m doomed to be alone,”

“That’s not true, Y/N,” Spencer says, mumbling into her hair, “not at all. You’re amazing. You’re kind and so smart. You’re beautiful and you have great taste in music. Anybody would be lucky to date you,” he finishes, forgetting himself for a second as he kisses her hair. She smells like green apples and ivory soap.

“You’re just saying that because you’re my friend,” Y/N says. The emphasis on ‘friend’ giving Spencer a little hope at what she is subtly implying.

“What-what if I wasn’t? What if I wasn’t saying this as just a friend?” Spencer asks, daring to be bold and brave for once in his life. He couldn’t be bold and brave for Y/N, then who is he?

She must be thinking, because Y/N doesn’t say anything. Spencer’s mind instantly switches into full gear, thinking of how he’d get out of here all while sparing his feelings.

“Please don’t say those things, Spencer. Don’t say those things unless you mean it,” Y/N tells him, her voice sounding cold and far off, like she’s trying to put some distance between themselves to protect herself. Spencer’s mind ventures to take it as a good thing, when she doesn’t physically distance herself. She decides to stay with Spencer’s arms wrapped around her upper half and his hands drawing shapes on her back.

“I mean it, Y/N. I really do mean it,” Spencer says, sounding terrified, but feeling braver than ever. “I’d never lie to you about how you make me feel. Not anymore at least,” he explains, waiting for Y/N to respond.

“Can I show you something?” Y/N ask, her voicing sounding an awfully lot like Spencer’s with the mix of fear and tension and love fighting for dominance.

“Of course,” Spencer says, nodding into her hair and letting her go.

He watches and waits as she grabs her phone from the coffee table. Y/N launches her music app, but covers her phone so Spencer can’t see which playlist she’s choosing. Y/N has very curated Taylor Swift playlists kko that help her to either middle through her dark days or celebrate her happy ones.

The music starts and just within the first few notes Spencer can tell which song is playing. “Gold Rush,” he asks, of course getting it correct and making Y/N smile.

“I knew I kept you around for a reason,” Y/N says, scooting in closer to Spencer so his chin rests over her head. “I don’t think you’ve heard this playlist yet,” she says, handing him her phone.

Spencer looks at the phone, reading the playlist title Songs That Remind Me of Spencer, but ends up having to do a double take.

“This song always reminded me of you, Spence. I think it just captures how beautiful you are and how scared I am that you’ll find someone that will make you feel that way. Someone that’s more beautiful and better for you—“

Spencer can’t hear it anymore so he does something that was only a figment of his imagination: he kisses Y/N. He holds her head in his hands, brushing gently on her temples. It’s wonderful and magical, and Spencer thinks that he could kiss her for his whole life. He wants to know what makes her whimper and whine or make her flush. He wants to know everything about her because he is her 1, just as she is his.

“You made a playlist for me?” Spencer says, breaking away from Y/N’s lips to kiss her face. All over her forehead, her cheeks and eyes. He kisses her like he can’t get enough and is only encouraged by Y/N giggles for approval.

“Of course I did, Spence. You’re just everything to me and I couldn’t quite say it myself. So I left it up to the best songwriter I know,”

“I’ll make you one, today. Tomorrow, everyday,” Spencer says, kissing Y/N’s hands and wrists, “I just want to make you happy and know how loved you are. Because I love you, Y/N” Spencer says

“Spence,” Y/N says, not quite able to articulate how much she loves him, kisses his forehead, “I love you. God. I love you so much. And I may or may not have re-written Hey Stephen as Hey Spencer,”