#interesting to observe from a distance and contemplate maybe

[rustedleopard]

In reference to this post.

@twothpaste​ The especially rich thing about people who justify their cruelty by saying that “The world is screwed up anyways” and “People who are kind are actually stupid, I’m just seeing the world as it is and acting accordingly” (or whatever excuses they conjure up so they can act like an asshole with no sweat off their conscious) is that it’s self-fulfilling.

Like, yeah, sure there are things in the world that are terrible and unavoidable like natural disasters and disease. There’s no amount of “being nice” that can make cancer stop existing. But people’s actions are controllable and if you’re being a terrible person, then you’re part of the reason why the world is terrible. What you do impacts the universe around you, and there is nothing you can do to isolate your actions from the rest of the world, so if you’re being a dick then: Congrats! You’re feeding into your stupid worldview and making everyone else around you miserable, you Ouroborus motherfucker!

[snippydippy]

A little blurb I wrote where my Tav has a breakdown after Elminster's bad news visit.

Not sure why I wrote it from Astarion's perspective, it just flowed out that way. They are just barely friends, but he can be kind sometimes. It helps that he doesn't like Mystra either.

Astarion found Elise standing on her own on the outer rim of the campsite. She faced away from the party's tents, over the cliff side and out into the sprawling view of trees, rivers, ruins and waterfalls. The setting sun cast rays of light across the land, and onto her. The whole thing would make a rather romantic picture, except the Vampire knew she was in quite the state.

Elminster, the most famous Wizard in Faerun had just paid the group a visit, and bore some...troubling news, to say the absolute least. The very embodiment of magic and the goddess of the weave, Mystra had commanded that Gale use the Netherese Orb lodged in his chest to end The Absolute, and his own life in the process. And the wizard seemed immediately of the mind to obey in a frankly disheartening desire for her forgiveness.

After Elminster had made his leave, Astarion caught the tail end of conversation between Gale and Elise. She was distraught, but firm in telling the man that his group of capable friends (a strong word, Astarion had thought), would find another way to end the Absolute, and that she would not allow him to kill himself. He'd heard Gale's voice grow indignant, saying that she should, "keep such assuredness in check until we've seen the severity of the threat we face." And that she "may reconsider her stance" once they had.

He'd heard Elise, angry for the first time since he'd met her, say back with wet eyes, "I won't. We already know The Absolute is a threat to the entire Sword Coast, and yet I'm still not willing to sacrifice you. I will not lose you, Gale!" 

Astarion observed the look they exchanged with each other from a distance, but could read a number of emotions between the two of them. Anger, sadness. Desperation.

He knew neither of them had said in any certain terms how they felt for the other, and doubted they were either even aware of mutual feelings for certain. However, they'd both have to be complete idiots not to know it now. Gods knew everyone else did.

Elise has turned away then. Astarion assumed she was too overwhelmed by the moment. As was Gale, going by the positively bewildered look on his face as she hurried away. Awash with feelings anyone would likely have a hard time pinning down.

Probably elation, to know someone cared enough for him to argue against the wishes of a goddess. A devoted cleric no less, who knew better than most the weight of a direct command. Maybe guilt for putting said person in the middle of such heavy affairs. Maybe anger at Elise for denying him his chance at forgiveness, or maybe anger at Mystra for dangling it in front of him in this way. Likely all of these.

Astarion could speculate all evening, but ultimately what the wizard was feeling was of little interest to him. He personally thought Mystra's "charge" was ridiculous, but was not about to have a discussion with Gale himself about it.

Astarion had given it a couple hours for minds to gather and emotions to cool before he sought Elise out. He stood behind her at the cliff now, contemplating how he wanted to approach her. Uncertain why he felt compelled to in the first place. This whole thing really wasn't his concern (aside from the threat to his immediate person, should Gale detonate nearby). He and Elise were not exactly "close" by any normal standards, and it's not as though he thought he'd have anything particularly helpful to contribute, but that look in her eyes as she stormed off before...

"I can not believe Mystra expects Gale to blow himself up with the Absolute!" He said aloud, striding over to her side. He caught her flinch, but she did not look up at him. Her eyes were locked on nothing in the distance. He continued, his tone dismissive, "What a waste of a perfectly good cult we could be controlling! And..a perfectly good Gale, I suppose."

He heard her exhale with a tight, barely there smile that vanished as quickly as it came. Her hands were together, moving restlessly as she absentmindedly (with an absolutely packed mind) churned her fingers, picking at various injuries and calluses across her skin. A long silence settled between them.

"It's...quite the situation he's in." Elise finally said, a strange quality to her voice, "Quite the choice to make. I'm...I'm afraid of what he wants to do."

"He wants to go through with it. Stubborn idiot." Astarion humorlessly chuckled.

"I think I'm in love with him." Elise said suddenly, with the quickest glance to Astarion before she thought better of it, eyes flicking back to the open landscape.

Astarion blinked in surprise. Of course he knew how she felt about Gale. As mentioned before, the only two people in the whole camp who seemed none the wiser were the two fools involved. But, hearing her admit it so plainly, it definitely wasn't expected. Especially not to him given their...history.*

Astarion said nothing, letting his silence be her encouragement to go on, which she seemed to take as such.

"And that's just my luck, isn't it?" She started with her own humorless and breathless laugh. Her composure like a fragile porcelain vase, "I finally find someone who I think would honestly, and truly care for me. Who is everything I'd look for in a partner."

Her feet shift, her hands become more animated as she talks, and her voice grows unsteady, "And the very God he worships comes-No, she sends a dear friend to speak for her! Demands he kill himself in the name of forgiveness. And not just the very deity he worships, who grants him the powers he's dedicated his entire life to, no! She's also his former lover. Who's forgiveness he's been pinning for since angering her in the first place. Who, I..Ha!" A single, somewhat wild laugh, before becoming quiet again, "Someone who I c-…could never compare to."

A quick hand comes up to wipe at her eyes, the other gesturing about, "And I know I am being the most selfish woman alive right now. Nothing, in all the realms, could be any less about me. But, Gods!" The vase cracked along with her voice. She looked to Astarion finally with eyes welled with tears, "I really don't want him to fucking die." And then the vase shattered. Her head turned away again, both hands came to cover her face as her whole body shook with sobs she just couldn't keep back any longer.

Astarion's hand faltered and hung in the air as he reached for her. He didn't quite know what to do. Besides the surprise of seeing a person he knew as well composed and emotionally private come apart in front of him, comforting anyone wasn't exactly something he'd ever say was a strong suit. Not genuine comforting outside of luring, anyway. But, perhaps his previous skills would come in handy here regardless. He cautiously reached out again, his fingers just barely grazing her back when she was suddenly against his chest, crying into his shoulder.

Contact like this wasn't Astarion's favorite thing, and his instinct might have been to back away or push anyone off any other time, but the Vampire would be lying if he said he didn't feel anything for her sorrow. So, he gingerly wrapped an arm around her to place a hand on her back.

Mystra's demand was absurd. For many reasons. The threat to everyone else's lives should the man blow up not being the least of them. Gale was a fool to consider it at all.

And, for all their empty flirting, jabs at one another and bickering, Elise was someone Astarion would consider…considering, a friend. At least, she was someone he could trust. The first in a very long time. Seeing her this upset certainly wasn't amusing by any stretch. He also realized he may have underestimated her feelings for Gale. Clearly not a simple puppy's crush.

"I'm sure we'll find another way." Astarion said with the usual playful lilt absent. Until, "At least, you and the other 'heroes' in our merry band will."

Minutes went by in silence except for Elise's crying that eventually turned to sniffling as she got her emotions under control. Astarion's hand still placidly rested between her shoulder blades until she straightened up from him. She didn't step back just yet, and neither did he, but his hands did go to connect behind his back.

"P-...please don't mention any of this to Gale. To anyone." She said, her hands disguised as wiping tears from both eyes almost definitely there to hide what she could of her face. Astarion imagined she felt a little embarrassed by this outburst, given how reserved she normally was.

He let out his usual guffaw, "Darling, what kind of gossip do you take me for?"

She didn't laugh, but the chastising look she gave him through reddened eyes did at least settle any doubt in his mind that she'd (eventually) be alright.

"I'll keep this between us." He took a step back then, as did she. A mutual understanding of tolerances Astarion appreciated, "Although...Knowing how you feel about him might be in Gale's best interest. It might be enough to sway his mind."

She met his eyes, and for a moment he worried she might start back up again, but Elise only huffed a sigh and crossed her arms as if a chill blew in, "I don't think so. Not when put up against Mystra."

Atsarion fought hard not to roll his eyes. Trifling, manipulative gods and a mortal's insecurity in the face of them. What else was new. "It might be worth a try anyway."

She looked out at the scenery again, avoiding an argument, "I'll tell him in time. Just...not now. I can't. It would feel like I'm only trying to sway him. I don't want there to be any doubts about my sincerity."

Astarion's turn to huff a sigh, "Alright, whatever you say. I'm going back to camp, don't wallow out here all night."

He turned to head back, only getting a couple steps before he felt her hand on his arm, "Wait! Astarion?"

He looked back at her, she let her hand drop away. That tolerance understanding again. "Thank you. For this. For allowing me to just...have a moment. I won't forget it."

Astarion smiled at her. A real one. Almost none of the usual snark behind it. Almost, "You've allowed me to drink from you. Seems the absolute least I could do to allow you to lean on my cold shoulder." He lifted a finger, a sternness covering his features, "Just this once."

Elise nodded, smiling as her friend turned and walked back to his tent.

[mitschki]

Jealous!Tartaglia, accustomed to being the center of attention, grows frustrated by her lack of focus on him.

The Eleventh Harbinger would never consciously dwell on another person’s lack of attention, considering it inconsequential given his status. However, unbeknownst to him— he finds himself subtly perturbed at the sight of you engaged in conversation with someone else from a distance.

Positioned outside Liyue's Northland Bank, he stands with arms crossed against the red railings, observing you amidst the bustling streets of Liyue. Despite his composed exterior, an undercurrent of frustration manifests as he grits his teeth, silently grappling with his unexpected reaction.

He was acquainted with you as a friend— Zhongli, the consultant from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, would occasionally broach the subject of you during their tea sessions. Tartaglia would emit a noncommittal hum and furrow his brow in response to Zhongli's insightful observations about you.

Perhaps he harbored a subtle discomfort with your perceived closeness to Zhongli compared to himself. Maybe that it was during these conversations that his interest in you began to pique. He would then find himself observing you more closely, noting your bright and welcoming aura, which seemed to effortlessly draw others into your orbit.

Your consistently friendly nature stood in stark contrast to his own, with the mere notion of harboring no ill intentions appearing almost foreign to him. Maybe that it was the stark differences between your personalities that sparked his admiration for you. No, he wouldn’t say admiration. He didn’t like the thought of it, at least. He would evidently dismiss that idea.

But was it imperative for you to laugh so much around that person? Or to extend them your attention? Perhaps it was the way you delicately twirled strands of your hair between your fingers, or the radiant and expansive smile that graced your countenance with each spoken word. With a roll of his eyes and a furrowed brow, he averted his gaze, expressing his discontent in a restrained manner.

"Sir, we humbly request your presence inside," one of the Fatui agents addressed, bowing his head in deference to Tartaglia's esteemed position. Tartaglia emitted a slight scoff in response before gracefully acquiescing, parting from his current observation point to proceed inside the bank.

As the evening descended, the tantalizing aroma of Liyue's cuisine permeated the bustling streets. Tartaglia found himself scanning the area for food, his hunger gnawing at him and his mood souring. There was nothing more unsettling than encountering a hungry and disgruntled Harbinger, his perturbed aura too palpable for passersby to ignore. He scoffed at the wary glances directed his way; usually, he might have taken pride in the acknowledgment of his presence. However, in his current state, such recognition failed to bring him any satisfaction.

"Excuse me, sir, are you going to buy that?” a familiar voice inquired from behind. Tartaglia's eyes widened as he turned to see you, a soft smile adorning your face as you pointed towards the last grilled fish. Ah, of course, he had been standing there lost in contemplation for quite some time, deliberating over his feelings on the fish. Perhaps he didn't pay much attention to the people behind him, who were patiently waiting for their turns to make purchases.

Tartaglia nervously chuckled, stepping aside, “Oh! Forgive me, too much on my mind," he apologized, guiding his hands towards the fish. "You can have it," he offered with a smile. Despite hours of feeling upset over you, he couldn't help but feel a sense of nervousness. The complexity of his emotions in that moment left him feeling somewhat foolish. You responded with a soft laugh at his gesture.

"Let me buy this for you then, sir," you offered graciously, your smile radiant, “food eases thoughts!" You brimmed with enthusiasm as you paid the vendor and turned to him, extending the last grilled fish. A subtle blush crept onto his face as he took in the sight of you standing before him, your sweet smile warming his heart as you offered the fish.

Such a sweet girl. In response, he grinned as he remarked, "You are a remarkable person,” with a soft chuckle, smiling upon noticing a gentle blush spreading across your face.

“And you, sir, must be hungry.”

Perhaps your interaction was precisely what he needed. Your friendly nature that contrasted to his own, was what left him grappling with his own emotions and his understanding of you. Perhaps if you allowed him to immerse himself in your world, he would be more receptive to your warm shared perspectives.

[starburstfloat]

Coming of Age Storytelling in TXT's Quarter Life (aka let's talk about korean grammar!!)

Quarter Life is one of my favorite tracks off minisode 3, not just for its coming of age theme but also the raw, unfiltered way their voices carry the message.

A closer look at the Korean lyrics led me to understanding the song anew so I wanted to share that with you guys.

What struck me most was the narrative shift in the song. Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Kai all transition from a contemplative, somewhat hopeless state of mind at the beginning of the song to an empowered and motivated mentality during the second half.

Admittedly, you don't need to pick apart the nuance of the conjugation patterns they're using to grasp this - listening to the song alone will give you a sense of it. But I think knowing the grammar a bit more just makes you feel it more deeply and helps the song feel that much more alive and inspiring. At the same time, I'll weave together my observations on the (wonderful!) storytelling/narrative flow. Let's go!

Beomgyu starts the song with:

A quarter life / 누군가가 나의 나이를 부르는 말

A quarter life / This is how someone calls my age

Note how this opening line establishes a distance from the protagonist: we're not centering on what he thinks at first, but rather how other people perceive him. Perception vs sense of self is a big coming of age theme. In the following lines, he alludes to having walked through a long long (긴긴) tunnel, and in explaining it to us, we get a sense for how the world has shaped him (or more specifically, worn him down). He may be young, but he is so so tired.

Kai reiterates this sentiment by saying:

좋을 때래 아름다운 청춘은 지금뿐이래

(People say) these are the good times, that the beauty of youth is only now

followed by him adding: I ain't happy at all

Once again, the focus is on perception. Their disconnect between how other people think they should feel versus how they actually feel builds a sense of lack and sadness.

The first narrative shift happens right after this, when Taehyun poses a pondering question:

혹시 어두운 이 턴널에도 끝은 있을까

(I wonder if) this dark tunnel even has en end?

-을까 verb endings paired with 혹시 (perhaps/maybe) add a contemplative tone to the question, thus indicating our first transition from Beomgyu and Kai's solemn defeat about youth being exhausting to wondering, maybe there's a way out of this?

Then we dive into the pre-chorus, which gets even more reflective:

어디로 가야 하는 건데

Where do I have to go/should I go?

-ㄴ데 endings are frequent in both spoken and written Korean and depending on context have several meanings. Here it leaves the listener with the knowledge that something has been left unsaid. I often think of it as ellipses that have a slow fade effect. In terms of the song, this line here emphasizes the pondering moment of taehyun earlier, kind of like "where do I have to go....?"

Kai mentions he's lonely, just walking in circles, it's a full quarter life crisis

The chorus hits with its instrumental - a release of all their frustrations and confusion for the tumultuous feelings.

The second half of the song gets interesting. It's here that each line slowly gets more optimistic and empowered. Taehyun says he refuses to say that he fucked up his life. This one thought keeps him grounded and makes him want to keep trying.

Kai's lead into the second pre-chorus is almost exactly the same as the first (on first listen I didn't hear a difference) but he actually changed one of the verb endings: instead of saying 건데 again (that ...? feeling grammar point) he uses an -는 지 ending:

어디로 가야 하는 건지

Where do I have to go/should I go?

Note that the translation is exactly the same as the pre-chorus earlier, but there's a slightly different feeling attached. The -는 지 conjugation poses a "whether this or that" setup, once again showcasing uncertainty, but this time instead of pondering and ruminating, it's acknowledging the presence of options. He's getting closer to stepping into a decision - a decision he gets to make now, not something dictated by the perception of others.

Taehyun adds:

Don't look back / 돌아갈 순 없지

Don't look back / You can't go back

Many of you may already know -ㄹ 수 없다 conjugation as "cannot do something". Notice how the center is 순 instead of 수. 순 is used as an emphasizing marker, and the conjugation of -지 adds a feeling of someone going "right?" or "of course." There's a slight sense of urgency to it all. Knowing this, I hope you can feel the weight of Taehyun's lines here: he's urging himself to embrace what he has in the moment because he can't go back and he knows it and doesn't want this moment to escape him.

Also noteworthy is the lack of 요 endings to indicate higher formality. All of the song is in banmal, which suggests they're actually talking to themselves/in their own head. Very touching :')

The song ends on a determined high: Beomgyu and Kai affirm they are going to keep wandering through this quarter life crisis. I love the choice to finish the song with their raw vocals and the high of the instruments long gone. It centers us so much on their determination. Absolutely beautiful song and I hope I could give you some insight into the grammar and the feelings it captured.

[aphrodisiac-siren]

Paramour

Aemond Targaryen x Reader

Summary: When the succession of the Driftmark throne is put into question, Rhaenyra returns to the RedKeep along with her children, her husband Daemon and his daughter by the late lady Rhea, Y/N Targaryen, who is once again reunited with her childhood friend Aemond who she had grown distant with over the years.

Friends to strangers to lovers??

Part 1, Part 2

Part 3

Y/N could not understand why she found herself smiling a little too much the next morning when she’d found a small note from Aemond, passed from the underside of her door.

The prince was nothing more than a friend, well maybe calling him ‘friend’ after so many years of being absent from each other’s lives would be a bit bold. But either way, she did not wish to turn into a blushing mess at the mere thought of him.

His handwriting was neat, it almost made her envy him, for her’s in comparison looked nothing as elegant.

“I train with the sword in the front yard a few hours post breaking my fast and it would please me if you would care to be present to watch me dual my brother Aegon today ~Aemond” 

Y/N smiled to herself once again as she read the note for the fifth time. Sweet, she thought, before she neatly folded the small parchment and put it away in her little jewellery box. She made a mental note to not appear as joyous in the presence of Jace and Luke, who did not like Aemond one bit. She did not understand why they never got along, Aemond used to be such a sweetheart, but unbeknownst to her that he used to be quite the opposite toward Jace and Luke. Without wasting another moment, Y/N busied herself with getting dressed.

Aemond constantly kept checking the stone stairway near the training yard from where Y/N would make her entrance if she had complied with his invitation. He’d woken up earlier than usual that morning just so that he could slip the note. Writing that simple invitation took him longer than he’d expected, he’d crumpled up numerous amounts of parchments, not too happy with the tone or the usage of certain words that made it look like he was eager to have her watch him train.

“Are you expecting someone?” Aegon asked curiously as he observed his brother constantly looking into the distance.

Aemond snapped his attention back toward his brother, contemplating his response. If he told him that he’d invited the princess he would be stuck with an annoying Aegon who would tease him about it for the entirety of the day. 

“I asked you something” Aegon pushed “are you expecting someone?”

Maybe he could just lie and say no and then pretend as if Y/N just happened to arrive out of nowhere to watch them. 

Before he could grace his pushy brother with an answer, Aegon broke into a sly grin before he patted Aemond on his shoulder. “Ah, now I see the cause of your distraction”

Aemond turned toward his left to find Y/N descending the stairways in an elegant grey gown that complemented her silvery-white hair rather well. She smiled when their eyes met and Aemond’s gaze softened and he too almost smiled at her before Aegon walked toward her, offering his arm that she took as he escorted her toward the weaponry.

“Lovely to see you” Aegon beamed as he flung an arm around the younger girl “I did not take you for someone interested in sparring”

“I do not like it as a form of entertainment, but I do find it rather fascinating as an art to learn for myself” she honestly answered him “It is a rather useful skill”

“A lady like yourself needn’t have to bother herself by learning such a nasty skill” Aegon waved his hand, shooting a look at his brother who had been quiet the entire time “If you take someone as skilled as my brother for your husband, you wouldn’t have any need for wielding a sword to defend yourself against a foe. Aemond would take care of it for you”

Both Y/N and Aemond exchanged glances, Y/N playfully grinning while Aemond seemed borderline abashed. The princess excused herself to stand at a distance to watch the boys dual.

“What are you doing?” Aemond asked his brother in a hushed tone when Y/N was out of earshot.

“Helping you win the girl you’re too afraid to go after” Aegon promptly replied as he unsheathed his sword, tossing the leather case to the side “you’ve got to get better at this sort of thing if you want me to step away, I almost feel sorry for you sometimes”

“I don’t need you meddling in things that pertain solely to me” Aemond snapped, the pink in his cheeks being hard to decipher as a result of anger or shyness from Aegon’s previous statement “I do not fancy her anymore”

“Of course” the older boy chuckled before he proceeded to make the first move by swinging his sword closer to Aemond’s left, which he managed to dodge.

Y/N was surprised that Aegon wasn’t as bad of a swordsman. In fact, he was almost as good as Jace who she’d seen train many times with Luke though she had to admit, none of them came close to how exceptional Aemond was. She had watched him train once, years back when she used to live at the keep. He was a scrawny little fellow at the time who kept getting knocked over by Aegon and he would huff in annoyance while he muttered curses under his breath.

As much as Y/N wanted to admire how well Aegon fought, her eyes always wandered toward Aemond and his toned physique. The way his arms flexed beneath his skin-tight leather sleeves or how he clenched his jaw each time he deflected a blow landed by Aegon. How his long hair swayed whenever he dodged an attack. How his lips parted when he heaved a sigh in between each round of the duals.

It was no surprise when ser Criston congratulated Aemond as the victor.

“Impressive” Y/N smiled as she approached the boys who were putting away their swords as they wiped away the sweat on their foreheads. Y/N was directing the compliment to Aemond, who’d won the little dual but it was Aegon who responded.

“Thank you princess” he smiled at the girl “I truly appreciate you coming to watch me train. Aemond say thank you, wasn’t it nice of her to come to see us?”

Y/N laughed at his playful nature. Aemond, however, did not find it amusing; he found it rather annoying actually when his brother spoke to him like he was a child. Aemond opened his mouth to say something but his older brother beat him to it.

“Did you know that the locals are celebrating the fire festival tonight” the older prince spoke as he waved his arms about for dramatic effect “it's an absolute delight. They have dances, wine and women though I suppose the latter is only of interest to myself. We all should attend”

“The locals you say, would that suggest the festivities do not take place within the castle?” Y/N inquired to which Aegon nodded “so you’re suggesting we leave the keep, after dark, I'm assuming?”

“Precisely princess. I can assure you, you will have the time of your life and I shall escort you lot back as soon as the festival concludes”

Aemond was about to decline the offer, finding it improper for his brother to even suggest sneaking out to the princess but Y/N was quick and rather eager to agree. He turned to look at her with surprise. Granted she was the more outgoing one, but he thought that perhaps after all these years her adventurous spirit had died down. Clearly, it had not.

“Splendid, I will meet you both by the far end of the first floor in the west wing after supper. For now, I shall leave you to enjoy the remainder of the day” Aegon turned his back toward Y/N so that he could wink at his brother “after that tedious activity I am in dire need of some spiced wine”

And with that Aegon walked away, ser Criston taking the hint as well and following after him.

“I apologise for my brother’s um..” Aemond searched for a way of describing Aegon’s behaviour without having to use profanity “pestiferous conduct”

“Pestiferous” Y/N repeated as she kept her gaze fixated on the prince standing before her “you and your big words”

Aemond grinned a little bit. He was the one among the both of them who read the most due to which his vocabulary was far broader, even as a boy. 

“What are you doing until this evening?” he asked, knowing well there wasn’t much she would be up to since her sole visit was something pertaining to her brother and even that matter wouldn’t be attended to until a few days.

“I was hoping to visit the library” she informed “its far more vast in comparison to the one back home”

Aemond simply responded with a ‘hmm’. He escorted the princess back to her chambers before he excused himself to bathe, to wash away the stench of dust and sweat.

When the evening finally arrived, Y/N was the first one to make it to the spot where Aegon had asked for them to meet him. She was far too excited to partake in sneaking out of the castle, this being the first time she would do something this rebellious. Aegon arrived a few moments later with Aemond who was already dressed in his simpler clothes. The older prince handed a worn-out cloak to the girl and instructed her to keep the hood on at all times so that they might not be spotted by their unique platinum hair.

Aemond was slightly amused to see the girl so excited with the idea of sneaking away, it was almost like someone told her that she was gaining a second dragon.

Aegon expertly guided them through the castle passageways and then through the narrow streets of flea bottom. Y/N was intrigued by the smallest of things she saw in her surroundings meanwhile the only thing that captivated Aemond’s attention was Y/N. He simply couldn’t take his eye off her and it wasn’t just because he was being protective of her in this foreign surrounding; but because he found the way her face lit up whilst observing the simplest of things rather adorable.

The sound of a few people singing and clapping along to an upbeat melody caught her attention and she pushed past the boys to run toward it, with both princes chasing after her. She finally stopped when she saw the town’s folk dancing around a large bonfire as some of the people laughed and clapped to the rhythm of the music.

“Can we join them?” she asked both princes as she hooked both of her arms around their elbows.

“I uh-” Aemond cleared his throat, “I think we shouldn’t draw any attention to ourselves”

The prince wasn’t too fond of dancing and he did not know how to tell her that, especially since she seemed so joyous about wanting to join in the fun.

“We have our cloaks” Aegon reminded “I am not a dancer myself princess, but you are free to persuade my brother” 

“Wha- um” Aemond threw a nasty look at his brother who was grinning mischievously. 

Y/N knew Aemond wasn’t keen on dancing so she just huffed a sigh before she left both boys to join the circle of people dancing. It took a few minutes for her to memorise the timing and order of the movements until she too was laughing and swaying to the music with the others. Aemond watched her with a tender gaze and could feel his heart beginning to beat a little faster each time he heard the sound of her melodic laughter that he knew he would prefer to listen to instead of the music playing in the background.

“Merely staring at her won’t do anything” Aegon sighed “I brought you here so that you might have a chance that was stole- lost years ago”

Aemond turned to look at him with brows furrowed.

“Stolen?” he repeated. What did he mean by stolen?

“Lost, I meant lost” Aegon averted his gaze.

“No, no. You know something, tell me” Aemond continued to pry even though Aegon had tried to change the subject many a time “you know I won’t drop it until I get an answer”

Sighing with defeat, Aegon proceeded to tell Aemond something he knew would leave his brother feeling angered which is why he made him promise to not tell anyone that he was made aware of this and furthermore not mention that it was Aegon who had told him.

“Y/N had written to you, a few times after she left for Dragonstone” he spoke in a hushed tone “but grandfather had mother hide away those letters from you. He did not wish for you both to grow close”

Aemond’s expression hardened as he listened to Aegon.

“He thought if you both began to grow close, resulting in marriage, it would provide a sort of unity among both families and change mother’s mind about wanting to put me on the throne” he went on “They made me swear never to tell you of this”

“How could you keep such a thing from me” Aemond snapped, clearly not expecting this as his response “and what of the letters I wrote to her?”

“They were never sent” Aegon sadly admitted “grandfather had them burned instead”

All these years, Aemond grew up believing the notion that Y/N never wanted him, that she had cut all ties with him on account of his appearance. And to think his own kin had orchestrated this entire thing of keeping them apart angered him further. He was no longer in the mood to enjoy the festival, all he wanted was to go back. Sometimes he used to fly Vhagar when he felt troubled, perhaps he would go for a short flight that night.

Y/N, unaware of the situation, jogged up to them all giggly from the dancing.

“Just one dance” she tugged at Aemond’s sleeve “come on”

Aemond, already in a heated mood, snapped at her with a ‘stop it’ before his eye widened at the tone he’d used. He did not mean to lose his temper with her, especially since she hadn’t even done anything herself that had put him in such a bad temperament. Y/N’s smile faltered before she scoffed in annoyance and stormed off.

“Nicely done” Aegon rolled his eyes at Aemond with a disappointed stare “are you going to go after her or do you need my assistance with that as well?”

Aemond did not need to be told twice as he ran after the princess who had walked away from the celebrations and toward the street they’d used to get there. Aemond tried calling out to her but she ignored him until he finally managed to catch up to her.

“I did not mean to use that tone with you” he tried to steady his breathing since he did have to run to catch up to her fast-paced walking “I was upset at something else and I just happened to snap at you. My apologies”

Silence was what he got in return, all the way until they’d snuck back inside the Red keep. 

“Y/N..” he tried again, slightly losing patience. He wasn’t the type to try this hard for someone; usually, he would just leave them be. So why was it this hard for him to simply walk away from her?

The princess walked into the library, despite the hour being late. She resorted to reading when she found her spirits downed and presently she was rather annoyed that Aemond ruined her evening by being rude whilst she was innocently asking him for a dance.

“I want to be left alone,” she told him over her shoulder as she scanned the shelves to look for a book that would spark her interest “leave me be”

“Are you that upset over me raising my voice at you? Unintentionally, might I add” Aemond asked. He knew she could be a bit bratty at times, especially when she was talked down to, insulted and in this case, snapped at; she was Daemon’s daughter after all. He thought that maybe her cranky attitude might’ve vanished but it seemed to have just gotten worse over the years.

“I thought I made it clear I wanted to be left alone” she repeated as she tugged at a book on the shelf just above her. Aemond, who was taller than her took advantage of his height and reached out with his hand from behind her and grabbed the book, holding it above her reach. Y/N let out an annoyed sigh before she turned to face him. Her breath momentarily hitched when she realised that Aemond had entrapped her in between himself and the bookshelf.

“I’m not in the mood to entertain your boyish antics” the princess looked up at him with an annoyed expression which Aemond smirked at. He found her slightly comical and cute when she was angry.

“I apologised for my outburst” Aemond again reminded, “I think you could let me off the hook this one time”

“Gaomas se dārilaros daor shifang skori spoken naejot isse se Quptenkys Ēngos?” Y/N grinned when she saw his smirk falter upon hearing her speak valyrian. 

Does the prince not understand when spoken to in the common tongue? 

Aemond knew he shouldn’t be surprised to hear her speak the language with such fluency especially since she was her father’s daughter but it had been a while since he’d heard her speak and even when she did as a child, she wasn’t even nearly as fluent as she was in the present.

“Se dārilaros kostagon,” He took a step forward, pressing her back further against the wooden shelves “yn kessa daor henujagon ēva zȳhon dārilaros iksis daor jenitis lēda zirȳla”

The prince can, but he will not leave until his princess is no longer annoyed with him.

His princess.

Y/N momentarily looked away to avoid smiling at his statement before she once again looked up to gaze at him. The dim lighting accentuated his sharp facial features and her eyes subconsciously fixated on his bow-shaped lips that looked rosy and so very kissable-

stop.

She shot her gaze upward once again toward his eye when she realised she’d been staring at his lips for an embarrassingly long amount of time. And unfortunately for her, Aemond had taken notice of it. He secretly wished she’d leaned in a little more, closing the space between them before he cleared his throat. He wasn’t supposed to have such thoughts about her.

But gods, she looked absolutely breathtaking and with him pressed against her, with her looking up at him with that captivating gaze it was hard for him to calm down his nerves.

“Here,” he sheepishly handed her the book he’d snatched away, scooting a few steps back. Y/N wanted to slap herself when she found herself craving for that close contact she shared with him only moments ago. Yet, she did not let her disappointment show as she simply accepted the book.

“Thank you” she grimly responded, trying to fill the awkward silence with whatever came to mind “reading helps soothe my mind”

“I see” he pressed his lips into a thin line “And although I admit I do enjoy reading myself, I would have to say that my way of dealing with stress is a lot better”

“Is that so?” Y/N tilted her head slightly with curiosity “what is it, may I ask?”

Aemond gingerly reached out and held her hand and was glad she did not pull away from his touch.

“I’ll show you”

[bookwyrminspiration]

wait wait what the fuck. shannon set up the "immortality ALWAYS comes with a cost" thing with fallon's faulty memory + bronte's needing to keep himself involved so he doesn't lose himself + fintan and vesperas' instability and then just Did Not Talk About It.

Like what about how all of their individual falling aparts come from their abilities? Fallon is a telepath (I'm not bothering to fact check that correct me if I'm wrong) and his mind is wandering, his memory is faulty, he can't stay in the moment. Bronte loses control of himself, he's become cold and stubborn, he has to ball his negative emotions up in his chest to keep from feeling too much. Fintan is unstable like a fire, an infection, he needs to consume everything in his path and maybe or maybe not let something new grow from the ashes; fire is vengeful. vespera has gone numb and that's what happens when you feel too many emotions for too long! you lose yourself!

that's a symptom of being an ancient!! you lose yourself!!

exploring this as a parallel to fitz, sophie, marella, and keefe is interesting as well because you're seeing all these ancients fall apart and it's because of their ability. Keefe already is going numb. Marella can barely keep control. Sophie ties her emotions around themselves. Fitz loses his mind in his emotions. They know that this could happen to them. It will.

For some reason, it's never talked about how immortality (or indefinite life) is the perfect circumstance for a mind to break. Maybe elves don't die. maybe they're exiled because the weight of the years shattered them.

Oo and excellent observation and conversational topic. What really stands out to me about it is that's it's an inevitability. It's not you might lose yourself to your ability, it's not you might become unstable, it's not you might have to fight against it. It's that you live forever, so there is no escaping it. You live forever, so you will live long enough to experience the disconnect of a world moving on around you. You will live long enough that you will either have to fight to stay present--like Bronte--or distance yourself--like Fallon and other ancients. And if you chose to fight, then you will keep living, long enough that there will come a time you cannot continue to win. Perhaps you can stay in a stalemate for a while, but it will grow increasingly difficult and eventually will reach a point of no return.

And! It never ends! Elves live forever. Unless they die via unnatural means (fire, squashed, drowned, fell down the stairs bella swan style) they are going to just. Be experiencing that forever. There is no anticipated ending to losing themselves, they just continuously do so forever and ever. Some can hold on longer than others, are more present than others at the same point in time, but we're speaking in infinities! That dwarfs it all. Unless they finally discover a natural end to their lifespan, it's all practically inevitable.

But yeah, Shannon has not covered this. Likely because 1. it's horrifying, and 2. it's completely irrelevant to the battle's Sophie is facing. She has eternity in front of her, and eternity to come to terms with her lifespan. Right now she's got other things on her plate than contemplating how long she'll live and what she'll do with it and what'll happen to her. But also I think. It may have been unintentional on Shannon's part, to create such a consequence. Not that she's completely ignoring it, as she has separated the ancients from everyone else to an extent and characterized them differently. But the idea of losing yourself inevitably with time? Probably not what she meant, at least that's my assumption based on what she's intended with the rest of her world. However, maybe i'm wrong and not giving her enough credit! perhaps she knows about that, but just doesn't cover it because it doesn't fit the vibe of the series or her intended audience.

Who knows! Either way, it is a very interesting and also horrifying thought. Thanks for prompting it!

[bobbiworks]

Beyond the Bell's Chimes | Part 10

Written by: Bobbi Henderson (jayxhobi)

RIIZE fanfiction: Wonbin, Eunseok, Seunghan, Shotaro, Sohee, Sungchan, Anton, Original Characters

Genre: Teen Romance, High school, Friendship, Youth, Growing Up, Slice of Life

PS: Long read ahead! 😅

Wonbin had been feeling out of sorts for days, consumed by his quiet concern for Jiwoo, who had not returned to school. Two days had passed, and the weekend was on the horizon. He even contemplated skipping his jamming sessions with Suyoung, opting to head straight home because the absence of Jiwoo had left him inexplicably bored.

"Hey, I can't help but notice," Seunghan began as they strolled towards the bus stop. Wonbin hummed in response, his attention occasionally drifting to his phone as he checked for any text messages from home.

"Do you like Jiwoo?" Seunghan's question caught him off-guard, causing him to halt his steps and look at his friend as though he had said something amiss.

"What makes you say that?" Wonbin raised an inquisitive brow.

Seunghan shrugged, his lips pursing in thought. "Well, she's been absent for days now, and it's the first time I've seen you so affected by someone's absence," he said, struggling to articulate his observations. "Do you understand what I mean?"

"Hmm," Wonbin nodded. "She is kind," he replied, "But as far as I'm concerned, I am not romantically interested in anyone right now," he answered candidly.

"Then what makes Jiwoo different from Suyoung?" Seunghan inquired.

Wonbin's eyebrows furrowed as he pondered the differences between Jiwoo and Suyoung. "Not sure exactly. Maybe it's that my personality is more compatible with Jiwoo, much like you and me."

Seunghan smiled, "Now you're talking! You're sure you're not in the mood for love just yet?" He laughed.

"Hell no," Wonbin replied.

"That's good because I have to get a girlfriend before you do! I don't want to be the first one left alone. Got it?" Seunghan pouted, draping his arms around Wonbin's shoulder, though Wonbin promptly pushed him away in annoyance.

~

The dreaded day of the first-quarter quarterly exams had arrived, and it was met with collective dread from students. All-nighters seemed to be the norm, even for those who typically excelled in their classes. The fear of losing their academic rankings spurred them on.

In class 2-A, while most students were diligently reviewing their notes, Eunseok's attention wandered outside the window. The weather was so inviting that he daydreamed about lounging in the shade after school.

Miyoung, their class representative and the student council's secretary, approached Eunseok and tapped his desk. "Hmm?" Eunseok acknowledged her presence. Miyoung handed him an invitation card to her upcoming Saturday birthday celebration. "It's your birthday?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes, I thought it'd be nice if you could come. My parents would love to see you," Miyoung chuckled. "I also invited Sungchan just in case you'd decline the invitation because I didn't invite him first," she added, knowing that Eunseok typically had Sungchan by his side.

"Okay, thanks for inviting me. Is there anything specific you'd like me to bring?" Eunseok inquired. While he generally came across as a nice guy, he had a tendency to switch off when confronted with even the slightest flaw. He could warm up to people as quickly as he could distance himself.

Miyoung's face lit up at his question. "You can surprise me! I know you're more thoughtful than you appear."

Eunseok chuckled and nodded, "Okay, whatever you say, Miyoung. Thanks for this," as he placed the invitation card into his bag.

Just as Miyoung left, Yuri stormed into the room with an annoyed expression on her face. She walked past Eunseok's table and deliberately kicked it while he was in the middle of writing his name.

"Hey, Yuri. What are you trying to do this time?" Miyoung snapped, confronting Yuri.

Yuri stopped and turned to Miyoung with an amused expression. "Oh, just because this guy is so nice to you, you think he likes you?"

Miyoung defended herself, saying, "What are you talking about? Eunseok and I have been friends since before you even came into the picture. If you're so embarrassed to be in the same room as him after he broke up with you in front of everyone, you could have found a new class or, better yet, transferred to a different school."

"Really? You think you're so strong and important?" Yuri retorted, grabbing Miyoung's hair and attempting to drag her across the room. However, Eunseok's sudden action halted Yuri in her tracks. He stood up, glaring at her with a look of contempt.

Yuri growled at him, "How can you not be ashamed, Song Eunseok?"

Eunseok responded nonchalantly, "Beats me. I'm not the one having a hard time accepting that you were dumped."

Yuri began to defend herself, presenting her side of the story to her classmates who were clearly on Eunseok's side. She claimed, "Aren't you ashamed? You're the one who became interested in another girl! You cheated on me."

Sungchan entered the room and witnessed the commotion, which had already soured his day due to the ongoing exams. He chimed in, explaining, "If you're curious about why Eunseok was looking for a girl, it's because he wants to return something to her."

Eunseok chuckled at the revelation, amused by the situation.

Sungchan continued, "Yeah, you heard it right. You don't even know what's going on, and you started harassing a freshman. You nearly broke the girl's legs with what you did."

Despite the exaggeration, Yuri had indeed crossed the line with her actions. She had a history of bullying, but due to her high academic standing and her parents' political influence in their hometown, the school often turned a blind eye to her misconduct. However, her classmates and the students who had been victimized by her had gathered to report her.

Yuri cursed and yelled, "Shit," feeling defeated. She walked out of the classroom, choosing to skip the exam for the day due to the humiliation she had experienced once again.

Once Yuri was gone, Eunseok stepped in front of his classmates and bowed deeply, offering a sincere apology for the trouble he had caused. He knew that dating Yuri would only lead to more problems, but he had already made his choice.

Miyoung attempted to comfort him, saying, "Eunseok, you don't have to apologize."

~

In class 1-B, Wonbin arrived a bit later than the time his classmates had agreed on the previous week. He had barely eaten anything for breakfast, so he hurried to school as quickly as he could. Upon entering the classroom, he greeted Seunghan and the others.

Unbeknownst to him, Jiwoo was already present, having noticed him as soon as he arrived. However, it wasn't until he turned his gaze toward her seat that he realized she was there, lost in her own thoughts.

Jiwoo couldn't help but feel a slight hurt when Wonbin didn't acknowledge her presence, even though she had waved at him. She chose to avoid looking at him, feeling both embarrassed and somewhat hurt for reasons she couldn't quite pinpoint.

Despite her emotional turmoil, Jiwoo managed to perform well on her exams, even though she was still in a somewhat delicate condition. She had experienced an accident with her younger sibling on the same day she and Wonbin had shared the bus ride.

Upon returning home, she witnessed her uncle violently beating her younger brother for borrowing a cigarette lighter to light the stove. Her uncle falsely accused her brother of stealing it, even though he had asked for permission and simply forgotten to return it. Jiwoo intervened to protect her brother, but her uncle accidentally struck her in the gut with great force, leaving her immobilized for a moment. Out of panic, her uncle fled, believing he had seriously harmed her.

Despite the severity of her condition, Jiwoo didn't want to make a big fuss about it. She endured severe stomach pains and barely ate, as her uncle's actions had taken a toll on her. Eventually, her father reported her uncle to the police, leading to his imprisonment. Jiwoo had to stay home to recover, with Shotaro, her neighbor and schoolmate , checking on her when their parents were away. Their afternoons were spent in the company of just the two siblings.

Jiwoo pushed aside these distressing thoughts as she focused on her exams for the day. After completing her tests, she gathered her belongings and placed them in her small bag before heading out.

Wonbin, in the meantime, noticed that Jiwoo was leaving but chose not to follow her. He assumed she was ignoring him. Yet, a nagging feeling gnawed at him that something was amiss. He had eagerly anticipated her return last week and was puzzled by this sudden change in dynamics between them.

[sukirichi]

Hello! Can you write one about Nanami where the reader is oblivious and they're really close to Gojo so he gets jealous often. Sometimes Gojo does things purposely to annoy him and one day he just lost his composure and accidentally admitted his feelings for you.

I hope u accept if you're not too busy. Thank you!!!

— a little push

— sometimes all nanami needs is a little push.

nanami kento x fem! reader

thank you for the request anon! i’m not sure if reader is oblivious enough but i hope you like it! there’s some thick pining here hur hur, i hope you like it! i never knew i needed an easily flustered and awkward nanami in my life also this is unedited as usual

check my bio for masterlist and my milestone event! (◕ᴗ◕✿)

“Do you mind?”

Nanami sighs, silently praying to the heavens you wouldn’t hear the way his heart is absolutely panicking and beating wildly right now. You’d randomly pushed him inside the teachers’ office the moment he got back to the institute at work, and now he’s doomed to hide his feelings while you look up at him with wide, innocent eyes, a shaky yet excited grin painted on your face.

“Sorry, sorry,” you wave your hands in front of you, although he can tell you’re not apologetic at all. Nanami clears his throat when you step backwards to give him space, unsure if he’s happy or sad about the distance. “I was just really excited to see you back.”

Your carefree, lighthearted voice, along with that little jump in your toes combined with your statement – you’re basically asking Nanami to shrivel up already.

The stoic man remains composed, though, only shifting to adjust his tie while he stares down at you. You’re still somewhat bouncing on your feet, teeth biting your lip – a habit you had when you want to say something but contemplating whether you should. Tilting away to hide the slight flush in his cheeks, Nanami sighs again, pretending to be tired.

The last thing he wants to admit that even though he is exhausted from work, is that you’d never bother him. In fact, having you bombard him like this makes him feel like he didn’t deal with special grade curse by himself all alone just an hour ago.

“If there’s something you want to say, I suggest you get it over with. I don’t want to stay overtime and wait until the blindfolded creep comes around.”

You giggle at his insult, hiding behind your cupped palms. Crap, Nanami looks away and focuses on the birds outside instead, suddenly finding them so interesting despite never paying attention to them before. Maybe that was the curse of crushes – it had people acting differently and in complete contrast with their behavior.

“About that,” you begin almost shyly now, and Nanami practically bursts when he sees you tapping both of your pointer fingers together, gaze tilted away from him.

It makes him wonder you’re nearly on the same skill to Gojo, yet still somehow look like a small, innocent being that makes him want to protect you from everything – even if you were more than capable of handling things yourself. Well, Nanami concludes to himself, maybe you’re really just that paradoxical that it makes sense why he can never think straight around you. Maybe he’s really not supposed to understand the complexity of his feelings when you were a phenomena to begin with already.

“You see…Satoru asked me out.”

Nanami stiffens at your statement for a split second before his head whips to you so fast. You’re observant – of course you are, you’re a jujutsu sorcerer – and you easily pick up in his sudden change of demeanor. Your brow raises at his abrupt reaction, to which Nanami conceals by flexing his neck and rolling his shoulders back.

“I am simply tired from work,” he haf-lies, “So, Satoru asked you out? Will you say yes?”

His words and tone are monotonous, almost bored even, but deep inside he’s so close to beating the crap out of his co-worker. Well, not really, Nanami isn’t a man of violence, but he’s jealous. Of course he is – he’s liked you ever since Principal Yaga hired you.

He’s never told Satoru about his little crush on you. He would be stupid to do such; Satoru would tease him to no end and maybe even be as childish to go as far as pushing him to you. Typical elementary shit, Nanami cringes to himself, watching as you look down at your feet with a pout. Now that confused him. He isn’t sure what your body language means at all, but patient as ever, Nanami only waits.

“Well,” you scratch your forehead, “I’m really flattered. I want to say yes because Satoru is a nice guy—”

“He is not. I do not respect him.”

You roll your eyes at the way his eyes darkens, “—but also I’m not sure if I should. I mean, Satoru doesn’t really date, you know? He’ll be with like one girl and be with another the next week. I just don’t want to…like, fall for that, I guess. Not that I won’t, because he’s totally not my type—”

“It’s just a yes or no,” Nanami cuts you off, his words coming out a lot harsher than he intends it to be. It’s not that he’s annoyed at your rambling, he actually finds it so adorable when you get so lost in your train of thoughts that your mind just travels from one place to another, and seeing how your eyes just leave farther from reality is something he’s always find such an attractive quirk, but not now – not when his infuriating co-worker is intending to mess with your feelings. “Do you want to go or not? Yes or no? It’s as simple as that.”

You blink back at him in surprise, mouth opening and closing like a fish. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that Nanami was a no-bullshit man who hit things right on the head, a huge contrast to your happy-go-lucky self, but he’s right.

It is that simple – and you’re complicating things all over again.

When you give him an answer, Nanami has to muster all his energy to not deflate. He’s tired – but now his exhaustion and even the heartbreak comes crashing down all over him that he’s immediately weighed down and overwhelmed – so much so that all he wants is to go home.

“Yes, I want to go.”

It’s his day off.

Like everything else in his life, Nanami plans everything down to the last minute of his day. His day off consisted of him having the privilege to sleep in until 8am, then breakfast with coffee from that great café a five minute walk away from his apartment, then he’ll be reading books in his study for two hours. Comes after that is lunch, and he’ll brows through some TV shows, pick up his clothes from the dry cleaning, get that special limited edition dinner of his favorite sushi, read books again and call it a day.

Simple, peaceful, no hassle – it’s the perfect day to relax.

Except it isn’t.

Because it’s your day off too, and you’re out on a date with Satoru. He still remembers how happy you looked then upon accepting the white haired man’s invitation, your nimble fingers wrapped around his sleeve as you shyly asked him to come with you.

He doesn’t know why you had to bring him, but he doesn’t question it, nonetheless. Nanami wants to see how Satoru would react, if there could be any indication from the man behind his blindfold that he had ill intentions. Oddly enough, there didn’t seem to be any. Satoru only beamed and deflated into a chibi, enthusiastically nodding along with you while you planned your date together.

Nanami took it upon himself to leave.

With a silent scoff, Nanami placed his dinner down on the counter. Because it’s his day off – and mostly because he doesn’t feel like himself – Nanami went out to buy the limited edition sushi wearing a white shirt and some gray sweatpants, too forlorn and a little jealous to even bother dressing up.

It’s stupid, really. He’s been looking forward for this sushi for a long, long time, but now that he’s had it, he can’t even enjoy the taste. His mind keeps going back to you.

Were you having fun with Satoru? Were you enjoying your time? Was Satoru treating you well? What was Satoru’s intentions when it came with you? The last time Nanami checked, you and him got along really well and you’re mostly the one who whacks the taller man in the head upside down when he’s being stupid, almost like two peas in a pod, except you were the smarter one. He’d been so sure you’re nothing but friends and yet…it all lead to this.

Nanami pushes his sushi away. They no longer taste like anything, the texture like dried paper on his mouth. He wipes his lips with a napkin, staring longingly at well…nothing. His walls were plain and empty, and suddenly, Nanami can’t help but compare himself to Gojo.

You both planned to go to the local carnival. There’d be lots of foods and even parlor shops, ferris wheel rides and photo booths to create memories. Of course you and Satoru would go there; both of you enjoyed loud, bustling crowds, claiming there was something amazing about basking in the “lives of humans when ignorant of curses” while Nanami prefers his peace and silence.

Had you gone out on a date with him instead, Nanami can’t guarantee he’ll be any fun. He most definitely wouldn’t ask you to go to a carnival with him either. It was loud, cramped, crowded, and it’s too chaotic for him to ever enjoy your presence and enjoy it alone.

Nanami closes the sushi box, turns on the TV and lets is play on the background, a wet towel above his eyes to relax his tired eyes.

He hopes you’re having fun. He hopes Satoru is treating you well. Nanami just ignores the slight pain in his chest when he thinks of you, laughing and touching anyone but him, and he could picture it already. You’ve always been so open and welcoming to everyone, he knows you’ll have fun today, too.

That’s one of the things he finds most endearing about you – that your smile never fades and you never forget about the simple, little things in life to focus on to keep your sanity after facing curse after curse.

He’s fine, he tells himself. Satoru may be annoying, but he knows you could have fun with him, and you deserved to be happy more than anyone else.

Nanami is about to fall asleep on his couch when his phone vibrates on the coffee tables. Groaning, he flicks off the towel to his shoulders, grumbling about how Principal Yaga better be respecting his day off, but the last thing he expects to see is your contact name flashing on the screen. In the contact photo, you’re winking with a peace sign held above your head.

You look so utterly adorable Nanami just wants to kiss you. He remembers this photo was taken when Yuuji got bored and asked to play games on his phone. Upon finding that there was none – of course there was none – the strawberry-haired student opted for taking pictures of everyone instead. There’s one with Nobara growling, Megumi sipping his boba-tea with dead eyes as if he’s so done with the world, more than twenty pictures of Satoru flexing his muscles and posing like an idiot, and then there’s yours.

Nanami remembers staring at his phone for a solid minute, his gallery actually blessed with your face in it. The sun shines behind you on that photo and you’re absolutely shining. He thinks that’s when he truly fell in love.

And it just so happened the love of his life is calling, making his heart skip a beat because shouldn’t you be with Gojo? Why were you calling him? Did something wrong happen?

Nanami doesn’t waste another second before swiping the green icon, already standing up from the couch as he grabs his jacket. He had this weird inkling something is wrong, why else would you call him?

His theories are proven true when your voice comes out shaky. “H-hello?”

“Good evening,” he greets stiffly, brows furrowed as he listens in on the way you seem to be shuffling around. “Is there something wrong?”

“I, uhm,” he hears you sniffle through the other line, “Yeah, I guess there is…Satoru just texted he can’t come because Principal Yaga suddenly sent him to a mission overseas…and then I just realized that Satoru’s been summoned by the elders and he’s just refusing to show up, so now they cornered him, I guess… anyways, I’m talking too much and I don’t want to be a bother, but would you maybe…like to hang out with me?”

Nanami’s hand freezes on the doorknob. “Hang out…professionally?”

He immediately wants to smack himself in the forehead for that. Out of all things he could’ve said, he just had to utter something unintelligent. He hears you snicker in the background and Nanami’s ears redden. 

He quickly regains his composure with a clear of his throat, suddenly remembering that Satoru’s ditched you, so now you’re asking him instead. It kind of feels like he’s just a replacement, but Nanami buries this feeling down before it consumes him, wondering if he’s already regretting changing into better clothes because he actually agreed to go to a carnival with you.

Upon hearing your happy, “Okay! I’ll wait for you then!”, Nanami realizes that he doesn’t actually mind. Especially not with you.

The carnival is loud.

Nanami dreads the moment he steps out of his car, his body swallowed by the bustling crowd and defeaning music of banging drums and clashing instruments. There’s a hundred scents everywhere – smoke, fish, glazed apples – he doesn’t know where to begin or how to focus.

He nearly turns back to his hair, about to shoot you a text that maybe this is beyond him after all. His head begins to spin when he’s only pushed deeper into the crowd, people bumping into him with every single second and it’s so suffocating. It doesn’t make sense to him how anyone could possibly go on a date like this and enjoy it. He knows for sure this chaos won’t let him enjoy his date’s presence because he’s too busy trying to get away from it all.

Nanami staggers for a bit when a strong hand tugs him to the side. Soon, he finds himself pressed flush against you in a tight corner, your hips warm on his. “Hi,” you breathe out airily, lashes fanning and fluttering in that same manner that always made his heart do complete flips.

“Hello,” he greets back with a small bow out of faux respect, but really, he’s just keeping his head down because you look so beautiful in that moment he doesn’t even know where to look. You’re warm and soft next to his hard and stiff muscles, the scent of roses and vanilla mixing in with the street smoke and Nanami’s head grows dizzy, his hand around yours tightening for comfort. “Y/N…I do not prefer this crowd. Can I take you back home instead? You must be tired – I’ll prepare dinner for you.”

Nanami blinks back in surprise when he sees you nod, a slight grimace on your face, and you practically bury your face in his bicep as you groan, “It’s too noisy for me too. Let’s just hang out at your place.”

So you end up in his immaculately clean apartment, admiring and staring at the boring furniture. Nanami changes into more comfortable clothes and whips out something to cook, not wanting to feed you measly take out when you’re probably famished. He watches with side glances as you pick up a photo of him with his parents when he was younger, cooing and giggling at the baby version of him.

“Nanamin, you’re so cute!”

Nanami scoffs and turns back to the heated water in the bowl, arms hard as they cross against his chest covered with an apron. “Please do not call me cute. I am anything but.”

“No, you’re really cute,” you insist, but after seeing Nanami’s flustered frown, you eventually give up and give the poor man a break. Later, you wobble next to him, watching with curious eyes and a small smile as he adds the vegetables into the soup, moving expertly as he diced up the onions to the side. The sheer focus and attention on his daily tasks makes him falter, and he suddenly finds it so hard to function now.

“Why are you staring at me? Is there something so interesting about slicing up onions?”

“No, not really,” you say absentmindedly, the slight plop of the ingredients echoing. “It’s just – I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this way. Domestic, I mean, but it looks good on you,” you nod to yourself, and Nanami finds himself struggling to act as if your presence wasn’t making him go crazy while he proceeds to cook. “In fact, everything looks good on you, and I find you really interesting!”

“Y-you do?”

“Yes, of course!”

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” you shrug, assisting him silently with mixing the bowl even when he didn’t ask you to. Unaware that he’s now focused on you, watching you cook with him with you pressed up against his side, almost as if it’s right where you belong, Nanami feels the same with you. You also look good being this domestic with him, and he suddenly blurts out, “Would you like to stay with me? Like this?”

Your eyes slide over his in a slow fashion, slow enough that his brain hotwires at the fear maybe he’s said something wrong. But Nanami immediately swallows it down, huffing and turning away from you with that stoic expression again. “Forgive me. That was weird—”

“Why would it be weird?” you laughed to yourself before bumping your hips with his, “You’re the one who invited me here. Of course I want to stay.”

That’s…that’s not what he means.

Nanami is left staring openly at you while you help him set the table and you proceed to talk about how you didn’t really want to go to the carnival but Satoru insisted you’d have fun, so you went anyway even if you’d much prefer to be somewhere else. He’s barely listening, too distracted by the way your lips move and how you swing the house slippers on your big toe, your legs crossed on top of another and your figure slightly hunched across from him.

You look so comfortable and welcomed in his home that it puts him at ease too, not worried that he has to impress you anything because it’s you, and Nanami could actually be vulnerable enough to laugh with you over a bowl of vegetable soup.

It’s fine, he lies to himself again, it’s fine that you don’t know he likes you even if he tends to slip and be obvious sometimes. Because at least you’re with him in that moment, and he lies to himself again that it’s fine, that maybe next time he’ll tell you, but he doesn’t worry about. How could he worry about it when you’re snorting so loud over a lame joke he said that rice nearly came out your nose, and he’s so drunk over the sound of your bubbly laughter that something flutters deep within his belly?

When you help him wash the dishes and bask in the silence instead, comfortable over the lack of words and nothing but the sound of his faucet running and the slight rubbing of towels against dishes heard in the background, Nanami is unsure whether he’s glad that Satoru ditched you on your first date.

It doesn’t stop there.

Nanami only keeps falling in love with you more. He’s been doing a good job of keeping his feelings to himself because the last thing he wants is to have you stay away from him, but Satoru was really getting on his nerves.

He’s just come back from exorcising a curse when he sees you and Satoru play-wrestling in the field with the other students. Megumi is grumbling to himself in the corner, Yuuji is laughing and cheering on you to tackle down his sensei who’s currently going down in high-pitched laughter, Toge pumping his fists and screaming, “Salmon, salmon!”

It’s a chaotic sight – one that he usually doesn’t mind – until you finally pin Satoru down on the ground, your ass above his crotch. Satoru’s hands then come up to squeeze your ass and hips under the false pretense he’s struggling to push you off him, but Nanami knows better.

“Give up already!” you tease the other sorcerer who’s still wriggling underneath you, and Nanami sees it before it happens.

Satoru’s legs bend beneath you and he tries to pin you under him in quick movements, but Nanami is faster, his reflexes taking over. Before he realizes what he’s doing, Nanami tugs you and pulls you forward until you collide on his chest. He’s breathing hard, eyes narrowed at the arrogant smirk painted on Satoru’s features. Meanwhile, you’ve softened in Nanami’s grip, hands fisting his shirt that has him hardening up out of sheer protectiveness.

“Oh, Nanamin!” Satoru beams while wiping the dirt on his hands across his uniform, “Glad to see you here. You wanna join training too?”

“This is hardly training,” he retorts with a clenched jaw, “You’re harassing and disrespecting your fellow sorcerer because you can never keep your dirty hands to yourself,” before Satoru could defend himself, he’s already all over you, his hand tilting your chin side to side to check for any injuries. “Are you hurt anywhere? Did this bastard do anything else?”

“No, not really—”

“Why do you care so much, Nanamin?” Satoru teases, and the students all huddle to watch the commotion. Everyone can feel the tension rising, and Nanami only stiffens up further when he feels you lean closer to his warmth almost absentmindedly. “She and I were just playing around, no hard feelings, no foul play. We’re just having fun, right, Y/N?”

“She is not someone you can just have fun with, Satoru. You’ve already crossed the line when you ditched her on your first date, and you didn’t even bother texting or calling back when I drove her home. It’s disrespectful, and she deserves better than that.”

“Nanami—”

“I was busy,” Satoru sighs dramatically, “And if she deserves better than me, then who would it be? I can take care her of her, you know, she and I have been besties for like what, a year now? I’ll be good to her,” he smirks, and Nanami wants nothing more than to punch him square in the jaw. “Besides, it’s not like she’s dating anyone else. She’s single and ready to mingle—”

“Maybe she is, but I’m not,” Nanami deadpans, his harsh tone shocking everyone.

“Wh-what do you mean?” you squeak under him, and Nanami falls silent. He’s never thought of confessing to you, especially not this way, and Nobara is biting Yuuji’s jacket behind them to muffle her squeals. Panda is clapping his hands and whispers oh, here we go, followed by Toge’s salmon salmon.

It dawns on him now that everyone knows he likes you after all, and now that he’s confronted with the situation, he can’t run away from it. Not that Nanami plans on running away, for he is a man and his pride doesn’t allow him to evade situations like this.

He just wishes it could’ve gone out better.

“Forgive me if this makes you uncomfortable,” Nanami releases his grip on you, loosening his tie that makes him feel like he’s choking both on air and his words. Through his cool stature, he’s actually sweating inside his clothes, and it doesn’t help you’re patient with him too, head tilted to the side curiously and so horribly cutely he might combust. “But I have always been, and I still am, utterly in love with you.”

Nobara and Yuuji no longer hold back as they scream to themselves, the former slapping the latter in his back while Megumi only shakes his head, muttering “about time,” under his breath. Maki snickers to herself and Satoru is stunned, but it’s nothing compared to the way you shrink under his gaze for a moment.

He believes you’re going to run away from him because of his blatant confession; it wasn’t romantic at all, and the kids are still screaming too loudly for him to form coherent thoughts.

Nanami begins to form a deep bow, ready to apologize wholeheartedly and to politely ask you to forget this if you wish – he would respect your decision. But just as his gaze met the ground, he’s thrown off balance as you jump on him, soft glossy lips crashing into his.

The screams and cheers of everyone are suddenly drowned out when he feels your lips molding onto his, and he can feel you smiling happily, giggling while his hands tentatively run down your hips to hold you close. It’s unprofessional, displeasing, and downright horrendous to be kissing someone during work hours while the students are watching, especially because his clothes are crumpled from your eager touch and you’re on top of his chest, but Nanami absolutely doesn’t give a single fuck because he’s kissing you back fervently.

It’s what he’s always wanted – you’re the one he’s always wanted, and now that he has you in his hold, he’s not easily letting you go.

“See? I told you guys,” Satoru proudly puffs his chest up in the background, “All Nanamin needs is a little push.”

[just-a-sleepy-idiot]

BEING HIS ROOMATE WAS GOOD! What do you think the roomate!riddler would do if he found you maybe one day snooping around his things?

Thank you! <33 And we really gotta know what hes gonna do with the tape huh ;D

Dano!Riddler Imagine: Roommate!Reader snooping around his stuff

Content/Warnings: Yandere behavior, Fluffy but also scary Edward, I would say kidnapping but you already live there so idk, Restraints, Gender neutral Reader

When you moved into this flat you found yourself to be living with a quite interesting man. He was introverted and soft spoken but there were also many things that stood out about him, like his habit of integrating riddles into his way of conversing with people. He just naturally intwined them into his language like he didn’t have to think twice about it.

And the Riddles were also ever present at home- but you most often stumbled upon them on little notes that he had started to leave out for you to solve. Edward was a forensic analyst you learned, and it explained quite a few of the things that he was working on this old desk in the living room. You weren’t sure what he was crafting there, you could only determine a labyrinth amongst them.

A labyrinth you believed to recognize in one of the horrifying clips that were shown most recently on the news. You tried to distance yourself from the thought, from the familiar looking eyes and glasses you recognized in that masked face.

You swallowed thickly as you replayed the clip on your computer- the green eyes that you knew looking so calm and attentive were now filled with brisk madness. Could that truly be him? The man who smiled to himself when you announced that you found his riddle for you, the man who stood there quietly contemplating and observing you when you sat by the dinner table trying not to cry.

Eventually he had cautiously approached you, scribbling down something as he stood next to you and then sliding over the paper with a riddle on it. You stared at it for a few moments, not sure if you had the energy for that kind of thing right now. He looked from the paper to you and back and begun to black out some of the symbols, wordlessly encouraging you to do the same. At some point you quietly picked up the pen and worked alongside him, pulling your legs up on the chair.

Sometimes your gaze trailed off to him beside you, and he would catch your eyes for a moment before quickly looking down again. When you blackened out the last symbols you saw that it revealed a little picture of a rabbit. A small smile played around your lips and you chuckled softly- so he tried to comfort you..

The man you knew was so different from what you saw there, but there were too many clues to ignore it. It was no use, how could you quench your anxiety if you didn’t go after the growing suspicion??

So you waited until you were sure he would leave for a while longer and sneaked into his room. It was dark, and newspaper sites paved his walls. You let your gaze roam over them and it looked like they all had an angry focus on the founding families of Gotham. But soon your eyes were fixated on something else, you had turned around to see what was on his table and there you saw some horrifying machinery. Crafts which use could not be covered by his profession anymore- and carved into the wood below was the infamous symbol.

You gasped with horror, feeling the terror creeping up on you as it fully dawned on you. He.. really was the Riddler! He was this murderer, this terrorist who was after the big people in Gotham. Your chest rose and sunk quickly in fear as you now approached his closet- you wanted final proof, you wanted to see the mask.

„Are you looking for this?“

The mask now hung there right in front of you and you backed up in shock, right into the man who was holding in in front of you. You jumped and squealed, instinctively trying to run away but his arms wrapped around you quickly and pulled you back into his chest again.

His lips were close to your ear as he looked around trying to think of what to do with you now before you had an opportunity to break free- „You really shouldn’t have done this..“

Your heard his breath quicken as he tried to contain you and it tickled your ear- you squirmed and squealed so desperately it was almost lovely.

But your efforts were getting a bit too much, so he heaved you on the bed with all his strength and was quick to catch your wrists do pin you down as you instantly tried to jump up again. He was towering over you as his knee rested on the bed, and strands of his hair fell into his face.

You could now see what he was wearing, see the same dark green attire with the question mark from the video! His hair was disheveled from wearing the mask before, and he hastily put on his glasses on again. Edward looked around with a dark huff and reached away with his free hand to grab the duct tape- his eyes landed on you again as he got the end with his teeth and stretched it out with the other hand.

He hurried to now put the tape around your wrists as you struggled against him, heaving his other leg on the bed and over you to straddle you so you couldn’t turn around as he concentrated on your wrists. „Stay still!“ He growled increasingly frustrated with you.

When he was finished he exhaled audibly and slammed his hands next to your head on the bed, hovering over you with a clenched jaw.

„That’s not how it was supposed to be, no.. no that wasn’t part of my plan! But now I have no other choice but to keep you to myself until I’m through with them you see??“

Your breath was shaking and you swallowed thickly, a tear ran down your cheek. „Are you going to hurt me?“

He eyed you for a few seconds like he still wasn’t sure, as he was thinking his gaze mindlessly trailed over your body before he shook his head.

"That depends.. if you can behave now. Will you behave for me?"

- - -

If you liked this and want more of this character comment or send an ask

[rodr1cks]

Hi! I don't know if your request are open, but I'd like to know if you could write a rodrick x reader where the reader is Rowley's sister and discovers her talking on the phone with a friend saying she's in love with Rodrick and tells Greg and he tells her that Rodrick has been in love with her for a long time and they try to put them together?

cw: none it’s pure fluff

word count: 1.8k

“I know! And he didn’t even apologize!” Greg ranted into the receiver.

“I’m sorry, Greg,” Rowley frowned, sympathetic nature as present as always. “Anyways, mom says dinner is ready, see you tonight?” Rowley’s tone lifted at the end of his sentence, excitement brewing as he thought about the sleepover he was meant to have with Greg later that evening.

You slid into the kitchen on your socks, just as Rowley was concluding his conversation with Greg.

Rowley sat anxiously through dinner, quickly consuming everything on his plate, including the vegetables. You observed him from across the table, cocking your head as your younger brother inhaled his peas like he hadn’t eaten in days.

He took his last bite before exclaiming, “I’m going to pack my stuff for Greg’s!”

Not without clearing his dishes first, of course.

You rolled your eyes at his charisma and headed into the living room. You slumped over on the couch, limbs splayed every which way as you called your friend, Marissa. You had been needing to gush to somebody about your newest crush, Rodrick Heffley.

You had only interacted with the messy haired boy in passing: family dinners, picking up Greg, dropping off Rowley, etc.

“I don’t know what it is, he’s just so- so- captivating. God, Mar, I swear I could watch him play drums for hours on end!”

Unbeknownst to you, Rowley had entered the room and was about to speak. You were too caught up in drooling over Rodrick to notice. “Hey, y/n-” He cut himself off quickly, curiosity getting the best of him.

“And did you see what he was wearing at Matt’s party? Those jeans? And that eyeliner? God I could just tear them-”

Rowley cleared his throat, unwilling to hear the rest. “Y/n can you take me to Greg’s, please?” He stood awkwardly with his lips pursed.

Your head whipped around faster than the speed of light. “Marissa, I gotta go.”

“Rowley, how much of that did you hear?”

He lied, something he wasn’t really good at, “Not much! I promise!”

“Rowley Jefferson you had better keep your mouth shut, or I swear I’ll-”

You stopped yourself, closing your eyes and drawing in a deep breath. “Just get in the car.” You breathed out in a scarily calm tone. Your red headed sibling nodded frantically out of fear and darted to the garage.

Usually, you would make him walk, but ever since your infatuation with Rodrick began, you were more eager to give him rides over there. The mere prospect of getting the slightest glance sending excitement throughout your entire being.

When you pulled up to the Heffley home, you gave him a final glare. “Say nothing.” He gave you the same shaky nod he gave you only moments ago. With that, he was bounding towards the front door. You made sure he got inside safely and drove off.

“Rowley? Everything okay?” Greg asked his friend, concerned with his behavior. Rowley couldn’t handle keeping secrets. His hands grew clammy and a slight sweat broke out on his forehead. Rowley had an uncomfortably fake smile plastered on his face as he tried to assure Greg that everything was just peachy.

All it took was one knowing look from Greg and Rowley broke.

“Alright, fine! I heard my sister talking to her friend about how hot Rodrick is and how she wants to-”

“Okay, okay! I get the picture!”

Greg took a moment to proceed, his brows furrowed as he brought a contemplative fist up to support his chin.

“Lemme get this straight. Your sister likes my brother?”

Rowley nodded slowly.

“Y/n likes Rodrick?”

Rowley nodded again, confirming Greg’s exclamations.

“But y/n is smart a-and hot!”

“Greg! Don’t say that!” Rowley groaned, rolling his head back in disgust. Greg threw both of his hands up in defense, “I’m just stating facts.”

“Wait, I have an idea.” A pit of dread grew in Rowley’s stomach, Greg’s ideas never turned out well.

“What if we set up y/n with Rodrick? Just hear me out, this could be good for him.”

Rowley mulled the idea over in his head, thinking that maybe dating you could make Rodrick more… agreeable? Maybe you could be a good influence on the intimidating teenager. A happier Rodrick would make sleepovers at Greg’s a lot more pleasant.

“I think that could work,” Rowley said apprehensively. “But how do we do it?”

Greg shrugged, “Simple, we just tell Rodrick there’s a really hot Girl interested in him.”

The boys proceeded to draw up a plan.

Phase one: The approach. Greg and Rowley nervously ascended the wooden steps that led to Rodrick’s room. Rodrick was laying on his back, spinning a drumstick between his nimble fingers.

He shot up immediately when he noticed the boys’ presence. “What are your dweebs doing up here?”

Phase two: Delivery. “Calm down Rodrick, we have some information you might wanna know,” Greg reasoned cooly, easing Rodrick’s anger from a roaring ten to a mild six.

Greg nodded over at Rowley, signaling him to start talking.

“W-well,” Rowley stuttered, “I uhm- heard my sister talking about you and she- she likes you and she was talking about your jeans?”

Rodrick blinked in confusion, processing this intel.

“Your sister likes me? Are you sure she meant me?”

“That’s what I said!” Greg exclaimed and Rodrick shot him a terrifying glare, silently telling Greg to can it.

Rodrick was honestly shocked. He always observed you from afar, deciding himself that a chick as cool as you would never go for him. This news was absolutely world shattering for the boy, he completely admired you.

Phase three: Action. “We have a plan.” Greg said, a conniving grin creeping onto his face. “Rowley calls y/n, tells her that he’s feeling sick and blames it on Mom’s pot roast or something. Then when she rushes over all worried, you greet her at the door. And then you work your Rodrick magic!” Greg smiled, abundant pride for his plan evident in his stature.

“It’s a go.” Rodrick declared, scrambling around his room to put on deodorant, a new t-shirt, and cologne before pointing at Rowley. “Make the call.”

“Hey, y/n,” Rowley groaned into the phone, sounding as sick as he possibly could. “I- I think I ate something bad and I really need you ro come get me.”

You sighed, telling him you’d be there in ten minutes and to have his things ready to go. You departed for the Heffley house for the second time that night.

When Rowley didn’t come out to your car, you trudged up to the red door to go retrieve the sickly boy.

You gave the door three lazy knocks, expecting Rowley’s face to be the one behind it when it swung open. “Hey kid, are you feeling okay?” You asked, not yet making eye contact with the figure leering in the doorframe.

Your eyes widened as you came to realize who it was.

“Funny seeing you here,” Rodrick drawled out, a smirk tugging at his lips. Your cheeks burned with the heat of one thousand suns, you were not expecting this tonight.

“Y-yeah,” you smiled awkwardly, staring at your feet. “Rowley called, he uhm, he’s not feeling well. So if you could just get him for me I can leave. Immediately.” You cursed yourself for your blubbering idiocy as you twiddled your fingers.

“Actually, Rowley is feeling much, much better.” Suspicion grew as you studied Rodrick’s devious expression. “What’s going on?” You asked, genuinely puzzled as nothing was making any sense.

“I don’t know, y/n. Why don’t you come in and tell me?” Rodrick was surprisingly smooth in this situation, despite his nerves being at an all time high.

“Rowley is just up here,” Rodrick said while guiding you up the stairs to his room. In the meantime, Greg and Rowley peered out from the hallway, watching you follow Rodrick upstairs and giggling to themselves.

The overhead lights in Rodrick’s room were turned on, the glow from his string lights illuminating the area instead. “Mood lighting,” as he had called it. Rodrick had already instructed the boys to stay far away once you had arrived.

You were still lost, Rowley nowhere in sight. “So? Where is he?” You asked expectantly.

“Here’s the thing y/n. You know Rowley can’t keep secrets, right? I mean you have to know that, he is your brother”

Shit.

“That little shit stain! I’ll get him, I swear to god!” You turned to bound down the stairs, ready to tear the entire house apart in hunting for him. Rodrick grabbed your wrist before your foot could even reach the first step.

“Y/n, relax, relax!” His grip on your flesh made your breath hitch and stomach churn. “It’s okay, I feel the same way.” Rodrick’s cocky facade dissipated into nothing as he revealed his feelings.

You got a glimpse of a more vulnerable side of Rodrick that you were sure he didn’t typically share. “But girls like you don’t usually like stupid guys like me,” Rodrick was staring at the ground now, grasp on your arm softening.

You were too unsure of your words so you opted to move your free hand to hold his bicep, closing a considerable amount of distance between the two of you in the process.

“Rodrick, I’ve never liked anybody as much as I like you. And I don’t mean that in a weird or creepy way it’s just that-”

Now it was time for Rodrick’s own addition to the plan. Phase four: The kiss.

Your rambling was cut short by a pair of warm lips pressing against your own. He kissed you with just enough force to cause you to stumble back a bit, causing you to brace yourself against his torso.

He carded a gentle hand through your hair and tugged back on your soft locks. You moaned at the vibrations tendrilling at your scalp and kissed him with even more ferocity.

Somehow, you ended up on his bed, straddling him. The blankets strewn across his mattress melded against your knees and the fronts of your calves as you stabilized yourself on his lap.

He placed apprehensive hands on your hip bones, unsure of what was okay and what wasn’t. You placed your hand on top of his larger one, assuring him that you were comfortable. You even allowed a small whimper to leave your throat as he tightened his hold on you.

You only pulled away to catch your breath, looking into his eyes for the first time that night. You smiled warmly at him as you cupped his cheek. Suddenly, Rodrick’s signature smirk returned to his face.

“Now tell me what you were saying about my jeans.”

[xiaowhore]

wear your heart on a sleeve

albedo

Albedo was... perceptive.

He'd hoped he was as oblivious as you gave him credit for, a merciful approach to spare you from the embarrassment, but alas; reality was often disappointing, and he was only kind enough to dismiss the painfully evident signs of your admiration for him. (As insensitive he may seem, he does try to play nice.)

Truth be told, Albedo wasn't ignorant to matters of romance despite popular belief. Or perhaps you were simply easy to read, with your discernable jumpy mannerisms around him, and the palpable expression of delight on your face when he gave you some form of validation. The conspicuous longing glances, the striking color of your flushed cheeks, the thrilled grin that graced your lips whenever you came across each other on the streets — they all led to the conclusion that you took a liking to him.

It shouldn't be all that hard to observe, with everything you've shown him. The chipper tone that accentuated your voice, the radiant smile he had become accustomed to, the bright twinkle in your eyes reserved for him; they all pointed to the glaring fact that yes, he would have to reject your affections sooner or later.

He hasn't given you the wrong idea, has he? Albedo wasn't especially fond of anyone — exceptions would include Klee and his pupils — and he acted nice for the sake of being nice, not to woo people into thinking he was interested in them. Humans think way too deeply into things, and he'd feared you would misinterpret his actions as any implication of attraction, expecting something out of him when he clearly did not intend to seduce you.

...And yet opposed to what he envisioned, you never attempted to approach him, unassertive as ever while your gaze lingered on his figure from an appropriate distance.

That... wasn't what he predicted to happen. Or maybe he should've known all along you'd prefer to remain tight-lipped about your feelings, taking your meek nature into account. (Not that it mattered when he was fully aware of your sentiments, though he wouldn't comment on it to let you have some semblance of pride.)

But it was admittedly troubling, to have a burning gaze pierce through the back of his head. The pinpricks of attention settled on his frame blazed his skin, the notion of eyes always following him... he found it rather displeasing.

Even so, his guilt would render him speechless, unable to choke out a single word of complaint. Not when you catered to his every whim, when every compliment that left your lips aimed to praise his abilities and not to flatter him, when your eyes held nothing but sincere adoration for his person.

Albedo dreaded the day when he'll inevitably answer your confession. He feared of what comes after, of the tears that may roll down your cheeks, of your face painted with dejection. Of the possibility that you may never show him your bright smile again, replaced by an expression crumpling into grief.

(And, ever so faintly, the thought tugged painfully at his chest.)

The realization you liked him came with startling clarity, a revelation that made so much sense anyone would feel like an idiot for not realizing sooner. The information fit perfectly like pieces filling gaps in a puzzle.

Albedo had been contemplative all week, when he'd first taken note of your odd behavior around him. So much shyer and stiff; not very uncharacteristic on the surface, but the discomfort you showed around him couldn't be classified as simple nervousness. You were wary of him... for a reason he didn't know.

He did consider the possibility you didn't like him. He didn't take offense, but he'd like to know the reason behind it, and if possible, make amends to what wrongs he may have done to you. You were acquainted with most of his companions — to be specific, Klee and Sucrose thought very highly of you — and he assumed it would be complicated if you didn't get along.

Except that you didn't dislike him, and felt the exact opposite.

Another complication altogether, and it was certainly more troublesome.

(At the back of his mind, he had also considered this alternative, but he didn't want to think about it any further, despite all the evidence laid out in front of him. That couldn't be the case, surely...)

It all started with the Knights of Favonius's annual cleaning day, a duty everyone needed to fulfill, and the Chief Alchemist was no exception. You were also present in the event, albeit a little less enthusiastic in comparison to everyone else for the day undoubtedly full of chores.

He observed you with an analytical stare, mildly amused by your occasional bored yawns, and when you finally noticed him looking at you, you immediately stiffened and shifted your gaze elsewhere. He almost felt hurt until he noticed the corners of your lips were twitching into a... smile? He was a bit miffed, wondering what exactly was your deal, but he didn't bother entertaining the questions in his head. It wasn't like he had the answers to them.

Yet.

When Klee ran up to him, asking him to fetch additional supplies from the broom closet, he didn't sense anything suspicious. That was his first mistake.

The second was letting his guard down when he sighted you in the same location, passing it off as an inconvenient coincidence instead of a staged encounter. He simply felt awkward and decided to get his job done quickly so he could leave at once, noticing your discomfort.

The third mistake was allowing himself to relax. He took one cautious step inside the broom closet, expecting nothing out of the ordinary, when he felt a hand shove him forward, the doors closing behind him.

It just so happened that the broom closet didn't have the biggest spaces, and he was squished between you and the wall.

“A-Albedo?!” you stammered, growing embarrassed as you felt him press directly against you. He was equally as distressed, face stuck in the crook of your neck. One wrong move and he may touch somewhere else inappropriate.

“Oh, my bad,” an unapologetic voice chimed from outside, and Albedo quickly recognized it belonged to Kaeya. “Is everything okay in there? My apologies, I tripped and accidentally pushed the first thing I touched.”

A second later, the doors were being forcibly pried open. You prepared to sigh in relief, thinking your misery could end quickly.

Kaeya hummed. “How unfortunate. It seems to be locked.”

Your last thread of patience snapped.

“Kaeya,” you growled, and Albedo was a bit surprised. You sounded genuinely terrifying. “Once I get out of here, I'm going to murder you.”

The man barked out a laugh at the empty threat. (Was it truly empty? Albedo personally thought your words held some promise.) “I'll get some help. Sit tight, Your Highness.”

Kaeya's footfalls faded into silence once he left the room, and Albedo couldn't help but think this entire mess was arranged and not accidental. This was a particularly cruel prank, in his opinion.

He opened his mouth to speak, careful not to brush his lips against your bare skin. “Do you mind if we change positions? This is a bit uncomfortable.”

You started stuttering again. “Y-yes, I agree!”

You awkwardly shuffled into a better position, though you would argue it was far worse. You were facing him now, chest nearly pressed against his, and his arms were propped on either side of you to keep himself upright. Brooms no longer poked at your torso thanks to your new position, yet now you felt like you were being stabbed with needles instead, goosebumps spreading across your skin with every breath he heaved on your neck. Your ears burned at the proximity, and you were grateful for the darkness that blanketed your flushed face. Otherwise, he would have the perfect view of your flustered expression, and that would ruin all of your efforts to hide your adoration for him.

A factor you didn't take into account was your heartbeat.

Albedo was silent in disbelief, sensing your pulse faintly beneath your clothes. It raced too quick to be normal, actually it was anything but normal, and he felt it race even quicker when he angled his head to rest snugly on your neck. The slightest of movements he'd make elicited a shuddering breath from you, always without fail, and it didn't take him long to realize why.

Suddenly, the temperature felt a little too warm.

(In his panic, he didn't feel his own heart pounding erratically in his chest. Surely, that rapid heartbeat was yours alone... right?)

[lizbotw]

impatient | itadori

you can’t decide if being left alone with him is a blessing or a curse half the time.

itadori yuuji x reader

word count: 2.2k

inspired by fushiguro being all pouty when he didn’t get to help itadori and kugisaki in that one episode :(

“This is so boring.”

“Yuuji, shut up.”

Shoe soles scrapping against the gravel, you didn’t even bother looking at him, although the burning gaze you already felt prickled the hairs on the back of your neck.

“You’re bored too.” It wasn’t a question.

“We’re supposed to wait for them out here.”

There was a flash of color in your peripheral and a side glance revealed that he was tapping the heel of his red sneakers on the ground—another thirty seconds of that and you’d probably end up threatening him to a life without legs (not that it’d work—Sukuna in all his stupid glory would just regenerate them for his precious vessel; speaking of which, if Sukuna decided to start complaining right now too, you were sure you would lose your mind).

Whistling wind was the only reply to your statement and, content your ears would be spared from the monologue of complaints Yuuji had been going through for who-knows-how-long-now, you crossed your arms and tilted your head back to lean against the brick wall. The stone was dusted with a rustic red—standard, yet somehow fitting for the scene around you. The building looming in front of you was dilapidated in appearance, but you admitted the sleepy residential neighborhood it was located in had some charm to it in a weary, tired sort of way. The splash of brightly colored flowers and houses on some corners really upped the appeal you had to say.

Caught up surveying the surrounding area in admiration, you were almost able to forget about the boy perched on top of the junction where the wall dipped in its height down to a low brick fence just short enough to climb on top of. Almost.

As soon as the sigh left him from beside you, your face reacted before your mind had even fully comprehended what it meant (what it meant was that there was no chance you’d get any peace and quiet around here at this rate), your features annoyed and frowning and everything in between as had become routine at this point. “Why can’t we go in?” he whined, nudging you with his knee. His gaze was expectant and weirdly innocent as he peered up at you, as though you were explaining to a child why they had to have patience. You supposed that comparison could be accurate most times when it came to Yuuji.

“Because Gojou said so.”

“He’s not even here!” That was true. He was off on some super secret mission, although the instructions he had given the group of you were specific—or... er, not too specific that you couldn’t take some... creative liberties in their interpretation, such as stopping for ice cream on the way there as per Kugisaki’s demand request—trusting the lot of you to take care of yourselves and follow them to a T. And by that, he of course meant Fushiguro keeping everyone in line.

There was another curse to take care of, yet Gojou had decided to have you two sit this one out and simply accompany Megumi and Nobara to the site—those two were to actually head inside and deal with the threat. In hindsight, it all made sense considering you, Yuuji, and Megumi had spent more time around each other prior to Nobara’s arrival at the school, no matter how minuscule the time difference was. Hell, you and Yuuji had both spent more time fighting alongside Nobara than Megumi had (they always seemed to keep getting separated from each other in some way or another during the early missions, a laughable observation now that you thought about it). Naturally, letting those two duke it out and come to a somewhat agreeable partnership was the best course of action, and what better way to do that than force them into an abandoned building together?

But even in spite of all that clear-minded reasoning, you couldn’t lie that you weren’t more than a little peeved that you weren’t getting in on any of the action. You scoffed. Team bonding, but at what cost? At the cost of your sanity, that’s what.

You rubbed your temples, squeezing your eyes shut. You no longer wanted to see. “Yuuji, we’re supposed to keep watch,” you huffed out, exasperated. Although truth be told, the title of “guards” just seemed like some fancy namesake Gojou had given you two in order to placate you and make you feel like you were actually doing something. Needless to say, it was not working.

The low section of the wall he sat upon was one half of the area that flanked the archway of the path that led up to the building, and Yuuji, stupid and silly and cute, peeked his head just around the corner to look out of the entrance at the (empty) street and then turned back to you with a shrug. “Nothing there. Job done.” Playfully adorable as he was, you cracked a smile at that, shaking your head.

“Guess you’re right—job done,” you conceded.

He beamed and then hopped off of the ledge, pacing now. You wanted to stretch your legs too and go exploring around the area, but you were trying to be the voice of reason here, knowing that if you gave up that control you were a goner for sure. It was painfully easy to get swept up in his antics.

You barely even registered him setting off on another tangent about how he wanted to go inside too, more so focused on his hands as he switched from swinging them at his side to putting them up in a mock thinking expression for his head to rest upon as he kept walking back and forth in front of you—you were wondering if (and if so, when was the perfect moment) you could reach out and grab ahold of his hand to still the restless energy... and also partially because you just wanted to.

“They’ve been in there a long time, haven’t they?” Yuuji mused, your mind actually picking up on the question now that it was directed at you and not at some vague imaginary spot in the distance. He was right. You noted the glow of the red of the bricks making up the wall as they shone brilliantly warm under the softer evening light, the silent ticking of time among the clouds your only indication of the day passing. The sky was in between the bright shades of blue of the sunny afternoon and the orange hues that were gradually creeping in and mixing with them.

“They have,” you confirmed. You wondered if you would be here until nightfall with how long it was taking them. You crossed your arms again and drummed your fingers against them. Come on already, I have things to do.

After a staring contest with one of the many dust-covered windows of the building as though you were mentally willing the two inside to come out, your narrowed gaze swung over to Yuuji to see what he was up to and promptly widened. You hadn’t noticed that he had stopped his pacing and was looking at you now, closer than you remembering him being moments before.

“And... we’ve been alone this entire time, haven’t we?” Another step forward, casual yet making you suspicious all the same.

“...yes,” you replied, wary of the grin he had—you would’ve thought it was Sukuna if not for the crinkle of his eyes into a smile that matched the one on his lips (oh yeah, that was Yuuji alright).

His steps were so easy, carefree, as though he were sauntering up to talk to you any other time, but you knew him and you knew when he was planning something. Sure, there were times you were downright confused by just about everything he did, but then there were others where his thoughts were just plain obvious.

“And what have we been doing?” In one swift movement he had trapped you against the wall—another step and your back would hit the surface—piercing look pinning you in place. It was a sudden development but you also had the notion that you should have seen this coming from a mile away. He didn’t even need to put an arm out to prevent you from side-stepping out of the spot, his mere presence enough (although you very much wanted to wipe that sweet smile off of his face).

Your mind scrambled for words, you glancing off to the side briefly—you could not maintain eye contact with him like this. “Talking?”

His eyes lit up and you had the feeling you’d just fallen right into his trap. The hand that came up to cup your face confirmed your suspicions. “Yeah, and that’s boring, isn’t it?”

You swallowed, trying to still your breathing. “It is...”

Yuuji tilted his face forward to lean his forehead against yours, skin warm. Both of you were silent aside from the quiet hitches of breath, scrutinizing one another. When you felt his thumb press against the full part of your bottom lip in interest, you just about lost it. His voice was smooth and low when he spoke, “I was going to wait until later but...” You felt him breath in.

Later was usually when anything happened, you two not yet entirely bold or confident enough when it came to most displays of affection in public—or at least in front of the others that was. Their teasing was enough to have your face burning in shame for days, even if you had to admit it was funny at times. You barely even held hands in front of them. Then again... following Yuuji’s train of thought... you had been out here alone for so long already... maybe it wouldn’t hurt to just...—you weren’t lost to contemplation for long though as he brought you back to reality.

A mere brush of his lips against yours stopped you from replying, your eyes falling closed, heart hammering. Your hand found a weak grip on the front of his shirt as you waited expectantly for the warm flush of his mouth.

“What are you two doing?”

You jolted at the familiar voice, heart hammering for an entirely different reason now, and pulled away from Yuuji’s face, although his grip on your head didn’t let you get far, the press of his ring finger and pinky into the back of your neck dizzying. Fushiguro and Kugisaki stood a few feet away, looking a little worse for wear with minor scrapes and bruises littered on their exposed skin, but thankfully all in one piece.

Eyes darting to them, mind reeling as you realized the compromising position you had been caught in, you thought up an excuse on the spot.

“Standing guard.”

“About to kiss.”

You and Yuuji both spoke at once. You slowly looked at each other, blinking.

A second passed and then— “Why are you lying?” he asked, genuinely confused.

You slapped a hand across his chest in horror at him blatantly blowing your cover like that. “Yuuji!” You were mortified (but also... he was still so close... it was almost easy to forget that the other two were still there).

“I...” Fushiguro looked like he was about to say something but thought better of it and shook his head. “I don’t want details. Let’s just go.”

A sigh of relief left you, but then Yuuji gave a chipper, “Okay!” and when he still didn’t release his hold, you had a vague feeling in your gut that something was wrong—

He leaned forward to close the gap at last and press his lips against yours, swallowing up your breath in the process—then he pulled away like it was nothing, off to go bother Fushiguro about the details of the curse.

You stood there, dumbfounded.

A gasp. “Gross!” Kugisaki shrieked, sounding like she wanted a break from everything that had occurred in the past five hours. She was sticking her tongue out, nose scrunched up and eyes screwed shut. “I cannot see anything cute after dealing with that thing inside.” A nose of discontentment, “Bleh.” But then she seemed to have a moment of clarity, clapping both hands on the side of her face and giving you a look that might as well have been an overexaggerated wink paired with her shouting every cliche couple trope from the rooftops. “But also... romantic.” Please someone save you.

Fushiguro was looking a little pale himself, caught off guard by the display of affection, staring at you, but then catching himself and looking away. He looked embarrassed and he didn’t even have anything to do with it.

Carefully, robotically, you brought a finger up to brush against your lips, still warm where Yuuji’s had molded between them, and subsequently noticed the teasing look he was giving you in the distance. It was a little too smug for your liking.

You stalked up to him and jabbed a finger into his chest, staring him down. “Yuuji, I swear-”

Kugisaki shoved the two of you towards the exit before you could get into a fist fight over a single surprise kiss, tsking while Fushiguro followed behind in her wake (you wondered if he would recover from... that any time soon—poor boy). “Okay, move it along, lovebirds. I want to go take a shower.”

[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.” 

[yostresswritinggirl]

hi! ik sojourner's already ended but i have an(other?) idea in case u ever pick it up since i love ur albedo 😳😳 ok so

what abt a reader who is rlly excited abt alchemy, but they avoid talking abt it bc they start rambling and stuttering and stumbling over their words bc they're so excited? they get assigned/asked to go w/ albedo bc they're rlly good at alchemy too, but they end up fidgeting a lot, muttering and stopping just a few words in before their volume rises and giving short answers when w/ him bc they're afraid of rambling (since they do it to think better when alone, sometimes insulting and arguing w the objects when they don't get the expected result) & being seen as annoying or unprofessional?? i'd like to see how he reacts to these and what he'd think!! and how or when he discovers the reason reader is acting like that

it's kinda (a lot, rlly skowkskdk i always have ideas but never write them) specific, but i rlly like the idea!! i'd love to see what u do w/ it if u ever pick it up in the future :D hope you're staying hydrated and well🥺🥰 -🌌

What do you mean Sojourner's already ended, Sojourner is eternal, Sojourner is forever-

Kidding aside, this is too cute to pass up, even if it's quite a lot! Cute Albedo brainrot moments always please. It might be too much sometimes but I hope you enjoy my interpretation of it! Scenarios format! Starry night, oh I'm always hydrated, thank you and I hope you're well!

For the Record

Albedo working with a Reader that's highly enthusiastic about alchemy but insecure about rambling... (masterlist)

You dealt with Alchemy a year before the Kreideprinz entered Mondstadt, your attunement to the mystic arts baffling and intriguing you every time. During that period, you're not really sure of what art you're doing but in the end, you kept doing great that the people had acknowledged your talents.

Through your own effort and self-study even if unnamed, you managed to put your talent into this art of Alchemy and created discoveries regarding powders and mineral-focused ingredients. It was a shame there was no one to share it to, and when you talk to scholars/practitioners alike, you end up rambling so much to the point that on their end you barely make sense. Whether this was caused by your eaten words or lax and personalized vocabulary over the matter, you're not sure.

Their confused and judgmental stare haunts you, leaving you alone with your raging thoughts and overworking mind when you just want to learn and expand your discoveries to other people without driving them away. Your enthusiasm is great and all, but it's not enough to make others understand.

So when the Chalk Prince entered Mondstadt, blessing the city with his scholarly knowledge and boundless creations, he easily made a name for himself and in extension the city itself.

Before Sucrose and Timaeus, you were called upon by the Grand Master Varka to accompany Albedo and be his temporary assistant seeing as his field in the division is still quite new and you were the only other 'Alchemist' in town besides him. You're both giddy and nervous, like really, really nervous.

You've heard of Albedo and maybe a caught a glimpse or two, but you've never actually interacted enough to know exactly what he looks like or how he is as a person. All you know is that he's a very, very attractive person overall.

"Good-looking, carries this aura of wisdom around him, he's just really charming," were the words that rang through your mind as you pointedly watched your steps, following the carpets leading to Ordo Favonius' laboratory while Lisa's words rang through your head.

Is he really that kind of person? You've heard that he's quite stoic too, but if he's really that distracting, you're scared that it would be harder for you to focus and help out. Honestly how would you even deal with him when your fields of Alchemy are so different from each other?

You have no idea how long you've been thinking, standing in contemplation in front of the set of double doors that leads to the workshop with nothing but doubt in your mind. But upon realizing the teal gaze of another person silently waiting instead of wooden doors, you figured it was far too long.

"Ah, I'm sorry! I was in my head, I wasn't expecting you to-!" You flailed your hands around comically before abruptly stopping, noticing the now confused stare of Albedo of which are distracted by your hands. Clearing your throat, you extended a hand towards him to shake, trying to stare anywhere but his face. "I'm (Y/N), I'll be your assistant until you're well settled in the city. It's nice to meet you, Ma-"

His hand finds yours in a firm grip, a firm shake so sudden you bit your tongue back, "Albedo, Kreideprinz of the Art of Kemia, but just Albedo is fine, I'll be under your care."

Albedo finds it intriguing and surprisingly not that distracting whenever you talk to yourself or to the ingredients whenever you so much as feel the slightest frustration. "Ugh, this Zinc powder is so stubborn, clingy," you angrily mumbled under your breath as you washed off the blue powder that spilled at your hand, "So, so clingy." Since you're facing the sink, you couldn't see the way he was holding himself from laughing audibly at your amusing antics.

You seemed lively and open, is what Albedo thought when he first met you. But this observation soon shattered when he kept getting hanged upon your abrupt stops when delving into your field, something he was really irked about the first few times. Your art of Alchemy is much different from his and he's wishing that you'd clarify and expound all your learnings to him, but in the end, you somehow step back everytime your words became lengthy.

Are you hiding something? Did you not want him to learn the same arts as yours? If those were the case, he couldn't bring himself to ask a simple question such ad why. Every time it crosses his mind, it brings a purse of a pout to his lips and furrowed eyebrows.

Every response you gave always hints even tiny bits of trivias and tips he's never heard, Albedo always takes note of your spills that always cuts before reaching its climax. "-sorry, yes, this is activated charcoal Geo and Pyro slimes reaction." He lets out an audible sigh upon your retreat, your frustrated mind too occupied to notice.

"Please," his desperation drips in his word when he looks at you with eyes filled with raw emotion you'd never know he'd be able to pull off. Your tightly locked lips only pressed on further at his puppy eyes, "Please continue, I wish to know more about your Alchemy, if you would be so kind."

"It's not really- I'm not really the best at explaining it..." You're almost fidgeting, cheeks aching from tensing and warmth. But he regarded you with a blank stare, forcing you to fill the silence, "If I- If I start, my ramblings may not uhm they're not easy to comprehend... or something."

Albedo had been watching more than he'd like to admit, and he's come to relieved (yet still confused) realization that your treatment with him wasn't his alone. You always step back before things get lengthy, words then cutting short and concise with a steeled expression. Lips caught between teeth.

"I digress," his hand motions to yourself to emphasize his next clause. "As your field and sole practitioner of this art, like my own condition, your word of mouth is the best ground of knowledge."

If he was irritated, he's doing a very good job in hiding it. And even with the respectable yet close distance in between you still felt cornered. This is still your master and it's not professional to refuse a scholarly talk, "The electro crystals when charged... ionized? create sparks, while also producing the same result when smacking- mining!"

The scribbles of his pen against his clipboard as he nods in attention urges you on, realizing his focus and sincere interest on the topic, "So when you put the little tidbits or even powdered version in a beaker thingy, depending on the material, they interact with the spark. Honestly, I'm unsure yet how lethal it is but if you put the sparks under fire too, they make like those makeshift gunpowder as well as additional reactions such as-!"

The lilt and proceeding high pitch in your voice usually signifies the approach of your insecurity as well as the climax of your enthusiasm. At this point, you pull your hand up to shut your mouth forcefully, and when Albedo really detests the abrupt end of the conversation his hand would shoot forward to grasp your own.

He'd intertwine your fingers to distract, before urging you to continue with a challenging stare, as if daring you to use your other hand to pull that off again. This whole scene felt oddly scandalous, but oh boy does it send your mind into a bambling, overloaded mess. A heated head forces your lips open even if they sometimes come out in a jumbled string, he learns to decipher them.

The more you get used to or feel more comfortable, Albedo uses that fondness skillfully whenever he wants. "Can you tell me more about the scarlet chunks from Dragonspine?" He throws it so casually in the silence as you two work back to back in your stations, without a beat as your mind is partially preoccupied, you answered into a narrative of trivia. It almost feels like you're talking to the flames of the bunsen while you wait, but Albedo smiles at the now filled silence as he listens with divided attention.

He really likes your voice, and the word of wonders you bring along with you.

"For the record, I don't mind it at all," his breath hovers on your lips, cold and prickly, "Whatever comes out of these lips, I want to hear it all."

That last part eheh

Woah, this went long. Like reader babbling hahaha. I said I'm gonna speedrun, not freaking write this long smh

@zelos-simp @legionqueensav @snackgod @rxsalinee @cala-ran @wind-wheel @lilydewi22 @yellowflowre @traveler-lumine @nonniechan @creation-magician @hanniejji @gojos-baby @just-some-stars @volleybloop @tartuu @moaa @dandelion-dreams @witchsungie @lehra @albaedhoe @xiaophilia @heisenwurst @childe-simp-exe

[shreddedparchment]

A Wife for Thor Pt.18

Annulment

03/06/2021

Pairing: King!Thor x Reader          Word Count: 6,291

Warnings: angst, pregnancy, broken marriages, depression, abandonment, little bits of fluff, supportive Loki

A/N: After I finished the last chapter, I went right to work on this one because the mood was good and I’ve been wanting to get these chapters out since the very beginning. These are the moments that drive me to write fics. The point of contention when everything gets messy. I hope you enjoy it, thank you so much for your comments and reblogs. Since I posted this one so quickly after the one before I will be replying to the comments on this one instead of the one before. I hope you can forgive me! <3 Thanks for reblogging if you do, it seriously helps SO much. xoxo

If you were ever in question as to whether you had a fight or flight instinct when faced with stressful situations, you now know that your instinct is to freeze.

You’re immobilized by the terror that’s tearing through you. Nothing feels real at this moment when your whole world has suddenly come crashing down.

Only seconds have passed but you quickly push your meltdown as deep within you as you can.

One hand placed on your belly in an absentminded caress of the baby growing inside, you reach for the door to go in and tell Thor you’re pregnant. It doesn’t matter that Jane is pregnant too.

You’re his wife. This little one inside you is the heir to the New Asgardian throne. And yet, your mind starts to add up the time that Jane might have become pregnant and her baby would come first.

Her child would be heir, not yours. Legitimate or not. These days, that stands for nothing.

So, despite knowing that you’ll have to deal with Jane for the rest of your life as she is the mother of your husband’s first child, it’s really not all that bad.

He loves you.

Thor loves you.

While you process this sudden revelation, the conversation on the other side of the door continues not waiting for you to come to get a grip.

“Are you certain?”

“Do you doubt her?” Thor demands, sounding frustrated and stressed.

“Yes,” Loki says passionately, “I would doubt anyone that I have not seen in several months.

“What reason would she have to lie?” Thor begs, genuinely looking for an excuse that will make this untrue. “She has never wanted the responsibility of the throne. She has always spoken of having children as a distant possibility. Not an assurance. The last thing Jane would want is a baby.”

“When did you even have the opportunity to bed her? Did you secretly make her your mistress?”

“No!” Thor gasps, as if the idea of cheating on you is ridiculous. “No, I-it was the day I went to end things with her when Y/N accepted my proposal.”

“So, you slept with Jane and then came back home and bedded your new fiance on the same day?”

“I’m not proud of that fact,” Thor admits.

“Regardless, even if you did sleep with her, you need to have her examined, Thor. You cannot take her on her word, not with so much on the line.”

“Fine,” Thor agrees, “But I’m certain that she isn’t lying. She’s been tired and sluggish since she arrived, her appetite strange, and this past week she’s been sick at every meeting, unable to hold down any of her lunch.”

A deep sigh from Loki tells you he’s resigned to Thor’s judgement. Jane is pregnant.

“What will you do?” Loki asks.

The quiet tone of their voices more dire than the passionate denial Thor’s voice had been just a moment ago.

You should go in now. You’ll tell him that you don’t care that Jane is pregnant. You’ll support him and assure him that if he wants them to move into the palace or maybe one of the houses on the palace grounds, you won’t mind! In fact, it will be better so that your babies can grow together as true siblings.

“Y/N is not pregnant yet,” Thor says slowly, his voice calculating.

He’s thinking hard.

“What is your point, brother?” Loki demands, sounding defensive.

“If-” Thor breathes in deep, but when he speaks, the words tumble out sure and decided. “If I am to do right by Jane’s and my child, if I am to legitimize my heir, I’ll-”

He hesitates, your heart thrumming so fast and hard that you can hear it’s beat in your ears as your brain throbs.

“I’ll get an annulment. The basis of which will be that Y/N has been unable to provide me with an heir. I’ll get sworn statements from her doctors that our-our bodies are not compatible and since Jane is already pregnant-”

You take a step as if to run but freeze because you know you can’t do this. No. You can’t face this. Not here. Not this close to him and her and all of this stupid royal bullshit that you never asked for but got anyway.

As you fracture from the inside, you paint a calm smile on your face and while you pull it off, you can’t disguise the exhaustion that pokes through. You take several feet back from the door, giving yourself a good length of hallway to walk.

You straighten up, stand as tall as you can, and move towards the parted door, “Thor?”

There’s a rush of movement from inside as you reach the war room and you try to keep your hand from trembling as you reach down and pull the door open.

Inside, Loki stands ramrod straight, hands behind his back and his face carefully devoid of any kind of expression other than his normal neutral.

Thor turns away from his desk, forcing a smile for you until he sees your face and his own falls quickly.

You know he doesn’t think you overheard him because you’d given yourself plenty of distance so that he and Loki could stop talking before you were close enough to hear anything.

But he knows something is wrong and he moves towards you, right hand extended to take hold of your arm.

Trying not to make it obvious, you meander towards one of the tall wooden chairs by the war table and sit down before Thor can touch you.

“What is it, cherub? Are you ill?” Thor wonders, moving towards you.

Feigning interest in the small models of the outposts that the Warriors Three occupy across the planet, you get up and move away from him again as you lean down to look at the one in the United States.

“I’m-to be honest, I am feeling a little under the weather,” you nod, sighing as you give him a quick pained smile.

You clear your throat, hoping that it sounds like you’ve got a tickle.

“I’ll send for the doctor,” Thor moves towards the cord by the door but you stand up straight quickly and shake your head.

“No, Thor, don’t. I think maybe I just need some rest?” you nod, smiling at him again but it still just looks painful. “I came to ask you if it would be okay for me to go stay at my house for a little while? Maybe a week or so? Just so that I can get some proper sleep and-and maybe find out if it’s really me getting sick or I’m just stressed out about this park project?”

“I thought the park was almost done?” Loki checks.

“And it is,” you nod at him. “But we’ve had so much trouble with the import of several of the plants that I’d wanted to have in the wildflower corner of the park and the fountains are still giving us trouble so, I-I just need a few days to get away from it.”

You turn back to Thor who isn’t looking at you anymore but has his hand pressed to his mouth as he loses himself in thought.

As you watch him contemplate and weigh his options, wondering if he should seize this very convenient opportunity you’ve intentionally given him to make up his mind on what to do about Jane and her baby, you very nearly break.

Your lip quivers and in your desire to hide it, you move back towards the door and feign a quick peek out as if looking for someone.

“Thor?” you prod, getting a hold of yourself and turn to fix him with your expectant gaze. “Is that okay? Can I take a few days to just rest up?”

He snaps out of his thoughts and his face softens. You see the Thor who’d just had you perched on his lap, arm around your waist.

“Of course, cherub, if you need some time then you should take it.”

The sadness that fills you is urged on by the knowledge that before Jane’s pregnancy was revealed, Thor would have insisted he come with you.

There is no way that he would have let you go off on your own.

As he moves towards you, this time you make sure not to budge as he places his hands gently on your arms.

He cups the left side of your face, stroking your cheek with his large thumb before he makes to lean in towards you.

Instead of pulling away or making it look too obvious, you press your face in against his chest and he strokes your back as you successfully juke his kiss.

“No, don’t kiss me. I-I threw up and I haven’t brushed my teeth,” you pretend to fuss.

“You know I don’t care, cherub,” Thor nudges you back a little.

“Well, I do.”

You shake your head at him, delving deep into your soul to scrounge up whatever pieces of it you can find and give him a small pout instead.

“Alright,” Thor gives in, but he still leans down and presses his lips to your cheek and then your forehead before you’re pulling away from him to edge towards the door.

“I should go if I want to catch the next flight out,” you tell him.

“Y/N,” he calls and you stop by the door to look back at him, wishing he’d just let you go so that you can fall apart alone and away from all the eyes of the palace.

Thor clenches his hand into a tight fist, gently tapping it against the war table as you wait.

“I love you.”

You blink, give him a quick forced smile, and sigh because despite the heartache you’re drowning in, “I love you too, Thor. So much.”

As you walk away, you know that nothing will ever be the same. In a week’s time, you might not even be Queen anymore. Wouldn’t that be something?

~~~~~~~~~~

You’re given a bodyguard. Well, more like a friend who can kick serious ass. Hilde was happy to volunteer.

“Something’s up,” she observes as she escorts you into the airport gate.

Normally you’d have set up for a private plane, or Thor would have.

But he has other things on his mind.

“What do you mean?” you ask her, clearing your throat again for the fifth time since you left the palace in order to uphold the pretense of feeling sick.

“Your face is all wrong, you’re not saying something.”

“I have nothing to hide, Hilde. I’m just tired. I feel weak and beaten. I feel like I can’t catch my breath. Like I’ll crack if I’m not careful enough to hold myself together.”

All of this is true. You do feel like you’re about to crumble to pieces. Nothing you just said is a lie. You’re not hiding anything, just waiting. In a week’s time, you’ll know where you stand. And then you can tell Hilde everything.

“How long have you felt this way?” Hilde wonders, real concern painting her tone.

“Not long,” you tell her. “It just started today, actually. About two hours ago?”

“There’s something more,” she refuses to believe that you’re only sick. “It’s like you’re running from something.”

“What would I be running from, Hilde? My luxurious and comfortable life? My loving husband? My sweet and loyal people? My life is perfect. I don’t feel like I’m missing anything.

“I have a family. The only thing I’ve ever wanted. Why would I run from that? Unless of course, I’m being kicked out?”

Hilde fixes you with a look of complete confusion.

As you hand over your ticket to the man at the gate, you force a smile on your friend.

“If I were being kicked out, I’d run before they could get the chance to give me the boot. Then at least it was my choice and not someone forcing me to go away.”

“Why would anyone kick you out? It’s not possible, Your Majesty. You are Queen of New Asgard. Or did you forget?”

“I don’t think it’s possible for me to ever forget my time as Queen. I think I’ll remember it until the day I die.”

Hilde takes your arm, turning you to face her with subtle force, “Oi, what aren’t you telling me?”

You swallow hard, pushing your sorrow down until you can ignore it a little better.

“I’m-I’m not hiding anything, seriously. I’m just tired, Hilde. Being Queen is harder than I ever thought it could be and even though I love being married to Thor, the stresses of doing my job as Queen have reached a point where it’s boiling over.

“I just need a break...from everyone, Hilde. Even you.”

“What did I do?!” she demands, offended.

“Nothing. You’ve been one of the good parts of being Queen, but I just need a little break from Asgard as a whole. I spent my entire childhood and teenage years alone with no one to rely on me but me.

“I just need to be alone for a bit. One week. That’s all I want. So...I know that Thor won’t be happy about it but now that you’ve seen me onto the plane-”

“I am not leaving you alone,” Hilde frowns, almost angry at you for even asking.

“David is meeting me when the plane lands and then driving me home himself. I’ll be fine being alone for just the flight,” it’s a plea as much as it is a reassurance. “Please, Hilde. Please? Please?”

The higher your pitch gets, the more she breaks, turning sympathetic.

“Please, Hilde? Please?”

She growls and rolls her eyes, holding out your carryon bag--a large brown duffel bag stuffed with clothes--so that you can take it.

“Thor is going to be pissed at me,” she grumbles. “And it’s all your fault.”

You take your bag, hang it on your shoulder, and quickly pull her in to kiss her cheek.

“Thank you, Hilde. I’ll text you as soon as I land. I promise.”

“You’d better, or I’ll come find you and stick at your side like paste.”

A stewardess comes out to peek down at you and you hurry off before Hilde can change her mind.

In no time at all, you’re in your seat, the plane up and the air, and New Asgard--Thor and his annulment of your marriage--is fading fast behind you.

When you land, no one is there to meet you.

A necessary lie. You'll have to call David in the morning and let him know what's happening. He's your lawyer and if Thor goes through with his plan, you'll need to be legally ready.

You're hit with a stab of hurt that your previously loving marriage has taken such a shift.

Still, you feel bad for lying to Hilde, but when you’d said you needed your alone time, you’d meant it.

You rent a car with your own money, ignoring the shiny black credit card that Thor had given you during your honeymoon shopping trip. The last thing you need is them tracing your movements when you just want to be left alone.

The drive home is lengthy but the peace it brings you is welcome.

Four hours of no one but yourself, the music on your radio, and endless grassy hills and small town charms streaking past your windows like long lost friends.

After an hour of driving you stop at a roadside diner. You buy a bag full of fries, smear them in lines of ketchup, grab a lemonade to go, and text Hilde that you’re with David and on your way home.

After another hour, you stop again. This time at a decently sized convenience store, newly built. It's a truck stop really and you take the chance to use the bathroom then loiter by your car as you tap the screen of your phone with your thumb, waking it up over and over again. Unable to make up your mind.

Your wallpaper taunts you. A picture of you sitting between Thor’s legs on your massive bed, his arms wrapped around you as your left hand is placed to his cheek as he kisses yours, your other arm extended as you take the picture.

It’s difficult to find the courage to unlock your phone, scroll through your contacts, and press the little phone to dial Thor.

He doesn’t pick up right away.

Sadly your marriage already feels like a past life. It feels dead. Like a good dream you’ve woken up from and you just know if you try and go back to sleep to keep it going, it’ll only turn into a nightmare.

The phone rings and rings. It goes to voicemail.

It hurts. So much more than you expected it to hurt and your tears overflow leaving salty trails along your cheeks as you hiccup and try not to sob out loud.

You lean and cry against your car for the longest two minutes of your life before your phone is ringing and vibrating in your hand.

It’s Thor, and for a second, you consider not answering. You consider disappearing. Just fading into the wilderness. Abandoning your car right here. Never making it to your little house. It's so tempting in the moment to give up your throne, which will soon be taken away from you, and start your life again.

How long would they look for you? Would they eventually assume you're dead?

Still, you know that Dr. Wilson and Dr. Alric would spill the beans and if Thor knew...

You press your free hand to your stomach and know that you can’t just vanish. This life will follow you wherever you go and as painful as it is, you’re not sorry for the baby you’ve made.

You swallow your sobbing and with all of the other things you’re not allowed to feel right now or you’ll give yourself away, bury it deep down inside.

Gliding your finger across the screen, you answer the phone and press it to your ear.

“My love,” Thor gasps, sounding stressed or tired? Labored breathing.

Your mind goes to dark places and you chase away the nasty images your mind thinks up before you can let them hurt you more.

How can he still call me that?!

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer. Forgive me. I'd left my phone on my desk and I had my hands full of books.”

Your mouth won’t open. It won’t speak.

You realize all of a sudden that you don’t want to talk to Thor. You’re so angry at him. You’re hurt and betrayed and everything he’s ever told you is a lie.

“Y/N?” he sounds so confused.

“I’m here,” you manage.

“How are you feeling, cherub?”

Stop calling me that!

“I’m not great,” you sigh, sagging against the car. “I just wanted to call you to tell you that I’m with David and we’re on our way to my house. We stopped at the store to go to the bathroom, so I thought I’d call you.”

“Wait, David? Why is David with you? Where is Brunnhilde?” Thor asks, his heavy breathing still loud.

“I asked her to stay behind,” you explain. “Look, Thor I don’t really feel well enough for talking. I just didn’t want you to worry. I promised I’d call.”

“Why would she let you go alone?” Thor demands, shouting into whatever room he’s in. “Loki! Where is Brunnhilde? Get her up here!”

“I have to go, Thor. David’s waiting. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Wait. Don’t hang up yet, cherub. Do you have a doctor to see you close to home?” Thor frets, and you can’t stand it.

“I’m coming, David!” you pretend to call, the convenience store clerk currently throwing the trash looks at you then turns his head back and forth as if searching for who you might be talking to. “Bye, Thor.”

“No, wait, love. Don’t hang-”

His voice is cut off and yet his deep tone still rings in your ears as if he were standing right beside you.

Your heart cries out for him. You wish he was there with you but then your brain reminds you that your time with Thor is already over.

The clerk is still looking at you and you give him a quick shake of your head.

“Sorry,” you start. “Bad breakup.”

He nods sympathetically as you get back in your care then gives you a wave as you drive off, setting back off into the night.

You’re not driving twenty minutes before your phone dings. A text.

Then again. And again. And again. Too many texts come through and you can’t stand it.

You reach over and completely shut it off.

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s midnight when you finally get up from bed.

There’s no escaping Thor even here in your own home. Your honeymoon memories are everywhere here.

The bed. The shower. The closet--Thor was eager one morning. The kitchen. The backyard. Every room has a memory. Not all of them sex, but all of them just as poignant and meaningful.

Or so you’d thought.

You wander down the hall to your kitchen, flipping the switch as you enter and make a beeline for the vintage fridge.

“Shit-” you sigh, not even opening it as you remember that there will be no food until you go shopping for some.

You take a peek, just to confirm, and all that's inside is a half empty jar of pickles on the door.

Irritated, you move towards the pantry and grab the first box of cereal you see, pop it open and plunge your hand inside.

You scoop a bit into your mouth but just as you begin to crunch, your mouth falters at the sight of Loki sitting on one of your island stools where he clearly wasn't before, a gentle smile to compliment the knowing sharpness in his eyes.

“You heard us, didn’t you?”

You try not to react to his question, because it’s not a question. Just confirmation of what he clearly already guessed.

“You’re not really here, are you?” You finish chewing, taking more cereal into your mouth after you swallow.

You’re starving. You should have bought some burgers at that diner to reheat and eat tonight and tomorrow.

“No,” Loki confirms. “I'm...checking in. Thor doesn’t know. He’s pretty oblivious, actually. Other things on his mind.”

“Like pregnant ex-girlfriends whose baby will have a stronger claim over the Asgardian throne than mine?”

There’s a bitterness in your voice but you don’t feel sorry for it. You’re not going to hide how hurt you are.

Loki’s face finally breaks as he realizes what you mean. He gives you a small startled blink before he’s got control of his expression again.

“Don’t tell him, Loki.”

“He deserves to know.”

“Does he?” you demand, voice rising in your anger. “And I don’t deserve to know about Jane being pregnant?”

“He would have told you,” Loki assures you.

“When?” You demand, eyes stinging. “When he needed my signature on the annulment papers?”

“He’s not decided on anything yet.”

“Oh, my god! As if that even fucking matters!” you get up, throwing the box of cereal into the garbage.

They’re stale.

“The point is he thinks it’s a good idea. I married him. I thought he welcomed me into his family. I thought I belonged with him, and you and Hilde and Heimdall, but I’m just some fucking guest after all, aren’t I?”

“You’re overreacting,” Loki chastises you.

You pick up a nearby mug and chuck it at him. It goes through him and breaks against the wall behind him.

“Don’t tell me that I’m overreacting when my husband is thinking about legally erasing all traces of our marriage!

"I trusted him," you reach up and jab at your own chest somewhat painfully.

"I thought what we had was worth keeping and protecting. I was already making plans to move Jane and her baby into the palace so that our kids could grow up together, as a family but he doesn’t want that.

“He doesn’t want me in his life if he’s already got another heir lined up so why should I tell him? If he doesn’t want me without this baby then he has no right wanting me with it!”

Loki lets you shout, he lets you break down. He doesn’t judge you for it either, but he reads into it. Too much, and you hate him for it.

You don't want to be reasonable. This doesn't feel like the time for reason. You're shattered.

“He loves you, Y/N. His choice is made-”

“For the child, yes. I get that. That doesn’t make it hurt any less. And maybe I shouldn’t be angry for him doing right by his baby when I’m carrying one of my own, but I am angry. It hurts to know that in moments he was able to make the choice to end our marriage.

“He’s my husband and I am his wife. Does that seriously mean nothing?”

Loki shakes his head, “I’ve already told you that he hasn’t decided anything, yet.”

“You don’t get it, and I don’t know that you can understand what even considering the option of annulment means for us as a couple.”

Loki sighs, “I want you to listen to me very clearly, Y/N. I say this with as much love as a brother can feel for his sister. You need to understand and you need to accept that you and Thor are not a normal couple. Thor is, first and foremost, a king.

“He is beholden to his people and he needs to ensure our position on this planet because we don’t have a home anymore. We are refugees and this is our home now. It is Thor’s job to protect that on behalf of all of us by any means necessary. Choices like these are the reason that my brother resisted the throne for so long.

“As a King, all of the love in the world cannot keep him from making the choices that will benefit our people, even if the choice should hurt him in the process.”

You’re shaking with tears as Loki speaks, shaking your head as you press your hand against your tummy. Your thoughts are full of the baby growing within you and the helpless feeling that presses down on you.

“That’s why this baby changes things, Y/N. You must tell him that you’re pregnant if you are going to keep him for yourself. If you want your marriage to survive this, you can’t keep this from him.”

Shaking your head, you turn away from him to fill a small glass with water and take a small drink.

Yes, you need to tell Thor that you’re pregnant. As wounded as your pride is, you can’t keep him in the dark forever.

“My Queen?” Loki urges you, calling you by your title probably to remind you that like Thor, you have obligations even if you don’t like or want them.

“Fine,” you sigh. “I’ll tell him, but not yet. Just give me this week, Loki. Please.”

When you turn to look at him again, he’s softer with his gaze.

“You’re going to let him suffer for his idea of the annulment,” he guesses.

“No,” you shake your head. “This isn’t for Thor. This is for me. Just because I understand the reason he thought of an annulment doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt anymore.

“If I saw him right now, I couldn’t even talk to him, Loki. He might have betrayed me for good reasons, but he’s still betrayed me. He still accepted, even for a few moments, that giving me up was the best thing he could do.

“And maybe it’s because he’s the-the first person that I’ve ever loved, and maybe I’m still looking at our very arranged marriage with some girl’s view of romance but I can’t separate his duty from my hurt and I-I don’t know that I can ever forgive him.”

"I suppose that's fair," Loki sighs. “I won’t say anything, I promise. But I’m going to make sure that he’s here on Friday. From there, it’s your duty as mother to a future prince or princess of Asgard to tell Thor about your pregnancy.”

You move to sit next to him, giving the bits and pieces of the mug you’d thrown at him a look as you settle.

“I’m sorry I threw a cup at your head.".

Loki smirks, “Would you believe me when I tell you that it’s happened before?”

You almost smile, “Yes. I believe it.”

Loki chuckles but you can't return the sentiment. For you, the world is still ending.

“Can you do me a favor, sister?” Loki asks, his term of endearment warms you a little.

Even if Thor found it easily to cast you off, you’re happy that Loki sees you so permanently a part of his family.

“Something tells me I’m not going to be happy about it, but sure.”

“Turn on your phone,” he glances at the phone sitting at the center of the island only inches away from you where you’d left it to avoid temptation. “Thor won’t shut up about how you’re not replying. If you really want to cherish some time alone, it would be better if you answered him. If he’s worried, he can get here within the hour. I don't suppose you want that."

"No," you shudder..

"Oh, and make sure you use your black card. He’ll be checking to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself.”

You roll your eyes, the rift between you and Thor already so big you can’t see a way to fix it.

“This contradiction of Thor loving me so much he’s worried to death and his ability to decide on annulling our marriage is hard to swallow. What’s he going to do when we’re not married anymore and I’m living here and he’s married to Jane?”

“That will never happen, Y/N seeing as you’re going to tell him that you’re pregnant and he won’t go through with an annulment.” Loki insists.

“What if he does?” you wonder. “Jane’s baby was conceived first. They’ll be heir to the throne. Not mine. What if Thor decides that an annulment is still the best course of action?”

“Then I think I’ll have to reconsider my pledge to serve him as my King. But he won’t go through with it, I promise you. Trust me. I know him. Thor is too soft hearted to hurt you like that.”

“He already hurt me, Loki. It’s just the finality of a follow through that I’m waiting for.”

“You’re so eager to be abandoned,” Loki observes, frustrated with you.

“It just feels like I already have been. I’m sorry if that bothers you, but I can’t help how I feel. Haven’t you ever thought you belonged somewhere only to find out that you’re not as accepted as you thought?”

Loki thinks for a moment, his silence heavy with memory, “I have.��

“And how long did it take you to get over it?”

Loki grins, meeting your eyes with a bit of resignation.

“A long time,” he admits.

“And mine just happened today. You expect me to be over it already? Get bent, Loki.”

Loki chuckles.

“You have a point. I’m sorry, I’ve been looking at this through the lens of being my brother’s advisor. I’ll try and do better.”

His promise is genuine and it makes you feel better that you have at least one person on your side.

“Thank you, Loki,” you sigh. “I know this isn’t an easy spot for you to be in, between me and Thor. I appreciate you coming to check on me.”

“It’s my pleasure. Thor might not have noticed the way you refused to touch him when you left today but I was instantly sure that you’d heard everything. Does it bother you that he slept with her and you on the same day?”

“Not as much as I thought it would,” you admit. “Even without him explicitly saying it, I knew that he’d been with her. I knew that it was likely that he’d slept with her. They were in love. Maybe him more than her, but they didn’t break up because they wanted to. They broke up because he needed to get married and Jane wasn’t ready to do that.

“If Thor had made more of an attempt to delay our wedding, maybe Jane would have come to him sooner with her news and Thor and I would never have gotten married. I wouldn’t be pregnant, and this would all be much less messy.”

“I’m glad he didn’t wait. I’d rather have you as a sister than Jane. She’s nice but you’re much better suited to be Queen.”

“Until my King pisses me off and I run off for a week,” you tease.

“This is an exceptional situation,” Loki nods. “I don’t think if anyone else were in your shoes, they would be any less hurt than you by the news of Jane’s baby. If she is pregnant.”

You look at him, interest piqued.

“You said something like that before, that Jane should get tested to make sure she’s pregnant. What makes you think she might not be?”

“Nothing in particular. She might be. I just really don’t want her to be. I like you for Thor, Y/N. As far as I’m concerned, you’re Asgardian now.”

“I wish Thor thought like you do.”

“He does think it, Y/N. He’s just thrown off balance right now. Give him a little time and tell him about your child. His child, and it will clear up his mind. His judgement is compromised by the fact that he has an heir from the woman he once loved and the woman he now loves has had no luck in conceiving one. Or so he thinks.”

“I already told you that I’ll tell him, Loki. I just want some time.” you sigh.

“I know. We’re talking in circles. I’ll go, let you get some rest.”

You turn to watch him, slowly he begins to dissolve into slow moving golden swirls mixed with a tinge of green.

“Oh, and check your fridge again. I’ve left you a present.”

Just as quickly as he’d shown up, he’s gone.

With a heavy heart you remember the favor he asked of you and turn on your phone.

Twenty texts chime in and you quickly scroll through them.

They’re all from Thor, save for two from Hilde.

Hilde: Thanks. Be careful.

Hilde: Snitch!

All of Thor’s are variations of the same message.

Thor: Please reply, cherub.

Thor: Are you asleep?

Thor: I’m sorry if I’m waking you up.

Thor: Are you home yet?

Thor: Are you safe?

It isn’t until the last few messages that his frenzy of worry seems to change. More resigned to your lack of response. Probably believing that you are actually asleep.

Thor: I miss you already, cherub. I can’t tell you how strange it is to lay in our bed without you.

Thor: I don’t think there’s been a night since we married aside from my visit to the outposts that I have not had your perfect body pressed to mine.

Thor: My heart aches without you.

Thor: My body craves in your absence.

Thor: My soul is empty. You are my very essence now, my sweet cherub.

Thor: I hope you’re not very ill. I could not stand to lose you.

You sob, reading his texts through paints a drastic contrast between his deep voice crying for annulment and the loving, doting, sweet husband who sent you these messages.

His text voice is also so different from the way he talks. You can hear the way he might have talked to you if he hadn’t spent so much time with the Avengers and other humans here on Earth. Jane probably heard him speak like this out loud when they first met.

She’d been his first contact with this planet.

Wiping at your tears, you clutch the phone to your chest for a moment before focusing your blurry eyes on the screen again to keep reading.

Thor: I’ve never known how essential you are to my life until this moment. I need you at my side. I am most certain of it now.

Thor: I would give my life for you. I will keep you close from now on. I don’t know if I can last a week without you, my love. Don’t hate me if I come to you tomorrow.

Thor: Loki has just told me that he’s come to see that you’ve settled into your home safely. I really need him to teach me that trick. He says you need rest and that you already have a doctor coming by in the morning.

Thor: Please tell me what they say once they’ve seen you.

Thor: Loki keeps yelling at me to let you sleep.

Thor: Goodnight, cherub. I love you. More than my life.

Thor: Please text me in the morning.

Thor: It’s Loki. I’ve taken his phone. I’ll make sure he leaves you alone for the full week. Thank you for turning your phone on.

Y/N: I’m fine, Thor. Just very tired.

And because it’s true and if you don’t say it, he’ll get suspicious:

Y/N: I love you, too.

You sniffle and lock your phone.

“Jerk,” you grieve, and move to the fridge.

Opening it again, you’re surprised to find it fully stocked this time with all of your favorite foods and treats.

Loki is seriously the best brother-in-law in the universe.

[the-author-dragon]

Rainy days

In which the weather is pouring rain, and Bakugo meets (Y/N) at the entrance to the dorms.

Warnings: None

Genre: Fluff

Notes: This was a request from my friend on Discord. (Thanks, man I needed the practice.)

-----------------------------------------

(Y/N) grumbled, looking at the rain. She didn't mind thunderstorms, in fact it was quite the opposite. However, that was when she was inside or could return right back inside after dancing in the rain. She not only had no umbrella, but she had to get to school, and if she tried to walk the five minutes to school in the rain, she would be left with a wet uniform all day and possibly catching a cold. She debated holding her bookbag over her head but then realized that her books would then be ruined. Most of the rest of the class had already left, leaving her pretty stranded until she figured out a solution. She contemplated just calling in sick and staying home, but then a noise behind her caught her attention.

The door to the dorms opened, and out walked Bakugo, umbrella in hand. He opened the umbrella and started walking to the school. "Hey! Wait!" Bakugo stopped in his tracks. "Can I walk under your umbrella with you? I don't have one."

Bakugo didn't even turn around. "No."

"Huh?" (Y/N) was taken aback by the bluntness of his response.

"It's hardly big enough for me," he said. "You're smart, you should have enough spatial awareness to know you wouldn't fit." Bakugo turned back toward her. "I'm sure you can find someone else who can walk you to school."

"Listen, I'm so sorry for asking, but can we maybe just like, squish under it? I'm pretty sure I'm going to be late if I wait any longer. Please can I share your umbrella?" (Y/N) pressed her palms together as she asked. "I promise I'll find a way to make it up to you, okay?"

"Fine, whatever, get over here," Bakugo said after a few seconds, gesturing for her to come under the umbrella. (Y/N), knowing that Bakugo wouldn't make the offer twice, scooped up her bookbag and hurried under the umbrella, walking as close to Bakugo as she could. The blond boy smelled nice, but a little bitter, like the time Sato had failed at making caramel. Just over that smell was something like cologne and shampoo. It was a bit overwhelming, but comforting.

"Thank you," she finally said after a little bit. "I really appreciate it."

"Whatever," Bakugo replied, moving closer to her, their shoulders pressed together. (Y/N) looked over at the blond boy, whose hair was just barely sprinkled with rain from before he had opened his umbrella. His face was surprisingly calm and focused. (Y/N) tilted her head. She could hardly remember a moment when she had ever seen Bakugo not angry or taunting his enemies into a fight. She had always admired his sense of strategy and his strength in battle. It was hard not to admire him, really. He was smart and incredibly strong, a perfect balance. However, his generally volatile nature had kept her at a distance.

How ironic it was then, here she was, shoulder to shoulder with the boy with the worst anger issues in the class, the one that she had never bothered to properly get to know, the one that equal parts scared her and interested her, the one she had been carefully observing from a distance. Here he was, his cheeks flushed probably from the cold, here he was, his hair dusted with parts of the sky and his red eyes more gentle than she had ever seen them.

When thunder struck, she chose to believe her heart had jumped from the sudden boom and not because he had looked at her. "What are you looking at?" he asked, his characteristic growl just around his voice.

"Eep!" She almost jumped out of the dry spot of the umbrella, but instead averted her eyes. "Sorry."

"C'mon, we're gonna be late," Bakugo said, shaking his head and sighing. (Y/N) tilted her head in confusion and sped up her pace to keep up with the blond boy. (Y/N) had made a realization that she hadn't made previously. Bakugo was surprisingly pretty. He was genuinely handsome, something that (Y/N) didn't want to consider.

She didn't want to look more into this emotion, not really. As much as she wanted to squish it immediately, a part of her wanted to hang onto it and keep it in a safe spot in her heart. The logical bit of her knew that this was dangerous, quite literally playing with fire. However, something about him appealed to her heart. He turned his head to look at the skyline, and a flash of lightning illuminated his face.

(Y/N) was dazzled and starstruck. Bakugo was like a flash of lightning and the powerful boom of thunder, the fire and beautiful sparks of fireworks lighting up the sky. A bolt of lightning danced across the sky behind him and a boom of thunder echoed in their ears. They had arrived at the school, finally. Bakugo closed his umbrella and started wrapping it up, shaking the rain off it.

"Hey, what if I bought you dinner?"

"What?" Bakugo was surprised and almost sounded downright offended.

"To pay you back! You must have gotten at least a little wet because you shared your umbrella with me. I know this great place where we can get some food if you want."

Bakugo paused and narrowed his eyes. "Do they have anything spicy?"

And thus, (Y/N) had ended up here, sitting across the table from Katsuki Bakugo and reconsidering all her life choices. This was Bakugo who had agreed to be taken to dinner and was currently inhaling a bowl of spicy noodles and appeared to be enjoying it a lot. She herself was working her way through her own food, not quite sure how she had gotten here. If anyone in the future asked her how she had managed to do it, she supposed she would shrug and tell them that she wasn't sure.

Bakugo slurped up some noodles, swallowing them and looking up at (Y/N). "So, what's all this about?"

(Y/N) rubbed the back of her neck, a bit flustered. "Well, you see, I promised you I'd find a way to pay you back."

"Dinner?" Bakugo raised a very suspicious eyebrow. "This is a bit more money than I'd spend over someone keeping me dry."

"I mean, you did keep me from getting sick or being miserable all day. Besides, the food here is really cheap."

Bakugo narrowed his eyes, clearly not believing anything, but deciding not to mention it. "The food is good, I guess," Bakugo muttered.

"You guess?" (Y/N) smiled, raising an eyebrow and smirking. "You've kinda been inhaling it."

"Whatever." Bakugo was acting a lot softer than he usually did. It was eerie and made (Y/N) a bit nervous. She reached for her glass of water and to her shock and Bakugo's (probably) fury, the water tipped over and water sloshed all over the table, hit the floor, and splashed all over Bakugo's shirt.

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!" (Y/N) said frantically, grabbing a napkin to help mop up the mess. Bakugo's lips were pursed and he seemed to be restraining at least a few curse words and an outburst.

"How clumsy are you?" he snapped.

"Very," (Y/N) replied, noticing a rag on a nearby empty table. She grabbed it and mopped up the rest of the water, handing Bakugo a few napkins. "I am so, so sorry."

"It'll be fine," Bakugo grumbled.

"Oh uh," (Y/N) said, not sure how to respond. The rest of the dinner was awkward, and Bakugo finished his noodles far before (Y/N) finished her food.

Eventually, they had left the restaurant, and they stared out at the street, grumbling at the sight of the rain pouring on the pavement. "Not again," Bakugo sighed. "Why is it raining so much?"

"I guess it's that season," (Y/N) offered.

"November isn't a season, idiot."

"I'm not saying it's a season! It's just been like this for awhile!"

"Sure, I guess," Bakugo muttered. He looked around and squinted at a store across the street. "Look, there's a store over there. Maybe we can buy you an umbrella so you don't have to share with me anymore."

"Let's make a run for it!" (Y/N) said, hopping once or twice.

"Alright, we run when I say so."

"What's wrong with 'on the count of three?'"

"Run!"

"Apparently everything," (Y/N) huffed, taking off running. The roar of a car caught (Y/N)'s attention, and she realized the two of them were in the way of an oncoming car. Something yanked her to the side, and within a few seconds, she and Bakugo were on the sidewalk, hair soaked with rain, and Bakugo's eyes wild with concern, fear, and as usual, a bit of anger.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly but stiffly, his hands on her shoulders.

"I- I'm fine, really, thanks to you."

"We really should have looked both ways, that was stupid," he grumbled under his breath. "Let's go in the store. You're covered in water."

"So are you!" (Y/N) said, deeply concerned.

"Doesn't bother me. Let's go." He took her hand and began leading her into the store. (Y/N)'s heart skipped a beat. His hands were surprisingly soft and gentle. (Y/N) looked at Bakugo, whose hair was damp from the rain. It was weird, how each time she looked at him she saw something new in him. They entered the store, and the stark difference between the ambiance of the street and the store caught her off-guard. The store walls were painted a bright white and the floors were a similar color of tile. (Y/N) looked around and spotted a rack of umbrellas.

"Ah! There we go!" She tugged Bakugo along and grabbed an umbrella. She looked at Bakugo and waited for him to grab one, too.

"What?"

"You're not getting one?"

"I've already got one back at the dorms."

"You wanna walk in the rain?" (Y/N) raised an eyebrow.

"I'm already covered in water."

"It's gotta be uncomfortable," (Y/N) offered.

"If it worries you so much, I'll walk under the umbrella with you."

"Um, sure, I guess," she said, rubbing the back of her neck. "Here, let's go pay for this." They went up the counter, (Y/N) letting go of his hand to pull out her wallet and pay for the umbrella. They left the store, hand in hand, quietly walking through the rain with an umbrella in hand. They hardly noticed or minded that they were holding hands, or that again they were shoulder to shoulder. It was peaceful and quiet.

(Y/N) leaned into his touch, a wave of comfort and a feeling of safety washing over her. She smiled quietly, not noticing that Bakugo was doing the same. The two of them walked on and on, traveling back to the school, but in no hurry. They simply enjoyed each other's presence. One day, but not exactly today, they would recognize their feelings for each other. One day, they would become quite the adorable couple. Now, however, they delighted in the comfort of each other's presence and nothing more.