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#just don’t think random people should be bullied for buying something like this
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y’know what? i’m actually upset for Harry Potter fans and their interests being inherently horribly politicised. it’s just it’s not fucking trans people who did, that it was joanne intentionally and explicitly making it such.
like, yeah duh Harry Potter was always problematic as shit, but if any support on it wasn’t being scavenged by the terf queen to support ending peoples rights and bully random trans people it would have been possible to consume it in a critical, self aware manner and that would have been fine. it’s awful such things were even in kids books at all, and it should be criticised, but i don’t think there’s an issue with people enjoying content with problematic elements as long as they’re aware of and critical towards them (as in, looking at it through a critical lens and not accepting the fucked up shit inside as gospel truth, not necessarily writing long essays on why it’s bad, though that would be good too.)
like any other sort of media with deep problematic issues rooted into it, it would always be- rightly!- controversial, but like… it would most likely be more about people ignoring or engaging in the themes in the same problematic way as canon and less about Actively Contributing Money To Hurt People. that’s way less of a fucking issue. this isn’t dismissing any critiques of Harry Potter, obviously, but a work full of unfortunate implications is much different to a work being used to spread hate speech, and that’s what joanne is doing with Harry Potter now, leveraging it to boost her hateful and vile bigotry.
you can’t seperate the art from the artist when the artist is holding it in a dead grip and using to to bludgeon marginalised people. and that sucks! it’s fucking unfair, i agree. but it’s an unfairness caused by joannes actions, not people shes harmed being harmed by it. (and obviously harassment isn’t acceptable, but people not wanting to interact with you isn’t harassment and the two are being used often interchangeably). i wish i could change that. but i can’t. sometimes we can’t stop shitty things happening, and we need to work around them, and in this case it’s like… not buying stuff that goes into a bigots pockets. like i’m not even saying don’t engage in the content that already existed or the fandom i’m just saying please don’t spend money on anything Harry Potter related. it sucks if you’re a fan, i know, but putting even a fraction of a cent towards policy designed to genocide trans people, a fraction of a cent towards normalising anti semitism, is causing harm, and it’s not something anyone should do
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persephoneflouwers · 7 months
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i used to go here a while back even though i wasn’t rlly a proper larrie (complicated lol). at one point i started talking mad shit about them and everyone hated me only for me to come back and see how different people move now. womp womp :/ i genuinely feel like everyone dislikes them a teeny tiny bit, it’s weird to see. back then it was a big deal if you got away with a tad bit of criticism and anyone who was proper bitter was ousted into a small corner of this site where they stayed bitter with their anons. and it was also like 3 people. now im checking random blogs and literally everyone has some shady thing to say. DESERVED tbh. leaving before I say more. sorry if this is annoying or unnecessary. i just wanted to say it 😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️
I mean… if you’ve been following closer, they have been clearly very hard on larries for a while. Take Harry for example. This past summer he made his life purpose to destroy all things larries used as… something lol blue bandana? Here, X*nder have it. Sweet creature? It’s for Gemma and he said it in front of 90K people which was very humiliating imo. Umbro shirt? Listen, he’ll have it for a pap walk he will have to promote his brand and yall like bluegreen nail polish. And the last one, the one people willingly ignore, he has O*ivia name tattooed on his INNER THIGH. I dont think it gets worse than this lol do I even have to mention the biking sessions to promote a theatre play or…?
Louis has been a dickhead on twitter since he was in the band. Yesterday he was even more of a dickhead than he used to. If he wants to be the third Gallagher brother he should be asking them first. He was unnecessarily rude with everyone and with the chicken parmesan thing he showed to me he doesn’t even read the tweets or whatever issue with reading comprehension he has going on.
The good thing about social media instead of live or interviews is that you can take your time to write down some articulated response and that you happen to choose what you reply to.
He announced he was going to do this thing 24 hours prior, went online and treated everyone with sufficiency. Totally unprovoked. Can you see how prepared this was? That makes it even worse because he is acting like this on purpose and everyone knows it. Like what’s the point of doing that speech on stage everyone gets so emotional for if you go online and bicker with your fans? They’re not taken for granted when they buy your tickets, but when they tweet constantly about you and keep you relevant on social they’re? This tells a lot to me.
The problem is he wants to deny what he created (he mentioned the recipe even for walls promo) but he puts a target on larries’ back as always, because his fans can be unreasonably nasty and the pop world hates larries already they don’t waste a minute to start alienating them, insult them and bully them out of the safe space they have created for themselves. It’s the marketing they have chosen, their propaganda.
It’s weird when accounts with huge following interact with this part of fandom, because they never do it to “protect” them. We’re talking about a loud, mostly queer and young side of his fandom… I wonder what would happen if larries finally decided to turn their backs at them (which I encourage to do). Yes, there still might be a target on them but at least it wouldn’t be like that. I’m pretty out of the fandom, barely talk about them but I still follow some blogs so I know a few things. I’ve realised I’m not comfortable anymore here. I still want to write a few stories because it’s fun and I like the exercise but that’s going to be it.
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queenharumiura · 8 months
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Five Smiles - Gokudera
Taken from meme: [x] ||Accepting||
Prompt: [ FIVE SMILES ] send for five times one muse makes the other smile and the one time they share a smile.
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[1]
She’s so mad. She got tricked by one of the neighborhood kids who liked to pull pranks on people every now and again. What he did was throw something up a tree and then bring out a ladder. Knowing that Haru would’ve been worried about a kid going up a tree with a ladder, she volunteered to go up herself. Tell her WHY the brat decided to wait until she climbed into the tree, grabbed the ball, and then he took the ladder away? Sure, she wouldn’t die if she fell from this height, but it would hurt. She can’t risk hurting herself when she’s still doing gymnastics.
That’s when she hears a short chortle of a laugh. Just her luck. “Don’t laugh. No, I see that smile. Stop it! Don’t even look at me!” Haru rages at the Storm Guardian who is still very much amused by the situation. Like a cat, Haru is hissing under her breath. “That BETTER not be your phone I see. You BETTER not be taking a pi- Kyaa!” She almost loses her balance from her raging at him and she clutches onto the tree for dear life. “Waaaaah Haru is a good person but she’s only being bullied todayyyyy.”
[2]
“Uri? Hahi! So this little one is yours? She came into the kitchen asking for a snack.” Haru is giving the little feline scritches behind her ear. How could one deny pampering such a cute little thing? “Do you need her back right now?” There is a bit of disappointment in her tone that she couldn’t disguise. One, Haru just loved small and cute things in general, but after being blasted into the future for no apparent reason, there was a lot of stress building up. Petting a cute cat was an excellent way to relieve some of her anxious feelings. “That’s great, how about another treat, Uri?” The epidemy of a sunshine smile.
[3]
“Oh, Gokudera, at my school’s school festival they apparently had a UMA booth, and they were selling little things at their booth.” Haru rummages through her bag looking for the item. Knowing that he liked UMA’s, she had to buy something from the booth for him. “It’s a cute little Nessy magnet. I think someone sculpted it and then painted glaze on top.” That’s a lot of effort that went into the craftsmanship of the magnet. She sure hopes that they had decent business so they weren’t operating at a net loss. “It’s cute, isn’t it? I thought of you when I saw it, so I bought it for you.”
[4]
“Just a random flower you found, huh?” Haru receives the flower and smells it. “No real meaning behind it, you say. Hmmmmm~” You know her name means ‘Spring,’ don’t you? You’d be wrong to think that she didn’t study Hanakotoba (The Japanese form of flower language). She may have also dabbled in other flower languages as well, if not only because a good number of her acquaintances are from Europe. She smiles softly, “Hai hai, Haru won’t read too much into it. It’s a coincidence, surely.”
[5]
“Hahi? Oh! Sorry, I didn’t realize I was staring.” She’s always noticed his eyes were pretty, but in the natural sunlight, they looked brighter, and it made them look all the more striking. “You know, you have really pretty eyes, I can get lost just staring into them.” Hm? Who said girls can’t say cheesy lines too? Haru can do whatever she wants, she’ll have you know. Look at his eyes, will you claim that you don’t find them very pretty? She’ll wait. She gasps, “You should smile like that more often too. It’s a very nice smile.” Haru was never embarrassed to give out compliments to others.
“Ah, but not around other girls. Just me.” She is a firm believer of barriers. “I don’t need any more competition.” Hmph. You think she hasn’t heard about your fanclub? She has, and it does bother her, yes.
[-]
Walking side by side, Haru was humming a happy tune when someone comes up to her. “Oh, Obaa-san! Ojii-san! Hello!” She greets the loving elderly couple with a pleasant smile. “Is this the young man we talked about the last time?” Haru links her arm around Gokudera’s, “That’s right, this is my boyfriend. Gokudera, they’re a lovely couple that lives a few doors down from me. They’re very nice people.” The elderly couple always spent so much time together, and they were obviously still very much in love. It was really endearing to see. Couple-goals, really. To grow old together and still be very in love with each other.
“Aren’t they a cute pair, dear?” “Well, Haru certainly has been happier lately. I can see why. You’re good together.” Though they weren’t her actual grandparents, she did see them as some. They’d watched her grow up from the time she was born until now, and they would always be so happy to see her out and about. When she was young, she would go and talk to them about her day, or proudly boast about something she learned. So she was happy to show off her boyfriend to them and get their blessing. “Thank you~”
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retroaria · 3 years
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can you do headcanon number 10 with karl <3 love your writing btw!
Karl Jacobs: Fluff Alphabet ✿
cc!karl jacobs x reader
pronouns: gender neutral
warnings: just swearing
here’s my 500 Follower Event ^o^
a/n: even if they aren’t requested in the event i’ll still be making fluff hc’s for all the cc’s i write so stay tuned !!
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A is for Affection (How do they like to show affection?)
other than physical touch (saving that for love language) karl’s favorite way to show affection is making you a huge part of his life. all of his friends and loved ones know just how important you are to him even without him saying anything. especially with blowing up and all the busy stuff he does as a creator, he wants you to be there with him every step of the way, never leaving you in the dark about anything. he’s always asking you for advice or ur opinion on certain projects, and if ur willing to help too that just makes him so happy. because at the end of the day, he wouldn’t be able to do it without you :)
B is for Bond (What kind of bond do you guys have? What could your relationship be labeled as?)
you guys are definitely the wholesome couple. there’s so much love and communication between you two that doesn’t go unnoticed by the people around you. on top of that, you guys share an adoration for each other that is just so freaking cute man
C is for Comfort (How do they comfort their s/o?)
in the beginning of your relationship, karl would kinda just try to cheer you up or make you laugh, but as things get more serious he’s very avid on getting you to talk about your issues so he can find the best way to be there for you.
D is for Dates (What are dates with them like?)
dates with karl are so fun !! he definitely likes just doing random stuff like shopping, going on long drives, or trying new places to eat and calling them dates. at the same time you guys also do bigger things like fancy restaurants (hes so rich oh dear god), amusement parks, long day trips, stuff like that.
E is for Emotions (How do they express their emotions around you?)
karl doesn’t strike me as a ‘heart on his sleeve’ kinda guy but around you, he’s definitely not closed off at all. aside from just talking to you and verbally being open, he also isn’t afraid to let you see him get upset or even cry about something. i see him as the type to value transparency in a relationship.
F is for Fiancé (How long into the relationship before they propose?)
karl definitely loves you, no doubt about it. but i feel like you guys really do enjoy just being together in the moment and not worrying about that stuff until much later down the line. you could be dating for a really long time and there’s still gonna be so much you can learn about each other. i’ll give karl an official number of 5 years. but maybe even longer. it’s a big decision guys remember!! especially because he does want you in his life forever, he wants to make sure the bond is truly like no other.
G is for Gentle (Are they gentle?)
depends. you guys have lots of playful banter and bullying but at the end of day he can be a big softy when it comes to you. so yes id say he’s pretty gentle 👍
H is for Hand Holding (How do they like hand holding?)
loves it. obviously. it’s karl jacobs. have you seen the guy?
I is for I Love You (Who said “I love you” first?)
him. it was really early on into the relationship and he kinda regretted saying it so quickly. there was just so much emotion going on for him at the time and he just blurted it out. after a little while longer tho, he gave a proper confession of his love.
J is Jealousy (Do they get jealous?)
everyone always says no for karl but YES. he does get jealous. not like angry jealous more like weirded out and uncomfy jealous. you can usually tell when he’s feeling that way.
K is for Kiss (What’s kissing them like?)
writing about kissing kinda makes me cringe but i had to think of something for k. it happens a lot probably. very sweet and loving. not just on the lips but karl will give you random kisses anywhere whenever he feels like it.
L is for Love Language (What’s their love language?)
PHYSICAL TOUCH AHHHH. constant hand holding, hugs, and cuddles. he loves being close to people he loves and it’s very obvious (i’m a karlnap shipper and analyzer sorry just had to confess)
M is for Memories (Their favourite memory with their s/o?)
karl’s favorite memories with you are usually on his days off when he just gets to spend an entire day being with you and only you. on top of that he also is very fond of the first time he ever met you and was like “ooo ahh wow you should like spend the rest of ur life with me or whatever Idk just something to think about ” lol.
N is for Nicknames (Their favourite nicknames given and received?)
nothing too soppy because i think karl would find it cringe but “babe” and “cutie” are the most frequent.
O is for Open (At what point do they start opening up to you about their life and feelings?)
after the first argument you guys have methinks. i feel like being caught in the honeymoon phase would kinda put the opening up process on hold, but once there’s a need for it it becomes a frequent thing.
P is for PDA (Are they into PDA?)
uhh not really. i know i said differently in my karl dating hc’s but i think he would find it a little cringe. hand holding is a definite because that’s simple ya know and hugging and small kisses and stuff but nothing more. he’s touchy as we all know but that’s just for you guys lol
Q is for Quiz (How much do they remember about you?)
karl loves loves LOVES knowing things about you. finding out stuff you guys have in common makes him so happy even just similarities in the ways you were raised and your childhoods and such. he’s a good listener and is always attentive. even if he wasn’t good at remembering stuff he would make the conscious effort to do so. 
R is for Romantic (How romantic are they?)
he’s such a little goofball gremlin that the thought of him seriously being romantic just doesn’t feel right but. he is. he loves doing stuff for you and just telling you how much he loves you and getting emotional about it. taking you out and making you feel like the luckiest person alive :)
S is for Security (How protective/possessive are they?)
he honestly doesn’t strike me as the protective type. possessive i would say maybe a little bit. he’s just so happy to have you and so like proud of himself for getting an epic s/o lol. he would never intrude on a friendship of yours or anything but if he was uncomfortable in anyway he would let you know before acting out.
T is for Try (How much effort do they put into the relationship?)
he puts everything he can into it. with him being so busy all the time things might get rocky but he makes such an effort to spend as much time with you as he can. being there for you is something that’s really important for him as well. any disagreements you guys have is resolved asap because he definitely doesn’t like leaving things on a bad note.
U is for Uphold (How do they show you they’re proud? What kind of support do they give you?)
he talks about you lots. anything that you make him or buy him is showed off on stream and any accomplishments you’ve made he would publicly congratulate you on. just showing to the world how great he thinks you are and how proud of you he is makes you feel so supported and he always wants you to feel that way.
V is for Vaunt (Do they like to show off?)
yes obviously ur the coolest most epic person and HE gets to be with you??? biggest flex ever if you ask me.
W is for Wild Card (A random fluff headcanon.)
karl likes doing stuff at the same time as you?? i hope that makes sense. like washing the dishes together or working on stuff. he also likes watching anime or movies/tv shows at the same time as you too. if a new episode of something just came out and he has the time to watch it but you don’t, he’ll wait for you so you can do it together. couple goals lol.
X is for X-ray (How well can they read you and your emotions/feelings?)
karl cares a lot about how the people around him are feeling and i think he’s pretty good at recognizing that. he’s extremely attentive to you and always makes sure ur comfortable.
Y is for Yearning (How much do they miss their s/o when they’re gone?)
between mr beast and all the work that he does it usually hits him when he finally gets home to relax and ur not there :( he does get really upset and a little needy about it but he tries his best to just focus on the stuff he needs to get done so he doesn’t miss you too much.
Z is for Zebra (What kind of pet would they want with their s/o?)
a brown cat named Cornelius 😎
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@themanifoldenjoyer @fantasy-innit @k-l-a-w-s @joyfullymulti
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lilyvines · 3 years
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Hi, can we get a bit more info on the Mundane(protagonist tommy and magic something everybody else au)? Like plotpoint, meetings? Im trying to bully myself into writing a fic
absolutely!! i would love it if you wrote a fic :D
also tons of people put cool ideas too so if you ever want more inspiration you can always look in the notes of the post!!
-Phil is a literal angel. like wings and everything. he doesn’t even hide them, but every single day, Tommy makes a joke about how Phil is a furry
- continuing with that, since I believe in death!kristin propaganda, Kristin is a goddess. Phil is an angel. Wilbur is a supernatural creature. Dream is a supernatural hunter. It makes dinner with dream incredibly tense, but Tommy is oblivious. Technoblade is just chilling
-Tommy: after dinner, Wilbur can sing us a song!
Dream, narrowing his eyes: what kind of song?
Wilbur, who probably has magic voice powers or smth idk: the kind you’ll never want to stop listening to (:
Tommy: omg wil can u play soft boy :D :D
-obviously Wilbur Phil or Kristin never actually fight with dream, it would make Tommy upset. So instead they’re just incredibly passive aggressive with each other
- there’s running theories within the magical underworld about what Tommy is to have attracted this much Crazy. Some people think gang leader. Some people think he’s some kind of magnet for the powerful. truthfully he’s just kinda Dumb
- a while ago, someone from one of the other’s Secret Lives tried to kill Tommy. Obviously they didn’t succeed, and Tommy didn’t even notice (bonus points if he completely accidentally evaded them and their attempts). But ever since then, everyone came together and decided to have someone stay with Tommy at all times. He hasn’t even noticed he has a guard, he just calls them clingy
- everyone else in like. the world knows gnf is actually [insert secret popstar name here] they just haven’t mentioned it out of politeness. Tommy on the other hand just genuinely has not noticed. George thinks that he’s an illusive master of disguise and is great at keeping his secret identity (he is not)
- there are 2 betting pools that end up getting set up amongst their friends. 1 that says whether or not Tommy knows or not. When it is eventually realized that he does not know, they set up a betting pool for when he’ll find out.
- technoblade bets a large sum of money it will happen soon, and since he doesn’t make a habit of losing, he dyes his hair bright pink to look like his magical girl counterpart. Tommy says that it looks good, and notices nothing else. Technoblade’s attempts continue to ramp up in ridiculousness until he comes out wearing a literal sailor moon outfit and a sign that says ‘I AM A MAGICAL GIRL’
- Tommy does not realize
- at one point, Tommy sees dream’s collection of super dangerous monster hunting stuff (I always think of dream as like a Winchester style hunter but u can adapt it ofc) and he just goes ‘wow dream you have a lot of guns. It’s the American in you, huh’
- he sees all of dream’s demon fighting stuff and goes ‘huh. Never knew you were catholic.’
- Tommy gets invited to tubbo’s giant lab where he develops his nukes and things. Instead of making the connection that his bestie is a mad scientist he just goes ‘wow tubbo you never told me you made props for a living.’ He then proceeds to get incredibly distracted by something completely unrelated to the nukes and forgets he’s in a giant lab
- I am a big supporter of adopted Tommy so I like to think he’s just a random kid they found on the street and since Phil tends to adopt any child shaped object that looks at him, he just like came home. Originally sbi had this hard time deciding whether or not to hide their secrets before going ‘it would be too hard to hide, we should just leave it out in the open instead and he’ll just figure it out’
- he did not, in fact, figure it out
- most of the supernatural underworld just does not understand Tommy, they all think something is like up with him, so they mostly don’t bother him. But every now and then he’ll get lost or something and a remarkably intelligent crow will show him the way home
- Tommy comes home and is like ‘I followed a crow home!’ And Phil thinks he’s gonna figure it out. In reality, Tommy just thinks there’s a crows nest in their house. He’s very excited
- since there are no birds in their house, he gets sad. Cue the rush from all of these incredibly cool and powerful people as they scramble to get some birds in the rafters. Tubbo builds some fake ones. Ranboo buys an industrial sized bag of bird seed. Wilbur tries to use his voice to charm them. dream and techno pour over spells and magic that would attract birds. Phil asks every bird in 40 miles to come live with him.
- eventually gnf shows up with a bunch of birds in a box. They come to him. He’s a Disney princess. He’s georgenotfound
- the birds make Tommy very happy. All is right within the world
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izukult · 3 years
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goin to the grocers with the hq boys
pls don’t bully me for the fact i say grocers i was born different 😫 smth so domestic and going grocery shopping w someone msn lemme tell you
characters: hinata, kageyama, oikawa, sugawara, yamaguchi, tsukishima, bokuto, atsumu, matsukawa
hinata shoyo— he touches literally everything in the store for absolutely no reason. like, hands tracing the aisles, picking up any pretty box, adhd mentality. gets really excited when he sees something he likes and will call to you from across the store about it. he’ll sneak your favorite comfort food / drink in the cart though (and pay for it, what a cutie)
kageyama tobio— he gets so jittery in the store- are you okay, man? he’s the guy to say you should write a list or something but then ends up grabbing literally everything that looks slightly good to him. he’s so passive aggressive when you ask him what he wants too lmfaooo. you’ll ask him and he’ll shrug and then three minutes later be like “i feel like you’re running low on milk, and i just want to make sure you have what you need— so maybe we should, yknow, i don’t know...” tobio just ask for milk don’t gaslight me in the bread aisle
oikawa toru— constantly touching you and he makes you push the cart. makes a big deal about asking you to buy things for him but ends up paying the whole bill? he buys a lot of stuff to ‘make his hair nice’ or ‘help his skin’, but if you dare comment on how you don’t want to get something because you’re worried it’ll negatively effect your appearance even if you want it, he buys four of them. no negativity here bitch only toru loving you
sugawara koushi— he’s pretty on track with budgeting, so he’s not going to buy a bunch of random junk (unless he’s at a gas station). but going to the grocery store with him is so much fun. awkwardly laughing into his arm to not cause a scene and listen to him make little jabs while people watching it’s therapeutic
yamaguchi tadashi— do you guys ever see those overly cute couples in stores and you wish that were you but you also want to fight them because you get a little bit lonely? that’s you two! congrats! sweet forehead kisses, little jokes, can just tell you’re absolutely in love from the way he’s looking at you. you end up getting distracted more times than not and take a little too long.
tsukishima kei— master bargainer. he is like such a little grandma, he uses so many coupons. he reads the paper to know what deals are when and he plans his shopping on it. will glare at you if you tease him and shove you away from him. people have accused you two of being related before because of how cold he can seem sometimes and it made him want to throw up LMFAO. very dull trips, it can be really nice though
bokuto kotaro— overspending 100%. he wants to buy everything tbh. if he thinks you’ll enjoy it he buys it, if he thinks he’ll enjoy it he buys it, if he thinks his team will enjoy it he buys it. this poor mans bank account. he’s loud, he gets a running start and then stands on his shopping cart while it goes down the isle.
miya atsumu— he makes a lot of food related puns(😕). also tons of corny pickup lines- including a pickup line about corn. it’s pretty chill with him. playful bickering over what to make for dinner and calling him stupid when he mixes spices up
matsukawa issei— he buys a lot of munchies and a lot of protein shakes. will absolutely put things in the cart without asking and is so smooth about it? he’s pretty quiet but he makes you laugh a lot so you two are moderately disruptive
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kindestegg · 3 years
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Deltarune: On tea, relationships, and why people probably need to stop exaggerating
Alright, so ever since the introduction of the “character flavored” teas in chapter 2, there has been a lot of discussion about them. If you haven’t heard of it yet, in Deltarune Chapter 2, there’s an item that’s a tea that you can buy from an NPC and choose the flavor of, giving you a flavor that is named after a party member. So, Kris tea, Noelle Tea, Susie Tea, and Ralsei Tea.
The fun thing about this item is that it can more or less be used to “track” the relationships between the characters, so to speak. For example, if Noelle has the Susie tea, even if she’s not supposed to drink it due to normally leaving the party, she’ll still have a reaction to it, wondering if they would sell this in gallons and recovering an absurd amount of HP, 400 to be precise.
(this is long as hell, so please continue reading under the cut)
These teas are also actually a reference to a book series Toby is a fan of, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, which does have a chapter about students having ice cream flavored after their classmates. This is most evident when the characters drink their own tea, which tastes like nothing to them and recovers the least amount of HP: 10. In the books, the students also could not perceive the taste of their own flavor of ice cream.
So, the fandom gets ahold of this information and starts testing out the teas and how characters react to them, right? The thing is, I’ve seen people kind of exaggerate the importance of these items and even the meanings of them, and while I think everyone’s entitled to harmless headcanons speculating on the relationship of characters, the problem is people are using these teas as immutable proof and part of their theories.
One of such exaggerations comes mostly in the form of the infamous Ralsei Tea, as to which Kris apparently does not show much reaction, though curiously Ralsei is still happy to see Kris drinking it, and it only recovers 60 HP. For reference, the teas usually cap at a good 120 HP, which is when a character loves the flavor, Noelle being the outlier because she really is just that in love with Susie. For the most part the Fun Gang has pretty positive reactions to each other’s flavor of teas, recovering 120 HP… with the exception of Kris’ reaction towards Ralsei tea.
And the problem starts now: Due to this, people started using this little tidbit in their theories, claiming this was proof that Kris actually dislikes or even hates Ralsei, that we should be ashamed of ourselves for making Kris hug Ralsei, that it is torture for them that we choose nice dialogue options towards Ralsei, some going as far as to claim this is somehow tied to the infamous “Ralsei is secretly evil” theories.
But does this speculation hold any actual weight when analyzed more deeply?
… No. I’m sorry, it just does not, I’m not going to entertain this. In this post, I’m going to deconstruct how the teas really work, and exactly why claiming that this is good enough proof that Kris would dislike Ralsei is an exaggeration at best and downright false at worse.
To truly make a precise conclusion, we must first look at the full picture. We know that 10 HP means “tastes like nothing”, and we know that 120 HP means “tastes amazing”, but are there any other reactions that aren’t either 10 or 120, aside from the 60 HP we already know from Ralsei tea?
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Pictured: Noelle reacting to Kris tea.
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Pictured: Kris reacting to Noelle tea.
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Pictured: Ralsei reacting to Noelle tea.
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Pictured: Noelle reacting to Ralsei tea.
I think what people forget here is that you don’t have to really adore someone or outright hate them. Sometimes you’re more neutral on people. And I think that’s what happens here. As you can see here, Ralsei recovers 10 less HP for Noelle than Kris does for him, and still calls her flavor “soft and sweet”. Meanwhile, Noelle claims his tea has “nothing in it”, even though she still recovers 50 hp.
Does this somehow mean Ralsei hates Noelle, or she hates him, for that matter? … No, that wouldn’t make sense, they just met, they know nothing about each other. We do learn here one important thing though, flavor is not tied to HP recovery, as in, the flavor of each character’s tea will taste different to a different person based on what they perceive of them.
As a comparative example, while Kris tea tastes like apple juice to Susie due to her always smelling the apple shampoo they use, Kris tea tastes like blueberries, which is a reference to Kris’ appearance in the Dark World. So while Ralsei tea tastes like nothing to Noelle as she can’t perceive him well enough yet, it still heals 50 HP due to it not being her own tea, and Ralsei heals for the same amount, but he seems to perceive others based on appearance and wants to find something good to say, so he ends up tasting it as something “soft and sweet” because that’s what Noelle appears like.
We can also gain a new “base” HP recovery that is accounted for when characters drink tea that is not their own: 50 HP. And we know 50 HP means “I was literally just made aware of your existence and can’t comment much on you yet”. Now, if you look at Kris and Noelle, they recover 70 HP from each other’s tea. In Noelle’s words, they have been neighbors their entire lives, yet they still find it hard to call each other friends, necessarily. Although you can choose the prompt “we’re friends”, the reasoning still stands: Kris and Noelle just don’t have that much to say about each other. If you remember, when you visit Rudy at the hospital in chapter 1, then Noelle afterwards, they’ll comment on how Kris usually isn’t as involved or interested in their neighbor’s business, suggesting they really don’t hang out as much as you’d think.
So, 50 HP, 70 HP. Where does that leave us for Ralsei’s 60 HP? Does it actually reveal evidence of hatred or at least dislike?
… The answer, if you’ve been paying any attention, is no, of course not. If 50 HP means “literally just learned the other exists” while 70 HP means “not exactly great friends but have known each other for a long time and shared memories”, then that puts Ralsei at a pretty advantageous spot all things considered. Even with him acting somewhat suspicious, even with him being a creature from an entirely new magical world Kris was made aware of literally a day ago, even with Ralsei’s clingy behavior, Kris considers him more than just some random person they just met, and almost a good acquaintance to the level of Noelle.
And sure, you could still bring up comparisons to the higher HP recoveries, like Susie recovering 120 HP from everyone despite also not really being exactly friends with any of these people for too long, and for that I will say…
That girl will eat anything and considering they are all flavors she enjoys she’ll obviously down it in a second, and
Susie is just… a more open person. Once you get her guard down and let her know you truly want to be her friend and think she is cool, she’ll immediately consider you a friend and part of her team. (It’s also kind of sad in a way because it shows she may be desperate for the feeling of belonging but let’s not get into that right now).
Kris, however, is a much more reserved person. Once again I must remind you how everyone in Hometown comments about Kris not usually being very outgoing or talkative. Hell, even when they drink Noelle tea, no one can tell whether they like it or not. Susie may be an exception to this rule, simply because they do have a lot in common, particularly to the fact she was also always an awkward quiet person that their classmates could never place and would often get in trouble. Even if she was mean to them and a downright bully in chapter 1, teens can still have some pretty weird appreciations, and you can tell they must have been wanting to befriend her from the start. It simply just is a better relationship to them. Otherwise, people they haven’t invested in knowing well will probably not cause the same reaction.
Bottom line is… why are we having this debate again? In the end, it feels rather silly. Yes, Kris doesn’t recover 120 HP from Ralsei tea. Big deal? That doesn’t mean they hate or even dislike him, that there’s a deep turmoil and conflict going on between the two already. Ralsei is just a new friend they are still getting used to, that’s it. Can’t blame the kid for having boundaries.
For further proof, if you learn more about the content that is being referenced here, you’ll learn that in the same chapter of the book, there is actually a way for one’s flavor to taste “horrible” due to a person being perceived that way, but at no point in these reactions it’s suggested anyone’s flavor tastes bad, that any of them are disgusted, so I doubt any of these reactions can be seen as dislike.
Dang… this got a little long… but I just felt like I had to make this post because, reiterating, I find myself a little irritated at the fact people will use the tea’s reactions as part of their theories, claiming it as actual proof, when it is far from proving anything.
And before someone brings it up, yes, Kris has been shown to prefer Susie over Ralsei, do I have to point out the flaw in that logic? Preferring someone doesn’t mean you outright dislike the other person.
Moral of the story is: Don’t take conclusions for your theories without good backing in canon, feel free to make your headcanons but don’t state it as proof, byeee.
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fanmoose12 · 3 years
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friday, i’m in love
“Before becoming an official member of our gang, though, you need to do those four things."
"Alright," Hange nods, listening intently.
"First!" Isabel raises her index finger. "You need to punch Zeke in a face, but I'm sure it's bound to happen."
Hange giggles, getting excited. "What's next?"
"Second, you need to skip a class, and you've already done it, so!" Isabel clasps her shoulder. "Congratulations on that one."
Farlan pats her knee too, and Hange shows them a proud smile.
"Third, you need to smoke at least one cigarette."
"I can't," her smile falls, as Hange briefly shakes her head. "I have asthma."
"I'll do it for you then," Farlan offers, walking to the other side of the rooftop to do just that.
"And the last thing! The most important one!" Isabel makes a dramatic pause, shifting her gaze to Levi just for a second, before looking back on Hange with a mischievous smile. She winks and lowers her voice, making sure that Levi doesn’t hear her.
"The last condition - you have to kiss one of us."
For the most kids her age, moving to a different town and changing schools is a fate worth than death. And, while Hange is a little saddened to say goodbye to the friends she made at her old school and more than a little saddened to leave her dad behind, she is also excited at the prospect of starting a new life.
Changing schools means she can meet new people, and meeting new people means she can make new friends.
And Hange, unlike most of her peers, isn't afraid of change. She welcomes it actually, preferring new experiences over dull and repetitive routine.
They move to a new town and to a small two-story house in the quiet suburbs. It’s a little different from the house they used to live before, a little quieter too, but it’s lovely. Hange likes it instantly. She’s ready to call it a new home.
The first couple of weeks are awfully busy. Hange and her mother unpack their things and buy new furniture. They meet their neighbors and her mother starts making new friends.
Hange can’t wait to meet her new friends at school too.
And so very soon, the long-awaited day comes.
***
When it finally does, Hange is brimming with excitement.
She puts on her glasses and dresses in her favorite clothes that was washed and ironed by her mother the evening before, ties her hair in a ponytail, grabs a lunch box that was waiting for her on a kitchen counter, kisses her mother's cheek, yells "love you!" right into her ear, making her wince and push laughing Hange away, hurries to hop on her bike and makes her way to the school.
She makes a new friend in a face of one Moblit Berner approximately three minutes and forty six seconds later after crossing a threshold and passing below a banner that read Sina High School.
Moblit is a nice and friendly boy, even if a bit quiet and timid, compared to her. Although, Hange also has to admit that compared to her, almost everyone seems to be quiet and timid.
Moblit is incredibly kind and he offers to show Hange around the school. He agrees to walk her to every class and even draws a small, but very detailed map for her.
During lunch, Moblit remains by her side. As they slowly eat their food, Hange points at random students who pique her interest and Moblit shares with her his opinion of them.
"That's Erwin and Mike," Moblit says, when Hange asks him about two blondes that sit in the very middle of the cafeteria. "Erwin is president of a debate club, also his father works at our school, he's a history teacher. Mike is a captain of a football team. They're nice guys, and Erwin is always ready to help, if you struggle with a class. Although, he's not that good at math..."
Hange nods, absorbing the information and committing it to memory. Her gaze lingers at Erwin and Mike for a few more seconds, before it moves on to a next target, this time two petite redheads.
"Ah, Nifa and Petra," Moblit fondly smiles. "They're both cheerleaders. Petra is also a member of a drama club, and Nifa helps me manage a biology club."
"Biology club?" Hange lights up, carelessly tossing her sandwich onto the table. She can’t believe her luck. She loves science and was the president of a chemistry club back in her old school. She didn’t dare to hope that the new school would give her an opportunity to continue pursuing her passions. "Can I join?"
"You really want to?" Moblit asks, biting his lip. Doubt is written all over his face. "We don't have a lot of members..."
"Of course, I want to!" Hange exclaims much louder than she intended to. As a result, she attracts attention of some students who turn to look at her. Some seem curious, others - annoyed. Hange pays no mind to either. She grabs Moblit by the shoulders and stares deep into his eyes. "I'm so excited already! When is your next meeting?"
"This Friday..."
"Awesome! Expect me to be here!" she clasps Moblit's back, almost making him choke, and then sweeps her gaze across the cafeteria, looking for someone interesting.
"There!" she points at the girl with long, dark hair that sits in the far corner of the room with a blonde boy by her side. "Who is that?"
"That's Pieck," Moblit answers. "She's involved in a drama club too, although she mostly just helps with painting the backgrounds for the scenes. And that's... all I know about her. She's nice, and I think she's dating Porco, or, maybe, Porco is dating Reiner, or, maybe, Reiner is dating Berthold... sorry," he rubs his neck in embarrassment. "I don't really pay attention to that kind of stuff, and their relationship is pretty complicated."
"Don't worry," Hange pats his arm. "I get confused with that kind of stuff all the time. Now! Who is that?"
Her finger points at a bespectacled guy with blonde hair.
Moblit's face twists in disgust. "That's Zeke Yeager. He's the biggest jerk and bully of our school. Try to stay away from him, and—" he nods at the redheaded boy sitting next to him. "And his pal Floch. He's even worth than Zeke."
Hange wants to ask more about them, but then she notices a boy, who sits in the furthest corner of the cafeteria.
Hange is sure that wearing leather jackets is prohibited in this school, but this boy doesn't seem to care. He is dressed in a white t-shirt and a big, black leather jacket. His hair is black too and the longer strands of it obscure his eyes. But even that can’t hide the fact that the boy is wearing a displeased, irritated expression. Hange wonders about the reason for the sour face.
"Hey!" she points her finger at him. "Who is that shorty?"
"Shh!" Moblit hurriedly lowers her hand, his eyes widening in panic. "Don't point your finger at him! And, for the love of god, don't call him shorty, Hange! Better yet, try not to talk or even look at him."
"Eh?" Hange frowns. "What do you mean? What's wrong with that guy?"
"That's Levi Ackerman," Moblit says, lowering voice to a hushed whisper. “Those two are his best friends – Isabel and Farlan,” he shows Hange a small redheaded girl and a tall guy with white hair that sit next to Levi. “And you should never mess with them."
"So they’re worse than Zeke and his friend?"
"Much worse," Moblit confirms, his eyes grim and serious. "Everyone says they’re a part of some gang. They say that Isabel is a thief, and Farlan is an arsonist. And Levi Ackerman…” Moblit purses his lips, a shadow of fear flushing across his face. “Once he broke Mike's jaw for calling him a midget, and some say that he had killed a man with his bare hands just for pouring out coffee on him. Whatever happens, try to stay away from the three of them, Hange."
"If you say so..." Hange murmurs. She takes a bite of her sandwich, continuing to stare at the dark-haired boy. Suddenly he looks up, and Hange almost chokes.
His eyes bore into hers with a surprising intensity. They are cold and grey, like the edge of a knife.
Hange lifts her lips in what she hopes is a friendly smile.
Levi Ackerman scoffs and looks away.
Hange continues watching him, waiting for their eyes to meet again. They don’t.
But as Hange leaves the cafeteria, trailing after Moblit like a little lost duckling, she can't get the look he had given her out of her mind.
Levi Ackerman... What an enigma.
  ***
It is Friday afternoon, and the sun is gently passing through the already yellowing leafs. The warm light paints the world in golden colors, making it seem more warm and welcoming.
Hange, however, has no time to enjoy the beauty around her. It is Friday afternoon, and she is running late.
She was so excited for the first biology club meeting, that’s the only thing she could think about for the whole week. She gathered all the science projects she had done at the old school and she prepared a small presentation for other club members and she even thought of a few suggestions to expand the club, which, as she understood from Moblit’s words, was quite small.
All this work, all these preparations and now she is running late, because she stayed after class to talk with Mr. Smith and forgot about the time.
And, to make matters worse, she is lost. The part of school she finds herself in is completely unfamiliar to her, and she can’t quite understand how she got here in the first place.
Cursing herself, Hange takes out a map Moblit made for her, tracing the drawing with her index finger and muttering Moblit’s instructions under her breath.
“Go to the second floor, take the first turn to the left and then walk to the end of the hallway…”
A second later it dawns at her – she is in the wrong wing and on the wrong floor.
Muttering another curse, Hange turns around and rushes to the stairs. Holding the research notes she wrote the night before to her chest with one hand, she keeps Moblit’s map in front of her eyes, checking it after each turn she takes.
She is just about to enter a hallway that leads to the biology classroom, when she collides with something. Stumbling, she falls down, her papers flying around.
She blinks a few times, trying to get a sense of her surroundings. Moblit didn’t draw anything that would prepare her for the obstacle that caused her fall.
She slowly looks up. In front of her, seemingly larger than life is a pair of steely grey eyes.
Levi Ackerman, Hange realizes immediately. He is on the floor too, right next to her. And he doesn’t seem too pleased about it.
She gulps. For the first time in her life, Hange doesn’t know what to say.
“The hell you’re wearing those glasses for?” the boy growls, getting up. “Watch where you’re going, four-eyes.”
“Ah, sorry!” Hange exclaims. His rude, throaty voice does a great job of pushing her out of stupor. “I’m just new at this school, and so I got little lost, but, thankfully, my friend Moblit drew me a map, and that’s why I didn’t look where I was—”
“Jesus,” Levi groans. “Shut the fuck up. Give me that shit.”
Before Hange can protest, he snatches the map out of her hands. His eyebrows form a line as he studies the small drawing.
And suddenly Hange remembers what Moblit had said about Levi Ackerman and his warnings to stay away from him.
Once he broke Mike's jaw.
These words ring loudly inside her mind. She had seen Mike in the hallways, he is quite a large guy. And Hange, despite being quite tall for her age, isn’t nearly as big as him. If Levi is able to break Mike’s jaw, what can he do to her?
Hange never had her jaw broken before, so by all accounts it should be a new experience for her. She likes new experiences. But she also likes her jaw and the prospect of having it broken… isn’t all that exciting.
Still sitting on a floor, Hange watches the boy warily.
“You’re looking for a biology class, right?” he asks after he finished studying the map.
“Yes,” Hange nods cautiously.
Suddenly she remembers a girl she used to play with at the playground near her old house. The girl had broken an arm once, after falling off a swing. She screamed and cried and then her mother took her to the doctor, and when she came back, she couldn’t play with little Hange anymore, because her arm was in a sling and she couldn’t move it for almost a whole month.
And that was just an arm. Hange can only imagine how much a broken jaw would hurt. She really isn’t that keen on finding out.
“Of course, you’re a nerd, how I didn’t guess it before,” Levi mutters, as he starts to walk away.
Hange stares at his back, wondering if the storm had passed.
Evidently, it hadn’t – Levi turns around. He arches his eyebrow, looking at Hange quizzically.
“Did you hit your head or something, four-eyes? Get up, I’ll lead you to the class. You’re in the wrong wing, idiot.”
Hange is still confused – wasn’t he going to beat her up? But then she remembers the reason for this whole mess.
“The meeting!” she cries out, hurriedly gathering the papers that are scattered across the floor.
As she kneels on the wooden floor, picking up the papers, Levi’s words finally register in her mind.
“Wait!” she looks up at him. “You said I’m in a wrong wing again?”
“Well, aren’t you slow,” he deadpans. “Here,” he hands her the last one of her papers. For a second, their fingers brush against each other, and Hange finds out that in contrast to his eyes, Levi’s hands are warm. But before she can decide if his skin is soft or not, Levi pulls away, turning around. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”
“You’re… going to lead me to the class?” Hange clarifies, cautiousness returning to her face.
“That’s what I said, right?” Levi starts to walk, not looking back at her. “Or is your hearing as shitty as your eyesight?”
“Not really,” Hange chuckles, following after him.
Levi Ackerman isn’t going to beat her up. She is almost certain.
  ***
“Hange, you’re here!” as soon as she enters the classroom, Moblit is beside her. “I thought you forgot about our meeting!”
“How could I?” Hange grins, easing his worry. “I was preparing the whole week for this! I just got a bit lost on my way here, sorry for being late.”
“You got lost? How did you find us then?” the petite redhead walks up to her too. 
Not the redhead – Nifa, cheerleader and Moblit’s friend, Hange remembers.  
“You used my map, right?” Moblit asks.
“Eh, no,” Hange rubs her neck, feeling a little shy. “Levi helped me get here.”
“Levi?” Nifa’s eyes widen in surprise. “As in the Levi Ackerman? The scariest guy of our school?”
“I guess?” Hange answers. “He was right there—” she opens the door to show Levi to Nifa and Moblit, he couldn’t have left far away, he had walked her to the door, after all, but unfortunately – the hallway is empty. She turns back to Moblit and Nifa with a helpless chuckle. “And he already left…”
“Are you sure that was Levi?” Moblit narrows his eyes a fraction, looking doubtful.
“I…” before she can reply, Hange remembers that she didn’t actually ask for his name. But those grey eyes… they can’t belong to anyone else. At the same time, Hange senses that no matter what she is going to say, neither Moblit nor Nifa would believe her.
And it doesn’t matter, not really. After all, they have a more pressing matter on their hands right now.
The vast and enigmatic world of molecular biology.
She clasps her hands together, attracting attention of the two boys, who stand at the other side of the classroom. They look up and Hange smiles, making a mental note to introduce herself to them later.
She unzips her bag, taking out her laptop and gathering her notes. “I’ve prepared a small report!” she announces, opening the first slide of her forty minutes long presentation.
   ***
It is a nice day. Despite the calendar showing that it is already October, the weather is warm enough to mistake it for the end of May.
The sky is clear and blue, the apple Hange is eating is juicy and sweet and her conversation with Moblit is engaging and fun.
With a bright smile on her lips, Hange lifts her face up to the sky, squinting against the blinding light. The sunbeams dance across her skin, kissing her cheeks and nose with their gentle warmth.
It is a nice day. But then a shadow obscures her view of the sun.
Hange opens her eyes, frowning at the sudden intrusion.
Next to her, Moblit falls silent. In front of her, Floch and two of his friends smirk, looking down on them.
"Get lost, Zoe," Floch tells flippantly, sparring her no more than a single glance. "Your boyfriend and I need to have a little chat."
Hange feels her chest fill with rage.
"Like hell I would!" she raises to her feet, fists clenching in anger.
In a month she spent at Sina High, she learnt a lot about Floch. She learnt that he is stupid and simpleminded, cruel and cowardly. Most of all, he is a bully.
Hange hates bullies with all the fierceness of her heart.
She had her fair share of taunting and mockery before. The kids made fun of her for wearing glasses, for having a large nose, for being too loud or too weird. Hange knows that the only one way to deal with endless jabs and sneers is to fight back. And over the course of her sixteen years of life she got amazingly good at it.
"Hange—" Moblit whispers, grasping her sleeve desperately. "Hange, please, do as he says."
"No!" Hange declares, glaring fiercely at Floch. "I'll stay with you, Moblit."
"Your mistake," Floch huffs, the smirk on his face growing wider. Behind his back, his friends flex their fists. "One nerd or two, what does it matter? I'll easily deal with both of you."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Hange warns, narrowing her eyes at him.
Getting into a fight isn't anything new for her. Unfortunately, having her ass kicked isn't anything new for her either. Even so, she isn't going to back down.
Hange braces herself, raising her fists and putting her left leg behind her for support. Watching Floch closely, she wonders where he would hit first. Her left or right cheek? Her nose or jaw? Or maybe, he'd go to the legs first? Hange doubts it, Floch doesn't seem to be that smart.
He raises his fist and Hange closes her eyes, preparing herself for the sharp sting of pain.
It never comes. Instead, a shadow appears in front of her again, this one much darker.
A second passes, and nothing happens. And then she hears Floch's feeble whimper.
Hange gingerly opens her eyes.
Holding Floch's fist in his hand, Levi Ackerman is standing before her, his wide back, as always, clad in black leather jacket.
"What's the matter, Floch?" he speaks in a low voice. "Got tired of picking fights with middle schoolers?"
Floch doesn't answer, his eyes turning wide, and Levi twists his arm, throwing him on the ground.
"Get the fuck out of here," he spits out, turning away as though just the sight of Floch disgusts him.
Not needing him to tell twice, Floch shoots to his feet and runs, his friends following after him.
Hange watches them with deep sense of satisfaction. She would prefer to make Floch leave with the use of her own fists, but that— that is nice too. And totally painless.
"We should go as well, Hange," Moblit mumbles, tugging insistently at her shirt.
"You go first," Hange answers, not taking her eyes off Levi. "I need to go to the bathroom."
"Hange..." Moblit's quiet voice is disapproving, and Hange turns to look at him, curving her lips in a smile. "I'll be right behind you, don't worry."
"Just be careful," he instructs at last, before grabbing his bag and walking away.
With Floch and Moblit gone, Hange is left alone with Levi.
Or... not.
As Hange looks around, she realizes that Levi had left too. By now, his dark figure is nothing more than a small dot on a horizon. Hange hurries after him.
"Hey, hey, Levi! Wait!" she desperately tries to catch up with him. Levi doesn't slow down.
"Go away, four-eyes," he mutters without even looking at her.
Like hell she would.
Hange speeds up and in a matter of seconds, she reaches Levi. Huffing and painting, she struggles to keep up with his confident stride. But she doesn’t give up.
"Hey— hey, I just—" she inhales, then swiftly exhales. "I just wanted to ask," another deep breath, this one's much shakier. "Why did you help me?"
Levi stops long enough to turn around and throw her a dark look. "I didn't."
"You did!" Hange persists. "For the second time!"
"Leave me alone," he scoffs and starts to walk again.
Naturally, Hange follows after him. Levi passes the main entrance to school and heads to the side door.
He's going to skip a class, Hange realizes.
She has never skipped a class before. How exciting!
"It makes me think," she continues talking as though she didn't hear his last words. "Maybe, you're a bit misunderstood. I don't think you're as scary as everyone thinks you are."
"I'm much scarier," Levi mutters, moving up the stairs.
He is going up on a rooftop, Hange guesses. Again, she has never been on a rooftop before. Double excitement!
"And if you don't wish me to show you how scary I can be, I advise you to leave me alone."
"Nope," Hange smiles, not moved by his threat. She almost has him figured out. Levi Ackerman, the presumable gangster and the most fearsome student of Sina High isn't quite as terrible as he appears to be. "You won't hurt me."
"And why the fuck not?" Levi grunts, pushing the door to the rooftop open. He tries to shove it in her face, but Hange is faster, and she passes the threshold before he can push the door closed.
"Because you're nice," Hange easily answers.
"I'm really not."
Pushing his hands into the pockets of his jacket, Levi walks up to edge of rooftop and plops down on the floor. Hange sits next to him. She turns her head around and watches the grand blue sky above her. At the sight of it all, breath catches in her throat.
Paying her no mind, Levi takes out a pack of cigarettes and puts a stick into his mouth.
He lifts a lighter, when Hange speaks.
"Can you smoke later?" she asks carefully. "You see, I have asthma..."
Levi curses under his breath. He sighs and puts the cigarette down. Hange beams.
"I was right after all," she bumps her shoulder against his. "You are a nice."
"I'm going to push you off the edge," he promises darkly. Hange's smile doesn't falter.
"Don't you have to be in class?" Levi questions. "Why are you bothering me?"
"You're nice," Hange repeats. "I want to be your friend."
"I don't."
Hange snickers. As if she would give him a choice.
They don't speak after that. Hange, still smiling, returns to gazing up at the sky, lazily watching the movements of clouds.
Levi seems to be slowly coming with the grips that to get rid of her he most probably would have to act on his threat and push her off the edge. With a sour expression, he braces his hands against the railing and stares at the ground below.
The silence, surprisingly, is pleasant and comfortable. It is broken by the sound of the door opening. Hange turns around, and sees Levi's friends - Farlan and Isabel - climb on a rooftop.
As they notice her, their faces brighten up.
"Levi!" Isabel runs up to him. "So you finally gathered enough courage? I'm so proud of you!"
"Izzy," Farlan takes her by the elbow, just before she can latch herself onto Levi. "I don't think he has."
"Eh?" Hange shifts her gaze from Farlan and Isabel to Levi. Something is going on, but she can't pinpoint what exactly.
"Shut up," Levi barks at his friends. "Four-eyes just decided to follow me up here, and now I can’t get rid of her."
"I just wanted to thank you," Hange grumbles, crossing hands on her chest and pursuing her lips in a pout. "For saving me from Floch and his friends."
"Oh!" Isabel's eyes lighten up. She jumps to Hange's side. "Big brother saved you?" she asks with a dreamy smile. "Levi, that's so—"
"Shut up, Isabel," he growls. "I'm not joking."
"Killjoy," Isabel whispers, throwing him a dark look.
Farlan takes a sit next to Hange, offering her his hand. "I'm Farlan," he says with a friendly smile. "And that’s," he gestures to the girl. "As you may have gathered, is our friend Isabel. Nice to finally meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Hange answers, shaking his hand. "I'm—"
"Hange," Farlan interrupts. "Yes," he briefly glances at Levi, his eyes alight with amusement. "We know."
"We should be friends!" Isabel announces, throwing her arm around her shoulders.
"I would like to," Hange replies. "But Levi doesn't seem to agree."
"Pay him no mind," Isabel waves her hand. "He’s just naturally that grumpy. As for Farlan and me, we’re ready to accept you in our ranks. Before becoming an official member of our gang, though, you need to do those four things."
"Alright," Hange nods, listening intently.
"First!" Isabel raises her index finger. "You need to punch Zeke in a face, but I'm sure it's bound to happen."
Hange giggles, getting excited. "What's next?"
"Second, you need to skip a class, and you've already done it, so!" Isabel clasps her shoulder. "Congratulations on that one."
Farlan pats her knee too, and Hange shows them a proud smile.
"Third, you need to smoke at least one cigarette."
"I can't," her smile falls, as Hange briefly shakes her head. "I have asthma."
"I'll do it for you then," Farlan offers, walking to the other side of the rooftop to do just that. Levi, who still holds a pack in his palm, doesn't join him, not moving from his place next to Hange.
"And the last thing! The most important one!" Isabel makes a dramatic pause, shifting her gaze to Levi just for a second, before looking back on Hange with a mischievous smile. She winks and lowers her voice, making sure that Levi doesn’t hear her.
"The last condition - you have to kiss one of us."
   ***
After that first time on the roof, their friendship progresses rapidly. Hange starts hanging out in the mall with Isabel, playing basketball with Farlan, skipping classes and walking home with Levi.
And very soon she finds out the truth about her new friends. Isabel isn't actually a thief, Farlan isn't an arsonist and Levi, obviously, has never murdered anyone.
Those rumors are just that - rumors.
"But what about Mike?" Hange asks.
The four of them are sitting side by side on what Hange likes to call their place - up on a rooftop of the school. Their shoulders are pressed tightly against each other, and their feet are dangling off the edge. The light from a setting sun reflects in her glasses, making her squint. On a scale of perfect days, this one is pretty close to the top.
In response to her question, Levi groans. Isabel and Farlan start laughing.
"I'm afraid that's another rumor," Farlan explains to the confused Hange.
"Although, Mike did break a jaw once," Isabel notes with a crooked grin.
"But not by me." Levi grits through his teeth. "That giant idiot got drunk and fell down the stairs. And because he was too embarrassed to tell the truth, he blamed it on me."
"So, you just let him do it?" Hange stares at Levi with raised eyebrows. "Didn't do anything even though he lied about you?” Levi nods and Hange smiles. “I stand corrected then, you're nice."
"I'm serious, four-eyes," Levi growls, sending her one of his meanest looks. "One day, I'll push you off this roof."
Hange throws her head back and laughs. Isabel and Farlan join her.
 ***
"Well, let's start our meeting, shall we?" Hange rubs her hands in anticipation, excited to tell her fellow club members about a study she recently found.
But before she can turn on her laptop and put on a new presentation, Nifa grips her elbow.
"It's all very thrilling," she smiles.
"It really is," Moblit nods eagerly.
"But we wanted to know something else."
Hange blinks a few times, and then feels color rise to her cheek. She suddenly realizes that in the past two months she was always the one to lead the meetings. It is quite understandable that Nifa wants her turn.
"Of course, if there's something you wish to share, we all gladly listen, Nifa."
"Oh no, I don't wish to share anything. On the contrary, there is so something I want to ask you."
The bright, enthusiastic look in her eyes is intriguing. Hange wonders what is it that Nifa wants to know - is it about a thesis she made last week? Or a week before that?
"I'm all ears," Hange promises, taking Nifa's hands into hers.
"So how does it feel," Nifa begins. "To date the most dangerous boy of our school?"
It takes Hange an embarrassingly long amount of time to realize who Nifa is talking about.
"Levi?" she breathes finally. "But we aren't— we aren’t dating! We’re just friends!"
Nifa plucks her lips and looks at Hange with suspicion and disbelief.
"But you're always together," she notes, staring at Hange through narrowed eyes.
"We're really not," Hange counters easily. "We just hang out sometimes."
"You skip classes with him. And he walks you home."
"And he saved you from Floch that one time," Moblit, the goddamn traitor, adds.
"And you're the only one he talks to, beside his two best friends." Nifa concludes with a confident smirk.
Hange looks from Moblit to Nifa, feeling at a loss of words.
It's not that she has never thought about it, she did sometimes, when Levi walked her home, and their hands brushed against each other, or when they sat on the roof together, their shoulders touching. Levi is handsome, even Hange - as bad as her eyesight is - knows that. But she also knows that Levi thinks she's messy and annoying. The hell would freeze sooner than he'd look at her like that.
So despite her frequent heart palpitations and leaps in breathing levels, Hange ignores her little crush, putting it to the furthest shelf of her mind.
Being friends with Levi is good enough. She doesn't wish for more.
And that's exactly what she tells to Moblit and Nifa.
"You're reading into things," she chuckles, dismissing their claims. "And now, it's time to read into something else!" she turns on the first slight of her presentation.
Moblit smiles and takes out his notebook. Nifa groans.
***
It's one of those days, when the world is bleak and grey, and the heavy clouds reign across the sky.
Looking out of the window, Hange feels an infinite sadness that isn't entirely caused by gloomy weather. For a second, she even debates skipping school at all, her mother probably wouldn't be against it, but Hange gets rid of that thought fairly quickly. It's not who she is, and wallowing in self-pity was never the way she dealt with her problems. Besides, the classes will provide an excellent distraction for her unhappy thoughts.
So Hange gets dressed, puts her hair in the usual ponytail and leaves her room. She greets her mother, who doesn't look quite as lively as she usually does, and kisses her cheek.
"I'll be home at five," Hange says quietly and walks outside.
The wind ruffles her hair, messing it up even more. It gets in her face and Hange pushes it away with a jerky movement of her wrist. She moves past her bike, deciding to walk to the school on her feet.
There are lots of things on her mind, and a lengthy stroll presents a perfect opportunity to think all of it through.
Hange walks through the grey, foggy streets with her head cast down. She stares at the ground, but not even an occasional sight of a sleazy worm is enough to lift her mood.
She reaches the gates of a school, when someone grabs her elbow.
Startled, she looks up. Levi is standing beside her.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, his frown more prominent than usual.
“Nothing,” Hange lies, avoiding his sharp eyes.
Today they don’t remind her of the knife’s edge. Today, Hange thinks, they look just like a sky before a storm.
“What’s your first class?”
Levi stands close to her, too close. People are going to talk, Hange can’t help but think. But Levi doesn’t seem to care about it.
“English,” she answers, staring at her feet.
“Let’s go then,” moving his hand from her elbow, Levi grabs her by the sleeve of her hoodie. He starts walking, dragging Hange along. And because her eyes are still cast down, Hange doesn’t notice that they aren’t headed to a classroom until it’s a little too late.
Of course, Levi leads her to the roof.
He sits her down and looks at her expectantly. Hange shifts her gaze to a side. Under Levi's intense stare, something stirs inside her. There is worry in his eyes, Hange realizes. This revelation makes butterflies in her stomach slowly come to life.
Hange tries her best to ignore them.
"I'm fine, really," she repeats. She doesn't know who she's trying to fool - Levi or herself. She doesn’t achieve success with either of them.
The harsh wind is stronger on the roof, it blows through her hair, gets under her hoodie and sips deep in her bones. Hange suppresses a shiver.
"Idiot," Levi mutters, following it with an irritated tsk. He unzips his jacket, takes it off and drapes it around her shoulders.
Heat rises to her cheeks instantly. She feels incredibly warm and she knows that the jacket isn't the reason for it. The butterflies, despite her best efforts, happily flutter their wings.
"You'll catch a cold..." she whispers weakly. Levi is wearing a thin grey pullover and Hange can only imagine how cold he must be.
"Ackermans don't get sick," he says confidently, making Hange snicker. The corners of his lips twitch and he gently nudges her. "So what happened, four-eyes?"
Hange looks up, staring at the horizon. The skies seem even darker up there, and she briefly wonders how much time they can spend here until the rain starts and a need to hide from it forces them inside.
She wraps the jacket tighter around herself, and the sharp scent enters her nostrils. It smells like soap and cigarette smoke. It smells just like Levi.
Hange glances at him, and his stare is unwavering as he waits for her to start talking.
Hange sighs and begins.
"It's my dad," she confesses softly. "He's... getting married next week. And—" she chuckles, meaning for it to sound easy and cheerful. It comes out bitter and hollow instead. "I found out about that from his post on Facebook. He didn't invite me, didn't even tell me about this. I know— I know that he has a new family now. And I know that I probably remind him of the time when he was married to my mom, and I guess it wasn't a great experience for either of them, but still... he threw me out of his life so easily. It makes me sad, I guess."
"It's his loss," Levi says. "If he doesn't realize it, then he doesn't deserve you."
"Levi..." Hange whispers, aghast. She expected him to ignore her whining, or call her pathetic, but this… Hange doesn’t what to think. The warm feeling inside her is almost too much to bear.
"I know I'm not the best with words," Levi admits, while Hange is still busy processing his last ones and how good they made her feel. "But I can call Isabel, if you wish. Or that Berner boy," he adds with a tight-lipped expression.
Hange smiles, touched by his offer. But she talked it through already, last night with her mother. Today, she needs something else.
"Can we stay like this, please?" she asks, looking at him beneath her eyelashes.
"Sure," he agrees easily. And then— Levi does the unexpected again. He wraps his arm around her, pulling her closer. Her nose is pressed against his collarbone, and the butterflies go wild.
Hange pays them no mind. Levi is warm and he smells nice. She hides a smile into his shirt.
The sadness she felt throughout the morning disappears. With Levi's arms around her, Hange feels impossibly happy.
***
 It's almost seven in the evening, and the streets are already dark when Hange leaves the school after another biology club meeting.
The alleyway next to the school is dimly lit, so Hange almost misses a figure that sits on one of the benches. She stops as soon as she sees that dark silhouette, though. Despite the poor street lighting and her own imperfect eyesight, Hange recognizes him instantly. And wonders what is he doing there.
Levi walks her home every day, except Fridays. Fridays are club meeting days, and Hange often leaves the school late in the evening.
Levi never waits for her on Fridays.
So why is he here now?
Hange silently walks up to him, approaching him with a bit of caution. Levi sits weirdly, his shoulders seem too stiff. Her stomach churns with worry.
"Levi?" she softly calls. "Levi, what are you doing here?"
"Hange," he keeps his eyes trained on the ground, and Hange's worry increases. She doesn't like the hollowness of his voice.
Then she lowers her gaze, and the worry skyrockets. Levi's hands— they are covered in blood. She gasps and grabs his chin, turning his face to the light. A bloodied lip, a bruise on a cheek - Hange swears when she sees them.
"What happened?" she is instantly by his side, taking his hands into hers. She brings them closer to her face, looking for injuries.
"Zeke." Levi says.
"He's the one who did all of this to you?"
"Of course not," Levi throws her a sharp, offended look. "He just brought more friends than I could deal with."
"What a fucker," Hange mutters, anger warming up inside her. "Let's go to my place, I'll clean your wounds."
"And what about your mother?" Levi bites his lip. "Won't you get in trouble with her, if you bring me home, looking like this?"
"She has a night shift," Hange stands up, outstretching her hand to Levi. "And besides," she continues. "I’m sure my mom would adore you,” she winks at Levi, grinning. “Just like I do.”
***
Hange brings Levi home and tends to his wounds. She cleans his skinned knuckles and wipes the blood from his lip.  She tries to be gentle, apologizing over and over each time Levi winces. Every time he hisses or grits his teeth, the anger inside Hange grows bigger and bigger. She swears to herself that she won’t let Zeke get away with it.
When she starts wrapping bandages around his knuckles, her hands shake and tremble.
She wants to think that her inexperience is to blame, but she knows that the reason for her nervousness is Levi's warm breath on her cheek and his eyes that follow her every move.
Hange stares into them for a second. They look nothing like a knife's edge right now. They don't remind her of a sky before storm either. They're the color of a full moon. They're shining just as brightly.
"You're wrapping them too tight," Levi complains, breaking Hange out of her reverie.
"Oh, sorry!" Hange giggles, embarrassed. She hurries to rectify her mistake, but ends up making even a bigger mess, tangling up the bandages.
Levi sighs and snatches them out of her hands.
"You're shit at this," he says, bandaging his knuckles himself.
Hange snickers and watches him, committing each move to memory. She hopes she won’t need this knowledge in the future. But in case she does, next time she wants to be able to help.
“You can stay for the night,” Hange offers when his injuries are cared for. “We can put on a movie, make some popcorn…”
“Maybe, some other time,” Levi gently declines. “My mom probably worries like crazy. I should get home, before she sends Kenny after me.”
His refusal disappoints Hange a bit, but she doesn’t take it personally. She knows how much Levi cares about his mother. And she knows how much he hates causing her worry.
So she makes him promise to hang out tomorrow and walks him to the door.
"Thank you," Levi tells her, standing in the doorway.
"I didn't do anything..." she tries to protest.
"You did more than enough,” he says, the grey of his eyes softening. “Goodnight, Hange.”
“Goodnight,” she echoes, watching him go with a heavy heart.
  ***
After that Friday, Hange lets her anger brew for a whole weekend.
On Monday, she comes to school and seeks out Zeke. His friends stand around him, as she approaches, but Hange pays them no mind. She marches up to Zeke, grabs him by the collar and punches him in the face.
His loud shriek and a pathetic whimper that follows are absolutely priceless.
"That's for Levi," she glowers, before walking away, a smirk on her lips and her head held up high.
She gets sent to detention for that, but Levi calls her an idiot with a fond smile on his face, and Hange thinks it was all worth it.
He gets into a fight with Floch the very same day, and during detention they sit side by side, exchanging silly notes and making funny faces at each other.
"Just one condition left," Isabel tells her the next day, winking suggestively.
  ***
It is another Friday night, and Hange is engaged in a losing battle with her calculus homework. No matter what she does, what formula uses, nothing seems to work.
Her eyes are getting tired from glaring at her notebook, and Hange rubs at them, suppressing a yawn. It’s a little past ten, but she already feels exhausted, drained to the bone.
She thinks of just abandoning it all and going to sleep, when a small rock lands on her desk. Hange blinks a few times, utterly confused.
How did it get here?
She scratches her head, trying to make sense of it. A second later, another rock appears.
Hange looks up, turns to the window— and smile breaks on her face. She squeals in delight, jumping to her feet and coming to grip the windowsill.
Levi is sitting on a branch of a tree that grows near her house. He wears his signature jacket, and he’s looking at Hange with the expression of fond annoyance that he reserves exclusively for her.
“Took you long enough to notice me,” he grumbles. “I was thinking of aiming the next rock at your stupid head.”
Hange laughs, not taking his words to heart. She knows Levi well enough by now to see through his insults and sarcasm.
“Are you free right now?” he asks, before Hange gets her chance to question what is he doing up on a tree.
“It’s Friday night and I’m sick of doing my homework, so…” she shrugs. “I am as free as I can be.”
“Alright. And your mom? Is she at home?”
“She is, but she’s already asleep.”
“Get out then.”
“Eh? What does that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what I said,” Levi scoffs. The confused expression doesn’t leave her face, so he rolls his eyes and adds, “I stole the keys to Kenny’s bike. Do you want to take a ride on it or not?”
Hange feels her lips twitching. She wants to say ‘yes’ so badly, but for the sake of messing with Levi, she puts on a doubtful frown.
“Won’t you get in trouble with your uncle?”
“Only if he finds out.”
“Will he be able to find out?”
“Most certainly.”
"And you still wanna do it?" she asks, just to see the exasperated look Levi throws her.
"Of course," he answers through his teeth, his patience starting to run thin.
"Alright!" she finally agrees. She jumps and clasps her hands together, unable to contain her excitement. "Just wait a sec, I need to change my clothes!"
Levi nods, throws ‘don’t take too long’ and starts climbing off a tree.
Just as she promised, Hange gets ready in record time. She jumps out of the window, landing next to Levi with a pained huff.
"Are you alright?" he steadies her, his eyes shadowed with worry.
"Sure!" Hange assures him with a smile. "The landing was just a bit rougher than I expected."
"You could have left through the front door, like a normal person." Levi notes.
"But where is the fun in that?" Hange counters.
Levi shakes his head and curses her idiocy under his breath. Hange claps his shoulder and chuckles.
"Shall we go?" she raises her arms to tie up her hair.
"Don't." Levi blurts out suddenly.
Hange stops in her tracks, gawking at him. "Eh?"
"Leave it like that," his voice is rough and breathy as he speaks. Levi turns his face away, and Hange desperately wishes to know what it looks like right now. She bets it’s all red and flustered. "When you wear your hair down... It’s not a bad look on you."
Hange can't believe it. Did she mishear? Misunderstood something? Or did Levi really just pay her a compliment?
Now it’s her turn to be flustered. She feels her face redden. Her heart starts to hummer in her chest.
Levi doesn’t give her enough time to process, and, of course, to retaliate. 
"I parked the bike near your house," he walks away so briskly, it's hard for Hange to catch up.
When she does, Levi is already standing next to a shining black motorcycle. Hange knows next to nothing about motorcycles, but, in her opinion, the thing looks cool. She runs a hand over it, and her excitement almost makes her feel dizzy.
She has never ridden a motorcycle. But she is sure it's quite a thrilling experience.
"Put that on," Levi instructs, handing her a helmet. "And hold on to me, alright?"
"Of course!" Hange mockingly salutes.
"Don't do anything stupid, four-eyes," he glowers before putting a helmet on his own head and getting onto the bike.
Hange waits for him to sit down and then she follows his suit. She wraps her arms around Levi, fisting her hands into the lapels of his leather jacket.
"Ready?" he asks, his voice muffled by a helmet.
Hange nods, pressing her head to his shoulder.
Levi starts the motorcycle and carefully rides onto the street. He maneuvers out of the narrow path and onto the broad road. He speeds up after that and Hange can't hold in a delighted chuckle. She raises her head and looks around.
The streets they pass by are nothing more than a blur of bright lights and vivid colors, and Hange can't stop staring at it all. To make the experience even more electrifying, she's pressed so close to Levi that she can feel his heartbeat. Or, maybe, that's an echo of her own. Their proximity makes it hard to tell. She also feels incredibly warm, having her arms wrapped around him makes Hange forget about the harsh wind that seems even stronger as they ride through the night city.
Levi obviously has a final destination in mind, but Hange doesn't care, not right now, when she is filled with so much joy and elation.
She feels so free, she feels so good, so happy, she is so—
"I swear to god, Hange!" Levi shouts over the wind. "If you're thinking of dangling your arms in the air or some equally dumb shit, I'm going to throw you off this thing myself!"
Hange laughs, wild and unbridled.
She is so in love.
*** Levi brings them to the beach.
As soon as he stops the engine, Hange gets off the bike and runs to the sea, kicking away her shoes as she goes. She steps into the water and yells, instantly jumping out of it. The water is freezing, but Hange is stubborn. She wants to try again, hoping that her body would adjust. Before she can take a single step in that direction, though, she is roughly yanked back.
She turns around and meets Levi's sizzling gaze.
"Sit the fuck down," he growls. "Or you wish to get pneumonia?"
Hange can't help it - her heart swells and her stomach tingles.
Levi, despite his dark, scary eyes and scowling face, is surprisingly endearing. He's so cute Hange wants pinch his cheek. Desperately so.
And because she's still filled with adrenaline after their ride, or, maybe, the dark sea and quiet night have an effect on her, Hange does just that.
Levi slaps her hand away a second too late. She laughs, and, to placate him, finally sits down, burying her feet in the sand.
Levi takes a seat next to her. A second later, something heavy and warm falls over her shoulders. Hange touches it with her fingers - it's Levi's jacket.
"It's cold," he explains gruffly, answering the silent question in her eyes.
"Thanks," Hange smiles, and, because she still feels inexplicably bold, she puts her head on his lap.
Levi startles, his whole body goes rigid, but he doesn't push her away, doesn't even complain. After a moment, he relaxes - his hand falls on her shoulder and his fingers starts playing with her hair.
It's nice, Hange thinks. She wishes to stay in this moment forever.
She turns to look at the sea - the stars and moon are reflecting in the darkness of the water, illuminating a narrow path. She points her finger at it.
"I once believed that if you follow that path during full moon, you'll become a mermaid," she tells Levi.
Levi snorts. "You believed in something so stupid? Why am I not surprised?"
"What ridiculous thing did you believe in?"
Levi is silent for a long moment, and Hange thinks he's not going to answer. She opens her mouth to change the topic, but then—
"I believed in Santa until I was thirteen years old."
"What?!" Hange shrieks, rising up from her position to gawk at Levi. "You're serious?"
"Unfortunately," he grunts, pushing her back on his lap. "Kenny put a very convincing show. It's not until I caught my mom hiding presents under a Christmas tree that I finally realized the truth."
Hange really, really tries to keep it in, but she imagines the disappointment on Levi's face and absolutely loses it. Laughter bubbles out of her throat, and Hange curls in on herself, laughing without abandon. Her stomach starts to hurt, tears well up in the corners of her eyes, and Hange still continues to giggle, expressing her mirth until she can't breathe anymore.
"Oh god, Levi," she wipes the tears away. "This is the best thing I've heard in weeks."
"Glad you are having fun on my account," he says dryly.
Hange starts laughing again.
When she finally calms down, the silence falls over them.
It's so quiet there, the only sounds are faraway noises of the city and the loud roar of the sea that accompanies the crashing of waves against the shore.
All of it makes Hange feel at peace in a way she rarely does.
After minutes of staring at the seemingly endless sea and basking in the atmosphere of it all, she tears her gaze away from the it, shifting her eyes to Levi. And finds out - he is looking at her too.
His stare is intense, charged with something she can't quite name, something that makes it impossible to look away.
As their eyes meet, Levi swallows. His hand in her hair stills, and he starts to slowly lower his face to hers. Hange lifts her head too. The tension around them is growing, and Hange forgets how to breathe until— until it hits her.
"Of course!" she cries out, jumping up. She hits Levi's jaw with her forehead, but doesn't pause long enough to fully register it. She can't spare her attention to anything else, the math problem she tried to solve for so long— she finally found the solution.
"Levi!" she seizes his shoulders, staring at him with wide, feverish eyes. "We need to go back, quick!"
"What—"
"I realized how to solve it!" she gets to her feet, pacing around and impatiently waiting for Levi to stand up as well.
"Solve what?" Levi grimaces, looking like he has eaten a sour lemon.
Unfortunately, Hange is too preoccupied with her sudden revelation to notice his expression or even answer his question.
"Way to ruin the moment," he mutters before standing up and walking back to the bike, his face as dark as the sea. ***
It's the last Friday before St. Valentine's Day, and everyone at their school starts going crazy.
Hange is spending lunch with Nifa and Moblit, but their sandwiches lay forgotten, as the three of them curiously watch Porco's pathetic attempt to ask Pieck out. He keeps stuttering and his face is so red, Hange is worried he might pass out, but then Pieck smiles and kisses him on a cheek. Cheers and congratulations are heard from all sides of school cafeteria.
"So it's settled then?" Hange turns to Moblit. "Porco and Pieck are actually dating?"
"I guess..." Moblit tentatively agrees.
"I saw Reiner and Porco kissing the other day," Nifa interrupts.
"And I saw Reiner and Berthold hold hands on their way home," Hange mutters, taking a bite from her sandwich.
"I'm not sure," Moblit rubs his neck. "But I think I caught Pieck making out with Yelena the other day."
"So it's still complicated," Nifa mournfully concludes. "At least, their love life is more interesting than mine..."
"Speaking of love," Moblit quietly begins. Both Hange and Nifa whip their heads to stare at him. Moblit's cheeks turn pink, but he stubbornly continues to look at Hange. "I wanted to ask if..."
Whatever he wanted to ask, Hange doesn't get a chance to find out. Because in the next second, a shadow flashes past them. It appears by her side and drapes a leather jacket over her shoulders.
"It's too cold today," Levi explains, as he sits down next to her, inserting himself between Hange and Moblit.
It's not cold at all, and, besides Hange is wearing a warm pullover.
But that's not the only thing that confuses her. What is Levi doing here? Why is he sitting so close to her? And why is he glaring at Moblit?
"Why are you here, Levi?" Hange decides to start with the easiest question.
"Can't find Farlan and Isabel," he answers flippantly, not taking his eyes from Moblit.
Now that's most certainly a lie. Hange can clearly see Isabel and Farlan sitting in their usual spot, in the furthest corner of cafeteria. And even if she didn't turn around to locate them, Isabel's delighted cackling is heard even from a distance.
"It's best if I go," Moblit says, a drop of sweat rolling down his forehead.
"I'll go with you," Nifa offers, taking her trail.
"We are just friends, my ass," she angrily mutters, throwing another exasperated look at Hange and Levi.
Hange turns to Levi as soon as her friends leave, she really, really wants to know what the fuck had just happened, but she opens her mouth in the exact moment that a bell rings.
Levi wordlessly gets up and disappears in the crowd of students. He forgets to take back his jacket.
  ***
As Hange moves from class to class, everyone keeps staring at her. It’s not bad kind of attention, no one whispers insults behind her back, Erwin actually approaches, offering sincere congratulations, and when she meets Zeke’s gaze in the hallway, she sees a spark of fear there, and it fills her with a deep sense of satisfaction, but— it also makes her confused.
Why did Levi give his jacket to her? Why did he give her his jacket so many times before? Why has she never seen Isabel or Farlan wear it? What makes her special?
Hange always enjoyed solving riddles. She is determined to find a solution to this one as well.
  ***
After her last class, Hange rushes to the rooftop. Just as she expected, Levi is there. And, luckily, he’s all alone.
He’s smoking, but as soon as he notices her presence, he puts the cigarette out and waves his hand, getting rid of the smoke.
Sitting beside him, Hange shoots him a grateful smile.
“So did you know about the dance they’re organizing this weekend?” she begins, skipping the pleasentries and small talk. As she speaks, she tilts her head to the side to stare at Levi’s profile. In the light of a setting sun, he looks even more handsome. Her heart picks up its speed. She ignores it and forces words out of her throat. “Do you wish to go?”
“No.”
“Why not?” Hange wonders, not saddened by his answer at all. She was expecting nothing else, after all.  “Just imagine – me in a dress and with shitty, smeared lipstick and you in a shirt and tie… We’ll be dancing in a stuffy auditorium, drinking spiced punch and having fun with our peers…”
Levi visibly shudders at her words. “I’d rather jump off this roof.”
Hange snickers in her palm. “And if I go with Moblit?” she asks, watching Levi with a sly smile.
“I’ll throw him off this roof.”
That’s exactly the answer Hange was expecting. Even so, her heart does a flip and her breathing speeds up. Her cheeks feel hot and a wide grin is pulling on her lips. The scariest part is over, but the nerves don’t die out. There are still a few questions she needs answers to.
“And if I asked you out to the movies…”
“That’s not a bad idea…” Levi mumbles, keeping his eyes trained on his feet.
Hange gathers the last of her courage.
“And if I kissed you right now?”
Her heart stops, as she nervously waits for a reply. Millennia pass before she hears Levi’s gruff voice.
“That’s… a very good idea.”
He turns to her, staring at her and the intensity of his piercing gaze makes Hange weak in the knees. There is a moment, where nothing happens, but it lasts for no longer than a heartbeat. Then Levi cups her cheek and moves closer, his lips hovering above hers.
Hange closes her eyes and shortens the small distance that separates them.
The kiss is short, chaste and more than a little bit awkward. Even so, it’s the first kiss in her life and Hange lets her lips linger on Levi’s for a little longer, savoring that moment and committing it to her memory.
When they pull apart, Levi doesn’t let her go. If anything he brings her even closer, bumping their foreheads together.
His eyes are warm and soft, and Hange isn’t sure if she had seen anything more beautiful. But then she lets her eyes wander, slipping lower, and she sees a smile that blooms on his face. She can’t decide what she likes to stare at more – his eyes or his smile. After a second of intense debating, Hange comes to conclusion that both his eyes and his smile are equally breathtaking.
She thinks of asking for another kiss, when she remembers something just as important.
“I finally did it, Levi!” she loudly announces, throwing her hands in the air. “I fulfilled the fourth condition!”
Levi pushes her away with a groan. “Why must you always ruin the atmosphere…” he wonders with a deep scowl on his face.
To be honest, Hange liked it better when he smiled. But, luckily, now she knows a sure way to placate him.
With a gentle smile on her lips, she pulls him closer for another kiss.
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soulmate-game · 4 years
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Finally another oneshot, after forever and a day. I’m weak for soulmate AUs. I think most of you know that already.
SO WHY NOT ANOTHER?! WOO!
This one is based on a prompt given to me a hella long time ago, idk who sent it to me. Tell me who you are so I can credit you! I wrote down the prompt for me to remember, it’s something like; “You can write letters to your soulmate, and they travel through time either to a moment your soulmate needs the letter most or to a random point in time to them.”
—*—*—*—*—*
Dear Myself.
I’m doing this for school. We have to write letters to our future self. I am nine years old right now, the year is 2009. I hope you found a cool job! I don’t know what to do yet. I like drawing though! Science is icky, so I hope you’re not a scientist. But if you are, and if it makes us happy, then I guess it’s okay. Be the best scientist you can! If you are all moved out, did you ever get a pet hamster? Hamsters are so cute!
Oh, but most important. Yesterday, I was bullied by my Arch Enemy. You know who. Yeah. Anyway, she said some mean things and it just reminded me that sometimes life hurts, and people can hurt you real bad. But life is still pretty. A family of robins made a nest on my terrace outside my room, and I saw them after I was done crying. They are so cute, and made me happy again. So, always look for your family of robins to keep you happy, I guess. Life isn’t bad, even if some things and people are. I hope you remember that. Keep believing in yourself, and in others!
Marinette Dupain-Cheng (from the past).
Do not open this letter before 2020! Pretty please!
Shaking hands held the letter. It was written two years ago, but he only could have gotten it now. It just appeared on his desk out of nowhere. At first, he thought it was some sick joke. He had just moved to Gotham again, and none of his—
None of them knew he was back. But he recognized this handwriting. He had gotten exactly one letter from them before, written by an older version of this woman and received by him when he was ten. Not long after being taken in by Bruce Wayne. The letter back then had been short, precise. Comforting.
Hello there.
I am writing this in the year 2018. You see, I found out quite a while ago that my soulmate bond is unique. It sends letters to you that I write, from all across time. I can get your letters, too, so don’t hesitate to write to me if you need to vent. My letters might not always reach you in time to feel like a normal response, but I’ll keep writing if you do. I know your life isn’t easy, if the letters I’ve already gotten mean anything. But keep fighting. I know what it’s like to be the underdog. But I’m rooting for you.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng, New Adult.
Jason’s hands crumpled the two pieces of paper in them, the older of the two already close to crumbling away. They had buried him with it, resurrected him with it. It had seen hell and back just like him, but he still kept it. Even with blurring ink and ripped edges and blood stains. The writing and names matched, even if his newer letter was written in the clumsy scrawl of a child. The nuances in the handwriting were still the same.
She would still be writing to him. This new letter he got was clearly the first, before she knew about her soulmate or how her letters would disappear after she wrote them just like his did. But 2009? It just sank into him, that she was younger than he was. By seven years.
But her words still kept him afloat better than any lecture from that asshole Bruce.
He couldn’t see her yet. Not any time soon, really. He was already eighteen, dead and resurrected, and she was barely eleven. He could wait.
She didn’t need somebody as screwed and dark as him right now, anyway. A murderer, a budding crime boss. If she needed someone killed for her, or someone to save her, he’d be there. Otherwise?
Jason took out the receipt from his last visit to a gas station for cigarettes, grabbed a sharpie from his desk, and began to write.
Yo, Mari.
I’m writing this in 2011. I got your first letter. Thanks. It reminded me of some good times. I’m sorry I didn’t write anything for five years. Stuff happened. I won’t write often. Not until I’m in a better place. But if you need it, you can vent to me too. Also, don’t look at the back of this receipt. This was the only paper I could find.
Jason T., Your Soulmate.
—*—*—*—*—*
Marinette, nine years old, stared down at the receipt that had taken the place of her letter to herself. She recognized that it was written in English, but she couldn’t read it yet. But that was okay, her Papan and Maman could read English!
She ran down, holding it in her hands tightly. She didn’t want the mystery letter to disappear! She handed it to her parents, who were in the middle of making croissants and stared at her for a moment. And then they broke into a flurry of movement.
“Why do you have a receipt for cigarettes, Marinette?!” Sabine yelled, confused more than angry. How would her daughter get a receipt written in English? And after giving her parents a confused head tilt, Marinette explained.
“It just appeared, like, poof!” She moved her hands to illustrate her point. “I was writing my letter to my future self for school, which is gone now oh no! Mlle. is going to be so mad!”
“Mari, focus,” Tom prodded gently, laying a hand on her shoulder. “You were writing your letter, and then what?”
Marinette took a deep breath. “Well, I finished it and put it in a little envelope. But as soon as I put it down and was all done, it shimmered red and faded away! This showed up in the same place my letter had been, like they were traded!”
Tom and Sabine shared a glance, and her mom held out her hand. “Can I read it, Marinette? I promise I won’t take it away. Your father and I just want to see what it says. We’ll read it to you.”
Marinette nodded eagerly, and after making sure their dough was put away the family of bakers moved to their living room and the little girl sat on her father’s lap as her mother held the note for them to see and read it aloud.
The parents shared another glance.
“Wow!” Marinette exclaimed happily, bouncing in place. “He sounds so cool! He is my soulmate? Really? I wonder what he looks like!” Her eyes took on a dreamy quality as she began to daydream. “I bet he’s super handsome! And nice and strong and—“
“Mari,” Tom said gently, tugging one pigtail playfully to get his daughter’s attention. She turned her large blue eyes to him, rapt with attentiveness. “I know this is exciting, but you know that not all soulmates are romantic, right?”
Marinette instantly calmed down, eyebrows pinching together. “But— but Nino said that soulmates are people you will marry in the future. Your perfect person. Like you and Maman,” she argued, incredibly confused. Her Maman chuckled, handing Marinette her receipt-letter back.
“Yes, but sometimes a person doesn’t need romance the most. Sometimes, what a person needs most is a friend or another family member. So sometimes, a soulmate is a big sister or brother instead, or another Maman or Papan. And we think that your soulmate might be the big brother kind,” she explained patiently. Marinette’s confusion instantly changed to excitement again, eyes sparkling with starry amazement.
“Really? How can you tell?”
“Well,” Tom took over, tapping the receipt with one finger. This receipt is from America. Over there, you have to be eighteen to buy cigarettes. Which means that, two years from now, your soulmate is already eighteen.”
“Or he better be, anyway,” Sabine growled, eyes narrowed dangerously.
“But even if he isn’t,” Tom nervously glanced over at his wife and back to his daughter. “The way he writes is too grown up for someone close to your age. He is probably several years older than you—“
“At least seven, if he knows what’s good for him,” Sabine interrupted again. Tom just chuckled and shook his head.
“But still. Are you okay with him not being a romantic soulmate, Nettie?”
Marinette jumped off of her dad’s lap, hugging her note to her chest with one of the biggest smiles either of her parents had ever seen on her face.
“Are you kidding? I’ve always wanted a big brother! I bet he’s so cool, and rides a motorcycle and beats up bad guys! And when we meet, we’ll go out for ice cream and he’ll ruffle my hair, and let me ride on his shoulders, and it’ll be so awesome!”
Sabine finally lost her threatening aura, laughing along with her daughter. “Well, I don’t know about the whole beating up bad guys thing. But it sounds like he might need some cheering up, so you should write him letters pretty often. You never know when he might need one the most.”
Marinette nodded seriously, eyes shining with determination now. “That’s right! I have to be the best soulmate-sister ever! I’ll start writing him another letter right now!” She instantly turned to run back up to her room, but her dad’s voice followed her:
“Marinette! You haven’t eaten dinner yet!”
—*—*—*—*—*
The next day, Jason came back to his base to see another letter. It was on special scrapbook paper, a pretty white with a heart-and-stars border. He found himself snorting despite himself, shaking his head and picking up the girly letter.
Hello, Jason!
I just got your letter! It’s still 2009, and my parents were worried about the cigarats. I wanted to learn English first, but Maman and Papan reminded me that you have to be able to read French if you were able to read my past letters (I wonder what I wrote you! My future self must be real smart). Maman says you better be 18, or else she’ll kick your butt. She didn’t say that exactly, but I could tell.
Jason snickered at that. She must have a pretty fun family.
Maman and Papan also said that you’re probably a Big Brother soulmate. That’s super cool! I’ve always wanted an older brother, but it’s just me. I get lonely sometimes. And Maman thinks I have a big imagination, so help me prove her wrong! I bet her that you’re suuuuuuper cool, and have a motorcycle and beat up criminals! She doesn’t think my soulmate would be a hero, but I think you are. I don’t even know you yet, but I just feel it. And even if you don’t beat up bad guys, that’s fine. You’ll still protect me like a big brother should, right? And we’ll go and eat ice cream and talk about the stuff we like when we finally meet. And I’ll protect you too. I know little sisters aren’t supposed to, but I will totally protect you anyway. If you’re sad, I’ll make you macaroons and read you a bedtime story. That always makes me happy.
Please write back soon!
Marinette Dupain-Cheng (from the past still!)
Jason couldn’t help it, and maybe the Lazarus magic had a bit of sway on him still, but he laughed raucously. A deep, belly-shaking bellow. His soulmate sure was a character! And scarily intuitive. How did she guess such accurate things about him? It was hilarious.
But he wouldn’t write back today. Not yet. He held no illusions; he wasn’t brother material. Not now, and probably not for a while if ever. Which reminded him, he had a replacement to kill.
—*—*—*—*—*
The Replacement lived, but at least Batman had gotten the message. Meanwhile, letters from Little Mari, as he had started calling her in his head, had started piling up. He read every single one, but didn’t respond to any. It was all the usual stuff. Talking about her day, asking stuff about him, spouting advice that seemed way too insightful for a nine-year-old.
He kept every single one. Soon, 2009 letters turned into 2010 letters. She switched from writing almost every day to once a week.
By then, Jason had reconciled with Bruce for the most part. After a few attempts on his life, but that wasn’t important. It was then, as he sat down in the living room watching Tim, Dick, Bruce, and the newest hellion Damian, all talking with and teasing one another that he finally got the urge to write again. So he asked for paper, and Alfred brought him a notepad and a plain ballpoint pen. And, for the first time in over a year, he started writing.
Dick and Bruce noticed first, stopping their banter to stare. Dick smiled softly, his shoulders relaxing as he let himself slump over the sofa’s arm a bit. Tim furrowed his eyebrows, and Damian frowned.
“What are you doing, Todd?” The young hellion asked, but Jason barely heard him.
“Nonya business, squirt,” he replied absently. Bruce chuckled fondly, beckoning to his two youngest sons. They both came a bit closer, and Bruce smiled at them conspiratorially. He leaned forward and whispered:
“Jason’s soulbond allows any letters that he writes to travel through time to his Bonded, and vice versa. Back before… everything, he used to write a letter to her almost every day.”
“It’s really sweet. We lined up the dates, and we think that she’s around your age Damian,” Dick added in equally softly. “Probably a familial bond. It’s good that he’s writing to her again.”
—*—*—*—*—*
Marinette was twelve the next time she got a letter from Jason. But, unlike the last one, this one came from the past. And it was written in French.
Hi, Marinette!
I guess I’m your soulmate. I got your letter from 2018. It’s 2005 when I’m writing this. I’m twelve years old right now, but that shouldn’t matter. It was a little surprising when I got a letter written in French out of nowhere! Luckily, I speak a lot of languages. I love learning languages, and reading is probably my favorite thing to do. Don’t tell anyone though! I have my bad-boy image to keep up. I think our soulbond is really cool actually, and maybe we can teach each other stuff if we do this right. I know the whole time-traveling-letters thing makes it hard to reply to each other like normal. From now on, I’ll write you these letters in English and translate them in French on the back. That way, you can read it whenever you want and also learn English if you don’t already know it when you get this letter.
Oh, and I think I’m older than you? In real time, I mean. If you’re a “new adult” in 2018, then you’re probably a few years younger than me. I was born in 1993. You can do the math, since I don’t know when you were born. Anyway! I’ll keep writing you as often as I can and hope that you get these letters when you need them most.
Jason T., Excited Tween.
Marinette laughed, running down to show her mom. She was only writing Jason once a month now, but in the midst of this first letter she had received in three years, her determination was relit. It was just the letters being dumb when they flew through time! No way he was done writing to her. Right?
“Maman! Maman, he really was eighteen when he wrote that first letter! You don’t have to kill him!”
—*—*—*—*—*
Marinette stared at the pile of letters on her desk, sighing. She ran a hand through her hair. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to read them yet, but she knew they were each dated from 2005. Apparently they had both decided to write daily when they had first discovered their Bond.
“Marinette,” the familiar voice of Tikki spoke you, the little Kwami floating over to land on her holder’s shoulder. “You should read them. Your bond wouldn’t give you letters you don’t need.”
Marinette took a deep breath, rubbing her already sore and red eyes. “I know. But what if—“
Tikki grabbed the letter at the bottom of the pile, flying over and handing it to the pigtailed girl. She smiled gently. “Read it. No what-ifs. Just read for now, Marinette.”
The newest Ladybug sighed, but acquiesced. She sat down at her desk, and began to read. Only two months as Ladybug, and already the pressure was becoming too much.
Two hours later, she had caught up and her mood was considerably better. Jason’s life was definitely no cake walk, but his humor bled through the more concerning details and helped bring light to Marinette’s day. Slowly, one by one, she folded the letters and put them in her special locked box inside her “diary”. She tried to keep a real diary once, but quickly stopped when she realized that even “dear diary” counted as a letter and sent itself to Jason.
She pulled out one of her special pieces of stationary paper and her favorite pink gel pen. For a while she stared at the paper, out of practice after a few months of not writing to him, but eventually she was able to begin again.
Hey Jason.
It’s 2013. I’m 13. I’m pretty sure you got the point by now, it’s not hard to figure out what year I was born. I haven’t responded to any of your letters in a while, but I guess that doesn’t matter. It’s not like I know if you’re gonna get this right away anyway.
So. Uh. Things have changed. I’m only thirteen, but I feel so old you know? On the bright side, your letters really did help me learn English. I mean, you probably guessed that since I’m writing this whole thing in English.
I guess I should explain. A little. A lot has happened. I suddenly have so many responsibilities, and it’s really hard to keep up with it all. So much has changed in just a few months, I feel like I’m going crazy. I’m keeping secrets from Maman and Papan now, which hurts the most. I can’t tell them, I can’t even tell you, but I’m not used to this. I don’t like lying. I don’t even know why any of this happened in the first place, I want answers and I’m getting radio silence. It sucks. But your letters from 2005 really helped, so thanks. I just got them this past year, which is really weird because I remember that our letters time travel and I feel crazy again. But this is real. Our Bond is real, and maybe writing you will help me remember that. Help me focus a bit.
Anyway, that’s all I can think of right now. I’ll try to write you again sometime this week if I have time. We’ll see.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Unsure Teenager.
—*—*—*—*—*
As soon as Jason finished his letter, pretending he couldn’t feel Bruce, Dick, Tim, and Damian all spying on him from their own spots around the living room, the papers he wrote on shimmered red and vanished. In their place, a piece of tea-colored scrapbook paper with a decorative robin-and-egg border (he would never know how she could be so obliviously on point with the designs she chose), popped into existence. He blinked, snatching it up and looking it over. His eyes widened.
“It’s only from next year,” he said aloud, for the benefit of the nosy assholes sharing the room with him. “That’s the closest any of our letters have been to one another,” and then Jason’s eyes promptly went serious as she actually read what the paper said.
“Jay?” Dick asked after the man had been silent too long. Jason grunted, his eyes briefly shimmering green before he shook it away. He took a few deep breaths, and finally responded by standing up and handing the paper over to them.
“Something happens next year that fucks with her. All of the letters I’ve gotten from her, besides that first one back when I was still Robin, were from before this. 2009 to 2010. I even got a few from last year, not that long ago. She’s always upbeat and happy and never said anything about any concerning things besides some schoolyard bullying. This isn’t at all like her. The tone is off.”
“Well, it’s not like you’ve actually met her yet Jason,” Tim tried to console him, rereading the paper to make sure he didn’t miss anything. “This could be something mundane. A new school, or an issue with friends or something.”
Jason grit his teeth. “It isn’t. I don’t know how I know, but my gut is telling me it’s more than that. B, I want us to keep an eye on Paris. Something big happens next year, I know it.”
Bruce sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Funnily enough, I agree with you. Alfred, can you get up a monitoring system? we’ll keep it automatic until next year actually hits, and then I want someone personally checking up on Paris news at least once a month. Just in case.”
—*—*—*—*—*
It was a year into HawkMoth. Marinette hadn’t written a single letter to Jason, but she kept getting the ones he wrote in 2005. When those ran out, she only had two from 2006 before they suddenly leapt to 2012. She guessed that that was because of the five year gap he had mentioned in his first letter, the infamous cigarette receipt.
She sat in her chair, reading the only two 2012 letters so far, the second of which had conveniently landed on her desk that morning. The first had arrived months ago, but she gave it a reread anyway.
yo, Mari.
I’m sorry I haven't written anything else after that horrible receipt, I was getting my life sorted out. things are better now. I have three annoying brothers, by the way. I told you about Dick, I think, in my early letters. Now I have two younger brothers too, Tim and Damian. Damian is a little shit, but oddly enough I think you’d like him. Oh yeah, I’m writing this in 2012 by the way. And yes, this small notepad paper was all I had. Don’t judge me. I guess I’ll answer some questions, to make up for my lack of letters lately. More up to date than what I told you back when I was a naive little kid anyway.
Yes, I have a motorcycle. It is my baby, and I have no idea how nine-year-old you was able to guess stuff about me so accurately. I am most definitely a bad boy, and I have five different leather jackets that I love to death. I’m trying to quit smoking. It’s bad for your lungs kid, don’t follow my example there. Also, I am so fucking proud of your taste in music. I know I had no sway in it, but the fact that Jagged Stone is your favorite musician instills so much older brother pride in me you don’t even know. My dad (You remember how I said I’m adopted, right? yeah that asshole. Don’t tell him I actually love him, but he’s still an asshole), he grew up with Jagged actually. He still refers to him as Jared, it’s surreal. I will definitely let you ride on my shoulders, even if you’re an adult when we meet. I give no shits. And ice cream is mandatory. Officially. I’m making it mandatory right now.
I hope you’re doing okay when this gets to you, Mari. And keep designing, the sketches you sent me were awesome! That’s some real talent. Don’t let it go to waste if it’s something you love.
Alright, the Doofuses are still staring at me so I better go before one of them snoops and sees the sappy stuff I wrote about them. You are sworn to secrecy about it too, Cupcake. No blabbing.
Jason Todd, Finally Kinda Okay.
Marinette chuckled at that, then put it aside to read the new one from that morning. It was shorter.
Marinette!
I just read your letter from 2013, holy shit let this reach you not long after that. You remember that 2012 letter where I was sappy about my family and shit? I hope you got that one first or else this is gonna be confusing. Anyway, this was written that same day. Are You Okay? If shit gets too bad, for whatever reason, you can always contact me. I know this damn letter thing won’t let me give you a specific way to contact me, not for lack of trying damn it, but I’ll say this: Bruce Wayne isn’t hard to get a hold of. Find a way to contact him if you need my help, and I will be close behind. He knows how to contact me. No matter what, Cupcake. I don’t care if you think you’re being stupid or dramatic or whatever lies run through your head. Contact him if you need it, and I will come to help you. I promise. Being thirteen sucks, trust me I know, so let me help you.
Jason Todd, Worried As Hell.
Marinette huffed, shaking her head. She wanted to take him up on that offer, but she couldn’t. She had just met the Guardian not too long ago, and he had made it clear that she couldn’t tell anybody about being Ladybug. Not even Jason. She needed to deal with this alone.
Scenes of bloated bodies filled her mind, all the people who had died just the previous day because of Siren. She had had to swim through so many corpses. So many dead, of all ages.
She rushed out onto her balcony, taking in deep breaths of fresh air and letting the sun’s rays warm her up and slowly bring her out of the haze of burning memory. She was fourteen already. She could handle this. Her childhood had died the moment she had been given the Earrings, ripped away from her too early. Her old self had died. Now she was Ladybug, she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng and she was responsible for the fate of even more than just Paris. She couldn’t let herself fall. Not now, not ever.
The loud roaring of a motorcycle made her jump, and she ran to her railing just in time to see a gorgeous black and red bike come to a tire-screeching halt on the street right under her. The biker, she could tell he was large and covered head to toe in corded muscle even from her spot high above his head, slowly took off his helmet. Black hair with stark white bangs came into view, and startlingly deep blue eyes met hers. Marinette’s breath hitched; it was him. She could tell, his mere eye contact made her feel safe and warm and like… like home had found her. He gave her a roguish grin.
“Come on, Cupcake! I believe I promised you a shoulder ride and ice cream. And you gotta keep me from beating a certain old man into a bloody pulp!”
He knew. Marinette smiled widely, a laugh tearing itself from her throat. Hysteric, overjoyed, free. He knew, and it was okay. She didn’t even have to tell him. She took a few steps back, and then vaulted straight over her railing.
“Catch!”
Jason threw his helmet to the side, running forward just in time for her to land safely in his arms. He glared down at her, but his eyes held no heat. “That was incredibly reckless. I shouldn't be proud, but I am. Don’t do that ever again.”
Marinette giggled. “No promises.”
Jason set her down, picking up his helmet before opening the storage on his bike and tossing her a smaller, pink one. “Sorry it took so long. I wanted to come last year, as soon as I figured out what had made you send that concerning letter, but I was told that I would be an instant Akuma. But after what happened yesterday…” Jason shook his head solemnly. “I knew you’d need a break. Come on, Gotham actually has some amazing ice cream.”
“How are we gonna get to Gotham right away? how did you..?”
Marinette paused, Jason keeping his motorcycle’s storage open just long enough for her to see his Red Hood helmet.
“We got portals for that,” he responded nonchalantly, nobody was nearby to overhear anyway. Marinette looked up when he closed the storage compartment, putting her helmet on.
“Well. Then I’m glad you actually took my rant on the Gotham vigilantes to heart and used my designs, because your old mask was disgustingly ugly.”
Jason rolled his eyes, and waited until she was behind him on the bike before revving it and replying;
“Trust me, I know your feelings on it. Demon Spawn and Replacement teamed up to steal that letter and made copies. Now one is pinned to the fridge and I spent another several hours cleaning up the ones they posted over every inch of my apartment walls.”
“... I approve.”
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needyounow-love · 4 years
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Obey Me! Headcanons - How the brothers would react if their S/O was jealous of some succubi who always try to flirt with them and to hurt their s/o
Lucifer
He wouldn't really notice what's happening at first, because he always has a lot of work to do
He would see that you're more affectionate than usual, but he knows how much you love to be around him so he won't make a big deal out of it
One of the succubi tried to confess to him, but he rejected her without even thinking about it
He has eyes only for you and he would show that in public, but also in private in more explicit ways
He would be so focused on you that the succubi would give up, because they wouldn't even be able to bother you or him
"I don't have time for them, when I already have you that mean so much to me"
Mammon
He's pretty popular and also a model, so he would know about those succubi who always try to be around him, but wouldn't really care about them
He would start to notice how gloomy you were every time one of them started trying to get his attention
They would go as far as trying to get him by grabbing his arms and pushing themselves on him and they would be even worse when you were with him
Mammon would still push them away and tell them that he's not really interested in any of them
He would even be more affectionate with you to show you that he only wants you
He would remind you every day how much he loves you
"I know that most of the times I act l Iike a damn idiot, but I love ya and I don't want anyone else. I love the hell out of ya and I won't stop tellin' you until you understand it. Okay?" And he really meant it.
Levi
He would be too much oblivious to notice the succubi's behaviour
He's actually the most popular guy between the succubi, even if he doesn't know
And he would ignore them anyway
Once, one of them tried to act like she bumped into him to start talking with him, but he just apologized and disappeared in less than one second
You would be the one to tell him what's going on when one day you started crying because one of them tried to bully you into breaking up with him
He doesn't like to interact with most of the real people around him and most of the times he just likes to stay in his room, but he won't let anyone make you suffer
Levi usually doesn't like to show his affection in public, but he would hold your hand and hug you so much when you're at school
He wants to show you that he wouldn't never hurt or leave you for someone else
Just because he's shy it doesn't mean that he can't be scary
Once, he caught one group of succubi trying to corner you
"You better stay away from MC or there will be consequences"
You never saw him being so angry, not even when you made him mad on purpose to convince him to make a pact with you.
After that the succubi kept looking at him, but never really bothered you or him again
"I will never love nobody else as much as I love you, n-not even R-Ruri-chan!" That actually meant a lot you.
Satan
He's very intuitive, so he will know exactly what's happening when it will starts happening
He would be unforgiving if some of the succubi tried to hurt you
He's probably the one who would stop the succubi's advances before they even start
He's almost always with you, so nobody would even have the possibility to actually try to hurt you
"If they try to hurt you, then it means that they are trying to hurt me too, because they would be hurting the person I love the most and I won't let that happen."
Asmo
He loves to flirt just for fun, so most of the succubi are interested in him because of that and because of his beauty
That doesn't mean that he would keep flirting with them if he noticed that his flirting made you feel bad
You're the only person who he loves and won't let you even think for only one second that he doesn't love you
He would pamper you with cuddles and all of his attention
Just because he's a very open and sexual person it doesn't mean that he will leave you for a random succubus that means nothing to him
Like Lucifer, he's most likely to show how much he loves you also during your private time
He would take extra care of you when he notices that you started feeling bad about yourself because of the succubi. And he will surely notice, because he knows you really well and always talks openly with you about everything.
"Why should I want them when you're the only one who makes me feel this way" yes, you already know in what context he would say this.
Beel
When he would start to understand what's going on he won't really do something about it until he sees how the situation bothers you.
He is very peaceful, but he will fight anyone who dares to hurt the people he loves, so he won't stand still if some of the succubi try to hurt you
Being the big soft boy that he is, he would try to show you that you're the only one who he wants to be with, because you can understand him and love him like nobody else can
Beel would give you some of his food to show that he cares and to make you feel better. He would also buy your favourite food if you have one
"Nobody will ever be able to make me feel as at peace as I feel when I'm with you. So don't underestimate yourself, you're the only one for me."
Belphie
Belphie would notice how the succubi tried to get his attention, but he wouldn't care about them
Until they tried to get his attention by trying to hurt you
That's when he lost his cool and we all know how scary he is when he's angry
He won't let you get hurt ever again by anyone and those succubi aren't an exception
However, he doesn't want to get in trouble again, so he would just get enough angry to scare all the succubi who were trying to flirt with him or to hurt you.
He's actually a very affectionate and cuddly type of person, so he would try to give you even more attention.
He will probably get up early only to come to school and protect you from the succubi that want to bully you
"I love you. I really do. My heart is full of love for you and I can't help but want you to be happy. I won't let anyone make you feel like you aren't loved or let you get hurt again. Never again."
Obey Me Masterlist
2K notes · View notes
cherripeach · 3 years
Text
Chapter 12
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Little Match Maker
Summary: Your life motto is “I have the power of god and anime on my side, don’t mess with me,” and you stand by that with your life. No human, magician, or random creature could ever stop your firm belief in it.
However, getting transported to this world that seemed to turn your already bad luck worse was not what you wanted to be in your life story, but you made the most of it. Making friends, enemies, and disasters, you were in your prime in this world, and so you decided to help as many people as you could flourish, at least what you believed to be.
Chapter 1:9 Fre sha vaca do
Lunch Time Group Chat!
Warnings: Curse words, 
Words: 2.5k
Relationships: developing but future twstxreader
The glare from the upperclassman Prefect standing behind Ace onto Ace could slowly disintegrate you, which is why you are very appreciative it was not directed at you. 
Cater flashed some finger guns and greeted the new face, “Hey there, Riddle! You look super cute today, too!” He even added a wink for effect. 
Riddle, the new face at your table, scoffed and turned his head to face Cater only to tighten his lips, then, relax them into a sickly smile, “Keep talking like that, Cater, and it will be off with your head, too.” 
Cater held up his hands, “Come on now, please go easy on me.” 
Grim whispered to you, “This is the guy who put that weird collar on me during the Opening Ceremony!” 
“Looks like it,” was your only response, but you were more concerned with how someone so small could have so much anger. Closer to hell is what you always believed. 
Riddle moved his sight onto you and Grim before starting his lecture, “You two are the ones who caused a ruckus yesterday, aren’t you?” He pointed his finger at Grim, “Would you refrain from referring to someone’s unique magic as ‘a weird collar’? Good grief, the Headmaster is too soft. Letting someone off the hook for not following the rules once will break the foundation. All those who don’t follow the rules should just say goodbye to their heads.” He shook his head at the end, but he seemed to talk in a continuous sigh as if everything was bothering him.
You mimicked his sickly smile he demonstrated before and started, “I’m sorry, but please concern yourself with your dorm members and their activities before you come at me.” You closed your eyes and smiled tight for dramatic effect at the end.
Riddle’s mouth flew open as he began to mumble, “Wha..what ever could you mean?”
Ace and Deuce were in a silent conversation below the new Prefect while his eyes were still wide on you. 
“I just thought that bullying and threatening to use magic on campus would be against the rules,” You shrugged your shoulders while frowning. 
A little, ‘Hmph’, came out of Riddle before he decided, “I’ll deal with your issue later, but know that the Headmaster may have forgiven you, but the next time you break the rules, I won’t let you off so easily.” 
You lightly rolled your eyes and drank some of your drink because you knew that this boy would take a while for him to calm down about your past mishaps. 
“Um…” Ace butted into your conversation and your glare off with a question, “By the way, Prefect… Is it possible for you to remove this collar?” His hand directed itself to point at the thing around his neck. 
Riddle nodded his head and answered, “I was thinking of removing it once you’ve repented, but judging from what you said a while ago, it seems like you’ve yet to do so. I’ll have you walk around like that for a while longer.You don’t have to worry.” He shook his head with the brightest smile on his face, “The 1st years’ lessons are focused more on classroom learning rather than magic training. If you can’t use magic, then something like yesterday’s ruckus should be impossible. It’s perfect, isn’t it? Now, if you’re done eating, hurry and go to your next class. Rule #271 of the Queen of Hearts: ‘You must not spend more than 15 minutes sitting at the table after you’ve eaten.’You know what happens when you break the rules, don’t you?” His smile disappeared after that, which brought you much more comfort than it should have. 
Ace sighed in response and muttered, “Another weird rule..”
Riddle voiced out, “Answer me with ‘Yes, Prefect!’”
Ace and Deuce both replied, “Yes, Prefect!”
Riddle nodded and ended with, “Good.”
Trey, the savior of you all, cut into the conversation, “Now, now. I’ll see them off, don’t worry.” His normal smile was far stretched too wide for your liking. 
Riddle scoffed for the fiftieth time you have been in the same conversation as him, “You’re the Vice Prefect, so you better do your job properly. As stated by the Queen of Hearts’ Rule #339, ‘After-meal lemon tea should have nothing more or less than 2 sugar cubes in it.’ In order to protect that rule, I shall need to buy more sugar cubes at the school store. I’ll be taking my leave now.” The Prefect was then found muttering to himself and walking away.
“Wait, man!” You tried to get his attention and even stood up, but the small dude was already on his way, too concerned about whatever he was mumbling about. 
Cater shivered,  “Man, that was scary…” Cater turned to you once you sat down, winked, and whistled, “But since I was here, I protected the sweet, little, new prefect from getting hurt.”
You rolled your eyes and thanked in a bland tone with a smile, “You are so amazing, Cat! I can almost see how respected you are.” 
Grim pulled on your coat to get your attention, “He’s really lookin’ like a bad guy now, yanno? That Prefect.” 
“Hey, that’s very rude!” Deuce seemed to disagree, but considering that he was shaking five seconds ago, you would disagree with him. 
“As much as I would like to say, he isn’t a bad guy. He’s really disproving my point,” You claimed. 
Two students with red bands passed by your table muttering something about a rule, you assumed one of Riddle’s, and how there needs to be a bit more freedom. That was all you could take from it. 
Trey and Cater went silent at that and just stared into space. 
Trey sighed before addressing, “The Dorm Head managed to become the head one week after getting into the school. He’s a little bit sharp-tongued, but he’s only got the dorm’s best intentions in mind, so he’s not really a bad guy…”
Grim shook his head, “People who think like that don’t just put collars on others.”
Cater and Trey both laughed before exhaling at the same time. Neither one of them had a smile on their face. 
You brought up something that has been bothering you, “You are right, Grim. However, my main problem is that the tiny Prefect is creating a space of fear and not safety for these boys at this school. Safety and acceptance should always come first. Fear only destroys.” You place a hand on your chin, “That magic spell thing doesn’t seem to help either.”
Cater tilted his head at your, “Hm? You mean Riddle’s unique magic?”
“Unique… “ Deuce voiced, “Meaning, it’s only exclusive to the Prefect?”
Trey explained, “Putting aside all the other magic in the world, magic that can only be used by one person is called ‘unique magic’. I think you’ll learn about it in detail if you pay attention in class.”
You joined in, “Very unique!”
Deuce and Ace only groaned at your joke. 
Cater furthered Trey’s explanation, “Riddle’s unique magic is being able to seal off another person’s magic for a given time.It’s called…
Off with your head!” The Queen of Hearts flashed in your mind while Cater made a cutting motion across his neck. 
Grim shrieked, “Even the name’s scary!” And clutched your cloak in his paws.
Cater agreed, “It is, especially, since magicians having their magic sealed off is similar to having your head chopped off. That's why, as long as you’re in this dorm, it’s better not to go against Riddle.” He smiled warily at everyone. 
You clicked your teeth with your tongue. 
Trey disputed, “Conversely, as long as you follow the rules, he can be pretty gentle.”
“Oh yeah,” Ace blew on his bangs, “Am I gonna be chased out again if I don’t come back with a tart…?” He smiled showing his teeth, but his eyes were narrow along with his eyebrows being stuck close together. 
Cater frowned, “Pretty much, That’s what Rule #53 says, after all. Oh, and since Riddle was looking forward to getting the first slice of that whole cake, he probably won’t forgive you if you don’t bring the same thing,” He ruffled his own hair and apologized, “Sorry about that.”
Ace huffed, “You said you want to get along, but you won’t let me off that easily, huh?!”
“This and that are different,” Cater objected with a sway of his hands. 
Deuce pointed out, “Still, isn’t a whole tart a little bit expensive?”
Ace groaned and smacked the table with his head, “I don’t have that much money though…” He even lifted his head to gaze at you with puppy eyes. 
You gave him a look of disgust back. 
Cater suggested, “Then why not make some?Those tarts were all made by,” He paused for dramatic effect and pointed both his hands to the green haired upperclassman,  “Trey here, y’know?”
“Ooooh,” You just had to comment, “Cute and can cook. Def husband material.” You giggled at the end of your comment. You were insanely jealous of whoever married him. 
Trey flushed a little at your statement and stammered out, “Well, not.. not really…” He began playing with his glasses after; he even took them off to clean them. 
Ace gasped out, “You made all that Trey-senpai?! Amazing! It’s better than what they sell here!” He stood up and motioned to the room around him, pulling a couple of eyes to the table the group was at. 
Trey, glasses back on,  admitted with a cough, “Thanks. I think I have most of the tools and ingredients here… But I won’t simply offer you my services.” His smile returned as his eyebrows rose up. 
Ace broke out again, “Eh?! You’re gonna ask us to pay you!?” He, finally, decided to sit back down because now even more eyes were on him. 
Trey chuckled and shook his head, “There’s no way I can extort money from a junior, you know? The next tart that Riddle wants to eat requires a lot of chestnuts. Would you mind gathering some for me?” 
Ace pouted, “It’s troublesome either way…! So, how much do you need?” 
“It’s going to be used for the Unbirthday Party,” Trey stopped to think, “So about two to three hundred will do.” He put up three fingers on his hand. 
Grim and deuce spurted out and jumped up, “That much!?”
You tilted your head in thought, “But aren’t they real tiny, so I guess it makes some sense…”You squeezed your thumb and index finger together.
Trey answered, “I’ll have you help me with roasting them and peeling them.” As if any of you knew how to do that. 
Grim whined at you, “Can I go back home? Pleaseeeeee.”
Deuce joined in Grim’s whines directed at you, “Me too.”
You blurted out, “No.”
Ace accused the two, “You traitors!” 
“If anything, I can help out,” You volunteered like the amazing person you are, not because it kinda sounded like free food. Not at all, “I don’t know what to do tho, sorry. But besides, it's not like I have much to do or look forward to from that dorm.” 
Cater clapped his hands in glee, “Making them together and then eating them together will make it more delicious!” He closed his eyes and smiled wide, “It’s that making memories that count. It might even help you start a cooking blog for all we know.”
Trey put a finger up to his lip, “Keep this a secret from the Prefect, but freshly made marron tart is the best. The only ones who can eat it as soon as it gets out of the oven are the ones who made it, you know?”
Grim on the same page as you knew this was free food, “Hey, you boys! Get your rear in gear! We’re gonna go pick some chestnuts ‘til we drop!” Food was the prime motivator for your dorm. 
You smirked at the cat, “Matching vibes, are we?” Turning to your green haired upperclassman, you questioned, “Where would we find these anyway?” 
Trey informed the group, “There are a lot of chestnut trees right by the forest behind the school’s botanical garden.”
Ace gave Trey a thumbs up before turning back to you, Deuce, and Grim, “Alright! Then, let’s gather in front of the greenhouse after school.” 
“Go, go! We’re goin’ chestnut picking!” Grim cheered from the table.
“Wait, does anyone know where the garden even is?” You asked. 
All three of them watched you correcting you, “Shouldn’t you know, Supervisor?”
Frustrated beyond belief at these three you smacked each one on the head and told them to, “Screw off, and never beg for anything from me again!”
Lunch ended peacefully with shoves from both Deuce and Ace, and Grim making your hair even more like a yarn ball the cat would love. 
The rest of the day passed by quickly.
In your first class after lunch, which was astrology where two homerooms were combined for it, you blanked out half the lesson and almost fell asleep, but you can really remember seeing and speaking to the feminine boy from the purple house. He dropped his pencil on the ground, and when you tried to give him his pencil that fell off his desk, he snatched it from your hand and rolled his eyes at you. 
You replied to him, “Okay, who shit in your cornflakes today?” 
The boy turned back to you scoffed and cringed, “I’m sure it was from just seeing your face.” 
You just turned away and slapped your head with the textbook, which was not the best idea as it created a noise that alerted the professor who then stared at you with confusion on his face and because the textbook hurts. 
The feminine boy let out a giggle while you were being lectured by the professor, and you were gonna hold that accomplishment high. 
Your last class of the day which was just an introduction of the school and its history had you stuck next to the tall green haired male from P.E. from another class. He never introduced himself, but whenever he would ask questions he would shoot his hand straight up and practically yell in your ear as if the professor was deaf. 
You basically lost your hearing in your right ear that day. The ear will always live with great achievements. 
He also scolded you whenever you said, “Complete bullshit.” to Ace.
Something about how such language should never come out of anyone who goes to the same school as his ‘young master’ does. Now that was ‘complete bullshit.’
The three of your friends laughed at you the rest of the class for having someone your age scold you like a mother would. 
Classes finally ended, and the three of you made your way to the Hearts dorm to drop your bags off.
You were just happy to receive some food for free.
------
Life has been a disaster! I’m not dead tho. 
37 notes · View notes
dirtyoatmeall · 3 years
Text
Secrets (Shigaraki x Reader)
A/N: I know I said I was working on a summer camp wip and I am but then I got this idea and as usual here is a random fic that could be a series? n e ways enjoy ooc shiggy
Pairing: Shigaraki x gn!reader (p sure I dont use pronouns) (established relationship) 
Word Count: 1.6k
Warnings: Cursing
~
“Fuck”
“C’mon you’re almost there”
“I don’t know where it is!”
“It’s literally right in front of you, how can you not find it.”
“Shut up before I kill you.”
“I’m on your team you can’t kill me.”
“Watch me.”
“(Y/N) What the fuck!”
“I told you not to bully me this is your fault.”
“Oh my god you are such a baby how will you survive without me, stay put until I find you”
“I think you meant to say “(Y/N) I’m sorry I’m such a meanie face I promise to make it up to you.””
“No I did not.”
“Fine, remember you did this to yourself.”
“(Y/N) STOP SHOOTING AT ME”
“Stop being mean to me”
“Are you serious? Fine I’ll stop being mean to you, just stop shooting me we are literally not going to progress at all if you keep killing me.”
“I don’t know, that didn’t sound very convincing.”
“Are you fucking kidding me stop shooting me I swear to god.”
“Why bring God into this? We all know he’d take my side in this Tomura, now until you stop being a meanie I will simply not let you live.”
“Why do I put up with you?”
“Because I’m hot and will kiss your crusty lips.”
“Not for long if you keep this up.”
“Shigaraki Tomura are you threatening to withhold kisses from me? I think we both know you would cave before I would.”
“…Shut up.”
You snorted as you looked over to your boyfriend, who had a slight blush coating his cheeks. He refused to look at you, keeping his gaze on the TV, pretending to focus on the game. You rolled your eyes and set your controller off to the side before doing the same to his. He weakly protested but it was cut short when you placed your lips on his, his hands immediately going to your waist and bunching up the material of your shirt in his gloved fist. You cupped his cheeks, moving to straddle his waist to get more comfortable.
The two of you didn’t separate until you absolutely needed air, panting slightly when you broke apart. Your hands softly skimmed over his shoulders before encircling his waist, your cheek resting on his shoulder. He nuzzled into your neck, squeezing your hips as he sighed into your hair. You were content to sit there for the rest of the day, until an alarm went off on your phone. You groaned and slid off of Shigaraki’s lap to silence it. Your shoulders slumped as you realized you had to get ready for work. You had forgotten you agreed to take your coworker’s late night shift. You quickly got ready, Shigaraki watching you from the bed before betting up when you were putting on your shoes.
“I’ll walk with you, it's getting dark.” You coked an eyebrow at his words. “Are you sure? I’ve taken this shift before and you didn’t feel the need then, and besides, I think there are more heroes out than usual you might be spotted. He simply rolled his eyes and put on his shoes, grabbing your hand and leading you out the door, his hood pulled up to slightly obscure his face. “Shut up, let me walk you to work.” You giggled and walked beside him, hands intertwined. You talked about the new stuff going on at work, the new shipments of books coming in, catching him up on workplace drama, and anything else he missed since the last time you talked about work as you walked down the street. Shigaraki listened diligently, chiming in with “oh nice”, or “that bitch” when appropriate.
When you arrived at work you kissed him and promised to make up your game mistakes when you get home. He rolled his eyes but the smile was still on his face as he turned to leave. You turned to enter your work when a pair of green eyes caught your attention. There was a hero, most likely on patrol, and a sidekick? Or kid, you weren’t quite sure but something seemed familiar about them. The hero wasn’t paying attention to you, talking about something as they gestured to the building. But the other person's eyes were locked on your own, you couldn’t distinguish the look on their face, and you furrowed our eyebrows before going into your work, clutching your purse strap a little tighter.
You shoved the uneasiness to the back of your mind as you focused on your work. You stocked the new shipment of books, occasionally checking out a customer that wandered in. A few hours into your shift you were behind the counter organizing the specially ordered books, getting ready to call the customers who ordered them when the bell above the door jingled, signaling another customer came in. Without looking up you greeted them. “Welcome in! Let me know if you need any help, books with a blue sticker are 50% off.”
“I do have a few questions, though not about books.” You furrowed your eyebrows and looked up to where the voice was coming from, eyes widening slightly when you noticed the kid from earlier. “I’m sorry?” You said, not sure if you heard him right. He took a step toward the counter, his eyes nervously flitted around the shop, as if he was making sure no one else was in it. “Are you with him? Do you know what he’s done?”
Your blood ran cold at his words. You tried not to let it show, steeling your stomach that had dropped to your feet. You furrowed your eyebrows and cocked your head slightly. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you’re talking about?” He sighed and stepped up to the counter. “I saw you with him, you’re dating Shigaraki Tomura right? Do you know who he really is? What he’s done to people?”
Your fist clenched and you gritted your teeth, how did a kid know so much? Unless- fuck. He must be a hero student. Shigaraki mentioned his master had some plans with them, but he didn’t delve much into his work with you. This must be one of the kids. Even so, you’ve practiced for situations like this, though you never expected it to actually come. “I don’t know who that is, You must be mistaking me for someone else, and we are closing soon so if you’re not going to buy anything I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.” His face twisted into one of disdain briefly before quickly being replaced with a smile you were sure was fake. “I must have. Sorry to bother you.”
You let out a breath when he left and you quickly locked the doors and turned off the open sign. Your boss wouldn’t be mad if you closed a few hours early, right? You counted the till and finished closing everything up, texting Shigaraki that you were closing and asking if he or someone from the league could come pick you up. He said he was on his way and you bite your lip, trying to figure out if you should tell him or not. You mulled over it shortly before deciding it was best to tell Tomura. The two of you haven’t kept anything from each other, and you didn’t want to start. You waited in the staff room in the back until he texted you he was here.
You met him at the back entrance and hugged him as soon as you saw him. He hugged you back but moved you back after a moment had passed, confusion and worry evident on his features. “What happened?” You gripped his hand tightly as you took the back way to the hideout, worried someone was watching. You recounted your experiences earlier, and Shigaraki’s grip tightened when you described the boy to him. He didn’t say a word until you were back safely to the hideout. Not paying the others mind he led you straight to your shared bedroom, closing the door softly behind you.
You looked at Shigaraki worriedly, you knew he could get overwhelmed easily, but he wasn’t scratching at his neck, just standing in the middle of your bedroom, facing away from you. You stepped closer and rested a hand on his shoulder. When he didn’t flinch or push you away you slid it up to his neck and walked in front, hugging him tightly. “Tomura? What’s wrong?” His arms snaked around your waist, hugging you back just as tightly as you buried his face into your neck, inhaling and kissing the skin softly before bringing his head back to look at you. He sighed and cupped your face with one hand, thumb softly caressing your cheek. “Nothing. I’m sorry (Y/N), are you okay?” The corners of your mouth ticked up at his words, he was being unusually soft, he must actually be listening to Kurogiri.
“I’m fine Tomura, he was just being nosy, I’m more worried about you, obviously you recognized his description. Is he one of those students from U.A. you mentioned?” He exhaled and nodded, gaze cast to the floor. “Yes, he’s inherited all for one.” You nodded, Shigaraki had explained the quirk of all might and his master to you before. Though he obviously wasn’t telling you all of it, you didn’t press the matter, he either couldn’t tell you, or it was something you didn’t want to know, either way you’d accept what he told you.
You could tell it was bothering him, so you led him to the bed and laid down, tugging him down with you. He hugged you stomach, laying his head on your chest as you curled into him and ran your fingers through his hair absentmindedly. You felt his shoulders sag, he exhaled deeply as he tightened his hold, nuzzling into your chest. After a few minutes he fell asleep and you soon followed, green eyes still fresh in your mind.
143 notes · View notes
azucanela · 4 years
Note
*throws some Dabi, Toga and Tomura your way*- please headcanons of those three when they find their lover crying and really sad, trying to cheer them up. THANK YOUUUUU!
comforting their s/o headcannons [gender neutral!reader]
[ft. dabi, shigaraki tomura, toga himiko]
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SUMMARY: you’re crying and they’re trying to comfort you while considering dozens of creative ways to commit murder.
WORD COUNT: 1.6k
WARNINGS: threats of bodily harm, death threats, crying, 
A/N: my knife wife & co. <3 
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DABI
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aight so
he does this thing where he just shows up at your house during the most random times to spend time with you
he just appears and is like, “hey we’re going out.”
“where?”
“does it matter?”
when he shows up for another one of your spontaneous outings and finds you sitting on your couch, sobbing well... 
probably the calmest in the moment but internally, he is PANICKING, what is he supposed to do? normally he makes people cry, on purpose so he’s never had to actually comfort someone
much less has he ever cared enough to comfort someone, so congrats you are special, feel honored, you melted his icy heart and you don’t even have a fire quirk like he does
he’s gonna stare at you for a hot minute trying to decide what to do, and you are gonna have the most mortified look on your face as you rapidly try to wipe away tears and muffle your sobs
“what happened?” he’s gonna sound really apathetic, but he cares and he’s just trying to figure out what to do right now, and not freak you out by freaking out himself
it is not easy to stop hyperventilating once you’ve started, and as you are struggling to breathe and trying to respond, he’ll come by your side on the couch suddenly, and start rubbing a hand on your back
“come on, doll, just breathe.”
if you wanted to talk about it, he’d be all ears, and if it ends up being a person, he’s going to burn that name into his memory, and then burn the person :D
he won’t make it obvious that he intends to commit murder once he leaves your home, which he probably wont until the next morning, he’s already decided that he’s staying the night, ordering take out for the two of you, and sleeping in your bed.
you’ll see it on the news within the week that the person is dead and you’ll just look at him like 😧
and he’ll look at you like :D “what i do?”
“you know what you did.”
“they deserved it.”
“no-”
“they made you cry”
soft boi. if you don’t tell him the person’s name he isn’t going to pry, but in his free time he will try to find out who it could be, and if you are friends with other LOV members, he’ll definitely ask if they know something
if you don’t want to talk about it at all, he will be a little upset, but he ends up focusing his efforts on comforting you with random LOV stories about twice’s shenanigans
if it’s not a person, he’ll probably try to talk you through it, maybe distract you, offer you advice if applicable though he only knows how to do illegal things for the most part
overall, he’s gonna be the calmest and most helpful in the moment, but he won’t hesitate to commit murder for you and i think that’s true love
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SHIGARAKI TOMURA
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hajdgksahfjdshk
this mans
you’re middle of crying in your room 
off topic you and kurogiri are the only reason that tomura’s room is clean he is a slob, there i said it
anyways, you’re minding your business, crying, as one does, and he has the AUDACITY to burst into your room, swinging the door open and promptly slamming it behind him, and he begins to talk about how Dabi DARED act disrespectful to him, when everything he’d done was to help them all.
and then he sees that you are crying, puffy red eyes, tears streaming down your now shocked face as you stared up at him before looking away to wipe your tears off your face
“oh.” he’d say, “you’re crying.” 
CLEARLY, CAPTAIN OBVIOUS
the worst at comfort, he’s really bad at relating to you because he has a tendency to shut down his own emotions despite everything that has happened to him in life
he just kinda sits down in front of you, because you are on the floor, and who doesn’t cry on the floor, its a nice experience. anyways, he sits in front of you and awkwardly tries to like pat your shoulder at first and you just break down crying more because he’s trying to hard to help you and its adorable and its progress for him
he freaks out, thinking he did something wrong and tries to retract his hand, only for you to tackle him with a hug, shoving your face into his shirt. he does not like the tears streaming down your face for several reasons, one of which is the fact that they are now staining his shirt
he decides that complaining about this is not a good idea at the moment, though he does consider it
he just sighs, awkwardly wrapping his arms around you and thinking of all the weird tropes he’d seen in TV to try and figure out how to help you
he immediately turns to food, yelling for kurogiri to get over there, much to your dismay, and ordering him to go buy as much as he could from mcdonalds as humanly possible
kurogiri thinks its a sweet gesture, and makes it a point to himself to have a conversation with tomura later about about better ways to comfort others
if you tell him whats wrong and it ends up being something he can kill? have fun trying to stop him
spoiler alert, you cant
the problem will die if he has a choice in the matter, and if you don’t tell him the name of the problem, he’ll be frustrated and try to pry it out of you, but he’ll accept it
and then give kurogiri another job, known as operation finding out why Y/N is crying 
if you aren’t crying over something he can kill, tomura is probably going to try and console you to the best of his ability, which isn’t that great, but its sweet that he tries
if you refuse to tell him why you are crying he will get frustrated and ask how he’s supposed to help if you don’t talk to him, but he’ll drop it when he notices you beginning to cry again
lots of awkward affection
just kinda sits with you in a comfortable silence until you open up about it or start a random convo
its nice
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TOGA HIMIKO
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WELP
very hyperactive bb, she’s probably going to come into your room and just start looking around, touching things, talking about something that just happened with twice
you are shocked, on your bed, crying, trying not to freak out as you look at her, panicked at the possibility of getting caught in the midst of crying your eyes out, you try to erase all the evidence that it ever happened while she is distracted
it takes her a hot minute to realize you are not responding, mostly because you are scared your voice will crack, there’s the sound of sniffling, and when she finally turns to look at you, she sees your puffy eyes and tear streaked face
honestly the best at comforting someone, like the way she is with twice when he tears his mask just proves this tbh, she can maintain her sweet and bubbly personality and it makes you feel better about crying because it doesn’t feel like she is pitying you
very affectionate, “baby whats wrong?” she’s going to get down on her knees in front of you and wrap her arms around you, unless you make it clear that you do not wanna be touched, otherwise, her hands are everywhere
if the problem is a person, she’s going to verbally threaten their life in front of you, and if you don’t express disapproval of murder, she will likely commit murder
“can i kill them? i promise it won’t hurt for long- unless you want it to?”
“no?”
“are you sure? because i think they deserve it.”
while you are napping, she slips off the bed to go out and end your problem and you awaken to her trying to quietly re-enter the room covered in blood 
if you insist that murder is not the answer, she’ll still end up finding and threatening them should they ever hurt you again
people thought her quirk was weird and they bullied her, so i feel like if a person had anything to do with it, she would take it personal as well, because an attack on her s/o is an attack on her as well
if the problem is something else, she’ll provide solutions, and likely try to solve the problem for you if possible, she just really wants you to stop hurting because it makes her sad if she cannot do anything about it
she just wants you happy :,)
if you don’t tell her the name of the person she WILL ask the LOV for help in finding out who it is and ending them
if you just don’t want to talk about the problem at all, she’ll respect that and focus on distracting you, similar to dabi, telling you odd experiences she had with the league that day
doesn’t care if you cry into her clothes, will hold you and play with your hair, will bring you cookies or something like that, courtesy of kurogiri, our fave
very verbal and physical, but if you decide you wanna talk about it she will go silent and listen rather intently while playing with your hands, the only addition she makes tend to be cursing out the problem for ever bothering you
she’s so romantic when she’s cursing out your problems and threatening the life of those who hurt you, why wouldn’t you want that smh
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elphiej · 3 years
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Be My Light - Chapter 3: Try to Stay Calm and Move on.
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*Genre: Mafia, angst, eventual smut, slow burn
*Warnings: references to drug usage/ withdrawal, reference to sexual  situations/ sex work/ trafficking.  
Author’s note: Hi everyone! I hope you enjoy the next chapter. True to my style, it’s a little long but I think it flows well enough. Thank you for those who have commented on my previous chapters. I very much appreciate it. Thank you for your patients as well; work has been busy and I found out I had covid. I’m ok now but it did set me back a bit in finishing this. As always, please let me know what you think or let me know if you have any comments. I love them and all of you. Please enjoy!
Tag list:  @lolalalooo @bangtan-sonyeonddaeng, @barbikatherine, @mrsfortune1306, @lovesick-heart0, @iamnamjoonsbxtch, @deathkat657, @deeepvibes, @sugamonster22 , @weiinihao, @hemmofluke , @rainbow-zebra-unicorns
                              Chapter 3: Try to Stay Calm and Move On
                 Central Mercy was one of the largest and most active hospitals in all the city. And as you followed the EMTs through the trauma bay doors, the floor was full of medical staff moving about assessing patients. True to its name, Mercy didn’t discriminate and took in those that smaller practices were too scared to take: gang related cases. They feared retaliation. But Mercy was only interested in saving people. A team from the surgical floor came up beside the fast-moving gurney, listening as the EMT got them up to speed. You added some details, though your eyes never left the man on the gurney; he hadn’t regained consciousness since the police arrived and he seemed even paler than before. One of the nurses whispered that Doctor Na was waiting in the operating theatre. Henry Na was one of the top surgeons in all of Central and you felt a wave of relief knowing that the patient couldn’t be in better hands. But deep down, you knew you wouldn’t be at complete ease until you saw the young man awake and alright. And the fear of the unknown made you not want to lose sight of him.
               Before you could question why you felt so drawn to stay by the stranger, one of the nurses put her hands out in front of her and forced you to come to a stop right outside the OR doors. The doors slid shut and you were left alone in the hallway. And that is where the connection should have ended. Doctor Na and his staff would take good care of him, then he’d be transferred to another floor, and you would move on to your own patients. But you couldn’t stop the feeling of wanting to be near the stranger you found in the middle of a gun battle. But why? Could it be because you were a kind-hearted nurse or that you had just gone through a horrific experience together? You had asked him to explain what you had gotten yourself into after all. Perhaps on one of your breaks you could go visit? Was that weird? What would you say? ‘Hi, remember me? I’m the idiot who saved you after you got shot. Want to be friends?’
               Honestly, you didn’t think you were so desperate for companionship that you’d try to forge a friendship with some random guy who’s background you didn’t know. What were you expecting- a friendly relationship that could develop into something else? This wasn’t one of those romantic comedies you watched with Amber and, based on your track record, you weren’t that lucky. For all you knew, this guy was just as dangerous as the man with the cane. With the increase in U4-1A cases, was this a drug deal gone bad? It would be a shame if someone that handsome turned out to be a druggie. There were supposedly others that had gotten away; it could be a turf war. There were so many dangerous possibilities that ran through your mind. No, you sighed, it was best just to let it go. If you were meant to see him again, fate would make it so. Then, you would get some answers. But for now, it was time to get to work and move on.
               “I’m sure Jax is pulling his hair out by now,” you wondered, out loud. “Wonder what Amber’s going to say.”
               You didn’t have to wonder long, for as you turned on your heels, Amber was standing right behind you. Nerves still on edge, you couldn’t help but jump backwards. Amber was the definition of sweet but intimidating as her eyes bore into you. She was thin and lanky, completely swallowed by her baggy scrubs. She had a sharp face with short blonde hair that had been styled with an undercut. That, paired with her piercings and elaborate tattoos that decorated her arms, gave her a strong androgynous look that caught a lot of attention. She stared at you with a look of mixed anxious worry and anger.
               She crossed her arms over her chest. “Y/N,” she said, leaning in, “what the Pineapple?! Are you crazy or stupid?”
               “Is both an option,” you countered, trying to lighten the mood.
               Amber reached over and flicked her middle finger against your forehead. “I’m serious, dumbass, you really gave me a heart attack. You didn’t answer my text and I hear from the dispatch that you’re at the scene of a gang shooting?! I can’t begin to tell you the images my brain was coming up with! I thought I’d find you on a stretcher, covered in blood. I mean,” she gave you a meaningful look up and down, “more so than this.”
               You followed her gaze and, finally, got a good look at yourself. Your simple grey hoodie was covered in dark, splotchy patterns. The cuffs of your sleeves were dried dark from when you had tried to apply pressure to his wounds, there was a large stain on your side that had soaked through to your scrubs from carrying the young man behind the counter, and splattering decorated all over the rest of you. You were glad that the EMTs let you ride along in the ambulance; it would have made your bus ride more interesting looking like a slasher movie victim.
               You held up your hands, defensively. “It’s not mine. I promise, I didn’t get hurt. It’s from the real victim.”
               Amber sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “Come on,” she said, ushering you away from the Operating rooms, “let’s get you cleaned up. I’ll tell Jax what’s going on after I get rid of these clothes. There’s no saving them.”
                ~*****************~
               Having skipped your shower this morning due to time, you were quite thankful for the warm water that eased the anxiety still rampant. Once Amber was satisfied that you weren’t injured, she brought you some new scrubs and bagged up your soiled ones to dispose of them. You were annoyed that you were losing your hoodie, since it was the only one you had since coming to Central and you hadn’t had time to go buy new clothes yet. At least you had packed the extra long sleeve shirt to help against the seasonal chill. Amber had left you a pair of grey scrubs that would help you blend in to your work shift. Once you changed, you made your way to your supervisor’s office. Jax was an older gentleman who always seemed to be on the edge of some emotion. The second he saw you, he flung himself at you and made you swear you were to never scare him to the point of turning his hair grey ever again. It took you promising five times before he let you head to your station.
               You weren’t surprised to see Amber sitting at the desk. However, you were surprised to see that she had surrounded herself with a wall of binders and notebooks while she typed away at the computer.
               “Are you preparing for an invasion?”
               “No, you have to stay away,” Amber cried in the most melodramatic tone she could muster. “You can’t come near me. Flee while you can!”
               You tried to contain your laughter with truly little success. “Okay? What happened since I showered? Were you exposed to something or are you just being weird?”
               “No, you just have to avoid me! I’m dangerous! I’m a girl with tattoos,” she exclaimed, holding her heavily tattooed arms out for display. “You have to avoid me!”
               You almost fell over from how strong you rolled your eyes. “You must have seen Mr. Young this morning.”
               “Well, someone had to since you decided to be an action star. And he was extremely disappointed to not see you.”
               You sat down in the chair next to her and wrapped your arms around her and rested your chin on her shoulder. “I’ll pop in on him later. For the record, I like your tattoos. I think they’re super cool.”
               “Don’t think you being cute with all those compliments are gonna distract me from your stupidity. What the heck were you thinking?”
               “I know,” you sighed, “I’m sorry that I worried you.”
               “Worried? That doesn’t even begin to describe that. You didn’t answer my call this morning. Then, I get a text from a random number, apparently you. Only to find out about the shooting. I had a feeling something bad was gonna happen this morning. Spill it, Y/N. What happened?” You gave your friend a quick recap from when you left your building to when the police found you behind the counter trying to keep the young man conscious. You decided to leave out the creepy encounter with the man with the cane and the encounter with the other gang member you had hit with the crowbar; you didn’t want her to worry any more than she already was. The entire time, Amber’s face was stern and she had crossed her arms over her chest. “See, this is why you should have just stayed with me at my loft. You’re all alone down there. Clearly I was right about it not being safe.”
               “Don’t be like that. I know you keep saying that you didn’t mind me staying with you, but it was time for me to start trying to live my life again. It may not be as nice as your place but it’s mine. And, this incident excluded, nothing bad has ever happened. It’s just that I couldn’t stop thinking about what I went through and being stronger than the bullies. You taught me that.”
               “Yeah but I didn’t mean going against a gun wielding psycho. It was a metaphor for the nightmares and that piece of shit you call an ex.”
               “I’ll remember that for next time.” You flashed Amber some pleading eyes and pouting lip. “I’m really sorry.”
               Amber groaned, but smiled back at you. “You’re lucky I like you. But I get one more bad feeling, I’m dragging you back and never letting you out of my sight.” She slid you a cup of coffee that you greedily took. You were sure that you had lost your tumbler somewhere at the bus stop, never to be seen again. “By the way, what was the random number you texted from? Did you get a new phone without telling me?”
               You almost choked on your coffee. You had hoped she wouldn’t have asked about that, knowing full well she was not going to be happy about the answer. You cursed at yourself for texting her from it. But with her staring at you, you knew you couldn’t get around it. You reached into your pocket and handed it to her. She, instantly, knew what it was and snatched it from you.
               “Why do you have this still? I thought you got rid of it?”
               “I didn’t mean to grab it. I was in a hurry this morning and it fell into my bag. I left the one you gave me at home and didn’t have time to go back up and get it.”
               “But you had time to run after gun shots?” She tapped around on the screen. “All the settings are back to normal. The locations and notifications are back on, too. Did he call you? Look at all the voice mails.”
               “I didn’t call him. The last message was days ago. I just texted you and read a couple messages. Don’t give me that look, Amber. I was just curious. I have no desire to call him or see him. I’m starting to get somewhat normal. Last thing I want is to fall back into a bad mind set. I just read a few texts to see what he was saying while I was walking. I swear, that’s all. Don’t worry about the settings. He’s not as smart or as tech savvy as you. He couldn’t grasp the concept of emojis, I doubt he’s gonna try anything you’re thinking of. I honestly just needed a phone for today. When I get home, it’s getting shut off and it’s going away for good.”
               “He’s such a scuzzball, trying to still contact you after all that.  This would be less stressful if you gave me his address. I’ll kick his ass up and down the coastline for what he did.”
               “I don’t doubt that. But I have to listen to the group’s advice and just let it go. And I think it’s time I try to focus on other things. That’s the way I’m gonna start to really get better, right?” You had been saying that for a while now, not really knowing how to move on or if you could. But something had changed. You couldn’t help but think back to the gang member, and how he reminded you of Daniel in those last moments you were together. There was a sense of relief and freedom that you just couldn’t help but relish in. It had almost been a cathartic experience that your body needed, the strength to take back yourself. To give back what you felt, to let all that rage and hate that you held deep inside out. It may not have healed you completely, but it was a start.
               The two of you started going over the case load for the day. Even as short staffed as you were, Amber had taken care of most of the early duties: checking on patients, dropping off medicine, and dealing with Mr. Young. You started going through the new files that were stacked on the station while Amber read the report from some of the other floors. It was interesting to see what was happening elsewhere in the ever-busy hospital. There was nothing about your gunshot victim yet, and you crossed your fingers that he was going to be alright. No news was good news, you figured. Amber had started talking about the new U4-1A cases that had been admitted since you were last there. There were four more cases since your last shift. And one of the new cases didn’t make it past 2 days. U4-1A was a highly addictive drug that played off of peoples’ want to feel good and exploited it to deadly consequences.
               “I can’t believe how many cases there are now.”
               “Tell me about it. It’s the new hot thing on the streets. Everyone wants to find ‘Euphoria’.”
               You gave Amber a confused look. “Find ‘Euphoria’? Is that what they call it?”
               Amber grabbed a paper and wrote it out. “Yeah, it makes sense when you look at it and read it out. Change the 1 to an I, and it says euphoria. It sounds better when you’re trying to score without drawing attention, I guess. Remember that one guy who was going through withdrawals at the underground club? He kept asking me if I could ‘help him find Euphoria’.”
               “Seems way too intense for a club drug. If it’s supposed to be like ecstasy and make you feel really good, why does it make you go through the worst kind of side effects and an even worse withdrawal?”
               “The theory the cops believe now is that it was made, primarily, for the sex trade industry.  Very little doses make you feel nice and all that. But pure U4-1A does all that and more. It needs to work its way out of the system fast else it causes heart failure and other bad things. Whoever made it added chemicals that affect the brain and senses, so the user loses all inhibitions and is in a constant state of intense arousal.  So much so that the user is willing to do anything to find a release with anyone. I heard Mary, the lady who’s been on the most U4-1A cases has had to do a lot of things just shy of actually fucking them. That considered, it makes sense that it would have started in the sex industry; a willing participant is better than one that fights in their eyes.”
               It was true that U4-1A, or Euphoria, made people feel euphoric and intensified the pleasure of touch. But from what you had heard from Amber and some of the other nurses, when the patients are under the influence of the powder, they beg anyone to do any kind of sexual act to help them chase the feeling. Whatever sick bastard who created it made it so the user couldn’t find relief on their own, either.  Another hospital had thought that if the patients were aroused that it should be enough to let them handle it on their own, since it seemed release was the way to increase the heart rate and move the substance through the system. But the first few patients were in distress for hours until their hearts gave out from the effects of the chemicals in their blood. Doctor Na had been trying to see if any kind of physical activity, outside of sexual, could be the key to rehabilitating the Euphoria addicts. But it hadn’t seemed to be working. With more cases rising, there didn’t seem to be a treatment unless you had only the smallest amount. And survivors from the withdrawal seemed to be just as slim. The patients went through intense fevers, tremors, breathing problems, and pain without the substance. One of Central’s patients didn’t last two days of withdrawals.
               “I’m telling you,” Amber went on, drawing you out of your thoughts, “I don’t care who or how many are rocking my world or how long since my last date. No orgasm is worth dying for.”
               You let out a small chuckle at her attempt to push away from a not-so-fun topic. You nodded your head in agreement, though you couldn’t really remember the last time you had experienced anything other than a kiss from your ex. You could feel Amber’s eyes on you as you shuffled through the rest of the files.
               “So, speaking of orgasms,” she segwayed, leaning over with an eyebrow arched, “since you seem to be ready to start making some changes in your life, when are we gonna get you out for a date night?”
               “I didn’t say I was ready for a relationship.”
               “Whoa, who said anything about a relationship? I’m just saying have some fun, get a dinner, meet someone and start getting more confident with yourself. I have some friends I could set you up with. All of them are sweet and know I would kill them if they tried anything.”
               You hadn’t really thought about dating or anything like that. You had been so focused on healing your mind and getting settled into a new routine that it hadn’t even crossed your mind. You want to tell her ‘No’ but you found yourself considering it. Maybe it would be a good idea to just try to hang out with someone other than Amber. “I don’t know…,” you mused.
               That was all Amber needed. “Let’s just imagine. What’s your type? I mean, besides the complete opposite of your ex.”
               “I don’t really think I have a type. I know that Daniel was my friend and we were always together, so I think that’s why we started dating. But I don’t think I have one other than being a nice guy.”
               “Okay, let’s think about this. How about my friend Bryce?” You made a face, remembering the one time you met Eric when Amber and you went shopping and he spilled his drink all over you. “Okay, maybe not. How about Lee or Michael?”
               “They’re nice, I think.”
               “Oh, what about Dean from the kitchen staff? He’s so hot!”
               “The guy with the guitar and the smooth voice? The one who flirts with everyone and shows off his tattoos? Yeah, he’s definitely hot. Maybe too hot for someone like me. I feel like you two would fit together better.”
               “Stop that, you are so cute. I’d date you. I’d even give you a kiss goodnight.” Amber moved in to kiss you on the cheek, only to find her rolling chair being pushed by your foot. “Fine, see if I kiss you ever again. How about Eric from the pediatric ward? I’ve seen you two talk and he’s really easy to be around. Ooh, or Chris? You know, the one with the cute accent and hot body to match? I think you two would be able to reach your own version of euphoria.”
               “Ok, I’m done with you. You are ridiculous. I have patients to get to. And, even if I didn’t, I would rather get hit on by Mr. Young than have you start talking about me and some random guy.”
               Amber busted out laughing as you grabbed some charts and all but ran from the desk. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep workshopping it. This is just the next project in the ‘make my precious friend feel normal’ plan.”
               Despite the way your day had begun, your shift was free of any real excitement. And to be honest, you were happy to have a normal shift. You handed out medicine when it was time, changed the dressing of a girl who had been in a car accident, and took the time to pop in on Mr. Young since he was so upset that you hadn’t been there that morning. You figured listening to the old man’s reveries from his youth was a good punishment for your tardiness. Though, as you sat there, you couldn’t help but let your mind wander to the blond man. You wondered if he was still in the O.R. or if he had been moved. Were his injuries as bad as you thought or worse? You wanted to go see if Doctor Na was out of surgery and if there was any news. Stop it, you scolded yourself, stop focusing so much on that. Just do your job. Stay calm. You pushed yourself to go through the motions of your job, putting your body on autopilot as you tried not to think about him anymore. For the most part, it seemed to work; every time you blinked, you were off to the next task. Even as Amber dragged you away for a quick lunch, you focused extra hard as your friend excitedly recounted her night of online gaming, and her ever continuing feud with Seagull-eye97. Based on the color in Amber’s cheeks as she complained about them snipping her during their last dual, it was a struggle.
               By the afternoon, you had enough distractions to not think too much about the blond stranger. Amber had found out that Dr. Na was no longer in the OR, and it seemed like everything was alright. You felt some relief from such small information. While the thought to check up on the stranger popped back into your mind, you decided to stick to your plan to let the universe decide if you were going to meet again.
               And the universe had it’s funny way of making that happen.
               You were back at the station helping one of the patients get discharged. She was a nice girl who had been in a car accident and was finally being released. You were printing out the doctor’s orders and getting her prescriptions in order when one of the girl’s friends, one you had seen during visiting hours often, came to take her home. As you handed the friend the paperwork, you noticed they had matching tattoos, a Roman numeral II, on different parts of their arms. They called them friendship tattoos and you thought that was cute. Though, you weren’t sure if you would get one with Amber anytime soon. Once the girls were gone, you sat back at the station to finish up your paperwork.
               A voice caught your attention and made you look up towards the hallway that led to the elevator. Doctor Henry Na stepped off with a few other nurses, talking quietly and laughing about something you couldn’t hear. You couldn’t help but find yourself smiling at the sight of him. And not just because it further proved that he had finished up the surgery. Henry was someone you had come to be friendly with, like with Amber. He was one of the nicest people you had been introduced to and he made a point to see you on your shift. He was tall and broad, with a smile that was just as kind as his demeanor. He had shared many coffee breaks talking about things, getting your mind from whatever was making it panic, never making you feel like he was just going through the motions. You couldn’t help but feel a certain way whenever he was around, something you couldn’t remember feeling before. A feeling of safety and happiness. Amber’s conversation from earlier seemed to pop into your mind about your type of man. Based on the excited feeling that crept up into you, you couldn’t deny that you liked him. But so did everyone else in the hospital and he probably didn’t see you that way. He had glanced over towards the station and gave you a little wave as he finished his conversation. And that butterfly feeling intensified.
               “Why do you look like that?”
               Amber had the strangest ability of just appearing out of nowhere at the worst moment. You felt yourself jump and heat rise in your cheeks. You tried to hide yourself in your hands but Amber followed where you had been staring at. And a teasing smirk appeared as she put the pieces together.
               “I guess I figured out your type. Look at you going for the most eligible bachelor in this hospital. I like it;  skip the boy and go right for the man.”
               “You are so embarrassing! We’re friends. He’s just nice to me. I’m sure he wouldn’t want to be with someone with such baggage.”
               “I don’t know. You should have seen the way he looked at you when you started blushing.”
               You went to shove her away as she started making kissy faces at you, when you noticed Na shaking hands with one of the nurses and starting towards the station. Your body acted on its own in an excited and nervous frenzy, as you reached into your pants pocket and pulled out a small bottle of body spray you had brought with you after changing and ducked down. You sprayed the lily scented water over yourself, trying to rid yourself of the sterile smell of your clothes. You froze when you felt Amber’s smug and judging glance. “What? I like to smell nice and I forgot to spray some this morning after I changed.”
               “Sure, honey. Hi, Henry,” she greeted and you sat straight up.
               “Hi Amber, Y/N,” he greeted back, his gaze fixed on you. “How are things going up here?”
               “Oh you know, same old stuff. Though, I think I left my pen somewhere. I should go find it. You two talk.” And she abandoned you, throwing you a thumbs up and some faces that you had to remember to beat her for.
               “Hi, Doctor Na,” you said, “did everything go ok this morning?”
               “I feel like I should be asking you that. I heard you ran into the building with an active shooter. That’s something I never thought I’d hear you doing.”
               “You and everyone else it would seem. I just wanted to help and let my body run on autopilot.”
               “Well, it was tough in there for a bit but, because of you, our John Doe is going to see another day. He’s responding well and I had him moved from post op. He lost a lot of blood and he’s gonna be in some pain for a bit. We have him on some pain medicine that’s going to have him out for a while. But he was responding to the outer stimulus. I think they’re moving him to the room at the end of the hall. Can you just promise me that you won’t worry me like that ever again? I don’t like the thought of someone as sweet as you doing something so dangerous. How are you feeling, honestly? Anxious at all? Anything you want to talk about? I haven’t had any luck identifying that prescription yet, and my friend in the pharmacy hasn’t gotten back to me yet. So, I just want to make sure you’re good.”
               He knew your anxiety had been active since you had come to him to try to find exactly what your medicine was. His calming eyes looked down at you with concern. “I’m alright,” you said, trying to control the color in your cheeks as you tried to maintain eye contact, “when I got here, I just jumped into work so I didn’t have time to think about anything else. I’m okay, thank you, Doctor Na.”
               “I thought we talked about you calling me Henry, remember? See that’s what I like about you, Y/N. You care so much about everyone else. You really are a good nurse. I just wish you’d do the same for yourself. I suppose I’ll have to make sure you’re really ok. How about we talk about it over dinner this week?”
               You’re sure you must have looked like a deer in the headlights. “What?”
               “Well, someone who risks their own safety to help others should get some kind of reward, shouldn’t they? Figured why not let me treat you for once. How about it? Maybe we can talk about other things, too. Not work related? Maybe get to know each other better?”
               You felt like the whole world had just turned upside down. Was the most handsome doctor who you had been friendly with over the last few months just asking you out? You, out of every other good-looking person in this hospital? Did he actually ask you out? The way he was looking at you, like he was nervous you’d say ‘no’, made it seem that way. He had been extra attentive recently. And Amber was always saying you were kind of oblivious when it came to flirting having not really experienced it. You, suddenly, found yourself too nervous to say anything, and nodded. His smile returned, all wide and excited, which made you shyly smile back.
               True to her fashion, Amber came slipping back into the conversation, which you were happy with, fearing you’d burn a hole in the ground with how hot your cheeks were. “Okay, you guys look far too cute over here. Time to get back to work. Did you have a reason for coming to our side of the floor, Henry, or are you just gonna make goo-goo eyes at everyone?”
               Henry cleared his throat, trying to hide his slight awkwardness. “I was telling Y/N that we moved that patient to this floor for recovery. He should be in the last room down that hall. And I was hoping she wouldn’t mind taking this to his room?” He placed a clear bag on the station. It had the patient’s personal effects in it. “I figured that since she was with him, he might be more comfortable with someone he recognizes.”        
               You nodded and took the bag from him. “I’ll keep an eye on him for you.”
               “I’d appreciate that. Umm… I’ll get back to my rounds now, before I’m banished by Amber here. I’ll talk to my friend about that prescription and see you later, Y/N.” He turned to leave with a little wave at you and Amber. Before he got too far, he turned over his shoulder. “Nice perfume, by the way, Y/N. It really suits you.”
               He made a quick exit as Amber made a funny noise and you were alone with her gaze on you and a smile on your face.
               “You two should really get a room. Like the one at your apartment or his. I can just imagine it.”
               “You are so awful. He just asked me to get dinner. It may not even be a date. He’s just being nice, I’m sure.”
               “Please, he wants to talk about non work related stuff. Plus, I saw the way he was looking at you. He thinks you’re cute. And you are still blushing. Trust me, I know.”
               ‘We’ll see about that.” You looked at the bag in front of you. It had ‘John Doe’ written on it. There was a wallet, cellphone, a watch, and a few pieces of jewelry. The EMT’s had cut his shirt open to get to his injuries, and you were sure the rest of his clothes were being held for the police, whenever they came to get evidence and statements. You thought it was odd you hadn’t seen any since you left the construction site. You opened the bag and pulled out the wallet, hoping to find some kind of name. The wallet was empty, save for a few dollars and a key card. You reached for his phone. It was dead. You reached into your desk and pulled out a spare cord and power bank. There had to be something on there to figure out who he was or get ahold of someone who did. You plugged it in and put it back in the bag. You pushed off from the desk and made for the room at the end of the hall.
               The room was dark when you entered, save for the dim light above the bed and the glow from the heart monitor. You pushed the privacy curtain aside, and were welcomed by the sight of the blond stranger that had occupied the edges of your mind. The bed made him seem so small and his pale skin made him appear so fragile. His eyes were closed, but the steady rise and fall of his chest gave you some relief. His hair was still damp from where the staff had rinsed the blood from his hair. There was a bandage near his hairline. The cuts on his face had been treated and the bruising was much more visible now. There was an oxygen cannula tube strapped across his face and nose. And you could just see the edge of bandages peeking out from under the patient’s uniform they had dressed him in. He looked awful but he was alive, and you were so relieved you thought you might cry.
               “So, this is the man you ran into gun fire for?” Amber followed you in with his chart in her hand. “I can understand why.”
               “I’m so happy he’s ok. He looked so bad when the ambulance came. I promised him he’d be ok, that I’d get him out.”
               Amber patted you on the shoulder, giving you a sympathetic smile. “He’s gonna be fine. Hopefully, he wakes up soon, then you can stop worrying so much. And we can get a real name for him. He doesn’t look like a John. We should give him a nickname. With hair like that, I’d rather call him ‘popstar’.”
               “I think his name is Agust. Someone kept saying they were looking for Agust. I assume that’s him.”
               “He looks more like an Agust than a John.” Amber took out her pen and started making some changes. “Agust Doe. No, that sounds weird. How about just Agust D? Sounds more like a pop star name doesn’t it?”
               You nodded your head; Agust D sounded better than a blank identity. Amber placed his file at the end of the bed, and patted your shoulder. You gave a reassuring smile before she decided to leave the room. And you were alone with the blond stranger, or Agust. You took a couple steps closer to the bed, worried that he might wake up. But he didn’t; he continued to sleep in the drug induced state. In this forced, relaxed form, you couldn’t deny he was more handsome than your initial thought at your first meeting. Leaning forward over his form, your fingers reached out to check the bandage near his hairline, moving some of the stray blond hairs aside. You had no doubt that the others had done an exceptional job, but an odd sense of protectiveness made you look at everything extra close. Must be because of what happened earlier, you had concluded. There was an IV bag hanging above the bed, along with a transfusion bag replacing what he had lost. Absentmindedly, your fingers had slowly moved across his hair and down to his cheek. You were glad that it wasn’t as cold and clammy as it had been.
               “See, I told you I was gonna get you out. Now, you need to make sure you get better soon so you tell me everything,” you said with a small smile. The boy in the bed inhaled deeply, before pressing his cheek further into your light touch. The sudden movement startled you. “Agust? Can you hear me?”
               But he was still again. And your question was overtaken by the soft beep of the instruments around him.
               Suddenly, a shrill ring exploded in the room, making you jump back away from the bed as if you had been shocked. You whirled round trying to find what was causing it. Your eyes caught the flash of light on the end table beside you. It was the cell phone. Had it turned on by itself once it had enough power? Odd as it was, someone was trying to get a hold of him and you knew you should make sure they came to be with him. Maybe they knew what he was doing at the construction site and who had attacked him. You reached into the bag and pulled the phone out. The screen was flashing with a contact name, ‘God of Destruction’, and with a notification that this number had called multiple times, as well as other numbers over the last few hours. You slid your fingers across the screen and brought the phone up to your ear.
               Before you could say anything, your ears were bombarded with multiple voices all speaking in a chaotic chorus. One voice, whomever had the phone, spoke loudly over the din. “Hyung! Finally, I was so scared. Where are you? Are you okay? Tell me what the bastard did and I’ll fuck him up so bad.”
Someone else had pulled the phone closer to them. “Hyung, I’m so sorry. We should have never split up..”
Another struggle for the phone and another voice that sounded older than the last rang in over the continuing strings of conversations they were all trying to have. “Yah! Where have you been?! What were you doing, getting a coffee instead of giving us some kind of sign that you were alive?! You prick!”
The first voice must have got the phone back, as his was the most dominant voice again. “Guys, shut up, I can’t hear anything. Hyung, say something. Where are you?”
“Hello,” you responded in a small voice.
The chaotic voices all stopped, and for a moment you were scared the call had dropped. The voice seemed to drop into a serious octave. “Who is this?”
“Umm… my name is Y/N. I’m a nurse at Central Mercy Hospital. We brought the owner of this phone here after he was involved in a shooting.”
“Is he okay?” It was a different voice, sounding genuinely concerned.
“He needed emergency surgery. But we have him stable now. But he’s gonna need someone here. Are you his family or someone who can get here?”
“You said Central Mercy? What level is he on now? Who’s the doctor who saw him?” You gave him what he had asked for. “Alright, listen to me very closely. I’ll be there as fast as I can. Stay calm but do exactly as I say and it’ll be okay. Do not let anyone enter that room but you or this Doctor Na until I get there, do you understand me?”
You felt a little annoyed that he was ordering you around, but there was something in his tone that gave you the sense that this was not a joke and something to take seriously. “And who are you.”
“Call me RM.” Then the line went dead.
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douxspider · 4 years
Text
— 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐧.
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‘ARVIN RUSSELL x READER INSERT’
( potential spoilers for “the devil all the time” ) —  Reader is new to town, working at a bakery ran by a kind old lady. Getting used to the ropes of the city, a man in blue arrives unsettled, holding a bloody rag against his knuckles and shivering just slightly. (occurs after arvin approaches the three bullies.) 
warnings: blood, mentioned alcohol abuse, bullying. word count: 2,330 published: 9/17/20 ao3 link — part 2, 3
— — • — —
You didn’t ask for much in life. You didn’t want much. Your entire life you let the sea take you where it wanted to take you, and if it brought you to a flourishing island with the most beautiful sunsets and the softest sand, you let it. If it wanted to take you to the dangerous, icy hurricanes where waves clashed and thrown against each other and you drowned in the salty depth, you let it.
You don’t have a will, the town would mock you.
You were new to Ohio, originally coming from New York, and they liked to call you city girl. Your accent was more urban compared to the rural dialect around you. You stuck out like a sore thumb. The community grew together, knew everyone’s names, and when a random strange girl with only a plastic bag of clothes arrived at the nearest motel, it was all the rage.
Luckily, you managed to find a sweet baker lady to take you in. She had a plump figure, rosy cheeks, and graying auburn hair that spoke of pies and sunshine. Her name was Marilyn McCann, she was in her late 50s, and she had lost her two dear sons in the Vietnam war, her husband previously passing from health complications. Marilyn opened the baker, naming it McCann Boys in honor of them.
You were seated behind the counter on a stool, picking at a lemon and poppyseed muffin, placing chunks of the bread in your mouth and eating slowly. It was a quiet day, rain splattering against the window, most people wanted to bake indoors.
While you fidgeted with the book in your lap, idly reading it, you heard the bell ring. You glanced up, and instead of the man moving to the counter, he only took a seat by the window, a rag covering his knuckles as his hat hid his face. He refused to return your eye contact, which was used as a silent method of do you want me to come to you?
You were running the shop alone. You couldn’t ask Marilyn who this strange fellow was. You had to take the initiative.
Getting up from your seat, the stool groaned against the hardwood beneath you, and you made your way towards him. He was bouncing his jean-clad leg excessively, winding the rag around his tightened fist. There were dark stains on it, but you paid it no mind.
“Sir?”
The man twitched his head in your direction, his cap revealing only an inch more of his face before moving back down to the table. “Yeah?” His voice was low, a bit hoarse.
You leaned to the side a bit, crossing your arms, crooking a brow upwards. “You good?”
“Yeah, ah,” he spoke, moving his chin upwards to look at you, and he stopped. You did as well, a silent, complex tension thick between the two of you, before he continued, “Just uh… needed to sit down, s’all. Do I…” he cleared his throat after a voice crack, “do I need to buy somethin’?”
Shaking your head, you gave a quiet, slow, “No.”
Taking a better look at his hands, you noticed it was blood on the rag. So, he was getting that post-fight clarity. You moved to the back and grabbed some pure alcohol you and Marilyn liked to keep, pouring only a bit on a clean washing rag, before heading back to the mysterious man’s location. Taking his hands, he gave a quiet noise of surprise as you tore open his fingers from the old rag and placed it to the side.
“Lady, what are you— ow! Shit...”
Lightly sponging the rag against his knuckles, you then placed the new cloth in his hands, taking a seat in front of him.
The man in front of you seemed somewhat offended, clutching onto the rag and padding it over his knuckles, but also giving you a scowl. “The hell you do that for…? ‘Didn’t need that, I can take care of myself.”
“So, what’d the man do? Pissing contest taken too far?”
He removed the cloth from his hand and wrung his knuckles together, and you stared at the scabs. “Maybe you should keep your nose where it belongs, darlin’.”
You hummed, leaning over the table and resting your bare arms against the surface, looking out the stormy window. “Y’seem like a sweet girl,” the man spoke up, catching your attention, “but that kinda behavior here… askin’ too many questions, it can get ‘ya hurt.”
Eyeing him up and down, you tilted your head so it nearly rested on your shoulder. “Well… y’gonna hurt me, stranger?”
Brown eyes fogging over with clear distant memories, you watched his expression dampen, no longer seeming agitated but only conflicted. “No… no, I wouldn’t hurt ‘ya.” His voice was only a low grumble. “I was taught better than to hurt girls.”
Giving a hum as a response, you tapped your painted fingers against each other. “I’m not trying to be nosy,” you then confessed, “...just curious. Don’t hear much from this town regarding fist fights.”
“You’re the city girl?” With a wince, you nodded. “Ah.”
“That a bad thing, mister?” You asked, trying to analyze his expression. He seemed distant, staring off, before his eyes turned as round as saucers glancing at you.
“No, no, miss, I ain’t imply that. Lotta people know about you ‘round here, it’s rare for a cityfolk to come to this dot on the map,” he explained, “Just curious.”
Clearly that was an insinuation for you to indulge him on his question. Though, feeling smug, and honestly in your right, you told, “You tell me why you’re bleeding from your hands, I’ll tell you my harrowing tale of ending up in Ohio. How about that?”
Surprisingly, the stranger let out a quiet laugh. It was breathy, and for some odd reason you could tell he doesn’t do that often by the way it seemed foreign coming from him, the product from his lips being stopped with his mouth closing. “Fair. You’re good at this game, little lady.” He let his knuckles out into the open air before crossing his arms together, leaning back in the booth.
“My old man,” he started with a distant voice, grimacing at the latter, and you assumed there was a dark history there, “he taught me t’protect myself. To protect others. Now, he was no layabout, he was straight outta the war,” the stranger chuckled, “if anyone tried anythin’, he wouldn’t let ‘em. He taught me that with physical expression.” The jean jacket around his arms got tightened with his whitening grip. “Now, y’see, lotta folk in this town ain’t kind. They ain’t acceptin’, they don’t like new things. They don’t like concepts.”
You listened quietly, feeling your heart slow its pace within your chest, trying to silence itself to take in every word. “I got a sister. Step-sister. She’s sweet, but she ain’t like the others. They don’t like that.”
His jaw tightened as he looked out the window, his blue cap shading his eyes. “...Had t’put an end to it.”
An understanding finally settled in your head. You fiddled with the apron draped around your legs, chin tilted downwards as you took in the information. You looked back at him. “...That’s a good thing.”
“What?” He glanced at you from the corner of his eye.
“Protecting your sister. That’s a good thing.” You could tell he felt guilty only slightly, perhaps he was scared of himself, scared of what he did. “I never had a sibling growing up,” you told, “having someone there to protect me would’ve done me wonders.” The stranger moved his hand up to his mouth, rubbing the side of his index finger against his chin. You gave a weak smile. “People aren’t too kind here to me, so I don’t need to fantasize your sister’s reality. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be outcasted from your own town like that. Your sister must be a kind soul, being thrown to the wolves like sheep like that.” You shook your head. “It’s not right. I think you did what you had to do. Sometimes that’s the best you can do.”
He was staring at you, and you couldn’t help but to wonder if you said too much. If you were prying too much. You had never met this man before, he could’ve just killed someone for all you know for no rhyme or reason, he could be a sociopath, luring his next victim, but you trusted your gut on saying that this man was right in what he did.
The corner of his lips quirked upwards and he gave a quiet exhale through his nose, nodding his head before glancing at you, head tilted downwards. “Now, your story. Fair trade, little lady.”
With an amused smile, you shrugged. “Came from New York, had no ties. Father ditched when I was still learning my ABCs, mama abused alcohol, that’s what wound her up in the grave. Took that as my sign to go.” You recalled the dirty poor Manhattan streets you grew up on. “Manhattan… it’s a busy city. Too busy. No one knows ‘ya, but they assume they do.” You pointed at him to exaggerate, closing an eye, “If you’re in the wrong neighborhood, that’s what you are now. Wrong. I was a wrong, poor girl with no faith.”
“No faith?” The stranger asked.
“Faith didn’t keep me alive there. Only money.”
He nodded slowly. “Surprised to see someone here not lookin’ to God.”
You clasped your hands together and shrugged. “Well, when he brings me something nice, I’ll go to church.” Glimpsing up at him, you asked, “Do you have faith?”
“Only for my grandmama and sister. I ain’t got no interest listenin’ to a man for hours.”
“You seem like a family man, mister.” You smiled, leaning back. “Are they the only reason you’re here?”
A moment of hesitance resulted from him. “Yeah.”
You decided not to press further.
Taking in the quiet rain, you tapped your hands on the table beneath you three times and stood up, placing your hands on your hips. “Well, mister, do you drink coffee?”
He seemed so small in the booth, huddled up with his arms crossed, brown eyes that were no longer iced over with memories, but instead focused on you with a round childish charm to them. “Ah… yeah, I do.”
Smiling with a nod, you headed and started up the yellow coffee machine. You looked back at him, saw him staring out the window, and you finished up the mug of coffee and gave it to him, hot. Sitting in front of him with your muffin, you both indulged in your delicacies in a peaceful silence.
When his coffee was just about gone, he asked, “Mind if I smoke in ‘ere?” He wondered, and you gave him permission.
“Sure. The only thing I’m concerned about is the gross taste coffee and tobacco must have together,” Wrinkling your nose at the thought, the man laughed, amused as he placed a cigarette in his mouth and used a lighter.
He puffed in the smoke and then removed the cigarette from his mouth, pulling over an ashtray that rested on the table. Blowing through the thin slit between his lips, he murmured, “Arvin.”
“Hm?” You asked, wiping off your hands on your apron from crumbs.
“My name is Arvin Russell.”
Blinking at him, you smiled, testing out his name carefully. “Hi, Arvin. I’m Y/N L/N.”
Arvin seemed a little shy, his cap hiding most of his face before he moved his head up just slightly, catching your eye, pointing out, “‘Like that name. Suits you. A pretty name for a pretty girl.”
A little flustered, you pinched your bare lips together before giving out a breathy chuckle. He moved his cigarette to his lips, watching you closely, inhaling the smoke. “You’re sweet.”
Arvin smiled, the paper-wrapped cancer stick between his lips, he pulled it out with a quick huff and said, “You’re the sweet girl talkin’ to bloody strangers sulking in the corner of your shop and givin’ em free coffee, Y/N.” He was staring at the window when he said this, but his head turned towards you, relaxed against the seat behind him, tapping the ashes into the ashtray. “Y’deserve better than this place.”
Feeling overwhelmed with all the positive comments— you didn’t receive many— you tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear. “Well, Arvin, I think you deserve good things, too.”
Arvin gazed at you, a soft expression on his face before checking his watch. “Have to head home.” You both stood and you began to clean up. Arvin went up to the counter and gave a few dollars, and you stared at the money, gawking before giving a nervous smile and shaking your head.
“You don’t need to do that, Mr. Russell—”
“Arvin was doin’ just fine, sweet girl,” Arvin said with a smile. “Y’helped me out today. Thank you. Genuinely. I wanna pay back however I can.”
You took the money cautiously, feeling shy.
“Take that money for yourself. Buy yourself another pretty dress,” he said, eyeing the one you wore and tipping his hat. He was about to leave before he turned, hand flat against the glass, the other tucking his old rag into his coat pocket and gazing at you. “...We’ll be seein’ each other again, Y/N.”
Feeling overrun with flustered emotions, you smiled and said, “I would sure hope so, Arvin. I liked having you around.”
Arvin looked to the side, murmuring, “Likewise.”
You were left in the silence of the bakery, the rain turning into a light mist outside. Pressing your lips together, you changed your weight from foot to foot, turning to lean your back against the counter and giving a sigh.
Each encounter with him from then on would slowly grow into something more.
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kekoma · 3 years
Text
— hanamaki as your boyfriend.
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hands belong in pockets, not in your pants unless you’re him. hope you enjoy.
hanamaki hours has now entered the chambers.
such an amazing man. would do many things for him, but you didn’t come here to know that.
you came here to see how life is like dating hiro, yeah? so let’s get into.
how you two ended up dating isn’t munch of a mystery.
makki  had s personality that attracts all kind of people without even trying so it wasn’t a surprise when he had been able to lure you in as well.
as for when he realized that he actually liked you was when mattsun had pointed out how much he spoke you to him. 
and he also picked up the fact that he started flirting with you more than before too yet it no longer had that playful feel around it— hiro was serious about wooing you over.
pretty sure he was the one to make the move on you. he isn’t someone that is shy so when he asked you if you would go to the amusement park with him— that’s when he became a bolder.
“how are you enjoying our date so far?”
“it’s actually amazing~ can we... huh? wait... our date?”
“well yeah. this is our first official date. heh i suppose this is my chance to confess to you now.”
everything went smoothly. he was quite confident that you’ll say yes since makki made time to learn everything about you and paid close attention to any and every small behavior along side gestures you revealed.
not much to really go on about so i’ll hop right into the actual stuff.
i’ve mentioned it before with issei so it’s only right i’ll mention it here too since takahiro gives off the same energy.
you two are DEFINITELY the kind of couple who jokes around about breaking up over the strangest things and it’ll be at random times too.
“my guy... who cuts your hair?”
“huh? what are you talking about cutie?”
“i can’t help but realize that your hair reminds me of an upside skate ramp. who are you paying because baby...”
“so i see you woke up and choose violence today... you know, i didn’t come to get roasted. i came here to love you y/n and this is what i get?”
“hold up! stay right there. i’m gonna go find my tech deck and do a few tricks.”
“i- yeah let’s break up. my lawyers will call yours and i’m taking the kids too. can’t believe i’m bullied right now.”
vv dramatic but it doesn’t bother you since you go along with his ways.
being serious? is considered rare within the relationship.
however, when it does occur then hiro can be deapan.
which i will take the time to discuss arguments with him briefly.
again, it’s something rare since the relationship is mainly playful and uplifting each other.
yet when you two get pretty heated, it can go two (2) ways.
a) he’ll opt for the silent treatment since he could say some really foul things that could possibly hurt you to the max and he doesn’t want to hurt your feelings. may even go as far to put a little more distance between you two so he can calm down and approach you in a better manner.
b) actually voices how he feels about towards the situation at hand and will probably sound extremely venomous when doing so. his main goal when speaking is getting his point across if you dismissed it and/or made it seem like he’s in the wrong.
up to you on how you would like to view his way of approaching arguments though.
but if you want to make it up to him then give makki space for a while before apologizing. also make sure the apology is honest because HE WILL know if you’re lying and if he catches you then it’s back to square one...
with that out the way, let’s return.
DEFINITELY is an supportive boyfriend that likes helping you grow as a person and reach your goals. since you do the same for him, it’s only fair plus he likes seeing the smile on your face once something is accomplished.
although he already has you— makki will still flirt with you. it’s just more cheesier.
“damn babe. is your father a priest because i’m feeling blessed when i’m with you.”
“shut up before i eat your food.”
“ooh~ that’s hot. guess your dad isn’t one. perhaps i’m dancing with the devil because you’re hot as hell.”
“... takahiro. sir please. stop.”
“okay okay but i think you should see this.” proceeds to shove his phone in your face, the front camera on to reveal you on the screen, “this is the prettiest person i’ve ever met.”
“you’re lucky you’re cute and that i love you.”
definitely does the hand in his pants thing in your house and in his (ofc).
even if they have pockets or you call him out for it, it’s just an automatic for him so you gotta accept it.
besides that, if you’re someone that LOVES to bake or occasionally bakes— best believe he’s the first to taste it all.
extra points to you if you make cream puffs.
is most definitely the kind of boyfriend who invest in matching items. clothing, jewelry, phone case, and etc. he finds the concept cute to be honest.
if you’re lucky enough, he’ll let you buy matching hair clips (something cute like Sanrio, fruits, animals or etc.) and lets you put them in his hair.
won’t compain if it seems extremely girly/cutesy. instead makki will take a bunch of pictures and post a few on his sns about how you two are matching.
also loves to make it known he has the most divine girlfriend in the world. dude is proud to be your boyfriend so ofc he’s gonna show off.
nicknames? yeah yeah nicknames real quick.
top ones for you are 🥁🥁 babe/baby, beautiful, cutie and lover girl occasionally makes it’s way around.
something a little extra: hiro will even call you his doll sometimes but its only brought up at random times. 
moving onto pda since it’ll also be a bit brief.
in love with PDA when it comes to you. 
although he tones it down when you two are in public so of course you get the basics, but something he’ll always do is wrap his arm around you or constantly interlock his fingers with both combined hands on his thigh.
as for private, it’s not as filtered. would say he’s a bit more touchy but i must advise... don’t keep your back turned to him for long because makki will use the opportunity to either smack or grab your ass while saying “i like your cut g.”
... can’t convince me he doesn’t do that. rip y/n’s ass.
last but not least— dates!
don’t think hanamaki is picky about what kind of dates you two go on.
but most dates are chaotic in a way. will deadass text you in the middle of the night or show up to your place be like “wanna film dance vids in a parking lot? or like walk around and eat good street food.” and you just gotta go with it.
however, when they aren’t that way or involving outside then some dates consist of staying indoors. probably baking together, watching a bunch of movies, doing his makeup and etc.
overall: 10/10
best relationship with constant fun <3 we love it here.
and that’s where i end this bc makki do be breaking my brain.
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© all content belongs to kekoma 2020. do not repost, modify or translate.
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