#like seriously why but regardless tysm ^^

[atsu-i]

.

[prettiest-thing-in-the-morgue]

Lone Warrior pt.2

summary :reader is put into emergency foster care after a tragedy , despite living with the Wayne family for a bit , reader takes it upon herself to move away and start anew since she clearly wasn't welcomed , after many years have passed Damian finally joins the family and after a particular spat w his father he finds himself in reader's room and an interest in them has sparked.

a/n : tysm for the love on the first post hope u enjoy !!33

part 1 , part 3

" Y/n ?" Damian asks as he turns to Alfred , his face morphs into a mask of confusion . He has resided in his father's mansion for three years, and never has he heard of someone by that name ever being mentioned . He stared at Alfred curiously as he shuffled through the door and steeled himself to sit on the dusty bed .

Another reason that bewildered Damian to the core - he knew Alfred personally tended and cleaned all of Wayne Manor regardless if a space was used often or not so for this room to be neglected in this state itches at his mind .

" Y/n is one of your older adopted siblings Master Damian." Alfred begins . Damian huffs - ' Seriously, another charity case his father had to take pity on ? ' he thinks as his mind grew bored - the initial interest being lost . " Y/n was adopted around the time Master Jason had passed, and before Master Drake joined us," Alfred continued , paying no heed to Damian's uninterested look.

He rolls his eyes , " That's nothing special, Pennyworth. Besides, where are they if they're my supposed adopted sibling ?" Damian asks pointedly . Alfred goes silent for a few moments , wringing his worn hands together as he looks everywhere but at Damian .

" We do not know where Master Y/N is " he finishes - voice going soft . Damian quirks up an eyebrow, " Thats insane Pennyworth surely we have an inkling where they are - hell, we know where Jason is whenever he's being all pissy and distant !!" Damian exclaims .

" Master Damian , Master Y/N left when she was 14 without saying anything to anyone," Alfred explains as he stares at your bed with a face of longing . Silence draws out between them - Damian is too shocked to say anything . " Did father not bother to look for them ?" He asks carefully.

Another beat of awkward silence passes between them before Alfred answers with a quiet ' no ' . Nothing is said between them again for a while . " Why " Damian questions in disbelief - it's too uncharacteristic of his father to simply forget one of his own children - he is batman - batman always has a plan for everything - always thinks of possibilities- always solves anomalies - so why hadn't father cared enough about this ? About you ?

" I am afraid Master Name and Master Bruce never clicked seeing as ...they never once conversed for the scarce years she lived with us " Alfred shakily answers - it as if the thought of you haunts him deeply - maybe you do - maybe you do haunt the old man after all in his eyes you were the only normal child he had the pleasure of raising in Bruce's ward.

Damian says nothing , just walks around the room until he stops at an old portrait of a young girl - what he presumes a younger you . It's worn down from the years and pile of dust . Damian takes a good look at you , notes your dead eyes - dead eyes that reflect indifference to the world around you with hints of pain and endless suffering burrow within . Your hair is loosely tied behind with a ribbon behind . You are noticeably not smiling , even when you hold a giant ice cream cone in your hands - just a dead pan look staring back at him.

His hand caresses the portrait with care - he wonders what you are like . ' Were you someone kind ?' . ' Someone who takes and cares only for themselves? ' . 'Were you a born genius or hard worker type ? ' . 'A hero or maybe a villain ? ' . ' Were you a go with the flow person or practical?' .

' Why were you so unheard of ? ' , ' Why hadn't Father , Grayson, or Drake told him about you ?' So many questions he wants to demand but all left unanswered . " Tell me about them, Pennyworth." Damian demands , turning around to look at the old man .

Pennyworth sighs as he runs his hands along the sheets , " They were quiet - not the awkward type of quiet , the observing type - they didn't say much about themselves - only briefly mentioned her parents and life before . She was an incredible student , straight A's and incredibly independent .....in fact - I've never had to clean up Master Y/N because she insisted I hadn't because of my elderly age ....... she loved gardening and making little water fountains for the strays and the birds that used to come by . She loved apple tarts and loved to swim, but if K recalled properly , she hated whenever people talked about Arkham Asylum . " Alfrdd recounts.

Damian takes it all in - you sound complex - an enigma , sound so unlike himself and his siblings but alike at the same time . " Why did they hate Arkham Asylum?" He asks , intrigued . ' Were you close to Tood ?' , ' Had something happened to you for you to be there ?'.

" She never said - just ... expressed how inhumane Arkham Asylum is, " he finishes . Silence passes between them as Damian ponders on the response . " I must leave now Master Damian to prepare dinner," Alfred excuses himself as he leaves the room promptly.

Damian pays him no mind , eyes glued to your portrait with determination. There is something inside him that prompts him to take it - a siren call begging him to find you and if he's learnt anything in life - he knows it's best not to ignore a gut feeling .

With determination , Damian swipes your portrait, hiding it in his pocket before leaving .

Y/N sits on a rooftop , overlooking the vast skyline of distant skyscrapers . Each moment is precise as she she carefully tracks her target, leaving a store . Y/N uses the advantage of the setting sun's bright light to align her sniper's magnification on the target's neck . - A perfect disguise as the target wouldn't see her coming unless he wants to risk his eyesight .

The gun of the sniper is pressed against her cheek while her trained hand rests on the trigger as she patiently awaits the perfect moment . The target fishes out his phone and begins to converse while walking past an open dumpster - here, she carefully takes point and shoots .

She watches with a muted look as her target halts in their actions , blood spills from his head as he falls dumbly into the dumpster . " Great job agent 15 , a job well executed," a voice buzzes through her earpiece . Y/N tucks her sniper back into its discreet brief case before answering, " Thank you, agent 17 , permission to clock out for today's mission ?" Y/N asks into her intercom , the sun setting behind her in a beautiful arch as the wind blows past her .

" Permission granted , please return to base 15 " agent 17's motherly voice chimes in before cutting out . Y/N takes a good look at the setting sun - thoughts of her mother and father come to her mind - she wishes - she wishes she can cradle them both and comfort them with the knowledge that their daughter is putting a stop to crime but she knows it's wishful thinking - she knows mothers far too insane and father has long forgotten her but still - she's determined to prevent what's happened to her , happen to another person. Determined to save an innocent life from walking down the road she has .

With that , Y/N looks back at the setting sun's one last time before jumping off the rooftop and disappearing into the evening's abyss .

Damian sits in front of the bat computer as he busily types away . The batcomputer scans through hundreds of possible pictures of what Y/N would be grown up to look like now , another monitor is combing through the internet archives trying to find any presence of her .

He groans in frustration as a monitor displays another 'error' - ' how can a computer capable of decrypting alien tech be so incapable and useless when it comes to finding a missing person?' Damian thinks as he runs another program.

He leans back in the seat - exhausted and tired , it has been three hours and he has yet to find anything about you - not even your old school records, not even your own birth - it's like you were seamlessly erased from the earth and it does nothing but fuel his intrigue and nagging gut feeling to find you.

' Were you trafficked?' , ' Were you murdered and thrown away to rot in a ditch?' , ' Or used in some illegal organ transfer ?' So many thoughts course through his mind violently like a tornado.

He silently curses Bruce and Pennyworth in his mind -' how can they possibly allow a 14 year old girl to run away ? ' . ' What made her run away in the first place ?' . So many questions but no answers .

Damian was suddenly ripped out of his dilemma when a monitor began to go off . His head eagerly whipped towards it - almost snapping his neck at the pace . There on the screen , displayed a blurry security footage of a figure leaping off a building and disappearing into an alleyway along with your portrait from earlier - a 40% guaranteed match as the software compares both hair properties and the blurry closeups of your faces .

Damian's eyes widened in eagerness as he enlarged the footage and immediately ran it through software to find the footage's location . He feels his heart beat rapidly - this could be it - he could have found you ! - he might actually have done something, not even batman could do. Pride and accomplishment swell within him as he watches the loading screen complete and there - his answer to all his past questions display as bright as day , ' Russia ,Rostov-on-Don ' .

" Russia ?" He murmurs a bit confused . ' How did a 14 year old girl get to Russia of all places ?' He questions . He looks back at the blurry footage of what might be your figure leaping off the building and disappearing into an alleyway . Whatever the reason is , he is going to find out - he is going to take this sliver of hope and find you himself ." I am coming for you, sister," Damian declares as he promptly begins his preparations for Russia.

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incorrect quotes

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[artsycloudysleepy]

so glad to hear it - and i hope the business calms down fully soon!!! make sure to hydrate lots and look after yourself :DDD

and i'm doing pretty good, thx!! been busy irl and hyperfocusing on fanfic writing + crochet so hence my sudden absence on this hellsite for the past 2 weeks or so lol, but i'm getting back into tumblr now :)

teensy bit off-topic but i think the universe (isat ref!!) is trying to send me down a yarn-related rabbit hole???? last friday i had no clue how to crochet, then i saw lesbian-coloured yarn and boom. suddenly i'm making a scarf for no reason beyond wanting to wear a sapphic scarf all winter WHEN IT'S NOT EVEN COLD HERE AND I'M ALLERGIC TO THE WOOL I'M USING

(bonus story! a day after i began crocheting i went to a charity shop and there was an. ENTIRE BUNDLE. of knitting needles. and patterns for knitting clothing. next to the door. for like. £5. is the world trying to tell me smth here??? why does it like yarn so much??? (yes i DID buy the needles. i can knit so many scarves now :DDD))

anyway, sorry for that tangent lol, i tend to ramble sometimes if you couldn't tell 😅 i'm really glad you're doing good!!! seeing as i just infodumped accidentally about my hobby, do you have any hobbies you want to chat abt (if you want ofc)? :3

hiya!! how're you doing? :)

Hi artsy!! I'm doing fine, I think! Just been busy before the end of the year mostly, but it's getting better~

And how are you :?

[facelesssbirds]

Cuddles || Genshin

A.N. Summary: How you (and them) cuddle. Characters: F!Reader, Neuvillette, Furina, Beidou (I promise Childe will be in the next one...) Rating: E - Everyone <33 P.S. If you have requests, I'd really appreciate it! I'm trying to grow my writing skills through fan fiction, because it brings a lot of joy to people, so... I'll do my best tysm!

Neuvillette is all seriousness and perfection in public, but when you get him alone, he devolves into a cuddly teddybear that just adores curling up on the couch with you, just lazing around.

That isn't to say he's opposed to days like this, where you've crashed his lunch break, he had planned to skip it completely, the overflow of documents from the court clerk's office standing tall and unrelenting at his desk.

"Neuvi!" You grinned, opening the door, "I brought lunch."

He looked up, only briefly, giving you a hint of a smile, "Oh? What'd you get today?"

He had long since learned that even kicking you out wouldn't deter you, and your insistence on making sure he got proper time to rest.

"Steak-Frites," You said, tossing a few bags onto his coffee table, "Nothing special."

He raised a brow, almost imperceptibly, "Oh? Then, ma trésor, why are you here so unannounced?"

You laughed nervously, wringing your hands behind your back, almost like a child who's been caught stealing from a cookie jar, your eyes darting to his, then away, a faint flush painting your cheeks.

"Well..." You trailed off, busying yourself with the cuff of your sleeve, "cuddles?"

He chuckled, a low rumbled, barely there as he stood from his desk glancing at the clock.

"I suppose I have time."

Furina is a clingy lover, you come to understand very early into the relationship, but despite her grandiose and facades, she's a private person. She didn't want her lover to be the subject of whispers and rumors, or scandals, no she wants you all to herself, safe and sound, thank you very much.

Still, when you're home alone, and she's just gotten back from a particularly interesting day at court, she'll hop down next to you on the couch, regardless of what you had been doing earlier, and snuggling into your arms. Then she'll talk.

You always enjoyed hearing Furina talk, it was where her passion shined out into the world, even when she was being particularly needy.

"And so I said, 'well you can't--'," Furina cut herself off, looking at something on the coffee table, she was snuggled right under your head, the book you had previously been reading discarded.

"Furina?" You probed quietly, your arms tightening around her waist.

She turns to look at you, scooting sideways, and pouts, "You had hot-chocolate without me!"

You chuckle, realizing what this is about, "Ma cherie, do you want some?"

She burrowed under the blankets, "Yes, please!"

"Well then, you know you're going to have to move... right?" You warned her, a amused smile creeping onto your face.

She pouts, again, this time more jokingly, "I will not! I am Lady Furina, the Hydro Archon and I will not move for you!"

You laugh along, gently moving her out of the way, so you can go to the kitchen and make your darling a nice cozy drink.

Beidou normally didn't do cuddling. Not that she was against it or anything, but the whole 'physical affection' thing came easy for her towards friends, it was entirely different with lovers. Not to say she was nervous, more-so she was just... unfamiliar with the concept.

As a girl who grew up on the sea, and with a love for the sea, work and friendliness ran in her veins, romance however was something of a mystery. She could flirt seven way to heaven and charm a man of his beard, sure, but that didn't make up for her absolute unawareness of the... fluff that came with love.

"Beidou--" You wined, coming out of the captains cabin just after the sun had risen. Today was supposed to be your and Beidou's day off, and you had planned to sleep in, and laze the day away. Naturally, you dearest, ever hardworking had derailed those plans.

Still, she looked up, smiling at you, and yelling your name. You waved back from above, yawning. Nonetheless she was beside you in a flash, "Good morning, sleepyhead-- you're up late."

You gave her a deadpan stare that conveyed, 'it's too early for this.' before nestling into her side, and arm wrapped around her waist.

"I wanted cuddles," You whined, it seemed that your day off had made you a bit bratty, "Its out day off, we should spend it... like, taking time off."

She laughed, hearty, "This is me taking the day off," She grinned, and you returned it with a smile, "But- I suppose, I can make an exception, just this once."

Your initial smile lit up, suddenly energized you tugged Beidou away from the crew. Perhaps a new experience wouldn't hurt?

[friedbaekhyunandeggso]

found you - ch. 5 (part I)

pairing: gojo satoru x female oc (ara natsuna)

tropes: psycho! rival! athlete! yandere! gojo x introvert! booksmart! sheltered! rbf! oc

warnings: 18+ only babes, stalking/possessive themes, profanity, coercion, pet names (kitten, baby), begging, mentions of abusive parents, w33d, dub/non-consented sex, unprotected & protected sex, rough sex (just pls be an adult before reading this)

word count/plot: [17.3k!] ara catches gojo's attention when news breaks that she is the top academically ranked student in their grade. he is ranked second. he tries to befriend her but she ignores him. despite her obvious disinterest, his obsession begins...

a/n: ahaaa so i know this has been a long time coming tbh i wasn't even sure if i was ever going to end up finishing writing this chapter bc it is soooo long. prolly the biggest chapter yet. i just didn't want to post it without completing it all and maybe at the end of this chapter (in part 4) you'll see why. regardless tysm for even being interested & pestering me enough to feel guilty about leaving u guys on a cliffhanger for so long haha. u guys got me thru writing this toxic bs but here it finally is!! enjoyy

ch. 1 , ch. 2 [ part 1 | part 2 ] , ch. 3 , ch. 4 , chapter 5 [ part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 ]

She couldn’t stop crying. The loud pitter-patter of the rain behind her felt like her tears.

Gojo clutched her so tight, it was almost reassuring. She almost wished he could crush her to dust. She was tired of herself.

And now, she reached rock bottom. She went to him.

She knew what that meant. What stepping into Ijichi’s car would entail. And she hadn’t stopped.

She went to him.

And now her consequences were own to bear.

Ijichi grabbed her fallen duffel bag from the ground beside her. He’d offered to carry her bag for her but she refused. She supposed it didn’t matter now because she dropped it the second Gojo held her in his arms. 

Gojo’s voice was faint to her ears, “That all her stuff?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Take it to my room.”

Her breathing evened out as the last of her tears slipped down her face. She had no tears left to cry.

The moonlight streaming through the windows casted shapes along on the floor, a slanted reflection of the tall windows. The outlines luminous enough to subtly brighten the dimly lit living room–if that’s what this expansive space even was. It was so quiet, her sniffles and uneven breath felt like the loudest thing in the room.

His fingers ran down her hair, “You done?” he whispered, voice soft.

She glanced up at him-heat scattering along her cheeks as she realized this was the second time she’d cried on him as if he weren’t a part of the reason. She supposed it didn’t matter anymore, especially not after the decision she’d made.

His iridescent eyes searched her face as he whispered once-more, “Can I kiss you now?”

Her puffy eyes narrowed, “Seriously?” she croaked.

A low, whiny sound left him as he tugged her further up his lap-pressing his forehead to hers. “Just one, just one,” he insisted-trying to convince her, “On the cheek.”

It seemed he was helpless to his instincts because he didn’t wait for an answer-quickly tilting his head to press a short yet eager peck to her cheek.

She felt him pause, his lips ghosting up her temple before kissing her forehead. She sighed, she knew it wouldn’t be just one.

Suddenly he was kissing her all over—showering her face with short, chaste kisses that landed everywhere but her lips.

She writhed on his lap before placing a hand on his chest to push him back, “Satoru!”

“Sorry, sorry.” he sighed, “I just missed you. A lot.”

She merely stared at him, searching his crystalline eyes. She could only imagine why.

My body, you mean.

“All of you.” he corrected, a light smile slipping across his lips.

She instantly tensed. She hadn’t meant to say that outloud.

He lightly flicked her forehead, “Your mind..”

He lowered his hand, brushing his thumb over her bottom lip, “..your naughty mouth..”

His fingertips trailed down her navel, “I guess I missed this place too..”

Her eyes widened, quickly catching his hand before it went lower.

His lips curled into a smirk, “But your panties kept me company.”

“You-?” Her face instantly heated up when she realized. She threw his hand away from her, “Ugh. You’re actually disgusting.”

His eyes glittered with amusement, “Yet you came back.”

She glared, her face simultaneously blazing brighter as she hastily turned her face aside.

He laughed-the sound too triumphant for her liking. 

A yawn suddenly left her lips. It seemed her lack of sleep finally caught up to her.

“You tired?”

She froze-her eyes flitting to him. If she said yes he’d most likely take her to his bedroom and she didn’t trust what that would entail. She didn’t trust him. She truly couldn’t tonight. Especially not with the way her whole body ached.

“No.” she replied instinctively.

“Hmm,” his blue eyes raked over her countenance, “Are you hungry?”

She shook her head.

“Are you…staying the night?”

She swallowed before whispering, “Yes.”

“Just tonight?” he asked-a little too quickly.

She paused, her voice hollow, “Longer.”

She saw something flash through his glowing eyes. His arms around her tightening possessively.

He nuzzled her hair, inhaling sharply-before exhaling when he pressed his forehead to hers, “Are you gonna tell me what happened?”

She hesitated, voice shaky, “N-not right now.”

His gaze sharpened, eyes colder than ice, “Why?”

“Because..” she slipped her shaky hand over his jaw, “I don’t want to be sad anymore.”

He went quiet at that, seemingly still for a moment. Her fingers stroking his jaw wavered as something close to fear made her stomach knot.

Suddenly he tilted his face into her palm, his eyes flickering close like a cat enjoying their scratches.

“Hm..” he murmured before kissing the bottom of her palm, his eyes bright, “I got an idea.”

He showed her ‘their’ home (he kept calling it that)—giving her a house tour. Well, estate because that's what it really was. There were so many rooms, so many floors. It was entirely impossible for her to remember them all.

It was 4 am and they still weren’t done with touring the ‘house’ yet. It was truly unreal. It was nothing like she’d ever seen, not even in her dreams. The architecture was so ‘old world’–everything exquisitely detailed down to a T. It was breathtaking, and overwhelming.

A music room. ball room. library. gym. balconies–several balconies, as well as living rooms, dining halls. engraved ceilings. statues–real-life, hand carved statues. She couldn’t fathom it. She couldn’t understand how someone could have so much.

Her head was spinning.

She stared at the marble steps growing larger behind him as he carried her upstairs. Looks like her tour was done for the night.

She glanced up at the sky themed mural on the vast ceiling and walls. She could only imagine how long that took to paint. It suddenly struck her that every part of the house contained some sort of blue. Not always the exact same shade but there were hues of blue everywhere.

Especially the main areas. The kitchen, the foyer, the extravagant pool directly in front of the manor—she couldn’t help but notice that those areas were the same shade of blue. The blue felt oddly familiar, maybe because it meshed so well with the rest of the white and tan-ish gold theme of the manor. She couldn’t help but commend whoever the interior designer was-they’d truly done the estate justice.

She glanced up at him and suddenly everything clicked into place. His eyes. Everything blue was a similar shade to his eyes. Even now, the sky themed mural on the ceiling above matched perfectly with his eyes.

“Gojo..?”

He glanced down at her. His platinum hair was slicked back today-for what reason, she didn’t know but it seemed the gel couldn’t tame him either because unruly white strands hung all over his forehead.

He pouted, “You know how I feel about that name, sweets.”

“Satoru.” she corrected quietly.

A subtle smirk formed on his lips as he perused her countenance fondly, “Mhm?”

She absentmindedly held onto his shirt tighter, “Does everyone in your family have blue eyes?”

He raised a playful brow, “Why do you ask?”

“Cause.. there's a lot of blue everywhere. You said this has been your family home for generations so I thought-maybe-“ she fumbled with her words, “It wasn’t a coincidence.”

A sly smile slipped across his lips, “Smart girl.”

He lowered his head to dramatically blink in her face, purposely showing her his big diamond blues up-close. She pushed his chin away, squinting in disapproval.

His smile widened, “Yeah, everyone in my family’s got blue eyes. It doesn’t matter who we marry, the kid always gets blue eyes.”

He glanced up at the sky mural above them as he made it to the top of the steps, “I guess we made it a personality trait.” he teased.

She glanced at the rest of the floor ahead of them. It looked empty. In fact, the only people they’d encountered during her tour was a maid here and there.

“Where is everyone?” she asked impulsively.

“What do ya mean?”

She glanced up at him, “Is there no one else here?”

She’d known he was an only child but.. all this space? There had to be others.

He nodded before pressing a delicate kiss to her neck as he continued to carry her through the hallway.

“No one but us.” he smirked.

A cold shot of fear entered her system as she rapidly became hyper-aware of her situation, who she was with–what she was doing–his arms carrying her, bridal style, at that. 

She tensed, “Put me down.”

He glanced down at her-walking a bit slower, “But we’re almost to my room.”

Her eyes widened ever so slightly-an uneasy feeling swirling in her gut, “We’re going to your room?”

“Yeah,” He blinked, “What—you wanna stay up?”

She paused, “No.. It’s late, I’m tired.”

When he didn’t respond, she added, “A-and we have school tomorrow..”

A short laugh left him, “Oh, we’re not goin’ to school tomorrow.”

She stared at his room. It was the size of her living room–quadrupled. It was dauntingly surreal, the level of luxury he was encircled with. It was nothing short of royalty. She didn’t understand how he eagerly stayed all those nights in her room when he had access to this much space.

It felt irregular for her to even be seeing all of this–like she shouldn’t be here.

His chest brushed the back of her head. His hands lightly touching her waist, “You gonna stand here all night?”

She hesitated before stepping past the threshold. His hands sliding off her as she walked into his room.

He waited a beat, watching her step further into his domain with slow, unhurried steps. It was almost teasing, the way she took her sweet time, as if he hadn’t repeatedly dreamt of her being here with him countless of times. Whether it be a passionate fantasy of them intertwined on his bed or a glimpse of a future where they made this home less empty–he never dared to believe he’d get here this soon. 

The feeling that settled in his gut was so utterly possessive-it was visceral in its intensity. This was their room now. Everything here was hers as much as it was his.

She looked so curious, so hesitant-maybe for good reason. He watched her twirl around slightly, taking in the room as if it were too much to accept. Her eyes swept over the lounge area, the sliding glass doors that lead to the balcony, the leveled embroidered ceiling. Her neck arching as she tilted her head back to peer at it.

A subtle smile slipped across his lips. Too damn cute. Her eye for art was too obvious, her eyes always catching little details. His great-great grandfather also had an eye for such things. He utilized that interest when he designed this place.�� She’d fit right in here.

He quietly closed the doors behind himself-his eyes never leaving her. He covertly followed behind when she stepped through the short pathway that led into the private area of their room. Her eyes skimmed over the king sized bed, the flat screen TV across it, the multiple doors at each corner-those leading to his closet, bathroom and study. He’d show her them all tomorrow.

She stood beside his bed, completely distracted by her surroundings when he silently approached her. His arms snaked around her sides, drawing her close to kiss the crown of her head. She gasped.

“Do you know how much I missed you?”

His low voice sent a shot of fear up her spine. His hands traveled up her hip bones to the dip of her waist, squeezing lightly. She winced-hard.

“W-wait-“ she quickly turned around, hastily sitting on the edge of the bed. Her eyes wide, “I can’t tonight. I really can’t.”

His white brows drew together when he spotted her arm over her stomach, “Why?”

“B-because-“ she came up with something on the spot, “I’m on my period.”

He took a step towards her, “You know a little blood doesn’t scare me.”

Shit. Shit! She did know that. Her frantic mind couldn’t come up with a good excuse.

She slowly shifted further back on the bed-trying not to move too fast. She knew if she made it too obvious that she was trying to gain some distance from him, he’d act without a second thought.

“M-my cramps are really bad. It hurts-a lot, please.” her voice shook.

He held her gaze for a long moment. She thought her anxiety would end her before he responded.

“Take your shirt off, Ara.”

Her eyes widened, “I-I’m in pain, Toru-please.”

His eyes flared, “Not for that.”

He moved towards her and she instinctively scrambled back. Just as she made it halfway across the bed, he grabbed her by the leg. She screamed as he dragged her back to the bed’s edge.

She struggled against him, crying and writhing as he pinned her wrists above her head-forcing her in place. He ripped her shirt off with his free hand.

She sobbed, turning her face aside, keeping her eyes squeezed shut. She couldn’t bear this-she never let anyone see her like this.

His lucid eyes slowly took in the sight of her body. Her skin tone matching bra the only article of clothing on the upper half of her body. Bruises of varying colors blooming all over her torso—especially along her clavicle, sternum and abdomen. There were also thin red cuts on her skin-some longer than others, some scabbed over and others still bubbling with caked blood.

He released her wrists, standing over her in pure, unadulterated silence. He stared as she instinctively turned to her side, curling in on herself as she sobbed-unintentionally revealing her back. It was in worse condition than her front, with a few larger cuts marking her shoulder blades and spine. Most were already scabbing. A bruise faintly resembling the shape of a hand on her upper arm.

“He cut you.” his voice was flat, purely factual.

She shook her head, her voice cracking, “N-no, I fell on broken glass.”

“Don’t lie.” he snapped.

“I’m not!” she shouted through tears, partially sitting up, “He kept kicking me so I fucking fell on the pieces of the mirror. H-he dragged me t-through it s-so-“ 

Her voice cracked and she curled in on herself once more—trembling.

“He.. dragged you?” he repeated, voice hollow.

“He threw so many things..” she murmured to herself, a bit zoned out,  “I don’t know how he’s gonna clean it all up.”

His eyes widened. Suddenly she sat up, “He remembered you, y’know. He asked me who the white haired boy was.”

He stared down at her-appearing to consider that, “Is that right?”

She glanced aside-deep in thought, “Yes. He remembered you.. hurt him that night. I-I don’t know how.” her voice ended as a whisper.

“So he knows of me then..” he nodded a few times, “That’s good.”

He sauntered backwards a couple steps, “I should pay him a visit.” His tone was oddly light.

Her eyes snapped up, refocusing on him, “What?”

He glanced down at his rolled up sleeves, eyeing the Patek on his wrist, “It’s not too late now, is it? He should be up.” he mused.

She rose from her seat on the bed, “W-what are you talking about?” her voice slightly raspy.

He lowered his arm, shrugging, “It’s about time we officially met, no? I’ve been wanting to introduce myself for a while..”

His eyes raked over her body once more before he tugged at his tie-easily loosening it as he turned around, “There’s a lot I want to ask him.”

Her eyes widened. His tone was too light. His attitude too airy. Something wasn’t right.

She closed the distance between them-nearly tripping as she ran on wobbly legs to stand in front of him, “What are you saying?!” her voice panicked, “You can’t see him-You can’t-He’s n-not okay. I didn’t tell you so-“

“Relax, Ara,” his voice was silkier than honey as he touched the side of her face, “I just wanna talk, that’s all.”

She gripped his shirt, staring up at him through tear-filled eyes as she spoke, “No, you don’t. You don’t!”

She searched his face wildly, heart beating erratically in her chest as she whispered, “You’re angry.”

He stared down at her for a long moment before a fervid smile slowly blooms across his lips, “You got me all figured out, don’t you?”

He tilts his head, his hands slipping around her loose fists at his shirt. He tugs her wrists-forcing her close-close enough that his lips brush hers with every word he spoke.

“No one touches what’s mine, remember? No one.”

He yanks her wrists off him-with enough force to make her stumble backwards. She gasped out, clutching the armrest of a nearby loveseat to keep from falling. She quickly glanced up to see him stalk towards the door.

“No!” she ran towards him, attempting to grab the back of his shirt, “Toru! Toru-please!”

He easily side-stepped her.

She lunged, clutching onto him with all her might. Her arms locked around his waist as she buried her face in his back.

“Stop, toru! Stop–STOP!” she cried out, he could feel her body trembling with the force of her cries, “It doesn’t matter! It doesn’t fucking matter–I hate him!”

He froze. If there was one thing about Ara, she never-ever-spoke badly about her dad. Even if he brought up an obvious disparity, it didn’t matter. She would easily shoot him down with a cold look or say ‘don’t talk about him’ with such a severe edge that even he decided it wasn’t worth the argument.

Her arms tightened around him as she whispered off, “I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him–” her voice cracked.

Suddenly her arms disappeared from his waist and he immediately turned around. Her back was to him, her hands running rampantly through her hair as she sobbed, “I HATE HIM–I HATE HIMMM!”

The pain in her voice, the frustration echoed throughout the walls and seemed to rack through her own body as she visibly shook.

He reached for her, “Ara-”

She smacked his hand away, “No!”

He reached for her again, voice softer, “Ara—”

“NO!” she screamed before scurrying away from him, “You don’t get it—you don’t get it!”

She shook her head, another sob leaving her lips before she raked her hands through her hair once more, “I did everything for him-everything! I did everything for my family but guess what? GUESS WHAT?”

She went on, “No one gives a shit! My dad doesn’t give a shit. My mom doesn't give a shit. And n-now I don’t give a shit. I’m done. I’m done!”

But she was lying. Her watery eyes, trembling lips, wobbly knees. Every part of her was hurting.

She dropped to her knees and he immediately went to her. He lowered himself before her but before he could get a word out, she shoved him back—barely making him budge.

She yelled, “I don’t wanna see him again! I don’t want to-” her voice cracked.

He pulled her close, letting her lean against his chest. His long arms easily enclosing around her back, one hand at the crown of her head, “You don’t have to.” he murmured into her temple before kissing her forehead, “You don’t ever have to.”

A deep sob left her, the kind that made her feel so utterly vulnerable. She’d been trying to hold it back, gritting her teeth so tightly to the point that it hurt but it was useless. Useless, when it came to being held in his arms.

She clutched his arms as he sank lower to the floor, letting her fully lean into him-in between his long legs. He gently rubbed her back, trying to quell her trembling as she buried her face into his chest.

Suddenly her head shot up-a lost look to her tear stained eyes, “Y-you can’t see him either! No one can see him-” her voice was so small, so hoarse from all her yelling and crying. Her frail hands tightened around his sleeves, over his biceps, as she shook her head.

“You can’t leave me,” her voice cracked again, “You can’t–”

His eyes widened before he instantly cupped her face, “No, kitten, no, no, no,” his voice oh so gentle as he planted sweet deft little kisses all over her face as she cried, “I’m not leaving you, I’m never leaving you.”

“You promise?”

How could I ever deny you?

“I promise.”

Her shoulders sagged before she curled into his chest once more. He wrapped his arms around her again-one hand at her lower back and the other in between her small shoulder blades. One long leg semi raised beside her while the other was bent at the knee, outstretched on the floor. His fingers raked through her hair as he rested his chin atop her head.

He patiently listened to the pace of her uneven breaths as she cried, listened to the way her breathing gradually staggered less and less and grew into something more slow, more shallow. 

“Why is it always you..” she suddenly asked. her voice low, a subtle scratchiness to it before she repeated herself, slightly stronger, “Why’s it always you?”

She pulled back from him slightly and he loosened his arms to give her some room. He glanced down to find her staring-somewhat zoned out-at his chest.

“Why are you always there-“ for me, her voice cracked, “..why do you always know what to do… what to say… to make me feel better… why.. why? why!” she didn’t know when she started to hit him but she was. Her tiny fists connected with his chest, blow after blow–continuously yelling ‘why!’ as she did so.

His lips were moving, probably saying her name but she didn’t hear it–not until her arms were pinned to the floor and he was over her.

“Ara!” his voice wasn’t angry at all, maybe a bit admonishing but even then he didn’t appear offended. She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to be.

His bright blue eyes stayed on her for a lingering moment. He was slightly out of breath, she felt it against her skin as puffs of air traveled down her neck. She watched his eyes slowly look her up and down-as if just now realizing their proximity. His hands unconsciously tightened around her wrists.

She quickly turned her face into her elbows, “No–”

Suddenly he yanked her wrists higher, forcing her arms to straighten. No where for her to hide now.

Her eyes widened as he leaned closer, his face merely millimeters away, “I make you feel good..” his eyes trailed up and down her face once more, “cuz your mine, Ara, your mine.”

Her mouth parted a hair's breadth and suddenly his lips were on her. In that all consuming manner that she’d nearly forgotten–no, more like tried to forget. Every part of her lit up in that heedy addictive way that only he knew how to ignite. His tongue sweeped her mouth as he tilted his head, needing to taste all of her. A broken whimper left her lips as he kissed her like a madman, an addict who hadn’t gotten its fix in too long.

His jaw opened up as he pulled back for a millisecond only to attack her mouth again. Her lips were merely his to use with how demanding he was being. It was like he was trying to prove his words to her, by branding her lips with his own. She could feel the desperation of his obsession thrumming through him, through the force of his hands on her wrists, through the pressure of his lips on hers.

When he finally pulled away, his vivid eyes were hazy with lust–his hair infinitely more disordered than usual.

Her elbows shook as she attempted to move her hands underneath his grip, “Toru.. let me touch you.”

He froze-as if in shock-before instantly letting her wrists go. She placed her hands on his chest, pushing him aside so that he laid on his back, on his elbows. She climbed atop him, planting her ass on his abs–inches away from where she knew he’d prefer her to be. He stared at her with wide eyes as her hands slid up his chest to either side of his neck.

She took her time lowering her face above his.. before kissing him. Her kiss was slow, light and teasing at first. Her lips pressing his sweetly before nipping at his lower lip-a trick she’d learned from him. She felt his breath hitch–and reacted a millisecond before he could. Her tongue slipped past his lips and intertwined with his. She gripped his jaw-controlling the pace as she turned the kiss into something molten hot and sensual to a degree that made him dizzy.

So much so, he nearly lost strength in his elbows and fell back but she broke the kiss. He leaned up slightly-chasing her lips-but she pushed his shoulders, making him fall back.

He groaned.

She smiled slightly. He never wanted their kisses to end.

Her palms rested over his pecs as she stared down at him. She mumbled something, her voice entirely too faint to hear.

His head immediately snapped up. His big blue eyes blown wide, “What?”

She squinted, “I’m not saying it again.”

A seductive grin split across his lips as he sat up, she slid into his lap in the process.

“You missed me?” His forehead pressed into hers as his eyes sparkled with satisfaction, “I knew it.”

“Your hearing things.”

His hand slipped into her hair, around her nape and suddenly they were kissing again. His lips insistent at first before growing more gentle, more probing.

He pulled away, his nose nudging hers, “You're staying here.”

He hadn’t asked but she heard the undercurrent of question in his tone.

She nodded.

His fingers around her nape tightened slightly, “Not just tonight right?”

He already asked her this but she hesitated anyway, “I’m here now, aren’t I?”

A slight laugh left him as he recalled the countless times she vehemently denied him from bringing her here whenever he offered, “Right.”

He watched her glance away, unsurely, “I’ll stay here as long you let me.”

Something within him swelled so strongly he nearly crushed her in his arms then and there, but instead he snaked his arms slowly around her shoulders, drawing her as close as possible.

She felt his smirk against her lips, “I’ll keep you here forever then.”

She awoke to the sweet smell of waffles and maple syrup. She jolted upright on the bed, only to immediately crumple in on herself at the pain that consumed her. It looked like all the pain-numbing salves the nurse applied last night could only deter so much.

She gasped slightly, hand over her stomach as she writhed.

“Ma’am-Ma’am, are you okay?”

Her eyes shot open to see she was in an extravagant, sunlight lit room-Gojo’s room. Last night had been real then.. not just a bad nightmare…

She pulled the covers up when she saw an elderly woman in a monochrome outfit standing at her bedside. A cart filled with several trays of breakfast food behind her.

She blinked, completely at a loss for words.

“Should I call the doctor?” The woman inquired-despite her monotone voice and wary gaze she seemed genuinely concerned.

“N-no,” she croaked before clearing her throat. She slowly straightened to a sitting position, “.. Who are you?”

“I’m Marin.”

Ara gave her a once-over and belatedly realized that her outfit could surpass as a maid uniform. She supposed her all black attire was a requirement, similar to Ijichi-who always wore black head to toe. The only color being that tiny blue emblem at the chest pocket—the Gojo family sigil.

Ara swallowed, “Where’s Satoru?”

“He wanted me to inform you that he had a family matter to attend to. He won’t be long. He’d like for you to eat breakfast without him.”

“He didn’t go to school?” she questioned.

She shook her head, “No, ma’am.”

Her brows furrowed as she glanced at the several trays on the cart beside her. There was too much-food-drinks-fruits-it was completely excessive.

“He doesn’t.. expect me to eat all of that, does he?”

Marin paused, “I’m sure he’d want you to eat as much as you like.”

She stared at the cart in wonder. The entire contents of the cart was enough to feed a family of ten-maybe even fifteen.

Marin followed her gaze to the cart and clasped her hands together in front of herself. “Please let me know if you need anything else.”

“Erm-“ Ara stammered, “I’m good. Thank you.”

She slightly bowed her head and exited the room.

She felt the sheets shift slightly and immediately opened her eyes. Gojo sat on the edge of the bed, beside her.

He looked absolutely breathtaking. The sunlight streaming through the open windows lit the edges of his white hair, casting an angel-like glow to one side of his face. His blue eyes glittered as he smiled.

He tousled her hair, “Wakey, wakey.”

His touch drew out of her daze. She quickly shoved her face back under the sheets, groaning. She heard him laugh.

He tugged the blanket lower-revealing her face again. “Araa, you barely ate y’know.”

“I ate enough.” she muttered, “Who eats that much in the morning?”

“Me.” he said, rather upbeat.

She narrowed her eyes before freezing when he leaned close. She turned away a millisecond before his lips touched hers.

“I-I didn’t brush my tee—“

His hand found her throat, rendering her frozen when he pressed a sweet yet passionate kiss to her lips.

He withdrew, a satisfied smile on his lips, “You know I don’t care about that stuff, kitten.”

His blue eyes looked her up and down slowly. In the midst of his silent perusal she asked, rather quietly- “Did something happen with your family?”

His eyes widened before he smiled again, “Ah, right-you met Marin. What’d you think of her? She was so curious about you.”

Ara blinked, “.. she was?”

His smile turned impish, “I don’t usually have girls running into my arms and crying on my doorstep-despite what you may think.”

She buried her face into the sheets once more, “Shut up.”

“You were so cute y’know-”

She squeezed the sheets tighter, “Stop talking!”

He chuckled, tugging her blanket down again. He leaned towards her, “Make sure to call her if you need anything when I’m not here, ‘kay? She knows where everything is. She’s been with my family for 50 years.”

Her eyes shot open, “50 years?!”

He smirked at her shock, “Mhmm..”

He cupped the side of her face, his thumb playing with her bottom lip, “You’re gonna be with me for much longer..” he grinned.

She smacked his hand away. “Go away.” she mumbled before pulling the sheets up once more.

He laid down atop her, tickling her through the blanket. She gasped before laughing uncontrollably. She twisted underneath him-making a mess of the sheets as she did so.

His grin widened, “Never.”

“Toru-toru! Wait, wait. It hurts.” she whined through laughs.

He paused, immediately tugging the blanket down to see her flushed face. He watched her gather her breath, “Sorry.” he replied.

He waited a moment before resting his head on her chest, continuing to stare at her. He absentmindedly twirled a strand of her hair until her breath returned to normal.

“Are you gonna lay in bed all day?”

She turned her face aside, not meeting his gaze, “.. Is it bad if I do?”

He stared at her-his blue eyes searching her face for a moment, “Course not.”

She glanced down at him, holding his gaze for a few seconds before her face heated up. She didn’t know how he managed to look so innocent sometimes-despite being the most chaotic individual she knew. Maybe it was those big baby blue eyes. They ought to swallow her up whole at this point.

She placed her hand over his eyes, “You should’ve went to school.” she muttered.

He shook his head to move her hand away, “And leave you here all by yourself? After I just got you back? Hell no.”

“Satoru-”

He nuzzled his face between her collarbones-making her squirm from ticklishness, “I wanna stay with you.” he whined.

“Okay, okay.” She huffed, turning her face aside to cover her eyes with her arms. She didn’t want him to see the effect his words had on her.

A moment of silence ensued until she felt him kiss her cleavage, somewhere along the soft skin that treaded above her breasts. She shivered, shifting slightly, “Toru..”

She was grateful he hadn’t tried to touch her again after everything that occurred last night. She wasn’t sure if her wounds would stop him when he kept kissing her before bed. She could tell he wanted to go further.. but it seemed he had enough decency to hold back.

She felt his breath whisper down her skin as he hummed, “This doesn’t feel real.. you being here…doesn’t feel real.”

She raised her arms slightly to look down at him laying over her. Her breath caught at the sight. He was looking at her as if.. as if he had everything he wanted.

She gently cupped his jaw, her chest inadvertently rising as she forced herself to breathe. If someone had told her at the start of this semester that Gojo would look at her like this she would’ve told them to go back to the psych ward they were discharged from. And yet, here she was.

Her eyes flitted between his before she swallowed inaudibly. She used her hands on his face to lure him closer, gently pressing her lips to his.

He instantly deepened the kiss-his head pushing her further into the pillow. A subtle sound left her, “mmmh!”

His tongue moved eagerly against hers-unrelenting. She slipped her fingers through his hair, swiftly kissing him back with just as much strength.

He immediately tilted his head, intensifying their lip lock-until she began to run her fingers through his hair, somewhat coaxingly. Her lips moved softly over his-kissing him sweetly before using her hands in his hair to gently pull him back.

Their shallow breaths filled the minimal air between them. She ran her hand over his smooth cheekbone as she spoke quietly-through uneven breaths, “What if I’m not real..”

He exhaled in faint humor, his gaze flitting between her lips and eyes, “Yeah?”

A subtle smile bloomed on her lips, “I’m just a figment of your imagination..” she teased.

He nuzzled her nose with his own, his typical smirk on his lips. “Nah.”

“You’re dreaming.” she continued.

His smirk widened, “We do different stuff in my dreams.”

Her eyes widened before she shoved his face away. His bright laughter filling the room.

“I really don’t wanna go..”

“Should we both skip?”

“No.” She glanced up at him, “You should go to class.”

Gojo blew out a puff from his joint, “Now that’s not fair.” he complained.

“Why’d you park all the way out here?” Another voice pitched in from nearby.

Gojo glanced over from his perch against the car before tossing his unfinished joint in the air and rushing to- “Suguru!” he slipped his arm over the male’s shoulder, greeting him enthusiastically.

Suguru accepted his liveliness with a mere shake of his head. He lightly elbowed Gojo before returning his hands to his pockets, “What’s got you all-oh.”

Suguru’s dark eyes landed on Ara and nodded in greeting, “Glad to see you back.”

Gojo used his free hand to gesture towards her, “You see, Ara here is going through a little..” he paused, as if considering the right word for it, “-social anxiety moment so I parked all the way here for her sake.”

She glared, “What?!”

It was true to some extent. When they pulled up to school in his car, he’d pulled into his unofficial yet ‘official’ parking spot-which was the first one closest to the school. No one else parked there but him-it seemed no one else ‘dared’ to. But Ara wasn’t mentally prepared to step out of his car and have all eyes on her again. She’d gotten comfortable slinking back to her semi-unnoticeable demeanor at school and wasn’t ready to be forced back into the spotlight again.

“It looks like you're tryna’ hide.” Geto muttered, kicking a nearby rock to cover the joint on the ground.

Gojo blinked at Ara, “Am I wrong?”

Ara’s glare intensified, “I asked you to park away from the school entrance, not the furthest spot in the entire lot! Now we look even more sus.”

The boys watched her discreetly peek past the car. She instantly noticed the other students glancing their way-a few even pointing at Gojo’s car-before murmuring amongst themselves. She raised her hands to her head, turning her back to them as she made a noise of frustration.

Geto chuckled under his breath before glancing at Gojo beside him, “You didn’t kidnap her, did you?”

Gojo beamed, “Nope. She came back to me by herself.”

“For real?”

“For real real.”

Ara closed her locker door only to jump when she saw Millie behind it.

Millie stood with her hands on her hips, “You and Gojo are back together?!” 

“Holy shit, Mills,” She glanced around before snapping quietly, “Can you talk lower?”

Millie threw her hands up, “How come you didn’t tell me?”

Ara sighed, readjusting her tote bag over her shoulder before turning to walk down the hallway. Millie walked in stride beside her.

“I’m living with him now.” Ara mumbled.

Millie’s eyes nearly popped out of her head, “What?! No way.”

Ara kept her eyes low, “Yeah.”

“How?” Millie asked.

Ara’s eyes shot to her, “I told you. My dad kicked me out.”

Millie stared at her before stammering out, “Wait so.. your Dad was legit about that?”

Ara raked a hand through her lengthy hair, barely keeping the annoyance from her tone as she responded lowly, “Yes.”

Millie pried, “He hasn’t contacted you since then?”

Ara stopped walking, not looking Millie in the eye as she nodded.

Millie merely stared at Ara in shock-while she fidgeted uneasily under her gaze. Millie knew how Ara was, there was no way she was comfortable living without her Dad.

Millie asked, “What are you gonna do?”

Ara shrugged.

“Are you really not gonna call him?”

Something flashed through Ara’s eyes before her poker face returned. She merely shrugged again-still avoiding eye contact.

Millie’s brows furrowed. This behavior was completely unlike the Ara she knew.

Millie belatedly added, “Also.. I thought you never wanted to get back with Gojo? You seemed so sure..”

Ara winced, “Um..”

“Ara!”

The girls both turned around to see Gojo waving his hands wildly from the other end of the hall. A bright, boyish smile on his face.

Millie glanced back at Ara to see her gnawing at her bottom lip. She finally met her gaze, her voice low, “Gotta go. See you.”

Ara quickly walked past her.

Millie watched Ara walk up to him-completely unaware of the students moving aside to make room for her. She watched a cute yet shy smile bloom on the girl’s face the second Gojo engulfed her in his arms. Light laughter coming from her as he squeezed her obnoxiously.

Millie couldn’t believe her eyes. Ara wasn’t the type to enjoy PDA. Even when her and Gojo dated before, she never accepted his PDA without her typical grumpiness or scolding. This was.. different.

Gojo lowered his face to kiss her and she welcomed it-a small, pretty smile on her lips when he withdrew. He automatically returned her smile with a cheeky one of his own.

Wow. She really is different. Millie concluded before staring at them a little longer. Something about them was just so intriguing to watch.. 

Ara looked so small compared to him-especially with the way she had to turn her face up to look at him. Even her hand on his chest looked small. Maybe it was the height difference-maybe it was their clashing personalities-she couldn’t pinpoint it.

I guess I’d cave too if I had the chance. Millie giggled to herself before glancing down at her phone to check the time.

Shit. She only had two minutes to get to her class. Just as she turned to head in the direction of her next class, she froze.

She slowly turned around to see she was standing directly beside the door. Ara must’ve stopped walking here on purpose.

She smiled, glancing over to check where she’d last seen her-only to find that she was gone, as well as Gojo.

She sighed. Ara was always the considerate type-once you got to know her anyway.

At least, that hasn’t changed.

“What the hell?”

“What is it?”

Ara spun around, she hadn’t expected him to be here. He must’ve skipped basketball practice again. This was the third day now-coincidentally the same amount of days since she’d been here, living with him. It seemed he was trying to find every excuse to be home now.

She stared at him leaning against the entrance of their shared closet. Half of the closet had been cleared out and replaced with feminine clothes, accessories, shoes-you name it. It was completely excessive.

She blinked before pointing at the countertop where her duffel bag had been, “Where’s my bag?”

“I dumped it.”

“What?!” she snapped, her voice sharper than a blade.

He held his hands up, laughing airily as he sauntered towards her, “Heh-heh! Just kidding—kidding!” (a/n: he wasn’t kidding, he’s about to make Marin go dumpster diving)

He grasped her shoulders before spinning her around to face the various rows of high-end, maybe even fresh off the runway items.

“Your clothes were dirty so I put ‘em in the wash. You can use all this now ‘kay? I ordered a lot cuz I didn’t know what you’d want—a stylist helped me but we can always do more shopping if you don’t like it.”

She stared at ‘her’ side of the closet in shell-shocked silence. Everything about it was just… unfathomable. A stylist? Did he seriously go to a stylist?

She unconsciously gravitated towards a floor length dress on a hanger. It was undoubtedly stunning. It might’ve looked plain and simple to some but it was quite literally everything to her. A pure white silk dress that looked almost perfectly tailored to her frame. It had the most unique ruching around the chest area and was backless.

She moved the dress aside to look at the other dresses behind it and nearly gaped. A blue thin strap, beautifully detailed, high-low style dress lay before her eyes. It was somewhat early 2000s inspired as well, clearly haute couture. The following dresses-a nearly sheer purple dress, a more modern-esque black dress, an elegant silky light pastel yellow dress-weren't any less impressive.

She found herself touching the angelically soft material of the pastel yellow dress, “This is insane.” she murmured.

The corner of his lip curled upwards.

She immediately withdrew her hand, facing him, “Where the hell would I wear this.”

He shrugged, “Galas, soirées, red carpets, any black tie event.”

She stared at him like he’d grown three heads before remembering he was somewhat known in the media for his father's name—and basketball, annoyingly enough. She was sure his last name contributed to that as well since his family was listed yearly on Forbes richest families, aka billion dollar dynasties. The media would never leave those families alone.

She fixed him with a glare, “I’m not going to any of that.”

He whined, “You have tooo. I need a plus one.“

“No-“ she cut herself off when she saw the classic Louboutin’s amongst the several women’s shoes arranged on the built in shelves, “Red bottoms, seriously?”

His grin reappeared, “They’re hot.”

She rubbed her temple, “Baby, y’know I can barely walk in kitten heels.”

His eyes widened momentarily before his arms slipped around her-drawing her small back against his chest. It was hard to focus on her little complaints when she oh-so-rarely called him pet names.

He kissed the spot of her temple she’d been rubbing moments ago, “You can practice in them?” he suggested lightly.

He kissed her cheekbone while winding his arms a bit tighter around her waist, “M’sorry, kitten. I know I got carried away. I jus got excited cuz you look so sexy in everything-“

He kissed her neck, “-had to spoil you..”

She flushed deeper, “Satoru..”

Her breath scattered all over the place when he continued to kiss and nip her neck.

She pushed at his arms around her, “Toru—Toru, wait, I need pajamas.”

His head suddenly shot up, “Pajamas? Hehe—I got you.”

Her brows furrowed when he quickly released her and began to open several drawers, efficiently searching for whatever he was looking for. He usually never let go of her that easily—or eagerly, at that. It made her nervous.

“Aha~” he grinned brightly, holding up something that she couldn’t see until he tossed it to her. She instinctively caught it as he said, “Wear this.”

She didn’t miss the glint of mischievousness in his eyes before she caught it. She held open the nightgown. She immediately bunched it up-a bright flush on her face.

“I’m not wearing this.“

“Pleaseeeee, don’t be mean.” He was suddenly behind her again. His arms slipping around her waist as he buried his face into her neck, “I got it for you.”

She squirmed slightly, “Toru-“

“Try it, just try it. You can take it off later if you hate it that much but I wanna see it on you.”

She pushed at his arms around her waist, “Let go-“

He dug his face into the crook of her neck once more, “No.” he whined, squeezing her in his arms, “No. no. no-not til you tell me you're gonna try it.

She pushed at his arms again, “Let go, you fool.”

He began to tickle her and she shrieked before laughing. “Oh- my god! Stop! Stop!”

He kept tickling her and she doubled over in laughter. He grinned boyishly as she tried to push his arms.

“Stop what?”

“Toru!” she yelled before shaking her head, “Okay! Okay! I will-let go,”

He didn’t stop. “Promise?”

“Promise-!” she squeaked through giggles.

He instantly let go, a bright smile on his face, “Really?!”

She immediately shoved him, “Fuck you!”

He was laughing now, “You promised~”

She stepped out of the closet, covering the top half of the thin nightgown with her arms. The material was incredibly soft, in fact she might’ve liked it if it wasn’t… the way it was. The straps were awfully thin, it ended a little higher than mid-thigh—in fact she wasn’t sure if it even fully covered her ass—and the chest area of the nightgown was see-through.

“Satoru,” she called out-a bit hesitant, “I’m not wearing this. I’m taking it off, okay?”

When she didn’t hear a response, she walked further into the bedroom, “Okay?”

She’d kicked him out of the closet to change-despite him wanting to stay-but she hadn’t expected him to leave the room. She supposed that saved her the trouble.

Just as she speedily turned around to zip back into the closet and steal one his shirts, an arm slipped around her and she yelped.

“Woa, woa–where you runnin’ off to..”

She tensed when she was pulled flat against his chest. Her back against him as he slowly slid his hands down her sides. He sighed-in a way that was anything but regretful.

“You look so cute, Ara.”

He gently kissed her below the ear and she shifted slightly, turning her face into her opposite shoulder. She wrapped her arms tighter around her chest. 

“Can I take it off now? You saw it..”

“Hold on, hold on,” he whined a bit before pausing, “But I didn’t see all of it, did I?”

She blinked, “What?”

He moved his arms over her own wrapped around her chest. “You’re hiding something, aren’t you?” he teased-though there was an undecipherable undercurrent to his tone.

She swallowed, too dumbstruck to respond when he grasped her hands and slowly led them down to her sides–unveiling her ample chest, barely contained within the lace bust.

He inhaled sharply through his nose.

She closed her eyes, unable to bear the weight of his gaze. She felt his gaze from above her shoulder-in fact, she felt it all over. From the strands of her hair pressed against his chest to the goosebumps rising along the skin his eyes pierced. She couldn’t bear it–and his silence only made it more unnerving.

He squeezed her hips, making her jolt.

“Does that hurt?” he asked, a bit quietly.

She swallowed, “N-no.”

His hands slid higher up her sides, into the dip of her waist. He squeezed lightly, “What about here?” he murmured.

She was so tense, she wondered if he sensed it, “No.”

His hands slid higher, his fingers fitting right underneath her plushy underboobs as he gently squeezed her over her ribs.

“And here?” he asked, not a trace of emotion in his low voice.

A sprinkle of pain spread from his hold but it was rather faint. It seemed the wounds her father had given her had healed some. The nurse’s ointments were more effective than she thought.

“A little.” she murmured.

Suddenly he pressed his face into the side of hers.

The sound of his low groan was muffled by her hair as he fisted her nightgown needily. Her nightgown bunching up between his fingers.

“Okay,” he breathed out, his nose grazing her temple as he withdrew-his voice ragged, “That’s okay..”

Her heart thumped rapidly in her chest. She didn’t understand what he was on about.

“I can work with that.” he murmured.

Suddenly he tugged down her straps, “Let’s take this off-“

She didn’t get the chance to react when she was getting walked to his bed-his firm frame walking behind her forcing her to stumble ahead. She held onto the front of her nightgown to keep it from falling.

“Wait-“ she tried to fast walk ahead but couldn’t when she was suddenly grabbed by the hips. She yelled when she was held up and tossed onto the bed. She landed face down in the sheets with her hips in the air.

He hastily unbuckled himself-the sound of his belt hitting the floor and zipper quickly followed. 

She attempted to turn around only for him to steady her hips and flip her nightgown up. He caressed the soft skin of her hips, groaning under his breath, “Fuck, jus’ looking at you..”

She twisted partially to look at him, her movement rather restricted due to his grasp. Fear bloomed in her gut at the hunger in his eyes. She instinctively reached towards him, “Toru, wait-Toru–”

He grabbed her forearm, pinning it to her lower back, “What is it, kitten?”

She winced at the uncomfortable angle he held her arm at, “I’m not ready, Toru-please, I’m not ready.” she pleaded futilely, “My body hurts..”

He bent over her, pressing short needy kisses along her jaw and temple as he rasped, “You said only a little..”

She felt his cock ghost along her inner thigh. He was hard-hard enough that she had to look.

She glanced underneath her partially twisted body to see his rigid cock between her raised hips. His cockhead a prominent shade of pink, as if it was swollen for attention. She couldn’t ignore the veins popping out against his pale length. Her eyes widened as his angry cockhead twitched and touched her belly, a clearish white substance dribbling out the tip.

She buried her face into the sheets, holding back a sob.

“Ara..” his voice was ragged-speaking into her temple, “I miss you, Ara. I wanna be in you..”

She felt his tip graze her pussylips and jolted.

“Toru-toru! Be gentle, be gentle-please.” she begged.

Her begging made him want to do anything but. He straightened to hold his cock at her entrance. He released her restrained arm to keep a hand on her ass.

He pushed his cockhead through her narrow hole, groaning through his teeth, “Fuck, Ara..”

He’d only gotten an inch past the tip in and her cunt was already acting like she couldn’t take it. Her pussy was too damn tight. He would’ve burst right there if he hadn’t gotten himself off that morning-well, every morning since she’d moved in. Sometimes it’d be multiple times a day. It was the only way he kept his hands off of her for this long.

He gripped the rest of his length, trying to push himself deeper—she yelled out, gripping the sheets, “Toru-Toru! Please-nngh—“

He pulled out slightly, only leaving the tip in. Her cunt was so tight it wasn’t letting him leave.

Fuckin’ hell. He glanced down at the sight of his cock stuck in her pussy—only a fourth or so in. The rest of his veiny length waiting to be fully drenched. He was desperate-delirious-addicted.

He squeezed her ass cheeks, hard, “Been two months and you forgot me already, hmm? Do I need to reshape you all over again?”

She gasped, “N-no, please, be gentle with me, please..”

“Sh, sh, sh..” he pressed his hand into her nape, pushing her down, “S’okay…”

He spoke into her temple, “Just listen to me and you’ll be okay, kitten. I promise.”

She cried silently into the sheets.

His hand slid down her nape, along her spine. He gently pressed the middle of her back, “Bend more here.”

He watched her back arch further-her nightgown dropping low to reveal her waist. He just wanted to hold that pretty little waist and fuck her senseless.. but that would have to wait.

He caressed her hips, his tip still lodged in her cunt. His eyes flitted closed as his cockhead nudged her walls, “Raise your hips a bit.”

She complied, her thighs trembling oh so bad as she did so. God, she’s so cute.

He lowered his hands, letting his palms run over her soft ass before his thumbs touched her pussylips right where it suctioned his cockhead. She jolted, whimpering.

“Loosen up here.” he ordered, raspily.

“I-I can’t!” she cried out, face buried in the sheets-hidden from him.

“You didn’t even try, kitten.” he teased.

She merely whimpered in response.

He bent over her once more, pressing his hands to the sheets beside her head while pushing his hips into her slightly.

“You won’t like it if I do it.”

A low, weak whiny sound left her before she wriggled her hips slightly. He watched eagerly as she spread her knees, angling her hips up high around his cock, only to tremble when she tried to lower herself over him.

He groaned, her cunt walls sucking him in so fucking tight. He grabbed her hips, his long fingers leaving marks on her soft skin as he attempted to work with her and slowly push himself in.

I missed this… so much—so fuckin’ much.

Her pussy walls were wrapping around him just right. The rigidness of her cunt gradually giving way the further he seated himself.

Her mewls and whines didn’t stop-only getting louder the deeper he sank into her cunt. His cock was half-way in when he lost it. His fingers dug into her waist-forcing her still-before savagely thrusting his cock all the way through.

“Toru!” she shrieked, “Toru-toru!—fuck!”

His forehead dropped to her nape as he groaned. His grip on her waist unforgiving as he delivered short desperate thrusts to her cunt. Lewd sounds echoing throughout his room.

“-m’sorry, Ara-m’sorry, I can’t—I can’t stop.” he rushed out, completely lost in the feeling of her.

“nnngh-torunnh-ngh! unh-unh-toru!”

His speed picked up. The lewd sound of their sex louder now that her pussy had grown slippery within.

“Missed you s’much-so fuckin’ much—“ he half groaned, half-growled into her ear. His grip on her waist relentless as he pounded into her.

“Never gonna let this pussy forget me again.”

She moaned when his cock reached a spot too deep. She couldn’t take it. He promised he would be gentle and yet here she was. She should’ve known.

His cock twitched and her eyes widened. Oh no.

“Satoru!” she cried, “not inside, not inside-please-“

Suddenly his hand fisted her hair, forcing her face into the sheets as he bent over her. His voice ragged beside her ear, “Let me, Ara, let me-I deserve it.”

“T-toru-nnghf-f-fuck-uungh.”

He didn’t slow down, “Be good to me and take it-all of it.”

“Toru-uh!-ngh! ohhh.” she moaned through tears.

His cock throbbed within her slick cunt. His tip pulsating against her cervix before spurting within her. She felt his warm cum fill her cunt up—it’d been too long since he’d had her bareback.

His mouth was half-open, his eyes squeezed shut as he buried his face into her neck. His hands clasping the back of hers as he groaned.

She felt so fucking good he couldn’t stop. The tip of his cock twitched as it spilt load after load within her. 

He needed her—he needed this.

He squeezed her tits while looking down at her. Her tits bouncing hypnotically with each rough fuck.

His free hand fisted the sheets beside her head, her hair splayed out all over his fingers. The heels of her feet knocking into his lower back as she lay spread open between his knees. Her smooth legs supported by his firm thighs. Her body trembled-addictingly-with each deep rut of his cock. Her eyelids sewn shut as she bit into her lower lip.

He let go of her right breast to grasp her jaw. His thumb swiftly tugging her bottom lip free from her teeth.

“Don’t quiet yourself. It’s just me.”

She merely reddened.

His cock pistoned into her harder—forcing her to cry out.

“Toru-uh-ungh!-hnn-” Broken moans left her.

He bent over her, his hand finding her tits once more. He squeezed greedily before palming her perky nipple. She was breathless—and so helpless to his advances he couldn’t help but fuck her harder. It didn’t help that her tiny pussy walls seemed to gobble him in.

“Be as loud as you want.” he urged-wanting to hear it all. She would always have to keep quiet at her father’s house.

She held onto his forearm as her body jerked.

“unngh-satoru!-p-please-nngh!!”

Her cunt tightened around him. She was close.

He saw it in her face-her trembling lips, her strained expression. She always tried to hide her pretty face when she came, as if she were doing something wrong. It was truly adorable, but she couldn’t hide from him now.

Nor did they have to hide from anyone else.

His lips ghosted her neck as her entire body arched, “This is our home now.”

His cock slipped out of her with a lewd sound. A low sigh left her lips as she plopped onto the sheets. Her breasts pressing into the bed uncomfortably but she was too tired to care.

She felt something warm and thick slowly slip out of her cunt, traveling down her thighs. She couldn’t even think straight.

Suddenly she felt his cockhead touch her leaking cunt again-she jolted, “T-toru!”

But he was already back inside her, buried half-way to the hilt. She was so gummy inside that there was no resistance. He nuzzled her cheekbone, strands of his light hair sticking to her skin. “One more time. One more,” he urged.

She whined through strangled gasps as she felt him push his cock deeper, shoving his spilled cum back in.

“Hhnngh, toru..” She shook her head, her voice cracking, “Y-you said that last time.”

He thrust his hips into her and she cried out-quickly fisting the sheets once more.

She lay in bed, facing him. The moonlight streaming through the thin curtains the only light in the dark room.

Her short uneven breaths loud in the silence.

The air felt thick from their nonstop activities. The scent of sex stuck to the sheets. Her breath still hadn’t recovered-neither had her heartbeat.

His blue eyes glimmered in the dark-not one emotion on his face as he stared at her. He appeared completely composed, a calm aura radiating from him. As if completely satisfied.

He looked agitatedly beautiful. His pale face flushed as he lay his head atop his lean bicep. Strands of his white hair pointed every which way from their sex. She couldn’t count how many times she’d sifted her fingers through his hair to draw him near or away whenever she came.

Light pink nail marks decorated his tautly muscular chest. There were a few along his bulging shoulders as well. She hadn’t realized she marked him that much.  She didn’t even want to think about the marks he left on her.

His hand ran up and down her side reassuringly, lightly squeezing her over her ribs.

He scooched closer, “Breathe, Ara..”

He kissed her forehead, “You’re perfect yanno.. perfect.” A low, slightly rugged edge to his voice.

She closed her eyes when he began to lightly thumb the sensitive skin of her under boob. He always liked to touch her there.

She instinctively held onto his arm, stopping the subtle movement. Her eyes flickering open to find his eyes still on her.

The silent stream of fear coursing through her couldn’t be withheld as she shivered. Her hand wavered over his elbow; her gaze dropped to his arm to reel herself in. She needed to focus on something that wasn’t his eyes.

Her eyes followed the bright green veins protruding against his triceps, down his forearm-like little pathways along his skin. She didn’t notice her hand following her gaze, her fingertips lightly tracing his dark veins.

When her fingers made it up to his wrist, she took his hand-gently lifting it off of her. She intertwined her fingers with his before placing their connected hands beside her cheek, using it as a makeshift pillow for the lower half of her face.

She glanced up at him-finally confident enough too-and immediately flushed at his expression. His light, clear-ish blue eyes were looking at her as if she was the only thing in the universe.

She glanced away from him again, inadvertently squeezing his hand as she did so.

“Toru..” she whispered.

“Hm?”

Her eyes flickered back to his, “What would you do if I didn’t come back?”

She felt his hand subtly twitch in hers before a short silence ensued. It was hard to make out his expression in the dark. They’d fucked all evening since they got back from school so no one had gotten the chance to turn on any lights-in his room anyway.

Suddenly his hand in hers yanked her close. His lips caught hers mid-gasp. The kiss was needy—desperate—and unrestrained. His tongue lashing against hers as he winded his arm around her lower back, keeping her close as she twisted slightly. Her hands on his chest the only thing keeping some distance between their bodies.

He drew his face back, a small grin on his lips as their noses grazed each other.

His arm subtly tightened around her back, “I had a few ideas…”

His eyes shimmered as he searched her face, “You’d hate me if I told you.”

Her breath hitched. She didn’t doubt his words.

Her tone was flat, “You don’t think I hate you already?”

His white teeth were visible in the dark. She hated how attractive his smile was.

He leaned closer, his forehead nudging hers, “Nahh..”

His hand on her lower back traveled down to her ass, squeezing her with enough strength to make her yelp.

He watched her cry out with a grin before whispering into her ear, “You moan like you love me.”

Her face instantly went hot. She pushed his hand away from her ass and quickly turned around to face the other side of the bed—only to be stopped by a firm hand on her hip.

“Where are you goin’ Araa?” A bit of laughter intertwined in his tone.

She didn’t have time to answer because suddenly she was pushed to her back and her hands were pinned to the bed.

He squeezed her wrists before moving her arms so that only one of his hands was necessary to keep her down. His one hand was large enough to curl his fingers around both of her wrists.

His blue eyes were fierce in the dark as he leaned above her, nearly panting as he looked her up and down. She suddenly wished that she wasn’t naked.

She turned her face aside, raising her elbows slightly as if they could cover her.

“What are you doing?” she asked shakily.

His head dropped low, making their foreheads touch, “I’m showing you how I woulda had you tied to my bed..”

Her eyes widened as his free hand touched her arm-his knuckles grazing her skin-making her hands buckle slightly. His gaze was distant, yet alert.

He cupped her breast, making a low whimper leave her lips. Her tits were already so marked up and sore from his attention, she wasn’t sure she could handle anymore.

He continued, “If Suguru wasn’t around you would’ve been right here a week in. Tied up, spread open..”

He squeezed her wrists, “I pictured it.”

His voice dropped low as he looked her up and down again, “I had the rope, just no you.”

His forehead against hers pressed her deeper into the sheets, “I missed you so much, Ara.” She couldn’t miss the desperation running rampant in his tone.

He palmed her breasts, needily, “Suguru stopped me from getting you so many times—I hated it. I jus wanted you back.”

Her eyes widened, “H-he knows?” -that you would literally kidnap me?

“He knows I don’t like being abandoned.”

She gasped when his thumb pressed into her nipple, “Toru!” she squealed.

He leaned back to watch her writhe below him. His gaze growing fond as he played with her. He missed those pretty expressions on her face so damn much.

“He kept telling me to leave you alone..” he tilted his head, tips of his white hair tickling her face, “but look at you.”

Her body arched, pressing her chest into his to slide his hand off her breasts. Her nipples were too sensitive, his touch was too much.

“Toru!” she whined, “No more, toru, please.”

He pecked her lips, loving the feel of her bare tits pressed up against him. He let himself lean into her with all his weight, nearly crushing her petite body. His free hand slipped under her thigh, tugging her leg around his waist.

She moaned weakly. If she’d known her question would lead to this..

He pecked her once more, “Suguru said you’d come back if we were meant to be.”

Her eyes widened as he kissed the heart of her throat.

“He was right.” he whispered, before shoving his length through her slick walls. Her pretty whines masking his groan.

He was right.

“Ara Natsuna?” Mrs. Finch called.

“Absent.” Gojo’s voice answered.

Mrs. Finch raised her head from her clipboard to cut a glance towards Ara’s desk—to find it empty. She’d been ready to scold him but it seemed he was being honest-for once.

She merely squinted at him before continuing down the list.

He smiled to himself, completely unaware of the looks coming from the other students glancing his way. He sat propped up on his elbow, hand supporting his head. His posture lax as he absentmindedly spun a pencil in his free hand.

Suddenly the pencil was snatched away, instantly drawing him from his thoughts.

He blinked to find Geto staring quizzically at him-pencil in hand, “What’s with you?”

The corner of his lip curled, “Oh, nothing.”

Ara glanced down at the steamy dish on the ornate plate before her, with several utensils set out on either side of the plate. She hesitantly raised her hand only to freeze when she heard a camera click.

She immediately glanced up to see Gojo lowering his phone, a smirk on his lips, “Shit-“

She reached out, trying to snatch his phone, “What the hell—“

He easily stretched his arm out of her reach, his grin widening, “Aht, aht, this is for me.”

She leaned back in her seat, scowling, “Why?”

She watched him scroll through his phone with a stupidly wide grin, “Because,” he explained lightly, “I don’t have enough pics of you.”

Her brows furrowed as he continued, “I always take pics on your phone cuz I want you to think of me but when you left I realized I didn’t have you on my phone.”

He set his phone down on the table before resting his face on his propped arm. He reached over to flick her chin with his free hand.

“You won’t give me the chance to miss you like that again but I don’t wanna make the same mistake twice.”

A smug smile slipped across his lips before he gestured towards her food, “Eat. You asked the chef for it after all.”

More like he had asked for her since she was still shy with the house staff. She wasn’t used to having people at her beck and call but she also wanted to test if his chef really could cook everything.

It was simple banter with Gojo at first-with him trying to convince her that his chef could truly cook anything-but it ended with her googling an uncommon dish to purposely throw off the chef. Now, they both sat at the lavish long table in one of the several dining rooms with a steaming bowl of Käsespätzle in front of her. And it smelled delicious.

She’d only picked the German dish because she remembered once seeing a microwavable, frozen food tray version of it at the grocery store. She never saw it again so she assumed it was seasonal.

She scooped up a bit with her fork before taking a hesitant bite. She was careful to school her reaction as she chewed—heavily aware of Gojo’s eyes zoned in on her.

“How is it?” he asked.

It seemed the chef had defied her expectations.

She swallowed-doing her best to keep her poker face intact, “It’s… okay.”

His eyes glittered with amusement as he watched her grip over her fork waver and her little tongue deftly swipe her bottom lip to lick up a bit of cheese sauce.

“Oh?” he raised a brow before reaching out to her plate with the bowl atop it, “I’ll take it then-“

She instinctively smacked his hand, “It’s mine.”

He grinned and she immediately flushed-belatedly seeing through him.

She quickly withdrew her hand, crossing her arms, “Nevermind, it’s yours.”

He suddenly grabbed the bottom rim of her chair and tugged her seat close. He shoved aside the several neatly aligned utensils to place her plate before her.

“You’re a bad liar, kitten,” a teasing grin on his lips as he raised a forkful to her lips, “just eat.”

Ara grabbed her lunch tray and turned around. She didn’t meet anyone’s eyes as she walked through the cafeteria to the courtyard entrance.

She used her back to open the courtyard door before stepping outside. The weather was nice enough to make her feel warm through her blazer.

She took a moment to scan the freshly landscaped expanse of green before her eyes landed on the familiar gazebo. She took her time as she made her way towards it. The closer she walked she began to overhear their voices.

“That’s not the answer.” Geto’s voice.

“Yes it is!” Gojo.

“It’s not, where’d you even get that equation from?“

“Ara!!” Gojo exclaimed the second she entered his line of sight. 

He reached for her as she set her tray down beside his. His muscular arms winding around her to bury his face in her sternum, a low whine coming from him.

She placed her hand over his head, absentmindedly raking her fingers through his fluffy white hair as she half-sat, half-stood on the bench attached to the table. 

“What is it?” she muttered as she glanced down at the open notebook and ipad-displaying a textbook page-laying on the table.

She instinctively reached for the notebook just as he raised his head to look up at her from against her chest. She read over his scribbles as he complained.

“Suguru is saying I’m wrong~”

She recognized the problem immediately, it was a physics problem.

“Is this Mr. Langard?” she asked.

“Yes.” “Yep~” Geto and Gojo answered simultaneously. She’d taken his class last semester.

She pointed at an equation in Gojo’s notebook, “That’s wrong.”

Geto immediately pitched in, “Exactly.”

“But that’s what photomath used!”

“Seriously.” Geto grumbled.

“That equation isn’t bad-if you're looking for an estimate,” she leaned over to use her fingers and zoom in on a specific sentence in the online textbook, “You need precise numbers for this question.”

Geto quietly read over the zoomed in text-which confirmed her words. He hadn’t known that, he’d merely been following Mr. Langard’s instructions. Gojo’s lips made a small ‘o’ shape.

Geto then went on to use his apple pencil to minimize the textbook to one half of the screen and reveal his own notes in the other. He swiped to a specific point in his notes before circling an equation. 

Geto added, “This is the equation you're supposed to use.”

She peered at his work before reaching out to swipe her index finger across the screen to see if there was more, only to find blank sheets.

A subtle frown graced her features before she responded, “Yeah but your answer is incomplete.”

Both boys merely stared as she slipped the apple pencil from Geto’s fingers and scribbled in a new formula underneath his numerical work.

She continued to deftly solve the equation until she circled the answer, “This is the answer.”

Geto’s brows furrowed as he turned the iPad to himself—quickly readjusting it for him and Gojo to see when Gojo loosened his hold around her to lean towards the ipad.

Gojo silently assessed the work as Geto glanced up towards her, “How?” he asked.

“We need to convert it back to its original units.” Gojo answered-rather quickly.

Ara nodded, before sitting down beside Gojo.

Geto shook his head, gradually retreating into his slouched position as he did so. “I completely missed that.”

Just as she handed the apple pencil back to Geto, Gojo pressed a haste yet passionate kiss to her cheek. She immediately shoved his face away.

He was beaming, “I love having a smart girlfriend.”

Geto’s attention returned to the ipad, his thin brows furrowed in concentration, “This formula.. do they ever ask for estimates on exams?”

Ara shook her head briefly, “No but that formula is mainly for checking your work. If your answer is far off from the estimate then you probably did something wrong.”

“Ah, makes sense.” Geto said, until Toji plopped into the seat beside him.

Toji was peeling an orange in his hands, “What’re you guys talking about.” he asked, though he didn’t sound too interested.

“Nothing you would understand.” Gojo answered sweetly.

“Fuck you.” Toji retorted.

Toji’s head was suddenly shoved and they all looked to see Shoko behind him, cigarette in hand. Toji rubbed his head, “The hell?”

“You skipped again? Are you planning on repeating this year too?”

Toji frowned, “Why do you care?”

“I don’t. Miss Payton was asking about you.”

Toji raised a brow, grinning, “Was she?”

Shoko rolled her eyes before sitting beside him, “Don’t tell me you gave her STDs too.”

Geto's brows raised, “too?”

“Yeah, didn’t you hear Inez got herpes?” Shoko gave Toji a dramatic side-eye, “Zenin was messing with her last sooo we all know who the herpes handler here is.”

Geto and Gojo burst out laughing while Toji’s face twisted in annoyance.

Geto shook his head, “Herpes handler is crazy.”

Gojo reached out to high-five Shoko, “Syphilis sampler.”

Shoko high-fived him back, “Gonorrhea gobbler.”

“Will ya shut the fuck up.” Toji spoke up, rubbing his temple as if he had a headache.

Suddenly Haibara ran up to the table, all huffing and puffing.

“Hi guys.” he chirped through breaths.

Shoko looked him up and down, “Why are you running?”

He used his thumb to point behind him, “Nanami wanted to race here—“ he turned around to glance behind himself. No one was there.

Shoko snorted, “Idiot.”

Haibara barely frowned before slipping into the seat next to Ara. Ara was diligently eating her lunch.

He greeted her politely, “Hi Ara.”

She glanced over, “Hey.”

He smiled shyly, “Can I have one of your mozzarella sticks?”

“Don’t give it to him,” a male voice stated. Ara glanced over to see Nanami walk upto the table, “He already ate mine.”

Nanami lightly smacked Haibara on the back of the head before sitting down next to Shoko.

Shoko offered him her cigarette and Nanami took it without a second’s hesitance, only to toss it on the ground and stomp it out.

“What-!” Shoko exclaimed.

He glanced over at her, “I thought you were tryna quit?”

Toji snorted, “She says that every week.”

Shoko shot him a look, “Noo.”

Gojo’s tone was teasing as he tilted his head, “Are you actually tryna quit then?”

She scratched her head, “I was..”

“How long did you last?” Geto asked.

“30 minutes.”

Geto chuckled while Nanami shook his head.

Gojo faced Nanami, “Yo, what’d you get on your exam?”

Nanami answered flatly, “Ninety eight.”

Shoko smiled-nudging him, “I knew you were gonna ace it. We should celebrate.”

Haibara immediately piped in, “Yeah! Let’s.”

Nanami kept his eyes on Shoko, “Don’t we have to go to the mall today?”

“Oh shit, you're right. I need to get a gift for my aunt.”

“Can I come too?” Haibara asked.

Shoko nodded, “Yeah, yeah, come,” her eyes landed on Ara, “You come too.”

Ara’s eyes lifted up from her lunch, “Me?”

“Yeah, we don’t hang out enough,” her eyes cut to Gojo, “since Gojo’s gatekeeping you.”

Gojo smirked, “I’m not gatekeeping her~”

“Then why don’t you bring her to the hangouts?”

“Because she’s always studying!” he pouted.

“Oh c’monnn,” Shoko tilted her head at Ara, “You gotta come out sometime. How about this weekend?”

Ara glanced at Gojo to see him looking at her with thinly veiled anticipation. Ever since they got back together he’d been asking her to come hang out with his friends with him or not-so-subtly tell her who was throwing a party this weekend—she always declined, using studying as an excuse. Though it wasn’t entirely an excuse. She wasn’t like Gojo who didn’t have to try to keep up stellar grades.

She would tell him to hang out with his friends by himself, which he sometimes did, but he never went to parties—since it was against his self-assigned rule of not going without her.

She knew not attending these ‘parties’ was making his social butterfly ass itch.

She ran a hand through her hair, “..how about after midterms?”

“So next weekend?” Shoko asked.

“Yeah.”

She felt Gojo’s hand at her back, “Really?” he asked.

She glanced at him, noticing the subtle spark in his gaze before rolling her eyes, “Yeah.”

Shoko announced, “She can get ready at mine.”

Gojo immediately responded, “Wha—no, she’s getting ready with me.”

“No-“

“Yes-“

“You see! You are gatekeeping her.”

“I’m not!”

Gojo bounded up the steps before scurrying down the hallway to his room. He gathered his breath before entering the bedroom.

The doors opened soundlessly as he stepped within. There were some lo-fi beats playing from the speaker and he smiled slightly before his gaze fell on Ara.

She was sitting on his bed, papers splayed out before her. She used a textbook as a firm surface to write on as she shifted her attention between her notebook and laptop.

Her hair was down loose, tucked behind her ears to keep her hair from falling in front of her face. She wore a pair of fuzzy shorts and a tank top. One baby pink ankle sock on her left foot whereas the other sock lay a foot away on the floor. Her face a mask of deep concentration.

His smile widened subtly, tilting his head as he watched her.

He told her she was free to use the desk but she always seemed to find her way to the bed.

He deftly picked up his drawstring bag and backpack off his shoulder before letting it drop to the floor. Her eyes immediately darted up.

Her eyes widened, “Satoru.”

He walked towards the bed, a wide smile on his lips, “Hey.”

“How was practice—aah!”

He jumped atop the bed, letting his head rest on her lap and the rest of his long limbs crinkle her papers.

His arms slipped around her, “I missed you.”

Her eyes widened as the bed shifted from his weight and her Macbook tipped over the bed’s edge.

“TORU—“

Suddenly his arm shot out and he caught its edge a millisecond before it tumbled off.

“Got it.”

At her silence he glanced up and instantly grinned at her shell-shocked expression. He placed the Macbook on a safer area of the bed before slipping his arms around her again.

He tilted his head on her lap, “Can I have a kiss now?”

She blinked-gathering herself from her shock to respond, “You think you deserve one?”

He pouted, “I don’t?”

She stammered out, “Y-you literally jumped on my homework and damn near broke my laptop—“

“But did it break?”

She glanced down at him, “What?”

His bright eyes didn’t waver, “Did your laptop break?”

Her brows furrowed slowly, “.. no but-“

“Aht aht. I saved it, so we’re good.”

She squinted, opening her mouth to refute him only to get interrupted by a whiny nonsensical sound, “It’s not like I can’t get you a new one if it broke, okay?”

He partially raised his head from her lap. His adam's apple bobbing within his neck as he spoke, “Now gimme a kiss.” he pleaded.

She rolled her eyes before gently slipping her hands around either side of his face, “You’re so annoying.”

He grinned delightfully, “I know.”

She bent low, letting her nose lightly nudge his before pressing her lips to his.

He couldn’t deny the butterflies that erupted in his gut.

He leaned up slightly, trying to access more of her lips but she continued to peck him—some of her pecks longer than others. She was truly such a tease.

Just as he leaned in some more, she broke the kiss. Her hands cupping his face slid down to his neck, her thumbs stroking the skin along his sharp jaw..

“Toru—“

She yelped when his arm around her grabbed her thigh, deftly tugging her down so that she was no longer sitting. Instead she now lay beside him.

His hand clasped her throat before he kissed her—deep and with tongue. Just the way he liked.

He lightly bit her lower lip before breaking the kiss. His gaze was fond as he looked down at her, “You know how perfect you look on my bed?”

She couldn’t find any words—to breathless by his kisses to speak.

“I used to dream about you being here..” His piercing eyes slowly looked her up and down, making her skin rise with goosebumps wherever his gaze touched, “..never thought I’d get to see it this soon.”

He kissed her cheek, “Now I get to see you sitting pretty on it everyday,”

He kissed the corner of her lip, “I’m too lucky..”

His lips hovered over hers, “I get to come home to you.”

She placed her hand on his chest-stopping him a millisecond before he leaned in.

“Toru wait—w-we can’t.”

He made a short sound of dismay before continuing to shift himself over her. He easily angled himself between her legs, “Why not?” he whined once-more.

She cupped his jaw just as he leaned in again, “Cuz you stink, fool.” 

He chuckled as she went on, “Go shower.”

“Liarrrr.” His nose nudged hers playfully, “You’re just tryna get rid of me.”

She reddened, “Nooo.”

He shook his head wildly, letting strands of wet hair touch her face.

She immediately faced elsewhere, “Ew! Get your sweaty hair off me-“

He laughed, his lips ghosting her cheek as he stopped shaking his head, “It’s not sweat, baby. I showered in the locker room.”

She swallowed inaudibly, her eyes widening with indecision.

Suddenly his hand found her throat, his long fingers gently probing her to face him.

She cupped his hand over her throat, “Toru, we have homework..” she whined hesitantly.

He pressed his forehead to hers, “Sh, sh, sh. No more excuses..” he murmured before unbuttoning her top one by one.

“nngh-ngh!-unnn—“ She gripped the sheets tight as he pounded into her. Her macbook and papers scattered along the ground.

His fingers dug into her hips as he panted. She looked so fucking good, he couldn’t stop.

Her back was to him, his large hands easily fitting into the curves of her waist as he moved her hips as fast as he liked. She could barely moan properly due to his pace.

Her hair swayed sexily with each deep thrust of his cock. Her body jolted when the tip of his cock reached somewhere deliciously deep.

“toru…!” she rasped, “oh god—oh godohgodohgod—nnnh!”

She bent over, her hands resting on his knees as her cunt twitched around him.

He groaned, “fuckkk, ara, ara, ara..”

He sat up straight from his position against the headboard. He cupped her tits-squeezing them heartily-as he pushed her small back against his chest. He shoved his cock deeper into her, making her yelp.

“toru please!” she cried as her cunt tightened drastically, “please-t’much, toomuch.”

He didn’t stop fucking her through her high. His bright eyes peered down at her over her shoulder, kneading her tits greedily with one hand and keeping his palm against her stomach with the other.

“cum, ara. cum.” he huskily urged her, his eyes only growing brighter with each squeeze of her cunt, “cum on me jus like that.”

He groaned when her body listened to him. He’d been fantasizing about fucking her like this all day—the feeling of her cunt suctioning his cock like this. Fuckk, her pussy was perfect. perfect.

“a-araa..” he groaned into her ear as his cock throbbed. He knew she felt it too when a whimper left her lips. Her legs continued to shake as he burst inside her—his cum so warm she could feel it through the condom.

Her head was spinning as he squeezed her tits hard. She knew there’d be marks left behind. She closed her eyes, breathing heavily as she ran a hand over forehead to move her hair out of her face.

His haggard breaths trailed down her skin as he began to massage her breasts—more kindly.

She kept her eyes closed as his lips ghosted her neck, “Again.”

His fingers found her clit and she instinctively squeezed her legs together. His fingers didn’t budge, neither did his stiff cock within her.

“Let’s do it again,” he murmured-almost drunkenly as strangled gasps left her when he rubbed her clit, “again and again and again.”

“You don’t understand, this one has 12 new weapons-“

“You said that about 30 times.” Nanami muttered.

Haibara was too distracted by Toji and Geto heading towards the kitchen.

“Yo! Where you guys goin? Let’s go to the spot.”

Toji opened the french door refrigerator, “I’m tryna eat something first.”

“C’monnn, we can eat later-“

Nanami ruffled Haibara’s hair, “Aren’t you a little too excited for a game?”

Haibara immediately faced him, “It’s not just a game!”

“Can you tell he gets no bitches,” Toji closed the fridge when he spotted nothing but fresh ingredients, “Where’s the chef here?”

Haibara pouted, “Hey.”

“Me and you both, Haibara,” Geto slid off the stool beside the island counter, “I’ll get Marin.”

Toji raised a brow, “Marin?”

“The maid,” Geto answered, “She’s cooked for you a thousand times and you still don’t know her name.”

Toji scratched the back of his neck, “Oops.”

Geto disappeared down a hallway just as Haibara announced, “Alright, you all get ten minutes to do your shit before you're required to show up to the game room, okay? Be fast. I don’t wanna start without everyone.”

“Okay, dweeb.” Toji muttered.

“Shut up, don’t act like you're not hype.” Haibara replied lightheartedly.

Toji grinned, “True.”

“Where’s Gojo?” Nanami asked.

“Dunno, but Toji can let him know he has to get to his ass to the game room, okay? Let’s goooo!” Haibara’s voice faded out as he bolted from the kitchen in the direction of the game room.

Nanami shook his head.

Suddenly her airpod disappeared from her ear. She glanced over and screeched.

“Oh my god!! What the fuck, Satoru!” Ara yelled while scurrying out of the chair, hand over her heart. “Scared the shit outta me.” 

He smiled-a bit too brightly, “Heh, I wanted to surprise you.”

She glanced over at the clock before frowning, “Aren’t you supposed to be at practice?”

He set the airpod down on her desk, “We got out early today.”

She stared as he stepped towards her. He cupped the sides of her face, keeping her eyes on him.

“Aren’t you happy to see me?”

She lightly grasped his forearms, tilting her head back when he leaned over her.

“No..” she smiled slightly when his lips grazed hers, “Never.”

He pouted, “Meanie.”

She didn’t have to go on her tiptoes to press a light peck to his lips. He eagerly returned it, his arms sliding around her waist to tug her against him.

He tilted his head, prying her lips open with his own before going still. He then kissed the corner of her lip, her jaw, her neck..

“Tell me the truth, kitten.”

She blushed, quickly closing her expectant mouth. She turned her face aside and pressed her forehead against his chest. His large hands rubbing her lower back as he lightly nipped at her ear.

She shivered. Her hands grasped his firm biceps as she spoke-her voice wavering, “You already know how I feel about you..”

“Do I?” he squeezed her hips, “Tell me again.”

She squealed slightly before shaking her head, voice small, “You don’t need to hear it.”

He chuckled slightly. She was always worried about making his ego too big, wasn’t she? Too late.

He kissed her forehead, “Fine. Then show me.”

Her brows furrowed only to loose all train of thought when his hand wrapped around her neck and tilted her face up.

She stared at him as he nudged her nose fondly, “Show me you're happy to see me..”

“Where the hell is he..” Geto muttered.

They’d been waiting in the game room for a good five minutes before Haibara got restless—constantly asking him about Gojo's whereabouts as if he knew. Gojo wasn’t answering his texts either, just like the rest of them.

He sighed while walking up the steps, hands buried in his pockets. He made it Gojo’s bedroom, pushing open the door with his shoulder.

“unngh—nngh! ohh, toru..”

“Yo-“ he immediately cut himself off when he processed what he heard.

His eyes instinctively landed on the bed and froze when he got a split second glimpse of Gojo propped over someone. Even with the blanket over them it wasn’t hard to tell that whoever it was had their legs around his waist. A short feminine yelp came from under sheets and the blanket suddenly got yanked higher, only revealing the top of her lengthy hair.

Geto immediately turned around, hastily running a hand over his face in shock. Ara. He’d completely forgotten she lived with him now.

Even through his breathlessness, he could still hear the smirk in Gojo's voice, “Suguru!! hi~”

Geto’s face burned, “Dammit, I didn't know y—“ he quickly cut himself off when he swore he heard not-so-subtle sounds of the bed moving and a whispery ‘stop’.

Geto raised his hands, “Fuck, I’m out.”

Just as he bolted towards the door, Gojo called out, “Suguru, wait!” The little shit was laughing.

He continued heading out the door, face still hot.

“Sorry!” Gojo called out, his voice laced with humor. “You guys can start without me!”

Just as Geto closed the door he faintly overheard Ara’s voice, “You didn’t lock the fucking door?!”

Ara hesitated before entering the semi-dark room. Her eyes followed the atmospheric lights dancing along the high ceilings and walls while recalling the first time Gojo showed her this room—ironically, the last time she’d been in there.

The huge flat screen TV on the center wall was the main source of light. It would’ve resembled a movie theater if it weren’t for the gunshots blasting infinitely from the speakers in the walls. She didn’t know how they managed to sound proof this room.

“Haibara what are you doing?” Nanami snapped.

“I’m reloading! Wait, wa—“

Suddenly the sound of a bomb rang from the speakers.

“What the fuck!” Toji hollered.

Gojo’s maniacal laughter filled the room, “Oops~”

“You said you had no bombs left!” Haibara protested.

She watched Suguru smack the back of Gojo’s head as he continued to laugh.

Gojo suddenly raised his hands, one hand clutching the video game controller as he shouted in his typical whimsical demeanor. It wasn't hard to tell that he was-unapologetically-explaining himself from his body language but his words were suddenly too far to make out. too distant to decipher.

Her eyes had latched onto his hands and her mind had gone elsewhere…

She couldn’t believe those hands were pinning her wrists to the sheets moments ago. or that sly voice of his was in her ear—all breathy, whiny and worshipping.

She didn’t even need to close her eyes to remember…

...

"ara—araa," he whined over the repeated smacking sound of his cock pummeling into her. her inner thighs growing slicker with each thrust.

...

"T-toru!" she cried out. she couldn’t take it anymore. He'd grown bigger inside of her and was stretching her to her limit. She’d lost her ability to think eons ago.

He didn’t stop. He spoke haggardly, between fucks, "your cunny knows what it wants right—how to milk Toru dry."

...

His cock throbbed within her.

"gripping me so tight," He groaned out—ever so desperately, "you wanna get knocked up so bad."

...

“mmmm,” He groaned from above her.

She felt his eyes on her skin—his hands on the back of her thighs—his hot cum on her stomach.

He spread her knees further apart, letting her watch as he rubbed his length through her folds—over her clit.

“toruuuuu—“ she pleaded, weakly.

He watched her body arch, trying to give her overstimulated pussy some space but he refused-merely lowering himself against her to keep his cock glued to her clit. She moaned when the pace of his grinding picked up.

He pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes never leaving her face, “y’know how beautiful you are, ara? sodamnperfect, i can’t take it.” he was breathless.

Her hands found his chest, trying to push at him, “stop toru—please—“ she whined. He came twice already, it should be enough.. should be enough..

“Stop telling me to stop kitten—“ he rammed his length into her, thrusting without a second thought, “-you know i can’t.”

...

“Ara!”

She blinked, suddenly back in the game room. She glanced over to see Haibara beside her.

He smiled, “When did you get here?” He was about to greet her with a side hug until he heard-

“Ara?” another-all too familiar-voice piped up. Haibara stepped out of the way to let her see Gojo. His face was upside down as he looked at her, his head against the couch’s backrest.

“Toru.” she instinctively responded before walking towards him.

“Toru.” Toji mocked under his breath.

Gojo immediately straightened in his seat as she approached, his eyes bright and curious. When she stood close enough he tugged her onto his lap.

“You were lookin’ for me?” he asked her, a note of verve in his voice.

Her eyes met Geto-who was seated right beside him-and immediately flushed. Geto glanced away, seemingly red himself.

“Yeah..” she answered Gojo hesitantly. She placed a hand on his shoulder to adjust herself on his lap more comfortably before facing him, “Why’s the game paused?”

“Cuz Haibara will get his panties inna twist if we play without him.” Toji answered.

“He went to the bathroom.” Geto supplied.

“Ara~” Gojo suddenly whined, tugging her chin to make her face him, “What happened?”

He deftly searched her face before smiling in a way that was endearing yet smug. He murmured, “You came to me.”

“Yeah..” he playfully pinched her cheeks as she spoke on, “I jus wanna know how late you’re gonna stay up.”

“Oh?” he raised a brow, deliberating, “Why? You want me to join you in bed?”

She flushed, “No I was just checking cuz you have a midterm first period tomorrow..”

His eyes sparkled, “You’re worried? How cute~”

Suddenly her face and throat was getting peppered with kisses. She laughed, pushing at his chest to get him off. He didn’t budge, continuing persistently.

She finally managed to push him back a little, “Stop you idiot,” she breathed out through giggles.

He was still grinning, “You’re worried about me~”

She shoved his shoulder, “I’m leaving.”

He immediately grabbed her hips and planted her back down, “Nope, you're gonna stay here.”

She tried to pry his hands off her as he continued, “C’monnn, watch me play.”

She glared, “That’s boring.”

“Then you play.”

“I’m not a kid.”

She faintly heard Toji say, “Wowww.”

Gojo smirked, “You never played video games before, have you?”

“Nope.”

“Yep, you’re not goin’ anywhere.”

He glanced down at her and grinned.

She sat in between him and Suguru, his controller in her hands. She was doing surprisingly well for a beginner, he wasn’t sure if she was truly picking it up that fast or if it was pure luck. Maybe a mix of both.

She was definitely more engaged than she let on, her bottom lip stuck between her teeth and steady gaze on the screen gave her away.

Suguru leaned over to give her a pointer and she nodded before opening her inventory as he instructed.

Suddenly the sound of a bomb going off blasted through the speakers.

“Yo, what thE FUCK! WHO THREW A BOMB???” Toji bellowed. Poor guy was in the lead. was.

She yelled back, “It was an ACCIDENT!”

“How DO YOU ACCIDENTALLY THROW A BOMB?!”

Gojo opened his mouth only to get interrupted-

“LIKE THIS!”

His laughter was masked by the sound of another bomb exploding through the speakers.

He skipped several steps as he bolted upstairs. He boisterously shouldered open his bedroom doors, tossing his duffel bag to the floor before catapulting straight to the bed—

He stopped a second before lift-off, staring at the neatly made bed.

Where is she?

He didn’t move, merely turning his head to aptly scan the room. Her backpack was nowhere to be seen. Her home slippers were left in place. Her daily afterschool coffee left untouched on the nightstand.

She didn’t come home? Marin would’ve said something.

He took a step towards the nightstand only to note a lighter brown line of foam within the rim of the clear mug residing a slight bit higher than the coffee itself. She did come home.

He didn’t waste a second slipping a hand into his pocket and retrieving his phone. He tapped the screen twice before a location showed up.

His brows furrowed, “555 Palm Avenue..” he murmured to himself before his eyes widened.

Shoko’s house.

He tilted his head, faint confusion passing over his features before he raised the phone to his ear.

She picked up on the second ring.

“Hi loser.” Shoko.

He tilted his head, “Ieiriiiii, why’d you steal her?”

“What the hell did you do to her phone that it won’t turn off location sharing with you?” she huffed, “I wanted you to have a panic attack.”

“Heheh. Nice try,” his smile flipped into a pout, “Now give her back.”

“Never.”

He slipped his car keys out his pocket before tossing them into the air and catching it, “I’m coming.”

“NO! This is a pre-game for the girls only.”

“Eh? I’m one of the girls too,” he said before adding, “the fuckk.” -in a feminine voice.

“Shut the hell up. And don’t do that again.”

He was cracking up as she continued, “She’s getting ready here.”

“I wanna seeeee.”

“Nope.”

“Can I talk to her then?”

“Nope.”

He whined, “C’monn, don’t do this to me, Ieiri~”

When she remained silent he continued, “pleasepleaseplease-“

“You’re like a puppy with separation anxiety. How is she not sick of you?”

He grinned, “She loves me.”

“She said that?”

He blinked before his brows furrowed slightly, “Not yet.”

“Then don’t assume.”

He knew she only meant that in jest but suddenly he was thinking about it.

He heard the sound of footsteps over the phone, a door opening before the sound of a lot feminine voices. He heard Shoko say something and then-

“Hi baby,” My sweet Ara. She sounded worried, “I’m so sorry, I wanted to call you when she picked me up but she wanted to prank you.”

He shook his head, smiling, “s’okay, kitten. i jus miss your pretty face.”

He heard her exhale softly, “You’ll see me tonight, all dressed up.”

He groaned, “ughh, i don’t wanna waittttt.”

He could hear the smile in her voice, “stop whining you child.”

He grinned, “let me see you at shoko’s then.”

He heard shoko yell, “NO!” in the background.

“did you hear that?” Ara asked with a light laugh.

“yes. tell her i said she sucks bootycheeks.”

Shoko yelled once more, “i know!”

Ara spoke, “i’ll see you at brit’s okay?”

He pouted, “fineeee.”

“bye baby.”

He smiled slightly, he couldn’t help but feel warm whenever she said that. “see you, kitten.”

Shoko sat her down in front of a vanity.

“Alright, now that hair is done, we can do makeup.”

Ara stared as Shoko opened all the drawers of the extravagant vanity before her, revealing a countless amount of high-end makeup. Most of it barely touched.

“Shoko!!” a girl yelled from downstairs.

“What!” Shoko yelled back only for silence to follow.

She rolled her eyes as she mumbled to herself, “What does Arden want now,” she gestured toward the makeup, “Knock yourself out, I’ll be back.”

“Wait—“

Shoko turned around, eyes alert.

Ara hesitated before admitting, “I don’t know how to do my makeup.”

Her eyes widened, “Forreal?” She then crossed her arms, “Actually I can’t even blame you, I only started doing my own makeup like a year ago.”

“Would your Mom do it for you?” she asked, considering the fact that the vanity before them was hers.

“Nah, I had a makeup artist.” Shoko appeared to be in thought before she said, “Hold on.”

She walked out of the room and yelled, “Anybody here good at makeup??!”

A ton of feminine voices arose, answering her. Ara wasn’t the least bit surprised since half of their school’s female population was here.

She heard Shoko yell something before peeking her head back in the room, “Alright, we got help for makeup. Do you want anything to drink?”

Ara hesitated. She’d told herself that she wouldn’t drink after the last party but—

“SHOKO!!”

“IM COMING IDIOT!” Shoko yelled back before saying, “I’ll be back.”

She left within a blink of an eye, only for someone else to enter the room a second later. Karina.

Ara stared as Karina walked closer, looking insanely perfect as usual. She also had a bottle of Pink Whitney in her hand.

She set the bottle down on the vanity, “You need help with your makeup?”

a/n: continued in chapter 5 [ part 2 ] >:) & here's a link to the previous chapter if anyone needs it

[redr0sewrites]

Hii! So sorry if you aren’t currently taking requests, but if you are, can I request an Obanai x Female reader where the reader has eczema and is extremely insecure about it (always hiding her body with hoodies and pants because she doesn’t want anyone to see her skin; even if it’s not bad at all in that moment, she still does it out of habit)? Sorry if this is too much, but I need to see something about character X reader with eczema 😭, and I have been reading through a few of your works, they’re all so amazing that I just needed to take the chance lmfaoo. Have an amazing day, whether you decide to write this or not. <3

YESS REQS ARE ALWAYS OPEN <3! lmk if anything is inaccurate and tysm for requesting!!

🥀Cw: angst (w comfort) to fluff, mentions of insecurity and eczema,

You struggle to steady your breathing, the warm sun felt like it was pounding against your body, yet you didnt dare roll up your sleeves. Even surrounded by the Hashiras, the people you knew to be your friends, the thought of revealing your skin made your blood run cold, despite the heat. The rash covering your arms and body was, in your eyes, disgustingly imperfect. You would rather suffer through the blistering heat then reveal your greatest insecurity.

"Is everything okay?" Obanais observance never ceased to amaze you, and his beautiful eyes seemed to pierce right through you. Kaburamaru stuck out his tongue, eyeing you with the same concerned look as Obanai.

"I'm fine Iguro! Seriously, nothing's wrong!" You forced a smile, fighting the pathetic lump forming in your throat. Obanai didnt buy ut for a second. "Come with me," he murmured softly through his bandages. He gently grabbed your arm, forcing you to follow him as the both of you walked to a more private location. Soon, the three of you were sitting under a large tree well away from the others. You relished in the shade, wiping some sweat from your brow as Obanai watched you carefully. He sat in front of you, taking both of your hands in his while Kaburamaru adjusted himself to reach out far enough and boop your nose. You blinked, giggling softly as the tips of Obanai's ears flushed.

"Ready to tell me whats wrong?" Your lover said softly, reaching out to gently grab your chin, forcing you to hold eye contact with him.

"Its just..." you paused, taking a deep breath before the words spilled out. "My skin. Its- its horrible. Its been so bad recently, i just feel disgusting." You choked out, unable to continue as you tore your gaze away from his. A few seconds of silence passed, and Obanai reached out, cupped your face with his hands.

"you know that i love you regardless of your skin, correct?" you nod, forcing yourself to return his stare. "then why do you worry so much? has someone else said something to you?" Obanai's eyes immediately narrowed, turning around to glance at the other hashira and you flushed, stumbling to correct him.

"no, not at all! none of the others have ever made me feel bad about my skin, i just.. i dont know. i really dont. it just makes me feel horrible." Obanai sighed, humming in agreement before. pulling you in close. you blinked, melting into his embrace as one of his hands raised to play with your hair. Kaburamaru shifted to nuzzle against your cheek, and you couldnt help the smile that bloomed on your face.

Obanai pulled away to press his forehead against yours, speaking softly.

"Its okay to not be okay, and while I may not perfectly understand how you feel, I know what its like to feel ashamed of your skin. I know what its like to feel scarred and imperfect, and I want you to know that I'm always here for you." You smile, watching him flush at his own forwardness.

"I love you Obanai," you murmur, curling against him again as you keened into the crook of his neck. Kaburamaru curled around the both of you, and Obanai pulled down his bandages just for a second to press a gentle kiss to your cheek.

"I love you too, y/n.."

IM ACTUALLY SO EXCITED AB THIS CUZ IT REALLY CHALLENGED ME IN BOTH INCORPORATING EMOTIONS AND DIALOGUE WHILE ALSO CORRECTLY CHARACTERIZING OBANAI AND OVERALL THIS WAS SUPER FUN TO WRITE!!!! PLSSS REQ MORE DEMON SLAYER STUFF >:D

[cuephrase]

20 questions for writers

tysm for the tag @crows-murder!!

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

seven, but two of those are site skins

2. what's your total AO3 word count?

51,455, which is. so little. omg

3. what fandoms do you write for?

rn, exclusively batfam. i've also posted fic for bnha, and while i do think there's a solid chance i'll post more my hero fic in the future, idk when. i've also written for tmnt, voltron, and spn, but most of those never left my notebooks lmao

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

penance - ghost!robins au where tim dies + meets ghost!jason, and metric tons of emotional devastation ensue. MCD tagged bc yk. tim wakes up dead.

adds up to less - my sole bnha fic, platonic bakudeku that spans from childhood to after their fight post-all might vs. afo, centered around the fact that izuku knows katsuki's mom is abusive

despite all his efforts - whumptober fill for solitary confinement, dami and dick!bats and pain

bile is sweeter - whumptober fill for safety net, dick & tim where tim gets seriously injured on patrol. ambiguous ending as a standalone, but also ended up becoming the prelude to penance.

i know (do you know?) - whumptober fill for delirium, jason & dick, jason & bruce, bruce & dick sick!fic where jason is sick and bruce and dick are at odds but trying not to be.

5. do you respond to comments?

yes!! i love responding to comments. i am really behind atm, bc 1) penance got way more attention than i expected and 2) the comments are so frickin kind and like i short-circuit.

planning on responding to some more tonight, i want to try and wrestle my inbox away from hitting a like critical mass point

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

hmmm. i think it depends, especially on how you interpret the end of 'bile is sweeter', but my gut instinct is 'despite all of his efforts'.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

mmmm. none of them? jk jk, kind of. i think they're all bittersweet is the thing. maybe 'penance'? or ik(dyk)? actually no, it's def 'penance'. neither of them end super fluffy, (or fluffy at all? fuzzy at best), but like i personally think, as hard won as it is, 'penance' has a happy ending.

8. do you get hate on fics?

i have not yet!! shockingly.

9. do you write smut? If so, what kind?

cuephrase on ao3 does not have any smut posted

10. do you write crossovers?

no, at least not yet. i don't think i will?

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of 🤞

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope!! i don't think i've written anything popular enough to warrant a translation haha

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

not yet!! i think it would be super fun tho

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

uh. hmm. i don't know if i have one?? ships rank pretty low on my overall interest, relationships that stick with me forever and a day are siblings lmao. but okay.

overall, like regardless of fandom it's probs a tie between kyo/tohru from fruits basket and kabakura/koyanagi from wotakoi.

rn my top ship is timkon, no contest. love those two very much. platonic or romantic i am sat.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

any of them? all of them? i have one fic with like actual words written, everything else is percolating in my mind. i have a decent track record of finishing stuff i start...but starting is difficult. i'm trying to work on that tho!! i really love writing and every time i sweet talk myself into it i'm like omg why don't we do this more often. baby cue would be horrified at how little i write.

16. What are your writing strengths?

making people cry. at the ripe-old age of 7 i decided the best writing was the kind that elicited a physical reaction, which to me was either tears or laughter and i don't think i'm funny. so bringing the pain it was.

and dialogue. i'm super picky about my dialogue and i act out convos + read exchanges out loud. i worry sometimes that i like have too many "blah blah bla-" type lines, but like when people are arguing, nobody is getting out full sentences lmao. there's a balance to it, for sure tho

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

setting/description. i have the worst White Room Syndrome ever i fear. like, okay, so writing for me typically feels like i'm watching something play out and just recording what i see, and uh what i see is usually characters interacting. sometimes they're interacting with their environment but ehhhhh. so i have to make a conscious effort to have my writing not be talking heads interspersed with chekhov's guns

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i don't do it. too paranoid about it being wrong. i don't mind it when someone else does it, but if i was going to do it foreign language dialogue would probably be written like "<This is not English>." with a note at the beginning that dialogue in <> is X language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

i was going to say tmnt, but then i remembered i wrote warrior cats fic way before i knew what fic was omg. stopppppp. i was like eight, i think? but like. consciously knew that i was writing fanfic? tmnt.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

hmmmm. this is probs a tie between 'penance' and 'ik(dyk)' rn, the former was just so much fun to write and the latter features robin!jason and dick bonding which i'm particularly fond of rn hehe this was sm fun!! no pressure tagging @androxys @librarylexicon @tevyaa, @coyote-nebula, @motleyfam and anyone else who sees this and wants to play!!

[marofdawn]

Fucking character limit didn't let me write you my bible hahaha so if you're ok with this, i wrote you something in this doc in drive (change the x's in docxgooglexcom pls): (docsxgooglexcom/document/d/16pos0YwhMHJEh7jaPZhqqyh7bsQJz_dHJdMbN84_rl4/edit?usp=sharing) Thanks for everything in IAL, Mar!!

Omg, babe, tysm for your words 😭, seriously. Don’t apologize for writing sm bc I literally love long comments; it never annoys me. I never get tired of them. To know people feel this strongly about my story literally never fails to make me feel so fulfilled - like I’m doing something right in life, somehow

I like to give lengthy replies to long comments, so I hope you don’t mind either…

- I’m happy to hear my story has motivated you to write as well. Definitely do it! I had a lot of doubts about specific areas of my writing, as you mentioned, but I’m really happy that I didn’t listen to those negative thoughts and pushed through regardless. Writing for yourself can honestly feel very healing at times.

- Love to hear that you identified with Eden and Levi in some ways. Eden definitely has certain qualities I can relate to as well - moreso her inner qualities as opposed to outward. I’m happy it helped you reflect and value situations :).

- Sorry for the tears, but I also love knowing my writing impacted people this much 🥲. I’m happy it moved you.

- I definitely made Eden suffer so much in this story 😭 maybe a bit too much, as you said. Her mother died, she had a shitty father that practically disowned her (then all of a sudden wanted to enter her life again), was raised with shitty propaganda against her kind that, as a result, allowed them to get murdered, broke the heart of the man she loved, etc. The list goes on.

- Levi and Eden’s relationship post-reveal was definitely one of the most heartbreaking aspects of the story. Levi said a lot of things he didn’t mean, and ik many readers were wondering why Eden didn’t put him in his place sooner 😂. It was very toxic at that point; they’d constantly go back and forth with Eden trying really hard to lighten the mood, but Levi would go back to square one and say something indicating he didn’t care about her anymore, even though it was a flat out lie. He probably could have handled his feelings differently… but honestly, even though he was being an asshole, I feel like some of Eden’s attempts at reaching out to him were realistic in some ways? Like, he was being toxic and a complete dick, but she was also very deeply in love with him and missed him. Love can blind you sometimes, and she still wanted a little piece of him back. But then the whole hate sex scene happened and she had enough sjsjdjdkf. That was the moment she realized she needed to stop trying because it didn’t seem like he was ever going to change his perspective of her.

- I feel like I owed everyone a happy epilogue, so I’m glad you enjoyed! Honestly, I made them suffer so much that a happy ending was necessary lol. I considered killing Eden off plenty of times, but I don’t think anyone would have forgiven me skskdfjs.

- “Loving you made me feel free” is also one of my favorite quotes. It really put into perspective how guarded and trapped Eden felt when it came to her emotions, and how falling for Levi helped her find herself, in a way.

- I feel honored that you plan to write this in your book journal! Literally such a huge compliment.

- Happy you enjoyed the playlist! I feel like I might do that for future fics too. We’ll see :).

- I am fluent in Spanish! It’s definitely not perfect, but I do speak it :). English is my stronger language, but Spanish is practically all I speak at home. I can still read, write, and speak it, so I don’t mind messages in Spanish :). I could use the practice with reading tbh bc I don’t read in Spanish often anymore 😅.

Thank you so much for your words, my love. I truly, truly appreciate it. I say it all the time, but I really do value these kinds of messages. Thank you for taking the time to write this for me :).

Take care ❤️.

[mother-of-houseplants-2]

In re to your thoughts on s11 tbh im kinda super glad Debbie went out of herway to say "I'm not Fiona" bc A) something about daughters seeing their mothers give parts of themselves they dont get back and going "not me" B (and more importantly to me) Lip Is Her Ten Years Older Than Her Brother like....istg if I had to see this barely 20 yo girl clean up after the man who helped raised her i would have thrown up. Dont get why ppl might want that. Throw his clothse out deb he can take it. ( the misgogyny its the misogyny)

YESSS debbie separating herself from fiona not so much as a “i’m not her” but more of a “i refuse to become what she represented to us all and i won't let you treat me how we all treated her” is so… SO !!! because she refuses to sacrifice her personhood in favor of motherhood the way fiona was forced to!

and ughhh lip seriously pissed me off in s11… depending on the women in his life is so natural to him he doesn’t even consider how weird it is to force his younger sister into the “woman of the house” role. literally what the fuck. WHAT THE FUCK. you're so right, the misogyny is seriously misogynying. he's the oldest, it should be his primary responsibility!

speaking of which, i was always frustrated that the gallaghers never attempted establishing a different sort of household system after fiona left. like ... did you not see how badly it fucked up your sister to do everything herself? and now you want to do that to someone else instead of just fixing the issue? don't get me wrong, i know how hard the cycle is to break when you've grown up only knowing one way of life, but it disappoints me regardless. ugh!

tysm for the ask!!!

[pixyys]

Ello pixyys! I have a request BUT PLEASE DO THIS AFTER YOU'VE FINISHED ALL OF YOUR HOMEWORK AND FINALS!!! AND TAKE YOUR TIME PLEASE I DON'T WANT YOU BURNING OUT!

so for my request, can I request the Flags with a reader who really likes classical music and hates any sacrilegious-ness and they are able to play the piano and other instruments too? And they have really good classical music knowledge and can name any piece in like a few seconds- wait why am I sounding like I'm describing myself ;-;

ANYWAYSSS stay safe drink water get enough sleep I love you mwah

— artistic elegance.

bsd characters with a reader who likes classical music, plays various musical instruments and despises sacrilege. (fellow twosetters, iykyk👀)

ft. the flags + some small extras at the end :)

warnings/notes. gn! reader

💌HII SILVER!! thank you for the request!! and aa tysm i love you too <33 i love that gif! bsd wan gives me life (´͈  ᵕ `͈ ) also! i'm still not that familiar with the flags' personalities, so they might be a bit ooc :" but i hope this is up to your expectations!

piano man

piano man is a cultured gentleman! he may not be as well-versed in classical music as you do. but he might know one or two of the popular pieces.

this man is a man of whimsy and cruel elegance. needless to say, he respects art and delicacy. and more than all, he is drawn to your immaculate and refined taste in music.

he loves hearing you talk about your interest! from your long rambles about a particular piece to small trivia about concerts and the likes.

he will reassure you that he's not using piano wires to strangle people (lmao)

please please please make a joke about how "piano man" can't play the piano (silver iykyk haha)

if you're willing, piano man will be interested in learning the piano from you. at least to honour his name (it's just his ploy to spend more time with you <3)

he'll come to your concerts and see you play if you're performing in one <3 alternatively, you both go to orchestras and classical music concerts together

he's also canonically fastidious, so he respects perfection. he's inwardly proud if you're very dedicated to your practices. he likes hardworking people.

however! he'll know when to stop you when you're overworking yourself. when your eyebrows start to crease and that gleam in your eyes whenever your fingers dance on the piano keys fades away, he'll silently approach you, gently reaching for your hand and pressing a kiss on your cheek.

"you've done enough, love. you're amazing. you'll do splendidly."

does stopping you from practising 40 hours a day count as sacrilege? probably. as much as he hates upsetting you, piano man is willing to commit any sin if it's meant for your well-being and safety </3

‎ ‎ ‎

lippmann

another chap who's fairly familiar with classical music. i'm sure some of his movies use classical music as soundtracks, and at some point, he has most likely acted as a musician character.

very intrigued by your extensive knowledge of musical instruments and classical pieces. he will definitely ask you for some pointers for when he has to act in a musical performance scene.

oh boy. the poor guy doesn't know what he signed up for.

"your wrist is too low. your bowing looks off," you comment as you both watch a particular scene where he act-plays the violin.

from then on, he takes your suggestions and corrections very seriously, which he is very grateful for because they help his acting career too.

more than anything though, lippmann doesn't want to upset you by committing "sacrilege"—as you like to call it.

you can teach him, let's say, a violin, or any other musical instrument. alternatively, you can take crash courses together as cute little dates <3 (all the more opportunity to flex your skills and impress him haha)

he's doing it very well, though. he's a fast learner. it's almost unfair how he has a natural talent for almost everything; from acting to negotiation skills.

he is.. very pretty.. regardless if people recognize him as a popular actor or not. so you may start regretting it when everyone from the course is starting to crowd him lmao. maybe this is not a very good idea after all,,

but! imagine this:

it's well-known that lippmann's music-acting is getting more realistic and accurate. there's this particular scene in a romance movie he starred in that causes quite a ruckus among his fans: the character he acted is playing a piece dedicated to his beloved. but his act-performance is just so 'full of love' and everyone goes crazy over it. when an interview session asks him about how he did this, he just smiles into the camera and,

"oh, i did picture a special person during that scene. they've helped me a lot, and i'm very grateful for them. you can say that 'performance' was dedicated for them."

i digress. but i'd simply die lmao

oh well, the internet will go crazy, again. "hit actor lippmann's secret muse!?" as said by the headline of the tabloid magazine. but eh, as they said, all's well should end well.. probably.

‎ ‎

albatross

no matter how i see him, albatross is a menace (lmao)

he's likely to not know a lot about classical music and musical instruments in general. but hey! trying is also a love language.

probably gets curious when you are practising. after you explain to him the basics, there is a high chance he'll go "oh! as i expected, you're very amazing! i think i'll go for the triangle instead." 💀

he's just very impressed at whatever you're doing. you pulled off a particularly difficult, or just a so-so piece? "woah! that is so cool!" you somehow manage to name any classical piece playing within five seconds? "what kind of sorcery are you doing?!" you're going on a long ramble about how a movie depicted orchestras and piano-playing very very wrongly? albatross has no idea what you're talking about. but whatever you're doing, don't stop. he likes seeing you all happy and enthusiastic. there's something about how your eyes light up or how a smile bloom on your lips. they never fail to make his day brighter.

this man is competitive. at one point, he will start listening to classical pieces and make it a competition on who can name a piece's title whenever there's one playing. of course, he loses, every time. can't forget that time he called Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 "that one tom and jerry song."

"it's a piece, not a song, albatross."

"but it's still in tom and jerry."

well, he's not wrong, technically.

albatross will probably get excited (and be embarrassing), gushing over you if he ever comes to see you perform in a concert or the like. "look at them! they're so cool!" he'll half-whisper to anyone sitting close to him until he receives several warning glares for being noisy. oh well, at least he knows not to clap during auditions.

please prevent this man from doing any more sacrilege (lmao i keep on slandering him, sorry albatross you're a real one for this </3)

‎

iceman

this man canonically likes to drink coffee and listen to records—a side only a few people know, and you're one of those few people.

he listens to a variety of genres, and classical pieces vinyl take up considerable space in his collection. he may be the closest to being fairly knowledgeable in classical pieces as you are.

he might not be the type to play a musical instrument himself. instead, he adores hearing you play. not that the recordings are bad, but your playing is just much more relaxing and the sounds flow better to his ears.

maybe above all, it's your presence that he finds peace from. either way, iceman is glad he can know someone who shares an overall similar interest with him.

you both can go to a record store! watch him just chuckle in amusement whenever you perk up as the store plays a classical piece, then immediately recognize the piece's title. he finds your enthusiasm cute. and not to mention, that broad knowledge is impressive. even he can't remember that many classical pieces.

he will be very grateful if you shove a good amount of music recommendations to him, or make a playlist for him! iceman might just listen to it in his free time because they remind him of you <3

in terms of sacrilege, he doesn't really mind much and leans on the more chill side. oh? that movie you're both watching is playing a very badly acted orchestra scene? he finds the way you internally cringe amusing. but iceman understands how such things really upset you, so he'll be there to listen to your rambles and criticisms.

all in all, he's a very chill but loving guy <3

‎ ‎

doc

he is mostly ambivalent about classical music and musical instruments. but as a doctor, he knows well that classical music is scientifically proven to be able to reduce stress and alleviate anxiety.

for that reason, he might know one or two things about classical music. but nothing too in-depth besides the fact it has some therapeutic effects to it.

hence! it's the perfect opportunity to tell him everything you know! (and flex when you're at it)

"doc! don't you know that not all classical music is relaxing? for example this one-"

he watches curiously as you show him a recorded piece, the '1812 overture.' he did expect and somewhat know that there are fast-paced and energetic classical pieces out there. but he did not expect canon fires incorporated into the piece.

"this sounds like it'll give people from the mafia anxiety instead."💀

but yeah. as someone who studied a lot, and used to be a student before being a doctor, he seems like the type who appreciates knowledge very much. he is intrigued by the tidbits of occasionally out-of-pocket trivia you casually bring up.

all the same, he likes listening to you play after he's done with his work, or during his day off. being a doctor can be more stressful than being on the front lines, as there are many injuries he had to treat as soon as possible, and he has to handle occasional foolish and careless individuals who don't heed his warnings. 

but! doc, hence his name, is a doctor. he will not take it kindly if you're pushing yourself with your practice, or being too anxious about an upcoming concert or performance. while not musically adept enough to help you with practices, doc will try his best to calm you down, reminding you that fatigue can ruin your concentration too. he's heard you play and practice multiple times, so he reassures you that all you need is just rest and you'll ace the performance.

all things considered, he just really cares for your well-being <3

‎

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

 ♡ extra! ♡

adam will take you to a museum of musical instruments. fascinating. you can see not only today's instruments, but also pianos, violins, and cellos over the years. this man can and will give you elongated lectures about each instrument. fun and informative! 

chuuya is very extra himself, and he will do the same in handling your interest; if you want, he'll take you to equally very extra operas and concerts, where you all dress up fancy and wear those nifty galilean binoculars to see the stage. classy!

verlaine probably doesn't understand why or how you grow to like music, particularly classical music very much. but! he is fond of how you're very passionate about it, and not sharing the same interest won't stop him to ask you for a dance—a slow waltz only yours and your own to share with him. during late nights after private dinners, he sways you gently, holding you close; whether with a piece playing in the background or just the sound of your hums and heartbeat. your steps may be clumsy or hesitant, but he will catch you before you stumble. 

end notes. aaand that's a wrap! not me imagining date scenarios with each one of them lmao. was in a very fluffy mood haha! had a lot of fun writing this

[vrisrezis]

WAIT I DIDNT KNOW YOU WRITE FOR INSIDE JOB NOW??? IM SO HAPPY BECAUSE YOURE LIKE ONE OF MY FAV WRITIMG BLOG !!!

May I request Reagans gang with a fem!s/o who’s really clingy, romantic and just very nice towards them, who’s also really insecure about herself? Have a good day and keep up the good work!

TYSM! It’s an honor to be one of ur favs

Reagan might need some time to adjust, physical touch just is not her love language at all lol. So please give her space! She will need to get used to you being so clingy. That aside, she does deep down find your sappiness and your romantic side to be grossly endearing and sweet. Just don’t do it around the others. She’s glad to have somebody that’s nice to her and truly appreciates her, and she can relate to being insecure. It really sucks because she doesn’t know how to help, but she thinks the world of you.

Brett may not know how to help with confidence (as he struggles himself) but he tries his best to be a good support group for you. Truly loves how kind you are! People are usually nice to him, but of course there are people that are really fucking mean to him and take advantage of him. He feels at ease with you, especially when you’re being all sappy and clingy. He loves this actually, since he’s very clingy and romantic himself!

Andre is secretly a hopeless romantic so in his eyes he’s hit the jackpot! Once he’s actually comfortable in the relationship, that is. He will be all over you, clinging to you 24/7. His coworkers are absolutely sick of you guys clinging to eachother and full blown making out in public like you’re some freaky highschool couple. All this aside, he is always telling you how amazing you are to make up for your lack of self esteem.

Gigi is always, ALWAYS hyping you up. Especially since she knows how insecure you are. And man, she adores you. Seriously! Especially since you’re so romantic, it makes her swoon! She may make a lot of jokes about you being the lucky one, but she truly feels like she is the one that ended up being lucky given how much of a catch you are. And being clingy is just a bonus, she adores it!

Myc is not one for clinginess, he’s not used to that. So you’ll have to give him a break. He’s not used to people genuinely liking his presence. He knows how much of an asshole he is and he’s comfortable with it. Regardless learns to like your clinginess (but will never admit it! Unless you get insecure about it and junk!) he is a bit flustered by how romantic you can be, he claims to be disgusted but the shrooms overall complexion seems darker for some reason.. and don’t worry! He will totally hype you up when you feel very insecure! Though he seriously doesn’t understand why you’re so nice to him?

Glenn is not used to such kindness from anyone, but he’ll take it in stride! But he is extremely flustered about it. And you only make it worse with your sappiness and romantic BS. Do you watch romcoms or something? This is getting really cheesy. He doesn’t hate it though, even if he claims it isn’t much and he’s totally not into it. He very much is! He thinks it’s very sweet, he feels undeserving of such love and affection! Being clingy is no problem for him either, since he is too. And he will be sure to tell you how amazing you are, and threaten anyone that tells ya otherwise.

And a bonus; JR!!

Jr is a romantic himself, so expect the absolute best treatment from the man. He will admit he’s not used to being woo’d. He’s used to doing the woo’ing. But he’s very happy and flattered about it! He loves your sappiness, and while he is a very busy man he is also quite clingy (for his standards anyway). Unless you work at cognito inc you won’t be able to be as clingy since he’s usually at work! He’s constantly complimenting with you and flirting with you, telling you how amazing you are.

[dolleholic]

𝘌𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴𝘢, 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘨𝘰𝘳/ 𝘈𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥! 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳.

꒰ 🥛 ��ؘ ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ ECLIPSA, GLOBGOR / CHILD READER

( TYSM Anon!! I’m very happy to be giving you some headcanons for this!! I bet it’s really fun )

;; Y/N is adopted in this, meaning they aren’t a true butterfly— but they are family! ;;

Introductions!~ ;;

— it was a cold and wet day when Eclipsa and Globgor found you, it was after the rain and they were taking a stroll in the rose gardens

— that’s when they heard it.. it was a you! Bundled up in a purple blanket with an umbrella covering you..

— Eclipsa practically Begged Globgor to keep you.. she was literally on her knees!

“Globgor, dear, please!~ look at how sweet and cute they are!”

“no- honey- we already have a child! That’s perfectly enough!”

— but, Eclipsa still carried you home in the palace, now giving you milk from a bottle as Globgor struggled to find a name.

— They struggled and struggled until they found the perfect name.. Y/N!..

— It fit you perfectly, as you were always so cute!~ In Eclipsa’s eyes..

——————

With Eclipsa!~ ;;

— you are a sweetheart towards Eclipsa, like, seriously, you’re probably a Mommy’s kid when you’re with her.

— When you were a baby, you always stopped crying at her delicate touch.

— Though, once you when you were in her arms she heard something excited and she almost dropped you!..

— The time once you were older, though, Eclipsa told you enough about fighting and the wand! She taught you about spells and what you could do with them.

— She would absolutely sing you lullabies and tell you stories for you to go to bed to. She loved watching you fall asleep. Especially in her arms.

— Eclipsa sees so much of her inside of you, wether it’s personality or physical— she just wants the best for you..

— Eclipsa overall is very fun loving and supportive, but sometimes very stressful and very careless.

——————

With Globgor!~ ;;

— He is 100% protective of you, regardless of how old you are. He will always protect you. But be really soft about it.

— Hey, did I tell you about that time you said you had a Girlfriend/boyfriend/partner when you were really young? Yeah, no, you never went to that school ever again

— Globgor is probably the chef of the family, so he probably teaches you some stuff about cooking so you can have a hobby! Like him!

— Camping. Camping, camping, camping. It’s a must. It always will be a must. Picnics? That’s coming with Camping. Just a stroll? That’s camping

— He probably knows how to braid your hair and knows how to untangle it. If you don’t have hair, he gives awesome messages!

— One time, you acted so much like Eclipsa he legitimately thought you guys were related in some way.

— he’s so easy to fool, and he’s so easy to prank.. no idea why, he just is.

— Globgor is probably such a kind and soft soul, but when he’s angry.. you better run. He is going to be screaming, and most likely having a lot of voice cracks.

— Globgor overall is very understanding and just, while also fairly strict and overprotective. He knows his limits.. he just doesn’t want you to get hurt. Especially with love.

[fanfic-chan]

SGSHGZHDSBBXBDBDNNF

Thomato with black heart pls!!! WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! Couldn't dream about better valentine than Your VALENTINE THOMATO FIC!SBBXNDJX WAAAAAAH! pls pls pls!

AHHHHH TYSM FOR THE REQUEST! Seriously! I had so much fun with this and I really hope you like it! I've never written for these two before, so I hope the characterization is ok! It was a welcome challenge regardless and I had an absolute blast! Enjoy! ❤️❤️❤️

Don't Push Yourself

Ler: Ayato

Lee: Thoma

"Young master, I don't think I like that look in your eye…"

Thoma backed away slowly from Ayato, brandishing the broom he'd been using to sweep just now as if it would actually offer some kind of protection against someone as skilled in battle as the other man was. 

"Why, whatever do you mean Thoma? I'm merely standing here." The hydro user stated innocently, though the mischievous spark in his eyes told an entirely different story altogether.

Thoma narrowed his eyes at him disbelievingly. Ayato smirked, raising his hands and then-

'Oh no.'

Dropping the broom, Thoma made a break for it out the open kitchen door and into the courtyard, heartrate picking up when he heard Ayato cackle before giving chase.

"Thomaaa~ come on now, why are you running? I'm not gonna do anything!" Ayato called after him in a teasing tone, and Thoma internally panicked at how close his voice sounded already.

Picking up the pace, the housekeeper dared a glance over his shoulder.

This decision would be his demise. 

One minute he was running for his life, and the next, he was falling, having tripped over a loose stone while he wasn't watching where he was going. 

He didn't get hurt, thankfully, but his sudden loss of balance had Ayato catching up and easily overpowering him as he pinned him in the grass. 

"Nohohoho! No! Ayahahahatoooo!!!" Thoma let out a shriek, a smirking Ayato hovering over him as he clawed at his ribcage, seeming completely unfazed by Thoma's frantic squirming. 

"Mm… Nah, I don't think I will just yet. You've been so stiff lately Thoma. You haven't been overworking yourself now have you?" Ayato clicked his tongue disapprovingly, as if he already knew the answer just based off of the guilty blush that spread across the housekeeper's cheeks. "How many times have my sister and I both told you to take it easy hm? You really need to relax more."

Thoma didn't respond, to busy laughing his head off now to form a proper sentence. Vaguely though, he did have to admit that he was right. He had been feeling more stressed lately, but there was just so much to do! He couldn't just slack off on his duties just because he was feeling a little rundown! And once Ayato finally lightened up enough for him to speak again, he verbalized as much.

Ayato listened carefully, looking oddly serious for someone who was still tapping his fingertips on his ribs teasingly as he spoke, making Thoma's words a bit distorted with anticipatory giggles.

"I see… You feel as if slowing down will affect your work to much, and because of that, you find yourself feeling guilty for taking breaks. Am I correct?" Ayato questioned, and Thoma nodded hesitantly, feeling a bit embarrassed that the other was able to read him so easily.

Ayato seemed to recognize this, chuckling a little at his friend's expense. He really was something else wasn't he? So dedicated to his work all the time. Yet another reason why a pyro vision fit him so well. His determination was fiery and fierce, always warming those around him and inspiring them with the light he didn't even realize he possessed.

Helping the other to sit up, Ayato smiled a bit as he waited for him to catch his breath before speaking again.

"Look Thoma, I get that you want to do well at your job, and you do! But taking care of yourself is just as important as taking care of everyone else. You don't have to keep pushing yourself all the time. It's ok to rest when you need it. Besides, you don't want to wear yourself out to the point where you can't do anything at all anymore right?" Thoma actually flinched at that, the gravity of Ayato's words seeming to hit him.

"I... Alright. I promise I won't push myself so much from now on. I'm... Sorry if I worried you." Ayato waved the apology of easily, standing up and offering a hand up to the other as well now that he'd gotten his point across.

As they made their way back inside, Thoma spoke up again hesitantly. 

"Hey um...Thanks, by the way. I... I think I needed that.."

Ayato grinned.

"Anytime Thoma."

[poppyseedfics]

Hello~i absolutely adore your blog! If it's alright may i request nazuna hcs with a s/o who likes horror games or just video games in general? Tysm in advance <33

Thank you very much! And of course, I accept all Nazuna content <3

This was super fun to write as a hashtag gamer 😎 myself-

I hope you enjoy!

Nazuna Nito with a Gamer S/O

Nazuna can't say he's an avid gamer, he largely hasn’t played anything since becoming a student and Idol. He doesn’t really have the free time to be spending on video games.

However, he does, every once in a while, indulge himself- usually to catch up and play the games he loved in his childhood. He won't quickly admit it, but he's a fan of Kingdom Hearts. He owns a large amount of the games and tries to get through them on school breaks and holidays… but he's definitely someone who likes to wander and check every little detail.

Now, you playing video games is another thing. He's very happy you have something to relax and take breaks with. He'll happily listen to you rant about any of the games you're interested, doesn’t matter if it's about lore as deep as the FNAF timeline, or as simple as groaning into the table because you just can't beat this one stupid level!

If you've taken a particular interest in a game then he'll sometimes go and look up the game to learn about it! It might just be a quick skim of the plot line, or some short YouTube gameplay videos, but he likes being able to have a conversation about it! If it's important to you then learning about it lets him learn more about you!

If you invite him to come play with you, well he can't just deny you. Cute Co-op games like Minecraft and Stardew Valley are more his speed, but he won't mind more competitive games like Mario Kart! Regardless of if you win or loose he'll always compliment you skills~

How does Nazuna like Horror Games? Well the short answer is he doesn’t. He likes to act big and tough and he'll always SAY he won't get scared… but you can tell by the way he sits still as a rock and barely talks when playing that maybe he's just a little freaked out. He'll stick to just watching you play, if he can.

If you're someone who is rarely frightened and takes risks then he'll be a bit jealous. He'll always end up muttering about it, "Why would you go in there!? It's gonna get you, it's seriously going to get you! Run FASTER!".

If you're someone who gets scared too though, then theres usually a lot of yelling and clinging to each other. You'll always end up in a fit of giggles over being scared by something that probably wasn’t even meant to be scary. (Getting jump scared by a peeper slamming into your base in Subnautica IS scary, okay!!)

[artificialqueens]

Bitch Fight, Ch.13 (Multi; Adorney) - Lita

Welcome to the world of Femme Fatale Wrestling. The future is female, and we're here to prove it.

A/N: In this chapter, Courtney deals with the repercussions of losing the championship, Adore tries to help, and everyone is sad haha. As of here, the story gets pretty heavy, and I can only apologise. Regardless, hope you all enjoy, tysm for the continued love for this fic <3<3

TW: Discussion of past sexual assault, discussion of alcohol/substance abuse

******

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Jesus Christ. Why do you people never knock before barging in here?” Bill rolls his eyes, standing a few feet away from the door that Courtney has just shoved her way through. “I could be naked in here - if I did that shit to you ladies I’d be in fucking jail.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Courtney repeats. She’s too angry to give a shit about manners.

“What?” Bill says indignantly. Courtney slams the door shut.

“This makes no goddamn sense - if you have a problem with me, tell me. Don’t just push me off the card and refuse to explain why.”

“I don’t owe you an explanation,” he folds his arms.

“Yes you fucking do! I…for god’s sake…” Courtney can’t get her words out, she’s so frustrated. “How much longer are you gonna punish me for one mistake? It’s been nearly a month since I dropped the title, I was supposed to get it back-“

“You dropped the ball,” Bill says dismissively. “You fucked up, in the main event. You’ve proved that you’re not reliable, and you need to change my mind before I put you back in a prominent position.”

“Which is impossible, since you’ve not given me a fucking match - again.”

This was getting unbearable. The week after he’d changed the finish of her last match with Adore, Courtney had been pushed down the card into a curtain-jerker against Joslyn, which she’d been booked to lose. And losing to Joslyn was a hard fucking sell. The week after that, she’d shown up to work to find that she wasn’t on the card at all. That time, she’d been too pissed off to do anything about it; she’d just gotten in her car and left, and woken up to sixteen missed calls and about two dozen texts from Dela. But after more of the same tonight, she was done; she refused to let this shit keep happening. It was humiliating, and exhausting - and she was sick of seeing how delighted the rest of the locker room seemed to be to watch her fall from grace. She needs answers, even if trying to get them out of Bill was like pulling teeth, and being around him made her skin crawl.

Meanwhile, Adore had been thrown into a new feud against Bianca, which was a disaster waiting to happen. Granted, Bea was good - they were friends, and had been for a long time. Court owed her a lot. But she was also falling apart at the seams - she hadn't complained this much about her knees bothering her for months, and if Bea is complaining, it's a definitive tell that she's in more pain than anyone else would be willing to put up with. She wasn't in any state to be dealing with the workload of a title feud, and Courtney had an uneasy feeling that she was going to push herself too far and seriously hurt herself again.

More to the point, ever since booking power had fallen into Bill’s lap, Bianca had been chopped liver. That was obvious since his first move had been retconning their feud about a year earlier. She was too old, she wasn’t a draw - Courtney chose to read all of that as shorthand for ‘she’s not hot enough’. Shock horror, a straight guy doesn’t think a forty-something lesbian is fuckable enough for his tastes.

She couldn’t help but feel like he’d placed Bea back into the main event to get under her skin. After he’d cut their feud, Courtney had fought for her, desperately. So really, he was giving her what she wanted, in a roundabout way. Fucking bastard.

“There’s a locker room full of other girls who’d have given an arm to be in the position you spent the last year in, and you took it for granted. You’re completely replaceable, and I don’t owe you shit - that’s the nature of the business, sweetheart.”

Courtney flinches.

“I just don’t get it - I was fine until a month ago. Then I screw up once, and you’re pulling me from shows and jobbing me out to the fucking rookies. It’s an exercise in public humiliation - if you didn’t want to give me the championship back, you should have just told me that. Don’t string me along like this.”

“I’m not obligated to tell you anything - you show up, you follow my instructions, and you do your job. Try not sucking at that before you start making demands.”

“What does Jinkx think about this?” Courtney says, trying to cling to some hint of assertiveness as she folds her arms.

“Jinkx isn’t here,” Bill says coldly. “I know you’ve spent the last few years getting comfortable knowing that being a whiny brat will get you what you want, but that’s not how this works any more.”

“Adore has been wrestling for what, three months? Maybe four? You really think she has what it takes to be the face of the promotion?”

“She’s over with the fans.”

“That’s not the same thing.” Courtney grits her teeth. She hates that she’s throwing Adore under the bus. It hurts. Adore didn’t ask for any of this - it isn’t her fault. “I have more experience, I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you?” Bill raises an eyebrow.

“I just need you to know that you’re making a huge mistake here. I need that title back-“

“That’s not for you to decide.” Bill takes a few steps closer to her, and Courtney twitches nervously. She feels her stomach turn a backflip. He sighs heavily, dragging a hand down his face. “Courtney, get the fuck out of my locker room.”

“Please, just give me a match tonight. I don’t care who it’s against, I just…” She’s really desperate now; words coming out in a flustered babble, not really sure of what exactly she’s even saying. She crosses her arms tightly, taking an instinctive step away from him. She feels tears spilling down her cheeks, not entirely sure where they came from.

“If you’re gonna be a little bitch and start crying, this conversation is over.” He curls his lip, walking away from her. Courtney has her back pressed flat against the door, her chest tight.

“Please…”

“You’re acting like a fucking baby, and babies don’t get matches. You’re off the card, go home.”

“What about the next show?” Her voice is small and sheepish - god she hates the way he talks to her.

“I’ll think about it. Right now, you’re being a pain in my ass, and that’s not doing you any favors.”

“Thank you,” Courtney murmurs, looking at the floor. Where the fuck did that come from? Her hands are shaking - all she fucking wants is to be out of this room. Why did she think this was a good idea in the first place? Fuck, this is awful - why is being around him so hard for her? It’s not like he’s ever tried to do anything. Relatively speaking, he’s one of the better men she’s met in this fucking industry. “What about the-“

“You ask me about the title one more time, it’s another year before you get anywhere near it again.” Bill says. She can tell that he’s having to try not to raise his voice.

“I just don’t know what to-“

���I don’t know how much more time I need to waste spelling it out for you. Nobody cares about you - people don’t want to watch your matches, they’re sick of you. Maybe if you spent more time wrestling, and less time shaking your ass and eye-fucking everyone in the crowd, that wouldn’t have happened. You’re not a draw - Adore is. She’s selling more tickets than you ever did; people give a shit about her. If you want to stay on the card, make people give a shit.”

He turns his back to her, like he’s trying to make it clear that this conversation is over. Courtney reaches to open the door again; she doesn’t even care that that amounted to nothing, get her out of here - get her the fuck away from him. She feels so humiliated and disgusting - she wants the ground to open up and swallow her.

She misses Jinkx - she misses when things were normal, when shit like this wouldn’t happen. Obviously she can’t tell him why she needs the fucking belt. That would only encourage him - it opened her up to god-knows-what, it made her more vulnerable than she already was. She can’t do that. Not again. She won’t survive it again.

As she has one foot in the hall, he says: “Oh, Courtney?”

“Yeah?” She replies tentatively.

“I like you better with your hair down.”

****

“Is everything okay?”

It’s fucking melting hot outside, as per usual, but Courtney has an enormous oversized sweatshirt pulled on over her ring gear, her bag slung over her shoulder. Adore stubs out her cigarette and runs after her. Courtney doesn’t stop - spotting her and then picking up her pace, eyes fixed on the ground.

“Courtney?” Adore finally catches up with her, breathing out of her ass as she grabs her by the shoulder. Courtney makes a little frightened noise, jolting around to face her and letting out a long, relieved sigh, hand clasped over her chest. Her eyes are red and splotchy, black rings of wet mascara underneath them. Adore feels a pang of worry almost instantaneously. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Courtney says, her voice emotionless and forced. She tries to keep walking. Adore grabs her hand, pulling her back.

“I don’t mind - I’ve got like, forever until my match.”

“Adore,” Courtney snaps - Adore shrinks back from her. “I’m fine.”

Courtney has bitten most of the gloss off of her bottom lip, the skin peeling and raw. She doesn’t look even remotely fucking fine. The sun is just starting to set, the asphalt bathed in pale gold. Even when she’s crying, Courtney looks stupid pretty in the warm half-light. But she also looks miserable, and that hurts.

They’d had a couple of ‘sleepovers’ at Courtney’s place since the first round in the locker room, and Adore isn’t sure if it’s the sex she likes so much as the way Courtney looks at her afterwards. Nobody has ever looked at her like that before - with that kind of sheer bliss and love in those fucking gorgeous green eyes. It makes her feel…well, adored. If something’s wrong, Adore wants to fix it. It’s the least that Courtney deserves, after she’d shown up and made a mess like she had.

“No you’re not,” Adore furrows her brows. “Court, please.”

“I will be fine,” Courtney corrects herself stoically, straightening up her posture and forcing a smile. Adore’s face crumples. “I need to go home.”

“You don’t have a match?“

“No, I don’t,” Courtney sighs defeatedly. “I’ll talk to you later.”

She starts to pull away - Adore still gripping onto her hand. She doesn’t want to let her go. Not when something is so obviously wrong. Not when she could be there to help. Courtney pulls her into an embrace; Adore rests her chin on her shoulder, breathing in her scent. She doesn’t want to let her go. Courtney’s lips press against hers; delicate, far too quick. It feels like she’s doing it out of obligation.

Adore feels her eyes watering; she misses her so fucking much when she’s not around. The idea that something is wrong with Court is still eating at her, and she doesn’t like it one bit.

She’s been worried ever since their last match that she’s ruining a good thing just by existing. She didn’t deserve the title, or the support from the fans - at least not any more than Courtney. She’d worked for it. It meant something to her - it hadn’t fallen into her lap by fucking accident, which is more than Adore can say for herself. She’d gone through what Bianca had termed ‘a load of angsty, self-sacrificial bullshit’ since the last show - Bea had had to talk her down from vacating the belt, or going to Bill and asking him to give it back to Court. She had her own career to think about, and some girl she had a crush on wasn’t worth throwing that away for. But she also had time to actually earn it, and how she felt about Court went way beyond a crush. Adore had never actually spoken with Bill alone. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She got weird vibes from him - not bad. Just weird. Bianca seemed pretty nonplussed by whatever was going on with Courtney - it wasn’t as if she didn’t care, but she didn’t seem to be concerned, for the most part. It was like she’d seen it all before somehow - like she knew what to expect.

Adore looks at her; desperate to say something, but unable to make the words fit. She grabs for her hand - trying to keep her here for a little longer. Courtney has to practically pry Adore’s fingers from her wrist, her face blank. Adore stutters - she has to say something, to hold her attention for a little longer - but she walks away.

Adore watches her leave. She fucking hates watching her leave.

****

Courtney had spent twenty minutes in her driveway; car still running, seatbelt still on, staring into space. She felt fucking disgusting whenever she had to spend any kind of time around him. Like she wanted to physically climb out of her skin. He had this way of making her feel like a piece of meat - even the idea of him looking at her melted holes through her flesh and made her feel dirty. That comment about her hair had only driven the point home - it felt so sickeningly familiar, so horrible.

It’s not Bill’s fault. It’s not Bill’s fault that he looks too much like he did, or sounds too much like him. It’s not Bill’s fault that she hears that fucking voice in her ear every time he talks to her - ‘don’t sell it, don’t sell it…’

She has to check that her front door is locked three or four times before she can relax. She has no idea why she does that; as if that piece of shit has any idea where she lives, or why he’d want to find her even if he did. And like the fucking door being locked was going to do anything to stop him. It hadn’t happened here - it hadn’t even happened in her old apartment back in Melbourne, and she was sure as shit never going to set foot back in that fucking gym again - both he and it were thousands of miles away. She has no reason to feel this kind of fear everywhere she goes.

She draws every curtain and every blind in her apartment before she changes. It feels like the walls have eyes. She left her clip-on ponytail discarded on the floor of her bedroom. It was human hair - it cost her a ridiculous amount of money. She can’t bring herself to care. She just needed to get it the fuck off of her.

Cutting her hair had been ridiculously fucking freeing. She’d done it herself, in her bathroom on her first sober birthday - Bianca sitting on the closed lid of her toilet and cheering her on from the sidelines. It felt like meeting herself for the first time, as she studied her reflection with her ponytail in her hand. The extensions had come into play a couple of weeks later, when somebody in the audience had started a ‘Britney Spears’ chant at the first show she’d worked with a pixie, and her match with Raja had gone entirely to shit, the two of them falling over themselves laughing.

In the last year or so, she’d stopped getting ready at the venue - every pithy comment Bill had made about her looking like a boy when she wasn’t in gimmick, and there’d been several, made her nervous. Worried that he was going to screw her over somehow; being hot remained to be the only value she had to the male population.

She didn’t know whether or not he actually had a thing for her - thinking about it was uncomfortable, and she didn’t like doing it - but subliminally, she’d always just assumed that if she was pretty enough for him, he’d leave her alone. She’d seen the kind of spiteful bullshit that had come Bianca’s way from him, or how awful he’d been to Dela after the hair versus hair match. If she wasn’t pretty, then she was fucked.

Except she was pretty. And here she was, fucked anyway. So why did any of it matter? Why had she ever bothered? Her looks hadn’t saved her the first time, so she’s not sure why she’s surprised. If she really wanted to be protected from him, maybe she should have stopped showering and started wrestling in sweats - make herself as repulsive as possible to him. That hadn’t worked the first time either, though. There was nothing that she could do.

Protecting herself from him? What the fuck is she thinking? It’s not his fault. None of this is his fault. He’s just a man - and it would be harder for him to change that than it would be for Courtney to fucking get over herself. The guilt that comes along with ascribing these shitty intentions onto him because of something that somebody else did to her years ago makes her feel sick.

When she can face seeing herself naked for long enough to get undressed, she puts on a Spice World t-shirt she’s had since she was about twelve. She used to wear it as a nightgown. It’s old, and safe, and reminds her of home - and it’s still a few sizes too big for her. The last thing she wants to do right now is look at her own body.

She tries to ground herself - trying to empty her mind as she makes herself a chamomile tea; concentrating on the sensation of the linoleum beneath her bare feet, or the warm steam from her mug rising up onto her face. It doesn’t really work. When she flops down onto her couch, her living room feels too empty and quiet, but the thought of playing music or turning on the TV to try and drown out that silence feels overwhelming.

It’s been nine years, and she still doesn’t know how to deal with herself when she feels like this. She just has to lie back and let the tide take her, hoping that she’ll come out on the other side and feel okay.

She just wishes that it didn’t take such menial, stupid little things to set her over the edge. She’d hoped that she’d be over this by now - one day, this will all just be a bad memory. That’s what she’d told herself at the time. She’d been telling herself much of the same ever since. Either she’s been bullshitting herself since she was twenty-one, or bad memories are a hell of a lot more potent than she’d realized.

When she was drinking, she didn’t have to think about this shit. She physically couldn’t - that bad memory happened to somebody else. She didn’t care. How could she? It was barely real. That itch of temptation was always at the back of her mind; but with it was the knowledge that with losing her sobriety, she’d lose her job, her friends, and her life as she knew it now along with it. That didn’t feel worth it any other day of the week. But when she felt like this, she’d throw it all away in a heartbeat; anything so that she didn’t have to sit and stew in her own misery and fear.

Her phone vibrates in her lap, startling her. It’s Adore, texting her. She’s missed two messages from her already.

u ok angel??? sorry for being annoyinf earlier. i miss u xx

Is thre anything i can do xx

courtney??

Courtney aches as she reads the messages. Adore is everything she needs right now - she’s warm, and safe, and beautiful. That brief embrace in the parking lot was the first and last time she’d felt okay all night. She wants to bury herself in her arms, picturing her every minute detail. The smell of her hair - fresh sweat and cheap candy-scented body spray - and the little grooves and bumps in her scarred-up skin. Being away from Adore pains her. She’s barely known her for a month, and she can’t get her out of her head.

She wants to call her up, ask her to come over. She needs her, right now more so than ever. She’s scared, and alone, and Adore is so fucking perfect.

But she can’t. She can’t put this shit on her - she can’t risk scaring her off. It’s not fair on her. Courtney already feels like enough of a fucking burden on everyone she knows. Her anxieties and her drinking and her fucking easily-triggered bullshit have caused enough pain to enough people. Adore doesn’t deserve that too.

Courtney switches her phone off.

[chil2de]

Oh take as long as you need love, hope you were able to get the furniture you wanted and that the remodelling’s going well, love you - 🥰

i will sell you my entire soul, a kidney or literally a lung for ur forgiveness because i’ve been mia for ages LMFAOO

i’ll talk about myself afterwards!!! i heard about your exams baby, i’m so fucking happy that you passed! i had a premonition since the start and i knew you had it in you :D believe me when i say i started grinning, u better have celebrated and treated urself to some nice things!!!!!!!

congrats on the reread! i have to give major kudos in the first place that you even had the patience to go through with it in the first place, no because seriously that’s genuine dedication it’s mindblowing. like. you would sit there and read through all my old works?🥺🥺 ur my no.1 contender of giving me heart problems istgggg

i’m totally fine if you wanna keep sending asks instead, i genuinely don’t mind and i’d prefer for you to be comfortable. so whatever you do end up choosing, i’ll support it regardless!

it’s been a while so maybe you read up on the jjk manga? mayhaps? lemme know, cause i’m interested to hear about it! i swear jjk came back as well, i saw some of the recent chapters briefly

the jjk shirts sold out super fast but i managed to grab a white one with four panels of the curses on em, the one with jougo, m*hito sukuna and someone else who is probably not of importance if i can’t remember their name LMAO— it’s nice!! the material is 100% cotton so its one of those stiff-er(?) shirts, 10/10 would recommend for you to get one the next time they’re in stock again

i remember very faintly how i said i’d recommend you some anime LMFAO excuse me it’s 5am as i write this but i was extremely hellbent on getting back to you before sleep <3 dont wanna worry ya

you should totally check out oregairu whenever you can, or maybe violet evergarden? they’re not similar in any way shape or form to gintama, jjk, hq etc but.. they hold a special place in my heart ;; i suck at explaining without accidentally spoiling things or rambling for ages so check out the blurb for them whenever you can ! plus the animation in ve is absolutely stunning

and yeah, i’m from england! i get you completely djghdhg it’s just because most fic writers are american so at a certain point i just wired it into my brain, then whenever i meet someone who’s from england i just get so excited it’s like ?? wow?? you know what anime is? i hope that doesn’t sound rude LMAO it’s just how i said before that the lack of anything anime related here is horrid. esp waterstones, like you said. god that’s awful. i recently caught up on the haikyuu manga online but i wanna support the author by buying the volumes and they’re literally sold out or sold in strange numbers </3

aside from that, how have you been?? taking care of yourself? happy september, btw! it’s basically autumn now, an absolute shocker of a fact but i’m trying my first ever psl whenever starbucks releases them here~

tysm as per usual for your kind complimentsss AAAA u have no right!! absolutely no right to make me blush. genuinely a crime, you should be locked away and kept under supervision :<<< thank youuuu you are the sweetest angel to walk this earthhh~

i’m starting to slowly try to ease myself back into writing for gintama lmaoo, it’s a slow process but i’ll get there eventually!! just gotta wait for my hyperfixations to shift, is all

as for me, the remodelling’s going pretty good! i’ve picked up most of the things i’ve needed like paint, new led strips and bed sheets. i made a grave mistake of buying a mirror from ebay and it smashed in transit LGMHJJD it’s okay you can laugh cause i totally did too, so i’m going up to ikea again next week to get that plus a bed because mine broke? it just.. collapsed? also very funny i promise you it’s not tragic at all <3

thinking of covering up a wall where my pc’s going to go with manga panels, especially haikyuu and blue lock (another sports manga, it’s about football! 10/10 would recommend) because the panels are just *chefs kiss* especially... miya atsumu... damn like timeskip tsumie just hits so different idk why, plus some sneaky gintama panels to help me forget that i still haven’t watched the movie and refuse to watch it. that’s a lie, actually. i got 30 mins in before i quit cause it felt like i was going to violently sob /j

sorry if i missed anything that you said! pinky promise i read it but my brain might’ve short circuited, u definitely have permission to bully me into it if i did forget (i say this like you’re not a kind soul and you wouldn’t just remind me nicely in a soft tone LMAO)

yeah!!! they do have cutouts, they shouldn’t let me and u near them tho cause we’ll end up taking a few home LMAO

first class tickets hell yeahhhh here we go🥺🥺🥺 i call dibs on paying for the shinkansen!!! we can go to the anime district, get some cool merch! akihabara? i think? pretty sure! also does japan sell squishmallows? everyone keeps talking about them but no one sells them in the uk... i want to expand my stuffed animal collection but build a bear charges like 40 quid for no good reason (that sentence in itself was the epitome of being british)

alright that’s a goodnight from me! i hope you’re having an absolutely great day/night/ evening, if not, hope it’s tolerable instead (:

take a sip of water<3