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elleloquently · 18 hours

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too little, never late [ 1 ] : ellie williams

" can you see me? i'm waiting for the right time

i can't read you but if you want, the pleasure's all mine "

series masterlist

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ellie williams x female reader | college au - best friend!ellie

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| a/n - here it is!! decided to abandon my lowercase thing for this fic, not sure why but it felt right lmao. comments, reblogs, and asks ab this are so encouraged and appreciated <3 excited ab this one, hope you guys are toooo | c/w - warnings for the entire series are listed in the masterlist. a bit of exposition here. reader is vaguely indicated to be girly i guess and closeted (sorry!!!) switching between past/present tense is very much on purpose / intended!!

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧　

It was hard to pick your favorite season on campus.

During move in every year, at the end of summer, the air felt full of promise. The music was loud from passing by cars, the bars especially crowded during syllabus week.

Winter was pretty, too, with the string lights that adorned the town and the ice skating rink that was put up downtown. It was easy to blow dining dollars on the hot chocolate and donut truck that was always posted nearby.

There was spring, when all of the campus greenery started to bloom. It felt like tradition for all classes to be skipped on that first warm day every year, the campus green filled with hammocks and picnic blankets.

But fall.

Campus felt like it was made for fall.

The sun was still warm, but the leaves were turning. It was the perfect time, the colors still bright and vivid, the brief window before they faded to brown.

Pumpkins would be placed strategically within the decorative flower gardens, a last chance for beauty and atmosphere before everything died for the winter. Come October, the statue of the university mascot would be decorated in a different costume each week, leading up to Halloween.

September was just a little bit perfect.

The warmth from summer still lingered, the promise and anticipation of the upcoming semester evident in the atmosphere. Still, there was an indication of fall. The trees were green and yellow and orange and some strange colors in between. People were already planning their Halloween costumes. Something about the sunshine this time of year always felt different. Looked a little more beautiful, maybe.

"It looks like the early 2000's here. On this street," You mumbled, stepping carefully over the curb as you gripped tighter onto the brown paper bag in your arms.

"The fuck does that mean?" Your best friend snorted from beside you, shooting you a sidelong glance.

Your eyebrows knit together immediately as you catch Ellie's glance, her pale green eyes giving you a once over. Still, you defended your observation.

"It looks like a trick or treating street," you mumbled, your sight following along the sidewalk. Leaves were already starting to fall, littering the sidewalk.

"Like how it would look when you were a kid. Reminds me of Halloweentown," you explained lightly, continuing to walk back to campus.

Paper grocery bags in hand, you were making the short journey back to campus after venturing into town. Ellie would have driven, easily, but you always preferred the walk. It was only a matter of minutes, anyway. Besides, parking downtown on a Sunday was shitty to navigate.

You didn't mind living in a college town, as opposed to some universities that existed in the middle of a big city. After growing up in the small town of Jackson, you didn't mind being in a bubble.

"Good movie," Ellie muttered, seemingly more concentrated on crossing the final busy road before you would be back on the campus pathing.

It did remind you of Halloweentown, stupidly enough. It was the first thing you had said several years ago, when yourself and Ellie had stepped off of the school bus and saw a college campus in real life for the first time.

It had been a school field trip during the fall of sophomore year of highschool. Chaperoned by several teachers and a few worrisome parents, the school had organized a weekend long college tour, an attempt at getting students excited about higher education.

Back then, you had felt smitten with the university for stupid, insignificant reasons. The aesthetic being one of them, though you would be hard pressed to deny the fact that the way in which campus looked definitely played a part in your deciding factor. The drive-in movie theater that was five minutes away from campus was a nice selling point, too.

Still, it had felt cool at the time, learning about everything that the possibility of college had to offer.

Choir was still a thing in college, who knew? And you could major in art? Your chosen extracurriculars during that time period had been just that. You were in the high school choir, and Ellie had joined the art club. You had considered joining the art club too, just because you were jealous. At the end of the year, they got to go on a trip to some cool place with a lot of museums.

You never did end up joining, though, and had been unreasonably pissed when Ellie had been gone for two days, out of state. You got your payback the next year, when the choir had gotten to go to Disney and Ellie was left in Jackson, waiting for you to come home.

Now, art was just a hobby for Ellie, and the idea of auditioning to join a college choir felt laughable. Even so, when the time came to start seriously thinking about the idea of college, Ellie couldn't quite shake the memory of how everything in her had lit up at the sight of the university planetarium when she was younger. Soon after, Ellie had learned about astrophysics.

You hadn't planned to attend the same college, but it was certainly a perk. The small things that caught your interest during that first college tour had turned into a real curiosity once junior year of highschool had hit. Turns out, the school had a lot of really good programs. The departments for your desired majors were highly rated. Tuition rates were good, which was even better. Besides. Campus was gorgeous.

You had started imagining it, thinking about it, whispering about the possibility during late night sleepovers. When it was decision season, you were both on edge. It's not like you were applying to an Ivy, but it was the future. Who wouldn't be a little freaked out? The idea of one of you getting in and not the other was humiliating and nerve wracking.

It was thrilling, then, tearing open your letters together with shaky hands in the privacy of Ellie's bedroom. It had been a damn near stealth mission trying to get to the mail before your parents or Joel got to it first.

Joel was more easy going, attempting to hide his concern and curiosity between casual questions and glances, knowing a letter should have been arriving any day. Your parents, on the other hand, had been hounding you relentlessly. But yourself and Ellie wanted the moment to yourselves, alone. So that's what you had done.

You had checked the mail multiple times a day, your heart dropping to your stomach once you finally received the letter. Instantly it was shoved into your overnight bag before you had peddled to Ellie's, your bike wheels turning faster than ever before.

Ellie had looked like a kid again when you had opened the letters, shrieking and falling back onto her bed as you clutched each other's hands, the relief palpable as you read that you were both accepted.

"We should watch it," you suggest, turning your head. Your gaze fixed upon Ellie, focused on the strand of hair that falls over her face. Her hands are full, so she halfheartedly attempts to blow it away.

"Huh? Yeah, sure," Ellie replied, appearing as though she doesn't really know what she's replying to.

Someone on a skateboard is zipping by, their trail quick and unpredictable. You don't notice that you're nearly in their path, your focus on Ellie. Ellie nudges you with her elbow, pressing you out of the way.

"Wait, can't. There's some guest speaker lecture tonight and Dina gets extra credit for one of her classes if she.. Asshole," Ellie cuts herself off, mumbling under her breath. She glared at the inconsiderate skater, moving closer to your side.

"-If she goes to it. I promised I'd go with her," Ellie finished, adjusting her grip on the paper bag in her hands.

The bag crinkles as Ellie's hands grip onto it tighter. It was nearly stuffed to the brim, and the one that you were holding onto wasn't any different. You were slightly worried that they would split and rip before you even made it back to your apartment.

The grocery shop had been necessary, but the items were not. Yourself and Ellie had ventured to the Natural Foods store downtown, throwing any item that looked cool or weird into the cart without a second thought. It was the type of store that would still require you to go to a real grocery store after the fact, leaving you lacking despite the money you had already spent.

"Oh, right. I forgot that it was tonight. What's the lecture about?" You questioned, feeling both totally fine and not fine at all at Ellie's response.

"No clue," Ellie grinned, shaking her head slightly. "Friend of the year. I'm not even the one getting extra credit."

A huff of laughter falls from your lips as you spare a glance at Ellie, not allowing your gaze to linger. It was always so easy to fall into step together, like the two of you were naturally in sync.

"You're coming, right?" Ellie asked then, drawing a shrug out of you.

"Umm, I'm not really sure. I still really need to like, study and stuff. Plus, when Dina told me about it, I didn't want to just assume that I wa-"

"I just assumed you would be going," Ellie clarified, her words coming out a little too quickly. "I mean, we all did."

You pretended to think about it for a moment, but you already knew that you would give in.

Attending some special event lecture wasn't exactly your ideal Sunday evening. You spent enough hours of your week crammed into a lecture hall already, fidgeting in your seat and watching the seconds tick by on a clock while simultaneously rushing to take notes. Besides, you really did have to study. And you didn't even know what the event was for, or what the lecture was about.

But Ellie would be there. And your other friends. And you always did have some weird thing about missing out. Even if it was just a lecture.

"I'll go," You said decidedly, barely catching Ellie's gaze before she pulled her eyes away from your own.

As your apartment building came into view, you found your steps quickening. The walk had been nice, but you knew that you were both sick of carrying the bags by now.

Your apartment was one that belonged to the university. Since it was a campus apartment building, it wasn't quite as great as the others around town. They were essentially glorified dorms. But financial aid had paid for the majority of it, so you wouldn't complain. Or, just not often, at least.

"Cool," Ellie mumbled, her posture relaxing a little.

In an instant, Ellie's hand is reaching out to the bag that you're holding as soon as a small tear forms at the bottom of the brown paper.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧　

"We need to leave soon."

"I know."

"We really need to leave soon."

"I know," Ellie grumbled, a soft huff escaping her. She turned over in your bed, eyeing you with an expression that could only be described as a slight glare.

You met her eyes from where you were sat at your desk, twisted around in your chair to look at her. Ellie was laying in your bed, with her head on your pillow and your throw blanket wrapped haphazardly around her. It wasn't a new sight in the slightest, and neither was the uncomfortable feeling that it prompted in the pit of your stomach.

You confused it with annoyance, sometimes. Or discomfort.

Even so, it was normal for the two of you to share a sleeping space, or to feel just as at home in the other person's bed. After all, you had been best friends for years now.

There had only been a brief period when it had been weird, only because Ellie had made it so.

It had been junior year of highschool. Ellie had dated a girl for a couple of months, and promptly stopped sharing the bed with you during sleepovers. It had been annoying at the time, and completely ridiculous. You tended to get defensive about it, insisting that it was always normal for the two of you to share a bed.

Your arguments were unwavering, because why was it suddenly strange for two best friends to share a bed? Ellie would only grumble in response, insisting that it was different.

Their relationship didn't last long. The usual sleepover routine promptly resumed after.

"You literally only come over to nap," you accused, turning back towards your desk to glance in your mirror.

"Shut up. That's not true," Ellie huffs defensively. She sits up as if to prove her point, shoving your favorite stuffed animal away from her. You catch the action in your mirror, an automatic frown pulling your lips downward.

"What else am I supposed to do? You take forever anyway, Jesus," Ellie continued, and the action of mumbling her defenses under her breath seems to be more for herself than for your sake.

"You could get ready, too," you suggest, only because you know that it would annoy her further.

"I am ready?" Ellie's eyebrows knit together, her gaze fixed upon your reflection in the mirror. She looks confused instead of irritated, and you feel just a little guilty. If you were closer to her, you would attempt to swipe away her slight frown with your thumb.

"I'm kidding," you soften, because it was impossible not to around your best friend. Your eyes meet hers in the mirror, and the smile that you offer her is small. It's still hot outside, but Ellie is wearing a gray hoodie that you're almost certain she will never let go of.

"Are you gonna be too warm?" Your gaze flicks around the items cluttering your desk before you shift in your chair again, giving Ellie a once over.

Ellie shakes her head, rolling her eyes despite the way in which the corners of her lips faintly twitch upwards. "I'll be fine. Those lecture halls are always cold as shit, anyway."

Ellie's response raises a good point, so you're quickly moving away from your desk and towards your closet instead. Ellie opens her mouth to speak, but the sound of a text tone coming from your phone interrupts her.

"Check it please," you instruct in a mutter, rifling through your cardigans and hoodies.

Ellie automatically obliges, pulling herself away from your bed and carefully moving towards your desk to retrieve your phone. "Dina wants to know if we're meeting up at the event or before... Why the hell is she texting you?"

"Why wouldn't she be texting me?" Your response is immediate as you frown at a sweatshirt. It's faded and worn, but that almost made it better. You had gotten it as a souvenir from a planetarium trip with Ellie and Joel.

Ellie registers the change in your tone instantly, glancing at you instead of at your phone. "No, I mean- Did you even tell her that you were going?"

"You said everyone assumed-"

"But you never confirmed-"

"She probably just knows we're together." You turned to face Ellie, shooting her a pointed look while holding the sweatshirt against your chest.

Apparently, Ellie wasn't great about answering texts. That wasn't your experience, but you had heard Jesse and Dina complain about it enough times to assume. "Have you even bothered to check your phone?"

"Shit," Ellie mumbled, reaching to fish her phone out from the pocket of her jeans. She hadn't checked her phone in a few hours, probably. The look that crosses Ellie's features though, indicated that Dina hadn't even bothered to reach out to her first.

Your lips quirked upwards as you watched her, rolling your eyes. "Just tell her we'll meet them there." You turn back towards your closet, contemplating your options.

Ellie's gaze lingers on you for a moment before she shakes her head, turning her attention back to your phone. Her own phone is replaced back into her pocket before she slides into your desk chair, grabbing your phone carefully in her grasp. The screen lights up, flashing Ellie with a picture of your lock screen.

The picture was just a little blurry. Dina had been the one to take it. You all had gone to a concert about a year ago, which gives reason to the dark background of the picture. You were grinning wildly, Ellie's arm slung around your shoulders as she wrinkled her nose at the camera.

Ellie simply looked at the photo for a moment, before remembering why she was even holding your phone in the first place. You hear Ellie swear under her breath, but you don't bother to look this time.

It was muscle memory as Ellie entered your password, unlocking your phone. She navigated her way to your messages with Dina, her fingers pausing briefly on the screen before she typed.

you

we'll meet you there

Ellie thinks for a moment, her lips twitching briefly as she added an additional text, an obvious indicator to Dina that it was not you that was responding, but Ellie.

you

dick

Your phone sounds again as Ellie is still holding it, the response from Dina being immediate.

dina ✩

you never answer your phone!!!

Ellie scoffs, but can't suppress the grin that appears on her lips at Dina instantly knowing that it was her. Ellie's next response is a quick one.

you

🖕

dina ✩

🫶

"What are you doing?" Ellie questioned, tearing her eyes away from your phone as you draw her attention once more.

You paused momentarily, holding the strap of your bag in your hand. "I'm gonna take my notes," You admitted, chucking the sweatshirt at Ellie before stepping towards your desk. "I wasn't joking. I like... Really need to study."

Ellie clumsily caught the sweatshirt with her free hand, snorting at your response. "Bullshit."

"It's not," you denied, rolling your eyes. Ellie's gaze followed your hands as you rifled through binders and books on your desk, fingers dancing around cosmetic products that were also currently littering your desk.

Ellie gently sat your phone down, reaching for a bottle of nail polish. The color was familiar, as it was the one you were currently wearing. You had painted them just a few days ago. Ellie knew because she had been with you, and the nail of her pinky finger was painted the same color to prove it.

Ellie never really painted her nails by her own volition, but she usually let you paint them whenever you had asked. The color was a bit glittery this time, and Ellie opted for a pinky.

"So should I say that we're gonna be late, or?" Ellie questioned, her eyebrows raising slightly as she continued to watch you.

"We're not. I'm ready, see?" You pull a textbook away from the pile, waving it at Ellie. She swatted at the book, rolling her eyes in response. It was a habit she never seemed to shake, one that you seemed to mirror quite often.

It's a cue when you shove your textbook into your bag, and Ellie pushed out an exhale. "Yeah yeah, I see," she mumbles, standing up from the desk chair.

The sweatshirt is placed back into your hands after you hoist the strap of your bag onto your shoulder, your smile nearly impossible to bite back at Ellie's mumbling.

"Let's go though, before we actually are late. Seriously, Ellie. You take forever to get ready." Your tone is dry but the amusement at your own joke is evident by your expression.

Ellie practically scowls, reaching out to swat at you once more. "You're the worst, you know that?"

Ellie's half hearted movement is easily dodged, and you couldn't decide between feigning offense or giving her a hard time.

"You love me," you decided to say, and that seemingly shuts Ellie up.

Ellie eyed you for a moment, but her response lacks any weight. "Whatever. Don't forget your dumb key again."

"Oh my G- That was one time," you defended, leaving Ellie to trail after you as you turned on your heel, an indication of your exit.

"Yeah, one time too many." Ellie's voice lowered slightly as you both stepped into the hallway, turning around the corner and heading for the elevator. "You called me at almost like, two in the morning."

You nearly winced at Ellie's words, an awkward grimace-like-smile appearing on your face. She was right, anyway. But it had only been one time.

It was towards the end of the spring semester last year. Of course, you hadn't remembered your key until it was too late, arriving at your door after a night out with Dina without any way to get inside.

Instinctively, you had called Ellie. It had been late and you were humiliated, not wanting to bother anyone in your building until morning. Ellie had shown up for you in under fifteen minutes, not even pretending to be annoyed because she could tell by your voice on the phone that you had felt awful.

The impromptu sleepover had been nice, though. Carefully spaced apart in Ellie's bed, the two of you had scrolled through your photos and videos dating back to the first year that you had met until you had eventually fallen asleep, phones dropping limply against the blankets.

"Shut up," you mumbled weakly, face warming slightly at the memory of your embarrassment. "We had fun that night."

"Yeah, we did," Ellie relents with a grin.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧　

It had taken nearly twenty minutes to walk to the building that the event was being held in. By the time you had actually made it, the sky was growing dark.

You weren't entirely familiar with the building. You knew that most of Dina's classes were held here though, so you could only assume that the event had something to do with that. It would make sense, considering the whole extra credit ordeal.

You were slightly anxious that the two of you actually were going to be late, but the sight of a crowd in the lobby instantly eased your worries.

You spotted Jesse first, due to his height.

"There." You nudged Ellie's arm with your own, causing her to follow your gaze. Ellie nodded and so you grasped the sleeve of her hoodie, leading her towards your friends.

Dina soon came into view, as well as someone else that you didn't recognize.

"You guys are the best," Dina gushed instantly, throwing her arms around yourself and Ellie in greeting.

"You didn't say that to me when I got here," Jesse frowned, raising an eyebrow at Dina once she pulled away.

"Oh please." Dina rolls her eyes, but it's lighthearted. "You're the best for driving me," she tells her boyfriend. Jesse laughs at her easy response, shaking his head before bumping his fist against Ellie's shoulder in greeting.

Ellie wrinkled her nose, jerking her shoulder away from Jesse. It was crazy how such tiny things could manage to transport you back through time.

It almost felt like the beat of your heart faltered once Ellie met your gaze, her expression instantly changing into an amused smile instead.

She had these mannerisms that were so Ellie, unchanging despite the time that had passed. You had tried to describe it to her before, but she just didn't get it.

Even so, the way that she looked at you now, as though you were both a part of some inside joke or something, threw you back to freshman year of high school.

That had been the year that the two of you had met.

Since Jackson was a relatively small town, having a new kid start in your class wasn't exactly a frequent thing. Whenever it did happen, it always ended the same way. Within a week, the new kid would always end up being integrated into an already existing group, the number of friends associated with each other being more than you would certainly ever have in a lifetime.

It was a consistent track record, so you almost didn't think anything of it when an unfamiliar girl was assigned to sit next to you in biology.

You had been feeling pretty bleak about starting high school. The friends that you had been closest to throughout middle school had changed over the summer. There was nothing wrong with the concept in general, but it hadn't been a good type of change.

Starting freshman year with little to no friends didn't exactly give you the most optimistic start.

But then, entered Ellie.

Auburn hair, shuffling feet, and a book bag adorned with space themed pins.

You had told yourself it was your anxiety, the way in which your cheeks had burned when Ellie had been instructed to take the empty seat next to you. Admittedly, you had been a little shy, forcing yourself to stare straight ahead without sparing her a glance. But then, you were worried about seeming rude. On the other hand, the probability of a potential new friend was slim. You knew how these things usually went.

It was stupid, really, the thing that made you even speak to her in the first place. But you were grateful for it.

While reaching for a fallen pencil under the table, your eyes had drifted to Ellie's shoes, a pair of red Converse. It's not like it was an uncommon choice, but something about it had caused you to feel a flicker of camaraderie. You had been wearing Converse too, only in black.

As you straightened up in your chair, pencil in hand, you found the words leaving your mouth before you could think it over.

"I like your shoes," you had said, seemingly catching Ellie slightly off guard.

She had only blinked at you for a moment before glancing down at her shoes, which led her to notice your own. "Oh, hey. I like yours too," Ellie had responded.

You didn't normally just start conversations like that, but Ellie wouldn't have known any better at the time.

Hushed conversations at your shared table in the back of the science classroom turned into seeking each other out in the cafeteria, which turned into begging for sleepovers on the weekend.

You learned a lot about the girl that had moved from Boston to Jackson, and she had learned a lot about you, too.

The two of you were quickly inseparable.

You would scrounge up whatever coins you could find, hauling them to the arcade at the nearest mall. Ellie had begged Joel for a bike for Christmas, purely so she could ride around town with you. You would press bandaids on each other's knees, scraped up from whenever you laughed entirely too hard and closed your eyes while steering, or from Ellie trying to knock you off of your bike as a joke, causing her to internally panic when she had actually succeeded.

The entirety of your friendship was captured in photo strips and homemade birthday cards. The first time you had ever used the photo booth at the arcade, all of the photos came out looking nearly identical because you couldn't stop grinning to make any other expression or pose. For the final photo, you had managed to throw up a peace sign, prompting Ellie to stick up her middle finger at the camera.

Luckily, the photo had been snapped before you gasped, your eyes widening at Ellie. It wasn't a big deal in the slightest, but your parents were... Strict. Your sleepovers typically happened at Ellie and Joel's.

You had whined at Ellie, complaining that there was no way that you could hang up the photos in your room now. Ellie tore the bottom photo off in response, keeping the middle finger picture for herself and leaving you with the rest. You had both hung them up in your rooms.

Joel was essentially another parent to you. He adored you, evident in the way in which he had called you sweetheart, prompting a bewildered expression from Ellie and a delayed moment of her howling with laughter. But really, he adored the way in which Ellie had so quickly found a friend after the move, and how her face always lit up whenever she talked about you. He didn't even mind that she seemed to spend more time on her phone, always knowing that it was you that she was texting.

Despite how comfortable you always found it to be at Ellie and Joel's house, there wasn't the exact level of comfortability at your own. There were just a few things that your parents didn't know about Ellie. But that was okay. Anything to keep up the sleepovers, to keep up your parents allowing Ellie to join you on weekend trips and vacations.

When Ellie's birthday had rolled around in the spring, the pressure was on. It's not like you had much money to even spend at that age, but in the span of a few months, Ellie had quickly become the most important person in your life. You wanted to do something nice for her, even if your realistic capabilities didn't exactly match your personal standards.

The gift ended up being a small pack of space pins, new ones to add to her collection. A few of them were designed to look like different planets, while one of them looked like a little rocket. In addition to the pins, you had made Ellie a birthday card, the colored construction paper being filled with sappy paragraphs of friendship, memories, and promises.

Years later, Ellie obviously no longer used the same bag from freshman year of high school. She still had the pins, though, and they were attached to the bag that she used for school now.

Jesse's voice gained your attention, and Ellie ignored the twinge of disappointment that she felt when your smile was pulled away from her, and instead directed towards the stranger that Jesse was now introducing the both of you to.

Ellie attempted to listen, focusing her attention on the stranger, Connor. She had heard Jesse briefly mention him before in passing, but it never seemed like they were actually friends. They had met the previous year, and shared a class together now. That was the extent of Ellie's knowledge.

"Hey," Ellie mumbled with a slight nod, admittedly more focused on the way in which you were fidgeting with the strap of your bag that was over your shoulder.

"Are you good?" Dina questioned, raising her eyebrows in amusement as she watched you at Ellie's side.

You nodded, just barely getting to respond before suddenly Connor was addressing you.

"Where are you coming from?" Connor asked, focusing his eyes on you.

"What?" You were a little caught off guard, not grasping the meaning of his question.

"Where are you coming from?"

"Oh. Um, my apartment?" You blinked at him, before realizing his curiosity must've been piqued by your bag. "Oh. No, I just like... Need to study," you responded, your words fumbled and awkward.

"Dedicated to your classes, I respect that," Connor responded, his smile growing slightly.

Ellie resisted the urge to scoff. Dedicated to your classes? Yeah, maybe. Knowing that you'd have a stomach ache due to anxiety all night if you didn't at least attempt to study? That was more likely.

You mumbled something in response, a forced laugh exiting your lips as Jesse and Dina genuinely laughed. They knew you well enough, anyway. They knew your effort was practically a futile one.

When you looked at Ellie, she made a face that indicated that she wanted to roll her eyes, but was holding back. It almost made you laugh, too.

The light conversations continued as the five of you made your way into the auditorium once the doors had finally opened. The room was actually pretty full, and Ellie couldn't help but wonder how many people were actually interested in the event, and how many had shown up because they shared a major with Dina and were also offered extra credit.

"I've heard this speaker before, actually. He's really good. Even if the content matter isn't the most... Interesting, he makes it engaging, at least," Connor said as you had walked through the rows of seats.

When Connor talked, it felt as though he was performing instead of participating in the conversation. It was almost unsettling, how his expression never faltered. Or maybe he was fine. Maybe Ellie was just tired and being judgmental.

Jesse and Dina had agreed to sit in the back, so that’s where you all had gone.

“When? Did you listen to him speak before, I mean?”

Ellie’s head nearly snapped in your direction as you posed your question, her eyebrows drawing together. She didn’t really know why she was surprised that you were participating in the conversation, but she was.

“It’s a yearly thing, right?” Jesse answers on behalf of Connor, glancing at him to confirm the answer. Connor nodded, and then you did, too.

“Is it the same thing every time?” Your voice sounds again, another question as you had glanced between Jesse and Connor.

“A… Sort of variation of it, I guess? But I swear, you won’t hate it. If you can spare a few seconds throughout your studying,” Connor joked, his eyebrow twitching upwards as he met your gaze.

The corners of your lips faintly twitched before you tilted your head to look at Ellie, making instant eye contact. The action, however small, soothed whatever weird thoughts had started floating around Ellie’s head within the last two minutes.

"Even if it's the most boring hour of my life, it's worth the damn extra credit," Dina concluded, causing a snort of laughter from Jesse.

"That's my intellectual," Jesse teased, earning a laugh from you and a groan from Ellie. Dina lightly shoved at his arm, but let him lace his fingers with her own anyway.

The interaction managed to hold Ellie's attention for a moment, until she felt you move away from her side.

The group of five had been standing in the aisle, lingering by a group of seats. You had moved to sit down though, evidently more seriously concerned with glancing over your textbook than Ellie had actually assumed. Ellie was going to turn back to Dina and Jesse and make some smart remark, until she noticed Connor moving to sit down, too.

Ellie's eyebrows practically furrowed as her eyes followed Connor's movements. It looked like he was intending on sitting down next to you, which didn't make sense. Why would he sit next to someone he had just met, like, five minutes ago? Jesse was right there, why wouldn't Connor wait to sit next to him? Or go find his own damn seat, somewhere else?

Ellie watched for a split second, tuning out the rest of Jesse and Dina's banter. No, yeah. Connor was definitely trying to sit next to you. Which didn't make sense. Right? Who does that?

"What are you studying for, anyway?" Connor was casually moving towards your seat, looking over you curiously.

"Uh, I was supposed to have an exam at the end of last week but the professor ended up being sick so... Now I have it tomorrow and I'm totally- Oh, sorry. It's for my-"

Ellie's feet are carrying her, rushed and fumbling as she moves through the aisle. She nearly tripped over the seats, passing Connor and immediately settling into the seat next to you. You cut off your own words as Ellie sat next to you, a smile replacing your previous expression.

"You got it," Ellie assured you softly, pretending Connor wasn't still looking at you.

"Yeah, right. You know I'm shit at exams. I always have been," you complained, chewing anxiously at your bottom lip. People were still filing into the auditorium, the seats filling up surprisingly quickly.

"Yeah, you have been," Ellie agreed, grinning when your jaw dropped at her. "But. You haven't managed to fail anything, either. Yet."

"Ellie," you groaned softly, exasperated and amused all at once. Ellie could tell.

"Bad test taker?" Connor muses, and Ellie's expression faltered. Jesus.

"Anxious test taker," you correct lightly.

Connor sat down then, in the seat next to Ellie. She almost feels as though she briefly goes rigid, and nearly wanted to whirl around to Jesse and tell him to get his friend. She also wants to tell you that you don't have to keep answering his questions, based on the way in which you're twisting your fingers in your lap and your gaze is flicking around.

"Understandable," Connor replied, and Ellie sat back in her chair. Understandable. What time was this thing supposed to start, anyway?

Jesse and Dina sat down then, with Jesse next to Connor and Dina at the end. The seating arrangement felt weird. It was uncomfortable, and Ellie began to fidget with her fingers in her lap. It was normally always just the four of them, but now there was some Connor separating them. Ellie tried to catch Dina or maybe Jesse's eyes, but they weren't looking, too caught up in their own conversation.

"What do you study?" Connor was talking past Ellie, directing his words at you.

Ellie took a small breath while you answered, mentally scolding herself for being so fucking weird. This was not a big deal. It was really, literally fine. Ellie was just tired, that's why she was feeling off. She was just tired. And the fact that a conversation was taking place over her wasn't helping.

"What do you study?" Ellie's gaze flickered in your direction as you spoke, before fixing back upon her Converse.

"B-"

You quickly cut Connor off, an assumptious expression appearing on your features. "Business?"

Ellie could tell even by your tone that you were trying not to roll your eyes.

Connor laughed, shaking his head. He leaned forward in his seat to get a better look at you, past Ellie. "Biology, actually."

"Oh. Huh. That's cool."

You looked surprised. Pleasantly surprised, maybe, if Ellie was willing to admit it to herself.

You stayed quiet though, because the auditorium lights started to dim, prompting the talking throughout the room to grow hushed.

Showing up had been a favor for Dina, so Ellie didn't feel too guilty about allowing her thoughts to wander. She tried, though, to focus on the lecture, because she didn't exactly like the direction in which her thoughts were wandering in.

Ellie focused partly on the speaker, and partly on the way in which you were sharing the armrest of the auditorium chair with her, your bare arm pressed against the sleeve of her hoodie. It was cold in the room, like Ellie had predicated, but your sweatshirt remained in your lap, under your textbook.

The contact was small and casual, nothing out of the ordinary. Still, Ellie's gaze flickered between the stage and your arm next to hers. Even from the brief contact, Ellie wondered if her hoodie would smell like your perfume later. Usually, her clothes always did.

You were seemingly focused on the speaker, though your textbook remained open on your lap. Occasionally you would glance down for a few moments, your fingers tracing over the paragraphs before you would look up once more. Ellie wasn't watching you, necessarily, but she could see you from out of the corner of her eye. Besides, she knew your habits.

It was about twenty minutes before Connor shifted in his seat, causing Ellie to stiffen. He leaned in close to Ellie's seat, but she knew instantly that it was so he could get closer to you.

"Do you have a pen? Or a pencil, or something?" Connor's voice was low and quiet, and Ellie attempted to stare straight ahead at the stage, as though he wasn't bordering a little too closely into her personal space.

You hesitated for only a second before leaning over to rummage through your bag, wordlessly passing a mechanical pencil around Ellie, handing it to Connor. Ellie spares a glance at you, noting the obvious confusion in your expression. Connor's arm is carefully reaching over then, grasping the corner of your textbook and pulling it off of your lap and towards himself.

Your eyebrows raised and your lips parted, almost as though you're going to mumble words in protest. You faltered at the sight of Connor scribbling something on one of the pages, any potential words failing you.

Jesse and Dina were completely oblivious. Ellie forced her gaze away, swallowing harshly.

When your textbook was returned to your lap, yourself and Ellie both looked down at the new markings on the page. Ellie's eyebrows slowly drew together at the sight of it.

A phone number. Connor had written his phone number.

It was bold. Stupidly annoying, and overbearing, Ellie thought. She felt a little too warm, suddenly, and maybe it wasn't as cold in the auditorium as she had originally thought. She briefly contemplated shedding her hoodie, but she didn't want to draw any attention to herself by moving around.

Ellie watched as you stared down at the written phone number. The exhale you released was shaky, and Ellie felt freakish for noticing the detail.

She couldn't tell, however, if you were flattered or annoyed. You always did tend to get weird whenever a guy showed any sort of interest in you. Refused to talk about it, like you were embarrassed or something. Rarely ever followed up on it, too.

You were always like that. It made Ellie paranoid. Paranoid that the feelings she had been harboring for longer than she would like to admit were obvious, paranoid that one of these days, you were going to give her some pathetic speech in an attempt to let her down easy.

Still, Ellie couldn't help the way in which her gaze drifted to Connor. Her eyes flickered over his features as she bit the inside of her cheek. You had dated before, sure. But the relationships were always few and far between, and they never really lasted long.

Ellie just figured you were avoidant. Or picky. Maybe both.

Was he the type of guy you would even be into?

Ellie swore under her breath, her eyes dragging back to focus upon the stage, upon the not really sure whatever the hell this guy was going on about but they had all shown up to support Dina's effort for extra credit lecture.

The hour felt slow with Connor in the seat next to Ellie, his phone number now etched onto the page of your textbook. Ellie wanted to erase it. Instead, she anchored her thoughts on the feeling of your arms pressed together.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧　

The sky was fully dark by the time that the event had ended, and Ellie walked you back to your apartment. She didn't need to, but she always did. She was a good friend like that.

Your face felt a little warm, the knowledge of Connor's phone number on the page causing your textbook to feel more weighted in your bag.

As September progressed, it continued to grow colder at night. The wind pushed leaves across the sidewalk, the sound comforting during the day but bordering on eerie once it was night. You were wearing your sweatshirt now.

"You gonna text him?" Ellie asked, nearly wincing as the words left her lips. They sounded so awkward. Despite all of your years of friendship, the two of you had never seemed to quite get a grip on talking about relationships, or girls or boys or whatever. It always felt a little unnatural, which didn't necessarily suit your dynamic.

"Who? Connor?"

"Yeah. Connor."

"Why would I text him?" You held the door open for Ellie, the two of you stepping into your apartment building. It wasn't even very late, but it was quiet. Your steps seemed to echo throughout the hallway.

"Because he gave you his phone number?" Ellie snorted, rolling her eyes as she jabbed the button for the elevator.

"I don't know why he did that," you mumbled.

You really didn't know why he would do that. Well, you could assume. But it still didn't make sense. It made you feel a little gross, for some reason, even though he had been perfectly polite. And the fact that it made you feel gross, made you feel guilty in turn.

"Besides. I'm like... Too busy. With class, and work. And... Hanging out with you," you added, stepping into the elevator after Ellie.

"You are so full of it," Ellie grinned, rolling her eyes.

"Shut up. It's our last year, we need to soak it in before it's over. Like, make memories and stuff."

"Last ye- Jesus. You're already thinking about that?"

"It's almost over," you pointed out, shooting Ellie a sideways glance.

"It's September. Holy shit. You're already worried about that?"

"Ellie-"

"I know," Ellie relented instantly, evidently wanting to be spared the sentimental, nostalgic spiel for the night. Besides, she did somewhat have a point. Maybe you were jumping the gun, a little. You couldn't exactly help it, though. You were sentimental to your core, rooted and grown with nostalgia for as long as you could remember.

"But you have plenty of memories with me. You do realize that, right?"

It was your turn to roll your eyes now, and you purposely bumped into Ellie as you exited from the elevator, stepping onto your floor.

"Whatever. I don't care. I don't want to text him, alright? I just... don't." You felt a little sick to your stomach, and you couldn't figure out if it was because you were trying to justify it to Ellie or to yourself.

"But wh-"

"If you're so concerned about it, why don't you text him?" You interrupted, essentially joking in response but your tone had come out just a little too defensive.

"Ha. Yeah right," Ellie mumbled, slowing to a stop as you reached your door.

"I'm glad I went tonight," You said then, attempting to change the subject.

You catch Ellie's quick expression, and you can only assume that she's instantly wondering if you will text Connor after all. "I love getting to hang out with you," you clarified, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. "And Dina. And Jesse."

Ellie shook her head, just barely managing to conceal her grin. "God, you're a sap. You're no better than you were when you were fifteen, you know that?"

"Don't care. Look, are you gonna stay?"

"Stay? I don't have anything with me. Plus, I thought you were supposed to be studying tonight."

You pretended not to be disappointed, but you were. Honestly, you were a sap. Especially when it came to Ellie. You couldn't help how much you loved being around her. When you were younger, your parents warned you about dedicating all of your time to only just one friend, but it had only continued to prove to be worth it. You were completely enamored with Ellie.

You told yourself it was platonic. You always told yourself it was platonic.

Only your journal knew otherwise.

"Fine. Go, since you can't wait to get away from me." Your words were dry but you grinned at Ellie, fumbling with your key to unlock the door.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Ellie stepped away once your door was unlocked, retrieving her own keys from her pocket. "Good luck tomorrow, though. Lunch after?"

"Yeah, definitely," you breathed out, grateful to have something to look forward to following your exam. "Text me when you get back safe. Love you," you called after Ellie once she was halfway down the hallway.

Ellie gave you a brief thumbs up in response.

Upon entering your apartment, you flipped on your lights and kicked off your shoes, carefully tucking them next to the door. After slinging the strap of your bag over a chair, you were already reaching into your pocket for your phone.

you

so you're really not staying

ellie <3

???

ellie <3

If I leave my car here overnight again I'll get another ticket

you

just wanted to hang out

ellie <3

Clingy

you

i know you are

you

i can see you in the parking lot 😁

ellie <3

🤨

ellie <3

On my way! back up

ellie <3

Fuck

ellie <3

On my way!

ellie <3

Omw jfc pack a bag

you

<<33 gimme 5 min

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧　

[ tags : ]

@mmmil3na @elliescoolerwife @fortune777 @boobdrug @spamfromali @seraphicsentences @muthafuckingstargirl @bready101

#ellie williams x reader #ellie williams x female reader #ellie williams x you #ellie tlou x reader #ellie tlou x female reader #tlou x reader #the last of us x reader #ellie williams college au

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l-in-the-light · 3 days

Text

The most embarrassing series of posts about Lawlu you will ever read: edition Whole Cake Island (part 12)

Lawlu in Whole Cake Island? There is none! Actually... do we really need Law to be present to analyze it, come to think of it? Luffy is really all we need; to watch his behaviour, things he says, his determination, to guess how Law's influence would show and how partying ways with him (even if temporarily) would impact Luffy.

This is the Alice in Wonderland Arc of One Piece, which means Luffy's main struggle will be to face himself, his own weakness, fears, and maybe even his own self-hatred. Which is why this time it won't be the usual scrutinizing analysis of frame by frame, but instead I will take a deep-dive into Luffy's mind. Are you ready? :D

Luffy starts Whole Cake Island arc in a rush. Because why wouldn't he feel in a rush? There's a wedding to stop! There's a chance they won't make it in time, after all. But... seeing how Zou ended, there's probably one more reason why Luffy is so irritated and wants to get things done as fast as possible... there will be someone waiting for him in Wano, alongside the rest of Luffy's own crew. Luffy could tolerate being seperated from his own crew for two years, but this two weeks trip to Whole Cake Island seems like a torture to him. What changed exactly between timeskip and now? Oh, right, Law got added into the picture ;)

"See? She didn't have any problem with my yeeting!" and I wish he could add "Law also had no trouble after I yeeted us in Dressrosa, you should be more hardboiled like him!", because I swear, this feels like the thing he actually means. And he is right, Law hated being yeeted, but he dealed with it just fine in the end, keeping his clear mind and sense of direction intact.

And then, out of nowhere, Luffy gains an interest in cooking. Luffy, of all people! The very same Luffy who thought a musician is more essential on the crew than a cook!

He even compares Nami's nutritional knowledge to a doctor instead of a cook. For Luffy, a cook is just someone who makes your food look and taste extra great, but it's not neccessary for a kid who grew up in a jungle eating everything the way it comes or simply by roasting it over a fire. So why is he suddenly so interested in cooking?? Is he missing Sanji that much? Is he trying to make his crew miss Sanji so the reunion is more emotional? Good guesses, but they have one flaw: they don't take Luffy's personality enough into account.

Back in East Blue, Luffy agreed to recruit a cook before a musician only because his crew wanted one and also because he's a freaking glutton.

"You guys are really rude, I made this food for you!" now that doesn't fit with Luffy's personality of "I want to eat all the meat". Suddenly, it's for them, hm?

Then he tries his own "kitchen sink curry", spits it out, shouts that's it's inedible and flips the table! Why so mad? Oh yeah, because as we learn soon after, he tried cooking multiple times and it's still something that can't be eaten. He tried so many times that he wasted a stock of food they had that was supposed to last them for a week, for all of them! And it's all gone in one day.

Luffy's frustration is understandable then, because this is what he considers to be "his best attempt". As we learn from SBS, Luffy's best dish is just a bowl of meat (in other words: pieces of meat put in a bowl lol), which means he would not prepare "curry" or any sort of exquisite dish for himself. He indeed did this dish with others in mind. He would be more likely to just roast whatever he caught and shove it towards them, asking "you want some?", if it was only about him.

Despite his constant failures, he's still not getting discouraged and wants to learn how to cook edible things for people to enjoy. Nami though stops him and tells him "to never go into the kitchen again", ouch. They have been starving for days as the result of Luffy's "cooking attempts" and Luffy almost lost his life as the result (eating poisonous skin of a fish they finally caught), so her reaction is understandable. But this should make us realize that Luffy, thanks to this whole (mis)adventure, understands Sanji better without even realizing it. After all, Sanji was also told to "never cook again" by his father.

But I think this adventure has one more meaning. Whole Cake Island is basically a tale about the good and bad sides of food industry, but also how food creates connections between people. And I think XxXholic covered the latter part better than I could ever put in words, so forgive me for the unexpected crossover here. You don't need to know XxXholic, its plot or characters to be able to follow the quotes, they also don't spoil anything from the plot, so don't worry. We're just following one of the many, many side characters there.

First of all, if you want to repay a debt or show your gratitude, the best way is to offer food and good drink. And the best way to do it, is to offer stuff you cooked yourself, because they require your own time and effort, and include your feelings (of gratitude and love) for the person you cooked it for. If someone does you a favour, it's a good idea to say "thanks" by preparing a dish they like, for example.

"I would like to cook with you and then eat it together. And then I would really like to know more about you. And for you to learn about me, as well" says the protagonist to one of his clients. Cooking together is a big thing because it creates an equal, mutual bond: you get to know me, I get to know you, and we can both try to become better at cooking together, but also better people for each other as well. Because by cooking we learn more about what the other person likes and dislikes, but also about their personality: their usual way of problem solving, about their patience, flexibility, stubborness, ability to learn etc. Your prefered way of cooking can also reflect your personality this way and you try to offer your best through a dish you put a lot of effort to make, for someone to enjoy.

You can learn a lot about yourself as well through cooking. If you compare your own cooking to someone else's, you can realize your own personality traits you wished you would have never noticed (for example impatience, like Luffy flipping the table in anger: even Nami called him out on it, Sanji would not approve of that action!). You might also realize that someone preparing food for you did it with lots of feelings, of kindness and love, and that's why that food tastes good. And if in comparison your own food is terrible, bland, without flavour or personality, it just shows you don't really share your own love with the world through the act of cooking. In Luffy's case up there, his food was so terrible (though definitely full of his personality lol) despite him putting in his best effort and feelings. How did it make him feel about himself? Perhaps like he has nothing good to offer to people he loves? But his final reaction is always this: try to be better and do better!

Luffy offering his failed attempts to his crew serves the same purpose: he's offering them what he has, even if the result is disgusting. But this is the kind of person Luffy is at the moment and he has nothing better to offer!

The sidestory in XxXholic has a happy ending, the struggle continues on and the woman's significant other supports her efforts and says they will wait for as long as it takes. Now, what does that have to do with One Piece? The reason this woman couldn't cook something that would taste good wasn't because she's clumsy, or didn't put any effort in or lacked knowledge (she actually studied cooking like it's an university subject, it clearly mattered a lot to her!).

What she lacked in the end was love, not for others, but for herself. She hated herself so much that she believed anything she would do would turn out bad (which is exactly what happened over and over), almost like she was subconsciously self-sabotaging her own efforts. And since she didn't have love for herself she had nothing to give to others either, despite caring for them and being so grateful to people who loved her the way she is, imperfect, disbelieving in her own worth, broken. She just didn't feel like she has anything to offer to all the great people around her.

Sounds familiar?

"What can you do?" Arlong asks Luffy. "You can't do anything, you're a disgrace as a captain". And Luffy proceeds to say he has great people who support him (which means he does not think of himself as great, he knows he lacks in so many ways), but there is one, just one thing he can do for them back: it's to beat up people like Arlong.

And yet despite that, in Whole Cake Island, Luffy attempts to do what he literally can't do: to cook. He knows he can't do it, but he tries it anyway, knowing very well what the end result will be. It's not that he lost his mind. We mustn't forget why he's doing a stealthy mission on WCI. It's exactly because he can't do what he usually does: beat up Big Mom. He promised he won't do it. But what *can* he do then? It's his struggle to become better and get out of his comfort zone, and he starts that from attempting cooking. It won't be the first or last time that he will fight against himself in this arc, even denying things he had the most confidence in. This is the arc in which Luffy loses the sight of what he can and can't do, and needs to come up with a new answer or rediscover the one he already had all along. This is Luffy in a crisis.

Now is that related to Luffy being seperated from Law and dealing badly with it? Or Luffy realizing how much he knows Law has faith in him and he wants to live up to it? Because like we established before, Luffy is doing this stealthy attempt only for the sake of his alliance with Law, he would not bother usually and would just destroy Big Mom because she's in his way. I can only imagine Luffy's inner struggle when he tries to come up with a new solution here but can't get any, nothing works out if he just can't beat up the bad guy and move on. Luffy's later refusal to eat anything that isn't Sanji's cooking, not even the syrup rain, must reflect how Luffy feels about himself in this moment: he feels pathetic and useless and he must hate himself for it.

There's one more angle to it. Luffy suspiciously wants to cook as fast as they're seperated from Law. He thinks nutritional knowledge is something a doctor does and he's impressed with it. Law is a doctor. It's not a stretch to think that Luffy wants to learn something new to impress his favourite person upon return. It's highly likely he wants to cook for Law as well (and he's using his crew for taste-testing for now), because he has feelings of love and gratitude he wants to convey to him, but he doesn't know how to do it. But Luffy always had Sanji who used his cooking exactly for that: to show his feelings of love for people (and was very vocal about it!). Luffy is just trying to do the same, but he realized he can't do it no matter what. By the end of the arc he comes back to terms with himself and finds the old truth again: he will leave the cooking to Sanji and rely on his crew. He can try to be a better person in other ways, but he will keep on searching for a way to show love and gratitude to them.

And we will not talk about Luffy suddenly remembering people smooch each other and talking about it in context of Sanji's wedding, uhum. If that's on his mind all of a sudden when it wasn't even once for last 80 volumes, then you can guess why it suddenly would be. People who love and care for each other smooch, so maybe he was considering... things...

Another odd thing Luffy does, which is to check on the map and comments, frowning "it's weird". He has a point, because we learn later it was a deliberate trap. But he's paying attention here because he tries to be useful and does things he usually wouldn't be doing. Just like with cooking.

Same here. It's probably the first moment in which Luffy realizes that having a longterm plan would be actually a good thing. Yeah, Luffy of all people. That's because he must be thinking "if it was Law, he would definitely have one". I feel like other people were pointing it out to Luffy before, but it's the first time he actually shows that he kinda cares and isn't answering with "I'm just here for the adventure. And become a king of the pirates, no plans included!".

Look here. This is Luffy in a crisis. "I have to get back and I'll destroy everything in my way if I have to!" Not only he's not supposed to destroy everything or beat up Big Mom, which he points out a moment later, but Luffy is clear here, he made his decision: if he can't go back, he will simply get rid of everything on his way. Getting back is the most important thing, everything else be damned.

Except... are we really talking about Sanji here? Get back where, Luffy? To Wano perhaps, where your crew and Law will be waiting?

"I'm not going to die in a place like this!!", "I made him a promise, but it's not here!!". I'm just saying, this applies both to Sanji and the promise Luffy made "to meet up in Wano". And if he wants to get back no matter what, it's because he knows he can't die here, he can't force a certain someone to go through a big loss again. He would rather tear off his arms than not return at all and break his promise.

And we get Sanji with his "I didn't tell you to wait..." and Luffy just laughs in reply. This particular laugh he used only once before, btw, and I don't recall anywhere else:

When he was telling Zoro how much he's worrying about Sanji. Because why wouldn't Luffy know that Zoro and Sanji are the most important people for each other? Zoro is his best friend and his first crewmate, Luffy just knows what's in his heart, the same way that Zoro probably knows who is so important for Luffy as well.

Do you still think Luffy-Sanji scene was *only* about Luffy and Sanji? That the whole promise talk was only about Sanji? And not two particular people waiting for both of them in Wano? It was always about both reasons.

Luffy says he can't be the king of the pirates without Sanji. And demands that Sanji says how he really feels (which is "to go back on Sunny" ❤). Imagine if Luffy said both of those lines to Usopp in Water 7. Maybe a lot of the conflict could have been avoided. Especially if Luffy would also follow his very own advice, because he was not saying his true feelings in the quarrel with Usopp. What changed since Water 7 in Luffy? A lot, actually. Ace, timeskip, Dressrosa, Law... All those things are huge milestones in Luffy's development. But there's also the promise he made. He promised Zoro his crew to bring Sanji back. And that promise also changed everything.

WCI is also the first arc in which Luffy says he is ready to drop everything, even his own dream, and go save whoever needs to be saved for his crew's sake. It's very ironic how in this scene he also needs to struggle against himself, this time with his enormous hunger, that seems to sabotage his ironclad determination. For once Luffy doesn't do things for food and that despite the whole arc being exactly about food. That's how serious he is.

Now we have to talk about the alliance with Bege. Here is Luffy's initial reaction: "what an awful person", "Bege is gonna get it!". He does not like Bege at all, he also wants to punch him for what Bege did to Pekoms. In other words, Luffy doesn't think Bege is a good person, at all.

But just a moment later, when Jimbei tells him "you should work together with Bege", Luffy changes his mind immediately. He's all up for this alliance. His crew, that has been with Luffy the longest (Nami and Sanji) can't believe their ears. What an interesting change, isn't it? Like I argued at the beginning of this post, Luffy has to do things differently this time instead of doing what he usually does. The problem is, he's not good at anything else than "beating the main bad guy". That's why in this case he's determined to do something he would usually never do. And forgive me for the callback again to XxXholic, because I can't resist:

Luffy has the same idea as the protagonist here. "This is all I can do", and "if this person was with me, they would be able to find a better way". In other words, Luffy agreed to this alliance because he thinks this is something Law would do as well. Luffy is constantly wondering in Whole Cake Island how Law would handle the situation and he knows he can't come even close to his level, but at least he will try to follow in his footsteps.

Of course Luffy wants at first to punch Bege for Pekoms. He's still trying to make this alliance a friendship, and if he hits Bege then they will be even, so they can try becoming friends. That's basically the idea.

But he doesn't get to do that and in the end, Luffy agrees to alliance based on "common goal" or "allignment of interest". He did not become friends with Bege in the process and didn't make things even between them. This proves Luffy knows what an alliance is and it's not friendship. I wouldn't say this means Luffy finally learned what an actual alliance is (though it's tempting, ngl). I would rather say he always knew that, but he chose to make it a point that whatever he has with Law, is friendship firstmost, alliance second.

And here is Luffy listening to Bege's plan. He's trying, okay. Not his fault he's constantly getting distracted, sidetracked and overfocused on making a silly entrance party trick (jumping out of the wedding cake). Bege is just not Law, and Luffy's tiktok's level span of attention is struggling here, heh. Also please notice Luffy's unusual focus on the smooching lol.

Oh, so that's Luffy's idea for the wedding surprise. He just wanted to do ninja's shadow clonining trick, definitely inspired by Raizou's show in Zou.

Coincidentally, that's the technique that was Law's request and made Law so damn impressed. Yeah, this is for sure a coincidence, that Luffy chose to do it like that, even though he didn't really have to have multiple copies of himself here to make it work. I bet he just thought "if Law would be here, that would impress him, I'm sure!" and I bet he's looking forward to telling him all about this adventure later on and seeing his face.

But it was essenstial for his plan to create chaos! He didn't do it just for fun! Are you sure? Because it was Brook who hid himself in the midst and did the deed with Mother Carmel's photo frame, and Luffy did not tell him to do this. Luffy simply wanted to be cool, okay, he didn't think that far ahead. He was supposed to cause chaos, he delivered.

And in his fight with Katakuri, Luffy is the one who has to have faith. Law had his faith moment in Dressrosa, now it's Luffy's turn.

Luffy found his answer about what he can do and how to become a better person for someone. It's to master his observation haki. Which, coincidentally, is Law's forte.

Luffy's curious, very strict words to Jimbei. "Don't let even death stop you, we'll be waiting in Wano!" It's basically Luffy's own promise he made before leaving Zou, just said in more deadly serious manner. That's because his experience in Whole Cake Island made him realize it himself: he will go back to Wano and not even death can stop him from achieving that. Because he promised that to Law people.

I'm sure for Law this would be indeed the most important thing, not to lose anyone ever again, especially Luffy who he (miraculously) managed to save all the way back in Marineford. I don't know how Luffy knows this or if he knows at all about Law's deepest fear, but he's determined not to die on him, that's for sure.

This is also the first big seperation for Luffy and Law. Luffy deals with it, treating everything like an adventure to tell Law later so it feels like Law is there with him even though he's not. But also treats it like a challenge, to become a better and stronger person so he won't disappoint him.

Still convinced there was no Lawlu in WCI? Oh well, if that's the case then all I can say is: I tried my best :D

If anyone wants to read all the parts of this series without going to my masterpost, then just click "love is a hurricane" tag :3

#one piece #trafalgar law #luffy #lawlu #lulaw #luffy x law #zosan #just a bit because I couldn't refuse it #it was stronger than me #love is a hurricane #xxxholic #we're finally going to Wano from now on #my takes on Wano's Lawlu might be super crazy for you all #so I guess prepare for lots of surprises #so is “alliance means friendship” still so true to you Luffy? hehe #cooknumber3 you're right they're totally ghibli style of “love” striving to become the best versions of themselves for their ImportantPerso

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megalony · 9 hours

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This Is Fate- Part 7

Thank you all for the lovely feedback on this Dark! Evan Buckley series, I'm very excited to post this next part.

Please let me know what you think.

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Evan Buckley Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Summary: Eddie is surprised when his little sister comes to LA, pregnant, and asks to stay with him. She needs a fresh start away from her ex, but things take a bad turn when she finds out her ex works with her brother. And he won't let her go so easily.

Enjoy.

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"Do you enjoy winding me up?"

With a daring look over his shoulder, Eddie twisted on the spot and glared into his former friend until it felt like he was burning holes through Evan's skin. He could feel his hands balling up into fists at his sides and his head tilted to one side. His brow arched, impatient, impassive, waiting angrily for the response he just knew he wouldn't like.

The words fell past Eddie's lips before he could stop himself, but he didn't really want to stop. He wanted this. He wanted to air this out and find out if the man he thought he knew was a lie.

Eddie wanted to know whether Evan's persona, that caring, selfless man he'd worked with for the past few years was a façade and this was the real Evan. The possessive man who had to have everything go his own way or he would throw a catalyst into the situation. The man who latched onto (Y/n) and was ready to burn the world down in any way he could if it would get her to be back in his clutches again.

"What?"

"You heard me. Is this some sort of game for you, Buck? Are you enjoying ruining everything in your path and pissing me off in the process?"

A few months ago, Eddie would never have believed this. He would never have listened if someone tried to tell him how strange and broken Evan really was. He would have ignored anyone who told him that Evan was playing games and running rings around the whole team. Even when (Y/n) told him the truth, there was a miniscule, reserved part of Eddie's mind that just couldn't believe it.

He couldn't believe Evan would do something like this and cause so much mayhem and havoc.

Until that little stunt last week.

It was clever, Eddie had to admit. Evan got the jump on him, he set the ball rolling, telling Bobby that Eddie was the one with the problem and pretending to be frightened of him. But it just showed how devious Evan would become in order to get his own way. He had never been like this before, Eddie had never seen this side to him and it was frightening.

Evan brushed a hand beneath his nose while his stance changed. One hip cocked out to the side, one knee dropped forward and his hands fell to his hips. The way he tilted his head back and rolled his eyes around the locker room made him look upset, like he was being persecuted.

"You really think I enjoy my best friend turning against me?"

"I wouldn't of turned against you if you hadn't gone and screwed up my sister's life and tried to take control over her. If you got help-"

"She started this by running away."

They weren't getting anywhere. This wasn't helping either of them and Eddie couldn't seem to get the message through.

He didn't see how Evan thought he could still be in the right. Yes, (Y/n) shouldn't have run away like she did without telling anyone. Yes, trying to hide the baby from Evan wasn't a smart move and it wasn't exactly fair on him. But Evan drove her to it. He couldn't act like she was doing something wrong when she was only reacting to his actions and his demanour.

If Evan didn't get so controlling over (Y/n), she wouldn't have fled. If he didn't control who she tried to hang around with, if he didn't get so paranoid and follow her home from work or track her phone or try and alienate her from her friends. If he'd of calmed down and trusted that she loved him and wouldn't leave him, then (Y/n) would have been able to tell him about the baby and they may have been able to have the baby together as a couple.

Rather than whatever this strange situation was now.

"And you've made it worse." The pointed look on Eddie's face visibly made Evan shiver. "Why are you doing this?"

All he wanted was answers. If they talked this through, they might be able to find a way forward. But talking wasn't getting them very far recently. Eddie tried to lay down the rules the other week. He tried to tell Evan that he could only be around (Y/n) if someone else was with her. He couldn't pester her and call and text incessantly, he couldn't try and push her into doing what he wanted or get too crowding.

But now Eddie wasn't sure how to get it through to Evan that alienating Eddie at work wasn't going to help their situation. He was inevitably going to make things worse for both of them.

"Doing what?"

"Cut the crap, Buck. It's not just your word against mine; do you think (Y/n) will lie for you? She can tell Bobby the truth at any time, Chrissy can back her up. That possessive streak in you, that'll flare up soon enough and everyone will see what you're really like."

Eddie hated to be so cruel and blunt with his words, but he wasn't being given any other option. Evan couldn't truly believe that he was going to get away with doing this.

It wasn't just their words against one another, it wasn't one-sided accusations. (Y/n) knew the truth. She could tell Bobby what had been going on, she could prove it with all the texts Evan had sent to her in the past. She could talk to people at her old work who had seen Evan waiting around for her after every shift. Or her colleague who Evan had punched for trying to harmlessly hit on (Y/n).

And then there was Chrissy, she had seen how panicked her sister had been and how it had crushed (Y/n) to become smothered by Evan. Their words would back Eddie up and stop Evan from playing the victim.

"You didn't." The beginning of a smirk started to toy around on Evan's lips as he dropped his hands from his hips to fold them over his chest instead. "You had no idea I was (Y/n)'s partner until she told you. You believed what was right in front of you."

Folding his arms over his chest, Evan reclined until his shoulders were against the lockers and he had one leg crossed over the other.

He wasn't sure what made Eddie so certain that everyone was going to be against Evan. They were on his side so far, and this was the measures Evan had been pushed to. He didn't want to be fighting Eddie. In an ideal world, he wanted (Y/n) to be living with him and Eddie to still be his best friend. He wanted them to work together like they used to, with banter and laughs and concern for each other.

He wanted that level of trust back and he wanted (Y/n) to be his girl again, just like she used to back in Texas. Evan wanted things to go the way they should, but nothing was working.

If he didn't play this to his advantage, Eddie was going to ruin his whole world. Eddie would turn Bobby against him and make the team look at him differently. Eddie was going to take Evan's girl from him and his daughter and he was going to ruin his life.

Evan wouldn't live in a world without (Y/n) and their daughter. It just wasn't possible.

Shaking his head, Eddie rattled his fingers through his hair before he pointed a finger at Evan. His lips curled into a grimace and he could feel himself on the point of snarling, he was so frustrated.

"You're derranged if you think (Y/n)'s gonna be putting your name on that birth certificate, or if you think you'll even be at the birth."

A sense of glee lit up Eddie's eyes when he noticed that he had finally rattled Evan's cage. That calm posture switched to tense and stern and Evan pushed off the lockers to take a few daring steps closer to Eddie. There was a flash of worry lighting up his eyes and it made Eddie's lips curve into a smirk. Now, he was going to listen. Finally.

"You're not the only one with power, and let me tell you that if you keep on doing this, I'm gonna help (Y/n) disappear. You won't see either of them again. Think you could live with that? Not having (Y/n) around? Or your daughter not knowing you exist."

The force of Evan's movements took Eddie by surprise and his eyes widened when Evan's hands latched around his shirt and pushed him back into the opposite lockers.

A groan burned at the back of Eddie's throat when his shoulders crashed harshly into the metal and created a horrid echo to vibrate around the room. But it was the look on Evan's face that made Eddie feel unnerved. That look was derranged. That grin was splintered. Those eyes were dark. His grip was tight enough to make his arms tremble with force.

"Your sister is mine."

The authority in Evan's voice was unlike anything Eddie had ever heard and the certainty in his voice was unnerving. It was like a commandment, set in stone that no one was going to be able to change until the end of time.

Evan's eyes narrowed as he looked down at his best friend, wishing he could transfer all his thoughts into Eddie's mind and get him to see things from his point of view. He wasn't going to let anyone keep (Y/n) or their daughter away from him, Eddie included.

And he didn't like how Eddie was threatening him. If Eddie thought he could make the rules and keep Evan out of his girl's life, then he was utterly wrong. Nothing would stop Evan from being at the birth, no one was going to stop him from being on the birth certificate and there was no way his daughter wasn't going to know who he was. He would be in her life from the very start, nothing would change that. It was set in stone.

"She can't stay away from me either, Eddie. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but she still loves me. Why else would she let me back in her bed the first time I went round to visit her at your place?" His voice verged on dangerous because even though his words were calculated, it was clear Evan was losing his cool right now.

"Very funny." Eddie's voice was guttural and held a razor sharp edge, warning Evan not to go down this path. "Enjoy having a daughter you're never gonna meet."

Both Eddie's hands balled into fists when Evan gave him a shove, knocking him on his back foot and sending his shoulder jolting into the lockers again. He was as riled up as Eddie was and they were both about to unleash their anger.

Those words touched a raw nerve.

Evan wouldn't be able to handle that. He wouldn't survive living each day not being able to see or be in his daughter's life. If he couldn't see her or be around her, he wouldn't want to live at all. Every time he thought about having kids, Evan's mind was made up. He would do right by his child, by any children he had. He would make sure they were loved and nurtured and had a better upbringing than he did.

How could he do that if he wasn't in his child's life? How would Eddie feel if someone told him that he could never be in Chris's life again? That he could never see his son. Would he sit down and let it happen, or would be put up a fight, just like Evan?

"Ask her. She wouldn't have fucked me if she was so afraid of me-"

The punch landed to his jaw made Evan's ears pop but even as he clicked his jaw back into place, his lips were forming a snarl and he was ready to retaliate.

But he didn't. Not when he caught sight of the figure looming in the doorway who he hadn't spotted two seconds ago.

He brought his hand up to hide his mouth, obscuring the smile hidden behind his palm and he made an effort to tense his shoulders up and force a cough past his lips which made him wheeze and sound out of breath. When Evan tilted his head to the right, his body followed the sense of direction and he stumbled until he slumped down onto the bench nearby.

"What the Hell are you two doing?" Bobby's demanding voice cut through the air like a knife and his presence in the doorway made tension build up in Eddie's gut.

He could feel his shoulders pulling up and his trembling hands stayed balled into fists at his sides as he looked between his Captain and Evan. But to his astonishment and horror, he realised Evan was shaking. He had been shaking with anger before Bobby walked in, but now, Eddie realised a second too late that Evan's riled up frame could be mistaken for him being terrified, not angered.

His face was bright red, blood rushing to his cheeks and tainting his neck that was there because he had been riled up, not because he had been punched. But this was working in Evan's favour. All he had to do was set those puppy dog eyes on Bobby, and the Captain thought he was now a victim to be protected.

He looked convincing. If Eddie walked in now, he would believe Evan was being persecuted and victimised, he wouldn't believe for a second that Evan was the one calling the shots.

One look between them told Bobby the situation that Evan wanted him to believe. It looked like Eddie had just attacked Evan for no reason, and Evan was sat there, trembling like the victim.

"Eddie, go home. Your shift ended five minutes ago." Eddie had never seen Bobby stare at him with such a steely, broken look before. And he could tell Bobby was finding it hard not to lash out in retaliation. He thought of Evan as his son, they were as close as relations. Seeing someone victimise Evan wasn't something that the Captain would stand for.

"It was my fault, Eddie I- I'm sorry-" Evan stuttered through the words and dropped his hands to his lap, running his fingers up and down his thighs to ward off the excess adrenaline coursing through his veins.

"Buck, head to my office, take a breather. You don't have to apologise."

He nodded his head, biting back a smile when he glanced over at Eddie who looked like he was going to burst into a ball of flames right then and there.

Evan made sure to hang his head down and watch his feet as he walked away, not believing his luck. What good timing that Bobby turned up right before Evan had been about to land a punch back at Eddie. If that happened, Evan might not have gotten away with the victim game.

But he would happily pretend he was being bullied by Eddie rather than tell the truth that they were both winding each other up.

Once he was skulking off into the corridor like a puppy with his tail between his legs, Eddie came to life. He hurried ahead over to Bobby, shaking to the point he looked like he was going to collapse.

"Bobby he's playing you!" The desperation in his voice was clear, but Eddie could see he wasn't going to get through to Bobby right now.

He would have to wait until Bobby calmed down. He would have to get (Y/n) to talk to him too and make everyone see how dark Evan truly was. They would all have to find out or Evan was going to have every single person wrapped around his finger and playing to his game. They couldn't carry on like this or Evan was going to destroy them all.

"You need to head home and you'd best hope Buck is still forgiving towards you because if he wants to take this further, he has every right. You were warned, you carry on like this and you'll be suspended."

Eddie had played right into Evan's hands. And something told him Evan was going to play this to his advantage.

***

A round of fireworks set off in Evan's stomach and sparked all the way up to his chest when he opened the apartment door. He leaned his hip against the door and held his breath to see if it would settle down the adrenaline that was shooting off in all directions throughout his body.

He hadn't expected (Y/n) to turn up today; and she was early. They had promised Chris last week that he could help them go out shopping for things for the baby, and they were going to take him out tomorrow after school. He had excitedly told Eddie, who didn't think it was such a bad idea because Chris could be a sort of chaperone for them without knowing it. Eddie knew Evan wouldn't step out of line with Chris being with them.

And since Maddie was coming round for lunch, Evan had invited (Y/n) round. They both knew he wouldn't do too much or say anything untoward with his sister present, and Maddie was going to give (Y/n) a lift to work afterwards. Since they were both on shift this afternoon at the call centre.

(Y/n) was early, she wasn't supposed to be here yet and it made Evan wonder why she had turned up. She wasn't simply going to change her mind and be around him, alone, knowing how he felt about her. She knew he wouldn't be able to resist pulling her into his arms or kissing her or trying his luck with her.

"Hey baby, everything okay?" He leaned against the door, watching (Y/n) as she stepped inside rather quickly without him needing to usher her inside.

But as she walked past him, Evan's enlightened smile faded into a look of worry when he took in her appearance. She looked like she had been crying, he could see tear tracks etched down her cheeks, and her eyes looked rather puffy. And when he noticed she was biting her lip and he looked down and noted that she had been biting her nails too- another anxious habit- he felt uneasy.

Was she here because something was wrong with the baby? Was she not well? Had something happened?

"Are you alright?" He didn't bother to hide the panic from his voice and when (Y/n) walked briskly towards the living room, Evan strode to keep up with her.

He reached out and moved his hands to hold her upper arms which made her shiver for a moment as if she didn't know who it was holding her. She didn't settle fully into his touch, something which irked him, but he tried to ignore it as he turned her around so she would stop striding away and look at him.

"Baby, what's wrong?" He didn't like the defiant look in her eyes or the way her jaw locked as she glared up at him.

Her arms writhed from side to side to shake off his touch and she took a step back to keep an air of space between them. Something which set off a fire within Evan. All he wanted was to be near her, he felt like an addict when he was around her and with how observant and pushy Eddie was, Evan barely got to touch (Y/n).

Here she was, in his home, just the two of them, and she wasn't letting him get close. She was taunting him without knowing it and he didn't like it.

"Eddie told me what you did, at the station." (Y/n) folded her arms over her chest, letting them rest on top of her bump that seemed to be getting bigger and heavier each day. She saw the way Evan dragged his eyes down to her stomach and she could see his hands curling into fists at his sides to restrain himself from reaching out for her.

Did he think Eddie wouldn't tell (Y/n) what happened?

He came home riled up and distressed, of course he told his sister what had happened, not that (Y/n) could believe it at first. She thought that with how much Evan told her he loved her, he wouldn't do anything to upset or hurt Eddie, knowing how close she was to her brother.

But Eddie couldn't afford for Evan to make this into a big situation. It wouldn't be fair for Eddie to be the outcast at work or feel like he couldn't work with the team who had become his family. And he couldn't have this on his file, what if he wanted to move stations or get another job? If he had a note on his file that he had punched a colleague it would make things ten times harder for him.

"You mean this?" Evan leaned down until he was level with (Y/n) and pointed to the cut on the corner of his lower lip. "I think you'll find your brother threw the punches, not me."

His brow rose like he was tempting her to argue with him and he could see her temper flaring up behind her eyes.

Her arms dropped from her bump and she huffed, moving her hands to hold her hips instead. And when Evan stepped closer, for once, (Y/n) didn't try and step away or let him back her into a corner. She had been in that situation far too often and with no one in the house, Evan could easily get his own way here.

She could feel her temper rising when Evan simply tilted his head to one side and continued to lean closer to her like he was aiming for a kiss. She wasn't going to let him worm out of this one. He had to explain. He had to make this right.

"Evan he could get suspended! You told Bobby he was harassing you, if Bobby gives him a written warning that stays on his file and if he's suspended he might lose his job. You can't do that."

The desperation in her voice made a flare spark in Evan's chest as he felt his heartbeat throbbing against his ribs like a drum.

Bobby hadn't spoken to Eddie yet, then.

This might work in Evan's favour. He had talked to Bobby after Eddie left the station the other day. He had told Bobby that they had just had an argument which got out of hand, and he came clean that he had started the argument and riled Eddie up too. He wouldn't blame Eddie for it, not when he knew the repercussions it could have.

As much as Evan was angry at his best friend for trying to cause problems with his relationship, he wasn't going to do anything to hurt Eddie. No when he knew it would in turn hurt (Y/n) too, and Evan would never hurt her.

He made it clear to Bobby that he wasn't going to make a complaint or do anything about this and they had agreed that for the time being, he and Eddie would be on opposite shifts. The matter was dealt with. Clearly, Bobby wanted to have a word with Eddie and speak to him about this before he told him the good news.

"Sit down." Evan murmured quietly as he moved his hand to (Y/n)'s elbow and he was relieved that she didn't pull out of his grasp.

He guided her towards the sofa and once she ws sat down, he perched down beside her, sitting on the edge of the seat. Their knees brushed together and their thighs were touching while Evan spread his knees so he could clasp his hands together between his thighs. He hung his head and looked to the right so he was looking over at her.

"Sweetheart, he hit me on shift, I've been playing nice at work. I don't wanna get him suspended, I wouldn't do that to Chris… but Bobby isn't happy. It's his choice-"

"Tell Bobby you don't want to make a complaint. Bobby can't suspend him if you don't put in the formal complaint, Evan please."

(Y/n) couldn't refrain from leaning into Evan and reaching her hand out to grasp his arm. Her grip was fiercely tight, almost pinching her nails through his skin to show how serious she was. She couldn't have Evan screwing Eddie's work life up like this. He had done enough damage dragging Eddie into their mess, (Y/n) wouldn't have her brother's life turned upside down again.

She felt responsible, if she hadn't of come here in the first place, Eddie would still have a brotherly relationship with Evan and they wouldn't have problems at home. They would be close friends, things would have continued as normal if (Y/n) hadn't of come down here.

She couldn't ruin Eddie's life any more than she already had, and she wouldn't have Evan making it worse either.

She watched the way Evan reeled back up to his proper height and clicked his spine into place. But it was the way he twisted to face her and started to run his hands up and down his thighs that made her uneasy. She wasn't sure what was running through his head and she didn't like how he pursed his lips and sighed.

Was he really going to upset her and go through with this? Did he think getting back at Eddie was worth upsetting (Y/n)?

"What's it worth, to you?"

"W-what?"

A shiver tore down (Y/n)'s spine as she inched back towards the arm rest. The end of her nose crinkled and her brows furrowed in confusion. What was he doing? Was he making some sort of bargain with her? Did Evan believe this was a game to play? (Y/n) knew he hated losing and she had no doubt he would bend the rules to his will to get his way.

"Say I tell Bobby to forget it, that me and Eddie have come up with a truce. What will you do for me?" Evan dragged his hand along his jaw and down the side of his neck like he was trying to scratch the adrenaline away.

He was. He was making a bargain with her.

A cold shiver passed down (Y/n)'s spine and she began to shrink in on herself. Her hand moved to cradle the side of her stomach where the baby started to kick up a fuss.

She didn't like where this was going. (Y/n) could sense that whatever Evan was going to ask for would be too high a price to agree to. He wouldn't settle for just anything and (Y/n) didn't want to agree to anything. She had been standing her ground with him, trying to let Eddie make the rules and get Evan to abide by them, but he wasn't listening.

He was taking liberties whenever and wherever he could, and this was certainly going to be pushing the boundaries.

She swallowed down the panic building up in her chest and pulled her sleeves down over her hands as she looked up at Evan through her lashes.

"What… what do you want?" (Y/n) tensed and stayed deadly still when Evan leaned across the small bridge of space between them.

She could feel his hand creeping over her thigh while his lips attached to the weak spot behind her ear at the top of her neck. It was as if he was a vampire, grazing his teeth over her pulse point like he was waiting to strike right into her beating veins.

She dreaded to think what he was going to ask. Whatever he wanted, it wouldn't be anything good. It never was. And (Y/n) knew it would be something substantial because he had the higher ground, he could theoretically ask for whatever he wanted and see where (Y/n) would draw the line.

"Move in with me."

His teeth bit at her neck just as (Y/n) leaned back and hurriedly shuffled up against the arm rest to get away from him.

He couldn't ask that! He couldn't make that demand of her. It wasn't fair! He was asking far too much.

The reason (Y/n) was still living with Eddie was because she hadn't found a place of her own yet. Moving in with Evan defeated the object of trying to get away from him. He was manipulative, he was controlling and he had a dark streak in him that frightened (Y/n). If she moved in with him she would be trapping herself in his net.

Evan would have that control over her that he had when they first started dating. He would have her in the palm of his hand, and the same went for their daughter.

"I can't!" (Y/n) shook her head rapidly, clutching her shaking hand around the arm rest to ground herself to something. Her other hand started to scratch up and down her thigh, she could feel her breaths running away without her.

But she almost gasped when Evan pulled away from her and retracted his hands to his own thighs like he was suddenly giving up.

"Well then I can't help you, sweetheart."

"Evan!" (Y/n) couldn't help the seething tone in her voice and she all but slammed her fist down on her thigh in frustration.

When his expression didn't change, (Y/n) huffed and reached across for him, clearly taking him by surprise. She curled her hand around his and gripped tight, pulling his hand towards her as she clutched him like her life depended on it. And something within her told her that it did.

"Evan, you can't ask me that-"

"Why, isn't it the right thing to do? Everyone knows the baby's mine, you said it yourself, you can't bring her up still living with Eddie. And those conventional parents of yours surely aren't impressed you're having a baby before marriage. Living with the father would satisfy them too, wouldn't it?"

He was really trying to do this to her. He was trying to bribe and guilt-trip her into moving in with him, into getting back into his web where he would undoubtedly do everything in his power never to let her go again.

Could she really do this? Could (Y/n) really let herself get back into Evan's grasp like this?

What was the alternative?

Living alone with a newborn wasn't ideal, and she couldn't impose on Eddie and stay with him when she had the baby. Plus, if Evan was going to be involved, he would be round to see her and the baby almost every day anyway. So would it really be that different if she lived with him? Wouldn't having her own place yet having Evan round all the time feel like they were living together?

Wouldn't it be easier to stay with him and have some help? Now that Eddie knew what Evan was really like, he would keep a closer eye on him. Eddie would check in with (Y/n) daily, he would make sure she was alright and she was comfortable enough to be able to tell him if something was wrong or ask for help. Evan couldn't do anything controlling or untoward and keep it secret from Eddie or Maddie or the rest of the team.

"You're a bully."

She could see her words stung at him because his hand bristled on her thigh and he clenched his fingers into her skin tight enough to make her jump.

It was the truth, whether Evan wanted to hear it or not. He was using this to his advantage. (Y/n) knew that whether Eddie threw the first punch or not, Evan would of deserved it and he would of riled Eddie up and caused some problems to make Eddie lash out. He wouldn't punch someone so close to him for no reason.

She found herself leaning back into the arm rest again when Evan inched closer. His fingers unlatched from her thigh so he could glide his hand around to cup her hip and the way his head leaned to one side made him look almost angelic and innocent.

"I'm resourceful. Come on, (Y/n). I love you both to the end of the Earth, and I know you love me. I wanna bring my daughter up and be in her life, and this will be easier for you, we both know it will. I've barely been there for you during this pregnancy, if you stay with me it means I can look after you and her."

And it would make Eddie's threats futile. If she moved in with him, not only would Evan be calmer and much more enlightened to have his girls with him, but he wouldn't be panicking. He wouldn't worry that he would miss the birth or that Eddie would keep him away, because chances were that (Y/n) would go into labour when Evan was around if she lived with him. And if he was at the birth and subsequently brought (Y/n) and their girl home, there was no way (Y/n) could go and sign the birth certificate and leave his name off it.

(Y/n) could feel her mind starting to short-circuit at all the possibilities, the pros and cons of agreeing to this. How she would back out or change her mind if Evan did something disagreeable.

But all her thoughts came to a sudden halt when Evan's chest pressed down into her and his lips were connected with hers.

His hand slid up from her hip to cradle the side of her stomach, gliding his thumb over the tender spot where the baby had been kicking. She could feel his other hand resting near her shoulder, gripping the back of the sofa to keep his balance so he didn't crush her beneath him.

His lips tasted sweet, like cherry cola and (Y/n) couldn't help but react when he slid his tongue past her lips. She knew he would do something like this. She knew coming round early was a risk, but it was something she had to do. (Y/n) had to talk to him without Maddie here so they could be clear and honest.

And she wasn't that early. Half an hour at most. Evan could hardly lure her to bed or try too many moves on the sofa with Maddie's arrival imminent. Evan may be many things, but he would be embarrassed if his big sister caught them in a compromising position.

"I won't do anything you don't want me to." Each word was spoken in a whisper, peppered against her lips between hot kisses that made it harder and harder for (Y/n) to breathe.

Somehow, she didn't believe him. He was doing something she didn't like right now by bargaining with her. She didn't want him to bully her into moving back in with him, and yet here he was doing it.

When his lips finally left hers, Evan nudged his nose against hers and pecked the corner of her mouth.

"Eddie won't leave us alone, he'll be checking on you everyday… Mads will probably be round every other day once we have our girl, she wants to be involved and help you. What do you think I'm gonna do, hm? With all the team watching and knowing everything, from now on? Stay with me, baby."

As much as (Y/n) didn't want to admit it, he had a point. Eddie would blow a hole in the roof if (Y/n) agreed to this, but if she explained, he might come around to the idea. He would be checking in with (Y/n) every day, he would keep an eye on Evan when he could especially if their shift pattern eventually went back to normal at work.

Maddie would be round to help (Y/n) once the baby was born and when Evan went back to work, Maddie wanted to get involved. She wanted to help and be a big part of her niece's life.

The team knew there was tension between Eddie and Evan, they would keep an eye on both of them.

Evan couldn't do a lot with everyone watching and getting involved, (Y/n) was safe with a family community around her.

She tilted her head back, unable to fight off the groan that escaped her lips when Evan stole another feverish kiss from her and wormed his hand beneath her shirt to feel her bump. She could feel the intent, the desire and eagerness in the way he nudged her head back as he kissed her, taking all the air from her lungs and the sense from her mind.

Her heartbeat quickened when he dragged her lower lip between his teeth and pulled, obscuring his smirk while his pupils expanded into black holes. Totally and willingly consumed by (Y/n).

"All I want, is my girls with me. Please." The look in his eyes was real and the gritty tone to his voice was desperate. He was pleading with her. Evan was being honest, because all he could think about was (Y/n). All he wanted was to have her and their daughter here with him, back in his arms, in his sights, where he could look after them.

(Y/n) had to admit that staying away from Evan was clearly spiking his anxiety which was increasing his behaviour. Maybe if she stopped trying to run from him and stuck around him instead, he might calm down. If she stayed with him and he calmed down, they could try and have their baby properly without all the madness involved.

As long as being around Evan didn't make him try and tighten his control over her again. If he could keep that panic and jealousy at bay and control his raging thoughts, this might be okay.

(Y/n) pressed her hand into his chest and gave him a forceful nudge until he took the hint. He released her bruised lip from his teeth and leaned back to let her sit up properly again. Although his hand remained on her stomach and his face remained close enough that (Y/n) could feel each breath he took and every movement of his chest.

Her fingers began gliding over his chest, trying to keep him at bay long enough to talk without having him distracting her with kisses. She could tell her touch was starting to affect him, but she had to get him to listen to her.

"You promise me you won't do anything to Eddie anymore? You play nice, don't threaten his job again or wind him up. Promise me, Evan. And if you try checking my phone or hounding me and getting controlling again, then I'm gone."

"I promise." His response was instant, and sealed with a bruising kiss to her already swollen lips.

Evan would agree to anything if it meant (Y/n) moving in with him. If it meant they would be a proper family and he could have what he'd always wanted; someone he loved and children of his own. (Y/n) could tell him to go and commit murder and Evan would willingly, blindly do as she asked if it meant getting her to stay with him.

And having her stay with him willingly, without a fight or stress or him needing to take her phone like last time when she kept trying to walk out on him, this was better. This was much, much better.

And if Eddie tried to get involved, he would be dismayed to find out that (Y/n) was doing this- somewhat- willingly would halt Eddie's efforts to try and take Evan out of his daughter's life. Eddie couldn't do anything if (Y/n) told him she had agreed to this. Eddie couldn't pressure her into keeping Evan away from the birth or not putting his name on the certificate.

Evan could keep his girls in his life. He didn't have to lay awake at night anymore, envisioning (Y/n), dreaming of her. Desperate to wrap his arms around her and mould himself against her and have her in his arms. And he didn't have to punch the walls in frustration at the knowledge that he was missing out on the kicks and movements of their baby and actually feeling (Y/n)'s shape change.

Things were finally going his way.

#imagine #911 imagine #evan buckley #evan buckley x reader #pregnant! reader #evan buckley imagine #buck x reader #buck imagine #eddie diaz #dark! buck #this is fate

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valkyyriia · 3 days

Text

Interruptions

Words: 744 CW: Semi-Public Sex, Cunnilingus Pairing: Ominis Gaunt x Female-Bodied Reader Notes: I wrote this fic last year and posted it on Ao3 during the Hogwarts Legacy craze around when the game came out. I just never posted it here.

It's currently on Ao3 here. The work is orphaned for a few reasons I'd rather not explain in a note, but I'd be happy to answer if asked.

I know most of you follow me for otome (specifically Ikeseries) content, so I'll be forgoing my usual taglist.

You were on a desk in a classroom, legs spread wide, underwear around one of your ankles and skirt hitched up to your waist. Ominis was seated between your legs, his face between your thighs, tongue lapping at the wetness between them. One of your hands was threaded through his hair, pushing him closer to your center.

A barely stifled cry escaped your lips as he licked a long stripe up your folds, paying extra attention to the nub at the top. You could feel a pressure rising in your abdomen with every flick of his tongue.

"Ominis," you moaned. "Fuck, love."

Vibrations rumbled against your core as Ominis chuckled. He pulled away slightly and smirked, licking his lips.

"You'd best watch your language, darling, if you want more where that came from."

You whined at the loss of his touch and tried to urge him to resume, but he seemed perfectly content to wait. He was tantalizingly close to your warm heat; close enough that you could feel his soft breaths ghost over the moistened flesh. It was driving you utterly mad.

"Tell me you'll behave, love, and I'll give you what you want." He blew a puff of air at your lower lips and the sensation made a shiver run up your spine.

"I'll behave. I promise," you whined, aching for contact. Ominis waited one more torturous moment before burying his face against your cunt with even more fervor than before. He added his hands to the mix this time, pressing a long finger into your core.

He was eating you out like a man starved, like he hadn't eaten in a week and you were the best meal he could have ever asked for.

You moved your free hand to your mouth, trying to hold in the obscenities that were fighting to escape your lips. It was torture. Your legs were shaking from the sheer ecstasy he was giving you.

He added a second finger and curled them just right and you saw stars. You came with a cry, pleasure rolling down your form in waves. Ominis focused his attention on your clit, sending additional shockwaves rolling through you.

The door opened.

"Oh, there you guys are. Where have you -"

Ominis froze. You looked up in shock, still riding out the end of your orgasm, eyes half lidded.

Sebastian Sallow stood in the now open doorway, eyes wide and trained on the sight before him. He was speechless. He made eye contact with you and blushed a bright red, averting his eyes.

Ominis, the bastard, gave one final flick against your clit, sending a shudder of overstimulation up your body, before pulling away from you entirely.

"Did you need something, Sebastian? Or are you just going to continue to stand there and stare like a pervert?" Ominis crossed his arms and stared at the other boy. It was clearly intended to be intimidating, but it was hard to be imposing when his clothes were rumpled, hair in disarray, face shiny with your slick. The other boy got the hint, though.

"It's.. nothing that can't wait. I'll see you later. When you're both... fully dressed." He quickly ran out the door, slamming it behind him. Ominis turned back to you, running a hand through his messy blond hair. Your cheeks were crimson with mortification.

"At least it was Sebastian," you tried to lighten the mood. "It could have been Garreth."

You reached down and pulled your panties back up, moving to get off the desk. Your legs felt like jelly and you stumbled, Ominis catching you and steadying you. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to your lips, hands holding you upright. Your own came to rest on his chest.

"The entire school would know by breakfast if it were Garreth," Ominis muttered. "But once Sebastian gets over it, you know he's going to be relentless with his teasing."

Ominis' hands trailed down your form, smoothing down your rumpled skirt. Your own took his tie, straightening it and laying it down flat. Your fingers ran through his hair, trying to smooth it back into place.

"I hate that we were interrupted, though," you said as you moved to your robes on unsteady legs. "You didn't even get to have your own pleasure."

"Don't worry about that, darling. There's plenty of time for that later," he murmured against your lips.

You were sure to make it up to him later that night.

Taglist: @natimiles

#harry potter #hogwarts legacy #ominis gaunt x reader #ominis gaunt x mc #harry potter x reader #harry potter fanfiction #hogwarts legacy fanfiction #mdni

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closetcasefabray · 3 days

Text

jesus saves (i spend)

i have been writing parts of an avatrice college au for two gd years now. the ideas & writing are scattered between here (one of the tags below should work), my whatsapp convos with @snowandwolves, on discord, my dinosaur laptop that crashes, & my email. it’s a fucking disaster but whatever so am i & not once in my life have i had my shit together so this is all unsurprising.

SO what i’m saying is, here’s the only part i have ‘formally’ written in fic form bc i posted that other ficlet. doing this made me almost throw my dino laptop & my phone out a window on several occasions—that’s why there isn’t more. but i just wanna share this.

more notes & rambles at the end.

You notice her because it's syllabus week of your freshman year, it's an 8 AM class, and you're fairly confident you're still drunk from the party you attended last night, but she raises her hand and correctly answers a question posed by your theology professor without hesitation. Your professor, Father Vincent, was likely hoping for a good guess at best, but there she is, exceeding expectations from the moment she speaks. You pickup on an accent, which you would find incredibly attractive if you weren't so thrown by her perfect and concise response, like a well-prepared speech is always readily accessible in the back of her mind—a girl with all the answers. A young woman, really.

You, however, are not—you're just a girl. You're just a girl who shows up to her morning classes smelling like the bar or the house party from the night before, like the weed you started smoking almost immediately upon arriving to university during orientation week, like the cigarettes you smoke because it affords you a little more quiet outside and an excuse to borrow a lighter and talk to a cute boy or a pretty girl.

You're just a girl who technically died, existed in nothingness for a whole minute before being ripped back into a reality of blank ceilings and the sound of your heartbeat in your ears. You're just a girl strangers prayed for after they heard about the American child pulled from the wreckage. You're just a girl who didn't get any credit for teaching herself to stand again, to walk again—and if you’re being completely honest, you’re a girl who’s incredibly bitter that a god you never saw in that one minute got all the credit and none of the blame—for taking your mother from you, for taking years from you that had to be spent healing from god’s grace or lack thereof.

You're just a girl who is tired of being told to look at her life as an expression of holiness, who thinks it is more so the consequence of indifferent stardust. But you still look for the beauty in that, in humanity and its flaws—these meaningless beings in a vast universe, creating and destroying their own little, myopic worlds on this spinning rock. Some will dream of poetry for their lovers, and some will dream of arsenals to level cities. You wonder how many lips were pressed together in a final kiss versus hands clasped together in prayer when fire fell from the sky in the name of God. You wonder what that says about faith.

You'd like to think if your mother could see you, she'd laugh at the irony because once you were baptized, she never took you to church. God finds a way, so you spent five miserable years in a Catholic orphanage before you were sent back to America. People said you were lucky to have two years in a foster family at your age, but it felt like living with strangers who were tasked with the minimum of keeping you alive. Then you were moved into a home for teen girls with a nun at the helm, and that’s where you actually felt fortunate for the first time in years. It was there that Mother Superion helped you with your studies and college applications. So here you are, tipping into a hangover in one of the oldest buildings on campus, learning theology from a priest.

But your mom would understand. (You don’t remember much of her, and you try not to think about that too deeply, or else you have to deal with the resulting ache that comes from reaching inside yourself for something that’s gone.) You have spliced together what you can recall into a short reel—you mom buckling into your car seat while humming a show tune, showing you how to fold a pizza slice and telling about a city famous for their pizza, and holding your hand in a museum in Spain, promising to take you to another big museum closer to home, the home you never saw again. So you promised yourself and the parts of her you carry that you’d make it here.

You would have had to pay almost full tuition if you wished to attend your reach, requiring immense debt, so you ended up at the school that offered you a ticket to the city and a hefty enough scholarship you could get through four years without requiring loans or a full-time job to afford it. (You first refused to use your mother’s death as a sob story in you application letter, but Mother Superion put her hand on yours and said, So rarely do these letters contain truth, but do not be afraid to tell yours. In telling your truth there is a sadness, yes—and I know you detest pity—but of all the things that have been taken from you, do not feel guilty for taking some of it back to live a better life.) You remember getting your acceptance letter, and looking up at the sky and flipping it off, praying whatever god hears you, No thanks to you!

But your bitterness temporarily takes a backseat in your mind as you look at your classmate, beautiful in the refracted light shining through the stained glass window, speaking so graciously of god you'd think Jesus were in the room, about to hand her his latest work. It's poetry, bordering on scripture in a new tongue, and you'd almost be a believer if it didn't sound as if she had repeated these words—practiced—enough times to believe them herself. You wonder what that says about her faith.

If the nuns at the orphanage had spoken the gospel as she does, maybe you'd be here for different reasons. You're fascinated.

Behold, you are beautiful…

i promise this fic gets lighter & has some silliness. so some notes/tangents:

this is 100% self-indulgence bc i heard ‘write what you know’ & ran with that shit. when i visited a friend at a state school in a college town i was so so confused bc it was just a diff campus culture entirely. then i was going to make this set in an ambiguous city, but i literally have saved places in google maps that would be great places to kiss someone sooooo you get NY avatrice.

likely setting this before instagram & smartphones bc i’m old/lazy & i can.

the title is from st. vincent who my friend introduced me to in college. “paris is burning” changed my brain chemistry & so i listened to her music on repeat for ages—“jesus saves, i spend” is on the same album.

father vincent will not be a bad man or evil professor. he will be as he was before adriel—a lost man who found himself through god & still a little broken but caring & devout.

also song of songs/song of solomon is like… the only part of the bible i fucked with in theology class so that’s the reference at the end. also another line used in another scene with JC, chanel, & ava written in v rough form. maybe will share that later.

this is meant to be a fic with a post-grad sequel as well. not much written of that but a lot of ideas everywhere.

once i figure out where i’m moving (hahahaha i’m so stressed), i’ll consider a ko-fi or something (i wish emails & names weren’t shown though). but mostly i will likely need a second job to save up for an actually good computer/macbook. once i have that i’ll be able to post on ao3.

anyway thanks for reading & being here :3

#avatrice #avatrice fanfic #avatrice college au #ccf fanfiction #ccf fanfic #ccf #closetcasefabray #warrior nun #warrior nun fanfic #warrior nun au #fic: jesus saves i spend #fic: jsis

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yerimacoustic · 21 hours

Text

𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 ♡ jun x reader

❝ 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙞'𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 ❞

summary : you find a sense of familiarity in your sworn rival, jun, while exchanging anonymous letters with a stranger .

content warnings : jun x female reader, regency era au, mostly inspired by you’ve got mail, slow burn, frenemies to lovers, more tags to come . teaser is 1.4k words, full fic tbd.

this is a teaser for an upcoming jun bug fic!! release date- tbd. i’m busy but i was so excited to get this out so i thought i’d post a little sneak peek. it’s probably history inaccurate bc idk shit i’m purely going off vibes

i’m trying to get a tag list going so lemme know if you want in!

the walk to the post office was not tedious by any means. not when the promise of a new response in the form of a handwritten letter prompted you to move quickly and lightly on your feet. it had become a weekly routine, early morning strolls to the post house, as well as an awfully great way to start the week.

the postmaster, otherwise known as your childhood friend, jeonghan, stood completely still behind the main counter with his arms folded across his chest. there was a knowing, mischievous glint in his eyes as he watched you quietly shut the door; he had been expecting you. just like he expected you every monday morning.

it wasn’t long before the brunette pulled a small envelope from the series of shelves behind him, gently dropping it onto the counter between the two of you. “here you go. your gentleman’s love letter awaits.”

“good day to you too, mr. yoon,” you teased him and grabbed the envelope, taking note of the familiar wax seal in the front. a neat scarlet red circle with a lion in the center- the familiar sight always managed to bring a smile to your face.

“hopefully he gives you some more clues as to his identity this week?” he called out to you as he strode across the tiny shop in favor of sweeping the floor. a look of feigned disappointment washed over his features as the sound of the bristles scratching across the floor and the envelope ripping open filled in the silence. “...perhaps not.”

just as your lips parted, the door swung open to reveal jeonghan’s assistant, karina. from the moment her eyes were fixed on yours, a mischievous glint akin to jeonghan’s filled her irises. “i thought i might find you here today. what news from the mysterious suitor?”

you shook your head before gesturing towards jeonghan, “i haven’t had the opportunity to read it yet. someone’s made sure of that.”

the man laughed from across the room, “it was never my attempt to keep you from reading it. i only wish that the two of you would at least give each other some hints as to who you really are.”

karina nodded in understanding before turning her back in favor of hanging her overcoat upon the rack near the entrance. “i hate to level with jeonghan in this case, but i’m curious about this mystery man, as well. have the two of you ever discussed meeting in person?”

“no, not at all. we’ve agreed to stay anonymous,” you explained as your fingers curled around the envelope in an almost protective grip. force of habit. “we know the risks but.. it’s quite refreshing, having someone to talk to without any of the societal pressures.”

before too long, jeonghan had finished tidying up and joined the two of you near the entrance. “i don’t understand. you both are clearly fond of each other..”

“who said anything about-”

“and you have a lot in common,” jeonghan mused, eyebrows raised. “in your next response, you should ask him something personal. ask him about his occupation.”

without skipping a beat, you shook your head in protest. “thank you for your unsolicited advice, jeonghan, but i know everything i need to know about this man. good day, my friends.”

you waved goodbye to the inseparable pair, stepping towards the small door. of course jeonghan, who always had to have the last word, called out to you before you could shut it completely, “except for his true identity!”

his words prompted your lips to twist into a smirk as you finally found the right opportunity to open the letter. as you unfolded the piece of parchment, your smirk slowly dissolved into a genuine smile, finding beautiful familiarity in the cursive penmanship. as you took cautious steps on the beaten path, you read the letter carefully:

‘this weekend i had the pleasure of accompanying my cousins as they vacationed in the countryside. they rent a small cottage near the ocean during the summertime and haven’t bothered to invite me until this year. i wish you could have seen it; it was perfectly quaint and tranquil. we spent all but the entirety of the seventy two hours walking along the beach and hunting for seashells. a bit of a juvenile hobby, i know.

i’m not sure where this inkling comes from, but something tells me you enjoy the oceanside. i bet you keep a collection of shells and pearls hidden somewhere in your home. or perhaps you proudly display them for your visitors to see. next time they permit me to join them near the beach again, remind me to fill this envelope with shells to add to your collection.

i know summer is your favorite holiday, and with that being said, i hope you find enjoyment in the final days of the season. take a stroll along the gardens or picnic with some of your friends.

take some time for yourself, my friend.’

–

jun waited three days for a reply, just as he did every week. he and his anonymous friend had fallen into a pattern of consistency, each of them sending a letter out to the other person once a week. even if he knew he could count on whoever this person was to send a timely response, his nerves got the best of him every time. the potential tone of the response occupied his thoughts at all times, keeping him up at night, keeping him from focusing intently on his work.

this week it reached the point where he had to turn his chair around to face the window, hoping that the sight of the rolling hills and graying sky outside would clear his mind. summer seemed to come to an end as quickly as it had begun, the entire season passing by in the blink of an eye. he counted his blessings, realizing that he was indeed lucky to have at least one holiday during the season. even if it was at the very end..

a knock on the door pulled him out of his trance and he turned his chair back to rest in the proper position, tucked tightly under his desk. “come in,” he called out.

barely a minute had passed before jun’s personal assistant and lifelong friend, wonwoo, closed the door quietly behind him and strode towards his desk with an envelope in hand. “your mystery woman sends her compliments,” he mused, handing the letter to jun.

jun’s eyes went wide. “you mean- you saw her??”

wonwoo shook his head, holding back an amused smirk as he watched the disappointment wash over jun’s features in real time. “no. my apologies.”

jun sighed, “just as well, i suppose. god only knows what chaos would unravel if anyone else in the household saw her.”

wonwoo nodded stiffly, folding his hands behind his back. “right you are. maybe there is practicality in anonymity, after all.”

“still, i can’t help but wonder what she’s really like in person,” jun mused, leaning back in his large leather chair with his chin cupped between his thumb and index finger. “there are so many habits and manners of hers i don’t even know about. she could be.. much lovelier in person.”

the bespectacled man tilted his head, taking a completely different approach, “or she could be ill-favored and poorly mannered.” the quiet statement was enough to pull jun out of his daze, causing him to furrow his eyebrows in annoyance. “my apologies.” he repeated.

“there is no possible way someone who writes so beautifully is as ill favored as you say.” jun disregarded the man in front of him as he began to tear the seal off of the envelope, a silent command for wonwoo to leave him alone. conveniently enough, the door gently slammed shut once jun finally unfolded the small sheet of parchment.

‘i am delighted to hear that you were able to enjoy the last remaining hours of the season with your family. the ocean sounds delightful. your suspicion of my enjoyment of seashells and pearls is a fair assumption, although, i gave up collecting a long time ago. hopefully you invest more stock in your collections than i did.

i’m afraid that i have no plans to take my leave before autumn begins as i’ve been much too busy. i don’t mind keeping an occupied schedule; it takes my mind off things and prevents me from overthinking. especially when i get the pleasure of meeting several people from different walks of life on a daily basis.

i know i say this every week, but it is always a pleasure receiving your letters. sometimes i can’t believe that we met through an anonymous literary discussion group. i’ve received a handful of letters from other attendees, but allow me to say that the discussions are utterly mundane compared to our conversations. it feels like i write to a friend i’ve known for years.

i eagerly await your reply, dear friend.

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