#man i have so many ideas for these idiots someone smack me | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

whatanightmaregrinch · 2 years

Text

John Hancock x (Fem)Sole Survivor- "thought I'd lost you"

[[TW: light gore]]

John Hancock didn't find himself afraid often. In fact, he prided himself on his ability to keep his cool, even in shitty scenarios. No matter what came his way, he always knew how to act. Got himself out of some pretty sticky situations with that talent too. He considered himself a ghoul of many tricks, and that's why he felt out of options when he saw Sole limp through the gates of his great city, supported by one of the Goodneighbor guards. He practically lunged forward off of the bench he'd sat down on to huff jet, and stormed towards them. His heart started slamming in his ribcage when he saw blood dribble from her pretty fucking mouth and down her chin, the way they locked eyes but Sole wasn't even there. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed, bringing the guard down with her under the weight of her nearly destroyed power armour. The guard started shouting, gaining the attention of some drifters, who started clamouring toward them to help. He barely had room to feel pride for his citizens banding together to help their fellow man. John dragged Sole off of the guard with some effort, the guard managing to wheeze out a thanks and rolling to the side, and he felt sick as he removed his hands from her and saw her blood sticking to his hands. He didn't hear himself shout for Doctor Amari, didn't even process himself desperately trying to rip her out of her power armour to assess the damage. He glanced at her face, pale and sweaty. She looked dead, and it terrified him.

"Hey Sunshine? I need you to listen to me." He said shakily, finally managing to crack the broken breast plate away from her, and he sucked in a breath.

Her dirty white shirt was stained with her own blood, but he could see where the material had ripped, and the evil glint of metal deep in the wound that had caused it. Someone's hands went to remove her shirt for him to see better, and he smacked their hand away so hard they yelped in surprise.

"Fuck are you doing, idiot? We can't get her wound out here it'll get fuckin' dust in, use your godamn mind!" Some part of him wanted to protect her dignity. Not that he wouldn't want to see her, he just wanted her permission and not to be covered in blood and surrounded by god knows how many pairs of eyes. Unless that was what she wanted, of course.

"I got the Doc!" A male voice slurred, but Hancock couldn't even spare attention for him. He couldn't stop staring at her fucking face. He was glad other people were there to help take the rest of her power armour off because he was being fucking useless right now. A familiar hand pushed him out of the way, and he realised he was in Amari's way. He scrambled back, but stopped when the doctor shot him a glare.

"Where are you going John? Help me carry her." She snapped, but not unkindly. She recognised the fear in his black eyes, but she didn't have the time to soothe him. She wasn't even sure how she was going to help Sole yet, she was a scientist, not a medic and she figured her best bet would be to take her patient to Daisy and see if they could come up with something. She had basic medical training, but when it had nothing to do with human, ghoul or synth brain, she was out of ideas. She moved around to Soles head and arms, and directed John to her legs and feet. He wrapped his arms around her legs ready whilst Amari told two others how best to support Sole on the torso so it wouldn't dip. She told another to send word to Daisy of their arrival with the promise of caps for what they needed and use of her space.

"On three."Doctor Amari commanded, and on three, they all pulled her up into the air as flat as they could. Sole made a horrible groaning noise, and Hancock could see her eyes opening and closing as she struggled with consciousness.

"We're gonna fix you right up, don't you worry. Try and stay awake." John tried her as they all staggered quickly towards Daisy's shop, her only making noises of pain in reply. He didn't understand how she even managed to get back to the gates, let alone inside the city.

Daisy was ready for them. Just like him, Sole had touched her heart in ways she'd prefer not to talk about, and seeing her in this state shocked her. Daisy mentioned once that she reminded her of her days before the war,of picket fences, green grass and blue skies. Not that John could picture what that was like.

Daisy had a table upstairs cleaned off, and they set her down as gently as they could. John pulled his coat off and folded it, shoving it under her head so she had support. He stood against the wall, so the two women could work. He'd only pace around and get in the way if he didn't. Daisy had rifled through and brought up all the supplies she could think of that they might need, and a bucket with boiling water to kill the germs as best they could.

He stayed whilst they cleaned her up with the limited alcohol they had, but John decided to leave the room when they set about pulling out the blade. He wasn't usually squeamish, but his heart couldn't take it this time around. He couldn't let himself feel the sadness in his bones, couldn't let himself think about the large possibility that Sole might die there on that table, and he'd have to bury another person he loved. He wandered downstairs, and out the closed shop front to sit down on the bench outside. He dug around in his pockets for a cigarette, finding one but tutting when he realised he didn't have a light. He looked around to see if he could bum a light from someone, but the street had emptied not ten minutes after. Events like that tended to spook people, and well, a nice gal like that in the kinda state she was in was bound to pull on some heartstrings. He didn't regret giving her his coat, but he regretted not shaking his metal plated lighter and jet from his pocket. He could have ran home to get some, but he didn't want to be too far away from her.

Many times had John Hancock fallen in love. They were short and fleeting circumstances, but he valued them. Well, as much as a ghoul fucked out of his skull could, anyway. He valued the sex less. He had alot of it in his time, and whilst he partook in it often, he didn't tend to talk to them after, or make them breakfast, or any of that shit. Usually by the time he woke up from his drug fuelled bender they were gone, leaving him with a feeling of emptiness and unfufillment. Sole had taken his usual routine and shook it around. He was willing to follow her across the wastelands forever if that was what she wanted. And now she was laid out on a table dying. He might never get to ask her how she felt about him, how she felt about sharing her life with him, or even find her fucking son. He wouldn't admit it, but he cried. He cried for a long time, and as the dusky evening turned to night, he remained frozen on the bench, cigarette abandoned next to him.

He didn't realise Amari's figure come out to him at first, his eyes too adjusted to the gloom to pick the white of her coat. He wanted to throw up when he made out the detail of Sole's blood decorating her sleeves. He didn't want to hear the news he knew to be true. Doctor Amari sat down next to him on the bench, and sighed aloud. She grabbed a cigarette, lit it with her lighter and offered the pack and light to him, which he didn't accept. Just started at her, almost angry she couldn't deliver the news first. Did she mean that little to her?

"Oh you, she's alive. Horribly wounded, but.. alive." Amari said, and wordlessly Hancock took the cigarette and lighter offered to him. Taking a puff of his lit cigarette, he sighed, the weight of the world lifting from his shoulders for the first time in hours.

"How bad was it?" He found the courage to ask, and Amari made this unpleasant sound that he didn't want to hear from her again.

"Whoever did that to her got her good. I'm thinking her power armour must have been really badly damaged already for the knife to get her like that. Daisy and I managed to stop the bleeding, but she'll have a nasty scar, that's to say if infection doesn't take her first." Amari's words stung John back to his reality. They weren't out of the fog yet. He took an extra long drag of the cigarette and exhaled.

"Don't really know what to do." Hancock admitted to her. She looked at him with a thoughtful gaze. "I assumed you'd be rushing inside by now to see her, if I'm honest. Why are you still sat with me?" She probed. His scarred face set into a frown.

"I don't want to see her like that if she's gonna-"

"How selfish, John. What of her? Do you think she deserves to be ignored like this?" She snapped, cutting him off. "Daisy and I were busy saving her life, and the moments she was lucid between shots, all she wanted to know was where you were." She jabbed a finger into his chest. Her words stung, even if she was right. Hurt his pride in a way he didn't want to admit. He just looked down, and Doctor Amari tutted, stabbing her cigarette out angrily on the benches arm rest. "If she lives, all she'll remember is you refusing to see her." She finalised, and stood. Brushing the mess from her thighs, she didn't even bother to collect her lighter and cigarette carton back as she went striding off into the darkness, probably back to her home. He thought about calling out to her, but she'd disappeared into the shadows before he had chance. He took it as good fortune, and pocketed the lighter and packet. He faltered as he wondered what to do next.

He looked up at the top window above Daisy's shop. The faint glow to it seemed inviting, but he was filled with regret. He couldn't be what she needed from him right now, he couldn't be the good man she needed. Compared to Nate, he was nothing. He didn't even have eyebrows. He grunted at the thought, and stood to go back to the Old State House. A quiet voice suddenly spoke up within him, urging him to remember something he'd long forgotten. A memory played out before him, he wasn't sure whether the jet and daytripper he'd taken during the day were reacting with eachother, but it spoke to him, reminding him of something that if he was right about and he'd forgotten he swore he'd cut his own brain out.

Sole was laid on a dirty double mattress next to him. He strained to remember more of the scene, but it started to come together. They'd been travelling back from a settlement not too far from Goodnighbour when the radiation storm had swarmed them so fast they'd barely time to duck into a semi suitable house. They retreated to the basement and found a singular double mattress in there and no open windows that could let the storm in, so they decided to camp for the night. Radiation didn't bother him, but Sole was smooth skinned and she didn't have enough fusion cores left to make the journey back. They were back to back, facing away. He had no qualms about sleeping face to face, but her pre-war sensibilities were apparent in the quieter moments.

"Hancock?" She said in a tired voice. "Hmm?" He mumbled. He remembered taking a puff of jet then, and he crinkled his nose. Why was he always so fuckin high all the time? "..is it hard, being a mayor?" She wondered, and he snorted as he coughed the chem out of his lungs. "Sure as brahmin shit, girl. Makes me do all kinds of uncomfy shit I'm not exactly happy about." He admitted. He tried to fight off the suprise when he felt her shift around in the mattress, to face his back. He moved to copy her, but her hands suddenly pressed against his shoulders, trapping him to facing away from her. "Dont turn over." She said softly, and he chuckled. "Whatever you want, sister." He slurred. He felt her hands tense on his back. "You shouldn't call me that." She said, and he furrowed his brow line in confusion. "Why not? Don't ya like it?" He replied, and she was silent for about a minute. He waited for her to gather her thoughts. "It just, makes me think we're related, that's all. I don't want to be related to you." She said stiffly, and he felt a little hurt. "What's wrong with being related to me?" He huffed out, chest jutting out a little. He was glad she wasn't allowing him to turn round. What she said was so quiet he wasnt sure he'd heard it right. " We can't be romantically involved." She grunted, and withdrew her hands from his back, and returned to her original position, back to back with him. He stared in silence for a long time at the crack in the wall directly opposite of him, listening to the sound of the lightning that stormed on a level above them.

He nearly killed himself right there for taking so much jet he'd basically ignored her unasked question, and had never brought it up to her again. What if she was testing the waters? What if he was supposed to respond then, confirm or deny his feelings for her? He groaned , and spun around on his heel. He needed to see her, needed to talk to her and get it all out, even if it was the only reason that selfishly drove him up those stairs. He couldn't decide for her, it was wrong. But she deserved atleast an explanation. Daisy cast him a glance as he walked past her, cleaning her counter. She wanted to say something to him, but it could wait. He clambered the stairs, and cringed as he saw the table where she lay so lifelessly hours before, now covered in her blood but empty. He spotted her laid out on the sofa in the darker corner of the room, his coat gently draped over her as a blanket, but she'd pushed it down at some point in her sleep. He took note that they'd changed her into a different, less traumatic t-shirt for her to wake up in, rather than her ripped one. He couldn't ignore the bandages poking out from under it, though. A sigh brought him out of his thoughts, and he saw she was sleeping. He came and sat beside her on the floor, and feeling his heart speed up just slightly. She was sleeping, a stab wound victim, and he found her enchanting, even in this state.

"You really scared me." He spoke softly to avoid disturbing her. When he heard no change from her, he continued. "I saw you on the floor and I thought you were dead. It really made me stop, and a ghoul like me doesn't stop for much." He lent back into the sofa, removing the hat from his head. "I figured love was off the plate for you, after you told me what happened with Nate. I couldn't blame you if you did, you know. But I didn't mean to ignore you, that night." He said quietly. " -'was just shocked, is all. You gotta understand a gal like you saying something like that to me rocked me, I mean look at you. You look like all them pretty gals from the movie posters." He mused, looking down at his own scarred hands in a silent comparison. He didn't find himself ugly, but he certainly wasn't normal. Didn't look normal in areas you wanted to look normal, either. "I felt at peace with you. I feel at peace with you." He corrected, and cast her sleeping face a glance, to find her eyes open and staring at him with a curious intensity instead. He was afraid, and she didnt say anything. She winced in immense pain, but made an effort to reach out a trembly hand and cup his cheek. He softened at the realization it wasn't rejection, but exhaustion that caused her silence. It wasnt like she was in any state to talk. Her thumb caressed the ridges on the left side of his face. He sighed into the touch, feeling it spread warmth into his cheeks, into his neck and down into his chest. He didn't expect declarations of love from her, it was too soon for that. But for now, he could allow himself to enjoy this. To enjoy being with her.

"Don't leave me." Her voice came out broken, and hoarse. He covered her hand on his face with her own, and squeezed gently. "Couldn't, not after this." He murmured, and she smiled. He loved that smile, and he hoped that she would smile at him like that forever. He wanted to serve and protect that smile, and he promised himself in that moment that he would find whoever had laid her out like this and make them wish they were having a fucking nightmare.

#whatanightmaregrinch #fallout4 #fallout #john hancock fo4 #reader insert #angst #light gore #hancock has alot of feelings #i recently romanced hancock and im in love with him #drabble #fanfiction #im sure ill appropriately tag these things one day #nOT TODAY THO #john hancock #john hancock x reader #pining sort of

173 notes · View notes

levmada · 2 years

Text

Untouchable

summary: A picture of Levi's childhood, and how Kenny taught him to be strong—as well as how he'd never be strong enough.

content/warnings: lots of physical/verbal abuse against a child (Levi), hurt/no comfort, self-hatred, Ackerman powers, complicated relationship, poor poor kid!Levi, canonverse, brief description of starvation, canon-typical violence, insomnia, descriptions of death, mostly a whump, underage drinking (for one scene), injuries

wc: 8.6k

If Levi had learned anything while living with Kenny—well, everything was an opportunity to learn. He learned that as soon as he ate his second-ever meal after meeting Kenny. He had been sat down in front of him at a table in a real kitchen in a real dilapidated little hideout, but that first time Levi stuffed his face with bread at that bar was the only time Kenny ever fed him.

During that second meal, Kenny suddenly reached across the table and smacked him, making him flinch. Levi quit chewing and stared at Kenny, confused and a little scared.

“Levi. Lesson one: Don’t stuff food down your throat. First”—Kenny held up a long finger—“You’ll choke. Second”—he raised another—“You’re fucking tiny, skin n’ bones, and pale as a damn ghost. You look dead already, but you don’t want ‘em to know you’re starvin’, too. Act like you got your shit together.”

Levi was starving—he was still so hungry, even though he met Kenny yesterday—that the speech almost entirely went over his head. He chewed slowly, peering up at Kenny across the table through a thick veil of bangs.

He pondered the ‘them’ he had to make sure didn’t know he was starving. The bumbling pig of a man who always told Momma what to do, whose talking voice he never heard because he was always yelling, who he learned to hide from after… who…

Levi didn’t want to think about her.

“Like a man?” he asked.

Kenny leaned back in his seat with his arm thrown over the chair back. Levi thought he looked pretty cool. “Like anybody.”

As young as he was, he already knew too well that nobody cared about anybody down here. But still: Even you? Levi wanted to ask, but had Kenny saved him, so of course the answer was no.

Instead he quietly asked, “...Am I holding it wrong too?”

Levi was holding a brick-hard loaf of bread.

Kenny blinked blandly at him. “If you were on the Surface, yeah people’d point and laugh at ya. Down here, protect your food, Levi.”

People Above must’ve had access to plenty of food, then, which was such a strange concept that Levi stopped chewing. They sounded so alien to him. Just how he pictured a living fish swimming through some water Above (lakes or streams or ponds… which he didn't know the difference between) compared to the fleshy rotted ones he saw once being sold at the markets he used to go to.

Levi felt other to Above people then, and he always would. Kenny never let him forget that they’d always look down on someone like Levi—unless he proved them wrong.

“How?” He’d one day ask.

“Idiot. By kickin’ their asses. Make ‘em piss themselves. With power… you can get anything you want in this world.”

That conversation would come later. For now he put the idea of being pointed and laughed at out of his mind. He’d never go Above to have that happen to him.

Kenny spoke again. “Lesson two, while I’m at it: Don’t give me that shitty look when I discipline you for doin’ somethin’ stupid. Don’t be a brat. In fact, don’t flinch like you just did.”

He was confused. “But I… couldn’t help it.”

Opening his mouth was a mistake. Kenny knocked him upside the head, so hard—or maybe Levi being so weak—that he rocked in his chair, his hand flying up to his ear. It felt numb and weirdly hot.

“Don’t back talk me, you brat. You don’t know shit about shit yet, so lemme tell ya: You can, and you will.”

Kenny was never more lenient with his lessons than he’d been from the start. There were many of all kinds, because Kenny took it upon himself to teach him how to survive: How to tell who was a threat, if he was being followed, whether food had rotted or was poisoned, how to haggle a deal to get exactly what he wanted (which Levi failed at consistently, no matter how hard he tried; he didn’t know what to say or how to make his tone sound convincing, thus Kenny put twice as much pressure on him to wield his knife), how to walk and how to carry himself—but Kenny’s main goal was always to make Levi strong.

He even made Levi cut his hair on his own. He finds it disturbing now how much that shocked him then. “Brat,” Kenny muttered as he fished some sheers out of a drawer in the bathroom. “Kuchel must’ve spoiled you rotten.”

Levi kept quiet and his head down, his fists curled by his sides. His bangs flopped pitifully over his eyes, long enough to tickle his nose. The more he was reminded of Momma, the less he wanted to think about her. It hurt, all the time, and he blamed himself. It was his fault for being too reliant on her not to leave their room, and too weak to make someone help. If he’d just been strong enough, he could have done something—at least to ease her pain.

Not that Kenny talked about her much. He stopped talking about her at all when Levi once pointed out a hunched figure at the building stoop and asked what was wrong with her legs. They were atrophied to the bone, and trembling all over.

“There’s a chance somethin’ goes wrong with yer legs if you go all yer life without seein’ the sun.”

Levi, at this point used to the sight of bodies, evenly faced ahead again. “Oh. Okay.”

“Is that how yer mom went? Tell me takin’ your scrawny ass in wasn’t a waste of time if yer legs are gonna give out anyway.”

Levi hastened to put together a worthy answer. It wouldn’t kill him if he didn’t want to answer that question, but he wanted to please Kenny, especially in case he talked more about what she was like before Levi was born.

“No,” Levi answered haltingly. “I actually coulda done something. If I was like you.”

Kenny stopped walking, so Levi stopped too. His face was twisted in a disgusted grimace. “Tch. Well you didn’t, and you aren’t. You oughta not turn into a guy like me anyway. You’d be one annoying bastard.”

Oh. Levi grasped for information about Momma instead. “Did she not like you?”

“Ha…” Kenny looked wistful for a second. “Forget it. She’s dead, kid. End of story.”

It was time to keep moving. Kenny surprised Levi by briefly ruffling his hair before pushing him to get a move-on.

Which came with the expectation of being able to keep up with Kenny when Levi only reached as tall as his waist. Naturally this earned him names. Mostly 'shorty’, and Kenny’s laughter when Levi insisted he’d get taller if Kenny just gave him a fucking chance. By the last time Levi ever saw his retreating back, his height had stagnated at around Kenny’s stomach.

Some lessons were harsher than others. The most pain Levi had ever experienced was at Kenny’s expense, but he learned so brutally well because Kenny was brutal—not that he was capable of being gentle.

And Levi never doubted his intentions. Kenny must’ve picked him up when Levi was inches from death’s door for some reason.

Even sleep was a lesson which Levi would learn.

After Kenny took him in, it was strange. Levi slept more restlessly than he’d ever had in his short life. When he woke up, he’d sometimes be crying and not know why, swiftly wiping the tears away, angry at his body for betraying him. He mused that he had slept better when his body was physically struggling to function, after those countless days with desert-like saliva caked in his mouth, and dozing, not eating.

Kenny didn’t afford him any luxury whatsoever, but Levi had a mattress to sleep on with a pretty thick cotton blanket. He was once breaking over the edge of sleep when he was ripped to wakefulness by being snatched around his middle, pinned on his stomach, and below him appeared a blade that glinted in the darkness, reflected off the faint glow of streetlamps outside.

Gasping, Levi elbowed his assailant in the stomach—like he’d been taught to do if someone ever got his back. He’d never been so relieved to hurt Kenny, though when he was dropped, it seemed much more like Kenny letting him than Levi genuinely catching him off guard.

“You’re too damn slow.”

Levi whirled around, kicked the blanket away and backed up against the wall, staring at him wide-eyed. Blood spotted Kenny’s trenchcoat, where he crouched evenly, staring back like Levi was an idiot.

“Huh?”

Kenny punctured the mattress with his blade, making him jump. “Don’t be stupid, Levi. You think someone’s gonna wait to attack you just 'cause you’re asleep? When your guard’s down is the best chance anyone’s got of killin’ you.

"Don’t gimme that look. I’m teachin’ you a lesson, here.”

Levi was fully awake now. He thought of defending himself by saying he kept his knife under his pillow, but either way, Kenny had gotten the drop on him. Levi would’ve died if he was anyone else, and he probably wouldn’t even know who killed him.

“So what do I do?” he spat, glaring defiantly. “Don’t fucking sleep?”

Kenny ignored him. At some point, because of Kenny or not, Levi stopped shrinking down when he was spoken down to. One day, his shitty attitude would be stuck to him all the time, even if he didn’t mean it. For twenty-some years, it didn’t benefit him to act polite.

“Be ready to defend yerself just like if you were awake.”

So Levi… exercised his rampant sleeplessness in a way. Even before his voice dropped he had had it hammered into him to be disciplined, and so he could discipline himself just as well.

Whenever he slept on the mattress, he tended to sleep deeply, and so he kept getting reprimanded for reacting too slowly after Kenny cut, kicked, or slapped him awake.

So came him sleeping sitting up in the back corner of his small room so he had full view of his surroundings. He figured out if he stopped using the blanket, he’d sleep lighter, and he did—but there was also something about sitting up against the wall.

He’d withstood her… decomposing for as long as possible, clinging to her. It had never even occurred to Levi to get up, because who else did he have in this world, back then? Everyone he could go to despised that he’d been born in a place like that, and the women looked after themselves, in the end. There was nothing they could do for him.

But her skin became cold and thin, stretched over her bones. Losing all color and luster, even her hair so she finally blended in with the dirty corners and damp walls. Smells started to rise, besides the stench of death he’d never forget, and little living things squirmed and began to eat her, and so Levi crawled out of the bed.

He can’t remember if he apologized or not for leaving her. He hopes he did.

Now sitting sat up in that same way, even though the place and time was different, made him constantly alert. He replaced his blanket with his knife, clasped in his hand at all times.

Night by night, Levi figured out how much sleep he needed in order to function. It was always hard to tell time of day in the Underground, so he tuned into his surroundings, and based starting the day on the people he could hear around outside when the day seemed to begin, at “dawn”—earlier than when Kenny gets him up. Over time, whenever Kenny tested him again, he would snap awake to him feet away, his knife instinctively raised.

Kenny laughed thickly. “You even look like I’m here to kill ya. Keep it up,” he said.

That was the last of Kenny’s lessons on sleep.

But Levi wouldn’t understand until later what lengths Kenny would really go to to make him strong. With the knowledge that Kenny was the strongest and most talked-about person in the Underground, Levi first tried to imitate him.

Levi didn’t often get to join Kenny to do… whatever he did when he was on his own. Only as far as Levi knew, Kenny spilled a lot of blood. One night when he’d came back, more blood than normal stained his coat, especially red near his shoulder.

But he seemed to be in a good mood while he drank from a tankard on the threadbare sofa, his booted feet kicked up on a stool. The rooms were connected in such a way that the room was open from there to the kitchen, so Levi watched him while he ate dinner, which was a mushy apple and a couple shreds of dried meat.

Even if Levi didn’t know all about what a drunk person looked, acted, and especially smelled like, the high, bitter stink of the alcohol was all over him. He was smiling to himself bitterly, and mumbled things between swigs that Levi couldn’t make out.

Silently, Levi took his tin cup of water, and placed it on the seat of an adjacent chair.

“Are you gonna drink all that, or what? I’m tired of smelling it.”

Kenny peeled his eyes open. Pushing his bangs back, he grinned drunkenly at him. “Hah? Oh, I see. You thirsty?”

“...Maybe.”

Levi was fairly confident that since he couldn’t draw the kind of respect from his strength that Kenny did, yet, if he copied him more then that got him one step closer. Plus, Levi wasn’t used to seeing someone drunk and happy at the same time, either. It was pleasantly strange.

Kenny leveled him with a lazy smirk, then hefted himself to his feet with another scoff. It didn’t seem like he was too drunk. He didn’t stumble on the way over, and firmly planted the tankard down in front of Levi, so hard a few drops flew out.

“Alright, boy. Try it. Maybe you’ll like it.”

It was filled with a bubbly-looking glazed liquid just under halfway, but it was a large tankard just the same.

Levi raised himself up and sat on his knees to be taller, and sniffed it warily.

Kenny leaned on the table, smiling lopsidedly. “Hurry up. You wanna act grown up, right?—You wanna be like me? Then drink it, Levi. If you don’t, that’ll really hurt my feelings,” he drawled.

This thinly-veiled threat didn’t go over Levi’s head, and especially not next to Kenny sniffing out Levi’s real intentions.

But it was unthinkable to back out now. He put on a straight face as he took it up by the sides, tilted it back, and then jolted as Kenny overturned it completely, dousing Levi’s nostrils and eyes.

It was disgusting. Cruelly sour but somehow tangy, suffocatingly thick. Beer stung his eyes, he coughed so hard his gag reflex started to flex, all the while Kenny laughed his ass off in the background. He flung the tankard at the wall, where it knocked off and rolled around sadly on the floor, like it was disappointed in Levi for not drinking it.

"Still wanna be like ol’ Kenny?” Kenny shambled forward and kicked Levi’s chair out, but this time he reacted in time. He dropped down just in time and took on a defensive stance, still coughing. “What about it? You wanna another drink?”

“Fuck off!” Levi rasped. “This is… a shitty lesson.”

Kenny looked over curiously, as if just noticing the damage he had caused. “Nah. This is a lesson in peer pressure. And also not bein’ a fucking idiot.”

Levi focused on his training after that. Day and night, cuts and bandages, blades and flesh.

Levi’s hardest lesson would be the most rewarding in the end. One day, Kenny told him to get dressed, and he followed without any idea of where they were going.

So he asked: “Are we just gonna walk around all day and wait to get robbed?”

Kenny grinned down at him, the one that spread wide enough so that Levi could almost see his canines. “I’m gonna make you strong, rat. I think it's time.”

Levi frowned, but he felt a rare blip of excitement, too. He’d never been so direct, even though for these past few years, he’s always been teaching Levi to survive. This, for the first time, felt like it was leading up to something.

In the lower Underground districts, Levi felt confident walking alongside the strongest—and most intimidating—person in the whole world, or what might as well be. That underlying wet stink of blood, sewage, all things suffering that he could never get used to felt less suffocating then.

Especially in the lower districts where they were, where it hung much thicker, where the denizens were a lot more dangerous. This way was abandoned. Garbage lined the broken streets.

Levi had no idea where they were going, so he closed his hand on the knife in his pocket.

He counted the corners they turned. Left… right, right…….left…right…

The biggest man Levi had ever seen burst out from behind an abandoned cart—he knew this based solely on the sheer size of him, and it wasn’t in the fat way. One of his biceps was as big as Levi’s head.

The attacker charged at them—no, him! Levi easily used his height to his advance to dodge, but he did it so his back was towards the cart. A lithe woman with a face like a crow’s appeared from behind him and swept her leg out, meaning to trip him. He dodged once again, flipping backwards and landing easily on his feet.

“KENNY!” Levi snapped his head towards Kenny for support, but while the big man set his sights on Levi like a bull, Kenny leaned casually against the brick on the other side of the street, watching as if judging an apple to see if it was rotten.

The attackers didn’t even speak. One look was in their distant eyes, and it was dangerous. They meant to kill him.

The woman ripped out a knife and went for him again, but he was ready. This was no time to hesitate. He pulled her arm, yanked her down to his level, and kneed her in the chest. She made a noise like popping a paper bag before Levi sunk his blade into the side of her throat.

This was no time to hesitate.

He didn’t rip it out in time. With the ease of kicking a ragdoll, the big man kicked him. When the dirty cobblestone hit Levi, he actually bounced off it at first before landing.

Down came the man’s knuckles. For a split-second he could wonder how weird it was that his knuckles looked covered in armor when metal, brass, smashed his cheek. Pain exploded and gripped his head.

He cried out and tossed his head to the side. He couldn’t use his arms—his hands were pinned under his attacker’s knees.

Levi went with his leg. If he got it behind the man to kick him in the kidney, it would hurt like a bitch enough to for Levi to get an advantage—but the man was too big. He was like a monster.

Surprisingly, the next punch landed on Levi’s side, then his gut, coughing up all the air from his lungs. Instinctively his body bowed back, trying to get away, but he was trapped.

Levi tossed his head back for the woman’s corpse and his knife, but she was slumped over, his blade too far out of reach.

And as quickly as he looked, his attention was yanked back as the attacker nailed him in the chest, making him shout. Pain dense and dull shook his ribcage.

Out of options, Levi wrenched his head to the side. The man’s arm was braced beside his head. He sunk in his teeth, and ripped out a chunk of flesh.

Howling, the man punched him again. And again. And again. Until even the mind-numbing pain felt far away.

“Kenny, help…” Levi whimpered. Did he say that? Or just think it?

Two gunshots in quick succession split the air above, though it felt blocks away, and then Levi was being smothered by dead weight that had crashed on top of him.

He groaned miserably, heaving, and wiggled free with all the strength he had left, crawling like a worm. Somehow he succeeded, and lay on his side, coughing violently and smearing stinging blood from his eyes.

“Get up, Levi.”

Kenny’s voice sounded like it came from far away, too.

“Are you dead, or what? My friend there didn’t punch you in the legs.”

Kenny sighed, and disappointment was heavy in it. “By the way, you failed.”

The pain. The pain ate into Levi’s bones like a sickness, it was all he could think about. He had never hurt this bad. He didn’t think it was possible to fit this much pain into his body.

He forced himself to pull in deep breaths. Still. The knowledge that this had been the test, and that he’d failed somehow made it all hurt worse.

“Get up, rat,” Kenny ordered.

Kenny never repeated himself.

Levi slowly heaved himself to his hands and knees. Beads of sweat dripped off his forehead and landed on the cobblestone between his hands, and this sight was somehow more shameful than if—

No, he was bleeding too, bleeding from all over his face. He wasn’t just ashamed—he was totally fucking useless.

He shoved himself to his feet, swayed, then looked up at Kenny, who looked completely ambivalent to Levi’s blood and the two corpses some feet away.

“Don’t look at me. Get yer knife, you idiot,” he retorted.

“Right.” His voice was small, but firm. He straightened up, his fists curled tightly by his sides, and shuffled over to the corpse of the woman. When he crouched, he almost fell over.

Taking back his knife was easy, but it was as disgusting as the rest of him.

He wiped the blood off on her shirt in two simple strokes. If he didn’t keep himself looking as neat as possible, Kenny would discipline him. If his knife rusted because of the blood, Kenny would discipline him.

Levi, his heart clenching with guilt, just had to tell himself that it didn’t matter. Dead was dead.

He somehow rose to his feet again.

Silent, Kenny stuffed his gun back on his belt, and turned around. Levi followed.

Breathing in felt like fire. Breathing out worsened the stitch in his side. Moving one foot in front of another felt more like pushing boulders, and like a haze, this all hung around his mind. This pain was dreamy. A dream where his whole world meant staying on his feet—despite his hearing screeching in and out, despite his surroundings outside Kenny turning fuzzy at the edges—with Kenny in his sights. To march and march at Kenny’s back forever. The destination meant nothing, because Kenny knew where they were going. Because Kenny would never not be leading the way…

The dream abruptly ended when Kenny’s face suddenly appeared again, and he reared his leg back.

Levi hit the ground on his bad side. The pain was too loud to hear himself, but he thought he screamed. The white-hot shock of it was, for a second, his whole entire life.

He started getting a handle on his surroundings just in time to see the sole of Kenny’s boot when he kicked him in the side again.

“I’m gonna keep goin’ until you quit whining! Bitchin’ and moanin’ ain’t ever gonna help you, Levi!”

But he couldn’t help it.

The pain was too loud. Right now it blocked out everything. Kenny’s voice faded in and out as though through water.

Levi cried out wetly as he was kicked in the back, and involuntarily, he rolled onto his other side, facing Kenny. He curled up into the most protective position possible, with his arms shielding his head, still moaning. “Kenny! KENNY!—Fucking, stop! It hurts…”

When Kenny didn’t stop, didn’t even respond but to nail him in the shoulder, Levi knew he had no choice but to do what Kenny said. If Kenny said he had to do something, then Levi had to. Not even his human nature was immune to Kenny’s teaching.

Levi couldn’t tell when or where a hit was coming to promptly muffle himself—all he could feasibly do was shut up, or shut up and get up, and his legs felt like strings. The pain screamed through his mind.

Be strong…

Kenny kicked him a couple more times, but besides a grunt, Levi bit his tongue and tensed up every muscle in his body. That way didn’t feel so much like getting kicked with a hammer, which was really Kenny’s boot.

"Does it still hurt, kid?” Kenny didn’t even sound winded.

Levi swallowed thickly, panting. He tasted blood on his tongue and inhaled wetly. His nose was bleeding. But coughing counted as bitching and moaning, didn’t it? Stuttering or rasping. Weak. Whining or whimpering and especially crying, weak.

“No,” Levi said, voice firm.

The scrape of dirt could be heard as Kenny stepped back. Levi stared ahead at his tall black leather boots. Somehow, Kenny never scuffed them while he was beating the shit out of him.

Levi thought almost deliriously, that whenever he'd find himself in Kenny’s shoes, then he’d learn how to do that too. How could Kenny not only be so strong, but so… untouchable?

His boot charged again. Levi’s stomach. He tensed and squeezed his fists, but he was silent. It didn’t happen again.

“Good job,” Kenny said, like he expected that of Levi all along.

Good job? Levi squeezed his eyes shut. Good job good job good job good

“Yeah, you look like a beat dog, n’ I bet you feel like one, too, but whoever’s beating you won’t know that. No matter what… you still got some advantage.”

Kenny stepped forward. Levi braced himself for the moment he’s kicked in the face, but Kenny merely slid his boot forward, and lifted Levi’s chin up to look at him. From this angle, he looked miles above him.

“You understand why I’m finally teachin’ you this. That’s cuz it’s a hard-ass lesson. At least you succeeded in somethin’ today. You aren’t so scared since you made yourself quit that shit, huh. It’s called keepin’ yourself together. And you’re stronger for it. Don’t let anybody ever know your weaknesses, Levi. Do ya understand your teacher?”

“I understand,” Levi croaked.

Satisfied, Kenny let his chin drop. “Good, kid. Now you’re gettin’ the hang of this. Let’s get back.”

Levi blinked. He was still processing the way he’d been praised—so rare a thing with Kenny’s lessons.

The pain meant less when Levi both buried it somewhere so deep he couldn't feel it, and did well because of that. With the words still heating his face, he pushed himself to his feet, giving himself no time to register the way moving felt like blows of their own.

Yeah, it hurt, but that was the point, wasn’t it? He understood what Kenny was teaching him. When it came to his lessons, Kenny was never cruel for no reason.

This lesson hurt like hell, but Levi had overcome his very human nature because of it. An enemy could never fully take advantage of him, and Underground, an enemy could be found in anyone.

He was beginning to be strong.

Good, kid.

It was a few weeks later when the worst thing that could’ve happened, happened.

Levi had been frustrated, to say the least, after another failure at Kenny’s test. He could never seem to overpower his enemies before Kenny’s gun rang off, ending the test. To be fair, Kenny put him up against enemies bigger, stronger, and faster than even Levi, but he didn’t even feel like he was improving. The most he’d gleaned from these fights were injuries.

He made his breathing short and tight and balanced his weight evenly on both his feet—he’d diagnosed himself with a bruised rib and something wrong with his ankle.

Levi always took care of his own injuries. The challenge right now was not seeming weak in front of Kenny.

But Kenny could tell, he felt. A cold sweat had broken out on the back of his neck from his constant stare as Levi went about taking account of what food they had stored.

The afternoon was no time to rest, and there was never a time to be useless.

Don’t be weak. Don’t, Levi repeated internally, especially as his midsection screamed when he crouched down, in search of something—a can of broth maybe. He had to eat enough to fuel his body.

At the table behind Levi was where Kenny sat, arms crossed with both his legs kicked up on the table. Levi didn’t understand why he was lingering, unless Kenny felt like taking a day off from killing Military Police.

All that sat on shelves and cupboards taller than Levi were cobwebs (if he had gone too long without cleaning them). Seeing how Kenny hardly ate here, Levi got to organize his way, which he was grateful for. He was grateful for any leniency Kenny showed him, but he tried not to be, and focused on his lessons. If Kenny wasn’t harsh, it would’ve been easier for Levi to be robbed, or murdered, or starve to death.

If only he could rise to the occasion and be strong. He didn’t know what that meant exactly, but he was sure he’d understand when he passed Kenny’s test.

A dented can of sardines.

Before he ate, Levi washed his hands in the basin of water that he had pumped this morning. It was disgusting, so he reminded himself to retrieve the cleanest water possible later, after Kenny was gone. Levi never felt like he could relax, but around Kenny, he especially felt the pressure to meet a certain standard.

Not that he particularly looked forward to Kenny leaving. It would hurt like hell to try and bathe and clean up around the place, but he was determined to. If there was nothing else he could help, he could help his hygiene, and the hygiene of his surroundings. He was scared of getting sick, like her, but other than that, the feeling was hard to describe. He would just… feel better.

Cleanliness didn’t matter to Kenny as far as anything other than appearances went, but living Underground didn’t mean he had to be dirty… like before. He wouldn’t be able to calm down and feel any ease until then.

He had his work cut out for him. Blood had scabbed on his throat, and pasted the collar of his shirt to his chest in an odd, itchy way. He felt bruises forming on his legs, his chest, but if he looked now, he knew they’d only hurt more. He’d want to rest. But this was not the time.

Don’t don’t don’t, he thought.

Levi sat down, straight-faced. He was almost tall enough now for his feet to touch the floor when he sat in this chair. There was more than one, but he preferred to sit in the same one every time, the one facing the door.

He peeled open the can and kept that expression even when the oily fish smell rose up. It was a disgusting stench that bore into his nostrils, but the way saliva pooled in his mouth at the idea of food, any food, felt otherwise. He was hungry, so he’d eat. He protected the can with his arm and stuffed his face with a fork. It felt and tasted like grey slimy mush on his tongue.

In his peripheral sat Kenny, whose expression was unreadable. Levi could speak whenever he wanted and not get reprimanded as long as it wasn’t a stupid question, so he asked, "When do I get to try again?”

Kenny grunted. “Who knows? You know what to expect when an enemy is face-to-face with ya Levi, but yer never gonna know who’s comin’ when unless you get good enough to predict it.”

It would be a mystery, then. He wasn’t good enough yet.

Levi swallowed the fish, and raised his head. It felt like he was being watched.

A brick shattered the window to his left, followed by shouts. Eyes wide, he instinctively ducked down and dropped to a crouch, gritting his teeth as his breath automatically started coming out in gasps. Something was wrong with his rib, for sure.

He dodged out of the way of a young man swinging a dagger, which made a whistling sound as it cut through the air, and juked around the side of the table so the man missed him and ran into the wooden kitchen counter instead. This, just as another man, a more gaunt one, hopped in through the jagged remains of the window.

Levi’s knife was outstretched as they circled each other briefly.

Of course, his teacher hadn’t moved. His arms were still crossed but his leg was now balanced on his knee, slouched with his hat pulled over his eyes, like he was pretending to be asleep. In the middle of all this shit.

The table almost went crashing down on Levi as it was heaved up in his direction. He slid out of the way just nearly, and used his size to his advantage to leap forward and slice the hell out of the gaunt attacker’s achilles heel, and then he plunged the blade into his stomach. The man howled and fell to his knees.

He nearly got out of the way of the other. He was snagged back by his shirt into the attacker’s arms. He tried wrenching around, but his chest injury made his movements stiff and too slight.

He was pushed down to the unforgiving floor. A boot stomped him on the chest, making Levi shout, now shaking all over from the pain. The world twisted and twirled. It looked like there were two of the men again.

And then he didn’t roll in time. He was wrenched up by his hair with cold steel on his throat when the grip went slack as quickly as it came. The thick choking smell of gunpowder clouded the air as Kenny ended the test.

Levi fell down on his side, totally limp, followed by something huge and heavy. The corpse of the man. His face had landed in Levi’s neck, and blood poured out of the gaping gunshot wound in that throat. He was still in his death throes, convulsing, sputtering and croaking.

He gasped, tears of exertion sticking on his lashes as he kicked, then kicked again to get the leverage enough to roll onto his stomach, freed. His whole chest felt like it was stapled together, his heartbeat like a drumline. With every thrum, the sides of his vision pounded.

He needed to get up. He tried to get up, but his hands and knees felt like twigs, burning and devoid. Physically unable, he dropped back down with a groan, but at least he wasn’t crying.

In the background, wood scraped the floor. Levi silently curled into a tighter ball and protected his head. Hot blood like a sheet had ran down his neck, staining his shirt, and—did his throat get cut? Unlike earlier, had he somehow fucked up that badly? All he could think about, if he was going to die, was how much his and Kenny’s efforts would have been for nothing if he bled out on this floor.

But Kenny wouldn’t let that happen in the first place, Levi believed that. They weren’t close, they weren’t even friends, but he could rely on Kenny. Even when Levi failed, Kenny wouldn’t abandon him…

Darkness ate Levi’s vision, and awareness floated away from him rapidly, like a cut balloon.

When he woke up, the pain had completely transformed. His skull pounded like too much cotton had been stuffed in his head, and every inhale felt like wire tightening, gripping his chest. Something must’ve been broken.

He felt used-up. But at least he was laying down.

Wait. He was laying on a mattress? He saw a faint glow behind his eyelids, which meant light. The amount of light meant it had to be a lantern.

For a moment, he kept still, listening for any sounds, any clues to what was happening and where he was. He heard some kind of button snapping shut. Something metal clattered.

Opening his eyes into slits, he spotted Kenny crouched and pulling cans of what appeared to be food out of a paper bag, scrutinizing them closely, and then letting some drop. Loudly. It seemed like Kenny had carried him to his room, and even mended his injuries. Under the old blanket he never slept with anymore, Levi was shirtless. Leaned up against the base of the lantern was some kind of small satchel.

Grunting softly, he forced his arms behind him to lift himself up, gritting his teeth against the pain, until he was sat up against the wall.

Kenny didn’t acknowledge him with his eyes. “You’re pretty damn useless, kid, you know that?”

Levi stared at his lap. Instead of answering a rhetorical question, he felt his side, sensing a tightness that hadn’t been there before. It was indeed bandaged. Even worse, at the foot of the bed his ankle was also wrapped, and propped up on a pillow. His cheeks glowed hot with embarrassment.

“Pitiful, too. But I ain’t gonna be the one to pity you. I jus’ wanna see what happens if you stay alive.”

“You didn’t have to do this… I wasn’t gonna die.” His voice grated from disuse, and he wondered how much time he’d wasted being asleep. He was even shaking, he was so humiliated. Kenny never bandaged him. Never so much as gave him the bandages.

Kenny paused. “I know. You’re not like your mother.”

Levi froze, but Kenny’s face gave nothing away. He looked as clean and put-together as always, just missing his hat and his coat. “This is a loan. Doin’ what I did just now was stupid of me for what I’m about to tell ya, but I’m tired of seein’ you fail.”

Levi grit his teeth and dropped his eyes again, silent.

“I get it now. You think cuz of all I’ve done, I’m gonna be there to save your scrawny ass no matter what. But guess what?—Look at me, Levi!”

When Kenny took his shoulder, he looked up, his face carefully neutral. He didn’t know what to think, except that this shame was so immense he wished Kenny had just left him there on the floor.

Kenny’s eyes were heavy and grave. “No one’s ever gonna look after you.” He huffed in amusement. “With that shitty look on yer face all the time, yer probably not gonna make any friends anyway, but even if you do, no one’s gonna keep you alive other than you.

"This world don’t give a shit if you live or die, and it especially don’t want ya. Livin’ or dyin’s a choice you’re gonna make on your own. D’you understand me?”

“…I understand,” Levi breathed, locking his throat. For some reason, he could never stamp down his emotions completely. He wanted to cry.

Kenny pushed him away. “Don’t gimme that look. You look the same way you did when we met. It’s pathetic.”

Feeling repulsed, Levi faced ahead, but he definitely still looked as tired as he felt.

“You’ve gotten too comfortable clingin’ to me. And ain’t no one clings to Kenny the Ripper but women" —he laughed— "so I’m leavin’ you for awhile. You’re no good to me weak. By then, you better be ready to try again.

“And the rules are gonna be a little different next time. Try not to die.”

Would the enemies be even stronger?—Would Kenny intervene to help instead of kill them at the end? Levi assumed both would be the case.

He wondered where Kenny was going, and for how long. But maybe it’d be safer for him to assume he didn’t plan on coming back anytime soon—that was his whole point.

"Got it,” Levi muttered.

He wouldn’t see Kenny again for a whole month, but Levi trained every day like he was going to come back tomorrow. Nursing his own wounds was obnoxious, since they never seemed to heal fast enough. He constantly felt like an easy target whenever he left the hideout for supplies.

The front door being knocked open startled him from the kitchen table. He’d been a good hour into sharpening his knife back into a point when Kenny appeared, looking the same as ever.

Unsurprisingly, he gave no indication of when he’d test Levi next, and as he had learned, it could happen where he slept. He watched his back all the time, even through Kenny’s other lessons, but Levi made sure his performance didn’t suffer because of it.

Some weeks later. He was carrying a bag of food back from the nearby market when three people in plainclothes split off from a spot where they’d been smoking, and started towards him.

Levi didn’t know what Kenny was paying them to potentially forfeit their lives for Levi’s training, but he had learned that it was easier to think of them as obstacles instead. Levi didn’t take after killing like Kenny did, but Kenny had advised him not to be like him, anyway.

This time they were all men. One had a pistol that he aimed down at Levi off the bat, so he threw up the bag as a distraction, ran and leaped on the nearest one’s back as he shot frantically, so this man became like a human shield.

“Shit!”

Levi grunted as he was tossed about. The bullet had hit the human shield in the arm and shoulder, so he could only use one to try and shake Levi off.

Levi stabbed the man in the throat before this could happen and jumped back down, still on his feet.

The one with the gun was a blond man. He aimed like a blind man, making it easy for Levi to cut his hand, forcing the gun to drop, which Levi kicked away. Then he plunged his knife into the blond's thigh, who dropped to his knees moaning. But still alive.

This time he didn’t get it back. He elbowed the other coming up behind him in the gut, but this wasn’t enough to phase a grown man, and so Levi found himself being hefted up, his back pinned to the man’s chest. The blond rose on weary legs, now wielding a knife of his own, and bracing his bloody thigh with his other hand.

This was fucking humiliating.

“LET ME GO! Fucker, die!” Levi screamed. He kicked wildly, gave it more thought, and struck back at the knee of the enemy holding him. Then he kicked at his knife still lodged in the thigh of the blond, dislodging it so he flopped down like a fish on his side, wailing.

“Stop it… Stop it, gods,” the blond moaned.

Levi got away from the fatter man when he stumbled. Brute force worked in his favor this time, so he managed to kick and wiggle free.

He landed on his knees, rolled, snatched his knife back, and tore the blade across the blond’s throat.

Levi had no illusions that he was in good shape, even though it was one against one now. Hot blood kept trying to trickle into his vision, and his knee felt somehow twisted from where he had just landed.

But he had a chance.

The bigger man had eyes so dark they looked nearly black. He stood and widened his stance, silently goading him, Well? Fight me.

Levi threw his dagger, and it landed off its target, in the man’s shoulder. Apparently, he wasn’t too big that he couldn’t dodge.

He grunted, then surged forward like a steamroller.

There was no way Levi could fight him using brute force here. He was outmatched.

Once he was almost right on top of him, Levi ducked between his legs, hooked his elbows around his shins and shoved, but the man only stumbled. He didn’t fall down, and so he whirled around, shoving Levi down into the stone by his shoulders, face-first.

Levi grunted as one of his arms landed behind his back, held by such a hand that could’ve easily closed around both his arms instead of one.

One of Levi’s shoulders dug into the dirt, so that arm was pinned, too—underneath him. A hand closed on his throat.

No! Shit no no—

He didn’t want to hear another gunshot. He couldn’t fail again. He gagged and choked, and tried to thrash as he felt the pressure on his windpipe all the way up to his eyes. Black dots swam around his vision.

Another gunshot, he worried, but was Kenny even around this time?—Levi never got the feeling he was being watched.

Did Kenny tell the man to stop whenever Levi passed out?

As if to answer his question, the man growled, “I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you.”

Levi felt his neck bruising even as he choked him. Tears of exertion fell down his cheeks. And still no gunshots.

To get strong, he’d always thought that all he had to do was win.

“And the rules are gonna be a little different next time. Try not to die.”

Levi’s enemies weren’t just stronger. This was real.

“…No one’s gonna keep you alive other than you.”

“You’re no good to me weak.”

“When your guard’s down is the best chance anyone’s got of killin’ you.”

No matter how strong Levi became, he’d been weak this whole time because he put his trust in Kenny—not only to keep him alive, but not to kill him. It seemed so obvious now. Kenny was the type of person to do anything if it suited him, and Levi was no good to him weak.

So if he couldn’t win this, that was it, unless Levi wanted to survive. He was on his own.

A great revelation struck him on the edge of unconsciousness. It wasn’t a question if he could anymore. He wanted to… so he would. Nothing mattered more besides keeping this thing in his chest beating.

It’d been a long time since he thought about Momma. “She’s dead. End of story.” But he felt no more comfort in joining her. He would be strong, like him.

And suddenly, Levi knew what he had to do. It seemed so obvious and so within reach, this well of strength. All he had to do was let it flow into him.

He jerked his arm free where it was pinned, and grabbed the handle of the blade sticking out of his enemy’s shoulder. Gravity helped it jerk free, but then came the harder part.

It was still wildly easy. Levi jerked his upper body backwards, with the blade pointed at his enemy’s forehead.

He immediately felt the resistance of hard bone, but like a knife through butter, he just did it. It was almost laughable, how he’d failed all those times.

The hand on his throat loosened, gave way, but before the body could fall, he barrel-rolled out of the way, and immediately rose onto one knee, panting. After a quick look around, Levi crawled back to the body, and yanked his knife back.

Reflexively, he looked at the damage done to his bloody blade, and opened his hand. The wooden handle. Jerky cracks littered all up and down it. That had never happened before.

Blinking stupidly, Levi got up, and looked around. He was shaking like crazy, but not out of fear, or pain—It felt like he could take on every gang of enemies Kenny had sicced on him at once. He could smash a barrel with just his fists. It was just so… easy.

He felt like he was being watched, and looked instinctively where he felt it was coming from. That was what it was. Instinct.

Kenny strolled out from between two buildings, his hands deep in his coat pockets, looking almost sickeningly happy with him. Suddenly Levi’s knees felt weak again.

“That’s what I’ve been talkin’ about. Haha!—Idiots! You should see your fuckin’ face.”

Because he was smiling. It felt a little insane to smile after nearly dying, but he’d done it!—And he felt so powerful! After so much strife, he’d gotten Kenny’s praise. Even his approval.

“How’s it feel now that you’re not a useless rat anymore? Now you’re a powerful rat!”

Even though he had insulted him, Levi couldn’t stop smiling. He was good enough. Finally good enough. “Kenny…”

“Does it hurt? Well don’t have a shit over it, you’ll feel better in no time.”

Levi was so beside himself, Kenny managed to surprise him by picking him up and lifting him over his shoulder. For a split-second, he prepared for one final tussle, probably to see what he could still do after all that, but Kenny merely kept laughing crazily as he walked. He sounded fucking giddy, which was a laugh he had never heard out of Kenny. Behind his back, Levi saw the carnage he'd left behind, but this time he wouldn't let it dampen his exhilarated mood.

What did he think would happen after that?

For things to keep on the way they are, he would’ve answered back then, if someone asked. Now that he was good enough, and powerful, powerful beyond ways Levi had only imagined, then it probably wouldn’t have been asking a lot for Kenny to look at him less like a weakling, but still a student.

And that happened. For a while, things did keep on. Levi went on showing his strength, since that was the only thing that made Kenny happy with him, or at least satisfied. That was the thing they bonded over. His new talent for violence, and Kenny, was all Levi had.

But he again let his guard down, only not physically. That day hurt worse than any blow Kenny could’ve given him.

Kenny had been watching Levi fight as he usually did, and as always, Levi had had a grown man flat on his back. He beat on him loudly, yanking him up by his collar, yelling in his face since he’d felt disrespected and a crowd had formed, and they too had to know that despite his age and size (Kenny never quit pointing out how short he was), he was no one to fuck with.

And yet out of the corner of his eye, Levi’s gaze always kept flickering to Kenny’s for approval.

I’ve got the hang of this. I’m good enough, right?

One time, he looked up, only to then see Kenny’s retreating back, disappearing into the crowd.

After the scene was over, Levi wandered off to find him. He didn’t find him. He went back to the hideout. He waited, but he wasn’t naive. He assumed Kenny didn’t plan on coming back anytime soon.

And he never did.

Neither did Levi go looking. If Kenny didn't want to be found, it would've been impossible to go looking, and besides. Levi had already learned that begging not to be left alone did nothing. Begging did nothing. He was once again on his own.

Despite the day Levi had finally become strong, and the string of welcome victories after that, Kenny still had no use for him. What other reason could there possibly be, besides that he was still weak?

He was not strong enough. He was never strong enough for Kenny. Levi had the strength to keep himself alive, but not enough to earn Kenny’s companionship. He was a disgrace.

You will never be strong enough.

And he would never forget that. In fact, he would take each and every one of Kenny’s lessons along with him, for the rest of his life.

| levi masterlist | main masterlist |

#levi fanfiction #levi ackerman angst #levi ackerman fic #levi ackerman fanfiction #aot fic #aot fanfiction #kenny ackerman #levi aot #aot angst #levi ackerman oneshot #levi ackerman scenarios

146 notes · View notes

depressedhatakekakashi · 4 months

Note

kinda love the idea of Kurenai and Gai dating. The naruto timeline is so confusing to me but I can imagine it happening when Asuma is doing his Daimyō thing and Kakashi is being sad in the ANBU. Gai and Kurenai were already friends and start spending more time together which leads to them dating. And then there are so many possibilities. Maybe Kurenai is the kind of person who thinks you should only ever date one person even if its for the first couple of dates and gets upset when Gai is still going on dates with other people. Or Gai and her are supposed to be exclusive but Gai gets caught up in some other person and lets things get too far and knows how Kurenai feels about that and tells her immediately and they break up. Then theres all the fallout and I wonder what the rest of their age group would think? Would Gai's team not be surprised but everyone else is. Could be an interesting exploration of that gen's relationships

I swear i did not forget this ask, i just got caught up in *essay writing* T.T

Regarding what the rest of their age group would thing, well... Gai is never hearing the end of this mistake. Genma and Ebisu are on his ass about it, scolding him for doing something so stupid and hurting their friend like that. They know what he's like, but cheating on someone so precious to you is just not cool.

Kakashi finds out and shakes his head. He was actually happy the two of them got together, though a bit jealous, because it seemed to be a good relationship for them. Kurenai was happy, Gai was happy. He genuinely cannot understand what Gai thought he was gaining by cheating like that. Kurenai's anger and hurt is definitly understood and he's swooping in to check on her even though he's a busy depressed boy because she needs someone to complain about his dumb rival.

Asuma finds out and both wants to smack Gai for being an idiot, and thank him for being an idiot becuase now he has a chance.

If Gai hadn't screwed this up he might not have had a chance XD. But also, he hurt Kurenai. She's over it by this point and they've repaired their bond, but Asuma's a lil late on finding things out so he's excused for his untimely anger.

and Gai and Kurenai

oh boy

that one is hard.

At first Kurenai, understandably, wants nothing to do with Gai, but he's very genuine in his apologies and isn't even asking her to take him back. He understands why they're over.

He just wants his friend back.

He wants to repair things enough for them to laugh together again and enjoy dango together.

He knows he screwed up, and he's willing to lose a girlfriend over that screw up, but he doesn't want to lose his friend. Man is bringing her her favorite treats, writing her apology letters, and generally just doing everything he can to get her to understand how much he regrets what he did

it takes three months for her to talk to him again

five months for them to go out in public together again

and oh BOY does someone get glared at when they suggest they got back together. Kurenai is not going through that again thanks.

#Cheating #TW: Cheating #He's never living this shit down #Asuma makes a toast one day saying 'thanks for cheating on my girlfriend so i could date her' and the rest of the night is spent roasing Ga

2 notes · View notes

the-cat-chat · 11 months

Text

June 24, 2023

The Drop (2014)

Bob Saginowski, a barman, becomes entangled in an investigation after the mafia-run bar where he works is robbed.

JayBell: This was an almost blind pick on our part. I had never heard of this movie at all, but Tom Hardy is in it, so why not give it a shot. Plus, a crime drama is right up our alley.

First of all, Tom Hardy’s accent takes a bit to get used to. Aside from that, the persona of his character in the first part of the movie is like likable idiot? Disheveled himbo? Oblivious bystander? Whatever you want to call it, he really plays up this personality to make the ending more dramatic and shocking. It’s actually a pretty good move because it does work. Although the “big” twist at the end is heavily hinted throughout the movie, so I’m not sure how many people were actually surprised by it. With that said, it’s fun to see the change in his character at the end after seeing him bumbling along in the beginning.

The plot is solid and enjoyable, but I did think the pacing was slightly slower than I would like. Maybe that’s because we figured out the twist so soon and I was ready for “it” to be revealed and everything.

I did get frustrated with our romance in this movie. Well actually I don’t know if I would really call it a romance. It’s more like the potential of a romance. I like that they give our two characters a lot of interactions to build up a sort of friendship without going straight to the romance. Yet, in the end, I did want to smack our leading lady upside the head and ask her if she was serious. After all that happens, I honestly think maybe it would be a good idea for her to move on. Bob isn’t like the worst she could pick (especially compared to her ex), but I think she needs to get a new type.

Obviously the puppy is my favorite character.

Rating: 6/10 cats 🐈

Anzie: Soooo this weekend was suppose to be a comedic reprieve from all the heartache we’ve endured. And last second having to find a new movie since The Princess had to be unavailable after we’ve talked about the possibility of watching it for months, would usually end in disaster for our unable-to- make-a-decision-selves. But heyyy, drama is close enough to comedy right? When it has Tom Hardy in it, riggght?? HBO also had it listed as a romance- which I get I guessssss. If I found a man in the wild that looked like Tom Hardy I could consider putting up with quite a bit, not this muuuch but some. Plus it was James Gandolfini’s last movie, and we all love a good crime movie.

So. This movie. I really liked it- the plot twists were amazing. And the actors were so good with how they made their characters behave and something ALWAY feels just off so you’re on the edge of your seat- it is for sure not boring. I have to say too even tho you pick up those weird vibes and think this is going to happen or this or that- it’s still fun watching it play out and very entertaining and very suspenseful. And can we talk about how cutttttteeeeee the pupper is?!?? Bc honestly I think he gives this movie at least 3 of its points just on his own.

That being said- even though I enjoyed it - there were moments I felt like that nervous laughter meme of Julia Louis-Dreyfus bc I was constantly like what is with Tom Hardy’s character- it was like unintentionally funny to me how he kept going on about this puppy when this huge deal about the Chechen’s money is going on. It’s golden.

My one complaint, wait make it two- first the weird ex- I know he had to be a part of it - but I don’t have to like it. And second- HOW COULD COUSIN MARV?? The movies definitely worth a watch and there’s a lot of good detail and great acting - I always have that problem of separating actors and the characters like that’s Tom Hardy or James Gandolfini playing someone - but this movie sucked me in and I was able to really just enjoy the story and the shocking twists.

Rating: 7/10 Pups 🐶

#movie #movie review #tom hardy

3 notes · View notes

windlion · 2 years

Text

Podcast Reviews - A La Wind

So for some reason I have binged through a whole bunch of podcasts lately, probably because at long last I caught up to the present on Morbid and needed something else to occupy my brain. In no particular order: Malevolent, Midst, Out of Place, Red Valley.

Malevolent:

Could be described as "Two people play Amnesia The Dark Descent while the one holding the controller isn't the one who can see the screen, with predictable amounts of resultant screaming." Absolutely incredible production values. . . for a one man show. If you saw my screamalong you already have a good idea how I feel about this one. Where it suffers is the Patreon choose-your-own-adventure aspect dicking the story around and making for inconsistent characterization. On the other hand, if you wanted you could participate and choose to make Arthur suffer, so! Every choice is a pay off to someone even if it's not me.

I think it's perfect fandom bait: it hits that line between compelling story and interesting characters and enough flaws that GOD you want to get your hands in there and tinker and make it better. Three? seasons, and the get along shirt hasn't done its job yet so we've got plenty to go.

Midst:

Fantasy steampunk spaghetti Western??? The best I can do at describing the plot is "Mega evangelical church rolls into town and ruins everything, while excommunicated badass has Regrets, young acolyte realizes he should probably have Regrets, and local conman gets a new dream job."

You really just have to try this one to know if you'll like it, as it just picks up and never stops running. Sort of like three people reading a Terry Pratchett book, with flawless baton passes and asides and emphasis. I really like the style and the story, even if I want to smack multiple people many times. (The narrators tend to make it clear when they want to smack people, too.) Has a character that reminds me of one of my OCs who is near and dear to my heart that then proceeds to be a young idiot because, he's a young idiot. Two full seasons in and god knows how many to go-- definitely one to keep an eye on!

Out of Place:

An archivist keeps cataloging impossible historical items sent to them from what must be parallel worlds. It's definitely got good production value, decent writing, but it's really not as engaging to me because of the monologue format. Falling back on having separate voices all have different accents really felt forced when they show up. Interesting in concept more than execution. Two seasons, and as far as I know that's a wrap.

Red Valley:

Impeccable production values, great snappy writing and acting, with a soundtrack that reminds me of the Moon OST - with similar vibes. Present day sci-fi that's really cleverly done. Average guy just trying to get by being terrible at his job finds out that his actual job that he IS really good at is uh. Complicated. His new best friend is spiritually one of the Lone Gunmen from X-files, and his only guide at what the actual fuck he is involved in. They've laid so many Chekhov's guns that I am bracing for the twenty one gun salute that's just about to hit us. Two seasons, and they're currently crowd-funding the third. I willingly and knowingly gave them money for an asshole character to insult or threaten to kill me and I am delighted.

#Wind is a ridiculous creature #podcast reviews #pretty non-spoilery?#I . . . have no idea if I want to actually tag these for their podcasts #I'm just a potato puttering around in the dark not doing this for views #I'm a simple creature give me banter and I am happy #re: the insult my friend was all *. . . Is this the ace equivalent of humiliation kink*#and I genuinely have no goddamn clue but I am really looking forward to being told I couldn't fuck a cheesecake or something #one of his quotes being *I have a fire extinguisher I'd like you to meet*#he is an angry little man with a great vocabulary it's a delight to wind him up and watch him go

4 notes · View notes

ineeddream25 · 2 years

Text

I didn’t expect to be waken up by a lightning strike next to me.

[Imposter!Sagau thing] / [This is literally my first time writing so yeah] / [I write this only for fun tho] / [Not some deep story, just some light comedy in this dark Imposter AU cuz we already has so many angst :’)]

[NEXT]

Waking up in the middle of the storms are not one of the thing in your list of life that you expected to happen. Like, getting a spouse that is nice and caring? Yes. Waking up in the middle of nowhere in a fucking storm?? Nope.

Yeah, You’re sure you didn’t register to anything that has anything to do in trying to survive in the unknown.

Maybe God was playing with you in your dreams?? Maybe that’s what happened. Maybe you can continue to sleep.

A lightning lands beside you

or not.

Groggily (and fearfuly), you opened your eyes, tries to get away far from there and clear your head from the ringing of the lightning. It’s not the best ringtone for an alarm if you ever set one, to be honest. Looking around, you realized that the wilderness around you is kinda familiar looking. A sweet flower? Three lavender melons in the ground? Kaburagis in the distance training despite one of their teammate get hit by the lightning and continue to stand like nothing has happened?

Oh you know where this is.

Or what you assumed this place must be.

Genshin Fucking Impact.

Are anyone has the contact to celestia right now? Cause I’m about to complain!

A lighting strike again near you.

Or maybe after we get out of this place.

---

You tried to go to the samurai.. er- ronins?, seeing that they are the only intelligent creature near here. You tried to ask some question, maybe you could have some answer! But nope, one of them really just rush to you and you do your best to dodge so you wouldn’t be sabitonare’d by some random ronin. You’re very much still wanted to be alive.

”WHY DO YOU SUDDENLY ATTACK ME?! I DON’T BRING ANY WEAPON!”

“Because, you look like the creator!”

Excuse me who?

You tried to ask them again. But one of their friends just suggested that they try to sell you to the black market! Something about your face and your likeness to the creator that may have gotten them some fortunes! And maybe some money to heal their friends that just got hit by a lightning strike.

“Hey man, dude, samurai, whatever. It’s rude to plan about kidnapping someone when the someone you plan to kidnap is right in front of you. Anyway, I’m not that worth kidnapping, brodudes. Even I’ll be surprised if someone see some worth in me. My price could be only one potato chips! Plus who is this creator you talkin’ about?”

The samurai’s look at you as if you’re an idiot. You felt offended. “Hey! I just arrived here with no memories on how do I get here. Cut off some slack will ya?”

To your surprise they really considered that. Huh, maybe they really aren’t as bad as you think they would be. Maybe you should try to reduce the amount of time you farm for their handguard.

One of the nobushi in the back suddenly go forward to you. His face looking weirdly somber. “You... didn’t remember anything? Poor one, I know how that feels...” Choruses of ‘Not this again...’ can be heard in the back. The leader smacked his forehead in some tired resignation.

“Nobu, you know we can’t...” But ‘Nobu’ who you assumed was the one standing in front of you, yelled back. “No, We can leader! This poor little one right here is amnesiac in the middle of the storm! You know how we all started right? We have no one and no where. We stays and recruit people and we survived together until today! Are we really going to abandon them?!”

Wow, uh... this is really turning into some anime sad moments right now. Well, this is one of your chance to survive.

“Hello Mr, Leader sir! I really have no idea how I get here. Can I stay with your group?? I promise, doing something nice will bring you great luck today!” You hoped it would convince him, with the nobushi in front of you making a weird begging face too. Man, you didn’t know these npcs are so expressive. The leader sighs.

“Right, you wouldn’t listen to me anyway. Alright brat, you win. Okay now, what’s your name kiddo?”

The towering height of the leader is unnerving you. WHAT DID THESE PEOPLE EAT? And how about your name? Is it save to give them your real name? Not worth the danger.

“I’m... Bob.” The leader looks at you with more suspicion. “Family name?”

“Uhm... The builder?” Sweats are rolling to your jaws. Curse you and your stupid naming sense in the middle of danger!

“Right... Bob the.. Builder. We are going somewhere urgent. You follow us and maybe we’ll find a role for you. Let’s see if your so called speech in me doing nice thing will give us some luck,” says the leader sarcastically. You laugh in a nervous way, praying to whatever deities or Gods in this place that your bullshit was going to go smooth. “Aye aye sir.”

What you didn’t expect was the bullshit, it was working. Not long after you followed them, no bad thing have happened to you all. In your journey. There is no monster who is getting close to your group. The leader even said maybe you’re quite the lucky charm. You grinned, and quickly try to establish some kind of friendly relationship with them. Especially the nobushi who tried to rescue you. He is just some amnesiac kid in the past and the leader saved him too. That was the reason he tried to take you and you really appreciate that.

And not after long, your group was stopping. They said they need to meet some important client. Nobu, the chad, explains their transaction.

“We kinda work with the Kamisato family to keep eyes on the more rough and aggressive ronins. We are going to give the reports to them right now. He said, if we do this job for them for a long time, They will guarantee a living quarter for all of us when we turned old! It was such a great deal. We thank him for that!”

Oh this group is kinda nice. You do are lucky, also it seemed the storms are already ending. Huh, that’s quite fast considering when you’re scared a moment ago it’s still raining heavily. Meh, maybe it’s the raiden shogun and her mood swings.

“Uh... Konnichiwa?”

‘Wait, Nobu, who is him?” You notice this mysterious figure mentioned in the line of someone who is working with your group. Nobu opened his mouth, but he’s interrupted by some man just poofing into existence from out of nowhere and it scared the bejeebus out of you.

“Kai’s group, you bring those reports?” The leader rolls his eye. “You guys are always dramatic. Here,” He give them a stack of rolled paper, each one with the information of ronins around kamisato estate and Konda Village.

The ninjas immidiatelly secured the scrolls. “we thank you for your cooperation...” He suddenly became quite. The ninjas are looking right into you. You squirmed in your place, slowly goes behind Nobu to hide from their stares.

They wield their weapon at once. ‘WHO ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU IMPERSONATING THE CREATOR?!”

The ninjas stopped. The fearful look in their face as the cloud began to surround you and lightnings trying to hit them. They are terrified and starting to doubt their accusation. You, who was not aware of everything happening around due to the adrenaline, only smiles in satisfaction seeing they finally listen to you.

Oh fuck. The group hasn’t explained who is this fucking creator. One of the shuriken lands near your feet. And you leapt back.

“HEY! I’m not this-” You dodge a shuriken. “--Creator you talkin about--” another shuriken, “--LISTEN TO ME YOU NARUTO RIP OFFS” The thunder and storms is already coming back. Clouding the area where you all was staying.

“Now, that’s a good manner. Don’t go around swinging those weapon at some random people will you? I don’t like getting hurt,” The ninjas nodded quickly. Some of the nobushi, in the command of the leader who sense there are something peculiar about you, made a formation to protect from any further harm.

Then, you heard someone walking from behind. The sound of rustling clothes and you heard the sound of someone sipping something. Oh no, there is only one man in the entire Genshin cast that drinks in the middle of the road.

The leader walks up behind you, “Ya sure ya ain’t someone kid? Weather don’t react that way when someone ordinary is angry,” He said while pointing the clouds that has began to disperse after circling you.

“Huh, no idea. What I remember I’m just an ordinary someone,” you shrug. Hey, you already need to deal being isekai’d to Genshin. You have no other reason to think why the weather is stormy. You’re not a forecaster.

“Gentlemen, Is there something I can help you with?”

Look and Behold! The famous Mr, Kamisato is here! The man himself is sipping the boba tea that he just took out from his sleeve.

How the fuck the does that is still unknown to you.

One of the ninjas that previously attack you is already beside him. He is whispering something to the Kamisato Lord, while eyeing you disdainfully. Which earned a middle finger from you.

“Wow, great, I’m being accused. So fun.” “Shut up, Bob the Builder!” The leader whacked you in the head for talking disrespectfully in front of the Kamisato head, which make you yelp in pain.

“Hey Leader, he started it!” You pout. You have your pride and there is no way you would let somebody accuse you of anything.

Ayato looks at you. A weird clothes. Disheveled and messy. Also a bit damp from the rain. But the fact that your face literally looks like the creator is also unnerving. But your name, Bob the Builder? Huh...

“Excuse us, it seems that our ninja here mistakes you impersonating our creator. We deeply apologize,” Ayato took another calculating look towards you. The warmth of the creator vanished moments ago. Lots of people are trying to investigate what happened, Ayato included. But then, you came. Someone who resembles the creator. Ayato also see what happened when you got mad before. He sees the cloud’s that’s circling you. He needs more information.

“Our creator, [Name], is the divine god all of us worship. Surely you understand why we have gotten suspicious, right, Bob the Builder?”

The confused expression in your face is the answer he’s looking for. You mouthed something along “How does he knows my name?”. Ayato smiled deviously. If his assumption is correct, “Our creator last mention about how they are happy at getting the Haran Gepakku Futsu sword after getting me as their vessel in 50 pulls. maybe they are celebrating that so that’s the reason they get away...” Ayato looks at your offended face.

“HEY NO WAY. I GOT SPOOKED WITH A FUCKING ELEGY! AYATO’S AWORD IS BLACK CLIFF NOW---” You eyes widen and you suddenly closed your mouth with your hands. Ayato smiled, he then once asked again, now with his black cliff sword out in the open. “Oh my, How do you know that? That information is only known by me and the creator,...”

All attention now on to you. Nobu is looking for you in astonishment.

“Bob... Are you?”

“On my defense, I still don’t know who is this creator you talking about.” You slowly walked away from all of them. But some of the ninja’s restrained you. Your face is getting paler.

Kamisato Ayato’s eyes gleamed. Is this the reason their creator’s warmth is gone? So they chose to ascend to teyvat? Ayato walks forward. He kneels in front of you and slowly took your hand and kissed it softly. A strong possessive looks in his eyes makes you flinch. What is happening?

“Oh my lovely creator... Welcome. Such an honor to be the first vessel who meets you in this form...” You looks even paler. Your character knows you? You’re their creator? The sudden influx of information is making you dizzy. You looks at the samurai group that has been your traveling company. Eyes pleading for help but they look frozen. Nobu suddenly shouts.

“WAIT, THEY ARE THE CREATOR?!”

Or Maybe, this is all real?

Kamisato Ayato chuckled. How fortunate. It seems this group is really worth the investing. He never knew this little plan of his would result in something so fruitful.

Your head is spinning. You don’t even know where to start thinking. Ayato took this as a chance to whisk you away to the Kamisato estate. “Oh estemeed creator, you seemed tired. How about we go to the Kamisato estate. I’m sure you will be delighted there!” You look at the men who surrounds you. Yeah, this is really confusing, but hey, a chance to rest is something you need right now. Maybe all of this is really just a surreal dream. Maybe you will wake up after this in your cozy bedroom.

#genshin impact #genshin impact ayato #ayato kamisato #sagau #genshin impact sagau #genshin self aware au #Idk if I will continue this lol #this is fun to write #maybe i'll continue with mondstadt and liyue #maybe #genshin cult au #genshin impact x reader #this is so bad :'D #trying to write

646 notes · View notes

plaid-shirtsandvibranium-arms · 2 years

Note

This reminds me so much for the dark!siren!reader in All You Can Eat. Can absolutely hear Ransom and Ari talking about it and then reader just casually reading and turning the page. 🤣

I had a good long cackle over this and I still giggle when I think of the scene. Naturally, my SPN heart just had to involve other creatures as well that had the same reputation. So here. I gift you with this ridiculousness for planting this idea in my head. I love you, Sage. Thank you for being a muse to us all. 💗

All You Can Eat (Drabble 5)

Summary: Reading is fundamental and a friend comes to visit our Siren.

Pairings: Siren!Reader x (Vampire!Ari Levinson, Vampire!Bucky, Werewolf!Ransom Drysdale)

Warnings: It's just some cute domestic stuff

Word Count: idk but it's short

dark!Reader Collection | Full Masterlist

Part of Bucky's education as a newborn was to learn about everything supernatural. You would be surprised at how much bullshit humans had spun around creatures like you all that had now been reduced to myth or pop culture icons. It was fairly tedious how Ari needed to re-educate Bucky on what was true and what was not, but he had nothing but loving patience for the newborn.

You were sprawled out on one of the sofas in the library reading your own book, happy to just be around your boys as they worked. Ransom of course was feeling bored and left out so he dug through the research materials for something of interest to him. He scampered back and slammed the heavy book on the table to get their attention. Bucky looked at the book curiously while Ari rolled his eyes at Ransom's wide grin.

"I found a siren book."

"What does it say?" Bucky said, leaping out of his seat to get a better look of the book and turning the pages hurriedly.

"I don't know, but maybe it has a section on how else she likes to get fucked," Ransom snickered but quickly halted when Ari smacked him on the back of the head.

"If you need a book for that then what use are you," the older vampire said, earning a scowl from Ransom.

"It says here that sirens are highly volatile and dangerous creatures."

All three of them glanced up to look at you, very relaxed in your knitted sweater and leggings as you sipped a mug of hot cocoa. Not very threatening, but the small smirk of amusement on your lips let them know you were listening.

"Legends speak of countless ships that were lured to their destruction by the song of a siren. They were swallowed by the sea and none of the passengers were ever seen again," Bucky continued.

"How would you feel if someone disrupted you singing in the shower? Wouldn't you be pissed off too?" you shrugged as you turned the page of your book.

"That's not a denial, kitten," Ransom noted. You took a slow slip from your drink, trying hard to fight the smile that was threatening to break out on your face.

"Well there are no witnesses so..."

"Seriously?"

"No! For fucks sake," you laughed. "The idiots would sail during bad storms and there was no technology at the time. They steered right into massive rocks so of course they would all drown."

"It is said that many wars between families and even nations have broken out under the influence of a siren's compulsion," Bucky added.

"Yes. Blame a woman for man's thirst for power. Please," you snorted. "When Helen does it she's called the face that launched a thousand ships but when we, one time, support a king suddenly we're heartless monsters."

"Siren's are said to eat the flesh of humans."

"Okay, that's fair."

Ari smiled adoringly at you, absolutely amused at how you were going on this rant of how your species had a bad rep you clearly didn't deserve. The doorbell rang before Bucky could read off the next fact for you to dispute. The smile on your face was beaming with excitement as you jumped to your feet and ran for the door. You flung it open and promptly launched yourself at the visitor, squealing with glee as you pulled them inside.

Ransom's eyes widened as he recognized your friend, or rather her kind. The pristine white dress she wore and the odd way her form seemed to be fading in and out gave it away. He urgently grabbed a different book and threw open the pages until he found the one he was looking for. He grabbed Bucky by the neck and pointed at the article.

Lady in White. A type of vengeful spirit showing as a beautiful woman dressed in white distinctly characterized by their kidnapping and murder of unfaithful men.

"Don't wait up for me!" you called as you grabbed your things, giddy with happiness at finally having some girl time. You gave each of them a kiss goodbye on the cheek before you made your way out the door.

"Have fun, sweetheart. Call me if you need anything," Ari said as he waved at you with a smile while Ransom and Bucky stared after you with matching looks of disbelief.

They startled to attention when your friend's head suddenly popped back through the front door. Her eyes were a glowing white and her smile was bone-chilling.

"What you read is true so none of you better break her heart or I'll be back for you."

"No, ma'am."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Ari chuckled at their reactions as he waved her off, clearly unbothered because of his millenia of experience in this world.

"You girls have fun. Bring her home safe please."

#ari levinson x reader #bucky barnes x reader #ransom drysdale x reader #all you can eat series #vampire!ari levinson x siren!reader #vampire!bucky barnes x siren!reader #werewolf!ransomdrysdale x siren!reader #siren!reader #vampire!ari levinson #vampire!bucky barnes #werewolf!ransom drysdale #ari levinson #bucky barnes #ransom drysdale

130 notes · View notes

hops-hunny · 3 years

Text

When He Sees Me

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Chubby!Reader

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 4.3k

Request: N/A

Summary:(Y/n) always thought she was too rational for love, until she wasn’t. (Based off of the song When He Sees Me from Waitress)

Warnings: Slight negative thoughts and angst but vast majority fluff and pining! Oh and positive use of the word fat.

A/N: Fred is a little OOC in this?? But I honestly just imagine him as the type of guy to be sorta whipped if he really falls for someone.

I stick with real things

Usually facts and figures

When information's in its place

I minimize the guessing game

(Y/n) had always been a rational girl. In her younger years at Hogwarts, as all her friends began to giggle and blush at their crushes, she kept her nose in her books. Although she was curious of what they were experiencing, the thought never lasted long in her mind due to what her mother had told her from a young age.

(Y/n) was about the age of 6, sitting on the floor near the couch as she colored humming to herself softly. She had noticed her mom was in a bad mood due to her being sprawled out on the couch many upon many empty bottles of alcohol littered the table. She wasn’t sure why her mother was so upset but ever since they had seen her father at the park with her babysitter last week her mom had been in this mood and her father hadn’t been back.

“(Y/n) dear, promise me something.” her mother muttered to her half asleep. The girl turned around smiling at her mom. Her mom gave her a weak smile back as she pet the top of the girls head. “Never give your heart to a man. He’ll only leave it in pieces.”

At the time, the girl obviously had no clue what she meant but the older she got and the more she saw the people in her life get their hearts broken time and time again she had developed a clue. So, she simply focused on anything that wasn’t romance. School, plants, knitting, you name it and that’s what she gave her attention to. Even though it wasn’t a conscious action, it still affected her deeply.

I don't like guessing games

Or when I feel things

Before I know the feelings

How am I supposed to operate

If I'm just tossed around by fate?

Like on an unexpected date?

Although her friends described it to her many upon many of times, she still found herself absolutely clueless of what feelings of love was like. That's why when she saw him, she was confused by what was happening.

“Oh he’s simply lovely! He does this funny little things with his hands where-” Although (Y/n) was focused on her coursework, she was still listening to Diane as usual. She liked to listen to her friends retelling of experiences with lovers, soaking it in like a cheesy romance movie. She looked out the window needing a quick break from her work. Her breath hitched quietly as she placed a soft chubby hand over her heart feeling as it raced wildly in the chamber of her chest. Her body had a tingling sensation all over that she had never felt before as she felt herself get dizzy.

“W-who’s that?” she said in an airy tone, causing her friend to follow her gaze. There he stood, laughing and joking around with his friends pushing each other around. His ginger locks blew in the wind slightly and his skin glowed in the soft afternoon sun.

“You mean you don’t know who that is? That’s Fred weasley! He’s like one of the most popular guys in our year. I can’t believe you just asked that.” She snickered some, teasing her friend. She stopped once she noticed the girl who was usually quick to snap back was unusually quiet. She smiled softly at her expression, noticing that look in her eyes. Whether (Y/n) knew it or not yet, she was absolutely enamoured with none other than Fred Weasley.

“I don’t like him. He makes me feel funny.” she said, however the way she looked out the window still said otherwise.

“Funny how?”

“I don’t know, just funny.”

“Like laugh funny or like funny funny?”

“Obviously not laugh funny, are you an idiot?” She asked, glaring at her blonde friend. She looked out the window once more. She noticed him look back causing her to gasp, eyes wide with shock. He winked at her causing her to scoff, pick her things up before shutting the library blinds and run off to who knows where.

Diane laughed to herself as she began to pack her own stuff up to go after her friend. She sighed before running quickly out the library to catch up.

“Ah, young love!”

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

With a stranger who might talk too fast

Or ask me questions about myself

Before I've decided that

He can ask me questions about myself

He might sit too close

Or call the waiter by his first name

Or eat Oreos

But eat the cookie before the cream?

“For the last time Diane, I’m not talking to him!” she said, slamming her book closed as she tossed it on the table in front of her. Her, Diane and a few of her other friends found themselves in the common room as they usually did on friday nights talking and gossiping about anything that came to mind. Today’s topic of discussion was the girl’s apparent “crush” as they called it. Considering she had nothing to base off of whether that’s what the funny feeling she had mentioned earlier in the week was, she decided to trust her friends in them saying that’s what it was.

“What? Oh come on, give me one good reason why you won’t.” Molly said, facing her friend her sharp green eyes boring into (Y/n)’s (e/c) ones.

“Oh I can give you a PLETHORA of reasons why not!” the (y/h/h) girl exclaimed as she stood up. She began to pace, trying to rack her brain for good reasons on why not. “Aha! What if he butters both sides of his toast? Or-or what if he asks me too many questions on why I’m talking to him? Or if he’s as popular and well known as you say, what if he takes that as an excuse to ignore personal space boundaries and gets handsy?”

“He’s a teenage boy, not a serial killer. Someone’s been watching too much muggle crime specials.” Molly said as she rolled her eyes, sighing as she leaned back into the couch. (Y/n) glared at her friend, letting out an exasperated sigh as she facepalmed. It wasn’t like she didn’t wanna do anything about these feelings. She most certainly did. Whatever would get rid of them the quickest is the route she wanted to take.

“Well, you could always let him know another way!” Ronnie said as they looked up at their friend. “You’ve got so many skills and talents, why not take advantage of it?” Although Ronnie wasn’t very talkative, whenever they opened their mouth they always said something that made perfect sense.

“As per usual Ronnie, you’re the voice of reason. Merlin bless Ronnie for all of eternity!” (Y/n) exclaimed dramatically as she got on her knees, pretending to worship her friend like a god.

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

(Y/n) had been doing just that, making herself known to Fred without making herself known. The (y/h/h) girl had wanted to be anonymous about it, leaving things without her name however Diane pointed out the fact that (Y/n) had “the presence of a ghost” and that “even ghost had more of a presence then her” which meant that even if she did attach her name to the things left Fred would have no idea who it was. Because to be frank (Y/n) was, well, a nobody.

She noticed this little ‘talent’(if you could even call it that) first year when her teachers would mark her as absent despite her being in the front row of the class and having some of the highest marks. She seemed to fly by unnoticed by all but her small group of friends which they all found funny, especially with Diane being one of the most popular girls in their grade if not all of Hogwarts.

So, she started off small. She’d leave little notes for him in places she knew he’d find them, usually his first or last class of the day, and his seat in the great hall. She would watch him as he’d read them, flushing sometimes as he read them. However, his usual response was to read them out loud to George, bragging about how a pretty girl was leaving him notes.

“Ah listen to this one, Georgie! ‘Here’s a quidditch tip for you Fred. I noticed that when you’re on your broom you have a habit of going to the right which is why you often get stopped. Try switching it up sometimes! However, that’s not the only thing I’ve noticed. Somehow despite being in that dorky quidditch outfit, you still look just as fit as usual. Yours truly, (Y/n).’” He smirked at that part, a chorus of ‘ooo’s from his friends.

“Although she may be blind to say that, she does know her quidditch! Sounds like a catch if you ask me. I’m surprised she didn’t go for me, the better twin.” George said, choking on his toast as Fred smacked him on the back of the head.

Diane nudged her friend, glancing at her. She laughed as she saw her friend’s round face buried in a book to hide the overwhelming amount of shyness that was overcoming her. Even though this had become a regular thing, she still couldn’t stop the way her heart would race every time Fred would read one of the letters aloud.

To avoid the notes becoming repetitive, she started to switch it up every once in a while. Baked goods, hand knitted scarfs and gloves, even flowers with meanings behind them made their way into Fred’s ownership. However, the more things he got the more not only him but other people became curious. Who was (Y/n) (L/n)?

But what scares me the most

What scares me the most

Is what if when he sees me, what if he doesn't like it?

What if he runs the other way and I can't hide from it?

What happens then?

If when he knows me, he's only disappointed?

What if I give myself away, to only get it given back?

I couldn't live with that

Molly was currently trying to catch up to her soft friend, a sympathetic look on her face. “Why not? I think you should just go up to him and tell him! So many other girls have tried, claiming to be you.” she said, catching the other girl’s attention. She bumped into her as the (h/c) girl abruptly stopped. She turned to look at her friend with tears in her eyes causing her to look down at her agape.

“Do you wanna know why I haven’t just gone up to him yet? Do you really?” She said above a whisper as she looked up at her tall friend, silent tears making their way down her cheeks. “It scares me. It scares me even fucking more than what I feel for him does. Fred is just so..he’s funny, talented, popular. Who wouldn’t want him?” she choked out, looking away. “What if when he sees me, he doesn’t like me? Whenever he reads my notes or gets one of my gifts he always mentions how beautiful (Y/n) must be.”

“(Y/n)...”

“Let me finish Molly. When he says that, he probably means some tall leggy blonde like Diane. I’m just me.” she lets out a dry chuckle, sniffing as she wipes at the tears streaming. “Sure, I find me beautiful, you guys find me beautiful, but the world doesn’t. I don’t look like anyone he’s ever been with before. Fred is always surrounded by tons of gorgeous women. If he saw me, he’d only be disappointed. If I gave myself to him and he rejected me, I couldn’t live with that. Now I see what my mom was talking about.” she said as she walked off leaving Molly confused by the last part of her statement. She frowned hearing her friend’s words but she knew her better than to chase after her when she was upset. She turned the other way, walking quickly in hopes she’d make it to her lecture not too late. However, a flash of red hair out of the corner of her eye didn’t go unnoticed but it did slip her mind when she saw her friend later.

So, I'm just fine, inside my shell-shaped mind

This way I get the best view

So that when he sees me, I want him to

(Y/n) sat in the library at a table by herself. It was a friday, usually she’d spend this time with her friends in the commons. However, after the never ending pestering to just talk to him, to face him she told them she wasn’t feeling well and that she’d be retiring early. It wasn’t a lie, she had completely planned on getting some much needed rest but as she lay in bed tossing and turning her restlessness turned into frustration leading her to read a bit to clear her mind. Reading was what she enjoyed doing when she wanted to clear her mind or simply escape the insufferable reality she was living in. But after she found herself reading the first line to chapter three 10 times she placed her bookmark between her pages, looking out the window.

It was if the universe was taunting her from the sight in front of her. There he stood, talking to another girl from their year. She couldn’t recall the girls name but it wasn’t that important, she was beautiful. She sighed as Fred laughed at something the girl said, patting her head before walking away. ‘It’s better this way. He can’t see you which means he can’t reject you which means you won’t get hurt’ is what she kept telling herself. However if that was the truth, then why did she feel so empty inside?

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

(Y/n) laughed along with her friends as they sat in the empty common room. Everyone from their house was Merlin knows where at this time as they all shared their intimate horror stories.

“Oh come on, that did NOT happen.” she said through laughs, eating another chocolate from the box on the table. Her cheeks hurt from the amount she had been laughing. Diane was in the midst of telling what happened during her recent sexual endeavor with some guy from her herbology class.

“I swear he did! His face was green and everything! Next thing I know he was blowing chunks off the side of the bed. I offered to take him to the infirmary but he didn’t hear me through his tears so I just made my exit as swift as possible!” she said laughing as well, face red from how much she had laughed through the telling of the story. They all continued to howl with laughter, someone else’s laughing triggering someone else to laugh even more. (Y/n) was the laugh one left laughing as her friends all began to grow quiet.

“G-guys? Why’d you stop? Who’s next?” she said, looking at Molly who was on her left and Ronnie who was on her right.

“Um, don’t look how (Y/n) but Fred Weasley is coming this way.” Diane said, causing the girl to stop breathing briefly.

“W-what?!” she whispered loudly, eyes growing wide.

“Yeah and um don’t freak out, but he’s looking directly at you. No pressure though!” Molly said, giving her a rough pat on her back as she offered the girl a smile. The (h/c) haired girl glared up at her. As Fred grew closer, their voices grew quieter.

“Why wouldn’t that make me nervous?!” she said through gritted teeth as she pulled on Molly’s curls causing the girl to let out a quick ‘ow!’. She chuckled nervously. “Well, we have nothing to worry about! It’s not like he knows who I am!” she said as she relaxed some, closing her eyes as she leaned back. She heard footsteps stop in front of her causing her eyes to shoot open as she looked at the ground. Huh. Those shoes didn’t look like Ronnie’s shoes. Matter of fact, they didn’t look like Diane’s either. Or Mo- oh no. She looked up, arms folded across her abdomen self consciously as she looked up at the man in front of her. She couldn’t help but take in his appearance.

He was in a white shirt, some spots see through from what she assumed was a mix of sweat and water. His flaming hair was mostly dry but damp in some spots and he adorned a pair of sweatpants that made him look quite godly in her opinion. If she had to guess, he had just gotten back from quidditch practice. It was weird for her to be this close to him intentionally. The only time she found herself close to Fred was when they’d walk past each other in the hall or when their classes would go by each other due to a required location change for the lesson. Therefore she had never been able to see the freckles on his knuckles, the barely noticeable acne scars that adorned his forehead, or even the way his Irish spring’s shower gel smelled oh so heavenly.

“I’ve been all around the castle for weeks, months even. I think the main reason it took me so long was not only the fact that I haven’t really seen you up close before, but all the other birds claiming to be you. It was like that one muggle film, what’s it called? Cinderfeller?” he pondered for a moment looking off.

“I-it’s Cinderella.” Ronnie chimed in, giving him an awkward smile. They were all quite stunned. Although they all knew that this wild goose chase couldn’t go on forever, they didn’t expect it to be Fred of all people to approach first. They were sure (Y/n) would reveal herself on her own time but it seemed that they weren’t the only one’s getting impatient with the girl’s excuses and whys.

“Right, thank you. So I set off, making a list of every girl in our year in the castle- with the help of George and Dean of course- and we spoke to quite literally all of them. It was easy to weed out the fakes because they couldn’t answer questions related to some of the gifts I had received. So by the process of elimination that leaves you, love. Are you (Y/n)?” He said, crouching down to her level. As hues of brown met hues of (e/c) it was much too intimate for the girl to handle. She sat there, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

“W-well I am a (Y/n). I’m sure there’s plenty of others in the castle!” she retorted letting out a forced laugh, wiping her sweaty palms on her skirt. Was the common room always this warm?

“If I recall correctly, weren’t you bragging the other day about being the only (Y/n) in the castle? You said and I quot-” a quick stomp of (Y/n)’s foot on Diane’s caused the blonde to quickly stop whatever she was in the middle of saying. Fred looked down at the (h/c) hair girl with a quirked brow and knowing smirk. She was caught red handed. Without another word, he quickly pulled her off the couch with ease, dragging her along with him. She tried protesting and looking at her friends for help but they all simply waved and smiled at her, making kissy faces and noises. ‘Idiots’ she thought as she rolled her eyes. Fred continued to guide her, the path to where they were going looking awfully familiar until they arrived at the astronomy tour.

“Listen Fred, I just wanna say I’m sorry. I know you were probably expecting (Y/n) to be someone who looks like Diane, or hell, even Molly’s dumbass but I’m not. I’m just me.” She began as she walked to the edge, looking off the balcony. “I know now that you’ve seen me you’re probably disappointed. I’ve seen the girls you hang around all the time and they’re bloody gorgeous and-”

“So are you.” he whispered, causing her to whip her head around quickly.

“Pardon?” she responded with glassy eyes. The girl wasn’t too sure why her eyes began to water from three simple words. They weren’t the usual three words that cause or evoke such an emotional response but they felt like the missing piece of a puzzle. Her eyes followed the lanky guy as he walked over to her, tucking a few pieces of hair behind her ear as he interlocked their hands. Long, skinny and defined calloused hands meeting her soft thicker but smaller ones.

“So. Are. You. Beauty is such a fluid thing. There’s no one way to be beautiful, lovely. Museums have many unique and beautiful forms of art and so does life.” He let his hands wander on her sides, gliding up and down her love handles, waist, and hips. He took one of his hands to tilt her head up oh so gently. “If you were a sculpture, you’d be made of the finest of marble by the most talented of sculptors. Hell, if I wasn’t so bloody bad with art I’d sculpt you myself but I don’t think I’d be doing you much justice. It’d be a monstrosity.” he said, shuddering at the idea of him doing anything art related. (Y/n) found herself giggling at that.

“If only you applied this verbiage to your coursework. Perhaps you’d actually be doing decent.” she remarked as she continued to laugh. Fred gasped a bit before joining in as well with his own laughter. As the laughter died down, he lifted a hand caressing her cheek, thumb sweeping across the smooth skin. She found his eyes to see they were filled with adoration. “Fred Weasley, are you whipped for me?” she spoke softly as if she had said it any louder, that he’d simply disappear.

“I have been since the first time I saw you.” He responded, his own cheeks flushing a bit with a light crimson. She looked at him puzzled a bit before her eyes widened slightly.

“You remember that? That was months ago!” she noted. He grinned at that, pulling her closer.

“Of course I do. Imagine my delight when I found out that beautiful girl who slammed the blinds shut on me happened to be the girl my heart was slowly going out to with every note and kind gesture you sent my way. Merlin is definitely on my side. Although I must be honest,” he looked away for a bit before lookin back at her. “The list was a huge help, but I also couldn’t help but overhear your conversation in the hallway that day. However I knew then wasn’t the right time to approach you, I assumed you would’ve just been more upset over the fact I was eavesdropping a bit.” he mumbled. She opened her mouth to question what conversation before she recalled what she had said to Molly that day in the hallway.

“Hearing you speak so lowly about yourself upset me quite a bit. I wanted to plan out what I was going to say a bit more and also make sure it was actually you.”

“I’m sorry you had to hear me say those things about myself. I usually don’t say such things like that, I’m very confident in the way I look. To me, fat and ugly aren’t synonymous but I know everyone isn’t so open minded.” she admitted, dropping her gaze to the ground. “I’m also new to this whole feelings thing. You’re the first guy I’ve ever had feelings for.”

Now, it was Fred’s turn to become speechless. He couldn’t believe his ears, he had the honor, no, the privilege of being the first guy to be such a sublime goddess of a woman? He felt his ears heat up and he knew he had to look absolutely ridiculous. “I don’t blame you, I am one hell of a guy!” He said, flexing his arms as he flashed her a cheeky grin. (Y/n) scoffed some, shoving him away as she rolled her eyes playfully. She pondered for a second before standing on her tippy toes planting a kiss on his cheek...or at least that’s what she had planned. Fred being Fred turned his head last moment wrapping his arms around her waist as he pressed his lips into hers. She gasped softly, chills running up her spine again as her body tensed.

Even this was her first time having a kiss, she could tell this was a feeling she’d be craving nonstop. (Y/n) wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling Fred down to her height. The ginger boy smirked into the kiss, trailing his hands all along her soft frame practically melting at the feeling. His hands snaked their way down to her ass, cupping the pillowy flesh between his large hands causing the (y/h/h) to moan softly. The Gryffindor pulled away, biting and pulling her bottom lip along with him.

“So, I have a question for you then…”He started, pressing his forehead against hers. She felt the warmth of his minty breathe hit her face as she looked into his eyes expectantly. “Do I really have a tendency to go to the right when I play quidditch? Because in my opinio-”

“Fred! Really?!”

#fred weasly x reader #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x you #fred x reader #fred weasley x y/n #harry potter imagines #Harry Potter #plus size reader #chubby reader #harry potter imagine

570 notes · View notes

yinses · 3 years

Text

he reminds your ex who you belong to

gojo satoru ft. f! reader + exhibition ( technically phone sex ¿) + some hair pulling + unprotected sex wc: 2.3k

a/n: trying to get better with my tagging. i realize the community has it’s own sensitivities and i often fall short on that thought. i still owe some prompts and a few other asks but this has been siting in my drafts for a few weeks and i finally finished it up.

it never fails to come as an interruption in your life, the shrill call of your phone blaring at inopportune times. each one conveniently impeding on time with gojo.

your boyfriend of four months would give you that tight smile, blue eyes swimming with annoyance, but never concern. because not once did you pick up the call, always reaching out blindly to silence it without even acknowledging the accompanying messages.

the number changes, but you learned not to accept any call from one you didn’t recognize. important communications were typically followed by voicemail and that was how you dealt with that. but the duration was becoming more tedious than either of you imagined, reaching above the white noise decibel it had been reduced to.

“maybe i should just change my number, “ you suggest forlornly. it would ensure that he had no way to contact you freely, but it would also force you to reestablish connections with all your friends and family. it seemed like an extreme measure but when push came to shove.

only a few moments pass before the phone picks up again, hammering down the final nail in your resolve.

“i think you should answer.”

gojo’s unexpected intervention comes from the edge of the bed where he flips the said phone carefully from one palm to the next. his fingers brush past the two blinking options just short of selecting.

you shift from foot to foot, not sure how to accept that response. gojo was as irritated as you were but you didn’t expect him to cave first.

frowning, you shake your head. “i’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

“why not?” his gaze sweeps over your face, somewhat amused by your discomfort. there is a swirl of mischief alight in those bright blue eyes. “apparently he needs a little more than a simple no.”

he holds out the device, voice taunting but firm.

“if you don’t answer you’ll miss the call.”

as if there wouldn't be a dozen more to follow.

your mouth feels dry, hand heavy with the weight of decision. it wasn’t as though you couldn't deal with the situation, so much as if you were prepared to. ignoring had been the more appealing option over confrontation but perhaps it had been your hesitation that had been the problem all along. ultimately your thumb taps to accept the call.

“hello?”

‘baby, i’ve been trying to reach you for ages.’

the bed creaks but you’re too focused breathing evenly to notice. you weren’t familiar with the etiquette of many break ups, which was why this one was the hardest. it had been a long love that had followed you into the early years of adulthood before spark began to fizzle out.

“i just answered to tell you to stop calling. i’ve already blocked your number once.”

the attempt to revive the romance before it all fell apart had been one-sided. he’d been quicker to discover other fish in the sea before you had. it seemed as though in your patience, you’d found something better while he spent his time chasing minnows without satisfaction.

‘yes, but you didn’t give me the chance to explain. we don’t have to be over.’

you should have seen it coming.

your shoulders tense at the press of his lips at your neck. gojo had a propensity for creating opportunities out of every little divot in life. he lived the role of a jester but held the mind of a genius. gojo had been kind in biting his lip to bare down on the jealousy simmering down beneath.

he gives you a brief grace period as his slender fingers tap the mute button then his lips return to your ear. “if you want this, get onto the bed and place the phone above your head with the speaker on.”

an immediate protest flies to your lips but doesn’t quite make it to fruition. what he’s suggestion goes beyond sexual barriers you’d set up thus far. gojo had a knack for pushing them and helping you discover new fantasies and hidden pleasures.

at the first hint of a pout against your throat, you cave.

so weak for him.

your ex seems none the wiser to the hitch in your voice as you press one knee to the bed, then the other before carefully rolling onto your back. swallowing the waning confidence before it leaks from your body, you seal the deal by placing the phone just above your head after activating the speaker.

“good girl.” the words come whispered for your benefit as gojo crawls onto the bed. as if his intentions weren’t already clear enough, the prominent hardness in his pants as he slots between your legs is. you can’t help but grow dizzy at the thought of your premeditated actions, all while your thighs tighten around his form.

his hands warm the shivers from your sides as he slides up your shirt and kisses down your navel. gojo delivers a sharp nip just before muttering a brisk,” unmute.” in reminder.

the command comes just in time for your expected response though you’re no more prepared to deliver when gojo unbuttons your pants and works them over your hips.

‘maybe if we could just meet somewhere?’

the sincerity coupled with your actions makes it all feel more one-sided with you playing the role of the villain. he’d been an ass, yes, but surely he didn’t deserve this.

right?

“it doesn’t matter, were-mmph.” no part of you expected gojo to play this fairly. you choke on the response when his tongue licks a firm swipe against the fabric of your panties.

‘what does not matter? speak to me. lets talk this out.”

funny how he chose now of all times to acknowledge the issues you had and attempted to resolve in the past.

gojo words feel condescending as he mimics what’s heard against your cunt. there was no doubt in your mind that he’d completely written off your ex from the beginning. the same confidence from your first date dripped from his touch as he worked down the fabric from your hips.

not once did he promise to watch his volume as he sloppily wets his fingers. he’s is ruthless as he plunged in two in on the first thrust, palm curling up to rub friction against your clit. any other time you would have revealed in his ability to make you come apart so easily, now you were more embarrassed by how much easier you felt.

‘is this a bad time? you seem distracted.’

every time was a bad time. that was the point.

gojo’s tongue wet the inside of your thigh, “don’t let him hang up. you want this to be his last call, remember.”

at this rate he was going to make this your last waking moment.

somewhere between a squeak and a whimper, you managed to form words against the friction of gojo’s touch sliding in and out. “no, let’s just-i- yeah, no, we should talk it out now. i’m tired of going back and forth.”

the line pauses briefly. and you almost hope for a second he reaches clarity and saves you from the embarrassment. ‘alright then. are you really not willing to give it another shot?’

your groan of arousal is disguised by disappointment but the opposite warms gojo’s breath against your damp skin. “i didn’t realize you were dating such an idiot. how can he be so dense.” his lips smack, shiny with your stimulation.” you must just really have a thing for pretty faces, willing to look past so much.”

you were willing to look past his deviousness right now, ready to let him desecrate you over the phone like this.

“you’re pretty, toru.” you try to jab but are countered with the addition of a third finger as he starts a relently pace. the sounds are so dirty, reckless suckling sounds that had to carry. gojo made sure of it as he twisted his wrist in retaliation over every shift of your hips.

“i am much prettier than they guy. much better at a lot,” he enunciates sharp smack to your thigh.

then he curls just right and you turn for face into the phone and keen.

‘seriously what is going on you sound- strained.’

gojo’s chuckle vibrates within you. “poor guys don't even know what you sound like on the verge of an orgasm.”

your voice is impossibly hoarse and not very convincing as you choke out,” i’m fine. n-no look … i only answered because i wanted us to-fuck-no sorry.” gojo wasn’t making this easy. “- wanted us to reach some closure and move on.”

gojo pulls out just short of your building orgasm and you gasp breathy at the loss.

‘we were together for two years. surely that amounts to more than just moving on.’

it did. way back when the unexpected break up had torn your hearts to shreds. the misunderstanding and lost connections had eaten you out from the inside. left you failing in the unknowns of what you did wrong and why he wanted to slow down your progress.

now it all seems insignificant in comparison the sight of your current boyfriend slowly fisting his cock.

‘you wanted to use the break to decide if you were ready for a future together and i think we both realized that we weren't-”

gojo had chosen the right moment to intervene in your life and the moment at the head of his cock pushes through the first ring. he follows through in one motion, filling you to hilt as his hand reaches up to fist the short of your hair.

‘baby, no one knows you like i do.’

the sharp sting of his fist clenching as he hips rock back is the last warning you get before he slams back in. there was more to the familiar precision as he ruts into you. gojo was the better man, but even he felt short to the green-eyed-monster.

he was relentless with his pace, fucking into you harder with each new whimper you give up. your consciousness is a fleeting cloud, wafting high out of your reach as your mouth opens up to sharp cries.

‘are you working out right now? your words sound broken.’

gojo’s hand presses into the curve of your back as he leaves over you. “fuck, you should just tell him. get this over with. let him know that you belong to someone else now. someone who is currently fucking you better than he ever could.”

your protests mirror your resolve and you can already feel your lips forming those exact words before you catch yourself. “i-i cant.” that was too much, right?

gojo didn’t seem to think so. he suddenly pulled out just enough to turn you over, hand still holding your hair hostage as he pushed your face into the mattress effectively ruining your ability to speak properly.

“tell him, or i will. and i’ll add in every dirty little thing we’ve done leading up to this moment. you don’t belong to him anymore and he should know it. properly.”

‘hey, should i just come over?’ comes that voice again, a constant glutton for punishment.

“no!” you cry out. “i-we can’t- i’m.”

gojo decides to help you out. no longer willing to be a spectator as if he could be called such. “fuck, baby. make those pretty noises for me.”

‘is that someone else? are you with someone right now.’

gojo snatches up the opportunity, hand curling around the phone to place it against the tacky sweat accumulating against the skin between your shoulder blades. you can feel it teetering with each jerk of your body.

“yeah, she is. apparently she needs help getting her point across. if she wants to contact you she will do so on her terms. “ he huffs peevishly,“ until then fuck off or you can listen to me fuck her doesn’t matter to me.”

his commanding tone shouldn’t sound so hot. you can’t help but moan as he hits that spot just right.

a high pitched ‘what the fuck’ grates unpleasantly against the mood you’re so desperate to build to its peak.

“i take it back, hearing you screech is going to make me go soft. don’t call again.”

‘wait don’t-’ his protest comes a moment too late for gojo’s waning patient as he abruptly cuts off the call and flings the phone somewhere above your head.

“I imagined that going much smoother in my head,” grunts as he picks up the pace.

your mouth falls open but nothing comes out. you’re unable to blink past the flood of light as you melt into the roll of his hips. there is nothing left for you to do but squeeze around him as you absorb each thrust.

“i don’t know what i was expecting thinking you could form coherent sentences when i fuck you stupid like this.” his voice is markedly softer now, still agitated but gentler in his touch as he loosens his grip. your head turns without instruction, eagerly catching his mouth in a sloppy kiss.

the tell tale tremble shudders from one end to the next as you dig your knees into the mattress and gyrate your hips. the angle rewards you with an opportunity to ride his cock straight into nirvana. gojo comes to shatter the already broken cry of release by manipulating speed and precision while you chant his name all the way over the edge.

his breath comes in short rasps as he follows you over, body drawn up taut as his orgasm washes over.

gojo’s weight is unforgiving, but thankfully brief when he collapses on top of you before rolling onto his side. he gathers you into his arms and rolls you in against his chest. his fingers chase yours and he brings them to his lips to kiss each one.

“maybe you should have just gone with your idea and changed numbers.”

somehow you find the air to laugh as your head falls back against his sweaty shoulder. he shares your humor, smile sharp with a new prospect.

“or perhaps we can try again? maybe repeated exposure will do the trick.”

#gojo satoru x reader #gojo x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk imagine #jjk x reader #gojo sins

715 notes · View notes

wrong-way-sir · 3 years

Text

Your boyfriend Shuuji Hanma isn't a man of comforting words and tends to come off as cold or uncaring but when it matters most you can always count on him to calm your worries no matter how trivial the subject might seem.

Requested by: @dabisfireflower

CW: GN Y/N, Aged!Up Hanma, Possible Tokyo Revenger spoilers, Light Angst, Curse Words, a little bit of an argument, Hanma isn't good with words, Mentions of Smoking, Fluff, and little to no proofreading! ♡

1.9k Words

1:50 P.M.

Your eyes stared at the analog clock that hung over the TV in your apartment living room. The feeling hadn't come back to your fingers, you felt like you had pin-needles digging into your thighs, and the only feeling present was the tingling of your face. Your fingers twisted the end of your hair as anxiety ran through you while you waited for the handles of the clock to reach 2:30 P.M.

You had to leave at 2:30 P.M. to arrive at the salon at 3 o'clock. Your body refused to remove itself from the couch until then. To be honest you don't know if you would even be able to walk with how your anxiety was treating you. Why did you even make the damn appointment? You thought to yourself as you pulled on the end of your hair hard enough to ache slightly and pull you out of the spiral of thoughts.

As trivial as it sounded the thought of chopping off your hair at the salon filled you with dread. You had spent so many years growing it out but to your dismay it hadn't had been for the better. You had realized only a few days ago while trying to dye it with box dye how bad your hair's state was, all the dye, the heat, the different products had left you hair beyond repair.

Scheduling a haircut hadn't been your original idea. It had been your boyfriend's. He had thrown it out nonchalantly and the moment it left his lips your heart picked up its pace. Shuuji didn't know about this anxiety, nor would he care about it if you told him so you had done as he suggested and scheduled a haircut.

"I'm coming in, it's Shuuji."

Your head shot to the door of your apartment where Shuuji was kicking off his shoes as he fumbled with his jacket. A half smoked cigarette hung from his lips, unlit. A deep breath escaped you and your hand that had been twisting the dead ends of your hair dropped to your thighs.

"Hey Princess," Shuuji smiled as he made his way towards you on the couch. You watched as he removed unlit stick from his mouth and he leaned down to place a kiss to your forehead before he fell onto the couch next to you, "You miss me? Of course you did." He giggled as he kicked his feet up onto the coffee table.

A smiled placed itself on your features at the soft kiss coming from your boyfriend. It had relieved a small tension you had in your shoulders as Shuuji sat next to you. You were more than happy to see him. He would help you get your mind off your hair for the next 30 minutes.

"Shuuji get your feet off the table!" You protested as you smacked his thigh. He rolled his eyes as he removed his feet and placed them back on the carpet, "Why are you here? I thought you were busy today with Kisaki and the rest?" You asked as you sunk back into your old couch as Shuuji shrugged.

"Like I give a shit about those guys," Shuuji said and you sighed, "Only guy I even remotely care for is Kisaki and even then he's a bit much. Plus he said he had someone else to fuck Toman's plans up, gave me the day off, so I thought I would come see my baby."

You shook your head in disbelief, you knew your boyfriend was involved with the gang life but you hadn't minded it all that much as long as he didn't show up with a bullet wound on your door step or in a body bag. Although you had to admit, him working for that weirdo Kisaki made you uncomfortable but for Shuuji you shook it off.

"Well, thank Kisaki for me next time. Now you can get my mind off things until I leave." You smiled and he hummed in agreement before his features turned into confusion with a head tilt.

"Eh? Where are you going, work?" He asked and you rolled your eyes, of course your boyfriend hadn't remembered about your hair appointment even when you had to repeat yourself for a week straight. Sometimes you wondered if Shuuji ever thought of anything besides his own plans.

"Shuuji, I told you so many times, I'm getting my hair cut today."

"Oh yeah, I forgot... Why do you need to get your mind off of that it's just a stupid haircut." Shuuji said as he stretched out more on your couch, his head falling back onto the back of it.

You pursed your lips into a tight line as you looked over at your boyfriend relaxing. Your eyes fell to your fingers as they picked at your cuticles from the anxiety growing again at the way Shuuji had blown off your feelings.

"It's not just a stupid haircut, Shuuji..." You mumbled and you felt his gaze turn to you, "I've grown it out for so long... I'm chopping of so much of it, I'm scared."

Your eyes looked back over to Shuuji who looked back with a unfazed expression. His eyes traveled to your hair and he gave a hum as his head fell back once again and you gave a defeated sigh.

"You need it though, you hair's all frizzy and dead.... Looks like shit anyways who cares if you chop it off?" He chuckled and you whipped your head towards him with a look of disbelief and annoyance on your face.

"I do, Shuuji!" You said almost a little too loudly. It caused him to flinch as his head shot up to connect eyes with you, a mumbled apology left your lips as you turned to the coffee table in front of you that your boyfriend had previously put his feet on. "What if short hair looks ugly on me or what if it takes too long to grow back? I'll be stuck looking like an idiot. Not to mention I've never been to the hairdresser I scheduled with and I'm also terrified you're not gonna like it so yeah, I care, okay?"

Silence fell and your eyes didn't leave your clenched fists. Worry started to set in again as you two sat next to each other. You already felt idiotic for being so nervous and the fact you had gotten so defensive with your boyfriend of your dried and damaged hair only added to the internal humiliation.

You could feel your boyfriend's gaze on the side of your face as you stared at your hands. Another apology was bubbling up in your throat but as you went to turn to him you saw his tattooed hand take yours. Shuuji rested his chin on your shoulder as he grasped your hand. His shallow breath tickled your face.

"Shuuji-"

"It's just a haircut, babe." Shuuji said softly and you sighed for the umpteenth time while letting out a panicked chuff, "You'll figure a way to look good with it no matter how short. Hey, and if it really does look that bad then I'll just shave my head that way we can both be ugly. We'll be that hot ugly couple."

A laugh replaced the bubble in your throat as you imagined your boyfriend bald. Shuuji chuckled with you as his chin continued to rest on your shoulder. The laughter grew with each image that popped into your mind and you boyfriend laughed with you because he had made you. Soon enough you were both giggling like children on your couch with the anxiety you once had gone.

A few more chuckles escaped you and you let your free hand swipe under your eye as you felt them watering. You cleared your throat and shook your head, your tangled hair falling in your face. You paused as you felt Shuuji's fingers take the hair and put it behind you ear. You turned to him to see a wide smile on his face and leaned into his hand as it cupped your face. His eyes scanned your features and he let out a sigh as he dropped his hand.

"Nah, I couldn't do that. Then I really would be the ugly one in the relationship." He laughed as he fell back to the couch and let out at grunt when your free hand collided with his side.

"Shut up, you're not ugly, you always look good." You mumbled and dropped your chin into your propped up hand.

"So do you! I don't know why you're so nervous, it's just hair it grows back but if you're really that nervous about it... I can go with you, keep your stylist in line make sure they know if they fuck up I'll be waiting for them outside."

A laugh left you once again as you shook your head fondly at your boyfriend's threat. You smiled at his offer and your felt yourself relax at the thought of Shuuji be near you during the haircut. You honestly didn't think you would be able to do it alone.

"Really, you'll go with me?" You asked as you hoped he hadn't been joking like he always did.

Shuuji gave a nod and let his eyes glance at the clock that hung over the TV. He gave a sigh and pushed himself up, yanking his hand from your in the process. You frowned at the loss of warmth and looked up just as he bent down to place a kiss to your lips.

"Alright baby, let's go, I brought my bike." Shuuji said as walked away from your sitting form and to the door to slip his jacket and boots back on.

Your eyes glanced at the clock once again to see how much time had passed. You bit the inside of your cheek as you stared at the clock that was telling you it was time to leave and get this whole ordeal over with. You pushed your hair back as if you were also pushing you anxiousness to the back of your head before you turned to your boyfriend who was slipping on his gang jacket.

A smile returned to your face as you watched him. You were thankful to have him in your life for little things like this. Despite his personality and the way he spoke you knew your boyfriend cared just as much as you did. You also knew he would try to fix anything for you and make you laugh even if the threat of violence was followed. You loved him for that, you loved that he cared for you the way you did for him.

"Shuuji," You called to him and he looked over you as he finished putting on his jacket with a soft hum. "Thank you, I love you."

"Who wouldn't love me, I'm great." He gave you a devious smirk along with an arch of his eyebrow as he puffed out his jacket collar and you rolled your eyes as you reached back to grab a pillow from the couch to through it at him. To your dismay he caught it and chuckled, "Kidding, you know I love you baby. Now come on, I like it when you hold on to me while we ride."

You watched as your boyfriend jangled his motorcycle key and you shook your head with a laugh as you pushed yourself from the couch to follow him out the door.

#hanma shuuji #hanma headcanons #hanma x y/n #shuuji hanma x reader #tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers fluff #my writing #shuji hanma x reader #shuji hanma #kisaki tetta #hanma shuji #tokrev

217 notes · View notes

finelinevogue · 3 years

Note

I don’t have a specific request but I just really want to read another Little Moments blurb. Wether they’re teens or babies, I just love them. Have a great day!!

you have a great day toooo!! ok we can definitely do this!! there’s so many adventures they go on that i want to write about, but for now i hope you enjoy this blurb of the family going out for a pub meal;

oli - 21, felix - 19, belle - 16

It was family-night-Friday.

Well, actually, it was yours and Harry’s anniversary and supposedly date night, but your children had decided you’d all go out for the evening to celebrate instead. Whilst you were delighted over the idea of spending the night with your family, Harry wasn’t. He now, quote-on-quote, ‘can’t finger you under the restaurant table’, which is why he’s now in a sulk.

Chuffing man-child.

“Dad, can you at least pretend to look happy to be with your family?” Belle teased Harry, as you were all in the car on the way to the pub you were booked in for.

Harry was driving and Oli was sat in the front, since his legs were extremely long - a bit like his dad - to fit in the back. Unfortunately Felix got the short straw and had to sit in the back with you and Belle, Belle sitting in the middle as she was the smallest. Whenever you came to a red light Harry’s hand would slink behind his seat and dangle itself until you caught it with your hand and gave it a squeeze. It was the little moments like these that made you grateful for your family. For Harry.

Harry smiled and you knew it was real, because it reached his eyes, however he made it seem like it wasn’t real to antagonise his kids.

“Y’can pay for your own bloody meal at this rate.” Oli spoke, looking up from where he was messing around on his phone - probably looking at todays football scores.

“When did you become such a dad?” Felix laughed, scruffing with his brothers hair from where he was sat behind him.

“Dickhead.” Oli tried to reach out and smack his brother but Harry beat him to it and caught his sons fist.

“Oi, pack it in the both of you.” Harry pretended to be mad, but in reality he loved his children interacting with each other - even if they were play fighting.

You loved your little family. So much.

The rest of the journey was spent listening to whatever was on the radio. Belle had requested Capital FM, however much Harry would rather listen to BBC Radio 2. You heard Harry sing along to a couple of songs though, one being Niall’s new song ‘Our Song’. The journey was quiet but peaceful, allowing you and your thoughts to spend 10 minutes or so alone. The word passed by outside as you drove down some pretty sketchy country lanes, until you rounded the familiar corner that had ‘The Cherry Tree’ situated on the left-hand side. It didn’t take long for Harry to pull in and park up, making sure he didn’t leave any valuable on display.

You climbed out of the car and waited for Belle to shuffle out herself, before shutting the door behind her. It was still a bloody Range Rover…

“Y’alright my love?” Harry asked you, locking the car and sliding his hand into yours to hold. His familiar warmth made you smile and your goosebumps melt away.

Your children walked off ahead, talking about goodness knows what with each other. It was funny to see how small Belle was next to her brothers. She, like you, was smaller than the men in her life and also smaller than you. She walked sandwiched between her brothers as they walked inside the restaurant.

“Never been better.” You answered truthfully, cuddling yourself into his side more. He was more than happy to accept you there.

Harry opened the door for you and you walked in after you. He kept a hand on your lower back as you walked to where your children were standing waiting for a waiter.

The room was large and really atmospheric. Lots of chatter from belly laughing customers and tiny toddlers who were on the loose. You spotted people lining up for a carvery and there was a separate area where a pizza oven burned away. As soon as you saw the meat and the roasts though, you knew that’s exactly what you wanted. And with a glass of red wine - divinity.

“Nice and warm in here.” You stated, having been quite cold outside. You spotted a wood burning fire in the corner and guessed that’s where the room got it’s hear from.

“Y’cold m’love?” Harry asked, furrowed brows over you and your health.

“Was. Better now.” You answered.

“It’s ‘cause we live in bloody England.” Felix huffed, stuffing his phone into his back pocket.

“Then move countries, please.” Oli answered in a playful tone, earning a light punch to his side from his brother.

“Idiots.” Belle rolled her eyes at the both of them.

“This is why you’re my favourite chid.” Harry answered jokingly, but everyone knew he secretly meant it. He often spent more time with his Belle and would treat her with a teensy tiny bit more love than his boys, but they were okay with that.

“Charming dad.” Oli added, shaking his head as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Someone’s been working out recently.” Harry pressed a finger onto Oli’s buff arm. He was visibly flexing, but he still did have a decent amount of built up muscle on him.

“Bro, not cool. We said we’d work out together.” Felix groaned, knowing he was slightly skinnier than Oli and the tabloids made sure to point it out. It didn’t phase him publicly, but you knew it did internally.

“Can work out with me, if you want?” You questioned Felix, already knowing the answer.

“No thanks mum. I don’t want to go to pilates or hot yoga with a bunch of mums.” He rolled his eyes, but earned a slap to the back of his head from his dad.

“Y’pest, be nice to y’mum.”

“It’s actually mixed gender for the hot yoga.”

“Well now you can say bye-bye to that class, missus.” Harry teased you, tightening his hold on your back. When Harry got jealous he got jealous - like pettily jealous. It was something you’d both worked on during the years together, but sometimes it did creep up. Like now.

“I’m not quitting that class, H. You can come with me if y’so bothered that other men and women might be staring at m’arse.”

“Y’bloody well bet i’m coming.” He told you, making you chuckle. He leant down and gave you a kiss to your lips, welcoming it with a needy kiss back since he rarely gave you lip kisses in public. This was pub in the middle of nowhere, so Harry felt safe to give you some loving.

“Ugh could you, like, not?” Felix groaned and his siblings followed. Harry pulled away with annoyance, a smile on your lips though.

“Y’should be happy I love y’mum.”

“I am, just not publicly.” Felix turned his nose up at the memory of his parents kissing.

“Leave us alone, it’s our anniversary.” You pouted.

“Like dad needs that excuse.” Belle snorted and rolled her eyes, making everyone but Harry laugh.

“You don’t need an excuse to love me, H.” You whispered to him and he leaned down to you with a smile.

“I know.” He kissed your forehead this time and brought you closer into his side as his kids were laughing with each other still.

“Where the fuck is the waited i’m bloody starving.” Oli grumbled, patting his belly lightly, clearly annoyed at the waiting of the staff here.

“Um, can I help you?” The shy waiter was bright red in the face from hearing Oli’s comment, making the rest of you snicker.

It was the little moments like these that made you appreciate your life and your little, happy, family.

194 notes · View notes

foli-vora · 3 years

Text

more than words, pt.3

A/N: Thank you for all the love! 🥺🥰 overwhelmed by the reaction I’ve had to this story! Super excited that so many of you are coming along for the ride! There is a tag list for this—let me know if you’d like to be added! (I apologise if I’ve missed anyone!) I hope you enjoy! ❤️

Pairing: Francisco ‘Catfish’ Morales x f!reader, best friend!Benny Miller x f!reader

Word count: 3.3k

Warnings: swearing, alcohol, general first date nerves that trigger my anxiety x10

pt.1 / pt.2 / pt.4 / pt.5 / pt.6

He was trying to listen. He really was, but God, how many times can you hear the same thing over and over and over again before you start to drift away from the conversation? He knew the answer. He had a very short attention span when it came to certain subjects – he’ll admit that freely – so when you continued to gush about his best friend, his main man, naturally his attention fell to the couple seemingly having an argument by their truck in the parking lot. Hmm… wonder what they’re fighting about? He purses his lips, watching the girl deliver one hell of a slap across her boyfriend’s face and strut away, tears streaking mascara down her face. Cheater. Definitely a cheater.

“Benny? Are you even listening to me?”

His eyes roll back to you, taking in your narrowed eyes and angry chewing as a slice of pizza dangles from your hand. Was he listening? Well, he did for the first few minutes… does that still count?

He finally answers, tone flat and uninterested. “No.”

“Ben.”

He shrugs, gesturing to the scene outside the window with a flick of his head. “Malibu barbie just smacked the shit out of her beau.”

Your head snaps to where he was looking, shamelessly curious. “Cheater?”

“That’s my bet.”

You both fall quiet, watching the strangers play out a scene that really should belong in a cringe-worthy daytime reality show while you chew. It’s almost depressing, how eagerly you both watch someone else’s life seemingly crumble in public. But the longer they scream and cry, the longer they yell and fight, the harder it is to tear your eyes away.

“Shit.” Benny sighs, reclining in the booth and stretching his arms up and behind him once the couple in conflict goes their separate ways. “That was the most interesting thing that happened to me all week.”

“Not me,” you sing with a smile, fondly remembering the phone calls and texts you had been sharing with Frankie the past few days. Benny sighs in irritation, neck cracking as he rolls his head on his shoulders.

“I swear, if you talk any more about Fish, I’m gonna throw myself out of this fuckin’ window.” He levels you with a challenging stare, lips twitching as you eye the glass critically. “I’ll do it, too. Try me.”

Deflating, you sag in your seat and fiddle with the peeling label on your beer bottle, realising with a wave of slight shame that you had been talking about Frankie ever since you sat down at the table. “I’m sorry, Benny. I’m just excited. He seems really cool, and nice, and –”

“Alright then.” He stands abruptly, kneeling on the worn leather to brace a shoulder against the glass panel with a look of severe concentration.

“Okay! I’m sorry, I’m sorry – sit down, you idiot!” Laughing loudly, you tug at his shirt until he sits with a lazy grin and you shake your head. “God, you are such a child, Benjamin.”

He snorts, pinching a cold fry from the basket in the middle of the table and waving it at you. “You love me.”

Grinning, you snatch it from his fingers, and chew it loudly, grinning at his pout. “I sure do, especially when you set me up with your gorgeous fri–”

He groans loudly, “Enough, woman. I’ll throw you out of this fuckin’ window in a minute. Get me another beer.”

“You’re callin’ the wrong friend, angel.” Benny drawls lazily, “I’m no good with these kinds of pep talks.”

“Benny, I’m freaking out, please –”

The car feels small, cramped. The open windows letting in the cool evening air does nothing for you trying to suck in a lungful of oxygen as you pull nervously at your jacket. Have you overdressed? Underdressed? What would he be wearing? You hadn’t been on a first date in months.

“Look, I can almost guarantee you he’s somewhere having this exact conversation with another friend of mine. You’re both stress heads. Just relax – he’s gonna love you.”

You stare vacantly at your steering wheel, swallowing around the lump of anxiety stuck in your throat. “I think I’m gonna puke.”

He snorts in amusement, “Well, if you’re gonna do it, do it now – puking on the poor guy isn’t a first date thing. And don’t forget to rinse your mouth out.”

Leave it to the younger Miller to make you feel ten times worse. “Oh God. Ben –”

“You’ll be fine. Now get out of your car.”

“But –”

“Get. Out. of your car.” He waits, listening intently to the mechanical whirr of your windows as they close, smiling when he hears the loud thump of your car door shutting. “There we go. Now breathe, and get marchin’ – you got this. And don’t call me again – I’m watching a fight. Pay per view isn’t cheap.”

“Right. Sorry. Thanks Benny.”

“Anytime, angel. Have fun.”

You ring your hands as you start walking the short distance to the bar, running through a last-minute check of your appearance. Nothing in your teeth. No stains on your clothes. You fidget with the hem of your skirt, brushing the non-existent dirt from the fabric and making sure it’s not horrifically tucked in to your underwear at the back.

Oh God, your palms are so sweaty. What if he shakes your hand? His hand will slide right off. He’d be mortified. Who even goes for a handshake on a first date anyways? You’re being silly. Everything’s fine. You look great. Did you put deodorant on?

The twisting of your stomach and panicked rush of thoughts thankfully pause when your eyes catch Frankie standing outside the bar, hands buried deep in his pockets and dark eyes flickering around at the passers-by somewhat nervously. When they land on you, the apprehension seems to melt from his shoulders and he grins. Unable to stop the smile creeping on your face in response, you now walk without the sick feeling of anxiety creeping up your throat.

He strides forward to greet you, and for a brief second, you wonder how you should greet him. It’s not like you were strangers, per se, you had been talking on the phone all week, but where did you stand in the physical sense? Certainly not a handshake.

Throwing caution to the wind, you bounce forward and greet him with a hug, hoping to high heaven he doesn’t push you away and call the whole thing off.

He doesn’t.

Inwardly screaming, you melt at the feeling of a pair of strong arms winding around your waist, a small quiet chuckle brushing past your ear. Oh shit, oh fuck… he smells divine.

“Hi,” you mutter shyly when you pull away, a flush of warmth flooding through you from top to toe when he smiles kindly and hovers only a step away.

“Hi,”

You can’t help but admire his features up close; the ones that were lost on the photo Ben had shown you when first trying to convince you into this arrangement. His eyes were a lot darker, tousled curls longer than they had looked when they were hidden under a well-loved hat. A light flush of pink sweeps up his neck and along his cheeks, and you watch it fondly with a wild flutter of your heart.

Okay, you could just stand here all night and stare at him, but that might freak him out a little… maybe try speaking. Talk. Just talk. Say something smart – something stimulating. First date impressions and all that.

“It’s fucking freezing.”

What? No. You did not just say that. Seriously? That’s what had to bubble from your mouth? Are you kidding?

You want to face palm, want to just turn around and march right back to your car with a text to Benny saying ‘thanks, but we can’t be friends anymore’ and just disappear from the face of the Earth. God, he’s going to give you so much shit for this.

Thankfully though, Frankie doesn’t seem bothered by your blurted out statement in the slightest, and even grins, nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, it is.” He watches you shift on your feet, smile widening just a little more at the look of complete horror that had just washed your features before he had spoken, and then half turns, “Shall we?” Oh God, what was that? Pope’s gonna kill him. You’ve got his head in a complete spin and now he’s forgotten Pope’s whole pep talk. Shit. Shit. Be cool. Be cool... what the fuck does ‘be cool’ even mean?

The bar’s warm when you both walk in side by side, Frankie’s hand placed softly on your lower back as he leads you to the bar, and then through to a spare table, nestled out of the way and tucked into the farthest corner after he buys your drinks. He lets you sit first, and you’re pleasantly surprised when he stays close and, instead of sitting opposite you, he sits to your right, knees bumping yours softly under the table.

It’s not until you both sit, quiet and fiddling with your beers while sharing nervous smiles, that you remember something you had been meaning to ask all day.

“Oh. How did Mena’s appointment go?” You ask immediately, recalling his slight worry the day before over her slightly warmer than normal forehead and uncharacteristic crankiness. Your stomach plummets when he shoots you a startled look.

Oh no… have you blown it? Were you not meant to ask about kids on the first date or something? What were the rules for this kind of thing? You’d never dated someone with a baby, you had no idea what was okay to ask and what wasn’t. You guys had literally only just sat down, and here you were, ruining it already. That’s got to be the quickest end to a date, well… ever.

Panic creases your features and you frown in worry, “Sorry, should I – should I not have said anything? I’m sorry, I’ve never –”

“No, no – you’re fine! I just… I didn’t expect you to remember.” And then he smiles. Blindingly. The dread crushing your chest quickly morphs into something sweeter, something that has your heart quickening. “She’s okay – she’s getting her molars. Thank you for asking.”

You smile, turning bashful under the pure admiration shining in his eyes, and shrug lightly.

“It’s alright. I was worried for you.” You’re quiet when you admit it, unsure if that’s something you should be upfront about with only knowing him for such a short period, but he seems to take it in stride, smiling fondly at you and reaching a hand to cover yours softly. The immediate heat from his skin encompasses yours, shooting wave after wave of electric tingles up your arm and straight to your chest.

If your pulse was racing before, it’s downright wild now.

He flushes when your fingers part ever so slightly, letting his nestle in between yours, and then you’re smiling at each other, laughing quietly as the awkwardness all but evaporates.

You talk about everything. Growing up, moving around, Frankie’s time in the military being a pilot. You have so many questions, but pick up on the wave of tension that rolls through him at the mention of flying. For a short moment, you wonder why he didn’t want to talk about such an achievement – being a pilot was incredible, but not wanting to ruin the easy-going atmosphere that had fallen over you both, you leave the topic of flying instantly, and switch for talking about Mena, thankful to see the light return immediately to his eyes as he gushes about his little girl.

“Can I ask a question?” You ask sometime later in the evening, now comfortably closer to Frankie as your legs tangle under the table.

He hums, sipping on his third beer and nodding, “Of course.”

You watch your fingers play with his on the table, before grinning up at him slyly, “Why ‘Catfish’?”

He groans, throwing his head back with a chuckle, and wipes a hand across his face.

“My whiskers.” He finally admits with a playfully defeated sigh. When you frown in confusion, his grin widens, and he scratches his fingers along his jaw and through the patch of facial hair. “The guys used to give me shit because I can’t grow much more than this.” He gestures to his face, rolling his eyes. “Used to say I had whiskers – like a catfish, apparently.” He chuckles, shrugging light heartedly. “It just seemed to stick after a while.”

You’re laughing, and it keeps the smile planted firmly on his face. What a sound.

“Well, it’s an interesting nickname, but I think I prefer Frankie.”

He softens, unable to resist melting closer to you, and nods, “Me too.”

He likes the way you say it… sweetly, softly. He’s desperate to hear it fall from your lips more, in all sorts of ways.

Disappointment floods you both when you notice the late hour, Frankie explaining dejectedly that he should probably go and relieve his babysitter before said babysitter gets too comfortable with his refrigerator and the beer in there. You can hear the fondness in his voice when he tells you about his sitter for the evening, Mena’s tío – another close friend of Benny’s apparently – as you leave the bar, his hand automatically falling to tangle with yours.

“I’m this way,” you point a thumb over your shoulder, fully expecting to say your goodbyes outside the brightly lit bar, but frowning in slight confusion when he merely nods and starts to walk the way to your car.

“Oh – are you parked over here, too?”

He shakes his head, pointing to the complete opposite direction. “No, I’m over there. I don’t want you to walk to your car alone.”

Your insides turn to jelly, smiling to yourself as you grip his hand a little tighter. Thoughtful. He returns your smile, but hates that you seem so surprised by the notion of being walked to your car in the dark. What kind of losers had you dated previously that either didn’t walk you safely to your car?

“Thank you for tonight, Frankie.”

He grins, thumb rubbing soft circles over your knuckles. “Thank you – I had a great time.”

“Next time, it’s my treat.” You say, hoping you weren’t thinking too much of something that wasn’t there. Would he even want a second date? Was he just being polite saying he had a good time? Is that what people said before never calling them again?

Unbeknownst to you, Frankie was having a hard time reigning in the enthusiastic excitement that had flooded through him the second you had spoken. You wanted another date? With him? He had to mash his teeth together to stop the eager grin threatening to break his face completely in half. Thank God he hadn’t blown it. You were… God. You were fucking incredible. He owed Benny – big time.

“I can deal with that,” he eventually agrees, face warm and giddy at the prospect of taking you out again.

You turn and envelope him in a hug when you reach your car, breathing in one final lungful of whatever delicious aftershave he had used, and smile to yourself against his shirt when he folds his arms around you, a hand cupping the back of your head to keep you pressed tightly against him.

Pulling back to say one final goodbye, you’re struck by how close his face seems, eyes flicking across his face before meeting his dark ones.

Suddenly trapped in a gaze that had a fire licking up your spine, your breath goes in a stuttered exhale. Rough fingertips trace your jaw, and then you’re holding your breath entirely as he leans in closer. Anticipation kicks in, heart thumping through your chest as he closes the distance much slower than you would like, and you fight away the wave of impatience that screams at you to just push forward and kiss him.

You don’t expect him to stop however, only a breath away from your lips, and you panic for a small second, wondering if you’re doing something wrong, but when he murmurs a quiet question, it takes all the strength in your legs to not fall to the fucking ground in a lump of melted goo.

“Can I kiss you?”

God yes. Please.

Unable to stop the shy smile that tugs at your lips, you try not to nod too eagerly and definitely fail miserably. You want this, more than what you’ve ever felt with anyone else. Frankie had you feeling like a giddy teenager with a huge crush and you were desperate to feel more of it, to see where it goes and what it could develop into.

At your nod of approval, he moves in the rest of the way, hand moving to cup the side of your neck below your ear, and he sighs lightly when your soft lips finally meet his. The kiss is tender, warm, and does nothing to soothe your raging pulse. He can’t hear your heartbeat, can he? God, can you hear his? He briefly worries, but when your lips move against his, his mind blanks.

His moustache tickles your lip, nose bumps gently with yours. Your hands find his chest, fingers gripping at the soft material, and for a moment it feels like you two are the only ones in existence, floating in a hazy whirl of space.

You take a minute to open your eyes when he eventually pulls away, and when you do, you find him gazing at you with a shy smile and a rosy flush across his cheeks. Lashes fluttering as you blink, you try to get a hold of your heart beating heavily against your ribs while your lips tingle from the aftershocks of his kiss.

Holy shit.

Before you can even think it through, his shirt tangles in your scrunched fist and you pull him back to you, replanting your lips against his with a desperate urgency he meets head on and returns eagerly. His hands, previously gentle, now grip at your waist, squeezing the flesh greedily as you let him walk you back into the side of your car. The metal is cold, even through your jacket, and you arch into him, moaning softly when his tongue traces your lip.

Your knees buckle when his tongue tangles with yours, and he presses you harder into the car to stop you dropping.

“Holy shit.” He breathes huskily after separating, lips widening into a grin when he sees you mirroring his breathlessness. You giggle softly, the fire roaring in your stomach turning into an affectionate warmth that floods your system when he brushes his nose along yours tenderly. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Stop.” Your smile turns shy, teeth digging into your lips as he chuckles again, dark eyes shining. He watches you wrangle your breathing into something semi normal, glad he wasn’t the only one that got swept up and carried away with the moment.

He traces your cheek, planting one more, less hungry and more affectionate, kiss to your lips.

“Goodnight, mystery girl.”

“Goodnight, Frankie.”

He backs away, face split as he smiles, eyes admiring you before he turns and starts to meander away to wherever he was parked, turning to look at you over his shoulder every few steps. You climb into your car, grinning at the final wave he sends you before disappearing around the corner.

Finally alone in your car, you let out the disbelieving chuckle you’ve been keeping in all night, face feeling hot as the aftereffects of such a great date rests pleasantly in your stomach, mind running through every little moment of the night. Starting your car, you start the drive home, unable to stop touching your lips every so often, insides clenching at the memory of his lips moving against yours.

Tags: @anu-simps @seasonschange-butpeopledont @withasideofmeg @you-got-me-starry-eyed @emilykjh @peterhollandkait @sara-alonso @starlightsearches @bookishofalder @empress-palpat1ne @shadowolf993 @rosiefridayrogersunday @canyonmirrors @eoz-stuff @blackonemasie @layniapetrovnaaa @alberta-sunrise @goldielocks2004 @betterthanbucky @linkpk88 @afootnoteofhappiness @livilottie

#frankie morales x reader #frankie morales x f!reader #frankie morales x you #francisco morales x reader #francisco morales x f!reader #francisco morales x you #frankie morales #francisco morales #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal #triple frontier #triple frontier fic #benny miller x reader

554 notes · View notes