#not perfectly equivalent but it does really just waves it hands frantically in my face and is like LOOK LOOK

[wrencatte]

also, there's a bunch of final fantasy 14 references in this dark and lonely place because I spent...*four years* playing that game and then promptly got into a fandom that was more sci-fi than fantasy (batman), so you bet your ass now that I'm in a more fantasy inclined sci-fi setting I am referencing the HELL out of ff14

[rae-writes]

An Angel...

om demons x reader (+Simeon, Solomon)

wc : 1.k

warnings : simping bois, humor, some sprinkled suggestive comments

synopsis : a deviltok trend has the boys on their knees for you (though that’s nothing new)

a/n : this audio scratches an itch in my brain and I needed to do something with it

angel ver. 

<Asmodeus> GUYS!!!  YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS!!!! NOW!!!!! LIKE RIGHT NOW!!!!!!

[attachment sent]

Casually clicking on the video file, his interest peaked immediately when he saw you. Clad in your RAD uniform, you were positioned in frame a couple steps back. 

“Who are you?” 

He watched you slowly stalk forward with a smile on your face; it was both reassuring and off putting. Only someone like him would be able to notice. 

“An angel…”

You held out your hand towards the camera gently, as if beckoning someone closer. 

“What’s your name?”

The transition was fast— smooth. In an instant, your hand came up and grabbed the phone, like you were choking someone, causing the frame to shake. 

“Satan.”

Once the shaking transition stopped, with your hand still in its previous position, his mouth dropped. You had completely transformed yourself into what he assumed is your version of their demon form. 

Realistic black sheep horns protruded from your head, curling backwards around your ear and ending at your middle jaw. There were light purple extensions added here and there, blending with your hair perfectly. Your free hand had come up to splay over your malicious grin- showing off the fangs you’d added and the sharpness of your new nails. The outfit you wore was revealing- black with shiny accents and shiner jewelry - easily showing the intricate marks you’d drawn over the exposed skin. 

[8 people saved a video attachment] 

Lucifer

His stupidly handsome face forms the most obnoxious smug smirk imaginable 

Don’t get me wrong, he was absolutely flustered. On the inside. 

On the outside though, he radiated pride and smugness 

Like ‘yeah. That’s my Mc. mine. Eat it.’ 

Not that he would ever speak those words. Totally not

Was he also slightly bugged that Asmo seemed to be the only one who had access to this video? Sure. 

Was he gonna make sure his brothers, Diavolo, and Barbatos deleted this from everything they owned? Of course. 

But first, he’s gotta get you to dress up like that for him in person 

Mammon

Mans was astonished. Eyebrows had shot through the heavens, mouth was dropped down to sea floor level, cheeks were a blazing inferno— he was in awe 

First thought : ‘HELL YEAH, MC, YA LOOK HOT!’ 

Second thought : ‘WAIT HOLD UP, THE OTHERS ARE SEEIN THIS TOO-‘ 

Really though, Mammon is just so in awe at how gorgeous you looked 

especially in that gold he knows he bought you

Immediately takes a screenshot of you in that getup and makes it his home screen wallpaper

Then he texts you, begging demanding you dress up like that again because he wants to make videos with you in his demon form too!

I mean, if he doesn’t get to have his hands all over you and his mouth on you like that, how will anyone get the message you’re only for him?

Levi

Someone call the equivalent of 911 for the Devildom, Levi might just be coding 

Actually- don’t even worry about it, he’s just a big puddle on the floor! No worries! 

He. Is. FLUSTERED! Flustered doesn’t even begin to cover it really- 

Levi can't breathe, can’t talk, can’t even wave his hands around frantically to express his lost words

Irl version of a windows restart. 

But as soon as he does reboot, he’s doing his best impression of Oprah into his pillow with how high pitched he’s screaming 

Would love to take a picture with you in that outfit while he’s in his demon form or have you sit on him 

He’ll send you a bunch of emojis in show of his approval but his normal skin tone still isn’t visible under the blush for hours

Satan

Smug as fuck about the audio itself. Definitely silently bragging

Aside from that, Satan is absolutely willing to kneel for you in that outfit 

He’s studied with you on seductive speechcraft but this? He was not ready

Has to take a minute to get his bearings together and to wipe that blush off his face

Satan’s actually pretty speechless for a good 30 minutes 

Not that he’d let you know. He will, however, be telling you how fucking good you looked

Wants to ask if you’ll walk around town with him in his demon form too so everyone can see 

Power couple ™— Take that Lucifer 

Asmo

Azzy is on his knees in an instant- pliant and ready for you to fucking step all over him 

The moment he saw the video he was liking, favoriting, commenting, saving, sharing- everything 

He’d suggested something similar for you to do in the past but you just. 

You went light years beyond what he was expecting the outcome to be and he is here for it 

#1 supporter and immediately is coming up with different- sexier -outfits for you to wear

Will ask, beg if he has to, if you’d come have a photo shoot with him (surprisingly he mainly wants to take photos of just you) 

Admitting to anyone who listens that your beauty is absolutely on par with his 

On his way to your room right this instant- but only after he shares the video with the others 

Beel

Choked. 

You’d think he hadn’t ate in years with how much he was drooling but no

He was just looking at you in that outfit. Which he thought was amazing. 

You are easily the most delicious thing he’s ever laid eyes on (“Gorgeous too…”) and he can’t wait to tell you to your face 

Wonders if you’d have a tail or wings if you really did have a demon form 

Wants to ask Diavolo if there’s magic to make you a real, temporary demon form to find out

Please come to one of his Fangol games dressed like that. He’d promise to win for the rest of the season- and succeed

Overall flustered with his cute blush present, but unlike Satan or Levi, he doesn’t mind showing you 

Belphie

Two words : “holy. fuck.” or alternatively : “fuck. me.”

He is sprinting- yes, sprinting- throughout the fucking house and barreling straight through your door

On his knees faster than Asmo was and is ready at light speed to crawl at your feet and wrap his arms around your leg 

All of his usual curt expressions are thrown out the window without a care in the world

No pure thoughts behind those doe eyes. Not a single one. 

Convinces you to let him take a picture from underneath you while you’re choking him to put as his lock screen because he needed it

Will not be letting you go for the next 24 hours or longer

Fakes innocence like a pro when the others accuse him of hogging you to himself (“they are mine” he snips, even though you have the metaphorical leash right now)

Barbatos 

Mmmmmm, the silent simping is strong in this one

He was simultaneously so fucking ready and so very much not ready for that

Does not know what to do with himself for the next 2-7 business days

Had to put down shit he was cleaning multiple times before he broke something (because you actually broke him)

Straight up doesn’t even ask to show up in your room this time, he just does and immediately beelines to shove his face into your neck 

No, his ears are not red. I believe you might be color blind Mc…

Won’t outright admit how badly you affected him- he just lets out a small ‘you look lovely’ like yeah, Barb? Just lovely? 

Please wear this to the next formal event you attend to watch him lose his cool for split second intervals all night

Diavolo 

If he didn’t have millennia of training on composure, he’d been screaming as loud as Levi 

Instead he settles for slamming his hand on his desk like that meme Asmo showed him 

Concerning his butler a bit, but Diavolo is a proud simp- he ADMITS it

Please come sit on him. Let HIM sit on YOU, for all he cares

You look so good?? What the fuck?? Marry him?? (<<exact texts he sends you)

Tries to find ways to give you a real demon form before getting scolded

Volunteers whole heartedly to let Asmo take pictures of both of you while you’re dressed like that

Ring, ring, Lucifer, he’s coming over ASAP, don’t be alarmed when he shows up at the door

Bonus : 

Solomon

Fuck this man is so down bad for you

I mean, he knew that before but this is just something else, Mc, what have you done to him? 

Knows you’re still human but god does he crave having your pact mark seared into his body (it’s a guilty pleasure of his)

Maybe you’ll just create one and tattoo it on anyway

No second thoughts, teleports to your room immediately to yank you into a kiss

Door is locked- Solomon refuses to let the brothers snatch you away from him rn

Please get on top of him and show him how real your fake fangs and nails feel

Will actually beg without a fight

Simeon

Thinks he should not find this as attractive as he does but the heat flooding through his body disagrees

Gets so hot and flustered, it would be concerning if he wasn’t an actual angel 

Drinks a whole ass cup of water in less than 2 seconds 

Personification of ‘hold my mf halo’ as he makes his way to your place once he calms down a bit

Yes, he’ll take pictures with you with his wings on display and yes, he may or may not be into this (and if you start a little roleplay with him? He’s ascending.)

Don’t tease and make fun of him, he can’t help it! He’s not trying to blush- though he isn’t trying to hide it either

Lies through his teeth without hesitation when he gets questioned about the faint lines on his shoulders 

Heaven’s filthiest angel, on brand

[yellowcanna]

Ginger and Zunda

Summary:

“Fushiguro, did you become sexy overnight?”

BAAAM

Itadori crumbled onto the ground with a pained cry. He held onto his throbbing head where there was already a large bump forming.

“That hurts…what was that for?!” Itadori shouted, looking over his shoulder to see Kugisaki standing behind him with veins throbbing on the back of her fist.

“I came to see what’s the hold up only to find you sexually harassing Fushiguro.” She snapped, the way she looked at Itadori was like looking at a disgusting bug that needed to be squashed.

“Huh?! When did I sexually harassed him?!” Itadori cried.

“Calling him sexy and trying to kiss him is sexual harassment!”

“I wasn’t trying to kiss him! I was just sniffing him!!”

“Like that’s any better! Sniffing an Omega is equivalent to molesting when you’re an Alpha, you numbskull!” Kugisaki shouted before smacking her fist into his head again, beating the young Alpha back onto the floor.

"Exactly what did you two came here for?" Fushiguro muttered, staring at his two classmates in front of him.

Rating: T

Genre: Fluff, Omegaverse, shounen-ai

Pairing: Gojo x Fushigurou

Author: Canna / Yellow Canna

╔═══ -ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ- ═══╗

Available on AO3!!

╚═══ -ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ- ═══╝

“Hey, Fushiguro!” Itadori shouted in excitement, waving his hand in the air while running towards his friend and classmate that he spotted walking down the hall of the dormitory.

With the golden week just around the corner, the first years were given a couple of days of break. Itadori was ecstatic. Finally, he could do some real sightseeing around the city that he didn’t have the time to do before.

Kugisaki was instantly onboard with the idea.

All that was left was Fushiguro.

However, when Fushiguro turned around, Itadori tripped over his own feet as though he had forgotten how his legs work and crashed onto the floor, rolling three times before coming to a stop at the raven’s feet.

“…What are you doing?” Fushiguro’s flat voice came from above. His voice sounded normal, but Itadori keenly caught the unusual hoarseness the other was trying to hide.

The boy bounced up from the ground and began looking Fushiguro all over, making the raven looked a bit weird out.

“What are you doing?” He repeated, stepping back to pull some distance between their faces when Itadori leaned too close.

“Fushiguro, did you become sexy overnight?”

BAAAM

Itadori crumbled onto the ground with a pained cry. He held onto his throbbing head where there was already a large bump forming.

“That hurts…what was that for?!” Itadori shouted, looking over his shoulder to see Kugisaki standing behind him with veins throbbing on the back of her fist.

“I came to see what’s the hold up only to find you sexually harassing Fushiguro.” She snapped, the way she looked at Itadori was like looking at a disgusting bug that needed to be stomp on.

“Huh?! When did I sexually harassed him?!” Itadori cried.

“Calling him sexy and trying to kiss him without his consent is sexual harassment!”

“I wasn’t trying to kiss him! I was just sniffing him!!”

“Like that’s any better! Sniffing an Omega is equivalent to molesting when you’re an Alpha, you numbskull!” Kugisaki shouted before smacking her fist into his head again, beating the young Alpha back onto the floor.

“No, wait…hear me out!” Itadori immediately tried to defend himself from being branded as a molester. “It wasn’t like that! I just thought Fushiguro looked different, that’s all! I didn’t mean anything, I swear!”

“Yeah, I know,” Fushiguro muttered. If it was anyone else, the raven would have already fed them to the Jade Hounds. “So? Do you two need something?”

“We’re wondering if you wanna go sightseeing with us. Since you’ve been here long enough, you should know some good places right?” Kugisaki asked.

“Ah, I know a couple, but I can’t go. I’ll send the locations to the chat later.”

“Eh?! Why?!” Itadori shouted in disappointment. “We all have free days off, don’t we?”

“I…have some other things to do for the rest of the week.”

That was all he said before hurrying away, leaving his two classmates behind.

“So?” Kugisaki crossed her arms. “What the heck was that about?”

“Didn’t you think Fushiguro looked kinda sexy just now?” Itadori asked, scratching the back of his head. When he looked up and saw the look on his female classmate’s face, he frantically waved his hands in front of him to explain. “I didn’t mean it that way! I meant literally! Didn’t his face looked…different?”

“Was it any different?” Kugisaki frowned, trying to remember what expression Fushiguro had.

“His voice too! It sounded a bit scratchy!”

“I didn’t notice anything wrong.” Kugisaki snorted. “You sure you aren’t feeling for the guy? He’s an Omega after all.”

“Of course not!” Itadori looked grossed out just imagining himself getting together with the raven. “I like women like Jennifer Lawrence!”

“Yeah, yeah, thank god I’m a Beta and don’t have to deal with these weird shits. Come on, let’s go already!”

Their conversation about Fushiguro’s changes ended there. Or at least, it should have ended there. The next morning, Kugisaki sat by the table, her left hand holding onto her miso soup and her right hand limply holding onto a pair of chopsticks. She stared at Fushiguro who was practically glowing at the other side of the table.

“…What?” Fushiguro frowned and yes, Kugisaki could hear the scratchiness in his voice now.

“Nothing!” The girl quickly raised her miso soup, pretending to drink while her eyes wandered all over the black-haired Omega.

It was just as Itadori had said…Fushiguro became…sexy.

A vein popped over Kugisaki’s head. She felt oddly irritated just to admit that.

After a painful breakfast that couldn’t pass by any faster, Fushiguro left. Itadori asked where he was going, but Fushiguro simply stated he was going back to his room and that was that.

“Hey, what the heck is going on?!” Kugisaki exploded once Fushiguro was out of their sight. “Why the heck is he so sexy all of the sudden?!”

“See?! You saw it too right?!” Itadori cried, glad that his classmate finally understood.

“What are you two doing?” Hearing a woman’s voice calling out to them, the two first years looked up to see Maki, Panda and Inumaki.

┈┈┈┈ ❖ ┈┈┈┈

“Megumi?” Maki frowned after hearing what the two first year’s explanations. “Aaah, it must be that time of the year for him.”

“That time of the year?” The two innocent children echoed, causing a sadistic grin to appear over the girl’s face. “When Omega goes into their H-e-a-t.”

“Heat?!” Kugisaki gasped. Even as a beta, she knew about Heats and Ruts, but… “Wait, I thought Heat and Rut happen only after the Alpha or Omega turns twenty?”

“Salmon.” Inumaki replied.

“Oh, I know that one!” Itadori said proudly. “It’s called trial Heat! I got trial Rut since I’m an Alpha and it’s a pain!”

“Trial?” Kugisaki frowned. Growing up in the countryside where the entire town consists of Betas, Kugisaki knew little about Alpha and Omega biology. She only knew basic manners when dealing with an Alpha or Omega—like not sniffing them for example. “Like a premature condition?”

“That’s right!” Panda nodded. “They won’t experience any need for sexual desire. These trial Heats and Ruts are so their bodies could get used to the sensation and prepare them before real thing after growing into adulthood. Right now, Fushiguro is going through just that.”

“But Fushiguro looked fine?” Itadori asked in confusion. “When I got my trial Rut, I felt like I was gonna die and I can’t stop drinking water since I was sweating all over. I can’t even sleep!”

“That’s because you don’t have a mate to help you out.” Maki snorted. “If you got a mate to ease your body with their scent, you’d be like Megumi right now. If an Omega is being taken care of well enough, you’ll be able to see the glow—which was what you saw on Megumi.”

“Wait…you’re saying Fushiguro has a mate?!” Kugisaki screamed. If there was one thing she knew about Alpha and Omega, it was their weird pairing system. Alpha and Omegas don’t date like Betas. Instead, they were able to tell with one glance who should be their partner and who shouldn’t. It’s kind of like love at first sight, but it was apparently way stronger than that considering they would only choose one person for their entire lifetime.

“That guy’s mated?!” Itadori’s jaw was practically touching the ground.

“Hm? You two didn’t know?” Panda tilted his head and twitched those fluffy black ears. “Fushiguro’s Alpha is—”

“Panda!” Maki shouted, interrupting whatever Panda was going to say. She smirked widely, showing off her pearl white teeth. “If you wanna know, why don’t you two go ask Megumi yourselves? I’m sure it’ll be a nice surprise~”

And that was how Itadori and Kugisaki found themselves standing in front of Fushiguro’s room.

“…Hey, knock already,” Kugisaki hissed, keeping her voice soft so she wouldn’t be heard.

“Why me?!” Itadori said back just as quietly. “Besides, what if his Alpha is in his room right now?! Fushiguro’s in Heat isn’t he? That would just be awkward!”

“So you know about awkwardness?” Kugisaki’s eyes swept over the boy up and down as if suddenly seeing him in a new light.

“Of course, what do you take me for?!”

The two of them stared at each other for a long moment before they moved at the same time. They tiptoed up to the door and pressed their ears against the flat surface of the wood.

They listened for a long time, but nothing…

There wasn’t a single sound.

Was Fushiguro even in his room?

“Maybe he’s not back?” Itadori guessed.

“Hey, how does your Rut work?” The Beta lightly kicked the Alpha’s shin. “Can you usually move around during your Rut?” From what she saw on Fushiguro, he looked perfectly fine this morning though Maki did say that was because the raven got an Alpha to help him.

“Hmm…it usually gets really bad at night—like a fever with headache and all. Daytime is usually better so yeah, we could still walk around if we need to.” Itadori replied.

“Which means that guy will definitely be back before nighttime! Let’s hide and wait for him!” Kugisaki decided with Itadori earnestly agreeing. The two of them ran outside. It was a good thing they can get a clear view of Fushiguro’s door through the window so they hid behind some bushes and waited.

They waited and waited, but still nothing.

There wasn’t a single person in sight.

The sun slowly started to set and the mosquitos became more and more active. Kugisaki was the first to lose her patience despite how she was the one who suggested waiting.

“Argh!! I can’t take this anymore!” She shouted, slapping another mosquito that landed on her leg. “Where is that guy and his freakin’ Alpha?!”

“Wouldn’t it be just easier to guess who it is? I mean, there’s not that many of us." Itadori pointed out. 

Kugisaki huffed and placed her hands on her hips. “It can’t be the second years and the third years are still suspended from school.”

“Maybe they're allowed back? Ruts and Heats are pretty painful so if you got a partner, I don't think the school would keep them away."

“But then we never met any of the third years, how are we supposed to know?” Kugisaki questioned. “Come to think of it, there’s another person in the second year we didn’t meet as well. I heard from Maki-senpai that he’s also an Alpha.”

“Ah, that Okkotsu guy?” Itadori slapped another mosquito on her cheek. “Hey, can we get out of—”

“Shh!” Kugisaki hissed, grabbing the Alpha’s head and pushed him back down into the bushes with her following close behind. “Look!”

Itadori peeked through the gaps of the leaves. In the bright hallway, a person was strolling by the windows with one hand holding what seemed like a lunchbox and the other tucked in his pocket.

“Gojo-sensei?!” Itadori blinked at the sight of their teacher.

The pair watched the man stopped in front of Fushiguro’s door and gave it three quick knocks.

The two students watched with halted breaths. They swallowed at the same time, staring unblinkingly at that door until the doorknob twisted and it opened.

Fushiguro was revealed, wearing nothing but an overly large t-shirt with a wide collar, showing off his collarbones and most importantly—his scent glands on the base of either side of his neck. The scent glands that were usually hidden under the skin were swelled up and extremely painful to look at.

At glance, Fushijoru looked as though he wasn’t wearing any pants, but upon closer inspection, they saw the edge of his black shorts sticking out from under his shirt.

“S-should we be looking at this…?” Itadori asked, averting his eyes and looking extremely flustered.

“Ah?” Kugisaki turned and when she saw the redness on Itadori’s face, she glanced back at Fushiguro.

The boy seemed feverish and Kugisaki could tell from the rise and fall of his chest as well as his parted lips that he was also panting. His eyes looked slightly foggy, lacking the usual sharpness. Around those half-lidded eyes were also tints of red…as if he had been crying or something.

“…Is that erotic?” 

“Sorry, yes…” Itadori admitted shamefully, covering his face in his hands.

Kugisaki stared at the Alpha, then back to the Omega. “Man, I seriously don’t get you Alphas and Omegas.”

She squinted her eyes at the two who are just talking by the doorway with Gojo holding out the lunchbox and Fushiguro taking it.

“What, he’s just delivering dinner.” Kugisaki sighed in disappointment. However, her disappointment didn’t last long, for that the next moment, Gojo was wrapping an arm around Fushiguro’s waist and pulling the boy against him.

“Oi, oi, oi, what is this turnout?!” Kugisaki gapped, hiding deeper into the bushes as she watched Gojo rubbed his and Fushiguro’s cheeks together in an affectionate way before dipping his head to nuzzle the Omega’s neck.

“What is it?” Itadori asked, looking back only for his jaw to smash through the ground.

“Hey, correct me if I’m wrong…” Kugisaki’s brows were twitching nonstop, “but touching an Omega’s neck like that is equivalents to kissing…right?”

“Y-yeah, and you can’t touch the scent glands unless you’re…” Itadori’s voice trailed off when they saw Gojo’s tongue darted out of his lips and swiped over Fushiguro’s scent gland.

Fushiguro’s eyes fell shut, his body shaking uncontrollably with his lips pressed into a thin line, seeming to be desperately holding something back. Kugisaki stared at the raven’s flushed face, then to his legs that were trembling so hard she bet the only thing holding him up was Gojo’s arm around his waist.

“…Mated,” the Alpha finished weakly.

“Y-you know…it might be erotic…just a little…” Kugisaki hesitantly admitted. Suddenly, this whole peeking thing felt extremely wrong. She felt like they were intruding on Fushiguro’s private moment until another issue popped out in her mind. “Wait, isn’t he an old man?!”

“I’m only in my late twenties you know? You make it sound as though I’m doing something illegal.” A voice spoke behind the two of them, causing them to jump out of the bush with surprised yelps.

The pair whirled around to see Gojo standing behind them with his hands in his pockets and a smirk gracing his lips.

“Gojo-sensei!” Itadori gasped while Kugisaki quickly collected herself.

“But isn’t that right?” She pointed a finger at him. “Fushiguro’s still underage! Even if you two are mates, this is against the law!”

“Hey now, don’t start making me a pedophile all of the sudden!” Gojo said, holding his hands up. “All I’m doing is rubbing my scent on him to help relieve him of his Heats.”

“Really?” Kugisaki eyed the world’s strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer suspiciously.

“Really~”

All of the sudden, their surroundings became bright. It took the two students a couple of seconds to realize that they had changed place. Or rather, Gojo had picked them both up and brought them into the building!

“What are you two doing?” Fushiguro stared at his two classmates that suddenly appeared in front of him along with his teacher.

“Fushigurou!” Itadori blushed and frantically looked away.

“Well…we were curious about your Heat partner…” Kugisaki muttered. “Nevermind that, you’re mated with Gojo-sensei?!”

“Yeah,” Fushiguro replied like it wasn’t a big deal. “We realized we were mates when we first met.”

“When was that?” Itadori asked while having his eyes averted.

“…When I was in elementary.”

Kugisaki and Itadori immediately snapped their heads to Gojo standing behind them—the expressions on their faces identical, clearly expressing their inner thoughts.

“Can you two please stop looking at me like I’m a piece of trash?” Gojo was suddenly feeling a sense of déjà vu. The last time he got these accusing looks was when the current second years found out about the age of his little mate. “It’s not uncommon for Alphas and Omegas to have wide age gaps since we don’t choose our partners like Beta.”

“Then do you regret it?” Kugisaki narrowed her eyes.

“Of course not!” Gojo laughed, walking around his two students and wrapped his arm around Fushiguro who was sweating badly yet still strongly holding on. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now if you’ll excuse us, I think Megumi is starting to reach his limit~”

With a wave, Gojo walked Megumi into his room and closed the door behind them. A second later, Kugisaki and Itadori heard the sound of the lock clicking on the other side.

The two stood outside for a long time before they looked at each other and turned to leave.

“Seriously? They must be at least ten years apart.” Kugisaki mumbled as they walked down the hallway.

“Is it bad to be ten years apart?” Itadori asked. “I mean, as long as you like each other, that’s all that matters, right?”

Kugisaki’s eyes widened. She stared at Itdaori who was smiling that goofy smile that it just made her want to slap him. At the same time, she couldn’t help but smile and thought back to Fushiguro and Gojo’s interactions. Now looking back, it made sense why these two were always so close to each other.

She always assumed it was purely because they knew each other for a long time, but to think it’d be like this…

Wait, then didn’t that mean out of the three of them, Fushiguro was the first one to snag himself a partner?!

“Damn it all!!”

“What’s with you?” Itadori jumped back in surprise at the girl’s outburst.

┈┈┈┈ ❖ ┈┈┈┈

“Finally the obstacles are gone,” Gojo hummed before looking down at his Omega in his arms. He chuckled and nuzzled his face into the sleek black hair. “I’ve kept you waiting, haven’t I?”

“What do you think?” The resentment was clear in Megumi’s voice. This bastard of an Alpha knew his classmates were watching, that was why he took so long to bring the food back! He purposely walked his way back so they would see everything!

“Just…hurry…!!”

“You should eat something first.” Gojo sat down on Megumi’s bed and pulled the Omega onto his lap. He raised a hand to set up a small screen around the room so they wouldn’t be disturbed. “You haven’t eaten anything since morning.”

“It’s fine, I need…” Megumi couldn’t even finish speaking before he wrapped his arms and legs around the Alpha. He pulled open his teacher’s collar and started rubbing their necks together.

“That excited are you?” Gojo muttered by his ears before Megumi let out a strained moan.

His body crumbled, feeling strength zapped out of him when the Alpha wrapped his mouth around one of his scent glands and sucked.

“Sensei…!!”

“I told you, call my name when it’s just the two of us, Megumi.” Gojo muttered against his ear, his large hand rubbing the Omega’s back before sliding downward.

Megumi shivered, his arms tightening around the Alpha’s neck and his long legs clamping around that strong hips. Despite the nervousness the Omega was displaying, that hand didn’t stop. It reached the Omega’s lower spine before the hand lifted, bypassing the tantalizing globes of flesh and tenderly touched the scent glands on his inner thighs.

Tears rolled out from the corner of his eyes and Megumi was immediately boneless in the Alpha’s arms. He panted heavily, eyes barely open as the Alpha licked at the scent glands on his neck while his fingers continued to stroke the ones inside his thighs.

“Megumi, did I ever tell you why I like zunda and cream flavoured Kikufuku?” Gojo gave that scent gland a hard kiss and was rewarded with a cute mewl from the Omega. He didn’t bother waiting for a reply because he knew Megumi wasn’t capable of words anymore. His brain was still functioning, he can still hear, but his body was no longer his to control.

“Because your scent is very similar to zunda. It’s mild, fragrant with a hint of sweetness. And your scent gland…”

“Aaah!” Megumi jumped when teeth lightly scraped over the sensitive glands while the scent gland on his thigh was pinched.

“Whenever you’re in Heat, your scent gland taste like the finest whipped cream. It’s simply exquisite. I just can’t get enough of that flavour…”

Megumi was slowly turning into a sobbing mess and the Alpha kept biting into his scent gland. It wasn’t hard enough to draw blood, but it was certainly hard enough to leave a nasty bruise. Gojo wanted nothing more than to break the skin—to taste the Omega’s blood and leave an unhealable scar on these scent glands so everyone will know that this Omega was taken.

But he can’t.

He can’t mark his Omega now.

“It makes me want to suck them dry so I could fill it up with my scent.” With that said, Gojo began to greedily suck on the tender scent gland. His mouth was instantly filled with the rich sweetness of the Omega’s pheromone. Normally, Gojo would take his time lapping at the scent glands and savouring it like a cat would do to cream, but for the first time, he was the one who became impatient.

All of this was due to Itadori.

Despite how he behaved, Gojo was an Alpha and Alphas all had a short fuse when it came to their Omegas. Gojo was no exception. Even if Itadori was a child, he was foremost an Alpha—the opposite gender of Omega. Letting the boy see Megumi up close like that made Gojo’s blood boil, yet it needed to be done.

He needed to show a certain curse who this Omega belonged to.

Gojo had long since noticed Sukuna’s interest towards his Omega.

Sukuna wanted his Omega, and Gojo wasn’t going to ever let that happen.

Fushiguro Megumi was his Omega and Gojo Satoru will be his only Alpha.

He wrapped one arm around the Omega’s back and spread his hand between the boy’s shoulder blades. He pushed the Omega against his body with so much force that Megumi could barely move. The Omega clutched onto his Alpha as the latter continued to gulp down his scent.

Once Gojo drank every last drop of the boy’s scent from that gland, he finally pulled his lips away. He admired the abused and shrivelled little scent gland before he turned his head to the other one and latched on.

Megumi could no longer see with all the tears flooding out of his eyes. He couldn’t even lift a finger. All he could do was let out obscene noises with the older Alpha thoroughly abusing his scent glands.

“Hah…” Gojo sighed blissfully when he released Megumi’s scent gland. He ran a tongue over his lips to catch any lingering trace of the delicious scent there.

It wasn’t enough.

It was never enough.

Gojo rubbed his calloused finger over the sensitive gland inside his student’s thigh, causing the body in his arm jerked violently.

His eyes dropped between the boy’s quivering legs, pushing up his shorts a bit more to reveal the scent glands hidden underneath.

Those poor glands were so red and plump that just staring at it made the Alpha’s mouth water. Gojo wanted to wrap his lips around those glands and suck them dry, but he can’t. Gojo heaved out a heavy sigh and nipped the raven’s cute earlobe. He ran a tongue over the abused scent glands on his neck, causing Megumi to shiver before finding the energy to move.

The Omega slowly pulled his head from where he was resting on the Alpha’s shoulder. He turned and under Gojo’s amused gaze, he pressed his lips against the man’s cheek.

“Cheeks are fine, right?”

Due to Megumi being too young (illegal), Gojo specifically set a bunch of rules for them and kissing was one of them. Sure touching each other’s scent glands was much more intimate than kissing, but it was necessary to relieve the Omega from the burns of his trial Heat.

While it was true that Gojo never specified what part they shouldn’t kiss (lips obviously), he never thought Megumi would ever take the initiative. He couldn’t stop the huge, silly grin from spreading on his face as he cradled Megumi and fell onto the bed.

“Yeah,” he answered, voice filled with happiness. “Hurry and grow up, Megumi!”

“You sound like a creep,” Megumi retorted, but buried his face into the Alpha’s neck and rubbed his nose against the man’s scent glands. The scent of the Alpha comforted him, especially during Heat where he felt extremely vulnerable.

“Ginger…”

“Hm?”

“You smell like ginger,” The Omega mumbled, seeming a bit embarrassed from how his gaze was drifting off to the side.

“Ginger, eh?” The Alpha laughed. Megumi suddenly felt a wave of irritation at not being able to completely see his mate’s face, so he reached up to the man’s face.

Gojo just sat there, not doing anything to stop those fingers from hooking around the blindfold and pulling it off his face. The moment the blindfold was off, a pair of beautiful blue eyes opened up, reflecting the image of Megumi like a pair of clear mirror.

The man smiled at his little mate before he leaned forward and pressed his lips against the Omega’s cheek.

“Cheeks are fine, right?” The Alpha muttered against the smooth skin, throwing Megumi’s words back at him. When he saw the colour blossoming throughout the raven’s face, he nearly laughed. He wanted to tease his little mate more, but he just took a bite of that soft cheek before pulling away. “Are you hungry?”

Megumi shook his head and buried his face into the Alpha’s chest. Gojo chuckled. He cuddled with the boy in his arms and ran a hand through the raven hair. It was only at times like this that the Omega allowed himself to be spoiled by his Alpha, so Gojo will make sure to thoroughly spoil him.

“Megumi.”

“What?”

“I love you.”

Gojo watched gleefully at the way the Omega froze in his arm and the colours on his face deepened.

“Hey Megumi~ Don’t you have anything to say back to me?” He teased, poking the boy’s side.

Megumi only buried his face deeper against the Alpha’s chest. Gojo heard him muttered three very special words. His grin grew wider and his poking on the boy persisted.

“What was that? I didn’t catch it, what did you say?”

“…I said go die.”

“No, no, I’m sure you said three words~”

“So you did hear it!”

“I didn’t! Come on, say it again, Me-gu-m—mph!”

Their conversation ended with Megumi slamming a pillow into his teacher’s face.

[giant-sketches]

First off I’d like to start off apologizing to all Logan fans for the last time I drew him. I forgot to add his tie and I hadn’t completely decided on how to draw his hair so sorry about that. Now I have a clearer idea of what I want him to look like in my style so I hope that makes up for my past mistake.

Recently I had a few people ask if there were going to be any moments of Virgil and Logan interacting besides the testing and I’m happy to present it to you all now! I hope you enjoy this latest installment and look forward to the next where we’ll be seeing just what Remus has planned for Roman.

Disclaimer: Moments described in this narrative depict actual symptoms and treatment of anxiety/panic attacks. You have been warned!

Logan: “Virgil! Virgil! I need you to wake up and tell me what happened. Where’s Roman?”

- Slowly Virgil turned his face upwards as his eyes struggled to focus on a concerned Logan. He was still at an enlarged size, but for some reason he was lying flat on the ground. He tried to think back to why, but all that came to mind was a blackened haze and the faint sound of screaming. Virgil’s ears ringed as he began rising to better look at Logan.

Logan: “Virgil, are you alright? You seem disoriented and may be suffering from a possible concussion. Can you tell me anything as to why you’re currently in this state?”

Virgil: “I-I’m not sure. My head’s all fu-fuzzy.”

- Once Virgil was back up and resting on his knees he took a moment to collect himself. Whatever had just happened knocked the wind out of him and he was sore all over.

Logan: “Listen, I don’t mean to rush you but I need to know where Roman is.”

Virgil: “What do you mean? Roman’s right….here?”

- Virgil went completely white as he frantically looked around him for Roman. He tried to call out, but his throat tightened. In a flash the memories were flooding back in intense waves. Suddenly, his heart started pounding and he collapsed forward in pain. Feelings of nausea overwhelmed him as he began to shake vigorously. Virgil was experiencing an anxiety attack as his body began to remember the pressure of Remus’s boot suffocating him underneath it. His mind was filled with the screams of Roman pleading for Virgil to help him. Then only darkness remained as he had lost consciousness.

Logan: “Virgil I need you to look at me.”

Virgil: “I can’t, I-”

Logan: “Yes you can, now look at me. Focus on my voice and turn towards me.”

Virgil: “I-I’ll try.”

- Meekly, Virgil looked up at Logan. He had his arms outstretched and was walking towards him. As he rested his hands on Virgil’s face he smiled and spoke again.

Logan: “Good, now I need you to keep looking only at me and breath deeply. In and out, in and out, keep it up.”

- Virgil did as he was told. He could feel the tightness around his chest begin to fade, but he continued to shake. His eyes filled with tears as he kept thinking back to the moment Roman was snatched from his arms and how he was unable to save Roman. He closed his eyes in frustration.

Logan: “Virgil! Don’t stop now. Remember you’re safe, you have nothing to fear here. I’m here for you know.”

Virgil: “I-I couldn’t save him Logan. It was all so su-sudden and even though I had the ability to do something...I couldn’t muster any strength. Be-because of me Ro-Ro-Roman’s gone!”

Logan: “This is not your fault, none of this is your fault. You are currently experiencing an anxiety attack so your mind and body is responding to past fear and trauma. What you need to do now is look at me and continue breathing deeply in order to calm yourself down.”

Virgil: “I-I lost him Logan! Don’t you understand that, it was because of me that Remus found us and took him. How can I calm down when who knows what he might be doing to him right now?”

Logan: “We will rescue him, all of us together, I promise.”

Virgil: “What can I even do to help when I’m like this?”

Logan: “You can get bigger.”

Virgil: “What?”

- Virgil snapped his eyes open again at Logan’s shocking remark. Did he just tell Virgil to get bigger in his current state? Was that supposed to be some kind of joke...no Logan didn’t really tell jokes, especially in serious situations like this. Does that mean he was being serious?

Virgil: “You can’t b-be serious! Right now I can barely control my emotions, let alone my size.”

Logan: “That’s exactly why I suggested you get bigger. Your growth is tied to your emotions and if you were to get bigger it would be equivalent to letting off steam. That’s why it feels so good for you to grow, it’s similar to relaxation techniques.”

Virgil: “Are you serious?”

Logan: “Always.”

- Still doubtful Virgil, decided to trust in Logan’s words and closed his eyes in order to concentrate. He breathed in and then out as he started to expand cautiously. As he kept on he really did feel all his anxieties soften as his heart rate slowed and the nausea disappeared. Gradually, Virgil lifted his torso back up and un-clenched his chest as the pain had subsided. He opened his eyes and lowered his gaze down towards a now much smaller looking Logan.

Logan: “How do you feel now?”

Virgil: “I feel a lot better, thank you.”

Logan: “You’re quite welcome, however I suggest you grow a bit more.”

Virgil: “I’m like 25 feet tall, why do I need to get bigger?”

Logan: “Now that you’ve calmed down we need to begin our rescue operation of Roman. At this moment Remus is still within this side of the realm, but Patton is still at the fort.”

Virgil: “Patton didn’t come with you?”

Logan: “That is correct. He turned in early for the night after he tired himself out at the welcome party.”

Virgil: “So then you decided to come out here on your own? Why not try to wake up Patton first and come together?”

Logan: “I had no inclination to assume that something of this magnitude had occurred and I felt it best not to interrupt Patton’s sleep cycle if there was no present urgency. As it was getting late, I began scanning the area for your footprints and eventually came across you collapsed on the ground and Roman nowhere to be found.”

Virgil: “Yeah, Remus appeared all of a sudden from behind the trees and ambushed us. He grabbed Roman right out of my arms as he was sleeping and pinned me to the ground by  smashing his boot on top of me before I could react. I think because of how sudden it was I wasn’t able to stay awake and passed out soon after.”

Logan: “I hope you understand that with such an attack there was nothing you could do.”

Virgil: “I understand, it….still sucks though. If I hadn’t grown so much, he may have never spotted us.”

Logan: “Is that really how he found you?”

Virgil: “What do you mean? How else would he have found us?”

Logan: “I can’t be sure yet, but can you remember anything he may have said to you before passing out?”

Virgil: “I’m not sure…”

- Virgil closed his eyes and thought for a moment. It all happened so fast and all he could focus on was Roman’s screams, but in the background he could faintly hear Remus laughing. As Virgil focused on that, Remus’s face surfaced from the darkness and he could see his mouth forming words. What was he saying? Virgil blocked out anything else besides Remus and zoomed in on his mouth. Instantly, Virgil flung his eyes open and shouted,

Virgil: “HE CALLED ME SMALL!”

Logan: “Excuse me?”

Virgil: “I remembered! Remus was laughing and said it was funny how I had gotten smaller since the last time he saw me. Doesn’t that mean he didn’t see me when I was in the valley?”

Logan: “It would appear so.”

Virgil: “Th-then how did he find us?”

Logan: “It was both of your deodorant.”

Virgil: “You’re kidding right?”

Logan: “I wish I was, but no. Remus has always enjoyed the smell and...taste of deodorant and is able to locate people based on the kind they use.”

Virgil: “That’s so messed up.”

Logan: “Indeed. Nonetheless, now you know that this incident wasn’t your fault in the slightest.”

Virgil: “You’re right. I feel a lot better now. Thank you again.”

Logan: “Glad to hear it, now I still need you to grow bigger so we can make it back to the fort hastily and pick up Patton.”

Virgil: “You got it!”

- With that Virgil jumped from 25 feet to 50 feet in a matter of seconds and reached down to scoop up Logan as he got to his feet. Virgil placed Logan on his shoulder gingerly and wiped away his remaining tears.

Virgil: “You ready.”

Logan: “Let’s go!”

- With that Virgil and Logan marched back to the fort to retrieve Patton and tell him what had happened. As they regrouped they set their sights on the caves Remus was known to hideout in and prayed Roman was still okay. However, he was far from it.

To be continued.

@gentlegiantdreamer @paranoidgurl @crystalk17 @suckedinfandoms @pattonvirglsanders @enby-phoenix @sanders-sides-virgil @just-some-gt-trash @notkolaidoscop @bluegreeninbtwn @lgbtqiaemo @avenirunknown @rainbowbowtie @ncanspeak @maryann-draws @himeperson @perfectly-princely-emo-nightmare @daydreamburritoworld

Gosh this tag list has gotten quick big...I hope I got everyone. Please do keep asking to be added if you’d like or check the tag mass emotions ts for all the posts related to the story thus far. Thank you again for reading!

[soundwavefucker69]

Any new snippets or one shots you wish to share?

Alright, no one’s met Florrun yet soooo....

As one, the generals and commanding officers turned to look up at the descending gunship, and Tibalt tipped his head in confusion, scratching at his horns in that way that he did when he was thoroughly perplexed. Next to him, Skywalker let out an equally confused huff, and Kenobi put his hand up over his eyes as the gunship set down and opened its doors to reveal…

What?

Vode in blue paint slid out, meaning the transport must have landed with Yularen before they were all forced out, and Grim squinted at the two mini Jedi stepping out of the gunship. A Togruta female, with dusky red skin and cream and blue lekku, dressed in a tube top, (who let a child go into a war zone with that little protection), lightsaber on her hip and head tilted as her eyes flicked between the three Jedi. Another mini Jedi followed her, a salmon pink Quarren in a sleeveless gray Jedi tunic, safety goggles set on their head, two sabers strapped to a thick belt, and a black kama of all things over the baggy gray Jedi pants tucked into black boots.

The two were clearly barely teenagers. The Togruta couldn’t be more than fourteen, and the Quarren had to be about the same age. Didn’t apprenticeships generally start younger than that, anyways? Tibalt had told him they lasted around ten years, even though his own had only lasted eight, but there were extenuating circumstances. The youngest Jedi Knights he knew were Skywalker and Tibalt, and the ones older than that were in their early twenties or the species equivalent. These Padawans were… old.

… The war effort.

A stone dropped in his gut as he realized just why these kids were here and looking so old. None of the other masters must have wanted them, but they were losing knights too fast and had to fill the ranks rather than send the young ones to the corps like they generally did with aged out Initiates that didn’t get picked. Which meant either they had personality issues, or they just weren’t very strong.

“Wasn’t there supposed to only be one?” Rex muttered, and Grim tilted his head.

“Don’t think my general had a Padawan coming. He would’ve told us.”

“Skywalker definitely didn’t, he’s been complaining about the council bugging him to pick one for a week now,” Rex replied.

“Master Skywalker,” the Togruta said and strode forward to the general before bowing politely. “My name is Ahsoka Tano. I’m your Padawan.”

“So, you’re mine?” General Kenobi asked the Quarren as Skywalker dissolved into a coughing fit.

“Sorry, what?” Skywalker wheezed as the Quarren paused in obvious discomfort.

“No, I’ve been assigned to Knight Beleren,” they said, and now Grim was choking, because what?

Not with Tibalt’s thermal detonator obsession, they kriffing were. No kriffing way. No.

“Pull yourself together, vod’ika,” Cody hissed as Grim fell into a coughing fit while Tibalt looked panicked as hells, Kenobi looked wildly lost, and Skywalker looked beyond pissed.

“I want to put General Beleren in a child harness on a daily basis, and they want me to keep track of a baby Jedi too?” Grim hissed as he coughed harshly into his helmet.

“Well, don’t panic in front of the Jedi cadet!” Cody whispered. “They can smell fear!”

“There’s got to be a mistake, Kenobi was the only one that asked for a Padawan,” Tibalt said, sounding just a little desperate, and he just got calmed down, kriffing hells.

“No, you’re definitely my master,” the Quarren said, unbearably patient. “I’m Florrun Qin. I’ve got the paperwork right here.”

The Padawan pulled a datapad out of seemingly nowhere and offered it to Tibalt, who nearly snatched it out of their hand and looked it over.

“Why would they do this,” Tibalt asked, making it sound more like a statement as Skywalker just glowered at the poor Togruta who hadn’t asked for this harsh welcome.

“I imagine they thought you would be best suited to guide me through the psychological trauma of puberty,” the Quarren stated, completely deadpan, though there was an undercurrent of amusement in their tone. “Seeing as there are not many Knights or Masters like…”

The Quarren trailed off, and Grim vaguely felt the need to collapse, because of course they were going to be funny. Of course. This was going to be a nightmare.

“Breathe, vode,” Cody said, his voice far too amused to be soothing Grim and Rex as they both stood there in various degrees of unseen panic.

“What does that even mean?” Tibalt demanded. “Mace and Yoda know what I have on my plate, how am I supposed to…?” A frustrated noise escaped his lips and he turned aside as Skywalker just flat out demanded the Togruta’s paperwork… Commander Tano?

… Grim was going to be taking orders from an actual child. Fantastic.

“I assume you do what you need to do with dignity,” the Quarren drawled, entirely too snide for a teenager, or perhaps just snide enough, and Tibalt stared at them for a long, long moment.

“Are you sure you’re not assigned to Kenobi?” He asked, just as the thought darted across Grim’s mind at the same mind, and Kenobi made an affronted noise.

“I would have never mouthed off in such a way as a Padawan,” he said, thoroughly offended, and Tibalt gave him a disparaging look.

“All due respect, Master Kenobi, that was probably a detriment to you, with a Master like Qui-Gon Jinn,” he retorted and Kenobi opened and shut his mouth several times.

“You aren’t wrong, but do you mind, Knight Beleren?” He said, and the three officers exchanged glances in the face of a bizarre instance of Jedi rank pulling.

“General right now, General,” Tibalt said smugly, apparently getting it together at subsonic speeds. “Alright, Florrun, I don’t know if this is some kind of paperwork snafu, but we’re in the middle of a battle right now, so we’ll get it worked out when this is over. Meantime, let’s introduce you to the vode you’ll be getting to know while you’re stuck with me. Grim!”

“Yessir!” Grim snapped to attention and Tibalt waved him over to a ways away from the fuming Skywalker and Kenobi focusing his attempts on pacifying them. Tibalt probably just wanted to get out of that ‘family drama’.

“Florrun, this is Commander Grim,” Tibalt said. “Technically, you outrank him, or have the same rank, since you’re Commander Qin out here, but he’s been through a good chunk of battles with me, has way more experience than your tiny self, so he’s in charge. Grim, this is Padawan Florrun Qin. Florrun, pronouns?”

“They/them, Master,” Florrun said with a slight bow, and Grim overlooked them critically. They needed some armor. There was a collection of tools on their wide belt and a pouch, likely for tinkering, and he breathed out a prayer that they wouldn’t turn a fighter or stars forbid The Anticipation itself into a pet project. He’d heard horror stories from other commanders with gearhead Jedi, including Rex.

“Nice to meet you, Commander,” Grim said as he really took in his apparent co-Commander for the time being. Dappled salmon pink skin, deep set, small, blue eyes, three thick fingers on each hand, goggles on their head, with a small cut on their left protruding lekku. They really didn’t belong on a desert planet like Christophis. Did they have sunscreen on? They were going to get burned, and he knew that skin was going to get dried out very easily. “... Hope you packed your sunscreen.”

“I did, Commander,” Commander Qin said with a deep incline of their head, perfectly polite and sweet as sugar, like they hadn’t just mouthed off to their master who was apparently still on the fence about even accepting them.

Fearless. Polite. That was going to be a problem.

“Alright, Florrun, you got here at a really weird time, so why don’t I fill you in while Kenobi, uh, explains the virtues to Skywalker. Sometimes he needs refreshers,” Tibalt said and very painfully obviously steered the three of them away from The Negotiator trying to calm down the frantic Skywalker.

No wonder Kenobi was such a sweet talker, raising a menace like that.

“So, we’re about to slip in and take out a shield generator with Skywalker and Tano, was it? That’s been giving us some grief,” Tibalt explained while Grim gave him yet another once over to make sure he wasn’t about to have a freakout. There had been a building meltdown in these past few months, and Grim was really hoping Tibalt was going to do his best to time it for the end of this battle.

“The shield generator?” Florrun repeated and stood on their tiptoes for the briefest of moments to look over Tibalt’s head.

Oh. Oh, they were going to be taller than Tibalt.

That was going to hit his pride hard.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Strength

(I don’t even know what this is, the idea assaulted me in the middle of driving to class and I had to get it down. Enjoy it)

“You’re alright, right? He didn’t get you?” Not waiting for an answer, Jackie started patting down his friend in search of injuries. “The hospital is close, and Schneep’s on duty so if we want to not talk about this we don’t have to—”

Jackie’s frantic searching was stopped when JJ grabbed his hands, holding them in his for a moment before letting go. He signed, I’m perfectly alright. You don’t have to go to such a fuss.

“You’re sure?” Jackie asked, skeptical. “That dude had a knife! He didn’t—didn’t hurt you?”

JJ smiled, then spread his arms wide and did a little turn. A little banged up, but no worse for wear.

Jackie let out the breath he’d been holding. “Okay, if you’re sure. But I’m walking with you the rest of the way. Where were you going?”

Just to the shop. I was out of tea. You don’t have to come with me.

“I’m gonna do it anyway.”

JJ sighed in a “well, if you insist” manner, then smiled a bit again, smaller this time. He turned down the street and beckoned for Jackie to follow, which he did.

Jackie watched the sun set above the buildings of the city. It was gonna get dark quickly as soon as it traveled below the horizon. And dark meant dangerous, especially for someone like JJ who dressed fancy and looked friendly and vulnerable. “Hey JJ,” Jackie said. “I think...I think I should start teaching you how to fight.”

JJ looked so surprised it was almost comical. Why?

“Why? Because!” Jackie gestured back behind them. “Because the only reason you didn’t end up mugged or worse was because I was walking home from work at the same time! You could’ve been hurt, so I think you need to learn how to stop that from happening.”

Jameson was already shaking his head. I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think it’s needed.

“You don’t have to become a master brawler or anything, just know enough to defend yourself,” Jackie rushed to say. “If you want to quit after the basics, you can.”

Jackie. The name sign for Jackie was a strange two-handed gesture, combining the sign for the letter J with the one for the word “hero.” You’re very kind, but it’s really not necessary. I get along well enough.

“No offense, but that’s a bit of bullshit right there.” Jackie looked away. “There’s...not always gonna be one of us around to protect you. You really just got lucky today. And I don’t want you to end up hurt because you weren’t strong enough to protect yourself. I know nobody else does either. So...just for a little bit, okay?”

Silence. Well, not like there was an option for much else. Jackie realized it was sort of rude to not look at someone who uses sign language to talk. He was just turning around again when something hit him, hard, in the face. He stumbled a bit, looking around for an attacker, when another fist swung out of nowhere and slammed into his stomach. Something knocked his legs out, and he toppled to the ground, landing hard on his side. He gasped for breath.

JJ leaned over, wiggling his fingers in a friendly wave. I’d like to point out that if somebody had a knife NOW, you would be in a fair spot of trouble.

Jackie had managed to regain his breath. “How’d you do that?!”

I’m not as helpless as you assume me to be. Need a hand?

He accepted the hand in question and let JJ pull him up. “But...seriously, how did you do that? And why didn’t you do that earlier, when the guy was threatening you to hand over your cash or else?”

Jameson shoved his hands in his pockets, the sign language equivalent of not knowing what to say. He stared off down the street, an impossible expression on his face. Jackie felt something well up in his chest. Even though he knew that Jameson was technically older than any of them, he always sort of...didn’t realize it. But the look in his eyes now truly drove that point home.

Jackie, I have done a great deal of harm in my life, he finally signed.

“That wasn’t you! That was—”

He raised a hand, silencing him. I know that. But it doesn’t change the fact that it was my hands doing those awful deeds. I couldn’t do anything but watch people get hurt for the longest time. So, once I regained the power of choice, my first one was that there would be no more harm done by me. For no reason whatsoever. And that’s a principle I’ll stick to.

Jackie didn’t say anything. In all honesty, he didn’t know if there was anything he could say. This was a situation he knew nothing about, a situation that he very much doubted anyone in the world could fully relate to. “Okay,” he finally whispered. “Okay. JJ...I hope you know we don’t want you to get hurt. And I hope you know that—that I think you should still protect yourself sometimes. But I won’t force you to do that if you don’t want to.”

JJ looked back at him, relief etched in his features. Thank you for your understanding, my good man. I believe violence can always be avoided in favor of better alternatives. 

Jackie nodded. “Well. Yeah, most of the time. And we’ll be just a text away if you ever need us for the rest of the time. You got that figured out, right?”

Of course! I’m not a child.

“No.” Jackie grinned. “Today’s children know how to use a phone.” He laughed at the exaggerated offense on JJ’s face. “You know I love you, dude. Now come on, the shop might close soon.”

The rest of the walk passed in silence, without incident. 

[dunkjrk]

oblivious i

pairing: don x y/n

word count: 1.5k (part one is v short yikes)

warnings: slaughterhouse spoilers, cursing, sex references and mentions of suicide

a/n: hI hELLO uHHh heres my attempt at writing for don bc wHATTA BEAN,, i hope i did his character justice!! if anyone’s read hades! michael you might recognize he recycled description of finn bc i can’t write descriptions for sHiT whoopS anyway,,, this’ll probably be up long after it’s been out but the spoiler warning still stands :)) also for anyone who doesn’t know what upper sixth is it’s the equivalent of a senior x

When the clicking of Mrs Wallace’s heels had drowned out, y/n was quick to jolt out of Don’s bed, clearing her throat.“Right, um I should probably get going too.” She mumbled, fiddling with the edge of the skirt hanging from her hips, and ignoring the heat rising on her cheeks under his intense gaze.“No!” He said, his voice raised slightly in protest as it cracked slightly due to his sudden shout, startling her and stopping her right in her tracks. “I mean, uh you should stay! Yeah you should stay, I’ll need someone to show me how to get to the main hall anyway.” He continued, trailing off with a sheepish grin.Y/n briefly glanced up at him, barely making eye contact before averting her gaze anywhere else but his. The faintest of smirks shadowed his lips at her actions, feeling a strong endearment towards the girl pretending to be oblivious to his stare by playing with the hem of her skirt. “I mean, that’s what I’m here for but don’t worry, I think she fancies you too.” Will interrupted with a wink. A knowing smirk playing on his lips as he took in the scene unfolding before him.

or

y/n has a small crush on the new boy 

She spotted him before he spotted her.

It was safe to say Y/n’s first meeting with Don didn’t go as smoothly as she would’ve hoped, and much to her dismay (and her best friend’s delight), Will relentlessly teases her about it.

Y/n knew full well she wasn’t supposed to be in the boys’ half of the dorms, let alone comfortably spread out in a deep sleep on the spare bed in Will’s room. It had never crossed her mind that the new term would most likely bring someone new in the use it, hence why she was woken up with a rough jab to her side, with a harsh whisper of ‘are you dead or something, fuckin’ wake up!’

Four sets of eyes watched her jolt from the bed, barely escaping slipping off the edge as she did. In her typical fashion, y/n had no only messed up again, but messed up on her first day back of school. A new record. Y/n had told her mum that this year she was going to put her head down and focus in school and starting sixth form seemed like the best time to put this into practice, but given the current circumstances, y/n couldn’t help but wonder how she’d convince her mum to overlook her being caught sleeping in a boys dorm.

“Miss y/n,” Mr Houseman sighed, a look the read ‘fed up but not surprised’ etched into his features as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Would you care to explain what your duty is in Mr Wallace’s bed?” The older man enquired, leaning against the door- conveniently covering Seymour’s name plaque placed next to Will’s. Sneaky bastard. Being Will’s best friend, y/n was his shoulder to cry when Seymour killed himself, and so naturally she was aware of the situation. Mr Houseman’s snarl of ‘I thought I told you to take that down’ didn’t go unnoticed by y/n, though she was too preoccupied with staring at the boy next to him to even bother to see Will’s reaction.

The boy’s face was unfamiliar, and had it not been for Will’s obnoxious cough she would have been able to analyze him to her heart's content, but the expectant look he sent her way made her swallow her inhibitions and clear her throat.

“Uh, sleeping?”

An eye roll and a quick snatch of the ‘Seymour’ plaque off of the door was the only form of a reply he graced her with before leaving the room, the clicking of his shoes fading down the hallway being the only sound that prevented the atmosphere slipping into an awkward silence.

“So, are you Don’s roommates?” A voice spoke up, presumably his mother. She wore an inviting smile, the type y/n couldn’t help but feel comfortable around. It vaguely crossed her mind as to whether her son had the same smile. His features were striking enough, something she’d been able to gather from the few moments she’d stolen a glance at him. The boy that stood before her was clad in the charcoal grey uniform she knew all too well, topped off with a yellow tie highlighting his forest orbs. ‘House Sparta’. The ash brown waves of locks on his head lay perfectly in place, apart from the single strand of stray hair that caressed his right cheekbone. He had a somewhat diamond shaped face, with defined and sturdy features; and of course a jawline sharp enough to cut the tension growing in the room.

Fortunately for her, Will’s quick reactions saved her from her potential future mother in law judging her (y/n was quite the hopeless romantic).

“Yeah, uh yes Mrs Wallace. I’m Willoughby Blake, I’ll be your son’s roommate for the rest of the year.”

Don’s eyes flitted to the girl, now sitting up but still snuggled up in what he assumed were his sheets. From Mr Houseman’s comment, he inferred she was y/n. A smile worked its way onto his face at the idea of the girl currently doing everything in her power to avoid his gaze being his roommate, it even eased the idea of being stuck in an unfamiliar school full of prestige middle class children for the next two years, and if anything Don could even say he wouldn’t mind it if he could be around the doe eyed girl for the duration of his sixth form experience.  

“Lovely to meet you Willoughby. Uh, I should get going then. Be good, you, and I’ll see you at the end of the term.” She told her son, pecking him quickly on the cheek and sending a friendly smile in Will’s and y/n’s directions before making her way down the hallway, leaving a growing silence to fall over the three teens.

When the clicking of Mrs Wallace’s heels had drowned out, y/n was quick to jolt out of Don’s bed, clearing her throat.

“Right, um I should probably get going too.” She mumbled, fiddling with the edge of the skirt hanging from her hips, and ignoring the heat rising on her cheeks under his intense gaze.

“No!” He said, his voice raised slightly in protest as it cracked slightly due to his sudden shout, startling her and stopping her right in her tracks. “I mean, uh you should stay! Yeah you should stay, I’ll need someone to show me how to get to the main hall anyway.” He continued, trailing off with a sheepish grin.

Y/n briefly glanced up at him, barely making eye contact before averting her eyes anywhere else but his. The faintest of smirks shadowed his lips at her actions, feeling a strong endearment towards the girl pretending to be oblivious to his stare by playing with the hem of her skirt.

“I mean, that’s what I’m here for but don’t worry, I think she fancies you too.” Will interrupted with a wink. A knowing smirk playing on his lips as he took in the scene unfolding before him.

Will was very blunt. For y/n, it was either a blessing or a curse. There were times when she was very thankful for his quick tongue, such as a instance in year ten when y/n had ran into a year eleven in a clumsy rush to get to sixth period. Unfortunately for her, it was Clemsie Lawrence and her clique, the single most loved student in the school. Fortunately for her, her best friend was Willoughby Blake, the single most outspoken student in the school. It was a genuine mistake, y/n and Will had three minutes to get to Latin because he had insisted on stopping to eat a cookie, and now the pair were essentially legging it down the ancient corridors in hopes of getting to class on time. Their hopes were cut short however as they turned a corner, and y/n slammed straight into the blonde year eleven. Various sneers of ‘Watch where you’re fucking going’ echoed through the nearly empty corridor as the younger of the students attempted to mumble a spew of apologies. Apologies that seemed to fall on deaf ears however, which was to be expected really, seeing as year elevens considered themselves to be superior to the rest of the school- especially when they're Clemsie Lawrence or one of her associates. “I uh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking and-” “No y/n it wasn’t your fault.” Will spoke up, a faint grin of reassurance being sent her way before he averted his gaze to the group of girls watching with disgust. “If anyone here should be apologizing it should be you.” Y/n was quick to tug at his sleeve when he was met with blank stares and even a few giggles. She knew as soon as one of Clemsie’s friends opened her mouth they were in for it. “You know, when I was in year ten, I wouldn’t dare to speak to a year eleven, let alone like that. Before your girlfriend nearly ran us over and you decided to get brave, I didn’t mind year tens, looks like you fucked it up for your whole year.” Y/n gulped. Even if Clemsie hadn’t actually spoken herself yet, it was clear from the way she was staring down at her, she had definitely landed herself in the school sweetheart’s bad books. Though that being said, he seemed unphased, and without missing a beat Will replied. “Funny you say that, because I was pro life before this run in, but you, too are making me questions my beliefs.” He sighed, feigning disappointment whilst turning away and gripping the shorter girl’s hand who was now biting back a smile. “Oh, and,” He continued, pausing his walk and turning to the group with a sickeningly sweet smile. “ I’m gay.” Ever since that literal run in, y/n was right to assume she and Clemsie hadn’t been on the best of terms.

Their faces fell at his comment. Don looked pale, his eyes wide as if he’d just seen a ghost. Y/n looked on the verge of tears as she watched Will laugh with frantic eyes.

“Calm down, bloody hell you two I’m joking! I’m gay, what do I know about straight messes.” He snickered, patting Don on the back before heading out.

Y/n cleared her throat, hastily heading for the door, “I uh, we should probably go.” She barely even whispered, practically running down the dorms corridor after Will, leaving Don to fend for himself as he watched with a fond smile. For a gay boy, Will truly was spot on about this straight mess.

[peachscribe]

Where Nico is in the army and he comes back after 4 years to finally start college and he is Will's roommate

look at me actually doing another one of my prompts so soon after i did the last one

i gotta admit i thought ths prompt was great but i wasn’t expecting it to get so out of hand. like. it’s so long. normally i post from mobile but here i am actually on a computer to add in a cut beCASUSE IT’S SO UNBELIEVABLY LONG brace yourself

also the last time i tried to add in a cut something weird happened where it wouldn’t show what i had written after the cut so if anything weird like that happens again don’t be afraid to let me know like ya’ll did last time

also before we get started: ((tw)) there’s some kinda graphic nightmares and one of the characters has a panic attack. just a psa for anyone who’s sensitive to that kind of stuff

The reassimilation process was something Nico had not looked forward to. Seeing friends after years of being apart, eating his favorite sugary cereal, taking naps whenever he wanted? Easy. Getting to know what life was like without fear? Probably a bit harder.

Nico had snuck into the army when he should've been a senior in high school. Of course, he was found out a bit later on and forced to complete his studies online.

(Which seemed very stupid to Nico at the time. War was happening right in front of everyone's faces, but they were focusing on the meaningless studies of a kid who didn't care too much about stuff like that. And then the war ended and suddenly Nico had no clue what to do with himself. He was glad the Sargent Reyna had forced him to finish high school.)

Without the rigidity of the army and the war providing Nico with some sort of purpose, he found himself enrolling in a quiet university to maybe get a degree in psychology or some other -ology. Tuition was free thanks to his four year service, and nothing was really holding him back, so he just decided to full on commit and live in the dorms.

Maybe communal living would help the assimilation process.

Nico had expected a roommate who talked little to him and minded his own business because Nico could get scary. What he did not expect was a boy the human equivalent of a Labrador retriever who only ceased to be quiet when he slept throwing paper planes at the ceiling and asking about the meaning of shades of the same color in different contexts.

"Blue like the sky during the day time is sort of associated with hope, you know? Because it's bright and lighter," Will was saying, carefully folding another sheet of written-on notebook paper. Nico could only assume that the paper was Will's notes from that day. "But blue like the night sky is darker, and therefore holds a certain heavy weight to it." He threw the paper plane up at the ceiling. It flew up, bounced on the lights, and then crashed nose-first on the carpet. "Do you get what I'm saying?"

Glancing at his watch, Nico looked at the half-finished history paper on his laptop screen, the cursor blinking at him tauntingly. "I'm going to get something to eat," he said, standing up from the small desk and ignoring Will entirely, which was something he had grown quite used to doing after only a couple of weeks of living with him.

Will scrambled up from his lounging position on his bed. "Hey, can I come with you?"

"You've normally already eaten by this time." Nico checked his watch to make sure. 7:32. He was right, of course. Will ate dinner with his friends down in the cafeteria at 6:15 every weekday, and Nico always left the campus to get food at 7:30.

"Well, I've been thinking."

This was probably going in no direction Nico would like.

"And it's been two whole weeks since the semester started, and we haven't really talked, you know?" Nico did know. He was doing it on purpose. "And I just think that we should probably get to know each other better if we're going to be sharing the same living space for a year."

Despite how much he hated the logic of it coming from Will, he knew that he was right. In the army, people had to get to know each other fast to build trust and to make shared life in wartimes easier. If he dragged his feet on actually communicating with Will, there was a chance he'd come to hate this normal life.

So he shrugged. "Okay."

-

They arrived at Nico's usual dinner place (which might've actually had a real name, but the broken neon sign at the front said only 'EAT' so that's what Nico referred to it as in his mind) at 7:58. Will had been chattering away the entire walk to Eat, and Nico tried his best to pay attention.

He slid into his usual corner booth, and the teenage waitress he had come to recognize walked up without a pen and pad. It seemed she was also starting to recognize Nico and his routine.

"Junior burger with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, French fries and a strawberry milkshake?" she asked, and Nico nodded. She turned to Will. "What about you?"

"Um." He looked around for a menu. He didn't find one. "The adult burger? All the way."

"Fries with that?" the waitress asked, seemingly unbothered by Will's reference to a regular burger as an adult burger, though Nico had to try to muffle an ugly snort.

"Yes, please." Will still looked a bit awkward.

"And what to drink?"

"Do you have orange Fanta?" The waitress nodded. "Then I'll have that."

"It'll be right out," she promised, walking back to the kitchen to relay their order.

"How does she know your order?" Will asked once the waitress was out of sight, leaning in as he did so. As if the question was something scandalous.

"I come here every weekday," Nico said with a shrug, not bothering to keep his voice low or lean in like Will had.

"You really have schedule for yourself, don't you?" Will asked after a moment, looking a little incredulous. "Like, I noticed it after the first week, but you always have these set times you come and go, and now you come to the same place everyday?" He let out a low whistle, shaking his head a little.

Nico didn't understand why Will found this fact so hard to believe, but he nodded a little anyway.

"Anyway," Will said, picking up the salt shaker and fiddling with it in his hands. "You didn't strike me as the strawberry milkshake sort of type."

Again, Nico had no clue as to the significance of such a basic decision. "I just am, I guess. I like sweet stuff," he admitted, watching as Will put the salt shaker down to fiddle with the pepper shaker.

"What's your favorite?"

"Anything really," he answered, tracing the grains of the wood and giving a little shrug. "I wasn't able to have anything sweet for a while, so I've just been picking up where I left of and eating any sweet stuff I can."

They both gave a nod of thanks to the waitress as she set down their drinks before walking off. Nico took a small slurp of his milkshake, relishing the taste of it. Will watched as he did so.

"Why not?" Nico looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, why weren't you able to eat anything sweet?"

Nico shifted uncomfortably, carefully analyzing his options. He could tell Will about his service, but then Will would know for sure that Nico had fought in the war because of how recent it was, and it could change how he interacted with him. Despite how intrusive Will was almost every waking moment of the day, Nico liked that he never treated him like he was fragile or scary. The other option was lying, which would probably not hold for long. And that could risk a future friendship with him.

He stared out of the window to the road, lit up by street lamps. People walked by, immersed in their own conversations, or walking peacefully by themselves.

"I served in the army."

Will blinked at him, though Nico only knew it because he was looking at Will's reflection in the window rather than his face. "You mean...?"

"Yes, I served in the war."

"Oh." Will sat back, and Nico braced himself for the onslaught of questions.

(Did he serve active duty? Did he ever kill someone? Interesting stories or scars?)

"Wait. How old are you?"

Nico was so surprised by the question that he actually turned to look at Will in the eyes. "What?"

"Like-" Will made a vague gesture with his hands, seeming to search for the right words. "You look so young. Er, well, not really, because the way you hold yourself isn't like a kid and the look in your eyes isn't either, but your physical stature is very..." He trailed off, making another vague gesture, but this time at Nico.

"I don't know if I should be offended."

"No!" Will exclaimed, waving his hands frantically. "That's not what I meant. You're really handsome in an adult sort of way" - Will's face was turning an alarming shade of red - "it's just you're kinda... small."

Nico stared blankly at Will, whose blush was now creeping under the collar of his shirt. He got the feeling that Will didn't say 'small' to be demeaning.

The waitress came by with their food, and Nico watched as Will desperately tried to get a hold of himself. He decided he might as well relieve him a little bit.

"I was a bit young when I joined," Nico said, grabbing the ketchup to squirt a quarter-sized amount of it on his plate.

Will cleared his throat, no doubt glad that the focus was off of his inability to express his words right. "How young?"

Nico thought for a second. "I believe that I had just turned seventeen at the time."

A piece of Will's burger suddenly lodged in his throat, and Nico stared in mild concern as Will coughed violently before taking a large swig of his orange Fanta. "But that would mean you were still in high school!"

The patty on Nico's burger wasn't perfectly aligned with the bun. He fixed it absently. "I snuck in. I did finish my high school course online, though."

Will stared at him, a strange look of awe on his face that Nico didn't quite understand. "That seems a little heroic," he said, and Nico's jaw clenched. "In like a dumb movie protagonist sort of way," Will continued.

Nico let out an ugly snort.

-

As the weeks passed, Nico slipped into a comfortable routine. His classes weren't as on-schedule as he hoped, but he went to Eat with Will on Monday's, Wednesday's, and Friday's, and on the weekends they made macaroni and cheese for lunch and soup for dinner. Sometimes they'd go hang out with Will's friends, though that was only on Saturday's and Nico didn't think he liked it being part of his routine. He preferred it much better when it was just himself or himself and Will.

He would go jogging in the mornings and ignore the nightmares that woke him up in the middle of the night.

Nico was stretching by a bench, trying to loosen his muscles a little before he jogged back to the dorm. It wasn't too early in the morning, though there was a certain chill in the air that cooled the back of his throat and made his breath come out like puffs of mist. He checked his watch. 7:27. Will was most certainly still asleep.

Just as Nico was about to take off again, his cellphone vibrated in his sweatpants pocket. "Nico," he answered without checking called ID.

"Hey," came a groggy voice through the phone that Nico immediately recognized. "Annabeth just woke me up to remind me that you had started school nearby."

Nico didn't mention that he had been going to school for a little over two months. "Hey, Percy."

"It's been a while, Neeks," he said, and there was some slight shuffling, like he was getting out of bed. "I wanted to meet up with you again sometime soon. That cool?"

"Tell me when and where."

Percy rattled off coordinates and Nico took the phone away from his ear, saving a note with the numbers and promising to look up the destination later. They decided to meet up in a month when both of their schedules would align.

"I'm going to try to get a couple more hours of sleep in," Percy said, and Nico heard him stifle a yawn. "It's always easier to sleep when it's light outside, you know?"

"I know, Perce," Nico said, his voice grim as he reached down to touch his toes. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"The same goes for you," Percy responded. Nico ended the call.

He jogged back to the dorm, listening to the sound of his breathing and the slap of his shoes on the sidewalk.

Nico accidentally woke Will up as he opened the door a little too loudly. Will sat up, letting out a groan and dragging his hands over his face. "Dude. You go to sleep after I do, and then you get up earlier than I do. Do you even sleep?"

Dropping his phone on his pillow, Nico slumped onto his bed, untying his shoes and peeling off his socks. He didn't answer Will's question. Will didn't seem to mind.

"Anyway isn't it a free day for you?" Will asked, grappling for his phone and checking the date. "Why are you up so early?"

"I go jogging," Nico said, voice monotonous as he gave Will a look. This shouldn't be new information.

"Yeah, but we promised we'd take today to relax."

Nico let his mouth quirk up in a little smile. "I am relaxing."

Will flopped back onto his comforter. "You're so strange."

Grabbing a sweat towel draped over his desk chair, Nico wiped down his face and neck, knocking lightly on Will's chest to get his attention. "Breakfast?" he offered, but Will just wrinkled his nose at him.

"You're showering first."

-

After Nico had gone down to the showers, his hair smelling distinctly like green apples (the shampoo Will had bought for him), he returned to the dorm to find Will asleep again.

He sat on the edge of Will's bed, reaching over him and grabbing the extra pillow Will kept by his side. He took a moment to admire the pretty features of Will's face - the light dusting of freckles, the brush of his eyelashes on his cheeks, the curl of his feather-like bed hair - before smacking him with the pillow.

Will shot up, nearly cracking his forehead against Nico's, but Nico moved his head easily, observing the alarm and anger on Will's face as he realized what happened. "Will. Breakfast."

"You do this every time you wake me up," Will grumbled, pushing Nico away (but gently, which is how Nico could tell he wasn't as angry as he pretended to be) and kicking his legs out from under the comforter.

"You wouldn't wake up otherwise," Nico said, moving off of Will's bed to his own, where he watched Will go through the process of ruffling through his drawers and their shared closet to find an outfit.

"There are other methods of waking someone up, you know," Will replied, gesturing for Nico to turn his head as he changed.

"Oh, believe me. I've tried," he said, turning his gaze down at his blankets and only looking at the muscles of Will's back once. "This is the only method that works."

Will scoffed, turning to his dresser and putting on his contacts with ease and wiping his face down with a facial cleanser. "I doubt that." He ran a hand through his hair, fixing it haphazardly in the mirror before turning back to Nico. "So where are we going?"

"That cafe down the street?" Nico suggested, and off they went.

-

The cafe was quiet, but a dull hum accompanied the indie music playing softly from the speakers. Nico let Will order for them both as he chose a table for them to sit at.

Will came back with Nico's regular breakfast order of a danish and chocolate milk and his own order of a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee. Also on the tray was a small slice of some dessert that Nico didn't recognize.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing at the mystery desert as Will set down the tray.

"Don't know. It looked nice and the cashier said it was new. I thought you'd like it."

A little twinge of affection nudged at Nico's heart, but he refused to acknowledge it. Just like he'd refused to acknowledge similar feelings of affection he'd began to feel for a couple of weeks.

Nico took a small bite out of the desert, liking the sweet taste of it enough to let himself smile a little. "It's good."

"Can I have a bite?"

"Yeah, sure," he said, offering the sweet to Will. Instead of taking it in his own hands, Will bit into it while it was still in Nico's hands. Once again, Nico felt a surge of affection, but he remained outwardly the same.

Will sat back, wiping his mouth, seemingly unaware of the intimacy of such an innocent act. "Very sweet."

-

They spent the rest of the day at the dorm, lounging on Will's bed and watching sappy rom-coms on his laptop when they both admitted they weren't up to watching action or horror or sci-fi or whatever else.

Will's body seemed to be much like a furnace in that it exuded a comforting heat, and midway through the third movie, Nico pulled the covers up to his chin and leaned his head on Will's shoulder. Will didn't seem to mind, and Nico found himself curling up almost in Will's lap by the time the sky's colors darkened to a heavy blue that descended the small room into a quiet darkness.

When the end credits rolled, Will paused before exiting out of full screen mode, his finger hovering over the button. "Are you always so cold?" he asked, his voice low.

"Usually."

He seemed to think about this for a moment, and Nico wondered if he was going to push him away on account of Nico's freezing feet pressing into Will's legs or his freezing hands tucked between Will's thighs and his own.

But he just exited out of full screen mode. "Which do you want to watch next?"

-

Nico was crouching in the bunker, holding his rifle in his left hand, dagger in the right. His eyes were closed and his muscles were tense as he listened for footsteps.

He tried not to think about how most of the men and women he'd made friends with were now laying lifeless all around the grounds outside of the bunker. He tried not to think about leaving his sister, Hazel, behind if he joined his friends. He tried not to think about the feeling of the rage that lead him to the place he was now. On enemy lines. In a bunker that was the enemy's property.

Footsteps. Not quiet. They didn't know he was here.

Nico opened his eyes, looking down at the near nonexistent supply of bullets he had. That was fine.

The footsteps drew closer.

He always liked the dagger better.

-

Nico was in a prison cell. He heard the laments of the captured around him, but he remained silent. Noise resulted in punishment. He was not fond of punishment.

A guard came by, his tall and wide stature covering the very little light that came from the hallway. He unlocked the cell door.

Sometimes punishment came without a reason.

-

Nico was strapped to a table. The scent of blood was metallic in his noise, and it tasted like pennies in his mouth.

He didn't know anything, he was just a kid, he didn't know anything, he didn't know anything, he didn't know anything.

Words meant nothing when all he could do was scream.

-

Nico jolted awake, his throat tight with a scream he only just managed to hold in.

Will snapped awake beside him, his hands going to Nico's, which were pulling fiercely on his own hair in attempt to get his head in order again.

"Breathe," Will was saying, and Nico found himself coherent enough to feel sorry for his roommate because the one time he wakes up for one of his episodes, it just so happens to be one of the worst. "Nico, take my hands," he said, his voice soft and smooth. Nico latched on to the familiarity of his voice, his hands shakily grabbing Will's.

"I'm s-sorry," Nico heaved, his breath coming in short and unsatisfying gasps. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize," Will said, bringing their hands down to their laps. "Take a deep breath with me, okay?" Nico followed Will's breath, though his own broke a couple of times from sobs. He only realized he was crying when Will let go of one of his hands long enough to wipe his eyes. "Do you see me?"

Nico nodded, though the absurdity of the question cut through some of the fog in his head.

"What do you see?"

"Eyes," Nico managed to say, his breath still coming short and uneven.

"What color are they?"

"Blue." He took in another shaky breath. "Sky."

"Good," Will praised, giving Nico's hands a soft squeeze. "What else do you see?"

"Freckles."

"How many are there?"

Nico started to count, and though his mind tripped over some numbers, he still found comfort in the routine of counting. His breathing started to slow. He didn't bother telling Will how many freckles he had (he felt better by the 137th one), instead hanging his head a little. "Thank you," he said, voice weak. "I'm sorry."

Will rubbed his thumbs over Nico's hands. "Don't apologize." He let Nico lean his forehead on his collar bone, and he continued tracing circles on his hands. "Do you want to talk?" he asked softly after a couple of minutes.

Nico squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on the soft feeling of the pads of Will's thumbs on his hands. "It's dark," he whispered, and Will seemed to understand what he meant.

"Turn on the lights or wait until morning?"

"Lights."

"I'll be right back, okay?" he asked, giving Nico's hands a light squeeze. Nico nodded.

Will let go and left the bed for perhaps five seconds, but Nico already missed his heat and comfort. The lights flicked on.

Suddenly Nico was very aware of where he was and what had just happened. A rush of emotions overwhelmed him, and he couldn't look Will in the eye when he sat down on the bed again.

"Do you want to talk?" he asked again, and Nico found that familiar surge affection travel through him with everything else at the realization that Will would let Nico back out if he wanted to.

Nico pulled at a loose thread on Will's comforter. "No," he admitted, "but you deserve an explanation."

He glanced up at Will's expression long enough to see him break before Will pulled him into a crushing hug that made Nico breathless for a lot of different reasons. "Nico, I don't deserve anything if you're not willing to give it to me."

Tears welled in Nico's eyes, and he found himself hugging Will back.

"I have nightmares," he said softly, but Will still managed to hear him, pulling away a little bit so that he could look him in the eye. "I was just a kid, Will," he said, and one of Will's hands went up to cradle his face. Nico leaned into his touch. "I've done bad things, seen bad things, have had bad things been done to me."

When Will spoke, his voice was rough, as if he was the one about to cry. "Tell me."

So Nico did.

-

Percy Jackson was a man who hated wars. He fought in one before Nico, and he fought in the one with Nico. There was still a shock of gray in his hair from when he had been captured and tortured. Nico met him at one of the camps. They had been friends ever since.

Now, Percy was engaged to his longtime best friend who just so happened to be the woman who had rescued them from the camp and brought them back. Her name was Annabeth Chase, and apparently she was out with the girls to pick out a wedding dress.

Nico walked into the restaurant that him and Percy had agreed to meet up fifteen minutes early, and was not unsurprised to find Percy already there. Percy was making himself comfortable, one hand on a glass of water, the other draped over the back of the booth.

His bright green eyes stood out even from a distance, and as he scanned the restaurant, he caught sight of Nico. An easy smile lit up his face.

"Hey," he greeted as Nico slid in the booth. "How're you doing?"

"I'm managing," Nico said with a shrug, thinking about his comfortable life at the university with Will. "How's the engagement?"

"Pretty good," Percy said, taking a sip of his water through the bendy straw. "Annabeth is stressing about the planning of it, but I know it'll be okay. And it's pretty nice to know that soon we'll be a full on sappy married couple."

Nico let out a little laugh. "I don't know about sappy," he said, thinking of Annabeth's knack for punching Percy when he said dumb stuff and only using the pet name (if you could even call it that) seaweed brain.

"Are you kidding? We'll be the sappiest." Percy's eyes were soft and warm, though a little tired, and Nico couldn't help but think that maybe Percy was right.

"I'm happy for you."

Percy looked down at the ring on his left hand, smiling a little. "Thanks, man."

The conversation halted a little as a waiter came by to take their order, and Nico again wasn't surprised when Percy ordered something that almost seemed too large for one person to eat.

"What about you?" Percy asked when the waiter had left.

"What about me?" Nico repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I mean, I know it hasn't been too long since you started university, but someone must've caught your eye by now."

Nico's face burned.

"Oh, I was right."

Nico covered his face with his hands, shaking his head. "It's not going to happen, if that's what you're wondering," he said instead of explaining.

"I'd like to know the details before you try to tell me something like that."

Finally managing to get his blush under control, Nico removed his hands, fiddling with his water glass. "His name is Will and he's my roommate."

Percy hummed. "Freshman?"

"Yeah, but he said he went to a community college before university, so we're about the same age."

"Is he hot?"

Nico thought for a second of Will's soft lines and golden-boy look. "I would say pretty. Or maybe beautiful?"

"You've got it bad, I think," Percy said, smiling a little. Then his expression turned serious. He leaned in. "Does he know everything?"

Looking down at the table, Nico nodded. "I had a bad panic attack after a nightmare a while back. He calmed me down, and asked if I wanted to talk to him about it. So I did." Nico thought about his life after that, and his heart warmed. "Since then, he's told me that I should wake him up any time I have a nightmare, which pretty much means I wake him up every night, but he doesn't seem to mind."

He didn't mention that they had both learned that Nico slept better when he was next to Will and now they slept in the same bed.

Percy thought for a moment. "Why're you so convinced it won't happen?" he asked, tracing his finger on his sweating glass. "He seems to care about you a lot."

"I don't..." Nico trailed off, his shoulders sinking a little. "I don't know if he wants to deal with someone like me." He paused, a terrible thought occurring to him. "Or if he could even love me after what I told him that night."

The waiter brought their food. Percy gave him a light thanks before turning back to Nico.

"Listen, Neeks," Percy started, making Nico look up at him. "It was hard for Annabeth and me after we came home. We didn't know how to help each other at first, and it was hell on the both of us. But then we learned to let each other know when we had nightmares or when we had panic attacks, and things got easier." He paused, running a hand through his hair. "We changed after the wars, Nico. But what happened to us or what we did - that doesn't change who we are. Will knows how to help you. I'm sure he also knows that you aren't what you've done in the past."

Nico looked down at his plate of food, willing himself not to cry in public. "It really is good to see you again, Percy. Thank you."

-

They spent the rest of the day fooling around in town, and they met up with Annabeth and the girls as well as some of the guys for dinner. By the time Nico got back to the dorms, it was late and he was exhausted but happy. It was nice to see all his old friends again and talk to Hazel in person instead of by phone for once.

Will was sitting on his bed studying when Nico got there. "Did you have fun?" he asked, pushing up his glasses.

Nico checked the time. 1:43. "Aren't you normally in bed by now?"

He gave a little shrug, closing his textbook and stretching. "When you called saying you'd be home late, I thought I might as well do a little studying while I waited for you."

"Idiot," Nico said, though he smiling a little, "that call was supposed tell you that you didn't have to wait up for me."

"Oh, well," Will said, watching as Nico kicked off his shoes and flopped onto the bed beside him. "You look happy."

"I am," Nico said, closing his eyes and tucking his hands beneath his head. "I liked meeting up with my friends again."

Will yawned, rubbing at his eyes under his glasses and putting a light hand on Nico's head. "You'll have to tell me all about it. And maybe let me meet them, since you've been telling me about them for weeks."

"Sure," Nico said, his chest feeling warm and fuzzy as Will ran his fingers through his hair. "But you're about to pass out. Staying up late doesn't suit you."

Will hummed in response, his hand trailing down from Nico's hair to run his knuckles over his cheek. "I like this," he said after a moment, and Nico opened his eyes, his heart skipping a beat.

"Like what?"

"Seeing you like this. It's nice."

"Oh."

For a moment, Will looked like he was going to say something else, but he kept it to himself. "Go change so that we can sleep, okay?"

"You're going to fall asleep before I finish changing," Nico teased, getting up from the bed and grabbing his sleep clothes.

"Will not."

"Will too."

Sure enough, when Nico looked back at Will when he was done changing, Will was laying back on the bed, already in a deep sleep. Nico climbed under the covers next to him, falling asleep with a smile on his face.

-

The year went on, and Nico thought that maybe the reassimilation process wasn't as bad as he thought. He got used to his routine at school, and his routine with Will, and he quite liked the normal life he was living. He also got used to the growing feelings he felt for Will.

"I was thinking," Will started.

Nico wondered if he'd like the direction this was going.

"And I want to get my own apartment when this year finishes. Because that has always been my plan, you know? To live in a dorm the first year, then move out the next year. But I like living with you because you're nice company, and I've gotten used to you always being around, which is a good thing-"

"Will," Nico interrupted. "You're rambling."

"Right," Will said, running a hand through his hair. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to maybe rent an apartment? With me. If you'd want to rent an apartment with me."

Nico thought about his options. He could say no to save himself from his unrequited love and deal with the heartbreak of being apart from Will. Or he could say yes to be by his side for a little longer and hang on to the hope that Will maybe loved him back (which is something that Percy, Annabeth, Hazel, and all his other friends said when they met Will and heard Nico's stories about him but Nico refused to believe).

"Yeah, okay."

"Really?"

"Really."

Will let out a breath, a smile of relief making his face light up. "Cool."

-

Nico was watching Will cook them both breakfast in their new apartment, his heart light and warm.

Moving in had been a process, but now every box was unpacked, and although they still didn't have matching chairs for the dining table, Nico liked the home that they had made. His nightmares had calmed down a little, and when he got them, Will was always there. He felt comfortable with the life he was living.

"Nico?" Will called, his eyes focused on the pan of eggs in front of him. His voice was a little hesitant.

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm in love with you." Nico blinked. "No," Will continued, still not looking at him, "that's not right. I know I'm in love with you."

Nico checked his surroundings to see if what he was experiencing was real life. He looked out the window. The morning sky was a brilliant and light blue.

"I know I'm in love with you, too."

Will finally looked over at him, his eyes wide. "You are?"

"Yes."

"Oh." He pulled the pan of eggs off the burner, grabbing the plates of toast he had set aside and scraping some of the eggs onto the plates. Nico got up to pour them both some orange juice.

When they were seated at their small dining table, Will paused before taking a bite of his breakfast. "Do you want to go out with me?"

"Yes."

It was only after they had finished their breakfast and were cuddled together on the couch to watch whatever on Will's laptop that it finally sunk in.

"Are you sure?" Nico asked, looking up at Will. "I mean, about dating me. Loving me."

Will found his hand, which was tucked between his thighs, and held it tight. "Absolutely sure." He pressed a kiss to Nico's forehead. "What about you?"

He pressed a kiss to Will's lips. "I'm sure."

[stella-cadente]

friendship da(y)te

summary: au where simon and baz are best friends and friendship day comes around. okay, i promise it’s not that lame,, please read my fic

word count: 1.4k

this is for @carryon-valentines day 1: friendship day

i’m sorry i might’ve made it less friend and more SHIP but yeah

SIMON

 “BAZ!” I yell as soon as I spot his tall, lean figure heading towards me. “Happy Friendship Day!”

I run towards him and envelope him in a bone-crushing hug.

“You too, Snow!”

His arms come up around my waist and we just stand there. Holding each other. Like we’ve done so many times before. Not romantically.

But I wish it were.

Romantic, I mean.

It’s been this way for months now, since I figured it out. That I liked Baz. He’s my best friend, he’s been my best friend for years, and I know everything about him. Only later I realized that my obsession with him was not just because of our strong friendship.

It was because of his deep, grey eyes and how they twinkle when he smiles.

It was because of his silky, soft hair that falls in perfect waves- framing his face (really, everything about him is a piece of art.)

It was because of making him play the violin not just because he’s brilliant, but also so that I could watch him focus while his eyes are shut.

Yeah, I’m obsessed. And I don’t even know how to tell him because…

What if he takes it badly?

It might fuck up our friendship.

And there’s no way in hell that I’m taking that chance.

 BAZ

 I can see his mop of bronze curls from a mile away, and I can recognize them within seconds. Because I’m whipped. He hugs me as soon as he sees me, and I hold him there, just like I do all the time. I rest my head on his, and I breath in his smoky, refreshing scent that’s all too familiar by now. I don’t think he knows that I love him, and I don’t think he realizes how much it pains me to celebrate “Friendship Day” with him, because honestly. Enough of this friendship thing. I’m pretty sure I fell for him two days after we met, but he’s a moron and he’s straight. So. I just wallow in my misery everyday. We have only a few minutes here anyway; he has to go to his classes (astrophysics- his first class on Tuesday mornings) (it is sad that I know that) and I have to go for mine- History (honestly a really boring subject- I happen to know everything already since I studied it during the vacation.) We’ll meet again at lunch for an hour and a half, and then if he decides to come over, then maybe longer. But that’s it. Nothing special to look forward to.

“Baz, how about dinner today?” he asks.

“Sure. As a Friendship Day thing?”

“As a date, I guess.”

I pray that I’m not blushing. He says it so plainly. It can’t possibly mean more that being just a get-together in the name of our friendship.

But I guess I do have something to look forward to.

 SIMON

 Did I just say that? Oh my god.

As soon as Baz turns away, I’m pretty sure I’m red enough to stop traffic. I rush to class, worried about just about everything that could possibly go wrong. I float through the day, until it’s lunch, where I finally see Baz again.

He starts conversation immediately-

“So, what, for our dinner do you want me to wear a suit?”

He says it sarcastically, and obviously I know he’s being sarcastic, but it would be great to see him in a suit.

So I say, “Sure, if you want to.”

He cocks his head towards me. “Okay. I’ll wear a suit if you do.”

If it means seeing Baz in a suit, then yes I’m wearing a suit.

“Deal”

 ---

 Fifteen minutes before I have to get there, I start searching for suits, and simultaneously realize how my time management skills are equivalent to those of a coconut. I have none.

After three minutes of frantic searching, I find a grey suit that looks about my size and that’ll have to do because honestly, I’m having a bit of a time crisis here. I head to the bathroom and hastily get dressed, and then I rush to the restaurant where I’m should’ve reached ten minutes ago.

 BAZ

 I happen to have an entire collection of suits because of our family dinners. So I just went through them and chose a dark, black one. Typical.

I left the house giving myself twenty minutes to get there. We’re going to a relatively fancy restaurant so we don’t look too out of place with our outfits. I reach there five minutes before time, and I’m pretty sure I’ve reached before Simon. He’s late all the time anyway, so it’s no surprise. And I like the idea of being here before him so I can take some time to take in the surroundings, and so that I can choose a nice place to sit- preferably in the corner, so Simon and I can talk in peace.

Why does our little friendship day outing feel like a date?

Simon walks in ten minutes later, his eyes searching. I wave to him, and he heads towards me. Are his pupils a little blown or is that just me?

It’s probably just me.

He’s wearing a grey suit, and it’s sitting on his shoulders perfectly, outlining him and somehow not looking too tight. His hair is messy and tousled, as it is all the time, and his eyes are like shining wells of clear water reflecting the brilliant blue sky above. It’s overwhelming.

He looks stunning.

 SIMON

 I look at Baz, and I just can’t stop looking.

Because shit.

He’s beautiful.

In a black suit that compliments his lean, muscular features and his grey eyes (that look bright now, because of his dark clothing) perfectly. I think it’s too much for me to take. I just really want to kiss him. He’s sitting in front of me, and even though we’re talking about what food we’re about to order, I’m just thinking about his lips. And how they move when he talks to me. And how they would taste if I, you know, hypothetically of course, kissed him.

 ---

 This really does feel like a date. He insists on paying. And that leaves me feeling like I should give him something in return.

How about a kiss? My mind nags. I force it to shut up.

But it doesn’t stop.

 BAZ

We walk out of the restaurant, and it’s dark.

He asks me if I want to stay over, and obviously, I don’t deny.

We’re walking alone to his place.

It’s dark.

And I want to kiss him.

“Baz…” Simon says.

I stop and turn to him.

His eyes are bright with some kind of unidentifiable fire.

 SIMON

 Okay, fuck it. I’ve had enough. I need Baz’s lips on mine.

“You know what?” I say, “I didn’t give you anything for friendship day.”

I take a step closer, and I can only hope that his expression is a reflection of my own.

“I mean…” I go on, “You gave me that dinner.”

A step forward.

“So thank you for that.”

And another.

“And now…I want to give you…”

 BAZ

 He’s so close, so close.

And then he kisses me.

His lips are on mine, moving, and hot.

My arms move slide up around his back, and he pushes me.

 SIMON

 Baz is kissing me back.

It’s unbelievable.

His lips are magical. Just what I expected.

It’s hot and it’s cold at the same time.

And I’m kissing Baz.

 BAZ

 He isn’t stopping.

And honestly, I’m glad.

Simon Snow is kissing me.

I’m kissing Simon Snow.

My best friend.

My love.

 SIMON

 The moment stretches and the kiss feels much longer than it actually is. It’s not like I’m keeping track of anything.

I’m way past rational thought.

The sparks I feel running through my veins and the tingles I feel every time I make contact with Baz’s skin seem imaginary and all too real, at the same time.

Let’s never stop this.

 BAZ

 Okay, firstly, Simon is gay. Or bisexual. Whatever it is, it’s an actual blessing.

Secondly, Simon is so good at this kissing thing?

His arms, his jaw, his tongue.

They all seem to exactly what they’re doing.

I, on the other hand, have my mouth jammed against his; my arms are tracing random patterns on his back. It all worries me, really. What if I’m not good enough? I’m probably shit, considering my experience with this stuff.

But Simon is smiling against my mouth.

And Simon is sighing and saying my name.

Maybe…maybe I’m doing okay.

  SIMON

 I pull away, reluctantly.

It takes so much effort.

“Let’s go home?”

Baz sighs, nods, and takes my hand.

 It is a happy friendship day indeed.