#okay but academic rivals to lovers are amazing

[celestialwrites]

academic rivals to lovers dialogue prompts ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

@celestialwrites for more<3

♡ “what the hell are you doing?” “isn’t it obvious? beating you, duh.”

♡ “i’m sorry, who got the highest grade then?” “i did.”

♡ “you know the only reason they bothered to join the debate team was to be close to you right?”

♡ “i fell in love with you that day you beat me in a spelling bee in second grade.”

♡ “[last name/nickname] you still gonna have that stupid grin on your face when i get the highest mark?”

♡ “n-3^07-!” “what does that mean?” “flip your [calculator/phone]”

♡ “fuck you.” “aw [nickname], is this just because i beat you on the math final? i’m truly wounded.”

♡ “maybe we could study…together..?” “TOGETHER? are you serious?” “completely and utterly serious.”

♡ “if only math could sway the ladies.” “it swayed you, didn’t it?”

♡ “please just for one second turn your beautiful brain off and kiss me.”

♡ “who hurt you?” “you. in the second grade when you beat me on that spelling bee.” “are you serious?” “partly.”

♡ “rot in hell.” “i will, once i finish studying for this exam.”

♡ “i love [subject], but i may just love you more.”

♡ “i give up.” “what?” “you win. take the place as valedictorian.” “what! why?” “because i love you.”

♡ “hello, my fellow co-valedictorian.” “co, WHAT?”

requests are open<3

[t-lostinworlds]

Competitively Stupid | Steve Harrington

》 PAIRING: steve harrington x female!reader

》 TROPE/GENRE: rivals-ish (since childhood) to lovers, some angst; fluff

》 SUMMARY: It was stupid, jumping off a cliff just to prove that you were better than Steve fucking Harrington. But you were competitive. You were not losing to him. But you know what was stupider? For it to take a near-death situation for you both to confess what you truly feel for each other.

》 WARNINGS: canon divergent (everyone is alive & well & happy thanks), pet names (sweetheart, baby), shitty parents (on both sides), competitiveness on all accounts, r is basically a counterpart of steve during high school (cheerleading captain, queen of hawkins high, swim team captain, etc.), peer pressure-ish, some stupid decisions & stupider actions, very irresponsible cliff jumping (which doesn't end well), drowning, CPR, injuries, an emotional moment™, love confessions, and a happy, sappy ending.

》 WORD COUNT: 5.3k+

A/N: hi! okay, well, it's been a while since i posted a steve fic so i'm kinda nervous ngl. also, not me making it a habit to include swimmer!steve in all my fics from here on out. this was meant to be short & sweet to dust off the cobwebs but lol. super random. i saw a video of someone cliff-jumping & boom, the idea was born. also, not me using the first aid training i learned in college.

📍 BLOG NAVIGATION ✩ STEVE H. MASTERLIST ✩ MAIN MASTERLIST ✩

⊱ ─────.⋅♚ *｡･ﾟ.★. *｡･ﾟ✫*.

This was stupid.

Absolutely idiotic.

You genuinely have no idea why you were even doing this in the first place.

"There's no way you can do it."

Right.

That's why.

The taunting voice of Steve fucking Harrington was the reason why you were standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down at a thirty-foot drop into the dark ocean.

This was supposed to be a relaxing trip with your new found family.

"You know you don't have to listen to him, right?" Robin sighed, so completely over the fact that her two best friends who never got along no matter what she tried, somehow came to an agreement to not listen to her right now.

Not that you could blame her.

You and Steve had been rivals ever since you were kids.

It was what you had always known.

What with narcissistic parents who used their children as pawns to one up each other, you had been conditioned to see him as an enemy from the second you step foot into their home.

Your family was invited into the Harrington residence for dinner as a way of welcoming you to the neighborhood. You recently just moved in, so you didn't know anyone else yet. When you heard that the next-door neighbor had a son who was your age, you had been really excited to gain a new friend.

All that changed when your dad sat you down an hour before, prepping you about how the Harringtons were a respected family in the town, and that you needed to show them you weren't any less than them, if not show them you were better. He drilled it in your brain to be on your best behavior, to be the best and the perfect daughter.

It only got worse when you finally sat down at that dinner table.

The comparisons were endless.

"See, my daughter here is a wonderful gymnast, quite amazing for someone her age."

"How wonderful. Steven here has swimming lessons every weekend. His coach said he might end up in the Olympic team once he's of age."

"Splendid. How about his academics? I'm sure he can take inspiration from my daughter's exemplary grades."

"He's the top of his class. Maybe if they study together, your daughter would be able to catch up in time."

It was harsh, pitting two seven-year-olds against each other—impressionable kids who only wanted to make their mom and dad proud.

But neither your parents nor his truly gave a shit. All they cared about was becoming the best family in the street, if not the whole town.

The sad thing was, those dinners became a regular thing, held alternately between your house and his.

It always looked like a preparation for battle whenever your mom would pull out the finest china in her collection along with the cookbook she only ever used for special occasions.

It was in the guise of cordiality when it was, in fact, an excuse to show off, to make a competition out of everything, a moment to compare who did what best. Those dinners were like monthly scoreboards, tallying up the respective families' recent achievements—and that included yours and Steve's.

Nobody was surprised that the competitiveness stuck with you both.

And it only got worse during high school.

Whether that was something as mundane as winning the popularity contest when running different circles—even going as far as getting crowned the King and Queen of Hawkins High—down to academics and extracurriculars.

Captain of the basketball team. Captain of the cheerleading squad. Prom Queen. Prom King. MVP of the season. Brightest student of the year. Beer pong Queen. Kegstand King. Best summer camp counselor. Lifeguard of the month and it went on and on and on and on.

When he got co-captain for the men's swim team, you rubbed it in his face that you were the captain of the women's team. When you got second place at the science fair, he made sure to rub his first place medal right in your face. When you became president of the student council, you ordered him around to do extra work whenever the basketball team was required to help with community service.

It was a constant back and forth.

There was always a competition between you and Steve Harrington.

And sure, since you graduated, it became subdued. But it was still very much there. Vying on who was the coolest babysitter in your band of ragtags, even fighting to have the title of Robin Buckley's ultimate best friend.

This thing between you and Steve was deeply rooted. So there really wasn't much Robin could do apart from getting in between your frequent squabbles before you started actually killing each other.

In Robin's words, something drastic had to happen for you both to finally wake up and see that this rivalry between you both wasn't what it seemed to be on the surface.

You had no idea what she was even implying.

Now, on a little getaway on the nearest beach you could drive to, the competition started with a race on who could get there first. It wasn't even fair seeing that you weren't the one driving.

The group had split into two, some were in Eddie's van—along with everyone's belongings since he had ample space in the back—while the others were in Steve's Beemer. Since you and Steve couldn't be in the same room together without an argument ensuing, it was a unanimous decision to have you two separated. Nobody wanted to deal with that for hours on the road.

Not that you could blame them, either.

And sure, it was the kids who suggested the race, but with Steve's smug smirk and that arrogant wink he threw once you got into Eddie's passenger seat, you knew it was game on between you too.

Yet despite the metal head being a fast—albeit slightly reckless—driver, he somehow took his sweet goddamn time getting to your destination.

Only when your group arrived at the beach last, did he say something about Steve threatening him to be extra careful with driving because there's important cargo in his van—whatever the hell that meant.

You lost to Steve on that one, but you would argue it was rigged from the start.

The next was a supposed friendly bout on who could build the biggest sandcastle that didn't topple over after a few minutes.

It was boys versus girls with you and him being team leaders. The girls won, obviously and El never used her powers. It was fair and square since the other team mostly argued over everything they could think of and had no teamwork at all. You made sure to point that out to Steve as you watched their sandcastle crumble into ruins.

Another one was beach volleyball. Same leaders as before, but you get to pick the members of your teams this time. Steve made it his mission to pick the tallest of the bunch. Still, it wasn't the advantage he thought it was because it ended up being one point too close.

Your team would've won if Steve wasn't such a dramatic asshole.

It was truly an accident. When you spiked that ball, you were not aiming for his face. He simply thought it was a good idea to catch the ball with it. Besides, he was distracted, flirting with some random girl in a bikini who was passing by, right in the middle of the game.

How was it your fault that he wasn't paying attention?

He made sure to oversell his injury after that, curled up on the sand as the girl fussed over him. But you saw that smirk on his face. You would've hit him again—definitely not by accident this time—if you weren't busy arguing with Robin about the point deduction. She said it was only fair since you hit the ball when she hadn't blown her imaginary whistle yet.

You decided to let it go when Steve commented on you being a whiny sore loser.

Unfortunately, the competition was ending with who could make jumping off a cliff and into the ocean look the coolest—adults only, despite the groans of protest from the mischievous bunch.

Eddie offered to stay behind and watch the rascals. When teased, he simply said he didn't want to test Death today.

His comment didn't help your nerves.

Robin said she was only coming purely as a voice of reason. She'd been saying nonstop how it was a horribly stupid idea, that there really was no need to be doing this in the first place.

But Steve wasn't backing down, so you weren't going to either.

So once again, it was only you and him.

As it always had been.

He volunteered to go first, throwing in a comment about rushing back up the cliff's edge before you could take your turn because he wanted a front-row seat for when you'd chicken out.

It only made you want to do it more.

His dive was smooth, almost flawless, you admit. He even showed off with a little flip near the end. It didn't take long for him to swim back to the shore, either. His years of training as a swimmer were obviously paying off.

But you trained just as much if not more than he had.

The only difference was, adrenaline didn't fuel you as much as it did Steve. So instead of getting all powered up looking down at a cliff's edge like he was, you were terrified.

But who wouldn’t get scared looking down at harsh waves crashing against sharp and jagged rocks? There was no margin for error here because one wrong slip and you'd be dead.

Still, if Steve could do it, you could do it better.

You weren't about to lose to his stupid ass.

"I'm not listening to him," you argued back, taking in a shaky breath as you took a step.

"He's doing reverse psychology!" she squeaked. "So you doing it is still listening to him!"

"I'm fine, Robs, I can do it," you mumbled, a slight questioning lilt at the end of your sentence.

"Look, sweetheart, it's okay to admit defeat," Steve said, cocky voice with an even cockier smile as he crossed his toned arms against his bare chest. His hair was still damp, quick to climb back up so he could get his front-row seat as he promised.

But you weren't chickening out.

Never.

"I mean, it wouldn't be the first time you lost to me so, it shouldn't sting as much."

You ignored him.

Instead, you took another step, the tips of your toes now hanging over the edge.

You can do this. Wipe that smug smirk off his face. You got this.

"Listen, you don't have to do—"

"Shut it, Harrington," you growled.

With a deep breath, you closed your eyes, counting from three, two, one…

You jumped.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

This was stupid.

Absolutely idiotic.

He shouldn't have pressured you like that.

The jump wasn't deadly, per se, but it also wasn't exactly deemed the safest, especially if you weren't an expert in any sort of way.

And he didn't want to say it out loud because if he did, he knew it would only push you to do it more just to prove him wrong.

But Steve could see how scared you were.

He was already dropping the act, voice laced with concern as he started telling you that he wasn't worth all of this, that he was stupid and that you were always going to be better than him.

But, obviously, you didn't listen.

You simply jumped.

You and your stupidly competitive ass.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath, rushing to the edge of the cliff, tensely watching your falling figure disappear into the water with a splash.

"You two are complete idiots."

"Shut up," Steve gritted, never looking away from the water. Yet any annoyance was quickly overpowered by sheer worry as he scanned the deep blue for anything.

There was no sign of you.

"Like seriously! It's like I'm the only one with a brain cell here!"

"Come on, come on, come on," Steve mumbled, completely ignoring Robin when you still hadn't emerged to the surface. "Come on, Y/N, don't scare me like this."

"Uh, Steve?" Robin asked after a moment, carefully looking over the cliff before shooting him a worried glance. "You look anxious and you being anxious is making me nervous."

"She hasn't come up," he grumbled, glancing at his watch.

It was nearing a minute.

"Maybe you didn't see her?"

"I haven't taken my eyes off the water, Buckley," he gritted, too harsh and uncalled for since Robin didn't do anything wrong.

But he was panicking.

A minute and thirty seconds.

"Come on, sweetheart, you can do it. You're an amazing swimmer," he whispered encouragingly, hoping some sort of magic would let you hear him underwater all while saying it aloud for his own sanity.

Two minutes.

You could never hold your breath any longer than that.

Steve knew because he always won that competition.

And that was in a calm pool.

"Shit, shit, shit!" he cursed, gearing up to dive after you. "I don't think she's coming up!"

"Okay! Okay," Robin rushed, panicking. "Maybe she's already on the shore. We should go down now and see—"

Steve didn't listen.

He jumped right after you.

The biting cold was awakening.

Still, it was the absolute fear of losing you that was keeping him alert.

He ignored the sting of the salty ocean water in his eyes as he frantically searched for you, his heart beating hard and fast, struggling for oxygen all while fearing for your safety.

Steve didn't know which came first, relief or dread when finally found you, aimlessly floating and unconscious under the deep blue.

He swam to you as fast he could, securely hooking his arm under your shoulder and dragging you up to the surface.

Steve always knew that adrenaline can give you a random boost of strength when needed. He simply didn't expect that to be proven true when he was carrying your unresponsive body in his arms as he brought you to the shore.

He gently placed you on your back on the sand, cupping your face as he checked for any injuries.

You were so cold.

"Hey, hey, wake up," he begged, grabbing your shoulders to try and shake you awake.

Nothing.

"You didn't have to make the jump, you idiot. Why do you always want to prove me wrong," he scolded with no ounce of anger, only worry. He started tapping your cheek frantically. "Come on, wake up!"

Still no response.

"Dammit, Y/N, why'd you have to be so fucking stubborn," he scolded, his voice shaking in fear, his chest tightening as he pressed two fingers against your pulse point.

His own heart stopped when he couldn't feel yours.

And you weren't breathing.

Steve tried to keep himself calm. If he panicked now, he wouldn't be able to give you the aid that you direly need.

"Come on, Harrington. You know what to do. You trained for this," he mumbled to himself, getting into the proper position to give you CPR.

He gently cupped your forehead with his left hand, his other two fingers under your chin as he tilted your head up.

"You're going to be okay," he whispered, pinching your nose before slotting his lips against yours.

Breathing into your mouth, one, two, he watched your chest rise as it filled up with air, only for it to settle back down without coming back up again. He quickly kneeled straighter, locking his fingers together and placing the heel of his left hand in the middle of your chest, pushing down with enough pressure to try and get your heart to start again.

"One, two, three, four, come on, sweetheart, breathe for me," he mumbled, easily finding the right rhythm, his first aid training as a lifeguard coming back to him like it was second nature.

Still, he never wanted to use this skill in a real-life situation, much less use it on you.

It was the longest thirty counts in his life.

Check for a pulse. Check for breathing.

Still nothing.

"Goddammit, Y/N, come on!" he growled, blinking back the tears as he pressed his mouth against yours again.

Two rescue breaths.

Thirty chest compressions.

Steve repeated the cycle over and over. His eyes were stinging with unshed tears, his knees were burning as the rough sand dug deeper into his skin, and his arms were starting to get sore, tiredness slowly covering his aching muscles.

But he'd rather die first than give up on you now.

"Steve—"

"Call for help, Robin!" he ordered, not taking his eyes off you for even a second. When he didn't hear any movement, he yelled, "Don't just stand there! Go!"

He was going to apologize for being an asshole later. For now, he needed you to fucking breathe.

"Come on, come on, please," he begged, leaning back down to give you two more rescue breaths. "Breathe for me, baby, please."

Thirty chest compressions.

"Trying to prove me wrong when I've always been wrong, you idiot."

Five, six, seven—

"Sweetheart, come on," he choked back a sob. "Who's going to call me out when I'm being stupid, huh? You know Robin can't do it alone."

Twelve, thirteen, fourteen—

"And you're really going to leave me alone to watch our kids?"

Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two—

"Y/N, baby, please, I can't live without you," he whimpered.

Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thir—

Steve felt his breath leave his lungs when you finally gasped for air.

He quickly turned you to your side, rubbing your back as you choked out all the ocean water that got into your system.

"There you go, you're okay," he whispered, whether to reassure you or himself, he didn't even know anymore. All he was focused on was making sure you were going to be okay.

"S-Stevie?" you coughed out the nickname that was only ever used by you.

It was the equivalent to his nickname for you—sweetheart.

Names that started out to annoy each other but the more often it was used as time passed, it only managed to grow into an endearment that held something warm underneath it. You both were quick to realize that the nicknames you had for each other weren't out of spite anymore.

Neither of you simply addressed it.

"Steady, sweetheart, I'm right here," he reassured, hurriedly getting into your line of sight to stop you from trying to turn around to face him. He gently cupped your cheek, offering you a soft smile when your gaze found him. "I'm not going anywhere."

You nodded as best as you could, your eyes clinging onto his brown ones only for them to screw shut when a shiver ran through your whole body.

"C-Cold," you stammered.

"I know, I know, come here," he said softly, guiding you to sit up before quickly settling behind you. He gently pulled you closer between his legs, his chest pressed against your back as he blanketed his body over yours, rubbing your arms to keep you as warm as possible.

You turned to face him slightly, burying your face into his neck only for you to wince at the slight movement. He quickly tried to steady you again, checking over you twice to look for any visible injury. But he couldn't find any.

"Tell me what hurts," he asked, pressing his lips against your cold forehead as he fully wrapped his arms around you.

"A-Ankle," you whimpered in pain, your grip on his waist tightening and God he hated that sound so much.

You must've rolled it when you jumped, and having landed on it when you reached the water, it definitely made it worse.

"It's okay, you're okay," he murmured, littering kisses against the side of your head to try and keep your mind off it. "Robin already called for help, they should be on their way, alright?"

You gave him a small nod, inching even closer to him, seeking as much warmth from him as possible. Your cold breath was tickling his skin but he didn’t care. Hell, you could be breathing fucking ice and he still wouldn’t give a shit.

As long as you were breathing.

"I need you to stay awake for me, okay?"

"I-I'll try," you whispered.

"First to fall asleep is the biggest loser," he mumbled, squeezing you slightly when he felt your eyes flutter close. "And you wouldn't want me to win this, babe, because I'll be a little shit about it."

"Not f-fair," you choked out a laugh.

"It's plenty fair," Steve chuckled tearfully, ignoring the sudden wetness on his cheeks. He hugged you tighter instead. "So stay awake or you'll lose to me. Again."

"Right there! They're right over there!"

Steve had never been so grateful to hear Robin's voice.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"So are you finally going to tell her?"

"Tell her what?" Steve questioned back, unable to take his eyes off of you, soundly sleeping in a hospital bed with your foot now wrapped in a cast.

The doctor had already checked everything and thankfully, there weren't any further injuries apart from your twisted ankle.

Now, all you needed was to rest and recover.

"That you've been in love with her this whole time."

Steve sighed, squeezing your hand before turning to look at his best friend.

"I'm not in love with her, Robs."

"Right," she scoffed, raising a knowing brow. "Because jumping off a cliff with zero hesitation so you could save her is totally normal behavior for someone you claim you hate."

"I never said I hated her," he argued, and it was true. He couldn't think of a single moment where he hated you.

"Yeah, well, you two definitely don't act like you like each other."

"Does she annoy and frustrate the shit out of me? Yes. But I never hated her," he admitted.

Steve didn't know what it was exactly, maybe it was his tiredness muddling his brain, maybe it was from everything that happened in the last couple of hours finally catching up to him, or maybe it was the overwhelming need to confess everything into the open before it was too late—and it almost had been. Either way, he found himself suddenly spewing out all the things that he always just kept to himself.

"She's also been the most constant person in my life, you know? Hell, we basically grew up together. I can't just not care about her," he continued, memories flooding his system before he could even stop it. "She's been so ingrained in my life, her and the cute dresses she wore at those stupid dinners our parents always dragged us to. Her and her stupid competitions whenever our babysitters would bring us to the park together. Her and that stupid dance she always did whenever she won at anything even if it was my expense—she always does this cute little wiggle whenever she won, and that never left her even as we got older," Steve chuckled at the thought.

"And fuck, don't even get me started with how similar our parents are. She's the only one who will always get me when it comes to that," he continued. "And yeah, we compete a lot, but there was no hatred between us. Maybe at the start but all that went away when we learned that whatever our parents were feeding us was bullshit—that they were bullshit.

"And fine, did I sometimes get so annoyed whenever she got a new boyfriend? Yeah. But only because she always had this bad habit of dating fucking assholes. I don't know where she got those dickheads from but every time I see a glimpse of her crying by her window at night I swear to fucking God I would've killed every single one of those assholes if she asked," he gritted, slumping down in his seat with a sigh.

"She deserves to be treated right, you know? She's already experiencing so much shit at home, she doesn't need any more of that anywhere else. Sure, she irritates me to no end but that doesn't mean she's not a sweet girl who always cried whenever some random pet commercial came on the TV during the holidays. Does her competitiveness drive me up the wall? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean I don't feel so fucking proud of her whenever she wins another medal or achieves another milestone. And yeah, I wonder about how she's doing, if she's taking care of herself, if she's getting enough sleep between her work and classes. But that's only because I worry, you know?

"And maybe I do think about her a lot but that doesn't mean I'm in love with…"

Steve blinked.

Well fuck.

"Wow," Robin marveled. "You're stupider than I thought."

"He hit his head as a kid, cut him some slack."

Steve paled at the sound of your voice, swiftly turning red at the thought that you probably heard all the things he said.

He turned to face you, groaning in annoyance when he saw the smug smile on your lips. "You've been awake this whole time?"

"I'll leave you two love birds alone," Robin sang, quickly slipping out of the hospital room and closing the door behind her.

"How much of that did you hear?" Steve asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Enough to say you're stupid," you hummed.

He rolled his eyes, leaning back in his seat with crossed arms. "I'm not the one who jumped off the cliff and almost died just to prove a fucking point."

"Yeah, well, I guess we're both stupid then," you snorted.

He shrugged. "I guess we are."

"Jesus, you don't have to act so tense. I mean, you've already given me a mouth-to-mouth, we've practically made out already," you scoffed playfully. "I honestly thought I'd die first before swapping spit with you yet here we are."

It was your attempt at alleviating the tension, to throw in a funny quip. But with everything still so fresh in his mind, Steve simply couldn't take it well.

"Don't fucking joke about that will you?" he snapped, rubbing a frustrated hand over his face.

The silence that followed only made the tension worse.

"I'm sorry," you whispered.

Steve immediately felt bad.

"No, no, no. You didn't do anything wrong, don't apologize," he sighed, meeting your eyes with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped. It's just—"

He stopped himself, chewing on his bottom as he looked everywhere but at you when he felt the tears well up again.

"Will you come here?"

Steve took a calming breath and did as you asked, moving his chair closer but didn't attempt anything else than that.

"Stevie," you called when he still wouldn't look at you.

Harshly wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, he lifted his head. You smiled at him sweetly, wiggling your fingers to get him to come even closer.

"You scared me back there," he croaked, taking your hand with a squeeze.

"I didn't mean to," you softly said, remorseful and apologetic even though you didn't have to be.

"I know," he murmured, pressing your warm palm against his cheek as he shot you a glare. "Just don't do that again."

"Promise," you giggled, stroking his cheek with your thumb.

Steve leaned closer into your touch. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, thanks to you," you hummed, brows furrowing in thought. "When Marcus got that black eye, you said it was because he was playing dirty on one of your games." You tilted your head knowingly. "That wasn't true, wasn't it?"

Steve shrugged. "He hurt you."

"It was a small bruise on the arm, Steve," you reasoned.

"He shouldn't be giving you a fucking bruise in the first place," he growled, the memory bringing back the same anger he felt when he first saw that bruise. The soft tapping of your finger against his cheek calmed him down. "Sorry."

"Did you lose on purpose to get him expelled?"

"What? No!" he scoffed, offended, rolling his eyes when you giggled. "I tried so fucking hard to win that fight, you know, for you."

"You've always been protective of me," you hummed, taking his hand and interlacing your fingers together.

"Don't think I didn't know it was you who dyed that poor girl's hair green that one year in middle school summer camp," he retaliated.

It was a sharp and piercing scream that woke up the whole camp that morning. Everyone rushed out of bed to see what was going on only to find a girl who once was blonde was now sporting bright green hair in the middle of the crowd, crying her eyes out.

Steve would've thought it was only some silly prank if he didn't know who the girl was. But he did. Because the day before he tried to ask her to be his girlfriend, only for her to turn him down in the most embarrassing and humiliating way possible.

It wasn't difficult for him to find out who the culprit was since he immediately noticed how you kept hiding your hands in your pockets for the next few days after the incident.

The counselors quickly found out that the little menace—whoever she was—decided to use permanent dye on the poor girl's hair instead of something washable.

Your green palms colored you oh so guilty.

"She called you pathetic and gross in front of everyone!" you argued, pouting. "You looked like you were about to cry and I hated it."

Steve's heart warmed at that, a smile on his face despite rolling his eyes. "I wasn't about to cry."

"Yeah well," you shrugged, eyes trained on your intertwined fingers, your thumb playing with his. "I'm the only one who's supposed to be mean to you."

"Hmm," he agreed, bringing the back of your hand to his lips. "I guess we've always been there for each other, huh?"

"I guess so," you giggled, cupping his cheek and tugging him closer.

He stood up from his seat, following your lead until he was pressing his forehead against yours.

"Thank you for saving my life, Steve," you whispered, eyes turning glossy as so many emotions covered your irises, the weight of what almost happened catching up with you.

"You don't have to thank me for that," he said sincerely, brushing the tip of his nose against yours. "I'd do it over and over again in a heartbeat."

You nodded, sniffling, "Still, thank you."

Steve wasn't able to argue some more when you all but kissed him.

The first time Steve felt your mouth on his was a horrible experience considering he was trying to keep you alive.

Now, everything was the complete opposite.

A kiss that was careful but sweet, a hint of nervousness and excitement all the same, completely unhurried yet burning with passion as his lips molded against yours.

But still, it felt like that first gasp of air—a finally.

"I'm in love with you, too, by the way," you murmured as you pulled away, your warm breath tickling his lips.

"Thanks for clarifying," he chuckled, eyes laced with adoration, unable to stop his smile from growing wider, warmer. "I couldn't figure that out from the kiss."

"I mean, you are kinda stupid," you teased.

"We're on that same boat, sweetheart," he chuckled. "I'm sure Robin would remind us about that every single day now."

"Unfortunately," you groaned playfully. "God, she gets annoying when she's right."

"Tell me about it," he hummed, brushing his lips against yours, moving away when you chased it.

You whined.

Steve didn't hesitate to dive back in.

✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ♛ *.

↬ thank you for reading lovely! reblog & leave a comment if you enjoyed! feedback is always appreciated! ++ consider supporting me on ko-fi if you can &lt;3

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[lovemaiyo]

lovesick . romance tropes with blue lock . (full length fics coming up soon!!) .

" hey nana, no matter how much or how often people hurt each other, loving someone is never a waste .

ISAGI childhood friends to lovers & in the rain you always admired isagi. every since the age of 7, he had been obsessed with football. it was really rare to find a passion and ambition like his. and he was so nice to you! and cute.. and hot.. and driven.. and- okay, you liked him. like, a lot. but he was in love with someone.. something else. football. it was what he lived for. but you were next, really. isagi would come to you with stories, ideas, and just about anything. and you would listen religiously, because that was the only thing you could do to keep your heart from bursting. these habits, and your 10 year crush, carried on until high school. you were neighbors, so you always walked with him to school and back. it looks like someone forgot to read the weather report today, because it's rainy with a chance of a confession. (EWWW I CRINGED AT MYSELF) "you like me? i like you too. you're my best friend!" "yoichi. i like you. like, like like. like love." "i love you too!" ".. yoichi isagi. it's been 3652 days since i've liked you." "oh. that kind of like."

RIN enemies to lovers & academic rivals to lovers you hated itoshi rin. you HATED him. you hated how he always acted all high and mighty and thought everyone was below him and called everyone that didn't fit his high ass standards "lukewarm." you hated how your name was always second to "itoshi rin." in every exam, in every lesson. you hated him and he hated you right back (or you thought) though, that didn't really explain why he was standing in front of you with a heart shaped box, eyes wandering across the room, one hand scratching his neck bashfully, with a little bit of blush on his cheeks. your jaw almost dropped. yeah, you hated itoshi rin, but was he always this pretty? his eyes were spotify green cerulean, and his hair framed his face perfectly. now, up close, you noticed that his eyes weren't blue ー they were teal. his jawline was sharp. was it bad that you wanted to kiss it? was it bad that you wanted to kiss him? "HUH?????? I THOUGHT YOU HATED ME?" wow, excellent thing to say to your crush!!! woooo!!! you dumb bitch.. "hated you? uh.. i never really hated you.." "oh..." "yeah.." silence.

CHIGIRI stuck in a elevator & hot neighbor

wow, moving was the best decision you ever made. the rent was way lower, the community was friendly, and your neighbor was, well.. hot. hot as fuck. he was tall, with long and silky red hair, and the prettiest pink eyes. and he was really nice. cookies on the day you moved in, frequent hi's and hello's, and he even invited you for dinner some day! no doubt, you were head over heels. and how could you not be? he made one hell of a pasta. so, would it be considered good, or bad that you're currently stuck in an elevator with him? you were going out to meet some friends, you so did your makeup and everything. he just got back from the gym. god, he was really eye candy. "you look nice. who're you all dolled up for?" "just some friends. you?" "got back from the gym." "so.." "hm?" and then there was a crash. ".." ".." "holy shit. what was that."

KUNIGAMI best friend's older brother & protecting you

ever since you were eight, still watching icarly on the tv and dressing up dolls with your best friend, you had been MADLY smitten with her older brother. honestly, who wouldn't be? he was so nice, treated you with utmost care even when you were younger then him. he never lost his calm, he was always kind, and... he was extremely handsome. you always chased after him, but he always just thought you were his little sister's best friend. naturally, you enrolled in the same college as him. you were only a year younger, and with the mindset that kunigami only liked smart girls, you got into college with amazing grades. so why was it, that every time you tried to dress up all cute for him, he barely paid attention. it wasn't like you were in the same friend group, but really? just a occasional 'wow, those clothes suit you.' and a smile? how dense was this guy? and on top of that, you always attracted unwanted attention. "hey, girl, let's go out." ".. no." "why not? listen, i have a lot of girls chasing me, and i chose you. you must be honored." "i have a boyfriend.." "sure you do. listen, just give it up." he moved his arms towards you. "no means no." a familiar voice said, grabbing that creepy guy's hands. "and who're you?" ".. her boyfriend."

REO fake dating

the silence was deafening. "what. did you just say?" "i said, date me. for 2 weeks, fake date me. just to get my parents off my back." .. is he being for real? you knew mikage reo since you were 5. your parents and his parents were business partners, so you saw each other a lot. it was him, with his little purple bowlcut, at 5 years old, who excitedly took your hand and introduced himself. reo quickly became a close friend of yours - until he moved overseas for his little football trip or something. you hadn't seen him in years, yet he came back, knocked on your door, and made this crazy proposal. sure, he'd grown into a hot guy.. a little bit too hot. his fluffy purple hair framed his beautiful face perfectly, and his curious eyes looked at you, waiting for your answer. his lean and toned arms were visible from the black half sleeve he wore, and traces of a fully defined body were visible from under... maybe this wouldn't be such a bad idea? "so? yes or no?"

NAGI sharing a room

going on a trip with your crush was the BEST thing that had ever happened to you. well, it was until about 10 minutes ago. reo, your mutual friend, decided to sponsor a trip for every one of his friends for reasons only god knows. you all met at the lobby of the expensive hotel he booked, and drew straws to see who'd get which room. reo, being the sore loser he was, (no reo hate i love reo) switched up the straws as soon as he got the shorter one. so, just your luck, right? getting stuck with your crush, nagi seishirou, in one room. you're so gonna kill reo when you get out of this. "uhh, i can take the floor?" you offered. "okay. take it then." he said, plainly. your eye twitched at his pettiness. ".. nevermind!! i'm taking the bed." "hey." he frowned "we flip a coin.. i'm heads." actually, your luck was sort of good. it landed on tails! "this thing is rigged..." he grumbled while getting ready to sleep on the floor. which somehow included taking off his grey sweatshirt, to reveal abs and a body like a greek god.. wait, why were you even staring?? (alr pack it up "greek god" SHUT UP HAHAHA WHY DO I DO THIS) "soo... uh.. do you always take off your shirt before going to bed?"

⪩ ⪨ lovemaiyo 2022 - 2024 . choose wisely

[marvelouslizzie]

sooo, i read your fic "like someone i know" and it was absolutely hot AND amazing. i am obsessed with miscommunication of how they thought they hated/were against each other but not. 😭

if you do take requests, could you write a drabble or something of them finally dating and bucky still teasing the reader but obviously in love now? JBJDJSHS maybe make the entire class confused bc they're aware of their rivalry. i just LOVEEE the fluff after enemies/rivals to lovers plots. 🥹

if you don't take requests, it's okay!!! your fic was amazing and now i shall read more of your work to my heart's content!!!

Thank you so much for the kind words ❤️

Oh, I absolutely love this! I tried to write a cute drabble and I hope this works for you.

summary: Set after Like Someone I Know. You and your former academic rival, Bucky, begin a secret romantic relationship. What happens when you two have another exam?

pairing: College!Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

warnings: None actually. Pure bickering and a bit of fluff + no mention of y/n.

word count: 842

All work is mine, please do not repost or translate without my permission.

Another day, another test. You feel stressed by the number of lessons you had to study for this one. There were so many things, even though you went through all of them, you feel like you remember nothing. Nothing at all.

You open your bag and reach for your notes while your back rests against the cold wall. Maybe you will feel confident enough if you go through them one more time. Refreshing your memory does not hurt, right?

You start to read and repeat the most important info in your mind, trying to remember where and how you wrote them so you can use them during the exam, but it’s hard to concentrate. Especially, when Bucky’s voice is booming through the hallway. His laugh is so loud, and it annoys you because he isn’t laughing like that because of you. He’s just messing around with Steve, Sam, and Natasha, as usual. You are pretty sure Natasha is the one that made him laugh this loudly, and jealousy takes over you. 

“For the love of god, just stop talking for a sec! Some of us are trying to study here.” 

No one bats an eye. They are so used to you two bickering before and after exams, but Bucky immediately turns to you. You see the mischievous spark in his eyes. He’s so amused by the comment.

“Do you mean yourself, princess? Because I don’t see anyone else besides you studying right now.”

You make a sour face when you hear him calling you princess. That’s new. He usually calls you doll.

“Does it matter?”

“Matters to me.”

“Fine. I’m trying to study. Shut your mouth, kay? Bye.”

You try to turn back to your notes, but no, Bucky is not done bickering with you. Of course, he isn’t.

“Don’t worry, you will get a good grade. You always do.” It could’ve been such a sweet encouragement if his tone had been different. It just feels like he’s patronizing you.

“So what? I should stop studying?” 

“Yeah. Give yourself a break, doll.” He stops for a second, then dramatically adds. “Live a little.”

“Studying first, living later.” That kinda sounds like a promise, but no one but Bucky gets that.

You think you can finally read again, but Sam doesn’t let go of the conversation for some reason. He always likes to interject.

“Are you worried Bucky will get the best grade?” 

“Oh, come on, Sam!” Steve sounds tired already.

“I would like to see him try.” After years of being rivals, your answer comes automatically. You forget there’s no need for this anymore.

“I got the best score last time, remember?” Luckily he doesn’t sound offended. Maybe he just missed your usual bickering.

“And I will make sure that doesn’t happen again.” You give him a fake smile. You really want to get the best score, even if that means beating your boyfriend.

“You always say that, but…” Suddenly he stops talking, and you wanna know how that sentence ends.

“But what?” 

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Come on!” You challenge him. He shouldn’t stop himself from voicing his thoughts just because you started to date a while ago. Your rivalry is still there. He should be free to say whatever he wants. “Say it.”

“Maybe later.” He resists.

"Come on, Barnes! Since when are you afraid to speak your mind?" Your taunting works like a charm.

“You always say that, but I never saw you upset because I beat you.”

You can’t help but smile. If someone is gonna get the better grade, it has to be Bucky. Any other option is simply not acceptable.

You feel the stares of Steve, Sam, and Natasha on you. They didn’t expect this turn of events. They have been holding their breaths to see your reaction. Are you gonna get mad? Snap back at him? Shove his flirtatious comment up his ass?

“If it's not me, then it has to be you, right?” You watch Bucky’s smile grow while others mumble with confusion.

“If not my girl, then who else?”

Oh, he really went there. He didn’t miss the opportunity to claim you, and even though you wanted to do that very differently, you can’t help but feel giddy about it.

You don’t say anything at first, slowly walking towards him. You stop right in front of him, staring into his pretty blue eyes. He doesn’t know what to expect, so you can see how puzzled he is. You stand on your tiptoes and gently place a kiss on his cheek. 

“Good luck, baby,” you whisper into his ear, then you just turn on your heels, like nothing happened. “See you after the exam.” You don’t look back, but you hear others talk.

“What the fuck just happened?” 

“Did she just-” 

“I told you they would eventually fuck, Rogers! Pay up!” 

“Language, Sam! We don’t even know…”

“Oh, they definitely did.” Natasha sounds rather amused.

“Fine!”

“Oh, come on! You betted on us?” Bucky’s charming voice is the last thing you hear before entering the classroom.

[bimb0fy]

I’m literally so in love with Treech and your story was amazing! Is it possible to request an enemies to lovers with Treech? Set in district 7 please? I love him and district 7 so much

ʳⁱᵛᵃˡˢ ᵗᵒ ʳᵒᵐᵃⁿᶜᵉ -> ᵗʳᵉᵉᶜʰ

ᵖᵃⁱʳⁱⁿᵍˢ; treech x reader

ʷᵃʳⁿⁱⁿᵍˢ; angst, swearing.

ˢᵘᵐᵐᵃʳʸ; you and treech were academic rivals, you were convinced he hated, no. dispised you for being better, yet you sort of missed the old days. so when you find yourself heartbroken, he was there, and he wasn't leaving.

ʷᵒʳᵈᶜᵒᵘⁿᵗ; 1.4k

ᵐᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡⁱˢᵗ!! | ⁿᵃᵛⁱᵍᵃᵗⁱᵒⁿ!!

-> You sat down in class, waiting for your test results back. You could see Treech, waiting along with his friends aswell as he stared daggers into You. It wasn't your fault that you were smarter than him. You watched as your teacher walked over, handing you your paper.

100%

You turned over to find him recieving his paper. You caught a glimpse at the percentage, smirking to yourself as you raised you paper towards him, watching him explode.

99%

To bad, so sad. He only needed half a mark to beat you. If only he knew that you were doing it so your parents wouldn't skin you alive. You placed the paper into your bag as you stood up, walking down the hall as you watched him walk with Lamina, examining his paper excessively, wanting one tiny error to out do you once and for all.

"Just give up, there's no point." You smirked as you leaned onto the locker beside the boy. He glared at you before returning to his papers as Lamina stood quietly. "That's incorrect."

"Yeah! I got that figured out! Thanks!" He sneered at you. You laughed before walking off, skipping to your next class as you heard his curse at you. A smile on your face.

You were a tease, you knew. It started when you had become friends as children. Then he began to work so you drifted apart, yet you always outbested him, and that once love you two faced turned into tolerance, then into hate.

You sat down in class, watching him talk to Ms. Mason, trying to change his grade but he had failed. He looked through the window, finding you smirking only for him to groan and clench his fists.

For the rest of science, you doodled in your papers and thought about what you'd do today. You remembered Derek, who you've been secretly seeing wanted to see you at the end of the day, yet you worry.

You knew he rather had a reputation of ruining girls chances. Yet when he asked you out, you were a dumbass and agreed.

So when he, once again, played with another girls feelings, this time it being yours, you broke down.

You sat down on your steps, crying your eyes out as you held the letter in your hands. You also noticed a figure loom over you, confused and unknowing if what to do.

"Uhm. Is everything okay?" Treech whispered as he placed his hands in his pockets. You were taken a back as you looked up. Treech was early just done with his shift as his axe was in his hand and his helmat in his hand. His face was red and his clothes, oh his clothes were covered in sweat.

"What the fuck?" You mumbled as he chuckled, he set himself down beside you, eyeing the letter in your hands.

"Uh, what's that?" Treech asked you as you handed him the letter. You didn't understand why exactly you trusted him. Why you wanted him to know.

Maybe it was your younger self, the version of you who when every bad or good thing happened, your first instict was to tell him.

You watched as by each time he read a sentence, he gre angrier and angrier.

To angry that he cut the letter before evening finishing the ending.

"Derek fucking wrote you that?" He sneered as he looked at you, he threw the letter as he stood up, opening your door before helping you up. He set you down on the couch as he made you tea.

"Here you go." He whispered as he handed you the tea, he pushed your hair back your ear as he smiled at you. Yet, you were confused. Rather three hour ago, he was filled with hate, now, he had nothing but worry and care in his eyes.

"I don't get it, I thought you hated me." You said as he had grabbed a cold cloth, placing it on your face to calm you down.

"I could never hate you." He whispered as he shook his head. "I never did. I just, I wanted to be as smart as you."

"I wanted to be as smart as you." You laughed as he chuckled. He set down the cloth, looking into you as you smiled. "Thanks. For uhm, making me feel better."

"I didn't do anything."

"You stayed."

-> The next day you went to school, only for you to witness Treech attack Derek during lunch and well, you were baffled to say the least.

You watched as Treech dogged a punch, giving Derek an uppercut before kneeling his stomach, I guess he's really mad at Derek huh?

Soon after, as always, Ms Mason ruined everything by breaking up the fight and sending both Treech and Derek to the office.

Now that's where you were, sitting outside waiting to be called in. You were anxious, you didn't know if Treech had ratted you out and put the blame or Derek had.

Yet when you were called in, you heard Treech's protests to include you. "Hey! She had nothing to do with this!" Treech yelled as the headmaster gave you a look to sit down.

"Did you, or did you not ask Treech to fight Derek in your honor?" The headmaster asked as you looked at Treech, your eyes widening.

"Respectfully." Treech started. "Derek's full of shit sir."

You bit a laugh as Derek turned to face the boy, a glare given, a glare that would make most people turn on their heels and run away. Yet, Treech stood proud of what he said.

"Okay listen, I don't know what happened but I didn't know Treech would actually fight Derek!" You said as the headmaster glanced at you.

"So you asked him to?" He asked as Treech scoffed.

"No she didn't, don't give her the credit. I decided the moment I read what that son of a-." Treech started as you gasped, hitting his knee as he stared at you. "When I read what he write to her."

"Oh my god." You muttered as you pinched the bridge of your nose. Derek stared daggers at you, his eyes widened as he realised how much worse the situation was.

"Of course the whore goes around sharing private letters." Derek muttered as Treech stood up, you pushed him down as the head dismissed you.

You could hear yelling as you left and you couldn't wait till the end of the day to meet up with Treech and to no ones surprise, he had recieved a suspension, meaning he would have to work full time for the week as well.

So you woke up at 4 to get ready. A lumberjacks shift started at 5 and well, you had to thank Treech somehow.

You baked cinnamon cookies, a pastry his mother made before she succumbed to the illness that spread around the district five years ago.

As you arrived to his house, you knocked. You could hear a groan and footsteps, someone clearly was upset, due to the fact that someone decided to knock at 4 in the morning.

Yet, the when he opened the door to see you, his clearly irritated face softened as he looked at you in confusion.

"I wanted to thank you. For defending my honor." You said as he moved to the side to invite you in. You places the cookies on the table as he quickly opened the box to see what it was, a tear escaping his eye as he took one.

"Just like how my ma used to make them." He whispered as you nodded. "I uh, thank you."

"It's no biggie, I uhm, have a nice shift Treech." You smiled as you turned to leave, he grabbed your arm, spinning you around as he embraced you. "Treech?"

"Don't ruin the moment darling." He whispered as he stared at you, slowly leaning in as you stood on your toes to allow him in faster.

His lips collided with yours as you placed your hands around his neck, his hands snaking to your waist as he pulled you in closer.

The kiss, it was sweet which no one had ever expected, in fact, you were convinced it would be harsh and cold, yet it was filled with love.

You pulled away, panting as he smiled, placing his head into the crook of your neck. "I'm still smarter than you."

"Shut the fuck up Treech."

[patrophthia]

what once was | regulus black

pairing: regulus black x reader

genre: fluff, barely even there angst, banter!!, academic rivals to lovers!!

word count: 2.6k

originally posted on my wattpad :)

"you look different," he commented with a slight tilt of his head. regulus narrowed his eyes, his gaze roaming carefully around her features. "are you wearing make up?"

"yeah," she replied cooly, a small part of her cheerful that he'd paid enough attention to notice.

his brows furrowed curiously, "why?"

"because i wanted to look pretty." it was clear by his expression that he was clueless; confuse by her retort.

"but you're already pretty."

or two academically driven people maybe, kinda accidentally, falls for one another after being paired up for a project.

neither [name] nor regulus could recount when their little competition started. perhaps it was during second year where they both joined their respective quidditch teams in hope of one upping the other or, perhaps it was when he earned ten points for slytherin and she couldn't help but add onto his answer just prove she was smarter than him.

it was childish and she knew it. yet, she long grew too accustomed to it for her to stop now.

"amazing job as always miss [l/name]." slughorn praised her, passing her the results for her test. the bright red O on the parchment bringing a large smile to her face, from her left she could hear her desk mate, lana, groan exasperatedly.

"another P," lana frowned, shoving the paper into her book bag. "i swear on salazar's soul if i get another P i'm going to cry."

"so 3 P's straight isn't enough to make you cry yet?" [name] teased her smugly before offering to tutor her friend out only for her to decline, something about wanting to earn her passing grade with her own efforts. "okay then, live your life however you want." she turned from her friend, eyes now following the professor who stood in the back of class; passing parchment upon parchment to waiting students. "although i heard your little slytherin prince is quite smart, wouldn't hurt to ask pretty boy rosier for his help would it?"

"i don't know who you're on about," she replied indifferently.

"you know, from where i'm sitting i get a clear view of his —how you say— deliciousness and if my eyes do not deceive me, i believe pretty boy has gotten an A," [name] said playfully, earning an eye roll from her desk mate.

the man besides the forementioned rosier does not escape her attention, grey eyes staring down at yellow parchment marked with an E. she felt victorious, that was for sure, although it was no surprise to her that she'd done better than him seeing as she'd always been ahead of him on this subject.

his head of ebony locks lifted, his gaze meeting her questioningly resulting in her quickly shifting her attention back to her friend.

•••

"oh you can't be serious lana," she sighed, staring down at her brunette friend who planted her bookbag on the seat that didn't belong to her. "do you know what you're asking of me?"

"i do," she replied, both of her hands firmly holding onto the chair and brown bag combo. "come on, i've already talked to him and you're the one who suggested this!"

"no i didn't, i told you to ask him to tutor you not to fucking partner up on a project that we depend half of our grades on!"

"well don't you think that if i were to partner up with you, i'd only drag you down with me and regulus would finally catch up with you?" she retorted. "i mean, you know i suck at this subject so wouldn't you rather have someone almost as smart as you to work with or fail because me?"

dang it, she's got her there and she knew it. the brunette smiled as rosier approached her side, taking her bookbag off of the chair for him to sit. "now off you go, i'm sure regulus is waiting for you."

with a subtle middle finger to her friend, she turned and made her way towards the back of the class where the younger black brother sat. the bell hasn't rung yet so she took her time, chalking up the courage to go sit besides him as if she wasn't (slightly) intimidated by him. she could see him clearly from a mere feet away from where their table stood.

he looked pretty. he looked pretty with his brows furrowed and lips between his teeth, grey eyes focused on the thick novel in front him.

if she was being honest, she always thought he was rather handsome but the word in itself just didn't described how he looked; pretty was the correct term. he had softer features, softer ways of wording his sentences, softer ways of approaching people and attracting them. he was the type where you'd write love stories about whilst sirius —his flamboyant older brother was the type you'd write heartbreaking tunes to.

there was a huge difference and secretly, she'd hoped he knew that. as much as she hated to admit it, regulus arcturus black was someone she could see herself being in love with. she understood why many girls (and boys) threw themselves at him, he was ambitious with what he wanted; shrewd enough to guess the motives of everyone he's encountered; cunning with his abilities to succeed over every obstacle he'd faced.

he was exactly what slytherin stood for and that was exactly the problem. it wasn't like she hated slytherin or anything of that sort, he was too achievement-oriented to back down from anything she challenged him with - and that angered her. he never gave himself credit for how talented he was. she envied him; envied how he didn't envy her.

"well?" the words surprised her so much that she snapped her eyes into focus, finding the boy who had been occupying her thoughts looking back at her. "are you going to sit or just stand there like an idiot?"

•••

"and what makes you think you're right?"

it seems as though everything was going wrong. [name] and regulus had barely worked together for ten minutes when a row started between the two. draught of the living death was a complicated potion and it certainly doesn't help when your partner's constantly at your throat about whether you were right or wrong.

"because, i am," she argued stubbornly. "what makes you think you're right then?"

"well it says here that we're to stir clockwise twice before adding the sloth brain," he remarked, running a long pale finger over the passage he was adressing. "which i'm pretty sure proves that i'm right."

she looked down to the text book and true to his words the text wrote:

1. Add the Infusion of Wormwood. 2. Add the Powdered Root of Asphodel. 3. Stir twice clockwise. 4. Add the sloth brain. 5. Add the Sopophorous bean's juice. 6. Stir seven times anti-clockwise.

stir twice clockwise. stir twice clockwise. stir twice clockwise. stir twice clockwise. merlin, this is embarrassing.

she looked up, feeling her cheeks flush in shame when she spotted his sly smirk. she cleared her throat, going back to her word with a small mumble of, "i must've misread."

"perhaps you did," he agreed with a smug smile. he could faintly hear her grumble curses under her breath, so, in true black family fashion, regulus asked, "did you say something ma chérie?"

"oh nothing."

"oh," he muttered before turning back to his work, grabbing a copper dagger and preparing to cut up the sopophorous bean they needed to juice. "i thought i heard something."

yeah well, it wasn't like she was going to tell him that if he were to smile at her again she'd knock his stupidly straight teeth out. "must've been the wind."

wordlessly; as if muscle memory, she took the copper dagger from him and handed a silver one instead. not sparing him a single look when she explained, "the sopophorous bean releases more juice when you crush it with a silver dagger."

regulus looked at it skeptically, not sure whether he should as he was told or do it the way he was used to doing it. "just do it so i can get started on the essay," she added after seeing how hesitant he was.

in the end he chose to follow her instructions and just like she said, the sopophorus bean released more juice than they even needed for the potion. he wanted to know where she'd learn that, he really did, but it would mean he had to admit his cluelessness to her and he was way too prideful to do such things.

they worked well together (despite the "you think you're god's gift but you can't even stir seven time anti-clockwise" or the "how are you even a six year when you can't even differentiate there and their?"), she thought, turning in their potion with the promise that she'd submit their essay by monday —the day the essay would be due seeing as tomorrow would be the weekend.

it was the next day when she'd spotted regulus sitting alone in the library, his concentration full on the textbook before him. the pair had made plans to meet and finish their essay as soon as possible, the less time they have to spend tolerating each other the better. she approached his table with a cough; alerting him of her presence, regulus head lifted up.

"you look different," he commented with a slight tilt of his head. regulus narrowed his eyes, his gaze roaming carefully around her features. "are you wearing make up?"

"yeah," she replied cooly, a small part of her cheerful that he'd paid enough attention to notice.

his brows furrowed curiously, "why?"

"because i wanted to look pretty." it was clear by his expression that he was clueless; confuse by her retort.

"but you're already pretty."

was that a compliment? did he-? now how does one reply to their (self sworn) rival admitting that they thought of them as attractive. "well i wanted to look prettier."

"hmm." he nodded, dropping the topic and began, once more, focusing his attention towards his large textbook.

•••

they had both gotten O on their partnered project; slughorn was so ecstatic to know that they'd work together (his two favorite students although he won't ever admit it) that he's assigned them as partners for the rest of year.

she hated the idea then and she hated it now, working with regulus was a frustrating process since he always believed he was right (and she, herself, had also thought that she was also right). their —how you say— team work was disastrous. with it beginning with some (somewhat) calm and collected brain storming, and ending with a screaming match about who was more intellectually sophisticated.

she was tolerating him and that was all it is regardless to how she felt her cheeks heat up when his stupid, stupid, stupid mouth spit out snappy remarks that was always followed by an endearing petname.

they worked together and that was it.

so imagine her surprise when regulus promptly took a seat besides her's in history of magic. he kept a straight face, staring at the board before him when she peered at him with confusion. before she could even ask him why he sat where he sat, the slytherin supplied, "i'm being forced to work with you again."

that had her raking her brain for any memory of lana begging her to switch partners once more for history of magics and surely enough, the brunette had never asked such thing. the girl didn't even need help on this subject, hell, she excelled at it.

"i don't uhm-" she stopped, trying to form the correct sentence to say."-i don't think so."

"well i wanted to work with you," he confessed bluntly, turning to look at her. "you could've just asked," she replied. "would you have agreed to work with me?"

"no- probably not." she muttered, agreeing with his assumption. "you know if i didn't know any better i'd think you actually liked me."

"please [l/name], you know no better than a two year old," he retorted. there was an air of playfulness as they talked; their retorts lighthearted compared to how hostile it used to be.

"big words for the sulking man who's begging for my help," she remarked as other students started piling in. regulus frowned, mumbling on about how, "i do not sulk." to which she replied with a simple, "yes you do." as the class started.

•••

it was late and [name] was tired (so is regulus based off of her assumption, the boy looked more tired than he usually does). they had lost track of time trying to find articles that would support their joint essay on the goblins and whatever her brain was too mushy to remember.

it was a surprise that both of them were still awake, having worked themself into exhaustion only to find not two but one, ONE, article about the so and so topic they had to write a five parchment long essay on. the faiths were playing against them on this one.

"I'VE GOT SOMETHING!" she exclaimed with a surge of energy that was provided with the hopes that they'd be done with this tiring work soon. "blow me," regulus replied, from his seat. she hurried over, excitedly settling by his side bursting into his personal bubble in a way that her fully awake self would never allow herself to be, muttering something along the line of, "bet you'd like that wouldn't you."

regulus scoffed, a lazy -nay tired smile on his lips. "just tell me what you found."

"okay so, we've already know that goblins are a highly intelligent race of small magical humanoid beings with long fingers and feet that coexisted with the wizarding world but did you know that they're native to europe and north america?"

"uh- no i did not?" he was tired, but not tired enough to not humor her. "anything else you've got darling?"

"yes! the average height of an adult is forty eight inches." it was then did she actually realize how close they were, she could even feel his breath on her cheeks. "i'm really close to your face right now."

"you are," he confirmed with the same vagueness he'd use when he told her he'd thought of her as pretty (in his own, weird way commenting way). "and what are you going to do about it?"

"i don't i uhm-" she stopped, unable to focus on her words properly. damn him and his disgustingly pretty grey eyes. "i-"

there was something about being kissed by your (self sworn) academic rival that just brought you butterflies. she really shouldn't have been shocked about how soft, sweet, and gentle the kiss was, seeing how she'd once describe him as being the softer black brother but it still took her by surprise nonetheless.

they pulled away, awkwardly turning back to their works before regulus cleared his throat, "hogsmeade err- do you want to-"

"yes."

"cool," he nodded, his hand sliding down to find her's, initiating contact which she returned by intertwining their hands and began, once more, focusing their attention towards on their tedious essay.

—from bee: i love regulus black,, and thank you so much for the notes/reblogs they’re always so kind and it makes me so happy so thank you!!

[preceriisblog]

THE ATLAS COMPLEX SPOILERS ‼️‼️

Seriously don’t read if you don’t want spoilers.

Okay so I think I’ve scrolled through all of tumblr. All thru Goodreads. Read all the terrible reviews and rants and still nothing has quelled my anger. I feel so rageful. Nothing has ever pissed me off more than this ending

How could Olivie Blake set up something as amazing as academic rivals to lovers, binary stars, meant to be soulmates in every universe AND FUCK IT UP? ARE YOU SERIOUS? HOW COULD YOU TEASE ME WITH THAT AND NOT. GIVE IT TO ME.

And the same with Novacaine??! At the very very very very least you could have at least had Tristan be the one who kills Callum.

and of course. OF COURSE. MY TWO FAVORITE CHARACTERS IN THE ENTIRE SERIES ARE THE ONE WHO DIE. are you kidding me? H O W DOES THIS CONSTANTLY HAPPEN TO ME?? AM I CURSED?

ALSO HOW ARE THERE NO FIX-IT FANFICS YET?? i’ve only seen like one new nicolibby fanfic on ao3 and like two new novacaine ones but that’s not enough to fulfill me??! what happened? did y’all rage quit (cannot blame a single soul??)

so yeah. I feel incredibly betrayed and I need to scream and cry and dig a hole and give Nico and Callum fucking Nova a hug in the afterlife because GODDAMNIT NO ONE DESERVED THEM

One last note: I have always been a Nicolibby shipper, but I would have been happy with a throuple or if Nicolibby had at least kissed once. But you couldn’t even give me that Olivie Blake??

I am shattered. I will never trust again. Use this post to rant about anything you hated about the book in the comments please. I am 100% a hater right now and I have no shame because that ending was downright malicious and fucked.

[nefertiti-fooling-fellow]

This is completely unprompted but here are my top 5 Choices books:

1. Endless Summer:

I mean, this is just an absolute classic, I love mystery, I love fantasy, and every ending was so heart wrenching in its own way. And your choice actually matters (ironic that this is so rare for a book called Choices, but oh well) I never recovered from when I read this for the first time, unmatched.

2. Blades:

You don’t even know how much I went back and forth between these two for the number one spot. Honestly they’re both my favorite. The writing, the character, the plot, the music, the art, Blades has it all. I remember playing the final chapter with goosebumps all over my body. I’m a DnD player, what can I say.

3. Crimes of Passion:

Banger, banger, banger. Just so good, the romance between Trystan and the MC was amazing yet it didn’t feel like it was overtaking the plot at any point, I loved their dynamic and I love the intricacy of the overall mystery. Just the right amount of dark and lighthearted, I will never get tired of rereading this book.

4. The Elementalists:

I know there are valid criticisms of this book out there, but it’s just so fun. I love the worldbuilding, I love the magic system, I love how balanced the emphasis between romance and platonic relationships is. Also, academic rivals to friends/lovers, you can’t go wrong with that. And you get to play a super cool magic jock!!

5. Bloodbound:

Okay, so I will admit I didn’t really like the first book, but the second and third more than makes up for it. MC is just such a badass and the ANGST, the angst is god-tier in Bloodbound.

Honorable mentions:

A Courtesan of Rome (Every single romance route HIT in ACOR except Cassius)

Desire and Decorum (I’m a Jane Austen fan, what can I say)

Ride or Die (Cars. That’s it. Cars)

The Heist: Monaco (Sonia my love <333)

[modelbus]

Can you do cc!tommy with academic rivals to lovers and fake dating please?

Fake dating and Tommy is just mmmm

Pairing: CC!Tommy x Gn!Reader

Academic Rivals To Lovers - Fake Dating

“I need you to date me.”

You jerk your head up from your book to meet Tommy’s eyes. The last time you spoke to him was him cussing you out in Spanish class, so you aren’t quite sure how you got here.

“Excuse me?” You choke out.

“I need you to date me. Now. My friends invited me to a gathering, and I’ve been lying to them about dating someone for a long time.”

“Why don’t you just get a real date? Problem solved.”

“Because I don’t want a real fucking date! And I know you feel nothing ever, so you’re my best bet.”

What are you meant to say to that? Thank you? Tommy had a knack for statements you aren’t sure how to respond to.

For two long years, you two have been practically trying to murder each other through grades. Always neck and neck, it was infuriating. When he scored below you in maths, you scored below him in video design.

“What’s in it for me?” You ask.

“I’m really fucking desperate.”

Wow. The Tom Simons admitting he’s desperate? For your help? You’ve definitely fallen into an alternate timeline, but you weren’t about to complain.

“The trophy from the best video in video design class.”

It was a cheap plastic thing, but you both knew what it symbolized. He held it over you every single day in that stupid class and you were tired of it.

“No.”

“Have fun trying to find someone else to fake date you then.”

You start to pack up your books, tucking them away in your bag. It’s only when you stand up from the library table that he finally speaks.

“Fucking fine. Fine!”

Called it. Talking to Tommy was like playing a game of chess, except his pieces were fucking possessed or some shit.

“You’ll give me the trophy?”

“Yes!” He exclaims.

“Cool. So what do I have to do?”

“Just pretend you’re dating me. And that you like me. The story is that we’ve been dating for seven months and met when I sat down next to you at lunch. You were charmed by my amazing humor and hotness.”

“Oh, yeah, like anyone’s going to believe that.”

You roll your eyes, but you can’t deny that his humor is pretty good. It takes some adjusting to, but in the end you found yourself hiding laughter.

“You’re my fake partner, what I say goes.” He argues.

“I’m just saying, if your so-called friends are-"

“Hey! They’re real! Should I teach you their names? Is that something you’d know?”

Jesus. This was going to be a shit show, wasn’t it?

“I’m going to go, just text me what I need to know and I’ll be there.”

“Okay. You swear you’ll do it?”

Pausing, you take a second to analyze his face. Tommy was always an open book, something you actually like about him. Right now you can tell he’s genuinely doubting you’re going along with this.

Honestly, you can hardly believe you’re going along with it either. But blackmail is blackmail, and you really want that fucking trophy.

“Do you need me to pinkie promise or something?” You jokingly ask, slinging your bag over your shoulder.

“I’ll fucking take it. I need a lot of luck on my side for this one.”

He holds out his pinkie, dead serious. Tommy’s right about one thing: he’ll need a shit ton of luck. So, you lock your pinkie with his, then give him a solemn nod.

“We tell no one.”

“We’ll stage a breakup a week after or something.” He agrees.

As you walk away, you contemplate what the fuck you just did. Did you seriously just agree to fake date a guy you hate? For a trophy?

Hell yeah.

———

The house Tommy told you to go to is nice. Relatively simple, but nice. He’s already waiting for you when you arrive, nervously bouncing on his feet.

“There you are!” He exclaims. “You’re fucking late!”

“First off, hi to you too. Secondly, the traffic was shit. Don’t blame me, blame my Uber driver.” It was true. You even left a full two minutes early!

“I’ll blame both of you. Hurry up, I had to make a bullshit excuse that you spilled water on your shirt.”

Tommy grabs your hand, practically dragging you up to the front door before knocking. It takes a minute but a guy a bit taller than Tommy opens the door, fluffy brown hair falling into his eyes. Wilbur, if the photo Tommy sent you last night was accurate.

“Tommy!” Wilbur exclaims before his eyes fall on you. “Holy shit, your partner is fucking real. Jack’s not gonna believe this. Jack!”

“Okay, great, everyone is real. Can we go inside now? Thanks.” Tommy practically shoves his way past Wilbur, making you come along with him.

“Sorry, Wilbur. You know Tommy. I like your sweater though!” You apologize.

“You know my name,” Wilbur says, closing the door and following you guys.

“Um, yeah. He talks about you guys a lot.”

It’s not a complete lie. You’ve definitely heard him talk about these people to Eryn before.

“You talk about us a lot?” Wilbur asks, eyes widening. “Aw, Tommy-“

“Shut up! Stop embarrassing me!” Tommy cries.

He finally reaches his destination, the one he's been dragging you to the entire time: the living room.

There are even more people in here, sprawled about on various furniture. Suddenly you're grateful for the overkill he had done on teaching you all of their names. You don't realize how you're squeezing Tommy's hand until he squeezes back, an assurance you're entirely unused to. It's weird but welcomed.

"Woah. He wasn't lying about you." A practically bald guy says, jaw dropped. Jack, you think.

"That's what I said!" Wilbur exclaims from behind you two.

"Jesus fucking Christ, did you all really think I'd lie about dating someone? I'm not that pathetic."

You can't contain your laugh, but you attempt to hide it behind your hand. Because Tommy wasn't just pathetic enough to lie about dating someone, he was pathetic enough to fake date his literal rival.

"Well..." Jack shrugs.

"Oi!"

"Good job, Tommy. Didn't think I'd live to see the day." Another person speaks up. This time you know for certain that it's James Marriott speaking.

Why did Tommy have to have so many weird adult friends?

"Hey, leave them alone." A fourth voice defends you both, coming from behind you.

"Phil!" Tommy cries, letting go of your hand to spin around. "Our savior!"

"Yeah yeah, just sit down." Phil laughs.

Tommy doesn't hesitate to take up residence on the couch, leaving you to awkwardly follow him. Nobody ever talks about how awkward it is to fake date someone.

"Right, I want to know how the fuck you got tricked into dating Tommy." Wilbur says.

It's not malicious, nor is the laughter that follows. A quick glance at Tommy shows that even he's laughing. Suddenly Tommy's humor makes a lot more sense.

"He lured me in with promises of creating a Minecraft realm." You tease, taking his hand. He seems confused at the action, so you raise your eyebrows just slightly. You're in this now, if you got found out it'd be embarrassing for the both of you.

"That sounds like Tommy." James agrees.

"What can I say? They call me the romancer."

"You know, Tommy's told us a lot about you. I always believed you were real. Just for the record." Phil glares at Wilbur as if he's to blame for the idea you might not be real.

"What has he been saying? Hopefully nothing about my lack of actual Minecraft skill."

"Oh, no. Tommy's actually even more talkative when it comes to you."

Wait, you thought Tommy lied about dating someone so his friends wouldn't make fun of him. Why would he spin himself into an intricate web of lies by talking about his made-up partner? You knew he was way smarter than that. It presented too many opportunities to slip up.

"I swear to God he doesn't shut up about you. It's really fucking sweet. Always talking about how you scored higher than him on a test, or-"

"Okay, Jack, shut the fuck up now." Tommy interrupts.

"No, I want to hear what you've said about me! It's sweet!" You were starting to get a feeling that something was off here.

"You wore glasses to school once and for a week straight he was-"

"OKAY! I THINK WE'RE THIRSTY!" Tommy yells, standing up.

You take your chance and go with him, following him through the house to the kitchen. There was definitely something you needed to talk about.

The thing was, you had worn glasses to school once. Nearly a year ago. And you were also the only person that ever scored above him on tests.

Tommy had been telling his friends about you, pretending you were dating him.

"Listen, I can explain-" He begins the second he's turned on the tap.

"Can you? Because that sure as hell sounded like you've been pretending I was dating you this entire time. Is that why you wanted me to do this?"

You weren't even sure how to feel about this! Pissed, because you got tricked? Flattered, because he noticed that shit? That he's been talking to his friends about you? But then again, you were meant to hate each other!

"They kept wanting more details! You were the first person to come to mind so I just kind of... ran with it? Listen, I'm really fucking sorry. And yeah, that's part of the reason why I asked you to do this. But it means nothing."

Apologies from Tommy were as rare as netherite. When he offers you the filled cup of water, you take it. It feels like an offering of peace, his own type of olive branch.

"Nothing except that you think of me all the time." You can't help but tease, watching how his cheeks redden.

"Because you're an annoying ass!"

"Oh no, you've called me an annoying ass! My feelings are mortally wounded!"

"Fuck off." He says, but he's laughing.

"I'm dying!" You wheeze, slowly collapsing against the counter.

"No you aren't!"

"How could you do this to me? Your partner!"

"Everything okay? Did you break the fucking tap?" Wilbur yells.

"We're good!" Tommy yells back. "Come on, let's distract them with Mario Kart."

As it turns out, his friends are very easily distracted by competitive games. And they get extremely into them.

Tommy's friends fit him perfectly, and as time goes on you can see him relax more now that you've passed the hardest part of the gathering. You find yourself relaxing, too. They're a fun friend group. If they weren't Tommy's, you'd be looking to steal them.

After a while, you give up on trying to beat Phil's incredible Mario Kart skills, content to just watch the chaos unfold as everyone tries to rally against him. The tournament goes late into the night because someone made the mistake of picking the max number of races possible. (You're pretty sure it was Jack, but he keeps blaming it on James.)

At some point Phil paused the game to hand out blankets and pillows to anyone who wanted one, not even giving you and Tommy a choice before chucking one at your face. Thank God Tommy had good enough reflexes to catch it because you sure as hell didn't.

Despite it all being fake, it's cozy. You're here on a complete fluke and Tommy's incompetence at finding someone to date, but you can't help but wish, just a little, that this was real. Probably just the exhaustion speaking though.

"Aw, look at the couple." Phil coos, drawing everyone's attention to you and Tommy.

You're curled up close to him because Phil only gave you both one blanket. No other reason. Nope, none at all.

"Kiss," Wilbur says simply.

"What?" Tommy asks, laughing a little like Wilbur's making a joke.

"Kiss," Wilbur repeats, a tad bit more insistent.

Oh, fuck. He knows. Or at the very least he suspects something.

"You don't have to," Tommy whispers, so quiet that only you can hear it.

"We kiss or get found out. I'm not risking the latter." You answer, just as quietly.

In the end, it's Tommy who makes the move and kisses you. It's short, barely a peck on the lips. But it's still a kiss with Tommy. Tommy, your literal academic rival.

"Happy, you fuckers?" He groans.

"Very." Wilbur nods. His eyes meet yours for a second before he turns back to the screen.

He definitely fucking knows.

"I'm going to the bathroom." You murmur, standing up and then pausing. "Uh."

"I'll show you." Tommy sighs. "This way. I think."

It feels like you've been doing nothing but following him around today, going where he guides you. Apparently, he guided you into kissing him and you followed.

Not only did you follow, but you didn't mind it.

Very few things in life were certain. The things that never changed were to be treasured, and you thought this one of them. You and Tommy never stopped competing and that was certain. Until tonight. Tonight, where everything was thrown out of balance.

No matter how short the time his lips were against yours, you kissed him long enough for you to come to exactly one realization. One devastating realization: you wanted to kiss him again.

"I'm sorry Wil made us kiss. He's fucking smart, that's why I was worried about him calling our bluff the most." Tommy doesn't look at you.

"He knows. That we aren't really dating."

"Of fucking course he does. So we kissed for fucking nothing?! This is the bathroom, by the way."

Instead of going in, you stop and face him.

"I want to change the deal." You had to take this risk.

"What? You can't fucking do that!" His eyes are blown wide, panicked. He probably thinks you're backing out.

"Instead of the trophy, I want you to answer a single question with complete honesty."

You were a smart person, one that valued knowledge. This answer was far more important than any award could ever hope to be.

"...okay?" He hesitantly accepts. "Right now?"

"Yeah. Why'd you describe me as the person you're dating? Because I know it's not just because I'm an annoying ass." You didn't know. This was a gamble, your biggest ever. Bigger than the time you decided not to study for a science exam.

"Why?" Tommy asks, stalling.

"A deal's a deal. We pinkie promised." You remind him, unmoving.

"You were the first person I thought of." You wait, knowing there's more. As if sensing his defeat, he deflates and adds, "Because you're the person I want to be dating. Nobody else fucking gets it! Nobody else is a fucking challenge! It's just you and your stupid witty comments about things. And I know it makes me sound like a fucking weirdo, but I didn't mean to. Not at first. This whole fake dating thing? I need you to know I didn't fucking plan it. I didn't plan to kiss you. Really, I planned to tell them we broke up in a week!"

The first thing that sinks in is that you were the dumbest person in the world for not realizing sooner. The second thing is that he didn't use the past tense. "Want" not "wanted."

“I fucked up, didn’t I?” He asks.

“I don’t know. I’m just really confused.”

“You’re confused?” Tommy parrots, seeming shocked.

“Yeah! That’s what happens when you fuck with people’s feelings, Tommy!”

He draws back at your anger, but only slightly. It wouldn’t be Tommy if he didn’t yell back at you.

“I didn’t mean for it to go so far!”

“What happened to ‘you don’t feel anything ever, and that's why I chose you,’ huh!?”

“I thought I could get away with this! And nobody would have to find out we aren’t actually dating, and that I have a stupid crush on you! The second one’s already fucked up, so if you want to fuck up the first one, then just do it.”

The only time you’ve ever seen him this emotional was when he lost a stupid nerf gun. A gun you found, because he looked like shit and you needed your rival at his best.

And because you cared about him more than you wanted to admit at the time.

“You know what? I think I will.”

With that, you press your lips to his. There’s nobody around, no reason to kiss him other than wanting to. It might be stupid, but you’re a firm believer that how you feel while kissing someone tells you if you should be together.

“Oh.” Tommy says dumbly once you pull back. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“FUCK YEAH!” He practically screams, making you slap a hand over his mouth.

“Shh!”

“No!” His voice is muffled behind your hand.

“This doesn’t change the fact I’m still smarter than you.”

“I think you mean that I’m smarter than you.”

"In your fucking dreams."

"Oh! Didn't mean to run into your... uh..." James blinks at you two.

"We were just talking." Tommy quickly says.

"Yup!" You agree. "Just talking. With my boyfriend. Outside the bathroom."

"You know, you're a weird fucking couple. I love it. I'm just gonna take the bathroom though."

James slips between you two, shutting the bathroom door.

"Holy shit." Tommy laughs. "We almost got caught!"

"There's not much to catch now, is there?" You ask.

"Huh. Guess not."

He grins, a dopey and idiotic thing. Either way, you smile back at him.

Who would've thought this was how the night turned out?

[fluentmoviequoter]

hey I have another request since you asked to keep them coming. how about academic rivals with victor vale (lockland era) turned to allies (*cough* lovers) fighting against eli? it would be also awesome for reader to be an EO <33

I am so so so sorry about the long wait, but thank you for being patient! This request is amazing and I hope I did it justice; it's my first time writing rivals to lovers allies, so I hope it's okay! Please feel free to leave feedback and let me know what you think. Thanks again for the great requests!🤍

Warnings: angst, fluff, discussions of death and EOs, reader's ability is discussed (it's controlling vehicles), reader and Victor call each other stupid/just are generally mean to each other, spoilers for Vicious. I think that's all?

Word Count: ~4.6k words

A/N: We need more Victor Vale gifs.

10 Years Ago - Lockland

You’re sitting in the quiet library, tapping your pen against your lower lip as you look back and forth between the open textbook and your nearly full notebook. The Comprehensive Science Seminar is ending, and it’s time to declare a thesis. You’ve been fighting through this course and are struggling to find the perfect topic. An idea pops into your head, and you scribble it on the last page of your notebook. As you pull the pen away, someone drops a paper onto your book.

“Wow, 95. You must be so proud,” you say emotionlessly, pushing the paper across the table as the owner, Victor Vale, sits across from you.

“It’s alright. What’d you get?” Victor asks, and you swear you see the hint of a smile.

“I don’t know, I haven’t been in to see Professor Lyne yet. No doubt it’s a 96 or higher.” You send him a fake smile before looking back at your notes.

“Hmm. And your thesis?”

“Yours?”

Victor stares at you before shrugging. “Coming along nicely.”

“Mine too. Now if you don’t mind.”

“Right, right. I wouldn’t want to bother Lockland’s number 2 student. See you tomorrow.”

“Not if there’s any hope in the world.”

You pinch the bridge of your nose and groan quietly. I need a better thesis if I want to beat him, you think, and open a different textbook.

14 Years Ago - Lockland

“Mr. Vale, you will be paired with… your neighbor, nice planning,” the professor announces.

He continues down the list as you look over at Mr. Vale.

“I’ll handle it,” he mutters, reaching for the worksheet.

You slap a hand onto it, stopping him as you argue, “That’s not gonna work for me. I don’t really need the fate of my GPA in… those hands.”

The corner of his lip twitches up for just a moment. “Well these hands happen to have a better GPA than you. So, if it works for you, I’ll give yours a little boost. They love charity work here, it’s like an extracurricular.”

“Well, as much as I appreciate that,” you bite out, “I don’t trust you or your high GPA hands. So we do it together, or I take the A and tell everyone that you didn’t demonstrate the signature ‘Lockland Teamwork.’”

Victor cracks his neck before pushing the paper toward your side of the lab table. “Fine. But if we don’t do well on this I will make sure you never show your face at Lockland again.”

“Yeah, we’ll see how you feel after you lose your title of highest GPA, Vale.”

10 Years Ago - Lockland

“All right. It’s time to declare your thesis,” Professor Lyne announces.

You stare at the back of Victor’s head, two thesis options on a notecard on your desk. Are you waiting to see what he picks? Maybe. But you’re one or two higher grades away from taking Victor’s class ranking, and you will do it. If it’s the last thing you do.

Professor Lyne goes through his warnings about what makes a good thesis, and then you drown everything out. Bouncing your leg, you hope this goes well.

“And you, Mr. Vale?” Professor Lyne asks, pulling you from your thoughts.

You see Victor look at Eli, then he turns and glances at you. Your brows furrow as he answers, “Adrenal inducers.”

Professor Lyne begins to argue, and Victor adds, “Adrenaline and its physical and emotional inducers and consequences. Biochemical thresholds. Fight or flight, That kind of thing.”

Watching with bated breath, you’re surprised when Professor Lyne nods and says, “Don’t make me regret it.”

You can practically feel the victory radiating off Victor as Professor Lyne turns his attention to you, sitting between Eli and Victor, a row behind. You state your first thesis idea, and Professor Lyne tilts his head as he nods.

“Excellent choice,” he says. “Eli Cardale.”

You take a deep breath, a small smile on your face. This smile, however, falls as Eli answers.

“EOs,” Eli says calmly.

You don’t hear the rest of the conversation until the end when Professor Lyne concedes with a simple: “Fine.”

Fine? you think. He’s going to kill someone; he’s insane.

Victor follows Eli outside, and for a brief moment, you’re concerned, then you realize that his concern for his psycho friend may give you the advantage you need.

You can win even after sacrificing a pawn, after all.

With your entire focus on beating Victor, you hardly notice that you haven’t seen him around as much. At least until you learn he tried to kill himself. After an internal war, wondering if you should visit him, you get in your car and drive to the hospital where he is.

When you find his room, you knock on the door. “Hey.”

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

“Wow. Great to see you too, oh, it was no problem to come down and see you,” you respond.

Victor shakes his head. “Thanks, I guess. Why are you here?”

You shrug. “I figured I could apologize, since my amazing thesis drove you to such lengths.”

Victor barks out a harsh laugh. “You wish this was about you.”

“Then what’s it about?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Right, because I’m just a stupid girl whose GPA isn’t as high as yours and my mommy and daddy don’t write self-help books that end up with cryptic, messed-up messages.”

“See? Don’t understand.”

“Well, then, in that case, I’ll get going. I’ve got an ‘excellent’ thesis to work on. See ya, Vale, unless they finally see that it’s not just smart up there.”

You walk out, fuming. Victor is a lot of things, and infuriating is at the top of the list. He thinks you’re too stupid to understand? You’d bet money you know what happened.

In your car, you look down at your phone and find Eli’s number, prepared to check your hypothesis that he was involved. It rings as you drive, and you hear Eli answer just before you see a truck swerve into your lane.

10 Years Ago - Lockland Medical Center

You gasp for air when you wake up. Doctors and nurses are surrounding you; one pulls an adrenaline shot away as the others keep you still to tend to your wounds. Losing control is something you don’t usually feel, and you don’t like it. Their voices fade as your blinks grow slower, control slipping from your grasp.

The light in the hospital room is not helpful in your battle to open your eyes. When your surroundings become clear, you see the date on the wall. Your thesis is due tomorrow.

“Um, excuse me?” you ask a passing nurse. “I really need to get going, I have a thesis due.”

“Someone is on their way to talk with you,” she says kindly before hurrying out.

Professor Lyne’s assistant knocks on the door a few minutes later, sorrow and hurt in his eyes. “I was sorry to hear about your accident, but I’m glad you’re doing better. Modern medicine is something to behold.”

“Right,” you mumble. “And my thesis?”

“You’ll receive full credit for the course and have an indefinite extension. Professor Lyne…” His voice catches, and he clears his throat before continuing, “Professor Lyne had an accident at the school. He passed away yesterday.”

“He’s gone?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I reviewed your thesis draft with him the previous day and he was very impressed, so when you are able to submit it, I have no doubt you will receive praise.”

A tear rolls down his cheek, and he hastily excuses himself. Professor Lyne was impressed; you wonder if he reviewed Victor’s work. Or if Victor even did any work after his “accident.”

“Hello?” you ask, answering your phone.

“Hey, it’s Eli. Victor tried to kill me,” Eli says quickly.

“Eli?” you ask after a moment. “How did you get my number?”

“Focus! Vic. Tried. To. Kill. Me,” he repeats slowly.

You probably deserved it, you think. Instead of saying that, you ask, “But you’re okay?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Victor is messed up though.”

“Eli, why are you telling me this?”

“Think about it. He tolerates me, but he hates you. Just be careful.”

Eli ends the call, and you decide he’s crazier than you thought. You glance around the hospital room, stopping to look out the window and feel a strange buzzing sensation as a truck passes outside. It swerves onto the curb, then the buzzing fades, and the driver corrects his mistake and keeps driving. Weird.

“Ma’am, I have the paperwork here if you’re ready to leave,” a nurse informs you.

“Oh, I am,” you answer, reaching for the pen.

9 Years Ago - Lockland

You walk the stage and accept your degree. The small class in your Comprehensive Science Seminar receives a special ceremony. Except for the two who didn’t submit their theses: Victor Vale and Eli Cardale. You thought that if either of them went to jail, it would be Eli. After hearing what Victor did to Angie Knight, you realize that maybe your academic hatred for him stemmed from a deeper understanding of his character.

It happens again when you leave the ceremony to enter the next part of your life and start a new job with your new degree. You look at a truck and feel a buzzing before it swerves. You step back, and it doesn’t stop; at the last second before impact, you flip your hand to the side, and the truck rolls over, stopping in the middle of the road.

You look between your hand and the truck, and worry fills your mind as you realize Eli was right.

Two Weeks Ago - Wrighton Penitentiary 

“Who’re you here to see?”

“Victor Vale,” you answer.

The disinterested guard taps a few keys on a computer. “He was in solitary for a long time. Folks like that don’t usually get visitors.”

You nod. “It’s been a long time. He’s not in solitary anymore, so I can see him, right?”

The guard huffs before pushing a clipboard through the small opening in the bulletproof glass. “Sign these, then go through the metal detectors. They’ll show you where to go.”

“Thank you.”

You rush through the paperwork and then through the security checkpoint. Sitting in front of the bulletproof divider, you tap your fingers on the metal table, glancing between the phone and the door. When Victor enters, his eyes land on you, as cold and hateful as ever.

“Hey,” you say into the phone after he picks the other side up.

“What do you want?”

“That’s your go-to line, isn’t it?”

“It’s been years,” Victor spits out your last name, “why now?”

You look around before lowering your voice to say, “He was right and you know something.”

“Who?”

“Eli. Who else, Victor? The guy you… injured.”

“What exactly do you want from me?”

“Answers! And don’t tell me that I won’t understand, I’m the one with a college degree and you’re in a jail cell,” you snap.

“Top of the class?” You nod, and Victor mumbles, “Just because I dropped out.”

“I would’ve beat your little ‘flight or fight’ thesis and you know it. Now tell me what happened.”

“Nothing happened and nothing is going to happen. My time’s up. Bye.”

He slams the phone and storms out, not sparing a glance over his shoulder. The ache you refused to acknowledge disappears as he does. That’s what I thought, you think.

You spend the next few days trying to figure out what power Eli has. If Victor attempted to kill him and failed, then Eli must be invincible. There’s a way around that; there has to be. Staying near the prison wasn’t a conscious choice, but you’re less than a mile away, just in case.

One Week Ago - Wrighton Penitentiary 

Reading on your porch, you don’t expect to witness someone trying to steal your car. Focusing, you rev the engine and flash the headlights as you walk toward them.

“I knew I was smarter than you, but I didn’t think you were this much of an idiot,” you tell Victor.

“How did you do that?” he asks.

“I already told you, I know more than you think.”

“We need your car,” Victor says.

“Not without me. You can take it, on the condition I go with it.”

“Absolutely not. Give me the keys or we’ll take it another way,” Victor threatens.

You square your shoulders and look into his eyes with the same tenacity and stubbornness he hated in college.

“How? Gonna hurt me again; use the pain to distract me? Is that your thing?”

The man with him looks back and forth between you.

“You don’t know half as much as you think you do.”

You rev the engine and watch Victor’s eyes move to the car. “I know that you and Eli are EOs. And I know that you’re both crazy, but you’re not quite as crazy. Now, do you want to stand here until you get caught or take me up on the offer and get out of here?”

“I don’t want you coming with us,” he snaps.

You see a police car approaching and direct it into a U-turn to send it in the other direction.

“You’re-”

“An EO? Thought you were smart enough to notice, Vale. Last chance: car or no car?”

“Fine,” he concedes as sirens grow louder. “But I’m driving.”

“Not a chance. Besides, I can control it from the passenger seat, idiot.”

Victor rolls his eyes as he rushes to the passenger side, sitting low in the seat as his (friend? acquaintance?) lays down in the backseat. You introduce yourself quickly.

“Mitch,” he answers. “Thanks for covering for us.”

“Mostly you, Mitch.”

“So I’ve heard,” he mumbles.

“Where are we going?” you ask.

“We can go to my parents’ house. They’re on a book tour,” Victor answers.

“Of course they are. Then what?”

“We find him.”

You nod, directing police cars past you as you turn off of the main road.

“And kill him, I presume? Since you failed last time,” you add.

“How do you know about that?”

“He called me. Warned me that since you hated me more than him, I was probably next.”

“And you didn’t care?”

“I was in the hospital, so yeah, it wasn’t really a top priority.”

“How’d you die?” Mitch asks. “Sorry, is that insensitive? I’m new to the Extra-Ordinary thing.”

“It should be insensitive, but it’s fine,” you answer gently. Softer than you’ve ever talked to Victor. “I was in a car accident after I visited Prince Vale over here after his overdose. A failed attempt at getting superpowers, I realize now.”

“You were in a wreck? I didn’t know,” Victor says, pulling himself up into the seat.

“I’m shocked,” you answer sarcastically, “because you always cared so much about me. We hate each other, Victor, I didn’t expect flowers.”

Victor nods and tells you how to get to his parents’ house. Mitch sighs after each of his hurtful comments, but you’re immune to them.

10 Days Ago - On the Road

“They’re back,” Mitch says, looking at the armored truck out the back window.

“I can get them off our trail, for good, but it will put a target on our back,” you offer.

“Not alone, you can’t,” Victor argues.

You nod. “Then what do we do?”

“Stop the car.”

You do as he says, telling Mitch to get down as you and Victor get out of the car.

“I am smart enough to do this by myself,” you whisper.

“Sure you are,” Victor replies. “Flip it and I’ll finish them off.”

“Okay,” you breathe out before focusing on flipping the vehicle end over end into a roadside ditch.

You watch as Victor approaches the cracked windshield. Closing your eyes as if it will protect you against the pained screams, you hear the last officer take his final breath before Victor returns to the car.

“Let’s go,” he hurries you. “If it helps your conscience, you didn’t kill any of them, just hurt them.”

If only you could believe that.

One Week Ago - Vale House

“Is that who I think it is?” you ask, looking over Mitch’s shoulder.

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen him,” Mitch answers. “Is it? This just says ‘Civilian Hero Saves Bank.’”

“Yeah, that’s Eli Cardale. He hasn’t aged a day, though.”

You’re leaning over onto the table, reading the article when Victor enters.

“What’s so interesting?” Victor asks.

“Mitch found Eli,” you answer.

“Where?”

He joins you, his arm brushing against yours, and for once, you don’t immediately pull away.

“Merit,” Mitch says. “He’s some kind of vigilante.”

You and Victor make the same sound: muted amusement covered by exasperation. Mitch looks at you, then back to the screen.

“The article doesn’t say his name? I thought he’d want the fame,” you add.

“He doesn’t. He thinks God sent him back to take care of EOs.”

“Eli Cardale thinks he’s God? That makes sense.”

“Ever. He changed his name to Eli Ever.”

“Someone was jealous of someone else’s alliteration, Peter Parker,” you point out, smiling as Victor sighs.

The night before you leave for Merit, you ask Mitch to find Victor’s records, reading the reports of both deaths - his overdose and the one he caused. After his overdose, no one told you he died, and you had no idea about what happened with Angie.

“What are you doing?” Victor asks, suddenly behind you.

“Getting answers,” you reply, turning the computer off and walking away.

Victor follows you through the large glass doors onto the deck.

“So it’s okay for you to go digging around in my past when you won’t answer a single question about yours?” Victor snaps.

“What do you want to know? That I got hit by a truck and brought back to life two times? That I put everything I had left into that thesis? That the first time I realized I had a power was because of you?”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone? You knew Eli and I were looking into EOs.”

“This isn’t my fault, Victor!”

“You were being reckless! Still are!”

“And you’re still stupid! Who in their right mind kills themselves, not once, but twice, just to get superpowers?” you yell, stepping closer to Victor.

“You have powers too! And we both know I’m not the stupid one here.”

“Are we seriously arguing over who’s smarter? We just killed several people, Victor!”

“We? There was no we when we had that group project and you deleted my work to replace it with your own.”

“You were wrong and you know it,” you reply, rolling your eyes and crossing your arms.

“My GPA begs to differ.”

“You didn’t even graduate and you’re still infuriating.”

“And you’re smarter than you think, just won’t apply yourself like I do!”

“Shut up, Victor.”

“Make me.”

You grab his coat and pull him in, crashing your lips against his. His hands meet your waist, and he slows the kiss, moving his lips against yours. When you realize what you’re doing, you pull back.

“We- uh- we can’t stay here forever, your parents have to come back eventually,” you say quietly, Victor’s coat still in your hands.

“I know, but I don’t think we can do this alone. I can turn myself in and get another guy. Someone who can kill the unkillable.”

“That’s an incredibly stupid idea, Victor.”

“Do you have a better one?” Victor asks sharply.

“A few, actually. And they don’t require you to go back to prison and leave me here.”

“I’m not pulling you into this, too. If Eli kills me....”

“That’s not your decision, Vic.”

He takes a few deep breaths before nodding. “Okay,” he whispers.

Six Days Ago - Merit

You and Victor walk out of a store with several supplies, including Mitch’s chocolate milk and a first aid kit for Sydney’s gunshot wound. She’s only been with you for a few hours since you drove into Merit, but you feel attached to her already. Suddenly, you drop the bags as an intense pain overwhelms your senses.

“Vic?” you ask, looking up at him.

You watch, helpless, as he calls the police with an anonymous tip that escaped convict Victor Vale was seen in Merit.

“You lied to me!” you accuse through your tears. “Don’t do this!”

He kneels before you, brushing his finger over your cheekbone and kissing your forehead. “I’ll find you when I get out.”

“I’ll find you if you don’t. Please don’t be stupid about this,” you beg.

“See you around. Maybe study biology to pass the time and we can have a rematch test,” Victor says before standing and approaching the curb.

He raises his hands and falls to his knees as the police descend upon him and handcuff him. Even though you could stop it all with the wave of a hand, you watch, vowing to keep your promise or die trying. And you would have done better in that biology class if your teacher had been a fair grader.

You return to the room at the Esquire, tears still running down your face.

“What happened?” Sydney asks, rushing to your side when you enter.

“That idiot got himself arrested just to break out again with more help,” you answer, no emotion in your voice. “So we have to do something.”

“Okay, this is when Victor would tell you not to be stupid,” Mitch interjects.

“Well, Victor thinks I’m stupid all the time. Let’s prove him right,” you reply, shrugging.

“How?” Mitch asks.

“Sydney Vale here is going to visit her big brother, I’m going to crash a truck into a wall and we’re going to make sure Eli is ready for the taking as soon as Victor is out. Maybe not in that order.”

“Meaning?” Mitch asks carefully.

“No time for questions. You stay here and send me layouts of the jail and Sydney and I will bring Victor back soon.”

Sydney wordlessly follows you, more than happy to help you get Victor back. 

Five Days Ago - Merit Police Department

The time and place have been set: Midnight at Falcon Price. Now, to get the last member of your team back.

You and Sydney sit across from Victor, pretending to be checking on him until you create an excuse to leave.

“Is she okay?” Victor asks.

“Cover your head,” Sydney whispers.

Victor’s eyes widen when he hears brakes squeal and horns blowing, but he covers his head like Sydney asks. When the front end of a semi breaks through the wall before reversing out, Victor turns up the pain around him to distract everyone as he gets Sydney over the bulletproof divider and outside.

You rev the engine of the car you’re in and smile as Victor and Sydney climb in.

“I told you to wait,” Victor admonishes.

“We found him and we have a meeting. Four days, so find a new partner.”

“We need to figure out how Eli is finding them,” Victor mumbles.

“Mitch is working on it,” you reply.

“You know that was stupid, right?” Victor asks, changing the subject.

“Isn’t everything I do?”

“Maybe not everything,” Victor answers slowly, thinking about what happened at his parents’ house.

“Maybe not,” you agree, smiling.

10 Hours to Midnight - Merit

“You’re not going,” Victor repeats.

“Yes, I am. You need backup and I’m not just going to sit here,” you argue. You lower your voice to add, “Sydney may buy your promise that you’re coming back, but I’m not stupid enough to trust you again. At least not yet. So I go, or no one goes.”

“This is prison break day all over again,” Victor mumbles, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Is that a yes?”

“It’s a hesitant yes.”

“Perfect. Then let’s finish this, Victor.”

“And then what?”

“Biology test then a shot at freedom,” you answer. “In that order.”

Midnight - Falcon Price

You promised you wouldn’t interfere until you had to, but you can’t watch Eli touch Victor again. The building isn’t solid, yet you stand as you hear a large truck nearby. Directing it toward the building, you hope it doesn’t hurt Victor any more than he already is. Angling it so it affects the side where Eli is pacing more than where Victor is kneeling, bloody and bruised, you increase the speed and run it straight into the south corner of the Falcon Price project.

The building tilts and drops several feet as the load shifts onto the truck wedge in the load-bearing beams. Eli stumbles backward as you rush toward Victor.

“I should have known,” Eli says with a dark chuckle. “Although I wish I’d thought to recruit you before you two realized the line between hate and tolerance is so thin.”

“You would know,” you snap, wrapping an arm around Victor.

“But you see,” Eli continues, moving to the edge and looking over. “A truck isn’t enough to stop me. I’m invincible because God isn’t finished with me.”

“And when He is?” you ask.

“He’ll find a way.”

“How do you think you get to heaven, Cardale?” you ask, stalling.

The light of a plane catches your attention.

“It’s Ever,” he nearly growls.

“I’ve always wondered if it’s a plane that takes you to heaven,” you continue, willing yourself to control more than just trucks.

“You are as stupid as Victor said,” Eli mutters before raising his voice to ask, “What’s with the heaven questions? Didn't get an answer when you died at Lockand?”

“Yes or no on the plane, Eli?” you yell over the growing noise of the plane engine. “Because I think it’s time to board!”

You toss yourself over Victor as the plane crashes into the edge of the building, pulling Eli out of sight. Holding onto the chair bolted to the ground, you keep Victor from sliding over the edge as he tries to remain conscious.

“Was that a plane? I thought it was just trucks,” he mumbles as he pulls himself up.

“Apparently not. Now we need to get out of here before all those cops get here.”

“Didn’t think of that when I killed Serena.”

“Don’t think about that, Vic. Let’s focus on getting back to Sydney and Mitch; you have a promise to keep.”

After Midnight - Vale House

“Hey,” you call as you walk onto the deck and close the door behind you. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Eli survived, but Snell took him in for murder. Serena was really powerful," he answers, turning to face you.

“You did it.”

“You did most of it. Without the truck and plane, he would have killed me.”

“Maybe. What now?”

“I don’t think this will ever be over,” he says, sighing. “But for now…”

He leans in, and you lay your hands on his chest as you ask, “Biology test?”

“Depends. What does the winner get?”

“Hmm. Two days without the loser calling them stupid,” you suggest.

“That’s it? A make or break biology test and that’s the prize?”

“The title, bragging rights, what more do you need, Vale?”

He gets closer before answering, “I think you know.”

“Ah, you want to read my thesis. Well, I’m sure we can work something out.”

Victor presses his forehead against yours. “I’m going to win, so how about I pick the prize?”

“At the rate you’re going, softie, it’ll probably be a prize for me too. If you win.”

“We’ll see.”

Victor steps back, and you take his hand to lead him inside. He watches you and mumbles, “I’m not sure there is a punishment with you, stupid.”

“Heard that!”

[petri808]

Day 10 @flufftober - “love of my life” Tianshan drabble. MO’s POV

It took distance to make me finally admit just how much Tian meant to me. To think, a relationship that began with a fight and ending up as lovers was not something I could have imagined. Not ever, and certainly not with another man when I’d been simply scrapping by as a loser under the thumb of a heartless gang leader like She Li. Back then I didn’t have much of an opinion about myself other than ending up working some low wage job behind a stove somewhere and living with my mother. No one else but her cared, well, except maybe Buzzcut. It certainly wasn’t enough to make me care about myself. Why should I have? I was no genus at academics, pretty good cook and able to clean, but that just made me a servant, a slave— Big deal.

At first, He Tian wasn’t much different from She Li in that he pushed me around too. Cook for him, clean for him, drug me around on whims, scaring the hell out of me on too many occasions. And yet, it was… different. For starters, Tian paid me which was great for me and my mom since we could use the money. Tian didn’t beat me or use me for illegal stuff like getting into fights with rival gangs. But I have to say the turning point started with standing up for me and refusing to let me take the fall for something I didn’t do. Tian and Jian and Xi, the trio fighting with the school administration and using their connections, took me completely by surprise when I didn’t think I deserved their help. Buying me things and showing me another side of the world I never experienced before slowly pulled me in. Showing me what friendship really meant, well, isn’t that what we all want?

But… it’s when I saw the pain in Tian’s eyes when he found me broken and battered, and the anger he unleashed on She Li for breaking my body and spirit, then the ferocity he showed when they hurt Jian, just wow… how could it not have sucked me in? This man cared so damn much, taught me so much, it felt amazing when I scored that 80 on the test and the glimmer in his eyes of how proud he was for me. Damn, I knew then I was falling in love.

Then his brother had to take him away from us— from me, and send him to another school where I couldn’t follow. The bastard, I was so angry at first at Chen. Couldn’t the bastard see how much we meant to each other? Tch. Yeah, okay we kept in touch by phone and Tian would come home to visit during breaks, but for the majority of three years I had to endure without him. Just Jian and Xi as company, it wasn’t the same damn it! I really started to miss the times he would sneak into bed with me or watched me when he thought I was asleep. The kisses he’d sneak in or touching me and grabbing onto me when it was dark… I really, really missed it, him, and counted the days till I’d see him again. But most of all, I just missed the company and his support. Of him pushing me to do better in school and simply be a better man. So, I did what he hoped during our time apart and did my best in school, biding my time till the day we could reunite.

What will he think?

Jian Yi answered the knock on the bedroom door. It was Qi letting us know it was time to head down to the backyard.

“Ya ready?” Jian asked me and I nod yes… nervous, but ready for what was next. So he grins and straightens my tie before patting me on the shoulder. “Let’s go, your man awaits,” he teases.

Tch, I sneer but with a blushing grin. My man? Yeah, that man alright. I follow along as I’m lead then told to wait just inside the door to the backyard. We can hear the music starting to play. Oof, the nerves are kicking in. Excited nervous energy that’s making me grin from ear to ear— Dun, dun da dun, dun da da dun… Jian claps me on the back seconds before they door opens to the crowd of onlookers staring back at us from He Cheng’s backyard adorned with the makings of a garden wedding venue. A swallow hard to drench my parched throat as I see the love of my life standing at the end of the flower-laced aisle waiting for me with the biggest smile I think I’ve ever seen.

I take a deep breath and walk forward with a smile. Thank you, He Tian for choosing me…

[idontunderstandchemistry]

Indecent Proposal (An academic rivals to lovers fanfic) - Tim Drake x Latina!Fem!Reader.

Sinopsis: Being a scholarship student at Gotham's most expensive school is not easy, especially when your academic rival, your nemesis, who coincidentally is the owner's son, decides to make you a rather usual proposition.

Tropes: Academic rivals-to-lovers, contract/bet, he loved her all this time, everyone else sees it except them, opposites attract, etc.

Author's Note: This chapter is a little flat, in my opinion, but i guess that writing smut is waaaay easier in my mother tongue. We have many dirty words that prove their worth in these kind of scenes, lol. I guess this means i'll have to write many other scenes with this pretty boy so I can improve it... Hope you guys are enjoying reading it as much as I am enjoying writing! :)

For those of you that want to read some chapters ahead, feel free to acess my AO3 account here.

Warnings: Masturbation (male recieving), Sexting, dry humping, unprotected cockwarming, etc.

Wordcount: 4059.

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten: No problem, Timmy.

Through the list of your sins, using your phone during the cult was probably the more frequent one. It isn’t that you were bored (though sometimes you were), it wasn’t in the intention of disrespecting the “Sacred House of Christ”. You, just like most of your generation, took the “cell” part of the cell phone too seriously, and being connected all the time was awesome. Your parents didn’t like it, obviously, and your uncles and aunts agreed with them - this behaviour that you and your cousins refused to end was punished with “segregation”, like your eldest cousin called it. 

Basically, on the church days, like the young parents and devious children, you guys had to sit on the farest bench while the rest of your families seated on the first and second bench, closest to the altar. At this point of your life, it was almost a tradition among your cousins and every child in the family couldn’t wait to reach the pre teen years and be sent to the “smartphone bench”. Then, when a cousin gets married, he or she should leave the smartphone bench and go live adult lives. The perfect circle. 

Currently you are chatting with Aly, helping them to choose decorations for their party. Well, actually, Aly is showing you what they’ve already bought to the party and just waiting for you to compliment their good taste. And you couldn’t deny, Aly had a real good taste. All the decorations were amazing, some even terrifying. Everything would be just perfect in three weeks.

Your heart skipped a beat when your notification bar took some space on your screen.

Playboy sent you a video

You smiled, thinking this was probably going to be something funny. In the last week, again, you didn’t have much time to dedicate to your agreement because of the heavy homework. Your teachers didn’t care to verify if there was anything else due to that day, so you had a lot of work last week. Even if you guys couldn’t be close, he kept messaging you, which just proved he wasn’t as “playboy-like” as you expected him to be. Usually he sent you funny Tik Toks or memes, so you were absolutely confident that the video he sent you would be very church appropriate. 

However, you realised how wrong you were when the thumbnail of the video showed him, naked, sat on his bad with legs spread and his cock in hand. 

Oh God. 

You quickly locked your screen and sighed. 

— Oh, God — you whispered and your cousin, who was sitting beside you, looked at you, worried.

— Y/N, are you okay?

— Yeah. Hm, actually no — You said — I need to go to the bathroom. I think my period has decided to come early this month. 

You got up and walked ridiculously fast to the bathroom, hoping everyone would be listening to the cult. When you got inside it and locked yourself, you took a deep breath. The you opened the video. 

That cocky motherfucker…

Tim gently stroked his dick, moaning. His head was thrown back and his cheeks were flustered. He looked so pretty, touching himself, and when he whispered your name, your eyes widened and you felt your panties starting to get damp from the wetness dripping out of you.

You: I told you I would be at church. Do you want me to go to hell? 

Playboy: You made me suffer, I make you suffer.

Playboy: Besides, if you go to hell, we can meet there ;) I heard it’s super hot there.

You: May I know why the sudden masturbation video? Not complaining, btw.

Playboy: Well, I couldn't take you off of my mind. 

You: So?

Playboy: So I decided that you should see what you do to me. 

You: Oh, I like what I do to you.

You: You look very pretty touching yourself.

Playboy: Geez.

Playboy: Keep talking to me like that.

You: I love the way your eyes squint when you're about to cum. And you little whines… 

You: I wish it was my hand wrapped around your cock, so I could make you cum and keep jerking you off with my hand covered in your juice.

You: And then clean the mess you made with my tongue.

Playboy: Fuck

Playboy: I need to see you.

You: You're gonna see me tomorrow.

Playboy: I don't think I can wait.

You: So what are you going to do? Burst into my church and kidnap me?

Playboy: I was thinking of sneaking into your room, actually. 

You: Well, I have my family's weekly lunch at my grandparents today, so you're gonna have to wait.

Playboy: EVERY WEEK?

Playboy: Damn, you guys never get tired of each other?

Playboy: I saw Dick last week and haven't heard about him ever since. I can’t even remember the last time I spoke to Jason.

You: Well, some families like each other

Playboy: Can't you make something up so we spend some time together? 

Playboy: Say you're sick

You: My mom is a nurse, loverboy. If I say I'm sick, she's gonna stay at home to take care of me. 

Playboy: What if you say you have period cramps? 

Playboy: If you find a way of us spending the afternoon together, I might even cook for you.

You: Oh, Tim, don't make a fool of yourself. We both know you don't know how to cook.

Playboy: No, but I have a card that can get us the best food in town.

Playboy: What do you say?

You: Fine. 

You locked your phone and got out of the bathroom. Carefully to not draw attention towards yourself, you walked to your mom.

— Mom.

— Yes, honey? — Your mother asked without taking her eyes away from the priest.

— I’m having pretty bad cramps — You said and she took a ibuprofen tablet from her purse and handed it to you — I’ve already taken them. Is it okay if I go home? Do you think granny will be upset with me?

— Oh, honey — She said, finally looking at you — Of course she won't, you're in pain. Go home and text me when you arrive. There’s food in the fridge. Do not forget to eat, are you listening to me, little lady?

— Yes, mom — You answered smiling — Send kisses to them for me, please. 

You got home so quick that you surprised yourself. What that dick didn’t do to you?

After letting Tim know you were home already, you ran upstairs and quickly changed your clothes. He answered with a picture inside a car with a bag of the most expensive restaurant in Gotham.

You: Show off.

Playboy: Only the best for my darling.

Few minutes later, he arrived and, as you instructed, knocked at the kitchen door. You opened it and was struck with a passionate kiss. He closed the door behind his back and without breaking the kiss, he left the bag on the worktop. His hands pulled you closer to him and squeezed you like his life depended on it. He sat you on the Worktop beside the bag of food and open mouthed kissed down your neck, pulling you by your hips to be closer to him. You were so happy to see him that the fact he already seemed to know the position of things in your house slipped through your mind.

— It seems like someone has missed me…

— Immensely — He said, biting you collarbone lightly — You have no idea of how much I’ve missed you. Did you miss me?

— Maybe a little — You’ve missed him a lot. 

— I have something for you — He said.

— I hope it starts with “d” and ends with “ick”.

He laughed and pulled a small bouquet of red carnations from the bag. You looked at him with a confused look.

— I hope you keep the petals on the stems on this one — He said and gave them to you.

— And what does these ones mean in the Victorian flower code?

— Fascination — He said, kissing you again.

— Hm… — You said, smelling the flowers, trying not to show how much you’ve liked them — Let me go, I’ll grab a vase for them and some plates for us. 

Tim followed you to your room as you wanted to keep the new flowers on the same vase you kept the stems of the first ones. He looked around to the pictures on the walls, admiring moments of your childhood. For the kind of relationship you had, it seemed at the same time too much information and not enough. Damned boy was confusing your mind. 

After letting the Carnations on the vase, you went downstairs and started eating. He brought so much food you thought he was planning a feast, but it turned out he was really hungry. “It’s a work out thing” he said, though you were certain that the food he bought  had nothing to do with working out. After all, these were all aphrodisiacs. 

You got Tim a toothbrush and after brushing your teeths, you went to your room and laid on your bed. He laid on top of you, listening to your heart while he squeezed your other boob. 

The notification bar popped on top of your screen to let you know that the insufferable boy who was friends with one of your cousins came back to bother you with more unsolicited pictures.

— Why is your heart beating so fast? — He asked while you rolled your eyes for the notification..

— It’s nothing — You answered.

— Come on, tell me — He said, starting to pinch your nipples over the fabric of your shirt. You took a deep breath, pressing your thighs together.

— My cousin has a friend — You started, feeling his fingers play with your nipple — And this friend of his thinks I’m very pretty.

— He is not wrong, you really are very pretty.

— Yes, but he thinks that the best way of complimenting me is sending me pictures of his cock — You said and Tim sat on your bed with his brows frowned together, completely outraged. 

— What the fuck? — He asked and you opened the chat and showed him. There were months of unsolicited dick pictures with no response — Motherfucker. 

— Yeah — You answered — What are you doing? — You asked, laughing as Tim got up and took his pants off and started to jerk himself — I mean, I knew you liked that too, but I think this is a little too much.

— Just trust me, darling, I’m not touching myself for this project of sex offender — He said, after laughing — I'm solving this problem for you, darling. Seat on the edge of  bed.

— I don't know how sucking you will make my problem go away, but I’m all for it — You said and he walked towards you, spreading your legs. Your heart skipped a beat. Was he finally going to fuck you?

Then he turned his back on you and took a seat between your legs.

— My pussy is the other way, playboy — You said in his ear.

— I know — He said, grabbing your phone and opening the camera — I've told you, darling, I'm not going to fuck you yet. I'm slow with these things. Now put your hand around my cock.

— Excuse me? It doesn’t sound slow to me.

— Grab my cock — He said — And pretend to jerk it. Your red nails will bring an extra spice to the picture.

— You're taking a picture of my hand around your cock? — You asked and he nodded. He turned his head to you.

— And then I'm sending it to this idiot and he is never going to bother you again — He kissed your cheek — Come on. Let's do this.

You laughed a little and started to jerk him with one hand while you ran the other over his torso. He took a picture but you kept jerking him.

— Put one of your legs over my thigh — He said in a commanding tone and you did as he asked. One of his hands grabbed your thigh and he took another picture — Perfect.

He opened the chat with the boy and then sent the picture.

"She's kinda busy now", You could see he wrote after, looking over his shoulder.

— It's okay. He is not going to bother you anymore, darling — He said and tried to get up. You put your other hand over his thigh and pressed him on the bed — Y/N?

— Where do you think you're going, my sweet boy? — You whispered in his ear and felt him shiver. You smiled and kissed under his jaw.

— You... you don't have to do this.

— Oh, but I want to — You said, feeling his hands run over your thighs as he trembled with pleasure — You were such a good boy helping me to get rid of that freak. I want to thank you properly — You said as he threw his head back, resting on your shoulder.

— You really... don't have...

— You are so pretty when I have my hands on you — You said and he moaned. A whiny moan he was trying to repress by biting his lip — I love how your brain melts under my touch... — You kissed his shoulder — Such a good boy.

— Y/N, I'm going to cum — He said, trying to keep his voice serious.

— Good. I want you to — You said and bit the sensitive skin of his neck lightly.

You ran the pad of your thumb on his slit and then he poured his juice all over your hand, but that did not stop you. There was something about jerking him with his seed spilling on your hand, and you loved it. Making him drool like a little whore. When you felt it was enough, you wiped your hand over his abs.

— I thought you said you were going to clean my mess with your tongue — He said, smiling, still with his head over your shoulder.

— Well, that was when I thought I was getting laid today — You said — But you refuse to get inside of me, so I guess I'll leave you daydreaming about it. It makes 2x0 for me, anyway. 

— What can I do if I'm an old fashioned lover boy? — He asked, getting up and walking naked toward your bathroom to clean himself. You heard the shower and followed him.

Tim got inside the shower box just to wash the cum away from his body.

— My grandpa is an actual old fashioned man and he put many children inside my grandmother — You complained, washing your hands with a pout on your mouth.

Tim turned the shower off and wrapped your towel around his hips. He walked to you and embraced you from behind. He kissed your neck.

— So you want me to put a child inside you, huh?

— No, I want you to put your cock inside me — You said, frustrated, pressing your ass on him — preferably if it is inside a condom too. I really want to cum.

— Don’t worry, darling — He kissed your jaw — You’re coming for me today.

Your face lightened. You turned to him and tried to get the towel out of his waist, but he pinned you against the counter.

— You’re coming on my terms, darling, and I still am not going to be inside you — He said, teasingly close to your mouth. You whimpered.

— If you don’t fuck me, I’ll find someone who will — You threatned him and hw laughed.

— You say that like you're not as addicted to me as I’m to you — He said cockly. Fuck, his scent was driving you crazy — And it is really mean of you to threaten me. Mean girls don’t deserve to feel full. Mean girls don’t deserve to have a cock inside them.

— Let go of me, now — You said, trying to press your thighs together to get some friction, but he put one of his thighs in the middle of your legs.

— You were being so sweet… I don’t understand why you’re being such a brat now.

You looked at him with a defying glare. He had that cocky smirk on his face, that one that makes you make bad choices. You started to rub your cunt at his thigh, and you could see that it surprised him.

— Being so independent might not be that good for you, my darling — He said, pulling his thigh away but still keeping yours away from each other so you could get absolutely nothing to relieve yourself, which made you whine.

— Stop torturing me!

— If you ask me nicely, I’ll make you cum — He said with his lips brushing your skin — Say “Timmy, make me cum”.

— I told you already, I do not beg — You reminded him, feeling your pussy aching for any friction. 

— I’m not asking you to beg — He said, finally kissing you on the neck — I just want you to verbalise what you want. You’re such a smart girl, I’m sure you can do that.

The temptation was too hard. He was the apple you shouldn’t give in, but couldn’t dare to stay away for too long. His poisonous lips brushed your skin and reminded you of how good the minimal touch of his made you feel, reminded you of how bad you wanted him, and it was bigger and stronger than your pride.

— Timmy — You said, his nickname felt tingly on your tongue — I want to cum. Please.

— As you wish, my darling — He said and threw you over his shoulder and walked with you to your bed, where he threw you carefully, your stomach turned up and your legs slightly apart. Then he walked to his clothes and wore his boxers again. Coming back to you, he pulled your shorts down and threw them somewhere in your room, you didn’t care right now — Stay still as the pretty girl you are, okay? — He asked you and you nodded desperately.

Anything. You wanted anything he could give to you.

Positioning himself between your legs, he held your legs at waist height. You barely managed to hold back a groan as his covered cock brushed lightly against your damp panty-clad pussy.

With a roughness you'd never felt coming from him before, he rubbed against you, which elicited a loud moan, so loud it was embarrassing.

His crotch rocked against you slowly, making the damp fabric stick to your pussy. Your clit ached for more. You wanted all he could give you. A soft whine left your lips.

— Faster — You demanded and he leaned over you with his cocky smirk on his pretty face.

— My terms, kitten.

— Faster, Timmy — You asked in a sweeter voice and he lost his mind. He kissed you while increasing his speed on dry humping you.

He was so lost in you that you didn’t need to kick your hips up for more contact, he grinded against you as a hungry man. However, his chest pressed against you, your legs wrapped around his waist and your crotches friction wasn’t enough contact for him. Not even the kisses were enough. He needed more, so his hand reached yours and your fingers intertwined. Your foreheads touch and gosh, that was the sweetest thing anyone has done to you. You couldn’t even keep your eyes closed, as you looked at him with so much arousal you thought you were going to break.

He smiled and kissed you gently enough for you to remember it as the most thoughtful kiss of your life, and you were half naked on your bed while he dry humped you. Timothy Drake was a conflicting bastard and he was right, you were addicted to him.

Your swollen clit became so sensitive when you came that the sensation of his covered cock grinding you was almost too much for you to bear, but you wouldn’t dare to say a word. This moment was so precious you wanted it to last forever. 

Tim smiled and one of his hands slid to your pussy, under your panties, and he slid two fingers so embarrassingly easy inside you that your flustered face became a darker tone of red.

It was worse when he took his fingers to his mouth and tasted you in them.

— So sweet, and just for me — He said, smiling sweetly — Have you ever tasted yourself, darling? — You shook your head negatively — You’re the sweetest thing there is. I could drown in you and still want more. Do you want to taste yourself, my darling?

— Yes… — You said, panting. He leaned over you again and kissed you while his fingers collected some of your juice. He brought his fingers to your mouth and offered them to you. Without hesitating, you started to suck them.

— Don’t you agree with me? — He asked, looking at you — You’re the sweetest thing there is, aren’t you?

You nodded, whining while you cleaned his fingers.

— That’s why I’m going to feast on you right now, my dear. I want every drop — He said and as he started kissing his way down to your pussy, you held his biceps, a bit scared. — What is it, love?

— I think that if you go down on me now, I might pass out — You said, embarrassed — I’m too sensitive.

— Oh, I understand — He said, visibly sad. Apparently, he was longing for this.

— But we can take a nap together right now. What do you think?

He smiled beautifully and nodded. And then you became even more red.

— But I have something to ask you first — You said.

— Anything.

— I know you're not getting inside me anytime soon — You said, playing with the ends of your hair, embarrassed — But I really wanted to drool my cum over your pretty cock. I think it would be great to feel your cock sliding against me, covered in what you've done to me. 

He kissed you.

— If we do this, I might end up getting inside you. I'm not wearing a condom, you understand that? — He asked with one of his hands caressing your face.

— You don't have to move. I'd love to cockwarm you. — You said and he closed his eyes.

— Fuck — He said and then he took his boxers off, already half hard. He started to pull your panties down and you smiled — I hate the way you can get me to do almost anything.

— And I love it — You said, smiling, trying to stand up. He pinned you on the bed.

— What are you doing?! You're going to spill all my hard work on the ground this way! — He said and you laughed. He got in the middle of your legs again and leaned over you — I'm getting inside now, ok? — You nodded and he kissed your forehead while you felt his dick spreading your walls. 

You were still sensitive, but it felt so amazing, so full with him inside you, you would never complain. And you were sure he felt it too. Your pussy was clenching on his cock so strongly that tiny moans escaped his mouth. You just stayed like this for a while, feeling you pulsating around him and you cum making everything slippery. 

He wrapped your arms on his neck and your legs around his waist, then pulled you up by your ass. He pulled your sheets with one hand and sat on your bed. He laid with his head on one of your pillows and you got more comfortable, moving carefully to not give him much friction. He pulled the sheets over your bodies and you got your phone.

— When do you have to go? — You asked, feeling already sleepy. 

— Probably an hour — He said, playing with your hair.

— Ok — You said, setting the alarm and embracing him. Listening to his heart was so calming you wondered if you would ever feel so calm again.

— I wanted to talk about something with you — he said — And I need to talk about it now, while I still have courage.

— Go ahead.

— I… don't feel comfortable sharing. Or being shared — He started and you heard his heart beat faster — And I was wondering if you'd be willing to keep things exclusive between us.

You smiled.

— So you really are old fashioned.

He laughed a little.

— Yeah — He said, smiling — I'm sorry, you don't have to if you don't want to.

— No. I think it would work well for us.

— Thanks.

— No problem, Timmy.

[skzcoffee]

meant 2 be | k. seungmin

Pairing: Seungmin x fem¡reader

Genre: fluff, lots of fluff

- Academic rivals to lovers trope (my favorite)

Word count: 3.1k

Synopsis: Seungmin & y/n have been silently competing against eachother academically since the beginning of college. They both try to one-up eachother in everything, absolutely everything and they always end in a tie.

Warnings: none honestly

—------------------—------------------—----------

You had always been a high-achiever when it came to school. Well, not always but ever since you won the academic excellence award in middle school, you’ve been the top of all your classes. You even graduated as valedictorian during highschool.

To nobody's surprise, things didn't change much during college. You were still top of your class, and had the highest grades, sometimes. Your outstanding academic status was interrupted by a guy from your physics course, Seungmin Kim.

You couldn't help but silently compete against him in everything, but for some reason, he always seemed to one-up you. It frustrated you, it killed you seeing someone do better in school than you, but for some reason, there was also a part of you that admired him for his hardwork and his ambitious energy.

“Okay class, you will now be assigned your partners for your final big project before we go on break. Please come up to my desk as I call your name” You heard the professor mention in his usual slow and boring voice. It didn't help much the fact that you got absolutely no sleep the night before trying to study for your calculus exam you had that day, so you were trying to stay awake as much as possible.

The class ended and you never heard your name being called upon, so as you were about to approach the professor to ask about your partner, he called you and your classmate first. “Ms.y/l/n, Mr. Kim. May I speak with the both of you?” You two looked at each other in confusion before walking towards the professor.

“You two are probably wondering why I called on you at the last minute. Well, we all know you two are the smartest and most hard-working of the class, the entire generation even. I decided to pair you two up for the final project. Your topic and dynamic is completely up to you two. Amaze me.”

The professor left the room, and you were standing in your place staring at the floor zoned out, you snapped back to reality and you looked up at Seungmin, “So, I guess we’re finally working together” you chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess we are. Do you think you could give me your number, so we can decide when to meet up and stuff…” he asked. You gave him your number and waved goodbye.

Soon after your calculus exam, you arrived home tired and a bit moody since the exam didn't go very well. You studied your ass off for that exam yet you still failed (You didn't fail, you missed 2 questions but your academic maniac brain thought it was failure). As you started to wash up to go to bed, you heard your phone vibrate a couple of times, you ignore it thinking it’s a message from your friend, but it vibrates again, so you decide to finally look at your phone.

Unknown number: Hii!! Sorry for messaging you so late.

Y/N: Who is this?

Unknown number: Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Seungmin from your physics class. I said I’d text you, remember? 😓

Y/N: Oh, hi Seungmin! I’m really sorry, I'm just really tired and didn't connect the dots very well.

Seungmin from physics: Oh, you should probably rest then, I’ll talk to you tomorrow :)

Y/N: Oh, it’s no big deal Seungmin, I can talk for a bit :)

Seungmin from physics: Okay, I'll make it quick. How about we meet tomorrow afternoon at my place to get started on the project? Are you free?

Y/N: Sure, no problem. Mind sending me your address? 😅

Seungmin from physics: Right. *insert address*

Y/N: Thank you, see you tomorrow!!!

Seungmin from physics: Bye y/n, sleep well 💤

Y/N: Goodnight Seungmin :)

You were getting ready and decided to wear something comfortable to go to Seungmin’s, a hoodie and some sweatpants will do. You packed your bag and headed out the door. You typed his address on the maps app and you realized you didn't live too far from his place, just a few blocks away, so you walked over there, soon you arrived and rang the bell.

“Hi! Come on in, make yourself comfortable” He smiled.

“Thanks, where can I put my bag?” You asked, pointing at your bag.

He took your bag kindly and placed it on the couch. You looked around and noticed his apartment is actually pretty nice, it’s simple, but neat, you would've never guessed a MAN lived there.

“Have you eaten already? Are you hungry?”

“Actually, I didn't have time to eat dinner before I came…I-”

“No problem, I’ll make something for you, does pasta sound fine?”

“That would be nice, thank you.”

“Of course, you can take a seat at the dining table if you wish”

You sat down and watched as Seungmin cooked for you. That's when you realized Seungmin is a really nice boy, he’s a gentleman, smart, kind, neat and he can cook. I mean, COME ON, and he’s cute?! You stare at his cooking figure, the way he chops up vegetables and sautés them, the way he puts together your plate and his.

“All done, sorry for the wait.” He apologized as he placed the plates on the table. He sat down at the dining table right in front of you and waited for you to take a bite.

“Oh my god, this is really good!” You complimented his cooking with your mouth full, getting pasta sauce on your left cheek.

“I’m glad you like it, you got some pasta sauce on your cheek, let me clean that for you” He picked up a napkin and held your face with one hand and started wiping your cheek with the other. You looked at him and for the first time you realized, he’s kinda cute. You pushed those thoughts away quickly.

The two of you finished eating and got straight to work. You pulled out your laptop and started typing, he did the same. Then, you started working on a shared document and started to plant ideas for the project. You did an endless amount of research and so did he. It started getting late so you decided it was time to go home.

“Hey Seungmin, it’s getting pretty late I should get back home”

“I’ll walk you home” He got his jacket and put on his shoes.

“It’s okay you don't have to, it’s pretty close from here anyways”

“What if something happens to you? What would I do?”

You finally agreed to let Seungmin walk you back home. As you stepped outside you realized it was raining. Seungmin pulled out and umbrella and put it over your heads, you had to walk pretty close together to avoid getting wet, and something about being under an umbrella with him felt so, intimate. You arrived home and thanked him for the walk and the food, you had fun.

“Same time next week?” He asked as he left you on the front porch.

“Okay, fine by me. Bye Seungmin”

“Bye Y/N, goodnight.”

You went inside your home and washed up to get ready for bed as you thought about Seungmin. He wouldn't get out of your head for some odd reason. You pushed those thoughts away once again and went to sleep.

The following week you showed up to his apartment once again, this time bringing him a cup of coffee.

“Hey Seungmin, got you coffee!”

“Thank you! Come on in”

And you did this for a few weeks, you’d sometimes go two or three times a week. You didn't only get lots of work done during this time but you also got to know Seungmin a lot better. You found yourself laughing and having a good time everytime you were with Seungmin, not fully aware that you were catching feelings for the boy.

One of the days however, it seemed like a normal day of working on the project at first. You two had dinner together, made by Seungmin obviously, since it was so good, talked about life and got to work on the project. After a few hours of hard-work your eyes started to shut slowly and you ended up falling asleep on Seungmin’s couch.

“Hey y/n it’s getting pretty lat-” He noticed you were already sleeping. He didn't want to wake you up since it was already 2 am and he knew that you hadn't slept very well the past week, so he carried you to his room and tucked you in.

“You know Y/N, the more I spend time with you, the more I find myself attracted to you. I don't think I’ll be able to suppress these feelings for too long, I wish you were mine.” He whispered hoping you were deep asleep so you wouldn't hear him. He pulled out his phone and took a photo of your sleeping figure, smiled at it and went to sleep on the couch that night.

You woke up the next morning and noticed you were in an unfamiliar setting, you immediately got out of bed worried and walked out of the room and realized you had fallen asleep at Seungmin’s apartment.

“Good morning Y/N, sorry to startle you. Help yourself to some breakfast” He insisted.

“Oh, thank you. You really didn't have to” You smiled and sat down at the table.

“Y/N, what do you think about going out somewhere today? Just the two of us. I mean, we’ve been woking pretty hard these past couple of weeks, I thought maybe we could go somewhere and take a break, we deserve it” He hesitated.

“I’d love to, I just need to go to my place to wash up and change, then we can go anywhere you’d like”

“Sounds good”

You both walked back to your place, he waited for you patiently in the living room as you changed and washed up. You didn't know where you two were going today but Seungmin seemed to be wearing something simple and comfortable, yet presentable. You figured you’d do the same. You put on a lovely pair of jeans and an oversized knitted sweater to go with it.

“Where do you want to go Min?”

“Min? That’s a new one. I was thinking maybe we could go to the arcade, what do you think?”

“I like that idea, let's go”

Even though Seungmin knew how to do absolutely everything, there was one thing he couldn't do, drive. So, you offered to drive the two of you to the arcade. When you arrive there you start to play a couple of games. You totally crush him playing basketball, and air hockey, but he’s so good at the dance machine game. “He’s a good dancer” you thought, and he looked cute as hell doing it too.

“How are you so good at dancing and so bad at basketball?” You teased.

“I used to be in a dance group in high school, it’s my well kept secret. How are you so bad at dancing and so good at basketball anyways?”

“Well unlike you, I wasn't on any basketball team during high school but sometimes I’d play basketball with my dad during the weekends”

You two discovered a lot of things about eachother, and realized you and him had a lot more in common than you thought. You also found out he sings, dances and plays the guitar? How charming.

After the arcade you both went to get ice cream and went for a walk at the park nearby. You two talked some more, your fingers brushing against each other every now and then and the tension between you two was growing larger each minute that passed by. You two stopped and decided to sit down on a bench and rest a bit, you looked into each other's eyes, his eyes were glowing, so cute it resembled a cute puppy’s eyes. You immediately melted, he was so cute you couldn't take it anymore.

“Seungmin.” You looked into his glassy puppy eyes.

“Yes?”

“You-you’r-you-you’re…” You stuttered like never before it was actually incredibly embarrassing.

“Are you okay Y/N?”

“You-you-you're so cute it's not fair! I can't look into your eyes and not melt.” You cried, you couldn't tell him how you exactly felt since he made you so nervous, so you ended up blurting some stupidity out.

Seungmin’s cheeks started heating up and turned into a bright shade of pink, and his ears a burning red shade. He froze, not knowing what to say, he was a bit hesitant on making a move but then he slowly started to lean in closer to you until his nose was barely a centimeter away from yours .

“You’re pretty cute yourself Y/N” He leaned in even closer until your lips connected softly with his. Your stomach was going absolutely insane, like a billion butterflies flying around. His lips were soft and smooth, he was absolutely charming. You melted under his presence and you were completely vulnerable to his soft touch.

“I like you Y/N, I’ve buried my feelings for you for too long.”

You liked him too, it was so obvious.

“This is probably very obvious by now but, I like you too, a lot.” Your face was all red, you were barely able to get those words to come out of your mouth.

You kissed him once again. “So then, what are we, Min?”

“Boyfriend and girlfriend? If you want to be.”

You immediately nodded and hugged him. He was the cutest freaking guy ever, you could never say no to a guy like him.

“Hey min, could you send me the photos we took together? We’ll take more in a bit, now that I can kiss you in the photos'' You giggled. He sent the photos to your phone and your phone started to vibrate from the notifications. You turn your phone on just to remember how you had him saved in your contacts.

“Seungmin from physics? Seriously? After all this time we’ve spent together? You're joking, change it now!!!” He exclaimed. It was funny not gonna lie, Seungmin found it kinda funny too. Embarrassed as hell, you changed his contact name.

*Edit contact*

Name: Cute puppy guy from physics &lt;3

“Hey! That’s still not my name Y/N!” You quickly shut him up with a kiss.

“You’re a cute puppy guy though, aren't you?”

You two spent the next couple of hours playfully arguing over his contact name on your phone and teasing each other about all the tension buildup that had been happening up to the very moment you confessed to each other.

Everything was going so well until you looked at the time and realized it was already 11pm. It was getting really late and you were getting very sleepy.

“Minnie I’m sleepy, I think we need to go home” You yawned. Seungmin knew that you had to drive home since he couldn't and you couldn't just leave the car there.

“You look so cute sleepy darling but you need to drive us home, remember?”

“Oh right, I’ll drive us home, don't worry” You widen your eyes and drop some water on your face to wake you up, it wasn't the best idea but it’s all you had at the moment. As you drove home, Seungmin was in the passenger seat on his phone. He was texting his friends about what had happened, he was so excited, literally the cutest puppy ever.

Seungmin: Oh my god guys guys guys!

Chan: What’s up Seungmin?

Seungmin: The sky, idiot.

Chan: Okay nevermind, bye.

Jisung: LMAOOO

Minho: This better be something interesting Seungmin because I am trying to sleep.

Seungmin: I have a girlfriend.

Minho: WHAT??!!??

Jisung: FINALLY 🙏 About time man.

Minho: I mean, congratulations dude. Who’s the girl??

Changbin: Let me take a guess. Ummm, is she from college?

Seungmin: Yes Bin, you know I have no life outside college.

Changbin: Alright… from physics class?

Seungmin: Yeah…

Changbin: OH MY GOD IT’S Y/N I KNEW IT

Jeongin: Damn Seungmin, really? Congrats 🎉

Felix: I mean it was so obvious 🤓☝️ Ever since they got paired together for that physics project they’ve been together NONSTOP. Y'all really think they were working the whole time??? Half the time they were probably making out.

Seungmin: Not true, we kissed for the first time just today.

Hyunjin: When is it my turn to be happy? 💔💔💔

Jeongin: I’ll take you on a date Hyunjin hyung 😍🙏

Hyunjin: Actually.. I’ll pass.

Jeongin: You just missed one hell of an opportunity.

Changbin: Stop it, I wanna hear more about you and Y/N

Seungmin: I’m here with her right now in the car so I’ll have to leave you guys hanging, I’ll tell the full story tomorrow when we meet up okay?

Changbin: DAMN IT.

Minho: I swear to god Kim Seungmin…

Seungmin: BYE GUYS😅😅😅

You were about to drop off Seungmin at his place but stopped you before you could start the car again.

“Y/N, come crash at my place, I know you're tired and if you stay you’ll get a good breakfast tomorrow morning. I know you only eat properly when you're with me.” He made those innocent cute doe puppy eyes at you making it absolutely impossible to say no.

“Fine, I’ll stay, only ‘cause you’re cute” You kissed him on the cheek before parking your car in front of the apartment complex. As you two were getting ready for bed, he couldn't help but kiss you and hug you every 5 seconds. You two couldn't stay away from each other for more than five seconds that night.

—------------------—------------------—------------

“I'm scared Minnie, what if our project isn't good enough”

“We’re the smartest in the class, we’ll be fine. We are the perfect team, the perfect pair.” He reassured you with one last kiss before presenting your final project.

“Okay, lovebirds. It’s your turn to present.” The professor turned to his assistant who was helping with the grading. With an unusually excited voice he said:

“I put them together on purpose you know, they've been in love with each other since forever, they just needed that push to get them together. Look at me, I’m literally cupid! Now look at them… they really are meant to be.”

END

A.N: Y'all I had so much fun writing this thing, I know it's super corny and delulu and stuff but mind you I haven't been writing for very long, just reading. I hope you guys enjoyed it 'cause I definitely did 🙏

[abyssal-ali]

Maribat Ships and My Vibe Explanations

These are based on the most popular tropes and scenarios I've seen particularly for a specific ship, but some are my own vision:) Moodboards I made for each ship, which are partially inspired by the below thoughts, are linked in the ship name.

Brucinette:

Boss x Secretary trope or Socialite meets Other Socialite and Both Discover each other is Less Shallow than they Thought

Alternatively,

Hero x Villain Love story.

Look, we all know Bruce has a bad track record with his Rogues and also Love in general

Black Cat Mari is the most popular, probably, but I think we should see more Villain/ Morally Grey Mari with other Miraculi

Not my favourite ship but it can be fun

Particularly when we add Dad Bruce and Mari gets to adopt the Batkids and be a Cool MomTM.

Dickinette:

Often a Villain x Hero romance, usually Black Cat Marinette and Nightwing.

A good trope to be sure, but I think we should spice it up more.

Vampire Dick Truthers (you know who you are) have a point with their Vampire Dick and Mari fics. Why not make Dick the villain in Mari's Rogue Gallery???

Overall a great trope, especially if you really delve into their characters: both are 'sunshine' characters who fight everyday to be the nice, kind heroes everyone thinks they are and expects them to be, even though it's the hardest route to take.

Jasonette:

(I'm biased as it's my #1 Maribat ship, but I'll try not to go on too long >.<)

Villain x Hero? Hero x Hero? Amazing, outstanding. What about Villain x Villain? I myself would love to see more Rogue Jason and Rogue Mari fics.

Any AU is amazing. I admit to having a fondness for Mob Boss Jason, partly because he is one in canon, at least for a while, and because I'm addicted to dark/mafia romance novels. Lieutenant Mari? Yes, please. Rival Mob Boss Mari? Heck yeah! Bat-affiliate Mari? Gimme. Please.

The amount of character exploration you could do if you wrote a romance where they actually stayed together, looking at you, DC is intriguing. Would Jason change for someone he loved? Would he give up crime lording? Would Mari accept him anyways but then they'd have to deal with one half running from the law/vigilantes and the other half being on the vigilantes' side?

Also, soft Jason. Nerding out over books and music and fashion and appreciating the fine things in life and meeting this cute fashion designer with a penchant to listen to Jagged Stone-

So many AU opportunities!! Bakery AU! Mafia AU! Coffee Shop AU! Meetcute at the Museum AU!...

Okay I'll move on now:(

Timari:

LISTEN

This ship IS THE DEFINITION OF THE CEO X SECRETARY TROPE!

I need more, I don't care if it's overused

Also, rival hackers or geniuses.

OR COFFEE SHOP AU

They're both coffee monsters, it's perfect

No I don't care that there are two dozen coffee shop Timari AUs, give me more.

Daminette:

ACADEMIC RIVALS TO LOVERS

Or just rivals to lovers is fine too

YOU REALLY THINK THESE TWO 'MUST BE THE TOP IN CLASS' WOULDN'T BE FIGHTING OVER GRADES AND THEN PAIRED UP ON AN ASSIGNMENT BECAUSE THEY'RE TOO INTENSE TO WORK WITH ANYONE ELSE AND THEN THEY HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER AT ALL TIMES LEST THE OTHER SABOTAGE THEIR PROJECT AND THEN THEY FALL IN LOVE-

anyways

I'm not even into HP but I want a Hogwarts AU with these two-

or any dark academia rivals to lovers au

Roynette:

Enemies or Rivals to Lovers

It's just a simple misunderstanding, as all large rifts start off with.

There's a translation issue or an eavesdropping that is taken out of context

(they're both idiots your honour)

But then something happens and they have to work together or they're made to talk and they realize it's all just a misunderstanding

And then they're like... " while we're clearing the air...so uh, I kinda have a crush on you'

"no way, me too!!"

And Mari meets Lian (or maybe that's what starts this, Jason and Mari are hanging out babysitting Lian and Roy comes to pick Lian up and they start talking and and and-)

And Mari loves Lian immediately of course, who wouldn't?

And so Roy likes her more because she likes Lian so automatically she's not as bad as he thought, and Lian really likes her too

And then they fall in love and Jason and Lian are the master matchmakers behind the scenes

You can pry OTP Jason & Lian setting up Roynette out of my cold dead hands

Konette:

I haven't seen or read a ton of Konette, but they usually meet at the Titans

Friends to Lovers 100%

They're both quiet and new and feeling out the dynamics

so they're often pushed together on purpose or by accident because the others are just so loud and chaotic

And then they become BFFs and are less inclined to join the others' chaos and so spend more time together, and so the cycle continues

And then one day something happens

Kon is Kryptonian and Mari had the Miraculous, they're usually the least-damaged members, but something happens, there's Kryptonite or magic or Something and one or both gets hurt.

The other jumps in front of them to take the blow because they can't let the other get hurt

"Why did you do that?!"

"I couldn't let you get hurt. You need to save our teammates."

Then the hurt one faints or passes out and the other confesses and thinks they can't hear them

They get back to the Tower safely and get treated and wake up and then they see the other

"Did you say you loved me, when I was passed out?"

"You heard that? Uh...yeah, I love you."

"I love you too!"

I haven't read much of any of the other ships to get a good feel on them, so I'm stopping here:)

[babybluebex]

okay so modern!enjolras. absolutely a grad student.

you see him for the first time while he's putting up one of those "'tutor available for latin/polisci/french studies' with the little tabs on it so you can take the number/email" flyers onto a bulletin board in the commons. and he's so gorgeous that of course you take one of the papers with his contact info, not even realizing what he's tutoring for. but it's cool, you're taking one of those courses. (he's the sort of student to have a leather messenger bag and never use a laptop, just a pen and notebook, but somehow his notes are flawless??? and dresses like he's auditioning for henry from the secret history? there is ABSOLUTELY room for academic rivals to lovers but i digress...)

he's happy to help you with midterm prep, so you meet up once a week maybe after class just to review and help take notes. he's professional, but when you take a break he talks about how he's head of the student union, or how he's helping plan a protest, or that his friend who works for the school newspaper is helping uncover some social justice scandal or other and he's so proud and excited. and one day you see him outside a commons area handing out flyers from a cause close to him, and you jokingly ask if he actually goes to class or not.

you start to attend protests and meetings and joining clubs. you really do care about the causes he fights for; spending time with him is just a bonus. it's amazing how someone can take hold of a conversation and steer it so confidently, so passionately, yet somehow sit comfortably on the other end of the spectrum and listen deeply to you when you have something to say. enjolras is a true gentleman as well; always guiding you to the inside of the sidewalk, always keeping touches light and necessary, always holding doors open for you. after you finish your midterm, he takes you to a pub to celebrate. (passing is neither here nor there; you made it through the term, and that deserves praise.) most of the students in your program have the same idea. you spend time with him at the pub, sure, but by this time you have mutual friends. and there's something about meeting his eyes from across the room -- looking for him, and knowing he's looking for you -- that makes that night different.

he insists on walking you home. you hate to go back to your dull, drafty dorm (the cost of living in a building raised in the 1800s), so he invites you to stay with him in his little apartment. you know it's just a dance. an excuse. but he's an expert at it, and you're just learning the steps -- a teacher, a student -- so you let him take the lead. he knows you're putty in his hands. knows he can ask anything of you and you'd do it. (god knows there are plenty of other students he tutors or works with in unions/clubs that could say the same.) so enjolras leaves things open for you, and though you're in his arms by the end of the night it's because you entered his embrace, not because he crowded into your space and trapped you there.

you knew he was morally passionate, intellectually skilled. you'd dreamt about how that passion and skill might translate to the bedroom -- but you never realized how true that was. by the expert way he handles your body, you know you're not his first. but by the way he looks into your eyes, the fire behind his gaze, the way he whispers your name and slips back into french when he enters you because he's so flustered, so taken with you, betrays something. yes, he's had others; but none of them were you. he's overwhelmed by it. consumed by it. he takes it slow, not just because he's being gentle with you but because he wants to savour it. but that familiar ferocity you've seen in him rears up when he's chasing his own end, fingers knotting the sheets by your head, face tucked against your neck as you come down from the high he held you through.

god help him if anyone hurts you after that, if anyone touches you without your permission, if you're in trouble. you quickly learn that when he's around, you do not carry your books. yes, he's all about equality, but he will still treat you like royalty.

my brain is still caught on the night you first sleep with each other, so i'm ending it here but. i have feelings about modern!student!enjolras.

me with this ask

yes yes yes to all of this. the sweet tenderness of your first night together, the playfulness that you have that is a through line in your relationship, the FRENCH…. whew. oh my GOD.

[cassiopeiasdaughter]

Hi Lovely~ Please can I request a ❤️?

I’m Evie. Ava is actually an OC I created. I wish I was a twin but I am an only child. I’m 5”6, brown eyed, short wavy naturally black haired (used to bleach and dye it). Online quizzes and the stars ✨ define me as an INTP, Slytherin 🐍 , Horned Serpent, Taurus Sun, Virgo Moon and Virgo rising.

Academically I do quite well. I took Chemistry as degree cause it was most like potions ⚗️🧪 . But recently I had taught many students the wonderful mysteries of muggle science.

Relatively I am quiet except to those who know me and I’m comfortable with. People view me as bubbly 😊 and friendly and I can be. I am an over thinker. People would not imagine the lines I would cross for those I love and close to me nor how I would act when people cross my line or empty my patience.

I dabble in many hobbies - mostly creative arts 🎨. I love to sing <3 I have concerts everyday in every room of the house. Games 🃏👾 are a must in our household (board games and video games). I am not sports inclined - please never throw something for me to catch. 🍰🍫🍮 Dessert is my favourite course of the meal hehe

I am straight and I don’t mind which era my ship belongs in.

Thank you for reading 🙏🏼💞

Thank you for sending this 🫶🏼🥰

Okay so for starters, right off the bat you seem like a very determined and hard working person but your artistic nature and (dare I say) curiosity also make you a very intellectual one!

You are practical but you also have a love for things that require imagination and open an mind. You might just be the best of both worlds.

I love that you are loyal and wouldn’t think twice before defending and protecting those you love.

I think the perfect person for you would have to be creative or have an affinity for the arts. He would have to be entertaining and never bore you (and I mean this in the best way possible).

You’d love someone witty and humorous, who also knows when to be serious. So, someone who knows how to adapt socially, isn’t too stiff but also doesn’t have his head up in the clouds.

The only person that fits this description but also, in my humble opinion matches your vibe perfectly is our dear Draco Malfoy (!!!!!)

And let me sell you on this a bit more; we know he is witty and talented. He is sarcastic and he has a great sense of humor (so more points for his intelligence).

He isn’t too serious or childish, he is the perfect combination of the two. You’d complement eachother very well. I think he tends to be pessimistic and focus on the bad stuff in a situation , but you are both logical but also seem so positive (and a great advice giver, dare I say), so I think you’d be great at talking him out of his worries and the what ifs…

He’d chill out, your overthinking nature, calming and relaxing you and maybe distracting you by talking to you about anything he can. He really has no problem coming up with something to say, the boy is charismatic.

He would tease you, because ofc, I can sense a proper enemies/rivals to lovers sitiuation.

And you’d definitely get together after Hogwarts, mayyybe you’d work together at the Ministry? Or in a lab somewhere? He’d be amazed by your work ethic and how much love you put in what you do, but he’d tease you over it (because of course).

So.much.banter!

Your first date/or first time you spend out of work together would be at a karaoke place, he’d dare you to sing, you’d obviously accept the dare, and he’d fall inlove with you right there and then.

Tell me your thoughts on this!!!🤍