#phew sorry this took so long. it was all in my brain i just had to get it out there lmao

[kohakhearts]

goh starter trio meta perhaps? i was ensnared by the goh-scorbunny parallel subpoint in the cubone meta bc i'm making myself unwell thinking about how scorbunny latching on to goh and goh latching on to ash.... but also more generally, sobble's whole thing and the absolute tearjerker drizzile evolution episode, and goh's weird ass dream about his rillaboom parents and then waking up to baby grookey clinging to his arm, you get it, i know you're galaxy brained about this

YESSS I AM *SO* GLAD YOU ASKED!!

so my tl;dr here is that all of the galar starters represent something about goh specifically relating to his childhood. their growth and eventual evolution (or lack thereof!) therefore serve to highlight his character development (as an aside, i think this is a very common theme in anipoke. ash's pikachu not evolving speaks to the fact that ash's growth isn't about becoming someone new but about staying true to himself and embracing a battle style that reflects the creative ingenuity that, in the early os, other characters mocked him for. similarly, dawn's piplup chooses not to evolve because it doesn't want to change how things are between them. does this not seem fitting for the partner of someone like dawn, who has always admired her mother so much that she never even considering doing something other than following in her footsteps? i'm sure there are other examples, but these seem to me the most obvious ones!).

let's break down each one, then!

scorbunny

when we meet scorbunny, goh is still determined that mew will be his first pokemon. this is a point of stubbornness that, while impressive and arguably kind of admirable, is frankly kind of stupid. how is he supposed to get to mew without any pokemon to help him? there's an interesting implication in this resolution, which jn004 and jn005 really highlight for us - goh isn't comfortable with having a pokemon. he knows a lot about them, is interested in researching them, but as far as the bond between pokemon and trainer goes, i don't think he feels prepared for that. it's easier to pick a target that is far from reasonably attainable for him at this point, especially since he does have some history with mew - didn't it take an interest in him? didn't it give him a reason to chase after it?

so meeting scorbunny, he's obviously not thinking about catching it. but he lies to the guy at the scone stand, in an interesting parallel to how scorbunny steps in to protect the nickit. he doesn't even seem to know why he does it. but just before that scene, he sees scorbunny wipe some of the dirt off its face. he doesn't get the whole story and connect all the dots until after, but i think he realizes then that scorbunny is trying to hide itself in some way. that it's performing as something it's not. and on some unconscious level, that motivates him to lie for it. after, we get this whole exchange, where the scone seller tells ash and goh the story

and this note is what makes goh get up and approach scorbunny and the nickit:

it's very symbolic that he wipes the mud off scorbunny's face. and then later, he even points out when they see it again that it looks better without all the mud covering it up - it looks more like itself. it's not pretending to be something it's not. goh wiping the mud off its face is him saying that he accepts it as it is. that being resigned to living a certain way just to fit in or just because that's how it's always been is pointless.

and i mean...even ash says in this scene that the things goh is saying are things he's only recently learned himself, right? goh denies it (and tbh when he says that he's always thought the world is big and anyone can explore it if they want to or whatever - i don't think that's untrue! i think it's just that, prior to meeting ash, he didn't have it in him to explore it), but ash has a point. and what goh is doing for scorbunny here is the same thing that ash did for him.

relatedly, scorbunny follows him, right? in the same way that goh "accepts" ash as his friend, scorbunny chooses goh as its trainer. goh recognizes that it travelled far for him, that it saw a vision of its future with him, and changes his mind about not catching it. i think the determination he saw in scorbunny to chase after its dreams resounded with him, because he's only just started doing the same thing. and his entire character is built around this idea of like, learning how to adapt and how to let other people help you find the courage to chase your dreams (and even to help you chase them). how could he possibly deny scorbunny the same thing?

but while scorbunny's enthusiasm helps motivate goh to chase his dreams, he is very flippant and dismissive, as we see when it learns ember and he says it doesn't matter, that scorbunny doesn't need to know a fire-type move and this gut-punch of a line, of course:

goh is someone who needs a lot of convincing to do things he doesn't think he'll be good at (or enjoy). he only joins project mew because gary goads him into it. he spends most of his life refusing to make friends, because he had one bad experience. he's a fairly black-and-white thinker, which makes sense considering his background. he doesn't really believe in change. he especially doesn't believe that people (or pokemon, in this case) can change their circumstances just through hard work and determination. as we see in jn003 with the ivysaur, he also doesn't think that it's anyone else's place to intervene and "help" others. if you can't change something, then don't. and there's no point in hoping it'll change on its own, either.

when scorbunny storms off here, his expression is interesting. this isn't the expression of someone being judgemental. it's the expression of someone who sympathizes.

he sees scorbunny trying so hard to do something he thinks it can't do and thinks that scorbunny's determination to change things is, if i had to guess, kind of immature. a lesson scorbunny will have to learn, whether it wants to or not. at first it's kind of endearing, but then he actually gets frustrated, because he feels like scorbunny's determination to learn ember is harmful to them both. here, there's a degree of "why won't you just trust that i know what's best for you?" for sure, but on a deeper level, i think that stems from a place of "can't you see that i'm just trying to protect you?"

...but obviously, all he really does is wind up lashing out and hurting scorbunny's feelings. he tells ash that he was trying to draw out scorbunny's strengths (and he was, by telling it to use moves it was already good at!), but ash points out that their values weren't aligned and that's kind of the opposite of strength when it comes to pokemon battling. so he reassesses the situation and finds a way to bring out scorbunny's strength that also aligns with what scorbunny wants. that compromise is what makes scorbunny evolve. it was the right call! but then raboot starts ignoring him.

and this is like. a running gag with scorbunny - goh gets distracted by other things and doesn't notice that it's trying to show him things. it happens when they meet and it happens again in this episode with its ember. we see something very similar with goh and his parents in jn032 when he's excited at the prospect of their vacation together, but when he tries to ask what they want to do, he turns around and find they're both asleep (and we see the flashback of something similar happening last time, too).

with raboot, in a lot of ways, goh is grappling with...himself. or at least, the person he was before he met ash - cold and distant, more interested in doing whatever he thinks is worth his time than in school, for example. so if goh saw his child self in scorbunny, he sees his more "adolescent" (i mean. he's still ten so still child, technically. but older child lol) self in raboot. and he actually responds to this in a way that's a lot like how we see his parents responding to him. in jn022, we see him

buy a bunch of apples for raboot, even though he thinks it doesn't need them (and is hurt when it doesn't let him have one, despite raboot seeming pleased that he bought them for it). compare to the device he shows horace in jn032, for example, which he says his parents built for him. or his six computer monitors. his parents reach him best through material means!

question why raboot hates him when it's not responsive to his overtures. contrarily, goh's parents don't think he hates them; they just automatically assume the worst case scenario (like in jn015 when he calls and they immediately wonder if he did something and got kicked out of the institute). but while that's their worst case scenario about him, raboot hating him is kind of goh's worst case scenario, right? it took him time to open up and accept scorbunny as his partner. now that it's evolved and is acting differently, he's terrified that he came to care for it only for it to leave him.

which leads to my last point here, which is that he doesn't actually ask what it wants. in this episode, he concludes that raboot would be happier without him. so he leaves it behind, but he never actually considers how it might feel. goh's parents do the same thing! they worry about him, but they don't share their concerns or ask how he feels. they just assume that he must feel a certain way and they adapt to compensate for that. but they never actually ask him what he wants.

this episode ends with him realizing that he hasn't been reacting to raboot's feelings so much as to his own, of course, and we see their relationship smooth out quite a bit. he's acknowledging that he's done things wrong, but also that it's not all his fault - and raboot's change in temperment is just a consequence of it evolving. they accept each other again and move on.

then, it evolves into cinderace and kind of opens up again more (though it's been doing that little-by-little since jn022). i think the fact that raboot and riolu evolve at the same time was a really cool move by the writers to kind of demonstrate how like...the relationship between ash and goh is reflected in the growth of their pokemon. they trained together! in a way they kind of grew up together! riolu, ash's token baby pokemon in jn, evolving at the same time as goh's starter feels like a very deliberate choice to highlight how ash helped goh's pokemon grow, too - through getting the ball rolling with how he helped goh grow as a person and a trainer. if that makes sense?

anyway, i don't have much to say about cinderace, other than that if he saw himself as a child in scorbunny and as an older child in raboot, then cinderace's level of openness and its enthusiasm aren't just reflexive of it getting back more of its scorbunny-esque personality - it also shows how goh has changed and has learned to embrace these parts of himself, now that he's in that "coming of age" age (well, for pokemon. he is still only ten lmao).

i think we see something similar with his other starters, though maybe a little less on the nose.

sobble

the drizzile episode, as you mentioned, is probably Thing here. but i think the theme with sobble is sort of that, where scorbunny maybe reflects more of the way goh thought about growing up and his aspirations (and how hard it was to open up to people), sobble more so mirrors his social experiences at school and with chloe.

VISUALLY, i think it's really telling that when goh catches sobble, he's...literally speaking to it from the other side of the water:

this whole episode (jn028) is about goh kind of...forcing sobble into positions it's not necessarily comfortable with, and not realizing that it's uncomfortable until it runs away from him. as we saw with raboot, this is a common theme with goh - but it's most obvious with sobble!

he realizes, of course, and says this:

even in flashbacks, goh never comes across as a shy kid. he doesn't exactly relate to sobble, but i think he's drawing a parallel here between them. he wasn't shy, but he was always on the "outside" - that's why he's so good at researching. he strives to see things as they are without getting involved. eventually, this is something that will make him a pretty thoughtful and strategic battler, though at this point he's still learning how to apply that to more than just research for the sake of research.

and then after sobble meets inteleon, we have these bits too:

goh's childhood motivations on the surface appear to be like...he doesn't want to bother with friends, because they aren't going to be able to serve a purpose for him. he isn't interested in making friends with anyone who is less into pokemon than he is. but after what happens with horace, it seems to get a little more complex, and then we have to wonder if his motivations really were that surface-level to begin with, or if, maybe, his policy of not making friends has always been a way for him to protect himself from betrayals like he experienced with horace.

we see chloe as early as jn001 trying to convince him to make friends, to no success. she doesn't even refer to herself as his friend - he doesn't seem to be willing to let her. he believes he doesn't need friends and is better off alone. but he doesn't realize until after meeting ash that his solitude is more of a self-imposed exile, in that it's hurting him more than other people. he can't improve as a person and reach his goals if he's too busy trying to protect himself to accept that he needs help from other people to do those things. so, again - i think he sees that side of himself in sobble. so it feels very impactful that he reaches out to help sobble become a better battler, but rather than forcing it to battle in a way that makes sense to him, he comes up with a way to have it train that plays off of its strengths of running and hiding.

and then, of course, there's the episode where sobble evolves, jn062. the writers themselves do most of the work here of drawing the parallel between goh's childhood and how drizzile is feeling, but i think it goes even deeper than that. drizzile is unhappy because it wanted to evolve into inteleon, not into drizzile. it's not comfortable in its own skin. and it doesn't necessarily want others to see it, because it feels like it's still growing and it's not ready yet. it kind of just...needs time to sulk and brood. drizzile runs away again, because it's not ready, and while they're looking for it, it's chloe who makes goh start thinking about when he was a kid, by saying this:

which prompts him to think about how he was searching for a "reason" for why drizzile was acting how it was, just like how adults used to demand reasons from him even when he didn't have them. and then of course we get this scene:

but i think he does on some level know why, because he talks immediately after this about how his parents weren't home and often felt lonely. he's more comfortable being alone. he's protecting himself. which is reinforced by the fact that he then tells drizzile this:

goh has a hard time putting his feelings into words, which is something we see throughout jn. he sees that drizzile is the same and this is a huge moment for him, because he's saying here that it doesn't matter what inspired its feelings; he understands it is experiencing those feelings and that's enough. he'll wait until it's ready to fully process them or whatever else it needs. drizzile kind of returns the favour when he starts crying here and it reaches up to brush away his tears, then disappears again.

overall, this episode does an amazing job of showing us how goh has become someone who actually acknowledges his and his pokemon's feelings - this is the only time we see him as a child where he's not doing something to try to ignore his feelings, or trying to walk away from them. in flashbacks, his back is often to his parents. in jn032, he gets upset, and then tries to cover his disappointment up immediately with anger and avoidance. the writers set this scene up so that we can see the reason behind his feelings clearly (just like we can see the reason behind drizzile's, even though goh and co. can't), but they rightly emphasize that goh's ability to analyze "why" he or his pokemon are feeling a certain way isn't always helpful. emotions are meant to be felt, not intellectualized. it's a good message, and a huge area of growth!

drizzile's evolution into inteleon also shows us how this acceptance translates into it eventually being comfortable enough to be who it wants to be. and the characters are impressed by it - it even earns kecleon's admiration, the same way that other inteleon earned its when it was a sobble. this is a pretty clear mirror with goh's social life, where he went from being this friendless outcast figure to someone with a lot of friends, and a great willingness to make more, as he became more comfortable and confident and willing to reach out to others.

and lastly,

grookey

the only one of the three that doesn't evolve, for reasons that aren't ever really made clear to us. but i think that as random (...and tone deaf) as his dream sequence at the start of grookey's debut episode is, it actually makes a lot of sense. in the original, the dream has camille and walker transformed into rillaboom, and goh is understandably freaked out. but i think the bigger, more symbolic thing is that even if it is a dream, his parents are the ones that foist grookey upon him. this does seem like a really weird choice, until you start thinking about the parallels, right?

in reality, grookey is team rocket's pokemon. the episode title "when a house is not a home" tells us that grookey obviously doesn't feel like it "belongs" there. but the episode doesn't open in team rocket's base. it opens in goh's apartment. and the part i didn't show in the drizzile scene above is when he says this:

the fact that goh was home alone a lot as a kid gets brought up fairly often. it implies that he kind of had to adopt this lone wolf persona, because there was no one else around to take care of him. he had to learn how to console himself and meet his own needs (hence why he's so combative about ash intervening with the ivysaur in jn003!), which is a lot of responsibility for a kid. grookey is handed to him like it's a responsibility in his dream, but then they bond. and he starts to appreciate having grookey around, to the point that he misses it when it returns to team rocket.

to me, the choice to have grookey not evolve kind of comes down to grookey being kind of...emblematic of goh's childhood. like, in his dream, grookey is this burden that's forced on him. someone he has to take care of, even though he isn't really prepared to do that. in reality, grookey is escaping from an environment that doesn't meet its needs. putting those two things together, i mean...that's just my reading of it, anyway. so grookey not evolving, and goh accepting grookey as it is - without any of the "growing up" analogs we have with cinderace and inteleon - is a way of showing that goh has come to terms with his childhood and that he accepts (and cherishes!) his childhood self. which he can only really do after he's done all the growing we see reflected in the evolutions of his other starter mons. (relatedly, grookey is the only starter of goh's who goh considers leaving with other mons in its evolution line. specifically, with two thwackey and their child, i.e. a family unit not unlike goh's!)

anyway! this is a very long post, so thanks for sticking with me if you did. hope my takes are as galaxy-brained as you hoped hehe

[resowrites]

The Fight Before Christmas (part 2) - oneshot.

Summary: All is finally revealed, but will Henry and his girlfriend’s relationship ever be the same? (follow on from this oneshot, but can be read as a standalone story).

Pairings: AU!Henry Cavill x Girlfriend!OC

Warnings: 18+ only (adult themes), angst, fluff, relationship difficulties/argument, brief mention toxic family dynamics, brief mention of illness/end of life care, brief allusion to smut, dialogue heavy, time hopping/vignette style, language, pet names, nondescript OC body type/appearance, hastily written/lightly proofread.

WC: 4549

A/N: Phew, here it is folks. Sorry it’s a little rushed. This week’s been crazy and I ran out of time. I hope you all enjoy and as ever, please let me know your thoughts. This piece is a big bowl of happy/sad soup, please take care when reading as I know it can be a difficult time of year. I wish all of you a safe, peaceful Holiday - R x

My work must not be copied, reposted, or translated elsewhere. Likes, follows, reblogs and comments are thoroughly welcome and appreciated! Gifs/pics not my own. I hope you all enjoy and thanks for visiting!

The Fight Before Christmas (part 2) - oneshot.

Saturday 12:38 am

Henry hurried back inside, dazed and confused about what just happened. A rhythmic thumping noise then stopped him in his tracks. It was Kal plodding down the stairs. He usually hid in Ollie's office during the colder months, the warmth of the radiator under her desk providing a cosy place for naps. He crouched down and cuddled his boy. He must have heard the arguing, gone into their bedroom like he normally did at that time, and found them both missing. He wracked his brain for what to do. If he did go after her, she might not come back at all. But he just couldn't fathom why she was so determined to get away. He knew it wasn't anything he'd done, it was now technically the weekend which also meant he was officially off work until January. He'd been so looking forward to spending Christmas with her. Kal nudged at the hem of her coat, which dangled from the hook above them and whimpered. She'd left without it.

He shot back up and tried to find his phone, eventually realising it was still in the kitchen. He knew she probably wouldn't pick up, but he had to try. "Hi, this is Ollie. I'm sorry I can't take your call. Leave a message and I'll get back to you, thanks!" Just hearing her voice made his stomach drop. He tried to stay calm and think logically about where she might be headed. The nearest hotel was only a b&b and took a good two hours to get to, even at that time. Her only friends within an hour's distance were Rachel, Laura, and Claire. Laura used to be a nurse, but she also had young children. Would she bother her at that time? What if Laura didn't pick up and he couldn't reach either of them? His mind carried on racing until he felt something warm slide across his hand. Kal had followed him into the kitchen and was licking his fingers. "What am I gunna do mate, eh?" Kal's head merely tilted from left to right. He sighed and noticed the glass still spread out over the counter. He'd tidy up, keep ringing round for a bit, and then make up the sofa just in case she came back. But his plan didn't reassure him for long. Not when he actually looked around and knew that, already, the house seemed to have changed completely. He stared back down at his phone and decided to try texting her as well.

***

Saturday 8:06 am

"Oh Laura, thank God. Is she alright?"

"She's fine, didn't you see my text? I'm sorry I missed your calls--"

"She needs to get her hand stitched!"

"Don't worry, I've already taken care of it--"

"Well where is she? Can I talk to her?"

"Henry, calm down. I promise you, she's alright--"

"Good, then I'm on my way now." She hesitated.

"I'm not sure that's the best idea…" Henry's hand hovered over his car keys.

"What do you mean? I need her home, Laura." The worry in his voice made her heart pinch.

"I know, but I think she should stay here for a bit. What the hell happened? She was in a complete state… are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine - and I still don't bloody know! She's been acting strangely and I pushed too hard trying to find out why. I think something's up with her job, but it's not like her to just run off… something else must have happened. I've never seen her like it before, she got so angry she smashed a bottle she was holding. Has she really not said anything to you?"

"No, but then you know how stubborn she is. Don't worry, she's welcome to stay but I'll try and get her home as soon as I can. Right, I better go ring round and see if I can get some antibiotics, her hand will be okay but I don't want it getting infected."

"Yeah, sure, sorry I'll let you go. Thanks for all of this though and I'm sorry you were disturbed so late. How are Jack and the kids?"

"Yeah, all good. He'll be back in time for Christmas so my mum's looking after them while I sort out the house."

"Oh God, I'm sorry we're bothering you."

"Nah, I'm enjoying the company actually. I haven't seen her in ages so it'll be good to catch up. Please don't worry yourself, though."

"Easier said than done. To be honest, I'm afraid she won't want to come back."

"Don't be silly, she adores you. All will come right eventually, okay?"

"I hope so. Please keep an eye on her though, I'm worried about her state of mind. She isn't eating, either." She hesitated again, wondering whether or not to tell him Ollie hadn't touched her breakfast.

"I will, and I'll keep you updated. Take care of yourself, alright? And stop worrying."

"Okay, you take care as well… and give her my love." She gave her assurances and they said their goodbyes. She then peered through the kitchen door. Ollie was still sitting in the armchair, staring into space.

***

Friday 8:11 pm

"Ollie? Wh-what are you doing here?" She was in no mood for stupid questions and quickly but carefully pushed past her mother. "Ollie, don't go up there… he won't want to talk!" She let her mother's voice bounce off the stairs. When she came to the right door, she found herself holding her breath.

"… Dad? Dad, it's me, Ollie." He lifted his sagging head from the pillow and blinked until his eyes came into focus.

"W-why… why are you here?! Get out… now! Go on, go…" His rage quickly dissolved into a coughing fit.

"Dad, please. I've been trying to see you for weeks. I even had mum leave the phone by your bed so I could ring. B-but that doesn't matter now, how are you?" For several minutes he didn't respond, choosing instead to keep his cold gaze fixed on her face. Eventually, she looked away.

"Thirty-three."

"… I-I'm sorry?"

"Thirty-three years of age… and what do you have to show for it?" Her mouth went dry. "You should be a director at that company, and what are you? A glorified calculator. Why don't you toddle on back to him, while you still can? He'll get bored of you eventually…"

"That's not true."

"Oh, but it is. He doesn't love you. You're a failure, my girl. My biggest disappointment." There was no use countering his words with the same arguments she'd made time and time again. Compared to her sisters, she'd always been treated unfairly. And that wasn't about to change.

"… I-I just came to say, I'm sorry. For everything. I forgive you as well. Please, be at peace Dad. I love you." She then hurried from the room, almost bumping into her mother who it appeared had been listening in the entire time. They stared at each other for a moment. "I… wish you could have done more to help us." Her mother went to speak, then stopped herself. Ollie looked to the floor, her tears blurring her vision. "Goodbye, mum."

***

Monday

"Are you warm enough, darling? Here, let me put the seat warmers on…"

"I'm fine, love. Honest." Henry stopped fidgeting with the dials and the pair locked eyes for a moment. She cleared her throat. "… Thanks for coming to get me. And I'm sorry, for all the… theatrics." He smiled softly.

"Don't be daft. I'm just glad you're alright."

"No, I mean it. I shouldn't have handled things the way I did or said--"

"Darling, it's alright. And I'm sorry too. You said you needed space and I should have listened." An idea then popped into Henry's head. He didn't know if he could pull it off, but he'd look into it the minute they got back. "Christ, have you ever seen so much traffic on these roads? I'm sorry, I'll try and get us home as quick as I can."

"Don't worry, I don't need to be back for nine."

"Oh? Okay, well we should still be back before ten." Henry shifted awkwardly in his seat. It was less than a week until Christmas and although he was desperate to know more, he wasn't about to risk asking questions.

"It's fine actually, I won't be working again until January. I've… decided to go freelance." There was a long pause.

"Ollie… did you lose your job?" She sighed.

"Not exactly. Do you remember that presentation I had to give?" He nodded eagerly, trying to balance his attention between her and the road. "Well, it was to suggest some better ways to balance the books… the company's bracing for recession. Anyway, afterward, my new boss thanked me for my 'little talk,' but said he'd decided just to merge my department instead. I could either take a pay cut or redundancy. I gave notice right there and then. The cheeky fucker even asked if he could take me out for a drink and see whether he could find something else for me." She sniffed hard and wiped her face.

"Oh, my darling…"

"No, it's fine. Really. I know someone else in the company who went freelance about a year ago. They've already let me know they're happy to help me get set up. It'll be tough at first and I'll need to be close to my client base… but in the long term I should have greater flexibility." She tried to smile convincingly but Henry could see the fear in her eyes. At that moment, her phone pinged.

"Well, I'll be here for you every step of the way. I'll always support— darling? What's wrong?" She quickly shut off the screen.

"I, uh… nothing. It's nothing."

"… Ollie, what's going on?" She swallowed back the lump forming in her throat.

"It's nothing, darling. I mean, nothing that's worth discussing at the moment." The rest of the journey home was silent.

***

Boxing Day

Things had more or less returned to normal and they spent a lovely, if hectic, couple of days with Henry's family. They travelled back late Christmas day night so they could spend Boxing Day together. They even waited to exchange gifts. It was a tradition they'd kept from the beginning of their relationship. No matter their plans over the holidays, Boxing Day was just for the two of them. And this year Ollie was more grateful for it than ever before. She wasn't normally awake before Henry, but she took the opportunity to curl into his chest and feel the warmth of his skin against her own. "Mmmm g'morning… do I take it I'm getting my Christmas present before breakfast?" He growled into her neck, the sensation making her squeal.

"Oh behave yourself, I was cold… that's all."

"Mm-hm, I believe ya…" Henry climbed on top of her, pulling down the waistband of her pants while he smothered her with kisses.

"Henry! S-stop it!" He harrumphed, collapsed on top of her, and buried his face in her neck. "Er… what are you doing?! Get off, I can't breathe!"

"You said you were cold so I'm keeping you warm! Mmmm you've got your baby smell…" Henry breathed deeply, refusing to budge. She sighed.

***

"Hey, wait a minute, where're my bloody presents?" Henry's nose had led him straight into the kitchen, where she was making a cooked breakfast. He then tried to lift a slice of bacon straight out of the frying pan, causing her to swat his hand.

"OW! I only wanted a nibble… am I to be starved of a Boxing Day morn as well?"

"Oh shut up. How many times do I have to tell you? No eating until I've plated up. And your presents are under the tree, santa obviously didn't check his list twice this year." Henry smirked and shuffled off into the living room. "Hey! No bloody peeking!"

***

"There you are my sweet boy, is that good?" She watched as Kal dived into the bowl of cooked giblets, smoothing down the knitted Christmas jumper she'd made for him, over his back.

"Hey, why does he get to have his presents before me?"

"Cos he's not a whiney little shit. That's why."

"Well, it's a good job I'm the forgiving sort. Heads up!" Henry lobbed a present straight at her, almost conking her on the head.

"Jesus Henry, you almost took me out!" But he just grinned and carried on munching away at some leftover toast.

"W-what… what’s this?" She opened the box to find a large, plastic magnifying glass.

"Well, you know how you're really vain and won't get glasses--"

"I'm vain?!?!"

"… I thought it might come in handy," Henry then reached over and clicked a button on the side, "see? It lights up and look, it even folds in half…"

"Oh? Well then you know where you can stick it…" He struggled to hold in his laughter.

"What? That's a lovely gift! I bet you didn’t put as much thought into mine…"

"Well why don't you open it and see? I'm tempted to throw it but I might strain my wrist…" Henry lifted the heavy box onto his lap.

"Christ, what did you get me?" He ripped away the paper.

"It's a Hollywood mirror, like the ones you get in your trailers. Now you can be the star of the show, even at home…" Henry rubbed his jaw, trying to hide his smile.

"Well, d'ya like it?" He nodded, still unable to look straight into her deadpan eyes. "Oh good. You got any more for me?" Henry pointed towards another box. She gasped the minute she opened it.

"You got me new headphones?! Oh, Henry… these must have cost a fortune!"

"Do you like them? They're proper noise-cancelling ones."

"So I don't have to listen to you anymore?! Oh my God, I love them! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He chuckled.

"Well?!"

"Well, what?!"

"Where's my kiss?" She sighed and plonked herself next to him, pecking his fuzzy cheek. "Is that last one for me?" Henry eyed the final box beneath the tree. She gulped. Normally they promised only to buy each other a couple of joke presents. She reasoned that he spoiled her enough, even though they both knew that wasn't quite true. She'd never let Henry spend much money on her. She felt she had enough of her own and more to the point, it made her uncomfortable. But she hadn't anticipated the headphones. Uneasily, she watched as he ripped open the paper. Henry stared down at the gift for several moments. A boxset of Witcher books.

"I, er… thought you might want to double-check the source material." To this day, she didn't know how she managed to keep a straight face. He cleared his throat, put the books aside, and got to his feet. "What are you doing?"

"You've got a five-minute headstart."

***

Henry spent most of the next hour chasing her around the house, culminating in sex which lasted a further two. "Hey, do you remember our first Christmas?" He whispered eventually, his body still wrapped around her own.

"Mmm, you mean where you broke the oven door checking on the turkey?"

"I was just seeing if it was done!"

"… Or to make sure it was cooking evenly."

"Well what can I say, I'd yet to fully appreciate your culinary prowess. I think even my mum's turkey can't beat yours."

"It did that year." Henry chuckled. "But thanks for the bargaining chip. I've got something to hold over you now if ever you should cross me…"

"Ollie, look at me." She turned her head. "You've got to learn to be more forgiving…" She swatted him on the arm. "Right, come on, we can’t lay here all day."

"Oh, I thought you'd want another round?"

"Always. But come on, get dressed and then meet me in the car."

"Why? Are you throwing me out? On Boxing Day?! Oh, Henry. It was only some books." Henry ignored her deadpan face.

"Well, as deserved as that might be, it's actually so I can give you your last gift. Just put together a bag of any extra stuff you want to bring, your clothes are already packed."

"What d'ya mean? Where are we going?"

"You'll see. Come on, shift it." He spanked her backside and pulled her out of bed.

"Well hang on, I better get some knickers as well. I know you won't have packed them." Henry smirked.

***

She jogged downstairs, her rucksack already on her back, only to find Henry still in the living room. "Oh no, don't tell me the car won’t start? Didn't you only just fill it up?" The look on his face was unreadable and his arms remained crossed. "Henry, what is it?"

"Your mum just phoned." A pit opened in her stomach. "She's been trying to get hold of you since Monday. Your father’s been moved into end of life care."

"Yes, I know." She dropped her rucksack to the floor and began rooting around it, more for something to do at that moment than anything else.

"Apparently he's been sick for a while."

“I only found out last month."

"… And you didn't think to tell me?" She moved her chargers to another pocket, concerned they'd scratch her tablet. "Ollie?"

"What, Henry?" She snapped back up, exasperation now lacing her voice. He had to tread carefully.

"Why didn't you say anything?!" She sighed.

"Because you'd just given me the promise ring and found out you were playing Superman again! Things were so happy that I wanted to wait, but then they told you they were recasting, and after that came Christmas. When exactly was I meant to tell you?!"

"Don't make excuses Ollie, there's never a right moment for that sort of news and you know it. I mean I knew something was wrong, but I never suspected it was this. You've spent all this time with it weighing on you, and for what? If it was my father you wouldn't have been able to do enough for me!"

"Your Dad's not like mine!" She tried desperately to hold back her tears. Henry rushed towards her. "No, stop! I’m okay, really."

"For God's sake, stop it! No, you're not. None of this is okay! Is that where you were Friday? What the hell did he say to you?!" Relief washed over her. At least her mother hadn't told him that much.

"Nothing, we said our goodbyes and parted peacefully. I was just exhausted by the time I got back, it was a bloody long day."

"Stop lying to me, Ollie. And why aren't you talking to your mum? You can't just cut off your family— "

"Henry, enough. I'm not discussing it. Today's supposed to be our day." Henry sighed and bowed his head.

"… I just wish that, for once, you could trust me enough to be honest. That's all." He kissed her forehead, picked up her rucksack, and headed out the door.

***

For the first half an hour, the journey was mostly silent. Eventually, she couldn't stand it anymore. "I'm sorry, okay? I hate that part of my life, and I didn't want any more of it bleeding into everything we've built together--"

"Ollie, you never have to hide anything from me!"

"Just let me finish. I thought I was protecting us from all of it but… clearly not. So, in the new year, I'm gunna get some help."

"What, you mean like… therapy? Darling, I'm not going anywhere, surely you know that?"

"It's not just for us, I need some help trying to process everything better as well." Henry's heart sank.

"Okay… but please know that I'm here for you. I mean it Ollie, there's nothing you can't talk to me about. Will you let me pay for the sessions? What else can I do?"

"My savings will cover it, darling. And you do enough for me, you always have." Another silence descended over the car.

***

After an hour and a half, they finally arrived at a little cottage, perched along with its neighbour in the corner of a meadow that rolled down to a private beach. "Oh my God, is that the sea?!" Ollie clasped her hands together in delight. Henry just smiled, grabbed their bags, and led her into one of the most beautiful living rooms she'd ever seen. Low oak beams and a large, roaring fireplace framed the neatly whitewashed walls, all currently adorned with holly and ivy. "So… first impressions?"

"It's beautiful," She ducked in and out of the other rooms, her excitement only growing, "I could stay here forever!" His smile grew wider.

"Well that's lucky… cos it's yours." Henry winged a set of keys right at her, the shock of what he'd just said almost causing her to drop them.

"You what?!"

"I've still got some paperwork to sign, but it's yours darling."

"I, I…" She fell to the sofa, struggling to comprehend what was happening. He gently took a seat beside her. "Henry… you can't buy me a house!"

"Why not?" She jumped to her feet and quickly started pacing about.

"Because it's too much! We already have a lovely house! Oh my God, it must have cost the earth, at least me pay half--" Henry climbed to his feet and rubbed her shoulders in a vain attempt to calm her down.

"You're not paying a bloody penny. Consider it our holiday home if you must, but I wanted you to have a place to go when you need space. I know you find being at home tough when I'm away, so this can be a change of scenery. You love the sea and I'll feel a lot better if I know you're safe and comfortable here. And don't worry, there's a lovely older couple next door, they've already told me they're happy to help look after the place when we're gone." She was so overwhelmed she couldn’t speak. He wiped the tears from her eyes and cradled her face, "will you please accept it?" She dashed back into the hallway and Henry could hear the unzipping of her rucksack.

"… Only if you accept this. It doesn't quite compare to a house, but I hope you'll like it all the same."

"You got me a Christmas card?" She ignored his deadpan face and snatched back the envelope. She then took a deep breath.

“Henry William - and one I still can't pronounce - Cavill. You live to irritate me," Henry's look of confusion was replaced by a set of pursed lips, "you somehow manage to make more mess than Kal, as well as shed twice as much hair--"

"Is this actually leading somewhere?"

"And I'll be amazed if I don't lose all of my hair by the time you lose the rest of yours. All that being said, I don't want to miss another second of any of it, ever again. Will you marry me?"

"… What?" His voice was small and confused.

"I said, will you marry me?!" Henry blinked a few times and took a couple of steps back, rubbing his forehead as he chuckled.

"Are you serious?" She nodded eagerly. "No… you want to marry me? For real?!"

"Yes!" He then rushed towards her. Before she knew it, she was in a fireman's lift being wildly spun about while Henry whooped and cheered at the top of his lungs. Poor Kal could only bark in confusion.

"HENRY! P-PUT ME DOWNNN!" By the time he stood her upright, she was close to falling down. Henry grabbed then her cheeks, which gradually helped the room stop spinning.

"Are you sure though, darling? You were adamant about not getting married. You're not just doing it because, well… I mean a lot's going on at the moment."

"Henry, whether it be love or demonic possession, I truly wish to marry you--"

"But you're not just asking because I bought the house, are you? Are these actually Playstation vouchers?" He picked up the envelope that had dropped to the floor in all the chaos.

"Oh… I thought you wanted Xbox ones?" Henry's mouth fell open, causing her to snicker. "Why don't you just open it?" He eyed her suspiciously before tearing open the envelope. "As I was the one to propose, I thought you'd probably want to pick out the rings. So… is that a yes then?" Henry's vision blurred as he looked down at the invitation for a fitting at a bespoke jeweller.

"Henry?!" She wiped the tears that spilled down his face as he nodded.

"… But what about our promise rings?"

"Well, they can be our engagement rings." Henry chewed his lip, still struggling to believe what was happening.

"So are you going to be a 'Mrs?' And take my last name?"

"Mm-hm."

"Are you gunna wear a dress?"

"Mm-hm."

"Can I call you 'wife,' now? All the time?"

"Mmm… let's say twice a day. Once in the morning and once at night. And only after we're married."

"Okay well let's circle back to that… can we have guests? Not too many but a few? Where are we going to have it? And when?!" His face was so eager and bright that she couldn't help but smile.

"Well… this place looks like it's got a nice little garden. Why don't we have it out there as soon as the weather's warmer? We could then go back to ours and have a garden party, that way more people could attend afterward--" Henry quickly pulled her into a tight hug.

"… You don't have to do this just to make me happy." She smiled against the middle of his chest, the weight of his arms around her only adding to her comfort.

"I'm doing it because of how happy you make me, you silly sod."

"I love you, my darling."

"Right up until you leave more for an eighteen-year-old?" Henry tutted.

"Look at me, I'm not going anywhere. How could I ever leave my wally Ollie?"

"But what if my arse gets bigger?"

"… How big are we talking?" She bopped him on the arm. "Well I suppose I can always have the doors widened," she rolled her eyes, "don't worry! As you said, I won't have much hair left by then, no one else will want me." She sighed. "I love you, my darling."

"And I, you. Fuck knows why."

"Well, maybe this'll also help. I'm not leaving in January."

"What? Why?! You said I could have this place to myself!" Henry roared with laughter.

"I thought you'd be pleased!"

"Well… I suppose. But what happened?"

"Filming got pushed back." She eyed him warily.

"Henry--"

"Darling, I want to be with you--"

"But you can't just turn down work! What will--" Henry gently clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Ah, much better. Now, are you gunna say it back or what?" She shoved his hand away.

"Say what, you arch idiot?"

"You know what!" She sighed again.

"I love you too. There, happy?" Henry tilted her chin and kissed her deeply.

"More than any man on God's green earth."

To be updated on when I post please follow @resowrites and turn on post notifications.

@marytudorbrandon @luclittlepond @fanfictionaddiction99 @caffeinatedfestivalsheep

[cookieswithay]

"Late night snacking" Actual fic😌

• Serious credits to @o0o0thorn0o0o She drew this lovely picture.

• Normal AU...really normal

•⚠️Spelling mistakes, swearing and American names. And a little suggestive talk at the end ⚠️

• (You guys can guess who's who by the names🤭)

°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°

• "Godammit, Issac, turn the light off already!"

• Hey, the names Issac Kennedy. I'm a college student and currently taking a writing class. And right now, I'm studying for a upcoming exam. With my irritating roommate "Ronnie" pestering me.

• (Ron/Ronnie: A tall fake redhead with a bunch of tattoos. Is (somehow) in all my classes and is on a basketball team)

• "Hell no, I'm not done studying." I snapped back. He's know my damn schedule. He scoffed.

• "Study some other night, the exam is next week"

• "Well if I'm keeping you from your bedtime, go sleep at your girlfriend's!" Silence. I snickered. Ronnie's still too "respectful" to sleep over at Rebecca's.

• (Rebecca: A tiny brunette who badgers me. Unlike Ronnie, she doesn't look her age. She takes the real estate class and is actually relationship with him)

• Now, that he was quiet, back to what I was doing.

• *Whack!*

• "Ow!" I heard laughing. I turned to see Ronnie standing up with a blanket. "Oh, sorry Issac," he said.

• "The pillow just happened to slip outta my hand."

• My jaw clenched. "You bastard." I muttered. He smiled and headed towards the door. "See ya, Issac." I scoffed. After waiting a few minutes for the pain wear off, I got back to my practice test.

°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•

• ~Rumble~

• Damn. As usual, my stomach's interrupting something important. I'm almost done. Maybe, I could...no, no. I sighed and pushed away from my desk. (Hunger pains are no joke) I looked around. Damn, I didn't swipe anything today? I sighed again and stood up. I hate going out at night.

• ~Little later~

• As I walked down the hallway, I started racking brain for eating options. I'm still busy, so I'm definitely not cooking anything. Snacks...did I go shopping recently? My question was answered when I didn't see my name on anything. "Godammit." What've I been doing lately!

• "Olivia!"

• I jumped.

• "Olivia!"

• Oh crap, it's Tessa.

• (Tessa: Yet another brunette in my life, except I actually like this one. She's a childhood friend who I happened to see again when I got here. She's also best friends with a girl named Olivia and is practicing to be a professional boxer)

• "Olivia, we have curfews y'know! We could get in trouble!"

• Geez, way to keep it on the down low. After what felt like a FOREVER, her voice finally walked away. Phew. Let's hope Liv shows herself soon. Tessa practically had smoke coming outta her ears. Anyway, what was I looking for-

• "Issac!"

• I stiffened.

• "Issac! Down here!"

• Oh wait, I know this voice. I bent down. Sure enough, it was the wanted ginger under the table. I smiled. "Hey, Olivia." Instead of saying "hi" back, she pulled me under. By the collar.

• "Oliv-?"

• She covered my mouth. "Shush, shush." What the hell!? Seconds later, she let me go. "Okay, Tessa's is gone." She sighed and straightened out her shirt.

• "So, what brings you out into the wild?"

• She said putting the spotlight on me. (The wild, huh? I'll play along) "Well, I came outta the cave, cause I got hungry."

• She nods. "That makes sense," She smiled.

• "I usually see you when you're hungry."

• "You see me in the hallway too."

• (Damn, have I really been that scarce?) She nodded, and...then we started staring at each other. I cleared my throat. "Anyway, what's got you hiding from Tessa?" This a good talking subject, right? Olivia perked up.

• "That's right!" She said.

• "Well, I took a super long nap earlier."

• Oh yeah, she did have a headache earlier.

• "So, when I woke up, I was super hungry. But it was night then. That's when I decided to sneak out."

• I chuckled. "And that's why Tessa's prowling?" She nodded. "She's worried about me." I snickered. I swear, I don't think I ever had a boring conversation with Olivia.

• (Olivia Ingle: A beautiful girl with pretty orange hair. I never really got the chance to speak to her high school, but we became friends here. As you know, she's friends with Tess. And is taking the culinary class. Even though she has a odd taste buds.)

• "Can we come up from under here, now?"

• I asked. Anywhere is great with her, but under the table is gross. "Oh yeah, of course." She replied. I lifted the tablecloth and she crawled out. I did the same.

• "Although, you should've said something earlier."

• "Why?"

• "Your stomach was growling earlier."

• Holy! Godda- Mother of- I inhaled. "Really?" She nodded. Someone please put me outta my misery.

• "It's alright though."

• "It is?" I thought outloud

• "It's usually super embarrassing. But if you're around nice people, no one will care!"

• She said, with a huge smile. I nodded. "Okay." I said, leaning on the counter. Now, Olivia's rooting through the pantry while humming.

• It got pretty quiet for awhile, until she called my name. "Yeah?"

• "You can have these."

• I looked down. In her hand, were shooting star cookies. I would've been touched if those weren't Tessa's. (She usually eats those on cheat days) "I'm good," Because...

• "I'm on a diet."

• She paused.

• Shit.

• "Are you sure?"

• Options: keep up the lie and starve or chow down and get beat up by Tessa later. Eh, I'll take the beat down. It's not everyday I get to talk to Olivia alone.

• "Alright, you caught me," I said, throwing up my hands. "I was bluffing." She smiled.

• "I thought so!" She set the cookies down and walked towards the fridge.

• She put the usual on the counter: Icecream, Oreos, milk, barbecue lays, etc. Although the chip difference stuck out to me.

• "Barbecue, this time?"

• (She used green onion last time)

• "Mm-hm." She said, while nodding.

• "Last time, the green onion chips overpowered the so- could you open this please? Thank you. And-"

• I listened closely as Olivia chatted on. (And opened the chip bag) To be completely honest, I love talking to her. Sometimes, I even think I'm learning new things about her. Like she's dropping subtle hints about herself. Olivia's so...perfect. (Damn, am I blushing?)

• "Olivia."

• "Yes?"

• "Can you tell me how to make special french toast again?"

• ~Later~

• After snacking, talking, and watching a cat video, I (finally) looked at the time. Damn, it's 12.

• "Liv."

• She looked back from the counter.

• "Liv?"

• Dammit, I said that outloud. "Olivia, Olivia, sorry," I stuttered. "It's midnight now. Anything else you gotta do?"

• "Oh boy,"

• She said with her usual nervous laugh. "I hope Tessa didn't round up a search party or anything."

• "No, but I'm glad I didn't."

• We both jumped. Tessa's here! In a instant, Olivia was in my arms. (And I didn't even grab her this time) She took a breath.

• "Jesus christ, Olivia! Where the heck were you!?"

• ~Yet another later~

• After getting scolded AND hit (we both did), we got sent to our rooms. Luckily, Tess was nice enough to let us walk together. "Damn," I grumbled. "Does she usually hit this hard?" I haven't been scolded by Tessa in awhile.

• "We actually got lucky." Olivia responded.

• "She held back because she was worried."

• She held back!? I feel like my head's bleeding. "Oh." I replied. "Good for us, I guess." After some more talking, we were at her room.

• "Well, this is my stop." She said, smiling again. "Tonight was fun," She said.

• "Even if we did get in trouble in the end." She said, with a shrug.

• "It wouldn't be the first time for us." I muttered. We nearly get screwed alot. Welp, better say bye-

• "Oh! I almost forgot!"

• Olivia said, running into her room. Uh... I peeked in.

• "Oliv- Ah!"

• "I got it!"

• She shouted, conveniently coming out right now. "Right here," She pulled me back on my feet. And gave me a pink flyer. "A sweet festival is happening on Melody road this saturday!" She said. "I asked my friends the other day but they all have plans,"

• ...Is she asking me out?

• "So I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come?"

• She is asking me out!

• I cleared my throat. Play it cool. "I gotta drop my sisters off at a friend's but,"

• Play it cool!

• "I'm free."

• Yes! She smiled, but turned it off. "Uh...Olivia?" She did a quick look around.

• "Tessa's still in the bathroom, right?"

• "Yeah?"

• "Okay, good."

• Before I could say anything else, she wrapped her arms my neck. And...kissed me. ACTUALLY kissed me! Not on my cheek, not on my top lip, a real life kiss! When she pulled away, she covered her mouth.

• "Um,"

• She looked down.

• "You still wanna go to festival, right?"

• "Yes!"

• Normally, I would've been embarrassed about the giddiness. But, I'm SO not thinking straight. Olivia blushed and started messing with her hair.

• "Okay, see you on Saturday!"

• She said, smiling. Then she just ran into her room. Oh my god. I was kissed! By Olivia! I can't wrap my head around this!

• "What's got you jazzed?"

• I jumped. I turned to see Ronnie behind me. "What the hell, Ronnie!? Don't sneak up on me like!" Jeez, I almost flew outta my skin. He frowned. "Oh get a grip, Issac,"

• "Just wondering where you were."

• I sighed.

• "I was just walking around."

• "At night?"

• "Yes."

• "But you don't like going anywhere."

• Classic Ronnie, asking a ton of personal questions. "No reason, alright." Can he just drop it? When I didn't hear another nosy question, I looked back at him. He was just...staring at me.

• "What?"

• He blinked.

• "You got kissed, didn't you?"

• Huh!?

• I scoffed. "I have no idea what your talking about!" He started laughing. "You did!" God frickin dammit.

• "I have a girlfriend, doofus. I know the symptoms like the back of my hand."

• "I don't have any symptoms!"

• "I wonder who did it...?"

• I'm not staying for this. I turned on my heels, and started down the hall. I could hear Ronnie cackling behind me. Asshole- wait a sec?

• "Since we're on the topic of women,"

• (This'll get him)

• "What happened with Rebecca?"

• He turned red. "Whaddya mean what happened?"

• (He's dodging the question now.😏) "You went to her room like 2 hours ago, why'd you leave?"

• "If you must know, nosy I had to pick up something."

• I snickered. "What? Condu-"

• "Issac!"

• Now it's my turn to laugh! "Am I right!?"

• Instead of answering, Ronnie turned me around and basically starting pushing back to our dorm. After poking fun at him a little more, I ended deciding to do the practice test tomorrow.

• (It's not like I'd be able to focus after tonight)

• So now I'm laying in my bed, wondering about my date... What am I gonna wear!?

•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°

Heyyyy! This took awhile for no reason! I was so lucky to find a ICHIHIME artist who didn't have a price tag on her art. Please check her out her art is lovely! @o0o0thorn0o0o As usual, stay cool.😎

The cute little models⬇️

[avatar-of-the-scribe]

Ahh! I love the hcs you made for my request with the ploy request, and I apologize for the small error on it.

I, uh, I still have 2BHank x reader on my brain so, uh, May I request a small fanfic of this ploy reader request? You don’t have to if you don’t want to! 😅

Phew! Sorry this took me a few days- been a little under the weather! Allergies where I live on the coast are actually pretty bad right now :(... Hope you enjoy though!

Hank x Affectionate Reader x 2BDamned

A Moments Peace

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎... ⋙☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Nevada was a cold place, that's for sure. The gray desert stretching for miles and every day a test to one's will…. No one could consider this state of the world producing anything good- and for the most part it didn't. It produced Air thick with the stench of Gunpowder, and sand clumped together by blood.

But there was the rare gem of hope. A small spark of light.

For you- That was your partners of whom you were currently cuddled tight with, holding onto them both tight as if the world would rip them from your grasp if you didn't… and they held you just as tight in their own iron grips. They've seen death and all it has to offer- but they've seen your smile and known there was at least something worth coming back for.

Hank nuzzled a bit closer into the fuzz of your hair, trying his best to keep from resting his metallic lower jaw on you lest it sink into your flesh and cause you harm- You're one of the two people he would never want to hurt after all. 2BDamned had his face pressed into the crook of your neck, each breath drifting over your skin as it escaped through the holes torn in his jaws long ago, currently not hidden by a mask.

This was the time the three of you got to share. It was rare to find and even rarer it went uninterrupted- but it was still the time you had with each other, time where the pains and aches of this world of madness melted away into something softer, into gentle kisses and loving holds. It was a thing so rare to you and to them since Hank was often on missions and Doc having to clean up the mess- typically involving stitching Hank together with a lecture -leaving you to tend to your own devices. But it's what you had now, to enjoy together.

At least until there was a knock at the door… you'd be a fool to try to pretend you didn't hear a scratchy and annoyed growl from Hank's throat at the intrusion to your time, Doc letting out an annoyed grunt of his own as he turned away from you and to the door.

"What. This better be damn important."

Deimos' sheepish voice trailed through the closed door, muffled by the thick material.

"Yeah… Sanny and I were doing some sparring and we need the medkit."

2B's voice carried nothing but annoyance as he spoke, huffing as he heard an amused giggle pressed past your own lips. "And you know where to find that. I'm not going to frequently patch you two idiots up because you did something stupid. Go get the medkit and help each other, unless you'd like Hank to get up and assist." He stated plainly- knowing very well the last thing either of those two wanted was an angry Hank. Hearing the footsteps retreat, Your annoyed lover pressed back against you and tried to get comfortable again. As he settled, he let out a faint purr feeling you press a kiss to his temple to calm him down, one following it for Hank on his cheek to keep him calm as well and not getting up to go tear Deimos apart. You tightened your hold on them both just a tad more, whispering softly to them both the three words they never thought they'd hear in this hellscape to further soothe them.

"I love you~"

And they love you too. ♡

[imagining-in-the-margins]

Serendipitous (S.R.)

Summary: Spencer’s pretty sure Penelope mixed up his blind date. Request: A blind date spencer x reader? Pen is their mutual friend or something and sets them up? Couple: Spencer Reid/Fem!Reader Category: Fluff Content Warning: Blind date, Reader is an underwear model, discussions of lingerie, insecurity, white lies Word Count: 4.5k

MASTERLIST

Penelope had known that I would feel comfortable in a cafe. Even one as pretentious as this. I tried not to take offense to the fact that the pompous nature of it was probably part of why she’d picked it for me. Because I had to admit that she had been right. The warm, mellow jazz music and the distinct lack of children, while slightly solemn, also meant that there would be few distractions from what had been meant to be the focus of my attention.

The one I was waiting for. Whoever she was.

‘It’s a blind date, Spencer,’ Penelope had balked when I’d asked, ‘I can’t tell you what she’s like!’

Although I’d teased her for her unfortunate wording, which in fact gave away at least some aspect of my date’s gender, I’d failed to extract any other information from the clever woman besides the original details she’d provided.

My date would be a woman, as I’d just learned. She was also a respected academic scholar with one less PhD than me. I’d honestly almost called off the date based on that fact alone, considering my competitive, petty nature would most likely require me to earn at least two more to feel at all deserving of such a woman’s affections.

It was too late, though. I was already there, sitting alone at a quiet cafe and waiting for a woman I knew virtually nothing about. She could have been anyone — anyone at all.

Logically, I knew that I should abandon all expectations and allow myself to be surprised. But when a woman did approach me, I found myself unable to believe that she had been the one I was meant to be meeting.

That was, until she spoke.

“Are you Penelope’s friend?”

“Sorry?” I asked, still caught off guard by what my eyes were assuring me to be true.

“Sorry, I’m meant to be meeting someone—" she started, just for my brain to finally catch up at the same time and shout over her entirely on accident, “I-I mean, sorry, yes! I am.”

“Phew, thank god,” she laughed as she took a seat. “That was about to be super embarrassing for me.”

The first thing I noticed about her — beyond the jaw-dropping beauty that I had certainly not been expecting, no matter how highly Penelope spoke of her — was the way she sat with such confidence that I suddenly became certain I’d been sitting wrong. I found myself trying to alter my own appearance to reflect her own, and I wondered if she realized how incredibly intimidating she was.

But as she set her drink down on the table, she let out a long, slow breath before lifting her hand for me to shake and announced, “It’s nice to meet you, I’m (y/n).”

Despite my dislike of the gesture, I followed through with it so that I would be able to shatter the dreamworld I must’ve stumbled into. When I touched her and she remained solid, however, I had to come up with something to say.

“I’m Dr. Spencer Reid— y-you don’t have to call me doctor, though. I—"

Safe to say, I panicked.

Eventually, I managed to end the terrible thought with two words I was sure were significantly less confusing and strange. If only barely.

“I’m Spencer.”

Much to my relief, the girl just laughed. Not an awkward, unsure sound, either. It was full enough to make her body bounce.

“I like you already, Spencer,” she said in a surprisingly genuine tone, “You’re so sweet!”

“Thanks,” I said in a much less convincing manner.

She eased back into her seat, clutching the cup of coffee she’d ordered while I sat there trying to differentiate the smell from all the rest. I sat there, analyzing any small bit of her I could without just talking to her. Because I was a coward, and she seemed too beautiful to be true.

She’d caught my staring, or at least it felt like she was trying to cover something else when she blurted out, “Sorry I’m a little late, by the way, I had a shoot that went longer than I was expecting.”

The strange phrasing caught my attention immediately. Alarm bells started to ring with an irritating screech in my mind when it picked up on language I had heard before. Only a few times, on the rare phone calls and e-mails I’d shared with a starlet several years prior.

“Are you a model or an actress?” I asked. I hadn’t thought that the question might be rude until I said it. I simply wanted to know the answer. But she didn’t take offense, anyway. She simply tilted her head to the side in an adorable, innocent display of confusion.

“Hm? Pen didn’t tell you?”

And that was when everything had started to make sense.

She was not the woman I was supposed to meet with.

That wasn’t to say that it would be impossible for someone beautiful and tangentially famous to carry multiple degrees, or that the woman in front of me was by any means incapable of earning such a thing. Rather, it became clear to me that Penelope Garcia would not have set me up with a model or an actress considering my history. Not without warning me, at least.

I opened my mouth to explain her misfortune, and potentially save a date with a suitor that actually suited her.

“Actually, I think she...”

But then I stopped. I floundered on nothing until I puckered my lips and decided to say nothing for one of two reasons. One, because I didn’t want to embarrass her by explaining exactly how I’d figured it out… or because I wanted to finish the date. I would blame whichever one sounded less unfortunate when the date ended. Until then, I would just lie and hope that she would understand if I ever became courageous enough to tell her.

“Um... no, she didn’t say.”

I should’ve known better than to think a bad deed would go unpunished. Because there was nothing that could have prepared me for her answer, or the nonchalance with which she’d said it.

The sheer normalcy she sported as she explained, “I’m an underwear model.”

And I immediately choked on my own hubris, as well as the coffee that I’d aspirated. My red-faced coughing fit brought an undeniably self-assured smile to her face, however. While I struggled to breathe and raised a hand in apology, she was too busy trying not to burst into equally raucous laughter.

“That’s very flattering, thank you,” she teased.

“I’m so sorry,” I laughed back. I tried to keep up the lighthearted playfulness because I would’ve hated myself if she mistook my immature mind as an insult to any part of her. That was why I felt compelled to explain, “It’s not that there’s anything wrong with that job, or anything, I just... wasn’t expecting it.”

“It’s probably still not what you’re expecting,” she assured me.

That alone would have been enough, and preferable to what she decided to do next. The second I saw her tapping at the phone she hadn’t touched since she sat down, I knew what would happen. I tried to prepare myself for the images that I knew were coming. But she had been right, that when she handed me her phone, I was happy to see something besides the pristine, heavily manicured lies that companies usually peddled.

The images were of women of varying shapes and colors. Each body part I saw on every woman carried with it an imperfection to prove that they really were as beautiful as they looked. That the images were as real as one could make something while being posed and praised.

I hadn’t scrolled too far before I saw one that stuck out from all the rest. Her face was hidden in the picture, but I recognized her all the same. I glanced up back into reality to find her staring at me with wide eyes and a pleased smile, and I felt terrible that I had just been ogling her near naked body instead of just talking to her.

But then when I tried, I remembered why it was probably better if I shut up.

“I-I feel like it’d be rude for me to ask which ones are of you,” I stuttered and tripped over my own words.

She didn’t seem to mind. I think she’d even found it endearing.

“You can’t tell?” she asked, and I missed the sarcastic tilt in her tone just like I always did.

“I’m sorry—!” I started, practically throwing her phone back to her on the table. But she was just as quick to catch it and force it back into my hands.

“I’m joking!” she cried through the giggles, “You’d have to be a genius to be able to tell from the few minutes you’ve known me.”

“Actually, I...” Again, I stopped. I looked at inviting eyes and a smile that I never wanted to see wane. I considered telling her the truth — I chastised myself for considering a lie — but then settled on the neutral answer of, “Never mind.”

She accepted the dismissal without an ounce of concern. There was something so naive and innocent about her that it almost made me feel dirty. Which certainly wasn’t helped when I looked back at the phone to see her body again, but now closer and in a set much more sheer than the first one I’d seen.

With an unbearably dry throat I squeaked as politely as I could, “This is you?”

“Mhm,” she hummed. I tried to look up at her every few seconds, to make her face the thing my mind chose to fixate on for longer, but each time I did, she would just usher me back to the picture.

After a while, longer than I’d like to admit, I realized the game she was playing. I saw the satisfaction and humor in her expressions, and I finally slid the phone back to her in defeat.

Then, because the silence was painful and I wanted to keep her smiling, I said the first thought that had come to mind without even thinking about how horribly lovesick it sounded.

“You’re very beautiful, but I’m sure that’s no surprise to you.”

But in a baffling turn of events, she asked, “You either, right?”

After replaying the question in my head thrice, I allowed myself to ask for further clarification.

“Sorry?”

“You’re a model, too, right?”

“What?” I balked. I hadn’t even tried to hide my layers upon layers of confusion and shock, expounding on the question with even more emphasis, “What the hell made you think that?”

It was regrettable, although honestly inevitable. The lack of control over my own stupid mouth hadn’t made me hurt any less when I saw the embarrassment flood her features. She snatched her phone back and closed in on herself immediately.

“That’s who Pen said I was meeting with?” she muttered, now sure that she’d done something she wasn’t supposed to. Unfortunately, she only made my reaction even more potent when she nervously explained, “That’s how I knew which guy to talk to?”

“What?” I said again, hating the way I sounded like a broken record but seriously completely incapable of even comprehending the words she was throwing my way. To ensure this wasn’t all just a practical joke, I repeated back to her, “You thought I was a model?”

She shrugged, now nervously twiddling with her fingers and avoiding my eyes when she grumbled, “What? It’s not that crazy, you have the jawline for it.”

For what might have been the first time in my life, I was rendered completely and utterly speechless. I stared at that poor, beautiful, lost young woman while she stared right back. I saw the way she fidgeted with anything she could get her hands on, and I screamed at myself to say anything. To clear up the confusion quickly and painlessly.

But I couldn’t trust myself not to make it worse. I was still trying to understand any part of what she saw in my physique that I had almost forgotten all the rest of the mess I’d created by avoidingjust talking to her.

“I’m starting to get the feeling you’re hiding things from me, Spencer...” she whispered.

Without thinking of how I was confessing, I blurted out, “I—well, yes, I am, but— you thought I was a model?!”

If she’d noticed, though, she let it go. Instead, she shouted back, “You’re a very pretty man! I’m sorry!”

Everyone in the tiny, pretentious coffee shop turned their attention to us. We both noticed at the same time, but we didn’t look around. We just stared at each other like petrified deer in the proverbial headlights until the stifled laughter started spilling from our lips at the same time.

“I mean, don’t apologize, I’m just very confused and a little concerned for you,” I chuckled at a more appropriate volume. I took her silence and the smile slowly returning to her cheeks to be permission enough to return to a normal conversation. One that… I probably should have led with.

“No, I’m not a model. I used to work with Penelope, and now I’m a part time Professor at the FBI Academy.”

That mysterious young woman took the answer in stride, but that was by far the least baffling part of her response. No, that honor was reserved for the way she shot up in her chair and once again shouted, “Oh! I know you!”

My face remained contorted in confusion, but this time she had an explanation to offer. Albeit with enough stars in her eyes to render me practically mute.

“She used to talk about you all the time. You do magic, too, right?”

Of all the things about me that people had remembered, that was by far my favorite.

“Yeah, I do,” I laughed, only to realize how my face was starting to hurt from how often it was happening. I wondered if she felt the same. If she had also been changed by this misstep of fate (or at least fate’s favorite cupid, who really should have had these things programmed in a computer somewhere).

“And you’re from Vegas,” she aptly noted. That time when I nodded, she sighed before she continued, “A man after my own heart.”

She hadn’t been wrong about that, either. From the second I’d seen her, some part of me had wanted her. The longer I knew her, the more of me that became. By that point, I was lost to the hoping and dreaming.

But I could still feel that one odd insecurity gnawing at me. That there was something else I was hiding from her. Or rather, something she knew about me but was pretending she hadn’t. Still, it seemed impossible for those doe eyes to lie. I just had to be sure. And, of course, I couldn’t just talk to her.

“Is... is that all she told you about me?” I asked, instead.

“Is there something important I’m missing?”

Surely, I couldn’t just tell her the truth. I couldn’t shower myself with compliments and feed into the stereotype that I was something nonhuman. Especially not when I was having such fun with her exactly like that, without any discussions of the science of psychology.

So I lied, although I didn’t like to call it that.

“No, just wondering,” I said.

It wasn’t a lie. It didn’t have to be important unless we’d made it so, and I had no intention of doing that. However, I was still interested in keeping her around as long as I could. But I could find other ways to impress a beautiful woman than just talking to her.

Pulling my wallet from my pocket, I leaned forward and whispered an invitation few could turn down.

“Do you want to see a magic trick?”

But of course, of all the magic I could deal with cards, the true mystical event was the way the hour flew by before I knew it. Both of our phones were ringing, but we watched as the other denied the calls in favor of a few more moments of peace in the world where it was just us and empty coffee cups.

We lost ourselves in that world. The one where I could be mistaken for a model and her as someone who might actually be interested in a man like me.

I had enjoyed myself with her. I had. But there was still that feeling, that nagging voice in the back of my mind telling me that I was being cruel not to tell her the truth.

Again, it wasn’t that I thought I was too good for her — if anything, it was the other way around. I didn’t even particularly care if she had no college education, because it had never come up. Even without it, she had a better grasp on so many things than I could ever hope to have. She knew when to laugh at the right times. She understood everything that I said and was able to freely express herself in both words and body language as if she was the one who’d written the rulebook.

She was effortlessly beautiful. Captivating in more ways than physical. I envied her deeply. Enough so that before we made it to her car, I felt the need to learn something, anything from her before she slipped away.

“Can I ask you something?”

Without an ounce of hesitation, she answered, “Sure, what’s up?”

“How do you... be... you?”

The question hung in the air for a solid ten seconds before I’d realized just how stupid it sounded. I wasn’t able to really save it, either. No matter how many more words I shoved together. In fact, I somehow made it worse.

“Sorry, that made no sense. I just... You told me what you do for work so easily. Like you weren’t worried about what I would think of you at all.”

“Should I have been worried?” she asked in a natural follow up to my stupidity.

Unable to verbalize my regret without risking even more embarrassing admissions, I simply shook my head no. I figured she’d known what I meant, anyway. She was just trying to gauge what kind of man I was.

I wondered what she saw.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she sighed. She even raised her hands up in defeat but allowed them to fall away as the tension faded back into busy city streets. “I guess I just decided after my last relationship that... It’s a lot easier to be happier when I’m not hiding who I am from people.”

My heart wrenched in my chest while the butterflies in my stomach created whirlwinds. The mounting pressure of a broken heart healed by being seen by another so clearly. So easily, so intuitively that it felt like Penelope might not have made a mistake at all.

That it had been fate for her to be there, twirling her keys around on her finger before she turned to me and asked, “Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, it does.”

She smiled, and I saw the subtle twitches that told me her face was starting to ache, too. I felt the relief in the deep breath she took, and we both savored the feeling of not having to hide.

But that strange woman hadn’t stopped reading my mind. Continuing her explanation, still as nonchalant as ever, she reasoned, “And if I can prove some of their stereotypes and expectations about what it means about me as a person... Well, I’m glad for that, too.”

The guilt returned with a vengeance. All my insecurities seemed hypocritical at best, and cruel at their worst. A horrible form of self-sabotage for when she inevitably learned the truth about me that I had tried so hard to stop myself from announcing. It wasn’t a bad or shameful thing, but it scared me half to death. Using her as my inspiration, I drummed up just enough courage to admit one small part of it.

“You were right earlier. That I was hiding things from you.”

“Oh, I know,” she reassured me in the sweetest way. “You figured out Pen messed up our dates a lot faster than me.”

“Yeah, and the reason I asked you if she said anything else was because...” I started, only to be cut off by a shrill, shocked sound too loud to be less than a foot away.

“Wait!” she screeched in horror, “You’re the other genius she worked with, aren’t you?!”

I laughed, now out of nervousness for how quickly her demeanor had changed. In fact, everything about her had changed. The poor thing was like a pufferfish in full defense mode, holding her arms out to keep me at a relatively safe distance while she immediately started hyperventilating.

“Uh—yeah, I am, I guess?”

I tried to downplay the reality she was clearly well aware of. It only sort of worked.

“Oh my gosh,” she repeated until she ran out of breath. She took in another, and just as quickly used it to insist, “Ignore everything I just said. I’m mortified.”

As much as it worried me for her to put me on a pedestal so quickly, I was comforted by the fact she’d said it all through a smile. The kind that made her cheeks bunch up and her eyes go wide. The kind that made me want to cup her cheeks in my hands to feel just how shy she’d become.

I wanted to kiss her so badly. But instead, I had to just talk to her.

I quite liked talking to her, really.

“What? Why are you mortified?”

“You probably think I’m a total idiot!” she blubbered and whined, pulling on her face and contorting it into expressions that only made me laugh more.

I pulled it together enough to be convincing when I said, “No! I don’t think that at all!”

By some grace of god, she believed me. That couldn’t be chocked up to her innocence, either. If anything, it was her proving how well she could read someone’s true intentions. Because it was true that I hadn’t thought her stupid in the slightest. Especially not when I could barely talk to her without tripping over my own words.

One day she would realize how impressive it was to render me speechless. I hoped she would keep me around long enough to find out, anyway. Thankfully, she seemed entertained in the very least by the lunacy of our first date.

“Wow, I’m so glad I forgot about that,” she mumbled, still stuck on something as silly as an IQ. “I would have been so nervous if I’d remembered.”

“I thought you said it was better to be yourself?” I teased. She’d recognized it as such, naturally, but she played along and stroked my ego in a way that really was too good to be true.

“Yeah, well, easy for you to say. Your big secret is that you’re a genius!”

“And you’re beautiful,” I reminded her just as quickly. Then, to ensure she understood that I hadn’t stopped seeing her the second she’d taken away the phone screen, I reassured her of my honestly held belief about her capability. “You’re pretty darned smart, too, if you ask me.”

When I watched her deflate, part of me wished I hadn’t said it. The rest of me wanted to never stop saying it. Not until she acknowledged its truth.

“Yeah… smart for a model,” she whispered like I hadn’t really been meant to hear it. As if it was the thing that she reminded herself of on many more occasions than that one.

I had hidden too much I’d wanted to say from her for one day. So, I refused to let this one go too.

“No, just smart,” I corrected. “No qualifier.”

She caught herself smiling before it got too far. Her lips stayed crooked, hidden, and drained from a day of letting herself indulge in the joy. I knew it was selfish to want to see it again, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to walk away from every interaction with her with my face absolutely aching. I wanted us to be exhausted by how happy we had been so that we would miss each other’s absence even more.

I was having fun talking to her. I wanted to keep it going. Recalling the conversation before it slipped away, I turned the attention off her and back onto me in the way I’d been afraid to do before.

“I think the word you used for me was sweet, which I actually do get pretty often.”

“What about arrogant?” she returned without skipping a beat.

It made it all the easier to confirm, “Yeah, that one, too.”

As she opened her car door, she sighed. The excitement had finally caught up to us and the time had come to go our separate ways. While she climbed into her seat though, I was left hoping that the separation wouldn’t be permanent.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad you told me before Pen did,” she said as if she was reading my mind. That wistful, beautiful creature peered up at me through an open window before leaning further out of its confines. She leaned closer like she wanted me to lean closer. She’d wanted me nearer before she explained something to me one more time.

“It’ll be a lot easier to not be mad at her for mixing up the dates now that I know it worked out.”

“It did?” I asked, a little too excited to hear the answer.

But imagine my surprise when it didn’t come. When her lips hadn’t fashioned a confirmation or any sound at all. Instead, I felt her response on my cheek. A simple, chaste kiss against scruff and scorching skin.

She kissed me, just until the laughter spilled from her lips and broke the contact. Then she resorted back to the language I would understand much clearer.

“Yep,” she answered with a pop of her lips, “It sure did.”

With my hand still on my cheek where she’d kissed me, I didn’t even notice the heat and ache in my muscles. I just stayed there, watching as she drove off and only barely remembered to wave.

I stayed there a few moments longer after she had left, reminiscing on how wonderful it was to be the sweet one and not the smart one for once.

And even then, I think she would always have me beat. That was okay with me, too.

(Tell me what you thought about this fic here!)

[fanfic-me-up]

All The Colors We Cannot See {Bakugou x Reader}

Synopsis: He sees you in the colors that light the sky, and longs for you in the darkness that follows.

Pairing: Pro Hero! Bakugou Katsuki x fem! reader

Warnings: attempted suicide, suicidal thoughts, language

Word Count: 4k+

A/N: This took me like 9 months to complete, but it’s finally here. I didn’t completely stick to the request, but this is what came out. I still hope you like it! Banner made by my amazingly talented friend, go follow her @jm.rvice on instagram! 💖

💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

Blood pumps to his legs. Cement pounds his feet. Bits of rubble catch in his boots. The first spark of the night shoots up- swallowed whole by the black sky. A trail of embers remains in its wake. 

Katsuki stops. And waits.

A second passes- the crowd silent in anticipation. No one can see the spark, but everyone knows it’s there… waiting…  for the right time to explode. And just when the darkness thinks it has won, an enormous burst of light blankets the sky. In that moment, it’s so bright that Katsuki can see the skyline. Like paint splattered on a blank canvas, the sky now bleeds in red, and the explosion leaves an imprint the size of a supernova long after it’s gone. 

The crowd applauds. 

A roar is ripped from Katsuki’s throat. He pounds at the brick wall again and again, despite blood trickling down his fists. He rips his cochlear and smashes it against the wall. A sick satisfaction settles within him. The ringing that greets him is like a devil sucking on the lobe, whispering tempestuous nothings into his ear. 

Katsuki continues his ascent, taking steps by three until he reaches the top. The poor door is yanked off its hinges, but it doesn’t even cross Katsuki’s mind as he’s hit by everything all at once. Smoke slithers down his throat, roasted yakitori wafts up his nose, the rhythmic booms caress his ear, and the lavender shaded sky comforts his eyes. From up here, the people below remind Katsuki of the dots he used to see after he ignited a big explosion- how the dots blur, mix, and separate in one fluid motion again and again. 

His phone ringing is a distant echo. They’re looking for him no doubt, but who the hell cares. Not like they’d find him up here. This was yours and Katsuki’s place.

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

He’d blow himself up if he missed even a second. 

His lungs burned. They ached for a clean breath, yet inhaled the stench of nitroglycerin-like sweat. He could’ve just blasted himself to the top and saved himself the trouble, but fuck. That. Katsuki thrived on a challenge. He loved the rush of adrenaline more than his own mother. (He’d never tell her that- she’d kill him before he reached this goddamn roof.)

He threw himself against the door in time to see the first burst of citrine hit the sky. But he also saw you, a trespasser, standing on the ledge and looking like you were about to kill yourself. You didn’t flinch at the sonic boom (like most people) nor cringe at the heat. It was like you thought the beauty outweighed its destruction. 

All that said you were fucking stupid.

“Oi! Get down from there!” 

You were immersed in skylight, and though your back was turned, Katsuki knew you were staring up in awe; your eyes reminiscent of glassy pools reflecting red, yellow, blue and all the possibilities they create. 

“Fuckin’ hell…” Katsuki muttered. He just wanted to enjoy the show in his spot. Alone. Like he did every year. “Oi, lady! You wanna kill yourself? Do it on some other roof dammit!” 

You jumped at the blasted words, losing your balance and falling off the ledge. Katsuki expected you to scream, to gasp, to cry... anything but fucking wink on your way down like playing with death is just some fucking game. But Katsuki had no time to think before he blasted himself across the roof to grab your hand- but you didn’t need it. You threw a safety line in mid-air, hooked it to the ledge with skillful precision, and used the leverage to hurl yourself back up. You landed on the ledge like a ballerina tip-toeing on a tightrope. The sheer turn of events rendered Katsuki speechless. 

 “Phew! That was fun! Let’s do it again sometime, yeah?” You wrapped the safety chord before bouncing up to Katsuki.

The fuck?

How did you…? 

 You didn’t seem to notice Katsuki’s loss for words.

“I’ve never met someone with a quirk like yours. You could put on your very own firework show!”

You tried grabbing his hand, but Katsuki’s growl stopped you. The flickers popping in his hands were a sign to back the fuck off.

You’re scared. Good, Katsuki thought.

“Sorry, sorry, I’m a bit of a pyro.” You sheepishly smiled, twirling a pink and yellow band around your finger. (You’d later twirl your wedding ring the same way.) 

Katsuki’s growl cut in its tracks. You weren’t scared like he thought, in fact, you looked lost in his sparks- your eyes zooming back and forth, trying to catch each and every one. Katsuki killed his sparks, causing you to look up at him in disappointment.

“I can’t. Mine don’t change color,” he muttered. 

Fireworks always fascinated Katsuki. As a child, he wished his explosions could change color. He imagined people looking up in awe when his sparks rained down. They’d recognize the power and the beauty.

“Hmm…color is what makes a firework...” you trailed off.

“No shit,” Katsuki snorted. How stupid are you? 

“Hold out your hands.” 

Katsuki crossed his arms, “No.”

“Oh, c’mon! Gimme your hands!” You bounced up and down, overcome with excitement. Katsuki stepped back but immediately stopped himself because Bakugou Katsuki never backs down. 

“I’m not giving you anything, woman. You’re fuckin’ weird for jumpin’ off roofs and asking for stranger’s hands. Stay the fuck away from me. In fact, this is my fuckin’ roof. Find your own.” Katsuki looked down to see his hands popping. It must’ve happened on instinct- a defense mechanism to scare off the extras who won’t leave him the fuck alone. 

Except it didn’t work on you. You only came closer. 

“Do you want to burn in color or not?” 

Katsuki saw flashes of himself in your eyes everytime a firework went off. A hunger burned in the pit of his stomach- one he’s felt countless times during battle, but this one was different. This strange warmth made him feel like jumping off the roof himself, and if he put all his might into it, he could brush the spark of a firework from fifty feet above.

“Yes,” he said. 

“Then you’re gonna have to trust me.”

“Trust you!?” Katsuki shook his head, “I don’t even know you!”

“That’s half the fun, isn’t it?” You giggled, “Now hold still.” 

Katsuki grumbled how ridiculous this was, and that whatever you tried wouldn’t work, but you ignored him in favor of pulling his hands and laying them face up. You nodded and Katsuki sighed, activating his quirk anyway because what the hell.

You’re entranced from the moment flickers popped, one by one, in his hands. They died as quickly as they were born, but still left their mark in the air. 

Katsuki’s sparks faltered as cool fingertips brushed against his wrist. 

“It’s okay, keep going,” you encourage, and he does. 

He can’t pinpoint exactly when the change happened. Like all change, he blinked and suddenly his sparks burned in color. Angry red, rooted in tormented crimson, ravished the usual, boring, orange of his sparks. 

Katsuki laughed in disbelief because how is this real? Yellow began to flicker in and out of the red, until it finally caught like a flame and engulfed the red like a warm blanket. Pink and light green began to swirl around the yellow, and the firework show Katsuki had been looking forward to all year didn’t hold a candle to the fireworks fluttering in the palms of his hands.

Katsuki looked up at you. 

Who the fuck are you? 

You giggled at his awed expression, “Our very own firework show.”

And that’s how you spent the rest of the night. His hands in yours while he burned in color for the first time.

Katsuki later discovered you could read emotions through auras. The aura becomes visible, allowing you to color a person’s quirk.

He also discovered that you didn’t need to hold his hand for it to work.

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

A round of fireworks triggers the ringing in Katsuki’s ear. He throws his head back in ecstasy and prays the sensation tickles his eardrum for a little longer- enough to shut the part of his brain that keeps remembering you. 

Katsuki pulls the pistol out. The leather grip, so slick with sweat, that Katsuki has to wipe his hand to make sure he doesn’t accidentally set off his quirk. 

He’s not an amateur. He’s held a gun before. Every pro-hero has to undergo weapons training, but he’s never used one in combat. His quirk was always more than enough. But there’s something inherently dangerous about a gun. His quirk is an extension of himself, but a gun is a separate entity altogether- and it was designed to kill. 

Growing up, adults would praise Katsuki for his quirk. They’d say, “With a quirk like that, you’re destined to become a hero!” But they were still afraid to get too close. They saw his quirk as a weapon that was designed to destroy. And soon enough, Katsuki became the embodiment of just that. But he always felt incomplete. He wanted to be a hero like All Might. One that people looked up to- in awe of their power, not in fear of it.

That’s why he loved fireworks. The only explosion that makes people stop and stare, instead of running away, in fear for their lives.

You were the first and only person to see the beauty in his quirk.

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

“What’s your favorite color?” 

Such a basic question that Katsuki should already have the answer to. But color meant so much more to you. You saw the world in a way that made everyone else seem colorblind. 

You twirled that same pink and yellow band around your finger as Katsuki twirled the ring in his pocket. You leaned in closer, basking in the warmth radiating from Katsuki. He watched how your eyes never left the sky, and he was content with missing the show if it meant he can watch you instead. He caught glimpses of you only when lit by a firework. He made sure not to blink during those moments else he’d miss you. Your expressions mixed and swirled as the fireworks continued, but you never lost the primary color of mesmerization painting your face.

“Blue,” you said. Katsuki had to lean in to listen; your voice an ember in a sea of fire. “But not sky blue like on a sunny day. It’s nice, but I much prefer the darker washes of blue, deep like sapphire.”

Blue, the color of sadness. 

“Why blue?” Katsuki asked. The ring in his pocket danced between his fingers.

You turned back to the fireworks. You always made sure to think before you speak when answering a question that mattered.

“Because there’s always an interesting story behind an aura of such sorrow, more importantly, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.”

“So your favorite color isn’t blue, it’s yellow,” Katsuki cut in, but you shook your head.

“There’s nowhere to go but down with yellow. Yellow is the epitome of brightness and joy, and when you crash during the high, you crash hard. But when you’re drowning in deep blue, as I’ve seen many people do, you’re at the lowest of lows- you really can’t get any lower in this life. But when an aura- and I’ve only seen this once- when an aura changes from the deepest of sapphire to sunrise yellow- well it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

The twirling of the ring in his pocket stopped. 

“That is why I believe blue is the true color of hope,” you whispered.

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

Katsuki should feel the smooth texture of leather as he grips the gun in his hand. He should feel the weight of the gun as he brings it to his temple. But he’s numb to it all. It’s like an invisible string, pulling at his muscles, directing his body how to move. His mind goes blank for the first time, and all the inner-turmoil he’s been unable to escape just straight up… stops. It’s like he’s floating in a body of water with no current. Complete and utter stillness.

It scares the fuck outta him, but it feels good. 

As he’s about to turn the safety off, his phone rings again, snapping him back to reality. Katsuki guts his phone.

“Die!” 

The phone slides down the door like a dead pidgeon. 

“God-fuckin’-damn it...” He pushes the barrel back to his temple, craving that mind-numbing stillness once more. Anything to stop the feelings that just won’t seem to go away. 

The fireworks crescendo as the show reaches its climax. The colors begin to mix and blur together so much that it becomes too convoluted to look at. An infinite regress of color swirling in Katsuki’s mind.

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

You glowed on purpose so Katsuki could find you. He spotted you from miles away, like a beacon of light in the middle of a storm. The melancholic blue of your aura contrasted against the raging reds that painted the sky.

Katsuki ran. He pushed and pushed past his limit, harder than any battle he’s fought in. He could’ve made it if he used his quirk, but he was in a crowded marketplace with too many people. He ripped off his gauntlets and threw them in a random alley. He immediately gained speed. A couple more feet and one minute left.

He should’ve saved his breath. If he did, he would’ve caught you in time. But he had to make sure you knew he was there. You looked down at the sound of your name. He could barely make out your face, but you saw him. He knew you saw him because your aura changed from that melancholic blue to sunrise yellow in an instant. Everyone around him gasped at the flood of light emanating from above. 

You were right. It was the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

If Katsuki produced a strong enough blast, he could make his way to the top and get you out before the bomb went off. At this point, he didn’t care who else might get hurt in the process. Next to him, Kirishima knew what Katsuki was thinking. He hardened himself to block Katsuki’s takeoff.

“Don’t do it, bro.”

“Get outta my way.”

“You can’t make it.”

“Yes I can.”

“You’ll both die.”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP” Katsuki pushed him away, and prepared to blast himself, when two other heroes stepped in to hold him down, but no one stood a chance when Katsuki goes feral. Explosions erupted, not enough to seriously hurt, but enough to get people to back the fuck off. Even Kirishima (whose quirk is to literally be a human barricade) was having trouble blocking Katsuki. One more blast was enough to send Kirishima back and Katsuki used that half a second to blast off. But suddenly he couldn’t. He tried and he tried, but his quirk refused to work. A growl escaped from low in his throat as he whipped his head around, trying to find the cause to his problem so he could decimate it. 

Target acquired. 

Katsuki was about to march right up to his high school homeroom teacher and deck him right in his fuckin’ face, but before he could, he was held down once again.

He couldn’t fight three pro-heroes off without his quirk. He couldn’t get to you without his quirk. All Katsuki could do was look up and watch you die. 

Five seconds left.

He saw it in your face. The moment you realized he wouldn’t be able to save you. The yellow of your aura growing dimmer and dimmer.

Three.

You smiled through your tears.

Two.

And winked. 

One.

Then closed your eyes as you took your last breath.

The darkness that followed was unbearable.

A cacophonous wail erupted from Katsuki’s throat- loud enough to go up against any explosion. He couldn’t help but fall to his knees, unable to hold himself up any longer. He still wasn’t able to use his quirk and that only frustrated him more. 

He’d never felt so helpless in his life.

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

He hardly uses his quirk anymore because he sees you in the sparks. He’s got no drive to be Number 1 if you’re not here to watch him do it. His will to live is gone without you and that scares the fuck outta him. He hates you for filling his head with ridiculous bullshit. He hates you for opening his mind to the possibility of love, and hope, and shit that shouldn’t matter but it fuckin’ does for some goddamn reason. He hates you. He hates you. He hates you.

That same cacophonous wail erupts from his very core. The gun falls from his hands, to the ground. It could’ve gone off at that moment and Katsuki would never know. 

His focus zeroes on his hands. How tense they get when he flexes them, how the vein protrudes from his wrist, and how his glands secrete sweat from his palms. He points them to the sky, and a familiar rush of power, that he hasn’t felt in months, surges through him. His blood boils from under his skin and he’s literally shaking from the intensity. Like a volcano spewing hot-blooded lava after an eternity of dormancy, he shoots blinding white heat into the black night.

The color from the fireworks surround his explosions as if they’re echoing his sentiment. Hot red dominates the sky- reminding Katsuki of the sky that night. This causes Katsuki to rattle off explosions quicker, setting off one after another in a staccato rhythm. The crimson sky ravishes all other color. 

If only he saved his breath. If only he’d taken off his gauntlets sooner. If only he ran a little faster. If only he blasted himself a second earlier. If only he didn’t stay back at work that day. If only he turned right instead of left at that goddamn intersection. If only he picked up the ingredients for your favorite meal the day before so he could go straight home. If only he didn’t have to drive back to the market because he fuckin’ forgot the milk again. If only he decided it was still worth it to pick you up from work early like he planned. If only he cared more about your anniversary than about cracking Top 10. If only he went to more of your art shows instead of taking extra patrols. If only he went on that trip to New York with you instead of cancelling last minute because the agency needed him. If only he realized that you meant more to him than being Number 1 before it was too late.

Little by little the crimson wash is buried by the black night and Katsuki’s eyes hurt just staring into the black abyss. It’s suffocating him, weighing his chest down and making it hard to breathe. It’s enough to drop him to his knees, just like he did that night.

You and Katsuki had long talks about your future plans. How you fit into his life, and how he fit into yours. When you’d be able to properly settle down and have kids. You accepted that the first couple years into his career would be the toughest on your marriage. Katsuki would spend more time at the agency than at home with you. Relationships with pro-heroes were like that. But you respected his ambitions. You understood the amount of time that was required to fulfill those ambitions. You never held it over him, never guilted him into spending more time with you, and never made him choose between you or his career. You loved him enough to share him with the rest of the world. You were never each other’s other halves. Instead, you co-existed as separate individuals who made the best team Katsuki’s ever been a part of. 

Yellow begins to flicker in and out, but it’s muted behind the black veil of regret. The more Katsuki thinks of your empathy and your love, the stronger the yellow becomes. It finally brightens the black sky, to the point that Katsuki almost has to cover his eyes because it’s like looking into the sun in the middle of the day. 

And that’s when it clicks.

He’s burning in color.

You must be conducting this masterpiece from above, using the sky as your canvas and coloring the emotions coming from within him.

He kills his explosions as quickly as he fired them. The fireworks come to an end at the same time. The crowd’s cheers is a fly on the wall to Katsuki.

He falls back, lying flat on the ground and looking up at the sky still shaded in yellow. His chest heaves as he tries to get his breathing back to normal, and the sloppy mixture of sweat and tears continue to slide down his face. The cool breeze is a blessing against the nape of his neck.

He struggles to hold his hands up, they shake as he brings them up to his face. He reignites his quirk with the last bit of strength. The sparks lack their usual vigor as they flutter lazily in his palms. They remind him of fireflies swirling in a jar. For once, the orange doesn’t piss him off. 

Has anyone else seen his quirk like this? When he’s not trying to intimidate or take down a villain? The only person he could think of was you. Maybe his quirk wouldn’t be seen as a weapon, maybe he wouldn’t be seen as a villain, if the world saw what he’s seeing right now.

Katsuki sits in this revelation, and the calm that washes over him is nothing like the numbness from before. He’s far from being okay, and he still longs for you in these moments, but Katsuki has a hunch that if you were here right now - holding his hands in yours- his sparks would be burning in your favorite color. And he’s okay with that.

“That is why I believe blue is the true color of hope.”

Katsuki’s phone goes off even in its broken state. His eyes dart between the phone and the gun. He groans as he gets up. His limbs, heavy, after exerting himself. He picks up his phone.

“Hey. Yeah, man, I’m fine, don’t worry about it.” 

Katsuki’s about to hang up when he takes a look at the gun. A reminder of what he was about to do. A decision he could never come back from.

 If things turned out different, he would not be here right now.  

Just the thought is enough to make Katsuki slide down the wall. He takes a deep breath- his heart beating rapidly at what he’s about to admit aloud for the first time.

“Actually, I’m not okay. I need you to come get me.”

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

The Plus Ultra Chronicle

Musutafu Tower Attack: 06/18/2020

WHEN HOPE PREVAILS:

A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

By: Yamamoto Ichika

06/18/2021

Today marks the one year anniversary of the 2020 Musutafu Tower Attack. Hundreds gathered this morning in remembrance of the lives lost that night. Several people who’ve lost loved ones in the attack have already come forward with statements.

Of those people, Number 7 Hero, Dynamight, has chosen to sit down with The Plus Ultra Chronicle for an all-exclusive interview. His late wife, Bakugou Y/N, was among the citizens that were held hostage that night. After taking a year sabbatical, he has decided to return to the field of pro-hero work. Here is a snippet of that interview; you can find the full interview here. 

“Thank you, Dynamight, for sitting down with us. It is truly an honor. The people want to know- what are your thoughts on what occurred that night? Can you take us through what happened?”

“It was hard on us all. Whether you were at home watching on a screen or out there in person. All of us heroes felt like sh*t- unable to do anything. It’s even worse when you had a personal attachment to a victim like I did.”

“It must’ve been difficult as a hero- having to make quick decisions that forced you to separate your personal life from the objectivity of the situation.”

“If I’m being honest, I couldn’t, and it took a toll on me.”

“Is that why you took the sabbatical?”

“Yes. I constantly questioned the validity of my title. Whether or not I deserved to be called a ‘hero’ if I couldn’t save the one person I vowed to always protect.”

“You’ll be returning to the field next month, and with a new addition to your hero costume. An amulet of what looks to be a blue-colored spark attached to the left side of your chest. It stands out against the black, orange, and green of your costume. What is the meaning of this?” 

“When I was at my lowest, my failures were all I could see. But someone once told me that you can’t get any lower when you’re at that point. The only real change you can make is to acknowledge and move forward.” 

“A symbol of hope is definitely something we all need right now. What made you decide to finally give an official statement?”

“It is my responsibility to protect the citizens of Japan so this never happens again. But I also think it is important for people to see the shortcomings of the heroes they look up to. We’re human too. We f*ck up. I used to think that made someone weak. Now, I see it as part of the journey. The testament of a true hero.”

[sixeyesgojo]

Pictures of You

Summary: prequel to I’ll Be Your Enemy - fluffy!

Characters: IBYE!Reader, Gojo, Yuji, Megumi, Nobara

Word count: 2,3k

Content warning: none

A/N: requested by @thecaptainsbride

If anybody got the reference Gojo made when he was late; congratulations, you have been successfully hurt (but this time it was not me).

Since I left the relationship between Gojo and the reader up for interpretation in IBYE, I will do the same here! Consider this piece me trying to mend your hearts <3

Taglist applications open for anyone who is interested!

“A trip to an amusement park or something like that doesn’t sound so bad,” you mused in front of Satoru. “It serves as relaxation and maybe the first-years can get closer to each other, you know, bonding and so on. They will see each other many times from now on, so getting along with each other is important,” you reasoned, your eyes almost sparkling from the thought of a day off.

“But Jujutsu Sorcery is an individual–” he began.

“Satoru, I think you should see this as vacation. A vacation where you can eat sweets until your teeth rot and absolutely nobody will hold you back,” you interrupted him.

“Okay, I am sold. Am listening now.” You just knew how to convince him. Sweets.

So that was exactly how the first-year students and you ended up at a fairground somewhere in Tokyo; it was quite neat, not too small but not too spacious either. None of you could get lost in it. Still, it was buzzing with life and all kinds of people mingled. The colorfulness was a refreshing sight to take in, compared to the dark world of Jujutsu Sorcery where seeing people suffer was your daily routine. The pleasant smell of food wafted through the air, making your mouth water, as you walked past the different booths with them. Waffles sounded like absolute heaven on earth right now.

Jujutsu Sorcery certainly was a draining sport, mentally as well as physically. Therefore it was only right to take a break at times, right? Self-care days were just as important as working.

In order to wind down a bit, you had suggested a one-day trip – just you, Satoru and the three first-year students you had adopted in your mind right away after meeting them several times.

“Sensei, you look very pretty today!” Yuji complimented you. Even Megumi noticed: “Did you have a haircut? Your hair seems a little bit shorter.”

“Yeah, Nobara had a field day with me. Cutting my hair.. or more like trimming the ends, choosing my outfit, doing my make-up and so on just for today,” you gushed as if you were a high school girl again. “Leave it to master stylist Kugisaki Nobara and nobody will ever look bad,” the brunette girl commended herself. Yuji was affectionately patting her on the back.

Undoubtedly, Satoru was late – nobody was surprised about that. You already went ahead and generously treated the trio of students you loved dearly to some food.

“Thank you for the food, sensei!” As usual, Yuji and Nobara were in perfect harmony with each other, seemingly sharing a brain.

“Thank you very much,” Megumi also expressed his thanks sweetly. If you hadn’t known better, you would have thought the way his lips seemed to twitch was unintentional. “Absolutely no problem, kiddos. You guys enjoy it while I try to contact Gojo-sensei, yeah?” you shot them an apologetic smile, already fishing out your phone. The three of them nodded in perfect synchronization. They’re as cute as little ducklings, you thought.

You didn’t even need to bother calling.

You were about to dial Satoru’s number on your smartphone when Yuji’s voice boomed, “Oh! There he is! Gojo-sensei, we are here!!”

The boy waved at his teacher.

Satoru immediately spotted the pink-haired student and skipped over to where you all were standing. “Sorry for the wait! I’m afraid I got lost on the path of life!!”

“Nice of you to finally join us, but sadly, the fun is already over and we decided to go home. Just wanted to call you to let you know! We’ve been here since morning,” you deadpanned as the white-haired man arrived, looking Satoru dead in the eye – if they weren’t covered. “Wait, wha– Hold on, I am very sure I am not that late. MY MOCHI?” Satoru sounded frantic, facing his students who just shrugged their shoulders. “Serves you right,” Megumi stated calmly. Nobara, being the sassy girl she was, also joined in, “Losers don’t get to have fun and that’s a fact.”

It was such a wholesome and funny moment for you to see the students playing along with your prank without being told beforehand.

You broke out in laughter, not being able to contain it any longer, “You should have seen your face, dumbass! I was just joking!”

“Phew, I almost thought I had to kiss the idea of eating sweets today goodbye. What a horror that would be, my day would be OVER this instant,” the blindfolded man pouted, “so where should I buy my sweets? I’m gonna buy the entire place anyway, but where do I start? Any suggestions for Great Teacher Gojo?”

“Hold up, Satoru! We gotta take a picture together to commemorate this special day!” you suggested, bouncing up and down with enthusiasm. “I swear I just saw sensei’s eyes sparkle but I might be wrong,” Yuji remarked, looking at his dark-haired friend for confirmation.

“Sensei, if you want to take a picture, we have to take it at the right angle!” Nobara chimed in, the secret Instagram influencer in her on full display. She continued to explain, “It would come out great if Gojo-sensei took the pic, long arms privilege and so on.”

The female student almost seemed more into it than you were, it was adorable to you to see the usually bold student be this into taking pictures.

You hand the tall man your phone, but not without shooting him a “if you drop my phone, I’ll make you drop dead” look.

“Okay, ladies, now let’s get in formation,” the male teacher commanded loudly. Upon hearing that, Megumi immediately slapped his hand in his face and turned away in embarrassment. Why was this man like this?

“...Ladies?” Yuji asked, the expression on his face screaming ‘confusion’ “Gojo-sensei just referenced a Beyoncé song, Itadori,” the dark-haired boy explained in a hushed tone, turning back slightly as if he did not want to get caught.

“And it’s not just any song!” Satoru happily chimed in. “Yes, yes, the good old Formation,” you added, nodding in satisfaction. You remember how you showed him the album when it dropped.

“Can we all just ignore Gojo-sensei and take our pic?” Nobara inquired as she shoved everybody into their respective spots. “Alright, everybody, smiiiiile for the camera. Say cheese!”

Click, click, click, click.

Finally, Satoru had gotten his share of sweets. Complying with his sweet tooth was always an effective way to calm him for some time. Almost like feeding a baby, in a way.

Now it was time for fun rides!

...or at least that was what you thought… until Satoru dragged you along to ride a freaking pendulum ride with him. The three students had managed to talk themselves out of stepping foot on that monster of a ride but Satoru didn’t even give you a chance to refuse, he simply gripped your arm and walked towards it.

Stopping only when you were already standing in line, you nervously eyed the metallic behemoth with its iron arm. The monstrosity was seemingly ready to make you throw up from the way it would spin you through the air repeatedly, going back and forth and back and forth again. Why did you have to do this?

“Satoru,” you called his name timidly and tugged at his sleeve, the strange feeling not leaving your gut, “do I really, really have to do this?”

“Absolutely! I promise it will be very fun,” Satoru replied with a signature grin you wanted to wipe off of his face at that moment.

No, it was not fun. At all. You were dizzy and your fear of height was kicking. The blasts of air hitting your face left, right and center were not helping at all and you were sure, if anybody took a picture of you right now, you would look horribly green.

“I– can’t do this anymore!” you shouted mid-air, right before the ride swung to the other side. The force knocked the air out of you once again.

“SATORU, PLEASE GET US OUT OF HERE!” you begged and squeezed his arm with an iron grip. The height was too overwhelming. “Mid-ride?” Satoru asked and you nodded frantically. “Now that’s what I call reckless! Sounds like fun. I’m in!” he declared with a grin.

“Domain Expansion: Infinite Void.”

That was the last thing you heard the tall man say before he touched your head with his large palm.

Your eyes widened in horror as you realized this man used his domain this recklessly, for fun. Maybe it was a side effect of being able to use it multiple times a day.

The infinity gently wrapped itself around Satoru and you. Almost movie-like, you watched as the entire, vast universe beautifully unfolded in front of your eyes. Each star being created separately, then abruptly flashing by as a sea of stars – as if you were in a wormhole. You perceived the entire domain within a flash of a moment, yet tasted eternity in it. Everything but nothing at once.

Despite being touched by Satoru himself, the sensations weren’t without merit. If this was how it felt to be in the safe space of Satoru’s touch within his inner world of Limitless, you would rather not fathom how it felt to be the one hit by this powerful domain.

It took you some time to process things and recollect.

“When I said I wanted you to get the two of us out of that thing, I didn’t mean ‘send me to your domain’,” you scolded him.

“Well, it was convenient,” he defended himself and you could almost hear the grin on his face, “Bet you’ll hate me after this though.”

“Hating you was never really an option I’d ever consider but okay, we’ll run with it this time. Now undo your domain, please, while I am asking nicely.”

“Your wish is my command! This time at least.”

“Satoru.” A stern last warning fell from your lips.

“Yes, yes, boss. On it.”

“I thought you said it’ll be fun but I am absolutely not riding that thing ever again,” you took deep breaths to calm down as your feet securely touched the ground again. Your legs were still trembling a bit.

“And it was fun! At least for me! I like seeing you struggle – it’s so funny – and the way you clung to my arm? Adorable! You are so tiny compared to me, like a bug I could crush between my fingers!” The annoying sorcerer laughed merrily.

“Gojo fucking Satoru, the only thing that is about to be crushed here are your balls. With my leg. You are very lucky to have that damn Infinity of yours or else,” you threatened.

“Ouch, you really do know how to hurt an invincible man,” he snickered and flicked your forehead lightly.

Rejoining with the students was easy as they all saw the barrier Satoru’s domain created.

“You are lucky there was some kind of show going on down here. That barrier above would have freaked people out if they weren’t distracted,” Nobara said, looks shooting daggers at her weird teacher. Innocent and as nice as ever, Yuji pitched in as well: “Yeah, Fushiguro also tried to distract children with their wandering eyes! I think he did a good job.”

“Okay but what did he do though?” you asked curiously and looked at the boy in question.

“...Shadow puppets,” Megumi slowly admitted, looking anywhere but at the people in front of him.

“Oh? You love your foster-dad-turned-great-teacher this much to embarrass yourself out in public? That’s new!” Satoru teased the poor boy. “Someone has to be the voice of reason around here or you’d all be in jail. That includes preventing civilians who are able to see curses from seeing you use Jujutsu while floating mid-air,” he justified, ignoring the tall teacher’s mockery completely. 

“As much as I love slandering Gojo-sensei, I’d rather spend my day actually having fun,” Nobara pitched in, reminding everybody of why you were here in the first place.

“So, let’s go ride the ferris wheel!” she added excitedly.

More fun rides.

Before you knew it, the day passed by. You could already feel the heaviness in your legs from walking. The swirling feeling from all the rides boded in your chest – you probably would not be able to sleep well tonight. It was definitely worth it though, you thought.

You had already brought the students back to their dorm – Satoru had ran off to the school because he remembered he had to do something – and were on the way home yourself.

You were in some sort of trance, completely immersed in your phone, so you hadn’t registered when Satoru called your name until he gently tapped your shoulder, falling into step with you.

“Yeah?” you looked up to Satoru, snapping out of your train of thought.

“Just wanted to tell you; ‘Operation: Relaxation Day’ was a great success.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Satoru.” A genuine smile graced your lips and for a moment, he softened at the sight.

“You know what? It was amazing, I really should start listening to you more often,” he confessed with a smirk.

“Well, it’s thanks to your amazing power of persuasion that we got to spend it like this, so thanks for today,” you half-heartedly complimented him.

“You do know I only said we’d not be available today and then dashed, right?” he asked you, the usual playful tone lacing his voice. “Exactly what I meant by saying ‘your amazing power of persuasion’.”

“I think I’ll frame the picture we took,” you murmured softly, fondly looking at the screen of your phone. The picture from earlier was displayed on your homescreen.

Surely, you would hang it on the blank wall in your home as well. It was a personal treasure now.

Taglist (dm me if you wanna be added): @assbuttbaek​ @megumifushi​ @bleueluna​ @gojos-mochi​ @delammi

[sunsetinmyvein]

Ran Into Some Complications - Matty Healy

Thank you to the ever lovely @imagine-that-100​ for the request from the prompt list. 

Why did time always seem to go by so slowly when you were stuck waiting by yourself? Was there a reason that seconds seemed to feel like minutes? Was it just mind games or did it literally create some weird kind of wormhole? Probably the former. I checked my phone for what felt like the hundredth time, hoping that I finally had a ‘on my way!’ message sitting there, only to come up empty. Again. So much for meeting at the bar for six - it was already six thirty. I sighed to myself, thanking the bartender as they handed me the cider I had ordered.

“What’s a pretty thing like you doing at the bar all by yourself?” I heard a voice call from behind me. I instantly gritted my teeth as I turned to face the source of the sleazy comment. Sure enough, the crooked smile, the greasy, slicked back hair, he looked as shady as he sounded.

“Just waiting for a mate.” I said, trying to diffuse this situation before it started.

“They left you here all alone?” He asked as he slid into the stool next to mine. “Let me buy you a drink.” He added as he tried to flag the bartender down. Ugh. Why.

“No thanks, got one.” I said as I held up my cider. “And they’re on their way.” I dismissed.

“I’ll just keep this stool warm for them, then.” He grinned. I could smell the whiskey on his breath. Gross. This evening was headed in a downward spiral if I didn’t cut this off soon.

“I- you really don’t have to.” I grimaced, my eyes darting around the room to try and spot an easy way out of this. I caught sight of a group of four men walking in, eyeing them hopefully. The one closest to the bar seemed well kept. He had a grey suit jacket on, his straight hair was neatly combed back, he was laughing with his friends. He seemed friendly. He’d do. “Oh, this is him now.”

  I hopped off my stool, stepping in front of the dark-haired man. “What took you so long?” I asked with a warm smile.

He stared at me in bewilderment, “Me?”

“Yeah, you. Come here.” I said with a light laugh, trying to pretend that this wasn’t awkward.

“What? Why?” He asked with a confused frown.

I grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, pulling him down closer to my level to try and not be overhead. “Please just come here.” I said, trying to look as imploring as I possibly could. This was going to look bad on me if he didn’t come with me. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if this guy shrugged me off and I had to walk back over there. He stared at me for a long moment, before turning back to his friend who had stopped to see what was happening.

“I, erm, suppose I’ll be back in a bit?” He said with a shrug.

  Thankfully, this man came willingly with me back towards the bar. And I was even more grateful for him being quite clued on. He took one look between me, and the greasy dude sitting opposite me, to get the hint.

“So sorry, love. Traffic was awful.” He said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and kissed my cheek. Geez, he was really going all in. I felt my face burning at the unexpected attention. At least it was going to look the part. “Have you already got a drink?”

“Yeah. Do you want one?” I nodded, turning to him. He really was standing awfully close to me. At this proximity I was able to smell the pleasant smell of the aftershave that he had used.

“I’ll just have my usual.” He said with a smirk.

“Uhh…” My eyes widened as I processed his answer. Fuck. Had this guy just agreed to help me to be equally as annoying as the sleazy one? Maybe I’d just made this situation so much worse. I quickly scanned over his appearance. The neat hair, the grey jacket, he seemed like the kind of person to drink a clear drink. “Gin and tonic.” I ordered apprehensively.

“Close enough.” He chuckled under his breath.

  The bartender brought over the extra drink and passed it over to my new found fake date.

“How was work? Did you get that booking sorted out?” He asked casually. God, he was smooth. He was definitely the right person to have grabbed to act like who I was waiting for.

“Yeah! It was a hassle but I got there in the end.” I laughed with a nod, playing along. I was surprised at how easy this felt, to be honest. This guy gave me the vibes of someone that I’d like to have a genuine conversation with, rather than a pretend one. “What about you?” I asked back. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. Taking a quick glance at it, I saw that it was a message from the friend I had been waiting on – saying that they couldn’t make it. Phew. Good thing I had dragged over someone else instead of just waiting.

“The studio was a bit gruelling but that’s nothing new.” He shrugged. Studio? What on earth did this guy do for a living? He must’ve noticed me frowning at his comment, because he just raised an eyebrow like he was challenging me to question it. In taking a good look at him, this guy was a bit of a looker. There were definitely worse people I could’ve grabbed. “But this evening is making up for it.” He added as he took a sip from his glass. Wait. Was he flirting?

  It seemed that whatever this guy was doing worked, because my creepy stalker decided to get up and walk off. I let out a sigh of relief as I looked over at the empty stool.

“Thank god he left.” I huffed.

“He’ll come back.” The dark-haired man shrugged as he slipped into the empty seat. I gave him a questioning look as to how he could know that. “He left his whiskey on the bar.” He added as he gestured towards it.

I nodded in understanding. It was nice at least to have a breather to recompose myself and finally have a sip of my drink. “Thanks for this.” I said after a minute of silence.

“It’s okay.” He replied with what looked like a genuine smile, picking up his gin. “I can think of much worse ways to spend my night.” He added as he eyed me over the rim of his glass.

Now that was definitely flirting. Part of my brain found it ironic to have replaced one guy trying to hit on me with another. But… I didn’t mind so much with this one. “Are you flirting with me?” I accused.

“Are you blushing?” He shot back. The air of confidence surrounding this guy was undeniably attractive.

  Before I had a chance to respond, greasy hair man was back. He frowned at the offender sitting in his stool.

“Do you wan-” He started to say, turning to me. But he was cut off before he could finish whatever he was going to ask.

“I can’t believe that you also listen to them!” My fake date laughed loudly. He fell into these shenanigans far too readily. But I wasn’t about to complain. “Shh… listen…” He said, holding up a hand to quiet us. I stopped talking, trying to listen to whatever he had heard. “That’s the sound of me falling in love with you.” He continued.

I let out an uneasy laugh, trying to shrug off his comment. “I’ve been listening to them for ages.” I responded, trying to keep up with how quickly he was building this story.

“Ah, sorry, mate. Just nice to be together after a long day.” He said with a corny grin as he placed a hand on my knee. I looked down at it for a moment, trying very hard to keep my reactions to his blatant flirting in check. “Matty, by the way.” This guy - Matty, said as he stuck out his hand to sleazy dude. “And you are..?” He asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Leaving.” He answered abruptly as he reached between us and picked up his whiskey, before heading on his way.

“Well… that worked.” I chuckled.

  “Seems I was an effective deterrent.” Matty said with a nod as he took a swig from his glass.

“You did a good job with that.” I agreed. “You were far too good at it, though.”

“Too good?” He asked with a surprised grin. “That doesn’t seem like it should be a problem.”

I shrugged. “Just makes me question how many times girls have roped you into situations like this.”

“Roping me into it? What if I was the one trying to get out of the awkward situation?” He questioned.

“You really get that much unwanted attention?”

“More than you can imagine.”

  We chatted for a bit, actually starting to get to know each other properly now that we didn’t have to play pretend that we already did. It turned out that he was in a band, hence the studio time earlier today. The guys that he had come in with were his band mates, getting a drink after a long day. He had a general sense of charisma and charm about him. The more I talked to him, the more I wanted to keep talking to him. And thankfully the flirting dropped off once there was no longer anyone standing nearby to try and convince. It was easier on my brain to process our conversation without having to also process an attractive man hitting on me. Before I knew it, an hour had passed. I was surprised that he was still hanging around, given that what I had asked of him was done now.

“Did you want get out of here?” Matty eventually offered nonchalantly.

I choked on the cider I had been sipping, trying to recompose my thoughts. “What?” I spluttered.

“He’s still side eyeing you across the bar,” He explained, gesturing towards the other side of the room. He was right, sleazy man was boring holes into the side of my head. “if we leave together then he should get the hint.” Right. That made much more sense than the alternative reason as to why he’d ask that.

  Matty’s plan worked. We were not followed when we stepped outside into the brisk night air and ordered an uber. He sent a message to his friends, letting them know that he had to leave. I felt bad. His night had been forced to end because of me. I told him that it was fine now, that I’d be happy to head home by myself and he could go back inside to his friends. But he insisted that he make sure I get home safe. The sentiment was pretty heart-warming, to be honest. I doubt I could’ve picked a better guy to help me in such a shitty situation. Once we were settled in the back of the car, I could finally breathe a bit easier. It was nice to not feel like I was being shadowed.

“Sorry for ruining your night.” I apologised.

“Ah, you didn’t ruin it.” He said with a dismissive hand wave. “I dread the thought about what might’ve happened if I hadn’t shown up.” He continued, staring out the window pensively, before he seemed to knock himself out of whatever train of thought he had been on. “But good thing I was.” He said as he turned back to me with a bright grin.

“Well, thank you.” I nodded. “You were good company, for a fake date.” I chuckled, nudging his side playfully.

“Well… I wouldn’t mind taking you out to a bar again as a not fake date.” He offered, running a hand through his hair. He… what? My brain took a second to comprehend what he was suggesting. “If you’d let me.” He quickly added.

My thoughts kicked into gear as I realised that he thought I might decline. “Yeah. Yeah! That sounds like a good idea.” I agreed.

“I assure you, I’m a much better real date than fake date.”

[jetsam-kisa]

Michiko vs Jetsam

Whew! This is done! I got carried away so I am very sorry for the length :’D

Michiko’s mod and I had some fun talking about our characters and especially the gear Michi is developing!

Unfortunately they were very busy this week, but I was more than happy to write the fight results :D 

CW: emetophobia // there is a brief scene describing vomit semi-graphically

The roar of the crowd echoed through the stadium as Jetsam Kisa and Michiko Watanabe entered the battle arena. Both of the students walked to their side of the arena with a sense of purpose, even if they were nervous wrecks on the inside. Once they took their proper starting positions, the two contestants smiled weakly at each other as the announcer called out their names and the people in the crowd cheered for the next fight. 

‘I’m pretty sure I’m going to pass out,’ Jetsam thought as he gnawed on his lips in anticipation, ‘That or throw up. Oh god I hope I don’t throw up in the middle of the match. Everyone here is watching. God, my parents are watching,’ Thick, heavy plums of smoke rolled out of his mouth the more frantic his thoughts became, until they nearly completely cloaked his figure, ‘I think I saw Best Jeanist in the stands too! He’s not going to want to associate with the kid who threw up during his first match. What am I doing here? What am I even going to do-?” 

Jetsam was snapped out of his rapidly spiraling thoughts by movement in his periphery; Michiko gently waved her hands at him and gave him a broader smile, despite clearly being nervous herself (if the crease in her brow was any clue to her emotional state).

“Let’s both do our best during this fight, Kisa-kun!” Michiko called out from her side of the arena, before her gaze hardened with a resolve she often reserved for studying the most complex of quirks, “Although, I hope you know that I will not be taking it easy on you. I need to see how far I can go, and to learn about the extent of my current abilities.”

Seeing Michiko’s determination and hearing her will to succeed was like a salve to Jetsam’s shot nerves. He took a deep breath, then released the pent up smog. The smoke surrounding his body partially dissipated too. It was almost a shame how well Michiko’s words calmed him down; he would be better off easily producing the pollutants that came with high stress. Jetsam briefly wondered if her kindness was double-edged in a way; was it a strategic way to prevent him from building up his quirk before the match? He shook the thought out of his head before yelling back to her:

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Miss Michi!”

He could only hope that his grin masked the nerves that were still rolling in his stomach. He knew Michiko; knew her quirk. It could only be activated by physical contact, so as long as he kept his distance he should be okay. 

‘Although,’ Jetsam thought as he gazed at the chain-like device at Michiko’s hip, ‘that capture chain she’s been developing could be difficult to beat. I’ve never seen what it actually does before.’

All too quickly, the announcer began their countdown: “3...2...1...BEGIN!”

---------

As soon as the bell rang, Michiko shot forward, arm extended, with a single-minded determination to do one thing and one thing only: get to Jetsam before he could gain control of the battlefield with his quirk. If she could grab a hold onto him before his smogs and tars and other (frankly, gross) expellents became too overwhelming, then she could nullify his quirk with her own, and use her capture device to prevent him from continuing the fight.

Jetsam must have realized her plans, and had just enough time to dodge out of her range, smog spewing out of his mouth now that his adrenaline was no doubt pumping again. Not to be deterred, Michiko quickly shifted her balance and dove after him again, careful not to let him hide behind the pillars of smoke he was creating. 

‘He’s not going to make this easy for me, but I have been preparing for this occasion for too long to let this game of tag keep me from winning!’ She thought to herself, resolve growing with every inch closer she got to Jetsam, ‘He can’t avoid me forever, and I have a secret weapon I’ve been dying to beta test!’

After a few more moments of chasing after Jetsam, Michiko took a gamble and let him escape to the sanctuary of smog he created across the arena. She knew she had to be quick, but some risks had to be taken to assure victory! She knew that she had the power within her to win.

He wouldn’t be able to outrun her prototype, after all!

--------

‘Phew, I think I finally managed to shake her,’ Jetsam sighed with relief, dark smog still escaping his mouth and obscuring his figure to the crowd (and hopefully Michiko as well). ‘Now I have a moment to breathe. Hah, figuratively, at least.’

He made sure to keep his eye on the clear silhouette of Michiko he could make out through his smog, never before more grateful for his mom’s sight-related quirk partially making its way to him. She seemed to be standing still, perhaps strategizing her own plan to catch him and throw him out of the arena? He hoped the smoke wasn’t making her feel too sick. He had to be quick.  

‘I can probably end the battle if I cover her in tar and stop her movement. It might be unpleasant but it’d be safer than trying to beat her in hand-to-hand or some other physical contest. I haven’t been training with Tsumi for too long, after all. Yeah okay, that’s the plan!’

Just as he was about to produce the sticky tars necessary to carry out his plan, a thin silhouette darted out from Michi’s figure, slithering across the arena at a speed too quick for Jetsam to react to.

As a cold, thin figure coiled itself tightly around him, the only thought sparking across Jetsam’s brain was:

“Michiko brought a snake?”

-----

‘Bingo!’ Michiko exclaimed to herself as Jetsam’s no-doubt unconscious shout revealed not only his location, but the fact that her capture device had worked perfectly as intended.

While it still had quite a few bugs to sort out, one of the most recently added features was a heat-seeking tracker that would allow the machine to chase after targets even under adverse visible conditions. 

She cocked her head towards the direction of Jetsam’s quick yell of distress; she couldn’t get complacent. The capture device was only half the battle! She had to guarantee that Jetsam couldn’t continue the fight in order to assure her victory! 

She couldn’t just blindly run through the smokescreen either; who knows what kinds of traps he could have placed while she set up her capture device. No. She had to be methodical, and safely make her way to Jetsam’s location while he was encumbered. 

The smog was thick, but now she had her goal within sight: grapple Jetsam and nullify his quirk, thus ending the match.

-----

Okay, so it wasn’t a snake, but it was still bad news! Jetsam’s arms were completely pinned by the robotic device wrapped around his torso. So this was the work of the capture device that Michiko had worked so hard on? Jetsam had to admit that it was effective. He couldn’t fight with his limbs restrained like this, and that shout he gave out completely alerted Michiko to his location.

‘So this is it. The fight’s over, and I spent the whole time running away and cowering in the corner. Everyone is watching. Everyone saw. Everyone will know I’m just a big failure who doesn’t deserve to be here. Oh god what if Sato-sensei kicks me out of the hero course? What if they kick me out of the school?? What if everyone laughs and ignores me and hates me OH GOD-’ 

As the panicked thoughts swirled in Jetsam’s mind a pit formed in his stomach. A pit that rapidly expanded into a big, black ball of anxiety and nerves. He could almost picture it in his mind’s eye: an ugly, bloated orb dripping with heat and stress and bile. The more he envisioned it the more it grew until he could almost feel it spilling out of his mouth like a slick oil spill across his lips and---oh wait.

It wasn’t in his mind’s eye.

Jetsam groaned to himself as gushing rivets of slippery, rubbery oil spewed from his mouth all down the front of his body. 

“Well this is perfect!” Jetsam exclaimed to himself, although it was muffled by the sheer volume of oil that expelled out of him as he spoke. He really did throw up. God, could this fight be any more of a disaster?

First he gets captured by Michi’s device, then he literally vomits gross oil from the stress. Fantastic. He shifted uncomfortably, as the oils soaked into his jersey under the capture device and--wait a moment. Oil. Disgusting, smelly, beautifully SLIPPERY oil! That was slicking up his torso and arms even now!

Jetsam pulled his arms upwards experimentally and YES! They were sliding out, he wasn’t restrained anymore! Maybe he could hide again and strategize-

The victorious thought was cut off by a hand shooting out from the pillars of smog, reaching for his newly freed arms.

-----

“I finally found you, Kisa-kun!” Michiko called out, jumping from out of the smokescreen with a triumphant smile. 

Her eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of Jetsam freed from his restraints, but she simply chalked it up to a prototyping failure; she could ask him about the specifics of how he escaped once the match was over, anyways.

This time Jetsam couldn’t dodge her oncoming attack, and Michiko grappled him to the ground, pinning his arms above his head. Now was her chance to nullify his quirk! She had been practicing in hand-to-hand combat, she could still push herself to her limits and come out on top!

Michiko began to focus her energy on her quirk, as Jetsam struggled underneath her. As soon as her quirk began its nullification, she saw the startled look in his dark eyes, and winced slightly in sympathy. She had been told that her quirk was a bit unpleasant to the target; with the process feeling not unlike having your blood drawn through your whole body.

As her quirk took effect, the copious amount of smoke around them began to disappear, once again fully revealing them to the crowd of spectators around the stadium. As her own vision began to clear she was startled to find them lying at the edge of the arena; if they had tussled a bit further out they would have been out of bounds.

Jetsam followed her gaze to the boundary line, and his jaw tightened as his face flushed a dull purple. Was it anger at his predicament? 

“I’m very sorry about this, Miss Michi,” he gurgled apologetically, as the last of his quirk bubbled from his mouth into a viscous oil that was spat out onto Michiko’s face.

With a shout of surprise, Michiko’s grip loosened enough for the slick oils still coating Jetsam’s arms to allow him to escape her grasp. Vision impared by the pollution covering her forehead and dripping into her eyes and nose, Michiko was unable to dodge the hefty push against her chest as Jetsam scrambled away from her touch, getting onto his feet. It was only for a moment, but it was enough for his quirk to return in full force.

“Again, words cannot express how sorry I am for doing that.” Jetsam called out to her, although his speech was hard to make out with the thick pollutants leaking from his mouth.

Michiko shot up from the floor, furiously wiping at her face to clear it of the oil. Once her vision returned, she turned to face Jetsam. The two ran at each other, trading blows and each trying to grapple the other into submission. The build-up of tar and oils worked as a double edged sword; Jetsam easily slipped from Michi’s grasp, but she also used that to her advantage to slide out of the way of his attacks. 

Then, there it was: that single, gleaming moment where Michiko could see the exhaustion, see Jetsam’s attention waning as the fight dragged on for just a bit too long. Right there! He was right by the boundary line, and had miscalculated a move that left him off-balance and vulnerable.

‘Sorry Jetsam,’ Michiko thought as she built momentum for her final blow, ‘but I am grateful for this amazing fight!’

Just as her victorious punch was about to make contact with Jetsam’s awaiting back, she felt herself freeze, involuntarily. Her arm was stuck in position, unable to move. She tried shifting her feet, but to no avail. Her whole body was frozen in place, like some sort of statue!

After a brief moment of panic, Michiko quickly realized what was happening. The tar. The tar Jetsam had been producing. He had mixed it with all the other pollutants as they fought, and as she was coated throughout the battle, the tar was turning thicker and thicker, until it encased her whole body into a stiff, immovable statue. 

She struggled, trying to thrash her way out of the viscous black coffin, but to no avail. She could no longer continue fighting. She had lost. 

The crowd burst into cheers and jeers as they realized that the match had been settled, the announcer calling out “AND THE WINNER IS, JETSAM KISA!”

As soon as the decision was announced, Michiko felt the tar slide off her body, like showering off a thick coating of muck, until only black stains remained on her body and clothing.

Jetsam sheepishly looked over at her, hand anxiously scratching at the back of his neck.

“So… that was really, really gross. I’m so sorry. But you were incredible! You almost had me so many times!!” Jetsam babbled out, getting more and more flustered as he continued. “I understand if you’re upset, but we promised we wouldn’t hold back and-”

“That was a great match! I had such a good time, and you really tested out my limits!” Michiko interrupted, smiled brightly at him as she held out her hand for him to shake. “But I’m warning you, next time I’ll be the one to come out on top!”

Jetsam smiled softly as he took her hand and reciprocated the shake.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

[mmvalentine]

But You pt 1 | Feysand

Modern AU, college-y sort of. Part 2

Feyre worried about Rhys going to college. Of course his grades were impeccable, it’s just that he had never been very good at making friends. When they were in the second grade, the teacher had asked them all to say what their dream world might look like, and where all the other kids had said things like “a world with unicorns” or “a world where we have swords for hands,” Rhys had said “a world where everyone is warm and comfy and loved.” And then one of the boys had laughed at him, called him stupid, and then stalked around the room chopping everyone down with his sword-hands. By the time the teacher had calmed everyone down and gotten them to sit back in the centre of the room, she had quite forgotten little Rhys, who was hiding under a table. Feyre, always a watchful, observant creature, had brought him pillows from the reading nook, and set up camp with him beneath the desk.

She was pretty sure that was the last time Rhys had made a friend. Because they were inseparable all through primary school and middle school, and when Feyre started making more friends in high school, Rhys just wandered off to the library.

“Don’t you want to stay and sit with us?” Feyre would ask him. Rhys just smiled and shrugged, and then sauntered off to be with his books instead.

Of course, Rhys wasn’t antisocial or anything. In fact he had always been so sensitive. And he needed so much physical affection- had toned it down as they progressed through school, but still spent most afternoons sprawled over the foot of Feyre’s bed, a leg or hip against hers, as long as they always had one point of contact. He had one or two romantic entanglements, but they never seemed to last long. Feyre wondered sometimes whether Rhys had decided early on that people were callous and cruel, and most weren’t worth the risk.

So when she got into a college on the opposite coast, and Rhys got a scholarship somewhere up north, Feyre seriously worried about what might happen to him left to his own devices.

Rhys had rolled his eyes when she broached the subject.

“I’ll be fine, Feyre darling,” he said. “Look at me. I’m unreasonably handsome.” “And has that helped you make any friends in high school?” Feyre had demanded, eyebrows raised. “It helped me get you,” he said with a rakish grin. “And you are all I need.” “Right but you won’t have me in six weeks,” Feyre said, feeling like she was going in circles. Rhys only shrugged. “I’ll be fine,” was all he said.

In the end Feyre decided that Rhys was just less in need of people than she was. She had always enjoyed company, and bouncing ideas off people. Rhys lived more inside himself.

And so she packed up for college, said goodbye to her friends, and went to one last party before she was due to drive off the next morning. Rhys hadn't wanted to come, of course, he never did. Truth be told, she felt a little disappointed but not surprised. It would have been nice to hang out one more time before she left.

Disappointments aside, Feyre was ecstatic to be leaving her hometown. It was small, and dingy, and contained her two awful sisters and she just knew she would go and never look back. She hoped Rhys would be able to do the same thing.

Feyre left the house wearing a scandalous silver dress. It was such a conservative town, she knew she'd be getting looks but screw it, she was leaving tomorrow. She took the bus to the sorry excuse for a bar the town had, and as she looked out the window she couldn't say she would miss any of this.

The bar had stained carpets and flickering lights. For some reason, Alis was devoted to it and was here most weekends. Feyre had turned her down many times, but figured it was as good a place as any to spend her last night in town. Lucien was already there too, taking up half the booth with his long limbs.

"Feyre!" Alis squealed. She hugged her friend tightly, and then Lucien pushed two shot glasses toward her as she sat down. "You're two behind Feyre, drink up."

And that would be the last clear thing that Feyre remembered from that night.

Hours later, she swayed on her front door step and tried to open the door without waking anyone. This was particularly difficult because the keyhole kept moving.

She managed to get herself up the stairs without anyone coming out, and closed her bedroom door behind herself thankfully. Dropped her purse on the ground, threw her coat over the chair, and stumbled toward the bed.

Where Rhys was sitting, his legs crossed at the ankles and his back against the headboard, with a bemused smirk on his handsome face.

"Hello, Feyre darling," he said. "Rhys? How did you get in here?" Rhys shrugged. "Through the window." "I'm on the second floor." "I climbed." Feyre's alcohol addled brain struggled to put this together.

"Okay..." she said. "But, what are you doing here?" Rhys fiddled with a loose thread on Feyre's duvet cover. "Wanted to see you," he said. "I invited you out tonight." Rhys rolled his eyes. "Yeah but I hate those guys. I just want to see you."

Feyre walked unsteadily round the side of the bed and sat down next to Rhys.

"You always just want to see me, Rhys," she said. "Come on seriously, you know you're going to have to talk to other people at college." "I hate other people." "You hate everyone." "I don't hate you."

Feyre just peered at him until he squirmed.

"Okay, okay, I promise I'll talk to people at college. Now can you take that ridiculous thing off and come hang out with me?" Feyre sighed. "Fine. Turn." She circled her finger in the air, indicating for Rhys to face away from her. He huffed but then turned his back obediently, and she got out of her ridiculous dress and into flannel pyjama pants.

"Rhys," she said. "Are you sitting on my t-shirt?" "I don't think so?" Rhys said. He pulled off his own shirt and held it out to her without turning. "Here," he said. "You can have mine." "Well aren't you a gentleman," Feyre said. "You know this is my house, I have a whole wardrobe full of t-shirts." But tired as she was, she pulled it on anyway, and slid into bed.

Rhys turned when Feyre told him it was okay. "I know, but I like you in my clothes," he said. And snuggled down next to her.

"Hey," she said. "You can't sleep in here." "Why not?" Rhys asked. "I've slept in here plenty of times." "You're usually on the floor." "But you're leaving me tomorrow," Rhys complained. "Can't I just stay tonight?"

Feyre sighed. The alcohol still sloshing through her veins was making her sleepy, and made it hard to care about anything.

"Sure," she said. "I don't know why you don't just sleep in your own bed." "Because you aren't in it," Rhys said with a grin. Feyre frowned. "Turn off the lights, would you." She closed her eyes.

A second later, the room was peacefully dark, and Rhys laid his head down on the pillow next to hers.

"You know," he said more quietly. "I used to sleep up here." "Sure, when we were kids," Feyre said. She yawned. "I wish I could do it every night," Rhys murmured. "Why?" Feyre asked. Even though she was lying down now, the room still spun somehow. "Because I miss you when you're not there," he whispered. "Well what are you going to do when I'm at college?" she asked, and the words were like cotton in her mouth. "Think about you everyday," Rhys said, "and wish that I had told you when you were sober that I have no idea what I'm going to do without you and I've never been so scared in my life."

But Feyre was asleep by that point, and wouldn't remember that Rhys kissed her forehead before closing his eyes too.

****

HOKAY phew I really hit a wall there and was panicking a bit so I am very happy to be back in a chapter fic. Big ol' thanks and also smooshy kisses to my brain trust @feyrearcherons and @asteria-of-mars for getting me over the line.

TAGLIST: @ghostlyrose2 @highladysith @stardelia @tillyrubes10 @feysand-babies @ratabrasileira @live-the-fangirl-life @maybekindasortaace @annejulianneh111 @thebonecarver @rowaelinismyotp @loosingdreams @whythefuckdoiexist

MASTERLIST

[snorlax891]

Another idea inspired by @moon-spirit-yue and Sapphic Yearning Namaari, and Oblivious Raya. :P Namaari: *grinning as she drags a tied up Raya to a waiting Atitaya standing in front of a stage* Sit tight, Dep la and enjoy. I’m about to end this confusion between us once and for all. *hops up on stage* Through the power of song.  Raya: ...What the hell is happening right now? Atitaya: *sighs* Please just humor her Princess Raya. You have no idea all the shit we had to go through just to set all this up. Namaari: Ahem. Raya. I’ve been thinking long and hard about how to make my intentions clear to you, and I believe I’ve finally stumbled upon a way to communicate exactly what I’m feeling. Ok...here I go. *closes her eyes and starts singing* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0pdQU87dc8  Namaari: *opens her eyes after singing her heart out, unashamed at the tears streaming down her face* Th-there, Dep la. I...I hope everything is clear for you now...Raya? *looks around and finds only empty ropes lying next to a blushing, guilty looking Atitaya* General? Wh-what happened? Where’s Raya? Atitaya: She um...She sort of...escaped? Again? I’m sorry Princess. *bows and pearl hand salutes* I couldn’t stop her.  Namaari: What? How? When? What did she do? Atitaya: Oh, she cut herself loose maybe halfway through the song? Namaari: Why couldn’t you stop her? Atitaya: She um...she kind of...smiled at me...and winked...and then she ran off. I’m sorry Princess Namaari. I know I should’ve been able to stop her and it’s no excuse, but she was so cute and I just sort of panicked and froze up... Namaari: ... Atitaya: Princess?  Namaari: *Starts crying in earnest* Atitaya: *slightly panicking* Princess Namaari, please don’t cry! I know you’re upset but I’m sure we can find her again! It won’t take long! *muttering* What with all the times we’ve had to track her down so far. *raising her voice again* I’m sure you’ll get another chance!  Namaari: A-all those singing lessons wasted! All that jade and time spent getting this stage and teaching the soldiers how to play backup instrumentals! All of it for nothing! Raya why! After I listened to your whole routine and watched all the way to the end all those months ago when you took the dragon scroll! *curls up in to the fetal position and continues crying*  Atitaya: ...Right...so...I’ll just tell the soldiers to set up camp then shall I?  Namaari: *still gay crying and oblivious to the world* Atitaya: *sighs* Ok then... *awkwardly slinks off* Raya: *some distance away now* Damn, that Binturi’s murder attempts are getting weirder and weirder eh, Tuk Tuk? I wonder what she was after this time? To make my ears bleed and melt my brain out of my head? OH! Or maybe she was trying to hypnotize me so I’d be easier to kill, or even order me to do it myself! Just what I’d expect from a back stabbing assassin of Fang! Well I won’t be fooled by her tricks again, mark my words! You hear that, Princess Undercut!? You’ll never take me alive! *shakes her fist at the sky* Glad I got outta there when I did buddy. It gave me this odd feeling in my chest when she started singing. It was really warm and pleasant...She must have been trying to lure me in to dropping my guard with pleasant feelings, but then make my heart explode or something! Phew! That was a close one! :P Tuk Tuk: *praying for Raya to either realize Namaari’s feelings for her or for the sweet release of death to end his suffering*

[factionzero]

Alright all right since you didn't like my pet au idea 😏😉

Gardener au?

Clark that sexy sexy space landscaper trying to get some extra credits, using his laser vision for the tough space plants..

And Brainy breaking a datapad as the hot gardener bends over n gets a eyeful of those buns of steel 😏?

This one ran away from me I'm sorry ♡♡♡♡

Brainiac 5 gave a deep sigh of relief as the door finally closed, his father leaving for another hopefully long business trip.

That left him home alone and in peace to do what he wished. Which right now was to go see his favorite landscaper.

He set up a floating tray of drinks, checking himself in the mirror-shined walls of the fancy house he lived in before slowly making his way to the garden. 

It was a masterpiece of different worlds, miniature ecosystems from pants long gone or far away all being maintained by invisible force fields that controlled the atmosphere.

Making it look like they were all existing in perfect unison.

He spotted Clark at one end, floating high up and petting a semi-conscious plant and praising it for being still as he pruned off dead leaves.

'That's a good girl. I got plenty of meal worms for you once we're done.' He cooed and small spindly vines laid over his fingers.

'Clark~' Brainy called out and the Kryptonian looked over his shoulders and beamed at him.

'Oh hey, Brainiac 5.' He called back, finishing up the snipping and holding out a bag full of wiggling worms for the plant to ensnare in vines and throw into its flower bud mouths ravenously.

'I thought I told you to just call me Brainy.' He huffed, feeling like Tinya's ten step seduction plan must be failing somewhere.

Not that he was even close to passing stage two yet but today was going to be the day! Stage two, physical contact!

'I know but you're my boss and I was raised respectful.' He chuckled as he floated down, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand and leaving a streak of dirt behind.

'I'm not your boss, I'm your boss's son' he explained for the twentieth time 'anyway I thought it was hot and maybe you'd all like a drink? Oh but where's the rest of the team?' He asked, stepping out of the way and Clark beamed at him.

'Aw thanks, B-Brainy. I can't believe the others didn't show up again.' He huffed as he took the drink and gulped it down, taking a second too.

Brainy hummed in agreement, entranced by the way his neck moved. Truthfully he hadn't hired anyone else and just gave Clark more time to do everything, as well as extra pay.

So technically he was hks boss but he was using his father's money to pay for him? Whatever it didn't matter!

He had a whole plan to get Clark to touch him, passing him a tool or shaking his hand, he'd offer to give Clark a massage but he was pretty sure his hands would break if he tried.

'Well. You do a fantastic job anyway but I wouldn't want to overwork you…. How about a break?' He asked and Clark looked tempted.

'Well, I do gotta finish the Elsi enclosure before it gets dark.' He muttered.

'You'll have time! I promise.' He said and with that Clark followed him away from the beautiful garden to a more pristine part of the estate. 

'So how are you? How's the journalism going?' Brainy asked curiously.

'Really well, I got an internship starting in a few months. Might need a new gardener then.' He said and Brainy swallowed down the upset that statement had him feeling.

He sent a silent command and the robots that were around the pool filed away before they arrived, leaving a blessedly private area as Clark whistled.

'This is nice.' He said and Brainy shrugged.

'It's one of my favorite parts of the estate.' He said. Mostly because his parents never used it.

With that he started to undress, slowly to gauge Clark's reaction and when he looked at the taller man he had his head turned away, scratching at a cheek as his ears turned red.

It made Brainy grin and continue till he was down to just the purple briefs he had prepared for today.

'Join me?' He asked as he gently eased into the water. It was blessedly cool.

'What? No no I couldn't, I'm dirty.' He said and Brainy rolled his eyes.

'Then wash off? It's what water is for right?' He teased and Clark took off his hat, huffing out before he gave a grin.

He put his foot up on a small wall and started unlacing his boots and Brainy rested against the pool wall, biting at his bottom lip as he watched him kick off each boot and then undo his belt with a swish sound that made Brainy feel hot.

He dipped under the water hoping to cool off and came up to see Clark throwing his red gingham shirt off his shoulders.

Brainy had a religious moment as Clark turned in nothing but his briefs as he took a run and jumped in, coming up to the surface and wiping his hands through his hair with a laugh.

'Ahh, that is wonderful.' He groaned, coming to join Brainy at the side with a wide smile.

'I told you.' He mused, hoping his nerves were being well masked.

Apparently they weren't as Clark swam up and put his hands either side of Brainy, trapping him against the wall as their legs brushed as they kept themselves afloat.

'Clark?' Brainy asked and the Kryptonian looked sheepish as his cheeks took on a  deep red glow.

'Listen, I'm not really good with spotting these kinds of things and I know I'm gonna be out of a job after this but my friend swears that you're trying to hit on me? And I kind of hope you are?' He asked and Brainy felt like he was drowning as his words sunk in.

Screw the plan.

'I was! I mean, I am.' He confessed and Clark gave a relieved phew as he pressed in closer.

'There's this carnival back on Earth next week? I was thinking we can go together? It's nothing fancy that you're probably used to.' He started and Brainy put a finger against his lips, immediately Clark' eyes went lidded as he kissed at the finger against him.

'I would love too. And you're definitely fired but I assur you the severance package will be adequate.' He purred as floods of angry messages were being pelted at his brain.

Damn robot snitches…

Brainiac 5 put his father on mute as he circled his arms around Clark's neck and kissed him, jumping to part ten of the plan in one fell swoop!

[erekiosuncreativeideas]

The Part-Time Puppeteer - Chapter 06

<= Chapter 5

Summary : Lukas gets to have a heart-to-heart discussion with an absolute asshole. Also available on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/23828971/chapters/81015496

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AAAAH I'M SORRY FOR THE TWO MONTHS HIATUS I HAD A WRITER BLOCK---

Anyway uuuh, new chapter, I have no idea if it's good or not but still, here it is. I did my best to offer you a longer chapter as a compensation, it's twice the length of the last one.

Happy reading ! Thank you for waiting all this time.

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Chapter 6 - “Oh. It’s you.”

The rest of the day had been… Quite blurry for the student. After coming back home, he had sat down at his desk, staring into space for… Minutes, hours, he hadn’t been able to tell. It was an understatement to say that he was in shock after what had happened. Even after everything, his mind couldn’t help but think this was just a joke, or that he had imagined the whole thing. But the script in his bag was a proof of the contrary. For a good while, the young man hadn’t found the courage to look back at it, as if it were some sort of cursed object, haunting him. But then, the Conductor’s words came back to him: “learn your text by tomorrow”. An order, a clear one, coming from one of his bosses. The student shivered as he remembered, soon bringing his hands to his face, massaging his closed, tired eyes. Oh, boy, why did he always get in that kind of situation… Even when he was a kid, he would often get dragged in things like this. He had thought this would get better as he grew up, but noooo, of fucking course it wouldn’t. Lukas let out a loud, long, exaggerated sigh, and stood up. He walked to his sofa bed all while dragging his feet and, once he was in front of it, it was like what was left of his energy left him. What a day . With another sigh, the student felt his body fall forward, and it wasn’t long before his face hit one of his pillows. Air was forced out of his lungs by the impact, though he did nothing but grunt in the fabric. Him? An actor? This couldn’t be right, this just… It wasn’t right. Sure, MJ was a jerk, but he still had the skills and the experience! In comparison, Lukas was just a law student- not a bad one, mind you, which only made it even more surprising to see him getting the role. It wasn’t like he had chosen the wrong scholar path, no, on the contrary, he was skilled in his major. But apparently, his bosses had seen something else deep inside that walking shell of anxiety… -“Uuuuugh...” his voice was low and tired. For a moment, he thought he was almost going to fall asleep like this, still wearing his clothes, but he reluctantly sat down. With a look full of weariness and unwillingness, the student’s attention went back to his bag, in which the script was. He didn’t want to learn the lines, and a single glance at his desk full of homework was a good way to understand why. But it seemed like his paycheck was now depending on it, as much as he would have preferred to remain a stagehand… -“Guess I don’t have a choice…” he mumbled, before moving his foot to reach for the bag, making it slide towards him, so he could open it. He supposed that he would be able to scribble down the answers to his homework during his lunch break… Or, at least, he hoped. And so, the young man spent the next two hours learning his lines, saying them out loud, so he could remember them. A good thing about his brain was that it learned pretty well from words and sounds. Thus, by saying them out loud, Lukas was pretty efficient in remembering them. Plus, truth to be told, those lines weren’t exactly as hard to learn as his law books… Not that it was a bad thing, far from it. At least, it made his job far easier. However, he wasn’t going to lie, there were a few parts that were harder to remember. Once he was done, the student hesitated on whether he should go to sleep (the reasonable option) or try to get some of his homework done. Sure, he was pretty tired, and the day had been filled by a lot of diverse emotions… But part of him knew he just wouldn’t be able to fall asleep knowing what awaited him the day after. He had always been very anxious, this was a secret to no one, and especially not himself… However, this whole thing was very new, and it made it all worse. And so… The student ended up staying up late until three in the morning, managing to get most of his homework done. One of the perks of being good at a subject was being fast. Of course, this would have given him much better results if he had worked on it seriously, without all the tiredness and all, but the context wasn’t really allowing him that.

Thus, Lukas packed up his college stuff for the next day and soon went to sleep for one very short night. Oh, well, not his first, far from it. Thankfully, he had a few sleeping meds he had kept from an old treatment, allowing him to fall asleep rather quick. However, this always came at a price- they made waking up a much more difficult moment, as his body was still very much under the influence of the medicine when that happened. And the next morning… Was no exception, especially since he only got to sleep for less than three hours. Fighting the urge to go back to sleep, Lukas managed to get up and prepare himself for college. New clothes, brushing his hair and teeth… It only took him a moment until he was ready to leave his small apartment. Oh, his face, however… It looked like it belonged to a rotten corpse, who had just come back to life… Somewhat. The trip to college was pretty ordinary, and so was his morning and afternoon, actually. He gave his teachers all the papers that were due, he aced one of his oral presentation despite looking like a dead man… No, really, this day was going well, which was surprising considering he was mostly surviving thanks to coffee and to the fear of collapsing in public. Yeah, no, he didn’t want any attention on him… Which was a funny thing to think about, because this was exactly what he was going to get with his new job! Once his classes were over, Lukas took the bus to his workplace, dread settling on his shoulders, heavier and heavier as the minutes passed. Oh, he didn’t want to get that role… Of course, he could tell his bosses, but there was a small part of him, deep down, that was curious about where this would lead him. Now, obviously, being a stagehand was a pretty classic job, one without risks… But this? While he was terrified of screwing up, especially since people would be looking at him… Yeah, there was something that prevented him from refusing this promotion. And, also, if that could piss MJ off, then it was a good bonus. The studio reception was calm compared to the day before and, for a moment, just a small moment, the student thought his shift was going to be nice. But ooh, no, he couldn’t have nice things- the moment he opened the door leading to the staff areas, he winced as many voices echoed around him. They were coming from all directions, through walls, doors too! It was a large cacophony in there, and people were running around, carrying stuff and bringing props for each shooting. Actions movies, dramas, comedies… Each type had its own part of the studio, but there was this central room linking them all together and, oh, this place was just a battlefield. Moving fast through the agitated crowd, Lukas tried to reach his accredited part of the studio- the children shows shootings. Avoiding props almost falling on his feet accidentally, sneaking between people carrying hot coffee, and bending down to avoid planks being carried around… He bumped into someone just before he got to open the door leading to his area. -“Oh, I- I’m sorry,” he stammered, quickly moving back, so he could apologize properly to the person he had bumped into. However, his eyes widened when he recognized the figure in front of him. Mike! The good twin. For a second, the latter’s face had alarmed him, as he thought he had bumped into MJ instead… But thankfully, while having the same face, the two brothers had very different hairstyles and fashion choices. The student let out a sigh- phew, he wasn’t sure he would have been ready for MJ’s bullshit right at the beginning of his shift. -“Oh, hey!” Mike seemed almost as surprised as he was, though his expression quickly changed to a warm, welcoming one: “Good to see you again- oh, wait, let’s, uh… Get inside,” he then mumbled, opening the door quickly so they both could leave the absolute war zone they were in. Lukas didn’t lose any time and followed the other like a shadow would, only getting the opportunity to sigh in relief as they found themselves in a much quieter place. Kinda ironic that the children shows part of the

studio was calmer than the staff hall... -“Hey,” he finally replied, now that the “battlefield” was behind them: “It’s good to see you too,” he answered trustfully, with a smile. He hadn’t seen the other since MJ’s outburst the day before, and getting the chance to meet him again was a good way of making Lukas’ day a little better and… Less chaotic. -“How are you?” he then asked, deciding to take a moment for a conversation with his only friend in the studio so far. Plus, he was… Worried. With what had happened the day before, and how MJ had thrown Mike’s puppet on the floor like it was nothing, he wanted to make sure everything was okay. -“Oh, I’m… Doing fine,” the other looked away with an awkward smile, which was an obvious sign that things had definitely happened yesterday. With how furious the actor had been when leaving the shooting, Lukas could very well imagine the latter taking his frustration on his brother. What an asshole. But, it was family business, and he couldn’t say anything about it, as a stranger. -“What about you?” Mike added quickly, visibly determined on changing the topic: “I heard you got the role, yesterday. Congrats!” The praise took the student by surprise, and he felt his cheeks reddening from the embarrassment. Oh, man, this was new, yeah… He wasn’t used to that kind of thing. His stance tensed up, and a sheepish smile took place on his lips. -“Oh, uh… Thanks,” he blurted out, and it was his turn to look away: “It’s… Really weird, I guess I’m just… Feeling a bit shocked, you know?” he turned his head back to his new friend and a nervous giggle escaped him. He was fidgeting, not really knowing how to respond to that. -“Ah, yeah, it’s your first time,” Mike nodded, remembering that Lukas had first been hired as a stagehand, not as an actor: “Don’t worry, children shows are the perfect way to start as a beginner. You know, with the public being less critical and all… I’m sure you’ll get used to it in no time.” The puppet maker was kind, trying to reassure Lukas and ease his anxiety. Too bad that his stage fight was skyrocketing since the moment he had stepped in the building again… Another nervous giggle left his lips, and he started to rub his arm, not knowing what to do with his hands. -“I suppose so…” he muttered, still smiling, though it looked less genuine: “It’s just that… I mean… Why me? I’m just a guy who wanted a part-time job. I’m not an actor, I don’t have any experience…” -“Well, from what I’ve heard, you were pretty good yesterday- oh, speaking about that…” Mike’s face darkened, as if he had just remember to mention something unpleasant: “I think you should… Avoid MJ, as much as you can, from now on. My brother, he’s… He didn’t take it well, I’m not gonna lie, and… I mean, you saw how he is with people, he’s not the best at being with others. Now, with what happened yesterday, I don’t think he’ll make your life any easier.” The student grimaced as he listened to his friend. Yeah… Yeah, he had seen that coming. With how livid MJ had been when leaving the set, it wasn’t surprising that the latter was going to make his shifts hell. God, he really hoped he would manage to avoid that jerk… -“Yeah, I… Kinda expected that,” he admitted, tilting his head to the side with a wince: “But, uh… Since he’s not part of the team anymore, I shouldn’t run too much into him… Right?” -“I wish I’d say yes, but…” Mike answered, his face showing conflict: “He has some other roles in the studio, and he might come see me now and then, so… Yeah. Be careful and do your best to avoid him. He’s not… The best person to be around when he’s like this.” “Oh, you mean all the time, then?” Lukas thought to himself, but kept his mouth shut. Not the best thing to say out loud, especially when it came to said person’s twin. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder why Mike was making so many efforts for someone that clearly didn’t deserve them… But, then again, he was a stranger, it wasn’t his place to say anything. -“Will do,” he assured his friend, before looking at his watch and- oh, shit, he was going to

be late. Apparently, it must have been visible from his expression, because the puppet maker let out a soft giggle: -“Oh, yeah, it’s time,” he looked up, as if he were trying to remember something: “Last time I saw the Conductor and DJ Grooves, they were in the conference room with some investors. You should go practice in the meantime… My workshop is open, if you want,” he offered with a shrug: “It’s a small room, but I’m normally the only one there, so if you wanna have some quiet, alone time to rehearse, well… I need to help the stagehands for some set repairs, so I won’t bother you.” The offer was a really nice attention, another one that did help to make Lukas’ day a little better. Considering his promotion, he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to help the other stagehands while waiting for his bosses, but… Well, practicing really wouldn’t hurt, especially considering how short his night had been. -“Thanks, I really appreciate it,” he gave Mike a warm smile, before pointing to a door on the other side of the room: “It’s this one, right?” he asked for confirmation. -“Yep, that’s the one! Just, uh… Please don’t touch anything, most of the puppets and costumes aren’t done, so they’re quite fragile.” Lukas assured him he wouldn’t, and even then, he didn’t have any reason to. At least, contrary to his friend’s twin, he knew how to respect someone’s work… And with that, the two waved to one another, before heading to opposite directions. The student walked to the door with a quick pace, wanting to get as much time as possible to practice. When he opened it, he was surprised to see that, yeah, the room was pretty small indeed, even smaller than what he had imagined. The place was full of puppets hanging from the ceiling, and the walls were covered in eccentric and colorful clothes. It was almost eye straining! Two out of the four corners of the rooms were used to stock supplies and different types of fabric, making the room even smaller than it originally was. Then, hidden in the third corner was a desk with a sewing machine on top of it. It looked like an old but durable one, the kind that would last years even if it was out-of-date. Other than that, the desk was full of smaller supplies, like needles, sewing threads, pens, pieces of paper, templates… It was like this room had no free space other than the center of it. Well, Lukas supposed this is where he would rehearse, then. Not like there were many other option… The young man closed the door behind him and made a few steps, his eyes looking all around him. He didn’t think it was possible to fit so many things in a single room, but, hey, he was wrong! He then shook his head- it was time to work. After clearing his throat, the student opened his bag and took the script out, flipping the pages up to the parts he had the most trouble remembering. Oh, jeez, he really was doing this, wasn’t he? This was so weird… But whatever paid his bills and his studies, he guessed. And so… He got to work. It was a lot easier to practice when there was no one around. No one to judge him, no one to mock him when he fucked up… Yeah, it made it all easier. Sure, he didn’t have any experience in it, but at least he had to admit it was pretty fun. Nonetheless, he still had no idea why the two directors chose him over an experienced actor like MJ… Like, of course he had noticed the latter was a huge asshole, but other than that, his acting skills were obvious. Maybe he was being used to give MJ a lesson…? This seemed like the most probable explanation. After all, MJ’s presence in the casting was supposed to bring attention to the show… And now, one of the most important roles had been given to a nobody instead. It didn’t seem like a good idea, marketing-wise. Law was his specialty, but that didn’t mean he was stupid when it came to other things. Lukas couldn’t believe he had been chosen for his “talents”, because he had none on that field. After a moment, he paused his practice, shutting his eyes and letting out an exaggerated sigh. Shit, this was distracting him. He couldn’t focus

on his lines. His acting skills, if he had any, were affected by it. It was like something was entering his mind from one side only to disappear through another. Memorizing the words was harder than he had thought it would be the day before, and he couldn’t help but grunt in frustration. Fuck, he knew he was able to remember those lines, he had learned much more complex texts before! This script was simple, so the young man put the blame on his short night of sleep. Furthermore, it was hard to memorize something only by starting the day before… He was about to start again when he heard the door opening behind him, cutting him short. The student turned to the direction of the noise, expecting to see Mike’s face and… Well, in a way, he kinda did. Except it wasn’t Mike. It was MJ, the evil twin. “Oh, fuck me,” he thought, paling up. For fuck’s sake, right after Mike told him to avoid his brother! Was it a joke or something?! Before he even got the chance to speak, MJ’s expression changed from a neutral one to one of utter disgust. Yeah, clearly, the other had expected to see his twin, but… Nope, Lukas had been the one in the room. “Lesson learned, never going back in that workshop alone,” the student told himself, though it was way too late to do anything about it. -“Oh. It’s you,” the actor spat, this time not trying to keep his nice mask on like he had been when they had met the day before: “The fuck are you doing here?” The celebrity’s eyes were glaring at him, all while examining him from top to bottom. It was… Very unpleasant, to be stared at this way. And being talked to like that? Yeah, no, Lukas was perhaps a shy person, but he didn’t want to let anyone walk all over him, especially not an asshole like MJ. Usually, he tended to flee conflict, but today was different. He was way too tired to deal with this shit. -“Yes , hello to you too,” he muttered as an answer, quickly putting his attention back to the script: “Your brother’s not here, but he told me I could use the room in the meantime.” Apparently, his tone didn’t please the actor, whose eyes narrowed in response: -“No kidding, I can see my brother’s not here, dumbass,” he shrugged and rolled his eyes: “I’m not blind.” Oooh, the insult didn’t fall on deaf ears, and it really rubbed Lukas the wrong way. He turned to the celebrity again, this time returning the latter’s glare: -“Well, good for you, I guess,” the student spoke louder than his previous mutter. His annoyance was much more visible, though he still remained polite: “If you’re looking for Mike, he’s with the stagehands.” -“Didn’t ask,” the actor retorted harshly. The other’s eyes then fell on the script, and his expression darkened. Well, shit, this couldn’t be good- and, just like Lukas had predicted, it wasn’t. MJ’s look of hatred was soon replaced by a mocking yet salty expression, one that the student really didn’t like. -“Aw, am I interrupting something?” the celebrity taunted him, leaning against the door frame as a smirk took place on his lips. -“Actually, yes. You are,” Lukas’ patience was running out. God, he wanted to punch that guy so bad… Well, not like he would ever do that, he wasn’t that kind of person. Still, the urge was there. In response to his honest words, the actor scoffed loudly, rolling his eyes again. God, that fucking asshole… -“What, don’t tell me you honestly think you have what it takes!” MJ’s tone had changed from a mocking one to a harsher, meaner one: “You have no idea how to play a role- lemme guess, you never had any theater courses before, hm?” At Lukas’ silence, the celebrity snickered bitterly: -“Yeah, that’s what I thought. You’re just a nobody, a guy who happened to be there at the right time. But you, an actor? Don’t make me laugh. You don’t know shit about acting.” Okay, now that was enough. Politeness was nice and all, but with this guy? No, nu-huh, nope, not happening. In an instant, Lukas’ attempts at remaining civil were thrown away through a window. No one could talk to him like that, and not even his anxiety was

going to silence him. -“Oh, I don’t know shit about acting, that’s right,” he talked back, his tone much more aggressive: “But at least I know how to be a decent person.” -“Excuse me?” MJ’s face showed a mix of bewilderment and fury, probably because no one ever confronted him like this in the past: “I didn’t steal someone else’s job!” -“Hah, that’s rich!” the student scoffed, raising his arms with a scandalized expression: “You lost your job! I didn’t do anything!” his voice echoed in the room as his anger intensified: “If you weren’t such an asshole, maybe you’d have kept your place in the-” However, the student didn’t even get the time to finish his sentence. The celebrity had dashed towards him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, bringing their face close as an intimidating gesture: -“Watch your fucking mouth,” was the warning he got from the other, whose eyes were fixed on his: “There are so many things I could do to make your life a living Hell. I have a lot of strings I can pull, and if I were you, I wouldn’t risk that,” the actor’s voice had got lower, like a murmur, a clear threat directed to him. But Lukas was just getting so fucking tired of it. Enough was enough. He grabbed the celebrity’s hand and pulled it away, forcing the latter to let go of him. -“So, let me get this straight: you want to destroy me because I pointed out how much of a jerk you were to everyone? And you still think you’re the decent person out of us two? You might want to rethink that, buddy.” The response he got was yet another glare, though this time there was no spiky answer. “Of course I’m right, asshole, can’t say anything back, now, can you?” he thought to himself, pride swelling inside him. Man, this was perhaps the first argument he ever won… Holy shit, yeah, it was- and he didn’t even stutter! Maybe he needed to be tired more often- yeah, no, that wasn’t a good idea. Air was forced out of his lungs as he was pushed away, though despite the fear of being punched, it never came. The look of pure hatred he was getting from MJ was almost burning him and, for a moment, he really thought he would get attacked- being someone who had never fought anyone, he wasn’t really confident about his abilities to fight back. But all MJ did was to step back to the door, a furious expression written all over his face: -“You wanna play that game with me?” he spat: “Fine. But mark my words, stagehand, I will win.” And not even giving Lukas the time to retort anything, the actor stormed off the room and slammed the door behind him. It screamed “ I am mad, and I want everyone to know that”. Lukas, however, did not give a single fuck about it. Perhaps it was the tiredness speaking (and it was), but if the other wanted to fight, then Lukas would be ready. Well, he probably wouldn’t in hindsight, once his mind cleared up… But at the moment, the young man’s anger was making him blind to many aspects. One of them being that MJ was a famous person who was indeed capable of destroying him, and making him fail his studies with just the right calls. But this wasn’t something Lukas would realize before calming down. And only then, he would ask himself “why the hell couldn’t I keep my mouth shut like usual?!” Until that moment… The student kept rehearsing, though his anger prevented him from actually anything. Today was going to be a long day…

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Hopefully Lukas won't have too much trouble with this jerk of an actor :)c (who I love with all my heart)

=> Chapter 7

[relenafanel]

Dicks (in every definition): a fake-relationship AU

Geralt/Jaskier

Find it on Ao3:  Dicks (in every definition) by relenafanel

FOR THE MODERN AU CHALLENGE. WEEK 1: Fake-Relationships

Tag: witcherauseptember

________

“I can’t believe anyone could be such an unmitigated puss-filled dick,” Essi said, staring at her phone in disbelief. Jaskier groaned and let his head thunk on the bar.

“I can.” His sticky forehead was the least disgusting part of the evening.  He'd just come out to forget his ex, and maybe celebrate being free a little (as fucked up as that was) and quite frankly felt attacked by his social media.

“If I believed it from anyone it would be that narcissist,” she conceded, biting on her lip.

“I know,” Jaskier agreed. “That’s the worst part. I feel like it’s my fault being blindsided by this, as though I should have known something was going to happen today.”

Essi snorted. “It’s not your fault your ex is the worst.”

“No, but I was with him for almost 3 years. I don’t know. That’s my fault.”

“Don’t be stupid,” she said. “Look at this desperate fucker. Do you actually think he’s winning? He might be in a new relationship but the look of this guy makes my vagina want to shrivel up and die.”

Jaskier took her phone from her and looked again. Yeah. Yikes. Valdo was definitely scraping the bottom of the barrel with that one. Jaskier hadn’t even tried to join any dating sites post-breakup, but he was pretty sure there were better options. It wasn’t even the guy’s looks so much as he just screamed skeevy douchebag. It was making Jaskier’s metaphorical vagina also want to die.

“You need to get drunk. Maybe laid.”

“No,” Jaskier said, an idea starting to form as he looked at the relationship status change. “No. I need to match pettiness with pettiness. I need to find someone so hot that I’d have trouble getting him - let alone Valdo with his sad, small dick - and make sure to post a picture on Facebook.”

“Would that make you feel better?”

Jaskier smiled with teeth. “I think it would.”

***

It was their third bar of the evening and Essi was definitely sick of the manhunt. She probably hadn’t realized that when Jaskier was judging men fully objectively and not looking for matching personalities (relationship goals) or a willing body (one night stand goals) he had incredibly discerning tastes.

Probably too discerning.

“How about him?” Essi asked, barely looking up from her phone. She gestured to a guy sitting at the bar trying to make eye contact with a woman across the room.

“Ehh,” Jaskier said. “Sweater vest.”

Essi rolled her eyes. “But cute.”

“I’m not looking for cute. I’m looking for eye-searing hot.”

“I’m having trouble remembering how you’ve ever been in any relationships with these unrealistic expectations.”

“Valdo thought I was hot.” Jaskier thought about that for a moment. “Did I stay with someone for three years out of flattery?”

“Probably. Fuck. Get therapy.”

“I am.”

“You’re going to be working on tonight for a while.”

Fucking true. “Oh god, we just saw Valdo’s taste in men. Tell me true… am I ugly.”

“You’re spiraling.”

“That’s not an answer!”

“You’re spiraling!”

“Yes,” Jaskier agreed, pulling at his hair. “I’m so aware.”

“Based on the guy in his status update I’m going to guess you’re the hottest guy he could get.”

“You’re a good friend.” Jaskier pressed his head against her shoulder.

Then, a table opened up across the room, revealing the man sitting on the other side of it. “Holy shit.”

Essi looked up. Then she looked up. “Wow.”

“I hope he’s into men,” Jaskier said. “Or at least willing to play along with pretending to be for long enough for you to get a picture.”

“You’re going to walk up to that?” Essi asked. “You have more balls than brains.”

That was probably true.

***

“Hi, I’m Jaskier,” he opened with, dropping into the seat across from the gorgeous man. Up close he was even more startlingly pretty, with a chin dimple that highlighted his strong jaw and drew attention to his mouth. “And my boyfriend broke up with me two months ago, only to post his new relationship on Facebook today. Our three year anniversary. It’s the dickest of moves, right?”

The man hummed in agreement, but otherwise didn’t stop frowning in Jaskier’s general direction. Like someone waiting for him to get to the point. Jaskier saw that frown often.

“The reason for the oversharing is that I just forced my best friend to follow me to three different bars to find someone so phenomenally hot for me to spend time with and get picture proof, and here you are. I’d do jazz hands but you don’t seem like someone who responds well to jazz hands.”

“What are jazz hands?”

Whoa.

What a voice. What a sexy, sexy voice. Jaskier knew what he was talking about. He was a connoisseur of voices.

Jaskier wiggled his fingers at him. Tada! “Jazz hands.”

“Huh.” The man took a drink of his beer. “You want to use me as a revenge plot?”

“Exactly. Can I buy you a drink?”

The man gestured to his mostly full beer. “I’m not drinking to get drunk tonight.”

That was only a no to the beer. “Nachos or some other foodstuff?”

The guy seemed possibly interested in food.  

“Fine,” he agreed.  

****

Facebook: Julian Alfred Pankratz is in a relationship with Geralt of Rivia.

“Who’s Julian Pankratz?” Geralt muttered, staring at his phone.

“What?” Jaskier groaned, coming out a shitty sleep to a few realizations:

He’d gone home with the hottest guy on earth, which he should be pleased about, AND WAS PLEASED ABOUT

He might throw up

He’d done something last night. Something he’d said “that’s up for tomorrow Jaskier to sort out” because his drunk self was apparently a fucking masochist, and now Jaskier wasn’t really sure what that was.

Only Geralt was still scowling at his phone and seemed to know his real name.

So.

“Fuck,” Jaskier groaned. His mouth tasted like nachos and the regret of doing shots too late in life. He was 28 years old, not dead, but his hangover didn’t seem to know that.  “We didn’t get married , did we?”

“...”

Jaskier risked the light filtering in through the edges of the blinds to look at Geralt. His hair was beyond mussed - Jaskier didn’t know hair could get that tangled overnight. He was still frowning at his phone.

“I’ve been calling you Jaskier.”

“I go by Jaskier,” he promised. He was too busy having his own crises to deal with Geralt’s! For fucksakes. “Now, back to the marriage thing??”

“No.”

Phew. That was probably on him. He wasn’t sure people could actually get fake married overnight. Legally. He’d seen a lot of movies, though.

Ok. Next problem.  “I might throw up.”

Geralt turned his head slowly to look at him. Yikes. Too much beautiful-man-face in his face for this early in the morning.

“It’s eleven,” Geralt told him in the dry tone that told Jaskier he’d said that all outloud.

“Eleven after getting to bed at what? Five? Eugh, boo. Do you have any food?”

***

Geralt did have food.

Well, Geralt had protein bars and electrolytes, which was basically the same thing. Jaskier could always fall on top of a burger on his way home if he had to.  He’d finally looked at his phone by the time he was halfway through his breakfast.

107 new notifications.

What the fuck?

Julian Alfred Pankratz is in a relationship with Geralt of Rivia

Geralt and I were going to wait until announcing this wasn’t an asshole move, but now that it doesn’t really matter, I just wanted everyone to know that I’m doing GREAT.

Attached to it was the picture of the two of them together that Essi had taken with the caption of “I wouldn’t feel too sorry for Jaskier tonight”

His drunk self had a lot to answer for. No wonder Geralt had been scowling at his phone.

“I can’t believe I went Facebook Official with someone I haven’t even had sex with yet,” Jaskier mourned. “What is it, 2007?”

***

It took Jaskier almost the full day to recover enough to actually look through his comments on Facebook. By the time he had, they’d almost doubled and he’d made the mistake of clicking into Instagram to find one of those quintessential happy-relationship-our-feet-are-cute-together bullshit pictures. He had a different following on Instagram, mostly using it for pictures of himself singing.

Yikes. Yikes. Yikes. This wasn’t a contained problem, if you could call their mutual friends and families on Facebook that had been gathering in the wings for 15 years a contained problem . Fucking Facebook. Jaskier friended people he’d met once. He had a database of acquaintances. It was great for - you know - being a musician looking for gigs. He’d done 15 weddings in the last year.

It was pretty shitty when he’d faked having a boyfriend so people wouldn’t feel bad for him.

But, as he read through the comments and realized that some of them weren’t for him, he realized that maybe he wasn’t the one with the biggest problem.

Jaskier: Did you just come out?

Jaskier: Are you EVEN INTO MEN?

Jaskier: I REMEMBER YOU THINKING THIS WAS FUNNY AND AGREEING TO IT

Jaskier: BUT

Jaskier: I REGRET COMMITTING TO CAPS SO SOON BECAUSE I MEAN THIS IN CAPS AND BOLDED

Jaskier: WHOEVER LAMBERT IS JUST CONGRATULATED YOU ON FINALLY GETTING DICKED DOWN BECAUSE IT MIGHT MAKE YOU LESS GRUMPY

Geralt: I see you’ve read the comments

Geralt: my brother

Jaskier: YOUR BROTHER?!

Geralt: bold and caps?

Jaskier: and italics what the fuck. Why’d you let me do this?

Jaskier: wait.

Jaskier: WAIT

Geralt: there it is

Jaskier: this was your idea

Jaskier: did you use me to tell everyone you know that you’re gay or bi or whatever you identify as?

Jaskier: what a brilliant opportunity last night was for both of us

Geralt: you went back to sleep and didn’t process any of this yet, didn’t you?

Jaskier had been seen with that, fuck. He made a face at his phone even though Geralt couldn't see it.

A few moments later a response to Lambert popped up from Geralt himself.

@Lambert who says I haven’t been getting dicked down this entire time you heteronormative asshole

Followed by someone named Yennefer posting a picture of a strap on.

Who were these people? Could you love someone based on how their friends reacted to their ill-advised fake-relationship status change? Asking for a friend.

Geralt: for context, that’s my ex-wife

Geralt: we’re ok

Geralt: especially when she’s helping me fuck with my brother

***

Jaskier was debating the merits of asking Geralt if he wanted to come up with a break-up plan or just date when another comment showed up.

Vesemir left a comment:

You’ll bring him to brunch tomorrow?

Geralt left a comment:

We’ll be there

Vesemir left a comment:

Leave the frightening device at home

Geralt left a comment:

He doesn’t need it

This was followed by a string of variations of LOL and OH SHITs from about 7 different people. Jaskier watched it all unfold feeling like he’d stepped into the middle of something he didn’t understand - yet. He was definitely in trouble, if the way his heart rate increased at Geralt’s he doesn’t need it was any indication. It wasn’t even the dick reference, though that was amazing. It was the snappy, quick response. The underlying sarcasm.

Jaskier had a type. He could end a fake relationship that was based on seeing a searing hot guy across a room, but it was a bit harder when the guy had a personality he liked. If Geralt turned out to have a heart of gold, Jaskier was screwed and would probably be proposing marriage by year’s end.

Yeah, we’ll be there , he commented.

Geralt: my dad

Geralt: thanks

Jaskier: no problem

Jaskier : gonna call

“So I’m thinking,” Jaskier said the moment Geralt’s face showed up on the video call. He was squinting at his phone like no one had ever tried to video call him before.

“Hi,” Geralt replied, looking amused.

“I’ve been debating the merits of planning a breakup for our fake relationship or just… dating? I’m thinking maybe we should date? Do you have input?”

“Dating’s fine.”

“But do you… are you even attracted to me? Would you pick me?”

Oh fuck, what was that?! Something new to bring up in therapy.

Geralt tilted his head.  “You don’t know this about me yet, but I’m capable of saying no. Overly capable, some of my family might tell you.”

“So you’re not saying no?”

“I’m pretty confident I said yes instead.”

***

“As Jaskier’s best friend and the only witness,” Essi said into the microphone, holding up a glass of champagne to salute the two of them. “Our happy couple gave me full permission to tell the story of what happened the night Geralt and Jaskier met. Like Jaskier himself, the story is partially an embarrassing tale of bad decisions, half-cocked plans, and a lot of heart.”

Jaskier grinned, and nudged his shoulder into Geralt’s.

“And,” Essi continued with glee, “dicks in every definition.”

[hikari-writes]

『Haikyuu!!』

Fluff Headcanons

Pocky Day Special

↬ Playing pocky game with them

Pairing: Yamaguchi Tadashi, Akaashi Keiji & Yaku Morisuke

Warning: Tiiny bit of swearing and tooth rotting fluff 🥺🥺

Genre: FLOOOOOOOOOF

Words: 2.6k

Note:

- GN!Reader

Taglist: @ssucrose @laylahoran @whootwhoot @mirakeul @sunacity @hajibee @luv4kiyoomi @tamaguchi @cadenceh2o @yamagucji @ynainnit @tsukisemi [Join my taglist here!]

A/N: i know im 2 days late,, but whatever, better late than never >:( and you bet i did research on the pocky flavours for this 😎😎 and yes, i may say this is pretty self indulgent since theyre all my husbandos but shuuussh 🙄🙄 this got longer as it progressed and idek why--- istg its not bc of favouritism or anything okay 😣😣

↬ Yamaguchi Tadashi

『Cookies & Cream flavoured Pocky』

➳ It wasn't such a bad idea to play around once in a while

➳ So you bought a pack of Cookies and Cream pocky to play with Yamaguchi

➳ He wasn't too big on the idea at first, since you two are just FRIENDS after all

➳ Not for long though 

➳ But you managed to convince him, saying that it'll be fun and stuff

➳ He reluctantly gave in eventually

➳ You gave him the advantage of biting his end first, and you scooted closer to bite yours 

➳ When I tell you you could feel the heat radiating from his face

➳ The both of you started the game after you counted to three

➳ You started off pretty slowly, then you sped up after noticing Yamaguchi's pace slowing down

➳ You were nearing the middle of the pocky, when all of a sudden Yamaguchi picked up the pace and reached the middle of the pocky

➳ But he didn't stop there

➳ Instead of moving away and claiming his victory, he continued biting until he reached your lips

➳ You were shocked, obviously, so you just sat there and stared at Yamaguchi's closed eyes as he continued to kiss you

➳ After what felt like an eternity, he finally pulled away and looked at you. As soon as he noticed you're a blushing mess, a small smirk formed on his face

➳ “Well, wasn't that fun?”

➳ Your blush darkened and you narrowed your eyes at him

➳ “You sly little….”

➳ “You should've expected that coming though~”

➳ “Well, you sped up all of a sudden!! How was I supposed to see that coming?!”

➳ You grabbed the pocky box and took another stick out

➳ “Let's do it again. I won't lose this time.”

➳ Let's just say that this went on for a pretty long time and at the end of the day, you decided it'd be best to just confess your feelings to him 

➳ (Which was also "coincidentally" the sole reason you wanted to play a pocky game with him)

↬ Akaashi Keiji

『Matcha flavoured Pocky』

➳ Unlike the matcha pocky, your first kiss with your boyfriend was, minty 

➳ You and Akaashi just started going out and one day, during a sleepover that was held at Bokuto's house, all of you decided to play pocky game since it was the 11th of November 

➳ Of course, as a new (and also the only) couple in the group, the both of you were targeted as the ones to play the game first 

➳ You felt a bit conflicted about this matter. Of course, it would be a dream come true to get to kiss Akaashi (who would even let that chance slip by) but you're also not sure if you wanted your first kiss to be because of a party game

➳ Akaashi noticed your reluctance and figured that you might not be ready to kiss him yet, since you two just started dating after all 

➳ (Not gonna lie, he was pretty dejected but he valued your feelings first and foremost like the gentleman he is so he won't force you if you don't want to.)

➳ “I'm sorry, but can we pass this one up? I don't think L/N is ready to--”

➳ “We'll do it!! I mean-- I'll do it! I'm totally okay with doing it!”

➳ You quickly interrupted Akaashi and grabbed the Matcha pocky box from the table before taking one pocky stick out

➳ “L-let's do this…”

➳ You bit one end of the pocky and moved closer to Akaashi to make it easier for him to bite his side of the end

➳ Kaori and Bokuto both whistled at your boldness which made you blush even harder. Akaashi sent a silent glare their way in an attempt to make them shut up, to which they did (but not without smirking and grinning like cats at the sight of you and Akaashi)

➳ The game started and you could feel everyone's stares digging a hole inside you

➳ The two of you started at a pretty slow pace, and it felt like the pocky was kilometres long given how long it took for you to reach the middle

➳ As the both of your faces started to get closer, your heart thumped louder and louder, making you worried that Akaashi would hear it

➳ You took a glance at his face, and just as you did, almost as if he noticed your glance, he looked back at you

➳ Seeing Akaashi's beautiful eyes staring back at yours in such close proximity made your brain stopped working for a moment and in a state of panic, you accidentally snapped the pocky in two and stumbled backwards 

➳ Akaashi blinked in confusion at the whole situation, which just made your brain short circuited and steams started to escape from your ears

➳ You became a stuttering mess and you couldn't sit back up until Akaashi held out a hand to help you

➳ As soon as you got to sit up straight again, you immediately buried your face in his chest and murmured “It's my lost….”.

➳ Akaashi finished biting the leftover pocky and held you closer to him

➳ “That was a good game,” he whispered back

➳ Everyone started to give you two lovebirds teasing grins and laughs 

➳ The game continued with you still buried in Akaashi's chest, with you occasionally giving curious glances to see exactly what was happening

➳ After some time, everyone started to get sleepy and decided that it was time to sleep

➳ After what just happened, you honestly didn't really feel like sleeping

➳ So instead you whispered Akaashi's name and gestured for him to come closer after you two were ready to lay down on the futon

➳ “What is it, L/N?”

➳ He came closer to you but was surprised when you suddenly pulled the collar of his shirt and tiptoed just enough to reach his face before planting a kiss on his lips

➳ The kiss smelled and tasted a bit like mint, since you two just brushed your teeth and all, but you honestly weren't complaining at all. It was refreshing 

➳ Right after you parted your lips, you tried to look at him straight in the eyes (keyword: tried) and explained your actions

➳ “S-sorry I suddenly snapped the pocky….it was an accident...well, kind of. Besides that, I wanted our first kiss to be special so uhm…”

➳ Akaashi understood your intention now and he couldn't help but to give a soft chuckle at your flustered self

➳ “W-what's so funny??”

➳ “Nothing, it's just…..you were too cute so…”

➳ You silently screamed at him and lightly punched his arm as he continued chuckling. The both of you were still careful so as to not make any noise and wake up the others though

➳ (Kind of useless though since they were just pretending to sleep and already witnessed your lovey-dovey couple moments)

↬ Yaku Morisuke

『Tsubu Tsubu Strawberry flavoured Heart Shaped Pocky』

➳ It all started with a stupid dare by Kuroo 

➳ Of course, how could you chicken out and refuse if that was the case?

➳ Apparently, Kuroo’s older sister bought too many boxes of pocky and gave him some. He thought of sharing them with the team and brought them to school

➳ After practice was done, however, he got a brilliant idea

➳ He distributed the boxes to everyone but when he got to you, he got a different way to give them

➳ “Here you go, Y/N. A heart shaped pocky, special just for you, the manager. Tsubu tsubu strawberry flavoured.”

➳ “Oh, I’ve seen this type of pocky on the internet before. They look so cute! But I didn’t manage to find them anywhere. Thanks--”

➳ Just as you were about to take the box from him, he retreated back his hand and held the box higher and out of reach from you 

➳ You looked at him with visible confusion, and he smirked down at you

➳ “Well, this is a special type of pocky you know? It feels like a waste to just give it to you like that.”

➳ “Didn’t you say that I got the special one because I’m the manager?”

➳ You’re starting to get annoyed at his attitude but you tried to cover it up with a forced smile

➳ “Still, this is the only heart shaped pocky I got from my sister…..Hmmm what should I do~?”

➳ You tried to grab the box from him, but he only held the box higher and on top of that, used his other hand to push your face away from him

➳ You finally ran out of patience and started to go full on feral mode at him

➳ “KUROO TETSUROU JUST GIVE ME THE DAMN POCKY!!”

➳ This is why no one messed with you regarding the subject of candies and sweets

➳ It was quite a scene, and Kai had to step in to ease the fight

➳ Kuroo finally lowered his arms and you took that as an opportunity to snatch the pocky box 

➳ But he used the same trick again and moved his arms away before you could reach it

➳ “I’ll give you the pocky, under one condition.”

➳ You looked at him with extreme irritation. His name’s going to be in your blacklist for sure now

➳ “What?” You said, rather begrudgingly.

➳ Kuroo smirked in victory. He turned away from you and faced the direction Yaku was in.

➳ “Yakkun! Come here for a sec!”

➳ Your heart literally jumped out of your chest at that moment. Kuroo’s planning something, and whatever it was, you’re not gonna like it

➳ “So here’s the thing. I’ll give you the pocky, but only after you complete a pocky game, with Yakkun. How’s that?”

➳ Your face turned dark red at his proposal. 

➳ “Are you crazy?! There’s no way I’ll do that!”

➳ You whisper yelled at him so as to not raise any suspicion from Yaku.

➳ “And why won’t you, hmm?”

➳ Seeing his teasing grin and narrowed eyes, you knew at that moment, that Kuroo knew of your crush on Yaku. 

➳ “W-what-- how do you--? Don’t tell me you knew?” 

➳ “Knew what? Are you hiding something perhaps?”

➳ You gritted your teeth in frustration. Oh, he knew alright. And he’s gonna pretend as if he doesn’t

➳ “Whatever, and why should I even do this?”

➳ “To get your desired special heart shaped tsubu tsubu strawberry flavoured pocky?”

➳ Phew that was a mouthful

➳ He swung the pocky box in front of you, tempting you even more

➳ Just as you were about to agree to play the game, a realization struck you

➳ “Ha! Nice try there, Kuroo. What makes you think Yaku would even want to play this game with me?”

➳ “Play what game?” 

➳ You literally jumped from your position in shock when Yaku’s voice suddenly came up behind you, earning a snicker from Kuroo

➳ “I dared Y/N to play a pocky game with you, and if they did, they’ll receive this special pocky as a prize.”

➳ You internally screamed and tried to keep yourself from murdering this rooster head but Yaku’s unexpected reaction made you forget about the murderous instinct for a moment

➳ “Oh, okay. Sure, let’s play it then.”

➳ “W-wait, are you really, REALLY sure you wanna play it with me??”

➳ “I don’t see anything wrong with that. Besides, you’ve helped us -me especially- a lot by being our manager already. Helping you with something this trivial is the least I can do.”

➳ You tried to hide the blush that was creeping up your face and Kuroo, noticing your heating face immediately nudged your arm while displaying a much wider grin than before

➳ You excused yourself for a moment and took out your phone before googling “Can you stay friends with someone you just kissed?” in the case of you two kissing after the pocky game

➳ “Well then, here you go. I’ll give you mine since I still have some more at home.”

➳ Yaku took the box of pocky from Kuroo after he fished it out from his bag and opened the packaging. He took one out and bit the end without the coating

➳ Noticing that Yaku's ready for the game, you put back your phone inside your uniform pocket. You gulped once and tried to calm your nerves as you moved closer to him to bite your side of the pocky

➳ When you scooted closer to him however, he didn’t notice your presence until you were directly in front of him and biting the pocky with a heavy blush on your face

➳ Yaku stared at you with his wide, brown eyes for a moment before snapping the pocky into two out of reflex and fell on his back

➳ All of the others stared in shock at Yaku who’s now on the floor, covering his face with one hand. It was pretty obvious that he was blushing, even if he tried to hide it. His reddening ears gave it all away

➳ “Yaku, what’s wrong?”

➳ Kai was the first to break the silence. You were still shocked at his overreaction so you were just standing there with the half broken piece of pocky still in your mouth

➳ “Wait--I-- I just--- Uhm--- I thought we were playing a pocky game???”

➳ You had probably never seen Yaku this flustered before in your entire life. It was certainly a sight to see, but it just made your blush grew darker on your face

➳ “And you were….Wait, don’t tell me, you don’t know how a pocky game works?”

➳ Kuroo guessed with a snap of his fingers, as if he just made a great discovery

➳ “Don’t each person just take a pocky for themselves and it’s a game where you compete on who can finish their pocky first?”

➳ Kuroo covered his mouth to prevent any laugh from escaping and your soul had probably left your body at this point. The second-hand embarrassment you were feeling was no joke

➳ Kuroo tried to explain the rules of the game to Yaku, which just ended up making the libero blush even harder than before

➳ “Who even invented this game….”

➳ He whispered underneath his breath after Kuroo’s explanation. He looked at you who were surrounded by the first years poking their fingers at your arms and asking, “Are they dead?” with a troubled sigh

➳ “Okay….let’s do this again.”

➳ He finally got up and took out another pocky stick. Your soul finally returned to your body when he was in front of you and holding out the pocky with his mouth 

➳ “It’s okay if you don’t want to do it, Yaku! I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable or anything….”

➳ Yaku silenced you by grabbing both your shoulders firmly, but not so much with force, as if he’s treating a fragile thing

➳ “It’s okay. I really don’t mind if I’m playing this... with you.”

➳ You bit the other side of the pocky and tried to focus on eating without thinking too much on what he just said, which just ended up in a total failure by the way

➳ The both of you went on a steady pace but when you finally almost reached the middle of the pocky, you both simultaneously stopped and stared down awkwardly, trying to avoid eye contact with one another

➳ Many thoughts ran through the both of your heads, and all of it were more or less the same

➳ “What if I accidentally kissed him/them? He/they probably wouldn’t like that….”

➳ “He/they would probably even hate me if that happened…..”

➳ After several seconds had passed, you two finally decided to continue biting on the pocky. And simultaneously once again, might I add

➳ This just resulted in the both of your lips to brush against one another in the end, and you swore your heart just escaped from your chest when you felt the sensation of Yaku’s lips brushing against yours

➳ You and Yaku both moved and turned away from one another, too embarrassed to face the other

➳ “Well, you’ve cleared the dare, so here’s your prize.”

➳ Kuroo casually put the box of pocky on top of your head and left the gym to head back home, followed by the others, intentionally leaving you and Yaku alone in the gym

➳ Okay, maybe you can at least lift Kuroo’s name from your blacklist after this. After all, he did help you get closer to your crush…..kinda

[literaila]

which of your fics?

i got tagged by @bitchyreid​ @goldentournesol​ @prettyboy-reid​

thank you for tagging me! sorry its taken me a minute 

Which of your fics... 

...got a better reaction than you expected? 

flick flick burn actually.. i was trying to blow through this request (i know im sorry!!!!) because i wanted to get through to another one and.... something good just came out of it. it was my first big fic and everyone really seemed to love it. it put me in kind of a ‘praise’ high for a couple of days so that was nice :D

..did you think would get a bigger reaction/audience than it got? 

all of my series really.. but remember me? definetly because it was actually really fun to write and i just figured it would be one of those adventures people would stay interested in... but it was a very slow start so 

...is your funniest? 

i think its probably we dont wake up enough just because its super short and sweet and its about not wanting to get up in the morning sooo... 

...is your darkest or angstiest? 

umm... probably hand me the heartbreak because its really sad... and it definetly took some of my energy out of my soul for a while.. 

oh! oh! i forgot about these memories live with me ! that one is so sad, its so very sad, but I LOVE THE WAY I WROTE IT OH MY GOSH i completely forgot about it! 

..is your absolute favorite? 

i think right now its this vast empty space because i really like the way i wrote it, and i kinda forgot about it for a while so i’m reintroducing myself to it! or these memories live with me if my previous answer tells you anything.. 

..is your least favorite? 

pretty much any of my recents.. definetly sweet sweet relief because i just feel like its so dumb and i totally messed up that request big time. 

...was the easiest to write? 

probably one two three peek because it was super short and i knew what was going to happen and there was nothing big i had to include so... very nice and simple 

....was the hardest to write? 

literally any of the fics based off of episodes.. it takes me so long to figure out what actually happened in the episode not just based off my memory.. i look up scripts online just so i know how everyone is feeling. but tear me apart was suuuper hard because i had to add in a whole different plot including the one that was already in there and phew.. im stressed just thinking about it 

...has your favorite lines/ exhange/ paragraph... 

hmm... i write a lot of overwhelming things... but i definetly think this section from flick flick burn illistrates the turmoil in her head.. and really my entire style 

“She paused. She paused because she didn’t know what to say, didn’t understand why it hurt her so much to talk to him, didn’t understand why she couldn’t just say the words, why it was so difficult for her to tell him, she didn’t understand why she was talking at all.

She didn’t understand why she was burning alive.

She heard Spencer say something behind her. Something that sounded like encouragement to go on. She didn’t realize that he was standing in front of her, she didn’t look up to see him, he was standing in front of her, staring at her, wondering what was wrong.

“You were looking at her,” flick “looking at her.” higher “like you look.” and “like you look at me.” higher.

The fire had reached her brain, had scarred her entire body, had devoured her whole, had left her with no mercy.

Burn, baby, burn.”

...have you reread the most? 

probably flick flick burn (again) because i was obsessed with it when it came out and there was so many typos i had to go fix.. and thats the one i shared with my family (with some edits) 

...would you recommend to someone reading your work for the first time? 

definetly flick flick burn.. and maybe one two three peek because those fics show two completely different sides of me and give a big insight into how i like to write 

...are you most proud of? 

actually.. space. its not my best fic but because that was my first ever fic on here. and immedietly everyone loved it. it was an amazing confidence boost and really led me back into writing which is something i’d been struggling with for years. so yeah. starting to write again was a huge milestone, and im so thankful to everyone who convinced me to continue  

and ive got no one to tag :D