#the classmate would probably leave the third day like ‘I am a changed person. I can never go back to not knowing so much about this person.’

[plaid-maniac]

Do you ever think about how there totally could have been an old classmate of Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth in the audience during like turnabout sister or turnabout samurai. Do you think they would realize? Like “hey, were those the guys in my class in like fourth grade? I kinda remember them. Wonder if they remember each other. But it was so long ago, I doubt they would even care.” Meanwhile Edgeworth and Phoenix are undergoing the most insane mental battles where both of them are going “I recognize my best friend across the courtroom and I desperately want to be close with them again.” And “god he is so god damn annoying I wish he would die already.”

[gurilihi]

Michael Afton x fem!Reader

Hey there guys! This is my first ever fanfiction I published somewhere, so don't expect too much, but I had this idea for a while and the guts to share it. Keep in mind that english isn't my native language, so sincerest apologies for any grammar or spelling mistakes (althought I reread it a thousand time)

Written in 3rd pov, texts are in Michael's pov

Word count: ~4500

Warning: reader described as female, she/her pronouns used, slight angst by the end, cursing, reader has some piercings (😏) (sorry for anyone who doesn't), underage drinking, other than that wholesome fluff and crack /I apologise if I missed something/

I have some ideas so if you'd like a part two, or maybe even make this into a fluffy series then let me know!

Hope you enjoy! <3

"I'm leaving!" Y/n shouted back to her mom, who was also getting ready to leave for work. She shut the door behind herself, starting the 20 minute walk to the city's attraction, Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex, owned by the one and only William Afton and Henry Emily. 'Why am I doing this again?' she tought to herself as she neared the doors, showing her ID to the security guard and entering after he nodded and opened the doors for her, saying a quick 'Have a nice shift, kiddo', then letting go of the automatic door. She went straight to the owner's office, hoping for instructions. She knocked, hearing a quiet 'Come in' and stepping in the office, getting face to face with the infamous Mr. Afton. "Good morning Mr. Afton. I'm here for the summer job we've talked about." She stepped closer as the purple suited man stood up from his desk.

"Ah, yes. Y/n Wenner, I assume? Let me show you arround and tell you what your job is going to be." He said, a friendly smile plastered on his face as he walked towards the girl, placing his hand on her upper back and leading her out of the office and around the building. "So if I'm not wrong, you know my son." He glanced at the girl, raising one of his eyebrows in a questioning manner.

"Michael? Oh yeah, we're classmates but we don't talk that much." She lied, hoping to get away without further questioning.

"Is that so? That's unfortunate. I'm sure you two would get along well." He offered as they stopped in front a restaurant on the third floor. Oh, if only he knew."Well, we're here. You're going to be taking the orders of the guests and serving them if needed. Noel will give you further instructions and your uniform." She nodded as a man, possibly in his late 20's, walked out of El Chip's. "That's it for now. If you have any questions or problems, you're welcome in my office anytime." And with that, he walked away, probably going back to whatever he was doing before. Y/n turned to Noel, who welcomed her with a slight smile.

"Well, welcome to the Pizzaplex. Here's your uniform-" He handed her a black bottom-up, the facility's name embroided on it in neon colors and black suit pants with a black belt. "and you can change in the back in the staff room and also put your stuff down there. Here's a key." She nodded, taking the key and mumbling a 'Thanks' before disappearing into the staff rooms.

The first day wasn't as bad as she expected it to be. She only had one Karen to deal with, regardless of the size and popularity of the building. She'll only have to work as a waitress in the first two weeks, as William told her. When she arrived home, she went straight for the bathroom, showering, then laying down on her bed, trying to get some sleep before her next shift.

Next day, same rutine, same building, same door, same security guard. Same uniform, cleaning everything until it was spotless before opening and serving costumers. Repeating it over and over again. She mentally prepared herself for the costumer as she walked out from her break, tying her hair up. She walked up to the booth where two smaller kids were sitting, another person -probably their dad or older brother- sitting opposite of them, his back facing Y/n as she neared the table. She turned so she could look at all of them, forcing a smile on her face which almost got wiped off when she faced the kids' brother.

"Hi, welcome to El Chip's, what can I get for you?" She said how she usually did, not letting the surprise show in her voice. I mean- it is their dad's place aftet all. Michael looked up at Y/n and seemed to think for a moment before looking her up and down.

"What are you doing here?"

"Summer job. It pays well. But not for chit-chat, so may I get your order?" She clicked on her pen, taking the little notebook from her pocket and flipping a page, waiting patiently, just as Noel teached her. Michael looked back down at his siblings expectingly, but not getting an answer as they only stared up at Y/n.

"Evan? Lizzy? Are you listening?"

"Mikey, she has rings in her mouth!" Elizabeth pointed up at the snake bites piercings in the teenage girl's lips, turning to his older brother and bouncing a little in her seat. "Like you!"

"Yes, now- you know what, we'll just take..." he glanced at the menu. "Two kid's menus with ketchup and a medium grilled cheese salad with extra barbeque." He held his forehead and sighed.

"-Extra barbeque... Noted. Any drinks?"

"No, thanks." He waved her off.

"Okay. I'll be right back." She wavered off, going in the kitchen area and telling the order to a cook-bot. Michael stared at her as she walked to another table with a family of six, noticing the annoyed expression on her face before repainting it for a smile. He placed his head in the palm of his hand, his elbow keeping it up as he observed the girl.

"Mikey?" Came the small voice of his little brother. He sighed, turning to Evan, who was squeezing the life out of his fredbear plush, only humming back in a questioning way. "Who is she?"

"Yeah, Mikey, who is she? You seem to like her!" Michael's eyes widened as he immediately shushed his sister, looking around if the girl in question heard it.

"Can you two please keep it down?!" He wisper-shouted at them, leaning over the table a little. "She's just one of my classmates, and no, I don't like her like that!"

"But you mentioned a girl to Dad before."

"Yes, because we worked on a group project together with others and hung out once or twice with the group, but nothing more!" Evan and Elizabeth remained silent after that, patiently waiting for their food to arrive, while Michael scribbled on a piece of paper, glancing up from time to time at the girl speedwalking between tables. He quickly looked back down at his paper and put it away when he noticed the girl walking back to their table with all four plates stacked on her arms, holding the little freddy charms in her right hand before handing one to each kid.

"Two kids' menus with ketchup and a medium grilled cheese salad with extra barbeque sause."

"Yes, thank you." He glanced at his siblings expectingly before clearing his throat. They snapped their heads up before smiling up at Y/n.

"Thank you!" They said at the same time.

"Good. Now eat before Monty gets here and eats you instead!" He made a roaring sound in the direction of poor Evan, who digged his face in his plush. Lizzy just shook her head and turned to the older girl.

"Boys will be boys." Y/n chuckled at the little girl's humor, patting her head.

"You couldn't be more right." She smiled, turning to Micheal, who was messing up his little brother's hair. "Bon Appetit! And just call if you want something." And with that she walked away, grabbing more plates and placing it on the right tables. The kids started eating, but Michael took out his phone, reading the messages his friends sent in the groupchat.

"Who are you talking to?" Michael didn't answer his sister, just put his phone away and started eating.

Before Y/n could've known, she was already getting ready to head home on Friday and go to the party.

"Bye Noel! I'm going home!" She shouted as she headed out of the staff room.

"Bye kiddo! Have a nice weekend!" He waved at her as all the cook-bots looked up from what they were doing, all of them saying a quick "Bye Y/n" in uninion, which earned a slight giggle and a wave back from the girl. On her way out she ran into Foxy as usual, giving him a high-five and a friendly smile. Pirate Cove was always one of her favourite things in the Freddy Fazbear foodchain, aspecially since there usually wasn't many, if any children running around the enthusiastic fox animatronic. While she walked she messaged the groupchat, saying that she got off her shift and asking what the address was again, which turned out to only be one of her friends' house. When she got home, she immediately ran up to her room to change, packing only the neccesary things in her little backpack, quitely slipping in a bottle of vodka next to her phone's charger, change of clothes, pajamas appaerently as it was aquired by Jeremy, and wallet.

"I'm leaving and I'm taking my motor!" She shouted at her mom, closing the door after grabbing her motor's key. She went in their garage, taking her helmet and pushing the motorbike out, closing the garage and hopping on the vehicle, speeding off to her friend's house. When she arrived at the large house, she leaned the motor to the wall, ringing the bell. Jeremy opened the door after a minute. He was holding his phone in his other hand, an annoyed expression darking his face. "'Sup! What's with the sour face?"

"Greetings, Y/n. Mike just messaged me his car broke down, so he has to walk."

"Ask him where's he. I'll pick him up. Do you have a spare helmet?" Jeremy shoke his bead as he looked down at his phone, typing a text. "Then he'll use mine. Did he answer?" Jess and Oliver came down the stares, standing behind Jack. "Hey Ols, Hi Jess!" She waved at the pare.

"He's at the city courthouse. I told him to wait there, we're coming to get him."

"And by we, you mean me." Y/n glared and the shorter boy.

"Of course, you two have to confess your love sometime." He turned around, slamming the door after saying a quick "drive safe".

"Fucking srimp." She turned around starting back up her bike and driving off to the courthouse. It was a 15 minute drive and when she slowed down in front of the bulding, she saw Michael's figure sitting down on the staires. She stopped in front of him on the road, taking off her helmet. "Hop on whimp, they're waiting for us." He looked up, placing his phone in his bag and standing up.

"So this is what Jeremy meant by "we"." He stopped in front of the girl, not yet taking the helmet she was offering.

"Yeah, get on with it if you don't want to walk." She streched out her arm more, gesturing for him to finally take the helmet.

"Where's yours?"

"I only have one and passenger safety first, so will you stop whining and take the fucking helmet before I leave you here?" He huffed, accepting it and following her in sitting on.

"Since when do you have a motorbike anyway?"

"God, you do not stop asking questions, do you?" She started the bike, already driving back to the house. "Hold on to something. I wouldn't want a pretty boy like you to fell off."

"I might well just say that it's hot that you ride a bike if we're here." He smirked, carefully placing his hands right above her waist, trying not to invade her space too much.

"I'd say that it's not the only thing that I'm riding, but that would be lie." She bickered back when they stopped at a red light.

"We could change that." He slid his hands a bit lower, testing the waters. "You just have to say so, princess."

"Keep your hands and cheesy nicknames for yourself for now." She rolled her eyes, just as a car rolled up next to them, a young looking male rolling down the window and shamelessly staring at Y/n. Michael turned his head in the man's direction, squeezing her waist a little in a warning manner. She looked back at her passenger before following his gaze. Just as she looked at the car's rolled down window, the driver whistled.

"Hey there, doll. How about you drop that asshole down and pull over to give me your number?" She rolled her eyes, preparing to speed away from the catcaller.

"That asshole is my brother and the only number you'll be getting from me is thr number on your hospital bills if you don't shut up, bitch." She flipped him off and looked both way before continuing to drive.

"Why did you say I was your brother?" Michael asked after a minute of deafening silence between them.

"If I said you were my boyfriend he wouldn't have left us alone and we would be followed still. Catcallers tend to be more scared of a brother than a boyfriend. But your surprised face probably bailed on us." She chuckled, slowing as they entered the familiar neighbourhood.

"How many times do you get catcalled on a regular day?" He asked coutiously, softening on his grip.

"When I dress casually then usually zero. Revealing clothes are a bit different though but it still depends of what type of a guy I'm passing by." She explained. The boy behind her nodded, thinking a little.

"What type of guy I am?"

"That's a thing only you know." She stopped the vehicle, letting Mike get off first, then herself before turning to him. "But if you ask for my opinion, then I'm honest when I say that you look like a dick at first sigh, but I trust you to walk with you in a dark alleyway at night and dress like a slut and I wouldn't get called out on it or stared at one bit." She ran her fingers through her hair. "You're a nice guy Mike, any girl would be lucky to have a respectful partner like you." She smiled up at him, then walked to the door. Michael was just standing there, eyes wide and his cheeks reddening. He shook the strange feeling off, trying to slow down his pounding heart and followed her in the house. "We're back!"

"Good God, I thought you two pulled over to fuck or something. What took so long?" George shufled out of the kitchen, holding a bowl of chips. Y/n grimaced, taking a piece of the snack.

"We thought about it but we came to the conclusion that Jeremy's bed is probably confier." Michael shrugged, taking the house keys. "I'll go, put your bike in the garage."

"Thanks." George waited until the tall boy shut the door before elbowing the girl in her ribs.

"So? How was the ride?" She shrugged, searching the kitchen cabinets.

"We ran into a douchebag."

"Oooooh. Did he protect you?"

"Didn't need much protection." George hummed, eating more of the chips.

"I heard your little confession outside."

"It was hardly a confession. I just said he's nice and I trust him."

"And that any girl would be lucky to have him as a boyfriend." She blushed a little, giving up on finding more snacks, searching for cider instead. "I'm just saying that I see him eyeing you all the time. You two seriously need to talk a little heart to heart. Let yourself flow with the tides. You're basically a couple now, just didn't confess your feelings."

"I don't know George. He doesn't seem that interested in me. And even if he would like me, he deserves someone better anyway." The girl looked to the side, holding a twelve pack Summersby.

"For fuck's sake, there's noone better for him than you! You have so much similarities, same interests, trust, everything he needs and wants is in you!" They snapped their head in the direction of the stairs, looking at Matt who walked down.

"Where's that fucking bowl of chips, Geor- oh, welcome back. Looks like the lovebirds arrived. C'mon, we were about to start without you." Everyone walked up and into Jeremy's bedroom, Y/n placing the drinks down in the middle of the circle they sat down in.

"And I brought a spare bottle of vodka."

"Nice, can we start now?" Jeremy looked around, everyone nodding or shrugging. "Nice. But with what though?"

"Spin the bottle is unnecessary as we're by ourselves, so I suggest truth or dare." Jess stated, opening a bottle of cider.

"I wanna start." Oliver copied Jess' actions, looking around as he took a sip. "Jeremy."

"Ok, so now we know that Mike is afraid of fucking foxes, Oliver is an ex Dream SMP fan, Jess would fuck anybody, George plays Roblox in his free time, Y/n has her nipples pierced and Matt can play the flute. And I thought we knew everything about eachother." Jeremy fake sniffled. "But it's time we spice things up ladies and gentleman, so the girls can go to the bathroom to change." He pushed the girls out with her bags and shut the door behind them.

"I start to think that this was just an excuse so they could jack off." Jess laughed, taking her pajamas out of her bag, Y/n doing the same as she scoffed. "Ok I have to ask this. Do you really have nipple piercings?"

"Yeah." She answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Are they healed?"

"I got them after my 16th birthday, so yeah, pretty much."

"I dare you to not wear a bra under that shirt." Jess smirked after she pulled up her pants. Y/n froze, slowly turning her head in her best friend's direction.

"Are you nuts?!

"Yeah, but HE's in there and you're super hot, so why not. And it's not like it's cold or something." The black haired girl thought for a second before turning her back to Jess and clipping off her bra, throwing it in her bag and pulling the oversized shirt over her head.

"There. Are you happy?"

"Yeah, and he will be too." Jess opened the door, stepping outside.

"I hate you so much." Y/n muttered, crossing her arms in front of her chest before they stepped back inside Jeremy's room. They boys were discussing something, all of them sitting in shorts and a shirt or tank top as they turned their heads towards the girls. Y/n hopped down between Matt and Oliver, Jess sitting on the other side of Jeremy, next to George.

"You're back. I thought you guys were gonna take a year." Matt commented, taking a sip of his drink.

"I'm sick of those type of girls, you know that."

"Can we continue? It's my turn." Oliver complained.

"Yeah, sure whatever."

"Mike." Oliver smirked, glancing at the three other boys who mirrored his expression.

"And you can't say truth, because you choose that for the last two rounds."

"Then why even ask? Just spit it out." He glared at the blond.

"I dare you to go to the other bedroom with Y/n. For at least fifteen minutes." The mentioned girl almost spat her drink out, founding herself in a coughing fit after.

"Why am I involved in this shit again?" She managed to croak out. "It's his dare, not mine!"

"Because I said so. Now go! The earlier you start you earlier you can get out." Oliver pulled her up and pushed her in the direction of the guest bedroom, Mike standing up on his own and following them after giving a death glare to Jeremy, George and Matt. "And try to be quiet!" And with that he shut the door behind them. Y/n sighed, hopping on the bed and crossing her legs, Michael sitting down on the other end of the bed.

"I might as well ask if we're here." He whispered after a long minute of silence. "Did you mean it? What you said outside?" Clare hugged her legs to her body, resting her chin on her knees.

"Yeah... I never really experienced real love and friendship until now, and you guys are very important to me, however weak that may sound. And I want you to be happy, whatever it takes."

"It doesn't make you weak, but an awesome friend."

"Mmmh."

"I also heard your conversation dowstairs with George." Y/n froze, her heart speeding up as slight blush covered her cheeks. "I don't know who you were talking about, but believe me when I say that guy is lucky as fuck. To have you fallen so much head over heels for him that you think you're less than perfect. And he's an idiot if he doesn't see it and not appreciate you for even a second."

"It's funny." Y/n chuckled, tears starting to cloud her vision.

"What?"

"You trashtalking yourself." Mike's heart skipped a beat as he stared in front of him with wide eyes. Y/n gasped, starting to get off the bed and wiping the tears. "Fuck, sorry, I'm gonna go." She ran out the door, the others snapping their heads at the harsh sound.

"No, wait, fuck. Y/n, come back!" Mike stood up, starting to step after the girl, but he was stopped by Jess running after her. The boys stood in front of Mike with a worried expression.

"How did you fuck up this time?"

"I didn't! She just didn't give me any time to answer before she ran out." The boys were silent as they looked at eachother with furrowed eyebrows.

"Answer to what?"

"Y/n? Y/n?!" Jess shouted after her as the black haired girl ran under the stairs and sat down, pulling her knees close. "Y/n?" She asked again softly as she searched for her. She finally walked to the stairs, looking under after she heard Y/n's muffled sniffles. She frowned at the sight of her best friend, mascara running down her red cheeks, her nose rosy and runy, trying to slow down her breathing. "Hey there. Can I sit down, so we can talk about it?" She only nodded as an answer and Jess didn't hasitate crawling next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, letting her sob into her pajama shirt. "What the fuck did he do? Do I need to beat him up?"

"No-no." She forced out after she slowed her breathing. "I was the one who fucked up. He said that he heard my conversation with George and said whoever the guy is we were talking, he's very lucky and an idiot if he doesn't see how much he means to me and I said that it's funny that he's trashtalking himself."

"And what did he answer to that?"

"I didn't let him. I told him and now we can never be the same. He probably dispises me if not hates me, he'll tell his dad and I'll get fired and our friendsgroup's gonna brake because he'll never talk to me again. I'm a failure just like my mother said." She started crying again. "I just- I just hope he'll find the perfect girl he deserves and be happy."

"That's you." Y/n squeezed Jess' arm at the sound of Michael's voice. "And your mother's a bitch for saying things like that to you. You're the kindest, sweetest, strongest, most beautiful and creative person I have ever met. You're not afraid of shit life punches you in the face with. Even after all the crap you've been through, you manage to smile every day, which can light up the whole world. Your laugh is adorable and could melt me on the spot. You bring meaning to my days, a reason to get up and keep going. I'm sorry I didn't answer right away, I was just surprised someone like you could have feelings for me." He stood up from sitting on the stairs, leaning down to look her in the eyes. He offered her a hand, helping her stand. He cupped her rosy cheeks, gentle thumbs wiping away the salty tears running down. "Can I?" He carefully pulled her closer, holding eye contact as she muttered a hazy "yeah", closing his eyes, leaning close, lips ever so softly touching hers. Her hands snaked up to around his neck, melting into the kiss. He grabbed her waist, gently pulling her closer as they forgot everything else existed, only foxusing on eachother, completely blocking out the cheers of their friends. She slowly pulled away, lingering in the feeling of his plump lips against hers, leaning her forehead against his. Y/n sighed, carefully opening her eyes and they met with his, making her dig her face in his shirt, hiding her red cheeks. After giving them a smug side-glance, Jess walked up the stairs, pulling the other four with her.

"C'mon guys, we gotta leave them alone for a bit. Let them have their moment." She whispered, tiptoeing back up to her twin brother's room.

"But I wanna hear what they talk about." George whined, pulling his wrist away from the girl's grip.

"Knowing Mike there won't be too much talking." Matt muttered, turning his head away to try and muffle his snicker.

"I meant every word I said, y'know." He whispered, comfortingly sliding his hand up and down her back slowly while staring at the wall over her head. "I know we haven't known eachother well for that long, and feel free to tell me to shut up if you feel uncomfortable, but god, I don't know what I would do without you. I get butterflies whenever I look at your smile or hear your laugh. You look so beautiful no matter what and I just want to make all your pain and insecurities go away. I could stare at you for hours without a single thought of ever looking away. You are truely entirely perfect in every way. Just the thought of someone else holding your hand like I want twists my heart... You mean a hella lot to me. A reason to keep going, put up with my shitty dad, get out of bed every day." He took a breath, afraid of saying anything else, fearing that his words will bring negative consequences. "What I'm trying to say is... I'm in love with you."There was a moment of silence before he felt her squeeze him thighter.

"I think I'm in love with you too. So fucking much."

If I made any mistakes, let me know! Hope you enjoyed anyway and have a wonderful rest of your day! <3

If there will be a part two and you'd like to added to the taglist, message me

[amphibeans]

October 8 - laid-back

October's leaves are starting to fall, the days become shorter, darker, and more spooky this time round. And this will reflect into the writing. Welcome to another blog of mine, this one is one of the more personal ones I have written. No pictures this time, I want to be real for a moment. So, I suggest preparing yourself before reading this, because I go into a lot of heavy topics in this post. Got it? Perfect, have fun reading.

On my own again

The biggest news I got this week and probably this year was that my only classmate I have in science has decided to not follow the lessons anymore due to personal reasons. I won't go into much detail what these reasons are. This news hit kinda hard with me, because that classmate of mine didn't seem like they had issues with the thing that led them to drop out.

So from now on I'm on my own most of the time in class, luckily not all the time but atleast two thirds of it I am. It felt weird at first, since I knew that all the responsibilty of talking to the teacher and answering their questions to exercises was now in my hands. But at the same time it felt normal, since the times that my classmate wasn't here, I did the same thing. But now with this new knowledge, it changed a whole perspective in me.

This moment led me to think like I usually do about something that I learned from, this time it was about feeling lonely and being on your own. I myself have had these feelings of loneliness before, long times of talking to people and losing contact with them, and they never felt so strong after I broke up with my boyfriend. Being now more accustomed to it, the realization of getting to do a school year mostly on your own didn't hit as hard as it usually does for me. Constant exposure to a certain feeling has led me to not feeling anything about it anymore, just a cold broken heart if you will.

As someone who is introverted, I've told people about how I feel lonely even though I don't like contact with people. Most of my newer friendships have happened online, and with some counter movement against it (mostly from my parents who haven't grown up in such an environment). I myself struggle with keeping real life friendships afloat, but this buoy seems lifted if it all happens through a screen. It might seem dystopian thinking this way, but it has had tons of positive effect on me in the last years.

If you ever feel lonely, you're never alone. There will always be someone who cares about you, and loves you, and appreciates you. If you have the courage to talk to them, I highly recommend doing so. They might have the same feelings as you can have, and therefore it's a win-win for you both.

Dreaming about bigger things

That was a lot to pack in, so now I'm gonna talk about something more upbeat. And that has all to do about dreams.

If I could explain my dreams concretely, I would not be able to give a proper answer or give it justice. They are very abstract with a lot of things always happening in them. Sometimes they feature people, other times they don't feature people at all and it's just shapes, sometimes they go beyond the supernatural. It's a mess, and I have been thinking of saving them after hearing a friend does this as well. Perhaps I'll do it one day.

Dreams can be very fun, but of course nightmares exist too. One moment where they can get really spooky and sometimes go on the border of hallucinations is when I have a migraine. I wanted to be more upbeat about this section so I'm not gonna go into detail what they contain.

Anyhow, this section is dedicated to those dreams that begin to shape a career or story in an individual, and sometimes even makes them legends in the process. A great example of this is the dreams Kendrick Lamar had of another rapper 2Pac; and which let him to create his now classic album To Pimp a Butterfly centered around that story.

A recent dream I had had is meeting Adrianne Lenker from the band Big Thief, whose album songs I recently listened to. In the music she made she seemed a kind soul, and I filled the gap this way by thinking she was the same in real life. We held a great conversation, and she gave me a ton of music advice. I still think about that dream, and it inspired me to perhaps send some demos to the label she is signed to. So just like Kendrick, this might become something big for myself. Perhaps a dream you're having might influence your life later on.

My point with all of this is is that the concept of thinking about your future career points through the act of dreaming can be very important to shape. The reason I started doing this blog was through the act of dreaming it and having a vision for it. Of course, nothing is 100% how I wanted it to be, but the core values are still there. Your visions shouldn't be perfect, but if their main point gets across that's more than enough to strife for.

What are some dreams you might be having recently? Try tapping into them, perhaps they might give you meaningful information about yourself.

How you're seen

One thing that has always been fascinating in people is the way we present ourselves in front of others, and how we adapt to certain people.

At school, I'm a different type of me than I am in my music, or at a party, or at my volunteer work, or online. They're all different personas: they all act different, they sometimes even speak another language that differs from them. But in total, they are still all a part of me, my identity as a whole.

When I always meet people and get to know them more, I try to tap into their own personal feelings to try and understand them more. This makes me so linked to people and why I always feel sad when we don't talk anymore. All my friends are a part of me, and losing a piece of them is for me losing a bond. Through the years I got to learn from it, but it's still a character trait that runs deep through me.

Which comes back to my classmate, because their persona was shown to be different depending on school and not-school. They present themselves as kind, well-spirited, happy, and loving life, but to see them be slightly different from that is what made me think about the way we present ourselves.

Perhaps you struggle with trying to please people like I do, and presenting yourself differently than you really want to. We tell ourselves that being yourself is part of a happy and prospering life, but as with many life lessons we encounter problems in them. We are complex creatures, and our philosophical language keeps evolving with time. So finding a way to be ourselves is tricky, and there might as well never be a proper and well-rounded solution to the question of "Am I being myself?"

One thing you should not be afraid of is thinking you are not you. One time a friend of mine told me they worried about presenting themselves to other people, but that was a non-issue to them now. The solution they came up with is that it's their life and we can do whatever we want to do. And when I knew about this, doors started opening up for me.

The last two paragraphs might seem contradictory to each other. At the one hand there isn't a proper way to be yourself because of our complexity, but at the other hand it's what we decide is good for us that makes us unique. In the end it's for you to decide these rulings, and if it seems like you struggle to find who you really am, the mid-point might well be to be less harsh on your definition of being yourself.

Routines update

Two weeks ago I told you about a way to get your best routine by trying out different routines and seeing which ones feel best to you. I told then that I would do the same thing I gave as advice, and I tried my best to keep up with that promise.

I have tried many ways to get on with the day. One of the most prominent ones I did even before starting with giving this advice is studying at school instead of at home, and this routine has worked marvelously; I feel more productive in working on something than I did at home. However, there are of course the caveats where change has been slow and not well thought out.

One of these things I still struggle with is the way I wake up and go to sleep. I usually wake up at 6 AM every day except on weekends and go to sleep at around 11 PM, which for my age is too little sleep, and my body can feel that sometimes. Days to me are working phases: I need to do work without many breaks in a continuous fashion, be that working on music, school, or another of my top secret projects that take years to finish. And while that has worked for a very long time without issue, today that has led to a lot of stress on my part. And I need to work on that a lot.

I tried to work on getting that self-care that I need but unfortunately I haven't had any luck yet. However, what you should not do in a situation where all hope seems lost is to give up. Giving up leads to more problems than it solves them. Keep on trying and sooner or later I will get there. If you feel like you're also stuck somewhere, don't give up. Before you know it, it might be resolved, and sometimes that resolution is at the palm of your hand (quite metaphorically and literally). You got this !!

I hope this situation might paint a good picture into trying to solve a routine issue. I know my writing isn't perfect and mistakes can slip through the cracks, but my main point with this blog is to inspire, not to be a guardian trying to criticize your mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, learning from them and adapting them is part of what makes us human.

Song of the week: ingdyar by Adrianne Lenker and Will Anybody Ever Love Me? by Sufjan Stevens

This week's blog post was more on the rambly side of things, and if some things aren't as clear-cut as they usually are, feel free to message me about it on my Instagram. Critiques help make me fix some mistakes I might have in writing. Thank you for reading. - Acacian

[helliontherapscallion]

Safe

Pairing: SBI family x reader (platonic, one shot), BASED OFF FROM CHARACTERS NOT ACTUAL PEOPLE

Warnings: child abuse/neglect, bullying, alcoholism, death of a parent, mentions of panic attacks, injury, mentions of a dog’s death, mentions of eating disorders, mentions of suicide attempts, depression

Word count: 7,730

(A/N): if you’re not feeling safe at home or are being abused, please contact the proper authorities. Here’s the abuse hotline: 1-800-799-7233, my DMs are always open if you want to talk 

You met Tommy and Tubbo when you were in third grade. You were a relatively quiet kid, the type to always keep to themselves and abstain from social activity. Mrs. Jansen, being the nice woman that she was, let the entire class choose their own seats.

“Welcome to your first day of third grade, class! I’m Mrs. Jansen and I look forward to getting to know all of you. As you can see, there are enough desks for all of you. You may sit with who you want.”

You shifted around uneasily and gripped your book in your hands as your classmates hurried to get the back seats. After every seat was taken, you walked to the only seat left in the front. You were between a girl and a boy. They introduced themselves as Dorothy and Samuel, and were relatively kind to you. 

As the class passed their second week, two boys that sat in the back row made themselves apparent very quickly. They were both rambunctious, always disrupting the class with their giggles and whispers. Mrs. Jansen had warned them multiple times that she was going to separate them, but it seemed that they didn’t think she’d do it. One day, she finally had enough.

“Tommy, Tubbo. I’ve given you plenty of warnings, I’m going to have to separate you. Dorothy, Samuel, can you please switch places with them?”

You could feel dread wash over you. Why was she putting you between them?! What did you do wrong to deserve this? You could swear that you’ve done all your chores, you even made your mom smile at you! She never did that. 

They pouted as they sat next to you, Tommy on your right and Tubbo on your left. You already missed Samuel and Dorothy. “Thank you. (Y/n), make sure they behave.”

You shrunk down into your seat as you felt Tommy’s glare burning holes into the side of your head. Tubbo, on the other hand, was watching the lesson with bored eyes and  his chin propped up in his hand. You tried to take notes, but you kept getting distracted by Tommy’s heated glare. You were going to fall behind, you couldn’t have that. Mama wouldn’t like that. 

After the final bell rang, you hurried out of the classroom to avoid Tommy’s wrath. You could hear him shouting for you to stop, but you never stopped until your hand was grabbed and yanked backwards in the empty playground. You fell back onto the pavement of the basketball court and whimpered at the sting in your palms. 

Tommy glared down at you, “you gonna cry? Serves you right. Never tell on Tubbo and I. Got it?”

You tearfully nodded and he grinned maliciously at you, “good. Tubbo, let’s go. Wil and Tech’s probably waiting for us.”

The brunet was staring at Tommy with a shocked expression, unmoving. Tommy rolled his eyes and huffed before he grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the crowd of families. Tubbo looked back at you with an apologetic expression and watched as you looked at your scratched up palms. 

You wiped at your tears as you stood up and started to walk home. Your neighbor’s dog behind the wired fence barked at you as you hurried past it. You never liked that dog; it was a drooling, angry, ugly furball. It scared you, but not as much as Mama did when she drank her adult juice. She was scary when she drank it. You tried hiding it from her once but she grounded you from eating dinner and snacks for half a month. You didn’t try to hide it again. 

You trudged up the creaky wooden stairs of your porch and tried to open the door only to find it locked. You tried to knock on the door but Mama didn’t answer so you just sat on the front porch waiting for her to open the door. She did so when the sun was setting, surprise and then anger shining through her hazy eyes. She yelled at you before she sent you to your room for the night without dinner.

The next day when you were sitting alone at a lunch table, someone plopped down in the seat next to you. You jumped and scooted away from them, looking up only to see Tubbo. He was smiling at you.

“Hey, I’m really sorry about Tommy, he gets mad easily.”

You eyed him warily and clutched your open book, “...it’s okay.”

He grinned and scooted closer to you, peering over your shoulder at the book. “What’re you reading?”

“‘Harry Potter’.”

“Oh I love that book! My favorite character’s Ron, who’s yours?”

Surprisingly, the conversation was pleasant before he was dragged away by a glaring Tommy. You might actually make a friend after all. Later that day after school, Tommy once again stopped you in the school yard. This time, he shoved you to the ground and started to shout at you. 

“You do not talk to him, freak! You’re gonna mess him up, he talks to me and me only. Do you unde-undastunend?”

You gulped and shakily spoke up, “yes, and it’s ‘understand’, not ‘undastunend’.”

His glare intensified before he reared back a fist. You yelped as you curled into a ball with your hands protecting your head. Before he could hit you, you heard the stomping of shoes against the concrete.

“TOMMY STOP.”

You could feel a hand on your back and a gentle voice asking if you were alright. You hesitated before you looked up to see an older boy with a mop of curly brown hair on his head and wire glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He reminded you of Harry Potter. Looking past him, you saw a tall pink haired boy glaring and lecturing Tommy, holding the struggling boy in place with a firm grip on his elbow. Tubbo was just behind him looking down and shifting on the balls of his feet.

“I am so sorry about Tommy, are you alright? He didn’t hit you did he?”

You shook your head and the boy heaved a sigh of relief, “that’s good. I’m Wilbur and that’s Technoblade, we’re Tommy and Tubbo’s brothers. What’s your name?”

“(Y/n).”

He smiled at you, “that’s a lovely name.”

“Wilbur, let’s go. This one,” Technoblade shook Tommy’s arm, “needs to talk to Dad.”

You watched as Tommy’s movements stopped and he looked up with wide eyes. “No, please don’t tell Dad. Please-” 

Wilbur stood and helped you up before grabbing Tubbo’s hand and lead him away, “you aren’t weaseling your way out of this.”

You watched the brothers leave, feeling guilt wash over you. You didn’t want to get him in trouble, punishments were the absolute worst. Even though he shoved you and almost punched you, he didn’t deserve any punishment. With guilt weighing down on your shoulders, you walked home. At least Mama was in a good mood, she made you some mac n cheese for dinner. 

The next day, Tommy trudged up to your desk and put a tupperware dish on your desk before sitting down in his seat and ignored you. Tubbo sat in his seat next to you and smiled at you.

“Open it,” he jumped in his seat slightly as he watched your expression change to shock. In the container laid five chocolate chip cookies. You had only had cookies once in your life and that was during a class birthday celebration a year ago. “They’re our Dad’s secret recipe, I helped make them! Um, Tommy wanted to apologize to you.”

You glanced at Tommy. He was glancing at you over his shoulder and blushed a bright red when he saw you looking at him. Tubbo cleared his throat and gestured at Tommy. The blond crossed his arms and looked off to the side. “Sorry,” he mumbled halfheartedly. 

After that, they started to sit next to you during lunch. Tommy was a bit cold towards you, but you found yourself beginning to relax around Tubbo’s friendly aura. Soon enough, you started to supply him with more than a few words per sentence. Tommy eventually got bored of eating in silence and would join your conversation. You three became thick as thieves that year, you even met their Dad. He was very different from Mama; he never yelled at you, he was always giving you snacks, and he even smiled at you often. 

That house became like a second home to you. Eventually, you ended up spending more time at the Minecraft residence than you spent at home with your mom. Over the years, she got worse with her drinking. She was always passed out on the couch and when she wasn’t, she was swaying on her feet in the kitchen staring at a portrait with dazed, wistful eyes. You can remember when you first realized that she had a problem and always being unhappy and drunk was, in fact, not normal for a parent. 

It was a warm spring day in seventh grade. Luckily, you had your health class with Tommy and Tubbo. You were currently learning about alcohol dependency and the effects it had on the body. The teacher listed all the symptoms your mom had; the uncontrollable urge to drink, the aggression, the shakiness and dizziness, everything. When you came to the realization that your mother might have a problem, the teacher started to explain the disorders and diseases that could come from heavy drinking, most of them having the potential to be fatal if the drinking persisted. You felt like you were drenched in icy water as your body seized up in fear for your mother. You stared unseeingly at your notebook at the symptoms of alcoholism and associated disorders. You didn’t want your mom to die. You had to do something before it was too late for her.

“(Y/n)?” You jumped and looked at the person who called your name. Tommy and Tubbo were giving you worried stares. “Are you okay?”

You shakily started to put your supplies away into your backpack. The class had been dismissed and you didn’t even realize it. “Y-yeah. It’s just- I’m worried.”

“Yeah, I’m worried too,” Tommy laughed as you followed the two out of the classroom and to the courtyard. “That essay’s gonna be awful.”

“Oh god we have an essay?”

“Yeah, Mr. Smithers assigned it to us before the bell rang, are you sure you’re okay? You’re usually on top of this stuff.” Tubbo threw a worried glance towards you.

“Yeah, just a bit distracted today. I uh, have to go home. Like right now, my mom wants me home right after school today.”

You sprinted off towards your house. When you reached your neighborhood and ran past the wired fence. The bulldog that lived there was now old and gray. You found out that his name was Buster and he was actually a total sweetheart if you slept next to him on the other side of the fence on more than one occasion. Buster watched from inside his doghouse as you sprinted into the house. Luckily for you, the door was unlocked and your mother was passed out on the couch surrounded by glass bottles. You locked the door behind you as you rushed over to her intensely watching for any sign of movement. She looked dead, her skin was pale, her hair matted, and her mouth gaping open showing off her yellow stained teeth. She wasn’t moving, were you too late?

Just as you started to panic, she snorted and started to breathe. You slumped in relief as you stepped over the beer bottles into the kitchen. The table was sparkly clean with a pristine picture frame resting in the middle, a stark contrast of the beer bottles that littered the floor and the piles of dirty dishes in the sink. It was of a man standing stiffly in a military uniform saluting at the camera with a stern expression. He was an exact copy of you. Well, you were an exact copy of him; that man was your late father.

“Hey Dad, how was your day? Mine was awful, I learned about alcoholism and cirrhosis today and- and I’m worried about Mom. She’s been drinking a lot lately.”

You stared at your dad’s face behind the glass as if expecting a response. You wanted some reassurance from the man. You wanted him to tell you everything was going to be okay and that he’d handle it so you could be a normal kid. Like usual, his steely expression didn’t budge one bit. 

You sighed to yourself sadly and trudged to the refrigerator opening the door. The beer bottles stared back at you tauntingly. Your fingers twitched on the fridge door as you contemplated the consequences of throwing away the offending glass bottles. You remembered in second grade when you hid your mother’s alcohol she punished you by withholding food from you. She’d probably do worse this time, but the consequences were worth it if you were going to save your mother’s life. 

It took you ten minutes of tossing alcohol into the garbage can until the fridge was left barren of the drink. Without the green bottles, the fridge was completely empty with the exception of milk and a few probably rotten eggs. You struggled to take the trash out to the curb and started to work on homework in your room. 

At seven at night, you could hear her roll off the couch and stumble into the kitchen. A series of frantic rustling and banging sounded downstairs before you could hear pounding footsteps storm up the stairs. Your door flung open to reveal your red-faced, livid mother. 

“What the fuck did you do?”

“M-mom I hid them because we learned about alcoholism and cirrhosis and-” You cut yourself off when she walked over to you with her arms extended towards your trembling frame. You tried to scoot as far away from her as possible, but she grabbed your shoulders with clammy but firm hands, shaking you roughly.

“Are you saying I have a problem?! You spoiled fucking brat, you’re the problem! Everything was amazing before you came and fucked up my life. You took him away from me. YOU FUCKING KILLED MY HUSBAND.”

You could feel tears start to drip down your cheeks as you remembered that day in first grade when you begged your dad to get you some McDonalds for dinner. When he relented, you cheered and your mom laughed at your excitement. She was so full of life back then; her hair was shiny and bouncy, her skin was unmarked and flawless, her eyes were lively and bright. Her laughter was perhaps your favorite memory of her. Then everything went to shit when your dad never came home and your mom got a phone call saying that your dad was killed in a car wreck on impact. You could remember your mother’s heart wrenching sobs as she collapsed to the floor and pulled you tight against her body. As if she was trying to protect what was left of her husband.

You were snapped back to reality when your mom shoved you back onto your bed. The happy, beautiful woman that you saw was replaced by the shell of a broken woman. Her silky hair turned dull, her smile turned into a grotesque scowl, her loving eyes turned cold. She truly was a husk of her former self. 

“Stop crying, you’re not the one who’s life was ruined. I want you out of my house in ten minutes. You’re gonna not step foot anywhere near here for two weeks. If I even see you on my property before those two weeks are up, you’re fucking dead.”

You frantically nodded and watched as she stumbled out of her room. You packed what you would need in your spare backpack and ran out of the house past your mother sobbing and babbling incoherently to your dad. You flinched when you could hear a bang and the sound of glass shattering when she threw a bottle at your retreating figure. 

You ran until you couldn’t run anymore. Your legs brought you to the park where you spent most of your childhood. Everywhere you looked, you could see glimpses of your mom and dad pushing you on the swing, Tommy and Tubbo running from you playing tag, Mr. Minecraft putting a bandaid on your scraped knee. Tears streaked down your cheeks as you pushed yourself up and went to your safe place. It was a little nook deep in the vegetation where nobody could see you. You originally found this place when you were playing hide and seek with Tommy and Tubbo. They never knew where you hid.

Tears moistened the soil underneath you as you pulled out a blanket you had hid in a plastic grocery bag and spread it out on the floor. You curled up on it and cried freely into your hands. You didn’t sleep much that night. 

That was the first time she had kicked you out for that long. You barely ate in those two weeks, wolfing down any food you could get your hands on at lunch. Lunch for you was the small scraps of food that Tommy and Tubbo shared with you. Mom never packed you lunches or gave you money to buy things anymore. To make matters worse, they had told their dad that they thought you had some form of eating disorder. 

About a week into your exile, you finally visited the Minecraft residence after avoiding them for a week. You remembered how the blond man pulled you aside into the kitchen. He gently sat you down and pushed a plate full of chicken and vegetables in front of you. You looked at him confused as he gestured towards the plate.

“Eat that, I heard you haven’t been eating much lately.” When you made no move to eat, he smiled at you. “Go ahead, it’s okay if you don’t eat it all. Just eat some of it.”

That was all you needed to hear, you began to eat quickly like a starving wolf. It’s been a while since you had more than half an apple to eat, let alone an actual homemade meal. When you were done, you looked up to see the older man looking at you worriedly. 

“...Are you not getting enough food at home?”

You scrambled to find a lie, “my- my mom is away a lot on business trips. We don’t really eat much.”

His worried expression grew tenfold as he moved to kneel in front of you and put his hands on your shoulders. “You need to eat three meals a day, especially now that you’re growing. You’re always welcome here when your mom’s away, our door’s always open. Is she away now?”

“Yeah, she won’t be home until next week.” You felt bad for lying to the man that put bandaids on your scraped knees and took you to the father daughter dance in fifth grade when he heard that your dad was dead. He was always so kind to you, which you never quite understood. Despite feeling bad for lying to him, you felt incredibly relieved that you didn’t have to be alone anymore. 

From then on out whenever she kicked you out, you went to the Minecraft residence. They welcomed you with open arms and treated you like you were a part of the family. You and Techno bonded over your love for reading and mythology, Wilbur made sure you took care of yourself, and Philza (he told you to just call him Phil at that point) treated you like his own child. You didn’t think that it was possible for you, Tommy, and Tubbo to be any closer than you already were, but you three became inseparable. You told them everything one night when you couldn’t sleep. You told them how you felt like you were the cause of your mother’s decline and your dad’s death, how she would usually punish you, her ‘hobby’. They were about to tell Philza, but you begged them not to. After a while of pleading and assuring them that she’d never hit you, they hesitantly agreed and made you promise to call them whenever you felt unsafe in your home. 

You kept to that promise, calling them whenever she would get too drunk to know what she was doing. They would calm you down from panic attacks late at night and invite you to their house in the daytime. They felt like your actual brothers and you started to refer to them as such. You three gave each other a shoulder to lean on and gave each other comfort when needed. One night when you were in your freshman year, however, your mother caught you sneaking out to see them after she sent you to your room. That was when she started to hit you.

Just as you were about to sneak out the front door, your mother started to scream at you incoherently. When you flinched away from when she got up in your face, she became even more enraged. 

“WHERE WERE YOU GOING? I BET YOU’RE WHORING YOURSELF OUT, AREN’T YOU LITTLE SLUT?”

Without thinking, you yelled back at her, “I would never! Why-” You were cut off by a harsh slap to the cheek sending you to the ground. She quieted down and stared at you and her hand, a glint of shock shining through her dazed eyes. Without a word, she turned around and left to go talk to your dad. You sat there listening to her rant about how she failed as a mother, how she wanted to do better but she didn’t know how, how she wished that he was there with her. You scrambled up and ran to your room. You looked at yourself in the mirror, there was a bright red mark on your cheek in the shape of a hand. There was a small cut where her wedding ring connected with your cheek. A single drop of blood dripped down your cheek and curved down the dip of your chin before dripping onto your shirt. Without doing anything else, you plopped down onto your bed and sobbed into your pillow, crying yourself to sleep.

When you woke up in the morning, you realized that you slept through half of the school day so it was useless to go to school now. You reached up to run a hand down your face only to hiss and pull your hand away. You once again looked at yourself in the mirror.

You looked terrible. Your eyes were bloodshot and swollen like you were crying in your sleep. Hair was sticking up in all directions and matted slightly. The slap mark was gone, but the cut had bruising around the edges with dried blood crusted on your cheek and on your pillow. It was a small cut, but it bled a surprising amount overnight. You couldn’t see Tommy or Tubbo like this, they’d flip out. Luckily for you it was a Friday and you had the weekend to heal. 

Your mother gradually started to hit you more and more. It started off as a once-a-week thing whenever she was really angry, but then it divulged into something that would happen daily over the smallest things. You became her punching bag for her to release some steam. Makeup became your best friend at that point; you used what little savings you saved over the years for dollar store makeup.

Soon after it became a struggle to hide the cuts and bruises from Tommy and Tubbo, so you gradually started to avoid them. Your face, once synonymous with the Minecraft residence and Tommy and Tubbo, became a rarity. They tried their hardest to contact you, but you always dodged their calls. After a few months of you dodging Tommy and Tubbo, you finally told them that you didn’t want to be friends with them anymore. 

It broke your heart to say it, but it had to be done. They were getting too close to the truth and you couldn’t have that; the government would take you away from your mom and she’d end up dead. You were the only one keeping her alive at this point, she lost all motivation to eat. The only thing she did nowadays was hit you, drink, and hug your dad’s photo to her chest. 

The beatings got to the point where you could barely walk without feeling pain. School became something that you’d rarely attend. Tommy and Tubbo stopped trying to talk to and call you. Buster, your previous confidant, had long since died so you were truly alone in the world. The neighbor’s yard looked barren without the dog house and the graying dog. The only person you had left was your mom. 

When you had accidentally burnt dinner late at night, she completely snapped. She grabbed your arm and held it on top of the burner. Pain hit you immediately as you screamed and cried apologies to her. When you instinctively hit her with your other hand, she dug her nails into your arm and pushed your arm closer onto the burner. Nerve endings screamed at you to get away from the pain. The pain was becoming too much, so you looked on the countertop next to you for something to defend yourself with. A metal fork was lying close to your other hand. 

You grabbed it and, with a distraught apology to your mother, drove the prongs deep into her arm. She screamed in pain and let your arm go. You ripped yourself out of her grasp and started to run for the front door. A force collided with the back of your shoulder making pain explode in the area. You didn’t know what happened at first, but after hearing the shattering of glass, you realized that she threw a beer bottle at you. You could feel the sting of alcohol and glass mingling with your open wounds on your shoulder. The sting was almost as bad as your arm, but you didn’t stop running especially when you glanced behind you to see her running at you with a knife raised and the fork protruding from her arm.

You flung open the door and sprinted out without bothering to close the door behind you. As your bare feet hit the sidewalk, you could hear your mother stop at the end of the stairs and shout at you to come back. You never stopped.

You didn’t stop until your feet took you to the Minecraft residence’s front door. Nobody was on the street as it was about eleven at night. You hesitated to knock on their door, you ignored the family for the past six months, and you weren’t sure if they even wanted you there. After five minutes of thinking, you just sighed as you walked back down the wooden stairs and walked back towards the sidewalk.

“(Y/n), what are you doing here?” You froze up at Tommy’s sleep riddled voice. You stayed frozen as you heard him stomp over to you. He placed a firm hand on your injured shoulder and forced you to turn around. His angry expression faded into a concerned one when he heard you start to sob and flinch away from him. 

“Wha- shit are you bleeding?” You nodded slightly and he gently turned you back around to see a patch of darkened cloth on your shirt. You could feel him shaking as he grabbed your arm and pulled you into the house. He plopped you at the dining room table and told you to wait there. With that, he sprinted up the stairs and brought back a serious Philza holding a first aid kit. 

When he saw you bruised and battered, you could hear him take in a sharp intake of breath and saw unbridled anger flash across his face. You flinched away from him when he approached you. 

“Hey,” he said in a gentle voice, “I won’t hurt you. Can you show me where you’re hurt?” 

You eyed him warily like a scared wild animal and reluctantly moved your burned arm away from your chest and showed it to him. This was the first time you saw your forearm; it was an ugly red that expanded up the majority of the underside of your forearm with skin burned off at the edges. Yellow, fluid-filled blisters were starting to form. 

You could hear Tommy’s horrified gasp as he turned to run out of the room. You kept your gaze downwards as Philza warned you that he was about to put disinfectant on your wound. He apologized to you when you whimpered in pain at the sting of the alcohol on your exposed nerves. After he was finished wrapping your arm, he asked you to show him where else you’re injured. You turned around so he could see the growing patch of blood staining your now ripped shirt. You could feel him gently move your shirt to the side and heard him wince. 

“Shit, there’s glass in here. I’m going to have to get some tweezers to get it out. Stay here, I’ll be right back.” You were then alone in the kitchen for a moment before he came back with a worried Wilbur and Techno in tow. The brunet pulled up a chair next to you and asked if it was alright to hold your hand. After you hesitantly nodded, he grabbed your hand and started to run his thumb over your knuckles. Techno held a light close to your shoulder as Philza started to tweeze out the green tinted glass from your shoulder. 

Every time you would suck in air through your teeth and muffle your yelps with your other hand, Wilbur would whisper reassurances to you and hold your hand tighter. After the glass was out, the wound was disinfected, and wrapped in gauze, Philza told the boys to leave the room. He grabbed both of your hands and gave you the best reassuring smile that he could.

“Tell me what happened.”

You swallowed the lump in your throat as you felt tears well up in your eyes, “I tried Phil, I really did. She never got better no matter what I did.”

“What do you mean, are you talking about your mom?” You could hear the angry undertone of his voice. You tensed up and nodded.

“She… she needs help. She was never the same after Dad died, she started drinking. It started off with only one beer a day, but after seventh grade she was going through an entire case in a day. She’d punish me if I said or did anything about it. No dinner for a week was a popular one until she started to ban me from the house for weeks on end. She never went on business trips, Phil. She got a knife today. I-I thought she was actually gonna kill me this time, I was so scared.”

Without another word, he pulled you into a tight hug, letting you sob freely into his shoulder. “It was my fault, I couldn’t help her! She- she needed me and I couldn’t help her.” You said between sobs. He hugged you tighter and started to rub your back, making sure to avoid your shoulder. “None of this is your fault, you can’t help someone if they don’t want help. Sometimes you can’t fix someone who’s too far gone.”

“Am I too far gone?”

“No, you aren’t. We’ll help you through this, we won’t let anybody hurt you ever again. You’re gonna go on to live a good life.” You passed out in his arms after a while of crying. 

When you woke up, you were in Tommy and Tubbo’s room. The two boys jumped to your side and pulled you into a tight group hug. After you tried to apologize to them for how you treated them in the past six months, they shushed you and just sat there in silence hugging you. 

Later that day you found out that your mother was found by your neighbor on the front porch with her wrists slit and empty beer bottles surrounding her. She was breathing, but just barely. Currently she was in an unstable condition in the hospital. You had a full breakdown when you found out that she almost killed herself because of you. You had run out of the house and to your safe place in the park. You hadn’t been there in a few years, so you hoped that it was still there. 

Sure enough, it was still there albeit a bit overgrown. The blanket in the plastic bag was in the same place where you left it. You had no idea how long you were sitting there crying and having a panic attack, but when you came to your senses it was dark outside. You could hear crickets chirping and the rustling of leaves in the entrance of your hideout.

A brunet head poked itself in and smiled when he saw you. Tubbo fully came into the nook and gestured for someone to follow. Tommy’s blond hair made itself apparent before he joined you two inside.

“Nice little place you have here. It’s… homey.” Tubbo rubbed his hands together and blew warm air on them. You threw one side of the blanket at him and pulled your knees up to your chest. “Thanks, I used to sleep here sometimes… How’d you find me?”

“We could hear you,” Tommy pulled out his phone and typed something on it before pocketing it and sitting next to you. He covered himself with the blanket as Tubbo followed suit. You sat in silence before Tommy broke it. 

“How long has she been hittin you?”

“Tommy!” Tubbo scolded him.

“She started about six months ago.”

“Six months ago… that was when you cancelled plans! I knew something was wrong Tubbo.”

Tubbo said nothing as he looked at you with a helpless expression. Just as he was about to open his mouth, you interrupted him. “It’s not your fault. It’s mine. Everything’s my fault. I’m the reason my mom’s in the hospital right now fighting for her life. I wasn’t there for her.” You would’ve started crying if it weren’t for the fact that you just felt so drained and numb.

“The fuck do you mean? She was about to kill you! You told us that she was about to stab you, what else were you supposed to do, just let her kill you?!” Tommy exclaimed.

You shrugged, “maybe. If she did she’d be happy, I was just a burden to her. I- I just wanted her to be happy and I would never be able to do that as long as I’m alive. If she killed me she wouldn’t be in the hospital right now.”

“What the fuck (y/n),” Tubbo shouted, startling you. He never shouts, let alone swears. “How could you even say that? I don’t know what I’d do without you, everything would be so boring and nothing would be the same without you. Fuck her happiness, she’s a wretched woman if the only way she can be happy is when you’re dead. Fuck her.”

You and Tommy stared at the seething boy in shock. He never shouted when he was angry, he only did that once when he found out that Tommy was being bullied. Whenever he sweared, that’s when you knew his emotions were hitting him at full force. Tommy quickly recovered from his shock to join him, “yeah fuck her, man! She can go suck a dick.” He was interrupted by his phone buzzing.

“Dad’s here, c’mon he’s worried sick about you.” After they helped you out of your safe place, they both wrapped an arm around your shoulders and walked you to the parking lot. You could see the headlights of the lone car in the lot turn off before the door swung open and a figure rushed towards you. You pushed yourself behind Tommy and Tubbo and hid behind them fearfully. They both turned around and put a hand on your shoulders. “It’s okay, it’s our dad.”

You peeked over their shoulders and saw a mop of disheveled, long blond hair. Philza looked like he was just told that there was an antidote for a fatal poison he just ingested, despite the flash of hurt that showed on his face. His blue eyes were accentuated by the redness of his sclera and you can see the relief painted in them. A gentle smile was on his face as he moved his arms up. Without another word, you launched yourself at him and pulled him into the tightest hug you could manage with your shoulder.

“Are your accusations true, Mx. (L/n)?” 

Your gaze flickered over to your mother sitting on the other side of the courtroom. She looked at you with no expression on her face. Her wrists were wrapped tightly in a white bandage that was a stark contrast to the bright orange prison uniform and the silver of the handcuffs. She wasn’t the woman you knew when your dad was alive. The life was sucked out of her the second she picked up that phone call.

You looked back at the lawyer, “yes sir.”

“I have no further questions, your honor.”

“You may return to your seat, Mx. (L/N).”

You stood up and walked as confidently as you could past the dull eyes of your mother and back to your seat between Tommy and Tubbo. You held their hands tightly as the trial moved onwards. Buster’s owner even stepped up to the witness stand to give his testimony. Apparently he knew about the abuse from your late night conversations with Buster. He had contacted CPS and the police multiple times but the case was always dropped for some reason that you couldn’t bring yourself to ponder. A few of your previous teachers even showed up to give their testimonies. Their words, though true and slightly sweet, rubbed you the wrong way. If they ‘knew something was happening at home with you’, then why didn’t they do anything when it was happening? You tried to focus on the rest of the trial. 

Your mother’s only witness was herself, and she did a piss poor job at it. She was basically digging her own grave with every word that came out of her mouth. The entire time, she was staring at you with her infamous dull eyes. 

“Do you have any further points you would like to add, Mrs. (L/n)?”

“Yes, I have always loved my child. They were my husband’s pride and joy, the splitting image of him. Their rightful place is safe with their real parent at our home.”

You could feel Tommy attempt to stand up, but you pulled him back down; now was not the time for him to start yelling in anger. Tubbo squeezed your hand in reassurance and glanced at you. You were staring at the woman you called your mother with pain and hate filled eyes. You wished her words were sincere, but you knew fully well that they weren’t. The words that left her mouth would’ve been one hundred percent true  and genuine when your dad was still alive, but he’s buried six feet under in a military cemetary now and he has been for years. You would’ve given anything, even your own life, for those words to be true a month ago, but you knew better now. Mothers don’t treat their kids like this, they’re supposed to give their children their unconditional love and take care of them. As far as you were concerned, she was no longer your mother. She forfeited that title the second she turned to the bottle. Philza is and will always be more of a parental figure than she’ll ever be. 

After the jury left to discuss, the court was in a recess. You slipped out of the room and speed walked to the bathroom. You looked at yourself in the mirror. You could see heavy eye bags under your dull eyes. The dullness of your eyes, to your horror, reminded you of your mother, so you splashed your face with water. That fixed it, your eyes were slightly brighter. You could still see the faint outline of the scar on your cheek from when she first hit you. Small scars littered your face from the more recent wounds she gave you before you ran.

A knock sounded at the door, “(y/n), the recess is almost over.” It was Techno.

You patted your face dry and went to leave the bathroom. The pink haired boy that you now saw as your older brother was waiting patiently for you on the other side. He put a gentle hand on your shoulder and led you back to the courtroom. There, the rest of the Minec- no, your family was waiting for you. Just as you reached them, the judge announced that the jurors would be arriving back. The entire courtroom stood as they walked in.

“Have you reached a verdict?” The judge asked.

“We have.”

“Mrs. (L/n) and Mr. Langsburg, would you stand and face the jury? You may read the verdict.”

“We the jury of the state court find the defendant guilty under the charges of child abuse and child neglect.”

Tommy clapped a hand on your shoulder as Tubbo squeezed your hand. They both smiled widely at you. You, however, didn’t acknowledge them. You were only staring at the empty eyes of your mother as she was looking at the jury. Her reaction was akin to her breaking a pencil, like it didn’t matter to her. Like all the years abuse that she put you through didn’t matter was as trivial as breaking a pencil. 

“So say you all?”

“Yes, your honor.” 

“I hereby sentence Mrs. (L/n) to twelve years in the state penitentiary with no opportunity of parole. Mr. Philza Minecraft shall be bestowed the custody of Mx. (Y/n) (l/n) as they do not have any next of kin. Court is adjourned.” With that, she banged the gavel and the courtroom exploded in the bustling of people. You never took your eyes off from your mo- no, the monster with the dull eyes as she picked at something in her nails boredly. Just as she looked up to meet your gaze, Tommy pulled you into a tight hug, lifting you off the ground slightly. You were passed around the family in the courtroom for their individual hugs. Philza’s was comforting, Tubbo’s was congratulatory, Wilbur’s was warm, and Techno’s was slightly awkward, yet soft. 

At home, you spent most of your time in the spare room Philza had given you. He had offered to help you decorate it, but you had no idea where to start. You were never allowed to have decorations in your old room. You kept the room simplistic and your possessions light. 

You often stared at your dad’s portrait on your nightstand wondering what your life could’ve been like if you never asked him for McDonalds that day. Your family probably would’ve been stationed in who knows where and moved around often, as is customary in most military families. You probably would’ve never met Tommy and Tubbo in third grade. You probably would’ve never met your now older brothers and new father. You didn’t want to imagine a life without them. 

After a few days of you being locked up in your room, Tommy and Tubbo came into your room with mischievous grins. You knew them like the back of your hand, so you knew the second you saw their faces that they were about to do something. You sat up and looked at them suspiciously. 

“What are you doing?”

“We’re not doing anything, (y/n). Right Tubbo?”

“Right Tommy.” Tubbo nodded curtly. They still had grins on their faces. They walked over to your bed before they picked you up and walked you out of the room. You didn’t have the energy to fight them, so you laid limp in their arms. They eventually took you down to the living room and plopped you down onto the couch between them. Techno tossed them a blanket when they then used to wrap you tightly into a blanket burrito. The home screen of Disney Plus was pulled up on the TV and the curtains were drawn. Philza and Wilbur exited the kitchen with glasses of water and two big bowls of popcorn.

They smiled widely when they saw you squashed between your brothers, putting a bowl of popcorn in your lap and three glasses of water nearby. The two next to you dug into the popcorn as the rest of the family made themselves comfortable on the couch. 

“What are we doing?”

“Movie night! We’re gonna binge the Marvel movies, your favorite!” Tubbo grinned at you, practically bouncing in his seat.

“Just double checking, the order is Captain America, Captain Marvel, Iron Mans One and Two, Incredible Hulk, Avengers, Thor-”

You cut Wilbur off with a mumbled “first Thor, then the first Avengers movie.”

“Glad I asked then! The timeline would’ve been thrown off.” 

As the movies progressed, you started to finally feel like you belonged as a part of the family. Laughter came easier to you, mingling effortlessly with the family’s laughter. Every time you laughed at a scene, they would give you a smile and laugh alongside you. Eventually after about halfway through Captain America: The Winter Soldier, everyone had fallen asleep on the couch. Soft snores and the quiet sounds of the occasional fight scene filled the room as your eyelids started to close involuntarily. You looked around the room at the rest of your family. They all looked peaceful in their slumber. Tommy and Tubbo’s protective hold of their arms around your shoulders made you feel safe. It was in that moment that you realized that they would never let anyone hurt you ever again. You were a part of an actual, loving family. With that, you let yourself fall asleep into a peaceful slumber surrounded by the people that loved you the most. 

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[spooky-z]

Leaving the Mask Behind

Warning:

This story contains language, OOC, Asian bamfs and moral ambiguity.

Maribat by @ozmav​

9.3K

Translations for this story:

妹妹 (mèi mei) – young sister

姉貴 (aneki) – older sister

anh - elder brother / em – younger brother

混蛋 (hún dàn) – bastard

やりまん (yariman) – slu*

女武芸者 (onna-bugeisha) – female martial artist

瓢虫 (piáo chóng) – ladybug

竜 (ryū) – dragon

con khỉ - monkey

大人 (dàrén) - used for an official or a person in authority

meaning "chief" or "leader" -  رئیس (raʾīs)

さま(sama) – respectful to higher rank person

悪 霊(akuryoo) – demon / biblical type

▫▪▪

"I don't believe that... That... Ugh!" Marinette screamed angrily at the walls of her room.

It had been almost twenty minutes since she had been walking back and forth grunting in anger and cursing Lila Rossi's existence. Marinette couldn't believe the audacity of that freaking Italian! She really did that.

“妹妹(mèi mei)! What happened this time?” Kagami invaded the nervous girl's room, without bothering to knock on the hatch door, after all, Kagami Tsurugi was part of the family.

"She did it again, 姉 貴(aneki)!" Marinette replied, throwing a paper ball into Kagami's hands. “That 混蛋(hún dàn)! If I get my hands on that Italian, I'll kill her!”

Ignoring Marinette's outbreak in the background, Kagami carefully stretched the paper, trying not to tear it. She thought it was just another bad joke that Lila had made again; like the one from the previous week, where she wrote a letter all in Italian offending Marinette and lying to the class saying it was a letter praising the girl.

Of course, not even in a million years, she expected to find the "ULTIMATE WARRIOR" in thick letters, painted in red and gold on top of the paper. Much less the words “SELECTED” and the names of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Kagami Tsurugi and Lê Chiến Kim.

Kagami had to read and reread what was written on the paper because she was too stunned by what she was seeing. She couldn't believe that Lila had the courage to enroll them in a combat competition program.

Even more because it was no secret that the program was the extreme of the extreme. Kagami still remembered a competitor who had to be forcibly removed from the competition, for having left three teams - nine people - disabled beyond measure; one of the victims had almost lost his leg movements because he was hit hard by the guy's blade.

For God's sake! Competitors had to sign documents exempting the program from any liability in the event of a fatality.

And Lila signed them up for it. Even though she knew everything, she signed them up because she wanted to see them suffer.

“That や り ま ん(yariman)!” Kagami spat, crumpling the paper again and throwing it to the floor in anger. "Let me get my 短刀(tantō) and we can cut her throat without having to get our hands dirty with her rotten blood."

Marinette sighed in devastation.

"I knew that defending Chloe from Lila's lies would have consequences, but that?" She pointed to the paper ball on the floor. "This is sadism."

Kagami sat on the chaise, pulling the girl with her. She was still simmering with anger, but remembered that she was the oldest there, by a year, but older. So Kagami had to show maturity and comfort her younger sister.

"What she’s doing- what did she did... This is no longer about revenge, mèi mei." Kagami put her arm around the girl's shoulders in comfort. “She's doing it all just to hurt you. Even if you didn't defend Chloe, Lila would find another way to attack you.”

Marinette dropped her head on Kagami's shoulder, tired of it. Tired of Lila Rossi.

“If it were just me, that's would be fine. I would accept it because it wouldn't make a difference to me, but it involved you and anh.”

Kagami laughed. The truth and certainty in Marinette's words made her happy. Knowing that she had a person beside her like Marinette - and Kim - was a gift that she would never be able to pay her parents.

"But at least it's me and em." She answered. "Have you ever thought if she put Chloe and that girl- Rose?"

Marinette snorted, imagining that. "That would have been a colossal disaster."

The two sat on the chaise in a comfortable silence. It was normal, when the two were without Kim, for silence to be part of their day. Both Kagami and Marinette expressed their feelings better through actions.

They were both sitting for a few minutes when the sound of doors slamming and heavy footsteps running downstairs caught their attention. Both recognizing the rhino that was tap dancing around Marinette's house.

It wasn't long before a very smiling Kim's head appeared in the open hatch.

He paced the room in a familiar comfort. Kim practically lived there.

"Mèi mei, aneki!" He said excitedly. "Why do you two looks like death?"

Kagami pointed the paper ball to the floor. "Read."

The boy frowned at Kagami's tone. She hardly spoke like that when it was just the three of them, keeping her cold behavior only to people outside the family.

He picked up the crumpled paper and stretched it without care, his eyes skimming over the written words.

Kim looked up at them. His expression was unreadable.

"You who signed us up, mèi mei?"

Marinette snorted insulted, and pulled her head away from Kagami's shoulder.

“Of course not, anh. This is the work of our dear and beloved, Lila Rossi."

'Hm' came from him. The eyes going back to the paper, analytical. Probably thinking about something that Marinette and Kagami hadn't thought of yet, as they were both too angry for that.

Many believed that Kim was a silly boy. Obviously, he made a point of acting like the jester with his classmates and in a way, he was, but no one but the family knew about the real Kim.

The smart, cold, strategist and merciless Kim. Of the three, Kim was the most likely to participate in a carnage and still make it look like a trip to the mall.

"I think we should accept this opportunity, 灌(Guàn)." He said clinical.

Kagami shuddered in surprise at the boy's words. Marinette beside the girl, had the same reaction. Of the three there, Kim was the most heavily camouflaged, so for him to suggest that meant...

"... You don't intend to pretend anymore." Marinette said Kagami's thoughts aloud.

The boy sighed, looking older and more tired. The paper was still firm in his hand.

"Technically, we are not pretending, just... not being completely sincere." He pointed. "But yes. That's exactly what I'm saying.”

"But Kim-Giáp, you know that as soon as we are 'sincere', things will change." Kagami said, hope growing in her heart. She hated having to put on a mask to leave home and interact with people. "There will be no turning back."

“There is nothing else for us here. Guàn has been suffering to remain civilized in order not to attract the attention of her parents, I am tired of having to make a fool of myself for those idiots and you, Kagami, also do not like having to put on the ‘girl without friends’ mask, to keep the peace." He sat down heavily next to Marinette. "Mars, if you agree, I want to do this."

Marinette stared at the floor, lost in thought.

Kim was right, of course. None of the three could take it until they were eighteen or finished the lycée to get rid of their classmates, Bustier or Lila. But Marinette also feared, because of the three, she was the person who would have the most changes in life.

After all, the agreement was that as soon as she decided to become Cheng's head, the engagement- her engagement, would be understood as accepted. And maybe Marinette was still a little afraid to leave the comfort, because she didn't know who her promised husband was.

But then she thought about the hell that Dupont was being and how just changing schools would not solve the problems of the three. They were suffocating being something they were not.

She lifted her head and looked at the boy.

"So, you better say goodbye to that blond hair." And smiled. Kagami practically vibrated with joy beside her.

Kim rolled his eyes before shoving her with his shoulder.

"At least I won't be forced to see those awful pig tails anymore."

"HEY!"

"He's right."

“Aneki!”

Now they just needed to finish enrolling for the program, let families know about the change in plans and what the expected consequences are.

They only had a month to settle everything and compete in the program.

▫▪▪

For a month the trio did not appear in Dupont.

In the first week, Lila was easily the first to notice the lack of a certain girl in the classroom, internally congratulating herself for breaking another one.

Next were Max and Alix, believing that Kim was sick. They went to the boy's house only to come across a “property for sale” sign. Needless to say, they came back to school confused and sad.

The third person to notice was surprisingly, Chloe Bourgeois. The girl only realized that Dupain-Cheng and Lê Chiến were missing when Lila started spreading lies about her and Marinette was not there to act as guardian of morals.

Nino and Sabrina noticed at the same time, but neither of them paid much attention because they knew the duo and knew that sporadically, Marinette and Kim (and Kagami) would disappear for a while and then return as if nothing had happened.

The rest of the class noticed at the same time as Bustier. One Wednesday, in the middle of the third week absent, the teacher entered the classroom with heavy eyes and hunched shoulders. The word "transferred" and the names "Marinette, Kim" were all they got before Alix became a berserker.

Alya didn't even blink at the announcement. Glad that Lila was safe now that her mother managed to get rid of her daughter's bullies.

Adrien failed to maintain the perfect model expression. When he arrived at the Dupain-Cheng bakery, he was greeted with employees never seen before. No sign of Marinette or her parents.

He also realized that Kagami was strangely absent from fencing classes and that the calls went directly to voicemail. The blood ran cold in his veins.

▫▪▪

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, on a strangely sunny Monday in Gotham; a letter with a thick envelope and sealed with a ladybug coat of arms arrived at Wayne Mansion.

They were all together for breakfast when Alfred, the butler, handed the red, black wax-sealed envelope to Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne's youngest son.

His father, his brothers and his almost brothers, curious about the unusual situation.

When he opened the letter and realized its contents, a deformed smile took over the face that until then, was always frowning.

Everyone was able to hear the ‘Finally’ coming from the boy, before he disappeared upstairs without exchanging a word with the family.

“Damian Al Ghul Wayne, we would like to announce that Cheng Guàn will finally be taking over the Cheng head next month. She accepted her role as head of the family and will be announcing through her participation in Ultimate Warrior, accompanied by the heads of Tsurugi and Lê.

We would like to challenge you one last time, as a demonstration that Cheng Guàn is more than able to walk and fight alongside you.

Best regards,

Cheng Hua.”

Not very traditional, but it would do.

As he read the program rules, the only thought in the boy's mind was that he and his brothers were going to have a lot of fun ending up with anyone who wasn't even minimally decent.

▫▪▪

Marinette was just finishing tying the laces on her boot when Kim fully armored came in with the phone to the ear.

While he was finishing talking to what was probably his ‘war assistant’ - if the Vietnamese indicated anything - she watched her brother well, now that he wasn’t trying to hide under the jester mask.

Giáp had dyed his hair back to its natural color, removing the blonde once and for all. He preferred not to cut his hair completely, leaving the sides and nape shorter than the top, combed with gel to the side. Like a businessman.

His tactical military suit was identical to that of Kagami and Guàn, only further reinforced in places of impact such as fists and knees. The face had full protection to prevent accidents, only the eyes uncovered, but only because he had taken off his glasses since they were not yet in the field.

He would fight only with fists at first.

Kagami was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed, meditating. Her tactical suit was a little more mixed with her kendo suit, since she was wearing her armor over her clothes. The 胴(dō) on her chest, 小 手(kote) on her wrists, 垂 れ(tare) on her waist, and the 面(men) lying comfortably on the floor beside her, along with her twin 刀(katana) with red blades and the 十 文字 槍(jūmonji yari) that she had won for her sixteenth birthday last year.

There was also a cloth mask covering her nose and mouth, and sports glasses over her eyes to keep out dust.

Guàn wore the totally pure military tactical suit. A little more pulled into an anti-riot suit, but not as bulky, because she didn't want to impair her mobility and her mask was a totally black ballistic mask.

On the table in the tiny waiting room - a tent - there were two types of rifles: A Colt M4 and an Arctic Warfare; two Glock and a Revolver with tranquilizer ammunition ready to reload. The five were airsoft guns. In addition to two training Cold Steel. The armament just for her.

It was as soon as Giáp hung up the phone and Kagami opened her eyes, that a staff appeared at the door of their tent warning that the competition would start in five minutes, saying it was time to finish getting ready because they would soon come to pick them up.

The three looked at each other with equally bloody smiles.

▫▪▪

ULTIMATE WARRIOR is a war-type competition program.

With each team consisting of three (3) competitors, they will have to fight against each group in order to redeem the One (1) Million Euro prize. That is, the team must defeat all other teams in order to redeem the prize. Only one team leaves UW undefeated.

The competition takes place once a year and is hosted in ghost towns around the world and recorded live for TV channels. It has no minimum duration, with the maximum reached being 5h.

UW is a very prestigious event; participants are usually military or combatants of some kind.

The minimum age for participation is sixteen (16) and the maximum is thirty (30).

Non-lethal weapons are allowed.

Competitors are eliminated by voluntary withdrawal, if they are knocked out or by serious injuries.

Any type of aggression that results in fatalities or near fatalities is completely prohibited. The punishment for breaking the rule is jail.

▫▪▪

As the UW was something really important worldwide, almost like the Olympics or the World Cup, the day was given as a holiday by all countries in the world; then everyone would sit in front of their televisions and watch the competition cheering for their favorite or those from their country.

In Paris, the city hall set up a screen under the Eiffel Tower and the population came with their families to watch with the rest of the Parisians.

That was no different that year. Mlle. Bustier’s class all together, some accompanied by their parents or siblings and others - like Lila - alone or with their bodyguards - like Adrien -.

They were sitting on the lawn having silly conversations when Mylène's voice caught everyone's attention.

“... Isn't that Adrien's friend? Kagami? I guess." The blonde raised his head to look around, but couldn't find the girl.

"I don't see anyone like her." He replied confused.

"Oh." Rose sighed. “On the screen. It's Kim.”

And everyone turned to see that it was actually Kim, Kagami and Marinette on the screen, being announced as Team B.

"What..." Alix sighed in disbelief.

"... And in team B, we have Lê Chiến Giáp, only 16 years old." The camera focused on who Kim should be - they were not sure, as the person was completely camouflaged in tactical clothing and a mask, and the hair did not appear to be blond -, standing with a broad chest and quite intimidating.

Half the screen was divided, one that filmed Kim and the other with his info and a 3x4 photo of his face.

"He will be the fists of team B. The boy knows how to throw a punch, Will!" One of the narrators continued.

"Yeah, Smith! But have you seen his teammate, Tsurugi Kagami?" The camera started to focus on Kagami, dressed as a Japanese warrior, but also totally unrecognizable. There were two swords stuck in her back - camera showing details of the armor - and in her hand, a trident-like spear. "She is 17 years old!"

Like Kim, there was a 3x4 photo of her with the written info.

“The girl is a real 女 武 芸 者(onna-bugeisha)!” The first narrator, Will, said excitedly.

"But let's not forget about 16-year-old Cheng Guàn!" The footage changed to the third person, fully dressed as a military soldier, a plain black mask that left only her blue eyes uncovered. She, Guàn, had two rifles attached to her back, a Glock attached to each thigh, a Revolver just below the Glock on her right thigh. In addition to a black knife attached to each boot.

The 3x4 photo of Marinette Dupain-Cheng appearing on the screen with the info.

"She'll be the team's sniper!" Smith announced. "This year's contestants..." And they started talking about the rest of the participants, but Mlle. Bustier’s class stopped paying attention.

They were unresponsive.

Or at least almost everyone.

"Wow, I didn't know they were going to participate." Nino commented surprised, but not shocked like the rest of the class. "Did you know that, Chloe?"

The blonde - who for some reason had accompanied them, even without being invited - looked at the boy shaking her head. "No. I was not informed that they would participate. Only that they wouldn't be available for a while.” She sighed. “Did you hear anything, ‘Brina?”

Sabrina looked up from the tablet, shrugging. "Only they'll be back in a week." She replied softly. "Mom has been getting busier and busier, but she told me that soon they would tell us."

Nino nodded, seeming to understand what Sabrina meant and Chloe leaned back in the beach chair she had taken. The conversation dying there.

"Since when are you close to Marinette or Kim?" Ivan asked confused. He never saw any of them minimally close to each other.

"And the ice queen." Alya commented acidly, eyes narrowed on Nino.

"Ah, our parents work for them." Sabrina replied disinterestedly.

"We've known each other since diapers, dude." Nino shook his head.

"What- and why I never heard about it before?” Alix asked with their disregard. "I'm Kim's best friend and he never told me about it."

"Maybe because he didn't want to tell." Chloe murmured, not loud enough for Alix to hear, but loud enough for Adrien and Lila, who were closest to her besides Sabrina and Nino.

Adrien winced at the sharp edge of the words. He didn't like that at all.

Lila, on the other hand, was excited to watch Marinette suffer live for the whole world, but was also a little irritated by the attention she was receiving.

"But I don't understand..." She sighed in delight; they were once again focused on her. “Marinette's parents are just bakers, Kagami's mother is just a fencer and Kim's... What do Kim's parents do? I don't think I've met them before.” She frowned.

She had never seen or heard of Kim's parents.

"Now that you mention it, I also never saw Kim's parents." Max said shocked. "Every time I went to his house, he was alone."

Alya looked back at the atypical trio. Chloe, Nino and Sabrina.

"You are going to tell us right now what is happening!"

Chloe raised her eyebrow, not liking Alya's demanding tone. "Or what, Césaire?"

Alya opened her mouth to reply, but Adrien was faster.

"Nino?"

“My bad, dude. It is not something I am allowed to tell.” The boy shrugged guiltily.

"Yet." Sabrina said out of the blue and everyone looked at the girl waiting for her to elaborate, but she kept quiet.

"-Oh, it's starting." Rose pointed to the screen and the students soon calmed down, their eyes avid on the screen.

▫▪▪

"... 竜(ryū) there are two heading your way." Guàn said in the communicator, her voice muffled by the ballistic mask.

The trained eyes on the street below her, providing cover for Kagami and Giáp to eliminate the other competitors.

"Understood." She heard Kagami respond through the headset. “Con khỉ goes on the right and I on the left. Do any of them have weapons, 瓢虫(piáo chóng)?”

She watched Giáp hide against the stone walls of the hut across the street and Kagami disappear into the hut a little further from where she and Giáp were.

“One unarmed and one with knives. I'm trying to find the third, but no sign of him." She breathed heavily. “Con khỉ the target is fast approaching. Ryū, target at ninety degrees.”

Guàn didn't need to see to know that both Giáp and Kagami had ambushed their targets, but even so, she didn't take her eyes off them.

It was always beautiful to see how gracefully Kagami handled the jūmonji yari or how Giáp did not hesitate to reach the pressure points on the enemy's body, never using too much brute force, only skill and knowledge.

That was why she was almost a little too late to notice the presence in the ruin in which she was hiding. But it was only almost.

The competitor - Team E, she read on the stripe attached to his arm, not much older than her -, didn't have time to react. She was flexible and had the knowledge. Even though he was a combatant, he was no match for her at full capacity.

Guàn was quick to take the knife out of her boot and throw it at him as a distraction. The sniper rifle forgotten in the previous post. She ran while he fumbled with the gun in his hands; she didn't think twice about kicking the back of his knee and when he fell heavily on the clay floor, she didn't hesitate to shoot twice with the Glock.

One dart in the thigh and one in the arm. Where protection was less effective, since the Kevlar did not cover and was just the fabric of the suit covering.

"The third has been neutralized." She said as she put the Glock back in her thigh holster.

"The second too." Giáp replied a little breathlessly. That mask was probably restricting his breathing. Even more because he was a heavy fighter.

"The first one gave up." Kagami said with a mocking tone. The girl hated it when she started to cheer up in a fight and then the person just gave up, for not being able to keep up with her.

“Calm down, Ryū. There are still three- “A siren sounded; the team alert cleared.

"Team E, Team A, Team C eliminated." The announcer's voice loud enough for all the competitors in the Craco ruin - Italy - to be able to hear. “We will have a ten-minute break for competitors to hydrate and replenish their energy.”

"What were you going to say?" Kagami snorted.

It hadn't even been an hour of combat and three teams had already been eliminated. They had taken team E and team A.

Team A was a bunch of filthy elitist pigs, acting contemptuously with them as if they were Asian, were worth less or were easy to beat.

Guàn loved to break the jaw of the leader of the three, Kagami may have stabbed the third a little more violently than recommended and Giáp may have broken the tibia of the second. But it wasn’t like they got a reprimand for it.

Perhaps the producers have turned a blind eye to the rules, only to see the three white supremacists having their asses delivered by three Asian teenagers.

"Okay, we have two to eliminate yet."

She expected them to be a little more challenging.

▫▪▪

In Paris, the class was at different levels of breathing difficulties, but of all, Lila was the most affected.

She didn't know that Dupain-Cheng could be so scary.

"How can she move like this, if she can barely walk straight without falling or hitting something?!" Alya seemed personally offended by Marinette's recent acquired skill.

Chloe snorted mocking the girl.

"Are you serious, Césaire?" She crossed her arms, without patience. "You said you were the girl's best friend for almost a year and you don't know that she can knock someone out with her eyes closed and her hands tied?!"

Alya opened her mouth, but nothing came out in her defense.

"Chloe!" Nino scolded the blonde and Alya felt her heart heat up for being defended by the boy. "It is not their fault that they are ignorant about Guàn's life." And Alya's heart ached with the harsh words.

"They can't talk about it, remember Chlo?" Sabrina asked sweetly, trying to calm Chloe.

The blonde turned her face in a tantrum. There was a pout there.

"I didn't know that Kim knew how to fight." Nathaniel said softly, almost without a voice.

“There is a lot that you don't know about Kim. Or Marinette.” Sabrina said enigmatically.

Adrien was starting to think that they didn't really know anything about the two classmates and the only three who did for some reason wouldn't open their mouth at all.

But he had faith that when the two returned, everything would finally come together. And he would have a very serious conversation with Kagami about hiding things from him.

▫▪▪

Damian was growing more and more impatient. Until that moment he had not yet found his fiancée.

Sure, he had a brief glimpse of her and the other two heads, but all three were armored to the top and he couldn't even make out what color her eyes were. Only that her hair was long and so dark that when the sunlight hit, the color changed to a deep blue.

He, Dick and Jason had eliminated two teams - C and D - with only team B missing. Her team. But somehow, they couldn't find the team anywhere in the ruins of Craco. It was as if they had evaporated with the air.

"I spotted them Demon!" Jason's voice came over the communicator. “They are at the highest point on the e-ek hill! Shit I almost got hit by a dart.”

Damian didn't think twice about leaving his post and running the streets of Craco, closer and closer to the top. On the way, he spotted Dick fighting the man of Team B.

He found Jason crouched behind a rock that was supposed to be the wall of one of the houses, trying not to be hit by the tranquilizer projectiles.

"I'm going up!" He signaled to Jason. "Cover me."

He ran to the entrance to the tower, barely avoiding the projectiles being fired at him. Jason right behind him and Dick alone fighting the other guy.

Damian barely stepped on the top floor when he had to block the yari's blade with his katana. He was fighting the Team B swordswoman and Jason going head to head with Cheng Guàn, Damian's fiancée. The two of them in a shooting contest.

▫▪▪

The Parisian population was quiet. All barely breathing with their eyes glued to the screen. The class was not much different from them. Even Nino, Chloe and Sabrina watched the final confrontation with glazed eyes.

They watched as both Marinette and the other competitor- Jason ran out of ammunition and weapons, without thinking twice about throwing themselves into a fist fight.

They held their breath when it looked like Marinette was finally running out of stamina, Jason taking more and more of the girl's escape routes. Until-

"Piáo chóng!" Kagami screamed, distracting Jason momentarily, while throwing the trident towards Marinette before blocking the sword of the other competitor- Damian, with her own sword.

The girl was not at all surprised by the call and took the trident effortlessly, looking used to the movement. And before Jason could hit her, Marinette threw herself out the window.

"IS SHE CRAZY?!" Surprisingly it was Juleka who screamed. The shy girl was paler than normal.

But no one looked away from the screen. Everyone watching the way Marinette stuck the trident in the clay wall of the house, stopping her fall and the way she landed on the shoulders of Team F’s third competitor-Dick, strangling him with her thighs.

"DO YOU SURRENDER?!" She shouted at him, squeezing his neck even tighter.

"..." Dick was still standing, slapping his hands on her legs and trying to dislodge the girl off him, but the guy had no chance.

As soon as he managed to loosen her grip and breathe properly, three projectiles hit one on the butt, and the other two on each thigh. He fell hard to the ground, Marinette barely having time to jump out of the man. Kim standing behind them with Marinette's revolver.

“Thanks, Con khỉ-“ She didn't finish speaking before running away from Dick's body, Jason arriving like a bull. "GIÁP!"

Kim threw the revolver at Marinette and she fired at the enemy without even thinking. They blinked in time to see five projectiles lodged in his neck before Jason passed out. Avoiding Dick's body for just a few inches.

"Wow, they were a lot more trained than the others." Marinette commented to Kim, neither of them looking worried about Kagami, who was still fighting Damian inside the house.

The split screen showing Kagami's fight and the street where Kim and Marinette were.

“Well, he managed to hit me five times. That means something.” Kim replied relaxed.

"Oh really? This is surprising.” Marinette whistled, impressed.

There was an awkward silence.

"Shall we help aneki?"

“Nah. Let her have fun.”

And the two sat on the floor, watching the group of rescuers on the show take Jason and Dick away.

"I wish I had brought a book." Kim sighed in disappointment and soon Kagami and Damian's fight took over the entire screen.

What the hell?!

▫▪▪

Tsurugi and Wayne were walking in circles, analyzing the level of danger and skill.

Kagami knew who Damian was, she knew this was Guàn's fiancé, because it was her idea to send the letter inviting him to participate in the competition. Because she wanted to make sure he was able to accompany Guàn when she demanded.

Of course, Kagami knew that it was impossible for Damian to be completely useless because he was the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul, grandson of Ra’s Al Ghul; but she wanted to personally test how good he was, because she would accept nothing but the best for Guàn.

Then she convinced Sabine Cheng-Cheng Hua to send the letter.

"I'm glad you accepted our invitation, 悪 霊(akuryoo)." She said, the tip of the katana towards the ground.

Damian tilted his head, intrigued by the way he was called.

It was not popular knowledge the way his family called him.

"I'm grateful." He nods. "It’s always good to test my skills with experienced people."

"Let's finish this."

"D'accord."

▫▪▪

Damian had given up.

Damian Al Ghul Wayne had given up.

After Tsurugi declared defeat, Damian lowered the katana and said 'I give up' directly to the camera, leaving the clay house with her.

That was a shock to Damian's family. But Alfred's discreet smile said that giving up had a much deeper reason than just giving up a fight.

▫▪▪

Guàn and Giáp got off the ground as soon as they saw movements coming from the house where Kagami was fighting with the other competitor.

Guàn had the revolver hidden behind her back, cautious. Until the fireworks went off in the sky.

"Team B is the winner of Ultimate Warrior!" The announcer shouted excitedly. “For the first time since Ultimate Warrior debuted, a group of teenagers won the contest! What a day my friends, what a day!”

The announcer was speaking something, the program staff showing up from where they were hiding, Giáp was snorting with pride as he took off his mask and glasses, but Guàn was more focused on the teenager who accompanied Kagami.

In the middle of the dispute she barely had time to analyze him while running away from his teammate's punches, but at that moment, without imminent danger, Guàn's eyes were solely focused on him.

And he was not much different from her.

Guàn barely had time to pull the ballistic mask off her face before he was standing inches from her, forcing her to lift her chin so she could look him in the eye.

"It’s a pleasure to finally be able to meet my fiancée." The boy took her hand to his mouth, placing a kiss on her knuckles without caring about the glove. "You were magnificent against my brother." He said as he lowered her hand.

Guàn raised an eyebrow, a charming smile taking over her expression.

“Oh? I am flattered." She replied, the words sliding sweet as honey. "Cheng Guàn, head of the Cheng." Inclining her head, as an informal bow, Guàn didn’t look away from him for a second.

"Damian Al Ghul Wayne, current Demon’s head."

Demon's head, huh.

She liked the sound of that.

▫▪▪

Adrien was feeling strange.

Marinette's team had won and so she was fraternizing with the enemy in a very non-Marinette way.

"It’s a pleasure to finally be able to meet my fiancée.” And he kissed her hand, his greedy, sticky eyes on the girl.

They still had communicators, so everyone was able to hear what they were talking about.

"Fiancée? Did I hear that right?” Max murmured.

"Oh, so this is him." Chloe said disinterestedly.

"He still looks like a serial killer." Nino said, an amused tone in his voice.

"Cheng Guàn, head of the Cheng." Marinette's voice cut through the confused murmurs.

Cheng Guàn? Cheng's head? What the hell was Marinette talking about?!

Classmates seemed increasingly lost.

"Damian Al Ghul Wayne, current Demon’s head." The boy with Marinette replied.

... they were really confused.

And Adrien strangely homicidal.

▫▪▪

After receiving the check of one million-euro, Guàn, Kagami and Giáp were in the car driven by Bai, the driver of the Cheng family.

There was a car in the front with Cheng's bodyguards and another in the back with Tsurugi and Lê's.

After her fiancé introduced themselves, they talked for a while without tactical microphones, being formally introduced to his brothers.

The warning had been given.

Cheng's head was engaged to the demon's head and anyone who tried anything against either of them should expect retaliation from Tsurugi, Lê and Wayne. In addition of Al Ghul.

▫▪▪

It had been a week.

A week since Ultimate Warrior, since Kagami, Marinette and Kim won the competition exhibiting skills that no one knew they had.

The situation in the classroom was a little more tense than usual.

Alya having argued with Nino because he refused to say anything about what happened and ended up breaking up with the boy, thinking he would reconsider for loving her, but he hadn't even blinked twice before leaving the girl talking to herself.

Since then, he sat in the back with Chloe and Sabrina. The three of them sitting comfortably in one seat.

Adrien had tried to extract something from Chloe, using the excuse of best friend wanting to spend time together; but the girl was not fooled by the trick, dismissing Adrien as soon as the boy opened his mouth to speak.

Lila was strangely sulky and silent. Even Alya was unable to cheer up the Italian. She was constantly having to answer mysterious phone calls that only made her more and more furious. Nobody knew how to bring it up, fearing that she would fight with them for meddling in her private affairs, so they just kept their distance.

It was on a Wednesday, exactly a month and fifteen days after they disappeared from Paris, that the class got their first glimpse of Kim, inside a luxury car accompanied by three men twice as big as him. But it had been too quick for them to be sure it was really the boy, so in the end they ignored what they saw.

But it was on Friday, a month and seventeen days, that they actually saw Marinette coming out of the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

Alya didn't think twice before running up to her, dragging the entire class along - not that they didn't want to go -. She wanted answers and she was going to get it!

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you're going to tell me right now what's going on-" She shouted at first, not caring how much attention she was drawing from the people around her, but the words died in her mouth. For the first time noticing what Marinette was wearing.

The girl was wearing something that Alya had only seen in the Chinese dramas that Marinette watched with her when they were still friends. She remembers the name, hanfu, when the girl explained the different types.

The top was pearly white, the neckline crossed in a 'y' shape. The pleated skirt was a light blue with embroidery of white roses on the hem, the length reaching above the foot - maxi, she remembered Marinette saying -. At the waist, the white lace of the skirt wrapped around the waistband, holding the skirt in place; the same embroidery on the hem of the skirt was also on the ends of the white fabric. Above the hanfu, a thin transparent peach tunic.

On her feet, white kitten heels and the hair, was loose reaching the middle of her back.

She looked ethereal.

"Oh, Alya." The girl sighed as if she had barely recognized Alya. "How are you?" She asks.

Besides clothing, Marinette's way of talking had changed abruptly. There was a delicacy, but also a certain kind of power. As if she were a very important person who had cleared five minutes of her busy schedule to exchange a few words with her classmates.

"Wwhy are you dressed like that, Marinette?" Rose stammered.

It wasn't a strange outfit, not really. It was very beautiful and sophisticated, but very different from what Marinette used to wear normally. Not even the familiar pig tails were in sight.

"Family business." Marinette replied without going into details.

Suddenly, a man wearing a black suit stepped out of the BMW parked on the sidewalk and approached Marinette nimbly. Not sparing even a glance at the group of teenagers around her.

“Guàn 大人(dàrén) I was informed that Al Ghul dàrén is on his way.” The man said to the girl. He put a finger to his ear, where everyone noticed a discreet phone - like those American movies about secret agents -. "Lê and Tsurugi dàrén are accompanying him."

“Thank you, Bai. I will wait inside.” She smiled softly at the man who, after a complete bow, went back inside the black BMW.

"Who is he? And why is he calling you that strange way?” Alix asked, annoyed. She was sure the man was talking about Kim.

Marinette looked back at the class, focusing on Alix.

"This is Cheng Bai, my driver and bodyguard." She responded politely. "I wish I could stay and talk, but I really have to get in." Marinette pointed to the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

The girl didn't wait for anyone to answer, before turning around so she could enter the bakery. She was totally insensitive to her classmates.

"Dàrén!" They recognized Sabrina's voice before they even saw her leaving the bakery with Chloe and Nino right behind. “I have updates from- oh! Hey guys, what are you doing here?” She changed the subject when she noticed the class frozen on the sidewalk.

"... We saw Marinette." Juleka replied blandly. She was feeling super uncomfortable with that situation.

"Oh, I understand." The redhead waved mechanically, looking just as uncomfortable.

Chloe ignored the class completely, talking quietly to Marinette and Nino just waved from a distance, showing no desire to approach, even with Adrien in the middle of his colleagues.

Alya seemed to wake up when she saw the three around Marinette. A feeling of betrayal burning in her stomach, but not knowing if it was about Marinette or Nino.

“Girl, what's going on? Why did you disappear?” She asked. "You went missing for a month with Kim, came out of nowhere on a show that I didn't even know you liked, and you were acting different!"

Marinette stopped talking to Chloe to look at Alya. The blank expression, hard as marble.

“Does this have anything to do with Lila? Is that why you are doing this?” Alya continued, not caring about anything else. “We can help you, Marinette. If you leave us, we can help you get over it!”

Chloe, Sabrina and Nino had incredulous expressions on their faces. None of the three believed in Alya's lack of awareness. The blogger seemed unable to think rationally before acting or speaking.

Perhaps that was why Lila had clawed at her so deeply.

"Why would mèi mei need your help?" Someone behind the class asked and they turned around in alarm, only to find Kim, Kagami and- was that Ultimate Warrior contestant Damian Wayne?!

There were also five men and two women in the same style as the man before, Bai, following them closely.

"Kim?!"

"Kagami!"

"What the hell is he doing here?" Adrien murmured poisonously. The look piercing Damian.

The three newcomers were wearing traditional clothing from their culture, as was Marinette.

Kim was wearing slim fit pants, probably cotton, as it didn't look rough. Over his pants, there was a - ao dai, Alix thought. Having seen Kim wear them before, but the old ones were much simpler than what he wore at that moment - which reached knee-high, with buttons on the right side of his chest - like a chef's jacket - and golden embroidery along the sleeves, hem and along the left shoulder to the end of the rib on the right side. There were two slits, one on each side of the body. Derby shined on his feet.

The entire set was black, except for the golden embroidery of ao dai.

Kagami's style was vaguely similar to Marinette's, but with very noticeable differences and a little ‘heavier’. Kimono was the name? Ivan was not sure.

The top part was made up of two layers. The first was white, visible through the collar of the second, which was black with a floral print that varied between purple, white, pink and orange. Both 'y' shaped collars. The sleeves were relatively large, with pieces falling by the side even though the girl had her arm raised between Kim's. The skirt as well as the top was in two layers. The first was a dark green, only two inches showing and the second was red. Pleated and tied right below the chest.

It was less flowing than Marinette's.

On her feet, white socks and wooden sandals.

The third- Damian Al Ghul Wayne, the demon head, was wearing a... dress? No, Nathaniel did not know the name for that outfit, but he did know that most men in the Middle East wore it.

The fabric was pure white - looking quite expensive -; in the throat there was a detail that went down to the middle of the chest, it was probably hiding a zipper or buttons; there was a discreet pocket on his right chest and long sleeves, adjusted on the wrist with the same detail that was around his neck. The hem of the garment reached to the middle of the shin, where it was possible to see centimeters of cotton trousers also white and on his feet, beige Oxford.

Finally, he had a scarf squared with red and white, wrapped around his hair.

"I’m waiting, Césaire." Kim asked again, not looking happy with the lack of response. "Why would she need help?"

Alya snorted, annoyed by the question.

"For what else, Kim?" She asked petulantly. "I'm talking about this obsession and envy that Marinette has towards Lila."

While Kim kept a blank expression, Kagami raised an eyebrow, a scornful smile opening on her lips. Damian hadn't even stopped to greet them, he just walked right past them before pulling Marinette into a tight hug.

Kagami gently tapped Kim's arm that was wrapped around hers and he let her go, while maintaining his haughty pose.

"Why would mèi mei envy Lila, when Lila is just a cockroach?" She asked, Adrien winced at the hardness of her words. “Who is Lila compared to Cheng Guàn? No one. So, I don't know why you insist on this idea of envy.”

Mlle. Bustier's students were in various degrees scandalized. They were used to Kagami's abruptness, but she was always a blunt-non-aggressive type, where words came out rude without intention.

But here she was, being rude and deliberately aggressive.

Lila was soon putting on her best victim mask. With tearful eyes and a fluttering pout.

“Wwhy would you say something like that, Kagami? I never did you any harm, so why are you being a bully?” She sniffed, her voice shrill and fake.

Alya wrapped her arms around the Italian, Rose following closely, sandwiching the girl between them.

"Kagami, don't you think you're being too harsh?" Adrien asked, a pleading gleam in his eyes. "This is just a misunderstanding, isn't it?!" He smiled hopefully, believing that Kagami, like Marinette, would let Lila through without a hitch.

"Why the hell would it be a misunderstanding?" Kagami countered, her eyes growing colder and colder. Kim beside her had a disgusted expression. "She knows pretty well that she is on a tightrope, so she shouldn't be feeding Césaire's stupidity."

And Lila stiffened between the two girls, her face going pale.

"What does that mean?" Mylène asked.

"It means that mother Rossi found out about baby Rossi's antics after she was demoted from her embassy position." Kim replied, satisfaction dripping from his words.

Alya's eyes widened, Adrien gasped in shock and the rest of the class was incredulous.

"Did you dare to conspire against Lila's mother, Marinette?!" She turned to the girl who was talking privately with Nino, Sabrina, Chloe and Damian. Alya's voice caught their attention, again. "Have you gotten so mean, to the point of destroying an honest woman's career?"

Marinette's expression hardened, her gaze sharpening in a way they had never seen before.

"Have you ever in your life stopped to think before opening your mouth?" She asked acidly. "Eventually you're going to piss off someone not as benevolent as me and the results will be disastrous for you."

"... That seemed like a threat." Ivan murmured, his eyes darting nervously over the men and women in suits and possibly armed around them.

"The Cheng don't make threats, Ivan." Marinette looked at him. The icy blue of her eyes pierced him. "They just go and do it."

"That right there! What is this about Chengs, the Demon's head? Why are you acting this way? And why did you move out?” Alix asked, already irritated by everything. Frustrated by the lack of answers.

"You were born in Paris and live here, but have never heard of the Three Families?" Damian asked skeptically. "I understand that you don't know what the Demon's Head means, but not knowing about the Three Families is at least stupid."

"Is this about that legend of France's three richest families?" Nathaniel asked confused. ‘Three Families’ was no stranger to him, but he couldn’t remember exactly where he had heard about it.

“Not exactly... The Three Families are, as the name says, three families. The three main families of the global mafia." Max replied, his eyes wide as he understood the general situation. "The Three Families are composed of Tsuruchi- or rather, Tsurugi." He looked at Kagami. "Lien-Lê," He looks at Kim. "And the Chang-Cheng." And finally, he looks at Marinette.

"Alternative names have been used to hide the real identities of families, but valid information is available to those who are really looking." Kim nodded, enjoying Max's intelligence.

"And if I'm not wrong, the Demon's Head correlates with the League of Assassins, a highly trained clan of hired assassins." The boy spoke again, his eyes flicking over Damian.

Damian smiled scarily. "This and much more." He says in response. "It’s good that there is someone with brain cells in this class."

"So, you mean you four are part of the mafia?" Rose asked shakily.

"We are not part of the mafia." Kagami replied.

"We are the mafia." Marinette completed.

"Then again, why the hell would Guàn be jealous of an Italian girl who only gets attention by lying every second she breathes?" Kim crossed his arms, demanding a response from Alya.

The girl flinched, instinctively turning away from him and Lila.

"III-" She closed her mouth, not knowing what to say. For the first time using reason before emotion.

“Well, while this little meeting has been good, Guàn, Giáp, Damian and I have a place to be. So, if you would excuse us, we’d like to go now.” Kagami said rudely, before dragging Kim and Marinette by the arms to the bakery.

Damian, Chloe, Nino and Sabrina following behind with the bodyguards.

"Ah!" Marinette stopped abruptly, turning back to the class. "Adrien?"

The model jumped, surprised to be called.

"Yes?" He asked cautiously.

"Let Gabriel know that his presence was requested at an audience with the Three Families." She said. Adrien felt like there was a glacier in his stomach. "We have some pending issues to deal with."

Marinette looked at the model waiting for confirmation that he understood what she had said and he nodded mechanically. Fear licking his bones.

She smiled at him before looking at Lila, who was strangely pale next to Rose.

"And Lila?" The girl barely looked up to face her. "Behave. You and I know that you don't want my wrath.”

The girl looked down at the floor, completely subdued and Marinette went back into the bakery without looking back. Everyone coming in soon after, just Sabrina staying behind.

“Max, you will receive an email with important documents about Mlle. Rossi.” She said to the boy. "I hope you make good use of it."

Lila saw her reign collapse like a tower of cards.

And there was no way to escape because she knew she wouldn't be safe anywhere.

▫▪▪

"Cheng-さ ま(sama), was it really wise to expose yourself like that?" Tetsuya, one of Kagami's bodyguards, asked respectfully. "You are at risk of them opening their mouth to someone who might be really problematic."

Guàn smiled kindly at the man, finding his concern cute.

"They are not going to do that."

"How can you be so sure?"

"First because they are too scared of possible retaliation, second that they are too busy now tearing up Lila Rossi." She replied nonchalantly. "Sabrina sent a compilation of all her lies with evidence and facts to Max. They will keep themselves busy for at least until next month with this."

"The only persons we should be concerned with at the moment are Lila Rossi and Alya Césaire." Giáp said seriously. The hard line of his mouth showed how uncomfortable he was with the two girls.

"... Can't we just disappear with them?" Damian asked condescendingly. Caring nothing for the implications of his words.

"No." Kagami was succinct. "If they disappeared now, we would be the prime suspects and even if justice cannot touch us, we would be in evidence." The frown said how bitter she felt about it. "More than we already are."

Kagami would be the first person of the three to suggest getting rid of the problem, but because the three of them in evidence - for having participated in the UW -, that would not be possible.

"Why don't we leave Lila to the police to handle?" Sabrina asked uncertainly, everyone turning to look at her. "She's old enough to be judged by the justice both here and in Italy."

"Wait-" Nino looked at Sabrina in surprise. "Is Lila a criminal or are we planting evidence?"

"Oh, please!" Chloe rolled her eyes. “Rossi doesn't need us to do the dirty work. Her file is dirtier than the sewers in Paris.”

“So, we have a solution for Lila. Thanks Sabrina.” Guàn smiled at the redhead and the girl screeched, before hiding her red face behind the tablet.

Kagami and Guàn were two frighteningly charming young women and Sabrina's gay heart was too weak to withstand such direct attacks.

"Now we need something about Césaire and her gossip blog." Giáp said.

They all sat in silence pondering possible routes.

"Oh!" Nino sighed, an idea forming in his head.

"What is it, Nino?" Kagami asked.

"What is the best way to destroy a journalist?"

Everyone looked at each other in confusion until Damian smiled badly. "A journalist is destroyed by his reputation." He replied. "Spreading fake news, being a tabloid writer and things like that."

"Exactly." Nino nodded his head.

"If Alya tried to expose us, her blog would be enough for all credibility to fall apart." Damian continued. "I've seen one of my dad's associates use this to stifle any news about our... Activities, that escaped to the media."

"Not to mention that she is just a teenager." Qadira, one of Damian's bodyguards, said it out loud. She opened her eyes wide when she noticed everyone looking at her and then she lowered her head to Damian, her expression chastened. "I'm sorry for my boldness, رئیس(raʾīs)."

The sharp edges on Damian's mouth softened.

“Relax Qadira. We are among friends.” He replies and the woman straightens up, slowly nodding at him. "Now elaborate what you said to us."

She hesitated for a few seconds before speaking again.

“I meant that she is just a teenager. No adult will take her seriously, even if her blog is not brought as evidence of her inability to judge or check the facts.”

"Not to mention that she seemed to be a very troubled teenager." Oma, Damian's second bodyguard, pointed. “I don't think she is an immediate risk here. She’s too volatile to be taken seriously.” She shrugged.

"Well, it looks like everything is settled." Giáp raised his arm to check the time on his wristwatch. "Just in time for us to kick Gabriel Agreste's ass."

Marinette turned to Kagami's bodyguard, a sweet smile on her face.

"See, Tetsuya?" She said. "Nothing to worry about."

▫▪▪

"So mèi mei is engaged to the Demon's head." Giáp said suddenly. "That means we have to find our own, aneki."

He and Kagami were sitting on the leather couch, reading some important documents about companies belonging to the Three Families.

The girl looked up from the paper in her hands, no reaction beyond that.

"... I call dibs on Sabrina and Chloe." She responded quickly.

Giáp smiled conspiratorially.

"Great, because Nino is mine."

And then the two went back to reading the documents lying on the table.

... Totally ignoring the people around them, including the three mentioned, who were at different levels of embarrassment.

[tag list]

@justafanwarrior​ @ash-amg​ @neakco​ @g-arya​ @loveswifi​ @actual-disaster-human​ @wannajointhecrabcult​ @lozzybowe​  @iamablinkmarvelarmy​ @saays-bitch @xxmdsxx​ @nicknnie​ @damianette-is-life​ @thegirlwhosawdeath

[watevermelon]

Expectations | Shirabu Kenjirou x Reader

✧ Summary: Having attended Shiratorizawa Academy from junior high, you were familiar with most of the students in your year. They were average, nothing special — until a certain vbc setter, from god knows whatever small town junior high he crawled out of, changed up your world. -> Tag: maybe language cause it’s shirabu; fluff and jealousy + slight angst

---xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx---

Shirabu Kenjirō was a living, breathing pillar of salt. And it was rightly so. He was the friend, the shoulder to cry on, and the person that everyone viewed as reliable. This was not entirely a bad thing, since he was viewed as much more dependable than others. And this idea was not limited to volleyball. But being placed in that category separated him from the very people who put him there. The girls viewed him as, at most, a friend. He was the king and leader of the friend zone.

It was the end of his second-year and he would soon be taking over as captain of the boys’ volleyball team. He justified lack of love life on the fact that he had bigger things to focus on. And after their crushing defeat, Shirabu reasoned that Shiratorizawa needed a focused captain to lead them to victory.

But the road to triumph was… rather lonely.

Shirabu had his team with him one-hundred percent and silently appreciated them for their confidence and own unfailing determination (he won't admit out loud!) But it seemed like he was surrounded by couples. His kouhai, Goshiki Tsutomu, found comfort in another first-year that was a regular on the women's volleyball team. 

Couples were disgusting.

Of course, majority of the members of the male volleyball were single. Ushijima was a super volleyball idiot and his focus seemed to never stray from the sport. But even with his cinnamon roll personality, the female base of Shiratorizawa seemed to flock to him. He was undoubtedly very handsome and tall. His grades were well above average and his fan club was incredibly prominent. Ushijima had all the makings of a great man and was noticed as such by a large pool of the student body. The difference was that Ushijima was willingly single.

Shirabu, deep in the non-explored depths of his heart, wanted to be noticed like his Senpai. When playing volleyball, Shirabu strived to be the type of setter that went by unnoticed and drew out the strength of his ace. And he knew the consequences of such. But still. He was the main setter on a highly prominent team and his skills are not hard to notice.

Maybe it was his rough personality? Pft. He would never change that for a person, no matter how special.

Shirabu was above average height and had amazing grades in a prestigious powerhouse. What wasn’t there to like? His sense of style was trendy and he was complimented on his clothes more than once. He as not too preppy like Goshiki and not too wild like Tendou. Was it his looks? His bangs were unusual, but they weren't as bad as coconut-head/bowl/Goshiki. Since entering adolescence, he failed to ever break-out and was blessed with marvelous clear skin. On more than one occasion, he would stare at the mirror and truly wonder just why.

Why was no one interested?

Enter you.

You attended Shiratorizawa in both middle and high school. Coming from a wealthy family, there was nothing standing in your way. You were fairly popular and had seen the multiple personalities flit through your advanced classes. And in your first-year came Shirabu, an outsider to Shiratorizawa from a lower-class middle school. After being in the system for three-years, you knew almost everyone and seeing a new face was refreshing.

From the very start, you wanted to bet to know him more. But he was incredibly reclusive and mysterious to the general student body. Nobody could answer your questions. Well. Nobody except a certain Salami and volleyball idiot. You shared an advanced statistics class with the two third-year volleyball players in your first year and from them you were able to peer more and more into the life of Shirabu Kenjirō.

“Why do you want to know, (F/N)-chan?” Tendou instigated, “You have a crush on him?”

“Please, Salami calm down.” He raised his hands and gasped, “Come on. There isn’t a single person in this school who I don’t know and suddenly nobody knows anything about him?”

“He is smart and adaptable.” Ushijima chimed in.

“And a little shit, that’s for sure.” Tendou stated. You rolled your eyes and returned your attention back to the statistics teacher. Sure, you wanted to learn more. But this class was hella hard and you still needed good grades. Eventually, you were able to gradually acquire more information and Kenjirō. You learned that he was the only player from the boys’ volleyball team to not get into Shiratorizawa with a sports scholarship. Instead, he got in on his own accord through the arduous exams and good grades.

The more you discovered, the more you liked him.

Shirabu had a work ethic that you hadn't seen in a while. Being in this particular school-system for so long ruined your perception of it. You perceived most of your classmates to have a truly pretentious or judgmental personality, but showing to be as sweet as honey to your face. Of course they wanted to be your friend, who wouldn't with your last name?

He hadn't.

Shirabu was straight-forward with a tongue laced with salt. Sign you the fuck up!

He had no qualms about talking back to you and you looked forward to your daily banter with an odd smile. It was strange. You could get any nice, sweet boy in the whole school. But what was the point if they didn't mean it? Shirabu was honest - a trait that should never be given up, even if it offended others. You would rather have someone give you genuine advice - even if it was mostly mean - rather than an empty friendship.

You had majority of the same classes together for the second year in a row. And you were the only person who would had the immediate desire to sit next to Shirabu as a partner. You silently viewed him as a friend, but there was always this barrier that you could never get over for your friendship to deepen. His time was always dedicated to volleyball. And you did not play any sports anymore.

You watched the volleyball team's crushing defeat to Karasuno and the heartbreak it caused to so many people, Shirabu included. The women's team was resorted to tears and you could not even look at the men for too long. Reon and Semi were so sweet and you wished you could protect them for all the bad in the world. You had never seen Shirabu cry before.

Shirabu... He seemed to only display emotion around his team. And this made sense since those were the people that he was closest too. The rare occasion you had seen his smile was when you had watched a game. They had an overwhelming victory against Johzenji High and you spotted the small grin on Shirabu after he scored the winning point. Your heart could barely take it. You only wished that he showed that side more to you...

He was friendly, but distant enough for you to want more. Shirabu was not cold to you and his harsh chitchat did not hold any true malice behind his words. But he never opened up to you. You wanted to learn more about him personally and if you wanted to, you would have to pry and almost force him to speak. He would give curt answers and then be done with the conversation. But, on more than one occasion, you would spot him typing away on his phone. It was no secret that the boys’ and girls’ volleyball team were fairly close and had a groupchat shared amongst them. You silently wondered if he was texting a girl from the team.

That thought had you instantly deflated and made you wondering if you ever had a chance with Shirabu. You were not one to be easily defeated, but with every brief conversation and blank expression he gave you, you considered giving up altogether. This happened around Valentine’s Day of your first-year. Shirabu was abnormally delighted and even smiled in the classroom at someone’s joke. You figured that sure, it was the day of love and he probably had something lined up for himself and his significant other – that was why he was so happy. And it hurt your heart. He smiled, but it was never because of you.

From there forward, you tended to avoid him to evade the imminent heartache every time you saw him. This was hard since you literally sat next to each other in most classes, but something entirely doable. You would leave the classroom immediately after class, show up right before it started, and not initiate conversation. It was always you that had previously opened up discussion, so when you had stopped there was little to none at all.

Shirabu caught up to your change and silently questioned it. On multiple occasions, you would catch him observing you from the corner of your eye and you silently hoped he would not question you outloud. Within a week, he was ready to corner you.

You were at your locker right after class, ready to pack-up and head over to photography club. He was silently bounding towards you and when you closed the locker he was standing right-there before your eyes.

“Did I do something to offend you?” He asked the moment your locker closed.

“No…” You stated haphazardly, clutching your backpack.

“You’re never his quiet or shy.” He noted, “Did something else happen?”

“I have to get to photography club…” Shirabu put his arm on the locker and blocked your exit. He was tall and there was no way you could out-run him, you were trapped.

“Don’t lie. We know it starts in twenty-minutes. You might be on the executive board, but you have a lot of time.” He sighed out, locking to the ceiling and then back to you. “Why are you ignoring me?”

“… Am I your friend, Shirabu?”

“Of course.” He did not hesitate to answer. “And it’s Kenjirō.”

“What?”

“Call me by my first name.”

“Oh.” You paused and let the name roll of your tongue, “Then you should call me by my first name too, Kenjirō-kun.” His eyes widened at the added suffix and a rosy dust covered his cheeks.

“Was that it?” He asked, “Come on, (F/N). That’s an immature reason to ignore me.”

“How was I supposed to know?” You questioned, “It never seems like you actually want to talk to me.”

“I’m talking to you now.”

“Outside of this!” You were beyond frustrated, “Ugh I’m fine now go away.” You lightly pushed his arm, but he did not budge.

“As if that would convince me.”

“You are so annoying.” You commented, “You never initiated conversation. I thought I was just bothering you.”

His gaze on you softened and you could not break the eye-contact, “You’re an idiot.” He teased and then ruffled your hair. That was the first time he had ever done physical-contact with you and you almost exploded then and there.

“I’m an idiot?” You repeated before walking away mid-sentence, “I’m hoping you treat your girlfriend better.”

He paused and let us hand drop down to grab your elbow before you go away. “Girlfriend? Where did this come up?”

“I thought…” Shit, you let that thought slip out-loud, “The men and women volleyball teams are close. And I’ve only ever seen you hang-out outside of class with them and those girls. I just assume...”

“You assumed wrong.” He quickly cut-off, “Ugh. What am I going to do with you?” He asked as he grabbed you into a hug. You returned the affection and you knew that a blush must have stained your face! And what was that question?

Shirabu continued, “So was that the real problem? You were jealous of my supposed ‘girlfriend?’” He laughed at his question and you were going to die from his smile. God it was so rare and you wished he graced you with it more!

“No! Don’t get too ahead of yourself!” You yelled back, but it was muffled against his chest. He leaned back to see your face and teased you for your embarrassed expression.

“You’re an idiot.” He laughed again.

Since then, your friendship with Kenjirō was gradually improving. But it seemed that there was this silent barrier that you could not overcome. You could talk about your problems, but not about his. And since then, he had not initiated any physical contact. If you ever brushed hands or simply leaned against him, he should shift away and pretend it never happened! Did you really make any progress?

Finals were coming up and that was giving you one last chance to spend time with Shirabu before the end of the schoolyear. Sure, you could always ask your father and he had the power to put you two in the same class again next year - But! Did you want to waste your last year together pinning after him?

Your study group was comprised of yourself, Shirabu, Kawanishi, and two people from his class. Kawanishi was in Class 5, which was also advanced, but he was so damn lazy! You saw his potential and only wished that he tried harder and quit fucking around.

The three other members of the group were missing that night and the two of you were left alone to grovel over English. Your English was better than Shirabu’s but the opposite could be said about history. You paired each other well and aided the other's faults.

You commented on this once jokingly, saying, "You complete me!" He simply rolled his eyes and brushed it off before continuing to study.

Damn. This boy cannot take a hint.

You attempted to show the boy your advances. But it seemed Shirabu would shut you down at every try, almost like he knew what you were doing and was firmly against it. A part of you considered backing down. He had made his intentions clear for two straight-years, maybe you should not waste another year on someone who obviously does not want your attention?

That thought last for a second before you waved it off. There was no one else you were even remotely interested in. If he said no, that’s fine. But you were probably not going to peruse anyone else.

Both you and Shirabu were spacing out from over-reading the textbook and happened to make eye contact. "What's on your mind?" You asked.

"Things you cannot understand."

"You really think that low of me?"

"No. I'm going to be the captain of the volleyball team in a few weeks."

"Wow."

"There's no way your pampered ass would get it."

"You think about my ass?" You teased, but he pretended to ignore the question. You spent enough time with him to notice the minute narrowing of his eyes and the slight curve in the corner of his left lip.

Damn, this boy had you bad.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, Kenjirō." You comforted, "You're very smart and reliable. I believe that your training won't betray you."

"Reliable..." He murmured. "That's exactly what I'm talking about."

"What do you mean?"

He scoffed at your question, "Exactly. You won't understand."

"Then explain it to me!" You exclaimed.

"Why should I?" He seemed just as inflamed.

"Because I care about you! You big, dumb, idiot!"

Shirabu paused before fully looking at you, surprise evident. "Well, everyone expects this idiot to be reliable and lead the team. But..."

"But...?"

"That's all that people expect from me. To be the smart one. To live to everyone's expectations and shoulder the border of living up to the name ''powerhouse.'" He was getting more agitated and louder with each word.

"Woah, calm down."

"I can't calm down! In a few weeks, I'll lose the ace that I've admired for years and majority of our regular team! How am I supposed to fill in their shoes when we're losing one of the top 3 spikers in the country?"

You had no shame in grabbing his chin and turning his full attention to you. "Listen here you idiot. Don't interrupt me! I said don't! I stopped sports, but I know this is something entirely inevitable. Your senpai's are moving onto the next phase of their lives, but it's not something you can stop or change. You have to accept the future and make the most out of it and I know you will. Shiratorizawa is not the only school with graduation. Your rivals and others will lose their precious third-years and its then will you be able to analyze them and attack. But you need to calm the fuck down."

Shirabu was hanging onto every word. Nodding at some parts and fully taking in what you were trying to convey. At the end of your speech, he pushed your hands away from his face with a slight rosy dust on his cheeks. No woman, outside of his mother, had ever done that to him before.

"You're a real pain, (F/N)." he started, "But thanks. I needed that."

"No problem, I just want you to know that I can be here for you." You extended your hand to cover his own on the desk.

His eyes latched onto your hand before he averted his gaze and attempted to pull his hand away. You kept a tight enough grip to keep it in place, but not enough to hurt. "Must you touch me so much?"

"You are such a tsundere, oh my god." You commented, "Of course, I had to like you."

He stilled and looked directly into your eyes, as if that would confirm your previous statement. "Are you really that surprised?" You asked. "You're really handsome and you have the type of personality that I find most attractive."

"Tsundere?" He joked.

"No. You're honest." You admitted, "You're not like the rest of them, who only see dollar signs when they see me. You've roasted my ass multiple times in class and I wouldn't have it any other way. You say the truth and don't sugar-coat your words for anyone."

"I like you." You simply stated. You watched the words seem to finally reach something in his mind and at this point he seemed to panic. He pulled his hand away and you did not hide your outward hurt. Shirabu made a lame excuse and quickly packed up his stuff to leave.

You never felt more sad and alone.

XXXXX

Shirabu was freaking the fuck out. He wanted someone to notice him and it had to be you??? You were beautiful and nearly perfect in every way. Your beauty went beyond the physical level and you were blessed with intelligence and an even greater family tree.

None of this mattered to him before. You were his friend and classmate and probably the one person in class who did not endlessly irritate him. How could you possibly have feelings for him? He didn't deserve you, not a bit. He had an endless list of faults, including his knowingly sarcastic personality, and you were the friendliest person in school! No way. You could be happier with literally anyone else.

He could not deny all your positive traits, even though he made an effort to ridicule you. You were an overall amazing person and he could not deny his latent crush on you. But he had squashed it since your friendship was mostly comprised of friendly banter. You could never have feelings for him, he previously thought. So he would rather treasure your friendship and watch you from the sideline.

However, Shirabu had to admit that it was a dick move of him just to leave you there after your confession. He was usually the type to speak his mind and your feelings must have blinded his brain. He set-out to clear the air and admit why.

In class the next day, you were nowhere to be found and refused to respond to calls and texts. Seeing you so affected, Shirabu could not help but feel like a huge ass. He owed you big-time, but he had to start somewhere: an apology. Shirabu had to clear the air and make it known that he appreciated your affections, even if he had to deny them. He was not above annoying you and did such continually.

Knocking on your dorm room, he showed up right at your front door.

Shirabu heard movement inside, but not closer to the door. He called your phone again and heard the ringtone go off from within, just for you to mute it. He knocked about eleven more times before you opened the door.

"What do you want?!" You asked as you swung the door open with full force.

"To clear the misunderstanding, (F/N)."

"God, you are so annoying. Did you know that?"

"You are too. Now hear me out, you crazy."

"Excuse me?!"

"Please." You sighed and moved aside for him to enter and he did such. He uncharacteristically took your hand and guided you to sit-down on your bed.

He paused, as if to fully think about his words, before sitting next to you. "You need someone who has time for you."

"What?"

"I'll be the captain soon and I do not want to disappoint anyone. I'll be busy and unable to be the proper boyfriend."

"Is that your only complaint to this relationship?"

"No."

"What else?"

"You deserve someone who can make you happy."

You gave a small laughed and asked, "Who says you don't already make me happy?"

He stared at your for a moment before asking, "What?"

"I don't want someone who you think will make me happier with kind words or bullshit. I want someone honest." You candidly admitted, "And we are friends already. I know you're dedicated to volleyball and I don't want that to change. I already know how you are and that’s why I like you more than anyone else. You alone can make me happy. For someone smart, why is this so hard for you to understand?"

He sputtered, unable to give a cohesive reply and for once you saw be great Shirabu struggle over his usually articulate words.

"Wait." You realized that he had multiple complaints about this relationship before you interrupted him. "Just be straight with me. Do you have feelings for me?"

It was at this moment that Shirabu had the clearest view of you. You were in the closest proximity than ever before, sharing a seat on your bed! He could gaze clearly into your eyes and sense the distress and vulnerability from your previous words. He stretched the silence and you took that as a rejection. He immediately rectified the situation by grabbing your hand and placing a light kiss at the top.

"I never thought you were interested in me." He admitted, "I thought I was deep in the friend zone. So I would have rather kept your friendship than risked ruining it."

"You're an idiot." You smiled grabbing his wrist to pull him closer. He obliged and allowed you to place a light kiss on his cheek.

"Now will you be my boyfriend or will I have to convince you?" You whispered in his ear to tease him and could literally see the shiver go down his back as he stiffened.

When you pulled away, his eyes were half-lidded and you silently wondered if his dominant attitude translated romantically.

You didn't have to wonder long since he returned the favor and went even further, nibbling your ear lightly before placing butterfly kisses around your neck. "Maybe you'll have to convince me."

You laughed before wrapping your arms around his neck, quickly taking command and enveloping his lips against your's. However, you did not have it for long and the setter was quick to flip the positions and hover over you. He gave one his rare smiles and you felt one breaking out across you'rs, stretching from ear to ear. Shirabu, who was in no rush, descended back down to your silky lips - noses bumping and hands fisting into each other's hair. His grip was firm, but not tight enough to hurt. You moaned, unintentionally, and he took that as an invitation to lick the entrance to your cavern. You parted your lips quickly, eager to feel his tongue against yours. The rest of the day went by ignored, the two of you enveloped in each other's affection with not a single care in the world.

[ronans-sepiaphotograph]

Ronan Lynch, post-its and missing Adam Parrish:

Ronan knew he wasn't asking Adam to stay, he would never ask him to stay in the one place he always wanted to leave.

Ronan just wanted him to come back.

"Lynch?" "You're going" "yeah, I am. I'll be back for Thanksgiving tho" "how will you manage?" "Don't I always manage?"

Ronan huffed in response as he was folding one of Adam's shirts. Adam was leaving for Harvard tomorrow. It had been a couple of months since Adam had moved in. His lease on St. Agnes was up and Ronan didn't have to think twice about asking.

It had ended up in a fight and Adam snapping at Ronan. Ronan fought back too. In the end he had just stormed of Adam's room and driven for hours and come back around midnight to find Adam silently crying on his bed.

He had held Adam, let him cry because Adam Parrish rarely let his walls down, be vulnerable in front of anyone else.

"okay" "okay what, Parrish?" "I'll stay with you" "finally"

Adam laughed in his chest as they both fell asleep in each other's arms on Adam's shitty mattress.

"Ronan?"

Adam's voice brought him back to his sense. He realised his cheeks were wet and he was gripping Adam's shirt a little too tightly. Adam sat in front of him.

"what's wrong?" "You're going" "yes, you said that" "please come back" He kept saying it on loop, to Adam, until his voice cracked and his throat hurt.

Was it possible to already miss the person who was currently sitting in front of you?

"don't be stupid Lynch. Of course I'm coming back" "I didn't meant for Thanksgiving" "my answer will not change"

Adam ran his fingers over his eyebrows, and kissed him. He memorised every second of it. Of Adam's not so chapped fingers on his jaw, his chapped and warm lips, his breath tingling on Ronan's kiss.

"tamquam" "alter idem"

When he dreamt that night, he dreamt of Adam and Cabeswater and how just like that, Adam had given his eyes and hands to the magical forest.

When he woke up, there was a small snowglobe in his hands, a little Cabeswater sitting inside it and a charcoal BMW nestled between. He sneaked it into one of Adam's bags.

The next morning, Ronan watched Adam drive off, in the shitty Hondayota until he disappeared. Opal was sobbing in his leg and he picked her up and she hid her face in the crook of his neck.

He shut the door behind him and carried Opal upstairs and put her down on Declan's bed as she had slept off due to crying. He found a post-it stuck beside the bed, on the wall.

"tell her I miss her" was written in Adam's handwriting.

There was the ache. The ache called love.

He plucked the note off and put in his jeans' pocket and left. He had to make lunch now. He found more sticky notes in the kitchen.

"pink lid is the salt, green is the sugar"

"don't mix the spoons and the forks"

"don't overcook your pasta"

"eat on time, send me pictures"

"I'll miss your pancakes"

"I'll miss how you tasted of blueberries and mint toothpaste"

"I'll miss you seeing in your cute little apron"

He plucked each and every one of them, fondly muttering curses to himself as he carefully folded them and tucked them into his pocket. He called Adam.

"thanks for the notes, mom" "sorry if I don't want a salty coffee" "that happened twice, asshole" "thank god third time wasn't a charm" "I hate you" "I miss you" "me too"

He rambled on about random things as Adam heard and supplied his responses or just chuckled in response. He hung up because he didn't want to distract him any longer.

He made pasta for lunch and didn't overcook it. He sent a picture to Adam. Even if he hated to use the phone, he was glad he had one so he could send Adam texts and photos.

He ate sitting alone on the dinner table, some song playing on his phone. He missed Adam, there was no doubt about it.

He just didn't know he missed Adam this much.

How empty suddenly the house felt, how it felt like he was an intruder again, like how he used to sneak in. He kept finding Adam's notes everywhere.

He found one stuck to the lamp beside the couch as he was flipping through some book Adam had found interesting.

"don't fall asleep on the couch"

He rolled his eyes. Oh how well his boyfriend knew him. The book surprisingly was interesting. It was some historical book that Gansey had probably given to Adam.

It talked about the history of food and farming and crops and things. Adam had been reading it for him, he supposed. He kept finding more notes as he kept reading.

"My farmer boyfriend, I knew you'd read it"

"who's a nerd now, Lynch?"

"we should go wine making in France one day"

"you'd be a good farmer, a sexy farmer"

"will my classmates believe I'm dating a farmer"

"I'm so glad to have you"

Ronan didn't tear up, nope. He didn't find his eyes glassy and his lip trembling. Adam called him a few hours later.

"hey Lynch. I reached" "you and your fucking books Parrish" "did you like it?" "It was interesting. Anyway, how's Cambridge?" "Too fancy" "you'll survive, Harvard boy" "I have to survive so I can live with you"

Ronan was silent for a whole sixty seconds before he found his bearings again. He almost picked up the keys and started driving to Cambridge.

"yeah" "are you okay? Where's Opal and chainsaw?" "Opal cried herself to sleep and Chainsaw disappeared in the morning, still flying outside" "mhmmm. I- I miss you. Too much. I didn't think I'd miss you and Opal and home this much but I do and it sucks already" "me too Parrish. It just feels so empty here" "skype me twice a day okay? Please" "of course Parrish, I need to your face everyday in case I forget how pretty you are" "shut up"

There was beauty and power in making Adam Parrish smile and better, blush. Ronan was powerful enough.

Adam told him about Cambridge and his dorm room and complained about how fancy it was and grumbled about money and finding jobs.

"I swear to god Parrish, if I find out you're working unnecessarily again I will come to Cambridge and kidnap you and lock you here in our bedroom forever" "sure you will" "want to try me?" "NO"

Ronan laughed. Adam did too. He felt something settle in his chest. They stayed silent on the call, not talking as Ronan heard Adam's breathing through the phone.

"I'll skype you tonight?" "Yeah, pretty sure the brat will want to see you" "you don't?" "Don't be stupid"

Adam laughed before hanging up. Ronan found more post-its in his bedroom. They were literally everywhere. Everywhere.

"don't bring out a dead body" on Adam's side of the bed

"Thanks for the hand lotion, it smells like home" on the nightstand beside an empty bottle of hand lotion. Ronan dreamed him one that lasted probably forever.

"call me if you wake up at night, I mean it" on the headboard

"here's one of mine since I stole one of yours" on one of Adam's old hoodie on the bed.

"the first time I knew that for sure that I want this" on the window, stuck to the same toy.

"I wish I could steal more of your clothes" on the wardrobe door.

"shopping spree next time I'm home?" Inside the wardrobe.

"don't listen on high volume, not good for your ears" on his headphones.

"a little something from me" on a box. There was a knotted leather band inside, intricate and just like how Ronan liked. He immediately put it on on his wrist.

He found a few stuck together on the backside of the door.

"alter idem."

"I want this, for as long as you'll have me"

"I want this too much"

"I miss you, I'll miss you till I come back home"

"I'm a sap for you, Lynch"

"You're it for me"

"thanks for the straight teeth, again"

"come find me in your dreams, I'll find you in mine"

"don't do stupid shit"

"I love you, so much it hurts"

[theyscreamjade]

Can you do HCs of Shinsou, Amajiki, Bakugo; teen!Aizawa with a South African s/o who has people saying some annoying comments to her just bc she's from Africa. Like someone says that they're sorry that she struggled with poverty (girl is from a super wealthy family that can buy their family), or say some gibberish with clicks and asks her to translate (s/o can speak five languages: English, Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, and Japanese; understand others. Xhosa has clicks). They ask her if she had...

Melanin Goddess

Hello my dear! I hope this makes your day or night! Thank you for requesting and have a great day! I changed the last one to one that even I had to explain to a friend of mine before who was another race. I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: Cursing

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* Let’s start off with one thing here, Hitoshi doesn’t like violence unless he has to use it. He doesn’t mind kicking ass for you.

* You may be independent and can defend for yourself and all, but there are times where he’d use his quirk for the stupidity that people ask you.

* You were just chilling, sitting with your boyfriend and enjoying your lovely lunch.

* Everything was fine and dandy until you heard a tray click onto the other side of the table, across from you.

* Your eyes looked at the figure above you, you didn’t know who she was so it didn’t bother you.

* “You’re from South Africa right?” She asked, looking at you. You cleared your throat and smiled. “Yes, I am.”

* The moment you responded with that. She squealed and sat down. “So! You must’ve had to hunt for food, right?! You’re like a warrior huh?” She asked.

* Hold the hell up? Did you...DID YOU?!

* Hunt?! HUNTING WHAT?! WHO THE FUCK DO I LOOK LIKE?! EEP FROM CROODS?!

* “No, I never had to do that.” You said, laughing awkwardly. “Really? I though you had to, that’s what I see in the movies.” She continued.

* “Well, Everything on the movies isn’t always correct.” Shinsou would butt in, his annoyance obvious in his voice .

* “I was jus-“

* “stand up..” he ordered, suddenly taking control of her.

* He hates how people are quick to judge based on what’s shown within the media of your country.

* Regardless of what others think of you or your country, you’re perfect in his eyes. You’re the best thing walking and there was nothing that could ever possibly change that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* Young Shouta is the same as he is now, just probably sleeping less than before.

* You, Present Mic, Shouta, Midnight and Shirakumo. The small group were laughing and giggling about random issues and topics going on within the world at the moment while walking home.

* The golden hour was glowing off your skin while Shouta held your hand, glancing every now and then to see your gorgeous smile.

* “I still can’t believe you’re from South Africa, I know it’s absolutely gorgeous!” Midnight commented while you two stepped into the train.

* “She’s not from Africa..” someone commented, catching the whole group off guard.

* “Excuse me?” You asked as a man looked over.

* “You can obviously tell she’s not African, they’re poor. She’s obviously an American.” He said as Present Mic’s face tightened a bit.

* “Yo, I’m not gonna al-“

* “He’s just a miserable idiot who doesn’t have anything else better to do then to listen to teenagers conversations, obsess over young girls and deal with his shitty life. I suggest you find something else to listen to old man, you wouldn’t know anything about what’s mine even if you had the chance.” Shouta said, leaving you and Midnight speechless.

* “OH! Here’s our stop!” Shirakumo quickly responded, happy to hear the train stop. The fluffy boy pushed his group out as quickly as he could to avoid the anger of the middle aged man.

* His grip on your hand stayed tight, he despised know-it-all’s. Especially the ones who claims that you’re not who you are.

* You’re Y/N, and regardless if your country is rich or not. He’ll always love you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* He hates how ignorant people can act and be with it comes to you.

* He seriously despises it within the highest degree, it makes him want to blast any asshole who THINKS about saying some dumbass shit to you.

* This included his friends or anyone to be exact.

* The Baku-squad was just chilling, relaxing at a restaurant. His arm was slung over your shoulders and you were close to him, looking absolutely adorable in Mina’s eyes.

* Denki was seeing a girl..who’s personality wasn’t necessarily up to par to put it in kind words. But in Bakugo’s term, She was a bitch.

* “I have a question.” She said suddenly, gathering everyone’s attention within the circle booth. “I notice you’re South African right, Y/N? (She said your name wrong.)”

* “Yeah, born and raised before moving here, what’s up?” You questioned.

* “You never really dress like a African, I noticed.” She said as Sero spat his drink back out.

* Kirishima’s eyes snapped wide before he looked towards Bakugo who’s glare was darted at her.

* “I just noticed that, and I-“

* “LET ME EDUCATE YOU ON SOME SHIT, BRITTANY!” Mina said as she slapped her hand on the table. “It’s pronounced Y/N. Say it right or don’t say it at all, Next. Just because she’s from Africa doesn’t mean she should dress like one. You’re from Jaku City but you dress like you’re from America with the absolute bullshit all over you. Third and last, I don’t like you. I don’t give a fuck if you’re Denki’s bitch, don’t ever talk shit to my girl like that ever again, clear?” She said, showing a different side to her that left everyone speechless.

* You smirked, knowing you’ve been teaching her to the secret dark-side that she hardly channels.

* Even though, Bakugo let Mina have this one. The next one we going to be his victim because he’s going to defend for you and your country. He loves that Melanin honey.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* He’s a obvious shy, silent but deadly type. I love him as a character but I can’t fully relate to him like I would with others.

* Probably because I was once like him before I stopped giving a fuck, ANYWAY! Tamaki is a absolute shy sweetheart when it comes to you. He sees and knows the constant questions and random things you’re asked by younger peers or strangers when they find out that you’re South African.

* Just some people..kinda get the wrong ideas sometimes.

* So, You, Mirio, Tamaki and Nejire were heading to your next class, walking with one another while discussing the ideas for the upcoming festival.

* You were apart of the group who saved Eri, you and Mirio basically took care of her and she’s come to love you and Tamaki.

* You loved how adorably shy your dear boyfriend is and how cute he could be with you, especially when it’s just you and him.

* Suddenly, a other classmate appeared and held his phone to you. “Do you know him?” He asked suddenly, showing you a picture of you and Rock Lock, you were assisting him when you the picture was taken.

* “No, I d-“

* “OF COURSE SHE DOES! The know each other! All of them know each other.” His friend said from behind, stepping beside his friend.

* It’s the ignorance for me.

* You were about to say something with Tamaki’s hand touched yours, grabbing it suddenly. “J-J-Just ignore them, B-Bunny.” He whispered to you. He’s extremely humble and refuses to let you suit down to their level. Without saying a word, you walked forward with your boyfriend.

* Guilt suddenly rushed through his veins when he was pulled by you. “I-I didn’t defend for you, I-I-I’m sorry..” he apologized quickly before you smiled.

* “No, you did. You helped me from being suspended or being another racial stereotype, Tama. Thank you.” You reassured, facing him when you two arrived at the door.

* Your soft hands touched each of his cheeks and you pecked his nose, making blush cover his cheeks.

* He loves you more than he thought he could ever, he was afraid to love at first. Each day with you, just..makes his day better each and every time.

* Regardless of your skin, country or even your quirk. You’ll always be perfectly amazing in his eyes. He just has a hard time expressing it at the moment.

[rosemary-writes]

What are you afraid to see?: Part 1 (Dwayne x GN! Reader)

An: This story is a soulmate au!

Word count: 2.1k.

Warnings: swearing

Soulmates were strange. Especially the ones that had big secrets.

That was the one thing in life that couldn’t be predicted, or changed. It made everyone curious and nervous. Mainly nervous.

Everyone was eventually going to see the absolute worst thing that their partner had done. The moment they kissed a vision would appear of the worst thing they had done up until their kiss. Most people were scared to find their soulmate because they didn’t want to see the possible horrors. Still, there was a good side to the soulmates. There was a unique pull with each pair that would subtly guide you to them.

You, however, honestly didn’t worry about such things. A couple of your friends had met their soulmates and said that it was nothing terrible or shocking. You never worried about what you would one day see.

Instead, you worried about your paper that's due tomorrow. Your english professor had asked everyone to write their final essay about “What you learned about yourself during the school year.”

It was dreadfully boring; However to celebrate the end of the year, you and some classmates were going out on the boardwalk.

Earlier in the semester, they tried to get you to join them on their nights out ,but you were too concerned with your work. Instead, you wanted to wait and celebrate for something big.

Thankfully, you were three sentences away from finishing. Your hand cramp was steadily increasing ,but you ignored it and pushed on. The lamp above you clicked as you raced to finish the second sentence. In a blur, the second and third sentence were finished and you threw yourself back against your chair. The pencil had fallen out of your hand as a groan fell out of your mouth.

Your hands came up and rubbed your exhausted eyes. Quickly, you got up from your chair and grabbed your coat. You didn’t want to look at the desk or be in your room as a matter of fact. So, you rushed down the hall to your living room and sat on the couch. You looked over at the clock and it read 7:45. The sun had already set and your classmates would be here any minute to take you to the boardwalk.

Richard, your favorite classmate, had told you to dress comfortably but in style. Sadly, he would be disappointed. You had only dressed comfortably. The t-shirt was well loved and so were your pants, but they weren’t dirty. The sneakers you had were a bit worn but they did their job well. You slipped the shoes on and grabbed your wallet and house keys.

As you shoved them in your pockets, a car pulled in front of your house. Quickly, you grabbed your jacket and ran out of the front door. You locked the door and then ran to the car. Slipping into the backseat, your classmates greeted you enthusiastically.

“Did you get your paper done?” Richard asked.

“Yeah, and it was a real pain in my ass.” you said as the car pulled out and began driving towards the boardwalk. From the passenger seat, Ruth, your classmate, groaned and covered her face.

“Can we please not talk about our shitty papers? I want to enjoy myself tonight.” she exclaimed loudly. To your right, Chris, your other classmate agreed. Richard grumbled to himself as he glanced at Ruth. Alice, the girl on the other side of Chris engaged Ruth in conversation.

“Do you think we’ll see those bikers again?” Alice asked. Ruth turned around in her seat and gave Alice a look. “They hang around the boardwalk all the damn time. If they aren’t there, I will be very surprised.” Ruth proclaimed. “Who knows, one of them might be my soulmate.” she said giddily.

“Are these the same bikers that you saw pick up multiple women?” you asked, leaning forward. Ruth huffed, “Obviously. Why? Are you suddenly interested in them?”

“Ruth, stop acting like they admire you from afar. Those guys probably have their soulmates.” Richard said, as he pulled into the parking lot. Chris chuckled as Ruth tried to sputter out a response. You rolled your eyes at the two and unbuckled and stepped out of the car. The others quickly followed.

“Chris, back me up! Those guys are not interested in any of us.” Richard asked. Chris held up his hands as Alice walked over to you.

Ruth huffed and glared at Richard. “Okay, can we please drop it? I want to go and have all of us enjoy ourselves and celebrate!” she snapped. Now you remembered why you didn’t like to hang out with Ruth. However, she was an amazing help with homework.

“Okay, fine.” Richard grumbled. Ruth looked accomplished and began walking toward the boardwalk. It wasn't too far of a journey so you wouldn’t be sweaty. Quickly, you tied your jacket around your waist and sighed. Alice looked over at you and gave a reassuring smile.

“Hey, if people do hit on us, wanna band together and try to get a hot date?” she asked, grinning. You purse your lips in thought but, before you could answer, Richard stuck his neck into the conversation.

“Obviously, they won’t grab a hot date because they didn’t take my advice. Now how is your special someone supposed to find you?” he said. You rolled your eyes at his remark.

“Rich, would it kill you to not tell everyone how to dress?” Chris asked as the five of you got closer to the boardwalk. Richard snapped his head towards Chris and looked him up and down. “Christopher, is that any way to speak to me? Your possible soulmate?” Richard asked. Loudly, Ruth groaned and Alice laughed at Richard’s sudden change.

“You haven’t kissed me yet, and I don’t plan on seeing you throwing coffee on a teacher again.” Chris replied back with a chuckle. Richard rolled his eyes.

“Oh look, there’s the entrance!” Ruth said quickly. You looked up and noticed the big flashing rides and the sea of people walking in and out. Most of the people looked like college students celebrating the end of the semester.

“Oh my gosh, we have to go on a ride first.” Richard declared.

“What ride? You just want to go see if there is a band performing.” Ruth said, jokingly as the five of you got closer together.

“You damn right I do, I only said that for Alice’s sake.” Richard said, smiling. Alice thanked Richard with a grin.

Chris agreed that he wanted to go on a ride as well.

“Okay, us three can go on a ride. Do you want to go with Richard?” Ruth asked, looking at you.

“Yeah, I’ll go and see what’s kicking at the stage.” you said, going next to Richard. Ruth, Chris, and Alice said they would meet you and Richard at the ferris wheel in about twenty minutes. Excitedly, Richard grabbed your hand and began walking towards the stage area.

“Y’know, Ruth can be a real pain in the ass.” Richard said, as the two of you slipped into the sea of people. You laughed at his remark and the two of you began chatting about what you were going to do for the summer. He said that he was going back home to visit his hometown friends and hopefully go on a trip with them to New Orleans. You had told him that you would stay here for the summer and enjoy Santa Carla before you actually had to leave

The sounds of a guitar shimmered in the air. Drumsticks, carefully thumped and someone spoke into a mic.

“I thought you were going to get us lost, Rich.” You said playfully. Richard laughed as the two of you made it to the crowd at the stage. “Thank god, we made it just in time.” Richard said, as you both squeezed your way to the middle of the crowd.

The main vocalist, you assumed, stepped up to the microphone and loudly spoke to the music hungry crowd below him. The second he was done speaking, sound erupted from the band.

You and Richard began to listen and dance with the notes and lyrics that soaked the crowd. Honestly, you didn’t care if you danced like a fool. Most likely, Richard looked like a bigger fool than you. However, the rhythm was perfect and the two of you just let loose.

Many minutes passed before Richard leaned down to you and asked if the two of you could go to the ferris wheel. You agreed because you started to get sweaty and very out of breath. Carefully, he grabbed your hand and the two of you slipped out of the dancing crowd. As you two emerged, Richard immediately steered the two of you in the direction of the giant wheel. He was walking like he was scared.

“Richard, why are you walking so fast, slow down.” You said, trying to keep up with him. He didn’t answer but, he did glance behind the two of you. Quickly, he pulled you up to him and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. He leaned down, “Surf nazi’s are eyeing you.” This time, you turned your head around. Sure enough, he was right. The guys were looking right at you. You whipped your head around and put your arm around Richards waist. You didn’t want them to think you were up for grabs. Richard obviously didn’t want the guys to bother you.

Richard would always keep up with the news and how people went missing every day. He always suspected surf nazi’s but he never outwardly said it.

The two of you kept walking until you reached the wheel. You stopped underneath a light and kept close to each other. Richard subtly tapped your shoulder and you noticed that the group of guys were about to walk by. They didn’t seem so interested anymore. So, to make it look believable, you leaned your head on to Richard’s shoulder and closed your eyes. You didn’t want to see those men as they walked by.

“Finally! What took you two so long?” Ruth loudly asked. You opened your eyes and looked up at her to see Chris and Alice with wind blown hair trailing behind.

“We got stuck in the crowd. Some people, am I right?” Richard said, slowly moving his arms off of you. You picked your head up and noticed that the men had walked away and began ogling other people.

“It is pretty crowded tonight.” Chris said, rubbing the back of his neck. You slipped your arm off of Richard and untied your jacket. As you began to put it on, Alice walked next to you. Ruth and Richard began talking about what to do next and Chris just stood by for a third person input.

“Don’t look now, but you’ve got an admirer across the way.” Alice said, leaning into your ear. You groaned at the thought of another surf nazi staring you down. Slipping your jacket on, Alice spoke again, “It’s one of those bikers.”

Your head shot up at the mention of them. Your eyes scanned until you noticed the bikers near an exit. Three of them were talking with some women and it was obvious that the ladies were enjoying the attention. However, the only one that wasn’t engaged in conversation, was staring directly at you. As soon as you made eye contact, you looked away. Alice giggled.

“Do you want to go say hi?” She asked, gripping your arm. “No, I’ve had enough attention on me tonight.” you said, pulling the front of your jacket closer to your body. Again, you looked up and he was still staring at you. You noticed how he almost looked like he was shaking. He must’ve been the voice of reason amongst his friends. His eyes looked you up and down before he turned away. You noticed the three women had no longer taken an interest in his friends. The men looked annoyed and started to rev up their bikes. Before they left, your admirer had looked at you again. Something inside your chest twinged and As soon as he looked at you, he had already driven off behind his friends. You were speechless, as you watched him fade into the ever growing darkness of the night.

“Hey! Are you listening?” Ruth asked, slapping your arm. You looked up and noticed that everyone was looking at you. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” you asked.

“I asked if you wanted to go down to the beach. Rich and Chris want to sit and enjoy the waves.” Ruth said, folding her arms with a huff. You nodded and the group began heading down to the sandy shore. Before you followed, you looked back over your shoulder to see if the guy was still there.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be back tomorrow.” Alice said, putting her arm around you. You nodded and turned around to walk to the misty beach.

[aethes-bookshelf]

three times you’d met & a fourth you remembered || Mirio/Reader

This took me SO LONG to finish and I don’t even know why. Also it’s 3 am where I live and I should be asleep. Do with that what you will.

Quoting the great @readwithcindy:

Bone Apple Titty.

Pairing: Mirio x Reader

Warnings: none, this is just pure fluffy goodness

AO3 link

The weather was unusually good for a late fall afternoon; the sun was still out, the birds were chirping and there was this nice breeze – not too cold, not too warm. School kids had just finished their club activities and were on their way to their homes. Some were walking with friends, some alone, but all of them were happy about the next few hours of complete freedom. Mirio wasn’t an exception. He hummed cheerfully while walking down the street. He was strangely happy, even for himself. But how could he not be, when his classes went well, he had fun with the people from his club and he started getting a better grip on how exactly his Quirk worked. It had been a great day, for better or for worse.

Mirio noticed a single orange butterfly – probably one of the last of the year. It fluttered around right above Mirio’s head. He stopped to look at it. The grin on his face just got bigger.

But apparently his happiness wasn’t something to cherish to some people. Mirio’s upperclassman, a guy slightly taller and stockier than him, bumped right into him despite the street around them being relatively empty; then he grumbled something about 'stupid second-years'.

Mirio’s bag tumbled to the ground. He stared at it for a moment before letting out an exasperated sigh. Such a small thing ruining his day? Never. That wouldn’t be his style at all. He could never be a hero who’d save a million people if he let some stupid jerk ruin his good mood.

He leaned down to pick up his school bag, and his fingers brushed someone else’s. That mysterious someone was also trying to pick up his bag. They had a bright orange bracelet on their wrist; but their uniform was a deep shade of green. Interesting combination, Mirio thought.

‘How’s it going?’ he asked.

'Pretty good! Oh, and sorry for that guy. He pretends to be all tough, but he’s a sweetheart deep inside.' The girl in front of him was speaking really fast. She was still holding his bag, gesturing wildly with her free hand.

'I’m not a sweetheart' mumbled the guy behind her.

'Yes you are, Keiki!' she turned back to Mirio. 'The girl he likes rejected him today, so he’s in a bad mood.'

'Why’d you tell him that?!'

'Because you owe him an apology for just bumping into him like that.'

'No problem.' Mirio shrugged slightly, still smiling. 'I don’t let stuff like that get to me.'

'That’s good.' She smiled back. 'I wish I could say the same thing.'

They finally got up. She passed Mirio his bag.

'Well then, have a good day,' she said.

'Thanks, you too!'

She hurried after her friend. They both were out of sight just as quickly as they’d appeared.

Mirio was beaming. He knew his day was still a good one. And now that a cute girl had helped him pick up his bag – even though he was perfectly capable of doing that himself – it started to change into a great one.

The orange butterfly fluttered above Mirio’s head.

* * *

It was Mirio’s first day at U.A. The welcoming ceremony had just finished, and he was walking back home.

Tamaki was right by his side, flustered by all the attention they had gotten from their new classmates. And while he had a small, subtle smile dancing on his lips, Mirio was sporting the biggest grin; he didn't think he’d ever smiled that much in his life.

‘I can’t believe we’re finally starting our hero course for real. And we’re in the same class!’ Mirio said. There was a spring to his step. ‘I mean, don’t get me wrong, I knew we’d both make it, but it still seems unreal, you know? It’s like a dream come true! Well, not that it isn’t…' Mirio laughed sheepishly. 'I’m rambling again, sorry.’

A small, orange butterfly flew right behind them.

‘It’s okay. I like hearing you talk,’ said Tamaki. ‘It’s pretty amazing how much you can say without running out of things to talk about. I wish I could do that.’

‘Oh, don’t sulk, Tamaki! I’m sure you’ll learn. Besides, it’s not like you never know what to say, you’re just afraid of talking too much.’

‘It’s not… I…’ Tamaki stuttered a bit. ‘Maybe you’re right,’ he said.

Mirio laughed a bit.

‘You worry too much. People like you, I mean it. You’re cute and talented, and you’re a genuinely good person. You just have to give yourself a chance.’

‘It’s easy for you to say. You already shine so brightly it’s blinding. You’re going to become the hero everybody wants to be. And me…’

Mirio stopped walking. He looked way more serious now. He took Tamaki by the shoulders and looked him directly in the eyes.

‘Listen – if not to yourself, then to me. I’ve told you many times, you’re great! And you’re going to become an even greater hero. Do you trust me enough to believe that?’

Tamaki looked away and nodded slightly.

‘That’s the spirit! Now come on, we have to celebrate. How about we get some ramen, huh? What do you say?’ Mirio wrapped an arm around Tamaki’s shoulder.

‘I’ve heard that a new ramen place opened somewhere around here,’ said Tamaki. ‘Maybe we could eat there? If you wanted to…’

‘Sure!’ said Mirio. He looked around the street. ‘Where exactly is it?’

‘It should be somewhere straight ahead.’

‘Alright. Do you know what it’s called?’ asked Mirio. ‘Probably something to do with ramen. Maybe something simple like… Wait a minute!’

‘Wait a minute?’

‘No!’ Mirio leaned forward. ‘Isn’t that one of our senpais?’

He pointed towards a huge guy wearing a U.A. uniform. He was towering over a girl in a dark green uniform Mirio didn’t recognise. It seemed like she was teasing the guy; he was blushing like crazy. But even though he was embarrassed, he seemed happy. And so did she. Her face was split by the biggest, brightest smile he’d ever seen. He felt his heart skip a beat.

‘And who’s that girl? She’s really cute!’

‘Mirio!’ Tamaki whisper-yelled. ‘You shouldn’t say that so loudly. They might hear!’

As if on cue the big guy glared at them, but the girl didn’t seem to mind, so he kept on walking.

Mirio heard her talking really, really fast.

‘I mean, if you want to buy that plushie then buy it. Those jerks from your class shouldn’t stop you. Just because they’re too cowardly to admit they like cute stuff too doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. Besides,’ she lightly elbowed her friend’s side ‘there’s nothing more manly than challenging stupid stereotypes like this one. 'Guys can’t like plushies'. BS, I say!’ She was gesturing wildly. There was an orange bracelet on her wrist.

The guy sighed heavily.

‘I guess you’re right’.

‘See? Now let’s go get you that plushie, Keiki!’

‘I’m gonna talk to them,’ said Mirio.

‘What?’ Tamaki looked genuinely frightened.

‘I’ll go talk to them.’

‘What? No, Mirio, wait!’

But Mirio was already leaving. He approached the pair and smiled.

‘Hello!’

Keiki glared. ‘What do you want?’

‘Don’t be rude!’ said the girl.

‘It’s fine!’ Mirio chuckled. ‘I just wanted to ask about this new ramen restaurant that opened somewhere around here. Do you happen to know where it is? My friend,’ he gestured towards Tamaki, who looked like he wanted to die ‘and I completely forgot it’s name and now we’re lost.’

‘We don’t know any restaurants. Go away,’ said Keiki.

‘But Keiki, isn’t it that one ramen shop we went to last week?’

Now it was Keiki’s turn to wish for death.

‘Were you planning to go to 'Silver Dragon'?’ she asked Mirio.

‘'Silver Dragon'... Yes! Thank you for reminding me.’

‘It’s just down the street to the right. It has a big silver dragon on its front. You can’t miss it.’

‘Again, thank you. Have a nice day!'

‘You too!’

They left. Mirio came back to Tamaki.

‘She was so cute!’ Mirio sighed. ‘I should’ve asked for her number.’

Tamaki only looked down and muttered something under his breath.

‘What was that?’

‘Nothing. Let’s just go.’

* * *

The first semester passed by way too quickly for Mirio’s liking. Three months gone, just like that. A part of him knew he was falling behind his classmates. Everyone’s Quirks were great; he felt a bit out of place with how simple his own was. Not that Mirio didn’t know how to use it – he pretty much mastered all the basics and even some of the more advanced moves. The problem was that even after all this time, he couldn’t figure out how to phase through stuff only partially. He was quite sick of literally pummeling into the ground because he tried to make his arm phase through a wall. Mistakes like this had gotten pretty embarrassing during class; especially if he’d happened to be wearing sweats instead of his usual hero costume. He’d laugh and joke his way out of the majority of those situations, but he was slowly getting fed up with making the same dumb mistake over and over again.

For the first time in a while, Togata Mirio was frustrated.

He’d asked one of his friends from the support department for a simple tracksuit made from the same material as his hero costume. He’d been taking it to the nearest park ever since he got it. Mirio would go there every evening – no exceptions – and train well into the night. Most of that time was spent just phasing through everything he could find; from trees and benches to bigger rocks. He’d usually focus on a specific body part. Somedays he’d use just his hand or arm, or calfs. He’d worked himself into exhaustion more times than he could count.

Tonight wasn't any different. He started with just a few laps around the park. He made it a point of honor for himself to do all of them without stopping or slowing down. He ended up slightly out of breath, but proud. And so, after going through about one third of his water supply, he moved onto the real thing.

His regime was so repetitive it was almost boring. Tonight Mirio was supposed to focus on gaining better control of his quirk in his upper body – mostly shoulders up. He knew he looked silly with his head constantly popping out of random trees, but he kept going. He started to notice that with each rep his feet would stink less and less into the ground. He couldn't help but smile.

And then he nearly rammed his head into someone's shoulder after phasing through a particularly old tree.

It turned out that person was a girl. She shrieked to high heavens and jumped away. The big black dog she had on a leash started barking.

'Ah, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you,' said Mirio. He ignored the warmth in his cheeks. 'You see, I was just training my Quirk control.'

'It's fine don't worry,' she said after a minute or two.. She scratched behind her dog's ear to calm him down.

Mirio noticed a bright orange bracelet on her wrist. He’d definitely seen it somewhere before.

'You just surprised me, that’s all,’ she finished.

Then there was a long, painfully awkward silence. 

Mirio took the opportunity to discreetly get a better look at the girl. There was something familiar about her – something in her posture and the glint in her eye, but he couldn't exactly put a finger on what it was.

And then she smiled, and Mirio felt like something almost clicked into place in his brain.

'You seem familiar, you know? Like I've seen you somewhere before,' he said.

'Really?' she furrowed her brows.

'Really.' It was Mirio's turn to smile. 'Maybe we're going to the same school and just haven't talked before?'

'I don't think so… I would've remembered someone like you.' She flashed that smile again. 'Which school do you go to?'

'U.A.' Mirio pretended her remark didn't make him blush even more. He was probably overthinking it. Someone as loud as him wasn’t hard to miss. She definitely meant that, nothing more.

Her expression changed.

'My friend goes there too! I walk him home sometimes. You must have seen me then.'

Mirio hummed lightly. His brain was working overtime to remember where – or at least when – he'd seen her, but there was nothing. It felt like he was missing just one crucial detail that would complete the picture. Who was her friend again?

A small orange butterfly sat on her dog’s nose. He sneezed. The girl gently patted his head.

'You're probably right,' he finally said with a casual smile. 'Well, I won't take any more of your time. But remember, the next time you come to pick up your friend, I'll find you, and you'll have to talk to me again.'

She chuckled.

'Is that a threat or a promise?'

'Maybe a little bit of both.’ Mirio suddenly felt sheepish. This wasn’t like him. ‘But don't worry, I'm just kidding.'

There was a playful glint in her eyes.

'Well… If you're going to keep that threat-o'-promise, then look for a dark green uniform next time you're at school!'

'Dark green, huh?' Mirio cocked a brow. Not remembering where he’d seen her before was getting frustrating. Maybe it was a ramen shop? 'I surely will. Have a nice day!'

'You too.' 

And just like that, she was gone.

Mirio went back to his training, but he couldn't focus anymore. His feet kept sinking into the ground.

* * *

The hot summer sun knew no mercy, and Mirio was starting to regret choosing such a thick material for his costume. Sure, it was necessary for protection and the big not-fighting-naked thing but wearing it got nearly unbearable during the scorching hot summer time.

He’d been patrolling for the better part of two hours now and the heat was starting to really get to him. Sweat broke out on his forehead and his palms felt like the Niagara Falls. Mirio silently thanked Sir Nighteye for distracting him via checking up on him every half an hour. It made it all easier to ignore how gross he felt – at least a bit. Plus it made sense to be checking up on him so frequently; this was only his second patrol ever. And, just like on the first, everything was calm. Almost weirdly calm. Like Sir purposefully sent him to this part of town to make sure he’d come back without a scratch. He could’ve as well done that, given his foresight and all.

And then Mirio heard an explosion.

Spoke too soon.

'No!' someone screamed.

A huge, slimy villain emerged from the corner. He was holding a girl. Her bag slipped off her arm and landed by the villain’s feet with a thud. Her green uniform was covered with specs of blood.

'No!' he screamed with the girl’s voice. 'They always sound so funny when they’re afraid' he chuckled. His real voice was unpleasant to say the least. Deeper that anyone’s voice should be, gravely and throaty; like something from a horror movie.

'Oh, a hero? Are you gonna try and save her?' The villain shook the girl around, and a sickening crack was heard.

She opened her mouth and shrieked.

She sounded like an explosion, like an avalanche coming down. The villain covered his ears and let her go. She dropped right next to her bag; she didn’t stop screaming. A swarm of orange butterflies flew to the villain and sat all over him.

‘Get them off, get them off!’ he screamed. ‘I can’t see!’

Now Mirio had an opening.

He let himself sink into the ground. For a moment, there was only perfect silence. Then, he shot out of the pavement, right into the villain. Mirio felt his eardrums pop as his fist collided with the guy’s jaw. The girl’s voice was downright painful, and she only stopped once the villain dropped to the ground.

He didn’t get up.

'Are you okay?' Mirio asked, turning around to face the girl.

'I think' she nodded 'but my arms might be broken. They hurt like all hell.'

Mirio winced slightly.

'Yeah, I heard that crack. But don’t worry, I’ll get you somewhere safe.' He bent down to pick her up. 'Or, you know, at least to the closest police station.'

'Thanks.' She smiled slightly. 'By the way, who even was that guy? He seemed like a total nutjob.'

'No idea. We’ll probably learn that from tomorrow’s news…' Mirio paused when he got a good look at her face. She seemed familiar, really familiar. He remembered something about a dog and a ramen shop, but that was as good as his memory got. 'Do I know you?' he blurted out.

The girl gave him a long look.

‘I… I think?’ she said. ‘I think you might have jumped out of a tree when I was walking my dog.’

'Oh, did I?' His laugh was shaky. 'I’m really sorry about that. Didn’t mean to.'

‘I think you’re already apologised for that.’

‘Sorry. I mean…’ Mirio sighed. ‘I’m just gonna stop talking.’

‘No need. I like hearing you talk.’

‘Oh. Um, thank you.’

Mirio started walking. His face was burning and he could swear that he looked like a tomato. The girl’s eyes never left him. He was just hoping he didn’t smell like old sweat. Or something worse.

'What’s your name?' she said as they were nearing a police station.

'My name? I’m Lemi...'

Before Mirio could finish, a muffled voice came through his earpiece.

'Mirio, is everything okay?'

Mirio cleared his throat.

'Yes, Sir. Everything’s peachy. I have a casualty though, I’m taking her to the police station.'

'Good. I’ll contact you in the next thirty minutes.'

‘Sure, talk to you later.’

A strange silence stayed in the air after he finished talking to Sir. It made him uncomfortable. More than it should have.

'That was Sir Nighteye.’ Mirio cleared his throat. Again. More and more sweat was building up underneath his gloves. ‘I’m his inter, you know?'

'Really? I genuinely thought you were a full-fledged hero.' The surprise in her voice was sincere. 'You took that guy down in a moment!'

'Not without your help.' Mirio winked at her. He internally cringed immediately. 'But you know that using your Quirk on others without a license is illegal, right?'

She paled quickly.

'I-I didn’t mean to… He scared me and it just sort of… came out.'

He snickered.

'Calm down, I’m joking. As if I’d rat you out after you helped me.' His tone got more serious. 'Just make sure to be careful next time. Some people would turn you in in a heartbeat. Even heroes.'

'Sure, thanks for the advice.'

Before they knew it, they were standing right in front of the police station. Mirio put her down and gave her his signature smile.

'I hope I won’t have to save you again. Would be a shame if something happened.'

'Right.' She smirked. 'Oh, and you didn’t have to carry me all the way. My arms are hurt, not my legs' she said quickly. ‘If you wanted to ask me out, you could’ve just asked.’ she added as she walked into the building.

Mirio stood in front of the police station, speechless.

‘Well, I’ll have to get her number now. Who knows if I’ll see her again,’ he said to himself.

He walked right in after her.

[oikawaplssteponme]

PART 4 | previously: part 3 | masterlist

pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x fem! reader

ratings/warnings: swearing, mention of violence but there isn’t any

synopsis: When UA’s hot heads, Katsuki Bakugou and you, are forced to put your hatred for each other aside and plan the third year Prom, things end up getting a little heated...

a/n: hi friends!! okay so this part is a little longer but it’s important for what’s to come ;) because i just couldn’t help myself, there’s a little song reference in there, hopefully you catch it,, maybe it’s important *wink wink* anyways, taglist is open so just lmk if you’d like to be added 🖤 enjoy xx

•

Four: it’s what’s on the inside that counts

It’s been over 2 weeks since your fight with Bakugou. The two of you haven’t spoken since, leaving your classmates a bit nervous. You were stubborn and so was he. The only problem was, neither of you really remembered why you were fighting in the first place. You two fought often, that was obvious, but something about this last fight felt different. As if you and Bakugou genuinely wanted to hurt each other. In the past, it was mainly for your own satisfaction just to fight someone. You and Bakugou had disliked each other for so long that you couldn’t even think of a solid reason for why you hated him. You soon came to realize that you barely knew anything about Katsuki Bakugou...and that bothered you.

~

“LISTEN UP! Prom tickets will be on sale after school today in the common area. You can also buy them at the door but just know they’ll cost more. So I recommend you have your money ready and get in line early because I only have a certain amount for presale. Thank you that’s all!” You announced to your class. “Oh and pass this information onto the other classes please!”

You hopped down from the desk where you were standing and brushed your skirt down.

“Do you need help setting up?” asked Deku. You looked over at Bakugou, who was supposed to be helping you but since the two of you weren’t on speaking terms, that wasn’t really an option.

“Uh sure that’d be great,” you said.

“I’ll lend a hand as well,” chimed in Iida. You laughed.

“Guys all I need help with is moving a table and a few boxes,” you explained.

“We are happy to help!”

You, Deku, and Iida set up the ticket selling table. You placed the poster of the dance in front of the table. Izuku grabbed the box of tickets and looked through them.

“Y/N did you make these?” He asked. Your face got warm.

“Uh yeah, it’s not a big deal though,” you insisted.

“It’s excellent artistic work Y/N! You should be proud!” smiled Iida.

“Yeah it’s super cool!”

“Thanks guys,” you gushed. You sat down at the table and pulled out your notebook and pen.

“Alright! Who wants the honor of buying the first ticket?”

“You should, after all you planned the dance,” said Deku. You smiled.

“I guess you’re right.” You picked up the first ticket, wrote your name next to the #1 spot in your notebook, and put your money in the cash box.

“Okay. Who’s next?”

~

The line of people never seemed to end. You got in the groove of writing down their name, number, and putting away the money pretty quickly.

“Hey Momo! Uh you’re number 35,” you said to your classmate.

“Thanks, here you go!” She smiled, handing you the money.

“Y/N!!” cheered Mina, “wait is this the theme?” Mina pointed to the design on the tickets.

“Uh yeah it is,” you smiled.

“‘My Emotions Feel Like Explosions When You’re Around’,” read aloud Deku.

“I LOVE IT!! It’s super cute and honestly I would expect nothing less from you and Bakugou!”

Right. Bakugou.

“Uh yeah. I'm excited to see how it turns out once we get all the decorations.”

“Do any of you have dates yet?” asked Denki as he paid.

“Wow Denki is that your only concern?” laughed Jirou.

“I haven’t even thought about that,” said Iida.

“Planning on asking anyone?” You asked aloud.

“I am…” mumbled Deku.

“Wow Izuku wonder who?” said Kirishima sarcastically.

“Who are you gonna ask, Deku?” You asked. No one said anything. You turned around and saw all your friends staring at you.

“What…it was just a question…”

“Wait, you're like genuinely asking?” laughed Denki, “I thought it was obvious.” Deku hit Denki’s arm.

“It’s fine, it will be better if it’s a surprise anyway,” said Deku.

“Do you want someone to ask you, Y/N?” asked Sero, handing you his money. You put the cash in a box.

“I honestly don’t care. I wasn’t even planning on going to Prom before Aizawa forced me to plan it,” you admitted.

“Well we are all glad you’ll be there,” smiled Iida.

~

Your friends had all gone back to their dorms after a bit. There were still about 20 people in line for tickets and you were exhausted.

“Cafeteria closes soon dumbass,” said someone. You whipped around. You groaned.

“Well Katsuki, I’m kinda busy if you can’t tell,” you huffed.

“Go eat. I’ll finish up here,” he said. Your eyes grew.

“Wait what-”

“Go on, you only have 15 minutes before they close dinner. I've got this,” he insisted. You got up from your chair.

“Do you know what you’re doing?”

“It can’t be that hard if you figured it out.”

You rolled your eyes

“Whatever. Just pick up when you’re done.” You began to walk down to the cafeteria.

Two weeks of not talking to me and that’s all he has to say?

“Grabbing some dinner?” called Iida behind you. You smiled.

“Yeah , Bakugou is finishing up the ticket sale.”

“Nice. I’ll join you.”

“Thanks Iida.”

~

“Cold soba?” questioned Iida, “You never get your soba cold.” You looked down at your tray of food.

“I guess Todoroki converted me,” you joked. Iida raised a brow.

“Alright Y/N, what is it? We both know you hate cold food,” he said. You picked at your soba.

“I’m fine honestly,” you mumbled.

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with Bakugou, would it?” You whipped your head to look at Iida.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?”

“That’s more like it!” He smiled. You chuckled.

“Well would it?” He asked. You shrugged.

“I guess this whole dance is stressing me out. Bakugou and I haven’t been very productive lately ,” you admitted. Iida sighed.

“Well this might be a stretch but you could try to make peace with him.” You groaned.

“I’m not making peace with that angry pomeranian until he apologizes.”

“Why can’t you just apologize?”

“BECAUSE I-I, I don’t know. My own stupid pride I guess.”

“You two need to overcome your differences eventually. Who knows, you guys might have more in common than you think,” smiled Iida.

“You’re the worst, you know that,” you joked.

“Wait really?”

“Iida…”

~

After dinner, you laid in your dorm room, staring up at the ceiling. You knew you should get some of the planning done but you also would rather just forget about the stupid dance. After about 10 minutes of contemplating, you headed down to the basement.

As you walked down the stairs, you remembered that Bakugou still had your notebook. You went down anyway, hoping to get some work done on your laptop instead. Much to your surprise, the door was propped open. You took a deep breath and prepared yourself for what could be behind the door.

“Hey Bakugou…” your voice trailed off as you saw that no one else was in the room.

He must’ve left the door open so I wouldn’t ask him for the keys.

You set down your things and sat down on one of the tables. You pulled out your laptop.

“I figured I’d find you here,” A raspy voice said. You looked up to see none other than Katsuki Bakugou, holding your notebook.

“Oh hi. I just thought I’d get some work done,” you explained.

“How’d you get in?”

“Uh you left the door open,” you explained. Bakugou huffed. He took a seat at the same table as you, setting down your notebook.

“Here dumbass.” Bakugou threw something on you and it landed on your head.

“What the-” You grabbed the soft material off of your head. Your eyes grew.

“Katsuki-”

“You said I owed you a new shirt, so here it is,” he said. You looked at the brand new t-shirt, a smile on your face.

“Yeah well I didn’t think you’d actually buy me one…”

“I mean I did rip your other shirt pretty badly. I-uh-I’m sorry about that.” Your eyes widened.

“Did you just say you’re sorry?”

“Yeah and I’m not saying it again.” he huffed.

“Bakugou I’m sorry too,” you said. Bakugou tilted his head.

“What are you sorry for?”

“I guess for everything. Well, maybe not everything because I don’t regret kicking your ass for 3 years one bit but I am sorry for that fight the other day. I almost killed you,” you explained nervously.

“Key word ‘almost’. I guess I almost did too,” he joked. You let out a nervous chuckle.

“Here’s the thing Bakugou, I don’t know anything about you yet I hate you with every ounce of my body. I guess I want to hate you for a reason.”

“What the hell does that mean, nerd?” He questioned. Your face got warm.

“You know how they say, ‘it’s what’s on the inside that counts’? Well,I want to hate you for what’s on the inside,” you laughed. Bakugou raised a brow.

“And what about you? The only thing I know about you is that you’ve got a short temper and your shirts rip easily. I barely know you either…”

He was right. Probably the only person who knew anything remotely deep about you was Iida, and even that was still somewhat surface level. You didn’t pick UA to get too comfortable with your classmates, even if you were friends, since in the real world you would be competing for the number one Hero spot. Maybe that’s why most of them were intimidated by you.

You patted on the top of the table, hinting for Bakugou to sit with you. He groaned and joined you on the table.

“This is stupid,” he mumbled. You rolled your eyes.

“Come on just try. And just to clarify, we are doing this for research purposes only. I’m convinced by the end of this I’ll still want to rip your head off 24/7,” you said. Bakugou nodded.

“Yeah I mean not like that could change.”

“Exactly. Okay so you first. What is it that makes Katsuki Bakugou a horrible pain in my ass?” You smiled sarcastically. Bakugou chuckled quietly.

“What do you want to know, dumbass?”

•

[taglist OPEN: @vangoghpoets @vangoghmusings @bokutory @complimentaryhugsgirl @cloudswritings @kriswu46 @neodnyl @evivn1 @jazzylove @mileven-reddie @whalerus @misssugarless @random-fandom-girl-24 @fanfiction-and-stress @ushiwakatrash @minhoswife @addictofsupernatural @the-shota-king-masayuki @freyafolkvangr @fourteenow @tamaguchi @lalayy @athenarosaline @blxck-coffee @katsukibabe @thatonegeekchick ]

[not-safeforsanders]

Mutual and Unresolved Affection

Send me your tropes and I’ll write u a fic cos we need more fluff.

Ship: Anxceit

Word Count: 5427 

Warnings: Alcohol mention! 

Kink List: Losing virginity (?), Accidental arousal.

Trope List: There Was Only One Bed, Mutual Pining.

Plot: Virgil doesn’t like New York City, but he does like Janus, and now he’s got to spend seven days in the same bed as him.

18+ ONLY. Ageless blogs and minors DNI

--

Virgil hates the prospect of travelling. He thinks there’s very little reason to travel, he likes being in the same places where there are stability and repetition and the same street corners that he’s perpetually used too. Which is interesting because he moved states for university, the outlier is if you hate your parents then there’s a time to re-familiarise yourself with a new city. 

And for the past three years, he hadn’t moved out of this city, not so much as a train ride or a visit to the next town over. He likes the one-space situation. The world is too big, he is very small, and he does not like being lost. 

Except Janus had insisted on him going on this trip with him. Third-year arts course get to take a trip to New York to visit an array of art galleries and museums over a one week period. Virgil had said he couldn’t afford it, and the idea of being in a city that is known for never sleeping, actively disgusted him. “But it’s such a good chance, Virgil! You need to live a little!” His best and only friend had insisted, bordering on pouting in his attempt to sell the idea to him. 

It worked, it took two days, but Virgil agreed. Janus paid for himself and half of Virgil’s, and then they’d spent an entire day on travelling with some of their classmates and tutors, to get to a hotel that definitely smells like alcohol. They were all sharing a room with one other person, and obviously, Virgil had clung to Janus as his lifeline to some sanity. They’d taken a keycard each and headed to the fourth floor in a very cramped elevator, gotten too their room and pushed open the door. 

Virgil was already really tired, he could’ve done without the realisation of the fact that instead of twin beds, they’d been given one big double bed. He rests his head against the wall with a soft sigh and takes an exhausted breath in immediately after, shaking his head. “Don’t even say it,” he mutters to Janus, who looks mildly amused. 

“But there’s only one bed!”

“I’m going to hit you.” He rests his suitcase against the wall and sits down to undo his boots. “I’m too tired to even care, I just want to sleep.” He pulls his shirt over his head and leans down to his suitcase to pull his sleepwear from his suitcase. “Unless you sleep naked in which case you’ll be on the floor.” 

“You wish,” the blond snorts, sitting on the other side. He ducks his head behind his hair as he leans down to grabs his own things from his suitcase, but he’s only half paying attention to the contents. There’s a slight blush on his cheeks as his smile slips from his lips. The idea of sleeping in the same bed as Virgil would have excited him in absolutely any other circumstance. Not by accident, not when he’s barely communicated the fact that he likes the other man in a way that is distinctly not platonic. 

He pulls out a pair of jogging bottoms, his eyes glancing over at Virgil as the other man slides his jeans off and folds them on the floor. Janus swallows a little, his heart skipping a beat in his chest as his gaze ghosts over the curve of Virgil’s ass and thighs, before tearing away to focus on getting changed. He doesn’t want to stare, less for himself and more because he doesn’t want to make his friend uncomfortable. 

Virgil flops face-first on the bed once he’s in his pyjamas, hugging the pillow and burying against it like he’s willing it to eat him alive. He’d taken off his socks and Janus can’t help but notice that his feet look sore, thanks to very heavy combat boots he wears everywhere. For the aesthetic, he’d insist, Janus isn’t sure the aesthetic is worth that many blisters. 

He pulls on his own vest and lies down on the bed, only just realising how tired he is. “Apparently we’re going out tonight, I think someone will probably knock on when it’s time.” Virgil makes a small groaning noise, muffled by the pillow, acknowledging the idea and how much he hates it in one. “Get some rest, V, I’ll wake you up when it’s time.” Virgil nods, tilting his head to the side so his cheek rests against the pillow, his dark eyes closing. Janus tries not to stare again, lying down on his side so he can resist the temptation, and soon he’s drifting off to sleep too. 

--

They wake up as the sun is setting, dragging their bodies out of bed to take turns in the shower and get ready. “Where are we going again?” Virgil asks, his blackened hair curling from the shower water. 

“I don’t think they said anywhere in particular,” Janus replies, trying to stop his curls from knotting around each other. “Sightseeing, but with alcohol.” His smaller friend huffs, leaning his head against the wall as he utters some quiet words of complaint under his breath. “Oh the horror, you’ll have to socialise and…” he gasps in exaggeration, bringing his hand to his chest in mock-terror “...enjoy yourself!” 

“I am going to rip out your spine with my bare fucking hands, Janus Richardson, so help me G-” a knock at the door cuts Virgil off. “We’ll be out in a minute!” He curses under his breath and shoves on his hoodie, bending down to stick his feet into his boots. Janus is grinning a little as he reaches for his denim jacket out of his suitcase. 

“I really love the fact you own the same outfit twelve times.” 

“I wasn’t joking blondie, I will kill you.” The grin does not shift off of his face as he pulls on his beanie and steps towards the door. He doesn’t mention that Virgil kills him a little bit every day, whether it be from the skintight jeans or the way that Janus knows he has feelings he can never find returned. He’d made peace with that, if nothing else he’s glad to be Virgil’s friend, that’s still important, he wouldn’t ever think it made him less important to Virgil. But it still aches. 

“Come on gloomy guts, lets go get drunk.” 

--

There are forty students on this trip, and Janus and Virgil have managed to lose the other thirty eight. Janus has managed to lose most of his coherency too, leaning against the brick wall outside to try and keep himself upright. “Do you mind sharing a bed with me?” He wonders aloud. “It doesn’t make you uncomfortable does it?” 

Virgil looks up at him incredulously around the cigarette smoke pouring from his lips. “I feel like we have bigger fish to fry right now.” 

“I never have bigger fish to fry,” Janus hummed. “Your comfort is all I ever think about,” he looks tired, his beanie slipping down his head and his curls falling into his eyes. Everything about him appears as unstable as he suddenly feels. Virgil falters, unsure how on earth he should respond to that, instead he just holds out the cigarette for the taller man to lean up and take from his hand. “We should just go back to the hotel, I’ll text the tutors to let them know we didn’t trip and fall down a drainpipe.” 

He takes a step forward and tries to recount their steps back to the hotel. It starts raining at some point. Virgil tugs the hood up to but Janus barely notices. He flicks the end of the cigarette into an ashtray on a passing bin, focuses on the way the night swallows up the streets. He keeps saying he needs to quit, but in reality he, nor Virgil, could care less whether or not they live or die. The whole world is in hot water, and he’d grown up with the idea he’d be dead before thirty. It helps to keep his standards for life low, that way he’s either right or very pleasantly surprised. 

Which is probably why he’d never so much as mentioned his affections for Virgil. 

Still, it’s not as if he doesn’t enjoy life, that’s why he’s drunkenly recalling the layout of this area, half conjuring scenarios in his head where he has something funny to say. He doesn’t say anything. Virgil notices, he looks a little worried as Janus trips over his own feet and sighs, but otherwise doesn’t find a conversation anywhere. He puts it down to concentrating on finding the way back to their hotel. 

But once they get there, he realises that Janus looks pale and upset, leaning against the metal of the elevator wall as they head upstairs. He still doesn’t speak, but he’s clearly thinking very hard about something, Virgil clears his throat a little, and the blond snaps out of his thoughts, a ‘huh’ on his lips, eyes wide in some shape of surprise, like he’d only just noticed where they were. The elevator opens, and they both step out. “Are you alright?” Virgil asks quietly. 

“Drunk,” Janus replies, with a weak laugh. 

“I can tell,” he offers a small smile, grabbing his keycard out of his pocket and opening the hotel door. Their clothes are wet, and each toe off their shoes, leaving them up against the wall. Janus glances over at Virgil as his hoodie is discarded to the side; and what he doesn’t know is when he turns around his friend glances up to speak to him but instead admires the way his muscles flex as he pulls his wet shirt over his head. Virgil knows Janus is attractive, has known from the moment they met, but there’s something about the light dampness to his skin as he slides his jeans down his firm thighs that wrenches something else through him. 

He busies himself getting changed, puts it down to a little too much to drink, and promptly slides under the covers of the bed, his eyes closing. A moment later, Janus slides in beside him, their backs to each other. Neither of them speak, Virgil switches off the light, and they sleep. 

--

Two days into the trip, Virgil really can’t put it down to alcohol. Janus forgets his clothes and comes out of the shower, skin a little damp and a towel wrapped around his waist, a small apology on his tongue. Virgil is very glad that he’s lying on his stomach. He notices that Janus has an ouroboros tattoo just under his collarbone, and for the first time in his life he considers whether or not he’d like to run his tongue over it.

--

Four days into the trip, Virgil is reading a book in bed, Janus slides in next to him and starts reading over his shoulder. After a little while he sinks down into the bed and rests his head on his friend’s shoulder, Virgil feels his heart skip a few beats in his chest. When the other man falls asleep, curled up beside him, Virgil shimmies down as carefully as possible, he falls asleep with the blond’s head on his chest. 

--

The next day Virgil wakes up with Janus half on top of him, snoring softly, his cheeks are flushed and his hair is messy, his hand periodically twitching from where it rests beside Virgil’s waist. The dark-haired man leans up to push some of his own hair from his eyes, looking down at the body wrapped around his own. In his head, he can imagine Janus waking up and kissing him, which isn’t a thought he can say he’s had in a while; he hadn’t thought about kissing Janus since...well since they met. He’d thought he was the most attractive man in the class, but Virgil had never seen himself as nearly attractive enough for him. He hadn’t even thought they’d be friends. 

At some point, that physical attraction had just melted away. Or maybe it hadn’t. 

In his own daydreams, Virgil can imagine running his hand through Janus’ hair and tugging a little, can imagine their tongues sliding together, can imagine feeling his heartbeat. He’s used to telling his best friend he loves him, but something about saying it in that situation has a flare of warmth opening up in his body. He remembers the sight of Janus as he came out of the shower, water running in little droplets over his collarbones, the trimmed blond curls just below his belly button. 

Heat pricks at Virgil’s skin as, without meaning too, he imagines sliding his hand below the waistline of that towel, or his jeans, or pulling his shirt off of him. The blood in his own body seems to simmer beneath his skin, and he has to take a deep breath in to direct his mind absolutely anywhere else. 

Janus stirs suddenly, his body stretching out with a muffled sound of exhaustion. Virgil smiles down at him as his eyes peel open, sleep clinging to the corners of his eyes. “Sorry,” he mutters lazily. “You’re very comfortable.” 

“I’m glad,” Virgil replies, voice barely a whisper and scratchy from dehydration. “I need to pee, though, so could you stop being deadweight for a moment?” The taller man snorts, rolling off of him and lying back on the bed. As he stretches out, his biceps tense and his shirt rides up, and Virgil has never felt like he’s needed to tear his eyes away from someone before, but these past few days have been handing him a series of revelations that he has no idea what to do with. 

He closes the bathroom door behind him, and actually uses the toilet. Afterwards, he stands in front of the wall-length mirror as water from the tap runs down the drain wondering if there’s absolutely any part of him that Janus could be attracted too. 

He brushes his teeth, but he can’t look himself in the eye. 

As he exits, Janus sits up off the bed. “You take forever dude.” He slides to the edge, Virgil’s gaze catches his long enough to blush. “My turn,” he brushes past him to the bathroom, Virgil just snorts but it sounds exhausted, and he hates the way it sounds. He doesn’t know if Janus notices.

He tries to take his mind off the slowly-becoming-inescapable realisation that he may actually love his friend both sexually and romantically, but suddenly he’s very aware of how little he owns that he hasn’t shared with the other man. The past three years of his life has been a joint effort and it takes looking for something that doesn’t remind him of Janus to find that out. That just makes him feel worse because he should’ve noticed how much the blond does for and with him by now. 

The bathroom door opens and he jumps. Janus’ hair is still a mess, the curls fluffy and tangled, he grins and flops down onto the bed face-first, before lying still. “I don’t want to do more things today, I just want to lie in bed.” Virgil resists the urge to reach out and run a hand through his hair in bid to sort out the mess. 

“Can we just stay in bed today? Do what we want?” Janus lifts his head and grins. “One of us could pretend to be ill?”

“You should win a geniusness award V.” 

“That’s a bit much.” 

“And I’m utterly sure perfecting your eyeliner and straightening your hair and wearing combat boots with chains on them are not.” 

“No those are the basic standards for looking good.” A knock at the door interrupts the conversation, Virgil coughs very loudly, sliding under the covers. Janus rolls his eyes and slides off the bed. Virgil closes his eyes and rolls over onto his side, feigning being sleepy. 

“...Yeah, he’s probably just got a cold, but he’s feeling quite sick, he’s definitely got a temperature, but I gave him so cold and flu medicine...” he hears Janus explaining their fake situation. “...Yeah, he should be okay, really, he just needs some rest...” Virgil hears the muffled voice of one of their tutors and then the door closes, and locks. Virgil doesn’t really want to move, so he feigns being asleep, although the small smile on his lips gives him away, if the fact a person can’t fall asleep that fast hadn’t. 

“You’re a terrible actor.” The bed dips, and Virgil grins, still not opening his eyes. Janus peels back the covers, and the smaller man who is curled up a little ball on his side, assumes he’s getting in the bed. Until, suddenly, he feels Janus’ hands digging in against his side. He squeaks, squirming and trying to fend off the larger and stronger man. Virgil rolls on his back, trying to lean up to tickle Janus back but is far too busy squirming beneath him. “St-Stop-ah-Janus I sw-fuck off!” He tries to push the other man away, to next to no avail, and gives up, laughing and squirming beneath the other man’s touch. 

Finally the blond gives in, resting his body above Virgil’s as they both try to catch their breath. Just as they’ve both stopped laughing, they meet each other’s eyes and find themselves in hysterics once more, caught up in just how childish this whole situation is. Virgil’s giggles are stifled against his hand, but then he hiccups and he’s off again, cheeks flushed as he tries to hide his face. He feels so warm, physically and emotionally. It’s not until they finally cease their laughter that Virgil even realises Janus’ knee is pressed into the space of the bed between Virgil’s knees, previously in effort to keep him pinned down against it. 

He sucks in a shaky breath at that thought, the laughter ceasing. Janus’ grin slips a little too, as though worried by the change in demeanour. “That was fun, I don’t think I’ve had a tickle fight in a few years,” Virgil tries to speak normally, but his voice is scratchy from the laughter, and a whisper from the sudden flush to his body. 

“Me neither.” Janus moves to kneel up and that seems to be even worse because he’s basically sitting on Virgil’s leg. “I didn’t realise you were so ticklish.” 

“I’m not,” Virgil deadpans, with a completely straight face. 

“Oh yeah?” Janus grins, slyly. 

“Don’t, wait, I take it back-Jan!” Virgil weakly bats off the hands sliding up against his ribs, but the movement doesn’t just tickle as his shirt rides up and a wisp of air brushes against his skin. He takes a very sharp breath in, as one of Janus’ hands plant themself beside his head and the other slips up his shirt. It’s platonic, he’s sure the movement is utterly platonic, but he feels the palm of the other man’s hand against the skin of his ribs and his nails catch against him. It tickles, he laughs, but he feels the movements like shockwaves through his body as his hands comes up to push Janus away but after half a second all he’s doing is gripping a hold of his vest. In his mid-second delirium, his eyes catch the tattoo on Janus’ collarbone, the snake in a perfect circle over his left breast. 

His own back arches at the incessant tickling and Janus’ body is just a little too close, he’s half-laughing, half-crying and very aware that he can feel the other man’s body heat radiating against his skin. Janus is grinning above him and his dips his head a little as his arm aches. Virgil can feel their bodies resting to each other, Janus’ fingers dig in and his body jolt upwards, his hips rocking against the other’s thigh. 

The touch slows, they’re both blushing, Virgil lifts his hand up, dazed and drunk on dopamine, to brush Janus’ hair out of his eyes. His fingertips trail against faded scars on the side of his face, his eyes following his own movements before he’s looking up at his friend. Janus’ face is soft, his bright eyes meeting Virgil’s, lips pressed in a small smile. “Didn’t mean to work you up,” he whispered. 

“Huh?” Virgil asks, a little out of it. Janus shifts his thigh so it’s pressed between the other man’s hips, which jerk almost by autopilot. He’s half hard and he’d barely noticed before but he can’t escape it now. 

Virgil doesn’t really know how to react, his initial impulse to panic but suddenly Janus’ face looks a little hungry and he understands, with a hint of incredulousness, and moves the hand on his friend’s face to tangle through his hair. Their lips meet a little too hard, a little too fast, Virgil whimpers at the force and rocks his hips without a second of hesitation. He’s a little confused, very frustrated, and moans when Janus’ teeth sink against his bottom lips and tugs. 

His hands wind through the blond curls and pull just a little, tilting the other man’s head back with the movement enough to press his lips, then teeth to the expanse of skin waiting to be bruised by him, burying his face in the crook of Janus’ neck. Their bodies by now are pressed together, both rocking against each other, their breath dissipating in the air around them in a series of gentle moans. 

There’s something lazy in the franticity, both still wearing their clothes and grinding against each other like they’re just too desperate to pause. Janus’ body is warm and offers a nice pressure against him. He can hear the other pant against his ear, feel his muscles flex against his body and despite the fact Virgil is feeling so many emotions at once, he’s overwhelmed by the distinct relief that he experiences at the sound of his friend’s moans. 

He tilts his head back and lets Janus kiss him again, but his own coordination is missing a beat because the inside of his mind is racing and his heart is beating so fast as it experiences euphoria it has never really felt before. He can feel Janus’ hard cock press against his hip through his sweats, he doesn’t know why it makes him feel dizzy, but it does. Virgil peels open his eyes to look up at the other man, his hands loosen their grips, their eyes meet, and Janus rolls his hips with some semblance of determination, just to see Virgil’s face entirely as he lets out a soft sound of pleasure. 

Janus’ hand drags nail-first down Virgil’s side, before he leans up. They both looked wrecked, when Virgil looks at Janus he sees his hair all messed up and his skin is flushed, his cock tenting in his pants. When Janus looks at Virgil he sees someone struggling to breathe, aching to be touched. He moves his leg so that his body is between Virgil’s thighs, his hands falling to the waistband of his sleep pants. He glances up, Virgil nods enthusiastically. Janus feels a little like he’s unwrapping a gift as he pulls them down the other man’s legs and leans down without a second to spare to run his tongue along the length of Virgil’s cock. 

The smaller man whimpers, his voice catching in his throat and dissolving into a moan as Janus takes him between his lips. “Fuck, Jan,” his voice comes out high-pitched as his hand runs through the blond curls and holds them out of his friend’s face so he can watch him. He tries to keep his hips on the bed but he can’t control the slight twitch of desperation. Janus pulls his mouth off and wraps his hand around the base of Virgil’s cock, stroking a little. 

“Been a while?” He asks, teasingly. 

“Could say that, yeah,” Virgil replies weakly, finding that it’s probably the wrong time to admit that he’s a virgin. Janus doesn’t press further, just grins and dips his head to take him in again. 

Virgil feels like he’s going to black out for a moment, his hand involuntarily tightening in the other man’s hair as he moans. His head tilts back as little gasps leave him, his other hand gripping the bed sheets beneath him. 

He feels his whole body tremble as his hips twitch, he’s not sure if he makes a noise because he’s too busy feeling like he’d just been dropped underwater. He’s fairly certain he forgets to breathe, and he knows when he’s finished coming down Janus’ throat he apologises for not giving more warning, but it all escalated so fast that he’d barely realised himself. Janus doesn’t mind, sucking at the head of Virgil’s cock just to get that soft whine out of him. He swallows and kneels up, wiping his mouth off on the back of his hand. “Not that I’m complaining, but that was fast.” Virgil buries his face in his hands with an embarrassed whine. Janus leans up with a smile on his face, leaning down to press a soft kiss to the other man’s fingertips. “Really has been a while, huh?” Virgil is semi mortified, his cheeks flushing even further as soft hands peel his own away from his face. 

“Something like that,” he says softly. “Do you want me to…?” he realises, rather poignantly, he has no idea what he’s doing, maybe the worry showed on his face because Janus’ eyebrows furrow too. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, of course, I...It’s just I...uh…” he trails off, his face getting redder and redder by the second. “Well it’s just I’ve never...and I don’t really know what I’m doing, and I…” Janus breathes a sort of sigh of relief. “Sorry?”

“No, it’s fine, I was just worried you didn’t like it, you should’ve told me though, I would’ve gone a little slower.” 

“No! It was good, it was...perfect.” Janus’ breath hitches, and it’s his turn to blush, he sits beside Virgil, who tucks himself back into his pants before moving to kiss the other man slowly. He can taste himself on Janus’ tongue and by principle he doesn’t like the taste, but primally he feels like he could get drunk on it. He pulls back. “You’re going to have to show me,” he mutters, pressing a gentle kiss to the other man’s lips before shifting back, his hand falling to his thighs and trailing upwards. 

“Take your time,” Janus advises. Virgil slides his sweatpants down his hips with a little help, his hand wrapping around the half-hard length and moving his hand the way he does with himself. The blond shivers slightly, eyes flickering from the hand to Virgil’s face, their eyes meeting briefly. He’s already breathing a little faster, his heart hammering in his chest. Now he’s had time to catch his breath he’s just about realising that this is Virgil, touching him. His best friend. 

That thought abandons, with all other thoughts, when Virgil ducks his head down to suck at the head of Janus’ cock, his movements careful and experimental. He takes him down inch by inch at his own pace. “Mind your gag reflex,” Janus warns, but Virgil takes him down and pulls back up, slowly finding a rhythm. His eyes fall shut as he lets the weight and feel overtake him. He gags a couple of times in the process, before using his hand and mouth in tandem. His dark eyes open and meet Janus’, the blond stutters out a gentle moan as he watches spit dribble down the smaller man’s chin. 

He takes a little longer, and Virgil stops and starts as his body aches until determination overtakes him and he pushes through. His eyes shut again, the sort of way someone might doing exercise, in some ways he’s just as desperate for Janus to come as he himself is, like he wants that satisfaction. 

Janus stammers out a warning as he feels his orgasm approach, but Virgil doesn’t even entertain the idea of pulling away. The bitter taste of come squirts into his mouth, thick and sticky on his tongue, it hits the back of his throat and he chokes just a little, but moves his head through the aftershocks of Janus’ orgasm with tears pricking his eyes from the sensation. 

“Are you okay?” The blond rushes out hurriedly, Virgil nods as he pulls up, bringing his hands to his mouth to cough hard. 

“Oh that’s gross I’m so sorry,” Virgil mutters. 

“No no it’s okay, worse things have happened, come on let’s get you cleaned up.” Janus tucks himself back into his sweats and stands on admittedly shaky legs as his hand rests on Virgil’s back, guiding him to the bathroom. “Are you sure you’re okay? I should’ve given you more warning, here gargle some water, I’ll make you a cup of tea.” Virgil does not usually like being fussed over, but as he spits come out into the sink and washes out his mouth and hands, he finds the care the most comforting he’s ever felt. 

“Was it okay?” Virgil asks, as he’s finally leaving the bathroom.

“You did great, I’m impressed.” A cup of hot tea is placed on the bedside table and Janus’ eyes find his own, still worried, still full of care, his hands coming up to Virgil’s arms as if checking for the millionth time he’s okay. “Was it okay for you?” 

“Jan if you ask me one more time I’m going to rip out your jugular with my teeth.” 

“Oh joy, we’re back to our regular schedule of sass.” 

“Don’t make me hit you!” 

Janus grins, shaking his head, he leans down to kiss Virgil gently, their lips moving slowly, much more calmly, a ripple of warmth makes Virgil’s head feel fuzzy. “I have a confession,” Janus mutters, his forehead resting against Virgil’s. “I’ve had a bit of a crush on you since we first met.” 

“Good,” Virgil mutters. “I mean I thought I just wasn’t...I mean you’re so hot, with your blond curly hair and mysterious bad boy attitude and I just...you know, it’s like I made myself forget I was attracted to you because I didn’t think I stood a chance.” 

“You stand all the chance, 100% chance, odds are in your favour.” 

“Kiss me you moron.” 

“I’m your moron,” their lips meet again, gently, and then again, and again, until they’re both grinning and falling on the bed. Virgil lies back and Janus tucks up against him, his head on his chest. “So...virgin?” 

“Not anymore, clearly.” Virgil glances down at Janus before sighing. “Stop looking so fucking pleased with yourself.” 

“I am pleased with myself.” 

“Bitch.” 

“Slut.” 

“Living personification of the moment you dip a digestive in tea and it breaks apart and sinks to the bottom of your cup.” 

“Ouch, you win.” Virgil grins, shaking his head, his hand playing with Janus’ hair as he lets everything that has happened sink in. He’d thought losing his virginity would feel different, somehow, but he doesn’t feel like he’s any different. He just feels like himself, but in the nice afterglow of his first sexual encounters, with someone he likes a whole lot. He loves Janus, he’s his best friend, so it doesn’t feel strange to consider that he loves him even if now he’s viewing it through a different lens. “Are we...dating now, is that how this works?” 

“I sure hope so because I’ve gotta sleep with you again tonight.” Virgil rolls his eyes. Trust him to pick the most sarcastic, insufferable, annoying...his thoughts trail off as Janus leans up to kiss him gently. “Your tea is getting cold,” (...sweetest, most thoughtful, most handsome man in the world). 

They spend the day kissing and drinking tea, and Virgil gets the hang of having a cock in his mouth in the space of twelve hours. 

--

Day six comes and goes and Virgil is anxious to get home, although he’s sad that these memories were not made in a place, a room, that he could come back too. He’s got plenty more to make. He falls asleep that night wrapped up in Janus’ body, and wakes up early just to feel the expanse of his skin before they have to get ready to leave. 

--

When they get back to their dorm, Virgil chucks his suitcase into his room and drags Janus in with him. He shuts the door, happy to be home, so happy in fact, that they won’t leave that room until the next day.

[wakaoujisenhime]

Hello!~ Can I ask for 200 event funny scenario about Rakuzan cute manager, who gets a lot of confession, so Rakuzan boys get jealous and want to protect her?

A/N: This turned out quite differently than I had originally planned it, but I hope you’ll like and enjoy it nonetheless! (∿°○°)∿ ♡  

Also, can someone explain to me why all the fluffy images of them are mostly without Mayuzumi?? This man deserves way more love (/ _ ; ) watch me edit him in there one day

Tags: Rakuzan x reader ✅ SFW ✅  fluff ✅

━━━━☆ ━━━━☆ ━━━━☆

Love letters - Rakuzan x reader

A small light blue whistle dangled from your neck as you shouted out to the jogging members of the basketball club: “Come on, guys, just one more round!“

Since your first year in Rakuzan, you had joined the basketball club and had become their manager. In the beginning, you weren’t really noticed by the team, but that was not surprising because the captain was being trusted and listened to more than the actual coach.

Akashi’s judgment was truly impressing, and you couldn’t help but respect him as well...but there was no way in hell you’d just sit back as the rest and leave every responsibility resting on this young man’s shoulders.

Much to everybody’s surprise, you’d just butt into their conversations and share your view on the topic. That action alone left a lot of your classmates and upperclassmen flabbergasted, and just some days later, the school had labeled you fearless for daring to directly speak with these overly respected men.

Back then, you didn’t know about their reputation and titles at all, so you acted purely instinctual. If someone had told you beforehand who they were, though, you probably would’ve kept your mouth shut. But that lucky ‘mistake’ was the exact reason for your wholesome relationship with them now...

You see, all these boys ever wanted - outside of the basketball club - was to be accepted by someone the way they were. They were also ‘normal’ students like you and your classmates...the only exception was their immense talent and sincerity for the sport they loved, so why did they get treated like some kind of abnormalities?

Their peers’ rumors and reserved attitudes seemingly didn’t bother them that much, but you knew better and managed to see past their façades. You genuinely cared for them and everything that involved their person.

At first, it seemed really unnatural to them. The fact that someone as adorable as you was out there, willing to invest the majority of their time for them and their talent truly made them happy.

Slowly but surely, they began opening up to you. After just a few months, you became their most trusted person, whom they could always go to in order to discuss any- and everything, so the moment something or someone stood between you guys, they wouldn’t even bat a lash to show their true colors.

——

“Good morning, manager!!” a chirpy and a deep voice simultaneously called out to you.

“Kotaro and Nebuya! Good morning you two.”

You were about to open your shoe locker and continue your daily conversation with the club members. Still, when you unlocked that small door, something pushed it open and ended up startling anybody who was remotely close to you.

“Are these...”

“Love letters?”

With a small and slightly uncomfortable smile, you kneeled down and picked the few envelopes up from the floor, turning to the two young men behind you whose wide eyes were about to pop out from their sockets.

“Yeah...someone has been putting these in my locker every morning for the past few weeks,“ you explained and giggled silently at the cute little stickers your mysterious admirer had chosen this time. Upon seeing that angelic smile of yours, the two basketball players began panicking internally and started bombarding you with one question after the other.

When did you receive the very first letter? Is there some kind of signature for the sender? Have they been following you around? Are they bothering you?

Just as you were about to answer them, the school bell interrupted you, and as much as you wanted to continue your talk with them, your classes were more important at the moment. So the three of you rescheduled that talk for later, during club activities, and went off to your respective classrooms.

——

“Huuh?! A secret admirer?”

“Yes!! Can you believe it?”

As soon as the last bell for today rang, Nebuya and Kotaro had sprinted to the gym to inform the others about today’s discovery.

Finding out that someone as valuable as you were being admired by someone else was no surprise, of course, but it still hurt them, and it even awoke a feeling they had never experienced before...jealousy.

Mayuzumi watched them discuss this topic with such seriousness that he couldn’t help but laugh at them internally, and as their upperclassman, he felt the urge to tear them off a strip.

“I hope you guys are aware that (Y/N) has a life of her own and is allowed to do whatever she wants with whoever she wants; it’s none of our business now, is it?”

The others had turned towards him and were wide-eyed by the fact that he had even openly spoken up on a topic that concerned you. He’d usually either choose to remain silent or pretend like he wasn’t listening.

Akashi nodded with a small smile and took it upon himself to answer the grey-haired young man. “I am pretty sure they’re aware of that, but you have to be honest with yourself and admit that it’ll be a huge loss for all of us if she were to find a boyfriend right when our team’s at its prime time.”

The third-year squinted his eyes at his captain. “You do know that you’re overreacting, right? I mean...all you have are her words and some envelopes that fell from her locker.”

“But they were sealed with cute heart stickers, right Ko-chan?!”

Reo chirped in as his light-colored eyes darted over to the blond in question, whose answer consisted of some energetic nods. Mayuzumi was slowly losing his patience with them, and just as he was about to counter that statement, your cheerful voice echoed in the entire gym, greeting your fellow club members.

It should’ve surprised you to see them stand this close to each other, but you figured that they were probably discussing something basketball-related, so you kept your questions to yourself and began preparing for today’s training.

They used that short moment to arrange a short meeting after practice to plan their next steps.

——

“Ok, what’s our way of procedure, guys?” asked Kotaro in an unusual humorless tone. Nebuya, who was standing behind him, couldn’t help but laugh out loud at how serious his goofy friend was. The bigger man wrapped his muscular arm around the boy’s shoulder and told him to relax. Reo watched the two of them fool around with a bothered expression. At the same time, Akashi smiled to himself, bringing the cup of tea to his lips. Mayuzumi, on the other hand, watched that somewhat controversial scene unfold in front of him. It was beyond him how you believed the obvious lie they told you at the end of today’s training.

The five of you had made it a tradition to always go to either the station or the nearest bakery after practice, and even though the third year himself never really wanted to accompany you all, you always made sure to drag him along...even if it was against his will. So when you had asked them if they wanted to go to get something sweet today, they all refused for the most ridiculous reasons, and he was sure that you’ll see through these obvious lies. But when you just innocently smiled at them, he figured that you either turned a blind eye to it or you truly believed that Nebuya was on a “no-meat-diet” and that Kotaro was going to study and do his homework.

“I do not entirely agree with this since it seems to be a rather...drastic approach,” answered Akashi after the muscular man next to him asked what he thought of the plan. He just suggested, “what about you, Mayuzumi? What’s your take on this?”

Said boy sighed and replied tiredly that whatever conclusion they’d reach would be too overdramatic and drastic.

“You do know that if she decides to get to know her secret admirer better, she won’t be having that much time to read novels and recommend them to you, right?” asked Reo with a mischievous grin.

Silence...

The grey-haired young man leaned forward and looked at his teammates.

“Ok, what’s the plan?”

——

1st step: obtain a letter from her locker...

“Good morning (Y/N).“

“Akashi, good morning!“

You were just about to open the small door of your locker, change your shoes and see if you had received another love letter, but that’s when the captain of the basketball club had stopped you. Wondering if something was wrong, you asked him if you could help him in some way.

“Oh, nothing is wrong; I merely wanted to inform you that one of your teachers asked the basketball club to visit some of the classes and advertise the club since a lot of the first- and second-years appear to not have joined any after-school-activity. So I wanted to ask if you perhaps know someone that might be interested in joining a club.”

While the two of you continued that talk, you failed to see how Kotaro sneaked up behind you, looked in your locker, gave the red-haired young man an unobtrusive signal that there was no letter to be found, and vanished as quickly and quietly as he’d come.

...if the first step fails, we just need to keep a good eye on her surroundings and look for people interested in her...

“(Y/N), someone’s here to see you!” said one of your classmates as they pointed to your classroom’s door, where Reo was standing and nonchalantly leaning against its frame. You thanked them and hurried over to where one of your best friends was standing.

“Hey, sweetie, sorry for bothering you, but I wanted to ask you if you wanted to join me during the break.”

It has been quite a while since the two of you had spent a break together, so you had no reason to refuse and happily accepted his invitation.

With Reo, you could always talk about every kind of topic, whether it was about the last wrestling match you watched on TV or the cute keychain you saw hanging from your neighbor’s bag. The two of you would always get so invested in your dialogue that you completely missed how some of the students were glancing at you and how some even turned their heads when you passed them. On the other hand, your companion noticed every single one of them, and with his keen eye for outer appearance, he managed to memorize their most prominent features.

...next up, we’ll look for our suspects and interrogate them, but some of them won’t be very talkative, so I suggest we pull out the big guns right from the get-go...  

Thanks to the descriptions Reo forwarded to the others, they quickly formed an ‘intimidation squad,’ distributed the students equally amongst each other, and went ahead to do their job.

Nebuya, as the tallest and most muscular out of the rest, was assigned to the first-year students. It was an easy and quick job to intimidate them. All he had to do was stand at the door and ask whether the person that fitted Reo’s description is present and that he wanted to talk about their interest in the club’s manager. Of course, no one gave the student in question away out of fear and worry about what the basketball team's center might do to them, but the message was successfully forwarded.

Mayuzumi, as the main team’s third-year, had to take care of the second-years. Thanks to his low presence and high self-pride, he expected that he’d get treated with the necessary respect as these students' senior. That was the case for two or three with whom he talked to. He was quite eloquent, and thanks to his broad novel expertise, he knew how to skillfully ask them whether or not they harbored any strong feelings for you that might have resulted in daily love letters. Others, though, didn’t seem to care what he had to say to them and when you became their talk’s topic, they started mocking him and calling him your stalker...and that’s when he lost his patience. His presence might be low, but the moment he gets annoyed, he’ll make sure that everyone knows about it. Mayuzumi took hold of the boy’s collar and brought him close to his own face.

“I don’t mind you insulting me, but stay away from her...if you don’t...I'll make to follow every step of yours, and you’ll have to constantly be on the lookout for me. You know what’s going to be so fun about it?... You’ll never know whether or not I’m there, so you better speak up and leave her alone or else...”  

The person who took care of the third-years was no other than Akashi himself. For him, it didn’t matter which year he had to talk to; he was respected, feared, and known by the entire school anyway. Like Nebuya, all he had to do was go to the people in question and ask them what their business with you was, and luckily the majority of them broke the moment they saw his icy glare. Unfortunately, one thought that he shouldn’t care about who this rumored emperor was and act according to his status. A bad decision, really...he was lucky enough that all Akashi got his hands on was a broomstick and not something sharper like scissors or even a compass. Long story short, the third-year was successfully interrogated and intimidated, another job well done.

While they were running around and collecting information, Kotaro and Reo were given the task of distracting you and constantly standing by your side, hindering any other people from coming too close to you. But when someone played with the thought of wanting to talk to or even look at you, the blond would only glare at that student until they gave up. Those who had more courage and didn’t get that easily intimidated were chased away by Reo’s overly interested attitude. The moment someone came up to you and just interrupted your talk with them, the black-haired young boy would butt in and start showering them with compliments until they either were too creeped out or completely mesmerized.

...our mission will only then be considered a success when she stopped receiving those letters, understood?

A week and a half had passed since the execution of their plan, and one afternoon, Kotaro and Nebuya decided to ask you about those letters.

“Oh, those? I stopped receiving them some days ago..”

You weren’t as affected as they had expected you to be, but they were glad and happy nonetheless, knowing that their plan had worked. Now, you were theirs, and no one else’s, and anyone who wanted to take you away from them is hopefully prepared for the consequences...

[fanartfunart]

Fly Away

Episode 3: Despair Bear

Ao3 - First - 2

(Féline Sombre & Paon Lilas designs)

Summery: An AU where Adrien never went to in-person school, not getting the cat miraculous, and found the peacock miraculous. -Chloé, determined to be allowed back to visit Adrien’s house, and discovering Adrien is visiting Marinette, sets up a party to showcase just how nice she can be. (posted in full for tumblr while I have power/internet on my computer :P)

-

Duusu was sitting on top of Adrien’s shoulder when he pressed play on the virtual hello from the class he was almost able to join. Adrien handed him a dried mango chip and he happily munched on it.

 Chloé, of course, was the first person to show up on the video, “Adrikins Hiii! I miss you already~”

 The camera turned around to show Sabrina, who must’ve been recording. She waved “Hi!”

 “Sabrinaaa, camera focused on me. Meee.”

 “Oh, right!”

 Chloé spent at least a third of the video showing him the building as if she owned it. ...Adrien was surprised it didn’t last longer.

 It shifted from the single-take style into more professionally edited together clips of various classmates. Adrien assumed this was where the boy interested in filmmaking had taken over.

 “Yo, I’m Nino, hope you get to hang out outside of school one of these days dude. If you ever need a DJ I’m your man! See you around someday!”

 “Hi, I’m Alya, investigative journalist-”

 Chloé scoffed offscreen, “You wish.”

 “Chloé I will-” the video cut out whatever happened after that. Alya stood a bit prouder, “I run the Ladyblog and am the head of the school blog! If you ever have any curiosity about the school news or superhero news, just check those out! Leave some comments if you want and I’ll get back to you asap! Keep it classy."

 The rest of the class’s videos went about the same, until the very last one. The girl from the bakery frowned at someone off to the side out of sight from the camera.

 “Come on girl, before Chloé comes back.”

 “Hi, I’m er, Marinette. I’m uh, an aspiring fashion designer and my parents own Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. I suggest trying out the macaroons! I brought some on the first day, uh, but I tripped so there weren't many left anyway so you probably didn’t miss anything!” She giggled awkwardly. She trailed off, giving a pleading look towards someone behind the camera. “Alya, I don’t know what else to say.”

 “Whatever you’d say to a new kid!”

 “Uhg, get better friends than Chloé?” She covered her mouth as Alya and Nino laughed from behind the camera. “I- mean whatttt Chloé's er, Chloé. Great evil-er friend… to er, to be setting up this videooo….ohmygosh. Can you edit that out?”

 “I would’ve, but now I’m keeping it.” Nino said. Marinette gasped in offence while Alya and Nino giggled more.

 “What are you all giggling over?” Chloé complained off-screen. Marinette gave a pointed look to the camera, and the video faded into a written message.

 “Sorry I couldn’t properly finish my message. I wish you a wonderful year, and hope you can build great friendships, even without going to school. At least you don’t have to worry about being late! Good luck Adrien -Signed, Marinette.”

 “Awwwwwwww, that’s sweet,” Duusu cried.

 “Yeah, it was.” He got out his phone to text Chloé a thank you. He sighed as he looked at her many, many, many messages of upset about no longer being allowed over anymore. He was just glad she didn’t get akumatized over it….

 He got up, glancing at Duusu. "How about we go visit the bakery and see if Marinette is open to hanging out. My father can't ban me from bakeries, right?"

 Duusu giggled, "Sounds like fun!" He frowned, "Are you only choosing to visit Marinette because she has a good place to tell your father you're going to?"

 "...No… She's just the only person in that video who mentioned a place I can visit at all."

 Duusu just giggled like he knew something Adrien didn't. He shook his head with a smile and grabbed his bag. "Come on, let's go."

-

"Marinette," Sabine called, opening the trap door to Marinette's room. She waved to the group of girls doing a miniature fashion show there. "Your friend's here."

 Marinette looked up from the blog post Alya was showing her, as the other girls continued to put on various jewelry pieces. "Who? I didn't ask anyone else to come over?"

 "A boy named Adrien. I can tell him you're busy if you want me to."

 "Adrien… Agreste?" Marinette tilted her head. He was Chloé's friend. The one that visited the bakery and fell/she pushed. Wait… he was also the guy who she made a feathered hat for who had a feather allergy wasn't he?! Why on earth would he want to visit her? Did he have some sort of ulterior motive? Was he Chloé's spy? Did he want revenge for the feathers?! "Er."

 Alya, Rose, Juleka, and Myléne all oooh-ed at the same time.

 "Oh hush. What uh, do you all think?"

 Alya grinned "Good with me, girl. I wanna see how this plays out."

 Rose nodded enthusiastically and Juleka gave a thumbs up.

 Myléne smiled, adjusting her hat, "He's a professional model right? He probably could give us some tips!"

 Marinette rolled her eyes, lowering her voice to a harsh stage-whisper, "He's Chloé’s friend."

 "The one we made the video for, yep," Alya nodded, "Exactly my point. You said it yourself, he needs better friends than her." ….On the other hand, instead of a revenge-seeking spy, he could simply be that lonely sounding boy they made a video for, trying to escape the clutches of the evil Chloé. Marinette could be the only non-Chloé & minions person he knows! Marinette sighed heavily.

 Sabine sighed softly, "Marinette… he's waiting downstairs. Yes or no."

 "Okay! Okay. I'll go down and bring him up, I guess." Marinette trudged down, ignoring the giggling girls.

-

 Adrien was wandering curiously around the bakery, hands politely behind his back. He noticed the door open and waved enthusiastically to Marinette. She squeaked and closed the door. Sabine raised a brow.

 "You can always tell him you're busy."

 "Nooo, it's fine." Marinette sighed and entered the room. Adrien’s confused head tilt turned into a smile. Like a… puppy. An incredibly patient puppy waiting for someone to play with him.

 "Hi Marinette. I watched that video today! Thank you, it was really sweet of you guys to do that. I hope you don't mind me kinda just… showing up."

 "Oh er… you're welcome. I was actually hanging out with some of the girls who helped make that."

 "Oh! If you're busy-" He gestured awkwardly to the door.

 "No, no, uh, we were just hanging out, you can join us."

 He immediately perked up, "Cool! That sounds like fun!"

 Marinette stared at him in his enthusiasm and nodded. "Come on up."

 Adrien climbed up into the room, Marinette shortly after him. The group of girls all immediately hushed their conversation upon noticing them and dissolved into giggles.

 He chuckled and waved, "Well hello. You all are wearing some lovely hats, is this a fashion show?"

 "We're helping Marinette take photos for her Instagram." Myléne said.

 "And future blog!" Alya added.

 "They've been great models for me," Marinette smiled.

 "Oh really? May I see some of the photos?" Alya handed him a phone immediately. He scrolled through some of the photos, nodding."These are great," he smiled and glanced at Marinette, "You made all these hats?"

 Marinette nodded, giggling. Rose bounced over to Adrien, showcasing a necklace. "She makes jewelry too!"

 "Those are lovely! You're really talented!" He gave Marinette a dazzling smile. She giggled and stuttered something, which was almost a thanks?

 "Hey, you're like, a pro model, right?" Alya asked, "Do you mind helping us? Got some insider tips?"

 "Oh, uh, sure!" Adrien smiled. It would be fun to help them. Probably more so than a regular photo shoot.

-

 Chloé gasped at her phone. Her Adrien in a picture on Marinette's Instagram post? All squished in a group photo with her little squad?! Why is he hanging out with her!?

 She called Adrien, anxiously tapping her nails against the back of the phone.

 Adrien picked up and Chloé did not waste a precious minute. "Why are you at Dupain-Chang's?"

 "Hello to you too, Chloé. I'm just hanging out. Marinette and her friends wanted some help with modeling her fashions."

 "Humph, that ugly stuff? Far too kind of you to do that for her."

 He sighed, "Maybe you could benefit from being a bit kinder, Chloé. It's not that hard."

 She heard a few hushed whispers in the background over the line. She balked. "I- But why would your father let you visit her and not let me, your oldest friend, over!"

 "Marinette didn't steal a book from my father's safe and get him upset enough to get akumatized." Adrien's voice was level. Gentle even. Chloé felt that was probably worse than any direct anger.

 Marinette's voice in the background squeaked out "Chloé’s book belonged to your dad?!"

 "Oh." Chloé muttered. "But actually Sabrina-"

 "I don't care if you got Sabrina to do it or not. I care if you learn from this kind of stuff and become a bit more considerate," Adrien sighed, "Maybe if you showcase some better behavior my father might let you come back over more again. But until then, I can't do anything about it. Sorry."

 "I…" Any defences or retorts died on her tongue.

 Adrien waited a moment, "I gotta go Chloé. Talk to you later, okay? Goodbye."

 "Goodbye...Adrien."

 Adrien hung up and she plopped onto the couch, staring at the earlier text messages between her and Adrien.

 Chloé blinked away tears.

-

 Adrien sighed, turning towards the group of girls, "Sorry. My father kinda banned Chloé from coming over to my house and she's still… very upset about it…"

 "She…" Marinette coughed, "Um. What was that about a book?"

 "Chloé and Sabrina came over and uh, Sabrina got caught taking my father's book. It was important to him. Apparently they lost it… I was hoping they could find and return it and they'd be allowed back but…" He glanced at the floor and shrugged.

 "Right. Right. And where did your dad get this book? Er… Maybe we can get a replacement?" She giggled awkwardly.

 "I don't know. He didn't explain much about it." He waved a hand dismissively, "Anyway, you were uh, suggesting food?"

 "Right!" Marinette cheered, "Shall we raid the kitchen? Maybe dad can teach us a good recipe and we can bake something like we were supposed to at school today." She opened the door and gestured for the group to file out downstairs.

 "Yeah, before the fire alarm interfered," Alya said, walking down.

 Rose took Julika's hand and they made their way down, Meline and Adrien not far behind.

 Marinette waited for them to get out of earshot before whispering for Tiki to come out. She zipped out as Marinette grabbed her purse. "If Chloé got the book from Adrien's house, why did Adrien's father have the spellbook? He was akumatized so he can't be Hawkmoth right?"

 Tiki shrugged helplessly, "You'll have to go over and ask him."

 "Ugh, why is tracing down who had this book like a game of evil telephone?" Marinette groaned.

 "Marinette, are you coming?" Myléne called.

 "Oop! Be right there!" She opened her purse for Tiki to zip into it. She raced down the steps to catch up to her friends.

-

 Jean-Claude arrived with chocolates and Chloé tearfully popped them into her mouth. He lingered despite his job being complete. "May I ask what has upset Mademoiselle?"

 "Adrien doesn't wanna be my friend anymoreeee," She whined, "He's making new friends with other girls. How can he do this to me, Jean-Michel?"

 "Uh, my name is- nevermind. Perhaps Mademoiselle can see comfort with Mr. Cuddly?" He offered the stuffed bear with a light flourish.

 She gasped and grabbed the teddy bear, cuddling it close.

 "If you don't mind my asking Mademoiselle, did he say why?"

 "Something, something kindness and consideration." She waved a hand. She pouted. "What do I do Jean-Yves?"

 "Perhaps Mademoiselle remembers Mr. Cuddly when she was a little girl and how he was always nice to Mademoiselle when she was a child?"

 Chloé pursed her lips, eyes shiny, and nodded.

 "Mr. Cuddly is always kind, even when it doesn't directly benefit him. But that has made him a very good friend. Perhaps, Mademoiselle can follow Mr. Cuddly's example and Adrien  will see how good a friend Mademoiselle can be."

 "Oh you're right Jean-Jacque, Adrien wanted me to show his dad I'm considerate, so I'll show him! Then I'll get my Adrikins back and he'll stop hanging out with Dupain-Chang! Er…. How...should I do that?" She giggled awkwardly.

 Jean-Pierre sighed heavily, looking exhausted already.

-

 Adrien was covered in flour and giggling about it. Juleka wasn't even halfway through a mumbled apology before he was forgiving her. Marinette wasn't sure how he was supposedly friends with Chloé in the first place. Was he mind controlled or something by her?

 Alya slid next to Marinette and grinned "So, are we thinking friendly boy or boyfriend here?"

 Marinette rolled her eyes and shook her head "I am not competing with Chloé over her infamous 'Adrikins'. Blegh."

 "That wasn't a 'ew no' though~ You can't deny he's cute."

 Marinette huffed, "Like, in a cute puppy way."

 Alya snorted and nodded, "Fair enough."

 The group's phones all pinged with the exception of Marinette's.

 They each got out their phones. Adrien raised a brow. "Chloé's hosting a party?"

 "Did you all get one?" Juleka asked, looking around at them.

 Myléne nodded, "It looks like it. Maybe she's taking Adrien's advice and is gonna try to be nicer."

 Marinette scoffed, "Please, it's probably some sort of joke or prank."

 "Did you get an invite?"

 Marinette looked at her phone and shook her head, "No…"

 Alya chuckled, "Well that means it's real and not a joke, doesn't it, hm?

 Marinette made a disgruntled face. Then her phone pinged, "Eeew! I got invited!" She threw her phone, then stumbled to catch it before it landed in the batter. Adrien stumbled and caught it for her. They crashed into each other, pinning Adrien between the counter and Marinette. She immediately backpedaled. He giggled awkwardly and handed the phone to her, stepping back out of her space.

 "This is gonna be so much fun! There's gonna be dancing!" Rose looked up, smiling at Juleka.

 "Wait, you guys aren't seriously considering going, are you?" Marinette squeaked.

 "Why not?" Myléne muttered, shrugging, "Maybe she's really trying to be nice."

 "Chloé? Nice?" She shook her head, "Eugh, whatever, you guys can go but count me out."

 Adrien shrugged, idly fiddling with the dough. "I've known Chloé for a long time. She can be cool, sometimes, really." He looked up. ...Wait, did he have baby-doll eyes like Manon or something?! What is this sorcery? He smiled softly. "Maybe give her a chance, Marinette."

 Marinette pursed her lips and sighed "Yeah, yeah, fine, I guess." Alya’s teasing smirk didn't help at all though.

-

 Chloé had it all planned. She had set up a section for adults as well, having sent invites for some of the teens' parents. Namely, she needed Adrien’s father to see how great of a person she could be. Unfortunately the main person she wanted there...was not. But hey maybe this could work with word-of-mouth…. Parents talk to other parents about how nice random kids are, right?

 So while the adults mostly stayed around the tables talking, the teens danced and played in the ball pit. Jean-Paul had been practically following her around with Mr. Cuddly, reminding her what Mr. Cuddly would do. But, Adrien was there! And! Adrien smiled at her! Every time she was nice! So the plan seemed to be working.

Until he left the dance floor to talk to Marinette and her friends. She barely contained her rage. Actually, she didn't contain it at all. Chloé abandoned her dance with Kim and started marching toward them.

 "Oh, I do need to get some of your guys' phone numbers or something so I don't have to make surprise visits all the time," Adrien said, giggling awkwardly.

 Alya nodded, "Yeah for sure, I'll give you Nino's number too, he's DJing-"

 Chloé was so close to pulling Adrien away until Jean-George blocked her path.

 "Mademoiselle if you-"

 "Move, Jean-Marc!"

 He pulled out Mr Cuddly, and spoke in a squeaky voice, "Oh, Chloé dear, Mr Cuddly is very proud of you-" Chloé gasped and tried to bat the teddy bear away.

 "Is that your teddy bear Chloé?" Kim laughed, leading the traitorous group of teens.

 Chloé gasped and pulled Jean-Louis into the kitchens.

 "I've had it with you and your stupid advice! Ive had it with you, Jean-whatever your stupid name is!"

 "Mademoiselle I was only trying to help."

 "No more Mademoiselle, no more help, no more anything! You're fired!" She marched out, leaving Jean-??? clutching the teddy bear. Somewhere, a very patient Hawkmoth (who purposefully declined an invitation in a subtle attempt to make a teenage girl more frustrated and anxious and make a villain at her party eventually) grinned to himself.

-

 Sabrina was just chilling, really. She'd helped set up the entire thing and now they'd much rather just sit and drink her juice. Just as content as Plagg with an extra piece of cheese.

 Until a teddy bear clamped onto her leg.

-

 Chloé utilized her excess frustration to pull Adrien away from Marinette. "Come on, we should dance."

 "Right now? But, I was talking to-" Adrien half heartedly protested, already stumbling along.

 "He doesn't have to go with you if he doesn't want to, you can't just drag him around," Marinette interrupted, grabbing Adrien's other arm.

 "Chloeee," Sabrina called, brandishing a hair brush like a weapon, "Come here. Let me brush your hair. It won't hurt I promise."

 "Don't you see I'm busy?" Chloé huffed. She tugged on Adrien's arm, except this time she got resistance. Adrien pulled his arm away, frowning at Sabrina.

 "Uh, something's… wrong with Sabrina," he said.

 Sabrina smiled, and leapt toward Chloé.

 Marinette intercepted Sabrina, brows furrowed in determination and flipped her onto the ground. Adrien stared at her.

 "Oh. Wow," He breathed out.

 Sabrina blinked and sat up, "Huh? Why am I on the floor?"

 Marinette frowned, looking around the room, "Er… you were… trying to attack Chloé."

 Sabrina gasped and scrambled to a stand. "Ohno, I… I uh, I need to go." Sabrina anxiously smiled and then ran off.

 "Me too actually… I, uh ...too much orange juice." Marinette ran off, leaving Adrien with- ….Where did Chloé go?

 He glanced around, and found her swatting away… some kid Adrien didn't know. He was pretty sure they were in the video somewhere.

 He frowned and glanced around, before running off to the stairwell.

-

 Marinette shook her head as she hid in the bathroom stall, "Looks like Chloé upset someone. Guess it was only a matter of time. Tiki, Spots on!"

-

 Sabrina raced into the kitchen, "Oh I can't believe I was just mind controlled by an Akuma. Poor Chloé!"

 Plagg cackled in laughter, "You have the power of destruction and you were about to chase Chloé with a hair brush. I can't believe it."

 They rolled their eyes, "That's definitely a good thing. Plagg, Claws out!"

-

 Adrien closed the door to the stairwell, checking that no one was there. Duusu zipped out with a cheer, "You love Marinette!"

 "I- what? I er-" He blushed and glanced to the side, "No I don't," his voice came out squeaky.

 "Yes you do, I know it!" Duusu giggled, gesturing to himself, "      Emotion     Kwami." Duusu tilted his head, "Do you intend to tell her? How? Maybe a cute letter or something? Oh you two would be just so cute together! And we could have more fresh pastries!"

 He sputtered and shook his head. "Focus Duusu. We need to help Chloé," Adrien said, fixing the brooch to the front of his shirt.

 Duusu giggled more.

 Adrien took in a deep breath, trying to calm his own blush. "Duusu, Spread my feathers!"

-

 Ladybug and Féline Sombre were already there… Well that was fast.

 "You finally showed up! What took so long!?" Chloé cried towards the two superheros, as she peered from her hiding spot behind a pillar. ...Or maybe it wasn't fast? Did Chloé call them or something? She has mentioned being their friend. Often. By the annoyance from Ladybug, he guessed she wasn't a very good friend if that was the case.

 "What, not excited to see me?" Paon Lilas asked with a grin.

 "Oh yeah you too." Chloé waved a hand, apparently having just noticed him. ...Paon really needed to work on some dramatic entrances.

 Nino threw a CD disc towards Chloé and she shrieked.

 Ladybug wrapped her yoyo around Chloé's leg, pulling her back and into the ball pit. Féline Sombre leaped up to restrain Nino.

 Nino blinked in confusion, "Huh?"

 "Oh, sorry," Féline Sombre let him go, looking for the teddy bear controlling people.

 Another boy threw a chair towards Ladybug. "How about a game of flying chairs?" He taunted.

 "Love to but," Paon kicked the chair away, landing in a wall, "shouldn't music be involved?"

 Ladybug was grabbed from behind and she pushed Alya off, spinning around to find the teen reporter blinking in confusion.

 A boy raised a table above his head, and Féline Sombre extended her staff to knock it out of his hands. Paon grabbed the table before it flew into any civilians and dropped it on the floor. "Careful kitty."

 "Whoops... But, where'd he go?" Féline asked, turning around.

 Ladybug looked around frantically, trying to find someone who was acting off. Paon Lilas grabbed her hand.

 "What are you doing?" Ladybug tugged away. Paon pulled back, making her stumble forward. "Oh no."

 "Ooo, pretty earrings." He made a swipe towards her earrings and she shoved him back, making him stumble.

 "Knock it off, bird brain!" She exclaimed.

 He growled and tried again with a punch. Féline Sombre vaulted in on her staff and kicked him back into a table.

 Paon Lilas plucked a feather and grabbed a plastic spoon from the table.

 A floating marionette rod was summoned. The strings wrapped Féline Sombre's arms and legs. They gasped as they were dragged forward towards Ladybug.

 "Hey!" Ladybug cried, "What are you doing?"

 "I'm not doing this!" Féline shrieked. She threw a punch towards Ladybug, "Sorry!"

 "Paws off kitty cat!" Chloé called, pushing Féline over.

 "Thanks!" Ladybug called, "Lucky Charm!" And… got an over large crochet hook.

 Paon Lilas growled and motioned his head, the senti-marrionetted Féline being flung back towards Chloé. He charged toward Ladybug.

 Ladybug glanced between the marionette rod and the teddy bear. She grabbed a marionette string with the crochet hook Féline passed her and twirling the hook to properly tangle the string, threw it into a wall. The string snapped, giving Féline control of one of her hands.

 "Féline," Ladybug called. Paon kicked her and she jumped back, "I need you to cut some strings soon!" Ladybug and Paon Lilas fought. She shielded, he swept her legs. He went in for a strike, she blocked.

 "Sure thing, Bug," Féline raised a hand, summoning her destructive power, "Cataclysm!"

 "Now, Chloé if you could be so kind-” She gestured to the captured marionette strings.

 Chloé nodded, taking up the hook and diving for the teddy bear, catching a loop on its back. She tugged and threw it back to Féline Sombre. They touched the Akuma string with their Cataclysm.

 Paon blinked as the Akuma was destroyed, halting a punch. He took in heavy breaths, stumbling back as a wave of fear hit him over the receding fog of mind control. "Ladybug? What are you doing?"

 Fear was quickly replaced with relief and pride. Ladybug grinned, "Just saving your feathery hide with our new sidekick." She looked at Chloé.

 "You haven't defeated me yet!" A small voice squeaked and kicked Paon Lilas in the chin.

 "Watch your step!" Ladybug readied her yoyo to capture and purify the butterfly that was fluttering away.

 "Can someone help me out here!?" Féline Sombre yelled. Paon glanced at the senti-monster strings attached to her feet and hand and then at the spoon he was carrying. His miraculous beeped. He snapped his fingers, pulling the amok from the spoon and dropping it.

 Ladybug threw her crochet hook into the air, "Miraculous Ladybug!" The swarm of ladybugs returned everything in the room to normal. Ladybug and Féline Sombe high fived. Paon Lilas ran. Before either of them turned to look his way.

 Ladybug turned, finding the other miraculous wielder missing. She sighed, "He flew off again."

 Chloé cleared her throat.

 Ladybug blinked and looked at her. "Oh. Er, thanks for helping me back there…. It was very nice of you."

 Chloé smiled, dusting off her jacket, "It was, wasn't it? Did you hear that, Jean-Pascal?! If Ladybug says I'm nice then Adrien and his dad have to believe it!"

 "...Mademoiselle I must admit I have no memory of what just happened."

 "Basically you turned evil and I saved you. Without me the superheros probably never would have succeeded." Chloé explained.

 Both Ladybug's and Féline Sombre's miraculous' beeped.

 "Gotta go," Ladybug said, running up the stairwell to the roof.

 "Same here," Féline said, giving a polite nod to Chloé and Jean-Something. She ran out the doors.

 "Hm. Maybe some of this nice-stuff of yours makes some sense….. Jean-Baptiste, I've decided to keep you on. Don't let the guests all run away, they don't wanna miss what's next!"

 Jean-Pierre nodded "Thank you, Mademoiselle, I will Mademoiselle."

-

 Adrien sighed as he watched Marinette finish her macaroons. He was too tired to make his own. He sat in a chair to avoid any sudden dizzy spells, resting his head on the table.

 Chloé slid next to him, looping her arms around his shoulders. "Sooo Adrikins, I'm really nice now, did you notice? I even let Marinette's dad finish teaching everyone how to make those messy macaroons."

 He pulled his attention from Marinette and nodded. "Yes, it's very nice of you." He smiled a little. She frowned…. Usually smiling causes the opposite response.

 "Ugh, what's wrong? You're not like, super happy. I did everythingggg."

 "Oh uh," he glanced at Marinette again, before looking back at Chloé, "It's nothing."

 Chloé followed his glance and pouted, "Did she say mean things to you? Do I need to tell her her macaroons are appalling or something?"

 "No! No. Please no. We just talked about being nice."

 "Oops! Right…. Wait. You don't like her do you?"

 He blushed and looked away, shrugging.

 Chloé gasped, "Nooo! Ughhh, why couldn't you fall in love with someone unattainable? Like Ladybug or somebody."

 "Huh?" Adrien crinkled his nose, "What?"

 "Nothing~ Fine, fine. We're still best friends forever right though?"

 He huffed a smile and nodded, "Yeah, Chloé, best friends forever."

 "Pinky swear?" She held out her pinky in front of him and he linked their fingers.

 "Pinky swear."

 She let out an exhale of relief, "Okay, make sure to tell your dad I'm the best influence ever now."

 Adrien giggled and nodded, "Sure. I'll try."

 "Perfect. You promised," She grinned and waltzed over to the bakers and began listing off what was wrong with their goods. Pausing at Marinette, she glanced at Adrien and simply passed her by without a word…. Marinette seemed offended anyway.

 Adrien shook his head. Oh, that didn't cause spots in his vision. Good. Satisfied with the conclusion the worst of the battle weariness had passed, he got up to see if Marinette might share some of those cookies. Then, if he had the energy, repair some of Chloé’s emotional damage.

[some-dr-writings]

Nagito and his little feisty sibling

·       Meeting you was the greatest stroke of good luck in Nagito’s life, and likely ever would be, and that was saying something! Though… Nagito wasn’t sure meeting you was due to luck, rather just by chance. Normally his luck worked in the most bombastic of ways but meeting you was so sobering and calm, quiet.

·       There was this park Nagito liked going to. It was small, had some more natury, foresty bits and others more man made with a little outdoor gym. He spotted you around evening times in the forested area. You were always there then, and you always ran away from adults. You were probably a few years younger than him, maybe by five or six, but he couldn’t quite tell for sure though. He didn’t think much of it at the time and thought you might be shy. “Uh, hello!” “Huh? Oh, hi!” But… you seemed rather cheerful when he met you. Though you were a little reserved and didn’t tell Nagito your name at first, so he called you ‘Bubblegum’ because you were sweet and explosive.

·       Nagito began visit you every evening. It scared him seeing how often you got bloodied in fights. “Bubblegum! You have to stop fighting! This is the third time this week!” “Never! They started it anyway. They were saying mean things about you again.” Nagito would simply try his best to patch you up. In the beginning he’d try to get adults to help to either heal you or stop the fighting, but you always hid away.

·       “Y/N, where’s your mom and dad?” “Don’t know and don’t care. I, am independent! But adults don’t seem to think so and just want to send me back to THEM.” “Oh, I don’t have a mom or dad either.” “… WHAT!? But you’re so scrawny!” You puffed out your chest and tried to show off your nonexistent muscles to prove how strong you were. “Then stick with me! I’ll protect you, even if you are older. Oh, and I’ll teach you how to be strong like me!”

·       From that moment on, more often than not, you were by one another’s side. Nagito’s luck even managed to get you to be siblings legally and he your guardian. Nagito tried his best to look after you. He was your big brother and basically your new parent and you were an amazing person in his eyes, so strong willed, determined, smart, and kind, you deserved the very best! In trying to do so, Nagito was very doting, to the point of spoiling you rotten. Anything you wanted, he could never refuse. He’d never let you lift a finger with chores or anything really unless you specifically asked him to let you help. You didn’t particularly care for chores, but you asked to help with them a lot. It seemed to be the only time you got to spend with him for a while. He was always busy trying to cook, and clean, you just wanted to hangout with your big brother.

·       Even years after getting into a much more stable and safe household with Nagito, you were still a loud, rambunctious child and found yourself getting into fights a lot, even to the point of being labeled a delinquent and problem child by the staff and fellow classmates. When Nagito took you home, you were snippy and standoffish, saying you were bullying the bullies or something akin to that sentiment. One time though when you were walking with him, you just refused to talk. “Y/N? Are you crying?” “N-no!” Though you had turned away from him he saw how tense you were and heard those sniffles. “Hmm…” He quickly stepped before you and kneeled down to your height. “Are you feeling okay, Bubblegum?” “u-uh… y-ye… no.” You hugged back yourself, trying to hold back the tears, your face flushing a bright red, embarrassed to be crying outside where people could see you, but you just couldn’t hold it back. Then you tackled Nagito, almost knocking him over. “W-whoa! Bubblegum?” You just hugged him, burrowing your face into his chest, just wanting to hide. “Y-you’d tell me if people wanted to take me away, right?” “What? Of course I would.” He held you close gently running a hand up and down your back. “I-I… the, they said I’d be taken away. They said you can’t take care of me, that I’m lashing out because you hurt me, an-and that I need to be taken away from you.” “No. No, no,no,no,no,no, no. As long as you want to stay with me, I won’t let anyone take my Bubblegum away.” He was relieved hearing your tears slow, yet, your grip only grew more tense. “Don’t say that!” You shoved him away. “Y-you don’t love me!?” “No, I love you very much! You’re my little sibling, you’re amazing.” You simply stared at him for a moment before Nagito suddenly found himself crumpled over, clutching his stomach which was searing with pain as he heard footfalls race away. Nagito knew you could throw quite a punch, but this was certainly more than a few steps up from your playful punches to his arm. After a few moments he dizzily staggered to his feet.

·       He searched and searched, calling out for you. All attempts to call and text were left unread. He even found your phone on the ground at one point. He never stopped, not even once. He knew if he just waited his luck would probably lead him to you, that you were a strong person, so you’d probably be okay, but… He couldn’t keep himself from looking. Even late into the night, through that inky darkness with only sparse lights from the streetlamps that lit the way he kept looking.

·       Eventually though he did find you, in exactly the same place he had the very first time. In that little thicket of forest in the park. You were simply sitting on the ground, hugging your knees, mindlessly picking at the grass beside you. “There you are, Bubblegum!” You didn’t even glance at him. “… If you’re mad at me, I can go and give you spa-” “Stop it.” “Huh?” “Just… just…” You sounded so exhausted. Your voice horse and incredibly quiet, if it wasn’t the dead of night where only the light rustling of leaves in the wind, he likely would have thought you never spoke. “Stop? Stop what? Just tell me and I’ll-” “SHUT UP!” You abruptly stood up and wiped around revealing your tear stained cheeks and puffy eyes. “WHY DO YOU HATE ME!? WHY DO I MAKE YOU THINK YOUR GARBAGE!?” “Y/N, what are you talking about?” “YOU JUST-… YOU TOLD ME YOU’D STOP CALLING YOURSELF GARBAGE, B-BUT YOU STILL DO! YOU JUST DO IT INDIRECTLY NOW! YOU-YOU SAY YOU’LL ONLY KEEP ME AROUND IF I WANTED IT, SO DON’T- YOU DON’T WANT ME! YOU ALWAYS THINK YOU’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH, THAT YOU’RE TRASH- IS THAT WHY YOU HATE ME? BECAUSE YOU THINK I’M SO AMAZING AND YOU’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH- THAT YOU’RE NOTHING COMPARED TO ME? IS THAT WHY? IS THAT WHY YOU ALWAYS AVOID ME NOW!? WHY YOU ALWAYS DO CHORES, AND ONLY DO THINGS LIKE PLAY VIDEO GAMES WHEN I ASK, BECAUSE YOU NEVER WANT TO? EVERYTHING YOU DO IS BECAUSE I ASK BUT… But- Why don’t you want to be with me anymore? I love you, I don’t want to leave you, but I want you to stop hating me. Will you stop thinking you’re trash, stop hating me for making you think that if I leave? If I stop fighting will you love me again? If I stop being amazing and strong, and so full of hope, will you stop thinking you’re trash? Would you go back to being the awesome guy who saved me from people who hurt me, go back to being the guy who’d go out of his way to visit me everyday because HE wanted to? Would… w-would you love me again and want me to stay? I-IF IT WASN’T FOR YOUR STUPID LUCK WOULD WE BE SIBLINGS ANYWAY!? DO YOU EVEN WANT ME AROUND OR WERE YOU FORCED INTO THIS! WAS… was it all bad luck? I… I’m sorry for being a bad kid.” And then you just collapsed to your knees. You felt like crying but there were no more tears left so you just hugged yourself, trembling. Meanwhile Nagito was just left there in stunned silence. There were so many things he wanted to say, you are amazing, he loved you, he was a trash brother, but… all that would only hurt you more. So, what was he supposed to do? It seemed no matter what he’d do, it’d be wrong because you’d likely assume he was just doing it for you and not because he wanted too.

·       It was a long night.

·       You loved one another, but… things were rather rocky for a while. Nagito actually started going to therapy for his self-worth issues because of it. It was a long process, one that was still ongoing by the time Nagito was invited to Hope’s Peak.

·       Since he was living on campus Nagito got special permission for you to be allowed to stay in his dorm room as well. He didn’t think it was that big of a deal, especially since he wholeheartedly believed that you’d one day be invited to this very school so you were just getting a feel for the grounds before joining.

·       Once you were sent home early for getting into another fight, and Nagito asked Miss. Yukizome if you could join in class with everyone else. Nagito’s classmates were a bit hesitant, fearing a mini Nagito, but were pleasantly surprised. At first you were quiet, but when Nekomaru found you had snuck off to his lab to try out some of his exercising equipment, you seemed to warm up to them. You’d challenge both Akene and Nekomaru to fights, and both eagerly helped you with training. You even managed to wrap Fuyuhiko and Peko into this, Peko teaching you how to use a sword and Fuyuhiko tried to subtly teach you how to pick your fights so you wouldn’t accidentally anger any gangs with your fiery personality. Due to training you were always hungry and became Teru’s favorite customer, always adoring every bite and even asking to learn from him so you could make Nagito lunch boxes for a change since he always cooked for you. Whenever you joined the class for the day you always came bloodied and bruised so Mikan would patch you up every time as you eagerly listened to Gundham and Sonia speak of the dark arts or Ibuki as she wailed away on her guitar, perhaps even play video games with Chiaki! In the end you sort of became the whole class’ little sibling, much to Nagito’s delight, of course greatness recognizes greatness. It wasn’t all fun and games though, you often trying to sneakily set up Nagito on dates with Hajime, or telling the others embarrassing stories. Nagito would fight back though, calling you ‘Bubblegum’ in such a sickeningly sweet tone that you’d always blush furiously at.

·       Even with luck life was not perfect but no matter what, you were Nagito’s little sibling and he’d do whatever it took to give you as great of a life as possible. He truly loved you.