#the posture. everything's so perfect. I'm stunned

[megaclaudiolis]

柄本 佑 || 「光る君へ」 (2024) · 第十二回 「思いの果て」

[duskymrel]

Ghost Wingwoman

synopsis: After Eliza marries Puffy, she's content with her newfound life with him. But... she feels a bit guilty about Idia, and notices that he's pining after a certain Ramshackle prefect. So what better way to make it up to him then by playing Cupid?

She had the happily ever after she always dreamed of. She married Puffy, who - while not what she expected - was everything she could ever want. She felt on top of the world, never having experienced so much pure bliss in her life.

But despite the joy, the guilt she felt for what she had done to Idia plagued her, making it hard to enjoy her newfound happiness.

But it wasn't about her, was it? It was about Idia. Eliza realized that she had been focused on herself for far too long. Hell, she had even kicked Yuu out of their own dorm just to fulfill her obsessive search for the 'perfect prince'. But despite having a selfish motivation for it, Eliza knew she had to make it up to Idia somehow. Thankfully, Yuu was kind enough to let her stay at their dorm longer, giving her the opportunity to right her past wrongs.

Eliza was strolling through the halls of NRC when she heard the sound of Idia and Yuu's voices. Curious, she stopped to peek around the corner and was stunned to see Idia in person - he never left his room much usually, especially after... the incident. She cringed at his awkward demeanor. He would often sputter out gaming and meme references, clearly distressed, and she couldn't help but groan. She had wanted to marry this guy? Yet, Yuu seemed unbothered and continued their conversation cheerfully. Eliza took a closer look at Idia and paused, stunned. 

It was his eyes.

She studied his eyes for a moment and the realization hit her. This was it. Love.

After Puffy's confession, the same subtle signs of affection became clearer to her. And now, without a shadow of a doubt, Eliza knew what love looked like. The look on Idia's face, though awkward, was unmistakably similar to the look Puffy had given her. She finally had her answer.

The gears began to turn in her head and a plan was forming. What better way to make it up to Idia than by setting him up with his crush? Oh yeah. It's all coming together.

She wondered how to get the plan started. Where to begin?

...

Okay, with all due respect....... Everywhere.

Idia's lack of confidence was evident. He constantly slumped his shoulders and kept his eyes fixed on the floor. Eliza knew the potential he had. With his gorgeous face and lustrous hair, why was he so hesitant to take care of them? Despite his tendency to speak in memes and video game references, Eliza admired his witty humor. Eliza decided it was time for a makeover. 

After waiting for Idia to return back to his dorm, Ortho answered the door, reluctantly inviting her in. As she greeted Idia, the boy shrieked and attempted to flee. Eliza awkwardly smiled as she tried to reassure Idia, 

"Keep your composure, I'm only here to make it up to you."

Idia mistrusted her, but she had successfully blocked his only exit.

"Huh? And how're you going to 'make it up to me'?" Idia asked suspiciously.

"By giving you a makeover, inside and out!"

Idia was tempted to bolt, but Eliza stopped him.

"Trust me, you'll like where I'm going with this."

She worked tirelessly to transform him into her desired version of Idia. First, she taught him good posture, how to walk with confidence, and proper speech. He constantly called it “swag”...

Next, she forced some healthy foods into his system. 

“What even is this rubbish??”

“Raman…?”

“Disgusting. Here, have some gluten-free whole grain avocado toast-”

Now that she felt his 'inner self' was fixed up, she turned to his appearance. Exfoliation, moisturizers, attractive makeup and nice clothing - the whole shebang. She called it 'fancy', he called it 'gaudy'. But it was time for the final plan, all the steps Eliza had taken had led to this moment.

Of the three people she spoke to, only one was told the truth. Idia was asked to accompany her for dinner to practice table manners. Yuu was asked to accompany her to a nice dinner to thank them for all they’ve done. And Azul was asked to prepare a private room for them to have a dinner together. He normally would have demanded something in return, but after looking at the expression on Eliza’s face, he decided his pride wasn’t worth it.

Eliza watched in anticipation as Idia and Yuu entered the private room and looked at each other in surprise. Yuu couldn't help but show their annoyance at Idia's unfamiliar outfit - fancy suit, stiff shoes, and hair done up perfectly. Eliza smirked, satisfied with herself and the situation she had created. But she was ready to move on to the next part of the plan. She stepped forward, her presence now revealed

“Okay, so I lied. Anyways, enjoy your date~!”

Eliza let out a mischievous giggle as she shut the door, prompting Idia and Yuu to look at each other in disbelief. They both knew the true nature of their "date" but decided not to question it and simply enjoy themselves.

“Well, I got all dolled up and I’m hungry. Might as well.”

Idia simply sighed and went along with it, secretly hoping for something more to develop between the two.

Eliza patted herself on the back and went off to tell her husband about her matchmaking skills. She excitedly told him about what she had been up to the past few days, but his reaction was…… unexpected.

Puffy raised an eyebrow at Eliza, a bit concerned about the consequences of her actions.

"Dear, aren't you concerned that this might hinder their relationship?"

Eliza's smile faltered.

"What do you mean?"

"Idia and Yuu aren't the type of people who like going on unexpected dates or being set up with someone. They need to develop a relationship naturally. How do you think Idia feels about being coerced to change himself and being forced into a surprise date?

Eliza mulled it over.

“I think I made a mistake. I should talk to them.”

Puffy smiled with relief, having been unsure if his headstrong wife would see reason, and nodded. “You should do that.”

Eliza rushed over to the door and cracked it open, wanting to check on the situation herself. As she peeked through, she saw Idia and Yuu engaged in small talk and seemingly enjoying their food. But something felt off. Idia was acting the way she had coached him; no informal language, proper mannerisms, no video game references, etc. Yuu set down their fork and sighed heavily, prompting Eliza to reconsider her actions. Should she really have them go through with this? Should she step in?

“Idia, what's wrong with you today?”

Idia started at the accusation, feeling anxious.

“W-what do you mean?” “Look at you. You're wearing clothes you hate. You're acting prim and proper. You're even eating sushi - which you hate!! For fucks sake, you despise raw fish! You’re acting like, dare I say it? A priss.”

Idia flinched at this, his demeanor crumbling as Yuu correctly pointed out that he was pretending to be someone he wasn't. It was all Eliza's doing, and now, he regretted going along with her plan.

“Eliza told me to act like this... to not scare you off, I’m guessing. I thought that the person she instructed me to be was more likely to get a second date.” Idia sighed, his demeanor changing again to one of resignation.

Yuu’s face softened.

“Did it ever occur to you that if you were going to scare me off, you would have done so already? I know you hate cliches and corny things, but I genuinely like you the way you are.”

Idia quirked an eyebrow at the cliche line, but was quiet, not knowing what to say. Yuu gazed at Idia, marveling at his long hair and handsome face - beautiful even, without any makeup. Their eyes scanned Idia's clothing, noticing the discomfort and unease it caused him. 

"Idia, you don't have to be anyone but yourself. I like your quiet presence and your video game and meme references are hilarious. Others may see you as 'weird', but to me, you're perfect. It’s perfectly okay to want to be a better version of yourself, and to be your best self for those you care about, but it’s not okay to change who you are completely." 

They smiled gently at him. After all, Idia deserved to be accepted as he was. Idia slumped down and loosened the tie that was drastically restricting the amount of air he was taking in.

Yuu cracked a warm smile, pleased to see Idia back to his usual self.

"How are you so good at wording?" Idia asked, genuinely curious.

Yuu chuckled lightly and answered, "Practice."

They looked at each other for a moment, and then Yuu took Idia's hand across the table.

"Tell me if it's too much, okay?" Yuu said softly.

Eliza slowly shut the door behind her, providing Idia and Yuu with the privacy they needed. She was shocked by how wrong she had been. Instead of changing Idia, she should have improved his weaknesses and used his strengths to their advantage and-

No.

This was her problem. She was always trying to intervene in other people's lives. Puffy had been right. Idia and Yuu had natural chemistry and would have developed a relationship naturally. But like many times before, Eliza was acting brash and self-centered. Thankfully, she didn't completely ruin things.

She returned to Ramshackle and wrote Yuu and Idia separate apology letters, then slipped them under their doors before leaving (along with Puffy) for her honeymoon.

But beforehand, she requested Ortho to keep her updated on Idia and Yuu's relationship. She needed to know whether or not she had ruined what could've been a beautiful romance.

She was delighted when, a week later, Ortho messaged her, excitedly announcing that the two had gone on a second date.

------

Had a blast writing this one! Hope you all enjoyed it!!! <3

Remember that I do take requests! Check out the pinned post on my blog to see my rules for requests.

*MWAH* Love yourself babygirls

[sungbeam]

𝐧𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬

hwang intak x gn!reader

1k words, hurt/comfort, soft things, mentions of anxiety/being overwhelmed, mentions of discomfort around family members, head kiss, intimacy

a/n: requests now closed! *sighs* i love him 🙁 thank you to the anon who requested this! hope this brings u comfort <3

He found you perched on the curbside outside the restaurant, the sounds of merriment muffled as the front door closed behind him. You glanced up from your phone to watch him take a seat beside you, his head tucked into a black beanie and hands coming out of his jacket pockets to rest behind him.

"I saw you leave a few minutes ago, but I wasn't sure if you wanted to be alone or not," Hwang Intak murmured and tilted his head in your direction, eyes glued to the establishment across the street to watch people pass by the window. "I'm okay, here, right? I can leave if you don't want me here."

You notched your phone off and set it under your thigh. "No, it's okay," you said, drawing circles on the street. "I just… couldn't stand being around them for too long."

He looked at you now, dark, round eyes really looking at you. Your posture was off, your hair covered your face. Everything about tonight was so off, and he was hitting himself in the head for not seeing it sooner. "I didn't know you were so uncomfortable around your relatives."

You had invited Intak to come to a holiday gathering with your family this evening. They had booked out the mom and pop shop on Main Street that served a taste of home. You'd originally been nervous about inviting him, since the two of you only recently became an item, but you should have never doubted him. Your family seemed to love him anyways, but then again, they always did seem to adore everyone but you. There was always something to complain about.

"Yeah, I mean…" you swallowed. You suddenly found it hard to look him in the eyes. Maybe you were embarrassed. Didn't he say he had a good relationship with his family and relatives? "They're just a little much for me sometimes and I get a little overwhelmed. I'm sure they mean well and stuff but I can't—sometimes I can only handle being around them in small doses."

Intak was quiet for a moment as he considered this, a frown flitting over his pretty features.

You covered your knees with your palms. "I'm sorry I pretty much ditched you, by the way," you added with a grimace. "That wasn't very cool of me."

"It's okay; you needed some air, and I get that."

He had said it so simply that you were almost stunned. He was being so understanding about this, and yet, you still felt awful. Here he was, someone you envisioned to be near perfect, and here you were… You cleared your throat, eyes pinned to the ground. "Thanks for being here tonight. I know it must have been intimidating to meet my entire extended family in one night."

He gave a warm chuckle that enveloped your body in an audible hug. "No worries, honey. I was actually really excited to just, I dunno, hang out with you for a holiday that was important to you."

Your heart soared, and you turned your head to look at him.

Intak pressed his lips into a smile. "And it doesn't matter if we're in there or out here—I get the overwhelming part, I really do. We can take it at your pace."

The two of you shared a smile. The cliché was always that actions spoke louder than words, and he had just wielded both of them in emphasizing his respect and consideration for you. It was Intak who was making your jitters decrease and your worries lessen. You suddenly focused less on trying to drown out the sounds of people in the building behind you, and instead, on the boy next to you.

When you sat in a moment of silence, you saw his hand inch towards yours on the pavement out of the corner of your eye. Your lips curled upwards in a small smile as you angled your fingers to touch his.

Your eyes met again. "It's okay to hold my hand, you know. I won't break."

His smile was bashful as he laced your fingers together with his and tested your interwoven hands on the sidewalk. He scooted over to you and you met him in the middle, until you could set your hands on your knees, legs and arms pressed together. "You know that I won't judge you for your hardships, whatever they are," he said to you, setting his free palm over your hands to warm them.

"I know," you whispered. You knocked your head against his shoulder affectionately, and he patted your hands in acknowledgment. "I just never know what to do with all of this anxiety and I've never really met anyone who I could trust with them."

Intak took his bottom lip between his teeth. "I'm sorry you've ever felt that way."

"You don't need to apologize. It's not your fault."

"I hope I never make you feel this way, if I can help it," he said to you with a slight pout. "We can learn how to take on your anxieties together, maybe?"

A smile wormed itself onto your face and you leaned your head on his shoulder now. "Stop being so cool."

He laughed, the sound soft, yet brighter than the lights from the surrounding restaurants. "I just care about you." His words warmed you again, and you felt his lips press against the crown of your head.

"I know," you said quietly. "I care about you, too. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me," he hummed. "Know any good dessert places around here? We can get ice cream and then come back in time to say goodbye?"

It was like he was a mind-reader. You made a comment about a favorite gelato place just down the block, and the two of you wasted no time in dusting your pants and setting off down the street. He never let go of your hand—only letting the pair swing between your bodies as he made you smile again and again and again.

p1h m.list

permanent taglist: @flwoie @vatterie @seomisaho @hqrana @ja4hyvn @kaaimins @shakalakaboomboo @bless-311 @leaz-kpop-life @pxppxrminty @fluorescentloves @mosviqu @haechansbbg @kflixnet @http-gyu @mvvnsseul @outrologist

[0oolookitsme]

The Most Handsome Man

Type- One-Shot! (First one of model!h so yay!)

Verse- Model!Harry x Fashion Designer!Y/n

Word Count- 2.02k

Warnings- Smut... and oh, this is not proofread. Heheh

A/N- I'm so sorry (or am I?) for not completing the last scene lmaoo

Silence fell after all the cheering for Harry's 'iconic model walk' at the 2023 Versace Spring collection for men. He had been wearing a pink shirt, fully unbuttoned with nothing on under it, and a pair of sheer white pants on his bottom half. Everyone had raved about how no one, no one but Harry, could pull off that outfit and steal the whole show.

The one clip of him taking a turn to the left of the runway and winking at the camera filming him from a lower level with his infamous lopsided grin had everyone drooling on the floor. It was reposted again and again on all of the social media apps, quickly becoming viral all over the internet.

"Well, Y/n. Enough about Harry, it's been more than 15 minutes talking about him, it's your turn now." Graham said, narrowing his eyes when Y/n mouthed 'Oh no'.

"How do you feel about Harry walking for another brand, wearing clothes designed by another designer?" he asked, leaning on the arm of his couch as if ready for a statement that he could use to spice up the interview.

"He really pulled it off damn well, obviously. The show was marvellous, the clothes absolutely stunning and the models killed it!" Y/n replied, realizing how disappointing that must have been for the media. "And, Harry hasn't like ...signed up a contract to walk only for Gucci and wear clothes designed only by me, you know? Like whatever he does, he absolutely puts his best into it, so it doesn't really matter who he is walking for until he decides to perform partiality and walk like a god for one show and bad for another" she finished, joining everyone else with the laughter.

She glanced at Harry once, just for some validation for what she said and immediately released the tension from her shoulders the moment he passed her that damn smile.

Graham passed her a 'well done' smile, sighing and letting out a "Hmm, nice."

He shuffled the question cards in his hands and almost in no time his head shot up with his brows raised so high that Harry and Y/n just knew that whatever was coming couldn't be so nice for them. It was, no doubt, everytime a question the answer to which could get them dragged if they were to answer it wrong

"I totally forgot about this!" He shrieked, chuckling a little what seemed like evilly. "Y/n," he dragged her name, looking at her with a playful expression that made the crowd laugh again.

She couldn't help but quickly go over everything that he could've found out about in her brain. With a straight posture, she let out a tense chuckle, adding to the humour unintentionally.

"Harry, here, is a well know good-looking young man, everyone knows that. But this week, he has been named the most handsome man! His face almost corresponds with the ancient geek measurement for perfect beauty and proportion. It's called the golden triangle, you see," Graham went off, not really showing where he is going with this.

Clearing his throat, he continued. "So tell me, y/n, what is it like to be dating the most handsome man in the world?" He asked and the crowd roared with hoots, cheers, and laughter.

Oh, it wasn’t as hard of a question as they were expecting.

Harry hid his face behind his hands, pretending to be blushing hard while kicking his feet.

"Umm... it's definitely hard because he's a narcissist. And, now it's pretty safe to say I'll forever hate you for telling him this and blowing his ego off the roof," looking at Harry she grinned. "But it's nice too, he's a lovely fella," she added, nodding along with Graham.

"Leave her, Harry. She doesn't understand how extraordinary you are!"

"Oh yeah, but Graham totally does! If you take any advice from me, H, let it be this one- choose Graham," Y/n said in a faux serious tone, patting Hary's knee while looking towards the crowd, breaking out laughing when Graham too pretended to blush.

"Oh stop it, you. We know you had him at 'H'," he waved her off, looking at Harry who had his hand over his heart.

"Okay everyone, this interview has been going on for more than 30 minutes now," Graham panicked looking at his watch. "Please say a huge thanks to my guests tonight, Mr. Harry Styles and Ms. Y/n Y/ln!"

"Now what should they say, Harry?"

"They should subscribe to this channel."

"There you go, thank you."

The crowd cheered for them as they bid their goodbyes and left the stage. At the back, both hugged Graham, everyone in a hurry due to the unexpected delay. "I just can't keep up with time around you two," he said, laughing as he hurried somewhere else.

Y/n knew something was off when Harry didn't act much about being the most handsome man as they were being escorted out of the building to their car. Then, on the way, sleep overtook her. Not being a morning person and having to wake up at 5 in the morning over that was not something she could cover up with caffeine.

It was when they were nearing their home that she woke up. Something stopped her from raising her hand, turning to see she felt something heavy on her preventing her from moving even.

Just tilting her head, she smiled at the sight. Harry had intertwined their hands as his body had fallen onto hers, his head on her shoulders with his lips parted.

Thinking about all the stuff she had to do, she forgot about his tiredness. With all the shows he had done the past week, and then having to proceed with a meeting every single day and even online interviews, he hadn't even had the time to relax other than just straight up passing out the moment his head would hit the pillow.

He looked so calm that she didn't wanna wake him but the car turned in the driveway and she raised her other hand to tap his cheek. "Wake up, darling," she spoke slowly, lingering her finger near his open mouth to wake him faster.

It made her laugh, how he smacked her finger away before blinking his eyes open. "Hello there," she greeted him, feeling a lot better after her nap.

But he grunted in return, slumping down further on her.

"We are home, H. C'mon, you can go back to sleep once we're in," she said as she opened her door and dragged him along with her.

Quickly, she appreciated the driver, wishing him a good night as Harry rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, walking towards the door slowly. "I really want to have a drink, my head hurts like it's been hit so hard," he mumbled as Y/n caught with him with her heels in her hands.

"It was probably hit hard when you were a child, considering you are pretty dumb now," she laughed, making a face at him when he clicked her on the head.

After some fumbling for the keys and failing more than thrice because Harry wouldn't stop pressing small pecks of kisses here and there on the skin that was exposed and near to him, Y/n finally pushed the door open and pretended to bang Harry on the head.

"Dear God! You will accidentally kill me someday!" He claimed, laughing when she almost wheezed while clutching her stomach. "We haven't even had a drink and you already seem drunk," he mumbled as he took off his shoes.

He walked on behind her while taking off his suit, swinging it over his arm as she was already onto pouring their drinks. She didn't need to ask what he wanted, it was always the same. Whiskey. And he knew what she'd take- white wine, no questions asked.

It was fitted in her system, that white wine freshened her up. No one knows where that came from, it just does.

Y/n passed him his glass, filled with some ice and his drink, and came to stand just opposite him with her arms on the countertop, just like his. "Cheers," she mumbled and took her first sip.

It wasn't long before they both finished their drinks and went to pour some more, sharing a guilty glance.

One drink turned into another and the distance between them began to decrease enough to make them buzz with some sort of excitement. Then the slurs turned into their mouths moving in sync as one pushed another's clothes off.

Her hair curtained their faces from one side as he picked her up, wrapping her legs around his hips. He climbed the stairs knowing there was a hundred percent chance they could topple over just because of the force they were enforcing on each other. His hands hungrily moved on her body and her hands tangled their fingers in his locks.

Turning on his heels to push open the bedroom door by his back, his feet carried them straight to the bed. Their mouths parted then, her chest heaving quickly as she lay on the bed, seemingly not sensing the importance of breathing while going for the side of his neck.

But Harry rose up just as her lips settled on his skin, chuckling sweetly at her confusion and look of helplessness.

He dropped down on his knees, on the cold hard ground.

Looking up at her as if she were a goddess, he cupped her knees and pushed them farther away from each other. The slight hint of her smell alone snatched his focused gaze from her confirming eyes, to where her drenched panties covered her center. 

Pupils darkening with each passing second, Harry placed his hand on her lower tummy, pushing down so that her hips slip, and her throbbing core grows nearer to him. "So fuckin' wet," he said in a voice so soft, and yet it sounded like a taunt.

A lopsided grin stretched out on his lips and carved out one of his dimples as raised his head up once more to take in her expression. Her eyes showered him in praise and begged him to go on, but her breath just hitched. He could tell she hadn't yet started breathing again as his cold hand started crawling up her knee, slipping up higher and closer with each drag of his palm.

His hungry fingers tapped and walked on her skin like a smooth metal ball bouncing up and down her body after slipping down from one's hand. Just as he hooked his finger on her panties elastic line, her thumb hooked itself on the other side and started pushing the thin clothing down. "Ow!" She exclaimed in a voice lower than a whisper when he slapped her hand away, clearly not expecting such harshness from the man who usually lays underneath her every time they're high on lust. 

"Don't do that again," he told her, almost frowning, before pulling the clothing down her legs in a rush he's never had before.

Inhaling deeply, he hooked his arms under her knees and pushed them up till his hands reached her boobs and the elbows just a tad above her hips. A small crisscross of his two limbs and she was flipped on her stomach. 

"Oh ...my god, H," she gasps, a chuckle leaving her mouth followed by a trembling breath. 

"Raise that ass for me, please," he asked her politely, waiting for her to oblige and let her ass rest in front of his sharp V-line. Smirking in contentment when she slowly, but surely, did so. He landed a quick slap to her asscheek before he turned and rested his back on the curve at the end of the bed, quickly hooking his arms around her thighs. 

He wanted to taste her first, just like she mostly does. "Ah, fuck," she shuddered as his tongue swiped between her puffy lips, separating them.

"So tell me, darling," he said, replacing his tongue with his thumb. "What's it like... having the most handsome man between your legs?"

Tagging: @reveriehs <3 MASTERLIST :)

[mywritingonlyfans]

Hey, can you do one about Alex supporting Reader Athlete in the Olympics?Like how it was in Red Carped ❤️

I made a winning and losing version... I thought it was pretty cute to think about haha 🩷 it's around 2K words

Oympics Reader // Alex Turner X Reader

Alex tried not to stand out too much among the people. He wore an Olympic cap, a light button-down shirt, and comfortable tailored pants. As soon as you appeared from the locker room in your fitted leotard and short skirt, he smiled and stood up. You tended to be quieter when nervous, and he understood that but hated when your rigidity was more about anxiety than concentration. To anyone looking, you exuded confidence, and you certainly wore it well, but it wasn’t easy, and Alex knew that.

He touched your shoulders, his hand gliding down your arm until he reached your cold hands. "I'm excited," you said, your voice enthusiastic, followed by a few small jumps. Your outfit had glitter, and when you hugged him, Alex laughed at how some of it transferred onto his shirt sleeve. "You look stunning." He was used to your tennis outfits and loved how they looked on you but never tired of seeing you in them. "I love this one. I wish I could take it home, Al." Your cheek rested on his shoulder, and his large hands roamed your back, squeezing your waist a little.

Years of watching had taught Alex from a physiotherapist once that touching or stimulating other parts of the body could shift focus away from pain (such information would also apply well in other areas). This worked for physical injuries, but Alex believed it also helped your emotional state. He bent down a bit, giving your shoulder a soft kiss. You closed your eyes, and he gently nibbled at the spot, making you laugh, followed by some camera flashes. Since you didn't mind, he didn't either.

The important thing was that it worked; your posture was still confident, but you were visibly more relaxed. "We can have one made just like it when we get home, tiny one." You laughed softly, making him feel relieved to see you less tense. You certainly didn't have the money for that, but Alex wouldn't hesitate to fulfill your wish for something so simple for him to get. Under different circumstances, you might resist, but for the moment, you went along: "If I qualify, I'll hold you to that, love." He nodded, his big almond eyes bright. You thought he sometimes believed in you more than you did. "I can make sure it's yours by next week." You buried your face in his neck, hugging him tighter, not knowing what to say. He laughed, keeping his arms around you, holding you firmly until your moment arrived.

Until then, your fingers intertwined with the crumpled folds of his shirt hem, occasionally pinching the skin of his hands, tracing the prominent veins, and wrapping your fingers around his while he tried to keep you relaxed.

He understood the dynamics of the game well, thanks to you, of course. He followed the little ball with his eyes, as well as the precise movements of your body. Whenever you took a leap, your skirt flew freely, and he found it adorable; you look like proper doll. When your perfect posture flexed to hit the ball with skill, your ponytail moved gracefully. Deep down, he knew the sport was made for you, both for your talent and for how it enhanced your natural grace. "Go, pumpkin, you can do it," he whispered to himself, anxious as you handled everything like a perfectly choreographed dance.

The ball hit the ground, followed by cheers. Alex couldn't help but remember the previous Olympics, with photos in tabloids showing you with stern fingers on his chest and raised eyebrows, teaching him not to wish for opponents' mistakes; specifically not errors of chance (like wishing for a ball to fall just for your own benefit). You didn’t need that; you could win fairly. Alex didn’t fully understand, but your dedication warmed his heart.

Your breathing was heavy, eyes wide with excitement. You let out a loud cheer, filling the air around the court. The ball had fallen, but not due to any unfair advantage. You showed empathy to your opponent, who reciprocated. Alex beamed with pride, watching your glowing face as you placed your racket on the table and ran to him.

You jumped over the barrier, and Alex caught you in mid-air, your legs wrapping around his torso and your arms around his neck. You felt tears of joy streaming down your face. "I knew you could do it, I told you, tiny one." He filled you with praise, always there to boost your ego, while keeping a hand on your skirt, aware of the crowd around you; not wanting to share any further piece of your soft skin.

You nestled into him, clutching his shirt, and Alex laughed, holding you firmly even though he knew you were stronger. Your training routine left him with no doubts about such confirmations; a d he was proud of that too. You placed your feet on the ground, eyes swollen with tears, looking at him. You loved how he was always there for you. The Olympics were spaced out, and this was his second year there with you, always finding a way to avoid tours or shows for you. Everyone around you expected the best from you, but Alex was there just for you. He didn’t care about the spectacle, only about you as his fav person.

"I'm so proud of you," he repeated, eyes brimming with tears like yours. He stroked your hair, kissing your forehead multiple times, making you smile with a contagious sigh before you had to return to your athletic peers. "Now you can get ready for the medals and new sparkly outfits."

...

Alex sat in a seat that offered a perfect view of your coach, his restlessness, and the anxiety about what lay ahead. He found it unfair that artistic gymnastics had such little performance time, considering your years of rigorous training.

While he didn't expect the worst, Alex couldn't feel at ease knowing you were nervous and doubtful of your abilities. Despite being distant from you, whenever your eyes met his, he tried to reassure you with a smile, blowing kisses, or making heart shapes. You found it endearing because he typically didn't express himself that way unless it was for you.

Your heart was racing, and your hands were cold, making it hard to focus on him for long. This worried Alex, not because of the competition, but for your well-being. Ignoring protocol but not acting recklessly, he moved closer to where you were standing, waiting for your turn. You were puzzled, but since no one objected, you didn't mind. He felt closer to you, held your hand, traced his fingers along your wrist and palm. Having something else to focus on helped, and you looked at him with a light smile of gratitude. He added, "You are amazing, tiny one. You'll do great, and I'll be 'ere for you no matter what happens." Alex's presence was immensely helpful. You appreciated that he was there not for your professional development but because you were important to him as a person. Just the physical touch and his sweet words boosted your confidence.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, and rationally, you knew it wasn't your fault. But in the moment, it felt dreadful, as if all your invested time was wasted. You had prepared for this, and even though you failed, shouldn't you be emotionally prepared? The scene replayed in your mind seconds after it happened.

Everything had gone well—the beginning, all the aerial acrobatics—but your knees couldn't handle the landing. The sound was harsh, your head hurt, and even though it wasn't a fall, your stumble and attempt to recover to avoid injuries would come at a cost. You tried to keep a smile, but your face crumbled as you realized what had happened. It was not a good day.

After the acknowledgments, your tearful eyes searched for Alex. In tense moments like these, he would nibble on his nails—not severely, but it was different (a good kind of different) to know he got nervous watching you do something important to you, as it impacted your life as a couple. You liked how he cared. "I thought it was great," he whispered, opening his arms for you to nestle into. The phrases varied, but they always carried the same meaning. "It was terrible this time, Alex." You pronounced his full name as if in pain and buried your face in him.

He hugged you tightly, wanting to lift all that weight off your shoulders. He couldn't imagine it, but he knew you well enough to understand your thoughts were burdened with wasted time and how your team was affected. "It's not your fault, my luv. No one thinks it is, 'kay?" he said, feeling the urge to cry seeing you were in tears but holding it back. He knelt in front of you as you sat on the bench, still wrapped in his arms. He lifted your head, caressing your cheek and holding your waist.

"You still have more chances; it was just a bad day." He saw more tears falling, his chest heavy, and then you broke down. And he was there for you, holding your face to his shoulder while he stroked your hair and back. It was heartbreaking, but he hoped you felt lighter afterward. "I'm right 'ere; everything'ill be okay from now on, you'll see, huh?" It was uncertain, but his voice calmed you.

At that moment, a few reporters appeared, and Alex reflexively thought to shoo them away, but remembered that in sports, they were more respectful, so he just lifted your face before they got close. "You're one of the strongest people I know; I know you'll do well." You didn't hesitate, not wanting to but knowing it was expected whether you did well or not. You gave a brief interview, even through tears, explaining yourself as best as you could.

Alex avoided appearing when it was your moment, not wanting to draw attention to himself and not answering questions about him when asked, respecting the significance of your day. But as soon as it was over, there he was, holding your Olympic jacket to put over you, knowing it made you more comfortable because walking around in public in a leotard wasn't your cup of tea.

You needed to watch the rest before the scores were announced. And so you did, even with some doses of tears and lament, but Alex did everything to make it comfortable and bearable for you. He would rather you talk or cry with him there than keep all the weight to yourself.

He sat by your side, your body lying against his chest, in a somewhat hidden spot in the audience, not forcing an impractical good mood on you. He took off his cap and put it on your head while you curled up next to him. "I'm happy for them," you said, watching your fellow teammates and friends. Alex nodded, "I know," he said in a somewhat proud tone.

He understood you were upset with yourself, a common reaction, and that it had nothing to do with your relationship with the other professionals.

Your eyes filled with tears again, and Alex kissed your head, understanding that it would take time. Your fingers tightened on the edge of his shirt while his hand squeezed your thigh, trying his best to ease all of that and in fact he tried to keep your hands busy with him so that they wouldn't pass incessantly over your swollen eyes. He couldn't imagine himself in your place. He could mess up a show, and there would be many more in the near future. The Olympics weren't like that. "You're an excellent professional, pumpkin. It wasn't your failure; it was just a bad day." And Alex would do anything for you to hear him, especially since he was with you and had been following your routine long enough to know what he was talking about.

...

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[midnightsunnyday]

Say It With Your Chest *.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

[Masterlist] [AO3]

➼ parings: Barbatos & Black Fem!OC, Diavolo/Black Fem!OC, implied Lucifer/Black Fem!OC ➼ content warnings: none that I see, yet still read at your own discretion. ➼ summary: there's something about the new exchange student, Vivica, that Barbatos doesn't like. Diavolo is clearly smitten, and for the sake of his lord, Barbatos tries his best to keep said discrepancies hidden, until he can't. Fortunately, the feeling is mutual.

(Chapter Two)

There was nothing particularly celebratory about this evening's summons, yet Diavolo insisted that the typical arrangements regarding guests wouldn't suffice. Not even his outfit was enough, having tossed aside the royal red uniform in want of something more… "sensual."

"Tonight is of special consideration, so everything must be perfect," Diavolo said, a pair of slacks in each hand. He eyed them both and groaned, tossing them to the growing pile of rejected outfits that crowded his bed. "Why is everything I own so…formal?" He stomped towards his wooden wardrobe, frowning at his apparent lack of choices. "There must be something here I can wear."

Barbatos stood in stunned silence, dogging the occasional haphazardly thrown shirt or belt. He'd demanded, pleaded, to allow his usual habit of laying out his master's clothing lest he destroy the entire castle.

"Nonsense. I'm perfectly capable of dressing myself," Diavolo said as he tumbled over the various buttons of his dress shirt, face tightened in concentration.

"As you wish, My Lord." Barbatos sighed, narrowly avoiding a popped button.

The prince was a demon obsessed, spending hours contemplating the moral dilemma of whether "a day scent was appropriate for an evening dinner?" A phrase that Barbatos would find less haunting coming from Asmodeus whom--as fate would have it--Diavolo was in close contact in recent weeks, his newly formed bond being less in part of any actual interest in the sixth born and more so for his closeness with a particular human.

"There," Diavolo turned to view himself in the mirror. "Does this look alright?" he asked, the usual confidence in his voice unfounded.

Barbatos clenched his breath, a slight vein pulsating on the side of his forehead. He would've accepted it all: the hours-long fashion show, the clothes that would need refolding and ironing, the bombing of his senses from spraying cologne after cologne…

…if only he'd chosen anything other than a red suit, the same red of his uniform, a uniform in which he cried was "not enough." Still, he smiled. "Upstanding as always, my lord," and it was the truth. Despite the growing urge to toss his entire wardrobe from his bedroom window, it had always been the truth.

Diavolo frowned, apparently not convinced. "Yes, but…does it look…cool?"

Demon King help him.

Through his conversations, Diavolo learned that his precious human possessed a fondness for suave, self-assured gentlemen types, whatever that meant.

"Sounds a bit like Lucifer, doesn't it?" Diavolo laughed, though there was little humor behind it. It's true the human spent time around the firstborn more often than most, and their apparent closeness only stroked at the prince's insecurities.

"My Lord, I am uncertain as to where this lack of confidence is coming from, yet there is not a day that goes by where I ever thought of you as being less than impeccable. Certainty not next to any demon, and certainly not now."

Ah. That seems to have done it. A better sight than the slacking posture before. Diavolo straightened his shoulders, standing with the poise expected of a future king.

"Thank you, Barbatos. Also, I'd like to apologize to you. This is all…well," he turned to look about his room, giving a nervous chuckle. "Let's just say that such afflictions are new to me."

Barbatos nodded in response. "I understand, my Lord. Though please try to calm yourself. Tis only supper, not a marriage proposal."

Diavolo's eyes widened as if he heard the word "marriage" and nothing else. "Right, yes…definitely not."

Barbatos sighed. A man who held the world in his hands was still a man, and plagued with all the insecurities that most lonely men had. The prince was starved, so to speak. And while not entirely ignorant of the world, remained unfamiliar with the many wiles of human social and sexual communication.

Indeed, the young master had fallen in love. To put it lightly, he never stood a chance. 

[desertfangs]

DA here, JUST finished chapter 2 of the Lestat/Daniel NYC rendezvous and I'm in love! Listen, I *need* to know everything about this: "Do you? I seem remember when Armand tried to throw a surprise party for your birthday in 88, it was a disaster." You can't just throw in a line like that and leave us hanging pls 🥺 I can see Armand being furious at Daniel for not being able to keep his mouth (thoughts?) shut but then trying to play it cool in front of Lestat like "whatever I didn't even want to do it" when he'd never put that much of an effort into planning a party before 😭😭😭 "This is where I taught him to play Scrabble" I love when it all comes together like this, so perfect. The dynamic between Daniel and Lestat is god tier as expected, they get each other on a very basic yet human level, a true brotp for the ages. This though: "He brushed some hair out of Daniel’s forehead, fingertips light against his skin. Daniel’s breath caught. “You are quite the beauty, Daniel" lawd they're going for it 🥵🥵🥵🥵 "He had a pet? Other than you, I mean" LMFAO mean, but honestly if I were Lestat I'd be clowning Daniel left and right and viceversa. They deserve this and I'm so glad you're giving it to them! "Because the Armand I met, the one I fell in love with, he’s that guy. The one who got excited about stupid shit, who wanted to try everything and do everything. I wanted to be immortal so I could do everything with him forever", that truly sums it up doesn't it? Stunning. "I’m telling you because I think you’d really appreciate that part of him. If you give him the space to let loose, you two could really have a blast." L/A getting to be teenage disasters together is the solution to absolutely every single problem within the vc universe, I'm convinced. THE PICTURE OF THEM AT THE BAR, my heart. Daniel giving Lestat the Devil's Minion NYC tour with a good ol' dose of UST is everything I didn't know I needed tysm for this 🥹

DA!! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it, I promise Chapter 3 gets a little more spicy. 🥵🥵 

Okay, so here’s what I think happened for the surprise party. Armand was planning to have Louis bring him to somewhere in New Orleans, where the party was being set up. So they were conspiring and Daniel was doing a lot of the logistics and set up at the location. Lestat knows something is up but he can’t read Louis’ thoughts, but he senses Daniel in the city and… easy, right? Just get the boy to spill.

So he grabbed him and demanded to know. I honestly doubt he had to read his thoughts. Not saying Daniel didn’t put up a fight to keep the secret but I think it was obvious to Daniel that Lestat knew something was up and it was better to tell the truth than have him thinking it was something bad. I can totally see him trying to downplay his part, like “I told him it was a bad idea, but you know how Armand is…” 

I think Armand was more upset that Lestat cornered Daniel than at Daniel telling but that was also when things were getting tense between them, IMO, so perhaps there was some frustration on that end too. (I like to believe they still had a very good party! It just wasn’t a surprise! And Armand was pissed because he put a lot of work into surprising that ungrateful jerk (affectionate). *ahem*) 

Lestat is flirting with Daniel so hard and I think Daniel is just sort of like… He likes it, he’s into it, but he also doesn’t know if it’s just Lestat fucking with him or if he’s seriously like… interested in getting down and dirty, you know? Lestat is just Like That sometimes and it can be hard to tell if he’s sincere. (Don’t worry, he’ll figure it out.) 

I love Daniel trying to show him the Armand that he knows and loves. Like Lestat knows and loves Armand but Armand is such a freewheeling weirdo with Daniel and it’s not a side of himself that I think he shows easily or frequently, so it’s just like… yeah, you idiots could have fun, just stop posturing and trying to put on airs all the time. Lestat and Armand being teenage chaos disasters is just so full of epic possibilities and Daniel is into it. 🥵🥵 (No one ships Lestat/Armand like Daniel does, LMAO.) 

Gotta have the ust and angst! I’m glad you like the photo in the bar too, I like to imagine they really left their mark in places while they were in that city, for a short a time as they actually lived there. Armand and Daniel live hard. (Pun intended. It’s late and I’m not sorry. 😉)

[laraluvie]

Now that lita is officially over, time for an overall review, an honest one. See, I fucking fell in love with lita, specially the characters and the actors, but I have a LOT of points to make.

Starting with the criticism. The producion. Terrible. Fucking awful. So many scenes got ruined because of it. The sound and visual team were playing around I swear, volume of conversations being too low, you could hear the mics, background music too loud, transitions from one scene to another so bad you get pulled out of the story, clothes being visible during nc scenes, scenes not making any sense whatsoever, the cuts, everything... just bad. Also whoever directed their acting, not even the actors could save some scenes because of the awkward position they got put on set.

Also obviously the wife, black giant, and spanking thing. Seriously, mame? 

Talking about the characters now, I wasn't really into payurain because of all the "I'm dumb and cute" thing going on with rain, it made me uncomfortable, the couple became adorable after they got together, but both characters were a little forced to fit the powerful and smart top and the naive and dumb bottom narrative. But then prapaisky came...and I have to admit, I started this series because of them, I read their novel and their characters are so much more interesting, sky is very smart and witty (although they still made him act cute because he is younger annnd obviously because he is a bottom 🙄), prapai is super understanding and mature, the only mistake in his character in the series was how they portrayed that party scene, I feel like the one in the novel made more sense.

Going into prapaisky...there's so much to talk about them...it amazed me so much how prapai could read sky from day one and also respect him, he respected his time, his feelings and never for a second doubted him. The scene where he cries because sky can't became one of my all time favorites, and fortpeat did an amazing job portraying it, tho I still wish they showed sky crying real tears and not only sobs because it would make the difference between his previous cry scenes and this one clearer.

Now going full on compliments, and I will be commenting a lot more about fortpeat because yes they became my protected babies. Since the first time he appeared peat showed such good expressions, he brought sky to life and made him one of my favorite characters ever, when his arch started you could see clearly the change in sky's eyes, he is an actor who express so much through his eyes, the change in his gaze in prapaisky first meeting when he realized prapai wanted sex from him and then later on in the one where prapai says he wants a smile and he gets so surprised, I was STUNNED with his acting, sky is not an easy character at all, he is traumatized, he is mature and likes to pretend he is strong all the time, he helps everyone but never asks for help, he pretends to not care when he cares a lot, the way peat was able to portray the slight changes with subtle body signals, his posture, his smile, his eyes, small expressions...CHIEF KISS. Also fort...his crying scenes, his empathetic scenes, his I'm in love...so SO GOOD, the moment his arch began and he looked at sky with such curiosity and confidence I knew it was the end, he understood prapai so well and he acted while feeling it all, the scene where he comforts sky while you can see in his eyes his own heart is breaking. A FUCKING PERFORMANCE. He nailed all the whipped scenes and let's not talk about the nc ones, I am not prepared to talk about his body language during those, absolutely not. The way both had so much chemistry and the EYE CONTACT!!!!!!! The way they could communicate through their eyes so well, you could feel the love and trust, the fear, the sadness...I can't believe they are both new to this. 

Of course all four actors did well, but I needed to emphasize them. Anyway, the series wasn't perfect at all, but I'm gonna miss my weather gang a lot, hope to see the actors working together again (with a better production team pls).

[sosimsofmaddi]

Reese's New Job / Ultimatum

"What are you doing?" Gunnar hissed as he tore out of her house.

Reese stopped short in her driveway, stunned to see him coming out of her house, especially since she hadn't be in it. She immediately looked for Roxie's car, but it was gone. She was out of town at her brothers' house because her parents were in town to visit. They didn't know that Roxie moved from the city to a tiny backwoods town.

Gunnar tore across the lawn, holding a lanyard in his first. Her ID badge dangled from it. The one for Frazer Logging Company.

He whipped it away from her before she could take it. "What the hell are you doing, Reese? Getting involved with these people?"

She stood a few feet in front of him in the driveway. He was fully dressed today, meaning he'd either walked her or he raided the clothes he kept stashed around her house, namely in the shed, or the secret pile she'd washed for him and tucked into her closed to hide from Roxie.

"I know that you and the pack are looking into them," Reese admitted. The company was encroaching on pack lands, getting closer and closer to the border of their home. The company made offers to every home-owner they could identify. So far they hadn't identified any of the wolves, but it was only a matter of time before representatives showed up at at their front doors with money and spiels.

"And what does that have to do with you?" the wolf demanded, shoving the ID card into his back pocket.

"I'm helping," she said.

Gunnar laughed. "No, no you are not," he argued. "You stay away from them, Reese. Do you understand me? Quit this job."

She was hired as a a forestry engineer, focused on road layout and logging systems. She had access to their projects. She could figure out what their plan was for Moonwood, how far they intended to stretch their reach.

She had her first shift two days ago. Gunnar must've seen her.

"You cannot work for them," he hissed.

She frowned at him and folded her arms. "Why not?" she demanded. "It's just a job, Gunnar. I need a job and you need help."

"Not from you," he snapped.

She stared him down, realizing that she was missing something. "What else is going on?" she questioned, gaze narrowing. "What aren't you telling me?"

He schooled his features so fast that she knew he was hiding something.

"Tell me," she demanded, stepping into his space.

He clenched his jaw. "No, Reese."

"Then I'm not quitting," she warned.

His eyes blazed. "Reese."

"I'll find out everything I can about what they're doing in town," she told him, brushing past him to get to her house.

He sucked in a quick breath and reached back for her. "Please, Reese, don't do this."

Reese shook off his hold. He let go easily, but he followed her.

"Don't ever go through my things again."

"I thought you were home," he answered, stepping through the front door. "I saw it sitting on the table." He motioned to the table that lined the back of their couch. It was visible from the porch.

She threw her bag down on the kitchen island and leaned her elbows on the laminate, staring up at him warily.

He leaned a hip against the island, arms folded across his chest.

They were at a standoff. Gunnar cracked first. With an exhausted sigh, he matched her posture, pushing his hands through his hair. "We think there's more to this whole situation," he admitted, looking at her through his lashes. "The city is selling off so much land so quickly, and from what we can tell, they're not getting much back from it."

Reese frowned, not understanding the implication.

"We don't know what's going on," he said honestly. "But we know it's not all above board. We're looking into it."

"Then let me help," Reese pushed. "This position is perfect, Gunnar. I'll have access to information you and the pack would never be able to see otherwise. I can figure out how much land they bought and what they plan to do with it."

He started shaking his head before she even finished.

"Why not?" she demanded, scowling. "Why can't I help you?"

"Because I don't want the pack to know you're involved!" he admitted, pushing away from the island with a defeated and desperate sigh.

Reese was stunned.

He twisted back, hand covering his mouth. They both kept their friendship secret. Her from Roxana and Kelley. Him from his entire pack. It's why they only met periodically. Since the first time they shifted together, it was getting harder to see him so infrequently, but Reese never thought about that too much.

She pushed it away now.

"You know that it's better that way," he said. "We made that decision together. To keep this between us." He motioned between the two of them. Reese's stomach did a little flip at the 'us.'

"I know," she admitted, "but they don't have to know that the information is coming from me."

He shook his head. "They're going to wonder how I'm getting it," he denied. "And they'll get suspicious when I can't answer that question."

"So you'd rather risk not finding out the truth?" she asked incredulously. "What if you hit a wall? What will you do then?"

"We're not at the point," he denied. "We've still got leads. We can figure this out, Reese. You don't need to throw yourself into the middle."

"If I quit, there will be no going back," she stated. "We'll lose this opportunity entirely. I can't just change my mind when the pack runs out of leads."

"I wouldn't ask you to."

Reese absorbed him. The wolf standing in her living room. It was such a mundane moment, juxtaposed by the absurdity of this conversation, the truth of what they both were. This was so domesticated, but she knew the wolves were far from it.

If the pack's suspicions were true, then the pack's way of life was at risk. She could help.

"I'm not quitting," she said finally, watching Gunnar close his eyes for a moment.

"Reese..." he pleaded.

"No, Gunnar," she stated. "I'm doing this."

He shook his head at her. "No, you're not. There will be no point if you don't have anyone to pass the information to."

Her heart flipped in her chest. His threat tugged at an uncomfortable thread inside of her, something that she refused to acknowledge for months and months.

Gunnar looked as distraught as her, but he didn't back down. "You do this, Reese, and I'll stop coming here. We won't see each other anymore."

Reese grabbed the island to keep from stumbling. She hadn't even moved, but it felt like her knees might give. Gunnar took an instinctive step forward, but forced himself to heel.

"You can't do that," Reese whispered, staring up at him in shock.

He folded his arms. "I will. I'll walk away."

Reese steadied herself, mentally and physically. She felt a lump in her throat, but she didn't know if she was about to cry or throw up.

"Leave, Gunnar," she answered.

Despite everything, despite this situation being his doing, Gunnar's expression flashed something like hurt and pain. He looked at her like he couldn't believe it, like he couldn't stand to actually do it. He put a hand against his chest reflexively.

But Reese didn't back down. "Walk away then," she said.

[cam-ryt]

"I don't want to fight you ! Plea...se, Ezio... !"

The only answer he got was the metallic sound of their blades clashing, echoing in the mountain, and the sound of their panting. He watched for a moment as a small cloud of steam rose from his lips, fragile and ephemeral. Like what they used to have.

They were both exhausted, he could tell by their posture, by the slight trembling in their arms as they raised their sword.

"You left me no choice !"

"Please..."

Esten closed his eyes for a moment, holding tightly the sob that was going to break into his chest.

If they were going to be enemies, if bruises were going to replace love marks on their skin, if they were going to fight instead of embrace each other he preferred to die right away.

Stepping back, he rose his arms, deliberately leaving an opening in his guard.

The view was stunning, dusk painting the mountains in warm colours. The air was cold, reddening their cheeks and numbing their fingers. He kinda liked that. It was beautiful and sort of comforting to know he was going to die in such a wonderful place.

The air was cold. But not as cold as the blade that pierced his heart in a perfect motion. Ezio was too trained to miss his target. It was muscle memory at this point. Still, Esten saw his eyes growing wide as he realized what he just did.

"No...!" He heard him breath as he withdrew his sword and let it fall to the grass like it was on fire. "Esten..."

The air was cold, but not as cold as the blood in his veins. He felt Ezio's embrace holding him back as he fell to the ground.

It was hard to breath, even harder to think. He was so cold. He couldn't feel some parts of his body anymore. He wanted to raise his hand to Ezio's face but it felt so heavy, so far away, and he was suddenly so tired.

Ezio was holding him tight, nothing but distress on his beautiful features. The face he loved the most in his entire life. He had almost forgotten how pretty he was.

"'t's okay, love..." He managed to articulate despite the thick blood in his throat.

He wanted to tell him that he forgave him for everything, but he was so tired, so numb. He was just going to close his eyes a couple of seconds to recover a little strength.

Yes, he was just going to...

Close his eyes...

Don't worry, love.

I'm coming back.

I'm coming...

I...

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

A bit of original content for today !

Featuring the 2 main characters of my novel (writing in progress) : Esten and Ezio.

Background inspired by the art of @zandraart

[retronamic]

Renata Glasc x Assistant! Reader

Soooo I've decided to take up the honor of writing bout undoubtedly the og material milf of Zaun herself, Renata Glasc. This one is gonna be long asf but its a good 3 am read in my opinion. Put yall seat belts on.

TW: Porn with a lifetime movie plot

Afab! Reader

MINORS (aka children under the age of 18) DO NOT INTERACT!!!!!!!!!!

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

- It's undeniable that Renata is a busy woman, I mean running a whole enterprise isn't as simple as doing a little bit of paper work and clocking out before 5 pm. So it makes sense as to why she would want to hire an assistant, you know someone to make the work load a little lighter for her.

- Of course just anyone won't do. Renata wanted someone who was efficient, capable of multitasking and most importantly, someone who she could "tolerate".

- Her interviewing process was extensive, hundreds of people came in with quite impressive resumes and letters of recommendation from some respectable people. But to Renata, those were merely for show.

- She would skim over them ofc, but she was mainly paying attention to the applicant's body language, their posture, how they spoke, how long it took them respond and most importantly, the amount of fear she could sense from them.

- She's use to people being terrified of her, probably from her status or her appearance, or rather both. So she wasn't surprised when most of the applicants stuttered and ended up slipping up....until it was your turn.

- Your entrance wasn't show stopping, no cockiness, your head was hung down. Your resume wasn't as impressive either, though she was ready to dismiss you....you surprised her.

- You answered her enthusiastically, kinda like you rehearsed ever possible question she could ask you. You leaned into the conversation and did your best to maintain eye contact, which wasn't hard since to you, her eyes were absolutely stunning. Renata found it endearing. She found you endearing.

- Honestly you were very surprised you got the call back saying you got the job. I mean you were definitely grateful, but you didn't expect yourself to stand a chance against people with five pages long resumes. But you didn't dwell on that for tooo long, and tried to focus on the more important question, how to make a good impression on your boss?

- You decided to show up quite early to the office, you really wanted to make a good first impression on your boss. From the interview you could tell that she was a "no nonsense" type of woman, so wanted to be a "no nonsense" assistant.

- Renata arrived to find you in her office, sorting out her documents and tidying up her desk. She stopped at the doorway and just observed how you shuffled around the office trying to get everything perfect before she showed up. Right then and there, she knew she made the perfect decision with hiring you.

- "Good Morning, Miss (L/N). Didn't expect you to be here so early?" You jumped a bit, startled by the woman leaning on the doorframe. You were just about to answer her, but she began to make her way towards you and you just froze. Was she always this....big?

- When she stood infront of you, you had to crane your neck just to look up at her face. Wow she really is big (so is her strap- imma stop). "Miss (L/N)? Are you alright?" Her tone was sweet yet......seductive? Probably it was the mask? Yea it has to be the mask. Or that’s just how she speaks.

- "Y-Yes Miss Glasc, I'm just nervous is all" She quirked her eyebrows at you. "Nervous? What for? Am I making you nervous?" You saw a slight glint in her eyes. She really knew how to fluster you huh? Maybe she is like this with all her employees (plsssss). You thought maybe she's the type of person that is naturally flirty. And it didn’t help that she was quite attractive, you couldn’t deny that but still you shouldn’t think about your boss like that. She. Is. Your. Boss. 

- “Miss (L/N) you seem to not be focused and you response time is quite slow. You know I’m an impatient woman. Now I don’t know what has you acting like this (yes she does damn flirt) but if you aren’t capable for the job I will have-” “NO!” You quickly covered your mouth........you just interrupted your boss mid lecture.......shit.

- " You didn’t answer my question Miss (L/N).” What? She said something? You couldn’t remember what she asked, was it coffee she wanted? Or her meetings? Or....Or? “Um- I’m sorr-” 

- You expected her to lash out at you or tell you how disrespect you were, but she didn’t. In fact she looked...amused? You saw the slight crease in her eyes like she was smirking under the mask. “Oh? Quite bold of you Miss (L/N). I must admit no one has ever interrupted me and had their head still attached to their bodies. I find your “quirks” quite amusing and I can tell you will be a good source of.....entertainment? If you will, for me. But don’t push it. I’ll let your slip up pass.....for now. Now enough chit chat, how bout you go to Meredith at the front desk and get my schedule for this week” 

- You didn’t spare a second, you practically ran to the front desk, almost tripping like five times. You quickly briefed the file for any errors or inconsistencies, all with Renata’s words stuck in the back of your mind, and her words would stay with you for the next three months of working there.

- Those three months were.......something. You had grown fonder of Miss Glasc. Though you first interaction wasn’t.....ideal. But you soon moved pass that and now you guys were sort of like, dare I say it, friends? 

- You spent more time in her office than you did at your actual desk. Renata even has your desk moved into her office. She said it would be more convenient for you. You know no more walking long distances and pushing her heavy ass door. Plus she liked your company. So much so that you frequently accompany her to meetings and even gatherings with Piltover’s elites.

- Other employees soon caught on to Renata’s fondness of you, though you were kinda struggling at grasping the concept, simply cause you believe that this is the job of an assistant. And it is butttt what assistant goes to brunch with their boss every Saturday? Which assistant you know is gifted a new pair of flats by her boss cause she realized you’re discomfort with your heels? 

- Renata knew exactly what she was doing from the start. Her little speech as to establish an unforeseen agreement yall would have further down the line. She knew you wanted to be the perfect little assistant for her. One to help her with documents, keep her company during her meetings and one that would have no problem sitting perched on her lap doing work while she had her hands in your shirt playing with your tits.

- She had deliberately asked Meredith to leave her schedule incomplete so she could have you do it for her. Consider this practice she said. Polishing up your organization skills, your quickness with the work and how focused you are with the task at hand despite anything thrown in your way. A good assistant would be able to complete their work with their boss’s mercilessly kneading their tits under their shirt and while ignoring how bad they want to grind on their boss’s thigh cause the ache between their legs is so hard to ignore. 

- You tried begging her to put her hands where you needed them most, but Renata wouldn’t budge, and she knew how desperate you were. She could tell from how short your breaths were and how slurred your words became. But how would this be good training if every time you arched your back into her and nipped at her jaw, she gave in. She only wants the best for you even if that means some tough love on her part. 

- “How far you darling?” You replied with a low whimper. “A-Almost done M-Miss”. She made a harsh tug at one of you nipples. You hissed at the sudden sensation. “Good~ See you're doing so well. I guess we increase the intensity. How does that sound?” You gave her a slight nod, all while trying your best to remained focus on the computer screen. 

- She took her human hand out your shirt and used it to lift your skirt. She tapped your thigh indicating you to spread your legs for her, to which you did happily. She moved you panties to the side and used two fingers to part your folds. “Awww darling, I didn’t know me grabbing at your tits got up this worked up. Are they that sensitive or are you just that easy?”

- You felt her two fingers dip into you and god it was too much all at once. Your pressed your body against her and let out the biggest moan you could. Her fingers stretched you so good, you couldn’t help but buck you hips into her hand. You heard her chuckle behind you. She knew you wouldn’t finish the schedule with how you’ve abandoned the keyboard and now opt to grip onto the arm chair.

- “Hmmmm, you did reach quite far. Only one paragraph left. I guess you can complete that tomorrow. You did better than last time bun I’ll give you that. But now lemme give you the release you’ve been rutting into my hand for” With that she wasted now time curling her fingers into you. “A-a-aaah R-Ren- Miss G-Glasc-c” 

- She pumped them into you as fast as she could, you looked down and her hand seemed like a blur. Sounds of the squelching between you legs was so loud, it would be so embarrassing if your moans weren't drowning it out.

- You felt the knot in your low abdomen tighten. You grasped onto Renata's wrist and arched your back further into her. "Shhh just relax. You're almost there darlin~" she said giving small kisses along your jaw making her way to your lips.

-She pulled you into a rough kiss. You squeezed your eyes shut and tried your best to keep up with her pace but between the bruising kisses and her fingers forcing their way into you, everything was just...just...

- Your legs suddenly buckled and closed around Renata's hand. You let out a quiet moan and relaxed into her chest. She gently pulled out and grabbed a cloth to clean her fingers, all while being careful not to move you around too much.

- Once she discarded of the tissue in the bin, she bent her head down and kissed atop your head. "I see you didn't finish. Hmm no need to worry you can do that later. Now how bout we continue this on the ride home?" You gave her a slighty nod and that was enough for her to lift you up and make her way to the car waiting downstairs.

Yall enjoyyyy❤ Btwww dont expect to hear from me for a while cuz i have exams that i didn't study for :)))

[macaroni-rascal]

Some random VM Qs:

Their best and worst elements?

Best compulsory patterns? Worst?

Was 2004-2005 their breakout season?

What positives do you think they got from Montreal that they didn’t get from canton? And what positives from training in canton do you think they didn’t have training in Montreal?

Why are tessa’s arms so perfect?

Do you think it was hard for Scott to coach at first when he realized not every partner can do what tessa can do? (Mostly joking with this question but the thought must have crossed his mind at some point)

Oh, fun!

I think their best elements were definitely their lifts, their step sequences, specifically their no touch midline step sequences in ODs/SDs, when SDs came around, their pattern dances, and their transitions (I'm counting that as an element, even though they technically aren't one). I'm not sure if they have "worst" elements, per say, I know that they've said spins aren't their fav element, so that's all I would say, and their spins were never bad, but other teams had slightly faster spins. However VM always had stunning spin positions, they just lacked speed at times.

In terms of best compulsory patterns, I am not exaggerating in the least when I say all of them. Literally, all of them. They never had a bad compulsory pattern, whether when it was a compulsory dance or when they became integrated into the short dance, every single one they did was musical, made to be more complex, fast, expressive, interesting, with deep edges, amazing knee bend, and a great amount of speed. I think the golden waltz, the argentine tango, the tango romantica, and the midnight blues are among my favourites from them, and they really do wonders to showcase all that Tessa and Scott do so brilliantly, but they 100% did not have a worst.

In terms of breakout season, I personally wouldn't say so, I think they were already on the radar of people in the seasons before, but getting silver at junior worlds definitely helped them to establish themselves. I would say their breakout season was 2007-2008 with the wonderous and ever iconic Umbrellas free dance, where they nabbed the silver at senior worlds in their second season as seniors. That really put them on the map, their success as juniors and the foundation they established as juniors definitely helped to put them there though, no doubt.

Interesting question about Montreal vs Canton...I think they were primed to be open and receptive to new instruction and a new way of training in Montreal after being away for two years, having found their love of skating again after a difficult quad in Canton where they struggled with coaches not being on their side, a coach split between Marina and Igor, and injuries. In Montreal it seemed like they had a full team around them, b2ten definitely helped, whereas they themselves have said nearing the end of their time with Marina, they felt very alone and very "us against the world". In Canton they got a lot of their acrobatic lifts and they got some really truly amazing programs from Marina, which, say what you will about Marina, but she can choreograph a stunning program if she puts her mind to it, and is inspired. Not that they didn't get that in Montreal, but from what they've said, it was more collaborative, which is also a positive! All in all, I think they got what they needed from both camps, when they needed it.

Tessa's arm are so perfect, in large part, I think, to her being into ballet in her younger years and already learning and knowing how to extend right through the finger tips, how its more than okay, even better, to take your time with movement and to let that movement flow through your entire body into your arm, wrist, and finger tips, not just to have the arm be a disconnected limb that flails around, but rather an extension of a more organic and complex movement, from the core. This gif from when VM were helping Shoma with his posture really emphasizes it, look how she's moving and how everything flows. It's just lovely.

In terms of your last question about Scott coaching, I honestly don't think so. I think as a coach, if you start by comparing skaters one to the other, you're already in the wrong mindset and starting from a negative. I think Scott is learning and growing and doing his best, which we love to see!

[vs-redemption]

Hi. Not sure if request are allowed (idk what I'm doing) but wondering if you could write something like aizawa finds out reader was sexually abused when they were younger...maybe comforts them and helps them through a panic attack? Holds them while they cry kinda stuff.. It would mean a lot to me (give me all the comfort...I need it 😫)

From Cindy: Hey anon. Requests are definitely allowed. I’m sorry it took me a while to get to this. I hope you are doing all right, and I hope you can get some comfort from this ♥

Dirty (Aizawa x Reader)

⚠️mentions of sexual abuse, Panic Attack, Hurt/Comfort ⚠️

Of all the decisions you’d made in your life, agreeing to go on a date with Shota Aizawa was turning out to be one of the better ones. Even after the awkward stiffness of the first few times going out disappeared, the man continued to be extremely gentle, patient, and kind. Many people looked for these exact traits in a partner, but they were even more important to you. With the experiences of your past like a constant shadow looming over you, even just convincing yourself to put yourself out there to try and meet new people was a difficult issue to overcome. So, finding a partner who could not only accept the fact that these traumatic things had happened to you but also help you move past them was even more unlikely.

Admittedly, you hadn’t shared the horrors from your younger years with your hero boyfriend yet, but you were starting to feel like you might be able to open up to him about it soon. The fear that he would lose interest in you and leave every time you shrugged off his affection had begun to ease away. He’d looked confused the first couple times you’d pushed him away, but not once had he looked annoyed or gotten angry. For a while, you had also worried that he would ask about your odd behavior, but that hadn’t happened yet either. Aizawa seemed to understand and respect your need for space and to move at a slower pace through the relationship.

“Today I will tell him.” You promise your reflection in the mirror one morning as you get ready for the day. Aizawa was scheduled to come over to have dinner with you after his patrol, and you thought it was as decent an opportunity as any to finally expose your dark secret.

You were feeling fairly confident about it until you turned on the TV right as the local newscaster launched into a story about a young child who’d apparently gone through a similar situation as yourself. As quickly as you can, you change the channel and try not to let the disturbing report trigger any of the memories that so often haunted you.

After convincing yourself that you’d be all right and that you just needed a distraction, you grab your keys and head to the supermarket to pick up the ingredients you’d need for dinner that evening. The harder you tried not to think about the child from the news though, the more it seemed to pop into your head. Soon, familiar images from your past began to consume your thoughts, making your stomach roll and skin itch uncomfortably.

“Dirty.” The word slips from your lips as you rush back home, avoiding the stares of people around you who you were convinced knew every single terrible detail of the memories currently rushing through your mind. You toss the groceries onto the ground once you make it back, more concerned with getting rid of the filthy feeling all over your body than putting the food away. You rush to the bathroom, eager to scrub every inch of yourself until the shame went away.

By the time Aizawa showed up, you felt more composed. You’d managed to put yourself back together after the shower and get all the groceries put away, hopefully leaving your boyfriend none the wiser about the rough day you’d had.

“Smells good in here,” He smiles as he comes in the door, slipping out of his shoes and tucking his feet into the pair of slippers you kept at the entrance for him. “Anything I can do to help?”

“N-no, I’ve got it.” You bite your bottom lip to try and keep your mind focused. The warmth and genuine kindness in his eyes made a wave of guilt wash over you, and your thoughts began to spiral. How long had you been with Aizawa now? How long had you been deceiving a good man? You shake your head, reminding yourself that you had every intention of telling him. Still, you couldn’t help but wonder if he deserved someone better than you… someone less… tainted. Without realizing, your hands had begun to shake and your breathing become labored.

“Hey, is everything all right?” Aizawa’s hand appears in front of you to take your hands into his but you rip out of his grasp and back away, hot tears finally springing forward and blurring your vision. The shock stays on his face for just a moment before morphing into concern as he whispers your name softly.

“No!” You shake your head. “You can’t. We can’t. I’m just… I’m sorry. You should be with … someone else. Someone better.” You were too upset to form coherent sentences, and Aizawa was clearly confused.

“What are you talking about?” He asks softly, “What brought this on?”

You couldn’t believe his patience and self-control. Why wasn’t he getting angry? You could see it in his posture that he was holding himself back from rushing over to you. Even now, he was giving you space and remaining calm. This wasn’t the way you wanted him to find out, but you found that you couldn’t keep the truth in any longer. With a choked sob, the truth spills from your lips. You explain as quickly as you can how your body had been violated against your will, and how that made you feel too disgusting to be with anyone, especially someone as good as him. Aizawa looked stunned as he took in your confession. Then, his eyes were also filling with tears as you told him sadly that you understood if he wanted to leave.

“I’m not leaving,” he states without hesitation, “not unless you tell me to.” Seeing you standing across the room with your shoulders hunched and shaking as you continued to cry was breaking his heart. “The only disgusting thing is the person who did those things to you.” He wipes the wetness from his own cheeks before taking a hesitant step forward. “Please, can I hold you?”

The nagging self-doubt was still in the back of your head, but you still manage to force your feet to shuffle forward until you’re close enough for Aizawa to pull you firmly into his arms and safely against his chest. “I’m so sorry that happened to you,” He murmurs softly while letting his hand rub slow circles on your back to try and calm you down. “And I would never leave you over something that wasn’t your fault.” The comforting words bring about a fresh wave of tears and you wrap your arms around his waist, fingers fisting into his shirt to keep him close. You stay embraced for a few minutes as your breathing calms down and you start to relax, Aizawa telling you how strong and brave you are the whole time.

“T-the food,” you mutter as the timer on the stove goes off. Reluctantly you pull away and turn to grab some oven mitts, but your hands are still shaking.

“Let me,” Aizawa offers and you let him take the dish from the oven and set it on the counter. Before you can say another word, he pulls you back into his arms and you let out a teary laugh.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all this sooner,” you nuzzle your face into his chest. “I just… I just couldn’t.”

“It’s okay,” Aizawa shakes his head. “You don’t have to be sorry about that. Please tell me I never did anything to make you uncomfortable.”

“No, you’re perfect.” You look up and smile at him so he knows how honest you’re being. “More than perfect.”

“I hope you know I feel the same way about you,” He says seriously.

“Even now?” You can’t help but ask.

“Even now.” He confirms with a nod of his head.

The confidence of his answer caused that small hope in your chest to bloom into true happiness. For so long, you’d hoped to find someone you were not only comfortable enough with to divulge the trauma of your past, but also someone you could trust enough to join in your journey of self-healing. Aizawa seemed to fit every category and then some with flying colors. Agreeing to go on that first date with him had definitely been one of the best decisions of your life.

[mc-lukanette]

"Jagged!" Marinette burst into the hotel room, panting from the run it took to get there. "I got your emergency, what's the text?!"

The realization that she'd scrambled her words never came, as she stopped thinking upon seeing the non-emergency-looking situation in front of her. While Jagged seemed to have just stopped pacing around the room to look at her, Penny was sitting in her seat and was only startled by the sudden entrance. There was a third person she didn't recognize, though he didn't seem to be in any mood that would warrant an "emergency."

Penny, recovering from the brief surprise, sighed and faced Jagged with a stern look. "Jagged, please don't drag our designer into this—"

"But she's perfect!" Jagged insisted. With both hands, he gestured wildly to Marinette, who blushed at the extra attention. "She's sworn off men after that model boy and she's got rock n' roll muscle in case anything happens!"

Marinette eased her posture from earlier, rubbing an arm self-consciously and wondering what warranted bringing her past relationship up in the first place. Knowing she wouldn't get an answer from Jagged otherwise, she asked, "Um, what's going on?"

Jagged turned to her, grinning at her curiosity, then rushed over to the mystery man sitting on the couch. He grabbed the man's arm, forcing him up, then gestured to him with his other hand. "This is my son, Luka!"

"Lu—" Marinette blanked. "—wait, you have a son?!"

He nodded. "And I need you to act like his wife!"

"ACT LIKE HIS WHAT?!"

Jagged eagerly went to respond, only to be cut off as Penny cleared her throat, getting up from her seat to stand next to Jagged.

"Marinette, Luka is a lot more..." She paused, eyeing the two men and squinting in thought as she tried to find the right word. "...lowkey, than his father. That's why no one's ever heard of him."

Marinette was more surprised that Jagged could keep a secret for that long.

Jagged chimed in, grabbing Luka's shoulder and pulling him in. "And when he goes out, women and men everywhere go for him like he's one of my albums! I mean—" He gave an exaggerated gesture in Luka's direction. "—just look at him."

Marinette gave Luka a once-over, then nodded her head in understanding. "Yeah, I see what you mean." She realized what she'd admitted a second later and blushed, turning back to Penny in hopes that she could distract from it. "A-and I'm supposed to be... his wife?"

"Luka isn't interested in dating anyone, and he finds it troublesome to be hounded by so many people," she explained. "He doesn't like being surrounded like Jagged does, but he still wants to make his mark on the music world, meaning we have to start introducing him at events. Jagged thought it'd be a great idea—" She side-eyed Jagged, who looked entirely oblivious to the stare. "—for you to pretend to be Luka's wife so people will think that he's taken and back off."

"Dad," Luka suddenly spoke, shrugging Jagged off and shooting him a look. His voice was a lot softer than Marinette would've expected for someone who was Jagged's son, but that didn't make it bad, and it was actually impressive how he managed to draw everyone's attention despite it.

He continued, "I don't want to put pressure on anyone to have to be my wife. I told you, I'll just have to get used to the crowds."

Jagged pouted in protest, retorting, "But your song sensing is so much more sensitive than mine."

"I'm—" Luka hesitated, seeming to acknowledge what Jagged was saying. Nevertheless, he continued, "I'm working on it."

Jagged nearly rolled his eyes, the two quickly getting into a hushed argument over the subject. Marinette couldn't make much out - though Jagged had an infinitely louder whisper compared to Luka - but was able to discern that Luka had apparently been "working on it" for quite a while with little results to show for. Penny walked closer to join, giving an apologetic glance Marinette's way as if to say "sorry, they always get like this." Marinette believed it, as the two seemed to be opposites of each other, at least in terms of their presence.

It was obvious that Jagged had called her without telling Penny or Luka, but it was even more obvious why. The whole idea sounded crazy, and Jagged didn't seem to have a plan outside of, "pretend to be Luka's wife." Marinette understood the basics of what that would entail, but would she just have to be his fake wife forever? Could she be his fake wife forever? She had always dreamed of getting married one day, but she'd long since put those aside and tried to be content with staying single, though she mentally acknowledged that it was pretend marriage and thus didn't carry everything she'd let go of.

And then there was Luka. She didn't know him, but she could see his discomfort for the whole situation; that feeling of wanting to make things easier but not having the right person to rely on for it. It was all too familiar to her and brought memories of her past struggles.

"...I'll do it," she said resolutely.

Jagged, Luka, and Penny collectively glanced at her, then to each other, as if to confirm that they'd all heard the same thing. When they looked back at her, they all let out tonal variations of, "Really?"

Penny was gaping. Luka was confused. Jagged was beaming.

Luka tried to speak up, but Jagged beat him to it, bounding forward and throwing his arms out. "That's great! I knew you'd be the right choice!" He turned to Penny, practically radiating pride. "See? What'd I tell you? Now come on, we need to get these two set up!"

Penny was too stunned to reply, tossing Marinette a fleeting glance as Jagged grabbed her hand and took her away. Luka managed to recover from the shock a little quicker, blinking a few times before finally approaching Marinette himself.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

She nodded, offering him a sympathetic expression and appreciating his concern. "I know what it's like to be harassed by people who don't care about your feelings. If it'll help you, I'll do it." Shrugging casually, she added, "Besides, it's just like Jagged said, I've sworn off dating so it's not a problem for me."

He tilted his head, still seeming unsure, but ultimately smiled at her. "Thank you. I'll be in your care then."

She smiled back at him, extending a hand out for a handshake. "Likewise."

He gladly took her hand in his, equal efforts given on both of their parts to give the best handshake they could. Marinette's first impression was that he was really sweet, and there was something about his eyes that she inherently liked; they were warm and kind, meeting hers without any pressure for her to keep staring back at them.

She did anyway, and if they lingered a little longer than expected in their handshake, neither noticed.

[stingray-sins]

[ Part I here ]

Somewhere only we know... tw: teens been teens

Part II

The Girls were huddled together leaning on top of each other so they could admire the school gymnasium. It wasn't just any day in March, it was the first week of March and the cherry trees were blooming this late spring. The reason was key: The graduation ceremony for the high school teens.

─"Come on ‘Cesca, walk faster we are going to lose the front row!" ─She shook the purple-haired girl to join the crowd of girls who waited with a respective bouquet of flowers to those of higher levels.

─"I don't understand what is special about a graduation, they come and go, how much emotion to see them leave? I would be grateful to leave once and for all" ─Francesca maintained, taking clumsy steps as she tried to walk faster─ "Besides, why are you making me carry these flowers?"

The taller girl stopped short right infront of Francesca to get closer to her face as she covered her mouth in a whisper symbol.

─"The bouquet of flowers has a symbol of gratitude to our superior classmates who have given us support and security during our stay at school..." ─she glanced sideways as adults passed by, probably in as part of a faculty student tutor and then returned to her flirty habitual attitude more mischievous. ─"The bouquet of flowers is an excuse to approach the boy you like and ask him for his Daini button 'Cesca… How long have you been here now?"

─"A year and a half? Wait, his Da- what?"

─"More than enough," ─the girl laughed as she pushed a curious purple-haired girl into the central courtyard. Inside the Gymnasium there was a precise number of parents talking with their children and guests, some were taking photos and others were arranging the last moments of the uniform on that student who was about to leave, but among all the crowds some familiar faces stood out. Holly held a camera in her hands while she begged her husband for one more photo with their "little boy" who did nothing but ignore her, The youngest of the group was stunned by the great tumult of people gathered that special day, but he returned to lose his attention when he felt his mother's camera flash on him.

The red-haired boy lay seated, he did not have a school uniform as usual but a more loose clothing that would help him not feel so uncomfortable in that wheelchair.

─"You know Jotaro, all these events always seemed like a waste of time to me from an early age..."

─"I could say the same" ─he said in a tired voice and somewhat mentally ashamed by the loud pleas of his mother in the background.

─"But I can't help but feel excited about this day" ─He looked up to meet the taller boy's blue-ish eyes. ─"You know, it would have been an honor to have graduated this year with you." ─The black-haired man placed his hand on Noriaki's left shoulder, patting it gently in agreemen─ "…And rest assured that next year the feeling will be the other way around."

Kakyoin was a bit surprised to hear Jotaro's words for a moment but seeing him smile subtly elicited a response with the same smile, they knew everything they had been through and it was not minor. What he appreciated the most was being able to be enjoying that moment, that second chance. Behind them were heard quite loud screams of girls holding flowers for the tallest, this time the discussion was who had the largest and most colorful bouquet of flowers that was worthy for that man. Holly was delighted with so many girls in the place, she without a doubt knew that her son was one of those who always shone wherever he was but witnessing it was quite fun for both parents and especially for the little one who went through the same steps.

─"I see we have company" ─Kakyoin laughed without turning his chair at all without waiting for a response from Jotaro other than a big heavy sigh expressing all his discontent with the voices of the girls─ "Speaking of Girls… Do you know anything about ‘Cesca? I thought she would be with us this day."

─"I haven't seen her since the morning, first thing in the morning I heard the bell and I immediately ruled out the possibility of another guest upon hearing those high-pitched voices asking about 'Cesca and dragging her to school leaving her breakfast half eaten in furniture at the entrance of the house."

─"After all, she adapted quite well to a culture totally unknown to her" ─Kakyoin smiled, seeing Francesca in the distance being dragged to the gym.

─"I suppose so" ─the black-haired man stopped his answer as he observed the same thing as his red-haired companion, it made him a bit of noise to see her holding a bouquet of flowers while arguing with her level friend, it was not that it bothered him that she was participating in the graduation if not that he knew exactly that the girls of her age by holding a bouquet of flowers fully meant a reason to get close to who he liked but his question was, was that really the reason? A strange start in his chest brought him back to earth.

─"Highly strung?" ─Noriaki returned a satisfactory smile as he focused on the dislocated face of his partner, he knew from first source that he was a boy focused on his thoughts and it was not easy to get any expression or direct emotion out of him but there were acts that fully indicated what his mind was going through and this time it was the dilation of her pupils when she saw that bouquet of flowers on the girl's arm.

─"Not at all" ─Jotaro growled, returning his hands to his pockets as he adopted a more rude posture. ─"Let's go for her if you want."

He instinctively placed both hands on his friend's chair, gently pushing the chair, like never before. Fast memories flashed through his head of how recovery had been for the red-haired boy, she still felt guilty about not being there at the right time and once again felt the weight of the world on his shoulders.

─"Noriaki!" ─Francesca shouted excitedly as she quickly approached the boys while still holding the bouquet of flowers. ─"I thought you weren't coming today..."

─"And here I am"─he gave a sincere smile as he looked up. ─"I was impressed that you participated in the flower delivery this year, from what I see you have someone in your sights, huh?"

─"In sight?" ─Francesca raised her eyes in curiosity and then directed her to the flowers and let out a laugh─ "I really don't understand very well about delivering flowers, I'm just accompanying..."

At that precise moment the companion of the purple-haired girl came out from behind her, she had bright eyes and clung the flowers to her chest more. Without a doubt, she did not expect to be face to face with the black-haired boy and despite having a disinterested attitude she still brought I get his second uniform button. she bowed slightly to Jotaro handing over the flowers as a symbol of offering while she closed her eyes asking for his second button.

─"My second button?" ─Jotaro asked as he looked down to see the girl leaning towards him. ─"I have not the slightest interest in that silly tradition, save the flowers, they can serve you for another boy yet."

While in the distance an army of girls was heard surrounding both of them between shouts and threats of who had the most perfect bouquet of flowers. Francesca was leaning on Kakyoin's chair still with the flowers in her hand.

─"What's that "second button" Kakyoin?"

─"I thought they had explained to you since you carried the flowers for the tradition, 'Cesca" ─Noriaki laughed as he turned the wheelchair a little to be able to look at her in a better way when talking ─"Daini button is a very old tradition in Japan, it turns out that it happens in every high school graduation ceremony in which a boy presents his second uniform button to the girl in the form of a confession of love and admiration. It is said that its origin dates back to the ancient military who gave that button to their partner and / or lover as a symbol of pure and lasting love, and it should be the second position that in this way their uniform would not open and it would not look messy when serve... Although I like the story more that the second button is awarded because it is the one that is closest to the boy's heart, both stories have the same meaning at the end of the day."

─"I must confess that I adore the traditions of this culture, it suits me quite well despite not being fully aware of it" ─Francesca laughed in the same way as she looked again at the bouquet of flowers in her arms. She didn't even know what she was holding that bouquet of flowers for, in a year and a half she didn't know anyone enough to offer it in exchange for a button.

From the group of people a group of boys appeared, the one who was leading without a doubt attracted attention. His combed hair and his perfectly fitted uniform with a cloth faithfully tied to his right arm only hinted at being from the school board. He locked eyes with the lower one, smirked as he placed his left hand on her chest to remove the second button from him and place it in the girl's hands.

─"I was looking for you, my dear Kohai" ─he stared into her eyes while she did not know how to react to such a random event, the boy was quite popular with many people and that he chose Francesca among many others was only to raise his status with a foreigner─ "When the day is over I would like to exchange a few words with you."

That said, he removed a couple of flowers from the purple-haired bouquet and cut them to make a nice ornament in her hair, leaving the place with the utmost delicacy of a school president. Francesca didn't understand a single thing that just passed but it was evident that her face was taking on stronger shades of red. Kakyoin had been left blank with that event but he didn't care about that at all, beyond the boy and the reaction of 'Cesca about it, he was looking at the reaction of his friend. He was still surrounded by girls but his attention went directly to them, again the same look with his dilated pupils this time clenching his fists marking his knuckles tightly.

─"Do you know that boy ‘Cesca?" ─Asked Noriaki without taking his eyes off his friend subtly.

─"Know him? The truth…" ─she didn't know how to explain it, it was something so surprising that she couldn't even think the words right─ "He was in charge of teaching me school my first days here, don't misinterpret me, Daisuke is a very kind and attentive boy and from the On the first day he mentioned that he could call him Senpai" ─ she took a brief silence when he saw that the black-haired man was walking briskly towards them─ "you know, Jotaro never waited for me in the mornings to walk to class and many times I ended up getting lost in dead ends... Daisuke... He offered to help me but I never expected it to end this way."

─"I understand" ─Kakyoin sighed as he tried to lighten the heavy atmosphere that had remained, and that was going to remain for the rest of the day. ─"Jotaro, I suppose the students should enter... the sooner the better, right?"─But Jotaro did not take Noriaki's words into account, he knew perfectly what he was trying to do but he couldn't get the other out of his gaze, pointing to 'Cesca, specifically the flowers in her hair, in a very rude way he released some weighty words.

─"Take that off, you look... ridiculous." ─His gaze defied the crystalline gaze of the girl who was not going to give her arm to twist so easily.

─Come and take them from me, coward" ─she said that as she turned around entering the establishment, the red-haired boy sighed while the taller one returned to put his hands in both pockets.

─"It can always be always worse"

The ceremony had been quite emotional for many, boring for others but it had concluded in the best way, each student had in mind what awaited them in their future, The families would meet again and go home as it should be to have a small celebration with their recent graduate and after that they were finally free for the day, or the night as the sun was setting. The trio was sitting on the same bench as always looking at the stream that did not offer much. Noriaki for his part did not leave his chair and gave him the facility to get closer to the limit of the paved street and the stream, Francesca lay sitting with a half-drunk beer while admiring the button that had been given to her in the afternoon and Jotaro did not even He'd had his beer, he was just sitting staring at the creek meditating the whole fucking day.

─"What are you planning to do now Jojo?" ─The purple-haired girl took him out of her thoughts again, who left the button next to her to sit comfortably leaning on her legs. ─ "Are you planning to stay studying here or leave?"

─"Leaving sounds more ideal with what I intend to study" ─he blurted out softly without looking at her, he felt strange, all that day he had felt strange and he didn't know what was the reason for his stomach ache. He had defied more intimidating people, received deep wounds and now he could not be reassured only by an unfamiliar anxiety.

─"It's nice to hear you decided with your ideal… I still don't know what I intend to do in the near future" ─she looked at him for a good moment while she smiled warmly─ "but at the same time I must be frank with you; It will be sad not to see you at home anymore..."

Jotaro looked down with an air of surprise, Francesca inspired a serenity in her words as well as sincerity. He was so confused mentally that he couldn't find words to answer, perhaps it was true after all that that day he had been uncomfortable seeing her differently, and perhaps he had been holding back the feeling for too long.

─"I suppose" ─he blurted into the air to direct his gaze but he felt that he was slipping more and more to have her close to him, he felt awkward for the first time in his life, dazed and excited but there was no objection from them both.

Offering his left hand to the smaller one took it gently and that was what powered him to get closer to her and end the action with a kiss, subtle and without much experience. After a few seconds they separated without having anything to say, it was something totally out of the ordinary. Jotaro looked away indecisively as Francesca placed her free hand covering her lips.

─" was thinking..." ─Noriaki mentioned aloud as he turned his chair to look at them but meeting that surprising kiss made him turn to the stream once more, he covered his mouth with his right hand while letting out a subtle laugh─ "it was about time... I just have to do you the last favor" ─he said to himself as Hierophant Green made his appearance like tentacles crawling on the ground to take that button that Francesca had left aside on the seat and bring it to him─ "I'm sorry my dear bud, but it's not you, it's them."

That said, he threw the button that shone with the contrast of the light to the stream to observe how it went with the stream, he was not going to leave at all but he was going to grant that quality time to his friends. Something obvious a long time ago but he was going to have all the patience to wait just as they had with him in the hospital.

The kisses were concealed but continuous, each parting to regain air was a silly smile from the pair to make awkward movements such as combing the other's hair, fixing the uniform, brushing the index finger over his heated opposite cheek. Jotaro took her small hands to open them and deposit the second button of his uniform in those.

─"I thought you found the tradition silly" ─Francesca celebrated as she squeezed her hand, holding it gently to her breast.

─"And I keep thinking about it, but I know you like it that way." ─He smiled serenely, still sitting on that bench, that anxiety and stomach pain had disappeared, he could feel full and reciprocated. Francesca for the part of her couldn't stop smiling. It was something totally new for both of them, a feeling of happiness after a haunting nightmare.

─"Can I speak to you again? Or should I still pretend that I haven't seen anything?" ─ Kakyoin raised his voice and made them both start and separate taking their respective drinks while looking at different parts of the landscape. As he approached the most exalted was the purple-haired one who, taking both beers, announced that he would go to deposit them in the nearest garbage can, clearly hiding her embarrassed face.

Standing close to his partner and friend he let out a couple of laughs as he only hid his face under his hat, he watched the girl from a distance and it was he who this time placed a hand on the left shoulder of his embarrassed but happy friend.

─"I see it wasn't a bad day after all, you lost that tired look in your eyes and you even lost your second button. It is impressive how a mere impulse can change a person's mood but my question is Jojo: "

What do you expect from this now?

The question bounced in every corner of his thoughts that night, was he happy? Was he blissful? worried? Was he... scared? He got up from his bed taking a deep breath to rub his right hand over his face. He did not expect his impulse to be reciprocated, he was expecting a possible rejection and now it was accelerated, there was no co-relationship between his mind and his heart in those moments and it was what overwhelmed him. Placing both feet off his bed she looked around him, his room lying completely dark and only a beam of light reflected a couple of magazines on his study table. More than magazines, college brochures.

He got up slowly to go to the kitchen, late at night the only thing he could hear was his footsteps on that cold old wood that he had for a floor that squeaked step by step. Opening the refrigerator door he looked for something to drink while he leaned on the kitchen counter looking at the liquid that was inside the container.

─" Did your insomnia return?" ─He raised his head while Francesca walked to the kitchen anyway, her attitude was more relaxed than usual and she sounded even more calm and pleasant than other times─ "do you mind if I accompany you?"

He nodded as she positioned herself close to him leaning on a large counter, neither of them said a word and a little discomfort was noted in the position that the black-haired man had, his breathing was more agitated and she could predict it with the liquid inside the container.

─"Did you regret what happened this afternoon?" ─She sighed without looking at him, she had both arms crossed and her gaze was still focused on the kitchen window. ─"You don't need to worry about that Jojo, it's understandable that it was a mere impulse of the moment and..."

─"I'm not" ─he mentioned abruptly as he left the semi-empty container on the counter and took the girl's hand again abruptly to have her face to face, without saying more, they both found their faces again while a more intense kiss took hold of them. the situation, something more heated when brushing their bodies and emitting subtle moans when pressing each other. A carnal desire awoke them both together with the pleasure of rubbing themselves, feeling a distinctly new experience... When he separated for a moment from the girl, she lay sitting on the counter with both legs open and breathing agitatedly, for her part she could not say much since she was the same and even uncomfortable with those pajama pants that imprisoned him. As he approached again, the question returned to his mind

"What do you expect from this now?" and opening his eyes surprisingly, a ghostly hand took Francesca away, who did not fall to the ground just by clinging to said hand. Doubts returned to his head, but he in turn wanted to enjoy the moment that his heart desired, why not allow himself to be happy one night without worrying about tomorrow?

─"What was that?" ─Francesca got up while trying to regulate her breathing and fixed her pajamas─ "What's going on in your head?" ─Leaning on the counter, he looked at the kitchen floor in shock, still trying to catch the air─ "You don't need to hide your thoughts with me, I just want you to be honest with me."

─"Shut up!" ─he screamed and Francesca opened her eyes wide and then closed her mouth slowly but not completely, no words came from her but she couldn't stop looking into her eyes while she was against the light─ "Sincerity ? Sincerity is that this would not work, not for months or for the rest of the duration of this feeling, you understand?" ─His words were increasingly harsh and his voice was breaking more and more─ "In a couple of days I will go away, you will still be here... our destinies do not cross at any time and even if it were the case, there is no full possibility that this it works so... let's forget this, you have a great future ahead of you rather than waiting for one that will never come."

She had taken the words out of the girl's mouth, without a doubt words sometimes hurt more than a simple kick and this moment indicated it as such. She followed him with her gaze, watching his large back disappear into the darkness, the fact that he had faced the issue did not hurt so much, but it hurt her to understand it and know that it was not really going to work as he thought at one point when he was on that bench.

─"I would have preferred the excuse of your virginity a thousand times, Jojo" ─she tried to take it with humor while hiding the pain in her eyes, she walked towards the dark corridor pressing her hand on her chest, releasing her last words with a hopeless and surrendered voice-─ "but I totally understand your decision... I just want to know one last question, was the feeling reciprocated?"

Jotaro was sitting on the floor of his room, he was looking at the ceiling as if it were giving him the answers he needed at that moment but he did not say anything and he could feel the silence of the girl once more that she finished him off. break.

"Good night, Jojo and have a good trip."

he hid her head once more in his arms without abandoning the position that held his stomach, the moonlight this time shining on him and she knew that at least that night he would not touch his bed. He didn't want to sleep, didn't want to close his eyes; everything was a torment in his head but he only let out a sentence in all that remained of the night.

─"If it was reciprocated and I waited for it... more than a year ago"

[To be continue...->)

[another-fanfic-haven]

... and a crash (final part of "This is a STUPID idea, but---)

(words: 1048)

The helmet arrived after a lengthy delay. It's Saturday! This means you have just a few hours to prepare it for your friend. No time for questions, you rushed to him chilling in the living room. You kneeled next to him holding a helmet beside his head and marked where the horns should go.

- Okay, thanks! - you rushed to the garage as quickly as you showed up. Tabi just looked at you highly confused.

You put on the safety goggles, grabbed the drill, and tried to make two holes in the helmet. This task was difficult, though, but you were able to make two - somewhat large holes. Tabi walked into your workstation and leaned on the wall.

- Oh! Hi! I wanted to go to you, but after you are heeere... - you handed him the modified helmet. - Try this.

Tabi inspected the thing from each perspective before carefully putting it on his head. It fits his head smoothly.

- Perfect! You're free now. - you turned on your heel to make the last checkup on your bike. Tabi's walking around the garage, inspecting everything you have there. Tools, spare parts, laying freely on the floor, two wheels hanging on the wall, motorcycle bags gathering the dust in the corner... - You have a lot of shit here. - Yeah, I know. Got no time to organize it. - you said checking the brakes. - Ay, should be good. - you wiped your hands on your shirt. Tabi took another look at the clutter and shifted his attention to you. - You should rest today. - Maybe. I just need to check the fluids

You heard him sigh shaking his head. - I'll be upstairs if you need anything. - he announced looking at your busy posture circling the vehicle, unscrewing some caps, and giving your bike a gentle shake.

This night was absolutely restless, anxiety has begun to flood your brain, not letting you sleep. There was nothing to be afraid of, just a friendly race to establish who's ego is bigger. Nothing crazy, right?

You need a weapon. At least that's what your brain is telling you to do. But why..? Your brain doesn't let you rest until you get it.

The gun is in the work, hanging safely in your locker. You'll get it tomorrow morning, but you can't wait. You grab your jacket, keys, helmet, and you go to your work as fast as possible. Mid-shift, no one should be in the locker room. Task - easy, take the weapon out of the holster belt and go back.

Morning rolls by, then evening... It's almost time.

- Stressed? - Kinda. - you said, putting on your old jacket, black with purple stripes and luminous wings. - You... Still, have this jacket? - Tabi asked, looking at the slight glow of the wings. - Yep. I never throw away my gifts. - you whispered, brushing your hands against the leather of this jacket. - And this has the most meaning to me...

You both arrived at the track at in same time as the man you were racing. He came with the company. Not good...

- Hey! You finally arrived! - the man shook your hand. - And who's your friend?

Tabi cringed looking away. This man's gaze - piercing. He knows who he is, he's playing on your emotions... - It's my friend. He wanted to witness how I crush such a jerk like you. - you pointed at the man laughing. - Huh. Cocky. - He smirked and brushed his hair back. - Let's see who's faster "jerk" then. 3 laps. No more and no less.

You sent Tabi off the track and lined up at the starting line. Ready... Set... GO! You were behind him, until the first curve. You slid perfectly on the inner part, while the man drifted next to you. He's a fierce fighter, trying to overtake you on the straight parts. Tabi's biting his nails seeing you so close to the car or almost laying on the track. 2nd lap was no different, you gained the distance advantage and it was a win for you. 3rd lap, almost at the finish line... And you won! Wait! There's a puddle on your way! You slowed down as much as you could, but it was inevitable.

In a split second, from trying to slow down - to laying stunned on the ground. The bike slid and hit the barrier. Everything is so... smudgy. You tried to get up, check your bike.

- Don't! Lay! Down! - Tabi screamed holding you by the shoulders.0 - My bike. I-- I need to check it! - your resist met with his stronger grip. - Tabi! I'm fine. - you put your hand on his arm, looking straight into his empty eye sockets.

- Well, well, well. Isn't this salty terrorist who tried to kill the Boss's daughter. - you can hear someone's clapping. - Boss thought this curse was enough! - Tabi stood up, throwing his helmet to the ground. - You... - he's staring this guy down, ready to attack. - Daddy D will be really glad when I bring you-- - Tabi run to this man and punched him in the face. He spits and brushed the blood off his face. - Brave. Too brave for a dead man. - DIE! JUST FUCKING DIE! - Tabi pulled the knife out of the pocket and jumped on the man. The man is dodging every strike, making counterattacks. He finally was able to kick the knife out of Tabi's hand and knock him to the ground. You swiftly got up, trying to rescue your friend when-- AGH! You felt a strong grip on your throat.

The man stepped on Tabi's chest. - Give up. - Tabi lifted his foot and knocked him down. - NEVER! YOU- YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME! - Tabi's whole aura changed, vengeful, sour, maddened like never before... - Give up or I'll break your friend's neck! - Screamed another douche, holding firmly your head. You tried to free yourself, without the result. - Don't you dare. - he's staring at the man holding you. - You have a choice, Tabi. Give up or lose another one!