#the two times we have met up outside of like lessons i also slept like shit (please be a coincidence) so i am very tired

[mwydyn]

When your friend is like I can't help you idk if you're going on a date "this man is strange" and "he throws me off"

Have you considered most of what you know is being filtered to you via 5 layers of derangement and autism he might be being really normal I couldn't tell you

[haikyu-mp4]

Little big dreams

word count; 1645 – f!reader

You’re not sure when you started noticing Tenma Udai, but you made it his problem from then on. It wasn’t because of volleyball, you barely went to any of those games.

To the volleyball team, he was the little giant, their reliable ace. To you, he was just Tenma – a good-looking kid who rewatched his games in class and tried to hide it from the teacher.

The teacher had no idea what trouble she was causing when she paired you with Tenma for classroom duty. It introduced you to his prickly nature, which you learned you enjoyed challenging.

“Hey, Lil Biggie!” you greeted him every morning, making him lift the broom as if to hit you while you laughed loudly and ran away.

“It’s Little Giant!”

After that week had passed, your head kept turning his way, and you asked some friends if the volleyball team had anything particularly draining on their schedule lately. The reason? Tenma looked like he had been through hell and back, the bags under his eyes growing darker each day.

And it concerned you. Annoyingly enough.

One evening, your club ended early and you made your way to the gym, sneaking around the corner to catch a glimpse of their practice game. To your surprise, Tenma walked out before you even got to the door, angrily marching over to the lockers and smacking his forehead against them. It made you freeze, stuck watching him as he breathed heavily and the sweat ran down his neck.

“Tenma,” you called, walking over slowly and resting a hand softly on his shoulder. It was one of the few times you said his name without any funny addition to make it a nickname, and it was just enough to make him tilt his head to where his gaze met yours.

Your lips formed a line as you eyed him, not sure what to say. You had no idea what could have made him so stressed, unaware of the pressure of being an ace.

He regained his calm and nodded as if you had a silent conversation by just staring at each other. Grabbing your hand, he pulled it off his shoulder and squeezed it gratefully before returning to practice.

You didn’t see much of him outside the classroom anymore, and your friends started teasing you for seeming to have a soft spot. A crush? Pfft, stupid.

Then one morning, a piece of paper was folded up on your desk and you frowned, looking around before picking it up. Everyone else was already rushing to their seats as the teacher walked inside, and you had to hide it behind your notebook to open in secret.

It was a drawing of you, within a square resembling a manga panel, and you tilted your head in curiosity. You had to admit it was a pretty drawing, and the two little hearts drawn over your head made your ears feel warm.

Who was it from?

You looked at Tenma wide-eyed as his eyes were locked on his shoes with a frown. “You want me to tutor you?”

“What great hearing you have,” he mumbled.

“Oy, don’t get an attitude with me now. You haven’t talked to me in a while, I’m surprised.”

“I can’t go to training camp if I don’t pass the next exams.” You hummed in understanding.

“Putting too much time into the club, are we Lil’ Big?”

“Teacher said you’re the only one with an open spot so late in the year, idiot.”

“She’s right.” You got up and hiked your bag up on your shoulder. “Got time now?”

“An hour until practice.” He followed you as you exited the classroom, intending to find a spot by the library.

“Excellent.”

Tenma was by no means a difficult student. You sat down with him and looked at some previous exams to see which topics he struggled with the most, and it seemed like he might have been too tired or distracted for a couple of lessons, probably also forgoing homework some days.

So you set a plan to do a quick version of each lesson he had slept through, and then have him do the tasks for that topic with your guidance until he could do them on his own. You two would sit together pretty much every day until his practice started. Some days he would even bring you a drink from the vending machine, and you were reminded why you liked being around him.

You stretched your arms upwards, glancing over at his paper to see his pencil had moved from the question to some blank space in the corner. Silently, you leaned closer, looking over his shoulder as he drew what looked like zombies on a volleyball court. “I didn’t know you were so good at drawing.”

He jumped, elbow accidentally bumping into your rib, making him abruptly scoot away while you clutched the impact point. “Shit, why would you scare me like that?”

“You muppet, I gave you a compliment,” you groaned, pulling the paper towards you and flipping to the previous page, where he had also fit in a couple of drawings. “Are the topics getting easier for you?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “You’re a good teacher or whatever.”

You held up a finger heart that made him cringe. “You’re such a sweetheart.” And the blush on his cheeks was visible from a mile away.

You kept spending those same hours together, but instead of studying, you started spending more time just hanging out. A fun game of him drawing whatever crazy prompts you came up with started, and it made you laugh every time.

As he walked to the bathroom one time, you pursed your lips and picked up his book, flipping to the back pages where you had noticed he drew while you were in class sometimes. Not that you stare at him in class or anything.

You found the hidden drawings, only to realise you were staring at yourself. He had drawn you repeatedly on these pages, from reading with your friends to laughing at his drawings. Your cheeks felt especially warm as you noticed the doodle of you in a jersey with his number on it, holding two thumbs up in encouragement.

Does Tenma… like you?

A door opened in the distance and you smacked the book closed, only to realise it was someone else. Phew, need some time to cool down.

You ran over to Tenma after the game, the rush of the moment making you pull him into a tight hug as you cheered. “I have no idea how this game works but I think you did so well!”

His arms held around you too, swaying you a bit as you didn’t let go right away. “I got blocked a lot, but the team pulled through in the end.” Some guys from the team watched the interaction, which he noticed over your shoulder. Tenma hesitated before kissing your temple and pulling away from the hug.

You looked at each other, smiling and somehow having another one of those silent conversations before the other players pulled him along to celebrate.

“I don’t want to play volleyball professionally.”

“Thought you loved volleyball,” you answered, but you weren’t surprised by his resolution at all.

“It’s fun. It’s fine…���

“What would you like to do instead?” Tenma hummed under his breath in thought.

“I like drawing. Writing stories. Making people feel something. Making you laugh.”

“Ever considered writing a manga?” you asked, looking over to where he was looking at internships related to drawing.

“That’s a distant dream, probably. Would you read it?” he asked back, turning to you.

“Only if you make the women super cool.”

You sighed dramatically as you walked into your apartment, hoping Tenma could hear it from wherever he was. What a hard day at work it had been, but you knew you couldn’t rest yet. “Udai?”

“In here!” he called, nudging the bathroom door open with his foot and smiling at you. “Can you do my hair?”

You shrugged your blazer off and threw it over a chair in the living room before walking over to him and taking the brush. Running it through his long hair, you noticed how high his shoulders were. “Nervous?”

“Not at all.” You laughed, picking up a hair tie and looking in the mirror to adjust the front of his hair before tying it up.

His eyes met yours with a soft look and lips pressed together in a line. “Akaashi will be there too,” you noted, moving your hands from his hair to his shoulders to massage them.

“Right, and he brought Bokuto as his plus one.” He suddenly went wide-eyed and turned around to you. “Speaking of plus ones, why haven’t you started getting ready?” he practically squealed, carefully pushing you towards the door and the rest of the way to the bedroom, while you laughed your lungs out at his antics.

“It’ll be fine! I just need to freshen up and change. All your new nerd fans will only be watching you anyways,” you said, pecking his lips before you walked to the closet to change.

You proudly held his arm at the event, helping him relax and connect with the readers as he introduced the world to his first manga.

Halfway through the event, he walked up on stage, holding a copy of the book in one hand as he adjusted a strand of hair from his face to behind his ear with the other. “First of all, I want to thank the woman who stuck with me through my high school emo phase, my busy intern phase and my troubled writer phase. To my gorgeous wife, y/n, who never for a second let me down and always makes me feel like I can breathe, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

masterlist

[mklegends-smokescreen]

MORTAL KOMBAT LEGENDS: BLOOD BOUND

Chapter 4: The Last Draw

In the morning, Nico wakes up, yawning and stretching. He gets down and enters the room, finding Muchacha already awake. He is surprised, as he expected her to sleep in, as she didn't seem to have any interest in his appearance.

ROBIN: You're already awake? Figured you people slept longer.

MUCHACHA: Don't assume much, Bird boy. We still have work to do. So get ready, and let's move. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can part ways.

ROBIN: Whatever you say, miss General. You're the boss. Or, you know, at least you think you are. After all, you don't have a dad to tell you what to do.

Amara, clenching her fist and grinning her teeth, slowly turns to the caped crusader.

MUCHACHA: We can have this conversation on the road, while we leave this goddamned place.

ROBIN: Whatever you say, Miss. It's not like you don't have anything smarter to say anyways.

The general takes a deep breath, trying not to give him a right hook.

MUCHACHA: Keep it together... He's just trying to rile you up. Don't give him what he wants.

Nico, satisfied with her reaction, chuckles and walks outside, leaving Amara alone. The two travel throughout the day, not stopping until the sun starts to set. Steering their steeds gently and fairly close to a cliff that stands above the Sea of Souls, Amara and Robin take a break. Muchacha, staring at the ocean and thinking about the task at hand, feels a chill going down her spine. She is shaken, and turns around, seeing Nico's mask looking right into her eyes. Robin turns to the pouch on his Outworld horsey, taking out a cookie.

ROBIN: I'm kind of hungry. Wanna have half of my almond cookie?

MUCHACHA: What trickery is this? You might as well have poisoned it, for all I know. I'm not eating it.

ROBIN: It's not poisoned. I swear on my heart. Just try it, you won't regret it.

MUCHACHA: What's the catch? The goon-ery? the bamboozle?

ROBIN: Do you want the cookie or not? 

Amara hesitates, then sighs and takes a bite of the cookie.

MUCHACHA: Wow. This is quite... this is quite nice. Thank you, Robin.

Robin smiles, and sits criss-cross by the general, pushing up his mask as he munches on his part of the cookie. Then he spoke, still chewing on the cookie.

ROBIN: No, thank YOU, for being an amazing companion. Seriously, it's been so long since I've had a good partner for an assignment. Even if the assignment is kinda shit, I'd rather have you over most other people I worked with, like Kung Jin.

MUCHACHA: Kung Jin? That twerp who beat general Kotal in a one on one? I see why you don't enjoy working with him.

ROBIN: Why you sayin' that? You like Kotal or or sum'?

MUCHACHA: What? Of course not. I respect his abilities and his role as a leader, but he's an arrogant son of a bitch. I wouldn't mind beating him, just to teach him a lesson.

She completely lied, while Robin raised a brow to her without saying anything.

MUCHACHA: SHUTUP!

ROBIN: Alright alright, don't get your fish lips in a twist, I was just playing with you. You are a bit arrogant, though, so I wouldn't blame him for thinking the same.

Amara rolls her eyes and throws a rock at him, which makes him want to give her an uppercut, but then he looks up at his mask, taking it off and looking at it.

MUCHACHA: aaaw, Are you still upset about your mask?

ROBIN: Firstly: How dare you. Secondly: Of course I'm upset. But also amazed at how you broke it in such a way that it missed my eye. Like, completely. It hit anything but my eye.

MUCHACHA: Well, I did intend to actually blind you, but I'm glad I didn't. I can't have you losing sight of me, after all.

ROBIN: Huh. I didn't know you liked my company.

MUCHACHA: Who said that, you birdbrain? You're still as annoying as the first time we met, and you're getting on my nerves.

Robin, putting his mask down, goes up and looks at her dead in the eyes.

ROBIN: You learned that from Daddy Shao, too?

Muchacha, who has had enough, grabs him by the collar of his feathered cape, and pushes him to a nearby wall, her tone drastically changing.

MUCHACHA: Listen here, you pipsqueak, and you listen well. I don't want to be a rutheless mass-murderer like he was. I want to be a good person, and a good general. But if you don't stop getting on my nerves, I'll kill you, and I'll hang your corpse from a tree. Understood?

Robin, now incredibly terrified, tries to simmer down the tension.

ROBIN: L-Listen, dude, you don't gotta be like this! I'm sorry for pushing your buttons and crap, let's just sit down, and calm the fuck dow-

Muchacha, who has sighed deeply, releases her grip and takes a step back. Robin falls on the floor, hyperventilating. Suddenly, lighting flashes across the sky, and a clap of thunder shortly follows. Amara looks up and notices the change in weather, and turns back to Robin, extending her hand.

MUCHACHA: Let's set camp, we'll be continuing tomorrow.

Robin, getting back up on his own and jumping on his steed and nods. He then gets an idea.

ROBIN: I might have an idea.

Amara, riding alongside him.

MUCHACHA: Is it clever?

ROBIN: Remember that old cave we passed earlier?

MUCHACHA: Yeah? what of it?

ROBIN: Well, there's no better place to spend the night than in a nice and dry cave.

MUCHACHA: You do realize caves usually have beasts, right?

ROBIN: Do you have any better idea?

Amara, thinking for a second, realizes that there's no other shelter for miles, and gives in.

MUCHACHA: Fine. Lead the way, Red Robin.

They ride towards the cave and see its quite dark.

MUCHACHA: You don't happen to have a torch on you, would you?

ROBIN: Better.

the caped crusader then snaps his fingers a couple of times, lighting up a decent sized green flame.

MUCHACHA: How did you learn that?

ROBIN: I'll get into it later. Now, follow my lead.

he says, guiding his horse inside.

Amara, who is amazed, shakes her head and follows.

MUCHACHA: Right, yeah, I guess we have no choice.

The general and the masked man venture deeper into the cavern, with the masked man leading the way, and the general following closely behind. The deeper they go, the more they realize this isn't a cave, its an abandoned mine, one from the days of the rule of Shao Kahn. 

ROBIN: I say we wandered long enough. Lets stop here.

Muchacha, dismounting her horse, looks around.

MUCHACHA: This does look like a good place to stop.

ROBIN: Cool. I'll get the fire started, you take care of the horses.

Robin, while looking around for things to burn, lights up some conveniently placed torch that starts a chain reaction and illuminates the entire mine that spreads on through miles.

ROBIN: Wow, this place is big. What do you think were they mining here?

MUCHACHA: Most likely gold. My father used mines similar to these to amass wealth. Though these ones have been abandoned for some time, and the gold has most likely been depleted.

ROBIN: Hmm... 

Nico, casually approaches to some inanimate skeletons

ROBIN: Excuse me, can one of you dead, decayed bodies point us in the direction of the nearest bonfire? Or, you know, any sort of resting area at all. We're getting pretty tired and bored. So, do you guys have anything cool here or-?

The masked man gets interrupted when a loud howl was heard from the depths of the mines.

ROBIN: Something tells me we aren’t alone.

[talldarkandroguesome]

11th of Frostfall, Tirdas

So much can occur in just two days times. I have hardly slept at all throughout so I shall keep this brief. It will be more of a quick summary for my own recollections.

Sundas Luayl put me through an emotional gauntlet, bringing up all my feelings from when I returned to Morrowind from my last assignment in Cyrodill and how I felt based off each of the actions which were taken in my honorable discharge process. There was much I was unsure if I really wanted to share with anyone, but he was very insistent that this was a necessary part of his investigation that would also help me to sort through my own past pain.

He says that it shall help me to lessen the burden of holding onto such things. I do not know if I believe him. Sure, talking about it is making those memories fade, but I still do not know if I am glad for that or not. I shall have to put more detailed accounts of certain things on parchment somewhere if Luayl is going to continue to prod my memories out of me. I need them to remain somewhere. I want them to be in a place where they can be remembered. If I am losing myself, my mortal essence with each death, then how much faster will I lose myself if I let go of those things that happened to me whilst I was still mortal. Before my first death. Even the terrible, painful things are a part of that experience. They are a part of who I am. Who I was. I do not want them to vanish. I will outlive everyone involved and so I need some confirmation that they existed. That they happened. To me. If it is in my own hand, then I cannot doubt the way I may as the memories evaporate to the passages of time.

Then I lunched with the girls before we went and met Sildras at the docks to take him to his riding class. Kuna spent much of the last part of the class trying to get Sildras to do different advanced jumps and such. Sildras laughed and even got a rare scolding by the teacher. I suggested to Kuna that she not distract the other students and she pouted for a bit. Cariel was sat on my shoulders and spent much of the time talking to some of the guar who were just grazing. I could only understand part of what she was saying, but it was very sweet and once I had managed to get Kuna to behave, we went to the stables and the girls were allowed to try stroking the guars’ heads and feeding them.

Kuna asked about getting to ride one herself and so I asked one of the stablehands about just allowing them on one of the more docile pony guar just to see. She was hesitant, but led us to an older pony guar who seemed to be far more interested in eating his food than anything the girls might like to do. I got them both on, as small as they both were, it hardly seemed to phase the guar. He turned and looked at Kuna when she cried for him to gallop off and then turned back to eating.

Kuna was very disappointed that the guar would not heed her cries, but I explained that before she could have a proper ride, she would need to have proper lessons. It was dangerous not to do so.

As a compromise, once the lessons were over, I had Sildras watch Cariel whilst I took Kuna for a short trot around the outside of the city wall and back. Not the whole way, just enough to get used to the feel of the guar’s movement. I even did a short sprint with her, just so she could feel some of the power behind it.

She screamed with delight as we raced along the rode and pouted miserably once we turned around and headed back. I told her that if we got Avon, then the whole family would have a ride later on.

That was enough to stop the tears that threatened to flow and I returned to find Sildras with Cariel on the back of a young pony guar, holding her on as it grazed. It was enough movement she thought she was making it go and she was very excitedly singing to herself.

We returned and had a nice evening of family games. Kuna told Avon all about how he was going to take them riding tomorrow. Avon raised and eyebrow and looked to me. I told him that we had discussed having a family ride in the countryside  soon.

Avon listened patiently as Kuna and Cariel told him all about their fun that day.

When it was all done, Avon announced that the lessons for the girls. Tutors would be coming and teaching them all sorts of subjects. I reminded them that if anything was mentioned about Almsivi, that they should remember that those were the beliefs of their teachers and so they should be respected, but also that they should remember that the Living Gods were not the only gods. And not the only gods who were worthy of worship. If anything the tutor said contradicted their teachings of the Green Pact or what their mother had taught them, they should simply ignore it. Not to fight with the tutors, for when someone’s feelings are involved, it can be very difficult to make them change their mind. Rather, they should simply ignore that knowledge.

Cariel went to sleep in her own bed, but awoke in the night and wound up between Avon and I. In the morning I learned that Kuna had gotten Sildras to come and stay in her room with her.

I do hope giving them separate rooms was not a poor choice. I asked them if they wanted their own rooms and they were so keen. Hopefully they will settle into it over time.

After everyone had breakfast, each and every member of the family had their own lessons to take care of. And I noticed that today, even before Avon had asked for it, Cariel had taken his hand before they went to walk Sildras to the docks for his classes. She has really taken a shine to life here. I was so worried that as young as she is, that she might be too scared or worried. I know how close she is with Nabine and how she did not like to leave her side when last they were all here. It was heartwarming to see how quickly she has adapted.

It was another day of emotional labor, though there was one more weapon’s lesson after lunch, just to round out the day.

We fell into our usual evening routine and I think I could get used to having a larger family. Having more children around. They fulfill something that was missing in me. And I am so overwhelmed with my love for them, I hardly even notice the gnawing emptiness inside me.

As with before, once the children were all safely tucked into bed, I went to the Nest. With so few days remaining, it was time to begin to set up for the celebrations. I asked for Zethith’s help once more and their brood and a couple of extra Daedra, a Spiderkith and a daedroth, helped us to decorate the Harborage. Extra candles, incense, flowers, cloth drapings, offerings of food and spirits, all adorned the halls. We had special prayers and I gave an extra lecture. Then I gave them a practical exercise in town and had Tanur monitor their progress.

While Tanur and the others were out, I spoke with Zethith about the Summoning Day. I told them that I had some obligations to partake in festivities with the Mabrigash just east of Mournhold and asked if it would be too presumptuous or a misuse of my authority to ask if they might be able to provide me transport betwixt the tribe’s encampment and the Nest, that I might be able to participate in both, keeping my identity as Widow private from those most likely to guess that was what I had become.

They had a very amused smile on their lips as they thought, before agreeing that it would be best to keep things uncomplicated in that aspect. It would also provide me a greater amount of time for guiding my Spiderlings if I did not have to worry about the time it took for me to get between places.

I thanked them profusely and asked if it were possible that we could have our Celebration at the Cathedral of Webs. At least for when we performed the summoning ritual itself. I wanted to bring some of the faith and good energy of these Scuttlers into the place that actually was my purview. Zethith said they thought it was an excellent idea and asked if decoration was to be done there as well.

I told them that I would very much like to do so. They told me not to worry, they would see to it that everything was in place. That when the opportune time arrived, they would collect me from the tribe and bring me to the Harborage, I would then direct things from there and everyone would be brought to the Cathedral of Webs for the celebration.

Honestly, I had not expected so very much. Zethith was so kind and provided so much. Have I gotten lucky or should I have asked for more?

No, I do not wish to be overly indulgent. I only need what I need. A bit of theatrics in that is one matter, but beyond that? No, I have no need. Zethith is so gracious and I do not want to seem entitled or ungracious. I am simply excited for how grand this event will be.

We also discussed the merits of the chosen vessel and who it should be. Zethith convinced me that greater belief in the work being done would be granted if the chosen vessel was not me. It would work well on those fully committed, to reaffirm their faith in me. However, for those of a more skeptical nature, it would not affirm their faith and may even rouse suspicions of my own hand in orchestrating a false event to gain their trust. No, it was best that I select someone.

With the choice made, Zethith told me that they were looking forward to seeing how I did leading my first Summoning Day. I began to thank them when I was interrupted by their hand upon my cheek. Their eyes scrutinized me as they trailed their thumbnail down my cheek and neck. They told me I was doing well. That if I should continue like this, there would be a great reward awaiting me.

I said I would do whatever I could to serve our Prince. That I wanted them to know I was committed and would happily do whatever it was that they thought was needed to become the best Widow I could.  I wanted them to be pleased. To know I wanted to do my best by them and our Prince. To serve them however I was supposed to.

Zethith licked their lips and placed their forehead to mine, holding me by the throat. It was not threatening in any way. In fact, it seemed to somehow be a tender moment. My whole body reacted compliantly and I could feel my own arousal growing, even though I did not wish to do so if it might cause offense.

There was the sound of voices entering the Harborage and Zethith released me and told me that they looked forward to the Summoning Day.

With the Spiderlings returned, Tanur gave his report and they each explained their experiences. I then provided feedback. I also went over the proceedings for the Summoning Day and said that we had some special surprises for everyone. A treat that few had ever been able to experience, but that I had been given permission to reward them with.

Then I allowed them to have their own intimate rewards together while I gave Tanur his. Then I returned home and curled up with Avon.

So much to do! I need a new outfit for the Summoning Day. I should have my hair done up as well. I need to figure out a way to get this all done.

[covetsauvignon]

as it stands - chapter two

associate professor joshua x university staff member reader genre: smut, angst if you squint overall warnings: use of the word "war", afab reader, oral (f), fingering

series: intro - chapter one - chapter two

tag list (open): @hynjnhwng | @cloudyhoonie

this chapter pairs well with the following music: dido and aeneas, z. 626 / act iii: when i am laid in earth beverage: cavaliere d’oro campanile pinot grigio delle venezie 2018

it's finally here! shoutout to anyone who catches my three fun easter eggs. also sent this to my high school bestie while drunk and he proofread it brb dying of embarrassment!!!

Clove

“As it stands, any relationships of a sexual or romantic nature between faculty or staff members within the same school, department, or college are strongly discouraged, except in certain circumstances, usually those extenuating from a relationship existing prior to the employment of one or both parties.”

It’s just talking. It’s not a relationship. Over the course of the past month, you’ve spent nearly as much time in Joshua’s office as you’ve spent at home, opting to visit him for a few hours while he grades papers or reviews lesson plans when you’re finished with work rather than leaving campus right away.

You don’t go on dates. You don’t even see each other outside of the classics building.

You don’t mind. It’s easier like this.

Simpler. Cleaner.

When you’re together, you talk about anything. And everything. He wants to know about where you grew up. What do your siblings do? Who are you more like: your mother, or your father? Did you grow up religious? What do you believe now? What’s your favorite book, movie, tv show, menu item at McDonald’s, place you’ve visited? Have you seen any of the natural wonders of the world? Did you know that ravens can talk? Did you know humans have studied more of space than the ocean? What’s your favorite constellation? Snow or rain? Sunshine or clouds?

You learn that he likes the color blue, he’s an only child, he was raised a devout Catholic, he can play guitar, his favorite animals are rabbits (he has a pet bunny named Hannie), and he’s never been good with asking other people for help.

In return, you tell him some of the useless facts you know. Such as: blobfish are actually normal looking fish at their natural deep sea pressure, declawing cats removes all but the last knuckle of their toes, and, speaking of toes, Viggo Mortensen broke his when kicking that helmet in The Two Towers.

He takes to the habit of collecting shooters and miniature handles of liquor, bitters and syrups and other cocktail ingredients small enough to hide behind the books of his office (it is a dry campus, after all), so that he can learn how to make cocktails. Sometimes, he asks you to teach him something new. Other times, he shows off with his own research. His brands and blends are a bit wrong, sometimes, but you never say anything. He’s trying, and it makes you warm from head to toe. 

Then, there are the other times. More and more frequent, as of late, one question in this direction branching off into dozens, each more suggestive and salacious than the last.

First kiss? How many relationships have you been in? Have you ever been in love? What’s your favorite position? How often do you pleasure yourself? Do you ever think about someone in particular while doing so? Have you ever thought about me? Will you think about me tonight? If we didn’t know each other through work, if we met at a bar, would we have slept together by now?

For better or worse, it’s not long until the space between you becomes so wrought full of tension and desire that you can scarcely stand to be in the same room with other people around out of fear that anyone will be able to tell something’s happening between the two of you just by looking. The lounge and hallways become a war zone full of mines in the form of students and other faculty and staff. You find you’re beginning to avoid people.

Not that, in either of your offices, you have ever truly been alone together. Your office, especially, is not private; either the lobby door or the chair’s office door or both are open, meaning anyone is welcome to enter at any point. Part of the reason you speak so softly in the sanctity of Joshua’s office is because students tend to come and go with questions or late assignments every so often, so his door is always open, too.

The pair of you have never been alone behind closed doors. 

Until now.

You didn’t see him talking to a student down the hall as you slipped into the storage room, and he didn’t see you pass by on your way. You don’t bother turning on the lights; the window at the far end of the room lets in enough cloud-covered sunshine to guide you comfortably. The room is decently sized, filled with dozens of filing and storage cabinets, rows of shelves, and the old faculty and staff lounge couch that was now shoved into the far corner.

It’s dark and quiet, close and familiar. You nearly jump out of your skin when you hear the door open unexpectedly.

“Jesus, you scared me,” you laugh, looking away quickly, turning your attention back to the cabinet of supplies you’d just opened. What you’d been searching for, however, is lost on you. You haven’t the faintest idea why you came here in the first place. 

All you know is that now Joshua is here with you. Alone.

“Out of staples?” You ask. It’s an innocent question, to be sure. But, in this context, any question - any attempt at communication - serves only to stir the feelings and urges you’re both trying desperately to suppress.

“I honestly can’t even remember,” he answers, laughing softly. His voice is quiet and gentle, as ever, but slightly tense.

In an attempt to distract yourself, you begin organizing the storage cabinet instead of pulling items from it. Straightening a box of paper clips here, re-stacking a set of index cards there. Your hands are fitful, nervous and flighty like a baby bird trying to get off the ground for the first time.

It’s the proximity. And the light. Or, rather, the lack of light. It’s the way the hint of poplar wood you glean from his cologne is wrapping itself around you like a python, creeping through your veins and making you think about making regrettable decisions. Regrettably delicious decisions.

“That’s unfortunate,” you reply succinctly.

“Somehow I sense that I’m not alone in suddenly feeling lost,” he murmurs. There’s a soft metallic sound, one you recognize as him fidgeting with his wristwatch. He does it when he’s deep in thought. Or nervous. Or both. 

“Is it that obvious?” You sigh, carefully closing the creaky metal cabinet before turning to face him. He’s hovering by the door, one hand worrying with his watch, his eyes moving from the floor to your face as he senses your movement. You can’t decipher his expression. Your own gaze flickers to the door handle.

You notice it has a lock.

That lights a flame in your stomach, the hungry sort that only grows stronger the more you try to blow it out.

“Not really, I’m just getting better at reading you,” he answers. You’re both quiet for a moment. Anxious. Tempted. “Are you afraid?” His voice is barely above a whisper.

“Of what?”

“Of getting caught.”

You swallow hard. Something is buzzing in your chest and your fingertips. “We’re not doing anything,” you say cautiously.

“That could change. If you want it to.”

You look at him, and he looks at you, and the weight of this moment, the gaze you’re sharing, and all of its implications makes your head spin. “What if someone comes in?” you ask. He turns slightly, looking at the door handle for a moment before delicately clicking the lock into place. “What if someone finds out?”

“They won’t,” he assures you softly, taking the smallest of steps towards you.

Your heartbeat begins to quicken. Your lips suddenly feel dry. You lick them. You don’t think you’ve ever been so nervous. “I need this job. I can’t get fired.” He’s close enough now that beneath his cologne you’re beginning to detect notes of his aftershave. It smells like mint. You wonder if, perhaps, you could taste it on your lips if you kissed along his jaw.

“No one’s going to fire you,” he shakes his head. “If we get caught, which we won’t, I’ll take the blame.”

You frown. “I don’t like the idea of that, either. I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”

“Oh?” The corner of his mouth curls into a slight grin. “And what about what I want?”

“What is it that you want?”

In another two agonizingly slow, careful steps, he closes the distance, and for the first time you realize how tall he is, how fully his presence enraptures you. “Permission,” he says at last. 

You feel like all the air has been sucked out of your lungs. You look up at him, into his eyes, so kind and caring and sweet and warm, and it’s all over. “Please,” you whisper. “Joshua, please.” He raises his hand, running the back of his knuckles so gently across your cheek you’re unsure if you’re imagining it or not.

“Please what?”

“Kiss me.”

The hand by your face turns, and his palm comes to rest along your jaw, thumb running across your cheek while his fingers curl beneath your chin to tilt your head up as he softly presses his lips to yours, his other hand coming to ghost over your hip, guiding your body just slightly closer to his. 

At first, it’s chaste. Bubblegum pink, glitter suspended in liquid around the edges. Soda flavored lip gloss and mood rings and Lisa Frank folders. The warmth in your chest stays there, innocent and nostalgic. It makes you think of your very first kiss with your best friend, Ricky, in eighth grade, outside the auditorium as you wait for your sister to get out of drama club.

Certain elements come back to you, replacing your senses in the present with the memories of your past. Your backpack, weighed down by at least three textbooks and covered with Pokemon pins. The Hello Kitty bandaid on your knee pulling slightly at your skin. The cloyingly sweet vanilla ice cream perfume you wore at the time filling your lungs.

Then, the tip of Joshua’s tongue flickers against your bottom lip, and you find yourself wrenched from your very first, far in the past, to the new first you’re experiencing now.

This first could not be more different.

It’s a deep burgundy, the color of wine, and you’re already drunk on the feeling of it, the taste of him. You open your mouth, eager and pliant, and his tongue finds yours. The hand on your hip tightens, the other on your face moving to your back, gripping the fabric of your shirt as he pulls you up against him. You’re vaguely aware of the fact that when your body meets his, when you feel him already growing half hard in his khakis, that a moan escapes you, one which he devours intently. 

Your own hands can’t stay still, running up his arms and over his shoulders and down to his chest, his heart beating wildly against your palm. You let your fingers flit over his collar before sliding up the nape of his neck and tangling in his hair. It’s as soft as you’d imagined, and the contact makes him pull away, a breathy groan escaping him before he begins pressing kisses along your jaw. When he reaches your neck, his tongue and teeth begin gracing your skin just as much as his lips. His bites are gentle, soothed instantly with a swirl of his tongue, and you find yourself letting out the tiniest, neediest sounds.

A wildfire rages inside of you, your bones becoming ashen branches licked and burned by flames so hot and intense you wouldn’t be surprised if your skin was scorching to the touch. You’re so filled with want - so much, so fully, it’s almost unbearable. You’ve never needed anyone like this, and you’re not quite sure what to do about it. Desire blossoms like roses within your core, the edges of their petals singed by the heat that roils inside of you.

“Not enough,” you pant quietly, eyes clamping shut as his teeth do the same along your throat.

“What do you need?” he murmurs against your skin. 

“More. Touch me more, please, I want-”

You don’t get to finish your sentence before he’s steering you back, gently pinning you to the cabinet you’d been sorting just a few moments ago. One of his knees slides between your legs, parting them, the hem of your skirt rising, his thigh gently nudging against your already sensitive clit as he settles in close to you. It’s enough to make you whimper, but not enough to sate you. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

He pulls away from your neck to look at you, leveling you with a gaze honey-dipped in lust, his eyes still sweet and soft, but achingly hungry. “May I?” he asks, running his thumbs over the collar of your dress shirt. You nod, eyes flitting to the locked door.

“Hurry.”

He smirks. “That can be arranged.” Then, with a harsh movement so sudden and sharp you don’t see it, he rips your shirt open, the topmost button popping straight off and clattering to the floor. You gasp, but he wastes no time, pulling the remaining fabric out of your skirt and clutching your ribs as he dives to your collarbone. He picks up where he left off, kissing and nipping and licking your skin until he reaches the center of your chest. His breath is hot against your sternum as his hands glide up to the back of your bra, delicately stroking the fabric there. 

“Yes, please, yes,” you insist before he even gets the chance to ask. His nimble fingers make quick work of it, unlatching your bra and then moving his hands to your shoulders, pulling the straps and your shirt down, flinging them off your arms and onto the floor in one smooth motion. 

Within the next moment, you arch your back and his mouth is around one of your nipples, his fingers playing with the other. His tongue swirls and teases, his teeth gentle at first. But as soon as you moan, he’s on you in earnest, pulling your nipple between his teeth until he feels you shudder. His thumb rolls lazily against your other breast until he decides to switch, making you gasp under your breath.

Within moments you find yourself bucking your hips, running your center along his thigh, desperate for friction. Your hands tangle in his hair again, and you’re somewhat certain you’re whispering his name like a prayer. Then, he drops to his knees, his hands moving from your breasts to your skirt, bunching it further up your waist until he’s level with your panties. 

“Can I?” He looks up at you, his warm brown eyes simmering darkly with desire, but they’re just as tender and honest as they’ve ever been. His breath fans across your inner thighs, and your hips move forward ever so slightly, yet ever so eagerly in response that you should be embarrassed.

Now, it’s all you can do to whine and nod. But it’s enough for him. 

One hand tugs the already soaked fabric of your panties aside so he can lick you, tongue hot and heavy, from your core to your clit, the clever muscle instantly coated in your wetness. 

“Fuck,” his voice hitches as his lips wrap around that bundle of nerves, the hand not holding your panties open for him kneading a soothing rhythm into your thigh.

Time has no meaning, now. At first, you’re still somewhat cognizant. You can feel his fingers against your leg, methodical and purposeful. It’s grounding. Especially in comparison to the way his mouth moves against you. Sinful. Heavenly. A dichotomy that threatens to split you asunder, one part of your brain enraptured in pleasure, the other half a little afraid of how much you like it.

But then, his hand leaves your thigh. His fingers are suddenly sliding along your slit, discovering your entrance, coaxing it open with two fingers that he then pushes inside of you with no resistance.

Now, it’s all heat, it’s all so good, it’s all too much. Your stomach begins to knot, but the sensations of him keep going, keep building. The steady pressure of his fingers inside you, the gentle ministrations of his tongue against you. Every time he enters you is a strike of lightning, yet only curling tendrils of smoke and gentle dapples of sunlight play behind your eyelids. The visions are pale and soft and comforting as he drives you ever to your ecstasy in strokes so very determined, so very fervent.

You don’t last long.

“Joshua, I-” You try to warn him, but at the sound of his name he curls his fingers inside of you and you’re coming harder than you ever have before. The satisfaction trickles like melting ice from the top of your head, pooling in the molten center of your hips before shivering down your legs, leaving you shaking slightly and utterly breathless.

Finally, Joshua pulls away, his lips and chin slick with you, and he smiles, pleasant and delicate and so at odds with the way he just made you feel. You’re suddenly a bit light headed, so you let your knees buckle and your back slide down the cabinet until you’re sitting on the floor.

“Are you alright?” Joshua asks, his expression growing a touch worried.

You nod, smiling and sighing and letting your eyes flutter shut for a moment. “Very, very much better than alright,” you answer with a laugh.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he says quietly, and when you open your eyes to look at him, he’s still on his knees, licking clean the fingers that were inside of you mere moments ago, the fingers that just made you see stars. The sight of it makes you forget about how spent you are, replacing all other thoughts with one singular desire: him. Him, him, and more of him. 

You shift to your knees, fingers flying to the buttons of his shirt as you kiss him, feverishly hot and fast. You can feel him grin, lips twisting away from yours for only a moment, amused by your short-lived exhaustion and renewed enthusiasm. He shrugs out of his shirt, his palms coming to caress your shoulder blades as your own hands run down his chest, skimming across his stomach, touch feather-light, before you begin to busy yourself with his belt.

When it’s unfastened, he pulls away and stands, tugging your hands to bring you up with him. His mouth returns to yours like a magnet, his body turning and guiding the pair of you towards the long-forgotten couch in the corner. When the back of your knees hit the rough old cushions, his hands dip to unzip your skirt. Thoroughly sick of any amount of fabric being between you, you shove it and your panties down your hips and legs, stepping out of them as Joshua does the same with his slacks and underwear. You get on your tip-toes, move to kiss him, but he dodges your advance, hands holding you in place by your waist. 

“You can always say no to me, you know,” he murmurs, echoing the sentiment he’d expressed that evening in his office, the one with the golden light and vermouth, the one that set all of this into motion.

“Joshua, if you don’t fuck me right now, I’ll never forgive you,” you breathe, words hitched with quiet laughter, and he joins you, chuckling softly.

“As you wish.” He kisses you again, and for a moment it’s baby blue cotton candy and friendship bracelets, but as he pushes you down into the couch, lays you out before him and slides lithely between your legs, a curtain falls. Now, you’re midnight and velvet, with fire and ice entwining along your spine, melting you like wax as you shiver.

It’s the first of many times in the coming weeks that you find yourselves like this, vignetted in stolen moments dark and quiet and sacred, drowning together in a bliss so sinful and fulfilling you think it might be your undoing.

[dreamescapeswriting]

Unspoken Challenge ~ Bang Chan [M]

WORD COUNT: 4.2K

GENRE: Smut, fluffy, nerdy/dom chan

PAIRING: Nerd Bang Chan x Reader

WARNING: Light choking, squirting, Chan dom...I think that’s it

A pen was tapping over and over again on the desk behind you and it was starting to stress you out. The class was already hard enough you didn't need some moron making it worse, you took in a deep breath trying to push down the urge to smack whoever it was behind you. They'd done nothing but tap the pen onto the desk as if they were anxiously waiting for something to happen. As time passed the pen tapper got faster until you finally snapped, turning around and slamming your hands onto the desk making the pen tapping stop.  

"Do you have any idea how god damn annoying you are?!" The boy behind you smirked as you snapped at him, he'd been doing it to wind you. Felix was the University player and liked it whenever girls talked back to him, it gave him a reason to shamelessly flirt with them.

"The dog bites, I like it." You rolled your eyes at the boy who had a giant smirk on his face. Lee Felix, he was one of the popular students at your university and you hated him and his group of friends. They did nothing but wind you and another student up - Christopher Bang - claiming that you were both cheating on tests or they would come up with some kind of nasty rumour about you both this week alone it was that you'd slept with the entire football team. It wound you up that they were always so cruel to Chan when he was nothing but sweet to everyone he met, it didn't bother you so much when they were mean to you but when they were mean to Chan it pissed you off.

"What's up princess? Chan cant get it up and satisfy you in bed?" A bunch of snickers followed the comment he made but you just rolled your eyes again, turning to face the front of as you started waiting for time to pass. 'princess' was Chan's nickname for you, no one else's and it irked you that someone else had the audacity to use it on you. All you had to do was make it through this one lesson and everything would be fine, you could go and find Chan, Minho and Seungmin and go for lunch. The only thing getting you through this lesson was the thought of lunch with your boyfriend and two close friends.

"We all know what you're after, a good dicking but you're not going to get it from Chan," Felix whispered in your ear as he leant forward to you. He noticed you watching the clock above the teachers head and chuckled softly, 

"You can come to me anytime, I'll show you how a real man should fuck you..." Hearing his words you drowned out his voice thinking about the first time that you and Chan had been together...How he was nothing like you thought he would be. See, everyone had Chan pegged to be the super quiet, shy and nerdy type...Which he was but once you got him into the bedroom it was as if an alter ego took over. You called him Christopher since Chan hated whenever someone would call him by his long name.

"Running late?" Minho smirked as you began sprinting towards the student library as you ignored him but he just ran alongside you, teasing you repeatedly as you rushed to get to the door. 

"Minho, fuck off. If I'm late again Chan will kill me." You mumbled as you slowed down to a walk outside the door, pushing the double doors open to see Chan had already packed up his things. 

"Chan I was caught up at work-"

"Whatever, you clearly don't want to get through the class. I'm not wasting my time with you." You hated that he was blowing you off, you'd been trapped at a late shift so you couldn't do anything about it. It wasn't as though you had Chan's number so you could let him know what was going on. He was so private he wouldn't give you his mobile number or where his dorm was, you'd tried to get it from him but he wouldn't tell you.

"Chan I need to pass this class, work kept me behind and made me do a later shift...I want to pass this class please-" You were following him out of the library as he walked away from you, keeping his head down as he tried to ignore the fact that you were there. You weren't going to let him get away with ditching you, not when you really needed this from him. There was no one else you could go to. No one was as smart as Chan and he knew that.

"It's Friday night, just go out and drink...Whatever it is you do on a Friday." He mumbled to you, stopping himself from walking when you stood in front of him. This was the first time he looked at you properly today, you weren't in your normal attire. Normally you'd be in jeans and a low cut top but today you were in a diner dress and some tennis shoes. The nametag on your dress being the giveaway that it was your work attire.

"We can do this Monday, I have plans tonight." He mumbled moving away from you but all he could think about was the dress you were wearing and the way you looked in the dress. He wasn't an idiot, he knew you were good looking but he also knew you were out of his league so he was never going to do anything. That didn't stop his mind from wandering about things though, the things he would do to you if you were his and he could have his way with you. Punishing you for being late to an important study session, punishing you for the way you wore low cut tops and bent over in front of him. Sometimes he thought you only did those things just to tease him. 

Minho chuckled at you as you watched Chan walking away, his leg was kicked up on the wall behind him as he laughed at you.

"You're not going to drop this are you?" You shook your head at his question and demanded Chan's dorm room number. You knew they were living in the same dorm building and he had to know where Chan was. There was no way you were going to not study, Chan was the smartest kids in the university and not to mention in your course. He was your only hope of passing the test on Tuesday.

The door swung open but Chan didn't seem too happy to see you standing there. The smile on his face dropped and he rolled his eyes, he thought you were the pizza he'd ordered himself. His ''plans'' for Friday night were to sit alone watching the new Anime that had come out with a pizza.

"I told you we could study Monday-" He went to shut the door but you pushed your foot in front of it stopping him from doing so if you were anybody else he would have continued to shut the door. 

"Chan, the test is Tuesday. Please. I'm hopeless without your help." He nodded at you not disagreeing that you were hopeless in it and not being able to resist the puppy dog look in your eyes so let you into his dorm room.

"You get one hour, any more than that I'll charge you." You excitedly threw your arms around him, jumping up and down as you thanked him over and over again but his mind was racing. You were still in the diner outfit that made his mind wander over everything, he could feel your chest pressed against him that made him bite his lip.

"Y-Yeah, come on in." He stuttered out, pushing his thick black glasses onto his face as he shut the door behind you. 

"What exactly is the part you're struggling on?" He questioned as he walked you into the living area of his apartment, sitting you down and sitting beside you with his own books. 

"If I say all of it will you kill me..." He raised his eyebrows at you and shook his head, he had no idea how you could have been struggling with any of it. He was helping the tutor grade papers and all of yours were on par with his. You were smart to say you were one of the popular girls in the University,

"I've been behind because of work, I haven't had time to get as much studying as I would like done." He nodded along with you and then he started questioning you on small bits from the classes that week. Wanting to know what you did and didn't know so he could come up with a studying style that would be best for you. 

Later that night you woke up to a blanket being laid over you, you flinched looking up to see Chan standing there. He'd been grilling you for most of the night with questions and when his pizza finally arrived he shared it with you. Choosing to help you rather than throwing you to the curb like he said he was going to do,

"You fell asleep, you looked peaceful so I was going to just-" You shook your head, telling him that he didn't have to explain himself to you.

"C-Can I come over during the weekend? I don't have a shift so I can study for longer. Unless you have plans?" You suggested, getting up from the sofa and hunting around for your bag, the only plans he had would be the anime and he liked the idea of helping you far more than that. 

"I don't have plans...You can come tomorrow." He whispered as he began walking you to the door, checking outside of the door to make sure the male tutor wasn't around and you wouldn't get scolded for being in the boy's dorm. The one rule on campus, no girls in the boy's dorms, no boys in the girl's dorms. 

"Thanks for this Chan, I owe you one." Without even thinking, you stood up on your tiptoes to give him a small kiss on the cheeks. His ears began to turn a bright red colour making you giggle as you quietly snuck out of his room and headed home, looking forward to the weekend of studying with him. Chan's hand slowly raised to his cheek as he touched where your lips had been, he groaned to himself ignoring the tent that was starting to pitch in his jeans. It was just a stupid kiss yet his mind kept wandering back to the butterflies he'd been feeling.

The next night you were sitting together after studying all day, it felt as though you were in class rather than studying. Chan had different tests laid out for you, flashcards and study folders all laid out for you to work from. 

"I could rip my eyeballs out, how do you get all of this done." You yawned at him, it seemed as though he just glanced at a page and the information would instantly be implanted into his brain.

"You're like one of those Aliens, aren't you? You absorb information with one glance!" The fake gasp that came from you made Chan laugh which sent butterflies to your stomach, you'd not heard him laugh like that before. The smile on his face was enough to make your whole body feel like you were floating, he looked so cute when he smiled like that. A small dimple on his cheek and the way his eyes scrunched together,

"You have a really pretty smile," You whispered before you even realised you were talking aloud, a giant blush spread along Chan's freckled cheeks and his ears turned a brighter red than before. 

"I'm sorry cutie, I didn't mean to embarrass you." You squeezed his cheeks playfully but his hand gripped onto your wrist to stop you from babying him like you were, 

"Don't treat me like I'm a baby, I'm not." He growled at you, you were taken back a little not expecting this side to come from him it and interested you a lot. 

"I-I'm sorry, I was just playing...You are cute though Chan." Your comment was only met by another growl and he moved away from you muttering something under his breath that you didn't hear.

"Chan?" You went to reach for him to apologise but he grabbed your wrists again, pinning you to the sofa below him. You squirmed under his grasp looking up into his dark eyes as he stared down at you,

"I'm not some cute little nerd," You let out a small whimper as you looked up at him. A pool went down to your core at the way he looked at you, his eyes had darkened over and it wasn't the nerdy Chan you knew. You squirmed once again under his grasp. 

"Squirming so much and I haven't even touched you," He smirked and you could have sworn the nerdy Chan you knew was gone and replaced with whoever this was now. 

"You're so pretty when you're scared...Maybe I should fuck you dumb huh? Then maybe we can fill the brain with the study material...Stop you watching your phone every four seconds." He'd caught you reading through something on your phone that wasn't the work he was setting you and he didn't care what it was he just didn't want you to waste his or your time. This side of him made you excited but you also wanted to tease him for it see what else he was hiding under the nerdy persona he was exhibiting, 

"I bet you'd cum as soon as you put it in me," You challenged, looking him in the eyes as you bucked you hips up to meet his. He licked his lips watching you as he nodded along with what you were saying, not agreeing with you but accepting the unspoken challenge. 

"Is that a bet?" You nodded your head at him and he smirked, throwing his glasses down onto the coffee table where your books were left unattended now. 

"If I win, you study all weekend and you owe me a favour." He told you as he let go of your wrists completely watching to see what you do.

"And if I win, which I will...What do I get?" He shrugged his shoulders,

"Whatever you want, but trust me, kitten-" He bent down to whisper in your ear this time, 

"You're not going to win." His voice sent shivers down your spine and you bit down on your tongue as you watched him closely, wanting nothing more than to make out with him on the spot. 

"What makes you so sure? You're just a nerd-" You stopped talking as soon as he pulled the hoodie off from his body revealing a pack of abs you never would have guessed were under there. 

"Concentrate darling, anyone would think you have a thing for the nerd." He growled grabbing you by your neck and standing you up as he carefully walked you towards the bedroom. He hadn't even touched you and you could feel how wet you were, practically leaking through your panties. 

"Strip," He ordered as he slammed his bedroom door shut, sitting on the edge of his bed as he watched you closely. You smirked at him, slowly undoing the zip of your black jacket before revealing a black lowcut top you'd worn a couple of times before. He kept his eyes on you, giving no inclination as to what he was feeling or thinking as you stripped.

"Slowly," He whispered getting down onto the floor in front of you as you got to nothing but your panties. You hissed as he slapped your thighs and you slowly began to lower your panties. 

"So fucking wet for the nerd." He chuckled as he watched the way your arousal stuck to your panties before he threw you down onto the bed. Kissing you roughly as he let his tongue explore your mouth you wrapped your arms around his neck as you relaxed into the kiss. Feeling sparks fly out of your body the moment he kissed you. The kiss intensified and he smirked, dragging you to the edge so you were displayed out for him, he ran his hand over your thighs. 

"Spread them," You did as he said and looked at him as he watched you closely. 

"Do you want me to touch you?" You nodded desperately, hopeless for some kind of touch from him.

"Where do you want me to touch you? Use your words," You wanted to scream at him just to touch you but you didn't, you stayed quiet as you looked at him. 

"H-Here," You whispered running your own finger over your clit but he slapped it away before slowly rubbing his thumb over your clit. You bit your lip, holding back the moans that were trying to escape from you, 

"Don't hide the moans, let everyone know who's making you feel good." He ordered you as he thumb continued to rub your clit in circles vigorously. You moaned out, rolling your head back against the mattress as you enjoyed his touches. Pathetic and high pitched whimpers leaving your lips whenever he would change the direction of his rubbing, 

"Feel good baby? Is the nerd making you feel good?" He questioned in a condescending tone that only made you more attracted to him. When you didn't answer him he wrapped his other hand around your neck, applying a small amount of pressure making you choke out a moan. 

"Answer me." 

"Yes! F-Feels so fucking good!" You cried out only to be met with a slap against your clit making you cry out again, he let go of your neck and pushed two fingers into you. 

"So tight princess, have you not fucked someone in a while?" He questioned as he began to rock his fingers in and out of you, using his other thumb on your clit again. 

"N-No...N-Not s-since last year." You whimpered not knowing why you were telling him you hadn't been laid in a while. 

"Maybe that's why you're always so pent up...Just need a good fucking," You nodded at him as you desperately began to plea for him to let you cum. He only rubbed your clit faster and smirked up at you, 

"Can I cum? Please?" He chuckled darkly as you begged for him to let you cum, you were dripping down onto the sheets each time he pulled his fingers out of your cunt. 

"Want you to ride my thigh first." You were shocked at his words but without hesitation, you pushed him to sit down on the bed and you straddled his thigh. Moaning out as the thick fabric came into contact with your bare core. 

"F-Fuck." You whimpered as you began to slowly move your hips on his thigh. Rocking back and forth as he put a finger on your clit making you cry out. 

The friction was getting too much for you and you were crying out his name. Your head laid on his shoulder as you rode his thigh. 

"You can cum now, like a good girl." He whispered, and just like that you did. 

"Chan!" Your hands dug into his arm as you continued to ride his thigh. Cumming onto the fabric of his jeans before he pushed you down onto the bed again, your legs were shaking as you begged for him to fuck you instead of teasing you. 

"I-I get it, I shouldn't have said what I said...Y-You win." You whispered as he began to unbuckle the belt on his jeans. 

"You're still so wet princess, and look at the mess you made." You glanced at his trousers and felt the heat rush up your body in embarrassment. 

"I want you to make a mess like that on my cock, can you do that baby girl?" You nodded at him, 

"Y-Yes Chan," He smirked at how easily you'd turned into a begging and whimpering mess for him. 

"Stand up," You did as he said and he walked over to you, chuckling as you struggled to keep your balance. As he kicked off his boxers you sank down on your knees to get a good look at him. He was huge, larger than you had been expecting and it made your mouth water. You wanted to taste him, you needed his cum but before you could even put your lips on him he shook his head at you. At first, he was going to let you but after seeing how excited you had been to do it he stopped himself wanting to prove you wrong. 

"Lay down and spread your legs." You did as he sat and he smirked watching you.

"Good girl, so wet for me as well." He chuckled as he began aligning himself at your entrance before sinking into you. You moaned out as he stretched you out, your walls clenching around him as he grunted. 

"So fucking tight," You mewled out in response to him and he chuckled moaning when he began to push in and out of you. His hands gripped onto your hips as he began to thrust in and out of you, moaning our your name. 

"Feels so good," You moaned out as you felt his cock moving in and out of you. Your walls gripping around him as if he belonged inside of you. 

"Shit Chan," You whimpered as he continued to move inside of you, his hips slamming into you as you felt your next orgasm approaching, you squirmed underneath him. Digging your feet into his ass to make him hit deeper, 

"So good!" You screamed out, dragging your nails down his back as he continued to push into you, the feeling making your head spin as it felt as though you were floating. The wet sounds filled the air with the sound of slapping skin and moans, both yours and Chan's as he continued fucking into you. 

"I can feel you getting closer, do you want to cum?" He questioned, reaching down as he began rubbing your clit. You cried out at the touch and he chuckled darkly, slapping into you harder you rolled your head back in ecstasy. 

"Cum." He commanded you and you did. Screaming out his name as you rolled your head back, gripping onto the sheets around you as you came harder than you ever had done before. You whimpered feeling your orgasm keep ripping through you as you clenched and twitched around him, an unfamiliar wetness came from you as you squirted around him moaning out loudly as it did. 

"S-Shit! W-What-" You didn't have time to question what it was as Chan began to pump into you. Grunting loudly as he came into you hard, filling you up so much you came around him again at the feeling. 

"F-Fuck." You cried out as you came down from your high, panting heavily as he pulled out of you and laid down beside you on the bed. 

"Whoa." You whispered as you turned on your side to look at him, the blushing shy Chan was back and you giggled softly. 

"Where did he come from?" You questioned, running your finger up and down his chest and abs as you waited for him to answer, 

"Where did who come from?" He frowned looking at you as he wrapped a blanket over your body, not wanting you to get sick or catch a cold. 

"Christopher." You winked at him and he chuckled shyly, shaking his head at you. 

"I hope it wasn't the last time he comes out to play...I-I enjoyed that." The same smirk was back on his lips once he heard your words, 

"Well if you study and pass your test maybe he'll come out to play again." He winked at you as you leant forward to give him a small kiss on the lips. 

The bell rang waking you up from your daydream, you practically jumped out of your seat to get out of the classroom but Felix was faster. He raced up behind you and grabbed your elbow so you would turn to face him,

"Come home with the big boys," He whispered to you, trying to be as seductive as possible but all he was doing was coming across as a cock. 

"No thanks, my boyfriend is waiting for me." You turned around to see Chan standing against the wall, he was wearing an oversized blue sweater you'd gotten him and the new pair of thick square glasses. 

"Hi!" You yelled out, snatching your arm away from Felix as you walked over to Chan, 

"Why was Felix holding onto you?" He questioned, wrapping his arms around you protectively as he eyed up Felix, 

"He was just being an idiot. Telling me how he could fuck me how a real man should," Chan scoffed at the comment and looked at Felix. 

"Trust me, the way she screams my name at night I'm surprised you haven't heard." He smirked at Felix turning you around and walking away from the boys who were all watching after you as you giggled to Chan about what you both had planned for that night. 

Tagline: @taestannie @kneel-begyourpardon @channiewoo @minholuvs @lkwonmj​

[bonnymori]

𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲

Word count: 2760+ (i'll try to keep bigger lengths such as this one!)

Synopsis: You meet a new classmate who's working along Nanami, you think he's fun to be around, it stands the same to him about you. Later, feelings unravel.

Contents/Warnings: (1) Itadori Yuuji x gn!reader (2) FLUFF, TONS OF FLUFF - and some comfort (3) With the small participation of... Ino Takuma!! I really like him too, that's why <33333 (4) This is pretty platonic, but also not? (5) Ending turned sorta cliché... but I liked it u.u

A/N: This boy made me run rampant... to fhe point it's not single attraction anymore I just wish him happiness (smh if only my parents knew...) also next post will be Toji's fic pt. 2! Y'all see the first part is almost reaching 100 kudos????? I'M SO HAPPY EHSODJWKDKSJD- thanks for all the new followers and the support!! <33

Ever since his fake death, Itadori has been training alone with the help of Gojo - and now, he works along a freshly new face, who belongs to a senior, founds out ex-salaryman named Nanami Kento. He's far a thousand times more strict than Gojo. Itadori doesn't really likes the change, because Nanami is a person he can't get along. This whole guy's appearance scream "work 4 life"; he has proved different, now he screams "work is shit - but I gotta do it because others won't".

They've just finished cleansing the outside of a movie theater off a few curses, when Itadori hears shouting from far behind them. Two figures approach, waving excessively. He quickly picks on Nanami's tired sigh beside him.

"Nanami! We figured out you'd be here! Our mission has been finished and we wanted to catch up to have lunch together!" A male clad in a full black outfit shouts, he has brown hair and a beanie on top of his head, looking quite content.

The other person simply trots next to him in silence, approaching with a friendly smile. They notice Itadori faster than the male, smile widening and quickly waving hello, suddenly eager to reach up to them. The gesture makes the pink haired boy perk up, curious to why the other person looked so joyful. His question is easily answered, when they tug on the man's sleeve and motion to him.

"Ino, we have a third buddy!" The dude looks at him with widened eyes. "So nice to meet you, I'm Y/N L/N! It's great to see new faces around!"

Itadori smiles at your energy, knowing already he would click with you very well.

"I'm Ino Takuma, sorry for not noticing you before! Your uniform looks cool." Itadori exchanges a few compliments with Ino, before the man turns to talk with Nanami, leaving him and you together.

"Yes! I'm Sukuna's vessel, Itadori Yuuji-desu! My type of woman is Jenn-"

You turn to him. "So, are you a first year?"

"Geh? Weren't you dead though?!"

"I was!- I am!- Please keep secret."

"Okay!"

"Ahem." Nanami coughs, drawing attention. "I requested you two to not come after me today. Itadori here is the reason why."

"That's no problem, we're very capable of keeping secrets." You threw your arm over Itadori's shoulder, him nodding along with you.

"Oh really, then remember to keep quiet about it. I'll let this slide." The group of students nervously at Nanami's intimidating tone. "But, I'll get to have my break alone."

"Gah!" Ino exclaimed, watching Nanami walk away; he also left the responsability of taking care of Itadori for you two, leaving without a word. "It really had to be today, when Nanami would take us to his favorite bakery..."

"Crybaby." You teased. "Itadori here can't go outside where anyone can see him, he's dead. So, we were to order food either way because he shouldn't be left out."

"Augh okay, it would be unfair."

"So, where are you staying Itadori?"

"At Gojo's state!"

"Whoa, I've never been there before." Ino commented, waiting as you sent a message to Ijichi to pick them up.

"He's my teacher, a very cool one!"

"I imagine! Ooookay, once we get there I'll get the food."

Itadori felt as his chest would burst of excitement, finally there was people around him again, he couldn't be less happy about it.

"Sharing is caring!"

Itadori laughed as you wrestled with Takuma for some fries, netflix long forgotten in the background, as watching the banter was way more entertaining. Most of the time, Ino rambled a lot about Nanami, while he rambled a lot about Gojo. The guy even showed him the cool scar under his beanie. He felt kinda upset after explaining the exchange was just temporary, his stay under Nanami's wing wasn't decisive, and therefore, he was more like a classmate than a partner.

Itadori also learned a lot about you. He was surprised to find out that you, although energetic, was the one to speak the lesser in conversations. His surprisement grew even bigger when you told him you're a exchange student from Kyoto, arriving Tokyo about the same month as him - thankfully, you were to say for good.

Conversations flowed easily in the air, until a voice from the doorway barged in.

"Yuuji-kun! Don't forget about your lessons! Hi kids! Bye kids!" Gojo said playfully, throwing the familiar punching bear to Itadori before leaving.

"What's this thing?" Ino asked.

"It's to help me control my cursed energy. So while I watch the movies, if I don't charge it with cursed energy it punches me square in the face. I thought I had mastered this thing already, but he insist I keep training with it." Itadori grumbles.

"At least it's cute." You commented, taking a sip of your drink.

"Until it punches you in your face without warning!" The pink haired boy barks.

The talks died down, the three of you eating quietly when another movie is played on the screen. Itadori didn't bother reading the title, it was a plain one about a zombie apocalypse that got him extremely bored, yet he kept watching still so the plushie didn't punch him in the face again; he's been keeping a record since all his last cursed energy training lessons were a sucess to this day. When his head started nodding and eyelids dropping Itadori can't remember well, about fourty five minutes of movie perhaps? Make it fifty, the second slumber took over his body completely.

When he awoke once again, it was near midnight, the clock on the wall told him so. He also noticed a soft and warm surface supporting his head, figures, it's your shoulder he's resting into, he feels an arm around his own shoulders and your cheek placed upon his hair.

"Hey, it's late." You immediately notices he's awake, calling out softly. "You should sleep on your room, or something, better to your spine."

He chuckles when you poke his side. "But I'm comfortable here."

"I'm surprised, you just met me today, and now is sleeping on my shoulder."

"I'm not, that happens often to me."

"Sleeping on people's shoulders?"

"No! Making friends quickly." Itadori likes your gentle warmth, your hug, everything makes him feel at home. "I met two more people before you for two weeks, but they can't see me, because I'm dead."

"So I'll keep you company, that's my new mission."

His eyes widen at that, a oh so little blush covering the tip of his ears.

"For how many time I slept anyway?" He asks.

"About two- no, three hours. You missed two movies, and this one is about to end."

"And you stayed here the whole time?" He motions to your shoulder.

"Yep. That reminds me I gotta pee."

Itadori grumbles, but quickly lifts himself off you, respecting your needs. That gives him some time to look around, he notices Ino is gone, and the plushie sits quietly at the other side of the couch, unmoving.

"Y/N! How did you manage to make it quiet down?" He's beyond bafflet.

"...que."

"What!"

"I said!" You arrive quickly at the doorframe, hands still wet from when you washed them. "I used my innate technique."

"Oh! How is it like?"

"It's kinda funny, gimme a moment." You left to wipe off your hands, coming back in a second. "So, just like Shoko, I produce reverse curse energy, but it's quite different than hers, I can't heal people. That's why we often call it positive energy instead. I can use it to soothe off negative energy, so the bear has no cursed energy right now."

"How does it works on people?" He felt very curious about everything, asking away like a kid.

"Since everyone has negative energy, it just makes you sleepy really. But when it comes to curses it's really practical, I can either weaken it or, if the curse is like grade three or four, I can slap them off existence completely by wiping all their energy." You were naturally proud of having a such versatile power, your own energy swirling with pride around you.

"That sounds amazing! Is it why I fell asleep though?"

"Nah, only if I did it on purpose. I guess you were just tired, hope you don't mind I decided to let you rest today."

"No way, it was a good nap."

You nodded. "By the way, Ino left to attend to a drinking party, he paid for our food."

"Drinking? Is he old?"

"Yeah, he's twenty." You chuckled, already expecting that kind of reaction.

"No way! He looks young just like us!"

"That's totally my reaction after I learned he's twenty!"

After that day, you started visiting Itadori weekly to daily, after exchanging numbers he made a little group with you and Ino, naming it the "Nanami trio". But really, he exchanges more texts with you in private, be them memes, cool images he wish to share, etcetera. Although, Ino wasn't left excluded, he ofter brough his xbox to connect to Itadori's tv room and you all would spend hours playing together; he just didn't spend much time with both of you as much. And that was okay.

For a few days, your connection with Itadori died down when he didn't reply to your texts. They would remain unread for some time, the longest being half a day, until he would spam apologies then move on with the topic. That became a routine until one day when you came over to check on Itadori unnanounced, needin to ease off your worries about the boy, only to find him sobbing in the middle of a hallway, staring ahead and beyond, his back to you.

"Ita-?"

"Egh!" Startled, he scrambled to wipe his eyes, turning to you. "H-hey, um, hi."

"What happened?"

"I- he-" His eyes didn't met yours, knuckles white in a death grip. You notice he has a few bandages thrown over his face and arms. The way his shoulders are drawn, as if he wants to shrink into himself is something you've experienced before.

"Something hard to talk about?"

He nods almost immediately, head still facing down.

"It's alright, come with me." You reach for his hands, grimacing slightly when his forceful grip is now on your hand, yet you don't comment on it. He follows you through the state wordlessly.

You two stop on the same tv room, sitting down on the couch. You then guide his head to your shoulder, gently massaging his scalp with the free hand.

"It's alright."

Those two words are chanted like a prayer for the next half hour, at some point, Itadori twisted his body towards yours and unknowingly caged you between him and the sofa arm. He embraced you with a force you didn't have in you, like he didn't want to lose one another. Painful or not, not a muscle moved on your body. He needed a shoulder to cry on.

Thirty minutes passed like seconds, you peered down only to find the boy confortably napping against your bosom; at some point you just became the cold side of the pillow to him. That's alright. It brings you joy to be the mom friend anyways. So you decided to join the sleepland aswell, arms still secured around his shoulders and the back of his head.

It feels like the nap hasn't been long, though, because you can feel Itadori's grip loosening and therefore, you're awake.

"Sorry if I broke any bones, in advance."

"Wow, and you only warn me now."

He laughs at your comeback, hands still secured around your waist.

"I'm surprised you let me uh, cuddle you for comfort - and sleep. I don't understand it? You just make me sleepy." He rambled, keeping eye contact with you while his head still rests on your chest.

"That's a piece of cake when you have younger siblings who seek for you every night they get a nightmare."

"Does that mean I can come to you again if I have a nightmare?" There it is, his togepi-kirby cutesy face.

"Are you four?"

"That's mean!" Itadori blushed, squeezing you on his arms. "I like the contact. It puts me at ease."

"Mm, do you want to talk about it?"

He gulped. "No, not really."

Your peach haired friend remained silent, and so did you. It seems he doesn't intend in letting you go soon, or he just really forgot to mention it. It gives them time to think, your younger sisted used to do that sometimes, back in Kyoto.

"Y/N, wanna watch anything?"

"Sure, have you watched Parasyte before?"

"No, let's give it a try then!" Itadori glances at the remote, then back at you - making you confused over his hesitation to move. He notices you noticed it, chuckling nervously. "To be honest, I don't wanna let go."

"It's hurting my back."

"SORRY I'M SORRY!" He jumped away from you like a cat would jolt away from a cucumber, making you snicker.

"It's okay, I just wanted to change positions."

And to tease you, but he didn't need to know that part.

He glared at you with a small pout, typing the initials of Parasyte on the search bar. Outside his line of vision, you were grinning like a idiot, his sweeteness took a tow on you. All the people of Tokyo you met really held a way different spirit from your classmates in Kyoto, Itadori being the nicest of all. It's surprising him being Sukuna's vessel to begin with; being honest, you felt drawn by it.

"Y/N, it's startiiiiing." He cut your daydreaming short, slumping on your side and propping his head on your shoulder.

"This again?" You throw an arm around his shoulders, very much like the first time he cuddled himself on you.

"Don't blame me, you're the one who wanted to change positions. Guess I'll just make some alterations since I'm awake this time!" One of his arms went behind your back and circled your waist, hand resting at your hip.

"It's definely different, since the other time you drooled on me."

"Hhgh, okay okay! Let me enjoy this." For perhaps the actual first time, you're able to watch without exchanging words with one another.

And this time, it's you who's head loll to the side, nose buried on his soft rose perfumed hair. Itadori doesn't comment on it yet, his free hand moves under your legs to lift your whole body up efortlessly when he senses you have fallen asleep.

"I remember you said it's bad for my spine, I wouldn't mind it... yours however."

The boy makes a beeline to the guest room, he sighs when there is no choice but open the door with his foot. Inside, he places you carefully in the soft bed.

Before he could leave, a hand reaches up for his sleeve.

"Itadori," He turned, looking at you. "Make me company?"

He giggles softly - you think it sounds like a highschool girl. "You should start calling me by my first name!" Itadori rambles as he climbs on the bed, arms wrapping around your waist in a motion you're familiar with.

"Yuuji, I'm tired, let me sleep."

"But I wanna talk more..." He pouts. "Also, are we, um, dating?"

You wriggle around, bringing his head down to peck on his forehead, teasing. "Correction, I want to date you."

"Uh, oh." A blush coats his face so quickly, you'd say someone dumped a bucket of red paint on his face.

"Is that a no?"

"No!"

"So it is a no."

"Christ, will you stop teasing for a second, I'm trying to talk here." He makes an angry version of his togepi-kirby face, you can't help but grin.

"You amuse me, but okay. I'll do it for you."

"Thanks." He blinks, the blush slowly fading away. "You know, I lied, not about the contact, I like the contact nonetheless-"

His hand moves to play with yours, such as tapping his tips against yours, or meassuring the palms.

"-it's you who brings me comfort."

It's also your turn to blush, that line was seriously charming.

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, we're dating now." You respond, a little eagerly. "Can I kiss you?"

"Please."

This is the best person I could ask for, Itadori thinks, keeping his eyes open as yours shut during the kiss, whom I won't change for anything else in this world.

When you both separate, Itadori feels drowsy and sleepy. His face fits perfectly on your shoulder as always.

"Goodnight, my favorite person."

[beann-e]

hi I was on u-tube and saw a bakugou playlist for when he can’t sleep and I thought well , since I just hit 200 followers ( tysm;3 I love everyone who even took the time out of their day to press follow ) why not bring them this idea of y/n not being able to sleep & bakubabe lending his beautifully different services

also abt the sero line I have in here— I personally think it’d be cool if he just learned Spanish because, he has an interest in other cultures and languages but I don’t really see him being actually hispanic

also I really like writing baku bc he’s so rough with everything he says & I kin him so he’s the easiest so, I hope no one thinks I write him too much

Reader with bad mental health & bakugou lends a hand in his own way

No one cares and no one ever asks. Or at least that’s how you felt while standing here in your last period class your hands balled up in fist tightly held at your chest

Your head was pounding and body was aching you couldn’t describe why you were feeling so horrible all of a sudden but

you just were

maybe it was from all the nights you couldn’t fall aleep due to overthinking

maybe it was the way you got stuck on your phone or even your head dropped low eyes trailing over words in a book just trying to find something to take your mind off the fact that you were struggling

whatever the case was

right now in this last period class this wasn’t helping

“ look shitty woman “ you heard the boy huff “ I want to get a good score on this paired project and right now your fucking this up for me “

his anger was visibly present even if his voice was low to where only you could hear the annoyance that sat in it had everyone looking around for the culprit of the sudden change in the air

“ and I don’t like fuckups so get whatever you have going on together and let’s do this —ok? “

you shook your head and let out a soft ‘ok ‘

the fight ending quickly with bakugou staring down on you his hands on his knees face made up in anger “ you keep finding a way to fuck with me “

“ I didn’t even do anything to you “ your voice was soft and tired

his eyes squinting before sighing

“ I didn’t do anything to anyone “

“ cut this shit out right now “ he pulled you up off the ground hands in fists gripping at your shirt standing you up with his muscles alone “ get to your room — sleep off whatever the fucks going on with you “

His eyes dead set on you as you walked off everyone from the class watching as you failed to gain the strength to open the big doors that led you to your shared dorms

“ sero plea— “

“ got it hermosa “

“ really dude “

“ look it’s hot — and just cause we’re in japan doesn’t mean I can’t show off my online spanish lessons “

“ whatever “ denkis voice whined as he shook his head holding the other door open for you “ gonna get some sleep y/n ? “

you ignored the two boys head hung low as you walked to your room door

the strength appearing in your body as you opened it but, quickly dispersing when you found your bed.

Your face hitting your favorite pillow hand coming up to cradle underneath it as you sat on your knees butt high in the air tears coming out pouring into your blankets “ I won’t show — I won’t show it — I won’t get bad again “ you repeated like a chant

The light from outside disappearing as the day grew into night

several footsteps heard departing from your door when you didn’t answer the knocks . Their low calls of dinner was done , lunch was in the microwave , that you’d missed movie time , that you missed denkis attempt of asking jirou out , and todorokis miss understood question of what ‘ cuddles ‘ were when denki offered her his body to do so

“ and you assholes didn’t just think to open the door? ”

your bedroom door swinging open in a crash as the knob hit the wall behind it creating a hole

“ fucking assholes bothering me with this shit “

“ we didn’t even call you out of your room “

“ you came over to her room on your ow— “

bakugous hand moved swiftly to slam the door in their faces

“ bakubro we’ve been trying to get in there all day and your just—“

“ gonna close the door on us “ denki finished in annoyance “ seriously I just know y/n needs my charm right now “

he pouted behind the door “ it always cheers her up and I like her lau— “

“ didn’t ask to hear your fucking crush story charger base “

“ ass — kiri let’s go “

“ so no sleepy boob pics?“

bakugou stiffened hearing the purples freaks voice

“ so I came with you guys because you said she was sad and usually when girls are sad they don’t dres— “

bakugous voice was guttural as he put his forehead to the door voice loud enough for the boy to hear

“ hey — hey purple nurple “

“ I-uh — yes bakugou “

“ come here “ he could hear the small shuffle of feet to the door as he smirked softly

“ put your tiny head to the door — actually press your whole body up to the door —all the way “

“ are you trying to help me get one of y/n’s bras god —- of all people to help I never thought it’d be bakugo—“

“ hey just shh ok — you don’t want to ruin it right and make her wake up right “ he groaned inside his mind

“ she’s slept this long and through all of this— I can’t get you her bra if your loud right purple zit “

“ so so smart “

“ ok so here it is “

the room grew silent as bakugou pressed his palm as low as he could placing it on the door away from his standing body breathing in to suppress his anger so , he didn’t let out a major blast due to his mood

sighing before he felt his hand grow sweaty tiny pops coming out

“ hey bakugou —is my princess ok ? sounds like popcorn in there are her tit—“

it was quick as the door had a hole in it the newly created circle having black burn scratches on it as mineta laid burnt on the floor once purple body now black and smoke wafting off it

Bakugou squatting as he put his left hand above the hole to steady himself and his right one reaching out through it as he grimaced in pain at the stretch his fingers finally wrapping around minetas short body fingers interlocking around his neck as he looked through the new hole in the door eyes piercing into the boy he held

his voice low and dominating “ you ever come back to her room on some creep shit — and I blow your fucking brains out do you hear me “

“ y-yes sir “ mineta let out dazed “ I will stick to yao-“

“ that goes for all the girls you hear me — guys included I know your a little pervy fuck you can’t get your hands on girls underwear you’ll move on to dekus shitty tidy whities”

mineta was silent as bakugou threw him back on the floor watching as he crawled off

his body relaxing as he shook his mind burning.

head in his hands before wiping his face in exhaustion and standing up and turning to you when he felt the air in the room shift , his hands out in jazz hands and a fake smile on his face.

“ ta da “ he was met with your sitting body your pillow covering him from seeing you .

your face dropping in shock moving from his tall figure that stood inching over to the now huge hole that he was trying to hide from you

“ k-katsuki “

“ I told you about that “

“ s-sorry “

“ again I told you about that shit “ his gaze was hard on you

“ do it again and i’ll tell shitty hair to harden in the next hug he gives you — since you and that crappy puppy boy are always touching “ he mumbled

“ bakugou why are you — why does my door have a hole in it “

“ don’t worry about it “

“ h- w-how can I not worry about it my doors black“ you screamed in confusion “ it used to be brown bakugou “

“ bakugou it used to be this — bakugou — katsuki oh my gosh i’m sorry — god do you ever shut the fuck up and just be thankful “ he mocked you soon converting back to his anger ridden voice

“ and whats with this pillow take it away from you — I wanna see your fucked up face “

you sighed bringing the pillow from in front of your head his eyes having a look run through them that you couldn’t figure out but you knew it had something to do with how puffy your eyes felt . Even if they weren’t puffy or couldn’t get puffy you’d never known for a fact because it still felt like they were .

You two stared at each other as the silence grew louder him shoving his hands in his pocket before taking out the packet of pills he’d gotten for you shaking them to show you it wasn’t a weapon like Mr.Aizawa thought after finding him returning to school late and shaking him down like a police officer

his hand putting them on your desk

His other one throwing the water he found in the kitchen to your bed “ not throwing you the pills — need you to move around so you gotta come get em‘ “

your face showed no emotion as he nodded understanding the new tense and uncomfortable emotions thats were present “ ... ok — well got a green headed vegetable to go bully so “

you watched as his hands gripped the door swinging it open as you dropped your head eyes moving to the water in front of you “ why can’t I do anything right “

you cried “ why can’t the world — the days — the stars fucking align for me to feel good for once huh “

you felt even more tears prickle your eyes as your voice grew louder “ why can’t I talk to people without having this voice in the back of my mind screaming — raging like its having a party — why can’t I sit in silence without having to stand up every five seconds and move around because my body screams for attention — for movement because i’ve been sitting still for 5 seconds “

you heard the faint click of the door mouth still moving as if he were still there

“ why can’t I speak what I feel when people ask me“ you laughed shortly “ not like they do — because they can’t tell I just mask so well “

you let your face start to feel heavy and tense as you continued your crying rant into the empty room “ and most importantly why was I so bad at everything “ your eyebrows furrowed

“ why am I so bad at today ? “

“ just a day really ? “ you heard the taller males voice came out questioning

“ just today that’s what your worried about “

“ well I “

“ tch “ he shook his head before turning to face away from you his face dropping into a look he didn’t want you to see.

“ I-i’m sor— “ you knew he didn’t like you saying sorry or even using his first name you two had established that when he finally accepted your friendship or in his words

‘ you can hang around —like shitty hair but one sniff of blabber mouth and your gone ‘

“ I didn’t mean to spill to you I just — I — you can go —no one gives a shit anyways “

“ I will “

your body grew sad at his quick response

“ tell me what your most upset about “

your answer came quick as you let your brain take over “ I wake up in the middle of the night and can never fall back asleep when I do “

he moved to your door for a second time opening it to leave before pausing for a second speaking something to where you couldn’t hear much less make out

“ just knock “

he shook his head before closing the door softly to rival his usual mood.

Your body shaking when you finally realized you’d spilled out your mental thoughts to bakugou letting your body calm down before you grabbed the pills and silently thanked your friend before feeling yourself at some time finally fall asleep

It’s been days since you last felt that horrible it never stopped but you were able to hide it even more and live out your life the happiest you could

until one night you found you beating yourself up surprisingly not in real life but in your dreams

a loud gasp leaving your mouth as you sat up calming down only to bring your knees to your chest arms wrapped around them in a hug

your back moving to the wall to feel comforted after only feeling your cold hands and body wrapped around yourself

“ what I would give to have something warm “

‘warm ‘

your mind raced to bakugou trying to push the thoughts out your mind of him actually being a caring boyfriend who could help you like he did nights ago with bringing you medicine, a boyfriend who would let you snuggle into him and take all his warmt—

stop the track cause that song will never play you thought as you started to think about him again face made up in determination and focus as you tried to remember what he said that night feeling stupid when you finally remembered your quirk

the quirk that brought you pain and contributed to your mental health

your quirk allowed you to take pictures of everyone’s last moments you’d spent together with your thoughts

it was good in some aspects like right now when you could finally remember where sato helped you hide your candy bars from yourself so you wouldn’t indulge in them 2weeks ago

at the same time you can see your problem with it when the last moment you had of your mother was her kissing you goodbye before shapeshifting into a fire extinguisher and landing in your fathers hands as he screamed at you to run out of your home and get more help the last image you seeing of your father was him spraying the fire extinguisher all over the stove in hopes to calm it down before it spread but he couldn’t

it didn’t help when the pictures replayed in your mind like video home movies that you didn’t want to watch

whenever your quirk was used everything spun in your head like a movie reel the downside was it made you watch every single picture you’d taken until you found the one you were looking for

it didn’t take long before you finished your mom and dads memory and got to bakugous last moment you two spent together

you zooming in reading his lips turning up the volume on the moment as he spoke “just knock “

“ just knock ? “ you sat confused in your spot on the bed shaking off your quirk taking as long as needed to process his words only to be even more confused and just knocking on the wall twice between your two shared dorm rooms.

You never paid much attention to him being your neighbor it’s not like you needed him for anything so right now you were a bit curious in why he reminded you that you two shared walls

Eyes closing while you waited for whatever was supposed to happen

“ guess he didn’t mean it like th—“

your body softened when you heard music fill his room and overflow into yours

You heard the drums kick in as the lyrics played muffled through your wall

‘I listened to the cure

I listened to the cure

I listened to the cure

and then I cried ‘

your eyes widened before you felt your body relax against the wall eyebrows made up in content

eyes watering when you heard your two soft knocks returned on the wall behind you

you let your body go tenseness leaving as the song played moving to grab your phone with shaky hands seeing his name light up on your screen

Godzilla wannab

‘ no one gives a shit about your life right ? ‘

you cried even harder when you saw the message fit the song perfectly the words you spoke a couple days ago as if your were singing the lyrics

you looked around your room before falling on the dent he left in your wall grabbing your phone and zooming in on it to take a picture and sending it to him

Godzilla wannab

sorry your room was just so ass you needed some redecorating be thankful people tend to cry when I redecorate—just ask deku

you laughed as you seen him prepare to send a new message your heart swelling when you read it

Godzilla wannab

look this is gonna sound sus as fuck but

you bit your lip at the new message

‘ if you can’t sleep come over — your rooms cold as fuck and I know that pillow your hugging’s not doing shit ‘

[wrctings]

Jean Kirschtein x reader | Friends, or is it more?

the more i watch aot, the more i love jean... his moments of self-doubt and his moved smile truly are heart-wrenching 🥺

fandom: Attack on Titan pairing: Jean Kirschtein x reader summary: Where you realise that you’re falling for your best friend, whose heart is already taken—or so you thought. Fortunately, what becomes a saddening party can also turn into an unexpected occasion to make things right. word count: 3.3k

Sometimes, belonging to the Scouts regiment came with something that, from up close, resembled a flicker of momentary joy. You had, of course, been aware of the harrowing shadow of a reputation that trudged behind the wings of liberty: danger, death and despair; the three Ds accompanying your pledge to humanity drummed their deafening beat alongside your horse's frenzied gallop whenever you took place in the formation that led you outside the walls, the wind hurling through your hair and your senses at the height of their tension, ready to signal the approach of a titan at any given minute, bracing your body for every possible threat. You had faith in commander Erwin, had faith in your comrades—if giving your life was necessary for your cause, then, you had silently promised yourself and your people, you would give it with eyes wide open and undefeated fierceness, be it in the heat of battle or any other way. The wings embroidered upon your cape represented your beliefs more intensely than any word—as long as there was a Scout left, hope would live still; blossom upon the tall grass that freely grew upon the tombs of your fallen comrades. Even the smallest victory made you believe that a change could be made—and even the smallest victory was celebrated in the battalion as a sign that bode well for the foreseeable future. It was such celebrations, though as small as the victories they marked, that made room for moments of joy the regiment could barely encounter at other times. And when those moments came, life suddenly appeared coated with a hundred colours, full of humorous idiocies and heedless amusement that stirred up in you all the youthful glee of not caring about a thing in the world but the people around you and the drink in your hand.

"You guys won't believe the position we found Bertholdt in this morning!"

Seated beside Armin, who himself flanked Eren as Mikasa had naturally settled on the other side of their childhood friend, you leaned further on the wooden table of the barrack in order to hear your brunet friend more distinctly, his excited voice reviving the conversation at once. Drawn by a cheerful and carefree sort of curiosity, which was well fueled by the general bright mood, finding out about Bertholdt's daily sleeping position suddenly appeared like the most fascinating event one could discuss, especially when followed by the boys' weather previsions based on their comrade's often strange and tangled up poses. You exchanged an amused look with Mikasa, and though your friend's features remained almost as impassive as usual, the vivid twinkle you caught through the dark shine of her eyes mirrored your cheery behaviour; Armin's face, on the other hand, wore an expressive smile, the blond boy remembering vividly the description of Bertholdt that Eren began recounting.

But even as you laughed at the image of Bertholdt's knees somehow managing to stay bent as he slept on his stomach, the upper part of his legs outstretched toward the sky in an unusual—to say the least—position, your gaze went on sweeping the room, in search of the one person you couldn't wait to chat with again, though you also got along really well with Armin, Mikasa and Eren. The only problem was, said person was not that fond of the self-righteous brunet ball of energy sat at your table, so you were not surprised to find him in Conny and Sasha's company instead, talking animatedly. You had already had the opportunity to chat with Jean earlier that evening, the two of you having grown so close to each other that it would've been impossible for you not to cross paths tonight, but you wondered whether you would drift toward each other again before the makeshift party came to an end; Captain Levi had been surprisingly unbothered by your shy request to celebrate today's mission's success, accepting it on the sole condition that only soft drinks were to be consumed—Armin suspected that Commander Erwin was responsible for granting the new recruits' wishes, as they had after all already endured quite a lot during the expedition to retrieve Eren from Annie.

"We better watch out for that sleeping position of Bertholdt's, maybe it means good luck," Armin observed lightheartedly, taking a sip from his drink.

"You should keep a notebook with all of them, and maybe you'll crack the code someday," you added with a chuckle, the three of you glancing at Bertholdt.

Having your 104th comrades with you in the Scouts regiment really did bring you a lot of comfort to help you navigate these new uncharted waters, though it also made it acutely unbearable to imagine that some of them might not make it back next time; Marco served as your first and most painful lesson that even those dearest to you were never safe. It was after the freckled boy's death that you and Jean had truly bonded, brought together by the devastating loss of your kindhearted friend. You had become each other's rocks since then—checking up on each other after training sessions and expeditions, playful teasing and calling each other all sorts of funny nicknames rooted into the core of your friendship, giving it all its strength. And it was when you had been injured during the 57th expedition and Jean had almost hysterically ran up to you afterwards, cursing with no restraint and holding your arm so tightly it hurt when he helped you limp toward the medical wing, that you had been hit for the first time, though still shaken from slaying a titan and the bloody cut burning your leg, by how grateful you were to have made it out alive, to have Jean by your side. It was then that you had realised that there was no one else you would rather be with than him—it was something more than anything you've ever felt before, as your timidly pounding heart had been reminding you ever since.  

But another thing unavoidable when being friends with Jean, of course, was the bickering between your comrade and Eren—and this evening was no different from any other week. A few minutes later, as you engaged in a pleasant conversation with Armin, your attention was drawn by the thunderous eruption of voices that suddenly shook the walls of the barrack, making many pairs of surprised eyes turn toward the belligerent protagonists of the argument. It just had to be Eren and Jean, hadn't it? Like the rest of your comrades, you couldn't possibly guess where the spark that ignited this new inferno came from, but with these two, a valid reason often wasn't needed; to the greatest despair of the 104th, both boys possessed magic powers to summon reasons to fight out of thin air. At the present moment, both Eren and Jean were actively yelling at each other, shooting names and accusations back and forth.

However, the lack of rational incidents to cause such a scene didn't mean that there was no deeper reason for Jean's outbursts, just like Eren's counter-attacks originated from his legendary stubbornness already well-known to his fellow comrades. You had been suspecting for a long time that Jean mainly proclaimed his hatred towards Eren because of Mikasa. Before the 57th expedition, when both of you were in a playful and mischievous mood, you would even friendlily tease Jean about his soft spot for the dark haired young woman, which he hadn't hidden very well ever since Mikasa and he met for the first time. It was quite unfortunately, really, that your heart had finally chosen Jean, of all people, to fall for—as if you weren't well aware of how much he admired and liked Mikasa! And this mascarade surely had to have been orchestrated to get her attention, just like many other failed schemes of Jean's, as Mikasa barely seemed interested in anyone but Eren, Armin, sometimes Sasha, and you.

"There he goes again..." You muttered downheartedly, sparing a glance at your best friend.

"It's Eren and Jean, after all..." Armin responded with a sorry smile, squirming on the bench to get further away from Eren, who was now up on his feet and facing Jean with balled up fists. Mikasa watched the two boys through squinted eyes, at the ready to jump and knock over Jean if needed—at least, your friend's plan to get her attention had succeeded.

"I know how this is going to end," you told Armin under your breath, averting your gaze from the fighters. "You know what, I think it's right about time for me to head off. I don't want to witness Captain Levi tearing their heads off for wrecking havoc in here."

"Really? Don't you want to stay a little longer? I'm sure it won't come to this!"

"I don't even want to know. Goodnight, Armin, thank you for the nice chat," you excused yourself, fleeing from the barrack swift as a cat, only the passage of a furtive ray of light on the floor signifying that the door to the room had been opened as quickly as it was closed.

You knew better than to cling onto something you could not reach, so why endure the spectacle of such a foolish play?

*

Outside, nighttime had descended upon the camp with its soothing quietness. Nothing in sight but the warm flutter of torches fixed upon the barracks; nothing ringing in your ears but the chirping melody of a cricket's song, its echo delicately carried away by the evening wind. No ecstatic shouting, no blaring laughter. Nothing but a lone constellation half-veiled by the grey trail of clouds that unhurriedly floated upon the dark depths of the sky. No Jean, no Eren. You took a lungful of fresh air before a long sigh lifted off your chest—if only things could go back to the way they had been. Back when Jean was nothing but a fun and (sweetly) annoying horse-faced boy to be around, and no cause for heartache.

You took some more steps ahead, the muffled sounds you could still hear from inside dying out as you walked further away. Although you had told Armin that your time to go had come, you didn't feel like getting back to bed right now; actually, you didn't feel like anything but escaping for a little while.

At last, you decided to retrace your steps, taking a seat on the ground beside the barrack you had abandoned, your back pressed against its wooden surface. On the other side, the cacophony hadn't ceased, only muffled by the wall that separated you from the inside mayhem. Had Jean and Eren opted for a fistfight denouement by now? Would Mikasa intervene?

But before you had enough time to explore the many scenarios your imagination could sketch out, the door beside which you had settled opened abruptly, a wide stream of light flooding the ground at once. In the blink of an eye, a visibly disconcerted figure appeared on the threshold, freezing as they took a look around before rapidly bifurcating to the side in order to follow one of the torchlit paths...

"Jean?"

"Y/n?! What are you doing here?" Jean rushed toward you as soon as he noticed your silhouette from behind the shadows, discovering your hiding-place. "I didn't even see you leave..."

"I'm sorry, I was starting to feel tired." Touched by the fact that Jean had left the room to look for you, you attempted to give him a plausible excuse.

"C'mon, you can get through a day of training, but you can't get through one of the only party nights we're lucky enough to have?" Jean taunted, taking a seat next to you. "What's the matter?" he gently elbowed you, throwing his neck back so he could press his head against the wall behind. "Just when I was about to defeat Eren..."

"Defeat Eren, really? Statistically, it's more likely for Captain Levi to smile than for us to see that happen," you laughed tiredly, trying not to think about how Jean would probably soon get back to Mikasa and the others.

"Yeah, yeah, tease me all you want, it'll happen. Someday this idiot will get his ass handed to him."

Closing your eyes, you only had it in you to maintain the forced smile painted over your lips while fighting back the rush of stinging tears that suddenly overwhelmed you. Why did Jean had to come and check up on you now of all times, right when you were more than ever convinced that you were starting to fall for him, and it couldn't be clearer that his every move longed for someone else?

"You know, I was going to get him, but Mikasa can get scary..." It was as if he could decipher the riddles of your mind, unaware of the way your heart convulsed. "I wouldn't want to cross her. Why would she hang out with this idi—"

"Look, Jean, if you've come here to rant about this, then you can leave," you ended up snapping, biting back more acre words . "I'm tired, okay? Just get back to the fun inside."

"You... You don't feel like talking?" Jean's voice softened from incomprehension, trying to read your tone. "I'm sorry, I didn't know it was that bad. Hey, you really don't want to talk?"

You shook your head in response, scolding your own self for such pathetic behaviour. Jean couldn't possibly know about your suppressed feelings, so your attitude must indeed appear more than confusing, especially since you were so used to confiding in each other and cheering each other up, for the past weeks more than ever. In the wake of Icarus's ascend towards the sun, untethered and naive, your wings of wax were melting... But who could've predicted, as much as a month earlier, that the loveable idiot by your side would doom you to downfall?  

"Okay... Well...," the young man ran a distracted hand through his hair, frowning as his jaw clenched. "Then I'll talk. You know, I had an idea for tonight," he began after collecting his thoughts, breaking through the hesitant seconds that had temporarily numbed his tongue. "It was our first successful expedition after that near-death experience after all, so I thought I'd better make the most of it and make tonight's celebration useful. Who knows when we'll get another one. Maybe you're right and it's actually more likely to see Captain Levi smile than to get another one of these again soon." Jean's speech ran freely now, his torrent of sentences—for the moment still not making clear sense as to where they were headed to—submerging you in the familiar flow of his voice. As of late, your greatest fear had become to miss its distress call in the ranging mist of a battle, to watch Jean's body be torn to shreds as you could only scream until everything else vanished... "So I thought I'd be brave, for once." He took a deep breath in, fingers nervously wrapped around the back of his own neck. "There's this person I like."

There it was. Somehow, you knew that it would be coming—after the stunt he pulled earlier with Eren...

"They're much braver than I am, but they probably know that already," Jean went on, chuckling self-depreciatingly—he knew he could poke at himself in your company without being ashamed of disclosing his flaws. "They wouldn't hesitate to come and rescue me, even if I were grabbed by a titan. And they're really beautiful, too—"

"Look, Jean, if you've come to talk about Mikasa, just save it," you could only murmur. "Pl—"

"And, quite surprisingly, they're also a dumbass!" Jean didn't let you finish either, shifting his head so he could see your face better. "But that's something both of us have in common." Taken aback by such a strange confession, you opened your eyes to take an intrigued look at Jean while hoping that he wouldn't notice the tears you had at last blinked away. You met his gaze head-on, even among the shadows that coiled over his face.  "Because they think that I still have a thing for a girl I liked for two weeks, while I've been talking about them all along."

"What—"

"You know, you're the one who makes being called "horse-face" the funniest," Jean cracked an unsure smile at you, fiddling with his hands. "Alright, it's the bravest I'll ever be, so time to crawl in a hole and die now," he immediately added more anxiously, looking like the unexpected nature of his confession had stricken him for the first time.

"Wait, Jean, no!" It was as if, for the first time in a span of unending minutes, you could breathe again. "Wait, is this... Is this for real?" You asked in what came out almost a whisper, fearing, in this instant where your hopes balanced on the edge of a precipice of churning doubt and elation, that this was a joke you would not be able to forgive. Jean was better than this, but what if?—the thought drilled into your heart.

"Well... Yes. I'm sorry if I've made things awkward, it's Armin who told you might like me too and—"

"Hey, hey," your hand found its way to Jean's arm in a comforting touch, preventing him from leaving as he made a move to flee after blurting out an apology. Judging by your frantic heartbeat, there was no way you could be the calmer person in this situation—and yet, Jean somehow managed to look even more distressed than you at the moment. "I do like you." It was your turn to get embarrassed, which your flushed cheeks openly betrayed, illuminated by the nearby torch's flitting flame. "But Mikasa...?"

"Y/n, I haven't liked Mikasa for longer than a few weeks. I mean, yes, she's beautiful and strong, but so are you. And you're so much more than that. You're so fun to be around, I haven't laughed so hard with anyone but you. Unlike me, you're not scared to be brave and kind, but with you, I don't need to think which face I need to put on, because I know we don't have to pretend to be someone we're not when we're around each other. And when you got injured... I couldn't stand the thought of losing you. I made myself a promise then that I would tell you, and tonight seemed like the right time. I've been talking to Armin after the expedition and I think he kind of guessed that I liked you, and that you liked me too—I don't even know how or why, but he told me he thought you did. That's not exactly how I thought it'd go but... Trying to get your attention by getting in a fight with Eren wasn't that good of a plan, I guess."

"So that's what it was...! You really are an idiot, Jean Kirschtein," you declared vivaciously, but the moved smile that brightened your face spoke louder than the fond insults Jean and you would fire at each other. "We need to watch out for Armin, he will uncover everyone's secrets, at this rate..." You joked before regaining a more serious attitude, your emotions truly swayed by your friend's avowal. "The expedition changed everything for me too. I realised that I didn't want to go without you. No, I realised that I didn't want to go at all—I wanted to stay. With you."

"Pff, get in line," Jean grinned in spite of the emotional look on his face, sighing in relief. "I've been liking you for months."

"Seriously?"

"Absolutely. Do you think I go out of my way to check up on everyone after a battle or that everyone's mom gets the privilege of being the centre of my skilfully crafted jokes?"

"Shut up," you laughed wholeheartedly, your shoulder against Jean's. "Your mom's a hoe."

"Very clever," he teased you in return, face glowing from a joy even more vivd than the fiery sparks that chased the night's spectres away. “I bang yours every night.”

You burst out laughing, rolling your eyes—mom jokes were a must in your goofy friendship. A friendship that, with a bit of unpredicted luck, was on the verge of becoming something more.

[limitlessgojo]

Blood Bound: Blackened Bond (Ch 15)

Warnings: Action, Coarse Language, Fighting, Descriptions of Blood

Previous Chapter: Big White Lies

Next Chapter: 土御門天皇 (Tsuchimikado)

Tags: Kamo Noritoshi x Reader, Soulmates AU, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Fem!Reader

Taglist: @lessie-oxj @rizzo-nero @whoreuc @fkngkumiko @isl3t @gojoussunglasses @onepotatostand-blog @s-t-f-u-b-i-t-c-h @sunaswife @lordguameow @track5enthusiast

Notes: If you want to be tagged for every update, and specify if you're okay with NSFW posts or not, please mention it in the comments below ty ❤

Chapter 15: Shadows Fall

You numbly sat down on your bed. The room was dark. Your Phoenix brand, silent, a dull sepia stain on your inner wrist.

It hurts a lot.

“He’s no different to the power hungry elders of this corrupt society after all huh.” You were disappointed. It was dumb of you to give your heart away to him. Especially to a man who was already planning on taking in concubines, this early into your “relationship”.

You checked your phone to see the notifications. Mai and Miwa were looking for you, saying that you have dinner out with them in a few minutes.

'Ah, that was supposed to be for tonight' you thought.

"Sorry can't go, feeling unwell. You guys go ahead." You texted back to them as you slumped on your bed.

After a few minutes your door slammed open. "Where have you been?!" Mai asked, but stopped talking upon seeing your red rimmed eyes. Miwa peeked out behind her. "Are you okay y/n?" She asked.

That question absolutely crushed you. You started sobbing again, not being able to hide your shaking shoulders. The two girls filed in and closed your door.

"We are ordering take out. Miwa go ahead and cancel that reservation. We will stay in tonight." Mai said. "Right!" Miwa worriedly replied as she pulled out her phone and made the call.

"I'm not here to baby you. You will tell me what happened, okay?" Mai demanded.

"I need a few minutes" everything looked so blurry through your tears, Mai and Miwa only looked like unfocused blobs of dark green and bright blue. Literally, the only way you could distinguish the two girls at this point was by their hair color.

They couldn't get much out of you other than you talking about how Kamo-san never liked you in the first place and how you pushed yourself onto him.

The girls held you as you cried. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. "But both of you looked great. I'm sure Kamo senpai really liked you though?" Miwa questioned out loud.

Mai just nodded her head. "I said it before already. Both of you act like you're so oblivious to each other's affections. But I do agree that you put more effort into the relationship. He always turns down your request for dates off campus. Even an outsider could see that."

"No, no it’s not that. You guys know how the big 3 clans operate. He just felt that I was a suitable wife to bear his heirs. They're jumping at the chance to use me to get a blood-manipulator jujutsu shi who may also possibly inherit my psychokinesis technique. I don't want to stay in a relationship without any love in it." You whispered.

Your voice was all gone after you sobbed for hours. The fight and energy just drained out of your body.

They couldn't say anything to that as it was your relationship with Kamo and not theirs. That night, they slept over in your room, the three of you squishing into your queen sized bed and plushies.

◇◇◇

On the other hand, Noritoshi had woken up from his nap, bedhead and red rimmed eyes and all. Clearly remembering all your painful words. He looked over to the side, staring at the Jade dragon pendant atop his bedside table. A small pink letter resting beside it, one that you had given him days prior.

‘Dearest Toshi,

You must be exhausted from all of your extra tasks given to you by your clan as of the late. I hope that it gets better soon, I’m here if ever you want to talk about it or if you need any help with that. My family and I are open to supporting you in your endeavors, though you haven't met them yet. Hiroki nii is especially excited to meet you, I can already see the both of you getting along quite well. Whenever you’re ready <3

Have a good evening.

Love, Y/N.’

He felt tears burn behind his eyelids.

“It was too sudden, I couldn’t even understand half the things she said to me earlier,” he murmured to himself. He racked his brain, trying to recall the things you said. It was mostly a blur to him.

Something about what he and his father talked about yesterday. That wasn’t an issue, it was mostly clan duties as per usual.

Also, how he never liked you. Well, he hasn’t confessed yet, but he couldn’t see why you’d bring that up out of nowhere when everything was still fine 2 days ago.

Concubines. The talk on concubines. Why did you- Oh. “... from yesterday” Noritoshi’s head was getting clearer and clearer. You must have misunderstood the conversation he had with his father, and left before it finished. It didn’t sound pretty now that he thought of it.

He had that single-minded goal of pleasing his father and the elders, but somehow you got tangled in the mess.

He sighed frustratedly. It always seemed to be the case with you jumping conclusions about him, didn’t it? Now he has to clear it up with you before it gets too bad.

◇◇◇

You woke up the next morning feeling and looking like utter shit. Mai and Miwa had to dress you up and drag you out of bed.

“There’s only one thing you can do now Y/N.” Mai said as she straightened out your collar. “Get over him.”

Huh. Easier said than done.

◇◇◇

There was a drastic change in your behaviour towards Noritoshi. The name "Noritoshi-senpai", that you had always cheerily called out, was replaced by a short and curt "Kamo-san" whenever conversation was necessary. Also, you don’t look into his eyes anymore.

You avoided him as much as you can, thanking yourself for knowing his schedule so well. Not hesitating to turn and go around in another direction if you ever saw him approaching from a distance. Because of this he rarely sees you on campus.

It hurt Noritoshi badly to see you act this way. He never realized just how warm you were with him until now that it was all gone. He tried to catch you during your breaks, calling out your name with the same tenderness he always had. But it was in vain as you ran away from him.

Todo and Momo wisely chose not to make any snide comments, upon seeing how downhearted Noritoshi was in the following days.

Everybody avoided eye contact with both of you if and when you had to interact. It couldn't be helped. The tension was like a fine piece of glass waiting to shatter.

The pain in your heart didn't subside at all. You've taken to staring at the mark on your wrist.

'Did I successfully reject our bond?' You wondered hollowly.

Sometimes you half expect your mark to start flashing wildly, like whenever you and Noritoshi have off days with each other. But this is the first time you've seen it so… silent.

You wrapped it up with more darker velvet strips and ignored it.

It was the opposite on Noritoshi’s end. He would lie in bed and stare at the mark that is dangerously bright red and hot. It almost felt painful, like someone was searing a brand onto his skin.

He wrapped it up in gauze bandages and put salves to soothe the mark. But it was never enough. He needed you back.

◇◇◇

During one afternoon, you just finished an English lesson with one of the windows who teaches at Jujutsu High. You stood up from your desk and turned to see the man outside of your classroom.

"Y/n, are you free for lunch?" Noritoshi had obviously sprinted as soon as his lessons had ended. “We need to talk.” All 4 of you looked up to see him outside the classroom, as composed as ever. But he looked terrible.

There were shadows under his eyes, and he seemed to have gotten thinner. The shitty side of you was cruelly happy. Good that he’s like this, because he lost his toy. Good on him. But your heart was sad, yelling at you to go back and take care of him already.

"Ah I'm sorry, but I've got lunch with the rest of the 1st year's here." You politely declined. Trying to school your face into a neutral expression.

"I insist." He firmly stated. He looked over to the other students. "You don't mind if I borrow her do you?"

You inwardly scoffed at his poor choice of words. The stupid arse still thinks I'm his belonging apparently. Something to be borrowed and used.

But Mai stepped up. "If she doesn't want to hang out with you then she doesn't." Miwa was fidgeting worriedly. "Now now." She started.

"I really wanted to have lunch with my fellow 1st years, if you could please excuse us Kamo San." You hastily uttered, pulling Mai's arms towards you while turning away. The other first years followed your lead.

But Noritoshi was determined. He quickly put his hand on your shoulder, only for you to slap it away and flinch from him. Everybody froze.

You were clearly trembling, which made Noritoshi lower his hand and step back. "I'm sorry y/n." Whether the apology was for holding you without your consent or for everything that happened, you painfully let it slide. Silently bowing to him, then quickly walking away with the others.

Noritoshi could only watch wistfully as your figure disappeared from his view.

◇◇◇

"The nerve of shitty men," Mai angrily stuffed her mouth with eggs from her bento. "Thinking they own women, that they're better than us. It was like this with the men in my family as well. Bullying and kicking aside the weaker women."

You sadly poked at your food. It was katsudon. You ordered it ahead of time from the cafeteria, wanting to perk up with a favorite dish. But today it tastes so bland. It wasn't the cooking that was off. Just that you had no appetite.

"Wouldn't you want to talk it out with Kamo senpai, y/n?" Miwa asked. Truth be told you were adding fire to the problem. You just dumped your anger on Noritoshi and kept rudely cutting him off before leaving him.

But your pride and broken heart didn't allow you to go back to him. "I don't think there's anything left for me to say or do to be honest. I'm not in the mood to face him. At all." You lied.

Mechamaru surprisingly spoke out, "Love is a fickle thing. And it's a fact that women are more in tune with their emotions than men are. But I think you won't regret it if you give him a chance. Kamo Noritoshi isn't a bad man."

Mai huffed. "Whose side are you even on?"

"There are no sides. Just two idiots who are madly in love with each other." Mechamaru dryly replied.

Your heart clenched, but you stayed silent, not denying the fact that even after you pushed him away, you still loved him.

"Let's talk about something else shall we?" Miwa hurriedly changed the topic and started discussing the homework to be done.

◇◇◇

Hiroki was both the best and the worst brother you could ask for. Because he chose this time to surprise you with a visit at Kyoto High, claiming he wanted to see how you were doing with classes and that he would stay for a while.

Secretly, he wanted to meet and gauge Noritoshi, only to find out that the both of you have just broken up. You brought him into your dorm room to have a chat and some snacks.

“WHA?! YOU- You ended things with your soulmate?! You were together for like what?! 4 Months?” His jaw dropped as you told him the entire story.

You gave a drawn out sigh. “Hiro nii, I’m done. Like… He… I dunno anymore. To be honest I broke up with him in the heat of the moment.”

“Tsk, you’ve always been led by your emotions. That’s why you’re so reckless half the time sis. You didn’t even try to talk it out with him.” He asked as he opened a bag of chips.

You stayed silent and reached for chips. Chewing and ignoring him.

“What’s with you and bottling all your pent up anger only to toss it onto the poor guy? Didn’t even give him a chance to explain himself.” he tutted.

You whirled on him angrily. “They just want me for my power. Then they’ll let him off with like a dozen women around him. What the fuck is there for him to explain?!”

Hiroki looked way too calm. “Who are 'they'?”

You paused. “The Kamo family.”

“Are you 100% sure Noritoshi was in this only to use you?”

“Like 99.99%...” you trailed off. Hiroki eyed you knowingly. “That 0.01 percent chance of him loving you. You considered it, even though that’s a small ass probability sis. But hey, that’s your man. If you want him out, our family’s got your back. I’ll beat him up for you if you need me to”

You shook your head at him.

Hiroki sighed, “Though with that concubine thing, I can see it happenin’. Clan heads are desperate to have a son with the inherited technique. The Gojo clan just got lucky with Satoru. We dunno if it’s normal in the Kamo clan though. But with you as his soulmate, he shouldn’t need any. Somethin ain’t addin up…” He got lost in thought.

“You won’t know until you talk with Kamo himself.”

You sadly continued eating your chips. “I hate it when you’re right.”

◇◇◇

The next morning Utahime urgently called for a full student body plus all available jujutsu sorcerers on site for a meeting.

You and Hiroki stumbled into the room, almost late, pushing against each other. The other students looked curiously at the man who was fighting you for space on the couch.

You jabbed him in the gut and put a leg over his. “Uhhhh y/n who is that?” Mai asked.

Your cousin shrugged your leg off of his, stood up and said his greetings, “Hello, I am Tsuchimikado Hiroki. Alumni here at Kyoto Jujutsu High. Semi-grade 1 sorcerer. Pleased to meet you all and thanks for taking care of my lil sis- ah I mean cousin.”

“Ohhhh” Miwa took a closer look. You noticed Noritoshi glancing over at you. Todo walked up to him and pointed a finger, “Tsuchi’s relative? Then what woman is your idea-”

You used your technique to immobilise Todo and forced him to sit down in a daze. “Sorry for my rudeness, senpai. You can have that convo later.” You knew it would take too long if this starts again.

Hiroki looked affronted, “It’s rude to point bruh.”

Utahime clapped her hands to gather your attention as Principal Gakuganji appeared on the podium.

“Thank you so much all for coming into this meeting on such short notice. Especially to the alumni and other available Jujutsu sorcerers. Let's get straight to the point: I am here to announce that War is coming.”

Blood Bound: Table of Contents

[steve-rogers-ruined-men-for-me]

Teach Me

Summary: Bucky’s worried about you overworking yourself at your teaching job. 

Warnings: some swearing, cute couple shit

Words: 2014k

A/N: this is my first full fic! I’ve really missed writing just for fun and I have a few more fic ideas and hc ideas in the works! please please please comment and let me know what you think! 

No matter what, you always came to bed when Bucky did. Sometimes you stayed up on your phone or reading but you always at least sat on the bed with him. He knew that you had a big week coming up, with your principal coming to observe you, midterms drawing closer, and your students struggling with the new curriculum the district was imposing. 

You were a high school English teacher and Bucky had met you when your school had put on an assembly about the history of the Avengers. He had noticed you in the back of the auditorium, wearing a soft blue dress and encouraging your students to ask him questions about his prosthetic. He shyly asked Tony to see if he could contact the school later and get your number. He had rolled his eyes at him and had walked up to you and asked in plain English, “The Manchurian Candidate over there wants to take you to dinner. If I set up the reservation and promise to make him show up, will you go?” Your jaw had dropped and you had numbly agreed. James Buchanan Barnes wanted to go on a date with you? Despite your doubts regarding the reality of the situation, you showed up outside the quiet Italian restaurant and the rest was history.

Bucky smiled at the memory of you dressed in a red silk jumpsuit with your hair braided back. You looked like a modern version of the girls he flirted with during the forties. Only, back then, he had been wondering how to get up their skirts but now he was more concerned with taking his time getting the jumpsuit off your gorgeous body. He felt a twitch between his legs and, smirking, shook the feeling off. He padded down to the kitchen, thinking you had gotten hungry. When that search yielded no you, he wandered through the rest of the downstairs. He noted that your car hadn’t left the driveway and checked the calendar on the fridge to see if he had the opening shift at the mechanic’s tomorrow (he mercifully did not). But he took note of how small your writing was on your to-do list for Monday. 

Feeling a pang in his chest, he remembered how he had begged you to let him have your full attention on Friday and Saturday.  While you’d reveled in your domestic bliss, by noon on Sunday, you had been buried in your office with your laptop, surrounded by books, papers, and highlighters. Smiling to himself, he realized where you were. He headed up to the attic loft, converted into your office. The walls were a soft gray and the couch the two of you had bought for your tiny first apartment was squeezed against one wall. 

Bucky’s heart tightened as he saw you sprawled on the couch, wrapped in one of his massive flannels. Your desk light was on and the desk was messier than he’d ever seen it. Your blinking phone alerted him to the fact that you’d set an alarm for midnight, but had been so tired you’d slept through it, a given considering you were working yourself to the bone and it was two a.m. Afraid to ruin your organizational system on your desk, he returned the pens and highlighters to the little decorative cups you kept them in, saved every file you had open on your laptop before closing it, and pushed the papers in imminent danger of falling onto the floor farther back on the desk. 

Content that he had lessened the burden of cleaning you’d have to do tomorrow, he crouched next to the couch. Gently smoothing a stray hair out of your face, he whispered, “baby...come on, get up, let’s go to bed.” You opened your eyes slowly and then jerked upright, sending your phone flying and Bucky scrambling backwards. 

“What time is it!” you cried, frantic. You ran towards your desk, frantically pinging your phone from your Apple Watch. Your clock on your desk blinked back 2:05 a.m. at you. Bucky picked up your incessantly beeping phone and handed it to you as you slumped in your desk chair, head in your hands. 

“I just wanted to get this stupid assessment plan done,” you whispered. You hugged his flannel tight around you as tears started to fall. Bucky turned your swivel chair so you were facing him as he knelt in between your legs. You dropped your upper body and rested your forehead on his shoulder as you sobbed. The weight of turning in grades, making assignments, checking in with your students to make sure they were doing okay, it was weighing on you. Bucky had noticed you sleeping less and drinking more coffee but hadn’t truly realized the toll it was taking on you. Kicking himself for making you spend time with him instead of alleviating your burdens at work, he pulled you out of the chair to sit between his legs, curling you into him and rocking gently. After a few minutes, you tilted your chin up and scooched back. Sitting criss cross between his legs, you cupped your chin and closed your eyes.

“I don’t know what to do, Buck,” you said sadly. You tugged on a loose button on your sleeve, looking like a lost puppy. Bucky knew how much you adored teaching and how much you loved your students. You were always baking treats for them when they did well on exams, buying bagels so that they could eat breakfast, and extending deadlines for the kids who worked. He knew that the American school system had changed since the 1940s and when you had shown him what you had to teach in a week and just how much time and energy went into lesson planning, he almost formed his own teachers union to advocate for you. 

When he found out your dismal salary, he had to take a walk. He spent an hour with Tony railing against your pay and the administrators who punished you for the test scores of students that you had no control over. Tony sat him down after an hour of not being able to get a word in edgewise and finally pledged to harass the local school boards (and the Board of Education if they would call him back) about raising teacher salaries. Bucky had walked home to you pouring over birthday cards your sixth period juniors had given you because they’d gotten a tip that it was your birthday. (Peter helped Bucky hack your Google Classroom). He felt a wave of pride come over him as he looked at you, his selfless girl, thrilled that she was having an impact on the kids she loved the most. You getting so down on yourself broke his heart. 

“What’s wrong with your assessment plan?” he asked, intertwining your hands with his. You looked up angrily. “What ISN’T wrong with it is a better question!” you cried. “The district made the test up and it’s on a fucking scantron because what fucking isn’t these days and it’s not taking into account the fact that school is not the main focus for so many of these kids that have to fucking work and help support their siblings and all they are is numbers on a fucking piece of paper that tells you nothing about the effectiveness of my teaching or the district’s ability to educate them as a whole!” Bucky blinked rapidly as you huffed. You didn’t get angry very often, but when you did and you started to monologue, he understood why you received a distinction with your English degree. 

“Baby,” he started gently, “can I ask you something you may not like?” He knew that you were a planner and that the odds were you were beating yourself up about a task that had taken your coworkers thirty minutes to do. You always wanted to do right by your kids but if you didn’t start sleeping and taking care of yourself, you were useless to everyone, including yourself. You looked up at Bucky through teary eyes.

“Are you going to ask me if the plan’s done and I’m just being picky?” you asked in a small voice. Bucky stood up, taking you with him. He pressed your frame against him, putting your arms over his shoulders and resting his hands on your waist. He stayed to sway slightly, trying to lull you back to sleep and to try to help quiet your mind. “I wouldn’t say picky I just...look. I’m being selfish. I want you to come to bed with me. I want you to play with my hair and whisper that you love me when you think I’m out cold asleep,” he gushed, noting the slight blush that crept up your cheeks. “You are incredible. Your admin are literally fucking stupid, doll. Nothing you do will change that. You are trying your best and if you think that your kids won’t benefit from the 12 different plans you’ve cooked up, then you’re crazy. Your kids don’t need a version 13, baby. They need you whole, in one piece, and ready to fight for them if they need.” He kissed your forehead, trying to ease your creased brow. Giving in to his ministrations, you sighed. You thought about how this plan should’ve probably only taken an hour. But then you rewrote the plan for the week based off of if your kids took a lot of time on the test, a little time, got anxious during it, caught on fire during it, committed larceny during the test and you had to contact the police. You knew it was overkill but you also knew that budget cuts were coming, contracts were up at the end of this year, and you and Bucky were saving to buy a house instead of living in a condo forever. 

“Buck?” you whispered. He lifted his chin off your head and looked down.

“Yeah, doll?” 

You felt the exhaustion settle into you all at once. “Can we go to bed?” 

Picking you up and putting you in a fireman’s carry, Bucky held you the whole way down to your bedroom. He pulled out a shirt of his for you to sleep in while you brushed your teeth and rinsed off in the shower. He walked in right as you were towelling off and he slipped it over your head with ease. He offered to blow dry your hair but you declined, favoring slipping into a warm sleep with him. He cuddled you close, forgoing asking you to play with his hair in favor of trying to hug all the pride he felt about you into your body via osmosis. Your head was resting soft on his chest, one arm curled protectively around his torso. His metal arm was tucked up and around your shoulders, keeping you comfortable. His flesh hand caressed your arm around him to remind you that he would always be there for you. He loved you more than anything. As your breathing evened and his hand on your side rose in gentle time with your breath, he decided that he was going to call Tony tomorrow. He knew a few people who owed him from his time as the Winter Soldier and if they didn’t want their dirty laundry exposed, dammit he was going to make someone in the district fix the stupid test until it worked how you wanted it to work. He hugged you closer to him, giving you one final squeeze before he started drifting off to sleep. He slipped into a dream where he was a professor and you a naughty schoolgirl and he had just convinced you to bend over to pick something up behind his desk when...a loud snore from you jolted him back to the reality of his exhausted teacher girlfriend wearing his baggy shirt, with hair going every which way. There was no plaid skirt here. Only love and admiration. Bucky kissed your temple and willed sleep to come again. 

[vivianweasley]

Pride and Prejudice (Chapter 3)

Summary: Your father is Lucius Malfoy’s cousin, and after the war, it was really difficult for you to find a job because of your last name. So your mother and Mrs. Weasley came up with a crazy idea. A fake marriage between you and Fred Weasley. 

In this chapter: There are some terrible gossips about your marriage with Fred in the office, but luckily Fred had an idea to cheer you up.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Malfoy!Fem!Reader

Warnings: workplace discrimination, gossip, slight mention of dinner

Word count: 2.2k

A/N: So they finally slept on the same bed asdffgjk also special thanks to @valwritesx for the idea of the wedding ring part! I just love this idea so much asdfjgk

disclaimer: all the pictures used in the header are from Pinterest. Credit goes to the original owners.

Please do NOT repost or translate my work on any platform! Thank you! Reblogs and comments are always welcome:)

Pride and Prejudice Masterlist

“What’s this?” You were trying to decide on the clothes you’re going to wear for the first day of work when Fred came home with a little box.

“Proof that I’m a thoughtful person, too,” Fred smiled, “Open it!”

You opened it, and there was a beautiful silver ring lying in the box. A small flower was blooming at the tip of the ring, and inside the flower, there’s a little diamond. It was simple, but exquisite.

When Fred was walking home tonight, a jewelry shop caught his attention. The wedding ring displayed in the shop window reminded him that you two weren’t even wearing a wedding ring to play the part. 

He didn’t want to get you something too luxurious because it was only a fake marriage, and he didn’t want you to feel pressured, but he also didn’t want to get you something too sketchy. And that little flower ring looked perfect. He knew it would look good on your hand.

You gasped when you saw the ring, and Fred raised his left hand to show you the matching ring on his finger, “Now it looks more convincing when you go to work tomorrow.”

You slid the little flower on your ring finger. It was strange having a wedding ring sitting there, but you were also surprised that it fits your finger perfectly as if it was just supposed to be there. A warm feeling spread through your body when you realized that he was also trying to help you and keeping this arrangement in his mind. “This is beautiful! Thank you, Fred!”

“See, I told you I’m a detail-oriented person, too,” Fred boasted. But watching you beaming at him and that wedding ring shinning on your finger, he wasn’t sure if he bought it because he wanted to play his part better or just wanted you to have that wedding ring.

~

Your first day of work went well. Most of the time, you were just thrilled that you finally got a job.

During the lunch break, the girl sitting next to you asked you to join them, and you happily went along. But as the conversation progressed, the topic started to move in a seemingly unavoidable direction.

“So, tell us, cause we’re all dying to know,” one of your colleagues started, “How did you and your husband meet?”

“Our parents are friends, so we met when we were little,” you replied, feeling nervous, even though you were telling the truth.

“Oh, really?” another colleague exclaimed, “Your parents were friends?”

Her reaction and tone stung you as she sounded like she was surprised that your families, the Malfoys and the Weasleys, could possibly be friends. You told yourself that you were too sensitive, that she could simply be surprised that your parents were already friends before you two got married.

But what you heard during lunch break a week later made your stomach sink. 

“I’m still finding it hard to believe that a Weasley would marry a Malfoy. What did he see in her, anyway?” You heard a woman’s voice.

“I bet she probably used amortentia on him.”

Then a man’s voice chimed in, “Oh come on! She’s a Malfoy! They can do better than amortentia. I bet she used an unforgivable curse on him.”

Their conversation ended in their laughter, but it struck you dumb. How blatantly and how easily they just assumed the worst of you only because of your last name. And the worst part was that you began to think maybe part of their accusation was actually correct? You did force Fred into this marriage, after all.

Your brain was clouded by disgust and self-doubt that the rest of the day seemed to be a blur. 

“Y/N? Earth to Y/N?” You and Fred were doing dishes together after dinner. He was cleaning the dishes with detergent, and you were supposed to rinse them. But Fred noticed that you were blanking out again when you didn’t take the plate he just handed to you.

“Yea? Oh, sorry,” you finally took the plate from his hand when his voice pulled you back to reality. 

“Y/N, what’s wrong? You seem off today.”

“Nothing,” you shook your head absent-mindedly, “I’m just thinking that...maybe we could get a divorce earlier.”

“What?” the plates clanked as one slipped from Fred’s hand, “Why?”

“It’s just that...I don’t see the point of faking it anymore. People already know the truth,” you sighed as you felt all of your emotions started pouring out, “No matter what I do, they will always assume the worst of me. So what’s the point? It never looked real, anyway.”

Fred remained silent for a few seconds, but his furrowed brows soon smoothed out as an idea came to him, “Well, then we just have to make it look more realistic!”

~

You went to work tomorrow, still having no idea what Fred was going to do. You were worried that he might do something crazy, but you also had to admit you were feeling rather excited.

The answer finally revealed itself when it’s almost the end of your work. The reception called you, saying that there’s a Mr. Weasley looking for you. 

You walked outside and saw Fred standing at the door, “Surprise, darling! Happy three years anniversary!”

You were confused at first, but you soon got his cue as you ran into his arms and exclaimed, “Merlin, Freddie! I can’t believe it’s already been three years since we started dating!”

“I’m thinking about going to your favorite restaurant tonight after you finish work. What do you say?” He said as he planted a kiss on your forehead. The kiss was so natural, and you knew it was just for show, but your face started heating up immediately.

“I-But I-I still need to finish editing this chapter that I’m working on,” you tried to act natural, but it couldn’t change the fact that a little kiss could leave you this flustered. 

Fred let out a silent laugh when he heard you stutter, “Oh, that’s okay, princess. I can wait in your office! if that’s alright?”

“Okay.” You had a feeling that this show wasn’t over yet, and you were dying to know what exactly did he have in store.

“No! I’m not doing that!” You were so glad now that your desk was in the corner, or else your coworkers would’ve heard Fred’s plan for them. “Fred, no offense, but don’t you think it’s a little bit immature?” The thought of teaching your colleagues a lesson has crossed your mind so many times. But as much as you wanted to just throw a dung bomb on them or turn them into canaries, you still wanted to approach things more maturely. 

“Oh c’mon, like those gits were mature when they made those horrible assumptions about you?”

You could tell from Fred’s tone that he was angry, and it made you feel slightly better knowing that someone actually cared, so you started caving in, “Fine. But why don’t you do it? You’re the pro.”

“Trust me. It would feel so much better if you did it yourself.” Fred could see that you’re still concerned, so he added, “Alright, how about this. For my second wish, I want you to prank those gits yourself.”

Your eyes widened. This was not how you thought he would spend his second wish. “You sure? But why?”

“Because they messed with my wife. That’s why,” he winked at you.

His expression looked playful, but his tone was serious. His words made your heart flutter and also helped you finally make up your mind.

You didn’t know how long you’ve waited to do this as you picked up your wand, pointed it at your target, and whispered, “Rictusempra.” You chose an easy, harmless tickling charm. It was simple, but it’s also embarrassing enough.

Just a few seconds later, you heard people screaming and laughing in the office. The three gossipers started scratching their bodies and jumping up and down like they were three monkeys. The office burst into laughter. 

One of them started yelling, claiming that someone has hexed them. Some people immediately turned to look at Fred since he has a notorious reputation for being a prankster. But Fred was now staring at you all lovingly as you focused on the chapter in front of you. This made the targets angrier because they knew it had something to do with you, but they just couldn’t find proof. 

The clock struck five, and you started packing up your bag unhurriedly. Fred took your bag and your hand, “Let’s go, darling.”

“Let's go, Freddie,” you smiled as you held his hand. You two walked out with your heads held high, leaving the gossipers still jumping around and having no evidence proving that you were behind this. 

When you were on your way home, your heart was still beating fast from the thrill and excitement. 

“It was fun, wasn’t it?” Fred noticed you were still very excited. 

“It was. I wish I could take a picture of their reactions and frame it,” you admitted, “Thank you, Freddie.”

“No need to thank me, love. You were the one who came up with that spell,” Fred smiled, “You are pretty good at this.”

You gasped dramatically as you put your hand on your chest, “Thank you! I’m honored.” 

Watching you laugh, Fred suddenly felt something tugging at his heartstrings. “But seriously, Y/N, are you sure you still want to work in this company?”

You paused for a few seconds, for you didn’t know how to answer this question. “Yea,” you looked down as you sighed, “where else can I go?”

“If you don’t mind, the joke shop is always looking for more staff, and I think you’re a perfect candidate.”

“I appreciate that, Fred, but I want to do this on my own.”

Fred nodded. If this were what you wanted, he’d respect that. He took your hand again. You were surprised how this simple yet intimate gesture became so natural between you two.

“What do you want for dinner?” He asked.

“Hmm...A simple home-cooked meal would be nice,” you answered. Home, a word that Fred loved hearing you say.

~

Before bed, you and Fred were brushing your teeth together. It was a simple and ordinary routine, but you were finding this moment magical. Watching your reflections in the mirror, you realized you two were moving in synch so easily and naturally. Since when did you get used to having him in your life? And since when did you start to have him on your mind? The whole day played on repeat in your mind, and all you could think about was how Fred encouraged you and lift your spirit when you needed it the most.

“Actually, you can have the bed tonight. I’ll sleep on the couch. I wanted to thank you for helping me today.” You always knew he was too tall for that couch to be comfortable, but your pride didn’t allow you to give up that bed until today when you finally found an excuse. 

“No, it’s fine. You did most of the work, anyway,” Fred shrugged.

“I have a better idea,” you heard George’s voice behind you, “How about you both sleep on the bed? It’s a very big and comfy bed if I remembered correctly.”

You felt the heat climbing up from your cheeks to the tips of your ears, but somehow you just didn’t want to let this pass. “I-I guess I’m fine with that.”

Fred’s expression froze for a moment, but a smile soon appeared on his lips, “Then I guess I’m fine with that, too.”

Sleeping next to Fred, you could hear your heart pounding in your chest. But this seemed so normal to him since you were pretty sure he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

This was probably the first time you got to stare at him at such a close distance and without anyone interrupting. You always knew he was good looking, but now you just found everything about him perfect. You adored how his eyes light up when he’s talking about new ideas and plans. You adored the angle of his lips when he’s smiling and when he’s saying your name. Or maybe, you just adored him.

Your eyes traced Fred’s eyes, nose, and lips, and stopped at the wedding ring sitting on his finger, stating that he’s your husband, at least just for now. Almost unknowingly, your hand reached for the ring on his hand but immediately pulled back when he let out a silent groan. 

Did he notice you staring at him? Was he awake this whole time? You buried your face in the blanket and tried to pretend you’re asleep while your heart was still beating loud in your chest. Maybe you were too good at pretending, or perhaps you were just too tired from your work and adventure today, but you soon fell asleep. 

Watching you sleeping peacefully and hearing you breathing evenly, Fred decided that this might be his favorite scene. Of course he was awake this whole time. How could he fall sleep so easily when you were lying right next to him? His left hand found yours as your wedding rings clicked together. He couldn’t help but pulled you closer and pressed a soft kiss on your forehead. 

Fred wondered, what would it feel like if you were really his wife? What would it feel like if you loved him too? But even if this was only for one year, even if this was only for one night, he felt happy and content enough just holding you like this.

(to be continued.)

Chapter 4

~

A/N: First fic of 2021! Next chapter is going to be Christmas at the Burrow!

series taglist: @ifilosemyselfagain @theweasleytwinsgirl @bookworm06 @unabashedbookscollector @txtdreamss @sagittarius-flowerchild  @rsheridan @ovrwd @anywherebuthere @allaroundaddict @jeminila @secretsofageek @magical-spit @freddieweasleyswife @lilypad-55449 @hufflepuffzutara @honey-honey-5644 @treblebeth @kyloren-peterparker 

general taglist: @protect-remus @elayneblack @violettaweasley  @pineapplesandpinas @m1rkw00dpr1ncess @heiressofravka @itstatigallegos @missmulti @bolaurel @rangerelik @teenagesublimefan @leave-me-alone-and-go-away @gcdric @the-romanian-is-bae @zaphdekota @glimmering-darling-dolly  @gloryekaterina @reenfluffmarshmallow @wand3ringr0s3 @heavenlymidnight @hunnybunimdun @izzyyy-1 @magicalxdaydream @starlightweasley @shadowsinger11 @probably-peeves @thisismynerdyself @theweasleysredhair @harrysweasleys @levylovegood @cinammonjae @mrbillymontgomery @slytherinsunrise @rosemusic18 @sarcasticallywitty15 @ac127 @1127203457 @inglourious-imagines @bellaiscool @vogueweasley @coolepowersthings @slutherin-7  @bberree @sleep-i-ness @icarusfaiis @letsgotothehop  @papan-pananpanda​  @llilithsdaughter​  @mollenniumfalcon​  @mackaywhore​ @jasminemirage​ @the-whitewolfie​

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[zintranslations]

Kaleidoscope of Death, Ch. 65

Kaleidoscope of Death by Xi Zixu Link to Chinese / Link to ongoing Taida Translations

Chapter 65: Doctor

Lin Qiushi could tell Ruan Nanzhu was furious, and typed: calm down, they're not worth it.

Ruan Nanzhu went silent, but then flashed a cold smile. He didn't reply to Lin Qiushi. It seemed he'd thoroughly taken down these people's names in red—come the appropriate opportunity, he'd be ruthless about getting revenge.

Feng Yongle stood beside them, looking at the 502 door tag in Ruan Nanzhu's hand with a look of fright. He stammered, "are we keeping that thing here?"

Ruan Nanzhu, coolly, "of course we can't keep it here." The tag would probably draw something over; though it wasn't on their door, it still wasn't safe.

"Then what do we do?" Feng Yongle asked. "It's almost eight." Once it was eight, they couldn't go out.

Without speaking, Ruan Nanzhu left the room with the door tag in hand. He went across the hall.

It was an empty room across from them. Nobody was staying inside. It was locked, but Ruan Nanzhu easily opened the lock on the door. After putting the door tag inside, he closed the door again.

"We'll keep it there temporarily," Ruan Nanzhu said. "And get it out when it's useful."

Feng Yongle let out a breath of relief. "Those people were too much. How could they think to do something like this?"

If it hadn't been for Lin Qiuqiu's sharp hearing, they'd likely have been a goner here.

Ruan Nanzhu eyed the dawning night outside, and said, "let's sleep."

It was eight; though it was still early, the sky was already completely dark.

There wasn't a single rustle in the entire sanatorium, as if even the patients who were so restless by day had grown afraid of this darkening night.

Lin Qiushi lied in bed playing on his phone. Ruan Nanzhu, in the bunk above, was quiet—it sounded like he was asleep already.

After playing for a while, Lin Qiushi grew drowsy. Just as he set his phone aside to get some sleep, he jumped, whole-bodied—he’d heard the sound of knocking.

Feng Yongle wasn't asleep either, looking frightened. Clearly, he'd heard it too.

Dong, dong, dong. The knocks were loud, coming from the door across from theirs.

Lin Qiushi and Feng Yongle's gazes met. They both saw relief in each other's eyes… Good thing they'd put the door tag back. Whatever was stood there knocking, it definitely wasn't human.

Dong, dong, dong! The knocks grew fiercer and fiercer, before finally, there was the sound of the door breaking. Lin Qiushi very clearly heard the door across from theirs open, and then—perhaps after discovering there was nobody inside the room—three or four minutes later, the sound of high heels sharply clacking along the hallway floor.

These noises came near from afar, then gradually disappeared. Lin Qiushi's heart in his throat also slowly lowered.

Sleep, sleep… Lin Qiushi didn't dawdle this time, shutting his eyes to force himself to bed. But no matter how he turned he just couldn't sleep. Maybe his tossing and turning disturbed Ruan Nanzhu in the bunk above, because Ruan Nanzhu suddenly spoke: "can't sleep?"

Lin Qiushi looked at the upper bunk, not knowing how to respond.

A moment later, Ruan Nanzhu climbed down in his night clothes. Then he very naturally lied down in Lin Qiushi's bed.

He wore a long sleep shirt, and seemed a bit pale. When he lied down, his waterfall of black hair fanned out over the pillow. He turned his head, black eyes silently watching Lin Qiushi. This look made Lin Qiushi's heart skip a beat.

The Ruan Nanzhu in this moment seemed, at a glance, perfumed with fragility. But closer observation would reveal that fragility to be nothing but a hoax.

In those dark eyes was a profundity like a deep, serene lake, as if just by meeting his gaze, the heart was calmed.

Lin Qiushi felt a pair of hands hook around his waist. As he was still self-consciously shifting about, Ruan Nanzhu's face was already buried in the nape of his neck.

"Stop moving," Ruan Nanzhu said. "And sleep."

Lin Qiushi thought for a second, and stopped struggling. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep again.

Three minutes later, the two slipped to sleep in succession, leaving Feng Yongle alone with a woebegone expression… He wanted to squeeze in with them as well.

But squeezing in was impossible; if Feng Yongle really dared a squeeze he'd likely not survive the night. Though he had to note that the sight of the two young women entwined in sleep was lovely to behold.

Ruan Baijie had a sophisticated air, and seemed the mature type. But despite her pretty face, that air of hers made her seem hard to get along with. Lin Qiuqiu, on the other hand, was the completely opposite type. Her appearance wasn't top notch, but was still plenty eye-catching. Feng Yongle thought for a while for the adjectives: Lin Qiuqiu carried on her an aura of delicacy and worldly compassion. Her face was very small, and looked like a cute little animal. Compared to the dazzling Ruan Nanzhu, she was obviously harmless at a glance. Plus, with her disability, she couldn't help but attract some people with particular agendas.

In the middle of his thoughts, Feng Yongle grew sleepy as well. He closed his eyes, and his breathing evened out.

At midnight, the sound of heavy falling once again came.

But they'd learned their lesson from the night before; after everybody had been woken up, they lied calmly in bed without much movement. Lin Qiushi woke for a bit, then closed his eyes again and returned to sleep. Ruan Nanzhu the Sleeping Pill Fairy was indeed impressively effective—there was no concern of sleeplessness at all.

They slept all the way until the next morning, when Lin Qiushi got up refreshed and energetic.

As soon as he got up he was met with Feng Yongle's plaintive gaze, and startled.

"Good morning," Feng Yongle said. "Didn't you hear anything last night?"

Lin Qiushi nodded to signal he did.

"Then why didn't you two wake up?" Feng Yongle asked. "That thing was scary as shit. It just kept jumping, I couldn't sleep at all."

Lin Qiushi was silent. Really, his hearing ought to be better than Feng Yongle's. But if he'd been fine with something Feng Yongle had been woken up by, the credit had to go to Ruan Nanzhu.

Ruan Nanzhu lazily said, "it's enough to be alive isn't it? You're asking for too much." He cuddled over and kissed the shell of Lin Qiushi's ear. "Time to get up, baby."

He kissed Lin Qiushi into shivers. Lin Qiushi's ears were very sensitive—a single touch made his whole body tense up. But Ruan Nanzhu seemed to have discovered this, and just got worse in his teasing.

Lin Qiushi condemned with his eyes: you're taking advantage of me not being able to speak.

Ruan Nanzhu replied with his eyes too: you're wrong. I'd do this to you even if you could speak.

Lin Qiushi: …

He was speechless. Ruan Nanzhu beamed as he got up to wash.

Feng Yongle couldn't tell the turbulent interchange between them, and was currently feeling moved by their "deep sisterly love."

Lin Qiushi sighed, and gave up on pursuing the matter.

As the three ate breakfast in the dining hall, they began to discuss the sounds from yesterday.

Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu both expressed they hadn't heard, so only Feng Yongle, grimacing, could say, "I think I know what's the deal with that door tag."

"What is it?" Ruan Nanzhu took a bite of a hard-boiled egg.

"The jumping sounds came from across the hall," Feng Yongle said. "So I'm guessing, maybe the nurse will jump once from whichever room that has that number." As for what happened before she jumped… It didn't take much thought to know it would be nothing good.

Ruan Nanzhu, "oh, I see."

Feng Yongle, "aren't you shocked at all?"

Ruan Nanzhu, oddly, "we already know you'd die, it's just a different way of dying… Why be shocked?"

Feng Yongle was speechless.

Indeed, that 502 door tag clearly meant death. As for how you died, that did seem less important.

Leaving after their meal, they bumped into Jiang Yingrui and his team. Among them was the trembling Xue Zhiyun, who'd been caught red-handed yesterday doing something nasty.

Lin Qiushi thought he'd be a bit awkward—but unexpectedly, he still greeted them with a shameless grin.

But this time, all three of them ignored him, just passing him by like air.

Considering Ruan Nanzhu's expression however, Lin Qiushi had cause to believe that were it not for the fact that murders made ghosts here, Jiang Yingrui would already be dead by Ruan Nanzhu's hands many times over.

Feng Yongle muttered under his breath about these shameless fucking bastards…

Faintly, Ruan Nanzhu smiled. But there was no humor in his eyes. "There's no rush. Plenty of days ahead of us yet."

The sanatorium was too big. Yesterday, they'd only roughly browsed a few floors, and hadn't managed a detailed search. They planned to continue that today.

But after walking into the sanatorium, Ruan Nanzhu stood on the first floor and contemplated a while. "Have you guys discovered this sanatorium is missing something?"

Lin Qiushi: missing what?

Ruan Nanzhu, "we didn't see a single doctor all of yesterday, did we?"

As soon as Ruan Nanzhu said this, Feng Yongle clapped in realization. "That's right, we really didn't see any doctors, only a few nurses—" And those had all been indifferent, looking to have not seen them in return at all.

"So what about the doctors," Ruan Nanzhu said.

Lin Qiushi thought over the building's zone map they saw on the first floor yesterday, and typed: I remember the sixth floor's the doctors' offices, right?

Ruan Nanzhu, "yes."

Lin Qiushi: they'd seemed to be all locked. We'll take a look upstairs again?

"Sure," Ruan Nanzhu agreed with Lin Qiushi's suggestion.

The truth was a large majority of the rooms in this sanatorium were locked. Wanting to search room-by-room was pretty much impossible. So they could only look for a targeted room, then unlock it for inspection.

Lin Qiushi counted himself lucky to have Ruan Nanzhu at his side, and began to seriously contemplate learning the art of lock-picking once he was out…

Most of the other floors were populated by patients. They wore hospital gowns, some wandering idly through the halls, some sitting silently in the corners. Some mumbled to themselves, as if in conversation with something nonexistent. A place that was meant to treat lung diseases seemed more like one large mental hospital.

But the sixth floor was quiet. There were no patients and no nurses. The entire hallway was steeped in a kind of dim lighting, like a reel from an old movie.

Once he reached the sixth floor, Ruan Nanzhu first found the Dean's office.

The Dean's office was in the center of the hallway. The door was closed, and they couldn't see inside.

Ruan Nanzhu, "move."

Lin Qiushi and Feng Yongle both turned their shoulders to let Ruan Nanzhu open the door.

Two to three minutes later, the lock before them opened with a click. Ruan Nanzhu didn't immediately push the door open, instead very carefully cracked it to inspect the situation inside.

The room was quiet, and seemed harmless.

He searched the wall beside the door and found the room's light switch. With a soft clack, a ghastly pale light illuminated the entire office.

Lin Qiushi followed Ruan Nanzhu inside. Once inside, his gaze was immediately caught by the wall.

The wall before him was packed with a constellation of memorial portraits. Every figure in the portraits looked cold and rigid, their chilly gazes shooting right out the frames. And they all seemed to have one thing in common: they were all wearing doctors' scrubs.

Lin Qiushi very quickly noticed that on the highest point above the wall of portraits, there was an empty photo frame.

The three stared at that frame and sank into silence.

"Who's it left for?" Feng Yongle laughed humorlessly.

Nobody knew the answer to that question.

After examining the picture wall for a while, Ruan Nanzhu turned his gaze elsewhere. The three began searching inside the room. It quickly yielded results. In the corner of a drawer, Lin Qiushi discovered a photograph. In the photograph was a middle-aged man, handsome enough, with a head of short blond hair. He had on a calm smile. Most notably, he wore a doctor's scrubs.

Lin Qiushi held this photo, searched the wall, and indeed, couldn't find this person's portrait.

"It's not here," Ruan Nanzhu concluded.

"So the empty one was left for him then…" Feng Yongle said. "What if the key's in the frame?"

Ruan Nanzhu thought this over. "Take the frame down and see."

Feng Yongle nodded, found a chair, and climbed on. He reached up, took the frame, and lifted it off the nail.

"It's just an empty frame," Feng Yongle said. "Doesn't seem anything special." He turned it over, back and forth, and didn't see anything noteworthy on the frame.

Lin Qiushi had been looking down at the frame as well, but all of a sudden felt a buzz in his body—he'd sensed a strange line of sight. He looked up in suspicion, following the sightline. When he got a good look at its source, a chill ran down his back.

Because what was staring at him was the memorial portraits on the wall.

The gaze of these portraits went from looking ahead to peering askance. Practically every portrait was staring at them out of the corners of their eyes. With their stiff pallor and lifeless gazes, Lin Qiushi got an unpleasant feeling. He immediately reached out and gave Ruan Nanzhu's sleeve a tug.

Ruan Nanzhu noticed the change in Lin Qiushi's expression, and looked where he was looking, immediately noticing the change in the portraits.

And that change was intensifying as well.

The eyes of the portraits slowly began to move, like the dead inside the frames were coming back to life. The frames had begun to shake as well. Lin Qiushi stared with wide eyes—he could see a person in a portrait slowly lifting its hand, looking like it wanted to climb right out of the photograph.

For a normal person, a sight like this would definitely cause panic.

But Ruan Nanzhu was very experienced. He glanced at the frame in his hands—and then his next move was to climb up on the chair and return the empty frame to its original spot.

Once the frame was back in place, all the changes stopped.

The people in the portraits returned to those indifferent expressions, eyes gazing lifelessly forward. It was as if everything they'd just seen had been an illusion.

Feng Yongle wiped at the cold sweat on his brow, and swore, "fuck, that scared me."

Fright lingered in Lin Qiushi's heart as well.

Ruan Nanzhu, "the key might be in the frame."

"But didn't we just check?" Feng Yongle huffed. "There's nothing in the frame at all..."

Ruan Nanzhu glanced at him. "Isn’t the frame's missing something thought?"

Feng Yongle startled.

Lin Qiushi knew what Ruan Nanzhu meant. The frame was indeed missing something—missing the portrait that should be in it.

"It's missing the portrait?" Feng Yongle figured out as well.

Ruan Nanzhu nodded.

"Then where are we going to find the portrait?" Feng Yongle's chuckle was pained. "The sanatorium's so big…"

"We'll find it," Ruan Nanzhu said. "Let's get out of here first."

They left the Dean's office, and Ruan Nanzhu closed the lock behind them.

They seemed to have a clue about the key, but still none for the door. They browsed through the entire floor, searching in every corner, but they didn't find any hint of any tunnel.

Just as Lin Qiushi thought they weren't going to have a breakthrough, Feng Yongle made a new discovery: he found a room.

That room had been locked, but somebody had broken that lock. And so Feng Yongle pushed the door right open.

That push was enough to terrify him—in that big wide room were piles and piles of black bags. From the shape of the bags, they were clearly body bags for holding corpses.

"Fuck—" Feng Yongle called for Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu in a hushed shout. "Come look, hurry!"

Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu came to the room door, and saw also these piles of stacked bodies.

"Don't they take care of these bodies?" Feng Yongle mumbled.

Ruan Nanzhu frowned. "What did you just say?"

"I said, don't they take care of these bodies at all—" The stench of rot had already permeated the room, and smelled particularly nauseating. "What is it?"

Ruan Nanzhu said, "maybe this is a way out. If they have to clear out the bodies…"

Lin Qiushi understood: you mean what that tunnel's for?

Ruan Nanzhu nodded.

Lin Qiushi: there's a thought.

In the background from the hint, the tunnel was where bodies were gotten rid of. If the stacks of body bags before them had to be taken care of, then they'd have to be brought to the tunnel. All the humans would have to do was follow.

Though this was now a possibility, it wasn't easily implemented, since they didn't know when the bodies would be cleared out.

Ruan Nanzhu continued his analysis: "The lock here's been broken, so it's likely somebody else has also found this location. If they're smart enough, they'd have figured out the hint here as well."

There were lots of ways to take care of bodies, primarily burial or cremation. There was no crematory here, so it was likely the former.

But there were no grave sites around the sanatorium, so anybody smart enough was apt to understand there was another site for corpse disposal here.

And if anybody had figured that out, they were competition.

"I'll go ask the patients around here first, see if they know anything," Feng Yongle said. "We can't just wait around, after all…"

Ruan Nanzhu nodded in agreement with Feng Yongle's line of thought.

Then Lin Qiushi signaled that if they needed, he could guard this place on his own. He couldn't talk after all, and couldn't question anybody.

Ruan Nanzhu, "alright. We'll be around. If anything happens, make some noise and we'll come right over."

Lin Qiushi nodded in understanding.

The two went off nearby, while Lin Qiushi stayed put in a corner to see anybody else coming. After standing there for a while, Lin Qiushi saw the unexpected approach of a familiar figure. It was the one who'd tried to trip them up earlier, Jiang Yingrui.

Lin Qiushi froze a bit upon seeing him. Just as he tried to hide, Jiang Yingrui had already seen him from afar.

"Miss Mute." Jiang Yingrui approached Lin Qiushi, wearing a peculiar smile. "Is it just you here?"

Lin Qiushi watched him back in silence.

"Where are your friends?" Jiang Yingrui asked, standing in front of Lin Qiushi. "They're not with you? Leaving you alone in a world like this is very dangerous, you know."

If Lin Qiushi was truly a helpless mute woman, perhaps he'd feel fear, even terror when faced with Jiang Yingrui.

But Lin Qiushi wasn't, so against what were practically threats, his only reaction for Jiang Yingrui was a few blinks of the eyes.

"You're not scared?" Jiang Yingrui asked softly.

Lin Qiushi still wasn't reacting.

"Why aren't you answering me?" Jiang Yingrui was getting closer and closer to Lin Qiushi. The lack of space between them felt invasive, and Lin Qiushi's expression went cold. He pulled out his phone and typed: I don't have anything to say to you.

"You guys also saw that room?" Jiang Yingrui said. "It's all corpses inside you know…"

Lin Qiushi's expression: And? Fuck off.

"Say—" Jiang Yingrui's voice suddenly dropped in register. "—if I put you in a bag and throw you in that room right now, do you think they'd notice?"

This was over the line. Lin Qiushi stared coolly at Jiang Yingrui, contemplating beating him up for good riddance, when Jiang Yingrui switched to a smile. "Of course I'm only kidding. Miss Mute here is so cute after all, I couldn't possibly."

Lin Qiushi thought, you couldn't, but I could.

Jiang Yingrui kept up that smile. "You guys just came down from the top floor, didn't you? What did you find?"

Lin Qiushi watched Jiang Yingrui, expressionless.

"That's fine, don't tell me. We're about to go check it out ourselves anyways," Jiang Yingrui said. "I'll leave you to stand guard here then."

He waved at Lin Qiushi, turned, and walked away.

Lin Qiushi dashed forward and socked him right in the back. Lin Qiushi held nothing back; his kick sent Jiang Yingrui stumbling straight onto the floor.

"What the—" Jiang Yingrui was utterly shocked by Lin Qiushi's actions. He probably hadn't supposed that, with such a gentle appearance, Lin Qiushi could so something so rough.

Lin Qiushi just brusquely spat in Jiang Yingrui's direction, and held up a middle finger.

Jiang Yingrui, "…"

Seeing Jiang Yingrui stare, mouth agape, Lin Qiushi felt much more satisfied. He was thinking how mute people really weren't so well-off, since typing was all words and no presence—might as well shut up and just throw hands.

Angered, Jiang Yingrui began to laugh. "Don't think I won't hit a girl—"

Just as he got up off the ground, Ruan Nanzhu, who'd heard the noises, arrived. Lin Qiushi immediately threw himself into Ruan Nanzhu's arms with an ill-treated expression.

Ruan Nanzhu, "what the fuck did you do to my Qiuqiu?!"

Jiang Yingrui, "…" I'm the one who got kicked, why are you acting the victim?!

[Ch. 64] | [Ch. 66]

[musicallisto]

♕ — 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝; (anya x f!reader)

summary: “Well! What you need right now is a little bit of spirit-lifting. And I know exactly the medicine.”

prompt: “How long as it been since you’ve slept?” song: dodie - Would You Be So Kind | 𝄞

author notes: my entry for @locke-writes ’ 1.5k writing challenge, and also my first time writing for anastasia! I hope you all enjoy this <3 (i don’t know how to say this but anya is dani and reader is jamie from thobm i don’t know why it makes sense but it does). I wrote this in second person at first then changed my mind and switched everything to third, then changed my mind again so if you see inconsistencies in the pronouns, that’s why (lol i’m a mess)

word count: 1.6k features: a bit of sad Anya, but mostly fluff; singing and music. this is really not my best writing but i’m rusty and overworked so please don’t insult me

𝐎𝐇, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃.

“Who is your great-grandmother?”

“Queen Victoria...”

“Who is your great-great-grandmother?”

“Erm — Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coldburg-Saalfeld!”

Through the beaten mahogany doors, Anya’s attempts at ladyship have been reaching your ears all day. Enthusiastic in the beginning, they have grown progressively more frustrated as the night has swollen, and your friends’ demands with it. There’s little in courtly life, you imagine, that Anya hasn’t tried her hand at yet.

Oh, the poor child indeed.

“Your best friend is...”

“My little brother Alexei —”

“Wrong! Your best friend —”

“I know who my best friend is!”

The outrage in Anya’s voice is almost as palpable as the bitter cold in your room, adjacent to their rehearsals; you can’t help looking up from your book at the closed door, as if it could tell you how to avoid the collision threatening your group. You grit your teeth, both in empathy and apprehension.

“What a temper!”

“I don’t like being contradicted!”

“That makes two of us!”

“Continuing on —” Vlad tentatively interjects, but Anya and Dmitry’s exasperation, even muffled, is clear in their voices. A second more and one of them will snap; although you’re uncertain which of the two short fuses will go off first.

“I’ve had it!”

Ah, so Anya it is.

“I hate you both! I’m sorry that we ever met — I’m hungry, I’m frightened, and I’m only human, don’t forget! I don’t remember anything — get out and let me be!”

“Anya, darling...”

But Vlad’s soft tone, ever the cunning mediator, is not enough this time to alleviate the young woman’s turmoil; and before he’s finished his sentence, raging steps echo in the vast hall, and a door slams — your door, at the step of which Anya stares you down, blinks in confusion, frowns, then lets out a harrowing sound.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N, I didn’t know you were here —”

“It’s alright. You can stay here as long as you want.”

Anya lets out a long exhale, heavy as a storm cloud, and slumps down on the foot of your bed with a resounding thud. Her shoulders crumple over themselves like bruised wings, and silence falls on the vast house.

But you can’t keep your attention on your book for very long — not only because the living story before you, defeated and worn, is much more vibrant and bewitching; also due to the racing of your heart whenever Anya stands near you. From the moment you’ve laid eyes on her, and even through the dust and gloom of your night, she’s kept that same regal beauty to her — something neither tatters nor amnesia can erase. It’s not in a long-lost parentage, you think, but all in the way her soul rustles with excitement at anything new and beautiful... rare are the souls, in Saint Petersburg, that gray skies and red stars have not yet tattered.

“They’re making you go through everything, aren’t they?”

“Heavens, yes! It’s too much, and I just want to go home!”

You set your book aside, directing your full attention to Anya.

“How long has it been since you’ve slept?”

“Maybe before the horseriding lessons — I can’t even remember!”

“Horseriding? Was that before the mazurka?”

“Yes, and before ten in the morning! Do you know the order of arrival for each guest at an Imperial ball? First, the Great Princes who come through the entrance in the Saltykov lane, then the bearers of the Court Ranks...”

“Anya, I don’t think that’s neces —”

“And married women must wear diadems! Is that not idiotic? What if I’m unmarried but don’t want to wear flowers in my hair?”

“I think you have way more important problems than your Imperial headpiece, like breathing.”

As if on cue, she takes a sudden gulp of air, and her reddened face, constricted by irritation, somewhat relaxes; maybe from the oxygen, maybe from the slight, amused smile that has crept onto your lips.

“Why haven’t they trained you to be Anastasia?” she resumes, her mouth now curled in a pout.

“Have you seen me?” you chuckle, all holed clothes and creviced skin, but your eyes loving. “I couldn’t even pass for Anastasia’s dog keeper.” (She can’t tell you yet, but she thinks you would make a wonderful princess, gracious and intelligent; but she blushes at the direction her thoughts are taking.)

“Dmitry could be the dog.”

“What a lovely sight.”

You settle into a comfortable silence, cross-legged together on either end of the bed, as the biting wind howls and claws at the window outside; but neither of you feels the cold. December is long forgotten, glowing dim as an ember, as long as you keep your gaze on Anya’s appeased face, the blush on her cheeks, and the romantic delicacy of her features.

“Do you believe you might be the Grand Duchess?”

Your question is but a whisper, and you fear she might not have heard you, even more so since she doesn’t turn her head to face you; but rather her gaze clouds, immobile in the flickering white light. A mist of melancholy traverses her face. A second later, it is gone, save for the last specks of snow in her eyes that never seem to melt.

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything,” she responds truly, her words equally as quiet as yours.

“Well, for starters,” you pick up, a little louder this time, “if Anastasia had the temper people say she had... you’ve got that covered.”

She chuckles, like the tinkling of snowflakes twirling in the wind.

“She does sound like she was a lot of trouble, doesn’t she?”

“I think she sounds pretty charming.”

But before you can let the silence stretch for too long, and worry to crease Anya’s porcelain skin again, you enthusiastically slap your thighs and jump from the bed.

“Well! What you need right now is a little bit of spirit-lifting. And I know exactly the medicine.”

After rummaging through the mountain of clutter piled in the corners of your room — what in the world are Vlad’s sketchbooks doing here anyw-- Christ, so that’s where that book was all this time! — you brandish in triumph a triangular-shaped instrument, the one you carved yourself in leftover logs, on a particularly freezing night, the one the three of you painted with care until the crack of dawn to keep you warm and joyful.

“Oh, play me something, please!” Anya’s childlike passion engulfs your heart as you clumsily test out the chords. The balalaika is worn and sanded off at the sides, and severely out of tune, but your hands find their familiar places without hesitation, and the sound of the instrument is clear enough for the both of you on an exhausting and windy night.

You pick up speed, falling into a melody you once knew; what fragments you can’t remember, you improvise, and try your best not to grimace; but Anya’s leaning over, eyes and smile wide as though she wants to drown in your music, and all of a sudden your chest has started to sing on its own.

“Would you be so kind as to fall in love with me? You see, I’m trying; I know you know that I like you, but that’s not enough, so if you will please fall in love, it’s only fair...”

Your eyes leave the strings as your voice rediscovers the words, your fingers the notes; Anya, in front of you, nods her head to the rhythm she savors for the first time, her foot keeping time unconsciously. If she ever had a childhood, this is surely what it was made of: soft, loving voices, gleaming eyes, a ray of light on her face, and the irrepressible urge to laugh.

"There’s gotta be some butterflies somewhere, wanna share? ‘Cause I like you, but that’s not enough, so if you will please fall in love with me...”

You’re grinning wide too, now, but unaware of it; all you see is Anya and her joyful brilliance, and you could swear that despite all the weariness in her body and the bruises on her soles, she’s ready to jump around in utter liberation. If only the music descended by itself from above your heads, you think, and you could drop the balalaika to dance with her — a dance she might enjoy, this time, a dance she doesn’t know the steps to!

Soon enough, you start giggling, without really knowing why; maybe from the silly wiggling of the shoulders Anya does, or maybe from the overflowing of light and sun in your chest; and it’s a pain to let out the last words between your uncontrollable laughter, even more after Anya starts laughing too.

“Oh, I like you, but that’s not enough... so if you will please fall in love with me...”

And so, after your grand finale — holding the last note a little too long and a little too high, and stroking the strings a little too fast like a Russian bolero —, the song comes to an end, the notes hanging in the air like your suspended laughter and hitched breaths... and your sparkling eyes lost in the sea of each other dare to hope, for the first time, that something might happen...

... but it doesn’t.

“Thank you for cheering me up,” she pulls back with a sincere smile, and you can’t fight the cruel disappointment seeping in your chest. Of course — you’re still in Saint Petersburg, where dreams have died long ago, and she has a fate much larger than yours. Still, you return the kind smile. She deserves as much; she deserves everything.

“No, thank you. For letting yourself be cheered up.”

The wind is still howling outside the window, but it carries, like an effervescence, the distant music of a balalaika, and you remain hopeful, your hand resting next to Anya’s.

If she would be so kind...

tagging; @softeninglooks @fives-cup-of-coffee (all my writing) ; @bravelittlesunflower @lxncelot @amortensie (musicals)

[quazartranslates]

Welcome to the Nightmare Game II - CH50

**This is an edited machine translation. For more information, please [click here]**

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Chapter 50: Purgatory Reunion (II) {cw: misgendering}

Qi Leren slept for eight hours, and when he was woken up by the alarm clock, he roughly pressed it off, wishing to close his eyes and fall back into the darkness of sleep.

His head was still aching, and the blood vessels near his temples were throbbing, making Qi Leren wonder if they were going to burst open. As well, his body felt uncomfortable. It was like he had been curled up in a narrow box all night, and none of his parts were intact.

This shouldn't be. When he was training with Chen Baiqi before, he’d woken up alive and kicking. Why was he so tired this time?

Away from the borders of the Village of Dusk, the outside world changed between day and night. Now it was morning, and warm sunlight shone through the window pane. Qi Leren sat up and stretched, and his bones made a frightening crack sound, startling him.

"You up? Come and have breakfast, then," the Illusionist said with a dull tone from behind the curtain.

Qi Leren got up and took two pieces of bread coated with jam from the Illusionist: "How long before we can get to the Underground Ant City?"

"Landing in three hours, then walking into the Dragon Ant Queen’s sphere of influence. If it goes well, it will take two days," said the Illusionist lazily.

"It’ll take that long?" Qi Leren was in a hurry. Today was the 25th day since completing the Holy City task. In the game, Ning Zhou had been on the 29th day when...

Even if they crossed the desert smoothly, that would leave him with only two days!

In the huge Underground Ant City, amidst the vast crowd of people, this was too little time.

Fortunately... Fortunately, he wasn’t without any leads.

Qi Leren recalled the information gathered from the game and his dream. He knew where the flowing red magma was. It was a lake of fire in the depths of Purgatory. Legend had it that it was a projection in the human world of Hell’s own lake of fire. On the last day of Ning Zhou's life, he would be there...

Qi Leren couldn't think. When he thought about Ning Zhou, his mind would become blank from the uncontrollable fear. He didn't dare to think about what kind of mood Ning Zhou was in as he was gradually awakening to his demonic power. He didn’t dare to think about how whose death had led to this. He didn’t dare to think about whether he was full of disappointment and despondency with the world at the last moment of his life, and whether he... whether he remembered his dead lover?

Qi Leren tried to find a reason for why Ning Zhou still lingered in this world. He had suffered too much in his life: his only relative had died long ago, and his lover whom he had not yet had time to confess to was buried in the Holy City. His holy land had exiled him and no longer recognized his piety, and even his last faith could not be preserved—he became the devil he hated most.

Perhaps for the present Ning Zhou, death was a relief.

"Hey," the Illusionist suddenly called.

Qi Leren turned to look at him: "What is it?"

The Illusionist looked at him with a strange and slightly disgusted expression: "Your expression just now… I really can't stand it."

Saying this, he exaggeratedly rubbed his arms.

Qi Leren: ???

"I think being in love is too hard for you. It's better to be single than to chase after your husband to Purgatory." The Illusionist, dressed as a professional woman, pushed the women's glasses up the bridge of his nose as he spoke.

"It's good to be single, but what's the difference between being single and being widowed?" Qi Leren said. In the days before he’d met Ning Zhou, he had lived very well. If he hadn't met Ning Zhou, this kind of life could be regarded as happiness. But after meeting Ning Zhou, he missed him, and he couldn't let go for the rest of his life.

The Illusionist felt that he had been gloated to.

Qi Leren couldn't feel the Illusionist’s resentment. He continued to flip through the information about the Underground Ant City. When he saw something he questioned, he asked, "’The Dragon Ant Queen’s field.’ Is the Underground Ant City also a field?"

"Oh, yes, it's the same as the Village of Dusk... You don't know, do you?" The Illusionist gave him a disdainful oblique look.

In fact, Qi Leren, who had only learned about this during the last copy, could avoid making a fool of himself. He calmly asked, "I know, but why are the Village of Dusk and the Village of Dawn so similar? Is it because the original force of these two fields are both time?"

The Illusionist changed his expression and asked angrily, "You know too much. Who told you that? Chen Baiqi? She shouldn’t know this information."

"It wasn’t her." Qi Leren knew that Chen Baiqi didn't have this information. When she had learned that Su He came from the Village of Dawn, she’d respected him.

"Don't ask, this isn’t something you should know," the Illusionist said, glancing at him.

Qi Leren still has a lot of questions, but the Illusionist stated that he wouldn’t reveal any information to him, so he had to forget about it. The two people then talked about some things about the Underground Ant City: there was the Dragon Ant Queen's sphere of influence—although it was also a field, it was not a normal field. The dragon ant queen was not an individual person, but a name passed down from generation to generation.

Every Dragon Ant Queen would choose her successor after she grew old, and pass on the Underground Ant City’s field to the next one through a special means. This inherited field was different from other fields, and had natural defects inside it.

In the ancient legend, the original Underground Ant City was created by a group of queens who had led their people. In the giant cave deep within the Sea of Tranquility desert, there was a natural gap between the two worlds, which connected the underworld and the human world. However, the seal was still firm at that time, and most demons could not pass through this gap. Only the dragon ants gnawed through the gap with their own talents and were able to move between the two worlds.

The demon queens, who had been excluded by the underworld, were very satisfied with this underground cave which had accumulated water for millions of years. They led their people to settle here and decided to create the glory of dragon ants here.

The initial establishment was very difficult, but they soon gained a firm foothold. Once the external crisis was lifted, the queens began to fight cruelly for power. Finally, a powerful queen killed her competitors and became the Dragon Ant Queen.

After the first Dragon Ant Queen ascended to the throne, she led the dragon ant demons to expand wildly, and brought the Sea of Tranquility desert’s parish under the demons’ rule. This move angered the Holy See, which surrounded this group of unscrupulous demons. Finally, the Dragon Ant Queen decided to retreat back to the underground of the Sea of Tranquility desert—a huge underground cave with an underground network extending in all directions, just like ants' nests.

The wonderful thing was that the entrance to this nest was narrow and led straight down. The army couldn't enter here without having to parachute down at the mouth of the cave. This terrain blocked the Holy See and allowed this group of demons to thrive in this area.

After weighing the losses, the Holy See decided to give up the encirclement and suppression, and the two sides signed a peace treaty. The Dragon Ant Queen promised not to slaughter human beings, and to never leave the Underground Ant City’s sphere of influence, and ensured that all intelligent life such as human beings and demons would be treated equally in the Underground Ant City.

So this time, the small-scale conflict subsided. Before the death of the first Dragon Ant Queen, she passed on her field to her successor in a way that has not yet been declassified. Since then, the Dragon Ant Queens had passed on this ancient field in the same way. Until 22 years ago—when the first war of demons invading the human world had broken out, and the Destroyer led the demon army to break through the gap between the two worlds and come to the peaceful and rich human world...

"The Dragon Ant Queen is still alive?" Qi Leren asked, looking through the information.

"Yeah, but she's almost dead," the Illusionist said.

"Generally speaking, the Dragon Ant Queen represents the neutral force among demons, which is determined by her original force... But the Dragon Ant Queen has an obvious tendentiousness..." Qi Leren said. His eyes fell on a certain line of words in the data, and she looked at it for a long time.

"She’s a follower of the Lord of Destruction, but her own strength is contradictory to him. We also don’t know why she would follow a Devil King who was contrary to her own original force. Maybe the new Dragon Ant Queen will change her allegiance. After all, 'power' is the most worthy for 'order' to follow," said the Illusionist.

It was no secret that the Dragon Ant Queen’s original force was quite neutral, and could even be assumed to be on the side of the holy camp, because she represented "order".

However, even though this demon’s original force was order, she had followed the Destroyer without hesitation more than 20 years ago.

Qi Leren still knew little about "original force". Before he left, Chen Baiqi had given him an urgent remedial lesson, but couldn’t say too much because of the limited time. He only knew that the precondition for field condensation was to condense a half field, and before half field condensation, he had to find his own original force first.

Qi Leren was very lucky. Although he had had a narrow escape… No, he really had died once, but at the moment before his death, he had found his original force and received the law’s reward, which pulled him back from the edge of death.

This power was called "rebirth".

Thinking carefully, he had actually been reborn countless times. Every time he saved and loaded S/L Data, he was reborn. Otherwise, how could he explain the countless tombstones on the Undead Island? Those tombstones were born perhaps because every time, he really was "dead", but he was born again and returned to the moment he had saved.

In this regard, Chen Baiqi said to him: "The door to the new world has been opened to you. Take a peek at the magic of the other side from the gap. It’s great luck to see the wonder of that realm with your own eyes, because most people are too weak to push this unique door open."

Qi Leren could read a kind of faint loss and melancholy from her face. He couldn't help but wonder about Chen Baiqi's experience of condensing a half field only to break it. When she stepped up that step, how high-spirited was she? How painful had it been when she fell down? And Ning Zhou... His half field was also broken.

Was it different? Once upon a time, Qi Leren hadn't even thought about it.

He had always felt that he was a very ordinary person, with the advantages and disadvantages of ordinary people, and that human weakness and compromise are equally indispensable to him. He didn't have much initiative, and he didn't want to make a huge leap, but just wanted to live his life in an ordinary way.

If he had stayed in the real world, maybe this ordinary and mediocre ideal could be realized, but here…

It was doomed to be impossible.

"What if… What if I say I want to push this door open?" Qi Leren had suddenly asked.

Chen Baiqi paused for a cigarette, and the flame of the match shone a little light in her hand blocking the wind, which lit up her slender eyebrows. As if she had seen him for the first time, this woman carefully examined his expression. Qi Leren looked at her without shying away, eager to get an answer from her mouth.

"Oh, why?" Chen Baiqi asked.

Qi Leren laughed, firm, but shy, and his earnest eyes seemed to shine.

"Because I want to protect him."

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[cafedanslanuit]

♡   f l u f f v e m b e r   2 0 2 0   ♡ 

♡  week one  —  kageyama tobio   |   long-distance relationship

♡  summary  —   getting into a relationship with kageyama was close to impossible, that you knew. nevertheless, that didn’t stop you from developing feelings for him and eventually becoming more than friends. he was constantly training and didn’t have a lot of time to spend by your side, but once kageyama found himself remembering your laugh on his way home, he decided to do whatever it took to make the relationship work.

♡  playlist

the moon song   -   beabadoobee & oscar lang home   -   bruno major blueberry eyes   -   max & suga

♡  masterlist  ♡

Every morning, Kageyama wakes up at the same hour. He puts on his running shoes, grabs his phone, keys and earphones and hits the streets. It’s been his routine since he started playing volleyball. While he ran, Kageyama preferred to keep his mind focused in his steps, the weight he was putting on his heels and toes, his heart rhythm and his mind replaying the sets he had done the day before. He didn’t see running as something he did before he trained, but as part of the training itself. Kageyama was very adamant against listening to music or a podcast during his morning runs. 

Everything changed after he met you.

Kageyama puts on his earphones and goes through his mail inbox. Like most days, he sees your name on his most recent unopened email. He downloads the audio attachment and presses play before shoving his phone back to his pocket.

“Good morning Tobio!”

His lip twitches upward.

“So, you must be sleeping right now. Which sucks! Because I just got home from work. Yes, I got safe, don’t worry. Mika and her boyfriend dropped me at my place right now. Remember Mika, my coworker? Yeah. Hey boyfriend always picks her up when we have shifts until one in the morning and they drive me home. I’m kind of tired right now.”

Kageyama hears a long yawn on your side, followed by a thud that he imagines it’s you laying on your bed.

“Let me put on some music,” you say, and a few seconds later he listens to a tune he thinks he’s heard before. “Today’s classes were just okay. I got a grade back but it wasn’t what I expected.”

“But, what can you do?” Kageyama mouths along with your voice.

“Work was also okay. Mika and I spent most of the night talking, she had had a small fight with her boyfriend and asked me for advice. It wasn’t really a big thing, you see…”

The next few minutes, Kageyama listens to you ramble about your friend and her boyfriend, but he has to admit he is paying more attention to your voice than what you were saying. He imagines himself watching you talk and the expressions he had seen you make the first time he had seen you. The tip of your tongue sticking out between your teeth after you laughed at something you shouldn’t have laughed about, the slight pout on your lips as you talked about something you didn’t like or the attentive way your eyes fixated on him while he talked about volleyball.

“Anyway, I know you don’t really care about this,” you say. “But it’s really nice to imagine you listening to me talk during your morning runs. Is it already cold there? I hope you put something on if it is. Not trying to tell you what to do. I know you, more than anyone, take your health very seriously, but I guess I can’t help but worry,” you chuckle. You stay quiet for a moment, and Kageyama basks in the comfort your silence provides.

His mind goes back to those Sunday nights when he’s watching past games on his laptop while he’s face timing with you. You are usually taking a cup of coffee, trying to forget you’ve only slept five hours after getting home from your shift at the bar. You know he has to get to bed in a couple of hours so he can get enough rest for this Monday practice, so you treasure those small moments when the time difference and both your busy schedules let you share a moment. Kageyama’s eyes are fixated on his laptop and you take the opportunity to revise some of your lessons, most of the time finding out there was a paper due next week you had forgotten about.

Every once in a while you take a look at your phone and see Kageyama’s dark eyes glued to his laptop. You bury your nose on the Schweiden Adlers hoodie he sent you last month and even if your boyfriend’s smell has almost completely worn off, you still find comfort in wearing his clothes.

When Kageyama comes back to his house to get ready for training, your voice is no longer in his ears. You always made sure not to surpass the usual time he spends running. He takes a look at the dual clock on his phone and realizes you must be still in class, so he refrains from sending a text and hops on the shower.

The fourteen hour difference between the both of you had seemed like a wall impossible to climb. Not only that but his intense training schedule plus your uni classes and your part time job also took most of your energy and it was a rare occurrence that you could sit in front of a computer at the same time.

But the connection was something he had never experienced before. He had been invited to a foreign university overseas for a tournament. The day before it started, the team had gone to the campus to get to know the facilities, and after they were done, Kageyama had left them to buy something to drink from a vending machine. Not being able to find any, he asked for directions and took the elevator to the cafeteria, not noticing someone carrying a couple of books under their arms standing next to him.

Now it seemed almost fate to remember how the elevator malfunctioned and he had to spend the next two hours with you. After pressing the Emergency button and being told it would be a while, you introduced yourself with a smile. He wasn’t really enthusiastic about getting to know each other but it all changed after he mentioned he was there because of a volleyball tournament. Kageyama can still remember your eyes widening and the questions that followed, all centered about his true passion. A few minutes later, you were sitting on the floor of the elevator, while he explained in broken English every position in volleyball and what they were supposed to do. Even though you hadn’t played any sports seriously outside of school, the fact this guy was talented enough to get invited overseas to play had spiked your attention, and you asked question after question so you could understand more about volleyball.

“So the setter is basically the key player, right?” you had asked, while he scribbled on the notebook you had lent him so he could explain.

Kageyama tried not to smile. He really did.

After you asked him about the tournament schedule and wrote down the name of his team, you promised you would do your best to make it to the game. Kageyama had never really cared about people coming to his games to watch but, once he had won the first game as was leaving the court, his eyes unexpectedly met yours and he saw you waving at him for the bleachers with a smile. He nodded at you and as he disappeared through the gym door he thought maybe someone going to see his games wasn’t so bad.

One week later, Kageyama’s team had won the tournament, and since you had asked for his number while waiting inside the elevator, you offered to buy him something from the cafeteria after the final match. This time, he took the time to listen to you ramble about your career, and how enthusiastic you were about it. He didn’t understand most of the things you talked about, most of your words sounding foreign and new to him. But the one detail he did recognize at first glance was the way your pupils dilated while you spoke. Your hands moved faster than usual as you tried to explain, and you even used the salt shaker on the table as a prop to help you out. The glimmer in your eyes was the same nature as the burn he used to feel in his chest whenever he talked about volleyball. You promised to stay in contact and gave him a small but tight hug when it was his time to leave. He hoped you didn’t notice the pink tint on his cheeks before you went away.

Your love confession came two months after he was back in Japan, followed by the longest and hardest conversation the two of you had ever had. He explained his strict training schedule and you talked about your university increasing the hardness of the classes you took and how little time you had left. A long silence filled the room, and you realized maybe you should have kept the confession to yourself. It was never going to work. There were too many impediments so maybe it would have been better to push down whatever you felt. In the end, you two weren’t supposed to meet and--

“I’d like to try it.”

You can still remember the blush on his cheeks and furrowed eyebrows after blurting out those words. You smiled brightly at him and nodded, enthusiastically.

“I’d like to try too.”

It had been one year and six months since then. To find someone who not only understood his crazy schedule but was passionate about their own work felt surreal to Kageyama. Your plan was to finish your career in your home country and then move to Japan. You had been auditing the Japanese classes at your uni and taking a part time job to be able to support yourself as you settled in a new country. All of those changes meant less time to be able to talk with Kageyama as much as you did before. He assured you he understood, even if he would never admit out loud he missed you as well.

The situation prompted you to find other ways to feel close to him, hence why Kageyama woke up almost every day with a new audio file from you. You went from talking about your day to making him listen to music and even took the chance to practice your japanese. His English listening skills had also gotten better in the past year, all thanks to talking with you and how you would slow down your pace and repeat yourself if he ever needed to. While you recorded your audios after work, he usually recorded his after practice while he walked home from practice. Even if he was always a little worried about the length, you always made sure to send him messages about how happy you were to hear his voice while you ate your lunch or walked to your job after your classes.

Kageyama finishes his shower and comes back to his room. He gets ready in less than ten minutes in silence, knowing he doesn’t have any time to spare if he wants to get to the practice in time. Winter break is a month away, and he wants to give his best before he’s forced to step away for a couple of weeks. He has never liked holidays stepping in his routine, but he knows there was nothing he could do but endure and wait for his training to resume.

Before he leaves, Kageyama checks his phone again and opens the newest email.

Congratulations! Your flight booking is confirmed.

Okay, maybe he is looking forward to winter break after all.