#there's no physical button for pausing/skipping songs

[wolffwish]

More Than Just A Short Time

Warnings: Distressed reader, miscarriage, mentions of anxiety, panic attack, soft!Toto x reader,

A/N: Personal experience used here, so please be understanding. 2022 was the worst year of my life, losing a baby and my fiancé within 3 months of eachother. I’ve been wanting to write something for months, to try and help me cope with my emotions. This hasn’t been spell checked, I literally have finished it and pressed post. So please bear with me if there’s any mistakes or it’s not that great, or sonically cohesive. It’s literally a coping mechanism. I’ve also tried to incorporate Taylor Swift’s “Bigger Than The Whole Sky” as that song has bought me a lot of comfort. Thank you so much for reading and I hope soft Toto brings you comfort if you need it ♥️ my inbox is open to anyone if you need to talk about anything.

It’s been a long 5 days without Toto, and your physical health was declining by the hour. Your period was the heaviest it had ever been, but you didn’t want to tell Toto, because everyone has periods and usually, they’re nothing to worry about.

Toto knew you were struggling physically, and had been the ever-supporting husband that you could’ve dreamed of. Virtually working instead of heading into the office, skipping races and rescheduling meetings or holding them online— to the point where he’d be sitting on the bed with his laptop perched on his lap on Zoom with people at Brackley, with you sleeping next to him and him not taking his hand off of your head once, constantly stroking it to ease your pain.

He was away in Bahrain for first race of the season and it was the longest amount of time he’d been for a few months. You hadn’t been feeling that great in the lead up to him leaving, a bit run down and not your usual self, extremely tired and incredibly nauseous. You just assumed it was your birth control playing up again.

It was Sunday. Race day. You were feeling rough, and after yesterday’s ordeal in the ER followed by a strict instruction for bed rest and preferably someone with you, all you wanted to do was curl up on the couch, watch the race and wait for your man to come home.

You hadn’t been contacting him much over the past 4 days, mainly just good morning and good night texts, as you knew he was going to be flat out busy with media, meetings and all the other stuff that goes with the job he’d worked so hard for.

11am. You heard your phone ping, with his specific text tone and notification lighting up your screen.

💬 1 New Message: Toto🐺♥️ — Liebling, I have a free half hour. Can you talk? We need to talk.

“We need to talk”? You read it three times, making sure you were reading it right. Need? Panic sets in. Usually, when anybody receives a message of “We need to talk.”, ending abruptly with a full stop, that’s never a good sign, right? Right.

Before you could even start typing, he was ringing. Accidentally, you pressed the green answer button, steadily putting the phone to your ear.

“Hello?” - your voice broke as you awaited his response.

🐺 “Schatzi? Is that you?”

“What do you mean, is it me? You rang my mobile?”

🐺 “Oh. Thank god. I had a missed call from the hospital, they left a message asking me how you were after yesterday. I didn’t— what happened yesterday, I didn’t know you wen—“

“Oh my god, are you kidding?! They rang you?”

Anger that started in your stomach was slowly making its way up your body, flushing your red cheeks and making your hands grip the phone tighter. You were checked into the ER yesterday after having what you thought was a 3 day long, heavy and extremely painful period. You had to call the ambulance because you were bleeding so heavily you couldn’t control anything, and started to feel dizzy and weak. With nobody around, and Toto working, you had nobody to call.

🐺 “Come on baby, talk to me. Why did you visit the ER?”

You paused. You didn’t know what to say to him, but neither did you want to lie. You knew as soon as the ER nurse asked if you’d had any morning sickness or previous experiences of dark red heavy periods that this wasn’t just a period. You were having a miscarriage, not even knowing you were pregnant.

🐺 “Liebling? Whatever it is, you can tell me. It doesn’t matter that I’m here, ok? You are my priority, just let me in.”

“I can’t tell you over the phone, Toto. I’m sorry. Just concentrate on the race, and I’ll see you later. I love y—“

🐺 “No Schatzi, baby please, I can’t concentrate unless you tell me what’s going on.”

You knew that he wasn’t going to give in. Tears started filling your eyes and the pit of your stomach started knotting. Emotions got the better of you, your breathing started to get shorter and faster, even though you were trying to disguise every bit of it, so you didn’t make him panic even more. But you just couldn’t do it. You fell apart. You needed him, now more than ever.

“I’m sorry, Toto. I didn’t know. You know I’m on birth control, it was just a heavy period, and then the nurses started asking all these questions about morning sickness and the colour of it and they rigged me up to the machine and started doing all these scans and I was really scared and I didn’t know what to do and then they kept apologising to me and I was in such a state I didn’t know what they were talking about until they— until they said it wasn’t a heavy period, and I’d lost—“

That was it. Uncontrollable tears streamed from your eyes as you relived the worst day of your life all over again, for the millionth time. Hysteria creeping in and your adrenaline winning, you began to shake. You’d been reliving every second of it since you got home, and it took a lot of persuasion for you to the nurses to let you home on your own. But they all knew your situation, they all knew Toto and who he was, so they made an exception. You didn’t think they’d call him.

🐺 “Oh my go—, baby, I’m so sorry. Shit. I should’ve been there, I knew you weren’t right when I left, but I had no idea it could be this—“

“Don’t apologise Toto please, it’s not your fault, I just, I can’t wait to see you later. Please try and just do the race and I’ll be here when you get home.”

🐺 “I don’t care about the race Schatz, baby. I’m coming home now. I’m walking to Rosa right now, she’ll get me on the next flight darling. Hold tight for me, ok?”

You didn’t want to ruin his day like this, especially the first race, but you were done fighting with yourself.

“Ok.” - through tears streaming and sniffles of your nose to try and control your breathing, a simple ‘ok’ was the last thing you said to Toto before dropping the phone on the bed. You’d almost been in denial about the whole thing, and saying it all out loud made it more real. You pulled your legs to your chest, your body still screaming in pain from miscarrying, back pains so intense you feel like your spine is on fire and a headache strong enough to make you squint at any view of light.

You could hear the television in the background, the race build up had started and you began watching it hoping it would distract you from everything that was happening in your head at that very moment.

The grid walk started, and Martin Brundle was desperately searching around for Toto to ask him where he thinks the two Mercs’ we’re going to finish today’s race. He eventually came across Shov, who was ready for an interview.

MB: “I was hoping to talk to your boss, any idea where I can find him?”

AS: “He’s had to rush off, personal matter, so won’t be able to watch the race today, but I can answer any questions you may have - just not with as much Austrian flare as he does!” he tried to laugh and distract from the situation- but you knew social media was about to blow up.

A few hours passed, and the sheer emotional state you were in made you fall asleep at some point during the race. You woke up as the podium ceremony started, that damn Dutch national anthem again. You flicked over the channels and started watching some random nature show about birds. Anything but that damn podium.

Anxiously waiting for Toto to arrive, you kept drifting off to sleep, losing track of the time, until you heard a key in the door and footsteps running up the stairs.

“Schatzi, where are you baby? I’m ho—“

The bedroom door swung open and there he was, still dressed in his white button down shirt and black trousers, so damn handsome. Your man was home.

“Toto, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Tears streaming, you sat up on the bed, trying to adjust your body to a position you weren’t in pain.

“Baby, it’s okay. Come here, little one.” Toto softly sat down in front of you, cupping your face in both hands and softly brushing the tears on your cheeks away with the pad of his thumbs. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry.” He brought his lips up to your forehead, pressing the most gentle kiss just above your left eyebrow, muffling the words “Let go baby, I’m here now. Just let it all out.”

The reassuring words from Toto meant every single emotion waved over you like a tsunami, and you fell apart in his arms. The tears came streaming down your face as you leant forward into him. You adjusted your body so you were sitting side aways on his lap, legs resting on the bed and head resting in his shoulder. His arms wrapped around you like he was protecting the world, his gentle touches making you feel safer than you’d ever felt.

“Let’s get you into bed properly, baby, get you more comfortable.” Without hesitation, Toto stood up with you in his arms as he gently walked around the bed, making sure not to walk into any furniture or make any sudden movements. He slowly leant down, to lay you on his side of the bed. He grabbed a blanket, took his shirt and trousers off, walked round to the other side of the bed and got in with you.

“Are you comfortable? Do you need to move?” He asked as you started rolling over as he got into the bed beside you.

“I can’t get comfy, it’s so frustrating, everything hurts and I can’t move without feeling like I’m making a mess everywhere, it’s horrible.”

“Hey hey baby, it’s okay, don’t cry. It doesn’t matter if there’s mess, we can clean it up, okay? Come here, lay here.” He perched himself up on the headboard, his bare chest gleaming in the night light that was the only light on in the room. The smell of him just felt like home. Lightly tapping his torso, he helped you lay your head on his chest, right on his heart. You moved your arm over his toned tummy, slightly tapping your fingers over the grooves of his muscles.

“There we go baby, you just lay there and relax now. It’s okay, I’ve got you my girl.”

A few minutes of silence passed as Toto gently run his fingers through your hair, up and down your back and over your shoulder.

“Toto?”

“Yes, baby? What is it?”

“We’re never gonna meet her.”

You didn’t know if it was a girl or a boy, but your initial thought was it was a girl. You don’t know why. It’d been playing on your mind all day whenever you caught yourself thinking about what would’ve been, what could’ve been and what should’ve been.

A deep breath came from the pits of his stomach as he saw your heart break in front of him.

“I know darling, I know. But look…” he pointed out towards the night sky, a sky full of stars. A sky so beautiful, that you would’ve thought you’d made it up.

“She’s up there. She knows you’re looking at her. Hey, she’s that really bright one, look” he points to a specific star, that is, quite literally, the brightest one in the sky. “She’s bigger than the whole sky, isn’t she?” he looks down at you, as you’d cocked your head to see the star he was talking about. Making eye contact, one side of his mouth turned into a slight smile, as he leant down to kiss you on the lips. “I love you, little one.”

You kissed him back, finally feeling like a weight had been lifted off of your shoulders now he was home.

“I love you too, Papi.”

He smiled down at you again, bringing his hand up to the side of your face and gently guiding your head to lay on his chest. You heard him snuffle, and felt a teardrop on hairline where your hair meets your forehead.

“Toto?” You looked up at him, tears in his eyes as he looked out of the window.

He responded immediately. “It’s okay, baby. I’m okay, I’m just so sorry I wasn’t here.”

“Don’t be sorry, I’m sorry for not telling you when it happened. I just didn’t want to pull you away from work and—“

“Baby listen to me. You are my world, ok? Nothing is more important than you. I would sail the seven oceans to be with you in a heartbeat. Don’t ever think anything is more important than you, Schatz. I love you so much it hurts.”

He looked down at you again, kissing the top of your head and stroking your hair. “You can rest now, baby. Daddy’s got you.”

You closed your eyes and felt your entire body relax into the indentation of his body, and sunk into the bed with him. The soft strokes of his hands over your arms, hair and back brought you more comfort than you’d ever felt before, and the sound of his slow controlled breathing meant your breathing started syncing with his. You both drifted off to sleep, holding each other close. His arms wrapped around you, you laying on his chest.

This was home. He was home. He is your home.

——

[allsassnoclass]

Hey!! Could you do “things you said when we were the happiest we ever were” with Lashton please? And with a friendship base as well!

lashton: things you said when we were the happiest we ever were (friendship)

Luke burrows deeper into his hoodie, eyes fixed on the horizon where the sun has just risen, the sky bright and pale blue.  Byron's birds sing gently from the surrounding trees, wind rustling through the bare branches, whistling over the landscape further out where the sparse vegetation gives way to desert.  Luke takes a deep breath of a crisp autumn air.

There's something about cold, outdoor air that makes him feel alive.  Humans weren't meant to be cooped up in their houses all the time.  They're meant to be in places like this with people they love, getting up early to watch the sunrise when a few years ago they would've stayed up late to see it instead.

Luke closes his eyes against the white, bright sun and breathes.

It doesn't take long for someone to find him.  Luke hears footsteps approach, but he keeps his eyes closed, knowing that whoever it is isn't intruding because they belong in the moment with him.

A gentle hand passes over his curls, large and callused.  Luke tips his head up as the person sits next to him, then finally opens his eyes.

"Hey," Ashton says, beanie covering his faded black hair.  They'll both abandon their extra layers as the day progresses, succumbing to the heat of the dessert, but for now he looks cozy, cheeks turned up in a smile that Luke has desperately missed seeing in person for the past few months.

"Hi," he says, clearing his throat when his voice comes out hoarse from lack of use.  He'll have to be sure to properly warm up later if they do more writing.

God, he wants to do more writing.  He's missed creating with his band.  He's glad that they paused, letting each of them rest instead of forcing new songs when they weren't ready, allowing each of them to spend time settled at home and find other outlets, whether with personal songs or different hobbies, but he's ready now.  He thinks that they're all ready, and this place feels like the perfect beginning.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Luke Hemmings woke up early to watch the sunrise alone," Ashton says, amusement radiating off of his features.  Luke rolls his eyes with a smile, used to this type of gentle teasing born of familiarity.

Ashton was already up by the time Luke woke.  Luke spotted him around the other side of the house, preparing to do some yoga.

"It's not a habit, don't worry," he says.  "I can't change that much in a few months."

"It's been closer to a year," Ashton says on an exhale, looking back out across the landscape.  Luke studies his profile, taking in the slight physical changes that Luke--for the first time in nearly ten years--wasn't around for.

"Yeah," he agrees once he realizes Ashton is probably waiting for a reply.  "We're still the same, though."

Part of him, a very, very small part that he's learned he's never supposed to listen to, was worried that they wouldn't be.  Sure, they've done zoom calls and they've texted, but that's not the same as being there.  A lot can happen in months away from each other: Luke went to therapy and fixed his sleep schedule.  Ashton wrote and released an entire album.  If they were any other band, it might be strange to come back together for a few days, isolated from everyone else except a kind caretaker and the desert wildlife.

That was never an option for them, though.  They're bonded too closely for time away to damage things between them.  Luke thinks that he could reunite with any of them after fifty years and still pick up right where they left off, as if all the time apart was the cut scene in a video game they could skip with the push of a button.  If they left each other mid-sentence, one of the others would complete it the second they reunited.

Being without the other three was like being without three of his fingers: he could survive, sure, and still do most of the things he had before, but the loss was noticeable and tangible every second he was awake.  Driving with Michael on his way out here then seeing Calum and Ashton pull up next to them a few minutes after arriving filled the gaping crevices in his heart that he had forgotten were vacant.

"I missed you," he says.  Ashton blinks, pulling his gaze away from the trees and the birds and the clear blue sky.  It's a phrase that all of them uttered when passing hugs on the first day here, but they aren't empty words.

They aren't sad, either.  Missed, in the past tense.  Luke's heart soars the longer they spend out here, like it will fly out of his chest to join those birds in that big blue sky.

"I missed you," he grins.  Ashton mirrors it with the same smile Luke remembers him sporting as a teenager back in Australia.  He wraps an arm around Luke's shoulders like he used to do back then, and Luke tips into his side.  He's warm and alive against him, something that phone screens and video chats can't replicate, and Luke knows that he's never going to go this long without a hug from Ashton again.

"I missed you, too," Ashton says, and he isn't sad, either.  He's fluent in Luke's emotions, and that's never going to change.

Luke wraps his arms around him and closes his eyes against the desert sun, knowing that Ashton is doing the same thing.

[thornshadowwolf]

I'm sorry to wired earbud fans but I have been converted to wireless earbuds. These aren't even expensive high quality ones and they're so much better.

This is literally the longest lasting pair of earbuds I have had in my entire life (~5 months and still going), and I use them almost every day. I've bought 3$ earbuds, I've bought 20$ earbuds, both last 1 week to 6 weeks (if I'm lucky) before the wire breaks. And of that time about half is spent with sound that only works in one ear or I need to hold the wire in a specific position lest the sound give out. Earbuds with volume adjuster buttons on them are even worse, as the moment the wire starts to degrade the earbuds start sending signals not only to adjust the volume without you touching the buttons, but also to pause or skip songs, and even switch apps. Plus if you get up and leave your phone on the arm of the chair you won't rip out the earbuds and throw your phone onto the floor. At worst you disconnect for being outside of bluetooth range. There is also no wire to get tangled if you put it in your pocket. And this probably depends on your brand, but not once have the silicone tips come off by accident.

Now the wireless earbuds do have some issues, but not any that weren't worse with wired earbuds. The main one being that the sound quality and volume is inconsistent. I don't know if it's from a flaky connection or if there's something physically up with them, but sometimes for a few days they'll be really quiet so I have to have them at max volume to hear anything, or the sound will be static-y, but after a bit of messing around with them they always go back to working perfectly. Something I cannot say for wired earbuds, because once their sound goes there's no getting it back.

So the only real downside is that you have to charge them, but even then, for every 2-4 charges I'd have to buy brand new wired earbuds. Edit: I don't have experience with this but if you forget to put them in their case it would be easier to lose one. So if you lose things easily there is a second potential downside.

So overall I strongly recommend wireless earbuds.

DISCLAIMER: this does NOT mean I support removing headphone jacks from phones.

[jaimebluesq]

11, 18, and 46 for the get to know fic writer ask!

Yay! Thank you! :D

11 - Link your three favorite fics right now

(I paused on this one because I couldn't figure out if I'm meant to list my fics or others' fics, so I think I'll do both!)

Mine:

A Night at the Purple Peony (NSFW) - NHS has a sexy encounter with a masked stranger, later finds out it was Jin Zixun - yeah, this started THAT

Mercy - NHS is given a 'gift' by JGY, and in exchange, he gives him mercy... of a quick death

He's no bully, He's my friend - NHS is homeless and befriends a pit bull that is secretly a cursed JC

Others: (All of these are NSFW)

Yunmeng Spice - SangCheng on that drinking night after leaving WangXian behind - just hot, some of the best most satisfying smut I've read

Sectual Diplomacy - This is smutty in a whole different way because it's all about JC's self-love in the middle of sect meetings, so well-written, and worth it for the pun-filled speech by NHS near the end!!!!!

Enmeshed - Niecest - I know, not my typical stuff, but that's because I'm actually not a fan of Niecest when it's written sweet and fluffy (but am happy for those that enjoy it!), etc. The only flavour of them I like is when it's fucked up - and this fic hit SO MANY of my buttons istg

18 - Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

Most of the time, it's a last-minute rush when I'm on the AO3 page, trying to figure out what to call the damned thing, but there are rare occasions where a title comes to me before then. E.g. my current WIP "The Catalyst" came about because I was listening to Anna Nalick a lot while writing certain chapters, and some lines from her song by that name really struck me as fitting various characters, and it turned out the name fit in many different ways, so very serendipitous!

46 - How would you describe your style? (Character/emotion/action-driven, etc)

Definitely character & emotion driven. I find I don't describe things physically/aesthetically anywhere near as much as I could/should, but I have a huge focus on writing out the line of action so that the reader can picture it from start to finish (e.g. I always try to show where people are in a room and vis-a-vis each other and keep such things consistent, and try not to skip steps in between - I think because I once read a romance novel where the writer skipped the part where one character's pants were taken off and I was so angry that they would forget such an important thing, that I promised myself I would never do something so egregious lol). But something I think I do well is keeping a character's POV and working around that, making certain that observations are from their perspective and not my own. I find when I write, I often 'role-play' in my head as them so I get into their head.

[pixeldashblog]

Sonos Era 100 review: the only good "smart" speaker

The Sonos Era 100 may not have gotten all the hype its big brother, the Era 300, received, but it's arguably the most important speaker Sonos has released in years.

The Era 100 is a thoughtful update to the iconic Sonos One speaker and, like that speaker, offers the advantages of a smart speaker without having to sacrifice on terrific sound quality. It brings a brand new design, meaningfully upgraded audio quality, and modern touches to Sonos' tried and true hardware features.

While any of Sonos' microphone-equipped speakers can be installed with Amazon Alexa for smart home control or asking for the weather report, I'm not sure how many people are planning to run their smart homes off an Era 300 or Sonos Arc.

The Era 100, then, finds itself alone in a crowded field of the smart speakers that do make sense to run your whole home from. This is the only smart speaker that actually sounds great, and that goes a long way.

Smart speaker prowess

I'll start by clarifying I am not the biggest fan of Amazon Alexa on principle (I use Apple HomeKit despite its limitations). The company's record on privacy and police compliance is abysmal, and I'm not keen in giving Amazon an ear to my home. But if you are deep in the Alexa ecosystem, the Era 100 will be a great tool for expanding your voice-enabled access points.

The Era 100 lacks a thread radio and isn't Matter compatible yet, so you will still need an Alexa-enabled device that can also act as your smart home hub, but the 100 gives you the choice to make sure the rest of the ways you interact with your smart home are also great speakers.

The Era 100's microphone array was easily able to pick up my voice from across the room and requests were processed by Alexa without issue. If you want to hide your Alexa hub away and fill your home with Era 100s instead, you shouldn't have an issue.

When I concluded my testing with Alexa, I fell back to relying on Sonos' in-house voice assistant for the remainder of the review period. The Sonos voice control requests are processed locally on your speaker and the assistant is rather limited in functionality, although it makes up for it in speed. All you can do is ask for music and timers, plus controlling your whole Sonos system if you want to move music around the house. If you don't care about smart home control, or use another platform for that purpose, Sonos' solution is simple, secure, and incredibly fast. Requests for songs are handled without issue and playback starts immediately.

Design

The Era 100's design, while not as radical as the Era 300's is perhaps its most welcome upgrade. Gone is the blocky look of the Sonos One and in is this slightly ovular cylinder. It's one of the cleanest looking speakers Sonos has ever made and it looks great just about anywhere in my home.

I prefer the soft white color to black, but if you do get an Era 100 in white I suggest wiping of the rubber feet of the speaker before setting it down. My dresser has quite a few stains on it now from the Era 100, similar to those the white Apple Homepod was leaving on unfinished wood surfaces. It's a preventable issue but still a minor annoyance.

The speaker's top is adorned with Sonos' new control scheme: a play/pause button flanked by skip forward and back buttons, plus the new volume slider also found on the Era 300. There's also a button to quickly disable the speaker's voice assistant. The top is certainly busier than the Sonos One's but it also makes the controls easier to understand for first time users.

Around back is the switch to physically disconnect the 100's microphone if you'd like to totally cut off access for any reason, which is a welcome addition.

Upgraded sound

Inside the Era 100 is where the real magic happens. The Sonos One was a mono speaker with a single tweeter and woofer. The Era 100 adds a second tweeter for true stereo playback, plus a new mid-woofer that's 25% larger according to Sonos.

While the added tweeter doesn't mean you'll get real stereo separation from the single Era 100, it's no longer downscaling tracks to mono like the One, thus bringing a noticeable uplift in clarity. I noticed female vocals to be the greatest beneficiaries of the 100's new hardware, with a great sense of sparkle and detail the Sonos One just couldn't provide. The twin tweeters are also equipped with waveguides to better disperse sound evenly throughout the room, and Sonos utilizes them well here. There's definitely still a sweet spot the closer you get to the front of the speaker, but songs manage to fill out the room without too much loss in detail that I've experienced with other waveguide-equipped speakers.

The results from the new mid-woofer were less dramatic in comparison. While low-end capability is expanded here, the 100 is by no means outputting bass you can feel in your chest, much like the Sonos One.

Due to some cosmetic issues with my first Era 100 review unit requiring a replacement, I briefly had the chance to test a stereo pair of the speakers while I waited to return that initial unit. Much like the Sonos One, this is when the Era 100 turned from a great to a downright amazing music experience. Two mid-woofers working together is always better than one, which is what made a twin pair of Sonos One speakers such a treat to the ears. With an extra set of the Era 100's new tweeters in the mix, plus some distance between the units for true stereo separation this is going to be a very popular choice for people wanting a barebones audio setup that doesn't sacrifice on quality. I can also see them being a dream for amateur vinyl collectors who want a simple way to start listening to their records.

Better wireless and new features

The 100 packs in some new tricks for overall usability along with the Era 300. The most welcome is sure to be Bluetooth, which can easily be activated at the press of a button. Sonos pitches this as a quick way to let guests play music on your system without having to join your WiFi network.

Much like any Bluetooth speaker, once you connect your device it will reconnect automatically the next time you turn it on. It can also only maintain a single Bluetooth connection at a time, but does retain memory of previously connected devices. While the Era 100 was paired to my iPad over Bluetooth, all it took was tapping on the speaker from my iPhone's Bluetooth settings to quickly reconnect. Adding new devices is also really quick, with the speaker showing up in devices' Bluetooth menus as soon as I long-pressed the 100's Bluetooth button.

Sonos has also shipped the Era 100 with WiFi 6, and with it dropped support for SonosNet, a long-standing protocol that allowed Sonos devices to create a stable mesh-network when one speaker was connected to Ethernet. Even products as new as the Sonos Arc and Beam (Gen 2) supported SonosNet. Those soundbars released in the 2020s but only supported WiFi 4, which was adopted in 2008. SonosNet was needed to provide stability and multi-device support that WiFi just couldn't before WiFi 6. While the change is controversial I don't think users will be missing it when they grab a new Sonos speaker and have a sufficiently modern router. WiFi 6 is incredibly stable and finally offers the functionality Sonos had to handle itself for ages.

Frustratingly limited USB-C

I'm giving the USB-C port on the Era 100 (and 300) its own section because I find Sonos' use of the port to be extremely frustrating.

As of today you can use the type-C port for playing music over line-in with Sonos' $20 adapter accessory, or for connecting the speaker to Ethernet if you need to.

Basically, Sonos only wants you to use the type-C port for connecting a record player (or anything else you'd want to use line-in for) today and pay an extra $20 for the privilege. While you can connect your phone via an aux cable using this adapter, there's no real added convenience here over streaming or Bluetooth.

The Sonos Five ($550) has had a 3.5mm line-in jack for years, no adapter required, and adding one to the Era 100 and 300 probably would've been cheaper than a USB controller, if only by a few cents per part.

It's frustrating to see Sonos install such a versatile port to this speaker without taking full advantage of that versatility. The Sonos Combo Adapter ($40) allows both line-in and ethernet signals to be fed to the speaker? Cool, but there's so much more that could have been done here.

Instead it seems a waste that you can't connect a computer or tablet via a standard USB-C to C cable to the Era 100 for low-latency audio. I can easily see customers buying a pair of these to add music to their home office and upgrade their PC's audio. Why not connect a tablet to a pair of Era 300s over USB so you can experience hi-res lossless audio directly without worrying about streaming compression?

Right now it seems the Era 100 and 300's Type-C ports exist to sell customers more dongles, but I hope to see the option to use these speakers as USB-audio devices unlocked in a future update. While there is a lot of work needed to build the right drivers to allow these to interface with any computer over USB, it would be a genuinely useful upgrade if that functionality ever arrives.

Smart, but a speaker first

The Era 100 is the speaker you should fill your home with if you want the music you ask your smart assistant for to actually sound good. Whatever parts-bin Echo speaker Amazon churns out next won't come close. The aging Google Nest Audio has been seemingly abandoned by Google, and comes nowhere close to the Era 100 in depth and detail. The Era 100 is more expensive than most of its rivals' offerings, but that cost is directly reflected in the quality of the product.

On the higher-end, Apple's $350 full-size HomePod puts out noticeably more impactful bass, but costs $100 more and the Era 100 still wins out on overall clarity and detail to my ear. You're also limited to Siri with the HomePod.

If you're looking for a great Alexa-enabled speaker, or just something that can quickly play the music you'd like with Sonos voice control, the Era 100 appeals to the widest breadth of music listeners and smart home enthusiasts without compromising it's appeal to either camp. This is the speaker you buy to last and love for ages.

[mainsish]

Group session spotify

GROUP SESSION SPOTIFY CODE

GROUP SESSION SPOTIFY TRIAL

For hosts, press END SESSION to end a Group Session.ĭue to the beta version, the Group Session feature will be tested and refined a lot in the future based on actual feedback from users. If you want to leave a Group Session, simply press the LEAVE SESSION button displayed at the bottom of the screen. Click the plus button and choose the option to invite the channel to listen to Spotify. When you see a green play icon on the plus button, you’re ready to start the listening party. Additionally, there is a menu in the top right corner. Then, go to the music party server in the Discord app. Youll find the group session in the device menu, just as on mobile. When an individual performs any operation with the playlist currently playing in the Group Session, any changes will be notified to all other members of the group. To get started, open the Spotify app on your computer or phone and play any song. Point the device camera at the sharing code.Besides music, you can also listen to podcasts in a group session. However, a Premium user needs to start a group session, and then other paid subscribers can control the music.

GROUP SESSION SPOTIFY CODE

People who want to participate in your Group Session scan the shared code only by: All the members of a Spotify Group Session can play, pause, skip and re-order songs of the ongoing playlist. Find the sharing code in the Start a group session section Click the Now playing bar at the bottom of the screen.ģ. The person who activates Group Session will be the host. Of course, Group Session is not limited to just 2 people, according to Techcrunch, this feature can support up to 100 users at the same time but they must be in the same physical space, so there won't be much.

GROUP SESSION SPOTIFY TRIAL

Currently, the Group Session feature is still in beta testing, but Spotify Premium account owners worldwide have access and trial today. Group Sessions allow Premium users to listen to music or podcasts simultaneously with up to five friends who also have premium. A Spotify Premium membership costs 10 a month, or 15 a month for a Premium. Last year Spotify unveiled Group Sessions for Spotify Premium users. Members in a Group Session can create playlists (playlists) and optionally add or remove songs in the queue they have chosen. Besides being in more or less the same physical location, all Group Session members must be Spotify Premium users. Spotify, one of the world's largest music streaming platforms, has just launched an extremely useful new feature called 'Group Session' for Premium users (paid subscription packages), including cases where Users have the same Spotify Premium Family account.īasically, Group Session allows 2 or more users in the same physical space to share control of the playlist being played.

[chicomecoatl]

Fuck wireless headphones fr tho

[hanoella]

Affettuoso- With Feeling (Part 4)

Pairing: Bucky x Pianist!Reader

Set after the events of TFATWS: In an effort to start over and make a home in Louisiana, Bucky meets a friend of Sam’s who ends up being his landlord. With only a driveway to separate them, he finds that he’s not the only one looking for a fresh start.

Series tags/warnings: Slow Burn, Eventual Bucky x Reader, Mentions of Domestic Abuse, Canon Level Violence

Part 4 Word Count: 2.9k

A/N: Thanks again for all your support! Every heart and comment motivates me and is just so wonderful

Taglist!: @vicmc624

Read Part 1; Masterlist

The icon that marked where you were currently typing in your text blinked as you bit your lip. Looking back from where you were sitting at the kitchen table, you took stock of the open pantry once again. You were low on just about everything. With physical therapy exhausting your shoulder, it was hard to find the energy to lift any heavy bags. You had texted Sam for help, but unfortunately he was out of state.

“Bucky’s home, just ask him to go with you. He won’t mind” He had texted back.

You slouched back into the chair and groaned. You had only seen him in passing since he had helped you with the furniture. What was he, your live-in-caretaker? Was he just there to help you up and down the stairs and help you across the street? Sliding onto the floor, you made a small grunt as you felt your back straighten out and adjust to the floor. Resting a moment, you held your phone up and stared at the blinking bar. You hadn’t texted him before. Should you just call him? Or knock on his door? Ugh, why was this so hard. Whatever.

“Hey Bucky, I’m having trouble carrying stuff right now. Would you mind helping me out with grocery shopping sometime today or tomorrow? If not, no worries.”

Without a second thought, you sent it and set your phone down next to you. It was around 1PM, the only thing you having done up until then was getting dressed while sipping on coffee. Opting for a lazy look, you had worn soft leggings with an oversized sweater and fuzzy socks. Two simple braids and a headband kept your hair out of the way for when you eventually practiced. Only a few more weeks until you practiced with the actual orchestra. You should probably figure out something to wear besides lounge clothes.

The buzz on the floor caught your attention and you took a peak at your home screen

1 New Message:

Bucky Barnes: Sure, is now good?

Shoot. You quickly got up and walked to the bathroom. Your hair wasn’t too messy. Why do you look so tired? Opting for some mascara, you texted Bucky back before digging around in your makeup bag.

Yeah, meet at my car in a minute?

---

Bucky pocketed his phone and took a quick look in the mirror. Should he shave? Scratching his beard, he made a face before deciding against. It would take him more than a minute. Why didn’t he just say thirty minutes from now? Running a hand through his hair, he grabbed a jacket and walked out of the apartment.

As he walked over the freshly fallen leaves in the driveway, he opted for leaning against your car. He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned his head to look out over the water. It had been quiet lately, just chilly enough to silence the summer chorus of buzzing and croaks. Now all that was left was the occasional honking of geese flying overhead.

He had only been there for a couple of minutes when you came out onto the porch. You had hastily thrown on some brown leather boots, the left one still untied. The little bit of mascara and lip gloss you put on made you feel better about not looking like death. It was nice to do a little something, even if it was just the grocery store.

“Hey!” you said, slightly breathless as you bounded down the stairs, keys jingling in your hand.

Bucky echoed your greeting back to you with a small smile and wave.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” You said, clicking the key fob to unlock the car.

“Oh it’s no problem. I didn’t really have much to do anyway.” He said, ducking his head to sit in the passenger side seat. He noticed how as soon as you closed the door, you clicked the locks shut. Then you brought your left heel up on the edge of the seat so that you could tie your shoe.

“Thanks so much. I really appreciate it. Usually, I don’t need too much help, but I need cases of waters and stuff like that. I was gonna get someone to help me at the grocery store but I realized I’d still be left in a lurch once I got home. I figured if you needed, we could just get groceries together this time,” you explained while double knotting the laces.

Starting the car and putting on your seatbelt, you looked behind you out of habit to make sure you weren’t going to hit anything as you backed out of the driveway.

“Huh. It looks like it’s going to rain.” You said, observing the darker clouds and the wind picking up. Putting the car in drive, you started down the driveway.

“Music?” You offered, gesturing towards the radio.

“I don’t really know what’s been playing these days… or for the last sixty years if I’m being honest.” At least it’s nice not to have to lie about it, Bucky thought.

“Well, we have a lot to catch you up on then.” You said, stopping at the end of the driveway and grabbing your phone. Scrolling through your music, you hit the bluetooth button on the console.

“This playlist has all my favorite classics on it. Feel free to skip anything you don’t like.” You said, handing him the phone and turning onto the road. The music started, prompting Bucky looked down at the phone. September- Earth, Wind & Fire.

---

Four songs later you were at the supermarket, grabbing a cart and discussing favorites.

“That last one was good too. Which one was that?” Bucky asked.

“That’s Stolen Away on 55th & 3rd. Dave Matthews Band. Now mind you, some of those are way older than others. The only thing they all have in common is that they’re all at least ten years old.”

“Huh.” He’s really missed out on a lot.

The two of you continued chatting as you went through the various sections. A couple cases of water. A bag of salad. Deli meats and cheeses. Bread. Ground beef. Pasta and pasta sauce. The topic turned to older music from Bucky’s time.

“I’m surprised you have heard of her.” He said, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

“Well, I’m going to be honest, the only reason I have any knowledge of it at all is because I had to take a lot of Music History classes in college. For whatever reason, they thought that to play music, you needed to know every which way that it’s evolved throughout the years. Though, I have to say,” you paused, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “Now, I’m kind of glad I did.” You looked up at him slightly, face just a tad warm as he met your eyes. You both looked away and he coughed awkwardly. Feeling embarrassed, you scan the shelves of snacks before hearing him quietly say behind you-

“… I’m glad you did too. It’s different. And kind of nice to talk to someone about it. Who actually knows what I’m talking about.”

Trying to keep your smile small, you continued to look at the array of cookies on the shelf. A hand passed over your shoulder to take a pack of shortbread cookies.

“Hmm. Shortbreads.” You say, holding your arms behind your back. “Verrry interesting.”

“What?” He replied defensively.

“You can tell a lottttt about a man by his snack preferences.”

“Well, what do shortbreads say?” Bucky asked, leaning his forearms on the handle of the cart so that he was now eye level with you. It was too late this time to hide your smile. You turned back around to grab a pack of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

“If I tell you what they mean, you’ll just pick the kind that you think has the best traits. You’re not fooling me anytime soon.” You said with a laugh before you whisked yourself around the corner.

“Hey, that’s not fair, come back!” He pushed the cart around the corner where he ran into you hugging Sarah. The boys were with her and they went absolutely ballistic.

“Uncle Buck! Uncle Buck!” They shouted as they bombarded him.

“AJ! Cass! Stop acting crazy in the grocery store!” Sarah said, reprimanding them. You chuckled at the sight of Bucky being slowly overwhelmed by the two boys. He pried them off his legs and crouched so that he was eye level with them.

“Hey, I missed you guys. I haven’t seen you guys since the last time Uncle Sam and I came back-”

“-from fighting bad guys, right!” AJ said, getting a little too excited and causing Sarah to give him the look. Bucky tried not to laugh and held a finger up to his mouth to signal that they needed to be quiet.

“Yes, from fighting bad guys.”

You turned towards Sarah with a grin and put your hand on her arm.

“We’ll have to have all of you over, come see the new house. Will you text me a day next week when you, Sam, and the kids are free?”

“That sounds great. I’m so glad you got to move down here. I’ll let you know about next week!” Sarah said. She also walked around the cart and gave Bucky a hug. He returned it but glanced towards you nervously; You were already looking away. When they pulled away from each other, Sarah glanced in your direction and then at Bucky, a knowing smile on her face and eyebrows wiggling. Bucky made a face with wide eyes, letting her know to cut it out. Sarah laughed slightly while saying goodbye:

“It was good to see you, Buck.” Sarah said, laughing as she rolled the cart away, AJ and Cass in tow, who were both shouting goodbyes at Uncle Buck.

“Good to see you too…” He trailed off in her direction.

“Man, those boys really love Uncle Buck.” You said teasingly, making him jump slightly and turn around. You laughed and walked towards the next aisle, leaving Bucky red in the ears.

---

It was just starting to rain when you parked the car in the driveway. You grabbed some of the lighter bags and ran up the steps, hurrying to unlock the door. Bucky was piling on the grocery bags as the rain got heavier. He hauled everything inside as you held the door open for him. He lifted the groceries up onto the kitchen counter and made his way down the stairs again.

“Still have to get the cases of water.” He explained in response to your confused face. The rain was still getting heavier. Hauling the two jumbo cases onto his shoulder and carrying the last one by the plastic in his hand, he made his way up the porch, slower this time. You held the door open, looking incredulously again at how easy it was for him as he passed.

By the time he had set the waters down, you had grabbed a towel for him, extending it to him while looking away at from his drenched shirt.

“Thanks,” he said, toeing off his shoes and drying his hair with the towel before draping it over his shoulders.

“Please, let me make you some tea. You must be freezing.” You said, already digging through the pantry for some.

“Well, if you’re offering, I won’t say no.” He said, taking a seat at the kitchen island.

“Yeah, hold on, it’s kind of dark. Let me turn on the lights…” You trailed off as the light switch did nothing. Flicking it a few times back and forth, you sighed.

“I’m so sorry, the real estate agent told me it’s pretty easy to lose power in this area since there’s so many trees. They usually have it back on pretty quick though I’m told.” You said, now digging through another cabinet.

“It’s completely fine, you can’t control that. I’ll just take a raincheck-”

“Found it!” You said, cutting him off and proudly presenting the gas-powered single burner. You set it down in front of Bucky who watched as you also grabbed a tea light and a lighter from in the drawer.

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” You asked while lighting it.

---

Three more tea lights and a kettle of hot water later, Bucky was sitting with the towel draped over his shoulders, sipping on the warm cup of green tea. The flames created flickering shadows as you added the pasta to the pot of boiling water.

“I knew this was going to come in handy. I’m glad I saved it.” You said, setting a timer on your phone as you leaned on the counter across from Bucky.

“Why do you have it in the first place?” He asked curiously.

“I kind of had to hop around for a little bit before I got down here. I would stay in hotels but I didn’t want to eat out every night so this came in handy. Ole reliable.” You said, looking down at one of the tea lights.

There was a moment of silence before you pursed your lips.

“What’s wrong?” Bucky asked, setting the cup down.

“Has Sam told you… how I ended up here?” You asked, now looking straight at him. The look on his face told you the answer before he could respond.

“I see…”

“Hey, I’m sorry, I-”

You held up a hand to cut him off, soft smile on your face.

“No, it’s okay. I told him that if it ever came up, he could talk about it. I’m pretty open about it. How much did he tell you?” you asked, wrapping your hands around the cup to absorb some of the warmth.

“Just the basics. You two were together, then he got… violent. And you trying to leave.” He said, looking down into his cup.

“Yeah, that just about covers it… He kept following me after I got out of the hospital so I had to get a rental car and hotel hop for a while… When I got the house down here, I finally got my actual car and just booked it here. He’s never been to Louisiana before and he doesn’t know that Sam lives here now, instead of DC. I’m hoping he’s frolicking in city traffic, getting run over as he looks for me. Bucky snorted and tried not to laugh, which made you laugh.

“Sorry, it’s not funny.” He said, covering his mouth.

“Oh, it totally is.” You said, talking in a way where he could tell that you were smiling.

You both laughed as you grabbed a strainer out of the pantry. Draining the pasta, you both settled into a comfortable silence.

“Well, I’m glad you can joke about it.” Bucky said, watching as you poured pasta sauce into the pot to warm it up before chucking the rest of the pasta in.

“Some days are better than others. I’m just happy that I can stop running. Still, I do get a bit paranoid sometimes. I feel like I’m going to turn a corner and he’ll be right there.” You said, rubbing your arms as if you were comforting yourself. At that moment, Bucky looked at you and noticed for the first time how truly tired you looked. Dark circles underneath a sleep deprived gaze. Eyes clouded by worry and paranoia. Bucky’s seen that look on himself before. Before Steve found him in Bucharest, before he could trust his own mind. When he had to avoid being recognized, avoid being found, avoid falling back into Hydra’s grasp.

You exhaled as you uncrossed your arms, mixing the pot before sprinkling cheese on top. “Dinner’s all done.” Bucky sat peacefully, enjoying the aroma of the tomato and basil. Taking a deep breath, he slowly exhaled before speaking up again.

“Well. I’m here now.”

“Hmm?” You called back, not quite hearing him over the clanking of the bowls you took out.

“I’m here now,” he repeated, this time with more confidence. “So… you don’t have to worry about it. If you ever get worried about it, just call me. Or text me… Or knock on the door… and I’ll talk to you or I’ll check it out, keep an eye on the house from the apartment, or just be in the house with you. It’s not a bother, if it’ll give you peace of mind. I’ve been through something… similar. With, uh, the whole Hydra… thing…” Bucky trailed off as you stared at him with a neutral face. He was getting ready to backpedal, hand reaching for the back of his neck out of nervous habit, until you spoke.

“You’d do that?” You said, face unchanged, eyes searching his.

“Yeah… Yeah, I would.”

You blinked a few times before looking aside and trying to clear the frog from your throat.

“I don’t even know what to say but thank you. That is such a big relief.” You said, voice wavering slightly, one hand coming up to touch your forehead out of relief. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Nobody should have to go through that alone.” Bucky said softly.

You touched his hand softly, giving it a gentle squeeze before stealing your own back. You turned around to grab a drink when you paused, looking out the window.

“It stopped raining.” You stated, watching as the little bit of sunlight brightened the colors of the changing leaves. Bucky, on the other hand, was watching how the little bit of sunlight brightened you. He rubbed his thumb against where your hand had just been, trying to recreate the feeling of your hand on his.

[rosyfingereddawnn]

That’s The Way (Chapter 5)

Pairing: Jimmy Page x Reader

Word count: 4.3k

Warning(s): Nothing! This is such a sweet chapter :)

Author’s notes: Another sweet little chapter with Jimmy and Y/N, with a guest appearance from Lillian, everyone’s favourite rascal ;) This chapter was honestly such a joy, and my partner in crime @rebel-without-a-zeppelin is so amazing as always!!! As usual, please enjoy, happy reading, and send us messages if you have theories, comments, music recommendations for the playlist, or if you want to be added to the tag list :)

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

——

Y/N was in the kitchen, washing the dishes as she hummed to a tune she had just heard on the radio. She had just spent the morning baking biscuits, brownies, and all sorts of homemade goodies, and everything was still warm and cooling on a plate on the counter. Lillian’s loud footsteps reverberating through the house signalled that these delicacies wouldn’t be there for much longer.

“Y/N! Y/N!” she shouted in her high-pitched, innocent voice, as her footsteps grew closer. She scurried through the kitchen to stand at her sister’s side, looking up at her with her big eyes.

“What is it, Lil?” her sister responded, still scrubbing a bowl with a soapy sponge.

“I need you to braid my hair,” Lillian replied softly, her smile glinting in the afternoon sun.

“What for? What’s the occasion?”

Lillian’s lips pursed into a grin that she was trying to hold back. “Nothing,” she said in a sing-song tone, her head curling into her shoulder bashfully, “I just like the way it looks.”

Y/N huffed. “I’m kind of in the middle of something here,” she motioned towards the sink with her sudsy gloves; it had been filled to the brim with dirty dishes, though the mountain of tableware was lessening by the minute.

“Pretty please? I just want to feel beautiful like you,” her little sister whined, tugging on Y/N’s clothes.

Overcome with empathetic emotion, Y/N conceded, removing her gloves and turning the sink off. Crouching down to Lillian’s level, she held her hands, gazing into her eyes.

“Lillian, don’t say that about yourself. You are beautiful, truly,” Y/N coaxed earnestly.

“But when you braid my hair, I feel my most beautiful,” Lillian frowned.

Y/N couldn’t argue with Lillian, because she herself had bouts of self-consciousness and low self-esteem. Oh, the joys of being a young girl, Y/N thought, a wry grin on her lips. Ruffling her sister’s hair slightly, she replied, “Go sit at the counter and grab yourself a biscuit then.” Lillian giggled as she scurried over to the counter, reaching to grab one of each baked good from the three plates.

Y/N ripped off a piece of paper towel and handed it to Lillian so she wouldn’t leave any crumbs in her wake, as Lillian swung her feet as she sat atop the tall barstool chair and munched on her biscuit, a mischievous look on her youthful face. Y/N stood behind her, putting two elastics around her wrist.

“What kind of braids do you want, Lil?” Y/N asked, grabbing a nearby pencil to separate a perfect middle part down the back of her sister’s hair then tying off one side.

“I quite like Dutch braids,” Lillian said cheerfully.

“Okay, Dutch it is.”

Just as Y/N separated three strands of Lillian’s hair, the phone began to ring. Oh come on! Y/N thought with a huff. “Hang on a minute, Lil, let me answer this.”

“Hello?”

“Hey Y/N, it’s Jimmy,” a familiar voice echoed through the phone. Y/N’s eyes widened at the sound, a smile creeping onto her lips. There was a part of her that hadn’t expected him to call, though the way her heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice only confirmed how happy she was about it.

“Hey Jimmy, how are you?” she replied, leaning against the wall in an attempt to look composed, though she was twirling the cord around her finger nervously, almost combusting from excitement.

“I’m well, love, how about yourself?” he asked, his soft voice coming across as calm and casual, though he was, in fact, not calm at all, unbeknownst to Y/N. His sweaty palms readjusting their grip on the phone every few seconds as they spoke would have been a dead giveaway.

“I’m doing well, thanks.”

“JIMMY!” Lillian squealed from the background, “Tell him I said hi!”

Y/N laughed, “Oh, and Lillian says hi.”

Jimmy chuckled, “I heard. A very enthusiastic little one. Tell the sweet girl I said hello, if you don’t mind.”

“I will,” Y/N giggled before a pause, “What’s up?”

“Well, I have a day off today, you see. I’m going book shopping, and I was wondering...if you’d like to possibly come along...” he trailed off, almost unsure of his invitation.

Y/N’s stomach dropped at his invitation. He wanted her company?! As much as she wanted to jump for joy and scream, she had to suppress her emotions as best she could. Lillian was sitting right there after all, and if she caught wind of her small crush? Y/N would never hear the end of it. All of St. Albans would know, given how enthusiastic Lillian can be. She cleared her throat, recomposing herself before answering, “I’d love to come along! Thank you so much for the invitation,” Y/N gushed, “What time were you thinking?”

“How about twenty minutes?” Jimmy asked, “I’ll have my driver take us, so you don’t have to worry about transportation.”

“Perfect! See you then.”

“See you soon, love.” With that, the phone clicked, signalling the man’s departure.

“What did Jimmy want?” Lillian asked as Y/N walked back over to behind her chair.

“Oh nothing,” Y/N replied, taking three strands of her hair, “just asked if I would come shopping for books with him. He’s picking me up in twenty minutes.”

“Oh, that sounds like so much fun!” Lillian said cheerfully, genuinely happy that her sister was spending time with her friend. She was not at the age to assume any type of budding romance or feelings between the two, much to Y/N’s relief.

“Yeah, I’m excited!”

“Maybe you should give him what you baked,” Lillian offered, “I think he’d like them!”

“That’s a good idea,” Y/N agreed. “Since I’m not going to be home for a while, can you help Mum with the dishes? I feel bad I didn't finish them.” Lillian nodded with a hum as she quietly munched on her biscuit and a comfortable silence settled between the sisters.

Oh, to be that young and naïve, Y/N thought as she finished braiding Lillian’s hair, no stress, no problems, no worrying about boys...

~~~~~~~~

Just as Jimmy had said, his driver was in front of Y/N’s front door in exactly twenty minutes. She put a biscuit, brownie, and oatmeal cream pie into a plastic bag and tucked it into her purse before walking out the door. Butterflies erupted in her stomach as she walked towards the car, seeing Jimmy in the back seat with an open spot next to him.  

“Hello Y/N, love,” Jimmy greeted jovially as the girl slid into the seat next to him. The smile on his face felt warm and welcoming to the young girl, easily returning a smile with the same emotion.

“Hi! Thanks again for inviting me to join you,” Y/N replied as the driver smoothly pulled away from her house and started down the road.

“Oh, no problem! I was hoping that I didn’t have to go alone, so I thought of you,” Jimmy grinned. Y/N couldn’t help but notice the way he fidgeted with his fingers nervously while he spoke. Could he actually be feeling as nervous as she was?

“That’s so sweet, thank you,” Y/N responded bashfully, smiling from ear to ear.

An unsettling silence diffused through the car, the only significant sounds being the radio playing softly in the background and the occasional bump in the road. The two, sat close to one another, felt so far away, as the cavernous quiet settled over them.

With a clearing of his throat, Jimmy spoke up, “Did you know that this is the first piece of vintage clothing I ever bought for myself?” he asked, showing off the navy blue military jacket he was wearing, adorned with several ornate gold buttons.

Y/N turned her head to look at his jacket with a grin, “That?” she answered, trying to sound serious in an attempt to tease him.

Jimmy frowned. “Yeah, you don’t like it?” he asked, slight panic bleeding into his voice at her teasing.

“Did you get it at the Embassy or something, to go off to war? Are you assuming the position of a Revolutionary War general, because I’m afraid you’re in the wrong country. And century.” Y/N said, a smile creeping past her lips as she failed to contain some of her laughter.

Jimmy huffed and rolled his eyes. “Okay, it has a lot of buttons,” he admitted defensively.

“Yes it does,” Y/N chuckled. Then after a few moments of silence, she concurred reluctantly, “I like your jacket,” she said with a smirk.

“I knew it, I knew you did!” Jimmy laughed triumphantly, “It’s so cool, right?”

“It is pretty cool, I admit.”

“There’s also a bunch of pockets, so you can fit all sorts of bits and bops in there too. You wouldn’t even know,” Jimmy said with a wink.

“I can only imagine what you keep in those pockets,” Y/N grinned mischievously.

Jimmy’s jaw dropped in feigned shock. “What a naughty mind you have, Miss Y/N! How can you assume such a thing about me?”

“I’ve heard a few whispers about you and Jackie in my day,” Y/N giggled, “things I wish to not get into at this particular moment in time.”

“What did you hear? Who told you?” Jimmy said, an air of panic in his voice as he straightened in his seat.

“I can’t tell you that!”

“It was Jeff who told you, wasn’t it? The bastard.” Jimmy scowled, turning away from her to run his fingers through his hair. The slight tremor that rushed through them made the young woman smile. He was nervous.

“I said I can’t tell you! That’s for only me to know,” Y/N giggled.

Jimmy paused for a second, contemplating his next sentence before piping up, “Well, I should say that Jackie and I broke up actually,” he said quietly, his panic now overcome with sadness.

Y/N frowned, feeling bad for her friend. “Oh Jimmy, I’m so sorry. I can only imagine how difficult it is for you right now.” She draped her arm on Jimmy’s shoulder, hoping her physical touch would comfort him in any way. Jimmy leans into her touch, a sad smile settling on his lips.

“Thank you, love.” he nodded.

“When did it happen, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“A few days ago,” Jimmy continued, “I’m actually in the same boat as you.”

Y/N cocked her head in confusion. “In what sense?”

“Jackie was married the whole time, and I had no idea,” Jimmy replied solemnly.

“Oh my gosh, that’s awful!” Y/N said, “I can’t believe she would do that to you. You don’t deserve that.”

“I guess we were both someone else’s second choice.”

Y/N’s lips downturned into a frown, “Yeah…” she trailed off, “it’s the worst feeling in the world.”

You’ll never be my second choice, Y/N thought, I’ll always choose you, Jimmy.

“I might have a temporary remedy, though,” Y/N quipped as she opened her purse to retrieve the biscuits she had packed for Jimmy. “I baked these earlier, and Lillian said that you might enjoy them.”

Jimmy smiled as she handed him the bag. “Thank you for this, I really appreciate it, love.” As little as the words were, there was a tone of genuine appreciation in his voice. He really must have been going through a dark time. If there was a way she could help, no matter how small, Y/N would take that chance.

“You’re welcome. A baked good always makes me feel better, so I hope it does the same for you.”

Jimmy smiled down at her, his heart warming at her unbelievably kind gesture. Before he could say anything else, though, the driver had pulled up to the book shop; flicking hazard lights on so the two could get out right in front. They thanked the driver and walked into the store in tanduum, arms linked.

“What were you thinking about getting?” Y/N whispered as the smell of aged paper and freshly-cut wood greeted them.

Jimmy gave her a look that screamed did you really have to ask?

“Oh, okay,” She says, drawing out the first word with a subtle laughter in her voice. “Nevermind, stupid question.” Crowley manuscripts and textbooks. She knew that. She cursed herself for not thinking before she asked.

“You’re not stupid, don’t say that,” Jimmy said gently as he rubbed her arm soothingly, walking with her deep into the shelves and stacks of books. They were so close, her physical proximity and presence taunted him, and her scent dizzied him.

Their eyes scoured through the various titles, seeing if anything caught their interests. Y/N saw the trademark bright orange spine of The Catcher in the Rye, and quickly pulled it out. She never had the chance to read it whilst at school, but it was on her mental reading list.

Jimmy watched her intently as she read the synopsis on the back cover, her irises twinkling in the golden light that shone through the store. Her lips, her beautiful lips that he dreamed about kissing one day, were pressed together in concentration. She must have just put some lip balm on, because even they were twinkling. They looked like little pillows, so soft and supple and warm…

Y/N’s face now looked at the shelf once again before glancing at Jimmy with a grin. He prayed that she didn’t see him admiring her. Jimmy simply smiled back as if nothing had happened.

“The Catcher in the Rye, I see,” he initiated.

“Yep. I never got to read it in school, and it’s on my little mental reading list. I heard it was really good,” Y/N shrugged.

“What else is on your mental reading list?” Jimmy asked, “I can help you look for those, too.”

“Hmmm,” she thought aloud, “Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk, Middlemarch by George Eliot, and Summer Crossing by Truman Capote. I also want to get The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl for Lillian. I loved it when I was little.”

“You’re a woman of good taste,” Jimmy grinned, feeling himself falling for her even harder. He had thought it impossible, yet he was obviously proven wrong by the feeling of contentment that settled over him whenever he so much as looked at her.

“Thanks,” she said, blushing as she sheepishly chuckled at the compliment.

The two slowly walked through the aisles trying to find the titles Y/N had mentioned. Jimmy found Marjorie Morningstar and Summer Crossing, and Y/N loved the way his face lit up when he finally found what he had been looking for. Y/N was able to find Middlemarch and The Fantastic Mr. Fox herself, as Jimmy practically drooled upon sight of her when she wasn’t looking. His personal thesis of Y/N being an angel had been proven correct many times that day, but these rather intimate circumstances really pushed it (and himself) over the edge.

Crushes are so foolish, he thought, why am I acting like this?!

~~~~~~~~

Jimmy invited Y/N to go to his Pangbourne boathouse for some tea after their shopping excursion, for a chance to talk in a more private setting and scan through their purchases. He showed her around his house, since it was the first time she had been there since they had met; it was a Edwardian-Pre-Raphaelite hybrid dream, and Y/N found herself amazed with every nook and cranny.

“Next summer, you’ll have to come up so I can take you out on the boat,” Jimmy said as he showed her his boat and the view from the dock.

“That would be so fun,” Y/N smiled, “how often do you take it out?”

“Not too often, unfortunately, with all the travel and studio time.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m sure that will pick even more now that the Yardbirds will be traveling more.”

“Yes, you’re definitely right. But I’ll make time next summer for that boatride,” he grinned as he led Y/N back into the house and into the living room. She pursed her lips to hold back a smile full of gratitude, but to no avail.

His housekeeper must have just put a tray of tea and biscuits on the coffee table, because it was still steaming.

The two sat opposite of one another, taking things off the tray as they pleased, silence hanging in the air. Once they were situated, Y/N daintily crossed her legs with a smile as she held the cup on top of her clothed thigh.

What a sophisticated lady Y/N is, Jimmy thought as he looked at her, I wonder what she would be like in a more intimate setting…

Shaking the dirty thought from his mind, he rambled, “So I’ve been thinking about something...the other guys in the band know about it, and they agree with me...actually, it wasn’t my idea, it was Jeff’s…”

It wasn’t Jeff’s idea. He lied.

It was Jimmy’s idea.

“Oh! What is it?” Y/N asked as she tilted her head in confusion, “It sounds bad, should I be scared?” she ended with a giggle.

“Oh no! Of course not. You see, there’s so much to say, and not a lot of time to say it, so I have to go big.”

Oh my God, Y/N thought, what if he asks me out? Jesus Christ. I hope he does. But he probably won’t. He doesn’t like me. What can this mean? Jimmy, you’re killing me! However, she sat with an expectant look on her face, trying to accurately anticipate the information.

“I was wondering...if um, if you—Oh, Christ, I’m horrible at this,” he chuckled embarrassedly with a shake of his head, a pink flush dusting his cheeks.

Oh fuck, he’s gonna do it! Y/N thought excitedly.

“Oh gosh, don’t be afraid! It’s just me! Really, what’s the worst I can say?” Y/N joked, hoping to ease his obvious nerves.

But it’s not just you, Jimmy thought, you’re so pretty and nice and smart and funny...you don’t know half of the things you do to me…

“Well, I suppose you’re right,” he said, humouring her, “The Yardbirds are leaving to go to America within the next few weeks for the Dick Clark tour, and I—I mean, uh, we, would love it if you joined us.”

Y/N’s breath rushes past her lips with a surprised, almost unbelieving gasp. They wanted her to go on tour with them?! She again had to fight the stupidly giddy smile that would find its way on her lips.

“I would love to! That is so generous of you, thank you so much! I feel like I’d cramp your style though...I wouldn’t want you lot to lose women because of me,” she laughed.

“Most of those birds are nuts anyway,” Jimmy laughed with her, “They’re too caught up in themselves to notice the other people around them. Honestly, in theory, you’d probably attract more women to us.”

“I’m that bad, huh?” Y/N smirked.

Jimmy’s face became even paler than it already was. He didn’t mean that at all.

“Oh no! That’s not what I meant at all! Sincerest apologies, Y/N, I feel terrible. You’re so beaut—”

“I’m kidding, it’s okay,” she cut him off with a lighthearted chuckle, “I know where you’re coming from.”

“Okay, good,” he sighed, relieved. Y/N smiled before an awkward silence settled over the gorgeous tea room.

“So when is this tour happening?” she asked.

“End of October.”

“Wait, shit...I’m in university right now…”

“Oh, you’re right, fuck…” Jimmy muttered, his lips pursed in a pensive line, until he almost jumped out of his seat with excitement, “Wait! I have the perfect excuse for you.”

“Really? What did you have in mind?”

Jimmy smirked. “What if...you said you were participating in a study abroad-internship-sort of program for the fall semester?”

“I’m listening,” she said with a light giggle.

“Say that ‘it’s an opportunity to explore the depths of the cultural renaissance that is the British blues scene, which has indefinitely flourished over the past few years, as well as utilizing communication and leadership skills in a practical environment.’”

Y/N raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Oh, that’s good,” she nodded her head, “that’s really good. I love that.”

“Then all you need is for myself and Simon Napier-Bell to sign off on it, as well as your dean, and you’re good to go.”

“That’s genius, Jimmy!”

“Why, thank you Miss Y/N,” he said with a joking courtly bow.

~~~~~~~~

Y/N, with much pushback from the dean at her university, was able to acquire course credit for going on tour with the Yardbirds. Simon Napier-Bell, as well as other members of the Yardbirds administration, had to come into the dean’s office to fight in Y/N’s favour. All she had to do was take photographs and write a paper on it for the end of the semester.

Not too bad.

The week preceding the beginning of the tour, Y/N was so full of nervous excitement that she could barely sleep. By the time her brother dropped her off at Heathrow airport, people had taken notice of the dark circles that hung around her tired eyes.

“Y/N, you look like hell,” Jeff exclaimed as Y/N got out of the passenger seat of Tommy’s car.

“Thanks,” she deadpanned as she shut the car door, walking to the back to grab her luggage.

“My God, you have to pull yourself together,” he added as he walked with Y/N, “you look like a raccoon.”

“He doesn’t mean that,” Chris called hopefully.

“Well, I’ll sleep enough when I’m dead,” Y/N smiled as she walked over to the group at the sidewalk with her suitcase, “and I guess you’ll have to play ‘Rocky Raccoon’ to serenade me then.”

“If Y/N did, in fact, have to ‘pull herself together,’ she wouldn’t be wearing a floral dress and a jumper to an airport,” Jim said.

“Thank you Jim,” Y/N smiled, “but I do look like hell though. He’s not wrong. I’m really tired.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Why’s that?”

“I didn’t sleep this entire week,” she chuckled, “My excitement for this day got the better of me.”

“Why don’t you take a nap on the plane then, love?” Jimmy asked, “You can get sick from lack of sleep, and we can’t have you sick when we’re abroad.”

“I brought my melatonin just for sleeping on the plane,” she smiled, “and I just took a shower too, so I’m ready to go to bed.”

“Lads, we have to go now. The security line is already awful,” Simon called as he rallied the boys and Y/N together to enter the airport.

Everyone obliged, groggily entering the airport as the road crew pushed heavy baggage carts of encased instruments, monitors, and other electronics behind them. The security line was dreadfully long, but they made it through and boarded the plane with little time to spare.

As Y/N was walking on the tarmac to board the plane, Jimmy caught up to her.

“Where are you sitting? What does your boarding pass say?” he asked, out of breath from running.

“I’m in 10C,” she laughed at his disheveled state, “what about you?”

“10B.”

“Oh, looks like we’re sitting together then,” Y/N smiled.

The two entered the plane and once they got to their seats, Jimmy realized that he had the window seat.

“Uh, Y/N?” he asked, shifting his weight between his feet anxiously.

“Mmhmm?”

“Do you mind if we switch seats and you take the window seat?” he inquired, a sheepish countenance flooding his face.

“Oh no, I don’t mind at all,” she smiled as she sat down in Jimmy’s original seat, “Why do you ask? I think the window seat is so cool.”

“You see, I’m afraid of heights,” he explained as he sat down in the aisle seat, “not to be dramatic, but all the air travel has me fearing for my life.”

“Oh, I see. That’s valid,” she understood, “Planes can be uncertain.”

The two engaged in quiet conversation before the plane engine started with a roar, and the aircraft started to make its way down the runway. Once the speed accelerated and the wheels rumbled, a telltale sign that the plane would be leaving the ground any minute, Y/N noticed how Jimmy’s leg started bobbing up and down uncontrollably.

Hoping to sooth his worries, she intertwined her fingers with his as the plane ascended, sending him a gentle, comforting grin. Jimmy squeezed her hand to reassure her that what she was doing was helping. His spirits were automatically lifted, and his entire body felt bubbly as heat invaded his cheeks.

About a half hour into the flight, Y/N’s eyes were starting to droop, but she was desperately trying to fight off the sleep. She had to stay awake and not look stupid sleeping in front of Jimmy.

Jimmy took notice of her drowsiness, seeing her lightly dozing against the window, as he put a fragile hand on her shoulder. The girl woke up with a deep inhale, lightly grinning at him as if she weren’t just asleep.  

“Y/N love, why don’t you take a melatonin now and try to get some sleep?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” she admitted self-consciously, “I have to give into it now.”

She took the melatonin with a few sips of the water one of the stewardesses had given to her.

“Put your head on my shoulder so you don’t wake up with a sore neck from the window,” Jimmy coaxed gently.

“Thank you,” she said with a stretch, placing her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes, “‘night.”

“Sweet dreams,” he laughed.

Next to Jimmy, the soft motion of the plane lulls Y/N closer and closer to sleep. Head on his shoulder, inhaling the scent of his aftershave, and something that was so uniquely him, Y/N slept the best she had in weeks.

————

Taglist: @blood-on-blood @reincarnated70sbaby @jonesyjonesyjonesy @jimmys-zeppelin

[heyitsyn]

Manager!Seijoh IWA ROUTE

a/n: uwuwuwuwuwu my mans iwa chan :’)

IM A SIMP FOR IWAIZUMI HAJIME (27) ATHLETE TRAINER

uwu filo!iwa in this :)

and also, listen to lauv while reading this since i wrote this and that song was playing on repeat O_O and also this song

this is my self-request uwu

HES SUCH A POUTY BABIE BLS LOVE ON HIM

onwards we goooo

hihihihihihi yey im so excited for this yall dont even know

ANYWAYS

so,,,,

when iwa first saw you, he thought you were just a cute little thing

your shorter height, your puffy cheeks, and the wide eyes you had whenever you saw someone, or him, do a really cool spiking move

he initially thought of you as a cute little sister hes never had

ehehe that finna change

then the,,,, bullying thing happened

if youd like to read this part, its right here

when he saw you bloodied, all battered,

dear lordie he was finna break some ankles

ONG I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT SANGWOO YET HERE I AM

like that image of you will probably stay in his memory until he dies of the ripe age of 200

ngl it kinda traumatized him a little bit of how tired and pained you look with the tears rolling down your face and the blood that was escaping your body through your wounds

god you didnt deserve any of that

you deserved the world and the universe yet some people dared to take away your worth

ooo he was so mad

miyo was,,,, hurt??

can i say that??

i dont wanna,,,, explain bara arms iwa hurting a girl so youre gonna have to imagine that for yourselves

but at the end when they said slap, he didnt just ✨S L A P ✨ her

he ✨ B R O K E   S O M E   A N K L E S ✨

oiks is actually scared of him after that

like oiks had to peel him off of her and towards the infirmary where you and the team were

‘IWAIZUMI HAJIME, STOP!’

oof the first and last time oikawa tooru ever said that full name

he was breathing heavy and he was so ✨ A N G R Y ✨ with what she did to you yet he hears your soft scoldings, telling him off for hurting a girl

he wanted to see you

like right now

iwa tore himself from oikawa’s grasp and ✨ N Y O O M E D ✨ himself to the nurse’s office

there, you sat on the bed with the others scattered either on other beds or on the floor 

you smiled at the sight of him and he walked towards you and engulfed you in his arms

‘youre okay now. im here’

he whispered and you buried your face into his chest, breathing in his unique scent

lavender mixed with peppermint

he refused to leave your side so he ✨ M A D E ✨ some room on the bed beside you to sit and he wrapped his arm around your waist, holding you close

you held his hand while oikawa talked to you and as you shamefully bowed your head

but you were forgiven and everything was all good until the third years really got into plan

makki and mattsun promised to handle it all as they had family in the justice field while oikawa would go and get the girl suspended

‘but what about me?! i want-’

‘iwaizumi, you literally hit her. it’d be best if you’re not involved right now as you were the only one who physically touched her in a harmful manner like that’

ong when it come to y/n, the meme team is replaced by the assassin team

he tried to fight but in the end, 3 overpowered 1 and he was forced to sit back and opted to comfort you instead

he made sure you were safe to walk home but that day, you were the one who asked him to spend time with him

just you two

like after seeing him seethingly enter back into the room, you reached out and held his hand in yours, eyes trained on your fingers fiddling with his

‘iwa-san,,,, you said you downloaded the new godzilla movie?’

you whispered but he could still hear you and his heart swelled at your meek voice

‘yea, i did. and my mom bought those chips you like’

your eyes flitted up to meet his eyes and a soft smile spread on your lips and there was this thumping in his heart

maybe that was the first time that iwaizumi hajime felt differently towards you

a smile that seemed to be differently perceived than the rest

and it wasnt for the whole team

it was for him

and him alone

the trek to his house was quiet but you would hum nursery rhymes or the songs you heard earlier in the radio while skipping every few steps and tightly holding on to his hand

iwaizumi’s olive eyes watched you still radiate energy despite being so hurt for a long time

they then trailed to your linked hands and he unintentionally squeezed it, only figuring out he did it when you looked up to him and squeezed it back with a smile

he wanted to do something to make you forget of what happened

he didnt want you to think about the cruelty and pain so he was going to make sure you would continue smiling 

thankfully, his parents werent home so he wouldnt have to explain why he has a bandage-covered girl with him 

iwa led you upstairs to where his room was and your eyes widened when you saw what was inside

tiny action figurines of animes like bakugo from boku no hero academia or a tiny pikachu on his desk

there was a large country flag that you didnt recognize and a few godzilla posters and volleyball players decorating beside it

however, besides those normal things you wouldve expected,

there were many polaroids

polaroid pictures that were everywhere with no specific layout pattern and just placed anywhere that had room

iwa watched as you dazedly walked forward and entered the room to move towards the wall by his desk that had the most pictures against it

from pictures of him and oikawa to the third years to him and his parents or just the sunrise and human silhouettes

your fingers reached forward and traced the picture of him and the third years when they were still first years and took a spontaneous trip to the beach

‘mattsun stole his dad’s car and drove us to the beach without a license’

iwaizumi’s voice answered your questions and you looked back, shimmering eyes

this room,,, wasnt just a normal, teenage boy’s room

this was a room that represented iwaizumi hajime

from his natural character description like his love for volleyball evident in the volleyball player posters to the underneath description that was hidden like his love for godzilla and his love of taking pictures of the people he cares about the most

it was all that made up iwaizumi hajime

your feet took you to stand in front of him, still standing at the doorway, and you stood on your toes to try and be eye-level with him

‘youre really cool, iwa-san’

you whispered and his ears turned red, not from the compliment, but by the close distance between you two

iwa clearedhis throat and ruffled your hair roughly, pushing you down slightly back to the balls of your feet

‘i already knew that, brat. now go and sit over there and be comfortable or whatever while i go get the food’

he hurriedly turned to hide his growing red face but you stopped him

‘iwa-san,,, ano,,, can,, i borrow a hoodie?’

you mumbled, nervously thinking he might refuse 

but he grunted a response, not bothering to turn around

‘take your pick’

you smiled and thanked him before bounding over to the wardrobe that was pushed against the wall across his bed that was against the corner by his window

inside had so many hoodies and there were also shirts that were hung up on the other half

they were all graphic tees that either had american bands or anime or game references

opting for a mint green hoodie that says ‘SONIC NYOOM’, you had an undershirt under your button up and as you slipped the bloodied long sleeve off, he swung the door open, eyes focused on the tray of coke filled glasses

then he looked up and almost dropped it at the sight of you,,, like that

‘OH MY GOD SORRY’

he shrieked and carefully but hurriedly backtracked back to the hallway

ofc you were shocked too but you quickly put the hoodie on and went to get him

iwaizumi’s heart was hammering in his chest and he was VERY red with embarrassment 

how could he see you like that?!

a girl who wasnt his shouldnt be seen like that by his eyes!

a touch on his arm reminded him of his position and he was still holding the tray but it was clear from the liquid in the cups that he was shaking slightly

‘iwa-san, its okay. i still had a shirt on so dont misunderstand’

you reasoned and he nodded, still not looking at you

the beginning of the movie was quite awkward as you both were sitting next to each other on the floor, backs against his mattress while the laptop played godzilla in front of yall

but it seems it was just him who was feeling this way bc you were intrigued at this weird monster that was squshing building under its foot and you continued munching on the food

iwa stood up and coughed

‘im going to take a shower’

you paused it and stared up at him, a chip halfway in your mouth

‘oh? you want me to wait for you?’

he agressively shook his head

‘no! its okay i watched it already. just,,,, watch it’

at the end, his words came out jumbled in his hurry to go and calm his heart down

you shrugged and unpaused the movie to continue watching

iwa spent his time in the shower, thinking and trying to think of stupid thoughts like the time oikawa almost choked on a peanut when they were in middle school to distract him of thoughts of how adorable you were

ONG HE WAS JUST SHOWERING AND INNOCENTLY DOING SHOWER THINGS

‘no, i said she was like a sister to me. and a sister she’ll remain’

okay ngl even though theyre not related, im worried yall would be like ‘iNcESt’ but bls a lot of people have tried to sibling-zoned people yet realized they liked them in THAT way

as he wrapped himself with a towel, he then realized

oh my god he didnt bring clothes

LMAO NOOOO IWAAAAA

iwa frantically looked around and he saw his mother’s sakura themed robe and he paused, arguing silently with him if he should wear it

well, it was either that or he went back into the room and showed you,,,,,, this

sucking in a sharp breath, he kept the towel around his waist and slipped his arms through the tight arm holes and he awkwardly tried to keep it tied since he was so much bigger than his tiny mom

what is happening

you saw the door opening and excitedly turned to tell him about this one scene when your voice died down in your throat at the sight of him 

here was iwaizumi hajime, ultra muscle buff man who gets abs with a simple glance of the gym, wearing an all too-tight pink, cherry blossom print robe that was so tight the tie around it was shaking to keep it together

‘dont’

he whispered and that snapped your remaining surprise to double over in laughter

‘its so cute! iwa-san, youre so cute!’

you shrieked and he growled and hurriedly went to to grab grey sweatpants and a shirt before running straight back to the bathroom

when he finally came back out, his face was still red and he was pouting as he sat next to you back to his seat

he could feel you staring at him while looking constipated as you held your laugh in and the second your eyes met, your giggles fell out

iwa rolled his eyes

‘yes yes let it out’

‘hehe, iwa-san, i didnt know you had that style’

‘it isnt! i didnt want to walk in here practically naked with you in the room!’

he growled and you nodded, still not quite believing it

‘hai hai. just say you like pink, i wont tell’

you waved and iwa felt offended

‘what do you mean ‘hai hai’?! its really not!’

your lips pursed to keep more giggles in and iwa growled again before lunging to grab your sides and tickling you 

of course being careful to not touch your wounds

you shrieked at the ticklish feeling and iwa laughed as you made weak attempts to push him off

‘huh? what was that? whatd you say? cant talk anymore, can ya?’

he teased

‘NO!!!! IWA-SAAAAN!!!!!’

you shouted in between your laughter and he finally let up when you squealed out your apologies and promised to never say it again

you breathed air into your lungs and sat back up to recollect yourselves 

iwa saw the strands that escaped your bun and they were scattered everywhere looking messy with your flushed cheeks and teary eyes

oh my god you were beautiful

he was so happy that you still kept that smile despite what happened and he was going to fight to keep it there

forever

it was about nearly the end when you finally realized how different iwaizumi’s hair looked

‘oi, iwa-san, your hair is not naturally spiky?’

he continued eating the chips while still watching the movie

‘what would you expect? even shittykawa’s hair is like this. did ya know that he wakes up extra early to curl it into that shitty mess?’

your jaw dropped

‘EEEHHHH???!!!!!!!’

later, you asked him how he does his hair for school and he blindly reached for the gel that was resting on his desk before tossing it to you

‘here’

you looked at it and flickered over to his hair and then you had the greatest realization

‘GODZILLA-SAMA!’

you pointed and he stopped eating, turning to give you a confused look

‘ha?’

you shrieked in an another round of laughter

‘IWA-SAN LIKES GODZILLA-SAMA SO MUCH HE DOES HIS HAIR AFTER HIM!!!!’

you doubled over to the floor, clutching your stomach and iwaizumi’s flustered expression made you laugh harder

he knew you were smart but,,, not this smart

you figured out his secret

the secret he’s hidden since he was practically a toddler

even his best friend, the guy hes known since he was born, never made the connection

yet here you are, figuring it out not even a year of knowing him

was this part of the many reasons he,, felt his heart beat for you?

oikawa was relieved that you had the bright twinkle in your eyes the next time he saw you and you were actively talking to iwaizumi in that early morning practice

‘oh? y/n-chan, is iwa-chan your best friend now?’

he tried not to sound jealous for his own best friend’s closeness to you and he added a teasing smile for extra measure

okay that hurted me a bit

iwaizumi snarled and blasted the volleyball towards his face before he could even yell or shout

‘iwa-san, dont do that’

you chided softly, small hands wrapping around his muscly arm

but iwa patted your head

‘deserving people deserve things to happen to them’

you rolled your eyes but smiled at him

‘hai hai’

the next week, iwa still kept a close eye on you in case someone else decided to mess with you 

but you told him that you swear youd tell him if someone did and he trusts you so he backed off a little

one day, he was eating lunch with the other third years in their classroom when you busted through the door, excitedly holding your phone

‘iwa-san! i figured out what country your flag was!’

he was halfway of shoving rice in his mouth when iwa looked at you

‘oh? you couldve just asked me though?’

you pouted and went to pull a chair from another desk to sit beside him

‘nooo. i wanted to work for that information. so you’re from the philippines, iwa-san?’

he nodded proudly

‘yep’

your eyes shone with interest

‘really?! you look japanese so it must be one of your parents. hey, iwa-san, which island are you from? i read about them and they have like 7641 islands-’

the others watched as you read through the article in your phone and iwa wasnt even following your words, instead staring at you with a dazed look and a lovesick smile

mattsun, makki, and oikawa exchanged looks of surprise because in all the years theyve known him especially oikawa, iwa was never interested in girls and such

he was a straight forward man with goals and straight sight to get them done with no distractions like relationships or love

yet here he was

slowly falling in love with you without even knowing he is

he continued to fall with the simplest things about you

from the perfume that you wore everyday to the way you would tuck your hair behind your ear when you were talking to someone

little quirks he used to miss was now being noticed even if you were right behind him and not in his line of vision

now, the boys were starting to see the difference of their precious ace

it was as if when he started to like you, they knew immediately by how he was acting

then one day during practice, you were late and they were all looking around for you and when they couldnt find you, they met back in the gym with nervous looks

iwa was already pacing around, a scary aura radiating off of him, and kindaichi, who went with him to look around the school, warned the others of iwaizumi’s worry

‘he was slamming doors open and he was walking so fast i had to run to even keep up with him’

then you busted through the gym door

you were actually picking up food for the team and sweets and you were held up when makki’s puffs were still being cooked

they rallied around you to make sure you werent hurt and you assured them but iwa pulled them away like picked them up and threw them off to the side and took you in his arms

iwa thought you were hurt and he was so worried something happened to you again

the hug was bone-crushing with how hard he was squeezing you but you felt his worry though and you freed your arms to wrap them around his neck

‘im okay, iwa-san’

you whispered in his ear and he nodded

‘let me hold you for a second’

he mumbled and you nodded

‘oi, theres food in the bags so make sure you eat it all. coach paid for it all so dont leave behind anything’

the mention of the food distracted them from you and iwa and they piled on top of each other to reach their food first

iwa was grateful that you distracted the others from seeing him being vulnerable towards you

‘i thought-’

‘shh,,, you have me right here, right now. safe and sound’

you knew how much seeing you all battered messed him up and his attempt of making you forget about it has been

and his worry of you being gone without no sign of where you went will forever be there and he will always have that thought in the back ofhis mind

the next time you came over, you actually met his parents

since you went home early before, you didnt catch his parents when they came home around 10 minutes after you left

but this time, they were already home with his mom cooking dinner while his father was sitting on the dining chair reading a newspaper

iwa walked through the door, shouting he was home, and you did the same thing to be customary

oof his parents were surprised

his mom turned around to share a look of surprise with her husband

sure they havent seen tooru in a while but they were pretty sure his voice wasnt that high pitched

right?

‘hajime, did you hit tooru so much you ruined his-’

then his mother stopped talking at the sight of you holding iwa’s hand tightly when yall stepped around the corner

you sheepishly smiled at them and bowed your head in greeting

oh my

so this was why iwaizumi hajime-san was really really really handsome

his parents were freaking good looking

like his mother was aphrodite with her flawless melanin skin and doe shaped eyes with a mole under her left eye

and his father was like ares, so handsome yet still manly and his appearance was a special type of good-looking with his buffness and ruffed appearance

‘iwa-san, i didnt know your parents were gods’

you mumbled, still staring at them

iwaizumi choked and coughed, flustered

‘oh my!’

his mother placed a hand over her mouth

‘hello’

his father stood up to walk in front of you and held his hand out

‘i’m hajime’s father’

you let go of hajime’s hand to shake his own with both of your hands

‘really nice to meet you! i’m l/n y/n! seijoh volleyball manager! first year!’

you introduced then stepped aside to fully bow 90 degrees

iwaizumi thought it was so cute of how flustered you were at meeting his parents

‘ay nako! nak, i didnt know you had such a beautiful girlfriend!’

she squealed and hurriedly went to stand in front of you and gently grasped your arms to stand you back straight and took a good look at you

‘youre so beautiful, iha. nice skin, pretty eyes, ang ganda!’

even with your research of tagalog, you didnt quite understand what she was saying

iwa noticed your slightly confused expression and he laughed, tucking his hands in his pockets

‘sorry, my nay speaks in taganese when she gets excited’

‘t-taganese?’

‘tagalog and japanese’

you nodded in understanding

it was time to put your basic reserach to test

‘hello po’

you greeted her and nervously took her hand and pressed the back of it to your forehead before slowly lowering it down and letting go

her wide eyes made you think you did something bad or even offensive!

‘i-i’

‘HAY NAKO, HAJIMEE~!’

she shrieked 

‘YUNG-!!! YUNG-!!!’

okay im terrified

iwa noticed his mother’s malfunction and gently wrapped his arm around her shoulder and veered her back to her kitchen

‘sorry about her, l/n-chan. its just,,,, hajime hasnt brought home a girl before. and you doing that mustve done it in for her’

you worriedly watched hajime calm his mom down with a smile and talking to her hushed

in their perspective,,,

‘shes so nice, nak! marry her, okay? shes very pretty and she made an effort to please your nanay, so go and marry her!’

ohmylord im nervous

initially, iwa only wanted to go and hang out with you and watch a movie

not have a full dinner with his family

lmao i shouldve told you that youve been friends for months now

his mother cooked sinigang and adobo and more filipino dishes, adding even more when she saw you were joining them

the dining table was covered with a large plate full of food and you were so fascinated because this was a side of iwa that you wanted to know more about

‘wow!’

you said, not thinking, at the deep-fried fish that still had its eyeballs intact

iwa genuinely thought you would’ve shyed away from it in disgust but your eyes were glistening with genuine interest

‘iwa-san! youre so lucky you get to eat this stuff!’

you told him, looking over at his direction

while mrs iwaizumi was lading in the soup into the big bowl, mr iwaizumi was sitting at the dining table, watching your interaction and hajime telling you what each food was and your noises of surprise

he watched his son laugh when you said the palabok reminded you of the orange boy hinata 

and he also watched his son look at you so lovestruck and exactly like how he looks at his wife

soon, his mother finished and they rounded the table before saying a quick prayer to bless the food and digging in

‘so, what do you want to start with, iha?’

mrs iwaizumi asked and your wide eyes looked around

‘hm, im not sure. whats your favorite iwa-san?’

you looked to your right towards hajime who was busy eating and stopped before pointing his lips towards a direction

‘that one’

‘hah?’

you asked 

mrs iwaizumi laughed at her son’s actions

‘sorry, l/n-chan, my son has adapted my traits. he was pointing to this, adobo. do you want some?’

‘yes please’

the smell made your mouth water and you started to tuck in

maybe it was your managerial instincts, but you used your napkin to wipe hajime’s lips and he was also used to this and turned his head to make it easier for you then he went to grab the water jug and re-fill your glass

once it was done, you both silently went back to eating

his parents watched his exchange and it was like watching a married couple taking care of each other

‘so, l/n-chan, you said you were their manager’

mr iwaizumi started and you nodded, wiping your lips

‘yes. i have been for a while now and please, call me y/n’

‘hajime actually told us he had a new manager for his team and tooru told us too. but we didnt know you were a girl. its just so interesting for hajime to bring you home as he has never really had any female friends’

mrs iwaizumi’s comment made you chuckle and iwa’s eyes widened in embarassment

‘nay! of course ive had female friends! ive had friends from all genders!’

he reasoned but you teasingly smiled at him

‘ah, im not really surprised. iwa-san doesnt exactly have the appearance that girls are brave enough to approach’

he sent you a betrayed glance

‘hah?! what’s that supposed to mean?!’

you shrugged, going back to your food

‘im just saying that you always have this intense look in your eyes and youre always frowning. but its cute so its fine. and besides, i dont think theyve seen you laugh since you dont really smile a lot, iwa-san’

‘but you’ve seen me smile!’

‘eung. but its only to me. if they knew the stuff i knew like you being a godzilla fan or your collection of succelents, theyd see you like oikawa-san’

‘HAH?! YOU SEE ME LIKE SHITTYKAWA?!’

mrs iwaizumi held her husband’s hand on the table as they watched you both bicker and tease each other with a smile

hajime has always been on the rougher side of things and he doesnt really have many close friends other than the team and even then, tooru is the only one he can really be himself around

yet here you are, bringing out the boy hajime really is and making him laugh, a sound his parents dont really hear outside the house

and your eyes

god, your eyes held admiration, life,,,, and you might not know this yet,, but love

her eyes trailed her son who teasingly headbutted you and you faking a surprise and doing the same

then you heard his father’s cough which brought you back to where you were and the situation and the people that were there

you felt embarrassment creeping up inside you and you bowed

‘im sorry for acting like that, iwaizumi-san. i-’

‘no, dont apologize, darling. please, dont’

her soft smile made the nerves in you ease and hajime’s father winked at him and he knew exactly what his father was trying to say

after dinner, you volunteered to wash the plates but they veered you away from there and towards the living room 

‘oh my god, pops! stop her!’

hajime whined because he knows what his mother was going to do

she was going to show him his baby pictures

you sat on the beige couch and watched as she reached under the coffee table and revealed a few albums that had iwaizumi hajime written on the cover

‘now, y/n-chan, hajime wasnt always this pouty. in fact, he used to always have a smile on his face and laughed at the littlest things! like right here! a leaf fell on him and he-’

stories of his childhood was exchanged throughout the night and you were laughing so hard that tears were falling out of your eyes while hajime wrapped your shoulders with his arm and he would squeeze you tightly whenever you made fun of him

‘oh dear! iwa-san! you-!’

you didnt finished as you continued to laugh and he sighed

‘nay, can we go eat dessert now?’

he asked his mother and she was beginning to feel sorry for him so she smiled and nodded

‘okay. hajime, come help me’

‘iwaizumi-san, i can-’

‘no, y/n-chan. dont you worry your pretty little head about anything and just look through more of these pictures’

hajime followed his mother to their kitchen before she stopped and turned around

his mother’s height was around 5′1 so she had to look up to meet his eyes and her hands were clasped around his biceps

she is definitely beautiful and he cursed at how little he got from his mother other than her skin color

mrs iwaizumi married her husband and immigrated to japan to have a family and your polite action from earlier moved her as she hasnt experienced that in nearly 2 decades

‘nay, shes,,,, just a friend’

he reasoned, a wobbly smile to cover up his want for that title to change

yet mothers def knows best and saw right through it

she gave him a firm look with furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips

‘nak, dont lie to yourself. i raised you to never tell a lie and lying to yourself is considered lying to someone. she’s not your KAibigan, shes your kaIBIGan’

now, hajime knew a little bit of tagalog as his mother made sure he was able to at least speak to his relatives back home

so he got a hint of what she was saying yet was confused 

then he realized it

his blush creeped up his neck and he chuckled, ducking his head low to avoid his mother’s eyes

‘nak, listen to me. papunta ka pa lang, pabalik na ako. youre still growing and you may be confused right now, but make sure to think wisely and dont live with regrets. nanay doesnt want you to go through it all by yourself since she knows how hard it was. so please, listen to me and pursue her. shes special, hajime. she makes you so, so happy. i see it in your eyes, her eyes, god has fated you together. i feel it’

now if a filipino mother actually tells their son to go after a girl, thats a pretty big thing as its known that mothers are the hardest to convince and are fiercely protective of their sons, especially if its an only son, but mrs iwaizumi literally tells hajime to go court you because she sees how happy you make him and is willing to let hajime go to you 

definitely his mother’s words stuck to him and as he walked you home, he was busy thinking that he was quiet and you were worried as he would be talking right now

‘iwa-san? you okay?’

you asked and he blinked, taken back to reality from his daydream

‘hm, yea’

he answered to look at you

hes been pining for months now and he slipped his hand into yours, holding it tightly

uwu if you want to see iwa moments with y/n, read through the seijoh manager series as theres a lot of them in there

he wanted you yet, he knew it would be selfish of him to keep you in the future

he would be a college student while you’re in your 2nd year

would you want to be so far away from him?

could you handle it?

‘yanno, iwa-san, your dad told me something interesting’

you suddenly said, squeezing his hand and kicking rocks while looking up at the night sky

‘what was it? something embarrassing?’

he immediately feared that they told you that story when he was still potty training and he fell straight into the toilet 

‘hmm,,, no. he told me that he met your nanay when she was a high school student and he was a in an intern at your lolo’s company’

iwa listened and he had a smile at how you said the tagalog word for grandfather

‘he said she almost ran him over by her bike and she fled but they met again when she visited your lolo. through that, they became friends and then she confessed to him. apparently, he declined because she was younger than him, although just 3 years, and he was leaving for his own country in a few months so he didnt know if she would wait for him’

were,,,, you reading his mind?

iwa knew of his parents story yet with you telling it, it sounded a million times more interesting

‘yet she promised him. thats it, just a promise. that she would remain faithful to him, she would keep herself for him and when she finally graduates, she would go and find him and they could be happy together. he said it was the longest 3 years of his life yet when he saw in the airport, he felt like the wait was worth it. because he gets to hold the embodiment of happiness in his arms for the rest of his life’

you finished and he hummed

‘times have changed, y/n’

‘even you?’

you stopped walking and he naturally stopped too

‘would you wait for me like he did if i promised myself to you? if i promised you that despite the few years of waiting, i would still be yours and remain yours until we’re ready to be together?’

WHAT IS HAPPENING!!!!!!!

iwa’s heart was drumming in his chest and he wanted so desparately to look at you in the eyes but you were making that impossible as your head was bowed and your eyes were fixed on the concrete you both stood on

‘of course, i would’

your head snapped up and e/c clashed with olive eyes 

‘i would wait for you. we may,,, be young right now. and they might think we’re,,, being impulsive. but i dont care. because right now, all that matters, is you and me. we can think about the consequences later, but right now, i just want to kiss you’

he admitted, red ears seen by the moonlight

your body shook

‘do it, no balls’

well,,,, he has the balls

and under the moon, at 8:34 pm, iwaizumi hajime kissed you

OML THIS REMINDS ME OF THAT SEIJOH SHORT WHEN HE WAS TALKING TO OIKAWA AND HIS NEIGHBORS ARE LIKE ‘AH SHITE HERE WE GO AGAIN’

it didnt come as a surprise to the team when yall announced your relationship

well,, you both actually didnt tell them outright until like weeks later

what can you say?

you and iwa are very private people and you dont really like to show off in public

even though yall lit rally are stuck to the hip and he does things that he doesnt even think hes doing but he is totally doing

you were only caught by,,, guess who

mrs iwaizumi

it was weeks when she met up with mrs oikawa bc theyre totally best friends and thats why their sons are best friends

she told her of her son’s girlfriend and how sweet you were and how mrs oikawa should be jealous that her son doesnt have a girlfriend like that and the standards for oikawa’s future girlfriend was raised just by that teasing

oikawa literally came into after school practice after a phone call with his mother, fuming

you were talking to kindaichi and yahaba with iwa beside you, arm around your waist totally not obvious guys

and yall just saw an angry oikawa stomping towards yall

‘y/n-chan, iwa-chan, why the hell did my mom just call me and tell me that im not allowed to bring home a girl if she doesnt have h/c with s/c (skin color) and e/c and h/m (height measurement)?’

you shrugged

‘oikawa-san, i’ve never even met your mom before’

but iwa had a hunch

‘ahh,,,, my mom mustve been bragging to your mom. yanno how they are’

oikawa shot him a disbelieving look

‘IWA-CHAN! ITS BAD ENOUGH THAT YOU GOT A GIRLFRIEND AND I DONT! BUT ITS WORSE THAT YOUR RELATIONSHIP IS AFFECTING MY FUTURE ONE!’

he ranted, completely unaware that he just outed your entire relationship to the team

tbh they werent even surprised

like they were all ‘damn now shes taken. but cant say i didnt see that coming’

they took it pretty well too

they know how iwa is and they literally respect this mans and if anything, out of the whole team, he is the best candidate for your boyfriend

dating iwa is totally normal and yall just have increased touches?? like i dont know how to explain like he’s constantly holding your hand or arm around your waist or shoulder etc

literally nothing changed

you still have dinners at his house and iwa also knows your family and all that

and the most important thing is,

he kept that promise

even when he was literally at the other side of the world,

he still remained yours and you kept your own promise and waited patiently for his return

OOOOO TIMESKIP IWAIZUMI HAJIME (27) ATHLETE TRAINER

a little girl with bouncing dark brown hair was giggling as she maneuvered herself around the tall people

a shout from her parents and little sister was only making her run faster until she crashed into the legs of the person she’s been looking for

his blue jersey was similar to hers and she raised her arms up with a bright smile

‘uncle!’

she yelled and he chuckled before hoisting her up to his arms

‘ah, reyna-chan, didnt mom and dad tell you to wait for them? look! tala-chan is crying because you left her’

she followed his finger to her little sister, who was in her father’s arms, crying and reaching out for her

‘nee-chan!’

she screeched

finally, her parents were there and you were scolding her for running off

‘reyna, just dont do that again’

you said and she nodded, pouting and holding her uncle’s thumb

‘thank you, tooru-san. i dont know what i would do if she got lost’

oikawa grinned then gently patted the hat-covered head of the newborn baby girl that was strapped to your chest

‘hehe, its okay, y/n-chan. after all! uncle is always there to save reyna-chan!’

she shrieked when he held her up and hajime shook his head in his antics

‘where’s the others? i saw them in the stands but-’

he was cut off when he heard the shouts and yells from the other side that could only belong to your boys

‘woooo!!!!’

kindaichi’s voice echoed through the place and mattsuhana were rushing to greet their goddaughters

tala shyly accepted the arms of mattsun while makki was squealing quietly when darna was holding his finger tightly as she slept

‘taka-san, wanna hold her? she’s easier to hold when she’s sleeping’

‘oh can i?’

his eyes held the stars as the 11-month-old raised her fist then lowered it back down, sleep still heavy on her

‘waaa~ darna-chan is growing really quickly’

kunimi whispered, peering over his senpai to look at the baby whos eyes kept fluttering

you chuckled while looking at oikawa and him playfully bouncing reyna

‘tooru-san, congratulations on your win. it seems you’ve beaten hajime this time’

you complimented and the brunette smiled brightly at you, adjusting the little girls in his arms

‘ei, y/n-chan, i’ll beat him next time, and next time and the next time!’

every time he said ‘next’ he gave his goddaughter a kiss on her cheek making her giggle

your husband was pouting at the reminder of japan’s loss and you reached over to wrap your arms around him causing hajime to turn his head away from you

‘aww, my 4th baby is sad now’

you cooed and cupped his face delicately on your hands making him sulk and whine

the others, watching the scene, continue to be surprised at this side of their captain that remains to only be caused by you

‘ugh, nearly a decade later and theyre still sappy’

yahaba gagged and watari slapped his back

‘let them be happy’

‘come on! im in the mood for spaghetti! you like spaghetti, tala-chan?’

‘eung!’

mattsun cheered with kindaichi and she raised her hands to share the same energy

once everyone was situated in a restaurant and ordered, small talks were shared around the table of the past

‘haha, spaghetti is how your baba found out about you, tala-chan’

yahaba’s comment made the walking group laugh at the memory of seeing the video you sent in the seijoh group chat

‘i wanted to be creative with my second child since my firstborn was revealed by this loudmouth’

oikawa winced at the indirect diss at him

‘y/n-chan! i was really excited to find out i was going to be an uncle!’

‘youre already an uncle, bakakawa!’

hajime has toned down the insults to keep it pg for the children

‘but-!’

they started to argue, the oldest daughter looking disinterested as she sees this happening or hearing it whenever her dad and uncle video chat

‘it took me forever to find a ‘prego’ pasta sauce in the grocery store like i dont know why. was there a shortage?’

you complained, remembering the frustration

your fellow first years snickered at you and kindaichi prodded fun at you

‘is that why you just outright told him you were pregnant the day you found out?’

you rolled your eyes and watched makki and mattsun and tala watch the youngest as she wiggled her fists in the air and was awake enough to babble ‘makki’ over and over again

that was her first word and although she is now able to say a few words, she still repeats her first word over and over again

‘we had a fight and it just came out so of course i didnt have time to prepare!’

you defended and hajime finished his antics with oikawa just as you said that

‘what-what was your words again? ‘i really want to push you off the roof right now but i want my baby to meet their bastard father first?’‘

you gasped at that regretful statement and punched him in the arm

‘hajime! stop!’

you whined and covered your face with the sleeves of your his hoodie

‘hehe, y/n, you should do that again’

kyotani teased and you glared at him

‘shut up kyotani’

eyebrows were raised

‘eh? are you more hormonal?’

‘do you realize you already have 3 daughters?’

‘iwaizumi-san really wants to have a volleyball team family’

‘at least wait a year and a half, you animals’

‘so,, like hes that good huh?’

hajime growled and leaned over to intimidate but you snarled and jumped on your feet, being held back by the arms by kindaichi and hajime to stop yourself from leaping across the table to kill yahaba

‘keep talking like shite and i’ll make sure none of you become the godfather of this baby’

okay what

one, did you just curse

and two, this baby?!

‘im big sister again?!’

reyna ruined the surprised silence and then chaos ensued

‘WHAT!’

‘BABY?!’

‘THIS BABY?!’

you just realized what you said and smirked at the chaos you created and sat back down, leaning on the back of the chair and smugly taking a sip of your water

‘oh the power i hold in my hands’

you teased and oikawa pointed at you

‘when! how long!’

you looked at hajime who was so shocked that his eyes glazed over and a passerby wouldve thought he was dead

‘apparently 3 months’

oikawa started counting and his eyes widened at that thought

‘you-! you stayed in argentina! in my house! my house-!’

‘yep. both of them created under your house’

what 

!!!!!

hajime fainted 

oikawa screamed

a/n: okay i admit i got a little too carried away with this one. i just love filo!iwa and this was mostly written in his pov bc cmon we all know we love iwa and fell in love w him the moment we saw him

[preciouspeterbparker]

i wish i were

inspired by conan gray’s “heather”

warnings: stepsibling incest (not yet but that’s the whole premise), underage masturbation, underage sex, angst. peter’s like 16 and a half, Tony’s almost 18

word count: 2.2k

summary: peter’s in love with his big brother. no biggie. (spoiler alert: it’s a big deal)

(A/N: okay this has been living in my head rent free for over a month. i've written more, but it's not fully fleshed out yet. 

i figured i would post this and see if anyone is interested in reading it before i put a bunch more effort in lmao. this is filth. most of the angst comes later lololol (and more filth).

i hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think / if you'd like to read more!

- bloo)

PART ONE

Peter stands at his locker, desperately trying to blend in and remain unseen as he switches out his English textbook for Physics. The school year is basically over, given that it’s the last week of May but he’s still not comfortable in the junior-senior hallway. He’s always been the youngest (and therefore smallest) kid in most of his classes, given that he’s been in the ‘gifted & talented’ track since middle school. (He’s on track to graduate next year, taking his last few mandatory classes and completing an internship for additional credit.) This year, Peter feels even smaller than usual; maybe because most of the seniors are already eighteen, while as a sophomore, he isn’t even seventeen. He doesn’t have many friends this year, because of it. Ned moved away last summer because his dad got a new job, and, well, he’d never really needed more than Ned before. 

“Hey Pete-squeak,” comes a voice from behind, making him jump. Rolling his eyes, Peter pivots slightly to face the newcomer. The infestation of butterflies that he's been harboring for the past few months begins to flutter immediately, tickling the walls of his stomach as his cheeks flush lightly.

The voice belongs to a tall (or, well, taller than Peter, anyway), ridiculously handsome boy with dark hair and dark eyes, walking towards Peter with his hands in his pockets. The cheeky smirk on his face is all but permanent, but the small, genuine smile it slips into is something that Peter holds close to his chest, something that is typically reserved for him.  

Tony, his older brother, is pretty much Peter's favorite person in the world. Technically, he’s Peter’s step brother. Maria, his mom, and Peter’s dad Richard got married when Peter was a year old and Tony was almost three. They’d essentially spent their whole lives together; neither of them could really remember anything before. They’ve always been close, but that’s changed a little bit this year.

“Hey Tony,” Peter chirps, reaching back into his locker to grab his physics binder. He tries to act natural, even though he feels anything but. His heart’s going a mile a minute inside his rib cage. He feels a little ridiculous, he has for the past few months. Swallowing, he manages to sound relatively calm. “You read the last 2 chapters of Beowulf, right? Mrs. Herrera gave us a pop quiz last period.” 

The older teen groans. Closing his eyes, he throws his head back, a metallic thunk sounding as it collides with the locker he’s leaning back on. “Fucking hell. The final paper is due in like four fucking days! Is that not enough?” It’s quiet for a moment as Tony pauses before he opens one eye, cutting it to look at Peter. “What were the answers?” 

Peter snorts in response, shutting his locker. “Not happening, T.”  He pulls his phone out of his pocket to check the time and lets the left side of his body rest against the cool metal. Three minutes til the bell rings, and Mr. Riley’s class is right across the hall. So he’s essentially got three minutes to indulge himself and the fuzzy warmth that’s running through his veins. He loves any time he gets to spend with Tony. “You’re lucky I told you at all, be grateful.” 

Tony wrinkles his nose at him. “Rude,” he scoffs in mock offense. “I know you can remember them,” comes his teasing accusation. (And he’s right. Peter can recall the entirety of the quiz, but he’s still not going to enable Tony.) Then he pauses and raises an eyebrow at his younger brother. “Is that my sweatshirt?” The garment in question is a worn and slightly faded black Led Zeppelin USA 1977 crewneck sweatshirt. Peter’s wearing it over a charcoal and white check button-up. The sweatshirt is one of Tony’s favorite pieces of clothing, he wears it all the time (hence why Peter...borrowed it...without asking).

Having mentally prepared himself to be questioned at some point, Peter’s reply is already on the tip of his tongue. “Yeah, it ended up in my laundry and once I put it on it was too cozy to take off. And it looks good with these jeans and the button-up. And my boots. Trying out a new look,” he finishes, smiling as he pushes his glasses further up his nose. Tony often teased him about the thick, clear-but-slightly-pink frames, but Peter hadn’t wanted glasses at all (he doesn’t need any more reasons to be teased, thank you), but he likes these. They make him look cute, more feminine. More like someone Tony could want. 

“You’re right,” Tony smiles. One of his hands comes up to playfully ruffle at Peter’s russet hair. “Looks great on you, kid.” There’s warm affection in his voice. 

Peter feels his cheeks go hot again, and he wills the flush to go away. He can’t take compliments from Tony, now- they make him ache and preen simultaneously. He knows that Tony doesn’t mean it the way he wants. Peter knows that Tony would never speak to him again if he knew what was really going on inside his little brother’s head. The thought makes him sick to his stomach. 

Speaking of stomachs. “Hey,” he starts as he fingers through the papers in his physics binder, attempting to find the problem set that’s due today. “Did you ever catch up on Hell’s Kitchen? I’ve been rewatching episodes trying to wait for you, but you’re taking too long. You saw the episode where Gordon-” Peter’s heart falls to his stomach and he abruptly stops speaking when he looks up to notice that Tony isn’t looking at him anymore, barely seems to be listening. 

It falls completely out of his ass when he sees just what, just who, has stolen his attention. 

“Sorry, Pete, gotta go,” Tony mutters once he realizes that Peter’s stopped talking, shooting him a hasty smile and shoving off the navy metal. He skirts past Peter, a slight skip in his step as he makes his way down the hallway. 

Peter's swallows and clenches his jaw as he watches his brother walk straight to her, the bane of his existence. The reason he and Tony don’t spend as much time together anymore. The object of Tony’s affections. Pepper. She's...everything Peter wishes he could be, honestly. Tall, somehow a perfect mix of skinny & curvy, bright blue eyes, long strawberry-blonde hair. She's perfect. And not only in looks; she's also ridiculously smart. If Tony wasn’t valedictorian, she surely would be. She even volunteers at the local soup kitchen every weekend, and Peter’s pretty sure she reads to dogs at the animal shelter once a month. He hates that Pepper is so nice; he hates that he can't hate her without hating himself for it. 

As if he didn't have enough self-loathing already.

***

Peter exits the bathroom that connects his bedroom with Tony’s after gently flicking the lock on his brother’s door to disengage it, the soft ‘snick’ ridiculously loud in the quiet of the house. He’s the only one home; Mom and Dad are at some sort of event for Dad’s law firm, and Tony went to a party at Rhodey’s house. (Tony had insisted that Peter was invited, but he had to know that the younger would never go- why would he want to be surrounded by drunk, horny, belligerent teenagers? The last thing he wanted to see was Tony and- )

There’s a dark gray towel loosely wrapped around his waist, so loose he has to clutch it in his hand to keep it from falling. He closes his own bathroom door behind him and drops the towel, digging through his underwear drawer to pull out a random pair of plaid boxers. 

After sliding them on, the brunette takes a deep breath and lays back against the pillows, arms behind his head. He tries to consciously relax his muscles, the tension of the day not having melted away during his shower like he had hoped. Time for Plan B. It’s never let him down before. Peter reaches for his phone and unlocks it before swiping through his apps to open Spotify. The sound of “Dazed and Confused” fills the air through his speakers, and he sets it to repeat on a loop. It’s a little fucked up, the way he’s conditioned himself to respond to this song, but- Peter knows the whole thing is fucked up; he’s fucked up. 

Closing his eyes, he does the only thing he’s been capable of for months: he thinks of his older brother. 

He’s growing fond of the new facial hair Tony’s trying out; he wonders how it would feel against his skin. Which areas would be the most sensitive to its touch? His thighs? His neck? Peter’s head tilts back and to the side as he imagines wet, warm lips and the scratch of stubble. Just the thought, the phantom sensation, makes a soft mewl leave his mouth. It’s a little ridiculous how easy he can get himself going, when he thinks of Tony’s touch, of his body. Of his love. In his boxers, his cock shifts against his thigh as it begins to fill out. 

The sensual, plucky bassline and wailing guitars of the song drag along, and so does Peter’s breathing as he brings a hand up to pinch at one of his nipples. He imagines the way Tony would tease him until he was whining, begging for release. He supposes it wouldn’t be dissimilar to his older brother’s typical manner of playfully taunting him. Maybe Tony would pin him down like he did when they were younger, climb on top of him and hold him there with the muscles he’s gained from boxing in the garage. The opportunities he’s had to see the older teen breathing heavy, shirtless and glistening with sweat, would be forever ingrained in his mind. The mental image sends more blood rushing south and his dick throbs as it quickly reaches full hardness, drawing a gasp from his mouth. 

Peter takes himself in hand, studying the details of his cock. He knows he’s not huge, but he’s at least on the larger side of average. It’s flushed a deep, mauve-y pink, and he traces the line of a vein on the side with the tip of his pinkie. A shiver shoots down his spine. He wonders how similar it is to Tony’s. Is he circumcised like Peter is? Is he bigger? Longer, thicker even? Sure, he’s seen him naked before, when they were younger changing or in the bath, but that stopped around the time Tony was seven or eight. 

(Tony and Peter had come home from school one day, and Peter’s head had been reeling over what he heard some older girls saying on the bus. He’d decided to ask Tony about it. His big brother knew everything. ...Mom & Dad caught them kissing in their bedroom. That was the end of bathing together, and Tony got his own room, too. Peter never forgot about the way his big brother’s lips felt against his own.) 

A bead of precum oozes out of his tip and Peter rubs his thumb over it, smearing the liquid over his cockhead. Robert Plant’s voice moans over the speaker and Peter echoes the sound as he slowly strokes himself with a loose grip, his hole tightening around nothing. Biting his lip, he hesitates before slipping his left pointer finger into his mouth, rolling his tongue around it sloppily. Once it’s wet, he reaches down and gently presses the pad of his finger against the tightly furled muscle between his cheeks. His breath hitches as the sensation; he’s only touched himself down here a couple of times before. 

The tip of his finger begins to breach his opening and a whine leaves Peter’s mouth. It stings a bit so he tries to relax, muscles fluttering, making a mental note to grab some lube next time he goes to the drugstore. He wants to be able to stretch himself out more, to imagine Tony’s fingers, Tony’s cock, splitting him open and stuffing him full. Fuck-

Tightening his grip on the base of his cock, Peter grits his teeth and grunts softly as he pulls his finger from his ass. He can’t cum yet- he’s not done. He reaches under his pillow, pulling out the balled-up t-shirt that’s taken up residence there. The black fabric has faded in some spots, and the Black Sabbath logo is cracked and worn; it’s one of Tony’s favorite shirts. Peter brings the soft cloth up to his nose, fumbling with it to find the area with the strongest smell. There are hints of Tony’s Old Spice deodorant mixed with a scent that’s distinctly Tony, a warm, masculine musk that has saliva pooling in Peter’s mouth. Delirious, fucking his hand to the beat, he wishes he had dug a little further in the hamper, pulled out a pair of Tony’s briefs. 

That’s the thought that does him in. Peter cums into his fist, gasping his brother’s name, the sound getting muddled in the maelstrom of guitar and drums. Thick ropes of jizz splatter on his stomach and chest, entire abdomen heaving with his breaths. 

He wipes the mess up with Tony’s t-shirt before tucking the fabric back under his pillow for safe keeping.

to be continued???

[nadisabug]

Pairing: Hinata Shoyo x fem! reader

Genre: Hurt/comfort, fluff

Warnings: TIMESKIP SPOILERS

Summary: After leaving for Brazil, you thought you would never see Hinata again. What happens when life brings him back to you? 

Word Count: 1.2k

A/N: okay first thank you to my lovely beta and wife @snoozless also thank you if you sent in a request for this event I love you specifically. after i post this ill make the headers and get the post dates up!!!! mwah

Haikyuu Masterlist // Love Song Event Masterlist

You sighed as you finished with a customer. You had been working a double shift since someone called out and to be honest, you were tired. Exhausted even. But you needed the money. So you worked.

Finding a job straight out of college was hard if not impossible. Too many times were you just… ghosted by employers. They would say they would contact you later and then nothing. It was just so disheartening. So when this cafe took you on, you were happy, but you just wanted more. All you wanted was to do your dream job but it seemed impossible in the small town of Miyagi.

You pressed the buttons to set up for a new customer, the motion repetitive. 

“Hi, welcome. May I take your order?” You ask without looking up from the register. 

“I, uh, well, yeah,” a familiar voice stutters in front of you. 

It can’t be. 

You look up at your customer.

It’s him. 

Shoyo Hinata in all of his glory stands right in front of you. There was red dusting his cheeks and his hands were fidgeting. You can’t fight the smile rising to your face. 

“I’m off in about 30 minutes, what can I get you until then? Your usual?”

Hinata sighs, relieved. “Yes, please.” 

You nod and type it in. “Pick any table, I’ll join you in a bit.”

“L/n?”

“Yeah?” you look up, startled at his use of your last name. You used to be on a first name basis. Well, you used to be a little more than that…

“Thank you,” he smiled full and wide, his eyes shutting as he lets a genuine smile take over his face. 

Your heart skips a beat. 

“Yeah, no problem,” you mutter, looking back down at the register. You just had to look away, staring at his smile for any longer would have probably blinded you. 

He tries to hand you a crumpled bill, but you shake your head. “This ones on me.”

Hinata frowns and instead shoves the bill in the tip jar. You shake your head but don’t fight back. You’ve been holding up the line enough. He walks away without a word and you let him, knowing you will see him again later. 

Clear blue water / High tide came and brought you in / And I could go on and on, on and on, and I will

“Y/n,” Hinata mumbled. 

You were leaning your head on his shoulder, watching the sunset on the porch of his house. He invited you over to do a project, but you guys had finished early. You couldn’t bring yourself to leave and Shoyo’s mother offered to have you over for dinner. So here you were. 

“Yeah, Shoyo?” You tilt your head up to look at him. For some reason his cheeks are red. His eyes are fixed on the sunset. 

“I think I like you,” he finally says. 

It takes you a moment, but you process his words and an unimaginable warmth fills your chest. You feel like you’re about to explode. You shift so that you are sitting up and turn to face him. 

“Do you mean it like…”

“Yeah…” Shoyo finally turns to look at you, fear dripping from his voice. “Is that bad?”

“No,” you smile. “I think I like you too.” 

Skies grew darker / Currents swept you out again / And you were just gone and gone, gone and gone

“Do you hate me?” Shoyo’s voice was fragile, almost like porcelain. 

You looked up at him with watery eyes. “I could never hate you.”

“But I made you sad.”

“Of course I’m sad. But I am also happy. Brazil will be so good for you. You will finally get to live your dream.”

Shoyo felt something in him break. You are my dream. But he couldn’t say it, so instead he just nodded. 

“I love you, of course I am happy for you.” 

He felt that part in him crack just a little bit more. 

“I love you too,” was the only thing he could say. 

“So go,” you nudged him. “I’ll be here for you. Rooting for you.”

“Okay,” he smiled. He wanted to ask for one last kiss, he ached for it, but something in him stopped him. Don’t hurt her more. So he didn't. 

“I’ll watch every game,” you smiled with wide, beautiful eyes. 

“Good.” He answered. 

In silent screams / In wildest dreams / I never dreamed of this

“Sorry that took a bit,” you said as you sat down at the table. It had become a routine for you two. He would show up, order, and soon after you would take your break. You had come to expect it. 

“No, no, it’s fine L/n,” Hinata waved his hands to placate you. 

“Y/n,” you said. 

“What?”

“Call me Y/n.”

A wide smile appeared on his face, and light bloomed in your chest at the sight because of it. His smile always seemed to have that effect on you. “Then Shoyo.”

“Okay,” you smiled. 

You proceeded to talk beyond your break time, about how Brazil was and how much he loved it. About how he was a coach for a local school in his free time. How he loved his team and felt accepted as a player. Interestingly, Shoyo did not leave after you went back to work like he usually did. He lingered today. 

After you were off, you approached him. 

“Shoyo?”

“Ah, yes,” he flushed, turning to you. 

“You’re still here.”

“Yeah.” He paused, looking away. “Actually,” he continued. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“What?”

“Would you like to come over to my place for dinner tonight?”

The question took your breath away. You hadn’t expected that. Of course you had hoped, dreamed of it even, but you never expected him to actually reach out again. 

“How long are you in Miyagi for?” You asked instead of answering. His eyes clouded over. 

“A month.”

You thought about it. Was it right to do this again? You would only get hurt again when he left. 

You shook your head. You couldn’t say no. Not to him. 

“Yes of course.”

“Great,” he smiled again and you felt like it was worth it.

Tossing, turning / Struggled through the night with someone new / And I could go on and on, on and on

“Y/n?” 

You hummed at Shoyo to indicate that you were listening. You were currently laying your head on his chest, watching a movie at his place. 

“Did you… did you see other people?”

You weren’t sure how to respond. Of course you had, but you only did so in a futile attempt to erase Shoyo’s smile from your mind. The feeling of his body pressed against yours. It was all physical and no emotions, with the other people. But still you had. 

“Yes, but I… It wasn’t the same.”

Shoyo nodded. 

“Did you?” You asked. 

“I couldn’t.”

You didn’t ask why. 

You knew. 

Lantern, burning / Flickered in the night, only you / But you were still gone, gone, gone

Your eyes slowly opened as you regained consciousness. 

You were curled into a pillow, clutching it as if it were your lover. 

You woke up alone, again.

You rolled away and splayed yourself out across the bed. 

You were upset that you were alone, but only for a moment. It took a moment to realize where you were. You weren’t in your bed, no, you were in someone else’s. The comforting scent of Shoyo wrapped around you, holding you tight. 

You sat up and looked at the door. You smelled something else, breakfast. 

You got up and padded over to the door, opening it and looking into the living room kitchen area. 

Shoyo noticed you immediately. 

“Love! You’re up! How was your first night in Brazil?”

This love is good / This love is bad / This love is alive back from the dead, oh, oh, oh / These hands had to let it go free, and / This love came back to me, oh, oh, oh

Taglist: {OPEN} <-taglist form linked

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@snoozless , @levylovegood, @tanakas-hugs-and-kisses , @dv0412 , @milktyama​

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[keichan]

Running Through the Night Tsukishima x fem!reader Part 8: Together

You and Tsukishima have been friends for as long as you two could remember. With a very unexpected confession, how will this affect you two?

Authors note: Okay! So this fic takes place in Seberptem of 2017!! It will all make sense! This fic is going to be ending at chapter 10! This is also the longest chapter of the series so I really do hope you guys enjoy! Please interact with this to show your support!

Word count: 3768

Genre: college au, unrequited love, angst, best friends to lovers, fluff somewhere in there, mutual pining

Warnings: manga time skip!!! swearing! alc!

Send me a message or ask to be added to the taglist !

masterlist・previous・next

After Tsukishima came over on Saturday, you have been in a slightly better mood. Hearing his words brought you comfort, but at the same time the ache still persisted in your chest by knowing that you were still the reason for his pain. It was not his fault that you were unhappy after his confession. It was the large communication gap between the two of you. The things that were said out of lack of knowledge rather than hostility. Though the instances were childish, you have known him for over 15 years and he wouldn’t spit words with venom like that.

It was late Wednesday afternoon and you and Yamaguchi were setting up the apartment to look nicer for all of your friends from high school to see. Yamaguchi looked at you to smile. You had a brave face on today. Everything this last week has changed between you and Tsukki, and right now it is starting to look for the better. You had your hair fixed nicely. Light makeup on. One of your favorite outfits. The only reason Yamaguchi remembered is because him and Tsukishima were there when you bought it. Earlier in the summer you dragged Yamaguchi and Tsukishima to have a mall day (very much against Tsukishima’s will) to go back to school shopping. 

It was a pair of skinny jeans that rested right below your belly button and a flower peach shirt that you complimented with a tan jacket. Yamaguchi just knew that you were feeling your best about the party tonight. 

It wasn’t long before former members from Karasuno’s volleyball club began to pour into your apartment. Everyone brought food and drinks and we’re having a good time catching up with all of the alumni who decided to move out of Miyagi like Yachi and Azumane.

Tsukishima’s cake, well it wasn’t really a cake, more or less of large strawberry shortcake with the numbers 21 struggling to stand up in the strawberries. Though it was Tsukishima’s birthday, you haven’t spoken to him since the day on campus. 

By now the night has fallen and you were standing around your counter with Enoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita. They haven’t left Miyagi, so it’s not like you don’t get to talk to them fairly often. 

“I’m getting an internship at a physical therapy center by Sendai. After they graduate they said that they’ll give me a job.” Enoshita proudly announced before taking a drink from his plastic cup. 

You clapped your hands together smiling. “Ah that’s great! I’m so happy for you, Enoshita!”

“Ah! Thank you Y/N!” Enoshita smiled before dipping his head into a small bow. 

You held your face in your hands as you continued to talk to them. You were slowly getting tipsy while waiting for Daichi to return to the apartment with Tsukishima. Somehow all of your nerves flutter away as you become surrounded by your old friends and classmates. Sinking into a comfort that has been a stranger to you in the last two weeks. 

You laughed as suddenly the lights turned off. Someone grabbed your wrist and dragged you to the other side of the kitchen. A lighter flickers over the candles to light them. You turn to see a shadow cast on Yamaguchi’s face as he fumbled to have the candle wicks catch a flame. 

“Daichi texted me. They’re walking up now.”

Immediately the nerves set back in. The room was dead silent. Everyone already knew the plan and to be prepared. You stood behind Yamaguchi. He held the shortcake with one hand and hovered his other hand to guard the flames as he walked forward.

You hear Tsukishima’s voice muffled outside of the door. 

“Daichi, I don’t understand why you had to drive me her if Y/N needed to talk to me. You know that I’m twenty-three and I do in fact own a car?”

Daichi laughed and opened the front door. 

Immediately Sugawara turned on the lights and a flooded chorus of “Happy birthday, Tsukishima” filled the room.

“Happy birthday, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi walked up to the tall blonde, raising the shortcake closer to his face. “Make a wish!”

Tsukishima looked back to normal as if nothing ever happened. His cheeks were no longer hollow and bags no longer reside under his eyes. He quickly scanned the room to meet your eyes for a brief moment. You offered a small smile and a slight nod. Tsukishima returned the smile that turned quickly into a smirk as he looked around at the rest of his former classmates.

“Well well… This is a little extra now isn’t it?” 

With a smug grin he leaned down to blow out the candles following with everyone’s applause. 

Tanaka and Nishinoya practically tackled him before punching his side and rubbing his hair. They teased him saying that he’s becoming an old man since he already acted like one. 

As if Nishinoya could pause in midair, he looked over at you. “Y/N you should get some music going!”

It wasn’t before long that Tsukishima was sitting at the kitchen table eating his birthday desert (while refusing to let anyone touch it) reminiscing with Sugawar, Azumane and Sawamura. You two still haven’t said a word and it’s been thirty minutes since the party had started. 

Now you were talking to Kiyoko, Tanaka, and Yachi. Soft music played in the background barely loud enough to where you needed to shout over. Luckily for the four of you, Tanaka carried the conversation.

Not completely surprising, but glad that it happened, Kiyoko and Tanaka told you that they got married in a very small wedding a few months prior. You and Yachi couldn’t help but smile since everyone was well aware of how… bold… Tanaka was about his attraction to Kiyoko in high school. You were slightly buzzed and enjoying every conversation you were able to partake in with your former classmates.

In the conversation, you couldn’t help but to keep looking over at Tsukishima. He was picking at his shortcake while being engaged with his senpais. He looked bored, but everyone knew he was very grateful to be around everyone like that again. 

You excused yourself to go pour yourself another drink. You walked over to the counter and began to make yourself a mixed drink. You couldn’t help but overhear the boy’s conversation.

“It’s great that Y/N managed to get all of us together in Miyagi again. She’d been planning it for about a month now I believe,” Sugawara laughed as he leaned into the table, already noticeably drunk. Tsukishima nodded without a shred of emotion on his face.

“She’s great.”

Quickly, holding your newly poured drink with both hands, you made your way to the small round table standing beside Tsukishima. The small amount of liquid courage in your system pushing you generously to attempt to start a conversation. 

“Happy birthday, Tsukishima.” you leaned closer to the table for him to hear over the speakers. 

Unintentionally, the air between the five of you became stiff. The three upperclassmen have never heard you call him by his surname. It came as a surprise to them to see Tsukishima completely freeze in place before dipping his head in a small bow.

“Thanks, Y/N” he mumbled looking dead ahead. Azumane, Sugawara, and Sawamua’s eyes looked back and forth between the two of you as if there was a tennis match. But there wasn’t anything besides tension.

You awkwardly rubbed the back of your head before nodding. “Mmm.” 

You quickly turned around and headed to the opposite side of your home back to Tanaka, Kiyoko, and Yachi. You weren’t able to pay attention to what they were saying as your gaze stayed at a wall past their heads. It was easy to escape the awkward situation, but that isn’t what the two of you needed. However, there was still a wall there.

You sighed before picking your cup off the floor. “I’m gonna go sit outside for a second. I need a breather.”

You leaned over the railing in the staircase of your apartment complex looking over the small neighborhood. The quiet hums of cicadas filled your ears bringing you a sense of comfort that you weren’t able to find in your apartment upon Tsukishima’s arrival. 

Though it had only been two weeks, you didn’t know how to start a conversation normally. If only something could push you two in the right direction. You sighed watching cars pass the street below you. You closed your eyes and began humming a song that has been stuck in your head for a while.

You heard footsteps walking behind you going down the stairs. It must be one of your neighbors going out. Instead, someone stands beside you supporting themselves on the railing.

“What are you doing all alone out here?” Tsukishima asked. You dangled your cup mindlessly over the ledge before raising it to your lips to take a long sip. It seemed that whatever god exists read your mind.

“I just needed to clear my head? Shouldn’t you be inside enjoying your birthday party?” 

You turned your head to meet his gaze before he shook his head.

“You weren’t in there for a while and I just thought that I’d ought to go find you.” 

There was a soothing silence that coated the two of you for a few minutes. 

“Y/N, are we still friends? I understand if we’re not. I-“ he paused before gripping the rails until his knuckles were white. “I just need to know where we stand.” His voice was monotonous, but his actions reflected his emotional stance. 

“Tsukishima, I-” He quickly stood up straight and turned to face you, keeping his hands on the rail.

“Kei.” He breathed. “Please call me Kei.”

“Kei.” You began firmly. “I know that these last two weeks haven’t been our best. And we both know why.” You bend down to place your drink on the concrete and carefully reach for his hands before taking them in yours. You sucked in a deep breath before meeting his honey eyes. You rubbed your thumbs in circles on the backs of his hands as a form of reassurance. 

“I love you. I’m sorry that it took me so long to come to the realization, but I truly do. I love that you’re witty and passionate about everything you do. Kei, you always put your best foot forward with everything you’ve ever done our whole lives and I admire you for that. You’re such an intelligent man and I can’t wait to see where life takes you after graduation. I know that you doubt yourself often, but there’s no need for that. You’re handsome and talented and you don’t need to forget that. Ever. I feel like a fool that it took me so long to realize that it’s always been you. You’ve stood by my side since day one. You are my comfort. You are home to me. There’s no one on this Earth that I’d rather live my life with than you.”

Kei squeezed your hands before pulling your arms around his waist and cradled your head gently in a hug. You tightened your grip on his waist and buried your head into his chest. He softly ran his fingers through your hair as all of the tension in his body left in a single breath. 

“Y/N..” He whimpered sniffling. Emotion poured into his words that wasn’t there previously. “I love you so much. I thought I fucked up everything. I didn’t mean those things that I said-”

“I know, Kei. I know how you work. You think you’re all cool with hostility, but you’re just a big softie aren’t ya?” you laughed looking up at him. He immediately froze and an annoyed expression graced his features. 

“Eh?? What the hell are you talking about, idiot.” He paused looking down before sucking his lips at the realization. He rolled his eyes to cover the fact that he confirmed your statement.

You giggled before reaching up to wipe away a stray tear from a few moments prior.

“You know I forgive you. You’re kinda cute when you act like this. You’re bad at hiding your emotions. You know you can let down your walls around me.” 

His face automatically flamed red before he turned his head abruptly. 

“Stop it Y/N. You can’t just go around saying things like that. You can’t go saying whatever the hell you want’” he quickly flicked your forehead. You gently shoved your hand against his chest.

 “There you go again! You know that didn’t stop you the other day!”  

He continued to look away from you over the neighborhood. By now his entire face and neck were bright red.

You reached up to bring his chin down to look at you.

“Kei. I love you. Let’s date. Yes or no?”

He quickly let go of your waist to cup your cheeks with both of his hands. He flashed a rare genuine smile. “Yes. A hundred time yes. Let’s do that.” 

He slowly leaned down towards your lips. Your eyes fluttered shut as his lips delicately landed against yours with a gentle peck. He pulled away and rubbed your cheek with his thumb. “Is this okay?” You quickly nodded before placing your lips on his. 

You melted into his touch and grabbed the front of his T-shirt to pull him closer. His lips were soft and enticing. He slipped his right hand behind your neck and tilted your head up more to deepen the kiss. 

Everything about the moment was as perfect as a movie. He bit your lip softly before slipping his tongue in your mouth. Your hands ran across his chest before wrapping them around his neck as his hands traced your side to clasp at the small of your back. 

After a few minutes the two of you pulled away and stared at each other with nothing but love in your eyes.  

“Have I told you that you look very, very gorgeous in that outfit?” He reached to hold your hands. He softly kissed your knuckles before peering down to you for your response. Heat rose to your cheeks before you shook your head. 

“Well, you look very gorgeous in that outfit.” He smiled before giving you a peck on your lips. He laced your fingers together and nodded towards the staircase. 

“Let’s go have a good time Y/N.”

He took your smile as a yes and led you back into the apartment, continuously looking back at you flashing a genuine smile at every given moment. 

As the two of you entered your home everyone paused their conversations to avert their gaze at the two of you. It’s pretty noticeable when the host and the star of the party disappear. Everyone made the connection quickly to see the two of you hand in hand after all these years. 

“About goddamn time!” Nishinoya weaved himself between everyone to punch Kei in the stomach before rubbing his hair. He quickly let go of your hand to hold his stomach, glaring at Nishinoya. If looks could kill, you’d be attending a funeral instead of a surprise birthday party. 

“Oh my god! Tsukki are you okay?” Yamaguchi was immediately beside him staring down Nishinoya. 

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.”

“Sorry, Tsukki!”

Tanaka rushed forward to give Tsukishima a hard time before Enoshita rushed forward to scold the two men. Exactly like high school.

You laughed before making your way back to the kitchen to see Sugawara smiling broadly at you. He hugged you and tilted you from side to side as if he were a proud mother.

“My children are finally together! My precious Kohais! God is good!” His head drooped onto your shoulder as if his neck couldn’t support it. 

In a flash Kei had an arm wrapped around your waist. He lowered his head to eye level with Sugawara, a smirk already apparent on his lips. “Do you have business with my girlfriend, Sugawara-san?” You shove Kei’s side for already letting his ego inflate. You couldn’t help but smile when you heard the word girlfriend though. 

Sugawara released you from his hug before stumbling backwards. Azumane caught him as if he were waiting on cue. He quickly mumbled his apologies on Sugawara’s behalf before returning to Daichi on the living room couch. 

“I’m proud of you two!” Sugawara slurred as he stumbled away. 

Tsukishima guided you to the kitchen table where everyone from your graduating year sat. No matter the topic of conversation, Kageyama and Tsukishima had to find a way to take a jab at each other. Every time Kageyama would say something to get under Kei’s skin,  he’d grip your hand tighter under the table. Any time you scolded either of the two men, his grip would relax to the sound of your voice. 

The two of you ran through the night flourishing your love while being surrounded by your closest friends. 

Eventually everyone flooded out of your apartment by 4am. Everyone that drank too much had a sober classmate to drive them home 

 You were dead asleep on the couch with your head on Tsukishima’s lap. He played with your hair as he exchanged a conversation with Yamaguchi. 

“I’m glad that you two finally got together. I’ve been waiting for years.”

A smile ghosted Tsukishima’s lips as he studied the features on your sleeping face. “I honestly didn’t think that you knew about it if I’m being honest. I’m so grateful she loves me back.”

Yamaguchi smiled seeing the look of admiration on his best friend's face. He wasn’t trying to hide his emotions anymore and Tsukki was basking in joy. Ironically, Yamaguchi thought back to highschool when girls would come up to him to ask about Tsukki, but little did the girls in school know that his heart was already taken.

Yamaguchi grinned and ran his hand through his hair. “Do you need anything else, since we already cleaned up?” 

Kei shook his head. “It’s all good. I’ll take care of her. I’ll catch you tomorrow at school on campus.”

Yamaguchi nodded and walked out of the front door with a short farewell. 

Kei held your head and maneuvered himself out from under you. You let out a slight groan before curling up into a ball to make up for the absence of heat. He chuckled at the sight. 

Kei made his way to your bathroom where he grabbed makeup wipes. He sat on the floor in front of you. He placed a finger under your chin before placing a chaste kiss on your lips. You didn’t stir. You have always been such a heavy sleeper. He carefully pulled off your strip lashes making sure to go as slow as possible to not wake you. He opened the container of wipes and began to remove your makeup. 

He threw the dirty makeup wipes away in the kitchen before returning to the couch. He picked you up bridal style and carried you to your room. You snuggled your head closer to his chest causing Kei’s face to shift to a pink hue. Lucky for him that not only was it dark, but no one else was there to bear witness to it. He’d never get used to you finally being his. 

He placed you on your bed and to his surprise, that’s what woke you up. 

“Kei? What time is it?” You yawned. He peered at the clock next to your bed. 

“5:30 in the morning” 

You rubbed the sleep from your eyes before reaching out to him. He sat down for you to wrap your arms around his bicep and rested your head sleepily on his shoulder. 

“Are you staying the night?” 

“Only if you want me to.” His voice laced with cockiness. You didn’t even need to look at him to know he had a fat smirk on his face. You rolled your eyes before pulling him closer. 

“I want you to hold me, Kei.” 

You felt his hand come up to the side of your face to support your head. “Anything for you.”

You picked your head up from his shoulder and stretched your arms back to yawn. You sluggishly stood up before walking to your dresser. 

“I have a pair of your boxers and sweats that you left over here if you want to wear them.” You didn’t wait for a response before you threw them at him. Mistakenly hitting him in the face, but you couldn’t help but laugh at him in the dim lighting. You knew he was scowling at you. 

You ignored it and grabbed an oversized T-shirt and a fresh pair of underwear and went into your bathroom to change. You caught your reflection to see that your makeup was already gone. Your chest fluttered knowing that Kei was sweet enough to do it for you while you were asleep. 

You walked back into your room to see Kei sitting in your bed under the covers scrolling through his phone, shirtless. His glasses already rested on the nightstand. 

“Kei? Did you take off my makeup for me?” You swayed back and forth in place. 

His eyes didn’t rise from his screen. “No.”

You giggled before making your way beside him. You pulled the comforter over your legs and turned to face him.  You grabbed the side of his face and placed a large kiss on his cheek. You felt his skin burn below your lips. He locked his phone and quickly turned to catch your lips. 

He pulled away and tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear. 

“Let’s go to sleep.”

You nodded in agreement and laid on his chest and buried your head into the crook of his neck. Your warm breath tickled his neck.  You sling your free arm around his neck and drape your leg over his. His arms rose  wrap around your torso. He slipped his hands up your shirt and drew circles on your back.

“Is this okay with you?”

“Yes baby. Perfect.” You mumbled into his ear. Twirling his hair in your fingers. 

He turned to kiss your forehead and smiled at his new pet name.  

“Yanno, this is the best birthday present I could’ve asked for.” Kei heard you mumble in agreement.

He continued,” You’re a gift of a lifetime. Thank you for being with me. You’re my greatest blessing.” 

“Mmm” was all you could muster before your body went slack on top of his. 

Not before long, the night lulled him to sleep dreaming about the future to come. 

taglist: @pipsqweaks | @pperapear | @wakayetoshi | @luvmonie | @bumbledunce | @a-listaire | @ysasian​ | @kodzu-ken | @montys-chaos @setterfish | @cece-lives-here | @totorosleaff​ | @sailorscout1902​ | @goopycookie​

[sunonyoreface]

Forest Nymph | Geralt of Rivia pt 1

Hi this is my first fanfic so take it easy on me!

Warnings: slight gore

Going into town was dangerous. If anyone found out who or more importantly what you are, they would kill you. Maybe they’d stake you up to a post and burn you. Or they could tie you to the back of a horse cart then drag you face first around town until your mouth fills with mud and shit and your flesh gets torn off your bones. Maybe they’d simply beat you to death.

Either way it didn’t really matter. If the people of Asenguard found out that you are the dryad, the forest nymph who is destroying their farm land, the first thing they would do is torture and kill you.

So, understandably, going into town is not an often occurrence. A trip once every three or four months does more than suffice. You bring rare herbs and spices to trade for coin. The local healer is especially fond of you. She is a warm soul. One of the few good humans left, with no second motive in her kind eyes. She simply wants to help others.

“Oh Briar!” she exclaims excitedly, having watched you walk down the narrow path to her warmly lit cottage “I’m so glad to see you! I was getting low on juniper berries.” She holds her hand out for the pack with childlike excitement. She’s the only human who knows what you are.

“Come in for some tea.”

“I’d like that.” She’s the closest thing to a friend that you have

The conversation stays light however you can tell there’s something on her mind. She keeps giving you concerning looks. Looks that say something is wrong.

“Is there something going on Thea?” She purses her lips and takes in a deep breath before sighing.

“Things have gotten a lot more tense these past few months. The farmers are… well they’re angry. Really angry. They’re talking about hiring someone to find the thing wrecking their land. A Witcher” Her worried eyes never leave yours. She is serious.

“I’ll be fine Thea. I always have been.”

“I mean it. Something has changed,” She paused for a moment. “The air is different. I can feel it in my bones.”

She’s right. You know it and yet its easier to pretend that nothing is changing.

“Look I’ll be safe, check my back, everything is going to be just fine.” She simply sighs in response, but what else can you do? Leave? That’s not an option. The Asenguard forest is a part of your soul. “I need to go, finish my errands.”

“Of course.”

Thea hands you a bag of coins before you leave. It is heavier than normal. You shoot her a disapproving look.

“Just take it. Keep me in mind.”

“Thank you.”

Downtown is busier than normal. People are bustling about their business. Some shoot each other dirty looks; others eye the crowd suspiciously. People don’t trust their neighbours, let alone the dirty scoundrels on the streets. Theft is rampant throughout the town.

You keep your cloak pulled far over your head. Long leather gloves pulled up to your elbows. If anyone were to see your skin, the first thing they would notice is how eerily pale you are. In the moonlight your skin glows silver and bleeds a deep emerald green. Despite this harsh skin tone, you don’t appear drained, if anything you radiate light. Your hood also hides your ears. Their pointed tips only merely poke out of your hair, but they are still noticeable. The towns folk would immediately know something is off.

The fabric shop you enter is small and crowded. Upper class women go in with their children to buy buttons and fancy ribbons. Items that most towns folk can only dream of owning. You simply need a new needle and some thread. And a couple arms worth of leather. It will come in handy for when the temperature starts to drop in several weeks.

A couple women talk to the shop keeper. They speak in hushed tones, but their excitement is loud and clear.

“Have you seen him?” A lady in a blue dress and matching cloak asks.

“He’s so handsome! The things I would let that man do to me.” Another in a pink dress replies. They laugh in unison as if what she said is the funniest thing in the world. You dread these encounters.

“My husband says he will finally kill that wicked demon in the forest.”

You freeze at her words. They really did hire a Witcher. And he is already here. Here to hunt you down and eviscerate you, leaving your entrails for the wolves. The women are oblivious to your reaction. They continue their petty gossip about the Witcher and his bard, who apparently, will be easier to lure into their promiscuous trap than the Witcher. You cringe at the thought.

You gather your items quickly and pay with the coins Thea generously gave you. The only other stop you need to make is to the silver smith. There are less women in the more industrial part of town. Their tongues may be sharp but at least they pose no physical threat. Men like to hang around the smith’s shop and drink their ale. It has made for some uncomfortable encounters in the past.

“I want to pick up an order for Briar Woods.” The man behind the counter eyes you suspiciously. His expression said women don’t belong here. But you already know that much.

“The dagger?”

“Yes.”

“You got coin?” The alcohol on his breath wafts through the stale air. You place the amount you counted out on the way here onto the counter. He slides it into his pocket before disappearing behind the storage door. The dagger was more expensive than you had expected, but it is worth it. A bow and arrows are good for long distance, but you need something that will help if hand to hand combat is necessary.

The door to the shop opens behind you and someone slips in the same time the smith comes out from the storage room.

“Here.” He drawls, handing you the dagger, “Don’t cut yourself sweetheart.”

Bile rises in your throat. You turn around without thanking him and go to leave the shop.

“Didn’t expect to see you here, Witcher.” He says to the man waiting behind you. “Bout time you showed up.” Suddenly you become aware of the towering mass of muscle and armour behind you. Your heart skips a beat at the realization.

“I Just want my sword sharpened. That’s all.” His deep, gritty voice fills the room.

I need to get out! You think. Your heart starts racing faster than it ever has before and your mouth runs dry. He’s right there. At that moment he turns around to glance at you. Can he hear my heart? Leave! Move your legs and get out!

Once you force yourself out of the shop you run. It doesn’t matter that people shoot you strange looks, you run faster than ever before, all you can hear is your heartbeat rapidly pulsing in your throat; you run until the forest swallows you whole. There’s no way you can hide from a Witcher, let alone beat him in any sort of combat. You are utterly fucked.

“Who was that?” Geralt asks the silver smith.

“No clue. Don’t remember seeing her before.” The smith answers nonchalantly.

“Hmm.”

Geralt has been getting a lot of pressure from the King of Asenguard to at least go and look for what is causing damage to the farmers’ crops. The farmers, apparently, would not leave him alone. Geralt honestly didn’t give a damn about their crops; however, the King offered a persuasive amount of coin just to look into it. After all, coin is coin.

Outside the building a sing song voice rings through the air.

“Toss a coin to your Witcher, oh valley of plenty, of valley of plenty” Geralt groans annoyed at Jaskier, the bard’s entrance.

“Well hello Geralt! Have you gone to the alehouse yet?” He burped, “There must be something special in the water!” He chuckled to himself. Geralt glared at him stone eyed. He was drunk before the sun had even gone down.

“They love us here! They already know all the words to my song.”

“Hmm”

The Asenguard forest stretches hundreds of thousands of miles across the province of Nazair, with endless hiding spots, and yet, you can’t find a single one. Nothing is good enough. Your new friend, the dagger, doesn’t give you any reassurance either. Despite this, you haven’t given up hope. Maybe he won’t even come looking the optimistic side of your brain thinks, however you know that is extremely unlikely.

It’s a full moon tonight. You can at least better your chances by finding somewhere dark. Somewhere where your skin won’t radiate back the bright moonlight. Normally you loved the moon and would spend the nights dancing with her, but not now. Not tonight when her bright embrace might get you killed.

There are several cave systems throughout the forest with only one of them being close enough that you can make it before it gets dark. You prefer to spend your nights up in the trees and don’t know the caves well, however this one likely has two or three entrances. Despite this, the thought of getting lost or trapped crosses your mind, it is always a possibility.

When you finally reach the caves, you are surprised to find a small pond has formed near the entrance that was not here the last time you were in this part of the forest. The sun is just starting to set. Every nerve of your being is on edge. You feel as though you are tingling with electricity. A swim in the pond would be really nice right now, just to take the edge off. After all, it is still light out, you still have time.

You set your cloak near the edge of the pond on top of a large patch of moss. The moss is soft and comforting under your feet. The patches under your feet slowly turn greener and healthier. That is part of being a forest nymph, things grow around you. You let the dark dress slowly drop off your shoulders onto the moss as well. The water is cool and comforting as you wade in. The ecosphere accepts you as one of its own. Dipping your head under water, you reach to the bottom of the shallow pond and let your hands sink themselves into the smooth clay-like mud. A warm energy escapes from your hands, with it a soft green light flows into the dirt. Almost out of no where a shoot comes out of the ground where your hands lay. Then another and another, dozens of Lilypad shoots are conjured out of the ground and reach for the surface of the water where they then blossom in an array of colours. When you break the surface of water, you are surrounded by the sweet and subtle smell of lily flowers. Finally, you are able to relax.

That doesn’t last long when out of no where you hear a horse’s footsteps out in the distance.

Shit! You think, if I can hear them, then they can definitely hear me. You quietly wade out of the water as to not create any disturbance. Your veins fill with adrenaline as you reach for you clothes and pack. Slipping the cloak on with nothing underneath, you quickly make your way to the entrance of the cave, not noticing the dagger which still lay on the moss. Suddenly they don’t seem so familiar. Going in doesn’t feel like the best option anymore, but the sound of hooves coming closer means you don’t really have much of a choice.

It takes your eyes a minute to adjust to the dimly lit cave. Your eyes are fully dilated, but not just because of lack of light. Fear fills your entire body. It pumps through your veins and heightens your senses. Every muscle feels stiff, and yet you are ready to jump at any noise. You need to move further in the cave system. The rocks are damp and covered in moss and lichen. The air is thick and musky, making it hard to breath. Or maybe its your current state of panic that’s making it hard to breath. Neither seem to be helping. You step carefully around lose rocks. If one were to tumble, you’d be done for. Dust and small pebbles start to fall from the ceiling of the cave, suddenly, you can hear hooves right above your head.

You reach for the dagger which had been residing in the pocket of your cloak only to find it missing. No! Oh, please not this, anything but my fucking dagger! The bow and arrow packed away in your bag will have to do.

Geralt has been riding around the forest for the past three hours looking for any signs of what could have happened to the farmers land. There appears to be an invasive species of vines growing around the edges of the crops where the tilled land meets the forests edge. Set there to warn them from coming any closer. Honestly, he doesn’t care much for the farmers. They’re destroying the forest for more fertile land because they don’t care to take care of what they already have. Senseless fucking humans if you ask him. But its an organic economy, he understands that much. That town relies on those farmers to feed them, or they all die, which is cause enough to look into it, and the coin of course.

They don’t stop until Roach needs to drink, and lucky enough, there happens to be a pond nearby. Geralt unmounts from Roach to stretch his legs. When he approaches the waters edge to splash his face, the pendant around his neck starts to faintly vibrate. Magic has been used here. Until this point, he didn’t think anything of the lilies in the water, however there is an unusually large amount of them growing for such a small pond.

His senses become more aware as he scans the area lit under the bright moonlight. Something catches his eye, a slight glint coming from a small metal object in the moss. A dagger. A freshly crafted dagger to be specific. It doesn’t even look used.

Geralt’s mind flashes back to the silver smith’s shop earlier that day. The girl who was leaving just as he arrived was picking up a dagger. One very similar to what he is now holding in his hands. He pockets the dagger and unsheathes his sword off of his back. Something is off.

A dark shadow near a clump of boulders catches his attention. A cave. As he gets closer, his pendant starts to vibrate more prominently. Something is in there, but what? Not many creatures can conjure that specific type of damage onto those crops. The first thing that comes to his mind is a witch.

“Come out. I’m not going to hurt you!” He calls into the entrance of the cave

The Witcher’s voice echoes throughout the walls of the cave. The hairs on the back of your neck are fully raised in fear. He is lying. He has to be. Maybe he doesn’t even know if you are in here. Yet, you find yourself doubting that thought.

“If you don’t come out, I’m coming in.” his voice echoes again. Silently, you raise your bow and aim it at the mouth of the cave about a hundred meters away. Still close enough to have accurate aim, but at the same time, your view is obscured by rocks and the bulging walls of the cave.

After a moment of silence, Geralt steps foot into the cave only to have an arrow whizz past the side of his face. It is so close he can feel the movement it causes in the air around him. Suddenly, he no longer feels obligated to honor his previous offer.

You quickly load another arrow and aim. Your hands are surprisingly still. The Witcher ducks down out of view. He uses the boulders to his advantage and creeps closer to you. This isn’t going to work for much longer, especially when you can’t see him. You break into a sprint going deeper into the tunnels. Sharp rocks nick at your skin, but none of that matters right now. Right now, you need to find the other exit. Wherever that may or may not be. The tunnels branch off into different, narrower tunnels that twist and wind causing any sense of direction you once had to be lost. The air is becoming impossibly thick to breath, and you can hear the Witcher’s footsteps closing the space behind you.

If things couldn’t get any worse, your tunnel starts getting impossibly narrow, your only escape running out. Your last shred of hope crushed. You can’t make it any further, the tunnel runs out. There isn’t even enough space for you to shoot an arrow. You are truly defenseless. At the hands of a bloodthirsty Witcher. Fuck

Unless…One last spark of hope flickers in your mind. You bury your hands in the dirt and push all your energy into the ground. A green light fills the air and shoots come flying out of the ground. You pour all of your remaining energy to making these small vines reach the top of the cave. The vines quickly thicken and form thorns as they grow larger and larger. Finally, they filled the entire space, just as the Witcher reached you.

You collapsed, exhausted, but safe. You were completely drained, trapped, and likely about to be murdered, but for now you are safe.

Geralt stops outside of the thorny wall, impressed with what he just witnessed. She conjured a thorny wall of protection out of nowhere with incredible speed. This is not the work of a witch, but what?

“What are you?” He asks, slightly out of breath. You don’t answer right away, too consumed with your exhaustion.

“Why?” you sigh

“I haven’t seen that type of magic in a long time.” The threatening tone in his voice seems to have disappeared, which only sets you more on edge. Of course, it has, he has you trapped here, exhausted and without any food or water. At this point growing anything more is simply not an option.

“I’m a Dryad,” You finally give in. “and you were sent here to kill me, right? The towns people couldn’t stop talking about you today.” Tears finally found their way down your cheeks.

“Hmm” he mumbled. “Well no, technically I haven’t been sent here to kill you. The king wanted me to find out what was damaging farmers’ crops, but I’m guessing once I tell him he’ll want you dead.”

There it is. You think.

“So that’s what you’re going to do?”

“That depends,” He pauses, “Why’d you wreck the land?”

“Why did I wreck the land?” You laugh, “Those farmers are the ones destroying the land. They don’t take care of it properly, rob it of its nutrients, then fuck off and cut down more of my forest. I’m only trying to save the forest. Otherwise they’ll continue until there is nothing left.” Your voice cracks and tears intensify. All you ever tried to do was the right thing, and now… Well look what it has gotten you. The Witcher hummed in response, offering nothing.

Then you hear him pick up his sword.

“What are you doing?” you ask as the first slash hits your thorny wall of vines. “No! Please No!” You beg, but the slashing continues. Your vines wither at the abuse and you don’t have the energy to fight back. All you can do is curl up in the corner in fear of what comes next. Until finally, it stops.

You look up to see the Witcher has resheathed his sword and holds his hand out to you.

“You’re not going to kill me?”

“No.” He shakes his head. His golden eyes glow slightly in the near dark cave. Your shaky hand meets his, and he helps you up.

“What’s your name?” You ask.

“Geralt of Rivia.”

“I’m Briar of Asenguard.”

---

Pt.2 is out!  Thank you all for the positive feedback!!!

https://sunonyoreface.tumblr.com/post/613171373679034368/forest-nymph-geralt-of-rivia-pt2

Pt.3

https://sunonyoreface.tumblr.com/post/613415372067143680/forest-nymph-geralt-of-rivia-pt3

Pt.4

https://sunonyoreface.tumblr.com/post/613676968381136896/forest-nymph-geralt-of-rivia-pt4

[softguks]

i miss you

note: flowers + sadness + softness is never a good combo for me, hehe

warnings: angst, softness, feelings

synopsis: in which shawn unintentionally blames the wrong person

“hey love, do you know where my floral silk shirt is? ‘m gonna wear it to the interview. love? oh-“

he pauses, a smile gracing his features as he watches his precious girlfriend, typing busily on her laptop, fingers gliding along the glowing keys, legs propped up on the couch. —more importantly, his eyes zone in on the shirt engulfing her figure— and he shakes his head while chuckling softly.

“mm, i don’t think so, did you check the-why are you looking at me like that?”, she pauses to tilt her reading glasses upward, eyebrows scrunched up in confusion as he saunters toward her.

she can’t help the bright red flush that heats her cheeks when he stares down at her, and points at the unbuttoned silk shirt that she’s wearing. the neckline is crooked, slipping off her shoulder, and she laughs a little, before reaching to take it off, and being stopped by a very amused shawn.

“no, i like it. you look better in it, honey.”

and all over again, her heart races with the same fiery passion igniting her in love, heart swelling up with love as she smiles up at him, getting lost in his olive eyes.

—

“have a good day, here’s your coffee, shawn. hey, look at me, you’ll be amazing, alright?”

“but what if i mess up, and then they hate me for it? god, i’m so nervous.”

“remember? nerves mean you care.”

he nods his head slowly, sinking into the words and sweeping her up in a hug, with a quick peck to each cheek before rushing out the door, calling an “i love you honey” as the door swings shut.

—

“you wanna have kids one day, yeah?”

“yeah. can you imagine? a little you, a little me, it would be so cute.”

her heart clenches, skipping a beat as she looks over at him, the biggest grin on her face.

“you wanna have kids with me? really?”

“of course! i love you, and you’re my sunshine.”

she laughs at him, crawling on top of him, and gladly accepting his warm embrace with open arms, mumbling out how cold she is and how unfair it is that he absorbs all the heat. she plays with his chocolate curls, occasionally flicking his forehead, pecking his cheeks, or a combination of the two. and it always ends with them in laughter, with smiles on their faces.

—

“it was you, wasn’t it? you’re the one who leaked the song, wasn’t it?”

his fists are clenched, hanging limply by his sides, and yet the pure anger and fury in his eyes sends shivers down her spine. confusion is written all over her face as she holds her hands out, an attempt to calm him down.

“shawn, what are you talking about? you know i’d never do that to you, right? you know that.”

he’s laughing darkly, a bitter chuckle rumbling from his chest as he shakes his head, tears in his eyes as he replied with a tinge of hurt and vulnerability in his voice.

“i really don’t know if i can trust you anymore.”

his words are like a knife to the heart, because a relationship is built on trust and love. and her whole world is crashing down as he speaks, a burning sort of pain that hurts so much she cannot speak. her heart feels as if it has been physically ripped out of her aching chest.

“you were jealous, weren’t you? of the PR? how pathetic and pitiful, y/n. or did you need the money? what? couldn’t steal it from my wallet instead? after all, don’t make much do you?”

he expects her to drop to her knees and beg for forgiveness, show a sign of surprise or hesitance, but when he meets her eyes, his heart stops. there’s no remark, no sarcastic comment, nothing that he would normally expect from her, because he physically broke her, shattered her heart into pieces.

“get out. please, just go.”

“shawn, where am i supposed to go? i don’t-“

“GET OUT!”

he’s yelling at her as she hurriedly grabs her things, stumbling out the door and pressing buttons on her phone as she sobs out, and she almost sighs in relief when she hears the three beeps signaling the call went through.

“hello? y/n?”

“mama k.”

—

“i-i’m sorry. and i know that doesn’t make a difference, but i need you to hear it. i never meant any of those things, and i-i’m sorry. i know i hurt you, but please. please believe me when i say that i love you with all of my heart, i trust you with my life, and i-i’m sorry. mum and liyah won’t tell me where you are, but please take care of yourself, my sunshine. i love you. and i’m so fucking nervous for my show tonight, dunno if i can do it. but-“

his voice cracks, and her heart breaks again at his cries that sound so broken and pained, lifeless, and she knows that he’s doing everything he can to drive the pain away.

“like you always say nerves mean you care right? i miss you.”

please reblog and leave some feedback if you enjoyed it!

part two?

permanent taglist: @sunrise-shawn @curlsofshawn @tell-me-when-ur-ready @particularnervous @artemissravenclaw @heyits-claire @shawnieeboyy @turtoix @leiamutuals @waiting-to-be-myself @michellemxndes @devilmendes @imaginashawnns @tomhollandismyspiderman @goldenmndes @ly--canthrope (lmk if you want to be added/removed)

[cyn-00]

Moreid one shot, 7 - "the bigger picture"

Season 7, episode 24 "Run" (at the end of the episode, at JJ's wedding)

I really had to do it. And by "it" I mean fantasizing about this specific moment that you're going to read. I hope it's not too cheesy or cliché for you - let the boys dance ffs!! (on a serious note I would've given a kidney to see them dance at JJ's wedding). Edit: this one too, as many others, I partially re-wrote

Side note: you know how I told you that since season 8 is about Reid and Maeve, it would probably give me no Moreid inspo? Yeah, I call bullshit. I found some light at the end of the tunnel: one (1) episode from season 8 gave me some Moreid Feels™. Maeve ain't gonna stop my feelings, I just can't help it

Read it on AO3

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

The whole team were enjoying themselves so much, finally being able to relax and even DANCE together. "Together" because they all had at least one dance with each other: Hotch had even danced with Penelope and Reid with JJ's mom. There was just this one thing that was keeping Reid on his toes since the beginning: he knew the slow, romantic song would have to come sooner or later.

Usually, at weddings, the song was kept as last. And every time the music changed, Reid thought that the moment was coming. But the moment for what? He didn't even know. What was he supposed to do? Sit it out, while looking at all the actual couples dance, the only ones that were allowed to dance during the song? But that would've been stupid: he wasn't single after all. Was he supposed to skip that one because it's more socially acceptable for Morgan to slow dance with his female friend Penelope than for him to slow dance with his actual boyfriend?

-

He was thinking about all of this while dancing with Penelope, as a matter of fact.

"Spencer? Are you even hearing me?"

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Penelope was talking to him. He shook his head to awaken himself.

"Uhm..." he cleared his voice. "Not really, to be honest."

She smiled. "You should dance the next one with Derek."

He smiled back, shyly. "Yeah I don't know about that. Plus, is this your polite way of telling me that you don't wanna keep dancing with me?" he asked jokingly, trying to drift away from the topic.

"Oh no, boy wonder, this is me sacrificing my desires for the bigger picture." she smirked, trusting that Reid knew what "bigger picture" she meant.

Then he suddenly realized what Garcia said. "the next one". Were they just one song away from THE song?

-

Derek was dancing with Emily. They were looking at each other without saying anything: she had already decided to leave the team and, frankly, there was nothing more Morgan could say to try and change her mind that he hadn't already said a million times. So they just danced, resigned, attempting to keep their grudges at bay to enjoy one of their last moments together.

She sighed and leaned closer to hug him, probably also to hide from him the fact that her eyes were visibly filling up with tears.

Now that he couldn't see her face anymore, Derek saw Spencer, 15 ft away from him, dancing with Penelope. For a moment stopped thinking about the whole Emily situation and just stared at him, smiling to himself as he felt like he was levitating inches off the ground.

He was so unbelievably handsome, Morgan couldn't have brought himself to shift his eyes away even if he had actually tried. He was wearing a black suit, the jacket - that fit him SO perfectly - had satin revers; white shirt with a wing collar and a black, satin bow tie, strangely tied perfectly instead of crooked as per usual - which, by the way, Derek loved. His hair was a little messy as it always was - another thing Derek loved - but a little shinier and with slightly more defined curls.

Now that he really thought about it, he wanted nothing but to take a closer look at Spencer, and feel those hazelnut eyes on him in return as well; and his slim fingers curl on the back of his neck; and the tips of their noses brushing against one another; and his voice coming in soft waves toward his eardrums, sweet like honey and smart like no one else's; and the skinny girth of his waist enveloped in his arm; and the silky texture of his brunette locks, tied around his fingers in a gentle restraint; and-

The music stopped, abruptly, exactly as Derek's fantasizing did. There was a pause, and then the song changed. The instrumental intro was immediately recognizable. No other song could be more perfect for that moment. The moment where the real couples got to dance, while the singles that didn't have the nerve to dance with whomever was left unpaired, sat and watched them. "Unchained Melody" started playing.

-

Spencer froze. He loved that song. Derek loved it too. Everyone loves Unchained Melody, to be fair. He knew he couldn't let that occasion slip away, and all of a sudden he felt his whole body tingling, longing for contact with Derek's, drawn toward it like a magnet. But he was dancing with Emily, how could he interrupt that?

"Oh my God, this song. What the hell are you still doing here, do I have to physically DRAG you??" Penelope scolded, finally shattering Spencer's wall of uncertainties, like she gave him her permission, validating his fantasy.

"But- but what are you gonna do? Come on I can't just let you sit THIS song out!"

"Oh I'm not gonna just sit it out. I'm gonna watch you boys." Penelope winked, reassuring him.

She let go of him and walked away. Spencer stood there and looked at *cough cough* his boyfriend and Emily still entwined in a hug. She was clearly crying, how could he come between that?

Especially after she'd come back, revealing that her death had been nothing short of a show, everyone on the team felt like their relationship with her had now become inevitably more authentic and precious. But that applied especially to Morgan, because he felt like he bore a huge responsibility toward her, since he saw her "dying" right in front of him.

Spencer had patiently listened to Derek confessing all his contrasting feelings for Emily, over and over again, during these months that she'd been back; like her return had revived those feelings in him, that he had somewhat forgotten about for a while. So, once again, Reid couldn't help but ask himself: how can I come between them right now, knowing all this?

-

Emily and Spencer's eyes met. She immediately knew what she had to do. She wiped off the tears with the back of her hand and let go of the hug.

"You shouldn't be dancing this one with me." she said to Morgan, smiling sheepishly. He frowned: he really didn't know what she was talking about.

She nodded her chin in his boyfriend's direction. Morgan turned his head and saw him, letting his arms fall down his sides. Emily winked at Spencer, before walking away toward Penelope, who was sitting on a bench playing with Henry.

Reid looked around quickly: the dance floor had definitely emptied out. He counted 8 couples left, dancing, including him and Morgan and, of course, the newly weds.

He gulped nervously and finally walked toward him. He seemed genuinely surprised, like the possibility that Reid could ever come up to him and ask him to dance was the last thing on his mind. Anybody who knew them could have bet it would be the other way around, if it ever even happened.

"Do you uhm...do you wanna dance with me?" he managed to ask, an adorable look on his face.

Derek didn't answer. He simply held out his hand as a warm, uncontrollable smile played at his mouth. 

Spencer bit his bottom lip, trying to hide his own smile, and took his hand, while placing the other on his shoulder. Derek wrapped his free arm around Spencer's waist, drawing him closer, and they started dancing slowly - swinging around in circles, to be fair, which was exactly how every other couple was doing it - staring into each other's eyes.

Derek looked top notch. He was wearing a black suit paired with an anthracite grey shirt; probably silk, Spencer gathered, judging by the way it reflected even that warm, soft light that pervaded everything, creating fluid shadows on the smooth fabric. The first two buttons were open to expose the notch of his throat - which was doing things to Spencer's mind and body - and to show a super thin, silver necklace, so thin it looked like a shiny thread - still, visible enough to lighten him up, standing out on his dark complexion.

After a long silence, Spencer let go of the other's hand to gently take the necklace between his fingers and observe it more minutely. His soft, feather-like touch on Derek's bare neck made him shiver.

"You like it?" Derek asked, without receiving an immediate answer. Instead, Spencer wrapped his hand around the side of Derek's neck, affectionately stroking it with his thumb.

"You look absolutely handsome." Damn. Spencer didn't even know how that phrase came out so smoothly.

Derek's brows shot up slightly: if it wasn't for the dark hue of his skin, one could say he was legitimately blushing.

He tucked behind Spencer's ear a strand of hair that was falling over his forehead, letting his palm rest on the back of his neck afterwards; fingers half buried in his curls.

"Coming from the prettiest boy in the room, I think that might be the biggest compliment I've ever received." he replied after a few seconds of silence, grinning affectionately at the man in front of him.

Spencer giggled shyly, feeling Derek's eyes fixated on him. He looked down at his feet, reckoning that he could have easily guessed the answer would be something along those lines.

-

Second refrain. ~Oh my love, my darling, I've hungered for your touch...~

-

Spencer wanted to get closer to him, if that was even possible. He put his free hand behind Derek's back and pulled him so tight against his front it was like their bodies were melting into one another. The other man wrapped his arm tighter around Spencer's skinny frame, while a hand kept running through his hair.

Spencer closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Derek's, their lips lightly brushing against each other's cheeks. They had probably never shown publicly their mutual love in such a pure and intimate way. It felt freeing. It felt right.

-

Something over his boyfriend's shoulder caught Derek's eye: Penelope and Emily, still sitting on that bench not so far from them. Both women had been trying to capture his attention all along: Garcia was gesticulating and mouthing something to him.

"Just kiss him already!" she was saying. Had they really been watching all this time, waiting for them to kiss? To be fair, that wasn't so surprising to him. He was going to do that anyway, obviously, but he wanted it to come off as a simple comply of given orders, just for the sake of seeing those two squeal like teenagers.

He could feel Spencer's slightly shaky breath blowing warm air against his cheek, and the ends of his curls tickling his forehead.

Derek pulled away just a little and took a quick look at him, before finally pushing his lips against his, catching him off guard.

Spencer stopped the kiss before their tongues had even touched, and exhaled a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding, as if finally releasing the pressure of his whole body waiting for that kiss all along. He wrapped Derek in his arms as tight as he could and resumed the kiss, finally letting his tongue into the other man's mouth; moving his lips slowly but intensely, in sync with Derek's, uncaring of how that must have looked from the outside.

They slowed down, after what seemed like an eternity. Derek cupped Spencer's face in his hands as his pupils wandered back and forth between his flushed lips and his dreamy eyes; both men still kinda out of breath but trying not to be so obvious about it in front of all those people. Because, they were sure, at least the ones on the team were looking.

-

The song ended - it seemed like that had been the last one. The dance floor emptied out a little; people re-gathering in small groups to talk, some of them greeting others, about to go home. A general murmur in the background and an atmosphere of relaxation.

The couple was still lost in each other's eyes, like neither of the two had even perceived the song ending and the amount of people lessening. Spencer gradually came back to reality and slowly let go of the hug, without saying anything yet; though he was sure the desire to spend all night long kissing like that, without even having to take their clothes off, was a mutual feeling. Just, kissing.

"Derek? I- I think I'm gonna head home..." he said half-heartedly, tilting his head, hoping that Derek wouldn't hold back from self-inviting to come over, but not wanting to explicitly ask.

Receiving no immediate answer, he quickly pecked at his lips one last time before hesitantly turning around, slightly disappointed. He started heading back toward the others, joyfully gathered around JJ playing with Henry, to say goodbye before leaving.

-

Seconds after, he felt a wave of air being lifted from behind, indicating that someone was jogging toward him. And then he felt his hand wrapped in someone else's, his fingers being intertwined with someone else's. Not just someone, though. A special someone.

He smiled to himself at how cute that gesture was, coming from Derek: he wasn't one to hold hands in public, Spencer wasn't sure why.

"WE are gonna head home. That's what you meant." Derek finally answered once their paces had synchronized, whispering in his ear.

Spencer slightly cocked his head toward the tickling puff of air washing over his neck, blushing and biting his bottom lip in the attempt to not giggle.

"I guess I did."