#they like gave it to me on a silver plate lol

[redtsundere-writes]

Jinx | Sukuna Ryomen

Part 14. Champion

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Sypnosis: Sukuna is a world champion with anger issues. It's believed by many that he is untrainable. Yeah, you can't train him, but you can dominate him. Contents: Fighting. Female reader being dom. Jinx AU (the BL, not the character from lol) Yuuji, Choso and Sukuna are brothers. Some characters are out of character. Warnings: Cursed words, I only read it once. Word Count: 9322 words (a long boy) Author's Note: So the final chapter is here. This has been a wonderful journey. Like I said in my last post, I'll edit the shit out of this, but I knew this was going to happen either way. I want to thank @elgonki for helping me edit this chapter.

"Faster!" Geto ordered me from the side of the ring.

"Just do it!" Nobara encouraged me to continue.

I kicked the pad that was at Nobara's chest with increasing force and speed. My legs wanted to give up, but I was going to let them. Nobara held the pad as tight as she could to keep it from being pushed with each impact.

Despite the distance, Nobara was always the first to hear the news of my life. She was the first to find out about my neck diagnosis, that I became a trainer, and that the king of the ring had hired me. She was the one who helped me when I needed it most. When Naoya happened, she traveled to Kyoto to give me a hug. I always tried to invite her to eat or drink something after training to thank her for her unconditional support.

It was great to have my old life back. Waking up at 7 in the morning to go for a run, going to the gym to exercise, getting into the ring to train with the other girls and teaching jiujitsu classes to the children in the afternoon. The only thing that had changed for the better was that now I had a nice boyfriend who supported me in everything.

"I brought lunch," Choso announced his presence at the ringside while holding a plastic bag with two salads. I pulled myself away from Nobara to greet my boyfriend.

"Let's take a rest," Nobara suggested with a smile. I got out of the ring and gave my boyfriend a big sweaty hug.

"You smell like you work hard," he joked before planting a kiss on my head.

"You are right. The fight against Maki Zenin is in less than a week. I must be in my best shape to take back what belongs to me,” I told him excitedly.

Mei Mei's office was very different from Nanami's. While Nanami's looked like a lawyer's office that drinks old fashions and smokes good cigars, MeiMei's office was very minimalist and functional. The bone walls contrasted with the black desk and silver electronics. Choso and I were sitting on the white sofa that was placed in front of a small plasma television. We talked about our days while we ate. The green salad with chicken that Choso had brought me reminded me of the meals I used to make for Sukuna from time to time when I lived with him. What I missed about being a trainer was being able to eat anything without having the pressure to gain weight.

“The UFC 300 fight card comes with a bang, as it will be a double championship night!” The host of a sports news program enthusiastically announced to a panel of experts.

“That's right! First, we’ll see The Snake de Medusa versus The Fury. Will The Snake be able to regain her title after her injury?” One of the drivers asked openly to the table to start the debate. 

“Are you nervous?” Choso asked me, leaving his empty plate on the glass table. 

“A lot, but I'll just get into the octagon, I'll do what I have to do, and I'll take down Maki no matter what,” I answered excitedly. 

“That's my girl,” Choso proudly placed a warm kiss on my cheek. 

In the time we have been together, my relationship with Choso has been the most beautiful and healthy one I have ever had in my life. He always cares about me, cooks for me and supports me in all my decisions. We had less than 3 months living together, and I still maintained the same opinion I had of him. It was a pleasure to wake up next to him every morning, do housework together and make love in the shower from time to time. I loved doing everything together with him. 

“I made you a green juice before I came here,” he said handing me one of my reusable bottles I had at home. I hated green juice, but I had to drink it for my own good.  

“Yuta Okkotsu was to face Toge Inumaki for the middleweight belt, but Inumaki suffered an injury that will prevent the fight from taking place. Do they already know who his replacement will be?” One of the commentators asked with curiosity. 

Yuta and Toge have always been friendly rivals. Outside the UFC they are almost always seen together at events and parties, but once they get in the ring, they are ready to kill each other. That energy of brotherhood and competitiveness makes their fights even more entertaining and among the bestsellers in the business. This rematch had been announced for 3 months. It was a shame that shortly before the event, Inumaki could no longer participate. I wanted to see the fight too. 

“It's a good thing you mentioned it, because we have exclusive news for Total Sport! Toge Inumaki's replacement will be no one more and no one less than Sukuna Ryomen!” At that name, I can't help but spit out the green juice. 

“What?!” I yelled as I got up from the sofa. 

“Just like that! Sukuna will finally go after a second title.” 

My mouth dropped open in shock. Sukuna and I would be at the same event! What wonderful news! After I moved to Nagoya, Sukuna hardly ever gave me any sign of life. He would either leave me on read or answer my messages weeks later. I sent hundreds of emails to Nanami to schedule a training session together, but I never received a reply. Every time Choso took me to one of his family events, I expected to see him there, in his fancy suit and expensive sunglasses. Unfortunately, Yuuji would always arrive alone and tell me that Sukuna was busy. It was frustrating to get in touch with him, but at last we would see each other again. 

“I'll get to see Sukuna fight live again, what a thrill!” I squealed in excitement as Choso wiped up the mess I had made with a napkin. 

“Are you that excited to see him?” I asked dryly. 

“Of course I am. I was his coach for a year, and he improved so much in such a short time. I want to see how much he has improved without me,” I answered wistfully. 

As much as I loved being back as a fighter, sometimes I liked to remember when I was his coach. The time when I could coexist in the mixed martial arts world and I didn't get hurt often. The best of both worlds. Even though I had my peace of mind, I missed Sukuna making me angry, laughing or crying with joy. 

“Do you miss him that much?” Choso asked me out of the blue, avoiding my gaze completely. 

“A little. It's just that it's been so long since I last saw him that I'm excited to see how he's doing,” I answered as I sat back down on the couch. 

It had been a year since we last saw each other. When we said goodbye after leaving his penthouse, I didn't think it would take me that long to see him again. If I was already excited to return to the octagon for my title, now I was happy to know that Sukuna would see me fight live for the first time. A smile crept onto my face at the idea.

After a heavy week of training until exhaustion, a diet based on chicken breast and study sessions on Maki, we finally arrived at the mythical land where all addictions are connected. Traveling to Las Vegas was always a pleasure. Nobara was excited to travel with me to a new place, Mei Mei was on the phone, and Suguru and I were constantly talking about the fight.

"You better not disappoint us." Suguru joked as the entire team and I headed to the UFC center for the official weigh-in in a family van.

"She will never let us down! She is the strongest fighter there is!” Nobara defended me.

"I’ll give my best," I said in an attempt to stop the fight along with a smile.

I looked at Choso, who had a sad look and hardly spoke during the trip. I tried to ask him what was wrong, but there wasn't a time when we were private enough to ask him. Maybe it was because the last time he was here was when he “found his ex-fiancée with his brother.” I tried to cheer him up several times by telling him that we would go for a drink after the fight and then to the casino, but I couldn't.

The official weigh-in went well. I showed up in front of my old rival Maki and the rest of the disgusting Zenin. I wanted to tell them to go to hell, but I maintained my professionalism. After all, my problem wasn't with Maki, but with her disgusting cousin. After the fight rules were read to us, we returned to the hotel for the exhibition weigh-in. Nobara and Mei Mei did my hair, and they retouched my light makeup to get me camera ready. Upon arriving at the hotel, an insane amount of reporters appeared out of nowhere. I smiled for the cameras, but without losing sight of the entrance. An assistant guided us to a hallway so we could wait there for them to call us for the press conference.

"You look pretty," Choso flattered me with a smile.

"Thank you. I hope you don't ask me offensive questions…” My eyes interrupted what I was going to say as soon as I saw that large figure that I hadn't seen a year ago.

His hair was longer than he remembered, and his features were thinner from having to have lost 5 kilos at once for the fight to take place. He walked alongside the Black Team with their respective jacket and black over-ear headphones. Our eyes connected and something in my mind clicked. I smiled instantly and ran up to him to receive him.

"Sukuna!" I greeted him excitedly with my arms outstretched, waiting for a warm hug.

But I didn't receive a hug, not even a greeting, a “fuck you” would have hurt less. He just ignored me and avoided me like I was the plague in person. My smile fell as I realized the reality. He who had ignored me felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown in my face. What had I done wrong? Why was he acting like this after everything we went through? Seeing his back walking away from me made my heart feel heavier than normal.

"Do not take it personally," Yuuji told me, approaching me. "He's only angry because he's hungry. He hasn't eaten anything since yesterday to reach the official weight.” My friend had dark circles under his eyes and he didn't smile as usual. He looked worse than Nanami on tax day.

"I see…" It was the only thing I could say without sounding disappointed.

"He's even an idiot when his stomach is full, they should be used to it by now," Uraume commented as they approached us. I greeted them after years of not seeing each other, happy that they was with Team Black.

"Yes, that's definitely Sukuna." Choso commented, joining the conversation as he put his arm around my shoulders.

"If he's not upset with something, he's not Sukuna." Yuuji tried to joke, but he couldn't even laugh. You could tell that Sukuna had been using him as his personal punching bag for the past few days.

The younger pink-haired boy began to tell us about the hell it had been to train with his older brother in recent days, while Choso hugged me by the shoulders. I looked askance behind me. Gojo and Nanami were talking to Sukuna, surely they were reminding him what not to say in the interview. His eyes met mine again for a second, but out of pride, I returned my gaze to the conversation I was in. I sighed in an attempt to ease my poor heart.

The press conference with Maki's team had also gone well. We maintained respect while the clear competitiveness could be seen from miles away. That day I spent warming up and training in the hotel gym, preparing myself mentally for the fight. Although now my problem was not with Maki, but with Sukuna. I understand that he was angry, but he doesn't ignore people just because. It's not like he ignored me by accident because he saw me, he saw my eyes. I am sure of it.

Night fell quickly. After a good training session with Geto and a good dinner that relieved my hungry stomach. Choso and I headed to the suite the UFC had paid for us. My body was so tired that once it hit the bed, it didn't want to get up. Despite my fatigue, I was not sleepy. The memory of Sukuna ignoring me ate me alive, I needed answers, but I had no way to get them.

Choso took off my shoes and lay down next to me. He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in the crook of my neck. His breathing was soft and rhythmic. I stroked her hair as I looked at the ceiling that had a hint of glitter. The lights of bright Las Vegas peeked out the window in a dance between blues and greens. I lay on my side to hug Choso fully and give him a soft kiss on the lips. I moved a little away from his face to see him better. My finger pushed his raven hair to the side to see his eyes, but they were closed.

"Are you tired?" I whispered to him.

"A bit," Choso answered. "It's just been a long day," he said before pulling me towards him so he could lay on my chest.

I sighed upon hearing that response. More than tired, he looked discouraged. I wish I knew how to cheer him up, but I didn't. The only thing I could do was hold him close to me and stroke his hair, brushing it between my fingers. My hands slowly lowered to his back. I ran my fingertips along his shoulder blades and down his spine. Something that used to feel warm and welcoming now felt cold and distant. What was going on?

I could barely sleep. I opened and closed my eyes every two hours because anxiety was eating me alive. Between my championship fight and the strange behavior of the Itadori brothers, my mind couldn't calm down. My theories ran back and forth trying to give a reasonable answer to the situation. I reluctantly opened my eyes and noticed the time. It was 6 o'clock, an hour before the alarm would ring to go out for a run. Choso was on the other side of the bed. It shouldn't bother you.

Since I was alone, I headed to the hotel gym to use the treadmills. What I didn't expect was to see that Team Black coming out of the reception. “I forgot he also runs at this time,” I thought excitedly. This was my chance to ask him if everything was okay between us. I ran out of the hotel to catch up with them. Yuuji, Gojo, and Sukuna were warming up on the sidewalk to begin their morning run down the sidewalk. The champion was wearing his headphones like the day before.

"Good morning, guys!" I waved to the team as I approached.

"Good morning, and Choso?" Yuuji asked me curiously.

"Asleep. It's still very early for him,” Explain with a smile so they wouldn’t get worry. "Are you going for a run? Can I go? I asked excitedly.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Gojo intercepted me.

"I don't think Sukuna would mind, it's not like we haven't done it before, right?" I completely ignored his warning.

I approached Sukuna, who looked more intimidating than usual. Almost nothing had changed about his appearance, but his vibe was very different from the last time I saw him. What the fuck was happening? He looked at me getting closer to him, now I couldn't ignore me. He didn't greet me or take off his headphones to greet me.

"Hello! Can I join?!" I yelled at him so he could hear me even though he had his headphones on.

He looked at me from head to toe with disdain as if I were scum and turned to run away. I was frozen and with my mouth open. He's blatantly ignoring me! My mind couldn't understand why I was doing it. Did I do something wrong? Do I smell bad? Do you have amnesia and don't recognize me? What the hell is wrong with him?

"Sorry, see you later," Yuuji told me, giving me an encouraging pat on the shoulder, before following his brother and Gojo.

I smiled offended as I saw Sukuna running away. After a year together, was he going to pretend I didn't exist? I couldn't allow it. I wasn't going to let him make fun of me. I couldn't let the king of assholes straight up ignore me like that. If he could go back to how it was before, me too and it would be worse this time.

I ran after them. My feet moved before my mind could decide on a plan. He ran with all the frustration he had stored up since yesterday. In less time than I thought, I passed Yuuji and Gojo to reach Sukuna. I grabbed his headphones and ripped them off his head. I threw his precious headphones with all my might into the street, getting lost in the traffic. I smiled satisfied at my mischief.

"Hey! What the hell is wrong with you?!” Sukuna yelled at me in annoyance before walking steadily towards me.

"Am I no longer invisible?" I asked, backing away from him.

Sukuna stopped as soon as he realized why he had done it. I thought he would yell at me more, call me some ridiculous nickname, or tell me to stop bothering him, but I got nothing from him. Absolutely nothing. He just looked at me like he pitied me. That had been a direct stab to my ego.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I exclaimed, annoyed, but he didn't tell me anything else.

He just looked at me with those dark eyes. Those eyes that used to look at me with anger, mockery, and sometimes desire. There was nothing behind them anymore. There was only one Sukuna who didn't care at all. An urge to cry invaded me, but I held it back.

"Forget it, I don't want to talk to the king of assholes anyway,” I blurted out, continuing my run by myself.

I ran and ran. My feet were already used to this, but this time they felt heavier. I couldn't give up, I had to continue until I reached the hotel again. I wanted to escape from that empty look. I could run all I wanted, but that memory was faster than me. Sukuna looking into my eyes as if I didn't exist for him. A pain invaded my ribs.

I went to a wall to rest, so the horse pain would go away. I bit my lower lip to stop the inevitable. A row of tears emerged from my eyes uncontrollably. I tried to wipe them away with the back of my hand, but they kept appearing. I crouched forward so no one would see me in my most vulnerable state. “Why do I care so much?” I questioned myself confused.

After getting all my tears out, I looked for my phone in my pants to call a taxi. I was not in the mood to continue my journey to the hotel. Only my phone wasn't there. “Ah, shit… I left it in the suite,” I thought, annoyed with myself for forgetting it. No way, I would have to run back to the hotel.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, I breathed a sigh of relief to finally have reached the floor of my suite. I headed towards my door, but I heard terrible door knocks. I paused, debating whether I should check out what it was about or not. Although this was no longer safe Japan, this was wild Las Vegas. I headed back towards my door until I heard…

"Sukuna! Open the hell up! I know you're there! Choso shouted at the top of his lungs.

I turned back to see what was happening. Choso was pounding on the door of the master suite with both clenched fists. He acted like a lunatic desperate for attention. This was the first time I had seen him do something like that.

"What are you doing?" I asked him confused. He turned to me and looked at me like I was a ghost.

"There you are," He approached me, clearly upset. "Where the hell were you?!" He yelled at me.

Choso had never yelled at me like that before. My eyebrow raised at his strange attitude. My ego had been bruised enough today, I didn't need my boyfriend to jump on the boat too. What the hell was happening to everyone?!

"I went out to run…". I answered confused.

"Do not lie to me!". Choso yelled in my face.

"I'm not lying to you, you can ask Yuuji or Sukuna!" I yelled, offended. Choso clicked his tongue offended.

"So you were with him…" He muttered angrily.

"I found him at the reception". I defended myself. "Nothing happened".

"Oh yeah?" He rolled his eyes, he didn't believe me at all.

"Yeah! Why are you treating me like I've done something wrong?!” I exclaimed annoyed, getting down to his level.

"Because you tricked me, Yuki!" Choso barked angrily.

My eyes widened when I heard that. His eyes also widened as he realized what he had said. My world was falling apart in a single morning. I took a couple of steps back to get away from him while a knot formed in my throat.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean that," He tried to apologize. "You know this place brings back bad memories of what happened."

"I'm not like her," I muttered, annoyed.

"Of course not," He tried to take my hand, but I jerked out of his grasp.

"I would never use Sukuna for money!" I exclaimed, annoyed. "I wouldn't hurt others for my own benefit!" Choso looked at me shocked, as if I had said something bad about his mother.

"Do not tell me that…". He tried to say from the impression. "Don't tell me you believed that absurd story about what he wanted to use to get into the UFC."

"Yes, I do believe him."

"I can't believe you were so stupid."

Before I thought, my hand was already flying towards his cheek. It hit her in a clean impact that turned her face. He wasn't going to call me that to my face, ever. I wasn't going to tolerate another man treating me like trash. Choso looked at me surprised that I had the courage to hit him.

"Of course I'm going to believe him when the same bitch confirmed it." I declared.

"What?! Did you meet her?! Where?!" He asked me perplexed.

"You would know if you saw Sukuna's fights," I barked as I turned around. "You don't need to come to training today," I asked before going back to my suite.

Choso tried to follow me to reconsider, but I just slammed the door in his face. I entered the main room, tired, ashamed and exhausted. Everything had happened too quickly and without logical explanation. I looked for my phone and headphones on the nightstand. I unlock my phone to listen to music and the first thing I see is the photo I took with Choso when we moved into our nice apartment. A tear fell on the screen, preventing me from entering my password.

Choso had just thrown our entire relationship down the drain. That loving and attentive Choso disintegrated into the air like dust. The only thing I had left were its annoying ashes that I would have to sweep up later. First there was Sukuna ignoring and now Choso confusing me with a woman I hate. I curled up in bed to cry comfortably. I put on the first sad song that came across my playlist to cry to. I only had an hour before training, and I wasn't going to waste it. Soon I submerged on my own tears and snot. I fought against my own nose to breathe again through the mess. I had to get everything I felt in my chest to be able to put up a good fight.

The night fell slower than I would have preferred. Nobara, seeing me with swollen and somewhat reddish eyes, asked me what had happened, but I told her that I didn't want to talk about it now. I had to focus on the fight. She was going to get in the ring, do what she had to do and come out as the champion. That was easy.

UFC 300 started with a bang. I watched each of the matches while warming up with Nobara in the small conditioning room they had given us to wait for my turn to fight. He gently tapped the pads at a good pace, fast and precise. I would lower my head when she tried to hit me. We danced in the small space we had to do so.

"I like that look," Geto told me while monitoring my training. "You look angry."

I was angry. Choso had not arrived at the event and doubted he would. There were 15 minutes left until my fight. I told him he shouldn't go to training, I didn't think he would also take my biggest fight as part of it.

"I have to go to the bathroom," I asked for a break as I left Nobara.

I looked terrible. My eyes were puffy from crying and my skin looked duller than usual. I would look terrible on camera, but there was nothing I could do about it. That's what happened to me for crying in the shower instead of bathing properly. I slapped myself in front of the mirror. “Concentrate, you can't let two assholes take you down easily.” I tried to cheer myself up and, in a way, I succeeded. “You're a badass.”

When I left the bathroom, I was going to go back to my room, but out of the corner of my eye I saw that dark hair that I knew so well. It was Choso, but he wasn't heading towards me. He didn't even see me. He continued walking down the hallway until he got lost in a corridor. I had to return to my living room, but my intuition begged me to follow him and that's exactly what I did. I was going to turn the same corner as him, until I heard his voice.

"What the fuck were you doing with my girlfriend in the morning?" He asked annoyed. That was enough of a sign for me to stay hidden. It broke my heart that Choso didn't believe me.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sukuna's annoying voice echoed through the hallways. He had surely arrived at his conditioning room.

"She told me she was with you in the morning. Now answer the damn question,” Choso retorted, his tone becoming more aggressive with each word.

"We met at the hotel entrance. That was it," Sukuna answered.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure! She threw my headphones into traffic because I've been ignoring her like you asked!”

This couldn't be happening. Was Choso the reason for everything? Was Sukuna ignoring me, ghosting me, or avoiding me because of him? I covered my mouth so as not to sob out loud. I never thought Choso would be able to take me away from one of the most important people in my life, especially his brother. I never thought his insecurity would reach this level.

"Good". Choso muttered. "I believe you."

"You better believe me this time because I've been suffering for you, and you know it." Sukuna replied annoyed.

"It's not my fault she chose me over you." Now what the fuck were they talking about? "It's your karma."

"Is that so? Are you just using her to get back at me?” Sukuna asked him offended. Faced with silence, he spoke again. "Just tell me one thing, do you really love her or did you just want to take her away from me?"

"I like her. She's pretty.”

One year dating! One damn year dating and this son of a bitch only likes me! My tears of sadness turned to frustration. What stupid game had they put me into? Had every moment we'd spent together been a lie? A beautiful lie to keep me by your side? He had been making fun of me this whole time, and I wasn't going to let him have it. I clenched my fists in anger. I heard how they began to struggle between grunts and curses. It was hard to know what was going on because I was still hiding in the corner.

"She’s pretty?! That's it?! God, you're a big idiot!” Sukuna yelled, annoyed. "You have a renowned fighter, a wonderful person and the most beautiful woman as your girlfriend, and you only say that she is pretty?!"

A weak smile appeared on my face. I didn't know he looked at me that way. That statement felt like the calm in the eye of the hurricane. My confused tears came out for different reasons. Anger at Choso's selfishness and happiness at finally knowing what Sukuna really thought about me. My phone vibrated in my pocket, returning me to my reality. I took it out to read Nobara's message.

Bestie: Where are you? We should be at the entrance by now.

I wiped my tears with the sleeve of my sweatshirt before running off to my championship fight. She was unaware of the entire strange situation between Choso and Sukuna, but she was sure of one thing. I was going to kill that bitch.

SUKUNA POV

Since we were kids, Choso knew me better than anyone else. He knew when he was hungry, angry, or wanted to get into mischief just by looking at me. I never understood how he did it. It was like he could read my mind better than I could. That's why he was able to share me his cookies without me asking, he calmed me down when I needed it and took the bucket out of my hands when I wanted to dunk Yuuji in front of his friends. His strong intuition no longer surprised me. It wasn't until he realized I liked Y/n before I knew it.

"She’s pretty?! That's all?! God, you're a big idiot!” I yelled in his face. "You have a renowned fighter, a wonderful person and the most beautiful woman as your girlfriend, and you only say that she is pretty?!"

I had him cornered against the wall. It was the closest thing I could do without beating him to death. The last time I did that, it didn't go very well. I really thought he loved her the same way I did, but no, he just used her to hurt me. My fists were turning red from the force I was applying so that he couldn't slip out of my hands.

"Do you see what it feels like to have something taken away from you?" Choso asked me.

"She's not damn candy!" I exclaimed annoyed. "She's a woman who really loves you, and you're still thinking about your whore ex. Don't you realize how pathetic you sound?!" 

"Hey, don't talk about Yuki like that!" Choso yelled back to me.

"And don't talk about Y/n as if she were a trophy!" I yelled at him, barely containing my anger. I was reaching for everything in my power not to knock him out again.

"She is! Finally, I have something that you don't!” He yelled in my face. "You always had everything, the best grades, the approval of our parents, the girls you wanted. Even the girls I liked, always they liked you! Yuki was the only one who really liked me back.”

“Y/n really likes you too.” I said before slamming him against the wall of anger. The door to my living room opened, Gojo's white head peeked out. I sighed and reluctantly let go of Choso.

"Y/n is already going to fight," he told me to return to the room.

"Shouldn't you be with her?" I asked him worried. He just avoided my gaze, ashamed. "Now what did you do?"

"It's already on!" Yuuji excitedly informed me from inside. Gojo asked me to come in with his eyes. I sighed exasperated, but ignored him. I pulled my little brother to come into the living room with me.

Hiss by Megan Thee Stallion echoed through the room as everyone settled in front of the television to watch the first championship fight of the night. She looked just as intimidating as she did in every fight, but this time she looked annoyed. I had seen her last fights, she always smiled confidently while fighting the air. This time, her smile had disappeared, and she just walked towards the octagon with a mean look. Her eyes looked reddish and lifeless. “What the fuck did you do to him?” I asked Choso telepathically. I didn't want to start another argument with Yuuji in the room.

Y/n took off her sweatshirt and revealed that body that drove me crazy. Her sports bra and those green 2-in-1 shorts they accentuated her figure beautifully. The referee checked her and gave her the go-ahead to enter the octagon. She walked around the place as if the entire place belonged to her. She stretched her limbs like an elegant panther ready to hunt.

It didn't take long for Maki to make her appearance, but I didn't care about her in the slightest. What surprised me was seeing the idiot Naoya behind her. Y/n probably knew this would happen, after all they are cousins, and they train in the same temple. This would only increase the pressure you feel.

The two fighters met in the ring. Finally, the moment Y/n had been waiting for for years had arrived. This would be the night she would reign in the octagon again. The referee repeated the rules to them and they both clashed gloves.

"Come on, Snake!" Yuuji exclaimed excitedly.

They both stepped back to start the fight. My eyes were on Y/n. “Come on, you can do it,” I thought, hoping to see an incredible fight. The bell rang, and she lunged at Maki without waiting another second, welcoming her with a Superman punch which made Maki step back. Team Black celebrated the small victory of the first blow euphorically.

Maki then lunged at her with equal force to try to take the fight to the ground. He took her arms to bring her closer to his body and threw her to the ground. Y/n resisted the attack well, but managed to take it to her advantage. She took advantage of the fact that she was holding her to use her thigh as a ladder to climb on top of her like a python. In one swift movement, she climbed over her to wrapped her powerful legs and strong arms around her arm. He slammed her to the ground using his own weight. The public went crazy when they saw a strong python strangling its poor prey. My eyes couldn't blink for fear of missing that live massacre.

Once on the ground, Y/n took advantage of the closeness to choke Maki with her leg. Zenin began to squirm to find a way out of the unexpected move. With her free opposite arm and her legs away from Y/n, she didn’t have any options. Her team was yelling incoherently at Maki in an attempt to help her, but there was nothing they could do. Y/n had already won with a perfect arm bar. After the referee saw that Maki could not escape in any way, he ended the fight so that she would not pass out from lack of air.

Team Black cheered euphoric. I already knew that she was a magnificent fighter. She had proved herself on again and again every time we trained together, but this time she had shined. She had proven once again that she was a dangerous woman that no one can mess with.

"Sometimes I forget that she could easily kill me," Choso told me.

"Only if you make her angry," I warned him.

END OF SUKUNA POV

"The Medusa Serpent defeated The Fury in 15 seconds! A personal record!”

I didn't know what happened or when it happened. I just blinked, and I was already choking Maki with my legs. Had won. She was the champion again. The Octagon belonged to me again, but I wasn't happy. I didn't feel the euphoria running through my body. My team jumped into the octagon to hug me and congratulate me on my victory. I smiled weakly. In the distance I saw Naoya scolding Maki for losing so embarrassingly. Even though the fight hadn't lasted long, my body felt tired.

"Y/n, The Medusa Serpent, Y/l/n, the new champion!". The host announced excitedly as soon as the referee raised my arm, granting me the victory. 

Geto helped me put on the gold belt and lifted me onto his shoulders, so everyone could see me. I raised my arms in victory as everyone applauded me. This was what I wanted, this was what I had trained for for years, why did I still feel like shit?

"We all knew you would make it!" Nobara hugged me once we got off the octagon after they finished interviewing my coach and I.

"This is to celebrate! I made a reservation at The Chandelier,” Mei Mei announced, thrilled.

"Go ahead." I asked them tiredly. "I want to see Sukuna's fight."

"We'll wait for you in the room then." Nobara told me before hugging me. "Are you okay?" She whispered so no one could hear us. I just nodded so she wouldn't worry.

I went to the seat I had asked the UFC to set aside for me in the front row. People around shook my hand to congratulate me on my victory. I just thanked them and smiled kindly at them. I sank into the black seat as I listened to the loud music and watched the lights dance through the audience. While enjoying the view, I saw Choso running through the audience. You looked everywhere as if you were looking for something. I sank further into my seat hoping he would see me, but he did.

"Congratulations, beautiful!". He greeted me with a smile. “Bitch ass fake.”

"Thank you."

"Let's celebrate! You deserve it!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"I want to see Sukuna's fight." I said without getting up from my seat.

"We can watch it with the others at the bar," He tried to convince me, taking my hand.

"No, I want to see the fight live," I asked him.

He was going to tell me something more, maybe convince me more, but the light in the auditorium went out and Sukuna's song began to boom from the speakers. Making the audience go crazy. The host announced the second championship fight of the night. Sukuna entered the auditorium like the majestic fighter that he is. The crowd around went crazy just seeing him live. I forced Choso to sit next to me so we could watch the fight together.

Sukuna climbed into the ring and walked around the perimeter of the ring, listening to the screams of his fans. Even though Yuta had entered the auditorium, he couldn't take his eyes off Sukuna. He looked better than ever. I missed seeing him through the fence. His strong body glowing under the white lights, his hair swinging from side to side as he warms up and his eyes watching me closely.

It didn't take long for the fight to start. Yuta lunged at Sukuna to hit him. Being smaller in stature, he was more volatile and flexible. His feet moved quickly to strike and defend with ease. Sukuna tried to catch him and hit him, but Yuta always escaped him. The king was engaging in an extreme game of whack-a-mole.

Until now, Yuta was the only one who had thrown punches so far. Sukuna tried to throw his best punches, but none of them managed to connect completely. His upper movements looked stiff and slower than usual.

"Come on, Sukuna. Stop playing." I whispered to myself.

The pace of the fight was guided by Yuta. He was the one moving, punching, kicking, it was like he was fighting against a steel wall. Sukuna tried to keep up with him, but his body was not up to it. He threw a punch, Yuta dodged it and landed a blow with his right shoulder. Sukuna's scream could be heard throughout the auditorium. I knew that cry very well. I stood up from my seat, like most of the audience, in an attempt to find out what was happening. Sukuna backed up to lean against the fence, holding his shoulder. Yuta took advantage of this to arrive and knock him out with a blow to the jaw. Sukuna fell like a sack of potatoes at that. The referee quickly arrived to assist him and declared the fight over. Shoko soon got into the octagon to check it out.

"Sukuna…" I whispered in shock, seeing him unconscious on the floor on the giant screen.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine." Choso told me.

"That scream was not normal," I said worriedly, stroking my neck when I remembered I was in Sukuna’s shoes.

"He just need to go to the doctor. Shoko will treat him and he will be fine,” He tried to calm me down again. "Let's get out of here, they are waiting for us to go celebrate,” He took my arm so we could leave.

"What kind of brother are you?!" Finally, I exploded in his face. Choso looked at me surprised. "Your brother is suffering on the ground, and you are thinking of celebrating?!".

"I only worry about you."

"No! You've never cared about me! You only care about yourself!” I yelled, furious. I didn't care who listened to me. I could not take it anymore.

"That's not true... You know I love you." Choso told me.

"Oh really?! And why didn't you tell Sukuna that?!” I didn't hit him again, but I did give him a verbal slap. "I'm not going to be your little consolation prize…"

"You are not," Choso interrupted me.

"Just stop lying!" I screamed tiredly. "It's over!"

"Y/n... Please, are you really going to choose him?" Choso wondered.

I was going to answer him, but I saw that the paramedics quickly arrived on the scene. This couldn't be happening. Not again. They put Sukuna on the stretcher and took him away from the chaos.

"I do…"

"What?"

"I do choose him, I should have done it from the beginning,” I answered firmly before dodging him.

I ran out to where they were taking him. Being a fighter, I had almost access to any part of the auditorium, so they let me pass. Escape the crowd to get backstage to the medical wing. Sukuna was still unconscious and with a mouthpiece in his face. My mind transported me back to 3 years ago, where I was the one on that cold stretcher and had no idea what I was going through having to tolerate the pain.

"Y/n!". Yuuji called me as he saw me with his teary eyes as we watched Sukuna being loaded into an ambulance. Once I hugged him, he collapsed in my arms. Gojo and Shoko got on into the ambulance with him and the paramedics closed the door behind them.

"What the hell happened to him?!" I demanded answers while holding Yuuji.

"Let's go to the hospital," Nanami told me without the intention of answering my question.

I stood watching the ambulance speed away with sirens blaring while my friend sobbed for his brother. I wanted to cry, but my eyes were already dry. I had already cried a lot that day, I had to hydrate myself.

Returning to the hospital gave me chills. The cold hallways, the people in a hurry and the strange clean smell. Being in the waiting room was no better. Being sad in a place surrounded by sad people only made my mood worse. We had already been here for two hours and the only thing they told us was that he needed emergency surgery for a throwing shoulder injury. A common injury among high-performance athletes is a tear due to stress on the shoulder.

"Congratulations," Gojo told me as he gave me a bottle of water to wake up from the trance.

"I'm not in the mood for congratulations," I said sincerely.

"It's not from me, it's from Sukuna." He clarified. "He watched the fight and was fascinated, you did a good job,” he told me before messing my hair.

The thought of Sukuna being proud of me calmed my tortured heart a little. Despite his coach’s good intentions, I wanted him to tell me himself. The door to the emergency room opened, and they called out to those who came to see Sukuna Ryomen.

"The surgery was a success. I already informed Shoko privately,” The doctor said. Yuuji and I sighed in relief.

"How long will it take to return to training? One, two years?” I asked excitedly. I didn't get a response. "Maybe three like me?" The emotion decreased with every word seeing that no one was excited by the news.

"When I said that the surgery was a success, I mean that he did not lose his shoulder and that he will be able to move it with a lot of rehabilitation, but not enough to return to the ring." The doctor explained.

"What?!" Yuuji and I exclaimed at the same time.

"But this is his first injury, right?!" I exclaimed, worried that we would be given the wrong diagnosis.

"Yes, but it was not treated on time. Sukuna completely refused to have the surgery because he would stop fighting for a couple of years,” Shoko answered.

"Since when?" I asked angrily. I clenched my fists to stop myself from screaming, but I couldn't. "Since when have he had that injury?!" I screamed.

"Two years ago," Nanami replied, avoiding my gaze, clearly ashamed.

Two years ago I was his coach. During that year, Sukuna was suffering and didn't tell me? This day I couldn't get any worse. First Sukuna ignored me, then Choso mistook me for his ex-fiancée. It also turns out that my boyfriend doesn't love me. Now Sukuna will never be able to fight again because an injury that I could possibly worsen with exercise routines was not treated.

"And why didn't you tell me?!". I screamed inconsolably. Now it was Yuuji's turn to hug me to calm me down. "How could you let him fight in that state, you fucking idiots?!" I cried out loud against his chest. The only response I received was Yuuji's sobs. Out of anger, I pushed him away from me. "Why are you crying?! You surely knew, and you didn't tell me anything, you fucking gossip!” I screamed from the deepest part in my chest.

"I didn't know! If I had known, I would have helped him!" He yelled back at me with teary eyes.

That made me calm down a little. I was getting out of control. I took a deep breath and analyzed the situation. How did Yuuji, who is by Sukuna's side 24/7, not know about this? Wait… Yes, I knew that, but not the truth.

"The thing is, he has… “Sessions” with the physiotherapist. You know what I mean?" I remembered when Yuuji secretly told me that Sukuna was sleeping with Shoko. Did Sukuna lie to his own brother so he wouldn't know about his shoulder back then?

"Shoko" I called her. She looked at me curiously. "How many times did you sleep with Sukuna?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" I am a lesbian," she answered with her eyebrow raised.

I was already tired of crying. All he could do was laugh at the ridiculous situation he was in. Sukuna was a huge idiot. A stubborn bastard who will do anything to be on top. Poor him… now he is on the slopes of the mountain while I am conquering him. Yes, you are the king of the assholes.

The nurse who was treating Sukuna left the room. I went ahead of everyone to go in first and close the door behind me. The others tried to open the door, but it was impossible from outside without a key. I approached the stretcher. He had a wet towel covering his sharp face. He had his arm posed with bandages and an angle where it wouldn't hurt further.

"You have 5 minutes to tell me the truth." I ordered bothers by removing the towel and throwing it across the room.

"Weren't you a pitcher in your past life?" He asked me sarcastically.

"Don't try to be a smart ass! Tell me the whole truth now! I know you've been hiding things from me since I've been your coach,” I ordered under my breath.

"I have a pitcher's shoulder injury and I didn't treat it because I didn't want to stop fighting. Happy?" He answered me dryly, without looking me in the eyes.

"What else?"

"There is nothing else," Sukuna lied to me.

"Please, Sukuna…" I begged him. "Do not do this to me. You know you've hidden other things from me. Just say it".

"How much do you know?" He asked me looking into my eyes.

"I know more things than you think."

"So if you already know, what's the point of me saying it?" Sukuna answered, closing his eyes and facing away. I squeezed the railing of the stretcher out of anger.

"So you're not going to tell me that you love me?" I asked offended. He turned to look at me faster than lightning, but he didn't say a single word. We stared at each other for a long while in silence. 

"I'm not going to say that to my brother's girlfriend." He answered dryly.

"Who in their right mind would stay with an idiot who can't get over their ex?". He just looked at me surprised at that statement. "So say it… You have a free field." I asked him.

Sukuna just stared at me in disbelief, debating in his mind whether this was real or a test. Say it, say it, just say it for the love of God! Tell me you love me, tell me I'm special to you, tell me all the things you bravely said to Choso, but you're ashamed to tell me when I am in front of you. After a couple more seconds of silence, I decided to give up. It was okay that I wanted answers, but I wasn't going to beg him to give them to me.

"Fine. I won't bother you anymore, get well soon." I let go of the railing to get away from the situation.

As soon as I turned around, his hand took possession of my arm and returned me to my place, this time pulling me towards him. Our faces were inches apart. I could see his features in great detail. His tribal tattoos framing his face, his penetrating eyes, his straight nose and his full lips. He grabbed my sweatshirt to close the distance with a deep kiss that made me melt inside. That's when I realized why I missed being his trainer or watching him fight, actually, I missed him. Being close to him, spending time with him, kissing him. I felt complete and complete every time Sukuna took me as his.

"I love you…". He whispered into my lips. "I love you so much that I let you go because I thought you would be happier with someone like Choso," he explained as he caressed my cheeks with his fingers.

"What's the point of being happy if everything is a lie?". I asked him with a smile.

"But I'm a mess, dear," he warned me.

"If you're a mess, I'm a damn chaos." I replied before meeting our lips again.

His lips traveled over my mouth as if it were newly discovered terrain. Even though we had already done this behind everyone's back, it felt like it was the first time. I loved him, and I was no longer afraid to admit that that love that I thought I had buried deep in my soul was still there. Only this time he would do anything to stay by her side. We were both being consumed by the agony of wanting to be together. Sukuna pulled me by the waist with his free arm to lift me onto the stretcher with a strength I didn't think I would have in this situation, making me sit on top of him.

"We can't do it here. Everyone is outside,” I whispered to him.

"I just want you to stay close to me, you damn pervert," He said with a mischievous smile. My face blushed with embarrassment.

I lay on his chest, on the side that wouldn't bother his injured shoulder. He drew imaginary circles on his chest as he told me everything he already knew. That Choso asked him to stay away from me so that she could trust him again. That he had lied to Yuuji about sleeping with Shoko so that no one would find out about his injury for fear of it becoming news. That he had hidden his feelings towards me, and he never thought that his feelings were reciprocated.

"And why did you lose the fight? What happened to your good luck ritual? I asked him confused.

"It hasn't worked since my fight with Aoi Todo." He answered with a smile just for me. That meant that all this time he had been fighting without luck on his side. "No one satisfies me like you." He purred against my cheek.

I smiled flattered by that strong statement. I snuggled closer to his strong chest and slipped my hand into his robe to caress his bare skin. My body felt light with each passing second and each time he brushed my hair between his fingers. It had been such a long day and I needed a break.

SUKUNA POV

Even though Yuta Okkotsu massacred me in the octagon, having her in my arms made me feel like I was still the champion. Little by little she fell asleep. I was sure my arm would fall asleep, but I didn't care at all. His warmth made me feel more alive than ever, and I never wanted him to leave me again.

I heard the living room door open. Yuuji was going to shout something, but I silenced him from my place. The rest of the team came in behind him to ask me how I was feeling.

"Do you need something?" Yuuji asked me in a low voice.

"I already have everything I need," I said, looking at Y/n.

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@whiterose-fans-blog White Rose in Bloom, Day 7: Halloween Costume Party

Technically both prompts lol. Couldn't help myself.

CW for suggestive content, drugs mentioned.

Words: 3974

“Prin-cess,” Weiss hissed through the door. “We are going to be late!”

“Just a moment! My nose— ‘tis severely unpowdered!”

Weiss groaned, tugging at the stuffy under-layer of her cuirass. “Babe, you look fine! You've been doing your makeup for—”

The bathroom door whipped open. Ruby stood in the threshold, resplendent in the decadent, silky black of her gown, the deep void of it split down the front by the winding silver filigree and carmine of her lace petticoat. The skirt was framed over a conical farthingale, giving the girl a structured silhouette that pinched tight in the middle, meeting her pearl-studded, silver-laced stomacher at a waist so snatched that Weiss’ organs ached just thinking about it. A thick belt, dotted with pearls and rubies, fell from her hips in a deep V-shape, matching the silver brooches that lined up the middle of Ruby's bodice. Her white inner sleeves were flared at the wrists with bursts of lace, disappearing above the elbow beneath long, pointed oversleeves, and her shoulders were mantled by a white collar that went high up her neck and split just at the swell of her chest. The collar gave her the slightly chaste, religious vibe she liked to sprinkle on all her cosplays, but Weiss could catch a little hint of cleavage where it split. Ruby's hair was done up in intricate braids and a pearl-studded bun— she'd been growing it out all year just for this.

Her makeup was pale and powdery, lips painted a supple, dark burgundy— nearly black— and her dark eyeshadow made her look like the haunted porcelain doll of some Puritan family, and Weiss was getting weirdly turned on by it. 

Of course, being the overworking, obsessive, and world-famous cosplayer she was, Ruby wouldn't let her girlfriend go as some plaster knight— the party's theme was ‘Period Accurate’, after all— no, she had gone so far as to commission a fucking cuirass for her, custom-forged from genuine carbon steel, plus a gambeson (which she was already sweating in), plus a full accoutremont of hosen, some kind of duckbill-shaped leather shoes, along with giant, poofy sleeves and pants, slashed to reveal white cloth beneath the vibrant red and blue-dyed fabric. Oh, and the halberd. And the sword. And the dagger. She looked ready for Ren Faire, not something so brief as a Halloween party!

Alas, Weiss loved her girlfriend, and she knew this was Ruby's favorite thing every year. She prepped for this more than any conventions they went to. It also helped that the pics they got out of these were almost always her most top-performing, and scooped more genuine fashion gigs than her cosplays did. 

Weiss couldn't complain. She wouldn't complain. She loved seeing Ruby this happy. She loved Ruby. She really… really…

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Her satchel burned. 

“Well? Is my gentle knight going to escort me or not?”

Weiss jumped, having lost herself in Ruby's face, but recovered with what she did best: unnecessary nitpicking. “You know, I'm pretty sure this is more of a Landsknecht kind of thing,” she pointed out, wiggling her sleeve. “Not really a knight.”

“I love it when you flaunt your degree,” Ruby mused, cocking her head and smiling sweetly, knowingly. “Sweetie, I fucked you to sleep last night. You really think you've got the stamina for three hours of plate armor?”

Weiss’ face blazed, so she turned away and extended her elbow. “Fuck off.”

Weiss’ world-famous girlfriend wrapped her slender arms around the preferred elbow, her hands climbing high to clutch Weiss’ meager (improving! Doing her best!) bicep as she giggled. “You get all the stuff?”

The knight (again, more of a Landsknecht, maybe a trabant with that cuirass) nodded dutifully. “Of course.”

Ruby sighed dreamily. “Pretend I'm kissing you— I don't wanna mess up my makeup.”

Weiss cocked an eyebrow at the (embarrassingly) taller girl. Maybe the halberd would help compensate. “Let's go.”

Ruby hummed an affirmative, and they were off into Weiss’ shitty, post-Schnee sedan. She silently thanked her once-dormmate, now-girlfriend, grateful for her and her family's generosity after all of the awful shit came out about her family business— the one her father had seen fit to drive into the ground with books burned and numbers forged, leaving Weiss alone at an expensive college with no money, no support net, and a car she could no longer insure. 

But Ruby had been there. She was already getting some lucrative sponsors— apparently she'd been getting them since high school— and buoyed Weiss’ needs. Ruby even got her to sell that nice car for tuition money, and personally helped her get over her fear of public transport. Then, she told Weiss she would be dropping out to go full-time on her fashion stuff, but offered to split rent on an apartment that would be cheaper than the campus dormitory. 

And Weiss had said: ‘Sorry, what?’

And Ruby had said: ‘You know, like U-Hauling.’

‘I don't know what that is.’

‘It's a gay thing.’

‘You're gay?’

‘Uh, yeah. Why do you think I'm asking you to move in with me?’

Weiss had said something like: ‘Guh-hwuh?’

Ruby had said something like: ‘Weiss, I took you out on a date last week. I said it was a date. Were— were you not listening?’

‘Well— I— we—’

‘We literally kissed!’

Then Weiss had realized she was an idiot, and was probably very drunk at the time of said smooch. She'd told Ruby as much.

‘Oh,’ Ruby had said. ‘Well… you, uh… wanna try it again?’

And Weiss had nodded, Ruby had kissed her, and two years later she wouldn't give Ruby up for anything.

Ruby crinkled the plastic seat cover as she got out, throwing Weiss that crooked smile that she adored. Weiss got out after her girlfriend, having a minor struggle to get her halberd from where it stretched over the console and into the back seat. She offered her arm again, Ruby took it again, and she held her rubber-buffered polearm like a real Swiss Guard as she walked her girlfriend in. 

Her heart felt so full, even just having Ruby beside her, warm and beautiful and hers. That love was such a burden— absolute lead in her belt pouch. She held Ruby close, pivoted her halberd over her shoulder to fit in the doorway, and entered the party.

Neopolitain's socials were stellar affairs, enabled by the immense Torchwick fortune and hosted in their giant, lavish mansion. Invite-only, of course, but Ruby had apparently been a good friend of Neo when they started these things, and while the two of them had steadily drifted apart over the years, Ruby got the yearly invitation without fail.

But this was the first time Ruby’s RSVP had been furnished with ‘Weiss S.’ and not ‘Yang X. L.’ as her plus-one. Yang— Ruby’s half-sister— tore her ACL in a wrestling match. Like, pro-wrestling. Yang was a genuine pay-per-view professional wrestler. Her name was just ‘The Dragon,’ which Weiss thought was extremely asinine, but she still jumped off the couch and whooped like a dumbass whenever she got up on the top rope. Her elbow-drops were astounding. 

After checking in with the bouncer and making sure Weiss’ halberd didn't have any exposed blade, Ruby started pulling her along the edge of the central bustle of the party. A lyricless club beat hammered the air and floor, deafening among the clamor of dense, excited humanity.

“Where are we going!” Weiss shouted over the pounding music.

“To the bar!” Ruby answered, throwing her girlfriend a wink. “We've got about thirty minutes to smooth you over before the anxiety hits!”

“Wha— I— thirty minutes!” Weiss complained, aghast. “How would you know!”

Ruby stopped suddenly, whirled to her partner, and leaned close to her ear. “Because I love you, dumbass, it's kinda my job to know.”

Ruby backed away and grinned, her teeth big and bright against the dark lipstick. Weiss reddened. “Pretend I'm kissing you!” she shouted back, her face hot.

Ruby's grin melted into that lovely, crooked smile again, but she kept pulling Weiss to the bar without any further flirting. She left Weiss at the outskirts of the bar area, ordered something she couldn't hear, and returned drink-in-hand a couple moments later.

“Here!” Ruby shouted over the music, handing over a drink that looked suspiciously like a cold brew with cream. 

Weiss took it. “What is this?” she asked.

“Moscow mule!” Ruby answered. “Vodka with a coffee liqueur!”

“That…” the not-really-a-knight blinked. “That actually sounds really nice!”

Ruby's dark lips crinkled up into the shape her girlfriend loved most, and she leaned forward to boop Weiss on the nose. “I know! I'm amazing! Now I'm gonna go say hi to Neo, you stay here and look pretty!”

Weiss deflated a little.

“Oh, baby!” Ruby cooed, coming closer to cup Weiss’ chin in her palm and squeeze her cheeks. “I'll be back in a second, I just don't want you on the floor with an open drink!”

“Why not?”

“What!”

“Why! Not!”

Ruby winced. “Uh, ya might get drugged! So just stay here and drink so I don't have to catch a murder case!”

Weiss’ throat felt thick. Why did Ruby have to be so god-damn thoughtful? It made her seem like an amateur. “Oh. Okay! I'll—”

“See you in a sec!” Ruby finished for her, backing up towards the human miasma at the party's center. “Love you!”

“I love you too!” Weiss returned, raising her drink as she watched her girlfriend disappear. 

Was it bad that Ruby’s exodus was actually relieving to her? Her heart tugged after her, obviously, but the nervous knot between her lungs and stomach eased with her absence. Sighing, Weiss plopped into a barstool and leaned her halberd against it.

As usual, Ruby knew her better than she knew herself. The drink was lovely, and Weiss got to appreciate it for all of two and a half sips before some big, greasy dude dropped onto the stool next to her. His hair was a bright, artificial red and styled back in a way a particularly susceptible person might find suave.

“Holy shit, I dig your—” his blue eyes widened. “Woah, you're a chick!”

Weiss looked at him, then her drink. Smartly, she only let the latter in her mouth, and deliberately swirled it over her tongue, mulling over its coffee taste and cinnamon tones. She swallowed it only when he ignored her ignoring him, and hissed out with the burn of vodka in her throat, “Yes?”

“I'm Adam!” the guy said frattishly, raking his eyes up and down her body. He stared hard at her cuirass like he could crack it open with his mind, unaware of the fact that, even if he could, her titties wouldn't just explode out like an anime. For once, she appreciated her hot, sweaty gambeson. “I've never been to one of these things before!”

“That's crazy,” Weiss offered, in the same way you would offer someone a tissue you've already blown your nose in.

“Can you guess my theme!” he yelled, audibly trying to sound cool and not at all desperate. He motioned over himself.

He was wearing an oversized graphic t-shirt with one of those Greco-Roman busts on it— in more of a ‘troubling political views’ way than a ‘vaporwave appreciation’ way— along with some dark, baggy sweatpants and a pair of tan boat shoes. 

Weiss’ eyebrows pushed together hard enough to press coal into diamonds. “Uh, a tool?”

He laughed sickeningly, harsh and fast, not humoring the rest of his face at all. “Nah! I'm period accurate! Like period accurate! Like what chicks wear when they're on their period!”

The revulsion that clutched Weiss’ entire body was bestial. Instinctive. Downright Darwinian, formed after generations upon generations of avoiding this specific kind of loser. “Oh, that's… wow.”

He laughed at himself. “Haha, yeah! Creative, right?”

Weiss’ eyes darted for an exit, only to find that the mass of bumping humanity in the middle had swelled, pressing the wall of bodies like a barrier around the bar. Remembering her girlfriend's warning, she held her drink off the tabletop, close over her lap. “Can you leave me alone?”

The guy leaned in. He smelled like he'd drunk an entire bottle of cologne and it was trying to escape through his pores, accented with notes of old, unchanged bong-water. He grinned. “Soon as I get your number.”

Fuck. Shit. Fine, okay. Whatever gets the douche away. Weiss got a napkin, the loser provided a pen, and she flubbed half of her phone number before sliding the digits his way. Adam beamed at the napkin.

He moved to leave, but seemed to have a moment of pause as he stared at the numbers. He pulled his phone out.

Oh, shit. Oh fuck, oh shit. Weiss took a big gulp, shook the vodka off, and grabbed her halberd. It may not be lethal, but it was still a big, heavy stick she could swing around.

Adam punched the green ‘Call’ button. Weiss scooted her stool away, her grip tightening on the halberd.

“Hey, you gave me a fake—”

“Weiss!”

All the tension left Weiss’ body. She turned to her girlfriend’s voice, using the staff of her polearm to create a path through the bodies. Ruby squeezed through it, half-breathless, her painted face was like water in a particularly douchey desert.

“Hey— heough—” Ruby's hands were on her waist. She was panting. “Hey babe! Geez, this thing is tight!”

Weiss moved to kiss her, only to freeze when frattish tones arose once more. “Hey!” the guy called, closer now, and Weiss turned to find him fully off the stool. He was tall. “You gave me a fake number!”

Weiss shrank into her chestplate like a crab in its shell. “Uh, I didn't—”

“Hey!” Ruby, this time, and she surged past Weiss like she was on a mission. “I know you! You're Adam, right!”

Adam opened his mouth. Ruby put her fist in it.

The guy scrambled back, holding his mouth and yelling illegibly into his hands. Ruby spoke louder, and accentuated that fact by stomping her sexy heel into his shitty boat shoe. His shouting turned into a squeal.

“That's for my sister, dick-nuts!” Ruby yelled, grabbing her girlfriend by the arm. “I'm gonna get the bouncer, who the fuck let you in!”

Weiss found herself being tugged along at a speed that shouldn't be possible in a tight crowd— much less in heels— but Ruby moved with strength and grace. Her knuckles were bleeding.

“How do you know that guy!” Weiss yelled over the surrounding clamor.

“My sister-in-law!” Ruby explained. “She told me to punch him if I ever met him!”

“That's it?”

“No! I don't wanna talk about it without her! Just know he's an asshole!”

“Oh! Okay!”

It felt weirdly nice to yell back-and-forth with Ruby. She never really got to use this register of her voice; it reminded her of singing. Singing… maybe she'd have a good chance to try that again, soon.

Ruby worked her way out with ease, and sicced the bouncer Adam-wise with impressively little convincing. They were outside the main party again, far enough that they didn't have to shout over the music.

An odd guilt wormed into Weiss’ stomach. She immediately expulsed it. “He tried hitting on me,” Weiss admitted. “I gave him a fake number.”

Ruby raised a cocky eyebrow at her, a ‘yeah babe, I really wasn't worried’ kind of look. “Glad I punched him, then,” she shook out her left hand and hissed. “His friggin’ teeth cut me.”

Weiss scowled at herself, feeling ashamed as the words crawled out on their own: “I thought it was kinda hot. I've never seen you punch someone before.”

“Yeah?” Ruby laughed, equal-parts husky and devious. “Do I need to punch more people?”

Weiss shared a smile with her. “That won't be necessary.”

“Afraid I'll overstimulate you?”

“Yeah,” Weiss admitted too quickly, making her blush. “I mean, uh…”

Ruby giggled, her lips doing that crooked smile again— corner high on one side, sort of beaked in the middle, as if she were holding back a blinding grin. Weiss’ chest surged.

“Hey, uh, you wanna do the photoshoot now?” she asked. “I can get all the stuff; I think I've got alcohol in the back.”

“You've still got the alcohol back there?”

“It's paying off now.”

Ruby rolled her eyes, but Weiss’ point was unassailable, so she followed her back to the car with a smile.

Weiss took out the camera bag and tripod. “Where'd you wanna shoot?”

“There's a balcony on the second floor,” Ruby answered. “It's got a really nice view over their— get this— hedge maze. Who the heck gets a hedge maze?”

Weiss chortled. “Old money.”

“You ever have one?”

A question like that would've hurt a year ago, but talking to Ruby was so easy now. Easier than easy— it was natural. “We used to. Jacques replaced it with a statue of himself.”

“Seriously?”

Weiss snorted, extracting a half-empty bottle of denatured alcohol from her back seat. “Nope.”

“Weiss!” Ruby whined, pushing her lightly. “I'm gullible, come on!”

How badly she wanted to grab Ruby's wrist, dive into the car, and absolutely ruin her lovely makeup. It was her girlfriend's paycheck, though, so she only took her hand to put the alcohol on it. The cuts were shallow— barely enough to make a visible trickle of blood— but at least they were clean, now. They'd probably scab over before they even bandaged it.

“Think you can shop them out?” Ruby asked, admiring the wounds with an unworried quirk of her lips.

Weiss waved her off. “Probably, and if I can't you definitely can. Now could we get this done?” She thumbed the arm-hole of her cuirass, hoping it would distract from the weight around her hips. “I'm swimming in this thing.”

Ruby gave an affirmative, and they collected the photo stuff without much further smalltalk. Weiss followed her girlfriend back through the party, trying with all her might to think about how disgusting and sweaty she felt instead of what she was about to do. Ruby led them up a flight of stairs.

“We're not really allowed up here,” she whispered to Weiss as they padded down the empty halls of the second floor.

“What!” Weiss hissed. “Why— we can't post these if we're not allowed! Neo will get pissed!”

Ruby waved her off. “Nah, I talked to ‘em. They said we'd be fine so long as we don't get caught, and there's not really anyone up here to get caught by so…”

Weiss groaned. “Seriously?”

Ruby sidled up, well within the bounds of personal space. “We can do whatever,” she purred, “so long as we don't get caught.”

Weiss pursed her lips, her cheeks taking a dust of pink. “Babe, belay the horniness. We've got pictures to take.”

Her girlfriend pouted, then crossed her arms and harrumphed many harrumphs, but they achieved sweet fuck-all against the bulkwark of Weiss. Before she could become disheartened by the cockblocking, Ruby excitedly bounded to a door. “Ooh! This is the one! Oh, this is gonna be so sick! C’mon, c’mon!”

Weiss fondly rolled her eyes, but rushed forward to open the door for her girlfriend despite the fact Ruby was already there. She was the knight in this relationship, after all— she wore the hosen. 

And the view was sick. The hedge maze stretched out over the massive Torchwick property like a tangle of green, geometric worms, organized very politely so as not to invade one another’s boundaries. Faint yellow lights were strung along the hedges, but the sun was still exerting the last dregs of its influence before nightfall, turning the sky into a cloudless, navy expanse, sparsely twinkling with distant stars. The air was cold, which felt like heaven to Weiss. Ruby shivered against the breeze.

“Okay,” Ruby huffed, breathing hard to amp herself up. “Let's get this done. It's cold as balls.”

Weiss answered with a sharp nod, and made quick work of the photoshoot equipment, taking special care to hammer the position of the delay button into her brain. For her own part, Ruby mostly focused on fanning her face dry and lounging about the balcony in various positions. When Weiss gave her the thumbs-up, they started shooting.

It was a lovely night. The warm lighting from the mansion’s interior played perfectly on Ruby, highlighting her as the night got darker. Weiss wished they could stay in that twilight forever, hanging on the precipice, at the perfect point before rapture. For some reason, Ruby had never looked more beautiful.

But it would be too dark, soon. Weiss had enough pictures. Her belt was heavy.

“Hey, babe?”

Ruby perked up. “Yeah? We done? It's getting kinda dark.”

Weiss smiled sheepishly over the camera. “Uh, not… not quite. There's one more thing I want to try.”

Ruby gave her a befuddled expression— Weiss’ role in direction had never been more than observation and advice— but gave her a trustful nod. “What's up?”

“I want to be in it.”

Ruby reeled. “Huh?”

Weiss repeated herself.

“You— you do?” Ruby’s confusion shattered in an instant, and her ensuing smile nearly turned the night to day again. “Heck yeah! Get over here!”

Weiss meekly shuffled to her girlfriend’s side. She tried her best to pose with the halberd. Ruby's mouth twisted in a funny way.

“Eh, no, not like that. Try… take the bumpers off.”

“But—” 

“We’ll put them back on,” Ruby assured. “Do you think real knights went around with dull weapons?”

Weiss was pretty sure she could find an account of such a thing, but relented and took the bumpers off. She didn't have time to argue semantics. 

“Oh, nice,” the princess admired. “Yeah, you look awesome. Okay, now try all relaxed, like— yeah! Yeah, lean on the— oh, nice! Babe, you are a natural! I'm gonna set the delay!”

Weiss nodded. Ruby darted to the camera, set the delay, and returned to take a pose— languishing in the crook of Weiss’ free arm, reaching over and dragging one nail beneath her chin, staring at her with so much genuine want that Weiss blushed. It took a lot to keep her eyes forward, but she managed it, and the camera clicked shortly thereafter. Ruby rushed to check it, but her girlfriend held her back.

“Let me,” Weiss insisted, trying and failing to sound inconspicuous.

“Why?” Ruby drawled, raising one suspicious brow.

Weiss went ahead towards the camera, and Ruby foolishly trusted her not to do anything crazy. She set the longest delay she could. Ruby watched warily, still leaning against the balcony's black railing.

“Ruby.”

Ruby's eyes bored into her, inspecting Weiss’ every movement as she returned from the camera and stood before her. “Yes?”

Weiss shuffled on her feet, her lips fighting for an expression that they couldn't settle on. “You remember after everything with my dad? How I was?”

Ruby snorted, but her humor died when she saw the deep look in her girlfriend's eyes. “Oh, uh… yeah. Of course I do— I'll never forget.”

“Do you remember what I did?”

Ruby's eyebrows briefly furrowed, then rose, then furrowed again. Her lips started to shake a little. “You… said you'd change it.”

Weiss fought her lips, forcing them to purse into stillness. “Change what?”

Ruby raised her chin a little. “Weiss?”

“Change what?”

A deep, quivering inhale. “Your name.”

All the nerves just… went away. It was the easiest thing to kneel. Her hand, though it was shaking like hell, felt lighter than air as it slipped into her pouch. She pulled out the box. She showed Ruby the ring. “Ruby Rose—”

“Oh, you fucker!”

“Will you marry me?”

“Of course, you dick! Of course I'll—”

The camera snapped. They framed that picture.

[lucreziagiovane]

I am dropping by to release a hot take.

So we all agree Francois as Cesare just exudes sexiness and we were obsessed and could not get enough. Logically you would assume we would all be attracted to Francois the actor and find him with that much charisma and hold in other roles, the thing is when he appears in other shows it is hardly a blip on what he excluded in The Borgias (don't get me wrong he's still good looking in an Indie way). Like that hold was real.

Whereas, David takes characters that might not be everyone's cup of tea and Juan definitely was not the first few watches so you were less attracted to him. But irl he's a sweetie and endearing and the more you watch him the more you love him and see his attractiveness.

Might not have gotten my whole point across but it is an interesting observation.

you're actually cooking something! i see your point, but let me give you what i think about them:

as someone who has watched most of françois and david's filmography and interviews, david is the one who did it for me the most! i fear you'll never find a dorkier guy. i must admit, at first, i didn't find him attractive, but as you mentioned, he has such an endearing personality and it made me love him and recognize his attractiveness; an adorable animal-loving ecologist with a great sense of humor and wit. even when he plays characters that are not meant to be "likable" and don't have the writing on their side (like juan, for example), he plays them tremendously and delves deeper than what his character was supposed to be on the show (also one thing about me is that i'm gonna prefer the black sheep and always sympathize with a child who feels inferior comparing to his siblings lol). moreover, he is articulate and intelligent in providing insights and interpretations about characters, which is very important to me. such a fantastic actor with so much love for art and passion for his characters. (not to mention his soothing voice lol). a delightful individual through and through.

while with françois, he's absolutely perfect as cesare! it's such a timeless role for the actor in his career because i don't think i'll ever be that invested and obsessed with a male lead—an amoralist with all that charm, sassiness, leather, charisma, angel face, and divine curls... his character is so iconic and will always be special to me. but the thing is, he always had the writing on his side, and everything for him was handed on a silver plate. and this is where i was more compelled into david's juan. sure, françois obviously and undeniably did such a fantastic job as cesare, but david had to do the extra work for juan. in the end, he did impress neil jordan, despite expressing that he disliked juan and even wanted to write him off in season 1. françois is conventionally attractive; he's so beautiful and has such an awkward yet lovable personality. he's bilingual, which makes him extra hot. he seems down-to-earth, but unfortunately, he has such a weak filmography, which is sad because he is immensely talented, but the industry just didn't know what to do with all that handsomeness and talent, and there was nothing in his career that he did that gave me the buzz like cesare did.

overall, both of them are great, charming actors, but i had no choice but to lean toward david. he always portrays complex, nuanced characters with questionable morals, yet there is an understanding of why they behave the way they do, a theme that i do find very enjoyable. also, he has a captivating demeanor, so sentimental, and deeply loves his co-stars. it's impossible to watch his interviews without smiling. he comes across as highly educated and very straightforward. everything about him is so intriguing, lol.

[definitelynotgideon]

This is a Genya Shinazugawa x OC (Gideon Azulyss) MLM Fic 🏳️‍🌈

AN/ This took an embarrasingly long time to write because my brain is frieedddd. Work is getting to be so stressful and in the midst of everything I had a breakdown.

NONETHELESS, MY TUMBLR FRIENDS. I return with even more fluffies lol. I swear to god, i have a plan to move away from this stuff and into the meat of the story. Y'all just have to bear with me. xD

Also, this is an abridged, tumblr friendly version of the chapter. The full version will be linked with warnings; it can be found on Ao3. :3

CW: nudity, slight voyeur behavior? sharing a shower.

Click here for the Ao3 Version.

CW for Ao3 Version: Rated Mature! Make-out scene, implied other activities mentioned. Not Explicit.

Word Count: 2,237

The Demons We Face | Chapter 16, Give and Take

Preview:

Gideon looked to the things in his arms. Ah, he wanted to shower too. He looked back up to his shy eyes and then immediately understood that… he wanted to join Gideon. The silver haired boy blushed too.

“D-dont think I'm… just like, here because you're… you know. I didn't mean it like that. I j-just uh-” 

Gideon playfully flicked water at him, smirking. Genya stopped talking and looked slightly surprised.

“Baby. It's okay. You can join me. I'll even help you clean up if you want… but you've gotta help me too. Okay?~” 

Genya still looked nervous, which Gideon found adorable. But he nodded with a shy smile and disrobed. Gideon politely turned around so he could enter in with less pressure. He hummed as he re-wet his hair. 

And then as soon as Genya entered into the shower, he grinned up at him. “This is exciting. I finally get to see what shampoo you use~” 

The two boys ate well. After having talked, both were feeling better and their appetites showed it. When no one was looking, Genya would teasingly poke Gideon in the side with chopsticks and smirk, feeling Gideon's eyes on him and hearing the squeak that made it all worthwhile. 

Gideon was fucking determined to discover Genya's ticklish spots. He needed to level the playing field. But for the time being he retaliated by stealing bites from Genya's plate. 

In one of those times though, Aoi caught him and scolded him. “If you're hungry, ask for more food, don't take from others!”

Genya never got caught in his antics. Professional big brother knew how to get away with teasing. Gideon scrunched his nose and apologized as Aoi gave Genya replacement helpings. 

Genya said something along the lines of “you'd better be sorry,” only smiling fully victorious at Gideon when Aoi turned back around. To lessen the sting of defeat, he gave Gideon an additional dumpling, slipping his hand down to affectionately squeeze his knee. Gideon was dying to return touch, and finished his meal quickly so that he could shower and then join Genya in his room for sleep. 

He snuck a small affectionate scratch to Genya's back as he passed. “‘M gonna shower, see you in a bit.” Then he left the dining hall and went to his quarters for clothes and his shower supplies.

Genya watched him leave, his eyes following him until he was completely beyond the doorway. He glanced at his food and quickly finished it up, cleaning up his area and wandering out. He went back to his room, gathering up a change of outfit. 

Gideon, meanwhile, had gone into the men's shower. He was blissfully alone, and he was reminded of why he chose odd times to shower. It was just a little awkward to shower with other men around… he felt like if he looked the wrong way at one of them that they would immediately notice and call him out even if it was innocent. 

So whenever anyone else had come into the restroom he would decidedly turn to the wall and not socialize. 

But that wouldn't be happening this evening.

Smiling to himself, he stripped his outfit and set it carefully aside. Starting the shower, he ventured beneath the stream. A few moments passed and he began to sing softly as he worked a bar of soap in his hands.

And he sang sweetly, not aware of the very silent entrance of Genya. 

The mohawked boy had stopped short of the restroom area as soon as he heard the soft cadence. He had entered quietly to confirm it was Gideon. He heard his voice, and recognized it but… he needed to see him too. Wanted to commit it to memory. 

Because his voice resonated off of porcelain tiles, steam from the shower veiled him in intrigue. The scent of his fragrant soap tinted the vapor. Genya could have sworn he was an angel… and he stood rather frozen in place, awe holding his body still as he remained unnoticed.

But then… he accidentally dropped his shampoo bottle. Genya's face turned beet red as Gideon instantly stopped singing and turned to face him like a frightened deer.

Genya crouched to retrieve his bottle and became a bit of a mess in trying to explain himself. He shouldn't have even been doing so, he just couldn't resist… in his defense his intentions were very innocent. He was simply admiring his lover. Definitely not trying to be creepy or invade his privacy. 

He stammered out apologies to Gideon, averting his gaze, even bowing and Gideon shook himself out of his surprised state. 

“Genya, it's okay… Did… did you come looking for me?” 

Somehow Genya's blush got deeper on his face. “Y-yeah I… um. I wanted to make sure you were okay… but I was also… w-wondering if I could …”

Gideon looked to the things in his arms. Ah, he wanted to shower too. He looked back up to his shy eyes and then immediately understood that… he wanted to join Gideon. The silver haired boy blushed too.

“D-dont think I'm… just like, here because you're… you know. I didn't mean it like that. I j-just uh-” 

Gideon playfully flicked water at him, smirking. Genya stopped talking and looked slightly surprised.

“Baby. It's okay. You can join me. I'll even help you clean up if you want… but you've gotta help me too. Okay?~” 

Genya still looked nervous, which Gideon found adorable. But he nodded with a shy smile and disrobed. Gideon politely turned around so he could enter in with less pressure. He hummed as he re-wet his hair. 

And then as soon as Genya entered into the shower, he grinned up at him. “This is exciting. I finally get to see what shampoo you use~” 

The comment makes Genya laugh a little. He crouches to gather up his soap and Gideon can't resist the urge to look at his lover’s body.

His eyes softened. He had… so many scars. Some looked quite deep. Gideon’s own body had a few from fights with demons and just the hazards of being a boy. but Genya's… were more present. 

He'd probably been through so much. Too much to talk about. Genya seems to feel his eyes and looks to him as he stands up fully with his soap in hand. Gideon can't help but to just…move in and hold him close. He's wet from the shower so the feeling is weird for Genya but nonetheless, he laughs a little and wraps his arms around Gideon. 

“Someone is clingy~” Genya lightly teased him. Gideon groaned against his chest and playfully pretended to bite him. 

Gideon then squeezed him and lifted him to put him under the shower stream. “I don't think you dislike it.”

Genya giggled a little as he was moved. “You're right. I'm… happy you want to.” 

It was nice to be wanted. Especially after so much time with very few people. Gyomei had found him first, and had helped him as the father figure he never previously had. And even if there was pain in the aftermath, he loved his brother deeply and wanted to reach him. 

But Gideon was unique. Something he'd not experienced prior. Every touch was so gentle and healing… in some ways it terrified Genya because he'd lost almost his entire family and he could just as easily lose Gideon, Gyomei, Sanemi. Despite that though… Gideon was here now. And wanted to be close to him just as much. 

Gideon gently requested is soap bar. “I'll wash your back,” he offered. Genya must have d drifted away in thought for a moment, but his mauve eyes refocused on his partner. 

“Th-thank you.” He handed him the soap and turned around, closing his eyes and waiting. He felt like a child in a way… probably because he'd not experienced this before. 

Gideon lathers the soap in his hands and takes an appreciative smell. While not exactly what Genya smelled like to him, the hint of warm woodsy fragrance that Gideon noticed on Genya likely came from this bar. He gently scrubbed Genya's shoulders, eyes still on his scars as his eyes swirled with questions he wouldn't ask… deft hands cleansed Genya's back, finally resting on his hips as Gideon blushed. He should probably let Genya take care of everything lower… he didn't want to be invasive.

Genya felt him pause at his hips. Blushing because he knew what Gideon was probably thinking, he turned around to face him. “Thank you love… I- I'll get the rest of me.” 

Gideon went back under the spray as Genya finished soaping up. Gideon had finished up with soap earlier. He reached for his shampoo and Genya reached over gently to pause him. “Could… Could I do that for you? Please?” 

Gideons eyes softened again. That was so sweet of him… he couldn't deny him after he asked so carefully. He nods a little with a small smile and Genya rinsed himself off. He then took up Gideon’s shampoo bottle.

“C’mere, turn around.” He instructed softly. Rubbing his hands together after taking some shampoo up, he worked the lather into Gideon's scalp. Fingertips moved with specific pressure. Genya worked diligently through his strands and especially in his scalp to free up dirt or debris.

Gideon hummed contently. He loved having his hair played with, but this was entirely unique. Genya finished, smoothing the strands out of Gideons face and working them back. 

“Alright, rinsing time.” Gods, his voice was so gentle. The tone of his voice hit Gideon in an oddly specific manner. 

This really was love, wasn't it? Having someone be so careful with him and his heart. His everything. Especially when others had either been complacent or cruel… Genya's love began to take root in Gideon's soul, and Gideon would adore all of his flowers and thorns. 

Once he's rinsed the shampoo out completely, he pushes water away from his eyes and switches Genya spots so he can stand under the warm water. He stands on his toes to kiss him softly, cupping his cheeks. “Thank you. I love you. So much… you make my heart feel so full.”

He rests a moment, simply looking into Genya's eyes with sweet adoration and Genya returns the look. Gideon breaks first, looking to Genya's stuff on the shower floor. “Your turn. I'd like to wash your hair too, please.” 

Genya watches him gather the shampoo and gives him a smirk. “Need me to kneel or something for you, shorty?~” 

Gideon growls playfully. “I'm not that short! But… yes. It'd be helpful. Um… maybe not kneeling though. Might not be the most comfy.”

Surely there was a stool or something around… Gideon looked and found one in one of the private showers, meant for higher ranked residents. 

“...There.” he walks over as Genya hisses, as if someone else is even in the bathroom.

“Gideon no that's not something we can use!” 

Gideon returns with it anyway. “Oh please. I don't understand why we can't use tools equally. I get the respect thing but no one is going to notice this being missing for a few moments.” 

It was true. All of the Hashira had their own estates anyway. “Besides. Don't you… technically out rank me? A higher ranked slayer is using the stool. Logic.” He beamed, setting the stool down and patting it. “Sit your fine ass down.” 

Genya chuckles a little but ultimately sits. “I do? I didn't know I outranked you.” 

Gideon lifted his wrist and said “show me my rank,” and the wisteria engraving became visible. “Tsuchinoto. And you're a Hinoto.”

“...You work just as hard as any slayer, why are you lower in rank? Didn't you pass final selection before me? You were in Aoi’s class right?”

“Yeah… the reason for that is, my fighting style didn't lend itself to katana wielding very well. I'd survive battles, but my swordsmith hated me because I kept breaking swords. On the fourth one, he refused to make me another katana. Said I needed to rethink what I'm doing. And… after a little while… I thought of how I was fighting and how it lended itself more towards melee. So… I asked for something heavier and we agreed on the hammer.”

Gideon shrugged as he leaned Genya back to wet his hair. “It set me back quite a bit because I had to learn a new style of fighting. But it was well worth it. It's nearly impossible to break the hammer. Its handle, maybe. But not the steel.”

“Huh. Well that makes sense,” Genya mused. He pictured the frustration Gideon must have gone through trying to come into fighting styles. He could empathize a little. 

Gideon starts to shampoo his hair, rhythmic passes raking through his mohawk and gentle scrubs to his shaved sides. He also paid attention to Genya's scalp, using careful nails to work the soap in and loosen unwanted stuffs.  

He found that he was enjoying himself. He'd never shampooed anyone's hair before, besides his own. Plus… sharing this with Genya was filling his heart even more with each passing moment. He finished, rinsing his hands but draping himself over Genya's back for just a few seconds. Wrapping his arms around him and kissing his bare shoulder. 

“You're ready to go. Let's get you up and rinse you.” 

He made his way in front of Genya just in case he needed help off of the sitting stool. Genya took his hand regardless, letting him pull him up even if he wouldn't have had trouble. Genya ventured under the stream to rinse out his hair, and Gideon returned the stool to the private shower. 

Venturing back to the shower, Genya couldn't help but watch him and appreciate Gideon’s form. Gideon would be lying if he insisted he wasn't stealing glances of Genya's naked body too. Gideon caught him looking; he made it a little bit obvious because Genya met his eyes and turned red as he looked away..

He hummed as he came back to wrap his arms around Genya. “Still so easy to fluster. Adorable~” 

They finished up with the shower, turning the water off and drying with towels provided. Teasing each other the whole time, they made their way back to Genya’s room to retire for the night.

[marciliedonato]

No bc I literally don't understand what the actual FUCK paramore were thinking joining the biggest tour in the world as an OPENER as a replacement for an EU tour that fans gave been asking for for the longest time *AFTER* the presale period for said tour tickets (that cost an arm, a leg, your first born child, a blood sacrifice and your kidney on the black market excluding accommodation and transport 🙂) has already ended a MONTH ago and somehow thinking fans would actually be happy abt this. Like I seriously cannot understand their train of thought behind this. Literally who signed off on this. Who genuinely thought this was a good idea and not a massive "fuck you" to EU fans, some of which (like us here, hi, remember us? It's been 12 years this week...) have been waiting for TEN+ years wishing and hoping and holding out hope we would have our special moment seeing everyone else get to have theirs and just have so much fun and awesome experiences while we sit and watch and tell ourselves someday, somehow, it will be us.... And then whenever it is time for shows to happen (bc pmore is not a touring band, there's only one shot and it's when there's an album out - so it's been at least 6 years for everyone here) we either get ignored or.. whatever the hell this is.

Like I don't think you understand so ill say it again... THEY ANNOUNCED THEIR EU TOUR IS AS AN OPENER FOR THE BIGGEST ARTIST IN THE WORLD WHEN YOU CAN'T EVEN GET TICKETS ANYMORE AND *BASICALLY* CALLED IT THEIR EU TOUR BC THEY HAVENT SAID ANYTHING ABT ACTUALLY DOING ONE OF THEIR OWN.... yeah.

And don't even get me started on the ppl trying to gaslight EU fans into feeling bad or make us the bad guy here for not being happy with this shitty arrangement... Yes, this is big for them. Yes, they're gonna make a shit ton of money and yes, h and t are friends so they're literally chilling with friends for months (extra fun for them) but bands are literally nothing without the fans and we're being told to just smile and suck it up and be happy for them bc somehow money and fame matter more than the people who got you where you are and are just asking you for something as basic as respect bc they're literally being treated below everyone else... That's all it is abt, right? The money and selling out arenas (bc 'tHeY cOuLdnT dO iT oN ThEiR oWn tHiS iS mAssIvE jUsT ShUt uP anD bE hAppY fOr tHeM')....as long as u can make a shit ton of money it's a free for all, fuck the fans and their feelings right lol 🤪🤪🫠 like 'omg ur upset one of ur fave bands is treating u like ass/lesser than?? omg grow upppp they dont owe u anythinggg 😒😐'

Anyway I'm still pissed and I do hope they will do the right thing and like, at least try to have their own shows between her gigs or smth and can fix this for everyone specially considering how many people are giving them pushback for this bc this is absolutely atrocious and a diservice to EU pmore fans and our right to be upset is valid and I will not be told to calm down by Americans (et al but mostly americans) who are used to everything being handed out to them on a silver plate telling us to be happy abt them making bank and that we're overreacting fuck that noise lol

[liliavanrougewife]

Lilia Vanrouge Fluff, g/n reader

Warning: Lilia’s cooking lol no real warnings

Sold Out

“They’re sold out again!” You exclaim as you rejoin Lilia at your table.

“What a shame,” Lilia says. “Perhaps I’ll try to make you one since you’ve been craving it so long.”

“No!” you exclaim a bit too quickly.

“It’s no trouble at all!” Lilia says with a smile before standing up from his chair. “I will inquire about their recipe. Wait a moment.”

He completely ignored your pleas of him to sit down and that it wasn’t a big deal. You really didn’t want to have to deal with the chaos that ensues when he decides to cook. Lilia made his was to the counter. The barista gave Lilia a confused look when he asked. You suspected they were trying to decipher if Lilia was serious or not.

“Um, these actually come frozen… we don’t make them here. But you might be able to find the recipe, or at least one for a similar pastry online,” the barista responds after a few seconds of silence.

“How unfortunate,” Lilia says before returning to your table.

“They aren’t even fresh,” Lilia informs you.

You glare at him for ignoring you earlier.

“I knew that… but they’re still really good!” You respond.

Lilia hums.

“I’m serious, when we finally get one, you’ll see,” you say.

You both get out the school work you were planning on working on. You both had a poison refining practical exam coming up and decided to review the components of the hardest potion. This was one of Lilia’s favorite subjects and he excelled at it. He enjoyed giving you pointers and telling you stories of times he came into contact with various poisons, potions and plants. Honestly, conversations with him often lead to an anecdote or history lesson of some sort, but you really enjoyed it.

After your studying session you both headed back to NRC together and said your good nights. You made plans to meet up after school at the Diasomnia lounge.

“Hello!” Lilia greeted upside down right as you sat in one if the chairs in the lounge.

You jumped in fright and Lilia chuckled. Seriously though.. how are you not used to this by now??

“Hey Lilia, what’s up?” You ask.

Your heart was still hammering in your chest from the jumpscare he gave you but yelling at him about it just entertained him more.

“I have something for you!” He exclaimed before poofing away into a cloud of green sparkles.

He returned less than a minute later with a plate that had a hockey puck on it? It smelled like burnt rubber mixed with a slightly sweet smell you couldn’t quite identify.

“I made that pastry you wanted!” He exclaimed with a wide smile on his face.

“I’m not eating that,” you say seriously.

“Awww come on I worked so hard to make this!” Lilia whined.

“I told you not to Lilia, your cooking is inedible,” you reply.

“All the time and effort and look! I burnt my finger all for this pastry because you wanted it so badly,” Lilia continued his theatrics, sticking his bandaged finger out so he could prove his point.

“Why don’t you try it then?” You asked.

You were sure there was no way he was going to do it and hoped he would drop the subject but-

The way the burnt puck crunched between Lilia’s teeth you were sure yours would break off.

“It’s delicious!” Lilia exclaimed.

He broke his composure at the absolutely disgusted look you were giving him. He burst out laughing.

“You never cease to amaze me,” you reply.

He always manages to do something you don’t expect. It was one of the reasons you loved to hang around him.

“It is one of my best creations, truly. If you don’t want it, I guess I can share it with Malleus, Silver and Sebek during our tea party later.” Lilia said. “Although I don’t see why you would pass up such a wonderful dessert.”

Lilia disappeared into a cloud of green sparkles as he returned to food to the kitchen and picked something else up.

“Here!” He said holding out the real pastry you were looking for.

You didn’t bother asking if he made it because you knew there was no way. It looked exactly like the original, and he never tried to cook anything normal.

“Aw, you got one Lilia?! Thank you so much!” You exclaim and wrap your arms around him in a tight hug. “Where did you find this? It seems like they are sold out everywhere!”

Lilia smiled smugly before telling you that he knows the owner of one of the oldest cafes on Sage’s Island and personally requested the pastry be added to the menu.

“He’s an old man who doesn’t keep up with the trends, you see.” He said.

The situation turned out great for everyone luckily, as the cafe got even more customers than normal, and costumers got to try a fresh version of the pastry that came frozen to the other cafes. Lilia emphasized the fact that the pastry was fresh, even though you insisted it wasn’t that big of a deal earlier. When you took a bite though, you realized that it actually was more delicious than the one you had before. The texture of the pastry was a bit more buttery and flaky, and the filling had a stronger fruit taste that didn’t overpower the sweetness or butteriness at all.

“This is delicious! It is way better than the other one,” you admit.

Lilia watched you eat with a mix of smugness, and contentment. He enjoyed seeing you be happy and really enjoy the things you liked. He of course, enjoyed being right too.

You hand him the plate and urge him to take a bite. He obliged and his eyes widened slightly.

“Wow! Reaching out to that owner was a great decision!” He exclaimed before handing the plate back to you.

“How else could such a delicious pastry exist?” He continued.

Classic Lilia with his self praise. You rolled your eyes and let out a small laugh of amusement. He was right, albeit a little too self assured. But that was one thing about him that amused you about him.

“Yea, yea,” you say.

You take another bite of the pastry you’ve been craving forever and you’re grateful for what Lilia did for you. It truly was very delicious, and finally not sold out!

[hmslusitania]

MOST CURRENT EDITING DRAFT NOVEMBER 22 ??? looks fun and scary?? <3

Blessings on your hearth, home, and any fluffy animals (surfacing neutral) you might love.

It is absolutely not scary, my folder for that story is just a Nightmare of Multiple Drafts and Editions lol. Its proper name is as yet undecided, but have the opening scene of this particular original work:

“Fun fact!” Kit shouted, hurdling over a fern that was almost as tall as she was and then vaulting the fallen log on the other side. She didn’t stumble, so she counted it as a win.

The sound of stampeding hooves got closer.

“Fun fact - skinny jeans? Not made for sprinting!”

“Just keep running!” Rhiannon yelled back. “Worry about your poor wardrobe choices later!”

Do track and field, her social worker had said. It’ll keep you out of trouble, her social worker had said.

Somehow, Kit didn’t think this was what she’d had in mind.

Kit kept running.

“Poor wardrobe choices?” Kit demanded, scrambling over the gnarled and massive root systems of the trees around them. They weren’t trees like Kit had ever seen trees before. She imagined California redwoods might be similar, except these weren’t evergreen. They were massive and stately, their deciduous leaves turning gold with the season, and the root caught against the knees of her jeans and left her bleeding. So much for none of this being real. “I’m sorry I didn’t realise my afternoon was going to be spent sprinting through a magical forest!”

If the situation had been less dire, if there hadn’t been a cavalry chasing them with spears or pikes or whatever, Kit felt sure Rhiannon would’ve paused to pick up one of the head-sized acorns and hurled it at her. As it was, there was a cavalry chasing them with spears or pikes or whatever, and Rhiannon did not.

“Halt! In the name of the emperor!”

Kit glanced at Rhiannon, who looked terrified enough that she felt less ashamed of her own fear.

Kit leapt through a smaller fern — this one only as tall as, say, a Honda Civic — and skidded to a stop. Their pell-mell sprint from the horsemen and the emperor’s sacred shrine had driven them directly to the edge of a ravine. It was too far across to jump to the other side, and too deep to survive the fall into the white-crested river down below.

“What do we do?” Rhiannon demanded, turning to Kit, eyes full of desperation. Kit was impressed she was willing to look away from the men with swords. The cavalry had them surrounded on all sides, and their choices were clear — surrender or jump.

“In the name of the emperor!” the leader of the cavalry said again, dismounting his horse. He was a tall man, but at least part of the height had to come from his honest-to-god plate mail armour. It shone in the autumnal sunlight filtering through the yellow leaves above them and sparkled with fanciful golden insets in the otherwise silver metal. It was almost pretty, but it was definitely not a good sign.

“What emperor?” Rhiannon asked, which Kit thought might be a less relevant question than “why are you chasing us?”

On the other hand, Rhiannon’s confusion gave the cavalry leader pause. That, or the fact there were two strangely dressed young women questioning him was simply baffling to a man with a beard that pointy and resplendent.

“You have breached the sacred shrine!” the cavalry leader said. “You will stand trial for your crimes and then you will be hanged!”

There was a beat of silence after his words, and then Kit grabbed Rhiannon’s arm.

“I figured out what we’re supposed to do,” she said.

“What?” Rhiannon asked. They both took a step backwards as the guard approached them with manacles. Kit had never seen manacles outside a movie before. Handcuffs? Maybe. Manacles? No.

The edge of the ravine crumbled slightly under Kit’s heel. She could hear the river rushing below them - far, far below.

“Jump!”

Please come ask me about my wips

[unironicallycringe]

WIP Word Search Tag Game

Tagged by @juruna-yudja

Rules: search for the words given by whomever tagged you within your wip(s) and post them for us to see! Then tag as many people as you want and give them five words to find in their works.

I received: tendency, match, mask, confine, silver

Only 1/5 of those appear in unposted TMM wip content (can you guess which, lol), but then I realized my old TES:IV fic was fair game! Welcome to some exciting, exclusive content from Dear Brother, which only one other person has read 😉

Tendency ("Dear Brother")

An extended sentence with the disgusting creature for me, then. More months - possibly years - of finding dusty fur clogging my airway and irritating my eyes. Longer still with the cat’s putrid breath and his unconscious tendency to scratch up the table legs.

Match, changed to "similar" because apparently I just don't use this word ever - ("Dear Brother")

Our pace was pathetic thanks to her, since she had no muscle and fatigued quickly. I finally gave up for the night when she nearly blacked out and vomited after running a long stretch. We camped at the entrance to the exhausted mine near Harm’s Folly, both feeling quite similar to its status.

Mask ("The Mask-Maker")

He hurriedly wraps his sailcloth over his head and brings the mask to his face, but he realizes too late that something is off. The wood feels different. The grain is wrong and there's no muzzle or long ears. In the dark, he recognizes his unfinished Gerudo Mask instead of his Mogma.

"Shit...I grabbed the wrong one," Link grumbles. He puts it on anyway. "Sorry, tonight's been kind of weird for me."

Confine ("Dear Brother")

Tendrils of hair had escaped the confinement of his ribbon and were plastered to his face with sweat. Flustered, he plucked his gloves off to sweep the offending hairs out of his way. By the looks of his face, which was about a day past the need for shaving, Lucien’s temper was brittle. He needed no provoking at present.

Silver ("Dear Brother")

“Lookit ye, ye’ve plated yer tongue with silver.” I stretched and relaxed against the thick trunk of an oak. “’Tis a long yarn, and I don’t much like talkin’ at length, but alright.”

I'm tagging: @maskedsthings @starconsequence @captain-castaway @maulslittlemeowmeow @ghirahimbo

Your words are:

Brush, silent, color, grow, report

(use a synonym/tense change if a word doesn't work, or just generate a replacement!)

[pollyna]

Prompt set during 4x20:

Lim and Claire still get up go for a run at the same hour has they did with Melendez. Neither of them took away the alarm from their phone, even if they now life gives them new hours, new routes and new people to run with.

[mysecretlittlelibrary]

The New Guy In Town

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: I mean none really- the others kinda bully Loki but nothing serious lol

Genre: sort of angst but mostly fluff

Summary: Loki's not having a great time adjusting to living in the Avengers tower

***

Loki hates it here. He hates the Avengers tower. Hates that there are so many of them. Hates that they're always so loud when they eat or hang out or do anything together. Hates that they all look at him like he's a science experiment that they're waiting to go wrong. He hates that on missions he's given a babysitter, whether he goes or doesn't. He hates everything about it here.

"Hi Loki!" You beam at him warmly as you pass him in the tower library.

Loki hates almost everything about it here. Except you. You are kind and sweet to him. You don't treat him like a rabid pet that's going to bite you, you don't act like you're better than him, you don't avoid or ignore him. You're wonderfully skilled with magic too. On top of that, you're intelligent and quick witted, with a silver tongue sharp enough to rival his own. He smiles at your back as he watches you scan bookshelves for whatever it is you're looking for. You're the only person who really uses this place besides Loki, Tony practically built it for you. And thus the library is the one place where he can find solace in this wretched building. When you finally pull something from one of the shelves Loki buries his head in his book again, trying to appear nonchalant.

"Bye Loki." You wave as you leave.

"Yeah." Loki hums in feigned disinterest, though he watches you leave over the top of his book. He's got it bad, worse than he'd ever admit on his own and although it's probably obvious, he can only hope you haven't caught on.

~*~*~

"Loki!" You call out to the god as he walks past the kitchen trying to get back to his room. He stops in his place but doesn't immediately look at you. "Loki, will you join us for breakfast?" You ask him. He sighs inwardly at having to turn down your invitation. At the table with you are Nat, Steve, Sam, Tony, and Thor. Loki knows that not the entire residence of this tower but these ones don't get along with him any better than those who aren't there.

"I'd rather not." He says through clenched teeth.

"Oh come on, please Loki? You never eat with us." You pout. He's not looking at you but he can hear the pout in your voice somehow. "I made pancakes." You add. His shoulders drop as he secedes.

"Very well. I'll join you if you insist." He says sitting next to you.

"Lovely, how many pancakes do you want? Do you want fruit? Juice?-"

"Y/n- I will make my own plate thank you for offering darling." Loki cuts you off with a soft smile and your heart flips a little at his use of the word darling. Your feelings towards Loki are confusing at best. You don't know if you have a crush on him really, or if you're even allowed to. After all, he did try to kill you and your friends a few years ago. But he's been kind to you and he's trying to start over with the team and you want him to feel welcome here.

"You've never offered to make me a plate y/n." Tony scoffs.

"Tony this is your fucking tower, you want someone to make you a plate? Hire someone." You roll your eyes.

"And what about me? I can't just hire someone." Sam says.

"You've got two hands that work just fine don't you Sammy?" You look at him.

"So does he! And he has magic!"

"Loki's new here and I want him to feel welcome, I gave Wanda the same treatment you whiney assholes." You say.

"I think it's great that y/n wants Loki to feel welcome here! If he's to join the team he should feel like he's part of it." Thor announces.

"Thank you Thor! At least you're not all morons." You huff.

"I haven't done anything!" Steve protests.

"Yeah- alright, you're in the clear for now." You shrug.

"Lucky Loki you've got y/n's attention." Nat jokes.

"Shut up Nat. I'm trying to make Loki feel welcome at the tower." You say.

"Remind me again why he's even in the tower?" Sam looks at Loki with contempt.

"Better he join the team than be destroying the city with an alien army trying to rule the world." Steve shrugs.

"Ah yes let the snake into your house so it doesn't bite your outdoor dog." Sam rolls his eyes.

"Shut up Sam." You scoff.

"Oh come on- reindeer games is too pathetic to worry about. If necessary Hulk can smash him again." Tony shrugs.

"Ha- you all speak of him the way my friends on Asgard did. His reputation is quite tarnished there too." Thor chuckles.

"Of course it is. He spends his time losing world domination attempts." Sam says. Loki stands at that.

"Right as much as I'm enjoying this riveting conversation I hate you all and I've had quite enough of your nonsense. Thank you for the invitation y/n but refrain from asking me to join these worthless bugs again. They are not worth my time." Loki says leaving the table. You stare after him with a frown but once he's out of sight you glare at the table.

"I'm going to make your lives absolute hell in training later. What the fuck was that?!" You cross your arms.

"What's the big deal? Not our fault he can't take a joke." Tony rolls his eyes.

"Seriously?! He can't take a joke!? That's your defense?!" You look at Tony incredulously.

"Have you forgotten he nearly destroyed New York?" Sam asks.

"I remember. I was there. The same way I was there when Tony did destroy Sokovia." You say.

"Hey I didn't do it- that was Ultron!" Tony says.

"Ah yes- Ultron, as in the sentient robot that we all warned you not to make because Sokovia is exactly the kind of thing we knew would happen and we could've prevented it if not for your massive fucking ego making you too stubborn to listen." You snap.

"Y/n." Steve says gently.

"I didn't mean for Sokovia to happen- Loki did New York on purpose!" Tony argues.

"Sokovia doesn't fucking exist anymore! New York is still here Tony. On purpose or not only one of you is responsible for the destruction of a country and it's not the one you goons annoyed from the table." You say.

"Y/n I think that's enough." Steve says.

"All I'm saying is that if you guys are going to keep dogging on Loki the way you've been doing, keep the same energy with Tony." You say leaving the kitchen. You can hear Steve chastising the group as you try to track down Loki. There are only two places he would go really, his room or the library. His room is closer so you check there first.

"Loki? It's y/n, are you in there? Can I come in?" You knock on the door. There's a drawn out moment where you wait for a response before the door swings open. Loki looks at you expectantly.

"Look I'm sorry. I didn't know they'd do that. I just wanted you to eat with us. I know living here hasn't been the best and I thought it would be easier for you to adjust if you did like regular things with us." You explain.

"Thank you." He says. He moves from the doorway into his room and you follow him.

"For what? They were awful!" You say exasperatedly as you sit on his bed.

"I heard you, afterwards. Defending me. Thank you for that. You didn't have to." He says.

"You don't deserve their shit. These guys aren't infallible. Nowhere near it. And someone ought to remind them of it. The hero gig doesn't make them superior." You roll your eyes.

"Forgive me if this is- rude but- how in the realms did you end up on this team of buffoons?" Loki asks.

"I've actually known Natasha for a while now, and I'd worked with them a few times over the years but not as a full-fledged member. It's more like a rent-a-super kinda thing. Until Wanda showed up here. They wanted someone who could help her and so I became an Avenger. That was about a year ago." You shrug.

"You're quite different from them." He muses.

"Yeah well- my life hasn't been like any of theirs. Except maybe Nat and Wanda." You say.

"Why are you so interested in my integration to this wretched team anyway?" Loki asks. You blink at him.

"You're here- if you're going to work with the team you should be able to interact with them. This team really doesn't work if everyone doesn't know how to cooperate with each other which is easier if they get along or are at least cordial with each other." You say.

"So- I'm to believe you are kind for kindness sake?" He asks.

"What would you believe if not that?" You ask. Loki pauses for a moment and to your surprise there's a slight tinge of pink developing on his pale cheeks.

"I- nothing I suppose." He says sitting on the bed with you, but a decent distance away.

"Loki, what is it?" You frown.

"I find it hard to believe that you're just nice for the sake of being nice. That's all." He says.

"Why? Because you almost destroyed New York? I can't be any meaner to you than to Tony. He's destroyed an entire country. Not to mention his contribution to war efforts doing even more damage." You roll your eyes.

"What happened to everyone getting along?" Loki smirks.

"Tony and I get along just fine for what we do together. But I'm also the only person in this tower who will call him out at every turn. Stevie does too sometimes but he tries to avoid internal conflict more than me." You shrug.

"That redhead made a comment about me having your attention."

"Because Natasha likes to annoy me."

"Well- your friends are eating breakfast together, and yet you're in here with me." Loki muses.

"You're prodding Loki. Something you wanna know? You can just ask you know. That'll be much quicker." You lean over to nudge him, though the distance between you makes the action a bit awkward.

"Oh darling if I were prodding do you believe I'd be so obvious?"

"Is it naive to think you let your facade down more around me?" You ask instead.

"Facade?" Loki looks at you.

"I don't think you're as cold as you pretend to be. You're so kind to me, it's hard to believe that's all a lie." You say.

"It's not." He says quickly.

"So it's safe to assume that other walls may come down when the coldness does." You say.

"I wouldn't go that far." Loki says.

"Okay." You shrug.

"Okay? That's it? You're not going to try and prove your point?"

"No. If you say you're just nice to me then I'll let it go." You say.

"You don't want to know why the God of Mischief is kinder to you than anyone else?"

"Does the God of Mischief want to tell me why he's nicer to me than anyone else?"

"Most people would assume I was doing it to get something from you." Loki says.

"Well are you?" You ask.

"No!" He frowns.

"I believe you." You nod.

"You do?"

"Do you think I'm nice to you to get something out of you?" You ask.

"You don't seem like the type." Loki shakes his head.

"Okay I'll bite- why are you so nice to me?" You ask.

"I- I like you I suppose." He shrugs. You giggle.

"Gee thanks, I like you too." You say.

"No I mean-" Loki sighs.

"Loki?" You blink.

"Nevermind. You should go. We've wasted enough time." Loki stands.

"Wait, Loki, stop. Tell me what's going on." You frown grabbing his arm.

"Nothing." He pulls away from you.

"Loki." You cross your arms with a deep frown. "I don't get it, did me laughing make you upset?" You ask.

"No. I'm not upset. I've just changed my mind." He shrugs.

"Loki." You stare at him. The moment drags on for several minutes until he eventually huffs in defeat.

"When I say I like you I mean I like you as in I'm taken with you." He says.

"Oh-" you gasp.

"I told you, you should just go." He says.

"Loki- wait a second. Are you going to give me a chance to process this? To respond?" You say with a slight chuckle to lighten the mood.

"If this is amusing you, I would rather you process it elsewhere." Loki snaps.

"I'm sorry for laughing Loki- I'm not laughing at you, I promise. I'm just- well it's not every day you learn the god of mischief has a crush on you." You tell him.

"Do not refer to this as something as trivial as a crush. We are not school children."

"Okay let's get the easy part out of the way here- I like you too Loki, so you can drop your defenses. I'm not going to throw your confession back in your face." You say.

"Oh- you do?" Loki blinks at you. You chuckle at his surprise and walk over to him.

"You had to have suspected something Loki- why else ask why I'm so nice to you?"

"Well- I had my suspicions I suppose. Though- given my reputation, it's hard to believe someone as kind as you would fall for a snake in the grass." He says.

"Well, do you plan to bite me, snake?" You ask with a small smile.

"Would a snake tell you the truth if he planned to bite you?" Loki asks instead.

"I think this snake would." You say tapping his chest. "If he's as taken as he claims."

"More so." Loki says.

"You're more forthcoming than I would've expected."

"I've nothing to lose by being honest with you."

"Well- what do we do now?" You ask.

"I suppose the next step is for me to court you- yes? I'll take you on a date. Tomorrow night." He says

"So soon?"

"Absolutely. I'd say tonight but I'm sure you already have plans." He shrugs.

"Okay- okay tomorrow night."

"Perfect. I'll come find you once it's time to go." He says.

"Alright- now if you'll excuse me I- have to go and teach some knuckleheads to watch how they fucking act by drilling them into the ground at training." You smile. Loki chuckles.

"Oh- you've got a bit of a snake inside you huh?"

"Maybe. I promised them they'd pay for being assholes so- gotta keep good on that." You shrug.

"Tell me all about it later?" Loki smiles at you.

"Oh I will. See ya." You say, saving your own beaming smile for after you've left his room.

Looks like your feelings for Loki weren't as complicated as you thought they were.

***

[neonacity]

Shift | NCT 127 x Reader

A/N: hello! I finally broke through 200 followers so I decided to post this quick drabble I wrote out of nowhere. I don't have any idea where I am going with this, but this isn't supposed to be taken seriously anyway. Lol. No summaries, I'm pretty sure y'all will understand the gist of it haha. Also, there is a 95 percent chance that I might delete this tomorrow.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright with this?" 

My co-worker at the shelter, Kun, looked over as I dragged the last of the cages into my small living room. He had just finished pushing the last of the canned cat food into my already spilling cupboard when I finally straightened up from my crouch with a giddy smile on my face. The expression I had seemed to be enough of an answer for him since he flashed me his dimpled smile paired with a shake of his head. 

"Yes. I mean, why wouldn't I be okay with this?" I waved towards the group waiting patiently over my couch with almost child-like excitement. Kun raised his brow at me as he leaned against  my kitchen counter, arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't know. Having five dogs and four cats stay in a cramped apartment doesn't seem to be the most sane decision if you ask me," his eyes moved over to each of the furry babies sitting on the cheap rug I managed to fish out from a second hand store, a mildly concerned look settling over his handsome features. My gaze followed his, and for the first time, it fully sank to me what I have gotten myself into. 

A golden retriever, a husky, a basenji, a german shepherd, and a beagle stared back at me silently, their eyes looking way too understanding  and smart for five canines who have just been rescued from a dog pound. My eyes then moved to my couch where a white cat had already started snuggling with a ginger one, a tabby joining the pile of floof they've created after giving a demanding meow. Finally, my attention moved to the one that I still haven't released from his cage, a beautiful black cat with striking electric blue eyes. I quickly ducked to open the lock on his carrier, and with graceful poise, the handsome boy jumped to my arms before cuddling against my chest. 

"Taeyong says you're right. This isn't a sane decision. It's a crazy one, which only makes it even more perfect." 

Kun looked at me as if I'd lost my mind.

"Oh, and you've named them now?" 

"I didn't. They already have their names," gently, I pulled Taeyong just a little bit from the crook of my neck to show Kun the silver name tag that was attached to his collar. It gleamed under the fluorescent light of my living room like a small star strapped around his neck. 

"The Golden is Jungwoo, the Husky is Yoonoh, and the Shepherd is Youngho. They're like twins. Then the Basenji is Doie and the Beagle is Minhyung. They all have their names on their collars," I said, pointing at the dogs who are still patiently sitting by my rug, ears perked as if they were listening in to our conversation. Kun frowned and approached the golden to check if I was joking, his slim hand touching the name plate in his collar. Jungwoo leaned over to give him a friendly lick on his cheek which sent the other to give a yelp of amused surprise. Jungwoo bumped his head against Kun's hand then and the latter retaliated by starting to rub him behind his ears with a smile. 

"And how about the cats?" He nodded towards the felines who were still curled on the couch in a pile. I answered easily, almost with pride.

"The white one is Taeil and the ginger is Haechan. Isn't it perfect for him? He looks like a ball of sunshine, too. The tabby is Yuta." 

Kun laughed. "Yuta?" 

"Yes, he's Japanese," I rolled my eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. The cat answered with a low purr as if agreeing to what I just said.

Kun finally straightened up from scratching Jungwoo behind the ears with a sigh.  

"Well, you seem to be so set on this so I won't stop you anymore. Just make sure that you start posting about them as soon as possible so we can start looking for their forever homes, okay?" 

I nodded, though there was a part of me that didn't really want to go through that, at least for now. It was out of my own whim to decide to bring this odd group of abandoned pets in my too small apartment, but somehow...it just feels right. The idea of separating them from each other does not sit well with me too. They all just seemed like a package deal despite their differing breeds. 

As if sensing my emotions, a soft tickling kiss on my cheek caught my attention. I looked down to see Taeyong staring at me with his beautiful blue eyes before giving me another kitty lick. I giggled and cuddled him closer. 

"Okay. Thank you again for helping me out. I'll see you at the shelter on Monday?" 

Kun nodded and grabbed his keys from the counter, ready to go. He gave me one last look before closing the door behind him. 

"See you." He gave one last pointed look at the odd group in my living room and sighed. "Good luck to your weekend." 

I beamed as the lock finally clicked, leaving me alone with my new mismatched family. All of them looked back at me, their eyes twinkling.

"He doesn't know what he's missing out on. We're going to have all the fun in the world." 

[manonblaqkbeak]

Midnight Cravings

so, i actually wrote most of this in july but never finished it and decided to fix it up for todays prompt bc i was feeling a lil lazy lol. and i think its one of my faves, especially the ending.

2.2k words

cw: none

enjoy!! :)

It was just past two in the morning and Aelin was wide awake. Not due to a mountain of paperwork, or a nightmare or one of her kids needing her. Aelin was wide awake because she was absolutely starving.

The type of starving it felt like she'd never eaten a day in her life. Like her stomach was going to eat itself.

Her stomach growled again, louder than before, and beside her, his voice muffled, Rowan asked, “Is that your stomach or the wind outside?”

“Shut up,” Aelin mumbled, as her stomach continued its song. Gods, why was she so hungry? She practically devoured the fruits in the fruit bowl just before bed, she had a healthy serving of dinner, and a large slice of chocolate torte for dessert.

But here she was, close to eating her damned pillow to sate her starvation.

Aelin glanced over towards her mate, his back to her, and she shuffled closer, resting her chin on his shoulder.

“Rowan,” she started to say, but Rowan cut her off.

“I'm not going to the kitchens.”

She pouted, although he couldn't see her. “Please?” she knew that if she used her manners, then he would do just about anything.

But it didn't work. Not just yet. “There's some fruit in the bowl.”

“I ate them all.” He sighed heavily, knowing that he was losing this conversation. “Please? I am your mate, your wife, the mother of your children.”

Rowan snorted. “Really? I was starting to suspect that the three silver-haired children were Lorcan's.”

Her hunger nearly disappeared at the thought of that. “Don't be gross.” Reaching over, Aelin kissed the tip of his ear, smiling as he shuddered in pleasure as she nibbled on it. “Please?”

Rowan sighed heavily, knowing that he lost, and Aelin barely hid her smile. “I'll go,” he said. “But only if you join me.”

Her smile did disappear at that. “But the bed is so warm.”

“Exactly. If I have to leave it, so do you.”

“Fine,” she mumbled reluctantly, but quickly perked up, realising that she would be getting food. Rowan was a much better cook than her. Aelin used to have basic cooking skills, but with being Queen and then becoming a mother, she never cooked anymore and really had no need to; not with multiple cooks under the palace roof. She did try a few years ago as a treat for her family, but everything turned into a crisp and wasn't even suitable for the dogs in the kennels.

Scrambling out of bed, the Queen and King of Terrasen tied on their robes and put on their slippers. Aelin loved the sight of Rowan looking so domestic, it was ridiculous how much she loved it.

Since Isolde was only six months old and far too young to be left behind, Rowan put her in the wooden carrier to take with them into the kitchens, their movements silent as the grave as they transferred their youngest from her crib and into the crafty carrier—Isolde was the only one of their children that slept soundlessly through the night at such a young age, and loathed to be woken up. As Rowan did that, Aelin checked in on Alder in his room, their son a little over three years old, but he slept like a log and Aelin knew that he wouldn't wake up at any point when they were gone.

As they left their chambers, Aelin nearly ruined all their good work and almost woke up their other children when she bit out a curse at the sudden leg cramp that shot up her right calf. Rowan glanced at her, asking if she was okay, and after a moment she was, although she was left a little dazed at the suddenness of it all.

Aelin's legs had been cramping randomly of late, but she didn't notice anything of concern. If it continued, she would go to Magnolia and see if anything could be done about it. The last thing Aelin needed was to fall ill, she had far too many things to do with winter arriving in a few weeks. She did know that if anything was wrong with her, that she could rely on Rowan completely.

Aelin's stomach growled for the umpteenth time, the sound lasting for a good minute before it settled. Isolde fidgeted in her sleep, but did not wake.

“I think your stomach was just trying to talk to me.”

“It was,” Aelin agreed. “It said that we need to hurry the hell up or it's going to disintegrate.”

“We better do as it says then. It'd be cruel to subject Terrasen to a hungry Queen. No one should suffer as I do when you're starving.”

“You make me sound horrible.”

“You are,” he said, humour dancing in his dark eyes. “And not just when you're hungry.”

Aelin mumbled under her breath. Rowan decided to pretend not to hear her, even as he fought a smile.

After what felt like an eternity, they reached the kitchens, Rowan placing Isolde onto the counter closest to them. Aelin rushed towards the bowls of fruit, grabbing an apple and a pear, eating the fruits simultaneously. She missed the small, private smile Rowan gave her as he went to the pantry, asking her what she was in the mood for, one eye on their child. But still, she slept and Rowan for a moment, wished that all of their children had been like that, but knew that there was no point in complaining when they all slept quietly now.

“Something filling,” was all Aelin could think of to say. But after a moment decided on an omelette, filled with bacon, mushrooms, onion, red bell-peppers and carrot. As she and Rowan prepped the ingredients—with Rowan wanting his own omelette—Aelin contemplated in silence, her brows furrowed as she chopped up the carrots.

“What are you thinking about, Fireheart?” Rowan asked when he noticed his wife's expression.

“Just trying to remember the last time I was this hungry. I've been like this for at least a week and a half.”

“I've noticed. You haven't had this big of an appetite for a good number of years.”

She didn't comment on that, lost in her own world. “And my legs have been cramping lately too. I haven't injured myself. Have I been sleeping in strange positions?”

“No, you're sleeping just fine.”

Her frown deepened. “Maybe I'm just stressed for the winter preparations.”

“Possibly, I know that you worry a lot for the people during winter.” They both did, as the winters in Terrasen were brutal. Each year there was always a small number of people that passed due to the cold for a number of reasons. When those lists made their way in Aelin's hands, it always hit her hard, her guilt a palpable thing, even after Rowan would tell her that it was in no way her fault.

But that wasn't the reasons for her consuming hunger and leg cramps—Rowan had noticed the change in her scent weeks ago and when he noticed, he thought that Aelin would too. But she was completely oblivious and he didn't want to spoil the surprise, although it was getting harder each day not to say something.

However, he couldn't help but count back the weeks to the day of conception. He was fairly certain that it was when Aelin had been reading a particularly steamy novel on the window seat in their sitting room and jumped on him like they had never had sex before when he had come to ask if she was joining him in bed.

It would fit in with list of unusual places they have conceived their children. Elentiya had been in the library (either in the archives or in Aelin and Rowan's private nook, neither were sure), Norrin against an oak tree (which they discovered after they have calmed down that the Little Folk had watched the entire encounter, with Aelin becoming stuck between wanting to laugh or hide under a rock), Alder against one of the many palace chimneys, and Isolde in a linen closet.

Maybe one day they would conceive a child in their bed like most people did.

They got to cooking, with Rowan standing behind Aelin and guiding her with the wooden spoon and plating their midnight meal before it burned into a crisp. Isolde babbled in her sleep as the sounds of cooking reached her, but still slept. It wouldn't be long, however, until she woke up to be fed. Aelin placed their youngest by her feet as they sat down at the small dining table in the far corner of the kitchen where the workers took their breaks.

The smile on Aelin's face as she bit into the fluffy omelette was certainly worth being woken up in the middle of the night.

However, her fork stilled in mid-air when she was halfway done when realisation dawned on her.

Finally.

“I'm pregnant,” was all she said, her Ashryver eyes growing wide. Rowan didn't bother to hide his smile. This was why he didn't say anything. It was always worth it when she revealed those beautiful words to him. “Rowan, I'm pregnant. The last time I was this hungry was when I was pregnant with Alder and the leg cramps are from Norrin's pregnancy. And all the fruit I can't stop eating is just like when I was pregnant with Isolde. How haven't I noticed anything?”

“You've been busy,” Rowan said, reaching over to take her hands in his and kissed her fingers.

“You knew, didn't you?” Aelin asked, her eyes narrowed just slightly.

“I may have noticed.”

“You should have told me.”

“I like it better when you come to the realisation yourself,” he said simply.

Aelin shot out of her seat and sat on his lap, a pretty smile gracing her face as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her fingers playing the the hair at the nape of his neck. Rowan wound his arms around her waist and kissed her on the cheeks, the tips of her nose, the corner of her lips and then her mouth.

Aelin hummed contentedly and kissed him back. When they broke apart, she rested her forehead against his.

“We're insane.”

Rowan laughed deeply at the sudden statement. “What makes you say that?”

“We're having a fifth baby. Lorcan and Elide only have three and I always thought that they'd have at least a dozen, but they don't and we're about to have five. That's insane. We're insane.”

“We are, but I like that about us,” he said, kissing her again. Her face was open and soft, her eyes dancing with happiness, but he still found himself asking, “Are you okay with it?”

“Of course I am, buzzard. More than words can say.” Aelin kissed him to emphasise that fact, his hand reaching down onto her belly and was content to stay like that forever. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was. She always thought that she’d just have one child, maybe two, but to have five was something she never dreamed of.

Isolde finally decided to wake up and scream her displeasure at being hungry. Aelin was off him in an instant, cooing at their daughter as Aelin sat back in her seat and fed not just herself, but Isolde at the same time. His mate was spectacular at multitasking like that.

They couldn't wait to meet their fifth child.

X X X X X X

Rowan was surprised that his children hadn't kicked down the doors to the bedchamber with how excited they were. Even little Isolde was a ball of energy and she was by far their most quiet child. Rowan lead them to their mother, reminding them that they had to be quiet and gentle, because mama had just gone through a long process of bringing in their new sibling into the world.

They entered the bedchamber and Aelin greeted them with a tired but loving smile telling them to come meet their new sister, the kids went onto the bed, surrounding Aelin and the baby, happiness and wonderment in their eyes as they took in the little bundle of joy, her silver hair stark against her lightly tanned skin. She had opened her eyes briefly during her first feeding and Aelin had groaned playfully when she spotted that they were pine-green, muttering how of course I labour for a whole day to give birth to another you. But he knew that she didn't care if she was born with green hair and yellow eyes, Aelin loved her immensely.

“What's her name, mama?” Elentiya asked softly, carefully trailing a finger down her sisters cheek.

“Elowynn-Yrene.” Rowan would never forget the pure joy in Yrene's eyes when Aelin asked if the healer would give them her blessing to grace their child with her name, as a thank you for all the years of coming down and helping Aelin, for eradicating Erawan, and for being a great friend to both of them. It had taken them a few minutes to convince their friend, citing that the honour was far too much, but Yrene eventually said "yes".

“That's pretty,” Alder supplied, a wide smile on his face. Aelin kissed his temple and thanked him for his kind words.

Aelin moved her eyes from Alder to Rowan, smiling as her mate stood there, taking them in.

His family, their family. Never did he think he would be so blessed to have this.

His and Aelin's children; the most beautiful thing Rowan had ever seen.

Rowan went and joined his family on the bed, the smile on his face one of Aelin's favourites.

[shycoconutt]

I Found My Light: Chapter 2 (Kakashi X Reader)

Chapter 1

A/n: Well, I decided to continue! I'm very excited about this. Hope you enjoy it!

Summary: Left confused after last night, you talk with Kurenai over breakfast at your favorite diner.

Word Count: 1400

Warnings: fem!reader, SFW (but might not be later lol)

“You… cuddled?” You could feel Kurenai’s eyes burning into the top of your head as you stared down at the coffee cup between your hands, her tone of disbelief unquestionable.

“I mean, yeah, I don’t know how else to describe it,” you started, nervously biting your lip, “one moment we were under the tree with his arms wrapped around me, and the next I was waking up in my own bed this morning with him nowhere to be found.” It was strange really. You don’t remember even moving from the spot you two were in, so how could you have made it all the way home without waking up? Did he carry you all the way there? Teleport? How does he even know where you live?

“Are you sure you’re not imagining it? Sounds to me like you were just having a realistic dream.” You could see Kurenai’s hand reach out and grab your wrist, giving it a small squeeze. “Didn’t you say you were thinking about him the other day? Maybe he just ended up slipping into your dream because you miss him.”

Looking up from your cup, you meet her sympathetic eyes. Kurenai knows more than anyone else about the feelings you had for Kakashi when you were young, so dreaming about him wouldn’t be a far-fetched idea.

“Listen, I get why you would think that way,” you started, “but I’m telling you, as ridiculous as it sounds, that’s what happened.” You lean back into the booth and fold your arms across your chest, escaping Kurenai’s grasp. There’s absolutely no way you will let anyone take that moment away from you, you decided.

“Alright, alright, I believe you!” Kurenai chuckled with her hands coming up in defense. “If you want I can ask Asuma to tell me if Kakashi says anything about it to him. I mean I highly doubt Kakashi would go around telling people you two had a cuddle session, but who knows? He sounds like a whole new man.”

“Order’s up!” Your waiter exclaimed, bringing three plates of food over to your booth. “Let’s see I have the eggs and bacon,” placing the plate in front of Kurenai, “the veggie scramble, and the pancakes you wanted to share.” Placing the rest of the plates down, you both give him a warm smile and a thank you.

“Mmm yum.” You both say in unison as you begin to eat.

“Honestly, (y/n), you better hurry up and eat that scramble because I am ravenous right now and will finish our pancakes before you even get to them.” Kurenai teased with a mouth full of eggs.

“You eat my half of the pancakes and you can expect a kunai in your back during training today.” You threatened, pointing your butter knife at her.

“Wait,” Kurenai paused and then gasped, “that’s right!”

“What?” You ask, a tad concerned at her excitement.

“Kakashi!”

“Kakashi—”

“Will be at training today!” She exclaimed. You could feel the blood begin to drain from your face. “Yeah since he’s not a member of the Anbu anymore he has time to train with us. Gui finally convinced him to, saying something about taking advantage of the springtime of our youth.”

“Ah, typical Gai.” You spoke flatly, trying to remain as casual as possible, but inside you began to panic. How are you going to face Kakashi so soon? You have absolutely no idea how he feels about last night. I mean, he instigated the cuddle session but left you in your bed this morning without any word. Were you supposed to keep that moment between you a secret? Did you already mess up by telling Kurenai? How could you be so—

“(Y/N)!”

You snapped out of your train of thought and met Kurenai’s concerned eyes, a small smile forming at the corners of her mouth.

“(Y/n), I can feel you spiraling from over here.” She gave you a small chuckle. “You’re going to be fine. If anything, he should be the one nervous to face you. How can he explain what happened last night without admitting he has feelings for you?” She reasoned while taking the last bite of her half of the pancakes.

“Admitting he has feelings for me?” You repeated in disbelief after a pause. “You can’t be serious.”

“Well, how else do you explain it?”

“He’s lonely, or lost.” You begin to think out loud. “Ah, or he needed human connection and I was the only one around, simple as that.” Proud of your answer, you take the last couple bites of your food as well.

“I suppose you could be right,” Kurenai began, “but you're definitely wrong.”

“How am I wrong?”

“Well, to be completely honest with you, if anyone in the world ends up with Kakashi, it’s going to be you,” Kurenai stated matter-of-factly.

“What!” You scoffed. “Absolutely not.”

“Hey, hey, not too fast there with the rejection.” Kurenai reasoned. “Besides Rin, you were the only girl he gave any attention to.”

Rin.

My poor Rin.

I miss her.

“You realize that’s because Rin and I were best friends right? I was only given attention by association. He was close to me because he had to be.” Your voice began to trail off at the end as you could start to feel your throat tighten, Rin’s death still stinging like salt in an open wound. “Don’t forget what happened in the months after Rin’s death.”

“I know,” Kurenai said almost to herself.

You continued anyway, “He avoided me. We crossed paths probably a thousand times at Rin’s grave, no words exchanged. Until one day I told him that I knew what happened and that I didn’t fault him for any of it. Then we exchanged a few words here and there only for it to ultimately fizzle out again. Now here we are, years later, and we’re somehow connected again? Seemingly out of nowhere? It makes no sense.” Damn, maybe I was dreaming.

“Maybe it does.”

“How?”

“Well,” Kurenai sat back and began to play with the ends of her hair, “what if he wants to start over? What if he wants to get back to the way things were before?”

“When we were just little genin?”

“Sure.”

“Or,” you began after a moment, “he feels guilty and wants to clear his conscience.” That sounds more realistic.

“Ah, there you go being a grade-A pessimist again.” Kurenai chuckles with her hand covering her face. “How about we quit the speculation and just find out naturally?”

“Fine.” You sighed, putting your chin in your hand while gazing out the diner window.

“It’s tragic really.” Kurenai pondered, also staring out into the distance.

“What?” You looked at her confused.

“We should’ve gotten two orders of pancakes. I’m still hungry.” She complained.

You stared at her for a moment, unamused while she gave you a big, goofy grin.

Finally feeling yourself break into a smile, you laughed and threw your napkin at her face. “I swear the only things on your mind are Asuma and pancakes. You have a problem.”

“Ugh, not true!” She joked, pretending to be offended. “I also think about how nice it would be if my future maid of honor and Asuma’s future best man were in a happy, fulfilled relationship together.” She stated, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Shut up.”

“Careful, (Y/n),” she smiles, getting up from the table and taking your hand in hers, “at this rate your eyes are gonna roll out of your pretty head.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You mused, putting your arm over Kurenai’s shoulders as you stroll out of the diner, leaving money and a tip for your waiter.

“You never know, (Y/n).” Kurenai spoke as you made it outside. “Just promise me you’ll keep an open mind tonight, okay?”

You sighed, feeling stressed again about the training session.

“Yeah, okay,” you finally answered, turning to face her. “And you promise me you won’t tell anyone else about what happened last night, not even Kakashi can know that you know, okay?”

“I promise to not tell a soul.” She spoke sincerely. “I’ll see you tonight, my love.” She gave you a strong hug, a kiss on the cheek, and walked off in the direction of her apartment making sure to look back and give you a teasing wink.

You smiled and yelled after her, “People are gonna start thinking we’re lesbians if you keep that up!”

“Let them think what they want!” She yelled back without turning around.

And just like that, there you were, one of the strongest kunoichis of the Hidden Leaf, feared by many, standing alone on a busy street terrified to attend your training session tonight because of one silver-haired shinobi.

One very handsome, insanely smart, terrifyingly strong, porn-reading, sharingan-wielding, silver-haired shinobi.

That you cuddled.

Last night.

Shit.

[onceupon]

London Boy

summary: Y/n finds herself all the way across the pond, trying to escape OBX. But much to her surprise, a certain someone might get in the way.

pairing: Rafe x reader (just an intro in this part, we’ll get there dw)

warnings: swearing, drinking, some mentions of anxiety?

word count: 3.2k

a/n: if you’re a sucker for a slow burn like me, buckle up and enjoy the ride. I plan on this being multiple parts and this is also my first time posting so please be gentle with me lol :’-) (not canon Rafe)

You huffed as you dragged your extra large and definitely overweight luggage down to the pickup area at Heathrow airport. You had just landed in London where you’d be going to school until the holidays.  You had decided to apply for, and actually got accepted into, your high school’s British exchange program. Every year Kildare Academy gave the option for 15 seniors to study for half the school year at Westheath Academy in London, a private boarding school, while 15 kids from their school came to yours. Normally, you wouldn’t have dreamed of leaving your friends and family for that long, not to mention missing out on half of senior year at home. But ever since the drama that erupted during the summer after your junior year that ended with you being shunned by your “friend group” (where they really ever your friends to begin with?), you practically jumped at the opportunity to get as far away from the Outer Banks as possible, albeit for a little while.

You didn’t know at all what to expect at Westheath, you had skipped the predeparture orientation at Kildare a few weeks ago, but you didn’t care - didn’t care who was going or what Westheath was like, all that mattered was that for the next few months you could finally breath. It was the clean slate you desperately needed, a chance to finally be around people and places you hadn’t known since birth. Sure there were going to be 14 other kids from Kildare there as well, but you had zero intentions of sticking with your OBX peers over the next few months. You weren’t going to let your small town suffocate you for a second longer if you could help it.

You double checked the license plate on your phone screen as the Uber you ordered pulled up.

“Y/N?” the driver called out from the front-right window (god that was going to take some getting used to.)

“Yep!” you smiled, huffing as you tried to pick up your luggage and step off the curb. Thankfully the uber driver was quick to your rescue, effortlessly lifting your suitcase into the trunk of the car. Leave it to you to overpack without even thinking to leave room for all of the clothes and souvenirs you were certain to accumulate - oh well, an excuse for a new suitcase you supposed.

Not in the mood for small talk, you were relieved that the Uber driver silently read your mind, playing a pop station as you both respectfully ignored each other’s presence. You anxiously tapped your thumb on your phone, eyes flicking between the screen where you watched your route progress and the view out your window of townhomes, pubs, and countless strangers passing by.

You hadn’t felt anxious about leaving for London the entire first half of junior year, so why was your stomach and head simultaneously churning now? You were so excited to experience a version of life that was the opposite of everything you were trying to get away from - a version of life that involved British accents, buzzing city life, and endless possibilities. But it was all of a sudden dawning on you how unfamiliar it all was. As much as you hated to admit it to yourself, no matter how far you ran, you would never be able to fully separate yourself from OBX. That damned small beach-town would always be a part of you, an inextricable thread in the fabric of your life.

The Uber pulled up to a halt in front of your destination. You hesitantly glanced out your window as you double checked the silver number on the building. Yep, 25 Brampton Rd - you were here. The Uber driver graciously lifted your suitcase out of the trunk for you and as he pulled away you let out a long breath - your fresh start was waiting behind the doors in front of you.

You rang the doorbell to the lobby, the security here no joke. You were soon buzzed into the building and you shakily pulled your suitcase in behind you, desperately trying to calm your nerves to no avail.

“Hi,” you croaked out as you approached the man seated at the front desk. “I’m- uhh here to check in to my apartment- uh I mean flat… I think… I’m with the Kildare Academy exchange,” you rambled, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Despite your best efforts, your anxiety was taking over.

The man gave you a sympathetic smile. “Name please?”

“Y/n L/n,” you replied, pulling your lips into a sheepish straight-lined smile as you mindlessly tapped your fingers on the handle of your suit case.

“L/n, L/n, L/n,” the man quietly muttered under his breath as his pen traced over a list of names. “Ahh here you are. Alright Miss L/n, here is a fob, this lets you into the building, now this key lets you into your flat, you’ll be on the second floor - apartment 2C, and this key is for your individual room,” he began to fire off at you as he rounded the desk and came to grab your suitcase, beginning to walk as you hastily followed suit. “This packet will tell you everything you need to know about our building here - wifi, laundry, trash days,” he shoved some papers in your hand as you both entered the elevator, him pressing the button for the second floor.

You emerged on to your floor and a few steps later you two were at the door of your new home, which the man quickly unlocked gesturing for you to step inside. “And this, Miss L/n, is your flat for the next few months with us here at Westheath. Your room is the second right down the hall there and I believe you’re the first here. Two of your flatmates who are yet to check in are from Kildare, such as yourself, and the other two are students of our own here at Westheath. You know I’m surprised how early you are, classes don’t start until next week! But nevertheless I’ll let you get settled,” you stood staring blankly at your new surroundings, more or less registering the words this man was firing off at you.

“I’m Richard by the way, if you ever need anything you know where to find me,” the man extended his hand toward you.

“Thank you,” you smiled, accepting his handshake.

“Welcome to Westheath,” he smiled back and just as quickly was turning on his heel and back out the door before you could get in another word, leaving you in your new flat by yourself.

You slowly walked through the empty place, meandering through the kitchen and living area, down the hall, peaking into the bathroom, and then finding your way to your room. It certainly wasn’t the type of living arrangement you were used to back home - your family lived on Figure 8 in the Outer Banks meaning you had grown up surrounded by mansions and luxuries. This place was small, simple, and yet it was cozy and well… perfect. It was the exact opposite of your Figure 8 life and that alone was enough to make you love it. You smiled, content, as you sank on to your empty bed, taking in your new room. You had a nice sized desk, a decent shelf, and a wardrobe. Simple and sufficient. You could get used to this. The room was starkly barren, but since school wasn’t set to start for another week and no one was here yet you made a mental note to go on a little mission to find some plants and decorations to bring the white box that was your room a bit more to life.

——-

Three days had passed and still your other flat mates had yet to show. You were starting to wonder if they ever would or if you’d end up living in this flat all by yourself. Your room was now decorated, you had found some cute posters in a shop you had wandered into, some plants in another, and string lights in a third. You had acquainted yourself with the grocery store around the corner and the drug store down the street and you’d even gone on the tube all by yourself.

Being on your own these last few days had been decidedly therapeutic, leaving you unable to contain a cheesy grin every time it hit you that you were actually here, in London, far far away from OBX. But you couldn’t help feeling a little lonely, with a passing hello to Richard every time you left and returned to the building being your main source of human interaction these last few days.

You laid on your bed as you debated the decision you were about to make - you would’ve never dared to use Tinder back home. You knew virtually everyone on the island and would’ve been absolutely mortified to match with anybody there. But hey - you were in London baby! This was a fresh start and nothing was off limits. You sighed and gave in, downloading the app and quickly making a profile. You must’ve rearranged the order of your pictures at least a dozen times before you finally decided it was good enough. You started to swipe, an endless supply of British boys at your finger tips. You couldn’t suppress a chuckle at how funny the whole concept was, your inbox already flooding with cheesy pick up lines from your matches. You spent the next hour going back and forth with these boys, silly, meaningless, flirty conversations - god it was so much easier being a flirt through a screen, you would be positively flushed in the face in person, unless you were drunk of course (your drunk self was a dangerously confident flirt for sure).

Liam: are you free tonight? Down to grab a drink and chat?

Oh wow. Straight to the point wasn’t he. You knew the point of the app was to eventually get off it and meet up with someone, but now that you were met with the opportunity, your stomach was flipping upside down. Fuck it, what do you have to lose?

Y/n: yeah that sounds great, I’m in Hammersmith if you wanted to go somewhere there?

Liam: perfect so am I (: 8pm at The Ladle. See you there xx

Pure adrenaline coursed through your body as you started doing your hair and makeup, throwing clothes all around your small room to find the perfect outfit that was cute but simultaneously made it seem like you weren’t trying too hard. You threw your wallet and keys in your purse, chugged the glass of wine you had been casually sipping on by yourself, and quickly headed out the door before you could overthink it and change your mind.

——

You nervously approached the bar that Google Maps had directed to you, not sure what you were getting yourself into, but you had already walked all the way here so you’d be damned if you didn’t see it through.

“Y/n?” a voice called out to you. God, hearing your name in that accent sent shivers down your spine.

“Yeah that’s me, Liam?” you questioned back, staring up at the fluffy browned-hair boy approaching you.

“That’s me,” he winked, extending his arm out to you which you nervously grabbed, as he led you into The Ladle, spotting an empty table for the two of you.

“So Y/n, what are you doing here in London. Something tells me you’re not from here?”the boy across from you smiled as you two got settled in your seats.

“Hmmm I wonder what could’ve ever given it away,” you replied with a sarcastic smile, American accent in full force. “But I’m here for school, on an exchange at Westheath Academy.”

“Oh shit, that means we’ll see each other around. I’m finishing up my last year actually. And somehow you’re the first American I’ve had the pleasure of being on a date with,” he smiled with a devilish grin that felt like it was burning into you, you hoping the flush on your cheeks wasn’t too obvious with the dim lighting.

“Lucky me,” you smiled back, faking a sly confidence as best you could despite the fact that you were all nerves on the inside. Dating was not something you were familiar with, having maybe gone on two back home, if those even counted.

“First round on me, what are you drinking tonight Y/n?”

“Umm a vodka cran is fine,” you replied to which you were immediately met with a scoff.

“No way babe, you’re in a pub in England now. Should’ve figured as much coming from an American like you,” he chuckled with a shake of his head, his fluffy hair bouncing with it. “I’m getting you a pint,” he asserted, walking over to the bar and giving you a moment to breath and collect yourself. You hated beer but weren’t about to put up a fight, at this point you would down just about any alcohol in order to get some more liquid courage in your system.

He quickly returned, placing the tall glass of golden-colored liquid in front of you.

“Cheers, to new school mates,” he winked extending his glass up to yours.

“To new school mates,” you smiled back, bringing your glass to clink with his, taking a long swig and trying not to grimace at the taste of the liquid going down your throat.

——

The night passed by quickly, you and Liam going through three rounds of drinks as you both laughed and bantered with one another, your nerves all but dissipated by the alcohol now coursing through your bloodstream. Heck, the beer was even starting to taste… good? God you barely recognized yourself anymore, but in the best possible way. One by one you were letting the closely guarded walls you had built up over the years in OBX fall, and you were feeling better than ever before - you felt free.

You and Liam stumbled back arms linked to the building you found out you were both living in, Liam on the fourth floor. You rummaged for the fob in your purse and you both got on the elevator, Liam instinctively pressing both your floor numbers. The elevator dinged opening to your floor, Liam turning to you with a cheeky smile.

“See you around, Y/n,” he winked. Why did you find that so attractive, or maybe it’s just because you were slightly drunk.

“Goodnight Liam,” you smirked back, blowing him a kiss as you walked out the elevator, the doors closing behind you.

You couldn’t help but smile like an idiot as you unlocked your flat and stumbled into your room, immediately collapsing on your bed. London. It was definitely going to be an adventure.

——

You were woken up the next day by the sun peaking through your window. You yawned and let out a big stretch, still giddy from last night’s date. It’s not like you thought you had just met your soulmate or something, you both kept the evening light, mainly joking and flirting as you downed drinks. But god you couldn’t remember the last time you had that much fun or ended a night feeling so confident and carefree. You were embracing every ounce of the euphoria you were getting from your new life.

You slipped out of bed and made your way to the kitchen, still rubbing the morning crust out of your eyes. Just as you got a pot of coffee going, you heard the distinct sound of a key turning, startling you as you realized it was coming from outside of your flat’s door. You cursed at the fact that you were about to meet a new flatmate while in your flannel pajamas and messy bun hanging halfway off your head, but mainly you were excited to finally have some company.

“Dude it’s no Figure 8 living but fuck it I’ll live anywhere to not have my parents breathing down my neck these next few months,” you heard a voice say, now in the hallway of your flat.

You immediately freeze. That was a male voice, definitely a male. Of course it makes sense now that you think of it, everyone in the flat gets their own room so what does it matter if the flat is co-ed. The thought just hadn’t crossed your mind, you automatically assumed you’d be living with all girls.

“Yeah man, anywhere that’s 1,000 miles away from Ward sounds like the perfect place to me,” another male voice laughed in return. Ward? Ward Cameron? That couldn’t possibly be who the voice was referring to because that would mean you were living with- and before you could even finish your thought you were standing jaw slightly parted staring at Rafe Cameron and Topper Thornton  in front of you. Two of the most popular guys at school.

You weren’t really friends but your families knew each other so you inevitably saw one another at kook events every now and then. You couldn’t help but feel intimidated by them. You always told yourself you didn’t care about boys like Rafe and Topper or about fitting in with their crowd, yet you always became nervous in their presence.  They were cool. They partied a lot, were athletes, and had girls tripping over them, which you couldn’t fault considering anyone with eyes could tell they were attractive, but you’d never have the confidence to be so bold with guys like that. Unless you were drunk of course. And unless you were the new confident and carefree version of yourself that you had been on your date last night with Liam.

“Yo Y/n, no fucking way, I didn’t know we’d get to live with girl,” Topper smiled at you with a teasing grin.

You were suddenly acutely aware of how disheveled you look and how you weren’t wearing a bra under your thin pajama top.

“Uh hey w-what are you guys doing here,�� you managed to choke out. That confident girl from last night had disappeared as quickly as she had arrived, leaving you now feeling winded in front of the two boys from your hometown. Why were you getting so flustered?

“Just on a little exchange program from Kildare, maybe you’ve heard of it,” teased Rafe sarcastically, a smile tugging at his lips, holding back a laugh at how caught off guard you looked.

“Yeah no yeah of course,” you stuttered, “I guess I just wasn’t expecting you two to want to sign up for it.”

That’s when you realized the obvious. Every year there was always a number of spots reserved on the exchange for athletes, and Rafe and Topper were two of Kildare’s star soccer players.

“What and get to miss an opportunity to play at Westheath and go to Premier League games all semester? No shot,” laughed Topper.

“Maybe you should’ve gone to orientation after all, roomie,” joked Rafe as he picked up his bag following Topper down the hall to their rooms. Rafe Cameron noticed I didn’t go to orientation?

You let your face fall in your hands with a groan only audible to you. You quickly picked up your head and shook yourself off, pouring yourself a cup of coffee as you tried to ground yourself from your frazzled state. Looks like escaping OBX was going to be harder than you thought.

---

Part 2

[starglow-xx]

owning a bakery and being discovered by the ada and the port mafia (part 2)

platonic! fukuzawa yukichi x f! reader

type of writing: head canons !!

this is part of my head canon series, flour & fluff !! 

tag list is open !! go to this google form and fill it out to sign up!

series synopsis: owning a bakery at 20 is tough; even more so when you have to handle members of two opposing organizations! this is your journey to meeting those fools and creating an unlikely bond with each of them. but only at the cost of your peace and sanity.

fandom: bungou stray dogs

content: fluff & platonic stuff

previous: part 1: meeting the greatest detective

author’s note: ages are a year younger than canon so ranpo is 25, yosano 24, kunikida & dazai 21, fukuzawa 44, you’re 19, and atsushi and the other younger members are not employed yet

and i guess slight spoilers for the untold origins of the armed detective agency but not really. it’s just a reference to it tbh

their beloved president

going to Sakura’s the next morning wasn’t what Fukuzawa had planned during his week

the reason he was dropping by was to give you money for the sweets you had given ranpo

when he had arrived back at the agency the evening before, he had made a big fuss about you and Sakura’s

he had sparked a lot of people’s interest seeing as ranpo was well invested in whoever you were and what your business was

he wouldn’t stop talking about the “cute and annoying bakery girl” who practically saved the agency simply bc she sheltered him during the rain and fed him and almost got hit by a car for him

i mean, how would the agency survive without ranpo? it was founded to make use of his intelligence and ability after all

the other agency employees exchanged looks and that’s when ranpo tiredly sighed and showed them his phone

on the screen was a contact, yours to be exact, labeled “cute bakery girl” with the note underneath reading “best follower, sweets supply & annoying little kid”

around that time, the president had stepped out of his office to see his employees huddling around ranpo and his phone

he walked over to them and asked what was going on, and seeing the president, ranpo explained what had happened with more details

“so you’re saying that a young girl, 19 years old, nearly got herself run over to shelter you from the rain, gave you food, closed her business early so you could keep talking, and when the rain stopped, she gave you a map and even more food, and even though she may have been inconvenienced, she did not ask for anything back? nor did you offer to give her anything back? even though she relies from the money she earns to survive?

“...maybe.”

after a, private chat with ranpo, fukuzawa ended up saying that he’d go take a visit to Sakura’s first thing in the morning to pay off the sweets that she’d given him by sliding an envelope of money under the door with a note

he initially told ranpo to go back right away (and to bring someone with him this time) but that ended up not pulling through bc ranpo had told him you went to retire for the evening

so yeah

there he was walking towards your bakery when he saw a small black cat with green eyes near the entrance playing with one of the potted plants outside

even though it was small, fukuzawa could tell that it wasn’t kitten due to his love of cats but the cat was still small compared to other adult cats

when he was just a couple feet away from the entrance to your bakery, the black cat took notice of him and walked his way before rubbing itself against his leg

fukuzawa let out a small smile as he bent down to pet the small creature, and the cat gladly ate up all the attention

suddenly the entrance to Sakura’s bursts open, and there you are looking back and forth frantically 

but you soon spot him and the cat and you visibly calm down

the black cat rushed to you and rubbed itself against your leg

it turns out the cat was yours, and you couldn’t find him so you panicked and rushed out the door

from there, you introduced yourself with fukuzawa doing the same

you still had about a little more than forty five minutes til Sakura’s was scheduled to open but you offered fukuzawa to come in anyways

he declined at first, but he gave in when, just how you did with ranpo the day before, you dragged him into your bakery

“you know, fukuzawa-san, this is giving me some major deja vu!”

“it’s because of ranpo i presume.”

“oh! you know ranpo-san?”

when the two of you entered, you rushed to a table and pulled out a seat for him before you disappeared off into the kitchen

just a few minutes later, you appeared with a tray with two steaming mugs, two hot plates of food, and small basket of bread

you set one mug in front of fukuzawa as well as a plate of food while you set the other mug and plate in front of the seat across from him and the basket of bread near the center by the small vase of flowers that you had for a center piece

he gave you a confused look as you sat in front of him and as your cat leaped into your lap

“ah! it’s pretty early in the morning, and you still have to go to work later, so i thought you should at least have a little something before you go. and i didn’t have breakfast yet so i thought it would be nice to have some tea with some company. and i made extras anyways!”

fukuzawa blinked before letting out a small smile and he quietly thanks you

you beam at him and as the both of you begin to eat, you ask him why he’s here this early and how he knows ranpo

with that, the silver haired man addresses your questions and explains the reason why he’s here and how he knows the brown clad male 

after explaining, fukuzawa pulls out the envelope with some money and slides it over to you

you try to reject it, but somewhere in the back of your mind, you’re screaming bc you know you need the money for bills and whatnot

fukuzawa wasn’t very helpful either

“so you’re saying you don’t need the money?”

“...no”

you end up accepting the money much to your inner conscience’s chagrin and to fukuzawa’s inner delight

moving on from that, for the rest of the time he was there—the last 40ish minutes or so—you rambled and talked to fukuzawa like how you did with ranpo the day prior, only this time, with a cat switching his resting point for either yours or fukuzawa’s lap

honestly, you’ve gone through so much deja vu and at this point, you’re not sure if you’re still in reality or not

sometime in your conversation, fukuzawa learned that your cat, ironically, was named lucky

apparently you found him in an alley while you were grocery shopping two weeks ago and since you took him in, you noticed that Sakura’s received a lot of new customers and that a lot of them actually ended up becoming regulars

speaking of the cat, you kept having to stop lucky from eating the food on the table

if fukuzawa was amused from your antics along with lucky’s, he was pretty good at hiding it

you: “lucky you naughty cat! i already told youuu” >:(

lucky: >:3

fukuzawa internally: :) & :D

the two of you had also became well engaged in talking about different kinds of tea, with fukuzawa even complimenting you with the tea you had made for him

it became his favorite <33

you were so happy <3

oop there’s that kid-like behavior again🤭

don’t tell ranpo🤫

scratch that he probably already knows somehow </3

speaking of which, the two of you also talked about the childish detective

it was kind of hard to tell whether or not you were admiring him <3 or insulting and complaining </3 about him lol

“so you’re the president ranpo-san was talking about huh. we talked a lot about his job yesterday! it seems quite exciting! but he talks quite a lot honestly.”

“ranpo talked a lot about you as well”

“ah really?! he can be a bit of an ass, but he really is amazing isn’t he?”

“mhmm”

through fukuzawa, you also learned how the two had first met, and this time, it was hard to tell whether you were amazed or angry at him

“awh that’s so cool!! but for someone so smart, he’s an idiot! what if he got hurt?! it was a good thing you got there huh fukuzawa-san?”

if you thought ranpo was like an older brother figure, you definitely saw fukuzawa as some sort of father figure

he noticed that you started to act like ranpo a little bit

you had developed some sort of attachment to him and when he praised you abt your tea, you had the same glow ranpo has when he gives him praise

not that fukuzawa minds

you’re just another child he’s adopting !! <33

not that either of you knew that hehe >:D

time went by pretty fast and before you knew it, there was only 10 minutes until you were scheduled to open

it was a good thing you had just finished all your prep before fukuzawa arrived

after making a promise with fukuzawa for him to come back again for some more tea, he stood up and made his way to the door as you carefully lifted lucky from your lap so you could quickly wash the dishes and to wipe the table and chairs you used

you offered some baked goods and some tea for to go but fukuzawa declined saying that you needed your supplies for your customers

as soon as you placed lucky on the wooden surface, he bolted to fukuzawa and kept on circling his legs and rubbing against him to stop him from leaving

i guess it turns out you weren’t the only one to get attached to fukuzawa

he couldn’t get even one step closer to the door without lucky reacting and running rapid circles around his legs to get him to stop moving

you didn’t know what to do and you were starting to freak out bc it was almost time to open up, but fukuzawa saved the day and offered to take lucky back with him and promised to take him back the next day

at first, like how you did with the money, you declined but ended up giving in when you saw quite a few of your morning regulars walking down the sidewalk towards Sakura’s for its opening

fukuzawa simply picked up the cat and walked out the door giving you one last wave of good bye

when they left, there was only about 5 minutes left and you rushed to finish the last minute clean up

when fukuzawa arrived at the agency (after a quick stop at home) with a cat in his grasp, let’s just say that quite a few more questions were raised

when asked about the cat, he simply answered that he was cat-sitting for a friend and ranpo knowingly smiled

but he then realized that fukuzawa arrived without any of your signature baked goods and he started complain as the rest of the agency members stared in confusion

with ranpo’s visit, they had quite a few questions, but with fukuzawa’s visit to Sakura’s, their confusion only grew a whole lot more and will continue to keep growing

<< previous // next >>

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[merci-bitch]

Her Lover

Alma LeFay Peregrine x fem!reader

Warnings: abuse, swearing, death, fluff, angst

Words: 5k

A/N: it’s been a while, hasn’t it. Lol. I’ve been having my exams and shit and I’ve been working on this for the longest time so I’m really sorry if there’s a word that’s not supposed to be there, I don’t really proof read. But hopefully more stuff shall be coming soon. Ta ta! Xx

Jake was surprised, it was all real. What his grandfather had told him, all those stories. They were real. It was unbelievable. At first, when he saw the boomed children's home he didn't really believe it. As that man said at the pub. 3 September 1943. No one survived, but then how come Miss Peregrine's letter had only come 2 years before to his grandfather. How was that even possible?

When we first entered the loop, he of course ran away and nearly got himself killed. Thankfully his new friends saved him from those angry Walsh people. The house looked so different from those ruins he saw. It was actually a very beautiful house. Big and tall and all those flowers growing up on the sides. Completely different.

Miss Peregrine wasn't anything like he'd expected. Not at all, despite from all the stories he'd got from his grandfather. Apparently she was the bird flying above him and his father when they first arrived to Cairnholm. Ever since Jake arrived, he'd notice that on the bird's right hand, her ring finger. There was a small ring with a single diamond. Jake knew it wasn't probably wasn't his thing to ask, but he didn't see anyone else then the people he'd already seen. His grandfather had never really mentioned anything or anyone else then the ones he'd already talked about.

He had helped Emma with the baby squirrel, it was a bit awkward wrapping the rope around her waist. He'd noticed Miss Peregrine's glare, it was uneasy. As if she felt some sort of jealousy? But that was ridiculous. Absurd. Jake had agreed to join them for supper. Emma was helping him in his grandfather's old room. He just couldn't but ask.

"Emma, could I ask you a question?"

"Jake, I told you that there are questions I can't answer." Emma said as she tied his tie.

"I know, but it's just. Does Miss Peregrine love you? Like, that way?"

Emma stilled. Almost uncomfortably.

"Jake. What's got you to even think of such disgusting things?!"

"I'm sorry! It's just, I saw her glare." Jake held his hands up in defeat.

Emma let out a sigh. Looked down before looking up again. "You must understand. Miss Peregrine, well all of us lost someone dear. It's taking her long time to actually get back to who she is. So please, stop asking questions." As she finished speaking the bell rang. They both walked down together and Jake almost sat down on Millard.

"Millard. Go and put some clothes on. Polite persons do not take their supper in the nude."

Jake almost felt sorry for him, he didn't mean to take his place really. He couldn't see him, obviously. He was, well he is invisible. During dinner, he couldn't help but stare at Miss Peregrine's right hand with that ring. Her long slim fingers with those long nails. The ring was silver. The small diamond was pretty. And shiny.

"Claire, why aren't you eating?" Miss Peregrine asked, looking with worry to Claire. Chewing on the piece of food.

"She's embarrassed in front of Jake." Hugh said, leaning over to Claire.

Jake shook his head. "Don't be. Please."

Claire looked over at Miss Peregrine with a small smile and Miss Peregrine sent Claire a wink before turning back to her own food. Claire grabbed the chicken leg and put it behind her head and a few seconds later she put the clean bone back on her plate.

"So Jake, what's your peculiarity?" Horace asked. Leaning over the table a bit to see Jake as he asked.

"Oh, I'm not peculiar." Jake stammered.

Enoch put down his fork and knife and said, "And that, my friends, is why he will not be staying with us. No matter how hard we try to persuade him."

Miss Peregrine spoke up again. Her voice light but firm. "We've spoken about this. Jake is just visiting."

Hugh opened his mouth, "He might want to say."

"Don't you want to stay, Jake?" Olive asked.

"Tonight? Or..-" Jake didn't get a chance to finish of his sentence before Claire irrupted him.

"Forever! You should stay forever." Her smile big.

"Why would he, if he doesn't have to? He can live out there, grow older, have a good time instead." Enoch said. Trying to make a clear point of why he didn't want Jake in the house. Jake could feel Emma slightly lift from her seat despite being strapped down. She was getting uncomfortable.

"He'll leave, just like his grandfather did." With that, Enoch started eating again and Emma got up and practically ran out of the room despite her heavy shoes. Miss Peregrine's call for Emma didn't stop her. As Emma left, a clothed Millard came into the room. Excusing himself. Sitting down and starting to eat his own food.

"Deep breathes Alma, you know how dear Enoch gets with new company."

Miss Peregrine closed her eyes at the voice inside her head. She was right. She slowly got up as the telephone rang. "I think you should all get ready for movie time while I answer that."

"But you always let us stay for it." Claire begged. Miss Peregrine turned around and gave the children a glare that almost scared Jake. She was a strange woman, yes she was. Miss Peregrine stepped out to the hallway, to the ringing telephone. This time, she nearly didn't answer it. Wishing the voice inside her head would come back. Missing the touch of that person with the voice nearly threw her off guard. She nearly kicked herself from going off schedule. Shaking her head, she answered the telephone and went on with the schedule.

The time went on, again. Horace's projected his dreams. One particular dream made Alma tense up. She couldn't watch it. She turned on the lights and heard all the groans from the children. It was almost re-set time. Olive asked Jake to stay and see the re-set. Enoch clearly didn't want him to. Alma felt herself chuckle softly. The arguments between Enoch and re-set. Alma stepped out in her raincoat and put on her gas mask after putting on the music. Run Rabbit Run. She would always sing along to the song-Alma kicked herself mentally again. She stopped her clock, she turned it 24 times to represent the 24 hours of the loop. She took of the gas mask and smiled towards her children.

She said her goodnight to the other children as Emma and Jake made their way out the door. Her smile faded as they disappeared from her view. She closed the door, knowing Emma would lock it. She slowly made her way up the stairs, to the end of the hallway, to her bedroom. She opened the door and walked in and closed the door again and locked it. Leaning against the door and closing her eyes.

"You know me better then I do. Can't seem to keep nothing from you. How you touch my soul from the outside. I still love you even though I'm scared. Learning to be grateful of myself. I wish I could love me like you did, how I wish I could trust myself like you did."

She moved from the door and towards her desk and sat down and started unpinning her hair. Brushing through her hair slowly. That black-blue hair. The little curls. She got undressed and dressed in her lacy nightgown and brushed her teeth and took off the makeup she'd been carrying during the day. She laid down in the cold bed, shivering slightly. Falling asleep after a few minutes.

***

"Clarice! Clarice come on. We have to get back. We can't stay in La Pari forever. We've been gone 7 years too long!" Claire let out a groan and stopped walking. "But Y/N! I love Paris!" Y/N shook her head. Her little sister was definitely a number. "Well, you wrote to Alma we'd be home, so let's go." Clarice didn't move. "I? I didn't write. She's your wife." Y/N felt herself tense up. Oh no. Y/N had forgotten to write, and she'd hopped her darling sister had written.

"When was the last time You wrote back home Clarice." Y/N looking over at her sister, with a glare almost identical to Alma's. Clarice bit her bottom lip. "5 years ago." Y/N felt her head spinning. She sat down and rubbed her forehead. Clarice started laughing. "What's so funny?!" Clarice threw her head back in laughter.

"Oh lord, the handful you will get when you get back. I mean Abe will definitely be in her side." Clarice said while patting her older sister's shoulder. "God. She'd kill me. I swear, I didn't mean to forget and I thought you'd been writing." Clarice shook her head. "But you're right. Let's go home."

***

"Jake, you're back. How wonderful." Miss Peregrine said as she held the Ymbryne tight to her.

"How's it doing?" Jake asked. "Emma said it was an Ymbryne."

"She. Not 'it'. Ymbrynes are always female." Miss Peregrine said as she looked up at Jake. "And Emma was quite correct. This is Miss Avocet." Miss Peregrine continued to give Miss Avocet the medicine.

"Her loop's in Blackpool, England." Jake said. Miss Peregrine slowly turned her head up towards him and saw him holding a piece of paper. "That was a private letter, Jake." She said as she put down the medication.

"Who is Mr. Barron?" Jake asked, slightly raising his voice.

Miss Peregrine's face expression turned blank and her right hand came almost protectively over Miss Avocet.

"Miss Peregrine, if my grandpa was involved with dangerous people. I need to tell the police." Miss Peregrine looked up at Jake again, her brows knitted with confusion.

"Police? Are you implying Abe died an unnatural death?" Her voice going quiet.

"I found him in the woods, with his eyes missing. I'd say that was pretty unnatural." Jake said as he watched Miss Peregrine raise from her chair. Miss Peregrine looked at Jake in disappointment, snatching the letter out of his hands.

"Unless essential, I don't discuss unpleasant matters. An Ymbryne's duty is to protect children, Jake." With that, she left the room, almost in a hurry.

"I'm not a child! He wanted you to tell me everything!" Jake shouted after her. Jake let out a sigh of frustration and walked down the hallway and was stopped when both Enoch and Olive came into his view.

"Oh. How frustrating for you. Between Miss Peregrine's rules and my housemates' little pact not to scare you off, it's like no one's telling you anything." Enoch was sarcastic. Olive stood quietly behind him. Jake leaned forward.

"Why don't you, then? It's not like you want me here."

This time, Olive spoke up.

"Enoch, you can't. You promised." Enoch looked back at Olive before answering.

"Olive's right. I do know someone who can get away with breaking rules though. Want to meet him?" Jake looked a bit uneasy at Enoch before following him up the stairs. Olive behind them.

"Enoch, don't do this. Please!" She grabbed his arm, begging him not to do whatever he was going to do.

"You want to spend time with me and Jake, we can all play together. That's what you said." Enoch said as they reached a door at the end of the hallway. Olive stood in front of them. Not letting them pass through the door.

"Well, here we all are." Enoch said. Olive looked up at him with a bit ready expression. "Move Olive."

"If you're going to be like that, then I don't want to be your friend." With that, Olive left. Sobbing quietly to herself while walking down the hallway.

"Enoch, leave Victor alone. It really upsets Bronwyn." Fiona said as she walked up to Enoch and Jake. Enoch put both his hands on Fiona's shoulders, "Stop fussing, Fiona. Don't you think Jake should meet everybody?" He said while looking over at Jake.

"He's trying to frighten you away, Jake. He's always jealous of Abe. And now he's jealous of you. Come and play with us instead."

Enoch crossed his arms and looked at Jake, waiting for an answer. Jake didn't really know what to say.

"I'd quite like to meet Victor." Jake said after some time. Enoch smiled and ruffed Fiona's hair. Enoch opened the door, letting Jake walk in. "After you."

In the middle of the room there was a bed, covered in thin layers of fabric, and Jake saw Victor, lying there. He slowly walked in, moving with small steps towards the bed.

"Hello, Victor. I'm Jake. I'm sorry to disturb.." Jake looked down at Victor. His eyes were missing.

"Yeah, he can't hear you." Enoch said. Enoch got on his knees and opened Victor's shirt and put the heart he held down into Victor's chest. Jake saw how Victor's chest started to heavy. Almost like a jump scare in movies, Victor sat up and looked over at Jake.

"Hello, Jake. I'm Victor. Do you want to know what killed me?" Almost like a puppet he was. It scared Jake and he ran out of the room, downstairs where Miss Peregrine and the rest of the children were waiting.

"Ah, there you are. Is Enoch with you? It'd time for our daily walk." Miss Peregrine said.

***

Alma walked into the room where Victor lay. Sighing once seeing Victor's covers down. She pulled them up, making sure they covered him and slowly sat down. Noticing the tear falling down his cheek. Softly wiping it away and pulling him up and held him against her chest.

One of the most disappointing things she'd ever done. How she couldn't be able to save Victor, how she'd let her poor child die. She never meant for him to die, she never meant for Bronwyn to lose her brother. Alma felt herself tear up.

"It's alright Alma, you did what you could and for that, Victor will forever be grateful."

She really wanted to believe those words. Oh, how hard life could be. She couldn't let herself to cry. She'd always say it was alright to cry, but Alma just couldn't. She slowly put Victor back in his place and looked at her watch. She had a few minutes before the children would be back, but she had to keep schedule.

Alma walked out of the room, closing the door. Walking down the hallway to the right and then further down that hallway and then into her own bedroom. Closing the door behind her, locking it. Just in case. She quickly walked over to the dressed against the wall, opened a drawer and pulled out a shirt that didn't belong to her.

Sticking her nose deep into the fabric, closing her eyes and breathing in the familiar sent. Holding onto the shirt tightly. Alma felt her eyes sting.

Why did life have to be so cruel? Why couldn't just one person live a life and be happy. Is it only fairytales that get their happy endings and not people in the real world? Was the 'perfect' life all just a big lie that you were told on the television outisde loops? Why couldn't you just live yourself in your dreams? Wouldn't life be so much better if you could? It would save all troubles from people.

Alma slowly sat down on the bed. Still holding the shirt tightly to her. Breathing in the sent again. Letting her eyes roll back for just a second. Accidentally losing herself in the sent. Letting a soft moan escape her mouth which caused her to blush. Hand covering her mouth as she blushed even more.

"My shirt hm?"

Alma turned around with a gasp. No one was there, she let out a sigh. Alma got up again, checked her clock and put the shirt back in the drawer and walked downstairs. Waiting for the children to arrive back home.

***

"Clarice, where was the loop again?"

"You can't be serious. We lived with Alma for years, you're married to her for gods sake!" Clarice sat down in the damp grass, crossing her arms. Letting out a huff.

"Awh, stop acting like a bloody kid! Maybe help me instead of acting like such a bloody moron!" Y/N answered to her sister.

She let out a huff and sat down on a rock. Y/N felt bad. She'd been gone 7 years too long and Alma probably thought she was dead. Just because her little sister didn't write as she used to. Y/N reaches into her pocket and pulled out a few photos. Photos she took, before she left.

Most were of Alma. It was one of the only times she'd let her time be taken from her. She missed the bird.

"Could you stop sobbing and perhaps do something to help? You cant stare at th-hey. Y/N. Was that Abe?"

Y/N looked up and saw nothing. She turned to her sister and hit the back of her head.

"Very funny."

***

The children were packing after they're realisation that they couldn't stay. As Alma had finally gotten the suitcase to close, thanks to the twins, the doorbell rang. How odd. She hadn't expected anyone. Alma walked up towards the door and opened the door and felt her whole body tense.

"Miss Peregrine, what a pleasure to meet you at last!"

Mr. Barron was holding his hand shaped knife against Jake's neck. Alma felt her breathing stop for only a second. What on earth was happening?!

"May we come in?"

Alma took a few steps back, letting him inside the house. Her children standing on the stairs.

"Children! Would you make your way down the stairs, please?" Mr. Barron shouted.

Alma raised her voice. "I give the orders in this house, Mr. Barron." Looking at him sternly.

"Not today. You should know that Jake has served his purpose. If you value his life, I suggest everyone does as they're told. Children!"

Alma raised her finger and shushed him. "No one tells my children what to do!" Alma turned around, a split of disgust in her expression. "Children, come down here, please." Her voice was strong but soft.

The children made their way slowly down the stairs.

"Miss Peregrine-"

"I thought I told you to be quiet." Alma snapped back at him. Giving him one of her famous death glares. She slowly made her way around again to look at her beautiful children. Knowing she might never see them again.

"Children, for Jake's safety, we're going to do what Mr. Barron asks. He wishes to take me with him to his rendezvous in Blackpool. So, for his protection, he'd like me to assume bird form, preferably caged. And he'd like you to make your way into a lockable room, such as the parlour." Alma turned her frame towards the parlour then back to her children before turning around to look at Mr. Barron.

"As he won't release Jake if he fears an attack could be mounted upon him once he loses his leverage. Correct, Mr. Barron?" Alma raised her chin, showing how she awfully despised him. Mr. Barron was at loss of words.

"You're sacrificing yourself and all of us, for Jake?"

Came behind her, Alma turned around and looked at Enoch.

"Me. Barrons travels with a Hollow, Enoch. Once it arrives here, we're all dead." She could almost feels Mr. Barron's wicked grin behind her. Alma saw Horace lean in to whisper something to Enoch but didn't bother to listen. It took everything not to shed a tear. She'd lost everything now. The woman she loved the most, her dear children. Everything.

She moved towards the parlours door and said her goodbye to each child that passed her, ending with a hug from Emma and the twins which made her she'd a tear. Once every child was inside the parlour, she grabbed the door handle to each door and took a deep breath and looked over her children.

"It's been my privilege, to care for you all. Goodbye my children."

Alma closed the doors and turned the lock and turned to face Barron, showing her anger through her tear stained cheeks. Taking steps forward.

"Now let him go."

"Oh, but the fun's just begun Alma." Barron let out a low chuckle.

"How dare you speak my name, filthy bastard." Alma tightened her tone. Growing more impatient by each second that passed.

Barron let out another chuckle, this time of surprise.

"My my, what words those pretty lips let out. Tell me, how's dear old Y/N doing?"

Alma clenched her jaw. Feeling as she might explode.

"How dare you speak her name?! How dare you come here, act like you own everything I have. You took her from me! How dare you mention anything of her's. I know what you did to her family, how her parents practically coward before you. On their knees begging to not die. Letting their dear children's lives pay their depth."

As Alma continued, Barron only chuckled. Jake was confused. Who was Y/N? What did this woman mean to Miss Peregrine?

"Technically I wasn't the one who sold her, her mother was. Her dear parents are still loyal to me as ever. I'd never gotten a chance to meet dear Y/N. So tell me, where is she?"

This time, it was Alma's time to be confused.

"What do you mean by that. No tricks Mr. Barron. I want the honest truth."

As he let Jake go, letting out a groan. "Listen, lady. I'd never meet her. If I had, do you think I'd be asking you? So come now Miss Peregrine. Where is she. Her mommy and daddy just wanna say hello."

Alma felt herself start to tremble. Y/N hadn't been in Barron's possession.

She'd spoken to Jake. Begging him to care of her children before turning into bird form. Flying into the cage. Leaving with Mr. Barron. If her dearest was really alive, she'd never see her again. Nor her beloved children.

***

"Emma, I have a question. Look-I know you don't answer them but it's about something Miss Peregrine said before she turned into a bird. Who's Y/N?"

Emma went quiet for a moment, not really wanting to speak. Jake let out a sigh and continued to talk.

"Mr. Barron said he'd never meet Y/N before. What does this mean-who is she?" Jake looked t Emma who's eyes looked at his. A slight tone of happiness appearing on her face.

"So, that means she could still possibly be alive." Emma's smile got bigger.

"Who is she? Is she another peculiar?" Jake was growing impatient.

Emma sighed. "Alright, if I tell you. Will you stop asking?"

Jake nodded his head and sat down and waited for Emma to speak.

"Y/N came to our home years ago, before Miss Peregrine had made the loop. She came with her sister Clarice. When they came they were both pretty young. I think Clarice was 15 and Y/N perhaps 20. I heard Miss Peregrine talk with them about what had happened to them. It wasn't really, nice."

Emma sat down herself and took a deep breath.

"Mr. Barron came to their house, in the middle of the night and killed their brother, well took his eyes. He was around 8. She talked about how their parents had sold them to Barron for their own safety. But before Barron could touch them they'd ran away. They'd taken the boat and arrived here."

Jake listened as she explained more about Y/Nk's past. But there was just one question bothering him.

"What about the ring on Miss Peregrine's finger?" Jake asked.

"Y/N and Miss Peregrine kinda fell for each other. A few years after the loop was created, they got married. Then again a few years later, perhaps 7 years ago. Both of them left, Y/N and her sister. But after two years they stopped writing back home. We heard nothing from them and since Barron wanted to recreate the experiment Miss Peregrine told you about.”

Jake nodded, shocked. He had nothing against the LGBT community but he’d never thought Miss Peregrine was a lesbian. Perhaps she wasn’t, maybe just fell for the one person she trusted most.

They went on, the plan to save Miss Peregrine.

***

“Clarice, fix it. Please. Something has happened.”

Y/N was panicking. The loop was gone, not a child in sight. Alma wasn’t here either. Clarice had the peculiarity of restoring time, she restored the loop. Made everything go back to normal. The house looked itself again but no child was there. What the hell happened. How long has the house been like this? Clarice was too busy walking to her room.

Y/N looked around, saw suitcases. Were they leaving? But why, and where? It felt strange being back in the house, but with everyone gone. Y/N walked around, touching the walls and everything. Y/N walked upstairs and into the bedroom she once shared with Alma and closed the door behind her. Alma’s perfume hitting her like a smack in the face. The scent of smoke, flowers.

She pulled open the drawer and pulled out one of the dark blue lacy nightgowns and spelled. Alma. Y/N looked out the window. It was dark and it was raining. Y/N loved the rain. She walked over to the window and sat down by the window and opened it to listen to the rain and felt herself drift off into sleep.

***

Alma opened the door and walked in. How in the hell was the house still standing? She hadn’t reset the loop. She was wet and she was tired and drained. She quickly walked into the bathroom connected to her room and took a warm, long and hot shower. She wrapped the towel around herself and stepped out. Looking in the drawer for her nightgown but it wasn’t there. Alma turned her head to the figure she saw sitting by the window and nearly had a heart attack.

She grabbed her pillow and hit Y/N with it multiple times.

“You reckless little-“

“Alma, hey! Stop hitting me!”

“I have every right to be angry at you! I thought you were dead. For 7 years you’ve been gone and then you stop writing?!”

Y/N could see Alma’s cheeks turning red from anger. She stepped forward, grabbing the pillow out of Alma’s hands and kissed her knuckles. Which made Alma shut up.

“Why’d you do that to me, to the children.” Alma’s voice was on breaking point.

Y/N looked up, into those blue eyes. “I never meant to. I forgot to write-“ Alma cut her off with a snort.

“Of course you did.” Alma took the nightgown from Y/N and dropped her towel and put it on. Feeling Y/N’s eyes on her. It made her shiver. Then she felt arms wrapped around her waist and a soft kiss on her right shoulder. “I’ve missed you. Please don’t leave again.” She felt Y/N shake her head and turned around in her arms and kissed her lover on the lips softly. Nearly losing herself in her lover’s lips. Laughing softly after feeling Y/N’s hands tickle her sides.

“I hate you.”

“You love me birdy.”