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#this is my best attempt tonight i can't stare at it any longer i need to sleep sldkjfs
ponderingmoonlight · 7 months
Note
OH EM GEE YOUR REQUESTS ARE OPEN 🙏🙏🙏🙏 fem!reader x megumi fushiguro with a side of injury x angst and hurt but at the end there's fluff/comfort please !! fem!reader gets injured trying to save megumi, (prompt 17) then megumi is like "girl wtf" and then he scolds fem!reader (prompt 2) for getting injured in the process of trying to save him... then fem!reader was like "i was ready to give my heart to you" (prompt 28) and megumi was like "u dont need to do that" and then megumi suddenly confesses ?? (prompt 65) (HELP LMAOOO) and then fem!reader confesses as well and megumi's like "don't leave me." (prompt 61) and then fem!reader's like "dont be silly why would i leave you xo" (prompt 64) so sorry if this was confusing i got too excited 🙏🙏🙏🙏
First of all, I'm so so so sorry this took so long! While I always wrote on this fic from time to time, it wasn't until tonight when I had an idea how to get all of these prompts togehter. While I think it isn't my best work, I hope you still like it <3
Save you
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Pairing: Megumi x reader
Word Count: 1,1k
Synopsis: After you recklessly risk your own life to save his, Megumi can't hold back his feelings any longer
Warnings: It's so fluffy I'm gonna dieee and a little shitty writing I'm so sorry guys, proofread, but I'm sick and not concentrated so show some mercy
Rumbling, teeth, blood. It happens faster than you are able to comprehend your surroundings. All you know is that this fucking curse was only inches away from Megumi’s face. Inches away from ripping his skin apart. Inches away from probably killing the boy you are secretly in love with since joining Jujutsu High. It was a reflex, an intuition. Without hesitation, you throw yourself in front of him, hands stretched out in a desperate attempt to shield the merciless attack.
“I’ll get you out of here.”
You did manage to exorcise the curse. But not without your blood splattering everything in vicinity, sharp teeth slicing your delicate flesh open without mercy.
„(y/n)! Why did you do that!?”, Megumi yells at you, eyes widen in pure shock.
Everything hurts. You don’t dare to look down on your own body, instead you just stand there and stare at Megumi.
“Are you out of your mind? You could have died!”, he hollers at you.
In the matter of seconds he stands by your side, frantically taking off his uniform and pressing the fabric against your multiple scorching wounds. Your heart sinks into your chest at the sound of his anger-filled voice.
“Stop yelling at me, I saved you. And you would have done the same for me”, you hiss through gritted teeth, ignoring the pain that spreads around your whole body.
“This was absolutely reckless, (y/n)! I thought you were smarter than that, such behavior doesn’t suit you at all! Don’t you know that I’m able to take care of myself? I don’t need you to risk your own life for me”, he blurts out, every word stabbing into your heart like a knife.
You hate the way your eyes start to instantly burn with tears, completely taking your sight that is fixed on his brown shoes. This is not fair. You did what your intuition told you. And you just know Megumi would do the same for you – maybe not out of love, but friendship. He’d be the first to take a bullet if it means saving his friends.
“And to top it off, you don’t even care about even injured, it’s like yo-“
That’s enough. You can’t hold back any longer.
“If it means that I’ll save you, I’d be ready to give you my heart without even flinching! Because I care about you, idiot”, you yell so suddenly that Megumi flinches at the unusual harsh tone in your voice.
He can’t help but stare at you in disbelief. Megumi has known you for years, long before joining Jujutsu High. And even though he always knew you care for him, he never thought that it would go this far. After all, you’re so breathtaking gorgeous that he never lost a thought about you actually liking him back.
Because for Megumi, it has always been more than a sweet innocent friendship, more than a little sympathy. When he fell, he fell hard, head over heels to be exact. Your words make his heart beat a little louder, world spin a little faster. But still…Still he can’t accept the fact that you’d die so recklessly because of him.
“(y/n), I would rather die than knowing the love of my love got injured because of me…”
Now or never, the way your eyes pierce right through him and the fact that you nearly died because of him let Megumi gather all his courage.
“I can’t hold it back any longer! (y/n)…I think I might be in love with you. No, I’m sure that I love you. I love the way you walk and talk, how you carry yourself with so much elegance. I love the way you make fighting look so effortlessly and the little smile you wear on your face every time you see me. But even though your affection goes far enough to save me, I know you’ll never like me like this…I just needed to get this off my chest. So I hope you don’t leave me, I would totally understand if you don’t wanna speak to be though…”
Minutes feel like hours when all you can do is stand there and stare into the dark ocean of his eyes. All this time, you thought all these things about Megumi himself. That he only likes you as a friend, that he wouldn’t be able to see more in you than his comrade, a simple girl that’s been through some shit on his side. But those sweet words leaving his mouth, him telling you that he loves you…You can’t believe your ears. This has to be a pretty dream, right? Like the ones you desperately try to get back to when waking up, the ones you don’t even have to write down in order to remember.
This is not a dream, though. Your whole body is on fire, limbs burning like hell while your tear-stained cheeks get brushed by an icy wind. No, this is reality. And by the way his eyes glister in nothing but sadness you can tell that he truly believes in his words.
How ironic.
“Don’t be stupid, I’m not leaving you”, you breathe out.
A warm smile creeps up your face as you close the distance between your bodies, fingers intertwining with his. Oh, if he only knew how often you daydreamed about this, how often you told yourself over and over that he doesn’t like you like this, that Megumi Fushiguro will never love you. Little did you know that he felt the exact same way.
“I loved you since joining Jujutsu High. All this time I thought that a wonderful boy like me could never…well…fall in love with someone like me”, you admit shyly.
“You’ve got to be kidding, right?”
He grabs your face, forcing you to look up into his ocean orbs.
“You are the most precious thing walking on this earth. If someone’s lucky than it’s me. Even though I still don’t like that you threw yourself in front of that curse for me. Please never do something like that again.
His breath brushes against your cheek. Is this really happening? Are his lips really lowering themselves at yours, touching them so innocently while all you can do is close your eyes and let yourself sink against his tender touch? No, this is sweet reality.
And all of that because you decided in a split of a second that Megumi is worth all the pain, that your feelings for him are greater than fear.
“I’d always throw myself in front of a curse again if it means that I can do that”, you mumble against his lips.
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krikeymate · 11 months
Note
Any AU, Ghostface is back. Tara gets stabbed. They’re just playing with her, though, so nothing life threatening. They tell Tara that they’re going to kill anyone she tells about this encounter. “Don’t believe me? Try me?”. Tara tells someone she’s not super fond of. She makes sure no one overhears them. The person is dead the next day. That gives us Tara, trying to deal with this on her own while hiding a literal stab wound (and maybe more) from Sam. Sam finds out pretty quickly, though. Tara’s terrified when she does because of the threat.
AU? Baby this is just Scream 7. Tara's got herself a ~staaalker~
She's home alone, Sam's working late tonight. She's been home for hours, she had no idea what was coming for her. She had no idea she wasn't alone. They were waiting for the right moment, they wanted her to be fully relaxed, calm and unexpecting. They grab her from behind, one hand in her hair, the other wraps around her to trap her arms. They kick at her legs, spreading them so she can't stabilise herself.
"Hello, Tara. Have you missed me?"
They can hear the way Tara begins to hyperventilate, see her chest begin to pound, but she still manages to get out a "fuck you!" They love that about her, it's why they chose her. So much spirit. A real wildfire. They'll enjoy breaking her.
They release her, throwing her to the floor. She tries to get up, to crawl away towards the door, calling out for help, and Ghostface can't do anything but laugh at the pathetic sight. They kick her back down and straddle her hips. "Shhh shhh shhh, we wouldn't want anyone to interrupt us now, would we?" they coo at her, wrapping a hand around her mouth. Ghostface spots tears dripping over their gloved fingers, and it makes a rush flow through them. It's such a beautiful sight, they only wish they had a camera.
"I'm not going to kill you, Tara. I just wanted to introduce myself. See, I've been watching you for a long time. Longer than you might think, in fact, and I think you're finally ready to meet me. We've got a lot in common, you know."
The bitch bites down on their hand and they slam her head into the floor for it. "You'll clearly need a little training first, but we're going to do great things together."
"What the fuck are you on about?!" she yells, voice cracking.
"You'll see. But first, let's play a little game."
Ghostface draws the knife across her side, blood beginning to pool on the wooden flooring. "It's called Can Tara Keep Her Mouth Shut. I hope you're good at it, because you won't like what happens when you lose."
"Oh yeah, and what happens if I don't?" She attempts to sound confident, but her voice shakes. They'll teach her to lie better.
"Well, I'll kill whoever you tell, of course. I must confess, I hope you don't believe me. I'm so hungry, you see. It's been so long."
Ghostface sits up on their knees and flips the girl over, taking her by surprise once again. Now face to face, they can finally see her tear-stained face, see the fear in her eyes, the spark of defiance. It's delicious. They hold the knife to her throat, digging it in until it leaves a small cut in her skin. They grab at her scarred hand, thumb tracing the scar on her palm.
In a flash they lift the knife from her neck and drag it up her palm, digging into the scar, tearing it away. Ghostface relishes the way she screams, the way she tries to stop them, grabbing at their wrists.
They let her go, standing up. "Are you going to test me, Tara?" They walk backwards to the door, savouring the way she curls into herself on the floor. "You best clean yourself up quick dear, Sam is due home soon, isn't she?"
The girl's head snaps up at the sound of her sister's name. "Don't you fucking touch her," she snaps, getting to her knees despite the pain and her blood-slick hands.
"Well I won't need to, will I. It's not like she's going to find out about any of this, is she?"
She stands silently staring at them, and Ghostface knows she's gotten their message. "Until next time, my dear. I'll be watching."
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shizuokadivision · 11 months
Text
ARB Birthday Special: Sakura Kito
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 ~~ May 31st ~~
“I always tell the truth. Even when I lie.”
Login Lines:
“I’m not in the mood for any interruptions right now. I’m swamped, so either say what you want to say or get out.” 
“A.. gift? …My birthday is today, isn't it? I had forgotten all about it. Thanks for reminding me.” 
Voice Lines: 
“Birthdays huh? Can't say I ever really celebrated mine growing up. My bitch of a stepmother would've thrown a fit if she learned that we were celebrating the day of my birth. I was after all a living reminder of her husband’s affair.” 
“My men really do need to learn the meaning of the word secrecy. I just caught a few of them whispering to each other about the party they're throwing me tonight. I guess it's the thought that counts. Now I just have to pretend I didn't know what they had planned when they surprise me.” 
“Well, I guess I'm not getting any more work done today. I'm already receiving gifts from various emissaries from the other yakuza families around Japan. I would say that I'm pleased to get them, but we all know they're just political appeasements at best.” 
“The Katen even managed to send me something as well. It was a crate of some of the finest sake in Yokohama. He even made Aohitsugi deliver it. Ha! The look on his face was one I’ll forever savor.”
“I’m surprised you got me something, Kanon, no offense, but considering your views on festivities, it's not much of a stretch to assume you'd do nothing. Huh…that's surprisingly nice of you,  Kanon, I’m not going to attempt to answer that, but I guess I should be more grateful. What did you get me then?”
“The Nozama Family? What about them? A visit? What do you mean no longer a problem? Kanon, what did you do!? I’m sorry?! Kanon, that is biological warfare! You can’t do that! Why? That goes beyond breaking a simple law! You just committed a straight-up war crime! At least tell me the zombie apocalypse isn't going to start soon. *stares* Kanon…this is why I always assume the worst of you.”
“Hello to you too, Reika. I assume you're here to give me a gift. *snorts* I guess I should count myself lucky then. Oi! We’re the same age, Reika. Hell, you’re going to turn thirty before me. The only reason I'm going to go gray early is because of all the stress you and Kanon give me.”
“Honestly, Reika you didn't need to get me a gift, you really didn’t…need...what the fuck!? A fucking arrest warrant?! Fucking really, Reika? I swear to god Reika, you're lucky I consider you one of my closest friends because if anyone else tried that shit there would be hell to pay. What the fuck do you mean poisoning me?! ...I fucking can't with you right now Reika.” 
“Shinji? How many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to call me ma’am? *sighs* Kanon and Reika gave me their gifts and what a…surprise they were. For you? I always have a moment. You didn’t have to Shinji not after everything you did for me growing up. Okay…only because it's from you Shinji.” 
“Shinji isn't this…your mother's necklace? …Daughter? Shinji…I have always thought of you as a father. I…you don't know how much your words mean to me and I am honored that you're willing to give me something as precious as your mother’s necklace. Thank you…Dad.”
Kanon Lines:
“Happy Birthday, Sakura. Congratulations on surviving another year. Hm? Oh yes. That's a valid hypothesis but you forget one thing you're one of the few people I will participate in these odious celebrations for. Why do you and Reika always assume the worst of me?” 
“Now as for your gift, I'm sure you remember complaining about that yakuza family down in Hamamatsu. So I’ve taken the liberty of going down and paying them a little visit. I’m pleased to let you know that they will no longer be a problem. All I did was release a parasitic flesh-eating bacteria that I’d been cultivating for a while. It still needs work as it took a full 30 minutes for all the inhabitants to die. *raises eyebrow* Why not? What do you take me for Sakura? An idiot? I took the initiative by setting the entire base and surrounding land on fire to prevent the bacteria from spreading beyond what was necessary.”  
Reika Lines:
“Happy Birthday to the big bad boss herself! Well, duh! Do you really think I wouldn't give one of my dearest friends a gift for her birthday? Besides another year, and you’ll be thirty. Maybe so, but unlike you, I take much better care of my appearance, and besides, out of the two of us, who's more likely to have our hair turn gray first? Anyways, here's your present.”
“Ha! Payback’s a bitch, isn't it? I told you I would get you back! How does it feel, hm? You’ll think twice before giving someone a prank for their birthday now, won't you? Hahaha! Oh quit being a bitch about it. In fact, I let you off lightly. My original plan had me poisoning you. Not enough to kill you, obviously, just enough to make you mildly ill. Love you too, Sakura.” 
Bonus! Shinji Lines:
“Ma’am? *laughs* Forgive me then, Saki-chan. Hm? You look quite apprehensive. Ah yes, I heard their gifts were ‘unique’. Is this an inconvenient time for you then? I know that you have grown tired of gifts today but I got you something for your birthday, so I hope you’ll accept it. I wanted to, Saki-chan.”  
“It is. She gave it to me before she passed and told me to pass it on to any daughter I might have. Sakura, we may not be related by blood, but I consider you to be my daughter. You have been ever since you came up to me all those years ago and asked me to teach you how to fire a gun. So, it's only right I give you this. Happy birthday, Saki-chan.” 
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jaycewrites-192000 · 3 years
Text
You're Grounded
Summery: Smiley and Angry's little sister tries sneaking out of the house after she gets grounded. It...doesn't go well...
Rating: SFW
Pairing(s): Platonic!Nahoya Kawata x Platonic!Little Sister Reader x Platonic!Souya Kawata
(No incest here fellas)
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To make a long story short, you got grounded. Not by your parents, no no. You got grounded, by your older brothers. And to you, it's a little bullshit. They were one year older than you. Who gave them the right to ground you like you were their child?
So, you're probably wondering, what did you do that was so bad that you were grounded for it? Well...you may or may not...have accidently...got into a fight at school. Not just a screaming match kind of fight, nah, you were going all in. Beating ass left and right on the unlucky son of a bitch who pissed you off.
And when you were caught and given detention, who else came to pick you up other than your older brothers, Nahoya and Souya Kawat. Or better known as, Smiley and Angry.
Now, they each had their own opinions on this situation. Smiley was actually impressed, and felt prideful in his little sis. You barely had a scratch on you! However Angry on the other hand, was not so impressed. More like worried, concerned even. He thought you might have gotten hurt, but to his relief you handled it on your own.
While the two both disagreed about how the situation was handled, they both did agree that this couldn't slide. It would have, if you hadn't started the fight in the first place. And so, they both grounded you on the spot. And now here you were, trapped in your room, while your two dumb jerks for older brothers were chilling with Toman.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"....God I'm so bored!" You groaned loudly. "Like those two don't get into fights too! Why am only I getting punished!?" You sit up from your bed, glaring at your door. While having a stare off with the door in front of you, an idea popped into your head. "Oh that's right...they're not here tonight. They're at a meeting." You say with a smirk. "Tsk, dumbasses. They really thought I was about to stay in here all night." You hopped out of bed and strolled over to your door and opened it. Walking out and into the living room, without a care in the world.
Until it all came crashing down on your head.
Ahead of you, was your two brothers. They were just chilling out on the couch watching some random show. "Hey sis. I don't remember saying that you could leave your room. Did I Angry?" Smiley said with his usual grin...only you could tell he wasn't really grinning. "No..." Angru muttered, glaring in your direction.
"U-uh....b-bathroom?" You manage to say.
"Hm...ok. Go ahead." Smiley and Angry turned their attention back to the TV. 'Fuck!' You yelled internally as you head to the bathroom. You shut the door behind you and slide down the door, knees tucked to your chest. "What the hell are those two bozos doing here instead of the meeting?" You ask aloud.
Well, there was always another way out. Glancing up at the window ahead just beside the shower, you grin. Bringing yourself to a stand, you walked to the window and open it as quietly as possible. Moving one leg out, ducking your head under and out before moving the other leg over, you carefully climbed down. "Ha! Try and stop me now dipshits." You chuckle.
"Gladly."
"Ahhh!!!" You scream as the sudden voice filled your ears. Turning slowly you were met face to face with Angry. And boy...was he ever so angry. Like really angry. "Heeeey bro....nice night huh?"
"....Get back in the house. Now."
"Yep." You hurried back inside.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
And back to square one it is. This time, they actually locked you inside your room. "Come on!" You banged on your door. "What if I really do need to use the bathroom at some point!?" You yelled. "Should have thought about that before you tried sneaking out." Came Angry's response from the other side. "Yeah. And if you do need the bathroom, we left ya a bucket in their with you." Smiley laughed.
"No! That's fucking disgusting! Let me out!" You banged on the door again. "Not until you've learned your lesson. And you try sneaking out again, we'll ground you for another week." With that the two walked away, leaving you alone once again. You groaned and flopped onto your back on the floor of your room. Staring up at your ceiling, thinking up of different ways to escape your punishment.
Begging? No, it might work with Angry, but Smiley wouldn't budge. Throwing hands? Yeah right, you felt like living for a while longer thanks. And you can't use the old puppy eyes, they've grown use to it ever since you turned 15.
Then what could you do?
You couldn't call your best friend Emma for help, since they took your phone...so you were pretty much shit out of luck.
"Great..."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
An hour had passed, you had nearly drifted off while still on the floor. Everything seemed truly hopeless...that is until your remembered...you're a girl! "Yes! That's it!" You whispered before getting up and banging at your door again. "Hey! Jerks! I need out!" "We ain't letting you out dummy!" Smiley yelled back. "I'm serious! It's an emergency!" There was a brief moment of silence, you smirked once you heard footsteps approaching your door. "What is it?" Angry asked, his tone wavered between annoyance and concern. "Souya...this is so embarrassing...I can't believe I have to talk about this cause you won't let me out." You say with a fake sniffle.
This would get him...Angry hated it whenever you were upset. "Y/n? You can tell me." His voice was much softer now. Hell yes. "I just started my period...And I don't have any pads." You heard him hum on the other side. "I'll get them. But Smiley is going to stay here and make sure you don't leave the house."
"Can I at least go and clean myself up?" You ask with pitiful tone. There was a moment of hesitance before the sound of clicking. Angry opened the door and let you out. You hid your face in attempt to look embarrassed. "Thank you Souya." You say as you make your way to the bathroom. From outside you could hear the distant muffled conversation between Angry and Smiley before hearing the front door open and shut.
Before you could think of what to do next, you heard what could only be Smiley walking past the bathroom and up to his own room. Oh yeah, it's all coming together. Waiting a few minutes, you left the bathroom and quietly snuck to the front door and opening it as silently as you could. And just as you were about to taste the sweet taste of freedom...
"Going somwhere?"
Angry. Fucking Angry was standing at the front door, arms crossed.
"....Are you shitting me?" You utter blankly. Angry stepped forwards, backing you into the house again. "Your period was last week." He told you. "I know this because you called and asked me if I could get you some products."
Oh yeah....right...
"Nice try shit head. And now you're double grounded." Smiley said from behind you.
Well. No one can say you didn't try.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ahh-
I might do a follow up to this, idk-
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donaweasley · 3 years
Text
What If
Pairing: Loki x Fem! Avenger! Reader
Plot:
A silly game of “What-Ifs” between two friends eventually leads to the realisation that the future, if spent together, may not be as bleak as they had anticipated it to be. A dialogue-based best friends-to-lovers cliché.
Warnings: Relationship angst, too many dialogues, long read, happy ending!!!
Read time: ~28 mins
Author's Note:
It's a long read with far more dialogues than can be deemed healthy. The reason is, I didn't want their arc to feel rushed. It had to be cooked slow. Another reason is that, I can't help hearing my characters, and it triggers a flood of dialogues! I'm trying to work on controlling it. 😬 Hope you enjoy!
Now has a sequel: Their Little Secret
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“C’mon! You’re breaking the rules now,” Loki casually waved his hand at his best friend.
“I’m not. There’s nothing to answer really,” (Y/N) replied with a shrug.
“There must be something on your mind!”
She pretended to think for a second, and shook her head.
---------------------
It was a usual night in the compound. It was just another night when one of these two friends had called the other in the middle of the night for some midnight snack. It was just another of those happy times when they had tiptoed into the kitchen like thieves because...no, no one would mind some missing nachos or ice creams, but because it was fun!
It wasn’t easy for Loki to open up to someone, let alone to allow the other person in. Neither was it easy for (Y/N) to trust somebody, given her past, especially when that somebody was infamous for betraying almost everyone, at every step, not to mention his attempts at ruling Earth and causing massacre.
But time is a healer and a magician.
And here they were now, looking at the moon-washed night life through the west-facing glass wall, and playing a game of “what-ifs”. One would say that it was silly and immature; some would even call their talks gibberish. But when the night was so relaxed and carefree, why wouldn’t they be?
The pale yellow orb hovering above the western horizon cast a soft ray of light through the glass wall. Oblivious to its movements across the room, Loki and (Y/N) were wrapped in a thin blanket on a couch, their feet resting on two separate pouffes.
It had all started with a silly question, something like, “What if you weren’t stuck in this building tonight?”, or something along those lines; they didn’t even remember correctly anymore.
One question led to the other, and soon they found themselves tangled in a game of questions that would have been enough to create an alternate reality. But eventually, they found themselves, not answering with imaginary scenarios, but debating over one particular question:
“What if you find the love of your life tomorrow?”
This question was posed by Loki, rather theatrically, amidst the many others that had tossed different possibilities of their near future. And it was here that (Y/N) refused to play along anymore because, as she stated, it was “the most silly question ever”.
---------------------
“So, you claim that my question is even worse than your ‘What if you were a Jotun cat’? What kind of a question is that anyway?” Loki teased.
“Of course, it is. Undoubtedly!” With one wave of her hand, (Y/N) dismissed his appeal.
“And how is that even logical, may I know?”
“C’mon, this entire game is out of the boundaries of logic,” she claimed. “Your behaviour is like that of a cat. Don’t make that face; it brings you closer to being a cat. And...a Jotun cat sounds cool!”
Loki sighed. “And my question is ridiculous! If the game is beyond all reason, then...” he shrugged, “say something...weird, and move on!”
“Fine! If I-if... If I meet the love of my life tomorrow,...I’ll stab him. Or her. Or them. I don’t even know.” She huffed.
“Ouch!” Loki made a face, ”Didn’t see that coming. I would enjoy the stabbing part though. Thank the Norns, you never declared your feelings for me!”
She looked at him sideways with a stern face. Loki noticed the irritation simmering just beneath her skin, ready to burst out at the next prodding.
“Hey,” he placed a hand on her arm, “what happened? Was it something I said?”
She turned her face away. But Loki wasn’t giving up that easily.
“(Y/N),” he gently tugged at her arm, “look at me.”
When she finally turned towards him, he held her by the shoulders just to make sure that she couldn’t move away again.
“Now, you’ll tell me everything. What happened?” He inquired again. “I thought you were having fun.”
“It’s nothing Loki, it’s just that...you know I don’t like discussing my non-existent love-life. It’s...it kind of makes me...sad sometimes. Especially in a setting like this!” She waved her hands at her surroundings. “I mean, look at it, a full moon, a silent night, blankets and… It just leaves me with this reminder that I’ll be alone all my bloody life!”
Loki’s hands slowly retracted from her form and folded themselves on his chest. And just like that, they both found themselves staring out of the window.
“I’m sorry,” Loki’s voice audibly reflected the guilt that had formed within, “I never intended to...”
“No, you shouldn’t be. It’s...I overreacted. I’m sorry, Loki. I just ruined the mood. Shit! And it’s not my hormones, mind you!”
“I know,” Loki chuckled. “And you did not ruin anything. It’s natural to feel, isn’t it?”
She looked at him with a raised brow, “Somebody’s learning!”
“Somebody’s got a good teacher,” he smiled.
“Aww!! I love it when you acknowledge my awesomeness!” She wrapped an arm around him, pulling him in closer, and pinched his cheek.
“Ugh! Let go of me! Let...go!!”
The room was filled with (Y/N)’s cackles and Loki’s threats as he wriggled out of her grip.
“Do that one more time, and I’ll stab you!”
But it wasn’t enough to stop her chortles.
“Would you now?” she teased, and raised her hands again in a faux attempt at squeezing his cheeks.
He swatted them away.
“Stop it!” He warned again, only to emanate snorts from her.
But the next second, his voice changed into a compassionate one, “Why do you think you’ll be alone all your life? How old are you anyway? 80? 90? Isn’t that supposed to be old in human years?”
Once again her cheerful mood fled behind a thick curtain of annoyance. But this time she did not look away. She simply rolled her eyes, and pulled her legs from the pouffe to sit cross-legged, and shifted to face him.
“No, I’m not that old. But why are you suddenly so interested in this topic?”
“Because suddenly, you seem to have found an interest in getting annoyed.”
“Then don’t annoy me.”
“Not in my nature, I’m afraid.”
She couldn’t decide whether to hit him or laugh at him.
“Loki-” She curled her fists and shut her eyes.
“I’m listening, darling,” he smirked.
Of course, she knew how stubborn Loki could be!
Who else would know that better than me?
“Okay,” she placed her palms flat on her thighs, “the thing is...I can never make a relationship last more than two years. I waste my time trying to establish a...a proper, long-lasting relationship - something permanent - and end up with a heartbreak. Every. Fucking. Time. I’ve given up. I’ve had enough! Now, even if anyone makes a move, or if I’m interested in someone, I just remind myself that it’s not gonna work! I just don’t put any effort anymore.”
Loki hummed in response; his eyes were focused on her as if he was trying to decipher a mystery.
“And,” she continued, “given my current ‘job’,” she air-quoted the word, “I’m more sure than ever that no one will last more than two months now!”
Once she voiced the storm in her head, her eyes softened and she looked down at her lap. Through hooded eyes, she stole a guilty, fleeting glance at her friend, who seemed to be musing about something really serious. His eyes were strained on the carpet, while his chin rested on a fisted hand balancing itself on his thigh.
For a long moment neither said anything. Only the distant buzz of the sleepless city floated through the air and filled the room.
It was Loki who disrupted the silence with a long and heavy sigh.
“I knew that Midgardian men were impatient, narcissistic-”
“Look who’s talking,” she smirked as she interrupted him.
He gave her a quick deadpanned stare before resuming, “-imbeciles, but I was beginning to think that they have good tastes in women. It’s disappointing, not surprising though, that they have proven me wrong.”
A small laugh almost made its way to its escape, but she pushed it back. “You think so?” She quipped.
He shrugged, “From what you’ve said, there is no reason to think otherwise.”
She sat a little straighter. “Really? Do go on!”
Loki immediately noticed the effect that he had planned for. Without giving away the joy of his small triumph, he continued, “Indeed! Look at you! You’re an amazing woman! You’re brave, witty, independent...smart...excellent with knives! And that’s my favourite thing about you, by the way. ”
Feigning offence, she exclaimed, “And I thought your favourite thing about me was that I tolerate all your tantrums, and keep up with your shenanigans.”
“I don’t throw tantrums, darling,” he pushed the accusation away with his silky tone, “and don’t tell me that you take no pleasure in the havoc that we wreck together.”
At this, she could no longer suppress the evil grin that spread across her face, “I do love a bit of chaos. It’s fun.”
“To think of it,” Loki added excitedly, “had you been on Asgard, you might have been the Goddess of Chaos!”
“Oh! Thank you!” She replied with a dramatic wave of her hands.
Both laughed at the way their words were unfolding.
“Thank you, Loki,” (Y/N) said after their little whirlwind of laughter had calmed down, “I guess I needed to hear something nice about myself. It’s been a long, long time since I heard it.”
“I meant every word of it,” he replied in a solemn tone that made something flutter in her chest.
Was it gratitude? Was it joy? Was it love for her best friend?
It was hard to tell. It seemed to be everything at once.
She simply smiled at him. “Even the ‘Goddess of Chaos’ part?”
“Especially that part,” he asserted, and she laughed.
“You’re the best, Loki!” She gave him a half hug.
“That, I definitely am. But you’re not too shabby yourself. And you should never ever be sad for someone else’s failure.”
“Alright, I get what you’re trying to do here,” she landed a playful punch to his shoulder. “I’m fine! Really! I just got a little carried away.”
“No, I really mean it,” he tried to assure her. “You are one of the most magnificent women I have known! And mind you, I’m rather picky in these cases.”
She laughed, “Of course, I’d know that! ... Loki, it’s...it’s alright. Some people just don’t have it in them to sustain relationships no matter how wonderful they are. I’m okay with it.”
“Come on! A narcissistic God is showering you with genuine compliments! And you’re still not convinced that it’s not your fault but of all those who failed to keep up with you?”
She tried another attempt at convincing him, “It works both ways.”
“Norns! I can’t believe you’re so foolish!”
“Enlighten me, please,” she drawled.
“I believe I have already established the fact that you are phenomenal.”
When she giggled and nodded, he carried on.
“Good. Now, your job, as you put it, shouldn’t be a hindrance in your relationship. You’re doing the marvellous job of being a guardian to thousands of people. People you don’t even know! How many would put their necks out there to do it?”
“C’mon, Loki, when duty calls, you have to leave everything behind and just go! Who’d tolerate that for days? They will snap one day.”
“I’d never do that!” Realizing his mistake, he quickly corrected himself, “What I mean is, had I been in their place, I’d have never done that.”
“That’s because you’re on the team,” she argued. “So, it’s normal to you.”
“No, it’s not because I’m on the team. I’d-” He sighed. “Fine, why don’t you try finding someone from this field? Stark’s parties are a great place to hunt humans.”
“‘Hunt humans’?” She snorted, “I like the sound of that. Nay, haven’t found anyone. Besides, mixing professional and personal life can be fatal. You never know when your personal life might get jeopardised because of a mission gone wrong. Y’know, the usual blame-game and all. I hate all that!”
Loki brooded over her words for a few seconds before asking, “I don’t get it. Why would it be fatal? I mean, look at us,” he gestured in between them. “We have a perfect understanding. We’d never blame the other for any petty thing. Or-or let it affect our friendship.”
“That’s because we have the perfect understanding, Loki! You said it yourself. It’s a rare thing that we have. And I can’t expect it to be with anyone else. They’re not you, Loki.”
“They’re not us,” he corrected her.
Joy seeped through his senses as he watched her face brighten up at his words.
With a nod, she continued, “You see, all that spark, excitement, promises - these sound really great at the beginning. As time passes, as the real world pushes in, love moves to the backseat. Love is not enough. There comes a time when you have to balance everything together, and love becomes one of those things. It becomes a chore.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t follow you,” Loki stated with a frown. “That sounds so sad!”
“It is!”
“Well, it shouldn’t be! Loving you shouldn’t be a chore! Let’s say...hypothetically...if I’m in love with you, then you’d be my passion. And passions never become a duty, not even in the worst of times. Instead, they help us breathe when everything comes caving in. You’d be my...my moment of peace in a war. How could I not be tempted to embrace this beautiful moment?”
“Unfortunately, Loki, that’s not how it works. See, when you have a lot on your plate, say your job, your dreams, your daily life and all the pressure that comes with these, you’ll find less and less time for your loved one. Things get hectic and eventually frustrating. You won’t be able to keep that flame alive even if you want to. And one day, you’ll come to realize that you have distanced yourself from your moment, even if you never wanted to. But it’d be too late. There’d be no going back.”
“I’d never distance myself from you! I mean, from my moment. I’ve been a king, and I know how taxing royal duties can be. Sometimes, it seemed like a luxury to get even a minute to myself.”
“See? So, how could you have found time for me?”
“I would have, darling. Not plenty, but whatever little time I’d have gathered, I’d have made them memorable. For you. For us. And maybe we could have gone on long rides occasionally. Rekindle the old flames? Or-or we could have gone on visits to other realms...for political reasons, of course, but could have taken the opportunity to spend a small vacation with each other. What do you say?”
Painfully tempting images of a life that could have been floated in her eyes.
“And what if we came back to Earth, and I got involved in...say, a job that was all hectic and left me all frustrated, and with little time for you?” She shrugged.
With a sigh, Loki shifted to face her fully. “We will take care of each other, (Y/N). If one gets low, the other pulls both up. And I know that together, we can do anything! I believe in you more than I believe in myself.”
She smiled brightly as she acknowledged, “That is...that sounds doable, yes.”
“You’re special,” he placed a hand on her cheek, “and you need to be treated in the most special manner. One that befits my queen.”
A moment passed between them as they looked into each other's eyes, both seeing the same beautiful picture.
His queen!
My queen!!
Wait, what is he...?
Damn! What am I doing! What will she...!
Loki cleared his throat as he abruptly pulled his hand back to his side.
“I’m sorry, I...”
“No, it’s okay,” she cringed at the way the words squeaked out of her. Clearing her throat, she continued, “We were just giving examples.”
“Yes, just examples,” he agreed.
“It’s fine! I understand.”
“Great! It’d have been quite...awkward...otherwise.”
“Oh no! It’s...uh...totally fine. We’re best buddies!” She gave his arm a light punch.
“Right!” He nodded, and focused his gaze on the floor.
After taking a minute to calm his heart, he wore his witty persona back.
“See, having a relationship is not at all tough. All you need is a good partner. And I’ve proved myself right again! No, wait. There’s something you mortals do. It’s...uh...about throwing something...”
“Goblets? We don’t do that. It’s you-”
“No, not throwing, it’s about dropping something...after you have proven a point...”
“...Mic drop?” She chuckled.
His eyes lit up.
“Yes! ‘Mic drop’. So, as I was saying, all you need to have a happy and successful relationship is a good partner. Mic drop!” He concluded as he mimicked the action.
She sighed. “There’s just one tiny problem. I’d probably never find the right person. The ones that flirt with me, don’t understand me, and the ones that understand me have friendzoned me.”
“I’ve never friendzoned you,” Loki quickly replied with a frown. “J-Just clarifying...in case you were talking about me.”
“Of course, I’m talking about you, you big oaf!” She flicked his arm.
“Hey! You friendzoned me.”
“No…? It was you! Well, yeah, I never tried to flirt with you or anything but...anybody could see that you were being just my friend.”
“I can say the same about you,” Loki playfully accused.
“Whatever,” she shrugged.
A thought started playing in her mind. And a couple of seconds later, she decided to say it aloud, “I...umm...Just curious...y’know, don’t take it in any other way. Did you ever think of flirting with me?” She put forward each word very cautiously.
Loki furrowed his brows, and opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, she warned him, “Be honest!”
Immediately, his confident attitude changed into a helpless one. “Yes, I did. Maybe once. Or twice. But that was all! I assure you!”
She could hardly contain the amusement that was bubbling inside.
“What’s so funny about it?” Loki asked with furrowed brows.
“Nothing,” she shook her head as she tried to hold back her laughter, “nothing at all. It’s,” and then she lost it, “I’m sorry! It’s funny! I don’t know why, I find it funny hearing from you!”
“Look who’s laughing!” He said wryly. “I could clearly hear your thoughts the first few days after I stepped into this structure. Every compliment that your little mind cooed at my divine persona. And may I dare say that not all of them were decent.”
Her hysterics were long forgotten as her face went red at the comment.
“How dare you invade my mind?” Her hand had balled into a fist, ready to hit his arm when he caught it.
“I didn’t invade it, darling. You were practically shouting inside that pretty head of yours. I could have heard it from the other side of the planet!”
“That was a long time ago,” she refused to meet his eyes. “I make better choices and better decisions now.”
“Do you?”
She opened her mouth to speak but closed it without uttering a syllable, and crossed her arms.
Loki nudged her with his elbow. “Hey, it’s fun to tease you. Don’t be a spoilsport.”
“I hate you,” she peeked at him through the corner of her eye.
“What can I say,” Loki sighed. “Alright, if you say so.”
She smirked as she glanced at him sideways.
Loki cleared his throat in a not-so-subtle manner. “So, the next time Stark throws a party, I’ll find someone for you.”
Immediately, she face-palmed, and groaned, “No.”
“What?”
“Please drop this topic. And you’d probably find me a psychopath, anyway” She joked.
“That hurt!” Loki exclaimed with a hurt look masking his humour, “do you think so little of me? Can’t I find a proper partner for my best friend, my darling?”
“No, it didn’t hurt. Don’t fake it. I know you better than anyone.”
“No, you don’t. You-”
“I do. And...I’m fine, Loki” she reassured him, “being with myself, with the people here, being with you.” She gently bumped her knee into his.
“Will these be enough?” His tone had left the playfulness behind. “Will I be enough? For all your life?”
She shrugged, “I think so. You...stick with me all the time, you understand me, you...make me feel good. What more could I want to be happy?”
“You know what more you are missing. A friend can never touch the boundaries of what a lover can give you.”
“I don’t need a lover. Just be with me all my life, and I won’t need anyone else.”
He gave her hand a light squeeze. “I will. I promise.”
Her playful smile was back. “Thanks for all the pep talk, my dearest God. But turns out that I’m better off alone. Now can we please go back to the game? It’s my turn to ask you.”
“Alright,” he smiled back, “if you say so.”
“Stop saying that!” A defeated sigh left her. “You won’t be convinced, will you?”
“Probably not. Because I know that this will gnaw at you again a few days later. I know you’ll be sad again. And that I won’t allow on my watch.”
“God!”
“Right here, listening to you!” Loki quipped.
Rolling her eyes, she muttered, ”Damn you!” And proceeded to put forward a proper argument.
“The reason why I’m avoiding a new relationship is because I don’t want another heartache. I can’t handle breakups. That’s why I’m...”
When Loki didn’t make another attempt at dissuading her from her arguments, she added, “I just...try everything to avoid a heartbreak. Because when I get one, I lose control over myself.”
“Yes, I’ve seen. Once.”
“Then you must have noticed how vicious I become. Sarcasm drips from my mouth all the time, I say things that I shouldn’t, I...I hurt people. And in turn, I hurt myself. I yell at those who want nothing but good for me. But...”
“But being mean seems to be the only way to mask the pain,” he finished her line.
“It does, yes!”
She looked at him, and into his eyes that silently spoke of the pain that was resurfacing. She remembered something.
“You and I are so...alike!”
He nodded with a smile. “And maybe that is why we understand each other more than anyone ever could. … But we’re more than just being alike, if you think about it.”
She noticed how his voice gradually rose from its usual calmness to an excited tone, and his hands moved with his words.
Loki continued, “You point out my mistakes but don’t accuse me like everyone else does. You show me what’s right. And there’s this-this thing about you, which is so scary...the way you make me do all the things that you want. I-I mean, I am the God here! But you…a mortal...how can you have so much power over me?”
He sighed as his voice dropped to a compassionate tone, “You make me happy, (Y/N). You’ve taught me to forgive when I can, to forget what I can’t fix.”
“Don’t always do that,” she interrupted with a smirk.
His evil smile made a brief appearance before he resumed his warm note, “I like being with you. No...I love being with you! You make me feel good. You make me feel...I don’t know.... You make me feel…”
“Complete?”
“Yes!” He observed her, “You complete me.”
For yet another time, silence enveloped them. The only difference was that this time, it was comfortable. Even in their hushed moments, they could hear each other, know what the other wanted to say.
After a while of exchanging quiet stares, (Y/N) spoke, “All this time I believed, but now I know for myself, that you are indeed Silvertongue!”
Loki looked at his lap and laughed, but in the pale light of the setting moon, she noticed the pink that had crept up his ears and cheeks.
“I meant every word of what I said,” he reassured her once again that evening.
“I know, Loki.”
Loki watched her as she shifted to a kneeling position, and leaned towards him. He felt his face becoming hotter as she supported herself on his shoulder with one hand, and placed a soft kiss on his cheekbone.
As she settled back, her lips tingled with the memory of Loki’s skin on it.
They had been best friends, yes, but she had never allowed herself more than a quick hug because she knew that Loki wasn’t someone open to random touches. And she wanted to respect that. Always.
But this peck felt right. It felt necessary. And it felt...different.
What happened next wasn’t guided by logic anymore, but only by their senses.
Loki put his legs back on the pouffe, and scooted a little closer to (Y/N). Taking the cue, she shifted so that her leg was stretched out, and back on the pouffe - not on hers but his - and sat close to him. He arranged the blanket so that it covered them both again.
Another stretch of silence enveloped them. To them, the moment was beautiful. To Loki, who had never experienced anything similar before, it was precious. If he could stop time, he would have done it right then and there.
“Why haven’t you found anyone yet?” She asked him.
“Royalty has its disadvantages,” he replied without taking a moment to think.
She leaned back slightly to get a good look at his face, “Didn’t you ever find anyone from the royal...uh...what do you call it? Of royal blood?”
Loki laughed at her naivety. “Can’t say I didn’t. But none of them were the one. Besides, most people chose my handsome brother over me. And if anyone chose me, well, it was mostly because of my royal title. None of them were real.”
“That’s awful! I would never have done that to you! I’d have chosen you for the wonderful being that you are. But, I get it; happens on our planet, too.”
“Everywhere,” he asserted.
“So...who do you think is the one for you?”
He looked down at her face, which was mere inches away from his. For the first time in months of their friendship, he felt something swell inside his chest at the closeness.
“I still don’t know,” he whispered, “but I think the Norns might have started giving me clues.”
He didn’t need to explain, obviously. All the tension that had been building up throughout the night had placed them both on the same page.
Without thinking, Loki moved his wrist so that his palm was facing the ceiling. And instinctively, (Y/N) placed her hand in it, their fingers closing around each other.
"It's odd," she announced after a while.
"Indeed."
"It's weird. I mean, what were we even thinking!" She huffed, although she was still clutching his hand, as was he holding hers.
"Exactly what I was thinking. You and me?” Loki laughed nervously, “Come on!"
"Yeah!"
"Right".
Silence, their faithful companion for the night, visited them once again.
"Could it be? You and me?" Loki’s voice was a little more than a whisper, and bordered on the edge of confidence and doubt.
"Doesn't sound so bad. Not after all these... Talks?" She whispered back.
"Right!"
"Right."
And once again, they fell quiet.
The strangeness of the moment pushed them both into a whirlpool of thoughts. From acquaintances to partners to friends to best friends to...lovers?
Can this even be possible? What if it’s just a passing phase? What if everything goes back to normal tomorrow? Will we still be able to talk normally? But… This feels right. Just...right.
With a sigh, (Y/N) put her head on Loki’s shoulder.
"I don't want to rush into anything and ruin what we have," she confessed in a hushed tone, eyes staring into the night outside.
"Neither do I. You're the only one I have."
With a raised brow, she looked up at him.
"And Thor," he corrected himself with a small smile.
"Glad you remember him "
"Shut up.
Slowly, hesitantly, Loki put his free hand around her. Unsure of the appropriateness of the action, he kept his arm loosely hanging around her frame.
He waited for a while. Had Loki looked at her face, instead of looking straight ahead in fear, he would have noticed the small smile that had formed on her lips.
When she didn’t flinch or protest, he began to rest his arm properly but gently on her. He even went ahead and made the slightest possible effort to pull her closer to him.
The smile that had started forming on her now spread wide enough to turn into a grin. Its reflection was found on Loki’s face, too, who could finally muster the courage to look at her, although he was equally worried that she would be able to hear his heart trying to hammer its way out of his chest.
With every minute that passed, Loki became more baffled, for he couldn’t decide which moment he’d frame and hang on the wall of his heart as the most precious one.
"Are you feeling hot?" She asked without looking at him.
"A bit, yes. You, too?"
"Quite a bit, actually," she gulped.
"Is it normal?"
"I guess, yes. Totally! Had we been cool about it, it'd have meant that there's no spark between us. It’d have felt awkward, wrong."
"So, you agree that there's a spark between us?" He didn’t even attempt to hide the mischievous smirk that shone on his face.
"I had always suspected," she nodded.
"Hmm. When was the last time we went out for dinner?" He asked.
“Probably last month...or was it-”
(Y/N)’s head snapped up to look at him. She could barely put a lid on her excitement.
"Are you proposing to take me out on a date?"
"Well, if we are going to do this, then I'd like to court you properly."
She felt like she'd burst out of sheer excitement.
"If you'd agree to it, that is" Loki clarified.
Taking a large breath, she replied, "I'd love it."
The night was going better than either had expected. Who would have thought that a game of weird questions and a few confessions could change their lives!
(Y/N) put her head back on his shoulder, and let her body slump against him. He held her confidently this time.
“It still feels weird though,” she declared.
“It does, yes, but...maybe this is...right?” In a long time, Loki was hopeful about something, and he wasn’t going to let it slip away. No.
“I hope so.”
“Me, too.”
“Just so you know,” she sat up straight, “Thor is handsome, yes, but you are devilishly charming. You’re intelligent, well-read, witty, sarcastic, great at combat...uh...”
“Go on,” Loki smirked, earning a playful glare from her.
“You are,” she continued, “seductive! And who can resist a sorcerer who knows his way around everything!”
The evil smile that Loki had put away found its way back on his face. “As far as I remember, I did nothing to seduce you. I wonder what will happen if I try...”
“Shut up, Loki! You know I give away raw compliments. I didn’t really mean...I didn’t think...”
He laughed heartily at the furious way she was blushing.
“I was only pulling your leg. I had imagined you to be wise,” he clarified.
“I am! It’s just... I was...” She shook her head.
“So,” Loki resumed, “you think I’m devilishly charming?”
“Drop the topic, please!”
“You can’t resist my sorcery, ha?”
“Please change the topic! Forget what I said!!”
Loki laughed as he continued teasing her. It wasn’t going to be an easy ride, she realized, with the God of Mischief, but it was going to be the best ever!
“(Y/N)?”
“Hmm?”
“I know it was your turn to ask but, what if...you and I are indeed meant to be together?”
She smiled as she rubbed her cheek on his shirt, “I think we’ll have a gorgeous future together. And...I’d love that more than anything else.”
---------------------
The next morning...
“Morning, Wanda-”
“Shh! Shh!!” The red-haired witch silenced Natasha, and pointed towards the couch.
Curious, Natasha’s eyes followed the direction that Wanda’s finger was pointing at.
There, snuggled in a blanket, fast asleep, sat (Y/N) and Loki, their legs spread on a pouffe, tangled with each other’s. Loki’s arm was wrapped around her shoulder while she was holding his waist. Her head lay on his chest and his on hers.
“Aren’t they cute?” Wanda whispered.
Before Nat could reply, Tony’s voice cut the conversation.
“Who’s cute?”
This time, both the ladies shushed him, leaving a perplexed expression on his once sleepy face.
When they pointed towards the couch, Tony huffed, “These two! God knows what’s taking them so long to realise! They’re just so-” His face lit up. “Know what? I have an idea! I’ll make them confess. Who’s up for it?”
***
Now has a sequel: Their Little Secret
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And...a song for keeping the feelings floating...💕
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peakyblindersxx · 3 years
Text
whiskey business - john x reader (part 3 of ?)
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gif by @michaelgreys but i cropped it cause god daMn 👀
read part one and two! | my masterlist
a/n: this one goes out to all my john bitches!! i know it's hard out here, we get no new content but this part is steamy as hell. its not over yet, though! i'm a sucker for happy endings, ok? i hope you all like it, i'm still working on requests as i go :) much love to @stxdyblr-2k for ghostwriting on this series, she has the most amazing ideas in the world 🖤
love, abi xxx
tagging: @datewithgianni
prompt: john's been ignoring you and you want to know why.
warnings: fluff, angst, nsfw!! smut, cocky john, just straight up porn at the end but can you blame me
John hadn't spoken a word in your direction for a week. Despite constantly seeing you glued to Ada's hip, he’d barely acknowledged you since the wedding. He didn’t even bother looking up. Instead his jaw tensed, taking longer inhales of smoke, constantly examining the pocket watch dangling from his right hip. You were the last person John wanted to see right now. He couldn’t get you out of his head, the flush of your cheeks as you had moaned for him imprinted in his memory. You were fucking picturesque writhing around in his lap, a mess for him, and only him. He’d never felt like this; never wanted someone so badly it hurt. Usually, he drowned what little emotions he had in the nearest bottle of whiskey. You, however, were igniting something inside him he’d never felt. Lust, yes, but it was more. A yearning, a need, to see you smile at his crap jokes for the rest of his fucking life. God, you were getting to him.
His coldness and distance towards you hadn't gone unnoticed. To John’s embarrassment, his brothers regularly referred to it as "a little tiff", usually when you were within earshot, as they loved embarrassing his brother. They were blissfully unaware of the full story, assuming his cockiness had put you off him. He sometimes wondered the same; even though you remained polite by greeting him despite the minimal nod he responded with, you seemed ashamed. John only hoped it wasn't because you were ashamed of him. The truth was, he couldn't get the intensity between the two of you off his mind. Whenever he so much as caught a glimpse of you, he remembered how pretty you looked begging for him, then the embarrassment of having to reject you out of family loyalty. You admitting you wanted to have sex with him, him getting fucked off at you because you were off your face, complicating everything. Yet, every night, he held your words close to him, trying to decipher them.
He knew his brothers wouldn't get it. They wouldn't understand how tragic it was; they'd think it was funny that Ada's best friend wanted to fuck him. Either way, John would always rather put himself in the firing line of his brother's jokes than risk your reputation being blemished. He just couldn't look at you without a wave of guilt and sexual attraction flowing through his veins, causing his jaw to clench and his shoulders to stiffen, his suit jacket expertly covering strain on the crotch of his trousers.
A full week had passed since the wedding, of a man Tommy had recruited in an assassination effort. It was embarrassing how his family used money to attempt to push the trauma they created under the carpet. He knew he didn't have room to talk, but fuckin’ hell, a wedding? Maybe Tommy should've just not hired him to blow the brains out of his own father. Well, it was one way to get rid of the police commissioner who got too nosey, John guessed.
He had hoped that you were a passing phase of infatuation. He’d had many before; he’d been notorious around Birmingham for his conquests. Sure, it was possible he had just gotten overly excited and intoxicated around a beautiful girl. Yet, in the quiet moments of his life, in between his kids and business, his mind was only on you. You, straddling him in that booth, the way you grinned at him as he approached you at the wedding party. Sometimes when he was driving home, his mind would drift off thinking of the feeling of your figure pressed against him, the feel of your lips, your laugh, the sound of your heaving breaths against his ear. You haunted him the most at night, visions of you with his name on your lips in his silk sheets. You were his forbidden fruit, dangling barely out of reach.
***
John was at his desk, paperwork long abandoned in favour of whiskey and a cigar, lost in his own thoughts. The loud tapping of rain and the wind of the storm outside shook the windows, yet John felt somewhat at peace; a temporary peace, but he could unwind. Just his desk, the moonlight, the gas lamp illuminating his empty glass and the heavy English rain for company. He found far more joy in the simplicity of life than his brothers, who reeked of new money. He liked his things the way they were, it all worked, but he had to admit he was a sucker for a good suit. The kids were long in bed, the nanny to comfort their nightmares. It made him feel like a shit father, and he didn't want to be like his useless dad. He had started resenting the life Thomas was forcing him to live; the booze, the partying, the Tokyo, the fighting. It was wearing on him. He needed a break from everyone in this town, he reckoned.
However, a certain unexpected guest was always welcome to him. You had just drifted across his mind when a firm knock at the door caught his attention. He straightened his tie, leaving his legs outstretched and crossed on the dark oak desk, calling for the visitor to enter.
There you were. Dripping from head to toe, but still as beautiful as ever to him, despite your damp hair and slightly smudged makeup. You had caught him off guard, and in his surprise, he couldn't suppress the cheeky grin which spread across his face.
"Got caught in the storm, eh? I'll put the fire on and pour you a drink yeah? Warm you up." He slurred slightly, springing into action, lighting the fire and going to fill two glasses with whiskey, which you politely refused.
"I'm not drinking tonight, Mr. Shelby."
He decides he won't either. He tried to ignore your piercing gaze, motioning you to sit across his desk from him, reaching to put the whiskey in his drawer. "That's not like you. Where you headed, love? That lecture with Ada?"
"I came to see you."
He noted your firm tone, the flirty smile, the coy eye contact.
"What's the occasion?"
"You've been avoiding me." You told him bluntly, his cheeks reddening, eye contact breaking momentarily.
"Yeah, I know." He took a draw from his cigar, rolling the smoke from between his lips on the exhale. "M’sorry."
You watched him for a moment and he met your eyes, suddenly softened from his usual icey blue inquisitive stare. To shame, he looked so vulnerable right now. You could feel yourself falling for him again. This is what you hung around for, the fleeting glimpses of the authentic John Shelby. The lad you'd first giggled about in the girl's bathroom at lunch, barely knowing what sex was. Barely understanding power and politics. Unaware of who you'd both end up as.
"You're fucking soaked to the bone. Come on, I'll put your clothes to dry by the fire. And don't give me that look, I'll give you my coat to save your modesty, lass." He teased. You ignored the way his muscles flexed as he reached for his woolen jacket, some outrageously expensive tailored affair from some London boutique, his large rough hands brushing your fingers. "I'll turn around."
You grasped the coat, heading to the fireplace and warming up for a moment, checking that you were far from his line of sight. This was a dangerous game for you both. You wished he'd grab you, take you on his desk and finish what he started, but the way he absentmindedly drummed his fingers on the desk as he waited indicated that he was restraining himself.
You'd rid yourself of your thin jacket, bought from the market stall last week, effortlessly trendy but an imitation of the pricey stuff Ada and the blinder wives and girlfriends you knew. You were jealous of their fur coats, they were always warm and glamorous looking even on the coldest winter night in Birmingham.
You glanced across the room to John. He was staring intently at the wall lost in thought, teeth gritted.
"John? Could you unzip me?" You asked, purposefully making your voice sound as neutral as possible, looking at him over your shoulder.
He paused, bringing his fingers to rub circles against his jaw. You caught a glimpse of white teeth and dimples as he glanced at you out the corner of his eye and you can't help but match his coy grin. He pushed himself off the desk and quickly closed the small distance towards you, his hand finding first your shoulder then the zip at the nape of your neck, your breath hitching as he pulled the zip to your waist. You could feel his eyes tracing the curvature of your spine and hips. You both hesitated for a moment, before John’s warm fingertips grazed your waist, lips pressing into your hair affectionately. His mouth found his way to your ear, cheekbone, jaw and then neck, encouraged by the way your left hand cradled his head as you pressed your body back into his and how your eyes drifted shut at his touch.
"Sweetheart, why did you come here?" He muttered into your ear, his words and casual affection causing your core to swell in response.
"Couldn't stop thinking about you. I've barely slept in a week, feel terrible. Then you've been ignoring me-"
"It isn't personal, Y/N. You know this isn’t how I want it to be." His hands found their way to your waist, gripping lightly at your hip bones, sending a shiver down your back.
"Well this is how it is, John. It's never going to be any different. So, what are you going to do about it?"
"What are you fucking on about, love?"
"I reckon that just once can't hurt, nobody would know but us. Then we can both move on with our lives..."
John hesitated, "What about Ada?" His head rested on your shoulder, the scent of your sweet perfume causing him to want you even more. Jesus, he was too far gone.
"We were so close the first night I got here and we didn't. No one caught on then, why would it be different now?"
He wanted to trust you so badly, it ached inside of him. He wanted to feel you around him, make you cum for him again and again, for you to be breathless and shaking under him. He wanted to give you everything he could, even if just once. But he couldn't.
"She's my sister. Family is everything; if I don't have them, I’ve got nothin’." He stated firmly, yet his palms lingered on your hips, the liquor destroying his perception of the distinction between friendly touching and actions that made you swallow deeply and pray for relief.
"You have me for tonight." You pulled away from him, ignoring the groan that escaped from his lips at the loss of contact. You locked your eyes with his blue ones and pushed the straps of your dress from your shoulders, allowing the damp material to pool around your feet, standing in front of the man you'd wanted for years. It was now or never.
He stayed silent, watching you, eyes not leaving yours, challenging you for a brief moment before his eyes flickered over your figure.
"Is it such a crime to want to fuck you?" You asked, the silk of your skimpy underwear forcing John to wipe the corner of his mouth absentmindedly as he drank you in, mumbling profanities under his breath. Yet, despite the glances and his sudden frustration, you could tell you had him. His eyes were feral and hungry, daring you to keep pushing him. His shoulders were squared, he was ready for action. The crackling firelight illuminated you beautifully; you were irresistible to him.
"It's not a crime. Where'd you get this backbone from?" He asked, reaching for you but you stepped away, teasing him.
"University up north does sommet to a woman."
"You can fuck off or fuck me with that attitude."
"The latter if you behave yourself, Mr Shelby."
He smirked at you, holding his hands up in mock surrender, before wrapping his coat around your shoulders, pulling you towards him by the back of the collar. "You've got a mouth on you, love. You gonna put it to good use?"
"I was told months ago that you'd sort me out, John-" Your speech was interrupted by a small squealing giggle as he tugged at your hair lightly for mocking his voice, his eyes bright and crinkled at the edges due to his grin. "I'm disappointed with these delays, especially from the Shelby Company."
"Well, as the boss, I'll sort it for you, personally and immediately. Let me make it up to you, lass," John crooned, his lips meeting yours once again, fingers pushing your thighs apart, still clad in your black stockings and garter belt. "This is where we got up to last time, yes?"
"Yes Mr. Shelby, I believe so."
He pressed his lips and teeth against where your jaw met your neck, tracing his index and middle fingers over the silk of your underwear which covered your slit. You couldn’t help but lean into him, a slight hiss escaping your teeth.
"You like that, huh? You're fuckin’ soaked for me already, love," John muttered against your neck, lifting your left leg to hook around his waist, easily lifting you onto his desk, scattering loose papers and heavy accounting books onto the floor in his urgency to feel your bare skin on his. "They teach you how to push a bloke over the edge at that fancy university?"
"No, I figured that out on my own actually."
"Always knew you were bright," He smirked, quickly ridding you of your flimsy panties, the pads of his fingertips hot against your thighs. "Always going for the ones smarter than me, Tommy reckons it's not difficult."
"Your brother's chatting shit, he's not the one ‘bout to fuck me on his desk, yeah?" You shot back, opening your thighs to encourage him, your cunt exposed, cutting off John’s laugh. He couldn’t help but stare, eyes glued to your dripping cunt. "You're my favourite brother, always have been. If you tell Finn, I'll kill you," You teased.
"Come off it," John grunted in reply, unable to restrain pressing kisses to your inner thighs, your head tilting back, fingers desperately clutching at his hair. “Need t’get a proper taste of you, yeah? Look so fuckin’ sweet for me.” His mouth reached your core, slowly dipping his tongue into you, causing your mouth to fall open in ecstasy. God, his lips were even softer than they looked. His movements switched from light and teasing to purposeful and focused, his fingers curled and pumping inside you, tongue and thumb attacking your clit. He'd gotten on his knees, your legs wrapped around his neck as he groaned into your cunt, causing you to buck your hips wildly at the sensation, moans falling out of your mouth.
“Fuckin’ christ, John,” You swore, feeling yourself pulsate and twitch around his nimble fingers, crying out into the empty office building. You were getting so close, your hips jerking independently, chest heaving as you gasped for air. You were quickly getting overstimulated, you were so close. Before you could finish, John raised his head back to yours, letting you taste yourself on his mouth, his hands moving from your cunt to your tits, finger tips tracing the outline of your nipples through your silk bra.
"If we get to do this once, I want to feel you finish on my cock, doll," John grunted in a hushed tone, pointedly moving his lips to your collarbone when you opened your mouth to argue back to him.
"Then I get to ride you." Your statement took him by surprise; most women he'd slept with seemed fairly passive in bed. Sure they enjoyed themselves, but they never took control. He could feel himself swell in response to your words. He'd never been put in this position; he was a stranger to it, but the idea was thrilling and wickedly seductive. Especially from someone who was the epitome of "girl-next-door" as they were growing up.
"Polly reckoned you'd be trouble since Ada told us you'd returned. Don't mind getting into trouble with you, though," He teased, his plump mouth dipping to your cleavage, unclasping your bra, tongue circling your hardening nipples.
"John, fuckin’ christ, need you to finish me off, yeah?" You begged, voice shaking, much to his amusement, his fingers re-entering you roughly. John pressed open-mouthed kisses to your neck, soothing your body from the sharp sensation, the slight pain exacerbating the pleasure arising from his mouth and fingers.
"I've barely started with you, and already you're begging for me to fuck you." He muttered into your skin, as he watched you writhe and lift your hips, reacting beautifully to the feelings he was reawakening within you.
"John, m’not fucking about, yeah? I need you," You whined, hand resting on his inner thigh, fingers grazing the fastenings across his groin, gazing up at him from your seat on his desk. John hated waiting for relief, he had very little patience, and almost immediately he gave in and collapsed into his large armchair, pulling you on top of him, letting you pin his wrists to the chair and grind against him as your mouth found his, then his neck, removing his waistcoat, shirt and tie, revealing his muscular chest. The bruising kisses you pressed to his skin left him breathless and needing more, helping you unbuckle his belt and push his suit trousers down his legs. You couldn’t help but take him into your hand, moving it up and down his sensitive shaft.
“Christ, you’re too fuckin’ good at this,” John groaned as you spit on your palm to better move your hand up and down his cock, teasing the sensitive tip with your fingers and tongue. He couldn’t help but watch you, keeping eye contact as you toyed with him, blue eyes heavy with pleasure and lust for more.
You angled your hips above him and he adjusted himself, using his hand to better push himself inside you. You yelped lightly as you adjusted to his girth, his mouth distracting you by pressing kisses on your shoulder and tangling his hands through your hair, trying to control his breaths as you adjusted to him, soft moans falling from your mouth, your tight cunt gripping his cock.
“S’fuckin’ perfect, like your pussy was made for me,” he groaned, breath growing heavier with the sensation of you grinding against him. Pushing his hips up into you, he couldn’t help but grab at your hip bones, grip burning into your skin, bouncing you on his cock, mouth slightly slack, groaning as he grasped at your flesh. You’d imagined hundreds of times how fucking irresistible John would look underneath you, but it was nothing compared to the real thing.
The thrill of having John Shelby with his trousers down in his office, quickly dissolving into a moaning and grunting mess with every rotation or twist of your hips, in the midst of a stormy night while the thunder echoed around the empty streets below was almost too much to take. You should be home right now, curled up in that empty unheated flat, behaving yourself. Even on a date or fucking someone else. But instead you'd gone to him and now you were riding him. You wanted the moment to last forever, right now everything felt so right, you knew when it was over the guilt would hit. But you couldn't avoid it, you could feel your legs start to shake.
“Look so god damn pretty ridin’ me, love. Makin’ me wanna cum inside you.” John growled, panting, struggling to keep pace as you moaned on top of him. Your fingers found his jawline and guided him to look up at you, craving to see how his face looked when he finally came undone. He reached between your legs, torturing your clit with his fingers while he slammed into you a few extra times, using up the rest of his energy. The extra stimulation pushed you over the edge, crying out John’s name as you felt yourself release. Watching you whine his name was the last straw for him, spilling into you as your dripping cunt squeezed him, reveling in the image of you a mess for him.
***
You finally came back to your senses, catching your breath, John clutching you to his chest protectively for a minute or two, enjoying the tranquility and post-sex clarity. He checked his clock, sighing and lifting you from his lap to his desk, running a towel under the sink in the corner of his room and passing it to you to clean up between your legs with.
"Charming," You smirked, tired but satisfied. "No wonder the ladies always come back for more."
"Not you though, aye? One night only exclusive, this." He matched your playful tone, but his eyes were dull with exhaustion and he looked almost upset. He was probably just knackered after working all day and then going overtime just to please you.
"Make yourself useful and grab my clothes for me John-lad." You teased, thankfully changing the subject. He rolled his eyes in the waning firelight, locating the clothes the two of you had left scattered around the room. You quickly dressed, not caring how he watched you silently, as though trying to memorize the image of you. Your clothes were far drier than earlier, the last remaining remnants of damp clutching to the fibers and freezing you all over again. Yet before you could even comment, John's wool coat was wrapped back around your shoulders.
"Because you're cold, not because you look fuckable in it." He said pointedly, smirking slightly, the edges seeming artificial.
"Remind me not to fall madly in love with you. Won't be able to help myself if you keep talking like that, Mr. Shelby." You retorted sarcastically with a grin, earning a gentle dig to the ribs.
"It's Mr. Shelby if you're trying to fuck me. John is between friends and family, right?"
"Someone better inform Mr. Solomons of that distinction, then," You paused, "Mr. Shelby."
"Don't be a fucking cocktease." He scolded with a small grin, grabbing his car keys and hat from the door. "You want a lift then? Don't dick about being polite, Y/N, it's fucking midnight, just accept it."
"Since you asked so nicely."
"You know you've got worse since you've been at uni? Too fast for us lot now." He teased, half serious, as he led you to his car. He couldn't believe the beautiful woman in his passenger seat was the girl with pigtails who'd chase Ada around the canal with their girl gang for hours, the pretty teen who read for hours in his sister's bedroom, comparing notes together. No one was surprised you got a scholarship to university, despite your gender and class. You'd been incredibly lucky. Yet, you'd seen the world and had come back to Birmingham and picked him.
Shame you could only pick him once.
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danses-with-dogmeat · 3 years
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Howdy! I got an ask/react for the Fo4 companions! How would a romanced companion react to Sole (preferably female) doing things to make them feel 'stronger' or 'protective' over her? Some random examples: Sole "can't" open something and has to ask for help/Sole conveniently forgets her overcoat when she knows it's going to be cold out, etc. the little things :) (Extra thing: you don't have to but if you could go into a bit more depth for Deacon and Hancock's response that'd be great :D )
Okay, this was so. much. fun. I took a few... creative liberties with the prompt, but I hope it’s still in the realm of what you were looking for! And, of course, thank you so much for the ask! I hope you like it!
Cait: 
     Sole pressed a cold cloth to Cait's cheekbone, and she hissed at the pressure of the contact on her swollen cheek. 
"Shit, sorry, Cait." 
"Eh, I've had worse licks than this."
"I know, but still… this one is definitely my fault." 
"It's hardly yer fault, luv, I'm the one who got meself inte this."
"How? I'm the one who started the fight." Sole protested, pulling her hand back so she could look her companion in the eye. 
"Maybe, but I'm the one who gave you yer drinkin’ problem, and that's what got us inte the fight in the first place." Sole chuckled at that, shaking her head. The two had had this discussion what seemed like a hundred times, both trying to take the blame for the constant slew of bar fights that they found themselves getting into. 
Tonight, it had been four intoxicated men who had decided it was a neat idea to discuss the details of what they’d do to Cait if they could get her drunk enough. While the redhead hadn’t seemed to hear, Sole had briskly made her way over to the group to give her two cents on these ideas of theirs. So, Cait had a point, maybe if Sole hadn’t had quite so much whiskey, she could’ve tried to solve the problem more... verbally. But alas, her confrontation had officially started with her fist landing at the temple of the man nearest to her, effectively knocking him out. And it had ended with Cait hauling Sole to her feet after disposing of the man’s companions. 
Cait picked absent-mindedly at the scabs forming on her knuckles as Sole brought the wet rag up to her face once more, dabbing at the blood next to Cait's lip. 
"God, how is it that you always end up with the injuries? All I got was a bruise to the cheek, and yet, here you are, looking like a human punching bag."
"I can tell ya that. It's cus it's always me rushin' in te save your arse. Why do you always take on more than ye can handle?" Sole snickered, not knowing if Cait found her own words as amusing as she had. 
"Because, I know no matter how many assholes I take on, you'll always be there to save me." Cait made a disgusted sound, rolling her eyes at that, much like Sole thought she would, before letting her emerald gaze meet Sole's eyes. 
"I wish you weren't, but yer damn right." Cait said, and Sole felt a little jump in her chest at the sentiment. Cait wasn’t the most tender person in the wasteland, but somehow, she always seemed to know what to say; to Sole, anyway.
The pair sat silently for a bit as Sole finished cleaning up her defender. Wiping down her bloodied hands, and the remainder of the crusted crimson on her face.
"Are ya done fussin yet? I'm tellin’ you, I'm fine. Can we just go te sleep already?"
"One more spot left." She told her, bringing the rag up to her bruised face once more. Sole's eyes fell to Cait's swollen lips as she drew the cool fabric over them, before leaning in to press her mouth softly to Cait's. Sole pulled away, but stayed close enough for Cait to feel her warm, whiskey-tinged breath fan over her as she whispered, 
"Thank you for saving me tonight. I really was way in over my head." Sole looked down, embarrassed at her admission, as Cait smiled at her. 
"It was my pleasure, luv. As you said, I'll always be there te save yer arse." 
Curie: 
     "You know, you don't have to come to me for something as small as zhis." Curie said as she examined the minor cut on Sole’s arm. “You could patch zhis up yourself easily!” 
“Well…” Sole felt heat rise to her cheeks as she searched for an explanation. She knew that every time she came to Curie for something like this, she was taking up the doctor’s precious time, but she couldn’t help herself. What was she supposed to do when Curie insisted on working all day when they were at a settlement? They usually came to settlements to relax, to help make repairs and look into any problems the settlers might be having, but Curie always insisted on doing check-ups for everyone in their vicinity. Sole loved her selflessness and dedication to her work, but… When were they supposed to spend time together? This is what I get for having a workaholic for a girlfriend.
“You know, infection is a big problem out here. I just thought it would be best to seek the help of a professional.” 
“Oh, of course, of course. How responsible of you.” Sole bit at her lip as Curie laughed at her. Well, she really has caught onto the whole ‘sarcasm’ thing.
 “Fortunately, you do not need to worry about infection in zhis, it iz not deep. But come here, with me.” Curie urged Sole off of the cot she was seated on and brought her to a table at the back of the clinic. 
“Wait here, se vous plait.” With that, Curie disappeared around the corner, and Sole stood around, twiddling her thumbs, as she tried to think of an excuse to get Curie off of work early. 
“I was going to clean my supplies with zhis, but we can do your arm first.” Curie said as she came around the corner, a bucket of soapy water in-hand. 
“Here.” Curie set the bucket onto the table and had Sole hold out her arm as she produced a clean rag from the pocket of her lab coat, and dunked it into the warm water. Sole watched as Curie wrung out the cloth, and brought it to the miniscule wound on her arm. 
It was comical, really, the care that Curie took in cleaning the cut that couldn’t have been more than an inch long, and was almost too thin to see. Another rush of heat made its way to Sole’s cheeks as she realized how ridiculous she must seem to the doctor, but Curie made no complaints as she used the other side of the rag to dry off her arm. 
“Zhere! It should be all better. I can wrap it for you too, if you’d like.” 
“Thanks Curie, you’re a lifesaver. But I don’t think you really need to wrap it.” The synth laughed at her as she threw the rag into a basket and picked up the bucket again. 
“Oh, mon dieu, I don’t know about zhat.” She shook her head, a pink tint coming to her pale cheeks at Sole’s flattery as she turned to go into the back of the clinic again. 
“Wait!” Sole said, reaching out her “good” arm to stop Curie before she could vanish around the corner once more. Curie looked at her, a questioning expression on her face. Sole stood, her hand still wrapped around Curie’s forearm, utterly at a loss of what to say. I just don’t want you to go. It’ll be another four hours until you get off. 
I think you should take a break?
Maybe you should have a half day?
Do you need some help here at the clinic? God, when did I become so damn clingy?
“Hmm.” Curie’s eyes pierced into Sole’s as a knowing look washed over her face. “I zhink I know what it is you want.” Sole just stared ahead, wondering silently if that were true. The doctor set down the bucket yet again, delicately taking a hold of Sole’s “injured” arm once more. Slowly, she brought it upwards, then lowered her head to place her lips gently over the cut. “Iz zhat better?” 
Sole giggled, still embarrassed, but definitely glad she had come to interrupt Curie’s work. I guess I can wait a little longer. Maybe make us a nice dinner for tonight...
“Much. Thanks again, Curie.” 
“Of course! Anytime, mon amour.”
Danse: 
     Sole sat at the kitchen table, draining the last of her coffee as her gaze fell to Danse, where he was seated on the steps outside the front door of her Sanctuary home. He stared ahead blankly, brows knitted together above his lusterless eyes as his hands worked to remove a spot of rust from a piece of power armor he had taken off his suit temporarily. Lately, the ex-paladin had been adept in putting on a show for Sole, making her think that he was okay, even after everything that had changed in his life over the course of a few hours. It had been over a week since he had found out about his true identity, and in that time,  Sole could tell that he had tried to remain strong. For whom, she wasn’t sure. She thought she had made it clear to him that she didn’t care about his “strength” in these times, she just wanted him to get through them, whatever the means. Yet, he only seemed to don this look of despair and hopelessness whenever he thought she wasn’t looking, and if she tried to bring it up, he would always attempt to change the subject, or he would tell her not to worry and simply say that he was still working on “adjusting.” 
She hated when he didn’t talk to her. The seemingly insensitive man was always happy to listen to Sole’s problems and offer what advice he could, often suggesting that she discuss her own issues as a form of therapy. But God forbid she tries to get him to do the same. Sole sighed as she mulled over what to do, and noticed Danse’s head twitch to the side, listening, before his gaze dropped down to focus on his task.
He’s been working on that same spot for almost an hour. If it’s not out yet, I don’t think it ever will be. Sole looked around the room, trying to find something that could possibly serve as a proper distraction for Danse, and her eyes fell to the wooden stereo below the window in the living room. She had left it there because she simply didn’t have the heart to scrap the old thing. Too many good memories surrounded it. Memories of her and Nate, dancing the night away as the records spun on and on playing soft love songs until the sun rose; of her rocking Shaun in her arms as she mosied around the living room, listening to the nursery rhyme vinyls that she had received as gifts at her baby shower... But those memories, they were from another life.
Sole shook her head. This is about him, she thought, not me. I can deal with my shit later. Right now, I need to focus on Danse.
She huffed another sigh, this time a bit louder, and watched as Danse ceased his hand movements and tilted his ear towards her again.
“Is everything alright?” He turned to look at where she sat, and Sole tried to look melancholic.
“It’s just… You know… nevermind, it’s not important.” Just as she assumed he would, Danse stood up and walked inside the house, setting the piece of armor and the rag on the table, and pulled out a chair so he could sit beside her. He looked down at her hands, which rested on top of the table near her empty coffee mug. She could practically see the sweat beading on his forehead as he hesitantly brought one of his large hands to rest over the top of her own. Ever since he found out what he was, he’s been afraid to touch me. So... this is a good sign, at least.
“If something’s wrong, I want to know.” He said as he looked up to meet her gaze, his worried expression matching the concern she was feeling towards him. Sole took a breath to appear as though she was steadying herself.
“It’s just… being in this house. It’s great, I mean, it’s still my home and everything, and I don’t want to go anywhere else, but…” she trailed off, her troubled expression only half-feigned at this point, given the truth behind her words. His eyes never wavered, silently encouraging her to continue.
“Some things are harder to look at than others. And that damn stereo over there just has to be staring straight at me every time I sit down at the table, it’s the hardest one for me to see. It's just, it was a house-warming present from my parents. They gave it to me and Nate after the wedding, and now… well, there are no more records to play on it. They were all ruined, and even if they weren't, I don’t think the thing would work anyway. But every time I see it, it reminds me of the people I’ve lost. My parents… Nate… even Shaun.” Sole didn’t have to fake the tears that came unbidden to her eyes as she recalled the memories of her loved ones, and she knew Danse hadn’t missed a thing when he started rubbing her hand softly with his. They sat there in silence for a moment, as Danse tried to reassure her with his gentle touch.
Then, still remaining silent, Danse stood, reaching his hand forward to brush his thumb over Sole’s cheek, wiping away the tear that had fallen. He then turned towards the living room, but instead of going straight to the stereo, as Sole thought he might, Danse opened the side door that led to the covered driveway. She watched as he doubled back, now approaching the stereo. Sole wasn’t sure what she had expected him to do when she mentioned her problem to him; maybe offer to help her take the thing apart, or try and see if it still worked, or simply give her another perspective on how she should view the piece of 200-year-old furniture. Whatever she expected, it certainly hadn’t been this. 
Danse squatted down in front of the large wooden beast of a stereo, wrapped his broad arms almost all the way around it, and stood, lifting the whole damn thing up until he was standing completely upright with the stereo held firmly to his chest. Sole’s mouth hung open as she remained seated at the table, seemingly paralyzed by the shock of what she was witnessing, as Danse sauntered awkwardly towards the exit. A thick vein protruded from his neck as he twisted the piece of furniture to fit through the door, and made his way out into the driveway.
Sole heard a groan from outside, accompanied by the sound of something hard hitting concrete. She stood up, prepared to head outside and see what exactly he’d done with her “problem,” but before she reached the doorway, she heard him call from outside,
“You can’t still see it, can you?”
“Um… no. But Danse, is it-- I mean, are you okay? It took like, four people to bring that thing in when we first moved it to the house.” The brawny ex-soldier appeared in the doorway, his chest still heaving from the effort of wrestling the wooden monster outside. He nodded to her,
“I'm fine." He huffed, "You don’t need to go out there. I’ll take it apart later, if you’d like. Or we can store it somewhere for the time being.” She shook her head at him, a little smile touching her lips. Even after everything he’s been through, he's still always looking out for me. Even with something as small and insignificant as this.
“You know,” she said quietly, “you didn’t have to do that.” Danse looked down at his feet, seemingly searching for something to say in response.
“But thank you.” Sole finished, and his eyes came back up to meet hers. For a moment, she saw a spark return to Danse’s amber eyes as the smallest hint of a smile softened his expression, and Sole felt hope. Hope for him overcoming his grief in this time of crisis, and hope for herself in being able to move on from the memories that had kept her chained to her past for so long. Together, she felt like the two of them could overcome anything.
Deacon:
     “Yes. Two please.” Sole said as Takahashi voiced the only question he ever seemed to ask. The robot placed two bowls of scrumptious smelling power noodles in front of her, and she reached for the bag of caps hanging from her belt. As she looked down to count her money, she heard a clatter of bottlecaps hitting the counter beside her.
“Got it covered. Come on, let’s dig in.” Deacon grabbed a bowl in each hand and headed over to a couple of empty seats at the bar.
“I thought you were still trying to stay undercover?" Sole gestured to the Diamond City guard outfit that the spy donned. "Doesn’t it kinda ruin the illusion if you’re seen in public with me?” She said as she followed him over, sealing up her cap purse once again.
“What? You’ve never seen one of these guys at the noodle stand? Cuz I sure have. Just don’t talk to me, and I’ll be good.” Sole shook her head as she took a seat beside him, instantly deciding to ignore his request.
“Hey officer, I’ve got a question.” Sole swirled her chopsticks around the steaming bowl in front of her, before taking a bite.
“Yes, citizen?”
“Hold on--” she said through a mouthful of noodles.
Deacon laughed as he looked at her full mouth,
“Why--” He tried to talk through his bout of chuckling, “Why would you say you’re going to ask me a question and then take a big bite of food? What did you think would happen?”
Deacon thought he heard her tell him to ‘shut up,’ but it was hard to tell, given the noodles that filled her mouth, and the fact that she was nearly choking in her own fit of laughter.
Eventually, she managed to swallow her food successfully, and was finally able to get some words out.
"No, okay, serious question--" Deacon interrupted her with a snap of his fingers,
"Serious answer." Her genuine curiosity forced Sole to ignore him, and continue with her question.
"Tell me, why do you always pay for everything?" She asked.
"Ma'am, I am a law-abiding security officer. I always pay for the products that I intend to consume."
"I said serious, Deacon."
"Hey, shush!" He brought a hand up to Sole's mouth at the mention of his name, "What part of undercover did you not get?" She cocked a brow at his faked panic expression, noting the grin that he was trying to hide, as he lowered his head and turned back to his noodles.
"Like, okay," she continued, expanding on her inquiry, "whenever we go anywhere, you always pay for everything, and it's really odd. I've never met anyone in the wasteland who's done that, everyone's too busy trying to keep themselves alive to worry about paying for others. So, what? Are you, like, rich or something? I mean, c'mon, what's the deal? I have caps on me all the time, you know that, right?"
"Oh?" Sole saw his eyebrows rise above the tops of his sunglasses as he turned to look at her, "you don't think I'm doing this out of the goodness of my cold, black, heart, do you? No, I'm running a tab over here, honey. You owe me, big time." Sole narrowed her eyes at him, her uncertainty keeping her lips sealed.
"You mean, you didn’t know? Look, I don't know what to tell you," Deacon continued, "I thought you knew! Man, I'm glad you found out this way. Now it won't be such a rude awakening when the invoice comes."
Deacon turned back to his noodles, shaking his head at the thought. Sole's gaze bore into him, trying to figure out his level of seriousness. I really wish I was better at this. This is why I believed he was a synth for a month and a half.
"And if I don't have the money… you're not gonna call out a hit on me or anything, are you?"
“Hmm," he brought a hand to his chin, stroking his finger over it animatedly, "surely there must be some way you could pay me back…” He turned to look at her, wiggling his eyebrows as he did so, and she rolled her eyes, looking back to her noodles as she scoffed.
"Hey! What's with the face! I was talking about community service. Y'know, helping the children, and the elderly, all that good stuff. Get your mind out of the gutter, perv. And to think, I was going to have you volunteering at the children's hospital next week."
Sole instantly regretted taking another bite, as she tried desperately to fend off a fit of giggling in an effort to keep from choking again.
"I can't keep up with you Deacon," she said as she swallowed her food. "You're gonna kill me one of these days."
"Eh, don't worry, I can pay for the funeral." Sole raised a hand and shoved him in the shoulder playfully as he grinned at her.
"Okay, really, though. You do know I can pay occasionally, right?"
"Yeah, I know, I'm your partner, remember? I'm pretty much right next to you whenever you get paid.”
"So… then, why do you do it?"
"Do what?" Sole's nostrils flared at his obnoxious question.
"No? Joke didn’t land? Okay. Serious time," he flung his hands in the air as if surrendering, "I read about something… wasn't it, like, customary before the war to pay for stuff for your… friends?" Sole scrunched her eyebrows in thought,
"Friends? Not really. Significant other? Yeah, a little more common." She looked to where Deacon stared down at his noodles.
Is that, is he... blushing?
"But hey, I don't mind if you don't." She finished, tilting her head forward, in an attempt to catch Deacon's eye. She spotted a flushed little grin spread on his face, before he leaned his head back, restoring his cool composure.
"Oopsies, sorry about that, then. But I did warn you, I'm pretty new to this whole friend thing. So… you know, that's on you."
Hancock: 
     The ghoul lounged comfortably on the couch in the Old State House, idly playing with his combat knife as he waited for Sole to finish readying herself for their outing.
“Ahhh!” 
Hancock leapt from his place on the couch at the sound of Sole’s shriek, his combat knife instinctively falling into a position poised for violence.
He ran across the hall, crashing through the door and into the bedroom. Teeth bared and eyes wide, his head lashed from side to side in search of Sole’s assailant. He spotted her, cowering in the corner as she raised a shaky hand to point at the opposite side of the room.
Hancock’s glare followed Sole’s fear-stricken gaze, and he started towards the desk in the corner she had pointed to, but ultimately failed to see what it was causing her distress.
He turned back to her, an eyebrow cocked, as he raised the silent question of what had been the cause of her terror.
“On the desk!” She said, pointing towards it again, this time with greater intensity. Hancock slowly approached the corner of the room, knife still at the ready, as his eyes continued to search for any sign of… well, anything, really. An exasperated smile spread across his lips as his eyes fell to your attacker. A small, brown, spider picked its way through the objects littering the top of the desk, and Hancock had to hold back a laugh. 
“This is what had you all riled up? Oh, sweetheart, he’s just a little spider. C’mon now, he won’t hurt ya.”
“You don't know that.” She said firmly, her round eyes still trained on the desk. It had sounded like a joke, but her expression remained serious.
“Alright, you want me to get rid of him for you?” She nodded her head vigorously, and he chuckled as he turned his attention to the unsuspecting arachnid. He watched as it delicately stepped over a series of writing utensils, and Hancock frowned. Bringing his knife up to the top of the desk, he rested the flat of his blade directly in the spider’s path,
“That’s it, up you go, little guy.” He said quietly, as it stepped onto his steel vessel. Hancock twisted the knife around in his grip as the spider crawled around it, and made his way to the balcony. Once outside, he tipped his knife to the railing, encouraging the spider to crawl off the tip of the blade. Once the spider was safely making its way along the top of the railing, Hancock turned back towards the doorway.
“There,” he said, stepping back inside, “Now he can’t hurt ya, he’s all the way out there.”
“You… you didn’t kill it?” She asked, tentatively standing up.
“Nah, we only hurt the ones who hurt somebody else first, remember?”
“You don’t know that he didn’t hurt anybody.” She mumbled as Hancock sauntered over to her.
“Aw, give him a chance, maybe he can change, y’know? He doesn't really seem like the troublemaking type to me, anyhow.” He brought his hands to your waist, a smug expression playing on his face.
“Oh yeah, just like the way you always tell people you’ve changed?” She said, sliding her hands up his chest to rest them on his shoulders. “Way I see it, you’re still just as bad an influence on me as when I met you.” She said, a playful glint dancing in her eyes.
“Hmm, maybe you’re right, sunshine. Maybe I can't change any more. Maybe it's just my nature to be a bad influence on you.” He said quietly, a wolfish grin spreading across his face as he leaned into her. 
“Huh, maybe so. But bad influence or not," she pulled away from him slightly, to look up into his smoky eyes, "you really did save me back there. And, I know it seems silly... but I am grateful." His eyes softened at her little confession and, though he knew this too was silly, he couldn’t help but feel a swell in his chest at the thought of "saving" her. 
“And I’ll always be here to save you... from any spiders we happen to come across.” He pecked her lips tenderly, their close proximity practically forcing his mouth to hers. He should’ve known better, once he had a taste, he couldn’t get enough of her. 
“Even though,” He continued, as he pressed a kiss to her nose, “I’ve seen you,” then to her right cheek, “take down,” now her left, “deathclaws,” another to her jaw, “single handedly,” and now down to her neck, “I’ll be sure to handle all the unruly arachnids.” He whispered into the crook of her neck, before moving upwards again and pressing one more kiss to her forehead. He watched, grinning like an idiot in love, as a crimson flush crept up her cheeks. He wasn’t sure if it was from the embarrassment she felt regarding her phobia, or from the heat of his lips on her skin, but he decided it didn’t matter. Either way, he found it irresistibly adorable, and with that, he set his sights on her lips once more. 
MacCready: 
     MacCready sat on the floor, legs crossed, as he counted his ammunition cartridges. There were four of the .308, six of the .50, ten of the 10mm, and a few of the .38. There certainly wasn’t as much as he’d hoped there’d be, but he wasn't worried. Sole always seemed to have ammo to spare, and she wasn't stingy with it like he was. It was yet another perk to being with her.
He gathered his full magazines together near the ammo bag resting beside him, so he could begin placing them inside in preparation for their next outing.
"How are you doing over there, babe?" He asked as he stored the outlying bullets in little bags.
"I think... you know what, nevermind. I'm good." MacCready ceased his action, turning to look at where Sole knelt on the carpet of her Diamond City home. A pile of bullets and empty magazines surrounded her, the stack of seemingly full cartridges was pitifully small compared to his own.
"You, ah, need some help?"
"... No.” 
"Mmhm, okay.” he narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, but she wouldn’t look up at him.
“Well,” he continued, “I'm going to put my full mags in the ammo bag, why don't I grab yours too." The sniper stood up, and made his way over to her, bending down to grab the cartridges that looked full.
"Wait! No, these, um, these ones aren't done yet." MacCready's eyebrows furrowed, but the shadow of a smile began to spread to his lips as he realized what was going on.
"So," he said, kneeling down so he could see her pretty little embarrassed face. "You haven't finished loading any of them?"
“No." She said quietly, refusing to meet his gaze. MacCready lowered his head so that he was looking up at her as her eyes stayed fixed on the floor. A lock of hair was draped over her forehead, obstructing his view. He reached a hand up and gently pushed it behind her ear, leaning in to give her nose a small peck with his lips.
"You want some help?" He said as Sole raised her gaze to meet his, a small blush forming on her cheeks. She didn't say anything, only nodded yes.
"Alright, you know, you could’ve just asked. I might have said ‘no’ the first time, but you know me, I eventually would’ve come around." MacCready said as he set to work with the magazines that had appeared full, but in reality, only housed half of the amount of ammunition that they could fit within them. He snickered in understanding, it really was the second half of bullets that was hard to load.
"Thank you, sweetie. You’re just so much better at it than I am." She said as she watched his practiced fingers make quick work of what probably would've taken her another hour.
"Of course... but, you are paying me for this, right?"
"Ohh, I think we might be able to work something out." She said, a sly grin playing at her lips.
He just chuckled at her words, but she could've sworn his fingers starting moving a whole lot faster at her suggestive phrasing.
Nick: 
“Tell me, why is this now a regular part of my job duties?" Ellie asked as she finished sewing up yet another tear in Nick's trench coat. "You know you're just going to end up with more holes in this coat every time you leave the office, and I don't seem to recall you ever caring about this old thing's appearance before…" she trailed off.
Nick knew that Ellie was fishing for answers. One specific one in particular, but he liked the ambiguity of the situation. It was this little game he and his secretary would play. He would leave clues here and there that pointed to the nature of his and Sole's relationship and wait to see if Ellie would say anything. All while she continued to try and force the truth from him verbally. He wasn't going to lose this round.
"What? A private detective can't keep up appearances for his clients? I think it's just good for business."
"I think it's a load of bologna. You know we gave Sole her own trench coat after she saved you, right? She could just wear her own, rather than steal yours every time you two go out on a case."
"What kinda fun would that be? I don't mind it, it's not like I get cold anyway. And the poor little lady never knows how long we're going to be gone, so I don't think it's her fault when we're out after dark and she wants to wear it."
Ellie rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh as she poked the needle back through the worn, beige fabric once again.
"She's got you so tightly wound around her finger, it's a wonder she doesn't call you 'Jared'."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't know, it’s something I’ve read about, I guess it was a ring shop, or a jewelry company, or something before the war. I thought it sounded clever. Just humor me, won't you?"
The synth just shook his head, uttering a low chuckle as he watched Ellie tighten the thread, forcing the last hole closed.
"There." She said, tying up the last bit of string left over, before cutting off the excess. "It's done." 
"Perfect, thanks a million, doll. I'll see you soon, I've just gotta head out for a--"
"Date?" She finished the sentence for him suggestively, raising her eyebrows in question.
"A case. We're going to head out on a case, Ellie."
"Uh huh, sure. Well, here," she handed him back the coat, "now she doesn't need to worry about the cold air seeping in through all those holes. Let me know if you want me to insulate the damn thing when winter rolls around."
Valentine smiled, an uncharacteristically goofy smile, at Ellie's words. He was so obvious, why didn't he just come clean already? 
"Will do, I’m sure she’ll enjoy that. Thanks again, Ellie. You're the best."
"And don't you forget it." She said, turning back to the mound of paperwork still on her desk beside her sewing supplies.
“Ah well, I’ll get him to admit to it one of these days.” Ellie mumbled as she began sorting through the files in front of her.
Piper:
     Piper looked up at Scarlet from the table in the corner of the Dugout Inn, 
"Yes, so I think we'll both have a nuka cola to start off. Then I'll do the crispy squirrel bits, and she'll have the Salisbury steak." Piper pointed her finger to Sole, who was busy looking down at the table, before making a last-minute decision, "Aaand you'd better bring some of those snack cakes at the end, too." 
"Hm, as usual." Scarlet chuckled at that as her pen scribbled across the notepad in her hand. 
"But that sounds good, you two. I'll have that out in just a minute." The waitress grabbed their menus, Sole reaching up to hand it to her with a smile on her face before turning to peer at her partner from across the table. She waited for Scarlet to disappear around the corner to the kitchen before speaking.
"You really don't find it annoying?" She asked. 
"What?" Piper loosened the scarf around her neck as she looked questioningly at Sole. 
"I know that I ask you to order for me whenever we go out to eat, or drink, and it's gotta be getting a little old at this point, right?" 
"No, not at all, Blue!" Piper said as she took her hat off and placed it on the table, mussing her hair a bit with one hand. "This reporter actually finds it to be pret-ty endearing. It's like, the one thing you can't do. You’re good at, like, everything else, but this I get to help you with. It's a welcome change." Piper's hands dropped to the top of the table as she began absent-mindedly fiddling with her silverware. But her eyes stayed on the woman across the table as Sole smiled at her, still appearing a little embarrassed. 
"I don't know why I can't do it," Sole tried to explain, "I've just never been able to order for myself, even before the war. Just one of those bizarre anxiety things, I guess."
"Well, like I said, I don’t mind at all. In fact, I think it's cute." 
 Preston:
     Sole approached her Lieutenant, shaking her head at him, and she saw him sigh.
“No, the river just keeps going until it reaches a ravine." She told him, "And it’s too steep to climb down. Any luck on your end?”
“Hmm, not really. It's a little more shallow upstream, but it’s still about ten feet wide.”
“Damn.” She said, “We need to get across.” A settlement had sent a distress call across radio freedom almost an hour ago, if Sole and Preston took any longer, they might be too late.
“I guess we’ll just have to go for it.” She said, her face painting a picture of clear disgust at the thought of wading through the murky water.
“Well, let’s at least head upstream a bit. To the shallow part.”
“Okay.” Sole said begrudgingly, her footsteps unconsciously heavy as she followed her companion to the shallow part. Not shallow enough, I bet.
And she was right. As the pair arrived, Preston turned to Sole to gauge her reaction, noticing the way her nose wrinkled at the sight of the brown, swirling water.
Preston heaved a sigh, and started forward. Before he reached the waterline, he turned to see Sole still standing back, feet seemingly glued to the muddy ground. He couldn’t help but smile sympathetically at her, eyebrows creasing upwards as he watched her eyes look longingly at the far shore.
“Come here.” He said.
“I know, I know. Just start going, I’ll follow.” Preston chuckled at the exasperation in her voice. Instead of repeating his command, he simply walked over to her as her eyes remained locked on the other side of the river, when he reached her, he slowly pressed his hand to the small of her back.
“Hey, what are you--?” Before Sole could finish her question, Preston had scooped her up into his arms, bridal style. She let out a squeak of surprise, and he couldn’t keep himself from grinning.
“Is this okay? He asked, the brim of his hat pressing against Sole’s forehead as he looked at her.
“A warning would’ve been nice.” Preston laughed, shaking his head as he adjusted his grip on her, ensuring she was secure before making his way towards the river.
“Hold onto me.” He said, and Sole wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders.
“Ready?” Sole nodded to him, and Preston took a step forward, frigid water seeping in through his boots as he waded in.
“Wait, are you sure you want to do this?” She said, her eyes trained on the river as it raised up to Preston’s knees.
“I might be wrong, General, but I think I already am.” He said, the amusement in his voice faint as he gritted his teeth against the cold.
She felt his body shutter as he continued forward, the water reaching up almost to his waist, as he held Sole up higher to ensure it wouldn’t reach her. She let out a small sigh of relief as they reached the end of the channel. The water became more shallow, and Preston quickened his pace with each step that brought him closer to their destination.
Once completely out of the water, and past the muddy shoreline, Preston finally set Sole down gently. As her feet touched the ground, Sole kept her arms wound about Preston’s neck.
“Thank you, love.” She said, her voice soft as she addressed him as her partner rather than her Lieutenant.
“It was my pleasure, m’lady.” He said, briefly removing his hat from his head as he did so. Sole smiled at him warmly, but detected the faint chattering of his teeth, and when she looked down, she couldn’t help but notice the goosebumps littering his skin. 
“Oh, Preston…” Sole said as she pressed herself to him, rubbing her hands against his back and arms quickly, in an attempt to warm him with her friction. She felt hot air wash over her neck as he released a shaky breath of relief, leaning into her touch. The pair stood there for a moment, Preston syphoning off Sole’s warmth as she tried to repay him for his earlier act of kindness. Her hands slowed from her vigorous rubbing to a more tender sort of touch, before Preston’s head shot up.
“Shit, Sole, the settlement! We’ve got to move!”
X6-88: 
     This had become a common routine of theirs, and X6 wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about it. Every time they were in Sole’s Diamond City home, she would insist on making dinner for the two of them. That, X6 didn’t mind too much; although, after consuming nothing but food supplements in the Institute for so long, it did take some getting used to. But eating the food wasn’t the issue, it was the making of it that had him perplexed. 
As far as he knew, Sole had been the one to install the shelves in her kitchen; and yet, every time she was in need of a spice of some sort, or a condiment, or one of her dishes, she would ask X6 for assistance, given that the shelves were apparently too high for her to reach. Why Sole continued to store her items on the too-tall shelves, he couldn’t begin to guess. But here she went again, asking him to reach for the box of blamco mac n’ cheese on the top shelf, the highest one, one that he could barely even reach. X6 decided it was time to voice his confusion.
“Ma’am?”
“Yes?” She asked distractedly as she focused on the strength of the flame burning on her stove.
“Why do you use these shelves?”
“What else would I use, silly?” X6 scrunched up his face at that, trying to hold back a verbal scoff at her wording.
“Would you rather I just store everything on the floor?”
“Well, no. That would… hardly be sanitary.” He wasn’t sure if she was joking with him or not. Did she think he was joking with her?
“Why do you ask, X?” She grabbed the box from his hand as he extended it towards her, and began tearing at the top of it with her finger.
“Well, it seems nonsensical to me, for you to continue placing all of your items out of your reach. What happens if I’m not here?” Sole placed a saucepan filled with water over the stove and turned to look at him.
“But you are here.” she said, shrugging, “What? Don’t you like helping me out in the kitchen?”
X6 blinked. What the hell did this have to do with what he liked?
“Well… I don’t dislike it. I’m just having trouble with-- I don’t-- I just... do you want me to fix the shelves so they are the right height for you?”
“No, I like them the way they are.”
X6 felt his eye twitch from beneath his shades. Confusion built up inside him, making the courser feel as though he might explode.
“Ma’am--” His voice faltered as he realized he didn’t know what else to say.
“I know they’re not practical, X. But you can reach them, and I like that about them. Even when I’m here alone, the fact that I can’t make dinner without you makes me smile.” X6 furrowed his eyebrows. That explanation didn’t help at all.
“Don’t you get hungry?”
“I'm not completely helpless, you know, I can usually figure something out.” She attempted to look annoyed at his question, but her grin gave her away. X6 narrowed his eyes at her, still not completely satisfied with the way the conversation had gone. He was still just as confused as he was before.
“Huh.” He said, mulling over all she had said on the subject. “Perhaps... in that case, we should ensure that I am by your side for any missions near Diamond City. That way, I can be sure the future director of the Institute doesn’t go hungry.”
“Well, if you think that’s necessary, who am I to argue?” The left side of X6’s lip tilted upwards in an expression of amusement, and Sole openly smiled at him, laughing a little to herself as she turned her attention back to the boiling water on the stove.
“Can you hand me the pepper mill? Second shelf.”
“I know which shelf. But yes, I can.” He said, turning around to grab it, as Sole continued grinning to herself.
Now I just have to make sure he never looks under my bed. Sole thought. If X6 ever found the step stool she had hidden there, what would happen to her kitchen helper?
321 notes · View notes
bloody-roses00 · 3 years
Text
Jealousy
Stepbro!Shigaraki x Reader
Quirkless AU
Word Count: 2.1k
Warning - dark content below: NSFW, Noncon, Incest (stepcest), Masturbation, Panty Sniffing, Slut-Shaming, Breeding Kink, Jealousy, Yandere
Summary: While your parents are away, Stepbrother Shigaraki decides to teach you a much-needed lesson.
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"And where exactly are you going?" Shigaraki questions, setting down his controller after pausing the game. Piercing red eyes looking you up and down, he glares, his lips curling into a snarl as he notices the skimpy outfit you have on.
He hates how short the skirt is, showing off your fleshy thighs, and he detests the way the sweetheart crop top hugs your breasts. But most of all, he despises the fact that you're not wearing it for him.
You look at him in surprise, eyes wide and lips apart as you stammered, "O-oh, Touya's taking me out on a date tonight."
Shigaraki scowled at the mention of your boyfriend. He despised everything about the arrogant bastard you called your boyfriend. Shigaraki knew he didn't like Touya the first time he laid eyes on him. Shigaraki couldn't stand him, hating the way Touya's arm wrapped around your waist with a cocky smirk that Shigaraki wanted to wipe right off his face. He wasn't good for you; Shigaraki was sure about that. But, you didn't see it that way, instead claiming your stepbrother was merely being overprotective. So naive you were, didn't you know guys like Touya only wanted one thing?
You seem to notice his scowl, furrowing your brows as you complained, "Don't do that."
"Don't do what?" Shigaraki asks, quirking an eyebrow.
You point a finger in his face, "Don't make that face," crossing your arms, continuing, "I know you don't like Touya for whatever reason, but you don't know him like I do, so you have no right to judge him."
He rolls his eyes, scoffing, "Yeah, whatever. Just go on your stupid date." You click your tongue, turning to head out the door, slamming it behind you without so much as a goodbye. Shigaraki swears underneath his breath, returning his attention to his game, anything to get his mind off of you.
However, Shigaraki can't focus; and it's 45 minutes later after his sixth death in a row that he throws the controller aside, itching and clawing at his neck. He can't ignore the growing tent in his pants any longer, the strain of his hardening cock unbearable. With one thing on his mind, he stands, walking to your shared bathroom.
Fishing through the pile of clothes in the laundry hamper, Shigaraki smirking triumphantly as he pulls out a pair of your used panties. Flopping down onto his bed, he marvels at your used panties, loving the pink lace, so cute.
Bunching up your panties, he presses the dainty fabric against his nose. Drinking in your sweet scent, he pants, his long fingers fumbling for the fly of his jeans.
Freeing his aroused member, he releases a shaky breath as he palms himself. Slowly, he begins stroking his shaft up and down, precum already oozing from the swollen head. His imagination soon takes over, his perverted thoughts all around you, his adorable imouto-chan. Shigaraki wonders what you would do if you found him in such an obscene state, your lacy panties in one hand and his dick in the other. Would you turn a blind eye to it, pretending as if it never happened? Would you be disgusted by him, never being able to look him in the eye again? Or maybe you'd want to punish your perverted nii-san, straddling his face as you ride him, coming undone before his very eyes.
'Nii-san, it feels so good.' you moaned, panting heavily as his tongue explores your innermost crevices.
'Please, nii-san, I-I need more.' you begged, bucking your hips against his face, your eyes rolling back as the pleasure builds in your core.
'I love you, nii-san!' you cried as you reached your peak, fingers tangling his white locks as you rode out your orgasm, thighs quivering.
Shigaraki knows deep down it's wrong; that what he's doing is depraved. He shouldn't feel this way towards his little stepsister, but he can't help it. Rubbing your panties across his engorged cock, his hips stutter as he fucks your panties to the thought of you. It's not long before he finds his release, collapsing onto the bed, panting as he looks at your soiled panties, now coated with his sticky seed.
It's only a few minutes later that Shigaraki hears the open and close of the front door, followed by faint footsteps creeping past his door. Odd, usually when you came home from your little dates, you'd be giggling like an obnoxious schoolgirl.
Sitting up from his bed, he pads over to your room. He doesn't even think to knock, the door slightly ajar. His eyes widen when he barges in, catching you midway through undressing, in the process of tugging off your skirt, clad in only your white bra and matching panties. But that's not what catches his attention. No, it's the fresh, red marks that paint your skin, lining your collarbone down to your inner thighs. Knowing just who gave you those hickeys, his blood boils, quickly narrowing the distance between the two of you.
You notice his intruding presence all too late, covering yourself with your arms the best you can as you screamed, "Get out!" However, Shigaraki has no such plans. He advances towards you, quickly caging you against the wall, vermillion eyes sharp as he stares you down. You attack him, hitting him in the chest, as you yell, "What the hell, Shigaraki; I said get out!"
He ignores your pathetic attempt at self-defense, unbudging as he seizes your wrists, pinning your arms above you as you yelp in pain from his tight grip.
"You. little. slut." Shigaraki seethes, one hand leaving your wrists, painfully gripping your chin, forcing you to look him in the eye.
With tears pricking your eyes, you sniffle, begging, "You're hurting me. Please, just let me go."
Shigaraki cackles, a sick grin on his face as he rasps, "Let you go? You really think I'd let you go?" his eyes darkening, "No, bad girls like you need to be taught a lesson."
Before you can even protest, he's slamming his lips into yours, his tongue down your throat. It feels like an eternity has passed before he pulls away, allowing you to catch your breath, panting. The look of disgust is evident on your face as you wipe your lips, desperate to erase any trace of his lips on yours. Taking advantage of your distraction, Shigaraki grabs you by your hair, pulling you towards your bed, pushing you onto the mattress.
You attempt to bolt from him, but Shigaraki is all too quick to push you back onto the bed, pinning you underneath him. With teary eyes, you whimper, "P-Please, don't do this. This is wrong; you're my stepbrother."
Shigaraki smirks, "That just makes it hotter, imouto-chan."
With that, his lips are on yours once again, his hands groping your breasts, tweaking your nipples. His lips move down from your lips to your neck, nipping and sucking at the already tender flesh. You bite your lip to try and silence your moans, but Shigaraki notices, halting his assault on your neck, "Ah ah, I want to hear you moan for your nii-san."
With lust-filled eyes, Shigaraki pulls up your bra, licking his lips as he takes in the sight of your exposed breasts. You gasp as his wet tongue laps at one of your nipples, taking it into his mouth, twirling it around. He doesn't forget about your other breast, teasing it by rolling the hardened bud between his fingers. After a few moments, he switches his attention to your other breast, giving it the same treatment as he did the other.
His mouth leaves your breast with a pop, positioning his knee between your legs, spreading them wide. Ridding himself of his jeans, Shigaraki palms himself through the fabric of his boxers, watching you with half-lidded eyes. His free hand travels to your underwear, fingers tracing over your slit. Upon finding your panties damp with your juices, he smirks in satisfaction, "Looks like you're enjoying this as much as me."
Shaking your head, your face flushes with embarrassment. Shigaraki clicks his tongue, chiding you, "No one likes a liar, imouto-chan; besides, your body's saying just the opposite."
However, when Shigaraki begins to peel away your panties, you fight back against him, pushing against his chest. Eyes wide with fear, you plead to your stepbrother, "Please, nii-chan, I'm tired; can't we just cuddle?" He sees right through your lie, knowing that you're just trying to find a way out of this, to buy yourself some time.
Cupping your face, he brushes away a few tears that stray from your eyes, trying to comfort you, "Don't worry, imouto-chan, I'll make you feel good. Now just lay back and enjoy yourself."
With your head lying back on his pillow, you clench your fists, sniffling as he successfully peels off your panties. He makes a mental note to save them to add to his collection. Freeing his erect cock from the confines of his boxers, he feels you tense below him, your eyes widening at the view of the pale pink organ.
Rubbing his inflamed cock up and down, he lines himself up with your entrance, teasing your slit by rubbing the rounded tip against your folds. Slowly entering you, Shigaraki hisses at your tightness, your velvety walls contracting against him. Squeezing your eyes shut, you tightly grip onto the sheets below you as tears fall down your cheeks.
As he bottoms out inside you, Shigaraki groans, allowing you time to adjust. You were made for him, your walls fitting around him perfectly. Kissing your tears away, he begins gently rocking his hips. "Fuck." he murmurs, his eyes watching as his cock is swallowed up by your cunt, your stomach bulging with the imprint of his dick. Repositioning himself, he throws your legs over his shoulders, giving better access to your gummy hole. As he begins pounding into you, you can't contain yourself any longer, moaning as he thrusts into you.
"That's it, baby sis, let it all out for big brother." Shigaraki praises, his lips latching onto your sensitive breast. Wanting to excite more of those noises from you, his hand wanders to your clit, rubbing the nub with his thumb. He accomplishes just that as you are overcome with the pleasure flooding you, throwing your head back as you mewl.
You're a mess, creaming on your stepbrother's cock, eyes glazed over as you're being dicked down. You're his mess, Shigaraki muses; no one else can have you. But the love bites that cover your body tell him otherwise, and he just...he needs to know.
"Tell nii-san who owns this slutty pussy." Shigaraki grunts, his balls slapping against your ass as he picks up the pace. You shake your head back and forth, your lips pressed into a tight line as you refuse to answer him.
Stubborn little brat.
"Don't make me repeat myself," Shigaraki growls, his length nearly pulling out of you before slamming back in. This action causes you to squeal, Shigaraki doing it over and over again.
He hardly even hears it at first, your voice low and riddled with shame. "What was that?" He questions, Shigaraki showing your hole no mercy, pummeling into you with such brutality.
You have a conflicted look on your face, your lips wavering as you remain silent.
"Hmm, no answer, that's too bad; guess I'll just have to cum inside then." His statement gets an immediate reaction out of you, your hands pressed against his chest in protest.
"No! Not inside! Wait, I'll say it!" You urged, his threat working just as planned.
Shigaraki quirks an eyebrow, waiting for your response as he quickens his pace, the tip of his cock kissing the entrance to your womb.
You're nearing your end too, it seems, he can feel your walls beginning to suck him in.
"Nii-san does! Nii-san owns my pussy!" you wail, Shigaraki's hips stuttering as your walls clamp down on him, the two of you climaxing together.
He collapses on the bed beside you, watching as your chest rapidly rises and falls. On your face, a look of betrayal as you feel the warmth of his seed deep inside you.
Tears pool in your eyes, stammering as you tried not to break down, "Y-You came inside...but you promised-"
Shigaraki cuts you off with a short kiss to your lips, pulling away with a mischievous grin, "You said I own your pussy, didn't you? So that means I can do whatever I want with it. Right, imouto-chan?"
And what better way to show he owned you than to have you swollen with his child?
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Text
Coach (1)
Fandom: Dylan O'Brien
Pairing: AU Dylan x Fem!Reader
Mini series summary: Being a newly single mom of two kids wasn't exactly easy. And love wasn't exactly part of your agenda. So, should you avoid lusting over your son's baseball coach? Absolutely. But with a man like Dylan, could you really resist? Probably not.
Warnings: nothing major yet, small sexual innuendo, mentions of cheating and divorce
WC: 1.9k
A/N: a yes, to those who have been following me for a while may recognize this title, it's my old Dylan AU fic. Yes I decided to continue it. Updates will come periodically, because I write spontaneously and I cant guarantee quick updates. But I do promise I wont wait a whole year to update. And since I did some slight updates in the first 2 parts I decided to archive the old ones and repost them again. So yeah, if you've read them before great, give it another read, my writing is much better now I promise and if you're new welcome, I hope you like this mini series.
(You are here, part 2, part 3)
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Dylan stood by the side of the large field, near the home plate, occasionally yelling out suggestions and pointing out mistakes to the young boys. 
"Ezra! You have to watch the ball! C'mon! I know you can do better!" He called out to the blonde boy standing on the home plate with a bat in hand. Dylan then turned his attention to the dark haired boy with the baseball mitt and ball in hand.
"Roman! What's going on, buddy? You gotta focus, alright? You gotta work on that throw!" Dylan called out to the young boy, who half nodded and sighed heavily in response.
Not long after, Dylan signaled the young boys scattered throughout the large field to gather around. He spoke some encouraging words to the boys before allowing them to disperse and gather their equipment which meant practice was over.
Your son, however, stayed behind for a minute. There was an inaudible conversation happening between Dylan and your ten year-old, Roman. You watched from the bleachers as your son made some tired gestures at his coach followed by a small pat on the back from Dylan. You couldn't help but follow them with your eyes as they made their way to the bleachers, your eyes lingering a bit too long on the brown haired coach. An action that wasn't taken lightly by the female sitting beside you.
"You're staring at him again." Your best friend, Ezra's mother, Eliza -or just Liz, commented.
"I'm not." You muttered out quickly, tearing your eyes away from the handsome coach, your mouth hanging open for a couple of seconds. "I wasn't staring." You stated matter of factly and shrugged as you looked down at the small six year-old sitting on your lap, making sure she wasn't paying attention to the conversation.
"Really? The drool coming from your mouth says otherwise." Liz playfully ran her finger across your chin, pretending to wipe away at it. You slightly glared at her, an eye roll going her way.
"I'm not drooling. I wasn't even staring." You tried to defend yourself, making a small sassy gesture to her.
"Hey, I don't blame you. If I wasn't married," she took a pause as she eyed Dylan as he removed his baseball hat to run a hand through his messy chocolate locks, you couldn't help but stare as well. "I'd jump on his bones any day."
"Hey, there's young ears present." You said quietly to Liz as not to disturb the young girl in your arms.
Despite your attempt not to, you couldn't help but allow your eyes to fall once again on the field, following the handsome male that was the topic of your conversation. You had to hide the infatuated sigh that left your lips at the sight of your son's coach running around the field, talking to the kids and picking up equipment.
"Well he is handsome, I'll give him that.." You admitted quietly, "and he's really good with the kids."
Your friend smirked slightly at your words and wiggled her eyebrows at you.
"I bet that's not the only thing he's really good at." She eyed you suggestively and slightly nudged at you with her shoulder, "You should find out what other things he's good at."
Your mouth instantly fell open and your eyes widened at the insinuation.
"Eliza! Oh, my god. Don't say that." You slightly shook your head to brush off the embarrassment and hid your face on your hands to cover the crimson on your skin.
"Mommy you're warm!" Athena, your six year-old giggled as she grabbed your warm, sweaty hands. Even your daughter noticed the nervousness that crept up on you when it came to Dylan, even if it was just the topic of him. Truth was, you had been shamelessly crushing on your son's baseball coach ever since he joined the team a couple of months ago. 
Get it together, you should not be crushing on your son's baseball coach.
"I know baby, it's just hot out here." You tried to brush it off, but the knowing smirk on Liz's face wasn't exactly helping. "Thena, why don't you go get Roman and Ezra? They're over there." You pointed to the field where Roman and Ezra were talking —or more like just Ezra was, to the other kids on the team. She quickly nodded and bolted off the bleachers, somehow not tripping over the steps as she went down. You sighed heavily the moment the young girl was far enough and slightly turned your head in Liz's direction.
"You should totally ask him out." She said out of nowhere with a shrug and a smirk on her face. Your eyes widened for the hundredth time, and you instantly shook your head frantically, the idea alone giving you a headache.
"Ask Dylan out? No way. I.. No.. That's just.. No." Your cheeks slightly heat up at the preposition. But you quickly turned it down with a vigorous shake of your head, not even giving the idea a minute to sink into your brain. "No, he's Roman's coach. It's just wrong."
"Why? I mean, you're single, and as far as I know, he's very single. Soo," she dragged the 'o' as she wiggled her eyebrows and she nudged your shoulder, pushing you over a little in a high school girl manner, "Why not get ready to mingle with the hot coach?"
"First of all, I'm technically not single, not yet." You groaned with an eyeroll. As much as you and your husband —or ex-husband or whatever were no longer living together, the divorce process had been unnecessarily long and dreadful. So as much as you wanted to be legally single, you were still married to that piece of shit. 
"And second of all, if I were to date someone, which is a big if, I can't date Roman's coach out of all people. He already has enough as it is. It'll just confuse him and probably upset him more." You sighed heavily as you looked over to the side of the field, where all the boys were having a conversation about elementary boys' things. And there you saw your son, trying, and ultimately failing at joining said conversations. And with little Athena tugging at his side, all he got from the other kids was laughing and rejection.
Seeing your son's sad and hurt expression when the other boys laughed at him or even told him to go away broke your heart. You wanted him to be happy again. You wanted him to be the energetic and loving kid he was before your waste of a husband left. Ever since Ryan —your waste of a husband left, Roman hasn't been the same. 
For the past six or so months, he has been distant and seemingly unhappy. All he ever did was lock himself up in his room and play video games. He barely ever interacted with you and Athena anymore. He barely interacted with anyone, period. Once Ryan left, it was up to you to support your kids financially. Of course, their father still paid child support, but he sure as hell didn't pay your bills or everything you needed to spend on your children. Which meant you had to take him out of the fancy school he went to in order to still pay the monthly expenses of your home. And he just didn't quite fit in at school, especially now. 
So, you hoped that him joining the baseball team would change that, that it would help him open up again and that it would help him make new friends. But so far, it's worked just the opposite.
"So, I'm making dinner tonight. Do you want to come over with the kids and get drunk? Luke will watch over the kids." Liz spoke, interrupting your train of thought.
"That sounds a-mazing," you spoke in a song-like tune, a sigh of contentment leaving your lips. "But I can't. I told Roman I'd take him to that Italian place he likes."
"Tomorrow then. I'll have that Chardonnay you love so much waiting for you." She winked at you as you both stood up, ready to greet your children.
"Thank God for your alcohol stash." You joked, flinging your arms up in praise. 
You both laughed and smiled in your children's direction, but your smile dropped as your kids and Ezra approached you. Ezra was holding Athena's hand, while Roman walked behind them, with a certain heaviness on his step and an annoyed look on his face. And Athena had a small pout on her face.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Rome doesn't want to hold my hand!" Athena whined with a pout of her lower lip. She released Ezra's hand and exchanged it for your own. Ezra going to his own mom. While Roman simply stood there, with a hand stuffed into his pockets and the other messing with the strap of his bag, his gaze stuck on the ground.
"Roman, baby," you sighed softly, not wanting to give the poor kid a hard time. You understood he didn't exactly fit in, no matter how much he wanted to, and that upset him. You didn't want to add up to that. "Your sister just wanted you to hold her hand."
"She was embarrassing me.. I'm already the kid without a dad, I don't need to be the kid with an annoying  baby sister." He muttered, his gaze not once leaving the ground.
 His words were harsh, but lacked emotion. And it broke your heart. But as much as you wanted to tell him that it wasn't true, that he did have a dad, you'd be lying if you did. Ryan was already absent in your children's lives before the split, but at the same time he was there, and Roman felt as if he was. But now, his father really wasn't there, at all. And there was nothing you could do about it.
You sighed softly, gesturing your free hand out for him, "Roman, come here," a heavy sigh left the young boy's lips as he took a few steps closer, standing in front of you with his head hanging low and his eyes stuck to the ground. You used your hand to hold the side of his face, his eyes meeting with your own. "Baby, Thena just wanted to show you that she loves you. She didn't mean to embarrass you, right Thena?" You turned your attention to the small girl that hid behind your arm, her eyes glistening with tears.
The small girl sniffled and shook her head, "No.. I'm sorry Rome.. I won't do it ever again, I-I promise."
You exchanged looks between your children, your eyes finally landing on Roman as you waited for a response. You raised an eyebrow at him, your eyes speaking a silent 'and' to the boy. He eventually signed, almost too heavily, and nodded. 
"It's okay, I guess.. I don't really mind all that much." He half smiled, shrugging slightly.
Athena's expression quickly lightened, the small girl detached herself from your hand and hugged her older brother. And as much as he hated to admit it, he didn't mind the affection. He returned the hug and smiled, for a moment at least.
After a second or two, Roman slightly pushed Athena off him, signaling that that had been enough affection for a day. You breathed out softly, turning to look at Liz, who gave you a sympathetic smile in response. 
"Well my loves, off we go. Say goodbye to Auntie Liz and Ezra." Both your children did as you said. Athena hugging both of them, and Roman simply waving at them. Good enough.
And at last, you gave Liz a quick but tight hug, "I'll call you tomorrow." You said shortly before you grabbed a hold of your daughter's hand and your son's bag, and eventually parted ways.
Today was gonna be a long day.
《Here's an edited version of part 1. As always I hope y'all enjoyed it. I'm trying to get back into writing after a long year, hopefully this will help me get back on track. Let me know your thoughts. And let me know if you'd like to be added to my dylan/coach taglist which I do have》
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dumbikawa · 3 years
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Being Stressed About Exams & HQ Boys Comforting You
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GN!Reader | Comfort/Fluff | Warnings: stressed reader
Characters: Atsumu, Oikawa
A/n: This is extremely self-indulgent as school has been kicking my butt and the future post-graduation is very terrifying lol
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ATSUMU
You stare at the computer in front of you, the text you’re supposed to read for class beginning to swim together as your eyes fill with tears. Everything is happening too fast and you feel completely unprepared to take any of it on. What if you spent all of this time and money on schooling only to fail so close to the end? What if you finally do finish, but then can’t find a job in your field? Should you have studied something else? The questions become more exhausting and constant the closer it gets to exams. 
Small droplets roll off your cheeks and begin to pool on your keyboard. You haphazardly wipe them away before powering off the computer and tucking it back in your bag. Out of sight, out of mind, you figure. It’s not like there’s any use in trying to finish it tonight when you can already feel another wave of stress induced tears coming on. Those have also become a regular thing.
You click the volume button on your phone so that the sounds of music fill the room before leaning back in the desk chair, testing the limits of how far you can recline before gravity takes over. Atsumu had made this study playlist for you when he first noticed how stressed you were. It contained a mixture of your favorite songs, his favorite songs, and a few ‘motivational’ songs he pulled from his work-out playlists. It was a bit of a weird Frankenstein mash up with the large variety of genres, but it quickly became one of your studying must haves.
Over the sound of the music, you couldn’t hear the shower click off and the door to the bathroom swinging open. When Atsumu steps out, he sees you sitting where he’d left you, although, in a more dangerous position than you’d been in before as he notices the way the desk char teeters back and forth. His attention is quickly caught by the music choice, though, recognizing one of the songs playing as a favorite of his he added to the playlist he made for you a couple weeks ago. A smile breaks through his face as he hurriedly jumps into a pair of sweatpants before approaching your quiet figure.
As he comes up behind you, though, he notices a slight glisten upon your cheeks and a few fresh tears that tumble from your closed eyes. His upturned lips quickly sink as worry floods through him. Exams had been taking a toll on you, it wasn’t hard to tell, but he would never get used to seeing you cry.
“Baby,” he whispers, gently wrapping his arms around your shoulders. “What can I do for ya? Food? Cuddles? Cry it out?” You nod, resting the chair back on the ground and practically launching yourself into his arms.
Atsumu catches you with ease, his strong arms holding you against his chest. His hand rubs up and down your spine, sending shivers racing down you back, but there's no ulterior motive to his gentle touches. He continues the soft touches as he guides you to the bed, only letting you go for a second before allowing you to bury yourself in his side again.
“What if I can’t do it?” you whisper, trailing your fingers across Atsumu's toned chest. “I’ve studied for so long, but what if it doesn’t work out? What if--What if I don’t actually know anything and I crash and burn and--”
Atsumu shushes you gently, placing a few comforting kisses to your forehead. He notices your breathing beginning to grow heavier as your anxiety takes over. There's a few moments of silence as you try to match your breathing to his, the two of you taking slow, deep breaths in sync.
“The future might be unsure and stressful, but I know you’re going to do your best and make it work. All you can do is continue to work towards your goals and handle everything as it comes. Not to mention, I’m always going to be here to remind you of how strong you are even if you don’t see it.”
A new wave of tears begins as his words echo through your ears. You bury your face in his chest as your arms wrap around his waist in an attempt to pull yourself as close to him as you physically can be. Somehow he knew exactly what you needed to hear and a part of you wonders if he’s ever repeated those sentiments to himself when things felt unsure.
He continues to whisper reassurances as you fully relax against him, your tears finally beginning to dry up. You lift your head and offer him a weak smile.
“Thanks for letting me cry on your abs,” you sniffle, allowing yourself to truly laugh.
Atsumu feels lighter as he watches you smile and joke, hopefully being able to forget about the more stressful parts of life for a while as he holds you close. There’s been countless times where you eased his worries about the future, so he’s just happy that he can return the favor and create a safe space where you’re allowed to simply be.
OIKAWA
The cup in your hand is warm and comforting as you trudge towards your bedroom, a sense of dread washing over you as soon as your eyes land upon the laptop you left sitting open on the bed. With finals coming up, you thought it would be a good idea to transfer the notes you had written down during lectures onto your computer, figuring it would make them easier to access and that the process of going back through the information would be a good way to ensure you remember the material.
What you didn’t realize, however, is how absolutely time consuming and exhausting it was going to be. Your neck hurts from constantly looking back and forth between the paper and computer screen, your back hurts because somewhere along the way you abandoned any semblance of healthy posture and decided to go full cave gremlin in the way you hunched over your work, and instead of absorbing the information for a second time it seemed as if your brain had completely abandoned you and gone on autopilot. Shoving the computer off the bed and taking a nap feels like the best course of action right now, but you know if you stop now there’s no way you’re going to want to finish later.
Begrudgingly, you settle back onto the bed and take a large swig of coffee before stretching your fingers and placing them back on the keyboard. It couldn’t take that much longer right? All you have to do is push through and get it done.
And, for the next few hours, that’s what you do. You jump back in where you left off and race through the next few, gruelingly long chapters. The daylight outside quickly dwindles away until you’re forced to turn on the bedside lamp when you realize the sun has sunk far below the horizon and is beginning to cast bizarre shadows around the room. It was no bother, though, because you’re so close to being done. The issue is that neither your brain nor your body could keep up anymore.
Your fingers keep hitting the wrong keys, typing made up words that have you constantly backspacing and starting sentences over again for a third of even a fourth time. The breaking point comes when you go to take a sip of your now cold coffee and look back at the screen after attempting to type an entire paragraph from your notes in one go. Little did you know your finger placement was off, yet again, and the entire paragraph is an unreadable mess that even spell check doesn’t want to touch.
The tears that sting your eyes make you feel stupid. It was entirely too dumb to cry over something as superficial as misspellings that could be easily fixed and cold coffee. But once the tears start they won’t stop. Suddenly, you’re not crying over the notes or even school work in general. You’re crying about the crushing weight of change that's soon to come once you finish with classes and how impossible everything has begun to feel.
You’re too exhausted to focus on anything anymore, letting the hot tears run down your cheeks freely, which is why you don’t hear the rushed footsteps of your boyfriend who could hear your hiccuping breaths from down the hall. 
He doesn’t say anything when he sees you curled up on the bed, your face buried in your arms. Oikawa sits on the ground closest to you and lays his head near yours as he begins to run his slender fingers through your hair. It doesn't take a psychic to tell you've been stressed with the quickly approaching exams, and from the collection of notes littered all around to the half closed computer the dots practically connect themselves.
The slight dip on the bed near your head alerts you to his presence, but you don't move. His hands guiding themselves over your scalp is quick to relax your body, but your mind feels like it's about to burst any moment as the thoughts continue to race.
“You’re doing so good,” he whispers against your temple, planting soft kisses after every word, “and you deserve to take a break. Remember when you used to have to tell me that all the time?" The feeling of his quiet laughter against your skin makes you smile, along with the memories of simpler times before either of you had barely begun to grasp how harsh the world could be.
"I picked up dinner for us, it was an apology for coming home late," he admits, kissing the top of your head. "But let's go heat it up and you can either tell me everything you're worried about or we can try to forget all about it for now and watch a movie. I'd really like it if you talked about it eventually, though. I know I'm not going to be able to fix it all, but that doesn't mean I can't try."
You turn your head to the side, exposing your tear stained cheeks that are quickly wiped away by Oikawa's calloused thumbs.
"I will," you say, voice heavy. "For now could you just hold me?" There isn't a second of hesitation as Oikawa slips his arms beneath your figure and presses you tightly against him.
"Movie it is," he announces, laying you on the couch with the remotes so that you could put on whatever you want. Your brain would never stop the constant anxious thoughts, but losing yourself in those chocolate brown eyes made it easy to imagine a future where it all works out somehow. Little do you know, Oikawa sees the same thing reflected in your eyes as he wonders about the right time, perhaps a couple years from now when you've both settled down in your careers, when he can finally buy that ring he's been looking at.
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theewritingroomm · 3 years
Text
Cliché
Summary: Being best friends with the Weasley twins meant constant adventure. However, Y/N’s biggest adventure is coming to terms with her feelings for her best friend. Pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader Word Count: 1,882 Warnings: Unrequited feelings, swearing, A/N: Text divider by: @firefly-graphics
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Y/N could not exactly remember when she became friends with the Weasley twins, but she does remember a lot of the things that they pulled her into. She remembers when they first started dragging her along through the hidden tunnels throughout Hogwarts, she remembers when she would stay at the Borrow for the summer and she would watch them prank Percy and Ron, and she remembers exactly when she started having developing feelings towards Fred.
It was completely cliche for her to fall for her best friend, but despite others saying he was childish and could not keep his attention on anything for longer than ten seconds she didn't care. She did not care what people said about her and her two best friends, they were inseparable, and were known around the school as the Three Musketeers: a name given to them by Hermione. The name followed them around as did the gossip and rumors started by fellow classmates.
But now the Tri-Wizard Tournament and the Yule Ball was all anyone could seem to talk about. Instead of O.W.L.S, the house cup, and the quidditch cup there was talk about who everyone thought was going to win the tournament and who was going to the ball with who.
Now Y/N really did not care who was going with who, or who she thought was going to win the tournament; well, that's what she had told Fred and George. To be honest she would like to go to the ball but with Fred and George always around no one would attempt to talk to her, but that would not matter since the only person she wanted to go with only saw her as a friend. It was such a cliché scenario, falling for your best friend.
"So, Y/N, has anyone asked you to the ball?" Hermione asked her over breakfast. Now Y/N could not lie and say someone has because them Fred and George will ask who and then they'll turn into overprotective blokes, and no one really wants that. So, she just shook her head pouring herself some more pumpkin juice. Hermione just stared wide eyed and open mouthed at her.
"Bloody hell. If Y/N can’t get a date, then how can we Harry?" She heard Ron mumble. Y/N wanted to say something or throw something at him but fought against it and stood up to walk out of the Great Hall. No one tried to stop her, and since they were on holiday, she couldn't go to class so she settled for the Gryffindor common room.
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Sitting in front of the fire Y/N thought back to one of her first summers at the Borrow.
She was nervous, not only was it the first time she would be meeting the entire Weasley family, but it was right about the time that she started discovering her true feelings for Fred. She ended up staying in Ginny's room and becoming fast friends with the youngest Weasley. It was about halfway through the summer when Y/N was confronted by Ginny; for someone so young she had seen the way Y/N looked at her brother.
"Hey Y/N..." Hermione's voice startled her out of her memories, making her face the younger girl. "I'm sorry for what Ron said earlier, he doesn't really watch what he's saying."
"It's ok Hermione. Fred and George are the same way. Can't really remember how many times I've scolded them for saying things they shouldn't have" Y/N chuckled at this, but Hermione stayed silent.
"But that's not way I'm here actually." She looked at the fire avoiding looking Y/N in the eye. "Now please don't be mad at Ginny, I forced her to tell me."
"Hermione, what did she tell you?" Y/N's voice was hard and cold, but she isn't one to tell others what she's feeling so for Ginny to know about how she felt about Fred and now for Hermione to know was more than she could take.
"It's not that bad. I mean there's still time for you to ask him if you really want to go with him..."
"No Hermione, there isn't any time left. He asked Angelia yesterday in front of me. So, what am I supposed to do? Walk up to him and tell him that I have feelings for him, and I have since third year?"
It was a lot for her to admit out loud, and especially in front of another person. Now Y/N waited for Hermione to say something, anything but the only thing she heard was a gasp then a chuckle. Not two seconds after she heard that did George step into the common room. Now some people can't tell the twins apart, but she could, and she could also tell that this was bad, unbelievably bad.
"George, what the hell are you doing here?" Y/N asked staring wide eyed at him. She was panicking, there wasn't much the twins kept from each other and she didn't know if he would keep this to himself.
"Well, I came to check on my friend, see if she was okay after storming out of breakfast." He was teasing her; she could tell by the mischievous grin on his lips that nothing good was going to come out of this. "But I come up here to hear that she's got a crush on my brother."
Now Y/N liked to believe she was able to keep calm under stress, she had to be able to with as much trouble the twins dragged her into. But right now, with Hermione and George looking at her and knowing what she felt for her friend nearly pushed her over the edge. So, there she sat, in front of the fire her jaw tight and eyes watering with her secret coming out that she realized it was pointless to try and hide it anymore, it was all falling apart anyway.
"Hermione, can you let me, and George talk alone for a minute." It was less of a question than a request, so when the portrait closed behind her Y/N looked over at him to see the grin hadn't left his face.
"You know Y/N, I've always questioned the guys you've gone out with and what you saw in them. But now I know that you've been trying to get over dear old Fred."
"Shut up George, just shut up." Y/N tried her hardest not to cry, she tried to keep from breaking down, but she wasn't successful; she had reached her breaking point. "Just forget this every happened and promise me you won't tell Fred."
"But let me just...."
"No George, promise me."
"I promise."
Y/N just nodded and left the common room. She had a feeling that something was going to go wrong, something was going to come back and bite her in the ass. But at this moment she didn't care, she just wanted to be left alone, to get away from everyone.
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Christmas at Hogwarts was Y/N's favorite time, the feast, and the alone time when most everyone was gone was something she looked forward to. But this Christmas was different, there were more people staying at Hogwarts this year and the Yule Ball was happening on Christmas day. Now she wasn't to down about the amount of people staying nor was she still upset about Hermione and George knowing about how she felt for Fred, she was nervous about the ball and how she would handle it.
After talking with Ginny and some other of her not so close friends, she realized that the ball was a once and a lifetime opportunity and she couldn't let it slip through her fingers. So, with a little planning Y/N and Lee Jordan were going together. It wasn't too bad, Y/N and Lee were friends, and Lee owed her a favor anyway.
"You know I don't think I've ever seen you in a dress before." Hermione tried to calm Y/N's nerves as they walked towards the Great Hall.
"I know." After that half-assed, awkward attempt at a conversation no one else spoke until after they met up with their dates.
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It was after everyone watched the champions dance with their partners and Y/N made one to many unnecessary trips to the punch bowl, did her and Lee dance. It was not the perfect slow dance, they were stumbling over each other’s feet and laughing at stories, in all it was a good night.
"You know Fred's been looking at you all night." Lee whispered to her before twirling her. She snuck a quick glance over to him to see him dancing with Angeila, but his eyes were trained on her. She could not read what he was feeling but by the look he was sending her it wasn't too good.
"Guess he's shocked that I'm in a dress." Y/N shrugged looking away from Fred to flash Lee a smile.
They stayed at the ball for what felt like hours, they stayed until they were the last ones in the Great Hall. For a night that started out full of nerves and doubt it ended as close to perfect as Y/N would get.
"Good night Lee. I'll see you tomorrow." Y/N told him, waving him off as he walked to his room.
She smiled to herself and sat in an armchair in front of the fire thinking over the night. I mean sure she did not go with the guy she wanted to, but she did go with someone she could have fun with; and maybe the night went better than she thought it would. Overall, she would not do anything different to change tonight.
"You look happy." She jumped at the voice, about to yell at the person for scaring the shit out of her but she turned and saw George looking at her with a smug grin.
"It was a good night." She told him simply looking back at the fire.
"You know if you wanted Fred and I wouldn't oppose to you going out with Lee."
"Lee's a great guy, but I couldn't. It wouldn't go anywhere; I'd be leading him along."
"Because of how you feel about Fred." Y/N just nodded, not looking at him. "Maybe that's what you need. Someone to get your mind off him."
"That's the thing George, I can't get him out of my mind. He's been my friend since our first year and I had to be the one to fall for her best friend." She ranted, trying not to wake everyone in the tower.
Before George could say anything, his twin stepped into the common room, a shell-shocked expression on his face.
'Shit, shit, son of a bitch' ran through Y/N's mind. He had heard them, heard how she felt about him.
"Y/N...." he started, but he could not finish there were to many emotions running through his head. Fred took a breath before nodding towards his brother, who quickly left the two of them alone. "Look I'm sorry but Angeila and I..."
"No, you don't have to explain Fred. I knew you wouldn't feel the same way." She gave him a small sad smile before grabbing her heels and walking to her dorm.
"Good night Fred,” she told him before turning away, trying to hide her tears from him; but he had seen them.
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haikyuucute · 4 years
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Yo okay what about alphaTendou who meets a cute omega on campus while out on a night walk cuz hes been sexiled by alphaushi and his mate? They spend all night together just having a good time together wrecking havoc on the school grounds until the sun comes up. after that he just can't get enough of the good girl omega in the other class that he knows has a more adventurous side to her than she lets on and even though shes shy shes pretty eager to have his attention when others think he's creepy
Hello I sent the alphaTendou prompt in last night but I've been thinking about it a lot lol and what if after their late night hang, Tendou tests the waters by scenting her randomly, and people are like "wtf that creepy alpha scented you??" cuz no one really knows they're hanging out and she's just like "idk i don't smell anything" just to fucking rile him up so he keeps doing it more and she keeps denying its happening until he snaps & fucks/marks her somewhere outside during a nighttime hang (2/3)
Part 3??? For alphaTendou, the lil omega is just like "all according to keikaku" afterwards and Tendou is just all heart eyes. Apologies for spamming u btw (3/3)
Y’know, I wasn’t a simp for Tendou before, but after writing this I sure fucking am now.
This was a pretty long request so I decided to break it down into headcanons for the beginning part and write a drabble for the smut~
Ty for requesting💞~
Warning: Smut, degredation, some blood
Perfect (Tendou Satori) [Omegaverse AU]
By now Tendou was pretty used fo getting kicked out of his dorm whenever Ushijima or Ushijima’s mate had gone into heat or had a rut
Which usually had him staying in Semi’s and Reon’s dorm until he could come back
Tonight however, he decided to walk around campus before going to their dorm
The sun had already set when he went out and he hadn’t been expecting to really find anyone outside
But then he heard loud ruffling and the scent of an omega had reached his nose
Out of curiosity he went to investigate the noise
That was when he found you, kneeling in front of a vending machine with the glass door wide open, giving you access to everything inside
He watched on in amusement, staying hidden, as you shoved bags of chips and candy into your bag, with candy bar sticking out of your mouth
You suddenly stopped, eyes widening as you scented the air
You didn’t really recognize the scent but you knew it was an alpha and the last thing you needed was to run into an alpha that would rat you out
So you quickly shut and relocked the vending machine before going to head back inside, but as you were about to pass the corner he was hidden behind, he grabbed your wrist
You jumped, facing him to find him staring down at you with an unsettling smile that would make any omega run for the hills
But you laughed instead
He was slightly confused but all the more intrigued by you
”You know you can get in trouble for stealing from the vending machine” “Only if I get caught”
And just like that, this boy was hooked
You recognized him, the volleyball club was only one of the most popular clubs in the school so of course you did
You also knew his reputation for being kind of weird, but with him standing in front of you right now, you just thought he was funny
So you asked if he wanted any of your snacks, and Tendou wanting to know more about you accepted
You took him to a bench before dumping out your bag and letting him have his pick and the two of you ended up talking while eating the stollen snacks
And all it did was solidify your increasing interest in the other
So afterwards you decided you wanted to show him something
And you proceeded to break into the school’s private pool
And quite honestly, that alone was enough to make Tendou want to claim you as his omega
like he had never met an omega as daring and adventurous as you, and you were so pretty, and you weren’t creeped out by him either
you were perfect
Later that night he found his way to Semi’s and Reon’s dorm, soaking wet after he had attempted to push you into the pool, but because you dodged him, he had fallen in instead
lol Semi was not amused
The next day in class, Tendou was determined to find out more about you
He already knew your name and what class you were in, so it was only a matter of asking others about you
That was when he found something even more interesting about you
Because the reactions of his classmates weren’t ones he was expecting
”(L/N)-chan? Isn’t she that shy omega in class 2-A?”
”She’s probably one of the sweetest omegas in the school, though I heard she’s kind of a goody two shoes”
”I don’t know a lot about her, but she’s very soft spoken I heard, and a bit of a prude apparently”
He almost didn’t believe it at first, they had been describing a completely different person from the one he had met last night
But he quickly realized they really were talking about you
And nothing excited Tendou more than knowing the girl that everyone perceived as shy and innocent was the most daring omega he had ever met
You were like his little secret
Later that night he had gone searching for you and was happy to find you trying to climb up a tree
From that night on it became a nightly thing to hang out and do whatever the fuck you two wanted to do
Even if that did mean almost getting caught by teachers and other students multiple times
It wasn’t until a few nights later that he had started scenting you, in attempts to see if you were interested
You weren’t stupid but you sure did love playing stupid when it came to the whole scenting ordeal
You knew he was doing it, the extra touching was a clear indication as well as the lingering scent of alpha on you
but you acted oblivious to it, just to see what he’d do
And you took every opportunity to deny his scent on you when it arose
like when one of your classmates asked you about it when you knew he was right around the corner
”Why do you smell like that creepy alpha on the volleyball team?” “Who?” “Tendou Satori” “Oh him? Don’t be silly, I don’t smell like him”
So he did it more, his touches lingering even longer, ruffling your hair, brushing his body against yours, and so on
but when he overheard another conversation he was getting impatient
”Since when have you been hanging out with Tendou?” “Why do you ask?” “You reek of his scent” “Oh that’s funny, I can’t smell anything”
He was sure you were fucking with him now
So that night, before the two of you parted after one of your hang outs, he hugged you tightly against him, making it blatantly obvious as to what he was doing
However the next day...
“You know you should stay away from Tendou, he’s kind of weird.” “What’s bringing this up?” “You smell like him” “Y’know, people keep saying that, but I really don’t smell a thing”
If your goal was to rile up Tendou, then consider him riled
But his tipping point was when the two of you were behind the school and you said:
”You know everyone keeps saying I smell like you, isn’t that funny?”
And the glint in your eye when you looked at him, combined with your seemingly innocent smirk made his eyes darken
He realized you really were fucking with him
The next thing you knew, your front was pushed against the brick wall of the school
And his lips were against the shell of your ear
”You’re acting naughty, Omega~” “Then I guess you better put me in my place”
That was all he needed before he was pushing his pants down, lifting your skirt up, and moving your panties aside~
Tendou was unforgiving with his thrusts, and the dirty words he was muttering against your ear would have made you cry out louder if it weren’t for the two fingers that were shoved in your mouth and gagging you.
The bricks of the wall bit painfully into your cheek, but you couldn’t care less in that moment as Tendou fucked you silly.
”Messy girl~” he giggled breathlessly, watching as you drooled down the side of your mouth and on his hand.
You babbled incoherently around his fingers, making him laugh again.
”What was that little omega? I didn’t quite get that,” he teased, punctuating it by shoving his fingers further into your mouth, making you gag.
You continued to moan around his fingers as a trail of tears leaked out of your eyes. His thrusts picked up, the arm around your waist tightening further as he set an even rougher pace, each thrust pulling more and more whimpers from you.
”Do you like being treated like a dirty whore, Omega?“ he grunted, “Do you like knowing everyone thinks you’re an innocent little omega, when you’re really a little slut that knows how to take my cock?”
You moaned again, trying your best to nod.
”Ah~ that’s what I thought,” he said, with a nip to your ear.
He pulled his fingers out of your mouth, all the noises you made no longer being muffled.
”You better stay quiet, you don’t want us to get caught do you?” He mocked, his hand finding it’s way into the front of your panties, his fingers drenched in your drool now playing with your clit.
”Alpha,” you cried out, making his grin widen.
”Oh? Maybe you do want us to get caught— Do you like the idea of someone finding your Alpha fucking you?” He practically growled, “You want others to know I own your pretty pussy?”
You whined, feeling yourself about to cum, “Alpha— ‘m gonna—“
The arm around your waist moved as he threaded his fingers in your hair, pulling your head to the side, and exposing your neck for him, “Fuck— cum for me my pretty Omega.”
A few more angled thrusts inside you had you cumming hard, bracing yourself on your arms against the wall.
The way you clenched around Tendou’s cock had him cumming with a groan in seconds along with you, and in that moment he had sunk his teeth into the skin of your neck. The pain along with the pleasure made you cry out, reducing you to a whimpering mess once you came down from the high.
You fell slack against Tendou, your legs not able to keep you up anymore, but he easily held you up.
He pulled out, making you whimper slightly louder.
Your head lolled back to look up at him, feeling absolutely exhausted, “Y-you marked me,” you softly stuttered.
He grinned, leaning down to lick the blood on your neck from his bite, “I wasn’t kidding when I said I was your Alpha.” He said, making you tiredly smile at him.
Tendou decided since he had just claimed you, he’d have you sleep with him in his dorm, knowing Ushijima wouldn’t mind since he always had his own mate over anyway.
Since you couldn’t walk very well now, he had carried you on his back, letting you nuzzle your nose against the scent gland in his neck.
You sighed blissfully, “You know I planned this out, right?” You mumbled.
He narrowed his eyes in thought, “You planned that I’d claim you?”
You nodded against his neck, “Yeah— you’re very easy to read.”
At that, Tendou pinched your thigh, making you yelp. But he couldn’t help the smile that curled at his lips, knowing that he had definitely found the perfect omega.
Omegaverse AU Taglist:
—couldn’t tag bolded—
@shiguraaa @tycrackculture @kynyta @cuddlesslut @icedhoneygreentea @yams046 @cutepet09 @kkimoka @elegant-gypsophilia @mrkoala4prsdnt @sapphy-taffy6969 @yougivemebutterfliess @melanieacademy @yeet-these-hoez @nekomasmeow @thirsthourdemon
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mightyavngrs · 3 years
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don't do that again | poe dameron x reader
summary: a broken promise and a mission gone wrong
warnings: mentions of a panic attack (stay safe <3)
a/n: hope you guys had happy holidays! here's a belated christmas gift :)
masterlist | taglist
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You laid silently in your bed, heavy eyes trained on the alarm clock that stood in your nightstand. 1:45, 2:36, 3:18... the time passed and you couldn't help the voice inside your head telling you that every hour gone by the probability of Poe coming back safe and sound lowered.
He was supposed to come back a week ago. Maker, you knew it. You knew this mission wasn't going to go well.
Your legs carried you through the resistance base as you furiously made your way to Poe's quarters. It was late and most people had already retired to their rooms but the few members in the hallways threw confused looks your way. As you got to Poe's room, closed fist ready to bang on his door, the thing opened before you revealing a very excited Poe Dameron whose smile disappeared the second his eyes met yours. You caught his wrist, pushing him back inside the room with you before closing the door.
"Y/n, what happened-"
"Tell me you didn't take that mission." you demanded, your raised voice unrecognizable to your own ears.
"Wait, what? This is the most important mission of my career i thought you'd be happy i-"
"Poe this is the most dangerous mission anyone in the resistance has been assigned in years."
"You think i can't do it? Is that what this is about?" he questioned in shock, failing to keep the disappointed look that formed in his face.
"No! Maker, Poe, you're one of the most skilled people this rebellion has seen but this mission could just be an ambush for all we know! I mean collecting intell in heavy-guarded enemy territory from someone the resistance hasn't even heard about? Do you realize how dangerous that is?"
"Yes, y/n, i do. You know i think you're forgetting i've been a part of this rebellion for far longer than you have." he snapped, voice dangerously low and your eyes couldn't help but widen at the hostility in his words.
"Why are you being so aggressive? I'm just worried about you." you stuttered, trying to hold back the tears already forming in your eyes. Your anger for his stubbornness now fully replaced by concern. "I know this is important to you and you know i wouldn't be saying this if i didn't actually mean it but i have a bad feeling about this mission, Poe. Please stay. Just this once." you practically begged, hand moving to cup his cheek before he harshly brushed it away.
"I think you need to go, y/n."
And with those words you were out the door and on your way back to your room. Although hurt, you weren't too worried about Poe's outburst. You guys had promised each other long ago never to leave for a mission without saying goodbye, even if you were mad at each other. He wouldn't break that promise. "Just needs to cool off." you thought to yourself before allowing yourself to drift off to sleep.
When you woke up the next day it took you a second to process what had happened the night before, but once you did panic filled your senses. You quickly got out of bed, clumsily getting ready before starting to make your way to the hangar, your eyes frantically searching for any sign of Poe or the falcon.
"Hey, y/n! What's wrong?" Rey's voice broke you from your thoughts as the jedi made her way towards you.
"Where's Poe?" the question left your mouth without hesitation and the look that formed on your friend's face told you all you needed to know.
"He left for his mission an hour ago."
"No. He wouldn't just leave without saying goodbye. We promised we wouldn't do that." you muttered feeling Rey's hand on your arm as she gave it a comforting squeeze.
"I'm sorry, y/n."
After hours of staring at the alarm clock you sighed. "No way i'm gonna get any more sleep tonight." you thought to yourself, swinging your legs over the side of your bed after deciding a walk through the hangar would be a much better waste of your time. The hallways were deserted and if all the equipment didn't look so modern you would've thought you were walking through an abandoned resistance base.
Finally arriving to the hangar you started your walk through the area before your eyes landed on a beaten up millennium falcon. You violently shook your head, figuring the sight was just another trick pulled by your tired mind to torture you a bit more, but when the image of the spaceship didn't disappear you felt your blood run cold.
And then you were running through the hangar and towards the beloved ship, quickly punching in the code to open its door and before you could call out for your best friend's name you were met by an obnoxiously loud BB-8. Between the mess that were the noises produced by the small droid you were only able to pick out three words. Ambush. Poe. Shot.
You only had time to scream for BB-8 to go and get help before you were sprinting through the ship. Once you finally arrived to the cockpit your eyes landed on your best friend lying on the ground. You fell to your knees by the pilot's side, releasing a shaky breath once you confirmed he was, in fact, still breathing. Tears were starting to cloud your vision by now, and you felt your chest getting heavier by the second. You tried your hardest not to let the panic settle in. This was most definitely not the time for a panic attack; Poe was injured. He needed you. He needed you applying pressure to whatever blaster wound those bastards had given him but your body was frozen, you couldn't move. You could only stare at your best friend's beaten up face as a pool of blood grew around his body. You don't know how many minutes had passed when you felt someone pull you away from Poe and against their chest startling you in the process.
"Y/n, it's ok. We got him, he's gonna be okay." hands you could now recognize as Finn's were rubbing your arms in an attempt to ground you and bring you back from your state of panic. This wasn't your first panic attack but you usually had Poe there to help. Stars, Poe. He always knew what to do; how to help you, and now you couldn't even help him. You closed your eyes, trying to avoid the sight of his bloodied body being carried away by the medics and finally, after a couple of minutes, you gained enough strength to get on your feet (with Finn's help), and start your walk to the medbay.
7 hours. The longest, most painful 7 hours of your life and you were finally let inside the room. A sweet doctor had come to get you letting you know that, although stable, Poe was still unconscious but she hoped hearing your voice could help him. After a quick nod of reassurance from Finn and a hand squeeze from Rey, who'd met you at the medbay only a few minutes after you'd gotten there yourself, you stepped inside the room.
Poe laid on his hospital bed, face still dirty from the mission he'd barely made it out alive from and a thick bandage on his torso. You closed the door behind you, moving to take a sit next to the pilot. With a sigh you brought your hand up to his hair, brushing the brown curls away from his bloodied face.
"If only you had listened to me just this one time." you mumbled with a sad smile, your hand now moving to hold his. "I'm sorry i couldn't help you. I tried to move but seeing you like that i just- i thought i was going to lose you and i couldn't focus and i-" and then you were choking on your words and there were tears running down your cheeks again and you couldn't believe you were this pathetic because if you couldn't even help your dying best friend then what the hell were you good for. Then you felt a squeeze in your hand.
"Please don't cry." Poe's tired voice filled the room and you couldn't help but do the exact opposite, lifting your teary eyes to meet his own.
"Poe." you were barely able to mutter out before you were engulfing him in a hug. The pilot ignored the pain in his abdomen, focusing instead on how warm your embrace felt and on how happy he was to be back in your arms. His favourite place in the galaxy. "I thought i'd lost you." you confessed just above a whisper, and he hated that he could hear how mortified you were in your voice. He hated that the tears now staining his shirt were a result of his stubbornness and most of all he hated himself for breaking your spirit like this.
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart." he muttered into your hair, trying his best to hold you as tightly as the pain would allow it. "You were worried and i snapped at you and then i left without saying goodbye and you were right about the whole thing. It was an ambush. Maker, y/n, i'm so sorry." he kept apologizing while rubbing your back, trying to bring you as much comfort as he possibly could. But you shook your head no before attempting to reassure him.
"You had no way of knowing. It wasn't your fault Poe just- don't do that again ok? Please don't ever leave without saying goodbye again..."
"I won't. I promise."
Poe had always found amusement in complaining about the resistance beds but now, as his bare back laid in fresh sheets for the first time in weeks, he couldn't help but sigh in content.
"Alright! You're all bandaged up." you exclaimed happily, putting away the gauze you'd been given before laying down next to the pilot. It'd been a few days since the incident and the doctors had released Poe from the medbay as long as he promised he'd change his bandage daily, job you'd gladly taken. "How're you feeling?"
"I'm happy i'm alive." he replied with a smile, staring at the ceiling above, but something about his tone of voice and the slight frown still visible in his features threw you off.
"You know you can tell me anything right?" you asked softly, bringing your hand up to caress his face when he flinched at your touch. "Look at me, Poe. Please." And then his eyes were on yours. You were used to hearing the fear in the pilot's voice, no matter how much he tried to hide it through his comlink you could always sense it but this... you'd never actually seen fear in his eyes like this. He was still terrified. Terrified that he wouldn't come back home one day. That he wouldn't come back to you.
"Hey, you'll always come back home." you assured him, and you sounded so confident in your statement, so faithful that, just for a moment, he allowed himself to believe your words. "You'll always come back home because you're the best pilot in the resistance, Poe Dameron. You'll always come back home because this rebellion needs you. I need you, ok?"
Poe swallowed the lump that'd formed in his throat. "Say that again." he pleaded and Stars you could never say no to him.
"I need you, Poe. I can't do this without you." Your fingers were tracing his skin in an attempt to get him out of his head. To get him to calm down so he would finally get some proper rest. But then he was scooting closer to you, resting his forehead against yours.
"I love you." the words left your mouth before you could stop them. You pulled away from the pilot, eyes widened in fear of the rejection you knew was to come but Poe's hands found your face and pulled it towards him closing the space between you. Your eyes fluttered shut and you ignored the tear you felt running down your face as they did so. It felt right. His lips on yours that is. And when you finally had to break the kiss for air he pulled you gently into his arms. "I love you. And i really can't do this without you either."
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a/n: i'm so excited to finally post this! i've had this idea for a year now but my first attempt at writing it went so bad i gave up haha i think i've gotten a lot better ever since so hopefully you guys enjoyed! don't forget to leave feedback if you'd like and treat people with kindness <3
taglist: @buckysbeloved @justanotherblonde23 @lbuprofiend @etherealsanakin
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purplellamanator · 3 years
Text
Second part is up for my @shinranweek fic. Above is my AO3 and again here is the fanfic link. There will be one more part that I will post soon. Thanks for anybody that checks it out :) I'll also post it below the cut again.
As it turns out, the ever righteous Kudou-san could be quite the dictator. He determined when she'd have her meals and even when she needed to rest for the night. It made her feel inept and she wanted to argue out. Every time though, she'd bite her lip. It was as if her body didn't want her to and she got the idea she wasn't used to being waited on.
It was actually . . nice. At times she did feel in the same category as a child, but . . . someone was watching over her. Someone cared about her. Well- that's what it tricked her mind into thinking. The girl knew that Kudou-san had no emotional ties to her. He was doing this because he found her wondering around in a park and felt obligated after thinking he caused her to have a brain aneurism.
She wondered how much longer he would deal with her. Though it still had only been two days, there were no leads and she still couldn't remember anything.
"I didn't want you to overexert yourself today." His sudden voice broke her inner musings and her eyes snapped to where he stood before the kitchen stove, stirring something consistently. Blue eyes glancing her way and realizing he had her attention, he nodded. "We can go out and get you some clothes tomorrow if you're up for it though."
The girl sat there, silently for a moment. Honestly, she felt up to it today. Staying inside the house was making her skin crawl almost and she figured her body wasn't used to it. But . . . "I can't ask you to do that for me," she spoke softly as she watched him cook.
"You didn't. I offered," he replied easily before his brows furrowed again. It seemed he was having trouble with whatever he was trying to make. . . Oddly she wanted to get up and help him but she was sure that was overstepping her boundaries. She already felt guilty that he was cooking for her. Kudou-san appeared like he didn't do it often but was making an effort for her. It would probably be best to suck it up and just swallow down whatever he placed before her.
This time, the scrunched features were from the way he caught the girl staring at him. "R-Ran?" He stumbled over the name embarrassingly, not at all used to or comfortable calling her that nickname quite yet.
Eyes widening and realizing that she was still staring blankly at the poor guy while he attempted to make their dinner, her cheeks heated a bit and she glanced at the wood of the table. "Have those detectives figured anything out?" Ran said suddenly to cover up the awkwardness.
Kudou-san frowned and shook his head as he began grabbing plates down from the far cabinet. "Not yet. There're still looking though," he spoke quickly hoping his first words hadn't discouraged her. "These things can take time."
Well she hadn't remembered anything and how much of his 'time' was he willing to waste on this? Surely he didn't plan on allowing her to live here with him forever. He'd probably realize how much of a bother this really was and take her back to the park where he originally found her, leaving her there alone like he was releasing a stray dog.
Suddenly Ran didn't feel so hungry and after the plate of whatever this was supposed to be was placed in front of her, she really didn't want to eat anything. Schooling her features however, she sucked it up and cleared the plate. He had helped her so much- the least she could do was eat the dinner he tried really hard to make. And somehow she knew and understood just how hard he really had tried.
She was found out however when Kudou-san took one bite and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "This tastes like crap," he admitted and she actually laughed at how bluntly he had said those few words. The man just seemed amazed that she had even ate the whole dish in front of her. He went so far as to scrape his in the trash.
"I can get better at that," Kudou-san promised so seriously but all she could do was chuckle at how earnestly he said it. Didn't he understand she was lucky to even have a meal tonight?
"So, since I don't think I'm the best choice for a shopping partner, I invited a couple friends along."
Ran glanced at him surprised but then again he did have a point. She highly doubted he wanted to spend his entire evening in a mall packed full of girls clothes shopping. "Where will you go though?" she questioned curiously. She couldn't help but wonder, after all, Kudou-san was the only thing she recognized anymore.
He shrugged. "Probably the book store- that's them right over there," he pointed ahead.
Standing some feet away still was a girl and a guy. Both seemed to be about her age though she still wasn't sure what that was quite yet. Doctor Araide had estimated her age to be around her early twenties from the development of her bone structure.
The two had yet to realize they had company and Ran's eyes widened from the language sprouting from the twos mouths'. If it wasn't the heavy dialect that caught her attention, it was the crude and abrasive names they called each other. The girl whom she had assumed would be so kind with her dark hair tied up with a ribbon was shouting equally as loud as the annoyed looking dark skinned boy.
It took Kudou-san clearing his throat before either party even began to quiet down. When they did, they both appeared equally embarrassed as the other at being caught in such a heated discussion. That didn't stop them from continuing to glare at each other from the corner of their eyes.
Eyes narrowed as well, Kudou-san directed their attention to the one unfamiliar face. "This is Ran. Ran- this is Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha-chan." All the while the scowl was firmly in place on his features at the fact the two couldn't get it together just for a few minutes. They still had yet to stop frowning at the other as if they were straining themselves terribly from not yelling again.
Feeling the aggravated tension, Ran swallowed the trepidation down her throat. "It's nice to meet you both," she began and was thankful she bowed her head slightly so they couldn't see the wince she gave from how uncomfortable she sounded. When she straightened she very nearly fell over.
"She is cute." Ran had lifted her head only to come face to face with the girl whom seemed to be scrutinizing her closely. Realizing just what the girl said, her cheeks enflamed brightly.
"Stupid. You're embarrassing her," the man- Hattori? snapped. That got Kazuha-chan's attention off her fast and Ran took the time to scoot closer to Kudou-san.
It took Kudou-san clearing his throat again before either person quieted down again; both looking equally annoyed. "Ran needs clothes so I figured you could help her with that," he directed to Kazuha without any explaining. He probably wanted to get it all out before they started arguing again.
A card was suddenly placed in her line of sight and Ran stared at Shinichi, confusedly. "Just use this. Buy whatever you'd like." He placed the card in her hand considering she hadn't made a move to do so herself.
She stared at the card for a second before glancing up at him. "Where are you going?" she asked again but didn't pay any mind to how the other two stared curiously. Nothing against this Kazuha girl but she wanted to stick with the only familiar face she had and that was Shinichi.
"Hattori and I will probably wonder around. Whenever you're done or if you need something, Kazuha can call me," he shrugged to show her it was no big deal. He was but a phone call away.
This time she did blush a little from how attached she was appearing. She barely even knew Shinichi yet she already felt like he was the only thing she did have. Her only constant in the past few days.
Still not really liking that she'd be walking around without him, Ran nodded slowly with a small grin and they were off. It was quite embarrassing how she kept turning back while they were walking away. She did it every few feet until she couldn't do it no more and each time Kudou-san was standing there looking back at her as if he knew she needed that reassurance that he was right there.
If Kazuha noticed- and Ran was positive she did, she was respectful enough not to comment. And Kazuha simply led the way though she remarked multiple times she was from Osaka and didn't have a clue where all the good shops were. They decided they would stop at any place that seemed promising.
Shinichi stared at the girl's retreating back as it got further and further away. He watched her go until she got lost in the crowds of the other mall shoppers and he could see the girl no more. For some reason he felt a nervousness go through him now that she was out of sight.
"Not bad, Kudou."
And Shinichi startled at the reminder he was not alone either. A brow raised at the sudden comment.
Hattori, whom had also been glancing that way at first looked back at him with a knowing smirk. "She is cute."
Cheeks tinting a light pink, the half lidded glare he sent the Osakan man was impossible to hide. Why was he even surprised? He should've known better than to admit that to Hattori of all people. Still, as a last defense, the man said, "I never said she was cute."
"You said she was 'very pretty'. Same thing," he waved off.
The fact his face got redder had him mildly annoyed. "And you told Toyama-san," he accused.
They were already milling about the walkway and avoiding other passerby as they went. "Man, I live in the same house as that woman. Not that I told her myself- she overheard us talking but you think I'm going to lie about that? Trust me; it's not worth the argument."
Shinichi shook his head but honestly, he wasn't that bothered. Ran was pretty but it didn't change the fact that this was a case. The woman wouldn't want to live with him forever and anyone could see the emotional toll this was having on her.
"Have you found anything out? How about those two detectives?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. They're looking into any accidents that may have recently happened as well if anyone's filed a missing persons report but so far nothing."
Hattori pocketed his hands. "Have you tried tracing her memory back? Can she recall anything?"
"I think anytime she gets close to remembering anything, her mind goes into a panic. It's like she doesn't want to remember," he whispered the last part to himself but was sure the other man heard it anyway. It was a little disheartening though. What was something so terrible that had happened to her that she didn't want her memories back? He couldn't decide if it was the accident itself or her actual past life that had her mind subconsciously shielding her. That's what troubled him the most. Maybe she didn't want to know.
"Jeez, I'm starved!" Kazuha said as they waited together in some line of the food court. Just a minute ago she had texted Hattori letting him know to meet them there. Admittedly Ran was anxious to see Shinichi again. She had fun going through the stores and just being with another girl but she missed that one familiar face. She briefly wondered if he'd be mad by how much she spent and she glanced at the multiple bags she carried in her arms.
A little uncomfortable at first, Ran hadn't wanted to use that credit card given to her. It didn't help that nothing bought in a mall came cheap- even something so small as a pretzel she discovered. But after that, Ran wasn't sure how long they had been. She honestly had lost track of time and was enjoying herself. She was quite fond of this Kazuha girl and she liked her humor even more. Even though Shinichi had given her free reign with his bank account, she was sure to only swipe it on things she really liked. But had there been some unspoken price limit on how much she could use? Would he be mad? Now she was a little nervous to see him.
So trapped in her thoughts, she failed to notice her surroundings. She didn't catch any of the mindless chatter Kazuha was spewing beside her. She barely caught on to when the cashier was asking her what she'd like. So when the people surrounding her started gasping and a commotion began, she hadn't know until Kazuha gripped her arm tightly getting her attention. Blinking, she looked first at the girl in confusion before realizing she was staring somewhere else entirely.
Right before them was a man standing clad in sweats and a t-shirt. He appeared disgruntled and crazed and if that weren't enough to show he wasn't thinking, it was the fact he held a gun tightly in his grasp as he pointed it at them.
Ran could only raise a brow. Unlike in the doctor's office or when she met those detectives, fear was not her initial reaction. If anything, the surprising amount of irritation and annoyance that hit her almost made her giggle. Some man was pointing a gun at her and she wanted to laugh?
Then, "Step aside!" the man practically spit out and she realized he was talking to her. And now she was understanding the gun wasn't for her- it was for Kazuha.
The girl beside her stiffened at that but finally released the grip on her arm, as if silently giving Ran the okay to move out of the line of fire. Clearly the target wasn't her so why should she get shot?
Ran didn't move. If anything her stature straightened and her stance became even more firm where it stood. Ran didn't understand the way her body was having her react. Truthfully, she had wanted to move. She didn't want to die and the guy had a gun. But something was telling her she didn't have to be scared. That she would be okay.
"Move!" He barked again and there were gasps in the crowd when he cocked the gun.
Kazuha was tugging at her arm again now only gently. She was asking her to move like everybody else that had fled away from her the moment they realized she was the target. To get out of the way. She didn't want her to get hurt. "Ran-"
Taking the hand that was shoving her away lightly, Ran gripped it and practically threw her down behind her as she stepped forward. She didn't know what was coming over but she understood what her body wanted perfectly. She didn't have to be afraid and she didn't have to move.
Of course that didn't go over so well with the man standing in front of them and his face contorted in an angry snarl as he prepared to shoot.
Time seemed slower in that moment. So slow, Ran actually found the time to feel her lips tilt up at the sides the barest bit. Her eyes scanned his shaky stance and her grin almost broadened. People probably thought she was crazy but she didn't care in that moment for some reason. Not for the first time she felt trapped in someone else's body.
Then he pulled the trigger.
Screams rang out around them- the more prominent one being her name. But she barely paid them any mind. Her body was already steps ahead of her thoughts and instead of the pain of a bullet entering her, she felt nothing except maybe the breeze of it whizzing through her hair where her head had once been. The man didn't have time to blink before she was already before him and dispelling the gun from his grasp. She didn't really know what she had planned to do after that. Fight the criminal in hand to hand? She'd surely lose but now she wasn't so sure of that fact. If anything, her muscles seemed prepared- welcomed the challenge as if she had been holding back too long. Her body felt something familiar and it was latching onto that.
But by far, she was not expecting herself to turn the tables and actually bare the gun in her grasp. That's how she found her stance. One hand tightly clenching the grip; a finger on the trigger and ready to pull in a heartbeat on the criminal now turned victim. What scared her most was that the weapon was actually comfortable in her grasp.
In the still slowed pace of analyzing her own stance, she barely registered the man had dropped to his knees with his hands above his head in surrender. She couldn't tell if she even cared by the way the barrel of the gun followed his every move. Her eyes narrowed the slightest bit, curious as to if he would try to overpower her but the small grin never left her features. It seemed the idea . . . excited her. Yet she was almost at war with herself. Like she didn't want to pull the trigger but she would if she had to.
And then claps resounded around her and she jumped as she glanced around startled. As if snapping back and connecting her body to her brain again, she realized where and what she was doing- and couldn't of been more appalled. They cheered because they thought she was a hero. But she knew the truth. There was nothing victorious or gratifying about wanting to hurt another human being.
Shinichi and Hattori had arrived before the police did but it wasn't long in between. While the man was getting cuffed and Hattori was prattling and worrying over a frightened Kazuha, Shinichi watched her with stunned but puzzled eyes. She couldn't help but feel they were accusing and so she wouldn't meet his gaze anymore after that. Even as they were walking out of the shopping center and saying their goodbyes to the other couple, he stuck tightly to her side.
The car ride had been a silent one so it wasn't until they reached his house that he finally said anything to her. And it wasn't anything she was expecting.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Ran swallowed. Did she? Or would that only serve to make her feel worse when he agreed and called her the monster she was?
"I won't make you. I just want to be sure you're okay," he admitted a little reluctantly.
"Kazuha-chan was the target," she dodged. So if anyone wasn't okay it should be Kazuha.
Shinichi sighed. "It was an old client of Hattori's. The man had come to him because he feared someone was stalking his wife and hired Hattori to find him." Here the man shook his head a little sadly. "Hattori found the culprit eventually but it wasn't in time to save the man's wife."
Briefly, she wondered why Shinichi had to tell her something like that and she had to hide her watery eyes. And client. . . ? Client for what, she had to wonder.
Unaware of her confusion he continued with, "Hattori felt so much guilt over it but the client didn't see it that way. He's being questioned now but I think it's obvious he figured Toyama-san was an equal loss to Hattori as his wife was to him."
"When you say a client to Hattori-kun. . . you mean-"
Shinichi blinked a bit confused before they widened in realization. "Hattori's a detective- like me." He said it so matter of factly as if it were the most obvious thing; as if she should've already known this.
She hadn't.
A detective. Like him. Shinichi-kun is a a detective.
A strange type of panic gripped her heart and for some reason it was mingled with betrayal. Her whole reaction was completely unwarranted though she was sure. She wasn't nearly as freaked as in the doctor's office and she had no excuse to feel betrayed. Shinichi owed her absolutely nothing. If anything, she owed him.
But now blanks were being filled in as Ran processed exactly what this meant. For the entirety of the three days she had known Shinichi, she was constantly asking herself why she was here. What made this stranger walk up to her when all she had been doing was sitting on a park bench? It was clear to her now though that it was due to his own instincts. He was a detective and she saw now that when he discovered her she hadn't only smelt of gasoline but of another case.
Heart beating faster and faster as she broke this down, she had the urge to run. Here she thought this was a friend that saw someone whom needed help. That would keep their promise and keep the involvement of police out of this. Feeling stupid now, the understanding that he agreed to that because he was in fact the police disturbed her greatly. She felt duped.
And she didn't appreciate it one bit.
"Ran?"
The woman startled from her thoughts, completely forgetting that he was standing there and they were holding a conversation. The man looked to be waiting for a response of some kind but she didn't know what she should say; didn't know what she could say. In all honesty, she didn't want to speak to him. The urge to just make a jump for the exit was all she could detect. Were the police already on their way over? Would she be detained? Had he understood what she had felt only moments before when she had almost shot a man?
At this point she was worrying him. She could see it in his face, especially when he stepped closer and asked, "Is your head hurting again? Do you need to lay down?"
Laying down was the last thing she wanted to do.
"You lied to me." It didn't come out angry. It didn't even sound like an accusation; just a fact she was simply saying.
He didn't seem to think so obviously by the way his brows scrunched, puzzled and the almost offended expression he bore.
"You told me there would be no public involvement with this and the entire time you were a detective yourself." The saddest thing was that she couldn't find it in her to be mad. She wasn't surprised he had lied because in all honesty, who wouldn't of called the police? At the time it was blatantly apparent she had been in an accident of some sort. She gave off multiple signs that she needed medical attention and she didn't even have any recollection of her own identity. The best place for her would've been in the hospital's care until they could identify her.
"I don't work for the police!" he hurriedly said before she could give this wrong idea anymore thought. "Well. . I mean- I do sometimes but not directly. I'm my own name," he tried to explain when she could only give him confused glances. "I'm pretty well-known so I work independently."
Well, that explained his arrogant manner when he introduced himself. But then that means. . .
"So you're not hired by the police?" she asked almost meekly.
Shinichi shook his head with a small grin that tilted up only one side of his mouth. "Not right now, no."
Her cheeks turned a light pink. "Oh."
Her heart shot right into her throat when he suddenly took her hands in his. "I made you a promise, Ran." He was speaking so firmly and she could see in his eyes that he thought breaking that promise was not an option.
The need to apologize was all she could think of now. Though she hadn't come at him angrily and annoyed, she had accused him. Words wouldn't come out of her mouth however and as she stood there fumbling in her thoughts wondering why she couldn't voice what she wanted to, her gaze kept flitting from their hands to his cerulean eyes that seemed so close to hers. Her chest was still racing but she got the feeling it wasn't for the same reason as before.
What was wrong with her? Maybe she did need to lie down.
The doorbell rang and Ran wasn't too sure why but a certain amount of relief hit her as if she were saved. Saved from what though she wasn't yet aware.
Dropping her hands at the noise, he glanced towards the front foyer. "It's probably Hiabara."
"I still need to introduce you," he continued and the casual air he had about him made her even more antsy if possible. Clearly nothing was wrong if he was acting perfectly normal. Why was it that she was reacting weirdly?
She needed a moment to gather herself. As it was, her cheeks were still slightly flustered and she had no idea why.
"I'll go grab the clothes," she declared and before he could even say a word she was already strolling from the room. It wasn't all just an excuse. They really did need to grab the clothes because after all, it was more than likely the only reason the other woman was there.
Haibara Ai, as Shinichi told her, was his next door neighbor. She was also the person who was kind enough to lend her some clothes until she could go out and buy some for herself.
Making sure not to take more time than normal, Ran returned to the living room with the clothes freshly cleaned and folded inside a laundry basket. The two were already deep in conversation but it seemed their voices were lowered purposefully for the moment Shinichi saw her enter the room was when he straightened and greeted her- almost pointedly.
The other woman, whom she guessed was the neighbor, was facing away from her when she first entered. It wasn't until she turned around that Ran fully took in the light brown hair that was almost red and also cut short. They both seemed to be about the same age but there was also a certain maturity this woman gave off. Her eyes were a hardened teal almost that seemed like they could cut through anything.
And then the woman's gaze fell on her and all of that fell away.
The steely glint in her gaze fell away in an instant as her eyes widened almost impossibly. Eyes doing an automatic scan, Ran watched as her body stiffened to the point that she looked like a string strung so tightly and was prepared to snap. Almost subconsciously, the woman took a step back in what looked like a retreat. It almost seemed like she was trying to hide behind Shinichi.
The smile Ran had originally had on from about to meet this woman for the first time slowly fell away. The brown whicker basket in her hands seemed to feel heavier and heavier by the second. "Um. . . Thank you for the clothes. I-I washed them." She placed the clothes on the coffee table as she stood there uncomfortably. The tension was so thick in the room she was wishing she had made some other excuse or even agreed earlier with Shinichi that she needed to lay down.
Haibara didn't say a single word in response. Ran was sure the woman hadn't even heard her. The only form of acknowledgement was the way those teal eyes watched her every movement as they were stretched wide in what appeared to be terror.
Shinichi cleared his throat. "Haibara, this is Ran- the one I told you about," he admitted. "Ran, this is Haibara Ai. My neighbor."
They both heard the words but it really just passed from one ear right out the other. The two both seemed to be locked in some sort of stare off. Only thing, Ran couldn't understand why. This woman was staring at her as if she were the scariest thing she had ever had the displeasure of seeing.
When Haibara still appeared to be anything less than willing to actually speak to her, Ran forced a smile. "I- I think I'll take a quick shower. Thanks for the clothes- nice meeting you," she said softly but kindly before turning and slowly strolling from the room.
She really had originally planned on going to her room to shower. But something inside of her, that she choked up to the same person as in that mall earlier- a more dishonest and curious side, didn't go far. Only taking a few steps down the hall to give the appearance of her exit, Ran quietly made her way back to the doorway hidden and out of sight.
It was quiet in the other room, to the point Ran almost suspected she had been found out and she should just leave like she had said. But then. . .
"What's with that attitude?"
It was Shinichi and she figured he took so long to speak because he wanted to make sure she actually had left. He spoke differently though. Where as with her his tone was usually patient and calming, this voice was marred with irritation and disapproval.
Even more silence stretched on like that and Ran was beginning to think this Haibara Ai was mute. She had still yet to hear the other woman's voice.
Shinichi seemed to get annoyed after that. "Why wouldn't you talk to her? Do you have to be so rude all the time?" The last part was said a little frustratedly as if the way this woman spoke to Ran was a big deal.
"You need to call the police."
If it weren't the actual words that were spoken, Ran would've stiffened either way. That voice had not been one she was expecting no matter how mature and stern the girl appeared. It was very feminine but the underlining hardened edge to it wasn't hard to detect. But her words however. . . Call the police? Over what? Shinichi voiced as much.
"She's dangerous," Haibara said curtly.
"That's ridiculous! You don't even know her-!"
The interruption came swiftly.
"She's one of them."
Silence again. Ran leaned closer to try and pick up on anything but she couldn't even detect their breaths. One of who?
"Do you have any proof?" His voice was tight and controlled but it was clear he forced out the words between clenched teeth.
Haibara sighed. "You know my proof, Kudou-kun."
"That's not proof. Even if I wanted to believe-"
"You said she dodged a bullet." She paused for added effect. "She disarmed a fully grown man. Is that normal?"
"Being trained in the martial arts is not odd. And you seem to know a lot about her. A lot more than even she does at the moment so if that's the case, please do tell," he snapped almost sarcastically.
"Rum."
Ran could practically feel the tension. Could just feel the way he stiffened and his breath hitched from just that one word. But what did it mean? If she was supposedly dangerous and this the reason, she didn't get it.
"S-she's-" His tone was shaken from just more than being stunned. Truthfully she thought she heard fear.
"No, but she's almost a close second."
"Who is she?"
"A personal favorite to the second in command and a pampered lap dog," Haibara grunted in distaste not at all hiding how demeaning she meant the comment to be. "When she was first introduced in to the Organization and members saw how closely she was sheltered, rumors started going that she was kept around for. . personal entertainment. She rarely showed her face any more than Rum himself- I've seen her just once. But when she did, she was never alone."
Personal entertainment. . The words echoed around her thoughts and Ran swallowed down the nasty thought.
"But it was quickly proven that she was more than just a pretty face. One by one, members were just suddenly dropping- all of which were proven later to be undercover agents. CIA, FBI- there were numerous."
"Sorting out the traitors," Shinichi voiced his thoughts.
There was agreeance in Haibara's tone. "Her innocence and beauty that she radiated made it easy for her to be underestimated then- made it easy for you to underestimate her now," she said pointedly. "She's a master of deception; manipulative. When work isn't getting done and the boss wants results, they send her in."
"But she doesn't know that."
"Or that's just what she wants you to think. You're not thinking of her as the dangerous criminal that she is."
"If she does have her memory and she does in fact know who she is, then what would be her reason to fake that?" It sounded rhetorical like he wanted her to answer to prove a point but the woman answered anyway.
"To kill me. I turned my back on them and that's not something the Organization will take lightly," Haibara responded. "And you've been hiding me as well as trying to expose them."
"If what all you say about her is true, wouldn't you be dead already. And not just you but me as well for helping you? You always say the Organization works quickly, don't you?"
There was quiet after that and Ran got the feeling the woman didn't know how to respond to that. Deep down she probably felt that Shinichi was right. He really was after all. She had no idea what either of them were talking about. Organization? Rum? Trained operative? None of this was making any sense to her but if they knew who she was, shouldn't they tell her?
"I'm telling you, you don't know what you're dealing with," Haibara bit out. "We can't trust her."
"I trusted you. What is the difference between you and her?" he argued.
"The difference is that I didn't kill anyone."
"I'm sure others would debate that."
There was a sharp intake of breath and Ran assumed it was Haibara taking offense. Releasing a shaky breath she finally said, "Even if that were the case and she really can't remember- what will you do when she does gain her memory? After all of what I told you, you know what she's capable of now."
"Then we have until then to show her a better way."
"This could jeopardize everything we worked for," she whispered harshly and it was clear she did not agree at all. "She's practically the princess of the Organization. They'll have every agent searching for her and allowing her to stay here will only paint a giant target on our backs."
Disregarding what the other woman just said, Ran heard the rustle of the whicker basket being moved and she prepared to make a hurried escape. "I'll let you know if anything changes with Ran-" It was obvious he was giving her a dismissal but not for the first time that night, Haibara interrupted him.
"Champagne."
Again, she had to wonder what was with all the alcohol. Was it some code? She had already been saying Rum every few seconds and now she was talking about Champagne.
"What?" Shinichi sounded as confused as her thoughts. And then Ran slowly caught on.
"Her name is Champagne."
Just narrowly making an escape before she was discovered by the neighbor or Shinichi, Ran actually ran to take a shower. That's what she said she would do and how fake she'd look if she returned with dry hair.
She entered the kitchen in a fresh pair of clothes and loose, wet hair to find Shinichi- again, standing over a stove almost hectically. There was a book open on the counter beside him and she watched with amusement as he kept glancing hurriedly from the pages back to the stovetop again.
He had no clue what he was doing.
She shook her head before stepping further into the room. "What are you making?"
The real question was, 'what was he trying to make'. It was obvious he was struggling and she actually felt guilty for wanting to laugh.
Shinichi turned to face her a little jerkily and she really could see now just how much trouble he was having. "Uh. . curry. . I think. . " And something bubbled making a loud popping noise from the pan making him jump his attention back to the stove.
He thinks? How can he not know what he's making?
Before she could even understand what she was doing, her body was already taking more steps till she stood beside him. Now she had a perfect view of the less than perfect . . curry? She wasn't even sure now.
He scoot over a bit while giving her a slightly annoyed glance. "What are you doing-?"
"Do you need help?" It was a question but she was already sliding the wooden spoon from his hand before he could even respond. Their fingers brushed a bit but she didn't pay it any mind and began stirring the pan slowly.
Shinichi appeared to want to protest but again she was already moving before he could get a word in. "This is a bit too high," she commented almost to herself as she turned the burner down and then she was swiping a finger in the sauce and tapping it on her tongue. Her features scrunched the slightest bit and she hoped the man hadn't caught that.
Looking at the recipe displayed in the book, Ran took some of the spices Shinichi already had set out and mixed some more into the mix. Tasting it again she nodded before angling the spoon towards him so he could taste. "It was a little too spicy," she spoke as he blankly swiped a finger into his mouth with the sauce. "See? Is that better?"
He bore an amazed look and she hoped that could only mean he approved.
"If you'd like, I can finish this if you want to set the table," she offered and almost laughed at how fast he made an escape. Honestly, she didn't think she could watch him struggle over cooking her another meal again. And for some reason, she didn't mind cooking either. If anything, she'd say she rather enjoyed it.
And Ran wasn't sure how long she took to fix- finish the curry he had started. But when she finished and was wiping her hands on a dishrag to tell him it was ready to start serving, she found he was already standing in the doorway watching her.
From the way his cheeks flushed and his eyes flit away, it was clear he hadn't been expecting her to turn around just yet. How long had he been standing there and watching her? Was she doing something wrong?
She glanced away nervously herself. "It's done," she spoke softly.
He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare," and she was stunned to hear him actually apologizing. It wasn't like he had really done anything wrong anyway. "I just feel I need to keep an eye on you," he explained and unknowingly to him it struck a nerve.
"Because I'm dangerous." And his head shot up surprised.
Shoot. Her face turned a bright red and her gaze became even more intensified on the kitchen tiles. If she had wanted to keep her eavesdropping a secret it was too late now! Why had she said that?!
She peeked up curious to see if he was angry.
He wasn't. He looked only calm and relaxed. "I thought you would've heard."
Ran only watched him, a bit perturbed. He's not mad? That conversation had obviously been meant to be a secret one.
Shinichi sighed. "No. You're not dangerous."
"But you both said I was a dangerous criminal," Ran argued.
"Haibara thinks that but that's only because she just met you."
She raised a brow. "You just met me," she pointed out.
"Yet your the closest thing to a friend I have- besides Hattori," he shrugged at that. "So no, I don't think you're dangerous."
The girl blushed. He considered her a friend? "I was afraid to tell you earlier- about the mall," she clarified and swallowed her nerves. "When I was fighting that man. . " She shook here head. "I- I felt at ease. I felt relaxed; at home. Like killing a man was second nature to me." And as if her mind was just realizing this for the first time, her indigo eyes began to water.
When the man must've seen she was in the brink of crying, his own eyes widened worriedly. But that didn't stop her tears like he hoped.
Lower lip trembling, she looked at the floor again. "I felt like a monster. I was standing there pointing a gun at that man and all that was running through my head was how I could actually pull the trigger and not care. Who could kill another human being- take a life, and not care?"
Shinichi remained quiet, still not quite sure what to say. He hadn't expected her to start talking about the mall. But the quivering voice and guilt ridden face she wore almost broke him. And it made it apparent to him that she really had needed to talk about it.
"I am a monster," she finished. "Your friend is right. I am dangerous and you should have me locked away."
Almost angrily, the man stormed closer to her. "You are not a monster. You're not anything like those black crows."
"But you can't know that. I can't fully remember what I was like," she said dejectedly. "I can't even remember my own name."
Ran startled when he gripped her shoulders firmly.
"You decide."
Her eyes went wide.
"You decide what your name is. It's your choice."
"The fact that you're so repulsed by the possibility of killing anyone is all the evidence I'll ever need. I don't believe you're capable of ending another person's life," he spoke truthfully with his face as serious as she'd ever seen.
She choked. "But in the mall-"
"Did you shoot him?"
"No, but-"
"Did you want to?"
"No!" The thought almost pained her and made her voice come out horror filled.
"Then I don't think you're dangerous," he concluded easily.
He made it sound so simple. Made everything so clear when it really was not. Neither of them had any way to know if she was innocent or not. His own friend he obviously consulted with warned him against her. How could he still feel the way he does?
He tilted her chin up slightly so she would look at him and the action made her heart jump again. "You're thinking too hard. Let's eat and I think you should rest."
She disagreed wholeheartedly. She felt perfectly fine and she had already gone a complete week without an incident. But she couldn't find it in herself to argue with the man. And especially, for some odd reason, when he touched or looked at her like that.
Ran nodded slowly and he dropped his hand with an arrogant smirk as if he knew all along she'd agree. "Well, let's start dishing it out."
And she was stuck staring at his retreating back wondering, not for the first time, what was he doing to her?
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miyanom · 4 years
Text
Sweet Tea in the Summer
MASTERLIST | REQUESTED BY: @goodandevil18 
GENRE: fluff
PROMPT: “Did you seriously just climb through my window?”
NOTES: I’m so sorry for the long wait! But here is the Zuko oneshot that was requested, I’m hoping to be able to get the Sokka one out soon, but the words for this were just flowing out. 
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Zuko sat in front of the pond, though his back was turned to the turtle ducks that usually took up all his free time in the afternoon. Instead, his attention was entirely focused on the girl sitting across from Aang and Katara as they all drank tea together in the garden.
During the war, when he was training Aang, it was easier to ignore his blossoming feelings for his old friend as she spent most of her time with Katara or Sokka. But now that she was practically living at the palace with her father as one of his council members, it was harder to ignore that she existed.
Y/N threw her head back in laughter, but Zuko couldn't hear what Aang said. Not that it mattered much to him, not when Y/N looked like an absolute angel with the sun shining down on her like that.
"Zuko, why don't you come join us?" Katara called out, finally snapping the boy out of his thoughts. The Water Tribe girl - who had refused to call him by his official title ever since his coronation - stared at him with a knowing look in her eyes.
"I-" His voice came out fairly squeaky, causing him to quickly avert his gaze as a blush crept onto his cheeks. He cleared his throat with a quiet cough before attempting. "I can't. I have a meeting to get to."
"Oh, come on," Y/N rolled her eyes, a grin taking over her features. "You're Fire Lord Zuko. I believe that means you can stay for one cup of your uncle's new Tea, without your council getting too annoyed."
Zuko's eyes flickered to her for just a second, before he stood up and turned around to head inside. The simple phrase "I'm already late" leaving his lips as he left.
Y/N stared at Zuko's retreating figure with a frown. A sigh escaped her lips as she lifted her cup back up, taking a small sip of the sweet tea Uncle Iroh had prepared for them.
Katara crossed her arms. "I seriously don't know how you put up with him all the time," she grumbled. "I've only been here for two days and I already-"
"Sweetie," Aang spoke up sweetly, his soft smile immediately relaxing Katara.
Y/N's eyes flickered between the young couple, they had been dating for 2 years now. Ever since the war ended. Y/N found their relationship cute, even if Sokka had gotten to the point where hearing "sweetie" one more time would make him jump into Unagi infested waters.
"I don't understand how it was so easy for you two," Y/N muttered. "Going from friends to- to this!" She waved her hand in the direction of the couple who had just shared a kiss right in front of her. "I want it to be that easy for me and-"
Y/N suddenly cut herself off with a fake cough, looking down in embarrassment.
"For you and Zuko," Aang finished for her. "Is that what you wanted to say before you coughed?"
"Yeah, thanks, Aang," Y/N rested her forehead against the palm of her hand, not wanting to look at her friends.
"Oh, come on, Aang. Who else would she be talking about?" Katara giggled.
"I can't believe you two are making me wish that Sokka was here right now."
"What would he do that we can't?" Katara asked, sounding annoyed that her best friend would even suggest wanting her brother's company more than her own. "Sokka gives the worst relationship advice! Just ask Zuko!"
"Zuko asked Sokka for advice?" Y/N lifted her head. "Why? About who?"
"Sweetie!" Aang glanced at Katara, whose eyes widened as she realised what she had said. "No one, Y/N. It was a looong time ago. Right, Katara?"
"Right!" Katara squeaked, nodding her head a few times.
Y/N stared at the two with a raised brow, not believing them for even a second. "You two are the worst liars I have ever met. And I know Sokka!"
"We aren't supposed to say. I'm sorry, Y/N," Aang frowned. "He made us promise."
"Why though? Please, give me something to work off here," Y/N begged.
Realising this might be the only chance she had to convince Y/N to say something, Katara quickly spoke up. "You should tell him how you feel tonight! Before he gets advice from someone better than Sokka."
Y/N visibly deflated at that. "Why would I do that if he likes somebody else?" She let out a sigh as she stared down into her tea cup. "I guess it makes sense, he has been avoiding me recently, and just brushes me off when I do get the chance to speak to him."
Aang and Katara shared a look. Y/N wasn't just overthinking things here. Zuko had been brushing her off recently, but that was because of Sokka's stupid advice. It had nothing to do with Y/N.
"You have to try, Y/N," Katara told her. "You'll only be more heartbroken if you don't. And... and if it doesn't work out, then I guess you can come live with me in the South."
Y/N let out a quiet laugh. She had been pestering Katara about that for weeks now, saying that if her best friend in the Fire Nation had gotten sick of her then perhaps it was time to go visit Katara and Sokka's home for awhile. It didn't hurt that it was currently summer in the Fire Nation, and a refreshing break to the snow would be nice this time of year.
"Okay, but when he rejects me and tells me he never wants to see my face again, then I hope you know that I will never leave the South Pole."
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Katara smiled softly.
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Zuko sat his desk, his head in his hands. He didn't even have any meetings today, he didn't know why he said that. Honestly, he would've loved nothing more than to join them for tea, to hear Y/N's laugh up close. But Sokka's squeaky voice had weaselled its way into his head, telling him to play hard to get.
So now here he was, wasting the evening away in his office in an attempt to avoid Y/N's judging eyes. Surely by now she would've realised he was lying about the meeting.
Maybe she was too busy with Aang and Katara to remember that she practically had his entire schedule memorised like the back of her hand - he had forgotten one meeting with one of the Fire Nation officials, so Y/N had taken it upon herself to make sure he would never do it again. When he had asked her about it, she told him that it was so he could have at least one stressful thing taken off his shoulders.
It meant more to him than he would ever admit.
Zuko's eyes widened as he lifted his head just in time to see Y/N halfway through the window, obviously having climbed inside.
When their eyes met, a sheepish smile appeared on the girl's face. "So... you come here often?" She asked awkwardly.
Though her stupid question wasn't what he was focused on. "Did you seriously just climb through my window?"
With her feet now touching the ground inside the office, she dusted off her pants. "Yes..." She noticed the dead-pan look her was giving her. "But you gave me no choice!"
"I gave you no choice?" His brows furrowed in confusion as he stood up and pointed at the door. "There's a door right there, Y/N!"
"If the guards announced me, you would've come up with a stupid excuse to leave," Y/N pointed out.
Zuko went silent at that, knowing she was probably right. "I-"
"No. Stop talking," she held her hand out in his direction, signalling for him to stop. "I need to talk. And then I'm gonna climb back out the window and we'll pretend this never happened-"
"Okay?"
"Zuko, what did I just say?" She whined. He couldn't help but smile, though instead of replying, he simply nodded. "Thank you. Now, anyways... Zuko, I think - at least, I hope - I'm not the only one who feels this way. But I really like you, okay? Wait, no... No, I mean I do but it feels like more than that! Maybe- I think I'm in love with you. Wow was that weird to say, how do Katara and Aang do it all the t-"
"You love me?" Zuko stared her in shock, only able to watch as Y/N stopped rambling and took a hesitant step back toward the window.
"Y- yeah, so... so I think I'm gonna climb back out now," she whispered. "Sorry."
Just as she was about to throw her leg over the side of the railing, he quickly rushed forward. Taking her hand into his own, he effortlessly pulled her away from the window until she stood facing him.
They both stared at each other for just a moment, before Zuko whispered. "I love you, too."
Without a second of hesitation, Y/N slowly pulled Zuko's face down closer to hers, their lips pressing together gently as they kissed.
Zuko was beginning to realise something else, he should have never listened to Sokka's advice. If he hadn't, then maybe he could've been kissing her for much longer.
As they pulled away, Zuko found himself saying the first thing that came to his mind. "Is that Uncle's new sweet tea?"
Y/N blinked, before letting out a laugh. "Yeah, I had more before I came. Surprisingly, it helped my nerves."
Zuko smiled softly. "Good. I'm glad you came and told me."
"Me too."
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nervousladytraveler · 3 years
Note
"i'm supposed to be mad at you but you're holding my face and smiling and i just can't resist it when you're pouting like that" THIS SEEMS SO CUTE!! If you're still taking prompts...
Thanks so much, Anonymous, for the prompt (and sorry this took forever to complete...)
----
“Demelza? Are you...angry with me?”
Demelza shot Ross an icy stare that both answered the question and made it clear that the asking itself was wholly out of line.
Dun-dun, dun-dun, dun...bong! Jarring notes wafted in from the next room and broke the silence. Earnest little fingers had been carefully plodding out the piano keys, but had gone amiss when they tried the last one. The result was an ode to anything but joy--perhaps fitting the mood in the kitchen.
Determined, like her mother, and stubborn, like her father, the little pianist started again. Dun-dun, dun-dun...
“Demelza, my love?” But before Ross had a chance to flash his charm, complete with top-drawer eyelash game, his wife cut him off.
“Fucking hell, Ross! Inviting Francis Basset...sorry, Sir Francis Fucking Basset over for dinner with no god damn--god forsaken notice?”
He laughed at his wife's charming idiosyncrasies. Why did she think ‘god damned’ was too strong a curse in this case but ‘fucking hell’ was to be used liberally?
“It’s a day's notice.”
“It’s eighteen hours. Are you on fucking crack cocaine?!” she continued and he knew he would be paying for said laugh.
“Dem…”
“Ross?” She could make his name sound as sharp as blade if she’d wanted to.
“Mummy? The small voice cried from the other room.
“Yes, love? What’s the matter?” Demelza’s tone when answering her daughter was decidedly sweeter than the one she was employing in the kitchen with her husband. As a rule, she never cursed in front of her children.
“I can’t get it right!” Clowance fretted, close to tears.
“Keep trying, darling,” Demelza called back encouragingly. “I think that last note is meant to be a D--check your fingers. But your left hand sounds correct…”
“Okay, Mummy”. Dun-dun, dun-dun, DUN-dun, dun-dun…”I got it, I got it!”
“That’s brilliant, Clowance. Now run the whole thing again.”
“Demelza,” Ross tried again. “Bassett has fast become an important business associate and it's easy to see that I should make friendlier overtures to such a connection…”
“Overtures? Connection? Who the hell are you even talking to right now? Is that the best you can do to convince me?” she sputtered. “Ross, he was my father’s boss...and you’ve no idea what vitriol about Sir Francis Basset was spilled across our dinner table when I was young, so to now have him at my own table--I’m to try to forget that?!” Her knuckles were turning white as she twisted the tea towel she was holding, then she plopped herself down on the kitchen chair with a perfectly pitched sigh. “And please tell me you did not tell him who my father was? I’d rather be associated with month-old pilchards than with Tom Carne.”
Ross laughed again--cautiously. She had made a joke, after all.
“My dear, I would never...never have asked it if I thought it was something difficult for you. You are so skilled, so gracious, and such an accomplished hostess…” Now he dared to put his hands gently to her cheeks. He looked down with a smile that he hoped would come across as genuine. He did mean what he said.
“Accomplished hostess? Oh, Ross, did you never see the anxiety that goes with each fork still?”
“No...I don't see it, but I suppose I should have. Just because you make it look effortless doesn't mean it is. And I, of all people, should know that…”
“Why? Because I came from nothing so I had a steep learning curve? Or do you mean that you make things look so easy all the time?” she asked sarcastically.
“No...Demelza...I meant because I know you. You do nothing in half-measures,” he said softly but his last words were muffled by Clowance’s latest attempts at the piano. She had not in fact found her D and now her left hand was off as well.
“How the hell am I supposed to get things ready in time? Even if I start now...there’s just too much! And Jeremy has a football match tomorrow, you know, and I’d promised Rosina I’d go with her for this month’s scan since Sam has prayer services...”
“I’ll take Jeremy to his match and you can still go with Rosina. I’ll do the shopping tonight after dinner and Prudie can do the cleaning…” Ross offered with another heartfelt smile that seemed to employ every muscle in his face.
“I’d better see if Betsy Maria is free tomorrow,” Demelza grumbled. “At least to see to the children but if she comes early she can help Prudie. Still the preparations have to be started tonight. And then there’s the question of what will I wear?”
“You look lovely in anything,” he said but the compliment seemed to fall on deaf ears. Demelza’s beautiful mouth was still fixed into a pout but she was thinking, already moving on to what plans she’d need to get in place over the next 18 hours.
He hadn’t let go of her and she looked up at him through partially lowered lids. He could see she was still angry but it was disappointment, or maybe frustration--not fury.
Ross could resist her no longer and bent to kiss her. He felt the tension wash from her face and her mouth open to accept his offering of love--and contrition. He knew when he pulled away he’d find her smiling. He hadn’t expected such a bright laugh.
Dun-dun, dun-dun-dun...bang!
“Shall we ask Clowance to play for Bassett tomorrow?” Demelza teased.
Her cocked head, her sly grin, her perfectly arched brow--Ross could hold back no more. He kissed her again.
The plans they’d just made for this evening--any shopping or cleaning in preparation for tomorrow’s guest--would need to be postponed. It might make for more anxiety tomorrow but was worth it tonight.
He took her hand in his and without saying a word, eagerly led her from the kitchen and up the stairs.
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