#this whole date he's just watching her watch the fireworks

[the-prima-vista]

[forever-rogue]

Hi! If you’re taking requests then can I please ask for you to write a Joel x Reader one where Joel and Reader have been dating for a long time and are now finally happily living in Jackson (with Ellie), and it was all going fine until Joel’s PTSD is randomly triggered and he accidentally hurts Reader when she touches him as a way to check on him and offer him comfort like she normally would do during one of his panic attacks?

Like maybe they’re at a family bbq (with Tommy and his wife) or the bar or even at their own home when something — whether it be a certain sound, smell, word, etc. — triggers him to the point where he is totally out of it and gets startled when Reader touches him, causing him to slightly hurt her by grabbing her wrist or whatnot because he mistakes her as a threat. Once he snaps out of his PTSD episode, he immediately feels horrible and regretful despite how much Reader tries to assure him that she’s okay and it wasn’t his fault. But it’s not enough; he starts to distant himself out of fear that he’d potentially hurt her again and out of fear that he’d finally done something enough that’ll make her want to leave him. Reader catches on though and then does her best to make Joel realize that she doesn’t blame him for what happened, she’ll always be there for him — through the good, bad, and ugly —, and she’ll never leave him because he’s the love of her life. Just basically a whole lot of hurt and comfort (with a hint of angst and fluff) lol.

(Ah, I’m so sorry that this ended up being such an annoyingly long and detailed ask! I was struggling with how to express my idea in words, and just ended up rambling… I hope it’s okay! 😭 Please feel free to change anything — you’re incredibly talented, so I completely trust your wherever your creativity takes you if you choose to write this).

Anyway! Thank you so much for writing and sharing all of your stories — your writing is truly outstanding and really just your account as a whole is one of my absolute favorites! 🫶🏻

AN | Please, this is so cute but sad, but there’s also a happy ending 💕

Pairing | Joel Miller x Fem!Reader

Warnings | Language, Mentions of PTSD

Word Count | 2.8k

Masterlist | Joel, Main

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Think you made enough food?” you felt Joel’s arm at the small of your back as you set up the desserts you had made. You turned to him and pretended to huff before playfully swatting his hand away, “I think you’ve got enough for the whole of Jackson.”

“I never hear you complaining, Joel Miller,” you grabbed one of the chocolate cookies you’d made and took a bite before offering half to him. He playfully bit it out of your hand, causing you to giggle at him, “no manners, Mr. Miller. None at all!”

“I,” he mumbled through a mouth of cookie, “am a perfect gentleman, darlin’.”

“You’re lucky I love you,” you uncovered the rest of the baked goods you’d prepared and marveled at your handiwork, “this is a family barbeque but you know that basically means everyone will be here since we’re all basically one big, weird family. Hence, I made plenty.”

“What’s a smart woman like you doing with a fool like me?” he wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you in a for a sweet kiss, practically beaming when you pulled back, “baby.”

"Don't baby me, Miller," you planted a playful, sloppy kiss on his cheek, "go on and help your brother with the barbecue so we can actually eat."

"Fine," he clutched at his heart as he scoffed before making his way over to Tommy. You couldn't help but watch him go, shaking your head in amusement. This man.

-

The world might have been different from how it once used to be, but one of the things that never changed was the love of fireworks. Jimmy and Sandra had somehow managed to come up with a cache of them on one of their last trips out of Jackson. 

Naturally, the brilliant idea that they could be used at the barbecue was proposed and it wasn't hard to convince the younger Miller brother to go ahead with it. Under controlled circumstances, it would all be fine. 

And realistically it should have been fine…you had no reason to think that it wouldn't be. But life didn't seem to agree with you and had a completely different idea. 

You were standing with Ellie, your arms wrapped around her shoulders and you hugged onto her, waiting to see all the pretty fireworks. It hit you then and there - Ellie had never seen fireworks before! The idea in and of itself seemed wild. 

Her entire face was lit up from her big smile and the sparkling lights as the two of you watched the ones Tommy had set off. 

"Pretty cool, huh?" You pressed a kiss to the top of her head before realizing that something, or someone rather, was missing, "I'm going to go and find Joel. I'll be right back!"

Ellie was so distracted that she didn't even take much note of you leaving. It only took a few minutes before you found him near the back of the house, picking at something from one of the tables, or so you thought anyway.

"Babe?" You weren't sure if he could hear you over the clambering of the crowd and the fireworks; he didn't turn around. You walked closer to him and reached for him, "Joel?"

And then it happened all at once; he turned around and grabbed your wrist, twisting your arm at a painful angle and causing you to cry out. His eyes were dark but there was nothing there, just an empty hollowness. 

“Joel!” you tried to pull out of his tight grip but that only made things more painful. He wasn’t letting go and you didn’t know what to do - he clearly wasn’t him right now. You struggled with him for a few moments before you heard someone running up and yelling at Joel to stop. 

You looked up and felt a wave of relief wash over your body when you realized it was Tommy. If there was anyone that could help in this situation, it would be him. Tommy managed to pry Joel’s hands off you, the sheer force causing you to stumble backwards and fall onto your butt. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” Tommy’s hands were on Joel’s shoulders as he tried to get him to snap out of his trance. You’d never seen him like this and it was as scary as it was heartbreaking. You didn’t fully know what was going on but you had a fairly good guess, “Joel, this isn’t real, it’s just a memory. You’re okay, you’re safe, you’re at home with us.”

That seemed to quell him even if it was the slightest bit and he shook his head, almost as if he was trying to shake whatever was going on off. 

“Breathe in and out slowly,” Tommy had a calming effect on your boyfriend who seemed to relax, his shoulders slumping ever so slightly, “look around, we’re at home, we’re safe.”

Tommy took a few steps back and looked at you, an apologetic expression on his face. You swallowed the lump in your throat and as he held out his hand to help you to up and to your feet. Once you were back up, you looked over at Joel to find looking between you and Tommy,

“Joel?” your voice almost cracked as you subconsciously at your sore wrist and sore. His eyes darted to the sore area that was already red and starting to swell. 

His jaw clenched as he let out a long sigh, hanging in head in exhaustion and shame, “I’m…I’m okay.”

Tommy hesitated for a moment before gently wrapping an arm around your shoulder, “let me take you and Ellie home.”

“But-”

“Please?” he asked softly, offering you a pointed look. You realized what he was trying to convey and nodded before letting him lead you away, “I’ll be right back, big brother.”

You cast one last look at Joel but he wouldn’t meet your eyes. Your heart broke a little bit, but you kept repeating to yourself that everything would be alright. This was just a small bump in the road.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

When you woke up the following morning, you found yourself alone in bed, Joel’s side still made up and cold. He hadn’t come to bed. You rubbed the sleep from your eyes before putting on your slippers and padding down the hall. You poked your head into Ellie’s bedroom and found the girl fast asleep still; at least she was getting some rest. 

You decided to start a pot of coffee and made your way to the kitchen; when you stepped inside you found him sitting at the table and staring at his hands. You relaxed ever so slightly when you realized he was home…but something was definitely still going on. 

“Joel?” you’d been so quiet that he hadn’t heard you come in, but his head snapped up and looked at you, “h-hey, my love.”

He inhaled shakily before looking you over, his entire face turning into a grimace at the angry haze of bruising on your arm. You realized what he was looking at and moved to tuck your arm behind your back. 

“I hurt you,” was all he managed to see before you could see that his eyes were glistening with tears. You took a few steps closer and shook your head fervently, but he recoiled from you, “I did that to you.”

“No,” the fact that he tried to shy away from you didn’t stop you from getting closer, “you didn’t hurt me - that wasn’t you.”

“It was me,” gingerly, he reached for your hand and pulled out your arm so he could look it over properly. In between the marks you could see the fingerprints etched in there, “if it wasn’t me, who did this to you?”

“Baby-”

“I hurt you,” he repeated, “all because I couldn’t handle the sound of some fuckin’ fireworks.”

“Stop,” you crouched down so you could look up at him since he refused to do so, “please. It wasn’t your fault, and I don’t blame you for this. No one should - it was an unfortunate thing but it’s over and done with this and this bruising will heal and go away. But I am never going away, and if you think this one little thing will do that, then you don’t know me very well.”

“I had no control over what happened,” he was willing to concede at least that much, “and that’s what scares me. What if it happens again? What if it gets even worse the next time? What if-”

“Joel,” you reached up and put your hand on his face, brushing your thumb over his cheek, “you can’t think like that. It’s not healthy….just because it happened once doesn’t mean it will happen again. And, if for some reason it does, we’ll take it one day at a time.”

He reached up and gently removed your hand from his face, causing you to frown deeply, “I can’t trust myself around you. If anything ever happened to you or to Ellie, I would never forgive myself.”

“Joel-”

“I need some air,” he stood up and gently brushed past you, walking outside and into the backyard. You remained rooted in your spot, but sighed heavily, blinking back the tears that threatened to well up. 

Things would be okay, you knew they would…they had to be. Right? Right.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Joel was still with you, but you could slowly see him growing more and more distant as the days wore on. Despite your reassurances that you were okay, and you still loved him more than anything, it was like he became a shell of his former self. And it wasn’t just with you, which was a bit of reassurance that it wasn’t just you, but it was with everyone. You wished there was something you could do that would easily get him back to his former self. Just as your arm grew better and less bruised, he continued to pull away and create a barrier between the two of you. 

One late night, as you laid in bed reading due to your inability to sleep, Joel came in and slowly closed the door behind him, and leaned against it. When he cleared his throat, you looked up and saw a serious expression on his face. He looked just as tired as you felt. 

“What’s up?” you asked softly as you closed your book and gently set it to the side. He remained silent for a few moments, clearly searching for the right words. Once a few moments of tense silence passed he finally looked at you, "hmm?"

"I've been thinkin'," he shoved his hands into pockets. You sat up straighter and tried to push down the nagging feeling that was already forming in your tummy, "and I think it's best…I should go."

"Go?" You parroted, not fully understanding what he was talking about, "what do you mean, Joel?"

"Go," he waved his hand around, "I don't think I should be here with you and Ellie anymore."

"Oh. Oh," you frowned at him, "so you're just going to up and leave."

"Baby, I - it's not like that," he insisted softly but you weren't just about to let him go. Not that easily, "this is what's best."

You scoffed at him, not even bothering to hide your disappointment, "that's what's best, huh? For who? For who is it best? You?"

"Best for everyone."

"Well that is just a straight up lie," you got out of bed and walked over to him, crossing your arms over his chest, "its not what's best for me at all. Or Ellie."

"Baby," it was softer and much more gentle, and almost resigned in a way.

"Listen - this time I need you to listen to me," you stood in front of him, firm and tall, "this has been going on for weeks now and I'm not just going to let you keep continuing on like this."

"I just…I wouldn't forgive myself if I ever did anything to you or hurt you in any way possible," you could see his Adam's apple bobbing, "its already hard enough knowing that I did." 

"Look," you pulled back the sleeve of your sweater and held up your arm. When he refused to acknowledge what you were doing you kept a cool and even tone, "look at me."

Reluctantly he allowed himself to look at your arm, at the place he had once hurt you. Your arm was back to normal and no remnants of what had once happened. He wrapped his fingers gingerly around your wrist as he tenderly turned your arm to get a better look at it. 

"There's nothing there," you pointed out softly, "and it doesn't hurt at all. I don't think about it anymore and I don't…I never blamed you and I was never scared of you."

"You're saying that now…but what if it happens again?" You could see the genuine concern in his eyes as you reached up and gently touched his face. He closed his eyes and leaned into your touch, something he'd denied himself for what seemed like an eternity by that point.

"If it does, we'll figure it out," you meant every word you said and you hoped he knew that, "Joel, life isn't always easy and it's not always fun. But just because one hard or bad thing happened doesn't mean I'm just going to walk away. That's not who we are and that's not what we do. I'm with you forever and nothing is going to change that."

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, in search of the right thing to say. Instead of verbalizing all that he was feeling, he bowed his head and pressed his forehead to yours.

"If it was me that happened to and I hurt you, would you want me to just leave?" You asked softly and you could feel the shake of his head.

"Of course not," he insisted, "it wouldn't…it would have been an accident."

"Exactly," you whispered, "how do you think I feel about you? I'm not going to let you just go. Not without a fight."

"Really?"

"Of course," you took his face in your hands and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, "I love you, silly man. Nothing is ever going to change that. We'll be together through the good and the bad, through thick and thin. All of it."

And that was what seemed to break him. You could hear him sniffle lightly before a few tears rolled down his cheek. You gently brushed them away before making a small sound of reassurance at him. 

"I love you, baby," he wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you into his warm, soft body. You felt him relax into your touch as you looped your arms around his shoulders and tucked yourself into his body as best as possible. You could tell that he needed this just as much as you did; he was practically melting into your body, "so much."

"I love you," it was a sentiment whispered in his ear so only he could hear it,"so, so much my love."

"When I hurt you I just…I got so worried."

"It's understandable," you insisted, "anyone would feel that way. But I want you to also understand that I love you and that nothing is ever going to change that."

"I know," a huff of laughter escaped him, "I've always known that."

"Good," you gave him the beaming smile that he still managed to fall in with over and over again, "because I've always known that you love me too. I can't promise everything, but I can promise you one thing."

"What's that?" He trailed his fingers against your jaw.

"That we'll always be together," you pressed kisses to both of his cheeks, "and we'll get through anything. And that I will always love you."

"That's three things," he teased, a glimpse of his true self coming though.

"Joel!" You were laughing though and he loved that sound, "get the sentiment though."

"I do," he agreed gently, "I love you."

"I love you too, Joel Miller."

[morningberriesao3]

As Sneaky Link comes to an end, it just means that I’ll get to work on some other fun projects that have been in my drafts for (literally) a year and a half.

The next multi chapter I’m working on is set back in the 80s. Only this time, it’s not Steve who spirals about his sexuality.

Eddie is straight—he’s just never met the right girl to feel that spark. But Steve over the last years has had a secret that he’s told no one. Not even Robin.

Until Eddie walks in on him in a very compromising position. With another man.

I started this fic as something we hardly see in the Steddie fandom—and that’s Steve being the certified queer, and Eddie having a full blown crisis as he figures himself out.

As promised, below the cut is the first 2.4K words of chapter 1, and in February it’ll be posted in its entirety on my ao3: morningberries

Enjoy 🥹

It was a chilly day in early September—the wind carrying half-brown leaves through the air in swirling patterns that looked like mini tornados. Eddie stared at them from his trailer’s living room window as Wayne’s truck disappeared beyond the bend in the road.

Another weekend alone as his uncle worked a double shift.

It’s not that Eddie didn’t have friends. There was Gareth and Jeff and Grant—the members from his beloved band Corroded Coffin—but he knew Jeff was on vacation with his parents before college started and Grant was working with his dad in the garage on that ’69 Mustang they picked up from the scrapyard over the summer. Gareth, although in Hawkins, had landed himself a hot new girlfriend and spent every waking moment with her.

Eddie couldn’t really blame him, even though he didn’t really get it.

It had been the same thing his whole life, if he was being honest with himself. Since middle school, he’d watch his friends start dating whatever chick they had a crush on, listen to them start yammering about how gorgeous she was or how cool or how smart. How she made them get butterflies in their stomachs, whatever the fuck that meant.

Yeah, cool.

Eddie had dated girls—some pretty cute ones at that. There was Sam, who he dated his second senior year, and they’d gotten along really well. She was what Eddie thought should probably be his type—dark hair, a lip ring, wore lipstick in blacks and unearthly blues. She was even in Hellfire Club and honestly kicked ass at it. Objectively, on paper, she was everything he wanted.

Except he didn’t feel it. Whatever it was. The fucking butterflies, or whatever.

When they broke up, it hadn’t really been the end of the world. He mourned their friendship more than the sexual aspect of their relationship, because Sam had been awesome to hang out with and smoke with and laugh with.

Gareth hadn’t believed Eddie when he said he was fine—took a solid 4 months before Gare actually accepted that Eddie’s heart wasn’t shattered.

Eddie cared more about… God, like, anything but dating. Like D&D, and his friends, and his guitar, and Metallica’s newest album, and making his fucking bed in the morning, and even his therapist. He knew it didn’t really help him look normal to be a twenty-year-old man who couldn’t care less about pursuing girls, but whatever. He was King Freak, after all.

When he met Chrissy six months ago, he thought for a moment that he might be able to convince himself to have a crush on her. It should be easy; a small, thin, blonde, pretty cheerleader is everyone’s type. Maybe he’d just been chasing after the wrong girls. But what he felt on the drive to his trailer with Chrissy in his front seat, as she timidly told him she thought he was kind and funny, was, again… not the fireworks he expected from all the stories of love at first sight.

And then she’d died, which vastly overshadowed Eddie’s worry that there might be something wrong with him for not developing feelings. He talked about both things in his weekly government mandated therapy sessions. But mostly about her death.

The doctor had told Eddie it wasn’t uncommon to have an aversion to romantic or sexual relationships after experiencing trauma. Eddie didn’t really bother to elaborate that it had started long before said trauma. But whatever.

He digressed.

Gareth had a girlfriend, and they spent their time making out and—apparently now—doing hands and mouth stuff. At least, that’s what Gareth had been bragging about at their last band practice. And, according to him, they were probably going to fuck on this weekend that Eddie was once again alone, so calling Gareth was completely off the table.

He sighed, standing from his uncle’s withered brown couch to walk the ten steps to his bedroom. He plucked his guitar from her hook on the wall, strummed a few chords without bothering to plug her in. If he was really going to talk about trauma responses and aversions, he might as well start with the one he developed for playing his guitar after the epic battle in the Upside Down.

Since the day he nearly bled out on the gravel outside of his trailer (that wasn’t really his trailer, because apparently alternate dimensions are, like, actually a thing), he hadn’t really been able to play anymore. It wasn’t some dramatic thing, like getting wild flashbacks of battling massive fucking hell-bats, or getting feasted on by their fang-filled mouths, or Dustin crying over him, or what if felt like when he literally died for four minutes before he was defibrillated. It was just this soft, but uncomfortable, feeling in his stomach, accompanied by massive brain fog, and a general lack of motivation to learn anything new.

He hung the guitar back where it belonged, in front of his mirror. The reflection that looked back at him looked… well, goddamn bored, for one. And a little anxious. And like he should probably try to reach out to some of his other friends.

There had been some silver linings to the whole everything-he’s-ever-known-about-the-world-has-been-a-lie thing. He did, now, have other friends. Dustin, for one, would hang out with him on days that weren’t D&D related. Although, Eddie was sure that a lot of that was because he had a working vehicle that could tow him around to the arcade, or the diner (where Eddie paid for Dustin’s meals, obviously), or the video store.

Eddie didn’t mind crashing Family Video, because more often than not, it meant he could visit his new age-appropriate friend.

Robin and Eddie had become attached at the hip, honestly. Best friends. Trauma bonded, or something. Or maybe it had more to do with the fact that they were both losers, and somehow both smart and dumb at the same time. They also both talked a lot, and got excited over weird shit, and liked to rag on Dustin. So Eddie really took a liking to Robin.

And here was something that he’d been thinking about for the last few weeks.

Maybe he had a crush on her? It didn’t really sound right, but he did get excited when he got to see her, and his heartrate sometimes sped up when he went to family video and he first laid eyes on her talking to Steve, and maybe there was also a tinge of jealousy that settled in the pit of his stomach when he thought of how close they were. That had to mean something—meant something more than anything else he’d ever felt before.

He knew if Steve and Robin were going to get together, it more than likely would have already happened. But the thought still nagged on him a bit. He wouldn’t like it, and he couldn’t really put his finger on why. Having a crush on Robin was the only feasible explanation, really.

It was either that, or perhaps it was because Eddie was convinced that Steve hated him for some unknown reason.

Eddie tried to become friends with Steve during the aftermath of the Upside Down, and for a while it seemed like it was working. It seemed like Steve actually enjoyed Eddie’s company.

They’d hang out first with Rob, or Dustin. And then just by themselves. Steve even came to smoke up at the trailer once or twice, ended up crashing on Eddie’s couch. Steve used to smile at him, and nudge him in the shoulders like they were sharing some inside joke, or sling his arm around Eddie casually like they’d known each other for ages.

It always made Eddie feel like he was buzzing, like there was some sort of weight in his chest that spasmed and choked him. His therapist had said that it was probably some sort of satiation for his inner child, finally being accepted by someone who was deemed popular. Eddie hadn’t ever thought he cared about shit like that, but the subconscious was a mysterious place, he was coming to learn. Definitely explained the attachment he felt for Steve those first few months out of the hospital; the absolute giddiness he felt when they got to hang out.

But that was at the beginning. The start of July was when Eddie noticed Steve acting different towards him. Avoiding touch, and then eye contact, and then Eddie’s calls, and finally, just Eddie altogether.

The pit Eddie had felt in his stomach from losing Steve’s affection had been awful. He really thought they were becoming close, really thought it was the start of something. A really great friendship.

But Steve peaced out as quickly as he bonded with Eddie, apparently deciding now that they were back in the real world, they couldn’t really mingle anymore.

The bond they formed in the Upside Down was acceptable when they were actively monster hunting, but Eddie supposed now that things had somewhat calmed, reality started to crash into focus. Steve was still a jock; Eddie was still a freak. Therefore, no more sitting across from each other at Benny’s Diner.

That was Eddie’s theory, at least. When he’d ask Robin about it, she’d just shrugged her shoulders and said, “He hasn’t spoken badly about you. Like, at all. Seems like he likes you to me.”

Then, as if to prove his point, Steve would go all red when Eddie would stop by his work and go hide in the back room until the kids picked whatever Sci-Fi movie and piled back in Eddie’s van.

Whatever. It didn’t matter.

Eddie survived sans Steve before the Upside Down, he’d survive without him now.

He picked up the phone and dialed Robin’s number.

“Hello?”

“Rob,” Eddie greeted, a smile already forming on his face from hearing her raspy voice. “What are you up to?”

He could hear a snort from the other end of the line. He knew she was rolling her eyes. “On a Friday afternoon at five PM? Absolutely nothing, of course.”

“Is that sarcasm?”

“Did it sound like sarcasm?”

“I’ll be honest with you,” he said, tucking the phone against his shoulder as he poured himself a mug of old drip coffee from this morning, “it very much did.”

“You’re getting better at social cues!” she mockingly praised.

“Watch it, Bucky. Don’t get too comfortable hiding behind that phone.”

“You’ll forget before the next time we see each other. I’m not too worried.”

Eddie sighed for what felt like the hundredth time since his uncle left the trailer. “Does that mean you can’t hang?”

The line crackled as Robin moved through her living room. Eddie could imagine her flopping on the couch, getting comfortable, her green phone glued to her ear with a big bowl of popcorn settled in her lap. “Noooott necessarily,” she drawled out. “Although, I know you’re not exactly fond of parties.”

Eddie furrowed his brow as he slid his mug onto the new microwave’s glass plate. He’d gotten it for Wayne’s birthday with some of the hush money the government had… well, hushed him with. Eddie had promised to keep his lips sealed when they flashed him the size of the cheque. Not like he had many people to tell, anyway.

“You’re going to a party?”

“Yeah,” she said, sounding surprised. “Steve’s party? For his twentieth?”

Eddie’s stomach dropped. “Steve’s having a party for his birthday?”

As far as he’d known, Steve said he was doing a quiet thing with his parents and his aunt that he didn’t even want to attend, and that was that. He’d just shrugged when Eddie pressed about celebrating with his friends, muttering something about it feeling weird to celebrate after everything that went down earlier in the year.

Which had been fair enough.

But now it was abundantly clear that Steve had been lying to Eddie. To keep him away.

“Uh, of course he is, Doofus. He told me you said you couldn’t come?”

Eddie, for some wild reason, felt his eyes pricking with tears. Out of anger or betrayal or confusion, he wasn’t really sure. It was dumb; he was tough, and he didn’t cry when jocks hated him ever before. So he swallowed them back down.

“Guess my plans changed,” he said, venom seeping into his tone. Fuck Steve and his master plan to keep Eddie from attending his dumb house party. “I’m coming.”

It seemed that Robin was totally oblivious to his anger as she squealed excitedly from the other end of the line. “Yay! Will you come pick me up then? It would be so much cooler to show up with a friend than have my mom drop me off in front of all the former popular kids of Hawkins High.”

“Why do you care about that shit?” Eddie asked, even though he knew it was hypocritical of him.

“Look, I know you’re totally unaffected by the social hierarchy, Eddie, but I’m unashamed to admit that it’ll feel kind of amazing to debut myself as Steve’s best friend, you know? And I’d rather do it in your shitty van than have my mother yelling that she loves me from the open window of her Honda Civic.”

“Don’t call ol’ Heffer shitty,” Eddie sulked. “It’s not good to bite the hand that feeds you. Or something like that.”

Eddie ignored that it didn’t feel great when Robin said she was Steve’s best friend. That heavy shadow of jealousy weighed down on him. He was unclear whether it was because he was jealous of Steve or Robin.

“Whatever,” Robin said, her voice laced with yet another eyeroll. “Pick me up at seven-thirty?”

Eddie nodded, his face still pulled into a scowl. When he realised Robin couldn’t see him, he shook his muddled brain and mumbled, “Uh—yeah. Seven-thirty. See you then.”

“Cool. See you soon, Doofus,” Robin sang. And then the line went dead.

[ghouljams]

waiting for the day cowboy!könig finally decides that enough pining is ENOUGH and just decides to ask bee out on a date.

if bee isn't already wooed enough by how nice this big and handsome man is to her all the time then imagine how much more wooed she'd be when it seems like könig *just* know what she likes and dislikes. she's probably thinking "wow! it's amazing how you can guess what i like and don't like!" and könig (nasty little bastard) is just nodding along like "yes yes of course :3 (innocently)" as if he didn't gather that info from spying on her like bffr !!

There are too many kindnesses to ignore. König is too nice to you, and you realize you've fallen for him like you remember the sky is blue. It feels like something that's always been there, nurtured with careful hands and soft works. You wonder sometimes if that's the way König is with everyone. If it's just you that thinks about him like this.

Then he touches you, looks at you a moment too long, whispers to himself with words you half catch, and you think the feeling might be mutual. Still, you'd hate to ruin a good friendship on wants and wishes.

You do your best to stay platonic. To ignore the butterflies in your stomach, the tight hope in your ribs, each time you go out with König. Not dates. You tell yourself firmly, coach yourself in the bathroom mirror. Tonight is no different. Just your weekly dinner. Your own personal thank you to König for all his help. You truly couldn't do this without him.

You bump into König as you turn away from the stove and he catches you with a gentle if firm hand on the small of your back. His eyes wide with surprise at your stumble, before they soften. Your heart pounds in your chest, your stomach fluttering with just the slightest touch from him. His hand slides off you, fingers curling like he could hold on just a moment longer if you let him.

You can't take it anymore.

You grab the front of his shirt and tug him down, pushing up on your toes to press your lips against the warm cloth of his bandana. You're not even sure you're kissing the right spot, but it feels right in the way it makes König lock up. Shit. He doesn't even touch you. You pull back, mentally kick yourself for ruining things like you always do.

König all but rips the bandana off when you do, wrapping his arms around you to press his lips to yours without the barrier. You don't have time to process the way he sighs against your mouth, barely can think past kissing him back. You never believed in the whole fireworks thing, but maybe they meant the flip in your stomach, the desperation in the slide of König's lips as he kisses you like he's just come home from war, the shudder he sends through you with just the tilt of his head.

There's nowhere for you to go, completely held by the arms around your shoulders and waist. Well, that's not completely true. You can press more firmly against König. Try to stand taller as you slide your lips against his, feel his tongue swipe against the seam of your mouth entreatingly. There's nothing that could have kicked your brain out of your head quite like his tongue twisting against yours. He's like a furnace, warming you up wherever you touch him as you lean against his broad chest.

When's the last time someone kissed you like this? Made you feel like you were something they'd never get enough of?

The smell of burning food reaches your nose and you turn your head from König's kiss with a loud panicked swear. His arms loosen around you as you turn to switch off burners and stir the pot you were supposed to be watching. Your chest heaves, a little breathless from kissing König, which- wow, first of all. Second of all, you don't really know what you're supposed to do after that.

"I suppose this is a date then?" König answers for you. You laugh, doing your best to salvage dinner.

"You should've told me I would've dressed up." You joke back. König hums, his fingers tracing over your hips to the edge of your shorts, feather light when they skim your skin. You suppress the shiver it sends down your spine.

"You always look beautiful," He tells you softly, and you duck your head, not able to keep the shiver down that time.

[rowretro]

𝓟𝓲𝓮𝓬𝓮 ♡𝓯 𝓒𝓪𝓴𝓮

✧warnings: fluff

♡synopsis: It's your birthday and your treat of a boyfriend Heeseung had nothing but sweet treats for you the whole day.

(happy bday to the anon who suggested<3)

✧♡✧♡✧♡✧♡✧♡✧♡✧♡✧♡✧♡✧♡✧♡✧♡✧♡✧♡✧♡✧

"Happy birthday my darling, my world My everything~" Heeseung sang happily, as he kissed her nose, waking you up from your comfortable slumber. "thanks babeee but I wanna sleeep" the girl whined as Hee snickerred "maybe later, I have surprises waiting for you birthday girl." Heeseung said, planting another loving kiss on her forehead.

You were at the balcony, just doing a little painting, Heeseung smiled, back hugging you as he watched you work magic with the paintbrush in your hold. How focused you were with fine lines. "Don't you think it needs a little something here?" Heeseung asked asked pointing at the canvas as you frowned, looking straight at it.

Heeseung took this chance to slip on a beautiful chain on your neck. Initials embellished with beautiful diamonds. Yet they don't outshine her beautiful eyes he'd say. His hands slipping from her neck to her waist, he turned her around so she could face him, kissing her lips softly. "Tonight... I want to take you on a date, a special date" the man said as you tilted your head, curious "A surprise" he added.

The evening rolled, the sky as dark as dark can be. She can feel the soft sand beneath her feet as she took in the view. Heeseung told her to just stand there, and stare at the sky. Maybe he was setting up something behind her. She was wrong. There before her eyes was something more beautiful.

Pink fire works taking spotlight as a "Happy birthday y/n" shone before her, disappearing into the sky. It was the kind of firework show you would see on BBC news on new years day. The kind the whole world will get up to watch, and Heeseung brought it to her, made it about her.

"Babe you ready for cake?" Heeseung asked as he took your hand in his, walking you over to a nearby café, where your friends and his friends were "Happy birthday darling..." Heeseung said as he kissed your forehead. Y/n's best friend ran over and hugged you tightly. "I know I said I wouldn't make it, but I only said that because your boyfriend wanted it to be a surprise... I was wrong, you got the best of the best men" she said with a smile as she hugged y/n.

[froggibus]

Your Summer Together - Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto, Shoko Ieiri

Pairing: Satoru Gojo x gn! reader, Suguru Geto x gn! reader, Shoko Ieiri x gn! reader

Genre: pure fluff hcs

Summary: just some hcs of what your summer would be like while dating one of the core three

CW: established relationship, s2! Shoko, Geto and Gojo, they’re still students at Jujutsu Tech in this, mentions of drinking/smoking

so I think it’s plain to see that JJK2 is rotting my brain rn. shoko’s design is absolute PEAK and I am in love w all three of them. this is meant to take place around 2006 while they’re still students at the academy, but you could probably take it either way. anyway, would love some JJK requests of these three if anyone else has brain rot 😭 also I am now completely caught up on the manga and idk what to do w my life

————

Satoru Gojo:

lots and lots of sweets 

definitely takes you to the arcade so you can watch him set the high score on games 

“babe are you watching? babe pls”

he is CLINGY too

always following you around and practically glued to your side 

whenever one is seen without the other, Geto and Shoko always ask where your “carry on” is

he is the EXPERT at sneaking around too

knows every single place you can make out during the day without getting caught 

and makes a point of using ALL of them

takes refuge in your room whenever he’s done stuff to piss someone off (usually Yaga) 

probably sleeps more in your room than he does in his own 

like to the point your bed always smells like him and there’s always candy wrappers on his nightstand 

gives you lots of random gifts too 

from pretty flowers he found to expensive jewelry and clothes 

just loves to spoil you 

takes you to almost every summer event

fireworks? he’s taking you to the best spot in the city 

expect lots of beach days too 

this man will drag you out every day and make you watch him show off in the water 

"babe babe watch this"

also ice cream dates!! 

being stuck between two flavors so Gojo gets one and you get the other and the two of you share 

really it’s just an excuse for him to have more sugar 

you will be sick to death of him by the end of the summer

Suguru Geto:

expect lots of third wheeling from Gojo

like lots

like you cannot get rid of this man no matter how hard you try 

sneaking around a lot to avoid Gojo 

lots of sleepovers in each others dorms (and hiding from Yaga)

takes you around the city and shows you all of his favorite places too 

expect lots and lots of random dates too

like going to the aquarium and then having sushi??? 

but also plans really cute activities for the two of you 

takes you to places with really good views to watch the sunset 

and plans for you to spend a night in the city just to get away 

doesn’t like the beach but will definitely go if you want to (although he spends the whole day laying in the sand unless you beg him to come in the water)

looks damn fine in a bathing suit too

movie nights w the core three!!

definitely more of a reader and will compare the book to the movie 

and you, Gojo and Shoko will be telling him to shut up

after everyone falls asleep on the couch, definitely starts being more affectionate to you 

also brunch dates!!

this man is a sucker for brunch 

tries to get one last get away with you at the end of the summer too

Shoko Ieiri:

expect lots of teasing from Gojo and Geto 

but dw because there will be absolutely NO third wheeling 

knows every place in the city she can get alcohol + smokes 

takes you to a bunch of cool lowkey places that you’ve never heard of before either 

she’s not a big fan of public events or big crowds, but you can probably convince her to go to a couple

lots of lazy mornings and afternoons together 

also gets away with way more than the other two because she’s way less annoying 

so less sneaking around too

cannot cook to save her life so more often than not you guys go out for food or order take out

staying up way too late + sleeping in together 

makes you watch all of her favorite movies and watches you the whole time to see how you react 

not nearly as horny as the other two but definitely gets some affection in too

you guys go bathing suit shopping and she insists on seeing every single one on you

gets you all flustered with her comments too

not one for the beach but Gojo probably drags everyone out at some point 

she’ll help you apply her sunscreen but will not swim unless you drag her out there 

Gojo probably throws her in at some point and she almost kills that man

she is the cocktail queen!! 

like she will make you the tastiest, coolest, prettiest cocktail you’ve ever seen in your life 

Gojo and Geto definitely treat her like their personal bartender 

also takes lot of pics of the two of you together + has them strung up above her bed 

[sleepyconfusedpotato]

Wildflower

What should Ghost give during Valentine's Day to Jade when she's an actual florist who sees flowers literally every day?

Pairing : Simon “Ghost” Riley x Charlotte “Jade” Le Jardin (OC) Word Count : ~ 6.4k words Warning : Full on fluff-fest, a slight angst, and the good o'l cursings.

Title and story inspired by the song 'Wildflower' by Clay Finnesand and 'La Vie en Rose' by Louis Armstrong.

February 14th. 

Fucking Valentine’s day - a day full of love, they said. 

He never really celebrated or cared about any of those kinds of days where people commemorate shit like love. For him, it's just like any other day. He woke up today and did his workout before he went on jogging.

However, that day is different as he saw countless red and pink decorations in every store in his apartment neighbourhood, offering Valentine's day discount for couples. He swore he saw more couples walking down the street than usual, that he even saw a man propose to his girlfriend when he was jogging. 

Looking at them, Ghost remembered,

He already confessed to Jade during the New Years. 

Yep. He did.

Across the London Eye, when the fireworks painted the infinite black, the chimes of Big Ben rang throughout the Thames River, he said it to her, 

‘I think I’m falling in love with you.’

Only to disappoint her again by saying, ‘But I don’t think I’m ready yet.’

Had he been a coward for not being ready to commit yet? Jade was a shining light in his life. She knew of his struggles, and she treated him with kindness and fondness no woman ever did to him. All his life he never thought to fall in love with someone, yet here he was. 

He wanted to be in a relationship with her. Fuck, he wanted to. But she deserved the world. She deserved certainty and stability while his job was nothing but that. He could get deployed out of the blue anytime – die anytime. He had a lot of things to sort out first.

He saw tears in her green eyes despite the smile. She only hugged him in response, saying, 

‘I love you, so I’ll stay right here.’ Jade muttered shakily while pressing her body to his in a tight hug, her fingers grasping the back of Ghost’s jacket. 

‘When you’re ready, I’ll be here.’

‘Let’s be friends, yeah?’ She had added, to which he answered with a smile. “Yeah. We'll always be friends.”

That was New Years. 

It'd been two months since then. Ghost and Jade had been texting each other regularly all the while continuing their lives. They met occasionally for a food tour as Ghost was a food enthusiast. Their chat was full of ‘Let’s try the new Korean BBQ around the street’, ‘You ever tried a fried ice cream?’, ‘There’s a new movie about a lady becoming a superhero across multiple universes’, and more casual stuff like those. Meanwhile Jade would take him to physical activities such as take him to a zoo, hiking, and even go to arcades. 

Johnny had been such a tease on it. He’d been bothering Ghost the whole time in the base as the Lieutenant looked at his phone and typing away on it more frequently than ever. ‘Yer’ lookin’ very happy these days, Sir.’ , ‘How’s Jade doin’?’, ‘Another ‘meet-up’ with Jade?’, 

‘Yer’ so full of rubbish. That’s called a date.’ Soap had said. 

'Shut your gob. We’re just friends, Johnny.’

‘Friends who go on dates together.’

Soap ran away before Ghost could smack the shit out of him. 

But was it really? Ghost and Jade frequently walk together, as friends, Eating at places together, as friends. Watch movies together, as friends. 

But seeing that one guy propose to his girlfriend lit up a spark in him.

That's when Ghost texted her for a meet-up somewhere, Jade replied back with,

‘I would LOVE to if it's not the busiest time of the year T_T and every Valentines we'd open from early morning to midnight, so I'm really sorry. We have all our employees working, but it doesn't seem to make any difference.’

He forgot that Valentine’s day is literally the most important day for a florist. Fucking idiot.

Ghost sighed as he looked up from his phone, right in front of the Le Jardin floristry. He wore a black hoodie and a face mask, the black face paint absent from around his eyes as he was on leave, a rare occurrence from his line of work. Inside the garden was an organised chaos, to say the least. Ghost saw at least 6 customers inside the garden, around 4 employees going around the shop to accompany them. Even as one person went out after buying a flower, two people would enter the shop to replace them. The place was positively crowded.

He looked far and wide for Jade inside among the sea of people, until a woman with ginger hair came out of a room with a big rose bouquet, giving it to a man in an expensive suit that was tailored to perfection for his figure. The man paid for the humongous flowers and left the shop with a nervous face, meanwhile Jade instantly attended to another customer. He could tell that she's a leader based on how she commanded her employees with such confidence and authority, yet still had that kindness and gentleness in her way of talking. Her legs brought her around the shop with utmost speed and precision, not a single step was wasted on her feet.

He could only smile proudly beneath the mask. 

For about 15 minutes he observed the shop, until a truck pulled up in front of an alleyway right beside the floristry. Didn't have to wait long to understand that the vehicle was meant to pick up flower decorations for a wedding as an old man came out from the alleyway (presumably connected to the backdoor of the shop) brought out a very big, white bouquet in his arms, which size was so big it concealed his head - surely he couldn't see where he was stepping. Ghost noticed that he was struggling to lift the giant decoration onto the truck, his knees looked like it was about to tumble, until his prediction turned into reality.

The old man's knees failed him, and the big white flower decoration would turn into a mess on the ground, if not for Ghost, who quickly leaped in and held the flowers from falling. Ghost huffed in relief that he jumped just in time. 

The man leaned to the side of the decoration to see who had just saved him, and saw a big, tall man dressed in a black hoodie and jeans, whose face was concealed by another black face mask.

Regardless, the elder smiled wide, "Oh good heavens! Thank you so much for the assist! My knees aren't as strong as they used to." The old man said as they both put the white decorations into the truck box. "Ah~ being young is so much easier innit?"

Ghost only nodded, avoiding eye contact to hide his identity. Why'd he help him? probably just from reflex, but then again, how could he just leave an old man stumbling to his fall?

"I'm really sorry for the trouble. I wish I could repay you." The old man's expression was so kind it's almost blinding. He wasn't that short or frail for a man with entirely white hair, probably a 5'9". Judging by his quite muscular arms from his rolled sleeves, he could tell that he's not weak, his knees just betrayed him at a bad time. 

Ghost didn't say anything to the man as he was about to walk away to avoid more interaction, before a familiar feminine voice called.

"Papa! Are you okay!? I saw you trip!"

Both men turned their attention to the shop, where a woman with braided red hair and dark blue apron was talking from the main doorway. 

"Don't worry, Lottie Dear. I got it, but only thanks to this young lad right here." He gestured to Ghost, where he stood right on the elder's left. "If not for him, we'd have to replace all the flowers." 

Fuck.

The old man is her father. 

It's Mister Le Jardin. 

Her green eyes caught the sight of a man whose built and sense of fashion she would recognize from a mile away. "Wait... Ghost??" Jade exclaimed, her face filled with surprise, "What are you doin' here??" 

The SAS lieutenant looked up to her with a tinge of panic on his concealed face, while Mr. Le Jardin observed him up and down. "Oh? You know him?" 

Jade nodded slowly, still shocked, "Yes... he's uh… he's a friend from work." 

He never intended to be noticed by Jade, afraid of disturbing her work, let alone meet her father out of all people. 

The father noticed that word. 'From work'. 

"Really now? What's your name, young man?" Mr. Le Jardin asked, his voice went higher in delight. 

He lowered his head to bow a little, before answering, "Simon... Sir."

"Ah. Nice to meet you, Simon! I'm Eli, owner of Le Jardin along with my wife Gracie – she's inside dealing with the clients." He introduced himself with a handshake, which Ghost reluctantly accepted. 

"Sir! Where're the rest of the flowers?!" The truck driver shouted as he got off his vehicle, prompting Eli to walk to the back door through the alleyway, leaving Ghost and Jade at the front of the shop, her face still painted with shock. A lady walked in front of Jade to enter the shop, so she made some way for her and approached Ghost. 

"Hey Ghost." The red-head started, happiness filling her voice. 

"Hey." 

"So… What brings you here?" She surely knew that he wasn't there just because he 'happened to be in the area', so he deleted that reply in his mind. 

"I wanted to see you."

Jade's eyes widened, surprised at his straight-forward answer. "Oh." 

"Your old man lost his balance loading this decoration into the truck, so I helped him." 

"Oh." Still with the same answer, Jade couldn't tell him how fast her heartbeat was, as her father just came in contact with Ghost, the man she fell in love with.

He looked inside the shop, observing the clients and employees walking around. "Busy day innit?"

"Yeah, it is. To be honest we've been busy since the last 3 days. Had to pick up tons of fresh flowers from our fields back in Norfolk, then arrange them for this day. Today's the busiest day, so it's an all-hands-on-deck situation. Also a big wedding is coming up tonight, and we have to transport these humongous flowers to a hotel ballroom for decorations. Biiig money. This is the third truck." Jade explained as her father and the truck driver walked out with two exact copies of the same white flower decor, lifting them up into the truck before immediately running back in. Third truck? The client must've had too much money on their wallets.

Seeing the scene that's happening in front of him, Ghost took a deep breath and blew it out. 

"Seems like your Da can use an extra pair of arms and younger knees." His deep voice suggested, making Jade's eyebrow rise. 

"Oh? Are you willing to help us out?" 

A nod was all she needed as a confirmation. "Got nothin' else to do or to be."

A wide grin fell on her lips as she grabbed Ghost's right hand and pulled him into the alleyway and to the back door of the shop, where a vast storage room was packed full of flower decorations similar to the ones that were being lifted to the truck. There were only flowers where the eye could see, save for the door that led to the front shop. There were huge boxes and boxes of flowers that had big 'Ian & Gia 14/02's written on them.

Ghost turned to the woman beside her. "Big money, eh?"

"Suuuuper big. Businessman and a big shot pianist. Wanted all the jasmines of blue white and red, and we gotta lift them all to the truck." She explained smiling to him, "Think you're up for this?"

"Won't even break a sweat." Ghost began stepping into the storage room, lifting three big boxes at once in his arms. Jade was left impressed by his show of strength as he ran to the truck at an impressive speed, before coming back and picking up more boxes like a machine, his hoodie still up and his mask still on. 

Jade scoffed at his feat, as her father came to pat her shoulder from behind, "A soldier huh?"

"...Yeah."

"It's basically written on his whole figure and posture. Is he any special in his regiment?"

The daughter could only let out a light laugh, "Very, very much so."

"Get out of here." His father looked at her in disbelief, "SAS?" 

"Yep. One of the strongest, and I'm not even exaggerating." 

His loud laugh filled the alleyway as Ghost ran back and forth lifting the flower boxes without a second wasted and tiredness showing. Jade smiled before heading into the shop to aid her mother and her co-workers with the regular customers. 

------

“Chacha, the pink wrapping paper and white 2.5 is out! We need more from the storage, please!” shouted Fiona, her co-worker and best friend of southeast asian descent, who mainly works in the front counter, preparing the flowers right in front of the visitors (which worked as an added value to attract more people). Her wrapping skills were second to none in the shop, even to Gracie, Jade’s mother, who sat right beside her counting the incoming revenues and accepting orders by call. 

“One minute!” Jade shouted back from the studio room, which was right behind the wall of the main display room while her hands also swiftly moved to arrange roses inside a heart-shaped box. The order had come in pretty fast; she had to make three of them at a time, and now she had to go up to the second floor to get the items Fiona requested. 

“Let me get it.” A deep voice came from behind her, making Jade flinch and look back to the source of the voice, where Ghost stood. 

“A-Are you done with the loading?” Jade asked him with a start, as it was not even 20 minutes since he started to help her father lift all the flowers inside the truck. 

“Just finished. Truck left just now with your dad to arrange the decorations in the ballroom.” 

“Oh.” Jade leaned back to take a glimpse of the back storage room, and true to his words, it was empty. “Wow.”

“Where are these… pink wrappings and the ‘white 2.5’s’?” Asked Ghost with a tone of confusion in his words. Jade could only giggle as she never thought she’d hear the word ‘pink’ out of his mouth. 

“Okay, so go to the second floor. On your 3, duck down and the pink wrapping is on the 3rd shelf from the bottom - take 4 rolls of ‘em. ‘White 2.5’s’ means the white-coloured satin ribbon with a 2.5 centimetres width. Don’t mistake them for the rest as there are the .5, 1.2, 4, and 5 centimetres as well. From the shelf go to your left and there should be a high rack and you can find the thingy there. Take two rolls. Don’t forget to close the door before you go down.” 

Ghost stood in silence as he processed the information.

Before Jade could ask him if he remembered all that, he answered: “Affirmative.” 

The man walked to the side stairs and stepped over 2 stairs, disappearing from her sight to the upper floor. Jade scoffed at the sight before going back to her handiwork. When else can you command an SAS officer like this?

----------

“Chachaaa~ Where're the pink wrappings and white 2.5s?! I need ‘em no–” Fiona noticed the new pink wrappings and white ribbons on the table as she worked. That was fast. 

She then looked up, expecting to find her red-headed best friend who was shorter than her, only to find a big, tall man dressed in a black hoodie and a face mask instead, who exudes danger in the way he stands. Fiona, Gracie, and the clients looked him up and down with mouths agape, as they never saw this giant man around, ever. The scene looked too damn comical for his liking.

“...Is this correct?” Ghost started with a voice lower than the depths of hell, which surprised the whole room. Fuck. Being looked at by people was the one thing he wanted to avoid, but here he was.

“Lottie dear, Who’s this?” the old lady beside Fiona asked Jade with a quite high volume, who was still inside the studio arranging the heart-shaped roses.

Judging by the nickname and those braids in her gray hair similar to Jade's, this lady could only be Gracie, her mother. 

Mrs. Le Jardin. 

“H-He’s a friend from work! I called him up here to lend a hand!” Jade shouted back from the studio. Even with the answer, all the people were still staring at him, especially Jade’s mum, and it felt like having ten laser sights aiming at him.

He swore he saw a smirk from Gracie.

So before he attracted more attention, Ghost repeated, “Is this correct?” 

“Y—yeah.” Fiona answered nervously, meanwhile her mother was still eyeballing him like she found a leprechaun. Upon hearing that confirmation, Ghost left the items in the counters and fast-walked back to the studio where Jade was, disappearing from sight. 

-----------

“Chacha, are you serious? ‘A friend from work’?” Fiona asked her best friend as she threw a piece of french fries into her mouth. The Le Jardin floristry was currently having a lunch break, and most of the employees went out to get their own meals, while the two stayed inside to talk about the man who was currently sweeping the floor of the studio alone, silently.

Fiona stared at his back from where they were eating at a counter, chewing at her fries. “Are you saying that you have a friend built like that with a voice like that working as a volunteer in the orphanage dealing with kids???”

“Nooo no no, that’s not it–!” That was where Jade messed up. She forgot that neither her best friend, nor any one of their employees know that the Le Jardins used to be MI6 black agents, except the fact that Jade was adopted. They both started to become friends when Fiona applied for the job 3 years ago, right when Jade just retired from MI6. All that she knew was the fact that Jade only had two jobs: Floristry on weekdays and in the orphanage for weekends. She never mentioned the other work that she did for the last two decades of her life. “I didn’t mean from work, I mean I met him when I was at work.” 

“Oh really?”

“Yeah.” 

“When and how did you meet him? Heck what is his name?” Shit. She needed to make up stories about him at this point. But what?! Jade hated lying. Sure it’s super easy to manipulate people by changing reality, but she didn’t want to lie to her best friend! Fiona’s the one who’s been helping her adjust to the life of being a florist and a normal life for the last three years (after saying that she’d been living abroad). 

However, how can Jade just say, ‘oh so actually I was an MI6 agent. Both of your bosses were too, actually. Not only agents – we were black agents who were trained since we were not old enough to make our own decisions to do the illegal stuff! I retired three years ago and that's when I met you, but they called me back again, and that’s when I met that guy who happened to be an officer of one the most elite task forces in the world!' 

That’s just absurd!

How did she meet him? How did she meet him?! 

"Ja– I mean Midg– I mean Lottie, where do I put these–"

The two women turned their heads to Ghost, who came out of the studio with the broom and dustpan in his hands. Looking at the two women's expression, he knew he fucked up. He didn't know what to call her outside of work. Her call sign 'Jade' was directly tied to her work as an MI6 and he couldn't know for sure if Fiona knew about that name. 'Midget' was the name he called her regularly, but he thought it was too harsh in front of her best friend, while 'Lottie' was…

"Why did you call her that?" Fiona asked him while chewing her fries, suspicion painting het face, while Jade sucked her lips and widened her eyes in shock.

Fuck. He thought right. It's a pet name used exclusively by her parents. 

"Wait. No way." She turned to Jade and Ghost back and forth before standing up abruptly, startling Jade, meanwhile Ghost stood calmly, still holding the cleaning tools in his hands.

"Chacha… is he your secret boyfriend?!?" 

That sentence shocked both of them as Jade quickly denied in panic, "No! No, he's not!! Just– sit down will you?" 

"That name is exclusively used by the bosses, ya know." She started walking towards Ghost slowly. 

Jade followed her from behind, trying to hold her friend back. "Fiona, he isn't! I swear!"

"No, seriously. How did you meet her? When?" She started closing in on Ghost excitedly, looking up at him. "What’s your name, by the way?"

“Simon.” Ghost answered deadpanly, as the last question was literally the only question he can answer casually. As long as he didn’t give out his last name, it’d be fine. “Name’s Simon.” 

"Ooooooh so he's the reason why you've been going out a lot after closin' up! You've been on dates!!" 

"NO!! We haven't–" 

"Yes."

Ghost's deep voice interrupted the two girls' argument, making them look at the man. 

"We've been on dates." 

Jade's face turned as red as her hair, and her heart beat so fast and so hard she swore Fiona and Ghost could hear it. Why was he suddenly doing this??? All the while, Fiona's jaw dropped to the floor, eyes glaring at her best friend in shock. 

Jade glanced at Ghost, but that damned hoodie and face mask did not help her at all. "I KNEW IT!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU'VE BEEN DATING BEHIND MY BACK??? I mean– I am happy for you, Chacha, but WHY ARE YOU HIDING IT FROM ME???" Fiona excitingly chimed to her best friend, grabbing Jade's shoulders before shaking them like she's a ragdoll. 

"Wait– Fiona I can explain–"

"Okay! Explain then! Tell me everything! And don't you dare try to hide anything from me." That's right. She deserved to know. Fiona had been with her for the past three years. She's her first best friend ever. Jade knew she could trust her.

Jade relented with a big sigh and glanced at Ghost with a questioning look. He caught her cue before he himself took a deep breath. "As long as she can keep her mouth shut."

Fiona turned to Ghost, "Wh-what? What is this about?"

"Fiona. My dear best friend. My very beautiful friend that I trust. I love you, so, so much, so I will tell you the truth." Jade started before Ghost cut her again. 

"Jade where do I put the broom and the dustpan."

"Owh just put it on the side there yeah. Thanks."

"Who's Jade?"

—------------

"Okay. So let me get this straight." Fiona clapped her hands together in front of Ghost and Jade, who were sitting on the chairs behind the counter together while Fiona was standing up. Jade sat like she was being interrogated, while Ghost folded his arms in front of his chest.

"You, Chacha, had been working as an MI6 black agent for the last twenty years, since you were a wee kid, and then retired three years ago." Jade nodded.

"But two years ago, they called you back to this city called… Verdansk, and that's where you meet… Simon." She gestured to Ghost, who nodded.

"You only met briefly, until last October, you got called back from retirement again, and that's when you met him for the second time. But this one was special, as you guys started to develop feelings for each other, am I right?" Both of them nodded. 

"GOD this sounds like a Wattpad type of shite!!" Fiona grasped her hair from frustration, "And you're an MI6 BLACK AGENT??? REALLY???"

"Was. Papa and Mama were, too, actually." 

"Oh my Dear Lord in Heavens. THE BOSSES WERE BLACK AGENTS TOO?????" Jade nodded again. Clearly she didn't have any single clue of the burden that came with the words 'MI6', 'agent', especially with the added word 'black' in front of it.

"And you, Simon. So you're a soldier. Which one are you from? Navy? Is it the Royal Artillery? Or is it Life Guards like James Blunt?" Fiona asked with her very limited military knowledge. 

"You promised to keep your mouth shut so keep your promise." That voice came out harsher than he intended it to be, prompting Fiona to be taken aback.

"SAS."

The black-haired woman gasped so hard, covering her mouth in shock. "...like Bear Grylls?"

Jade couldn't help the giggle, as Ghost was utterly flabbergasted at her reaction as that was the first thing that came to her mind from the revelation. "...Yeah. Like Bear Grylls. And no I don't know him."

"Wow. Okay. So why the face mask? Does this have anything to do with secrecy and stuff?" Fiona asked him again as Ghost still had the hoodie up and face mask. She hadn't seen his face at all. "Am I not allowed to see his face? Wait Chacha you have seen his face right?"

"Of course I have! What do you mean by that!?" Jade countered, clearly overwhelmed by the barrage of questions. "Ghost. it's up to you."

Ghost huffed, lifting up one hand to the upper hem of his face mask. Fiona observed as Ghost pulled down the mask for a good 3 seconds, catching a glimpse of his strong jaw, his light brown stubble, the faint scars on his face, before putting the face mask back into place again. "Happy now?"

"Oh. Wow. Okay. I am happy." Fiona confirmed with start, turning to look at Jade again, "Chacha you hit a jackpot on this one – so you guys are a couple, right?"

The man and woman looked at each other for a long time, Jade bit her lower lip as her expression fell. Ghost could only close his eyes in regret. 

"Wait, no way you guys aren't a thing already. Whaaaatttt?" Fiona expressed her confusion because, for the last two months, Jade had started to buy more makeup and clothes, and the sudden interest in her looks had made Fiona suspicious. She really thought her best friend was dating a man secretly, but now that he's right here, both of them could not say that they're in a relationship?

"Look, Fiona… it's complicated, okay? We're just taking things slow right now. Our… jobs have their own risks, and we're just trying to enjoy things as they are now." Jade tried to explain with a bit of a sad tone to her voice. 

"So… you guys are friends, who happen to go on dates occasionally?" Fuckin' hell. Ghost thought. How could she say the exact same thing as Soap? Was it really weird? For two friends to just go together doing whatever they liked? 

After both of them nodded for the hundredth time that day, Fiona sighed in acceptance. "Chacha, Luv, I might not understand what you guys are going through right now, but Simon," she turned to Ghost, who lifted his head to see her clearly. "You better not make her cry." 

The man glanced to his side, where Jade silently sat on the chair. He knew she'd already hurt her feelings by saying he wasn't ready for a relationship yet, but if he wanted to be honest with himself, was ‘scared’ and ‘afraid’ the right word for it? As Soap and Fiona said, they’re literally doing what couples do. 

He’s just afraid to put a name on it. 

“I’ll try.” 

—------------

Jade had texted him earlier that during Valentine’s, Le Jardin’s floristry would open until midnight. Ghost wondered why as it had been a while since the employees had gone home, including Fiona (who told her that they were going to have a long chat on the phone) who had to go home and have dinner with her family. The sun had long drowned, replaced by the moon that accompanied the cold winter of London. Warm lights from the shops and a few street lights were the only thing lighting up the streets - one of them coming from the floristry. 

The sales peaked around 6 PM to 9 PM when people finished their work to be with their loved ones. Ghost had absolutely no skills in flower arranging or wrapping, so he did all he could to help the other employees to pick tools or items from high shelves, and even change the lightbulb when one of them died. Ghost didn’t mind it one bit as he found simple domestic things like this relaxing compared to what he did in the military - full of pressure, stress, and blood. 

Meanwhile, the utmost form of stress in Le Jardin’s (at least what he saw today), was a customer who kept changing the flowers that he wanted, and then lashing out at Fiona when his bouquet wasn’t tied the way he wanted to. Ghost almost wanted to step in, drag him out of the store, and throw him out to the streets, but Jade stepped in and calmly asked the customer for references, dealing with the situation one at a time, and finally, the man stomped out. Ghost knew that there were more variety of problems in retail, but at least he got to experience one today. To be honest that was probably the least angry person in London. 

That was 3 hours ago. Now, there’s only the Le Jardins and Ghost; the father had come home at around 4 PM after finishing the decorations. He took a photo of the ballroom and showed it to his family and Ghost, who was quite amazed at the old man’s sense of composition and aesthetic. 

The four of them were all in the front room, Gracie counting the revenues, Jade tidying up the display flowers, Eli wiping the windows, and Ghost sweeping the floors (again). The clock showed 00.23, the shop was empty, and even the cafe opposite them was already closed. As Ghost finished his chore, he put the cleaning tools to the side before approaching Jade.

“Are you not closin’? It’s past midnight.” He muttered to her, who was tidying up the edelweiss display. 

Jade smiled, “We usually extend about an hour.” 

“Why?” 

“You’ll see.”

Just as he was about to question it, the phone rang besides Gracie, who picked up the call immediately,

“Le Jardin Floristry. Yes, we are still open. You might be our last client, Sir. We do have tulips available. What colour? Red and pink, got it. The bouquet will be here when you arrive. Yes. We’ll be here, Sir, don’t worry. Thank you!” After confirming the order, Gracie smiled towards Ghost as she put the phone back. “That’s why, Simon Dear.”

About twenty minutes later, a man entered the shop in a hurry, dressed in a dirty fire brigade jacket. He clearly just finished his work and then drove to the floristry immediately after he extinguished whatever fire broke out somewhere. The moustached man approached the counter, where Jade had his order ready. “I’m here for my tulips?” He muttered, clearly tired from the way he panted. 

“Here it is, Sir. That’ll be 18 pounds.” 

“Thank you so much. You guys were the only shop open at this time. I’m forever grateful. I already told my wife and children that I’ll be late, but I truly felt bad.” He pulled out his wallet before putting a 20-pound note on the counter. 

“A pleasure for us, Sir. Have a good night!” Gracie chimed as he took the tulips in his hands, exited the shop and finally drove off. With that, Eli flipped the ‘Open’ tag to the ‘Closed’ tag.

“Delightful! Now.” Mr. Le Jardin put his hands on his hips, “Let’s have dinner.” Once Ghost heard that, he immediately planned his escape from the floristry like he needed to escape an enemy’s vicinity. 

“Simon Dear, you’re joining us, aren’t you?” But after hearing the gentle yet commanding tone coming out of Gracie, he decided against it, as what he heard in his ear was, ‘We’re going to have a conversation about you and my daughter’. 

—-------

Fuck. There’s the question. “No, Ma’am." He replied slowly, "Not yet."

“So, Simon Dear.” Gracie's voice startled Ghost as he was cutting the carrots for the chicken soup they're making, all the while Gracie was stirring the ladle on the pot. His hood was still up on his head, but he's taken off his mask to smell the chicken broth in front of him. He figured that if there's a civilian he'd let see his face, it's an ex-MI6 whose daughter he loved.

It was only the two of them in the kitchen on the third floor as Eli and his daughter were still tidying up the first floor. “Are you Lottie’s boyfriend?” 

Ghost expected a questioning look followed by a 'why', but instead she gave him a light nod. “She’s very fond of you, I think you should know."  That one caught Ghost's attention, briefly slowing down his slices. Did Jade talk to her mother about him?

"The way she talks about you, I know how deeply she really cared for you. She saw her future with no man, at all, until she met you. Had to do with 'understanding one another' she said." Gracie put in more black pepper into the pot.

“May I know, what stopped you from committing to her?”

More questions to answer, but this one, he didn't know how to answer. 

“...I don’t know, Ma'am."

Not long, Gracie muttered with a tone he almost forgot. Motherly. “...Are you afraid?”

And that's when he found himself so vulnerable, so open. And the weird thing was, he only felt like this when he's with Jade. He thought Gracie's her adoptive mother, but this magical familial trait where people could instantly open up to them was almost scary. 

He expected judgement, but what came was a light smile. “You remind me of Eli and me, back when we were still with MI6."

Was it a yes? No, he's not afraid. He just thought that if they started dating, she might be wasting her time with him. Well, he's afraid that all this love that he's feeling and all these moments with be for naught if he's just dead after a deployment gone wrong. He can't promise anything to her. Ghost knew how serious Jade was about a relationship. She wanted a long-lasting one.

Ghost didn't mutter a word out of his mouth. Only continuing his work. He could feel her gaze on him, but he still chose to stay silent.

"He was afraid of the life we’ll lead. Constantly running, followed by death everywhere we go. Stability and domesticity was a dream impossible to achieve.” As Ghost listened and wondered how the fuck did she read his mind, he lifted the cutting board and poured the cube-cut carrot into the pot. 

“However, I can tell him anything, he can tell me anything.” Gracie continued, looking up at him. Her gaze was as soft as Jade's, grey eyes softly gazing into his soul. “Eli had his own problems, I had my own, but what mattered was the fact that we both tried to be better, for my own sake, and for his sake.”

“He was my best friend, and I was his. It was a leap of faith to be together.” She said as her palm tapped his shoulder firmly.

“I’m saying this as her mother. If you love her, then go all in. She deserves all of you.”

---

Dinner was eventful, to say the least. The Le Jardins, plus Ghost, ate their dinner together in their house on the third floor. Chicken and vegetable soup accompanied by warm cups of tea was enough to fill their stomachs. Ghost, of course, had to take his hood down and took off his face mask to eat with the three of them.

It felt odd. 

When was the last time he had a family dinner like this? Eating a delicious meal without having to find a place where there's no other people? A place where he could freely show his face to others, the warmth of a family? 

It didn't take long for Eli to finish his meal, as he stood up and put on 'La Vie en Rose' by Louis Armstrong on the classic gramophone. Gracie scoffed loudly, stood up, and took Eli's hand in hers. 

"Heeeere we go." Jade rolled her eyes, seeming like she had to watch this for the thousandth time.

As Louis Armstrong started to sing, the two old couple put out an amazing slow dancing show in front of Ghost and Jade. Seeing them so unashamedly happy, and the fact that both of their eyes only stared at each other with so much love, Ghost unconsciously smiled.

And when he turned to look at Jade, there was she, two hands holding her phone horizontally, taking a video of her parents, grinning ear to ear while her eyes gleamed with joy.

It's such a warm scene to witness. 

He only hoped it was him and her in place of Eli and Gracie.

—------------

The time showed 02.13. Ghost and Jade were standing in front of the shop, a long scarf wrapped around Ghost's neck as the cold was harsh that time of the day. Jade insisted that he wore them, or she said he would catch a cold. 

"Thank you, Ghost. For today. My dad had been having regular trouble with his knee, so thank you so so much." Jade started, cheeks blushing that was certainly not because of the February winter. 

"Well, I doubt that, considering how well he danced with your mum." Ghost replied, making Jade laugh. Her smile was a sight he'd never get tired of seeing. “Are you going anywhere tomorrow?” 

That question quite surprised her. “Well… Tomorrow my shift starts at 3 PM. So I'm free in the morning. Why?"

“I want to make do for today. We haven’t had a proper… date. Yet. I honestly had wanted to bring you flowers, but I remembered you're a florist. So I felt like a prat.”

Her face turned as red as tulips at that. “Honestly, you helping out in the shop was more romantic than anything you could ever give."

"Oh yeah?" 

"Yeah! So… what are you thinkin’ for tomorrow? What do you wanna do, Ghost?”

“What do you wanna do?” He asked back.

“Oh? W-well… Hmmm." Jade contemplated, pouting her lips, glancing at the moon high in the sky. "Ice skating. And then Korean barbecue after.”

“I-Ice skating?” Ghost stuttered, not expecting that answer. 

“Yeah. What, you afraid you’re gonna fall?”

“I have no clue what you’re talkin’ about.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll hold you if you do.” 

He wanted to say something along the lines of 'fuck-off' or 'sod you'. But he deleted that reply before it came out of his mouth, instead saying, "Please do."

Jade grinned ear-to-ear at that response. She was anticipating a clap back from him, but it was such an unusually warm reply that she couldn't help the blush in her cheeks.

No matter how much she wanted him to stay close to her, he had to go, and Jade said her goodbye. "Thank you for today. See you tomorrow, Simon."

Still standing still, Ghost muttered, "It was fun."

She thought he was going to start walking away towards his apartment, but instead, a glimmer of light reflected on his brown irises, still gazing at hers with such hopeful and wistful eyes.

And before she knew it, Ghost leaned in closer to her face, and placed a soft peck on her cheek.

As he stood back, Jade saw that his face burnt red, seeming like what he just did took great courage and resolution. His face still so close to hers, Ghost left her speechless.

And before she could say anything, he said his last words to her that night,

"See you tomorrow, Lottie."

----------------------

Hope you like it! (❁´◡`❁)

[katskitoshi]

"CERTIFIED SOFT MOMENTS!" with the INAZUMANS from GENSHIN IMPACT.

synopsis: just some soft, sweet moments with some of the inazumans.

characters: ayaka, kuki, gorou, yoimiya, thoma, ayato, kazuha, and tomo (mostly separate) x gn!reader

includes: poly! kazutomo (i love them so you will too), sweet moments with some inazuma men and women!! ♡

--just watching ayaka dance. time seems to stop, the air seeming to cool around the two of you. she giggles nervously before slowly stepping into the water. drawing her fan out, she begins her angelic movements with little snowflakes and ice shards trailing her. your eyes follow her as she moves, love glazing them over. ayaka, your girlfriend, your future wife, seems so perfect in these moments that when your eyes meet, you can't draw them away -- and neither can she.

her dancing stops, but the world doesn't resume nor does the air warm. never breaking eye contact, ayaka slowly approaches you, and she takes your hand in her own. her usual ice-cold fingers feel so warm in your embrace. she leans in, then to your lips. a kiss that resumes time itself, warms the air, and sparks love once again between you.

--kuki, who rarely gets free-time from playing the gang's brain, finally finds comfort and relaxation with you. you take her to a secluded part of an inazuman forrest, where only you and her can exist. a little picnic is set up, all her favorite dishes and desserts presented before her on a soft blanket. when you show her, she's speechless, almost as if she doesn't like. perhaps you did to much? was it not enough? maybe she didn't like-

all the thoughts of what could have made her silent suddenly come to a close when her lips meet yours in a gentle moment. you hadn't even notice she'd taken off her mask. but since she did, you can see the clear smile on her face. "thank you so much for this, love. i guess you can really tell when i need a break." kuki begins to walk to the blanket, lowering herself on it before she pats the area besides her. "aren't you going to join me?"

--it's almost as if gorou is always busy or free, but never when you need him. he loves you dearly and always tries to make time for you but all his soldiers and kokomi work him like a dog. which is totally unfair! but you understand and try to help him out when you can. whether it's with his work, or a nice massage and meal when works done. he loves what you do for him, but gorou can't but feel guilty. he felt like he was the one working you! so, he decided to treat you to a nice night in the city once a festival rolls around.

each stand that catches your eye, he'll let you wander and stare as long as you want. and don't even think about pulling out your mora! gorou is sponsoring the whole night. any food or item you wish for he'll buy and carry for you. once the night is over, he'll drag you outside your little cottage and lay you down on the soft grass. you two can watch the twinkling stars, in silence or in conversation, but at some point gorou just turns to you and stares. the admiration in your eyes as he stares at the stars and the admiration in his eyes as he stares at his star.

--yoimiya who obviously brings you on dates to make, test, and watch her fireworks -- but also loves telling you stories during the process. she'll always bring you your favorite foods with a smile on her face as she drags you to some far off area from the village before gushing on about anything any everything. oh, did you see that butterfly? let her tell you a story she heard the other day about one she saw that was almost as beautiful as you!

just as you reach the mountaintop, the stars start to glimmer especially bright. yoimiya takes your hand and drags you close to the edge where she takes a seat and waits for you to accompany her. she sets the fireworks, and you two relish in the few silent moments before the loud booms start. crackles of [favorite color], red, orange, and pinks all explode against the dark sky.

your eyes focus on the fireworks, but yoimiya's eyes focus on you. she couldn't look away if she wanted too. of course the fireworks are beautiful, but your beauty alone surpasses anything she could make. yoimiya kisses your cheek and smiles before pulling your head to rest on her shoulders. the night quiets around you, the crackles and booms of the fireworks make a lovely melody in the background to aid the picture perfect moment yoimiya and you have created.

--the life of a nobleman's retainer seems to never come to a halt, but thoma will always put work to a pause for you. one day, he'll bring you out to the komore teahouse. taroumaru will greet you with loving barks before he leads you to a secluded room of the teahouse, where thoma awaits you. a shy smile is etched on his lips, and the table before him is covered in an abundance of dishes that makes your mouth water. as you take your seat across him, thoma thanks you for coming and tells you to help yourself.

as the night advances, his initial nervousness melts away. he'll start a conversation on just about anything; the weird odd jobs he's been doing, disputes he's resolved, even little secrets he's never thought to tell anyone! when he's with you, he stops being a retainer or the fixer, he just becomes thoma: your boyfriend. and he loves not having the additional weight of everything else on his shoulders.

--ayato never has free time but he'll sure as hell make some for his lover. perhaps you can join him in his office while he works for a bit? he'll let you rest your head on his lap, and if one of his hands are free, he'll even rub little shapes into your arm, or back, or whatever part of your body you'll let him. if you're not fancy to laying his head in his lap, perhaps you can sit on him instead. he won't mind. and, if that's also not to your liking, he's free to offer you to sit by him and let him rest his hand on your thigh. t

hese moments are sweet in itself, but this is just a little warm up for what he has planned later. once he's done working, he'll pick you up, and use one of his delicate gloved hands to cover your eyes as he leads you somewhere. soon enough, you're off the estate grounds and in the nearby forrest. he removes his hands from over your eyes, and behold: a tea party is set up. some sweets imported from across teyvat lay on the small table with

the finest inazuman tea already steamily brewed. off to the side there's a record player, playing some nice music the set the scene. still holding you, ayato gently places you in the seat across from his own, but does not seat himself. he notices you about to go for a pastry and dabs your hand away.

"allow me, darling." he grabbed the pastry you were going for and tilted your chin up with his other hand. "say, 'ahh~'" and you do, he places it in your mouth and you take a bite. his hand holding the pastry places it on the plate infant of you but he never lets go of your chin.

"ayato..?" "you have something right..." his pointer finger flicks a crumb off her cheek. and then he leans in and licks your lips before kissing you. ayato doesn't stop until you're nearly breathless. he chuckles as a string of saliva connects you before promptly snapping. he lets go and sits on his side on the table. "..there."

--besides for their travels, tomo and kazuha aren't ever that busy. with them, every moment is a soft moment. each mini cooking competition as the two compete for which of their dishes is best. each cuddle session, that started as a stargazing date. each time kazuha would write you a poem or make you a love letter and make tomo jealous. each time tomo would make a meal that puts master chefs and kazuha to shame, or plants and gives you flowers, or grooming and taking care of his cat, mimi. every moment was worth it with these two. even as tomo might not always be there because of each odd job he picks up. or kazuha might just take a moment to run off on his own. but at the end of the day, you all are together, and thats what matters.

[softtdaisy]

🌲 a walk in the past l Charles Leclerc

summary. this Christmas market has been your favorite for years. today, it's just a reminder of what you lost. of who you lost.

words count. 1,895

a/n. this is the story that inspired the whole angsty Christmas series. it's massively inspired by Cindy Lou who (please listen to Sabrina's ep). it's sad. it's Charles. I hope you will love it 🫶

a very angsty Christmas l masterlist

“You really didn’t have to do this.”

Ever since you were a child, you used to go to the Christmas market every year. It wasn’t even to buy a present. Just the pleasure of walking around this stall, hearing Christmas songs and seeing the pleasure on everyone’s face when they won a game, sharing a sweet and seasonal meal or just this magic thing that seems to make all the people here happy. It was one of your favorite moments of the year and you couldn’t miss it. 

Even if this year, you were close to skip it.

“If you think I would have let you alone in your apartment instead of enjoying your favorite time of the year, you were barking up the wrong tree.” your best friend replied, putting her arm around your shoulder to bring you closer.

You laughed at her gesture and appreciated this feeling of being loved. And not alone.

Something you sadly lacked these past months.

The reason you almost didn’t come this year was simple. It was Charles.

When you started dating three years ago, the Formula One season was coming to an end. You had met through mutual friends in Monaco and he always managed to see you when he came back home, sometimes even skipping time with his family for you -something you were arguing with him for.

Once he was finally free, this Christmas market was one of your first official dates as a couple. You were living a literal teenage dream, walking hand in hand with him, showing him all the places you had memories with -meaning almost everything. You let him buy your favorite sweet and a scarf that you never left after that.

And you did that every year. It was always the first date you had after the season ended. The first time you could act like a normal couple again. And even if Charles met some fans there, very few thanks to the beanie and the scarf hiding him, it still felt intimate. 

One night, after you drank too much wine and were watching the fireworks, Charles told you that at least he knew where he could propose to you. 

It has become your place.

Until he left.

Now it was only yours, alone.

Everything reminded you of him now. The stall with all the puppies where you were talking about adopting one and even thought about the name. The big pine tree where you added your own decoration together, like the tradition says. The photomaton where he kissed you and the picture that was still somewhere in your apartment because you couldn’t get rid of it. Or just every couple, being happy like you used to. You hated feeling jealous about these poor people who didn’t ask for anything but to spend a moment together.

It was hard to walk on the path of your biggest heartbreak.

“How about a hot chocolate?” Your friend asked you. Well pulled you because she didn’t really wait for your answer before walking to the stall. You didn’t mind. It wasn’t like you felt like making any decision anyway. You apologized to the little girl that collided with your legs and followed your best friend until you had to wait because there were too many people.

You looked around and noticed the stall with handmade Christmas decorations. You always bought something there, like your own tradition. “Do you mind if I go there while you wait?” your best friend agreed and you walked there with stars in your eyes.

Not thinking for a single second that going there would wreck your heart into millions pieces.

“Oh, miss little red beanie.” The seller laughed when he saw you, remembering the little girl you were before with your favorite red beanie, until you grew and it became too small for you. You started to look around the decorations, already noticing some new ones that you loved.

Until you heard a laugh. A very distinct laugh that you could have recognized everywhere. You still turned around to make sure you didn’t dream.

Oh how you wished you did.

Because there he was. Still looking as beautiful as before. With his outgrown brown hair hiding in his black beanie, a scarf you used to steal when you couldn’t find yours, eyes so shiny because of the cold and a red nose that you loved to tease him about. No doubt. Charles was there.

And he wasn’t alone.

You weren’t sure you wanted to look at her. To see who she was. How she could be better than you. Why did he choose her over you? Knowing would be hard. Ignoring it wouldn’t be that much better.

But before you could ever decide what you wanted, Charles turned his head. He felt a look on him.

No he had the same feeling he used to have when you were together. There was something different with you. Something magnetic that would always let him know that you were there, looking at him, even if he couldn’t see you. And it was back.

Your eyes met. And suddenly, your heart was breaking again. 

You couldn’t handle the idea of being around him with his new girl. So you did the first thing that came to your mind: running away. 

The perks of knowing this market by heart, you knew exactly where you had to go to avoid people and be at peace.

The con was that Charles knew it too.

“Please wait!” you heard him in your back. What a wonderful idea to have an athlete as an ex, especially one you’re trying to run away from. 

You ended up stopping, not able to go anywhere else without turning around and meeting Charles. With nothing else to lose, you accepted your fate. The terrible fate that you feared these past weeks. 

You really wondered if you would see Charles now that the season was over and he was around. Were there any chances that you would run into each other in such a big city? You thought you wouldn’t. You really thought you would be lucky enough to avoid this confrontation. 

Apparently the universe wasn’t a fan of this narrative.

“I had no idea you would be here, I wouldn’t come otherwise.” 

You laughed. How dare he? You had no idea what you hated the most. The fact he really thought you wouldn’t be there this year because of him. Or that he used this sweet and comprehensive tone like he was really sorry for you. If he was, then he wouldn’t have broken your heart out of a stupid boredom.

“Oh I’m sorry Charles” you said, turning around to finally face him “Do I bother you by being here, at my favorite place, the one I come to every year, the one I showed you because I wanted to live that moment?” 

“That’s not what I meant.” he sighed, putting a hand on his neck and biting his lips. 

You used to love this tic. There were always some moments in your relationship when you had a hard time distinguishing Charles the driver from Charles your boyfriend. Sure, it was the same person in the end. But the media and his PR team were creating a whole entire character around him, one that wasn’t entirely faithful to the real Charles you knew. 

And then there were moments like this where he wasn’t that overly confident driver that couldn't do no wrong. He was the man that you love, scared of saying the wrong thing, conscious that everything could come to an end one day. 

“So what?” you added, taking a step closer to him. It was a dangerous limit, because at any moment, the feeling of being that close would make all your feelings come back. From hate to love there was indeed one step, one you better not take if you didn’t want to come home with a heart even more broken. “If you knew I was there you wouldn’t have brought your new doll?”

You saw the change in his eyes when you said that. And oh how you hated seeing this look on his face. Because you knew it too, there was not one thing you didn’t know about him. And this one hurted, again. It was the exact same look Charles used to give when someone talked badly about you.

Suddenly, you weren’t the one being protected. You were the one he had to protect his new girl from.

“You’re being mean.” he added, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.

“I am mean?” your voice broke at that last word. “You fucking brought her here Charles! It was our place! It is my safe place and now you ruined it! Again!” this time you couldn’t resist and hit his chest with your fist. “Why do you have to ruin everything in my life?”

It wasn’t a real question. Or at least, you didn’t expect any real answer. What could he say? Because he wanted to? Because if you can’t be happy together, you shouldn’t try to be now that you are no longer a thing? Or maybe the worst one: he just didn’t think this through. It would mean you were never important enough for him to think about the consequences.

There was no world in which Charles truly thought about you when he broke up with you at the beginning of the year. When you thought everything was alright, when you were looking for an apartment together, when you had that stupid conversation about having a family one day. He dropped it. The “I’m not sure I can’t do this anymore.” Just like that.

Did he really think about you when he couldn’t give a simple explanation as to why he couldn’t do you anymore? 

A single tear fell from your eye and Charles watched it run slowly on your cheek. “I just wanted to apologize.” he whispered, taking your hand between his. But you immediately dropped it.

“That would have been a first.” 

You both stayed silent for a few seconds before you started to walk back to the market. This time, Charles didn’t try to stop you. It was worthless and he knew that. You wouldn’t stop. You had enough. And even he knew that it would be unkind to try again.

You whipped the tear right before you met your best friend, standing in the middle of the road looking for you. You grabbed a chocolate cup and kissed her cheek to thank her. “Where were you?” she asked, more concerned that you thought she would be. How long did you disappear for her to have the time to buy these drinks?

You turned around and saw Charles coming back too. You watched as he grabbed her hand and gave it a kiss with a big smile. Yes. Something he used to do with you too. “Such a gentleman” you used to say when he did that. But now you weren’t the one getting your hand kissed.

“No way…” you heard your best friend say when she saw them. “This can’t be true right?” she asked you. And you wished you could reassure her.

But the truth was there. Charles broke your heart at the beginning of the year.

And he broke what was left at the end of it.

[unactive-shroom]

hi can i get ur valentines prompt #10 pls for a percy jackson x reader would love for it to be angst

Prompt #10: Forgotten ♡ (Specify Angst/fluff, please!)

“Your partner seems to have forgotten all about Valentines… or maybe, just forgotten about you.”

Character: Percy Jackson. Check out the Valentine’s event Here.

A.n: I’m sorry but I actually CANNOT write Percy like this there’s no way he’d do this. Have to add some fluff to this

You stood by the dining pavillion, waiting. You were always waiting for him. Grover stood nearby, nervously watching you from a nearby pillar. After a few moments he took a step forward “y/n, I-” And then you saw him. Walking with Annabeth, laughing without a care in the world. “It’s fine, Grover. I’ll talk to you later.” You strode away from the Pavillion, heading for the shore to cool off. All morning you had waited for Percy, after he swore the night before that he had something amazing planned for Valentine’s, and he’d come collect you from your cabin in the morning. You’d waited like a fool for him, and he hadn’t even shown up.

You had just finished your brooding when you heard them - Percy and Annabeth - laughing and joking at some incredible joke. The laughter died as soon as it reached you. “Y/n! Hey, there you are! You weren’t at dinner-” You walked up to him, seething with anger. “Fuck you, Percy Jackson. I waited all morning for you, you ignored me at dinner, you disappeared for the whole day, until I saw you with Annabeth at dinner. Are you sure you even know who your girlfriend is? It’s Valentine’s day, and you completely ditched me. It’s over, we’re through.” Annabeth let go of Percy’s arm. “What? Percy, did you seriously stand y/n up on Valentine’s day?” Percy looked between the two of you. “What? No, Valentine’s isn’t for another week, right? Right?!”

Silence stretched out between the three of you, and as you and Annabeth looked at each other, Percy desperately pleaded “Seriously, guys. Is this why when I ordered the fireworks show from the Stoll twins for next week they looked at me funny? And the cake? Oh my Gods, please tell me you’re kidding..” Annabeth sighed and put her head in her hands. “The fourteenth, Percy. Come on, that’s today. How could you get it wrong?” “I don’t know! Even Grover asked me what I had planned today, Gods, I thought he wanted a favour or something.” Percy turned to you. “Y/n, I’m so sorry. Seriously. I swear I didn’t forget, I just mixed up the dates. I was practicing sparring this morning, too, and I just didn’t feel time pass. I promise I’ll make it up to you. Please don’t break up with me?” You laughed through tears as he pulled you into a hug. “mmkay. Sorry for shouting at you.” “That’s okay, I deserved it. I do have an idea though. How would you like to go to that-” He pointed at a picturesque Island far from the shoreline “-and have a picnic with yours truly? You haven’t had any dinner, and I’m sure I can get some dessert somewhere.” You both agreed to meet back at the same spot in 20 Minutes, and after that, spent a beautiful evening together, with plans to celebrate a ‘future Valentine’s’ in a weeks time.

[lfghughes]

Baskets and Babies | pt. 2

a/n: got home today and just knew it was time to post pt 2 of this and dad!jack definitely fixes my mood

warning: pregnancy

The due date was close and both you and Jack at this point were ready for this baby to come at any moment. But all you asked for was to not have the baby on the 4th of July. Those were not the fireworks you were hoping for. Things were looking up because it didn’t seem like today was the day. No ones plans were going to get interrupted and the whole family had a lake day in front of them. This meant you got to sit around all day while Jack ran around getting you whatever you wanted to drink and eat.

Jack the minute you had found out you were pregnant had turned into a whole other human. Not that he wasn’t sweet before because he was. But suddenly he was consistently getting you water to drink, snacks to eat, and checking in if you needed anything. He had also gotten more protective in general and his favorite thing to do was to rest his hand on your bump.

As you sat on your lawn chair near the edge of the lake you couldn’t help but smile as you watched Jack in the water with some of his friends and family. It didn’t take long for him to get out of the water and you already knew he was coming to check on you. “Want me to get you some food? Water? Lemonade?” He asked and you shook your head. “We’re still good, don’t worry.” You rubbed your hand over your belly and you were getting more excited every day because soon enough your baby boy would be here.

“Do you think he’ll decide during the fireworks that he has to see them too?” Jack teased and you immediately shook your head. “Your son better wait until later this week.” You could only imagine the traffic you’d encounter if you went into labor now because everyone was traveling somewhere to go see fireworks and it would only be worse once the fireworks were over and everyone was heading home.

Luckily for you, the rest of the night went by easily and even though Jack teased about it, your son definitely did not care enough to make an appearance for fireworks. At the end of the night both you and Jack got into bed and you were already exhausted which was nothing new since you got pregnant. His hand went to your belly as he rubbed it gently. “Goodnight baby boy. Daddy will see you soon.” There was nothing you loved more than Jack talking to your baby.

You knew he was going to be a great dad and that wasn’t something you ever doubted. Knowing how good of a dad he was going to be definitely helped ease some of the fear of having a baby and your whole life changing. Not that all the nerves were exactly gone. You had no clue what labor would be like but you could imagine from the knowledge you did have that it was not a walk in the park kind of easy. That was only confirmed when at 3 am you woke up with what you knew were contractions and yep, your water definitely broke.

“Jack…Jack. Wake up.” You shook him until his head popped up from his sleep, confused as to why you were waking him. “We’re about to have a baby.” You told him and it was like you threw cold water on him. Suddenly both of you were moving and getting everything you needed, making your way to the hospital. He had texted his mom but both of you knew that right now they would all be asleep but in a few hours she would wake up to the message and surely would be on her way.

You didn’t have much time to really think about what all of this meant and everything went by in a blur but also slow. Hours had passed and you still weren’t anywhere close to going into active labor. Ellen had already woken up at this point and got Jim and the boys over to the hospital. After a few more hours your son decided to make his appearance and your everything changed for you the minute you saw your baby boy in Jacks arms.

People always said that you didn’t realize how hard you could love someone until you had a baby and you realized in that exact moment how full your heart was. You loved your baby boy and finally getting to see him made you emotional. But you weren’t the only one feeling this way because Jacks face had that same emotion. “Daddy loves you so much little man.” He whispered to your son as he brought him over so you could hold him. “You did so good, baby.” He told you, pressing a kiss to the side of your head as your finger went down to your sons little hand. You wanted to stay frozen in this moment forever, to feel this kind of happiness and love forever but you knew with Jack by your side and your baby boy that this feeling would never truly go away.

[earlgarden-archived]

I love your raiden ei!reader! I was wondering what would happen if Jing Yuan met her son (like they had a good relationship and the whole sumeru arc never happened) it would be cool if he’s been traveling around teyvat and he comes to visits his mother only to see that’s she now dating! How would him and Jing Yuan get along.

The meeting of a lifetime

ft. Jing Yuan, Raiden!reader, Scaramouche

synopsis. Jing Yuan has always seen Yanqing as his non-biological son. But what if he meets your son, who just so happens to be a puppet?

warnings. Fem!reader, slightly rushed (?)

this is so wholesome :o also pls ignore the title I could not come up with a good title 😅

Today, you and JING YUAN are having a picnic date in Inazuma. The two of you visited the place in which you watched the firework light show, aka, the day Jing Yuan confessed. The two of you had bought some of the best delicacies from your respective planets, but you mostly brang Inazuman desserts. However, the two of you had not expected to have a visitor coming today. Who's the visitor? Well, it was your son.

As you were trying a Xianzhou dessert, you heard a familiar voice calling your name. You turn to the direction of the voice, and you were met with the pleasant sight of your dear son, Kunikuzushi. Jing Yuan was also looking, but with a more confused expression on his face. Your friend? No, most of your friends died... Your sibling? Maybe, he looked awfully like you.

"your sibling?" Jing Yuan inquired, slightly tilting his head, making you laugh. "No, this is my son." Jing Yuan stilled, this shocked him, if that was your son, does that mean you had a lover before him? But he was filled with relief when he heard what you said next "he's not my actual son, but since he's a puppet I created, I call him my son." He smiles, for some reason, his heart fills with joy knowing that you had created a life. Even if it was only a puppet.

He watches as your son, Kunikuzushi, stops in front of you, only to quickly look at him with widened eyes. Most definitely confused on why his mother was with a man. But your voice is what makes him look back towards you "How have you been, kuni?" You say, as he pouts because of the nickname you gave him. "Mom, I said to not call me that while in public. Especially in front of another person..." He says, now turning towards Jing Yuan, who blankly stares back. You follow Kuni's stare and smile seeing that he has taken interest in Jing Yuan. "Let me introduce you to Jing Yuan. He's the general from the Xianzhou Luofu, he is one of the seven Arbiter-Generals of the Xianzhou Alliance's Cloud Knights, and one of the Six Charioteers of the Xianzhou Luofu." Jing Yuan slightly blushes with how much you're boasting about him to your son, who looks at him impressed. "He's from another planet? How'd you meet him?" Jing Yuan could tell that Kunikuzushi was protective of you, and he doesn't blame him. Considering that you're quite oblivious to a lot of things.

"we met because the Xianzhou had to restock some resources. Your mother was generous enough to provide us with some materials" Jing Yuan says, making you blush, which surprises your son, who looks at you with wide eyes. "Mother! Are you two dating!?" So he finally puts two and two together, "why didn't you tell me?" You lightly chuckled, "Well, you were always traveling so I couldn't get in contact with you." Jing Yuan puts a hand to his chin, "so you're a traveler?" "Yeah." Kunikuzushi says absentmindedly, still trying to process everything.

As your son, Kunikuzushi, processed the revelation that you and Jing Yuan were dating, he seemed both surprised and curious. His eyes darted between the two of you, his protective nature still evident.

Jing Yuan, noticing Kunikuzushi's protective demeanor, decided to address his questions with a warm smile. "Yes, I am from another planet, and your mother and I are indeed together," he confirmed. "We met during the resource restocking mission, and we've grown very close since then."

Kunikuzushi sighs relaxed a bit, his initial concern gradually giving way to a more accepting expression. "Well, if you make my mother happy," he said, looking at you with a soft smile, "then I'm glad you're here." But his expression then turned serious, "but that doesn't mean I'm going to let my guard down around you."

You felt a surge of happiness, knowing that your son was willing to accept Jing Yuan into your lives. It was a heartwarming moment, and you were grateful for the opportunity to introduce the two most important people in your life to each other.

Over the course of the picnic, Kunikuzushi and Jing Yuan engaged in conversation, sharing stories about their respective worlds and experiences. It was a day filled with laughter, bonding, and the joy of togetherness. As the sun began to set over Inazuma, casting a warm, golden glow, you couldn't help but feel immensely grateful for the unexpected turn of events that had brought your family closer together.

[ourloveisforthelovely]

Lily's Sister (Part 6)

Regulus Black AU

Summary:  You are Lily’s younger sister. Regulus never becomes a death eater but abandoned his family for the order. The two of you have a love/hate relationship that intensifies after you come back from a year abroad.

Pairings: Regulus Black x Reader

Rating: M- smut

part 5

_____

After watching Noah Mckinnon disappear, James sighed and walked back inside. Lily was sitting at the kitchen table clearly waiting for him to return.

“Well, how did it go with Noah?”

James sat down before ruffling his messy hair.

“Not great, Lils. I just crushed that boy’s hopes and dreams with your sister. I guess it's better he hears it from one of us before he sees Y/n snogging Regulus…or vice versa.”

Lily shook her head. She mentally tried to think again of more reasons why you shouldn’t date Regulus.

“I still can’t believe that Y/n chose Regulus over Noah. Noah is such a nice boy. When they dated I swore they would get married.”

James frowned.

“Love, Y/n was never going to marry Noah. While she liked him, it wasn’t what you call sparks and fireworks…like us.”

Lily gave James an annoyed expression. While she adored James, she would never consider their “beginning” sparks and fireworks.

“While I am flattered that you feel that way about us, darling, you know very well that I wanted to murder you for a very long time. Y/n and I are similar in a lot of ways. It takes a moment to fall for someone. Now seeing her go mental over Regulus…I don’t think we are so alike after all.”

James looked thoughtful for a moment.

“One thing that you are alike in…you both went for the bad boy.”

James gave Lily a cocky grin that earned a napkin being thrown at his head.

“It's amazing that I fell in love with someone so full of themselves.”

Lily said as you walked into the room with Regulus behind you. Clearly, neither of you had heard the conversation going on between James and Lily. Your sister sighed internally looking at you. Both Regulus and yourself were dressed and ready for work.

“Bless the two of you for coming out in public.”

James commented with a smirk. Regulus flipped James off as you turned to face your brother-in-law.

“Regulus and I are official now.”

You said in a cheerful tone. James gave you a pained smile. He decided now wasn’t the best time to drop the ball that he took care of the whole “Noah Mckinnon” problem for you. That would probably be a conversation to be had when Regulus wasn’t around.

“It was only a matter of time with the way that you two of have been carrying on. Regulus, break her heart and I’ll break your face.”

James said sly. Regulus gave James a raised eyebrow. He wasn’t entirely sure if James knew it or not but Regulus was more than able to handle him.

“Noted.”

Regulus muttered as he put his suit jacket on. He had also noticed the way that Lily was looking at him. It didn’t take Regulus being a smart man to know that Lily didn’t want the two of you to be a couple. In ways, he really couldn’t blame her. Regulus didn’t have a shining record when it came to how he treated his lovers in the past.

Y/n is different. She is the first one that I have felt this strongly about.

Regulus thought as James started talking.

“There is an order meeting tonight. I assume the two of you will be there…and fully dressed?”

Regulus turned back to James as you shook your head.

“Yes, we will be there and dressed. I am not about to show you my naked ass.”

James took an overdramatic breath.

“Thank Merlin.”

You decided that it was time to put an end to this conversation before James and Regulus really started insulting each other. You placed a hand on the small of Regulus’ back.

“Love, we better get going before we are late.”

Regulus reached down for your hand. He ignored the way that Lily winced.

“She’s going to have to get over this. I’m not tiptoeing around big sister Lily because she can’t handle seeing her sister happy.”

Regulus thought before following you out.

Arriving at the ministry, you were wondering if Regulus would let go of your hand. This would be one of the first tests to see if he was serious about your relationship. When he didn’t let go, you were immediately pleased.

“Are we still on for lunch?”

Regulus asked with a cocky smirk as the two of you stopped outside of Barty Crouch Sr’s office. You bit your lip looking your boyfriend over. Here he stood his typical prim and proper self. It took all that you had not to giggle at just how messed up his hair was after the previous night.

You reached out and stroked a finger down his chest.

“Of course. When does the old man leave for lunch?”

You knew that Regulus had little to no respect for Barty Crouch Sr. Whether Barty Crouch Jr was in the wrong or not, he was still Regulus’ childhood friend. The knowledge that he was now locked up to rot by his own father was something that Regulus’ hadn’t forgotten.

“Usually around one. He’s gone for an hour. That will give us plenty of time for a quickie…then later tonight…you’re all mine.”

Regulus leaned down for a kiss. As much as he wanted to stand there with you, he had meetings to get to.

“A woman after my heart. I’ll see you soon, sugar.”

You watched as Regulus walked away before walking into your own office. As soon as you walked in, however, you wanted to turn around and walk right out. Noah stood talking to Barty Crouch Sr.

The moment that he saw you, Noah looked a mixture of livid and heartbroken. He had intentionally come down to Crouch’s office to have a chat with you. If you thought that he would just sit back while you threw your life away or tried to string him along to make Regulus Black jealous then you had another thing coming.

Barty Crouch glanced down at his watch before turning to you with a smile

“There you are, Ms. Evans. I was beginning to worry. I have a council meeting this morning. You don’t have to attend this one. Its nothing really important, my dear.”

You gave your boss a smile.

“Yes, sir. Will you be going out to lunch at one? I believe that you have a meeting with Alastor Moody today.”

Crouch nodded with a pleased-as-punch grin. He would tell anyone that he wouldn’t be able to function without you as his secretary.

“Yes, my dear. I should be back around 2:00 or half past the hour.”

You moved to sit at your desk with Crouch gathered up his things and left the office without another word. You pleasantly hummed while getting your work to be done for the day situated while waiting for Noah to either talk or leave. The last thing that you wanted to do was have to deny another date or break Noah’s heart

“Either way, he’s going to be heartbroken. When he finds out I’m dating Regulus…it will not be pretty.”

Noah waited for a moment or two to make sure that Crouch wasn’t coming back.

“You lied to me.”

Noah commented, finally. You looked up. Tilting your head, you gave Noah a confused frown.

“About?”

You questioned. Noah’s face flushed as he clearly tried to control his temper. The last thing that he wanted was to envision you in Regulus’ arms. What did THAT man know about dating women? Noah knew that Regulus was a womanizer. It didn’t matter how beautiful you were. Why would Regulus change for you?

“Regulus Black, Y/n.”

“What about him?”

You replied. Noah began to pace.

“We went on a date last night and now you are dating him. You didn’t tell me that you were dating him. In fact, you made it sound like you were single. What the hell, Y/n? I thought that he had something going on?”

You leaned back in your chair.

“Yes, we went on a date last night, Noah. I wasn’t dating Regulus then. We decided to make it official after I got home. He and I had a conversation and we both felt the same way about each other. Noah, we have tried dating before and it didn’t work. You’re a nice guy but…”

Noah cut you off with a cold sneer.

“Let me guess, Regulus just makes you feel things. He knows exactly what you want in bed. He’s just the best thing ever. You are only saying that because his family is loaded. I have news for you, sweetheart, he’s a manwhore and it won’t be long until he sleeps around with some other slut.”

Your mouth dropped with slight surprise. You were also thankful that Regulus didn’t hear the last part of Noah’s monologue. Noah would have his whole face rearranged.

“That’s some cold shit to say, Noah. That just proves that you don’t know me at all. I don’t give two shits how much money the Black’s have. Yes, Regulus doesn’t have great track record when it comes to women but it's different with us.”

“I’m sure that is what every girl that he’s slept with said. You sound like such a stupid Mary Sue, Y/n. You are supposed to be smarter than this but whatever. Enjoy your slut boyfriend. When you get cheated on, don’t come crying to me.”

Noah snapped. You stood up with a cold glare.

“Get out, Noah. Get out and never speak to me again.”

Noah stared at you in disbelief. He never expected you to take Regulus’ side like this. Whether you liked Regulus or not, Noah expected you to see his way…the way of reason.

“Whether you like it or not, Y/n, we will still see each other. You will still have to talk to me. There are order meetings and here at the Ministry. I, unfortunately, will have to see you with him.”

You moved to the office door and held it open.

“I said get out!”

You nearly yelled. Noah groaned before grabbing his robe and walking out as ordered.

What a weasel!

You grumbled before going back to your desk and sitting down. Whether Noah was jealous of Regulus or not, you were not about to let him talk to you as if you were trash. You were a grown woman and could date whomever you wanted.

When 1 o’clock rolled around, you found yourself looking at the clock. After your rather eventful morning with Noah, you were more than ready to see Regulus. You didn’t plan on telling Regulus about what happened with Noah…at least not yet. The last thing that you wanted was for Regulus to go down to Noah’s department and beat the boy to a pulp.

The door opening and closing pulled you from your thoughts. Regulus stepped in and locked the door behind him.

“Just who I wanted to see.”

He said as you stood up and immediately went to your boyfriend. You stood on your tiptoes and wrapped your arms around Regulus’ neck.

“I bet I wanted to see you more.”

You murmured before pulling him into a kiss. Regulus smiled against your mouth.

“Not a chance, sugar. You’ve been on my mind all day.”

You carefully pushed the suit jacket off of Regulus’ shoulders before running a finger down his chest.

“After last night, I would certainly hope that I am on your mind.”

Regulus chuckled as he slid a hand up your thigh only stopping as he reached the hem of your knickers.

“Such a naughty girl. Why don’t we get these off and get started before Crouch shows back up?”

You didn’t need to be told twice. As quickly as possible, you started undoing the side button of your skirt and let the garment fall to the floor. Glancing at Regulus, you watched as he wiggled out of his pants and unbuttoned his shirt.

His grey eyes rolled up to your face before flashing you a smile. It didn’t matter how many times Regulus did it, his smile could take your breath away. You could only pray that you would be able to keep that smile on his perfect face. Knowing that you, Y/n Evans, was the one to make Regulus Black smile felt like a reward all on its own.

“As much as I would love to sit with my face between your legs and let you come on my tongue, I don’t think as have the time.”

You bit your lip as Regulus moved to stand in front of you. The thought of Regulus leisurely lying between your legs eating you out for hours sounded almost heavenly. There was time for that later in the evening.

Regulus meanwhile was keeping his eyes locked on yours as he reached out to slip two fingers through your folds. You gasped the moment that he teased your clit.

“You’re so wet, sugar. I think you’ve been thinking about this too.”

You nodded, enjoying each stroke of Regulus’ fingers. Of course, you had been thinking about it. The thought of having sex with your boyfriend on your desk was on your top list of fantasies.

Moving to sit on your desk, you spread your legs and beckoned Regulus forward with a finger. Regulus didn’t need any further permission. He took his place between your legs.

“Lean back, love. I want to see those perfect tits bounce while I fuck you.”

Doing as you were told, you leaned back a bit supporting yourself on your elbows. Regulus looked you over with a pleased smile. He would never get over how beautiful you looked when offering yourself to him.

“Hurry, Reggie, we don’t have enough time to take as long as we both want.”

You whimpered. Regulus’ eyes rolled to your face as he moved his cock to your entrance.

“Don’t worry, love, I’ve got you.”

You took a deep breath as Regulus pushed himself into you. Arching your back to enjoy each moment of delicious stretching that your body did to accommodate him. Regulus closed his eyes as he pushed until he was bottomed out.

“Fuck me, Reg.”

You moaned through gritted teeth.

“As you wish. I’m going to make you spend the rest of the afternoon with my come dripping down your thighs.”

Regulus replied before pulling nearly all the way out. You gasped as he set up a deep rough pace. Letting your head fall back, you focused on not moaning too loud. The last thing that you wanted was for any workers in the next-door office to have any clue about what you were doing.

Keeping his eyes focused on your face, it took all Regulus had not to explode. He leaned forward and nuzzled his face to yours.

“Fuck, sugar, you are beautiful like this. You’re so fucking perfect and warm. I love being so deep inside of you.”

Regulus’ erotic words were enough to send you spiraling over the edge. Your body immediately tightened around his dick before coming. Regulus, meanwhile, finally left his eyes flutter shut as he focused on his own impending orgasm.

“That’s it, baby.”

He groaned before filling you. Neither Regulus nor yourself moved for a moment. Both of you were focused on getting your breathing under control.

“Good girl.”

Regulus commented before withdrawing and helping you off of the desk. He leaned down for a soft kiss before staring to redress himself.

You also began to scoop up your abandoned articles of clothing. Reaching down for your abandoned knickers, you moved to put them on but were stopped when Regulus snatched them out of your hand.

“No, sweetheart.”

“Regulus, you have to be joking.”

You said, giving him a smirk. Regulus shrugged before innocently putting him in his pocket.

“You can have them back when we are alone tonight. Well, I have a meeting in five minutes. I’ll see you tonight.”

Regulus cupped your cheek before turning and walking out.

Later that evening, it was time for yet another Order meeting. Walking home, you wondered just how good the Order was doing? It felt like there hadn’t been a “win” in a long time.

“I wonder how much longer it will take?”

You questioned as Regulus moved to unlock the front door. He stopped and turned back to you. Regulus both loved and hated that you were in The Order. He loved it because without The Order there would be no chance that the two of you would be a couple. He hated it because he worried about your safety. Anytime that you went on a job Regulus was worried until you walked back through the door.

“I don’t know. We need a win or something. It's been rough.”

Regulus commented. He considered asking you to sit jobs out but he knew you would tell him to shove off. You were as dedicated as he was.

“It has.”

You replied. Regulus placed a hand on the side of your face.

“It will be fine, love. Maybe not today or tomorrow but some time.”

You gave Regulus a small smile.

“I got a letter from my mum earlier. She invited Lily and I to dinner the day after tomorrow. Would you come with me? The sooner you met my parents the better.”

Regulus raised an eyebrow. He had never “met a girl’s parents” before. In all of the years that he had been sleeping with women, Regulus would never consider himself the type of man a woman brought home to her father.

Now, however, it was different. Regulus knew that if he wanted things to work with you then he would have to meet your mum and dad.

“That would be fine. We better get this meeting over with. Afterward, that big bathtub is calling my name…with you on top of me…of course.”

You instantly smiled. Regulus agreeing to meet your mum and dad was just another indicator that he was taking your relationship seriously.

“Of course.”

You replied as the two of you walked inside.

The moment that you walked into the dining room all was not well. You frowned seeing Lily and Dorcas crying. Sirius sat at the table with a frown on his face while James and Remus were whispering.

“What’s going on?”

Regulus questioned. Sirius looked up before getting up. He ran a hand through his hair before turning to face his younger brother.

“The Mckinnons are dead.”

____

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[mixelation]

hmmm i was thinking about ships in reborn au au (i am....... so sorry)

kakashi/obito is one of those ships were i just.... assume it's going to happen if they're allowed to interact a sufficient amount in a fic. the reincarnation for just one person aspect makes me feel kind of weird about it, BUT i think every obito ship is fucked up nature and also we can limit any shippy interactions to them be certified adults. so idk just skip this one if you're squicked lmao

anyway, then i was like "well i can't just do NOTHING with rin" and the natural conclusion is: fucked up confusing polycule mess

rin still has an unrequited crush on kakashi from ages like 12-15. she has also just assumed throughout her teenaged years that obito likes her, bc that explains uuuuh a lot o his behavior towards her. BUT he has never made a move on her or admitted it; this is just her assumption. bc he never acts on it they have a pretty normal friendship (obito's ACTUAL feels are significantly weirder and more complicated: he no longer has a crush on her, but he REMEMBERS having one on her when he was actually 12 and how good being innocent and in love made him feel, so he wants to spend time with her and make sure she's safe and happy. also if you're mean to her he will set you on fire)

anyway!! konoha recruits tori+deidara when team minato is ~22. obito immediately takes on what rin interprets as a big brother role to them, which she thinks is..... cute? admirable? a secret soft side to obito??

rin has dated around a little bit and obito has always gotten weird about it (he hasn't ever STOPPED HER from doing what she wants, but she's aware that kakashi has had to advise him against giving some.... weird shovel talks) so she assumes he still likes her. and now she's seeing him interact with cute genin in a positive way, and she like hmmmm oh no maybe i DO like obito

so from obito's POV he doing something completely platonic with rin one day-- like idk, something you'd do with a friend but COULD be romantic, like going to watch fireworks or something, and she tries to kiss him. naturally he runs away and ends up face down on tori's floor sobbing because rin is the ONE PERSON he's actively trying to do right by

tori: okay but you can't just RUN. be an adult. talk to her.

obito: (wordless whining noises)

in the other timeline obito would have kissed rin in a heartbeat!! but now it's-- it's weird!! he can't do that to her!!! she is his precious pure angel!!!

tori: she's like 24? she murders people for a living??? obito i think she can decide who she kisses. she's not the kid you keep pretending she is and it's not fair to her to go on thinking about her like that

obito: (rolls around)

tori: well would you do this to kakashi?

obito: (stops rolling around) do what to kakashi

tori: idk i've just always hypothesized that fucking him would fix you

obito:

obito:

obito: why would you put that in my head

so now obito is haunted by the idea that he COULD just kiss rin, because maybe she wants him to and this rin is a whole other person from HIS rin, and also maybe perhaps he should fuck kakashi

obito: AND THEN GIVE HIM MY EYEBALL

tori: wow, no.

[itjazzbicch]

Biker Prince Charming PT. 3

Pairing:  Shinichiro Sano x Fem Reader 

Summary: Biker Prince Charming PT. 1 - Biker Prince Charming PT. 2

Spending time with one another causes rumors to spread about Shinichiro and the reader dating, which they only fuel, becoming official after the reader finally explains the one thing hurting her heart, and Shinichiro tackles that issue...

Warnings:  mentions of past abuse, a little fight (Shinichiro snaps) (but that's about it!)

Word Count: 1.4k 

After going out with Shinichiro and almost fighting with that guy at our hangout spot, there had been much talk about us maybe being together. I wouldn't say we were together, but we kept giving people things to discuss.

"So, you two dating yet?" My best friend loved to poke at me, walking alongside me; meanwhile, Shinichiro was on my other side, heading to the yearly festival.

"Don't you have your own little boy toy you should be worrying about?" I whispered, eyes on Takeomi on her other side as we went together.

The way she blushed made me laugh, subconsciously holding Shinichiro's hand and offering:

"How about we get something to snack on? Every year, there's a stand that makes some delicious gyoza."

"Let's go get some then," Shinichiro smiled, allowing me to lead the way.

It was in the same spot as last year, and this 'double date' was already so much fun. We ate, and got to check out some of the other stands with all kinds of collectibles, jewelry, you name it.

We were smiling the whole time too, excited as a firework show was going to happen soon, my best friend jumping at the thought:

"Ooo! Can we go get some ice cream before we watch the fireworks?"

"Sure thing, babe," Takeomi was really trying to charm her up. I couldn't wait to tease her about it, but we all got an ice cream cone, went to where we planned to sit and watch the fireworks till Shinichiro squeezed my hand:

"Is it okay if we talk for a second?"

He wanted us to be alone, fighting a smile, and I couldn't say no, finishing my ice cream and nodding:

"Yeah, let's go."

Heading away from the crowd, we stood by a staircase, my heart fluttering as Shinichiro was reaching into his pocket, whispering with his cheeks turning pink:

"I just wanted to give you something special, that's all."

"What is it?" Watching his hand open to me, I saw a bracelet with little charms, one standing out compared to the others, a crown. It appeared to be handmade, those flutters getting stronger as he took my hand gently, clipping the bracelet around my wrist:

"I remembered when you would make charm bracelets when we were kids. So, I made one for you."

"You made it?" This gift touched my heart, and I held my hand up to admire it more; a smile formed as he nodded, explaining and giggling:

"It might not look the best, but I even welded the metal into a crown. A princess needs her crown, right?"

Staring at the crown, my smile grew brighter, finding his eyes, "I think it looks beautiful, Shinichiro. Thank you."

He just smiled back at me, our smiles so bright we broke out into giggles, but my chest seized as his eyes twinkled, taking my hand and his head leaning down to me.

Was he going to kiss me? This was it. I could feel it, letting my eyes shut gently as he inched closer, but flashing back open at the sound of a voice I knew:

"They are together, huh?"

The last bit of fear in my heart returned, shaking as I stared off toward who was talking; Shinichiro quickly noticed something was wrong.

"Hey-" He whispered, looking in the direction I was, seeing my ex-boyfriend, "That's your ex, right?"

"Yeah," I whispered back shakily, my eyes briefly connecting with my ex's, and my shaking worsened.

"Y/N," Taking my shoulders, Shinichiro moved his head to meet my eyes, calm and only wanting to help, "If he's bothering you somehow, tell me. Please."

"I-I just-" I swallowed, finally growing the courage to tell him what I've only told my best friend, putting my head down, "Remember the end of senior year, when I missed a few days of school? I came back all messed up, and no one knew why?"

"I remember," He nodded, having an idea of what I was going to say, staying silent as I cried softly:

"It was him. He 'put me in my place' to try and show off in front of some gang he joined."

His hands were still on my shoulders, and he felt stiff, the tears of sadness turning into rage as I picked my head up, huffing and explaining:

"And that's why I created my gang. To show stupid boys that us girls can lead and, more importantly, kick ass too."

Shinichiro was staring at me, his eyes darkening, and it almost scared me as I had never seen such a look in his eyes before.

"Guys! You done? The fireworks are about to go off!"

My best friend and Takeomi were coming for us, shaking again as Shinichiro stood up straight, turning to Takeomi and commanding:

"Takeomi, stay here with them. Don't let a soul near them. Got it?"

"Got it," Takeomi didn't bother to question him; Shinichiro's eyes said it all, but I was still paranoid, reaching out for him:

"Shinichiro-"

There was no stopping him. He walked right up to my ex, who was laughing with some guy, trying to be all cocky:

"Yo, Shinichiro. Heard you got my sloppy seconds!"

"Did you think she'd never tell me?" Hearing their exchange, my heart wouldn't stop pounding, panting even as my best friend kept me in a hug, Takeomi watching in case someone else was to step in.

My ex only stared. He knew what Shinichiro was talking about, going to speak just for his jaw to be met with Shinichiro's fist, the impact louder than any punch I ever heard, making my ex drop like a ton of bricks, the fireworks starting to blast and explode into the sky as Shinichiro hit him with another punch.

"DID YOU REALLY THINK SHE'D NEVER TELL ME?!"

That buddy of my ex's was so scared he ran away, Shinichiro picking him up by the shirt and punching him over and over.

His yelling started to attract attention; Takeomi looked as we saw a bystander dialing their phone.

"Shinichiro!" Running to him, even Takeomi could barely pull Shinichiro away, "Someone saw! We have to go!"

Shinichiro wasn't exactly a prizefighter, but seeing him in a rage, this unseen strength. I'll never forget it. He finally let go and backed away with Takeomi, who was pulling out his keys:

"Sorry, girls, we have to go."

"It's, it's okay-" I heaved, clinging to Shinichiro's arm as he came to me, his keys in hand, whispering:

"We can go to my place."

We didn't say anything after that. I just followed him, hopping on the back of his bike, and clung to him the entire ride. We stopped with Takeomi to make sure my best friend got home safe, then went to his place.

"I need a cigarette," He mumbled, lighting one up as we stepped inside, and I sat on the couch in silence, fidgeting with my hands and the bracelet he gave me.

Halfway through his cigarette, he came to sit next to me, whispering softly:

"I'm sorry for ruining our fun at the festival. When you told me that, I just-"

"It's okay, really," I cooed, taking his hand, fighting tears again, "No one has ever stood up for me like that before."

"I will always be here for you," Finding my gaze, I started to cry, knowing his every word was true, "I'll fight the whole world for you if I have to, Y/N."

All I wanted to do was hug him, doing so and squeezing, never wanting to let go. He ashed out his cigarette so he could embrace me back with both arms, my head against his chest as I confessed:

"I love you, Shinichiro. You really are my prince charming."

Unlike the festival, nothing stopped him as he pushed my head up so his lips could finally kiss mine.

As our lips danced, something was pouring into my heart. This strong sense in both my brain and heart. It was true love. I just knew it. The same sense was beaming from him as he guided me back on the couch, our kiss deepening and less intertwining.

"I love you too, princess," Lips just hovering above me, his dark eyes were back to soft and precious like usual, the cute smile that lifted his cheeks making me fall for him even harder than I already had, paying great attention to his following words, "There's nothing to hide anymore. We can be happy."

I couldn't get enough of him, kissing softly and ensuring he knew, "I'm always happy when I'm with you." 

2023 © itjazzbicch — do not repost or translate my work. Likes, reblogs, and comments are always welcome 

[kkaewrites]

fall in love with me [3] — itoshi sae x reader !

warnings. heavy manga spoilers & ooc itoshi sae.

content. fake dating, (slight) enemies to lovers.

there was a firework display that was very much visible from where you and itoshi sae were at. although, even with the a majestic view right outside the cart’s windows, he was only staring at you. his face devoid of emotion and chin resting on his knuckles, he replied, “try me.”

try what? you wanted to ask, but you knew what exactly he meant. if you knew one thing from his enigmatic personality, it was the fact that he’s competitive over the most trivial things. this was his way of turning the tables, and to be honest, you’re not going to let him.

you only pursued him just because you know that he won’t fall. if you take that away from him, what makes him different from the rest?

“no,” you crossed your arms. “you’re not supposed to fall in love with me.”

“and you’re telling me what to do?”

“as a matter of fact, yeah, i do.” you watch as the expression on his face remain the same. his teal green eyes bore into yours and for once, you might believe him; that for some odd reason, you interest him. as if that makes any sense.

“you’re full of irony,” he says, but all you could hear from him was you’re full of shit, because of his narrowed gaze and pursed lips. “you told me to fall in love with you a few months ago.”

“it was a bluff.”

“so it is.”

“itoshi sae,” you sharply stated. “just shut up.”

you expected him to say that he doesn’t take orders from anyone because he’s the itoshi sae, but to your surprise, he doesn’t. instead, what he does is look away. his face, although not entirely in your line of sight, was illuminated from the glittering lights outside. however, for some reason, he doesn’t look all amused.

the ride back home had nothing but silence. after your short banter with itoshi sae, there was no exchange that happened. you didn’t mind; you quite liked basking in someone’s quiet company, even if that someone happens to be him.

“did i upset you?”

“no.”

“okay.”

why would you care? you wanted to ask yourself. who cares if he’s mad or frustrated or upset? it’s not like you’re friends with him to care about what he feels. and it’s definitely unlike you to care about anyone else but yourself.

“stop overthinking.” he finally speaks up after a long period of silence. even when his eyes were closed, you could feel his gaze on you.

instead of telling him some random excuse, you piped up, “my birthday’s next week.”

“i know.”

“my grandma’s coming.” you turned to look outside the windows. it was half past nine o’clock, and everyone was in a rush to head home. the streets were bustling with different kinds of people under the city lights, while the road itself was painted red due to the heavy traffic. it was a sight to behold; people just living their own lives. people with their own purpose. “she’ll definitely see through this whole facade, tell my parents and urge to continue the wedding.”

“you’re expecting me to not attend.”

“right.”

“and you think my absence won’t make her suspicious?”

“you’re itoshi sae. you’re a busy person.”

“exactly.” he replies. “and i’m good at what i do.”

“this isn’t soccer.”

“i never said it was.”

“why do you even want to be there?”

“can’t i attend my fake girlfriend’s birthday?”

“you can,” you stressed out the word can. “but you hate the media. you hate parties. you hate socializing.”

“yeah.” he finally opens his eyes and there it is again— that gaze. you’re not sure what it means or what his intention is, still, it sends an uneasy feeling to flutter in your stomach. “but i don’t hate you.”

the fuck does he mean by that? a few months ago, he was staring daggers into your back. he was frowning every time he was with you. when you kissed him that first day, he looked at you as if he wanted to send you to the depths of hell. what does he mean that he doesn’t hate you?

how could he not hate you?

instead of prolonging the complex conversation, you decided to shift the topic. “okay, fine. then, red?”

“what?”

“will you wear red to match my dress?”

on the night of your party, a handful of strangers attended. most of them were the family members of your dad’s business partners, some of them were distant relatives and some were the children of your parents’ friends. and although you’d rather really spend the whole evening to yourself, you had to keep these strangers company by listening to their sexist jokes, their questions about your (fake) boyfriend and their own narcissistic quips.

all you had done was smile, greet, and tune out whatever they’re saying. no one will complain if all you’d do is nod absent-mindedly, as long as you have a pretty face.

because of your lack of friends, the only familiar people around were your parents (your grandma hasn’t arrived yet), but since they’re preoccupied with other people, you don’t even get to see them at all. there was no comfort to be found and it’s making you sick to your stomach. the only reason you didn’t choose to hide yet was because you were waiting for itoshi sae.

he hasn’t texted or called to say anything, even though it’s already a quarter past ten. was he really going to come late? it’s an hour and about fifteen minutes until your birthday ends. or maybe, you thought to yourself, he’s not really coming at all.

you could feel a frown forming.

you excused yourself from a group of teenagers that was talking about the most boring topic in the world ever— business. or love. or was it soccer? you’re not sure. whatever their topic was, it didn’t pique your interest. you’re sure they’d end up talking behind your back when you’re gone, anyway.

all you were feeling was annoyance. it was your own birthday and yet you were stuck the whole night feeling uncomfortable in your own skin. your feet were screaming at you to take your heels off, and you were freezing due to your sleeveless and backless dress.

all that, and still no itoshi sae in sight.

“excuse me,” an unfamiliar voice calls out to you just as you were about to exit the ballroom. when you turned to face them, you were greeted with a face that you’ve only seen in pictures. you’ve had no idea that he would attend after all the mess you caused, but here he is. your ex-fiancé. reo mikage.

one look and you could tell that he’s definitely broken a few hearts before.

“yes?”

“wanted to greet you myself,” he smiles politely, before handing you an intricately wrapped gift. “happy birthday.”

“thank you.” you returned his smile as you receive the gift.

“i’m glad, by the way.”

“for what?”

“that you decided to be with your boyfriend.” he looks away. “you know, instead of marrying me.”

boyfriend? what— oh. he must be talking about itoshi sae. no, scratch that, he must be thinking that you were brave enough to fight for a love like that. you almost laughed; how could they not see that it’s fake? it’s not as if the both of you were ever seen committing public display of affection, except that staged kiss.

“that’s not really the tru—”

“do you mind?” reo visibly stiffens from hearing that third party voice. he knows because he has heard him before. he knows because who else would say something like that towards two people in a conversation?

“that’s my cue to leave. see you around, y/n.”

before you could wave him goodbye, you were taken by a surprise as itoshi sae wraps his red dress suit over your shoulders. you wanted to ask him how he’d found out that you were cold or why he was rude to reo, but instead, you ask: “why were you late?”

“i got you this.” he hands you a gift, one that was smaller than reo’s and from the form itself, you could guess that it’s a book. “it’s limited edition; you’re the only one who has that kind of copy.”

furrowing your brows, you gently placed down reo’s gift on a nearby table and tore open itoshi sae’s present. true enough, it was a book. not just any book, though: it’s your favorite. you have a copy that has a worn out cover, which sits on your bedside table because you’d read it almost every time you can’t fall asleep. but this one was definitely different.

as itoshi sae said, you’re the only one who has that kind of copy because on the front page itself, it says: to y/n, i hope you’ll have a good night’s sleep. you couldn’t even believe your eyes. your favorite book was printed and dedicated to you.

it made you tear up.

and you’re not fond of crying. generally, you’re not fond of overwhelming emotions but to have something like this— on what you thought was the worst birthday ever — it makes you happy. for the first time, you don’t feel hollow. you don’t feel empty.

and it’s because of the man in front of you. itoshi sae.

“how could you even—”

he shrugs and looks away. “i flew to the author’s country. in exchange for an autograph.”

“is that possible?”

“to me? of course.” he then sighs and pockets his hands, facing you. then, silence appeared and stretched as you stare back into his teal green eyes. it was the first time you’ve thought of them as beautiful.

oh no.

is this what they call ‘falling in love’?

he turns to look at his watch, “i still have ten minutes before the evening ends.”

“well,” you bit your lip. “you’re here now.”

“i know.” he responds. “will you dance with me?”

you have no idea how he does it. you have no idea how he’s perfectly calm while you were rooted to the ground, feeling as if your heart’s about to leap out from your throat. you have no idea that he can smile like that: like an angel you were blessed to see. you have no idea he can dance. however, instead of pondering over these questions, you take his outstretched hand.

the rest happened like a blur; your personalized book was resting next to reo’s still unopened gift, your right hand was against sae’s own hand and your left sat on his shoulder as you sway along to the nonexistent music. you didn’t know how it all happened but by some miracle, it did.

“you hate dancing.” you comment.

“i told you already,” he mumbles. “i don’t hate you.”

“so you’re doing this for me?”

he doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t stop dancing with you. his touch was gentle, as if he doesn’t want to harm even a strand of your hair. his breathing was even, the same kind of composed when he’s playing. his hand radiated warmth, while you were sure that yours were cold to the touch. you were sure he could feel you tremble against his skin.

you were nervous. excited. you can’t describe what you were feeling as you spend the next few minutes quietly dancing with him, but you’re sure it’s there. could he feel it? could he feel what you were feeling?

“y/n.” he calls your attention.

“yeah?”

“happy birthday.” he abruptly stops dancing, making you softly tumble against his chest. and it answers all your questions with how fast it beats: yes. i feel you. i feel the same for you.

“thank you—”

“i’ve got a request to make.” was what he says before tucking a loose strand of your hair behind your ear. from there, he leans in and you wait until he’s done so you can stare at his pretty teal eyes again— but it doesn’t arrive.

“what is it?”

the hand that rests on your cheek guided your face to meet his gaze at such a close proximity. your heart was beating erratically, like it could burst any moment. and it’s the first time you’d describe it as full. up until this very moment, you weren’t sure what happiness or passion or a very strong sense of liking something felt like— but as itoshi sae delicately captures your lips, you thought this is it.

“fall in love with me.” he whispers against your lips, only loud enough for the both of you to hear. he spoke of it like a promise; like an oath. he spoke of it with every intention of staying. he, itoshi sae, spoke of it as if to say i have fallen in love with you, so now, it’s your turn.

when he parted, you grabbed the nape of his neck to bring him back to you, kissing him as if he’s air and you could no longer breathe. you, l/n y/n, have done it so as if to say idiot, i already have.

the end.

notes. this took so long >< this was supposed to be published last saturday but i had a lot of academic responsibilities so i wasnt able to write this. this marks the end of this vv short mini series! and as i told u guys, this third part is my favorite bc as i was writing the last parts, i felt like i was blushing fr !!!!! love u itoshi sae <3 there were TONS of scenes that i wanted to put like the “fake” kissing scene but i thought the progression of this one was better soo hehe might write another fake dating oneshot in the future bc of that. thanks for all the votes & reblogs !! have a nice night <3

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