#we need SLEEP we have CHEM LAB tomorrow

[bloomingbluebell]

why is it 1am

why am i still awake

[krisdreaming]

PART 1 | A FAVOR

｢ Masterlist ｣  |  Next >

Pairing: Kuroo Tetsurou x gn!reader

Summary: Somehow, you ended up agreeing to bring your non-existent boyfriend to the family Christmas gathering at your grandparents’. Your chem lab partner and fast friend, Kuroo Tetsurou, agrees to play the part. Your developing feelings for him won’t cause any problems, right?

WC: 1.7k

A/N: I am v i b r a t i n g, it’s finally here! I’m very excited to share this story with you all, I’ve been having an absolute blast writing it! I already feel like it’s so much better than last year, and tbh reading the old fic is so cringy for me lmao I lowkey want to delete it.

The winter sky is slate gray above you, shedding a few stray snowflakes around you as you walk. The streets of the small university town have been decked out with lights and decorations for a few weeks now, and with the falling snow to match, it’s really starting to feel like Christmas. You reach for the door of the coffee shop, stepping inside and immediately drawing in the heavenly aromas of coffee and pastries. The warm air is such a contrast to the chill of the outdoors that you can feel a slight tingle in your cheeks.

Looking around, you spot Kuroo at one of the corner tables and make your way over to him. “So, what do you think?” You ask, making a vague gesture to the entirety of the coffee shop, “So much better than the one on campus, right?”

“I’ll let you know after I taste the coffee,” He says lightly with his usual teasing smirk. He lifts the mug to his lips and peers at you over the rim for a few moments before taking a sip. “Hmm,” He smacks his lips a few times, resting the mug on the table and tilting his head to the side in exaggerated thought.

“Well?” You finally prompt, “Does it get the Kuroo seal of approval?”

“Not sure,” He says, eliciting an eye roll from you as he lifts his mug again and takes a bigger sip. “Oh!” He reaches for another mug that you hadn’t noticed and pushes it across the table. “I ordered this for you. It’s your favorite here, right? The caramel macchiato?”

You blink at him in surprise, reaching out automatically to wrap your fingers around the warm mug. “You remembered that?” You ask dumbly.

“Of course I did. You’re only talking about it every day,” He rolls his eyes, “Meanwhile some of us are actually trying to do our chem lab, you know.” The teasing smile on his face is starting to seep into his voice, and you chuckle.

“Oh, please. What would you do without me in lab?” You ask, finally lifting the mug to your lips to take a sip. The milky sweetness of the coffee draws out a soft hum of contentment.

“Get work done,” He laughs, shrugging his shoulders and tilting his head as though dodging the glare you shoot his way. “And speaking of work, we’d better get started on this write up if we want to have it finished for class tomorrow.” He flips open his notebook, and you fish around in your bag for yours. It is why you’re here, after all.

You’re about a third of the way through the assignment when your phone rings. Kuroo leans back in his chair as you peek at the screen. “It’s my grandma,” You say apologetically, “I should get this.” Standing to your feet, you step out into the dusk that’s falling outside. “Hello?”

“Hi, Y/N, this is Grandma.”

You shake your head. “Yes, Grandma, I know. How are you?” She doesn’t call you often, so you hope everything is alright.

“Fine, fine,” She says brusquely, quickly brushing past the niceties to get to the real reason she’s calling. “I was thinking, and Grandpa and I agreed that it would be so nice if you invited your boyfriend to Christmas this year.” Suddenly, the coffee you’d just finished drinking is turning to a solid brick in your stomach. “We’d love to meet him, dear, you hardly ever tell us anything about him!”

You let out a shaky breath. It had been harmless – or so you thought. Just a little white lie. Nothing wrong with letting your grandmother believe you’d found a boyfriend at college. She’s always been so hopeful that you’d find someone special, and she asks at every opportunity, so the story had developed on its own. Now you’re starting to realize why that may have been a bad idea.

“No, Grandma, it’s fine, really. He doesn’t need to come.”

“Nonsense. There’s plenty of room and you know there’s always plenty of food, we’d love to have him.” Your grandmother’s voice crackles insistently through the phone.

“Grandma-”

“I won’t take no for an answer,” She says in a tone you’ve never once dared to argue with. “You bring this boyfriend of yours to Christmas, and that’s final.” You bite down a little too hard on your lower lip.

“I’ll see if he’s free,” You say weakly, hoping to buy yourself some more time.

“Good,” She says, finally satisfied. “I’m looking forward to meeting this young man. Now I’m sorry to go so soon, dear, but I have a pie in the oven that needs to come out. You just let me know when the two of you will be getting here next week, alright?”

“Okay, Grandma. If he can come,” You add quickly. “Bye. Love you.”

“And I love you, dear.” For a few moments after she hangs up, you keep your phone at your ear, listening to the dial tone. Finally, you remember that Kuroo is still waiting for you inside, and you slowly turn and go back into the coffee shop.

“Everything okay?” Kuroo asks when you sit back down. You paste a smile on your face and pick up your pencil.

“Yeah, fine!” You chirp, “My Grandma just wanted to discuss a few things about the Christmas get together coming up.”

“Ah, cool. That sounds really nice.”

“Mm-hmm,” You brush it off, “Let’s get this finished, okay?” You try to focus on the lab report, but your mind keeps wandering back to the conversation with your grandmother. You nod along when Kuroo makes a suggestion and dutifully jot down your answers, but you’re working on autopilot.

“Are you sure everything’s alright?” Your gaze snaps to Kuroo and you nod quickly. He sets his pencil down and leans back in his chair, eyeing you critically. “I dunno, you just seem kind of distracted,” He gestures to your paper, and when you look down, you realize that you’ve been erasing so fiercely that a hole is worn into the page. You cover it sheepishly with your hand.

“I’m fine. It’s stupid,” You say with a shrug and a light chuckle. He nods knowingly. He isn’t prying, but something in his expression prompts you to keep going. “You’re going to laugh at me,” You warn before continuing.

“Brilliant,” He says, leaning on his elbows and focusing his entire attention on you. You clear your throat.

“I may or may not have implied to my grandma that I have a boyfriend. Perhaps more than once. I said perhaps!” You repeat it at the way his lips are screwed up, already trying his hardest to keep a straight face.

“But you don’t,” He interjects.

“No. Thank you for that,” You say dryly. “Anyway, as it turns out, Grandma has extended a generous invitation for my boyfriend to attend our family Christmas gathering.”

“Your boyfriend that doesn’t exist,” He says with a smirk.

“We’ve established that, yes,” You huff. “Any bright ideas, smarty pants?”

“Hm, so you come to me for advice,” Kuroo strokes his chin thoughtfully. “Sounds like you need to get yourself a boyfriend.” You snort. “Or at least someone to pass off as your boyfriend,” He amends. “For the right price, I might be persuaded. Isn’t this your grandma that sent you those cookies the other week?”

“The one and only,” You nod.

“Mm-hmm,” He nods slowly, watching you a little too closely. Just when you start to feel the heat rushing to your cheeks, he sits back again. “Well, if there are going to be more of those cookies, you know where to find me,” He quips, then clears his throat. “Well, we’re almost finished here, is this what you got for the last formula?” That quickly, it’s dropped. As always when it comes to Kuroo, you’re not sure quite how seriously to take him.

You spend the rest of the evening worrying the situation in your mind. Is it really smart to bring a fake boyfriend to your family gathering? It sounds like the plot of a bad romcom. Say your boyfriend can’t make it, and you know your grandmother will ask for photos, stories, and other evidence you don’t have. Admit the truth, and you may never be able to look her in the eye again. None of them is very appealing, but those are your options.

The next day, you can’t believe you’re really doing this. Sleep deprivation may be a factor, but you’ve decided to take Kuroo up on his offer. After all, you reason with yourself, it will keep Grandma happy. She’ll be absolutely tickled, and you know Kuroo will charm her. Kuroo’s always seemed to love the stories you’ve told about your family, and you know he’ll fit right in with them. Spending the holiday with him – it might not be so bad. In fact, it’s something you might even find yourself looking forward to.

Your afternoon lab is almost over before you work up the courage to broach the subject. “Hey, Kuroo?” You speak up, right as he’s eye level with a test tube and adding a few drops to the solution inside.

“Hm?” He hums, distracted, as you watch him count the droplets under his breath. When he’s finished, he sits back and looks at you, head cocked slightly to the side. You draw in a sharp breath, trying not to think about the sudden twist in your middle.

“Were you serious when you said you’d come to my family’s Christmas and pretend to be my boyfriend?” It tumbles out in one breath.

He barks out a laugh. “Well, yeah, I guess so!”

“I’m not trying to force you,” You insist.

“You’re not,” He assures you. “Wasn’t it my idea in the first place? How am I supposed to turn down an opportunity to eat for three days straight?”

“You have to let everyone think you’re my boyfriend,” You remind him.

“You think I can’t handle it?” He holds out his hand. “Please. I’m in.”

“If you’re sure.” Slowly, you reach out and shake his hand. His grip is firm. This is really happening, isn’t it?

[theangrycomet-art]

No Time for This

Hiro stood before the Chem Lab entrance, blinking at the cyan foam as it oozed out from the entrance. A small step to the side and his sneakers were spared of the strange substance. 

“Okay. So, why did you grab me?” Turning, he glanced at his student, neck tilting back a little to meet her eye. “I don’t exactly specialize in chemistry, Karen.”

The blue-haired physics student rubbed her hands together awkwardly.

“Well in all honesty your the first teacher I could find.” she confessed. “I was trying to find Professor Possible when I bumped into you.”

“Which one?”

“Uh, the red one?” 

“Yeah, Tim’s on leave and Jim’s... working on another project.” He vaguely recalled Lilo dragging him off by the ear to undo what ever he and his twin had done to her ship as Tim himself made his escape from the irate Hawaiian. Hiro himself had been running off to hopefully make it on time to his classes. 

It was frankly embarrassing when the teacher was late. 

“What about Honey Lemon?” 

“Professor Le’mone?” Scratching at the shorter side of her bob, Karen continued to fidget. He wasn’t sure if it was just her social awkwardness or if his reputation as a teacher was just that bad amongst the students. “I think she’s in there?”

“Great. Go get Granville while I deal with-” He gestured at the door. “What ever this is.”

Nodding, he waited until she scampered off before running a hand down his face. 

“Please let this just be Honey Lemon being excessively extra.” He muttered.

Hand deep in his pocket he pulled out his lanyard. With a flash of plastic, he swiped his ID across the door handle and he stepped to the side as the the door begrudgingly slid open.

SWOOSH!

A slopping splash of bubbles and tidal wave of suds rushed out, filling the hall. Students yelped and began to run, those less fortunate being completely immersed in the stuff. The more dramatic wailed as they “drowned” while the sleep-deprived screeched to save their tech at the onslaught. 

Hiro spared them a glance and a roll of the eyes before going in. 

“See- cleans everything right up in mere seconds!” A familiar, cracking voice cheerfully zipped through the air with a small chuckle.

Varian. Of course it was him. It always was his selected student in the center of of the mess. 

This wouldn’t have been a problem if he were just a student- but no. Varian was Hiro’s “project”, which meant Professor Granville wouldn’t hesitate to drop the clean-up paperwork on his desk. Heck, she’d smile as the stack of paper smacked against the steel In box.

He would never have agreed to this whole teaching thing had he known how much paperwork there was. 

Batting bubbles away, he attempted to navigate the lab through memory. Meaning his knees cracked against each chair as his hips checked the sturdiness of every counter top. 

“Now THAT is what I call a bath bomb!” Honey Lemon gave a zealous cry. 

Maybe I could pass the paperwork onto her, he mused, hand grazing his chin. Varian was doing a dual major after all, and the Chemistry Queen had practically snatched the little prodigy from his hands already. 

He dismissed the idea immediately. The kid was already dabbling on the Mad Scientist side, and while most of his tendencies could be attributed to theatrics, leaving the two unsupervised would be disastrous at-

His foot proceeded to step on some sort of fluffy rod-like mass, he stiffened.

A loud yowl ripped the air. The mass wrenched out from under him, taking his foot with it.

“What the hell?!” Hands grasping air, he crashed to the ground with a swear. Bubbles flew out of the way, off the ground, and into the air, bumping into science equipment and threatening to knock them over. 

“Ruddiger! What happened buddy?!” Asked Varian alarmed, words bumbling over each other over the chitters of complaint. “Wait- Professor Hamada?” 

“Hiro?” Pumps softly tapping the floor, Hiro wrenched his hand towards his body. Just in case. This wouldn’t be the first time she’d accidentally crushed someone’s hand. “Is that you?”

“Yes.” Batting the bubbles off his head, he harrumphed, pulling himself off the floor and onto his feet. 

A Kentucky-Kaiju roar emitted from his phone as Fred texted him.

“Do I even want to know what happened in here?” Glancing at the screen, he frowned at the emojis. A bunch of lightning bolts and dancer emojis filled his screen. “Actually- never mind where are you?”

“Hold on- just one second- annd!” Varian said, from where Hiro could only assume the 14-year old was standing. The sounds of test tubes clinking floated across the bubble-ridden air. A slight hiss and a glittery mist began to coat the bubbles dissolving them. “Voila!”

Grimacing as the mist approached him, the bubbles covering him dissipated, leaving him surprisingly clean.

Varian stood before him, bubble-free and smiling cheerfully as he lifted his old-school goggles. 

“Tada!” Turning behind him, his grin only widened as he gestured for a surprisingly clean Honey Lemon. The lack of obliterated material on her clothes was enough for an eyebrow raise of its own.  ”See this is what I thought bath bombs were- I mean, c’mon. It’s a called bath bomb, not a bath solvent.” 

Hiro crossed his arms. 

“You realize half the lab is coated in this stuff?”

“Oh my compound has definitely coated all of the available surfaces.” Varian nodded, assessing his work with a proud grin as the raccoon that seemed to follow him everywhere crawled onto his shoulder. If he was bothered by this, the kid didn’t show it, holding his chin thoughtfully.

“Though it didn’t reach nearly as high as I’d hoped. So much for a clean ceiling.” He shrugged, continuing his spraying before he paused. 

“Oh! Was there something you needed Professor Hamada?” He asked, eyes sparkling. 

They really needed to find whatever energy ran this kid and put in a bottle. 

His phone roared again. Now distressed faces littered the screen. 

“No- er yes! I need to talk to Honey Le- Professor Le’mon-” It was weird calling her that. Hiro gave her a pointed look. “About some volunteer work.”

“Wha- now?” She asked incredulously, looking for her bag amongst the bubbles. “It’s not even 10 o’clock!”

“Alright than.” Varian went back to misting the bubbles away. 

They gave him a few minutes to take the hint. 

“Varian, Professor Hamada-” 

Hiro cringed at the mantle. A few months into teaching and it still felt alien in his ears. It should be something someone like Tadashi was called, not him. It felt to... Adulty. 

“-and I need to talk in the lab.”

“Okay. ”

Another minute and Varian had obliviously cleared a path to the exit. Pinching the bridge of his nose, 3 more roars and 2 cute chirps had emitted from their phones as Hiro tried a different approach. 

Walking over, he grabbed his student by the shoulders and began to guide him to the exit. 

“So what were you developing this for anyways?” He said, watch Honey Lemon dash off. 

“Oh actually- it was for the project you assigned us- I was looking for a no water- cleaning product for Mo to use when he’s active that also could get to areas couldn’t reach and-” 

“Wait- Mo?” 

“Yeah. M-O. My Microbe Obliterator. It’s kind of a mouthful so, I started calling him Mo. He seems to like it- it’s the only thing he’ll say now so sometimes it’s tricky to figure out what he’s trying to tell you-”

Varian continued to ramble as Hiro pushed him from behind. The raccoon hopped from table to table beside them, playing with the oddly shaped orb. Hiro gave off the occasional ahuh, phone buzzing all the while until he saw Granville weaving her way through the bubble ridden halls. 

“Oh, I was also wondering if I could have your opinion on-” Raising a finger in question, he glanced back as Hiro cut him off. 

“Yeah- ahuh- very interesting- look Varian, let’s continue this conversation at a later time.” He scowled at how short that came out, man he did not have time for this. He tried for a softer tone. “I’m already REALLY late for the Volunteer thing- why don’t we talk about more about Mo after class tomorrow?”

“Oh, uh, okay.” Awkward, he scratched his neck as Hiro nodded. 

“Great.” He glanced at Granville. “Gotta go.” 

WIth that proclamation, he dashed through the halls, bubbles flying from his feet as he summoned his Skymax. 

[skinsharpenedteeth]

Coming Up Easy - A Series of Firsts (Part 1)

Synopsis: AU where Alex and Michael are FWB since high school. Series of firsts in their relationship. Hopefully I’ll post one every Wednesday. No clue how many I’ll have. Feel free to send me ideas.

Part 1. First Apartment

    It was the worst decision Alex had ever made if Michael had anything to say about it. He was across the country building himself a new life and Michael didn’t like it one bit. 

    “You can come visit,” Alex said, brushing a stray curl from Michael’s forehead. He was watching his own finger and tracing the loops of the curl instead of looking Michael in the eyes. “Friends visit each other.”

    “Right, I know. You’re right. I can visit,” Michael agreed, his stomach feeling queasy at the fact that if he wanted to see Alex he would have to visit. He couldn’t show up unannounced because he was lonely or having a bad day. No one would be waiting for him at the Wild Pony for drinks. His friend would be too far away in a different bar, possibly making new friends.

    Michael stared down at his phone, the chat window he shared with Alex open and depressingly inactive. No blinking dots to say Alex was typing or thinking about him too. He sighed and tossed the phone onto the bar in front of him, signaling Maria’s new bartender to get him another beer. Once the beer was in front of him, Michael opened his phone screen again and stared at the chatbox some more. 

    ‘Fuck it,’ he finally said to himself as he began to type. 

Me 11:15 p.m.>> You up?

    He set the phone down again and sipped his beer, watching the other patrons through the mirrors behind the bar. There were some guys at the pool table that he could go swindle for a game or two. Liz, Max, and Kyle were in a corner booth all laughing and talking animatedly. He could hear the whoops and cheers from someone taking a turn on the mechanical bull outside the bar. There were so many things to distract him, but all Michael wanted was to talk to Alex. 

Alex 11:20 p.m.>> Are you seriously booty calling me from five states away? Me 11:21 p.m.>> I mean, this isn’t that different from when we were in college and you had that late chem lab and I kept getting bored waiting for you to get out… Alex 11:23 p.m.>> That’s not a very subtle way to ask for nudes. Me 11:24 p.m.>> I mean, I wouldn’t say ‘no’ to nudes if you’re offering them, but really I’m just at the Pony missing my best friend. Alex 11:26 p.m.>> You should call Isobel then. I’m sure she’d be glad to hang out. Me 11:27 p.m.>> Jerk. Me 11:27 p.m.>> Wyd? Alex 11:29 p.m.>> Staring at the black void of my bedroom listing all the things I need to get done tomorrow after I get home from work. This is basically like when I moved in with Kyle in college except I have more boxes and no one to guilt into unpacking them for me.

    Michael stared at the phone and thought about that first apartment. He’d moved in with Kyle after Kyle’s dad died. Kyle had transferred from Michigan State back to UNM in Albuquerque to be closer to his mom, but he was still on the pre-med track so living in town was out of the question. Michael remembers them all getting wasted on whiskey that first night and after Kyle had passed out on the futon mattress (which was on the floor and not on the still-disassembled futon), he and Alex had escaped to his room. 

Me 11:33 p.m.>> Remember the rug burns you gave me that second night? Alex 11:35 p.m.>> You deserved that for the hickies you gave me! It looked like I'd been attacked by an octopus in my sleep!

    Michael grinned into his beer. He didn’t regret the hickies. They’d been drunk and horny. He’d pinned Alex to the shitty, half-deflated air mattress and left marks in a constellation from his neck to the inside of his thighs and the little shit had loved every fucking second of it. Then Alex had tried to roll them and just ended up knocking Michael over off the mattress. They’d laughed and Alex had apologized into his mouth between kisses. He’d tasted like whiskey and cheap pizza and Michael remembered being blissfully happy somewhere underneath all the horniness. The rugburns hadn’t come until the next night when Alex had fucked him hard on the floor, carpet digging into Michael’s knees, elbows, and cheek. It’d been worth it to see Kyle the next morning try to figure out how to address the thinness of the wall between their bedrooms. 

Me 11:39 p.m.>> Fucking worth it. You were so mad about those hickies, but I wore those rug burns like badges of honor. Alex 11:40 p.m.>> The fuck you did. You whined every day until they were gone. Me 11:41 p.m.>> Not how I remember it at all. You must have me confused with your other friend you occasionally fuck. Alex 11:42 p.m.>> I could never. 

    “Oh shit, I think Valenti’s passed out. Should we fuck with him? Draw dicks on his face? Make him pee himself?” Michael asked, giggling into Alex’s warm, shirt-covered shoulder. They were sitting pressed side by side against the living room wall. They’d been telling dirty jokes and arguing about playing Halo for the last fifteen minutes. The bottle of Jack Daniels was down to the backwash at the bottom of the bottle, having been split between the three of them as a celebration for Kyle and Alex getting an apartment together. No more sneaking into dorm rooms or paying roommates to find another place to sleep. 

    “If you’re so desperate to see a dick, I got something better we could do,” Alex had slurred into his hair as he tipped toward him. 

    “You’re fucking drunk, can you even get hard?” Michael had asked. Better question was could he get hard… they’d had a lot to drink in a short period of time. 

    “Why don’t we go to my room and find out? Help me break the place in. Christen it before Kyle can,” Alex suggested, grin salacious and eyebrows mischievous and hair slightly sweaty and mussed from their hauling boxes and putting together furniture. Michael couldn’t remember wanting him more. He surged forward and captured his lips in a messy, wet kiss that somehow didn’t suck for all its faults. They were both panting gently when they pulled back. 

    “Yeah, let’s go,” he agreed quietly, eyes still closed and enjoying the taste and smell of the moment, the feeling of his hand against Alex’s neck, and how much he wanted this forever. Alex pushed back and stood up unsteadily, leaning on the wall for support, and Michael followed suit. They stumbled into the bedroom, legs tangling and making them fall onto the air mattress in a heap, laughing breathlessly as they started to pull at their shirts. The apartment still smelled like paint and carpet cleaner and the new plastic of the air mattress, but it was a refuge from the world and if Michael could live in that moment forever, he might just. 

    “Ugh, you’re getting sappy,” Alex mock-complained as he pushed Michael onto his back and straddled his hips. 

    “Me? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Michael countered with a grin, his hands, and expression betraying him as he let them both roam all over Alex’s body fondly, familiarly. Alex rolled his eyes, but his grin stayed in place. He grabbed Michael’s hands and pinned them to the floor by Alex’s knees. 

Alex kissed down Michael’s chest and stomach, leaving dark red marks where he sucked the skin into his mouth until Michael whined for him to stop. He kept moving his own body down until he was hovering over the obvious tent in Michael’s shorts. He grazed his cheek against Michael’s bulge, staring up at him with a dirty tilt to his lips. Alex lifted Michael’s hands from beside him and buried them in his hair. Michael looked down at him curiously, but Alex didn’t explain. He simply pulled down Michael’s shorts to mid-thigh and took Michael’s cock between his lips. 

Warm, wet ecstasy exploded through Michael’s nerve endings and he cried out, neck arching as he sucked in a breath at how good Alex’s mouth felt on him, his fingers tightening and pulling Alex’s hair. Alex moved his mouth fluidly over Michael’s cock and Michael was helpless against the sounds pouring out of his mouth. He pushed when Alex pulled, not wanting to be without the tight heat of his mouth any longer than he had to be. Alex’s hands were digging into his hips, probably bruising him, but Michael couldn’t focus on it, only let the dull pain heighten his experience of the pleasure. 

“Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, Alex. Christ,” Michael exclaimed between whimpers. Alex was going fast like he had a time limit. “Slow down, baby. We got all night.”

Alex popped off him and replaced his mouth with his hand, taking in a deep breath before continuing. 

“Exactly. Let’s get the first one out of the way. I want to still be fucking when the sun comes up,” Alex gasped, squeezing his hand and making his grip on Michael’s cock almost too tight. Michael didn’t have an answer for that, was too busy imagining it, and Alex took his silence as acceptance of the plan. He bent down and took Michael back into his mouth. 

Me 11:55 p.m.>> I could go for some hickies right about now Alex 11:56 p.m.>> Well, I can’t exactly come down to help you with that. Me 11:57 p.m.>> Guess you shouldn’t have moved. Alex 11:57 p.m.>> Something tells me you will survive. :P Me 11:58 p.m.>> Putting it on my Christmas list right now, though. Better come through for me, Manes. Alex 11:59 p.m>> You’re going to scandalize Santa asking for hickies. Me 12:00 a.m.>> He’ll understand. Alex 12:01 a.m.>> It’s past 1 here. I need to get some sleep. Miss you. Don’t get too drunk. Me 12:02 a.m.>> Miss you too. Dream about me. 

[since0202]

Chapter 16: Collide

Grace left before rounds started that evening. Jake was nowhere in sight, but she didn’t feel like waiting around for him to find out she and Paul had kissed. Sam gave her a hug before she left which was very out of character for him. 

“What was that for?” she had said to him. 

“For today. I felt what you did, we all did. So thank you.” Sam had replied. 

“You’re welcome.” she had smiled, completely grateful for this moment. Paul had hugged her tightly and whispered that he’d see her tomorrow in her ear before kissing the top of her head and releasing her to Charlie. She felt light, buoyant. 

But when they pulled up to a still dark house, the sinking realization filled them both—Bella still wasn’t back. Grace automatically checked her cell for texts, but there was nothing. 

“Come on, Bells,” Grace muttered under her breath. Charlie stared at the dark house for a little too long while clutching the steering wheel tightly. “She’ll be back soon Charlie.” 

When she got up to her room to change, her phone beeped. She checked it anxiously. When Jake’s name popped up on the text, she hesitated opening it. 

SMS Text— 9:52 p.m: Jake

I’m so sorry, Grace. 

Let me know when you want to talk.

She clapped her phone shut and chewed on her thumb nail, distracted. Then she shook her head, quickly undressed, and went to sleep before she could make a hasty decision. 

-----

The next morning, Grace got up for school and headed out the door before Charlie had even come out of his bedroom. She left a note saying she went to school early to catch up on some homework and worried that the process of finding a note might traumatize him further. 

When she pulled up to the empty parking lot and made her way to the school’s library that was usually opened early for students, she heard her phone beep again. Flipping it open, she was happy to see that it was a text from Paul: 

SMS Text— 6:32 a.m.: Paul 

Good morning. 

SMS Text—6:33 a.m.: Grace 

Hey, good morning :) 

SMS Text—6:33 a.m.: Paul 

Sleep okay? 

SMS Text—6:34 a.m.: Grace

For the most part, yeah. 

Bella still isn’t back so that’s scary. 

You? 

SMS Text—6:34 a.m.: Paul

I was up doing rounds for most of the night. 

We’ll keep an eye out for her and I’ll call you if we get wind of her showing up. 

SMS Text—6:36 a.m.: Grace

Thanks Paul. I really appreciate it. 

I’m gonna get caught up on some homework, but can I text you later?

SMS Text—6:37 a.m.: Paul 

Not if I don’t text you first. 

Have a good day <3 

That morning during her classes, Grace tried to pay attention as much as possible to keep her mind off of Bella and off of...Jake. Everytime she thought of him the ache grew a little larger. She flipped open her phone during AP Chem and looked at the message he had sent to her last night. 

I’m so sorry, Grace. 

Let me know when you want to talk.

Did that offer still stand now that he probably knew she and Paul had kissed? Her fingers hovered over the keys to type a response but she opted to shut her phone and dig into her lab report instead with a huff. Seeing as her lab partner had been conveniently absent for 7 months and her teacher hadn’t offered to replace him, Grace had to work twice as hard to keep up. 

As the bell for lunch rang and Grace packed up her things, she heard her cell phone ring. Paul. Grace’s eyes went wide as she stared at his name for a half second and frantically answered it, rushing out into the hallway among the throng of other students. 

“Paul?” 

“Grace, she’s back. The Cullens are back on their property and she’s on her way back home from the airport. The leech is with her.” Paul said scathingly. 

“Okay, I’m on my way.” Grace shouldered her backpack and turned to move towards the front doors. 

“I’m in the parking lot. I’ll take you. I don’t feel comfortable leaving you there alone.” Paul said with an edge in his voice. She didn’t have time to argue and his forerunner would be faster than the truck anyway. 

“Okay, I’ll be to you in just a second. Thanks Paul.” She shut her phone and started jogging toward the front door, pulling her hood up to protect against the downpour of rain that had started. She skipped down the steps and landed too quickly in a deep puddle, causing her to slip and reach for the railing to catch herself. Paul jogged around his car, laughing and scooped her up, planting a short kiss on her lips that made her laugh a little too. 

“Try to tone down the x-games mode, will you? I need you in one piece,” he guided her toward the car and opened the door for her to slide in. When she was safely inside, she pulled down her hood and shook off the excess rain. So much for catching up on schoolwork. 

“Thanks for coming to get me,” Grace said a little breathless as Paul jumped into the driver’s seat and started them off toward her house. 

“I wasn’t going to let you go alone,” Paul said decidedly. 

“Right, but you can’t come inside, Paul.” Grace retorted. 

“We’ll see about that,” his voice was even, another edge. 

“Paul, I’m serious. It will only cause conflict and I’m sure there’s enough going on at the house. Edward isn’t going to do anything, especially not with Charlie there. I need you to wait in the car.” she stated this simply, sure of herself and glanced to Paul. His jaw was clenched and he was chewing the inside of his cheek. 

“Paul?” Grace tested. 

“I got it.” he said through gritted teeth. Grace sighed and leaned back against her seat watching the rain pour in sheets. When he pulled up to her house she turned to him. 

“I’ll be okay, really. Hang out here and I’ll text you, okay?” Paul only nodded, his eyes flickering toward the house. 

Grace pushed open the passenger door and sprinted toward her front door. When she opened it, she heard Charlie’s voice right away. 

“—this again?!” 

“Charlie, I think she needs to lie down.” Edward said calmly. Grace rounded the corner as she saw Charlie raise his finger at Edward and start toward him. 

“Woah!” Grace said as she stepped between Charlie and Edward who was holding up a deliriously tired Bella. 

“DON’T YOU TELL ME ANYTHING. You took her away AGAIN!” Charlie moved his finger from Edward to Bella. 

“I understand, Mr. Swan,” Edward said reverting to fatherly respect, “And I’m happy to hear what you have to say about myself and my character, but right now I think it’s very important I get Bella to bed.” 

“Dad,” Bella groaned. 

“Whats wrong with her?!” Charlie cried out. 

“Okay, Charlie, I think she’s honestly just tired. She’s home, that’s what matters,” Grace said. Edward took this as a cue to start moving Bella toward the stairs. 

“Not YOU!” Charlie bellowed. Bella moaned and Grace flinched. 

“Oooookay, I’ll do it.” Grace went over to Bella and gently moved her arm under her left shoulder to transfer her weight onto her. Edward looked at her skeptically but let her so as to reduce Charlie’s wrath. Grace clutched Bella’s wrist to help leverage her up the stairs. “Jesus, Bells.” Grace muttered as they slowly moved up the stairs. Charlie was right behind them, ferrying them up the stairs in case they stumbled. Grace got Bella into her bed and covered her up, pulling off her shoes and socks to make her more comfortable. 

When she turned around, Charlie was standing in the doorway, his face pulled with worry. 

“She’s here. She’s not going anywhere, at least not right now Charlie. She’s okay.” Grace offered. She didn’t know if that was entirely true but she needed to offer it as consolation to Charlie anyway. At least it would hopefully help to keep Charlie from completely flaying Edward. 

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Edward was in the hallway, a full look of surrender on his face. Grace gazed at him critically. His black eyes were circled with dark purple bruises. His pale skin practically glowed in the late spring light. 

Charlie let out an exasperated huff and Grace crossed her arms, motioning to the living room. Edward turned to move back into the living room but Charlie interjected. 

“No.” Grace looked up at him in surprise. “You get out.” Oh, that makes sense. Grace thought. “You get out. You’re not allowed to step foot in through that front door ever again, do you hear me?” 

“Yes, sir,” Edward said simply. 

“And don’t sir me! You’re done mister. I’m not letting Bella anywhere near you either. She’s grounded for the rest of her life.” Charlie continued. 

“Charlie,” Grace sighed. 

“She’s eighteen, sir” Edward quipped. Grace’s eyes shot up to Edward, bewildered. 

“Damn, you really said that,” Grace said some what impressed and somewhat disturbed. 

“OUT!” Charlie bellowed. 

“Charlie, keep your voice down, you’re going to wake up Bella,” Grace said as she crossed to the door and opened it for Edward. It quickly moved across the room and out the door. Something to Grace he’d be back. As she watched him move tensely toward his car, her eyes met with Paul’s. He was leaning against the driver side door of Edward’s Volvo, arms crossed. Edward stopped halfway on the lawn and glared at him.

“Can I leave?” Edward held out his hand toward his car. 

“Sure, dude.” Paul said. Pushing himself up off his car and moving toward the stairs to the porch to Grace. Edward got in his car and sped away. 

“See, totally fine,” Grace said sarcastically throwing her hands up in the air. 

“Right,” Paul said, a smile on his face. “Can I leave my car here? I need to run quick and let Sam know what happened.” 

“Yeah, of course. I should stay here with Bella anyway. Make sure Charlie cools off and doesn’t grab his shotgun and go after him.” Grace put her hands on her hips and let out a light laugh. 

Paul climbed the two steps to meet her face and gave her a warm, long kiss. Her hands automatically moved up to cup his face and his hands gripped her waist. When he pulled back he glanced over toward the trees to the sound of a light growl. 

“Gotta go,” he smiled and kissed the tip of her nose, taking off toward the woods. Grace sighed and held a hand to her forehead before turning around and trudging back into the house. 

Charlie was in the kitchen standing in front of the fridge and aggressively drinking a beer. Grace grabbed her backpack from the door and climbed the stairs and walked into their room and felt a coldness rush through her. At first, she was startled and then she realized what it was. 

“Edward, I know you can hear me,” Grace said dully. She dropped her bag on her desk and started digging in it for her homework. Another rush and he reappeared by Bella’s window. 

“It’s fine, but I expect you to at least tell me what happened.” 

“That might be a little complicated,” he responded, gently sitting on Bella’s bed and running a hand across her face. 

“The cliff notes version then,” Grace said as she plopped on the edge of her bed and popped open her Chem book. 

“Does this run in the family then?” Edward asked, evading her request for now. 

“What? Being incredibly good looking and perceptive?” 

“No. Blocking me out so I can’t hear what you’re thinking.” Edward said nonchalantly. Grace dropped her pencil. 

“Wait. You can read minds?!” 

“I thought you said you knew!” Edward whispered back incredulous. 

“Oh my god,” Grace said, picking up her pencil again and writing out an answer on her chem lab worksheet. “So, wait you can’t hear what I’m thinking?” 

“Sort of, I can hear feelings with you, similar to Charlie. Though if I concentrate hard enough I can hear him more clearly, but never full sentences. I could feel what you meant when you said you knew I was here. An understanding.” 

“Hmm.” Grace responded still trying to be interested in her worksheet. Her head was reeling and she was glad he couldn’t hear her thoughts. Edward waited for a beat, his eyes trained on her and then followed up with: 

“Hmmm? Is that all?” 

“I’m waiting on you to tell me what happened.” Grace pointed her pencil tip toward Bella, “And to figure out why my cousin is so exhausted that she could barely stand after coming and looking for you.”

Edward watched her for a full minute, weighing his options and then began to tell the story. About how and why he left, looking down at Bella painfully when he explained, him thinking Bella dead when Jacob answered the phone and said Charlie was planning a funeral, the despair he felt when he thought Bella was dead because of him, and his decision to see the Volturi to end his life. 

At some point during his explanation, Grace had set her pencil down to watch him intently. 

“And Bella came to save me. From myself. If it wasn’t for her, I’d be dead.” Edward finished. His eyes jumped to their bedroom door suddenly and with another rush, he was gone. Charlie opened it a second later and stuck his head in, his eyes looking for Bella. 

“She’s still sleeping. I think she’s gonna be out for awhile.” Grace said trying to cover dead air. 

“Right,” Charlie looked from Bella to Grace a couple of times and then said, “Did you skip school?” 

“What? No! I mean...I came home early because I heard Bella was home and I wanted to see her.” Grace said tapping her pencil against her textbook. “I’ll keep an eye on her, I promise. I just really need to get this homework done.” 

“Okay. I’ll pick up dinner.” 

“No, I can make something later, it’s fine.” Grace responded. Charlie nodded and took one more look at Bella before closing the door and going downstairs. When Grace looked back over at Bella, Edward was there again. 

Grace turned back to her work even though she was dying to know more. After about 15 minutes, Edward piped up again. 

“How bad was she?” Pained was etched clearly in his voice. Grace looked up suddenly. She swallowed hard and nodded her head looking down again. 

“Not great,” she said, trying to spare him.

“Tell me,” he pressed. Grace sighed, and looked up at him. His eyes were on her now. 

“Really bad. She barely talked, ate, or moved for three months. Then she took to jumping off cliffs and running around on motorcycles for the thrill of it. She almost drowned. I didn’t see her smile for five months. So, you can see why maybe Charlie isn’t thrilled to see you again.” Grace said a little annoyed. 

“I’m sorry, Grace,” Edward said sincerely. Her eyes checked him for any malice, any danger and still there was nothing. She shivered at what she thought was something forming between them: an alliance, an understanding as he put it. 

“Apology accepted. But you could at least help me with this Chem work that you’ve skipped out on for nearly eight months,” she held up her lab and shook it at him. He laughed and in a blink he was standing in front of her bed, reaching for the paper. 

For the next hour or two, he helped her study and complete her backlog of homework. He sat cross legged on the floor while she perched up on her bed. Bella still slept soundly as they worked quietly, making light jokes to one another. Grace could see why Bella liked him. Once he let the impenetrable wall facade down, he became easy to talk to. Relaxing in his company became second nature. 

At one point, Grace’s phone buzzed once, twice, three times. Exasperated, she picked it up and mumbled an apology to open the flood of texts in her inbox. 

SMS Text—5:01 p.m.: Paul 

Is he still there? 

Grace, answer me. 

I need to know you’re safe. 

SMS Text—5:03 p.m.: Sam 

Is Bella alright? 

Remember, you’re under specific orders not to share the pack’s existence to anyone. 

That includes “friendly” vampires. 

Call me. 

Grace clapped her phone shut and shook her head at the messages. One thing at a time. Edward posed no threat and she hadn’t shared pack business with him so everything was fine. 

“I got to go make dinner downstairs, are you going to be okay up here with her?” Grace said and then caught herself, “Of course you are, stupid question. I’ll be back.” 

She left her phone on her bed and quickly went downstairs to start dinner. When Charlie was fed and she took a couple bites of spaghetti, she whisked back upstairs, half expecting them to both be gone. She was relieved to see Bella was still asleep and Edward was sitting on the edge of her bed at a picture in his hand. 

“Your phone buzzed more while you were gone,” Edward said quietly. Grace let out a groan and checked her phone again. 

SMS Text—5:22 p.m.: Paul 

I’m coming to get you if you don’t answer me Grace. 

You’re not safe with him there. 

SMS Text—5:28 p.m.: Quil 

Paul’s freaking Grace, can you text or call him? 

Sam’s going to send out a patrol soon if you don’t answer. 

“He wouldnt,” Grace whispered annoyed under her breath. 

SMS Text—6:12: Sam 

We’re having trouble keeping tabs on Paul. 

I’m about to give the green light on patrol around your house. 

Don’t make us blow our cover. 

“Jesus,” Grace said and frantically typed to Sam: 

SMS Text—6:33 p.m.: Grace 

Everything is absolutely fine. I’ve been doing homework up in my room all afternoon and just got done with dinner with Charlie. 

Chill out. No one’s making you blow anything. 

“Except yourself,” Grace muttered. Then to Paul she wrote: 

SMS Text—6:33 p.m.: Grace

I need you to chill and take a deep breath. 

I’m 100% fine. He is still here. Nothing is happening. 

I’m doing homework. I’ll call you tomorrow. 

Please just relax. 

<3 

She realized belatedly that she threw that heart emoji in as an afterthought and it didn’t sit well with her. 

“Everything okay?” Edward asked. 

“Just getting hounded,” Grace shook her phone and threw it on her bed, laying back with a huff. She got back to work, sitting at her desk this time and typing up an English paper she’d been putting off. 

Around midnight, just as Grace was wrapping up her homework, Bella began to stir. She stood up frantically and stayed by the desk. Edward was leaning over her, trying to console her. Grace couldn’t hear much between their mumbled conversation except that Bella thought this was all a dream. 

“The Volturi, they don’t have a great concept of time. To them, soon could mean decades. You’re safe and we don’t have to rush anything.” Edward placated her. 

“No.” Bella said. She suddenly got up stumbling to get her shoes on. Grace helped her as she almost fell into things. 

“Bells, where are you going, it’s midnight.” Grace asked. Edward was on his feet trying to get Bella back to bed. 

“I want to talk to Carlisle.” Bella said, a little clearer now as she pulled on her jacket. 

“Bella, please,” Edward said trying to tug her back to bed. 

“No! Edward. This is what I want and I don’t want there to be a chance of you leaving again. I’m going. Come if you want, or not.” Bella said firmly. Edward looked to Grace for help. Grace was currently blocking Bella’s exit. 

“Grace move.” Bella said. “I need to do this.” Grace considered this for a moment looking from Bella to Edward. 

“Then I’m coming with you this time. No more secrets.” Grace extended her hand to Bella and for just a moment, Bella hesitated. Then her eyes seemed to color in recognition and she smiled, nodding. 

“Okay.” Bella acknowledged. 

“Uh, just one thing. The truck is in the school parking lot. Paul picked me up.” Grace countered. 

Bella quickly turned to Edward and held her hand expectantly for the keys. “Edward?” He looked at her for a moment, rolled his eyes almost imperceptibly when he realized she wouldn’t stop and said, “Fine, but I’m driving.” 

So, she was walking into the vampire’s den. The pack would be floored when they realized. She just hoped she wouldn’t start a war over this. With Bella’s hand in hers, she snuck easily down the stairs. And in the cool night air, they felt cloaked in the knowledge that somehow, despite the chaos of destinies colliding at this very moment around them, they’d be okay as long as they held onto each other. 

[darkmulti]

Mine

Ex boyfriendYandere!San x female reader

⚠️Warnings: possessive behaviour, horror au, language, spanking, fear kink, ddlg, kidnapping, mentions of non con, torture, death, blood, physical abuse (slapping, spanking, pinching, kicking), mental abuse, not a full smut but talks about a little, fluff ending❣️

Please read at your own risk, some parts may be triggering.

Part 2 on masterlist 

——————————————————————————

“YOU FUCKING KNEW I WOULD BE FUCKING ANGRY, BUT YOU STILL WENT!”

Currently San had you against the wall with his hand tightly wrapped around your throat. Tears falling from your eyes and your breath hitches.

“P-please, San. I’m-I’m so-sorry.”

You whimper out.

You were petrified of him. Shivering from fear. You suddenly felt so cold. It was a horrid feeling. The feeling of being alone, in the dark, frightened by his dominant presences. He had too much control of you, it was concerning.

“Why are you apologizing to me now? You already went on the date.”

Suddenly a hard slap lands on your face making it slant to the side. He grabs you jaw aggressively and moves closer to your face. You can feel his hot breath on your nose.

“Answer me when I talk to you. You know how much I hate to repeat myself.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone on the date.”

He slaps you again and spits on your face.

“A ‘sorry’ is not going to fix anything. You already did it. I have to punish you. Go into the fucking car. NOW!”

He let go of your neck, expecting you to obey him, but instead you bolt to your bedroom. You heard him close behind but made it just in time. If you were any slower he would’ve catched you. You slam your room door and lock it.

Why was this happening?

Why couldn’t he let you go?

His behaviour toward you had ruined your mental health. What more could he want?

You and San started dating in the last year of high school. He was a pure angel, and treated you like a princess. It was until the last year of university, he got more and more possessive of you and you had to let go.

He was extremely proprietorial of you. It constantly made you question your relationship.

Does he even trust you?

The reason why San was provoked now, was because you had gone on a date with one of your classmates. That’s only because you’re not together with him anymore.

You couldn’t condone his behaviour anymore and broke up with him. He had an uncontrollable rage, especially if it was about you. Therefore you ended it.

Unfortunately for you, San didn’t take it like that. He thought it was just a break and left you alone for one week. The next week, he came roaming around, right back to you.

When you tell him that it’s over, you’re done. He pinned you against the wall and took you right there. You being into the moment, let it happen just one more time.

Well you thought it was just gonna be that one time. But he always did it. He fucked you under the bleachers during a football game. In the chem lab, the sleeping pods. You would always tell him no, but he didn’t take it as an answer.

Thus, you didn’t fight it anymore. Except now. He was taking it to another level and you didn’t need that right now.

“San please leave me alone!”

You pleaded on one side of the door.

Your voice was met with nothing but silence. You lay on the floor to look under the little opening of the bottom of the door, looking for his feet.

You saw nothing. Maybe he left.

“What’re you doing on the floor?”

You jolt up and look behind you. San was in your room. You looked behind him and the window was open.

You scurried up and unlocked the door, but San was faster and closed it from behind you. He roughly grabbed your shoulders and flipped you around to face him.

“You can’t escape me. You’re MINE! How many fucking times do I have to tell you?”

He was furious. His face was red and he looked like he could cry from frustration. Knowing him well, you knew he would absolutely lose it if you apologized to him one more time.

Instead you cup his cheeks and rub them softly. You move closer to him, hoping he would wrap his arms around you, pick you up and forgive you. So this nightmare can be over and you can be one again.

You were exhausted. But hey, at least he’s loyal. Not a lot of men have loyalty. You wouldn’t die if you stayed with San. He would at least protect you.

You tried to think of his good traits.

San sighs and pulls you closer to him.

“Now you wanna act all innocent? You’ve angered beyond my limit. I am still going to punish you for that. Bad girls like you, need to be put in their place. Understood?”

“Yes”

You whisper in his ear and let him take you back to his car.

This was you giving up. You can’t continue to fight. Not like this. This was tormenting you. Maybe the one causing all of this suffering can bring you out of it. You kept a little hope in San, thinking that he may make you the happiest girl in the world one day.

San enters into the car with a bag and throws it in the back.

“What’s that?”

“Some clothes and my favourite lingerie.”

Upon saying this a grin was forming on his lips.

His hand made its way over to your thighs and harshly slaps his.

You flinch up not expecting that.

“Why don’t you remind me the 9 strict rules I had for you? If you get it wrong I will slap these beautiful, soft thighs until they’re bruised. Understand?”

“Yes daddy. Rule number one is to call you daddy or master.”

“Good girl”

“Rule number two is to listen and obey daddy at all times. Rule number three is ask daddy permission for everything. Rule number four is to not back talk or act like a brat to daddy. Rule number five, is- uhh”

You yelp up and feel a sting on your thigh. You hiss out in pain.

“What’s rule number five, whore.”

“It’s too......”

Another slap lays on your thighs.

You start panicking because you forgot what rule number five is. Your heart rate gets faster and you can’t help but fidget around. A lump forms in your throat and you try you best to blink away tears.

Why was he this horrifying to you?

“You forgot didn’t you?”

“Yes daddy.”

“When we get home, that’s 10 spankings on the ass. Understand?”

“Yes, daddy.”

“Okay, moving on what’s rule number six?”

“Tell daddy, if there’s something wrong. Always talk to daddy because he’s here to listen.”

“Seven”

“Never touch myself”

“Eight”

“Be thankful for everything my daddy has provided me and be thankful for my daddy.”

“Nine.”

You gulp not remembering what it was. This was the new rule San had added, but a week later you broke up with him.

“Daddy, I don’t remember nine. I truly am sorry.”

You speak in the most baby voice you can pull off.

He didn’t acknowledge it and spanks your thighs 10 times, each time getting harder and harder.

You hold in your cries and finally see that you have reached his mansion.

He parks at the front and says to you

“Stay in the car, I'll come around.”

You obey and he comes around opening the door and pulling you out. He slams the car door, and with a tight grip on your arm, pulls you inside.

———-

3 months later

You had completely lost all hope. This time your punishment was much more physical. He kicked you. After fucking you for what seemed like days, he cummed all over you and kicked your legs, back and stomach. After that he left.

You lay on the concrete floor, bawling your eyes out. Why was he this cruel?! Since the day you entered this house, you’ve been locked up in the punishment room.

At this point San was using you as a sex slave. His little cum slut. You had a massive amount of hatred toward him now. You will be able to love again!

He broke you. He was starting to get physical now. He would feed you a meal every two days and the water was the faucet water from the bathroom. He still allowed you to keep your hygiene up because at the end of the day, he was still fucking you. You didn’t have clothes to wear and just walked around nude.

You had a collar on and San sometimes put a leash on you while fucking you.

It was hell. You couldn’t take it anymore!

You start crying even harder, trembling in fear. Your sobs become a little louder and before you knew it you were wailing.

The door immediately opens and San is standing at the doorway.

“Why’re you crying without my permission? You want me to punish you again? You just seem like you can’t get enough of me. Am I that handsome or am I just that good at fucking you?”

You immediately stop and don’t reply. What does he want you to say to that? That you like him making you feel like a worthless piece of shit?

“Not replying I see. Tsk tsk tsk. Get up and bend over on the bed.”

In a flash you stand up and bend over the bed.

San pulls you back and spits in your mouth.

“Swallow.”

You gulp it down.

“Good girl.”

He praised you and petted your head.

“Now count for me, babygirl.”

He spanks you up to ten and you don’t react. It hurt, but in a way you were already used to it. Your ass was bruised. You couldn’t sit on it or lay on it. It was terrible.

San rubs your ass and picks up a blanket. He wrapped you around in it and carries you upstairs to his room you’re assuming. He lays you on the bed and kisses you all over your face.

“Tomorrow was supposed to be your last day in the punishment room. But since my princess was crying, I will end it today. This is our shared room and your clothes are in our closet. How about you go shower, then we can eat dinner, then cuddle.”

What the fuck?

How did he suddenly change like that?

You were still afraid of him and kept your distance, but he started taking you out on dates and buying you stuff.

He even bought you a promise ring. It matched with his. He would buy you couples outfits and was attached to your side.

“Babygirl can you look at me?”

You turn your head to face San.

He gently kisses you and pulls away saying

“I love you, princess.”

“I love you too, Sannie.”

You smile and kiss him back.

Maybe the hard parts over.

—————————————————————————— edited🔐

[themelancholicmedstudent]

Feb. 2nd, 2021

100 Days of Productivity Challenge Day 43/100

Good morning! I slept like a rock last night and it was amazing. Since some of my classes got switched around for this week I got to sleep in until 8! Today’s schedule is basically attend my classes/lectures in till noon, a chem lab in the afternoon and then head to the gym in the evening. I don’t know whether to show up for step, crossfit or just doing some cardio on a treadmill. I’ll pick depending on how many assignments I need to complete for uni and my energy levels later.

Classes really know how to drain my energy. I really wanna nap but I gotta attend a lab. Being hungry isn’t helping either. My sibling ate half of my leftover noodle stir fry that I was saving for lunch today...T-T. I guess I’ll just snack during my lab since it’s online anyway. Remote labs are such a pain. It’d take 10-15 minutes to go over the slides on your own. watch the video and fill in the lab report but we have to have a 1 1/2 hour online lab.

I was just gonna do some treadmill cardio because I felt tired but after having lunch I felt up for a step class. After finishing the class I felt really energetic so I decided to go for crossfit. Tomorrow’s my active rest day and I only plan on doing yoga anyways so a second class is fine. Honestly the hardest part about working out is getting myself to the gym. When I’m there it’s hard to go home since I enjoy my time there so much. It’s like getting in and out of the shower. I gotta make sure I get enough rest though. Wouldn’t wanna wear myself down.

Here’s a quick rundown of my day.

Woke up at 8 AM

Washed a load of laundry

Attended a class, 1 hour

Attended a lecture, 1 hour

Attended a class, 1 hour

1 1/2 hour break, had lunch

Had a chem lab, 1 1/2 hours

Prepped dinner, had lunch: the sequel

Got dressed, organized my bag headed to the gym

Step class (honestly so much fun)

Crossfit class

Showered

Had dinner

Went to bed at 10 PM

[babedur]

Max has a nightmare. Maisie couldn’t sleep in the first place. 

Spoilers for Peril on Gorgon, up to the HIA building.

Tartarus was always cold. He was in a suit, a suit of armor, he was trying to follow his orders but he was doing something wrong, he was shooting the targets and running their courses but he was doing something so wrong that they brought him to the conveyor belt and shoved him into the machine, a machine that silently but finally forced him into shape, compressing his insides and snapping bones that would not bend-

Suddenly, it was bright, and Max shoved at the machine- but he wasn’t in a trash compactor. He was in Maisie’s room, on the Unreliable, shoving away the blankets. His whole body ached, and he was cold where he’d sweat though his nightshirt. 

“Max,” Maisie said, from the foot of the bunk- a place she’d learned to wake him from, the hard way. Too far away by far. When he reached for her, she shuffled up, and the squeeze of her embrace and the warm glow of the MSI lanterns were reminders that he was alive and in one piece, not… not there. 

He shuddered. 

“ADA,” Maisie said, “Lights to twenty percent?” 

The lights dimmed without sass. Odd, that. ADA was never one to pass up an opportunity to crack wise at Max’s expense. 

“Did I wake you?” Max asked. 

He’d intended it to be a rhetorical question, except Maisie answered, “No, I was already up. Couldn’t really fall asleep.”

“Gorgon?” 

She nodded, snuggling into his embrace so that she could rest her forehead on his shoulder. It was hardly surprising. 

Max knew, in vague terms, that prisoners from Tartarus getting loaned out to companies for experiments were not precisely getting the gainful employment that they were promised. But there was a difference in turning down a contract with Auntie Cleo, and experiencing the brutal horror of the HIA building. 

Someone had designed those tests- fire on command, run for hours on end, and weed out anyone who voiced a word of complaint. Others still had run the prisoners through them. And even more had studied the results and attempted to make meaningful spreadsheets and graphics of the results. 

And, somewhere, there had been a maintenance team, keeping the facilities as clean as they could, keeping the doors and lights and trash compactors running as smoothly as they could. How much had they seen? One had to wonder, when one cleaned up liters of blood every single day, where it was all coming from. Did they have to work extra shifts? (And if you’re working extra shifts, what better way to keep alert and active…)

“I keep wondering,” Max said, “if one of the contracts I had been offered during my penitentiary visit had been offered by Spacer’s Choice.”

Maisie’s embrace tightened. “Don’t even suggest that.”

“I never once thought of actually accepting a contract,” Max said truthfully. “On the surface it was all very saccharine- another chance to serve your colony, doing tasks that no one else has the grit and mettle to do, but… It doesn’t take years of studying the Law to realize that a promise to cut a sentence years long to a few months is probably a bad bet. Even so…”

“This is going to sound silly,” Maisie said, “considering I’m sure everyone on this ship knows better now. But never take Adrena-time?” 

“Never,” Max said, and the vehemence in his voice startled a laugh out of Maisie. “Laws, never.”

“Good,” Maisie said. “And promise not to laugh at me when I track everyone down tomorrow and make them promise, too.” 

Max opened his mouth to say, Of course no one would, no one on this ship is a moron. There’s no need for that, but Maisie knew that already. And she couldn’t sleep, either.

“I promise,” Max said. “ADA, how long did Maisie spend trying to fall asleep?”

“Approximately three hours and eight minutes,” ADA recited dutifully. “After that, she got up to write in her journal and do some bookkeeping.” 

“Traitor,” Maisie muttered. 

Max looked to the clock- he’d gotten about four hours of sleep before his nightmare got bad enough for Maisie to wake him, and he still felt exhausted and drained. Maisie hadn’t even gotten that.

“You should get some rest,” Max murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Maisie readjusted their embrace, but didn’t reply. He would have to carefully word his next thoughts- he, of all people, knew how pride could make a fool out of someone. “And we should probably take the day off, tomorrow. Make sure our equipment is in order for whatever awaits us in the CHEM labs. It’ll give the crew some time to process what we saw there, as well.”

“You mean, give me some time to process.”

“Would you allow me to try to continue on as normal if I insisted on going out on a ‘hard-and-loud’ mission tomorrow? After the day we just had, and missing an entire night’s rest?”

He could feel Maisie making a face into his shoulder. 

“Exactly,” Max said. “On a practical level, it would do no one any favors to have our tactician and leader far from her best. Not to mention that you and I are not the only people being hit by this. Our crew acts tough, but ADA could probably confirm we are not the only ones losing sleep tonight. Someone’s liable to get hurt- imagine how you’d feel if it wasn’t even you.

“On a personal level… you shoulder a lot on your own. And I understand that- I prefer to keep my own counsel, as well. There are things I tell my journal that I don’t tell you, and I’m certain the reverse is true, as well. But the process of, er, processing,  is still… a process.” 

“That one got away from you,” Maisie observed.

He scowled. There must be a better way to have phrased that, and he knew it would come to him at a time where it would be absolutely useless and he wouldn’t even be able to write it down. “You’re making fun of my bumbling attempts to comfort you because you don’t have a better argument.”

“…Yeah, I am.” Maisie sighed. “You’re right. You’re right on every point. But… I don’t even want to try to sleep, right now.”

“Tough. We’re going to change the sheets since I already did us the disservice of sweating through them, and then we’re both going to try and get some rest.”

Sometimes, it was all in the voice. Maisie pulled away and glared at him through sleep-beaten eyes, but she didn’t protest. She even got him new sleep clothes to wear and told ADA, “If anyone asks tomorrow, we’re all sleeping in. I don’t expect anyone to be ready to do anything until noon.”

“I’ll keep watch,” ADA promised. “I mean, I always do. But humans like to have the obvious re-stated when they are out of sorts.”

“Thank you,” Maisie said, to the sassy computer program that of which she was so fond. And when she climbed into bed beside Max, she kissed his cheek and said, again, “Thank you.”

“It was my pleasure, captain, to contribute to the continued well-being of this crew and the longevity of it’s operations-“

She attempted to smother him with a pillow. It felt good, to laugh. 

[nightspeckle]

High School Au {Part 4}

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

I started this weeks ago but I kinda lost my motivation to write, so sorry it took such a long time! I hope that you enjoy this monstrosity that I have created hehe

******

I watch from the garage door as Cardan backs up and pulls out of the driveway. Oak has retreated back into the house to watch tv. Unfortunately the leach that followed him outside is still behind me.

I wait until Cardan’s car is nothing but a speck in the distance before I turn to face her. 

The face looking back at me is identical to mine. That is except for the dubious and accusatory eyebrow raise that is being directed at me. 

“What?”

“What! Jude really?” Taryns eyes shine in the afternoon sunlight as she crosses her arms turning herself from human to statue. I shrug closing the door and heading into the kitchen. 

“If you are talking about my display by the car lets both keep in mind I have seen you do much worse. I mean muchhhhhh worse.”

“You promised not to speak about that!” Taryns voice climbs as she pushes herself up onto the counter. I shrug again while maneuvering around to search for my barbeque chips.

“But really, Jude?” 

I stand from the pot cabinet I had been rifling through to look Taryn in the eyes.

“I truly am not comprehending what you are trying to say here, Taryn”.

She looks at me with a sad smile playing over her face as she shakes her head.

“Cardan Greenbriar? I just-” Taryn takes a moment for the breathy sigh that escapes her “It’s Cardan Greenbriar.”

“I have acknowledged that,” I mutter. 

Well maybe not truly, but she doesn’t need to know that. 

“I’m just a little confused, and a tad bit concerned.” Taryns eyes are puppy dog wide.

“I really don’t see how you’re in a place to judge.” My voice is firm as I cut her a glance. I mean really, who the hell is she to judge?

“I was just wondering.” Her voice now is as identically firm as mine.

“Great! Well please go wonder somewhere else.” I look up at Taryn to see her roll her eyes while I continue on to the next cabinet. 

“Oriana put them over here,”

Taryn hops off the counter and reaches into the spice cabinet before pulling out a glorious bag of barbeque chips.

“Sneaky bitch.”

“She’s just trying to help your addiction,”

“Or she’s saving them for herself.”

“Whatever you say Jude,” Taryn says before sauntering out of the room pony tail swishing behind her. “Whatever you say,”.

....

After polishing off my chips I decide to compile a list of reasons why I want to kill Taryn. It goes a little something like this:

She interrupted my steamy ass kiss

She attacked me before I had time to think about how I fell about said kiss

She made me feel shitty for having said kiss

& most importantly she RAIDED my chocolate stash

I am also compiling a list of reasons to grovel at her feet:

She interrupted my encounter with the devil incarnate

She reminded me that Greenbriars so shitty even backstabbing Taryn is concerned

She felt bad about the chocolate and replaced it 

Usually the list making makes me feel better. However, I still feel like my head is spinning around and around and around. 

I keep going back to what happened.

 He kissed me. 

I kissed him back and I liked it. 

I liked it. 

Shit.

As much as I can’t stop thinking about the kiss my brain has also adhered to what he said to me. Cardan Greenbriar thinks I’m hot. Cardan Greenbriar likes me. Cardan Greenbriar despise’s me.

Unbelievable. My life is a complete and utter joke. 

I can’t help but sigh and fall back onto my bed in utter disbelief that this has become an aspect of my existence. 

I decide for my sanity that this is too much for a Monday and decide to postpone until tomorrow. 

The next thing I decide is that homework is also an unessential aspect of a Monday and crash into a delightful sleep.

....

“I mean honestly what did she expect from me?”

“You really didn’t have to say that,”

“She ratted me out in chem,”

“You exploded the lab on purpose!”

“Minor details,”

“Jude can you please reinforce to Liliver how crazy she sounds,”

“Jude?”

“Jude!”

My eyes snap to Fand’s face mere inches from mine. I had been scanning the cafeteria looking for a familiar form. To my dismay the cafeteria is absent of a lanky boy in head to toe black.

“What are you talking about?” I ask as Fand rolls her eyes. 

“What Liliver said to Nicasia,” Fand supplies before texting someone back on her phone. 

“I wrecked her,” Liliver says with a shrug.

“If by wrecked you mean was blatantly rude to someone I am family friends with then yes that is true,” Fand corrects leveling a glare at Lil.

I look too Liliver who has a smirk spread across herself and can’t help but high five her. Nicasia is an arrogant bitch. To not congratulate Liliver on this would be an absolute travesty. 

Fand rolls her eyes again questioning why she’s friends with us. Something I also question on a daily basis.

“Are you going to tell us why you were hawk eyeing the cafeteria?” Lil asks glancing over her shoulder in the direction of the rest of the student body.

“Van and Garrett went off campus for lunch,” Fand states with an amused glint in her eyes.

“That was not who I was looking for,”.

“Then who were you looking for?” Liliver asks fully intrigued now.

“Don’t worry about it,” I say firmly before taking a sip of the iced coffee I had been nursing all morning. 

“I personally adore a defensive Jude,” Fand says cheerily to Lil. 

“I hate that you just said that,” I mumble as the bell rings.

I sling my backpack on my shoulder and take off with my coffee in hand leaving behind the shared look of confusion coming from Liliver and Fand.

I don’t waste anytime getting to anatomy. Anatomy is the one class Cardan and I share together. I hadn’t seen him in the halls at all this morning and by lunch time I was antsy. 

When I had woken up this morning it had finally sunk in. I had kissed Cardan Greenbriar, my childhood tormentor. The worst part is that I wanted to do it again. Like really wanted to do it again.

However, just because I wanted to spend hours in a dark room with him didn’t mean I wasn’t annoyed. I mean who the hell just kisses someone they have hated for years out of the blue. 

I was especially annoyed with his declarations. The fact that he liked me was the craziest thing I had ever heard and yet I was accepting it. 

But being told you are despised before being kissed just didn’t set well with me. He had no right to despise me. Me of all people! Out of the two of us I am the only one with the right to despise. What a little bitch.

I mean truly who the hell does he think he is?

But that didn’t do anything to deter me from craving to see him again.

So now sitting in my anatomy class I couldn’t help but wait to talk to him. Of course I wanted to give him my peace of mind but mainly because I couldn’t help of think of what he would look like in the absence of his ever present black clothing.

Van slides into the seat next to me mumbling something about how torturous this class is while I keep my eyes pinned on the door.

When Cardan finally comes in I feel my thoughts freeze. His black shirt is tight and daunting. His backpack is thrown over one shoulder and his walk is lazy and smooth.

I’m cursing myself for wanting his attention. But I mean when he looks like that, who wouldn’t?

I can’t help but twist my hair around my finger. A nervous tic. One that Van knows well, and he cuts me a knowing look.

But Cardan doesn’t look at me he passes by with out a glance and drops down into the seat behind me.

I look over my shoulder to see the dead look he posses so well.

“What?” It’s cold.

“Uh-” I freeze, everything I had been planning to say completely lost. What an idiot I am. 

Cardan’s face is blank as my thoughts try to reform. I hadn’t expected him to be so harsh.

Of course with my luck Nicasia would have to show up now.

“Drooling Jude?” She says as she slides into the empty seat at Cardan’s lab table. “I didn't realize you actually liked other human beings, I pegged you as a pig type of girl, you know?”

“I was not talking to you,” I say with a roll of my eyes. She truly is a complete and utter bitch. 

“Doesn’t seem like you were talking to anyone,” She says with a smirk.

Unfortunately she does have a point. Van is cutting me an amused look and Cardan’s face is empty of life. 

I look at Cardan only for our gazes to lock. He quirks his head a bit and his eyes flicker with a bit of a shine. 

But he says nothing  and I turn around trying to save myself from making this anymore embarrassing for me. 

I look over to Van who is smirking “You know now that she says it I could see you living happily ever after with a pig.”

“Oh shut up, you roach!” I can’t help but punch him in the arm as we laugh. Class starts a few minutes later saving me from the never ending discussion of gambling Van has started up on again.

....

When the bell rings I can’t help but race out of class. My next class is a study and I have to pick up some flyers for the Sadie Hawkins dance the school is throwing. Being the vice president is never ending. 

Plus my plan to talk to Cardan went absolutely no where so I might as well move past the delusion that was yesterday. 

Now that I think about I wouldn’t be surprised if he was on some phsycadelic drug that randomly makes people go around confessing false feelings.

That would make a lot more sense and it would relive me of having to try to figure out how we even got there. 

But as I’m weaving through the hallways a hand yanks me back. 

The next thing I know I’m in an empty stairwell. I turn to look at my assailant ready to swing a very effective jab to the throat. 

That is until I see it’s cardan. He has a smirk on his face as he tilts his head towards the stairs. I don’t protest as he grabs my hand and pulls me down the stairs until we are partially hidden.

“Hi,” His voice is soft. 

“Hi,” I repeat quietly.

“I...sorry about,” He gestures his head up the stairs in the direction of anatomy. “My friends...”

“I get it, they’re complete assholes!” I cant help but grin as he laughs.

I just made Cardan Greenbriar laugh. 24 hours really can make a difference. Who knew Cardan had such a nice laugh.

“Do you think Taryn will tell Locke?” He looks sheepish.

“I can ask her not too,” I whisper. Saying anything louder feels wrong here.

“That might be best for now,” His hand is still holding mine and I can’t help but look down.

It feels nice. Good even. 

I understand what he is saying about his friends. If my friends heard I kissed Cardan I would never hear the end of it. I mean never.

I feel kind of giddy when I look up to his face and nod.

“We never got to talk,” I say leaning back into the wall. 

“You didn’t seem like you wanted to talk,” Cardan says with a smirk.

“Oh shut up,” I say. “I mean about how you told me you despise me,”

He shrugs “Well I do.” I consider following through with that throat punch until I see his smirk. 

“I don’t think you’re aloud to despise me,” I say.

“And why is that?” He asks with a teasing tone.

“Well because between the two of us you are always the mean one to me. Plus it doesn’t really make sense that you can despise someone that you like.”

“You are extremely annoying, rude, and a complete and utter brat,” Cardan says with a bored tone.  “Seems like a good reason to despise you.”

I can’t help but sigh. Of course the one guy to ever tells me he likes me thinks I’m an annoying brat. I’m about to comment on how he has my beat in the terrible traits by a long shot when another thought crosses me mind.

“So you don’t like me?” I can’t help but mumble. 

He laughs “I do like you Jude. It’s like how you think I’m cold, arrogant, and a dick and you like me anyways,”

I can’t help but stutter. “I- I do not,” 

I mean do I? 

Cardan’s face is open and I can’t deny the fact that he’s been pretty much all I’ve thought about all day.

“Lie,” He says with a playful shoulder nudge. I can’t help but roll my eyes.

“Maybe,”

I  gulp as he takes a step closer to me. 

Cardan tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear as our breaths mingle. 

He smells fresh, like the way the world smells on a spring day.

I don’t stop him as he brings his head down to mine. Cardan’s lips are soft and warm. The move is tentative, slow. He’s asking a question and I answer with the press of my lips to his.

The kiss is gentle, warm. It’s full of soft touches down my back. It’s occupied of the feel of Cardan’s smooth hair dancing in my fingers. It’s slow and sweet. My heart feels like it’s dancing, bouncing in happiness. 

I think I could stay here for hours in the feeling that is his gentle lips. In the way his warm hands feel on me. In the way he feels like sunshine in a cold winter.

When Cardan pulls back I can’t help but smile. One of his hands is still resting on my face and his fingers move to trace the smile that has crept onto my face. 

When he steps back he does it with an amused look. 

“I’ll see you later, Jude,” His voice is warm and kind and then he’s bounding up the stairs.

I can’t help but lean back resting my head on the wall.

I am in some serious shit here.

My heart still feels giddy and there is no denying it now. Cardan Greenbriar really does like me. Me of all people, and that alone makes me feel ecstatic.

What am I doing? 

I can’t believe that I spent all day wanting to talk to Cardan. I used to spend my days avoiding him and his cronies and now I’m standing in an empty staircase memorizing the feeling of his body nest to mine. 

I stand there for a minute trying to compose my thoughts. To figure out what this means for me. If maybe he was right when he said I was lying.

That is until I look at my watch to see I’ve been in here for 7 minutes. I am so late to pic up the posters. I was supposed to meet Sophie our president 3 minutes ago. She’s totally going to rip me a new one. 

 But I can’t help but smile as I make my way out of the staircase. 

Cardan kissed me, and that is totally worth a Sophie scream.

~~~

Tags <3 :

@deargreenbriar @dontfwithlibrarians @judexcardanxgreenbriar @sensitivehighlord @afexiss @mi-mavencalories @pilesofriles

[missnxthingg]

If your request are open could you write a scenario where the reader (girlfriend) whos really smart meets the avengers and the avengers find them adorable as a couple as they walked into peter and the reader being cute thank you

A/N: Oh requests are always opened, but I might take a while to get to them. You were lucky that I wanted to write a Peter one, and you were the only request I had. But I always try to do it as quick as possible. AAAAAAAAAND, I swear, I tried to do a really cute one, but I’m not so sure about it, I hope you like it anyway.

Words: 3K

Pairing: Peter Parker x Female Reader.

Warnings: Soft Peter being soft.

masterlist - main blog

Spending the day with Peter was your favourite thing in the world. He would always come up with the most amazing dates ever, even if it was just a simple one like staying at his apartment to play board games with his aunt or a big one like taking you to the top of the Statue of Liberty for a picnic. You always had fun with him, and he usually makes you feel so good. He came over to you in school all excited to ask you out Friday after school. 

You were waiting for him at your usual spot, the bench in front of school with two cups from Starbucks resting right next to you. A latte macchiato for you and an espresso for Peter. You were too caught up on your book to notice him coming from behind and wrapping his arms around you, leaving a kiss on your temple.

“Good morning beautiful.”

“Good morning.” You left a small peck on his lips and he sat next to you, taking his coffee in.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t ever have to thank me.”

“Yes, I have.” He smirked and threw his arms around you. “How did you sleep?”

“I dreamed that you dropped me in the middle of Times Squared and I turned into a mashed potato and a guy ate me. Super weird.”

“You have the weirdest dreams.”

“I know…” He rubbed his thumb in circles on your arms, pulling you closer. He started fidgeting his legs, and you just knew he had something to tell you. “What’s up? You seem excited today.”

“It’s because I wanted to ask you something.”

“Throw it, Parker.”

“I want you to come and spend the weekend with me at the compound. Like, Mr. Stark wants me to stay there the weekend, and he said I could bring someone with me. He suggest Ned, but you would be much funnier.”

“Poor Ned, he didn’t do anything to you.” You giggled.

“So, what do you say?”

“Hell yes! Spending the weekend with you, and alongside with The Avengers? Totally awesome.”

“Good, I’ll pick you up after school.” He pulled you up and entwined your fingers while you slowly walked to class. “Man, this is going to be so cool. You’re gonna love it, I swear.”

He always had a way to make you smile with the littlest things, like how excited he gets when he starts to talk about his superhero life. You could go on for a day listening to his voice talking about his adventures. You were really looking forward to it, not even caring about where he was taking you. Spending time with him was always pleasant, but you needed to admit, you were nervous about meeting the heroes, specially the famous Tony Stark, who Peter always talked about. You knew he was like a dad to him, and getting his approval was very important to you.

You dressed up in your best clothes and packed a bag with enough clothes for two days. Peter showed up at your apartment an hour after school, in a black Audi with his driver, Happy Hogan. Lucky for you, you’d met him already and Happy was really sweet with you. Peter said it was a very rare thing to happen.

You both sat at the backseat and you held Peter’s right hand on your lap while his left arm was embraced around your shoulders, pulling you closer to him. You talked to Happy about your week, and Peter teased him, being a smart mouth and chatty. He got nervous, but every time you’d start talking, Happy got all sweet again.

“I already knew you had the ability to make people all soft.” He whispered in your ears and left a small peck on your lips. “Maybe that’s the reason I’m with you.”

“Please, the reason you’re with me is because of how hot I am.” He giggled and kissed you again.

“Yeah, that too.”

The place was enormous, and you could easily get lost if you didn’t have some guide like Peter there with you. He showed you around and it was marvelous, like something you had never seen before. A kid from Brooklyn would never dream of being somewhere so… Technological like this.

“So since we can’t find anyone around here, I might need to take a look at my web fluid, it’s not working properly.” He pulled you by the hand right into the elevator. “Come on, let’s go to the lab.”

“You have a lab around here?” Your eyes shined, since you were a science genius.

“Of course. You’re gonna love it.” He smiled and like in a blink of an eye, the elevator opened its door, revealing a guy in a white lab coat, concentrated on a microscope. “Bruce! I didn’t know you were here.”

“Hey kid! Tony asked me to stay to welcome you while he was on a meeting.” Bruce got away from the microscope and glanced at you, smiling. “Oh, this is new.”

“Uhm… This is (Y/N). I talked about her a couple of times…” Peter blushed and you squeezed his hand before letting it go to stand it to Bruce.

“It’s really nice to meet you.” You smiled to him and he smiled back. “I used to love Hulk when I was a little girl.”

“Well, that’s also new. Not a lot of kids like the Hulk. They normally cry when they see me.”

“She’s not like the others.” Peter got his own coat on and his mask. He threw you one of the coats and you put it on. “You’re gonna help me do it, genius.”

“What’s wrong?” Bruce asked when Peter sat on the other table to examine of small capsule of web fluid.

“Uhm… It’s not lasting long enough.” He said looking at his notes, trying to see what was wrong. You sat next to him, analysing everything he wrote.

“I know what’s wrong.” You said and Bruce looked surprised to you. “You’re using the Potassium Carbonate from school, right?” Peter nodded and you laughed. “That’s not Potassium Carbonate.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that Flash Thompson replaced the Potassium Carbonate for flour the other day. I was there, I saw it.”

“Oh good.” Peter laughed. “Thanks.”

“Try doing it here another time. And remember, slowly add heat and let it cool to ambient temperature.”

“How does she know about that?” Bruce asked and Peter smirked.

“She was the one who helped me get to the perfect web fluid. She’s a chem genius.”

“I don’t need to be a genius to know Flash’s been replacing things on the laboratory.” You giggled. “So, you need me to take a look at your web shooters too?”

“Yes. Maybe they are clogged up or something.”

You opened it up to see the broken circuit and the clogged up channel. You cleaned it up and used a solder to fix it. You took a minute to do it and Bruce was impressed.

“Told you, genius.” Peter smiled and kissed her cheek. “Hey babe, could you pass me the glass stick?”

“Yeah.” You passed it to him and went back to focus on your work.

You worked with Peter on all of his projects and fix ups he needed to do, that got the perfect time for people to start coming around. This way you met Wanda and Vision, Steve Rogers, Sam and Bucky (who made naughty comments about you too), Natasha, and many others. But Tony Stark was taking the longest. You were focused on helping Peter with his Spider Robot and how to make it more silent and fast.

“You idiot, that’s not how you do that.” You poked him with your elbow and took control over the thing, and testing it right after you were done. “See?”

“My girl.” Peter smiled and leaned in to kiss her, but he stopped once they heard a throat clearing behind them. “Hey Mr. Stark.”

“Hey kiddo.” He said getting closer to you two. “I thought you were coming with the other nerd. What was his name? Led?”

“Ned.” Peter corrected him and shook his head no. “Uhm… Ned was busy and I wanted to bring someone for you to meet. This is (Y/N), she’s my girlfriend.”

“Nice to meet you (Y/N). One question, how do you pull off his shit?” Tony asked making you chuckle.

“I honestly don’t know, you answer me that question.” Tony smirked and shrugged.

“So, what were you doing?”

“Fixing some things that need fixing on my equipment. She made my Spider Robot faster.” Peter said excited and Tony arched his eyebrows.

“Uhm… Very good (Y/N).”

“Thank you Mr. Stark. It was really nothing compared to your work, though.”

“I like her.” He pointed at you, making you blush. “So, are you having dinner with us tonight?”

“No, I have something prepared for tonight. But maybe tomorrow is fine.” Peter said and you suddenly became excited, looking surprised at him, smiling a lot though.

“Something prepared?”

“Yeah.” He smiled softly and you glanced down, thinking how precious he was.

“Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Tony said and Peter nodded. “Okay, I’m gonna eat because I’m starving. See you, kids.”

“Bye!” They waved and you helped Peter clean and organize his stuff, as quickly as you could. You just were too excited to see what he had for you.

“Wow, calm down babe.” He said when you almost tripped on your own feet, holding you on his strong arms. 

“I’m just curious enough about this whole thing you got prepared.”

“It’s nothing big, I swear.”

“You don’t need to do anything big for me to like it.” He smiled and pulled you to his lips, giving you a long and passionate kiss.

“Come on, Happy already texted me to say it is all ready for us.” 

He dragged you out of there in a heartbeat. The halls were dark, but once they were getting to the rooftop stair, a few candles started to appear and you stopped, making Peter look at you confused. You smiled and slowly walked the stairs. The amount of candles started to increase and when you got to the rooftop, it was full of candles everywhere, a blanket on the floor with a lot of food like pizza, candies and soda. A big screen was set for you two to watch a movie. A soft song was playing to set the mood.

“You did all of this?”

“Yeah, I came here yesterday to prepare it. But Happy lighted the candles up.” 

You hugged him, resting your head on his chest while he embraced you in a tight hug, with a kiss on the top of your head. It was the most beautiful thing anyone has ever made you, and you were mesmerized by it. You looked up to the stars and smiled.

“This is so beautiful.” You said, looking right into his eyes, caressing his cheek. “Thank you, it’s amazing.”

“Anything for you baby.” He said, giving you a eskimo kiss.

While that was happening at the rooftop, the other heroes were having a nice conversation waiting for Tony to join them so they could finally eat.

“Thank God!” Natasha said, pouring some mashed potatoes on her plate.

“Oh, haven’t you eaten yet?” Tony asked.

“We were waiting for you, my Queen.” Rhodey replied, cutting the meat to get a piece.

“Sorry, I was just checking on Peter’s girlfriend.”

“Yeah, what did you think of her?” Steve asked and Bruce nodded.

“She’s alright. Very smart kid.”

“And she’s pretty.” Natasha said, mouth full of food.

“You can see in his eyes how much he likes her.” Wanda said, searching for what to eat.

“He’s not joining us tonight because he had a thing prepared for her.” Tony mumbled.

“Oh, it’s a date he asked me to help him prepare.” Happy said, also mouth full. “I had to lit up at least 200 candles for him.”

“What?” Tony asked confused.

“Yeah, it’s like a picnic over the stars. He got a bunch of candles, a blanket, food and a movie set with the big screen and everything.”

“He’s doing a lame date thing and you didn’t tell us?” Sam asked, nervously.

“We have to make fun of him.” Bucky got up pretty fast, followed by Sam.

“Don’t ruin his date.” Steve said following them and everyone decided to drop the food to go see whatever they were doing.

They all ran to the rooftop, stopping at the bottom of the stairs, starting to listen the soft song coming from upstairs. They slowly walked upstairs, crouching down so they couldn’t see them. Sam shushed everyone so they wouldn’t be noticed. They glanced at the pair of you, holding each other, eyes closed while Peter swayed you side to side along with the soft music playing. You sighed, feeling him and only him, hearing his heart beating out of his chest and inhaling his cologne. He usually gives you the chills, all the butterflies in your stomach. This time wasn’t different, maybe even stronger than the other ones.

“What are they doing?” Tony asked and Natasha smiled.

“They are dancing.” Steve said, smiling too, remembering some old times along with the sight of the two lovers dancing together.

“They are so cute.” Natasha said, letting a hand rest on Tony’s shoulder.

“That’s my kid. I taught him how to do that.” Tony said, pointing to them, and everyone rolled their eyes.

“I feel like this is going to end up in a huge marriage.” Bruce said.

“That means party, you know.” Wanda said and everyone nodded, considering that a good thing.

“Well, the kid is going to be disturbed tomorrow, let him have this moment.” Sam said, finally turning around to go down.

“Come on, let’s go.” Tony said, and waited for everyone to go down, leaving a last glance at the boy holding you, now eyes opened and looking at Tony with a wide smile. “Good one kid.” He whispered and Peter nodded, holding you tighter. Tony closed the door and left the two of you alone.

“I love you.” Peter whispered on her ear. “And you’re the most incredible and amazing person in this whole universe.” 

“I love you too, so much I can’t even describe.”

“You can try.” You smiled and took his lips into yours, a sweet and slow kiss like many of the other amazing ones you both had before for millions of times. He held you hand and deepened the kiss, asking for permission with his tongue. The lips touch always caused both of you chills, but the good ones. A feeling you never felt with anyone else. You leaned back and he gave you a forehead kiss.

“Come on, let’s watch the movie.”

You sat on the floor with Peter right next to you. He let you pick a movie you liked, and you chose 10 Things I Hate About You, because you lowkey wanted to see Peter do the Heath Ledger singing scene, because you’ve seen him do it once it was on TV and you were brushing your teeth in the bathroom. And he did it when it came, stopping in the middle of his dinner to get up and sing to you.

“Oh my… You’re such a dork.”

“And you’re just too good to be true.” He sang, going around a light pole on the roof. “Can’t take my eyes off of you.”

He tried to copy what Heath was doing in the movie, but in a very raggedy way. You laughed through the whole thing, but your heart was pounding harder. He looked so cute, hips moving around, curls falling from his forehead and a big smile on his face. Yours was just big as his. Once the music started to fade away, he threw himself over you, rolling you over the floor and tickling you.

“Peter! S-Stop! I hate this!” You were laughing and contorching over his tickles.

“I don’t feel like it.”

“I’m gonna kill you.” You giggled over him, not having any force to get him off you. Once he felt tired, he fell on your side and got a strawberry with chocolate, directing one to your mouth, so you could bite it. 

“This is for almost killing you right now.”

“Thank you.” You nodded, taking the whole strawberry in and he got back to the blanket and lied down. You lied on top of him, and he embraced you into a comfortable hug. At this point, the movie was just a background soundtrack.

You ran your fingers through his face, analyzing every bit of it, thinking how perfect he is and how amazingly glad you were to have him in your life, in any way. He was the best boy you had ever met and falling for him was just so easy when he’s perfect with you. Peter glanced back at you, all concentrated on your fingers running through his skin and smiled. You weren’t an average girl, you were different. It was like your body fitted perfectly with his, like your waist had reserved spots for him to fit his hands right in there.

“I don’t deserve you.” You mumbled and he closed his eyes.

“You deserve better.”

“No, I don’t. Thank you for doing this, Patrick.” You touched the tip of his nose and pressed a small kiss on his lips.

“I would do this over and over, if it’s for you.”

And you stayed there all night, all over each other. Doing small and cute things, watching other things as well, kissing and sometimes doing funny things or talking about random stuff, or deep things, like how life was before you met each other, completely opening their hearts and trusting the other. You usually do that when you are strongly connected like tonight. You did it until you fell asleep on the hard floor, you using him as a pillow and him over some pads. Tony went to check on you and found you soundly asleep. He approached them and covered them with a blanket and asking F.R.I.D.A.Y. to close the roof so you could sleep alright.

“Good night, love birds.” Tony smiled and left with a big smile on his face. 

His kid was finally happy and loved.

……………………………

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Taglist:  @missmulti , @zabdisamor , @cmon-peter-tingle , @lifeisabitchandsoareyou​ , @tinyplanet-explorers , @spideyyypeter, @tomshufflepuff, @deathofthethrones , @unicornslothfish, @coonflix , @itsjustahuman, @legendsofwholock , @emistrash

[jaehyun-eclipsed]

Before I Met You | Eight

Updates: Sundays, ~8 PM EST

Pairing: NCT (Jaehyun, Lucas, Mark…) X Reader/OC

Genre: Romance, Angst, Coming of Age

Summary: Four. There were four people before I fell in love with you… Here are their stories.

Author’s Note: I’m sorry for the delay! I got distracted watching videos of Lucas 🙈 That man is disrespectful to my feelings.  

Before I Met You Masterlist

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The furious scritch-scratching of a pencil can be heard even amongst all of the chatter in the dorm’s fifth floor study room. I glance over at Mark as he scribbles down incomprehensible equations in his lab notebook, furrowing his brow in frustration as he struggles to make sense of whatever solution he has just derived.

“You doing okay there?” I ask.

He huffs and pushes his notebook over to me. “Does this look right?”

I squint my eyes in confusion. “What did you do?”

Mark throws his hands up in defeat. “I don’t know! I was just trying to find the density.”

I scan the semblance of chemistry equations, acknowledging the attempt at the proper steps that ultimately fall short. “Well, first you need to find the number of molecules…”

He nods, slowly understanding the task at hand. “Ah, okay, okay! And then you divide that by the Avocado number to get the number of moles, right?”

The corner of my mouth raises to form a half-smile, amused at his use of the term he uses to memorize the name of Avogadro’s number. Mark was quirky like that. “Yes, then multiply that by the molecular weight to convert it to grams.”

“YO! Then I can plug that into the density equation!”

He pulls back his notebook and starts crossing out his previous work before quickly writing in the correct equations.

Mark and I met in our intro chemistry class. He was one of the five boys in our class and one of the only two cute ones. But what really sold it was that he was much nicer than the other guy; more open, less reserved, and he had an infectious smile. He was the definition of sincere happiness.

As is with every class, we started out by introducing ourselves:

“Hi, I’m Y/N and I’m a freshman. Um, I’m a biology major.”

“Hi, my name’s Mark. I’m a freshman and I’m an English major and I’m taking chemistry because I’m also sorta interested in biology.”

He was the only person in the class that I was moderately interested in speaking to; he seemed to get along with everyone. Admittedly, part of my motivation was because I thought he was cute. 

I had only decided to speak to him after I caught him staring at me at the beginning of class once. We were listening to our TA give instructions for the day. Mark was standing next to her and I happened to glance at him, realizing that he was already looking at me – and that’s when he smiled that captivating smile of his. Later that day, I went up to him to confirm the melting temperature of the final product (even though I had already confirmed with several groups around me).

A few weeks later, we both happened to be at the fume hood, evaporating our solvents out of a flask in order to derive our final precipitate. As we were the only two in that part of room, an awkward silence happened to pass between us – one of ‘I know you, but have absolutely no idea what to say.’ Luckily for me, he was the first one to speak this time.

“How was your spring break?” he asked, keeping his focus on his flask.

“It was fine. I went home and studied for most of it since we have that midterm coming up in a week.”

“And where’s home for you?”

“Medford,” I said. “Oregon. It’s a small town, really pretty. How about you?”

“I’m from Vancouver.” He turned to smile at me. “Canada.”

Another pause passes between us.

“Hey, have you looked over the post-lab questions for this experiment?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Do you know how to do them?”

“Yeah, I think so. The equations we need are in the lecture notes.”

He hummed in response before turning to look at me. “Do you think I could get your number in case I need help? I get really confused in lecture sometimes.”

The excitement on my face was clearly evident as I said, “Sure!”

And that is how this all started. Every week since then, Mark and I would meet up to do the post-lab questions together.

That first homework session Mark and I had together was a turning point for me. Transitioning to college had been a challenge. Leaving home, living on my own, and adjusting to the rigor of the classes left me feeling defeated a lot of the time. Back in high school, I had to put in a lot of homework hours, but none of the material was necessarily difficult. It was just time consuming because we were given so much. But the content in college was tough. I had gotten a C on my first midterm and due to being a 4.0 student in high school, a C was unfathomable. It didn’t lend me anymore comfort knowing that more than fifty percent of my grade was based on exam performance and yet, I could spend hours and hours studying without a guarantee of a positive return. It was discouraging.

If I wasn’t in class, I was spending my time by myself in my dorm. I had two roommates, but I didn’t particularly care for either of them. One would wake up early to go to the gym and come back in the morning and slam everything she possibly could on her desk as if nobody else lived there. The other girl – well, her laptop’s wallpaper was a selfie… I think that tells you plenty.

Overall though, it was lonely. I didn’t care for the people I had befriended at the beginning of the year for various reasons so I called my dad every day and counted the days until I could go home.

I’ll never forget the way I felt when I returned home for winter break. Doyoung, Hana, and I had gone over to Taeyeon’s house one night after having dinner and milkshakes. We were there until three in the morning doing acroyoga and dancing in her living room. We were just being kids – carefree and happy. The overwhelming joy I felt that night was something I hadn’t felt in months and I remember having a moment of self-awareness as I watched Doyoung balance Hana on his knees.

I’m not happy.

Starting college in a different state was supposed to be a new beginning. One that’s supposed to be “the best four years of my life.” One where I’d meet a diverse group of people from all over the world. One where I’d get to experience my first college party, fall in love, discover my passion, learn new things... And while I was learning a lot in class, met many people, and did go to my first college party, I was slowly hoping that it would all end soon even though everything had just begun. I was alone and didn’t feel like I had anyone to talk to. That made me realize something else: Being alone never bothered me until it was no longer a choice.

Shortly after those moments of realization, the nightmares started. I had trouble sleeping and when I did finally manage to fall asleep, I’d abruptly wake up hours later, hyperventilating in a cold sweat.

What am I doing? How am I going to get through this?

Who was that confident person I was back in high school?

Where did she go?

Maybe she was just... acting.

Great, I’ve been acting my whole life.

“Y/N.” He sighs loudly and turns to look at me, pulling me from my reverie. “Why are you so amazing?”

I smile back at him. It’s comments like these that make my heart stall and my chest feel warm. Though, I wish I believed him. I know he’s just talking about me helping him with chemistry, but sometimes I hope that it’s a little more than that. We’re in the same year and we get along really well. Plus, he’s really cute. Perhaps we could start dating.

Mark has made me feel comfortable here. I look forward to seeing him every week. His carefree and go with the flow nature is addicting. If he’s ever stressed, he’s very good at hiding it. It’s the complete opposite of my personality. Mark is someone I want to be around all the time.

I love his little quirks. Like when he gets frustrated and furrows his brow. He shakes his head in frustration and clicks his tongue. Or when he laughs – it’s a loud, boisterous laugh followed by a punch in the shoulder to whoever is closest to him. He has this youthfulness to him that will never die. He searches for the happiness in everything and encourages everyone around him. He’s the friend everyone wishes they had.

“You know,” he begins, “I can’t believe that we lived in the same unit this whole time.”

Mark lived in the neighboring dorm building, leaving little opportunity to meet unless we happened to dine near each other in the cafeteria or attended the dorm-wide events in the multi-purpose room.

It would’ve been nice to have a friend earlier on.

“Oh, I saw you a few weeks into the semester,” I say.

He looks at me, clearly surprised. “Yo, what? You did?!” he exclaims. “Why didn’t you say ‘hi’?!”

Mark is in disbelief when I shrug. We hadn’t spoken yet when I saw him that time. I was surprised and quite excited that the cute guy from chem class lived in the same unit as I did. But I was way too shy to say anything. I didn’t want him knowing that I remembered his name and had been paying attention to him ever since the first day of class. He probably didn’t remember my name anyway. But knowing we did live near each other did give me some encouragement to make an attempt to talk to him.

“I – I don’t know. I didn’t really know who you were,” I say. “I mean, I knew you were in my chem class, but –”

“Where did you see me?”

“You were getting the mail.”

“You should’ve said ‘hi’! I would’ve recognized you!”

I open my mouth to say something, but end up making weird gestures with my hands as I don’t know how to respond honestly to Mark’s comment.

He sighs and looks at me with a playfully stern expression. “Well next time, you gotta say ‘hi’! I like saying ‘hi’ to my friends!”

I nod. “Okay, yes, sir,” I quip. “I’ll remember that next time.”

He grins widely and puts his pencil down. “Hey, are you busy tomorrow?”

“I have class at eleven, but that’s it,” I say. “Why?”

“Do you wanna go play badminton with me?!”

I squint my eyes in confusion. This is not the request I was expecting. “Uh…”

“The weather’s supposed to be really nice and I just got the new net I ordered online! I wanna try it out!”  

“Uh, okay,” I say slowly. “Sure. I didn’t realize you liked to play badminton.”

“Oh yeah! It’s my favorite! I used to play with my brother all the time back in Vancouver. Have you played?”

“I used to play in high school. Actually, my team in P.E. won our badminton tournament!”

“Oh! You must be pretty good then!”

“Probably not. It’s been a while.”

“Well, it’s gonna be fun! I’ll meet you on the lawn in front of the library? Like, three?”

“Sure!”

The next day is bright and sunny and after attending psychology discussion, I returned home for a quick sandwich followed by an hour of reading before changing clothes. I opted for a coral cold-shoulder top, blue denim shorts, knock-off boat shoes, and pulled my wavy, brown locks into a ponytail. At two-thirty, I set out for campus.

When I arrive on the lawn, Mark has already set up the net. He picks up a racket, spins it around in his hand, and then tosses a birdie with his free hand up into the air. A loud whack is heard moments before the projectile lands right in front of my feet. I look up and am met with Mark’s bright smile and an excited wave.

“Hey!” Mark runs over to me, enveloping me in a hug. “Isn’t it beautiful today?!” He pulls back to look at me. “You look very summery today!”

“Oh, yeah, I figured since it’s nice out today and there’s no wind…” I shrug.

“Yeah! It’s perfect for us to play!” He picks up the birdie from the ground. “Come on!”

I follow him over to where he had set up the net, picking up the other racket near one of the poles. He’s smiling at me when I look at him again. “Don’t make fun of me if I lose!”

He laughs. “Don’t worry! I won’t! You’ll just have to help me out with chemistry.”

“I already do that!”

It’s momentary and I nearly miss it, but there’s a very brief hesitation before his lips curve up into a bashful smile. His eyes are soft and I detect the slightest bit of admiration in them. There’s a crooked smile on my face when I narrow my eyes at him in curiosity. He remains silent.

After a few moments, I turn my gaze away from him, trying to bite back an embarrassed smile as I superficially glance over at some students playing ultimate Frisbee.

“Are you ready to play?!” Mark asks suddenly.

“Yeah!”

I walk to the opposing side of the net and ready myself for Mark’s serve.

“Zero, zero!”

Swiftly, I swing the racket with a bit of force, easily returning Mark’s serve. He misses.

“Lucky shot,” he remarks, shaking his head.

I pick up another one of the birdies. “One, zero!”

We’re able to rally for a bit when I decide to carry out my signature move from high school. I barely tap the birdie, giving it just enough force to barely make it over the net.

“Oh – what the?!” Mark shouts as he attempts to dive just as the birdie hits the ground.

“Two, zero,” I say with a wide grin.

I’m looking at him as he’s sitting on the ground on my side of the net, one arm propped up on his knee. He chuckles and looks up at me, squinting into the sunlight.

“And you thought you were going to be bad at this!”

I shrug innocently. “I don’t know… or are you just letting me win? Hm?”

“No! Of course not!”

“Oh, so you’re just not very good at this,” I tease. “That’s okay. I understand.” I break out into laughter when he looks at me with a playful frown. 

“Hey!” He’s laughing now. “You know that I’m facing the sun, right?! I’m at a disadvantage.”

I wave my hand in dismissal. “Excuses.”

I extend my hand out to help him stand up. Unfortunately, the weight distribution between us is very imbalanced and results in Mark pulling me down; I fall on top of him with a loud squeal.

“I’m so sorry!” I say in between laughs, trying push myself up off of him with my hands on either side of his body.

He places a hand on the small of my back. “Are you okay?”

I lift my head to look at him, feeling my heart jump briefly as I realize how close we are together. My laughter ceases.

“Uh, yeah,” I say, quickly pushing myself off of him and standing up on my own, brushing myself off.

I watch him as he ducks under the net and repositions himself, smiling widely at me again.

There’s a warmth and giddiness that fills my chest and I recognize it immediately. It’s the same happiness I felt with Doyoung, Hana, and Taeyeon. I smile to myself.

I think things are going to be okay.

I’m suddenly caught off guard when I hear Mark’s racket strike the birdie. My eyes widen as it flies over to my right.

“Oh!” I yelp as I lunge to the side a moment too late.

“Sorry, I was thinking about something,” I say as I turn around to pick up the birdie.

“Oh… about what?”

I smile back at him. “Nothing really. Just that I’m having a lot of fun.”

He cracks a grin as I’m about to serve. “One, two,” he quips.

I frown. “Does that even count?”

“One, two,” he says again with a mischievous smile.

That night, while catching up on some psychology reading, my phone vibrates, Mark’s name flashing on the message notification.

Mark [8:07 PM] Yo! Hey! Today was really fun! Thanks for coming!

Me [8:10 PM] Thank you for inviting me! I haven’t had that much fun in a while

Mark [8:15] Oh and thanks so much for helping me out all the time in chem! You’re a life saver! 😊

Mark [8:17 PM] If you’re up to it, I’d love to take you out for lunch as a thank you! 😊

Mark has been responsible for many of my smiles over the past few weeks. And here he is, doing it again. I chuckle to myself as I feel the giddiness of having a crush return.

Me [8:20 PM] Yeah! That would be great! Thank you!

I don’t think this is a date, but at the very least, I know that Mark likes spending time with me. He’s also definitely a lot nicer than Lucas. So who knows? We have the next three years to find out.

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Before I Met You Masterlist Masterlist  

[krisdreaming]

🎄 4th Day of Fluffmas 🎄

⟵ Day 3 | Masterlist | Day 5 ⟶

All the Way Home I’ll be Warm || Kuroo Tetsurou x Reader

Word count: 3,813 (oops?) | Gender neutral reader

(prompt: “I sort of told my family I have an s/o and now I need someone to stand in for them – HELP”)

-

Day 0 (Briefing)

Kuroo is sitting across from you at the little cafe on campus, and for some reason he actually seems to be looking forward to the next few days. He even brought a notebook, but you can’t tell if he’s being serious about taking notes or if this is all part of the act. You had asked him because you knew he was always down to help you out with your late night adventures and crazy schemes, but this one might just be the craziest.

“Okay boss, what’s the plan?” He props his elbows on the table and leans closer to you. “Actually, before we get into that, I think I’m going to need a little back story. Why, exactly, do you need a fake boyfriend?”

“Well, you see...” You lift your mug closer to your face and peer into it for a moment. “It just gets really old having everyone ask about it at every family gathering, you know? I know I shouldn’t have lied but how was I supposed to know they would insist that I bring my boyfriend to Grandma’s?” You shoot Kuroo an apologetic smile.

“And that’s where I come in.” He finishes. You nod. 

“I’m curious.” He props his cheek on his fist. “How long is our relationship going to last? Are we meant to be?” He flashes you a cheeky grin, and you duck your head. Okay, maybe asking someone you already (possibly) have feelings for to be your fake boyfriend might not have been the best idea, but it’s too late to back out now.

“Actually, I have a feeling that next year, you’re going to leave to study abroad. We’ll probably make a mutual decision to end our relationship because we don’t want to deal with the long distance.” You laugh. “Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a repeat gig.”

“Wow, you’ve really thought this through.” Kuroo actually does write something down in his notebook. “So, do we have any cute nicknames for each other?”

“Hmm.” You hum in thought. “Probably nothing too crazy. We’ve only been dating for four months.”

He nods sagely. “Well, you can call me Tetsurou, I don’t mind. Or Tetsu.” He adds quickly. For a brief moment, you consider it.

“Oh, ah. I’ll stick with Tetsurou. Sounds good.” You manage a quick smile. “You can call me F/N.”

“You got it.” He makes another quick note. “Do we have a safe word?”

“A what?” You almost choke on the sip of coffee you’d just taken.

“A safe word.” He repeats. “You know, if things get too weird, we can use it to tell the other person to chill out.” You nod slowly. That was one thing you haven’t thought of. “If we’re just calling each other by our names, how about we just call each other Babe if we start to get uncomfortable? Will that make it worse?”

“No, it’s a good idea.” You nod. “Yeah, I’m cool with that.” You shake your head. “This is so weird, dude, I’m sorry.”

He laughs. “This is one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done. If this works out I might switch to a theater major.”

“No way, I think Chem might eat me alive if you leave me.” You grimace. “You’re the only reason I passed our lab last semester.”

“Kidding.” He finishes the last swallow of his coffee. “There’s no money in theater anyway, and if I switched majors I’d probably have to drag you with me. I’m too used to having you around.” He grins, a more sincere smile this time, and you can’t help but return it. 

“Well, that’s good, because you’re stuck with me. And just to warn you,” You have to change the subject before you get too flustered. “My Grandma is going to show you every single photo she’s ever taken of me. At Thanksgiving, it took her almost an hour to get through them with my cousin’s girlfriend.”

“Aw, little baby Y/N.” Kuroo laughs. “I might enjoy this too much.” He pushes back his chair, and you stand too. “I’ll walk you back to your dorm.” The early winter darkness has already fallen.

“Sure, thanks.” You fall into step beside him, stepping outside for the chilly walk across campus. 

“Thanks for helping me out.” You add, your words puffing steam into the air. “I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime.” He knocks his arm against yours. “To be honest, after all this talk about your Grandma’s cooking, I might have tagged along even if I didn’t have to pretend to be your boyfriend.” He laughs.

“You certainly won’t go hungry.” You agree. “She’ll make sure of that. Don’t blame me if it affects your volleyball physique.”

“Don’t worry, I’m naturally slender.” He pats his middle. “I’ve got the quickest metabolism you’ve ever seen.”

You shake your head. “If you say so.” By now, you’ve reached your dorm. “Oh, by the way!” You call out as he turns to go. “I don’t suppose there’s anything you can do about your hair?”

He turns back to face you. “Not a thing. Many have tried, none have succeeded.” He runs his hand through it and makes it stand even more on end.

“Fair enough.” You shrug. “They’ll have to deal. See you tomorrow.”

“Later!” He lifts his hand in farewell and turns to go. For a few more moments you stand and watch his retreating back. These next two days might be harder than you thought.

Day 1

“Here we are.” You announce as Kuroo gets out of his car and grabs his bag. You each drove your own car, and he’s parked right behind you in your Grandma’s driveway. “Ready for this?”

“Ready as ever.” He slings his bag over his shoulder. “Lead on.” You reach for the door, and before you can turn the handle it swings open with your Dad and Grandma behind it.

“Merry Christmas!” Your Grandma pulls you into a tight hug, and you breathe in the familiar scent of rose and sugar cookies. “Come in, come in.” She releases you and is immediately locked on Kuroo, who has a sheepish smile on his face.

“Oh my.” She looks up at him with a huge grin on her face. “Aren’t you quite the handsome young man! Just look at how tall he is.” She turns to your Dad, who has given you a quick hug and is now quickly sizing up Kuroo.

“Dad, Grandma, this is Kuroo Tetsurou.” He gives you a quick prompting glance. “My boyfriend.” You add, already feeling your cheeks grow warm at saying the words out loud.

“Nice to meet you.” Your Dad reaches out and catches Kuroo’s hand in a firm handshake. 

“It’s great to meet you sir.” Your Dad must approve of the handshake, because he gives Kuroo a nod and a smile.

“Come here.” Grandma gestures, and Kuroo leans down to be enveloped in a hug. 

“Thank you for having me, Ma’am.” Kuroo says the moment he’s released. A pleased grin breaks across her face.

“What a polite young man. Honey, it looks like you’ve found a good one.” She pats your shoulder.

“Guess so.” You smile.

“Well now, come, let me show you to your room.” You feel your eyes grow wide, and when she has turned her back you look at Kuroo and mouth room?? As in, singular? He gives the slightest of shrugs, and you follow her upstairs.

“Now, normally I would make sure you each have your own room, but we’re a bit full right now, and besides. I guess you’re all grown up now, aren’t you?” She gives you a fond smile and you survey the guest room she’s assigned to the two of you. A queen sized bed is the only sleeping surface in the room.

Luckily for you, Kuroo doesn’t miss a beat. “Thank you, this looks great.” He plops his duffel bag on the bed, and you follow suit.

“Thanks Grandma.” You echo.

“Dinner is at 6. Some of your cousins are here already, go find them once you’re settled in!” She bustles out to get back to her kitchen, and you let out a sigh.

“Sorry.” You grimace. “I figured there was no way we’d have to share a bed.”

“Hey, no big deal.” Kuroo shrugs. “I mean, it’s a huge bed. I’m not worried about it.” Realization dawns on his face. “But I’ll sleep on the floor if it’s weird for you.”

“Oh, no. No. That’s fine with me too. I’m good.” You manage a smile that you hope is reassuring. You and your brilliant ideas. You silently scold yourself. “Come on, let’s go find my cousins.”

It isn’t much of a surprise that your cousins adore Kuroo. He has them all laughing before you know it. One of them turns to you. “How did you get lucky enough to find someone like him?” 

Kuroo doesn’t miss a beat and slings his arm around your shoulders. You hope your flinch at the sudden contact isn’t too obvious. “I’m the lucky one, actually. Completely random lab assignment on the first day of the semester, and the rest is history.” He grins at you, and you laugh, finally reacting enough to slide your arm around his back. It’s not like you’ve never casually hugged before, but this feels a little different.

“Aww! That’s so adorable.” Your cousins all titter amongst themselves, and luckily, you’re saved at that moment by your Grandma announcing that dinner is ready.

Around the dinner table, the rest of the introductions take place. Kuroo easily answers the different questions asked of him about volleyball and his major. Soon, though, conversation turns to other things.

“So, Kuroo.” Your jokester uncle speaks up right as dessert is being brought to the table, and you’re already cringing. “Any thoughts on marriage?” Kuroo has his glass lifted to his lips, and he ends up spitting half of the water back into it as a coughing fit overtakes him. He recovers remarkably quickly and sets down his glass.

“Well, sir, we are still in college. For now we’re focusing on our studies.” He sends you a quick glance. Your uncle laughs loudly. You rest your hand on Kuroo’s arm in a way you hope is reassuring.

“I’m just messing with you, son. We’re all glad to have you here.”

“I’m glad to be here.” He nods. For some reason, this seems to be the first thing that’s actually shaken him. You give him a long glance with an eyebrow raised, but he just shakes his head ever so slightly, giving you a quick smile.

Everyone is still around the table chatting as your Grandma and aunts clear the dishes away, and before you know it she returns with a suspiciously familiar album in hand and a dastardly gleam in her eyes. The woman is ruthless.

“Oh, Kuroo-kun, I have some photos of y/n as a child if you’d like to see them! Ah, such a sweet child.” She hugs the album to her chest.

“You know, I would love to see them.” Kuroo sends you the biggest shit-eating grin he can muster, and you pout. He must have recovered from earlier. All you can do is sit helplessly beside him as your Grandma flips through the album page by page, going over each photo you appear in with excruciating detail. Kuroo is enjoying it a little too much, but you suppose it’s a small price to pay for what you’re putting him through.

Finally, the torture is over and everyone begins to turn in for the night. Pajamas on, you sit on the very edge of the bed mindlessly scrolling on your phone as you wait for Kuroo to finish in the bathroom.

“Well, that was an experience.” He appears, rubbing a towel on his still-damp hair.

“I’m sorry about my uncle!” You quickly blurt out. “He’s always saying stupid stuff like that.”

Kuroo waves his hand as though brushing it off. “It’s fine. Just caught me off guard. Marriage wasn’t in my notes.” He laughs. “You using that extra pillow?” He gestures to the spare on top of the dresser.

“All yours.” You say, finally crawling under the covers, as close to the edge on your side of the bed as you can get.

“So.” Kuroo gets in on his own side, arranging the pillows to his liking. “Think everyone’s buying it?”

You shrug. “Seems like it. You’re doing great. I never knew you were such a natural.”

“Yeah, well.” He looks away from you suddenly. “Neither did I. Guess I’m just a man of many talents.” He meets your gaze again and grins. “You’re not doing too bad yourself.”

You laugh weakly. “Thanks.” For a few moments, an awkward silence fills the room. “Well, goodnight.” You finally say, reaching over to turn out the light.

“Night.” He echoes back before smushing his face down into his pillows. It’s not the first time you’ve witnessed his sleeping habits, but it’s not something you can get used to so easily.

As he’d promised earlier, the bed is so large that the two of you aren’t touching at all, but there’s something about the sound of his breathing next to you that keeps you from falling asleep immediately.

Day 2

When the sun peeking through the blinds wakes you the next morning, you almost forget the exact circumstances you’re in. You slowly roll over as you wake up, and you almost yelp aloud at the sight of Kuroo laying next to you, silently scrolling through his phone.

“Oh, morning.” He whispers. The last traces of sleep are still in his voice, and he has marks on his face from where the pillow creases dug into his cheeks. You swallow hard, trying not to stare for too long. He looks softer this way. 

“Morning.” You whisper back. “You sleep alright?”

“Like a baby.” He confirms. “Must be the bed, I slept better than I usually do.”

“You’re almost free.” You change the subject, because you don’t want to admit that you also slept better than usual - after you finally fell asleep, that is. “I told Grandma you’d be leaving after the gift exchange this afternoon.”

“Sounds good to me.” He nods, sitting up a little straighter in bed. “Think there’s any coffee made?”

“Always is.” You grin, and the two of you make your way to the kitchen. Your Grandma and aunt are already there, chatting softly, so you pour each of you a mug and retreat to the empty living room.

“This is really nice.” Kuroo comments when you’re situated on the couch. “Your family is awesome. You’re pretty lucky.”

“I know.” You nod. “they’re crazy, but they’re mine.”

“I’m really glad you invited me along.” He says. “I know it’s a weird reason, but being part of your Christmas is kind of cool.”

“I’m glad you’re here.” You admit. “You fit in really well with them. They’re going to ask about you later, you know.”

“What can I say, I’m a popular guy.” He grins. “Maybe I’ll put off studying abroad for another year so I can come back again.”

“Maybe I’ll have a real boyfriend next year.” You’d meant it as a joke, but something changes on Kuroo’s face and you instantly regret saying it.

“Maybe.” He finally says, giving you the smallest of smiles. Before you can say anything more, your Grandma calls for breakfast.

It’s a lazy morning, and whatever strange thing had happened between you before breakfast, you both manage to ignore it. A game of team Monopoly ensues, and after Kuroo learns your family’s amended rules for the game he gets surprisingly into it. He’s back to his normal self, laughing and teasing you as you play. As it gets down to the last tense rounds between the two of you and your cousin and his girlfriend, he shuffles your money around.

“I can pull this off.” He murmurs to you. “$2,000 on Park Place, and-” his trap pays off, and your cousin gets stuck there and is forced to forfeit his entire savings to the two of you. “Victory!” He crows, and in his excitement he presses a firm kiss to your cheek. Instantly, your entire body is warm. You inhale sharply.

“Um, Babe.” You whisper, not really sure why this has affected you so much.

“I am so sorry.” Instantly, concern is written across his face. “I just got really excited.” He looks around, but no one is paying you much attention. Your cousin and his girlfriend have already gone off to scrounge for a snack. “I’m sorry.” He says again, gripping your arm. “That was way overstepping.”

“No, it’s fine. It wasn’t even a big deal.” You’re starting to relax, so you brush it off. “It just surprised me, that’s all. I’m fine.” He nods. He’s still quiet, though, and you can tell that it’s bothering him.

It’ll all be over soon, though. You only hope that things can go back to normal after this. The thought of losing your entire friendship with Kuroo over one of your crazy schemes makes you feel almost sick to your stomach.

Finally, it’s time for the gift exchange. Your family is gathered around in a circle, and the younger cousins are working on sorting through the gifts beneath the tree. “Okay everyone.” Your Grandma brings her hands together. “Let’s go around and talk about the good things that have happened this year.” It’s the yearly tradition. One by one, your family members share about fun vacations and promotions at work, anything that happened over the year that stood out to them as special.

Finally, it gets around to Kuroo. “We can skip you, if you want.” You say quickly. “I know it’s kinda weird.”

“Nah, no way!” He shakes his head. “I had a pretty great year, I might as well share about it a little bit.” He pauses, and now he’s looking fully at you. You bite down on your lip. “I met a pretty amazing person this year.” He begins. “We have so much fun together. They’re really special to me.” Murmurs go through the room, and you can see smiles growing on your family members’ faces. “I really mean that, Y/N. I can’t imagine my life without you.” Somehow, you can tell that this isn’t part of the charade. His expression is completely genuine, and his smile is filling his eyes.

“Wow.” Is all you can say, softly. “Thank you, Tetsurou.” Everyone’s eyes are on you, and you realize it’s your turn to share. You clear your throat.

“I had a pretty great year, too. I passed Chem lab which is a miracle in itself.” You chuckle lightly, still feeling a little unsettled by Kuroo’s declaration. “And I met a really great guy, too.” You shyly glance in Kuroo’s direction, and he nods in encouragement. “He’s my best friend, and I wouldn’t choose to be here with anyone else right now.” You mean every word, from the bottom of your heart.

With that, your turn is over, and your cousin’s girlfriend starts to share about the vacation they took to Italy over the summer, but you aren’t really paying attention. You’re too busy trying to untangle everything that has happened so far today. Is it possible...? You can’t even dare to ask yourself the question.

Soon enough, the presents are opened, the wrapping paper has been cleaned up, and your uncle is sacked out on the sofa, snoring away. Kuroo gets to his feet.

“Well, I think it’s about time I head out.” He stretches his arms over his head. “I’ll go grab my things.” He disappears for a few moments, and you wander over to the foot of the stairs to meet him when he returns.

“I want to go thank your Grandma.” He says, motioning toward the kitchen. You nod and follow behind him. “Hey, I’m leaving for home now.” He announces to your Grandma and two aunts who are in the kitchen. “But thank you so much for everything. The food was amazing, and I had a great time with your family. Thank you for making me feel welcome.”

“Oh.” Your Grandma waves her hand dismissively. “You deserve it. It’s obvious you make my grandchild very happy.” She smiles at you. “Thank you for coming, it was truly a pleasure to meet you. I hope we’ll see you again.” It’s a good thing she isn’t watching your face as she says that. Kuroo’s grin doesn’t waver.

“Thanks again.” He says with a wave as he ducks out of the kitchen. As you head outside, a chorus of goodbyes follows behind you. The moment the door closes, Kuroo releases a heavy sigh. “Whew.”

“Are you glad it’s over?” You ask hesitantly, standing by his car as he tosses his bag in the backseat.

“I really did have a great time.” He says, making no move to get in his car. “But I have to tell you something.” You nod slowly, and he reaches for your hands. “Is this okay?” You nod again.

“Yeah.” You manage, barely above a whisper.

“I’m really sorry I got so weird earlier. It’s just what you said about having a real boyfriend next year... Y/N, I want to be your real boyfriend. And I probably should have told you that before we even left school, but I couldn’t find the words. I never thought someone like you existed. I had a stupid crush on you for so long. So... What do you say?” He looks at you expectantly.

“I would like that a lot.” You say, a grin growing across your face before you can stop it. You take a deep breath. “I guess I asked you to be my fake boyfriend because it was a hell of a lot easier than asking you to be my real boyfriend. It was stupid.”

“Good.” He says, reaching out to brush a strand of hair away from your face. “Then that’s all that matters.” With that, he cups your face with his palm, slowly leaning in. “Oh. Can I...?”

“Yes.” You giggle, and he doesn’t waste any time in kissing you, soft and sweet. He pulls away, only to lean in for one more kiss.

“For the road.” He say softly, a huge smile on his face. He wraps you up in a tight hug. “I’ll see you after break. Call me tonight maybe?”

“Definitely.” You agree as he slowly steps away. “I’ll see you.” You lift your hand in a wave as he gets in his car and drives away, and for a few moments you just stand in the driveway, watching until his car is out of sight. When you turn to go back inside, all three of your cousins are at the window. One of them winks at you. You stick out your tongue at them, but right now you don’t even have room to feel annoyed.

[lavendersuh]

got7 as classic fanfic tropes

word count: 2.4k

a/n: uhhhh i started thinking of classic fanfic tropes and this happened oops! they are short and sweet, but if you want more of one of them hmu and i might write it? enjoy xx

mark - neighbor!au

the shy quiet next door neighbor. your parents are good friends which means occasionally you see each other at dinners. despite his friends being extremely crazy, he always offers you kind smiles in the hallways at school. you always wonder what’s on his mind, until one day his friends loudly tease him about a crush he won’t ask out. you look across the hallway to see your neighbor blushing. 

“just ask her out already! come on, man, what’s it gonna hurt?” one of his friends, jackson, asks.

as you watch the situation unfold, you see mark glance over at you. his eyes turn wide when he sees you already looking at him, causing him to look down and blush even harder. you didn’t realize that was possible.

you turn around to continue putting your books in your locker, as you continued to hear his friends hype him up. you rolled your eyes at their childish behavior. 

the warning bell was ringing, prompting you to shut your locker, only to find mark walking up to you. 

your eyes widen as his flustered expression. he speaks up, “y/n, could i talk to you for a sec?”

jaebum - gang leader!au

super mysterious. you always saw him come into the coffee shop, order a double shot expresso drink, before leaving asap. you always wondered what he was up to considering it was well into your afternoon study sessions when he would show up. who needs that much coffee in the evening?

one day you decided to pack up early, realizing you really needed to head home to cook instead of picking up fast food again. as you’re leaving, the man that always picks up the coffee labeled “JB” heads out the door too. he holds the door for you, sending you a small smile to your surprise. 

you mutter a thanks before he gets into the suspicious black vehicle, not realizing a shady figure across the street was watching the entire interaction. 

you don’t notice the figure following you home until you get to your building, about to unlock the door, when you hear a gunshot behind you. you whip around to see JB standing with a gun in his hand as the shady figure flees, clutching his arm. 

“are you okay?” he asks, coming up to you. 

you stand frozen, eyes wide with terror at what just happened. 

“look, he was following you, he probably thought you were my girlfriend or something since we left at the same time.” he huffs in frustration, “huh, i never ask the pretty girl for her number in order to protect her and yet she still ends up getting shot at.”

a million things are running through your head. pretty girl? number? shot at?

“i’m sorry i put you in danger. i’m also sorry i haven’t talked to you before this,” he says, “i’m caught up with the local mafia and even though i noticed you looking at me in the cafe, i never made a move because i didn’t want you to get caught up in all this.” 

he smiles down at you, “but considering this happened anyways, i might as well ask you to dinner. are you free tonight?”

jackson - college athlete!au

definitely super popular. not because of his sport tho, he fences. he’s just really sociable, at parties all the time, etc. he honestly keeps the fact that he’s a fencer on the down low, not cause its embarrassing or anything but just because he doesn’t like explaining it. he takes it super seriously, and doesn’t like people questioning it.

too bad for him, your sibling happened to love fencing. you were dragged along as they followed the championships and everything. safe to say, you know who jackson wang is. 

you recently transferred to a new university, and your roommates were dragging you out to a party to celebrate the first week of school. you were expecting the classic characteristics of a frat party, but what you weren’t expecting was to see the Junior Asia Fencing Champion offering you your third beer of the night.

“you’re jackson wang,” you tell him, as he continues tossing beer cans to newcomers.

“hell yeah i am,” he grins at you, “but you don’t look familiar. i’m good at remembering faces, where do i know you from?”

“oh, we haven’t met,” you tell him, “i just recognized you because you fence,”

he pauses what he’s doing, whipping around to stare you down, trying to get a read on you.

“you… follow fencing?” he questions.

you shake your head, a warm buzz finally beginning to take over your senses from the alcohol. “no, but my sibling follows it religiously. i just happen to accompany them occasionally, you know, just go along for the ride.”

he throws you a smile, and you start to see why he seems to be so popular. 

“hmm,” he says, leading you through some of the crowd to a less densely packed area of the frat house, “then would you be interested in accompanying me somewhere sometime?”

“like on a date?”

“why not? we could get coffee after my practice tomorrow evening?”

you nod, suddenly feeling shy as you realize what you are getting yourself into.

he throws you another grin as he clinks your beers together, “it’s a date.”

jinyoung - royal!au

honestly a pretty chill royal, he’s a kind prince; he’s just a big spoiled, but who wouldn’t be?

it’s no surprise that he would get irritated with the airline staff when his flight gets cancelled in the middle of the night. he just wants to go home. 

it’s no surprise when you see him talking to the airline worker with an exasperated expression, and it’s no surprise when you hear him in a raised voice say, “but i’m a prince!”

ah, yes. the royalty card. you were familiar. 

it doesn’t take but a heartbeat for you to walk over, and politely tell the man that he needs to “chill.”

“chill? chill? i don’t have time for chill, i’m a prince!” he stares at you for a moment, “i’m sorry but i can’t possibly see how a simple stranger like you would understand.” 

“oh, i understand perfectly fine.” you say with a level head, “i am the most understanding when coming across other royals who like to use it to their advantage. but just because i understand them does not mean i will allow myself to do such things.”

he gives you a confused look. “are you… royal?” he asks incredulously. 

you nod, rolling your eyes, “come on, you can hitch a ride with me, i’m headed past your country anyways.” 

he sputters for a minute, as you start walking away. you turn to see he’s still frozen, not following you. 

“you want a ride or not? plane leaves soon, your highness,” you throw the name at him, smiling as he races to catch up. 

youngjae - office!au

doesn’t mind working in an office because he knows work isn’t his whole life. isn’t super friendly with everyone in the office but he does have a few good friends. they occasionally go out to lunch, coming back to the office a bit later than they should on a lunch break. 

he seems like SUCH a jim halpert to me. joking around but is also one of the only relatively sane ones in the office. that means you are pam, sorry i don’t make the rules. 

so he goes out for these too-long lunches right? well from your spot at the secretary’s desk you clearly started to notice this. seeing as the boss was trying so hard to be youngjae’s friend, the issue was getting swept under the rug. you took it upon yourself one day to call out the lunch delinquent.

on his way back in with the boys, youngjae was laughing at a joke one of the others had made, when you asked to see him at the front desk. he looked at you with a grin still set upon his face.

“what’s up?” he asks casually, leaning a forearm on the top of the desk.

“what’s up is that you are your buddies are out on lunch for over an hour, multiple times a week.” you accuse.

“aw, are you feeling left out?” he teases. 

“no! i’m just annoyed that while you are out enjoying yourselves on company while i’m stuck here waiting until you idiots get back so i can take my own lunch.” you say.

“how about if i took you out for lunch one day next week? would that make up for my misbehavior? i promise we will be out for only an hour.” he grins, “i can’t let you get in trouble.”

he has such a shit-eating grin on his face, but its pretty on par with his generally aloof personality. you find yourself rolling your eyes at him before accepting.

“only if you’re paying.”

his smile doesn’t leave his face as he walks back to his desk.

bambam - frat boy!au

alcohol is water to this boy. yes, he’s a good student during the weekdays, but if it’s the weekend, bam is either drunk, hungover or thinking about getting drunk again. it’s just the college life, and you understand that very well.

which is why it doesn’t really surprise you when it’s the third weekend in a row having bam’s tongue down your throat. you only really party on fridays, so that you can recover saturday and then do homework on sunday. it’s not your fault you keep appearing at bam’s frat house. it’s got the best booze on campus.

you can’t really remember why you started making out with bambam that first time, but by the third time you definitely see the pattern. you both are pretty drunk, you wonder if he even knows he’s making out with his chem lab partner every weekend. 

this time is different though. he’s not being super rough, more just slow and sensual. you aren’t as drunk as last time, and you take notice when he pauses to let out a sad sigh.

you step a bit away, giving him space, squeezing his hands, “are you okay?”

he looks at you with dazed eyes, letting out another sigh, “no, i’m making out with you when i’d much rather be making out with my lab partner who doesn’t seem to know i exist.”

confusion settles over you for a minute, before you start giggling, “bam, how drunk are you?”

“enough to forget my pain,” he replies.

you let out a laugh before grasping his forearm, “come on, loser, you need to sober up and sleep.” you tell him, leading him up the stairs of the frat house, “you need to learn to handle your alcohol better.”

when you ask him which room is his, he gets all pouty and defensive, arguing that he doesn’t want to sleep with you. his arguments are slurred and lazy, as he leans into you for support.

“bam, i don’t want to sleep with you, i want you to sober up, come on!” 

you find his room based on the polaroid pictures of his cats you see near his door frame, and push him onto the bed. he lets out a yawn while you grab a glass of water from the bathroom. 

“drink this before you fall--” you start, before noticing he’s fast asleep already. you roll your eyes, setting the glass of water on his bedside table.

finding a notebook on his desk, you tear out a piece of paper to write a note:

hey dumbass,  you confessed you had the hots for your lab partner while you were making out with me, so like the good person i am, i tried to sober you up but you fell asleep. good job.  see you in class,  your lab partner

beneath the note, you scribbled down your number before placing it under the glass of water. he’d find it eventually.

yugyeom - dancer!au

an amazing dancer. like so good. he likes to brag about it loudly before school dances, in hopes that he will get a date.

he does not. 

not because his classmates don’t want him, but because they are all scared to dance next to him. he’s too good, that would be so embarrassing.

it was a miracle you even went to the dance tbh. winter formal wasn’t exactly on your list of things you must do before senior year is over, but alas, your friend wanted to come, and they had dragged you along for the ride.

so there you stand alone since your friend ditched you for some other people. you don’t mind really; you’re a clumsy person and dancing isn’t really your thing. you are content to just watch as everyone around you has the time of their lives.

you catch sight of yugyeom, a fellow senior, tearing up the dance floor. no one really compares to his insane talent. it’s quite interesting to watch him, and before you know it the song has ended and he’s caught you staring. oops.

he makes his way over to you. you aren’t necessarily friends with yugyeom. but you know of each other due to classes. 

“why did you come to the dance if you are just going to stand there all night?” he questions.

“i came for my friend,” you tell him, glancing over at her dancing with some underclassmen boys.

he nods in understanding, “well, you should at least dance for one song!” 

he goes to grab your hand but you quickly pull away, “i can’t.”

“you can’t?”

you shake your head, “i’m really clumsy.”

just as you say that, a slower song comes on, and yugyeom grabs for your hand again, leading you out to the dance floor, “come on, it’s just one song. and this one is slow, you just have to stand there and sway.”

he moves your arms to wrap around his neck, before he places his own hands gently on your waist. you both move around a little, swaying and turning, following yugyeom’s lead.

“this isn’t so bad, is it?” he asks, his voice low. 

“it’s not terrible,” you reply.

it’s actually quite nice, except for your heartbeat that’s about to burst out of your chest. 

the song comes to a close and you step away from him. 

“well, maybe we can do this again sometime. you know, like at prom.” he mentions, trying to read your face,

“it’s not even christmas yet, and you’re already thinking of prom?” 

he smiles, squeezing your hand before letting go, “never hurts to be on top of things, princess.” 

you smile as he drifts back into the crowd.

[sandersideshungergamesau]

Roman Royal: District 7, Goodbyes

It was almost an hour later when Roman finally finished saying goodbye to all of his friends and family. By the time they got to the train, it was getting ready to leave without them. The district 7 escort pushed him and chem fire girl onto the train. She mumbled something about tributes these days before going to get some wine. The two tributes sat down at one of the many tables that littered the fancy train car. Roman was about to go off about the capital and the games and how he hadn’t even signed up for and tesserae when their mentor came in. He introduced himself as Blight and shook the tribute’s hands. 

“You must be Roman, great to meet you. And you must be Dehlia pleasure to meet you as well” he said turning to chem fir- Delilah . Blight seemed nicer than most, seemingly trying to distract them from their emanate death. They talked for a bit. Well, it was mostly just roman talking about how if the tournament messed him up in any way, he was gonna sue. Delilah looked at Roman like he was crazy. Blight laughed nervously “I’m not sure if that’s the most important thing but it good to have goals when you’re in the arena.”  

The two of them talked about weapons for a bit, Roman bragging about his ax back home. 

“You know if your good with axes you might wanna try swords.” Delilah chimed in. “From what I’ve seen there pretty similar and swords are more common in the arena than um axes are,” she said looking between the two. 

“You sure know a lot about swords, do you have one” Roman asked her.

“Oh no, I’m more into like poison and chemicals. I just uh think swords are cool I guess” She responded softly.

Roman let out a laugh “You would think someone so into chemicals would know how not to set a chemistry lab on fire” Delilah sunk into the neck of her sweater, her face flushed with embarrassment. 

Blight seemed to notice the tension in the air, standing up. “Alright why don’t we get some rest, big day at the capital tomorrow!” he said with a smile. 

“Your right, I do need my beauty sleep. Goodnight to you all” Roman bowed exiting the room hearing Blight and Delilah starting up another conversation. He laid down in the bed letting sleep consume him before his thoughts had the chance to.

[apprenticenerd]

"Anyone can send me an ask with one of the titles and I’ll post a snippet or talk about that WIP!" The Acropolis, Tacet, Checklist, A Tiny Galaxy, Hearsay, Going Back, Ella Disenchanted, Making Peace, The Slashed Circle, Wake Up, Tenno, Midnight, Heliotropism, Arrhythmia, the one about Among Us, the one about Library of Ruina, the one that’s a D&D world concept. Yes, all of them. I know you wanna talk about all of them. So go, go forth and do it!

Hoooo boy, this is gonna be a long post. Lots and lots of writing snippets under the cut to avoid dash stretch!

The Acropolis - original - length uncertain - 1.4k and counting

im not ready for this im not i thought it would be yrs i thought id at least get an english degree first

omg sal whats goin on

fuckin hell whyd it have to be now i have a chem lab tomorrow

sally-tate macpherson. u never swear. ever. wtf is goin on.

ok. jess. i need u to listen really really carefully. understand?

answer the goddamn question ur scarin me

shut up and listen and this will go a lot better

fine but u need to tell me wtf is happnenig

ok. im going to tell you a bunch of stuff. not giving u advice, thats not allowed, but im gonna tell u stuff it seems like itd be impossible for me to know.

?????????????

i said shut up this is really important dont question how i know it. just go with it and figure out what to do. and dont die. bc no matter how crazy stuff seems, if u die, ur dead. here and everywhere. ok?

This is an original story coming straight from a @/writing-prompt-s prompt about a crack in a kid’s hardwood floor that they fantasized was a portal actually being one. I originally intended to write the entire thing like this, as a conversation over text, but that may not be feasible given a certain world-building detail at the other end of the portal (and the limits of my creativity lmao).

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Tacet - The Blackout Club - one-shot - 3.2k and counting

She closed her eyes again, and there it was. Hallucination? Some new science trick with electromagnetic radiation off the visible spectrum? Evidence that she was actually going insane? Whatever it was, it burned behind her eyelids in bright, incontrovertible red - and was completely invisible when she opened her eyes again. There was just the usual mess of club posters and one big one about someone’s exceedingly dumb-looking lost cat.

Eyes open, there was only Sargent Snuggles. Eyes closed, there was the normal darkness and then three lines of text where the poster had been, wavering like scarlet fire:

JOIN TBC JOIN TBC JOIN TBC

TBC? What the fuck was that? She’d never heard of any group with that acronym before. Hardly aware of the flurry of weird looks from half the other people in the hallway, she crossed the hall to examine the lost cat poster more closely. It felt like perfectly normal paper when she touched it, and there wasn’t even a hint of red with her eyes open, unless you counted the cat’s tacky pink sweater. How the hell was this even possible?

“You’re finally cracking, Bri,” she groaned under her breath, then headed for her locker. She did have to get home. Add another big fat entry to the weird shit list.

A backstory one-shot for my Blackout Club OC Briar, telling the story of how she got into the club in the first place. I’ve been stuck in the same spot for a while now, after Briar’s friend Dani explains the club to her, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the scene’s over as is. Of course, writing the next one is the tough part.

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Checklist - The Blackout Club - one-shot - 1.7k and counting

8. You still have a headache. Shouldn’t you go back to sleep and try to do this in the morning?

9. (wake up)

10. Nah, you’ve always been a night owl, and school starts criminally early, too early to get much done beforehand. It’s quiet, except for Dad snoring. Your parents are asleep already. You can stay up until this is done, and they’ll be none the wiser.

11. Your head hurts worse. It’s getting harder to think. At only 9 pm? 9:30? Whatever. You should sleep.

12. (wake UP)

13. What are you thinking? You have to read at least a little of this chapter, or there’s no way you’ll be able to bullshit your way through class tomorrow. Besides, all of a sudden, the silence feels...strange. Heavier? You can’t describe it.

14. You need to sleep. You need a drink of water or something. You need to finish this damn homework. You need to sleep. You need to sleep.

15. Stare at The Great Gatsby. It doesn’t make sense. Nothing makes sense.

16. Realize what’s up with the silence. Dad’s not snoring anymore. You aren’t feeling like yourself. You need to sleep.

17. Something’s weird.

18. (WAKE UP) 

19. ...No. Something’s wrong.

Another Blackout Club story and another Interface Screw, as it were, this time in the form of a (very long) checklist. None of the characters have names (yet). It describes another way a kid could find themself running around at night with the Blackout Club, this time by fighting off the Song just enough to run into a club member who could wake them up the rest of the way. As with Tacet, I still need to write the suspenseful part.

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A Tiny Galaxy - Warframe - 4 chapters planned, 1 complete, 1 in progress - 7.8k and counting

Try it if you don’t believe me, the kid in the vent had said.

It was impossible. It was physically impossible. All of this was impossible. Had the Void...? Could the Void...?

The ship was at a standstill. Her mother had tried to kill her, and something had happened. She’d made something happen. There had been no holoprojector in that kid’s hand. Nothing was impossible anymore.

Jhia took a deep breath. How the heck was she supposed to do this? Was she supposed to feel something, some internal guide? Blue Hair hadn’t said. Feeling incredibly stupid, she did a quick mental checkup on herself. Nothing felt wrong, or different - but now that she thought about it…

Afterward, she would try many times to explain it, and fail every time. The best she could come up with was that once she found the Void, calling on it was as easy and as natural as breathing. She opened her hands in front of her, concentrated on that force like an extension of herself, reopened her eyes, and there it was: a riotous little ball of energy, wisps and motes of light and not-quite-light like a tiny galaxy, the Tau system in the palm of her hand, raging.

More OC backstory time! This one’s for my Tenno, a nerdy fourteen-year-old (at the time of this story, anyway) by the name of Jhia, going through the hell that is the Zariman Ten-Zero and what happened on it. This is possibly the first part of the story I actually wrote: the roll-credits moment when Jhia realizes the Void’s changed her more already than she thought.

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Hearsay - Lobotomy Corporation/Library of Ruina - one-shot - 1k and counting

"Oh? Did they investigate further?"

"They tried. Found a few fingerprints, but they didn't match anyone in the database."

"What's the update, then?"

"Reports from elsewhere in the district of someone not in uniform carrying a Zwei sword. They're slippery, good at avoiding us, which would suggest Syndicate operative to me and HQ. Except that in every one of the descriptions we managed to get, our sword thief is a child."

"What? How?!"

"You tell me, Iona. You're the one who went to the crime scene."

"Right... Jeez, if it's a kid, I guess that'd explain why Petrov thought they weren't a threat..."

"My thoughts exactly. HQ has a fair amount of hearsay to go on, but nobody can quite agree on how old the child is, or whether or not she's with a Syndicate. Most agree that she appears to be a girl, tall for a child, auburn hair, clothes and demeanor typical of a Backstreets native."

"We got a name?"

"They've heard Yeri, Kali, Redbird, Suma, Aelfin... No one knows which is her real one, or if it's even any of them at all."

"Damn. ...Say, are you going to drink that entire pot of coffee?"

"Help yourself."

This is one of those stories that turned into an accidental AU when more of canon came out. The idea behind it is that it’s Kali’s backstory told entirely in conversations in which she did not participate, showcasing the fact that a Fixer’s fame is their livelihood and Kali was about as famous as they come, before the whole L Corp thing happened. Of course, the vast majority of the headcanons here got invalidated with a certain Ruina update, so my motivation’s kinda down on this one.

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Going Back has already been talked about here!

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Ella Disenchanted - The Blackout Club - one-shot (maybe two-shot??) - 1.4k and counting

She woke. Her stomach went through a series of panicked flip-flops as she thought something strange had done it, Dad or a little-kid-nightmares shadow beast had made noise, but no - why had she fallen asleep in the first place? Her butt and shoulder were sore where they’d been leaning on the bottom and side of the windowsill, presumably all night, since the sun was full up over the trees on Old Growth Hill. 

All night. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t fall asleep, but she did anyway. God dammit.

As she unfolded herself from her cramped ball, though, she froze. Under the comforter she’d pulled around her shoulders for warmth, she was wearing her gray jacket, a T-shirt, jeans, sneakers getting dried mud all over the carpet. 

Last she remembered, she’d been in her pajamas.

In which a Blackout Club kid’s little sister wonders where he’s gone when he runs away to the boxcar, and tries to get to the bottom of the mystery herself. Usually she’d be too young for the club to recruit, but her investigations and an incident involving SAO are more than enough extenuating circumstance. Unlike most of my other WIPs, there’s a whole outline at the end of my doc for this one.

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Making Peace - Warframe - multi-chapter - 1.5k and counting

“I…” Iksoh finally said. “Sorna, I hope you realize. I’m not into this. I never - I’m not doing this. Whatever you’re doing, I can’t.”

“I know,” Sorna said softly. The decision tore at her heart again and she almost backed out of the vent, but no. She had to go. She wouldn’t see another innocent crumple in her rifle sights. “I hope you realize. I’m not coming back.”

Behind her, Iksoh let out a long, shaky breath. “It’s taking all I’ve got not to report you right now. Sorna… the Queens’ll have my head for this. Please, please, let it be worth it. Go. Don’t let them take yours.”

“I won’t,” Sorna promised, and meant it.

Later, after her last fight for her freedom was done, on the Steel Meridian ship headed for Kronia Relay, Sorna looked out at the planet retreating behind her and thought of Iksoh. She’d just learned a new word from a Meridian soldier: vaykor tal, the defector’s spirit. Iksoh had let her go, at risk of their own life. They’d had a bit of the vaykor tal themself, even if they hadn’t known it, even if they’d thought it was just some weakness that was bound to get them killed.

“Ranre treri, duf krun,” she whispered into space, a Grineer well-wishing passed down from sergeant to tube-fresh lancer since time immemorial. May your hands be steady, and may life be kind.

This is an AU born of me and some friends wondering why in the heck Perrin and the Meridian hate each other so much in game. It’s about a group of Kavor - Grineer defectors distinguished from other Meridian members by their pacifism - who get to a Relay and start wondering the same thing. Besides Sorna (and, later in the story, Iksoh as well), there would have been Chakh, Beket, and Sydon, plus at least four of the syndicate leaders and a bunch of side-character OCs, all caught up somehow in what turns out to be a surprisingly far-reaching web of intrigue.

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The Slashed Circle - Warframe - one-shot, probably - 429 and counting

In addition to their written and spoken language, the Grineer have a full language of hand signs. It has its quirks, as all languages do - be careful of confusing it with the Corpus sign language, in which the sign for “to pay” roughly approximates the Grineer sign for...a certain portion of the male anatomy. Among these is the common Grineer sentiment against those who defect from their ranks, baked into the sign just as much as their spoken words. 

The sign of the slashed circle, the sedashkur - a finger drawn in a circle on the chest, followed by a diagonal line - is the highest of taboos to any loyal Grineer. It shows support for such scum as the Kavor and Steel Meridian, enough so that it forms the basis for the Meridian’s battle standard. To sign the sedashkur is to betray your siblings, commit a grave insult to your superiors, paint a near-indelible target on your back. It is an object of hatred and fear throughout the ranks.

She fears it, yes, but she does not hate it, for all her life and into her death as well. It shouldn’t trouble her now, though. It is easy to hide a language, and she burned her journals before she was called to the fortress.

This is a fic about Jhia and her one (1) converted Kuva Lich, namely about the process of said Lich’s defeat and defection, that kinda never got off the ground. Contrary to this snippet, I think most of it would have been written in what are essentially space emails back and forth between Lich and Tenno? I definitely got as far as Jhia sending an audio recording of a bass-boosted dog fart, anyhow.

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Wake Up, Tenno - Warframe - one-shot - 950 and counting

“Wake up, Tenno.”

She wakes. She is - she is Tenno, right? She is a Tenno? Her mind is confused, so full of fog and dead ends - how long was she asleep?

The voice that woke her seems familiar. She might have loved the speaker, in her scrambled past life, the woman in the purple helmet, the one called Lotus in her HUD vision. Her surroundings are a ruin of some sort. Her body is—

...what?

She can move just fine. Her fingers and arms and legs respond with suspicious ease, given how long she must have slept to be this scattered upon waking up, and yet there’s some fundamental disconnect. This is her Warframe, her body, but it’s not her body somehow.

...wait, where did the term “Warframe” come from?

A Tenno, unnamed but intended to be Jhia on my end, wakes up on Earth at the very beginning of the in-game storyline. Since the tutorial has gotten an overhaul in recent months, I may have to modify even what little I have on this a lot.

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Midnight - Iconoclasts - poem - 280 and counting

been anything smaller than been anything

never been anything smaller than

“good morning, how’s miss grump doing today? i heard about that last mission...if you didn’t sleep well i can call you in sick, it’s alright-” “oh, shut up, grey”

there has never been anything

“oh, shut up, grey” “love you too”

smaller

“love you too”

than

me

A very fragmented, stream-of-consciousness-y poem meant to represent Agent Black’s failing sanity near the end of the game. The words of her famous one-liner (“there has never been anything smaller than me”) are interspersed, out of order until the end, with poetic descriptions of other characters and bits and pieces of a flashback involving Agent Grey.

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Heliotropism - Iconoclasts - one-shot - 1.1k and counting

Lily, though she’s superstitious, will have none of these self-important truths, none of these semblances of certainty when really all it is is wishing on Ivory and hoping for the best. She calls for Miss Andress instead. 

A stout but severe woman with ten grandchildren and a great-grandchild on the way, Miss Andress is perhaps the quintessential matriarch: nurturing, selfless, brutally honest. She is the one the people of 17 trust when they feel they can trust no one else. Lily needs the kind of reassurance only she can give, with the authority of ninety-one years and the wisdom of two sons, one daughter, and some five dogs raised under her care.

When Miss Andress visits House 4, she asks Polro and Lily to each bring an object they cherish the most. For Polro it’s his largest wrench, pitted with use but still polished to a brassy shine; Lily surprises everyone by pulling out a tiny, unloaded stun-gun, and surprises them more by not explaining it at all. Miss Andress doesn’t question it. She just turns the two tools over and over in her hands, head bowed, squinting at them as if trying to read the secrets of the universe in the scratches carved into them by time.

Finally she straightens up and sighs, pushing a strand of silver hair behind her ear. Her forehead is slick with sweat, though the night is cool outside. ���I don’t know what she’ll do,” the wise woman says, heavily, as if delivering bad news. “I just know she’ll change the world.”

Can you tell I like backstory fic? This one is for Robin, with one short anecdote for each year of her life, up to age 17 and the events of the game. It’s also an excuse to world-build a bunch, lol.

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Arrhythmia - Crypt of the NecroDancer - one-shot(?) - 4k and counting

The creature didn’t say anything, just beckoned to the shadows. Before I could move, two other creatures came for me, sending the other humans - former humans? - scrambling away in panic. One landed a hard blow on the back of my head that sent me to my hands and knees, seeing sparks; the other said “Freeze!” and I could only watch as ice sprouted from the leaf litter, cementing me to the ground.

The one who’d hit me produced a dagger from the inside of its cloak. I tried to pull myself up, to do anything at all to keep myself from getting shanked, but it was no good. There must have been a secondary effect on that spell; my limbs wouldn’t respond. I felt the dagger tear cloth in the region of my back, and prepared for the pain.

It didn’t come. The creature cut a slit in the back of my tunic, then another. Neither one touched the skin at all. I can’t really describe what happened next - my brain was having trouble computing how my arms were in front of me, visible, unable to move, but it felt like the creature was pulling them through the gashes in my tunic, but that was wrong, they didn’t feel like arms at all.

“Holy fuck,” I heard someone say.

The ice holding me down melted into nothing as the spell wore off. I jumped back up, head spinning a little, ready for another fight, only to spot two flicks of scarlet in my peripheral vision. I spun around, but they moved with me.

I think I already knew what they were. I just couldn’t admit it to myself.

You’ve already seen this one, Nick, though I’m pretty sure it was well over two years ago. It’s a pile of old headcanons, some of them now outdated I’m pretty sure, about how Nocturna ended up a vampire in the first place and a little bit about how vampire society works. According to Google Docs, I’ve been stuck on this one since March 2018. Whoops.

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untitled (working title “adult citra meets an impostor bc what is self-control”) - Among Us - one-shot - 572 and counting

“I know. You’re stuck, aren’t you?” Having well and truly gotten their full attention, Citra continues, “God, I can barely imagine. Having to take a weird-ass host whose biology might even be toxic to you, I don’t know. Needing to get to a whole other galaxy, feeling like the only way to do that is by deception and death.” “How…?”

She sighs. “I told you, this isn’t my first rodeo. One of your kind saved my life when I was a kid. Since he’d killed Mom and Dad had been out of the picture long before, he stayed here and helped raise me afterward. It’s how I learned to pronounce...a few of your words, at least.”

“You missed the ‘H’ sound.”

“Isn’t that the one that’s literally impossible to do right with Terran anatomy?”

“Maybe. You think I know Terran anatomy all that well?”

Citra chuckles. “Fair point. You let us find your buddy and fix the ship, I’ll raise Xai when we get comms back and he can try and help you get home. Deal?”

I found an Among Us comic on Tumblr, absolutely ran into left field with it to make a couple of OCs, and then made AUs of those OCs because of course I did. This one is from a future scenario in which Citra (typically orange) meets someone rather familiar on a mission with the crew of the Skeld.

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untitled (working title “library of ruina but they adopt half the guests”) - Library of Ruina - length uncertain - 1k and counting

“And what happened to not caring about others because it’s a waste of time and heartache?”

Now it’s Roland’s turn to sigh. “I don’t care about him. I just don’t want the guilt of killing - look at him, he can’t be older than eighteen or nineteen!”

Raised eyebrow. “Finn will be twenty years old in fifteen days’ time. He is a legal adult. I fail to see why this should matter to either of us.”

“He’s fresh off his first Fixer license! I have years of experience! He had no idea what he was getting into when he signed that invitation and you know it!”

Angela fixes him with a glare that turns his stomach, his freshly remade body reacting to the memory of its sudden, and extremely painful, dismemberment. “I could quite literally hold your soul in my hands if I wanted,” she reminds him in an undertone of steel. “I must do the same for him, following the invitation’s guidance, or my entire plan will be lost, my coworkers’ sacrifices all for naught. Do not disappoint me or ask any more impertinent questions. You know what to do, and what will happen if you do not.” 

Look, some of the people you fight in this game deserved so much better, okay? I came up with an AU concept where if a guest willingly concedes the fight and agrees to stick around, you can get their book without killing them. Finn doesn’t die; neither do Tomerry or Shi Association; all the former employees realize exactly what’s going on with Philip after the Wedge Office fight and manage to calm him down, avoiding the whole Crying Children situation. (And then Gebura makes him collect his jaw off the floor by revealing herself as the Red Mist.)

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The one that’s a D&D world concept doesn’t have anything concrete written for it yet. (Don’t read this bit if you might want to play in my campaign at some point!) Instead of your typical Forgotten Realms planar setup, the world at large would be called the Seven Spheres, each of them different in terms of climate, geography, native species and magic, etc. The First Sphere would be the most “generic” one (to our way of thinking) and the main setting of the campaign; it would also be the smallest of the Seven, its primary continent home to a former empire of dragons that spanned most of the Sphere until its mysterious fall a thousand years ago.

Now, since the empire fell, the dragons and their children have slowly been dying out. Best estimates are that there’s only a thousand or two left in the entire First Sphere, with fewer eggs hatched every decade. The player characters enter a world with pretty typical low-level quests to start with, but every so often, especially if they engage with optional story stuff (this would be a more roleplay-focused than combat-focused campaign), they get wind of changes in the air - a failed harvest here, an unusually hot and stormy summer there, a trade war once they start hitting mid-levels.

It mimics real-world climate change in all but cause. As coastal cities struggle to contend with rising seas and, more alarmingly, wizards all over the Sphere start to notice their magic falter and wane, the PCs’ goal becomes getting to the bottom of this. And what’s at the bottom is...your typical Nerd fusion of science with fantasy settings.

The Seven Spheres are not planes of existence in the normal D&D sense, but seven planets in the same solar system, each with its own ancient god far more powerful than any god in any mortal pantheon; the First Sphere is so named because it’s closest to the sun. These planetary gods are incredibly large and incredibly alien, thinking in geologic time and concepts far too broad and slow for most sapient beings to comprehend. A thousand years ago, the fall of the dragon empire was caused by an ill-advised ritual meddling with the god of the First Sphere’s natural process of rebirth, causing said god to die without a replacement.

It’s taken this long for the First Sphere to feel the effects because, again, geologic time - a thousand years is a blink of an eye in this kind of time scale. But now the ancient earth-magic that had kept the Sphere’s climate temperate and its magicians in business is failing. The dragons, as beings of magic intrinsically, have been failing all along. And now it’s up to the PCs, up at level 17-20 if not higher by that point, to figure out how to fix the situation and find a new planetary god for the First Sphere before the whole Sphere burns to death.

[englishobservations]

02.20.20// 17 of 100 Days of Productivity

This week has been a little stressful. Still waiting on confirmation for training days. I have payments coming up that I need to make and cannot afford. I accidentally missed the deadline for housing stuff so I might not have housing next year. It’s great.

On the bright side, I did manage to pull off getting an 85 on the chem exam and I don’t know how but I am so happy that something finally clicked for me in that class. I did forget to eat all day yesterday though, I had a monster in the morning before the exam and idk what happened but Tuesday night I had dinner at 3ish and yesterday I didn’t have my first meal until around 3ish so I went a whole 24 hours without food and I didn’t realize until after classes when I was picking up an old score report for bio and I got really dizzy/faint. It wasn’t fun. And because of that I had 2 meals after, spaced them out by a bit, but got really sick with the second one. So today I kinda still feel awful.

Today, I had a review for the exam for Evolution of Healthcare (she had to postpone the exam until next Tuesday because she was out with the flu this past Tuesday and the exam was supposed to be today). Then I went to the APhA meeting which was good. In bio lab we did an ELISA test and Blood Typing with synthetic blood. I really wanna figure out my own blood type, though. And, now I’m working on Calculus for the quiz tomorrow. I’m exhausted. I might just sleep and wing the quiz. It’s been rough.

How do you deal with stress?