#where i want them and slap some sort of style over the top of the structural code

[fingertipsmp3]

I so badly do not want to do my homework omg. But who else is going to do it? Nobody

[shadowbends]

STUFFED CRUST!! ROTTMNT FANFIC RECS (BETWEEN 5,000 AND 15,000 WORDS)

Hello again, cultured turtle fans! Do you enjoy good fanfic? Hopefully so, because I’m back with more recs! Whether you’re new to the fandom and diving into the ROTTMNT fic scene for the first time, or a veteran looking for content you might have missed, my hope for this project is to point you to something you’ll enjoy!

This rec list is the second of three and focuses on short stories in the fandom, with a length between 5,000 and 15,000 words each. Much like a stuffed crust pizza, they’re the perfect option when you’re feeling for something indulgent, but don’t want to go all out. If you want to browse a little more though, feel free to check out the other lists below!

NEW YORK STYLE, BABY!! ROTTMNT FANFIC RECS (UNDER 5,000 WORDS)

STUFFED CRUST!! ROTTMNT FANFIC RECS (BETWEEN 5,000 AND 15,000 WORDS) — You’re here!

DEEP DISH!! ROTTMNT FANFIC RECS (OVER 15,000 WORDS)

If you enjoy any of these fics, make sure to reblog and spread the love! Don’t forget to check out the other works by these authors; many of them have written multiple wonderful stories not featured here that are just as good. Additionally, consider leaving the authors a comment! I’m not always the best at that myself, but fic writers work hard and deserve all the love in the world.

Now, let’s get to the recs. Bon appétit!

➤ ➤ ➤ PRE-SERIES

The Corner Store by KicsterAsh

12,790 words, 5/5 chapters

Character Focus: Raphael & his brothers, w/ Splinter coming in later

Genre: Fluff, Adventure

“I know what I’m spending my three dollars on,” Raph said. He and Donnie dragged Leo to the machine, which was near the front desk of the store, and sat him down against the wall. “Make sure he doesn’t fall asleep,” Raph said to his other siblings, before rushing to the front desk.

The man, who had been watching them since they dragged Leo into view, looked at the turtle as he ran over. Raph tried ignoring that he noticed this and only looked back once he had reached the counter, where his chin just reached over the top.

“Hello, Mister,” Raph said as politely as he could in his urgency. “How much is a small cup of hot chocolate?”

The man pushed up his glasses and looked at the machine. “It’s two dollars and seventy-five cents after tax,” he said.

“I dunno what tax is, but here.” Raph slapped three dollars down on the counter and then pointed at the machine. “Can you show me how to pour one, please? I’ve never done it before.”

I have such a soft spot for this fic; it was one of the first I ever read for the fandom, and it has the perfect blend of adorable turtle tot hijinks with just enough risk involved to make you concerned and keep the story gripping. To summarize the premise: Splinter lets the boys play topside in the snow while he scavenges for food and supplies, but is gone longer than anticipated. As the hours pass and the temperature drops, a young Raphael decides to break the rules and seek out human shelter to keep his brothers from freezing. All of the turtles’ budding personalities shine through in this story, but good older brother Raph is especially a treat here.

Lost and Found (Family) by ashtreelane

7,007 words, 2/2 chapters

Character Focus: April & Michelangelo, April & The Family

Genre: Fluff, Adventure

"Wow!" April says, her eyes wide with fascination. "Are you some sort of…turtle alien?"

"Yeah! Well- not the alien part, but I am a turtle!“

"So how can you talk?" April asks, leaning in to peek into Mikey's head hole. Her voice echoes slightly in the shell.

"Cause I'm not allllll turtle, duh!" Mikey says, smiling. "Our dad doesn't really like to talk about it, but he says that we’re the product of parental love and ‘unholy sorcery’!

"Oh wow! That’s way more interesting than how I got born!"

After being left behind on a field trip and struggling to find a way home, a young April finds someone just as lost as herself. A charming little story that tells how April met the turtles for the first time.

responsibility by TheWhitesOfYourEyes

11,733 words, 4/5 chapters (last updated 11/07/21)

Character Focus: Splinter & his kids

Genre: Character Study, Family Drama

Hamato Yoshi never wanted kids.

In fact, he found the very idea sickening. The thought of having to care for another life shook him to the core, reminded him of responsibility and clans and forgotten family. Whenever his longest lasting girlfriend (before she turned out to be a giant spider) would tuck a strand of white hair behind her ear and mention the idea of children, sheepishly, a sly grin on her face, he would sputter and make an excuse, change topics, find a way to get out of the situation. Once, drunk, he’d even puked.

The Hamato clan would end with him, he’d decided as a child as he watched his mother disappear into a haze.

And yet life, as always, throws the most vicious of curveballs as he retreats from the crumbling lab with four bundles in his arms and hair sprouting from his legs.

So we can all agree Splinter’s been through some <i>shit</i>, right? Well, this fic decides to unpack all of that, from the loss of his mother, his many one-night-stands and the betrayal of Big Mama, being type-cast as an actor, to his painful mutation and more. The early challenges of fatherhood are where this fic truly shines, though. While it may be incomplete, these four chapters stand well on their own and make for a compelling read.

warmly in the dark by bobtheacorn

8,923 words, 4/? chapters (last updated 10/23/2022)

Character Focus: Donatello & Leonardo, Ensemble

Genre: Fluff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort

"You want the lights off, too? Donnie?”

He realizes Donnie probably can't hear him around the headphones and reaches in to lift one of them, repeating the question.

Donnie hums.

"Want some mood music?”

Donnie hums a negative.

"Okay okay, last question, I promise. I'm gonna get my Jupiter Jim comics - want me to read them outloud? I'll do the cool voices!"

Another negative.

"Boooo," Leo says.

Just some vignettes about Leo and Donnie growing up together over the years and looking out for each other. Chapter 3 is set when they’re teenagers, but everything else has been set during their younger years, hence its placement in this category. Each chapter can stand well on its own, and there’s a nice mix of humor and feelings all around.

➤ ➤ ➤ NEBULOUS TIME

Feel the Colors in Between by GalacticDreamer

9,520 words, 1/1 chapters

Character Focus: Leonardo & ???, Ensemble

Genre: Suspense, Whump

They’re asking what he is talking about. But what kind of question is that? They’re playing hide and seek, wasn’t that obvious? And Lemon-Lime was being too loud, which could get them found by the person who’s ‘It’, which was the pure opposite of the point of hide and seek.

He tells them such. He tries to explain it all to them to the point that he is running out of breath. But they’re still not getting it. He knows they’re not getting it. But how could Lemon-Lime not, when they were hiding with him in the first place? Instead, they’re asking something else that should be known:

Who is ‘It’?

The world becomes brighter, free of its shadows. The wall in front of them is no longer where it used to be. In its place stands a large, snake-like figure towering over them, blindingly white save for the drifting, purplish, prisms that make up their clothes. Hundreds upon thousands of diamond prisms are embedded into their skin, shifting and melding together before reforming their individual shapes in a never ending cycle as waves of rainbow pulse across their entire body.

They’re familiar. He knows them. They’re ‘It’, he’s certain of it, just as much as he’s certain that the feeling inside of him is disappointment as he tells Lemon-Lime they just lost the game.

Leo plays a deadly game of hide and seek while on an acid trip from hell. Not that he’s aware of that—he’s having a pretty good time. And if he can’t remember who or where he is, much less what he’s lost? It’ll be fine, probably. Don’t worry about it. :)

Freezerburn by ashtreelane

8,225 words, 2/2 chapters

Character Focus: Michelangelo & Family

Genre: Angst, Medical Drama, Hurt/Comfort

Leo kneels down, grabbing his brother's wrist, pressing his fingers into the soft skin.

It's still. The room is quiet as he searches.

He can't feel it.

He can't feel his pulse. His heart isn't beating. His baby brother's heart isn't beating.

He hears his breath hitch, he knows his expression must be terrifying.

"Leo." Raph says, his voice pitching up in panic. "Leo, please, please."

Leo doesn't know what he's begging for. Maybe just for Leo not to say it.

Things I didn’t know until I read this fic: box turtles can be frozen alive but still survive, even if their heart stops. Too bad Mikey’s brothers don’t know that! This fic is mean, but an absolute delight if you enjoy your angst with a hope spot.

the kids aren’t alright by Werepirechick

8,710 words, 2/2 chapters

Character Focus: Michelangelo & April, Draxum & The Turtles

Genre: AU, Angst, Hurt/Comfort

“How badly did you want her to escape?” Donnie asks in a quiet mumble, eyes fixed elsewhere. “Badly enough for this? To risk-?”

“Yes,” Mikey says without hesitation.

That makes Donnie stutter, mouth twisting in a scowl. He recovers, hissing, “It’s inevitable, Mikey. Draxum is going to beat humanity, and we’re going to help him, this setback is just that. A setback. We’ll get the carriers back, or- or make more, and it will happen. You’ve just prolonged it all, this didn’t change anything.”

“It changed things for her!” Mikey snaps without meaning to. Donnie glares, but he doesn’t cower. “…It changed things for her,” he repeats, calmer.

An AU where Draxum raised the turtles, after capturing them five years after the lab accident. How loyal they are to him varies, however, which comes to a head when a certain human wanders into their base looking for her new pet... All around, this is a great read—I only wish it were a little longer.

Of Soft Shells and Little Brothers by ihaveathingforpink

6,717 words, 1/1 chapter

Character Focus: Donatello & Leonardo, w/ Mayhem

Genre: Action, Hurt/Comfort

“Leo,” Don pushed, voice a rare gentle tone.

Leo glanced at him but said nothing. He seemed almost determined to remain stubbornly silent, and a dark thought crossed Donnie’s mind.

“Leo, why’d you offer to stay back with me?”

Leo shrugged and replied, “Because whatever you were finishing sounded important to you, and Pops wouldn’t have let you stay behind by yourself, and Raph and Mikey have been looking forward to this for weeks. So I volunteered. Why’d you ask?”

When Mayhem goes missing one Thanksgiving when April’s trapped by family and can’t get out of the house, Donnie volunteers to find him. To his surprise, Leo comes as well. What follows is one hell of a chase scene and a look into the two brothers’ relationship; the kind of reflection only acts of extreme violence can bring out. 

Side Character by technofantasia

5,775 words, 1/1 chapters

Character Focus: Leonardo & Donatello (Leo-centric)

Genre: Character Study, Hurt/Comfort

He wasn't lying when he said he queued this up on a whim, even though it felt like a lie saying it. It really is just that he hasn't seen it in a while! Too long. It always used to be his comfort movie, so that kind of gap of time between viewings is just unbelievable.

…Though, watching it now, with the experience of one-and-a-half-or-maybe-two years under his belt (and the craziest one-and-a-half-or-maybe-two years of his life, at that), he's a bit startled to realize that it isn't quite as comforting as he remembers. He's noticing some things about it he never noticed before, like, well…

Well. The fact that it seems kind of bad, and it's suddenly really hard to like it.

JJ films are always cheesy, that's just a fact of life. What else could you expect from low budget sci-fi made in the mid-20th century? They're cheesy, and wacky, and Leo loves cheesy and wacky, he really does! But he's only now noticing that this film in particular is maybe a little bit too cheesy and wacky. Even though it's obviously trying to be a cool, epic adventure, half the lines are just lame jokes that ruin the atmosphere, and that's not even mentioning how the plot is completely unbelievable, and all because of how weirdly annoying…

…Anyway.

Unable to sleep, Leo decides to watch one of his old favorite movies, but it doesn’t hold up as well as he remembers. Honestly what’s really impressive about this fic, though, is how it showcases elements of Leo’s personality that don’t get addressed in canon until the Rise Movie—despite being written well before its release! The Jupiter Jim film Leo and Donnie watch in the fic is such a perfect mirror for the Krang invasion that I had to check the post date twice, but no, it really pre-dates it. Parts of this story get blisteringly intense, but it’s a great character study delving into Leo’s insecurities, balanced by love and support at the end. A very good read.

➤ ➤ ➤ SEASON 2 (SET DURING OR AFTER)

Culture Shock by JustAndrea

8,486 words, 1/1 chapter

Character Focus: Splinter & The Boys

Genre: Family Bonding

“What are you doing?”

Raph flinched, surprised to see his dad in the doorway, though not embarrassed at all at being caught in the middle of his lessons. “Oh, hey Pop! Or- kon'ni chee-wa, otōsan.”

Splinter blinked. “Uh, konnichiwa to you as well, Red. So, you are… learning Japanese?”

“Yeah!” Raph grinned, “I mean, I just started a couple weeks ago so I still got a ways to go, but I think I’m startin’ to get the basics down! Hmph, though, I don’t think I’m gonna be able to write it for a while.”

Splinter chuckled a little. “Hiragana and katakana are not so bad. Now kanji? That is when it can get complicated.”

Raph gave him an incredulous look. “There’s more than one way to write it?!”

Set after the Season 2 finale and with thoughts of family history on the mind, the boys take an interest in their cultural heritage. Splinter gains a new appreciation for how meaningful that can be. This is a sweet fic that’s perfect for anyone who craves content where everyone grows closer as a family.

Happiness is a Warm Puppy by JustAndrea

8,567 words, 1/1 chapter

Character Focus: Raphael & Michelangelo, w/ Todd

Genre: Fluff, Family Bonding

“Ugh...“ Raph pinched the bridge of his nose while Mikey just giggled. He could already tell that Mikey wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Still, he had to at least try. “Mike, I already told you, I’m just a little tired. I don’t need a special break or anything-”

“Who says you have to need it?” Mikey said simply, dropping all amusement, “Can’t you just enjoy it?” Raph huffed, but didn’t give an answer, instead choosing to look down at the silver wrapper still in his hand.

Leaning forward, Mikey put his hand over his brother’s. “Like you said, things have been rough. This whole situation is just… a lot. But we’ve all been working hard to move through it, especially you! Don’t you think that work deserves a reward?”

Post-S2 Finale, Mikey decides Raph really needs a break after all that stress. What better way to relax than to play with a swarm of puppies and some one-on-one time between the biggest and littlest bros? This fic is a fluffy bonding experience, with cameos from Todd that gave me a good laugh. 

salvageable by bobtheacorn

6,038 words, 1/1 chapter

Character Focus: Donatello & Family

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Humor

It was Donnie's idea to come scavenge for all of his broken (useless) tech, but now he's just standing here staring at the scattered vestiges of what is essentially his life's work. All the time designing and building weapons, and for what?

The Shredder tore through all of it like paper.

(See, he is the funny one.)

Set early in Season 2 after “Many Unhappy Returns”, Donatello throws himself into working on his damaged tech to stave off confronting how affected by the fight he really is. This obviously works perfectly, zero complications. Just ignore the panic attack. 

Sr. Hueso, After Hours by obsessedwithstardust

7,616 words, 5/5 chapters

Character Focus: Señor Hueso & Leonardo, Ensemble

Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort

“What about… a dishwasher?”

“I have an automated one that does the job very well.”

“Oh c’mon BM, you know what I mean!”

“Pepino, while I appreciate the sentiment, most of my guests prefer their glasses in one piece. You’ll find they are more effective that way.”

“That’s just rude! I do the dishes at home all the time!”

Hueso maintained his flat stare.

“Okay, some of the time.”

“Hm.”

“Fine! Very, very rarely. But that’s just ‘cause I hate chores, not ‘cause I break them!”

Confession: I love Señor Hueso, he might just be my favorite of the many new characters Rise introduced to the franchise. Imagine my delight, then, when I found this little gem! It’s a charming 4+1 setup featuring Hueso being forced to deal with Leo’s antics until the young turtle grows on him.

superfight by swordfright

11,719 words, 3/3 chapters

Character Focus: Leonardo & Donatello, Donatello & Raphael, Ensemble

Genre: Humor, Family Drama, Angst

“Prepare to meet your ĐǿƠ𝓜, brother.”

The rest of his family looked up.

“Pfffft.” Leonardo rested his chin in his hands. “As if anything you come up with is gonna beat former U.S. President Fillard Milmore and his bumblebeard, let alone me .”

“Millard Filmore,” Donnie corrected. “And honestly, Leon, you ought to cease running your mouth, lest it catch flies~!”

Leo glared. “Alright, that’s enough theatrics. Lay your cards down and we’ll see who the real winner is.”

Donnie laid down his cards.

“See, the thing is,” he said, smugness oozing from his voice, “I agree: I really can’t beat you, Leo. No one can. And that’s why I win.”

Set after the quartet of “Tales of the Hidden City” episodes, this fic is actually more of a response to “Lair Games”—namely, how hard Donnie’s had to struggle to catch up with his brothers, combined with Leo’s propensity to be a poor loser. It’s not all drama, though. The first two chapters are mostly humor-focused, with some incredibly strong dialogue that had me hooting. It’s also not angst for the sake of angst—I really loved where both boys end this fic at emotionally. 

➤ ➤ ➤ POST-MOVIE

Aftermath by ItsJustKade

9,195 words, 3/? chapters (last updated 10/07/2022)

Character Focus: The Boys, Ensemble

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Family Drama, Family Bonding, Action

“That’s what this is about?” Hypno asked, standing up and dusting himself off, “Aw geez, I didn’t mean to bring up old wounds. I was just trying to rob a bank. You know, low-grade villian stuff!”

The four looked at Hypno, a little dumb struck. Donnie spoke up. “What?”

“I mean, we all went through quite a lot with the alien attack, especially you guys. I thought something light and non-threatening like robbing a bank could get us all back on our feet.” Hypno explained, waving a cloth and somehow making a circular table appear, the cloth acting as a tablecloth. Out of thin air, Hypno pulled out five stools and set them up by the table, then somehow grabbed a teapot and teacups and set them up too. “Tea?” He began pouring.

There are a lot of fics out there tackling how the turtles work through everything the movie put them through, but this one sets itself apart by how episodic it is. I mean that in a good way. There’s continuity between all the chapters, but each one has a different setup and focuses on a different problem. Each of the boys are fully fleshed out here, and there’s some fun cameos. Like Hypno!

bad blud by bigdamnher0

9,051 words, 3/3 chapters

Character Focus: Leonardo & Donatello, Ensemble

Genre: Supernatural, Hurt/Comfort

The bracelets were haunted—that, or turning 18 had unlocked a whole new meaning to the phrase “twin telepathy.” They entered rooms together, poured milk into each other’s cereal bowls, finished each other’s sentences, which meant the arguments never really ended; they only paused indefinitely until one of them realized they weren’t arguing out loud.

The yokai who sold Leo the bracelets said they amplified strong threads between siblings or friends or lovers; the kind of rare ties only lucky people had. You look the type, she said, and what else could Leo say to that? (The bracelets were also discounted for AAPI month, but Donnie didn’t need to know.)

Ohhh, this fic is an absolute treat. There’s not a lot of fic out there that play with Rise’s mystic elements, which is a shame because it’s one of the strengths of the series. Imagine my delight, then, when I first found this gem and its vivid portrayal of cursed baubles and yokai folklore. It’s a lovely package for the emotional focus of the story, which centers on Donatello and Leonardo growing older and growing apart, and the uncertainty of where that leaves them. This is a must-read.

Cracked Shield by JustAndrea

8,094 words, 1/1 chapter

Character Focus: Raphael & Splinter, Raphael & Leonardo

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Angst

“...I think I might be a bad older brother.”

“Nonsense.” Splinter reached across the table, squeezing his eldest son’s hand. “You are no such thing, Red One. You are selfless, kind-hearted, protective, and far more patient than most. You are far from being a bad older brother.”

“Hmph.” Raph still kept his eyes locked on the old wooden table they were sitting at, his father’s compliments just bouncing off him. “Alright, then I’m a bad influence.”

For a long time, Raph has built his identity on being the oldest—the protector who would do anything for the sake of his little brothers. He has a harder time accepting them doing the same for him, though. How do you deal with that?

decompress by Tenka

13,254 words, 1/1 chapter

Character Focus: Leonardo & Family

Genre: Humor, Family Bonding, Hurt/Comfort

"I do not want to be in your brain," Leo says, poking at Donnie’s forehead, who swats his hand away. "What am I gonna do if you start on one of your nerd rants? I'm not gonna be able to run away from my own head."

"Wow thanks Leo, and now that I think about it, melding my mind with yours would probably only decrease my overall IQ, and we'd all die the moment we'd have to perform basic arithmetic."

"I would love to have a session with Dr. Delicate Touch and the both of you," Mikey says, serenely, and Donnie and Leo both wisely scoot away from Mikey and closer to each other for safety. "A mind meld would mean no escape for either of you."

"Maintain eye contact, and make slow, careful movements," Leo warns, grabbing Donnie and clinging to him with his one good arm. "Never turn your shell on him."

"Heeey," Donnie says, clinging back to Leo. "How about. Instead of Dr. Delicate Touch. We have a chat with literally anyone else. Like. Dr. Feelings…?"

"Oh!" Mikey says, snapping his fingers. "That's a great idea and you just reminded me. Leo! Let's talk."

In terms of emotional catharsis, this might be one of my very favorites for the Rise fandom. Leo may be the focus character here, but the rest of the family gets a strong showing with top-notch dialogue and meaningful moments. There’s a section where Raph and Leo try a mind meld, and no joke, my heart was so full I cried. Other features of this fic: well-intentioned sibling hijinks with Mikey and Donnie with the kind of banter that could be taken from the show, as well as a thoughtful heart-to-heart with Casey. And don’t even get me started on Splinter’s section; that made me cry again. Twice, with this fic! As for Leo himself? I don’t say this lightly (because there’s SO many good fics out there tackling this subject), but this might be one of the most satisfying portrayals of how he comes to confront his mistakes and trauma. Honestly I could gush for days about this fic, I can’t recommend it enough. 

How to spruce up your lair in 10 easy steps! by bigdamnher0

7,776 words, 1/1 chapter

Character Focus: The Hamato Family

Genre: Family Bonding, Hurt/Comfort

On the news, New York was rebuilding. Why couldn’t they do the same? And when was the last time they showed the lair a little love?

“Far too long,” Donnie agreed, his first words after weeks; the whole family went quiet to fish-gape at him. Post-Kraang, the adrenaline swirled out of his system and Donnie had clammed up. Nothing but the mechanical churr from his lab for days. "What?” He blinked. “Well? What are we working with here?”

Raph cleared his throat. "Guys?"

Splinter raised his hand.

“Dad, I cannot replicate your favorite Hollywood suite," Donnie said blearily. "If you haven’t noticed, we live in a sewer. I cannot build you a veranda with a lake view."

Huffing, Splinter lowered his arm.

The family copes with the aftermath of the invasion with some home renovation! It goes about as well as you’d expect, and may or may not be a metaphor for how not well they’re dealing with it. Strong hurt/comfort, with a healthy dash of hijinks. 

I Can’t Lose You Again by Sparklepool101

8,258 words, 3/4 chapters (last updated 10/17/2022)

Character Focus: Michelangelo & Family

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort

He went to grab the sandwich, but pulled his hand back the second he touched the bread, taking in a sharp breath.

It hurt. Like pins and needles, but worse. Almost like electricity. It spread along his hands, up his arms. Pulling them close to his chest, Mikey winced, feeling the tears start to gather in the corners of his eyes. His toes curled up and he bent down, hunching over his lap.

“Mikey? Mikey, you okay?”

“Orange, what’s wrong?”

“Master Michelangelo?”

He couldn’t answer, couldn’t say anything, too focused on trying not to cry.

Some Mikey-centered fallout content post-movie, which sees him with some growing separation anxiety after what happened to his brothers, as well as chronic pain from the consequences of opening the portal. The sunshine boy’s really going through it in this one.

Secondary Colors by NotMichelangelo

10,248 words, 5/8 chapters (last updated 09/10/2022)

Character Focus: Donatello & Michelangelo, Ensemble

Genre: Action, Fluff, Angst

“Say, ‘Angelo,” The soft-shell started slowly, “What if we… What if we did a solo mission?”

Mikey’s eyes widened. “You mean, like, just you and me?” Donatello nodded.

“Think about it. You feel like you have something to prove, which is unnecessary but your feelings are acknowledged nonetheless, and I feel like I… Also have something to prove. If we can beat these guys, just the two of us, we’ll have nothing else to prove to ourselves, right?”

About time we reached some adventures with the B-Team! Feeling some inferiority to their brothers, as well as frustration for how overprotective they’ve become, Donnie and Mikey set out to show they can manage things on their own—only to find this isn’t just a simple robbery, and that they may have bitten off a little more than they can chew.

Trepverter by ATrueDonaldist

11,726 words, 4/? chapters (last updated 09/11/2022)

Character Focus: Leonardo & Family, Ensemble

Genre: AU, Angst, Sci-Fi

"Sensei, are you okay? You went still for a moment," the boy noted softly, eyebrows furrowing together in concern. His clothing left much to be desired as well, consisting of brown rags and mismatched patches of colour and thread, each equally covered in dust from the wind.

Leo opened his mouth to ask who he was, where they were, but something else left his mouth entirely.

"I'm alright, Casey. Just tired after scouting.”

His right hand (he didn’t move it, he wasn’t moving it, he wasn’t in control,) reached out to pat the boy—Casey, it seemed—gently on the shoulder.

There was almost a detached amount of horrified interest as Leo watched his arm reach out. Or rather, watched not his arm, but… Raph’s arm?

Figuring out which category to put this fic in was a struggle. Technically it’s set weeks before the movie is set—though it’s plot will surely see it catch up to the events of the invasion—yet huge, important sections of it detail the events of the apocalypse timeline, and— WELL. Can you see my struggle?? Even so, this fic has a intriguing setup, and is well worth the investment. The premise? Long before things are meant to go wrong, Leo starts to experience his future self’s memories and has no idea what to make of it. These memories become harder and harder to dismiss, but it’s unclear what they mean just yet, or what changes will come about as a result. 

➤ ➤ ➤ APOCALYPSE TIMELINE

Echoes of What Never Was by SairenHaria

10,662 words, 2/? chapters (last updated 09/01/2022)

Character Focus: Ensemble (focus varies by chapter)

Genre: Angst, Action

"Greetings, you rebellious insects. I have a special show for you today," Kraang said to the camera.

Of course Kraang understood how to demoralize people, he was too smug to not know-

"It seems one of your leaders finally came out of his shell," he said, the cameras moving to focus on Donatello, and he hated how he saw fear on his face. He hoped that it wasn't so clear to everyone else, that the wideness of his eyes, the clench of his jaw seems more like determination than terror.

His family would know the truth though.

"It was quite the plan he had to try and hurt the Kraang. A virus to disrupt our systems. I'll admit, I didn't expect any of you to be smart enough to figure out how to do that," Kraang said coolly and pulled up Jeremy's body. "Would you like to tell them what you did, hero? The cost of your little program?"

Donnie looked at Kraang. Then at the camera. He still had his plan. He still had his plan.

This is another one of those fics where each chapter stands fairly well on its own. I don’t know if the author intends to continue it, but the first chapter alone dug its hooks in me with its tale of Donatello’s last stand—and his farewell to Leo, Mikey, and April. It pumped me up and broke my heart all in one go; that alone would be enough to get it on this list, but the second chapter is fairly strong as well, detailing the family’s first encounter with the Krang, in the timeline where Casey wasn’t there to assist, and haha, it hurts. But in the best of ways.

Perfectly Similar by TheArchaeologist

6,683 words, 1/1 chapter

Character Focus: Leonardo & Michelangelo, Ensemble

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort

“So, what’d he do? Help dye Shelldon’s hair behind you back? Switched your toothpaste with glue?”

“Leo.” Donnie-boy says again, this time with the kind of exhaustion usually reserved for post-battle failed surgery. Turning to look at him, Don’s face is ragged, haunted, too much like... when Dad died.

Sitting up properly, Leo regards him. “Don?”

“He-” Cutting himself off, that deep-set anger returning to Donnie’s eyes. After a moment, he huffs, though it’s closer to a snarl, and flings his hands into the air. “It’s all this stupid mystic bullshit! We never should’ve gotten involved with it. We were fine before, and now-”

“Donnie. What’s he done?”

“It’s what he wants to do that’s the problem.”

The idea to use a timegate comes long before we see Michelangelo use it in the movie—long before the end. In the face of that, Leo makes him a deal. A nice look on the history of the bad timeline, and who else was lost long before the turtles were reduced to a duo. 

Posted: 10/27/2022

[chrismerle]

came up with a couple OCs on a whim, decided to use them for writing one shots/super short fiction. they are not going to be written or posted in any sort of chronological order or on any sort of schedule, and many of them will be inspired by prompts I find or am given. I don't describe what either of them look like in any detail in this ficlet, and I plan on doing that in another ficlet so I won't fully describe them here, but to help with your imagination: Ragnarok is basically Frankenstein's vaguely-reptilian centaur creature while Adam is, like, an anime-style dog man. Frankensteinian horror paired with Just Some Guy with dog ears slapped on top. anyway, this one is set pretty early in their story chronology, but not quite the BEGINNING. it's based loosely on the prompt 'I had to be brave or else I wouldn’t be the only one affected.' editing consists solely of me rereading it once while distracted by Youtube.

Adam hasn’t really spoken since they got back to Ragnarok’s flat. Ragnarok knows he can—he did a bit as Ragnarok pulled him out of his call, and he bit out a few words in the glimpses of Alabaster’s strange little show-and-tell Ragnarok managed to steal—but his words have all dried up for now.

Instead, he’s sitting on the floor, huddled in the corner. Ordinarily, Ragnarok might assume it’s because none of his furniture was chosen with bipedalism in mind, but not just now. Just now, he’s pretty sure Adam is just trying to pretend the world isn’t so big.

Ragnarok leaves him to it and putters around his daily routine, as if it had never been interrupted and as if that interruption isn’t watching him from the corner with eerie, wolf-like eyes. Ragnarok feels those eyes on him the entire evening.

Eventually, with the flat still smothered in silence, Ragnarok climbs onto the couch and falls asleep. It takes a bit longer than usual; falling asleep is a bit strange when he knows there’s someone else there, silent but staring. Even so, sleep does eventually creep over him, restless and uncomfortable though it is.

When he wakes up the next morning, Adam is still watching him.

“Why did you get me out?” Adam asks abruptly, the words pushed out in a rush the second Ragnarok shows any signs of life.

“G’morning to you, too,” Ragnarok grumbles, mentally beating back the urge to exclaim, ‘He speaks!’

“Someone had to,” he replies once it’s apparent Adam isn’t going to say anything else until he has an answer, “and it certainly wasn’t going to be Alabaster.”

“But no one actually had to, is the thing,” Adam says, and it turns out today he has all of the words. “I wasn’t hidden. He paraded me around in public; it was a key part of his advertising. Either it wasn’t illegal, or he was so sure he could hide any illegal aspects as to render them irrelevant.” He tips his head to the side, canine ears finally partially standing up from where they were hidden in his hair. “So, no, someone didn’t have to help.”

Adam doesn’t re-ask his question, but it’s still pretty obviously hovering in the air between them, hanging heavily enough that Ragnarok can’t justify ignoring it.

“Sometimes our decisions don’t just impact us,” Ragnarok reasons. “Once I knew you existed, any choice I made to not get involved would also necessarily involve you.” He shrugs and finally climbs down from the couch, four sets of talons settling on the carpet. “Sometimes you’ve gotta be brave because you don’t want the alternative on your conscience.”

Ragnarok waits for a moment, but Adam just regards him in skeptical silence, disbelieving but nevertheless all talked out. Ragnarok gets it, though. It was a lot when he first got out, too.

He heads into his tiny kitchen, leaving Adam still curled in the corner. Ragnarok supposes he’ll need to actually order some regular chairs finally.

[manysmallhands]

My Favourite Songs of 2023 part 1: 40 - 31

The route to this post has not been the smoothest. I've been working on this list since the end of November but I got Covid a few weeks ago and so writing became impossible for a while. Given the amount of time that's passed between then and now, it's become clear to me that some of my choices would be different if i did them over again. However, I am sticking to my original version of the list, a few ups and downs notwithstanding. This is because of one reason and one reason only: I am lazy and I don't want to do it again. My apologies to Troye Sivan and Baby Queen, who i'd probably have found places for amongst others. I can only imagine the streams these artists will lose by not being covered in my blog posts and I hope they can find it in their hearts to forgive me.

However! Every song here is still a banger and, even if I think there might be one or two that are better, surely that only adds to the fun of speculation: Which could it be? Which ones would I have left out? Don't imagine it's definitely the songs with the lowest numbers: my method of ranking is fairly haphazard and I might go so far as to say that these numbers are a load of old bollocks. Still, I've enjoyed myself writing this and, given the infinitesimal number of people who will read it, that is surely the thing that counts. I'm posting the songs in rounds of ten cos that's all that Tumblr will let me embed at a time. Let's go!

40. Girl Ray - Everybody’s Saying That

Girl Ray’s disco turn has in all truth been a bit ropey but Everybody’s Saying That is the best exception, all Nile Rogers shimmer and effortless Studio 54 cool. Poppy Hankin chimes in with the self confidence of the misfit (“Everybody’s saying that you could’ve done better but I really wanna end up with you!”), striking out with winningly frank charm against a backdrop of glittery nightlife

39. En Attendant Ana - Fools And Kings

En Attendant Ana’s third LP was a surprise critical hit but it was the more delicate songs which really stood out for me. Fools And Kings in particular ditches the jangly mathrock approach for a gentler, almost old style RnB feel, as Margaux moves to a more human level lyrically. I don’t think there’s another moment across the album nearly as touching as when she sings “Are you OK y’know?”, a question that we'd all benefit by hearing from time to time.

38. Cassö, RAYE, D-Block Europe - Prada

This thumping remix of DBE and RAYE’s Ferrari Horses takes the original understated vocal performances and hammers at them with a full range of doofs, bleeps, icy synths and the general sense of being in the middle of a cocaine heart attack. The result was wedged in the top 3 for weeks this autumn and, while doomed never to top the charts, it still feels as bracing as the first time I heard it.

37. Maple Glider - Dinah

Maple Glider is one of the new breed of folky singer songwriters but Dinah in particular has the same light as air charm as the sweetest kind of indiepop. Lyrically though, the song tells a much darker story, a tale of sexual abuse in the church where the ingenuousness in her voice underlines the deeply uncomfortable places that it goes. There's an obvious sense of queasiness in that contrast but Dinah's tuneful charm manages to hold it all together.

36. Dimension - DJ Turn It Up

I’ve spent a lot of the last 6 months listening to Radio 1 and this sort of 90s style rave banger is the kind of thing they play a lot. DJ Turn It Up has stuck with me more than most though: maybe that's cos it was the one of the first that I heard, or possibly because of the way the vocal is used as a kind of rhythm track rather than the focal point, relying on the song's musical hooks and twitchy energy to wind up the listener. Whatever it is, DJ Turn It Up slaps: do as the lady says.

35. Talib Kweli/Madlib - Marathon Thru Babylon

Following on from last year’s excellent Black Star reunion (also produced by Madlib), Kweli’s solo project was just as good, with Marathon Thru Babylon providing one of the highlights. Madlib’s signature of grainy old soul samples and booming beats underpins Talib and Mechell Ndegeocello as they trade verses on the nature of time and its malcontents and throw in some conspiracy theory for good measure too. Mechell’s wake up sheeple ending may prompt me to crack a smile but in truth it all just adds to the song’s murky charm.

34. Charli XCX - Speed Drive

One could make the case that Speed Drive has been phoned in a bit - trashy lyrics, yet another interpolation - but every time Charli says “HOT!” it probably makes me happier than I’ve been during any other song this year. The general impression I get from Speed Drive is that, not only would Charli and Barbie be fantastic pals, but also that I will cheerfully listen to any old bollocks that she puts out these days.

33. Free Love - Open The Door

The Glasgow duo probably have fewer listeners than anyone in this list but they sounded like the band who were enjoying themselves the most in 2023. While their Insides album was a more eclectic mix overall, Open the Door sticks close to a Jean Michel Jarre-like template of the future, all laser shots and weird analogue FX, while Suzi Cook’s smartly accented vocals managed to keep an indie vibe within its razor sharp pop hooks.

32. Miley Cyrus - Used To Be Young

Miley doing this kind of “looking back at my misspent youth” song aged 30 feels enjoyably transgressive in its own right but Used To Be Young is so much more than just its brilliant concept. A melodramatic power ballad with some fine turns of phrase, Miley stick two fingers up at the finger waggers and nails some genuinely colossal moments (her yelling of the title at 2.37 must surely become a karaoke staple) as the idea of Miley as ageing rock legend comes off as a surprisingly viable concept. 

31. Lana Del Rey - The Grants

There’s a gospel feel to the opener on Lana’s excellent Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard album, switching between a gloomy tone and something more redemptive as she contemplates reaching across the great divide. The effect is as uplifting as anything she's ever done, capturing that classic Lana space between the heartfelt and theatrical to create a secret third emotion that intensifies the whole idea. It’s another variation on her standard trick but what can I say, I remain easily pleased.

More tomorrow, if i get my act together.

[captains-simp]

Dark!Valkyrie and pet play, took r from midguard and chose to keep her, potential boot jumping if your comfortable if not idm COGRATS ON 1K 👏🏼👏🏼

Shout out to this anon that's waited months for this fic and never got impatient dkwksnsmwm

@romanoff062 helped me a lot with ideas so thank you bestie and some elements of the fic are inspired by @peachyteabuck 's fic And I Plead which I highly recommend y'all check out

2k words

Warnings: innocence kink, non-con/dub-con (R doesn't fully understand) forced heavy pet play, ownership, boot jumping, spanking, degrading, strap on sex, mild amnesia and kidnapping

[ masterlist ]

Buy me a coffee ☕

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

New Asgard was a beautiful place. That much became apparent before you even set foot in the small town. All it took was a brief glimpse from the winding roads across the hills a few miles away and you instantly wanted to take a closer look.

You were on a road trip; had been for a while. It was a solo trip. A chance to get away from the hectic life back home and for you to figure things out. You had just graduated college and like many of your fellow students you had no idea what you were going to do next. So when you heard some people talking about a road trip, you decided you would give it a try aswell. You had a brief route planned but you ended up stopping off at a lot more places than you thought, even then none of them helped you with whatever it was you were trying to get out of that journey.

You parked up along the edge of town and grabbed your phone and wallet before getting out of the car and started towards the buildings.

It was starting to get late but there was still a fair few locals around who all waved or smiled at you as wandered around. You let the distant and lively murmer in the middle of town direct you and it wasn't long until you spotted a pub.

You knew you should have booked a place to stay for the night or few days, but you had been on the road for a while and wanted to enjoy the unique atmosphere of the town as soon as you could. Surprisingly, you weren't tired either.

A few people greeted you in the pub, clearly noting the new face, but they didn't draw too much attention to you which made you feel all the more at ease there.

You bought a beer and sent a quick text to your parents to let them know you were safe and took a sip of your beer as you admired the art work across the walls. They ranged from tapestries to paintings and even some sculptures, the likes of which you had never seen before. They had a distinct Viking style to them but with a regal touch.

"You like them?" You looked to your right to see a dark haired woman leaning on the counter besides you, nursing her own beer.

She had an easy smile on her lips that hinted at something more, as did her hazel eyes that watched you carefully. She was beautiful to say the least and it took you a moment to find the words ton respond.

"They're amazing, where are they from?" You asked as your eyes flickered away from hers, unable to hold her strong gaze.

"A very special place." Was all she said. "Valkyrie." The woman declared as she raised her bottle to yours. You smiled and tapped the top of yours against hers.

"Y/n." You replied. Valkyrie hummed.

"And what brings you to New Asgard, y/n?"

Convosation flowed between you easily from that point on. You found yourself telling the older woman a lot about yourself, more than you had ever told a stranger. You just couldn't seem to help it, she encouraged you to tell her everything and you did.

Once you realised you barely knew anything about Valkyrie the convosation took a swift turn to handsy flirtation. You didn't mind, of course, but it sure did surprise you when Valkyrie shamelessly pulled out the cliques and let her hand wander boldly up your thigh.

You were captivated by the stranger. And you wanted to experience her further, everything she had to offer you would willingly take.

You groaned quietly when you back hit the hard wall of the pub. Valkyrie pulled you into a rough, demanding kiss that you could hardly keep up with, only stopping when she pulled away begrudgingly, as though she wasn't running out of oxygen like you were.

"I want to see you come undone." She whispered lowly against your ear. You gave a whine and closed your eyes with a smile.

"Come on." Was all she said as she grabbed your hand and led you through the empty street back to her house that seemed somewhat larger than the ones around it.

You were barely through the door and she was undressing you. Her hands ran frantically over your body that was admittedly growing tired and weaker from your travels. It didn't help that everytime Valkyrie's fingertips danced across your bare skin you melted just a little more.

You whined longingly when she dipped her slender fingers through your wet folds. She glided them over your sensitive clit that was begging for any attention but she soon withdrew those torturous fingers once more.

"You want something, pet?" You head was too clouded with need to pay much attention to the nickname. You had no prior experience with anything of the sort, no real understanding of what Valkyrie had planned.

"I need you." You whined again and went to kiss her only for the older woman to chuckle and pull something out of her pocket.

She attached the collar swiftly. It was locked around your neck before you could object and even if you did, it would have been futile.

"What's this?" You asked, dumbfounded.

"Your collar. All good pets have them." Valkyrie said simply and reached her foot around the back of your legs to pull forward with her foot, making you fall to your knees with a thud.

"What does that mean?" You asked again, confusion and mild panic starting to rise.

"That you belong to me, so you better behave." Valkyrie warned before pressing her boot covered foot between your legs and pressing down on your neglected clit. You moaned despite yourself and grinded down on the polished material out of pure instinct.

You lifted your hands up to grip onto Valkyries thigh as you dragged your cunt along her boot but she slapped them away. You whined, not knowing what to do with your hands.

"Hands behind your back." Valkyrie instructed and you did so quickly, glad to have something to follow.

You built up a desperate rhythm quickly as you looked up at Valkyrie pleadingly. You needed your release badly.

"Please." You tried. Your wetness was covering her boot and you were so close to releasing everything you had onto the boot.

"No." Valkyrie defied as she yanked her boot away from you. You whined loudly and she tutted as she grabbed your collar and pulled you up to lean over the edge of her bed.

"Please make me cum." You whimpered, earning you a harsh smack to your ass.

"Pets don't speak unless spoken to. Seems like we have a lot of training ahead of us." Valkyrie said darkly. You groaned again, not knowing what the hell that meant and wanting to know what you were getting in to.

You tried to look back at her but your head was forced down into the sheets with one hand while Valkyrie's other started to undo her zip.

She pulled her jeans down and off swiftly and threw them across the room to reveal the strap on she had been hiding. This only became apparent to you when you felt the large head against your entrance, bringing out another breathy whine from you.

Valkyrie edged the tip of the strap into your less than prepared pussy and revealed in th noises it brought out in you. You squirmed against the bed and her hold but she continued to push onwards as she held you down.

It with take long for her to thrust the entirety of the the toy deep inside you, brushing against nerves that were rarely touched. With each passing second you lost more of your grip on your speech until Valkyrie pulled out only to slam the rest of the you into you.

You moaned out loudly and clung onto the bedsheets frantically as Valkyrie continued to fuck.yo7 at a brutal pace, never faltering. You were all overwhelmed with pleasure you hardly heard the dirty things the woman above you whispered into your ear. With that, it didn't take you long to get close.

"Gon cum, please!" You tried, your speech far too slurred for you even to understand luckily Valkyrie did.

"Cum for your queen." She ordered and with that, you fell over the edge. You moaned loudly as your back arched and you clenched around the toy, desperate to feel it as much as possible when you came around it.

Valkyrie didn't stop once you came, not after you came a few times either. Because while you may not have ever completely remembered the events of that day, you would sure as hell feel them for a while.

*

You awoke in a brightly lit room with walls that seemed to literally shine. You blinked quickly as you looked around and found yourself in a bedroom. A fucking big one.

Next to you, or more towering over you from your low position, was a Grande bed that was unnecessarily big, as though it was there for show more than comfort. The gold painted posters and luxurious pillows and covers made it the perfect image of a King's bed and had you wondering what fantasy land you had dreamed up in your head.

You looked down and furrowed your brow as you realised you were laying in large dog bed that fit you as if by measurement. It was lined with quilts and soft pillows that matched those on the bed.

You sat up in the bed and took in the rest of the room and all its glory. Long drapes hung from the ceiling and parted for an open pair of doors that led onto a sizeable balcony. With a deep breath, you got up out the bed and ventured towards it.

It was only when you left the warmth and softness of the bed that you realised you were fully nude, but there was no dresser or closet door around to provide you with any clothes. You timidly edged towards the doors and stood to the side to peer out, hoping no neighbours would get an eyefull of your vulnerable state.

It was also hard to stay oblivious to the thick black leather collar that was around your neck so tightly. There were some hazy memories it awoke in the back of your mind that you couldn't quite see.

Your breath hitched in your throat as you peered out from behind the curtain. What became apparent first was how high up you were. The balcony leaned over the whole land and let you see the whole of the city and the dark forests beyond it.

The building below you shone in the sun, gleaming boldly in a way you couldn't tear your eyes from. It was almost mythological.

"You're awake!" An excited voice exclaimed from behind you. You spun around to see the dark haired women coming through the main doors towards you.

You didn't recognise her at first, especially with the cheerful grin plastered across her face. But soon the pieces fitted together and you took a big step back away from Valkyrie.

"Don't be like that." She said with a frown, her eyes shamelessly raking over your body.

She walked towards you quicker than you could get away and gripped you collar, forcing you to your knees. "Much better." She mused as she looked down at you.

She attached the leash to your collar and gave it a tug as she strolled back to the balcony with you having no choice but to follow as she instructed.

"I've waited so long for this." She beamed as she looked out at the city. You sat by her side, your mouth and throat too dry to let you speak and feeling too scared to even try. "Finally, Asgard is back to how it should be, and with you by my side." She looked down at you with a smile and noted your confusion.

"Earth just didn't cut it." She said simply. "So we're starting over, again. We have this whole planet to ourselves and I'll make sure it stays this way." Valkyrie explained as she looked back out at the city she ruled.

"I want to go home." You piped up as you stared at the ground, too afraid to meet her gaze.

"You are home." Valkyrie said as she crouched down and lifted your chin to look at her. "I'll give you everything you could ever want." Your bottom lip trembled as you realised you really had no way out.

"All you have to do is be a good pet."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Taglist: @caroldanvers2 @marvelwomenslut @marvelwomen-simp @likefirenrain @grxvitye @emilyprentisslittlewhore @lostandsearching @firenrain13 @horcruxhunter90

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[muffindaddystyles]

DENTIST THE BAD BOI

Word count: 7k

A/N: Heavily inspired from 90's rom-coms, so if your heart swoons out of loneliness it's not on me sistas -- doctor Harry my fav.

Summary: Harry's a med-student and Y/N's an art student, being neighbours with Y/N was already a living hell for Harry but when she fusses over his cat getting her cat pregnant -- he mighty looses it.

Pairing: Dentist Harry × Artist reader, Frenemies to bestfriends to lovers, platonic affection and loads of bestie fluff.

MASTERLIST, REQUEST FOR BLURBS FROM THIS FIC ARE OPEN || PART 2

“Harryyyyy!!!!” Y/N screamed at the top of her lungs staring at the small picture of ultrasound, blinking at it several times to vision herself back into reality because the more she does the more she becomes grumpy and fussy – cursing the beast of a neighbour who got her little innocent cat pregnant.

She pulled the strings of her pyjama shorts to tighten it around her and hastily towed her feet into fuzzy slippers, giving a stink of an eye to her cat “don't act so surprised you little ragamuffin!” She mouthed at her with venom (as if trippers her cat cares), stomping her way out and writes a whole book of judgements in her rattling brain upon hearing the loud music weeping through walls.

She knocks. Huffs when it goes unnoticed and this time pounds at the door, crossing her forearms infront of her chest. Not unaware and very accustomed; of happy chatter whirling around whenever she’s trying to focus how a certain recipe goes by, his mates chanting his name from outside when he’s too occupied in whatever he's sorting out inside for their arrival, clanking of beer bottles knowing they and her have a long time to go, the music dimming in the wee of night as the door closes after every fifteen minutes and it dawns at that time –-- she always get left with one option and that’s to curse him till she sleeps.

It’s every Friday and Saturday’s story.

“Max stop that before Ni asks fo’ a dummy —-,” His neck's craned to where his friends are sitting on one of the cosy spots. His jaw popping, dimples chasmic from the smirk he’s holding and Y/N gulps then arches her brow when his attention drops down at her, “Oh .... hi, could help ya?” His cocky grin irks her – bubbling a fire in her pit and an urge to twinge his ear and drag him to her apartment, to show him what he did.

“Could you help me!?” She laughs ironically, chases her frowning gaze from the ripped patches of his jeans towards where his curls are brushing his earlobes and it kind of makes her gasp which she traps in fortunately because – he’s always wearing a hoodie, beanie or his hair up in a little fountain like bun rushing through the lobby with his thick books and laptop clutched in his arms, “Yes please .. y’could help me by transferring expenses of your cat's babies every month to me —-...um could simply have them in your apartment too if the first deal’s too bad.” She shrugs. Taking a glimpse from his shoulder of his friends bunched over eachother and he toys with his bottom wet lip, brows stringing into confusion and his bicep flexes making her flutter her eyes away as he grips the knob of the door and closes it behind him.

“What d'ya mean?”

“You’re doing it on purpose right? ‘cos there’s no way —--” He cuts her groans with a snap and runs a palm down his face, “I seriously don’t know what you’re talkin' ‘bout, Y/N.” His lips tinned into a flat line, his posture now resembling her's and she slaps her forehead with the heel of her palm.

“Then you should keep tabs of your beasty minx of a cat who got my cat pregnant!” She exclaims disbelievingly to which his eyes turns saucer and he throws his sinewy arms in between them, mimics her expressions comically, “Is that my fault? Did I get your cat prego?” She blinks up at him rapidly --- he’s such a nerve puller.

“Yes it is! You didn’t get your cat desexed —-,” She stuffs her pointer against his chest and twist it with a grit, “Now he’ll have babies left and right – like a catwhore he is!!” She aerials her hands in different directions rapidly and he takes a step closer kissing his teeth together to seethe his words.

“He’s not a catwhore!”

“Kay then take the responsibility of what he did.” She mutters tapping her foot onto the carpeted floor and guppies at him like a fish when he bursts into taunting cackles, leaning to catch the door-frame before he mushes her under his weight. ”

“Ye -‐..- you’re —- you aren’t serious are ya?” His rosy eyelids snib tightly forming crinkles to where his temples meet his cheeks and she almost pouts, how much she doesn’t want to she could never cascade her expressions.

“Oh my — .... Bambi eyed wouldn’t I’ave had free him of his ball’s heaviness –-- if I’d ‘ave enough money down me pocket?” He scrunches his nose to take a breather from laughing hard.

“Don’t call me that!” She bites at him.

“You’re cute when you’re angry.” He smirks gingerly – drums his fingers against his folded bicep and presses his back to the wall tipping his chin high.

Her blush eager to creep up her neck embarrasses her further more and she hides the softness in her voice, muttering gruffly, “Shut up.” Then turns to walk back into her apartment and to slam the door at his face -- but -- his whistle for her halts her in tracks.

“Hey – Bambi, we could sign the custody of kitties if that what ye'want.”

..

Three weeks after. There was another knock on Harry’s door, Niall's head perks up and bangs against the bookshelf –- he was trying to keep the furry cat in his lap, for a good warmer but its more enamoured with the ‘clucks' of his daddy’s boots than the soft flesh of Niall’s thigh as Harry chucks his wallet in the back-pocket of his jeans (he was about to go outside and bring some food) and opens the door slightly to see through the trapping chain, “who’s it?”

“Harry ‘s me ....” The voice mousey and worried. Niall recognizes it in a hot-second, frowns and tries to gain snowy’s attention, “What did y'do again? Did ya get the pretty neighbour's cat prego twice, you fat farts.” He chuckles when snowy meows at him innocently and Harry's brows skews together into a scowl.

“Call him fat farts another time —- I dare you —--,” He howls. Throwing angry upset glares towards Niall – their bickering gets interrupted when Y/N slips her hand from the crack of door, pinches Harry’s knuckles and he squeaks, “Ow —- what the fuck!”

“Harry.” Her tone threatening.

Harry puffs out a huge sigh and reveals himself infront of her, he's not in mood to fight with her over their cats, or the parcel Harry forgot to give her which got delivered to him on accident like one of the thousand times (he never found anything freakish until now .. not that he goes through what’s inside, but the labels tell they’re mostly her art supplies), or why he’s been showering for an hour because she now isn’t left with any warm water —- because he just came back from UNI and is dust bones from having two exams in a row.

“Y/N —-,” His face reeks with exhaustion. His curls drowsy, escaping from his knit beanie and his eyes glazed with sea-foam. She kinda feels bad for disturbing him -- but – it’s an emergency and she doesn’t know where to go, except him.

His weary vision falls upon trippers tucked beneath Y/N’s arm, “Is she alright?” He scratches behind her ear and trippers gives out a pained yowl.

“No –-.. that’s why ‘m here. She’s spotting blood everywhere and –-- and I don’t have enough money ...,” She’s embarrassed to say least. Not meeting Harry’s eyes and he gazes her sincerely –- belly doing weirdly funny somersaults. He clears his throat, grogs out gathering all the information in his head from the anatomy of humans and animals he studied till now.

“It’s okay for spotting in pregnancies – but ‐-.. she looks very much in pain s' we shouldn’t risk it. I’ve a friend. She’s practicing vet -- we could take her there.” He offers. Rubbing the back of his neck and Y/N bobs her head vigorously, anything to save her trippers baby.

“Fine –-- yeah, Iemme just wear my shoes ... then we're good to go.” She mumbles. Harry hasn’t seen her demeanour flatter like this ever before, whenever she’s banging and barging through his flat it’s always taut and cold banter.

He has never seen her this defenceless.

He drops his gaze down at her feet and finds that she’s wearing cute pizza slices socksies.

..

“Is this a clinic, or weed doing zone for animals?” She didn’t try to be mean. It just happened as she takes in the wearbouts of garage, stuffed with drums and musical instruments, spray paint on walls. Harry seems unfazed though, he could be shabbier than her if he wants to –- much fouler that could make her cry.

“Told you. She’s practicing not a vet yet.” She doesn’t question him further. Grateful enough for his help. She might not admit but he isn’t that bad of guy as she once imagined him in her head.

Y/N stifles a snort when a girl with mullet shag, having a stud in her brow and the corner of her lip, attired in all black greets Harry with a hip-check, “Vas’up booger.” She grins and Harry grumbles ruffling her hair with his knuckles.

It leaves Y/N in awe. This’s what group of friends look like -- so fun and annoying, she wanted to have this since when she’s small. Sadly, it’s just her and trippers in her friend group.

“Hi there!” She waves to Y/N trying to battle Harry’s tickles away. Takes trippers from Y/N's arms and coos up at her, “hiyaa baby .. oh, she’s having lil buns inside her.” She laughs and Y/N already likes her so much. As if, she’s the main character of any vintage styled movie.

“Rori here.” She introduces herself as Harry strolls inside her kitchen to rummage through her fridge, “Y/N.” Y/N smiles –-- eyeing Harry who’s whistling and tearing the crate of orange juice open.

When Trippers purrs from a cramp, Rori snuggles her closer to herself – “Her spotting is nothing to worry about –-- maybe she’s ready to give birth. If not I’ll take her to my hospital.”

“So Harry said...” Y/N nods.

“Oohh.” Rori exclaims, wiggling her brows curiously at Harry who’s gulping down juice hungrily, “Booger got normal friends too? Thought, those were all white lies.” He almost chokes at it – downing it cautiously and blinks vividly.

“No. Just neighbours.” Yeah, there’s nothing friendly between them –-- but how it’d be like to befriend Harry. The thought makes Y/N feel snoozy and warm.

“I see.”

“Okay then! ‘m gonna keep Trippers with me for two days –-- figure out what I could do to help her and if she heals I’ll drop her by, how that sounds?”

“Sounds good!” Both, Harry and Y/N chimes together heating their cheeks up. Harry wavers his gaze away, sulking a pouty mouth and turns all stoic again.

He doesn’t want to like, Y/N. Nope. Not at all. In any case.

She’s his bedevilling, bothersome and galling neighbour who just screams at him too much for his likening.

..

“Would you like something to eat?” She asks him while walking back home and he shakes his head, so she nudges him in ribs, “oh c'mon let it be a thank you, grumpy pants.”

“’M not –-,” He was about to snap at her. Instead, he groped her wrist tightly and tugged her to his side –-- she squeals into his chest as a car passes by them swiftly, honking at them in anger.

Her hair wisps from the friction of Harry’s hoodie as she pushes herself away from him, surprisingly he smells incredibly sweet – that of vanilla and citrus musk, something very cosy and like a morning breeze.

A jolt buzzes through her spine at the fact she was about to get crushed under a vehicle but she grins up at him awkwardly, “Tofu then?” His peepers widen in shock and he slaps his forehead.

“You’re mad, know that.”

..

Harry and Y/N. Sky and earth . She sprouts buds of irises and peonies when she speaks, her touch that shines away even an intimidating person as if they're mimosa plants, those eyes --- those eyes are itself sepia of grounds on which the tiny creatures celebrates by and Harry's well ... he’s the floss of clouds hidden behind sunshine, his rains would turn her into loam and his uppish thunder would make her loathe him.

Then some gods decided to break the needles and fix it in some other clock that rotates anti-clock wise.

Now, when she’s unable to nourish her flowers he's always there to rain and stroke a tender breeze against her that makes her lush grass snuggle the roots of who she’s.

They were enemies once. Opposite to eachother in many ways but couldn’t live without eachother despite of their distances. Just like sky's a hollow sheet of nothingness without it’s dear earth.

..

What blossomed their friendship was Y/N's date with this cute boy that is in her ceramic class, (not a date if you’d ask so –-- more like a meetup at this coffee house near her UNI).

Turns out he isn’t that cute. His blunt hands wandered up Y/N’s thigh without her consent and before she could know that, he was groping at it –-- making her gasp and hit her knee against the table. She struggles to writhe out of the chair but he stitches his nails in her skin, “I’m not liking it – you better stop.” She hisses, palms sweaty and slipping trying to remove his grip from around her.

“Don’t act all stupid .. you were hitting at me for hours, you want it but wouldn’t admit.” He groans, rolling his eyes and she feels like crying –-- teeth clanking letting out a shuddering breath.

“I’ll scream.” She warns him.

“You’re not that innocent, you act like.” He smirks, sliding his hand down her insides and before he could reach further Y/N sneaked a fork from the table and stabbed it in his knuckles.

“Fuck.” He shrieks, “Bitch.” He almost screams but stops when everyone stares at him as Y/N’s chair fell against the floor and she stumbles inside the bathroom.

Locking it behind her. Her chest burns with tears. Her vision spins and her fingers shakes as she dials one number she could reach for anytime, it rings then goes to voicemail so her bitten lip wobbles and eyes turn glossy.

She again dials it. There’re noises behind, that of someone instructing and Harry was in his lecture hall when she called .. his heart drops because all he could hear is quivering breath ... it shudders to tight painful gasps and he’s collecting his stuff leaving his seat immediately the doctor who's teaching them Apiceoctomy stares Harry while speaking.

Once he’s out in hallway, “Hey? Y/n are y’there? You okay? What happened?” She bolt her eyes close pressing her head to cold tiled wall and yawps outta fear when someone pounds at the door. Harry runs towards the exist, “Y/N where are you!? ‘m coming .. whatever it’s just --.. just ...” He gripes at his curls pushing them back – his heart beating loud, “ – just stay where you’re ‘n don’t panic .. yeah? It’s okay.” He mutters. Voice soft and assuring.

Her breathing patterns back to calmness – something about him so consoling, so warm and she nods. After some minutes she’s telling him the address and gladly it’s not that far away from Harry.

When he reaches. There are several people waiting at the bathrooms door and he’s knocking on it lightly, pressing his ear to it and grabs the knob (in case he’d have to break it).

When there’s no-response from inside he gets it something’s peculiar, “Bambi. ‘s me Harry.” It clicks and unlocks and he’s tumbling inside while the others groans and disperses knowing it’s invain waiting.

He’s dishevelled. His curls in moppy condition and his eyes full of concern and worry –-- she feels awful for doing this to him.

“Were you crying? Did somethin' happen?” He frowns. Ducking a bit to meet her gaze level and she clears the clump in her throat, “Can we just leave .. please?” He couldn’t believe it’s her voice – the bubbliness and chirpiness of it died to frightened meekness.

Harry takes her hand and walks them outside, Y/N sucks in squeak when the same guy rushes to confront them and when Harry sees his injured hand -- everything pieces together and fury spikes through his veins.

His brows pinches together into a frown, his lips lifting into a scowl and his eyes darkens pitch coal like.

He grips her dainty fingers and moves her behind him protectively and his chest buffs out as he takes a step forward towering the guy – “What d'ya want?” He kisses his teeth together to grit vehemence and that guy lift his trembling hand infront of Harry.

“Look what this bitch —-,” Ah –-- he really pushed Harry’s bad button didn’t he?

Harry grabs him from collar and Y/N squeals rubbing his wrist to pull him back, no-use.

“Badmouth her or anyone —-" Harry sneers and if he'd be a cartoon character – fume would have been coming out of his ears and nose.

“Else what!?” Harry’s more of a practical person -- so he did what he's been learning for years now and breaks his nose with such force it almost knocks him out.

Y/N's still in shock. Walking behind him on jelly toes and a shiver spirals in her bone marrow when her sweat dries from the wind that’s blowing and hitting them in faces.

They wait at bus shelter, sitting side by side –-- thighs brushing now and then flustering Y/N, Moreso when he apologizes everytime.

There’s silence. Harry’s irritated groan breaks it –- he clenches and unclenches his knuckles .. the thin skin a bit bruised.

“Are you okay? I’m so sorry –-- .. ‘s my fault.” She rambles. Taking his hand to inspect it, “I shouldn’t have called you at ---..” He frowns confused and pokes her in knee conveying her to stop worrying. Because if anyone needs to be taken care of is her and wish he could just hug her and tell her that it’s not her fault – not even a tad.

“Y/n...” He gains her attention and his gaze flickers from her snotty nose towards her soaky cheeks, “Shut up.” She chuckles at that putting his palm gently back on his thigh.

“Would you like to have, noodles? I know this incredible chinese place ...” He shakes his head. His smile small and kooky, nose scrunched up as he sniffs the air – predicting a rain coming soon.

“D'we have to eat after every tragedy that happens t’you?”

“Yup, tragedies makes me hungry.” It’s her coping mechanism if she'll be honest and that’s what she’s been doing for ages.

“Who are you, Y/N?

She jumps up. Wiggling her fingers for him to take and beams sweetly, “Bambi next door?”

..

“From when did ya become s' rich?” He giggles. He finds her fucking adorable as she drags him along herself excitedly – she halts infront of the expensive restaurant –- where people dressed in all kind of luxuries and bright pearls are dinning in and she arches her brow sceptically, “Did you really think –- I’ll be able to take us here?” He shoves his hands in his jeans pocket, elevates his shoulders and smiles bashfully.

“Maybe one day, who knows?” They walk towards the chinese take out and Y/N trots backwards –-- facing him all while and rolls her eyes, “’M an artist whose half of paintings goes to trash.” Harry’s eyeballs springs out of his sockets hearing her statement and he really wants to knock some senses into this silly girl.

“Oh my --.. jeez .. those paintings are ‘s good y'divvy. They're hanging onto my walls, been enjoying them fo' free —- what the actual fuck .. really your hands are magical.” He feels annoyed and sad that she felt a need to dump them, because those were some beautiful art pieces.

(“Hmm. It has some hidden meaning beneath it, H. I’m tellin' ya.” Ni would always say. Standing infront of it for hours and hours staring at it.

“Looks like a pussy to me.” Max would quip sipping his bevy and Harry would smack him in head, “Guys how ‘bout we just see it like a fuckin' painting.” He'd grumble focusing back on his books.)

“Really?” She asks shyly and he bobs his head, “Guess you could just keep them then ...” She grins up at him taking the boxes from the cashier.

“Where are we going?”

“You’d see yourself.” She sing-songs galloping over the muddy potholes and Harry looks funny doing it with his spider long legs. Their footsteps echoes in the empty warehouse and Harry didn’t expect her to be the person – that loves finding weird places and spend time there.

“Careful there.” He murmurs. Pressing a hand to her waist when she wobbles on her feet climbing the metal stairs and Harry thinks if she was this clumsy all along or it’s from what happened at the coffee house.

“Holy shit!” He cups a hand around his mouth as the traffic bustles down on the street, “You afraid of heights?” She glances back at him from where she’s standing on the cemented edge.

“Matters. If we're about to act silly and jump, then yes.”

Warmth worms up at his chest and his adam apple bobs, he barks out a laugh when she giggles demanding him to come closer to her, “Come here then you dentist the bad boi.” He tugs the fabric of his jeans from his crotch and hikes his one knee up sitting beside her, other leg swinging in air.

He listens to her hums and happy sounds as she slurps the long noodle inside her mouth, “What you’re afraid of then Harry?” Her question catches him off-guard. Nobody has ever asked what his fears are and he might be famous for an intimidating personality just because he speaks less and owns a roaring bullet –-- he’s still very nice to talk to, but he'd rather spend his time with snowy than waste his time on orgy parties.

“Snowy’s funky farts -- they're ‘orrible!! have to leave the flat fo’ a minute.” He grins when Y/N’s head lulls back and she laughs gleefully, rolling into his side to support herself, “Oh no!” She whines when her chopsticks falls and drops onto the road poorly.

“We can share mine.” He hands her his chopsticks and she thanks him timidly, “What d'you fear?” They pass it back and forth –- his lips wrapping around them as he takes a chunky bite.

Harry tries to down the food that got stuck in his throat when she said nonchalantly, “Dying alone I guess?” He chews the veggies, grimaces and shakes his head -- puts his hand over her knee squeezing it kind-heartedly.

“You’ll not.” She feels like every tulip of light around her’s sparkling – the buzz of having his company tingling her in good way, “Promise?” She asks and Harry lifts his pinky in between them encouraging her to bring her's.

She wasn’t serious about the promise thing it was more onto sarcastic side than to sincerity.

“Promise.” His dimples caters deep and his eyes crinkles when different golden lights dances against her skin making her look prettier than she’s.

He’s gonna fulfill his promise.

..

Y/N could be sentimental given on occasions and how bad the situation’s – but she bottles it up for good amount until later, it all crushes her completely and she’s unable to stand back.

Now, when there’s eerie quietness in the bus and the world infront of her fades behind in weird shapes and forms in her head because of the speed of vehicle – her mind thought it’d be best time to remorse over what happened to her and her eyes well up at that.

Harry plucks his headphones down upon hearing her soft sniffles and turns her towards him with her shoulder, “Y/N hey ....” His voice tender and dewy as he slides his palm under her jaw and cups her cheek to wipe out her tears with the mild stroke of his thumb.

His gentleness rakes out an agonising sob from inside her and she feels like her organs are clashing together.

“Shh. Bambi you’re okay now, ‘s alright you’re here with me -- shh, ‘m so sorry love —- but it’s over now, yeah? We're going home and I’ll make you chamomile tea, could ‘ve both snowy and trippers cuddle with you while I’ll get you all warm and nice inside this new fluffy blanket I just bought! – how does that sound?” He pets her hair. Brings her closer to his chest and she keeps her nose tucked against his clavicles to stop from crying and make a show.

When she nods, suckling a wet breath he swipes a loose errand of her hair behind, “Sounds good yeah?” She just hums snuggling into him.

Her arms slowly loops around his love-handles and he stows her head under his chin -- rubs her back in circles to soothe the stiff muscles, covers her ears with the headphones he was wearing before – plays acoustic version of Landslide by Fleetwood Mac and simpers when she hiccups his name, but doesn’t respond when he answers – his ears turns pink from fond and his belly overglows with butterflies as she babbles his name till she drops into peaceful sleep.

Y/N found herself in his bed with snowy and trippers ontop of her and Harry snoring on the couch – his gangly limbs not fitting at all.

She really wanted to call him and sleep on his bed, but she drowses back to slumber.

..

“Grumpy jerk and an actual ray of sunshine. Sorry, couldn’t process it – too much.” Rori teased Harry the last time they gathered and Y/N was there too! though the true statement was claimed after her departure.

Harry’s friends couldn’t believe that he stepped out of his comfort zone and made a new cute friend, now after one year of their friendship it doesn’t feel like they’re neighbours anymore –-- it's just one big home with an alleyway in between.

“What're y'doin', moppet?” Harry chuckles picking up the half eaten packet of crisps, chewy sour candies, wrappers of oreos and the romcom CDs they were playing before.

Y/N's sprawled on her tummy. Feetsie in air and her chin secured in her palm as she looks like she’s seriously about to take an admission in med school –-- she’s concentrating real hard on the thick book under her, eyes fixated on the diagrams of teeth – it makes Harry laugh like a maniac.

“Aish. Your books, gives me an ache.” She massages her forehead, shakes her head as if she tasted something icky and pushes his book away. Harry laughs harder at her antics wrappers flying away from his grasp and he flops onto couch –-- thighs spreading wide and back sinking into the cushions.

“Where?” His lips rumbles as he tries to hold back another fits of laughter when she gets his dirty joke and pouts, lips fluttering into a smile until she bursts into giggles joining him.

“Nope. My cookie doesn’t throb like it used to sneaking on reproduction chapters in biology.” Harry roars out a cackle at that and Y/N grins fiddling with the frizz of her socks, “Heyyyy it’s not funny –- very much sad.”

He suckles a breath in, their grins achy and big, “Stuff your cookie with some jam ‘n you'll be alright.”

“You’re gross!” She fake gags. Hunches over to exaggerate the severity and scares the shit out of Harry when she gasps loudly slapping his knee, “Harry! Harry! Oh my gosh.....ahhhh!” She gallops like a bunny towards the window and gazes up at the sky with glinting eyes, “Harry look! It’s snowing.” He trots behind her with a roll of eyes knowing what’s about to come next.

When she turns around with sparkly grin, hands clasped atop her chest and tippy-toes to beg him, Harry shuts his lids, “No Muffy.” Y/N loves eating chocolate muffins –-- eating them whenever she could possibly ... and that’s how the pet name Harry decided to call her was muffy.

“Please, it would be so fun .. we could have hot chocolate afterwards.” She mumbles tugging at the hem of his chunky yarn sweater.

“Nothing’s fun about snow angles, Muffyyyy!!” He whines. Squinting down at her with one eye and finds her all slumpy, head falling downwards.

“Okie then. ‘m going to sleep.” She mutters in a meek voice pushing past him –-- but he wraps his hand around her wrist and pulls her back to himself, chuckling with wide eyes, “You’re very dramatic and annoyin’ y’know that?”

Instead, she grins bobbing her head shamelessly, pats his chest and dashes to wear his warm jacket, “Biscuits on you -- hot chocolate on me.” She tells him slipping into her shoes with the support of doorframe.

He comes closer to her and her heart thuds into her tiny ribs as he zips his jacket she’s wearing up till her neck and warns her while pulling out her hair, “If I get sick – ‘m gettin'y sick too.”

..

Harry’s waiting outside the candy shop Y/N just barged in moments ago. He refused to step inside – knowing she’ll use him as a taste tester and at the end of the day his tongue would have a mountain sugar atop his taste buds.

The spring breeze flowery and warm. He shakes his head, smiles softly watching her switch aisles and guffaws loudly catching attention of an old couple siting on the bench behind -- at her eagerness when she started chomping onto the long chewy candy right after getting it from the cashier.

“That’s g'na rot your teeth even before your forties.” He tells her taking the small bag from her and walks beside her, “Your kids are gonna hate you ...” She tells him –- stretching out the candy with her teeth.

“You sure, y'were allowed colas and candies in childhood?” He teases her prodding her side so she throws it at his chest making him laugh and he bends down to pick it up and dump it in bin.

“You’ve got a cute bum.” She whistles and Harry’s cheeks bashes with blush – turns around and wiggles herself, “How's mine?” She hums glancing back at him with cheeky grin.

“Ten by two, I guess?” He bites down a smirk when she spins to face him a bit gobsmacked, “Not even five?” She grumps chin doubling as she tries to see her bum herself.

“Six then?” He giggles enjoying how she’s getting riled up out of nowhere and she stomps away from him so he jogs to catch her, “Bambi. Was kiddin'.”

“You owe me two muffins with the amount of insults you’ve caused my poor bum.” He knuckles at her hair and she slaps him away like a feisty kitten, “I take it back –-- you’re really ten by two.”

“Oi!!!” Now, she’s running behind him. His curls blowing away and his coat ruffling with the zephyr, his head falling back with the belly-ache laughter that bounces against the bricked walls of shops.

..

It’s Friday night. Y/N is doing her laundry. Plucking out Harry’s socks from Trippers furry ear, her kitties sleeping in bassinet. Harry and Y/N have named them Tum, Tug and Truggers –-- she sits back on her heels upon hearing her door closing and hikes the small basket on her hip trudging outside —-- she didn’t had any clothes that could make her feel warm during these days – even her socks were all soggy -- so was Harry’s, now all she’s gonna do is make a blanket fort and hide in it for hours.

She knuckles at her eyes, blinking the tiredness away to see properly who’s standing in the middle of room, “Harry?” He's wearing a graduation gown and tips his hat with a sheepish smile then waves his degree infront of her, “Guess who's a proper dentist now!?” She’s frozen to her spot –- jaw slacked and eyes blown away in surprise.

“Your bad boi!” The basket falls from her hip onto the floor scaring Trippers and she whispers an, “Oh my goodness.” Before, stumbling towards him and crashes in his arms giving him a tight loving hug. He slinks his forearms around her and squishes his face into the crook of her neck, lips tickling her skin and if it was possible for him to freeze the time and cherish it for some more he'd.

“I’m so proud of you.” She mumbles into him with a grin. He feels so worthy and every hardship he faced now feels like nothing, this's how life supposed be throughout –- but best things always bores fruit for the right time.

“How about we celebrate? Just you and me.” Just you and me. It feels nice to just her and him. Makes her heart swoon. Makes her feel like skies outside are wet and pink, “Umm .. can we celebrate here? It’s okay .... “ She shifts on her feet and he furrows his brows in confusion, lips ticked up as if he’s scrutinizing her.

“You and not goin' nutters for an outing .. seems odd —-,” Then his eyes falls over the surrounding, a heating pad beside his feet – aloe fused socks hanging to get dry, a tray of chocolate muffins, kettle on the coffee table so he puts one and one together himself.

“Oh muffy —-... pizza and cuddles then?” If he wouldn’t be aware of how first few days of her period are hell for her then who would? He’s always making her pot meals and curry rice – feeds her and gets all strict when she refuses to eat anything. She looses her appetite and transforms into something ‘if zombie had a baby with vampire -- it sure looked like you’ he'd always scold her.

Even bribe her with candies. Once they were awfully painful and Y/N really didn’t want to be all dramatic not when their friends were having a good time, she doesn’t like to be a party pooper.

But, when a stinging cramp cut through her pelvis and thighs she was hunching forward with a jolt -- all teary eyes and wobbly lips. Harry left everything and rushed towards her, sitting on his knees on the floor and cupped her throat to make her look at him when she refused to, “Y/N ‘m serious -- you rather tell me what’s happening with ye’ or ‘m throwin' you at my shoulder and takin’ you hospital —... cause fuck look at you been like this since morning ....” He was rambling and Y/N felt like drilling a hole into floor and hide herself there forever.

She was mortified and embarrassed, a terrible combination.

She wasn’t able to tell him infront of all of their friends even though it’s something very normal, so everyone stared and nodded when they left they for Harry’s room.

“Bambi are you okay? I’m not even kidding something’s not —-..” She wipes her nose and tugs at his wrist trying to shush him, when he doesn’t pushes a fingers against his lips.

“Don’t worry. ‘m good --- just —-... umm I’m on my periods.” She rubs her one feet on another and his mouth fall into an ‘o' when realization hit him and his brows clinches together sternly.

He sighs running his fingers through his hair, something he does when frustrated and whumpy.

“Should’ve told me. We could have done this later ... do you want anything? I’ve got pain —--,” His words swells on his tongue when her head bumps against his chest and her hands locks around his neck, hugging him with all her gentle will because nobody has ever cared for her –-- him being so tentative to her makes her want to sob into his chest.

He warms her in all the right places.

..

“How’re you feeling on scale of one to ten?” He speaks while chewing onto the stuffed crust of pizza. They’re cosied up on the sofa while Mama Mia plays on the telly and she’s cuddled up into him, he's holding her heat pad with the grip of his forearm and she lifts her head mousey-ly from his bicep and whispers – “Eightish...? Now, you’re Dr.Styles.” He giggles at her and pushes her head back against him with his finger.

“What does my being dentist has a connection to your periods?” He dips the pads of his fingers into her pudgy love handles and squeezes them -- she giggles thinking about the joke she’s about to crack.

“You pull teeth, it’s blood and I pull out tampon so it’s —...” Harry chuckles gruntly at her and tickles her more, “Oh no. I know where it’s goin'....”

“You asked for it!” She pouts at him and he squishes her lips together as if she’s a duck toy.

Then they flump back into their cuddling position and Harry rubs her tummy in tender soothing circles, it helps her relax and his breath syncs with her and she really tries not to pay attention to her bratty screaming hormones heating her skin up – her thighs experiencing a quiver and she squeaks down a huffy whimper.

“You okay?” Harry asks. When she squirms against him and she gulps -- they don’t hide stuff from eachother so she tells him honestly, “You’re really turning me on.” Harry’s heart hiccups at that and his palms still over her thighs.

“Is that so?”

He pets her hair and tries to make her stand, “Just go to washroom and jizz one out.”

“I can’t.”

“You can’t? Why?”

“Promise me you wouldn’t make fun....” He frowns and nods bringing his pinky to make the deal.

She clutches her sweater down to her knees, cheeks rosy and mutters out in one breath – “I’ve specific days for that....” Harry really tires to. He locks up his laughs in his lungs and it aches his chest, his cheeks balloons up but at last he rolls onto floor and guffaws into his elbow.

“You said you wouldn’t make fun!!!” She whines kicking his side lightly and he grabs her ankle, “This means all those times you’d be all locked up –- oh my god, you were playing with yourself.” She folds her arms. Her nostrils flares with irritation and she doesn’t even spare him a glance.

“Pet, waiting so long .. it’s a torture to yourself.” He tells her genuinely sitting up with crossed legs and she mumbles knuckling at her eyes, “just some reasons ... horny is bad.” Now, Harry feels kind of terrible pushy person and he really wants to help her out but he’s walking on egg shells here. So, he stops asking anything.

“Rori's girlfriend is a sex therapist —-“ She becomes all fidgety at that and Harry takes in her nervousness, “It’s totally fine if you don’t want to.” He exclaims waving his hands and she gulps giving him a small nod.

“Night time fo' some grumpy muffy!” He coos, brings the blanket to her chin and his pupils dilate adorningly when she asks him, “Could I snuggle you?”

“Ofcourse.” He pecks her temple and tells her to budge over before sandwiching her between him and the sofa.

That whole night all his mind could think was why horny is bad for her?

..

Y/N was feeling overly warm and heated, a tad achy between her thighs. She vigorously tries to focus on something else but her chest is heaving at this point, even opens the windows and let the cool air hit her but no use –- so she does what have to be done in order to get rid of the throb.

She cosies herself on the bed, switches onto hentai and throws her legs in air to shimmy her sheer white panty down.

“Oh ...” Whimpers teeny-ly when her fingers brushing up her soaking pussyfolds provides her a bit relief – her soft hands wanders beneath her flimsy shirt and touches her skin in the most arousing way possible –-- tweaks her nipples and jerks up, oozing more wetness.

“Ah! Fuck.” She moans easing in two fingers at once and cramps down at them watching the hentai porn –- but it’s not enough, she’s been pushing her fingers in and out for ten minutes now—she’s unable to get to climax.

So she groans sits up and switches to domineering audios, listens to it while fingering herself hard and she has no idea from where her mind gathered these images from -- but -- soon she’s thinking about Harry’s husky rasp, his sea-foam beautiful eyes and those rosy knuckles ring clad hands —-- imagining him holding her down into mattress and pounding into her at a brutal pace, making her sit on his cock and not letting her move –-- his fingers down her petty throat —-- him spanking her ass if she let’s out any voice out and he'd roar at her beg as she'd be lurking at her tenth orgasm –---- every plausible dirty stuff with him.

She was so engulfed into making herself feel good, lost in her own headspace and imaginations that she didn’t hear footsteps approaching and it’s like she manifested him as he stands at the door-frame with blown away pupils –-- guppy mouth and she’s squealing feeling dizzy upon sitting up this quick.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck —-... sorry sorry ... “ He covers his eyes and turns to walk away but bumps his head with a thud into doorframe.

She gasps, knees up and almost shouts, “No!” making him halt mid-track and she’s on the verge of tears, red face and shaky fingers.

“Please ....”

“Stay.”

Harry’s eyes turns soft at that and he walks towards bed, licks his lips wet and brushes the loose tress of her hair away.

“You want me to stay, muffy?” He asks to make sure – she isn’t in haze and all fog minded.

“Yes. I want you to stay.” She doesn’t hesitate this time. Her words honest and full of plead, she needs him, she wants him, she wants to have him.

[double-hoe-seven]

AFC Richmond as boyfriends

Here’s a lil headcanon collection of our favorite himbos as boyfriends.

I did it again for the staff (: AFC Richmond Staff as partners

A/N: Definitely didn’t put everyone but these were my top ones and it’s 2 AM so imma leave it here.

Sam Obisanya

The absolute sweetest man you have ever met

Such a softie, very concerned about making sure you’re happy and comfortable with whatever choices you make together.

He always picks the most random times to surprise you with things; showing up at your work randomly for lunch or with coffee/tea, random little souvenirs from his away games.

He’s always putting himself second and sometimes you have to remind him “hey, babe, you can do things for yourself, you deserve nice things too.”

Just, compliments galore with him. He’ll always find a way to compliment you on something.

The most cuddly person ever, he loves public affection (hand holding, piggy backing, hugging, kissing if it’s not raunchy, etc), he really just likes showing you off because he feels like the luckiest man in the world to have you.

He takes his time with your relationship, letting it bloom and grow at it’s own pace.

There aren’t many fights between you, hardly ever, the last “fight” you had was because you couldn’t unanimously decide which dog to rescue. The solution? You adopted both, now you share a one-eyed Jack Russell Terrier named Starro and a three legged German Shepherd puppy named Harry (Pawter. He was so proud at his pun when he showed you the then 3-month old puppy.)

Again, just the sweetest, more romantic man you’ve ever met and ever will meet.

thesexisgoodtoo. hesaverygentleandgivinglover

Isaac McAdoo

Man’s stubborn.

I mean it, he is as stubborn as a mule.

I’M DEAD SERIOUS, he once pouted for 5 days when you accidentally ate the last Rolo in the flat.

But he’s also romantic in a sort of rugged way?

He won’t go shopping with you but he knows what colors look best on you, he knows what styles look good on you, and he has your sizes and shades memorized.

Bear.

Mr. sometimes-crank-teddy-bear over here.

He’ll say he doesn’t want something but he will eat half of your food if given the chance. If you step away from your food to get a drink or something, there will be a good part mission when you get back.

Its a tradition to go on a date the morning of a game, and snuggle up with a movie after the game.

You have had more than a few drunk texts from him, all of them equally funny and full of sexual innuendos.

You don’t address his Rolo addiction. It could be something much worse anyway.

Richard Montlaur

So many visits to the goat farm he was raised on!

He really has to drag you back to London after visiting his parents because you don’t want to leave all the precious goats (and you and his parents get along famously).

You spend alternating holidays with each others families (except for Bastille day, you always spend that either together or with his family.)

There are always roses in your shared flat.

It’s a constant battle over his facial hair.

He has a grudge against the way the English make French pastries.

He has a habit of falling asleep on the couch or in uncomfortable positions and then wondering why his back or neck hurts.

Little spoon.

He’s teaching you French.

This man is a smooth operator, master at flirtation and romance. He’s good at planning romantic dates and outtings.

Dani Rojas

You 100% believe his mom when she says he was born caffeinated.

One of your first dates was a Mumford and Sons concert which was an interesting experience.

Soft boi hours with him. He’s a lil puppy dog.

Does this man ever sleep? Rarely.

He rises with the son and wants to get the day started immediately but he’s mostly letting you sleep in now.

He LOVES trying new things, exploring new places, generally having new experiences.

His absolute favorite thing to do when he’s not training is playing football (or any game, really) with the kids in your neighborhood. They all love him.

He’s a sweet boyfriend, not as sweet as Sam but he’s a close second.

You alternate who plans date night. You split the chores 50/50 but divvy it up if one of you is sick or has more work to do.

There’s so much alcohol in your flat its unreal.

You usually go to sleep before him but he has a bad habit of throwing himself into bed and partially waking you.

He makes the best breakfast most mornings.

And don’t forget the trips back home to visit his family in Guadalajara.

After a long day of training, he loves just laying down with his head on your lap while you run your fingers through his hair.

Jamie Tartt (Season 1)

FUCK NO

Jamie Tartt (Season 2)

On your first date you got drunk and bonded over shitty fathers.

Not that either of you really remembered the next day, you were both too hungover to immediately recall the night.

His love language is kind words.

At the start he needed a lot of reassuring that you did care about him for who he was, warts and all.

He’s slightly awkward when it comes to romantic gestures so most of the date planning falls on you don’t mind.

He still has some high maintenance behavior but he’s working on it and you’re proud of how far he’s come from the prick he used to be.

Your fights are usually over petty shit like where to eat for dinner or what movie to go see.

He will not hesitate to buy your feminine products for you. He knows your preferred brands and sizes and what treats you like when its that time.

He’s good at those rigged carnival games, the many little stuffed animals in your closet can attest to that.

He talks in his sleep. It’s all nonsense.

He has a soft spot for the neighbor’s cat (and cats in general).

Roy Kent

Rugged.

He’s great to snuggle up to.

The man is honest to boot. He doesn’t sugar coat anything at all.

10/10 times he will go down on you if asked. He’s a giver.

He is the heaviest sleeper in the world. You don’t know why he bothers setting alarms.

Phoebe has a room at your flat and spends so much time with you both.

Many nights have been spent reading different books on the couch together.

He has to clean the drains since 75% of it is his.

Fuck is a very versatile word in your home, used daily.

Not the most romantic man alive but he has his moments.

Date nights are usually relaxed and proper but sometimes you can make the old man have a little fun.

He growls at least a dozen times a day, it’s his main response.

Jan Maas

My beloved

My sweet, beloved Jan who can’t/won’t use a filter to save his life.

He’s blunt in everything and sometimes it makes you want to slap him.

Jan is still getting used to English ways and mannerisms.

He has good intentions but sometimes needs a little help with wording.

He likes going on Aquarium dates.

The more tired he is, the clingier he is and it’s too cute.

Once after a game he plopped onto the couch next to you and basically tried to curl up in your lap.

He can make amazing pancakes.

Thats it though.

You’ll do most of the cooking if you value living in a flat that’s not on fire.

He’s a sweetheart though.

Mostly good intentions though.

Doesn’t mind nudity and had to quickly be reined in by the team. Not at home though.

At home he can easily be found lounging in boxers and a t-shirt while he sips coffee.

He knows what he’s doing.

Tag Team: @bdffkierenwalker​

[aubrey-plaza]

I was asked to explain how I did the text effects for this Dinah Lance set and while I usually have no idea what the heck I’m doing, I thought I might spare some others the madness of figuring these out. 

It’s pretty easy and this is less explanation and more just a walkthrough but here we go

tutorial under the cut!

things you will need:

photoshop

some fun fonts (x)(x)

a gold foil picture (x)

a couple of gradients (x)

I get most of my resources (fonts, graphics, etc) from Creative Market which you should def check out if you don’t know it yet — they have 6 free resources every Monday and there’s usually some really cool stuff to be found there!

If you’re looking for how I did the gifs in the AKA canvas, check out this tutorial (but basically it’s just a gif clipped to a text layer with a clipping mask)

GIF 1

1. type your word and slap some layer effects on there to make it stand out

2. put the foil picture on your gif and be sure to clip it to the text using a clipping mask (this is to prevent it from covering the whole gif)

I thought my foil was a little bleh so I put a hue/saturation adjustment layer on it to make it prettier

3. type out your little text on the bottom

et voila! finished gif:

GIF 2

1. type your text in your preferred font and then we go into layer effects again

add some shadow

add a gradient overlay

and then lower the opacity of the entire thing

2. add your thin text over it

3. and then to make it all fancy, give your gif a lil border

and bam! finished gif:

GIF 3

1. write out your text and duplicate it. (hide the second layer for now)

2. give it a gradient overlay and a colour overlay (make sure the gradient is set to multiply and the colour is set to colour blend mode)

3. set the layer blending mode to difference

4. unhide the second text layer and open your layer style window

5. give it a lil outer glow

6. set the stroke to 1px and white

7. now drop that layer fill to 0 to get rid of everything except the stroke and outer glow

8. nudge the second layer (which is basically only stroke) a little bit down and to the side and you’re done!

GIF 4

this one’s a bit more work but it’s not that difficult!

1. make your text and set the font colour to black and open your layer style

2. give the text a gradient overlay (colour overlay works too!) and set it to multiply

3. go to blending options and set your layer to difference

here’s where it gets fun!

4. duplicate the layer as many times as you want and place them at the top and bottom (arrange them however you like)

I wanted a sort of stacked effect so I made sure to have overlap, but it ends up looking a little wack:

so here come the handy dandy layer masks!

5. give each text layer their layer mask and then hide all of them except the middle text and the one you’ll be working with

6. using your marquee tool, select the area you’d like to mask and use a black brush to colour it in (make sure the layer mask is selected and not the actual layer!)

repeat with the other text layers

7. put all the text layers in a group and then click on the layer style and apply a drop shadow and outer glow to the whole group (doing it for the group instead of individual will prevent the shadows from showing over other text layers)

8. I wanted to add some more colour so I added a hue/sat layer

you can also play with the hue settings to get other fun colours

and you’re done!

So there you have it! A quick walkthrough of how I did the text effects for my latest Dinah Lance set. My suggestion is to just play around with the blending modes and colours and have some fun!

if you have any questions or if there’s anything confusing in this tutorial, my inbox is always open! :)

and if this helped you in any way, please REBLOG it

~ with love, Kate

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 313: Deku VS Lady Nagant

Previously on BnHA: Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai Lady Nagant showed up to fire a cupid’s arrow into my heart, and a bunch of literal bullets into my son. Deku was all “oh shit it’s Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai, what do I do, let me think back to Hawks’s advice for a sec.” Flashback!Hawks was all “anyway Deku so if my super-hot badass murder senpai ever shows up you’re basically screwed so you’d better abscond the fuck out of there.” Present!Deku was all “lol idek why I flashed back to that conversation since I’m just going to do the exact opposite of what Hawks said” and charged directly toward Nagant because WHY NOT. Overhaul was all “waah I need to get back to my boss who I put in a coma out of love” and Nagant was all “jesus christ why did I even bring you here” and had a flashback to AFO who was all “ILU NAGANT IMMA GIVE YOU AN EXTRA QUIRK SO PLEASE CAPTURE DEKU FOR ME PLEASE AND THANKS” and yeah. Shit is all over the place right now and I love it.

Today on BnHA: All Might gets attacked by a pair of discount assassins and is all “Call an ambulance! ...BUT NOT FOR ME” and it’s really badass but also I really wish he would stop tempting fate like this. Lady Nagant is all “[casually flies around town shooting shit]” and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t read an entire chapter of just that. Deku is all, “[gets shot (≥_<)]” and releases a giant Smokescreen which prompts En to show up. En is all, “( •᷄⌓•᷅ ) (⌣̀ Δ⌣́) ( •̀_•́ )σ (¬､¬) (눈_눈)” which I consider to be a high point of both the chapter and of my life. The chapter ends with Deku using the Third’s quirk to launch a bunch of random objects at Nagant so that he can jump up and grab her arm all sneaky-like, and I’m sure this is going to prompt another week’s worth of discourse that I don’t care about at all, but fuck it, I’m having a good time.

OH WE’RE CUTTING BACK TO ALL MIGHT WELL THAT’S NICE I GUESS. CONGRATS ON NOT BEING DEAD

you named your car??

you named it Hercules??

I love you so much??

please marry me you giant fucking dork???

lmao speaking of huge fucking dorks

who the fuck are you clowns. la dee da we’re gonna murder All Might with our synchronized spear attack!! I mean... they’re clearly trying their best... maybe I should just be nice and politely hype them up like All Might is so clearly trying to do

like okay, but we all agree that this is actually the least intimidating attack any of us has ever seen, right?? these guys zipped up their hoodies all serious-like and are trying to attack All Might and Hercules with their Walmart tiki torches, but just, no?? right?? like the only way this could possibly be effective is if they were trying to kill All Might with secondhand embarrassment

“those are assassins” this is a VERY generous assessment, All Might

OH MY GOD THE TIKI TORCHES ACTUALLY KILLED THE FUCK OUT OF HERCULES

[slaps roof of car] this baby can fit so many weaponized festive backyard lighting solutions in it

and yet, even after watching this with my own two eyes, I still can’t take these dudes seriously. idek what it is. anyways r.i.p. Hercules, I loved you a lot but I guess you weren’t actually a very good armored car were you

omg they didn’t know it was All Might??

okay 1) for a moment there I was like “oh hey maybe they’re not so bad after all” but then a moment later it was like “ah nope, they are.” like, that was an interesting .06 second emotional journey there. anyways 2) All Might you have my permission to kick their asses for this disrespect, and 3) anyone else all of a sudden getting “wouldn’t this be an interesting time for Stain to suddenly show up” vibes?? no?? just me???

(ETA: hmm tbh I’ve still got those vibes and they haven’t gone away lol. Stain?? you out there buddy?? do you want to be cool for just once in your life. ball’s in your court pal.)

OH SNAP ALL MIGHT ARE YOU REALLY GONNA DO IT ARE YOU GONNA KICK THEIR ASSES

PROTECTIVE DAD MODE ACTIVATED?? BECAUSE YOU KNOW I’M HERE FOR THAT SHIT, SO YEAH, FEEL FREE

omg he’s shouting at them about how much Deku has suffered lmao and they’re just like falling over from being scolded

so they have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about though, right? “SIR THIS IS A WENDY’S” well whatever, you killed his pet car so he’s in a bad mood now

OH MY GOD

LIKE, JUST SO WE’RE ALL CLEAR, THESE FOUR PAGES SO FAR HAVE MADE ALMOST ZERO SENSE. LIKE MAYBE 2% SENSE TOPS. BUT ASK ME IF I CARE. GO AHEAD AND ASK. I SAID GO AHEAD, IT’S OKAY. ...NO I DON’T CARE AT ALL THANK YOU FOR ASKING

(ETA: also, the more I look at this panel, the more I’m just like, why the hell would you phrase it like that though, sob. way to doubly tempt fate?? are you trying to give Horikoshi a challenge??)

and now back to Deku who is randomly bouncing around the city and narrating it to himself just in case he was confused about why he was doing this

who are you talking to Deku. but thanks we appreciate it

man you gotta love that overconfidence. the smartest guy in the world warned you away from this lady, so SURE, LET’S RUN RIGHT UP TO HER. “I APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT, FLASHBACK!HAWKS, BUT I’LL TAKE IT FROM HERE” well okay then!!

I think it would be funny if RHA.com put little Buzzfeed-style polls in between the chapter pages so they could survey people at random intervals as they read their way through the chapter. like, you finish this page and then there’s a little poll there asking “do you think Deku’s plan of catching up to Lady Nagant and finding out where Shigaraki is will work?”, and you click “no” just like everyone else and then nod as the results show that 97% of your fellow readers also picked “no”, and you chuckle to yourself wondering how many of the 3% accidentally clicked on the wrong option by mistake, and then you keep on reading

ANYWAY, SO

HOW’S THAT PLAN WORKING OUT FOR YOU SO FAR DEKU. nice kick, though!!

omggggggg

ouch

update: Deku’s plan not really working out. sources tell me my boy has been fucking shot. this is an ongoing story and we will keep you posted with the latest developments as they come in

wait what

feel free to explain to the rest of us what all of this “UNLESS...” and “THAT POSSIBILITY...” shit means anytime, Deku

oh lol did he realize she could fly??

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE, CNN’s John King reports that Deku is still fucked. eyewitness reports now coming in that Nagant is doing no-look shots and basically not even giving a fuck. sources described her mannerisms and expression as “sexy, but in like an effortless sort of way.” we will continue to bring you the latest

so now there’s basically an entire page of Deku being all “ah fuck so she’s basically closing in and she could already hit me with impossible accuracy even from Far Away, so if that’s the case then her being Up Close is probably going to be even worse!” making good use of that Big Hero Brain there, Deku

so now what, you’re doing some kind of spiraling kick thing?? how is that going to help

oh lol he’s using Smokescreen to create some cover. aww, good for you Deku you named one of your Smokescreen attacks

OH NO LADY DON’T TELL ME AFO DIDN’T EVEN FILL YOU IN ON THE BASICS

seriously, AFO?? you basically told her what Deku’s exact strategy was going to be but then couldn’t be assed to drop that little, small, barely notable piece of knowledge that Deku is rocking multiple quirks?? is it supposed to be a secret or something?? you dropped the ball here man

damn this is getting intense now

(ETA: the way En is poking Deku’s head in that first panel is fucking sending me, I love this guy so much omg.)

well then what are you planning, Deku?? I’m actually really curious!! I am genuinely starting to be invested in this fight scene not only in the “wanting to see who wins and how that impacts the plot” sense, but also in the “wanting to see how it happens because the choreography and strategy is actually pretty cool” sense, which honestly hasn’t happened for quite a while now! this is fun

anyway so what’s up Deku, are you going to use another quirk?? I’ve been speculating that he hasn’t actually unlocked the last two yet (since Two and Three didn’t exactly seem convinced when we last saw them), but maybe I’m about to be proven wrong

(ETA: well he clearly has Three’s obviously, but Two’s is still MIA, and that’s the one I am of course the most curious about. that’s the one we’re all curious about, let’s be real.)

OH SNAP???

AHHHH I’M HYPED LOL. ANOTHER SHINY NEW QUIRK LOL SHOULD I PUT UP THE USUAL DISCOURSE DISCLAIMER

(ETA: so yeah, after thinking on it, I’m not gonna say “please no Deku discourse on my blog” this week, but I probably will ignore any discourse that does come my way though, just because I don’t have much interest in getting involved in what would probably be a pretty repetitive discussion. like, I can just sum up my opinions (which is what they are) here instead. in fact here they are lol:

1) I like the SIXQUIRKS and I like seeing Deku be a badass.

2) I also don’t think Deku is too OP. more like he’s exactly as OP as he needs to be at the moment, given that we’re approaching the end of the series. I expect the other kids will also be pretty damn OP when we see them fight again. we’re just at that point now where they’re all badasses (as well they should be; they’ve grown a lot and they deserve it). it’s just that Deku’s the one we’re getting to see right now.

3) of course I miss Kacchan and the others, but for me this vibes much closer to the MVA arc where even though I missed them, I was still having a blast (as opposed to the dark days of the Basement arc where I was pretty much losing it lol). like, even though Kacchan’s my favorite, I still love Deku a lot and this arc has been amazing for him getting to shine on his own (for like the first time, really).

4) y’all know I love the OFA plot and I’ve never been shy about that lol. I like all of the Vestiges a lot. Banjou and his over the top personality; En and his “guy you thought would be serious and :| all the time but is actually hyper-animated and ALL OVER THE PLACE” energy; Shiro who actually is a :| sort of guy lol; Three who I still expect will be fleshed out in a more detailed flashback at some point; and of course Two, who, well. you know what I think about him lol. Bakuverse is still on the table and I’m still hyped. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we still have yet to see Two actually talk to Deku (as opposed to talking to the other Vestiges while Deku is distracted). did he lend him his power yet?? or is he still holding out?? either way it’s definitely going to be a Big Thing when it finally happens and I can’t wait to see it.

5) Lady Nagant is Everything and just because Deku grabbed her arm doesn’t mean the fight is over yet lol. Overhaul hasn’t come into play yet either. not to mention that even if the fight is over, the “where do we go from here” part still has me excited either way. her connection to Hawks and the HPSC is very intriguing and we’ve barely touched on that as of yet; she definitely has more of a role to play in this.

6) last but not least, I feel like every week the discussion is all about how much focus Deku’s getting, and how OP he is or isn’t, and OFA this and OFA that, but meanwhile I’m actually so invested in the character development here though?? the way Deku has distanced himself from everyone (except for the Vestiges, because of course they’re already dead so it’s not like they can die again lol)?? the way he’s pushing himself far too hard and we can see the shadows in and under his eyes, and the fact that he never smiles, and even All Might has remarked on how he isn’t taking care of himself at all?? the fact that he’s so single-mindedly obsessed with focused on stopping AFO?? the fact that he’s still the same sweet old Deku despite everything and was so kind to that fox lady with the umbrella, but there was also something so sad about that scene because it felt like a reminder of the type of hero that he wants to be, but that he’s not allowed to be right now?? because the stakes are too high and the world is falling apart?? and he feels like he’s the only one who can do something about it?? and that he has to be?? and that he is putting so much pressure on himself right now, and it’s absolutely too much pressure for any one person to bear, and I feel like no one is fucking talking about this lol goddammit.

anyway so yeah. I have feels about this, and every week that slow-burn angst is getting more and more intense behind the scenes, and I feel like it’s all going to hit a breaking point eventually. sooner rather than later. it really feels like a mirror of Katsuki’s post-Kamino arc. where all that angst was just churning below the surface for like twenty chapters and then it finally was like “okay it’s time” and it all came bursting out and we got the best five chapters of the fucking series (in my admittedly biased estimation lol).

basically, I know that most of fandom is billing this as either the “villain hunt” arc or the “solo Deku SIXQUIRKS fighting arc” or whatever. but for me, it’s always been and still is the Deku Angst arc lol. the cool fights are a sexy bonus (the worldbuilding less so because even though it’s interesting to see society at such a low point, it’s also very depressing and gets old pretty fast), but for me the thing that’s really keeping me engaged chapter after chapter is seeing Deku like we’ve never seen him before. seeing him all quiet and withdrawn and brooding and focused on AFO, AFO, AFO, and seeing that “he just doesn’t take himself into account” mentality taken to extremes. I am invested in that. I’m soaking up that angst each and every week, and I’m invested in seeing what comes of it. it’s a big picture thing. week to week this arc might just seem like a bunch of villain fight scenes, sure. but Deku’s emotional journey is the thread that’s going to carry this arc through from beginning to end, and for that I’m willing to be patient.

anyway that turned into a BIG OL’ RANT there but yeah! so those are my thoughts on the disk horse as it currently stands. and like I said, I’m open to discussion, but tbh I will probably just wind up repeating these same talking points endlessly so just a fair warning lol.)

anyway so Three says Deku has yet to use his quirk at ALL but now he’s trying to combine it with another quirk?? damn. also please check out En’s face here you guys

En launching a sneak attack up my favorite character list by the sheer power of his expressions alone. he really knows how to make the most of his screentime

OH DAMN DEKU

at this point the 3% from that hypothetical poll earlier are starting to feel prettttty damn smug, I’ll bet. well shit

what in the fuck

?? so like releasing his chi or whatnot?? isn’t that basically just like base OFA all over again?? also Deku did you seriously just apologize to Gran’s cape

update: Nagant has turned her eyeball into a gun

hm. hmmmmmmm. ...okay yep, still somehow sexy

anyway so she’s just floating up there building suspense, as one does. lord I sure hope she has good reflexes because something tells me she’s going to need them

OH SNAP HE THREW GRAN’S CAPE AS A DECOY WHAAAAT OKAY THAT’S SOME SMART SHIT DEKU

LOL SHE’S MAD NOW

JESUS CHRIST SHE JUST NEVER TAKES A GODDAMN BREAK FROM BEING AWESOME HUH

DEKU ARE YOU JUST THROWING EVERY DAMN THING IN YOUR INVENTORY

but without the cape and the hood how will you continue to look like an enigmatic badass. you really can’t. which means we might finally be moving on from the wandering nomad part of this arc, stay tuned

LOL YOU MANIAC

I hope he went full Kacchan with the dialogue there. his face sure looks like it lol. popped out of a building all mad fdskljlkj omg

well this was fun, shit. I still have basically no idea what Three’s quirk does though lol. like, can he use it to charge up objects with kinetic energy or something?? but then what was all of that talk about combining it with one of the other quirks?? or was that just because he was using Smokescreen at the same time??

(ETA: having seen and read an additional half-dozen explanations of Three’s quirk, I can say with confidence that I still have basically no idea what it is or does.)

anyway so!! Deku is a badasssssss but something tells me not to count Nagant out just yet even so. also I really enjoy seeing Deku flip out on people like he doesn’t have a fucking hole in his torso because it reminds me of A CERTAIN SOMEONE and I always love to see him channeling that feral energy; I feel like it’s been a while

anyways good luck to you both!! I truly wish that both of you could win. but if not, then maybe you can at least become friends instead. you have so much in common, you both can fly and have multiple quirks and you’re both badasses, and plus it would just be really funny to see the look on Hawks’s face lmao

[sugarylawliet]

Consider this me letting you know we need a full fledged jealous light fic

your wish is my command!!

> warnings: smut, choking kink, a LOT of degradation, spit kink, jealousy.

“Y/N, could you look at this for a second? I need an outside opinion.” L’s voice called from the front of the room while you helped Misa get ready for her fake interview (thanks a lot, Matsuda.)

“Sure!” You walk over to L, the raven haired boy sitting in his usual unconventional position, knees to his chest in the rolling chair that sat before a couple computers and a large, wide scale screen displaying security camera footage from different parts of headquarters.

“What do you think about this, anything stick out to you? I want to know if I’m grasping at straws here.” He asks, his eyes wandering down towards your chest as you lean over the back of the chair, your hair dangling down to rest on his shoulder as you look at his computer.

“Hmm, what is it?”

“It’s a schedule of sorts, of days where the most criminals were killed in the past couple of weeks.”

“Well, they all seem to be really concentrated on the weekends and some Fridays. Maybe that tells us something about Kira’s new schedule.”

“Perfect, my thoughts exactly. Thank you Y/N, you can go now.”

“Anytime,” You turn on your heels to leave, only to knock a pen cup off of the desk with your hip, pencils and pens scattering the floor below with an irritating crash. 

“Oh jeez, sorry about that.” You bend over (coincidentally) in front of L, meticulously picking up each spilled object and placing them back into the hard mesh-style cup. L’s eyes stay on you as you stand back up, placing your hand on the arm of his chair for stability. 

“Sorry about the noise, hope I didn’t disturb your hard work.” You ruffle his thick charcoal hair, somehow managing to make it messier than usual before heading back to the back of the room where you began to help Misa with her pigtails and rehearse her lines.

Wrapping Misa’s blonde locs with a hair tie, you glance over at Light, who sat near L. His eyes were on you- how long had he been watching? His gaze was stern and he pointed to the phone in his hand and then pointed at you. You finished Misa’s pigtail before fishing your phone from your jacket pocket and checking the notification that lay at the top of your screen.

light<3

we’ll talk after work.

You look up from the bright screen, furrowing your eyebrow at Light questioningly. He types a quick message on his phone before looking back up at you, your phone digging. 

light<3

you know exactly what. don’t play stupid. 

You look back up, but before you could question him, he was already turned around in his chair, fast away at work typing. You let out a sigh, stuffing your phone back into your pocket, dread racking through your body at what Light could possibly be upset about this time. 

________________

Late in the evening the dimness and sleepiness of dusk filled the task force headquarters, everyone deciding to call it quits for the day and go back to their respective rooms. You, however, have a dreadful appointment with Light. You make your way to his room, holding your breath before opening up the door.

You shut the door behind you, resting your hands folded in front of you politely and looking at your feet. Light approaches you wordlessly, reaching his hand behind you to lock the door. 

You were in for it.

Quickly, he places his knee in between your legs and shoves you against the door frame, placing one hand lightly on your throat and the other on the door, blocking your left side.

“Do you take me for an idiot, Y/N? Tell me, do you?” He pushes his knee further into your crotch, punctuating his words, earning a gasp from you.

“N-no.”

“Really? Is that the truth? I saw you with L today. Acting like a fucking slut, flirting with him right in front of me.”

“I didn’t, I wasn’t, Light. I promise.”

He tightens his grip on your throat, pushing you harder against the door. “Don’t lie to me. It won’t work. I bet you did that on purpose, huh?” He lets his free hand trail down your body, caressing your curves as he inches closer to your bottom half, dragging his fingers along your upper thigh. “Was it all to get attention from me? To make me jealous, maybe? God, you’re so fucking needy.” 

His fingers reach up under your skirt, lightly brushing his fingers against the fabric of your already wet panties. You whine- you wanted more. 

“You’re so damn desperate to be touched, look at you. You’re already soaking wet and I’ve barely touched you. Have you been thinking about this? Were you imagining me fucking you while you bent over for L?”

“I didn’t- I wasn’t trying to flirt with him. I promise Light, please. I would never do that to you.”

He removes his hand from your panties and smacks you on your cheek, enough to turn your head, causing a cry to come from your throat. “I don’t wanna hear the excuses. Just shut up.”

You rub your thighs together with a small whine, upset at the lack of warmth from Light’s fingers. 

“Hah,” he chuckled, “If you want me so bad, then stop misbehaving.” He brings his hand back up under your skirt, hooking his finger in the waistband on your panties and pulling them down to pool around your ankles. Slowly, he swipes a finger across your slit, careful not to give in to what you wanted. “Mmm, so wet for me, baby, you really are such a needy whore, aren’t you? You want my fingers, huh?”

“Mhmm” You whine, unsure if you’d be able to form a sentence with how clouded your head felt.

“Use your words. I can’t understand you when you mumble.”

“Please, please, I want your fingers Light. Just please, touch me.”

Complying, he dipped one finger inside you, pumping in and out agonizingly slow. 

“Light, faster.” You sighed breathily.

“Hm?”

“Faster, please go faster. I need more.”

“Such an bratty little bitch, always needing more and more and more. God, you’re such a slut.” 

He dips another slender digit inside you, pumping in and out much faster. His thumb finds your clit, rubbing it in circles while his fingers curl into your g-spot.

“Oh god, Light, it feels so good.”

“Yeah?” He adds a third finger, “I bet you like that, fucking whore. You get off on me so easily.” He quickens his pace, hitting your g-spot repeatedly and abusing your clit. 

“Light, I’m gonna...can I come?” You choke out between moans.

“Fine. Go ahead, cum on my fingers like the good little slut you are.”

Obeying, you climaxed with a call of his name. Light removed his fingers from your heat, lifting them up to examine the mess you made on them. 

“Open up.” He commanded. You opened your mouth, and Light shoved his three fingers into your mouth, pushing them further down as you licked your liquid off of them. 

“Hmm, taste good?” Light asked, smirking. You nod frantically. 

“Go, get on the bed.” 

“B-but my legs hurt.” You whine.

“Did I stutter? Follow my directions.”

Hesitantly you comply, walking slowly (and slightly painfully) towards the bed in the middle of the room. Light, impatient, grabs a fistful of your hair and shoves your head into the mattress, hovering over you, your ass against his crotch.

“You walk too slow. What’s so hard about following directions? You’re such an annoying little brat, do you even deserve to be fucked?”

“Yes, yes! I do, please, fuck me.”

“Hah, so pathetic and needy,” He unbuckles his pants, pulling himself out from his boxers, pumping a few times, “You enjoy being used for what you are, don’t you?”

You nod, earning a slap on your ass from Light.

“What did I say earlier? Use your words. You only get what you beg for.”

“Yes, yes Light. I like it.”

“You like what?”

“Being a slut for you, only for you Light. I love the way you use me.”

“That’s right.” He praises. “Now turn around, I wanna see your face when I fuck you so hard you can’t think straight.”

You turn around, now laying on the bed with your stomach facing up. You spread your legs, beckoning Light to hurry up. He places the head of his cock on your slit, teasingly rubbing up and down. 

“Tell me how bad you want me. How much of a whore you are for me, how much I own you.”

“I want you so bad, Light,” You whine impatiently, “Please fuck me, you own me, just use me and fuck me, please, I need it so bad.”

“God, you’re such a good little slut for my cock.” Finally, he pushes himself in, causing you to moan loudly. You feel self conscious about your vocality, wondering if the others hear your moans or if they’re already asleep, and that’s when it hits you.

“L-Light, the security cameras...” You manage between moans as Light thrusts into you. 

“The cameras? Oh, what? Is the little slut worried about L watching this footage? Well, you weren’t so worried about him seeing you like this earlier when you were flirting with him, bending over for him. I bet your whore ass doesn’t even mind that L will see you getting fucked like the needy bitch you are.”

“Light, I- oh fuck, Light, I told you, I wasn’t flirting with L...”

Light removes one hand from your hip to roughly grab your jaw, bringing your face closer to his before he spits in your open mouth. “Don’t talk back to me. Didn’t I tell you this? Now swallow.”

You do, closing your mouth to swallow his spit down.

“Hah, I bet you like that, don’t you? You’re such a pathetic disgusting whore, you like when I spit in your mouth.” He thrusts hearder, emphasizing his words.

“God, you’re so tight.” He groans.

His grip on your hips tightens as he thrusts harder, hitting your g-spot over and over again. Your hips buck in pleasure and you can’t hold back the slew of curses and moans spilling from your lips.

“Light, I’m gonna...”

“Yeah? Come for me a second time, baby. Come all over so I know just how much you like being used as a whore.”

Light twitches inside you, letting himself release and filling you up with his cum at the same time you finished. 

He collapses beside you, only the sound of both of your heavy panting filling the room. Eventually, Light gets up, tucking himself back into his jeans before walking to the bathroom connected to the bedroom, fetching a damp washcloth and tossing it at you.

“Clean yourself up. You did so good for me, beautiful. And hey,” He leans in to your ear, “Don’t ever try to make me jealous again, ‘kay?”

[seokiloquy]

Freeze Frame Pt 2 - Hinata Shoyo

Au: Regular (post-timeskip)

Tags/Warnings: GN! Reader, past friends to lovers, alcohol, Hinata is approximately 25 while the reader is about 22-23)

Word Count: 15k+

Pt 1 | Pt 2

"Alright, I'm off!"

"Do you have your key?"

You stopped in the doorway, patting down your pockets. "Yup!"

Pedro came out of his room, cracking his neck while he stretched. "Do you want me to drive you?"

"No. Thanks, though." You picked up the large black bag by your feet, grunting while getting it onto your back.

"Are you walking?"

"Biking."

Pedro stopped mid-stretch. "Shoyo's old bike?"

"Ya, might as well put it to use. And I'm nervous, so hopefully, it'll work some of that energy off."

"Are you sure you don't want to drive?"

"Confident."

"Okay. Good luck."

You smiled at your roommate and closed the door behind you.

Being hired right out of school was a blessing. A bigger paycheck to compete with Pedro's streaming income and just taking better care of the two of you on top of getting to spoil your godchild senseless because Heitor and Nice deserved it. It was perfect.

Except for the fact that the club hired you after looking at your portfolio without any interview or entry tour. Nothing. You had only been able to talk with your boss, Thomas, over the phone, primarily of him excitedly rambling about how excited he was to have you be a part of the crew.

It wasn't normal, far from it. It made you anxious, stomach-churning at the thought of having to work in an environment that was out of the norm. No face-to-face meeting? Who does that?

You were practically going in blind, minus the fact that they had bought you a brand new, hefty, professional camera that you managed to get some practice in with Heitor's help.

Its weight made riding the bike harder, though.

Despite getting to listen to the sounds of the city while riding, you could barely hear it over your panting.

If you didn't gain the physic of a god from these rides, you promised yourself to just take Pedro up on his offer of the car.

Your boss was waiting for you inside the front doors of the stadium when you arrived. He carried his mug tightly at his side, using his other hand to shake yours. His toothy smile made his cheeks crease behind his beard.

"You're here! Happy to finally meet you!"

"You're very upbeat. Hope it's not alcohol in that mug of yours." And you did it again. You bit your tongue as soon as the words fell out of your mouth.

His smile shifted to a look of shock. You worried that he was about to fire you on the spot. But before you could grimace any tighter and run back outside to where the bike was waiting for you. The man bellowed a rumbling laugh, hand falling to your shoulder with a few firm pats.

"You're perfect! Don't be afraid to boss the players and coaches around, okay. It's your job to make them look good. So a smile always helps."

Even with the camera's bag weighing heavy on your shoulders, it suddenly felt like it had been lifted.

"Well, let's hope I don't accidentally insult them in the process."

Thomas slapped your shoulder. "Just wear a big smile, and they'll be fine. They've all got tough skin anyways. Hecklers run rampant."

He walked you around the stadium, bringing you to meet different staff members and take their picture as a sort of orientation to the team. Other photographers and videographers did the same upon arrival, a tradition that started a few years ago when Thomas got promoted.

You got every person to make their favourite volleyball move for your collection.

"The players will be here in about an hour. And fans will start piling in about another hour later. How about we get you into the change room with one of the filmers to get some shots?"

"That sounds okay. But what about during the game?"

"Well, since I'm in charge of what visuals get produced in this department, I also get to have a say in who we hire. And I like your style, so just do what you do best."

"Are you sure? Is there nothing you specifically want?"

"I want your best work!"

"Thomas, that gives me no direction."

"You'll figure it out."

"Oh lord."

The man chuckled, tipping the brim of his mug for a sip. "I've been meaning to ask, some of the photos in your portfolio were of beach volleyball players. One of them was that Ninja Shoyo wasn't it?"

Despite not having anything to drink yourself, the saliva in your mouth decided to slip down the wrong tube, sending you into a coughing fit. Thomas rubbed your back with an occasional pat but continued to sip happily at his drink. 

"Ninja Shoyo? I haven't heard that name in a long while. I thought people had forgotten about him."

"Oh, they sure did forget. Well, at least until a couple of weeks ago."

"How come?"

"You haven't heard? He'll be here with his team later. He signed with Asas São Paulo."

You nearly threw up, as if your body thought that coughing wasn't enough of a visceral reaction and decided to try and send you to another plane of existence with an empty stomach. Luckily, the brand new camera in your hands was strapped around your neck, or Shoyo would have inadvertently and indirectly been the cause of another break, and you had run out of orange tape long ago.

"He's what?!"

Thomas grinned behind the top of his mug, "Oh, so you do know him."

Talk about going in blind.

You called Pedro as soon as you had the chance. Pleading him to tell you if he knew about Shoyo's return to Brazil.

"Oh ya, forgot about that."

"You forgot?! I'm about to see him again for the first time in, what is it, four years? And you didn't think to tell me that the idiot that robbed me of my heart before leaving the country just decided to pop back up without a hello?!"

"Well, you did give it to him, and to be fair, he isn't in Rio. He had to go straight to São Paulo. So it's not like you would've seen him meditating at the beach or playing keep up with Heitor." Something about the comment made your chest ache. "I guess it just slipped my mind. Maybe I thought you would've gotten the news from him already."

You didn't get the news. Now it was hitting your face like one of Shoyo's spikes.

You kept yourself ducked behind your camera as you navigated around the edge of the playing field. Despite being a photographer for Rio's team, your eyes kept trailing back to the other side of the court. Half the time they did, the ball wasn't there for a good excuse. Still, they stuck like glue, unable to peel away.

Cheers roared louder as the home team got another point. It was a close game, nerve-racking for Rio as São Paulo was known as one of the best. They just had to get further ahead in the race. You captured a photo of the wing spiker celebrating and his teammates patting his back. 

Walking around the court's corner, you stepped over the safety matting and crouched down at the centre of the pitch before the padded post opposite the referee. Idly listening to the chatter of the teams on either side of you, you lifted your camera when you noticed Rio's front row, running closer to form a block. You zoomed in.

"Heads!"

There was pain. First your head, then your side, and then it felt like all air had been forced out of your lungs. Something smashed onto the court floor. You weren't sure if it was the other side of your dizzied head or something else. Once able, you wheezed, taking in all the air stolen from you. Sound started to roll in like thunder. Cheers and stomping feet from the stadium around you rushed into your ears with a throbbing force. When you opened your eyes, you were sideways on the floor, staring at your brand new camera, which was worth much more than your monthly pay, cracked along the glass of the first lens. You rolled over.

Brown eyes, dark copper, greedily absorbing all the light in the room. They seemed to suck you into them as well.

His weight was on top of you, and even if you could move, his arms kept you caged against the polished floor. You tried to look away. Up where you could see the players of both teams looking shocked, down to where his legs were resting on top of yours, or at his forearm where his muscles were tense with keeping his weight up. You tried, but Shoyo always was a bit greedy for attention.

It was a whispered question, a single word. It took you a half-second to realize it was your name being spoken. 

"Shoyo—"

Hands were on you, hulling both of your forms off the floor and away from each other. Someone's thumb pressed into the welt on your temple. It stung and caused a rippling throb to move underneath your skin, but you didn't wince. Instead, your eyes locked onto the brown ones set a couple metres away instead of inches, keeping you frozen in place.

São Paulo lost that game by a tight margin. Though many fans claimed that they would've won had Shoyo not been forced to sit down for the last couple rallies of the game.

"Pedro!"

The restaurant was bustling. People chattered over the clinking of their utensils against the plates. Waiters ran around, balancing their trays filled with filled or emptied plates and cups while the legs danced beneath them, carrying their bodies from one end of the building to the other in seconds.

To the dark-haired Brazilian, it felt normal, but the copper-haired volleyball player was going through another dose of culture shock, wedging himself in the corner to get away from the noise.

Pedro waved and slid between chairs to wash his hands in the bathroom before returning and settling down in the seat opposite his friend. A waiter arrived at their table quickly, asking if they wanted a drink other than water while reading over the menu.

"Cachaça," Shoyo replied, not even looking at the paper for options. Pedro was fine with the water.

"Been a while since you've had some, huh?"

The alcohol arrived poured into a short glass that perfectly fit his palm. Shoyo refilled his glass of water in preparation.

"Oh ya! I tried looking for some sugar-cane alcohol in Japan, but there wasn't a lot, and it didn't taste the same. Nothing beats alcohol from the source!"

Pedro breathed a laugh. "Well, there's lots of cachaça here."

"Lots of sake too! Makes me feel closer to home," Shoyo sighed, rubbing his stomach. "It feels good to be back."

"Does it? You're in a completely different city this time around. Rio and São Paulo are quite different. You must be enjoying the nightlife a bit more there."

Shoyo opened his mouth to reply just as the waiter returned.

"Oh, I want some moqueca. Pedro?"

"I'll just get the barbeque meat?"

"Do you want to get some quindim for dessert?"

"Sounds good."

The waiter left quickly. Pedro waited for a moment before looking back at Shoyo, who was taking a sip from his glass of water. "So the nightlife?"

"It's different. Being on a team, the players like to spend at least one night each week going out for drinks. It's fun, but I'm more used to practicing every minute, even at night. They're more insistent on going out than they are back home. But that just might be a matter of the people."

Pedro nodded. "Have you at least settled into your apartment?"

"Almost! It's a bit bigger than our apartment was. I have a couch and a big tv! I mostly use it to watch games, though. It's also pretty close to the stadium, which makes me able to bike there."

"I'm guessing you got a bike as soon as you arrived?"

"Ya! A real cool one too. I do miss being able to bike near the beach, though." Shoyo paused, gulping at his cachaça while taking one of the small ice cubes into his mouth. Pedro heard it break between Shoyo's teeth before it melted away. "So, what have you been up to?"

"Well, streaming really took off,"

"Oh ya, I've been watching." 

Pedro smiled. "So I sped up my university progress and graduated a year early. And with the money, we managed to afford an apartment that had a bit more room that we could use as an office."

Pedro relaxed in his chair, sipping his water. Across from him, Shoyo's eyes widened, and a smile grew between his cheeks. The waiter came and placed their meals down before them just as this happened.

"We? Did you find a partner?"

Pedro choked and hurriedly set his glass down, grabbing a napkin to wipe the water from the corners of his lips. 

"Ah, no, don't get any ideas!"

Shoyo's nose scrunched, and his smile became sharper. "What, are you embarrassed? You don't have to be Pedro. We're friends! Tell me about your life!"

"I'm not dating anyone, Shoyo!"

"Are you sure? Then who are you living with?"

“I don’t think that’s too important.”

“Come on, tell me.”

“Shoyo.”

“Tell me!”

Your name fell hurriedly from Pedro's lips.

Shoyo stilled. The gamer watched his older friend's expression dull, smile disappearing, and the teasing glint in his eye vanished. 

Shoyo blinked, took a deep breath and stood from his chair. He said, "I'm going to go wash my hands before we eat." Slowly, as if another sentence was running through his mind, and walked toward the bathroom.

As he washed his hands in the sink, he brought a few scoops of water to his face, letting it cool down the heat that was starting to pool in his cheeks.

When he returned, there was a list of questions ready in his mind.

You had been eager to distract yourself with work. Between a racing heart and a wandering mind fighting each other, you wanted nothing more than to sit in your office and work quietly while Pedro's talking became white noise in the background. Anything to forget about crashing into Shoyo for the first time in years.

When you and Predo moved into your new apartment and set up your office, you both knew things would function differently than before. Being the largest secluded room in the apartment, the two of you had decided to split the room down the centre, putting shelves on opposite walls to fill with your individual things. 

Your side carried photo books, art books, albums, cameras, lenses, tripods, and all the works you could ever need. Pedro was kind enough to buy you a drone for your birthday under the condition that you could help him film things with it should he ever make a video outside. The drone sat proudly on your shelf, one of the few things visible at a glance. You frequently used it at the beach, often taking pictures of the athletes on the sand and water.

Pedro used his shelves to mostly display his manga collection and some merchandise, both his and others (many of them being One Piece related). He had even taken to displaying swords on your shared wall. You would watch him pull one off the wall from your side of the room and show his viewers.

You shared a large desk. A custom-made one that you both invested in. It was somewhat triangular, like two Ls placed back to back. You had it pushed against the back wall underneath the window. Your monitors were set up so that when you sat down, you would be able to look out the window on one side and to your roommate on the other. The desk itself was kept as clean as possible, though there was a mess of wires behind the screens.

You were editing a photo when Pedro read out a question from his stream.

"What equipment do I use? I have a camera, a mic, a monitor, com—oh, you want specifics. Um."

You spouted out the names and specifics before you could help yourself. Pedro's sclera was visible above his iris when he stared at you. It took a half-second before you slapped a hand over your mouth.

Pedro glanced at his chat and sighed. "We are not dating! Shut it!"

"Sorry."

"Well, at least they got the specifics of the equipment. Guys, I wasn't even the one that bought them. My roommate did. They work with that type of equipment."

You really didn't, but your photography and film technology classes taught you enough to at least know about them.

Pedro ended up introducing you on his stream. Not that you particularly minded. It was one of those new things that you and Pedro had discussed possibly happening when you set up the office. At least this way, you wouldn't need to do acrobatics when delivering Pedro a meal.

His fans were nice enough to leave you alone, at least. If you did gain one thing, fans of his who had an interest in sports or photography had started following your work, and by extension, your freelance portfolio was beginning to grow.

The teenager had been squinting at you for a while as you set up your gear. At first, you paid him no mind. You were where to do work, paid for by his coach. But then cents seemed to start being given once he built up the courage to say something.

He was giving sets to his teammates, eyes away from you while you snapped photos of the flying players from beside him.

"So you're Pedro's roommate?"

"Um ya. How did you know?"

The ball landed in his fingertips, you grabbed a picture, and it was back in the air without a sound.

"Well, our whole team watches him, and when you showed up, and we found out you did sports photography, we sort of asked if he could book you. Your pictures are cool."

You laughed, finger pressing into the button of your camera. "Thank you for the approval then. Was there something else you wanted to ask me?"

He quickly scratched a dark hand against his shoulder before setting another ball into the air. "Hmm, what other photography have you done?"

"Well, I mainly photograph volleyball. But I've also done other sports and have played around with aerial photographs with a drone. I'll do landscapes on occasion if I find one I like."

"Have you ever done wedding photography?"

You paused for a moment. "I have, actually. Once, about 4 years ago, for a friend's wedding. They weren't your usual photos mind you."

"You have a style, and it's cool! I'm asking because my cousin is getting married soon, and their photographer's passport still hasn't been renewed. And when I showed her your photos, she thought they were really cool."

"Passport? An abroad wedding?" Your brow brushed against your camera in a questioning movement.

"Ya. I know it's a bit short notice, but she wondered if I could ask you."

Getting away from Rio for a time would be nice. A new environment, new experiences. Something to give you some extra distance.

"After we're done, I'll give you my business card, okay?"

Shoyo stared at his mostly unpacked boxes to the shelving and furniture around his main room. The left side of the wall felt tight, blocking the window from letting in fresh air and light. Giving his back a stretch, he grabbed one of the shelves and moved it into the corner of the room. Once secured, he cracked the window and let the incoming gust of air wash over his face.

Then the honking started, blaring into his home as if the cars were right next to him. He slammed the window shut. And when the sound didn't seem to go away, he slid the shelf back into place.

Backing up into the couch, he sat soundlessly staring at the unappealing setup. The shelves were too short of reaching the ceiling but too high to fit anything on top. The bench beneath the window was cheap, already bowing under the weight of his sports bag. He rolled his back as he leaned into the cushions.

He rolled again, lifting himself off the plush seat and dropping back into it. He shifted, shuffled, and even switched to sit on another cushion entirely.

"This thing isn't that old!"

He stood up. Forgetting the window, leaving the shelves, and trying to remove the uncomfortable couch from his memory, Shoyo moved to his boxes, grabbing the one blocking the doorway for the past couple of weeks and taking it to his room.

He ignored the difficulty of finding a comfortable way to sit when he started unloading the box onto his bed. Picture frames with images from high school were on top. He set those aside to put on his shelves later. He pulled out his old pair of volleyball shoes, his originals that he couldn't throw away. Next was a blue shirt with a familiar phrase printed on the back.

Reading it over then made him realize just how long the box had been left untouched, waiting for a permanent settlement to be revealed once again.

His apartment in Tokyo had been tiny compared to his original family home and apartments in Brazil. For four years, they gathered dust. If a box had items that weren't essential for daily living, it ended up at the house in Miyagi tucked into the corners of his room and left untouched. Even on days when he stayed over and slept in his old bed.

He got to the bottom of the box.

'Happy Birthday'

His heart made a familiar flip in his chest. Remembering the baffled look on your face after he had accidentally crashed into you. Your cheeks were tight then, lips pursed and eyes blown open. He felt so close at that moment it made his brain scramble. He didn't even get a word out. But hearing his name fall off your tongue made him feel whole again. Like he was struck by lightning and came to life again. 

Shoyo pulled the wood-covered book and pulled it into his chest. His fingers stroked the back, feeling the engraved details against his callouses. His chest rose as he breathed, letting the hefty weight of the book sink into him as he exhaled, letting him hold it ever so closer. He stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, biting gently down on the rest as he fell back on the bed with a profoundly satisfying sigh.

He didn't want to hug a book, but he'd take what he could get, even if the hole in his heart only seemed to keep chipping away.

No. Shoyo brought his knees up and rolled to his side. It wasn't enough.

Pedro had gotten a call after his stream ended. It wasn't a long one, but when Pedro glanced your way with pinched lips, you immediately tilted your head in silent question.

"Um, Shoyo is wondering if he could stay over for the weekend."

Immediately, you began frantic, spinning and shuffling as you tried to find something to clamp your emotions onto. Your thigh would have to do. 

"The weekend? I'll be stuck at home until Sunday morning. I have to work on my photos and get them to Thomas. Are you sure he wants to stay here?"

Pedro nodded. "Something about feeling homesick."

"Homesick?! I thought we established that Japan was his home. Why would he come to Rio?"

"I can theorize, but I can't read his mind! What was that?" He turned to the phone again. "Oh. Okay. He bought his bus ticket already."

You sighed. "Pedro, I'm going to skewer you."

"With what? My foam swords?"

You downed a shot glass of cachaça as soon as you got out of bed on Saturday morning. According to Pedro's report, Shoyo had left and would arrive just after lunch.

The work that was waiting on your computer had little progression made in those early hours as you fidgeted in your desk chair. And soon, the source of your continuous shaking knocked on the door. Your heart stuttered, and you launched back in your chair.

"Do you want me to get it?" Pedro asked, dropping his headset to rest around his neck. "Or not?"

You were already on your feet, rushing out of the office and raising a shaky hand to open the door. You wondered if Christ the Redeemer had stepped on his mountain peak to meet you at the door, silhouetted by a bright sun that he carried on his back. But no, life wouldn't give you anything easy.

"Shoyo!" Pedro rushed out of the office and greeted the ginger, pulling him into a tight hug.

The redhead reciprocated, eyes shutting as he squeezed Pedro back.

You quietly let go of the door and backed away, mumbling a quiet desire for cachaça as you turned to the kitchen for the alcohol cabinet.

"Let me help you!" Shoyo had swiftly gotten out of Pedro's arms and to your side. His shoulder bumped against yours once he fell into pace.

Your breath hitched at the contact, forcing you to hold your breath until you knelt down and opened the cabinet door to reveal a collection of bottles.

Shoyo gulped next to you, "So, I was wondering—"

You dropped two bottles into his hand and got up to go toward the fridge. "Do you want Ice with your cachaça?"

"Nah, it'll dilute it. Anyways—"

"Okay, can you grab some glasses from the cabinet? A small one for, big for Pedro, you can choose whichever."

"Uh, sure thing!" He looked to where you pointed and pulled out three glasses, two larger ones of the selection. "So—"

"Pedro! Do you want to get started on dinner? I've got work to do!" You dropped ice into your glass and Pedro's before popping off the lid of one of the bottles and pouring them out one by one.

"Ya, no problem." Pedro shimmied his way past Shoyo to your other side, where you held up his glass for him to take without looking.

"What are you thinking, shrimp stew? Corn chowder?"

Keeping your eyes on the filling glasses, you nodded your head to the top of the fridge. "Something healthier, We've got an athlete in our midsts." You turned and slipped a now full glass into Shoyo's hand. 

Shoyo watched with raised brows as Pedro pulled a familiar-looking cookbook from on top of the fridge. "Hey, isn't that—"

"Alright, I'm off to work." You waved your empty hand behind you as you rushed down the hallways and shut the office door behind you.

Shoyo sighed as Pedro flipped through the old cookbook. "I'm being avoided."

"Sorry, dude," Pedro said before getting to the most worn-down of the pages and setting it on the counter. "But to be fair. You did drop in somewhat unannounced."

The redhead down about half of his glass before replying. "I know I just… needed to feel like I was home again."

"Do they know that?"

Shoyo downed the rest of the glass and filled it again.

When Pedro called for dinner, you came out of the office quickly typing on your phone to the point that the device tilted with every thumb hit. Seeing your form come down the hallway, Shoyo down the rest of his third glass. His stomach was stirring, but it was from hunger, nor the same kind of pre-game stomach ache that he was very familiar with; it was you. Your presence alone sent butterflies and bees a flutter as the nerves decided to attack his abdomen.

He filled his glass again while Pedro set down the food.

"You messaging Thomas?" Pedro asked, making Shoyo's head shoot in his direction.

Shoyo had the sudden urge to visit the bathroom. Never mind, maybe it was the pre-game nerves. Instead, he took a gulp from his glass.

"Ya, just keeping him up to date." You set the phone on the table and helped divide the food onto everyone's individual plates. 

Him? Him who?

Pedro went to grab water, leaving the two of you at the table. Shoyo stared at your phone while you placed food onto his plate.

He gulped. "Can I have your phone?"

You blinked at him as is pondering over his words. "Are you trying to steal my phone?"

"What?! No! I would never. I just wanted to, uh, put my phone number in."

"Oh." You looked away before placing his now full plate down and grabbing Pedro's. "Has your phone number changed?"

"Um, No."

"Mine hasn't either," You picked up the device and handed it over. "But if you want to make sure. Go ahead."

Shoyo nodded shakily as he received the device with both hands. You already had it unlocked for him. Shoyo swiped through the contacts until he found his name, and when he opened the contact, he was met with a familiar number, untouched since it was first put in.

Feeling the swirling feeling in his stomach, he dug deeper, going back into the contact list and looking for a name under 'T' where he hoped to find a man named Thomas.

Shoyo sipped on his drink when he opened the chat message, desperate to find what the conversations might be.

'The photos are done,' you had sent last.

Photos? What photos? He scrolled up, taking another sip.

'Make sure the sweat is visible in every shot!' the made had said earlier.

Why would this Thomas guy need to see sweat? You hadn't been doing boudoir, had you? Boudoir of a man no less? Ones with plenty of visible skin?

He scrolled further up in the chat history.

'We're making a gallery at the stadium entrance, so if you have any you like, send them in!'

Gallery? Stadium? A stadium for the boudoir? Shoyo never thought that would have existed.

This Thomas man was full of compliments. 'The team loved the last group of photos! Especially the celebration ones. Happy men, Happy team!'

Boudoir of many men? All at once?

Shoyo could feel his chest tighten and heat pool at his cheeks. His insides felt like they were ripping themselves apart, clawing at muscle and bone.

When Pedro returned with the water, and you sat back down in your seat, Shoyo slid the phone back to its original spot and took another hefty gulp of cachaça. It burned his throat more than before, gliding through the tight muscles.

Shoyo coughed, daring to bring up the topic. "So, who's Thomas?"

"My boss." Boudoir boss? "He's the one that hired me for the Rio volleyball team."

"Oh." The tightness in Shoyo's chest seemed to ease a bit, making the hair outside his skin feel warmer than it did for a while.

"Hmm!" Pedro hummed around his fork before pulling it out and setting it back on his plate. "I forget the ice."

As the dark-haired man shuffled into the Kitchen, Shoyo looked our way with a big inhale. "So, I wanted to ask you—"

"Pedro, can you grab the napkins too!"

"Ya!"

Shoyo sighed and refilled his class. His brain was buzzing but he needed more courage, and some liquid luck would do the trick.

You had managed to finish your work while Pedro and Shoyo were in the kitchen making dinner, but as per your household rules, you had to wash the dishes. You had to wash them, with Shoyo in the room.

Pedro gave you a look as he left the kitchen for the office. His eyebrows jerked upwards while twitching his head in a slight nod. A quick movement over Shoyo's shoulder as if saying, "You know. Handle it."

The sink filled with dirty dishes quickly became the most exciting thing in the room, along with the lathered sponge and soapy water. The scrubbing was loud and made your hand feel dryer with every second, but the bubbles rolling out of your palm and onto the surfaces of your plates were mesmerizing.

"Do you want a hand?"

You sidestepped away from Shoyo and slapped a hand to your shoulder where his breath was still tickling your skin. The plate in your hand fell into the sink with a splash. You realized seconds too late that you were still holding the sponge and that the water and soap were being squeezed out from the pressure of your grip. Still, you couldn't seem to move and drop it back in the sink.

Shoyo kept his eyes on yours as he reached for one of the towels. Once in hand, he slipped his fingers under your wrist and lifted your arm away from your shoulder. He dropped the towel in its place. He grabbed the sponge.

The room's silence was only supported by Pedro's muffled keyboard clicking in the other room. You could hear your tongue move.

"Hi," Shoyo said lightly as he pulled you back toward the sink. "We didn't really get to talk over dinner."

You nodded, grabbing the towel off your shoulder to start drying dishes. Shoyo took your place and dipped his hand into the soapy water to pull out the plate you had hastily dropped.

"I'm sorry if coming over was pushing a boundary. I know I should've asked you properly and given you time to think. I just — I wanted to get out of my apartment. I wanted to be in Rio again. I… I needed to see you."

Your heart thumped against your ribs, sending jolts into your hands which nearly made you drop another dish. With your lips between your teeth, you sucked in a deep breath and tightened your hold, keeping your eyes down.

Cold hands found your back and began to slither around your sides. 

"Shoyo!" You squirmed.

His cheek found your shoulder as he pushed the bridge of his nose against the side of your neck. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "Can I just hold you for a moment, like before?" His chest was warm against your back. It only settled itself more snuggly against you as he breathed, pulling you in tighter. His calloused hands were moving against your shirt, splaying out and curling in, not unlike setting a ball.

It was burning. Your skin was on fire. Every breath of air felt molten.

The cold water on Shoyo's hands successfully soaked into your shirt, but he paid the damp cloth no mind while he continued his ministrations. 

You twitched, fingers wrapping around his wrists to try and pull him off. "Shoyo, you're drunk, you should go lie down—"

"Shh." His fingers pushed into your skin. "Please, just a little longer."

A shaky gasp escaped you. Your head fell back against his shoulder, and you lifted your hand to card through his warm hair. It was as soft as you could remember. He pulled you flush against his chest at the feeling of your nails against his scalp.

"God damn it. You dumbass."

He hummed lightly, digging his nose in deeper. "I... Hmm, I've wanted to tell you… something."

Nothing more than a slight noise of question escaped you. You weren't sure if you couldn't trust yourself with anything more than that.

"I… Hmm." His breathing tickled your skin. A minute passed as you waited for him to continue until you realized that the alcohol had taken over his system, and he was out like a light.

He what? What was it that he wanted to say? What force compelled him to trust you with his weight and cling on? You wanted to wake him up and pull the words from his lips, but that wouldn't be savoury, not while he's drunk. The warmth against your back made you want to sink into him and throw him off simultaneously.

Why did he have to show up out of the blue and render you speechless, unable to get the word out of our mouth?

You wanted to say sorry. Sorry for running away, sorry for ignoring, sorry for hiding. The words just couldn't make it from your head to your tongue.

So instead, "Idiot," you cursed and gently played with his hair as you carried him to the couch and tucked him under the blankets.

You rushed out of the house the following day with your headset on, not bothering to make yourself presentable and certainly not giving the couch a glance. Even with every bit of your body wanting you to turn your neck, you refused and rushed out. If you had taken the chance, you knew there would be no way you could get yourself outside. The thought of making a proper hangover breakfast for the boys had crossed your mind, but ultimately it felt like too much.

The imaginary image of Shoyo curled up on the couch in one of Pedro's blankets, and one of your pillows would have to suffice.

Heitor and Nice were in the kitchen with little Maria when you arrived. Your godchild, who no doubt was up at the crack of dawn anticipating your visit, hopped off her chair, small hands up in the air as she ran your way. 

"Up! Up!"

As requested, Maria was in our arms and swinging in the air. If you didn't work in a job that had you lifting hefty camera's all the time, you would have not been able to get the 3-year-old higher than your knee.

Heitor and Nice ushered you over to the kitchen quickly, sitting you down and placing a plate of food in front of you before you could even get a word out.

"How's work been? I've been meaning to ask you something about it."

You sipped on the water that Heitor slid over. "It's been pretty good, actually, a great distraction. I actually got a gig photographing a wedding. It's going to be held in Argentina. The husband's family lives there."

"That's fun! Be sure to bring dancing shoes just in case."

"Nice, I'm a photographer, not an active participant in the wedding."

"Just in case! You never know. Anyways, I was wondering if you'd be interested in photographing the samba dancers at the carnival? Y'know, like you did before?"

You nodded while pulling a now empty fork from your mouth and filling it with more food. "I was planning to walk around and take photos anyway, so I definitely could."

"Perfect, give me your hourly rate, and I'll send it forward." 

Heitor, who had been listening along, piped in. His head bobbled strangely as he talked with his chin in his hand. "You've made a tradition of taking pictures at the carnival, haven't you? Isn't that where you met Shoyo?"

"Uh, ya, it is. I was on my own, and he nearly broke my camera."

Heitor nodded. "So, you're not dating Pedro, right?"

Maria slipped off your lap and back into her chair, where she continued to grab her food and stuff it into her mouth.

"What? No! How are those even related?"

Nice slapped Heitor's arm. "I told you!"

"What? Why would I date Pedro? He's great and all, but—"

"You would never betray Shoyo like that," Nice put forward.

"Where did that come from?!"

Heitor rubbed his shoulder with one hand while cleaning up Maria's messes and giving you a curious look. "Were you and Shoyo not dating before he left? We thought you had a massive fallout and broke up."

The heels of your palms pushed into your eyes. "We were never together, and there's no way he liked me then or now. What is even happening right now?"

Nice patted your shoulder. "Okay, we are a bit out of the loop."

"Trust me, so am I."

"What is happening? Catch us up."

Your heart hadn't stopped beating for the past few days, and when you opened your front door, you were just waiting for someone, Shoyo, to jump out at you. 

He never did. You weren't sure if you were relieved or disappointed. Either way, your heartbeat would take a dip, pausing for a moment, and your stomach would tighten. You needed water, something to ease your stomach.

Morning light lit a path through your kitchen, making airborne dust particles visible as they gently floated. They dispersed as you paced through them, reaching for a glass in the upper cabinets.

"Morning."

You jumped, glass hitting the edge of the shelf as you jerked back.

Pedro stood in the doorway, yawning as he tried to force back a cowlick that was swinging forward against the rest of his hair and tickling the corner of his eyebrow.

Sighing, you walk in front of the sink and turn on the tap, using the brief second it took to fill for a moment of meditation. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry, you have been jumpy lately, though. I just greeted you like I normally do."

"It's fine. I've just been anxious, I guess."

"Hmm?" He putters over, grabbing another glass from the cabinets and filling it before leaning against the counter. "What's that about? The Shoyo thing? I should've said no to him coming over; I'm sorry."

You let a tank of air slowly push out of your lungs as you leaned against the counter next to Pedro. His arm lifted, rubbing your back. 

"It's okay. He's okay, more than okay, amazing! Fuck, it was terrifying! Seeing him at the game was one thing but showing up here? Staying for the night? My heart was already on the fritz. I nearly imploded! It's just— It's been so long, and I was stubborn and upset. I still haven't apologized. I can't get it out! And I'm now waiting for him to just knock on the door again like some wife waiting for the milk-man to come and shag—"

The memory of Shoyo's warm breath gliding over your neck gave you shivers. He was drunk. You had to remind yourself of that.

"Slow down, slow down." His hand moved to rest on your shoulder, fingers digging into the muscle in a light massage. "He asked me about you, ya know?"

Your blood ran cold. "What?"

"During dinner after the game. He asked about you over dinner."

"He was still in Rio?! I thought they left immediately after the game!" 

"Ya, their team stayed the night. I think they drove back the next morning, though."

The sinking appeared in your stomach again, and your heartbeat became more vigorous, making you sway with every pulse. "Shoyo asked about me? Why would he ask about me? He should want nothing to do with me. Toss me aside. Reject me! Oh, that would hurt; I deserve it. It wouldn’t be the first time. I’ll get used to it eventually."

You curled in as much as possible without falling to the tiled floor.

"What are you talking about? Why would he reject you? He’s not like those people you used to know, you said it yourself. He really liked you, you know?" Pedro backed up, going for the fridge to pull out something to eat as breakfast.

"Liked? Like, like liked? No, no, no, I did not know that?!" 

Pedro blinked, head halfway in the fridge. "You two were all over each other. What do you mean you didn't know?"

"He never told me that!"

"Ya, he di—oh. I shouldn't have said that." Pedro stared at the door of the closed fridge, lips pinched. He slowly backed up, turning away from you and running into the office room while shovelling food into his mouth. 

"Pedro!" You chased. "What are you talking about?"

"Nuh-uh!" He slammed the door behind him.

When you got the door open and made your way in, Pedro had already started his stream and was interacting with them with a pleasant grin, openly ignoring you in the doorway.

"Hey! Tell me." You whispered. "If you don't, I'm gonna freak out more than I already am, and I don't think I can handle that stress."

"Hey, chat. Give me a second." Pedro looked over, "Look. Trust me. It's alright. I'll explain later."

Although you couldn't see what was being said, you could see the chat begin to blow up, scrolling past at a rapid pace. You crossed your arms, feeling your throat tighten.

Noticing your collapsing form, Predo reached over and held your wrist. "Hey, it'll be just fine. It's not something you have to think about. Why don't you grab some food and then come back so you can get to work, Hmm?"

You took a deep breath, digging your toe into the floor before nodding. Pedro gave your wrist a squeeze before letting go and rolling back to his spot in front of the camera.

You dragged your feet while leaving the room. Flopping onto the couch's plush cushions gave you no sense of relief as you pondered over what Pedro could have insinuated.

Shoyo read the chat with rapt attention, catching every word that flew by while listening to your voice, speaking meekly offscreen, but wrist visible as Pedro held it with a delicate touch.

Rumours cropped up, growing and spreading like weeds in an open field, and Shoyo was picking each out by the root. Online strangers were speculating. Just roommates? Dating? MARRIED? These were just strangers. Their words should mean nothing to him, especially since they had nothing to do with him. They weren't talking about him, his career, or his privacy.

They were talking about you, and that felt even more important.

His throat felt dry, and his chest tight. Shoyo's vision seemed to vertigo, zooming in on the chat messages. 

He should have stayed one more day in Rio; he could have. Just one more day with you where you didn't have to leave and be separated from him. He knew that you and Pedro weren't together. The gamer had made that very clear the moment Shoyo sat back down during their dinner and reinforced that sentiment whenever your back was turned in your home.

"We just live together. It made sense after you left," Pedro had said. "I don't see her that way, and I would be way out of line for me to do anything after… ya know."

Shoyo repeated Pedro's words in his head like a broken record player that was stuck on the chorus. He knew the reality, but it didn't stop the jealousy from churning inside of him.

He wanted to be in that apartment. He wanted to be sharing that space and see photos of him with you on the wall. He wanted to have a split office, seeing you and Pedro at the other ends of the room. He wanted a part of that, to share that.

He wanted you with him, calling him an idiot, smiling at him. He wanted to hold you, feel the heat of your skin on his, your hands in his hair, his hands on your sides, your smile against his cheeks, his shoulders, his neck. On his lips. Oh, he wanted to know the feeling, learn it, memorize it. Tattoo it into his skin to feel it forever.

He had it then, even if it was just for a second before you rushed away.

The silence in his home throbbed against his ears, making him realize just how lonely it was.

The jealousy, which was only a grain of sand before, grew to a fist when he saw what was trending the next day.

The rumours had spread.

You tilted your head at the tab on your computer, scrolling through as you read over the contents. "Pedro, why does the internet think we're dating?" 

"Excuse me, what?" His head poked out from behind his monitor, lips clamped around a straw that stuck into his morning cup of water.

"Well, I guess your mic picked up our conversation and a bit of video yesterday, so people are speculating."

You heard his chair creak as he fell back into it. "Great, people are gonna want me to explain. Want me to tell them we're dating?"

"No! Idiot!"

"I'm kidding! Hey, don't hit me!"

You relaxed in your chair, bringing your hand down to rest on your mouse. "Besides, that's not the only thing you have to explain."

"It's not?" You met his eye around the sides of your monitors. He winced. "Shit. I hoped you forgot about that."

"How could I?"

"Fair. Okay," Pedro sighed, kicking his chair out to roll around to your side of the desk, resting an elbow on the surface. "What do you want to know?"

"You said something about Shoyo telling me. What was it?"

The humming of your two computers filled the quiet. The fans wouldn't drown out the dull thumping of our heart as you waited. It felt warmer in the room, hotter like the AC had broken from the constant use during the summer.

"The day you found out that Shoyo was going back to Japan, he was going to tell you how much he liked you. But—"

"I fucked it up."

"Well, I wouldn't say that. Shoyo is a bit of an idiot and didn't tell you earlier." Pedro scratched the back of his head, hunching over.

"He's not an idiot, Pedro. He's brilliant."

"Not with emotions. Keeps it to himself normally. Unless he’s drunk, I’ve noticed."

Your stomach ached, you could feel your pulse in your palms, the clothing you had chosen this morning seemed to cling uncomfortably to your skin. Maybe you didn't need Shoyo to show up at your door to give you a heart attack. As it was going, you'd likely get one from heart palpitations alone.

"Damn it, Pedro. If I had waited just five minutes instead of acting like an angry house cat that didn't get an extra round of dinner and running off…"

"Did you just compare Shoyo to food?"

"Pedro!"

He surrendered, arms up. "I mean, I can't blame you—"

"Dumbass, shut up!" The humiliation made you laugh, but it quickly forced the tears building behind your eyes to spill over.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I just wanted you to laugh a bit." He kicked your foot with his own.

Choked laughed, muffled by tears shook your body. You covered your face, eagerly trying to wipe your eyes before your nose could have a chance at swelling up and leaving you stuffy for the next hour. A scoff escaped you. "You're an idiot. Thanks."

"Feeling a bit better?"

Your stomach was in knots, trying to escape your body, and your chest felt like an elephant was sitting on it.

"Some. What do I do now, though?"

Pedro's chair swivelled, making his head flop side to side. You mimicked him, letting the motion treat you like a child getting cradled. Your heart slowed, no longer punching your ribs with a blunt force or ringing in your ears. 

Then the night of Shoyo's visit came to mind. Excessive amounts of cachaça, wandering soapy hands. He had fallen asleep standing up with his head resting on your shoulder.

You were the one that carried him to the couch and tucked him in for the night.

What was it that he wanted to say?

The curiosity was killing you.

Thomas called you the night before Rio's away match in São Paulo. The phone was ringing on the dining table as you were washing dishes. Pedro had gone into his room to continue streaming after quickly finishing his dinner, leaving you to listen to the running water.

You wiped your hands clean before picking it up. "Thomas?"

"Are you free tomorrow? Manuel got sick and can't make it to the game."

"You're fucking with me. How did that happen?" You turned the sink off.

Thomas was shuffling on the other side of the phone, papers from what you could tell. "His kid got a cold from school, apparently."

"That sucks. I'm free, though, so I can make it."

"That's amazing, but now I'm trying to see if the hotel we booked for the night has an extra room, but since it's the weekend, everything seems to be filled up."

Your back shot straight. "Hotel? You made plans to stay the night?"

"Ya, it's a late-night game, so there really isn't any reason to try and get back home for anything. But Manuel has family in São Paulo, so we didn't book a room for him."

You gulped, "Are you trying to get me to sleep on the streets of São Paulo for a night? With expensive equipment? I could report you for that."

"No! Of course not! I would never want you to be without a bed, even for one night, but I'm struggling to find any beds available. I don't suppose you'd like to share a single bed with the old geezer, would you?"

"Absolutely not. You are married and would take up the whole mattress." A headache was starting to fester between your eyes. You pinched your nose to try and lessen it.

"Harsh," he laughed. You could picture his hand resting on his stomach while his shoulders shook. "But look, I can't find a hotel room for you at the last minute, and the boys are already sharing rooms. Is there any chance you know someone you could stay with?"

"No. Well…" You paused. "There is someone I know. Though I'm not sure how happy you'd be with me fraternizing with the enemy."

Thomas sighed on the other end of the screen, and the shuffling stopped. "You're funny, kid. So long as you have a place to stay, that's all that matters. I'll send you the other details later, okay?"

"Sure."

When Thomas hung up, you stared at your phone screen before opening your contacts and shakily clicking on the only contact under 'S.'The immediate ringing made your knees quake.

"Hello?"

"Shoyo?"

A choke came from the redhead's end of the line, followed by a crash as something hit the floor.

"Shoyo?! Are you okay?!"

"Ya, Fine. Just dropped something. I was just, uh, unpacking and rearranging."

"Hasn't it been a few weeks since you moved in?"

"Uh, ya. I just haven't gotten quite settled, you know?"

You stepped forward in your kitchen, pacing as you listened to his voice. Shoyo always had a higher voice, a confident and upbeat one with sharp vowels and curt syllables. But right now, he sounded downtrodden and tired as his words dragged out.

"Ya, I get it."

His featherlight breathing was the only thing you heard for a second.

"I have a favour to ask of you, Shoyo."

"Huh? Me? A favour? What is it?"

"Do you have a couch?"

His breathing stopped.

The game went as expected, much to your team's demise. São Paulo has always had a track record of being in the better half of the roster and even playing international teams. There was no chance that Rio would beat them at a home game with all their fans cheering in the background.

As much as you hated to see the Rio team's sad faces, it was your job to capture the moments and then stare at them for hours while editing.

Thomas saw you off while he went with the rest of the team and staff onto the large bus to drop them off at the hotel for the night. You'd have to get up early to join them and not be left behind.

In the meantime, Shoyo ushered you through his door, grabbing your camera bag as if it were only half the weight you knew it to be and gesturing you toward the couch draped in freshly washed bed sheets and decorated with a fluffed towel and blanket.

"Uh, so, here's the place." He gently set your camera bag next to the couch, leaning it against the front side of the armrest. You kicked off your shoes, placing them neatly next to his by the front door. Shoyo's arms spread wide as he gestured around. "The bathroom is at the end of the hall, behind the kitchen, if you want to get changed into your… pyjamas."

He spun around for a moment, looking over every inch of his room before settling on your extra bag full of clothes. "Here, let me take that, and you can get changed into something comfortable."

Shoyo took it off your shoulder, gripping the handles. He stood there, waiting, feeling the sweat in his palms move to his fingers and make his grip feel flimsy.

You were there. In his house, making it feel much brighter than it had been over the past few weeks with your presence alone. Shoyo felt like he could jump to the moon and maybe back if his legs could keep up with his heart.

"Um, Shoyo?" You were still standing in the middle of his living room. "Are you trying to keep my clothes hostage? I don't think we're at that point yet."

"Huh?" Shoyo watched as your lips pinched together and hid between your teeth. He knew that expression and memorized it years ago. You were scolding yourself. He laughed. "Sorry, I'm just not used to anyone being over."

Shoyo dropped your bag full of clothes next to the other one.

"It's alright."

He looked away, holding his breath as you shuffled through your bag.

"I'm going to change. You already showered, right?"

"Ya, at the stadium."

"Good. You'd smell otherwise." He heard you curse under your breath again but held back any remark until you were hidden behind the bathroom door.

Once he heard the lock click, he wilted into the couch with a silent moan. The thing was still lumpy beneath him. He hoped it wouldn't cause you a bother at night.

Despite being tired from the game, his adrenaline only seemed to spike in your presence. Sucking in as much air as he could to calm his heart, Shoyo stared out the window where the sunlight was beginning to fade. There were still a couple of hours left before he could sleep fully.

Shoyo managed to find a movie by the time you came back, paused on the first frame and was ready to play. He only glanced when you fell into the cushions beside him.

Your clothes were baggy, loose for Brazil's hot summer but warm enough to fight off the cold air from Shoyo's AC that hummed in the background. One thing did bother him, though.

"I'm sorry the couch is a bit lumpy. I can't seem to figure out why."

"Lumpy?" You asked, shifting around as you tucked your legs beneath the blanket. "Um, it seems fine to me. I'm sure I'll be able to sleep fine."

The movie started slow, taking its time developing the plot and its characters until the conflict was introduced. It became an afterthought. You found it hard to pay attention with Shoyo sitting close to your side.

The word was on the tip of your tongue, waiting to escape, but whenever you looked over, Shoyo seemed to be fully absorbed in the screen in front of him, eyes wide and pupils blown out as he stared at the glowing screen. You watched the colours from the movie paint his face and hair colours of the rainbow with every scene change. He yawned a few times, making your cheeks twitch into a light smile.

Then the movie's sound hit a low point. You finally got the courage to speak, albeit not the words you wanted to say.

"I miss taking photos of you on the beach."

Shoyo's head rolled over the couch's backrest to look at you. His eyes made you choke on air. You just barely disguised it with a yawn immediately after.

"You miss…" Shoyo hoped you couldn't see the redness in his cheeks with the low light and TV colours.

Burning under his gaze, you turned to the screen where you saw the protagonist staring longingly at who you guessed was the love interest. You gulped and looked at your hands before glancing back at Shoyo.

You dragged air into your lungs and lifted your hand to meet Shoyo's orange hair, which looked almost purple with the movie's current lighting. His neck bobbed, and the contact. 

"After you left, for a while, it felt like I couldn't do anything. I tried going to the beach again to take photos and go outside, but it didn't feel the same without you there. I just didn't have the energy after that, so I stopped trying."

He pushed his head up against your palm, shuffling closer on the couch. You couldn't get yourself to meet his eyes. Instead, you focused intently on the strands between your fingers while gently twirling and tugging on them. It was a familiar feeling, longing. Pulling you back to a time that settled in your heart like its permanent resting place. It made you take a dry swallow.

"There's a gap in my portfolio from when you left to when you re-appeared in Japan on the Black Jackals team. I remember the day clearly, seeing you play on Heitor and Nice's TV, then immediately going home and plugging in my camera that you chipped.

I worry, though, when people look at my photos and ask what happened during those few months. I usually tell them I was focused on school, 'cause how ridiculous would it be to say I was sad that you weren't in my life anymore. That I couldn't be an artist 'cause you were gone."

When his head met your shoulder, a shock jolted its way through your body, making you stiffen. Shoyo grumbled at your stopping, nuzzling against you to get your attention again. Not that he didn't already have all of it.

He sighed, eyes closed as he took in the feeling he'd been lacking over the last few years. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner."

"That was your plan from the start. I should be apologizing for running off without letting you explain. I just—"

His hand crossed your body, resting on the opposite side of your hip from where his head lay. You could clearly feel the pressure of his thumb moving through the fabric of the blanket and clothes.

"I guess some part of me thought that you were permanent. That you'd stay." You yawned, sinking your cheek into the top of his head.

The movie filled the silence between you, making you wonder if Shoyo had fallen asleep on your shoulder once again. You thought your theory was true until the movie ended, followed by the TV shutting off, which left the living room dark except for the street and moonlight coming in through the window, and the lax redhead mumbling something against your neck.

"Can I have your heart?"

Your body suddenly lit on fire as you gave him a bewildered look with tired eyes and pulled your hand out from his hair. Shoyo breathed at the loss of contact, eyes pinching sadly.

Too much. It was too much. The flaring of your nerves was painful, stinging. You needed an out, needed to say something.

"My heart? That.. that seems like a bit much doesn’t it."

"Huh?" Suddenly, Shoyo wasn't feeling so tired anymore. He pulled back, spine straight as he took in your reaction. "No, wait, that's—"

"It's late. We should go to bed." Your head tilted away from his, hands tucked in your lap and gripping onto the blanket. You began to pull it over your shoulder. You were already cozy beneath his blanket before he could get another word out.

"Wait—"

"Shoyo, please? I'm tired."

Shoyo rose to his feet, backing away from the couch toward his room. "Okay, good night. Let me know if the couch is too uncomfortable."

"The couch is just fine, Shoyo. Good night. Sleep well."

Shoyo couldn't sleep. His bed felt too warm and cold simultaneously, like sweating in the arctic. His mattress, which he had no trouble with before, felt lumpy and hard. His pyjamas seemed to cling to the wrong points of his body, and the blankets felt like they were grabbing at him and trying to pull him into somewhere dark and unpleasant.

Yet, despite the discomfort, the only thought running through his mind, as if he was having issues with his bed, you would be having trouble with the couch.

Shoyo sat up in the dark, eyes open as if it were mid-day, and looked to his side table where a digital clock glowed a light blue showing him that it was nearly 2 am. Huffing, he threw the blankets off his legs and lightly carried himself into the living room.

Though he couldn't make out the details in the dark, He could tell your head was in comparison to your feet and reached into the blanket to pull you off of the couch.

Limp bodies weren't easy to carry. While having the benefit of letting Shoyo know that you were fast asleep, it also meant that you were more likely to slip from his hold and onto the floor. He settled with getting his arms under yours to the point that you were nearly standing at full height and walking backwards while holding you against his chest.

He fell back onto his bed once the back of his knees hit the mattress, letting your weight push into and crush his chest for a moment. 

He shut his eyes and sighed, holding you tighter while his hands brushed over the details of your back through the shirt. He'd have to move again to get you both settled properly on his mattress, but for the moment, he wanted to savour the feeling of your watch against his. Bodies touching in a way that he could only imagine for years.

The real thing was much better than a book.

Sunlight poured in through the window the following day, gentle and calm. It was much different from your heart, which was beating a mile a minute and scorching like it was tossed into a pile of burning coal in the most bottomless pits of hell.

When you opened your eyes that morning, you were nose to nose with Shoyo, foreheads touching and hands curled around each other. Mind you, you still had yet to move from that position. It felt a bit too warm to move from.

Beneath your hand, you could feel the plush muscle of Shoyo's bicep, and if you moved your fingers, his skin felt soft, accompanied by tiny hairs that you would only have seen up close. His legs, which managed to sandwich one of your knees, were similar, jiggling like a water balloon when you tried to remove your stolen limb. Though you already knew of the rough skin on Shoyo's palms, feeling them, one cradling your cheek, and the other resting on your free knee, which he held up to his hip, was different.

In his sleep, his nose brushed against yours.

You didn't want to move, but the alarm on your phone in the other room had you shuffling to sit up.

At the opposite wall from his bed was a shelf filled with memorabilia. Had you ventured into Shoyo's room the night before, you would have immediately taken note of the display.

It wasn't particularly eye-catching, but the middle shelf, perfectly set up to be at eye level, carried things that you recognized, unlike the rest of the room. Framed photos stood alone on the shelf, isolated in a picturesque, minimalistic fashion. You had taken them all. And in the middle, standing on its foot, was your gift, sticky note taped onto the front to prevent it from falling.

Your heart stuttered, swelling, but you could think about it later on the six-hour bus ride back to Rio, home.

Nice had been right about the dancing shoes. You had nearly forgotten them, only to be reminded when Nice gave you her weekly call while you were packing.

On top of that, you figured out why you had been asked for the job. 

Besides being the roommate of a streamer, who's teenage, volleyball playing, fanboy had a cousin who needed a photographer in a short time. The bride and groom wanted an artistic array of photos from their time dancing in both wide and limited shots. Your specialization in photographing movement was perfect for capturing the moment between friends and family as they danced together in the middle of the event space.

The party was starting to wind down. Children were passed out on the plush chairs while their parents swayed with each other nearby. Almost all of the food had been eaten. Most of all, the moon was high in the sky and fully lit.

You were about to sit down at one of the tables at the outer rim of the dance floor and peruse through the images you had captured over the night when a familiar teenage setter jogged your way with a smile on his face and hands out. Before you could get a world out, he grabbed your hands and pulled you to the dance floor.

Your body bumped into plenty of bodies until the boy settled on swaying in the middle of the dance floor. "Theo? What is the meaning of this?"

"Come on! Don't tell me you brought those shoes not to dance in them."

"Sort of the intention, Theo. You may not know this, but I'm a rock with legs. I don't quite have the coordination to dance."

"Pfft, a rock. That's a great descriptor for you."

"Hey, I'm not that steely," You frowned, looking off to the side. "Just a bit stiff muscled. I'll have you know that I am quite the expressive person."

"Ya, you don't hide your emotions that well."

"Please, stop insulting me."

Theo laughed, pulling back while maintaining a grip on your hands before swinging back in. "I've wanted to ask you something. My friends and I are a bit curious."

"Hmm? What about?"

"Are you and Pedro dating?"

"No!" you squawked, head thrown back with visible exasperation. "God, I thought Pedro dispelled those rumours."

"Well, he did. Sort of. But people speculate, y'know. Like one of my teammates still thinks you are. Something about 'celebrities lie to save face' type thing."

A white wavy gown, with a person inside of it, of course, snuck behind Theo, slapping their hands down on the poor unsuspecting teen's shoulder. Theo shouted. You understood why. The bride's exposed muscles flexed while she tightened her grip. She was scary.

"Dating drama talk? At my wedding? Blasphemy! Tell me more!" Her smile was a predator. 

Theo gulped under his cousin's grip. "Okay, can we just sit? I think you shocked my legs into paralysis."

"Weakling, come on." She pushed her cushion through the crowd, leaving you to follow alongside the husband as he gently smiled at the sight.

You all sat.

"So, tell me the drama."

You sighed and finally set the heavy camera slung around your neck onto a table. While the bride looked at you as if her attention were purely on your coming words, Theo began to sip on a glass of water, and the husband, wine.

"Really, it's nothing. Pedro hinted to me about something involving our mutual friend, which freaked me out, and he ended up having to partially talk me down while his stream was starting."

"Ah, what's this friend's name?"

"Shoyo."

Theo began choking on his water, which immediately sprung his cousin into action, slapping his back through his suit. "Wait, Shoyo? Like Shoyo Hinata? The volleyball player?"

"Um, ya. He's the reason I got into sports photography."

Theo squinted at you before slamming his cup down on the table. "That's where I recognized you from! You're the photographer the Shoyo crashed into!"

"Oh, someone remembers, great. Wait, is that why you were glaring at me when we first met?"

"I wasn't glaring! But, ya, I guess that's why. I know I recognized you from somewhere; I just couldn't pin it down."

"Okay, kid, cool it." The bride leaned in closer. "So you were freaked out over this Shoyo person. What for? Spill, spill."

You gulped, raising your hands in surrender. "Really, it's nothing—"

"Tell me." Her stare was cold, like looking into the eyes of a corpse that could still see your soul.

"Okay. Just, please don't hit me."

You wanted a distraction, something to pull you out of the weeks you've spent pondering, pacing, and pining over the looming presence in your life that was Shoyo. This wedding, a weekend away from Brazil, all expenses paid, was supposed to do that.

It was supposed to be a moment of rest, getting your heart to settle for once and allowing you the chance to breathe. Yet, you've found yourself doing the exact opposite, setting each twitch, touch, and breath onto the table in a rant that you don't think you had managed to do since your first year of university to a collection of strangers, no less.

You wondered what your mom would think when you inevitably told her. "Hey, I just spilled my guts to strangers about a boy I've been crushing on for 5 years and have made no mental progress about the situation otherwise. Can you imagine? Me? Understanding my own feelings and reasonably executing on them? No, of course not. Let me just cuss the poor man into oblivion, tell him I'm about to rob his grandparents' graves and call that flirting."

She'd probably call you a dumb nut. Affectionately, of course. You wouldn't be able to disagree.

It wall long past midnight when you finished ranting.

The bride reached across the table and slapped her hands down on your shoulders. You hissed.

"You two are in love. Can't you see that?"

"No, I'm legally blind." You shrugged her hands off.

"Ha! I need a drink. This story makes me thirsty."

Her husband slid his half-finished glass of wine into her hand before meeting your eyes. "It's never not going to be complicated. But have you ever asked yourself what's holding you back?"

"I don't know, a six hour bus ride both ways?"

The man raised a single brow disapprovingly.

"Jeez, hi Dad. Don't give me that look."

"Stop joking for a moment and be honest with yourself."

"Humour is how I cope. Not everyone appreciates it."

"You wouldn't need to cope if you solved the issue already."

"Wow, you really are ready for parenthood," You sighed and pulled your camera into your lap. It alleviated some of the pressure, having your eyes focused on something other than the powerful stares of the family sitting with you. "The story gets longer. Are you willing to listen?"

"In for a penny. We have all night."

"Not all night," the bride whined, resting her chin on her husband's shoulder. "But the point still stands."

"I moved to Rio to get away from the people I spent my whole life with. I never had any long-lasting friends. They always found me a bit weird. Similar enough to keep for a bit, but too strange to keep for long. I was a social reject. Most of it was just because of my personality, how I acted. I get it. I learned to see when I overstepped or said the wrong thing. It's just how my family is, and when you spend more time at home with your family, acting a certain way, it's harder to assimilate into the normal. I didn't have friends when I came to Rio. The only person I really talked to was my mom. I tried to get myself out there and make friends, but I said the wrong thing, isolated myself, and then got separated entirely.

"Shoyo was a complete stranger when we first met, and I called him an idiot. I insulted him, and he laughed. I don't think anyone had really done that before, and it felt like I was welcomed home for the first time in years."

Your throat was sore and dry. The moisture had left your mouth, pooling behind your eyes instead where it felt more like needles instead of liquid. You coughed, trying to loosen the tension. There was a hand on your back. You couldn't tell whose it was.

"I clinged to him immediately, and he didn't even seem to mind like it was normal for him too. I was so happy to have someone who liked having me around that I guess it blindsided me when he went back to Japan. I didn't want to be alone again. Pedro is great, but it took him years to figure out my habits before we could properly banter. Shoyo coming back made me scared because what if he just leaves again and casts me aside like everyone else."

It was Theo rubbing your back, looking up at you from where his head rested tiredly on the table.

The husband took a silent breath, shifting in his seat to face you more directly. "Do they know this? Anyone?"

"Only Pedro. He walked in on me crying in my room after I found one of Shoyo's old cookbooks. I didn't cook anything for weeks."

"You should tell Shoyo."

You shook your head. "He doesn't need to know."

The husband, with gentle hands, turned you by the armrests of the chair to face him before lifting your camera up and placing it on the table. Next, he held your hands; they were soft and smooth, polar opposites from Shoyo. Your chest twisted.

"Look at me for a moment." His eyes were a deep brown, gentle and warm, but not the ones you wanted to see. "Tell him, 'cause he might not even know how much he means to you otherwise."

Shoyo didn't really experience the famous carnival in Rio de Janeiro when he first lived there. Something always kept him busy even while everyone else was not. He tried not to drink too often for his physical health. Even if he slipped up sometimes, the partying scene seemed too much to participate directly with a glass in his hand. 

His teammates were similar, luckily. The ones he was travelling with would drop into a crowd and dance along, sing at the top of their lungs, but wouldn't finish off their beer.

It was loud, boisterous, and reckless. There were so many body's it was hard to tell north from south or just read the street signs. The only way to navigate was by listening to the music and letting it take you to wherever the next dance party was.

It was a beautiful and invigorating experience to get up close. But it was also a distraction.

He was in Rio for his own purpose. Within Rio's boundaries was someone he was searching for, needed to talk to, to hold. You were there, somewhere. Based on Pedro's words, you shouldn't be too hard to find within the crowd of over a million people, he hoped. It didn't matter if he had to look every other person in the eyes before ending his search Staring into yours. It would be worth it in the end, being able to melt into your stare.

After getting his fill of the carnival, Shoyo pushed through the crowd and began scouring the streets for a figure with a camera and headset. He was ready for his legs to burn by the night's end.

The Carnaval do Rio de Janeiro was always a different experience, yet the same. Like looking at two copies of the same photo, each tweaked by a different person.

Sadly, you weren't allowed to be a direct part of the parade to take photos, meaning that you had to lug around a giant camera to get the zoomed-in shots you wanted. The number of photos you would have to quickly sort through and edit later was headache-inducing. At least the work came with a free ticket to the parade.

The carnival was loud, smelly (good and bad), and blinding. One tourist was wearing goggles to protect their eyes from getting alcohol splashed in them. Similarly, your camera was covered with a plastic bag at all times.

While your client was limited to Nice and her troupe of dancers, you still managed to photograph the rest of the floats. It was the first year you managed to photograph the parade up close, yet it didn't feel extraordinary. You took the photos you wanted and had fun doing it.

But… there was always a but. Every year there was one.

It was lonely.

Pedro had gone to a party with his streaming friends that you knew you'd later see clips of on social media. Heitor was taking care of Maria and likely having her watch beach volleyball videos. Nice was performing on one of the many floats with all her dance mates and being fabulous, you'd know, you had the photos. And you were sitting outside the main crowd, flipping through your camera.

Something moved at your left.

He was a shadow in your periphery first, just an extra bit of dark in the corner of your eye that you could have easily mistaken as a side effect of the ever-changing and flashing lights. Then he slowly slid into the empty spot on the bench next to you.

Your breath stopped for a moment, taking your heart with it. Thinking a stranger had decided to invade your space.

"Hey," he panted while his knuckles were digging into the muscles of his thighs. They twitched.

There were no fireworks to light up his eyes or set fire to his hair, no big boom that set your heart back on track like a defibrillator.

Just your heart, pounding erratically in your ears.

You looked, sliding the headset that had been protecting your ears to sit around your neck. "Shoyo, what are you doing here?"

He picked at one of the rough spots on his palm. "My team apparently attends every year. Whether together or separate, everyone comes for some reason or another."

The music never died at the carnival. It made it hard to hear him. You leaned in to catch his words before they fell to the ground.

"Reasons? Like what?"

"Family, tradition, just some time to relax or have a party."

You turned your camera off, disassembling the pieces and tucking them securely in their designated pockets of your bag. Once packed away, your hands clamped onto your knees, trying to stop them from shaking.

"Why are you here then? You don't have a tradition of attending; it's been 4 years. You're not at a party, even though I'm sure your teammates would have invited you to one if they're attending. You're definitely not relaxing. You relax with meditation, cooking, more volleyball, maybe the vocational trip to the beach or a sauna, not going to a carnival. And your family is back in Japan, so is your home. A bungalow with a dirt backyard surrounded by bushes where you'd practise volleyball with your sister."

Shoyo sat for a moment, silent. Whatever his face was saying, you didn't look to see it.

"What about you? Why are you here?"

"Nice got me a job to take photos of her troop tonight at the parade."

"That's not what I mean," he says. You could hear the smile in his words. "Heitor and Pedro both told me that you come every year. You don't socialize much. You think you can't, even though I've always liked being around you. If you're not with Pedro, Heitor, Nice, at work or… with me, you stay holed up in your apartment, maybe reading whatever manga Pedro gives you. You even wear a headset even if there's no music playing to block noise."

He tapped the hard plastic case of your headset for added effect.

"You separate yourself from the world around you, yet you put yourself in it."

"It's nice to just be a stranger to people you'd never met. Nothing more, nothing less." You look at the crowd made up of clumps of people in pairs or more. "I can look at some of these people and remember them for years. But to them, I'm nothing, forgotten in an instant. I don't have to worry about talking to them that way."

There was a pause before Shoyo shifted in his seat. “I never said sorry for dropping in at your house suddenly. The way I acted was out of line and made you uncomfortable, I could tell. I also didn’t get to apologize for that night you stayed over. It was too forward of me, too much. I really wanted you to be there with me. And you ran off before I could try and talk to you normally and not make a fool of myself."

You gulped, hands tightening. "It wasn't too forward, or too much, Shoyo. I just didn't know how to react. To everything, crashing into you, you staying at my place and getting drunk, me staying at yours. I didn't hate it; I was nervous, flustered too, but I didn't hate it. I enjoy having you around. I just never knew how to react or what to say. I especially didn't when I found out you were going back home. I’m sorry for running away like that. If I didn’t we probably could have saved a lot of time.”

You couldn't hear Shoyo's breathing over the noise, and it was just getting louder. You knew what was coming.

"Home," he said, confident and unwavering. "That's why I'm here."

The crowd was getting louder, so was the music.

"Your home is in Japan."

Maybe it was your heart beating and not the overbearing bass of the nearest speaker you felt pumping in your chest.

"My home is with you."

Fireworks. It didn't matter what colour they were so long as they were casting light upon him up for you to see. You wanted to see his orange hair, brown eyes, and rosy cheeks.

You had ranted to strangers, setting your emotions on the table while speaking everything that came to mind. It was like a rehearsal, practice for when you could say it to Shoyo’s face. You wanted to get the words out, tell him everything that he'd never heard before. Lift the weight off your chest and set yourself free.

The words flew out, instead, not the ones you practised about your life, the history, the why. It was the feeling, the void in your chest, the weight in your palms, the throbbing headaches, and empty stomachs. The things you couldn't articulate.

You gripped the loose part of his shirt, nails creating creases in the fabric that would last until it got washed.

"Home? Me? Here? You left. That hurt, you know, for you to leave. You hurt me more than anyone I've ever met."

His hand met your back, warmth melting into your skin. "I know."

"I don't think I've ever felt more alone than when you weren't here. I hate you for that. For making me feel so alone."

"I'm sorry." His forehead pressed against yours, making you close your eyes and force the building tears to roll onto your cheek.

“What's worse is that even while you were so far away, you somehow managed to get me back on my feet again. I don't want you to leave me, not a second time. I'm terrified of repeating that."

"I won't. I'll take you with me if I have to. Like I wanted to back then."

Summer in Rio was hot, but Shoyo's hands holding your jaw made the outside air feel cold in comparison. Fire came to life in your heart, lasting long past the final firework.

You'd heard plenty of stories of the man in front of you. Stiff-spine, clipped nails, arrogant personality, you weren't sure what you were expecting to happen when you first met him.

He stood at 188.4 centimetres, or rather 6 feet 2 inches. His shirt sat snugly on his broad shoulders and chest, then draped loosely around his waist. His hair was black and short, visually a similar length to Shoyo's, but straight instead, making it sit flat on his head.

You grumbled, adjusting the camera lens to get both the boys and the background in focus. "Tobio, you look stiff, like a sad tree. You're supposed to be a maiden with a pretty toga and lots of food. Look like it." You pointed to the left side of the Trevi Fountain, where Abundance was sculptured.

"Why don't you do it then, if it's so easy?" the setter grumbled, contorting his body to twist more, using his bag as a substitute prop for Abundance's cornucopia.

A step to Tobio's left was Shoyo, volleyball resting between his palm and right hip, and a walking stick in his left hand that he grabbed on your early morning hike to mimic the appearance of Salubrity's bowl and spear. "Ah, Kageyama, just do it already!" He laughed, kicking a leg out into Tobio’s thigh.

Tobio stumbled at the shove. Once he got back in position, you clicked the button and captured the photo. "Got it."

"Excuse me? Would you like to get one of all three of you?" A tourist wearing khaki shorts and a sun hat tapped your shoulder. "You don't have to worry about the camera. I take photos too."

Seeing a familiar style bag tighten onto their back, you smiled and handed your camera over.

You stood between the two volleyball players, taking on the pose of Oceanus, who was sculptured directly behind you. It was a bit of a balancing act, and it didn't help that Tobio's continued grumblings were pushing you towards laughter.

Once the camera was back in your hands, the two crowded over your shoulders to take a look.

"Ooh, we should send that one to our friends," Shoyo said as Tobio's phone rang.

"It's time to go back. Team meetings."

Sadly, duty calls in inopportune moments. But you weren't in Rome to do as the Romans do anyway. The Men's Volleyball World Championship at the Palalottomatica was your primary destination, and you were there for Shoyo. 

He wouldn't leave you behind.

I tried to do a bit more etiquette research for this one so if you are from Brazil please let me know if it was done well or if there's anything that should be worked on for the future. Sorry for the over-bearing amount of cachaça, lol.

On another note, was this good? People don’t usually read for Hinata, or just less popular characters, and they’re the ones I put in the most effort for when I get the chance. -Bacon

Yes it was :( It’s amazing :( Everyone, please praise Bacon - Kiwi

Posted: 27/03/2022

[binniedeactivated]

txt reactions. || 👾 👾

during sex 💦

beomgyu --

he’s so switchy it’s crazy

one minute he’s underneath you moaning about how good you’re riding him and the next minute he’s pounding you

sex is wild and nasty with gyu

it always starts when he’s using his dialect to his advantage and whispering dirty shit in your ear

will talk about how much he wants to fuck you raw and hard, how he wants your pussy to be leaking with his cum by the time he’s finished with you

he will fuck you anywhere. huge exhibitionist. he literally doesn’t have any decency just as long as you guys have some sort of privacy

he’s always sending pics of his dick print

has a thing for short pleated skirts on you

or halter tops

always always always biting his lips during sex

king of boob sucking and nipple play he absolutely loves it

tit fucks you

his weakness is when you give him sloppy bj’s 

will bite his lips and whine with his fingers digging through your hair while you’re doing it

loves the way your eyes look while you’re sucking him off

will turn into a full sub if you tease him

will unconsciously jolt his hips up into your mouth and beg you to suck him the right way

his favorite subby word is “please”

will whimper “please” when the pleasure is getting too much for him to handle

he’s always down for a threesome because he loves getting his dick sucked by two people at once

loves seeing you get insanely jealous at how hard he’s fucking the other person

will always reassure his position in your life by fucking you twice as hard, stretching your waiting pussy and reminding you who you belong to

i’m sorry, but gyu is definitely the type to eat ass

and eat your pussy from the back

again I’M SORRY but he will

will make you arch your back while he clutches your ass cheeks and wade his tongue through your entire midsection

gyu is disrespectful he’ll spit all over it and lick all of it back off

will smack your ass and tell you to moan louder for him. he’ll groan while he’s eating you, knowing the vibration of his lips will make you pulsate harder

loves when you push back against his tongue

loves seeing the stringy goodness of your wetness mixed with his saliva

definitely the type to laugh or smirk a little at the vulnerable shit you say while he’s eating you

legs to the ceiling after he’s done tongue fucking you

and oh god, you don’t want gyu to push your legs to the ceiling

will drill the absolute HELL out of you in this position

forget about all morality 

and don’t you dare think about putting your legs down because he’ll pin them back up 

stuffs you and curses like a sailor while he’s doing it

loves seeing you cry a little at how good it feels

gives you the hardest best orgasms you’ve ever had in your life

no matter how wild and nasty gyu is during sex, he’s ultimately a sweetheart 

will wipe your tears and kiss your cheeks before preparing a warm bath for you afterwards

soobin --

can’t nobody tell me this man doesn’t have some sort of mommy kink

the subbiest of men

will do whatever you tell him to do

is shy to initiate things in public but all you have to do is smirk at him and make dirty jokes and he’s horny and blushing

moans in your mouth at just the feeling of how wet you are

will beg and unzip his pants if you don’t start fucking him fast enough

loves when you grab his hand and shove it in your panties when you two are already tongue kissing

loves girl on girl sex, will want you to have sex with another girl just so he can sit and stroke his dick at the sight of it

king of fingering and pussy eating and no one can tell me otherwise

his fingers would fill you so sufficiently deep you’d be cumming in seconds

suckling hickies into your skin while he’s finger fucking you at the highest speed

“please don’t cum yet please I want to feel you clenching around my tongue”.

not afraid of licking you through the thin fabric of your panties

holds your thighs at the sides of his head while lapping rapid fire up your clit before sucking it

always asks you if he’s doing it correctly even when your hips are practically stuttering on his mouth

loves when you call him a “good boy”

honestly you’d always have to tell soobin to take things slow, he’ll eat you so sloppy and good your cum would paint his lips in no time

sex with soobin is hot and romantic

loves holding your hands while eating you

loves using toys

will push a vibrator to your clit while his tongue is deep inside you

or will fuck you with a vibrating dildo while puppy licking your wet folds

he has a big ego when it comes to ruining you with his mouth and fingers but truth be told he can’t last long inside you after making your pussy so wet like that

will whine as soon as you slide down his dick

clutches your ass at the feeling of you clenching around him

will whimper for you to go slow because he doesn’t know if he can handle it

grunts lowly while clutching bruises into your waist

chest heaving with sweat

cries a little if he’s unable to cum inside you

no really--please let him cum inside you

face is always flushed and red when you two are through

he’s an absolute sleepy baby afterwards, very clingy and wants to lay on your chest

yeonjun --

 the only thing yeonjun switches between, is if he wants to be a soft or hard dom

you already know jun is in the mood when he pats his lap for you to sit on and clutches your thighs

junnie’s thigh riding sessions absolutely ruin you

loves feeling your wet pussy lips rut against his jeans

 loves hearing you whine in his ear while you cum in your panties

will stick his fingers in them just to taste you

loves booty pics, send him loads of them and he’ll get hard no matter where he is

dirty texts ALL THE TIME

sends videos of his veiny cock twitching in his boxer briefs

sex with jun is harsh and rough

king of face sitting and doggy style

if he’s in a hard dom mood he’s definitely bruising your thighs while you’re sitting on his face

makes you ride his tongue even if you can’t take it

has the type of shape lips that wraps around your clit perfectly

loves groaning about how good you taste

has an oral fixation so he’ll be eating you even after you cum is spilling down his face

legs trembling miserably but none of your side effects phase him he lives for it

can cum four times in one sitting with just his mouth alone

if he’s in a soft dom mood he’ll eat you rather sappy and slow

tongue kissing your sticky folds while rubbing your thighs lovingly

idc, this man loves thick thighs. i just get the feeling

groans about how much he loves you and how perfect your body is to him

extreme body worship while he’s eating you

it’s even worse when he’s in a soft dom mood because he eats you audaciously stagnant, prolonging your orgasms

doesn’t give you a resting period after your last orgasm

throat fucks you

manhandles you when he’s doggy-styling

loves the sight of your ass slapping against his skin dear god

be prepared for him to leave red hand prints all over it

sensitive to anything fashionably sexy, like skin tight dresses and lingerie

if it’s your panties he’ll push your panties to the side and pound the shit out of you

if it’s a dress he’ll knot it up with his hand and fuck you that way

broken headboards and dented walls

big fan of restriction

handcuffs your hands in front of you and makes you take everything hes giving you

not afraid to tie you to the bed either

sadist to some extent

loves hearing you beg and whimper

overstimulation to the m a x because he’s never satisfied

“just a few more baby”.

breeding kink, loves seeing your pussy filled with his cum

is the absolute hungriest boy after, will order you two some food and make you shower with him before it arrives

you’d have to pray to God that he doesn’t want a part two in the shower

[not-using-this1]

Helping Bela dye her hair

I made a (crappy) Bela Dimitrescu oneshot because she’s bae and I’m in love with her :) 

I had this headcanon that because Bela, Cassandra & Daniela obviously all had brunette hair in the picture of the castle demo they’ve dyed it (or something else happened but oh well) since then.

Bela got sick of having the same hair colour as her sister Cassandra (brunette) she wanted her own style...to which she asks you (her girlfriend) to help her with along with Daniela to dye hers ginger...with a mix of blood in it.

Yes I made it so Bela and Daniela could go out in the daylight (I prentended those jewels on their chokers protect them lmao)

Pairings: Bela Dimitrescu x fem!reader 

You welcomed yourself into castle Dimitrescu as usual and wuld of hoped that your girlfriend Bela would be there in the main hall sat on the sofa waiting. But, she wasn't which made you think she was either going to jump out at you for fun. "Bela I know you're hiding." You shout as it echoes through the main hall.

You hear a laugh, and just like that she appears in front of you. You expected blood to be around her mouth from feeding (since shes a vampire) she wasn't even wearing her usual outfit, rather she was wearing a corset top and black jeans but with her usual choker with the red jewel placed inside it. "What? You didn't think I'd clean up for my own girlfriend?" Bela chuckles.

"No, it's not that it just looks like your going somehwere" you add. She gives you a small smirk and presses a kiss to your lips "I want to dye my hair blonde, so I thought I'd go out to get some".

You weren't surprised she wanted to change her hair but blonde? You thought she would go for something darker "and where would you get it in the village? If you asked me I would've happily gone to buy you some from the store in the town I go to" you replied.

Bela shrugged her shoulders at you "Well I just made the decision now, do you think we could drive there? I know it's daylight but I'm not exactly gonna burn, the jewel in my choker doesn't allow that" You nodded your head at your girlfriend and agreed.

"Yes! Okay lets go!" She seemed so enthusiastic and to be honest those moments of her like that are rare; Bela had always struggled with her emotions to the point people think she hasn't gotten any...but you know that isn't true.

The good thing was that it wasn't morning or even the afternoon, it was rather that the sun was setting and besides the store would be open still anyway. Bela had grabbed your hand, pulling you to the large castle doors.

"Hi Y/n, Bela where are you going?" Daniela popped up out of nowhere which made you jump slightly. She chuckled at your small action as se confronted you and her sister. When you first met Daniela she was closed off anf very quiet half the time but now, the two of you actually get along very well. "I want to dye my hair blonde, y/n is taking me to the store to get some dye" Bela explained, she just wanted to hurry up and go.

"Oh cool! Can I come? I've wanted to dye my hair red...but with a twist. If you guys get me blonde hair dye and I mix it with blood-"

Bela and you laughed at her but Daniela seemed very serious "Why don't you just buy red dye? Problem solved Whats with the blood being added?" You asked her. "Uhh because it's more fun that way?" She shrugged her shoulders.

Honestly, you stopped questioning Daniela a while ago. You looked at Bela as if to ask for approval to bring Daniela. She rolled her eyes at you and sighed "Ugh fine you can come".

~~~

During the car ride, you had played some music which Daniela and Bela kept belting out. You honestly loved that they were just so normal in these situations even if they're not normal whatsoever.

You were just happy you could show Bela what its like to have fun outside of the other...activities she does (aka being a vampire). As you stopped the car in the store, Daniela wasted no time in getting out of the car to go into the store so much that you and Bela had to stop her.

"Dani, stay here and look after the car. We'll be back and maybe get you a treat" Bela adds to which Daniela sighs and stomps her foot a little before getting back in the back seat "More blood?" she cheekily questions.

"No, Dani. We'll be back soon." You add.

For the most part the reason you left her in the car was because she was wearing what she usually does. Of course you wouldn't mind her walking around with the both of you if only she didn't have blood stains on it.

Bela offered you her hand and the two of you just walked hand in hand to the store. Going over to the part of the store that has beauty and hair products. Bela looked quite overwhelmed that and the fact she had never really been out of her village much at all or to a large store like this. Of course she knew of these things though, she knew what every item was...shes been alive for centuries and has adapted well to changes.

"There's the blonde you'd probably look best in" you pointed her into the direction of dirty but light blonde box dye, she already had a platinum blonde one in her hand but she grabbed the other and put them beside her.

"Which one babe?" she asked you, as if you were some sort of expert on these things. Yeah, you've dyed your hair many times it's currently h/c (your hair colour) which you loved. "Since you have a pale complection I'd go for the light dirty blonde, you'd look so hot" those last words slipped out of you but Bela smirked. Putting back te platinum blonde dye "Daniela can have the same then" she adds.

As you were walking to another aisle as you wanted something for yourself, Bela had grabbed your hand because this guy kept ogling you just because you were wearing a skirt, fishnet tights and a casual t-shirt.

Of course your girlfriend was going to get possessive, she had practically pulled you into her and kissed you in front of everyone who was down that aisle...but you didn't mind one bit and kissed her back.

"He was eyeing you up and down, ugh men disgust me." Bela replies. You wanted to make a joke about her saying that even though she was bisexual but you left it and agreed. After paying for everything you both headed back to the car which all you could hear was rock music from.

"Oh god whats she doing" you laugh.

"Daniela! Daniela!" Bela shouts as the two of you get back in your car, you turn the music down and Daniela gives you an unamused look.

~~~

After a small argument between Bela and her sister Daniela about whose bathroom they'd do it in you settled the argument by saying that they should just use the bathroom down in the main hall. Daniela had collected the blood and mixed it in with the blonde and it turned an actual nice red, so you decided to help her first.

"Daniela, you need to stay still, it'll go everywhere if you don't" you explained. "The blood is already everywhere on the damn floor mother is going to kill us. Not to mention my girlfriend clearly likes spending time with my sisters more than me" Bela pouted, you rolled your eyes at her and plafully punched her arm a little "you get me all to yourself tonight, now help."

During this entire commotion Cassandra had came back up from the cellar and decided to help you, while you helped Bela with her dye Cassandra washed off Daniela's in the tub with the shower after it set for a good hour.

When everything was finally done both Bela and Daniela had new hair but the bathroom...oh that was an absolute tip. You were sure one of the maids would come clean it up...but then.

"Girls I'm home." Alcina shouts as she walks through the doors, she spots you and igves you a small smile "hello Y/n" she greets.

"mother" all three girls say from the bathroom she walks over to them with the biggest shock on her face "Bela, Daniela what did you do?" she didn't sound very pleased.

"We dyed our hair, Y/n took us to a store, so it was really her-" Bela slapped her sisters arm really hard to cut her off from her sentence "it wasn't Y/n's fault mother" She then finishes.

Alcina sighs "no it wasn't Y/n's fault but you are all going to clean this up right now."

"But mother the maids-"

"Now! You too Cassandra, also Y/n" she adds before leaving to her room.

"Great, fantastic" you all say in unison.

Help this was terrible, why did I write this ughhh :(

[cinna-stars]

Worth Waiting For

Uhh, okay, this is my first ever fanfic! I might continue it based on the reception, but it was a few thoughts I had in my head that I wanted down on paper. 

18+! Some sexual themes and content throughout, however for those experienced smut readers, this is some mild sauce, not very much spice.

I have to credit @cyancherub for making me think about Kiri smelling like cinnamon, the thought hasn’t left my brain.

Kirishima x Fem!reader 

A cool breeze whispers through the slightly ajar window of your dorm room. The sun set a little while ago; studying always seems to eat up most of your free time, so this wasn’t exactly a surprise. You lean back in your desk chair, arms up, and stretch your muscles into a big yawn. The sudden contracting muscles have your stomach gurgling. It’s definitely time to take a break, so you close your textbook and stand up from your desk. I wonder if there’s any of those expensive sounding potato chips that Momo bought back from her trip abroad left over? The thought makes you salivate as you begin towards your door. You glance to the mirror in the corner and look at your own reflection: hair pulled into a loose, messy bun, torso swallowed up by an old band shirt Denki gave you (after a conversation initiated by Mineta on what you liked to wear to bed) and bare legs sticking out from the hem. Shouldn’t be a problem, as long as Iida isn’t feeling like a stick in the mud this evening. You open your door and begin creeping your way to the kitchen, hoping to keep noise levels to a minimum as to not disturb anyone who might be sleeping already.

Your ears perk up when you hear conversation coming from the communal area.

“On a scale from 1-10, with ten being the most boring, you have exceeded my expectations and we’ve hit an 11.”

“Shut up dude, it’s an absolute cinematic masterpiece. This is why you don’t have the remote- we’d be watching Care Bears or some shit.”

You approach the seating area to see Bakugou, Kirishima, Sero and Denki. The latter two arguing over what to watch. Bakugou looks like he’s about to blow a fuse, so Kirishima chimes in,

“Hahah, okay guys, why don’t we just watch a horror movie, like Scream or something? It’s an easy watch.”

“Sounds like a good idea as long as Kaminari doesn’t shit himself.” Sero tries to start again, but this is perfect timing for you to interject.

“Sero, I’m sorry, last time I checked, you’re the one who had to ‘leave suddenly’ when we watched Halloween.” A smirk appears on your face from ear to ear as all four boys turn their head your direction. You notice an empty spot next to Kiri and take the opportunity to sit, careful not to flash anyone.

“Hey Y/N don’t be startin’ on me. I have plenty of stories about you that we could share you know? What about the Jaegerbomb incident?” Sero matched your grin, and you feign shock by slapping your hand to your heart.

“You’re breaking my heart, Hanta. Are you the only ones up?”

“Yeah Iida sort of ‘encouraged’ everyone to go to bed early because of the test tomorrow, but” Denki motions in Bakugou’s direction “the angry Pomeranian barked and he gave up with us.” Bakugou snaps his head up from his phone to stare Denki down, but realizing he’s just proving his point, sighs and goes back to scrolling on his phone.

“You okay Baku-babe?” he grunts and flips you off, but you could see the corner of his lip turn up in a weak smile at the affectionate nickname. You knew he meant well, especially after the time you had spent together over the last summer with the guys; he just had a defensive temperament.

“You wanna join us, y/n?” Kiri propositions with a wide grin. His hair was still styled into sharp points from classes today, contrasting with his relaxed clothing choice of a t-shirt, shorts and crocs. He’d also made the addition of a white bandana around his forehead. As usual, he was looking incredible.

After the time spent together as a group over the break, it was great to get to know everyone better. As Sero’s oldest friend, it was always easier to stick by him, which had ended up in your favour by meeting these clowns. You’d slowly got closer to the other three boys too, but there was something about Kirishima you couldn’t shake.

The way you felt when you were left together alone in the same room at a party, or when the other guys ended up flaking so you spent the night together at his place, there was always a feeling of excitement, in more ways than one.

You’ve never been very good at flirting and you just seem to come across as an anxious mess, but Kiri was pretty much just as bad. Meaning neither of you ever made a move. Just awkward giggles and eye contact that lasted just a little bit too long for friends.

“I actually came to steal some of Momo’s fancy chips but yeah, let me get a snack and I’ll be ready. You guys want anything?” You get up off the couch and start your way to the kitchen.

“BEER. BEER. BEER.” Denki chants, making you giggle.

“Oh I’ll come and help you carry them!” Kiri jumps up to follow behind you. You can hear Sero make a ‘wha-PISH’ whipping sound which makes Denki burst out with laughter. In their defense, it was painfully obvious you were both pining for each other.

The kitchen isn’t far but it is out of earshot of the sitting area. You open the cupboard in the corner to find Momo’s chip bag, left sat there completely empty. “Oh come ON” you sigh, picking up the bag and placing it in the trash.

“No chips left? Don’t worry I got you covered.” Kiri stretches to the gap between the top of the cupboard and the ceiling, feeling about with his hand. Your eyes fixate on the skin that is now showing just above the waistband of his shorts. You slowly move your view up the side of his torso, his shirt draping over his body in all the right places, and then to his face, one eye closed and tongue sticking out in concentration. He totally caught you checking him out and now you’re both stood there blushing like idiots. He finally located the bag he was looking for and brings his hands back down, showing off the slightly dusty bag of unopened chips.

“These are your favourites, right?” You stand in bewilderment looking at the bag and nod. “There are many bonuses to being one of the tallest in this dorm” he grins. He even remembered your favourite chips? You can’t help but smile back.

“Thank you so much. Oh let me get the beers!” you walk over to the fridge and open it up, bending over to search for the well hidden cans. You know your ass is on show, and you’re doing everything you can to make it the best view. Arching your back slightly, barely moving your hips from side to side, putting on a full show without being too obvious. “Ah I found them!” You gather them into your arms, the cold metal against your skin sending shivers up your spine and making your nipples protrude from the thin material of your shirt. You stand back up and close the fridge, turning around to a very red in the face Kirishima. You send a sweet smile his way.

“Do you mind taking a couple they’re coldddd” you whine. He composes himself and grabs the first can he can see looking ready to fall. He then proceeds to take another, slowly exposing more of your chest and your hardened nipples. You notice his eyes dart to them and then back on the beers. Are you two really going to carry on like this? Acting like the sexual tension couldn’t be cut with a knife? His wandering eyes now have you blushing and you’re quick to fill the hanging silence. “Should we really be drinking when we have a test tomorrow? I’m no NARC but you know what Denki can get like. He’ll wake up the whole house.”

“It’ll be fine. The only ones that know where the rest of the stash is are you and me. As long as you can keep a secret, we’re Gucci” he winks.

“Did you… really just use the term ‘Gucci’? like completely unironically?” You laugh, nudging his side.

“Shut upppp y/n. Come on let’s get back to them before Bakugo kills Dumb and Dumber.”

 “Hoes and bros we come bearing beverages!” You walk in and pass out the three beers you held to the boys, Kiri slowly following with the chips and the last two drinks.

“Wait, who are the hoes?..... oh.” Kaminari has a moment of self-realization and stares at the beer in his hand.

“Denki don’t listen to her, she is the last one to be calling anyone a hoe” Sero hits you with another of what will be many insults of the night.

“Uhhhh says the guys who has a body count tally on his wall. If you ever get with Mina you’re going to need to take a trip to Home Depot to paint over those you know?” You counter.

“Can we watch the damn film already?! Could’ve watched half the fucking thing by now.” Bakugou finally lets off some of the pent up steam. Both you and Denki lift your arms up to your forehead in a salute. “Yes sir!”

Grabbing a blanket, you and Kiri get back into your original seats next to each other on the sofa furthest away from the TV. Sero is on the chair to Kiri’s right, sprawled over it in the most boyish way possible, legs stretched wide and arms hanging over the back. Denki and Bakugo share the sofa to your left, Bakugou reserved to the spot at the very end, finally turning his phone off, while Denki almost mimics Sero’s positioning, but one hand is wrapped around his beer chugging it a bit too fast. Sero presses play as you sit back into the sofa. Kiri’s arm is already draped over the back of the headrest, and it’s only a matter of time until his arm drapes around your shoulder and you lean into him.

You’re about ten minutes into the movie when he starts to move his fingers in little circles on your upper arm. If anyone saw you right now, they’d assume you two were together. The months you’ve both spent flirting and teasing, the light touches and the lingering cuddles. This is becoming unbearable for you, its overwhelming. How haven’t you kissed yet? You weren’t really a ‘hoe’ as Sero said, but you certainly weren’t inexperienced and have never had this trouble before, so what was stopping you now? If things continued like this, you were going to explode.

You look up at Kiri, admiring the contours of his face against the light of the TV. The way his eyebrows slightly furrow, and the way he’s chewing his bottom lip between his teeth in concentration. You inhale the mild aroma of cinnamon, which is a scent that follows him around everywhere. You’re certain he’s aware you are staring, by the light blush reforming on his cheeks, but he allows you to for just a little longer. Right up until Denki yelps aloud from a minor jump scare in the film, causing you to jolt yourself and grab onto Kiri’s shirt.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared?” he asks, voice low and husky. “Don’t worry, I got you.” He lifts his free arm and tucks a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

“I-I wasn’t scared. Denki made me jump” you pout.

“Aww, even worse haha” he chuckles, the vibrations flow through your body, straight to your core, making you instantly wet. If he ever really knew the affect he had, you might just die from embarrassment. You release his shirt and return your head to his shoulder; however, his hand has maneuvered itself away from your upper arm and is now placed on your hip. The large amount of warmth is slowly followed by a very light squeeze of reassurance, and you’ve never been more aware that you aren’t wearing any shorts.

His breathing has now quickened, and his hand feels like it might even be shaking a little bit. He was so nervous, which makes him even more endearing. A wave of adrenaline rushed through you as you lift your hand to rest atop of his, to give him the assurance that it is absolutely okay to have his hand there.

About three quarters of the way into the film, all drinks have been consumed, chips have been eaten, Sero pauses and gets up for a pee break. “Couldn’t your bladder have waited? There isn’t that much longer left Se-bro” Kiri teases

“Ei, I don’t think I know anyone who could wait as long as you have” he leans down and darts his eyes between the two of you. You glare with intent to BURN. You thought too long for a comeback and unfortunately, he’s already happily waltzing off to the bathroom.

Kiri turns to you with a smile and lowers his voice. “Did nobody tell tape face that anything worth having is worth waiting for?” and you swear in that moment an entire flutter of butterflies were trying to escape you. That’s the most direct he’s ever been and it’s not something easy to ignore.

“I know you both have hidden the beer and I take personal offense.” Denki bellows. “I bet it’s on top of the cupboard where Kiri keeps all the good stuff” and he gets up and skips off to the kitchen, fully convinced he’s going to find what he’s looking for.

“I’m going to bed. Gotta be up early and you extras are pissing me off.” Bakugou gets up and stretches. “Love you, Bakubro! Mwah!” both you and Kiri heckle him with air kisses and you are met with yet another middle finger as he strolls off to his dorm room, that small smirk still present.

There’s that feeling coming back again. The way you feel whenever you’re alone with Kirishima. But this is the most compromised you’ve been: you’re basically half naked, he’s got his hand on your hip and he just dropped an absolute bomb of a line thanks to Sero. You can’t help yourself and before you truly think it through,

“Ei, I think I’m done waiting.” You lift your head off his shoulder, faces only a few inches apart. You can feel both your heart rates quicken in sync and your bodies getting hotter. He raises his hand and takes your chin in his hand, urging your lips forward onto his. The anticipated contact sends electricity through your body and the kiss deepens quickly, his tongue licks your lower lip asking for entrance and you accept immediately, releasing a soft moan from the motion.

You twist your body round so that you’re straddling his thigh, his wandering hand had slipped under the fabric of your shirt in the same place, playing with the fabric of your underwear. Your hands find their way to the back of his head, pushing him further into your mouth. You both are getting sloppy as lust takes over and you find your hips involuntarily grinding on his thigh. He breaks away from the kiss, pulling at your lower lip and working his way down your jaw to your neck, nipping and sucking lightly, causing louder moans to escape you.

“So- fucking long- I’ve waited- to touch you like this” he groans out between kisses and bites, sure to leave a mark. “Sound so pretty”

“Ah- me too, I- fuck” the stimulation from his voice and touch is almost overwhelming, but clarity sets in quicker than you’d like it too. “Sero will- ah- be back any second” and you release your grip on his hair. He’s really trying to pout at you, but he can’t help let his goofy smile beam through. You stare at each other for a few seconds, both absolutely beaming with happiness. He lets out an almighty sigh,

“Uggggh, you’re right. Hey, what are you doing after this?” he asks as you settle back down next to him, making you chuckle.

“Well I was planning on going back to my dorm and sleeping. Unless you have a better offer?” you beam.

“Well…” his grin gets wider, “you know there’s a sequel to Scream, yknow? Think you might wanna… what’s it called..”

“Scream 2.”

“I can make you scream, too. Sure”  and you erupt into laughter together, from his disgustingly awful pun.

Sero approaches from the corridor “Well you two sure can clear a room.”

“I’d blame it on Kiri’s terrible puns, but Bakubabe went to bed and Electabuzz is currently trying to find the rest of the beer but- oh there you are” Denki walks in, with a pout on his face, and flops back on the couch in disappointment.

“Denks, how about we throw a little party tomorrow after the test. We’ll let you in on where the secret stash is, too.” You offer, his expression immediately switching to that of delight.

Even though there was only a half hour left of the movie, it felt like hours until the end credits started rolling. Denki had managed to fall asleep and was snoring at full velocity, and the only person left paying full attention was Sero, as you couldn’t stop your brain from wandering from anticipation.

He shut the TV off and you tasked yourself with waking up Denki while Kiri cleaned up the empty beer bottles.

“Kami, come on sweetie, you need to go to bed.” You nudge him slightly causing him to stir. Sero walks over, and gives him a hard slap on the ass

‘WAKE UP ASSHOLE! Iida will kill you if you sleep on the couch”

“…I- sleep- your mom-..” he sits up and rubs his eyes

“Don’t be so rough Sero, he’s so sleepy look at hiiiimm” You say, admiring how cute he looked in such tired state. Kaminari finally gets up and all four of you head to the lift… shit.

You are Denki are on the 3rd floor, Kiri is on the 4th and Sero is on the 5th… how are you going to get to Kiri’s room without being suspicious?

A/N: Thank you if you read this in full! Please let me know what you think and if you’d be wanting to read the next part (which would include a lot more spice!)

[jamiedc-they-them]

I got you (Platonic)

Requested by @emcon-imagines

“Jemma --” Daisy said, as much as she loved her friend, she knew that she still wasn’t at the top of her lying game. To be honest, she hoped that Jemma never made it there, as if that would signal some sort of end to the Jemma Simmons she knew.

Still, back on point, “Daisy...I promised Y/N…” She said. And, that did get her attention, she had promised you something.

“I just wanna help her, Simmons. I mean, you’ve seen her...Tired, not herself. Not the bubbly person we all know. Something’s going on…” She knew how this would seem to anyone else; someone interrogating someone, almost gaslighting in some way to get some information.

But, the two women knew better; it was two friends trying to help another.

Besides, the three had formed their own group; the term “power puffs” being thrown around a lot. Still, not the point --

“I didn’t just swear and drop my concern, Daisy. I wanted to help too…” She trailed off, and Daisy nodded for her to continue, “I did to her that she would probably get yelled at...but, she brushed it off at the time. I don’t think Fitz’s sarcasm helped it either.”

“What’d he say?”

“‘What’s the worst thing that could happen? I mean, yeah, you’ll probably get yelled at, but it’s not like she’s going to kill you.’ And I said, ‘Not helping’ and...Oh, sorry.” She said, catching herself.

Daisy smiled, “It’s alright, Jem. Just, tell me, please. I’ll stop after that.”

Jemma could never say now the puppy dog expression Daisy Johnson could pull off, “...That’s the problem, she isn’t stopping.But, she told me to not bother you about it. She knows how you can be with this and...she doesn’t want to worry anyone else. She says she can handle it.” The Brit said, almost in one entire breath.

“Famous last words, sadly in some cases.” Daisy said, looking out the window before back to Jemma, “Where is she now?”

As Jemma went to answer, her gaze changed; she looked alert, “Well...there.” She said, nodding her head behind Daisy.

The woman turned, seeing you walk in, bag over your shoulder from yet another assignment...yet another few months undercover.

If you were good at hiding the strain of the work before, this was not one of those times; with the heaviness in your eyes, worn down expression and posture of your body.

It was getting to you.

Daisy then looked to Jemma, giving her friend a pat on the arm, “I got this.” She promised, before taking her leave.

She wasn’t one to break them.

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

You had put the weapons away, and was getting ready for the ebrie. Just ready to get that ticked off, then wait until the next job comes your way. You had to keep going, SHIELD was always cut throat, but especially now; you were on the back foot and what not. You had to prove yourself to Coulson, he brought you and Daisy in and kept you in despite what you had done to them.

That had to be worth something.

You went with your bag, a bag mixed with your own things and the contents of the sting. Smart? No, not really. But, you were working with limited time. So, you know.

Besides, Coulson had cleared it and said it was fine.

So, you went into the kitchen, gonna go upstairs to get it all done with, when you paused…

There, on her laptop, was your sister, just typing away.

Given the fact of the bottle of water she had was only just opened, you had to guess that she had only just set up.

“Hey.” She said, looking up at you from the table, smiling as if you hadn’t caught her in the act.

“Hey.” You said back, dropping the bag to the floor. You both held each others stare for a moment too long; you had been in each others lives for forever, so you could read each other like a book.

“Been there long?” You asked, hands going in your pocket. You knew the answer, but still…

“Nah, just waiting for you.” She said, moving to sitting on the table, legs dangling off of it, “Just wanted to see if you were ok.”

You held your arms out to your side for a moment, a kind of “here I am” gesture, before letting them slap against your body as you let them drop, “I’m ok...Just want to get up there.” You said, pinching your nose as you closed your eyes for a moment; a rare moment of letting this toll be known to the world in a way that was intentional.

Daisy saw a way in there, “You tired? I mean, sleep deprivation and mental health issues don’t really go hand in hand...You’re gonna snap.”

You nodded, same posture as before, “Sure. Just wanna get up there and do this, D.”

“Coulson doesn’t need it right now.”

“He does.” You argued.

She sighed, the Johnson gene of stubbornness surely rubbing off on you, “Look, Y/N/N, I get it. But, AC -- Well, DC, is more than ok with this. Trust me.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll do shit like that when you do.” Ok, fair; did it hit? Yeah, but she wasn’t a sunken battleship yet...that phrase was weird.

Anyways, “Y/N,” She started, getting up and grabbing your hands in her own, looking you right in the eyes, “You’re tired, ok? Actually tired….I mean, look, you can barely stand right now. What you need, is rest. Ok?”

Out of the siblings, you weren’t as open as she was. But, as said before, she knew you better than anyone else. And, because of that, you could be yourself with her. You let yourself nod, eyes dropping to the ground. She squeezed your hands, smile coming onto her face.

It was like that Skye part of her, the inner child of her’s that needed healing was alway there; the optimist that refused to see the dark.

Still, she grabbed your bag, putting an arm around your shoulder, and leading you to your room.

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

Your room was a fucking mess. Jesus, was it a mess. Now, Jemma had told Daisy that she had no one touch it; no one go in or even put their hand on the door knob.

But...it was messy, to say the least.

The two of you stood, silently looking at the state of your room; clothes everywhere, doors left open, bed sheets unorganised.

She heard your breath shudder a bit. It seemed you had forgotten that the room was left like this. Then again, she was sure you were almost leading two - well, now really more than two - lives at once; SHIELD, your own, and the many undercover personas you had to adapt to.

Hunter’s lecture about SHIELD not being a lifestyle but a job was true; granted, it was a belief in the world and the good that laid in it, but he still had a point.

It seemed for you, those two had fully blurred into on destructive, stress filled life. And it was slowly killing you.

You entered first, grabbing some clothes from the floor and going into your bathroom, locking the door.

She, meanwhile, went to your bed, smelling them and groaning at the stink that came from them.

She put the bag down, picking up some of your other clothes - less yours, more SHIELD’s clothes that they gave to operatives.

There was no style, only a branded shirt (some actually were, but that’s not the point) to say “Shoot at me, I’m with the people you guys at HYDRA hate!”

She put them away, the clothes coloured black. She remembered when you used to have a more colourful attire, an expression to who you were.

No, it was just SHIELD.

After the clothes had been sorted, she then sat on the floor, opening the bag. She looked up at the sound from your bathroom, a shower being turned on.

She looked back to the bag, seeing bags of cocaine, some files...and your clothes. One of the bags had a hole in, and some of the contents had gone from the bag and onto your own clothes. These ones were yours...now stained with coke.

With work…

The shower was still going. And she knew that you were devoted to these people...but what had you lost in the process?

She went further into the bag, digging deep into it. It took a few moments, but she found something, her fingers brushed against something…

Removing her hand from the bag, she found a necklace; she smiled, this one more nostalgic. It was a necklace that you had both gotten together with some money you had both saved. Inside there was a photo of the pair of you…

You’d kept it, you were still there.

She looked to the door, the shower was still going. She looked to the clothes...she could make a quick trip…

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

She came back, clothes in her possession, but no bag. The bag was with Coulson, but the clothes and necklace she kept.

She came back in, putting the clothes on the bed. The door opened, and you emerged, now in sleep gear.

“Hey.” You said.

She smiled, “Hey.” She said back.

“Can - can you uh, can you stay for the night? Just...after all that, and what you said...I think I could use a break…?”

Her smile softened, “Of course.” She said.

You were still you...you still had your own life.

SHIELD wasn’t your lifestyle, just a belief in the world and a job.

[weelittleweasley]

love affair (g.w.)

prompt: a relationship with george weasley was all you wanted. but it seemed as though the two of you had two different ideas of what a relationship meant.

pairing: george weasley x fem!reader, fred weasley x fem!platonic reader

warnings: cheating relationships, physical violence, tiny blood warning (literally one sentence), lots of angst, language

word count: 7.5k

author note: this is an amalgamation of me getting out of a very strange relationship six months ago, driver’s license by olivia rodrigo, and two ghosts by harry styles, so take that as you will. this made me sad to write. im so sorry. i also wrote this half tired so if it doesn't make sense, IM SO SORRY LMAO

Knees curled up to your chest, you wrapped your arms around your legs, forcing your body into a coddled position as you sat upon the window sill. Forehead pressed to the glass, the coolness of it made your warm forehead ease with the sensation, condensation fogging up the window pane as your eyes stared mindlessly out of the window. Small mouth sounds fell from your parted lips as you inhaled and exhaled deeply. In the fog on the pane, you dragged your finger across the condensation, drawing little figurines as you attempted to distract yourself from your wandering thoughts that flooded with panic at the news you had received moments ago.

Your pointer finger drew a small heart into the glass before you ripped it away. The sound of a deep tenor rumble resonated outside as small water droplets began pitter-pattering down onto the window. The rain was soothing in contrast to your current state, washing over the lush landscape of the Scottish countryside that Hogwarts castle stood proudly on. 

The rain renewed and refreshed the early autumnal landscape. Water struck upon delicate flowers and reached up to the pale gray sky, accepting the water gratefully. Like a stream in a forest, water rushed down the sides of the Whomping Willow as it twisted and shook off the rain as it poured down. The lush green grass absorbed the water, causing mud puddles to form in pockets across the ground. A smile creeped onto your face as you bit your bottom lip, thinking about how George would insist the next morning that you two go romp around in the mud, behaving like children. George loved mornings after the rain, the way the air was crisp, the smell of fresh dew, the soft ground beneath his yellow rain boots. 

But with the thought of George, your anxious thoughts swirled in your mind like a mixing bowl. You took a deep breath in and repeated to yourself that you would not like to jump to conclusions. This could have been a misunderstanding and Patricia Stimpson had just conveyed the message incorrectly. But the churning in your gut suggested otherwise.

The rain came down relentlessly now, thunder rumbling like a snare drum as darts of lightning flashed far away. The storm was far away, thankfully, which put your mind at ease. 

As a rumble of thunder rippled through, gentle knocks sounded at your door. Rather than getting up and greeting the expected visitor at the door, you lifted your wand beside you and with a gentle flick, the door creaked open just enough for him to push it open all the way.

Entering the room, George closes the door behind him. Without even saying a word, he knows you aren’t yourself. Something was troubling you and it was palpable. The way you curled up watching the rain trickle down the window as you followed it lazily with your finger. George sighs and walks towards you. “Awfully quiet today, aren’t we?” he speaks simply as he takes a seat across from you on the window sill, him sitting criss cross. 

You peel your eyes away from the window and give him a gentle smile as your mind screams to tell him to leave the room, you need space. But when you look at him, your heart swells with all the love you can conjure in your body. He was your George. How could he have done something so unthinkable, but your heart still leaped at the sight of him? You pushed the thought away; nothing was confirmed yet. “Hi, Georgie,” you speak quietly. He scoots closer to you, smile on his lips as he leans forward and presses a light kiss to your forehead. “There’s just a lot on my mind today.”

George peels your arms from around your legs and pulls on them gently, making you wrap your legs around his waist as you huff, giving into his touch. Now, you were wrapped around him like a koala would be, his hands resting on your hips as he brushed a loose strand of hair from your face. “Would you like to share with the class?” he jokes as you give him a look that tells him you were serious. He clears his throat. “Sorry, darling,” he smiles. “What’s bothering you? You can tell me...I don’t like seeing you upset. Especially if it is something I can prevent.”

How ironic. You rub your eyes with the heels of your hands as you inhale a shaky breath. “I received some news from Patricia Stimpson this morning,” you start as you gently start to peel yourself off of George. It didn’t feel right to talk about something like this while being complete entangled in each other. George gives you a concerned look, a little confused as to why you would be talking to Patricia Stimpson. “She saw something that you did that is honestly quite disturbing.”

Patricia came up to you this morning after you had finished breakfast in the Great Hall with George as you parted ways for the day, him to the library and you to you the courtyard. She had a look of urgency in her eyes as she tapped your shoulder and requested to speak somewhere privately. The two of you sat on a bench in the courtyard as she gave you a sad smile and revealed information that you never thought you would receive. 

Your heart had stopped beating at the mention of the combination of names strung together in that sentence. It felt like your worst nightmare had grown legs and had walked into your life. The news slapped you in the face as you just stared at her when she told you, looking into her eyes that looked at you so sad for you. “You mean to tell me,” you breathily laugh, not wanting to even think that this situation was a possibility, “that you saw George and...Angelina...”

She nodded her head, sadly with a look of guilt on her face. She hated that she had to be the barer of bad news, especially since you two weren’t that close. But she would hate to see another girl struggle to breathe as rumors flooded in when she knew she could have helped prevent the situation. Patricia gulped and spoke, “Snogging, yeah.” The thought makes bile rise in your throat as you swallow hard and close your eyes. “It happened a few days ago. They were in the library in the back. I was trying to return a book and I stumbled upon them. The two of them both froze and Angelina then yelled at me to leave and I did, I was shocked, I didn’t know what to do,” she tries to reason. “I’m so sorry, (Y/N).”

You shook your head and placed a reassuring hand on Patricia’s. “Please don’t apologize. You didn’t nothing wrong, darling,” you give her a weak smile. “There was nothing you could after seeing that except tell me. Thank you for telling me,” you speak as you inhale a deep breath, trying to understand how something like this could have happened.

George went to the library often, but he was usually accompanied by Fred or Lee to talk about the joke shoppe or sorts. He would have meetings every four days. If he had slipped away to do something with Angelina, Fred or Lee would have known. But what really stung was the fact that it was Angelina. Your first friend at Hogwarts. She introduced you to George. She helped set you two up. And now she was the one tearing you apart. 

Patricia starts rambling, “I should have told you when I saw it, but I was scared that I had the wrong twin. That it was Fred and not George, but I could have sworn it was George. It had to have been.”

You speak, “Stop justifying things, Patricia. It’s okay. I’ll, um, I’ll have a chat with George about this I guess. Thank you, again, Patricia. I’ll...see you around.”

When you recounted the events to George, he just sat there and looked at you in disbelief. The way he looked at you with so much pain in his eyes made you feel guilty for accusing him of such a thing. You gulped down a dry swallow and told yourself you couldn’t cry, but that didn’t halt the tears from welling up in your eyes as you inhaled a shaky breath. George still just stared at you in shock. “Please, Georgie,” you beg, just barely above a whisper, knowing if you speak any louder, you’ll crumble. “Tell me it’s not true.”

Your bottom lip trembles and threatens to spill out a sob, but it’s stifled when George pulls you into his chest as you cry into his jumper, taking it in your hands in fistfuls. You let cries erupt throughout your body as George rubs your back soothingly, kissing the top of your head. “Don’t cry, angel,” he coos as you sob into his chest, praying to whoever was listening that this wasn’t happening. “Shhhh,” he hushes you, gently prying you off of his chest so he could look into your eyes.

Looking up at him teary eyed, George cradles your face in hands, thumbs wiping away your tears as you tremble like a child after a sick nightmare. He pressed a kiss to one cheekbone and then the other, where tears fell before he pressed his forehead up against yours. “Never in my life,” he speaks, “would I do that to the girl I love.” The fear evaporates from your body as your shoulders relax and you let out a shaky breath. “I know Patricia claims it was me, but it was absolutely Fred. He’s had his eye on Angelina for a few weeks now. Nice to know that my own twin brother doesn’t tell me when he snogged a girl,” he teases as you giggle lightly. “(Y/N)...” he speaks, his voice trailing off, almost as if it were a warning. “I love you.”

His declaration of love felt more like a statement when he said it. As if you should have known. It was firm and pressing. You shook your head as you smiled lightly, sniffling. It was dumb of you to question George’s loyalties in the first place. He loved you fiercely. “I love you, Georgie.”

And for the first time ever in this relationship, the words you exchanged felt out of place. Misused. But you knew the words still rang true for the both of you after three years of dating. If they didn’t, you wouldn’t have your lips pressed against his right now in a gentle kiss, trying to mend what had almost been broken.

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

A few days had passed since the rain and you found yourself happily walking down the hallway, hand in hand with George. He leaned down and whispered in your ear, making you laugh and slap his chest as he joined you in laughter. George squeezed your petite hand in his larger one before he spoke, “Freddie and I have got a team meeting in the library. We’ve got potential investors for the joke shoppe.”

Your eyes widen as you excitedly push his shoulder. “Investors? Geez, Georgie, why didn’t you tell me?!” you exclaim as he chuckles. “I’m so proud of you,” you beam, gently stroking his cheek before you place a gentle kiss to his lips. “Go on then, go do more exciting things,” you push him in the direction of the library.

George sends you a wink, “I’ll catch you after, alright?” He walks backwards down the hall. “In your room?” he asks as you smile and nod. “Brilliant.”

And with that, he’s gone as you shake your head and continue walking down the hallway. As you walk, you think about how that night between you and George had brought you closer. He wanted to be around you more, he gave you more compliments, he paid close attention to how you were feeling. It was like he was becoming a more attentive boyfriend. A new George, one that you could get used to. 

You lazily walked through the halls of Hogwarts, chatting with people you knew as you passed. Now, you found yourself giggling as you stumbled upon Ron, linking arms as dancing down the hallway. You erupted in a fit of giggles as Ron spun you around and he chuckled. The two of you engaged in light chatter before he offered you a snack from his satchel, a bright red apple. “What is it with your family and always eating? I don’t get it,” you tease him.

Ron shrugs, “Always be prepared?”

You roll your eyes as you continue to walk, talk, and eat as you turn the corner and you furrow your brows. There was Fred leaning up against the wall, chatting to Lee about something before Lee threw his head back in laughter. That was odd. Quite a short meeting Fred and George had. “Oi!” you call out. “Freddie!” You drag Ron down the hallway to meet his brother and Lee as Ron throws a lazy arm around your shoulder, towering over you.

Fred turns his eyes and when his eyes land on you a genuine, happy smile appears on his face. “Oi, is my younger git brother annoying you?” he teases as Ron sarcastically laughs before punching Fred in the arm as Fred laughs melodiously.

“Piss off, Fred. Don’t you have somewhere to be?” he sneers.

You turn to Fred again, “I thought you and Georgie had a meeting about the joke shoppe. I was just with him like twenty minutes ago and he said he had to run.” You were genuinely curious and also confused. You thought an investor meeting would take more time than just a mere twenty minutes if it was a serious offer. 

Fred shakes his head and tucks his hands into his pockets. “No,” he speaks, brows furrowed, confused as to why his brother would relay false information to you like this. “We have a meeting about the shoppe every other week. Our next meeting isn’t for another week.” Lee looks at you, puzzled, looking back and forth between you and Fred. There was something wrong. 

Your heart sinks and your mouth goes dry. Ron watches your face drop from an excited smile to the color of parchment. He places a cautious hand on your shoulder. Before he can ask you how you’re feeling, you speak up, “Freddie,” you gulp. “This is going to sound like a weird question, but I need you to be brutally honest with me.” Fred looks at Lee completely puzzled before looking at you. “About a week ago, did Patricia Stimpson walk in on you snogging Angelina in the library?”

Lee cackles, “He wishes! Angelina Johnson wouldn’t go near our poor Fred with a ten foot pole!” Lee claps Fred’s shoulder as Fred shoots him a glare, making Lee pipe down immediately. Now was not the time to joke around. And that really meant something when it came to Fred Weasley.

Your heart sinks further and your chest starts to rise and fall with anxiety. The big red apple that was once in your hand fell to the floor and rolled away. Something was gravely wrong. Ron peels his arm off of you, knowing that you need space as you anxiously look between Fred and Ron and Lee, trying to figure out where George could be then. If he wasn’t with Fred or Lee or you, then that meant he was alone. Or...

Fred looks at you and takes a step closer to you. “(Y/N),” he speaks, approaching you with caution like you were ticking time bomb. “Look at me,” he speaks, placing both of his hands on your arms as you look upwards at him, fear in your eyes. “Where did my brother tell you he was?”

Breathing heavily, you open your mouth and no sound comes out at first, just a squeak. Fred’s eyes soften, concerned for you and moment away from kicking his brother’s teeth in. His eyes coax you into trusting him with the information you have. Finally, you manage, “In the library, with you, talking about investments for the shoppe.”

Without another word, Fred takes your hand in his and speaks directly to Lee. “If George doesn’t come back to the room tonight, don’t go looking for him,” he speaks through gritted teeth. “Ron, stay here. We don’t need more attention to the scene we’re about to cause. Or should I say, I’m about to cause.” 

Before anyone can object, Fred and you are now walking, more marching, down the halls of the castle to the library to hunt out George. Panic and fear are pumping through your veins as Fred radiates pure fury. Fred and you were always very close, even more so after you and George had started dating. In Fred’s eyes, you were like another sister to him. He felt the overwhelming need to protect in a way that was different how George protected you. Fred knew the inner workings of your mind like the back of your hand. You were the first person he came to when he had a problem and vise versa. Fred was your friend and a damn good one at that. He hated seeing you upset, especially if he knew it was the doing of his own twin. 

“Freddie,” you breathe out. “Patricia came to me days ago and told me that she saw them, but I didn’t believe it. He had told me that it was you and that you had a thing for Angelina for a while and I believed it because I have always trusted George. But now I-”

Halting dead in his tracks before you walk into the library, Fred grabs your shoulders and spins you to face him. “Listen to me, (Y/N),” he commands your attention. “I love my brother. He’s my other half. But something he can be that the guy who is down right dick. And if he did, or is doing, what we’re thinking, then he’s even worse than I had ever imagined. And that is on him.” Fred’s words bring you peace, but also a wave of nerves. Could George ever be unfaithful? Did the relationship have that many cracks that he allowed himself to slip through one? Fred’s brown eyes that looked so like George’s stared into yours as he gave you a smile. “You’re the best girl I know and George is a fucking idiot if he’s letting you go. Regardless of what happens in there, I am your best friend first and foremost. I’m here for you no matter what he does.”

You nod your head and sigh before pulling Fred into the tightest hug you’ve ever given anyone. With all your might, you hold him close as he sighs and hugs you back, knowing the outcome of this situation before it had even unfolded. Fred thought to himself how could his brother be so selfish, so childish, so moronic to do what he had done. There was no going back now. You can feel the hot tears stinging the back of your eyes, but you don’t dare let them fall. You were still clinging onto the last bit of hope before you entered the library. “Thank you, Freddie.” 

His arms gave you one last squeeze before taking your hand in his. “Are you ready?” he asks, eyes genuinely searching yours for your answer. Fred was ready to go in there without you to confront his asshole twin and your once best friend, yelling and screaming. Rage was pumping through his veins, but he tried his best to conceal it in front of you. Fred didn’t want you to see him like this. 

With a weak nod, you inhale a shaky breath. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

The two of you walk into the library and you feel your heart drop into your feet when you step in. You didn’t like the way the library felt in this moment. It was cold and hot at the same time and you felt stifled. But that didn’t stop you from chaotically walking to the back of the stacks to find your boyfriend. 

You peer down aisles trying to find that familiar tuff of red hair, but all you find are diligent students reading, some joking around with each other, others peering through the stacks to find books. “Where the bloody hell...” you whisper to yourself, growing frustrated that you couldn’t find George. Your nervous energy was now being channeled into anger as you balled your first beside you.

Before you can flip around and ask Fred where he thought his brother could be, you hear a familiar low voice and girlish giggle from behind you. You look at Fred, your eyes wide and stomach churning. Fred opens his mouth to say something, but you are already walking to the back of the library to find exactly what you expected.

The red haired boy your heart belonged to was now pressed flushed against your once best friend, lips connected to each others as her fingers played with the hair that stuck up on the back of his neck. George’s hands were placed on her hips before running down her sides to squeeze her bottom cheekily as she giggled. You inhaled a sharp gasp at the sight, wanting to vomit at the sight of George and Angelina pressed up against each other like this. Your mouth hangs open as the detach themselves from their embrace, faces falling from smiles to sheer horror. 

“Fucking hell,” you breathe out, the tears that threatened to fall outside now flowing down your cheeks freely. You feel Fred’s presence behind you as George and Angelina’s eyes dart between you and Fred. Angelina stutters for a moment as George’s hands fly off of her body and into his pockets. “So is Angelina your potential investor?” you ask, bottom lip trembling in horror as Fred steps right behind you, placing his hand on yours giving it a squeeze, letting you know that he is right there with you. 

George steps away from Angelina and Angelina fumbles with her words, “(Y/N)-”

You scoff, “Oh, shut up, Angelina. You have no excuse. You were supposed to be my best mate, but instead you decided that you’d rather fool around with my boyfriend behind my back, eh? Some fucking friend you are.” 

Angelina’s face contorts with sadness and guilt as she looks down at her feet, playing with her fingers. “I didn’t mean for it to happen,” she tries to defend herself. 

With pure fury rushing through your veins, you laugh. “Well, I’d bloody hope you didn’t plan on it!” you exclaim. “I always knew you to be competitive, but not like this. This is low. Even for you,” you shake your head before looking at George who has guilt slapped all over his face. He opens his mouth to say something, but you stick up your hand. “Don’t even say anything to me. Don’t you dare even look at me. You’re a liar and a cheat and loathsome. I hope you’re happy. Angelina, he’s all yours.”

You turn away and let a hand fly up to your mouth to conceal your sob as you run out of the library with Fred draping a protective arm around your shoulder. “Come on, now,” he whispers to you as some people notice your state. “It’s over. They’re both done and that’s it. You can cry, darling, it’s alright.”

Fred whisks you out of the library quickly and the moment you step down the secluded hallway, you collapse into Fred’s arm as he holds you, brushing your hair calmingly. The sobs rake through your body, causing it to tremble hopelessly in his arms as he holds you tight. Seeing you like this filled Fred with rage as he kissed the top of your head as he allowed you to cry into his chest, holding onto him for dear life. You sob and mumble things into his jumper as he nods his head. “I’m here, it’s alright.”

That’s when you hear his voice. “(Y/N), please let me talk,” George pleads, pain evident in his voice, but immeasurable to how you felt in this moment. You don’t dare look at him, burying your face deeper into Fred’s chest as his grip grows iron on you.

“Back off, mate, haven’t you hurt her enough?” Fred defends you as he rubs your back. “What has gotten into, George?”

George’s jaw clenches and his fists bundle up beside him. “Piss off and let me talk to my girlfriend, Fred,” he speaks through gritted teeth. “Please, (Y/N),” his voice changes when he addresses you, more gentle and coaxing as you sob harder into Fred’s chest. “I need to tell you my side of the story.” Fred laughs as you peel yourself from him, wiping your eyes, hot with tears. “There’s no explanation needed, dear brother,” Fred sneers at George who with a sarcastic smile presses his tongue to his cheek in sheer annoyance. “She caught you in the act. What are you going to explain? How your tongue accidentally found its way into Angelina’s mouth?”

George takes a step forward, challenging his brother. “Shut the fuck up, would you?” he bellows, anger in his eyes as Fred doesn’t back down, unafraid of George. You watch as the scene unfolds in front of you, still sniffling. “All of a sudden you’re interested in my girlfriend? You trying to scoop her up while she’s vulnerable?” he pushes Fred’s chest.

“Scoop her up?” he pushes back. “Are you mental? And if she hadn’t made it clear already, I’ll do it for you. Ex-girlfriend. She’s your ex-girlfriend,” Fred corrects his brother. “Not to mention, (Y/N) has always been my friend, even before you started dating. I’m not trying to scoop her up, George, we’re friends! I will always protect her! Especially when you fail to do so,” he spits at George. 

That’s what sends George over the edge. With a yell, he sends a gruesome punch to Fred’s jaw who nearly falls over from the blow. “Godric, George, stop!” you yell out at he goes for Fred again, but Fred sends a punch to his twin brother’s nose as George stumbles back, blood trickling down from his nose. 

People start to notice that the twins are now in a full on fight, grabbing and swinging at each other as they yell profanities at the each other. A crowd starts to trickle in, cheering on either side of the boys as you watch in horror.

“Fucking hell, get off of each other!” you scream as you grab Fred’s arm as he holds it up to send another punch to his brother’s nose. “Knock it off, you fucking dickheads!” you throw yourself in front of Fred as George and Fred catch their breaths, chests heaving. “Can we not make this a public affair?” you scream again, gesturing to the small crowd that has formed to witness the Weasley twins having it out at each other. “We can talk about this in private,” you say in a hushed angry tone to George. You turn to Fred and take a look at his face, no blood, but definitely lots of bruises and a split lip. “Episkey,” you wave your wand at his face, sealing his broken lip as well as managing to take away some of the swelling of his eyes. 

Fred hisses as his face stings as it heals. “You don’t need to talk to him, (Y/N). He doesn’t deserve to hear what you have to say,” he sneers at George who takes another challenging step at Fred.

You hold Fred back again and hold a warning finger to George. “Don’t you dare. You’ve already hurt enough people today,” you spit at him who immediately retaliates. You speak to Fred with a soft, calm smile. “I’ll be okay. I can handle him, Freddie,” you insist as Fred gives you sad smile.

Slowly looking away from Fred, your eyes land on George as your heart breaks at the sight of him. He wiped his bloody nose on his shirt sleeve as he glared at his brother, eyes eventually trailing to you as his glare fades into a guilty look. The brown eyes that you loved so much suddenly made you feel cold and alone as you inhaled a shaky breath. George tries to offer you his hand to walk somewhere more private to discuss things, but you just scoff and walk past him, letting him follow you. The audacity, you thought to yourself.

The two of you walk into an empty classroom as you close the door behind you and leaning against it, arms folded in front of you as you glare at George. You could feel yourself wanting to cry again, but you refused to let him see you cry again. He wasn’t worth your tears. Instead, you let rage course through your body instead of sadness. 

George gulps before speaking. “I never wanted this to happen...” he trails off.

“No, you never wanted to get caught,” you correct him as he lets out a disgruntled sigh. “I never thought you would ever do this to me, George. Nevertheless, do it to me with my best friend,” you shake your head. “I thought that if you didn’t love me anymore, you would at least have the decency to tell me,” you throw your hands up in defeat. George remains dead silent. “But somehow, you thought this was a better option.” He quickly replies, “It just happened, (Y/N)!” You furrow your eyebrows. “We were in the common room one night, studying for an exam and we started talking and then for some reason, one thing lead to another, and we kissed,” he admits as your heart breaks. So they had kissed before the time Patricia caught them in the library. This wasn’t a one time mistake he made. George had repeatedly kissed Angelina. Godric knows what else they did. “It was a huge mistake, (Y/N), and I’ll never forgive myself for it. You mean so much to me,” he tries to rationalize with you, begging at this point.

You just scoff and say, “A huge mistake that you did again and again and again. If I hadn’t caught you in the act, you would have kept seeing her, wouldn’t you?” George just shakes his head and gulps, taking a step forward. “Don’t lie to me, George...not again,” your voice cracks, but you refuse to cry. “Instead of telling me how you really felt, you kept telling me you loved me.”

George takes your hands in his and speaks, “I have always loved you, (Y/N). None of that was ever a lie.” Your eyes search his eyes, searching for a truth. Something to tell you why you should stay with him. But instead, you found nothing. “I don’t know what I was thinking,” he whispers, tears filling his eyes as he truly feels sorry when he understands what he losing. “We’re just not who we used to be, I guess,” he shrugs his shoulders, trying to shift the blame on both of you.

Pulling away from his hands, you spit back, “No, you’re not who you used to be.” You shake your head. “In fact, I don’t know who you’ve become. But you’re not the George I fell in love with,” you take a deep breath in as George’s heart breaks. What George did really ripped your heart out of your chest, but this is was ripped it into a thousand pieces. Leaving him. “Goodbye, Georgie.”

George shakes his head, “(Y/N), please don’t.”

But you were already gone.

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

Being without George for the first weeks of the breakup were difficult. You missed his touch, his voice, his eyes, his laugh, his smile; you missed it all. Even though what he did rung your heart out, there was a part of you that missed him more than words could say. 

People took notice immediately about how you didn’t sit next to George during meals in the Great Hall or converse to Angelina in between classes. This all earned you sorry glances in your direction as people found out what happened. It was embarrassing, having everyone know exactly what went down between you and George and Angelina.

You tried to distract yourself with other friends and schoolwork and other hobbies to keep yourself from thinking about George. But somehow, you always thought of him and how he so harshly betrayed you. No matter what you were doing, something had made you think of him. It came down to the point that you had to distance yourself from Fred, your closest friend after Angelina, because just the look of him made you think of George. That fact that your best friend had to be the identical twin of your cheating ex-boyfriend was enough to drive you mad. 

But after a few weeks of healing and distancing yourself from everything that reminded you of George, you finally decided you couldn’t let him prevent you from seeing Fred. Fred was not only George’s brother, but your friend and you were’t going to let that stop you. When you had seen him for the first time since you and George broke up, tears welled in your eyes, you missed him so much. Fred gave you the tightest hug and profusely apologized for his brother’s behavior. Fred was insistent on helping you in every way possible to move on from George; he wanted you to know that no matter what he would be there for you, no matter if it was his twin who had done the damage or not.

Fred along with the help of your other friends helped you get over George and move on. They helped you regain your confidence and have fun and you couldn’t be more grateful. Soon enough, George was the last thing on your mind. His presence in a room no longer made you sad, the mention of his name didn’t make your heart stop, and the sight of him didn’t make you miss him. You were over George Weasley; something you never thought you would be able to say.

Even though you were over George, you didn’t think that you would date someone else after four months after your break up. But funnily enough, you were. The relationship that had blossomed between you and Roger Davies started as something very innocent. You had always been friendly with Roger, but not very close. So when you had initially started studying in the library, you didn’t think it would lead to hanging out in the courtyard, to your first date to Hogsmeade, until your first kiss on the moving staircase. 

Roger was so refreshing. He was gentle and kind and shy, but he was affectionate and loved showing you how much he truly cared for you. He would be in the hallways with his friends and spot you across the way before running over to place a quick kiss on your cheek before running back to his friends. Or he would see you studying in the library alone and then immediately find the chair next to you to keep you company. It was the little things he did that made you feel so loved.

When word got to George that you and Roger started dating, he was didn’t take the news well. Unlike you, after the breakup, George wallowed in his guilt and couldn’t stop thinking about how foolish and careless he was. He cursed himself for letting he and Angelina share that kiss on that late night in the common room. He hated the fact that he let himself come back for more when he had someone like you in his fingertips. Someone who loved him fiercely and would do anything to prove their love. When Fred told him the news about you and Roger, George sat there with sad eyes and dryly gulped. “Why him?” he spoke. He was sad, angry, disappointed, jealous at the fact that Roger had just scooped you up. 

“She found someone who she cares for and who does the same,” Fred tells his twin. “You should be happy she found someone like that after how the relationship ended with you two,” he tells him as George just closes his eyes and shakes his head. “I know you miss her, George, but it’s over. You messed up.”

George just looked at his brother with the most pained look on his face. George knowing that he hurt you in a way unimaginable sat with him like a rock in his stomach. “It was the worst thing I ever did, Fred. I fucked up big time and I can’t fix it. I really can’t fix it this time,” he spoke, pools welling up in his eyes as Fred gave his brother a sympathetic gaze. “I really messed up, Fred.”

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

Winter break rolled around and it would be your first holiday with Roger, but the first holiday without the Weasleys. The thought made your stomach churn. The Weasley family took you in as their own the moment they saw you. Molly and Arthur felt like a second set of parents and you were so grateful that you always had a home with them. You sadly smiled at the memories of the Burrow and the holiday season. You had spent the past four Christmases with the Weasleys and each year just got better and better. You had thought your seventh year would be the best yet, but you had to cast that thought away before you grew sadder.

Shaking away the thoughts of the Burrow, you smiled at the thought of spending the holiday with Roger and his family. You were more than nervous to meet his parents and his older brother, but Roger made it abundantly clear that his family was thrilled to meet you. “I’ve talked to my mom about you before and she is so excited to meet you. She says you sound lovely,” Roger kissed your forehead as you danced nervously around your dormitory room. 

You gave him a nervous smile. “I just really want them to like me,” you shake your hands nervously as he takes your hands in his, laugh gently at your nerves. “I’m serious, Roger. I love you and I want your parents to know how much I care for you,” you stand in between his legs as he sits on your bed.

Roger smiles and kisses your nose gently. “They’ll love you because they know how much I love you and how much you mean to me. Let’s be honest, though, what’s not to love about you?” he pokes at your sides as you giggle.

And he wasn’t wrong. Roger’s family was so warm and welcoming to you. Practically the moment his mother spoke to you, you saw how kind and lovely she was and how the whole family took you in instantly. You couldn’t be more grateful to have a boyfriend who had a family that was kind and welcoming like the Weasleys. 

On the first night at Roger’s home, you laid in bed next to Roger as you played with the hem of his jumper. “My family bloody loves you,” he whispered to you with the largest smile on his face. You smiled wide and pecked his cheek. “I’m serious. You even impressed Chester and that’s not an easy feat,” he refers to his older brother. 

You beam, “Your family is wonderful. Truly. I love them already and it’s just the first night.”

“It’s only going to get better from here,” Roger wiggles his brows as you giggle before he presses his lips to yours.

When the Weasley students arrived home from Hogwarts, they were all tightly embraced by Molly Weasley who peppered each of her kids’ faces with kisses, making them all lovingly groan. “Ah! Harry, there you are,” Molly beamed as she kisses the top of Harry’s head. “Good to have you back home again, my dear,” she spoke before doing the same to Hermione’s head and giving her a tight squeeze. Molly looked around the living room, searching for something or rather someone. “Where’s (Y/N)? Georgie, did you leave her at Hogwarts as a mean prank?” she teased before noticing her son’s hollow face and everyone tense up as Molly spoke of your name like it was You Know Who. “What happened, Georgie?” she looks at her son with a stern look in her face. She knew something was very wrong and she had a bad feeling about it.

George gulps before saying, “(Y/N) and I broke up, Mum.”

Molly’s face drops with sadness before looking at Arthur whose face resembles Molly’s. “Really? Oh my dear, I’m so sorry, Georgie. (Y/N) and you seemed so happy. How did it happen?” she implores as George stiffens and Fred sighs and rubs his face.

This is the part that George Weasley was dreading; the reason why you split up. Everyone else in the room was scared for him too, Merlin’s sake. With a deep breath, George said, “Um,” and swallowed hard. “I wasn’t a good boyfriend, Mum. I betrayed her trust.”

And that’s when Molly’s face dropped into a serious expression. Molly always taught her children how to care for others and always be loyal to the ones who treat you with love. George’s behavior spoke a different story. “George Fabien Weasley,” she shook her head. “I thought you knew better,” her heart broke for you and it hurt her to know that one of her own boys did that to you. “Your father and I taught you better than that,” she told him with a disapproving look on her face.

It was all she needed to say in order to make George feel more disappointed in himself than ever. He sadly looked to Fred who gave him a sad smile. Losing you was the worst thing he’s ever done. He not only lost you, but he made his parents feel disappointed in him. You meant so much George and he threw that all away for a silly fling that he could never take back. George nervously bit down on his lip before huffing his way up the stairs, needing to be alone with his thoughts for a while. 

The Weasley siblings dispersed throughout the Burrow as they all felt the strange shift in the energy of the house. The house was feeling the weight of your absence. When everyone was in the Burrow, the home was full of life. But with you gone, it was like one piece of the puzzle was missing and wouldn’t be found. 

As George opened the door to he and Fred’s room, the memories of previous holidays flood George’s mind. The two of you laying on his bed, him on his back, you on your stomach as you comb your fingers through his hair. He would steal kisses from you every now and then and poke at your sides, making you giggle wildly. George would hold you close in his arms and whisper how happy he was that you were with him. You would pepper his face in kisses, telling him how much you adored him in between pecks.

The memory made him smile as he entered the room, the more he walked in, the more memories resurfaces. He thought of the time you two watched the sunset out of his window, or the time you two laid on your back on his floor and reread a muggle book of yours, or the time he told you he loved you for the first time in the middle of the room on Christmas Eve all those years ago. 

“You alright, mate?” Fred’s voice interrupts George’s thoughts. Fred gives is brother a sad look. “I know it must be hard this time of year, George,” he puts a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “But you’ll be alright. And so will she.” George shakes his head sadly. “Listen, George, even though what you did was still very wrong, you’re my brother and I love you. I’m here for you.”

George gives his brother a sad smile and shakes his head as if to say thank you. He looks Fred in the eyes and just shakes his head, “I want the best for her, Freddie. I want to be the best for her.” George has tears in his eyes and chokes lightly on his words.

Fred’s heart hurts for his brother. George rarely cried in front of Fred, he usually liked to be alone if he was going to cry. He didn’t like Fred seeing him upset. But this was too much for George to hide. Fred holds his brother’s arms and speaks, “I know, George. I know. But right now, what’s best for her is space. You both need to be away from each other. That’s what’s best for both of you.”

That made George realize that his brother was very right. As much as he hated to believe that you two couldn’t be together, George knew it was true. And he would have to be okay with that.