#‘‘out on the street i keep a started car who only waits for me conveniently’‘ -> she will betray them too | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

reanniee · 3 months

Text

the moon

shigaraki x reader

notes: angst, death, violence word count: 8.5k

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"...hey... are you alright?"

"..."

"...hello?"

"...w-what do you want..."

"...you're not okay... are you?"

"..."

"...what's your name?"

"why are you e-even out here... someone like you shouldn't be in a dump of a place like this..."

"...the moon..."

"w-what?"

"the moon... its beautiful... isn't it?"

".... what is wrong with you... you came out to a random dark alleyway just to see some stup-"

"the moon isn't stupid... it-its beautiful.."

"...you're crazy! the moon isn't worth coming out here-"

"so then, why are you here…?"

"......t-that's none of your business... now go home and leave me alone!"

"then come home with me..."

silence. pure silence.

in a dark alleyway, the most dangerous place for young children, sat a scrawny black haired boy sitting down in a corner, hiding himself from the world, and a young girl facing him.

".. go away.."

"...i'm not leaving without you. i'll stay here as long as it takes..."

the scrawny child looked up at her for a second.

"...you're an idiot! i'm not worth it! just leave!"

she shook her head in response.

"...there's no way I'm leaving you alone..."

"...tch... d-don't blame me if you get kidnapped idiot..."

she smiled.

"...[name]..."

"huh?"

"[name] [last name]."

"..."

there was a moment of silence.

"tenko shimura..."

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"...hey... idiot..."

"...eh?"

"why won't you leave... why do you keep coming back..."

“because i wanna be here with you…”

“bu-but why! you have a home to go back to! why would you come here instead!”

"...why don't you come home with me?"

"..."

“tenko?”

“i…i can’t... i’ll only ruin it… i’ll only ruin your life…”

“tenko...”

“...”

"...the moon... it's really beautiful..."

“i… i can die happ-”

"hello? ma'am?"

"eh?"

the [hair color] haired female shook her head, coming out of her little daydream.

"s-sorry!"

the man who woke her up smiled.

"now, what would you like to buy, miss?"

"i'll take-"

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

she was walking back to her home at night through the crowded city, returning from a grand adventure of finding a convenience store for groceries. a beautiful evening. a beautiful night. a beautiful sky. a beautiful city.

she carried three plastic bags on her hand as she walked in the beautiful and bright city. a new city. a new environment. a new life. a new start.

new?

she came to a stop at a crosswalk; waiting for the light to signify when she was able to continue her path. the cars flew by her, sending a slight gust of wind her way.

"so weird..."

she said to herself as she reached into her grocery bag to grab a juice box. she opened the juice box and started drinking it.

"i've been having those weird day dreams recently..."

the memories she had been seeing had begun affecting her everyday life. distracted at work and distracting whilst shopping. the memories causing her to zone out.

memories?

"is he someone i used to know?"

she just assumed that when she was younger, she probably knew the kid in her little day dreams.

“does this have to do with this city?”

the walking sign lit up. she crossed the busy street. cars stopping at her sides and cars flying past her.

"how come i can't remember him...?"

him?

she glanced towards the sky, her head hurting as she tried to remember who the mysterious boy was, when she saw the moon.

a new moon, huh?

"the moon... it's beautiful tonight."

she shook her head. strangely enough, the day dreams she had were all about the moon.

"...the moon?"

she looked up at the moon, admiring its beauty as she walked. a mistake she made constantly.

"is he... is he really re- ack!-"

she was too busy staring at the moon and talking that she failed to notice the people around her. she ended up bumping into someone else and falling down onto the ground.

"oh no! i'm sorry!" a female voice shouted out.

"n-no worries!" [name] said as the other female helped her up. a short and blonde girl whos hair was tied into the style of two buns. she was wearing a school uniform and seemed to be in a hurry.

"you're okay, right?" the other female asked.

"...y-yeah! i'm fine." [name] answered.

"i'm really, really sorry!" the other female apologized once again.

[name] smiled.

"it's alright! i'm [name], what's your name?"

"my names himiko toga!"

"it's really nice to meet you toga, but I've got to get going." [name] said politely.

"yeah! it's really late at night and I've got a place to go to as well! bye [name]!!"

"bye, toga!"

the two waved goodbye at each other and headed their own ways.

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

[name] looked out at the moon once again.

"the moon... it's beautiful.."

a fresh start. today, is a fresh start.

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"...what're you staring at?"

"...n-nothing..."

"...were you.... admiring the.... the moon...?"

"..."

"you were! ....weren't you!"

"..tch, so.... its not that big of a deal..."

"....it truly is beautiful isn't it..."

"... what's with you and the moon?"

"... i just think that the moon is beautiful..."

"why do you mention it every single night?"

"because the moon.... it only comes out at night.."

"yeah? and the sun only comes out at day, idiot..."

"...not many people... they don't really get to admire the moon."

*beep beep! beep beep!*

"eh? ack!"

the same daydreams again. the endearing memories have recently begun to flood the poor secretary’s mind, distracting her from her daily tasks.

she looked towards the hanging cat calendar on her wall. may.

it’s almost been 15 years exactly.

*beep beep! beep beep!*

“ah man... forced to eat burnt toast again..”

it was the morning and she was getting prepared for the day. her first day, kind of. after she scraped the burnt pieces off of her ruined breakfast, she continued her morning routine. after rushing to get ready, she waited near her door till she heard a familiar knock.

"hey, [name]!"

"hello sir! thanks for giving me a ride today"

the two walked towards the black car awaiting outside the secretary’s house.

"no worries [name]. first day back on the job, exciting isn’t it?”

he opened the passenger door for her.

“it sure is exciting”

“the building is almost fully done. today will just be us moving in and getting situated. area here's completely different from back home”

the two buckled their seatbelts and the elder male began to drive.

“i’m glad i was transferred here to work alongside you here, sir. thank you again”

“how flattering. don’t sweat it, kid"

"still!!! it’s nice of you to bring me to work"

"it beats walking, doesn’t it?”

“yeahhh you’re right i guess. walking is pretty fun though”

“...you should really be more careful [name].”

“huh?”

“you haven’t heard? there’s a lot more criminal activity in this area. walking alone– especially at night– is dangerous for someone like you.”

someone like me, huh?

“calling me weak since im a woman? hm! not very professional of you, sir. you know in this day and age, you’re gonna get canceled for saying something like that!”

he stared at you.

“that’s not what i’m talking about…”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

she was walking home at night from the main office building.

the boss was right. an exciting day. the building was still being rebuilt. a quick and easy day of moving. a nice day, ended with a nice night.

a nice night.

…

he likes the moon too.

the day dreams continued to plague her mind all day. the thoughts causing her to be distracted whilst at work. what was causing these recent memories?

memories? are these my memories?

she looked up at the night sky, admiring the brightly glowing stars and the shining moon.

a waxing crescent moon.

she smiled and closed her eyes, enjoying the peace that the night gave her.

well, she was, until she bumped into someone.

"watch where you're going."

"oh, s-sorry!"

she helped herself up and stared at the guy she had bumped into. he was shrouded in a black hoodie covering his entire figure. black hair peeked out of his hoodie and he wore a mask covering his face.

"...t-tenko...?" she said quietly, but loud enough for the guy to hear.

tenko? who… who is tenko?

"not my name sweetheart."

"o-oh! sorry about that! you just reminded me of someone... someone that I used to know!"

someone that i used to know?

"names' dabi."

"[name] [last name]."

"you should be heading home. it's not safe around these parts at night."

"right! yes sir!"

"cya around, [name]."

he started walking away.

"goodnight, sir!”

she continued on her walk home.

"why do i keep bumping into people... "

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

the rest of the journey home was quiet and peaceful. the secretary arrived at her home safe and intact.

“how beautiful”

she looked at the moon again. admiring the wonderful glow it provided.

"he loved the moon too..."

loved?

a loud beep interrupted her thoughts. her phone lit up. a notification

reminder: sleep well!!!! no work tomorrow.

oh yeah. the office is still being rebuilt. no work tomorrow, i guess. i should probably try to relax.

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"..."

"...w-wh-"

"..hm?"

"..."

"tenko?"

"...what?"

"you sounded like you wanted to say something..."

"...it-it's nothing.."

"..you sure?"

"...yeah..."

"..."

"the moon sure is beautiful isn't it?"

"..tch... you and the moon again.."

"its beautiful! especially tonight"

"it's just the first stage of the moon… nothing special about it"

"huh?"

"what?"

"you… you know moon phases?"

"...yeah? and? "

"it’s special because its the first stage! its a new moon!”

“a new moon?”

“mhm! it symbolizes a fresh start!”

“...”

“the moon is very interesting, yeah?"

"... i mean... i guess..."

"every phase of the moon is beautiful... it still glows, no matter what."

“...”

"..why did you come out here in the first place?"

"the moon wa-"

"d-don't give me that!"

"eh? what do you mean?"

"why did you come out here? why in this specific place! you could have easily seen the moon from your bedroom window, or even outside your house! why'd you come out here! why in this exact alleyway!"

"...it's way too crowded where i live... this place is the only place where i can ignore everything and just enjoy my time... with you..."

"excuse me! miss [last name]! are you in there!"

she blinked repeatedly, shaking her head, waking herself up.

"y-yes! you can come inside!"

a female with light blonde hair came inside. it was a co-worker of hers.

"you have this letter for the boss. its a proposal for another uprising business."

"thank you."

she took the letter from the blonde woman. the letter was enclosed with a fancy wax seal.

“y’know you reallyyy shouldn’t be daydreaming at work.”

“sorryyy! just been a bit distracted is all”

“well, i’ll be taking my leave! goodluck on the rest of your work miss [name]!”

she opened the letter and started to read it.

"quirk erasing bullets...?"

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

what is going on?

a busy night of work, cars, and pro heroes. as she waited for the walking light, she stared up at the bright moon.

a first quarter moon.

the stars chose to hide themselves tonight. their light too dull to be seen by the naked eye.

what a weird time of my life, huh? i really need to stop daydreaming.

as the walking light turned on, she crossed the street, finding her way into a barely illuminated park. a detour; the longer route home. a nice walk in nature to clear her mind so she can focus on work.

the park filled with rich green trees and greenery, only illuminated by the sight of the bright moon. what a beautiful sight. a beautiful night and evening to-

"help me please! no, stay away!" she heard a voice say quietly.

"n-no! shut up! why don't you!" the voice seemed to be arguing with.... himself?

"h-hello?" she asked, coming to a stop.

there was no response.

she looked around, and saw a man, crouched into a tree and covering his head.

"h-hey, are you okay?" she asked.

"...n-no!" he yelled out. he sounded as if he were trying to hold something in.

"c-co-cover- please!" he yelled.

"cover?"

"face!"

[name] looked at him, she squinted her eyes and saw a scar in the middle of his face.

she took her jacket off and tossed it to him.

"here, sir."

he immediately grabbed the jacket and wrapped it around his face, tightly.

"are you alright, sir?"

"th-thank you.."

"you’re welcome mister...?"

she paused, hoping for the male to answer with his name.

he remained quiet

"im [name] [last name]. have a nice night"

he looked up at her and she smiled.

"i've got to get going home, have a good night sir"

she turned around and started walking home, cutting her detour short and returning to her usual route. enough chaos for the evening. now, alone, she pondered her peculiar situation once again.

"was he even real...? or was he just apart of my imagination... to escape from this world”

she looked up towards the night sky. bright as ever. a few stars revealed themselves.

he made me happy, didn't he?

a sudden shiver ran down her body. cold.

guess i need to buy a new jacket.

she wrapped her hands around herself and continued her way home. once again, left to her thoughts in the lonely night.

ah, that letter. guess i won’t be getting much sleep tonight. boss is gonna see a tough decision tomorrow.

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“..."

"..."

"...hey..."

"..."

"yes?"

"..what?"

"you sounded like you wanted to say something."

"..."

"you can say it.... i'm not gonna judge you."

"..."

"...the moon sure is beautiful.."

"..."

"..what- what's your q-quirk..."

"my quirk…?"

“[name]... you can tell me anything.“

“...”

“i can heal people"

"...huh?"

"...what?"

"what's wrong with that?"

"..."

"it wasn't enough"

"..."

“...sniff…”

“i hate my quirk.”

"e-eh? why?"

"because i hate my quirk."

"what is your quirk?"

"..."

"...you can tell me anything too, tenko."

"..."

"de-decay.... my-my qu-quirk is called decay... anything i touch with all five of my fingers.... it… it will disintegrate......"

"..."

"..i-i knew I shouldn't have told you! your scared of me now... yo-you'll-you'll hate me!"

"..."

"h-huh! h-hey! get off of me! wh-what are you doing! do-don't touch me!"

"..it's called a hug."

"..did-did you not hear what i said! if i touch you with all my fingers i could kill you!"

"i know you wouldn't."

"..hu-huh?"

"you won't try to push me off... i trust you.."

"...please..."

"..huh?"

"..i-i don't want to hurt you..."

"..you won't."

"...you idiot! j-just get off! I-i'm go-gonna hu-"

"it's your quirk. you can control. i believe in you.."

"...you-you idiot.... you're gonna die because of your stupidity... you-you know that?"

"...as long as I'm with you."

"miss [last name]!"

"h-huh? oh..."

"miss [last name], did you hear what I said?"

"my apologies.."

"are you alright miss [last name]? the whole office has been noticing that you've been spacing out recently..."

"it’s nothing! my apologies for worrying everyone. i've just been having a few flashbacks ever since I started an office in this area.”

flashbacks?

"has this area brought back a few memories?"

"huh?"

"maybe something in this area is reminding you of something in your childhood."

"i used to live in this area as a child."

"is there a common topic in your flashbacks? or a person?"

"huh? why?"

"i read somewhere that if all of a sudden, you start getting flashbacks of a certain person in your childhood that you haven't seen in a while, are nearby!”

“...”

“... or it could also be that you are nearby the place where you had met them or a place where you used to visit a lot with them."

"yeah... its about one of my old childhood friends.... we're always in one spot, the spot where we would always talk"

my childhood friend?

"have you thought of visiting that place? that might stop your little daydreams."

her eyes widened at the suggestion.

“thank you ma’am.”

"you’re welcome."

"anyways, what was it that you were saying before?"

"oh right- did you read the letter that I gave you the other day?"

"yes, of course. i created a report and forwarded it to the boss"

“what’d he think of it?”

“said he was interested.”

“it is quite interesting, huh?”

“i guess.”

“do you think we should get involved?”

“i’m unsure. its up to whatever the boss wants to do, i guess.”

"well, the leader has requested a meeting with the boss. discussing the bullets, that is."

"alright. i'll take a look into that."

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"where even was that place…"

she asked herself. the night alike every other recently. the venture home after a long day of work infected with the meaning of her daydreams.

"every day... the day dreams are getting longer... more real. im getting more information on him at least..."

why did i forget in the first place?

she looked up to the night sky, wishing to see the warming embrace of the moon.

a waxing gibbous moon.

"his quirk... it was decay..."

her head started to hurt. she stopped walking and clutched onto her head, the immense pain was stressing her out.

a sudden headache. a migraine.

why did she get a migraine? why now? why at this exact moment…?

"...aah...man oh man”

she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. but, the pain only got worse. she fell onto the floor

"ah!"

she desperately clutched her head harshly, begging for the pain to go away.

"excuse me ma'am. are you alright?"

a gentle, male voice spoke out.

"...my-my head...ah!"

she couldn't look up to see the male, but she could tell that he immediately knew what to do as he led her towards a nearby bench and told her to calm down, take a deep breath, and relax.

as she did so, she felt the pain in her head slowly fade away. as soon as it disappeared, she looked up at the male.

his body seemed to be formed of purple mist.

"thank you, sir."

"your welcome. and no need for anything in return."

she looked at him for a minute.

"are you weirded out by my appearance? if so, then-"

"no. it's not that. just...- you look familiar- or-er the purple... mist.."

"...you aren't weirded out by my appearance? you don't think I'm weird?"

"not at all. your quirk doesn't define you as a person."

the male was about to respond until a loud beep interrupted him.

"my apologies, but I must head home now."

"understood. thank you and goodnight, sir."

"goodbye ma’am"

she started to walk away.

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"why-why did I react like that when I thought back to tenko..."

react?

did… did that happen because of tenko? but why?

she arrived home, sat at her desk. a glass of water rested on her desk alongside a bottle of tylenol pills.

she looked out to the bright night sky. the stars looked back at her.

what’s the point in thinking about old memories?

what use is there in reminiscing about an old life?

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"..."

"you seem like you want to say something again."

"..."

"you can talk to me about anything tenko."

"..."

"h-hey.."

"yeah?"

"..yo-you said that I could talk to you about anything right?"

"yep!"

"w-well..."

"...go on... im listening."

"...there... there is this one person... they are always there for me... they always act so happy... but.. I just have a feeling that... that something is going on with them too..."

"...why do you feel this way?"

"..well, they told me themselves that some people hide their true emotions behind a smile.... and i've been through a lot so... i recognize that look in their eyes... what do I do? they have helped me... they made me happy- they made me smile... how do I help them?"

"well, just talk to them about it. people feel better when they can just let all their emotions out..."

"..o-okay..."

"..."

"the moon is-"

"hey... listen...."

"huh?.... eh?"

"i-i really.. l-... appreciate you..."

"you do?"

"t-than- thank you... for everything.... I want to let you know that I'm here for you too... okay?"

"you don't have to, tenko."

"but i want to. w-we'll help each other, together."

"together forever!"

"[name]."

“huh?”

“what do you think of all this?”

“oh.”

“sorry boss, but you can’t seriously be thinking about accepting their deal. are you?” the blonde co-worker chimed in.

the boss and his secretary were situated in the building’s main office, discussing the proposal offered to them by the shie hassakai as the blonde worker entered the room. the boss laughed.

“it is quite the proposal.”

“hey [name], you did more research on the shie hassaikai, right?” the blonde turned to the secretary.

“ah, yes. the shie hassaikai is a yakuza group. or well, the revival of one.” the secretary informed.

“well, they sure are intriguing, aren't they?”

“they’re dangerous, that’s what they are.” the blonde spoke.

“well, a dangerous idea and an interesting one are the same. isn’t that right, [name]?”

the secretary perked up, the conversation directing back towards her.

“in a way, i guess you are right sir.” she responded.

the blonde sighed.

“well, anyways i came over here to drop off another report. enjoy the rest of your day [name] and boss.” she spoke as she handed the secretary a file and left the room.

“well?”

“hm?”

“you never answered my question.”

“did i not?”

she opened the file given to her.

“the shie hassakai is… rumored to have dealings with the league of villains?”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

the female suddenly came to a stop. she blinked, trying to process what just happened. she had zoned out.

she shifted her gaze towards the night sky.

it’s a full moon tonight, how lucky.

she redirected her gaze forwards, slightly confused on where she currently was.

in front of her stood incoming traffic, and a familiar road.

a familiar sign. a familiar road. a familiar life.

she looked down into the street. dark, abandoned, and empty. the road seemingly called out to her, inviting her. she walked forward, as if her legs were moving on their own. familiar with the path which they were taking. not enough time to think.

she followed the dark and barely lit road as she was led to an abandoned neighborhood.

her legs. she came to a stop. she lifted her head up. in front of her stood an empty plot of land. a former family home turned to dust. cracks filled the land. the grass had grown back

the tombstone of an old life.

the snap of a twig woke up her.

her head darted around her, eyes searching around for the culprit.

“hello? whos… whos there?”

she spoke aloud, shaking.

what have you gotten yourself into now, [name]

“hello!” she shouted

to her right. footsteps approached. she quickly turned her head.

a strange man with a crazed look on his face. he was covered in blood, laughing.

is this where i die?

the man came closer, a knife in hand. she took a step backwards, her heart racing and her body shaking.

she was frozen in fear.

he was seconds away.

is this the end?

his eyes glared into hers, smiling as he rose his arm.

tenko… please

a gunshot.

a man wearing a white hood appeared in front of her. his face not visible from the distance.

she was shaking. this man had saved her. he was now slowly approaching her. her eyes widened.

“tenko? is that you?”

she whispered. frozen in place as the man came closer.

he was now a few feet in front of her, able to get a closer view. he was a strange man wearing a mask, similar to that of a plague doctor.

“my name is kurono. are you alright, miss [name]?”

“i… i am alright. thank you. thank you so much” she was shaking as she bowed her head towards her savior.

“it is rather dangerous around these parts, miss [name]. especially at night. you should really be more careful.”

“i know… my apologies.”

“what are you doing at a place like this, anyways?”

what am i doing here?

she glanced to her right, looking at the former house.

“i… i don’t really know”

his eyes resembled a soft smile.

“let me assist you home, then. it is dangerous this late at night. especially for a quirkless in the superpower world.”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

kurono had walked her home. he had stopped on her street and waved her goodbye. it was already so late. what an interesting day.

he was a savior. kurono. she had gone and gotten herself into some trouble again. all because of these daydreams. but kurono… how had he known her name?

she came to stop. a beep from her phone interrupted her thoughts. It was midnight already. she looked up into the sky.

a full moon.

tenko. hes… he’s not alive anymore, is he?

where are you now? how could you leave me?together forever you said, huh? i want to know more about you, mister mystery man…

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"..."

"h-hey, idiot... you haven't spoken at all tonight, I-is something wrong?"

"no, nothings wrong."

"why are you being quiet?"

"..."

"... i'm going to help you too. aft-after everything that you've done for me, i-w want... i want to help you. you- ... you can tell me anything, [name]."

"t-tenko… haha!"

"hey! why are you laughing and smiling like that all of a sudden?"

"you called me by my first name!"

"... huh? that's it?!?!?"

"the truth is, something has been on my mind."

"you can tell me, idiot."

"aww, I miss the '[name]'!"

"shut up and let me help you for once, idiot."

"well, can you tell me more about... more about your past. the truth on why you're here every night...."

"... only if you do as well..."

"huh?"

"i want the truth."

"i-...."

“that’s absurd!”

the gruff voice spoke as he slammed his fists into the desks.

“he had followed you on your way home?”

the secretary casted her gaze to her hands on her lap.

“well, yes. i was on my way home”

a small lie. it doesn’t matter, though.

“this city is quite dangerous. im glad you are alright, [name]. or else i’d be forced to find a new secretary.”

she laughed in response.

“im glad that you’re safe though. thank god a hero was there. who was it even? did you get his name?” her boss questioned

she fiddled with her hands.

“ah, well. im unsure if he was a hero. though i remember his appearance. he was wearing a weird mask. you know the masks that plague doctors used to wear? and he-”

“the shie hassaikai.” her blonde female cut in. “a member of the shie hassaikai had saved you.”

her eyes widened.

“ah, really? he was a member of the shie hassaikai? i guess they aren’t so bad afterall.”

the boss laughed.

“well, s’pose i should reward them, hm? for saving my dear secretary i’ll provide them with a meeting and some funds.”

“don’t,” the blonde spoke sternly.

the secretary perked up.

“rather suspicious, aren’t they?”

“how so?” the boss questioned.

“maybe instead of saving your secretary, they were following her?”

“a dangerous, but possible assumption. what an interesting spot we’ve gotten ourselves in.”

“you can’t forget the league of villain dealings as well.”

“that is true.” he turned his gaze to the secretary. “[name]. be a little more careful now, won’t you?”

“ah, yes, sir.”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

she was walking home like always, her and her thoughts on the way home. lectured by the boss and her co-worker about safety. she made sure to take the quickest route home tonight to avoid being scolded once again. and to avoid another incident.

she looked up to the moon.

a waning gibbous moon.

"should i find him again?" she said to herself. "would he remember me? how would i even find him?"

she continued to ask herself questions. but one question ended her thoughts, leaving her shocked.

"is he even alive...?"

she shook her head and sighed.

she continued to walk until she saw a flash of white in the corner of her eye out of a dark alleyway. she stopped walking and stared into the alleyway.

after a minute or so, a strange little girl with white hair and a horn came running out and clung onto her.

the little girl had a terrified expression on her face as she desperately clutched onto the legs of the [hair color] haired female. she buried herself, shaking and wiping her tears.

"hello? are you alright, sweetie?" she asked the little girl.

"pl-please... he-help me."

she kneeled down to the little girl’s height and looked at her in her eyes, trying to calm her down with a reassuring smile.

"what is your name, sweetie?" she asked.

"e-eri... please... he-help me..." the little girl spoke.

"here, grab my hand and I'll take you to the police." she said as she stood up and reached her hand out for the girl to grab.

the little girl's eyes widened. terrified, she took a step back. the look of terror in her eyes grew.

"i won't hurt you, sweetie." she assured the girl.

the little girl slowly approached her, and just as she was about to take her hand, a voice interrupted her.

"eri." a stern and cold voice called out.

eri's eyes widened as she stood in place, frozen in fear.

the [hair color] haired female looked into the dark alleyway seeing a tall man with brown hair and a bird mask that looked as if it were inspired by that of a plague doctor. similar to the one of that guy that had saved her that night. he had also worn white gloves. quite an interesting aesthetic.

the strange man began to approached the two

"hello miss. such a lovely night, isn’t it? my apologies for her" the male said.

"and you are?" she questioned as she nodded.

“i am the father of that girl there. she is quite the trouble maker, though. i apologize if she has caused you trouble miss.” he sighed

the man began to near where the two stood.

"why is she so scared?" she answered, glancing between the terrified little girl and the intimidating man. both suspicious and concerned.

he paused.

"she's afraid of the dark." he simply answered.

she looked down at the strange girl. contemplating on what to do.

should i save her? take her to the police?

the man was now closer

no… what can i even do against him?

what can someone like me even do to save her?

he paused.

"lets hurry, its midnight already and you should be in bed." overhaul stated and eri came rushing by his side.

she stared as she watched the strange pair disappear into the darkness of the alleyway.

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

small pebbles flung into the empty road. the powerless secretary’s mind tore at itself for not intervening. the two sides of her arguing with each other.

just a small girl with the inability to save anyone.

save? anyone?

she looked up towards the night sky.

a waning gibbous moon.

"the truth... i want to know it... tenko."

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“i can’t go back. not now… not ever”

“why?”

“i…”

“tenko, you can tell me. i’m here for you. i’ll always be here for you.”

“they are gone.”

“...they?”

“my… my family… they are all gone.”

“what… what happened to them…?”

“...”

“tenko…”

“...[name]”

“tenko… it’s okay tenko. dont worry. i’m here. i’m here for you. i’m here with you. i’m here for you forever”

“-following report states that the yakuza group, the shie hassakai has been defeated and taken down. the leader ‘overhaul’ has been captured and detained. the villain will be transported to a secure facility where he is unable to harm people again. this supervillain has been defeated with the help of-”

“enough of that.” a gruff voice spoke as he shut off the television.

“that’s got you upset, boss?” the secretary questioned.

the secretary and ceo were stationed together in the main office. the two stayed together overtime, organizing paperwork and discussing future business adventures. the news played on the television caught the attention of the two.

“seems like a money opportunity gone. sucks to be us. could’ve used the deal too.”

“you thought about accepting it?”

he nodded and sighed.

“it would’ve been risky but an interesting business adventure”

“you took too long to make a decision anyways. that’s for the better, i guess.”

he laughed.

“she would’ve yelled at both of us if i’d accepted the deal. me for agreeing and you for following my order”

the two shared a laugh, then, silence. he let out a deep breath.

“quirk erasing bullets. can’t say that isn't intriguing”

“i guess i can see it that way boss.”

“good thing you talked me out of it. huh, [name]?”

“could say we dodged a bullet there”

“get back to work, idiot”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“nice work today [name]. thanks for accompanying me today”

“no problem! its not that much of a hassle to do anyways.”

“dont worry kid, i’ll be sure to pay you overtime”

the two shut down the office for the night, turning off lights and locking the doors. they walked together out of the building.

“hey kid”

“hm?”

“let me give you a ride home tonight, yeah? it’s rather late”

she looked up to the moon.

a last quarter moon.

“no shie hassaikai to save you if some big bad villain approaches” he jokes, referencing the incident that had happened to her a couple days ago.

she laughed in response

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

it was a quiet car ride. the duo too tired to converse after a long day of paperwork. the secretary stared out the side window, admiring the night sky.

no stars tonight. just the beautiful moon accompanied by the deep night sky. a beautiful last quarter moon. the moon cycle is nearing its end.

i’m here for you, huh?

how ironic. he was nowhere to be seen. she had not a clue where he was. perhaps she should give up. cleanse herself of these meaningless daydreams. cleanse herself of the memories that plagued her mind.

“the road is so empty tonight. how weird.”

her boss spoke, interrupting her thoughts. she shifted her gaze to the front window. he was right. no cars were on the road. the only vehicles on the road were the two trucks and the police car right in front of her.

she turned back to the side mirror.

“what the hell is… [name]! shit! watc-”

a piece of metal debris came flying towards the boss and his secretary. the metal had shattered the front window and stabbed itself into the backseat of the car, between the two. glass shards from the window had covered the two.

their car came to a stop. the alarm going off.

“what the hell. [name]! you alright?” the boss asked, he was only able to catch a glimpse of her face. she was in complete shock, frozen at the sight. her eyes widened and glued to the view in front of her.

“shit. [name]. are you-” he was cut off by a sudden impact. the police car previously in front of them was now flying towards their car.

the vehicle had flipped over, landing behind the car which the boss was in.

another loud impact. the truck directly in front of them had crashed, flipped over as the truck had opened, causing a man who was tied up to fall out onto the road. he was directly in front of the boss and the secretary. fire engulfed the road as the second truck had come to a stop.

shit. what is going on? is the boss alright? what is-

she looked in front of her. her eyes widened. on top of the truck resided a man dressed in a black coat and covered in white hands. he had light blue hair.

tenko?

the man had jumped down from the truck, now slowly approaching where the tied up man laid, and where the secretary resided.

tenko… is that really you?

“[name]! we need to get out of here”

tenko… please

“name!”

the man, hearing the cry of the man, quickly darted his head towards the car. his gray orbs widened as he scanned the vehicle and he met eyes with the secretary.

“tenko.”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“tenko! tenko! tenko, is that you!”

“[name]... you’re so loud…”

“tenko! where have you been! it’s been so long… you-you were gone for so long! i’ve come here every night to look for you but… are you okay? where did you go? are you hurt? how are you feeling?”

“...”

“...tenko?”

“...”

“hey…”

“...it’s not… it’s not tenko anymore”

“h-huh?”

“its… shigaraki now… i have a new name… my master gave it to me… tomura shigaraki”

*beep beep*

“-awake! get the doctor! she’s awake!”

a familiar voice shouted

tenko?

“shit, [name]... you had me worried for a bit”

her vision cleared. in front of her stood her boss. he had a concerned look on his face.

she was at the hospital, laid down on the bed dressed with a hospital gown and a tube connected to her arm. “aw shit. what happened. where am i, boss?”

“you passed out kid. glad you’re awake now, though.” the boss spoke, relieved. “you remember? anything?”

her eyes softened as she directed her gaze to her hands resting in her lap.

“no, sir. i do not”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“her injuries are minor. we did not sense any brain damage. the only damage caused to her was from the glass shards on the window. the cuts will not take long to heal” the doctor informed the two.

“we good to leave then, doc?”

“i’d like for her to stay a couple hours longer. it is already very late into the night. plus. You are still yet to be treated, sir.” the doctor spoke sternly, glaring at the elder male.

“yeah yeah, fine. can’t we go home after i’m done?”

“sleeping here until morning would be her best option for faster recovery. you are welcome to stay if you would like, sir.” the doctor spoke, clearly tired from the long night.

“yeah, whatever. just bring me a blanket please, doc”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

she was discharged from the hospital in the morning. her boss had covered the fees and had driven her home. the ride was silent. the boss deciding whether to bring up the incident that had happened last night or not.

instead, he opted to lecture and scold her, on behalf of their fellow coworker. he thought, what would she do. he yelled at her, warning her to be careful. the blonde would be proud, he thought.

she merely laughed at him. her boss’ poor attempt to switch the atmosphere. it is the effort that counts, after all. she was excused from work for the day, leading her to enjoy a three day weekend.

he spoke of the break as an end of month break. a celebration of sorts. the first month of working in this new city. this new building. this new environment. though, she knew he was trying to play off his concerned thoughts.

she waved him off as she exited his car, broken windows and all. the two waved goodbye at each other until she reached her door.

as she arrived home and closed the door, she immediately fell to the ground, her hands darting to cover her face. tears fell from between her fingers. she wept on the floor of her home.

why was she crying?

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

a boring day. though, perhaps that is for the better.

a relaxing day, her boss told her to get.

before departing for the weekend, her boss told her to enjoy herself and relax. for it was the end of the moon cycle, no better time than to treat yourself to some joy.

the boss is a great person when he tries. a real and utter softie at heart. work was manageable with a kind man such as the boss as her leader. despite his attempts to seem intimidating, it was quite easy to see his real persona. stern but caring, almost like a father figure.

work, huh? working at that company is not so bad. the pay is nice. the work is average. her coworkers were fun. when she returned, she was sure she would be lectured by the blonde. always acting as her guardian. her mother, almost.

how ironic

*beep beep*

her phone went off, interrupting her thoughts. attachment: an image. a message of her dear blonde coworker, sending her an image of the moon.

a waning crescent moon.

the end of the moon cycle already? but i just got here when it began.

she looked towards the hanging cat calendar on her wall. june.

june already? in two days it’ll be…

15 years exactly

she looked out her window

“tenko... what happened to you?”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

her boss told her to take it easy. her boss told her to not get into anymore trouble. her boss told her to get some inner peace ‘for once.’ her boss told her to relax. it’s a shame how her form of relaxation is going on a night stroll.

she made a mental note to never inform her coworkers about this, lest she want to get scolded and yelled at for an hour.

the secretary couldn’t help herself, though. it was a beautiful evening. the end of the moon phase is always a beautiful time. she came to a stop, waiting for the light to signify her time to cross the street. she cast her gaze upwards at the night sky.

a waning crescent moon.

the star was filled with stars. such a beautiful moon. a beautiful night. and a beautiful sky.

the walking light lit up. she crossed the street, approaching her local convenience store. entering the small stop, she smiled and waved at the cashier. she approached the soft drink isle, pondering on what to get.

staring at the large array of choices, she felt a pair of eyes glare into her. the eyes had been continuously looking at her for a while now.

it was a public store. she mustered enough courage to quickly look left. as she turned, there was a man? a person was staring at her.

the man wore a gray hoodie with the hood pulled up, shielding his face. though, the secretary was able to catch a glimpse. his skin seems to consist of green scales, almost like that of a reptile.

as she met her gaze, the man’s eyes widened and he quickly turned away, seemingly shocked that she had caught him staring.

she rose a brow and turned back to the fridge, opening the cooler and taking two drinks.

as she walked to the cash register, preparing to pay, she felt the same eyes on her again. she turned around, meeting the red eyes of the green heteromorph who seemed insistent on staring at her.

shocked that he was caught, again, caused the man to seeming panic and leave the convenience store, buying nothing.

the secretary sighed. she paid for the two drinks and chased after the heteromorph.

“hey! you there! stop!”

she shouted as she walked after the man who was rushing away. he paused, and turned back to her.

“you! what do you want?” he stopped as she caught up to him.

“me? what do i want?” she sounded offended. “what do you want? whats with you staring at me?”

at hearing her response, he seemed taken aback. he paused, then, he turned around once again and began speed walking away.

“hey! come back here!” she yelled again, walking after him.

he paused, turned around and waited for her to catch up. “what.” he spoke

she caught up to him, then she reached into her plastic bag, picking up one of the two drinks she had bought. she held the drink out to him. he seemed confused.

“you didn’t buy anything, so. i’m [name]”

he uncovered his hood a bit as he took the drink, nodded at the girl, then proceeded to walk away.

shit.

she watched as he walked away, while she remained still. her body began to shake.

he was there. he’s part of the league of villains.

a small pain began forming in her head.

i need to find tenko. i need to.

she looked up into the moon. a waning crescent moon. the end of the moon phase.

in two days… it’ll have been 15 years already. since the day you changed my life forever.

please… tenko, where are you? i’m so sorry tenko. i’m sorry for not being there for you.

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“...tenko?”

“...”

“hey?”

“that’s not my name anymore… you know it [name].”

“i’m s-sorry ten-... i’m sorry. it’s just been… ever since you came back… you’ve been different”

“...”

“what… what happened to you, tenko?”

“i already told you! nothing happened! i found my place in the world! i-i found someone who wants me. i found someone who actually cares for me!”

“tenko… i care for you”

“...”

silence. pure silence.

in a dark alleyway, the most dangerous place for young children, sat a [hair color] haired girl and a boy with light blue hair facing her.

“tenko…”

“...m-master says you’re… useless”

“t-tenko?” she stood up

“he tells me… to stop seeing you… t-that you don’t r-really care for me… h-he tells me that you’re like everyone else!”

“that’s not true! tenk-”

“its tomura. shi-shigaraki tomura.”

“please, tenk-”

the boy came closer to her. her eyes widened as she froze. her gaze directed to his hands. the same hands that could cause destruction. the same hands that did. the same hands that inevitably would.

“...[name]?”

“ten-to-tomura… i-i didn’t mean it like tha-”

“master’s right…! you’re just like the others… you… you…”

“tenko please” she shouted in desperation

“why can’t anyone just love me… why did i have to be like this… why was i give this quirk…”

“tenko! i’m here for you!”

“you don’t really love me… why can’t you love me... why… it’s because of this quirk…”

“your quirk… it doesn’t mean anything! it doesn’t resem-”

“then why are you scared of me right now”

she froze. silence. pure silence.

“tenko… please… i lov-”

the words never finished. she was cut off. her mouth refused speak what her heart so desperately wanted to say. her body refused to listen to her. it seemingly acted on it’s own. almost as if she were forced to.

the young girl ran. she left the dark alleyway. leaving the boy to live on his own.

“tomura.” a deep voice uttered.

“she left you. you have no use for her. she does not care for you. only i do, tomura”

the poor boy turned around and looked up, tears threatening to poor from his red eyes.

“...y-yes… master”

“shit! ow”

the secretary woke up breathing heavily as sweat ran down her skin. a nightmare, seemingly. it was no nightmare.

it was the cold, hard truth.

the woman jumped out of bed. she rushed outside and ran. it was the middle of the night. a beautiful evening. a beautiful night. a bright sky. a beautiful city.

she ran as fast as she could. that place. that important place. how could i forget it? how could i forget the place i met you.

forced to come to a stop, the same light staring at her, signifying her turn to cross the street. she was impatient. she needed to get there. quickly. before he left. before he was gone again. before he left her. before she left him

she looked up into the night sky. the sky was a beautiful deep blue. the stars shone brightly tonight.

a new moon.

the light switched, and the secretary quickly ran across the street. she passed the welcoming convenience store. she passed the dimly lit park. she passed the dark neighborhood. she passed her new building, her new life.

please.

please be there.

tenko. please.

i love you

her running came to a stop. she breathed harshly, tired from the exertion she forced upon herself.

her head began to hurt. the scenery became familiar. all too familiar. the same sign. the same street. the same path. the same buildings. the same alleyway.

she approached the same alleyway. that same alleyway where no child should ever venture into. she is no longer a child.

the pain throbbed in her head. a deep voice warning her, telling her to get away and run away.

how could she ever run away. not again. not ever.

please.

please be there.

tenko. please.

i love you

she entered the alleyway. the same boxes. the same feral cats. the same stench. the same scary atmosphere. the same darkness. the same alleyway.

please

she was engulfed by the darkness. seemingly walking into nothing, hoping to see him. she aimlessly walked into that same alleyway, all those years ago.

near the end of the alleyway allowed for a patch of the moon to shine into the dark alley. the darkest alley was also the brightest, in times like this. she stood on the edge of the darkness.

he turned his back to her. he had messy mid-length light blue hair. the same as that day. he wore all black. the same as that day. he seemed as if he wanted to disappear from the world entirely. the same as that day.

he was watching the moon.

she stepped onto the moonlight, and then, he turned around.

deep red orbs stared into her own. his mouth slightly open. his eyes widened. he did not move.

a new moon

she walked forwards, continuing to stare into his eyes.

a new moon

she settled in front of him. the moonlight shining on the two of them. the stars intently watched the two.

she shifted her gaze to the night sky, admiring the moon.

a new moon

at the break of eye contact, his eyes followed hers. a beautiful evening. a beautiful night. a beautiful sky. a beautiful city.

“hey…” she spoke softly.

silence. pure silence.

“the moon is beautiful… don’t you think so, tenko?”

he glanced at her, then looked at the moon once again.

“i can die happy”

her mouth opened to speak. nothing came out.

questions flooded her mind. she had so many. so many things to ask. so many things to say, but the words couldn’t leave her mouth. she wanted to ask him so many things. are you okay? where did you go? are you hurt? but she was unable to utter out any of them.

“...tenko?”

“[name]...”

silence. pure silence.

“i’m not tenko anymore. [name]. my name is shigaraki tomura.”

the two turned to each other. their eyes met.

a new moon. a new night. a new start. a new time.

the same place. the same confession. the same day. the same moon.

the same girl and a new boy.

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scoops-aboy86 · 6 months

Text

I guess this... is the end! With an epilogue to follow, probably, that's a little more soft feedism related, but for those who aren't into that it's totally optional. Thanks to everyone who came along for the ride, and I'll put this up on ao3 sometime soon. 😊

Part 1, part 1.5, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10 of the love spell no go au

The world didn’t end, so life goes on. Eddie, who is the king of casting teeny little spells so he heals fast but not too fast, gets out of the hospital and moves into a one-story little place with Wayne that’s miles from the trailer park. It’s on the same street as Robin’s house so he sees her all the time—but still not as often as he sees Steve.

And they tell Wayne what really happened, NDAs be damned. It’s a Tuesday night and Steve and Robin have brought a couple Western tapes from their latest shift at the miraculously still standing Family Video; they put one on in the background and a flick of Eddie’s fingers make sure that’s all the government bugs scattered throughout the house can hear.

Afterwards, when they’re about to head over to the bigger record shop in the next town over to replenish Eddie’s music collection but pulling up at a gas station first, Steve complains that the whole thing was a little anticlimactic.

“We told him there’s a whole other dimension under Hawkins that there’s this huge government cover-up about it and he didn’t even blink.”

“Well,” Eddie starts, then abruptly reaches for Steve’s ear and produces a quarter from it. He leans over from the passenger seat and holds it up in Steve’s line of vision with a smirk. “It takes a lot to startle us Munson men, sweetheart.”

“Really?” Robin interjects dryly while Steve pulls up to the pump and cuts the engine. “Because the other day Steve asked you to get a sponge from under the kitchen sink and something touched your hand and you shrieked because you thought it was a spider.”

Steve eyes the quarter critically. “Did you… really just magic a coin out of my ear?”

“When it was, in fact, the sponge in question,” Robin finishes.

Eddie sticks his tongue out at her. “Of course not, baby, that was slight of hand,” he tells Steve, repocketing the coin and glancing around to make sure the gas station is deserted before planting a little kiss on his cheek.

“Oh, okay.”

“I actually magicked it from your gas money jar into my pocket.”

Steve laughs, and that Eddie wants to bottle and hoard like one of those stupid rich old men with their dusty old French wines. “Good thing I’m not just about to get gas or anything, or I might need that back.”

“I’ll get you something from the convenience store?” Eddie offers, batting his eyelashes and tilting his head in a way that he knows makes his eyes look bigger. Knows because Steve has told him, and seems as susceptible to it as cats to catnip.

“Strawberry slurpee,” Steve says immediately. “But if they only have cherry, I want a blue one. Wait, Robs—that’s what the screaming was about?”

Eddie flails with both arms, waving at them both to get out of the car as all three of their doors pop open. “Alright, nothing to see here, some of us have snacks to buy and one of us has a car to gas up, let’s go!”

So they all pile out, and Steve points at Eddie over the car while unscrewing the gas cap. “You’re going to use that on the gremlins, right?

“Just who do you take me for?” Eddie scoffs, hooking an arm through Robin’s and dragging her towards the store. “Of course I am, Harrington.”

Robin snorts but keeps up with him, breaking into a frankly jarring skip that causes them to almost trip over the curb right in front of the doors. Once inside, they break into their customary shop-till-you-drop game of trying to grab everything they want, beat the other to the register, and get to the car before Steve finishes filling the tank. They both almost always lose, but it does help make stops like this more efficient.

(It has been Steve’s idea.)

“You know,” Robin starts conversationally while he’s filling two slurpee cups at once and she’s flipping rapidly through a nearby magazine rack, “I’ve never witnessed the dingus in an actual relationship before.”

Eddie flicks his eyes in her direction, then to the bored-looking cashier, but the statement was vague enough and Robin isn’t stupid. He returns his attention to the slurpee machine. “I find that hard to believe.”

“No, I’m serious. He’s dated a lot, and I mean a lot, but—ah ha!” Snatching the magazine she was looking for, she moves on to the soft pretzel heater and grabs the tongs to fish a couple off the slowly rotating rack. “But no one he’s ever really gotten serious about. He used to complain to me about his dates at length… Kinda relieved that’s over. He’s literally the happiest I’ve ever seen him these days.”

As she turns away to grab a couple Cokes, Eddie hides a giddy smile behind his hair—and then beats her to the register with a slurpee in each hand and a flimsy but full little shopping basket dangling from one arm.

Because Robin wouldn’t lie, not about Steve. She’d already threatened him over Steve’s welfare back in the hospital (and people thought he was scary, Jesus); it’s obvious that she wouldn’t encourage him if she didn’t think it was in Steve’s best interest. And, against all laws of probability and magic, Eddie seems to make him happy.

The happiest his platonic soulmate has ever seen him, even.

“I win,” Steve crows when Eddie is still a few feet from the car. He lifts the nozzle, blows on it like it’s a smoking gun, and pumps his fist in victory. “In your face, Munson!”

Eddie doesn’t care though. His prize is in Steve’s beaming smile, in the energy that rolls off him that crackles across Eddie’s senses like a kind of magic all his own. “Yeah yeah, big boy, you’re a champ.” He holds up the slurpees and the flimsy plastic bag crammed with a tube of Pringles, a bag of pretzel sticks, Doritos, and various snack cakes. “Are we ready to hit the road or what?”

Robin jogs up behind him, bagless because she keeps insisting that they’re bad for the environment but barely hanging onto her sodas, pretzels, magazines, and a few odd candy bars. “Aw man, did we lose to the dingus again?”

“Yes,” Eddie tells her faux mournfully as he crowds past Steve to the front passenger door, bumping against him way more than necessary but meeting no complaints. “Almost makes me reconsider giving you the change, Steve-o.”

He does anyway, though. Drops a nice, shiny quarter into the gas money jar after getting himself situated, slurpees nestled in their cup holders and a Twinkie already unwrapped to shove suggestively in his boyfriend’s mouth as soon as the wonder twins are both in the car. Robin heckles from the back seat; Steve takes it with the ease of practice and a smirk as he chews and swallows and licks escaping cream filling from the corners of his mouth.

It’s a beautiful summer’s day and Eddie feels like the luckiest guy in the entire world.

Tag list (comment to be added/removed): @hotluncheddie @8em-em-em8 @anaibis @connected-dots @lawrencebshoggoth @zombiethingy

#love spell no go au #steddie #wg steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #robin buckley #scoops words #chubby steve harrington

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jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka · 8 months

Text

Ok I know I said a couple more chapters, but I managed to fit it all into one… so here you go part 15! Thank you so much to everyone who tuned in and shared with me their comments on this series. I’m sad to be seeing it go but excited for what’s to come next! Stay turned for an eventual epilogue (with spice 🤫)

Pairings: Jake Kiszka x Danny Wagner ***slash janny endgame baby!!!

Warnings and tags: 18+ only please, adult content such as: anxiety, drinking, talk of pregnancy, talk of past infidelity, kissing, and confessions, slash of course, restaurant AU, third person POV Jake, Sam, and Danny, and that’s about it for this one

Word count: 8.6k

Driving with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on his phone to navigate through the dark Nashville streets, Jake pulled up on Sam’s pinned location and saw him through the window of a convenience store.

When Sam saw his car pull up he hopped off the counter he’d been sitting on and ran outside, waiting by Jake’s door for him to roll down the window.

“Hey, you have six bucks? I don’t have my wallet”.

“What? Sam what’s going on?” Jake started to question him to which Sam just stuck his shivering hand inside the window and made a give me motion until Jake pulled out his wallet and found a ten, dropping his phone underneath his seat in the commotion.

“Thanks!” Sam snatched the bill from his brother's confused grip and ran back inside, handing the whole thing over to the man standing at the register and shaking his hand before leaving.

Jake studied Sam’s appearance as he approached the car, this time walking around to the passenger's side. No jacket, apparently no wallet, and was his shirt inside out?

“What in the hell are you doing out here alone?” Jake tried his questions again once Sam was inside.

“I’m not alone, Jimmy was keeping me company”.

Jimmy? Jake followed Sam’s line of sight to the man still standing idly behind the counter of the store. He took an inhale and nearly choked it right back up, Sam smelled of alcohol and cheap black coffee. “Are you drunk?!”

“Sobered up now, thanks to Jimmy!” Sam leaned over and waved at the man from Jake’s window, who smiled revealing a few missing teeth and waved back.

“Again, what are you doing here? Where’s Danny?”

Sam’s half smile faded at the sound of Danny’s name, and he slumped back into the passenger's seat letting his head rest on the window.

When Sam didn’t reply Jake shifted the car back into drive and pulled out of the lot, “alright, well, let’s just get you home”.

Sam didn’t speak for the rest of the car ride back to his apartment. Just closed his eyes and let his head buzz along with the vibrations of his temple against the glass. Jake wanted to talk to Sam, tell him about the good news he’d gotten today. He’d spent all afternoon on the phone with their Dad going over the logistics of opening his own place and getting support for making his decision, but he knew right now was not the right time to bring it up so he kept quiet.

Just as Sam started to actually drift off to sleep Jake was slapping his shoulder. “Sam! We’re here”.

He blinked a few times, tired and sore eyes adjusting to the overhead light Jake must have clicked on when he parked along the street.

“Alright, are you going to tell me now how you ended up at a random convenience store in the middle of the night?”

“Closest place from the apartment I could find to still get coffee” he replied, purposefully not getting into much detail.

Who’s apartment? He couldn’t have been talking about his apartment, it was too far of a walk. Then it hit Jake. He’d thought the area looked slightly familiar when he was driving around. He’d only been that way once, but now he remembered who lived over there. “Jesus Sam, were you at Savanna’s?”

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed. He really was too tired to be fighting right now, but the anger he’d had pent up all day was starting to surface again the more sober he got. “Yeah I was, is that a problem with you?”

“Look, I don’t want to get in the middle of you guys again, but please tell me you didn’t just cheat on Danny then call me to come pick you up”.

“Why? What’s the problem? You don’t seem to have an issue with cheating. And you're my brother Jake; you're supposed to be there for me. Not fuck things up in my life whenever you feel like it”.

Jake didn’t understand where Sam was coming from, never guessing that Sam knew the secret he and Danny agreed to keep, but he was not talking well to being yelled at in his own car when he was the one who was called out in the middle of the night. “What the fuck is your problem right now?”

“You!” Sam laughed hysterically at Jake’s arrogant refusal to take responsibility for his actions. “You’re my fucking problem! Accusing me of cheating is a lot coming from you when you fucking slept with my boyfriend while I was gone!”

“What?!” Jake immediately started to become more defensive. Not only for his own sake, but for Danny’s. “He told me you broke up with him! Showed up at my doorstep in fucking pieces!”

Sam recoiled back against the door again. Danny did tell him he thought they’d broken up, and honestly Sam knew they had after the way they left things, but he hadn’t realized how much it had affected Danny. There he was in LA having a great time getting ready for this next exciting chapter in his life, and Danny was back at home suffering. It’s was no wonder he went looking for some comfort… Even if it did start to make some sense, he couldn’t so easily forgive them and forget his own hurt.

“When are you going to let him go Sam?” Jake questioned him after a moment of silence once the argument died down.

Sam’s eyes started to well up again, but he choked the tears back down. He did not want to cry in front of his brother. “I do love him Jake, he’s my best friend”.

“I know you love him Sammy,” Jake sighed, he never meant to insinuate otherwise, “but are you in love with him?”

That was a question Sam hoped he’d never have to ask himself. He understood the concept of falling in and out of love with someone, but he never realized how difficult it would be to actually discern the difference between the two. How heart wrenching it would be to come to the realization.

“It’s okay if you’re not. I promise you he will be okay” Jake added, just hoping to ease a little of his pain.

“I thought I could fall in love with him” Sam finally responded, his voice just a fraction of what it was before.

Jake nodded his head in understanding, “anyone can fall in love with Danny if they try hard enough, it’s Danny, but is that what’s really best for him?”

Leave it to Jake to be bestowing his cryptic wisdom on him at this hour Sam thought to himself. “You would know” he pushed back. He was pretty sure Jake didn’t even have to try to fall in love with Danny, and that was also probably a big part of the reason why he was so jealous of them.

“When you text me you said you’d ’fucked up’,” Jake tried steering the conversation back away from himself, “what exactly did you do at Savanna’s?”

Sam swallowed, ready for Jake’s anger to return, “I kind of told her about you and Danny sleeping together…”

“You what- you told Savanna!” Jake frantically checked his pockets and his cup holders for his phone, nearly forgetting that he’d dropped it earlier. “Savanna and Kim are friends Sam! You didn’t stop to think she might say something? Ah shit!” When he remembered where it was he swung his door open so he could climb out and squat down to reach his hand under the seat, finally finding his phone face down on the floorboard. When he turned it over he saw four missed calls from Kim. So she had already been told.

Sam got out of the car as well, coming around the front end careful to keep his distance from Jake in case one of their old brotherly fist fights broke out over this. “I know, I know… but Jake, you know you shouldn’t have kept that a secret from her either right?”

As much as Jake did want to knock the shit out of him, Sam was right. He didn’t blame Danny at all, but his stomach was sour every time he was with Kim after. He’d never cheated on anyone before, always thought he was above that, but apparently he wasn’t. At least not when it came to the right person, just always at the wrong time.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket, he’d have to deal with her later, for now he’d just focus on getting Sam inside. “Come on, it’s fucking freezing out here”.

Once inside he followed Sam down the hallway, making sure he got into his room and into bed. When he started to back out he heard the sound of another door slowly opening from across the hallway. Jake turned around to see Danny peeking his head out of his bedroom, equally as surprised to see Jake in his apartment coming out of Sam’s room as Jake was to see how much of a wreck he was.

As Sam laid there he watched his door shut behind Jake, but even from the other side of the painted wood he could hear the light sound of a pair of voices. He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled his blanket up tightly under his chin trying to will himself to finally go to sleep instead of listen in.

Back in the hallway, Danny’s expression begged Jake for answers.

Jake sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn’t sure it was his place to be telling Danny where Sam was, but then again he really had gotten between the two of them again hadn’t he. “I picked Sam up, he was at Savanna’s I guess drinking. I think he’s pretty sobered up now but he still needs to sleep it off”.

Danny looked like he wanted to ask more questions, he needed more answers, but he could tell by the look on Jake’s face that he didn’t have much more to offer him. Instead his shoulders just dropped, “thank you for looking out for him”.

“Of course,” Jake replied, “a little heads up might have been nice though”.

Danny bit his cheek, he knew exactly what Jake was referring to. The whole reason why Sam was acting the way he was. It was all Danny’s fault, for going over to Jake’s that day, for not being able to handle the guilt, for telling Sam this morning without asking Jake first…

“He told Savanna, who obviously told Kim”.

Danny’s brows furrowed with worry, even if keeping it from Sam had been too much for him to bear, he’d at least hoped to spare Kim and Jake the same turmoil they were going through right now. “Fuck, she’s going to hate us isn’t she?”

“Hopefully no more than Sam does. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her. Apologize for the both of us”.

“I can talk to her too” Danny tried to offer. He didn’t want their friendship to end, and he didn’t want Jake trying to play the martyr in an attempt to help save it.

“Just, let me try with her first ok?” Jake tried to settle with him. “I want you to know we’re in this together Danny. We’re both equally to blame”.

“Yeah…” Danny sighed, the hidden meaning behind Jake’s words getting completely lost within the mess of his head. “Okay, you talk to her”.

“Alright Dan, try to get some sleep. Everything will be alright”. Jake wasn’t quite so convinced himself after today had played out the way it did, but he had to try to reassure him. Because he hated seeing either of them this way.

Four Months Later

“What about these?” Danny questioned as he eyed a pack of tiny neutral colored onesies.

“Yeah sure, you can never have too many onesies right?” Jake replied, unable to pick up any of the tiny clothes himself with both his arms full of diapers and wipes, and whatever else the baby aisle clerk had told them was new parents' essentials.

“Does she know the gender yet?” Danny wondered as he picked up two of the packages and started towards the check out.

“She hasn’t told you?” Popped out before Jake could realize how Danny might take it. They had still been working on repairing their ‘bestie’ status after everything that happened, but as far as he knew things were getting better between them. “She took a blood test but it will still be a few months before it’s official”.

Danny nodded his head in understanding, he hadn’t realized how much about this stuff he didn’t really know, but he was learning. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around Kim being pregnant”.

“It is crazy after what she went through huh?” Jake agreed, thinking back to a while ago when she was hospitalized with stomach pain only to find out that her IUD had slipped out of place and she had to immediately have it removed. Everyone was shocked, even Kim herself, to find out she was pregnant. The unforeseen health scare, both hers and the baby’s, had unexpectedly brought them close together again after months of awkward avoidals while Jake, Danny, and Sam still worked at the restaurant. That was all coming to an end soon though.

“By the way, thanks for coming with me. I’d feel a little awkward doing this by myself” Jake mentioned as they approached the self checkout.

Danny smiled as he started to take a few of the items from Jake’s hands and place them to be scanned, “Of course Jake. What are friends for”.

“Congrats man” Jake clapped his hand over Julian’s shoulder after his last successful dinner service in this kitchen. Not that he had done much tonight other than give Julian moral support.

Tonight was the official announcement of the directors retirement and the new ownership. Jake had decided to not take the offer to be kitchen manager, and although the new owner was disappointed to see him go, his stipulation was he continued to train Julian to be his replacement.

At first he was a little apprehensive if Julian was ready for that much responsibility yet, but in these last few months he had really proven himself to both Jake and the rest of the staff that now looked up to him.

“You’re going to have a lot on your plate this year, new promotion, becoming a dad” he wiggled his eyebrows and smiled.

“Fucking hell, don’t know how I’m going to do it without you” Julian smiled back, showing that he was indeed excited himself.

“You won’t” Jake assured him, “I’ll be around, as much as you guys continue to let me be”.

Julian was Kim's new boyfriend, and father of their coming baby. Of course Jake was a little nervous when he’d heard Kim was pregnant. It had been awhile since they’d broken up when she found out, so when they told her she was only a few weeks along she was sure it was Julian’s.

“I know Kim is still a little distant. She is just trying to process everything, but she will come around. I know she misses you guys”.

Though it was a little jarring to learn Kim had gotten over him by getting together with Julian, Jake had watched them together from the sidelines and he was very happy for them. “You’ve taken really good care of her”.

“And I will keep taking good care of her” Julian assured him with a confident smile, “now, get the hell out of here you’ve got a big day tomorrow”.

Julian practically pushed him out of the kitchen, telling him to hurry up so he could get back to closing.

When Jake left out the back door he found Danny and Sam waiting outside for him. “What are you guys still doing here?”

“Wanted to make sure we’ve got the plan down right”. Sam replied, pushing off the wall he’d been leaning on to follow Jake towards the cars. “You’re getting Josh in the morning right?”

“Yeah, Josh is flying in at like seven. Mom and Dad got here a few hours ago. They got an Uber to their hotel tonight, but you will have to pick them up tomorrow before you guys head over to the colosseum”.

“They know we have to be there like an hour early right?”

“Yeah but Josh and I need to swing by the shop and make sure everything is ready before we head over so we won’t have time to get them, plus you know mom is going to want to get like a hundred pictures”.

Sam chuckled and nod his head in understanding. He was slightly nervous about everything they’d have to do, but overall he was beyond excited to see his family and finally get this graduation over with.

“What about your parents?” Jake asked Danny who was leaning against the top of his car, seemingly the most relaxed about everything, though he was really just the best at staying calm.

“Flying in tomorrow morning too, but they’re going to get a rental car from there to share with Karen and Kelly later since they’re staying at the same hotel”.

“Sounds great, guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow then?”

“Yeah see you tomorrow. Try to get some sleep alright” Danny waved his goodbye then he and Sam were off.

Jake sat alone in the parking lot for a few minutes, just watching the unmoving building behind him in the rear view mirror. This place was never meant to be permanent for him, but he couldn’t help but feel bittersweet about leaving it.

When he was finally ready he put his car in drive, but continued to glance at the mirror until there was nothing more than the dark city street behind him.

At first Jake didn’t want the grand opening of his new restaurant to be the same day as Sam and Danny’s graduation, but the timing just worked the best since everyone was already coming down and Sam would be leaving just two short days after.

Four months didn’t seem like a very long time to create and execute a business plan, but his investor, the director, rushed things along because he wanted to see it open before he and his wife finally moved to Costa Rica.

Jake did manage to get about five hours of sleep before having to get up and get ready then head over to the airport to pick up his twin.

“Morning brother! Are you excited?” Josh beamed as soon as he made it from baggage claim out to the curb to see Jake already waiting for him.

“Nervous, anxious, kinda felt like I was going to throw up this morning,” Jake replied while Josh got himself settled with his things in the backseat then sliding into the passenger's seat, “but yeah excited too”.

“Good,” Josh reached over and gave Jake’s shoulder a squeeze since he couldn’t give him a proper greeting hug, “today is going to be a beautiful day; I can feel it!”

Josh was right, after running back to the apartment to drop his things off and let him freshen up from the plane ride, they stopped by the shop for a quick check in.

“This is nice!” Josh exclaimed as he walked through the large glass door into the newly refurbished dining area, stopping every few feet to closely examine a few of the tables before making his way over to the bar. Its crystal shelves were now fully stocked with brand new bottles of wines and spirits and the paneled mirrors on the walls were being cleaned and polished.

Jake left Josh to continue his exploring to check in on the kitchen, making sure prep was going along well. They had only just gotten their license and passed inspection a couple of days before so Jake was afraid they would be behind, but everything was going very well.

“Alright, we’ve got to go now, please call me if anything happens” Jake turned to Kim who had agreed to come and help out since his own front of house manager was busy graduating today.

“I will, but don’t worry we’ve got everything under control” Kim assured him for probably the fourth time since they had stopped by.

“And you please don’t over do it” Jake added, eyes flicking down to her barely visible bump.

“I’m pregnant Jake, not broken, I’ll be fine. Tell Danny I said congratulations”.

“Thank you” he put extra emphasis on his thanks, because there weren’t very many people he’d trust with overseeing something as important as his grand opening. Kim was and would always be someone special to him and he was so glad they were eventually able to make up and stay friends. “Oh, by the way there is a bag with your name on it in the kitchen. Make sure you get it before you leave”. He had put all the baby things he and Danny got for her together as an extra thanks for her help today.

“A bag? What is it?” She questioned, getting a little bashful still when Jake was extra nice to her especially because she wasn’t expecting a gift.

“Just a little something” he replied with a wink and grabbed Josh to slip out the door before she could say anything else.

Jake felt his heart thumping in his fists as he gripped the steering wheel on the way over to the colosseum, but he swallowed his nerves when they pulled up so he could be there and be mentally present for his brother’s and Danny’s equally big day.

He and Josh met their parents inside along with Danny’s, both taking turns getting hugs from everyone before taking their seats.

The ceremony started soon after, and Jake sat through each individual name called on the edge of his seat, twisting a program through his hands. Sam’s department was up first, and they all stood and clapped for him when he walked the stage, their mom recording and trying not to cry as her baby got his diploma. Danny’s was up later, and he was one of the last to walk but they all shared the same energy, standing and clapping again.

Just like that it was over, and the graduates were filling out to find their families.

“My babies!” Both Lori and Karen cried when Sam and Danny finally made their way over. Sam was already trying to shed his cap and gown but they yelled at him to put them back on and get into a picture with Danny.

“Now let’s get one with all the boys!” Karen beamed, phone not having left her hand since the ceremony started.

“What? We’re not the ones graduating!” Jake tried to protest, but Josh already had a hand around the back of his neck and was dragging him over. Jake lost his footing for a second, but before he could tumble over an arm was flying out in front of him for his torso to get caught on. “Thanks” Jake mumbled as Danny helped him straighten back up.

“Yeah” was all Danny said in return, then the same arm that caught him stretched back around his shoulders and pulled him close for the picture.

With their proximity Jake hoped Danny couldn’t feel the way his heart drummed in his tight chest. He was growing more and more anxious knowing that as soon as they were done here they were all going to head over to the restaurant.

That was wishful thinking though, because after all this time Danny knew Jake. Once both their moms got enough shots, Danny’s grip on Jake’s shoulders tightened and he leaned over to whisper to him “everything is going to be fine”.

“Yeah” Jake replied just the same and slipped out from underneath him. He was wound up enough already, he didn’t need any extra distraction.

“Alright, who’s hungry?” Jake’s dad asked everyone, shooting him a reassuring glance.

“Guess we will meet you guys over there then?” Josh spoke up, allowing Jake some extra time to spiral in silence. Their parents left together, then Sam and Danny, and Josh left with Jake again who insisted on driving to keep his mind occupied as he fidgeted with the corners of his mouth at every stop of a red light.

“They’re going to love it” Josh spoke up as they got closer.

“I know they will” Jake sighed, feeling at least a little better about not having to hide his torrent of emotions from his brother. “There’s just so many things that can go wrong with running a restaurant. We know first hand all the crap mom and dad had to put up with over the years”.

“Yeah you’re right” Josh replied, making Jake’s heart drop a little bit. Did he think I made the wrong decision?

“We do have first hand experience, you the most of all, so you already know what to expect and can be on top of your game. Plus it’s not like we aren’t here to help you. I know you’re going to want to do this all on your own, but just promise me if things do ever get out of hand that you come to us”.

Jake nod slightly, but that wasn’t enough to satisfy Josh “promise me Jake” he pushed.

“Alright, I promise. Happy now?”

Josh smiled his infectious smile making Jake do the same just as they started to pull into the already busy parking lot.

“Wow, not going to lie there’s a lot more people here than I thought there would be” Josh admit as Jake drove around to the back to park in his own designated spot.

“Yeah, Sam told a lot of people from school, guess word got around” Jake swallowed his words and slight fear before stepping out of the car and finding everyone else arriving at just the same time.

“This is lovely darling!” His mom exclaimed as she took in the exterior with the big white banner hanging above the door that read grand opening!

Of course Sam and Danny had already seen it in various states of the process, but now they stood there as well taking in the finished product with grins of their own.

“Oh! Is that the name?” His mom pointed to the large black letters above the banner. Jake had kept it a secret from everyone until now, even Sam and Danny hadn’t seen the large painted iron letters be installed once the exterior was finished being painted- black window trim to match.

The Ether

“What does it mean?” She questioned, knowing Jake must have very carefully picked it out.

“Well, it can mean whatever you want it to mean, but for me it means that this is a place that connects people. I really wanted to create an atmosphere that permeates its guests and intertwines us all for a shared transcendental experience”.

“Leave it to Jake to come up with something cryptic” Sam interjected, causing a few chuckles.

“Well I for one love it. What are we waiting for? Let’s go inside!” Josh wrapped his arms around his mom and walked with her, only taking a step back once they reached the door to allow her to be the first.

Once everyone was inside Jake took in the image of seeing his hard work over these past months paying off. His shop was filled with people from the smaller tables that lined the windows, to larger well dressed parties at the longer tables in the center. No doubt families that had also just come from the graduation here to celebrate and try some new food.

A table had been saved for his family, towards the back so they had to walk through the arrangement of occupied tables to get there. Along the way Jake’s arm was caught by someone.

“What a turn out” the director said as he stood from his seat.

“Yeah, hopefully we can keep this momentum” Jake replied, hanging behind to chat as his family went to take their seats. Everyone but his Dad.

“Well, this must be your father?” The director reached over to shake hands and introduce himself. “You raised a brilliant young man”.

“He put in all the work himself” his dad humbled him, though Jake could tell he was very proud which only made his nervousness finally start to ease up.

“He did an excellent job here. I don’t think I could have done it up better myself” the director commented, taking a second to look around once more. Noticing they were hitting it off, Jake stood back and let the two continue to talk together.

“I’m glad I got to meet you, I wanted to thank you for taking an interest in my son and giving him this opportunity”.

“The pleasure is all mine. Over these past few months I’ve gotten to know Jake. I have to say at first I didn’t quite understand his vision, but now all I can say is I’m even more impressed. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve never had a boy of my own. This place, and in turn Jake too, is the closest thing I have to a son”.

Jake nearly choked on his own saliva at the director's sudden confession. They had spent quite a bit of time together recently, mostly for business, but there was the occasional night or two that they had stayed late and drank a little bit together in the glow of the work lights. He glanced over at his Dad, waiting to hear his response.

“Well, guess we'll just have to call each other brother then!” he smiled and they both shook each other's hand again and gave a small side hug before the director sat back down.

“This a nice place you have here” Jake’s Dad continued as they moved to rejoin their group.

“Thanks” Jake replied quietly, though their shared smiles spoke more than a thousand words.

“Ready to close her up?” Danny asked as Jake did some last minute business for the night in his small office.

“Going to be a bit longer. You can go ahead and go, I’ll lock the doors” Jake replied, looking up from his pile of papers to see Danny with his arms crossed and leaning against the door frame. Danny had insisted over the past few days that they had been open to be here with Jake from before open to after close. Sure he didn’t have school anymore, but he knew it was a lot of time and work and so he was very grateful for Danny’s help.

“I don’t mind waiting for you” Danny replied, moving inside the office to take a seat in a chair across the desk.

Jake looked back down at what he was working on, filling out all the little boxes until his eyes started to blur from tiredness. “You’ve got your key right?”

“I do” Danny replied, fidgeting with the corner of the desk in front of him. What he didn’t want to say was he didn’t want the first time he used his new key to be coming home alone, so he decided to wait.

After just about twenty more minutes Jake finished what he was working on and they both went around to lock up before heading out to their cars. Jake pulled up to the apartment first, but he waited this time for Danny to pull up behind him before getting out. He wanted to make sure Danny’s key worked of course.

It did work, smooth as butter through the lock and Danny opened the door to let them both inside. “Been a long day” Jake spoke as they made their way up the stairs to the bedrooms.

This morning they dropped Sam off at the airport, saying their goodbyes for what felt like the dozenth time after seeing Josh and their families off just a couple of days before. Afterwards Jake had helped Danny gather the last of his things at his old apartment and turn in his and Sam’s keys.

At first Danny was thinking he was going to have to actually consider his Dads offer to move home and work at the office. With Sam leaving there was no way he’d be able to afford their apartment alone. He looked into getting a single somewhere, but until he was sure what he wanted to do he didn’t want to commit to another lease somewhere. That was when Jake reminded him he had an extra bedroom at his place not being used, in addition to the offer to work for him as a manager.

Now that Josh and Sam were gone it was going to be Danny’s first night staying in his new room. Though he had stayed in that bedroom a few times, having all his stuff in there now was going to be an odd feeling.

They stood at the top of the stairs, waiting for the other to make the first move to part ways into their own rooms. “You know where I’m at if you need anything” Jake added while he rubbed the back of his neck and winced slightly at the sharp pain it sent through the top of his shoulders. He’d been working a little too hard and the lack of rest was catching up to him.

“Have a knot in your neck?” Danny asked, noticing the way Jake squinted his eyes and tried to rub harder, but failing to apply enough pressure on his own. “Here let me help you”.

Jake hesitated for a moment, but ultimately pulled his hair to the side and turned around letting Danny approach him from behind.

Once he felt large hands grip his shoulders his body tensed up, but not from pain this time. It had been a while since he’d felt Danny’s hands on him, and he couldn’t deny that he’d maybe hoped that him moving in would be a catalyst for more intimacy between them again.

Then the pain struck him again, tenfold when Danny dug his thumbs into the knot and started a relentless circular motion into his twisted muscles.

“Ow! Fuck Danny that hurts!” Jake cried trying to pull away, but Danny’s grip was too strong.

“Just bear with it for a second longer” he leaned over and whispered. The combination of his hot breath on the sliver of skin above the neckline of Jake’s shirt and the friction of his fingers finally made the blood flow start to break up the knot (and flow somewhere else too). Jake’s shoulders relaxed and Danny let up a little, moving his fingers along the ridge of his shoulders and upper back to make sure he’d gotten all the tension out before leaning over once more and placing a quiet kiss over the spot he’d just roughed.

“Good night Jake” Danny whispered once more, lingering for just a moment as Jake continued to lean into his touch.

“Good night” Jake whispered back, and just like that Danny backed away and went into his room. Jake did the same, sighing to himself behind his closed door at how much of a physical response his body had gotten at such a simple gesture even when he was dead beat tired.

He wasn’t sure how long he could keep up the act, but he was determined that if anything was going to start between them he wasn’t going to be the one to make the first move this time.

For the next month business went well. Only one mix up with a supply order had the kitchen struggling for a bit and Jake had to spend a little extra to buy some things they needed immediately. Other than those few days of making due, they got their order in and worked out the kink in the schedule and since then everything was overall smooth.

“You sure you’re going to be alright while I’m gone?” Danny asked Jake as he hauled his carryon down the stairs. He was going to visit Sam in LA for the weekend and though he was excited to hang out with his best friend again, he wasn’t so thrilled about leaving Jake to do basically everything alone in the meantime.

“I’ll be fine, go have fun you need some time off anyways I’ve been overworking you”. Jake was smiling as he spoke, but deep down inside he was dreading Danny’s visit since he’d brought it up when asking for the time off.

Living and working together was a lot. Though they kept busy, Jake and Danny were around each other nearly 24/7 and yet he felt a distance between them still.

There were times when he felt the pull. Like when they would take turns showering in the morning, and Danny would wait in the hallway for Jake to finish up only to see him make the walk back to his room with just a towel wrapped around his waist. The lingering looks at night when they would come home and follow each other up the stairs. Always sharing that whisper of good night but nothing more.

Jake wasn’t quite sure why Danny didn’t ever close that gap between them, but his greatest fear now was that Danny was going to go to LA and rekindle something with Sam instead.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drop you off?” Jake offered once more, “those parking fees suck”.

“It’s alright, I think we’re still tapped out on saying goodbye to people at airports right now”. Honestly, Danny didn’t want Jake trying to say goodbye to him. He was only going to be gone for a couple of days, no time at all compared to all the time they had spent together recently. Yet he still felt some way about being away from him.

It had been easy to adjust to living with Jake, too easy. The only hard part had been trying to control himself.

Jake was busy all the time now, even when he was at home he was working on something. Danny didn’t want to add to that stress. Jake needed him right now and he didn’t want to complicate anything by getting mixed up together again.

Sometimes though he couldn’t help it, seeing Jake all the time at home in his rawest form stirred up things inside him. He wanted that thrill of being with him again. Wanted to feel that surge of energy electrify his nerve endings with every needy touch. He could wait though, until things died down at the restaurant and Jake could ease up from work. At least that’s what he’d been telling himself.

It was a whirlwind of an experience since the moment Sam met Danny at the airport. They took an Uber back to his shared apartment with the other interns to let Danny unpack his things before heading straight over to the studio for a tour.

Sam used his employee badge to swipe them in and showed Danny all his favorite spots and explained in animated detail everything he’d been working on. After over an hour the tour was over and Sam was guiding them along down the street towards his new friends day drinking spot- a bustling little cafe playing bluesy rock over its speakers.

“So how have things been going at the restaurant?” Sam questioned Danny after getting seated at a small table out on the patio a little bit away from the loud inside. He’d talked enough about himself today and now he was ready to hear more about Danny’s experiences since he left.

“Really well, there have been a few speed bumps, but we’ve kept everything in control. Keep the guests coming” Danny replied as he looked over the menu for something light to eat since he was starving but knew Sam had other plans for dinner later in the evening.

Sam sat back in his chair as he continued to speak, obviously already prepared to order without even having to check. “That’s good, haven’t been able to get a hold of Jake much. We keep playing phone tag”.

“Guess we’re all just a little busy these days” Danny shrugged, finding what he wanted and checking to see if the waitress was about to round back on them.

She caught Danny’s eye and made her way over, Sam ordering a tall draft beer and a glass of water and Danny getting the same with an appetizer. “Well, how has he been?”

“Hmm?” Danny didn’t follow Sam since he was still trying to take in the view of LA in the background.

“Jake, how’s he doing?” Sam repeated with a smirk.

“Oh, he’s good too”.

“Just good?” Sam tried to pry on after Danny’s simple response.

“What exactly are you trying to get at?” He knew Sam was interested in his brother's well being, but he could also tell he had some other hidden meaning.

After a slight scoff and a shift of position in his chair, Sam leaned onto his elbow on the table, letting his usually loud buoyant voice dissipate into a hush. “I’m just wondering if you guys have like…” he was avoiding eye contact, trying to find the right words “gotten together yet?”

Danny’s reply was thankfully stalled by the return of their waitress with their orders. If it wasn’t so damn hot outside in LA then he was sure he would be flushed as his thoughts raced to piece together what to say. “Like I said earlier” he began after they took a few drinks to cool off, “we’ve been really busy”.

“What an excuse, I mean come on you guys live together now”.

Danny wasn’t sure why Sam was suddenly so entertained by the idea of him and Jake being together. Maybe the LA air had been getting to him. “It’s hard to say. Yes we work together and we live together, but at work he’s my boss and at home I think he just wants some alone time to relax and decompress”.

“Have you guys at least talked about it?” Sam started to sound more serious, like before he thought he could joke and pick fun at his friend but now he was slightly concerned.

“What are we supposed to have talked about?” He asked as he plucked a piece of food off the plate between them.

Sam sighed, he couldn’t believe they were really both being so dense. “You know I asked you this question once but I don’t think you gave me an honest answer”.

Danny stopped his munching, curious about what question Sam was referring to.

When Sam was sure he had his undivided attention he tried again, “Do you love him?”

Danny’s blood ran cold as he remembered the look on Jake’s face that evening when Sam had walked in on them and he asked him the same thing. Of course at the time the shock took over and Danny had said no, but had that been the honest truth?

“You can tell me. I know things got weird there between us after we broke up. I was upset and I needed space, but I’m glad I stuck it out. I can’t stay mad at you. Jake maybe” he cut his tone with another quip letting Danny know he wasn’t serious about being mad at Jake either. “You're my best friend Daniel and Jake’s my brother. I want to see you both happy”.

“Thanks Sam, but I don’t think it’s that simple”.

“Why not?” Sam shrugged, taking a little off the plate to eat himself.

“Jake is a hard person to read. Sometimes I think he’s sending me signals, but I just don’t know. I don’t want to fuck things up again”.

It hit Sam that Danny probably blamed himself for everything that went wrong in their relationship, and he couldn’t have that. “First of all, you didn’t fuck things up so don’t keep beating yourself up. Second of all, do you think Jake would have really started something with his brother's best friend if he wasn’t in love with you?”

Danny blinked a few times, trying to take in what Sam had said. Did he think Jake was in love with me the whole time? No wonder he was always jealous… “You think Jake is in love with me?”

“Daniel, don’t be an idiot. There’s no telling how long he’s been keeping that a secret, but he’s not as sly as he thinks he is. I’ve had a suspicion since last Halloween”.

“Really?” That was before he and Sam had even gotten together and yet he’d still agreed to try dating. It’s no wonder things didn’t work out the way Danny initially thought they would.

“I know it’s not really my place to be saying this after I fought you both on it, but I want you to know that you guys have my blessing”.

“Well, when you put it that way” Danny teased, breaking the heavy air that had settled around them with this deep conversation.

Sam had placed a seed in Danny’s mind though. If Jake really did love him then why hadn’t he said anything? It had been months since Sam and him had broken up. They had all made amends with each other better than he thought they would. Yet they were everything but together now.

Danny tried not to think too much about what Sam had said during the rest of his visit. The days were filled with fun activities Sam had planned, so it kept the both of them entertained and having fun goofing off with each other like they used to. At night though, as Danny tried to fall asleep on an uncomfortable futon, he thought about what he wanted to say to Jake when he saw him again.

“Time to get back to work I guess” Sam sighed as he watched Danny finish packing up. They wanted to spend as much time together as they could during the short time Danny had to visit, so he waited until the day Sam had to go back to work to fly home. Meaning he’d have to catch an Uber by himself to the airport.

“I had a really good time. I’m glad you’re liking it here” Danny replied, checking his phone to make sure he was giving himself enough time for LA traffic.

“I am, it’s been fun, but I do have to admit that I miss Nashville already. I can see why you wanted to stay”.

“You can always come back” Danny only half joked.

“Why, so Jake can put me to work at his restaurant too?” Sam teased back, “no thanks”.

Danny cleared his throat. He had thought a lot last night especially, and he wanted Sam to know the answer to his question before he left. “I do love him. It’s like a splinter I didn’t know I had but everyday that it’s there it digs its way deeper inside”.

Sam chuckled as he reached around to give Danny one last warm hug. “I know, just make sure he knows that too okay?”

“I will. Thank you” Danny hugged him back, feeling overwhelmed with emotion. Not because he was still in love with Sam, but because it was Sam. Sam who would always be a big part of his life, his first love, his best friend, and his ultimate confidant.

When Danny got home Jake was at the restaurant which he had expected. He unpacked his bags in the quiet apartment, tossing his dirty clothes into the washer and putting all his toiletries back where they belonged. By the early evening it was still going to be a while before Jake came home, so he decided to lay down on the couch to relax a bit.

With a random show on the TV Danny leaned back against the pillows and before he could stop himself he was falling asleep.

“Danny, wake up” the image of Jake leaning down in front of him came into blurry view while he gently shook him awake. “Go to bed if you're tired”.

“I was waiting for you” Danny replied as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He must have been out for a couple of hours by the way his body felt stiff from laying scrunched up in one position for so long.

“Well that’s very sweet, but I’m here now so let's get you upstairs”. He tugged on one of Danny’s arms, trying to get him to his feet.

“Hold on, I’ve got to tell you something” Danny tugged back on his arm and stayed seated on the couch.

“Can it wait until the morning?” Jake sighed. It had been a long few days, and he wasn’t sure he had the capacity to hear whatever it was Danny had to tell him right now. If Danny was going to tell him he wanted to go back to Sam then he at least wanted to have the energy to put up a fight about it.

“I mean…” Danny was still trying to wake up as he spoke, “I guess it could, but I don’t want it to. I’m tired of waiting”. He tugged on Jake’s hand again, trying to silently ask him to sit down too.

Jake obliged, flopping down next to Danny and feeling that his body was a lot more tired than he thought it was. “Alright what is it?” Whatever it was, if it couldn’t wait until morning then it must be very important to him, so Jake turned his body towards him to give his full attention.

Danny decided to come right out with it, there was no sense beating around the bush at this hour. “I’m in love with you”.

Goddamnit- wait… Jake’s brain was short circuiting. He’d expected the ‘I’m in love with’ part, but not the you. “What did you just say?”

Danny reached over and cupped Jake’s face in his hands, trying to move slowly and be as gentle as possible when he really just wanted to pounce on him right there and shower him with affection. “I love you Jake”.

“Danny I-” Jake’s voice got caught in his throat. He wasn’t sure what happened in LA, but he figured he and Sam must have talked about this and that Sam had helped him to come to this conclusion. He reached over and mirrored Danny’s hands with his, feeling just the slightest bit of five o’clock shadow against his palms. “Say it again”.

Danny smiled, and leaned in to press a kiss to Jake’s plush lips. “I love you” he repeated against those lips feeling them also turn up into a tight grin.

“You love me too right?” Danny pulled away just a bit to ask, like Jake’s response hadn’t been enough to confirm.

“I fucking love you so much Danny, you don’t even understand” Jake smiled even wider, pushing past Danny’s grip on his face to crawl into his lap and connect their lips again.

“So does this mean we’re together then? Like officially?” Danny questioned again, just trying to make sure they were on the same page and were ready to take this path together.

“It fucking better” Jake replied, standing up and offering his hand to Danny again. “Now, can we please go to bed?”

Danny took his hand and they made it up the stairs before Jake turned around and attacked him with more kisses. And for the first night since Danny moved in, he wrapped his arms around Jake’s thighs and hoisted him onto his hips, carrying them both into the bedroom.

~Fin

@alwaysonthemend @psychedelicstardust-gvf @twistedmelodies @heckingfrick

And shout out to @gracev0609 for helping me come up with the name of the restaurant 😊

#Greta van fic #Greta van fleet #gvf #jake kiszka #danny wagner #sam kiszka #Janny gvf

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daisychains334 · 28 days

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Chapter Three

I’ve always been a good fighter. Quick on my feet, strong, and agile, and; like my mother, i wasn’t one for taunting. I got the job done, and I did it well, whether that be a knockout or a kill.

But this was different. As this man stood before me, confused and angry, I considered my options. I obviously couldn’t kill him. I never killed for convenience, no matter how inconvenient keeping him alive might be. I could fight him? He wasn’t too big so that the odds would tip against me, but what would I do with him after? I couldn’t just drag an unconscious man through urban Montpelier, and I couldn’t leave him here. I supposed I’d have to talk my way out of this one.

“Where is she, then?” he asked impatiently. “I don’t have time for this.”

“She, uh, left with someone else. An older man?” I hoped he’d fill in the mental blanks and decide who he thought it was. Luckily, his facial expression indicated he had someone in mind.

“Fuck.” he muttered. “Her boyfriend. I told her to stay away from that asshole. Well-“ -he pulled his hood up and started walking back to his car- “-I know where to look now. Thanks for your help.”

I eyed his car. It’d be the perfect ride back to my apartment, cutting my commute time from two hours to twenty minutes. Before I could stop myself, I called out to him. “Wait! Uhm…could you spare a ride?”

He eyed me suspiciously. “Just how stupid do you have to be to get in the car with a stranger?”

“Probably about the same as your sister is for leaving with her “asshole boyfriend,”” I quipped.

He raised his eyebrows and didn’t say a word as he opened the passenger side door and went to sit down in the driver’s side. I got in. He turned the key and started driving, the gravel crunching under the wheels of a car that was really only designed for smooth concrete.

His car smelled like old leather and wet dog, surprisingly small inside compared to the sleek exterior. It was clean but cluttered, and scattered throughout were some CDs (I spotted Deftones, Nirvana, and-this one surprised me-Mitski.) There were receipts and ticket stubs for bands I’d never heard of, with illegible words scrawled hastily onto them.

I saw a few dog-eared books of poems, namely Sylvia Plath. I didn’t know men were even aware of Sylvia Plath. I picked one of the books up, opening to a page at random. He gave me a glance but remained silent as he drove.

I looked at the poem. It was I Am Vertical. I flipped to the next poem, which was full of notation and highlighted words, thoughts and ideas of how to improve it; interpretations of what it could mean. The notes intrigued me, but they felt too personal to look at. Upon flipping through the book more and more, I realized all the pages were annotated to the full. All except I Am Vertical. I wondered why that was, but I felt I shouldn’t ask him.

I set down the book and realized I hadn’t even told him where my apartment was. I cleared my throat. “Uh, Taylor Street Apartments. 05602.” He turned to me, raising an eyebrow. “My address?” I attempted. He nodded, turning back to the wheel. “Right. I was wondering when you were going to tell me that.” I nodded, unsure whether to laugh or not. I opted for a half-smile. He returned it.

We were quiet for a moment, listening to the last of the fireworks fade out.

“Do you live around here?” I asked lightly, trying to make conversation, but his face fell serious again. “If I did, would I tell you?”

I raised my eyebrows at the unexpected question.”Do you not trust me?”

He turned back to me. “Should I?”

Before I could stammer out an answer, he pulled up in front of my apartment complex. I got out, pausing for a second after I closed the door. I looped around the car, to his window. “You didn’t tell me your name.”

He tilted his head to the side. “Neither did you.” Without a second glance, he drove away. I stayed there for a second, watching him drive away. Then I went into the building, planning to go straight to my apartment and sleep. It’d been a long night.

#car ride #original story #my ocs #oc #writers on tumblr #original character #my writing #writeblr #sylvia plath #poetry

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excelsi-or · 11 months

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summoned (pt. 12)

In reality, this section is a continuation of the last part, but I didn't want part 11 to be like 4k+, so I split them. Posting the next part alongside this, so not long to wait. :)

pairing: woozi x fem!reader/fem!OC

w.c. 1.8k

Hansol gets out of the car, holding his stomach as he stretches. "Mr. Demon, your car is dope and your driving skills are mental."

"Were those good things?" Jihoon asks as the two humans lead the way across the street.

"The highest praise from Hansol, really," Seokmin states. But the angel's focus in on the other human, who is now walking across the street without stopping for traffic. Hansol walks alongside her, unbothered.

"I already exorcised her," Jihoon says.

"That was a few days ago. You then brought her around more demons than she's probably ever exposed herself to." Seokmin shakes his head. He's about to say more, but the wilting flowers in the flower shop next door catch his attention. "I'm going to suggest to the florist that she close shop for the day. Just in case you..."

"What do you think I'm going to do?" Jihoon demands, his hand on the door to the convenience store.

"I don't know, but the less human casualties the better." Seokmin disappears into the flower shop, no doubt wearing his most charming smile.

"What have you been doing back here, Mrs. Han?" Jihoon can hear her voice from the backroom. Hansol is standing in the doorway. Mrs. Han is nowhere to be seen, though Jihoon can guess where the angel is.

Hansol glances over his shoulder and motions with his head for Jihoon to join him.

Mrs. Han is sat in the desk chair. But Jihoon can't even fully process the scene, because his human is talking. Everything she's saying sounds a little bit more convincing. It's starting to sound like someone—or something—else entirely. Jihoon studies her figure closely, looking for any signs that his human isn't in there.

But as with most things about her, he's terribly unsure. Without knowing for sure if she had a soul in the first place, he isn't sure what's got her acting so different now.

"According to you, someone came to you a few months ago asking about nuclear war? Why you in particular, Mrs. Han?"

"Oh, dear, if I knew that, I would have outed them to Him already! But they were threatening Ara!"

Hansol stiffens next to Jihoon. The demon glances his way but says nothing.

"And I didn't want anything to happen to her!"

She squats down next to Mrs. Han, gazing up at the older woman. Even Jihoon would be near swayed by anything his human asked of him if she looked at him like that. "How were they asking you to do it?"

"I..."

Her hand reaches out for Mrs. Han's, holding them between hers. "We can't keep Ara safe if we don't know what they've asked you to do."

"You're going to try to stop it?" Mrs. Han asks. "Dear, I think it may be too late for that now!"

Jihoon and Hansol both don't know how she's not blown away by Mrs. Han's volume.

"So you do know what they are doing."

"I only know my part in it! And even that I don't understand! But can't you feel it in the air?"

They're practically standing in the black smoke at this point. Hansol keeps clearing his throat.

"Show me and maybe we can figure it out."

Seokmin appears then as the two women fiddle around on the computer.

"Ara's okay?" Jihoon asks.

Seokmin nods, surprised that Jihoon bothered to remember the name. "Yes, she is. I told her to go home. Maybe visit her parents in the countryside." He peers into the room. "What's going on here?"

"Unsure. The human is being weird again," Jihoon states, his voice low.

Hansol glances between them when Seokmin doesn't defend her immediately. The angel looks concerned.

But whatever she's doing seems to get them results. She waves them over. "Mrs. Han, can you explain what is going on?"

Mrs. Han hesitates, her gaze shifting between the four young-looking beings in her presence. The silence in the room is broken when Hansol coughs. The older woman gives Hansol a once over and seems to feel some sort of pity, because she explains what's happening on the screen.

Apparently, someone had come to her, threatening Ara if Mrs. Han didn't agree to do this 'simple' thing for them. "They said that it wouldn't be too hard! They said that I would have no direct role in what happened! I was just..." Mrs. Han tries to find the words, "making it easier!"

"Why did you agree to do a demon's bidding, Mrs. Han?" she asks.

"They were definitely not a demon!"

"Not a demon." She looks to the others from her squat on the floor. "Not an angel either, probably."

The older woman huffs. "If it were an angel, I would have gone straight to Him and told Him what sort of ridiculous plans are being conjured up!"

"So, whoever or whatever this entity is asked you to do what exactly?" Jihoon asks. He takes a step into the room to view the screen over Mrs. Han's shoulder. "What is this?"

The older woman shakes her head. "I don't really know! They installed this program on my computer, told me to go on it, and press certain buttons! According to them, the program would do its work!"

"The program would do work all by itself?" She studies the screen. Whatever it's doing is beyond her science degree. She recognizes a few things, but not enough to really parse through what she's reading.

"All they told me was that this would go on my computer, that I shouldn't feel too guilty because I wasn't doing anything, and that He would understand since Ara was being threatened! And not just by some sick human!"

"How did you know that? If they were not a demon or an angel, why would you think they could actually do anything to Ara?"

The angel pauses to think over her answer. "It was something about their... aura! I just knew!"

She nods. While the other three don't like that answer, she understands what it means. Sometimes, you just know in your gut. "Okay, well, what exactly did they ask you to do?"

"Once every few weeks, I had to click a little button on the screen!"

They all wait for more, but nothing comes.

Seokmin asks, "That's it?"

Mrs. Han nods.

They all watch the screen. There are different sections to look at, clearly monitoring different things. She has to search up most of the words on the screen.

"Based on these words, they all connect to nuclear power."

Seokmin hums. He points to the bars in the corner. "Then these bars must be temperature and radiation levels."

"Temperature is rising," Jihoon comments.

Hansol looks to Mrs. Han. "Do you know what the person... being... thing looked like? You kept saying "they", but I'm assuming one being."

Mrs. Han describes one being in a human form dressed all in white with white hair to match. They had green eyes. "Not just their irises, but what are normally the whites of people's eyes!"

"Like this?" Jihoon's eyes flick to their cat-eye form.

Mrs. Han tips her head. "I told you they weren't a demon, but it was similar! Eerie!" She shivers. "And permanent!"

"The temperature rising stopped," Hansol says. There is a red zone and the temperature has not quite reached that point yet.

"Mrs. Han," Seokmin draws out her name, "how many times have you done this?"

"I would say... 20 times! Potentially more!"

Seokmin had been doing his own searches. He shows the phone to Jihoon. There are 25 nuclear reactors in the country.

"Would you say closer to 25, Mrs. Han?" Hanosl asks when Seokmin shows him the phone.

"That seems right." Mrs. Han's voice softens, which catches everyone off guard. They'd all been braced for another shout.

Jihoon's eyes widen. "Did, uh, this entity happen to tell you anything more? Did you ask about their plans?"

The angel doesn't notice how the others are staring at Jihoon in concern. She snaps at him instead. "I was a little too worried about what they would do to Ara!"

"Okay, Mrs. Han." She pats the older angel's hand. "It is alright. We are not accusing you of anything." Her voice is velvety smooth, wrapping around Mrs. Han's human-like emotions and soothing any burns.

Seokmin and Jihoon's eyes widen at the effect her voice has.

"But... did you happen to get any more information from this being?"

Mrs. Han tips her head, leans into her touch, and nods. "Yes, actually! They left the room, as if to answer a phone call! Not that I heard a phone ring! But they said something about it taking time! That they would then meet somewhere when everything was ready!"

"Do you have any idea where that somewhere could be?"

"'The first one' is what I heard!"

Silence falls on the group as they process this information. Seokmin moves to extract Mrs. Han from the human's grasp. "I sent Ara home." He helps the older angel to her feet. "Maybe you should watch over her. Make sure she doesn't come back to the shop. It's not..." He looks around the black billowing smoke around them. He's surprised he's been able to keep from coughing. "Not exactly safe."

"The smoke is really horrid, isn't it?" Mrs. Han sighs, following Seokmin's gaze. They watch Seokmin guide her out of the shop. He soothes any hurt feelings. The last thing they need is Him reigning down the angels if Mrs. Han decides to go to Him with her deeds.

She slips into Mrs. Han's seat and turns to Hansol and Jihoon. "Right, so, what do we do?"

Hansol looks to Jihoon.

"What do nuclear reactors do?" Jihoon asks.

"Create energy."

The demon waves his hand dismissively. "Not what I meant. I meant what can they do for the demons' cause?"

They sit in silence until Seokmin returns.

"What if," she starts, "if it is about bringing about the apocalypse...." She sits back in the seat and tips her head back to look up at the ceiling. Her voice changes, something the others are more familiar with. "They're just trying to pollute the world as much as possible." She'd noticed the temperature tipping up into the red. "A nuclear reactor meltdown would be devastating. Twenty-five of them? I don't know if we'd be able to recover."

"There's war in other countries. Political corruption, pollution, divisiveness," Seokmin agrees. "Whatever they've started, it won't take much more to tip it over. The Horsemen are probably already here."

"They're here?" Hansol demands. "I thought we were talking metaphorically."

"No, they're real," Jihoon hums. "What did Mrs. Han mean when she said 'the first one'?" He studies his human.

And what did Linnaeus mean when he said she may have a bigger role to play?

Seokmin shakes his head when the humans don't answer. "Mrs. Han isn't sure what it means either."

"I don't think we're going to learn much else here." She stands, her hand running over the keyboard. She makes a point of closing the program on the computer and then leads the way out.

part 13

#woozi scenarios #woozi imagines #woozi #lee jihoon #svt #lee jihoon scenarios #woozi fic #seventeen #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios

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thecoddaughter · 1 year

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QSMP Characters as O My Heart by Mother Mother

Im back with another album breakdown. I really love this album and hope y’all enjoy the comparisons.

*disclaimer: I wrote this like a week ago and I don’t watch all these povs

O My Heart: Maximus

He has mentioned recently how he feels like he has lost everything and this song seems to me like a song about a heart that can never heal

Burning Pile: Foolish

“All my troubles on a burning pile, all lit up and I start to smile. If I catch fire then I’ll change my aim,” is very “The only problem going this route right now is that it could end up being a lonely road, and I'll just simply have too hold all the pain of it deep within me. But that's okay. Cause eventually it'll all pay off... I just have to be very.. very.. patient. Like we've always been,” coded.

Body of Years: Cellbit

I know next to nothing about Cellbit’s past and implied lore but the things I do know make me think of this song. A man of many horrors.

Try to Change: Quackity

At least at one point, he would say he has changed, but he is relatively consistently heartless toward the eggs, trying to get an egg as his own, pulling a stunt of some sort…

Wisdom: Slime

Vibes… also the line “And I feel useless. Don’t think I know how to do this. Once I was told but I like to fidget and miss out on good advice.”

Body: Leonarda

I feel like little explanation is needed outside of this quote “I want to become a robot so that I will never die and can always take care of my parents.”

Ghosting: Jaiden

This song feels like her relationship with Roier after the loss of Bobby. Come on, “This is why I have decided to leave your house and home unhaunted. You don’t need poltergeists for sidekicks.” She loved him (platonically) but felt like a burden and the only reason she stayed as long as she did was their child.

Hayloft: Roier and Leonarda

Am I saying this because this song is literally just “My daddy’s got a gun” repeated and Foolish loves his gun? Literally, none of the rest of the song is relevant.

Wrecking Ball: Slime (again)

Slime in his murder arc was very wreckless, poor thing. Pay attention to lines such as “You gotta wanna break the hearts of all those pretty porcelain dolls” (eggs) and “I make a fist and not a plan.” But also the ending being sweet and soft feels like JuanaFlippa resting a hand on his shoulder or something.

Arms Tonite: Tilin / JuanaFlippa

SWEEPING EDGE BUG KIDDOS! Aka this song songs like the eggs haunting Slime and Mariana. Especially with Flippa and the line “tried to escape the afterlife” cause miss girl got a second chance and died at the hand of the same person. (Added after reading liveblogs! SLIME BEING HAUNTED BY FLIPPA AGAIN EXCEPT ITS CODE AND IM GOING TO CRY THIS SONG IS SO THEM CODED!)

Miles: Vegetta

IDK guys… His house is the only one you really have to cross a desert to get to. Plus he has his family with Foolish now is pretty calmed down since the beginning of the season ‘drama’.

Sleep Awake: The Order

Baghera (aka miss extremely careful with evidence): “I throw the evidence into a trunk and drop it in the sea”

Roier (I feel like he has paranoid Cell is gonna be taken away): “I sleep with one eye on the bedroom door, the other on the cake”

Maxo (Sir is terrified of losing anyone else): “Carving away our fingerprints out of our fingertips until they're smooth”

Cellbit (enigma = royal flush in my mind, the next big break): “I sleep with one eye on my royal flush, the other on the take”

Foolish (aka mr gun): “I sleep with one hand on my 45, the other 'round my baby's waist”

Bad (Grim Reaper himself can’t let himself get sucked up into the darkness now, can he?): “I go to bed with all my lights turned on, so I don't slip away”

Forever (idk it was the last line and bro goes on solo missions it seems): “Out on the street, I keep a started car who only waits for me conveniently.”

#qsmp #QSMP as songs #qsmpblr #I can’t tag all these folk I’m too freaking tired

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finnisamankisser · 4 months

Text

’

Lie awake I sleep awake I go to bed with all my lights turned on So I don't slip away I stay awake

Out on the street, I keep a started car Who only waits for me, conveniently

Lie awake I sleep awake Lie awake I sleep awake.’

-Mother Mother

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nerendus · 1 year

Note

🎧

Sleep Awake by Mother Mother

Out on the street, I keep a started car

Who only waits for me, conveniently

#texts from the underbrush #📬

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arndylevinbarber · 2 years

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Groceries

Pairing: Ari Levinson x Reader

Rating: Fluff

WC: 992

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Grocery shopping has always been therapeutic for you to do. Especially when the store isn't filled with a sea of people who act like they're the only ones shopping, pushing their carts around carelessly and muttering insincere apologies when they hit somebody. Being an early bird has always been in your nature too. You like how quiet the world is for a bit before the sun really starts to go up and shine over the busy streets and passing cars. It provides a weird sense of comfort. Confusing but you're not really complaining.

6 am.

You can finally stop camping out your car and go into the store. Was it weird that you stayed in your car for 30 minutes before the store opens every week? Hopefully not. It's just better this way and more convenient since the long lines are non-existent during checkout and people are still waking their minds up so no one has that much energy to start a conversation.

Walking through the doors and being greeted by the bright lights, you make your way to the line of carts and get one as you mentally prepare yourself with the reality of adulting. Buying groceries is great and all plus the organization that you get to do at home is beyond satisfying but sometimes, you just want to be in the part and get pushed around again.

Too old for that now.

Opening your phone for the trusty notes app that has your usual list of groceries, you make your way down the aisles and grab items here and there while mentally debating if you should get more of one thing just in case. As you go down the wide array of pastas, you furrow your brows as you don't see the usual one that you get when it's been placed in the same place ever since you started buying groceries here. You stop your cart and put it on the side, looking up and down from side A to side B trying to figure out where it is.

"Fettuccine... Fettuccine.. where is it?" You mumble to yourself as you keep looking. Isn't it usually next to the spaghetti noodles? Maybe even close to the elbow macaroni ones?

"It's up here." The sound of a deep voice and cracking plastic fill your ears. Your turn around and see a man grabbing it from the top shelf and handing it to you.

He looks very... domestic. The kind of guy who would chop down fire wood, fix trucks and enjoy watching football games with a beer in hand and feet on top of the coffee table. He probably buys his wife flowers every time he goes home after a hard day's work or a night out with the boys. His hair slicked back to sophistication and his beard looks like it has its own comb... wow.

"What are you doing?! Snap out of it!" Ah, thank you brain. The right words at the right time and at the right place. There is no room to zone out but he probably noticed it since he now has an eyebrow raised.

"Are you okay?" Why are you concerned?

"Yes, sorry. I was just not expecting anyone else to be around at this time." You explain as you step closer to the man and reach a hand out, grabbing the damn fettuccine.

"Thank you. They usually put these next to the spaghetti ones." Why are you making small talk? You don't know the man and you just assumed that he has a wife! Being nice isn't bad though, right? He got something for you... but he's a man! Oh my god he's a man and you don't know why he's here at this time.

"You been living here for a while huh?"

"Yeah, over a year now actually."

"I just moved here, I got done arranging the apartment and I realized that I didn't have any food with me."

A smile followed by a short giggle escapes your mouth.

"Growing old is a bitch huh?"

It was his turn to return the smile and the giggle, well, more of a chuckle since he is a very big man and giggling isn't a part of his vocabulary.

"Yeah... oh wait you have a septum piercing?" He ducks his head, trying to get a better view and by instinct since a lot of your friends asked about the jewelry already, you lift your head up a bit to show him.

"Yeah! I got it a few months ago and—"

He reaches his hand out and holds the tiny piece of metal around your septum and uses it as a door knocker.

"Knock knock..." He says as he moves his fingers against your philtrum twice.

Scrunching up your face and giving him a weird look, you decide to play along.

"Who's there?"

He pulls his hands away and crouches down to your height before saying:

"Wendy."

"Wendy who?" Your eyebrow slightly raised, waiting for the punchline and kind of taken aback at how he just so casually touched your piercing and the whole concept of personal space is now out the window.

"Wendy ya' wanna go out for dinner?" His lips form a wide smile, wanting to laugh at his own cheesy joke but he can't, not until you start laughing and to be fair, it didn't take three seconds for you to burst out in giggles.

"Oh my god..." You say as you kept on giggling, hating the stupid joke but still finding it adorable on how well he pulled that off.

He then laughs with you, standing back up to his full height and grabbing his chest trying to not laugh too loud. It took a while for the fit of giggles to die down and you didn't treat his question seriously so when you see him with that devilishly handsome smile, you can't help but say:

"Tonight is good."

#Ari Levinson #Ari Levinson x Reader

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from-the-clouds · 3 years

Text

Kiss Me More (Part II) - Zemo/Reader

Masterlist || Part One

Summary: Part two, read part one if you haven’t already! Sam & Bucky put reader in charge of looking after Zemo....again. Series loosely inspired by this song.

Words: 2.5k

Warnings: Kissing, heavy petting, mentions of sex, minor TFATWS spoilers.

A/N: Wow! I was so shocked on the feedback I got on the first part of this story. It has nearly 800 notes. I’m not used to my writing getting that kind of attention so I really appreciate the love. I decided to make this into at least a 3-4 part series and there will be eventual smut, but I feel like there’s something sweet between these two that goes beyond an obvious physical attraction, so I do want to build that a bit before we get there. This weekend I rewatched TFATWS & Civil War because I’m officially obsessed with Zemo lol. Please let me know what you think, and let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist. :)

-----

“Keep an eye on him.”

Y/N watched Bucky and Sam split off again. That was now at least the third time she’d heard that phrase since she arrived in Riga. Little did they know, she was probably the worst person to be put in charge of Zemo. Truthfully, it was starting to be a little insulting.

It was unclear why she’d been brought along on this mission, when half the time Sam and Bucky were talking in hushed tones just out of her earshot. There was always more to the story than they told her, but this time, it felt like she was more out of the loop than ever.

She adjusted the neckline of the sweater she wore out of an abundance of caution, checking subconsciously to make sure it hadn’t exposed the mark Zemo had left on her from the day before. It was a discovery she’d made that morning, and persisted despite her efforts to cover it up with makeup.

“According to those two, I must be the best at babysitting you,” she muttered under her breath. It was petty, so she wasn’t even sure if she wanted him to hear. But he did.

“Babysitting?” Zemo lifted an eyebrow.

“You know, a nanny, a governess….whatever a Baron’s equivalent is,” she said, looking him in the eye for the first time that day, which was a mistake. He looked so handsome in that long, fur-lined coat, tall and refined, hair styled perfectly. There had to be warrants out for his arrest since escaping prison, and in his current getup, he was hard to miss.

It wasn’t easy to ignore the stifling tension between them. The Baron hadn’t left her thoughts since she’d closed the door on him the evening before. Now they were alone again. She couldn’t decide if that was thrilling or terrifying, so she decided on both.

“It’s nice of them to give us some alone time,” Zemo stepped close to her, one gloved hand pressing between her shoulder blades. Despite the cool temperature outside, it was the first thing today that had her shivering.

“Walk with me,” he commanded sternly. She saw no opportunity to refuse as they started in the direction opposite of where Bucky and Sam had disappeared.

“Zemo-”

“Helmut,” he corrected her. “But go on…”

“We have to focus on figuring out where Donya’s funeral will be,” she said, feeling his hand slide down to settle on the small of her back, trying to inch away, but he just pulled her closer. “We can’t waste time.”

“I know Riga inside and out, that won’t be as difficult as you and your friends think,” he murmured. His proximity was already suffocating. Or maybe comforting. It was hard to tell. “Tell me, what is your business with them? You aren’t an Avenger. This was my first time hearing your name.”

She snorted, finally finding the strength to pull away, and he dropped his hand. That was one thing that had confounded her. He was confident, took liberties with what others would allow, but knew when to stop pushing. There was something alluring to his nature.

“I’m not,” she responded, wondering how much she was willing to share. When she stole a glance out of the corner of her eyes, his head was lowered, leaning in, listening intently for her response. She wondered if he really cared, or if he was good at pretending. It was easy to believe that he did.

“Bucky and I aren’t that different,” she continued. “That’s why we’re friends. I’m not a super soldier, but I was taught how to fight, how to kill. I followed orders for too long without questioning whether or not I was doing the right thing. And at least now, I think I am.”

“You think,” he repeated, and corrected her again like he had the day before. As much as she wanted some kind of clever or quick quip back, she wore her heart on her sleeve for the moment and shrugged. There was nothing to defend when she still wasn’t sure what responsibilities she had in this world.

Zemo halted, and she paused too, turning back to look at him. “So you were an assassin,” he murmured, reaching out. Nodding slightly, she lowered her eyes when his gloved thumb brushed across her face. The buttery, overpowering smell of leather took her over as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I would’ve never guessed. Du bist so süß.”

Her knowledge of German was limited, but she could see a flash of what looked like affection in his eyes. He couldn’t be lying, could he? She wondered. She wanted to trust that he wasn’t, wanted to identify every good part of him she could, so she could justify the overwhelming attraction she felt towards him. Something in her just kept pulling forward against her will, like a magnet.

“You’d be surprised,” she answered, but didn’t pull away. The intensity of his gaze made her feel weak, but there was something strangely reassuring in his eyes. It was just the two of them, standing on a crowded sidewalk.

She rose her hand to clasp around his, frowning when she felt the hard loop of a ring on one of his gloved fingers. It had gone unnoticed by her, until now. He still wore a wedding band.

It would have been easy to vocalize the observation, gauge his reaction, try to regain some upper hand and remind him who exactly he was dealing with. But, it would’ve been pointlessly cruel, as she knew what that felt like to answer that question. Those days were behind her, now.

As if the universe was scolding her, a loud car horn broke through the perceived silence. His hand dropped from her face, and they began to walk again.

“I had lots of time to think in prison,” he said after a heady pause in conversation. “About the things I’d done. Whatever intentions you have, to someone, you’re always the enemy. What I thought was important, trying to serve the greater good, it isn’t always worth the trouble. I was trying to protect what I had already lost, the places and people I’d taken for granted.”

Deciphering his words, she took a moment before responding. “That’s actually...very insightful,” she said, partly surprised by what he’d shared, appreciating that he felt her vulnerability, and matched it in his response.

“I know you’re stunned I’m not a brute,” he answered, increasing his pace to a determined strut rather than a lazy stroll. She was forced to keep up with him. “You’ve been told what to think about me by Sam and Bucky.”

She scoffed. “Not just them. The entire world. All the people you’ve hur-”

He halted and turned to face her so quickly, she collided with his chest and her breath caught in her throat.

“I’m not that man anymore,” his voice was nearly a growl, disgust laced in his features as he looked down at her.

But as soon as she recognized it, he became expressionless again, backing away. Falling back into step beside him, they continued to walk, a bit faster than they had been before. She followed him, at this point convinced that she might get lost without his guidance, but a little startled by his sudden change in behavior.

“What do you think of Riga?” he asked her as they cut through an alleyway. His voice held none of the venom that it had a few moments ago, so she wondered if she’d just hit a sore nerve.

“It’s beautiful,” she answered, admiring the old brick buildings and fine architecture. “But I think I haven’t had much of a chance to appreciate it.”

“Have you been thinking about me?”

They ducked under an alcove, and she realized he’d carefully led her off the crowded streets. It was much quieter here. She suddenly didn’t feel as protected as she had been with him in the open. The temperature in the shaded space was much lower than expected. And he was standing over her, waiting for some response she didn’t know if she could give.

“I haven’t forgotten about last night, liebling,” he continued.

Of course she had been thinking of him. Nearly nonstop. What they’d shared, what it meant. She hadn’t been able to sleep until she relieved herself, fingers rubbing her clit and delving into her warmth, whimpering his name when she finally came. Still, it had done little to quell the ache inside her.

It was a horrible thing, she’d decided. Objectively horrible, and unprofessional. There was the consideration of accessibility. What did he see in her beyond a means to an end? Was she really going to throw everything she’d worked for away to a man who was going to use her to scratch an itch?

Too much was at stake, Sam and Bucky’s trust, her reputation, her job, and she couldn’t allow it to go on.

But oh, how much she wanted it to.

“Yesterday was nice,” she straightened up, holding her own. “I won’t lie to you.”

The corner of his mouth tugged up slightly in a self-satisfied smirk.

“But I’m not foolish,” she continued. “Coming on to the first woman you see after you get out of jail? Seems pretty convenient.”

At first, the Baron tilted his head to the side, his brows pulled together at her words. But after a moment, the smile returned, and he chuckled. “Is that what you think this is about?”

“Don’t insult me, Helmut,” she said sternly, trying her best not to feel embarrassed. She was only being honest.

“Are you always so severe to yourself?” he asked, tutting lightly.

It would have been better to say nothing. Why give him anything at all?

She didn’t answer his question, just backed away from him and began walking in no particular direction, wanting only to increase the space between them and regain her common sense. That was impossible however, as she was jolted backwards before she even knew what was happening, a firm hand on her upper arm, and she was chest to chest with Zemo once more.

“We were in Madripoor together. I could’ve had my way with many women there if I wanted. But I didn’t.”

“Please-” she rolled her eyes.

“If all I wanted to do was fuck someone, I could have done it by now,” he stalked forward, the air pressure around them dropping, weighed by the tension hanging thick between them. “But that’s not what I want. I want you.”

His words, spoken in a soft, low purr rattled away every bit of resolve she had left in her. Some last ditch effort found her stepping backwards, but her body met the brick wall behind them and she realized he had her cornered.

In more ways than one, she thought.

Taking in a shaky breath, she looked up at his eyes, clouded with lust. “I know you want me,” he said, not a shred of doubt in his voice. But why should there have been? He was right.

Her eyes darted around, like someone or something around them was going to jump out and save her from herself. It didn’t go unnoticed. “There’s no need to be scared, liebling. I feel it, too.”

With that, he closed the gap between their lips. He tasted sweet, like the candies he’d been eating back at his flat. Turkish delight. She was drowning in him again, his scent, his touch, everything about him enveloped and beguiled her. Her shirt had bunched up slightly somewhere along their walk and his gloved hands explored the exposed skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

She surrendered, letting him tease open her mouth and claim her wholly. It was still bad, she knew. But there wasn’t any last bit of self-control left in her.

The layers of clothing between them didn’t allow for the same proximity she’d had to him the evening before. Groaning in delight and frustration, she reached up to tangle and rake her fingers through his hair, as his fingers curled around the top of her sweater, revealing the sensitive skin of her neck.

“Don’t hide this,” his lips left hers as his eyes focused on the stamp of affection he’d left behind the day before. “Let them see.”

“You know I can’t,” she responded, sheepishly pulling it back into place. Studying her with amiable consideration, his hand rose to brush tenderly across her cheekbone.

“I thought you’d come to me last night,” she confessed, drawing away slightly, shocked by her own admission. But right now, she didn’t feel the need to put up as much of a facade. He looked positively virile; panting, his cheeks flushed and hair mussed, pupils blown out as he focused on her. To know she was the cause of his current state of disarray gave her an immense amount of satisfaction. A buried, salacious part of her wondered what else she could do to make him look even more unkempt.

“I considered it,” he said, sounding almost timid. “But I want to do this right.” He leaned in, pressed a kiss beneath her ear. “In private, so no one can disturb us,” he continued, lips moving down her neck. “We can take our time, you can be as loud as you’d like.”

The mental image he was currently painting for her was doing very little to strengthen her convictions, whatever those had been. The thought of her legs wrapped around his torso, naked bodies pressed together sent a bolt of electricity through the pit of her stomach, radiating outwards. She wanted his lips on every inch of her skin. Aching at the possibility, the present tease of his teeth nibbling on her collarbone wasn’t helping.

“You know we can’t,” she didn’t try to stop the thought as it came out of her mouth.

“What is there to lose?”

Everything, she thought, but didn’t answer. She couldn’t really, as his gloved hand was trailing slowly under her jacket and sweater, against her bare skin, and cupping her breast through her bra. Whimpering, she couldn’t control the way her body arched against his.

Hooking her knee on his hip, she let him press forward, feeling the warmth of his excitement through his trousers and her jeans. He ground against her once, teasingly, and she moaned softly into his mouth.

He was the one to pull away, and she was thankful he did. “Think about it, liebling,” he said softly, pressing a tender kiss to her temple. “Du hast die Kontrolle.”

“We can’t,” she answered again, but even she didn’t believe herself. Raking her hands through her hair and adjusting her rumpled sweater, she straightened up. “We have a job to do.”

Brushing past him out of the alcove, each step she took away from him gave her the self control she desperately needed. She glanced over her shoulder to see him reluctantly trudging behind. At this point, she wasn’t foolish. There were only two ways this could end.

----

Part III

Series Taglist: @juice-1981 @sapphiredreamer26 @tatooineisdry @marvelsvision @spookycereal-s @trelaney @fireghost-x @booksarekindaneat @thunderingbats @felicityofbakerstreet @takacsgram @mischiefmanaged71 @fanfictionedagain @merelyhooper @gyllord @mundaytuesday @friday18eo @lovegood7553 @adara-wolfhart @a-djarin @farawaywasteland @sky-writes-stuff @fuckinglittlekitten @katyasrussianaccent @agent-jbarnes @neoarchipelago @pattispunk @kpopnena @purebloodwitch @spookyconsultingcriminal @msmarvelwrites @professorrw @lazyradeecal @captainrexstan @notyourfuckingbusinesss

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged, or if I forgot to tag you for some reason! :)

#tfatws #tfatws spoilers #helmut zemo x reader #helmut zemo x you #helmut zemo #helmut zemo fanfiction #marvel #marvel fanfiction #zemo x reader #zemo x you #zemo #baron zemo #bucky barnes #sam wilson #daniel bruhl #helmet zemo fanfiction #tfatws imagine #mcu #mcu imagine

1K notes · View notes

introvert--weeb · 3 years

Note

Hi can i request some senju and brahma crumbs PLZ where they just reacting to the reader being a menace to society even tho they’re are usually chill

This them prob 🧍🏻🧍🏻🧍🏻🧍🏻

Have a nice day or night ✨✨

I love this idea!! ❤️

Thank you for requesting and I hope you enjoy!! And I apologise for how long it's taken me to get this done! ❤️

Senju, Akashi, Wakasa, Benkei with a chill!reader being a menace to society

Menace: something or someone that can cause harm or damage

TW: mentions of violence, threats, injuries, damage to property

Senju

Senju couldn't believe it when one of your friends had messaged her. She knew you were out in Harajuku with them and so thought she was safe enough to go shopping with her eldest brother, Takeomi.

But of course she wasn't. Senju never was able to do much when she wasn't with you and this is one of the reasons. For some reason or another, if the small blond girl wasn't attached to your hip, you tend to become something of a menace. It did confuse her to no end since you always seemed so chill.

With a heavy sigh, the small girl asked Takeomi to drive her to wherever you and your friends were. She had no idea what to expect but what she found wasn't it.

You were sat on the curb, a pout pulling at your busted lip. From what Senju and Takeomi could ascertain from the situation was that you had obviously decided to fight someone and come out with some injuries. They thought that what they were seeing was the end of the situation. How wrong they were.

As soon as your eyes caught sight of your opponent, you had jumped to your feet to finish what you had been kicked out for. Threats were spilling from your lips with no filter.

Takeomi couldn't help but sigh at your behaviour while Senju had to try and hold her giggles back. But she knew she had to get you back into the car and away from the situation. And that's what she did.

The blonde walked over and grabbed the back of your collar, dragging you kicking and screaming back to the car. All while trying not to burst out laughing over some of the words escaping your mouth. Senju would never let you live this down.

Takeomi

It was meant to be a normal date night. Takeomi had suggested the two of you go and watch a movie before heading to the bar for the night. That was his first big mistake.

Takeomi knew you were a chill person, it was one of the reasons this relationship worked. He wouldn't be able to deal with someone who wasn't. So when you had changed that night, it had caught him off guard.

It had started off really well. You had gone to watch the movie, Takeomi keeping his arm around your shoulders throughout since he enjoyed having you close a lot of the time. The trouble had begun when you both entered the bar.

Someone who had recognised your boyfriend as a prevalent figure within the delinquent world had made a passing comment that had irked you. Now, usually you would act like the elder Akashi and let it slide, remaining chill about the whole situation. However, you couldn't seem to hold back your anger and that chill persona flew right out the window.

"Wanna say that again, punk?" Your hand had grabbed a nearby bottle of booze, ready to smash it against the counter. "I'd watch your mouth before I cut your tongue out of it."

Takeomi was stunned at the sudden change. He had never seen you like this before. But it did amuse him. You were quite a bit shorter than the man you were mouthing off to. It was only as he realised you were going to smash the bottle and cause bodily harm that he decided enough was enough.

Your boyfriend grabbed you from under your arms, apologising for the scene you had caused. Trying to keep the smirk off his face, he proceeded to drag you out of the bar as you continued to shout threats towards the man. Takeomi would never forget the moment and expect him to bring it up when around the other First Gen Black Dragons.

Wakasa

Two peas in a pod. That best described the relationship that you both shared. You and Wakasa bonded over the chill attitude you walked through life with. So he would never expect you to switch the way you did.

You and your boyfriend were just hanging around the streets of Harajuku, not having planned anything and simply enjoying each other's company. It started off as a nice enough day, the sky was clear with a few clouds, and the atmosphere of Harajuku was calm.

Wakasa had decided to visit the convenience store to get you both some drinks and snacks to eat when you get home. After all, you had both agreed that you wanted to watch some episodes of a series you had recently started. So he gave you a kiss before leaving you near a bench.

As he left the store, he caught a sight that had him resisting the urge to face palm. His usual chill partner was now beating down a man who was taller than you.

There must have been a reason but Imaushi was not in the mood to get involved in any other way than to just get you home. Then he would lecture you. So, the male casually made his way over, taking a hold of your collar and continuing to walk away from the scene.

You were struggling to get out of his grip, body being dragged against the ground. Not enough to hurt you but believe me, it was a sight to behold.

Wakasa just sighed heavily, a soft shake of his head. Once he was sure you were going to behave, he stopped and allowed you to get to your feet. Just wait until you get back to the apartment.

Benkei

Normally, you would be the one to have to reign this man back in. You were the Wakasa to your Benkei, and it was a relationship that worked well. Your chill nature evened out his tough persona.

You were so chill in fact that the tall man had yet to see you lose your temper or even engage in anything that seemed like too much effort (your words). So the day you became a menace was a shock to your long-term boyfriend.

It had occured out of nowhere. You were both going for a walk, for once not hanging around with the other First Gen Black Dragons. The moment that caused the change was when you were crossing a road and a car decided to ignore the red light. The vehicle had stopped milliseconds from hitting you both and that was not on.

"Watch where you're going, moron!" You had snapped, your usual calm features now distorted by anger. Benkei just watched, not understanding

#tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers x reader #anime drabble #black dragons first gen #black dragons Tokyo Revengers #brahman tokyo revengers #senju kawaragi #senju akashi #akashi takeomi #takeomi akashi #imaushi wakasa #wakasa imaushi #benkei tokyo revengers

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absolutepokemontrash · 3 years

Text

MC’s Date With the Side Characters is Going Terribly and Then it Starts to Rain

Brothers ver.

Diavolo

It was a tragic truth that the poor Crown Prince didn’t get to go out and have fun very often, but he had managed to get a singular day off! He of course was going to spend it with the future monarch-consort of the Devildom!

Diavolo had a whole list written out that was full of fun cliche date activities that he wanted to try, and it was also full of stuff MC said they wanted to do, so the date was going to be completely perfect.

As Diavolo and MC walked hand in hand to Madame Scream’s, they both took notice to the fact that literally every single demon in the vicinity was staring at the two of them.

The crown prince laughed it off, saying that MC looked so positively radiant that everyone couldn’t help but stop and look. MC laughed and leaned their head against Dia’s arm, but both of them knew full well that everyone was really staring at Diavolo.

To be fair, wouldn’t you stare if the most powerful person in the entire realm walked by holding hands with a pathetic little human?

They got to Madame Scream’s, got their sweets, then Diavolo got a phone call. It was Lucifer frantically explaining that the RAD gym was on fire and he needed to run everything by Diavolo before he could do anything about it.

That ate up about fifteen minutes and the desserts ended up getting cold… Diavolo tried to make light of it as the two finally got to eat their chocolate chip cookies.

“So apparently one student thought it would be a good idea to set a firework off inside, you know I encourage having fun at school but maybe they should have set this off outside.” “Maybe..?”

Next it was time for a romantic walk on the beach! That would have gone better if Diavolo remembered it was giant-crab season. As cool as it was to watch Diavolo hammer-throw an eight foot tall crab into the ocean it left MC’s ankles vulnerable to get pinched by regular sized crabs.

And maybe they both should have wore appropriate shoes… they were sinking into the sand and it was getting into their shoes…

Okay, so the beach didn’t work out, Diavolo had plenty of other ideas! They just had to- wait he was getting another call.

Half an hour later, Diavolo was finally able to hang up and gave MC an apologetic look. He said that he needed to cut the date short and go to an unavoidable meeting…

Oh well, at least this date couldn’t get any-

A loud crack of thunder caused Diavolo to nearly drop his phone in surprise. Oh… oh no… not rain…

Large droplets of water pelted the pair as they waited for Barbatos to pick them up. Diavolo slowly lifted up his arm and shielded MC from the rain as best he could. Well… this outfit was ruined, the least he could do was try and save MC’s…

“Well…” Diavolo tentatively began. “I heard getting caught in the rain is supposed to be romantic..?”

MC only sighed and moved a little closer, they folded their arms and stared blankly ahead. Their glassy expression made the crown prince’s heart sink right to the floor. Maybe he could cancel the meeting! He promised he’d spend more time with MC and he intended to keep it!

“MC, I could-”

“Dia, no.” MC looked up and gave him a small smile. “It’s okay, I’m okay. I knew what I was getting into when I said I’d be with you. Your kingdom is more important than one little date.”

“But I wanted to make you happy today…” Diavolo mumbled. His kingdom had always come first, before his friends, before MC, before even himself, was it so much to ask to have just one day for him to spend with the person he loved?

The human reaches up and lowered Diavolo’s arm and looped it around their shoulders. “And you did, any time that I get to spend with you makes me happy. Besides, it wasn’t all bad. The crab moment was pretty awesome.”

MC pulled out their DDD and showed Diavolo a picture of himself chucking the giant crab into the watery horizon. “We can put at least one moment of this date into the photo album.”

The precise tapping of the falling raindrops cause the DDD to flick to the next picture, which was an awkwardly angled snapshot of MC brandishing a stick at a much smaller crab who had attached its claws to their ankle.

“Uh, maybe not this picture…”

Barbatos

The poor butler rarely ever gets a day off, and he could tell MC missed spending time with him, so he asked Diavolo for a day off.

Of course Diavolo said yes, but when the day of the date came…

Barbatos saw every mishap and disaster coming a mile away. The smart thing to do would be cancel the date, but NO. Barbatos was going to use his powers for good and make sure MC had the time of their life!

The first disaster was supposed to come in the form of a pickpocket stealing MC’s wallet, key word being supposed.

As the perp made their way through the somewhat crowded sidewalk, fully prepared to swipe some wallets, Barbatos quickly twirled and dipped MC out of the way. This action also conveniently had the result of Barb knocking the pickpocket out cold.

MC of course, was none the wiser of the attempted theft and just assumed Barbatos was being suave (tm).

The second disaster was both MC and Barbatos getting hot coffee accidentally spilled all over them. Or it WOULD have been if Barbatos hadn’t quickly notified the person that would have spilled the drink that their shoelaces were undone.

Hell yeah! Second disaster averted!

The date progressed smoothly, well, as smooth as it could have gone. All those days of work and the task of making sure MC was none the wiser of any of the nasty things that could have ruined the date was really making Barbatos tired…

“Barbatos, are you alright?” “*exhausted breathing* Y-yes dearest, of course. Don’t trouble yourself.”

MC would have bought that lie if Barbatos didn’t look like he had just finished running a ten kilometre long race through a heatwave.

After making sure MC was not in the path of the escaped hellhound that would be running down the street in three, two, one, there it went, MC was safe and sound, Barbatos sighed in relief.

Just one more thing…

In the smoothest possibly motion, Barbatos opened the umbrella he had been carrying and held it over himself and MC.

MC looked up at the umbrella perplexed. “Barbatos, why-”

Thunder rumbled as the first drops of rain pelted harmlessly against the umbrella. Barbatos smiled softly and took MC’s hand. “Did you enjoy the date, darling?”

“Have you been doing damage control all day..?” MC asked. “Oh no wonder you look exhausted…”

Barbatos’ face burned with embarrassment when MC wrapped their arms around him.

“You work way to hard, this date was supposed to be relaxing for the both of us,” MC sighed. “You know what? We’re going to go back to the Demon Lord’s Castle, and I’m making you tea and snacks.”

“MC..?”

They began to pull Barbatos in the direction of the castle and plucked the umbrella out of his hand.

“I’ll hold this.” MC smiled brightly. “You relax, mister.”

Barbatos was about to protest, then sighed, no future he could see in his brief overview involved MC giving up on their new mission to make him take a break. He felt himself smile, he really lucked out with this human, didn’t he?

Simeon

The next volume of TSL had been released and Simeon was officially completely exhausted. He had spent the past two days signing special hardback copies and his writing hand was officially deceased.

He needed to relax and unwind… who better to do it with than MC? Simeon simply invited MC over to Purgatory Hall to hang out.

Oh my~ premarital eye contact~

It was just so nice, MC rested their head on Simeon’s chest while they lounged in bed watching TV, their hands gently intwined, the smell of Luke baking cookies…

Simeon let out a content sigh, he was truly and completely at peace in that moment. The soft knock on the door to his room barely phased him.

Solomon poked his head into the room with a bright smile.

“Hi you two, so sorry to barge in on your date, but before Luke took over the kitchen I made way too much food. I’ll bring some in for you guys!” “Solomon no-” “Wait!”

The date was now in intense danger. They needed to get out of there immediately! The first thing the angel could think to do to save the love of his life was to throw them out of the window.

Fret not, MC’s fall slowed considerably and they gently landed on the grass outside thanks to Simeon’s magic, but the angel himself was not as lucky. Yes his fall was slowed, but he still faceplanted into the dirt.

The two ended up running for dear life away from Purgatory Hall, further exhausting Simeon.

Well, at least they ended up near a very pretty fountain. Simeon and MC sat on the fountain ledge and resumed their snuggling.

Until Simeon got a phone call from a very frantic Luke begging for help with his math homework.

Due to being quite rusty at the subject, Simeon had to teach himself how to calculate the square root of something and then teach Luke, which was honestly frustrating for everyone involved.

After the homework was felt with, Simeon got ready to sit back down on the fountain ledge, ended up missing, then slipped straight into the fountain. It was a good thing that the water was shallow…

Then to MC and Simeon’s horror, it began to rain.

“Well…” Simeon sighed, he accepted MC’s hand and allowed himself to be pulled out of the fountain. “This isn’t so bad..?”

Lightning cracked in the distance, Simeon pulled MC into his arms on reflex, only to then realize that MC had become just as soaked as he was.

“I… sorry, MC.”

Simeon slowly unwrapped his arms from around MC, but the human remained firmly in place. “Ah, it’s fine. Want to call a cab or back to Purgatory Hall?”

“Y-yes, that sounds-” Simeon felt around for his phone, then winced and looked into the fountain. His phone was lying at the bottom of the fountain… “Do you think you could call?”

MC perked up and planted a kiss on Simeon’s cheek. “Of course, we can cuddle in the car.”

“That sounds wonderful…”

Solomon

Solomon decided to text MC at two in the morning to ask them out. In his defence, he was up late making potions and didn’t notice what time it was.

“Hey MCMCMCMCMC-” “ITS TWO OCLOCK IN THE FUCKING MORNING.” “Wanna go on a date tmrw?” “…ok.” “🥳” “see you tomorrow, Solomon.” “Oh yea- that reminds me- look at this snail I saw yesterday.” “Effervescent.” “Marry me.”

Obviously super happy that MC said yes to the date, Solomon was newly rejuvenated and went back to making his potion. It was six in the morning when he realized that maybe he should have just quit while he was ahead and went back to sleep.

It was a little late for that! He needed to go to school, then go on the date. Solomon gracefully took MC’s hand, led them out of the school, then fell down the stairs.

It um… may have messed up his tailbone. Solomon never felt more like an old man than when he and MC sat down at the cafe for coffee and MC had to help him into his seat.

The coffee arrived, MC and Solomon drank it, and Solomon just sighed in relief. This was nice, time with his sweet MC…

The way they made him feel so completely at ease… that smile… those eyes… those eyes were looking very confused-

“Solomon…” “Yes my sweet?” “There’s uh… there’s a giant spider on your head…”

…Solomon looked up and the giant spider fell right into his drink. He wasn’t thirsty anymore.

A little later, he and MC were walking hand in hand through the park, the darkness of the Devildom was almost comforting as the fireflies and pixies created little balls of light that danced around the pair.

It was such a soothing sight to behold, Solomon and MC sat down beneath a giant tree. MC rested their head on his shoulder, and Solomon let out a content sigh. He was just going to rest his eyes for a moment…

Solomon was harshly shaken awake by MC who yelled at him for falling asleep in the presence of pixies. Solomon had completely forgotten that pixies like to possess sleeping people. That was probably why he was awoken in the middle of stuffing his face with cookies that were in his backpack.

The two unanimously decided that it would be best to head back to Purgatory Hall. When the two had just returned to civilization… Solomon heard thunder.

Quick as a flash, Solomon looped his arm around MC’s waist and pulled them closer, using his other hand to draw a circle above them, when the rain began to fall, the two were completely dry thanks to the shield.

“Ha… HA! HAHAHA!” Solomon pointed and laughed at the sky. “GOT YOU BITCH!”

“Solomon..?” MC asked tentatively. “Are you alright?”

The sorcerer looked at his dear sweet perfect MC, gave them a toothy smile, and shook his head. “No darling, I’ve been awake for 56 hours.”

“Wait what? You texted me at two in the morning, you couldn’t have been awake for more than an extra few hours..?”

Solomon peppered MC’s face with sleepy kisses as the rain pattered against the shield. “I have a weird life.”

“You know what, I buy it.” MC sighed fondly. “Do you want to go home and sleep?”

“More than anything, I’ll teleport us home!”

“NO! Let’s just call someone to pick us up!”

#Obey me #Obey me!#Obey me Diavolo #Obey me Barbatos #Obey me Simeon #Obey me Solomon #obey me headcanons #obey me shall we date #obey me! shall we date?

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fireflykaizoku · 3 years

Note

☀️☀️☀️ Nice to see the Summer Event is still going!!! Can I get a late night car rides with Kid and the prompt 23? What I'm thinking is they both go to a party and someone was an ass to the reader and they leave early when Kid recognized them and was like "want a ride?" And then they have an improv date at some gas station that's open 24/7. I find funny the concept of gas station dates. This is too big. Thank you and sorry.

omgg i loved this. this was so cute and now i want to go on a gas station date tbh :') i hope you like it bby ❤

It was supposed to be a fun night. You were on a summer break after a long semester, and all you needed was to relax. That’s why you didn’t oppose it when your friend insisted, telling you to go to that party.

However, your night wasn't as you were expecting. You were taking a sip of you drink, talking to one of your friends, when a taller man approached you. He was quite invasive and didn't respect your "no", holding your arm trying to talk to you.

He was an asshole and it ruined your night, so you decided to head back home. It was a bit late already anyway.

Meanwhile, Kid and his best friend, Killer, were talking. The redhead checked his phone and realized he should be going back home. He needed to wake up early the next day.

You were walking back home, the streets were empty and a bit dark. You couldn't help being afraid. Especially when a car slowed down next to you. You tried to ignore and keep walking, but they kept driving slowly.

— Hey, do you want a ride? — the driver asked while rolling the windows down.

Taking a deep breath, you looked to the side. It was a man you remember seeing at the party. You remember seeing him talking loud to a dark haired man with tattoos. His bright red hair and massive figure were hard to miss.

You crossed your arms and raised an eyebrow. Would you even trust him to drive you home? He was a stranger after all.

— What if you kidnap me? — you asked. — No, thank you. My house isn't far anyway.

— You’re walking home by yourself at this hour, are you fucking insane? — the redhead clicked his tongue. — Are you even aware that this is a dangerous neighborhood?

Before you could deny again, you saw the guy who ruined your night earlier. In a second you were inside the redhead's car.

— I'm Kid, by the way. — he said as he drove off.

— I'm (Y/N)... — you replied, still a bit shy. — You can turn left now…

He nodded and kept driving. You didn’t talk much during the ride, only talking about the party, why you left and just some basic things about each other. Kid drove by a gas station. It was rather empty with only a few customers inside the convenience store. Of course, it was past 2AM already.

— Hey, can you stop here? — you asked. — I'm hungry. But you don’t need to wait if you don’t want to, you can just drop me here.

He was about to decline, but thinking well, he was a bit hungry himself. Not only that, but the man was very curious to know more about you.

— It’s alright, I want to get something to eat as well.

Kid parked in front of the store. A small group of friends was sitting in a corner, a couple in the other. Everything was quiet, only the chatting and the low sound of music in the background. You grabbed a cheeseburger and a cup of coffee while Kid got a hotdog and a can of soda. You both sat in front of the window, far from the others.

You found out Kid lived with his best friend, worked at a mechanical shop, liked cars and motorcycles and metal concerts. While he looked a bit intimidating with his scowl, Kid was actually very fun to talk to. He could be funny, and made you laugh without even realizing. And while he already thought you were very attractive, your outgoing personality, the way you started talking about random things and laughing at his bad jokes made Kid forget that he would have to be awake in just a few hours. He was enjoying your presence way too much and wouldn’t mind having 4 hours of sleep that night.

When you looked around, the convenience store was almost empty and the cashier was bored, reading a random magazine. Looking outside, a few cars were playing loud music, driving back from parties and heading back home, or probably heading to another club. The night felt so young and you wanted it to last a bit more, even if it was just ten more minutes.

— Are you in for another cup of coffee? — he asked, snapping you out of your thoughts.

You smiled and nodded, getting up and heading towards the coffee machine. Both of you took short sips, trying your best to make the liquid last as long as possible. But inevitably, you had to go back home. You could see the sky already had a light shade of purple, a sign that the sun would rise soon.

Your house wasn’t far, but the drive was too quick for your liking. Kid parked in front of your house and for a second, neither of you said anything.

— I may need a nap during the day but… If you’re free later tonight, do you want to go out? We can go somewhere other than a gas station. — he broke the silence, looking away to hide his pink dusted cheeks.

You smiled, feeling your heart beat fast and wanting to dance with joy.

— I’d love to. Even though I never thought I’d have this fun on a gas station date. — you giggled. — I need your number, though.

He handed you his phone with the “add contact” tab open, and you handed him your phone as well. Both added the phone number with your names.

— I’ll call you later, then. — he said.

— I’ll be waiting. — you opened the door and left the car. — See you tonight, Kiddo.

Before he could laugh or complain about the nickname, you were already inside your house. For a moment, Kid smiled to himself resting his arms on the steering wheel. He was feeling something he had never felt before, and couldn’t tell exactly what it was. While driving back to his house for a quick shower, the redhead kept thinking he wanted time to go fast until the date that night.

For some reason, he just couldn't wait to see you again.

#eustass kid #one piece #one piece x reader #one piece scenario #eustass kid x reader #Summer Resort Event

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im-whatchamccallit · 3 years

Text

Fixed On//ATEEZ (OT8)

Pairing: ATeez (OT8) x Fem!Reader (Non-romantic)

Genre: Slight angst, psychological if you’re paranoid enough, majority fluff

Warnings: Mentions of stalking

Word count: 3.4k

You told yourself it was the lack of sleep from the three days you spent studying for your finals catching up to you, that the shadows you saw in your peripheral and the faint footsteps you heard behind you as you drowsily ran errands were simply hallucinations. You told yourself it was all in your head, but how could you believe that now that you were aware of him?

You had simply gone out to grab groceries, just a seven minute walk from your apartment that wouldn’t take any more energy from your already exhausted body, just craving a home cooked meal before crashing for the next two days. But you could practically hear his breathing as he circled around you in the produce section, feel his eyes staring at the back of your head while you selected a pack of beef and, now, you could see him clear as day as you trailed down the empty streets. You were tempted to stay in the grocery store to stall him, praying he got bored and left, but you made the mistake of going at 9:30 at night, the cashiers urging you to go as they closed at 10. Not a problem, you could just head home, right? But you couldn’t, the looming fear he’d find out where you lived making you whimper in distress. To add insult to injury, you left your cell phone at home because you didn’t think your trip would take so long and most stores were closed now, the street lights and your two bodies the only signs of life in the silent night.

You’d been walking for almost twenty minutes now, passing by your apartment reluctantly with aching feet and a spinning head, your eyes brimmed with tears as you tried to push on in case he caught up to you and hoping your $15 beef hadn’t gone bad by now. You need a miracle, something to ease your anxiety and get you home and away from the unidentified man. And, in the midst of your unfortunate predicament, you saw it: a 7-Eleven.

Your body picked up speed as you rushed inside, the place bright and lively despite only you and the cashier being present and the radio playing softly in the background, the tightness in your chest disappearing with each passing second. You gasped softly at the sound of the door’s chime, your head darting to see the hooded figure from before stepping inside and making an abrupt turn to the candy aisle. What now?

You tried to stay natural, moving to the fridge to pick out a soda that you didn’t want, glancing over to see the man adjacent to you mindlessly picking up bags of chips only to put them down once again, looking in your direction every so often to make sure you haven’t moved. And you did, floating about the store with no destination and him still on your tail, the teenager behind the register not caring as the both of you played a game of hide and seek that left your safety up to fate.

It seemed like you were hopeless but, for some reason, you were starting to get luckier as the night progressed, the door chiming and the boisterous chatter of men filling the fairly spacious convenience store.

“Get anything you want, we’re charging it to Hwa’s card.”

“Like hell you are! Pay for yourselves!”

Laughter followed the bickering of two of the guys echoed off the walls before they spread out, some going in pairs to different sections and some on their own, but the one standing alone in front of a rack of limited edition snacks just so happened to catch your gaze first. He was tall, wearing a coat that looked cute on him but made his upper body appear to be broad and muscular underneath, his face blank and firm as if he’s never smiled a day in his life. He was scary, and perfect.

Yunho’s lips were threatening to form a pout as he struggled to choose. Would he rather have a snack form Japan or Indonesia tonight? Both looked so good but he couldn’t bring himself to choose.

“I’ll get both.” He said under his breath before grabbing both bags, gasping loudly as a pair of arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

“Oppa, I thought you had work tonight!” You squealed in a faux happy voice, smiling brightly up at the wide and horrified gaze the man gave you.

“W-what?”

“Some guy’s been following me for a while now. Please, just pretend you know me.” You said in a hushed tone, smile faltering as you glanced over to the fridge you once occupied, the eyes you had feared all night staring directly at you, a soft whine leaving you as you peered back at the strange man you latched yourself to, praying he saved you in any way he could.

You gasped as he wrapped his arms around your shoulders, pulling you until your head was flush against his chest, his once stoic face now adorned with a content smile.

“I texted you that I was free but you didn’t respond! I really wanted to see you tonight.” He said in a cute yet teasing tone, your head thrown back to see him smiling down at you, giving a subtle but clear wink to let you know he was on your side, your eyes stinging as you tried not to cry in the unknown male’s arms.

“How about we go grabs some snacks and head back to my apartment? I’ll pay.” He said with a gentle smile, your head nodding reluctantly.

You both made your way to the back of the store where his friends continued to joke and bicker, Yunho’s arm not leaving you for a second although his smile was gone now, eyes still puppy like yet hard.

Considering he was a fairly large guy, it was easy for the others to catch on to his presence but, upon turning to face their groupmate, they found themselves more focused on your meek appearance hiding safely under his arm. You could feel your face burning in both embarrassment and unease at the way they eyed you and the man.

“Who is this?” One asked, his hair a beautiful royal blue and eyes just as sweet as your large bodied savior’s, the way our eyes immediately diverted from his causing a few to laugh but the way you gasped in horror as your eyes locked with your almost hour long stalker, body trembling as you opted to look at the ground. You just wanted to go home.

“This is…. Princess! My girlfriend!” Yunho said, suddenly realizing neither of you knew each other’s names.

“If he’s holding you hostage, blink twice.” Another spoke, his eyes cat-like and face sculpted to reveal his dimples as he smiled playfully at you.

“Why’s it so hard to believe I can get a girlfriend? Bunny, go pick out something to eat. We’ll wait for you so we can pay.” Yunho said affectionately, giving a reassuring squeeze to your shoulder at the way your eyes widened in fear at him, his head nodding you onward as he silently told you he had a plan, eyes never leaving you as you cautiously moved to the glass casing filled with pastries.

“Seriously, Yunho, who is she?” Seonghwa asked, voice low as the other watched you closely. You were holding two plastic grocery bags filled with vegetables and meat, you were probably a university student based on your lazy but comfortable choice of clothing. Nothing about you seemed alarming, but your sudden introduction as Yunho’s girlfriend was enough to make them suspicious.

“Look at the guy in the hoodie. She said he followed her here.” He said in a hushed voice, the unknown man creepily moving close by you before closing in on a sealed pack of donuts but giving you a once-over now that he was close enough to get a better look at you.

You felt your jaw clench as to not cry out for help and set him off. He was only a few feet away from you now, able to grab and harm you just by extending his arm if you dared to alert anyone. That wasn’t a risk you wanted to take.

“Did he follow her car or something? Why would she stop here?” Wooyoung asked.

“Obviously she didn’t drive. She would’ve left her bags in her car if she did.” Yeosang responded, a few of their eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

“Wait, but the only grocery store nearby is almost ten minutes away.” Jongho chimed in.

“By car. If she walked, that would be almost 25 minutes.” Mingi concluded, their bodies running cold at the realization, taking in the severity of your situation.

You tried to seem casual, to make sure he was unaware of the sudden initiation of eight strangers planning to get you away from him as quickly as possible but, in the midst of your overthinking, you managed to wander off to the back of the store, eyes locked on the stands full of ramen in both impatient anxiousness and genuine wonder. There’s no doubt the beef you bought was no good at this point, and that constant walking you’d done really built up your appetite. You couldn’t let the boys pay for you, especially after offering their protection to keep you safe. But, you had your wallet on you, and you had to get in line with them anyways so they can pay for their snacks, so why not grab dinner for yourself while you were at it?

You mindlessly searched for the one you usually ate, even wondering if you should grab two in case you were hungry later while shifting to hold both bags of food in one hand, almost missing the set of eyes on you. Almost.

It felt like before when you were in the grocery store, body freezing as you listened closely but this time aware of the threating presence, only unaware of how close he was now. You slowly let your body rise, not wanting to let your guard down as you finally heard footsteps, the faint chatter of the boys snapping you from your daze as you tried to hurry back to them, yelping as you crashed into a warm body before you.

You held your breath, peering up cautiously before seeing a familiar and bright smile, his jaw slim but chiseled. He was the stranger’s friends, and he was cute. If you weren’t so worried about getting the hell back home safely, maybe you could’ve gotten a better look at each one to see if they were all this stunning.

“Uhm, P-Princess,” Seonghwa cringed at the pseudonym, not sure why Yunho couldn’t just ask for your actual name to begin with.

“We’re getting ready to pay. You got everything you need?”

You glanced at the bowl of instant ramen before nodding, Seonghwa eagerly taking it from your hands to leave it unoccupied, but that didn’t last long as he grasped it to guide you beside him, your sides practically touching. It was a bit confusing, it made you worried that your act would be found out by the mysterious guy following you. But Seonghwa was no idiot, his observation skills heightened since he was brought into your escape plan, trying hard to not send a glare to the creep standing in the place you were moments ago. If he hadn’t noticed him moving closer, who knows what would’ve happened to you.

“Hey, ready?” Yunho asked you softly, your head nodding once more as they began to hand their items to the still disinterested boy behind the register, your eyes examining their mannerisms.

You were a little wary about blindly asking for their help but, from the way they immediately took on the task to protect you by staying at your side, and even now as the short but equally as model-like blue-haired guy complained that he thought they were using ‘Seonghwa’s’ card, only to be met with teasing ‘Thank you, mom’ chants from the remainder which left him looking a bit disgruntled, you knew they were nothing to fear.

You moved forward as they trailed on to the side, setting down your ramen as Yunho kept his place next to you, moving to pull out his wallet but you immediately snatched your hand from Seonghwa’s wanting to give a quick apology but needing to pay before he had the chance to.

“Don’t worry, I can-“

‘It’s only a dollar, Princess, it’s fine.” Yunho said while handing cash to the man, a faint warmth creeping to your cheeks at how casually he used that newly established nickname.

You thanked the man as you grabbed onto yet another bag for the night, all of you eagerly leaving the store and into the parking lot, the suffocating atmosphere now dissipating into relief as you took in a breath of fresh air. That man didn’t follow you out, the ambience felt so light and fun with the group of men joking ahead of you as they walked to a van with a very bold ‘ATEEZ’ on the side, your jaw nearly hitting the ground.

You’ve heard of their group, their music everywhere yet never had the time or desire to actually look them up, which would explain why you didn’t recognize them immediately. Although, the cat-eyed one went viral not too long ago for his charismatic dancing and now, watching him and a tanned guy with a mole beneath his eye he pointed and referred to as ‘Woo’ laugh at something said by the blue haired man while the tall one, one that resembled a prince and fairy all in one, and one that looked scary until he showed a smile so sweet it managed to make him look more youthful, you realized they were all hot. And suddenly the intimidation you thought you were free from came rushing back to you.

“Hey,” The sudden voice pulled you from your thoughts, a yelp leaving you as you faced the first one you met, his smile falling a bit but recovering just as fast.

“Didn’t mean to scare you. Just need to know your address so we can take you home.” He held up his cellphone and a navigation system, your eyes wide as you looked between him and the bright phone screen. They could’ve honestly left you there once that man stopped pursuing you, yet they were still looking after you.

“Or I could call you a cab. We know you probably don’t want to be around a ton of strangers right now.”

“N-no! Thank you, so much, I’m just really thankful I found you guys.”

“Hey, it only cost us a dollar to help you, and I don’t think any of us would feel right just leaving you to protect yourself from that guy.” Yunho said gently.

His tone and eyes were telling you he was being sincere, not that you needed any more convincing to trust him or his friends. Not to mention he was right about you needing a ride home, reality kicking in that you still didn’t have your phone on you and, if your groceries weren’t completely wasted by now, you still had some time to save them.

With a small smile you took his phone from his hands, typing in your address and passing it back to him, your body turning to match his as you head towards the van, the faint sounds of the boys arguing over who would drive and all agreeing that none of them wanted to, leading to an intense game of rock-paper-scissors that Yunho gladly stayed out of, a small giggle threatening to erupt from your lips.

“By the way, you guys don’t feel like strangers. Especially with your group’s name plastered on the side of your car.” You joked, a simple ‘Ah’ leaving him as you stared at you with a smirk, almost a silent way to say he’s discovered your dirty secret.

“You know, at first I thought you were a fan or something and that’s why you came up to me. I didn’t think I’d be right.”

“Uh, actually, I don’t know anything about you guys. I didn’t know you were ‘ATEEZ’ until I saw, well, that.” You gestured back to the vehicle where the boys began to disperse and enter the car, but the loud and bitter comments of them not wanting ‘Mingi’ to drive filling the air followed by an authoritative ‘Do you wanna do it?!’ from the blue-head. Were they aware of how unintentionally funny they were?

“Well, in that case, I’m Yunho.” He smiled, a genuine one that made you breathe out in contentment.

“I’m (Y/n).”

Your introduction was brief, followed by a silence that was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable, lingering in the air as you both made it to the van, easing your way inside and finding a seat next to the blue-head and prince-faced boy, giving a small nod and smile that he shyly returned, the three boys behind you too preoccupied in their phones to acknowledge you and, suddenly, the silence gone as Yunho spoke up from his awkward position of setting up his phone to the dashboard, the faint voice of the navigation arising in the background.

“You should introduce yourselves to (Y/n)!”

“Her name’s (Y/n)?” The one in the driver’s seat asked as he started the engine, peering to you from the rear view mirror with bright eyes before putting the car into drive.

“My name is Mingi.”

“I’m Seonghwa.” The guy from the passenger seat said to you as he turned to wave.

“I’m Choi San.” Cat eyes said from behind you, giving a dimpled smile that you easily returned.

“I am Jongho, and this is Wooyoung.”

“Hey! I can introduce myself!” You jumped slightly at the boom of ‘Wooyoung’s’ voice, giving a bewildered look at how fast he went back to his calm and charismatic self.

“I’m Wooyoung.” He reached his hand out to you, which you slowly took as you tried to calm down the giggles bubbling inside of you.

“Yeosang.” The one beside you said meekly, not giving you eye contact as he scrolled through his social media.

“And my name’s Hongjoong!” The blue-haired guy said, giving an enthusiastic wave that was slowly swallowed by the oversized sweater he wore, your breath caught in your throat from how cute he was.

“It’s nice to meet you all and, thank you, so much, for helping me tonight.”

“It’s no problem, we just wanted to make sure you stayed safe.” Mingi stated. You would’ve thought his deep voice would be drowned out by the van’s engine but you heard him perfectly.

“But what made you think we weren’t the creeps? You’re probably in a car full of murders and you don’t even know it-“

“Shut the hell up, Wooyoung, you’re scaring her!” Seonghwa yelled from the front, a hand landing on top of your head to give a small ruffle, your eyes following it to Hongjoong who peered past Yeosang’s head to see you.

“Don’t worry, we’re all good guys.”

“He’s lying! He yells at us all the time!” Jongho whined with a pout, slowly letting it grow into a smirk as Hongjoong glared at him playfully.

“Because none of you listen!” Hongjoong snapped back, an amused laugh from San echoing through the vehicle.

“Oh no, dad’s mad.”

“I’m stuck with ungrateful kids, of course I’m mad!” You couldn’t help but laugh, their bickering growing by the second as the car ride progressed.

It was funny how quickly they forgot there was a stranger riding with them, having conversations that you couldn’t understand about an idol life that you had no part in, Yunho attempting to remind them of your presence to make you feel included, eventually leading you to discuss university life that they couldn’t quite understand and, as mundane as it seemed, was still a bit entertaining.

You could see the familiar street light with a poster for part-time employment at the nearby seafood shop taped to it, signaling you were approaching your apartment a lot sooner than you expected and, as relieved as you were to finally be home and to relax from the horrifying encounter you had, you didn’t want to leave.

These boys, as loud and strange as they were, were peaceful to be around and a comfort you didn’t know you needed. You weren’t really aware of ATEEZ, who they were or the music the produced, but you knew they were good people, and maybe this night was enough to keep your mind fixed on them.

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