#((Today on! the idiocy around me is so so stressful

[scientistsdreams]

Is it possible to knock some sense into people? I'm not sure honestly. But I do know I have never wanted to punch someone so badly before. I won't but I want to...

How can they be so clever and yet so utterly dumb at the same time? It's baffling!

[escaped-goat]

(The premise was just too good. I had to write a short story for it. Enjoy!)

A dragon. A literal firebreathing dragon the length of three trailers. Sitting. Basking, even, in the private pool.

"I don't care what you have to do," the manager had grumbled before shoving you out the door, "get rid of it or get fired."

The irony of the comment given the possible outcomes wasn't lost on you. The greater irony was how you really were the only one who could do this. Outside of poor staffing and high turnover, it was only natural that you, overworked and underpaid and broke and lonely you, would be the one unceremoniously shoved beyond the safety of the hotel doors and put into the stifling summer sun.

The subtle whoosh and click of the lock behind you should have been unsettling. Yet a relief at the sudden quiet of the morning air loosened the knot of panic in your chest.

"Well," you huff quietly, "maybe someone else can manage the guest book today, then."

The polished walkway wound beyond a short curve to the left, the yellowed pool rules sign hanging from a single peg just out of view. You didn't have to move more than a few steps to glimpse the pleased slap and sway of a large, emerald scaled tail upon the water. Soft rumbling seemed to travel under the concrete and cheap hotel decoration. It lilted; the metronome to a song, perhaps.

With a deep breath, you make your way around the bend, getting a look at the truly massive creature curled up like an island of green and gold in the center of the pool. Water had sloshed over the edges and soaked a better part of the chairs, discarded food and towels.

I was supposed to clean up out here later today. At least I won't have to run water over the stains?

Still, it was a mess out here. As the only one to be saddled with outdoor tidying, you couldn't help the heaved sigh that tore itself from your tired lungs.

It's going to take hours to clean all this up.

The sun was still high, which meant whatever was waterlogged would dry up before it became too much of an issue to deal with.

Small mercies.

For a moment, the meteonomic rumbling petered off, evolving into a more insistent growl. Gold eyes flashed, locking onto yours. There was an intelligence there, lingering and scrutinizing, quick fire little slants of slitted pupils narrowing in obvious displeasure. Some parts of the human mind would have kicked in and highlighted the sheer idiocy of being out here less than 10 feet from a dragon. But it never came. Oddly, surprisingly, maybe even worryingly, the only prominent instinctual reaction was a heated bristling under that sneer and snuff of smoke from unsubmerged nostrils.

"Oh, boo. So scary. SO terrible of me to have intruded on YOU."

Another dangerous growl.

"Yes, yes. You're a terror and a killer. I'm not stupid enough to move you." You move to hoist a toppled recliner back in place. "But it's my ass on a platter if I don't clean up this mess before lunch."

You ought to be scared, you know. With your back to a dragon and the clock ticking past the hour thr longer you lingered out here, the stress was present but bot unfamiliar. If you didn't bother the beast, the beast wouldn't bother you. That's how it was with most dragons. (If the textbooks were to be believed).

It was in the very center of the pool, curled up like a lazy cat, which meant working a path around the outer lounging areas would be easy and quick.

Well, quick-ER, came the bleak thought after another brief scan around.

"Alright. Better get on with it."

Hours passed. The sun was at its zenith and the sweat soaking your back and chest and pits made your uniform stick to you in the worst way. It was humiliating to be heaving like some dying animal, red-faced amd struggling while your employer and coworkers pointed and snickered from behind the solid glass of the reinforced windows. Some of them, a few of the kinder ones, mouthed apologies when they caught your eye. The guests peering from higher windows were mainly nonplussed or irritated. It must be a terrible thing to pay so much money only to be stuck inside a luxury room while a single staff personal danced the line of death to make pool-side time more amenable.

Someone was tapping at the glass. The hollow knock became a thunk, but you resolutely decided to ignore it. The embarassment had faded after a while and it wouldn't do to lock eyes with someone and have it all come crashing back and slowing down your work. Only a little bit more and the furniture would be reset and all that was left was collecting trash and debris. You could do this. Just keep your head down.

THUNK-THWAM!

A loud rumbling smack against the glass made you jump. Air rushed overhead as a snarl tore through the quiet.

Oh. There's the fear.

You chance a look upward, catching the glinting teeth and snarling maw of the dragon, pointedly lowering it's head toward the glass behind you.

"I have weathered their childishness long enough." The voice felt ancient. Fierce. It echoed between your ears and rattled in your skull. The emerald dragon fixed its eyes on your cowering form. "Why do you allow them such deviousness?"

"Allow?" You squeaked.

"Yes. You have allowed them to bare their teeth repeatedly."

"Bare their-?" A quick glance at the now cracked glass revealed the manager on the floor of the hotel lobby hall, eyes wide with terror.

Heat crept up your neck when you made out mocking messages and arrows on the glass, customers and workers alike holding markers in their hands. Each one pointedly looked away when they caught the slow crawl of your eyes reading the glass.

"Only the weak wait for the small to turn their backs." Something like gentleness touched the edges of the dragon's voice.

You should say something. Do something. You were still on the clock. You couldn't make a scene or you'd lose this job. You'd lose your home if you lost your job. It wouldn't do to get emotional now. It wouldn't do... but.

The world swam, the edges blurring. Your eyes stung. Your arms hurt. You were thirsty and tired. You wanted this day to be over. You wanted to go home. Go home and... and what?

" I am not proud nor fool enough to deny the mess I have made in my attempt to cool my scales in this heat. But I will not apologize for it."

You tuck your head between your knees in a crouch, swallowing the dry lump in your throat. "Okay."

"I will not apologize for causing the terror of your work kin either."

"Okay."

The sun was eclipsed, water very quickly and very suddenly pooling around your ankles as the mighty creature hefted its body from the water. The shade and cool touch of the water felt good. You felt so very, very heavy and small. Some part of you hoped to be snapped up between mighty jaws quickly, so that all of this drudgery might end.

" I will, however, apologize for this."

Claws, sharp and strong, closed around your torso, each talon clicking as it locked neatly across your ribs. A squawk of surprise was all your monkey brain could manage in protest before the world lurched upward. The powerful ripple of muscles flexing beneath shimmering green pushed a whirlwind of air below, launching the dragon, and subsequently you, nearly 40 feet in the air.

The bright blue of the hotel pool became a puddle, then a glittering blue smudge, before swiftly sliding out of view.

You were too surprised to scream. Too terrified to ask to be let go. Too stricken and frozen to fight.

"Be at ease, little human."

A manic laugh bubbled up at that.

"I will apologize for this, but only because I understand the fear it brings. Know that it is without malice I take you from this place."

"Take me where?" The wind ripped your words from your lips.

"Somewhere beyond this place."

"What," you place your hands on the claws, tucking your feet closer, willing yourself not to panic, "what does that mean? Where are you taking me. And please, please, PLEASE don't drop me!"

The dragon rumbled in obvious delight. Odd, to hear a dragon laugh. Odder, still, to be alive long enough to experience it. "As I said, be at ease. It is far, but it is safe."

Relaxing while clutched like a cat toy thousands of feet in the air wasn't something any human should be reasonably expected to do. When thinking of the alternative, however, it seemed infinitely easier than dealing with the humiliation of being dropped off back at work.

So, relax you did.

Marginally.

It got a bit too long, but I had fun with it. Let me know if you'd like to read more and I'll write a follow-up with an ending. :]

Happy Summer of Stories, my friends!

(Summer of stories is a challenge my family and I came up with for bonfire activities. I have many more for those of you who like short but fun stories.)

The idea of dragons in modern times is so fun because imagine a hot summer day on your vacay and go to use the hotel pool and staff is like "valued guests we regret to inform you that the pool area is out of service at the moment, we apologize for the inconvenience"

And people like "wtf why" looking out their hotel room window and there's this. This dragon just curled up in the pool chilling, literally, cooling itself down

Some of the staff are trying to gently shoo him away and the dragon does a soft little "rrrrrr" like a grumpy cat and a warning puff of smoke and they're like "fuck it i don't get paid nearly enough for this" and no ones using the pool today sorry!

[thefanficmonster]

Beyond The Darkness

Corpse Husband x Reader (Gender Neutral)

Warnings: Angst, Relationship Struggles, Self-doubt, Insecurities, Swearing

Genre: Angst with Fluff Ending, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: Y/N finally expresses their worries, reluctance and suspicions regarding their relationship with Corpse who is more than surprised to be hearing such confession, thinking their relationship couldn’t be more perfect. Well, perfect on the surface.

Requested by @cinnamonbun332  Hi darling! I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to complete and post your request, but here it finally is! You asked for some heartbreaking and then heart-healing and I hope I delivered properly. Please enjoy! Love, Vy ❤

I didn’t choose to be insecure, I never wanted to be so anxious and self-conscious. No one can blame that on me for it’s something I’d get rid of within the blink of an eye if it were that easy. I didn’t choose to fall in love with Corpse either, it just happened. I was taken by storm by the feelings he awoke in me. It was terrifying and made me become a whole different person around him. I was torn between wanting him by my side at all times and never wanting to see him again for the purpose of those feelings dying down. That being said, I can’t be blamed for that either.

However, I can be blamed for one thing: accepting his offer for a date. I didn’t have to. I probably shouldn’t have accepted it just as much as he shouldn’t have brought it up. But, alas, I couldn’t help myself. That storm of emotions, that stirring lava within the volcano I was at the time was dying to seep out to the surface so it wouldn’t burn me from the inside out. Him asking me out on a date was practically the vessel for me to finally have a chance at expressing myself and how I feel and that’s something I’ve never been able to do properly or openly. 

But with Corpse it has always been so easy.

Or...it was so easy.

It was easy until I started overthinking everything. Every interaction between us, between him and his friends. Between our two separate worlds.

I now have a hard time seeing us as a union, like we’re living together on the same planet of understanding and companionship. No, we’re more alike two planets in orbits near one another that are close but not close enough. Never destined to touch. Where I once saw light, I now see nothing. Almost as if I flipped the switch to my happiness myself. I wouldn’t be surprised if I did, it wouldn’t be my first time. I have a way of always finding a way to kill my happiness, put an end to my bliss. The key to doing so is what I already mentioned: overthinking, underestimating, undermining, over-worrying. In short: allowing my mind to torture me.

Sadly, it’s also forcing me to torture others.

At the moment, I’m spending day four back into my apartment, having come back with the excuse that I needed to get some piping fixed in the kitchen and needed to watch over the plumbers as they worked. I think Corpse bought that only halfway but if he didn’t believe me, he didn’t show it and I’m grateful for it. Or at least I think I am. Obviously, there was a part of me which screamed ‘See, he doesn’t care!’ at me when all he said in response to my announcement was ‘Oh, ok’. Of course, I didn’t pay that voice much mind then, but it’s starting to creep back in now and I really don’t know what to distract myself with to avoid hearing it. It’s not like I can internally deafen myself to stop it from eating away at me slowly but intently and with a scary determination that even I myself don’t have. Sadly, the pessimistic side of me does.

Truth be told, I wasn’t planning on staying home alone for four days straight, thinking I wouldn’t be able to make it that long without Corpse, thinking my loneliness would kill me. But, now that I am indeed alone, for some reason, I don’t feel really lonely, if at all. It’s refreshing and new, like a new but old perspective. Basically one I’ve missed for quite some time now without knowing that I did. Who knew going back to my empty apartment would be the cure to my messy head. Well, not a direct cure, but I have managed to map out at least a small portion of what’s going on up there, mend some of the damage I’ve done to myself.

Why do you always do that?

There’s that voice again, and some audacity it has! I’m not doing anything to myself! That voice is!

Saying that in court would easily land you in a mental facility, you know.

Fucking touché.

I think the reason why this is happening to me at the moment is because it’s been exactly four days since I last contacted Corpse. Or since he last contacted me. See what I’m going for here? See how toxic my mindset can be? Yeah, even I can hardly believe it sometimes. Like, how can something so dark be part of me - someone who used to be so cheerful and bubbly growing up. My nickname used to be ‘sunflower’ for a reason, but I might as well be a wilted willow now.

And who do you have to blame for that?

Will you fucking shut it!!!

As I’m in the midst of yet another self-argument, I near the doorbell ring, scaring me to the point I almost fall off my desk chair. I only then become aware of the blank MS Word document staring back at me. Throwing myself into work hasn’t been able to help me today. Instead of it distracting me from my struggles, it’s the other way around and I can’t fucking stand it.

Just like I’m beginning not to be able to stand myself. How Corpse and my friends do it, I have no idea. Well, they have it easy I guess, they don’t have to hear all the shit that happens in this beehive on my shoulders.

I lazily saunter over to open the door, not even thinking about looking through the peephole prior to turning the doorknob and swinging it open. That’s a mistake, considering that the mess I am is now face to face with Corpse. Let’s be honest, I’m past the point of stressing over how I look in front of him, we’ve been dating for almost a year now after all. However, this look on me right now is beyond disturbing. One that would leave him questioning if I need help or if I’m doing alright. The answer to both of those questions is no, by the way. Yes, to both.

“Corpse?“ I croak out, fighting my way out of the cloud of confusion surrounding me.

“Y/N?“ He replies, mimicking me though his confusion isn’t as much confusion as it is concern. Gotta say - rightfully so.

I shake my head as if awakening from a fever dream, basically hitting the ground head-first, “Um...yeah, uh, come in!” I finally manage to say, forcing my feet to step aside to allow him inside.

He nods and takes a step beyond the doorstep, cautious as though I’ve rigged the place with traps. I mean, ok, I’m weird, but not that weird. I’m not a complete psycho. At least not yet. Give me a few more months by myself. Or weeks. 

“I haven’t been here in so long...“ he mumbles, sounding almost as if he’s talking to himself. Before I could say anything, he wanders off into the kitchen, “Where are the plumbers?“

“What plumbers?“ I blurt out, unable to contain the widening of my eyes when I realize what I’ve said.

You. Fucking. Idiot!!!

“The ones you came here to monitor...?“ His answer sounds more like a question as well, both of us just staring at each other as we await what idiocy will leave my brain and come out of my mouth next.

The silence lasts for a few seconds before he breaks it by speaking up again, “There are no plumbers, are there?”

“No, not today! I mean- not right now.“ I resist the urge to smack my forehead with the palm of my hand in embarrassment. “They’ll come back...later! They were here up until an hour ago.“

Real smooth, Y/N. This is why you never play Among Us

Corpse looks around, even taking a peek over my shoulder before making a mock-confused expression as he shrugs his shoulders, “Your kitchen looks pretty tidy for being a place of such complex fixes happening.“

I let out a hysterical gust of laughter, squeezing my thumb so hard I might rip it off my hand, “Yeah, you know me, I like my living space tidy.”

He nods slowly, “Yeah, I know you. I know you’re not.“

The air gets caught in my throat when he eyes meet mine when he says that. I feel redness creeping up my neck, spreading across my cheeks and climbing up to my forehead and ears.

Oh you’d so be ejected right now

“Y/N, what’s really going on here? Why have you been avoiding me? Did I do something wrong? If so, please just tell me. This silent treatment and avoiding is killing me. If I didn’t come here I would’ve gone insane. You would’ve found my walls with writings on them...“ He stops talking abruptly, letting out a soundless sigh as though his soul left his body, his gaze softening with sadness, “That is, of course, if you were even planning to come back. Ever...“

“Of course I was!“ I exclaim, feeling my chest tighten at the hurt I see in his eyes, “I just...I needed time. I still do.“

“Time away from what?“ He asks, desperate to hear the answer no matter how much it could hurt him.

I honestly don’t know what to tell him. I have no idea what I’m running from. I don’t even know if I’m running, hiding, contemplating, I have no idea what I’m doing. Is he the problem? Am I? Are we the problem? Our relationship as a whole?

“I don’t need time from anything, Corpse. I just...I need some time with myself. With my own thoughts. I’m really torn, have been for quite some time now. I don’t know what I’m doing or what I’m supposed to do. I don’t know if I’m doing is the right thing. I don’t know if we are the right thing. I-...“ I buffer for a second, feeling the words start getting more and more tripped up as they climb up my throat. Eventually, they end up getting caught in an invisible net which doesn’t allow them to make it to my mouth, let alone leave it. Now at a loss for words, I let out a sigh of defeat, feeling my eyes welling up with tears, “I don’t know anything, damn it! I’m a mess. Why do you tolerate me? I’m no good to myself let alone to someone else!“

I don’t know where this outburst came from, but I’d be a liar if I said it wasn’t relieving. I feel like a popped balloon, letting out what’s been straining me from the inside for a long time now. Lord knows how Corpse took it, I can’t bring myself to look up at him, but all I know is that I finally did something I can officially deem right.

Suddenly, I feel the familiar touch of Corpse’s hands on my shoulders, pulling my chest flush against his, his arms wrapping around me, enveloping me in a tight embrace. His lips plans a kiss a the top of my head before he rests his chin there, holding me tightly.

“Why haven’t you told me any of this?“ He whispers, his voice emotional to the point of almost making me regret saying all that.

Almost...

“I didn’t want to worry you.“ I let out a half-hearted chuckle, “And I didn’t want you finding out what kind of nut-job you’re dating.“

He scoffs, “Even if you were a nut-job, Y/N - which, by the way, you’re not - I wouldn’t mind. I’m a nut-job for you. Utterly and completely crazy for you, babe. I’m always here for you, always there for you to talk to me, tell me all that’s going on in that busy head of yours. All you have to do is talk, and all I’ll do is listen.”

I sniff briefly, “Now you’re making me regret not saying it earlier.”

“Then I’m doing the right thing.“ He mutters, his tone suggesting I take the wheel of the conversation and say all I’ve been keeping within me until now.

“You see, I tend to enjoy certain things a lot. Get attached to people super quickly and easily. And then, after a certain period of time, I find myself rethinking and overthinking everything about that thing or person to the point I’m not even sure I like it - or them - anymore. At least not to the same degree as previously. I slowly start become unsure of everything around me, even my own thoughts and feelings. It’s almost like where I used to see light, there’s now darkness. Worst part is, I’m the one who put that light out for myself. I always do it to myself and then hate myself for it. It’s a vicious cycle that I can’t escape - killing my joy and blaming and despising myself for it.“ I sigh, nuzzling my face into his chest, “I just wish this curse avoided our relationship. You’re too good to me, I love you too much to lose you, Corpse.“

I feel his arms tighten their hold on me even more, pulling me even closer despite it not being possible. “Y/N, you can’t lose me. Not over that, not over anything. We all have our demons, you just gotta remember to hold onto me tighter than those demons are holding onto you. You gotta let me help you when you realize you can’t help yourself.” He gently pulls away from me, his hands now coming up to cup my cheeks as he gazes into my eyes, “You gotta learn to see beyond the darkness you surround yourself with. Beyond the darkness, that’s where I’m waiting for you. I’m always gonna be there. I’m a very patient guy, you know.”

I can’t help but laugh, suddenly feeling the bubbly giggles escaping from my chest, pressed out of me by the massive wave of relief that’s washed over my sore insides. Sore from the holding back and now even more so from letting go. But damn does it feel good.

“Looks like I don’t need a plumber but an electrician to fix this light I keep turning off.“ I say, pushing up on my toes to only barely touch my forehead to his. Luckily, he sees what I’m trying to do, so he leans down. “I need him to make it un-turn-off-able.“

Corpse smiles, humming approvingly, “I can help you with that. Starting with...“ and with that he tilts his head, his lips colliding with mine.

I gotta say: damn have I missed this feeling.

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[kirisaki-daichi-scenarios]

the lucky worshipper | yandere!furihata kouki x fem!reader x hara kazuya

for anon who asked "OMG poly with Hara and (Yandere?) Furihata or Izuki? (i couldn't decide so you'll have to mak the decision for me c':)" i've been listening to soppy music today and hara/furihata is the most perfect unexpected pairing

You and Hara are the main characters, that’s what Furihata thinks.

It would be ludicrous to think anything else. The two of you are like gods. Hell, even the sun shines brighter on the two of you, lying flat on the floor together laughing at each other’s idiocy, while Furihata sits slightly to the side, never fully understanding the joke but adoring the moments he can spend watching the both of you smile.

When you hook your arm around his, and drag him closer, Furihata sees stars.

Furihata is the character that everyone forgets, the character that appears only in an episode or two. Yet, somehow, on that fateful day (when all the other seats on the train were full, and you slotted in beside him, and he, embolded by the sense it was now or never made some stupid comment, and you chuckled, and the rest of the journey was spent chatting like long lost friends), you liked his company. You were the one who gave him your phone number.

“This is my stop,” you said, before stressing, “Furihata - call me sometime. Let's meet again.”

He pressed his face against the glass of the window as the train started up again, drinking your figure in as if he’d never be able to see it again - because you were someone, and he was barely something, why would you give a shit about him - and, when he could no longer see you, he dreamt of you instead. Eyes shut, thinking only of you. Making sure he memorised your smile.

He didn’t call you; he couldn’t risk the potential embarrassment. But the heavens smiled upon him once more, and, three weeks later, the two of you met again by complete coincidence. Except, that time, you weren’t alone.

Furihata remembers Hara towering over him, leering at him, laughing when Furihata flinched back.

“Oi, you’re not scared of me, are you? Man, I’m harmless. You should meet my friends.”

With Hara, it took time. You were always so confident around him, confident around Furihata too, thriving in the company of who you deemed “your two favourite boys”. But, where you had the spirit of a lion, cool and collected, Hara was a hyena desperate to scavenge the rotting corpse of Furihata’s panic. He found Furihata’s fear amusing, thrived upon it. No matter how many times you scolded Hara for his comedy, and told Furihata that the boy was just a stupid jokester, Furihata couldn’t be at ease around him. 


“Punch him if you want, Furi,” you sighed, one hand pulling Hara’s ear down, “he deserves it.”

Hara stuck his tongue out. You grinned. Furihata smiled politely.

How long did it take, for Furihata to no longer see Hara as the man who was pulling your attention away from him? Weeks, maybe months. It was a slow development, slow enough that, frankly, Furihata himself didn’t even realise it happen.

But Furihata can still remember, clear as day, the evening he was walking home from practice with his teammates. Riko had made a comment about him being weak. It was a joke, of course it was, a joke and advice, but it made Furihata freeze nonetheless - like she had seen right through him and exposed his cowardly insides to the world. Hyuga agreed with her, told him he had to toughen up. Kagami laughed and shoved him, teasingly (apparently).

And that’s when, like a god - no, like a devil - Hara had appeared, a silhouette in the darkness.

“That’s not very nice,” the boy purred, but there was a malice in his eyes. He swung his arm around Furihata’s shoulders, “how’bout you pick one someone your own size?”

And Furihata had to explain to his teammates that this was Hara, a friend, and then, to Hara, explain that his teammates had just been joking. He felt his heart thumping with some bizarre anticipation, like the princess whose prince had just arrived, brandishing a sword towards the dragons all around. This was his friend. His more-than-friend. For a moment, Furihata was a main character too.

When Hara whispered back, “but I'm the only one who gets to tease you” and held Furihata a little tighter, perhaps joking, perhaps not, it was only Hara's arm that stopped Furihata from fainting there and then.

He still feels the butterflies in his stomach when he thinks back to that evening. Hell, the butterflies never truly leave when he’s with the two of you. Moments like when you’re asleep with your arms around him, and Hara’s stretched out on top, a shirtless duvet; when Hara scores a three pointer in a street ball match, then looks back at you and Furihata, with his fingers making the victory sign; when Furihata got his driving license, and the three of you drove around the city for hours, and he could feel your hot breath on his neck giving him instructions; when he spent hours telling you about his favourite train, and Hara didn’t laugh at him once; when Hara invited him to come watch Kirisaki Daichi practice and, when a teammate scoffed, Hara told them playfully to back off from his boyfriend or else; when you kissed his and Hara’s foreheads and told them you loved them.

Furihata loves you. Furihata loves Hara.

Furihata loves the workings of fate that brought the three of you together.

During the days where it’s been weeks since you, Hara and Furihata met up, when the separation is making him sick, when just looking at one of his classmates makes him nauseous - their inadequacy compared to your brilliance, their helplessness compared to Hara’s power - this is what Furihata remembers: that it’s fate that he knows you and Hara.

You and Hara: gods among men.

And he’s the lucky worshipper.

[justasimptm]

The Bride C4

My moment of serenity is cut short by three short, sharp claps. The first one makes me jump, having thought I was alone, my eyes cut over to the source of the noise by the second and by the third I’m standing, teeth bared as an aggravated jitter shoots down my spine. In his idiocy, Heisenberg lounges against the courtyard gate. He laughs, holding his hands up in mock surrender before pushing off and taking a few steps closer, moving far enough off the gate to see that he practically made a Heisenberg-shaped hole to come through it.

“Hold your horses, Princess. I just want to talk.” He says, tone relaxed but shoulders tensed, like he thinks I’ll jump at him. Which to be fair, I might.

“Not a Princess, you moron. And I have nothing to discuss with you. You need to leave, and you need to leave now. Without Mother Miranda here to keep you alive there’s nothing to stop us from killing you. Your kind isn’t welcome in our home.” I hiss, backing away from him. If my mother found him here without her permission it would surely end quite messily, and if she found him here with me? I don’t know what she would do. He scoffs, waving an arm wide at the exterior of the Castle.

“She doesn’t leave the safety of her home, you and I both know that. I have nothing to be afraid of,” He tells me, taking two more steps forward, “unless you’re going to try something.” He cocks his head at me, waiting for me to speak or move, but something keeps me frozen. His eyes dart down to the pendant burned into my chest, flickering down my body and back up, when they meet mine again there’s a strange look in them I can’t place.

“You need to leave.” I state firmly, spinning and nearly running towards the door back inside, but a strong hand wraps around my bicep, yanking me backwards until I collide with the solid mass of his body. “Let me go, now,” I gasp, trying to pull away. I’ve never been this close to a man physically, and I know without a doubt my mother would lose her mind if she caught us like this.

“No. Not until you let me talk.” He growls, wrapping his second arm around my torso, effectively trapping me to him. “You hate this don’t you? This life you’re living?” A spike of stress lodges in my brain, was it really that obvious? Was he going to tell? No, that can’t happen. I throw a sharp elbow into his gut, and for a fraction of a second his grip loosens, which is all I need. I force myself to change, from solid to moths, reforming a couple of feet away. The look of surprise is clear on his face, apparently not thinking I would fight back.

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. The life I have been given is a gift and I am honored to have received it, and to be able to help Mother Miranda with her trials.” I say, ignoring the tremor in my voice and in my hands, “I can’t expect you to understand, you’ve clearly got your reservations. I, however, am very happy.” His eyes narrow considerably and he makes towards me again but he is soon interrupted.

“Heisenberg, step away from my daughter,” my mothers sharp voice rings out, out of the corner of my eye I see her storming towards us. The sight alone makes me tense, was she going to think I let him in? Clearly realizing he lost his moment, he steps backwards a few steps, putting an arrogant smile on his face as he turns to greet her.

“Alcina, stunning as always. I was just leaving,” He responds, turning away and strutting towards the gate he half destroyed. My mother reaches the spot he had stood within seconds of his departure. I can practically see her skin writhing as she shouts at his retreating back.

“If you ever look at my daughter again, you disgusting thing, I will not hesitate to remove your head from the rest of your body.” Her threat is not idle, and I know for a fact if Mother Miranda wasn’t a factor she wouldn’t have let him leave the courtyard today. He steps back through the hole he created, allowing the metal to fly back into its place. Such a shame that kind of gift was given to a man like that. Faintly I can hear him whistling as he leaves, averting my eyes down to the ground and uneasily picking at my dress. I notice a loose seam that I start tugging on, making a note to get it fixed or have one of the servants get me a new one.

My mothers shoes appear in my line of sight and a gentle hand tips my head up, I don’t force the tears that spring into my eyes. She searches my face for something, looking equally furious and concerned. Her thumb strokes my cheek, drying off the stray drop that had escaped me. Without another word she wraps her arm around my shoulders, leading my shaking from back inside. I know she thinks I’m shaking from my interaction with him, but really it’s because he was right, and I don't know what to do if she believes him.

“Did that terrible man-thing hurt you?” She asks, whipping the door shut behind us, “I’ll have to speak with Mother Miranda about his insolence. He knows better than to do that, to touch you.” She continues spluttering out rants of punishing him. I pause midstep, placing a calming hand on her arm and looking up at her. I smile at her gently, forcing my tremors to still and letting a calm wave of energy ooze from my bones.

“I’m perfectly fine, thank you for coming to help me,” I feign a shudder, “I didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t get away.” She coos at the weak whimper I let out. “I had been so excited that Mother Miranda asked for my help, he caught me so off guard.” I must sound scared enough bc she nods empathetically, pulling both of my wrists up towards her.

“I will get you something better to protect yourself with. You’ll never have to feel like that again.” She says firmly, nodding to herself surely before releasing me and starting up the stairs. “Get some rest, my dear. You’ve had a very eventful day. I’ll have one of the maids bring you something to eat in a little while.” As she disappears over the top of the walkway I feel all my energy leave me. From putting up a hundred fronts to arguing with my sisters, the drain on my psyche is enormous.

Something nags at my brain, telling me Heisenberg is not finished yet, and that I’ll likely have more to deal with with him. I just hope my instincts are wrong, because I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to stave off him, and the suspicions of my mother at the same time.

Heisenberg’s POV

A grin creeps onto my face as I watch her, her shoulders slumping and her posture dropping from its guarded state. She’s going to be key, even if she won’t admit it yet. I just have to find her pressure point and get her to fold. She’ll be doing what I want in no time.

@foggyturtleknightangel

[asterroidd]

sho the todorki

↬ pairing: shouto todoroki x reader

↬ synopsis: you like him, he likes you. the problem? sho's in the friend zone and so it's up to mina, the resident match maker, and company to give you guys a lil push.

alternatively: sho being a dork, hence the title

↬ warning/s: profanity lol, a lot of second hand embarrassment, two insufferable idiots, idk if this is too ooc of shouto but just take this dorky version of him

↬ note: a fic dedicated to @puredivinity​ that serves as a welcome gift for joining the sho simp club. luv u mara despite all the cursed images i send

    Class 3-A has four unspoken rules:

    Number one: never play music out loud beyond 8 pm (tried and tested by Denki himself, got blown up by Bakugo)

    Number two: don't leave your room at 2 am or a certain grape pervert would harass you

    Number three: refrain from mentioning crocs to Kirishima. Just don’t.

    And number four: never tell you or Shouto that both of you like each other (just for the sake of entertainment)

    It had become customary to not break these four rules or those who dare break it is rumored to have a thousand year duration of bad luck to be passed down generation after generation.

    That said, Mina was fed up with the mutual pining you and Shouto clearly exhibit. For two years she watched both of you shy and fluster with one another. His face beet red while you a fumbling mess. Truly a sight to behold. It was like watching a romance movie in real time, but without the stupid opening track. 

    At first she thought it was cute, it all started one morning during her first year in U.A. You forgot your jacket that day after waking up late and thus have to rush to get on time. Aizawa would have your head if you weren't there in homeroom. So in your idiocy and frantic state, you forgot most of the essential stuff and that includes, of course, a warm jacket.

    Mina watched as Shouto stared at you from across the room.  With tense shoulders as his gaze constantly drift from your form to his jacket. Her mouth curled upwards, interested with the current situation. It was not every day one could see the infamous Todoroki Shouto so nervous.

    She eagerly kept her attention on him, watching as Shouto got up from his seat and slowly made his way to you with shaky legs. Shouto, barely uttering a word, shoved his jacket to you and rushed back to his seat. At that moment, Mina already knew something was blossoming between you and him.

    And so it basically became her life mission to make sure you and Shouto end up with one another. She made the promise two years ago, and yet here you both were, two dorks that has a crush on each other but couldn't confess even if the world ends that very moment.

    Was it difficult to watch? Yes.

   It took all of Mina's entire being to not push his head into yours. She knows the consequences if one breaks the fourth rule. Two years had already pass and graduation is around the corner, she refuses to accept that both of you aren't a couple. As Class 3-A's resident cupid and match maker, she is more than determined to make sure you and him both end up together. Mina would not be inherently breaking rule number four, just gonna give you guys a lil' push with the help of a friend. And that friend is one that possesses an electrification quirk.

    "Okay, what do we tell (____) tomorrow?" Denki asked.

    Shouto looked over his written notes one last time before nodding and giving his answer, "I'll ask them if they want to have coffee."

    "Good! Make sure to?"

    "I'll make sure to keep eye contact and. . ." he halted, going over his notes once more. "And make sure that I'm smiling."

    Denki flashed him a grin. Clasping a hand around his shoulder and lightly patting it afterwards. "Now, don't forget the lesson I've taught you today. It is important that your date goes smoothly with (____)."

    Shouto eagerly nodded, stars dancing in his eyes. His heart clamored inside his chest, beating in a quick tempo comparable to that of allegro. Sweat accumulated on his palm, in which Shouto then hastily wiped it on his shirt. Despite nervousness bubbling inside his stomach, Shouto admits that he is excited to ask you out.  "Do you really think (____) and I would be a great couple?"

    "Of course, dude! Right, Mina?" Denki turned to his friend. She gave him two thumbs-up, giving fuel to Shouto's confidence for tomorrow's event.

    Now that Denki is done giving him an hour-long lesson about asking you out and things to do in a date, Mina was sure everything would go smooth as butter. Like, what could go wrong? Despite Shouto being a dork and foreign to the concept of love, he still has that natural charm that had some swooning for him.

    Though, she spoke all too soon.

    Mina facepalmed, dragging her palm across her face as Shouto stood frozen before you. She and Denki should've seen this coming.

    "(____)," he started, his voice cracking at the end. Suddenly the discoloration and grime in between the cracks of the wall looks interesting. He kept looking everywhere but you.

    You tilted your head to the side, "What's up, Sho?"

    Heavens above, Shouto loves that nickname.

    The male fiddles with the ends of his shirt, his tongue twisting and throat closing which makes it hard to speak. After class had ended, Shouto came up to you asking if he could talk to you somewhere private. He led you to the area behind the gym where no students are on sight. Well, that is except for Mina and Denki who closely followed behind to make sure Shouto wouldn't mess up his chance. The two stayed low, making sure they are well hidden behind the bush nearby.

   This was now the moment; the perfect chance for Shouto to ask you out after practicing his lines over and over again. It was a simple question: ‘Do you want to have coffee with me this weekend if you are free?”

   Should be easy enough right?

    "I- well- uhh. . ." he scratched the area behind his ear. "D-do you maybe want to free?"

    Shouto paled, he'd done messed up.

    "Wait that's wrong—" he took a deep breath. "Are you coffee this weekend?"

    Really? Really Shouto?

    "Shit— wait! Coffee this free??"

    Can someone take this lost child away?

    Denki bit his inner cheek, hands tugging his hair from second hand embarrassment. He had fate on him; had fate that Shouto had rehearsed enough the night before in asking you out. Guess he was wrong.

    "What do you mean by that?" you voiced out. You were beyond puzzled, unsure what to make of the situation. First he asks to speak with you in private, now he's a stuttering mess. Could it be that he's confessing? Asking you out?

    Your heart quickened at the thought. You were ready to say 'yes'.

    "What I mean is uhh. . ." Shouto wished he has his written notes. "Are you weekend for this coffee?"

    "YES!!" you shout without thinking.

    Wait, what? Hold up.

    "Aight, I'm forcing these two to kiss each other." Mina announced. That’s it. She lost hope for the both of you. You and Shouto need professional help. She adjusted her position, ready to get up and intervene. That is until Denki lay a heavy hand on her shoulder.

    "Wait," he motioned his head to you. Mina huffed, sitting down once more.

    "Sho. . ." you start, a soft smile on your face.

    "Y-yes?" damn, Shouto is such a stuttering mess.

    "Do you want to grab a coffee this weekend? I mean, if you are free?"

    He blinked, your words slowly being registered in his brain. There was a buffer, like an old computer processing 10 kilobyte worth of data. His brain was stuck on 78% in the progress bar. Then, it dawned on him; the cogs and gears turning. It took a full minute for Shouto to understand. "I-. . .I’d love to!" he managed to stutter out.

    Welp, at least that did the job. Denki and Mina released a sigh of relief. High-fiving each other despite the obvious fact that Shouto failed his task.

    But hey, beggars can't be choosers. All's well, ends well.

    You can't believe it.

    You have a date with Shouto. THE Todoroki Shouto. The guy you've had a crush on since your first year in UA. The one that swept you right off your feet the moment you laid your eyes on him. The friend that always had your back. With him struggling to ask you earlier, could it mean that he likes you more than a friend?

    You let out a squeal, pressing the pillow flush against your chest. In total, you've replayed the scene from memory for over fifty times already. You couldn't even concentrate in doing your homework. So you thought instead of doing your responsibilities, you opted to celebrate by screaming and running around your room in glee.

   It wasn't everyday you'd get a douse of serotonin.

   You’ve waited for this day since forever. Day dreaming about Shouto being your significant other; holding hands with him, wrapping your arms around his torso, and kissing his lips.

   The thought brought forth another pterodactyl squeal from you.

   Oh gods, what would you wear? Should it be casual? Semi-formal? Formal?

   A wedding dress??

   No one told you a date was this stressful. You groaned, prying opening your wardrobe cabinet to quickly plan out an outfit. You can’t afford to look stupid and, dare you say, cheap when you’re on a date with the most sought after male in UA.

   Meanwhile, Shouto is also panicking.

   “Look man, you messed up once but that’s okay!” Denki cheered him up. “Experience is the best teacher.”

   “I know but. . .” Shouto took one deep breath, burying his face in his hands. “I-. . .I just froze up the moment I was in front of them.”

   “And that’s normal!”

   The moment you and Shouto parted ways, the male immediately went to Denki for some follow up consultation. Sure, he can fight villains face-to-face without batting an eye. Could freeze half of his enemies without a drop of sweat. Unleash an inferno of fire to defeat his oponent. Tolerate a bunch of fans shoving cameras up his face to get a close-up picture.

   But Todoroki Shouto, for the love of god, couldn’t ask you out without freezing in place and become a stuttering mess.

   “Lighten up man!” Denki nudged his shoulder. “Unleash the tiger inside you.”

   “But I don’t have a tiger inside me. That would be anatomically incorrect.”

   “Look—that’s not the—. . .what I mean is—uhh. . .nevermind. . .” the blond struggled with his words. He had to be careful with what advice he throw at Shouto. That man takes things way too literately. “What I mean is, toughen up. Have confidence on yourself. You’ll have (____) falling for you before you knew it.”

   Which will be easy since (____) is a simp for him, Denki thought.

   Shouto raised his fist then clenched it, determination washing over him. He gave one brief nod to his mentor (that is the personification of Pikachu).

   He can do it. Todoroki Shouto could do it.

   He’d go over his lines a thousand times before the date. He’d make sure he is 110% prepared before the weekend. Denki had made a dent in his schedule just to tutor him how to make you fall in love with him. Shouto wouldn’t let this go to waste.

   Yes, this man is prepared and is on a mission he couldn't possibly fail.

   Scratch that, Shouto’s a mess.

   He pulled the end of his sleeves, his legs bouncing up and down. The male bit the inside of his cheeks, was the weather hot or was it just his insides burning up. Shouto couldn’t sleep the night before, his mind kept him up. It was like 17 browser tabs are open, with three of them frozen, and he doesn’t know where the music is coming from.

   Due to the jitters getting the best of him, Shouto arrived at the agreed destination. . .two hours earlier than what was expected.

   Which wasn’t a problem anyway, since you did the same.

   You huffed, doubling over and placing your hands on your knees. You had ran from your house all the way to the cafe just to make sure you weren't late this time. In attempts to catch your breath, you’ve failed to notice your date standing just a few feet away from you. The minute Shouto laid his eyes on you, fire sparked deep within his heart. Someone pinch him and tell this wasn’t a dream.

   “(____),” he walked close to which startled you.

   “Sho! You-. . . you’re early!”

   “So are you. . .”

   Then silence fell between both of you. Talk about awkward. Who’s idea was it to get these two idiots in a date? If anything, both of you should’ve just left it on mutual pining and save it as a story for the grandchildren.

   Shouto cleared his throat, hands scratching the back of his neck. “Well, since we’re both early. Why won’t we enter the café?”

   You nodded, your voice box failing you. Inwardly, you were screaming your heart out. The embarrassment was just too much for you to handle. You doubt that Shouto would want a second date at this point.

   And so you lagged behind him, keeping a feet distance away from the male. You have a hard time looking at him without making a mess for yourself. Blood rushing your cheeks, it was hard to ignore the butterflies fluttering inside your stomach.

   The café was quite small. A handful of potted plants hung outside, the store’s name written in calligraphy, and a few customers visible from the window. The establishment was newly built, Ochako introduced it to you about a week ago. The cheesecake they sell is to die for—it was definitely worth the hefty price.

   A small chime went off as Shouto opened the door. Then it hit you; the strong smell of coffee. You were not a big fan of the beverage, but you’ve got to admit that the scent was pleasant. Without prior warning, Shouto lightly held your hand in his. His thumb gliding over the back of your hand a few times. You took in a sharp inhale, eyes widening at his gesture.

   This is what they do in dates right? Shouto recalled his notes.

   So this is like a DATE date?? Not a friendly date? Somebody pinch me right now, you thought.

   “We should find a table,” he spoke, eyes refusing to make contact with yours. You’ve managed to stutter out an agreement, too occupied with the feeling of his hands. It was so warm—just the way you imagined it throughout the years.

   You could finally die now in peace. Goodbye cruel world.

   Soon enough, you and he are situated on a table near the window. Neither of you dare start a conversation, because god forbid another awkward interaction. Years worth of watching romance series could have never prepared you for such an instance. You wished you should’ve consulted some of your classmates—especially those who have experience in the topic of dating—before coming here yourself. You could try and message them, but you wondered if it would be rude to pull out your phone and ignore Shouto. No, you wouldn’t take the chance.

   “Uh- So how are you, (____)?” he asked, pulling you out of your thoughts.

   “Oh, uhhh—. . .” how does one even speak again? “I’m doing well, I guess. . .?”

   That was lame, (____). Lame.

   “How about you?”

   Shouto was silent, you figured he didn’t hear you so you repeated yourself once again. All the while not looking at his direction. It would be better if you don’t see his face or you’ll turn into a puddle of mess.

   But seconds seem to drag to minutes, and that got you concerned.

   “Sho—“ you cut yourself short, realizing that he was staring at you with a lovestruck expression. He looks at you rather softly, like how one would look at a small pet one happens to cross by while walking. The way Shouto kept his gaze at you made you insecure. Was there something on your face? Hair? Shirt? Oh gods, did you smell?

   You wished that, right then and there, the earth would swallow you whole.

   “Sorry I was just. . .” he faltered in his sentence, gulping down his saliva. Shouto then turned his head to the side, a blush ever so present on his cheeks as well as the tips of his ears.

   "Sorry, you're just—just so cute in that outfit that I can’t help but stare."

   His voice was quiet, barely a whisper but you heard it, ironically, loud and clear. Your hand found its way on your mouth, blood rushing to your cheeks as a result of his compliment.

   “Tha-thank you. . .” you’ve managed to croak out, looking down and fiddling with your nails.

   Just. WOW. You can’t believe it. Never once did Shouto commented on your appearance throughout the duration of your friendship with him. What he did was just. . .just so unexpected from him. You find it hard to believe yourself.

   All these years, you’ve hidden your feelings for him. Trapped it inside a chest and swallowed the key yourself. Him falling for you is comparable to that of pigs flying; it was impossible to happen. Yet both of you sat there, like two dorks, a blushing mess while refusing to make eye contact with one another. For once, maybe this time, you could tell him how you feel.

   “I like you. . .” you voiced out your thoughts. It took you a minute to realize what you've done. You let out a small gasp and directed your attention to Shouto. He was also looking at you, baffled. He went silent, his jaw went slack, and eyes wide open, trying to find the words to reply.

   Oh boi, did you made a mistake?

   “(__—“

   “BECAUSE YOU’RE MY FRIEND!” Your jaw tightened, declaring it all too loudly just in case he rejects you. “I like you because you’ve been a good friend to me.”

   You hope you were doing this right.

   Unbeknownst to you, Shouto felt his heart break into two after hearing your added comment. His shoulders slumped down, sadness clouded his features.

   “I. . .I see. . .” he muttered. “I like you too,” he said after a pregnant pause.

   Your whole face lit up. Now it was your turn to look at him with a baffled expression. There was a twinkle in your eye, is this it? The moment of your life?

   “Because you’re my precious friend.” Shouto plastered a smile on his face.

   Oh. Welp, Mina and Denki tried.

   RIP to both of you, forever pushing the other in the friend zone.

ya’ll want a bakugo version of this? (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ✧

[bruh--wtf]

Butterflies

Remus Lupin x Reader

Main Masterlist

Part 1

Next

Summary: You're Lily Evans' little sister. She isn't the only witch in the family.

Remus Lupin Masterlist

You were excited to see your favorite sister again. Today was the day that you went with your parents to get Lily from the train station. You'd seen her over the holidays and read her letters, but you missed her.

You saw your sister's bright red hair and ran through the crowd, ignoring your parents protesting behind you. You were only a year younger than Lily, but sometimes everyone treated you like a child.

"Lily!" You call. She look back, a little confused. You jumped infront of her, not minding the boy she was talking to. You wrapped your arms around, making her stumble back a bit. She laughed, hugging you back just as tightly. "I missed you so much!" You pull away a little bit to look at her. "Petunia has been a nightmare! She's made friends with all these jerks who of course just must hate me! And-" Your sister cuts you off.

"Slow down, Y/N," she says, chuckling. "Petunia and her friends can wait." You nod, and smile again.

"Anyways, I want to hear about your year. Of course I saw you at Christmas, and I read your letters, but still! I'm sure your friends are much better than hers. Will you have them over during the summer? Do you-" a boy cuts you off.

"How much sweets have you had, kid?" The boy with dark hair and glasses asks. Lily gives him a pointed look. He wasn't the boy Lily had been talking to. The other boy had lighter brown hair and was tall. He was scrawny, gangly. But he looked much nicer. And the boy next to the boy in glances had longer black hair. Then there was the fair haired boy who looked like he didn't very well fit in with the other three.

"I'm not a kid," you say, glaring at the boy. Yes, you were short for your age. But you had grown to hate when people assumed things about you because of it. The boy raises an eyebrow, almost amused.

"Yeah, she's definitely Evans' sister," he says, glancing at Lily who rolled her eyes.

"Y/N, this is James, Sirius, and Peter. And this is my friend Remus," she says. Pointedly not calling the other three her friends. You nodded at the other three and gave the much taller boy a small smile.

"Nice to meet you," you say. He nods in agreement, clearly amused with the situation.

"You too," he says. You smile a little more and your parents walk over. Your dad puts a hand on your shoulder, and his other hand fell on Lily's.

"Come on you two, lets get home." Lily nods, smiling at Remus.

"I'll see you around, Remus," she says. He nods, smiling at her. Youu turn to your father and walk back with him.

Lily had introduced you to a few of her other friends from school over the summer. Aparently Remus lives in the 'muggle' world. That's what she said at least. But they didn't actually visit eachother. She mainly hung out with Severus. You didn't really like him, but he was Lily's bestfriend.

"Lily! An owl!" You call up the stairs as an owl stops by the kitchen window. You smile at it, and put some food beside it, and take the two envelopes from it's mouth. It eats the food as you turn to Lily who ran in. She smiled and took the letters from your hand.

She looked a little confused and turned the letters over. Her eyes widened and she looked up at you.

"What?" You ask. She hands you one of the envelopes. You see your name on the back of it. Your eyes widened as well, and you and Lily made eye contact. After a minute she grinned and embraced you.

"Ah! You're a witch!" She says. You stood there in shock. Your parents and Petunia run in. Your parents smiled when they realized, but Petunia scowled.

Just another reason why on the train ride to Hogwarts, you sat with Lily and her friends happily. Mary, Marlene, and Alice all welcomed you warmly. Remus and his friends stopped by to all of you. They looked surprised to see you, Remus was the first to smile.

"Hey, Y/N, nice to see you again," he says. You smile back and nod.

"You too," you say. He chuckles slightly, realizing that's what he said to you when you initially met. Sirius pushes past his friend.

"Huh, didn't think we'd be lucky enough to get two Evans girls with us this year," he says. Lily gives him a sharp, disapproving look. You however, were a little amused. James looked down the hall and chuckled.

"Lets go, Sirius. Snivellus is coming," he says, smirking. You were a little confused.

"His name is Severus, Potter," Lily says. You realized who the nickname was for and couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped you. Lily gave you a disapproving look, and you pressed your lips together. Trying to hide your smile. It didn't go very well. The boys all smiled at you.

"I like her," Sirius says. You smiled slightly.

"Yeah, me too," James says. Your smile widened slightly.

You were sorted into Gryffindor that night. Lily was very happy for you. You had friends from all houses, but mainly from your own. And the boys seemed to like you. James plopped himself down next to you.

"Hello," he says, smiling. You don't look up from your paper. You were still working on your essay for transfiguration. Remus sat down on your other side, and Sirius sat down on the floor inbetween you and James. His back was against the couch.

"Oh no, boys, we've lost her," Sirius says.

"She's lost, we'll never get her back," James adds, sighing. You turn your head and glare at the two of them. Their eyes widen, almost with fear. You shifted your gaze back to your paper. You'd procrastinated and needed to get the essay done tonight. Remus leaned forward looking over your shoulder. He chuckles slightly and looks back at his friends.

"We haven't lost her," he says. You glare at him, he still looked amused. You reach over and pushed his face back, and he leans back on the couch. His friends try to stifle their laughs, as you look back at your paper.

"Definitely not," Sirius says. You didn't even look away from your paper this time and just slapped the back of his head.

"I say she needs a break," James says. You flip him off over your shoulder, again not looking. You saw him and Sirius exchange a look out of your peripheral vision.

"Guys, just let her get it done," Remus says, you could hear him rolling his eyes.

"She'll blow up if she stresses any more right now," James says.

"I'll blow up if you keep talking, you twat," you say to him. Him and Sirius exchange a look again. This time they nod. They quickly stand up, going towards the boy's staircase. You sigh, trying to just finish your paper. Remus leans forward.

"Do you want help?" He asks, more gently than before. You glance at him and shake your head.

"I'm fine. I'm almost done anyways." He nods, sitting back. He didn't get up or walk away. He just waited for you to be done. Silently. He even opened a book to read while you worked.

In your second year, you'd basically become the Mauraders adopted sister. At least James and Sirius. They treated you like you were their sister and not Lily's.

They were allowed to start going to Hogsmeade, but you had to wait another year.

Sirius was starting his flirting ways.

James had officially started trying to get your sister to go out with him.

Peter was just following their lead.

And Remus sat back, watching their idiocy unfold. You look at Remus, who was sitting beside you on the couch. You knit your eyebrows together. The other three boys were probably somewhere in the castle causing some kind of mayhem. Remus looked up from his book, feeling you looking at him.

"What?" He asks. You turn on the couch.

"Why aren't you with the others right now?" You ask. He seems a little confused by your question.

"I don't know. I just felt like staying here," he says, shrugging and looking back down at his book.

"Then why aren't you like them?" You ask. He chuckles, looking back up at you.

"What do you mean?" He asks, looking amused.

"Like Sirius and James. They've been trying to set you up all year and you couldn't be less interested. Why is that?" You ask. He seems to think about it again. He shrugs again.

"I don't know. I don't like the girls they think I will, I guess," he says.

"Sure, but you don't even try to find a girl that you will like?" You ask, raising an eyebrow. He closes his book, keeping one finger in it as a book mark. He gives you a questioning look.

"Why are you asking?"

"Answer me, I'll answer you," you say just as quickly as he'd finished. He sighs, leaning further into the couch, getting more comfortable. You raise an eyebrow when he pauses.

"I think we're to young," he says after a second. You could tell he wasn't telling the full truth. Maybe that was part of it, but it definitely wasn't all of it. You knit your brows together, trying to think of his reasoning. You just didn't get it.

So you just turn back to your homework. "Hey, you said you'd tell me," he says. You glance at him.

"Guess I'm just curious," you say. He clearly doesn't believe you. He won't give you a full answer? He won't get one either.

[crescentsteel]

Keeping a Secret - Part 3

pairing: Tsukishima x f!manager of Sendai Frogs genre: sexual tension/crack/fluff/slow burn warnings: lots of swear words, tsukki being a a closet softie wc: 7.3k (Ill just stop apologizing for this long chapter updates at this point)

[a/n]

Let me know if you want to be part of the taglist uwu

AO3

Part 2 || Part 4 || masterlist

“Remind me again why are we here.” Tsukishima tells you as soon as he steps foot inside your room. 

He scans the room and immediately notices the mess that it is, particularly the top bunk of the bed which he doesn’t doubt must be your share of it.

On the wall on the left side of the room are posters of seascapes and sea animals of different varieties while the desk bolted under it are framed photos of Sendai Frogs. He recognizes them all;, one was taken from the first win of the team on the first year you joined as the manager. The second is a photo of the team at the gym with the new members that year, including Kyoutani who had just recently joined. The last one is a selfie of you on the bus doing a peace sign and winking at  the camera while everyone was sleeping.

He kinda feels bad for your roommate now. You’re practically hogging the whole room.

You put down your bag on the floor and shoot him a confused look. “To do our project?” 

When you told him to meet in your dorm, he agreed because he thought you meant the common area. After all, he had no reason to think you’d invite him to your room. You two may have disregarded the club incident, tucking it away as a sordid memory from a night of insanity, but that doesn’t mean it is forgotten. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case with you as you appear to genuinely find nothing wrong with the current situation. 

You seat yourself at your table, taking out your laptop and notes from the trip last time.

“Go sit, Tsukishima,” you say without even looking at him as you spread out your notes on the table’s surface as your laptop boots up. 

“We could’ve just done this in the library, or at least in the lobby,” he says as a matter-of-factly.

“True, but I also don’t see any problem with doing it here,” you answer passively, still occupied with arranging your papers. 

He was right. It really does not bother you at all. So, he shouldn’t be bothered with it either. This way, at least, no one would see you and him together. You’re a person he doesn’t want to be associated with hanging around with anyways. 

“Do you always invite your groupmates to your room?” He asks out of curiosity since it didn’t seem like anything for you to just invite him in, as if you didn’t care much about your privacy. 

“Hmm. Depends,” you answer. 

He takes out his own laptop, but still eyes you as he prods further. “On what?”

The curve of your lips tugs up slightly as you sit up straight and lift your gaze away from the notes you took out and finally turn your attention to him.

“I welcome those who won’t get handsy with me.”

“Even if you’re the one who’d get handsy with them?” he boldly counters.

You cock your head to the side with hints of amusement playing across your features, which vexes him. The question was supposed to tear your composure, not entertain you. 

“Alright, let’s get the fucking elephant out of the room since it bothers you so much,” you announce with levity. 

If you’re going to be honest, the kiss still finds its way to your mind sometimes. You just keep pushing it off so that you won’t get stressed out by it. What you find interesting is that he still keeps shoving that fact that you kissed him as if you wanted to do so.

Well, you literally did kiss him, but it’s not like you sought for it prior to the incident. 

It just … happened.

“I’ll come clean, good sir, if you’ll allow me,” you declare sarcastically before setting a more serious tone. “I admit it. It was one hell of a mistake to kiss you. But I didn’t mean to. As ridiculous as it sounds, I really didn’t. It was just one of those stupid, off-the-cuff things people do.” 

Your voice takes an accusatory note when you ask, “And why do you sound like I harassed you or something? Hmm? ‘Cause if I remember correctly.”

You cross your arms and look up, pretending to be deep in thought before facing him again with a fraudulent shock. “Oh right!” you exclaim exaggeratedly. “You kissed me back,” you add in almost a sing-song manner.

You put an elbow on the table and rest your cheek on your palm as you hold his glare with a snide grin. “How about that?” 

He continues shooting daggers at you but you don’t falter. Quite soon enough, he lets up and returns to the passive, apathetic face he usually wears, which signals your victory for the argument. “Like you said, it was one of those dumb on the spot whims.”

You nod agreeably. “Alright, great. Now that that has been established, let me reassure you. It’s never ever gonna happen again. Ever.”  

Your eyes are devoid of any humor while your words drip with firm resolve. Yet, he finds it off that you’re not asking him to do the same given that you both just agreed that you are equally accountable for that imprudent act. He is almost just as guilty. 

“Aren’t you going to ask the same from me?”

Your somber expression breaks into a humored one as a laugh rumbles from your throat. You shake your head in comical delight while you look at him. “No, I won’t. Actually...” you drift off as you scoot closer to him until you’re right beside him. “Give it your best shot.”

You close your eyes and tilt your chin up. Did you really just dare him to kiss you? Kiss those stupid lips and have a repeat of that appalling night? 

Should he?

He would do it just to erase the smug off your face, just to prove you wrong. But similar to that night, he can’t bring himself to do it. He hates the idea of instigating such a thing. 

Even more so now that he’s already had a taste of those lips. Those lips that felt too exquisite that it infuriated him. Those lips that took away his logical thinking. With you offering those lips to him so generously, you make him hate them even more. That pretty face and that playful smile of yours do nothing but add to his fury. 

“Can you get your face away from me?” 

You peek one eye open before bursting into laughter, making his displeasure towards you skyrocket. Why the fuck is he always your laughing stock?

“See? This is why I don’t mind you coming over, Tsukishima. I bet if I strip naked right now, you’d walk out in a heartbeat.”

His scowl deepens. The mental image of your unclad body is very much unwelcome and unappreciated. “Bring that up again and I really will leave,” he snaps. 

Even with your smile intact, your humored expression dissolves a bit and is replaced by a curious guise.

“You know, everyone likes me except you,” you say with no shred of diffidence.  

You really are full of yourself. You might be ‘likeable’ for a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean every single person you meet actually likes you. He’s certain there are people who you rub off the wrong way -- people like him. 

“Isn’t that a bit too conceited, even for you?”

You shrug your shoulders indifferently. “Maybe so. But you’re the only person who shoves your blatant dislike on my face.”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem with it for the past three years,” he replies as he flips his laptop open and boots it up so he can turn his attention somewhere other than you. 

“I didn’t need to work with you like this for the past three years.”

He doesn’t know where you’re going with the conversation so he doesn’t respond anymore. He’s certain you know why he finds you a pain in the neck. You constantly get on his grill with every opportunity you get. Maybe if you didn’t, he could actually tolerate your topsy turvy persona. But it’s as if it’s your personal mission to aggravate him.

“I’m putting the deal I offered during the trip,” you announce.

“What deal?” he asks as he starts typing bullet points of what should be done today so he can go home already.

“Forget I’m the annoying manager when it’s just us two. And I won’t deliberately piss you off.”

He types the last bullet point before returning his attention on you. “Then what? I suddenly become nice to you?”

“Hell no! I’m not asking for a fucking miracle. It’s not like you’re ever nice to anybody. Geez!” you explain derisively. “I just want us to have a conversation where you’re not giving me death glares.”

You give him a smile, one that lacks your usual haughtiness. Still, he can’t tell if you’re being serious or if you’ll actually manage to hold the deal you’re proposing. Truth be told, he wants it. He can’t handle you being your usual if you two have to meet beyond training hours and, even worse, in private. 

If this keeps up, he might end up cursing this subject by the end of the semester, which would be a waste because likes this subject way too much for you to taint it with your idiocy.

“Deliver your end of the bargain. Then you’ll have mine.”

Your eyes twinkle with glee at his semi-approval. “We have a deal then.” 

You go back to where you’re seated a while ago and proceed to start discussing at hand.

--

With the start of the game season, training has become more intense. Coach Mira had the team work on the weak points she identified with the help of  the data you tallied from last season’s games.

“Kyoutani! Do not lower those arms just yet. Keep those elbows up when you block,” Coach yells at him, as Kogane spiked from the other side of the court.

She looks over at the other players practicing their jump serves. She furrows her brows at something. Following her line of sight, you see that it falls on Tsukishima. 

On his next serve, the ball spins ferociously but is of low height that it hits the middle of the night. 

“Y/n,” Coach calls out. She didn’t have to say anything else as she cocks her head to Tsukishima’s direction with a telling expression on her face. She’s asking you to handle him, and you know exactly why. 

Before he can toss the ball for another jump serve, you yell out merrily which you know will definitely catch his ears, “ Tsukki!! ” and jog to where he is. His blank expression turns into a scowl when you reach him. 

“Can you stop calling me that?”

“You’re so mean. Aren’t we close enough for me to call you ‘ Tsukki ’?.” You ask with a dramatic pout and exaggerated false woes that he visibly cringes after hearing it. 

He doesn’t respond to your pretentious act. “Why are you here?”

You instantly lose the cheeky act and get to what Coach Mira wants to let him know. You’re just going to twist the words a bit to his ‘liking.’ 

This is the problem you noticed with Tsukishima, one worse than his rotten way of interacting with the team. He can be incredibly unmotivated at times, and when he is, he only gives the bare minimum amount of effort. 

It’s the one thing you can say you truly dislike about him because he’s a professional athlete for crying out loud. It doesn’t matter if he’s unmotivated, uninspired, or doesn’t feel like trying. He should be disciplined enough to push himself to put as much work as he usually does when training.

“You’re not going to get those serves in with that half-assed attitude of yours,” you say sternly while you eye him with a threatening stare. 

His face scrunches in utter displeasure. He’s well aware that he’s not feeling his best today and he’d rather do blocking drills for the whole raining than do ten consecutive jump serves. 

“Since enthusiasm is the answer to everything else, why don’t you try it?” He bites back, which you obviously weren’t expecting. He’s always irritated when you point out his mistakes, but thus far he has always stayed silent. 

Maybe the amount of time you’re spending together outside the gymnasium has made him reach the limit of his patience… which isn’t even a lot to begin with.

“Are you serious?” you ask incredulously.

Of course he wasn’t. You might have some sort of experience with volleyball (although he doesn’t know to which extent), but jump serves are difficult. The coordination of the toss and the run up to hit it at the right angle is aggravatingly hard to pull off, especially for him since jump serves need tons of practice.

He detests the practice for it; he needs to run, jump, and swing his arm over and over. It is boring and tiring for him because it is purely based on physical prowess, compared to practicing blocking where he’s actually thinking. 

He thought you’d leave him alone when you stepped away. Instead, you come back with a ball in your hand. You dribble it off the floor with unbendable focus as if you’re trying to recall something.

“Are you serious?” he’s the one who asks this time. He was just fucking around. He didn’t expect you’d actually respond to his provocation.

“Yep,” you answer with your full concentration on the ball in your hand as you spin it vertically. Some of the players notice what you’re up to and briefly stop what they’re doing to watch.

You close your eyes and take a deep breath. You bat them open with burning determination before you toss the ball. 

Instead of watching the ball, he watches your form. There’s no trace of awkwardness in your movements, almost like you’ve done this frequently before. The three-step approach is nearly perfect as you propel yourself up to jump. 

The sharp sound of the ball hitting your hand causes the rest of the gym to look at you. The ball spins ferociously at a height he’s not sure is sufficient to get over the other side of the court. He wishes it won’t. That would be the second worst thing you could ever do to him, the first one being that certain occurrence he’d rather not think about again. 

You falter on your feet when you descend from your leap but you immediately look up to see if your serve makes it. Everyone else, including him, is on the edge as they watch whether the ball will get in or not.

It roughly scrapes the edge of the net, effectively thwarting its velocity. Still, it bounces off and lands inside the opposing court, causing the rest of the team to cheer you on as the ball hits the floor.

You seem to forget for a short while that you did it to spite him as your face beams with inexplicable joy while his contorts with ire. 

Even if the momentum of the ball was broken, you still managed to get it over - the one thing he hadn’t been able to do from his last eight attempts. Meanwhile, you did it on your first. 

You definitely had a lot of experience in high school. No beginner can manage to do a jump serve like that, even if it was flawed.

‘Shit,’ he silently curses when you face him with a cocky grin disguised as a pleasant one. 

“Who knew that my experience being an outside hitter and captain of my high school team would still be useful as your manager?” you ask as you slowly walk towards him.

He doesn’ expect that your knowledge about the sport came from first-hand experience. He thought you’re manager of another team previously or just a crazy volleyball enthusiast.

You pick up another ball and softly push it against his rib as you look up to him with contempt. “Don’t tell me I can do better than you,” you spur him on with squinted eyes.

He snatches the ball away from your hands and steps back from the serving line. He spins the ball one time and tosses it high. Instead of a three-step approach, he makes it a four to increase his vertical jump. He tosses it high enough and channels all his rage for you at the ball. 

With how high he jumped, the ball easily goes over the net. Its trajectory curves when it crosses over and hits a spot a little bit just beyond the end line.

He clenches his fist at his another failed attempt despite exerting more than necessary effort for that shot. He avoids looking at you for he’d be put in an even worse mood if sees that taunting grin of yours. 

But of course you had to make yourself seen and intentionally go in front of him with an impressed look in your face instead of a condescending one. 

“That was great! Holy shit. It was just a smidge out. Wow.” You applaud him earnestly, and as much as he despises it, it makes him a little less bad about that missed shot. 

“Can you leave me alone now?” He drives you away to fend off the stupid feeling. He’d rather you just walk away and don’t say anything. “Not like that serve mattered,” he mutters in annoyance.

“What are you talking about? It was awesome!” you yell out with your eyes shining with flagrant admiration, which annoyingly strokes his ego. 

“Just a bit less and it would have been in a spot difficult to return,” you remark as you pat his shoulders approvingly before heeding his request to leave and go back to where Coach is. 

“Sorry, Coach. I distracted everyone else,” you scratch your head with an apologetic smile when you return. 

“I’d tell you off, but everyone seems more motivated now, so good work I guess,” she commends you with a satisfactory tone.

“He looks really pissed though,” Coach Mira adds as she glances at the blonde middle blocker.

“More than you know, Coach,” you reply with a wide smile as he serves another ball and gets it in this time. 

--

Prior to your meeting with Tsukishima today, you proposed to finish the project as soon as possible so you can both focus on other other uni subjects on top of training hours. He immediately agreed, which didn’t surprise you because even though it’s not game season, you’re pretty sure he can’t wait to stop having to see you.

The project’s deadline is in three months, but you believe you can finish it in less than two if you meet up at least twice a week to work on it.

It should be okay, given that you both agreed to have a truce of some sort from the usual dynamic of your relationship. You actually think that it’s not going to work out smoothly, but you still suggested it with the hopes of decreasing his animosity towards you. Yes, it’s fun and amusing most of the time, but outside the gym where you’re just a classmate and not his manager, it’s kinda draining to deal with it. 

“Won’t your roommate mind if there’s a stranger in your room?” he asks as he sits down and rummages through his bag. 

“Oh.” You thought he already figured it out because he didn’t ask about it on his first visit. “Didn’t I tell you before? I don’t have a roommate.” 

His eyes immediately go to your bunk bed that you didn’t bother getting replaced because it’s convenient when you’re too tired. You usually just mindlessly throw your stuff at the top bunk for a later clean-up.

“Wanted the whole room to myself,” you add.

“Spoiled, little rich brat, aren’t you?” He really doesn’t have much basis for his statement. He just wants to say something nasty and sneer at you because he wants to get back at how you called him out during training the other day.

When he meets your gaze, you raise an eyebrow at him, reminding him about your agreement while working on the project. He purses his lips to the side and returns to his passive expression without saying anything. You roll your eyes in response.

“Well if being a scholar while working as your manager is being a spoiled rich brat, then by all means. Do consider me one,” you answer before looking back on your screen. 

He would have never thought you were a university scholar. You don’t look like the type. You’re way too carefree and all over the place. He would’ve thought it was a joke, if not for the tiny offended glint he caught when he said you’re a spoiled brat.

That’s exactly the reaction he wants to get from you, yet it didn’t feel satisfactory. On the contrary, it’s making him feel like a prick. He is being one, but he doesn’t expect to feel like one, especially towards you who does nothing but get on his skin. 

Still, hell would freeze over before he apologizes. Instead, he prods on the topic.

“Why would you even work as a manager if you’re already a scholar?”

It doesn’t make sense to him. You don’t need the work if your university fees are already waived. It will just pile on to the academic requirements you will need to maintain. 

Your hand stops scrolling on your mouse as your eyes soften, still  remaining on your laptop. “Cause I love it,” you utter like it’s the simplest thing in the world.

The look in your eyes is instantly replaced by mockery when you lift them to meet his. 

“Someone’s being inquisitive today.”

He gets his headphones out and plugs it to his laptop. He really is curious why you chose you to be their manager, but you just had to be an obnoxious bitch and break the agreement you offered to him just the other day. 

He knows you’re too much of a chaos to actually pull it off, so instead of wasting his energy by being irritated by you for the day, he’d rather pretend you’re not there.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” you say loudly with a wide smile, yet he can see the sincerity of the apology through the slight panic in your orbs. You must have realized he’s had enough of your shit. “My bad. Old habits hard.” You laugh nervously. 

You speak again when he puts down his headphones on the table. “I may have quit the sport, but I still love it. I love taking care of players like you guys who have the same passion for it.”

“Doesn’t seem like it’s worth it,” he comments with unheld honesty. You could have a lot of time off of your hands if you quit being their manager. You don’t even need the job.

You plant your hands on the floor and lean back as your gaze drifts to the photos of the team displayed on your desk.

“You might be right. A marine science student dedicating her time on sports even though she’s not an athlete? It does sound impractical. But,” you revert your eyes back to him as you continue on, “it makes me happy. That alone makes it worth it. Even if I don’t get paid, I’d still do it.”

Your face glows with pride and joy with your last statement, completely undeterred by his earlier cynicism. If anything, you look even more convinced that you’re doing the right thing. 

He can’t tell if he finds it admirable or disturbing. Probably the latter.

“There’s more to life than just sleep, study, and survive, don’t you think?” 

It was a rhetorical question that he would’ve still refuted if someone told him that years ago. Back in his freshman year in high school, he thought overzealous passion was stupid. Unless an individual is some sort of prodigy, it wouldn’t get them anywhere even if they keep trying to death.

Still, he put in a lot of work -- more than he should -- when he was playing in Karasuno. What was just a club became entirely something else for him, which, up until now, he still hasn’t put quite a finger on. 

When he graduated from Karasuno, he wasn’t sure what to do. He wanted to continue playing, but there was a nagging feeling behind his head that he shouldn’t. He thought that that part of his life was already over and while it was good while it lasted, it was time to move one. 

Yet, when he was handed out an application form for the university’s college team, he found himself grabbing the sheet of paper. 

He didn’t have any reason to pursue it beyond high school. He knows he’s good, but he’s not that good. He was at university already. It was time to focus on his future and ignore the itch to hold the ball with five other players on his side of the court.

What’s even more absurd was the next day, he submitted the application form and tried out for the team. He said to himself it wouldn’t hurt to go on playing until he has finally had enough. He’d just ride it out until he got tired of it. 

In his sophomore year, he was scouted by Sendai Frogs and that’s when he knew that the unreasonable passion he has for volleyball is not going to go away. Even now in his graduating semester, he’s still not ready to give it up.

He won’t admit it in your face, but, in a way, he can agree with what you just said. Life is more than just getting by and surviving. That’s the only reason he can think of to justify his choice to continue volleyball: so that he wouldn’t have this constant dissonance that pursuing the sport is a vacuous path he’s treading on. 

“Anyways, back to work now, yeah?”

You smile briefly at him and return to the research you’re tasked to do. He puts his headphones back in his bag and gets back to his own task as well.

He thought all is well and you won’t pester him until you both finish what you’re supposed to accomplish for the day. Unfortunately, he thought wrong. 

You suddenly close your laptop and start whining. 

“Tsukki.”

As usual, he does his best to not acknowledge your existence. 

“Tsukkiii, ” you whine louder. 

For the love of God, you sound the most annoying when you use his nickname. Even though you’ve used it several times now, he’s still not used to it. In fact, he does not believe he will ever get used to it. Shimizu and Yachi not even once called him that, and they were more respectable managers than you are. Sort of. It doesn’t matter that you’re more active and hands on when managing the team.

“Tsuuuk -”

“What?!” You successfully manage to get his eyes off the screen.

“I’m bored,” you pout. 

He glares at you unbelievably. What are you, a five-year-old? 

“And that is my problem, how?” he asks with disdain. 

“Aren’t you getting tired?” you ask back, unfazed by his blatant irritation. But then again, you never are. 

He is getting tired too, but he’d rather drag his brains and eyes out than rest and extend the time he’s going to spend with you. 

“Let’s take a break, please, ” you cry out with pleading eyes. 

“I don’t care what you do. Just leave me out of it.” He puts his attention back on his laptop and looks for the journal article he found significant among the other tabs he opened. 

“I’ll feel guilty if I see you still at it while I goof around,” you admit. 

He really couldn’t care any less. None of what you’re blabbering about is any of his concern. If you keep at it, he’ll just take out his headphones again to drown out your childish whining. 

“I know!” You suddenly perk up. “Let’s review for our quiz,” you suggest eagerly. “We have one tomorrow, right?”

He almost smirks at your suggestion, but he manages to suppress it. He’d rather not let you see that he’s pleasantly amused with your suggestion. 

He didn’t expect that that was your idea of taking a break. He thought you were going to propose something completely absurd like watch stupid videos online because that’s something he could totally see you doing on your free time. 

But yeah, he can definitely use a review. It would be a productive break from the strenuous researching and writing you two have been doing. 

Even though he still hasn’t verbally agreed, you continue on. “To make it interesting, there’s a penalty for every wrong answer.”

He sits up straight, pushing his glasses closer to his face as you successfully gain his full attention. “What penalty?”

Your smile widens when you realize that he’s finally acknowledging your idea of taking a break. 

“Okay, okay.” You rub your hands together in excitement before you clasp them together. “For every wrong answer you get, you need to say something nice about me. And of course vice versa.”

He scowls at the idea. “I prefer the opposite. Get the answer wrong and you get insulted. That sounds more of a punishment.”

You shake your head with your lips pressed into a thin line from disapproval. “Nope. If I get even one wrong answer. I’m sure you’ll get into a litany of rude shit you piled up against me over the years. And I’ll just sit here uncaringly receiving your fury. Does that excite you?”

Hell no. It will infuriate him even more if he throws something at you and you just take it apathetically. But he still doesn’t agree with your initial mechanics. It’s not fair to him.

“No, it doesn’t. But the consequence of a wrong answer is too easy for you.”

You place a palm on your chest and gape at him. “Me? Too easy for me ?” 

You break into a boisterous laugh while still maintaining eye contact with him. He just stares back at you stupefied with no idea what you found so hilarious.

“Tsukishima,” you say after recovering from your disparaging hoots of laughter. “I can think of literally one nice thing about you. Maybe two if I tried hard enough,” you explain with your face still crinkled with the laughter you’re trying hard to contain. 

If you’re trying to provok him to take on your challenge, you definitely succeeding. “Fine,” he hisses. 

Your laughter is completely thwarted when your eyes widen with delight as he succumbs to your plan. 

“Great! Okay, two more rules. One, objective questions only. Two, we can’t say anything that involves Volleyball. For example, you can’t tell me that I’m a great manager, because I’m very much aware of that already, okay?”

His frown only deepens from your conceitedness, only to realize that that’s the only aspect of you he’d consider complimenting you about. 

“But there is nothing else nice about you other than that,” he says without any trace of sarcasm or ridicule, only stating what he considers the truth. 

But you don’t take any offense in his statement. You’re expecting as much. That’s why you added two more rules to push the both of you to take the review seriously.

“Better not get anything wrong then,” you counter easily because it’s as simple as that. It’s a review just for a quiz after all. He shouldn’t be that worried.

“Thirty minutes to review. Then let’s start the quiz?”

You take that he’s fine with it since he closes his laptop and gets his set of notes from his bag.

You get your phone and set a thirty minute timer. You do just as he does and focus on your own notes, skimming over the last two chapters covered during lectures. You concentrate on your learning materials but the alarm sets off after what seemed like ten minutes to you.

You frantically check your phone to see if you put the wrong time, but you didn’t. Thirty minute have indeed passed. 

When you glance at Tsukishima, he’s already looking at you with crossed arms and a self-satisfied smirk. He must have finished before the timer went off. He wouldn’t have that smug expression if not. 

Even though you haven’t fully gone over the last parts of the lesson covered, you can’t help but be enlivened at how competitive he is. He must really hate losing. 

You notice it too with the way he plays volleyball. He might look calm on the surface, but you know he wants to crush his opponents. And right now, that opponent is you. 

His muted excitement affects you. Even though you’re not totally prepared, you’re confident with your own wits. 

“Ladies first, so go ahead, Tsukishima.”

He clicks his tongue, his usual habit when he’s irked with something, but this one was forced to make it appear as if he didn’t like what you said. But you can tell that he doesn’t give a shit about that and he actually can’t wait to ask away just to so you can get it wrong.

Unfortunately for him though, you two are just exchanging questions when your mini game starts. He answers your questions without hesitation and you do just the same since most of his questions are in your own list that’s supposed to be for him.

“What’s the movable membrane found on the eyes of amphibians?” It’s his sixth question that has you racking your brain for the correct answer. When you don’t respond immediately, he sniggers like he’s already won. 

But you do know the answer, or at least the first letter of it. It's the letter N. N-something membrane.

“Nictaling membrane,” you answer unsurely. 

The spread of his wicked smile immediately tells you you’re wrong. “It’s nictating,” he corrects you. 

“Oh come on! I’m just one letter off,” you strongly reason out.

“Yeah, and that would still be marked wrong in the actual quiz,” he refutes.

Damn it. He’s right. That one letter makes a whole lot of difference your professor will definitely not let go.

He places one elbow on the table and rests his chin at the back of his hand, keeping his eyes trained on you as he silently anticipates for you to pay the price of your penalty.

You bite your lip disquietly when you realize the rule you set was a double-edged sword for you can’t also think of anything nice to say about him. There’s that terrible attitude of his which is usually your source of fun, but not exactly something you can call nice. 

You have something in your mind, but your pride won’t let you voice it out. 

He starts tapping the table with his fingers. “You’re wasting both our time, y/n.”

You accept your defeat and tell him anyway. “Fine. I think you’re smarter than me,” you confess. 

You expect him to agree unanimously, but instead he looks at you stupefied, blinking a few times without saying anything. 

“But you’re a scholar,” he remarks. You’re not sure if he just disagreed with you or he’s just putting that fact out in the open. 

“Well, yeah. But I’m just really good at studying and have good time management. You’re actually smart. You’re critical with stuff,” you explain. 

You cheated a bit with your answer since most of your basis is from volleyball games. Although your trip last time is also proof of that. He provided really good input on how you should go about with the project. 

“Okay! Moving on,” you proceed before he can comment further on what you just said and milk it to his benefit.

You ask another question, which he also knows that correct answer to. Originally, you just wanted a fun but effective way of reviewing, but now you kind of want him to get at least one question wrong so you can get even. 

“What do you call the structure the lower vertebrae of anurans is fused into?” he asks another difficult question. 

You rub your palms on your face, your frustration clouding your mind from recalling what it could possibly be. You push your hair back and sigh when you realize that you’re not getting this one either. 

“I don’t know,” you surrender. 

His current expression is the most lively one you’ve ever seen from him outside volleyball games, but it isn't a pleasant one. He looks like a villain whose evil master plan is coming to fruition. 

Maybe you should’ve just agreed with his earlier suggestion to get insulted when you get it incorrectly. You would’ve just sit it out and brush it off afterwards, not make your brain hurt even more from thinking about non-existent good traits from the guy across your table. 

You look around as you desperately try to think of something remotely nice about him.

“Oh,” your eyes meet his right the moment you recall that instance, and form a genuine smile as you remember it once more. 

“It was real nice of you to let me lean on you on the way back to Miyagi last week.”

He removes his elbow from the table and fixes his posture, losing the lax and confident aura he had two questions ago. 

“You would have woken up face down on the bus floor if I didn’t,” he says defensively as if what he did needs that explanation for it to be acceptable. 

You honestly thought he’d rather let you fall flat on the floor. You’re about to ask him back then if he was sure, but you just accepted his angry, yet generous offer which you didn’t expect to come from him.

“I know. I just didn’t think you’d let me rest on your shoulder, so thanks,” you say earnestly, not a trace of your usual cheekiness present. 

“It felt nice and comfortable” you add reservedly. You’ve been wanting to thank him but you didn’t know how to bring it up without being awkward for you’re only used to dealing with grouchy Tsukishima.

It’s only then you realize that despite his palpable dislike towards you, he’s not a complete asshole and still cared enough for your welfare that time.

He remains expressionless with his eyes drifting down to his notes, avoiding your gaze as he does so. “The answer is coccyx, also called urostyle,” he ushers back to the question you got wrong, dismissing what you just divulged, which you’re thankful for because you feel like fidgeting with what just dawned on you.

“My turn again then!” you said too loudly as you try to shake off the feeling and put your focus back on the review.

You read the only item left in your list, still hoping that he gets it wrong since this is the last. 

“What part of the amphibian nervous system regulates heart and respiratory rates?”

Unlike previous questions, he doesn’t answer off the bat this time.

“You’re wasting both our time, Tsukishima,” you repeat what he said to you earlier even though it's only been seconds after you uttered your question. 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I know the answer,” he declares with reassured confidence. “It’s the cerebrum.”

You decide to hold his gaze for two second before you burst his bubble. “Fucking finally!” you rejoice in his defeat. 

“Close enough, Tsukishima. It’s the cerebellum,” you announce all too cheerfully.

He hurriedly gets his notes and cross checks if you’re actually telling the truth. You just watch him scramble with a very pleased smile on your face as he goes rigid. 

“Fuck,” he mutters to himself. He must have seen that you were telling the truth.

You start squirming in your seat. Oh man, you’re way too excited to hear what he has to say about you. You want to egg him on, to tell him to hurry up but that might affect what he’s going to say so you force yourself to shut up. 

He raises his gaze at you while you make sure you’re not smiling too wide to annoy him even though you’re reeling from anticipation. 

He still doesn’t say anything, but you know he’s thinking based on the way he’s studying your face. 

“You have a slightly above average face.”

You run that by again in your head, not understanding what he meant by it at first. 

Above average face? Did he just say you’re pretty if translated from a socially incapacitated person’s language? Is that why he was staring so hard at you?

Of all the things he could choose to say something about, he decides to compliment your appearance? You know that you're a bit good-looking, but you don’t think he notices it. He doesn’t seem to be the type to care about that stuff.

Even when you first met, he just looked at you with a vacant expression and greeted you blandly out of courtesy while the rest of the team ogled at you. His apathetic eyes eventually turned scornful over time because of how often you pick on him, and despite that, he does acknowledge that you are pretty.

You’re used to being showered with admiration because of your face so you’ve developed a natural response to it: a gleeful smile with a spritely ‘aww, thanks!’

But with Tsukishima, it doesn’t kick in. Instead, you avert your gaze away from the unwanted fluttering in your chest. You can’t even look him in the eye as you try to collect yourself and think how you’ll respond to that without looking flustered. 

What the heck is wrong with you? That could hardly be called a compliment. Now that you think about it, it actually sounded sort of like a product review with its lack of any fondness. 

With that in mind, you manage to regain some of your composure and offer him a faint. “Um, thanks.”  

Tsukishima looks at his two remaining questions he listed and even though he’s winning the game, he doesn’t feel victorious at all. Your confessions did nothing to make him feel good about himself. They were too sincere that they made him uneasy.

He also doesn’t like that he had to admit you’re pretty. He expected you’re gonna make a fuss about it. He actually would’ve preferred that than you being uncharacteristically embarrassed about it.

Something weird is definitely going on. You’re not acting like yourself and neither is he. There had been too many opportunities to badger you, but he just let them pass by. Same with you. You could have easily teased him about letting you know he finds you attractive.

“I’m out of questions,” he lies to end the damn review. 

“Me too, actually,” you say with an apprehensive laugh.

So it’s not just him. You also feel the change in the atmosphere between you two. Your smile is uncertain and you look like you don't know what to do to remedy the situation -- that is, if you even know what’s wrong with it because he sure as hell doesn’t. 

But even if he has no idea what’s going on, fortunately, he knows how to end it.

“I’m tired. I’m calling it a day,” he says as he starts packing up his stuff. 

You seem to agree since you don’t say anything and just watch him collect his things. You only react when he stands up. 

“Oh yeah. Sure!” You stand up as well.

“I can see my way out on my own,” he stops you when you start to head for the door.  

You freeze on the spot then nod timidly. “Okay.”

As soon as he steps out and closes the door, you plop yourself back to where you were sitting. You grasp the edges of your table as you softly bang your head against it, gasping a heavy breath of relief when the air becomes undoubtedly lighter after he is gone.

“What the fuck was that?” you mumble with your cheek against the wooden surface. 

Part 2 || Part 4 || masterlist

taglist (those crossed out can’t be tagged)

@ameliaxo @suikrem @akaashisslave @tsumurai  @babythotshq @loving-unicorns106 @flairlust @geektastic84 @anaiss97 @berna-dette @just4readingfics @suteorra @xxekitten69xx @simp4tsukkii @music-is-all-i-need @keshinslittlegirl @raspberrysunshinebby @iminlovewhaikyuu @pdiddy11 @lightyagamami @sailorscout1902 @lovershaikyuu  @expectonothinfromme @mitzuya @yamigoop​

[whump-a-la-mode]

Villainsicle | Part 12

At long last... comfort. Villain deserves it and I am so sorry to them and to every reader of this story.

Sorry that this took so long. I got sick (not COVID) and work kicked my ass, but at long last, it is here!

Counselor tries to help Villain take a bath, but ends up forcing them to confront a buried fear. Comfort ensues.

Taglist:

@whatwhumpcomments

@sola-whumping

@professional-idiocy

@trappedgoose-in-a-writblr-room

@literally-just-kirby​

@teachunks

@daydreamed-snippets-2nd-blog

@sunflower1000

@lightdrinker-blog

CW//Superhero whump, villain whumpee, non-sexual nudity, non-sexual stripping, bathing, restraints, flashbacks

Villain struggled.

Well, perhaps it was less of a struggle. Struggling had a purpose, a clear drive and direction. Villain’s erratic movements had neither-- they could be perhaps described more succinctly as twitching. Erratic twitching, their hands balling and unballing to fists, their muscles tightening for reason unknown. Not all at once, but periodically.

It wasn’t a nightmare, Counselor was certain of that. Nightmares were fast, coming on all at once in a wave of panic. There was no panic in Villain’s movements, just stress. Muscles and nerves wound as taut as they could be.

They considered waking them. Trying to comfort them. But there would be little point in that. Not when they would simply be waking up to a cold hospital room, experiencing just as much stress in wakefulness as they had in sleep.

So, Counselor waited. They prepared, all while watching Villain, ensuring that they stayed steady. That they were okay.

In the end, getting the bath ready took almost an hour. Inherently, it didn’t have to. By all logic, they could have simply turned on the water and awoken Villain. They would have been cleaned all the same. But that wasn’t what this was about, not entirely.

So, they prepared. The base had only one bathtub in it, and, more than luckily, it was far better than they ever could have asked for. It had originally been acquired for use by Engineer-- Leader’s spouse-- who, as a wheelchair user, found getting into a tub far more convenient than configuring a shower chair.

Of course, Engineer never went for the bare minimum. If there was something they could tinker with, they wouldn’t hesitate for a moment. Thus, the tub now possessed as many handles and supports as could possibly fit, not to mention the filtration system designed to keep the water temperature consistent practically indefinitely. It was the latter that allowed Counselor as much time as they needed.

In the end, once the tub was filled with sufficiently warm water, the bathroom had become littered with towels, rags, and as many combs as were in storage. Not to mention enough soap to clean a warehouse.

It was only when all that was gathered, when the water temperature was perfect, when everything was ready, that Counselor awoke Villain.

They opened the door to their hospital room, doing so as slowly and carefully as they could manage. They walked across the tile to their patient’s bedside in the same manner, taking care not to disturb them.

Villain’s hands clenched into fists as they fought against the fabric restraints holding them down. It wasn’t a conscious movement, but it was nerve wracking nonetheless.

They reached forward, flinching back for a moment as Villain twitched again, before placing their hand on their shoulder. Gently, they shook their shoulder, speaking:

“Hey, hey. Hey, can you get up for me?”

After a moment, Villain’s eyelids fluttered, before finally opening. Their eyes stared out, unfocused, before coming together to gaze up at Counselor. The latter put on the kindest smile they could manage.

“Good morning.” They chirped. Villain blinked a few more times, their eyelids seeming awfully heavy. Counselor felt bad about waking them, but they hadn’t exactly been having a restful sleep.

Again, the patient blinked. At last, their eyes focused.

The bedframe was struck with such force that Counselor could practically feel it, just from proximity. They leapt back, only to hear the sound again as Villain yanked once more at their wrist restraint. A thousand images flashed back in their mind-- images of buildings collapsing, of server rooms exploding into shrapnel and smoke. Images of what Villain used to represent in their mind. Aggression and destruction.

Their heart skipped a beat, before its beating increased considerably in speed.

Villain was a villain. At least, they were at some point.

Counselor took a moment, fighting to steady their breathing, before returning to the bedside. Though loath to admit it, the restraints on Villain’s wrists made them feel far better.

“Hey, hey, Villain.” They did their best to return their smile to their face. Villain had stopped struggling, but their fists remained balled. “It’s okay. Hey, you’re okay.”

A pair of nervous eyes turned to them. At least, they thought that expression to be nervousness.

“Are you okay?” They spoke, slightly louder this time-- perhaps Villain simply couldn’t hear.

In an instant, Villain shrunk back onto the bed, their gaze darting away.

“I’m sorry for waking you up. Are you feeling okay?”

After a brief pause, Villain nodded, though they didn’t seem all too convinced. Counselor supposed that that was all they were going to get.

“Okay. Medic is busy today, so I’m going to be taking care of you today. I ran a bath for you. Do you want to take a bath?”

They almost opened their mouth, before going back, firmly pressing their lips together.

“It’s okay. You can talk. Do you want to talk a bath?”

“Okay.”

It wasn’t a very committal response, but they needed a bath. The dirt and tears streaked on their face were certainly only the beginning of it-- the rest simply covered by their hospital gown.

“Do you think you can walk?”

“Yes.”

Counselor hated just how much they hesitated as they reached for the restraints. Still, nervous or not, they were doing this. They undid the straps, letting them dangle from the bedframe. They placed an arm around Villain’s back, expecting to having to help them up, but they turned out to need minimal aid to do so. They did, on the other hand, need some help to get to their feet.

They could help but furrow their brow. When they’d arrived, Villain had been sick, sure, but at least had some strength. How had they gotten worse?

“Okay, the bath is just a few doors down. You can lean on me if you need.”

They just nodded. The two moved to the door, yet when Counselor reached for the handle, Villain froze. Even as the door opened, they refused to take another step, or so much as budge.

Counselor frowned, holding the frightened person closer to themself, practically whispering:

“It’s okay. Medic is all the way on the other side of the building. They’re asleep.”

That seemed to do the trick. Villain moved forward. The bath was only a few doors outside of the medical wing, and as they entered the room, the sheer warmth in the air was palpable. Counselor closed the door behind them, before helping Villain over to a wall and releasing their hold on them. They didn’t seem to need to lean on the wall at the moment, but they figured that it couldn’t hurt.

“I have some clean clothes for you when we’re done. Um, I don’t have to look, if you don’t want.”

“It’s fine.” Villain muttered-- the first real complete thought they had spoken so far.

“Okay. Take your time.”

They nodded. At some point, they had changed from their normal clothes to a hospital gown of sorts. It wasn’t exactly a complicated garment, but taking it off took a moment-- on account of Villain’s nervous, shaking hands. Still, they managed, hanging the gown over a towel rack.

“The bath is all ready, then. Whenever you’re ready.”

Villain nodded again, seeming intent on doing little more than agreeing. They approached the side of the bathtub, stared at the water, and broke.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

The washing room was cold.

That was what Villain had always thought of the room as, anyways. The washing room. A structure with concrete walls and a metal floor that dipped every few feet to allow for a drain to be embedded in it. Whatever else it was used for, they didn’t know.

But, to them, it was the washing room.

They kept their head low, staring down at their wrists pressed firmly against the floor, just ahead of their folded knees. At some point, days or perhaps decades ago, their wrists would be secured to the flooring for their baths. Now, they knew better. They knew it was easier not to struggle.

By all accounts, they should have gotten used to it. Regardless of Trainer’s other... behaviors, they were dedicated to keeping their Assets well taken care of. That meant a bath, every day of every week of every month of every year of every millennia.

Their head swam.

They wished they could get used to it. To the cold metal floor, and the chill in the air. But they couldn’t.

For a split second, they heard a valve unlatch and water flow through a hose. Next thing they knew, the ice struck them, biting at every inch of exposed skin, tearing and breaking.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

With an almost robotic suddenness, Villain’s arms jerked upwards, wrapping around their torso. A horrible shiver ran up their spine, spreading to the rest of them as well. Their teeth clenched together, their jaw quivering, their eyes gazing somewhere else, somewhere that wasn’t in the room.

“Villain? Hey, hey. It’s okay. You’re okay, you can take as much time as you need, you-”

None of the words reached them. They had left the bathroom as soon as they had looked into the water.

Again, they shivered.

For a moment, Counselor looked at them, mind spinning but running on empty. In this state, touching them probably wouldn’t do much good. They looked so cold...

Counselor’s gaze moved to the bathtub.

From one of their piles of rags, they clutched a piece of fabric, saturating it with the warm water filling the tub. As gently as they could manage, they draped the warm thing over the back of Villain’s neck, letting water droplets dribble down their exposed back.

Villain blinked, their eyes once again fixating on something real.

“Are you alright?”

They nodded.

“Are you sure?”

Another nod.

“The water is warm. It’s okay. I promise. Do you want to get in?”

“Yes.”

“Do you need any help?”

Villain shook their head as the rest of their body experienced one last shiver. They stepped into the water first, one foot after the other. The nonslip pad firmly secured to the bottom of the tub ensured that they had no issues sitting down. For a second, they seemed almost instinctively to kneel, before they moved to a sort of sitting position instead. They held their knees to their chest, as if trying to conserve warmth.

That hardness, that tension in their muscles, only seemed to stay for a moment. Then, like dye dissolving in water, it seemed to slowly dissipate. Not gone, but lessened.

It was working.

“I’m just going to try to get some dirt off of you, okay? If you ever want me to stop, just say so. Is that okay?”

“Yeah.”

Their voice, too, seemed to have relaxed, just ever so slightly, as if their vocal cords themselves had been tense beforehand.

Counselor began.

Had this been a regular bath, simple soap and water would have easily sufficed. This, however, was not a normal bath.

Sweat and tears and general filth had managed to accumulate over their skin, carving dark marks throughout. Blooming from their chest, as well, a half-healed scar was surrounded by dried blood that had been there for far too long.

With a small pitcher, they took water from the tub, pouring it over Villain’s body and rubbing with a washcloth. Their movements were gentle, as much as they could make them, and it seemed that wherever their washcloth moved, tension would dissolve like snow under sunlight.

It was in that manner that they cleaned the dirt, the tears and the sweat, the blood and the muck. The bathwater threatened at points to turn brown, but such attempts were quickly thwarted by the filter that continued to run with its subtle background flicking sound.

After several minutes of this (or, probably, more like half an hour), Counselor felt that enough tension had dissipated that, just maybe, Villain would be able to talk back. And they certainly had a lot to talk about. Without stopping their cleaning, they spoke, their voice blending in with the subtle movement of the water:

“How are you feeling, Villain?”

“The water is warm.” It was almost slurred.

““Does it feel nice?”

“Yeah.”

Counselor took a new washcloth, wetted it, and moved it to Villain’s cheek, carving a patch of cleanliness through a lifetime of dirt. They leaned into the touch.

“Were you scared, earlier?”

“I... I think so.”

“Do you want to talk about why you were scared.”

“I- Um, I don’t... I don’t like baths.”

“Do you know why that is?”

Some of that tension returned, in their neck.

“I don’t know.”

“That’s okay.” Counselor smiled. “Do you like this bath?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m glad.”

Villain hummed something, but if it was meant to be words, the message didn’t get across.

“Villain?”

“Mhm?”

“How have you been feeling, recently?”

“Um... I’ve been feeling fine.”

“You don’t have to be formal with me.” Taking care to avoid their eye, Counselor drew the washcloth between the bridge of Villain’s nose and the corner of their eyelid. They couldn’t help but feel that the marks, here, were mostly from tears. “You can tell me how you’re really feeling. I want to help.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been feeling... sick.”

“Yeah. I think that’s why they moved you to the medical wing.”

“I don’t want to be there.”

“I know.” Counselor gave a sympathetic frown. “The sooner you get better, though, the sooner you can get out of there.” They put down their washcloth, picking the pitcher up once more. With one hand, they pushed the Villain’s bangs back, protecting their face at the same time. With the other, they poured a steady stream of water onto their hair. “What has the sickness been like? Is it like a cold?”

“No. It’s not a cold.”

“What is it like?”

“Like... Like I’m tired. And cold.”

“All the time?”

“Yeah.”

“When did you start feeling like that?”

Villain looked to Counselor, for the first time making direct, sustained eye contact. Counselor took a handful of shampoo, beginning to lather it into their hair. Again, they leaned into the touch as if it was their lifeline.

“Counselor?”

“Yeah?”

“Medic is making me sick.”

They finished their lathering, pouring another pitcher of water of their hair, washing the soap out into the tub below.

“Medic is making you sick?”

“Mhm.”

“How... How are they making you sick?”

“The food. They’re putting something in the food.”

Counselor felt like freezing, but knew that doing so would send Villain back to hiding in their proverbial corner. With their hair clean, they moved to rubbing soap over the rest of the skin, which had now been marginally cleaned off.

“Villain.” They frowned, again. “Do you have any special dietary requirements? Or do you need any medications?”

“No.”

Counselor pursed their lips into a thin line as they rubbed a thin film of white soap onto Villain’s shoulder blades.

“Medic told me that you needed special food. That it was the kind of thing that needed a doctor’s care.”

Villain nodded, a single hand balling into a fist.

“They’re making me sick.”

They finished rubbing the soap along their back, and briefly washed their hands on a cloth before picking the pitcher back up to finish rinsing.

“I believe you.”

“Y- You do?”

Warm water ran down their front.

“I do. And when we’re done here, we’re going to get you some real food. Then I’m going to give Medic a piece of my fucking mind.”

[imagines-r-s]

sticking it - j. farabee

chapter 6

a/n: now you’ll all see why i said be excited for ch. 6 lmao. (also, with ch. 5 not showing up in the tags for a minute, some might not have seen it, so i’ll link it here) but anyways, this chapter was difficult to write bc i’m not used to writing anything but angst lmao. and huge shoutout to my baby gracie for helping me out with this chapter. please enjoy and i’d love to hear feedback

also, like i told an anon, this is in memory of bee’s hair :((  (he still looks good with the new hair, don’t get me wrong)

taglist: @butgilinsky @barbienoturbby @sunsetholland​ @lovenhlboys @sortagaysortahigh @hockey-racing-fubol @oopsiedoopsie23 @iwantahockeyhimbo @dreamsndior

warnings: (2) your mom jokes, jealous!joel?, once again simp nation for the both of them, swearing (it’s a problem ngl), idiocy 

sticking it masterlist

wc: 4.1k

(gif not mine)

When you told Marcus and Michelle that you had to be out for a month, they advised you to only come to the gym three times a week for two hours for the first two weeks and you’d figure out a plan for the two weeks after, that way you could take a much needed break out of the gym. The thing stressing you out the most was gym and they obviously realized it, so they were hopeful it would give you a chance to breathe. 

You planned to go to the gym Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays from 6-8am and then you would spend the rest of your day at home doing whatever you needed to do that day. The first Monday you spent those two hours doing ab workouts and helping the other girls around the gym, then you went home and stayed in your room for the rest of the day. You put your phone on do not disturb, so no one heard from you, which caused Kevin to come to your apartment to make sure you were okay. 

Tuesday played out the exact same way, early practice, then going home and staying in bed, and Kevin coming to make sure you were alright. Kevin even invited you to come out with him and some of the boys, which you politely declined saying they should have their time together. Wednesday, you simply stayed in bed, choosing to actually keep your phone on today, you were just tired and felt drained from everything going on right now that you couldn’t really muster up the energy to talk to anyone. 

Wednesday night, as you were rewatching Marvel movies, your phone started ringing with a call from Ryanne. Quickly answering it, “hey Ry.”

“Hey babes, how’re you doing?”

“I’ve been better, I’ve also been worse, so.”

“Me and Claude were wondering if you’d want to come over and hang out with us and Gav for some of the day, we’ll provide food and such, but we miss you, babe. So, we figured we’d ask while you have a chance.” 

In reality, Ryanne had heard from Claude that you wouldn’t be able to do extensive training for at least a month. She might not have known much about gymnastics, but she knew you well enough to know that you were always constantly training - she was well aware that if that ever got taken from Claude that he would be devastated if he was out for that long and with two weeks to prepare for a big game.

She had checked in to see how you were with Kevin one day after practice and when he mentioned everything that was going on, she was worried about you. She knew that she likely wouldn’t be able to help much, but she did know that there was one part of the equation she could help. Knowing that she already had a plan to have a send off party before the boys went on a roadie and also knowing that everyone on the team would be there, she somehow conveniently planned to invite you over a few hours before it started. 

“Oh, yeah, I’d love to, honestly. What time do you want me over?”

“Anytime after three is fine. I’ll see you then, hun. Oh, and wear something cute.”

“Why exactly?”

“Just do it,” Ryanne said, not having time to think of an excuse, “bye.”

As you were about to say something else, the ring that told you she had hung up rang out. 

…..

Joel wasn’t doing as good as he wanted to be recently and with an upcoming roadie, he knew he needed to spend more time on the ice before the game. Having asked a few of the guys to work with him during an unscheduled morning skate, he was able to work on what he needed to. 

“Wait, so she’s out how long?” Joel overheard Travis ask Kevin as he made his way into the locker room. 

“Like four weeks, but two weeks with the brace and basically no training, then two weeks with athletic tape on her knee and no hard landings. But she’ll only have two weeks before Championships, so she's not feeling too great about it. Plus, she has to use her brace and crutches again and she didn’t enjoy that the first time,” Kevin replied. 

“Is she going to be okay?” Joel hadn’t meant to ask his question aloud, but as soon as Kevin heard his voice a smile grew on his face. 

“Yeah, Lover Boy, she’ll be fine. She hasn’t really been up to do anything recently, but other than that I think she’ll be okay. She has to use her crutches again, which is honestly very entertaining,” Kevin stated before turning to leave the locker room, turning right as he got to the doorway, “random question, are you planning on going to G’s for the send off party tomorrow night?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Just wondering,” and with that Kevin was gone, leaving a confused Joel behind. 

Kevin knew that you had a lot on your plate right now and that you wouldn’t want to go to anyone about your problems. He also knew that the both you and Joel, were simply too stubborn to fix the problem going on between you on your own, hence why he had mentioned something to Ryanne. He knew that Ryanne would jump at the chance to be able to help you feel better and as soon as she mentioned the party set-up idea, he was in. The plan was then mentioned to most of the team, knowing that the help of many was needed in order to help the two idiots. 

….. 

After sending Kevin a quick text that you were leaving, you left your apartment and made your way to Ryanne and Claude’s house. Gently knocking on the door, you smiled when Ryanne opened the door, “awe, babe, I’m so happy you’re here, I missed you so much.”

“I missed you, too. Not to be rude, but where is the tiny human?” you asked, looking past Ryanne to see Gavin walking towards you, “hi, bub. Oh my god, you’re getting so big.” 

“Well if you came around more often, you’d get to see him more,” Ryanne mumbled, watching you play with the boy in front of you. 

“I heard that,” you said, in a sing-song voice.

“You were supposed to,” she replied, mocking your tone, “anyways, Claude is on his way back from the store, so he’ll be here soon, but I haven’t talked to you in forever, how’s everything? How’s gym?”

“Oh, well. I’ve been better, this last meet definitely wasn’t all that great and not being able to train doesn’t really help my case either, but I’m making the most of it,” you said, shrugging. 

“And you’re actually having to listen to Adrian this time around?” she said, pointedly, causing you to chuckle. 

“Yeah, I have to actually listen to Adrian this time,” you smiled, “I hate that I have to actually wear my knee brace, though. And I have to use crutches. Can you believe that?”

“Considering it’s you, I’m more shocked that you’re actually using them.” 

“Ry, shh, let’s not call me out too much today,” you replied. 

It wasn’t too long before you heard the front door open, Claude walking in a few seconds later, “awe, it’s my favorite babysitter. Come on, babe, let’s leave while we can.”

“Haha, I almost forgot how funny you are, G,” you said, sarcastically. 

“I’m sure, I’m sure. You know what would be nice though?”

“What?”

“Helping me put the groceries up,” he said, smiling sweetly causing you to groan. 

“Are chores and babysitting all I’m good for to you?”

“Well,” he looked up to the ceiling, as if he were thinking for another answer,”hm, nothing comes to mind, y/n/n.”

“Oh, that was mean,” Ryanne said, playfully elbowing Claude. 

“Thank-”

“She’ll never babysit again if we’re mean to her,” Ryanne smirked. 

“Oh, wow, I see how it is, don’t worry,” you said, the three of you laughing. 

As the three of you were setting out groceries - you mostly sitting on the kitchen island, taking things out of the bag - the three of you caught up. Claude talking about his hopes for these next few games, Ryanne talking about how Gavin was doing - not missing the few times Gav ran through the kitchen -, and you talking about whatever you could. 

“Ok, so we haven’t brought this up yet, but I was just wondering if you had any idea what’s going on with Beezer? I know you guys had gotten closer recently and he’s just not himself, so I’m asking if you know anything,” Claude asked, closing the fridge before turning back to you. Both him and Ryanne had a pretty good idea of what happened, but if they were missing something, they wanted to know. 

“Oh, um, well, about that one,” you sighed, gathering your thoughts, “me and him kinda haven’t talked since I told him I only wanted to be friends.” 

“Ok, but from the looks of it, it looked like both of you wanted to be more than friends?” 

“Yeah, but, there’s a lot more to it, you know.”

“No, actually, I’m a tad bit lost, y/n/n.”

“Look, I can’t have any distractions right now and I was worried about it affecting gymnastics, so I told him I only want to be friends.”

“That’s dumb,” Claude replied, quickly.

“Thank you, many people have mentioned that.”

“He has no place to talk in a situation like this,” Ryanne finally spoke up, causing you to look between the pair confused, “when his life was just hockey, hockey, and hockey, nothing could fill those spots. So, when our relationship was first starting he did the same thing to me that you’re doing to Bee.”

“This was supposed to be a philosophical moment and you messed it up,” Claude replied. 

“I didn’t mess it up, you’re just mad because you basically called yourself dumb. But pushing him away isn’t a smart option and it just hurts both of you in the process,” Ryanne said before walking back to where Gavin was. 

“Look, I know you said you didn’t want distractions, but this seems to be having a worse effect on you than you hoped. From the looks of it, when you started pushing him away, it affected your performance. Just pointing that out for you.”

“Yeah, I know. You didn’t have to point it out, you know.”

“Yeah, but you would have continued to ignore the obvious fact that you were just scared of a relationship in general,” he shrugged.

“I don’t even know how to talk to him about it or at least how to start the conversation.”

“Well, lucky for you,” he looked down to check his watch, “the guys are all coming over in like 10 minutes, so you’ll see him then.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, it’s a send off party for the roadie this weekend, why do you think we got so many groceries?” and with that he left you in the kitchen by yourself. 

…..

Joel sat in the backseat of Kevin’s car, Nolan in the passenger seat, as they made their way to G’s house. By the time they got there, most of the guys had already gotten there, seeing a few familiar cars in the driveway, but one stood out in particular. He knew that it was yours from some of the times he had seen you driving, “what’s y/n/n doing here?”

Nolan and Kevin both chuckled at that, “she came over here earlier to watch Gavin, I think,” Kevin said. 

“Oh, cool,” Joel replied, attempting to sound nonchalant as possible 

“Don’t try to act like you’re not freaking out. You aren’t slick, dude,” Nolan added, shaking his head, “you two better talk, too. Because everyone is tired of the two of you being idiots and not talking shit out.” 

“We’re not idiots.”

“You are,” the other two said in unison. Joel didn’t try to argue as he followed the pair inside their captain’s house. 

As soon as he entered the house, he took note that almost all the team was here, most of the team was outside, but he immediately found you sitting on one of the barstools with Gavin sitting on your lap as you talked with Ryanne. “Go talk to her,” Nolan whispered, causing him to jump. 

“God, Pat. What the fuck?” Joel said turning around. 

“I said what I said. You’ll have to talk at some point, might as well just do it. Plus, she’s on crutches, so like, if she wants to run away it will take her a while.”

“Um, that’s- I mean, that’s valid, but-”

“At some point today, you should talk to her. I obviously can’t make you and it’s up to you, but I think it would help fix things,” Nolan said, shrugging.

“Yeah, I know, I know. I plan on it.” 

You and Ryanne had stayed inside with Gav since the boys were grilling outside, so when Nolan, Kevin, and Joel walked in, you were one of the first people to notice. Kevin made his way over to you almost as soon as he came in, “so, you enjoying the party?”

“Considering I didn’t know it was happening, sure I’m having a great time, Kev.”

“Well, I guess it’s a surprise party then,” you quickly shot him a glare, “surprise.” 

As you heard the back door open, you looked up to see Joel already looking at you, shooting you a quick smile as he followed his teammate to go outside. “I swear, if all you guys do tonight is spare glances at each other and don’t talk, I’m going to lose it,” Ryanne said from beside you. 

“I think everyone will, to be honest,” Kevin added, “well, I’m going outside. If you need any help, just let me know.” 

The boys had a few different plans in place to get the two of you to talk; conveniently sending Joel in to help while you were inside, telling Joel to go help out inside, asking Joel to get Gavin, and as a last resort, make Joel jealous. 

When everyone had been done eating, Claude asked some of the younger guys to help him clean up and bring out the cooler with drinks that was still inside. Joel had somehow conveniently avoided going inside while helping and when he did, he went straight to the kitchen and right back out. He wasn’t wanting to avoid you all night, but he didn’t know what to do. Shortly after, Claude had asked Joel to go in and get Gavin, somehow right as you had left Gavin with Ryanne, which also ruined that plan. 

Ryanne knew that it would be suspicious if they kept trying those same plans. So instead, she basically forced you to go outside with her. She helped you get outside, Kevin shooting up from his chair to help you get down the stairs of the deck, “you don’t have to help me out, Kev.”

“Knowing you, you would trip and break something. You’re already hurt enough,” he said, causing you to roll your eyes. As Kevin looked up, he didn’t miss the way Joel lit up as he saw you, “hey, your boy is looking over here.”

Looking up, your eyes once again met his, to which you sent him a light smile, “yeah, he’s been watching me since I stepped out here.”

“y/n/n, you would only know that if you were looking at him, too.”

“Yeah, I never said that I wasn’t though.” 

“You know, it’s obvious the two of you aren’t mad at each other or anything like that. So, why the fuck haven’t you talked yet?”

“Oh, um. Words are hard,” you said, walking away towards Travis and Nolan on your crutches. 

“You’re literally on crutches, you aren’t moving that fast.”

“You know who else isn’t moving that fast?”

“y/n. I swear, if this is another your-”

“Your mom,” you yelled back to him. 

“What is up with you and making your mom jokes?” Nolan asked as you got closer to them. 

“They’re funny?” 

“y/n/n just has the sense of humor of a middle school boy, that’s why her and Beezer got along so well,” Travis added, helping you move your crutches so you could sit down at the table they were at, “how are the crutches?”

“How’s your mom?” you laughed, causing the two of them to groan, “nah, they’re not fun. In any way shape or form.”

As you were talking to Nolan and Teeks, Kevin and Ryanne realized that none of the plans they had tried were working. Both of them knew that the only plan that would probably work was to make Joel jealous, so Kevin texted Carter, Morgan, Nolan, and Teeks to let them know that was the plan that they were going with. 

“y/n looks really good today,” Carter said, causing Joel to spit out his drink. 

“Better watch yourself, Hartsy,” Joel replied, shooting a glare towards his friend. 

“I was just being honest, she really does. There’s nothing going on between you guys anymore, right?” Carter watched as Joel visibly tensed at the mention of what was happening between the two of you, knowing that the plan was working he continued, “I mean, if nothings going on between you two, then she’s single, right?”

“Well, I mean-” Joel stuttered out, “we haven’t talked in a while, but that doesn’t mean-”

“I’ll be right back, okay?” Carter said, making his way over to the table you were at, causing Nolan and TK to chuckle as they saw Joel’s face drop, “hey, y/n/n.”

“Hey, Hartsy, it’s been a minute. How is everything?” you smiled. You kept talking to the group around you for a while, not noticing the way Joel was becoming visibly angry. He didn’t want to seem jealous, but he assumed that Carter had been flirting with you this whole time, so he made the executive decision to talk to you now. 

Since your back was facing him, you didn’t see him coming, but the three boys around you did, only trying to hide their smiles since the plan was actually working. “Hey y/n, can we talk?” he asked. 

You turned around to finally face the boy you had been avoiding, “yeah, hold on a sec.” As you continued some of your conversation, Joel was getting more and more irritated, mostly because Carter was sending looks his way that he couldn’t exactly read. Joel, being the impatient person he was, pulled the chair you were sitting at away from the table, pulling you up to stand before lifting you up over his shoulder, “Bee, what the fuck?”

He simply ignored you as he carried you up the stairs and back inside his captain’s house. You tried pushing yourself off as he made his way up the stairs, but it was deemed useless when he just tightened his grip, “Farabee, I swear to god. I will hurt you.”

Eventually, he opened the door to the guest bathroom and gently set you down on the counter before locking the door, “what the fuck was that for? If you want to talk, you could have just waited a second. But no, you had to be all dramatic about it,” you said, rolling your eyes. 

“Are you done?” Joel asked, crossing his arms and leaning back against the door.  

“I mean, yeah. Are you?” 

“Yeah, but I’m tired of us ignoring each other and I miss you, so we need to figure stuff out.”

“Awe, you miss me? That’s cute,” you smiled. 

“y/n/n, I swear, now is not the time for that one.”

“Ok, sorry. I’ll be serious now,” you said, crossing your arms to mock him. 

“I just want to know what happened at the lake?” 

“Oh, we’re going straight to the point, alright,” you sighed, “look, what I said at the lake wasn’t true. I got this idea in my head that if you were in my life, you were a distraction from what I wanted.”

“How’d that work out for you?” he said, smirking. 

“Oh, no, see that’s what we’re not going to do. No need for the attitude. Anyways, I had this idea that if anything happened between us, that I would mess it up and it would mess everything in my life up. So, pushing you away was the safest option.”

Joel took a moment to gather his thoughts before pushing himself off the door and made his way closer to you, ending up standing between your legs with his hands on either side of you, “look, I’m saying this and I mean it. I understand where you’re coming from with the fear of distractions thing, but I want you to know that I would never intentionally keep you from your goals and dreams. I’m just extra support, you know.”

“Yeah, I realized that after you ran from the lake house. We could have had this figured out by now, if you had stayed,” you said, sarcastically. Rolling your eyes for added dramatic effect. 

“Oh, shut up. You have no place to talk, babe,” he said, smiling when he heard you giggle, “what was that for?”

“I kinda missed you calling me babe, I guess. Kinda crazy, dude.”

“Awe, so you did miss me?”

“I never said I didn’t,” you said, quietly reaching up to wrap your arms around his neck. You saw the way that his eyes went from your eyes to your lips, “I also missed this,” and with that you pulled him closer until your lips met in a long awaited kiss. 

As the two of you broke away, your foreheads were still together, “hey, Bee?”

“Yeah?”

“You know who else I missed? Your mom,” you laughed. 

“Way to ruin the moment, babe,” he smiled, “That was funny though, so I respect it.”

“Dude, I’m so funny sometimes.”

“Looks aren’t everything, babe,” he said, laughing at the gasp you responded with. 

“Oh, that was rude. I’ll get you back one day though,” you watched as he went to leave the bathroom, “hey, Bee. I’m not supposed to walk without crutches, hate to break it to you.”

Rolling his eyes, he made his way back to you, turning around right in front of you, “here.” You leaned a little bit forward, wrapping your arms around his neck once again as he readjusted his grip on the back of your legs, so he could give you a piggyback ride on the way back outside. 

“You know, they didn’t tell me there was a party,” you spoke as he made his way back towards the door. 

“Oh, they said it was teammates only and then I saw your car,” he replied, pausing a moment as the two of you realized what had happened at the same time, “so, this was-”

“Yep.” 

“And Hartsy saying he was going to ask you out was part of it?”

“Hartsy said he was going to do that,” you started cackling. “Wait, were you jealous of him?” you asked laughing even harder. 

“It’s not funny.”

“Oh, yeah. I know, it’s hilarious.” 

“I will drop you right now,” he said, as he opened the door for outside, “and you’ll stuck right here, Ms. ‘I can’t walk down stairs right now’.”

“That’s a low blow,” you said, as the two of you made your way back to the table you were at. 

“Oops, sorry, babe,” he set you down close to your chair, but sat down before you could.

“Oh, so now you steal my chair, too?”

“Oh, shut up, you’re fine,” he said, pulling you to sit in his lap, “there you go.”

“So, I see the two of you made up?” Nolan asked, pointing at the two of you. 

“We also made out, in case you were wondering,” Joel replied, earning an elbow to the stomach, “ow, that hurt.”

“Sucks to suck, babe,” you replied, causing the smile on his face to grow even more. 

When Kevin and Ryanne watched the two of you walk back outside, they were happy to see that the plan worked. Ryanne simply laughed and shook her head as she heard the exchange between the two of you, “they are so in love and I don’t even think they realize it.”

“Ryanne, that is a big word, that I’m not prepared for. So, please, let’s not do that today,” Kevin replied, earning a laugh from Ryanne, “they’re happy though, that’s all that matters to me.”

[mrsfrecklesmarauders]

Even opposite cakes attract

Summary: James and Lily assist to Petunia's wedding as their unofficial first date.

“Hello?”

“HI LILY!!”

“You don’t have to scream, Prongs”

“SORRY!!” he screamed anyway.

Lily laughed. Her laughter was so delicious and delicate. James’ heart overloaded with joy. It was easy now, making her laugh. She didn’t get annoyed, or yelled at him, or called him names. James felt as if he was doing things better.

“Moony, get out of here” he said whispering now. He wanted some privacy.

“Are you sure you can handle the, what did you call it? Oh yeah, the tellyphone, alright?”

Lily heard Remus’ voice because she laughed on the other line. James could see Padfoot and Wormtail cracking up laughing outside the booth.

“Just-get-out-of-here!!” James grunted

“Alright” Remus rolled his eyes, then yelled to the phone “BYE LILY!”

James heard her reply “BYE REMUS!”

James shooed his friend outside. He closed the door of the booth but soon enough his three dumb friends were making faces, sending him kisses across the glass.

“Sorry about them, darling” James decided to ignored them, they even deserved a middle finger. “Those assholes”

“It’s okay” Lily giggled “I know perfectly how those assholes are”

James laughed.

The whole summer, James and Lily chatted over the muggle phone. Luckily there was an old booth a few miles away from his house. Even if it was once a week, James was happy to talk with Lily, hear her voice. Really this muggle invention was ten times better than owls. It was like having Lily next to him, if he closed his eyes.

“How have you been?” James asked “How’s your summer so far”

“Stressful” Lily sighed “Petunia is getting married this weekend and my house had been a chaos with preparation and people coming over…”

“Your sister?” James asked. He had heard Remus mentioned her several times when he retold Lily’s stories to him. It was the only way to get to know her. But now, Lily had been telling him things.

Friends. Only friends. James could do that. He wanted to respect Lily’s wishes. Lily knew exactly how he felt. They had kissed. But something seemed to stop them every time, actually someone. Snape. He kept manipulating her, even after what he called her. And Lily was too good to realize it. After their first kiss, they fought about it. Then, they were okay again. Lily suggested starting from the beginning. They had been on the wrong foot before, they wanted to make things better this time. Know each other for real, not the wrong perception of each other they had before. So, friends, for now.

“Yeah… That bitch”

“Lils! I think it’s the first time you insult someone besides me” James teased

Lily snorted “You’re an idiot”

“Exactly my point”

“I just don’t want to be there alone, with Tuney’s pretentious friends and Vernon’s pretentious sister and…. OH MY GOD!!”

James jumped and his ear hurt. And he regretted now having shouted on the tellyphone before.

“Are you okay, gorgeous?”

“Sorry… It’s a stupid idea. I just had a stupid idea” Lily said nervously

“Okay…” James smiled again. James had found out that Lily was adorable and sometimes talked to much, but James could hear her talk all day. Apparently, Lily was different than what he thought. James liked this Lily better.

“Well is actually a good idea” Lily snorted “Yeah it’s definitely good” And James imagined her biting her lip as she did when she was nervous. “But I don’t know if you’re going to like it. Maybe it is horrible idea for you. I don’t know why I thought about it…”

“Hey, Lils” James interrupted “Just tell me”

Lily was definitely adorable.

Lily took a deep breath “Would you like, I mean maybe if you can and you have time… would you like…maybe come to my sister’s wedding with me?”

James was too shocked to even speak. Lily was asking him out? To Petunia’s wedding? Petunia being her sister, meaning her family would probably would be there. Her Parents!

He was sure his cheeks were burning. The Marauders were going to laugh at him. But when James turned to look at them, he saw they had given up and were seated by the grass, smoking.

“James?” Lily asked after a while “Oh Lord, I knew this was a bad idea”

“NO…NO…NO….NO….NO”

“Those were fives no’s, you definitely don’t want to come”

“NO! Shit! I mean YES!! Of course, I would like to come. I would definitely come. Just be sure I would be there, darling!”

Lily laughed relieved while James blushed profoundly.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, sure”

“It wouldn’t be… awkward?”

“Why?”

“Well… We are going slowly. And now you’re going to meet my family”

James swallowed nervously “Friends meet each other’s families, right?”

Even though I don’t want to be your friend Lily

“Right” Lily answered after a while

Then, they were in silence. It wasn’t an awkward silence. They were feeling each other’s breathing, planning on what to say. In James case, he wanted to tell Lily how much he loved her. How much he wanted to see her, kiss those lips again, how much he missed her. He wanted to say ‘Fuck being friends, please Lily be my forever and only’. But no. James was a new and improved man. He was so scared of fucking it up and going back to cero. James was going to respect her even if he had to wait forever.

“Okay then…” James began

“Okay then…” James could almost feel Lily’s smile on her voice.

“I’ll see you this weekend”

“It’s on Saturday, ten o´clock” Lily laughed “I forgot to tell you that”

“Yeah, that’s good to know” James snorted

“And I will send you the address so that you can apparate here”

“Right”

“Oh, and can you wear a muggle tuxedo? Ask Remus” Lily continued “My family is very muggle, you see”

“Don’t worry babe, I’ll be as muggle as possible” James’ intention was to impress Lily’s family.

“Now that I think about it, you probably don’t own a muggle tuxedo” Lily hissed “I am so stupid…”

“Hey gorgeous” James interrupted with a smile “I’ll figure something out, don’t’ worry”

“Okay…” Lily said now more relaxed “I’ll see you on Saturday, then”

“I’ll see you on Saturday” James answered

“Bye”

“Bye”

Silence

Lily giggled “Hang up James”

“I don’t know how”

Lily laughed louder “Right, then I’ll hang up…Bye”

“Bye gorgeous” James smiled. And then he heard a bipping sound. But James just stayed there grinning like an idiot. He just put the phone back to it’s case.

James turned to look at his friends. Moony was fast asleep on Sirius’ lap. And Peter was laying besides them, chewing a lolly.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

James knocked the door excitedly until his friends saw him. They jumped. But as a matter of fact, they turned to look. Even Moony was awake.

James grinned “I HAVE A DATE WITH LILY!!” he shouted.

It wasn’t technically a date. But he didn’t care.

His friends must’ve heard him, because they started cheering and clapping. James was so happy.

Lily had been very happy all morning. She felt like anything could stop her. She shouldn’t be feeling that way. But that was James Potter provoked on her. Lately she was bloody happy around him. Lily had been looking forward to see him again, perhaps kiss him again and run her fingers through his untidy hair…

But James and Lily were on good terms now. And Lily didn’t want to ruin it. She had realized James was an important person in her life. And Lily was afraid, because she had been hurt before. Turned out, the boys she’d met had been horrible to her, Luke, Severus, Jhonny. And she had thought James was on that list too. But actually, he had been acting differently. Remus had said he didn’t change, he was always like that. Only he was controlling his idiocy and his desire to show off. Lily didn’t know if she hadn’t known James at all, or if he had changed. The thing was that Lily liked this James. She liked him a lot.

And Lily was stressed and nervous about today. If Tuney wasn’t fucking hysterical, then maybe Lily wouldn’t be the same.

“Just untie the bun!” Petunia was shouting to her friend Margaret who had been working on a salon for a year and was assigned to comb Petunia´s hair for the event.

“But you wanted that bun” her friend replied nervously

“IT IS HORRENDOUS! TAKE THE BUN OUT!”

Lily understood it would be stressful to get married. But honestly, wasn’t Petunia in love? She was marrying the love of her life today. She should be happy. Lily had suggested to fix her hair with magic, but Petunia’s hateful glare and her mother’s gasp shut her down. That word was forbidden in that house. Magic. Lily missed her dad. At least he was interested in magic, Hogwarts and Lily’s subjects.

Lily was helping her mother fold some napkins for the reception when they heard the door bell rang. Almost everyone in the room yelled and panicked. Most of them being Petunia’s friends, and Lily’s aunts.

“The car isn’t supposed to be here, yet!” Marge yelled furiously. Vernon’s sister had been drinking many glasses of wine so far. Lily was afraid she wouldn’t make it to the ceremony sober.

“Lily, darling, Open the door please” her mother said “It’s probably the cater or florist”

Lily sighed before walking to the door. But when she opened it, the wasn’t any cater or florist outside. It was James.

He was wearing a blue tuxedo and a red tie. Lily remembered telling Remus she once saw Robert Redford using one in one of his movies and how sexy he looked. Lily was glad that Remus helped James dress up. Wow. And he was caring a bouquet of blue lilies. Lily was momentarily out of breath.

His iconic grin disappeared when he saw Lily’s shocked expression. James was early. So early. Lily wasn’t even dressed. Her hair and makeup were fixed already but she was waiting to put on her dress, in case it was ruined. Or else, Petunia might actually kill her.

“You look beautiful” James said running his hand through his hair, which made him even hotter.

Lily tried not to blush.

“What are you…”

But James was openly staring at her outfit, which meant her body. Lily unconsciously wrapped herself tighter with her dressing gown.

“Perhaps I am wrongly dressed” he looked down to himself “Remus said this would be fine”

Lily couldn’t avoid laughing.

“No James, you’re perfectly fine and very handsome” she blushed “But you’re like” she checked the house’s entrance clock “An hour early” she smiled at him.

“Yeah” James said confused “Moony said that muggles arrive one hour early to every event, and I wanted to…”

Lily bit her lip to avoid laughing. Probably James noticed.

“And he totally lied to me….” James closed his eyes embarrassed “FUCK REMUS LUPIN! I am so sorry… I am an idiot”

James sighed profoundly. And he started pacing and rubbing his hair uncontrollably. Lily giggled as she watched him.

“I can leave and come back if you want to…” he continued “Or I can leave and not assist at all… Fuck…. Remus…. Arrg…”

Lily laughed louder. She was so happy now that he was here.

“James, it’s fine…”

He looked at her.

“It’s totally fine” she repeated “Actually it is good that you arrive early” she took him by the arm “We need more hands to help” she dragged him inside.

James looked around like a little kid in the zoo. Lily found him adorable. He was even adjusting his glasses. Lily’s house wasn’t a big thing. It was small and average. Remus had mentioned how big James’ house was.

“There are quite a number of people in the room” James pointed amused. Like a kid showing their parent something interesting. Lily smiled.

“All of them are muggles?” James asked

Lily nodded. Her mother had two sisters, each one with their husbands. And her father had an older brother who had a lot of children and younger single sister. Her aunt Katie was her favorite, maybe because she reminded her of her father. And then, there were all Petunia’s friends: Ruth, Genevie and Margaret. Marge had been added to the group of bridesmaids as well as Lily.

Lily nodded “You and me, the only freaks”

Lily meant that as a joke, but James didn’t laugh.

“Don’t worry. I have my wand buried in my pocket” he said as he patted his chest “Today I am as muggle as the rest”

Lily knew Severus would’ve hated being here. He would probably had said something mean about so many muggles, how they were different and superior than them. Probably he wouldn’t have wanted to come at all. Lily was happy she had invited James.

She smiled “Let’s go. I’ll introduce you to everyone”

James was polite with everyone. He smiled, accepted handshakes and kissed the girls in the cheek. Some of Petunia’s friends were even eyeing hungrily at James. And Lily tried not to be jealous.

Lily’s aunts even mentioned that her ‘boyfriend’ was adorable and easy going. Lily decided not to correct them. And she enjoyed the grin and red cheeks on James’ face.

“Boyfriend, ha?” James raised an eyebrow once they were out of sight

“Shut up” Lily laughed “You need to meet Petunia and mum”

James seemed more confident. But Lily was not. Petunia wasn’t the nicest person to be around.

They got to the kitchen. Lily’s mother was busy talking, or better yet yelling at someone on the phone. So, Lily decided to go to Petunia first.

Margaret had managed to keep Petunia’s blond hair loose. With tiny flowers on top and curls falling down to her shoulders. She looked beautiful. Although her expression didn’t seem cheerful. She was looking at her reflection and deciding what to do with it.

“Wow Maggie” Lily said as they approached “It looks nice”

“Thanks Lily” At least Maggie was nice to Lily, when Tuney and Ruth weren’t around.

“Tuney…” Lily swallowed “This is my… eh friend James Potter”

Petunia didn’t seem to be listening to her. Lily bit her lip trying not to be embarrassed.

“From school” Lily added.

And now Petunia seemed interested, she looked up finally at James.

“Hi Petunia” James offered her his hand “Lily had told me loads about you. I’m James”

As adorable as ever. But Petunia didn’t seem swiped by James’ charm.

“I thought you were going to invite Snape” Petunia simply said looking at Lily. James lowered his hand slowly.

Lily was just asking one thing from her sister. A little bit of kindness towards her friend, boyfriend… well James. Just like she had shown to her friends or Vernon and his irritable sister, none of who had been nice to Lily. And James was being kind to her. In fact, he had been acting like a proper gentleman.

“No… I told you we aren’t friends anymore” Lily side glanced at James. They had discussed about Severus in the past. And Lily didn’t want to cause trouble.

“Good” Petunia said “I reckon he is better than Snape” then she turned to James “Your hair is widely untamed”

“I’ve been told” James nodded

“Nice. Maybe Maggie could fix it”

Maggie laughed nervously “I don’t think I…”

“I am only joking” Petunia said

James tried to laugh “You’re funny”

“Lily…” Petunia made Lily lean for her to whisper in her ear “I know he is one of...your kind. If he doesn’t behave…”

But Lily pulled away furiously “Your hair looks nice, Tuney” she crossed her arms.

“Oh, Lily why aren’t you dressed yet?” Mrs. Evans appeared behind Lily

“Mum, does my hair look good?” Petunia asked

“You look wonderful, darling” Mrs. Evans smiled “Lily. We are about to leave and… Oh, who are you? I don’t know you” she stared at James.

James immediately offered his hand and a wide smile. Lily was grateful.

“Mrs. Evans, pleasure to meet you. I am James Potter. I go with your daughter to school”

“Oh, I see” Mrs. Evans shook his hand “Nice suit”

“Thank you”

“He speaks like royalty” Mrs. Evans offered. Lily giggled. James tended to speak like a fine English man when he was around adults. He did the same with teachers.

“Lily does know strange people” Tuney commented

“Oh, I believe Vernon speaks funny as well” Lily spatted. Her mother, James and Maggie laughed. Petunia just glared at her. She began everything. It wasn’t Lily’s fault.

“Lily!” Mrs. Evans chanted “The dress!”

“Coming”

“Oh, and James can help me fold the rest of the napkins”

“Oh, I would absolutely adore to do so” James smiled

Mrs. Evans smiled “Very polite”

“You’ll have to teach him, mum” Lily grinned “He hasn’t folded a napkin in his life”

“I can fold napkins!” James protested “With a bit of magic” he whispered on Lily’s ear.

“No” she whispered back.

James smiled and winked at her.

“See you in a bit” Lily kissed his cheek and ran upstairs before James or herself could react to that gesture.

“REMUS JOHN LUPIN!” James didn’t shout loudly in case anyone heard him “Sirius put me with Moony! I can’t hear him laughing in the back!”

“I tell you mate; Remus is a bloody genius” Sirius roared with laughter.

James was freaking out. Mrs. Evans had tried to make a proper conversation with him. But James started talking about how fascinating the microwave was. James didn’t know how to talk to muggles. Not because they weren’t cool. But because he was so afraid of dropping something suspicious and magical. So, James had excused himself and locked in the restroom. Luckily, he had brought the two-way mirror.

“HE IS AN IDIOT THAT’S WHAT HE IS” James spatted “Did you have any idea about this?”

“Nop…”

James raised an eyebrow

“I swear! It was all Moony’s doing. I know as much about muggles as you”

“Arrive one hour later, talk a lot about microwaves… Bloody bastard!”

His two friends laughed hysterically.

“Put me with Remus Traitor Lupin…” James frowned “Oi! Are you in my pool?” James caught a glimpse of his familiar pool at home.

“Oh hi, James” Remus appeared in the mirror, grinning like an idiot.

“Traitor!”

“Sirius said this is his house as well so he is allowed to use the pool, which is not only yours” Remus said sipping lemonade “And Sirius invited me, so”

“Ha ha ha, you’re so funny. You fucking twat”

Remus giggled.

“Lily is very important to me, okay? Therefore, her family”

“At least I gave you a sweet tuxedo” Remus said

“It was well accepted” James said “What, are you hanging out without me? Where’s Peter?”

“I didn’t invite him” Sirius’ face appeared as well

“You didn’t invite him?” Remus asked “I thought you said he couldn’t come”

“I wanted to spend the day with you” Sirius shrugged

Remus looked embarrassed, and James saw him blushing. Or maybe was the sun.

“What the actual fuck?” James teased “The pretty good best friends, ha?”

Remus and Sirius smiled. James rubbed his hair.

“Okay, I need advice. And this time GOOD ADVICE JOHN LUPIN”

“Oh, I am going to call you John now” Sirius grinned

“Don’t you dare!”

“Lily has been flirting with me, okay?” James continued “I know it. I know it! And she kissed me on the cheek…”

“Wild” Remus commented

“Use protection!” Sirius gasped

“Idiots” James rolled his eyes “I just really want to push her against the wall and kiss her senseless. But at the same time, I want to be her everything and marry her and have her babies. And I won’t be able to do that if I push her like I did last time. Like I know we are just friends, but we keep flirting and I don’t think I will be able to stand her gorgeous face and body any longer. I mean I am sweating just thinking about her. I cannot sweat!”

“Relax, Prongs” Sirius whistled

“Just be yourself” Remus suggested “Actually don’t be yourself. Be more like me. Maybe you should behave”

“I bet you would be snogging her by the end of the night” Sirius said grabbing his glass of lemonade.

“Did Effie prepare lemonade without me?” James pouted

But Sirius didn’t listen “Or if you’re lucky, you can sh…”

Remus knocked over the drink over Sirius.

“MOONY!”

“Stop talking shit, Sirius”

They started discussing, as they always did. James was used to them discussing and liking each other as nothing happened. But he was more preoccupied on the possibility of doing something with Lily. He was sweating. And then he heard footsteps outside the door.

“I gotta go, they think I am pooping”

And James hung up pocketing the mirror and exiting the bathroom.

James smiled at some people on the hall, before walking to the kitchen again.

“Napkins look good, Mrs. Evans” James announced.

Mrs. Evans laughed. She had already changed to a discreet dress and was fixing her hair.

“You look nice as well, Mrs. Evans”

“Thank you, James” Mrs. Evans blushed “You are really a wonderful young man. You remind me of my husband when he was young”

James knew Lily’s father had died a year ago. James had tried to apologize for the Snape incident. And Lily had yelled at him horrible things. But he didn’t know she had lost her father until Marlene mentioned it later that day. The good thing was that James and Lily were on good terms now. Excellent terms.

“I wish I had been able to meet him” James said “Lily speaks highly about him”

Mrs. Evans smiled as she put on some earring.

“He would’ve liked you” she said sighing.

“Who doesn’t like the incredible James”

James turned around to see Lily. She looked so beautiful, so gorgeous. She was wearing a violet dress, with a pink ribbon on her waist. The dress revealed a bit of Lily’s breasts. She was wearing a heart shaped necklace. The one she always wore. Her hair was loose with red curls going down to her waist. She was wearing makeup and red lipstick which made her lips more desirable. She was so beautiful; James felt his legs trembled a little. His heart raced.

I want her, I love her. James thought.

But even if she was a few meters away, she seemed unreachable. Forget about Quidditch. Lily was the best thing in the world.

“Wow” James sighed “You look… am…” he moved his hands from his pockets to his hair “There are no words to describe how dashing you look, darling. I mean literally wow. A piece of art”

Lily’s face adopted the same red color as her hair. She bit her lip and looked down but she was smiling.

“You are wow yourself, Potter”

James grinned. James had forgotten that Mrs. Evans was there until she laughed.

“I think Tuney is not the only one in love this evening” she said. James and Lily blushed. “Do you want to come in the car or you prefer to walk?”

“We’ll walk” Lily said smiling at James

“Be there on time, Lily”

Mrs. Evans smiled at James and followed Petunia’s moans and complains somewhere in the house. But James too concentrated in Lily’s green eyes, staring back at him.

“We are going to walk there?” James decided to break the ice

Lily smiled “Church is only a few blocks away” she explained “But Tuney wanted to arrive elegantly in a car. I bet Vernon and the rest are already there”

“Okay…” James showed her his arms for her to take it “Let’s go milady”

“I bet that in an hour I will take these horrible heels off” Lily said “Try to use heels one day”

“The next wedding, we assist, I’ll promise I wear a good pair of heels”

Lily laughed.

“Deal”

They walked talking about many things. From their families, to the war, to their plans for the future, to silly things like food or music preference. It was so easy talking to each other. There were a lot of things they actually didn’t know about each other, even if they’ve been class mates for six years. James made Lily laugh a lot. And James laughed a lot. It just felt that the two of them where the only ones in that street, in that town, in that world.

“If there was a fire in your house, what’s the first thing would save?” Lily asked

“Oh, we are going with the deep shit questions, aren’t we?”

Lily giggled.

“Amm…” James thought about the question “It depends which one is my home and who I am living with”

“I thought you were going to say your broomstick or something” Lily smiled

“I am not that shallow!” James protested

Lily laughed

“I guess if I cannot rescue my parents or anyone alive…”

Lily shook her head.

“I would save our book, me and my folks’ book”

“What book?”

“We have this family book full of photographs and paper clips, and letters we saved through the years” James explained “I remember we started it when I was six. My parents were my best friends back then, they still are. But now I have The Marauders, and you and the girls. But they are everything to me. So, if everything burns, I would like to save that”

James didn’t say this to impress Lily or anything. It was actually true. He wasn’t ashamed of having a good relationship with his parents. Because he had the best parents in the world.

But Lily was looking at him in a very different and intense way. James decided to clear his throat.

“What about you?”

Lily smiled “No. I think I cannot beat your answer, I’m afraid”

“Now I’m curious”

“I was going to say my collection of records”

“I don’t believe you” James laughed “Come on, you don’t want to tell me!”

Lily laughed too “Really that was going to be my answer, because I thought you were going to say your broomstick… Now, I look like an idiot”

“Okay, okay” James laughed “I change my answer, I would save my broomstick. Happy?”

“In that case I would save my dad’s favorite books, the ones he used to read me when I was little” Lily said “Now my answer is better than yours” she grinned

“And I am the superficial asshole again”

“Exactly” Lily giggled

“You are worse than Moony”

Lily laughed “We arrived” she announced.

James even forgot that they were heading to a wedding. Petunia’s wedding. The church was a very large building with black windows. The guests were entering the place and taking their seats. Some were chatting on the entrance. James swallowed, more people to meet and impress.

Lily stopped before stepping inside.

“I might cry I lot in there” she said “Promise to hold my hand and don’t laugh?”

James dared to take her hand right now. And he kissed her cheek.

“Promise, love” he whispered. And they stepped in.

They sat on the front rows, still holding hands. James was so happy. He felt a sort of feeling of protectiveness towards Lily. Like Lily belonged with him. Like they were meant for each other.

And suddenly he didn’t need to snog or do other things with Lily. Like he wanted to do so of course but this was ten times better than any physical pleasure. Just sitting with Lily in silence. Holding hands.

Many people asked Lily if James was her boyfriend. She simply nodded, smiled or blushed. James didn’t know what to do about it. But she wasn’t saying no. Lily whispered on James’ ear who these people were, how they were related to her, and a quick funny anecdote about them.

“That’s my father’s cousin Maurice. Legend says he hides pot in his wig”

James and Lily giggled and some people shushed them up. That made them giggle even more.

Vernon was a short, chubby lad with the largest moustache James had ever seen. He looked nervous but pleased with himself.

“We don’t particularly like each other, me and Vernon” Lily whispered “I think Tuney deserved better”

“Love is blind, they say” James answered “Although I don’t see how can I be more blind than I already am”

Lily giggled with this. She was trying so hard to contain her laughter. She looked adorable. James dared to kiss her hand. Which he was still holding.

“Lily please” Mrs. Evans warned

“Sorry”

“Sorry, Mrs. Evans. Lily is nervous” James whispered

James found Mrs. Evans was really fond of him and she smiled at him a lot.

Music started and everyone raised to receive the bride. Petunia walked in accompanied by someone who Lily said was her uncle and Petunia’s godfather since their parent couldn’t be there.

“Every child has a godfather? Because I don’t have one” James whispered as Petunia entered

“Not magical children, no”

“Maybe they should”

Lily smiled and then squeezed his hand hard. James grunted in pain.

“Sorry. She looks so beautiful and she is getting married” Lily’s eyes watered.

The ceremony was beautiful. James had assisted wizard weddings when he was a kid. He remembered more rituals, spells, magical shows and performances. But this was nothing like those. This seemed more intimate, simpler. James wanted his wedding to be like this. And then, he started fantasying about his wedding. Could it be with Lily? They could get there. And start a live together. James stared at Lily. How beautiful she was. How much she cared about her sister. James wanted to live that with Lily. Maybe in the future he hoped. For now, he was holding Lily’s hand, and he wanted to kiss her. Only once.

Even if Lily hated Vernon, the way they had looked at each other in the ceremony. Him and Petunia were truly in love. Even if Lily couldn’t understand how Petunia could love someone like that. Lily had read about that one true love in books and watch it in movies. And Lily aspired to that. Finding her one true love. It didn’t happen with any of the boys she had met.

But James was different. It wasn’t exactly love…yet. But Lily knew she had a special connection with him. She’d never laughed so hard with someone, or be so relaxed and safe with someone. She’d never wanted to snog someone so badly. She’d never fantasized about it. She’d never felt so intensely happy with someone.

The reception was held on The Evans residence. It wasn’t that big so everyone was squeezed between the living room, the dinning room, the kitchen and the backyard.

Lily went upstairs to change to flat shoes before her feet broke. So, she was ready to dance after lunch. Dance with James. Lily had been considering all afternoon if she should kiss him. Would it change things? Lily was scared of staring a relationship with him and somehow fuck it up or James being someone else. James had tried to get with Lily for three years. What if Lily accepted, the spell would break and James wouldn’t like her anymore, what if he moved on to flirt with another girl? It was easy being that way. Just friends, like being in a very comfortable bubble. But oh boy, Lily wanted to kiss him and break it so bad, but she was scared.

They chatted over food with Lily’s mother, and the new wedded.

“Congratulations Vernon, is it? I think you two look very happy together and make a lovely couple” James tried casually, but Lily could tell he was nervous because he moved his leg a lot under the table.

Vernon and Petunia were caught of guard by James' intervention. They stared at him with displeasure. Petunia whispered something in his ear and Vernon’s eyes widened. Lily squeezed her napkin under the table.

It had been in New Year’s when Vernon found out about Lily’s “condition”. She had wanted to tell him because he had proposed over Christmas and Lily wanted him to know Petunia’s family. Where he was getting into. Petunia avoided the subject, and simply replied with a ‘I’ll tell him eventually’. Lily had cornered Vernon at New Year’s party and told him everything. She even made magic without her wand, which wasn’t registered at the Ministry. Vernon ran away, started his vehicle and left for the night. He didn’t speak with Petunia for days. She was devastated. And Lily felt guilty. She tried to contact him without response. She apologized with her sister and he was furious. Eventually, the couple worked things out, otherwise they weren’t here at their wedding. But Vernon flinched every time Lily was around. Vernon was scared of her. Probably Petunia mentioned James was the same.

“Thank you, sir” Vernon simply answered. And continued chatting with his sister.

Lily felt sick. Vernon was now her family, and he was always going to look at her with disgust.

But James looked pleased “He called me, sir” he whispered smiling.

James was so pure, so amiable, so wonderful. Lily was not going to permit that either Vernon or Petunia treat him badly, even if it was their wedding.

Later that evening, many people were dancing. Others drinking and smoking now that the party had officially initiated. James and Lily were on their desserts while Vernon went on and on about the cars, he was planning on buying for him and Petunia.

“Why did you order chocolate?” Lily asked ignoring Vernon. There were two types of cake. Thanks to the various bakers on the family. One chocolate cake, one lemon cake.

“Chocolate is the best!” James protested “Moony would’ve adored this one”

“True” Lily said “But too much of a chocolate is not good”

“Why?”

“It ends up getting too sweet to enjoy. And then you hated it, and you avoid chocolate for days after that”

“That’s better than ordering lemon”

“It’s actually pretty good”

“Yeah?” James raised an eyebrow “Can I try it?”

“Can I try the chocolate one?”

James nodded grinning. Lily took a large bite of the chocolate cake, while James took a large bite of the lemon one.

“Yeah it’s not bad” James said

Lily moaned when she tasted chocolate “So good” she licked the spoon.

James looked at her amused with his cheeks slightly red. Lily decided to ignore that.

“What about the nonsense of chocolate is bad?” James asked

“I told you. Only in little amounts, otherwise is awful”

“Remus would disagree with you”

“I know” Lily smiled “What if we mix them?”

“What if we mix them indeed?” James raised an eyebrow

They both giggled as they took a bit of one flavor and a bit of the other. And put them in their mouths at the same time.

It was actually pretty good. Lily laughed. James and her hit palms happy for their discovery.

“Opposites attract” Lily said

“Even opposites cakes attract” James added

Lily thought it was true. That was them. Chocolate and Lemon cakes falling in love and making a better mixture. Lily thought they couldn’t be more different, but they complemented each other in such way, it was beautiful.

“Maybe we can make this a tradition” James said “Order different flavors and mix them up”

Tradition. James saw her in his future. Lily giggled. And Lily had never wanted him so badly. She was leaning in, ready to kiss him, snog him senseless. Even if everything changed after that. James noticed this and his expression changed, he was leaning as well…

“What car do you own, Mr. eh….”

Vernon had ignored James all evening and now he tried to chat with him, just now…

“Potter” James answered quickly, clearing his throat and rubbing his hair, kind of blushing for what they were about to do “And I don’t own cars, I own a broomstick”

Vernon jumped at the sound of that word as it was obscene. He looked around, luckily no one was there. Just the three of them. Petunia was chatting with different relatives as well as her mother. Marge was gulping more wine. Vernon’s parents were dancing.

“We don’t ride cars” James said “We…” he looked around and leaned over whispering “wizards”

Vernon jumped again and blinked hard.

“I see…” Vernon said, he looked around trying to find an escape, regretting his decision of chatting with James in the first place “Then your kind… doesn’t have very much money, I assume? For having…eh… tricks?”

Lily almost laughed. She had tried to explain what her world was like, but they never payed her attention.

“Oh no” James laughed “We have money just like you, in fact my family owns a big portion of money. Not to brag or anything. And I just buy the best broom on the market just like you own the best muggle transport…”

“James…” Lily hissed

Vernon looked disgusted and scared.

“And we have a bank and everything to store our money, Gringotts. Guarded by goblins” James nodded and took a sip of his wine “The most secure place in the world they say”

“James…”

“It must be some sort of joke” Vernon grunted “Did I hear correctly? Go-goblins? Guarding your money?”

“Yeah. They are very serious when it comes to money” James nodded

Lily sighed. Vernon looked purple now.

“Are you mocking me? Are you truly laughing in my face?” Vernon snaped “Lily…”

It was the first time he said her name in a long time

“You bring a fool to my wedding so that he can mock me?”

“I am telling the truth!” James protested, but Lily grabbed his arm

“Nonsense!” Vernon raised up “I don’t like your behavior mister. I very well hope you had too much wine to justify your loose tongue. Excuse me” And with that he stormed out of the table towards his new wife.

“Very rude! I was telling the truth… I was very well telling the truth. You know that” James protested “Fuck, sorry, darling. Maybe I should go there and apologize…”

“No, it’s fine”

“Lils, I don’t want to be on bad terms with your family. They are very important to me because you are”

Lily’s heart started racing.

“Let me just…”

But before James could move, Lily kissed him. Lily, never in her life, had done something so reckless without thinking about it before. But there she was. She wanted to avoid more chaos, but the main reason was that she had been wanting to do that since the end of their first kiss, back in June.

James was shocked at first. But then, he responded to the kiss. And he moved in a way that sent shivers down her spine. After they were done, Lily smiled embarrassed. Her face was hot and red.

She snorted “Do you know how to dance?”

“What?” James was still in shock which was adorable.

“You don’t?” Lily said “Don’t worry. I will show you”

She took James’ hand and she dragged him to the dance floor.

“You have to put your hands on my waist” she instructed avoiding the urge to kiss him again and the embarrassment she felt. James obeyed.

“I’ve heard dancing involves a lot of kissing as well” James said

Lily laughed and everything was back to normal. Lily decided that was a green flag to kiss him again.

“Now focus” Lily laughed and wrapped her arms around James’ shoulders. He smelled so good. “Now we have to sway to the music”

Lily closed her eyes feeling her heart beats mixing with James’. She placed her head on James’ chest, confirming how much his heart raced. If this wasn’t love, it must be something very similar.

“Am I doing it correctly?” James whispered

“Perfectly fine”

“The dancing or the kissing?”

Lily laughed “Both”

“You’re good at both as well, gorgeous”

Lily loved when he called her gorgeous.

The rest of the evening was wonderful. They decided not to worry about anything and had a good time. They drank, ate more, danced a lot, sang a lot. And kiss a lot.

Petunia and Vernon left for their honeymoon at some point before sunset. The party continued. And Lily didn’t realize there were actually many people leaving, but the party was still on.

“I’m tired!” Lily announced after a while collapsing on her chair. She had to be fair, she was slightly drunk. Maybe more than slightly. “Do you want to take me to my room?”

When Lily saw that James went red as a tomato, she laughed. “Just to tug me in bed and then leave, you little perv” she was definitely drunk.

James seemed drunk as well. But many years of experience of after match parties, made him resist alcohol a bit more. James smiled widely. Then kissed her.

“You’re so gorgeous” he said

“So, do you” Lily said and they kissed again.

They climbed upstairs making sure they weren’t seen by the rest of the guests, specially Mrs. Evans. But she seemed too busy being host.

As soon as they got there, Lily collapsed on the bed. Her bed. James seemed unsure to be there. He was such a gentleman.

“I don’t bite” Lily grinned “Com’ere”

James lied beside Lily. Within the silence of the room, Lily could clearly hear his heart beats and his heavy breathing. James was nervous. Which made Lily want him more.

“I want your jacket so I can have your smell when you leave” Lily concluded that alcohol in her system was like Varitaserum.

James laughed “At this rhythm you’re going to strip me down”

Lily blushed at this, and her body felt warmer at the thought of a naked James.

“Here…”

Lily sat down and let James place the jacket around her. And she was happy she asked for it, it smelled really nice, just like James. She lied down again next to James. But James was already kissing her. And she kissed him back. James was being so nice. He respected when she wanted to stop, they giggled for a while and continued. James tried not to touch her where she didn’t want to or felt too uncomfortable. He didn’t even try to take off her clothes.

They stopped kissing after a while but facing the ceiling. Then Lily dared to hold his hand. They stared at each other only through the moonlight.

“I had a wonderful time” James whispered “Thank you for inviting me, beautiful”

“I am going to miss you for the rest of the summer” she whispered back, now closing her eyes. She was getting sleepy.

“Me too, Lils”

Lily knew he wanted to ask the question. What were they? Were they a couple now?

I love you. I love you. I love you. But I am scared of you getting tired of me. I am scared of this feeling being over.

“Would you stay with me until I fall asleep?” that’s what she said instead.

“Of course” James whispered before kissing her forehead.

Lily slowly drifted to sleep.

The next day, Lily woke surrounded by James’ scent. She smiled. She was still wearing James’ jacket. Lily hugged it, like it was James himself. She giggled. In the pocket, she found a strange pocket mirror. And a note that said:

With this, we will be able to talk and see each other until the end of summer. So, the longing would not be eternal.

Love,

James.

[blossom-hwa]

college model!juyeon

SO the people have spoken (aka 3 people but it’s more than 0 so I DON’T CARE) and without further ado HERE WE GO IT’S A COLLEGE MODEL JUYEON BLURB. please reblog if you enjoyed and check out my other dumb overly long blurbs in the stream of idiocy tag on my blog <3

pairing: juyeon x gender neutral!reader

wc: 2.4k

genre: fluff, a bit of angst when mc is stressed, university!au

triggers: cursing, like the tiniest bit of suggestive stuff but absolutely nothing explicit (it’s really just saying juyeon is hot which wbk)

fashion major!kevin

TBZ Scenarios Masterlist | TBZ Drabbles Masterlist

so juyeon isn’t actual a professional model-model like he just happens to be v tall and v handsome and therefore catches the eye of every single fucking fashion major (and other people too) on campus but i’m focusing on the fashion majors because he is LITERALLY model material. have you seen those fucking arms and that fucking face ANYWAY MOVING ON juyeon is an absolute sweetheart behind those stupid muscles and anyone who works with him swears it is impossible like legitimately impossible not to fall in love with his dumb little smile but the thing is juyeon only really agrees to model for fashion major kevin usually like sometimes kevin will pull in a favor and ask him to model for someone else who can’t find anyone (bc let’s be real kevin’s got a lot of friends he could definitely rope someone into modeling for him /cough the other 2/3 of bermuda line cough/ but more often than not kevin takes juyeon not bc juyeon is like the best model or whatever (he’s good obv but some people probably have more experience) but bc juyeon is the only one who will willingly wear some of kevin’s more questionable choices

and the fucking thing is. he still looks good in them. he walks down the runway in this weird ass shirt and pants or whatever the hell kevin’s cooked up for this assignment and people are like.... IT’S SO WEIRD BUT WHY IS JUYEON PULLING IT OFF

so YEAH juyeon is happily modeling his way through college while doing a dance major (one time kevin did his makeup to purposely make him look slightly sweaty and the crowd went fucking insane) and he’s got a lot of things going for him, looks, talent, hard work, etc. and he’s v good at dancing, one of the top in his year so in exchange for his modeling work kevin goes to his dance recitals/competitions to cheer him on and that’s actually how juyeon meets you

you’re feeling shitty bc you just broke up with your partner for whatever reason, let’s just say it was not an amicable breakup and you were about to hole yourself up in 1. the dorm or 2. the lab and just drown yourself in work to forget everything but kevin is one of your good friends and he rolls up and is like. nah. fuck no i’m taking you out we are going to get lunch and then we are going to go see my model friend at one of his dance recitals i promise you it will be FUN and??? you can’t exactly refuse because it’s kevin and he’s not wrong you actually do need to go outside and get some fresh air bc the only time you have left a building over the past week or so is to 1. go to class/the lab from your dorm or 2. to go to your dorm from class/the lab (you are a science major here bc i am a science major and i am heavily projecting ok don’t come at me. though i will say you do theoretical physics which i DO NOT DO but i think it’s cool if mind-blowing so again. projection. despite the fact that i will not touch quantum mechanics after today with a ten foot pole)

so kevin forces you outside and the day is going ok like it’s nice out and he pays for the food and the dance recital is amazing and juyeon has this mf solo that’s absolutely gorgeous and you’re like hitting kevin in the shoulder like omg dude how did you score a friend this talented and he’s like??? what the fuck do you mean by that are you saying i’m not talented and you’re like. well. and then he threatens to deck you but it’s all in good fun anyway MOVING ON when the recital is over kevin drags you over to meet juyeon bc he’s like! it is unacceptable that two of my good friends do not know each other and juyeon if you’re not doing anything you should come with us to dinner! and juyeon is like well i was going to go out with the dance team but you two could come with us and he’s all smiley and soft and you half want to praise the heavens and half want to go to hell bc he looks so sweet and happy and lovely and it’s an honor to be in his presence but at the same time you haven’t left a building for like a week and you’re pretty sure you still have eyebags that haven’t disappeared (jokes on you they’ll never disappear this is university) but kevin says yes for both of you and so you end up with dinner plans too

and it’s fun! everyone is really nice and even though you know nothing about dance you and juyeon end up having v cool conversation about each other’s interests and all that and you’re so immersed in talking with him that you don’t see kevin giving you side-eyes next to you every five fucking minutes (he’s like well. i didn’t see this coming but i’m not going to complain) and by the end of the night you have juyeon’s number in your phone and you’ve made plans to get coffee before class the next day (you don’t have the same class but they’re in adjacent buildings and at the same time so why not) and you go back to your dorm feeling happier than you’ve felt all week

it continues like this?? like it’s actually v weird bc even when you two don’t have plans to meet up juyeon just magically appears around where you’re supposed to be and when you remark on this at one point juyeon just kinda blushes and diverts the topic which makes you suspicious a little but he’s really sweet and has no stalker-ish vibes and you also double-check with kevin who just fucking starts laughing over the phone until you hang up bc he clearly doesn’t have the brain cells to talk to you anywho this is model juyeon and i haven’t talked about that much but HERE WE GO 

kevin has a fashion show assignment coming up and juyeon doesn’t have much time to hang out anymore between fittings with kevin + his own major so you end up carting your ass to the fitting sessions after kevin invites you once to see what’s going on and juyeon actually gets scared by all the numbers n shit on your papers bc like what the fuck y/n are you a computer and you just whap him over the head with your stack of homework and say no shut the fuck up and model pretty boy (you don’t see but juyeon blushes bc you called him pretty. kevin saw though and he’s not impressed) but you end up not focusing on your homework bc kevin has juyeon put on and take off clothes at multiple points during the session and ofc if it’s pants or whatever juyeon goes into a different room but if it’s just a shirt.... let’s just say you get a free show and at some point you’re just like yeah i have to go and kevin’s like?? there’s still an hour left and you say something like i can’t focus here the vibes are off and KEVIN KNOWS WHAT’S UP but juyeon is adorably oblivious so he’s just like! ok! see you later y/n i hope you get your homework done :) and he’s so smiley and cute and you just want to melt and cry bc he’s shirtless which is hot asf but he’s also smiling like that which is cute asf and you’re getting whiplash

(you still end up joining the sessions every so often. you bring homework to try and get it done but your time is either spent critiquing kevin’s fashion choices or staring subtly (not) at juyeon)

then a not good week rolls around and it’s just been absolutely shitty between crap professors and too much homework and your lab is working on submitting a paper soon and you’re stressed to the max and to top things off you saw your ex earlier and they tried to talk to you and you really didn’t want to have it so you’re in the lab crying over your computer while you try to proofread the stupid paper and your phone is off bc you don’t want to talk to anyone but then the door bursts open and you nearly have a heart attack and there juyeon stands in clothes that definitely aren’t his own (they’re too sleek and fancy to be normal clothes at least) and his eyes are kinda wild before they locate you in the corner of the room, shell-shocked and confused and also still crying a little bit out of stress 

and oh god juyeon’s eyes just soften totally and he walks over and before you know it you’re being pulled into a juyeon hug which is quite possibly one of the best hugs you have felt in a very long time and you’re doing your best not to break down right then and there bc his clothes feel hella expensive and he’s asking you what’s wrong and you can’t speak bc if you do you’ll cry on his model clothing and you finally manage to say that and there’s a beat of silence and then juyeon just goes well would it help if i took the shirt off 

AND THAT JUST SETS YOU OFF AND NOW YOU’RE CRYING AND LAUGHING AT THE SAME TIME AND JUYEON IS HALF SMILING HALF UPSET THAT YOU’RE STILL SAD BUT LIKE IT’S FINE IT’S TOTALLY FINE AND somehow you manage not to ruin kevin’s latest fashion creation (which makes juyeon look unfairly handsome even through your puffy eyes) and juyeon closes your laptop and takes you out to the convenience store (still dressed in his modeling outfit jfc) and over shitty ramen and alcohol (or water/juice/whatever if you don’t drink) you tell him about your crap week and juyeon commiserates and listens

at some point you ask him why he’s still wearing kevin’s clothes like?? surely you weren’t running around in them all day and juyeon just looks down and mumbles something and you’re like speak louder dude i can’t hear you and apparently he was in the middle of a session w kevin and kevin looked super stressed and worried and juyeon asked what was up and he told him about how you weren’t responding to anything and juyeon just. booked it the fuck out of there to find you and well now here you both are

and that. that just touches the FUCK out of you and wow you’re crying again bc of that and out of guilt for not talking to kevin or anyone and juyeon’s freaking out like oh my god please stop crying did i say something wrong and you’re just wiping your tears away with a napkin like no you doofus i’m sorry i made you worried it was just that shitty week and??? why did you sprint out of there IN KEVIN’S MODEL CLOTHES you gotta give those back??? and it looks like silk you know that’s going to be a bitch to clean

juyeon just pouts then and mumbles something under his breath and is like. it’s not more important than you.

which makes you reel bc that sounded a lot more like a confession than you’re really ready to process and juyeon seems to realize that at the same time and now you two are both just wide-eyed staring at each other and juyeon’s ears are going red and you’re still in shock and at some point you’re like... juyeon you stupid bastard say that again and he DOES and okay maybe you’re not dating by the end of the night but you sure are two weeks later when you ask him whether or not this is now a date and if he’s your boyfriend and juyeon spills coffee all over himself

(he mumbles yes as you’re wiping the coffee off his front though so it’s fine)

(it does not help that the coffee has now made the outline of his stomach visible)

anyway in general it’s a v cute and v sweet relationship :D juyeon is head over heels for you and you’re head over heels for him too and you’re not like the over the top sweet and gross couple you two like to keep it a little low-key but ofc that doesn’t stop kevin from banning you from fitting sessions w juyeon out of fear that you’ll like make out while juyeon’s wearing the modeling clothes but that’s just kevin being a little shit so it’s fine

juyeon manages to bring that silk shirt back to kevin in one clean piece

you manage not to die every time you go to one of juyeon’s dance recitals (even when he puts in a fake eyebrow piercing and you almost have a heart attack)

juyeon often likes to come into the lab for nothing other than to watch you work bc according to him its fascinating to watch you manipulate numbers and actually the lab is a v nice and quiet place to get things done when it’s mostly empty so you have a few study dates there

you go to juyeon’s dance practices sometimes when you have nothing better to do and get excited over showing him the physics of some of the dance moves and juyeon understands almost none of it but he’s beaming bc you’re so excited and animated while talking about it and the first time this happens is when you two have your first kiss. you ask juyeon if he was kissing you to shut you up and he says no i just thought you looked so happy that i had to kiss you

juyeon is a gentleman and you are like the sarcastic best friend turned lover but it really works out and yea there are a lot of people jealous that you managed to wrap juyeon around your finger but you’re also wrapped around his it’s v much a partnership where both of you rely on each other and yeah. it’s sweet. it’s lovely. juyeon hot but more important juyeon best boyfriend ever <3

and that’s how it goes.

If you enjoyed, please don’t forget to reblog and leave a comment to tell me what you thought! Thank you for reading and have a lovely day <3

(1 reblog = 1 prayer for kevin’s clothes let’s all pray that no tears stain his silk)

[mister-supernova]

Memories Lost

Part 1 - Part 2

Pairing: Hope Mikaelson x Reader

Before Malivore

I.

“Y/n L/n, please do not tell me that you forgot to add eggs to the cake mix.” 

Your eyes widen like a child who is about to be in some serious trouble by their parents. Now that you thought about it, something did feel off about the batter you’ve been struggling to stir for the past five minutes. 

You look up from your batter bowl to see Hope staring at you with daggers in her eyes. 

Yep, you were screwed. 

After gently placing your wisk on the kitchen table, you give the tribrid the best innocent smile you could, “Okay. I won’t tell you that, but I will tell you that we’re going to have to start over since there may or may not be a key ingredient missing from the mix.”  

As much as you wanted the smile to dilute the situation, Hope still pinches the bridge of her nose and runs her fingers through her hair, obviously more stressed out than ever.

Today is Commonwealth Day and some of Hope’s family members from New Orleans are supposed to be coming into town, one of which includes her mother. If anything you felt that you should’ve been the one who was stressed out. 

“How do you forget to add eggs to a cake mix, Y/n?” Hope asks, flailing the full carton of eggs around. She looked like she was on the verge of erupting like Pompeii. 

You decide to approach with caution, “Okay, okay,” you slowly reach for the carton and carefully take it from her hand, “Let’s not break the only eggs left in the fridge, yeah? We do need those. Let’s also take a steady breather for a second.” 

The two of you inhale one large breath of air together and then slowly breathe out. 

“There we go, Hope,” she’s still looking at you with a small amount of fire in her eyes, “Hey, I apologize for my idiocy. I honestly don’t know what you expected when you left me alone to make this, but it’s a minor setback.”

“That was the only box of cake mix we bought, Y/n.” Hope states. 

You fall silent for a moment to let that information sink in, “Okay, slightly more than minor setback,” Hope lets out a frustrated groan and moves past you, “We don’t have to make a cake, Hope. I saw a box of brownie mix in the pantry.” 

“Yeah, that says ‘Lizzie Saltzman’s Brownie Mix: DO NOT TOUCH’ in big black letters. In case you don’t recall, I’m not exactly in her good graces at the moment.” 

“Eh, name me one person who is in her good graces,” you shrug as if it’s no big deal and take the box out anyways, giving it a good shake, “Doesn’t feel like she put any jinxes on it. My arm has yet to fall off so therefore I think we should be safe.”

Hope gives you a look telling you that she’s still unsure of this. 

“Come on, I of all people know how much crap she makes you go through on the daily basis. What’s a box of brownie mix compared to torment?” You pause and think, ‘that’s probably a little much’, “Maybe not literal torment, but you get the picture. I’ll even take the blame if she starts asking questions.” 

“Are you kidding? She’d probably kill you if she found out.”

“That’s what I have you for,” you say matter-of-factly, taking a few steps closer to the tribrid until you were face to face, “What, you thought that I was your friend because I like you?” You ask in a playful tone, making Hope roll her eyes at you even though she was clearly amused, “Keep dreaming, Mikael-” her eyes widen and she covers your mouth with her hand before it’s too late.

You are the only student in the whole school who knows that Hope’s father is Klaus Mikaelson. It took many months of trust-building after your friendship began, but one night at the pier, Hope mustered up enough courage to tell you about her family history. 

She half-expected you to go running for the hills and leave her in the dust. Instead, you blew her expectations out of the water by having the calmest reaction she had ever seen. You thanked her for trusting you so much that she felt that she could tell you something not everyone knew at the time. 

She made you promise not to tell anyone to which you agreed to with a pinky promise. This moment has been the only time you nearly slipped up. Thankfully no one else was in the kitchen, but who knows who could be walking by. 

You raise an eyebrow at Hope, glancing down at her hand that was still covering your mouth. 

Hope quickly retracts her hand back, “Sorry. It was just, you know-” 

“No, that was my bad. Good save though... Marshall.” You say, followed by a cheeky wink. 

A tint of red flushes Hope’s cheeks as she gives you a thankful smile, causing your cheeks to warm up as well. 

You clear your throat and break eye contact with the tribrid, “Shall we get started?” You ask, raising the brownie mix up to your face, “Ass beating from Lizzie or not, I still wanna make a good first impression on your family, especially your mom. God knows you’ve probably dragged my name through the dirt every chance you had.”

Hope playfully rolls her eyes, giving you a small shove before giving in and pulling out a clean mixing bowl. “Fine, let’s just get this over with before we get busted.”

“Atta girl!” You grin widely before ripping the box open. 

There was no going back now. If you two were going down, at least you were going down together and you were getting a sweet treat out of it, too.

II.  

It was a beautiful day to be out at the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted. The weather was your idea of perfect; sunny, breezy, and clear. 

Students were reading outside on the grass, the younger kids were playing tag, others playing Wickery, and you were getting your ass beaten by the world’s strongest tribrid.

This was your guys’ third round of sparring for the day and you had yet to win a single one. Just when you thought you had her arm locked behind her back, she whispers the incantation, “Dimiterre.”

Everything went by so fast that you didn’t have any time to think about landing on your feet. Instead, your back slammed against the small wooden pier after being flipped over the tribrid’s shoulder. It wasn’t fair that she could just chant any spell she wanted to throw you off guard. 

“Is that really all you got today, Y/n? This is just embarrassing.” She shakes her head at you like a disappointed coach. 

“I’ll make you eat those words, Mikaelson,” you grunt, feeling a new surge of energy course through your body as you jump back up to your feet, “We’re just getting started.” You smirk, wiping a drop of sweat off your forehead. 

Hope grins back at you, readying her position for another round of sparring. The both of you share the same look of determination, neither one backing out as you throw the first jab. 

Several more rounds pass. All of which ended with your ass hitting the pier as if it were some kind of magnet.

“You’re making this too easy.” Hope says triumphantly with a cocky smile. 

You huff out an exhausted breath of air, “I’m obviously letting you win, Mikaelson,” you use your arms to help you jump back to your feet, “I could easily take you down if I wanted to.” 

“Oh yeah?” Hope wonders, taking a step forward. She was a little less out of breath than you, but you could tell that she was playing it off just as much as you were. 

“Oh yeah. Why don’t we do one final round? This time I won’t hold back.” You challenge her.

“You seem pretty worn out for someone who was holding back.” She states and you pretend not to be hurt by her jab at your lack of combat skills. 

“Maybe that’s just to fool you into thinking you can beat me again,” you shrug as you watch her readjust her gloves, “Oh, and you can’t use your magic. Too much of an advantage.”

Hope’s mouth falls open and she shakes her head, “Then I’d be at a disadvantage. You’re like a whole foot taller than me.” 

“Come on, if it’s so easy you should have no problem pinning me down within two seconds of the round.” 

Hope silently thinks it over in her head, then quickly comes to a decision, “Fine. Loser buys milkshakes at the Grill.” 

You grin, “Deal. Prepare to pay up, Mikaelson.” 

After waiting for one of you to make the first move, Hope decides to sweep kick your legs at an unfathomable speed and knocks your back to the ground. 

She straddled your hips and placed her hands on both sides of your head, “Ha! Looks like someone’s- wha-” 

As quickly as she knocked you to the pier just now, you pulled her neck down to where her face is inches closer to yours, trapped her arm by wrapping yours around it, lifted your leg to trap hers and then rolled your body over to where you were now on top.  

Breathless and cheeks redder than before, Hope stared up at you in shock. If you were completely honest, you had no idea that move was going to work, but you were so glad that it did. For one, now you get a free milkshake and two, you’ve never had Hope Mikaelson’s face this close to yours before. 

Her legs were practically wrapped around your waist and your hands were holding her arms down above her head, making her face dangerously close to yours. It would only take one of you leaning forward for something to happen. 

Instead, you kept your cool, “Looks like I win.” you smile, also breathless, “I like cookies and cream, by the way.” 

III.

“So you do this… for fun?” You ask, sitting as still as possible on a wooden stool in Hope’s bedroom. 

It was a stormy weekend in Mystic Falls, so most of the outdoor activities were closed off until the rain cleared up, which didn’t seem to be happening anytime soon according to the weather broadcasts. You weren’t a huge fan of being alone during thunderstorms--you’d never let anyone know that--so you found yourself hanging out with Hope. 

Well, you were mainly watching Hope. She came up with the idea of painting a portrait of you sitting by her window to pass the time. Being that you’ve never had a portrait painted of you before, you thought this would be kind of fun. You didn’t expect it to be such a long and quiet process, but you definitely preferred this over being scared out of your mind listening to the thunder by yourself.

Hope hums a yes to your question as she concentrates on her strokes, “Can you look back out the window?” 

You sigh, turning your head to look outside for about thirty seconds before nearly falling off the stool because of the lightning bolt that crashed a couple miles away from the school. As pretty as it looked, being struck by lightning was still one of your irrational fears. 

“Are you sure it’s safe for me to be looking outside?” You turn back to look at Hope. 

“Y/n, I promise nothing is going to happen to you. Now sit still,” she says in a not-so-reassuring voice. 

You let out an annoyed huff, but you do you’re told and turn to face the rain covered window glass.  

“How long does it usually take you to do these things? Asking out of curiosity. Totally not because I’m losing feeling in my glutes.” You wonder, shifting in your stool.

“I’m usually quicker when my subject isn’t interrupting every five seconds and moving around like they have worms in their said glutes.”

You face her again with an over exaggerated look of shock on your face, “Is that some sort of degrading werewolf joke? That is extremely offensive.” 

She leans away from her canvas to look at you, her eyes squinted, “I’m part werewolf, too, idiot.” 

“You’re a tribrid. That’s different. One third of a werewolf doesn’t count, therefore your little worm joke hurts me more.” You stick your tongue out at her.

“Why am I friends with you again?” She’s trying her best to hide it, but you can tell that she’s resisting a smile.

“Because as sad as it is, no one else can make you smile like I do, Mikaelson.” It took a few seconds until she couldn’t help but reveal a very faint yet noticeable grin. She leaned back behind her canvas to conceal it, but there was no use since you already caught sight of it.

“Just shut up and look out the window before I cast a freeze spell on you.”

You wanted to make another snarky remark, but you knew your friend well enough to know that she was serious about casting that spell. To avoid being frozen in an uncomfortable position for God knows how long, you closed your mouth and relaxed your body before looking back out the window. 

IV.

“What do you mean you can’t dance? I’ve seen you do it all the time.” Hope asks, watching you from her bed as you pace back and forth in her dorm room.

“That’s me flailing my body around like a fool hoping it looks good! I don’t know what I’m actually doing!” 

Josie asked you--as a friend--to be her escort for her and Lizzie’s 15th birthday party. You’d only be dancing with her one time, but the problem was that it was supposed to be a waltz and you had absolutely no idea how to do that. 

“It’s embarrassing enough that she asked me to be her escort, I don’t wanna embarrass her even more for not knowing how to do a stupid waltz!” Hope rolls her eyes before having enough of your unnecessary freakout. 

She gets up from her bed to stop you from pacing, “Y/n. Just relax, okay? You freaking out is freaking me out,” she says, holding onto your shoulders, “I can teach you how to waltz.” 

Your body relaxes and a small wave of relief hits you, “Seriously?” 

“What? You think I can’t dance either?” Hope playfully asks, placing her hands on her hips as she tilts her head at you. 

“I’ve never seen you do it before,” you argue, getting a small smack to the arm, “Ow! Okay, I’m obviously kidding… sort of,” she smacks you again, making you laugh this time, “Okay, okay. Forreal now, I could really use your help.” 

Hope sighs, pretending to have second thoughts because of your teases. You don’t worry too much though because you know she wouldn’t leave you to crash and burn like that... at least you really hope so.

“Give me your hand.” She gives in, fitting one of her hands in yours. You grin as your other hand finds her waist and hers rests on your shoulder, “Make sure you’re relaxed, you wouldn’t want to look stiff as a board while you’re dancing.”

You nod your head, taking in a deep breath as you let your muscles relax.

“Also, always have your eyes on your partner. You’re more likely to be tripping on their feet if you keep looking down.” 

“That shouldn’t be too hard.” You say without meaning for it to leave your head. Hope bows her head for a second to hide the redness appearing on her cheeks.

After composing herself, Hope looks back up at you, “First, step forward with your left,” you follow her movements smoothly, “Step sideways to the right,” your right foot steps out, “Close your feet together, then step back with your right,” you glance down at your feet for a second which was your first mistake.

You slightly stumbled, but caught yourself when you put your feet back together. 

Hope chuckles, “What did I tell you?” 

“Hey, now cut me a little slack. I was doing pretty good for a second there,” you defend yourself before repositioning your feet, “What’s next?” 

“Step to the left, bring your feet together, then repeat it all over again but a little faster. You’re going to want to count one-two-three in your head to stay in rhythm,” you raise an inquisitive eyebrow, making her smile, “Okay, I’ll count out loud and you repeat the moves we just finished learning. Does that sound good?” 

You nod quickly, then she takes her step back and you follow, remembering what she taught you. Forward, right, together. Back, left, together. Forward, right, together. Back, left, together. The longer you two went on, the quicker you picked up on the moves and the more comfortable you felt. 

Eventually, you felt that you didn’t need to keep dancing with Hope, but it was hard not to keep going when you have the most beautiful girl in your arms right now.  

“Stop looking so smug.” Hope says, noticing the smile that appeared on your face. Even though she stopped counting, the two of you continued to flow around her room gracefully. 

“I’m waltzing with the big and bad tribrid. How can I not be smug?” 

It’s Hope’s turn to smile, but she gives you a playful eyeroll to counter the fact that she was enjoying this, “If you tell anyone I did this for you, you’re dead.” 

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t dare let anyone know you’re an actual decent person, Hope Mikaelson. It’ll be our little secret.” You wink at her, making her cheeks even redder. She moves her mouth to one side of her face to keep herself from smiling any wider. 

It made your heart flutter, seeing how comfortable she was around you. You got to see the vulnerable side of her that she rarely ever showed to anyone else at the school. It’s the small moments like this that you knew you'd keep in your heart forever. 

~

this one is more of a flashback situation in comparison to parts 1 and 2 and there’s some more happy moments since the first 2 were a little more angsty lol part 4 coming soon! 

taglist: @chicken-wang09​ @trikruismybitch​ @sodangtired​

[lokilickedme]

Hulu and Do You

A Hammer Of The Gods Jake & Tate Shortfic, Part One

Part One - The Worst Kind of Man Rated M for language and adult themes - no sex yet (and I stress yet) 1703 words Takes place a year after the events of Hammer of The Gods

I’m posting this here for now because I’m not in the mood to accidentally start another longfic and AO3 tends to do that to me.  This will be two parts with the second coming later.  Written under the duress of a headache and not edited or proofread, so...whatever’s down there is what ya get.

I’ll reblog later tonight with my tag list attached.  Slide under the cut and lets go :)

“Geezus fuck kid, take that to your mom.”

Tate flinched, that same old kneejerk reaction to a raised male voice that she’d always had, a holdover from another time, another place, and most definitely another man.  But the man in the next room hadn’t really raised his voice, had he?  No, it was just that she was so damn used to it happening that the reflex had become too deeply ingrained to not be automatic.  It made her feel ashamed of herself for not being over it, just a tiny bit.

Jake didn’t raise his voice.  Not at her, not at her kids, not ever.  She’d never really actually heard him raise it, not in anger, not even when he was threatening a creatively bloody demise toward her long gone ex the day he’d popped his jaw damn well near clean off his face.

Jake wasn’t a yeller.

But he was definitely a curser, and her son had committed the unforgivable by blasting into the room he was working in to offer up an empty GoGurt tube in trade for a new one.

It wasn’t unforgivable in this house though, and it wasn’t unforgivable with this man.

Only The Ex.  Once upon a time.

Jake didn’t mind the kids coming into his study room; he wasn’t insanely nuts about them being around him, but he had no particular dislike of it either, other than when one or the other of them handed him something sticky.

Like the youngest just had.

She couldn’t blame him, to be honest.  GoGurt tubes in the hands of a four year old weren’t something she enjoyed dealing with herself, and Jake - well, Jake wasn’t the daddy type.  But he was a good man, albeit a filthy-mouthed one, and the words hadn’t even been the slightest bit irritated sounding.  Just more of an Ew, hell no.

So why the flinch?

She’d been trying to sort that in her head for the past year, and the only conclusion she’d reached was the uncertain possibility that she was simply afraid that one day Jake would become like The Ex.  Angry, irritated, controlling, condescending.  Disapproving.  Abusive.  She had nothing to base it on other than the fact that it had happened once and her luck, though vastly improved since the night she’d grabbed the kids and walked out with nothing but Jake’s tuition money in her pocket, couldn’t possibly hold.

Or could it?

Perhaps Pete had been right when he’d summed his friend up in a single sentence - He might look like he’d snap your neck for a half smoked cig but he’d just as soon pay you a nickel for it.  It hadn’t made sense at the time, but a year of dating the man had put a bit of clarity on it for her.  Jake was quick to anger in attitude only.  For the most part he was levelheaded, quiet, capable.  He had a low tolerance for idiocy and a deep appreciation for common sense, and what he put into the world by way of surliness he made up for in an intense intelligence and observant nature that dictated he simply deal with problems himself instead of waiting for anyone else to solve them.  And now, after all this time, she knew something not many other people knew.

The angry attitude wasn’t real.

Jake Harper was a fraud.

He didn’t hate the world...he was just uncomfortable in it.  Whether it was shyness or impatience or what his sisters referred to as “a near fatal case of attention deficit coupled with just too damn smart for this world”, she’d probably never figure out.

Not that it mattered.  She’d long since sorted how to work around it and keep that furrow-browed scowl from being used on her.

Jake was easily distractable...and he didn’t like to watch TV.

At all.

And that was where Tate’s secret weapon came into play.

He’d been studying a lot lately.  Way too much, but he had finals coming up.  She shouldn’t even be here, not really, not while he was working on such a time crunch with such a massive class load, but they hadn’t seen each other in a week aside from a quick lunch on Tuesday and a late night Facetime sexup the following evening.  It hadn’t been difficult talking him into letting her come over.

Or talking Pete into picking up the kids and taking them to the park so she and Jake could be alone for a couple of hours.  But he was running late and the kids were making a lot of noise, and now there was a drippy GoGurt tube incoming.

“Pete, come on.”

“Your wish is my command, Tatertot.”

“Geezus!!”

Her face went a bit warm, hearing that crude word pop out of her own mouth.  She’d been around Jake too much, he was rubbing off on her.

Rubbing off on her.

The alternate connotations of that phrase added more heat to her cheeks but thankfully Pete didn’t notice.  He was too busy grabbing her son up and tossing him haphazardly into the air, a horrifying habit she’d gotten used to.

“Sorry, runnin’ late.  Little girl, come on lets go!”  One huge paw came up to gingerly remove her son’s tiny fist from where it was twisted in his long unruly hair.  “Ew.  Is that GoGurt?  Better be blueberry, the cotton candy looks shit on me.”

Good old Pete.  If Jake hadn’t been the one to break the lock on her bedroom window - euphemism or no - things might have been a little different at this juncture of her life.  But Pete was a better friend than Jake would have been if the roles were shifted, and she was grateful for the big brash Viking’s helpful companionship.

Especially now.

“Take some frozen peas for the ducks.”

And then they were gone, and she was left standing in the doorway to Jake’s study room, looking at his broad back and swooning just a little bit over the contrast between his long dark hair and the light blue of his tee shirt as he hunched forward over his desk, deep in concentration that she knew didn’t come easy for him.

“You want to take a break?  Kids are gone, we could watch some TV.”

She knew he didn’t like TV, he didn’t have either the ability or the desire to put that much focus into something recreational after devoting so much effort into keeping his head on his studies.  He turned his head just slightly to the side, not looking at her, but acknowledging her presence.  “That show you like, they put the final season up.”

“Yeah?  Which one?”

He leaned back in his chair, stretching his back.  “That whack one about the preacher and the vampire.”

“You’re kidding?!  Want to start it?  I can call us in a pizza.”

He turned his chair to the left, coming around slowly to face her.  There was something dark and slightly wicked in the twist of his lips that shot a shiver through her.  “Do that.  I’m gonna finish this chapter and then I’m gonna Hulu and do you.”

“Ooh...and here I thought the whole Netflix and chill trend was going to just pass us by.  I mean...”  She took a step back, exiting the doorway, letting her hand stray purposefully toward the top button of her shirt.  “You’re always so busy with school and you have that personal vendetta against Netflix and all - “

“They sold Doctor Who to Amazon.  Fuck ‘em.”

“Well yeah, can’t disagree with you there.”

His eyes passed over her briefly, lingering for just a moment on her hand where her fingers toyed with the button.  It was enough.  Jake didn’t ogle, though there were times she wished he would as some sort of a courtesy warning shot before he made his intentions known.  There wasn’t a lot of preamble with him.  Straightforward and to the point, always.

Good old Viletongue.

She had no complaints.  Because she always knew where she stood with Jake.

But today...today she wasn’t planning on standing.

                                         ************************

He was bored already, she could tell.  He was a scientist at heart, which she found humorous - Captain Curseword, the filthiest-mouthed man she’d ever met, the guy who could take a toddler’s boardbook with eleven words in it and turn it into a foul diatribe so intensely crass it made you step away from him for fear of the wrath of God accidentally hitting you while aiming at him - this man was possessed of an analytical mind so sharp and detail oriented that anything shy of a scientific documentary lost his attention within minutes.  His chosen profession suited his intellect, the chemistry aspect of pharmacology more than enough to give his mind something to work on all the time, but it ran so counter crossways to the physical side of him that sometimes she found herself wondering if he’d been accidentally housed inside the wrong body at birth.

In fact, sometimes it seemed like he wasn’t quite human at all.

She’d thought him an angel once.

And then she’d slept with him and realized he was, in fact, a god.

A god that was about to fall asleep less than ten minutes into Preacher episode one season four.  She looked over at him, next to her on the couch with his head back on the cushions, those stormy sky blue eyes half closed while his fingers tapped out an odd little rhythm on the thigh of her jeans.  Likely typing a chemical equation of some kind, his brain’s stubborn refusal to shut down long enough to rest seeping out through the steady drum of his fingertips.

He was a confusing thing sometimes.  He was both the best kind of man and the worst kind of man...and what she needed right now was the worst kind.

Taking that busily distracted hand from her thigh, she moved it up to her chest and laid it palm-down over her breast.  Jake didn’t respond, but his fingers clenched slightly; she looked over to find he’d closed his eyes entirely, but the tiniest twitch of a grin was gently turning up the corners of that filthy, filthy mouth.

[organabanana]

leaves of three, let it be [2/3] || harlivy

Chapters: 2/3

Fandom:  DCU (Comics)DCUHarley Quinn (Comics)Harley Quinn (Cartoon 2019)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence

Relationships: Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel

Characters: Pamela Isley, Harleen Quinzel, Selina Kyle

Additional Tags: Mentions of alcohol, mentions of batman fucking bats, most of this is straight up idiocy tbh, i just finished watching the cartoon so everyone swears like a sailor i’m sorry, rated for (ahem) happenings later on, ivy/harley/catwoman frenemies

Summary

After Harley mistakenly confesses her love and then promptly takes it back, Ivy spends some time sorting through the things she absolutely doesn't feel (and the ones she does). Selina and Harley don't quite help.

Chapter 1: Tumblr | AO3

Chapter 2: AO3

If you ever asked Poison Ivy if she’s into meditation, she’d say she isn’t.

Actually, if you ever asked Poison Ivy if she’s into meditation, she’d probably stare you down until you crumbled under the sheer weight of her judgment and apologized for ever talking to her, but that’s beside the point.

The point is, Ivy doesn’t meditate. The concept of meditation, if you ask her, goes in the same patchouli-scented box as moon-charged crystals and essential oils.

No. What Ivy does is… introspection. Yeah. She introspects. She consciously clears her mind of all intrusive thoughts. Which may sound a lot like meditation, maybe? But — she cannot stress this enough — it’s not the same thing.

So there she is. Sitting on her couch. Introspecting. And it may look like she’s staring off into the distance, but she’s actually looking at a nearly invisible, tiny little hint of a green sprout that’s managed to grow in a crack on the windowsill.

There it is. A tiny little fighter. Just like—

Nope.

No way.

We are absolutely not thinking about her. We’re introspecting. So Ivy takes in a deep breath, in through her nose, eyes fluttering closed as she exhales slowly and then opens them and tries again.

As she was saying. A tiny little sprout. She could go over there and touch it and quite literally breathe life into it. She can’t tell what kind of plant it is, but she could make it bloom if it’s a flowering species. What if it’s a tree? She could make it grow so big its roots would tear this whole building apart just like her heart was torn apart last ni—

Motherf—

“Morning, my little dill pickle.”

Selina climbs in through the window, practically gliding into Ivy’s apartment with the kind of grace that would normally make Ivy stop and stare and perhaps have a not-quite-respectful thought or two.

Listen: she has eyes. Don’t read into it.

Anyway. As graceful and ridiculously nimble as Selina is, she’s also way up high in Ivy’s shit list at the moment (second only to you know who), so today is not the day for lighthearted conversation and platonic crushes.

“Fuck you, Selina,” Ivy offers as a greeting, glancing at the plant to make sure it’s still there. And it is, of course. Selina fucking Kyle may be a bitch and a half, but she knows how to move without leaving a trace.

“Now?” Selina cocks one perfectly manicured eyebrow at Ivy, the slightest hint of a teasing smirk on her face. “I mean I was gonna offer brunch, but that doesn’t sound like the worst midday plan.”

Ivy simply stares for a moment, as if she’s forgotten if there’s one person in the world that’s absolutely immune to even her most wilting looks, that’s Selina fucking Kyle.

“Oh, come on,” Selina practically groans, “stop it. Brooding is such a teen boy move.”

“I am not brooding.”

“Right.” With one single word, Selina makes it clear that she doesn’t believe Ivy and, most importantly, that she doesn’t care enough to argue. “Anyway. Brunch? My treat.”

Ivy closes her eyes. Not meditating. Just introspecting. Just trying to channel the urge to make a full-grown sequoia grow out of Selina Kyle’s ass into something productive. One deep breath in through her nose and—

“We can have margaritas!” Selina lets out a quiet chuckle as she admires the perfectly matte black polish on her fingernails. “Yikes. Too soon?”

Fuck introspection.

“I. Am going. To fucking murder you.” Ivy stands up with every intention to make good on that promise, and Selina must read it in her eyes because for the first time since Ivy’s known her — for the first time in her life, maybe — Selina looks scared.

Well, maybe not scared.

But she is absolutely concerned.

“Fuck me, Ive, damn,” Selina takes one step back, no longer smirking, “calm down, will you?”

Ivy stops, Selina’s audacity basically jolting her out of her murderous rage. “Calm down, Selina? Fucking seriously? You did what you did and now you come here and tell me to fucking calm down?”

Selina tilts her head just so, like she’s conceding (against her will) that maybe there is a reason for Ivy to be somewhat upset with her.

“Oh, come on,” she sighs, rolling her shoulders like the tension has to leave her body somehow, and it will certainly not be via an apology, “it wasn’t even real poison.”

Ivy’s eyes widen slightly in disbelief. Does Selina think she’s mad because she thinks Harley was in actual danger?

No. No, Selina can’t think that, because Selina may be an asshole, but she’s a very smart asshole. So she must know Ivy’s well aware of Harley’s immunity to toxins. She must know that’s not even remotely the reason Ivy’s spent the last eleven hours and some change introspecting all thoughts of last night out of her mind.

For a split second, Ivy feels something similar to warmth towards Selina as she considers that maybe she’s simply ignoring the embarrassing part of the event to spare Ivy. Maybe she’s pretending this is about Harley’s physical wellbeing and not… well. The other thing.

Sadly, the split second passes.

“If it helps,” Selina says, and even before she finishes the sentence Ivy can already sense it won’t help at all, “it’s totally reciprocated.”

Ivy feels it crawling up her veins, thick like sap. She’s managed to distill plenty of emotions, turned them into tonics and toxins and elixirs and used them for her own benefit and the Green’s. She’s bottled love — well, lust — and hatred and rage. Fear, even. Insanity, ironically enough. But this.

This… this humiliation.

Oh, this is something else.

Ivy closes her eyes. In through her nose, and even the air feels like it has to go through that thick mixture of (public) pain and weakness and acknowledged vulnerability to get to her lungs.

It’s one thing to have Harley see her like this. Like that. Like last night. Defenses down and heart out there in the open like her ribcage’s forgotten its purpose. That’s fine, she figures, because it’s been the norm for years and years and years. It’s nothing new, really, to have Harley see her accidentally stumble over the line into pathetic from time to time. It happens.

But Selina.

Selina fucking Kyle.

Selina saw that and she understood what she was seeing and now she’s acknowledging it, and Ivy isn’t even mad anymore.

I mean, she is. She’s really fucking mad.

She’s just many other things as well as mad, so it’s harder to focus on it.

Out through her mouth. Slowly. And her voice is nice and even when she opens her eyes and looks at Selina once again.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ivy lies, walking towards the kitchen like that had been her intention all along, “there is nothing to reciprocate.”

Ivy can feel Selina’s look on the back of her head. She’s not going to give her the satisfaction of turning around, of course. Selina Kyle’s ego is healthy enough as it is. But she can absolutely feel it. A look involving an arched eyebrow and narrowed eyes and possibly a smirk. Maybe the slightest purse of painted lips, if she’s going for judgmental rather than smug.

Selina is multi-faceted in her scorn.

“You have got to be shitting me, Ive,” Selina says, and Ivy still refuses to turn around, focusing instead on staring at the interior of her fridge and ignoring the fact that ninety percent of its contents are there for Harley’s all-day snacking needs.

She ends up grabbing a jug of water not because she’s thirsty, but simply because it’s the only thing in there she knows for a fact is there just for her.

“Seriously?” Selina prods, walking closer and crossing her arms over her chest as she watches Ivy methodically fill a glass of water like it’s a delicate operation that requires her undivided attention. “You’re such a fucking pussy. And I don’t mean that as a compliment.”

Ivy does turn around then, gripping the glass with perhaps a little more force than strictly necessary. In her defense, she’d much rather be gripping Selina’s neck instead.

“Once again, Selina,” she says with a slight shrug, taking a sip of cold water, “no idea what you’re talking about.”

Selina gapes at her. It’s kind of flattering, actually. It’s not every day something leaves Selina Kyle fully unable to speak. Maybe — Ivy thinks to herself, enjoying her water — she’ll never speak again. Maybe she’ll leave Gotham entirely. Wouldn’t that be just—

Ivy’s train of thought is completely derailed by something that is never a good sign: Selina Kyle is laughing.

Not chuckling. Not snickering. Not letting out one of those sarcastic giggles she likes to use to obliterate people’s entire self-esteem.

No. No, this is honest to goodness, full-on belly laughter, and it’s fucking terrifying.

“Wh— what the fuck, Selina?” Ivy asks, trying to sound less scared than she actually is. Selina’s sense of humor is not so much dark as it is downright fucked up, and if she’s finding something in this situation funny, it can only mean someone is about to get crushed, metaphorically or otherwise.

All signs point to Ivy.

“Look at you!” Selina points in the general direction of Ivy, like she’s about to rip her fashion sense to shreds. But this, sadly, has nothing to do with clothes. “Holy shit, you’re in so much deeper than I thought, this is fucking hilarious.”

Ivy takes one step back, until her hip bumps against the counter and she blindly feels around to leave the half-empty glass on it. To her credit, she still manages to try and infuse her voice with something resembling nonchalance one last time.

“You’re not making any sen—“

“Man, you’re in love, in love, huh?”

Ivy’s been shot before. So she feels like she’s not being overly dramatic when she says Selina’s words feel just like that. Like being shot right in the gut. And Ivy tries to be as stoic as she usually is when faced with things like gunshots and blunt force and bat-shaped ninja stars (holy fuck, he’s such a nerd), but she feels a bit like she’s been standing on a castle of cards for the last… however many years it’s been since she met Dr. Quinzel in Arkham, and Selina’s just figured out exactly where to blow to make it all come tumbling down.

“I mean I knew you two were into each other. Obviously,” Selina continues, and Ivy suddenly understands the exact meaning of all those expressions regarding cats and mice, “but I thought it was like… well, you know. Friends in need of a nudge towards the benefits. But this.”

Selina shakes her head, smile as wide as her eyes. She looks both surprised and delighted. Like she’s really just found out there are feelings involved in whatever lust-filled fever dream she’d interpreted as reality before now.

“And you’re the one who’s doing all the yearning. I totally thought she was the useless one. Holy shit.” Selina takes a couple steps in the direction of the window, like using a door like a normal person is simply not an option for her. “How long?”

Ivy opens her mouth, but Selina interrupts her before any sound can come out.

“Don’t answer that. I already know.” Selina waves her hand dismissively. “No wonder you’re fucking terrified. You’d be safer falling in love with an actual hyena.”

“I’m not—“

“Please.” Selina reaches the window and notices that little plant for the first time, giving it a little pat that could almost pass for affectionate if you didn’t know Selina Kyle. “So what’s scarier, Ive?” Selina almost purrs the question. “That she may not love you back, or that she probably does?”

Ivy tells herself she could murder Selina right then and there, with the help from the little plant. Hell, she could probably kill her without help from the plant.

But that wouldn’t really fix anything, right?

“Anyway!” Selina lets out a happy little sigh as she slinks out of the window and onto the fire escape outside. “No brunch, then. I’ll leave you to your brooding.” Her smile turns into a smirk then, eyes narrowed like she’s about to pounce on an unsuspecting mouse. “And don’t worry, Ive. I can keep a secret.”

Selina winks at her before she disappears.

Ivy refuses, pointedly, to think about her conversation with Selina.

She tries to go back to her introspection, but it turns out there’s no breathing in and out when your chest is full of feelings to the point of actual physical discomfort, so Ivy gives up on that, too.

She could plot. Scheme, if you will. It’s been a while since she’s gone for an actual multi-step plan to rid Gotham — and, later, the world — of parasitic CEOs profiting off nature. A bit of environmentally friendly murder never fails to put her in a good mood.

But it turns out it’s nearly impossible to come up with a solo plan without being constantly aware of the fact that going solo is no longer her default. A plan involving only herself doesn’t feel like just any random plan anymore. Now it feels like a plan without her, and that’s just— that’s just the opposite of what she needs to be thinking about right now.

So.

What’s an eco-terrorist to do when eco-terrorism is not an option?

Eight hours later she’s in her lab, hair haphazardly held in a bun with a pencil as she looks at her latest experiment through her microscope.

The little sprout from her windowsill sits right next to the microscope in a beaker serving as a makeshift flower pot while Ivy works.

“You know, if this works,” Ivy tells the sprout, eyes trained on the cell that should enter active mitosis any second now, “you’re going to be my sidekick when we take down the next big guy.”

If this works, and she can give this tiny plant the powers she hopes to give her, they can take over Gotham and the world as a team. Ivy’s always worked best with plants, anyway. Who needs—

“Red?”

Harley’s voice is uncharacteristically mellow, but it manages to startle Ivy anyway.

“Jesus, Harley,” Ivy doesn’t look away from the microscope, “what the fuck are you doing here?”

She’s not mad. Not at Harley, anyway. None of this is her fault. She’s just—

Listen. Figuring out exactly what to call what she’s feeling would require introspection, and we’re not doing that anymore.

“Oh. I uh—“ There’s something in Harley’s tone that twists uncomfortably in Ivy’s chest. “Wanted to talk?”

Ivy doesn’t want to talk. Talking, as it turns out, may be the very last thing she wants to do. But there’s that something in Harley’s voice. Something that sounds a bit like embarrassment. Like shame, even. Like maybe if Ivy were to listen in on Harley’s inner monologue right now the voice in there would sound suspiciously like him calling her a fuck-up and an idiot and—

“I’m sorry.” Ivy leaves the little plant’s cell to enter mitosis in its own time and turns to fully focus on Harley. “I didn’t mean to snap. You just startled me.”

Harley visibly relaxes. Ivy decides she hates him just that much more than she did ten seconds ago.

“Didn’t mean to startle ya,” Harley leaves her bat propped against the trunk of a giant nightshade and takes a few steps towards Ivy.

Normally, Harley has no concept of personal space. She sits on whatever surface is closest to Ivy, invading her space and making it impossible for her to fully focus on anything that’s not Harley. It should be annoying, but it isn’t, for reasons Ivy is absolutely not going to consider at this time.

This time, however, Harley hovers just a step or two away from Ivy and her microscope and her standing desk.

It feels…

It feels wrong.

“What did you want to talk about?” Ivy taps the desk and tries not to smile when Harley beams as she practically bounces to sit on it. Her legs dangle over the edge, well-worn combat boots lightly bumping against Ivy’s legs with each soft swing of Harley’s feet.

Nothing really feels wrong anymore.

“I’m sorry, Pammy.”

Ivy shakes her head. “It’s fine. You know you’re always welcome here, I just wasn’t expecting—“

“No,” Harley says, and when Ivy looks into her eyes she realizes Harley’s not going to let her pretend she has no idea what this is about, “I mean I’m sorry about the other night.”

Ivy stands up a little straighter. Takes half a step back, like that’s going to help. Crosses her arms over her chest.

“It’s fine.”

Harley tilts her head just so, bright blue eyes narrowing for a second, and Ivy sees a flash of Harleen right there staring back at her. Reading her fucking thoughts, almost. It’s unnerving.

“It’s fine, Harley,” Ivy insists, tone sharper as she takes another step back. She can hear the low rumble of every vine in her lab stirring along with her mood.

There’s a moment there, maybe a few seconds long, where they both simply stare at each other in silence. Like they’re trying to figure each other out in a way that feels completely foreign because she knows Harley, and Harley knows her, and there’s nothing to figure out. Nothing at all.

“You know—“ Harley’s voice sounds a bit brittle, like it may just break if it hits the wrong word, “you know I didn’t mean it, Pammy.”

Ivy nods. Once.

“I know.” She knows now and she knew when she first met Harley and she’s known for the last however many years it’s been. She fucking knows it’s love but it’s not love like that. She knows. “It’s fine.”

“You know Selina just got in my head, right?” Harley keeps talking, and on some level Ivy knows there’s nothing to be angry about because Harley just wants to explain. She just wants to make sure things aren’t weird between them because they’re best friends. But it feels almost cruel anyway. “You know I don’t—“

“I know you don’t love me, Harley, yes, for fuck’s sakes, I’m not an idiot.”

“But I—“

“Don’t.” Ivy holds one finger up. If she has to listen to Harley say she loves her, but just not in that way she may lose her fucking mind. “It’s fine.”

For a few blessed seconds, it feels like maybe Harley will let it go. Like maybe she’ll just drop it and let Ivy get out of this with some semblance of pride.

But that would just be too much to ask, wouldn’t it?

“I do love you, Ive, it’s just—“

“Holy shit, Harley!” Ivy raises her voice and hears the tell-tale creak of vines growing up the wall. “I know! I fucking know, all right? Selina is a dick and you thought margarita mix was a love potion and you’re not fucking in love with me, all right? I know!”

“But—“

“No! No fucking but!” Ivy swears she hears it. The little snap when she loses her last thread of control over what she’s saying and things spill out before she has a chance to filter them. “I don’t love you either, have you even considered that?”

Harley’s eyes widen in the purest expression of surprise Ivy’s ever seen in her life.

“Right!” There’s a part of Ivy that wants to stop. She wants to stop and backtrack and tell Harley she didn’t mean it because she can’t stand the thought of hurting her, and she needs her to know that of course — of course — Ivy loves her. But she just can’t right now. “I’m not secretly in love with you! All right? I’m glad you don’t love me. I’m fucking fine.”

Harley opens her mouth like she’s about to speak, but closes it without making a sound. She doesn’t look hurt, necessarily. She looks… she looks disarmed, almost. Like she doesn’t know how to react.

“I’ll just—“ Harley swallows and jumps off the desk. “We’re fine, so I’ll just leave. Yeah?”

Ivy nods. “Fine.”

“Cool. Yeah.” Harley sort of smiles, but not really. She moves a bit slower than usual as she goes back to her bat and walks towards the door, and there’s a part of Ivy that wants to stop her and fix this somehow — because it’s not fine at all — but self-preservation wins in the end.

“Remember to lock the door on your way out.”

For a second, Harley almost looks like she may say something. And for a second, Ivy almost hopes she will. But Harley just nods and walks out, and when she hears the lock snap into place, Ivy knows she’s all alone with her plants.

Right where she belongs.

[chisinpink]

The Only One: A Mastermind!Nagito AU Story - PROLOGUE

Hello lovelies, I’ve posted a *lot* about my Mastermind!Nagito AU on tiktok (I’m @chisben there as well if you wanna check it out), and I rly wanna share it here so here’s the prologue! Special thanks to @servanthaji for helping out with the planning of this whole story in general!

(Content warning for mentions of bombs and bombings, swearing and crying.)

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JUNKO: Yep, that’s the day that it happened. The day everything started getting… pretty scary, if you ask me! I’m just glad you were outta town for that, and baby was home sick. That’s, like, the only reason she’s here today, too!

HAJIME: Wait, wait, slow down! What are you even talking about…?

JUNKO: Uhh, I’m getting to that? Besides, don’t you know that guy too? Nagito Komaeda?

HAJIME: Not really… I mean, I knew of him, but I was in the reserve course. I didn’t really talk to him or anything until I went to school that Monday, and… there was nobody there except him.

JUNKO: Oh, yea? Did he tell you anything?

HAJIME: Not really. After I got shot at and ran in the school, I asked him what the hell was going on, but it was like I wasn’t there either. He just changed the subject to hope over and over again, like I asked a totally different question, and eventually I just walked away. I still don’t know what he was doing there.

JUNKO: Then maybe he doesn’t want you to know, y’know? You’re so lucky you have me, then~!

(She smirks playfully. Hajime stares at her blankly and her face drops. She stares at a map with a pen in hand.)

JUNKO: Come ooon, I’m coping! This is pretty stressful for everyone, y’know, I use humor to forget about all this stupid shit.

HAJIME: Whatever… just… tell me what’s going on.

JUNKO: Well, what happened that day… that was the start of The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History… in my opinion. And that’s saying a lot, because this world is filled with despair! And, like, his whole class helped him do what he did to the country! No idea why that is, but we can all fill you in on the rest, I guess. Preeeety sure we were all there in some way, ‘cept my baby.

(She gestures to the entirety of Class 78 of Hopes Peak Academy, standing and sitting in the basement of the school, as well as Mikan Tsumiki, who has a timid smile on her face as Junko looks back at her. Hajimes face drops.) 

HAJIME: Wh… what?? That can’t be it, that can’t be what happened…! The whole class?? The whole country?!

JUNKO: Eeeyup! They evacuated the school by putting a bomb under their teachers desk, and apparently all around the school, and I have NO idea how that lady didn’t croak! Anyways, everyone had to leave, and… that’s basically all I know. They just repeated that ooover and ooover on the news, it made me sick!!

(She threw her pen at a tiny radio propped up on a few cardboard boxes.)

HAJIME: Wh… this doesn’t… but… but, I...

(Kyoko steps forward and faces Hajime.)

KYOKO: I have some more information on what happened that day. After we were trapped here in the basement, all we had was the radio to inform us of the true nature of what happened. This is what I wrote down from those broadcasts.

(She hands Hajime a folder that contains three sheets of paper, all three of them hand-written notes. He begins reading.)

KYOKO: The class of 77-B was, most likely, all apparently under some sort of drug-induced psychosis. Most witnesses reported that they were acting strangely or out of character before they planted the bombs, and their eyes were hazy and… 

HAJIME: ”swirled”, “mixed”, “terrifying”, “comforting”, “light and dark” ...none of these make any sense.

KYOKO: My thoughts exactly. This entire event is bizarre and without any logical reasoning behind it… if you’d only heard about it on the news. But I think Makoto and I know more than any news outlets.

HAJIME: How?

(She looks over her shoulder to Makoto, signaling him to stand up.)

MAKOTO: Well, about a month ago me and Kyoko were going to one of the computer rooms to print something, but it was kind of out of the way, so we didn’t expect him to be there. N-Nagito, I mean. We saw him talking to Chihiro, and, uhm… I didn’t hear that part.

(He looks up to Chihiro. They stand meekly and fold their arms.)

CHIHIRO: H-he had been asking me to collaborate with him on a personal project, but… I didn’t have any spare time, and I didn’t even know him that well! So I finally just told him no, and he left me alone for a day or two… but t-then…

(Tears form at the corners of their eyes.)

CHIHIRO: H-he told me that… he was gonna… destroy the sc-sc-school if I didn’t-!

(They cover their face, and Makoto reaches out to rub their shoulder.)

MAKOTO: It’s not your fault, Chihiro. It’s nobody's fault but his. B-but anyway, after we heard about that, we decided that we had to keep an eye on him, but… basically the next day is when the bombs went off.

HAJIME: Why didn’t you just… tell a teacher what he told Chihiro?

MAKOTO: In hindsight… yeah, that would’ve been the safest thing we could’ve done. But Kyoko thought that we couldn’t keep an eye on him if he was expelled for that, a-and he could have been doing anything at home, so we fo-

KYOKO: Makoto, please, don’t. I was a coward, and I didn’t trust anybody else to investigate the matter. This whole situation could have been de-escalated dramatically if I had told school faculty.

(Kiyotaka stands from his spot next to Mondo.)

TAKA: You DIDN’T inform a teacher, or the Headmaster?! Miss Kirigiri, the school faculty always knows what is best for us!!

MONDO: Yeaaaah, is that why they all jumped ship and fucked off to who-knows-where so we could fight like dogs in the basement?

AOI: Hey, they did what they could, okay?? They had to protect themselves like everyone else! We’re not any better by hiding in the basement.

MONDO: Where the fuck ELSE were we supposed to go?? Candy land?!

YASUHIRO: Hey hey hey, Chihiro was right to lead us here the day the bombs went off! But I hear ya, maybe we coulda moved out of Japan together or somethin’ instead of hiding in Japan!

TOKO: I-I see why you’ve had to retake this year as m-much as you did now, you dumbass! He could b-be expanding anywhere now!!

BYAKUYA: As much as I hate to agree with her, I do. Nowhere is truly safe, and for all we may know, we’re being actively searched for. It’s only a matter of time before we have to relocate.

SAYAKA: I-I can’t stay here another second!! 

CELESTIA: Oh, so do you two suggest that we run out into the streets and expose ourselves to the predators? Play Nagitos game of cat and mouse?

LEON: Hell NO, I’m not playing that freaks game! But if he’s got his little possie out there looking every which way for us, then we gotta at least try and delay it!

SAKURA: On the other hand, we don’t know what they might want from us, if anything, or how bad the situation has escalated since we decided to hide.

HIFUMI: We don’t even KNOW what’s out there w-waiting for us anymore?! There could be giant mutant spiders wanting to turn us into baby food by now! I’m staying right HERE.

YASUHIRO: ...okay, I’m officially lost. Are we moving or staying?

SAYAKA: Moving!!

BYAKUYA: If you all intend on surviving, then you’ll all relocate. If you intend on being brutally murdered, then by all means, feel free to stay for a bit longer.

LEON: What in the actual fuck is wrong with you?? 

MAKOTO: H-hey, everybody calm down!!

SAKURA: We cannot make a decision until we know more about the outside world. AOI: But isn’t it because of what we don’t know that we have to go out there by now?

SAYAKA: Maybe some of us could go and some of us could stay?

TOKO: W-what if that reveals the hiding spot f-f-for everybody else??

MIKAN: (wiping away tears and hiccupping) N-nooo!!

YASUHIRO: Then we all have to come to the same decision, then.

CELESTIA: Yes, good luck reaching a peaceful consensus during the middle of an apocalypse!

BYAKUYA: I never said that it had to be a peaceful decision. If needed, you will all follow me kicking and screaming so I don’t perish thanks to your idiocy.

MONDO: I’ll knock some idiocy into ya if you keep runnin’ your mouth like that!

TAKA: Remember to take deep stomach breaths, bro! I think we can all solve this by utilizing a popular vote!

HIFUMI: But wouldn’t whoever’s the most popular win anyway??

HAJIME: SHUT UP!!! EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP!!!

(Everyone stops talking and stares at Hajime, who’s trembling and has his face in his hands.)

JUNKO: Daaaaaaamn, rookie’s kinda bold to be screaming at us like that, huh?

MAKOTO: Junko… you’re not helping. He’s obviously overwhelmed and you’re just teasing him.

JUNKO: C’mon, I’m nowhere near him! Hahah!

(Makoto sighs, sitting down next to Hajime on the floor. The rest of the students talk amongst themselves.)

MAKOTO: ...I’m sorry. I know you didn’t ask to be here, but… for what it’s worth, I’m glad that you’re still alive somehow.

HAJIME: … 

MAKOTO: You know… when Mukuro found you unconscious in that class, we all thought you were one of Nagitos’ friends. You seemed too peaceful in your sleep to have been running from anybody, or hiding from anything.

HAJIME: ...then why did you help me?

KYOKO: We thought we could get some information about the outside world. But apparently, you're just as lost as the rest of us.

MAKOTO: A-and because we didn’t want to leave anything to chance. Even if you were one of his people, we didn’t want you to just be out there. I’m glad that you weren’t, though… it feels nice to meet someone new again.

(Hajime lifts his face from his hands, palms and face covered in tears. He looks at Makoto with a faint smile.)

HAJIME: Yeah… feels nice.

☘️ TO BE CONTINUED☘️