#AND SHE FUCKING TOOK DOWN OUR WALL OF MATH MEMES

[anotherpapercut]

my supervisor just suggested to everyone in this meeting that we use chat gpt to respond to difficult conversations. we're fuckin cooked

[bagopucks]

J. Hughes - It’s Out There

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Jack Hughes x Reader

Requested✨

Word Count: 5.1k

Warnings: a bit of ass grabbing💕, talk of ED, general angst (not proofread)

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The horror stories weren’t exactly true, but they also weren’t far off. College is what one makes of it. That I learned early on. I kept up with the work, I built a steady routine, I put forth my best effort. Things so far had been fine. I had enough time for my major and my life.

Taylor on the other hand.. she wanted to party. I loved her. I truly did, but sometimes her complaining stressed me out. We were roommates, and I always offered my best advice and a helping hand when she needed it. But she never put forth her own effort. Jack often heard about her when I needed time to complain.

Today though, I had gotten her to sit down with me and study. I promised breaks here and there, and even a late dinner. We’d both missed out on lunch for finals, neither of us were exactly hungry considering the stress. We were in need of food. But more importantly, we were in need of better help.

I managed well with our other classes we had together. I let her copy my notes and we discussed and reviewed, but when it came to math, we were both scattered.

So we decided to take a brief break.

I leaned back against the wall, sitting on my bed, while Taylor mirrored me from her own bed. I texted Jack, while she no doubt scrolled through social media.

I enjoyed the silence. Not interrupted or broken by anything but the quiet flow of air through the AC in the room. Occasionally Taylor would send me something on Instagram, and our silence shifted into both of us scrolling through our social media apps and sending each other things.

I sent her a video of a French bulldog, I received a post in return that I couldn’t quite make out from the small notification. So I opened it.

“Jack Hughes Finally Off The Market?”

It wasn’t anything more than one of those meme pages, but the photo of Jack and I kissing at his favorite cafe in the city- that was what caught me off guard. I felt my stomach turn, my entire being feeling like it fell through the floor.

It had been pitch black that night. Nobody had even been on that street when we came out. How did somebody get a photo?

“Tay,” I glanced at the likes. There were enough to make me nauseous. I decided to check the comments, hopeful that perhaps somebody would point out how it was a joke. I knew that was unlikely though.

“Where’d you find this?” Fear gripped my heart as I read through comments.

‘Can’t see her face :|’

‘Great content bud’

‘Fuck her’

‘Don’t worry guys, it’s me’

‘Hands couldn’t even fit around that ass’

‘I’ll bet she’s pretty’

A different degree of reactions all around. My gaze remained on some longer than others.

“Just on Instagram. Since you started dating Jack I just.. I don’t know, guess I started keeping up with the hockey stuff.”

Taylor looked up at me, and I looked up at her. I was pale, she looked careless.

“Hun.. I wouldn’t worry. It’s a meme page. Nobody takes their stuff seriously.”

Taylor had a point, but at the end of the day.. that was still a photo of me and Jack. Whether people believed it or not, to me, that was very clearly, me and Jack.

“Why don’t we skip the next break and get back to studying.. okay?”

I was reluctant to agree, but Taylor eventually pried my attention away from my phone. Or at least she thought she did.

The rest of our night was spent studying. We had gone out to grab something to eat from the nearest fast food place, and ate together watching the hockey team of my hometown city play. The Devils didn’t have a game scheduled for a few days, so I took it as an opportunity to check up on my other team of interest.

After the hockey game, we had both called it a night. With the lights out, and the only sound being the occasional thump of footsteps or somebody in a room around us, my mind wandered. It wandered to the point that I had grabbed my phone again to check for any news.

Nothing.

The internet still seemed oblivious.

I went back to the post to look at it. There were more comments and likes, but nobody had considered it a real possibility yet.

I spent hours awake, staring at the screen, turning it off only to give in and turn it back on, waiting for my entire world to crumble around me.

I fell asleep somewhere around four am.

When I woke up, I forced myself away from my phone to focus on my last final. I told Jack that I would visit him after it was completed and I was off for spring break. I had that to look forward to, but every time I thought of Jack, I thought of that post. So I pushed it to the back of my mind as I entered my professor’s classroom and set my phone by others on the front desk.

I’d attest to the fact that my mind wandered a few times, but I would also say I thought the exam went well. Taylor promised to meet me in the mess hall when we were both done.

I stepped out of the classroom and flipped my phone in my hand. With spring break beginning officially for me, I only had one other thing to stress about.

Opening my Instagram was like stepping into a whole new world. I followed the Devils, the NHL page, ESPN, and a few others. Mostly just for news on Jack when it came out. But this time, the news about Jack made me sick.

I slowed to a halt in the hallway, before my body went into autopilot.

The first post in front of me was the New Jersey Devil holding a bottle of champagne in a photo. The caption was a mess of words in my head. A congratulations.. with my account tagged.

I forced myself to lower my phone as I jogged through the halls and out the first exit I found.

When I got outside, my pace slowed, and I lifted my phone again.

I opened the Devils story first. Another congratulations post to Jack.. and me. My name. Next to Jack’s. Something the media team was no doubt doing to try and poke fun at the situation. It was all in good fun for them. I could understand, but at the same time it made me want to throw up. They hadn’t even spoken to Jack or me. They didn’t even ask if we wanted to remain private. Instead they simply confirmed everything. As the story played through, the next one for the NHL opened. It was a repost, with a message that said, ‘welcome to the NHL WAGS FAM.’ With my account tagged.

I could not imagine the page doing it for another player, but this was Jack Hughes. This was one of their most followed guys in the league. They’d cover every moment of his life if it meant more money and a bigger following.

ESPN had a more formal address on the topic, but it was still about Jack and I nonetheless.

I blacked out. I blacked out so hard that I barely even noticed I was in my dorm until I heard the door click shut behind me. Panic was the only thing I had really felt before. Until I looked at the posts. The posts, then the comments.

There were a select few who congratulated, but the majority? The huge crowds? They hated me. It made a sense of dread bubble up in my throat, until a quiet cry escaped. Girls insulted me in every photo posted, guys asked why Jack went after me, some even said I was nothing but a distraction. People made fun of me for being a secret, they tore me down for not setting my life aside to follow him and his hockey dreams.

How did they even know about my life so quickly? How did they know where I went to college?

I made a split second decision. I grabbed a duffel bag from my closet and began to throw clothing inside. I was certain that I had forgotten things along the way, but there was nothing a quick visit to the convenience store couldn’t fix. I put my laptop in the bag, as well as various chargers I hadn’t bothered to ravel up.

I was panicked, and the one person I wanted to see was an hour away. Taylor called me a few times while my phone laid on my bed, but I hadn’t called her back until I was out of my dorm room and headed for the car.

“Hey! We were supposed to meet up.” Taylor’s voice called through the phone. I sniffed quietly. I hadn’t begun crying yet, but my nose was running nonetheless.

“I have to go into New Jersey early.” I spoke through a shaky voice. I tossed my bag into the back seat of my car before climbing into the front. I was quick to turn the vehicle on, and Taylor’s voice cut out as my phone Bluetooth connected to the car.

“Is it bec- of that post?”

“Jack and I are out. All of the sports media has confirmed it. Tay, I don’t know what to do.” I backed out of my spot before I tore out of the parking lot.

“It’s gonna be okay. I’m sure Jack will have it handled.”

“Jack?” I asked. Incredulous. “I love Jack, but I highly doubt he’ll have any of this shit handled.” He’d never been through it before. We were both amateurs at this, and now we were sinking together. I needed him. I assumed he needed me.

“Okay well.. I’m sure everybody’s happy for you guys.. yeah?”

“No! No, they’re not! They keep commenting on how shitty I am! And in that post last night, everybody was all over my ass! My ass!” My loss and hopelessness caused me to get choked up.

I’d always had a rough relationship with food ever since I was a teenager. People told me I was too skinny or too big. People told me that being insecure because I was skinny didn’t count. They invalidated my feelings while at the same time telling me my ass wasn’t big enough, or my cup size was awfully small. Then others would come back and say my ass was too big or my boobs might be distracting.

Depending on the comments, some days I ate, others I did not.

When I met Jack, I was healthier than before, but I still struggled. He always reassured me. Told me I was beautiful. That he loved me, thought I was perfect, and that gaining or losing a couple pounds meant nothing as long as I was healthy.

He made me feel safe eating huge greasy burgers and shoveling cake into my mouth on a Friday movie night. Likewise, he validated my feelings when all I wanted was a chicken salad and maybe a piece of bread or two. He always said, ‘as long as you’re healthy.’ And every once in a while he made sure I wasn’t hungry either. Especially after I ate salads. After he’d seen me put away pretty nice sized meals, he always made sure I had enough to eat. And that I was comfort able enough to eat.

It was amazing how a few social media comments could tear down so many walls I’d built, but it was deeper than that to me. These were Jack’s fans. If they didn’t like me, then why should he? Had he been lying to me all this time?

“Your beautiful ass?” Taylor tried to make a joke. A tear finally fell down my cheek.

“What if Jack hates me?” My bottom lip quivered. “He hasn’t reached out.. what if he’s breaking up with me?” The mere thought made me want to pull over and turn around.

“What is he doing today?” Taylor asked expectantly. I had to think about it.

“Media stuff?” The thought brought a moment of relief to my lungs.

“Exactly. You’ve had days before where he doesn’t text until late in the evening and it’s never bothered you.” Taylor’s voice gave me the encouragement to continue on.

“I know this didn’t happen in time like you guys planned it, but it’s all going to be fine. The crazy fan girls will always be mean, but people are going to get over it.”

“Yeah.. but what if they hate me forever?”

“They might. But oh well, right?”

Taylor was right. But that still didn’t make me feel any better. I gripped the steering wheel tighter.

“When does Jack get home?”

“I think.. I don’t know? Maybe around three?” I breathed out a sigh.

“So you’ll be there before him?”

“Yeah?”

“Why don’t you go see him at the arena?”

“And bother him? After all this?”

“If it’s a media day, you know he won’t be that busy. And it’s better than torturing yourself at his place for hours.”

She was right.

“I’ll have to think about it..”

“Don’t think too much.”

As if I hadn’t been overthinking everything that day already. Our conversation ended with mutual good lucks, and the familiar monotone beep of a dead line. I sighed, wiped the tears from my cheeks, and focused on the road ahead.

My hour in the car was spent flipping through radio stations, trying to find music that was loud enough to distract me or soft enough to calm me. Nothing worked. My jaw was clenched most if not the entire time. My face hurt. My cheeks hurt. My fingers felt stiff every time I pulled a hand from the wheel.

And entering Jersey didn’t help. It felt like a smack upside the head. A loud call back to my horrible reality. I felt like everybody outside the car was staring in. Everybody knew who I was. Everybody hated me. They were all looking at my body.

By the time I had pulled into Jack’s own apartment community, I felt like I was suffocating trying to choke back tears. I parked in the lot outside of his complex. I gave it five minutes. Then another five. Then another five.

I grabbed my phone and opened TikTok this time. I typed Jack’s name into the search and hit enter. The first video eased my mind. Somebody saying how beautiful I was.. how happy they were for Jack.

The next broke my heart. Comparing me to the first girl. To the hot girl. The skinny girl. The perfect girl. I’d seen videos here and there before of people saying how they thought Jack and his ex had been such a beautiful couple. People said they ‘missed’ her. Like they ‘knew’ her. I never let it cut too deep, because they didn’t know I existed.

Now it was blatant. Now they said things like that, because she was better than me.

I put my car in reverse.

Taylor was right. I’d torture myself if I didn’t see Jack.

Closing the distance between myself and the arena was like beating a new nail into my coffin with each mile. It only stressed me out more. But I hoped Jack would take it all off my shoulders. If he had time.

The thought that he’d be too busy also occurred to me, but even being in the same building as him, I decided, would be soothing.

I had pulled into the private parking area before climbing out of my car. My face was red, but I had since stopped the tears. My heart was set on Jack. Nothing else could distract me.

I walked through the double doors at the bottom, stepping right into one of the many entrances. I was quick to find the hall that led to the private facilities. I walked past maintenance closets, and equipment rooms, before my swift pace was brought to an abrupt halt by a body stepping out of the lounge.

I gasped. He grabbed me by the shoulders. When I looked up, my eyes caught Jesper. His gaze softened from surprise to sympathy. We stared at each other, both uncertain of what to say. He spoke first.

“Jack was worried when you didn’t text him that your final was over.” He spoke, as if having an ‘A-ha’ moment. He let me go. I reached to rub my eyes again, fearful that something was still there.

“He didn’t text me all day.” I countered.

“Well.. he didn’t want to distract you. They won’t stop asking him about you.” My brow furrowed in question.

“He’s in with reporters right now.” Jesper gestured down the hall. I assumed he meant Jack was in the locker room. “They won’t let you go.” Tears welled up in my eyes again.

“We can wait for him together?” I nodded.

Jesper walked me into the lounge and grabbed me a bottle of water.

“I was shocked when it came out.. I know you and Jack were trying really hard not to be public.” Jesper sat down on the couch, and patted the empty cushion next to him. I sat beside him as he handed me the bottle of water.

“I shouldn’t have kissed him that night we went out.” I breathed out, shaking my head. I unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip of the liquid. It helped refresh my dry throat.

“Can’t limit your happiness to closed doors.” Jesper had a point, but if I had limited my happiness to closed doors, I wouldn’t be miserable right now.

“Bratter?” My head shot in the direction of the door at the sound of a Swiss accent. I raised a brow at Nico in the doorway, dressed in a sweater covered in a colorful floral pattern. Nico looked right back at me, staring me down with that, ‘stays between us’ kind of expression.

“What the hell are they making you do in there?” Jesper asked, slinging an arm over the back of the couch.

“Some spring skit.. I don’t know. I acted really bad so they wouldn’t use me for it.” Nico quickly peeled the sweater off. “Your turn.” He stepped into the room and tossed the sweater at Jesper.

The blonde looked rather displeased, but he swiftly grabbed the sweater and stood up.

“You sit with her and wait for Jack then.. okay?” Nico and Jesper exchanged looks before the Swiss man nodded, then the Swede left the room.

“So,” Nico turned back to me. He fixed his hair, pursing his lips. “Jack’s pretty tense.” He plopped down on the couch next to me, my body jolting slightly at the way the sofa bounced. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit, Nico.” I glared at him. He was trying his best.

“Right… everything’ll iron out.” He pulled his phone from his pocket. “You wanna play chess while we wait?” I glared at him once again. How could a man so thoughtful like Nico be so… lost when it came to this stuff? Because he’s been single for far too long. Jack always tried setting him up, but Nico was never interested. Said there were too many cultural differences.

“I have air hockey on here too.” He gave me that dumb lopsided smile. That smile that I always rolled my eyes at. Now I just wanted to wipe it off his face and tell him he was no help. But I gave in. I needed a distraction. I pulled my legs up onto the couch and turned my body to face Nico. He opened the game and set his phone down between us.

He started the game. I was better than him at it.

“People being mean to you?”

“You have no idea.”

“I checked some of the comments on the Devils post.” I glanced up at him before looking back down at the phone.

“It’s not good.” I shrugged.

“People make fun of my eyebrows sometimes.” I looked back up at him. Nico looked sincere, yet his eyes were still focused on the phone. I had to look back down. If he scored, it would only interrupt the flow of our conversation.

“Kids used to do it a lot in school. I used to ask my sister to fix them for me.” Somehow, the idea of a tiny Nico asking to have his brows waxed was amusing, but I held in my laughter for the sake of his ego. “Kids called me angry birds. I didn’t know what it meant for the longest time. But I knew I just hated my eyebrows.”

I wasn’t sure where he was going with this, but it felt great to be understood nonetheless.

“Now everybody’s calling you a bunch of things, and I know it’s hard. But I’d suggest listening to what the people who love you say. They know better than anybody else.”

I scored on Nico. We both looked up at each other, and I offered him a sad smile.

“Means the world to hear, Nic. Sorry for calling you the Eagle from the muppets.”

His brows knit together in confusion. But I didn’t have time to explain the subtle joke before we both heard quiet complaining in the hall. Jack’s ever gentle voice laced with tension and stress. Maybe even shaking.

“Where’s Nico?”

“God- I just wanna talk to Nico!”

I quickly stood up and took the bottle of water with me as I stepped out into the hall. Jack was gone. My gaze flickered about until he emerged from a room, he must have been on a pretty aggressive hunt for his captain. Jack stopped though when he spotted me. The emotions returned. He looked as stressed as I’d felt before. Now I only felt overwhelmed and sad.

“Babe?” Jack slowly made his way down the hall to meet me by the lounge door. He was gentle when he pulled me into a hug, dipping his head to rest against my shoulder while I wrapped my arms around his neck, careful not to spill my water.

“It’s all gone to shit.” I whispered.

“I’m so sorry..” Jack mumbled in response. Neither of us could have been prepared for this. And it wasn’t either of our faults.

“Jack don’t apologize.” I pulled back, feeling the familiar sting of tears in my eyes.

“I’m done for the day.. I got done early. Let’s just go home.. please.” He sounded as desperate to get out of there as I was to get to him. I nodded.

——————

Jack drove us back to his apartment. I didn’t care enough about my car to be away from him for too long, but I had grabbed my bag. He let me inside before himself, but we never left each other’s eyesight. The second Jack pushed the door shut, his arms were around me. I reached a hand up to hold the back of his head, my other hand resting overtop of his own that lay on my stomach.

“They asked me so many things about you.” Jack mumbled.

“Jack.. baby.. you don’t think..” was now even the time to bring it up? I sighed. “I’m not too big for you.. am I? Or too small? Or too anything?”

Jack pressed a kiss to my shoulder.

“You’re just right. You always have been. Always will be.” He slowly pulled away to walk around in front of me. “Are they saying stuff about your body?” He looked so disgusted by the fact, but Jack was more worldly innocent than one might assume. He never wanted to expect the worst from others.

“I guess so..” I shrugged, rubbing one of my arms. My body language said enough. He could always tell when I was uncomfortable.

“You shouldn’t look.” Jack reached out to rest his hands on my upper arms.

“I know that, Jack. I just- I guess I just wanted them to like me.” I looked down.

“Hey, hey.” Jack moved one of his hands to rest his fingers beneath my chin, tilting my head up. “They will. They’re gonna love you.” His brow furrowed as his eyes searched for my own. But I still couldn’t be bothered to make eye contact. “Babe.. babe look at me.” He wasn’t demanding. He was gentle. Encouraging. He was always so kind to me. Even his behavior in this moment brought tears to my eyes. I looked at him though, and I watched his heart break in slow motion. I watched his eyes grow solemn.

“It’ll just take time. Just give it time.” Jack pulled me into another hug, his arms wrapped tightly around my body as one hand laid between my shoulder blades and the other pressed into the small of my back. I buried my face in his chest. I wanted nothing more than to go back to the day before, when nobody knew about me. When I was just me.. just a university student.

“Jack,” I whispered into his chest. I slowly lifted my head. He looked down at me. His expression showed nothing but devotion. He was ready to pull the stars from the sky if I said the word. “We’ll be with each other through this.. right?”

“Stay with me through spring break…” the offer was a surprise, but one I wasn’t opposed to. We both needed each other, and time away from my college campus was never a bad thing.

“I think I can do that.” I sniffled as I slipped my hands between our bodies, resting them on his chest. Being in his arms was the most comforting thing in the world. Going through this whole ordeal seemed a lot less stressful when I knew it would be spent with him.

“I love you.” Jack whispered, a grin forming on his lips as his hands wandered to my hips, only to eventually find my backside. I jumped at the feeling. “I want you to love yourself too. Please don’t let people convince you you’re not perfect.” Jack’s words were easier said than done.

“I wish you’d just see yourself the way I saw you.. god you’re such an Angel to me.” He pressed a kiss to my head. My heart fluttered as my temperature rose. “They’ll see you that way one day too.” Those promises were debatable, but believing them made me relax. Maybe if I just lived in Jack’s world for a little while.. his positive reality, it would be better in the long run.

Despite the fact that we still had hours left in the day, neither of us seemed too interested in going anywhere or doing anything. Jack and I ended up in bed together. We both had the bare minimum on.. bodies mark-less but heads full of love. I could still feel Jack’s lips pressed against each of my insecurities, and his hands massaging circles into my muscles. Likewise I swore I could still feel his skin beneath my hands. His silky hair between my fingers. Every dip and curve of his muscles committed to memory.

Jack kept me away from my phone in the most effective way.

Moments ago, lips had trailed my shoulders and my arms, down my chest and around my stomach and sides. He’d put the work in on my thighs too, so gentle and sweet. He never left a mark. It wasn’t that kind of night. His kisses were passionate, but not lustful. He was so full of love.. so heartfelt in each of his movements. Jack was one of a kind.

I laid, curled into his side, my head resting in the space between his arm and his chest, just beneath his shoulder.

“Ya know.. I saw a girl today say she missed your ex.” I spoke quietly, afraid to disturb the peace. But it was on my mind nonetheless.

Jack tensed. He shuffled, then picked his head up to look down at me.

“I don’t.” He scoffed. “She was horrible.”

I turned my head to look at him, but Jack rested his head against the pillow again before I could see his eyes.

“What was she like?”

“Nothing like you. She came around at a busy time.. right after the draft. I was too distracted to really pay attention to all the red flags. She was mean.”

“Does it bother you when people say they miss her?”

“It would if there was something to miss.” Jack moved his shoulders to shrug before halting when he realized my head was there. “It would be a different story If it was you.”

“What?”

“If it was you.. I’d miss you too. I was so worried you’d back out when you saw everything today. I didn’t want to lose you.. but by the time I could speak to anybody, our whole social team just put it out there.” Jack slowly turned onto his side, my head fell to the bed. He wrapped his arm around me and I quickly turned to mirror him.

“I would never leave over something like this. You mean too much to me.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page then.” The sound of my phone ringing from the floor had me slowly turning to get up, but I only got my back turned to Jack before he pulled me against his chest. I yelped out a laugh.

“Jack.” I reached to pry his hand from my stomach.

“No phones.. please?” I sighed. The chances of somebody actually needing me were slim, so I let the call go unanswered.

“Alright. You win baby.” I carefully rolled over, pulling his hand from my body and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. Jack smiled. He loved a lot of things, but being pampered was one of his favorites. I pressed another kiss to the back of his hand, then one to his wrist, before playfully biting and kissing all the way up his arm. Kissing him everywhere just like he’d done to me before. Jack broke into a fit of giggles by the time I reached his forearm. After I got to his shoulder, I raised my lips to his own, pressing a much deeper kiss there to silence him.

When I pulled away, Jack’s baby blues eyed me. I kissed his jaw. “God.. they’re gonna love you so much.” He whispered, shaking his head. Astounded.

“They just don’t know you yet.. but they will.”

“As long as they don’t love me more than you do.”

“Nobody can love you more than I do.”

✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾

[aurumacadicus]

For title meme thing, what do you mean you're not vaccinated?! Funny please :) also absolutely love it when you write these little blurbs they are so great!!

No pairing was mentioned, so I'm just gonna... 👀 OG6. Could be polyvengers. Could be team as family. We just don't know.

What Do you Mean You're Not Vaccinated?!

Bruce and Tony came to realize, to their absolute horror, that they were the only fully vaccinated people on the team.

"FUCKING GET AWAY FROM ME, I'M IMMUNOCOMPROMISED," Tony shouted, having launched himself across the room. His watch was now a gauntlet. He was aiming it at the rest of the team. It was whirring with power.

"Please put the gauntlet down," Steve squeaked, terrified, not moving from his seat on the couch.

"I can understand Thor, and maybe even Steve," Bruce said weakly. "But Clint?"

Clint didn't look up from carefully organizing his five-pound bag of Skittles into piles of specific colors. "I grew up in the circus. They only cared if the animals were vaccinated properly there. I think I got a flu vaccine once."

Bruce turned his eyes on Natasha. "Are you telling me the Russians forced sterilization but not MMR?!"

"We were not exposed to outsiders until most people had already been vaccinated or predisposed themselves," she answered with a shrug. "I've been vaccinated against malaria."

"Were you just vaccinated when you were going to specific places to kill people?" Bruce gasped.

Natasha shrugged again. Bruce squinted at her, mouth dropped open a little. Part of it was outrage. Part of it was doing the math trying to figure out how to get her a full panel.

"Tony what can I do to make you put the gauntlet down," Steve begged, getting up and taking a step toward him in an attempt to comfort him.

The gauntlet whirred louder as a threat. Tony took a step back, pressing up against the wall. "Die."

"Tony," Steve gasped, hurt.

"A bad cold could kill him, Steve," Bruce cut in quickly. "I've seen his chest x-rays. His diminished lung capacity alone is a problem, not to mention his tanked immune system."

"And I could have brought a virus home?" Steve asked, horrified.

"It's a miracle I'm still alive. I'm going down to the lab. Goodbye forever," Tony said, sliding across the wall to get to the elevator. "I didn't live through open-heart surgery in a dirty cave to get killed by a fucking cold. I will be making a bubble suit. I will miss the warmth of hugs but I will be alive."

"Are you telling me that every executive at your meetings is vaccinated?" Clint asked in disbelief.

Tony scowled at him as he waited for the elevator to open. "They're all like eighty, Clint. I'm pretty sure Aldman's son actually died of polio before the vaccine came out. Of course they're all vaccinated. A stiff breeze could kill them." He huffed. "At least if they weren't living out of spite. I'm pretty sure they're all gonna outlive me."

"This could be a great opportunity," Thor said suddenly, leaning forward in his seat. "The public is still pretty upset about our last fight--"

"Because we knocked over a beloved statue trying to keep a school bus from being flattened by a mutant squid," Natasha muttered.

"People love dog statues," Clint added.

"--so what if you all get your vaccinations on TV?" Thor finished, enthused.

Steve swiveled to scowl at him. "What about you?"

"Well, I'm a god, so," Thor began.

Bruce pointed in his face, making Thor's eyes cross to make sure his finger didn't get too close and poke one. "You're a fucking alien. You know how the aliens in War of the Worlds died? Germs. You're fucking next, buddy."

"I wasn't aware that Midgard had participated in an intergalactic fight before the Chitauri," Thor said.

Steve opened his mouth to tell him it was a book. Tony's gauntlet whirred loudly. He closed his mouth.

"That's a good idea, Thor!" Bruce told him. "You can be first."

"I regret my idea," Thor said, which wasn't a no, but was certainly a grumble.

"All four of you can get your full vaccinations," Bruce continued.

"Of course. I'm glad these immunizations exist," Steve answered earnestly.

Natasha and Clint looked a bit perturbed, but then they glanced at Tony, still staring at them suspiciously as he backed into the now-open elevator, and their shoulders fell in defeat.

.-.

"You really did make a bubble suit," Steve breathed in disbelief.

"Of course I did," Tony scoffed.

"I am mostly surprised he didn't sooner, just for the option to safely bodycheck me," Clint said morosely where he was sprawled halfway across the kitchen island, covered in cereal.

[kingexpl0sionmurder]

Mutual Misunderstandings - Kirishima Eijirou - Smut

Author: @kingexpl0sionmurder​​ Pairing: Kirishima Eijirou / F!Reader Rating: 18+ (Contains smut) Words: 5,866 Warnings: Quirkless AU, Aged up characters (they adulty adults!), unprotected vaginal sex, oral (male receiving), very very light choking, reader has a bit of a size kink. AN: Another entry for the BNHAREM collab! This time we’re writing roommates, and I somehow managed to snag Kirishima! I’m super excited for all of the fics coming this time around, so make sure you click on the link below and read some of the other submissions!

This is my first time writing Kirishima and I’m super nervous about it. I’ve always really loved him because he’s just the best boy and he’s so brave and strong and gentle and I just want to cuddle him into oblivion. I also firmly believe he’s going to be a huge tank of a man when he gets older and I’m going with that vision of him here.

Collab Masterlist is HERE My Masterlist is HERE Buy me a KoFi if you’re feeling froggy HERE

------

You stood in your living room, your jaw hanging open, staring at him in shock. Kirishima had a similar look on his face, the two of you pointing at each other like that Spider-Man meme. 

“You mean to tell me you’ve had a crush on me this whole time?” You finally choked out, blinking owlishly at your best friend and roommate. “I thought you liked Mina!”

Kirishima sputtered, shaking his head. “No way! She’s my friend, we’ve known each other since middle school, you know that.” He moved to cross his arms across his broad chest. “And anyway, there’s no way you like me, you have a crush on Bakugou!”

There was no way this was happening right now. “No! I don’t like Bakugou like that! He’s a pain in my fucking ass, and I think about murdering him on a daily basis.” Facepalming, you groaned. “Are we really this stupid?”

How did you end up here?

It started back in your first year of college. 

The parties and the seemingly endless studying had become a comfortable routine for you. So what if you were sleep-deprived and living on cup noodles? You were getting your higher education and ready to tackle the real world head-on in just a few short years.

A pipe dream, but still.

You had your best friend Shinsou by your side and a customer loyalty card at the campus coffee shop and everything was right with the world. You’d even managed to get paired up with Hitoshi’s (sort of) boyfriend for an English project, which was a better outcome than what you could have hoped for, not having to work with some rando on something that would be a large chunk of your grade.

Kaminari had suggested that you work on it at his place with the promise of Doritos, and you agreed. Who were you to turn down snacks? Poor college students needed those cheese dusted carbs to survive. 

The Upsilon Alpha fraternity was one of the best and most popular on campus, and at first, you found it almost laughable that Kaminari was a member. At first glance, he seemed like a total space cadet stoner who didn’t belong in college, much less as a member of such an esteemed frat. However, after getting to know him, you knew that he was most definitely all of those things, but he was also insanely smart when it counted and kept above average grades in his classes (except for math, but with him being a bisexual disaster human, it came with the territory).

You had made some decent progress on your project after about an hour. The outline was done, and you were discussing how you would be presenting it since you had a choice between a written essay or a PowerPoint presentation. 

Without warning, the kitchen door flew open, the doorknob slamming into the wall behind it.

“Well, the quiet was nice while it lasted, huh?” Kaminari blinked, completely unfazed by the commotion, leaning back in his chair and eating a chip.

Your gaze flitted over to the man who was glaring at the two of you from the doorway, his hands shoved in his pockets. Blonde hair that looked so much like an explosion was sticking up in every direction on his head, and you felt his red eyes trained on you as he took in the room. “What are you doing, Dunceface?”

Kaminari didn’t answer right away, raising his eyebrow and grinning at the new arrival. “Hey, Kacchan.”

If the bulging vein in the man’s forehead was any indication, Kaminari had said the wrong thing. He opened his mouth, and you assumed it was to threaten your project partner, but he was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder from behind.

“Bakubro, be nice. Kami has company.” 

The man that appeared beyond the angry pomeranian took your breath away. He was...big. Like, his shoulders were so wide you wondered how he was going to fit through the doorway. And he was tall, with spiked red hair making him look even taller, big red eyes and sharp teeth, and the most beautiful smile you’d ever laid eyes on.

Blonde and grumpy grumbled, moving aside to let giant and red into the room, who then turned that megawatt million-dollar smile on you, and you tried your best not to stare at his biceps or the way his shirt clung to his chest.

Was it hot in here all of a sudden?

“Hi! I’m Kirishima, and this ray of sunshine is Bakugou, we’re some of Kaminari’s frat brothers!” He held out his hand for you to shake, and you smiled up at him, taking his giant hand in yours. The size of his fingers sent your brain reeling, and you knew you needed to get yourself under control before you started moaning out loud in front of him. 

“I’m Y/N, it’s nice to meet you! Kami and I are just working on an English project.” You explained, grinning back up at him, trying to keep the lust off of your face. You didn’t want to look like some kind of freak.

He took his hand back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh, you must be Shinsou’s friend! Kami told us you’d be coming over, I forgot about that.” He turned, watching as Bakugou slunk over to the fridge and opened the door. “Don’t let us bother you, we’re just grabbing some water before we head to the gym.”

Kaminari snorted. “Dude, if you get any beefier we’re going to need to remodel the doors so you can fit through them.”

Kirishima turned as red as his hair, glancing at you, before he grinned at his friend. “If I stop, no one will be able to bench press you and Sero at the same time at the next party.”

“Bro, that is my favorite party trick of yours.” He sat up straighter, looking forlorn at the thought of it not happening anymore. “Okay, fine, go to the gym.”

Bakugou grumbled from behind him something that sounded like “I could bench press four of you if I wanted to.”

“Of course you could, buddy.” Kirishima slung his arm over Bakugou’s shoulder. “Okay, we’re out of here. It was nice to meet you, Y/N. Good luck with your project!”

Bakugou grunted and shoved a water bottle at Kirishima, shrugging out from under his arm and leaving the room. Kirishima smiled at you when you said goodbye, hurrying after his sour-faced friend and leaving you and Kaminari to your work.

“Your housemates are...interesting.” You managed, still trying to wrap your head around the red-haired man.

Kaminari snorted. “Kirishima is the walking definition of sunshine, and Bakugou is...well, he takes some getting used to. But he’s not a bad guy.”

You just hummed, chewing on your pen absently. “Can he actually bench press you?”

“Fuck yeah. He does it one-handed. You should come to our next party and see for yourself.”

Keeping your face as neutral as possible, you nodded. “Maybe I can convince Shinsou to come with me.” Wiggling your eyebrows at Kaminari when he blushed, you turned back to the notebook that lay open in front of you. “Come on, let’s figure this out so we can talk more about your intentions with my best friend.”

--

You did show up to the next UA frat party, Shinsou in tow. Your purple-haired bestie was grumbling the whole way, his hands shoved in his pockets. It didn’t stop him from making fun of how short your skirt was and teasing you about how you’d done nothing but talk about Kirishima since the day you’d met him.

“He’s like Clifford the Big Red Dog, Y/N. Clumsy and adorable.”

“He’s definitely big. I’d like to climb him like a tree.” You linked your arm with his, walking up to the giant house, the windows already rattling with the bass pumping through the speakers inside.

“You’re disgusting. I am appalled and also proud to call you my best friend.” Sarcastic as usual, he let you drag him along without a fuss.

“That sounds about right.”

The party was in full swing, half the campus milling around inside the house with red plastic cups in hand. You found Kaminari almost immediately, shoving Shinsou towards him and making your way to the kitchen to find yourself a drink. 

“Y/N!” Kirishima was in front of you almost immediately, giant cat eyes and his shark tooth smile lighting up the room. “Kami mentioned you might show up!”

Blushing, you nodded, suddenly losing the ability to form words. He was wearing a tank top, his arm muscles on display, and you took a moment to thank the Lord for the blessing before you. 

“You want a drink?” 

You realized you were staring, so you cleared your throat and smiled at him. “Yes, please.”

His large hand wrapped around your elbow gently as he tugged you through the crowd in the kitchen and out towards the back porch. You tried not to think about how your skin was burning under his touch. You needed to get a grip.

He got to work on the keg, pumping the handle on the top and grabbing you a cup, tilting it a bit as he filled it with beer. 

“Hey, shitty hair! Beer pong!” You turned to see Bakugou standing on the other side of the large wooden deck, his arm resting on the shoulder of a tall and lanky brown-haired boy. “Sero here wants to break up the dream team! Find a partner!”

Kirishima chuckled, shaking his head. “Yeah, hang on!” He turned to you, handing you your drink. “So, you play beer pong?”

Bringing the cup to your lips, you tilted your head back and chugged your beer, wiping your mouth off with the back of your hand when you’d finished. Kirishima was staring at you with wide eyes, looking surprised but pleased. “Yeah. I’m better when I’m drunk, though.”

He held out his hand for the empty cup, moving to fill it up again, his grin never faltering. “Let’s go kick their asses.”

--

That was the beginning of your friendship with Kirishima. What had started as a crush on the red-haired man had turned into a companionship that you couldn’t ever see yourself without. That was why you never said a word about how you really felt.

As cliché as it was, you didn’t know how you’d survived without the guy. He was nothing short of amazing. He was a great listener, and he gave good advice. He was always there when you needed him, bringing you soup when you were sick, going on late-night snack runs when you were up all night studying for exams, showing up with chocolate and tampons when it was your time of the month.

Shinsou had always done those things for you, but he was spending a lot of time with his boyfriend now. You weren’t upset about it though, you thought they were the cutest and you didn’t want to third wheel their time together, so you hung out with Kirishima and Bakugou a lot more often. 

As Kaminari had told you on that first day, Bakugou truly wasn’t a bad guy. His attitude got on your nerves though, and you envisioned punching him in the face at least four times a day, but you didn’t dislike him. He and Kirishima were best friends, so he was a part of the package, and you learned to deal with him.

So it was a no-brainer when Kirishima and Bakugou approached you and asked if you wanted to get an apartment with them once you’d graduated. With the three of you living together, you were able to afford a nicer apartment than you’d ever dreamed of having that was in a central location and only a few train stops away from where your respective jobs were located.

Things were going well, and you’d done a decent job of keeping your true feelings for Kirishima to yourself. It helped that he’d never dated anyone, and you were free to lust after him quietly, under the impression that no one had caught on to how you really felt, perfectly content to continue as you had been since the day you’d met him. 

The only wrench in your plans of quiet pining was Mina Ashido.

Mina was awesome, and you loved her to pieces. She was one of the only other females in your friend group and had been around since you’d gotten closer to the boys in the frat that first year of college. She was the perfect person to go to when you needed some self-care nights, always down to put on a face mask and paint your nails, and she was the best shopping partner.

However, you were thoroughly convinced that Kirishima liked her. 

You’d noticed, as far back as your freshman year, how they always gravitated towards each other in social settings. Mina was always one of the last ones to leave when you went out back then, always the one Kirishima threw his arm around when you walked back to campus from the bar.

It was part of the reason you’d become close with Bakugou in the first place. Whenever Kiri was with Mina, you always sidled up to the explosive blonde, teasing him to distract yourself from the way your heart was squeezing in your chest. 

Neither of them had ever mentioned having more than just a platonic, friendly relationship with each other, but you couldn’t shake the feeling you got whenever you saw them together.

It’s called jealousy, you idiot.

You had nothing to be jealous about though. Kirishima was your friend, and that’s all he would ever be.

--

Things had been going well, at least that’s what you’d thought. And then this morning had happened.

It was Saturday, which was your normal grocery shopping day. You and Bakugou had taken on the burden of shopping for groceries for the apartment. You’d allowed Kirishima to go once and he came home with more junk food than should be allowed in one cart, and half of the things on the list you’d given him missing, and more protein powder than should be legally allowed.

Bakugou had worked out a system and your grocery shopping trips were like a well-oiled machine that took no longer than an hour out of your day, and you were grateful for your grumpy friend and his penchant for being overly organized.

You finished getting dressed, ready to get this over with so you could use the rest of the day to play video games and be generally lazy. Walking into the living room, you stopped in your tracks to see your roommates glaring at each other, which was normal for one of them, and uncharacteristic for the other.

“Everything okay?” Your eyes darted between the two men, taking in Kirishima’s stiff posture and clenched jaw. 

“Fine. I’m going shopping alone today.” Bakugou grunted, turning away from his best friend.

Puzzled, you frowned. “What? Why?”

Bakugou stopped in the doorway, turning to face the both of you, looking thoroughly fed up. He lifted his hand and pointed. “The two of you are making me want to commit myself. I’ve been dealing with this shit for years, and it ends today. You’re in love with each other. Figure your shit out and fuck already. I’ll be out for the rest of the day.”

You gaped after him as he turned again, giving you both the middle finger over his shoulder as he left, the door slamming shut behind him.

And that brings us up to speed.

“Are we really this stupid?” You asked, shutting your eyes and leaning your head back.

Kirishima sighed. “This doesn’t make any sense. Since when?”

Snorting, you flopped down on the couch, rubbing at your face tiredly. “Truthfully? Since the moment we met.” You guessed the cat was out of the bag, so you might as well tell him everything. “In the kitchen at the frat house.”

“When you came over to work on that project with Denki?” His eyebrows furrowed, an adorably confused look on his face. “Are you telling me I’ve been pushing you at Bakugou for nearly 5 years for no reason?”

“Yeah, you could stop doing that at any time and I would appreciate it. Unless you want me to strangle him to death.”

Kirishima flopped down on the other end of the couch, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “I’ve liked you just as long, you know? I saw you sitting in our kitchen and I thought I was going to throw up.”

“If that was supposed to make me feel good about myself then you’ve failed miserably.”

“No! I just mean, the butterflies-” He groaned. “Shut up and let me get this out okay?” 

Smirking at him, you turned your body, leaning against the back of the couch. “Okay, sorry, keep going.”

Taking a deep breath, he continued, red eyes trained on your face. “Do you remember the frat party?”

“Which one?”

“That first one, when you chugged that beer in front of me and then helped me kick Bakugou’s ass at beer pong?” He waited for you to nod before he spoke again. “I’d never felt so enamored with anyone in my entire life.” Kirishima let his gaze fall to his hands. “You were so awesome and funny and beautiful and you kept up with my friends and their dumbass antics like a pro and I just...I couldn’t believe you were real. I just kept telling myself that you would never be into someone like me, so I decided that if we could be friends for life then that would be enough.”

“Ei…” You trailed off, frowning. You’d always known he tended to get down on himself. You and Bakugou had done your best to convince him he was worth much more than he let himself believe, but sometimes he needed a reminder.

“I know, I know. I don’t feel that way anymore, but at the time I did.” His hair was down, tied back in a loose bun, bits of his fringe falling in his eyes. He pushed a piece of it behind his ear and kept going. “So I tried to keep my distance, kept on hanging around with Mina, tried not to think about how much I wanted to be with you. She kept telling me I needed to tell you, kept rubbing it in that I wasn’t being manly about it. But you were hanging out with Bakugou so much I just figured you liked him and I didn’t want to get in the way.”

Closing your eyes, you let your head fall forward. “I was hanging out with Bakugou because I couldn’t stand seeing you with Mina so much. I was jealous.” Realization hit, and your eyes snapped open. “Mina knew?”

“Yeah, she’s the only one I told.”

“All those times we hung out and she never said a word.” Chuckling, you shook your head. “I told Shinsou. It’s like the only secret he’s ever kept from Kaminari. I threatened to mutilate him beyond all recognition if he mentioned a word to anyone.” You grinned sheepishly at him.

Kirishima huffed a laugh. “You’ve been spending way too much time with Bakugou. Your threats are just as creative as his.”

“Speaking of, I guess he figured it out on his own then.”

Humming, he shrugged. “He was always the smartest one out of all of us.” He looked over at you again. “So, now it’s your turn.”

Raising an eyebrow, you blinked at him. “For what? A heartfelt confession?” 

“It’s only fair. I told you how I felt. What did you think when you first met me?”

You felt your ears get hot. “Do you want the truth? Because it’s kind of embarrassing.”

Shifting himself on the couch, he leaned against the arm, tanned forearms resting on his knees. “Oh, this should be good.” He teased, grinning.

“Shut up.” You sighed, preparing yourself for his reaction. “When you walked into the kitchen that day, my first thoughts were...uh...pretty dirty. Like X rated.”

Eyes wide, he stared at you. “Really? How dirty are we talking here?”

You covered your face with your hands, mumbling your answer behind them.

“Sorry, what was that?” He was fucking with you again, you could hear the smirk in his voice, and you were tempted to smack him with a throw pillow.

Taking a deep breath, you moved your hands from your face, looking him right in the eye. “I said, I wanted you to step on me.”

Sputtering, he blinked a few times. “What?”

“I mean, you were this...tank, Eijirou. Like this giant man with gorgeous eyes and a killer smile, with the personality of fucking sunshine and you had these big hands and I wanted you to wrap them around my throat and-”

“Whoa whoa whoa, seriously?” His cheeks were as red as his hair, his hands flailing as he stopped your tirade. “You wanted me to…?

Nodding solemnly, you looked him dead in the eyes. “Yes, and I’ve thought about that like every day since then.” 

“I am learning things about you today that I never even imagined.” Blowing a breath out he slumped back, looking shook.

You hurried on, wanting him to know it was more than that. “I mean, after that I got to know you and I love everything about you, Ei. I just, you’re such a good person, better than I could ever be. You care about everyone and you’re always there for me, for all of us, whenever we need you. You’re strong and funny and brave. I always know that I can rely on you.” Sniffling, you couldn’t help the emotions bubbling to the surface. 

“But you also want me to step on you.” He was grinning, his eyes a little wet, too.

Wiping at your eyes with your fingers, you chuckled. “Yes, exactly.”

Sighing, he leaned forward, grabbing your arm and tugging. “Come here.”

Crawling across the couch, you laid down between his parted legs, your head resting on his chest. He wrapped his giant arms around you and kissed the top of your head. 

“Now what?” You asked, realizing you were afraid of the answer. What happened now?

He hummed, and you heard the sound vibrate through his chest. “I was going to suggest a nap, but now I keep thinking about what you said…”

You lifted up to ask what he meant, shifting your body and freezing when you felt something hard brush against your thigh. Eyes meeting his, you bit your lip at the look on his face, feeling a blush creep over your face and down your neck. “Yeah?”

“I figured we can do things out of order a little bit, right? I’m going to take you on a real date and court you properly, like a gentleman and all that, but right now all I can think about is, well…” He sat up, grabbing you around the waist and lifting you like it was nothing, until you were sitting properly on his lap, straddling his hips. When he was satisfied, his hand moved to your throat, putting the smallest amount of pressure on the sides of your neck with his calloused fingertips.

The moan that tore from your throat was low and quiet, but he heard it, muttering a curse under his breath as you became nearly boneless in his lap. “Eijriou.” You managed, licking your lips and gazing at him through half-closed eyes, your blood pounding in your ears.

It was ridiculous how turned on you were in that moment, and he’d barely done a thing. You felt his cock twitch beneath you, and you couldn’t help but grind down on him, the small amount of friction making you shiver.

Suddenly he was guiding you towards him, your noses bumping and breath mingling as he held you in place, his lips just out of your reach. “You don’t know how much I’ve always wanted you, Y/N.” 

Letting your eyes slide closed, you ran your hands up his muscled arms and rested them on his shoulders to keep yourself upright. You were tired of waiting, of keeping yourself from what you wanted. “Show me.”

If you were to die right here on this couch it would have all been worth it. The feeling of his lips on yours, the way he ran his thumb lightly over your throat as he kissed you, had your eyes rolling back in their sockets. You couldn’t get enough of the taste of him, of the feeling of his hard body beneath your fingertips. He was careful with his sharp teeth, tugging at your bottom lip lightly, your tongues sliding together as he rolled his hips against yours.

You pulled back for air finally, taking in his kiss bruised lips and dilated pupils. Reaching down, you tore your shirt over your head, tossing it across the room, never breaking eye contact. You watched his gaze fall to your heaving chest as he worried at his bottom lip for a moment, obviously lost in thought. 

Before you could ask him what he was thinking about, he’d shifted again so that his feet were on the floor. Kirishima lifted you off his lap and put you on your feet in front of him, hands moving to your waist, fingers slipping into the elastic of the leggings you were wearing. He pressed his face to your bare stomach, kissing your skin as he worked your pants down your thighs, slipping them past your knees. You played with his hair, moaning softly as he kissed along your hip.

When he sat back you stepped out of your leggings, feeling exposed. You forgot how to be awkward when he was looking at you like that, hungry and wanting. Stepping forward, you pouted. “Why am I the only one half-naked?”

Chuckling, he pulled his shirt off, and you sucked in a breath, trying to wrap your head around the fact that this man, with a chiseled and perfect body like a Greek god, wanted you.

You didn’t even have time to admire him, because he was moving again, pulling you closer by your thighs, sharp teeth hooking into the front of your panties and dragging them down. Tugging the tie out of his hair, you slid it on your wrist, letting your fingers card through his red locks. He let his hands do the rest of the work until the offending garment was tangled around your ankles. 

Pushing him away gently, you watched him settle back on the couch, red eyes gazing at you as you reached back to unclasp your bra, letting it fall to the floor, finally fully exposed to him. Kirishima sucked in a breath, blinking a few times in disbelief. “God, you’re so beautiful.”

You kicked your panties to the side, moving to kneel in front of him, reaching up to grasp the top of his grey sweats, mouth-watering when you started to tug them down. Kirishima was huge everywhere else, so the size of his cock was of no surprise to you. He was massive, long, and girthy, and you couldn’t wait to feel him inside you, stuffing you full.

Rubbing your thighs together for some relief, you left his sweats around his ankles, leaning forward and grasping his cock in your hand. It was almost comical how small your hands looked compared to it. Your eyes locked with his as you licked a long stripe up the shaft, tracing along the prominent vein on the underside, and lapping at the precum dripping from the head. 

Kirishima’s head fell back to rest on the cushion behind him, his fingers tangling in your hair as you took him into your mouth. Your jaw ached almost immediately as you did your best to swallow all of him down, willing your throat to relax. You’d spent so long thinking about how he would taste and sound as you sucked his soul out through his dick, you were going to make the most out of this moment. 

His breathy pants filled the room, along with the obscene slurping sounds of your mouth around his cock. Gripping your hair and tugging lightly, you could tell he was holding back, his thighs shaking with the effort to keep from fucking up into your face. You pulled off, opening your mouth to let him know he could wreck you however he wanted, but he had other plans.

“Come up here, baby.”

The pet name sent shivers through you as you stood up, straddling his lap, his cock pressed up against his stomach. His thumb brushed over your lips, wiping away the spit and pre that spilled down your chin. Cradling your face in his large palm, he pulled you forward and kissed you deeply, his free hand sliding between your bodies. Thick fingers parted your folds, and you lifted up on your knees to give him better access. You moaned into his mouth as he brushed over your clit, gathering the dripping wetness of your cunt along his digits and sliding one finger inside your hole.

You clenched around him, breaking the kiss and keening loudly, your hips involuntarily bucking against his hand. His finger pumped in and out, curling slightly and pressing against your inner walls, stretching you. Gripping your hip with his other hand, he kissed his way down your jaw to your neck and chest, tongue flicking out over your nipple, hot breath ghosting over your skin with a chuckle when you grabbed his head and pulled him towards you.  

One finger turned to two and then three as you rocked and mewled in pleasure, his thumb finding your clit again and pressing against the bundle of nerves, whispered praises reaching your ears as he sucked and bit at your breasts. You were on the edge, wanting to fall over and drown in him, needing to cum all over his fingers and then again on his cock, wanting nothing more than to feel this way forever. 

“Ei I’m gonna…” You panted, unable to form the words.

Grunting, he moved his fingers faster, pressing his thumb in a little harder, his words of praise streaming steadily, telling you how good you were, how pretty you looked. Eyes rolling back, your body tensed, a moan in the sound of his name leaving your lips as you shook, cumming harder than you ever had in your life. 

You were still clenching when he pulled his fingers out of you, his hand slick with release as he tugged on his cock and lined it up with your entrance, your body mourning the loss for mere seconds before he was filling you again. The slick glide of your arousal had you taking nearly all of him, the two of you groaning in tandem at the feeling. Gripping his shoulders, you lifted slightly, slamming your hips back down and taking him to the hilt. The stretch was just on the edge of painful, but his thick digits had stretched you just enough that the pleasure superseded any discomfort.

Still trying to gather yourself after your orgasm, you took a moment to breathe, studying his face, your gaze tracing over the scar on his eyelid, and his dark lashes fanning over his cheeks. An hour ago you never could have imagined you’d be here, panting shakily, drenched in sweat and skin to skin with your best friend and roommate. 

Clenching around him, you held his shoulders, rocking forward and lifting yourself slightly. Kirishima gripped your hips, fucking up into you in a steady rhythm, his lips finding yours once again to swallow the panting moans leaving you. You bounced on his cock, relishing the feeling as he kissed down your neck, his fingertips digging into your flesh, sure to leave bruises for you to admire the next day.

You weren’t sure how much time had passed, but it didn’t even matter. Just being this close to him, feeling him filling you so completely after wanting him for so long, it could have been minutes and you’d be happy. Knowing he felt for you as strongly as you felt for him was enough. 

His fingers trailed along your front and dipped in between your bodies to rub your clit again, and you felt the pleasure race down your spine, coil tightening again and ready to break. “Oh fuck, Eijirou!”

Growling, he grunted your name as his hips snapped up to meet yours, chasing his release. “I love you, Y/N.”

His words tipped you over again, your breath catching as you came, the wet sounds of his cock plunging into you increasing as you gushed around him. You buried your face in the crook of his neck, completely spent. You held onto him as he slammed into you a few more times, rhythm faltering and hips stuttering until he was filling you up with a loud groan.

Collapsing back onto the couch, he held you to his chest, the two of you gasping for air. It was quiet for a few minutes as he rubbed his palm along your back comfortingly. You felt relaxed and sated, a pleased smile making its way to your face when you thought about what he’d said.

“Hey, Ei?” You pulled back slightly to look at him, giggling when he peeked one eye open to gaze at you.

“You okay?”

“Mm. I just wanted to tell you that I love you, too.”

He looked sheepish, opening both eyes and biting his lip. “I didn’t mean to tell you like that. I wanted it to be romantic.”

“That was plenty romantic, Eijirou.” Rolling your eyes fondly, you shifted in his lap. “I’m just happy to hear you say it.”

“Man, we did this all wrong. I should have at least taken you to dinner first. This is so unmanly of me, I just couldn’t help it.” He frowned. “I’m sorry-”

“You’re too good sometimes, Ei. I’m not complaining, am I?” You raised an eyebrow. “We should go get cleaned up before Bakugou comes home and finds out we fucked on the couch.”

“Please don’t talk about Bakugou while you’re sitting on my dick.” He made a face that caused you to bust into gasping laughter. 

“Oh my god, I can’t.” You wheezed. “You’re ridiculous.” You moved to get up and he stopped you.

With a serious look on his face, he pushed your hair away from your face, his hand lingering near your ear. “I do love you though, Y/N. And I’m glad we finally got here. I didn’t think we ever would.”

Expression softening, you leaned into his palm, smiling at him. “Me too.”

Maybe if you had just told him how you felt all those years ago, you would have been able to have this sooner. But you promised yourself that you wouldn’t dwell on the past, deciding to focus on the future, because you knew it would be filled with more moments with him just like this.

[kingbaekho]

you’re my home (friends-to-lovers!you x jr)

pairing: nu’est’s jr x you

word count: 2.2k

genres: fluff, slice-of-life, slow(ish) burn, friends-to-lovers

a/n: i truly have nothing to do this summer, so i’ll start writing more!

jonghyun’s the yin to your yang.

whenever people find out that you and jonghyun are best friends, they’re always taken aback. it’s no big deal -- you two are used to it, and you’ve spent multiple long nights rambling about it over facetime.

there’s jonghyun, who suffers from rbf, but once he smiles, turns into the cutest human being alive. he’s a serious introvert whose late nights are spent watching anime, reading manga, or playing video games. on the rare occasion he’s at a party (usually having been dragged to it by you), he sticks to the walls with only soda in his hands, carefully watching to make sure that nothing happens to you as you disappear into the crowd. he’s selfless the a fault -- his friends have regularly pointed out how often people ask him for help without giving anything back in return, to the point where you blew up at a girl in middle of math class for asking him for the answers to last night’s homework for the tenth day in a row. jonghyun doesn’t mind, though. he never does. as long as he can be there to make someone happy, he’s happy as well.

and then there’s you, the virtual polar opposite of jonghyun. if you have to stay at home for even one day, you get restless. when jonghyun can’t find his voice, you do it for him -- hence the above incident. while he’ll never say a bad word about anyone, you’re blunt -- if you dislike someone, you’ll make it crystal clear. you like loud parties, dancing, random hookups -- everything jonghyun doesn’t. hell, you even look like the polar opposite of jonghyun. while he prefers oversized sweaters that, according to you, are a “big uwu”, your hair is dyed platinum blonde, with a closet like an instagram model.

yet, you and jonghyun are the best of friends, like yin and yang (for your 18th birthday, you and jonghyun gave each other yin and yang stick-and-poke tattoos that actually didn’t turn out too badly, especially considering the fact that both of you were tipsy). you coax jonghyun out of his shell, while he calms you down and keeps you safe. you’re up in the sky, but it’s jonghyun who keeps you anchored to the earth. it’s been this way ever since ninth grade, when you were the new student that, when you could have had your pick of popular friends, chose jonghyun to sit next to during lunch. and now, four years later, you two even chose to go to the same college.

except lately, you and jonghyun have been growing apart. jonghyun understands -- you’re both 18 now, almost college students. he wants to give you space to breath, to let you grow into your own without him to tie you down. you two are so vastly different, and it makes since that you would want friends that want to do the same things that you do. jonghyun doesn’t mind. he’ll always be here, waiting for you.

after all, he has his girlfriend now. yena is much more like him, and so being with her feels effortless in a way that being with you doesn’t. as much as jonghyun enjoys spending time with you, your boundless energy can be tiring at times. with yena, he could spend day after day by her side, just watching anime. she’s comfortable, a lovely familiarity whereas you’re the unknown. nowadays, jonghyun just wants to be comfortable.

even though for the past few months, you and jonghyun’s communication has disintegrated into exclusively snapchat streaks with the occasional tagged instagram meme, it’s your number that he dials the night that yena dumps him, after he spends hours sobbing into his pillow.

“what’s up?” you answer with your usual brazenness.

jonghyun doesn’t know why, but he feels an urge to get out of his house. he needs a distraction from this heartbreak. “are you free?”

“uh, what’s up?” you ask again. jonghyun realizes that it’s a saturday night. of course you’re busy. he sighs.

“don’t worry about it,” he says.

“no, what’s up?” you repeat. “this is the most we’ve talked in months, something’s obviously wrong.”

for as flighty as you are, you have a sixth sense about these things. jonghyun pauses.

“yena and i broke up.”

“i’ll be there in ten minutes.” you hang up.

“jesus, you look like a wreck,” you mutter when jonghyun climbs into your car at 11 that night. you push a box of tissues into his lap before speeding off into the street. neither of you speak until you reach a stoplight, and you look at him for what must be the first time in months. jonghyun notices that you’ve dyed your hair a fiery orange.

“what happened?” you ask, rolling down your window and tapping your fingers against the side of the car. you turn somebody to love up to a fifty.

jonghyun sniffles. “she said she found someone else.”

“christ,” you whisper. out loud, you say, “bitch couldn’t spot a good thing if it hit her over the fucking head,” in your usual blunt style. it does make jonghyun laugh, though. you turn to him with a small smile. “i think this calls for a midnight snack run, yes?”

he nods. once again, you’re off, going at least 10 over the speed limit, as usual. jonghyun really has no idea how you’ve managed to avoid a speeding ticket in all your years of driving.

“what were you gonna do tonight?” he asks to make conversation. he doesn’t like the silence between them, the awkwardness of it can’t help but make him feel guilty for not reaching out to her lately.

you shrug. “minki’s house.”

there’s a pause before jonghyun says, “you didn’t have to, you know.”

you shrug again. “i can party whenever i want to. i still consider you my best friend, jonghyun. i’m gonna help you out.”

you pull into the parking lot of a grocery store, instantly reviving the old memories of whenever jonghyun would sleep over at your apartment and you two would slip out at midnight to run to the the 7/11 on the street corner, giggling and relishing in the rebellion.

and just like the old days, a mischievous smile spreads across your lips. “come on!” you yell into the windy night air, already halfway across the parking lot despite your heels. you throw your hands up in the air, gesturing wildly. jonghyun smiles, too, as he breaks out into a sprint to catch up to you.

you laugh once he catches up to you. “took you long enough.” once you two enter the store, you hop into a cart. “push me,” you demand, pouting playfully until jonghyun acquiesces.

you two spend what seems like eons in the store, racing up and down the aisles, jonghyun putting in the cart whatever you want.

“soju?” jonghyun is already walking over to the bottles, predicting your response.

“yeah, of course.” you wave your hand dismissively, and jonghyun picks up a six-pack in each hand.

“get wine, too!” you call as he’s walking back to the cart.

“i don’t think we can drink this all on our own.” jonghyun raises his eyebrows

“wrong!” you cry. “if there’s a will, there’s a way!” he just shakes his head and fills the cart with as much alcohol as he can carry.

“this is a terrible idea,” he states as he pushes the cart out of the alcohol aisle.

“you always say that,” you reply, reaching for a bottle of soju.

“at least wait until we pay for it!” he protests.

“fine,” you grumble, retracting your hand.

even though this is the first time you’ve talked in months, it’s easy for the both of you to fall into your normal cadence. by the time you two leave the grocery store, with you handing jonghyun your grocery bags with an overly-sweet smile. jonghyun realizes that he hasn’t even thought about yena. sitting in the car as you drive off into the night, humming along to radiohead, jonghyun traces the yin tattoo on his wrist with his finger. no matter what, at the end of the day, it’ll always be you and jonghyun.

you park somewhere along the bank of the hand river, and with soju and snacks in hand, you and jonghyun settle yourselves on the sidewalk along the edge of the river, where the water occasionally laps up and splashes the sidewalk with a small spray. after the shopping trip, the silence between them is now comfortable, punctuated only by you opening a bottle of soju and by jonghyun opening up a bag of cheetos.

“i’m sorry about yena,” you say after a long bout of silence. you take a swig of alcohol and look off into the distance.

jonghyun shrugs. “i guess it was bound to happen at some point. we’re going to completely different colleges, after all.”

“still.” you turn to look at him. “she’s a dumb bitch.”

he just laughs, used to your bluntness. “i mean, that’s just life.”

“i guess, but still,” you say with utter conviction. “you’re a great person, jonghyun. she doesn’t deserve you.”

“i don’t know,” he says, taking the bottle of soju that you offer him. “different people just need different things in a relationship.”

you set down your bottle with a clunk, and jonghyun realizes that you’ve already consumed most of it.

“are you gonna be okay?” he asks, scrutinizing you with concern in his eyes.

“yeah!” you wave your hand dismissively again. “it’s all good in the hood.” but you’re already starting to slur your words.

“do you want me to drive home?” he asks.

“yep.” you nod, leaning back on your elbows. jonghyun rolls his eyes playfully. he didn’t realize how much he’d missed you. it can be tiring playing catch-up with you whenever you drag him to parties, but it’s these moments, where it’s just the two of you on some random adventure, that he misses, no matter how small the adventure is. to him, being with you is thrilling, like a roller coaster. maybe, after the same-old same-old that being with yena was, this is what he needs.

“i’m sorry for not talking to you.” your voice breaks the silence.

“hm?” he turns to you. “what do you mean?”

“i--” you hiccup. “i kind of made a conscious effort not to talk to you.”

he blinks. “why?”

“because of yena.” you take a hard gulp of your soju.

“what do you mean?” jonghyun inches closer to you, and unsuccessfully tries to pry your hands from your bottle. “you’ve had too much to drink way too quickly.”

“it’s mine,” you pout, curling up into a ball to protect your liquor. “anyway, i didn’t like yena.”

“i mean, she just broke up with me, but she was always nice,” he says, sitting back down. “i thought you two got along okay.”

“no.” you shake your head vehemently. “not that. the issue was that--” this time, jonghyun doesn’t stop you from drinking.

“i like you,” you say finally, suddenly sounding sober. “i’ve liked you since the end of tenth grade.” you turn your gaze to the ground.

jonghyun’s taken aback. out of everything he expected her to say, that wasn’t one of them. your dating history consisted of a stream of college boys who only stayed long enough to buy you whatever you wanted before you moved on to the next. never something serious. never anyone like him.

he’s reminded of when he had a crush on you, too. he thought he’d quashed those feelings with yena. but now, in the cool summer breeze, knowing that you like him, too -- he doesn’t know anymore. maybe it’s just the rush of post-breakup emotions. or maybe jonghyun’s realizing that you were what he always needed.

“i...” his voice trails off.

“i know.” this time, when you speak, you sound weary. “you just broke up with yena. you still have feelings for her.”

he nods slowly. “yeah, but i mean... i don’t know anymore. i’ve had a crush on you, too, ever since the summer before junior year. but i didn’t think you’d like me back... and so i dated yena. so now, i don’t know anymore.”

“i see,” you say carefully. “can you... kiss me?”

jonghyun doesn’t know exactly why he accepts, but he inches over to you anyway. despite the strong taste of soju on your lips, kissing you feels so natural. the way his lips meld together with yours makes jonghyun think that you two were made for one another, like puzzle pieces. there’s no awkwardness, no fumbling. it’s plain and simple, and it’s another reminder that maybe, jonghyun had gotten it all wrong that it’s you he’s really been searching for.

“that was nice,” you mumble once you two finally part, your arms still wrapped around his neck.

“mhm.” he nods, looking down at you with a smile.

“so what do you wanna do now?” you ask, looking up at him expectantly.

jonghyun shrugs his shoulders. “i’m not really sure.” your arms fall away, and he sits down, staring at the twinkling lights of the buildings across the river. “but i have a feeling that this will work out.”

“that’s the most un-you thing i’ve ever heard you say.” you smile, moving so that you can rest your head in his lap. “but i like the way you think.”

jonghyun smiles down at you. “maybe you’re a bad influence on me.”

“maybe so,” you hum, closing your eyes.

jonghyun knows that he’s been getting it all wrong. he thought comfort meant similarity, so he chose yena. but it’s not. comfort is the feeling he gets when he’s next to you. comfort is the feeling he gets when he kisses you.

at the end of the day, it’ll always be just you and jonghyun.

[gatorademachinegun]

An Incomplete List Of Dumb Shit I've Done In No Particular Order

uhh trigger warning for injuries and blood bc dumb shit also means being a reckless idiot sometimes

nearly took my own hand off with a metal grinder temping at a machine shop

didn’t tell anyone about it, calmly walked to the bathroom, notified my mother, dug the first aid kit out from under the sink, and stitched it up myself

attempted to go back to work but was busted by my supervisor and sent home

i routinely go walking around the farm at night. in my sleep wear.

went walking out to check on the cows during the blizzard we had a couple weeks ago because my fathers an asshole who refused to check on them himself.

was forced to help move heavy metal shelving despite me telling them i had messed up my shoulder that week and dislocated my left shoulder holding this heavy ass sheet of metal but when everyone around me started screaming I just calmly said, "I told you all this would happen. It's too late now. Let's just finish this." and then relocated my shoulder 20 minutes later and left

accidentally fell off the jungle gym, landed like spider man, then stood back up and did it 3 more times.

went mountain trail riding and broke my throttle thumb half way up the hardest trail there but instead of signalling and stepping off my stupid ass just floored it till I got to the top

kicked a good sized dent into my wall during a flurry of panic because I'd suddenly remembered that I hadn't wished my girlfriend goodnight

accidentally pissed off the bull and was chased up a tree by 2,400 pounds of Anger With Horns, where i spent the next 2 hours waiting for that fucker to leave

accidentally pissed off the bull a SECOND TIME while riding a honda mini trail 50 that i was too big for.

i panicked and floored it, hit a sand patch, crashed through the barbed wire fence, ran a stick of re-bar into my ribs (right under my left boob)

i then picked myself back up, straightened the bike, walked back up to the house and scared 20 years off my fathers life when he saw me covered in a gross mix of sand, gasoline, and blood, parking the bike back in the shop like it wasn't no big thing

broke my right wrist when a dump truck bed at Bass Pro unexpectedly flipped while I was monkeying around on it

(back at school with my broken dominate wrist) taught myself to write with my left hand because the kid who was supposed to be writing my assignments out had terrible handwriting and took too long

intentionally took as long as possible to do any kind of student council assignment because I hated math class and if i took long enough i could miss 90% of the math lesson

got into a screaming match with a dude named Bret, yelled so hard it triggered my gag reflex so i threw up right between our feet, and then went right back to screaming. Bret was so startled he couldnt come up with an argument back and i have not spoken to him one on one again.

rearranged the entire living room while home alone because I got bored

left my glasses in the refrigerator

left my phone in the refrigerator

left my glasses in the freezer, then wanted to microwave them to clear the frost on the lenses because it was 4am and i wasnt all the way awake yet

left my glasses under my father's bed who sleeps an entire floor above my room. took me 2 hours to find them and i just sat their stupefied for a while

randomly thought of this ask and fell halfway down the stairs laughing, then just sat there, wedged on the stairs for a while

I ran outside the other day forgetting the patio was iced over and slid right from the front door all way off the end of patio and landed ass first into a snowbank a whole foot taller then i am

my mother was there to watch the entire thing and she still hasnt let me live it down

repeatedly climbed onto the roof to fix the satellite dish because it may be snowing but i am not going to be without internet

learned Russian because i was too lazy to google translate those Russian cat memes but somehow motivated enough to learn an entirely new language for CAT MEMES

was practicing Russian verbs at my local library and this angry white lady who thought i was summoning Satan started screaming at me while i continued to chant verbs till someone a couple stacks over just said "lady shut the fuck up" and i had to stop bc i was laughing too hard

my nervous 15 year old ass looked right into the eyes of a well off white lady as she let me into her giant house bc i was 20 minutes late to a Halloween party and said “this house is too big. the ceiling arches are too tall for proper acoustics. it’s hard to scream up the stairs for your kids isn’t it?”

i just looked her in dead in the face with a blank expression and she never actually answered my question

she just vaguely gestured towards the kitchen and i just Fled and then she stood in the foyer for a solid 10 minutes before following me to the kitchen to ask me my name

we never talked about and i still keep in contact with her daughter and she's never mentioned it either

every time i see this woman in a public place if we make eye contact she stares at me for a long time and i Know she's Remembering

needed to ask a gas station employee about the gas pumps. found one kneeling by the sandwich cooler and crouched next to him so i wasn't looming while i talked, waved a little bit and said "hey uh-" and must have startled him bc he whipped around to face me. slapping me across the face with the sandwich in his hand in the process. I didn't comment on it. just asked my question and left to laugh my ass off alone in my car.

laughed at a pun my mom sent me i fell off my stool at the school library, still howling, and the librarian came over to check on me saying "are you ok? you're laughing so im assuming you're ok? please let me know if you need help" and then she left while i continued to wheeze on the floor for the next 15 minutes

those are all the ones i can think of off the top of my head but I’ll ask my friends what other dumb shit they’ve seen me do and add to this list as I remember stuff 

[ikesenhell]

Summoning Circle XVI

This is a continuation of Summoning Circle. You can find all other IkeSen works of mine here. NOTE: Tagging @katriniac at her request. 

They shoved back the furniture in the living room and prepared another circle. Sasuke prepped instruments she didn’t even know the names of around the room. Some whirred, some beeped, some made scrawling measurements like a seismograph. He monitored them all ceaselessly for a week before clapping his hands together. 

“Good news. We might not even need a machine.”

“How do you figure that?” She asked, propping herself up between two of them on the couch.

“Well, the problem is from the other side. Ergo, we’d need to get through to the other side to block the holes. And I think--” He paused, contemplating his words. “I think it’s a matter of reverse engineering the doorway you made in the first place to place a barrier.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, her brain nigh on meltdown mode. “English please.”

“Remember your sigil you drew to summon them in the first place?” Sasuke flipped the book open, teasing his fingers between the pages. “It’s like an algebra problem.”

“Fuck, Sasuke. The whole reason we’re in this mess is because I’m shit at math.”

He half-smiled, shoving his glasses back up his nose. “Alright. A better analogy. Think of each place in the universe was a door. Naturally, to get in a door, you need a key.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

“So, for instance, to ‘assemble’ the key to our having space travel, we had to map out the lock. The components involved velocity, calculating orbits, etcetera, but in the end it was a key nonetheless.” He tapped the pages to the book. “And this book details keys to other doors.”

She paused. “So basically what you’re saying is the circle is the door, we just have to figure out the components to get us in there. Like a password.”

“Exactly like a password.”

“And once we’re in there...” The details laid bare out before her like the mythical yellow brick road. “Then we block the route back?”

“It’ll take a little doing. But that’s the idea. It’s just a matter of assembling the component to create the block. And in the meantime, we’d have the assistance of Mitsuhide and Mitsunari on the other side.”

It wasn’t a perfect idea, but it was an idea, and it was better than any she had to boot. Besides. Sasuke had never, ever let her down before. Suddenly overwhelmed by the grace of him, she leapt to his side and crushed him in a hug. 

“Sasuke, you’re the very best friend in the whole goddamn universe.”

He pet her back gently. “This is as much a fun scientific adventure for me as it is helping you... but you’re welcome.”

Mitsunari stood in the eye of the circling storm. 

A thousand dreams swirled around him. He extended a finger and watched them ripple around him, fragments of unconscious thoughts flowing through his mind. Oh, he was so, so hungry for them, so tempted to delve in and devour them whole for their knowledge. But he was hunting first and foremost. That stayed him. Faster and faster the tide turned around him. He shut his purple eyes and focused to the full stretch of his will, feeling the ravenous desire in him fight for control. 

But not today. 

He felt the dream and latched on, pulling it out of the slipping current and laying it bare before him. There. She dreamed, and his heart screamed and pulled from his chest, threatening mutiny.

She dreamed of them.

There they were--himself and Mitsuhide, standing in her kitchen, fumbling over sandwiches. The contents made no sense, and neither did the fact that all the furniture was floating--but nevermind that. Dream logic had a way of creeping in. He absorbed himself in the details of her. 

He watched her hands reaching for them, the way she always fell just out of reach. The kitchen drifted farther and farther away until it was only a lonely blip, the infinite hallway extending before her. Mitsunari wanted so badly for Dream-Him to reach out, take her, grab her! But no. He could only stand arrested as at last, the whole apartment slipped into blackness, the shattering of a mirror sprinkling through her mind. 

“There you are.”

Mitsunari shut his eyes and tried not to feel angry at Mitsuhide. “Did we do the right thing?”

The silver-haired demon stepped to his side and stared down at the dream. It turned to a horror so easily. Now she dreamed of blood sprinkled over the vanity, fragments of a vampire skull scattered over her feet. 

“Yes,” Mitsuhide murmured, his voice shaking. “We did.”

“It doesn’t feel like the right thing.”

“The right thing often doesn’t.”

Mitsunari sighed. “I suppose coming from you, that means something. You’re the king of doing the right thing in the worst ways.”

The ghost of an amused smile played over Mitsuhide’s lips, but he said nothing. Instead he extended his hand toward his partner. “You can’t stand here in the stream forever.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re starved. You never made the trade I made. You can’t be away from your books this long.”

“I know,” Mitsunari answered miserably. “I know. But I keep coming back here.”

Nothing other than the rush of swirling dreams around them answered. At last, Mitsuhide sighed. “Whatever you’re looking for, I can stand guard for now. She wouldn’t want you to do this to yourself.”

A bitter laugh escaped him. “She wouldn’t want a lot of things that have happened.”

“No. You’re right. She wouldn’t have.” 

She took her cat to stay with another friend for a while. After all, whenever they broke through to Purgatory, Theodora couldn’t go without food and water. Kissing her pet a thousand times on the head, she finally resolved herself to the unknown. 

Both she and Sasuke threw themselves into working long hours every week, extending their paychecks as far as they could manage to accommodate an unknown length of time away from their respective bills and responsibilities. Each night, they dragged themselves back to the apartment and slaved over the books late into the night. Sasuke pinned an intricate system of notes onto her wall. One night she pointed out it looked like a meme and he struck the same pose, sending them into a several-minute long fit of giggles. 

And at last--at last!--they had something. 

“Holy shit.” Sasuke announced one midnight. “I think I got it.”

She pried herself from her notes to stare blearily at him. “What?”

“I’ve got it.” And he scrambled for chalk, etching the runes into the floor one at a time. Each of them pulsed and warped in tandem, shimmering a bright red through the apartment until a faint light pooled in the center. Sasuke inhaled deeply. “I haven’t set the last symbol, but when we do...”

“Oh my god.” She slammed the book shut, scrabbling over to him. “Okay. Okay okay. Okay!”

“We need to get supplies.” He nodded resolutely, and suddenly the two of them were scrabbling around the room. “Like a can of beans!”

A moment. She stopped and stared at him. “A... can of beans? Like, a singular can?”

Sasuke, astrophysicist and genius, stopped dead in his tracks, eyes glazed. “I... yes. We probably need more than one.”

“Sleep deprivation getting you there?”

“I’d be absolutely thrilled if we could just chalk it up to that.”

They crashed that night in the living room, and by the next morning, they both sent off emails to their respective employers about an unplanned, long-term absence from work. Shuffling their backpacks together, they checked it for the millionth time.

“A compass won’t be any use there,” Sasuke mumbled. “Do you know how to orient us once we’re in?”

“Not a single fucking clue, if I’m honest. I might be able to get us to the hot springs... if it dumps us out in the correct place.”

“Not likely, then.” But he smiled anyway, cranking one of his ten wind-up cameras he’d somehow procured. “This will be very exciting.”

“And scary. We need to be on our guard.” 

“Of course. But the scientific opportunity here is limitless.”

Count on Sasuke to make it fun. Shaking out her nerves, she nodded at him. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah. Let’s do this. Beam me up, Scotty.”

He gave her the usual muted smile and scrawled out the appropriate signs. Just as before, the whole living room began to swim with ruby light. Affixing the last piece, they stepped back as a massive gate appeared before them--and just beyond, a thick, purple haze. 

She exhaled hard and took Sasuke’s hand. “Alright.”

He squeezed it reassuringly. Together, they stepped through, and the gate closed behind them. 

“My friend?”

The demon frowned from his place atop a cushioned chair, but answered anyway. “Yes, Shingen?”

Smirking, the redheaded demon flopped into a matching one across from him, adjusting his red and gold robes. “I don’t suppose you’re in a mood for a patrol?”

Those mismatched eyes flicked open with interest. “Is it a vampire incursion? Perhaps some of those hungering spirits again?”

“No, no no, Kenshin, my friend. Nothing that we need to attack, exactly.”

“Oh.” Kenshin’s face soured immediately. “Then I’m not interested.”

“Come now! It’ll be fascinating.” Shingen chuckled, leaning in. “I heard the most interesting report. We have some interlopers out here.”

“If I can’t kill them, then I don’t know what you want from me.”

“I’m certain you’ll find them of interest.” The demon grinned broad, his horns like an ibex shimmering into view. “Because, my friend, they’re humans.”

[pacman-tattoo]

Fish Out of Water [michael m. x reader] pt.2

this was demanded so i gotta do it lads

warnings: uh reader talks about said “tragic backstory” which involves bullying. it’s not recounted in detail but there’s just the mention of shit. other than that, everything should be fine.

      Michael was determined to unlock your tragic backstory. Luckily for him, you would sit with him and Jeremy at lunch, which definitely made talking to you easier, even if you were only sitting there to keep Wes from thinking you were “being a loner” again. But it was fine - Michael and Jeremy were both huge dorks and would go on and on about different dorky shit and sometimes Michael would made dumb references to memes.

    Not that it didn’t make you smile. It always did - just a little.

    You decided against the auditions - at least for this year. Maybe next year you’d try out for the play - but something told you that you had some serious competition, considering how many stories keep flying around about this weird incident and the kids who were getting interested in it just because of the shit that went down. When you asked Jeremy and Michael about it, they shot each other a quick glance before shrugging it off and saying it was some weird shit you shouldn’t worry about. Suspicious, but you had your secrets and they had theirs.

     “Why don’t you invite them over?” Wes said one day, sitting at the foot of your bed in your now-furnished room.

    You shrugged, “I dunno.”

    “You should. Mom and dad are worried, y’know.”

    “Why?”

     “At least talk about them.”

     Which led to you approaching them the next day and sitting there with words weighing you down. 

    “What’s up?” Michael said at one point, and you shrugged. “You alright?”

    “Yeah.”

    “Alright.”

     He and Jeremy resumed their conversation.

    “Do you two wanna come over?” You blurted out, immediately catching their attention.

     So they were coming over tomorrow. Wonderful.

    “Sorry my room’s kind of a mess, I meant to clean it before you two showed up-”

    “It’s fine,” Jeremy chirped, “it’s not half as bad as Michael’s room!”

    “Dude!” Michael protested, and you smiled - again, like with Michael’s dumb memes, it was only a little, but it was still a smile.

     “So, uh,” you said, rocking on your heels a little, “what do you two wanna do? I can probably steal Isaac’s games after he and Wes leave...” 

     So you did. It took a few minutes to find something the three of you could play, but you found Isaac’s copy of Little Big Planet and figured that it was worth a shot, since you’d only played it a few times before.

      It was adorable. Holy shit it was adorable. And that was without the thirty minutes of the three of you generally fucking around and designing your Sackpeople - which in itself was fun. And adorable. You made a mental note you’d have to play this more.

     “So,” Jeremy said, dragging out the ‘o’, “where are you from?”

      You rattled off your hometown and a few facts, “but uh, we moved here for a few reasons.”

     “Which are?” And there was Michael.

     “Not important,” you shrugged, “work, mainly.”

     “Ah.” He didn’t believe you - not completely.

     “What do you think of Middleborough?” Jeremy said - did he just jab Michael with his elbow?

      “It’s fine. Better than my old school,” you said - fuck you missed that jump ugh - before mulling over a few thoughts, “not as many assholes. Wes and Isaac seem to like it.”

     “Assholes?”

     “Yeah... just... assholes,” you spat.

     “Did they bother you?”

     “Me?” You said, “not really. No one really had a reason to single me out,” you tighten your grip on the controller, “I did get in a fight though.”

     “Wait wait waitwaitwait- you can’t just say that,” Michael said, “you got in a fight?”

     “Yeah.”

     “How? Why?”

     “...I don’t want to talk about it.”

      And that’s all that was said.

     “So who’s your friend?” Isaac said one day, sliding into your desk chair, “not Jeremy. The other one.”

      You looked up from your textbook, staring for at him for a moment - how did he know who Jeremy was?  - before shrugging it off. “Michael. He’s cool.”

     “He seems like a nerd.”

     “So do you.”

      He goes to retaliate before frowning, leaning back in your chair, “true, but still. I’ve heard rumors about your friends.”

     “What kind of rumors?”

     He glanced back to the door, rolling the chair slightly closer as he pushed it shut before looking back at you.

     “So I heard from this guy that Jeremy and all of his friends were doing drugs-”

     “Isaac, I don’t care about that-”

     “At the school play.” 

     You frowned a little, “maybe that’s a little stupid-”

     “AND,” he said, “one of them burned down a house.”

     “What the fuck?”

     “No idea why,” Isaac shrugged, “but I’d watch out if I were you.”

      And then he left, only to pop back in seconds later, “dinner’s ready, by the way.”

      Little shit.

      You sat in Michael’s bedroom for the first time since you’d started coming to his house. The first few times never really went farther than his living room - and whether that was his choice or for his own comfort or for yours, you weren’t sure - and eventually you ventured down to his basement which reeked of weed and jesus, Michael how do your parents not catch you? But this was the first time you sat in his room, legs crossed and a binder with your math homework sitting in your lap.

     “You stuck?” You looked up at his voice, confusion apparently etched into every feature, “you... haven’t answered anything in a while.”

     “Oh. No. Just... thinking.”

     “About?”

      You chewed the inside of your cheek. “Some shit Isaac told me. About Jeremy. Or at least, someone Jeremy knows?”

      He doesn’t speak. He just somewhat stares at you, thumb running along the edge of a plastic binder nervously. Then he slowly nods. “What did he say?” His voice is soft and slow and so low and you have to wonder what else have people been saying for him to act like this?

     “Just... that someone burned down a house? And no one knows why - he just told me to watch out and I... don’t think Jeremy would be the kind of person to just hang out with someone dangerous, so I just... thought... maybe you could explain something.”

     He took a deep breath. “Fine. But.” You know what he’s going to say. “You have to talk to me.” You simply nodded. It was going to come out sooner or later and you might as well let Michael think you’re a freak. “So... there were - are.. these things called SQUIPs and... all I know is that they’re this supercomputer thing.”

       You nodded, taking in every word he said. When he asked whether you were going to tell Isaac, you only shook your head. “We all have our secrets,” you muttered. And then you took a deep breath. “Isaac used to be bullied.”

     “What-”

      You continued on without a second thought, “when I said I wasn’t bullied, I lied. But Isaac got the worst of it - even though everyone knew Wes and knew that all three of us were related. They just... they called Isaac some shit and I was there so I got into a fight with the fuckers and I got detention and I guess that was the last straw because next thing I know, mom and dad said we’re moving.”

     Michael stared at you. “Just.. how?”

     “Apparently,” you began, “they had a job offer up here but were on the fence about it because of us. They...” You drifted off for a moment, “didn’t really know. At least, until the fight. Dad was pissed because the school wasn’t doing shit, and mom was appalled at the bullshit that was going on.”

      When Michael doesn’t speak, you continue on, “I think... she was upset at us, too. For not telling her. For not doing anything. And, uh...” You paused, “you look like one of the guys that gave Isaac shit. Or at least, you did. I didn’t really get a good look at you when I ran into you and just-”

     “Hey,” he stopped you, “I’m sorry-”

      Words spilled over, and your voice began to shake but you just kept on going because you’ve already said so damn much and you just can’t stop, “and I just... I regret it. I’m not proud, Michael,” you stared down at your hands, “but the fucker was asking for it - and andandand- Isaac...”

      Then Michael’s arms are around you and the sound of his plastic binder topping off the bed greeted you, and your digging your nails and gripping his jacket so damn tight as everything fell silent. And then it’s broken as you choke back a sob before burying your face in his jacket. You were breaking and crumbling and unraveling and the only thing that held you together was Michael.

      At some point it stopped being you and Michael and Jeremy and started being just you and Michael - not to say you didn’t still hang out with Jeremy (and, after a while, the rest of their friends, who apparently took to you quickly and accepted you into the group, albeit a little warily at first) still, since you did. But things changed. Sometimes your hand would brush past Michael’s for a split second and your heart would skip a beat, and sometimes his hand would find yours and he’d just run his thumb over your knuckles and it was soothing.

       3:00 A.M. blinded you one day as you woke up, Michael’s arm draped around you, your cheek pressing against his chest. Fuck. Your head was pounding and your mouth felt dry as fuck - damn it Michael, he could have warned you.

       You somehow managed to wiggle from Michael’s arm, running a hand through your hair, mumbling profanity as you stepped away, finding your phone. One click of the button was enough to blind you momentarily - enough for you to see a wall of texts from who you could only assume to be Wes or Isaac. You ignored it - you’d text them back soon. You’d wander upstairs first, maybe find some water because fuck, cotton mouth is terrible. You’d fight Michael later for not warning you.

       You found a bottle of water in a drawer in the fridge and stumble to the dining room, sitting down and trying to recollect your thoughts as you down half the bottle in an attempt to relieve the desert feeling. Wes. Fuck, did you text Wes?

       Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t Wes who texted you.

      Jeremy: [y/n] are you okay?

      Jeremy: you and michael just disappeared???

      Jeremy: oh.

      Jeremy: i stopped by to check on you and michael

      Jeremy: but uh.

      Jeremy: sorry, i just didn’t want to disturb you!!!

      Jeremy: [image]

      You stared at the image - four hours ago? - of you asleep on Michael, his arm draped over you as it had been when you first woke up.

       ... Would it be weird to save it and maybe set it as your background?

       ... Maybe.

       You ended up doing it anyway.

      “Hey,” Michael said, sliding into the seat next to you at the lunch table, setting down a slushie in front of you, “got you something.”

       You thanked him and nearly dove back into the conversation, only to find it had halted at Michael’s entrance, eyes pinned to you.

      “So,” Chloe finally broke the short silence, “whatcha got there?”

       Michael looked up, glanced to you and then realized she’d either been talking to you or him, “just... thought I’d get [y/n] their favorite.”

      “So you know their favorite?” 

      “Uh, yeah? He’s my friend,” you said after a long sip, only to hiss softly - “fuck.” Fucking brain freeze.

      “So what’s my favorite?” Rich asked, staring at Michael.

      “... Cherry?” 

       For the rest of lunch the group kept stealing glances at you and Michael, as if the two of you would just spontaneously start making out and announce your love to the whole cafeteria.

       Not that you wouldn’t mind the first part.

       3:00 A.M.

       Why were you always awake at three in the morning? At least this time you had a reason. The same question would worm it’s way into your thoughts:

       Were you in love with Michael Mell?

       Dear god, yes.

       Christine had a nice house. Everyone was asleep in the living room, so you escaped out to her back porch to think - and you may have left Michael lying on the floor.

       At least, you thought you did until you heard the scraping of the glass door, which caused a quick “sorry!” the moment you jumped. 

      “You alright?” He asked as he sat next to you. You didn’t look up, but you nodded. “You sure?”

      “Yeah.”

      “Good.”

       A pause. “Michael?”

      “Yeah?”

      “What are we?”

       He’s caught off guard, before he answered shakily, “... friends?”

       “Are we?”

       There’s another pause. “Are we?” He asked softly.

       “Fuck, Michael, I don’t know. I look at you and my heart fucking races and sometimes I look at you and I just-” You stopped, looking up at him, “fuck.”

       Michael was staring at you.

       Your voice shook and grew dangerously quiet, “can I kiss you?”

       He only stared.

      “Michael?”

       Nothing.

      “Fuck, sorry, just - forget it. Sorry-”

      “Yes.”

      You’re stunned for a moment. But you leaned forward and gently press your lips against his and for a moment, everything fell away. His hand is warm at your cheek and his lips and hair are softer than you’d ever imagined. At least for a moment, is him and you and nothing else mattered.

[whimsically-ominously-auspice]

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A post shared by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg) on Apr 11, 2020 at 7:28am PDT

The Mayor of NYC just announced about the closing of the school year and how they tried to bridge the,gap for inequality for 6 years

I'm being honest and I'm not talking shit about him or any administration

I'm talking shit about people

This happens all the time. In elementary schools I shit you Not it happened in a 5th grade class room at La Promosa when I was substituting.

Fights and arguments were more common in high schools

In the middle school in 2016 the first month of classes there was 338 fights before classes started. And teachers trying to break it up got hit.

Im not kidding you. I don't live in the ghetto. I live ina community where they pride themselves on being the best and one of the most upper in all ways of the entire state. Where the government and schools work hard for this. They have won all kinds of awards that had absolutely nothing to do with me

I don't do that kind of system. As you see i do equality for police i do earning by deserving by showing workmanship.

But i don't do favor awards because of where i live. I was against Facebook coming to Los Lunas because we don't have a good traffic system. We have extra bad rush hour traffic that can take 3 hours to go 2 miles. So i was against Facebook coming and causing more traffic through town.

But they came and that had absolutely nothing to do with me. No shame. I don't work in the government. And they're only using solar electricity. So im not gonna bitch about it. It is good for the jobs and so on.

I'm just saying i was against it.

Because the point no matter how hard we try for our community or our schools

There's people that will fight for no reason.

So Mayor Bill while you find it painful, you may be saving some people some pain. Children being bullied. Fights such as these being hidden in school bathrooms. And so much more.

Schools were initially designed to be a safe place

But they aren't any more.

So i just wanted to explain that to all of you.

Seriously the middle school in 2016 had in the 2016 to 2017 school year, 74225 fights/arguments of high intensity that caused disruption in the hearts.

My primary school before i became unable to walk was the middle school. But it was heartbreaking.

What I saw was children coming from a home environment with one teacher and a playground.

Now our elementary schools do a block to prepare them for middle school because the change is so disruptive. So starting in 4th to 6th they change classes for certain subjects. But its only about 4 teachers per grade. So and if one is sick or has a sub or something or the teachers decide they don't want to for special projects they stay in their regular class.

Every thing else they had their whole life. Music and art and PE teachers.

Then thrown into 7 different teachers. No play ground. No desks to keep their things. No lockers. Every one new including the school grounds. They have to carry all their stuff all day in book bags.

It is the most inhumane treatment in the world.

And to make matters worse it's when they go through puberty.

I went to that school over all the schools in the district because i knew they needed me. Because they broke my heart. Because they had a constant cloud of darkness over their school.

Because they were in Hell.

Things were so used to. Things we survived. That we dont have the time to take to realize how much trouble the future of our children are in.

Just the way the school system is organized. Elementary. Middle/Intermediate/Jr High. High school.

I saw memes about zombies wanted in this WWIII

Look into the eyes of a child in Jr high. You'll see the walking dead.

I'm not kidding yoh. They tore my soul apart and broke my heart.

Every day i had to go Just to be there. Just to absorb the air. To make it cleaner for another day for them.

Turn out one set of lights. Open the blinds for the sun to come in. Do what i could to allow their brains to receive oxygen

And not neon fluorescent tube light's radiation.

Let their lungs expand and breathe so they could learn.

That is just is a basic.

It didn't help long term. Just a basic band aid.

Then allow them a voice. Allow them to speak on their own.

So, my choice to pay governments to shut down schools of 5 Billion dollars NYC will get...

It is for a reason.

My choice to have children at home worldwide

Is because i saw the suicidal desire in children's eyes. Because just of the change of the ways school systems are established.

Those children need to be home to recover.

They need more help than you will ever know.

They need more hugs and love and home cooked suppers and Happy Meals than you can imagine.

I care about those kids. I care about their parents and guardians. I care if they're homeless and on their own.

I worked plenty of special ed as well as regular education. Special ed was my favorite because they tried to blow through that black cloud every day and they also did it for the people around them

While they're termed stupid and dumb because of their lack of reading or math ability, most are the strongest of all the schools to bring light into the lives of others.

I remember this girl. She looked so dead inside. She walked up to me slow and in pain. "Idk what to do today I can't concentrate. I just don't feel right"

I looked around the room..

"Do you need the nurse?"

"No"

"Well I think you're not going to be okay take your things and go sit over my John. So I don't have to keep yelling at him for talking. Tell him I said to talk to you. He's the kid in the back from here against the wall three seats or rows back however you call them"

At that time i didn't know he was in reading special ed. I had not done his class period yet.

But i felt the most positive energy coming from his area of the room and he looked like the leader of that zone. I worried it was a mistake. That he could lead her astray.

I saw the darkness deepen "i said for her to go over there" the cloud prevented their brains from hearing and processing "HEY! YOU WANNA TALK? TALK TO HER! BECAUSE I SAID OR ILL SEND YOU TO THE PRINCIPAL. OR HEY COME HERE AND ILL EXPLAIN SOMETHING TO YOU"

So he came up "what? Im trying to be good. And she told me i had to talk to her"

"Am i here every day? No I'm not. There's something wrong with her. Its probably something at home that has nothing to do with you. Or maybe her and her friends got into a fight. Whatever. But what i do know is you like being the center of attention and talking a lot. So what i need you to do is talk to her. Not solely but include her in your group. Can you look st her please? Tell me what you see."

"Like she wants to die or some one to take her out and shoot her in the street"

My tears prevented me from saying more "then i think you know how to handle her without doing that. Do you play a lot of video games?"

"I used to. But my mom and dad kept taking it away for me being bad in school. I have it now though i just haven't played in years"

"Well i tell you, John, i think you should start playing more as a reward from me for helping her. And you should tell your parents you're doing well socially. And she should change her seat"

"What do you think has happened to her? Something bad or...?"

"I think she's just alone. Maybe just this class or. What this is right after lunch? She may just being of a social anxiety for leaving her friends from the cafeteria"

His eyes light up "I've been in special ed all my life!! I know exactly what that is!! I can help!! Thank you Miss Teach!!"

I never saw that girl again. She ceased to exist. That class never existed again. It transformed completely into a smiling sunny happy class room. It didn't matter if all the lights were off.

Each and every single child in that room shone with brightness...

It wasn't over night. It took Team Work.

But they worked it. And it worked.

Im not talking shit about the teachers. The teacher gave them work i didn't need to teach. Just work they already knew how. Which gave me the opportunity to look and view the students in a way she didn't have the time or freedom of mind to. A lot of time she just gave them a "catch up day" catch up on old assignments and homework they hadn't turned in. She gave them one every 2 weeks so she didn't have to fail them. So she just added one in or switched it from the regular day. And she had extra credit worksheets for them to do when they finished.

So no matter what you do. There's always gonna be a problem.

Our problem for Quarentine is Essiential workers. They can't stay home. They can't give nor receive the special attention their family and friends deserve.

This is why worldwide people are saluting and applauding and thanking and doing charity for them.

This is why we set aside special vacations and money for them and their families.

Yes you, too, my store workers. Including Wal-Mart. I got shamed yesterday by one of my stout workers i always see in Wal-Mart that goes the extra mile. "What about us. Ain't no one said shit especially you"

He didn't say the word shit but... You know what i mean. It's what i heard.

Which is funny cause the last time i saw him he was stocking toilet paper.

So understand why shutting down the schools is so essiential. Why communities are being paid so much. No community school district is being paid less than $6 million to shut down for the school year.

I want you to understand why.

Because its out of control. Its dangerous. And it is damaging our humans and aliens. And it is damaging our future on Earth to be successful.

So you stressed out moms.. Chill the fuck out.

Please. Please for the love of God.

Assualt your child with a hug. Just grab them and say "i didn't know. I'm here for all those moments you felt alone. Just come and find me and ask to do something together"

Assault them with love.

This is World War 3 people. Get into action!!!