#FR I COULD GUSH ABOUT THIS FIC ALL DAY LONG

[sorryiwasasleep]

📣📢 READ THIS FIC!!!!!

Lil summary of my own because GOD i love this fic so much and want everyone to read it:

Bruno Madrigal’s bad reputation precedes him and he scores an invite to Oogie Boogie’s Bash. Not realizing who that was, the family encourages him to go and he does. He meets many ~interesting characters~ at the party.

—

FOR REAL this is one my FAVORITE Disney one shots I’ve ever read, it’s SO good. It reads exactly like a 90s/early 00s Disney crossover shirt that is so incredibly in character for all the villains and Madrigals and I love it so so much. I don’t even think I’m exaggerating when I say I go back to this fic like every other month it lives RENT free I love it. If you like Disney Villains and Encanto, this fic is for you!!!!!!

I’ve been seeing some pics from the Oogie Boogie Bash so might be a good time to post my little Oogie Boogie Bash crack fic.

[usertransducks]

DCRC Week 1 or "Ducks Tries Not To Spoil His Second Favorite Comic Series"

I've been ready to write the post for PKNA #0: EVRONIANS since day 1 but I was trying to do it without spoiling future issues. I'll be summarizing the issue while adding my own thoughts!

Just a heads up that my blog won't be spoiler-free because I reblog a lot of fan art!

We're immediately introduced to our main hero and villains for the series on the cover; the long-time favorite Paperinik, known as "The Duck Avenger" in English, and the titular Evronians. It has that 90s dark Sci-Fi feel that tells the reader that this series will be somewhat different from the usual PK stories they've read before.

The issue starts out with the invasion of an, at this time, unnamed planet by an Evronian fleet.

Although most of the people we see end up getting cool-flamed, at the end of the segment we see there is at least one survivor. They'll be important later (and I can't wait!!!!!!)

After that, we transition to Duckburg! Its time to learn about the city's favorite sitcom, Anxieties, and finally meet up with PK. Unfortunately, the actress Duckie Starry ends up being attacked by cool-flames, who are a bit stronger than PK's usual foes.

After an Evronian flies off with the cool-flames, we encounter the guy whose figure is super expensive on eBay and he orders the absorption of PK's emotions.

(why are you so expensive *cries*)

The next morning, Donald's tv time is interrupted by a call from Scrooge, who has bought Ducklair Tower and wants Donald to work there. We learn the Everett Ducklair is missing and Scrooge bought all his stuff at an auction.

Donald is put in charge of custodial of all 150 floors of the tower, but because Donald is just like me fr he ends up counting all the floors and realizing there are 151 floors instead.

We see inside the offices of Channel 00, where we have to, unfortunately, meet Angus Fangus in exchange for meeting the platonic love of my life, Lyla Lay. She is one of my 3 favorite female characters in PKNA and I regularly want to fight characters who mistreat her in a Family Dollar parking lot. Expect a lot of gushing about her when we get to later issues 👍

Angus goes to harass Donald because he's a known friend of PK (established in the older PK comics) and we get to meet Camera 9!!!! I love him and there is a fic shipping him with Donald that I have in my Mark For Later list to read tonight. Camera 9 tells Donald that the actor Brad van Beck is missing, although Angus claims that he never speaks.

That night PK breaks into the 151st floor and we finally meet the whole reason why I try to get people to read PKNA:

UNO!!!!!!!!!!! 🥳🥳🥳

Uno is the AI running Ducklair Tower who was built by his dad, Everett Ducklair, so he could talk to someone just as smart as him. Uno tells PK about how everything Everett builds ends up being a weapon of mass destruction, even when he doesn't intend to do so. He then runs away from all his problems to a monastery to "better himself."

Anyways now they're friends!!! YIPPEE!!!

More people who work on Anxieties get cool-flamed, PK gets chased by Evronians, and unfortunately PK has his first of many near-death experiences involving the Duckburg subways. This one is not even close to the worst one so I don't have to add anything to Donald's trauma counter yet.

Donald and Uno scheme to convince Scrooge to rent out the terrace of Ducklair Tower so the Anxieties cast can have their party there. The Evronians crash the party and try to cool-flame Lyla, but the beam just bounces off of her! (I wonder why that is? :3) PK also shows up to crash the party.

This is when we see PK's main weapon for this series, the X-Transformer Shield, in action! It's resistant to the Everonians' weapons, it has a beam that can suspend the target's subjective time, and it allows for PK to have a tiny Uno with him at all times! Uno calls him "partner" :)

The shield has a ton of other features that we'll see later but for now PK throws it as a boomerang to save Duckie Starry once again. Because of this, PK gets his first of many kisses (sadly he doesn't get one from Uno or give him one either)

Angus Fangus makes everyone reading the comic want to fight him by going on air and accusing PK and the Evronians of working together. Paperinik Will Remember That

Breaking the formula to say that I love that Uno stops PK from going on the roof and tells him to sleep so that he doesn't stay up even longer. Currently most of this care and "mommy-ing" is because PK is his first friend, but later that care becomes more and more genuine because he learns to, quote, "have affection" for him. That's why a lot of us ship them <3

I adore most of the characters in PKNA and even the ones I hate I love how they fit into the story. Hope y'all enjoyed this issue and want to read more!!!!!!!

Also someone help me find cheap PKNA figures I cry every time I see the Uno orb listed because even when the price is affordable it'll have $30+ shipping even though all the other stuff I've ordered from Italy has had significantly cheaper shipping.

[cain-sawyer-son-of-the-saw]

Just a quick fic.

Warnings: None that I know of, this is just a cute moment.

The year is 1978 and it’s late summer. The last of the cicadas are creating a low hum as the sunset glows a bright orange outside. Rosette, considered a tall woman at 5’6”, with her dark brunette hair and expressive blue eyes sits calmly rocking her three year old son, Cain Jedidiah Jr. Sawyer, in her arms on the swing in the front yard. Her eyes are fixed on the horizon, waiting. Expecting. “Goodness, I hope it won’t be long, now…”, she half-whispers both to herself and to Cain. Little Cain, nearly every inch the miniature image of his father minus his mother’s blue eyes, snaps to attention and tries to see what his mother is looking for. “Pa… pa?”, Cain looks up at his mother’s face inquisitively. Rosette gazes down at that sweet little expression and a warm smile temporarily replaces the concern on her face. “Yeah. Your papa should be home soon, Cay.”, she explains, giving him a little kiss on the forehead as she pats his head, “He’s been out there in those fields all dang day. I bet he’s missin’ us as much as we miss him.”. A small smile forms on the little boy’s features at the kiss from his mama and he snuggles into her chest. Rosette holds him close for several minutes as they rock on the swing. She was quite worried because Bubba had been chasing some uninvited guests but she was not about to show it. She did not want to upset Cain.

In an effort to both calm herself and entertain Cain while they waited, she began to sing softly to him. A song about a teddy bear who travelled among the stars in a little silver boat, a story about making the impossible possible. It began to get darker and crickets started to join the cicadas’ concerto. Finally, raising his head from his mother’s shoulder with a sleepy little yawn, Cain glanced around for his father and on seeing that he still was not in sight, Cain began to whimper. “Sssshhhhh, little one, it’ll be okay.”, Rosette whispered comfortingly, snuggling him close, “There’s a lot of space to walk out there. I’m sure your daddy’s still on his way back.”. Cain began to squirm, making it known to his mother that he wanted to go find Bubba himself. “Now, Cain, you know it’s not safe to go out there…”, Rosette gently reminded him, holding him out before her so she could look into his eyes. There was a look of determination in his eyes, making Rosette sigh deeply. “How about this then? Mama will go with you a little ways into the field and we’ll call out as loud as we can that we’re about to start making dinner. That’s sure to make your daddy hurry up, right?”, she offered, hoping to prevent Cain from getting lost. Cain took a few seconds to think before nodding a yes. “Okay then. Into the field we go!”, Rosette replied with a smile as she stood up, holding Cain close. Along the way toward the field, she did a sort of skip, making Cain bounce and smile again.

In a few minutes, they arrived at the edge of the cornstalks. Rosette only hesitated for a moment as she tried to find an easy way in with her baby boy in her arms but soon, they were surrounded on all sides by corn. Rosette smiled at Cain, who smiled back. “You ready, Cay?”, Rosette asked, watching him nod his head in reply with a tiny grunt, “Okay. When I say three, we both yell out ‘Dinner!’, okay?”. Cain nodded once more, eager to see his father. Rosette allowed herself a small laugh at the thought of the relief of seeing Bubba come back safe before saying, “Alright. One… Two… Thr-“. At that very moment, the corn stalks beside them rustled loudly. As they parted in the low light, a chubby, curly-haired man with a height of about 6’6” appeared, a bit worn out but smiling brightly beneath his leather mask.

“Bubba! You’re safe, oh, thank God…”, Rosette gushed, rushing toward him. Instantly, Cain shouted, “Pa… pa!!!”, reaching out his little arms to be picked up. Bubba leaned over a bit to place a kiss on Rosette’s lips, emitting a purring noise from deep in his chest and then he seemed to light up even more as he took their son into his arms, hugging him close. Cain tugged on Bubba’s shirt collar and tie, letting him know that he wanted to sit on his shoulders. Bubba made an affirmative noise that sounded something like, “Yuh” as he placed Cain on his shoulders. Cain responded with a happy cooing sound as he went right for his favorite calming activity- grabbing, not pulling, Bubba’s curls. “We both missed ya all day, hun.”, Rosette said, laughing with relief as she wrapped her arms around Bubba, who happily wrapped one arm around her to hold her close while his other arm held Cain in place. He chuckled lowly, finally able to relax. Cain practically shrieked as he started to giggle.

@puppet200 , Idk, cute short fic.

[lostfracturess]

hello there, i hope you're doing well dear writer!! i just wanted to quickly hop into your inbox and ask something regarding s&c ^^'

first of all, I've been following your fanfic for quite some time now and im really loving it so far!

tbh i rarely read reader x canon aus but this one in particular stuck out to me. the way you shape the story and characters is so amazing to me, they truly give me the immersive feeling i desperately seek in some aus (even if i see the reader not as myself specifically but a separate character, you created, that wanders around in my head rent free atp lol)

gojo and the reader either make me wanna rip my hair out and scream in agony or curl in a ball under my blanket and cry and giggle like a little girl.. there really is no in-between with these losers 😭

also, i might not understand much of the medical world since that field is far out of my reach as a language student but it's so so interesting reading all the surgical procedures described and trying to make sense of it all (you even got me googling most of the stuff since I'm not familiar with many medical terms 😭) but hey! it's always nice to learn new things and the more you know the better :3

okay this got incredibly long and i am very sorry for my dumb ramble but i felt like gushing over your fanfic for a second 😭

now my question:

do gojo and geto (and sukuna) know each other since high school or university? i honestly don't know whether you already mentioned this in the fic or answered a similar question or not. if either happened i apologize for my poor memory (it fails me a lot recently) i also don't even know if it matters that much but i was really curious for some reason 😅

also whenever you happen to write in gojo's pov again: do you think you'd add some sort flashbacks from his past that explain his character and decisions more? (since bro doesn't wanna open up abt it 💔) i am REALLY curious about young gojo!! ESPECIALLY regarding the situation between sukuna and gojo bc WTF did bro do that's apparently "worse than drugs" and infuriated sukuna so much he'd wanna ruin his life over it 😭 (I'd like to imagine sukuna is a pathetic loser that'd get butthurt over the most ridiculous things ever, cartoon villain type of guy fr)

well i think i'm done with my ramblings now, hopefully my questions make sense xd i'm looking forward to reading your reply soon!!

thank you so much for giving your all to this fanfic; the time, effort and heart you put into it is greatly appreciated by many 💕 have a great day dear writer, i'm sending you lots of love and much luck in your studies 🥰🫶🏼

awwwwee, this message is so incredibly heartwarming!! thank you so so much for taking the time to share your thoughts and the way the story resonates with you. hearing that it provides that immersive feeling, and makes u scream, cry and giggle is truly the best feeling in the world for a writer!! ♡

there really is no in-between with these losers

why did this make me laugh, u calling them losers ahahah

i really appreciate you being interested in the medical side of things despite it being completely unfamiliar territory!! the fact that you're even googling terms warms my little heart hehe ♡

also please never apologize for sending messy messages like this. it absolutely makes my day to read such sweet messages!!

also your questions:

do gojo and geto (and sukuna) know each other since high school or university?

don't remember myself if i answered that already lol (hope i don't say something different now). gojo and geto know each other since high school and were kind of rivals first and then bonded over a basketball match they both took part in. best friends since. they never really split, went to the same university, did their residency at the same hospital.

sukuna, gojo and geto became familiar in university. with sukuna being more of a frenemy to them. but gojo and sukuna were kinda close and geto and sukuna were just people who could hang out at a party.

do you think you'd add some sort flashbacks from his past that explain his character and decisions more? (since bro doesn't wanna open up abt it 💔)

yes yes yes!! next chapter will be gojo's pov again and there will be a scene were we'll get to know more about his upbringing (not in the next chapter tho, sometime later).

ESPECIALLY regarding the situation between sukuna and gojo bc WTF did bro do that's apparently "worse than drugs" and infuriated sukuna so much he'd wanna ruin his life over it 😭

won't spill the beans yet about what exactly gojo did, but i'll explain some time later in the story. sorry for the wait!! i feel like these things are so clear for me, because apparently i write them but i feel like it must be really frustrating for readers having so many questions left and then having to wait a few weeks for the next update, ahhhh! sorry for that!!

(I'd like to imagine sukuna is a pathetic loser that'd get butthurt over the most ridiculous things ever, cartoon villain type of guy fr)

ahahha omg. now i see it too ☠️☠️

thank you so much for appreciating the hard work that goes into creating s&c!! and thank you for the well-wishes with my studies. i'm sending love and happy vibes right back to you ♡♡

[bookinit02]

hi! i know that i am kinda late lol but i wanted to say that i read your most recent (episode 5 & 6) scripts and i ADORE them you are literally such a masterful writer!!! ghjkfdshjksvsfvjkfdvnkjbfskhjgfhbfkjvndhuir3efj i am so so so obsessed with the whole rewrite series and the way you write their characters is just incredible. im . DHFJKFS243[34P0DJKFHJKNDVBHJDKNSB43 i need to lie down actually (but i digress lmao) first i have to just say that the s5 plot is INSANE and i mean that so genuinely - its gripping but so realistic but the significant moments are super impactful i just love it<333 the humor is On Point, the pacing is excellent, all the emotions and layers and depth that's gone into it shine through so well, and the way you handle all of their individual developments alongside the relationships !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! is something that is sososoosooo skillful and wonderful and. oh my god. and don't get me started on the CHARACTERIZATION <3 because i would literally never be able to like. stop talking about it. fr though you have such a deep understanding of them like HELLOOOOOOO and i just admire that so much. it makes it easy to lose myself in the story because i am constantly just going yeah. they would fucking say that actually. and i could gush for a really really long time about all the elements you've absolutely nailed in this <33 but just. ohhh my god. oh my god. your prose and eloquence are unbelievable both in the scripts and in the fic. screams. jkhsfghjwuefknsrgefkdshbgf gfhdsjkfdsjfk . hhkjhjkgfdjkncjkgdfjk. jkvfd. basically !!!!!!!!!!!! asjkdhjasdkfbhjnhHOLY SHITTT omg thank you so much for writing and sharing this with us it's absolutely beautiful!!! and i am really excited for whatever you have planned next but i wanted to say how grateful i am for everything you've written so far because it's such an amazing read!!!!!!! anyway i hope you have a great day you deserve it!! ghjksdfvhjksdfvhbjksbhn<3

hi liza!! you are not late at all dw💗💗

thank you so much for all your kind words!! complex plots like the s5 script are really difficult for me and i do have moments where i struggle very much, so it means a lot to hear that you like it😭💗 on the other hand, characterization and story arcs are sooooo important to me, and one of the biggest things i look for in anything i watch, read, or write—so thank you very much!! i genuinely could not do any of this without readers like you, so trust me when i say i appreciate it from the bottom of my heart🥺🫶🏻

[katasstrophy]

RIVERRR BELOVED DEAREST ONE AND ONLY agajshajajak it’s a crime that i’ve only seen your tags on my posts now sigh but thank you for that 🥹💕 they’re a mood booster fr mwah you’re giving me serotonin for free luv ya (+ i hope i’m not clogging your inbox here & i also hope you’re having a looovely day) oh and one last thing holy shshss that rin fic you wrote i’ll never get over it?!!!! sobbing, screaming, lying on the floor still ((pls help me get up)) ok that’s about it, i’m ending it here bc this is getting too long </3 byebye

NAMI BABES HELLO !!! oh omg staahhppp i couldn’t just NOT gush in the tags those lil drabbles were sooo cute thank you for sharing!! 🥺🥺🥺 super happy i could shower u in serotonin bc u DESERVE IT GOSHDARNIT 😤😤 here have a kiss mmmmwah <3333

and omg i saw ur tags on my rin fic and oooohhh they made me all fuzzy inside like a peach’s bottom you’re the sweetest i’m so glad it left you sobbing on the floor LOL that was the intention 😌✨ (no jk take my hand lemme help you up i gotchu) AND YOU ALSO listened to it with promenade????? in tears u deserve everything for that ily🫶

[thinemoonshine]

how do i scream into a mic and send it to u as a voice note over anon bc omg omfg wtf FUCK

U DONT GET ITTTT I'VE BEEN ROOTING FOR SUNOO FROM THE STAAAARRTTTTT 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

okayyyy ummmm i honestly am at a loss for words LMAO no but seriously this has been so worth the wait and i genuinely dont know if this could ever ever be topped by another fic for a long long time my god

one thing abt me is that im a sunoo biased before im human and what u have blessed this platform w fulfills each and every craving i've ever wanted and didn't know i needed GAWD LIKE i'll gush abt this series in 200 paragraphs im not even kidding nobody can stop me now

like i was saying (and yes im that same anon) i've been hungry for a fic just like this, where mc hold all the power, reverse harem, dark/supernatural themes, etc, except u gave me so so much more like no shade but every other writer on this app seem to withdraw from writing sunoo as the center piece of mc's attention in ot7 fics, and i can't lie the amount of delight and joy and the absolute unfiltered satisfaction leche of the sirens brought me just bc he's the "main" one—im so happy like fr thank YOU 🫵🫵🫵

and it's not just that, jfc the way u describe the gore and horror—THE VIVIDNESS OF IT ALL—is unlike any other, like it's a perfect balance of grotesqueness and violence without being overbearing, the fear and emotions detailed so gut-wrenchingly good in each and every one of them, like jfc my hats off to u for handling 8 characters so well and with none of them feeling two dimensional, OH AND WHEN RIKI'S DROPPING THEIR BODIES OFF THE CLIFF—those lines will stick w me until the day i die, how do u write so impactfully and encaptivatingly it's mind breaking, like if a siren wrote this i wouldn't think twice lmao

i absolutely ADORE the mental snap of riki and sunoo's, i can't tell u how many works i've read where they just drag a scene like that on and on, when really imo those scenes should've been spontaneous and quick, just like what u absolutely nailed. the build up from previous chapters where we read how they've all been slowly spiralling and obsess over mc really made those scenes all worth it

AND MY GOD u dont get how clutched my pearls are when it was just riki and sunoo jfc my heart was abt to sink thinking sunoo's done for, BUT I KNEWWW i so knew that he's been one crazy bitch from the start and what riki said to him just set him off and finally set his morals aside. this is why i love this series so much, how well u write dark and insane romance w again such perfect pacing that leaves me savoring every word.

ugh i want to talk abt the others but i honestly can't 😭 my mind is filled w only sunoo sunoo and sunoo

ALSO THAT ENDINGGGG i totally didn't not see that coming omfg, the fact that the others are still scummy even in their reincarnation lurches my stomach, AND HOW SUNOO BECAME A SIREN TOO OMFGGGG i was tweaking in my bed when he was reintroduced to them the same way mc first appeared. and im so so delighted when riki finally has a chance to join her like it's just all falling into place.

honestly give me sunoo now bc im so in delulu mode rn over how he couldn't keep his hands off of her at the end my god i need him like that also pls pls tell me mc ate them at the end too bc omfg i never wanted to stop reading this 😭 esp w sunoo being the way he is now (i can't stop thinking abt him im sorry lmao)

anw pls dont ever die op, ur my favorite writer and i learn from u fr the way u write has me in a chokehold 🫶

I.LOVE.THIS.SO.MUCH💗‼️ AHHHHHH YOURE SO ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THIS I LOVED EVERYTHING I ADORE YOU HEGSUSBSJJSSM

AND I SO AGREE WITH WHAT YOURE SAYING, like sunoo seems to have very little fics compared to the other members and i adore him so much ☹️☹️ i’m glad that you’re satisfied with the story and i thank YOU 🫵🏻 back for being such a great person—taking time out of your day to comment and share your feedback for my work 💗

[taegularities]

RID, i could remember some of the christmas market scenes from tobh while rereading it. and boy, don't get me started on the fic.

just when i was wondering, "where's the angst?"— the engagement ring part popped up. think it was one of the worst nights to read angst after a shitty exam. however, your face reveal made it better, princess 🎀

🕳🤸🏻‍♀️

ANYWAY, THE MAJOR CMI FLASHBACKS THAT I HAD WITH THE ''I WOULD HAVE DONE ANYTHING FOR YOU'' SENTIMENT? ( sorry, i keep connecting your stories like a literary multiverse ) i will always do an asspull out of nowhere when it's about correlating your stories. it's like a passive little recall game for me. what can i do? the immersion is real. 🦅

i was so mad at them, by the way. more so, oc bcos the hurt stung 😭 i get her tho, but it's painful to leave a person who loves you so much. ( maybe, i hate it cuz i had done the same in the past in one way or other ? )

when people like tobh!tae exist, who never really stop loving you, it makes you question everything. every little decision. and the worst part about it is when you actually love them back. eg : tobh!oc. AAAAAA—

agony agony agony

BY THE WAY, idk if it's hidden memory or just intuition ; the accident scene rolled in right after i had thoughts of ''an accident might patch it up" LOL ( got angstier )

i liked the semi-open ending. i hope they are— together, forever and ever. it's kinda like that show : normal people. if you know what i mean? getting lost, finding each other, getting separated again. almost a cyclic phenomenon, like a command set in nature. hehe. wishing them a very happy— tales of 'how we found loopholes in our matrix' 🫶🏻

« »

i might end up annoying you with this, but since we are revisiting your old works , might as well say this : tae by @taegularities will always be a!oc's man for me, so it's awkward writing about him with your other ocs at times. even though, I LOVEYYYY LOVE CROWDS AROUND US. 🥹

i will soon be rereading the diary of a healing heart. see you after that, sweets  𖦹 rid, my absolute desi sweets and donut— 🎀🖇🩵.

[ passing notes : tobh has that angsty magical sense to it, where you fall in love with somebody mythical, and the forest disapproves, and you are just a girl. winters later, some enchantment works to bring you back tgt, but you don't know for how long the charms will work. and yet you give in. probably the christmas effects, lol. asspull #02 ]

hahaha where's the angst... EVERYWHERE 😂 don't know what i was on when i wrote tobh, but i remember crying for not only days, but weeks. everytime i came up with something new for it, i'd sob :')

AWH the cmi flashbacks 😭 funny even to think that tobh resided in my heart before i'd even come up with cmi. ugh, all my characters are so lovestruck, they'd really do everything for those they love :') i love it when my fics are connected though, sometimes there areee deliberate references to other fics, so a lil multiverse for sure :P yeah, we were mad at oc for sure, but it's also so… relatable? :( that's just life. and trauma? perhaps.. sorry you went through the same :(

hahaha well, you were right. the accident just made the goodbye worse :') def also one to love open or semi-open endings!! i like to hear what people think and which ending they imagine. there's something about concluding things while simultaneously leaving people questioning. i don't know the show you mentioned, but sounds like real life indeed :( fun fact, i actually once wrote a short short thing of what happens to them later lol but that will never see the light of taegularities day hahahah

you're never annoying, babe!! like ever. please do gush about my stuff 🥺 ruined tae is something else fr <3 AND OMG you read crowds around us, too? i was so in love with it back then 😭

have fun rereading tdoahh, my og fic (it was my first, but then i took it down and rewrote it). lmk your thoughts <3

ALSO THE COMPARISON WITH THE FOREST????? absolutely perfect. thank you for saying all that, love, my heart is levitating 🤍

[bowandcurtsey]

Hi Aine! I'm a huge fan of ur works. Could I request a Yami x fem reader where she's afraid of swimming because of a past drowning experience. The black bulls have to search an underwater cave so she tries to train on her own in a nearby river. Just when she thinks that she's making progress the currents become too strong and she almost drowns but Yami saves her. When Yami questions her she talks abt her fear and Yami helps train her 4 a week before the mission n they share soft moments.

Hello love! (ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ)♡ Thank you for waiting for me! I'm finally here with your requests!! I'm so sorry I took so long ಥ‿ಥ

Also because it’s Nati’s birthday, @clovertitan , I’m pulling this up since Nati’s a fan of Yami too 🥺💕 Happy Blessed birthday my love! I’m sorry I didn’t prepare an individual gift, but my inbox had many beautiful Yami requests, so I hope you enjoy it nonetheless 😘 Giving you lotsa kith on your birthday 💋💋

It's been awhile since I wrote a solo fic for Yami. hehe, I kinda miss this muscle head a little.

(｡ﾉω＼｡)

TW: reader smoking, mentions of drowning

Yami Sukehiro x f! reader

You stood by the river, taking a deep breath in and slowly exhaling out. Your heart was slamming against your chest and your hands were shaking a little.

The flashbacks started running through your mind like an old film, like they always do when you come close to a big body of water. But you had to do it, for yourself and for your team. You couldn't let everyone else down, and your Captain, Yami, who is always telling everyone to surpass his limits.

Your wind magic grew stronger as you made progress, being able to split the body of water in half. You were elated with your progress, but maybe you got a little too confident and you lost your control over your magic and the waters slammed straight into you, causing you to loose your footing and get swept off into the strong currents.

You struggled under the water, trying to grab onto something but your hands only grasped the violent waters around you. You could barely breathe and you struggled to get above the surface for air. You legs kicked frantically to lift yourself above the waters. When you thought you were slightly at the surface, a gush of water rushed into your mouth and nose, causing you to choke.

You brain went into frenzy as the oxygen levels in your lungs depleted. You felt your body giving up as you start to lose your consciousness.

Strong arms grabbed your hand and body and pulled you out of the waters. Your mind was in a whirl as you were placed on safe dry grass. Your body reflexes made you cough up all the water that you drank during the ordeal.

"oi." you recognised that voice, it was Yami's, "you okay?"

You squeezed your eyes shut, not wanting to think about the terror moments ago.

Yami read your ki and understood not to ask any further questions. He carried you up in his arms.

"Y-yami d-danjou!" you looked up at him, "It's f-fine! I can fly back myself."

He didn't answer you nor did he let you down, he got on a broomstick and flew back to the base.

-------------------------------------

Later that night, you were sitting at the patio of the front doors of your base, just watching the night, calming yourself down from the events that happened earlier today.

A warm blanket was draped over your shoulders. You looked up as your captain exhaled his cigarette and grabbed a seat beside you.

"you want to talk about earlier today?"

You gazed at his concerned face, his steel grey eyes searching into yours and probably reading your ki.

You took a cigarette from his pack on the table and lit it up with his lighter, inhaling as you calmed your nerves.

"I almost drowned a few years back..." you looked into the distant, recalling that very day, "it was pretty bad, i was already unconscious when they found me."

You took another puff, "ever since then, I get nervous when I come close to big bodies of water."

"so why didn't you mention anything?"

"I didn't want you to pull me out from the mission, nor did I want to let anyone down." you looked back to your captain giving him a sheepish grin, "besides, I need to surpass my limits don't I?"

"I swear if you were Asta or Magna, you'd be flying halfway into the woods right about now," he raised an eyebrow at you.

"what?" you pouted a little.

"yes, you need to surpass your limits, but you first have to know where your limits are."

"I-I know my limits!

"If you did, I wouldn't have been saving your ass earlier today."

Your captain was always transparent and direct. But he was right. You bit down to your bottom lip, a habit you had when you were guilty of something and didn't know what to respond.

"what did I say about depending on your comrades once in awhile?" he continued as a lit up a new cigarette.

"okay, fine." you pursed your lips, pressing them into a fine, thin line.

"From tomorrow onwards, I'll train with you. Wake me up tomorrow when you're ready."

-------------------------------------

Waking your captain up was a training itself. You had to call him and knock on his doors many times until you finally gave up and went into his room to pull him out of bed.

He sat in bed, face clearly frustrated , hands going through his messy black locks. His top was naked and each of his muscles were clearly defined like they were chiseled.

A hint of crimson crept up your cheeks.

“Enjoying the view?” You looked up to see Yami glancing at you with that shit eating smirk of his.

"you're the one who said to wake you up captain," you stood across the room, arms akimbo.

"I didn't expect you to train at 7am in the morning??" he yawned as he stretched his hands above his head, "okay fine, Iet's go."

-----------------------------------

Yami decided that you shouldn't start training with smaller bodies of water first, so he brought you to a stream instead of rivers. He sat on the grass beside the stream as you stood in it, ankles deep and practiced your magic.

Although he wasn't doing anything, just having his presence around calmed you and you could focus on training.

By day 3 you started practicing in the river again and you were a little jittery when you came back to the same spot that almost drowned you a few days back.

This time, Yami came into the waters with you. You both stood on the semi submerged rock as Yami held a hand to the small of your back. His strong mana radiated throughout, calming your nerves. Having him right behind you eased your anxiety. You were able to focus on the magic and the waters without thinking much about drowning.

Day 6 and you were more confident than you ever were, and you were more or less ready for that mission in 2 days time.

You were both at the ocean today, you were hip deep in the waters, and Yami about 2 meters away from you. You were much stable than you were 6 days ago; having Yami around made you more or less fearless. You didn't know if it was his strong and calming aura or because you just had trust in him, but with him around you felt like nothing could go wrong.

A strong wave came without warning and covered waters over your head. Before your mind could go into panic mode, Yami wrapped his arms around you, holding you firm to his chest as the waves retreated.

You looked up at him, soaked from head to toe, his long raven hair dripping water down onto your face.

"you ok?" his eyes widened, checking you for any injuries, pulling you up and walking closer to shore. "Let's call it a day."

You shook your head, tugging into his wet a shirt, "I'm ok. As long as you're here, I'll be okay."

You swore you saw a hint of blush creep up on his cheeks before he hovered you over his shoulders, "first let's get you dry, I don't want you to get sick before the mission."

-end-

Fluffy Yami (*ฅ́˘ฅ̀*) It's been awhile, this was very much needed. <3

[xlady-saya]

this red is for you [fic]

Relationships: aaron/katelyn, andrew/neil

Summary: Katelyn never considered herself capable of doling out violence.

It has always been a far away thought, dampened by college courses and late night dates with her boyfriend. She lives a stereotypical life, despite everything she's been through with Aaron. Aside from her growing connection with the notoriously troublesome Foxes, nothing much about her life has changed.

Even then, she's learning she's still able to surprise herself. When Katelyn witnesses Neil defending Andrew, her own protective rage rears its head, ready to be explored.

And maybe that's a good thing.

Tags: katelyn pov, discussions of tilda/past abuse, fluff, protective neil, protective katelyn

Read on ao3! 

The sound of a pipe shattering on the ground dislodges something inside Katelyn; it's unexpected, but not entirely unfamiliar. She'd felt the inklings of this...feeling during Aaron's trial, when he cried in her arms, and even back when she first heard the name Tilda.

She'd never been able to coax it fully out into the light, but she supposes it had to happen eventually. Maybe she only sees it now because she's stepped too far into the dark.

And of course, Neil is the spark to ignite the flames of realization.

The look in Neil's eyes is nothing short of menacing, like the feeling that comes from being cornered, or from realizing you're in danger a little too late to do anything about it. It stops Katelyn in an instant, her hair standing on end.

See, Katelyn is not deluded enough to think she exists in a safe world. She's especially not deluded enough to think she surrounds herself with safe people either.

That's just how it worked out, and at this point she's so deep in the fox den she couldn't fathom clawing her way out. It's cozy here anyways...warm...

But from other people's points of view, she should've never been the type to venture here. She knows it's easy to label her as naive, or in over her head. She's, by all definitions, a good girl. Good girl. Whatever that means.

It's funny—after spending such a long time around her boyfriend and his family, she's not sure the concepts of good and bad can ever be so straightforward in her mind again.

But she still gets called that when she visits home. That always made her embarrassed; it's how the people at church referred to her, how her mother's friends gushed over her.

And she took it with a smile, because well, what else was there to do? It became a broken record statement, reiterated so many times she hardly noticed. But it made her parents happy, and it had gotten her far in life.

Perfect grades, a put together family, and a cheeriness that couldn't be beaten out of her. It's a brand of resilience that's often overlooked, but she's never resented the judgement passed on her for it. She's well aware of the checklists people run through when they see her; it's second nature to cross off every box to match her up with the stereotype. Even Aaron did it, when they first met.

And that's fine.

She's never had a problem occupying those boxes in people's minds, because in her own, she always ran through an infinite plane with no walls, no end.

It's a privileged way of thinking, and a little ridiculous, but she's proud that she's never become trapped by those boxes in her own head. She's happy Aaron now sees the real her, a fully fleshed out person who defied everything Aaron expected of her.

She's proud of that, but if she's being honest, she never had any doubts when it came to the two of them.

The truth is she's always done whatever she wanted, and she's never allowed herself to be ruled by expectations. She walks her own path, and she'll continue to do so, it's just...

For a long time, everything she wanted just so happened to fall in line with what everyone else wanted, so no one ever thought to notice how headstrong and stubborn she could truly be. How brave she could be in the face of a world she now knows can be hideous.

Get good grades, make friends, pick a successful field of study. No problem. Katelyn loves being a cheerleader, and she's dreamed of being a physician since middle school. She likes being nice, and positive. She doesn't care that she can't shut up.

It had all fallen into place, it had all equaled good girl.

Until Aaron, until everything that came with him.

And see, for a lot of people that's an issue, it doesn't compute. Someone like Katelyn, who in their eyes has followed all the rules, is not supposed to be with someone like Aaron, with their perception of him.

Because he follows no rules; there's blood on his hands and bruises on his skin which will never fade. There's dulled track marks and a broken family, barely mended. He is not what anyone wanted for her.

But Katelyn...she wouldn't trade this life with him for anything. That feeling, that love, singes so deep Katelyn sometimes thinks her autopsy will show third degree burns on every part of her, charred into the bone and marrow.

And honestly, (and not to be rude), fuck those people. At the end of the day she knows Aaron, not them. It had not been an accident, an unfortunate case of 'can't help who you love,' and she hates when it's seen that way.

She'd embraced everything, because he'd done the same for her. And not just Aaron, but the Foxes accepted her too.

For the entire summer leading up to her freshman year and all the way through her schooling, she's heard the rumors, the whispers. The Foxes are notorious for their roughness, their almost animalistic drive to fight through blood and bone to survive. They have records, and a penchant for violence. They've lived through so much.

Unspeakable, brutal horrors. They still keep Katelyn up at night sometimes, holding Aaron so close to her he wakes up with a start. That's the real naive part of her, the part Andrew might scoff or glare at her for.

She doesn't care; no one deserves the things the Foxes went through. Anyone who tries to disagree with her goes immediately on her shit list.

Because even Andrew, with his initial hatred of her, sees what others do not. The Foxes protect their own, and they accept those who lend a hand to do the same. They'd welcomed her because of her love for Aaron, and eventually because of her love for his family. For all of them.

So again, Katelyn knows she doesn't run with a safe crowd.

But they make her feel safe, and accepted, and that's always what has mattered most to her.

That being said, as much as she's part of them, she's not one of them. She never believed she had that edge, that ruthlessness and impulsivity which could make her snap in the blink of an eye.

She was naive about that too, it seems.

The end of the pipe breaks off the moment Neil strikes it against the nearest railing, and before Katelyn can so much as blink, he has it against the football player's throat.

The rusted piece of metal is sharp and ribbed at the edge now, at the part closest to the vulnerable expanse of the player's neck. Katelyn is good at anatomy, better than Aaron. She knows exactly where the jugular is, and she's sure Neil does too. He can't be that precise on accident.

Katelyn's limbs lock up, not out of fear or concern, but out of pure shock. They're behind the gym, no one else around due to the late hour. The forgotten pieces of the school's construction project are strewn around the back entrance, and well...that explains where Neil got the pipe.

Katelyn hadn't even noticed, hadn't even comprehended Neil's sharp movements until the pipe was already in his hand. Neil's fast, but this isn't the normal agility, the sprints he employs on the Exy court.

This was unadulterated instinct, and the look in his eyes...

Television doesn't do it justice, but it's there. It's murder, packaged prettily in pools of blue. The football player doesn't dare to move his hands even in surrender— they're pinned at his side and locked up so hard, Katelyn's own muscles ache. He's trembling up at Neil, whose cleat is pressed firmly into his sternum. "H-hey man, calm down, I didn't mean--"

He wheezes next, and Katelyn realizes Neil must be pressing harder with each breath.

She doesn't move, doesn't even think to. At some point she dropped her gym bag, and shivers at the mood shift. Just a few minutes ago, Neil was laughing in that reserved way of his, trying to mimic Katelyn's cheer moves while she snapped pictures.

Because Andrew would appreciate them, deep down, she thought.

She wonders if Andrew would appreciate this Neil too, the one who is now devoid of any emotion. His face is a blank slate, ire bleeding through the edges.

Katelyn has no idea what the football player said as he passed them, and she's glad she didn't. All she heard was the clipped mumble, Andrew's name.

And then Neil was no longer next to her.

She can only guess how ugly the statement was, and that's the first thing that scares her about herself. She has no desire to stop Neil, and she knows deep down she won't.

It's the first crack in her delusion.

"You didn't mean it?" Neil states, barely questioning. His voice walks the line of a whisper, and his head tilt reminds Katelyn more of a rabid dog than a fox for a moment. Like Neil is gauging what angle is best to go for the throat. "Are you saying that because I could kill you right now, or do you always have changes of heart at such convenient times?"

The football player pales, but even he doesn't truly know. Despite all of Neil's history coming out to the general public, he can't possibly know how serious Neil is.

But Katelyn does, and she wraps her arms around herself from the chill. Still, she does nothing.

It's more fascinating than anything to her; Neil's impulsive arguments are always loud, full of sass, snarky...

This is not that.

Neil presses the pipe securely into the man's flesh, and doesn't look surprised when that's the moment the pleading starts. "Wait, ple--"

That, Neil flinches at. "Shut up," he says, quietly, but it's loud in the narrow space. Katelyn even steps back from the force of it. And oh, she gets it, and sadness unfurls in her chest. "Just shut up."

Then, it happens.

Now, Katelyn has never actually seen Neil do this. She's only heard stories from Aaron. To her, Neil's smile is a reserved, rare thing, but sweet nonetheless. It's always a win when she can cause one—even if it’s the wry, sardonic kind. They make her feel accomplished, happy.

Neil's smile now is one Katelyn hopes to never see again. It's so slow, it almost reminds her of a mask; the jagged teeth don't quite fit together. She's heard the rumors of the Butcher's Smile, and she's seen Neil cringe every time.

But in her mind, that's all bullshit; this is all Neil's rage, cold and cutting. It could never belong to anyone else.

Neil takes his leg off the player's chest, dropping down so they're eye level. He takes the pipe away, and the football player doesn't move, doesn't do anything. It's arrogant, in a way; Neil is very clearly saying he can hinder this man with this look alone, this single threat.

Neil's smile grows. "Now listen, okay? You can trade insults with me all day, I don't give half a shit. But don't you ever fucking talk to me about Andrew again. Do you understand me?"

Katelyn winces at the same moment the football player jumps away from Neil. Well, if he doesn't understand from that, there's no getting through to him.

He stumbles as he runs away, kicking over some stray pipes in the process as he calls back over his shoulder. "Freak!"

Neil snorts as he stands, throwing the pipe with disinterest to the side. "How original."

And just like that, a switch is flipped. Neil turns back to her, hands in his hoodie, and the traces of the forbidden smile are wiped away as he drags a hand over his face to correct the muscles there. Then it's back to his neutral facade, with a dash of wariness mixed in as he approaches her.

She hasn't moved.

"Katelyn." Neil snaps his fingers in front of her face, and Katelyn glares as she bats his hand away.

Her other hand flies to her chest, trying to tamper down the beating of her heart. She knows Neil is protective, that Andrew is too. It's obvious, given how they are, but that...that was—

"How...you—" she begins, but can't find the words. She huffs, and watches as Neil picks up her duffel and shoves it into her arms without care.

He's never been particularly gentle, and Katelyn's always appreciated it. Neil's not a liar anymore, though he's a damn good one. He'll give her his genuine reactions, no matter how callous they are.

"Yes," he agrees, which makes her glare harder. The only thing that gives her some satisfaction is the light blush on his face. Interesting. "Don't make a big deal out of it."

"But...why?" she tries, dropping her bag again. Neil tracks it, in that infuriating way he always does. In retaliation, Katelyn snaps right in his face until he's staring at her again, just as done as he looks when she talks about The Bachelor. "If you can protect yourself like that, why...?"

Why does everyone talk about Neil like he can barely throw a punch? In fact, Katelyn's pretty sure everyone thinks he's got an addiction to starting fights with no way of winning them.

That’s quite obviously not the case.

But Neil just shrugs, shouldering Katelyn's bag for her. Neil fidgets then, shifting his weight, and his blush grows. "I like when Andrew protects me," he whispers, staring at his shoes. It's such a sweet, innocent confession, Katelyn nearly can't believe it.

But in reality, and just from seeing Neil's soft smile as he thinks of Andrew, she totally can.

This piece of work...

Katelyn huffs, throwing her hands up. "That's a lot of faith to put in someone."

It gets her the rise she wants. Neil glares at her, pouting. "Andrew might not have every fighting skill in the book but he's strong," he says, head held high. They're the same height, so it barely works. "And he's powered by pure force of will. It doesn't matter who he's fighting, or how bad he's hurt, Andrew will do significant damage."

Katelyn waves him off, taking her bag back. She doesn't doubt it; she was almost on the receiving end of such damage, and Neil was a witness.

She thinks that's the end of it when Neil turns around to grab his own bag, but something uneasy and restless still churns inside her. She's not sure why it's such a catalyst, but she feels the seams of something splitting open.

Neil hadn't even hesitated to go on the offensive for Andrew, something he usually avoids. A situation he'd normally attack verbally collided with the urge for bloodshed, the protective instinct spiking in him until it overflowed.

Like there was no choice, no other decision to make.

Can the need to protect really be so strong, the consequences of murder don't even matter?

Oh, no, no. She throws that thought out right away, admonishing herself for her own stupidity. The answer is yes—a deafening, resounding yes. She thinks of a car crash, a bloody exy racquet.

In her mind, in the smallest, darkest corners...she always regarded those moments as essential.

The churning in her stomach gets worse; it feels wrong, and ugly, to say certain people deserve to die. She's always been taught that wishing that level of ill on someone was a sin itself, but here she is, thinking it anyways.

Because they did deserve to die. She shudders, the guilt immense, because she doesn't feel bad but she knows she should.

And then it becomes so clear what her hang up is.

Would she ever do that? Could she spill blood for Aaron, and wipe her hands afterwards? Would she be alright, just knowing she'd kept him safe?

The answer is yelling, clawing to break through, but she stuffs it down. She's a coward sometimes; she doesn't know how to handle the reality of that answer.

Neil's voice snaps her out of it, but in typical Neil fashion, he rips the problem open all the way so she can see it. So she can't escape it.

"Andrew doesn't ever protect himself against words. Boundaries, lines...he knows how to handle those. But he doesn't care what people say, no matter how putrid the shit out of their mouths is," Neil says when he turns back to her, half shrouded. There's a tremble in his voice, one only rage can produce. There's not an ounce of doubt in his face. "So I will."

'I will fight the world for this person.'

Katelyn knows the feeling well. Too well, even. It terrifies her, how much she understands. Her hand clenches around her heart, and she thinks of how that feeling surged whenever Aaron cried in her arms after the trial. Whenever she heard the rumors, the whispers...

She would just see red, splashed on walls in flashes, painted in thick stripes. And she clamped that feeling down, tamed it into something nicer and prettier. She applied it in other ways, in sharp glares and acts of affection. Giving Aaron what he deserves: unconditional love, instead of heavy hands and insults.

She disguised the wild dog inside her, too. Good girl.

But when Neil smirks at her, the lingering ghost of that smile hidden beneath, it lets the beast loose.

"I know what everyone thinks of Andrew, and they're right. He can be dangerous when it's required," Neil hums, fond and icy all at once. "But believe me, when it comes down to it, I'm the scary one."

Even if no one else realizes it, Katelyn will never doubt that again. She feels the ring of thorns around her throat, pressing tighter as she forces out the question. She needs to know, or she needs to hear it.

"You'd kill?" Katelyn asks, small and childish. It's not even a complete question, but Neil's eyes darken enough for her to know he get its. You'd kill for him? For the person you love...

Neil gives her that expression—not judging, but slightly amused. "Wouldn't you?"

It knocks the air out of her, and well...she has no response to that yet. Not one she's willing to speak aloud. But there's no use now; her mind is latched onto it.

Neil doesn't give her a chance to respond before he starts walking away, trusting her to either catch up or be left behind. But then he stops, shoulders tense. It's enough to snap Katelyn out of her crisis momentarily, especially when Neil turns around with an almost sheepish look on his face. The flush is back, painting his scarred cheeks with a different red than the one behind Katelyn's eyes.

"Uh, Katelyn, do you think you could maybe keep this to yourself?" Neil says, looking behind him as if another person will materialize out of nowhere. "Like...don't tell Andrew."

Katelyn's mouth opens and closes too many times for her to count, before she settles on a majestic: "Huh?"

Neil winces, kicking the gravel at his feet. She was always under the impression that Neil and Andrew don't keep anything from each other. Neil seems to know this, and he deflates even more. "It's just...it's not that big of a secret, okay? It's embarrassing is all!"

And Katelyn can't help it: she laughs, long and borderline hysterical. It's probably mixed with relief after seeing Neil nearly kill a man, but whatever, it's a release nonetheless.

She slides up to Neil, pausing to give him time to move away, but he simply nods. She throws her arms around his shoulders, dragging him forward. She has a lot to think about, but for now...their boyfriends are probably waiting. "Don't worry, I got you."

Neil's smile is rueful. "I owe you one."

Katelyn tenses up, and is already shaking her head. No, no. She and Andrew might not be best friends yet, but she knows enough to know Neil shouldn't have to owe her anything if she wants to escape the blond's wrath. "Uh, no, Neil, really it's--"

"Believe me, Katelyn," Neil interrupts, hip checking her gently. "It's not something I give out often. Take it. Trust me."

So Katelyn doesn't question it. She's sure it'll come in handy, one of these days.

She laughs again, her charm bracelet jingling against her wrist. It reminds her of what's important. Her crisis could be worse, and there's at least one thing she knows for sure.

It's founded in love.

She'll figure it out, because the beast running free gives her no choice. Even knowing that, she sleeps peacefully later that night, bundled into Aaron's side, and the red behind her eyes waits for a new day to paint with vengeance.

--

However, she comes to find that such a passionate color doesn't wash out so easily. It's always there, whether as a sheen or in all its vibrance.

She's lying naked in her bed with Aaron staring at the smooth expanse of her abdomen; there's a satisfied ache deep and heavy in her bones, and when she stretches her joints pop loud enough to make Aaron smirk. She can vaguely remember a time where she wasn't able to feel so comfortable being completely bare in front of him. There was a pressure to be desirable, to angle herself a certain way and be covered quickly after. It was shared, mutual, their hyperawareness of one another. That time gets murkier and murkier with each passing day, and she smiles at the ticklish feeling of Aaron's fingers grazing her skin. Her roommates are out for the weekend, and she's doing that thing where she hogs all the blankets but only covers her legs. She runs hot, go figure, but the blanket is too cozy to not use. It's one of those fancy, overhyped crochet quilts—a gift from Nicky for her birthday.

It's a deep burgundy color, and she might scoff if it weren't for the thoughts in her head. This feeling here, she knows, is the purest definition of contentment. Despite her sweaty skin and dry hands, the heaviness to her limbs...

She can't imagine being without it, or having it stripped away. She wouldn't let that happen.

She suppresses the huff that threatens to escape her. Closing her eyes briefly, she turns over; her back protests, and Aaron lazily wipes the frizzy hair from her forehead. He's not even looking at her when she opens her eyes, face tired and staring into the void that is the mole on her hip. He just...he knows where she is, where her face is; Aaron touches her because he loves to, and there's no ulterior motive. Katelyn smiles brighter, because she doubts he's even aware he did it.

But the gentle touch is so familiar, nurturing in ways Aaron never received himself. But he learned them, and he gives his 110% into applying them.

And oh, Katelyn's hands fist into the deep red fabric; sometimes a feeling is so overwhelming she can't help but feel her eyes get watery, and she doesn't even know why. She's not sure it's safe to touch Aaron when she's this full of anger, choked up with wariness for the world around them.

She doesn't want to be like her, but when she finally works up the courage to brush her hand through Aaron's hair, the touch is featherlight. Soft.

Safe here, in her arms.

Her lower lip trembles, and she scolds herself for it. She's not good at holding back tears, at holding back anything. Her fingers graze the scar on Aaron's scalp, almost undetectable with his blond hair. She's memorized the feel of it though, the groove where something hit him too hard.

She pulls her hand away with a shaky breath, and Aaron's eyes finally snap up to meet her. They bore into her, his brow furrowing before widening in panic once he sees the tears in her eyes.

It's the last straw for her, he cares so much it shreds her composure. Aaron, you didn't deserve what happened. I wish I had been there, I wish I could've--

'There's no deserve, there just is.'

Andrew's words had been something she brushed off on a particularly awkward double date, back when their care ride was nothing but an impossible fantasy.

But again, she has to disagree.

What is she supposed to do about this?

For the first time, she falls into a box. She's a good girl, right? She's not supposed to think about blood and flesh, of bashing in the faces of people who hurt Aaron. Past, present, future. Doesn't matter, they'd all deserve it.

"Kate, what is it?" Aaron asks, sitting up to drape himself over her. His eyes flit over her, moving the blanket aside. She's not sure why, but it's always Aaron's first instinct to look for signs of violence. No, scratch that. She knows why. She swallows down the lump in her throat with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes, and tilts Aaron's chin until he's staring right at her again. Gold eyes, flecks of green...

"I'm just...happy you're here with me," she whispers, pressing her nose to his cheek. It's stupid, but she tries to press the feeling into him. She means it. She's never meant anything so strongly. He lets her, falling back into bed and opening his arms so she can move closer. The medical ID bracelet she gifted him slides down his wrist; it had been a gag gift at first, a play on their majors and the fact Katelyn wanted them to have matching jewelry. It was a hint, a push so he'd buy something subtle instead, a ring or chain maybe...

Aaron never liked to stand out, to be flashy. But he had rolled with the gift completely, and from the moment he clipped it on, she'd only seen him remove it for Exy.

She sniffles again, grabbing his wrist and keeping her hand there, feeling his pulse. Alive, breathing.

"Aaron..." she says, before she can take the urge and bottle it back up. She looks right at him, trying to communicate as much of the heat as she can. "I wouldn't let anything happen to you, I swear."

It comes out more pathetic than she intended; it's worse than the randomness. What is she supposed to do in the face of a threat? She's never had to deal with one. She's a short college student who has never had to throw a punch, has never thought about it before. But still...but still, she'd do whatever she could; she'd bite and thrash until she couldn't anymore.

Because Aaron would do the same for her, because maybe that feeling is...normal, when it comes to loving someone. And she loves, she loves so much it apparently still has the ability to turn her world upside down.

Aaron's eyes widen, but thankfully he doesn't ask. She likes to think it's because she said it confidently enough he wouldn't dream of questioning it, but she smiles wider from the truth. Sometimes Aaron doesn't get it and doesn't know where to start; she would giggle, if she wasn't so close to sobbing. Aaron can be slow, can take a few days to catch up. But he will, and hopefully by then she can better explain it.

She's past questioning why the feeling exists at all. She's proud of it.

So instead of asking, Aaron nods, slow and sure. He trusts her, he believes her, and Katelyn lets a few tears wet Aaron's shoulder when he pulls her in tight. "Come here," he says when she hesitates, like she wants to make sure it's alright, and he accepts all of her. She melts against him, pouring every unspoken promise into the embrace. Katelyn knows Aaron can't read her mind, but it doesn't stop him from kissing her forehead, from whispering: "I know that, I know."

And Katelyn truly hopes he does.

--

The first time she and Aaron fought, it was something insignificant.

Katelyn can barely remember it now, something trivial like class schedules or a project. It seems so far away, and it’s ridiculous to care about something so silly, but they're only human. Frustrations had been high, and it had felt almost like a rite of passage.

'You aren't in a real relationship if you don't argue,' her father had told her once. She now knows that's mostly bullshit people tell themselves so they can justify their screaming matches.

Disagreements yes, bickering, disgruntlement...

Normal; so, in a way, it was a milestone, but not in the way her parents would’ve thought. The fight revealed more things to learn about each other, to make sure and be considerate of.

I don't like when you do this.

I appreciated this.

Please be more aware of this other thing.

I know this was unavoidable, but it still bothered me.

In hindsight, that's what all those little quarrels got her: experience, patience.

But in the moment, she'd just been annoyed. Aaron mumbled something under his breath when she turned away, and she'd been too petty to let it go.

Their 'fight' had been normal, until it wasn't.

Katelyn heard the clipped tone and turned around sharply, jaw clenched, and took a deliberate step toward him to tell him exactly how rude he was being.

And Aaron flinched.

Full body, he moved back a step, expecting a strike. They'd both frozen once they realized; it had been an instinctual movement, and guilt clouded Aaron's eyes a second later. But Katelyn had seen it; there had been this brief flash of terror there, but not surprise.

Like being slapped across the face would've been completely acceptable. The old normal.

Even if it had just been a second, Aaron had been afraid. Of her. Or some remnant of a ghost always lurking in the corner of Aaron's life.

She's not sure, but it didn't matter.

Katelyn remembers the irritation flooding right out of her, her body deflating as Aaron tried to offer up some kind of apology. By that point in time, Katelyn knew enough about Tilda. They'd been at the stage where confiding in each other was easy, but up until that point her rage over it had been quite shallow. It was in the past, Tilda was gone. Why linger on something painful?

She hadn't seen the effects, but here they were, staring her down.

That day, Katelyn decided she'd never despised someone more in her entire life, and probably never would again. Respect for the dead and all that...something she'd believed in before that no longer applied.

Whatever Aaron was trying to apologize for, she didn't care. She swept him up in her arms until all his weight collapsed onto her, and she let him sob into her shoulder. They were both sorry for different things, maybe things they shouldn't have been. The fight from moments before became inconsequential, and they both owned up to their faults in it.

They'd even laughed through their tears, nonsense about how they'd both just retake the class, or how the professor sucked anyways. Katelyn cried through the night, and probably looked unrecognizable in the morning with her puffy eyes and gnawed lip.

Aaron had helped put spoons in the freezer to help the swelling go down, probably the sloppiest pre-med care he'd ever done, because they had no ice packs.

And naturally, they'd talked about the rest. They exhausted the topic until Katelyn made sure Aaron knew...

"I would never hurt you," she whispered, partly to herself. A promise, an oath.

"I know you wouldn't."

Her eyes were ablaze when she looked at him again. "You never deserved to be hurt."

That one hadn't gotten her a response, but she kept repeating it. She'd keep repeating it.

The night had passed, fading into the background of anniversaries, finals, and sports.

But she never forgot. It had lurked in her, adding to the beast which she'd been confronting the past few days.

It's actually Andrew who calls it back to the forefront of her mind.

They're in the dorm, the four of them, and she's gone through at least two boxes of Raisinets (which Andrew had called a sin) and a liter of soda. The television is blaring with sounds of gunfire and distorted radio effects, which none of the boys seem to mind.

She's watched Aaron play (and fail) at this game so many times over the past few years, that it no longer bothers her. Her eyes drift over the room, fondly lingering over where Aaron is trying to not pull his hair out while he’s teaching Neil how to play.

Neil is holding the controller wrong, but she's pretty sure he's doing it on purpose, and she stifles a giggle into her soda cup.

And then...there's Andrew. He's sitting against the far wall, a watchful eye to the end. He tilts his head every now and again as Neil smirks and scowls, and Katelyn doesn't try to parse those thoughts. She's pretty sure either too much goes on in Andrew's head or nothing at all, but either way Neil ends up being a point of clarity.

He's not doing anything attention-grabbing, but Andrew rarely is. But the memory guided Katelyn's attention to him, to the curl of his hands. It's not that she's afraid to approach him for the old reasons; she does it on occasion, though she's better with the rules now. It's only necessary to talk to Andrew when she has something to say, something that matters.

This...definitely mattered.

And the thing is, she's sure he'll agree. He'll at least lift his head. He had nodded at her when she walked into their dorm, a more common occurrence now that still makes Aaron falter each time. It still feels like a beginning, but it feels nice all the same.

Andrew gets up, footsteps loud as he walks past where Neil is sitting in one of the beanbag chairs. His hand grazes the back of Neil's neck while the other opens the soda next to him, pushing it into Neil's hands in place of the controller. It's such a familiar dance that neither of them linger on it. Neil's glare at Aaron doesn't falter even as Andrew walks out of the room for a smoke break.

Katelyn stares after him, lingering on Andrew's back as he leans against the outside railing. It's been awhile since she's seen Andrew truly tense; he looks how he feels for once. Calm, in the moment. Katelyn wonders if it's a feeling he takes for granted, or one he refuses to acknowledge. Either way, it just makes her more hesitant to approach him.

She doesn't want to break this peace they both have, here with their people on a cool summer night.

But if she doesn't say it...no. She's not sure it's avoidable at this point. It pushes on her vocal chords and claws at her pressed lips, prying them apart. Katelyn thinks of Aaron next to her in bed, or in her arms, safe and sound. She realizes she's wanted to say this for a long time.

Katelyn stands quietly, though she doesn't have to. Aaron and Neil are glued to the game, and any sound she makes is drowned out by explosions and gunfire.

"Josten, you can't be this much of an idiot," Aaron says, more agonized than annoyed at this point. He jabs his fingers over his own controller, like he can take it out on the plastic instead of Neil's brain.

"Oh yeah? Bet," Neil answers, because at least he's self-aware. "And what the hell? I did the combo right that time."

"No you didn't! You just keep smashing the buttons in a random order!" Aaron mimics it, and in true form, is killed on screen. "Shit. You're destroying my rankings."

"Don't blame me because you suck at this."

Neil is correct. Aaron has never successfully beaten either Andrew or Nicky. Once, while drunk, he cried about it.

"I do not," Aaron grumbles, and he starts the next round. "Here. Watch."

Katelyn doesn't wait to hear Neil's snippy response; her smile fades as she steps out onto the balcony, the cool air hitting her flushed cheeks. She laughs at herself, nothing more than a light huff; to think part of her is actually fired up over this, a little proud. Like it's about time.

She's sure she should feel ashamed of that, ugly. But she doesn't.

The sound makes Andrew whip his head around, the softness stripped away to reveal sharp edges, pulling her apart. The hand holding Andrew's cigarette pauses in mid-air, and he waits, because why would Andrew speak first?

Katelyn smiles wryly before she hardens, grip so tight on the door column that the old paint chips. She's learned there's no reason to lead in with anything when it comes to Andrew; he doesn't care about niceties, or fronts.

She only has one thing to say, and she's going to say it regardless of whether or not she gets a response. She turns to check on Aaron one last time, and he's oblivious. As he should be, for this.

That's Katelyn's only source of guilt. But she knows, maybe as well as Andrew, that Aaron is not ready to hear this. He probably never will be.

Katelyn takes one step forward, right where Andrew's boundary ends, and makes sure there's zero room for him to doubt her.

"I'm glad you killed her."

It comes out a lot more serious than she thought; it was what she was going for, but she expected some quiver to her tone, a weakness.

There is none. Her voice is devoid of any regret, any sympathy, and that's everything she ever wanted. That's what Tilda deserved, at the bare minimum.

And if it's all Katelyn can give, she'll do it. She'll thank the person who did whatever he could.

She clasps a hand over her mouth when she realizes she's smiling, an inkling of that coldness bleeding through, but it's too late.

Andrew saw.

She guesses that's fair though; she tries to wipe the smile away but it sticks, it pulls open her lips like rusted gates, releasing those words she craved. Andrew lowers his cigarette as he takes this in, and Katelyn's not sure what he finds.

She hopes it's something good.

Katelyn doesn't wait for Andrew to respond before she walks back into the dorm, nothing more to say. She feels Andrew's gaze on her back, and she trusts it. When had that happened?

When had she stopped expecting a threat? When had she realized there was no need to flinch?

The warmth fills her to the brim. She climbs into Aaron's chair as he mopes over his loss, nuzzling his cheek. His hand finds hers like a moth to the flame before he stands up to switch the game to Mario Party so they can all play. Her smile from before morphs into something full and colorful. Bright.

She claps excitedly, rummaging through the tangled basket below the entertainment system for her controller. She's already challenging and throwing jabs at Neil, who is her biggest rival in this game. The twins always lose.

She's vaguely aware of Neil calling Andrew back into the room, but then there's Andrew's hand in front of her face, untangling the chord for her. She gasps as he frees the pink controller from its confines, dangling it in front of her.

She reaches for it on instinct, but hesitates when she glances up at him. She's...in his bubble. It's only for a moment, but it closes up her throat.

"Well?" He says when she freezes, unmoving for too long. Katelyn notices, with no shortage of joy, that Andrew's shoulders are still relaxed. He's comfortable. Accepting.

She blinks away the shock behind her eyes and grips the controller, smiling up at him. The moment ends in an instant, Andrew's bored expression already focused elsewhere. He turns away from her as he plops down by Neil, and she avoids the smug smile Neil sends her.

Whether it's due to the game or his own weird intuition, Katelyn doesn't know.

All she knows in that moment is that she's going to smoke them all.

Katelyn jumps up, and the lightness in her heart threatens to steer her into the ceiling. She takes her place beside Aaron and lets the shit talking begin.

--

Granted, there parts of Katelyn that are still naive. It comes with the territory, with pretty cookie cutter houses and neighborhood watch meetings.

See, as much as she was ready to acknowledge her protectiveness, she never thought she'd have to resort to actual violence...ever. She assumed those times were behind them, that life would be boring and wonderful from here on out.

Most things should seem boring anyways, after everything they’ve been through.

You've always have to be the optimist.

What she didn't know was just how prepared her mind was for reality, lying in wait behind the scope of her conscious thought. And come to think of it, that was naive of her too, to think feelings take a vacation just because you accept them.

Her pom-poms hit the floor with a clatter as she jumps up, high as she can. She's cheering, trying to be heard over the rest of her squad while her coach tries to calm them down. It never works.

Katelyn is taking off from the cheer section despite the teasing from the other girls, but they should be used to this by now.

She has a flair for the dramatic, and she's on the court soon after the final buzzer rings. The score is in the Foxes' favor tonight, promising an excessive party later on. She wonders if she can convince the girls to give her the room for a few hours...

The crowd roars behind her as she and the rest of the cheerleaders rush onto the court, but her excitement is her own and twice as powerful.

It's tradition now for her to seek Aaron out, to leap into his arms after every game won. Sue her, she's cheesy like that. And after being deprived of it for so long...she's gotten greedy. Andrew barely bats an eye anymore, comically side stepping them.

She's confused though, because normally they meet halfway. She runs to center court and can't see Aaron anywhere, and her confusion only doubles when she sees a mass of people forming up ahead.

There's a sizable crowd around where the Foxes' huddle should be, a mix of referees and substitute players, and she pushes through them to get a better look. She doesn't realize her body is already buzzing, alive with nervous energy and dread. It knows something she hasn't quite figured out yet.

That's why she's not just nudging people out of the way, she's shoving them, elbowing them as the yelling gets louder. It's normally her personality that bulldozes, but today it's every last inch of her.

Her blood feels like it ignites. Her body is thrown into fight or flight mode, and fight is definitely preferred.

It happens fast.

Aaron has never let his height deter him, and as neutral as he can be in most situations, he's got a short fuse at times and a fighting spirit to match. His anger is explosive. It happens in short bursts, but can raze fields in its wake. It gets him into a lot of trouble; he can say things he doesn't mean or things he absolutely means, which are typically worse. Today it's the latter.

Aaron is face to face with a player from the other team, and the words roar in Katelyn's ears. They're murky and muddled, like her brain has deemed the meaning and context irrelevant. All she needs to know is they're unkind, provoking. The backliner towers over Aaron, trading his own insults. 'Murderer' and 'inbred' and a slew of other original things hit Aaron point blank, but he's heard it all before. Whatever Aaron says in return must be cutting, and while Katelyn can't differentiate the words from curses, she knows they land.

Her heart jumps to her throat and the crowd gets louder around her; it's static in nature, too much at once, and everything in her stands on end. Poised to strike.

She doesn't care what they're arguing about, or who she's with, or what she's doing. She just sees the backliner's fist fly back, half the size of Aaron's head, and she simply reacts. She almost wants to blame the beast, that dark corner of her mind, for what happens next.

But it's all her, and it's always been all her.

Andrew moves out of the corner of her eye, sensing the same violent outcome. Their deal might be over, but the promise isn't. Andrew's instinct to protect his own will always be there.

But for once, Katelyn is faster.

Nicky is standing nearby, or maybe she ran to him...she's not sure, and it doesn't matter. Her blood is rushing into her ears and her heartbeat has drowned out the crowd. She wrenches the racquet from Nicky's hands before he even sees her.

There's no chance of her comprehending it, of stopping, so she doesn't. She brings the racquet back in the fiercest swing she can manage given her noodle arms, and punches the air out of the bastard's lungs with it. It hits him right in the stomach, and Katelyn makes sure not to break anything.

Again, she's good at anatomy.

It's a painful, underhanded hit, and she hopes it leaves a bruise. Nicky's racquet creaks a bit from the force of it, but it did its job well. Katelyn watches with a wicked satisfaction as the guy goes down with a groan, clutching his gut.

There's still anger in his eyes, a bitterness, but it pales in comparison to her own.

And it's in that moment she thinks she understands Neil best. 'I'm the scary one.'

Yes, yes, Katelyn thinks that's more than appropriate. She didn't understand then that it was simply an observation based on a feeling. It's the same feeling she's feeling now, and she supposes she has changed quite a lot from even that initial conversation.

Because she doesn't dwell on the feeling, or worry about what ugly things it says about her. It just is, and it's in the name of the emotion she loves so much. The person she loves so much.

So, her arm goes back with less force this time, less power, but it still goes back. Ready to deal another blow, ready to fight as much as she needs to if it means protecting Aaron.

It's not quite bloodlust, but it would get her the same result to call it that, so oh well.

She doesn't get the chance to find out how far she's willing to go; she's barely begun to swing forward when someone grabs the handle of the racquet, stopping her cold. She gasps then, realizing what's she doing, and again there's no regret. There is concern for the witnesses, though.

Heat rushes to her face as her eyes dart around, waiting for the vilification that's sure to come. But no. Everyone's eyes are glued to the groaning mess on the floor. Baby.

Katelyn takes a moment to catch her breath and get her shit together, because she can't believe she was that ready to maim someone in the middle of their stadium, and then turns to see the person who did notice.

Of course it's Neil. Of course.

His face is trying very hard to remain the default, completely blank, but Katelyn catches the edge of amusement playing at his lips. He'd know better than anyone, right? How close she'd come to going full apeshit, and she's sure she'll never hear the end of it. As she realizes that, Neil's smile blooms, and she tenses. Oh, shut up. Neil huffs a laugh, yanking the racquet from her hands. "I'll take that, thanks."

Katelyn tries to glare, but she can't help but smile all the same.

"Katelyn..." a voice says off to her side, and she turns to find Aaron paused midstep, worry battling with something else entirely on his face. She reaches for his hand, curling tight, and the blush on his face intensifies until it's wrapped around his ears and choking him by the neck. "Uh...you...wow."

Katelyn smirks.

Ah. Interesting. She could definitely get used to this.

"Ha," Andrew deadpans from behind Aaron, and wow, Katelyn doesn't think she's ever seen him jump so high.

"Y-you just shut up."

Katelyn's giggle is interrupted by another groan a few feet away, and the backliner glares at her with what's supposed to be pure contempt. Somehow, she's not fazed. Maybe it's the fact he's tried to get up twice now to no avail. Aaron scowls down at him, hand tight in Katelyn's, and she's never felt safer.

"Fucking bit--"

Neil leans down to his eye level in an instant, oddly reminiscent of the first time. The ire in his blue eyes is extinguished though, replaced with lazy satisfaction. Katelyn's pride in herself swells. "Hey, want me to pick up where she left off?" Neil asks, spinning the racquet in his hand. "I hit a lot harder than she does."

Katelyn really laughs then, when the backliner's face pales and Aaron smirks. Wymack starts saying something about 'restraint' and 'discipline' in Neil's face, but it hardly makes a difference.

She would've kept going. That's on her, and she's better for it. She knows she won't hesitate, that what lies dormant in her is the same as what thrashes daily inside most of the Foxes. That's enough for her, and she returns all their smiles as they pat her on the back.

It's a backwards congratulations, but the Foxes have never looked down on a protective impulse, no matter how small or rare. Even Wymack gives her a long look before shaking his head. '"These kids...I swear."

She will never be like the rest of them, not in full, but what drives her is the same. She knows that deep down, and doesn't let it scare her. Instead she leans into Aaron, kissing his cheek to congratulate him on his good game, his skin still hot as the school blacktop.

The coaches and referees clear the field, and Katelyn wishes she could bottle this lightness, this certainty.

Andrew nods at her as she passes, imperceptible, and Neil is beaming next to him. Neil shares a look of understanding with her, smugness palpable. 'Told ya so.'

Katelyn only gets a little satisfaction at the way Neil avoids Andrew's gaze a second later. Their dance is amusing, natural. Neil sidesteps to hide his face, and Andrew blocks his path, corralling him effectively.

Neil huffs in Andrew's face, all too used to it.

The words come back to the front of Katelyn's mind from that day. Her own voice echoes: you'd kill?

"Neil," she calls after him, a touch too cheerful, and he turns lazily. Like he expects it. She'll never say she understands Neil. It's frankly not possible to know how much he's aware of and how much goes completely over his head. In this case, she knows he'll hear and comprehend everything.

"I would," she says, and ignores the confused look the twins exchange. Neil's smile sharpens, a mirror of her own, before he's dragging Andrew to the locker room. Hmm. Katelyn wonders if Neil would have a good cackle. She'll have to ask.

"I'm not ever going to know what that was about, am I?" Aaron asks, but he's less pouty about it than normal. He's accepted their weird friendships, the uniquely cultivated bonds between each of them. Mostly.

He smiles at her as she leans down, stealing a kiss. "Definitely not."

She giggles when he dips her, indulging her dramatic side, and the sound bounces off the stadium walls.

--

++bonus

Neil assumes this is his punishment, though Andrew doesn't explicitly say it is.

The mall is slow on the following Tuesday afternoon, which is specifically why they always schedule their mall excursions (Andrew refuses to call them dates) during the week.

He's glad, because most of the time it means there’s not a lot of people shopping, which means more stolen kisses for him. It's also good for times like this, so people don't have to see his suffering.

Neil watches with dread as Andrew opens the blue and white Cinnabon box, revealing the gooey, overly iced monstrosity inside. Neil feels his taste buds protest already as he watches Andrew cut off a particularly big chunk.

Neil should've known something was off when Andrew didn't even complain once about ordering Neil a large smoothie.

Betrayed.

Gently, too gently for how awful this punishment is, Andrew cups Neil's chin with his hand, pressing down just enough to make his cheeks puff up. His face is a blank void, out of the ordinary these days when it's just the two of them, and Neil sighs internally. There really is no getting out of this. Andrew quirks a brow, holding the nauseating dessert up to Neil's mouth. "Say ‘ah.’"

Neil glares, but does so begrudgingly. If it's something Andrew knows he truly hates, he wouldn't even offer it, but Neil's never actually had one of these things before. The overabundance of cinnamon leaves him grimacing as he chews, and Andrew's expression still gives nothing away. Not even the signature 'you're so dramatic' tilt of his head. Neil knows the taste is enough to stain for at least twenty minutes, and the urge to wash it down with his strawberry smoothie is fierce.

But he waits, because he doubts it's over.

Andrew watches him swallow pitifully before turning back to the rest of the cinnamon roll, cutting himself a piece and then dousing it in the extra icing he paid for.

Neil's feelings are unconditional, truly.

When he's done consuming the sinful piece of overly fluffy sugar, Neil tracks the leftover icing on Andrew's lips. He's weak, he'll admit, but he knows kissing Andrew would be twice as sweet as the dessert itself.

And ah, that's when it all makes sense.

Andrew sets his fork and knife down very deliberately before spinning to face Neil, tilting his head in the closest thing to innocent Andrew can manage. "Kiss me?"

Neil nearly whimpers. It's incredibly unfair. Andrew rarely asks for kisses anymore—neither of them do. So now it's just endearing as hell, and Andrew never phrases it like that.

And well, Neil always wants to kiss Andrew, no matter how sugary the consequences. He nods excitedly, scooting forward on the bench. It gets him a crack in the mask finally, as Andrew's gaze softens, warm and...wow.

"Stop it," Andrew mumbles, and then his lips are on Neil's. Neil sighs into it, latching onto Andrew's sleeves when he feels him start to pull away. He typically understands short kisses when they're in public, but today it feels especially petty, so he swipes his tongue to catch some of the icing at the corner of Andrew's mouth.

But when Andrew is set on something, he's set. He pulls away, and Neil huffs, grabbing his smoothie with impressive petulancy.

"None of that, rabbit," Andrew says, digging back in. Even with his particular methods of cutting up his food, he'll most likely demolish the dessert in the next two minutes. "You know what you did."

And at that, Neil can't help but smirk. He feigns innocence as best he can as he sips on his smoothie, chewing on the straw to suppress the joy. He gets the memory of wind whistling through racquet strings, the image of the backliner on his ass and the feral look in Katelyn's eyes.

He's proud, but really, how is any of that his fault?

"I haven't done anything," he replies as Andrew chucks the box into the nearest trash can. "If my life were a factory, it would say at least fifty days have passed since the last accident."

Andrew pauses midstep, unamused.

Neil holds out his hand expectantly, ready to be led through the mall wherever Andrew sees fit. They have a system, though Andrew refuses to admit it.

They start off with Neil's stores simply because Andrew wants to get them over with, but he doesn't rush Neil as he browses the two athletic stores and rants about the minuscule differences in sneakers. Then they stop for sushi, and Andrew will attempt in vain to teach Neil to use chopsticks.

Neil might mess up more on purpose, just so Andrew has to touch his hands more.

Andrew's stores are more for dressing up Neil than Andrew buying anything for himself, though he'll occasionally indulge in buying a new watch or jacket. Especially if Neil picks them out and tells him how good they'd look.

It's a skill Neil has picked up happily, and participates in often. It's not like they're lies, because Andrew always looks good to him.

Mostly, though, he watches his boyfriend browse racks of clothes, holding up shirts and accessories to Neil's body until he's narrowed it down.

It's not hard for Neil to coax him into the dressing room with him after that.

After both forms of dessert, the last stop is the one that perplexes Neil to this day. Despite the confusion, he follows Andrew hand in hand to the overly glitzed up monstrosity that is Claire's.

It's an experience.

It's usually empty apart from one poor soul getting their ears pierced and a few teenagers picking out matching necklaces, but no one is ever phased when Andrew and Neil walk in. They look the opposite of people who should and would shop here, but Claire's is a lawless place with no rules and no judgement.

Neil once joked about Andrew writing a paper on it, since he's fairly certain time is a construct in this place. According to Andrew, however, they have the widest selection of the kind of earrings Andrew likes on Neil: the dangly ones. Perfect for Eden's. They're so cheap Andrew doesn't let him wear them any other time, or for more than a few weekends, but it just means they have to come back often to get new ones.

They should have a membership, but that's the line Andrew won't cross.

Today, Andrew is eyeing a pair with fake gems, and he holds it up to Neil's ear, squeezing his earlobe as he debates. Meanwhile, Neil's eyes float over the nearby costume merchandise and mood-themed jewelry.

There's a pair of chokers that have 'best friends' charms hanging from them, and Neil squints. It's something so cheery and colorful, he's sure Katelyn would be all over it. Probably Matt too.

But the reminder of Katelyn has Neil wincing before he can stop himself.

Andrew follows his gaze to the necklaces, throwing them in the basket a moment later without saying anything. Neil thinks that's the end of it when Andrew moves them to the next display of earrings, but of course it's not.

Andrew doesn't give up digging for answers when it comes to Neil, not that Neil fights him much anymore. It's just...with this...

Ugh.

Andrew's words tell him they're on the same page.

"You're a terrible influence," Andrew voices, throwing in a few more pairs. There's a sale today.

Neil shrugs. He has to play it cool, but it's almost funny how they've come to this discussion. Andrew isn't aware of Neil's moment behind the gym, pipe pressed to some asshole's throat, but he can still read through Neil enough to know he must've done something.

So, Neil sighs, and doesn't bother denying it.

"I'm not responsible for what other people do," he reiterates, holding up a pair of black rings. It's unusual for anything in this place to match Andrew's aesthetic, so Neil can't pass it up. He tosses it into the basket.

"Oh, captain who goes down with the ship," Andrew chides, tilting Neil's chin just so. There's a warmth in Andrew's eyes regardless of his words, and Neil stuffs his hands in his hoodie to keep from leaning forward. "Your penchant for leadership means people follow you anyways, even if your decisions are stupid."

Andrew lets go of him to assess his haul, but Neil's not done making his case.

"I'm not Katelyn's leader." Far from it. He knows Katelyn and Andrew generally get along better now, but Andrew can still be under the impression that Katelyn isn’t a force in her own way. No...Neil didn't inspire shit. If anything, Katelyn had...an awakening of sorts.

Neil brings a hand up to cover his smug smile. Ah, it's always so satisfying when people get what they deserve. He can only hope Katelyn doesn’t get addicted to the feeling.

He doubts it, though. Her goals are only ever to protect Aaron. Outside of that she's harmless, unless you count the gossip she hoards.

So what? He made Katelyn realize going for the throat is all too necessary when it comes to the people they hold dear. He stopped her before it could go further, and that should've been her lesson to not lose herself in the future.

Past that, Neil isn't responsible.

"Do you have fun, missing the point all the time?" Andrew asks, backing Neil against one of the columns in the store. Neil is quite familiar with this spot, because it means kisses, and he's a simple man nowadays.

He smirks, reaching over to grab one of the headbands hanging from the metal hooks. This one has animal ears on it, and he plops it on, catching the way Andrew's face twitches.

"If it gets you to talk to me like that, a little."

Andrew rips off the ears so fast Neil gasps, and an employee glares at the projectile when it lands in the far corner. Neil snorts, pulling Andrew completely behind the column with him. It's his favorite part of the store, because it faces an empty wall. They're hidden.

"You're insufferable," Andrew chides, but doesn't move away. Neil's content, knowing his warmth and weight has become a comfort.

That's why...that's why he really doesn't feel bad. He'd protect Andrew with everything he had, and Andrew would do the same for him. Through blood and any measure of brutality.

Neil is not naive. His life is a lot different now, and he'll try as hard as he can to make sure things are more peaceful from here on. It's unrealistic in some cases; both of them will always be plagued by nightmares, a mix of paranoia and too many boundaries. But...but the past is so much easier to navigate when the present is peaceful.

Life is not set in stone, and neither is this peace. It's possible there will be more fights, more war. And they'll both be ready, because there's no other choice where one another is concerned.

Even if Andrew won't say it, Neil knows it with bone deep certainty.

And now Katelyn will be prepared too. Neil can't possibly feel an inch of regret for causing that.

Neil sighs when Andrew's hand grips the back of his neck, grazing Neil's ear on the way there, the ghost of a touch.

Come to think of it, that employee sees them here every week...she most certainly knows what they're doing behind this column. Neil sighs a laugh, drowsy all of a sudden. He wants to nap when they get home, Andrew pressed against him. Safe.

"Yes, that's true, I'm pretty bad," Neil whispers, hand resting on Andrew's shoulder. "Don't act like you're not relieved, though."

Andrew tilts his head, pausing just before stealing a kiss.

"Elaborate."

"You've been demoted," Neil says with a smirk, chasing Andrew's lips when he moves back. It's the one direction he runs to consistently now. "Aaron has someone else to protect him."

There's a moment Andrew pauses, letting the words wash over him. It would not have been possible, Neil thinks, even a year ago. But Katelyn isn't just a fixture Andrew ignores now, she's permanent, present.

Andrew's tiny laugh sends a shiver down Neil's spine. "Was that the plan all along, then?"

Neil squints, confused, and Andrew's smile is small but there, something that's becoming increasingly common.

Andrew shrugs, a mocking mirror of Neil's default response. Despite this, he finally crowds Neil in, and he can feel the light press of Andrew's lips sticking to his. Andrew drops the basket when Neil hums in question, the moment private and sealed up just for them. "Now I can put all my efforts towards you," Andrew breathes into Neil's mouth, like a binding spell before the kiss seals them, and it wasn't the plan but...

Neil will gladly take it.

[strangely-amusing]

Delitescent

Characters : Yukhei (Lucas)  x You

Genre : Romance, Soulmate!AU

Wordcount : 5451

Warnings : Curse words

Note: Title probably won’t make sense, but yeah. I said it before, I’m not good at making titles. If you have beautiful words to share, please do! If you have similar names with the ones mentioned in this fic, please understand that i do not mean to offend anyone and the names that i use for the background characters are totally random.  Please do NOT plagiarize. This is an original story, and if you found any similarities with other writings then it is pure coincidence. I hope you all can enjoy this!♡

Delitescent [adj] - concealed; hidden; latent.

“Yukhei!”

The tall guy grinned at the familiar voice, walking over to the table. He high-fived his friends lazily, throwing greetings here and there. He then took a seat on the plastic chair, leaning into the seat. “Sup?”

Johnny shrugged, taking a drag out of his cigarette. “Doyoung almost got arrested last night but that’s all.”

Yukhei snorted, shaking his head in disbelief. “I swear he’s trying to get himself arrested. He always does dumb shits.”

“He’s just trying to get into the officer’s panties, you know. I gotta admit she’s pretty cute.” Yuta chuckled, flicking the end of his cigarette. “but i don’t really fuck with the police.”

Yukhei and Johnny nodded, agreeing with their friend. Yukhei then noticed there was something off and looked around as if he was looking for someone. “Where’s TY hyung?”

Yuta shrugged, offering him a box of cigarette. “have no idea man.”

“Probably with his soulmate.” Johnny said nonchalantly, taking a long drag of his cigarette. Yukhei scoffed at the mention of the word, taking the box from Yuta’s hand. He then took a cigarette and put it in between his lips, taking out a lighter from his jeans pocket. He lit it up and took a long drag, letting the smoke fill his lungs before breathing out a cloud of smoke into the air.

“There he is, now.” Johnny suddenly said, pointing to a figure walking in their direction. The guy had a smile on his face, which was unusual for him. Yukhei stared at him in wonder, face scrunched up. “What’s with the creepy ass smile?”

Taeyong rolled his eyes and slapped his shoulder, taking a seat beside him. “No need to be rude, geez.”

Yukhei winced in pain, slightly surprised at the impact of the hit. Yuta chuckled, offering the box of cigarette to Taeyong. “Seriously though, what’s wrong with you?”

“No thanks. And I’m just in a good mood today, isn’t it wrong?” Taeyong said calmly, body relaxing onto the chair. Yuta raised his eyebrow, confused that Taeyong declined his offer. Taeyong never turned down cigarettes, this was the first.

“If you’re in such a good mood then why aren’t you smoking? You smoke like, 24/7 man” Yukhei squinted his eyes at him, confused by his unusual behaviour. Taeyong shrugged, taking a sip of Yuta’s soda instead. “Just trying to cut down on the tobacco that’s all.”

Yukhei let out a string of forced laugh, flicking the end of the cigarette. “Bullshit.”

“Did she make you do this?” Yuta questioned, a little bit amused that someone had actually succeeded in restraining Taeyong. Taeyong was a free spirited guy, and he despised any kind of restrain. This was new, and somehow amusing.

Taeyong shrugged as an answer, but the smile on his face told the answer. Yuta shook his head with an amused grin, taking a drag out of his cigarette.

Yukhei watched as one of the wildest and craziest guy he had ever met getting all soft just because the thought of a girl. He scoffed and blew another cloud of smoke into the air. Whipped as fuck.

“Is she that pretty?” Johnny joked, also amused that a girl managed to get Taeyong all soft just by the thought of her.

“I swear she’s the most beautiful person i’ve ever met.” Taeyong replied in a heartbeat, the smile on his face was genuine.

But to Yukhei, It was sickening.

Yukhei rolled his eyes, taking a huff out of his cigarette. He blew a cloud of smoke right onto Taeyong’s face, provoking the elder’s wrath. “the fuck dude?”

He shrugged, the corner of his lips quirking into a smirk. Taeyong squinted his eyes at him, his lips pressed tightly into a thin line. “Just because you don’t believe in soulmate doesn’t mean you have to be rude to those who believe.”

“Soulmates are bullshit, you know that.” Yukhei replied in a flat tone, taking yet another huff out of his cigarette. Taeyong shook his head at the younger’s behaviour, his face scrunched up in disgust. “You’re an asshole.”

Yukhei merely smirked at the insult, blowing another cloud of smoke into the air.

“Damn right I am.”

♡

“Oh my god, did you really meet him yesterday?? Did his words match with the ones on your arm??”

Annoyed, Yukhei purposely put his tray down a tad bit harder, resulting in a rather loud banging noise. But the girls behind him didn’t seem to notice, too busy gushing about their friend’s soulmate.

“I’m a bit confused though, are the words supposed to be the first words our soulmate say to us?” One of the girls asked, looking at her arm in wonder. The other girls rolled their eyes, shaking their heads in disbelief. “No silly! Its the first time you hear their voice, so it doesn’t have to be addressed to you. It could just be when you hear them talking to others.”

“I see! All these years i thought our first meeting is going to be terrible!” The girl said, proceeding to show her friends her inked arm. Yukhei glanced at the girl’s direction, noticing the curse word written on the inside of her wrist. He let out a scoff, shaking his head in disbelief. “Soulmate ain’t shit.”

One of the girls heard him and proceeded to offered him a smile, giving him a pat on the back. “Don’t worry. You’ll find yours soon.”

Yukhei grimaced in disgust when he heard her words, ready to spill insults from his mouth. “Soulmate this, soulmate that, You people are always talking about your goddamn soulmates when no one fuckin’ asks! Don’t you have better things to do than just staring at those goddamn words on your arms all day like a fool?!”

The chattering in the busy restaurant suddenly vanished, Yukhei being the centre of the attention for his sudden outburst. The girl was shocked, and she retracted her hand immediately. Yukhei scoffed, realizing that the spotlight was on him. He then grabbed his wallet and phone from the table, leaving his food untouched. He glared at the girl one more time before leaving, gaze as cold as ice.

“Fuck soulmate.”

Stepping out of the restaurant, he quickly made his way to the nearest fast food chain, stomach still grumbling. He entered and ordered a sandwich, opting to eat it on his way home rather than in the restaurant where unwanted incident like earlier could happen again.

With a BLT in hand, he slowly walked home. Munching on the sandwich, his gaze travelled everywhere. He couldn’t help but to scoff when he saw a couple walking hand in hand, their blushing faces and the sound of their giggles made Yukhei sick. He then quickly threw away his unfinished sandwich, not feeling hungry anymore.

Yukhei fastened his pace, wanting nothing more than just to sleep and take a rest from the seemingly cruel world for awhile.

“I’m home.” Yukhei said in a flat tone as he entered the house. There was no reply, as expected. He locked the door behind him and took off his shoes, an exhausted sigh leaving his parted lips. Today was quite eventful, it almost seemed like everyone around him was rubbing it in his face. Their soulmates, their first meetings, all of the things that Yukhei despised.

He walked to his room, all while cursing out all the people he saw today. He lazily changed his clothes, opting for only a black trainings. He threw himself on top of the bed, recalling this evening’s incident. He groaned, covering his face in embarrassment when he remembers how he basically shouted at a random girl in the middle of a restaurant. He didn’t mean to shout at the poor girl, but her words triggered something in him. Hearing the girl gushing about her soulmate was one thing, but hearing the girl’s words for him was another.

“I’ll find mine soon, she said.” He scoffed, lifting up his arm.

“Fuck soulmate.” He said once again, looking up at his bare, ink-free arm.

♡

It was 8 PM when he finally woke up from his nap. Eyes half lidded, he went to the kitchen to find some food. The house was dark, not a single light was on. He sighed, turning on the lights. “I should’ve turned it on before i slept.”

He opened the fridge and cursed when he found only a bottle of expired coke in the fridge. He loudly shut the fridge, walking back to his room lazily.

He sat down on his bed and grabbed his phone from the night stand, checking for any important calls or texts.

There were 3 texts from his mother, which he immediately ignored. He already knew the message without having to open it, so he deleted the texts as soon as he saw them.  The other 4 texts were from different people, 2 from Yuta and the other 2 from an unknown number. He opened the text from the unknown number first, mildly curious about the text.

Fr : +82-2-5XX-3XX

Hey cutie

Yukhei raised his eyebrow, slightly creeped out. He then re-read the text, trying to recall if he has drunkenly given out his numbers at the club last night. When he was sure he didn’t, he opened the second text.

Fr : +82-2-5XX-3XX

Wanna hang tonight?;)

Yukhei squinted his eyes at the text, now doubting his memory. He then ignored the text and proceed to open the ones from Yuta.

Fr : Bro

I just gave Soojin your number.

“Who the fuck is Soojin??” Yukhei mumbled to himself, trying to recall any Soojin he might know. Confused, he opened Yuta’s second text.

Fr : Bro

She’s kinda dumb, but she’s smokin’ hot, man.

The corner of his lips immediately curved into a wicked grin as he read the text. He didn’t remember knowing any girl named Soojin, but if she was smokin’ hot just like Yuta claimed, then he’ll be on his way in lightning speed. He immediately opened the previous messages and added the numbers to his contact. He licked his lips as he typed in an equally suggestive reply, thoughts already corrupted the minute he read Yuta’s second text. Getting an address in under a minute, he then immediately stood up from his bed, the smirk never leaving his face.

He hastily put on his clothes, grabbing his wallet and phone, and a couple of small foil packaging. Reading the address on his phone once again, he then left the house in a hurry.

♡

“Fuck, Does this chick live in a goddamn cave or what?” Yukhei cursed out, pupils focusing on the small screen of his phone. He had been trying to find the girl’s address for the past 30 minutes, and yet the GPS didn’t help him in any way. The GPS told him that he had already arrived, when in reality he was in the middle of a park in the middle of an unfamiliar neighbourhood. He tried calling the girl numerous times, but it seemed like either she was drunk or just extremely stupid because instead of giving Yukhei the right direction she sent him nudes. He admitted that she was indeed hot, but how was he supposed to do anything about it when he can’t even find her address? Letting out a desperate sigh, he decided to go home. “Fuck it.”

He turned around to head home, a cyclist from the opposite direction passing near him. He paid him no mind and continued to walk, still mumbling about how stupid that chick was.

A loud thud from behind him immediately caught his attention, his head automatically turned to search for the source of the sound. In his sight was the cyclist that he saw earlier, and a girl on the ground. He immediately caught up with what happened and proceed to approach the two. The cyclist saw Yukhei and hurriedly sped off, mumbling a quick apology to the girl. Yukhei gritted his teeth in annoyance, opting to curse him out.

“Asshole!”

Yukhei then watched as the cyclist disappeared into the dark, fingers balled up into a fist. He then heard shuffling sound near his feet and looked down at the figure on the ground. “Oh god, Are you okay?”

You nodded, trying to hold in the piercing pain on your knee. The guy was intimidating, and you couldn’t bring yourself to meet his eyes. He looked at you with worried gaze, crouching down to match your height. “I’m Yukhei, I just want to help.”

You nodded, trying to stand up slowly. Yukhei’s hands immediately went to hold your arms, supporting your weight. Yukhei carefully observed you, trying to find any wounds or bruises that might hurt. “Are you hurt?”

You didn’t quite hear him because you were too busy looking around, trying to find the book that you were holding earlier. Yukhei noticed your wandering gaze, instantly looking around as well. “What are you trying to find?”

You pressed your lips into a thin line, opting to ignore his question. He stared at you in wonder, mildly annoyed that you basically just ignored him. “Hey I’m just trying to help yo-“

You immediately ran to the bushes near by when you spotted a familiar maroon book, effectively cutting Yukhei off. Yukhei stood there, dumbfounded that he just got ignored by a girl that he just helped not 5 minutes ago. He watched as you carefully picked up your book, face scrunching up in annoyance. “You’re searching for your book. You could’ve just told me you know.”

You looked up at him for the first time, giving him a sheepish smile. Yukhei parted his lips to say something, but found himself stunned at the beauty in front of him. Although the park  was poorly lit and almost half of your face was covered by your bangs, you were easily the most beautiful person he had ever met.

Yukhei met a lot of pretty girls in a daily basis, and all he felt for them was nothing but lust. That might be the result of meeting them in night clubs and bars, but this was new for him. Meeting someone in the park was never his forte. But then again, this was something he didn’t expect to happen.

“Um, well, do you need any help getting home? Its kind of dark, something like that might happen again.” Yukhei offered, his voice a little bit unstable. He cursed silently to himself for almost stuttering, wondering why a girl that he just helped was making him feel this way.

You looked up at him, still a little bit intimidated by his looks. But he just helped me, right?

You nodded after a while, resulting in a smile blooming on Yukhei’s face. Your fear quickly vanished, Yukhei’s smile was turning your impression about him 180°.

You then started to walk, Yukhei following close behind.

“What’s your name?” He awkwardly asked, fiddling with his fingers. This was the first time in such a long time that he had to ask a girl’s name, and he couldn’t help but to feel a tad bit nervous.

You glanced up at him, lips curving into a small smile. He’s actually very cute.

You then pointed at the corner of the book cover, tapping softly on the hard cover. Yukhei leaned closer, trying to read the small word.

“Y...Y/n? Is that correct?” He asked, eyes squinting at the small letters. You nodded, suddenly feeling shy at the close distance between the two of you. Yukhei noticed and immediately stepped away to the side, creating a distance between the two of you.  

He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t help but to feel scared around you. He was scared he might accidentally do something he’ll regret.

All of these feelings were new to him, and it made him slightly confused. Yukhei was a smooth talker but ironically, he found it hard to find interesting topics to discuss with you.

He stared at you in wonder, a part of him amused at the effect you had on him.

She’s different.

♡

You stopped right in front of your house, sighing in relief. Finally.

It wasn’t like you didn’t enjoy the past 15 minutes you had spent with Yukhei. He was surprisingly cute, and his cheesy jokes made you smile all the way home. But that was the reason why you wanted to get home as soon as possible. You didn’t want to develop any feelings for him, and it was bad enough that he was literally the definition of your dream guy. The guy of your dreams that somehow helped you and walked you home in the middle of the night? It sounded too good to be true.

You turned around to face Yukhei, offering him a small smile as a sign of gratitude. The smile he had on when he first offered to walk you home was gone, and for a moment you were worried if it was because something that you did.

“If you’re uncomfortable, you could’ve just declined my offer, you know.” He bitterly said, chuckling humourlessly. “I mean, I get it. My arms are covered in tattoos and I reek of cigarettes, but it would be way less offending if you turn down my offer in the first place rather than accepting it but not saying a word during the whole thing.”

You panicked for a moment, wondering how on earth he would think that way. But then you realized that he was a stranger and he didn’t know a thing about you, you should’ve known that this would happen.

You sighed, frustrated that he got it wrong. But to think again, you were the one to blame.

Yukhei heard your sigh and misunderstood it as an answer. “I’ll leave now. Don’t worry about me memorizing your address, I’ll probably forget it the second I set my foot outside.”

Yukhei turned around to leave as soon as possible, but a little tug at his sleeve stopped him. He raised his eyebrow when he found you holding to his sleeve tightly, preventing him to leave. “What are you trying to do?”

You sighed once again, unlocking the front door and gesturing him to come inside. Yukhei raised his eyebrow, confused by your sudden invitation. “Are you sure? I’m basically a stranger, you shouldn’t let me inside.”

Without a doubt, You nodded and stepped inside, taking off your shoes. Yukhei stepped i, still wondering how he managed to get into this situation. “Should i close the door?”

You nodded, walking to the kitchen and leaving him at the front door.

“Is she really letting me inside?” Yukhei mumbled under his breath, closing the door. He knew he could use this opportunity to try to lure you into bed, but he didn’t feel like it. It was odd, considering that the reason he was outside in the park was because he was tryin’ to fuck.

The clinging sound of the glass caught his attention, and he quickly locked the door and made his way to the kitchen.

You were stirring your drinks, the smell of cocoa lingering in the air. Yukhei sat down at the opposite side of the counter, not sure what he was supposed to do. He then took off his leather jacket and put it on the stool beside him. He watched as you finished making the drinks, eyes darting between the mugs and your face.

You then pushed one of the mug towards him. Yukhei slowly took the mug, still unsure about him being in your house. “T-Thanks?”

You smiled and nodded, taking a sip of your own cocoa. Yukhei then took a sip as well, the hot liquid washing the ashy taste of the cigarette left behind. He then gulped down almost half of the mug, liking the way the drink makes him feel all warm. He then put his mug down, a genuine smile decorating his face. “Its hella amazing.”

You chuckled silently at his response, merely nodding. Yukhei was content with the current situation, the hot cocoa, the comfortable atmosphere, and you. But there was still one thing that bothers him.

“Hey... not trying to be rude or anything... but why did you let me in? What are you trying to do exactly?” He asked in a rather small voice, afraid that you might take it the wrong way. You put down your mug and pulled out your phone from your pocket.

Yukhei stared as you typed something in your phone, bewildered that you basically ignored him, for the second time of the day. He was pissed,  ready to lash out his anger. “If you only want to igno-“

You looked up at him and held out your index finger, an indication for him to stay quiet. He opened his mouth to complain, but decided not to as you shot him a glare. “Fine.”

You then nodded and typed in a little more, before giving the phone to Yukhei. He took the phone from your hand, eyes full of doubt. He then looked down at the cracked screen of your phone, trying to read the small letters.

You waited as he read the little message that you wrote for him, taking yet another sip of your cocoa. Yukhei then put the phone down on the counter, eyes wide and jaw hung open. “Y-You’re mute?? Oh god I’m so fuckin-“

You shook your head in his poor choice of words, instantly shutting him up. Yukhei covered his face with his hands, groaning. “God i’m such a jerk.”

You watched closely as he continued to curse himself, amused by his reactions.

“I just--Oh god I’m so sorry for assuming shits.” Yukhei groaned, too embarrassed by his previous words to look at you in the eyes. You tried to cut him off to say that it’s okay, because it wasn’t even his fault to begin with. But Yukhei didn’t stop, still cursing himself for being so ignorant.

You decided to wait until he’s done, finding it fruitless to try to interrupt him. You then took the time to observe him from head to toe, blushing slightly when you take a good look at his face. He was attractive, that was a fact. But there was something about him that draws you in, and you weren’t sure if it was his eyes, his jaw or his arms. You didn’t know why but somehow his arms caught your gaze. His arms were veiny and there were small tattoos here and there, but there was something off and you couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Y/n? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

You looked up at his face, slightly embarrassed that he just caught you ogling his arms. You shook your head with a sheepish smile on your face, silently apologizing for not paying attention.

Yukhei noticed that you were looking at his arms and automatically looked down at his arms as well, trying to find what it is that catches your attention. “Are you looking at my tattoos?”

You shrugged, not really knowing how to answer his question. You were technically looking at his tattoos but at the same time you weren’t because his tattoos weren’t exactly the thing that you were looking for.

Yukhei raised his eyebrow at your response, the last thing in his mind now at the tip of his tongue. “Were you... by any chance... looking for my soulmate mark?”

You blushed madly, surprised that he actually managed to guess it right. Before you could reply however, he covered his arm protectively. His expression turned sour, and his gaze turned murderous. “Just so you know, I don’t believe in soulmates.”

You were taken aback by his defensive response, slightly scared by his predator gaze. You glanced at his now covered arm and something clicked in your mind. He doesn’t have a mark, that’s why he is being so bitter.

You stared at the guy in front of you with pity, now understanding his sudden change of behaviour. Although some people were born with no marks, the condition was rare. Very rare that only less than 1% of the world’s population suffered from the condition. You knew this because your mother used to be one of them. Since you were young, the word on your arm always made you upset. Every time you feel sad, she would always tell you how she lives in constant fear of not having a soulmate for 2 decades. Luckily, at the age of 24 she finally got her mark.

But not everyone was as lucky as her. In some cases, some people stayed with no marks all their lives. No one knew why it happened, but then again no one could explain the mysterious mark on their arms either.

There was a possibility that Yukhei haven’t got his mark yet, but judging from the guy’s toxic mind-set about soulmates, he probably wouldn’t care when he got one.

The atmosphere turned uncomfortable, the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. You then silently typed in something into your phone, attempting to cheer him up. Yukhei refused to take the phone from your hand when you offered him the phone, so you decided to play it out loud.

“I’m sorry, I just thought that your soulmate must be so lucky to have you as their soulmate.” The robotic woman voice blasted from the speaker of your phone.  

Yukhei looked up at your face with confusion written all over his face. “You don’t even know me.”

You shrugged, typing in yet another response. “I don’t, but i do have feelings that you’re a great person. And my guess is usually correct.”

Yukhei scoffed at your cheesy response, but a moment later cracked a smile, shaking his head in disbelief. “Well, if you say so.”

You grinned in delight, happy that you succeeded in making him smile. You then typed in another response, carefully picking your words. You then put the phone down and played it out. “To be honest, I think that having your arm bare is better than having your arm with a mark like mine.”

Yukhei stared in wonder as you proceeded to rolled up your sleeves, showing him the word written on your arm.

ASSHOLE

Yukhei chuckled when he read the word on your arm, imagining how embarrassing it must’ve been to have such a word embedded on your arm. You chuckled along with him, staring at the word on your arm.

“Wow what a shitty soulmate that you have there.” He chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. You couldn’t help but to agree with him, the word on your arm had been causing troubles since literally the day you were born.

“I guess you’re right. Yours is pretty embarrassing.” Yukhei said, still chuckling. His laughter slowly died down, and his mind wandered. He then looked at you and found his lips curving upwards into a smile. “This might sound weird since we just met like half an hour ago, but I’m so glad I met you.”

You chuckled, not knowing what else to respond to his unexpected confession. You mouthed him a “Me too” as an answer, blushing profusely.

“I don’t know, its just that i feel like you’re different, you know?” He continued, but then added an explanation quickly. “Not because you can’t speak, don’t get me wrong.”

You shook your head, a small smile decorating your face. You knew he didn’t mean it like that, and even if he did it didn’t really offend you since you were different from other people and it wasn’t something bad, you were perfect just the way you were.

Yukhei couldn’t stop staring at you, not even trying to hide the fact that he adores what he sees. His mind wandered to the moments earlier, when he first saw you. For a moment he got a little bit pissed, remembering the cyclist that hit you over and just left you on the ground. But then he tensed up. He then slowly looked up at you, eyes wide.  

You noticed the lack of joy in his expression, confused by his sudden change of mood. You quickly mouthed, “Is something wrong?”

Yukhei gulped. “Remember when you got hit by that cyclist earlier?”

You nodded, wondering why he suddenly wants to talk about it. Yukhei bit his lips, looking up at you with hopeful gaze.  “Don’t you remember what i said?”

Confused, you scrunched up your face. You then shook your head, genuinely confused by the direction of the conversation. Yukhei let out a low groan, pinching the bridge of his nose.  

“Oh my god, I am your shitty soulmate!”

Your eyes widened as you quickly looked down at your arm, jaw hanging open upon the realization. He IS my shitty soulmate!

You looked down at the word on your arm, then at his face. So he’s the one who gave me this mark!

You looked up at him with a wide smile on your face, delighted that you finally found your soulmate, although a part of you wanted to punch him so bad because of the mark he gave you. Yukhei ran his fingers through his hair, laughing breathily. “That’s why i have no soulmate mark... it makes sense now.”

Seeing his adorable joyful expression, you decided you could punch him later on. You couldn’t help but to smile along with him, the lively atmosphere was making you all warm inside.

Yukhei stared at his bare arm, now smiling instead of frowning like he used to. “All these time i thought i’m a lonely piece of ass, I didn’t even realize the possibility behind the lack of mark that i have.”

His gaze then landed on you, who were still looking down at your arm with a goofy smile. His expression softened as he saw your smile, heart beating faster at such sight. “Hey.”

You looked up at him, a smile decorating your face. Yukhei chuckled, slightly blushing because of how beautiful you looked. “Look I know this might be weird since we literally just met..”

You could feel the blood rushing to your cheeks as your heartbeat accelerated, patiently waiting for the rest of his sentence.

Yukhei let our a rather sheepish laugh, still not believing how ridiculous your first meeting is. “I’m so sorry for marking your skin with such an inappropriate word.”

You broke into a wide smile at his remark, shrugging. You then typed in a response into your phone, playing it out loud. “Its better now that i have a heroic story behind it.”

Yukhei covered his face in embarrassment, chuckling lowly. “What kind of hero gives his soulmate an awful mark??”

“You.” The robotic voice blasted from the speaker, making Yukhei looks up at you. He then shook his head, his lips stretching into a wide grin. “I’m no hero, You know that.”

You raised your eyebrow, smiling playfully as you quickly typed in another reply. “You kinda are, but go off i guess.”

Yukhei chuckled at your response and unconsciously pinched your cheeks, his hand felt cold against your skin. You blushed at the sudden physical contact but made no attempt to hide it, he was your soulmate after all.

His laughter died down, but his hand remained still. The room was quiet, but there was no need of words when you were connected by hearts.

Although you liked the physical contact so much, you decided that it would be better for the two of you to bond over something.

You then typed in a sentence into your phone, playing it out loud for him to hear.

“Horror movies?”

Yukhei chuckled loudly, pinching your cheeks once again. “God, you really are my soulmate.”

Your lips curved into a smile as you stood up to grab a few snacks from the fridge, gesturing him to come over and help you. He was about to stand up when his phone vibrated, and he quickly pulled it out. There was 1 new message from Yuta.

Fr : Bro

How was she?

For a moment Yukhei was having a hard time remembering the person Yuta was referring to, You being the only person in his mind right now. But then he remembered the reason why he was walking in an unfamiliar park in the first place. He then glanced at you, who were preparing snacks, and glanced down at the screen of his phone. His lips curved into a grin as he typed in a short reply. He then put his phone in silent mode and put it in the counter before joining you in the kitchen.

To : Bro

I’m so glad she’s dumb.

[conartisthaiji]

An Assassination Classroom fic, Hazama/Kurahashi. 

Hazama can't help her attraction to Kurahashi, ever since she asked the bug-lover for help when her pet tarantula gave birth. 

She knew she should've asked Koro-sensei instead. 

Actual fic under cut. 

Effervescent-adj, meaning (for a liquid) giving off bubbles, fizzy. Definition two: vivacious, enthusiastic.

Hinano Kurahashi was effervescent, Hazama decides as she puts away the dictionary. She looks over at the orange-haired girl who stands in the sunlight and laughs, surrounded by friends, and feels her face curl into a soft smile, something she wasn't sure she remembered how to do.

Effervescent. It sounds elegant, playful...almost ephemeral. Just like Kurahashi herself.

Hazama is afraid that if she looks too long, Kurahashi will vanish.

It wasn't always like this. Hazama misses the days when she would roll her eyes when Kurahashi would beg Karasuma-sensei to accompany them on various outings. She longs for the time when she could hear laughter and not immediately think of a smiling face or brilliant green eyes. She craves the simple days where her skin didn't feel empty whenever she glimpsed a flash of flaming hair.

"Fool," Hazama mutters, and shakes her head, almost disgusted at herself. If only she hadn't asked Kurahashi for help.

Of course, Hazama knows she is a fool. She has a taste for dark literature, for the occult, for extravagant tales of revenge and murder, yet she has read the occasional sappy, lighthearted romance novel. And the books...they warned her. They told her of summer love and crushes and boys and finding happiness. They warned her to guard her heart in case of lost love.

They also painted an easy route to happy endings, although those were often few and far between. Happy endings were difficult, and sometimes, the prize most desired would be lost.

But Kurahashi...Kurahashi makes Hazama willing to devour the cheesy romance novels. Something in Hazama was awakened that day she saw Kurahashi cooing over her baby tarantulas. Something bright and cheerful, almost like Kurahashi herself.

Whatever it was that Kurahashi did, Hazama wants her to undo it. Remove this curse, she imagines herself saying to Kurahashi. Stop making me crave romance and flowers and nights spent staring at the sky, cuddling with another. Whatever hex you've cast on me, remove it. Please, she would whisper, a quiet, almost broken prayer. Kurahashi, release me.

If only it was that simple.

It's undeniable, really. She has to accept that Kurahashi has somehow jinxed her into falling for her.

What a fool. She wishes she could've asked Koro-sensei for help instead. Then, she wouldn't be in this position.

"How are your tarantulas?" Kurahashi asks, bright and cheerful and sunny, the polar opposite of Hazama.

"Fine," Hazama replies. It's all she has to say. Kurahashi beams at her simple reply. She says something supportive and encouraging. Hazama wouldn't know. Kurahashi skips away, leaving Hazama feeling like she's been flung into a far-off shore.

Perhaps she needs some new reading material. Otherwise, she'll be floundering around with only witchcraft and revenge and murder flowing through her veins. And somehow, she doubts that that will catch Kurahashi's eye.

If you want to catch a sunbeam, then you must be a flower, she thinks. But I'm not...

She doesn't know how to finish that thought. After all, rafflesia is not pretty, or delicate. It reeks of rotten meat, and is easily one of the most atypical flowers in the world. But she has to brilliant to attract Kurahashi.

Kurahashi's geniune warmth deserves someone just as loving, as soft, as Kurahashi herself.

"Hazama-San, is everything okay?" Koro-sensei asks.

"Why do you want to know?" Hazama asks, wary, but also secretly touched. Koro-sensei is a scaredy-cat, but he's kind to her, and doesn't demand she-

"You're reading different types of books," Koro-sensei comments, gently touching her shoulder with one of his tentacles. "It surprised me, that's all."

Hazama studies her teacher. Then, slowly, she says, "I crave the effervescent one, but darkness can't survive in the presence of light." Metaphors are good, she thinks. Maybe he'll be too dense to get them, although that chance is about infinity to none.

"Hmm. Light is good at killing darkness, isn't it? But perhaps-" Koro-sensei smiles down at her. "Perhaps, Hazama, light softens the darkness, makes it easier to understand. And besides, light needs darkness to truly shine."

"Hazama-San!" Kurahashi calls, running over to the window. "Come outside and join us!"

Hazama just nods at Kurahashi, then turns back to Koro-sensei.

Koro-sensei just grins wickedly at her, green stripes now crossing his stupid yellow face. "Ahhhh. Effervescent, yes?"

"I will gladly curse you," Hazama informs her teacher, who just laughs as he pushes her outside.

"Have some fun, Hazama-San," he says, and disappears back into the school.

"Geez, what's with you lately?" Terasaka asks. "You've been distracted."

"Have not," Hazama spits back sourly.

"She likes someone," Itona says, not looking up from his drawing. "Who is it?"

"I do not!" Hazama snaps, irritated at how easily they saw through her.

"Hazama is the last person I'd expect to have a crush on someone," Muramatsu remarks, peering over Itona's shoulder. "That's a good design, Itona! Yoshida, come look at it."

Hazama leans down to look at Itona's sketch. "It's good," she mutters.

"This isn't over," Itona says, turning to look at Hazama. "You helped me. And I want to meddle. Who do you like?"

A bitter laugh falls from Hazama's lips. "It's futile," she replies. "A princess does not love a witch."

Her boys may be dense, but they all nod and turn to gush over Itona's sketch some more, understanding that she doesn't feel like sharing.

"Hazama-San!" Kurahashi is grinning, smile full of warmth. Hazama feels...unworthy. "Do you want to come with me for sweets after school today?"

"Don't you have someone else you can go with?" Hazama asks, because Kurahashi has never asked her to hang out before.

"They're all busy today," Kurahashi replies. "So I thought I'd invite you! I also wanted to see your tarantula again, if I'm being honest."

"Okay," Hazama hears herself saying.

"Cool! You can pick, okay?" Kurahashi laughs and starts skipping down the mountain. "Come on, Hazama!"

Terasaka, Itona, Muramatsu, and Yoshida all grin at her as she stares, shocked, at Kurahashi.

"Better get going, huh?" Terasaka says, smirking.

"Have fun," Yoshida tells her as he pushes her lightly towards Kurahashi. "Tell us all about it."

Hazama blinks, once, twice.

"Hazama!" Kurahashi turns around, waving, beaming, too bright and sunny and cheerful.

Hazama hurries catch up.

"Do you have any particular cafe you like?" Kurahashi asks as they walk down the streets together, bags in hand.

"I normally eat at Muramatsu's place," Hazama answers. "I don't typically go to the other places."

"Oh. Then, would you like to my favorite place?"

"Where is it?"

"Not to far from here!" Kurahashi beams. "It's called Crown Fruit Parlor. I hope you enjoy it!"

Hazama shrugs as they keep walking down the street. Eventually, they stop at a little cafe with red and white striped awnings and small iron tables.

"Is this good?" Kurahashi asks.

Hazama frowns. It's a little frilly, but it doesn't appear too feminine. So perhaps...it will be alright.

She opens the door. "Ladies first," she mutters, and Kurahashi grins and steps inside.

"Kurahashi, huh?" Itona greets her when she steps into Muramatsu's restaurant. "Order some food. We're waiting on Terasaka."

"Terasaka is a fool," Hazama replies, waving Muramatsu over. Muramatsu grins when he sees her and hurries over.

"You'll tell us everything, right?" he asks. "Also, what do you want?"

"Ramen," Hazama answers. "Plain."

Muramatsu turns around to start cooking.

"So, Hazama," Yoshida starts. "How was it?"

"We're waiting for Terasaka, dummy," Hazama replies. "And Muramatsu. Geez."

They fall silent, with the sounds of food cooking in the background.

"Alright, I'm here," Terasaka announces as he slides next to Itona. "So. Hinano Kurahashi, eh?"

"Effervescent," Hazama says, in lieu of explaining. Perhaps the word itself will mean something to them. But she glances around, taking in their blank faces, and realizes that those words won't be enough. She sighs, and continues with, "She's just that. Effervescent. Ephemeral. She's Hinano Kurahashi."

Muramatsu hands everyone some food. "Kurahashi, huh?" he asks as he settles down. "Hazama, are you going to ask her out?"

The question hangs in the air as Hazama takes a bite of her ramen. Ask Kurahashi out? That seems ridiculous. But...

"Bitch-sensei could probably offer some advice," Itona offers, sensing her indecision. "And we've got your back, Hazama." He smiles lightly. "Always."

"Bitch-sensei," Hazama says when she reaches their blonde bombshell of a teacher. "I want to ask someone out."

Bitch-sensei blinks at Hazama, clearly confused. "Sorry, what?"

"I want to ask someone out." She hadn't thought that this would be that difficult for Bitch-sensei to get.

Bitch-sensei, however, frowns. "I thought you weren't interested in romance."

"Kura-she cursed me."

Bitch-sensei smiles knowingly, understanding dawning on her face. "Kurahashi? I forgot about that."

"Shut it, you bitch."

"Koro-sensei loves gossip." Bitch-sensei finally looks Hazama in the eyes, a clear challenge on her face. "Life isn't a story, Hazama-San. You have to work for what you want, and even then you'll face setbacks." Her face softens a little. "Do you even want to date her, or are you just curious about her?"

"Yada-San, can I talk to you?" Hazama asks.

"Me?" Yada laughs. "Sure! But why?"

"Everyone likes you," Hazama replies. "You're friendly, agreeable-"

"I can't go out with you!" Yada cries, waving her hands frantically.

"I didn't say that." Hazama frowns at Yada. "I was going to ask if you could help me be nicer."

Yada turns red. "Oh. Sorry. Um, Hazama-San, I think you're wonderful just the way you are. But if you want to be nicer-"

"It's for...someone I like."

"Kurahashi?" Yada asks. She smiles knowingly. Why does everyone seem to know already, Hazama thinks, annoyed. "Yeah. She's pretty wonderful, isn't she?"

"Who told you?" Hazama demands.

Yada laughs. "I just guessed. If it wasn't me, who else would you be nice for?"

Hazama rolls her eyes. "Never mind." She turns and starts to walk away.

"Hazama-San, I was just teasing," Yada says, grabbing Hazama's arm. "I think you should talk to Kurahashi, though."

She means to talk to Kurahashi, but then the government comes in, and the reporters. There's no time to talk to Kurahashi about feelings. Not with this mess, as the group chat lights up with reports of their training and the makings of a hasty plan to save Koro-sensei. What matters right now is their selfless, selfless teacher.

He made Hazama believe in good again, and she wants to help save the best teacher she's ever had.

It's come full circle, Hazama thinks as she stares out her bedroom window. There's clouds overhead, but no rain.

Koro-sensei...Hazama doesn't want to think about it. She knew, deep down, that he would die. She knew, deep down, that they'd all separate and begin walking down their own paths after this year.

"Kirara Hazama." She can still hear his voice in her head.

"Here," she replies, her lips slowly forming the word, yet no sound comes out. She's been silent for two days.

Her room is empty.

Each of them will move on, grow, do greater things. But they still stay in contact, through their group chat, and it's been practically non-stop buzzing. All of them make efforts to talk, to not go silent. They need each other, in some strange way.

Hazama only answers whenever they notice her absences, which always raises concern. Otherwise, she says nothing, just observes.

It's been two days since graduation. They're all moving on now, walking their own paths, their separate ways.

The doorbell rings. Hazama shuffles down and slowly opens the door.

"Hazama-San," Kurahashi says, a faint smile upon her face, even though her normally jewel green eyes are red-rimmed and have probably been rubbed raw. "I've come to see you."

She can still hear Koro-sensei's advice. "Besides, light needs darkness to truly shine." The octopus never stopped teaching, didn't he?

"Do you want to go somewhere?" Hazama croaks, voice hoarse from disuse. It takes two tries for the words to come out properly, to sound like legitimate words. After all, it's been two days since she last spoke.

Two days since graduation.

Two days since she managed to say "Here," with a steady voice, even as she felt her heart slowly being squeezed out of her chest.

Two days since Koro-sensei died, one of his tentacles underneath her.

It's too much, yet she's always been good at bottling emotions.

Finally, Hazama's barriers crack, and she feels Kurahashi's arms wrap around her, feels Kurahashi's hands stroke her thick, messy hair, feels Kurahashi's shoulder underneath her own face. She clings desperately, afraid to lose the effervescent, for she already lost the ephemeral Koro-sensei. The tears fall out her own eyes, finally turning them the same red-rimmed mess that her classmates all have.

(She should've known better than to get attached to a mutant teacher. Terasaka was right-nothing good could come of liking Koro-sensei.)

They stand in the doorway, two girls sobbing into each other, as the rain finally starts to fall.

"How is school?" Kurahashi asks as they sit down at a table in Crown Fruit Parlor. It's what they do, every Thursday after school. It's a habit now, one that started all those months ago.

"Fine." Hazama shuts her advice book, slowly and carefully. "I want to murder my teacher."

"You know how," Kurahashi replies, corners of her lips turning up. "Are you keeping in shape?"

They all still train. Every one of them, honing their strengths and abilities. They love the mountain where the E-Class was. It's a good mountain. That's why they purchased it. That mountain is home.

"Of course. You?"

Kurahashi sighs. "I miss Koro-sensei," she admits. "It's hard. Everywhere I go, I can still hear him."

"He gave us those advice books for a reason," Hazama says simply. "He'll always be with us."

Kurahashi sighs again. "It's hard," she whispers, leaning her head on her hand. "It was the best year of school I ever had. The best teacher. No other teacher can come close."

Hazama can feel her frown lessen just a little. "Kurahashi, we're going to be fine. He has these advice books." She slides her own towards Kurahashi. "He's always with us, even as the media paints him in a horrid light."

Kurahashi just nods, her fingers stroking the dark cover of the book. "Yeah. Yeah, we will."

"You're early," Hazama comments, looking up from her book.

"So are you!" Kurahashi grins. It's been six months since Koro-sensei's death, and everyone is doing better. Karma is kicking ass at Kunigaoka (of course. No one expected him to fail.). Kurahashi now smiles with the same amount of life and vigor that she once did. Kayano has gone back to the acting world. Terasaka is finally using his full potential. Sugino is in baseball, and doing very well. Nakamura is having the time of her life, and probably terrorizing everyone at her school. Karasuma and Bitch-sensei plan to get married, although that will likely take a couple years. Everyone is flourishing again, Hazama thinks. Even Ritsu is happy.

It's time to ask Kurahashi out.

"Hey, Kurahashi," Hazama begins, slowly, carefully. Kurahashi is effervescent, ephemeral, magical. She has one shot. "Go out with me?"

The responding smile is so brilliant, Hazama has to cover her eyes.

And then-

"Wait!" Kurahashi frowns. "I was going to ask you out today!"

Hazama cackles. "I've been trying to work up courage for a year!"

Kurahashi giggles. "Well then. Hazama, I'd be delighted to go out with you."

Two girls sit in a booth at Crown Fruit Parlor. One leans her head on the other's shoulder. The other is reading a book.

"Hazama," Kurahashi begins, as she lifts her head up to face her girlfriend. "You should grow out your hair."

"Why?" Hazama asks.

"So I can braid it."

Hazama rolls her eyes. "No."

Kurahashi smiles. "For me?"

Hazama puts her book down and faces Kurahashi. Beaming, the red-haired girl pecks Hazama on the nose.

"Still no."

"Hazama-a," Kurahashi whines, pouting, even as Hazama picks her book back up, making it clear that the conversation is over.

When she starts growing her hair out, everyone in the class feels the need to comment on it-even Ritsu, who is a computer program, for hell's sake.

But it's Kurahashi's never-ending delight at playing with it that keeps Hazama from chopping all of it back off.