#HEY SORRY I KNOW THIS IS MESSY AAA

[royalrogue]

I’ve been doing a few drawings on my art blog for my Mike Lives AU, but I have yet to actually get what it’s about on paper, so here another one of my bulletpoint rambles for this AU!

The short version of this AU is that is takes place after and builds on the Fake Ending of Sister Location, where Mike manages to convince Ennard, while hiding from Ennard in the private room, to escape the facility with him, thus sparing him and giving them the freedom they crave.

This AU will also eventually go through the various FNAF story points with Mike alive instead of a walking corpse.

Disclaimer: I’ve not read any of the books or comics for FNAF, I’ve only played the games and know the lore from that. I’m not trying to be accurate, I’m just rolling with things and having fun. If anything goes against confirmed lore, whoops but who cares, I want Mike and Ennard to hang out damn it.

The premise of this AU begins at and expands on the fake ending of Sister Location

Mike doesn’t trust Baby at all anymore. After her stunt last night, he just wants to get out of here alive. On top of that, he’s seen 2 hanging bodies, and he’s fairly sure his sister is dead and gone at this point.

Ignoring Baby’s instructions, he crawls in the other direction, hoping he can find somewhere to hide or get away until the staff come back in tomorrow. He’s relieved when he manages to find an unlocked door, leading into an office.

He almost jumps out of his skin when the HandUnit starts talking, telling him he’s in a restricted area, he will be rescued by the cleaning team in the morning and then fired. Great, he doesn’t want to keep working for this deathtrap anyway. He has some choice words for his dad when he sees him.

Then he hears her voice. And then he sees the monstrosity they’ve all become on the cameras. G r e a t.

The first few hours felt both like a rush and an eternity. Mike had to learn how to protect himself on the fly, and things were getting more and more stressful as he watched his power deplete. Baby(?)’s taunting didn’t help things either.

Things took a turn for the worse halfway through the night when he heard her voice. Elizabeth’s voice.

What. The fuck.

Well now he was confused, stressed and pissed off. How were they using Elizabeth’s voice? Was Elizabeth the child Baby was talking about under the desk? Oh god.

Now Mike needed answers, and he knew he wouldn’t get them if he just got fired and left, so he did the only thing he could think of to do. He bargained. He knew they wanted to leave, so if he could convince them there’s another way than whatever it was they had planned, then they could both get an outcome they wanted.

He started calling out to them, questioning them, poking for information. Not enough to distract him, but he had a few hours to get this done. They didn’t respond at first, but eventually started answering him, their voice going from one hallway to the other. He poked holes in their plan, pointing out that his body would rot within a couple days and they’d be discovered and where would they go then? They have no idea how the outside world works. He reasoned that, sure, they would be an oddity, but as long as they were with him, people would be more receptible to them, and he could show them what things out there are like.

This took a lot of back and forth, of reiterating points and countering arguments, until eventually things go quiet for awhile.

Too quiet. It puts Mike on edge.

Until, he hears them move up to the left door. (He closes it, as he isn’t stupid).

He wait for a few moments, until Baby’s voice rings out.

“How’re you going to get us out of here?”

Mike thinks for a moment. He didn’t think he’d get this far.

“I’ve seen you crawl through the vents. The elevator shaft leads straight to the surface. If you can get in there, you should be able to climb up it, or ride the elevator when it gets used. I can meet you outside when I get let out, and I can take you home in my car.”

It goes quiet again. When he listens, he thinks he can hear multiple voices whispering to each other. Then, Baby’s voice comes through the door. “Fine. You had better be there.” And then he heard them walk away.

Wow. He was not expecting that to work.

What has he gotten himself into.

Mike waits out the rest of the night. The animatronics don’t come back, but he listens and waits just in case. As the HandUnit promised, he is met by the cleaning crew at 6am, who promptly fire him, hand him a basket of the exotic butters that he was promised (he was genuinely surprised that they actually gave them to him, he thought it was a joke) and escort him to the elevator.

Stepping out into the morning sun, Mike takes a deep breath and tries not to start crying as the weight of the stress finally bares down on his shoulders. He’s not done yet, though. This is only the beginning.

He looks around, but he doesn’t immediately see them (they’re not exactly hard to miss), so he approaches his car, leans up against it and waits.

It doesn’t take long. Their footfalls are loud, scraping against the concrete of the parking lot. Mike turns to look at them approach and oh my god they’re very tall up close

So here Mike is, having a stare off with the animatronic version of Frankenstein's monster at 6am in the morning.

The silence is eventually broken by the voice of Baby, speaking up as a blue eye turns towards his car. “I don’t know if we’re going to fit in here.”

Mike hopes they didn’t notice his flinch of surprise (they did) and he straightens up. “Guess all we can do is try.”

It’s awkward and takes a bit of manoeuvring, but he manages to get them into his car. He’s thankful their form allows them a lot of flexibility, otherwise there would be no chance they were getting in there.

Queue the second most awkward car ride of his life.

Thankfully, they seemed to be entirely preoccupied with staring out of the car window the whole ride home.

Getting them back out of his car was just as much of a pain in the ass.

Eventually he manages to get them into his apartment. He drops the basket of butters on top of his TV, falls into his favourite chair and rubs his tired eyes. He knows he won’t sleep though, and he can’t yet anyway. He turns to look at the metal behemoth, it’s multiple eyes looking around his dinky apartment.

They’re going to need to figure out how they’re going to make this work

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Hello.

You and gay-jesus-probably have successfully made me question everything with your view that Tears of the Kingdom is imperialist propaganda, so that's been fun.

Anyway, I decided to share this discussion with the Zelda fans on reddit, and perhaps unsurprisingly, a lot of them disagreed. Here is what they said (I'm Alarming_Afternoon44):

So what do you think? Have I and all these other people just been duped by the game's manipulative framing? Or do they actually have a point?

And if you'd rather not answer this, or would prefer if I censored the usernames, just tell me and I'll delete this.

Hey! Thanks a lot for reaching out, and I'm glad it made you think stuff through!!

Honestly, as I mentioned in this post, I am not super interested about in-world conversations about who oppresses who, because what can be assessed from the game is super vague and more vibes-based than evidence-based. Within the text, of course that the Good Zonais are good and the Bad Ganondorf is bad! But that's my whole point! The narrative has been deliberately crafted so that the zonais and Rauru (and Hyrule) are as blameless as possible (and it's not doing a great job at it overall to be frank; we would not be having these conversations about how offputting it all feels for a non-zero number of people if it did do a great job). More importantly, I want to focus on what sort of real-life narrative it all parallels. Because people make stories, and people live in the real world.

Not going after everyone's throat here, gamedev is hard and the hydras that are AAA game production do end up doing super weird stuff, especially since the thematic ramifications are absolutely never prioritized (and it's also always the same kind of people who make the final calls and push out what can and can't be talked about also). And as fans, we tend to have trouble stepping outside the lens of lore and take a look at the bigger picture sometimes; not as an attack on any individual part of that decision-making process but to just pause, stop, and question our standards, our priorities and the kind of reality (or skewing of reality) the stories we tell each other reflect.

Again: do we want to take videogames seriously or not? If we do, then we need to accept they are a vehicle for ideology, just like any other artform. And sometimes, you push out questionable ideology, sometimes without meaning to, because you didn't unpack your own biases as you did. And it's even fine to do it, nobody is perfect, a 300+ people team spread over 6 years certainly will not be that. But that it wasn't prioritized is, in my opinion, a problem. As a narrative designer, I want games (at least the narrative side) to be held to a higher standard than this. It's literally my job to work with the industry so it can hold itself to higher standards of quality --so the whole TotK situation is quite frustrating to witness from a very pragmatic, work perspective where I already spend my days trying to convince people that things mean things. I have a vested interest here in not having the companies I work for being given a free pass by gamers to do literally whatever as long as it's fun, especially when we're talking about a billion-dollars company suing its own fans left and right for any perceived slight. Nintendo are not underdogs here. It's fine to point out they cut corners and maybe promoted messy ideologies, voluntarily or not.

So long story short: no I don't believe anyone here has a point in regards to what I think is actually important, which is why these choices were made in the first place. If you look at an imperialist text expecting the text to tell you that it's imperialist instead of recognizing a framing used for propaganda by yourself, you're never gonna find any imperialist text ever, obviously not!! I'm sorry if I sound a little gngngn here, but I don't know why audiences have, at large, this feeling that lore and story beat decisions materialize themselves already formed and without any human bias, meddling, intervention, internal politics or approximations (it seems that people can only conceptualize this part if they have actual names to attach to the story, but without clear authors it's like there are no authors and so no bias, which is... a very strange bias in itself). I can promise you that it does not work that way in practice: every narrative department on every big game is a battlefield --some nicer than others, but all of them very emotionally draining either way.

So yeah, I guess that on these grounds, I disagree with every point raised here. Sorry Reddit :/

But thank you for the ask and sorry if I didn't go more into details as to why. The big Why I Dislike Rauru Post and the Gerudo Post might have some more specific rebuttals, but I am not super interested in debating small detail stuff tbh. I feel like it's no use if the frame of reference isn't being understood in the first place.

[spiderfunkz]

COFFEE STAINS

pairings : robin buckley x gn!reader

summary : while on a rush to go to your art class, you accidentally bump into someone, spilling your coffee all over yourself. but hey! at least you bumped into an extremely pretty one. and maybe you might even make a new friend too.

words : 0.4k

warnings : fluff!! all fluff (totally not because i have an angst prompt in my head and i wanted to give u guys this so u don't hate me!), reader is an art student, foul language, i think thats it lmk if i missed anything!!

a/n : aaa i'm so in love with this little idea that came up in my head when i was reading. also this fic is taking place during autumn, which in my head is pretty cold so... yeah :) also also sorry for the messy plot i lost inspo half-way, anyways i hope u guys enjoy this little blurb!!! <33

autumn was finally here. the hot summer weather was gone and the cozy-warm weather has came. you were running through the streets as you were late for your art class, and i guess running was not the best option.

the coffee cup in your hands was now on the ground, and the coffee in it was now all over your sweater. you accidentally bumped into someone while on your run.

"oh my god, i am so so sorry!" the person apologized. "it's fine, it wasn't your fault i was the one who bumped into you." you stated, as they nodded. "i was in a rush, sorry." you say.

"it's perfectly fine, i'm sure you have a good reason to be in a rush, so it's fine." they smiled causing you to smile. "do you want me to buy you another coffee? i know you said it wasn't my fault, but i feel bad. if you had some time i would be more than happy to buy you a cup of coffee." the person say, insisting.

well, you do still have the art class, but you were already late. so, why not just fuck it? "sure! i'm y/n, by the way." you smile, offering your hand for them to shake. "i'm robin, buckley." she replies, shaking your hand.

"nice to meet you robin, buckley." you chuckle as her face turns red. "well uh, shall we?" robin says, gesturing for you to follow as she walks towards the nearest cafe.

you put your hands in the pocket of your coat, as robin walked beside you. "cold?" she asks as you nod. "yeah, i forgot my scarf at home which was stupid." you answered. "um, here you can borrow mine." robin suggested, "oh no, you don't need to do that, it- it's yours." you stutter, shaking your head.

"it's okay, i'm not that cold so here.." robin says, taking off her scarf as she puts it around your neck, tucking your hair behind your ear before she puts her hand back in her coat. "there." she smiles, face turning red. "thanks." you smile as you feel your heart flutter.

you both continue walking as you two finally reach the cafe. robin buys you a cup of coffee (with marshmallows, as requested), and now, somehow, you are now sitting on robin's sofa, in robin's house, watching robin's tv, with robin.

but that was 57 minutes ago, now you're outside of robin's house, saying goodbye. "thank you for today, i had a lot of fun with you robin." you smiled, "yeah, anytime!" robin says, waving goodbye as you walk towards the sidewalk. "bye robin!" you wave.

you fell in love with robin in september, and that's why you loved autumn so much.

[sagessoftwings]

Hey bestie 🤪 I'm submitting this while sick so I hope it makes sense but it's for a Demon Slayer boyfriend matchup 🥵😛🥵🥰🥰 (and I guess hq??? JWJSHSH) preferably one of the "moons"/demons (still never seen it!! :D)

Basic descriptors:

She/her, 5'4, chubby girl, very long messy hair, glasses, pale as a fucking vampire djbdkdjef and a Scorpio!!!

More interesting information!!!

I'm a very hyper !!!! Puppy!!! Esk character!!! Sjjshshfksdf. My two modes are hyper and sleep. I'm very loving and my personality type is the Debater (ENTP I think?? I'm bad with the acronyms sjdhsbbff) I think the Debater really fits because even though I'm very !!! Hyper!!!! I like to believe I am also pretty smart and well off with both words and my perception of others !!! And I love talking 💀 I don't shut up very often 💀💀💀

I love art !! Drawing!! Painting!!! Music!! AAA!!

I collect manga books and I love video games but like nice ones like Stardew valley (and not so nice ones like phasmophobia, which I'm really good at!!)

I tend to walk around with my tongue blepped out like a dog 💀 or I wander off and get lost B)

I am AFRAID of bugs!! Icky!!! But I appreciate what they do for the environment and I think some of them are super cool!! Just keep me away from them 😭

I am often described as a "Labrador" if I were a dog. Blonde, fluffy, friendly (hungry 😂) Labrador!!!

I love to sleep and nap but I also love exercise !! Hustle hustle !!!

I'm very good with all types of people, from energetic to more lowkey, I try to be very understanding of others needs socially. However, I do have a streak of not taking shit and am usually the one that speaks up/can deal with confrontation 🥴 people no scary, I fight 😤😤

Thank you so much ily!! Mwah!! Have a good day!!!! ♥️❤️♥️❤️❤️♥️❤️♥️❤️♥️❤️

—————————————————————————

HI HI ABSOLUTELY!! I ENJOYED TALKING TO YOU AND I HOPE YOU BECOME A MUTUAL!! YOU’RE SO SWEET AND FUNNY!!

⚠️warnings⚠️: smut, language and kokushibo need I say more?

For Demon Slayer I ship you with: Kokushibo!!

-Very and I mean very protective of you

-He loves to watch over you though, it makes him feel like he has a purpose

- He’s so gentle with you it’s so fucking cute, he loves to brush your hair after a long hot bath and hum to you as you drift to sleep

- He finds comfort in having you around and is one of those guys that compares your hand sizes together

- Koku is pretty tame around the other upper rank demons but with you he can get all mushy and gushy with you, he just thinks you’re so fucking adorable

-Likes to have you sit on his lap ;)

-His favorite pastime with you is to take you to the rooftop and dance with you (THIS MANS HAS SNATCHED HIPS I JUST KNOW HE CAN MOVE THEM)

-If you teach him to paint he’ll use it as a coping mechanism to keep him calm but if you two get in a disagreement and he wants to apologize he’ll paint a frowny face and a “i’m sorry” at the bottom

-Has the cutest fucking pet names like “my star”, calling you “stellar” and just moon based nicknames

-Literally treats you like royalty, like mr.darcy level shit

- Big big hands that always seem to find their way to yours

- Will always be there for you if you need him to remove a spider for you

- Koku has a bad habit of staring but it’s just him admiring you and he'll give you the sweetest smile when you catch him

- he's not shy of PDA (respectively won’t do anything extreme) but typically only holds your hand and gives you small pecks

-You always make him feel so special by the fact that you chose him, which he desperately needs

-Smutty smut-

- Koku loves when you ride him and he can hold onto you and wrap his arms around your waist while kissing and biting away at you neck while whispering praise

- will always find a way to grope onto your ass

- call him “mine”, praise him and your guaranteed some good ass head

-surprisingly gentle and loves for you to sit on his face, don't be surprised if he makes you wear his kimono while doing so

- definitely has a breeding kink just saying (mating press all the way)

-Very sweet and will always check if your okay, everything feels good and you know your safeword before starting

- best aftercare out of everyone, he’ll run you a bath , get you food, whatever you need

- Koku likes to take you to the hot springs at night and just absolutely destroy you babes, it’s his severe corruption kink that gets him going

- will kiss every inch of you body no doubt, it’s like a reward

- The best to hang onto after getting your guts rearranged :)

- number one thing that gets him severely turned on is when you kiss each of his eyes and then his lips HE WILL GO FERAL SO DO THIS AT YOUR OWN COST

For Haikyuu I ship you with: Tendou Satori!!

- Perfect match in my opinion, your energies match perfectly

- Tendou loves absolutely everything about you from you hair to you laugh

- He will always stay up late with you playing video games while he facetimes you

- Tendou loves when the two of you have sleepovers at his apartment and has a whole skincare routine planned out for the two of you

-Likes to put your hair up in awful hairstyles and see your reaction

-Tendou never fails to tell you how much he loves you and he will go off on a rant about each and every thing he loves about you

-You two will definitely paint your nails together

-Tendou like to call you his “smarty pants” and “smart cookie”

-This man cannot draw for shit but he will try for you, he’ll draw you two as stick figures on a picnic and the wine bottle will come out looking like a penis

-YOU TWO READ MANGA TOGETHER AND SHARE YOUR BOOKS AND IT’S THE CUTEST FUCKING THING EVER

-Tendou likes to play Hozier and Harry Styles a lot and have you dance with him but after that sweet moment WAP will definitely come on.

- This man will always be to your rescue whenever there is a bug, but 10/10 chance he will scream the whole time

- You will be the one to stand up to people when they make fun of Tendou’s appearance and he swears to god he falls more and more in love with you each time

- If you come to his place after working out and are still in leggings this man will go feral and slap your ass like 30 times

-Smutty Smut-

- Tendous long ass fingers aren’t for nothing babe

- this man gives best head no doubt and always makes sure you’re prioritized first

- has a serious praise kink, please tell him he’s pretty and call him yours

- grew his hair back out so you’d have something to grab onto ;)

- Tendou has a severe corruption kink

- LOVES doggy style with you but also loves missionary

- If you ask, he will totally bring chocolate into the bedroom… please ask

- His roughness will simply depend on your days, if you had a rough day he’ll go sweet and slow with you to make it special but if want it rough and he had a bad day, god bless your soul

- he also unironically calls you “mama’s”

- he’s definitely a titty sucker but makes sure to treat each part of your body with utmost respect and attention you deserve

- Tondou loves to kiss your tummy and thighs and swears to gos that dying by your thighs would be an honorable death, so in other words pls sit on his face

[zuffer-weird-girl]

Holaaa! I would like to request for overhaul and Kurono with an argentinian s/o (I'm very sorry if my english is not really good, it's not my first language) like he calls everyone "che" (I think in english you pronounce it like chae and it's like an agrentinian way to say bro) but with overhaul/kurono she always call him "Boludo" (means dumbass) and is very passoniate with soccer, like you know those dbz fans that are always like "Goku would beat him" yeah and he's like "Messi le gana" (Messi is a argentinian soccer player who is very famous because he's very good) (translartion: Messi beats him.) and every time argentina has a game she screams like a hispanic dad. Jajaja I hope It's not too much! I'm sorry if it's too self insert request! I really like your stories!

Hello neighbor! ( I am from Brazil BTW to the ones who didn't knew)

Also I'm so sorry if I didn't do it right of If I wrote something wrong.

He can't understand shit.

Although tries to because he loves you and wants to know about the culture and language of Argentina since well.... you are form there after all so-

Doesn't get at first when you start to call him boludo and why Pops laughs his ass off everything he hears it. He discovered later what it meant and that you had told Pops the meaning of it and let me say this guy wasn't happy about it.

He cringes everything you say che. Despite being in another language he still thinks is unproven to refer to someone like that... might die if someone called him like so

So imagine how PALE he got when he went to introduce you to Pops and the first thing you did was high five him and saying "Hi che I'm dating your son!"

Pops laughed though.

Just stares at you like you are deprived of brain everything you say Messi le gana.

"He is just a soccer player and is not that big of a deal..."

*insert insulted gasp from you here*

You beated his ass for sure for him saying that.

He loves you but holy hell he despises every time you beg him to watch soccer together or even worst, the Copa. (This year will be on catar right?)

The first few times he was legitimately scared for his life when when one of your favorite soccer payers got a red card...

"Aaa tu hijo de pUTA MERECES SER ENGAÑADO POR DARLE CARTELERA ROJA AL TIO SU PEDAZO DE MIERDA!"

Now he just bought ear plugs and brings a book every time... only to sometimes jump when you scream from the top of your lungs just because they didn't score a point.

He is both impressed by your passion and terrified of you. Do you know how difficult is to get Kai scared? And you just did that with your passion of soccer.

I'm proud of you.

Straight up thought that "boludo" was "boruto" instead and he got offended cause naruto is better than that spoiled brat son of his.

Then you explained to him and he sighed IN RELIEF

Asides form that he doesn't actually give much importance... but is secretly trying to learn it just to talk with you and surprise you with a "te amo"

He is so sweet my teeth got cavities from this.

He finds hilarious when you call everyone che and they get all confused and go ask him about what it means and loves to see their reactions.

He will be an ass with you when you say that Messi is better... because this asshole knows the brazil and argentina soccer rift so... he searched to see which soccer player of Brazil gets compared to Messi and the next time you said this he just breathed in and dropped this:

"Neymar is a better player though."

THE CHAOS YOUR HOUSE WAS ON THAT DAY AND THSI MF LAUGHED SO HARD.

Finds actually quite amusing when you get riled up with soccer plays... he never was much interested on these but now his attention will only be on you screaming profanities at the TV and just smile because he thinks you are cute while screaming like a Hispanic dad.

Don't ask me why, Chrono is a man full of mysterious quirks (and not the power thing)

"Don't worry love they will score the next time."

"Tsk."

"Hey. At least Brazil lost from Germany that one Copa 7x0 right?" It physically hurt me writing this...

Actually sometimes when he is really paying attention with you on the game the guy will shout along with you because he will secretly start to like soccer just as much as you do

[shotosprincess]

BAKUGO SCREAMING AND IZUKU

( ˘ ³˘)♥︎ AAAA HIII TYSM FOR REPLYING TO THE BNHA PLAYLIST THINGY FOR FICS I LOVE YOU MWAHMWAH

anyways aaa bet !! ill do midoriya first if you don’t mind bc im currently in such a soft mood and hajdjj i just love him sm :((

— 𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙯𝙪𝙠𝙪 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙮𝙖’𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙨

inspired by this playlist by nimbus on yt !! pls check them out ansjdjf their playlists r heaven ^^

❝ you never truly understood that about him, the way he continued to put himself through the pain, to push himself, even, past his limits and then some—

plus ultra. and now his arms were all but littered with rough scars of diluted white and blunt tan. ❞

notes ! gender neutral! reader,, best friends to lovers au ,, 2nd person pov

summary: in which your best friend deku shows up at your dorm late at night due to kacchan locking him out. he asks for bandages to stabilize his newly-healed scars, and you ask to kiss them.

genre: fluff !! <33

it went without a doubt that deku had been to recovery girls’ office more times than anyone else at the academy. it hurt, honestly; each time you saw his still-healing figure emerge from the little swing of her door, a sharp pang reverberated starkly through your chest, for though the freshly-scarred over wounds didn’t diminish his beauty in the slightest, you simply couldn’t deny that an empty eddy of sadness settled in you whenever he was in such a state.

and unfortunately for you, he was constantly in it.

his body could only take so much. and he was still so young too—the very same held true for your heart.

it’s been that way ever since the two of you had first entered ua as shining, eager students. though in all fairness you had to admit, he was...different from the very beginning. even as the prelude to his eventual rising and growth in his quirk, he had shone with a certain unmatched brilliance ever since the entrance exams. and over the years you spent together, you had watched him persevere so passionately towards the glow of his ultimate goal; to be a hero who can help others. little did he know just how much he already had. he had always been so excruciatingly oblivious and aloof to even the evidence and affects of his own kindness, and you hated the fact that so many tended to take advantage of it. of him.

though, of course, this did not mean that he was weak in any form. no, if anything he was quite the polar opposite—he had proved it time and time again, and yet it didn’t mean that he couldn’t get hurt too. the dull aching of tiredness ringing in his eyes, the one he tries to desperately to mask, the ragged marks scattered across the pale valleys of his once-scar-barren skin; he wasn’t immune to pain, to injury. and yet, he fought. you never truly understood that about him, the way he continued to put himself through the pain, to push himself, even, past his limits and then some—

plus ultra. and now his arms were all but littered with rough scars of diluted white and blunt tan.

nevertheless, truth be told, you actually admired it a great deal. his sheer determination, the purity of his motives, it was more than laudable. despite all of it, you truly couldn’t help but feel this...magnetic urge to help him. protect him. if you could soothe the pain in any way, even if it would be but a temporary relief—

three knocks clack on the door.

you and izuku’s secret door code—just a silly little something the two of you made up a few months after the dorm system had been put into motion, and all so you could sneak out to the grass-flooded yards of the building and train together.

naturally, you open the door.

“ heyyy there you are! “

your head perks up at the cheery jingling of his voice, all drafts of exhaustion and sleep deprivation washing away almost instantaneously. he might as well be the very personification of caffeine at that point, despite how direly he needed it himself.

the starry shine of his eyes meets with yours as a diluted sanguine seeped colour into his face. he turns his head away awkwardly.

you lean against the doorframe, smiling at him. “ deku...you didn’t tell me we’d be training today. plus it’s a little late right now, don’t you think? i’m already in my pajamas. “

“ yeah, um, sorry about that. kacchan...kinda locked me out. “

“ he what? “

“ he locked me out. “

“ how does that even—don’t you have separate rooms? “

“ well, yeah, but we were racing down the halls after glass today and he...got to my room before i could. well, honestly i have no clue what he’s doing over there. “ he laughs, rubbing the back of his neck.

“ oookay then. little concerning, i won’t lie. “ your shoulders lift in a shrug, arms crossing in front of your chest as your shy laugh matches his.

“ so i was wondering if...you know...i could maybe stay here for a bit? “ his voice wavers subtly, though you’re quick to catch it. the tips of his ears flush with a deepened pink.

you can’t help but silently gush about how cute he looked.

you’re quick to snap out of that too. eyes bursting open with a brilliant shock, you notice he’s fiddling nervously with his fingers as you remain absolutely, positively frozen in place.

“ i’m—what? “

his countenance immediately shifts to one of sheer embarrassment. flustered, he begins to frantically wave his hands in front of him, as if to put some sort of considerable distance between his panicking self and your seemingly-composed demeanour. and as if that would do anything to deescalate the tension which was only progressively building between your equally-timid selves at this moment.

“ ohmygod i didn’t mean it in a weird way or anything! i’m sorry, i’m sorry, i’ll just—i’ll just go— “

you slide against the wood a little bit, pushing your weight against the slightly-agape door, so it swung open even further to reveal the, admittedly, fairly-messy state of your room. draped carelessly on the side of your bed, a sweater you had taken off earlier because the temperature of your room had suddenly decided to heat up an unreasonable amount. countable cups holding shallow pools of hour-old drinks scattered throughout nearly every shelf. a creased textbook splayed out, cover up on your desk.

yep. definitely looked like someone’s lived here.

“ i mean...you could come in if you want. no one’s stopping you. it’s a little messy though, i haven’t found much time to properly clean it yet, with exams coming soon and stuff. “ a small smile accompanies your growing blush, despite how much you were trying to play it off as nonchalantly as possible.

psh, right. as if letting him in your room—something you had never done prior in the history of your friendship—wasn’t a big deal in the slightest.

his eyes shoot wide as his arms flail about. you have to keep yourself from laughing at his silliness.

“ uhm, i mean...only if that’s okay with you! “

“ yeah, yeah, of course! you need a place to stay for now, after all. who knows when bakugou’s gonna let you back in? “

“ yeah, i guess you’re right. well, i mean, if you really don’t mind— “

you playfully roll your eyes, giggling as you shove him into your room.

“ oh, quit it with the politeness. you’re too nice, you know that? “

“ too...nice? “

“ too nice. “ you reiterate, giving his shoulders a little squeeze.

his head lolls to the side as he carefully lowers himself onto your bed, his sweater shifting with the subtle movement.

for a few moments, the space between you is occupied with a simple, comfortable silence. it’s refreshing, really. a welcome difference from all the boisterousness of the academy. you loved the action and everyone’s energy, of course, but sometimes what you really needed was really just a simple break from everything. to do nothing but exist for a little while, to simply be without the constant pressure of having to get up and jump into action all the time. just for a few moments. and so you relished in these said moments spent with him, for who knows when the next time you could ever be with him like this again would be?

and then his voice fills that void of silence, but you’re not disappointed in the slightest.

“ hey. “

“ yeah? “

“ you don’t happen to have any extra bandages, do you? “

“ bandages? for what? “

he clenches his fist, flexing the muscles in his arm. “ for...stability. just in case. i can’t afford for my arms to get hurt more. “

“ oh. well, uhm...i think i have a few spares in my drawer! “ you push yourself off the bed, leaving the comfort the soft sheets brought about, pulling open a tiny drawer. taking out a transparent box of bandages, you jump back onto the plushness, sitting cross-legged directly across from midoriya, who’s already presenting his arm.

your lips silently part as your fingers wrap themselves around the thick ivory fabrics of bandage, rolling them around so you could wrap them around him.

another pause of wordless silence falls.

“ hey deku? “

“ yeah? “

“ could i...could i kiss your scars? “ you whisper, afraid that he’d get mad, though you knew he was anything but the type to do such a thing.

the meadow depths of his eyes kindle a cozy hearth within you as his initial surprise quickly softens, melting away into what could only be described as the most endearing smile to exist.

“ sure. “

jagged patches and uneven streaks of faded cloud white and prominent earthy tans decorate his arms, and you can’t help but bring the rosiness of your lips to meet them. you decide begin with the ones littered along his fingers.

one kiss for the scar resting within the curved dip between his thumb and index.

“ for every time you used just a flick of your fingers to defend everyone back then, when you didn’t even have full control over your quirk. “

a longing sigh leaves him as he reminisces briefly on the memory. you place a soft kiss upon the scar resting at the side of his pinky.

“ for every fist you made with this hand, for every punch you’ve delivered in the name of other’s safety. “

a drop splashed onto his arm, trickling down and tainting the scars etched into his forearm with a subtle, diaphanous sheen. you look up through your lashes, and a prominent gloss coats the kindness of his dark emeralds. your hand comes up to carefully caress his cheek, cupping it gently as the pad of your thumb swipes beneath his eye, wiping away the upcoming tear. your features are knitted together in concern.

“ are you okay? i can stop if you want me to— “

he takes your hand in both of his, squeezing as if to keep you there forever. “ no, don’t. please.“

it’s a tiny whisper, a softened plea into the dark quiet of the night, as if he were ashamed for wanting to be taken care of. your brows curve downward as you pull your twined hands to your lips, tenderly planting your lips where your skin kissed his.

“ hey, hey. it’s okay. it’s okay. “ you hush him, running your free hand through his thick tendrils of vivid, verdant green.

he leans into your touch, nodding at you as if to urge you to continue, which you gladly accept.

you shift a little closer to him, kissing the thick mark of serration painted into the skin of his wrist.

“ for every countless moment you’ve sacrificed for your dream. “

another kiss to the one just above it.

“ for every hour bled into the night that you spent helping me train. “

your fingers dance along his arm, finally stopping at the scar stretching from his elbow and dragging upwards. as per routine, your lips come down to delicately kiss it.

“ for every ‘ plus ultra! ‘ you’ve ever passionately shouted. “

little giggles left the both of you at that.

your touch trails to the scar just beside it, kissing it as well.

“ for every life you’ve ever saved. “

you look him in the eye. holding his arm like this, you were so close to him. and yet, you didn’t want to pull away. if anything, it was the very last thing you would ever want to do. he matched your stare, a certain sense of longing displaying in your gaze as it reflects off of his. the prolonged stare lasts longer than it probably should, longer than what best friends should probably look at each other this closely, this intimately for. the moonlight dimly shines through your window.

and then it happens.

his lips collide with yours in a captivating symphony, hands going straight to twirl through the locks of your hair as you wrap yours in a loose loop around his neck. everything feels as though it had all snapped into place, and the tension you had felt before was all completely dissipated now, displaced into the passion in which this kiss exuded. it was earth-shattering, galaxy-shredding. it felt as if even pain itself could never reach either of you, not in this moment.

this moment was for the both of you, and no one else. in this moment, in his arms, nothing and no one could hurt you.

he pulls away, stunned, lips parted with a saturated red. you stare at him with just about the same level of blankness, of utter shock at what you two had just done.

but then the realization catches up with him, and he is pulled out of the daze. much to your surprise, he doesn’t move away. if anything, he pulls you closer, enveloping both your hands within his just as he did before.

and just as you had done earlier, he brings them to his lips.

“ and that’s for every ‘ i love you ‘ i’ve ever wanted to say to you but never had the guts to. “

[peebeexd]

hey, i’m really sorry for not posting a lot of art recently. my motivation went straight into the shitter and the art that i have made are all complete dogshit [cries]

though i have made 3 humanisations, and 1 ship art of a ship that i personally love a lot and dont see talked about very much aaa

human profily! i kinda wanted to make them wear some sort of astronaught-esque suit? idk i just thought it suited them. also i gave them a little see through skirt beacause i thought it was cute :D

human leafy! idk why but i liked the idea of their hair being very messy and unbrushed and having bits of leaf and sticks in it lol..... its probably matted too :0

human puffball! i dont know if anyone else has done this yet, but i hc that all of the characters that have no legs (with very few exceptions) are wheelchair users as humans, and puffball is one of those characters!! also for some reason i gave puffball no shoes, i have no idea why lmao

also here’s some ship art!! i honestly love this ship a lot ship them quite a bit and idk if i should be embarresed about it or not :’)

[cloverwoodss]

Hello!!! I have said this before and I'll say it again: I have always adored your art style

I had always had a talent for drawing, but I only ever drew by looking at a drawing and making an exact copy of the drawing. I never dared making my own art because I didn't want to fail. But you inspired me. I tried getting out of my comfort zone. I wanted to be like you. I wanted to be that artist on Tumblr that had the cute art style. I wanted to be the artist that loved drawing Tom's hair

I have been improving, and honestly, I'm not doing too bad. I'm ok in traditional art, but I've been trying digital

And I don't know how to do line art. HOW DO YOU TRACE???? It's a pain. :,) If you don't mind, could you give some tips?

But, what I wanted to say was: Thank you. You may not have been aware of it, but you had been great inspiration. You made me get up do it. And hey, who knows who else you've helped

Thank you <3

Hey there! (You asked a single question and I wrote practically an essay, I'm so sorry aaa)

First- Thank you so much gOSH :’0 That means SO SO SO much to me. Anyone considering me an inspiration is one of thee biggest compliments I could ever get. <33

There are a few art programs, but it seems most have a “Stabilizer” now. It helps smooth out lines when you draw, making more fluid looking lines. I sometimes have shaky hands due to medication and anxiety. So it really helps!! I'd look into it, but I personally use Clip Studio and it does have a stabilizer options under tool properties when a brush is selected.

This might help as well but- I wouldn’t think of doing line art as “tracing” you’re re-drawing the sketch on top of it. If you only consider the sketch’s lines and think of tracing the lines it will end up like those “the sketch” vs “the line art” memes. It’s hard to explain- sketches can be messier so your eye sees the thicker part of sketches and “fills in” what it considers to be right. So you're still drawing when you line art, still analyzing and correcting as you go. Also have the sketch layer at much lower opacity. Don’t have it in a light color and at 100%, the chances of drawing on the wrong layer is higher that way. Some programs have a "lock" option for layers so you could even lock it so you don't do it on accident.

My OTHER advice is. You don’t HAVE to line art. You can clean up your sketch, leave it a little messy and consider it good enough. There’s nothing wrong with that! :) Duplicate the layer and hide the original so you can always go back to that if you don't like how it's coming out. and SAVE SAVE SAVE.

And don’t even get me started on how much I love Tom’s hair and drawing it ; u; I love drawing fluffy hair so so much.

Another piece of advice I have is- similar to how you mentioned re-drawing other's art you can use that to study. Don't 'just' draw what you see, try to really look at it and think but why was it drawn that way? Then draw it yourself a few times using structure and guide lines. just REALLY study it and it could really help you learn. Just don't upload or claim it as yours obvi.

I allow anyone to study my art as long as it isn't uploaded. Technically you don't have to ask to do so if you stick to the "Study it and don't upload it" rule. And look into multiple artists! Experiment with different ideas and ways of doing stuff. When it comes to art styles don't worry about that too much. Don't feel bad if it seems inconsistent or keeps changing. That will always be apart of life. You learn, you gain more experience, you change and you grow.

Wishing you the best with everything!! <3

[marshmallowprotection]

hi it's me again 😔🙏 i miss you all so much still, i hope we can chat again ! also , i'm having a bit of a stressful time lately. don't get me wrong i enjoy everything i'm participating in but i have my studies and then play rehearsal and then work and then volunteer stuff and then violin work and aaa my brain is gonna explode. could i possibly request RFA + Saeran how they'd comfort a stressed / overworked s/o ? sorry if it's too much trouble eee

Yoosung has worked himself into a corner when he’s multi-tasking many times. He’s actually pretty good at being able to maintain his composure and get things done. Even though it seems like he burns himself out playing games most of the time, he knows how to juggle everything right to where he needs it to be. When it comes to you, he’s got no doubt in his mind that you’ve got your habits to figure and sort out. He would notice that you’re working yourself up and burning out faster then you know how to stop it. What he wants to do is put his hand on top of yours and remind you that you don’t have to do everything on your own.

Yoosung’s bright idea to get you to stop working for the evening. He would make the time to set aside dinner for you that he made himself, of course, it’ll be a bit messy but it’s made with love. He wants you breathe and remember that even though you’ve got a hundred things to do, you’re a person like everybody else and you need to be able to enjoy your life, too. Once you breathe, you can work on figuring out how to make sense of it all.

Jaehee worked hard all throughout her life. She’s burnt herself out time and time again. It’s overwhelming but when you’re someone that wants to get things done the right way and ensure that you feel good about what you’ve done, she knows where you’re coming from when it means the world to you. She knows that you just want to be able to feel good about your accomplishments, but having come to know you, she now understands that working yourself that hard isn’t healthy to do. You need to cut back on certain things and you need to find time to be you instead of a running machine. 

Her best suggestion is that you take the night off. You can work out deals and compromises with people when it comes to work. If someone doesn’t respect that you need time to take care of yourself, then those people don’t deserve your time in the first place. It’s time for an evening in with Jaehee so you can enjoy a Zen film together and some dinner. That’s the best way to make sense of what you’re dealing with. 

Zen has always seen work as a hobby and passion for himself. He is a beast when it comes to getting things done and for that matter, he hardly ever gets exhausted. It just doesn't seem fair when you think about it that way. However, that doesn't mean that he doesn't notice when other people are truly overworked and overwhelmed... especially, you. He would know when something was wrong with you because there are do the smallest downward drift to your mood and he knows how to pinpoint those things. He would know when you’re upset or out of touch with yourself. That's his job as your knight in shining armor.

What he does is set aside an hour where you don’t do anything but let him spoil you rotten. He runs you a hot bath and he spends that entire time making sure that your hair is done, your face is done, and hey, that you get a few snacks in there just because. Zen knows that you’re a hard-worker and you’ve got a lot that you need to do but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve an hour to breathe and be yourself. 

Jumin has been in this boat before. He has to put in as much as he expects from anyone that works for him. Though, while he knows what it feels like to be on the edge and underneath a time crunch, he also knows what it feels like to take down time for yourself. There’s always going to be something that needs to be finished and completed, but if you always focus on them, you’re not going to be able to live your live. Even if it’s just a five minutes for you to slow down and lay on the couch with Elizabeth, you need to take those few minutes to sort out your feelings.

His idea is to help you focus on what needs to get done right away but as soon as that is completed since you’re so adamant, you’re going to inform others that you need to take a few days off. He’ll cover for you if it’s needed, but here comes your man Jumin with a weekend getaway. He wants you to only think about the needs that you have instead of the requirements of life. You need to see the sun and smile now and again. Your shoulders need to relax instead of tense when you sit up. 

Seven has worked himself in the ground time and time again knowing that he had to work or someone was going to hurt him for not doing it. It’s not a life or death struggle for you as it was for him. So, the circumstance is different in this case but the exhaustion that you feel is what he understands very well. What he wants to do is make sure that you’re able to take care of everything you need to do without hurting yourself. He would offer to help you study or set out time to get things done in a reasonable amount of time. Even if he’s unable to focus on doing that for himself, he’s actually great at making schedules and keeping all the ducks in a row. 

When it comes to you, Seven wants you to rest and live soundly. If you don’t need his help with setting up a path to get your tasks done, he can focus on self care, too. This man is willing to drop everything at the tip of a hat. If you don't think that you can carry yourself around the house, well don't worry about that, he'll be there to make sure that somebody can carry you to bed. He'd even do his best to make sure that you got something to eat. Just don't expect anything fancy because he's not the best chef.

GE Saeran has gotten bumps and bruises before. He would want to tend to your wounds himself even after you’ve gotten it all checked out. He would spend his time wrapping and cleaning your burns whenever it’s time to check it out. This is his perfect excuse to kiss your hands and dote on you as much as he wants. It’s what he wants more than anything. He wants to make sure that you feel warm and cherished. You don’t need to worry about taking care of anything. If you need your hands, he’ll offer to do whatever you need, even if he needs to sit down and write things for you.

He’s determined to ensure that you’re safe and sound. An evening with him to ease your exhaustion comes with making sure that you put yourself first. You’re the one that taught him that. So, expect him to treat you from the minute you walk in the door. He’s got a bath, dinner, and a movie ready. You’re going to enjoy yourself and you’re going to like it. Don’t worry, he’ll help you piece all of the work together after the break.

[janekfan]

Can I request “Can’t wake up” for Jon from the bingo? I love your fics!!!!

aaa thank you! I hope you enjoy it ^^

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28642440

“Jon!” Martin crashed through the door to the safe house, locking it for all the good it would do and drawing the curtain to block out the all seeing sky.

As Jon put so eloquently before losing consciousness, it was looking back, and Martin had zero desire to engage in a staring contest. He doubted the efficacy of such an action but it calmed the animal part of his brain that didn’t enjoy being watched and allowed him to focus all of his attentions on the crumpled man folded up on the floor. It hadn’t been an easy drop. Jon’s arm was twisted uncomfortably beneath his body, the side of his face that impacted the floor blossoming into a bruise that didn’t begin the healing process like Martin expected it to.

“Jon?” Kneeling, Martin gently turned his cheek toward him, brushing a thumb over the contused bone, swollen and hot. There was no response; not a groan or a flicker to reassure Martin that there was anything left of Jon at all and he swallowed down the clot of emotion coating his throat like ash and dust. He felt feverish, and when Martin lifted him off the floor, Jon hung lax and loose, stomach rising and falling unevenly when he breathed. With his head thrown over his arm, Jon gaped like a fish, mouth slack and accentuating his irregular wheezing. “Oh, darling.” It sounded neither comfortable nor easy, strained like a broken bellows. Under his hands Jon’s muscles spasmed and Martin wanted to get him as comfortable as possible, whisking him to the bedroom and laying him down among bedclothes still unmade from this morning. “Hey now, it’s time to wake up.” He swept damp and messy strands away from his face, noting his ashen pallor now accented by the flush settling so high in his face.

Martin spent the next quarter hour carefully spooning dosed tea into Jon, holding him close in his lap and counting down the minutes until it was supposed to take effect and rocking them both. Frowning, he pressed his lips against his blistering forehead, hoping, wishing for a change, however slight, and there was none. If anything the fever had risen and Martin perversely found himself praying that the Eye would protect him. It could do them this one favor couldn’t it? It’d taken everything else. Hurt them. Almost torn them apart.

Thoughts like circling vultures followed Martin wherever he went. Fear and anxiety and the feeling of being watched made the small hairs on the back of his neck stand up and as much as he wanted to be with Jon, sit with him, watch him, protect him, the silence only made it worse. So, wrist deep in sudsy water Martin methodically scrubbed their breakfast dishes, fighting back tears because this morning everything had been different. Almost hopeful.

And now--

Martin was jolted from his thoughts by a crash, followed by harsh, damp coughing, and he was sprinting to the bed room they shared with his hands on him in seconds, drawing a strangled moan from where Jon was drowning on the floor.

“I’m sorry, love, I’m sorry.” Jon was on his back, hugging his stomach, viscous, black ink streaming from his lips, his nose, his eyes like oily tears. Gently, Martin turned him onto his side, petting back his sweat soaked curls and holding him there as the coughing eased and he labored for air, sweat lining his face in a thin sheen. “You’re alright, breathe, darling.” His skin was a brand against Martin’s, hot and dry, fever burning through him like a prairie fire. “Jon?” Cradled there, in Martin’s hands, glassy brown slipped over him like a river over stone and he laid limp and kitten-weak on the floor like that for long moments until his seeking, searching eyes fluttered shut again. With shaking fingers, Martin smudged the sticky black tracing the curvature of his cheek before realizing it had been too long dried there and leaving to fetch a cloth. With care, he scrubbed away the residue, tugging off the oversized tee before rinsing away the mess and sweeping down his neck, the shallow wells above his collar bones, letting the air wick away the heat buried like coals banked beneath his breast bone. Rather than risk another article of clothing (of Martin’s clothing) he gathered up Jon’s wayward limbs and tucked him between the sheets without before settling down beside him, hand moving over his brow, along his jaw, memorizing familiar planes to soothe himself to sleep.

Martin woke later, drenched in sweat from the spike in Jon’s fever. He was restless with it, falling in and out of static and statement and Martin lost track of how many times he begged Jon to come back to him, to resist whatever was trying to steal him away because he belonged here with him. Though the light no longer changed, Martin spent what seemed like hours running a damp flannel over Jon’s hot skin as he shifted fitfully on the pillows. There was nothing to do for it but persist, last long enough to win out over the Eye’s cruel machinations, whatever they might be.

“I’m here, darling.” Bright, acid green lit up the room in flashes, not unlike a lightning bug trapped in a jar, drawing a distorted magnetic tape whimper from the depths of his throat. “Hush, now.” Carefully, Martin slid an arm under Jon to prop him up, tipping a mouthful of water into him at a time. “Jon.” Firm and demanding, Martin shook him by a narrow shoulder, the tide of fear rising higher and higher and threatening to close over his head.

If he could just slip back into the Lonely for a little while--

The sudden chill and scent of seasalt in the air shocked him out of the all too easy descent.

“Alright, love.” Muttering mostly to himself Martin pressed yet another kiss to his forehead, watching his chest hitch unevenly with a harsh, agonal breath. Jon may not be altogether human, but Martin wasn’t sure anything could burn like this for so long without doing permanent harm. He lifted a thin hand, kisses lingering over each knuckle, and went to run a tepid bath. Utterly silent, Jon sank, head pillowed on a folded towel and held above the water because he wasn’t able to hold himself. Slowly, Martin cupped water over his shoulders, drawing damp fingers through tangled curls, again and again, thumbing carefully over the still angry bruise, droplets like tears carving through the watercolor wash still clinging. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw a mark remain this long. “Come on Jon, I can’t wake for you, dearest.” Murmuring sweet nothings he continued, soaking his hair and clearing away the tenacious inky stains from nigh translucent brown vellum.

“Mmmah…” Jon tried to speak, attempt limned with the Beholding’s corruption, and he coughed a river of iridescent black that cascaded down his naked chest, billowing out in obsidian clouds over the water’s surface. “S’s’sor…” Like a skipping cassette, and the second gush threatened to choke him. Head bowed, a few tears dripped into the tub like the indiscriminate ring of a wind chime.

“Shh, shhh.” Please, let this be like a poison leaving his body, a purge of some sort that signalled the end of whatever Jonah had done to him. “Just relax, love, let me take care of you.” A soft cloth lathered with a neutral smelling soap removed the ichor, and Martin massaged shampoo into his scalp, careful to keep it out of Jon’s heavily blinking eyes until they closed again. Dried and dressed, this time with just the slightest bit of awareness, Martin tucked them both in, tugging Jon’s damp head under his chin and running his palm up and down the smooth skin of his back, fingertips ghosting over the raised edges of scars. Jon was sick several more times before finally falling into a deep, restorative sleep, and Martin wasn’t sure what he was going to tell Daisy about her sheets if--when all this was over, but he didn’t need anymore guilt hanging over his head.

A strangled noise roused Martin from where he was curled around the empty Jon-shaped space and bleary eyed he raked over the room to find him peeking through a slit in the curtain. Even from the bed Martin could see how much his hands trembled and he pushed himself up out of the warmth to go to him.

“Jon-darling. You shouldn’t be out of bed.” As though on cue, his knees buckled under him and Martin rushed to catch him up, lowering them both to the cold floor. Jon held on so tight to his jumper his knuckles turned white and he pressed the heel of his palm hard against his temple, shaking, breath hitching, eyes huge and wet and scared.

“M’Martin.”

“Shh. You’re alright.” Gently, he pressed a kiss into his hair, over the shadow that remained of the bruise. Jon's voice was his own again, raw and ravaged as he pulled away to stare, already Seeing, already Knowing, into Martin’s eyes.

“Wh’what have I, I done?”

[dranza]

Race you

Draco x Reader

Getting a little closer to Draco. Its a slow burn!

Word count: 1804

Warnings: I dont think so, please let me know if you notice any.

“Hey y/n. Y/N?” A deep whisper calls at me from the desk behind.

I had come to the library in my study break to get away from all the noise and actually be able to concentrate on my charms essay. I had a whole week to do this but low and behold I was having to rush it in my final break before its due. Trust me to try and cram 3 pieces of homework into an hour and a half. I had already been distracted when I saw Draco walk into the library a little while ago. As he slowly walked through each aisle, browsing the books, a soft knot in his brows as he read through a few pages. He had me stuck in a daze. I was glad when he passed to sit behind me, out of sight, making me finally able to focus on trying to get this bloody essay finished. 

“Y/L/N!” his whisper was more direct now, one sharp order for me to turn to him. 

“What?” I shoot back at him, I can get rather irritable when I'm studying, but as my eyes catch him all my frustration leaves me. 

Draco sits with three books open in front of him, one hand twirling a quill between his fingers and his head resting in the palm of the other. His grey eyes look up at me and he pouts. “What were the three water-related constellations Professor Sinistra pointed out in the last lesson?”

“Errr…” I give him a sorry look, I haven't even started to think of the astronomy homework yet.

“I’ve got Pisces and Eridanus but I can’t, for the life of me, remember the third.” He flips through the book closest to him in frustration. 

“One minute…” I pull out the notes I had borrowed from Hermione and scan through to the constellation names. “Only Hermione is actually able to read her rushed scribbles. Errr, Cetuh? Cetus? ” 

Draco sits up with this information and grabs at one of his books. “I swear I read through that. C-E-T-U-S?”

I nod in response. 

With his fingers gripped tightly around the quill he hurriedly copies out a sentence from the book and dramatically bounces his hand off the parchment as he adds his final full stop. “Perfect. That's me done then.” He sets his quill into the ink and leans back in his chair. His long arms stretching up over his head for a few seconds and then releasing them with a loud sigh. “How much have you got left?”

“I just need to proofread my charms paper. Then I’ve got arithmancy and then astronomy, so not much!” I reply sarcastically and then throw my hands to my face letting out a frustrated, but quiet, squeal. 

“I can help... if you want.” 

I slowly let down my hands, eyeing the white haired boy, shocked that he would be willing to waste his break to help me. “Really?”

Draco chews at the inside of his mouth, “I mean, only if you want, it's just that I’ve already done it so.” A smirk begins to form on his lips. “Of course not suggesting that you wouldn’t be able to get it all done in the next 45 minutes. Look at you, you've clearly got it all organised and planned out.” With a nod of his chin he signals towards the messy piles of notes, parchment and books I have on my desk. 

“Hey!” I giggle, “It's an organised mess ok.” 

“That's exactly what I'm saying.” he stacks the books on his table into a neat pile and drags his chair to seat himself opposite me. Taking the parchment from my hand he slides a pot of ink towards me. “Here, I’ll finish reading this for you and you get started on the Arithmancy Worksheet.” 

I smile at him as I accept the ink and flip open my Arithmancy book, scanning over the contents table.

Without taking his eyes away from the piece he is reading, Draco mumbles a quiet “46.” 

I drag my finger to number 46 and there it is, the exact topic I need. “I knew that.” I whisper with a cheeky grin.

He lets out a deep, breathy chuckle, tilting his head to the side, “Ofcourse.”

I speed through the question sheet, looking up at the handsome boy in front of me now and again as he tries his best to be discreetly correcting some mistakes on the sheet he is reading.

I sit my parchment to dry and move onto the Astronomy worksheet. This is also something I should be able to speed through. Although the names can tend to escape me, constellations have always been so interesting to me, also I have Hermione’s notes so I can’t really go wrong. 

Draco places the finished paper onto the desk and rests his elbows on top of it. “You know, for someone who stays up all night and leaves their work till the last minute, you sure as hell have managed to write a brilliant essay.” Sliding his chin over his fingers until he finds a comfortable spot to rest it, he smiles at me. 

I lift a single brow at him. “Oh please… I saw you crossing out and adding stuff to it.”

“I didn’t say you were a good speller. Bloody hell, you were adding and taking away the wrong letters left, right and centre.”

I let out a hearty laugh and exaggerate on his point. “Yeah, I rarely manage to spell anything but my name right.”

“But what you’re actually saying is quite an interesting perspective. Contrary to what I’d heard, I believe you're not just a pretty face are you?” 

I try and fail to stop the blood rushing to my face. “Thankyou Dray.”

“Dray?” he tilts his head, frowning but amused. “What, two syllables just too much work for you?”

I click my fingers and point at him jokingly. “Yes… also I think it suits you, it’s cute.” I shrug.

Draco shakes his head taking in a sharp breath, now it was his turn to try and hide a blush. Leaning over me, he reaches a book from his desk. From it he pulls out the book mark (a pressed stem of eucalyptus) and begins to read.

We sit in an easy silence while I finish the last few questions. 

The both of us look up as Madam Pince walks up to our desks signaling to the clock. “Do you two not have a class to get to?” 

“Shit.” I mutter under my breath as we begin clearing our things. We only had 5 minutes to get to the highest tower on the other side of the castle for astronomy class.

After promptly sliding all his stuff into his bag, Draco waits patiently for me to messily stuff my bag with the scraps of parchment, books and quills I had spread all over the desk. I look up at him as I finish and he holds his arm out, gesturing towards the door. “After you.”

We exit the library and I notice just how long Dracos legs are, his strides are probably double mine. “Ok, I know we're in a rush but my tiny, little legs cannot keep up with you.” 

He looks back at me with a cool smirk and begins taking longer strides. “Not my problem y/l/n.”

“Hey!” I jog a few steps to catch up to him and playfully elbow his side.

He stops abruptly, looks me dead in the eyes and then caught in a laugh he shouts “RACE YOU!” He speeds away, catching his bag as it slips from his arm and throwing it over his shoulder.

“WHAT? NO!” It takes me a second to get over my initial shock and I race after him. 

I keep my eyes fixed on his snowy hair and as we weave through the other students and I start catching up to him. 

We run through the courtyard, me just a few steps behind him. “Come on slow coach!” he calls out to me as he spins to see how far behind I am. “Oh shut up Malfoy!” I retort, laughing as I skip over the legs of some 1st year girl laying on the grass.

As we turn into a hallway Harry and Ron are walking towards us. “What are…?” Harry begins to question but Draco cuts him off.

“Excuse me gents.” he blurts out as he shoots between the two Gryfindors. 

“Eee. Sorry boys, see you in potions!” I follow his lead, leaving both of them confused.

We get to the end of the hallway and Draco turns to the left. “Uh-OH! You sure that's the way Dray?” I shout in his direction as I turn right. 

He u-turns in the middle of the corridor and sprints after me. “You just got so lucky!” 

“You've been in this school for how many years now?” I tease him, approaching the Astronomy Tower stairs. 

“You cheeky git.” he cackles as I turn around to stick my tongue out. 

Our breathless laughter echoes through the circled staircase, wrapping me in a blanket of joy. This is a moment that’ll get stored, not in my mind, but deep in my heart. I try my best to run through the pain forming in my thighs but Draco soon catches up to me. We get to the top of the stairs and I let my back fall into the wall. “Oh my goodness, I’m never running again in my life.” 

Draco places one hand on the wall to steady himself and the other on his face, squeezing at his cheeks. “AAA HA HA!” he shouts, his voice husky from the rush “Stop laughing, my face hurts.” In that moment, he is a vision to behold. His broad chest rising and falling heavily as he catches his breath. His robe hanging off his shoulders, pulling back his shirt and the gaps between the buttons revealing flashes of his bare skin. The afternoon sun, golden over his face.

I snap back into reality as Hermione calls our names sternly from the classroom door. 

“Coming.” I answer her and turn back to Draco who gives her a nod. “All that and we’re still late!” 

“Still, not bad for your tiny, little legs.” he smiles down at me and shifts a strand of hair from my face. 

“Pretty bad for your long legs though.” I let out a silly giggle. “I can’t believe I actually won.”

He frowns. “Pfft, you got lucky and it’s a draw.”

“Nope, I win!” I wink. He tries to protest but I press my finger to his lips, “Shhh.” as I step backwards into the classroom.

Hope you liked this, I loved writing it.

If you want more here is the masterlist!

[cancercrew-filth]

“I love you.” (Joji)

Anon Request: Joji with a childhood best friend who he's in love with but she has a boyfriend. The only thing that's stopped him is the fear of rejection.

Joji’s POV

I sat at the edge of the front porch steps chewing on my fingernails, a nervous habit I tried to quit multiple times but had no success in doing so. I couldn’t sit still, I couldn’t think…I could barely bring myself to eat this morning. I don’t really wanna do this, right? I thought to myself. No, I can’t. This back and forth battle between my brain and my heart was starting to make more sick to my stomach than I already was. If I leave right now, she’d never know I was here…now’s my chance to just forget this and go home. She hasn’t even responded to my text yet. I thought about going for a walk since the weather was meant for one. Not a cute little small walk, but one of those long hikes that take your mind off of something that by the time you notice you’re lost, you no longer are thinking about why you started walking in the first place.

I exhaled heavily and stood up with my back towards the door and the stairs. I took one step forward and began to walk away from the apartment complex slower than I thought I would, almost as if I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t make it very far until I heard a soft voice from behind me, “Joji?”

My heart came to a halt as I froze in place. Turning around quickly, I tried to wipe the worried look I had on my face and replaced it with a toothy smile, “Y/N! Hey…” I beamed.

“I’m sorry I didn’t read your message right away.” she heaved as I made my way over to her, “I was driving and there was a shit ton of traffic, but I had a feeling you were gonna be here so I came as fast as I could.”

I took ahold of her large duffel bag as she walked up the steps to the door and unlocked it in a rush. I held the door for her to walk in ahead of me and I shuffled into the foyer quickly behind her while the heavy door shut behind us. 

“How are you?” she asked smiling at me as we entered the elevator.

“Um…” I cleared my throat, “Pretty good…can’t really complain.”

I avoided her gaze and looked either at my feet or straight ahead, awkwardly.

“You sure?” she questioned, hugging herself due to the sudden coldness in the elevator.

“Yeah.” I chuckled, “I’m great.”

We reached her floor with a sudden jolt followed by a loud dinging sound. Y/N was brief to get out of the elevator, squeezing through the doors before they even had a chance to fully open. I trailed behind her light steps as she swayed flawlessly down the hall as she jingled her keys. We finally reached the end of the hall and were face to face with her door. Entering her large apartment, I set the duffel bag down on the couch as I shut the door behind me. 

“Thank you for carrying my bag.” she giggled, “I found it kinda heavy.”

“Yeah, it is a little heavy.” I admitted.

“Yeah, I stayed over at Kevin’s for a few days.” she spoke from the kitchen, as she was getting us some water, “His parents were in town and since he lives nearly on the other side of the city, he somehow convinced me to stay for a few days so I didn’t have to constantly go back and forth.”

The sick feeling washed over me again. Kevin. I looked at the picture she had of her with him on nearly side table, polaroids she posted of the two of them on her walls, pictures of them on her TV stand. I sat on the couch and tilted my head back, licking my dry lips as I shut my eyes tightly, I felt the room spinning.

“Here you go.” she practically whispered.

I jumped at the sound of her soft voice. I opened my eyes to see her holding a glass of water in front of my face. I lightly grabbed the glass and mumbled a quiet ‘thank you’. I took slow, small sips and placed the glass on the coffee table in front of me once the glass was half empty. Y/N sat next to me on the couch, her back against the armrest as she sat with her legs crossed, cradling her glass of water with the palms of her hands in between her crossed legs.

“Hey,” she searched for my gaze, “What’s going on? I know you said you were good, but you can’t really lie to me. You’re my best friend, I know you.”

For the first time in a little over two weeks, I looked into her eyes and took her features all in. She was fresh faced dressed in her cuffed overalls, her messy hair reminding me of the first time I had ever met her:

We were eight; I had just moved into the small suburban area that became my new home from Japan. I sat on my front steps squinting at the sunlight, trying to take in my new surroundings. Without noticing the frisbee that was being thrown at me to my right due to the sudden blindness of the sun, I was hit on the side of the head by the flying disk.

“Im sorry!” she shouted from the lawn next to mine, her small feet whisking through the uncut grass as she made her way over to me.

“Ow…” I mumbled as I picked up the frisbee that crash-landed next to my foot.

“Hi…I’m sorry…I wanted to be nosy and make it go over there but it hit you…I’m sorry.” she admitted, blushing from the embarrassment as she pointed to an area on my front lawn.

“It’s okay.” I said as I handed her the frisbee once she was stood in front of me.

She was beautiful, dressed in cuffed overalls and tennis shoes. She slightly squinted as she looked at me, her hand shielding her eyes.

“I’m Y/N.” she introduced herself, “We’re neighbors, I live right there. I’ve never seen you around before.” she pointed to the house right next to mine “…Do you wanna come over and play? I have an older brother so he’s probably into the cool stuff that boys are into.”

“Uh…okay…I have to ask my mom first, though.” I said confused, I wasn’t used to people being so open and friendly.

“Okay!” she smiled, “I’ll wait here.”

I opened my front door and prepared myself to go in before she asked, “Wait! What’s your name?”

“George.” I answered.

“Okay, nice to meet you George.” she smiled.

By the time we were sixteen we were inseparable. Movie nights were nearly every night, I used to hear our moms talk about us growing up and getting married and complain when we wouldn’t “give in” and date each other. At eighteen, newly graduated from high school, we decided to go on a road trip since we wanted to leave the dumbass suburb we were in. We made it a little over forty-five minutes out of town and the car broke down in the middle of the highway. I pulled off to the side of the road, not being able to see with the smoke coming from the from of the car. I looked over at her in the passenger seat and she looked at me wide eyed before clenching her lips together and bursting into a fit of laughs.

“I know I should not be laughing right now but I think we’re cursed.” she giggled, “We’re meant to be in the suburbs. This would happen to us.”

I let my head hit the headrest and laughed along with her. After a few minutes, I tried to get a hold of AAA but I had no service, and neither did Y/N, so we weren’t able to come into contact with anyone for the time being.

“We are literally being assfucked right now.” she groaned as she got out of the car and slamming the door behind her, “Come on, Joji.”

“We’re walking it?” I asked her.

“Well, duh.” she smiled, “We’ll be fine. I know where we are and once we get service, we can call our parents and tell them what happened. And we can get ahold of AAA.”

I got out of the car and followed her lead, staying as far away from the road as possible.

“How long are we walking for?” I asked.

“About an hour and a half, give or take.” she sighed as she kicked a couple of rocks out of her, “Depends on how fast we walk, slowpoke.” she joked, looking at me and smiling.

“I’m sorry.” I apologized.

“For what?” she laughed, “It’s just not our time to leave town yet, I guess. Plus, we’re getting a daily dose of exercise. We’ll be fine.” she shrugged it off.

An hour into our walk, the air smelled of rain and I felt a drop of water hit my forehead, “Shit.” I whispered.

“What’s up?” she questioned, looking over at me.

“It’s gonna rain.” I said before the drops became frequent and heavier.

Y/N grabbed my hand once she heard thunder roaring and we ran the rest of the way home through, what seemed to be, some sort of tropical storm. We reached my front steps and stood there panting for a couple of minutes before she burst out laughing once again. I looked over at her like she was crazy, but I saw her rose-colored glass view: shit like this would happen to us. She was drenched in water, her hair sticking to her face and her clothes dripping water. She took her shoes off as I unlocked the door, we bumped into each other, thinking we would fit through the doorframe together as we tried to get through.

We both took a step back, but we were still close enough that our fingertips slightly touched. I looked at her wet face and I moved strands of her damp hair out of the way and behind her ear, my heart felt like it was skipping beats as I felt a fluttering feeling in my stomach. She looked into my eyes, and without even realizing until the last minute, I noticed myself slowly moving in, our noses almost touching. Suddenly I took another step back and stuttered after I cleared my throat, “You-you can go on ahead first.”

What if she didn’t kiss me back? Or what if she stopped me? I can’t ruin our friendship due to my selfishness.. 

The fire in the fireplace was blazing slowly as Y/N and I sat in front of the warm flame huddled under a large fuzzy blanket together. I had lent her some clothes to change into so she didn’t have to sit in her wet clothes or get sick from being in her wet clothes too long. With her eyes glued to the fire and her small hands clutching some of the blanket, I looked at her somewhat frizzy hair, the strands glowing from the firelight. Her lashes were curled perfectly without the need of mascara, her eyes shining underneath them. She turned her head to look at me.

I swallowed hard, not knowing what to do. I had gone years without telling her I was in love with her for the sake of our friendship, yet here I was staring at her like it was the only thing keeping me alive. My eyes went from her mouth, back to her eyes. Again, I noticed myself getting closer to her like an absolute idiot. I shot up to my feet quickly, “I’m gonna go make tea.” I blurted out as I ran to the kitchen leaving her with the rest of the blanket.

“George?” her voice broke me out of my thoughts, “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know…” I breathed out.

“Is it that new girl you’re seeing?” she asked, confused.

“No. I stopped seeing her two months ago.” I answered, “I need to tell you something…and you don’t need to say anything or respond to it, but it’s been bothering me and I won’t stop hating myself until I let you know.”

She’s happy with Kevin, he makes her happy and that should be enough for me to see her content, and I know she will never feel the same and it frightens me to think that way but for the sake of preserving my mind, I need to tell her.

“Wh-“ she stopped herself, “Joji? What’s going on.”

I buried my face in my hands and rubbed my tired eyes before I turned my body to face her. Y/N had worry in her eyes, she seemed scared, and I knew that she would go from worried to disappointed if I told her.

“The last thing I ever want to do in this world is lose you.” I began, “You’re happy, and you have no idea how thrilled it makes me knowing that you have someone in your life that cares for you, but Y/N…I…I’m in love with you.”

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I wanted to give my soul just to get them back. Y/N outstretched her arm to put her glass on the coffee table but she missed by a centimeter and the glass shattered on the hardwood floor. She looked like she was going to be sick.

“What?” she whispered, ignoring the mess on the floor.

“I have been in love with you…for years.” I whispered in a breathy voice. The lump in my throat returned and the feeling of nausea washed over me, but somehow I was feeling a weight being lifted off of my chest, “I thought that seeing other girls would take my mind off of me thinking like this but it did nothing…they’re not you. They’re not who I want to see first thing in the morning, they’re not who I want to spend days talking to…I can’t eat, I can’t sleep because my thoughts are keeping me awake and it’s not your fault…it’s mine for feeling this way but I can’t help falling more in love with you every time I see you. I search for you in every girl I meet and I fail to realize they’re not you, nor will they ever be you. I spent years hiding it from you, scared that you would reject me but I’m losing my mind keeping it a secret. I try to distance myself from you in hopes that I won’t love you anymore for the sake of our friendship but it doesn’t fucking work. Nothing works. What fucks me up more is that you’re happy with someone else, and I’m beyond happy for you, and I feel like I shouldn’t tell you because you’re happy and I don’t want to ruin our friendship, but I can’t…I can’t just keep this to myself anymore. I didn’t choose to fall in love with you, Y/N, it just happened.”

I felt a single tear slide down my face and I quickly wiped it with the back of my hand and sniffled as I got up off of the couch. I looked down at Y/N and she was stuck staring at the spot that I had just gotten up from, she had tears streaming down her face.

“I’m sorry.” I apologized softly.

“I…I just need some time.” she whispered, wiping her face with her hands.

I took it as my cue to leave. I drove home while my mind and heart battled each other, part of me regretted telling her but the other half felt relieved…but at what cost knowing that I lost my best friend.

Y/N’s POV (one month later)

I knocked on the newly painted front door with shaky hands, immediately mentally cursing myself at what I was doing. I tugged on the hem of my oversized jacket as I examined the eggshell colored door, I missed the light periwinkle color the Millers had before on their door. The paint before was beyond chipped from Joji and I peeling the paint off as kids, and what sucked more was that they discontinued the color at Home Depot so they had to settle for this somewhat crappy color. I heard shuffling footsteps approach the door, it was too late to run back next door now. I took a deep breath as I heard the doorknob twist. The door slowly opened and I was met with George’s mother, “Hi, Mrs.Miller.” I nervously smiled.

“He’s upstairs in his room.” she smiled warmly as she took me in for a tight hug.

“How’s he doing?” I asked in a low voice as I shut the door behind me, shoving my hands into my jacket pockets.

“Better…sort of. He doesn’t leave the room unless no one’s home or if we’re asleep. I’ll hear the door sometimes in the middle of the night but that’s about it.” she informed as she lead me to the stairs with her hand on my back.

She told me she was going next door to talk with my mother and I just gave her a slight smile and a nod. Going up the stairs made me want to throw up, the thought of seeing Joji after so long made me nervous and extremely embarrassed. I hadn’t called him or texted him in a month. I was angry, hurt, and confused. Why wouldn’t he tell me how he felt? We told each other everything, no matter how bad it was, but for the same reason I didn’t tell him how I felt. I was hurt for him as well…how could I have not known? If anything, I thought he didn’t like me. I tried making moves on him before and I felt like he’d rejected me on several occasions, or maybe if we had just communicated things without fear, we’d probably be okay, but it’s easier said than done. I’ve always loved Joji…but I thought it would never happen, and so I moved on.or tried to… I broke up with Kevin the week after George came to visit me. I had love for Kevin but I wasn’t in love with him, we would have arguments nearly everyday and he just wasn’t George. I didn’t know what to do…I was contemplating on calling Joji and I didn’t, I was scared and I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to be alone and have time to myself so I could think. So I went to the only place where I knew I would be left alone and away from everyone for some time: my parent’s house. Little did I know, Joji was next door doing the exact same thing.

I reached the top step and made my way down the hall cautiously. I felt like the hallway stretched out for miles as I walked towards Joji’s door. My breathing quickened, my heart nearly falling out of my chest as I finally stood in front of his door. I held my breath as I knocked. There was no answer. I sighed and placed my hand on the doorknob and entered his room. He was sat on his bed looking out his window with a notebook next to him. The walls were decorated the same: posters of artists, pictures of us and his family members, a couple post-it notes still lingered on the walls told me that they haven’t lost their stick. His room hadn’t changed one bit.

“Hey.” I said, trying to catch his attention as I tenderly closed the door behind me.

He turned around quickly, his eyes looking into mine. That’s when I felt it all over again: the butterflies. His hair was wet and I could smell his shampoo from across the room. He wore a gray long-sleeved shirt and a pair of sweats with some fuzzy mismatched socks to complete his ‘homebody’ look.

“I see you’re still a mama’s boy.” I lightly chuckled as I sat down in his comfy desk chair, “I can’t really blame you, I went home to my mom too.”

“Yeah…I know you did.” he said quietly, as he began moving to the edge of the bed, slowly, so that he sat across from me, “I could hear you crying most nights from my window.”

“Yeah…” I sighed in embarrassment, “I was doing some digging the other day while I was cleaning my old room…and I found some stuff.”

I reached into my jacket pockets, not taking my eyes off of his face. I was happy to see him well rested, but the ashtray full of cigarette butts told me he was stressed out of his mind. He stared at the carpeted floor blankly as I searched my pockets.

“Do you remember this?” I asked coyly, retrieving a gold locket from my pocket,”You gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday once everyone left my party.”

“I drove hours for that thing.” he chuckled softly, “You told me you always wanted one but the good legit ones were impossible to find.”

“Do you remember what you put in it?” I asked.

“A picture of us from when we were ten.” he answered.

“I’m a complete dumbass.” I spoke in an unsteady voice as I pulled out a small note from the same pocket with shaking hands, “I couldn’t get the locket to open the other night…I like looking in it when I’m sad but I couldn’t get it open ‘cause it was stuck. It’s an antique so it’s normal for it to get stuck sometimes, and every time it gets stuck, I’d open it cautiously. Well, I tried opening it the other night, and I broke my nail, so I got angry at the damn thing and I threw it at the wall…the picture fell out…and so did this.” I held up the note and I read it, “‘I choose to love you in silence…For in silence I find no rejection, I choose to love you in loneliness…For in loneliness no one owns you but me, I choose to adore you from a distance…For distance will shield me from pain, I choose to kiss you in the wind…For the wind is gentler than my lips, I choose to hold you in my dreams…’“

“For in my dreams, you have no end.” he finished the poem.

“Rumi…” I said, shocked that he remembered my favorite poet from the one time I told him when we were sixteen.

“I didn’t want you to find it, but part of me wanted you to. So I hid it behind the one thing that meant the most to me, inside something that was special to you.” he explained, “It was the only way I felt safe and comfortable telling you how I felt…even if you never got a chance to read it. People say that some things are better left unsaid, and I believed them, but I went crazy when I thought about how I’d have to live with feeling this way forever and not having you know, I just didn’t think I’d lose you in the process…but I can’t lose what was never mine.”

I took a deep, hesitating breath before I spoke, “I fell in love with you when we were sixteen, and every time I ran to you crying about a boy breaking my heart or hurting my feelings was because they didn’t treat me like how you did…they didn’t make me laugh like you did, they didn’t take care of me like you did…they weren’t you, George. I thought about how there were times that I almost told you how I felt…but my fear stopped me. And I can’t begin to imagine how you felt, and I’m sorry for that. Being older now means looking back at all the times we shared when we were younger…and I know that there were times were I felt like you were going to kiss me but you didn’t…but I know now why you didn’t…”

Joji looked down at his hands before he looked back up at me.

“But I really wish you did.” I admitted, “I found love in places where it shouldn’t have thought to grow because I was upset with the thought of being in love with someone who I thought didn’t feel the same way…I know that feeling of being rejected or feeling like you’ll be rejected, George, that fear.” I wiped my tears with the sleeves of my jacket.

I got up from the chair and put it back under the desk before I decided to face him again. I was slightly alerted when I saw he was standing now in front of me. He pulled me in for a tight hug and I gladly hugged back. To feel his warmth, his presence, just to feel him hugging me again after not seeing him for a long time made everything feel right again. I buried my face in his chest, taking in his scent as he rested his chin on my head before he kissed my cheek and hid his face in my neck. We were stood there for what seemed to be hours embracing each other. I rubbed his back softly and I finally whispered, “I’m still in love with you…I never stopped.”

Joji pulled away from the hug and smiled at me, “I love you.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on the tips of my toes so I would be able to reach his lips. I stared at his lips as I bit mine thinking about how I’d been waiting to kiss him for the longest time.

“Are you gonna kiss me or what?” he smirked nudging me gently.

“Shut up.” I laughed.

He dried my wet eyes lightly with the sleeves of his shirt, holding my face in his hands, he leaned in and kissed me softly. It felt right and more than anything I felt safe and home.

[fafulous]

I’m clumsy and I know it

Pairing: Protective!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Requested by my cute @chloerinebarnes ilusm

It wasn't your fault at the end of the day that you were genetically meant to fumble with things.

You were always were tripping over something and dropping things

But that didn't stop you from hanging out at Bruce's Labs as an assistant whenever missions were going on

Naturally, the whole team got to know of your clumsiness during their free time

And they'd make jokes about it

Especially Tony and Sam

Like how one time you slipped over a banana peel and fell on Bucky, making him spill his coffee all over him

YOU FREAKED OUT

And everyone thought you were gonna get an earful because no one spoke to Bucky and vice versa except for Steve

But instead, he helped you like nothing happened, making sure you were alright

"S-sorry Mr Barnes, I- I have two left feet"

"Don't worry about it"

And he walked away.

Mysterious, enigmatic this Bucky Barnes was.

But at the same time, you realised he was the first one who didn't mock at your clumsiness, in spite of him being a witness to it for a gazillion times.

Bucky, on the other hand, wouldn't admit it to himself, but he was mildly attracted to you

And it was cute, the way you were.

He was in the Avengers compound for godsakes, surrounded with people with societal standards of perfection

But you were naturally perfect in his eyes, apart from the obvious clumsiness where he has displayed.

You were so smart and mature for your age too

You never realised it, but Bucky always made sure his comm was connected to you instead of Bruce because you were insanely calm when it came to providing instructions

It was normal human nature to be flawed

God you look so cute

“SHut up James!” he internally murmured to himself.

He didn't realise it but he was naturally growing to be protective of you

Whenever someone teased you of you fumbling with the tv or kitchen, he hated it so much

He'd do two things:

Give them a death glare

Make sure he punches them extra during the training sessions. That way no one could know about his real intentions

Bucko is a smarto

But alas, he could no longer stick on to the above two things

Morning you woke up and decided to cook some breakfast for yourself, seeing that the others in the compound had already finished their routine

You set two pans on the stove for sausages and pancakes and turned on the gas for the one that you weren't working on.

When you poured the pancake batter you realised, the stove was not on and the other empty pan was steaming

“I turned on the wrong pan shit!”

Morbid curiosity, as they say, made you want to touch the steaming pan. And you did

"AAAAH"

You burnt your middle and index finger and you didn't know what to do but turn off the stove and stand there and shake your palm from the pain

Tears pricked your eyes in pain which didn't make you notice a cool sensation spreading over your fingers

Apparently, Bucky kept your hand under the running cool water of the sink. You looked up to a focussed face, Bucky's hair in a messy bun.

"Mr B-Barnes" you sobbed.

"Shhh let's see"

And while he was seeing the severity of your injury, you could hear the usual mockery of Sam and Clint

"Man why you turnin’ on a stove you don't use man?"

"Gosh there is a limit to your clumsiness Y/N"

"That poor bowl could have been set on fire"

That was the limit

"THAT'S ENOUGH! One more word and I swear I will cut both of ya tongues and fry it in this steaming pan."

Bucky was hissing, his eyes killing them with his gaze

"Are you okay doll? Just run it under the water for a minute more and I'll give ya first aid okay?"

You stood their wide-eyed, surprised at Bucky's transformation from a raging ball of fire to a cool breeze of comfort

Meanwhile, Sam and Clint didn't take it personally for they were just trying to play cupid. When Bucky gave another death glare at them, Sam whispered silently which was audible for Bucky's hearing

"You've got it bad for her ice-man. You owe me 50!"

After treating your fingers, Bucky seated you on his bed making you wait...

...wait for deliciously smelling breakfast?

"Mr Barnes, you didn't have to cook for me"

"Oh don't worry about it doll. Oh hey, call me Bucky okay?"

He stretched out the fork, containing a mouthful of a pancake.

"But-"

"Hey, it's okay. It's just me. It's the least I can do with those assholes out there"

Your giggle was the green light for Bucky to feed you and you almost choked on your giggle when he said "aaa" when you opened your mouth

This was nothing like the Bucky you knew but deep inside, both of ya knew that this was going to be a good start to something new amongst ya both.

[sakurology]

Hey there, congrats on the well deserved milestone 💕! Can I have a meet-cute with Yamaguchi? He's just so adorable and I love letting him know that n the way he'd get all flustered after I compliment him just,, aaa it does good to my soul. I like to draw, I suck at math/science. I'm pretty chill n quiet but can get outta hand in terms of enthusiasm sometimes, to some surprise. I'm also definitely not so innocent most of the times hahAgH.

THANK YOU ANGEL ANON! Please this is 🥺🥺🥺 because the way @scorpiosanssexy made me soft about Yams earlier is now all I think about

- Classic friendly neighbor vibes

- Borrowing a cup of sugar but also any and every cleaning supply known to man

- Sweet baby Yams helping you clean up

New Message from Mom:

Can’t wait to see you, sweetheart! We should be there by 8. ❤️

That message sprung you out of bed in a panic. You had completely forgotten that your parents were driving to your place to meet you for a nice family dinner. They never really came to the city to visit you, so this was a big deal.

And it was an even bigger deal because your place was TRASHED. You weren’t really a messy person, but you had a busy week, which meant resorting to ordering takeout and simply throwing the dirty clothes you wore that day against the wall as you put on your comfy clothes. Not to mention, you were supposed to cook the meal.

How were you going to get all of that done? There was no way you could do it alone... Feeling the slight panic set in, you remembered that you lent your vacuum to your next door neighbor, Yamaguchi. You hadn’t really talked to him that much, but you lent it to him almost a week ago, and you were gonna need it back. You threw on a pair of shorts and a big tshirt and headed down the hallway of your apartment building.

There was a shuffling behind the door, followed by incoherent mumbling. A very sleepy boy opened the door, disheveled and clad only in pajama pants and slippers. Seeing you completely clothed and him shirtless woke him up, his face immediately flushing red.

“Um hi I’m sorry to bother you- I don’t know if you remember but I’m Y/N and-“ he cut you off.

“I borrowed your vacuum cleaner, yeah?”

You nodded.

“I uhhh- I’ll be right back,” he stuttered, closing the door on you, the same shuffling and mumbling echoed once again in the space behind it.

After a few moments, he returned, this time with a shirt and your vacuum.

“Sorry about that... I completely lost track of it.”

“It’s fine,” you stated. Taking a second glance at him, you noticed his freckled face was still a pale pink.

You both stood there with a gaze on each other until you realized you had forgotten about the mess of pizza boxes in your apartment. That, and you realized that if you kept staring, he might think you were crazy.

“Thanks for this!” You started to back away from his door. Your heart was fluttering a little bit. You awkwardly kept shuffling back.

“Oh,” he started. “I’m.. I’m Yamaguchi. It was nice use your vacuum, and Uhhh.. to officially meet you.”

“You too,” you sighed. “Gonna get going now! Nice pajamas by the way!”

He turned beet red again, and you immediately turned and darted back into your apartment, kicking yourself for blurting that out at him.

[taejeonie]

that punch, 날리고 🥊

— aka a markhee vlive scenario where they’re dating YAYY

*english is italicized but if they’re speaking in korean it’s not (including the comments)

“guys guys guys guys”

“HELLO EVERYONEEEE”

“G U Y S”

“GUYS”

markhee, harmonizing: “GuUuUuUYSSS!”

okay who gave them sugar

anyways

they’re both sweating bc they just finished practicing

we stan hard working legends amarite

mark was wearing his cap backwards but taehee flicked the back so it falls off his head :p

he sighs at her in disbelief, while smiling ofc, and places his cap back on his head

then taehee brings her face closer to the phone to read the comments

markswatermelons MY BABIES 🥺🥺🥺

taeyongcutiepie did you guys just finish practicing?

ncitygottagogetem PUNCH WAS SOOO GOOD!!

“did you guys enjoy punch?,” she asks

“we just finished practicing for a bit. everyone left already but taehee wanted to do vlive so i waited for her”

hyucksunshine you guys are soulmates

“actually, we filmed on weekly idol yesterday and we had a lot of fun,,,so please look forward to it!!!”

mark laughed bc he found the way she said it cute ;((

“ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ˡᵒᵒᵏ ᶠᵒʳʷᵃʳᵈ ᵗᵒ ⁱᵗ﹗﹗,” he copied her

taehee brings her phone out and puts her playlist on shuffle

happiness by roc plays first, “ahh i like this”

she pretended she was holding a mic while singing the lyrics in a quiet tone

meanwhile mark was talking about the photoshoot their maknae line had for star1

they looked so good in it PLEASE

“i’ll be the one,,,who stays til the end,,,,”

“honestly, the ambience helped us a lot get into the photoshoot. it was like warm and had like,,,an outdoor kind of feeling”

“and i’ll be the one that proposes,,in a garden of roses...”

taehee leans into mark’s shoulder while singing it’s free estate guys and he immediately puts his arm around her shoulders, still talking about the photoshoot

neoblink MARKHEEEE 💚💚

taeilsbutterfly i saw the behind the scenes!! mark and taehee kept dancing to ridin, it was so cute :>

“cause i am the one!! who waited this looong!! i am the one,,who might get it wrong”

at this point, mark finished talking about the shoot and is currently reading the comments

“and i'll be the one that will love you the way i'm supposed to”

taehee tilts mark’s head to face her while she sang the lyrics

and he had to hold himself back from kissing her right then and there

markswatermelons DID HE JUST LOOK AT HER LIPS

johfam i wouldn’t be surprised if they’re dating

jaeminanana they should just admit it already!!

mark realized what he was doing and pushed her away gently

but taehee and her dramatic ass pretended he pushed her really hard and fell on the floor

“OWWW”

“I DIDN’T EVEN PUSH YOU THAT HARD?? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

you hear taehee giggle before popping back into the frame and saying, “just kidding!!! hihi (*^▽^*)”

“ahh you and haechan are the same, really”

“hmm,” she pouts, “but i’m your-“

pause!!! since she was about to say GIRLFRIEND

“-favorite”

mark tried to hold in his laugh since she knows she was about to slip up

but she didn’t!! hehe

when it comes to the instrumental part, taehee pulls mark to stand up so they can dance

they’re hiphop dancers but u know how like

old people dance

yeah that’s exactly what they’re doing

still cute tho,,,,

markheeyipee they’re just friends guys

taehyucktion taehee’s really affectionate with the members, just like haechan!!

taeheelovely taehee!! what’s your lockscreen?

“what’s my lockscreen? guess :>>”

mark takes a peek at her lockscreen and starts laughing, “what is that??? when did you take this haha”

chenlerap a funny picture of haechan???

jaehyunsdimple probably jisung? since he said he sent her a funny picture a few days ago...

markheepizza MARK!!!

after that one ‘mark’ comment,,everyone started saying it WAS mark

“CORRECT!!! it’s mark!! but for his sake, i won’t show it to you guys (*´꒳`*)”

it was a picture of mark in white tee, messy hair, kissable lips like u know that video of mark holding a sb drink and there was a fan in his shirt?? mm yes very boyfriend material

taehee takes a look at her lockscreen again, “hmm but you look handsome in it though?? i guess it won’t hurt to show- HEY”

mark grabbed her phone and placed it in his pocket

taehee ran her tongue along the inside of her cheek and was tempted to reach for it

but he raised his brow at her as if to say “what? are you gonna get it?”

i live for cocky and confident mark lee

so taehee just shakes her head at him and faces the camera

“these days mark LOVES to take my phone,,he isn’t even going to use it he just takes it and keeps it there”

in reality mark just wants her to pay attention to him more in the dorms awww

“ah my homescreen? secreeeet (*´ω｀*)”

it was a picture of them sleeping in the backseat

taehee’s head was buried in mark’s neck, his head laid on top of hers while his arm was wrapped her shoulders

no one noticed except hyuck, so he took a pic of them

(〃ω〃)

ANYWAYSSS

“oh i remember we have drinks”

she goes off screen while mark watches her

“do you want me to get yours?,” he nods

“sLUSHIEEE”

“mark’s is red and mine’s blue- what is that? watermelon?”

“i thought it was,,but it was strawberry. you wanna taste?”

she takes a sip from his straw and glances at him, “it’s good!! you wanna taste mine?”

later into the vlive you would notice that they switched drinks already

they spent the next few moments reading comments from czennies 

chenlescars netflix recommendation? pwarkjisung what songs do you listen to these days? neogotmyback TAEHEE I LOVE YOUR HAIR

“’taehee i love your hair’”

“oh thank you!! i wanted to dye it blue for quite some time and the hyungs- oppas told me i should go for it hihi”

mark giggleD as he pointed at the screen

“what is it?”

jeon_jieun taehee, my baby!!! you look so grown up now!! 💚💚💚

“AA MOM!! (o-_-o)”

“HAHAHA YOU’RE SO CUTE”

“hi mom ;<< have you eaten?”

jeon_jieun yes :))))

“AHAHHAHAH SHE ANSWERED”

“mark and i will eat at the dorms if you’re wondering. we just finished practicing so we’ll eat right away”

“teehee’s mom, hello!!” 

mark lee is the type of boy your mom would want you to marry 

and maybe teehee’s mom would too jdbjksb

“actually, the only members who met my mom, like in-person, were you, haechan, doyoung-oppa, and taeyong-oppa”

“really?”

“yeah,,,the rest were through video call”

“ahh”

“she’s really fond of you,,”

“oh really?”

“haechan too”

“oh”

“HAHA WHY IS YOUR REACTION LIKE THAT?”

“LIKE WHAT?”

markjohnjae the way mark’s face went from ☺️ to 😐

“don’t worry, if you come home with me next time, you could take haechan’s spot as her favorite”

“mom, please look forward to it! (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞”

markheearchive DID MARK JUST CALL TAEHEE’S MOM “MOM” OMG THEY’RE GETTING MARRIED  hyucksolo MARKHEE ENDGAME

mark’s solo was the next song to play on her playlist

“ah this is my favorite song,” taehee said as she bopped her head to ‘talk about’, making mark laugh

she rapped the lyrics effortlessly and you could clearly see the heart eyes on mark’s face

until she imitated how mark growled during that one part of his rap

“this that MuRDER from the tongue-“

“OH WHAT DUDE DO I SOUND LIKE THAT?”

“HAHAHAHA”

“I DONT DO IT LIKE THAT!!”

“NOOOO, DUDE NO I SWEAR I WATCHED YOUR FANCAMS AND YOU DO SOUND LIKE THAT!!”

taehee chuckles at mark’s shy face, “okay, then show me”

“like right now” “mhmm”

...

“it’s the MuRDER from the tongue,,”

“it sounds the same!!”

“no it isn’t,,”

“oh what? yours is like,,sexier? is that what you want me to say?”

mark stares at her fondly for a moment before telling her, “i didn’t say thaaat”

“you like it either way ;))”

neodream07 do you watch ridin club?

“ridin club? what’s ridin club”

“it’s like the variety show of the kids”

“oHHHH”

“see? this is why they like me more than mark”

“pft”

“jaemin kissed haechan, right? jeno did too, almost”

mark laughed, “really??”

“yeah, aaa that kid. one day, he’s gonna do it for real and regret it.”

“but he already did?”

“what? when?”

“when we were filming the music video for ‘go’,,,your lips touched haha,,right?”

taehee (　˙-˙　)

“oh yeah right- i remember now”

her disgusted face while saying that made mark laugh

later on, mark felt taehee’s phone vibrate in his pocket so he brought it out and gave it to her

“haechanie texted me,,he said we should go back to the dorms- *laughs* he wants to play games already”

“what time is it?,” mark yawned

“it’s 11:57,,” she bit her lip and looked at mark

he does look like he’s about to sleep already

and he stayed with taehee so she won’t go live and go home on her own

(● ˃̶͈̀ロ˂̶͈́)੭ꠥ⁾⁾ i want a mark

“guys, we’re gonna have to wrap up now,,sorry for making the vlive so short :((((“

it’s been an hour taehee wym so short :<<

markhee stans are well fed

taeheebubs awww

markhyucktingles it’s okay bb!! get some rest <33

doyoungbunny get home safely!! and stay healthy!!

“you guys stay safe!! we’ll see each other soon,” mark waved

“goodnight guys!! or goodmorning- wherever you are. enjoy the rest of your day!! byeeee”

taehee turns off the vlive and stretches a bit while mark leans back to lay on the floor

she stands up and grabs her and mark’s bags after throwing their drinks in the trash bin

“come on, let’s go home :>>”

mark grabs her hand as he stood up, gets his backpack from her, and slings it around his shoulders

gently, he pulls taehee towards him and places a short kiss on her lips

she holds back a smile, “why so suddenly?”

“i wanted to do it earlier but i couldn’t”

their voices sound so small even if they’re the only ones in the practice room at that moment

it’s the butterflies,,,(//∇//)

she smiles and cups his face to bring him in for a longer kiss

mark smiles as he felt her deepen the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer

short, sweet kisses soon turned into hot, opened-mouth ones and taehee’s got her hands in mark’s hair, making a small sound come out of him

taehee’s phone rings once again, making her pull away from mark before giving him one last peck on the lips

mark lee best kisser i think

mark intertwines their hands together as she accepted the call,,,led her out of the practice room and to the elevator

“noona, why are you laughing? it’s so late, are you still there?”

“we’re about to get off the elevator, don’t worry”

“the live ended a few minutes agooo. what took you so loooong”

taehee senses the pout in hyuck’s voice and chuckles at him, “secret. we’ll play games later, byeee”

“secret...? sECRET-“

beep

“you ended the call just like that?,” mark laughs at her

taehee shrugs in response

later when they’re at home and in their taehee’s bed, they head off to sleep after taehee played rounds with hyuck and johnny

as taehee’s head laid snug on mark’s chest, his arms wrapped around her frame to keep her close, mark thought nothing could get as cozy as this moment.

[ranposlittle]

Hey! I have a request! Could you do a Poe x Shy Poet reader? The reader insecure of themselves and their work but one day decided to share their work with Poe , and how tries to make them feel better about their work? (If you need some poetry for the reader I’ve wrote some poems I can give you one! Even tho I’m also insecure about my work) Sfw but fluffy please!

Genre: SFW, Fluff

Tags: Confession, Comfort

A/N: Here it is, poe-is-bean! I hope the fluff is enough and you find it worth the looong wait. Thank you so much for sharing your own poems to me (theyre great) and I hope I did them some justice ;-; ENJOYYY~ ٩( ๑^ ꇴ^)۶

((EDIT!!! idk if the read more break can be seen on mobile but when i was editing, there's a break after the ask & idk how to fix it so im so sorry aaa))

***

The room is so empty

I can hear my own heartbeat

Day and Night

The sound of pencil on paper

It echos

I just want someone to talk to

Someone to hold me close

To make the room feel less empty

The words faded on the white paper as the ink on your pen ran out. You clicked your tongue and sighed as you look around the park you're sitting at. Just the cherry on top of your already dismal day, you thought.

It was a cloudy day but you squinted at the harsh light of the sun peeking slightly through the wispy clouds. You leaned back on the warm bench and closed your tired eyes. You slowly inhaled the delicious summer air but your chest feels as hollow as the tube of ink inside your pen.

"Karl! No!"

A voice suddenly rang from somewhere near and as you sluggishly open your eyes to peek, something heavy and fuzzy landed on your lap, causing you to shriek and jump from your seat. Your heart raced from the surprise, but as you quickly realized that it was just a raccoon who got attracted by the leftover peanuts you have on your side, you heaved a sigh of relief.

"No! Stop that!" A man with messy hair and an outfit that's undoubtedly too hot for the weather rushed to you. His eyes are barely visible through his dark overgrown hair but it wasn't able to hide the handsome features beneath.

"It-it's okay," you said shyly, mentally hitting yourself for stuttering. "He can have it. I don't mind."

"I really do apologize," the unknown man said, his voice low and trembling. He scratch his temple in embarrassment. "Karl is just crazy for peanuts lately."

You just gave him a meek smile and fiddled with the notebook on your lap. You thought about how cute it is that he has a pet raccoon, how cute it is that he named it with such a humanly name, and how cute he is.

Wait, what.

Heat rushed from your body and up to your face, feeling foolish for having such a thought with someone you just met. You hunched to hide your face, fearing the stranger would see the blush covering your cheeks.

"Can I sit with you?" He asked, snapping you away from your thoughts. "M-my name is Edgar, by the way. Edgar Allan Poe."

Your eyes traveled up his slender form. Despite his dark clothing, his timid and humble appearance made it easier for you to let him enter into your space. He thanked you and asked for your name in return. And just like that, your otherwise usual and grey day became colorful like the evening sky as you sat there beside him, familiarizing yourselves with each other while the innocent racoon eat the rest of the stale peanuts on the bench.

Is this a dream?

Is it real?

He was so close

Yet so far

We sat together for hours

The time was ours

But now it’s not

It slipped away

So quickly

Birds chirped around you as you looked up from your writing, searching through your surroundings and hoping to see the stranger once again. The more hours that passed, the more that you're starting to believe that it was just all somehow a vivid hallucination. You sighed in defeat and eyed another blank spot on your notebook. You thought about writing another poem about how sometimes, it's better to stay in an illusion than face reality because at least in your daydreams, wonderful things happen.

You pressed the tip of your pen on the paper to write the first letter of your work when all of a sudden, the ink bled all over the page, causing you to spat a curse under your breath. You quickly handled the situation, making sure that your clothes and the rest of your notbeook isn't affected by another one of your daily misfortunes. You groaned and pulled out the wipes out of your bag, aggressively wiping the stubborn ink blots on your hand.

"Um, are you okay, (Y/N)?"

You glared up to the quiet voice that called out your name. The tightness of your facial muscles from frowning slowly loosening up as you recognize the figure in front of you.

Poe's tall physique shaded you from the blazing sun and from where you are sitting, he looked just like a dream; a mirage that manifested out of your imagination and into your reality.

"I'm... I'm okay," you mumbled. Your heart thumped heavily against your ribcages as you remain frozen, your wide eyes glued to him as if you're scared that he'll disappear if you blink.

He flashed you a bright smile and gingerly sat beside you. Poe eyed the notebook on your lap and saw the familiar structure of the words on it.

"You write poems?" He asked with excitement evident on his voice, pulling you back to the ground. As Poe reached out to have a closer look with the item, you swiftly pulled away.

"Don't!" You exclaimed. The volume of your voice made nearby passerbys turn their heads on your direction and Karl critter on Poe's shoulder as if by surprise, too.

Poe was taken aback by your reaction as well but being a creator himself, he quickly understand that there is a certain reservation an artist have with its works. He understands the insecurity of being not good enough or questioning yourself as to why are you even trying when there's always someone out there that can do better than you. He knows the feeling very well.

"I'm sorry," he said calmly. "I know an artist's works are always very personal. I shouldn't have intruded."

Guilt spilled all over you and spread a bitter taste on your mouth. "I'm sorry, too," you sighed after a while. "I'm just not ready to show it to anyone yet. It's not your fault."

"I understand. I am a writer myself," Poe said with a gentle smile. "However, if the time has come when you've finally found the courage within you to be proud of yourself and your creations as an extension of yourself, it'll be my pleasure if you'll have me as the first person that would ever lay eyes on it."

Poe's words echoed to the deepest parts of your being. You felt bare to the bones, like everything that you've tried so hard to hide is just somehow exposed for him to see. Gone was his timid character and he's now exuding confidence; a sense of sureness in everything that can only come to people who has been through the ringer and survived to be an inspiration. Your eyes glistened to see another layer of his natural mystique unfold in front of you. Right then, you were filled with the hunger to know more, to uncover more, and to see more of his fascinating self.

Karl climbed down from Poe's shoulder, searched for something on his layered clothes and ran to your lap with an object wedged between his pointy mouth.

"It's a gift," Poe explained when Karl dropped an expensive looking pen in front of you. "I hope you never stop creating, despite of life's minor inconveniences."

"Would you meet me here again tomorrow?" You asked without you even realizing that you were speaking aloud and feeling the weight of your question only after it's done.

Poe tensed up on his seat. Your question was unexpected and it made his own heart raced for a reason he can't quite explain. However, seeing your eyes looking more alive than when he first met you delighted him and he gave you a humble smile.

"Karl has an appointment with the vet tomorrow," he said with his usual gentle voice. "But we can meet at the cafe nearby after."

Your heart soared way above the cloudless sky that day as a big smile stretched your lips and you felt like you haven't smiled like this for a while now. You accepted his invitation and noted the place and time on your notebook. For the first time in a long time, you felt thankful. You thank yourself for being able to push the words out, albeit almost unconsciously, and you thanked life. Despite the mishaps and blunders it brings you everyday, it gave you the opportunity to meet someone. A someone who made you look at everything in beautiful colors you don't even see before. You view everything so differently now; everything including yourself.

Months have passed since that fateful day and you still can vividly remember how your world shifted from then on like it was just yesterday. You meet Poe with any spare time you have and with every moment you spent with him, you got to know all of the layers of his being and in return, he got to know yours. You felt like you're rediscovering yourself as you open up to him. You felt freer. As time went on, a certain feeling crept up on you. It was a strange but awfully familiar feeling that sits inside your chest, like an everlasting bonfire that warms you up from inside out.

The paperback cover of the notebook crunched as you gripped on it tightly. Your mind is foggy with nervousness and immediately doubting if you've made the right decision to finally show him your poems. You shifted on the same bench you sat the first time that you've met and you waited for Poe, all kinds of imaginary scenarios playing in your head in the meantime.

"Hey, (Y/N)!"

You finally heard his familiar voice, a sound that no music can compare to. He was cheerily waving at you, you waved back and nervously greeted him. You laid peanuts on the bench for Karl and he happily hopped off of Poe's back to get on his treats.

"So, you've finally found your courage, huh?" He said before sitting down on his usual spot beside you. "I'm really proud of you, (Y/N). I know it wasn't easy. This is a big step for you and I want to thank you for choosing me."

Your anxiety dissipated in a snap. The flames on your heart grew bigger and brighter with his encouraging words. This tender moment solified your suspicion; you're absolutely, undoubtedly, sincerely in love with him.

"No, Poe," you replied, "I should be the one thanking you. You're the one who showed me that I have that courage inside me in the first place. I can't even begin to explain how you've changed my life."

"Well, that's what art is for, isn't it? To help us express what our words can't," Poe said, his warm smile never leaving his lips. "Besides, my words wouldn't mean anything if you didn't made the decision yourself. It's all you, (Y/N). Give yourself more credit, won't you?"

You beamed at him, the fluttering feeling on your chest continue to grow and filled every part of your being where you used to feel hollow. Your fears disappeared and you handed him your notebook like you're handing him your heart. Poe reached out for it, handling it as gently as you would a china doll.

You sighed contently and gaze at the clear sky above you as you let Poe flip through the pages of your notebook like you're letting him flip through the pages of your life. Every experience you've went through, every emotions, every secret thoughts and desires and everything that lead up to the person you are now; all of them contained in a single book.

Karl muched on the last peanut you laid out for him as Poe reached the last poem.

 Love, what a beautiful thing

It makes my heart flutter

No matter how much I mutter

I always stutter

Those simple words

It races when he’s near

And falls when he’s far

Why can’t I tell him?

Poe's concealed eyes widened and his racing heartbeat vibrated on his whole body. He knows it's an absurd thought to assume the poem is about him but somehow, he was certain that it was. He thought that perhaps it's just wishful thinking brought by his delirious affection he's been hiding from you for a time now.

"You're really promising, (Y/N)," his voice wobbled as he said your name and he cleared his throat as he tried to give you a more constructive feedback. "I can really feel the emotions on your works. Every artist has their own way of making art and you shouldn't feel insecure with how you choose to express yourself. Art isn't about pleasing other people, it's only about you. If you're confident with yourself and your work, other people will reflect that. All you have to do is to stay true to yourself. And as far as I know, you are capable of making more beautiful poems, because you're beautiful."

The distant sounds of people and animals in the busy park rang as the both of you froze on your spots, equally taken aback by Poe's compliment.

"I–I–I mean, you're a great person, that's all," Poe stammered, full of worry for his well-kept secret.

You turned your blushing face away from him and chewed on your lips. Thoughts on whether you should finally admit to him your feelings rushed through your mind. Karl, finished with his snack, climbed on your lap and looked at you as if he's conveying a message. You know that he's probably just asking if you have any more peanuts for him but at that moment, you took it as an encouragement for you to tell him about the nagging feeling inside you that occupies every corner of your mind.

"The last poem," you told Poe while looking at the ground, "I wrote it for you."

Poe once again picked up the notebook, turned it on the last entry and re-read it. He felt like he's being choked out of air as he drowned on the exuberant joy he's feeling as he realized what you meant. His head whipped at your direction, looking at your fidgeting form and felt an urge.

He moved closer to you and gently called out your name. When you turn your head to face him, he reached out and touched your cheek. His finger traced along your jawline and ended on your chin. Although his eyes are barely visible, you can see the solemnity of his gaze and your heart skipped a beat.

"I feel the same way, (Y/N)," Poe confessed as his thumb caressed your lower lip.

You were happy. You were happier than you've ever been in your entire life and yet, your eyes strained as tears threatened to fall. You smiled at Poe and slowly closed your eyes, giving him the permission his gentle touches are asking.

Poe's lips closed in on yours and the rest of the world was quiet as you return his kiss, letting your feelings unravel and tangle against each other. Everything felt right, like every puzzle piece has been put in their place and the picture is complete. You felt the satisfaction, the pleasure, the joy and the pride. You finally understood why there are so many stories, poems, songs and artworks about love. It's just one of those things that can only be truly explained through art. One thing is certain in your head now: love, it is truly such a beautiful thing.