#I WILL NEVER BUY A SPARKS JERSEY

[wutheringheightsmp4]

what if I killed myself

[sugurusdiscordmoderator]

Attack on Titan characters and where they would take you on a first date

MDNI 18+ not explicit but sexual encounters implied

Featuring Armin, Jean, Connie, Reiner, Eren, Levi, Erwin, Hange, and Mikasa

Armin:

Bowling! I feel like he cute and awkward and it would just be the two of you but little do you know a few lanes over are all his friends spying because he was sooo excited about getting to know you. He had an extra pair of socks in his car? in case you didn’t wear any so your pretty feet didn’t have to touch the gross shoes! Made out in his car when he dropped you off at your house then walked you to your front door blushing.

Jean:

Taking you to the movies! Total sucker for the yawn & put his arm around your shoulder move. He’s get you whatever popcorn/drink/candy whatever you want. Depending on the movie, if you got sleepy or scared and laid your head on his shoulder and he’d kinda smirk to himself and he thinks he’s got it in the bag. Would try to make out with you in the theater if nobody was there like total teenagers. If reader was willing, definitely would go home with you but would be very respectful to let you know he wants you but doesn’t want to fuck on the first date

Eren

I think maybe a nice walk in a park. On a cold morning and you both bring your dogs after you get coffee at a little cafe his girl friend recommended. He’d give you his scarf if you were cold and I feel like he’d give you the cutest forehead kiss before the most intimate sparks flying kiss on the lips that you forgot it was winter. He wouldn’t end the date until you guys decided when your next date or time he’d see you would be. Second date is dinner at his apartment :)

Levi

I think he’d take you to like top golf or some type of sporting outdoorsy thing? If not top golf maybe a soccer or baseball game? He would help you if you’ve never golfed and like line himself up behind you to show you. He’d “accidentally” brush his lips against your ear/neck to see how you react. Would ask you to grab a drink or something after and would say suggestive things the whole time to watch you blush and squeeze your thighs together! After a few drinks you go back to his nice ass apartment and fuck for hours. You’re attached at the hip after that day and there isn’t even a question about a second date.

Connie

I feel like he’d take you to a basketball game and he’d prepare and buy you a tshirt or jersey ahead of time to change into and then he’d keep telling you how good you look in it <3 he’d ask you if you want to hold his hand & he’d buy you an expensive sports arena drink. You guys end up on the kiss cam and Connie blushes so motherfucking hard you can’t help but giggle. He tells you after that he’s sorry your first kiss was in front of all these people. You have such a good time and neither of you want the date to end so you end up walking around after and back at your place you stay up late all night talking! You make out in between deep conversations and you make popcorn and watch movies. He ends up falling asleep on your couch even though you told him he could sleep in your bed. Sexy ass morning sex and takes you out to breakfast.

Reiner

Study date! Your first date is a little “lame” as other people would put it but you meet him in one of your college courses and he asked you to study biology with him at the library. Asks you for your coffee order ahead of time and brings it to you!! You flirt and giggle a lot while you go over course materials and he walks you back to your apartment after. You tell him you’re ordering takeout for dinner and asks if he wants to join and he does, super lowkey and doesn’t even kiss you. But he does ask for your second date to not be school related

Erwin

Museum or book shop date, something educational! It’s such a cozy vibe and he pushes a piece of hair behind your ear while you’re reading. He asks if you want to meet up with his friends for a happy hour afterwards and thinks it’s funny how polite you are to Hange and Levi. On the walk back to the car he notices you’re chilly and gives you his coat. You end up talking about some book you have and invite him into your apartment to find it. You end up on his lap in a steamy couch make out session but he doesn’t let it escalate even though you want it so bad. He stares so intensely in your eyes and tells you he’s borrowing the book and you will have to see him again to get it back <3

Hange

They ask you to go to a candle making class or some type of crafty workshop. They’re so silly and messy and you both can’t stop laughing. Your pottery/candle/painting whatever you made turns out pretty messed up but you both had fun. They hold your hand as you walk to grab some lunch afterwards. After lunch you go your separate ways and you get a text as soon as you got home saying “can I please see you again?” Hange wouldnt do anything on your first date I feel like but the second date they’re going to kiss you as soon as they knock on your door for the second date.

Mikasa

Asks you to a concert! Some indie artsy person you haven’t heard of at a small venue. She will stand behind you and wrap her arms around your shoulders as you guys sway to the music and she kisses you at the slow songgg. Car sex on the way home. She makes sure like 10 times that you’re okay with it though. She plays with your hair after.

A/N my app is being so stupid so I gave up trying to edit this I’m sorry if there is typos lmaoo

[loviingpedri]

where was i? - trent a.a

prompt: where trent redeems himself as a father.

warnings: cursing, angst, grammar issues

Part 1 -> Part 2 here

our secret

you were shocked when you saw the two pink lines. it was surprising, but it was the only thing you’ve ever wanted. a conversation about starting a family was brought up, but you’ve never thought it would happen in the spark of your relationship. it was no secret that the love was strong, maybe even too strong. you were so excited to tell trent. you could only dream of the smile on his face. then, him helping you throughout your pregnancy. you were so quick to buy a baby size of the alexander-arnold jersey. it would only be a few hours before trent came home.

carefully putting the jersey and test in the box, you were practically jumping around the house to make this perfect. you found a little changeable letter board. changing the letters quickly to spell out the words, “baby alexander-arnold coming on -/-/—“ after your finished product, you snapped a quick picture before hiding it in the corner of the closet. you knew trent would never see it since it was behind the clothes he rarely wore.

only 2 hours to spare, you rested after finishing your masterpiece. your heart practically about to come out of your chest in anticipation. the sun finally set, and the door was being unlocked. you got up quicker than light. soon, your boyfriend’s face was in clear sight.

“hi trent, how was practice?” you tried to hug him, but it was shaken off.

“it was fine.” you could tell he was colder than usual. he’s never acted like this before.

“i can make you dinner, while you shower. i’ve got some happy news to tell you.”

“actually y/n, we need to talk. i think you need to sit down.” he seemed so stressed out. you could only think something happened at practice.

“of course, what is it?” silence filled the room. it was the quietest your relationship had been. your eyebrows started to fury in concern. what the hell was going on.

“we should break up.”

“what?” your face dropped. you were so confused. nothing happened in the past few days that could’ve led to this. yesterday he was all over you. now all of a sudden, he calls it quits.

“i met someone else. my career has been taking off. i just need space. something that’s not going to distract me.”

water started filling your eyes. “you see me as a distraction? trent what the fuck.” you wanted to believe you were dreaming. you wanted to pinch yourself and tell yourself it wasn’t reality. you wanted everything for trent. you would do anything for trent. he threw you away. he threw his child away. he never realized he just lost his whole life within minutes.

“i can get you a ride and provide a place for you to stay. i’ll get someone to drop off your stuff if you’d like.”

“i can provide for myself, thank you.” you knew damn well what you were getting into by just leaving without telling him. it was deserved, though. he said he didn’t need you, so you won’t need him for your child.

soon, our secret became just my secret.

[feelmyskinonyourskin]

Drive [Car Sex Trope]

Pairing: Matt Murdock x AFAB Reader

Trope de Sept Masterlist | Main Masterlist

Car Sex situation 1. Characters bone in a vehicle. That's it. "You take Matt in a beat up rental car to a parking lot in Jersey so he can experience learning to drive. Things get steamy."

Warnings: SMUT/18+ (don’t interact if your age is not in your bio). No use of Y/N. AFAB Reader. Unprotected P in V, Oral (F receiving), Creampie.

WC: 1,701

AN: Thank you all so much for all the love during my September Trope event! It was fun, but I'm exhausted, so you probably won't be getting a lot of new stuff from me for a while after this. Writing 17 fics in one month was a lot. Thank you all again, it was a blast! I'm already churning up ideas for next year...

*I never give permission for my fics, manips, or any other original creation I post on this site to be copied, posted elsewhere, translated, or fed into any AI program. The only platform I currently post anything on is Tumblr. Thanks!*

“Brake is the left Matt, the left!!” you shouted, gripping at the dashboard as the car whizzed around the parking lot

“I know! I know!” he argued back, effortlessly spinning the steering wheel

“Do you?!”

“I’m blind, but I still know my left from my right!”

Being in a car in an empty parking lot with a blind man behind the wheel was maybe not your best idea, even if that blind man had enhanced abilities.

It all began a few days before, after several rounds of beers at Josie’s, of course.

“What do you mean you didn’t go to prom?” you asked Foggy, flabbergasted at his confession

“I asked the most popular girl in school and of course, she just couldn’t handle all my charm and swagger, so she turned me down and I just didn’t end up going.”

Thus sparked the discussion on normal teenage things you’d all missed.

“Well, I never knew the joys of having one of my parents teach me how to drive.” Matt commented

“Ugh that’s so sad.” you replied “That was one of the greatest joys of my teenage years. The day I got my license; stepping out of the DMV and getting in the car. All the freedom of taking your parent’s car for the first time, getting to go anywhere you wanted.

“I was doing that when I was barely 8. It’s called the subway.” 

“No, no. A car is so different! It’s just… I can’t even describe it!” you exclaimed, a little tipsy from too many pitchers of Heineken

So here you were, in an empty parking lot of a closed down Best Buy in a suburb in New Jersey, in the most junky rental car you could get. Determined to give Matt the experience he missed out on. 

The windows were rolled down so Matt could get a better 360 “view” with his senses. Only a few light posts were scattered through the parking lot. So fortunately, there wasn’t much to avoid. With no other cars or people around, Matt had total freedom to experience the thrill of learning to drive.

Your heart was thumping out of your chest with every turn and bump in the cracked pavement.

Honestly, it wasn’t because he couldn’t “see” out the windshield, it was because he was being his usual reckless self and driving how you imagined a teenager behind the wheel for the first time would. God, you suddenly felt sympathy for all the times your father took you out when you were 16 to teach you.

He hit the brakes hard with a screech, sending you flying towards the dashboard.

“What, what!?” you exclaimed

“Sorry, I’m still getting used to how touchy the brakes are. There’s a bunny.” he nodded toward the windshield

Sure enough, a rabbit came prancing along at least 20 feet in front of the car, totally oblivious to his not so narrowly avoided doom.

“I think that might be enough for today.” you groaned

“No! I’m having fun! Aren’t you?”

You narrowed your stare at him and crossed your arms, knowing he could sense all the tells of your body that fun was not the word to describe your feelings towards this experience.

“C’mon sweetheart, relax yeah? I really appreciate you doing this for me.” 

He leaned across the center console to give you a kiss. The car lurched forward as he pressed his lips to yours.

“Keep your foot on the brake, Matt!” you chided

“Alright!”

He sat back upright, maneuvering the gear shift into park and ratcheting up the parking brake.

“Better?” he asked with a raise of his brows “Can I kiss you now that the vehicle is safely not in motion?”

“Yes.”

A grin spread across his face as he leaned toward you once more, this time adding a firey passion to his kisses.

“Come here.” he said, lips hovering over yours, pulling you to straddle him

Pliable to his touch with only a few kisses, you slotted yourself across his lap easily, finding the hem of your sweatshirt and tossing it into the backseat.

His lips moved down your already heated skin, sucking and biting at your neck and collar bone. 

Just as you were about to release a lusty moan, your rear accidently bumped the steering wheel causing it to let out a loud wail.

You and Matt jolted apart, crumbling into a fit of giggles at the sudden interruption.

“You know, that’s another teenage experience I never got as a city boy” he murmured low, hand reaching up to stroke your face

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“Sneaking out with my girlfriend and having sex in the backseat of my crappy car.”

“Matthew…”

“Parking lot is empty, no one around. We could roll the windows up and make it steamy in here…” 

You had to giggle at the thought, though he was right, as New Yorkers there weren’t many places to have a little fun outside the apartment where you wouldn’t get caught.

“Alright,” you agreed “roll the windows up and meet me in the back seat.”

That was always the joy of being in a relationship with Matthew, he never let things get stale or boring and always found a way to make any situation flirty and fun and sometimes, like right now, downright sultry.

He tossed his glasses onto the dashboard while you climbed through the gap between the front seats. He joined you, sitting side by side on the bench seat and resumed your makeout session.

“Matt…” you mewled as he traced his tongue along your neck and jaw

“I know sweetheart, I’ll take care of you.”

He slipped a hand behind your back to remove your bra, taking time to lick and suck each of your nipples as the fabric fell away.

Your skin tingled with every movement of his lips across your body. Anticipation of what was to come alighting a fire in your belly as you arched your back into his touch. 

He pawed at the fastenings of your jeans, desperate to get you bare for him. Obliging, you helped him remove your pants and kick off your shoes, leaning back to lay on the seat beneath you.

The upholstery of the worn backseat was not the most comfortable of sensations against your body, but as soon as his rough hands were kneading at your thighs and spreading them open, the nuisance of it left your mind.

Satisfied with the state of arousal you were in, he finally reached his hands to where you wanted him most, moving your panties to the side and dipping his head down towards your pussy.

“Oh– god.” your moan was strangled as he teased your clit with just a brush of his tongue

But he didn’t tease for long, grasping your hips and pulling you in one motion towards his mouth. Heat spread across your already warm skin when he finally licked a long stripe through your folds. Pulling you firm to his heated mouth to lap and suck, he let out a lowly moan against your core. It reverberated through you and sent a shiver up your spine. As he sucked and kissed at your clit, you could feel your orgasm blossoming beneath the surface. Growing steadily until he added two fingers into your heat, causing your climax to explode out of you.

With a cry of his name, you came apart. Matt continued to work you through it until you were a panting and sweaty heap beneath him.

He sat back on his heels as you watched, still too blissed out to do much, and removed his shirt as well. Your slick covered the satisfied smirk that spread across his plush lips. 

“You want some more, baby?” he cockily asked

A docile whimper was all you were able to squeak out, nodding your head as he freed himself from his pants.

He sat back on the seat and you clambered to climb on top of him, sinking his length into your ready cunt in one motion.

Your simultaneous moans reverberated around the cramped space. His length felt so perfectly filling, you were tempted to just rest there a while and enjoy the sensation. But the desperate whine that escaped his lips had you rolling your hips, drawing more moans from the both of you. He leaned back, head falling against the seat and eyes pressed shut as he got more and more  lost in the bliss of your body while you rode the both of you to ecstasy.

Both of your skin was damp and sticky and the labored breaths you let out between lust-filled kisses had the windows sufficiently fogged up, just as Matt requested. If anyone were to have driven by, they would’ve known exactly what was going on in that car.

Your fingers tangled in his dark hair and he shuddered at the feeling, causing his lips to part as he let out a shaky plea.

“Keep– please, that feels so good. God, please keep going.”

As he thrusted up harder to meet the already consistent rock of your hips, the steady rubbing against your clit was driving you towards the edge quickly. You trailed trembling fingers up his muscled chest, finding grounding by grasping his shoulders leaving white indents with your fingers as you clung to him. His pace became more erratic, a sure sign that he was just as close to the cliff’s edge as you.

One more breathy beg of your name from him was all it took to get you there. This orgasm hit you as intensely as the last. Your walls contracted around him until he couldn’t take it anymore either, spilling inside you with a low groan.

You both stayed there a while, panting and catching your breath as you came down. Disheveled dark locks stuck to his damp forehead as he pressed it against yours. His beautiful hazel eyes darted around as he breathed you and this moment in and held you close.

“Well I’d say it is sufficiently steamy in here.” you said in barely a whisper, causing a chuckle from him

“We should get back to the city.” he replied

“Okay” you agreed “but I’m driving.”

[jackethockey]

NHL one shot

Warnings: Smut (kissing, stripping, oral) inappropriate language, detailed sex, Cole x reader

Cole Sillinger, a promising young player for the Columbus Blue Jackets, had just scored the winning goal in a nail-biting game against the Detroit Red Wings. The roar of the arena crowd washed over him as he skated around the rink, his teammates slapping his back in congratulations. Among the sea of faces, he caught yours. Your eyes locked with his, and even from a distance, he could see the spark of excitement and passion in your gaze. You were a frequent attendee of his games, always sitting in the same spot, but tonight was different. He felt a sudden, inexplicable urge to know you, to bridge the gap between the ice and the stands.

After the game, as the adrenaline began to wear off and the buzz of victory hummed through the arena, Cole made it a point to find you. He had noticed you at previous games, but tonight your fiery spirit had captured his heart. He searched the crowd for the face that had haunted his thoughts during the final moments of the match. Spotting you as you made your way to the exit, he quickly shed his gear and rushed over, hoping to catch you before you disappeared into the cold night. With a mix of nervousness and excitement, he approached you, his breath misting in the chilly air. 

"Excuse me," he began, "I couldn't help but notice how much you enjoyed the game. Mind if I buy you a drink?"

 He offered a charming smile, his eyes never leaving yours, and you, taken aback by his sudden appearance, felt a thrill run down your spine. After a brief hesitation, you accepted, not quite believing that the star of the game was asking you out. This was the beginning of a whirlwind romance that neither of you could have anticipated.

As you walked out of the arena with Cole by your side, the electricity between you was palpable. You could feel his strong hand gently guiding you through the throngs of fans, his eyes never leaving yours. He led you to a nearby sports bar, one that was frequented by the team after home games. The moment you entered, the buzz of the crowd grew louder, and you realized that everyone knew who he was. Despite the attention, his focus remained solely on you, making introductions to his teammates feel like a private moment amidst the public celebration. He was charming and attentive, making you laugh with stories from his days in the minor leagues and asking about your life with genuine interest. The chemistry was undeniable, and as the night grew later, the conversation grew more intimate. His hand found yours under the table, sending waves of heat through your body, and when he leaned in to whisper something in your ear, you felt a shiver of anticipation. The tension grew until it was almost unbearable, and when he suggested you go to his place to continue the night, you couldn't resist.

As you stepped into the warmth of his luxurious apartment, the tension between you and Cole thickened. The air was charged with unspoken desires, and the silence that followed the closing of the door was deafening. He took off his jacket, revealing the broad shoulders and chiseled abs that had been hidden beneath his jersey. You felt a flutter in your stomach as he turned to you, his gaze intense and filled with longing. Without a word, he took your hand and led you to the living room, the soft lighting casting shadows across his features, making him look every inch the hero you had watched from the stands. As he poured you a drink, his movements were deliberate, his eyes never leaving yours. He handed you the glass, the touch of his fingers against yours sending a jolt of electricity through you. With a soft smile, he leaned in, his breath warm against your cheek as he whispered,

 "Thank you for agreeing to come with me." 

Before you could respond, he closed the distance between you, his lips capturing yours in a kiss that was both tender and demanding. It was as if he had been waiting for this moment all night, all season, all his life. The kiss deepened, his arms wrapping around you, pulling you closer as if he could meld your bodies together. You melted into him, the feel of his strong embrace making your knees weak. The passion that had been simmering beneath the surface of your interactions all night boiled over, and you knew that this was the start of something incredible.

With the kiss still lingering on your lips, you felt a surge of emotion and desire that you had never experienced before. You set your drink down and wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him closer, deepening the connection between you. His hands began to roam, caressing your back and waist, leaving a trail of fire wherever they touched. You could feel his heart racing in sync with yours, the intensity of the moment threatening to consume you both. As the kiss grew more passionate, he gently picked you up and carried you to his bedroom, never breaking the contact between your mouths. Once there, you felt the softness of his bed beneath you as he laid you down, his body hovering over yours. He peeled off your jacket, revealing the jersey you had worn to support him, the number 4 proudly displayed across your chest. He traced the number with his fingertips, a look of admiration and affection in his eyes. You could feel his warmth, his strength, and his need for you, and it was all you could do to not let the anticipation overwhelm you. With each touch, each kiss, the barriers between you crumbled away, leaving only raw, unbridled passion. As you both lost yourselves in the heat of the moment, you knew that this was the beginning of a love story that would be as unforgettable as the games you watched from the stands.

Without wasting another moment, Cole's hands began to explore the soft fabric of your jersey, his fingers tracing the curves of your body. You reciprocated, your hands eager to feel the muscles beneath his shirt that had worked so hard to win the game. The material of your clothes became a barrier to the connection you craved, and with a mutual understanding, you both began to undress each other. Each layer that was removed revealed more of the other's beauty, and the anticipation grew. As you lay together, skin against skin, the intensity of your kisses grew, your bodies moving in a silent dance of desire. He caressed your bare skin with a tenderness that surprised you, considering the fiery passion that had brought you to this point. His touch was like a brand, marking you as his, and you reveled in the feeling. His hands moved to the waistband of your jeans, and with a gentle tug, he began to peel them away, exposing the lacy underwear that matched the passion in your eyes. You watched as he took in the sight of you, his eyes dark with desire, and felt a rush of power knowing that you could evoke such a reaction from this powerful man. With trembling hands, you reached for his belt, the sound of it unbuckling echoing through the quiet room. The heavy thud of his jeans hitting the floor was the only sound that broke the silence as you both became lost in the sensations of your first, intimate touches. His hand brushed against your inner thigh, sending shockwaves of pleasure through your body, making you gasp into his mouth. This was the moment you had been waiting for, the moment when you would finally be one with the man whose face you had watched from the stands, whose name was etched in your heart. As the final pieces of clothing fell away, you knew that nothing would ever be the same again.

Cole's hand traveled further up your thigh, his fingertips grazing the lace of your panties, sending a delicious tremor through your body. He paused, seeking permission with a question in his gaze, and you nodded, biting your bottom lip in anticipation. With a soft groan, he hooked his fingers under the lace and slowly began to pull it down, revealing your most intimate secrets to his hungry eyes. You watched as he took in the sight of you, his pupils dilating with desire. He leaned down, pressing feather-light kisses along the inside of your thigh, his warm breath tickling your sensitive skin. As his kisses grew closer to your center, your body responded instinctively, arching towards him. His mouth found yours again in a passionate kiss as he gently parted your legs, settling himself between them. The weight of his body pressing down on you was intoxicating, and you could feel his arousal, hard and insistent, against your stomach. Your hands roamed his broad back, pulling him closer, silently begging for more. His touch grew bolder, his fingers exploring the wetness that had gathered at the apex of your thighs. He found your clit, and you gasped as he began to circle it with the pad of his thumb, the pressure building, making you squirm beneath him.

With a groan of desire, Cole's mouth left yours and began a scorching trail down your neck, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin as he moved lower. His hands cupped your breasts, teasing your nipples into hard peaks before taking one into his mouth, his tongue flicking and swirling as you moaned in pleasure. His other hand remained between your legs, his thumb now pressing firmly against your clit as his fingers slipped into the warm, wet pussy. He stroked you gently, feeling you quiver at the intrusion. Your hips rocked against his hand, urging him deeper, faster, as the ache inside you grew. He kissed and nipped his way down your body, his eyes never leaving yours, the connection between you stronger than ever. When his mouth reached your pussy, you felt a jolt of excitement, and your hands tangled in his hair as he began to lick and suck with an enthusiasm that left you breathless. His tongue danced around your clit, flicking and teasing before diving into your wetness, exploring every inch of you with an intensity that had you on the edge of ecstasy. As he worked his magic, you could feel the tension coiling tighter and tighter, ready to snap. And then, just when you thought you couldn't take anymore, he slid two fingers inside you, his thumb still working its magic on your clit. The combination was exquisite, and with a cry that was a mix of pleasure and relief, you shattered into an orgasm that left your body trembling.

He looked up at you, a smug smile playing on his lips as he watched the aftershocks of pleasure ripple through you.

 "That's just the beginning"  he murmured, his voice low and seductive. 

He kissed his way back up your body, his mouth claiming yours once again. His hard dick pressed against your thigh, and the need for him was overwhelming. He reached down and positioned himself at your entrance, pausing for a moment to look into your eyes, making sure you were ready for what was to come. With a gentle push, he entered you, filling you completely, stretching you in the most delicious way. You gasped as he began to move, his hips setting a rhythm that was both torturously slow and maddeningly perfect. Each thrust sent waves of pleasure through you, and you wrapped your legs around him, pulling him closer, needing to feel every inch of him. His hands were everywhere, caressing your breasts, tracing the curve of your hips, as he claimed your body over and over again. The sound of your skin slapping against his filled the room, mingling with your moans and gasps of pleasure. His dick was a relentless force inside you, hitting all the right spots, making you feel more alive than you had ever felt before.

As your passion grew, so did his, and you could feel his muscles tensing, his movements growing more erratic. You dug your nails into his back, urging him on, your pussy tightening around him. He groaned, his eyes squeezed shut, and with one final, powerful thrust, he reached his peak, filling you with his hot release. You felt the warmth of his cum deep inside you, and it triggered another orgasm, your body clenching around him as wave after wave of pleasure washed over you. As you both came down from the high, he collapsed on top of you, his weight a comforting presence. Your hearts raced together, your bodies entwined, as you whispered sweet nothings into each other's ears. In that moment, you knew that you had found something special, something that transcended the games and the cheers of the arena. This was real, raw, and all-consuming love, and you were ready to face whatever came next with Cole Sillinger by your side.

[myremdreams]

Numb pt. 1 - Zhong Chenle

FIRST post and FIRST FIC AHH sorry if its bad lol

i wrote this up while my power was out during the hurricane, its not proofread or like rlly thought out just thought it was cute ig lol. i wanna continue this so this will be a lil pt 1! i hope u enjoy!

☆ fluff (mentions of alcohol) ☆ female character (no name), no mention of hair, eye, or skin color!

                Being back from tour had been rough on Chenle. While on tour, he'd finally felt free. Each city brought something new that sparked life into him, something he desperately needed after the past few months of relentless work in a sterile practice room. The feeling of landing in a new place with so much to explore is like a drug to him… I guess he’ll have to wait to feel that life in him again. It’s funny, never in his 20+ years did he ever feel so addicted to something other than success. Once he achieved a certain status, he felt grateful for his dreams finally coming true, but regardless, a certain numbness followed. When he was touring though, he felt anything but numb. Tired? Yes. Out of breath? Always. Desperate for a drink after a 3-hour performance? Absolutely. But never numb. Now he can only relive his time through memories. Scrolling through the photo album on his phone has become a regular occurrence. Unfortunately, the 12-hour practice days with little to no sun or fresh air are back.

Normally, after a trip, he was quick to snap back into the regular routine. Wake up, eat, practice, eat, sleep… maybe… yeah probably not as much as he should. Something was different this time though. As much as he’d like to chalk it up to jet lag, he knew it was something deeper. That’s why when he found out about the 3 weeklong break coming up, he had a flight booked to Atlanta before he could check if he chose a one-way or a round trip. ‘One way huh?’ Maybe it's a sign. His trip left in two days, and he could not wait for these next two days to be over.

Landing in Atlanta, he let out a sigh of relief. 24+ hours and getting stuck in San Francisco was not on his original itinerary, but he decided to buy a Warriors jersey while he was there to make up for the stress. His journey to the hotel was per usual, the Omni Downtown was familiar to him but still felt fancy enough to enjoy himself. ‘Shit.’ ‘What do I do now?’ Yeah, maybe he should have thought of that before impulse-buying a ticket across the world. Well, the clock just hit 10:45 and it’s plenty dark out, nothing better than a quick trip to the bar for a drink and then heading to bed.

The bar of the hotel was anything but ordinary, the rooftop deck had prettier views than he had expected, and the music set the mood just right. He forgets that normal people are able to enjoy things like this. No fear of being seen, no fear of your life being ruined by a photo attached to an untrue rumor. He takes a deep breath for what seems like the first time in weeks. He feels alive again.

The bartender was busy working on what looked like an espresso martini for someone across the bar, so he decided to take in the scene around him again. The sky was dark but the lights from the buildings illuminated the area around him. The rooftop deck was filled with fluorescent lights, blues, and pinks dancing off people moving to the music the DJ played. Speaking of the music, he swears he’s heard this song before but can’t remember the name, it’s jazzy with a hint of R&B groove, and shit it works so well together.

His attention is brought back to the bartender as he asks what drink he was wanting to order. “I’ll have a Naughty and Spice, thanks.” Slightly embarrassing to say out loud, but it looked pretty good on their seasonal menu, and he’ll never say no to gin. As he waits for his play on words to be made, he looks across the open bar and zeroes in on the new owner of that espresso martini. She’s hard to miss now that the bartender’s moved out of the way, she’s incredible. He’s honestly not sure how so much beauty could be held in a soft smile and thin strands of hair escaping her clipped-up hair, gracefully being carried by the wind. For the first time in a long time, he’s captivated. He would have missed the bartender coming back completely if she hadn’t gotten up from her chair and walked towards the dance floor. “Oh sorry, here’s my card you can just open a tab for me.” As the bartender nods, as if in a trance Chenle found himself walking towards a table near the dance floor. Keeping a respectful distance he silently watched as she danced with a few friends. He’s never seen someone look so happy and carefree. When was the last time he felt like that before tonight? ‘Maybe this bar has magical healing properties’, he joked to himself.

 Looking back at her he realized this woman was the type of beautiful you almost felt ashamed to be in the presence of. At the same time, something you couldn’t look away from, you’d curse yourself for missing a single second. Her beauty wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t overbearing, it was almost like when you’re driving home from work and maybe you took a different route home this time, maybe the long one, but on that road, you see a sunset that takes away all of your focus, all of your worries. A sunset you’ve never allowed yourself to look at before. Most days you try to race home, wanting to escape the confines of the company building. Thinking of the duties of work or thinking about everything you must do once you get home, not recognizing the painted sky surrounding you. You’ve been missing something so beautiful, so incredible, and hey maybe it was right there, and you never noticed. But maybe you weren’t meant to notice until you took that different route home.  Chenle took a different route this time and finally noticed.

She glanced up at him noticing his gaze and let out a laugh, as if she was amused by the spell she’d put him under. Feeling embarrassed and slightly creepy, he looks away trying to focus on anything but the most beautiful view in front of him. Shifting between the bar, the patrons, and the city lights, his eyes eventually found their way back to her. Her drink was half full, her nails neatly painted red, lipstick carefully put on to match, the dress he wonders if she got tailored to her measurements, it somehow fit just right. He’d looked at women before and felt the burn of lust, but this wasn’t just lust, he was in awe of her energy entirely. He craved to know her. Craved to have a simple conversation with her. Or at least just let him learn her name. Even if all he ever got was one more look, he’d do anything… please.  

As if she heard his plea, she looked over at him again, this time with a more inviting feel. Was he supposed to go over there? He would hate to read the situation wrong. The last thing he would ever want is to make a woman uncomfortable with his presence. He sat in thought for a few more minutes, not able to bring himself to look at her. Now he’s really wondering if he’s being a creep who just burdens a woman by staring at her all night. Maybe he should go back to his room. If he’s being honest with himself, he would hate to leave without the promise he would get to see her again. Suppose you can’t have what you want all the time.

He picked up his empty glass and turned to go back to the bar to close out. A faint smell of vanilla and cherry found him as he turned around. “Excuse me.” He attempts to pass but feels a hand on his arm which instantly knocks him out of his self-pity. He’d been so in his head that he failed to realize the person now grabbing onto him was the person he’d desperately needed all evening. His eyes widen and he steps back feeling the rush of adrenaline coarse his veins, complete and utter shock. She was even more gorgeous right in front of him. He took another deep breath, steadying himself. “Hi, I’m not sure if this is weird but I noticed you looking over earlier and wanted to give you my number before you left. I didn’t have the balls to ask you to dance earlier, but maybe this will make up for it?” She holds up a small napkin, still with a visible ring around it from a drink, but he doesn’t care about that. Her number was carefully written in black ink and a kiss mark the same shade of red adorning her lips sat right above it.

He stared down at her, simultaneously brushing the soft skin of her fingers while he tried to transfer the napkin into his hands, if he died right now, he’d feel like his life was absolutely one well lived. He took in all of her. She had little freckles across her collarbone, they led to her neck that led up to her perfect face. Her eyes were expectantly waiting for a reply, he took a mental image of her lashes fluttering up at him. She had looked nervous, but it made her sexier somehow. “Thank you, yeah I noticed you over there, you looked beautiful, I wasn’t sure how to approach you, so I decided to just give up.” He put his hand through his hair frustrated with his “uncool” honesty. She threw her head back and laughed and he’d felt alive once again. He followed her gaze behind him as she started to shush someone, her friends who obviously had too much to drink, freezing as if they’d been caught. “I think my very inconspicuous friends need to be brought to bed, thankfully it’s only a floor down so I won’t have to carry them too far.” A part of him felt relieved he might get the chance to see her again so soon. “Oh, I’m staying here too, maybe I’ll see you around?” She laughed once more, sending a rush through his body, “Maybe use that number I gave you and we’ll find out.” She turned away and while she walked back to her friends, all he could do was stand there. He’d come to this city to feel alive again, and my god did he already get so much more.

[laresearchette]

Saturday, March 2, 2024 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: SINGLE BLACK FEMALE 2: SIMONE'S REVENGE (Lifetime Canada) 8:00pm

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA PRISCILLA

NHL HOCKEY (TSN3) 12:30pm: Jets vs. Hurricanes (SN) 4:00pm: Oilers vs. Kraken (CBC/CityTV) 7:00pm: Habs vs. Lightning (SN) 7:00pm: Rangers vs. Leafs (SN1) 7:00pm: Sens vs. Flyers (SN360) 8:20pm: Calgary Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff Jersey Retirement Ceremony (CBC/SN) 10:00pm: Penguins vs. Flames

MLB SPRING TRAINING (SN/SN1) 1:00pm: Atlanta vs. Jays

CURLING (TSN) 2:00pm: 2024 Montana's Brier: Pool Play (TSN/TSN3) 7:00pm: 2024 Montana's Brier: Pool Play (TSN4) 9:30pm: 2024 Montana's Brier: Pool Play

MLS SOCCER (TSN4) 4:30pm: Miami vs. Orlando (TSN4) 7:00pm: Vancouver vs. Charlotte

W5 (CTV) 7:00pm: Arsenic Air/Aysanabee

KNIGHTS OF THE ZODIAC (Crave) 7:00pm: When a headstrong street orphan unwittingly taps into hidden powers, he discovers he might be the only person alive who can protect a reincarnated goddess who was sent to watch over humanity.

HAUNTED HARMONY MYSTERIES: MURDER IN G MAJOR (CTV) 8:00pm: A new teacher at an Irish prep school is shocked to find a ghost in her house. She decides to help solve his murder in hopes that it will allow him to move on.

FALL INTO WINTER (2023) 8:00pm: Life quickly changes for Kerry as she has to work alongside her high school nemesis, Brooks, an old friend of her brother's who unexpectedly buys into Kerry's family-owned candy shop.

A MISSED CONNECTION (Super Channel Heart & Home) 8:00pm: After finding a spark with a woman on a train platform, a photographer posts a missed connection in the newspaper, but never hears from her. Five years later, they're seated next to each other on a plane heading to the same wedding - hers.

NBA BASKETBALL (TSN5) 8:30pm: Nuggets vs. Lakers

AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM (Crave) 9:00pm: Black Manta wields the power of the mythic Black Trident to unleash an ancient and malevolent force. Hoping to end his reign of terror, Aquaman forges an unlikely alliance with his brother to protect their kingdom and save the world from destruction.

ONE DAY AS A LION (Starz Canada) 9:00pm: Jackie Powers is a nice guy but a lousy hit man who takes a waitress hostage after a job goes bad. When Jackie reveals he needs money to get his son out of jail, she cooks up a scheme for them to get cash from her dying mother.

PLEASE BABY PLEASE (Super Channel Fuse) 9:00pm: After witnessing them commit a murder on the streets of 1950s Manhattan, newlywed couple Suze and Arthur become the dangerous obsession of a gang of greasers.

MONEY MONSTER (CTV) 12:35am: After losing money on a stock tip, a disgruntled investor (Jack O'Connell) holds a Wall Street guru (George Clooney) and a producer (Julia Roberts) hostage on live television.

[dragoneyes618]

"The delayed clarity on what exactly happened in Jersey City muted some of the public empathy that instantly followed the previous attacks. So did the identities of the attackers, both of whom were Black, and their targets, who were Hasidic Jews - who, it has progressively become clear, many otherwise enlightened Americans view as absolutely fair game for bigotry.

This was obvious from reporting within hours of the attacks, which gave surprising emphasis to the murdered Jews as "gentrifying" a "minority" neighborhood. This was remarkable, given that the tiny Hasidic community in question, highly visible members of the world's most consistently persecuted minority, in fact came to Jersey City fleeing gentrification, after being priced out of long-established Hasidic communities in Brooklyn. More tellingly, as the journalist Armin Rosen has pointed out, the apparently murderous rage against gentrification has yet to result in anyone using automatic weapons to blow away white hipsters at the newest Blue Bottle Coffee franchise. What was most remarkable about this angle, however, was how it was presented in media reports as providing "context."

The "context" supplied by news outlets after this attack was breathtaking in its cruelty. As the Associated Press explained in a news report about the Jersey Cijty murders that was picked up by NBC and many other outlets, "The slayings happened in a neighborhood where Hasidic families had recently been relocating, amid pushback from some local officials who complained about representatives of the community going door to door, offering to buy homes at Brooklyn prices." (Like many homeowners, I too have been approached by real estate agents asking me if I wanted to sell my home. I recall saying no, though I suppose murdering these people would also have made them go away.) New Jersey's state newspaper, the Star-Ledger, helpfully pointed out that "the attack that killed two Orthodox Jews, an Ecuadorian immigrant and a Jersey City police detective has highlighted racial tension that had been simmering ever since ultra-Orthodox Jews began moving to a lower-income community" - even though the assailants never lived in Jersey City and apparently chose their target simply through internet searches for Jewish institutions in the New York area. The Washington Post began its analysis of the murders by announcing that Jersey City "is grappling with whether the attack reflects underlying ethnic tensions locally and fears that it could spark new ones" - even though the rest of the article described in detail how "longtime black residents and ultra-Orthodox implants alike say that they haven't experienced significant ethnic tensions here." Nonetheless, readers were informed, "the influx of Hasidic residents comes as many of the longtime black residents feel increasingly squeezed." This was all abut gentrification, the public learned. The assailants, who wore socially acceptable clothing, were expressing an understandable communal sentiment. The newly dead Jews, on the other hand, were members of the unharassed majority, despite being the country's top hate-crime target according to the FBI. They were also rich, despite experiencing the same poverty levels as the rest of New York and New Jersey. On top of that, they wore unfashionable hats. So it kind of made sense that people wanted to murder their children with high-impact explosives.

I was not able to find any similar "context" in media reports after the 2015 massacre at a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, or the 2016 massacre at an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, Florida, or the 2019 massacre at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas frequented by Latino shoppers - all hate-crime attacks that unambiguously targeted minority groups. In each of those cases, as was true in Jersey City, media coverage included sympathetic pieces about the victims, along with investigative pieces about the perpetrators, the latter focused on how perpetrators were drawn into violent irrational hatred. But in reviewing media reports from the aftermath of these events, I found no coverage of how straight people in Orlando other than the perpetrator - in other words, reasonable, non-murderous, relatable "normal" neighbors - were understandably upset about gay couples setting up shop in the neighborhood and disrupting their "way of life," or about how white people with deep family roots in Charleston felt understandably wistful about the Black community's "takeover" of certain previously white neighborhoods, or about how non-Latinos in El Paso felt "squeezed" by ongoing "tensions" with Latinos who had pushed for more bilingualism in schools.

No one covered this "context," because doing that would be bonkers. It would be hateful victim-blaming, the equivalent of analyzing the flattering selfies of a rape victim in lurid detail in order to provide "context" for a sexual assault. That doesn't mean the intergroup tensions (or the problems with flattering selfies) aren't ever worth examining. It simply means that presenting such analysis as a hot take after a massacre is not merely disgusting and inhuman, but also a form of the very same hatred that caused the massacre - because the sole motivation for providing such "context" in that moment is to inform the public that those people got what was coming to them. People who think of themselves as educated and ethical don't do this, because it is both factually untrue and morally wrong. But if we're talking about Hasidic Jews, it is quite literally a different story, and there is one very simple reason why.

The mental gymnastics required to get the Jersey City attack out of my head were challenging, especially when the Jewish community int he New York area was treated in the two weeks following this massacre to more than a dozen other assaults of varying degrees, most of them coming during the festival of Hanukkah. These included Jews being slapped, punched, kicked, and beaten on the streets by people who made their motives clear by shouting antisemtiic insults, and many other variants on this theme that received much less attention. (One that shook me personally was when a young white man broke into my students' dormitory at yeshiva University at four a.m. and started a fire - using matches from the dorm lobby's Hanukkah candle-lighting.) All this was merely an intensified version of physical assaults on Hasidic Jews in New York that had been happening regularly for over a year - incidents that ranged from run-of-the-mill acts of knocking elderly people to the ground to the rather more advanced tactic of clobbering someone over the head with a large paving stone, causing a fractured skull.

This new normal culminated in a particularly horrifying attack, when a man entered a crowded Hanukkah party at a Hasidic rabbi's house in Monsey, New York, wielding a four-foot machete, and stabbed or slashed five people, all of whom where hospitalized; one victim, who fell into a coma, died several months later from his wounds. Stabbing Jews was apparently in vogue in Monsey, as this was actually the second antisemitic knifing in town in just over a month. The previous attacks victim was beaten and stabbed while walking to morning prayers, winding up in critical condition withe head injuries. Media coverage of these attacks also sometimes featured "context" (read: gaslighting), mentioning heated schoolboard or zoning battles between Hasidic and non-Hasidic residents - even after the perpetrator was identified as a resident of a town forty minutes away. One widely syndicated Associated Press article situated the previous week's bloodbath by informing millions of readers that "The expansion of Hasidic communities in New York's Hudson Valley, the Catskills and northern New Jersey has led to predictable sparring over new housing development and local political control. It has also led to flare-ups of rhetoric seen by some as antisemitic." In other words, the cause of bloodthirsty antisemitic violence is...Jews, living in a place! Sometimes, Jews who live in places even buy land on which to live. To be fair, there were many countries and centuries in which this Jews-owning-land monkey business was illegal, though twenty-first-century Hudson Valley, the Catskills, and northern New Jersey are sadly not among those enlightened locales. Predictably, this leads to sparring, and flare-ups. Who wouldn't express frustrations with municipal politics by hacking people with a machete?"

 - Dara Horn, People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present

[sweetprettygeek]

Whumptomber 2023: Prompt 1

No. 1: “But now this room is spinning while I’m trying just to fill in all the gaps.”

Safety Net | Swooning | “How many fingers am I holding up?”

Fandom: Hamilton

Whumpees: Alexander Hamilton (and Philip Hamilton off-screen)

Alexander Hamilton considered himself a man of strong mental fortitude. During his two-score tenure on the earth, he had borne witness to destitution, injustice, and fatality in all its forms. He had seen catastrophic forces of nature obliterate dozens of lives in an instant. He had seen mankind do the same with slavery, only much more slowly and cruelly. He had seen corpses pile up in bloody battlefields and in streets through which plague had swept with an uncaring hand. He had learned the realities of death at a tender age, waking in the icy embrace of a corpse that had been his mother hours before. Every subsequent loss he endured had further fortified him against the terrors of mortality.

Lytton. Laurens. Washington. Neighbors. Comrades. Men he had shot or bayonetted with his own hands. Death never became less ugly to experience, but he learned to bear it. He accepted that it could come at any moment, for any person.

He had seen many young soldiers fall in the war. He had almost been taken by illness, himself, as a boy.

He knew that children could die.

And yet all his theoretical knowledge, all his peripheral experience would leave him woefully unprepared on Doctor Hosack’s doorstep.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Hosack’s negro servant—slave; a sensitive topic—informed him. “Doctor’s out right now.”

“Please.” Despite their urgency, the words he needed were difficult to produce. “Do you know where I might find him? It is a matter of the gravest importance.”

“I couldn’t tell you, sir. He went out in a mad hurry, not long ago. Such a rush, he almost forgot his coat.”

Anxiety and impatience tumbled together in his gut. Should he persist in seeking Hosack, whose knowledge and methods he knew to be beyond reproach, or should he conserve precious time by seeking a different doctor whose person and practice were less well known to their family? The sound of blood drumming in his ears made it impossible to concentrate on logical thought. He made an aborted movement either to rest a hand on his chest or to rub his temples and settled for clearing his throat instead. He drew the action out, trying to buy time to decide on a course of action.

Perhaps he dithered too long, as the doorkeeper began to regard him with a look teetering between wariness and concern. Conscious of appearing quite unbalanced, Alexander grasped for some kind of response. Words, which had always flowed from him like water, seemed quite dammed up now. But he needed to produce something or risk the label ‘lunatic’. He had just drawn the prefatory breath when another figure appeared beyond the doorway.

“General Hamilton?” The doctor’s younger brother stopped short, frozen, before lunging to the door to throw it wide. “What are you doing here, sir? I would have thought you on your way to Manhattan by now.”

The other man’s frenetic energy sparked life back into Alexander’s maelstrom. Mind whirling and rushing to catch up, it latched onto the initial question and completely disregarded the supplementary statement. “I must find Doctor Hosack. My son was called out to New Jersey this afternoon on a matter of honor. I fear the affair may have been taken to its most severe conclusion. If we need the services of a doctor, Hosack is the man I would have.”

The younger Hosack stared at him, blinking. At once the color drained from his face. His chest expanded, lungs filling with air, then deflated. There was a pause, then he took a new breath and tried again. “We’ve already had word from the Church’s, sir. David is travelling there with all possible haste.”

“To…the Church residence?” Alexander backtracked, picking up the information he had fumbled before. “In Manhattan?”

“Yes, sir. That was where your son was taken.”

“Taken? To the Church’s?” He took refuge in confusion, unwilling to accept the horrific dawning realization until he had confirmation from a source other than his panicked imagination.

The younger man finally took pity on him. He drew his shoulders back and reached out to put a hand on Alexander’s elbow, steadying him. His expression creased with compassion—a doomed look Alexander recognized from a bygone time. “General Hamilton, your son has been shot. It was a serious injury.”

How many times had Alexander written letters on Washington’s behalf to that effect? Dear Sir, I regret to inform you that your son has been…

Young men could die. He knew that, intimately. He had seen it. He had been the cause of it. Boys could die. Children could die.

But his child?

The ground underneath him gave way. Darkness swallowed his senses.

He felt heavy, bogged down, as though he were deep underwater and heavy waves were preventing him from resurfacing. On the other side of this stupor, several muffled voices spoke back and forth.

Something touched his lips. A sweet, woody flavor filled his mouth. His body remembered first how to swallow, then how to cough when the liquid came too quickly. The flask was withdrawn and Alexander caught his breath enough to groan and pry his eyes open.

He had been moved from the doorstep to inside the doctor’s home. His cravat and collar had been loosened to allow him more air. As his blurry vision focused, he recognized the face of Mrs. Hosack next to her brother-in-law. They regarded him, with both expression and posture, as one might a frightened animal.

Alexander’s aversion to inaction and powerlessness took control. He gripped the arms of the chair and attempted to pull himself up. A rush of wooziness spread through his head and limbs, knocking him back down. Two pairs of careful hands rushed to prop him up.

“Steady there, General.” The younger Hosack offered him another sip of brandy. “You’ve had a shock. You need to sit down.”

Alexander shook his head. He certainly did not need to sit down. He needed to be in Manhattan. He needed to be with his son.

Dear God. His son. Philip had been shot.

A strangled gasp burst from his lips. He collapsed in the chair, arms unable to support him.

He had built an impregnable fortress around his heart—all his past sorrows the brick and mortar—to protect himself from grief. Several misfortunes of these last years had not touched him as keenly as they otherwise would have. On these occasions, there were many who had termed ‘coldness’ what he knew to be self-preservation. If he poured his soul out for every adversity he faced, there would be nothing left of him.

However, his stronghold could not stand in the face of Philip’s mortal danger. It crumbled to dust, his whole heart laid bare for the world to see. What did any of his other tragedies or triumphs matter, compared to this? For Philip to be hurt was bad enough, grave enough. What would he do…how would he muster the strength to go on if…

The possibility was unfathomable. He could not hold back, this time, from placing a hand over his heart to stem the pain.

“Mr. Hamilton?” Mrs. Hosack called to him in a gentle voice, so like his own dear Betsey. Oh God, how would he tell his wife about this?

“Philip…” he rasped. “I must go to my son.” Nothing was more important than that. Everything else could be dealt with later.

His caretakers shared a look. Some message was conveyed by way of head gestures and eye movements. The exchange ended with Hosack’s brother standing. “I will go see about a carriage.”

The promise of action, of progress, gave Alexander succor. He tried again to rise, but Mrs. Hosack’s hands guided him back down. “My dear sir, you must recover some of your strength first. You are not fit to travel in this state.” He began to protest but she cut him off. “I must insist. You are barely able to sit upright at present. On those roads, in this weather, you might incur an injury. Then you might not make it to Manhattan at all. And poor Mrs. Hamilton! It would not do, to have two of her boys wounded. I will not have it, sir. Not on my watch.”

So, Alexander was compelled to take a few more minutes in the chair. He even accepted some food, which Hosack’s sister-in-law graciously brought from their dinner table. She came trailed by a curly-haired little duckling, who grasped onto her skirts and peeked at Alexander curiously.

His heart ached at the sight of the boy.

It seemed just yesterday that his own Philip was that age: still small enough to be held and protected from the world.

Now his little boy, who had tottered about the house and clapped while his mother played piano, was suffering cruelly, miles away.

Alexander’s throat closed up and he set his fork down with more force than was necessary. Mrs. Hosack, who had pulled up a chair beside him, endeavored in vain to coax more meat pie into him. The child crawled into her lap and she ran a hand absently through his curls.

The boy was her first child, but not Hosack’s. The doctor had been married once before, and widowed. His firstborn son had been a sad victim of the yellow fever epidemic. Two years after this tragedy, Philip had taken ill with an infectious fever of his own. That was when the Hamiltons were first introduced to Hosack, and he had seen them through the crisis. He had saved Philip’s life, sparing him from the same fate as the doctor’s own son.

And that was how Alexander had, so selfishly, seen death until now: something that took other men’s children. He had been arrogant enough to believe that his deeds and accomplishments were a guarantee paid against the safe and happy future of his posterity. He had thought so highly of himself and the position he had achieved that he believed he could shield his children from any danger. Death might dog him at every turn, but it would not touch his precious little ones.

What godless pride and presumption. What callousness.

And all for nothing, because Philip had been injured despite his paternal affections. Philip was shot despite, even partially because of, his father’s grandiose feats and public renown. Alexander had thought he was doing the honorable thing by advising his son not to fire at Eacker, when he should have counseled against the duel all together. He had allowed Philip to be caught up in a squabble of vicarious honor, one such as Washington had always forbidden his aides from taking part in. Only now did Alexander understand the general’s mind. Not even the vilest of slander, the like to make Callender blush, would justify Philip dying for an insult that was never meant for him.

This had been Alexander’s fight, from the very start. He had acted unforgivably thus far, but he was done watching the battle from the hilltop.

“Ladies,” he cleared his throat, “I thank you for your hospitality, and for your concern. Your attentions have had a great reviving effect.”

Mrs. Hosack sensed his intentions; it was clear in how she tried to rise, though she was encumbered by the child who had begun to doze on her lap. “Are you certain you can stand?”

“Positively.” Alexander knew he possessed the determination, even if his physical faculties were not fully restored. His dominant hand grasped the chair arm with a white-knuckled grip and he pulled himself to his feet. For a moment he perceived the floor to be rocking and listing as the deck of a ship would. He closed his eyes tightly and allowed his sense of equilibrium to settle. When he opened his eyes, the room had stopped spinning and his legs felt more sturdy.

He handed his plate back to Hosack’s sister-in-law with a word of thanks. He tidied his clothing and bowed to the women. “Thank you again for your many kindnesses.”

“Godspeed.”

“You are in our prayers, sir.”

He dashed out of the house to where the younger Hosack and two negros were loading several items into a carriage. The former almost dropped the bag in his arms when he glimpsed Alexander over his shoulder. “General!” He came leaping up the front steps to offer his assistance. “Do you need a hand, sir?”

“I am fine now, thank you,” Alexander politely waved him off, climbing into the carriage. “I apologize for the dely.”

“No apologies necessary. It gave me time to gather the necessary provisions.” His companion made sure all was accounted for and gave directions to the driver before seating himself opposite Alexander and shutting the door firmly. “We should have everything we need to make ourselves comfortable. I also brought some extra linen and alcohol, for your son’s care.”

“Your whole family has done us extraordinary service. Words cannot express how grateful I am.”

“Do not even think on it.” The younger Hosack gave him a comforting smile and set his hand on a pile of blankets. “We are happy to be of service. You just rest and steady your mind, General. David will see to your boy until we get there. He could not be in better hands.”

“None better,” Alexander agreed, returning the smile with a weak, polite one of his own. He turned out the window, watching the sky as the carriage began to rumble along the streets. The evening was gray and dismal: a reflection of his own spirits. Rest sounded an easy enough prospect, and perhaps it would be to a man whose whole world did not hang in the balance.

Nevertheless, Alexander did close his eyes. Dear God, he prayed, hands cupped tightly together. Please watch over my son Philip. Please prolong his life. Please, have mercy dear Lord. This is a cross a cannot bear to carry. Please do not take my son.

[conflictandscotchblog]

Summer Job

As adults, we no longer have summer jobs. We have job jobs. All year round. Summer jobs are those jobs that give us pocket money after high school, or between semesters in college.

In the mid-to-late seventies, I had one of those jobs. My mother and aunt worked at a Biochemical Plant in Freehold, NJ, and my mother got me a job there.

I call it a Biochemical plant, and that might spark visions of those tanks along the New Jersey Turnpike filled with chemicals, or warehouses stocked with barrels of toxic waste. In fact, it was more of a small building with a series of labs, like classrooms lined along a high school hallway.

My mother got me a job with the maintenance crew.

I need to clarify who exactly this maintenance crew were, and what they did.

This was the seventies, and most, if not all, were Vietnam Veterans. They were intimidating as hell, at least to me they were. These were guys that went deer hunting, not with rifles or bow and arrows. No, these guys would hide in the trees, then drop down on the unsuspecting deer with a Bowie Knife for the kill.

These were not guys there to clean up spills. These were guys to rewire machines, and keep the labs up and running. In one case, a water treatment process was bulky for the space it inhabited. One of the ‘maintenance guys’ not only reduced the space it filled, but basically invented a newer, and smaller, version of the device.

They were no nonsense, and nothing ever phased them.

One day, Tom (I only remember his name because of what happened next) while working at a table saw, cut off his thumb. Blood striped the ceiling and wall like a scene out of DEXTER. Tom wrapped his hand while another picked up the thumb, while a third grabbed a plastic bag, and filled it with ice.

Off they went, thumb in bag, while a trail of blood followed their path out the door.

Tom was back at work the next day, thumb reattached to his hand.

That is dedication.

There was a lighter side to them as well.

In the back of the maintenance shack was an old soda machine. However, it wasn’t for soda. At the end of the work day, for fifty-cents, that machine would dispense a bottle of beer. Each week, the money collected was used to buy more beer.

The circle of life.

Being new, with little to no experience working with machinery, I assisted at best. Also, being the new guy, I got the shit jobs to do.

Literally.

The complex had a waste treatment building, and when a tank back-up and pretty much exploded, I was sent in to scrub the shit off the walls and ceiling.

Also, being new on this job, I did my best to do everything I was tasked, but perhaps too well. It was on this job that I was told to slow down, and whenever I was not working to carry a clipboard and a pencil, to look like I was.

Life lessons, you’ll never know where you’ll find them.

The people were all nice, even when the maintenance guys scared me, they were pretty funny. But there is one person I will always remember.

There was a chemist worked in one of the labs, always said hello to me. Beautiful woman, long brown hair, brown eyes, and wore glasses. Was never good at guessing ages, but probably in her late twenties.

Till this day, I can still see her face in my mind’s eye.

Hey, I was a teenage boy, that face was imprinted on my brain.

However, there is one story that I always tell about my time at this job.

I was not the only summer hire that year, they also hired Rex (no, he wasn’t a watch dog). He was the president of the company’s son, and if it weren’t for him, after what happened next, I definitely would have been fired.

Rex and I roamed the hallway (clipboards in hand) when we stopped outside a particular lab. This lab was scheduled to have work done the next day. They were going to knock a wall down to join two small labs into one big lab.

We went inside. All the equipment and furniture was gone. In there place where a couple of sledgehammers, a tool box, and some tarps.

(You know where this is going)

Rex and I each picked up a sledgehammer, and being the ambitious workers we were, we thought we’d get a jump on tomorrow’s assignment.

From the other side of the room, we each tossed a sledgehammer, like ax throwers, into the opposing wall.

Over and over, holes repeatedly appeared in the sheet rock. We stopped once our arms grew tired. We put the sledgehammers down, and went back to work (clipboards in hand).

When I arrived the next morning, Rex and one of the supervisors greeted me at the door. I was stopped before I even entered the maintenance shack.

“What did you do?”

I looked at Rex, sure he went through the same routine before I arrived.

Not wanting to give us up so easily, I feigned ignorance (which only prolonged the inevitable) so said nothing.

Again he asked, “What did you do?”

Where’s a clipboard when you need one?

Finally, I said (smugly), “I thought we’d get a jump on today’s assignment, and take out that wall.”

My supervisor looked at me, then said, “That’s commendable, except for one thing,”

(You know where this is going)

“It was the other wall that we were going to take down.”

If Rex wasn’t there with me, they would have shown me the door.

Fortunately, summer came to an end shortly after this incident. Off to college, then off to the real world, and off to getting a job job.

Hopefully, with more clipboards and less sledgehammers.

Picture created by https://magicstudio.com/ai-art-generator/

[damiano-mylove]

How you met them and what dating the members of Måneskin would be like

GN!reader, slight NSFW for Damiano *Masterlist*

Vic

You'd definitely meet Vic at the grocery store

She goes grocery shopping every Saturday at 10 am, and you don't know that because you're creepy, you know that because you do as well (being an adult and such)

Over time, you'd both start to notice seeing each other at the same times and places

Vic would eventually come over, after having traded more than a dozen looks with you

At first, she would give you a random complement (that made your heart soar for reasons unbeknownst to you at the time), and you would immediately compliment her back because there are so many things to complement about the unknown girl at the shops

Those random complements would soon turn into full blown conversations that you both looked forward to, every Saturday at 10 am

Conversations turned into doing your grocery shopping together

Vic would ask you to lunch after one of your grocery shopping adventures, which you gladly accepted given the beautiful woman had stolen your heart at first glance

Lunch would go absolutely swimmingly, and it became the new thing

Your relationship with Vic would evolve from doing your grocery shopping together, then having lunch, to basically spending every Saturday together, then seeing each other other days of the week

One night, having drinks at Vic's place, just the two of you, Vic would join your lips together in a sweet harmony that felt all too right

You brushed off the night as drunken kissing

But she held you hand at lunch that following Saturday, and asked to kiss you before you parted ways

The conversation was bound to happen, and it did. After that, you and Vic were officially an item

She introduced you to her friends, and you did the same - your group loving Vic, and her's loving you

Dating Vic would be full of gentle love bites on your tender neck, fruity red wine, painting your nails matching colours, and late nights

On those late nights, Vic would hold you close, a film playing softly in the back, while her attention laid on you

You, her person, her rock. You made Vic's heart go ablaze and she wouldn't trade you for the world

Nor would you for her

Thomas

Thomas gives off strong Boy-Next-Door vibes

One day, your interest was sparked by moving vans outside your window - someone was moving into the flat above you

It was a very loud day (furniture scraping the floors, heavy boxes being dropped, many feet with much too heavy footsteps) but you were baking

You had a function to attend to the following day, so your day was already planned as a day for baking your famous biscuits that literally everyone loved

Ingredients may have a price tag, but kindness does not. Once all the noise subsided, you brought a plate of cookies up to your new neighbour (hoping to at least buy their friendship so they wouldn't annoy you constantly)

When Thomas opened the door, your stomach immediately turned to static

He looked a little tired, no doubt from freshly moving in, but his beauty was still breathtaking

Thomas smiled at you sweetly and thanked you profusely for the biscuits - he told you about how his grandmother made the same type and he loved them

The next day, right after you'd come back from your function, Thomas brought you back the plate with a bashful smile - 'The biscuits were divine, better than grandmama's'

You giggled at his statement, then invited him in for tea and to finish off the biscuits that were "left over" (you'd actually saved them for yourself, but there was no one else you'd rather share them with)

Happily for the both of you, Thomas accepted the invitation, and he stayed in your flat, drinking tea with you and eating biscuits, till the wee hours of the next day

You and Thomas shared smiles from your balconies and the street below, but when you'd be walking the stairs together, it always turned into an invitation for a drink, or to watch a game, or just a chat

About a month and a half of friendship, Thomas asked you to the cinema

You gladly went with him

In the middle of the film, your hands bumped together, both reaching for the popcorn on your lap - resulting in heated faces and looking away

Thomas walked you back to your flat that night, leaving you with a kiss on the cheek and legs made of jelly

That next day, Thomas asked you to dinner

'Is this a date or just a hang out?'

'It can be whatever you'd like.'

To no one's surprise, you chose the former option

You never officially confirmed your dating status, but you'd figure Thomas introducing you to his family as his partner was confirmation enough

Dating Thomas would include him singing you mellow songs in the evenings, longing glances shared across rooms, lots of tea at all hours of the day, and extremely stupid jokes that turned sickeningly sweet

Those jokes would occupy your mind for days on end, cherishing every single joke shared

Ethan

As cliche as it sounds, you'd meet in a bar

There was a game on between Lazio and Milan - and you both were dragged there by your friends

People clamored around the bar and television screens, screaming and yelling, and everyone decked out in jerseys (the Lazio jerseys outnumbered the Milan jerseys 3:1)

Funnily enough, you met Ethan in the corridor for the toilets

'With a line this long, I might as well piss outside'

For a first impression, Ethan really did make an impression. One that made you laugh and his cheeks tint red at the knowledge that someone heard him say that

It sparked a conversation while you both waited in the long lines

You discovered that neither of you held too much of a love of football, which absolutely tickled you that someone was in the same boat as you

Ethan waited outside the washroom for you, then suggested you both go outside for a smoke

With a drunken smile (the only way to get through a football match is to drink, lets be real), you agreed and told the friends you came with where you'd be disappearing to

Outside, you and Ethan shared three fags each and lots of laughter and conversation

Surprisingly to Ethan's friends, when everyone came pouring out of the bar after the game finished, Ethan had you pressed against the wall in a heated kiss

While being the most shy member of the band, Ethan reacted the most prominently to liquid courage, which you were more than okay with

You traded information, and the next day, you woke up to a sweet text from Ethan, asking you to a cafe to get to know each other in a sober environment

No complaints, you went

Ethan was just as funny as he was last night, and neither of you stopped smiling the entire time you were together

You saw each other quite often after that; sharing the occasional kiss, but full of laughter and stupid faces in silent moments

Eventually, you got brave and asked for Ethan to be your boyfriend

His face and ears went bright red, and he immediately looked to his slender fingers, chuckling nervously - but he happily agreed

Dating Ethan would include a hell of a lot of cuddles, lots of reassurance, few kisses but very meaningful kisses, and more laughter than you've ever shared with anyone else

Ethan will make you one of the happiest people on Earth, and in exchange, he is the happiest, just to have you in his arms in the mornings (even if you drool on him in your sleep)

Damiano

Without a doubt, you'd meet Damiano at a bar

There wouldn't be a game one, it was just a Friday night, and you felt like cutting loose with your idiot friends, whom you very much loved

Damiano would spot you immediately

You, of course, had already spotted him, but your friends were drooling over him, and every single person in the bar was as well, so you just put him out of your mind

That is, until he swaggered right up to you while you were grabbing drinks for your friends who were all on the dance floor

His expensive scent intoxicated you better than any booze behind the bar, making your skin tingle immediately. Damiano radiated heat, but that could've just been how warm it was in the bar from all the people

As the bartender was mixing your drinks, Damiano asked you your name

'A beautiful name for a beautiful person'

You thought he was just looking for a one-night stand, which you were actually quite down for

However, the night was still young, and you still had drinks to deliver to your friends, so you thanked him for the compliment and sauntered off to your friends with the drinks in hand

They called you a myriad of names for you basically turning Damiano down to do what? To dance with people you'd known for years?

Fortunately, walking off hadn't deterred Damiano

His eyes were on you for the entire night, until you built enough nerve to approach him

It didn't take too long for him to offer to bring you back to his place - you didn't need more than a second to accept

That night didn't lead to sex, however. Damiano thought you to be drunk to give him any meaningful consent, so he just left you to sleep in his bed, while he took the couch

When you woke up, you wrote your number with the lipstick in your purse on his bathroom mirror, and you left without a sound to wake him up

He called you that same day and invited you to the bar again

The entire weekend was spent going to the bar, sleeping either with or at Damiano's, which suited you just fine

Unfortunately, you had an actual job that required you to go to work, so when he invited you out on Sunday, you had to decline, then again on Monday

Tuesday, however, you invited him to your place for a couple drinks and you ended up falling asleep on his shoulder on the couch

Damiano woke up with you for your job and stayed with you as you got ready that morning, smiling at you through the mirror of your bathroom

Soon enough, your nightly encounters turned into real dates that changed location and theme constantly

Damiano was spontaneous and you loved it

He'd call you the cutest pet names under the sun, and bring you everywhere you were willing to go with him

Damiano never called you his partner; you were his lover

When you'd be alone, he always referred to you as 'Y/n, the light of my life, the only flower in my field, the cream in my jeans'

Made you blush like mad, but that was Damiano's favourite part

Dating Damiano would include doing each other's eyeliner, lots of PDA, reading side by side on the couch with a record playing softly, never falling asleep alone

Sleeping beside Damiano was like sleeping next to a furnace, so blankets were never needed, but cuddling was required

if it sucks, y’all gotta tell me😩🙏

for @fairyth0rns , i hope you like it

[c-e-d-dreamer]

Okay, I know hockey player versus figure skater is a super cliché rivalry, but all day today, my brain was like “hockey player Cassian! Hockey player Cassian! Hockey player Cassian,” so here we are. Also, fun fact, this exact event actually happened to my little brother at one of his games. TW for blood and injuries. Hope you enjoy :) @nessianweek

The cool rush of the air conditioning is the first thing that hits Cassian as he pushes through the doors. The throwback pop song pumping out of the speakers and the smell of popcorn from the snack bar hits him next. He shifts the strap of his bag on his shoulder, resettling the weight, his sticks clacking together in his other hand. He makes his way over to the board declaring the locker room assignments for the day, squinting until he finds the Illyrians. He's about to head off toward their locker room when his eyes snag on someone. 

Nesta is perched like a queen on one of the benches in the lobby, her white skates resting beside her. She has a sweatshirt pulled on, but the red skirts of her dress skim across her thighs, and Cassian can see the jeweled embellishments peeking out under the collar. Unsurprising, she has a book opened in her hands, probably another of her smutty romances. Even in the harsh fluorescent lighting, Cassian finds himself drawn into her eyes, the way they glint as they dance across the pages. 

Cassian doesn't have to think twice before he's sauntering over to her. He drops his bag with a loud thump at her feet, a smile pulling across his face at her answering glower. He loves this game they play. The way he pushes her buttons and she pushes his always leaves flames licking up his skin in the most delicious way. He's sure they make quite the sight, the hockey player and the figure skater, but he'll never stop going back for more. 

"What do you want, Cassian?" 

"Love the outfit today, Nes. The sparkles really contrast well with your dark soul." 

"Don't you have to go smash someone into the boards?"

"I'd love to press you up against the boards." 

Cassian throws a wink her way for extra good measure, and the way Nesta's eyes narrow has his heart ticking up slightly in his chest. 

"Prick," Nesta mumbles, opening back up her book. 

With a chuckle, Cassian takes it for the cue that it is, picking back up his bag and heading for the locker room. He offers Azriel an easy grin as he passes him, his brother merely shaking his head at his antics yet again. 

~ * * * ~ 

Nesta hears her sister before she sees her, Feyre's laughing bouncing off the walls of the lobby. She closes her book and grabs her skates, but as she heads for the door, her steps falter and pause as she takes in Elain walking in beside Feyre. 

"Since when does it take both of you to pick me up?" Nesta asks once her sisters are close enough to hear. 

"Actually," Feyre starts slowly. "We were thinking we could stick around for the game." 

"What," Nesta deadpans, taking in both her sisters' expressions and inwardly sighing when she sees they're both actually serious. "Fine. Give me the keys, and I'll pick you both up later." 

"Oh, Nesta," Elain says, taking Nesta's hand in her own. "It'll be fun. Besides, you and Cassian are friends. Don't you want to see him play?" 

"We are not friends." 

"That's for sure," Feyre pipes in. "There is way too much sexual tension for that to be considered friendship." 

Nesta shoots a glare Feyre's way, but her sister merely smiles innocently. The mischievous glint swirling in her eyes tells Nesta she's not getting the keys from her youngest sister anytime soon. Which is how Nesta ends up pressed between her two sisters, the cold of the metal bleachers biting into the underside of her thighs and a shared blanket draped across their three laps. Elain keeps clapping excitedly to her right while Feyre shouts, "go, baby, go" every time Rhysand cuts up the ice on her left. Nesta thinks her eyes might actually get stuck from rolling them so much. 

Despite the equipment and jerseys making it hard to tell the players apart, the whole team blending together into a mash of blues and gold's, Nesta finds she can pick Cassian out fairly easily. She tells herself it's because he's clearly the biggest guy on the team and the hair sticking out the back of his helmet is a dead giveaway. But either way, her eyes always seem to find him any time he's on the ice, whether he’s sweeping along the blue line to make a play or throwing his body against the other team. 

They’re into the third period when Nesta watches Cassian jump over the boards, joining the rush before falling back into the neutral zone as the other team gains possession. He guards his man well as the play shifts to their defensive zone, the other player trying and failing to shake Cassian loose. The player tries to deke around him, but Cassian is quicker, their sticks clashing together. 

It's like it all unfolds in slow motion. The puck popping up into the air between them. The other player raising his stick like he plans to bat the puck down. The stick colliding with Cassian's head. 

There's a collective gasp from the crowd watching the game as Cassian crumbles to the ice, falling onto all fours. And then there's red. A few drops at first, but soon it's a steady stream. It seeps into the ice, spreading out around Cassian like a crimson puddle. 

"Oh my gods," Feyre whispers.

"I hope he's alright," Elain chimes in. 

Nesta knows that her sisters keep speaking, but all she can hear is a ringing in her ears, like a high pitched screaming sinking its claws into her mind. Her hands fist into the blanket in her lap, and she watches with wide eyes as a trainer walks onto the ice, pulling the cage of Cassian's helmet up and sliding a towel under. With the help of two teammates, Cassian's on his feet and skates back to the bench. Nesta's stomach roils as one of the rink staffers and the referees scrape Cassian's blood from the ice, and even when the game resumes, she can't take her eyes off Cassian slumped over his knees on the bench. 

~ * * * ~ 

Cassian can't help but poke at the bandage on his forehead as he checks himself in the locker room mirror. It's still tender, and he winces at the pain that radiates from that spot. Definitely going to leave a scar. At least he got a goal tonight. Small victories. With a sigh, he shoulders his bag, grabbing his sticks by the door and heading for the rink exit. 

When he steps into the lobby, he finds Nesta standing there. Cassian knew that both her sisters were here earlier, but a quick sweep of his eyes around the room shows them nowhere to be found. When his eyes dance back to Nesta, she's already looking at him, something intense brewing in her eyes like storm clouds rolling in. It leaves Cassian captivated, and in a few strides, He’s standing in front of her, dropping his bag at their feet. 

"What are you still doing here, sweetheart?" 

Cassian throws as much cheek as he can into the question, letting that cocky grin he knows gets under her skin slide across his face. He expects Nesta to scowl, to make some snide remark back, to pick up their game right where they left off, but Nesta's face remains serious. He watches in confusion as she crosses and then uncrosses her arms across her chest, takes a deep breath like she's steeling herself. 

"I just wanted to make sure you're alright," Nesta explains, her eyes glancing up to the bandage before settling back on his own. 

"Oh," Cassian says dumbly, blinking down at Nesta a few times before his brain finally catches up. "It was just bad luck. Stick hit just right for one of the screws in my helmet to go right into my head." 

"It looked… bad." 

"Well, head wounds bleed a lot." 

Nesta nods and silence falls like a blanket between them. Cassian's brain kicks into overdrive, suddenly desperate to keep whatever this precarious moment is going, keep her talking to him, keep those eyes on his. It sparks in his chest like a piece of flint, fire burning under his skin. He's so busy floundering, trying to will his head and mouth to produce actual words, that he almost misses the frown that takes over Nesta's face, her eyes caught on his hand. 

"You're not thinking of driving, are you?" 

The sudden question takes Cassian by surprise, and Cassian’s brow furrows in confusion until he remembers his car keys are in his hand. 

"How else would I get home?" 

"You can't drive with a concussion."

"What makes you think I have a concussion?"

"How could you not have a concussion?" 

"If I had a concussion, why would I have gone back out on the ice to finish the game?"

"Because you're an idiot." 

Before Cassian can even splutter out a protest at the insult, Nesta is reaching forward and snatching the keys out of his hand. Then, for good measure, she reaches out and takes his sticks out of his hand too. 

"There's an Urgent Care like five miles away that should still be open." 

With that and a final, firm nod, as if she's decidedly made up her mind and Cassian can't change it, Nesta turns on her heel and makes for the doors. Cassian is left there gaping, blinking dumbly after her retreating form, while his sluggish brain tries to grasp what exactly is happening. Maybe he is concussed. Not giving himself another second to contemplate, Cassian scrambles to pick up his bag, tossing the strap over his shoulder as he hurries after Nesta. 

"Can I at least buy you dinner after?"

[delu-jean]

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐭 (𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐤𝐲𝐮𝐮 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐬)

Prompt: Reasons as to why you and the Haikyuu boys would break up! 

Includes: Daichi, Atsumu, Kuroo, Bokuto, and Kageyama! 

Angst -> 1.4k -> Hcs 

Notes: Part one? I might make another part, so if you’d like one, please be sure to let me know! Other than that, enjoy!! ^^ 

Daichi: 

Diachi during your time together, treated you like a queen

He would always buy you little gifts, meat buns (your favourite!), and spend as much time with you as he could 

You both didn’t have many problems in your relationship

And if you did, they were minor

The reason as to why YOU decided to end things, is because he would be graduating the next year 

He would attend a college in your town, while you, abroad

You wanted to focus on the future set for yourself 

That being the case, you didn’t want Daichi to wait for something that might never come back 

For all you knew, you might’ve been gone for the next decade 

Long distance, you focusing on yourself, and him starting something new, didn’t sound great when mixed together

So you both met up at a coffee shop, breaking the news 

“Daichi...I think we should break up…”

“Oh...I see”

My baby boy was hurt, but he wasn’t surprised

(Knowing your aspirations) 

Wanted to support you, and because of that, let you go regardless of the yearning he had for you 

Atsumu, Kuroo, Bokuto, and Kageyama: ↡↡↡

Atsumu: 

Atsumu loved you, he truly did

Yet there were times were you felt as if he didn’t 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like he would neglect you

Rather, he was way too harsh with his words 

Most of the time, you had let some of his gestures slide 

You loved him as well, and wanted to forgive him no matter how hurtful his actions could be 

But the more you dated, the crueler his choice of words would get 

He would spew hateful, petty, and childish things during arguments 

Things that wouldn’t even relate at times 

For example, there was one time where you went out with a friend of yours

You told him about it, but he had forgotten due to fatigue (was practicing in and out) 

So when you came back at a later time, you found a very angry Atsumu 

“Why were you out?”

“I told you before-” 

“I don’t remember that!?”

You both bickered back and forth about how you did tell him

And even if you didn’t, you weren’t obligated to tell your every move 

Trust was there for a reason, and he’d have to understand that

But then Atsumu started to bring up things that didn’t even relate

Such as: 

“Well how do you expect me to remember things if you can’t yourself!?” 

“Osamu was right, you really are childish” (don’t attack Osamu, he meant it in a good way qwq) 

“I told you to go pick up my new jersey, and you decide to betray me?” 

He was just so dramatic, and brought up random stuff since he wanted to dominate the argument 

This behaviour always trailed during disagreements, and he would even degrade you in the process

“Ugh, you’re so annoying you pig” 

“All you do is haller through that snout of yours” 

So even if you both loved each other, the pain was too much to bear

That being said, you told him straight up 

“Atsumu, let’s break up-”

“What, why?”

He’s the type who would beg for you to stay, but you don’t

Causing reflection on both sides 

Kuroo: 

He loved you, but then, he also loved someone else

You both got together sometime in middle school, and that being the case, were highschool lovers through all out 

But as the more time passed, the more comfortable you got

Though it should’ve been a good thing, he was getting bored

Missed the thrill you had near the beginning of things, and wanted to spark things up

Yet, could never do it with you (for some reason) 

So when a newer girl had caught his eye, he poured his attention out to her whenever he could 

You didn’t notice at first, but then as gossip spread, you realised how vocal they were 

You didn’t want to assume things, so confronted him 

During that time, he didn’t want to hurt your feelings

He was also scared that you wouldn’t want to talk to him 

You were a very dear person to him 

And losing you, would be a great loss in his eyes 

He also couldn’t handle the thought of your heart breaking 

He loved you...but the present tense with that word, was questionable 

“Kuroo...are you hanging out with another girl?”

“Hm...well, I guess yeah?”

“Are you...cheating?” 

“Of course not. Babe, she’s just a friend!” 

Though he said this, the more days that passed, the less time/attention he would give to you 

So, he decided to break things off

Knowing you got the message, and that he didn’t want to keep on tearing you apart 

“Y/n...I’m sorry-”

“Kuroo...I wish you would have just told me the truth. If you did, there would’ve been less of the pain that I feel now” 

He felt super guilty because you were right 

And he’d never feel the same chemistry you both had with someone else 

Bokuto: 

He was your grey fluffed owl, and you, his little sunshine 

You both fit each other perfectly...well...that’s what you both assumed 

Bokuto is the type of person who can be quite oblivious, put down easily, and childish

Though it’s very cute, and had it’s charms, there were times where you wished he acted “his age” 

During formal events, serious conversations, or whenever else

Bokuto lacked the common sense needed during those events

And when in them, you would either come out embarrassed, frustrated, or both 

He wasn’t purposely instigating, rather, that’s just who he was 

Regardless, Bokuto did try his hardest to please you

He was constantly conscience of his actions, etiquette, and whatever else 

(Led him to swoop even lower regarding to self esteem) :((

But his accomplishments...were never acknowledged by you (since your expectations were so high) 

Akaashi could tell that things were off (since he’d come to practice less enthusiastic than usual)

So when he asked Bokuto, and was told of your situation, he’d immediately ring you up to talk 

“Look, I get you have standards...but this...this is just brutal Y/n”

“I don’t understand how? All I want is for him to mature-”

“And he’s trying his best. Have you even acknowledged that?” 

His words would get you thinking, and you’d understand Akaashi, yet still standing your ground 

A couple weeks later, after a lot of thinking (and talking with Akaashi), Bokuto would come to your house 

He then broke things off, saying: 

“I love you and all...but this is taking a toll on me. I try my best, yet you don’t even realize. I think it’s best we end things”

“I guess so…”

That was the first and last time (in your eyes at least) you had seen Bokuto in such a mature manner 

Kageyama:

If he was the king of the court, you were the queen of his heart 

Though this was the case, he no longer wanted to be known as “king of the court” 

(Meaning, he no longer needed a queen to his heart) :((

He enjoyed your company to say the least, but the more he grew to realize that he wasn’t the best, and every other life lesson possible

The more he realized he had grown from you, and the relationship you shared 

Your love was innocent, goofy, and...beautiful

Something he’d always be grateful for

But ultimately, it was something he didn’t need as of right now 

Just think of it as another chapter of his life 

He needed to turn the page to persevere, and that meant pushing his past aside

Meaning, riding his relationship with you 

Plus, since he was training so much (meaning neglecting you constantly), that would be another reason to help his plea

Because of these reasons, he thought that you’d be okay 

That you would understand his reasoning like you usually did 

Both of your simply moving on, and remaining acquaintances 

But he never expected you to go on a full yelling streak 

“This is how you treat me after everything!? Waiting for you, constantly understanding your schedule, and supporting you the best I could! Only for you to throw me away like that!?” 

“Well I’m sorry...you just don’t match with what I need in my life”

“Tobio...I can’t believe how cold you can be”

Needless to say, you came out crying after cussing him out...thoroughly  

He then realized there was one chapter he’d never be able to close, that being, his selfishness

Since said selfishness led to such an important person to leave :(

[uswntxfootball]

we should be rivals (leah williamson x chelsea!reader)

being the newest chelsea signing and a diehard fan all your life, you didn’t understand the arsenal hype until you saw her...

word count: 2541 ish

a/n: big thanks to @4stars-uswnt​ and @sauceysonny​ for ideas.. (though they were really creepy and both somehow gave me the exact same one at the same time...)

part 2 is out!

——

you’re jolted out of your thoughts when kerr slaps you on your back.

“you coming kid?”

you nod slowly, unable to tear your eyes off the wembley stadium sign.

“what’s up rook?”

“oh nothing nothing, i’m just taking it all in.”

after your stellar performance at ucla, it didn’t take long for you to be noticed by the big teams.

a longtime chelsea fan, to say you were beyond ecstatic when they wanted to sign you would be an understatement.

jessie signing with chelsea too was just the cherry on top.

kerr lets out a sigh in understanding.

“you’ve made it this far for a reason kid, don’t get intimidated. we’ve got a finals game to win.”

with that said, the forward patted your back and walked into the stadium.

you stood there for a bit longer, only broken out of your trance when your best friend, who had witnessed you standing in front of the stadium for a good ten minutes, finally just rolled her eyes and dragged you into the stadium.

“jess i was getting to it!”

“no you weren’t the dinosaurs literally went extinct in the time you stood there.”

“oh shut up.”

jessie let out a loud laugh at that, and led the two of you to your spots in the locker room, both of you bickering all the way.

you get quiet when you reach your spot and your silence causes jessie to turn around.

“damn no come back?”

you shake your head lightly.

“no i just can’t believe we made it ya know?”

jessie’s tone softens when she replies, “i know. i really can’t believe we’re here at wembley.”

you give the midfielder a hug, a moment cut short by sam, who yells for the two of you to hurry up.

~~

donning a #19 on your back, you made your way onto the pitch for warmups, to see that arsenal was out too.

as a die hard chelsea fan, you never quite payed any attention to who was on the other teams, and combined with your nerves, you couldn’t quite bring yourself to focus on the opposition at the moment.

playing your first ever fa cup final-scratch that.

playing and starting in your first ever fa cup final, the nerves were really starting to eat up at you now.

to combat your nerves you’ve learned to just get lost in what you’re doing.

to distract yourself, losing yourself in whatever you were doing.

you were so hyper focused on your stretching and warmups that you didn’t look up until it was too late, your body crashing into the red jersey in front of you.

in your haste you didn’t even notice who you ran into.

you scramble to your feet quickly and mutter a “sorry” before running towards a laughing jessie, your cheeks beet red.

“oh my god did anyone record that?”

you flush harder.

“shut up fleming.”

~~

on the opposite side of the field, leah was still laying on the grass, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

the flash of blue left as quick as it had happened , and the annoyed look originally plastered on her face was wiped away after seeing yours.

she was..

already...smitten?

daan poked her in the side with her cleat.

“stop staring off into space and get your gay ass up already.”

“i- right”

leah took daan’s outstretched hand and pulled herself up.

her eyes met jordan’s, who gave her a very knowing look.

“no.”

“i didn’t say anything.”

“just. no.”

~~

you stood behind jessie in the tunnel, the nerves visible on your face.

the vets all took note of your nervousness, each making sure to whisper a “good luck” or “you’ll do great” in your ear as they passed by.

it helped a bit.

a few of the arsenal players also gave you encouraging nods and smiles, something you greatly appreciated.

your breath caught in your throat when a certain arsenal player gave you a smile, the girl just stupidly attractive.

you gave her a quick grin and shook your head softly, trying to get your head back into the game and rid it of any distractions.

however, you couldn’t help but sneak one more glance as the opposing team walked out, catching a #6 and “williamson” on the back of her jersey.

the game began and you made an observation.

well it was more like a fact.

leah was good.

like crazy good.

every time the ball was at your feet the defender was there in a flash.

every.

single.

time.

her tackles were perfectly timed and just beautiful, with just enough on them to knock the ball from your feet without tripping you.

but as the game progressed and the score remained at 0-0, everyone was getting a little desperate, a little sloppy.

so when the next ball landed at your feet, leah overestimated the distance and as a result, her leg got hooked around yours and the two of you went tumbling down, you landing right on top of her.

you push yourself up onto your palms and the wind promptly gets knocked out of you.

the two of you look at each other, chests heaving and you make another observation.

and again, it’s more of a fact.

she was gorgeous.

absolutely,

without a doubt,

gorgeous.

you could feel your cheeks reddening and palms sweating as you looked down at her stuck, in a trance and absolutely smitten.

in your staring, you were unaware that this was the second time this had happened today.

leah however, was aware.

she was very very aware.

and you missed the way the defender’s breath hitched when you shifted your weight slightly, all too caught up in your own thoughts.

the ref’s whistle was what knocked both of you out of your trances, both equally flustered and cheeks equally red, you stood up quickly and stuck a hand out, almost staggering over at the sparks that shot up your arm when she pulled herself up.

the two of you were now standing, and you opened your mouth to say something, but leah starts first, the heavy english accent making your heart skip a beat.

“that was my fault i’m sorry”

“oh don’t be it’s fine” you reply quickly, the two of you falling into a silence right after.

never breaking eye contact, the tension was almost palpable.

its only when you hear jessie calling your name that you break it, turning to look at your best friend, before quickly looking back towards the defender to give her a nod and a smile before running towards your team, actions that she reciprocates.

~~

“i feel like if i didn’t call you the two of you would’ve started fucking right in front of us” jessie said, a comment that elicited a snort from eriksson, and a punch from you.

“ow! y/n!”

you stick your tongue out at her in response.

leah’s eyes followed you as you left, a soft smile forming when she sees you and jessie’s antics.. though she isn’t quite sure of the nature relationship between the two of you yet…

right. the game.

there’s an fa cup final still happening.

the rest of the game continued as usual, though you couldn’t help but notice that a certain defender’s eyes were on you every few minutes.

to be honest you couldn’t keep your eyes off her either, but you shook your head.

you had a game to win.

and win it you did, scoring your sixth goal for chelsea with a beautiful chip into the corner of the next and as a result securing the fa cup title for your team with a 1-0 win over arsenal.

you shook hands after the match, leah holding onto your hand just a little bit longer than normal, an act that kicked your heart into high gear once again.

a few minutes later, you walked slowly, making your way back to the locker room when you notice leah chatting with lisa, the latter who, upon meeting your eyes promptly disappears.

all of a sudden it’s just the two of you.

you break the silence first.

“you played really well, i’m sorry you guys didn’t win.”

leah thinks for a moment before she replies:

“it’s fine. i mean i had a hot girl on top of me twice today. i can’t complain.”

your cheeks turn red at her words, but you cock your head to the side in confusion when the words fully register.

“twice? what do you mean twice?”

“warmups?”

a little silence. and then, the lightbulb moment.

“oh my god. that was you? i’m so sorry i’m-“

leah laughs and brushes it off.

“don’t worry. it was cute.”

she was full on flirting with you now, and you really, really couldn’t handle it.

thank god for jessie, saving you from what could have been absolute chaos, when she calls for you from the locker room.

before leah turns, she gives you a wink, effectively freezing you in place, your cheeks painted scarlet.

jessie lets out a sigh from across the field.

“gay panic.”

~~

“i’m not! i’m just.. doing scientific research?” you answer hesitantly.

jessie rolls her eyes.

“sure y/n. whatever you say.”

you weren’t an arsenal fan.

you weren’t.

you just happened to catch all their games.

especially when leah was starting.

who were you kidding even leah sitting on the bench was attractive.

you had it bad.

“if you watch a live game i will make fun of you until the day i die.”

jessie pauses and then corrects herself:

“no scratch that. if you buy an arsenal jersey i will make fun of you until the day i die.”

you scoff.

“i would neve-“

you bought one.

a #6 arsenal jersey.

ugh an arsenal jersey? you were pretty sure your family would disown you.

at the very least jessie saw the hilarity of it.

“my god you are whipped,” she got out through a fit of laughter.

you debated telling her about the game ticket you purchased lying on your desk.

for the sake of the little bit of chelsea pride and sanity you had left, you decided against it.

~~

you wore a chelsea shirt.

granted it couldn’t be seen under your black hoodie, but you had to balance out the evils in some way, and slapping an old chelsea crest over your heart as you stepped foot in the arsenal stadium seemed like the best option to do so.

your seat was close to the pitch, right on top of the tunnel, and you hoped to catch a glimpse of the defender, all the while remaining anonymous.

the plan was for you to watch the game, and slip out when it finished without being seen and recognized.

lucky for you, the social distance seating was still in play, so with the 6 foot distance, your mask and baseball cap (and sunglasses when you came in), no one had noticed you.

you would never live it down if you were recognized.

the things you do for leah.

maybe you are a little whipped, but that’s besides the point.

arsenal was playing west ham today, a team you didn’t care all too much about.

your heart beat a little bit faster when the teams began walking out, it skipping a full beat when you saw the defender.

the game began and you couldn’t tear your eyes off of her, staring in awe at the absolute perfection of her crosses.

at halftime, arsenal was up by 4.

as you were sitting right above the tunnel, it was just your luck that when the teams made their way back into the locker rooms, leah looked up and her eyes locked with yours.

your eyes widened and you cursed internally.

leah shook her head and smirked, giving you a quick wink before she disappeared out of your sight.

you were panicking, and you had no choice but to give jessie a call.

~~

“you’re wHERE?” the canadian screamed into the receiver.

“i know i know but SHE SAW ME. i’m never going to live this down.” you groaned.

jessie couldn’t stop laughing.

“stop it. help me. before half time starts. please.”

“what do you want me to do?”

“i don’t know! give me some advice, tell me she won’t make fun of me, that stuff”

“okay okay, just be you. you haven’t scared her off yet so that has to mean something right?”

“oh shut up fleming.”

“hey! i’m trying to help!”

“fine fine continue.”

“so just keep doing what you’re doing. except don’t bang on the field this time. oh and don’t be an idiot. got it?”

“yes very helpful jess.”

“i know that’s why they call me the modern socrates. i’ve got the answers to everythin- you’re rolling your eyes at me aren’t you?”

you shrug even though she can’t see it.

“anddd now you’re shrugging. see this is the repayment i get for being such a dear and loving friend. wow i ca-“

“okay jess that’s enough, the second half is starting now, so bye thanks for your help, love you and don’t die!”

you let out a sigh before focusing again on the game in front of you.

arsenal’s performance the second half was even more spectacular than the first, netting 5 goals, bringing the total up to 9.

leah’s performance here was even better than that if possible.

the ninth and final goal was scored by none other than leah williamson herself, with a header from a perfectly placed corner by katie.

the whistle blew and arsenal won with a sweeping victory, leah coming away with 4 assists and a goal, something that you couldn’t help but be a little proud of.

your eyes never left the defender, who went around and took a few photos with fans before making her way towards you.

“fancy seeing you here, didn’t take you to be an arsenal fan.”

“oh i’m just scouting out the enemy” you retorted. “i’ve actually got a chelsea shirt on under this.”

leah gasped with mock offense, “a traitor, how dare you.”

you let out a hearty laugh at that, missing the way leah’s eyes soften at the sound.

“on purely observational note, you played great today,” you comment.

leah responded with a wink:

“was showing off a little bit for you.”

“i will say that was a beautiful header, but it still can’t beat mine though” you grin cheekily.

“oh? might you show me how it’s done then, if you’re oh so great”

“come watch one of my game’s and you’ll find out” you reply, giving her a wink.

“ick me attending a chelsea game? i would never. i’m too loyal to my club. unlike you.”

you let out a gasp.

the banter went on for a little while longer, before leah cut you off and asked:

“would you like to go get coffee with me sometime?”

and before you could say anything she added:

“like on a date?”

you pretend to give it a bit of deep thought before saying:

“only if you come to one of my games.”

“deal.”

[fangirlincorporate]

Happiness Doesn’t Last Forever

Just a little fic I wrote. I normally don’t post this kind of stuff on my tumblr page. I like to keep it on my AO3 but I’m really proud of it. I think it’s cute and wanted to share 🥰 so if you like Yatori fluff here ya go! Added the link as well just because.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33487336

*warning my writing isn’t the best. I write because it’s fun not necessarily because I’m good at it*

Hiyori walked behind Yato and Yukine, bouncing along behind them in her half-phantom form. The two were arguing over something silly, but it still brought a smile to her face. She had offered to take them out for dinner now that school was over. Unfortunately, she lost her body along the way so Yato had to carry her. She enjoyed these little moments with her friends. Cherished them even more than before since the traumatic events that occurred recently.

After the fight with Rabo, Hiyori's thoughts were constantly on the fact that she had forgotten the two of them. Guilt filled her chest every time they smiled at her. Despite knowing Nora had everything to do with that deep down she had a fear she really would forget them. She couldn’t bear the thought of it.

She didn’t even mind that Yato hadn’t fixed her body. Hadn’t brought it up for weeks. She was immensely happy that she could have more time with them. More time with him. A blush crossed her face, and the two boys ahead stopped to look back at her in concern.

“Hiyori?” Yukine asked, a small frown on his face.

She hadn’t realized she had stopped and was now standing in the middle of the sidewalk. Her eyes met Yato’s striking blue ones. She sucked in a breath like she did every time. Momentarily she forgot Yukine had even spoken. Not wanting to worry the two she plastered a smile on her face claiming to have gotten lost in thought rushing forward to catch up to the two. By the look on Yato’s face, she knew he didn’t buy it, but he played along.

His shoulder brushed hers in what she hoped was for reassurance, and she nudged him back ever so slightly. This has become a frequent thing between the two of them. She had been the one to initiate it. Despite having lost her memories she remembered how desperate he was to get her to recall those same memories. She has yet to forget the look on his face that day he stopped her in the crosswalk. Those blue eyes were filled with not only desperation but fear that rocked her to her core. She knew that Yato could disappear if he was forgotten. If he no longer received wishes. Kofuku told her about it.

In an attempt to reassure him she started to hang around more. Touched him more than she had before. Fixing his jersey even when it didn’t need to be. Brushing the hair from his eyes. Lingering closer than what was necessary. When he started to reciprocate that’s when she started to realize that it was her fear that had sparked the interactions.

She was terrified that he would just be gone one day. That something else would come around and kill him for good. Hiyori wasn’t sure if Yato had caught on to her feelings yet, but there was something in the way he would look at her that made her feel that he knew. He was an “all-knowing” God after all.

She watched them eat, and for just a moment allowed herself to relax. Glancing out the window having already finished her food she watched the birds in the trees.

Yato had brushed up against her leg sending shivers down her spine. Her eyes drifted in his direction, and she had to swallow a lump in her throat. They sat there staring for a moment, legs resting up against each other.

He was still here. Little did Hiyori know that the God in question was thinking the very same thing. Yukine had finished his meal looking between the two. Groaning as he rested his chin on the table stretching his arms out in front of him.

“If you guys want alone time you can just say so.” He mumbled. A red tint to his cheeks as he glanced away from them.

Hiyori’s face heated up in embarrassment. Of course, Yukine would notice the change between the two of them. She stared at the table long enough to burn a hole through it.

“It-It’s not like that!” She squeaked out.

Yukine rolled his eyes. “Sure, and I’m leaving now.”

Yato hadn’t said a word during the interaction watching as his Regalia left. His knee pressed ever so gently against Hiyori’s.

Yato opened his mouth to speak, but fearing what he might say, Hiyori beat him to the punch. “We should go after him.”

Rushing up to the register to pay for their food Yato followed behind. Not really caring where Yukine had gone, Yato knew he would be fine. Yukine was right about him wanting some alone time with Hiyori. There was something bothering him about her behavior, but he humored her and followed her along as she went looking for Yukine.

At some point the God started to lose his patience. Now they were on the outskirts of the city walking through a park. Yato was about to grab Hiyori to get her to stop walking when she tripped. Before she could hit the ground though Yato had pulled her into his arms.

She clutched his jacket tightly dazed for a bit. He still hadn’t let go, and Hiyori didn’t mind when he held her just a little tighter. Taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, his sweet scent filled her senses. Enveloping her entirely, and he didn’t mind when she leaned closer resting her forehead against his shoulder. He was intoxicating.

They stood under the light of a street lamp. The sunset grew darker as night drew closer. “Hiyori.” Yato called her name, and she would be lying if she said she didn’t like hearing him say her name like that.

She pulled away to look up at him, and her breath caught in her throat. Those eyes were the same ones she saw standing in the crosswalk. The eyes she never wanted to see again, but there they were. Staring into the depths of her soul. Electric blue meeting her own magenta ones. She reached up, putting a hand to the side of his face. Subconsciously he leaned into her touch wanting it just as much as she did.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Her voice was just above a whisper.

“Like what?” He asked, his voice tight.

“Like you’re scared. Terrified. Desperate. Like I’m going to forget…again.” Her voice dropped, and all her guilt bubbled to the surface once again. “I’m not going to forget you. Ever.” She whispered the last word, dropping her hand back down to her side.

“Is that what has been bothering you?”

She nodded her response, already feeling tears forming in her eyes despite every effort to stop them. She didn’t want to cry. Not now, and not in front of him.

“Hiyori, what happened wasn’t your fault.” Yato put his hands on her shoulders. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“I know.” She whispered, “but it scared you didn’t it? Yukine too.” She blinked, and one of the tears she was holding back slipped down her cheek. Yato wiped it away with a stray thumb.

“Of course it did. You’re the only human who has remembered me. The only one who has seen me.” A lump formed in her throat at those words. “However, I believe in you. I believe you will remember me and continue to. So don’t cry Hiyori.”

“You’ll be sad though.”

“What do you mean?”

“If we stay friends, Yato. I’m going to grow old and die. I’m going to leave you eventually.” Hiyori clutched his jacket. “I don’t want to leave you knowing you’ll be alone again.” She gripped his jacket so hard her knuckles turned white. Her own desperation shining through her tone.

“I know.” He said resting a hand on her head. “And that’s okay too.”

Her eyes widened in shock at his words. She looked up to meet his eyes. Finding a sadness there that she couldn’t fathom. “Human lives are fleeting compared to us immortals, but I could disappear at any moment. I’m a nameless God. Hiyori, you have brought a light into my life that I wouldn’t pass up for anything.” He cupped her cheeks pulling her just a little closer. “I’d rather be by your side and be sad later on than walk away now only to regret it for the rest of eternity.”

Did he really mean that? Her heart fluttered at the thought. She was enamored by him, and everything he was. He captured her heart with those words, and she was left speechless. A God was confessing he would give anything to stay by her side. Her, a mere human.

“You’d give anything to stay with me?” She smiled cheekily at him. His words made her guilt fade to nothing.

He seemed to realize what he had said. He nearly stumbled back blushing furiously. “W-Well just about…anything.” He mumbled turning to the side so she couldn’t see his face.

Feeling a surge of confidence Hiyori reached up to his face, pulling him down gently. She stood on her tippy toes to place a light kiss on his lips. She spun on her heels turning away from him so she couldn't see his reaction. Her embarrassment overruled the confidence she had as her face heated to new levels. Meanwhile, Yato stood with his mouth hung open in shock staring at Hiyori’s back.

“Let’s go find Yukine.” She called back to him, turning to glance at him over her shoulder.

Yato stood with his fists clenched, and a blush dusting his cheeks. He couldn’t believe she kissed him. He wasn’t upset, he just wished he had been the one to kiss her.

While the moment was still fresh Yato tugged Hiyori into his embrace, lifting her chin, and returning the kiss. The kind that left your lips bruised, your mind hazy, and your body craving more. She leaned into the kiss grasping fistfuls of his jacket to steady herself. One of his arms snaked around Hiyori’s waist pulling her flush against him. She sucked in a breath of surprise which granted him more access. Hiyori was a little overwhelmed by the kiss, but didn't want him to stop.

Not sure what to do, she followed his lead. Their tongues danced, and she grew hot from the new sensations. Subconsciously she started to grind on him in her haze. He pulled away breathless and his own body started to feel the effects of kissing Hiyori.

“Let's-” He cleared his throat. “Let’s go find Yukine. He is probably at Kifoku’s by now.”

“Yeah. Let's do that.”

The two were blushing furiously as they walked in the direction of their friend's house. Hiyori wanting to hold his hand, but too afraid to ask. Yato, thinking his sweaty hands would gross her out, kept his in his pockets as they walked side by side. Every so often they would bump into each other only to turn red once more.

[jesswritesthat]

Ukai Keishin: Ace of Hearts

Fandom: Haikyuu!! — [ Masterlist ]

Summary: Angst, Fluff

• Returning to Miyagi brings back old friends and High School memories that distracted you from the last encounter you had before leaving years ago. Until you see him again.

Warnings: None

>>>>——————————>

A call from old friends or in this case, former schoolmates, always left you feeling somewhat nostalgic but you suspected there was more to this particular one.

"Your season has finished now, which means you're not busy..."

"What are you getting at?" You countered suspiciously, already deducting the hinting tone on the other end of the line.

"Come home this time (Y/n), see the sights and me of course~" Takinoues' flirting never ceased as you could only chuckle at his antics as you responded with equal mischief.

"Hmm, I'm not convinced Yūsuke."

"For Karasuno then, the current team are really promising and your advice will raise their gameplay! I'll even buy you dinner (Y/n)-chan, call it a date if you will." He tried again, the Neighbourhood Association players' argument unusually persuasive this time.

"Real smooth but unnecessary, you had me at 'come home'." You smiled softly, voiced laced with forgotten sentiment and already looking forward to seeing the Prefecture once more.

"Knew you missed Miyagi! I'll see you soon?"

"I'll start packing, oh but will the Coach be okay with me gatecrashing their practice? Have you even asked?"

"The coach? Oh yeah yeah, he'll be smitten trust me, he set up a practice match with the Neighbourhood Team last week so it'll be fine." With his (unconvincing) reassurance, you began preparations.

———

Karasuno High hadn't changed much since you'd left, the gym in a similar condition albeit rather empty once Takeda had let you in. You took the time to set up the net and such, now spinning a volleyball on your fingertips before performing a world class serve that shattered the silence. A proud grin crossed your features, High School practices seeming so distant now considering the progress you'd made.

"Woah! That serve was awesome! Better than Oikawa!" A bright ginger bounded up to you in wonder, simply marvelling at your form and the ball rolling on the other side of the court.

"Yamaguchi, you should ask for pointers." A brunette added, likely the Captain judging by his jersey so you took a moment to explain your unexpected presence.

"Oh - sorry to intrude like this. I'm here to assist your practice in any way I can."

"How did we acquire a Females Division 1 Ace?" A young woman shyly inquired, the boy beside you immediately sparking to life again at her enthralled observation.

"I've seen you play! You're the pro - (L/n), ohhhh please show me a serve again - ah wait your spikes are deadly, so can you teach me that too? I'm trying to become an Ace so—"

"Hinata! Let the professional player - aghhhh she's beautiful, back up so she can breathe!" A young man commented, dragging Shōyō away with help of the Libero who also wore a blush when complimenting your appearance.

"Sorry about them, I'm Sugawara Kōshi the Vice Captain and it's a pleasure to have someone so talented like yourself here." A grey haired third year bowed, exasperated by his teams antics by the looks of it and seemingly a voice of reason among them alongside his Captain.

"Call me (L/n) (Y/n), so would you like to get started?"

They began their practice, incorporating your advisory comments and demonstrations when required - soon realising your insane talent for Spikes. The sheer power within them often encompassing the first years in awe.

"Sorry I'm late, had to sort some business at the shop but - (Y/n)...?"

The voice alone froze your very soul, turning to its origin only to be emotionally immobilised by their coach - your heart was pounding, so loudly you figured the whole team could hear it in the now silent gymnasium.

"Keishin..." It was instinctive recognition upon seeing him, tone softer than you'd originally intended and it apparently threw him off guard too.

"What are you uh, what are you doing here?" Ukais' flush deepened with his faltering, simply too overcome with his own feelings to properly form a sentence and in that particular moment you could relate.

"Well um, Takinoue called and told me about Karasunos' potential. He said you could use some reinforcements - who better than a Division 1 Ace right?" You playfully shrugged, hoping your upbeat attitude would relieve some of the present awkwardness.

"Why didn't you call?" To anyone else the underlying vulnerability would’ve gone unnoticed, but when you knew each other as well as the two of you did, you could read between the lines.

"I didn't know you were the Coach, or else I would've, obviously... Takinoue said you were on board."

Practice resumed, albeit with a multitude of unanswered questions floating around that the team dare not ask - Takeda had tried his luck, each inquiry relating to you resulting in the Coach flusteringly brushing him off whilst Hinata begged him to marry you for his own skillset benefit which only made it worse. The ambiguous tension did not go unnoticed by Takinoue or Shimada when they visited either. Of course, they were overcome by their excitement to see you and immediately tackled you into a hug leaving Nishinoya and Tanaka frustratingly unable to jump to your defence, Asahi remaining rather sheepish since you'd been helping him out prior.

"We missed you so much! How's our favourite Ace?" Shimada grinned, the two of them pulling away from you with Ukai urging them to calm down.

"I'm good, still training hard."

"Oh yeah? You'll have room for dinner like I promised then, the date idea is still on the table~" Shimada was quick to hit Yūsuke upside the head, a hushed whisper soon following that wasn’t exactly subtle.

"What happened to the bro code idiot?"

Yourself and Ukai avoided each other's gazes, the implications weighing heavy but your friends weren't quite as intuitive.

"Ukai and (L/n) are just friends now so I assumed after all this time I could shoot my shot! (Y/n) is still gorgeous..." Takinoue justified proudly, the two of you now flicking to each other with mild surprise evident in your eyes - had you or Ukai ever agreed to 'just being friends'?

The team now understood the mysterious situation somewhat, you'd attended Karasuno along with Ukai who was evidently your ex-boyfriend. Though, whatever had driven you apart at the time, hadn't tarnished the mutual love you shared considering you'd remained on pleasant (albeit slightly awkward) terms to this day.

Once practice was over, Shimada dragging his flirty friend off a while ago, you helped the team clean up promising them you'd be sticking around for the week which Ukai had actually agreed to.

"I'll drive you home, or to wherever you're staying." Ukai casually offered, detecting a hint of awkwardness as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I was going to get dinner first so you might as well come with me, is that dumpling place still open?"

"Huh? Which one?" Ukai raised a brow in consideration, meanwhile you released a playful laugh and lightly punched his shoulder as you issued a memorable description.

"The one we occasionally went to after practice because you said it had the best Konnyaku Dumplings - your favourites remember?"

"You remembered that?"

"I - yeah, Miyagi holds a lot of memories for me."

It was eerily silent for a few moments, the true meaning behind those words setting in - memories of your relationship resurfacing for the both you. Keinshin spoke this time, his question one that neither of you had addressed since it'd been implied but had lingered like a haunting ghost.

"Do you think we'll ever be just friends?"

Your gaze dropped, reminiscing on the period after your breakup - you left Miyagi to pursue your volleyball career and didn't want to place any strain on each other due to the distance. It was a joint decision, so there were no remnants of negativity in your relationship but that doesn't mean the heartache hurt any less.

"I thought so, at the time. Remaining friends kept me going y'know, losing someone you love was more painful than I'd like to admit."

"You never lost me... we just went our separate ways. It's true though, all that crap about first loves being special." A sentimental smile graced Keishins' lips, it was no secret how in love you'd been nor the fact those feelings had never truly soured over your time apart which is what made the whole reunion thing so complicated.

"What about in the meantime hm? Anyone caught your eye?" You inquired with a cunning tone, gently nudging his shoulder which elicited a carefree laugh as the two of you walked the calm streets of sunset.

"There have been a few since my parents keep badgering me to get married but I can't help if the connection isn't there y'know. You?"

"Playing professionally keeps me busy, any relationships I've had were nice? City boys just hit differently." You'd attempted to save your justification but he saw straight through you with amusement.

"It's like you never left." You missed the sound of his laugh, the real one that was deep and carefree but with your sudden slowing of pace he couldn’t help but think he’d misspoke.

"That's what I was afraid of... but you made it seem... like home." You’d quietly started, avoiding his gaze and awkwardly rubbing your arm which displayed your warring mindset. With a shake of your head, you looked up to meet his soften gaze and opting for a less sentimental topic.

"Can I...?" You fingers gingerly gestured to the band holding his hair back, and he conceded with a defeated sigh allowing you to do as you pleased.

With a curious gaze, you stepped forward and gently guided the material from its position as blonde strands fell freely to frame his eyes and were somewhat uncoordinated with lack of a band. You were enamoured however, viewing such a look to suit his features beautifully and couldn't resist closing the distance even more to softly run your fingers through it.

The intimate contact shook his stupor, capturing your wrist and removing it with a lopsided yet sheepish smirk and ears tinted pink.

"I missed what that felt like..."

"Usually, our roles were reversed." You whispered back, recalling the amount of times he'd offered such gestures when you were wrapped in his embrace - Ukai sighing a gracious breath of acceptance at the memories.

"I missed you, Keinshin."

"You too (Y/n)."

It was no secret you'd kissed before, numerous times and ways, yet it was like the first time all over again. Butterflies fluttered inside and heat danced on your skin at the mere thought alone and intensified like ecstasy the moment his lips met your own.

However, you were adults now and as tempting as it was to get lost in such a needing and addictive exchange there were social boundaries regarding public make out sessions and as such parted from each other rather sheepishly. It was painfully obvious what you wanted, if not for the disappointment in the air then the way your touches lingered were an adequate indicator.

"I love the new hairstyle Kei, I forgot to say."

“I love you (Y/n), I forgot to say that for a long time."

<——————————<<<<

[ Masterlist ]